This crossover with Cross Ange interweaves with one of my projects known as Universal Lady...
Cross Ange X Original Series: Resurrection Princess Angelise
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This crossover with Cross Ange interweaves with one of my projects known as Universal Lady Justice Aya. Thought about writing a little bit of this fanfic as an idea, finding the two main characters and worlds to be opposites of one another. Unfortunately, those foils don't interact until later on, if I get there.
As you'd expect, this'll take place a few years into the future after the end of both series. Because of that, there's going to be a lot of concepts in my series you'll have to be introduced to.
I'll give you the info as it goes on.
-----
"Over here!"
One of young girls waved from the top of a sand dune. She was the shorter and subsequently the younger of the two. She wore an elegant, white and blue schoolgirl uniform and necktie, respectively matching her short hair and eyes. Those eyes were closed and wore a wide, cheerful smile to her visitor below.
The guest below replied, "I'm coming, Lia!"
She was another girl, a few years older than Lia. She wore a cream-colored uniform, which did not match with anything else. She had long black hair with a red headband and a braid on the side. Her hands had a falcon-winged ring on her right index finger and a small, clear white cylindrical crystal gripped tightly. She was rushing up to her two friends on the sand dune, facing her other friend on her right.
"I got your message, Miki."
Miki was about the same age as her. She had slightly shorter blue hair that matched her eyes and wore a pink uniform. For years, Miki saw her friend as her best.
"Nice for coming by, Aya." Miki thanked her. "Knowing you, we could hardly reach anyone first but you."
Aya cheerfully giggled. "So what's happening here?"
Miki turned and signaled Lia to answer.
"We saw something fall from the sky!"
That immediately intrigued Aya. Things like this often interested her, especially after everything she and her friends went through. She often balanced it with the normal life she wanted, what she earned following the same battles of amazing scale. Though she's did a lot, she would have some time to check out special things that came out every now and then.
But that still wasn't enough detail for Aya as there were also dangers, "Could it be something from the AMF?"
That was the most important question from their experience. The AMF was something that threatened the Earth, no, the girls themselves. The three girls were of many targets whenever they were involved, especially because they were different people, easily proved by white crystals similar to the one Aya carried.
Miki responded that narrowed the possibility, "It looked mechanical, but I don't think it was simply an AMF vehicle. It didn't really just...fall from orbit."
"You mean...like it teleported?"
"That's the best way we can describe it."
Aya sighed. "Possibly not the AMF then. Otherwise, they are beyond surprising when pulling new tricks," she commented to herself. "Where is it?"
"Right there." Lia turned to Aya's left, facing the other side of the dune.
There was a long beachline with a rock wall on the right. But on the other side, nearby, there was a crashed machine. It was distant, but it clearly looked like a vehicle, most certainly humanoid.
"No one else must've noticed," Miki informed her informed. "And the Arahi military haven't arrived yet, so we called you over instead."
"Well, you called me at a right time." Aya appreciated the convenience, despite it being a coincidence. She checked the time on her phone, seeing how late it was in the day. Around 7 PM in their time zone, with the sun almost below the horizon and clouds taking its place.
"It was a total coincidence!" Lia said, but with a different perspective. "We just chose to come out over here for a rest and then saw this thing appear and crash land!"
"It hasn't moved since we called you," Miki also informed. "But if we check sooner, we'll have less of a surprise."
Aya nodded as they descended down the dune. They walked a little more down the beach before approached the vehicle.
When they got closer, it resembled a mecha that was luckily well intact. It was badly damaged, but intact enough it could hypothetically still move. Perhaps it was thanks to the beaches, if it really just teleported from nowhere. The area of impact looked long, so it might've dragged for a moment before coming to a complete rest. There were also places where rust must've been present, now gone.
"It doesn't look like an AMF vehicle. The colors are different." Aya interpreted. And Aya was accurate, also seeing white and blue colors aside from the rust. Color-wise, AMF vehicles and weapons had dull grey colors. There were also no markings that symbolized them. But that wasn't solid proof it was not harmful. For one thing, the AMF were often pragmatic and may use the colors and lack of markings to deceive them of its affiliation. With caution, Aya walked slowly towards the mecha and gripped her crystal. "Still, let's be careful."
Aya's crystal then flashed, covering her whole body in a white aura that faded into a beige or brown color. A pair of gauntlets and boots manifested in a clockwise order. The beige tunic came afterward. Along with it came blue shorts, a blue belt with a silver-winged buckle, and a brown sheath on her left side. A brown cloak formed from the end and up to Aya's neck, held by red jewel with gold eagle wings. Finally, what used to be the crystal has now transformed into a sword with a gold-winged hilt and a blade slightly dabbed in bronze. Aya grabbed the sword and continued walking.
Miki followed suit, walking the same pace and bringing out their own crystals. Only she activated her crystal, transforming hair pink and wearing a blue combination of a tunic and a robe. The crystal became a bow, looking like the top half of a heart and held by a pink string of light. Lia, on the other hand, just kept the crystal in her hands.
By that time, the girls were already less than a meter away from the winged mecha.
"Just for you to know," Miki added. "There still might be something active. When we saw the thing, it was glowing blue."
"I'm aware," Aya calmly raised her sword with a smile. "That's why I'll be testing it first."
Extending her arm, Aya reached the mecha's right arm with her sword. She let the tip tap the armor for anything. Nothing happened. Aya gave it a little push, in case it required something more forceful to get it open. Aya pressed with all the might of a girl as young as her. Still nothing. She then gave it a little more power, this time, with some magic energy. The amount of force became equivalent to the impact of a bullet or small cannon shell. Again, nothing. With no reaction from the machine whatsoever, Aya turned and gave a thumbs up.
Miki and Lia then drew closer to the mecha. While Aya circled the mecha to its head, Lia went towards the water to see the wings. She noticed the weapons stored on them, notably a sheathed sword and possibly a rifle.
"This looks like a fighting mecha!" Lia stated.
"Obviously," Aya checked the head before crouching towards the torso.
"Must've undergone a recent battle. And it hasn't been used for a very long time." Miki observed.
"I guess that means it can't be an AMF vehicle." Lia predicted.
"We don't know who it belongs to either," Miki notified. "Still, our Earth is growing rapidly and this weapon could be catalytic to reaching power comparable to the AMF."
"Inside," Lia guessed. "There must be something inside!"
Lia was right about one thing. Nothing seemed active on the outside, everything that might've glowed or lit when the mecha was activated were not on. That didn't mean everything was off. The mecha was still big enough to store a person inside, maybe a huge machine or computer.
Aya couldn't find anything around that opened up the mecha. At least, not without breaking the thing open. Therefore, the mecha had to be opened up from the inside. Wielding her sword, they gave a few taps onto the right side of the mecha's torso, where she thought the cockpit was.
"Hello? Anyone in there?" Aya tapped the torso again. "Anything? Hello?" A few more taps before pausing for a while. "Don't worry. If you're worried, it's just us! We'll help you if you need anything!" About a minute later, she tapped the torso again. "Hello?"
Aya gave a few more taps and decided to press on it.
And then, the torso moved. Aya and the others jumped back as the torso of the mecha began to open. It was slow and rough due to being a wreck in the sand, but the gap became more than big enough for human to come out.
And the human pilot they were expected...instead fell out, landing front first and right below the cockpit. The girls approached the presumably female pilot of the mecha. They saw her body laid still, so they assumed she was incapacitated at least and dead at worst, but prayed for the best.
"Help me out." Aya walked over to the incapacitated pilot and called Miki over.
Miki nodded as the two reached for the pilots right arm and flipped her over. They dragged the now obviously female pilot a few meters back to some place more comfortable.
As they did, they got a much better look at who they were treating. Before then, they could see the short blonde hair she had, now covered in sand when she fell out. She wore a somewhat skimpy uniform of black and white. She also had a barely visible scar or two, indicating battle experience, whether past or present.
