988/Fully Clean

Fully Clean
Date of Scene:	17 November 2014
Location:	Planetary Plains
Synopsis:	The Wolkenritter attack a high-value target: Zest Grangeitz.
Cast of Characters:	96, 320, 381, 401, 558, 570
Tinyplot:	Power Games

---

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
It's not actually in the city, this time, but the reason for the Barrier is readily apparent. A few houses are about, and a large section of the power grid feeds the nearby Uminari City through this region, making it somewhat essential to keep intact. Fortunately, both Union and Confederacy now have ways to get /into/ a Barrier. Getting /out/ of the sealed area of extradimensional combat might be harder, though.

Union-side may have had a chance to pick up some info on what is going on here: one of the TSAB mages, of very high rank, was in the area here investigating a possible Mariage incident. Though since Mariage don't use Barriers, this probably isn't them... unless they've learned new tricks, eh?

Either way, busting into the Barrier will quickly reveal that the 'replica' houses are getting pretty beat up. One is outright smashed, as it looks like a train crashed through the middle, and there's a large man-shaped hole in the next.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
Caro's own rank was not particularly high within the TSAB, but she had a fair amount of ability to get information from various people she's helped out over time and all, and given that she's going to help she won't have too much issue tracking down what she's getting into.

Hopefully they haven't actually figured out how to use barriers. That would be intensely worrying, given that it would be a major leap forward in their seeming understanding of magic.

Caro will arrive via her own dimensional shift, along with anyone else who wishes to use her transportation, and she'll head straight for the barrier, Friedrich just behind her. It'll be a simple matter for her to end up on the other side of the barrier from there, though she'll pause there to get a good look around at the property damage going on within...

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
    Flint has his suspicions on who is behind this. He may come across as a bit of a daft man, but when three Wolkenritter go missing from his ship the day Hayate collapses and THEN this place goes dark? Well he doesn't need to be a tactical genius to put the pieces together.

    A small, one-person transport shuttle sets down on the roof of a building and then immediately cloaks. Flint hops off the side of said building and lands on the ground with a ripple of Pure Energy to his legs. His hands are in the pocket of his long coat as he tries to find his way towards the barrier, looking pretty lost in thought.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Let it be said that Fate Testarossa does not like the TSAB. Let it be said once, let it be said again, let it be said a thousand times, but it is something to be said right now. This does not stop the blond made from showing up.

    In a flare of golden light forming a glowing yellow sigil on the ground, the complex equations of a completed Dimensional Transfer pops Fate and Arf out, along with anyone that would want to tag along.

    Arf does not have her MP3 player blasting this time. "Huh? This place looks like a wreck. Someone's getting trounced."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko was, fortunately, not far via warp gate when she saw the alert. She had time to grab something that might, given the kinds of abilities mages of the TSAB and their contemporaries use, be useful. It's really just an imperfect attempt to cover one of her weaknesses, but it'll do.

    So it is that Kimiko arrives on the scene at speeds well in excess of those permitted to automotive traffic, as well as somewhat higher than would be easily survivable without an operating, full-cover shield. A dimensional shift might have been more convenient, but she hadn't been in just the right spot to snag a lift for that.

    Actually entering the Barrier requires slowing down considerably, which is the point at which she can take a look around and also, not being the first one, be clearly seen. From her skirt and sword belt up, she looks no different from the time they went to see Scaglietti, but from mid-thigh down her legs, knees locked straight, are covered in a fancifully worked pair of metal devices that release a constant thrum of propeller blades and obvious magic. Apart from the speed, they seem to allow hovering, too, as she takes advantage of that to get more toward Caro's position.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Arriving through the same Shift as Fate, NANOHA TAKAMACHI is already in her Barrier Jacket, with Vesta beside her. Her eyes widen a little at the damage already done. "They didn't wait at all to start fighting, whatever is going on. But I don't think this is the Mariage... who else is on Earth right now?"

She has yet to notice Flint is here, as yet, though she expects he's coming due to radio chatter. For now she's looking around, visually rather than using a spell.

