677/Don't You Wish You Had A Banana

Don't You Wish You Had A Banana
Date of Scene:	25 September 2014
Location:	Other Uminari City
Synopsis:	The Confederacy and the Union both respond to incidents in Uminari... and discover things are more dire than they thought
Cast of Characters:	15, 96, 162, 177, 320, 331, 381, 401, 558
Tinyplot:	Power Games

---

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The BANNINGS RESIDENCE -

Evening has fallen, and it looks like Arisa's parents are still out for the night. Those arriving at this scene will see something extremely odd: Vita is here. The hammer-wielding Wolkenritter is apparently here to collect a Linker Core... and despite the delay required to GET here, she hasn't harvested yet! She's dashing across the lawn in a low-altitude flight, and Arisa is, when those coming arrive, right in the line of Vita's attack. No Barrier is up yet, as obviously Vita expected this girl to be easy pickings.

And indeed, Arisa is looking very worn. The young blonde girl about Nanoha's age, she's panting heavily, and looking a little queasy. But as Vita is charging her, the girl's shape blurs and another burst of magical energy can be felt, the child reappearing some distance away while staggering. A short-range teleport, but it obviously takes a lot out of her.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
Those going to the BARRIER will find a large pyramid-barrier in place! Obviously, the night traffic ignores it, but mages and the like can sense the slightly out-of-phase Temporal Barrier that has displaced someone within. The MATERIALS or possibly CARO might recognize that the center of the block-sized pyramid is approximately located at...

The Yagami household.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
FLINT HAWKE was nice enough to not bring his ship into Low Earth Orbit, since that might freak people out. Instead, the massive ship stays tethered far out and running cold to keep sensors from picking it up passively. The crew is maintaining it while he's off board, the people who helped him reclaim the ship having put the fear of death into them for betraying.

Instead, a small dropship that used rockets while in space and operates like a helicopter while in atmosphere is hovering above the city. Eventually, it comes to settle over the BARRIER area. He's not able to sense the barrier that well, but he can follow coordinates. It rotates over head and then a ladder falls out, which he climbs down as it swings.

Soon enough, the Captain is walking through the streets, looking around curiously and perhaps a bit bored. He also has a collection of about four wallets in his hand after the first block.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    In her time spent in Nanoha's Uminari, Fate learned the layout of the city fairly well. Spending each and every day and night searching for Jewel Seeds almost religiously. Scanning every quadrant of the city day and night lead to learning advanced coordinates to the dot, and that's why just outside the Bannings residence there is a crack of THUNDER.

    It's the same usual and cautious routine; Dimension jumping through several random worlds, letting Levi take the wheel a little, and then finalizing coordinates for one last jump, before the golden light of a mid-childa magic circle appears just outside the Bannings residence, bearing Fate Testarossa, and several others along for the ride.

Himei (331) has posed:
    Himei said she was in flight, and she was literal. The Magical Girl has her wings out right now, but she's darting from rooftop to rooftop, given this world's newness in unification. She's not sure how accepted it would be to just fly around in the city, so she's going to keep a low profile for now. At least until she gets to the Barrier area.

    The signal says its here, and Himei's senses tingle a little, but she doesn't have anything that lets her be precise. Her magical abilities just aren't honed that way! And... she realizes something.

    "I have no idea how to do anything with this barrier."

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    It's with a sense of urgency that Zephyr comes through the warpgate. She's already in her Barrier Jacket, and weilding her Device as she skims low to the ground, then pulls up to get some altitude. Once she's a good distance overhead, she pours on the speed, forming a small Mach cone around her as the rumble of a sonic boom rattles windows below.

    The shimmering streak of white-purple light that marks her trail would be easy to follow for anyone else heading to the Bannings residence, though Zephyr would be one of the first on scene. She spots Vita skimming the ground, and heading for Arisa, brow furrowing at what looks to be happening. "Dee, Blitz Rush... lets interje<span class=" fg_m bg_n ++ t."

    cm"><YES! BLITZ RUSH! MACH PUNCH!></span> chimes the Device, before a sudden surge of raw speed hopefully plants Zephyr squarely in Vita's way... offering the 'friendly' greeting of a windmagic-sheathed punch in the face. "Don't you know it's not nice to pick on little girls!?"