Lia was wandering as the two girls dragged the body. She noticed something rattle out of the cockpit, leaving a shine as it hit the sand. She curiously approached the object, discovering it to be a ring. It had a silver metal design with a large emerald jewel. Interested, she took the ring and placed it in her skirt pocket before returning to the girls.
By then, she noticed something and shouted.
"Miki, look!"
Aya and Lia saw in shock as Miki's bow string of light was fluctuating. It was bending and rippling in random directions, sometimes fading in and out. Even her tunic was starting wrinkle; they were miniscule and at the end, but they were still there. They became more apparent as Miki released the pilot. The outfit and weapon restored itself afterward.
"There's definitely something still active." Miki confirmed.
"And it must be anti-magic," Aya estimated, who was unfazed by it. "I should've accounted that possibility."
"Not only that, but it looks like...she's the source?"
The girls jolted to the fallen woman.
"A human-made antimagic person," Aya was a little wary despite her immunity.
"How could they do that?" Lia reacted. "That takes dangerous genetics!"
"True, but they've proven themselves to be more advanced than we think." Miki notified Lia, "But more importantly, who did it?"
"I'll find out." Aya aimed her sword at the unconscious woman.
Miki and Lia backed away as if they experienced it before. The swordswoman then dropped her sword.
"Wall Break!"
Aya's sword tapped onto something invisible above the pilot. Sparks came flying as her friends backed away and covered their eyes. It went on for a few seconds as Aya continued on some unknown work. She started to shake a little, squeezing her whole body together while the process last. Miki and Lia started to feel worried that Aya might be suffering for the power, especially with someone made of anti-magic abilities. They rushed forward to try to pull her back.
Before they could the sparks stopped and Aya was flung backward for a moment. They crouched down to pick her up and check if there was any damage dealt to her. Aya felt her head like she had an ache, but rolled it over. By then, she got back up on her feet and rolled her head once more.
"What is it, Aya?" Miki asked, still noticing a strange look on Aya's face.
Aya only responded, "We got to get her safe."
"That doesn't explain what you found."
"I can explain later, but we should bring her some place better than here. I'll need your help carrying her."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. We need to start preparing for something fast, and it's for more than just us or her."
"What about the mecha?" Lia pointed out.
"We'll leave it to the Arahi military. Let's message the General and make sure its safe and re-accessible. Right now, the girl really needs a check up."
"Should we tell them of...her?"
"We'll tell them later. Right now, help me out."
They complied as Miki suddenly flashed back into her schoolgirl uniform, her pink hair reverted to blue, and her bow changed back into a white crystal. The three grabbed each section of her body and started lifting her up.
"Just to ask, what did you see?" Lia, who was carrying the least of the weight by the legs, pressured Aya to answer.
"Whatever you found in her head, you can just summarize it if you have to." Miki said more smoothly.
"I don't know how to say it," Aya currently answered, "But I think we're going to have a new friend. And a new very big adventure."
"And the same time...test a change on someone's life and future."
-----
So that's the intro. Now, for some concepts you'll have to learn.
My series takes place in Arahi, a fictional island in between China and Japan formed after a great ripple in the ocean that destroyed all cities lining the Pacific Ocean. It is composed of a large city with some beaches (the part you've seen), a flat plains, and a mountainous region good for hiding. This is the main setting for most of the series. Though it was trashy at the beginning, things began to clear up after the events of my series and the mentioned military, the only part that remained not corrupted, is working with the main characters
You very likely noticed this is magical girl series, one of the obvious differences between this series and Cross Ange. Other characters from the latter will come up and ULJA has a lot more than just magical girl optimism as the story unfolds. That is if I ever make it there.
As you noticed, the AMF are seen as enemies and obviously they are. I won't tell you who or what they are just yet as I'll probably do another chapter or two that'll explain them.
Well, if you're interested in me writing more, I'm willing to a certain point.
As you'd expect, this'll take place a few years into the future after the end of both series. Because of that, there's going to be a lot of concepts in my series you'll have to be introduced to.
I'll give you the info as it goes on.
-----
"Over here!"
One of young girls waved from the top of a sand dune. She was the shorter and subsequently the younger of the two. She wore an elegant, white and blue schoolgirl uniform and necktie, respectively matching her short hair and eyes. Those eyes were closed and wore a wide, cheerful smile to her visitor below.
The guest below replied, "I'm coming, Lia!"
She was another girl, a few years older than Lia. She wore a cream-colored uniform, which did not match with anything else. She had long black hair with a red headband and a braid on the side. Her hands had a falcon-winged ring on her right index finger and a small, clear white cylindrical crystal gripped tightly. She was rushing up to her two friends on the sand dune, facing her other friend on her right.
"I got your message, Miki."
Miki was about the same age as her. She had slightly shorter blue hair that matched her eyes and wore a pink uniform. For years, Miki saw her friend as her best.
"Nice for coming by, Aya." Miki thanked her. "Knowing you, we could hardly reach anyone first but you."
Aya cheerfully giggled. "So what's happening here?"
Miki turned and signaled Lia to answer.
"We saw something fall from the sky!"
That immediately intrigued Aya. Things like this often interested her, especially after everything she and her friends went through. She often balanced it with the normal life she wanted, what she earned following the same battles of amazing scale. Though she's did a lot, she would have some time to check out special things that came out every now and then.
But that still wasn't enough detail for Aya as there were also dangers, "Could it be something from the AMF?"
That was the most important question from their experience. The AMF was something that threatened the Earth, no, the girls themselves. The three girls were of many targets whenever they were involved, especially because they were different people, easily proved by white crystals similar to the one Aya carried.
Miki responded that narrowed the possibility, "It looked mechanical, but I don't think it was simply an AMF vehicle. It didn't really just...fall from orbit."
"You mean...like it teleported?"
"That's the best way we can describe it."
Aya sighed. "Possibly not the AMF then. Otherwise, they are beyond surprising when pulling new tricks," she commented to herself. "Where is it?"
"Right there." Lia turned to Aya's left, facing the other side of the dune.
There was a long beachline with a rock wall on the right. But on the other side, nearby, there was a crashed machine. It was distant, but it clearly looked like a vehicle, most certainly humanoid.
"No one else must've noticed," Miki informed her informed. "And the Arahi military haven't arrived yet, so we called you over instead."
"Well, you called me at a right time." Aya appreciated the convenience, despite it being a coincidence. She checked the time on her phone, seeing how late it was in the day. Around 7 PM in their time zone, with the sun almost below the horizon and clouds taking its place.
"It was a total coincidence!" Lia said, but with a different perspective. "We just chose to come out over here for a rest and then saw this thing appear and crash land!"
"It hasn't moved since we called you," Miki also informed. "But if we check sooner, we'll have less of a surprise."
Aya nodded as they descended down the dune. They walked a little more down the beach before approached the vehicle.
When they got closer, it resembled a mecha that was luckily well intact. It was badly damaged, but intact enough it could hypothetically still move. Perhaps it was thanks to the beaches, if it really just teleported from nowhere. The area of impact looked long, so it might've dragged for a moment before coming to a complete rest. There were also places where rust must've been present, now gone.
"It doesn't look like an AMF vehicle. The colors are different." Aya interpreted. And Aya was accurate, also seeing white and blue colors aside from the rust. Color-wise, AMF vehicles and weapons had dull grey colors. There were also no markings that symbolized them. But that wasn't solid proof it was not harmful. For one thing, the AMF were often pragmatic and may use the colors and lack of markings to deceive them of its affiliation. With caution, Aya walked slowly towards the mecha and gripped her crystal. "Still, let's be careful."
Aya's crystal then flashed, covering her whole body in a white aura that faded into a beige or brown color. A pair of gauntlets and boots manifested in a clockwise order. The beige tunic came afterward. Along with it came blue shorts, a blue belt with a silver-winged buckle, and a brown sheath on her left side. A brown cloak formed from the end and up to Aya's neck, held by red jewel with gold eagle wings. Finally, what used to be the crystal has now transformed into a sword with a gold-winged hilt and a blade slightly dabbed in bronze. Aya grabbed the sword and continued walking.