Vesta huffs, "You said, it, Arf! I'm going to take a look around, all right? I won't go far this time, I swear!" She shimmers into invisibility and probably streaks off to look.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
It's not hard to figure out where the action is, considering all that's happening. Another wall of one of the busted-up houses shatters abruptly, showing a heavy, burly figure flung from within with a barrier shattering in front of him. He grunts, the spear in his other hand whipping around just in time to parry a flaming strike from SIGNUM'S sword, before he's forced to jink backward even further, as the tiny form of VITA erupts from the broken wall, swinging the hammer down with incredible force that shatters the asphalt.

Some might recognize the man as the figure of ZEST GRANGEITZ, an S-Class Mage of the TSAB. And while strong enough to have tanked one of Vita's blows, taking on Vita AND Signum is really starting to wear on him. That doesn't stop him from barely even glancing at the new arrivals before his spear is lunging for Signum.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
Caro will look more than slightly surprised at just who the man is who is being attacked, but she'll let her general professionalismishness take over. She's not about to get into direct combat with Signum and Vita, of course, but she doesn't have to to help out.

She doesn't even need to get all that close! Though it's going to be very obvious what she's doing, of course. "Kerykeion, speed boost, please?" She'll ask her device, politely. And it will comply, cheerfully, a pink burst of energy flying over towards Zest and his spear.

Not that that provides a convenient trace back to her or anything, at all.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Zest Grangeitz. It's a name and a face that evokes particular memories for Fate. Frantic flight, holding onto Nanoha, Arf, and Vesta. Fleeing as fast as she could, the world a blur. With that man drawing inexoribly closer like a monstrous looming shadow. The sheer terror of nearly getting outpaced and caught, and the implications thereof. The painful crash through the forest afterwards.

    The mere sight of Zest- even on the defensive- is enough to give Fate pause.

    Fate does not like Zest Grangeitz.

    "Oh geeze it's THAT GUY." Arf announces what her Master does not voice. "... So uh... Do we like... Save him or something?"

    "No." Fate sounds fairly firm on that, and there's only one person here who could possibly sway her.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    On the surface, the immediate situation seems simple enough--the two Wolkenritter are fighting that mage. She doesn't know /why/ they're fighting. This is less than clear. But given the odds on the fight, she's a fair idea of who started this--weren't there more of them, though?

    Signum, at least, had struck her as remarkable driven. In Kimiko's estimation, the probability of her responding to a simple request to cease... is close to zero. This is not, in the Puella Magi's experience, an unusual mindset with which to deal. She knows what to do.

    Kimiko loops upward, engines only faintly picking up sound as she feeds more power into them, getting some altitude before she charges forward in a shallow dive, a summoned shield in silvered steel braced before her and just behind the faint glimmer of a magical shielding effect. An estoc, a type of edgeless longsword, is in her right hand, though the point is low and to the side, not ideal for striking.

    Signum's projected position is in her initial path. She'll adjust as needed, though there's a significant chance of missing--though little that she'll be missed, as a mass of armored knight moving, if briefly, at around a hundred klicks.

    Turn around will take a few moments.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Well that's... something. Nanoha gasps, tightening her grip on her staff and staring after the battle. "Um..." She's not sure either. She's terrified of Zest, remembering how he easily cleaved through monsters that they'd struggled with. Sure, Nanoha is stronger now, but she doesn't quite realize how much stronger yet. "Do we... help him, or the Wolkenritter? We... we really shouldn't let them fill the book, but..."

Nanoha is indecisive, so she quickly looks around for Flint again. After all, she's fully aware that she's also feeling some irrational anger at Signum right this moment. "Vesta... see if you can't find any of the other Wolkenritter?"

Vesta doesn't reply, as she is being SNEAKYCAT!

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
    Flint's teeth dig into his bottom lip as he watches the fight. He tries his best to remain rougishly neutral in most things. He was HIRED to investigate this by Nanoha, so technically she is his boss. He wants to wait and see what she calls, first of all, because he doesn't want to go against her if he can avoid it. She seems undecided, though.