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    It's near where the barrier appears that Caro's own dimensional transit will bring her, as well as anyone Union side who might be accompanying her. She's come loaded for bear, too; Friedrich's with her, though in his smaller form for the moment, and she's already in her barrier jacket.

    She'll establish communication in the area, but for starters she's mostly worried about getting a good reading on the Barrier and seeing about piercing it from the outside. It can't be anything good going on in there, after all.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
"ARISA!" Nanoha's cry is shrill as she bolts through the opening that Fate has torn in the dimensional fabric. A streak of pink, that's what she is... but there's something faster than her, in the form of a gray streak through the air. A feline woman is already overtaking her, heading for Arisa to try to catch the girl and shield her.

"I have her, Mistress!" Vesta calls, perhaps a tad early.

Material-L (15) has posed:
    MATERIAL-L appears, atop the roof in front of Arisa's house! She came here with Nanoha and Fate, surely, but flew a bit ahead to dramatically camp herself up there.

    As she raises Vulnificus in the air, BLUE LIGHTNING dramatically flashes behind her, casting her as a caped shadow with a large halberd.

    "I AM THE NIGHT!"

    She does have a nametag on her Barrier Jacket.
    It does say 'The Nite'.

    Her foot slips and she crashes on Arisa's front door, face first. She's sturdy though, so there's not much but a bruise to see here. She still whines though.

    "Oooow. Why is it so slippery..."

    She will actually pay attention to the fight shortly.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Another Dimensional Rift opens near the barrier, and it is Seikou who steps out, landing on the edge of a rooftop. Her Barrier Jacket is already on, and she's eying the Barrier thoughtfully. One hand sweeps out to a summoned viewscreen, which she taps a few times to watch data flow. It's only because she's on the rooftops that she sees the others.

    Well, this could be useful. Handling this herself wasn't the best idea, but she knew the others would prefer to deal with Nanoha's friend... and she didn't want the girls to go it alone. So, Levi as a 'buddygard' should be enough. She doesn't yet know Captain Flint Hawke is in the area, but will soon, probably. For now, she gets on the radio.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
BANNINGS

So Zephyr jumps in and just up and punches Vita! It hits! Vita is thusly... snapping her head back with a grunt, as the fist of the Marchian mage slams into her face and feels the nose crunch underneath, breaking it. She staggers back in surprise, blood pouring from her nose... then narrows her eyes. "Oh come ON! GRAF EISEN!"

<JAWOHL!> The hammer chimes, then flares with a rocket-assisted swing in a quick, brutal SMASH forward! Assuming it hits, Zephyr will at least feal like the hammerhead is covered in something like an invisible mystical beanback, so it won't shatter bones. Probably. Maybe. Much.

Another figure appears, dropping down somewhere nearby and eying the reinforcements. She flicks her pink-haired ponytail back as she looks them over. "Two from before, and one that looks similar. How strange." She places her hand on her sword and draws it slowly, glancing at Zephyr. "Leaking mana. Not Mid-childan. Offensive style, speed-focused. Light defense it appears. Trade off?"

YAGAMI HOUSE

The Barrier can be synced to fairly easily, since Seikou has done it once before. To skip ahead, we'll cover what is seen now: the streets are mostly empty but for one exception, and the Yagami household is covered in a shimmering, icy barrier that is cracking and crumbling even now. A group of EIGHT female figures, almost identical, is hammering at the barrier, with one of them standing back and observing. All of them are masked, identical to the figures that attacked the TSAB base before.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr was expecting that from Vita, at least, she's gotten HIT by Graf Eisen before... second time around still freaking HURTS though. She's recoiling from that punch... and suddenly the world is spinning as she's sent tumbling along the ground, skipping like a stone until she slams into something.

    <MASTER! SECOND HOSTILE COMBATANT! RECOMMEND DISENGAGEMENT.> chimes the axe, though Zephyr pushes herself up, holding her Device like a crutch. "What's it to ya?" she growls at the Pink Haired figure, narrowing her eyes on both Knights. That first strike did a lot of damage, she's got herself a nice dent in her chest-plate. "Still hitting like a truck... got me pretty good there."