Miki followed suit, walking the same pace and bringing out their own crystals. Only she activated her crystal, transforming hair pink and wearing a blue combination of a tunic and a robe. The crystal became a bow, looking like the top half of a heart and held by a pink string of light. Lia, on the other hand, just kept the crystal in her hands.
By that time, the girls were already less than a meter away from the winged mecha.
"Just for you to know," Miki added. "There still might be something active. When we saw the thing, it was glowing blue."
"I'm aware," Aya calmly raised her sword with a smile. "That's why I'll be testing it first."
Extending her arm, Aya reached the mecha's right arm with her sword. She let the tip tap the armor for anything. Nothing happened. Aya gave it a little push, in case it required something more forceful to get it open. Aya pressed with all the might of a girl as young as her. Still nothing. She then gave it a little more power, this time, with some magic energy. The amount of force became equivalent to the impact of a bullet or small cannon shell. Again, nothing. With no reaction from the machine whatsoever, Aya turned and gave a thumbs up.
Miki and Lia then drew closer to the mecha. While Aya circled the mecha to its head, Lia went towards the water to see the wings. She noticed the weapons stored on them, notably a sheathed sword and possibly a rifle.
"This looks like a fighting mecha!" Lia stated.
"Obviously," Aya checked the head before crouching towards the torso.
"Must've undergone a recent battle. And it hasn't been used for a very long time." Miki observed.
"I guess that means it can't be an AMF vehicle." Lia predicted.
"We don't know who it belongs to either," Miki notified. "Still, our Earth is growing rapidly and this weapon could be catalytic to reaching power comparable to the AMF."
"Inside," Lia guessed. "There must be something inside!"
Lia was right about one thing. Nothing seemed active on the outside, everything that might've glowed or lit when the mecha was activated were not on. That didn't mean everything was off. The mecha was still big enough to store a person inside, maybe a huge machine or computer.
Aya couldn't find anything around that opened up the mecha. At least, not without breaking the thing open. Therefore, the mecha had to be opened up from the inside. Wielding her sword, they gave a few taps onto the right side of the mecha's torso, where she thought the cockpit was.
"Hello? Anyone in there?" Aya tapped the torso again. "Anything? Hello?" A few more taps before pausing for a while. "Don't worry. If you're worried, it's just us! We'll help you if you need anything!" About a minute later, she tapped the torso again. "Hello?"
Aya gave a few more taps and decided to press on it.
And then, the torso moved. Aya and the others jumped back as the torso of the mecha began to open. It was slow and rough due to being a wreck in the sand, but the gap became more than big enough for human to come out.
And the human pilot they were expected...instead fell out, landing front first and right below the cockpit. The girls approached the presumably female pilot of the mecha. They saw her body laid still, so they assumed she was incapacitated at least and dead at worst, but prayed for the best.
"Help me out." Aya walked over to the incapacitated pilot and called Miki over.
Miki nodded as the two reached for the pilots right arm and flipped her over. They dragged the now obviously female pilot a few meters back to some place more comfortable.
As they did, they got a much better look at who they were treating. Before then, they could see the short blonde hair she had, now covered in sand when she fell out. She wore a somewhat skimpy uniform of black and white. She also had a barely visible scar or two, indicating battle experience, whether past or present.
Lia was wandering as the two girls dragged the body. She noticed something rattle out of the cockpit, leaving a shine as it hit the sand. She curiously approached the object, discovering it to be a ring. It had a silver metal design with a large emerald jewel. Interested, she took the ring and placed it in her skirt pocket before returning to the girls.
By then, she noticed something and shouted.
"Miki, look!"
Aya and Lia saw in shock as Miki's bow string of light was fluctuating. It was bending and rippling in random directions, sometimes fading in and out. Even her tunic was starting wrinkle; they were miniscule and at the end, but they were still there. They became more apparent as Miki released the pilot. The outfit and weapon restored itself afterward.
"There's definitely something still active." Miki confirmed.
"And it must be anti-magic," Aya estimated, who was unfazed by it. "I should've accounted that possibility."
"Not only that, but it looks like...she's the source?"
The girls jolted to the fallen woman.
"A human-made antimagic person," Aya was a little wary despite her immunity.
"How could they do that?" Lia reacted. "That takes dangerous genetics!"
"True, but they've proven themselves to be more advanced than we think." Miki notified Lia, "But more importantly, who did it?"
"I'll find out." Aya aimed her sword at the unconscious woman.
Miki and Lia backed away as if they experienced it before. The swordswoman then dropped her sword.
"Wall Break!"
Aya's sword tapped onto something invisible above the pilot. Sparks came flying as her friends backed away and covered their eyes. It went on for a few seconds as Aya continued on some unknown work. She started to shake a little, squeezing her whole body together while the process last. Miki and Lia started to feel worried that Aya might be suffering for the power, especially with someone made of anti-magic abilities. They rushed forward to try to pull her back.
Before they could the sparks stopped and Aya was flung backward for a moment. They crouched down to pick her up and check if there was any damage dealt to her. Aya felt her head like she had an ache, but rolled it over. By then, she got back up on her feet and rolled her head once more.
"What is it, Aya?" Miki asked, still noticing a strange look on Aya's face.
Aya only responded, "We got to get her safe."
"That doesn't explain what you found."
"I can explain later, but we should bring her some place better than here. I'll need your help carrying her."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. We need to start preparing for something fast, and it's for more than just us or her."
"What about the mecha?" Lia pointed out.
"We'll leave it to the Arahi military. Let's message the General and make sure its safe and re-accessible. Right now, the girl really needs a check up."
"Should we tell them of...her?"
"We'll tell them later. Right now, help me out."
They complied as Miki suddenly flashed back into her schoolgirl uniform, her pink hair reverted to blue, and her bow changed back into a white crystal. The three grabbed each section of her body and started lifting her up.
"Just to ask, what did you see?" Lia, who was carrying the least of the weight by the legs, pressured Aya to answer.
"Whatever you found in her head, you can just summarize it if you have to." Miki said more smoothly.
"I don't know how to say it," Aya currently answered, "But I think we're going to have a new friend. And a new very big adventure."
"And the same time...test a change on someone's life and future."
-----
So that's the intro. Now, for some concepts you'll have to learn.
My series takes place in Arahi, a fictional island in between China and Japan formed after a great ripple in the ocean that destroyed all cities lining the Pacific Ocean. It is composed of a large city with some beaches (the part you've seen), a flat plains, and a mountainous region good for hiding. This is the main setting for most of the series. Though it was trashy at the beginning, things began to clear up after the events of my series and the mentioned military, the only part that remained not corrupted, is working with the main characters
You very likely noticed this is magical girl series, one of the obvious differences between this series and Cross Ange. Other characters from the latter will come up and ULJA has a lot more than just magical girl optimism as the story unfolds. That is if I ever make it there.
As you noticed, the AMF are seen as enemies and obviously they are. I won't tell you who or what they are just yet as I'll probably do another chapter or two that'll explain them.
Well, if you're interested in me writing more, I'm willing to a certain point.
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JayF
The Idol Producer
Just a couple of things.
Firstly, the opening is lacking in a lot of description. It's sufficient, but there's no description of the time of the day, the location and frankly the description of your characters are lacking. I have a hard time visualising them.
Also, the dialogue. I have a hard time telling who's who. I hope this can continue, but you need to flesh out your exposition in story and your OC characters.
Firstly, the opening is lacking in a lot of description. It's sufficient, but there's no description of the time of the day, the location and frankly the description of your characters are lacking. I have a hard time visualising them.
Also, the dialogue. I have a hard time telling who's who. I hope this can continue, but you need to flesh out your exposition in story and your OC characters.
About description, I don't understand. Now I'm aware I didn't give all the details in what they look like, but I figured someone like you would have an idea. I told you about the location in the bottom and the time of day I recently put in.
For the dialogue, I fixed some of that, but I wanted to start writing in a way that wasn't full of "Aya said", "Miki questioned", "Ange reacted", etc. Definitely not needed when doing extremely long conversations.