    "Mn..." Flint says, watching as Kimiko goes in to intercept Signum in movement. Flint takes a long moment to contemplate his options and then sighs heavily. The Pirate Captain then dashes into the fray moments later, calling out to Zest loudly.

    "Oi oi, mate! Come on! You willing to call a ceasefire against TSAB criminals if they're bailing you out?" Flint is, seemingly, going to protect Zest from getting hurt, "Come on! I've got a ship nearby, we get out of the barrier, we'll get you to safety."

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The speed boost for Zest gets a look of shock from Vita, because Zest grunts in surprise, but is quick to capitalize upon it by whipping the spear around, opening a shallow but long gash right in Vita's front, tearing her jacket open! This gives him the breathing room he needs to dash to the side, away from battle, to reassess his situation. He's allowed to do this because Kimiko slams into Signum like a rocket(or a plane?) and causes the swordswoman to curse under her breath as she's slammed through a wall!

There are a couple problems with this. First comes the fact that Signum is now aware of Kimiko, and already whipping her sword about. "LEVANTINE!" The blade segments, snaking out in an arch that comes for Kimiko at an odd angle... and very fast. Signum certainly was bruised by that impact, but if Kimiko didn't duck aside right away it's going to be hard to avoid the counterattack.

Another problem is that Vesta does find only one other Wolkenritter. That being Zafira... who is lunging from hiding at Caro, in human form. The gauntleted hand is being careful, so doesn't try to strike anywhere lethal, just trying to smash into her side and take her down.

Zest grunts, "Depends on what criminals you're talking about!" His eyes do dart right to Nanoha and Fate though. "The Wolkenritter are the bigger threat right now."

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    The instant Zest so much as looks to Nanoha and Fate, Arf is making EXTREMELY RUDE HAND GESTURES at him.

    Once Kimiko has sufficiently distracted Signum by slamming her through a wall, the small blonde simply whispers. "BARDICHE."

    [SIR. MY BODY IS READY.]

    That's all the answer she needs as she takes a single step- and then moves like lightning. A blur of black and gold on a direct course for the Wolkenritter Knight of the Sword. And with a hiss-CHUNK-CHUNK of two cartridges loading, the black axe snaps its head back, forming an immense crescent scythe of gold light.

    [HAKEN FORM!]

    She despises Zest. But they can't let the Wolkenritter complete the book. So Fate acts on something of a personal grudge. Flinging herself at Signum scythe first

    "OH MAN IT'S REMATCH TIME!" Arf howls.

    "You're mine." Fate's voice is a whisper on the wind as she aims to cleave Signum down.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Slamming into her target was probably the only way Kimiko could be stopped, with as much as momentum as she had, that quickly--but stopping isn't actually her attention. As soon as she's smashed into Signum at least hard enough to knock her off course, the magical girl puts more power into her forward thrust, first to capitalize on the impact, and then to keep moving afterward.

    Alas, Signum is /very fast/. Kimiko expected her to react quickly, and her estoc is there to parry--but not against the angle from which Levantine actually strikes. The snake-sword is chewing through the armor over her shoulder before her momentum carries her away, lessened further for the attack.

    Under these circumstances, turning around isn't quite as much of a problem, as a quick flip of her legs reverses her thrust, and a little more aerial acrobatics gets her properly turned around. The pauldron she'd lost is already regrowing, her armor replacing itself from her reserves. Her magic being particularly suited to this, it actually costs her less to her Soul Gem than operating the striker unit does in general--but either way, she's fighting on a time limit, and she can't fix her own wounds fast enough to matter, once anything gets through.

    "Justify your actions." She offers that, speaking in a tone that almost seems bored from how dull it is, lacking inflection, "Do so and I will cease. Else, cease. Else, come at me."

    With an opponent like this, she lacks the luxury of interfering with anything else going on. She notices Fate's approach only in time to do nothing about it.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
    "The two lasses. Come on, are you going to look a gift horse in the mouth when I'm trying to get you out of here? You can pay me later," He scowls at Zest while still dashing in.