    She holds off attacking again, waiting to see what the others do first.

Material-L (15) has posed:
    Muuuuuh.
    Levi drags herself back up.

    "Being the night sucks. I shoulda been the day!"
    <WOULD YOU LIKE A NEW NAMETAG, SIR?> Vulnificus pings.
    "Yes!"

    Vulnificus emits a shitty printer and fax noise. It prints a new nametag, which reads The Day. She slaps it on top of her The Nite nametag, and then taps Vulnificus' lower end against the ground. Its gem lights up, illuminating the area like a tiny blue star. The Device just cast Light on itself, it's nothing to write home about.

    "NYAHAHA! I AM THE DAY! ... so what do we do now?"
    <ASSIST.> pings the Device.
    "But it's Vita! It'll get craaaaamped if we pile in. I think Fate, Nanoha and the other girl are okay~. Oh! Let's play Monopoly!"
    <IT ROLLS 6 6. IT BUYS ELECTRIC COMPANY. IT ROLLS 6 6. IT BUYS ILLINOIS AVENUE. IT ROLLS 1 3. IT BUYS WATER WORKS. YOUR TURN.> pings her halberd.
    "W-WHAT! C-Cheater!"

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    For all the rush to get inside the Bannings house, Levi for dramatics, Nanoha for the sake of her friend, and Zephyr to intercede, Fate's steps carry her in an easy and casual stride, dark cloak flowing behind her as she shifts her grasp on her Device.

    "Long hair and a sword..." She whispers to herself, Arf striding at her side. "Arf."

    "Riiiiiight." The red-headed wolf-woman croons chipperly, slamming her knuckles together. An act that saturates the area in the calculations of a spell, shifting time and space subtly to darken the skies as a Barrier begins to form over the region. This is to prevent collateral for what's to come.

    When Signum draws her blade, Bardiche crackles, axe-head snapping back with a SNAK-HISSSSS and announcement of: [SCYTHE FORM.]

    "That one's an amateur." Whispered with a chill frost. "Were you the one. Who hurt my friend's mother?"

    To Fate, her mother is near close to god. And the mother of her closest friend is someone of instant and equal worth as she faces herself off directly against Signum. As Zephyr begins to pick herself up, the blonde shifts, back pointedly at the girl with one single, simple, direction.

    "Stay out of my way."

Material-S (177) has posed:
    So it is a Belkan barrier. Seikou considers for a long moment, then floats down to just outside it. Holding up Luciferion, she murmurs, "Temporal Barrier."

    A crackling of mana issues from the Device, and with a bloom of power, another, slightly larger barrier envelops the first, enlarging it to bring the Union and Flint into the first's area. As she lowers her Device, Seikou starts flying at a faster rate through the streets. "It is worrying that someone is attacking the home of the Book of Darkness."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
FLINT doesn't mind meeting up with Seikou. And he's nice enough not to commit identity theft with his pickpocketing. Instead he just takes the money out their wallets (He's finding the Yen is a very common currency in the Multiverse). Then he just drops the wallets into a mailbox in passing, trusting they'll get to their owners in time. The cash is sorted, folded, and stuffed into the breast pocket of his jacket on his way to meet with the group.

When he meets up and everyone is synched into the BARRIER, he looks around and puts his hands into his pockets and sighs, "On the one hand, I'm feeling so lazy today." Flint says, pulling out a flask of Space Rum and taking a swig out of it, "On the other, they tried to kill me last time and that was very upsetting." He rubs his chin, "Eh, let's see what we can do," He says to someone. Someone who probably didn't expect him to talk to them. We'll say Himei and whoever is near Himei, because why not?

And then he... literally just walks up to the barrier. Past the leader, past the strange assassins. Just like... right up to it and cups his hands like he's looking through a window, "Hey, shut the fuck up for a second, yeah?" He demands of the robots like they're NOT awful murderers.

And then he knocks on the barrier like one knocks on a door or window, looking through it like a window again with cupped hands, "Oy! If I handle these ruffians, you'll owe me a favor, okay?"

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
"Vesta, get Arisa to safety!" Nanoha is saying, looking over toward... Levi. No help there. Now to Zephyr, who is a Unionite who just got knocked across the lawn.