That I'm definitely putting into consideration. Actually, it's the purpose of this. Think of it like a reset button.
JayF
The Idol Producer
That's the problem here. I get you have put in a description and the background of the OC in the end of the story, but the problem here is that they're OC from a media that most of your readers will get. If you're going to do a xover with an established media like CA, you need to first establish your OC, especially if they're not from the real world but another fantasy world. This helps readers who never read your OC story understand what's what.
Putting it into some afterword at the end of the story, doesn't help a casual reader since they don't get the story. Inserting it into the story itself, either through some throwaway conversation or some exposition helps plenty in worldbuilding, very needed in OC fanfic.
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Yeah, I'm aware of that. I didn't think it was necessary at this time. But I'll definitely have a lot more detail in the next chapter. So, don't go away that easily.
JayF
The Idol Producer
Word of advice.
You may want to just redo the first chapter and actually get something going on with regards to the OC. Cold opens are okay when dealing with established characters but for fresh ones you need to build up.
Hope this helps
Well, since it's out here, I decided to write some more. As usual, I'll have more information on the bottom.
1/27/16: I recently made an edit to this. One major one was to Angelise's character, making it more like her from the beginning of her respective series.
"So, how does she look?" Aya asked in a room.
It as the next morning, but the light was so dim it was hard to tell. Especially because there were angled slits to block it out.
That was on one side of the square room. The other two sides were normal walls and only a brown door on the opposite end. Should one enter the room, one would find a desk on each of the corners beside him and some equipment perceived to be for medical purposes. These fit for the two beds found on both sides of the room. The right bed was holding the young woman they discovered with Aya sitting by her.
She was alone in the room. Not only were Miki and Lia there, but so were a few others.
"If she fell out of her mecha after the crash, I doubt she was locked in tight enough."
That was the voice of a shiny redhead, who leaned on the opposite wall with her arms crossed. She was wearing ragged clothing, specifically a bomber jacket and blue jeans both fit for a biker gang. Though closed, she had burning red eyes to match her hair.
Her words were met with retaliation by another woman who leaned on the other wall.
"Every man, woman and child are resilient at some point. Just like the stubborn girl you are."
The other girl was also redhead, but her hair was longer, smoother, and much darker. Her clothing also contrasted very much. She has an army green uniform reminiscent to a military one, topped off with a wedge cap of the same color and a flat backpack carried behind her. Her left cheek has a scar, signifying her battle experience.
The fiery girl brushed off the comment, but the other two were not happy.
The first was by one end of the patient's bed. He was a white man in the 30s, weighing a little more than the average man. He had a normal grey newsboy cap and wore clothing similar to a detective.
He was a man of British descent, obviously recognized when responded to the little quarrel.
"Aggh, don't fag, would you? Do you wanna save the lady or not?"
"He's right," the last of the girl in the room agreed, kneeling very close to the treated woman. "I need to focus."
The last closes, monitoring the woman had smooth blue hair, going down to her neck. She had a green visor on her left eyes, which had an extended antenna. She wore a blue tunic and had a blue ribbon kept together by a red jewel. She had blue gloves and carried a scepter, proof along with the blue energy surrounding her that she was in a magical girl form.
But she had problems as the energy dimmed around the treated blonde, forcing the magical girl to generate more.
"It's odd," blue girl commented as her work stabilized. "Aside from the annoyances, the abnormalities of this woman are pretty unique."
"You're talking about her powers as...what she is?" Aya asked, as she was the one who called it that prior to treating her.
"More than the ability you speak of. On a note, the effect comes from the entire body, but it was made to cancel a certain type of magic. Not ours, but something similar. My guess is that it cancels it has to do with the genetic structure. My current analysis has proof that it is."
"But that's not the interesting case in her genetic structure. Comparing that structure to a normal human, it appears whatever alterations done have improved performances at a normal and steady rate. Stronger, faster than anyone else we know."
"I don't care that much how all the analysis," the biker girl behind her said. But she was also intrigued. "However, her genetic improvements do sound like a challenge."
"That'll be useful, if she's alive," Aya also wanted to get to the point. "I want to know if she's okay."
"She's fine," the blue answered. "I scanned her brain and found areas of pain and unknown activity I can't analyze. But they're for specific areas. All her other brain functions and vitals are stable or predicted to be once she regains consciousness."
"I hope so. I would be a waste and even dangerous if she weren't-"
By that time, there was a sudden beeping from one of the monitors. Though it was normal during their time in the room, it started to pick up pace. The sounds and new activity attracted everyone except the doctor girl, who was reading more signs mentally.
"She's waking up. Wait for a few moments."
Aya also noticed the blonde woman as her hands began twitching. Seeing their patient regaining conscious, she bent down to where her eyes are. She didn't want to share her back into comatose or anything like that, but she still wanted to give her a greeting, to show they were just trying to help her.
"Are you...are you alright?" Aya saw the woman's eyes beginning to open. Predicting she got a glimpse.
Miki and Lia also leaned and the latter continued, "Don't worry, you're alright now. It's just-"
The blonde's body jumped up suddenly as her reveal pink eyes widened immediately, forcing Aya to avoid getting hit or even contacting her body in anyway. She let out a loud scream that pushed everyone back. Even the biker girl hit her head on the wall and Miki and Lia nearly tripped.
Once the screaming stopped, the woman breathed heavily and surprisingly quickly. Everyone else backed away for moment, giving her room to relax. The waited for quite a while as she still panicked from whatever she was in. It seems whatever it was, it did some damage to her physique and to the point of insanity. But the possibility was dismissed as her breathing finally began to slow down. The girls and detective male lowered the guard a bit. Despite having the optimistic child's mindset, even Aya was mentally on her toes as she raised a cheerful smile. Simultaneously, the blonde woman returned to normal and everyone else was open.
The blonde slowly turned around to observe the visitors around her. She stared with Aya, then turned right to see her companions, the blue-haired woman emitting energy, the biker girl, the detective, and the military woman. She reversed her view and end back to Aya, who still raised a smile.
"Are you alright, Ange?" Aya asked her.
The blonde, who Aya was calling Ange, was surprised that she was spoken to so lightly. It was more than just identifying Aya's language identical to hers. But in between them, she could see the energy emitted from the blue-haired girl's hand and her scepter.
Seeing this for a while, she spoke, "Are...are you-"
"Don't worry about us," Aya comforted her. "We're not gonna hurt you."
Still not believing her, Ange said, "Are you really-"
"Of course, she is," Miki said behind her friend. "Unless you did something wrong to hurt us, Aya would never lay anything harmful at you."
"A-Aya?"
"Yeah!" Lia shouted. "She would never come to harm you!"
"Well, thank you. Thank you very much." The blonde woman regained focus and tried to turn around. "Perhaps it was all a dream."
"Don't try to move much," the doctor girl advised suddenly. "You may be healthy mentally, but you might also have broken a bone ever since you crash landed."
"Crash landed?"
"Do you remember?" Lia tried to remind her, if by chance. "You suddenly teleported here with your robot and crashed by the beach!"
"Robot?"
"Don't you know? The robot you were riding in?"
"You mean...my Para-mail?"
"Exactly!"
"Para-mail?" the biker girl asked in confusion. "Didn't you say it was a Ragna-mail?"
"I once told you before, that's what she originally thought it was. Until it turned out to be something more."
"Ragna-mail," Ange tried to remember. It sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't pin it. At least in this state. But her mind snapped back to a previous statement. "Wait, you found me?"
"At the beaches," Miki gave the details. "We saw you appear, like you came from another world, and landed on our beaches in Arahi. We called Aya to pick you up while the military recovered your Mail, now housed for safekeeping."
"I teleported to...another world?" With her looks that would say "Impossible", the girls nodded to her. The woman spoke with some more energy. "So that means...I'm no longer...in Arzenal?"
The girls were confused at first, but gave nods afterward. They could see the energy she might release from that answer, but the military girl behind her cut her off.