    Flint waves his hand at him several times again, trying to coerce him into joining up with the captain during this lull in the action where people are intercepting Wolkenritter and he has some downtime.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
Caro knows she's outclassed in melee combat by the Wolkenritter, Zafira included.. and she totally didn't see that particular member of them coming at her. She's somewhat lucky he isn't going for a lethal blow, though she manages to get a barrier up at the last moment anyways, at least absorbing a small percentage of the blow aimed for her in a crackle of pink light.

Doesn't stop her from tumbling to the ground, though, and Friedrich will lash out with a series of small fireballs while the summoner tries to regather herself to her feet. She'll go for unsealing the dragon, if she can get a few seconds without dog in her face.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha finally decides on what to do. She frowns, but seeing all this chaos means she has a chance to figure things out. The little redhead swoops down, skidding to a halt in midair and lowering Raising Heart toward Vita, who is wounded here. "Stop! Why are you attacking? We're already helping you as best we can! Don't you remember that the Book of Darkness will-"

She's cut off from her own speech when Caro is slammed by Zafira, briefly distracting her. "Ah... Vesta!" That's a quick call for help, the catgirl swooping in and hissing loudly as she enters War Form, a giant cat trying to leap in between Caro and Zafira. She's mainly doing what Nanoha is doing: trying to get answers, rather than ending the fight for either side.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Signum starts to answer Kimiko, "The health of our Master supercedes any other concer-" She's cut short when Fate appears and... launches herself at her. Faster than Fate has any right to be, perhaps, at this point in time... but Signum is fully aware that the girl isn't a pushover, and she can't drain her again. Her sword comes up, successfully parrying the scythe slash, but she's pushed back several feet. More importantly to her, she's darting her eyes at Kimiko and back to Fate. She can't take on both of them... or can she? The swordswoman doesn't look too worried, strangely.

Caro is saved by Vesta, as Zafira balks in surprise. "Eh?" He grunts, pausing in his attack. But just pausing. Again, he's not using lethal force, but he aims a quick punch at Vesta's midriff, powerful and fast... yet this does give Caro time to let Fried's seal off.

Vita grits her teeth and braces herself, staring down Nanoha with eyes narrowing. "Get out of the way," she says bluntly. "You're helping us against the Mariage, but we know this mage isn't your ally. Just step aside or we'll take your Core too!"

Finally, Zest darts his look around all that's happening, and reluctantly nods his head. "For right now, we need to stop the Wolkenritter. I can let them go if they help." That was probably VERY painful for him to say, being a straight-laced type as he is.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
    "I agree with you there," Flint says to Zest in a friendly tone, one hand falling to his pocket as he smiles cheerily, "But to stop them, you've got to get out of here and report to the TSAB, right? Get backup and recover from this fight."

    Flint waves his non-pocket hand at Zest, starting to walk towards where his ship would be, "Come on. I'll take you to my ship if you're ready to get out of here."

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
Fortunately, the time bought means Caro will be able to more substancially contribute. By which we actually mean, Friedrich will be able to contribute, and Caro will contribute to that contribution.

It's likely going to draw attention, of course, as the magic circle appears and the tiny white flying housecat thing becomes an enormous dragon. Especially since Caro will point over at Zafira. "Him!" She'll call over to Fried, who'll rain down much more firey fire upon the Wolkenritter.

Maybe also upon Vesta a bit too, but he's not trying to do that.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko does not trust Fate. Let that be said immediately. However, the knight is willing to give the mage the opportunity to, at least, make good on her word in this one fight. Best case, Signum will be handled. Worst case--worst case, things could be very bad. But the worst she expects is that she'll have to intervene again. She's no obligation to allow a duel, whether for grudge or honor, if it interferes with higher priorities, but if Flint can manage to convince Zest to get out of here while Fate's fighting, they might all be able to just leave. Maybe.

    Probably not. Real battles rarely go that smoothly.

    By this point, her armor is once more pristine. She gives a dramatic flourish of her sword that seems as much habit as anything else, and she ascends.

    There still /is/ one more, isn't there?