Nope, no help there, either.

"Mya, you got it, Mistress!" Vesta scoops up the dazed Arisa and shoots off toward the edge of the Barrier, out of the way.

Nanoha sighs, and a cartridge rolls into place. She eyes Vita, narrowing her eyes. "You hurt my friend."

Several pink bolts blast out, shooting at high speed toward Vita. No talking first this time. Nanoha is angry.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro is certainly happy to have someone else provide a way into the barrier; breaking it entirely wasn't exactly the best of options, after all. So she'll offer a small smile to Seikou, even though she's certain that nothing all that good can come from the Materials interfering with another book, at least before noticing what it is that's assaulting the base. That's enough to remove a lot of the pep from her step straight out, because she hadn't much cared for the mess the last time.

    She WILL reach out a hand towards Flint, though, with concern. "He.. hey, don't get so close! Don't you remember what they did the last time?" When he'd done some things she should probably be holding a grudge over! She's not, though, which is why she's worried even as she starts to wind up to unleash fully-sized Fried, who had been super effective against these creatures before.

Himei (331) has posed:
    Himei frowns, but she lands near Seikou to get into the barrier, then takes off running down the street. This ends up with her skidding to a halt in time to get... Flint chatting at her and doing something stupid. Sigh.

    "Ugh... seriously? Zombies?" She frowns again before pulling out her pistol. "Right." Time to start shooting, if they don't stop for Flint.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
BANNINGS HOUSE
Levi is derping about. At least the Book replica hasn't started screaming about Eternal Ring again. Signum is keeping a wary eye on her, but the pink-haired swordsman has her attention drawn to Fate right away. "It was necessary. She will recover fine," Signum points out. Her blade shifts and clatters as she eyes the young girl. "Dismissing your ally like that already? No matter."

Then Signum is a flaming streak, moving FAST toward Fate with an arcing blade down to try to beat the scythe away, a shockwave of flaming mana bursting from the blade.

VITA raises a barrier in time, and the shots from Nanoha slam into that. Her free hand then snaps her nose back into place with a grimace before she too takes off. "The other one was small fry anyway! COME AND GET IT!" The hammer bursts into rocket flames at the back, and thus Signum and Vita engage Fate and Nanoha, leaving Levi and Zephyr alone for now.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr huffs... "Well, fine. You guys want a hand, go sit find a spike pit to sit in." she grumbles, leaning back against the wall and folding her arms over her chest. "Ungrateful little..." <MASTER!> "What? It's true!"

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
YAGAMI HOUSE

Several of the zombies turn to face the newcomers... and then exactly one each goes after Himei, Caro, and Seikou, with arms shifting into sharp and deadly blades. They are fast. Fast, cheating zombies! Silent though, no words are spoken. Not by them.

One of the eight speaks, though. "Stand aside." It's an echoing, hollow voice. "We have no interest in you at this time." So they CAN talk.

Two of them approach Flint, but right then a third one finally manages to bash through the ice shield over a window, shattering it loudly. The reply is perhaps not what was expected, for a bright pink bolt streaks out from the window and slams into the thing's face, causing it to stagger back. The magical bolt was weak, but flung well, so it barely even cracked the mask but bought some time.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    "Necessary?" Fate questions this immediately, gauntlet tightening around the haft of her Device. And then Signum is in her face. It's only Fate's sheer inhuman speed and reflexes that allow her to react, Bardiche is brought up in a defensive stance, a half dome of gold light only barely withstanding the blazing shockwave as she gasps and is forced to jink away with her nearly shattered parry.

    Yet Fate keeps her composure. Zephyr probably won't miss her reply in the sudden flurry. Sparks fly from the initial impact, and Fate twirls, attempting to arc her scythe into the knight in a rapid flourish of cutting strokes.

    "She's not my ally."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint gives a smile to Caro and a wink of his eye, "Oh don't you worry about me~. I'm not as easy to kill as most think," Flint says with a wave of his hand to her. Of course, he doesn't get a response from inside the house. He frowns a bit and then smiles again, "Oh well! Qui tacet consentire videtur! Or so I'm told!" He smiles cheerily, looking towards the one that spoke to him.