"Don't get any wrong ideas. We're only here because we want to discuss things. And don't try to hide things from us either. We already know the most important details and though we're helping you, we want your cooperation in return."
"You sound like you know me," Ange commented before limping a little.
"I do," Aya clarified. "I just gave them all the necessary information and they trust me on it. They're made sure no harm comes to you."
The woman sighed from the news. "At least I have someone I can rely on."
"Don't worry, we'll be here by your side and help you in any way we can."
Ange nodded. "In any case, if I...discuss with you...I want to do me a favor."
"What kind?"
"If you can….I want you to take me back to Misurugi."
The drew silence from the group. They looked down and the woman was questioning this sudden state of mood.
"What's with the mood? Didn't you say you'd help me?"
"We would if we could, ma'am." the detective told her politely. "But the problem is, there's no such place as Misurugi over here. The only place you're on is Arahi."
"Arahi?"
"You teleported here, do you remember?" Lia tried to remind her.
The woman shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
"Well, you did." the detective affirmed. "And you sound like you're from a far different world than we are. So whatever place you want to return to, it ain't here. Nor is this Arzenal you previously mentioned."
Ange calmed down, almost to a normal state. It sounded like not being near Arzenal wasn't bad, but being far away from Misurugi wasn't good either. And being in a world she's not familiar with brought her mood more to the negative.
Fortunately, Aya supported her. "Don't worry about it. You may be new here, but that doesn't mean you're helpless. You got us to point you in the right direction."
"T-Thank you."
"First, do you feel any pain? Can you move alright?"
Ange gave all the bones in her body a test. She then turned to the right and stood up from the blanket covering her. She noticed how undressed she was and quickly wrapped the sheets back around her.
While the detective give a short smirk, Aya and Lia gave a giggle. Aya then apologized.
"Sorry about that. We had to take your clothes off to do the check up. We'll give them back once you're ready."
Ange did some short steps, raising her feet into the air and bringing them back down. She nodded to Aya- the doctor girl hovered some energy over the legs and also nodded- showing she was all set.
"Sounds good," Aya confirmed. "How about we get something to eat while we're at it?"
What they were eating...was not exactly what Ange had in mind. At least that's what she thought as she sat around one of several tables with her carers.
The way goes, because she was in a new world, despite having sharing the language, she would have to taste new food she was not familiar with. That was true for some cases; some meals sold by surrounding walls and local businesses had some weird concoctions, particularly scorpion tails and chicken with their heads still attached. It disgusted her, but she was told to try them out some, so she took a scorpion tail or two. The rest of her meal was normal or at least something she's seen before, a mere bento box and a bowl of rice.
"So, what do you think?" the military girl asked on her right with a dark voice. She wanted Ange to try out the scorpion tail first. Though it was hard to swallow, let alone eat since it came from an insect, she was able to gulp it down.
"It's edible," Ange commented. "I feel like I've eaten worse before."
"Better to have anything edible and drinkable than nothing, especially when you're out in the battlefield."
That brought Anga's attention. "You fight?"
"We do, and we used to do it because we had. While we still do, many of us now do it by choice."
Ange wanted asked what kind of people would choose to fight, but that also occurred to her. She didn't know these girls and they're still her a ton, as if they run everything. Not to mention their use of magic, which appeared common for her, but often not in the form she remembered. But that can wait, she needed to know who these carers are first.
"Before I forget again," Ange told them. "Tell me, who are you?"
Aya was aware of this. "Please forgive us, we haven't told you that sooner." She introduced herself first, "To begin with, I'm Aya Masa. I may be an ordinary schoolgirl, but I'm really a magical girl."
"M-Magical Girl?"
"Yes, simply a girl who uses magic."
"Magic, you mean like Mana?"
Aya nodded.
"And not only that, I'm also the recognized leader of the Arahi forces around here."
"Resistance forces? Leader?"
"Long story short, we're fighting something much bigger than we are."
"Let's me guess, it's the Norma, aren't they?"
Aya shook her head. "Far bigger."
Ange raised her eyebrows for a moment, intrigued by what Aya meant by an enemy far bigger than the Norma. But she brushed it off for a moment, focused only on the introductions.
"I see, but did you say that were some of you who dragged me here?"
"That would be us," Miki said from Aya's right. "I'm Miki Tenjou, one of Aya's closest friends, to the point of being near equals with her."
From Aya's left, rising from her seat, "I'm Lia! Lia Ustez! You should see my directly opposite twinsis, Ria!"
Aya took over afterwards, focusing on the two girls on Ange's left, namely the fiery redhead and military girl.
"The biker one one further on your left is Kaikei Hakusho. You can simply call her 'Haku', since she likes it better." As Haku smirked, Aya turned to the military girl, closest to Ange's left. "The other one is Mio, she's our head instructor. But just because she's serious and hard doesn't mean she's not fair; she's always respective towards the ideals behind magical girls as well as true heroines. As long as they bring results, she praises even cheerful girls like Lia."
Mio leaned forward, scaring Ange for a bit.
"And when you train by me, it's Sergeant Mio."
As Mio pulled away, Aya diverted her attention to the other side. She introduced the blue-haired girl, transformed from her magical girl outfit- she was now in a schoolgirl uniform and wears glasses- and sitting closest to Ange's right.
"The girl who did your check up is Maxine Stapleton. Stereotypically, she's the brains of our group. Not just for medical equipment, but also technology, R&D, and formerly intelligence."
While Maxine adjusted her glasses, both Ange and Aya focused on the more odd one of the group, the adult detective further from the latter's right.
"The last one here is Detective Finch, one of our supporters and closest allies. Although, he uses very little magic."
"Uses very little magic?"
"Yeah, but his skills are quite invaluable."
"Good to see you, ma'am."
Finch nodded to Ange, but she bent away and even gave a glare.
"What's the matter, miss? Do I look dangerous to you?"
"Tell me," Ange ignored him. "Do you work with people those who...cancel Mana?"
Aya nodded.
"Yes, we do."
Ange then put a hand on the table and merely glared that her.
"How could you work with such people!" she retorted. "Why don't you just off them like they should be!?"
Haku and Lia mere laughed at her along with the magicless detective. As the confused Ange looked around the table, she could also see Mio and Maxine staring at her while Aya and Miki showed.
"W-What? What's wrong with that?"
After Aya toned down the laughter, she answered, "First thing, it's rude when you talk people down just because they can't use magic, let alone destroy it. That does not matter in our resistance."
"Matters to me!"
"Well, it doesn't matter to us. And that brings the second thing, if you have any negative thoughts on Finch, he originally worked with intelligence. During the early stages and late after, he helped us gain information. Even though he's laid back on it and resumed to normal police work, he still became very handy when we needed him."
"Whatever you say, Aya," Finch went with her. "Just doing what I can."
Ange was still stunned by this. Even though she was surrounded by those who used magic, she still treated those who couldn't as equals. This kind of culture shock almost made her faint. What kept her from doing so is her experience of being labeled as the same kind of person. What they called a Norma.
"Well," Ange was trying to make an excuse or reason. "Every culture is different, you know."
"We already know well enough, Ange," Finch answered back. "That's how these ladies won the first war."
And that brought out something Ange wanted to discuss.
"And why do you keep calling me 'Ange'?"
"Aya told it to us," Maxine informed. "I also looked for more background about you, checking both you, your equipment, and the Ragna-mail itself. The archives said your name was 'Ange' and were identified as Norma #1203-77."
"That's also quite rude of you stating someone informally like that!"
"How so?" Lia asked with disappointment.
"To address my real name, it's Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi, First Princess of the Misurugi Empire." She stopped for a moment. "Or at least...former Princess."
"We know that," Lia replied. "Aya told us that, and we're actually surprised to finally find a princess around here! It's good to see you and we hope to at least be friends!"
"Then maybe you should at least treat me formerly!"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Ms. Angelise." Finch noted. "Even if you are a former princess, it may not be safe enough to call you "Her Majesty". Especially after what we learned about you and where you come from."
"How come?" Angelise repeated.