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha can't afford to glance away toward Flint, but she hears his beckoning. She tightens her own grasp, and then she lifts up further into the air. "I'll fight you if I have to, but please listen! Look, he's getting away anyway. You have to retreat! We'll find a way to save Hayate-chan, I know it! Just... just give us a little more time!"

She's ready to attack Vita if need be, but she really only needs to stall... and her words really ARE heartfelt!

Vesta MROWS! She leaps out of the way of fire and then... her tail! Her tail is on fire! "IYAAAAH! MISTRESS HEEEEEEELP!" Cue a mood-ruining whiplash scene of a catgirl(she changed back) running around in circles with her tail on fire.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Regardless of Kimiko's level of trust for her, Fate could care very little right now. Sparks flare as the golden light of her scythe meets to the Belkan Device in a brief lock before detaching. But with Kimiko letting her have her grudge match, Fate can focus on the pink-haired swordswoman.

    "You can't drain my Linker Core this time." She points out. Which means it's going to be a fight. "I wasn't ready before. But this time I'm ready. And I'm going to beat you. For Ms. Takamachi's honor."

    Another Ka-CHUNK and Bardiche makes a new announ<span style="color:ement.

    c#ffec8b">[SONIC FORM.]</span>

    Her Barrier Jacket strips down; streamlining for less armor and an even extra boost in speed as the weight reduces drastically. "I'm going to come at you now."

    It's the only warning. Because Fate really DOES go at Signum, at full blinding tilt.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Zest glances over, but he sees that Caro has things handled with Fried... apparently. "MOVE! It's one of us they want, we can come back and take care of them later!" Even Zest, strong as he is, isn't going to face the Wolkenritter alone, and the unknowns in this battle have made it a bad idea. So he speeds toward Flint instead, vaguely recalling him from the whole issue with the Garden of Time. A mercenary. Not someone he enjoys, but he can understand that.

He's wrong, but hey.

Kimiko can't find any sign of Shamal. She's not here. She can get a great view of the upcoming action, though, and there's a lot to see coming up. Like how Vita smirks and floats upward as well. Brash as she is, she doesn't rush though. Seems like she's... waiting for something?

That would be what happens with Zafira. The dog grunts, crossing his arms. He's great at defense, and his Barrier is strong, but Friedrich is pretty strong too. The flame rolls over him, some of it absorbed but even so his skin is blistering in places, though the nonlethal attempt is blunting that somewhat as well.

The wolf-man crashes his gauntlets together as the flames ease up. "Kraken." That's all he says, but it has quite an effect. A brilliant circle appears beneath him, and six tremendous spouts of water erupt at various points along its edge. With a massive, loud rumbling, a form materializes from beneath, growing from the circle to loom over the battlefield, over fifty meters tall.

The Kraken, a giant mech, attempts to grab Friedrich and fling him away with a powerful but ponderous movement. Zafira brought a Deus Machina to a dragon fight.

Meanwhile, Signum brings her blade up, only barely managing to parry that sudden onslaught. The slash even makes a narrow slice in her armored shoulder pad, before Signum whips her sword forward for a concussive blast of flaming mana toward Fate. "Your jacket has barely any protection," she notes. "If you take a hit like that, you'll be down instantly."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
    As Zest speeds towards him, Flint's hand comes out of his pocket. The pirate smiles at Zest, but this time it's less a friendly smile and more of a sad one, "Sorry, mate."

    No matter how much someone trains, the greatest weakness of any living being is internal. No matter how many muscles you have, no matter how well you train your body, there are certain weaknesses that can never be overcome. One of them is the body's natural response to an unregulated shock.

    Which is why Zest may find a very unpleasant sensation as Flint attempts to plant his hand square in the center of the man's chest. A black glove, which if it makes contact with the other man, will immediately discharge an immense, but non-lethal, pulse of electricity. If it can connect with Zest, that is. Flint says, in a pretty sad tone, "'s nothin' personal, mate. From what I understand, after this is all done, you can recover in a bed for a while and be back in the field in no time. But for now, well..."