He wags a finger, "Now you're a lovely lady! But I am very distraught at you all, because the last time we met you tried to kill me. And that's not okay. Usually that only happens with women who have known me for a while," He explains and then taps his boot, "You can't just break the order of events!"

Flint reaches under his jacket as the barrier shatters. When a pink bolt flies out the window, he reaches for a pistol at his belt. It's big and nasty looking and he aims it right at the head of the stunned zombie, "I was not done talking. Don't interrupt. Rude." He pulls the trigger and there's a loud CRACK before a superheated blast of plasma swooshes towards the stunned one.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
In 'canon' Vita got the best of Nanoha. But in 'canon' Nanoha had only been training in secret, short bursts, and did not have the advantages of having gone through a grueling multiversal tournament nor of having a Cartridge System. Now she does, and she uses it to good effect to burst her speed and move aside, firing off another quick bolt of mana!

Not entirely fast enough, though, as her legs are caught by Vita's rush. Nanoha lets out a short, startled cry of pain as she's spun around, tumbling into the ground wildly to plow into it. "Ugh!"

Material-L (15) has posed:
    <GO TO JAIL.>
    "That's not fair! You have half the board and I have two things!"
    <IRRELEVANT. IT ROLLS 5 5. IT BUYS BOARDWALK. IT BUYS A HOTEL ON BOARDWALK AND PARK PLACE.> chimes the halberd, before Levi angrily flings it at the ground.
    The Device equivalent of a tableflip.

    "No! You cheat! We're done!"
    <IT NEEDS A NEW THING TO DO THEN.>
    "I DON'T CARE ANYMORE OKAY?!"

    Man that's a lot of noise from the fighting.
    Levi lets out an enraged little girl scream.

    "QUIT BICKERING YOU ALL SUCK AND CAN'T TALK!"

    Lightning! Lightning shoots out of her. At EVERYONE. Vita, Nanoha, Signum, Fate, Zephyr. Well, the combatants, anyway. Looks like she wants the noise to stop. She is a sore, sore loser.

Himei (331) has posed:
    Himei almost shoots Caro's zombie. Then she remembers Caro has a pet dragon. Himei thus unloads two shots quickly into the zombie charging her, before she makes a run for the window. If the people in there are fighting off the siege, she's going to want to reassure them that people are here.

    She isn't stupid enough to shove her face in the window. Himei ducks to the side and flattens herself against the wall/barrier beside the window instead. "Hey! Whomever is in there, we're working on this! We'll try to get these things out of here, all right?"

    Then she starts shooting at the joints of any that get too close.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro is not the greatest at personal combat, but she manages to throw a barrier in the way as she sees the zombie charging for her, sparks of pink getting thrown up at the collision between barrier and sword.

    Then her dragon intervenes, because her dragon is unfond of people and zombies that attempt to stab her. Fried's fire will crash down at the zombie even as Caro regains her balance and feet, trying to establish some kind of control of the outside while Himei goes to reassure the people inside.

    She'll just shoot Flint a Look, mild in expression, when she has a spare second. She'll try to keep him from getting killed, too, if she can.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    <BLAST FIRE,> Luciferion pings, and a pillar of flame bursts out toward the zombie headed her way. Seikou stands her ground, unloading a cartridge into the blast of flaming mana to try to incinerate the Mariage before it gets to her.

    A shimmering circle appears around her, and she starts peppering the area with smaller blasts, trying to drive off the lesser ones. But to the one that talks, she asks, "Who are you, what do you want?"

    Might as well get some answers.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
BANNINGS HOUSE

Vita takes several hits, causing her to retreat a little. "Tch..." She summons up a barrier, but Nanoha is keeping her distance after that first hit, which is making it a little harder. "FINE! I'll just-"

Just nothing, because she gets the crap shocked out of her "AUUUGH!"

SIGNUM meanwhile parries the scythe, but just barely. She looks startled at the ferocity, which manages to drive her back a little bit. At first. <EXPLOSION!> Levaentien shouts, and the blade BLAZES with fire as she swipes it down in a cleaving arc toward Bardiche, ready to hit again when...

Lightning blasts Signum now, causing a short grunt of surprise and slamming her into the ground, sizzling all about.