"Once this is done," Maxine finished her drink before instructing, "We'll guide you to the next room."
It was an hour after they were finished eating. Afterwards, they were taken to another room. The now-called Angelise was in the center. She faced Aya, Miki, and Maxine in the front with some kind of holographic screen behind them. Mio and Lia were on the left corner and Finch and Haku were on the right.
Aya was handing a proposition to Angelise. "We want to you join our resistance. To help us fight against the AMF and other large enemies who threaten us. You'll have to enlist and start as a basic soldier before you can reach your deserved ranks. But if you do, then we'll be more than happy to reward you everything else you want. Including finding some ideas of getting you home."
"What will you do if I don't?"
"We won't kill you if that's what you're thinking. We just need you to cooperate with us and put you to work as a way to earn your keep. We know about your situation and will help you in anyway possible."
"That's why I want to return home. To show them I'm not who they think I am! If you know about me, then you can at least prove that I'm not a Norma!"
The surrounding group was silent. That clearly showed Angelise is going to hear what she doesn't want.
"That's the bad news, unfortunately." Finch said in an unfortunate manner. "Aside not finding a way home, the truth is, you are a Norma."
"Prove it!" Angelise demanded.
A holographic image showing her body was then projected from the table in a surprising response. Adding more hurt to the injury, Maxine stepped in.
"I ran an analysis while you were knocked unconscious." She projected a wide holographic image from the table, and zooming into a genetic structure. "This was a quick scan on your DNA. It's quite complex compared to a normal human, but the distinguished additions are what determine if the organism can use the magic of your type, not use it at all, or outright cancel it."
"You're referring to Mana and barriers?"
"If that's what you call it your world, yes."
"But...you're using magic in front of me! You're magic users, aren't you? Your magic is working fine around me!"
"That's because our magic is different. Here."
Max called Aya and Miki to Angelise. The two held their white crystals and transformed into their magical girl selves. Walking over to the stunned Ange, they raised their hands near her. She could observe how Miki's glove started to wither and the her bow twisted like before. Meanwhile, Aya's gauntlet never changed.
"From what we learned, the Mana you use is completely cancelled out when you come into contact. In our world, though we can still our abilities, being around Norma like you seems to nullify them. Just as you see with Miki's gloves and bow."
"Then what about you?"
"I'm different. You see, in our world- something that could also be applied to yours- we have a three-attribute system when it comes to every speck of energy and matter in the world. These are identified as magic, normal, and anti-magic. They go in a rock-paper-scissors combination, countering out one while being countered by the other. Despite it being rare, there are ways to combine the three."
"So you mean-"
"Exactly. Unlike many other magical girls here, my starting form channels both magic and normal attributes, in contrast to your normal and anti-magic ones. So my magic is immune to your effects, and that's how I got into you."
"How you got into me. As in...'reading my memories'?
"Exactly," Aya confirmed. And that explained everything to Angelise as her one-braid, black-haired informant approach her with a more gentle tone. "I saw everything that you've been through, Angelise. Everything from what you used be as a princess. Optimistic, dignified, cheerful, and even hopeful of the world. What took that away from you was your expose as a Norma, something you were completely unaware of and became the world's enemy because of it. Then forced into a fight you didn't want to be in. Seeing everything tear you apart like that, making you believe the world is cruel like that, with enough power to transform you into something you weren't supposed to be. I...just didn't want you to see the world that way. Regardless whether you see yourself as a Norma or not."
Aya then wrapped around Angelise, almost like a hug.
"That's why I'm doing this for you. Whatever you lost as 'Ange'- I don't know what, but something that well-defined you, in a good way- all I want is to save it."
Seeing Aya's expression, Angelise...sympathized the girl, in a way. She could understand what she's trying to do are for good intentions and she was correct about one thing. Should she have stayed in the prison she recalled, at least in her mind, it definitely would have transformed her into something different.
Therefore, she respected Aya, "I...appreciate everything you're trying to for me. I really thank you for it." She then shook as Aya back away. "But so what if I do cancel magic? That doesn't mean I'm wanna kill Mana users or any like that! Not to mention having these..." she looked down disgusted by her very revealing outfit. "These clothes and short hair. Or even remembering myself as 'Ange'!"
"That's the other thing," Maxine inserted while changing the image to Angelise's brain. "During the check up, I did brain scans along with your body. Your brain had limited activity in certain areas and they appeared to be damaged or shut off. To ask, about until when do you think you have solid memory?
Calmly, Angelise estimated, "After sixteenth birthday when I was sent to Arzenal. Maybe...after a week or month?"
"I see. And according to our limited sources and scans put you around 17 or 18 years old. That was probably when you went by the name 'Ange' instead of Angelise. So that could mean only one thing."
"I lost my memory."
"In medical terms, you have amnesia. Probably induced from battle, near the time you crashed, or some traumatic event that made you black out."
Angelise shook her head again, "I still can't recall anything. Even if I tried."
"Then what about the Ragna-mail, which you first called a Para-mail?" Haku pointed out. "Maybe you learned a lot more fighting when you were...her? I bet 'she' was a lot more respectable as soldier that way."
"Haku is right, Angelise." Maxine supported her with new images. "The scan on the muscles shows signs of intense experiences. This applies not only to strength and speed, but also reaction time and muscle memory. Just like brushing teeth or eating a meal. There also signs of internal damage and former external damage from battle."
"Now that you mention it," Angelise started moving her arms more. She started doing rapid spins and jerking before stopping. "It does feel like I can do more. A lot more than I once thought."
"That alone can be a clue." Aya shared her thoughts. "That's how you can recover from amnesia, or at least how I see it. It takes just one thing related to bring it all back."
Thinking it over, Angelise knew she was right. All it took was one certain event to bring everything back. But that's the reason why Angelise declined her offer.
"I prefer to leave the past behind. I...I don't think I want to even remember what I did as Ange. I'd rather live peacefully, now that I'm out of that hellhole."
"You have no other choice," Mio warned her. "First of all, you may be a former princess and are no longer in Arzenal, but that doesn't mean you can just slack off. You got to pull up your own weight. I bet you learned that back in Arzenal, haven't you?"
Angelise froze for a bit, suddenly recalling seemingly random memories back in Arzenal where she slaughtered scores of dragon-like creatures then given cash as a result. A few times, she got most of the kills and collected huge bounties for them compared everyone else around, who apparently all girls. She even remembered having her maid all of a sudden.
That was supported by Mio's next words. "More importantly, that Ragna-mail we have in storage is yours and we believe you have combat experience related to 'Ange', whether inside or out of it. So like or not, you're an extremely valuable asset to us, especially against our new fight against the AMF, which I think you'll enjoy fighting against."
"The AMF," the acronym seriously confused Angelise after hearing it a few times. "Is this the enemy you said you were facing? Bigger than the Norma?"
Aya stepped up to answer. "Yes, and it's short for the 'Anti-Magic Faction'."
Angelise froze from those words. "You mean-"
"Everyone says that and yes, that's exactly what it is. An organization that hunts down magical girls and anything else pertaining to magic."
While it reminded her of her view on Norma, she was more disgusted by the organization by their purpose."
"Why!? What do they have against magic?"
"They have various reasons. For many, it's cultural or religious, under the belief that magic can't be trusted and will result in destruction of the world. That ties to the belief that magic is obsolete, that humanity no longer needs miracle and that they're therefore wasteful. Even more, their top brass often have selfish reasons. Jealousy, money, thinking magic's for children or dumb. Worst comes to worst, they do it simply on the thought they can."
All those words were slow to process in Angelise's head. While what she heard about Norma was a long negative description, this one about the AMF was so longer it hurt her head. What kept her from being overwhelmed is the irritating confusion about the girls around her who were fighting against them.
"But you why join with them?"
"Say again?" Aya asked.
"If the AMF are that cruel, why do have them on your side?"
"Because we try to subdue as many as we can."
"Didn't you say they'd kill magical girls for its own sake?" Angelise said in confusion. "How can you still be so forgiving of them?"