    Flint, for the record, does feel pretty shitty about his deception towards Zest, and through the deception to Zest his being forced to deceive little Nanoha. He wants to consider himself a halfway honorable pirate, someone with principles and beliefs, someone that people write about favorably. But at the end of the day, for Flint Hawke...

    "My crew always comes first."

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
Caro is NOT ready for the mecha that emerges, and neither is Friedrich. They seem to have been a bit behind on their scouting reports! It's enough that Fried is flung across the battlefield, even as Caro panics just a little bit!

Not for long, though. She's done summon on summon fights before, after all, even if this one is a little bit different. Fried will recover, rolling back to right-side up from where he had struck the building, taking flight - all of this keeps both of them distracted from what's happening with Zest, and Caro's slightly less worried about being drained owing to a chicken pox style immunity. Or at least uselessness.

Fried will fly at the Kraken, breathing fire the whole way, but Caro's starting to consider breaking out the big guns. Fried may be boxing above his literal weight class here.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    A multi-ton mecha is outside what Kimiko is sure she can block. It's not past what she'd attempt, but other things take priority. She's vaguely aware of the matter of linker cores from when it's come up in similar worlds--enough to know from recent conversation that that's what they're after. To that end, getting the two present TSAB mages out should take priority--though she's not sure, precisely, how much risk Caro is at. (Apart from standing near a 63-meter doom weapon.)

    And then Flint tazes Zest. Sorry, Caro. Hopefully, Fried will recover quickly.

    Simple flight mechanics will tell you why pilots try to get over their opponents. Potential energy to kinetic--even after you pull out of the dive, you'll still be going faster than would have been possible otherwise. For a target on the ground, this isn't quite so necessary, but the fact remains that Flint won't have long to do anything about Zest before Kimiko is on his position. Both her sword and shield are gone before she reaches there, each replaced with a Lucerne hammer. They seem a bit long to be dual-wielding, but she only needs to make a single strike with each--a pair of blows that will halt her power dive fast enough to crush any unprotected human and tear apart the ground, assuming Flint gets out of the way. If he doesn't, he'll just have to stop Kimiko himself, somehow

    Either way, she doesn't intend him to take advantage of any opening against Zest.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    That speed should be illegal. As blade and scythe clash again and again, the reprisal of superheated mana, she twirls aside, only barely evading the worst of it, a gold half-dome of light forming to protect her from the worst sears. But with her Barrier Jacket this streamlined, even grazing hits will be a nightmare, and the blonde winces from an angry red burn on her leg.

    But she does not need her leg to keep airborne.

    A huff of breath and she composes herself, scarlet eyes meet to blue. "It's okay." Comes her reply. "Speed is my strength. ... It's to beat you."

    She is set on her course and honor bound to fight for her friend's mother, as she lunges in aggressively again in another furious flurry of blows.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
So it's a staredown. Nanoha can deal with that. At least, that's the idea... staring right at Vita. "You can't complete the book. Yami said it was bad, so did Seikou. I trust Seikou... um... I guess I would kind of have to... but so did Miss Testarossa! You have to just let us have more time to fix things, just a little."

Her pleas sort of fall on deaf ears, she's sure, but she has to try, and she's not going to attack first! Only, Flint's turnabout makes her start and look over there. "Ah... Captain?!" That confused her, because she'd kinda gotten the impression he was a good guy. It's then that she remembers the Wolkenritter are his CREW now... or at least guests. Fudge. This also distracts her.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
How Flint reacts to Kimiko is up to him! Zest is still dazed anyway, and if one of the Wolkenritter can free up, he's easy pickings for them. That's going to be important, but let's see what they do!

Signum is in a dance of battle with Fate. Her blade is scraping along Bardiche, but with Fate's extra speed, Signum can't actually go on the offensive without going all out... and risking lethal force on Fate. She's holding back, but not much. Still, it's very hard for Fate to land a solid hit on her, and Signum's eyes are watching carefully for any opening. It's thus far cost her a small slash along one arm, but it's only a matter of time, she figures.