It is about then that a gleaming green circle appears in Fate's chest, with an outstretched hand cupping the blazing jewel of yellow that is her Linker Core. Hovering some distance away is a blonde in a green dress, and she shouts, "VITA! SIGNUM! Master is under attack, we can't stay here! The Mariage are here!"

That gets Vita and Signum to freeze up even as they are recovering. Whatever the Mariage are, they're enough to make the Wolkenritter stop everything.

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Zephyr's just chilling out, watching the fight when BZZZZAT. She's blasted with LIGHTNING FROM FREAKING NOWHERE. She falls over, jittering for a little before her mana purges the electricity. She just gives Levi a Look, before she spots Shamal doing her Portal Hax. "The heck's a Mariage?" is her only question.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
YAGAMI HOUSE

Himei's shots to the head cause the Mariage to stagger, then fall. It doesn't actually look /dead/ yet, but she hit it badly enough to wound it, and it's needing a little while to get back up.

Caro lets Friedrich loose on one, while it starts to push /through/ the Barrier. These things are actually pretty strong! But Friedrich frying one cases it to stagger back in flames... then drop to the ground, rolling around to put out the fire in a surprising show of intelligence. Again, pretty badly hurt though.

Flint blows the jaw off of the one that was already stunned, putting it... down? No, it's getting up again, sluggishly. And the two that were approaching now POUNCE on him! Blade arms slice toward the pirate, and he'll notice they are both faster and stronger than the other one. Still not on his level, but there are two of them.

Himei gets a weak response, "We're... we're all right." Another, different voice hisses, "They're fast zombies! WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS ZOMBIES!"

Seikou blasts hers away... and it's even more damaged than the others. It's STILL MOVING though, and the Mariage is struggling to get up... but it's obviously not very viable, and at a glance from the one that spoke, the injured one starts to melt into a black goop.

"Mariage," is all the speaker says, considering the new odds. The ones trying to break through pause, and the entire group starts to shuffle back, except for the two engaged with Flint. Retreating?

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Twin blurs of gold and fire, Fate only has Signum backing down like that only because her strokes are sped on by desperation. Cool as she keeps her composure, the blonde is sweating, and for good reason. The Knight has her sorely pressed, and if not for disruptions, Fate would most likely be on the losing side of this confrontation.

    Levi, throwing a tantrum into the mix makes the situation even more difficult, seating jolts of pain slowing her response time. But even if she was at the top of her game, the sudden explosive burst of the Belkan Device loading a catridge gives her no room for response. The best she can do is bring Bardiche up to defend, and Levaentien's swift course brings the sword's edge down with a tearing snap of metal on metal as Bardiche is cleft in twain in her grasp, eyes widening with shock and pain.

    She readies to continue, the now smaller scythe held in one hand, but before she can even so much as breathe, a new horror fills those scarlet eyes. "W-wah...!?" Body jerking from the portal appearing from nowhere, she can do nothing but stare down at the outstretched hand holding her linker core, making her call out for the first person she can think to trust.

    "Na-... Nanoha..."

Material-L (15) has posed:
    Huff.
    Levi picks her Device up, hovering above the ground and grumpily headed for Signum, leaving Nanoha, Vita and Zephyr alone for the time being-- technically, anyway. There was the whole lightning barrage thing a moment earlier.

    "That's enough! You've had your noms, Signoms. I'm gonna get yelled at if you nibble more than this here. You guys should go zombie-hunting now, it sounds serious!" The blue-haired Fate clone mostly aims to pick up her drained original, for now. Maybe Signum will catch the hint and not try to push her luck.

Takamachi Nanoha (381) has posed:
"FATE!" Nanoha cries out as she's blasted by lightning as well, writhing on the ground with a shrill cry! It's... not the first time she's felt that. But it is surprising, and the small girl twists around and jerks back as the crackling stops, grabbing hold of Raising Heart.

Vita is given a glare, "We'll finish this later!" Oh, still angry huh? But not without pity, because this is Nanoha. "Good luck..."

She'd go rescue Fate, but uh... Levi seems to have beaten her to that. Which is kind of awkward and hilarious.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint twirls the pistol and holsters it again before looking at the two zombies advancing on him. He narrows his eyes a bit, "You're making a big mistake." He cautions, looking between the approaching women.