"I also said that some had more realistic reasons, like they haven't seen the real importance of magic or have given up on it. Though we have our different way handling the AMF, I find it more moral for us to save whoever we can, and that's why I'm the personified leader of the resistance. To learn about them and show they don't have to be pawns for the higher-ups. We were able to do it before. In fact, a significant number of our major resistance forces are former members of the AMF. And thanks to us, they've changed for the better."
Absurd, Angelise thought, but interesting. That idea never came across her mind. In this case, it was seeing the Norma for herself and if she could reform them to do good. But there's seeing them as equals- despite her idealist stance, that was far more than idealistic, at the point she called stupid. It's happened in this world though and even if she wanted talk badly about it, she'd be shouted down and could lose trustworthy friends like she had before. So she could say nothing about it.
"Much of our suffering came from the activities of the AMF." Hakusho tried to encourage her. "I don't care what got you thinking about disposing of Norma, normal people who can't use magic or cancel magic or whatever. This is where we can show you the difference."
"Besides," Miki added. "If you leave the past behind, what will you do now? You know you can't go back. And because your empire doesn't exist here, you can't just go back into luxury. Someone or something can help you, but you still need pull yourself up."
No matter how much she wanted to deny or resist some of the point, Angelise could only agree with everything.
"We're just here to help," Aya raised a hand. "And hopefully, you may something even greater than your previous livelihoods."
Angelise stopped a moment to think about it. But afterward, she answered.
"Let me say this. I still don't understand what going on here. And even if I cancel abilities just like the Norma or this..AMF, I can show I don't murder like them! Or hate magic just as they do! If nothing else, it would be an interesting challenge."
"Interesting challenge?" Hakusho asked.
"Yes, that was my wish for when was about to take the throne. All this time, I've feeling empty with what I wanted to do in my life. Even as a princess, even with my optimism, even with my crusade against Norma, I felt...empty. My only wish was do something that was hard, difficult."
"And now you got. Not just a challenge, but something more."
"If that's the case," Angelise reached for Aya's hand and shouted. "I'll do it!"
The room was full of smiles with her decision. Aya's stood out the most, obviously because she was right in front of Angelise. She recalled what she said. She may be in a new world with potential dangers up ahead. She may no longer able to return home. She may not receive the life she used to have. But she's at least some place that's gentler and more fit for. She may find something better than either her time as a princess or her time in Arzenal. And most importantly, she was going to be in a challenge. Exactly what she wished for.
So now, time for some notes.
First thing, yes. The Ange from the end has been reverted back to the Angelise she was back in the beginning of the series. And I know, it'll be a hell of a problem when other Cross Ange characters join in.
The other thing is about the Anti-Magic Faction. Like Aya said, they're a militarist organization that hunts down magic beings with sci-fi weaponry. Think of it was as a combination of a Puritan or anti-arcane cult, a multinational corporation, and a decentralized fascist military superstate all in one. Originally, they were only seen on Earth, similar to the new HYDRA from the Marvel series. Even if they're evicted from Earth, they're now busy colonizing other stars, developing new technologies, and reforming the same large armies as they had before.
Once I get to fights with the AMF, I'll introduce you many of the weapons they use. And trust me, they're smart and have quite the arsenal to challenge both ULJA and Cross Ange characters.
That is all.
1/27/16: I recently made an edit to this. One major one was to Angelise's character, making it more like her from the beginning of her respective series.
"So, how does she look?" Aya asked in a room.
It as the next morning, but the light was so dim it was hard to tell. Especially because there were angled slits to block it out.
That was on one side of the square room. The other two sides were normal walls and only a brown door on the opposite end. Should one enter the room, one would find a desk on each of the corners beside him and some equipment perceived to be for medical purposes. These fit for the two beds found on both sides of the room. The right bed was holding the young woman they discovered with Aya sitting by her.
She was alone in the room. Not only were Miki and Lia there, but so were a few others.
"If she fell out of her mecha after the crash, I doubt she was locked in tight enough."
That was the voice of a shiny redhead, who leaned on the opposite wall with her arms crossed. She was wearing ragged clothing, specifically a bomber jacket and blue jeans both fit for a biker gang. Though closed, she had burning red eyes to match her hair.
Her words were met with retaliation by another woman who leaned on the other wall.
"Every man, woman and child are resilient at some point. Just like the stubborn girl you are."
The other girl was also redhead, but her hair was longer, smoother, and much darker. Her clothing also contrasted very much. She has an army green uniform reminiscent to a military one, topped off with a wedge cap of the same color and a flat backpack carried behind her. Her left cheek has a scar, signifying her battle experience.
The fiery girl brushed off the comment, but the other two were not happy.
The first was by one end of the patient's bed. He was a white man in the 30s, weighing a little more than the average man. He had a normal grey newsboy cap and wore clothing similar to a detective.
He was a man of British descent, obviously recognized when responded to the little quarrel.
"Aggh, don't fag, would you? Do you wanna save the lady or not?"
"He's right," the last of the girl in the room agreed, kneeling very close to the treated woman. "I need to focus."
The last closes, monitoring the woman had smooth blue hair, going down to her neck. She had a green visor on her left eyes, which had an extended antenna. She wore a blue tunic and had a blue ribbon kept together by a red jewel. She had blue gloves and carried a scepter, proof along with the blue energy surrounding her that she was in a magical girl form.
But she had problems as the energy dimmed around the treated blonde, forcing the magical girl to generate more.
"It's odd," blue girl commented as her work stabilized. "Aside from the annoyances, the abnormalities of this woman are pretty unique."
"You're talking about her powers as...what she is?" Aya asked, as she was the one who called it that prior to treating her.
"More than the ability you speak of. On a note, the effect comes from the entire body, but it was made to cancel a certain type of magic. Not ours, but something similar. My guess is that it cancels it has to do with the genetic structure. My current analysis has proof that it is."
"But that's not the interesting case in her genetic structure. Comparing that structure to a normal human, it appears whatever alterations done have improved performances at a normal and steady rate. Stronger, faster than anyone else we know."
"I don't care that much how all the analysis," the biker girl behind her said. But she was also intrigued. "However, her genetic improvements do sound like a challenge."
"That'll be useful, if she's alive," Aya also wanted to get to the point. "I want to know if she's okay."
"She's fine," the blue answered. "I scanned her brain and found areas of pain and unknown activity I can't analyze. But they're for specific areas. All her other brain functions and vitals are stable or predicted to be once she regains consciousness."
"I hope so. I would be a waste and even dangerous if she weren't-"
By that time, there was a sudden beeping from one of the monitors. Though it was normal during their time in the room, it started to pick up pace. The sounds and new activity attracted everyone except the doctor girl, who was reading more signs mentally.
"She's waking up. Wait for a few moments."
Aya also noticed the blonde woman as her hands began twitching. Seeing their patient regaining conscious, she bent down to where her eyes are. She didn't want to share her back into comatose or anything like that, but she still wanted to give her a greeting, to show they were just trying to help her.
"Are you...are you alright?" Aya saw the woman's eyes beginning to open. Predicting she got a glimpse.
Miki and Lia also leaned and the latter continued, "Don't worry, you're alright now. It's just-"
The blonde's body jumped up suddenly as her reveal pink eyes widened immediately, forcing Aya to avoid getting hit or even contacting her body in anyway. She let out a loud scream that pushed everyone back. Even the biker girl hit her head on the wall and Miki and Lia nearly tripped.
Once the screaming stopped, the woman breathed heavily and surprisingly quickly. Everyone else backed away for moment, giving her room to relax. The waited for quite a while as she still panicked from whatever she was in. It seems whatever it was, it did some damage to her physique and to the point of insanity. But the possibility was dismissed as her breathing finally began to slow down. The girls and detective male lowered the guard a bit. Despite having the optimistic child's mindset, even Aya was mentally on her toes as she raised a cheerful smile. Simultaneously, the blonde woman returned to normal and everyone else was open.