Zafira is inside the Kraken! And perhaps, in its own world and at full power, the Kraken would be more than a match for Friedrich. As things are, the dragon blasts the mech, and the robot surges through the flames to grab at the dragon, wrestling him while water roars up around it and pummels him. They're roughly even, perhaps with a slight edge to Friedrich right now.

And Vita... is suddenly hammering down Nanoha! And the Book of Darkness is floating right next to her. "HAH!" It isn't malice, but Vita certainly feels glee in hammering at the young mage anyway, swinging in a powerful arch with the intent to get HER Linker Core instead. It's a nice fat juicy one.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Yeah. That was gonna happen. Nanoha is distracted, and against an opportunist like Vita, that's a bad thing isn't it? "AH!" She doesn't quite see the hammer in time, and Raising Heart's sudden bubble of pink only slows down the swing. Nanoha is hit dead in the midriff, slamming into a wall and through it with a crash. Good thing she has that Barrier Jacket, huh?

Now Nanoha is ALSO dazed, and Vita is gunning for her.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
Caro, meanwhile, is on the ground, not even having had a chance to climb aboard Friedrich. She's somewhat limited in what she can do from this position; her striking magic is unlikely to add much to what Friedrich can do, after all. Instead, she'll initially concentrate on providing a steady, low-level general boost to Friedrich's speed.

Fried isn't much of a wrestler, but he's able to try and twist out of the grab, tail working around to smash at the side of the mech.

It's at this point that Caro will try something else; summoning circles, small ones, begin to appear near the mech's feet. Through which iron chains will appear, attempting to wrap it up at the legs even as Fried fights it higher.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    It's a furious blaze, Fate and Signum can only barely be seen as streaks of gold and pink. But as much as Fate is pressing the Kinght of the Sword... She can only bluff Signum for so long with her speed. If the fight were to turn utterly serious, Signum outmatches her in defense and offense. And so long as Fate keeps up her assault, if at any time Signum turns this fact on her, the fight will prettymuch be over.

    But she promised. She was going to give this duel her all, and she is. It's the sound of Nanoha's voice that distracts her. Fate halts dead where she is, panting and breathless, scarlet eyes turning to the Hammer Knight and Nanoha.

    "... I should go to my friend."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
    "Raphael."

    The one word Flint manages to get out before Kimiko descends upon him with her twin hammers. Once again, to a mixture of amusement and dismay, Flint finds himself in debt to Samael for providing him the means for survival. The energy of his Pure beats in his chest, sending out a wave across his body.

    Were he a normal man, Kimiko's hammerfall would kill him. Instead, they come down atop him and drive him up to his knees in the ground as he crosses his arms above his head, sinking in and cratering under the force of the blows. She can feel his forearms break under the impact of her hammers. But they also very visibly reform with cracks and movements of black blood and bone, knitting back together to allow him to endure the powerful strikes.

    "OI! You gonna just sit around? I thought this was about the girl, not your personal desires," Flint calls out to the three Wolkenritter as he endures Kimiko's hammer blow while the ground cracks.

    "I'm sorry it has to be this way, lass. But I can't let a little girl die aboard my ship, even if it means being the bad guy here." He says to Kimiko in an almost soft tone while looking pretty bummed that it has come to this. He also doesn't want to really hurt anyone, despite his pirate-y nature.

    This means that his counterattack against Kimiko isn't anything lethal. But it's extremely unpleasant: He steps back and holds his hand out at her. The non-gloved one. Out of his sleeve, a misting blast of pepper spray tries to hit the Puella Magi right in the face. Not deadly, but unpleasant as all heck.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    "There are things worse than death, and worse than watching a young girl die." In contrast to everything she's said up to this point, both here and during her last encounter with Flint, Kimiko speaks with an almost passionate conviction in her words. "To live through the suffering of others is one of them. Your deceit curses her."