He cracks his knuckles a bit and then a sudden PULSE of power emanated from inside of him. When they lunge, whatever blades or weapons they had will strike him like hitting a steel plate, bouncing back as his Pure responds to a threat on his life. It hurts, but it doesn't have the ability to do lethal damage.

Both of his gloved hands lash out, trying to slam their skulls together with devastating force.

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro's not really inclined to just let them retreat, and whether they explain what they're doing or not... Well. She might as well try to get them to not melt away this time.

    "Friedrich, watch them and if they make a move fry them! This is Caro Ru Lushe, of the Time Space Administration Bureau, and you're all under arrest for assault, murder, draining of linker cores, and suspicion of being undead. If you surrender, you'll be allowed to present evidence on your behalf! If not, then Friedrich's going to set you on fire some more."

    She manages to mostly sounds fierce while making the somewhat abnormal demand, at least.

Himei (331) has posed:
    "They look to be retreating," Himei calls back. "But not safe yet. We'll let you know when it's clear, Miss... Yagami was it?" Himei doesn't know Hayate well so doesn't actually know that this version is only nine. She can't read EVERY personell file!

    In the meantime, she turns around and starts firing off the rest of her clip. She read the report and she's not going to get close to them. No way. Hopefully they actually ARE retreating, and she's going to focus her shots on the badly-injured one that Flint hit.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    "Mariage..." Seikou says quietly. The name tickles some ancient memory from the Book... but Seikou doesn't have access to the sorts of memories that the Wolkenritter have, so that's all she gets. A tickle. But she knows one thing... these things shouldn't be allowed to escape.

    <STUN MODE DISENGAGED. PYRO LANCE,> Luciferion pings, as Seikou sends a shearing bolt of fiery mana of the lethal variety out from the tip, trying to carve the injured one to pieces.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
BANNINGS HOUSE

Shamal yanks her hand back as the Core dwindles, and then a shimmering green gate opens up, to let Signum and Vita through. Vita looks at Nanoha with a 'hmph' but doesn't argue, blasting off to the gate... and still trailing smoke. Levi got her pretty good, after all.

Signum is the only one who lingers for long. She actually /answers/ before she leaves. "Ixpellian planetary superweapon. A world-ender used in the Belkan Wars to maintain Ixpellian independence. If they are on this world they must be eliminated immediately." Then she too streaks off toward the gate.

Testarossa Fate (401) has posed:
    Fate has passed out, rendered unconscious from the strain of being drained, and lays limp in Levi's heroic arms. This isn't awkward at all because she's not awake to experience it.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
The Mariage are... actually surprisingly strong, though they can't lethally wound Flint. And Seikou and Himei both finish off theirs, respectively with Seikou slicing the one Caro burned to pieces, and Himei blasting the head off of the other when she adds to Flint's plasma gun.

The Mariage who speaks replies, "Unimportant," to Caro. A tear in the fabric of reality appears, and the surviving five make a hasty retreat to that gate. Two of them, however, stagger a little... their masked cracked from where they slammed into one another thanks to a certain pirate.

It is about then that the other three gate in, causing the barrier to begin to drop. The doorway that Flint was in is open, revealing a girl in a wheelchair there, clutching her chest with faint wheezing noises, being tended by a large man with white hair. Another girl, with very short, thin, pink hair is leaning on what appears to be a medical support, as she has an IV drip hooked into her arm. She looks a little pale, but she's in the right position to have shot the blast that stunned the Mariage before.

Of course with Signum immediately landing in front in a protective stance, things could get messy...

Zephyr Windstar (162) has posed:
    Being allowed to stand off to the side and oberve has given Zephyr time to set up for recording. She shuts the Device down once Signum finishes her shpiel, then shrugs, "Make sure she gets medical attention..." she says to Levi and Nanoha. "A fucked Linker Core isn't any fun." she adds, before setting to leap into the air. Might as well get out of dodge.

Material-L (15) has posed:
@emit
    With Fate in her arms, Levi nods to Signum, and then glances towards Nanoha. She will let Nanoha have Fate if she wants her! She will handle getting them home. Her bad mood might just make her succeed for once.