    Kimiko's armor reacts to even sudden attacks--but the visored helmet that snaps closed over her head still has eye-slits, so an attack via mist to the face actually exploits that chink nicely. There's a moment in which Kimiko is hit, reeling back in the air on unsteady engine-legs, and then the moment passes and her eyes are almost unnaturally wide open, as if she's ignoring the pain and forcing them. That is, imprecisely, just what she's doing. Either way, anyone who wants at Zest has an opening. They'd better take it quickly, because she's not backing down, her hammers already changing shape into a pair of long, double-edged swords.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Kraken is struggling, but... well, he's SOLID. Slow, not very agile, but super tough. So one ponderous hand tries to smack Friedrich. Fortunately for the dragon, Caro's chains keep the giant summoned robot from gaining any real leverage for doing that, so it's kind of a stalemate. Then again, Zafira doesn't really want to KILL Fried, anyway.

Vita and Signum communicate though. As Fate rushes to help Nanoha, Vita stalls, hmphing loudly. Flint's words reached her, that's for sure. And Signum mentally calls for the book... causing it to dematerialize.

The Book rematerializes in Signum's hands, where she's moving at high speed to slam down onto Zest with one knee. "Don't move and everything will be fine," she says bluntly, opening up the book. Zest grunts, arching as the glowing star of his Linker Core is drawn out, energy motes swirling in toward the Book of Darkness. The pages begin to fill, flipping rapidly...

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
Fried doesn't really want to kill Zafira, so it really ends up with a lot of back and forth not going much of anywhere, though the chains will continue to wrap and try to bring the robot down. She's going to file a complaint with someone later about robots she wasn't expecting.

Still, with her concentration fully on that she won't spot Zest getting drained until it's too late; that will count as a kind of win for Kraken, at least in Caro's book, once she figures out exactly what happened.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
    "He'll live. He'll recover. Without this, she wouldn't. The trade is simple. Take from those who can spare, give to those with none," He says to Kimiko, staring up at her and taking a few steps back when she reels backwards, "If she hates me when this is done, I will live with that. That's my curse to bear. But at least she will be able to hate me."

    Flint says this with a serious conviction, bringing his hand up to run along the brim of his hat, sighing slightly, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry." The usual lilt and whimsy is gone from his voice, "I try to make a habit of being an honest pirate, for whatever that means. Next time either faction needs me, it'll be on the house. Freebie for both."

    "For now..." Flint says, looking up at her, "I'm just sorry."

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
Nanoha is still breathing hard from the impact. She's going to have a large bruise in the morning! Right now she's forcing herself up to her feet, staggering out and looking up to see... Vita being faced down by Fate. And meanwhile, Signum is draining Zest! Oh no!

She might care a LITTLE more if Zest hadn't wrecked her home while she was sleeping and scared her witless.

"You have what you came for," she says. "Are you going to go now?" She's ready to back up Fate against Vita if need be.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Fate does... Absolutely nothing to help Zest. He is some kind of scary TSAB monster. She probably would just let him die unless Nanoha told her to intervene.

    Her focus right now is on said redhead, when she detaches from her melee with the Knight of the Sword and interposes herself between Nanoha and Vita, one hand reaching to help her friend up. "... Nanoha."

    Yeah she's just. Not too shaken up about Zest getting Core drained.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    "Mr. Hawke, after seeing this--" Kimiko gives a curt gesture toward Zest. SHe is staring hard at Signum, but not attacking yet. Possibly not at all, depending. "You are not to be trusted in any capacity. Your help, as far as I am concerned, has no worth. Your apologies and claims of honesty have no worth. Leave, or I will remove you."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
    Flint Hawke gives her a hard look at that comment, "If that's going to be the stance you take, I shall be sure to remember it the next time the Union needs my services." He says in a cold tone, turning his back to her and walking off.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Signum continues draining Zest... and when that runs out, she simply steps back and nods curtly to Kimiko. "Captain. Thank you. For the assistance. We apologize for forcing you into this situation." The barrier begins to crumble.

Zafira, seeing the objective is done, dismisses the summon. The robot vanishes into sparkles of light, leaving the wolfman floating rapidly backward, burned but all right. He's rejoining the others and betting that Caro won't maintain the attack when they're retreating and the Barrier is going down.

Vita grimaces. "You get off light this time. And Signum says you've been helping in other ways. Fine. But stay out of our way next time we need a Linker Core."