    "Vulnificus, jump us back to their home."
    <YES SIR. DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER.>

    The runes and circles trace themselves. Nanoha doesn't have to come along if she doesn't want to, but Levi trusts Seikou can handle this! And she'd get mad if she just kind of left Fate in a ditch like this, and all. Yami might, too.

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
Flint dusts his hands off and drops the two staggered zombies, "You should arrest these tw-" He abruptly tosses them at Caro when he spots the sick girls! And more importantly the girls he was doing a favor for.

Flint rubs his hands together and smiles, "Aaaaah, the ladiesy of the house!" He takes several steps towards her, but stops promptly when Signum drops down directly in front of them in a protective stance. Flint puts his hands up in an 'I surrender' gesture.

"Okay! I'll stay here and greet you from afar!" His eyes glint a bit, "You're very sick!" Flint smiles slightly, "If you're willing to do a trade, I might be able to offer you a cure. I could give your friends something to help you, maybe, and then you'd owe me a favor."

"Tell me," He asks with a tilt of his head, "Do you... fear death?"

Caro Ru Lushe (96) has posed:
    Caro does not actually want zombies near her, because she is still tiny even at sixteen and thus not really suited for the whole hand to hand fighting zombies thing. Part of the benefit of having a dragon is not having to do that.

    With Fried covering the zombies, Caro will peek into the house, seeing the pair hiding away inside. "...I know Hayate, but who's the other girl?" She asks, hoping to disarm the situation, because she doesn't want to fight Signum right now.

Material-S (177) has posed:
    Seikou ejects her spent cartridges with a loud hissing noise, then lets the Device cool. She turns impassively to the house, and ignores the fact that Signum gets defensive. "Signum, Vita, Shamal, Zafira. Hayate Yagami. We were not certain who your Master was until now." She doesn't know the pink-haired girl, so says nothing about her, but does note the magical potential. Another oddity of this world.

    "I am Material-S, Seikou Starks of the Confederacy. This was a joint Confederate/Union/Syndicate operation. Once again I urge you to reconsider your options," Seikou states quietly. "The Book of Darkness is not what you think it is. You should seek appropriate help. The Confederacy stands ready to provide that help, but as you are in Union territory I will do no more than extend the offer."

    She turns and starts to walk away. "I had best see to Testarossa's health."

Himei (331) has posed:
    Joint operation. Eh, close enough. Himei reloads her pistol, but it gets tucked into her holster rather than used again. "Captain Hawke, they've just had a rough day. You may want to come back later and make your offer. If that's all right." She rubs her chin. "Thank you for your assistance, though. I'll see what I can do about providing some payment, if Seikou hasn't already handled that."

    She looks to Signum. "I've never fought the Wolkenritter, and I'm not about to start now. I'm not going to arrest you... yet. The TSAB of your world is a bit reactionary so I think we'll keep this quiet and let Union SRD decide what to do instead." She glances at Caro to see if she has any objections.

Yagami Hayate (558) has posed:
"Signum? What are they talking about?" Hayate asks. Is that about what Himei says, or to Flint's offer? It's said with a strained voice, because she's sweating and clutching her chest.

Signum meets Flint's offer with a glare. "Now is not the time." She doesn't seem... okay, she seems angry, but not the 'I attack you now' angry. "We're taking her to the hospital."

Which also means she has to address Himei while Shamal is looking into Hayate's condition. Himei and Seikou. "Thank you all for driving off the Mariage. Had we known they were here we would have alerted the TSAB anonymously. Right now the health of our Master is paramount. Discussion of other matters with her can wait."

Flint Hawke (320) has posed:
"Of course, of course. I apologize. I spend so much time around ruffians and scallywags and salts that I forgot my manners," Flint says to both Himei and to Hayate. And then he waves a hand to Himei, "No need to pay me. I am here in exchange for Nanoha doing me a favor some time ago and recovering my ship." He hooks an arm under his stomach and bows deeply before standing up again with a flourish.

Gloved hands rub together and he takes out a radio and tosses it to Signum, "You may call me whenever you like to talk about my offer. But I will bother you no more tonight." He then turns with a swoosh of his coat and starts easily striding off.