The blonde slowly turned around to observe the visitors around her. She stared with Aya, then turned right to see her companions, the blue-haired woman emitting energy, the biker girl, the detective, and the military woman. She reversed her view and end back to Aya, who still raised a smile.
"Are you alright, Ange?" Aya asked her.
The blonde, who Aya was calling Ange, was surprised that she was spoken to so lightly. It was more than just identifying Aya's language identical to hers. But in between them, she could see the energy emitted from the blue-haired girl's hand and her scepter.
Seeing this for a while, she spoke, "Are...are you-"
"Don't worry about us," Aya comforted her. "We're not gonna hurt you."
Still not believing her, Ange said, "Are you really-"
"Of course, she is," Miki said behind her friend. "Unless you did something wrong to hurt us, Aya would never lay anything harmful at you."
"A-Aya?"
"Yeah!" Lia shouted. "She would never come to harm you!"
"Well, thank you. Thank you very much." The blonde woman regained focus and tried to turn around. "Perhaps it was all a dream."
"Don't try to move much," the doctor girl advised suddenly. "You may be healthy mentally, but you might also have broken a bone ever since you crash landed."
"Crash landed?"
"Do you remember?" Lia tried to remind her, if by chance. "You suddenly teleported here with your robot and crashed by the beach!"
"Robot?"
"Don't you know? The robot you were riding in?"
"You mean...my Para-mail?"
"Exactly!"
"Para-mail?" the biker girl asked in confusion. "Didn't you say it was a Ragna-mail?"
"I once told you before, that's what she originally thought it was. Until it turned out to be something more."
"Ragna-mail," Ange tried to remember. It sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't pin it. At least in this state. But her mind snapped back to a previous statement. "Wait, you found me?"
"At the beaches," Miki gave the details. "We saw you appear, like you came from another world, and landed on our beaches in Arahi. We called Aya to pick you up while the military recovered your Mail, now housed for safekeeping."
"I teleported to...another world?" With her looks that would say "Impossible", the girls nodded to her. The woman spoke with some more energy. "So that means...I'm no longer...in Arzenal?"
The girls were confused at first, but gave nods afterward. They could see the energy she might release from that answer, but the military girl behind her cut her off.
"Don't get any wrong ideas. We're only here because we want to discuss things. And don't try to hide things from us either. We already know the most important details and though we're helping you, we want your cooperation in return."
"You sound like you know me," Ange commented before limping a little.
"I do," Aya clarified. "I just gave them all the necessary information and they trust me on it. They're made sure no harm comes to you."
The woman sighed from the news. "At least I have someone I can rely on."
"Don't worry, we'll be here by your side and help you in any way we can."
Ange nodded. "In any case, if I...discuss with you...I want to do me a favor."
"What kind?"
"If you can….I want you to take me back to Misurugi."
The drew silence from the group. They looked down and the woman was questioning this sudden state of mood.
"What's with the mood? Didn't you say you'd help me?"
"We would if we could, ma'am." the detective told her politely. "But the problem is, there's no such place as Misurugi over here. The only place you're on is Arahi."
"Arahi?"
"You teleported here, do you remember?" Lia tried to remind her.
The woman shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
"Well, you did." the detective affirmed. "And you sound like you're from a far different world than we are. So whatever place you want to return to, it ain't here. Nor is this Arzenal you previously mentioned."
Ange calmed down, almost to a normal state. It sounded like not being near Arzenal wasn't bad, but being far away from Misurugi wasn't good either. And being in a world she's not familiar with brought her mood more to the negative.
Fortunately, Aya supported her. "Don't worry about it. You may be new here, but that doesn't mean you're helpless. You got us to point you in the right direction."
"T-Thank you."
"First, do you feel any pain? Can you move alright?"
Ange gave all the bones in her body a test. She then turned to the right and stood up from the blanket covering her. She noticed how undressed she was and quickly wrapped the sheets back around her.
While the detective give a short smirk, Aya and Lia gave a giggle. Aya then apologized.
"Sorry about that. We had to take your clothes off to do the check up. We'll give them back once you're ready."
Ange did some short steps, raising her feet into the air and bringing them back down. She nodded to Aya- the doctor girl hovered some energy over the legs and also nodded- showing she was all set.
"Sounds good," Aya confirmed. "How about we get something to eat while we're at it?"
What they were eating...was not exactly what Ange had in mind. At least that's what she thought as she sat around one of several tables with her carers.
The way goes, because she was in a new world, despite having sharing the language, she would have to taste new food she was not familiar with. That was true for some cases; some meals sold by surrounding walls and local businesses had some weird concoctions, particularly scorpion tails and chicken with their heads still attached. It disgusted her, but she was told to try them out some, so she took a scorpion tail or two. The rest of her meal was normal or at least something she's seen before, a mere bento box and a bowl of rice.
"So, what do you think?" the military girl asked on her right with a dark voice. She wanted Ange to try out the scorpion tail first. Though it was hard to swallow, let alone eat since it came from an insect, she was able to gulp it down.
"It's edible," Ange commented. "I feel like I've eaten worse before."
"Better to have anything edible and drinkable than nothing, especially when you're out in the battlefield."
That brought Anga's attention. "You fight?"
"We do, and we used to do it because we had. While we still do, many of us now do it by choice."
Ange wanted asked what kind of people would choose to fight, but that also occurred to her. She didn't know these girls and they're still her a ton, as if they run everything. Not to mention their use of magic, which appeared common for her, but often not in the form she remembered. But that can wait, she needed to know who these carers are first.
"Before I forget again," Ange told them. "Tell me, who are you?"
Aya was aware of this. "Please forgive us, we haven't told you that sooner." She introduced herself first, "To begin with, I'm Aya Masa. I may be an ordinary schoolgirl, but I'm really a magical girl."
"M-Magical Girl?"
"Yes, simply a girl who uses magic."
"Magic, you mean like Mana?"
Aya nodded.
"And not only that, I'm also the recognized leader of the Arahi forces around here."
"Resistance forces? Leader?"
"Long story short, we're fighting something much bigger than we are."
"Let's me guess, it's the Norma, aren't they?"
Aya shook her head. "Far bigger."
Ange raised her eyebrows for a moment, intrigued by what Aya meant by an enemy far bigger than the Norma. But she brushed it off for a moment, focused only on the introductions.
"I see, but did you say that were some of you who dragged me here?"
"That would be us," Miki said from Aya's right. "I'm Miki Tenjou, one of Aya's closest friends, to the point of being near equals with her."
From Aya's left, rising from her seat, "I'm Lia! Lia Ustez! You should see my directly opposite twinsis, Ria!"
Aya took over afterwards, focusing on the two girls on Ange's left, namely the fiery redhead and military girl.
"The biker one one further on your left is Kaikei Hakusho. You can simply call her 'Haku', since she likes it better." As Haku smirked, Aya turned to the military girl, closest to Ange's left. "The other one is Mio, she's our head instructor. But just because she's serious and hard doesn't mean she's not fair; she's always respective towards the ideals behind magical girls as well as true heroines. As long as they bring results, she praises even cheerful girls like Lia."
Mio leaned forward, scaring Ange for a bit.
"And when you train by me, it's Sergeant Mio."
As Mio pulled away, Aya diverted her attention to the other side. She introduced the blue-haired girl, transformed from her magical girl outfit- she was now in a schoolgirl uniform and wears glasses- and sitting closest to Ange's right.
"The girl who did your check up is Maxine Stapleton. Stereotypically, she's the brains of our group. Not just for medical equipment, but also technology, R&D, and formerly intelligence."
While Maxine adjusted her glasses, both Ange and Aya focused on the more odd one of the group, the adult detective further from the latter's right.
"The last one here is Detective Finch, one of our supporters and closest allies. Although, he uses very little magic."
"Uses very little magic?"
"Yeah, but his skills are quite invaluable."
"Good to see you, ma'am."
Finch nodded to Ange, but she bent away and even gave a glare.
"What's the matter, miss? Do I look dangerous to you?"
"Tell me," Ange ignored him. "Do you work with people those who...cancel Mana?"
Aya nodded.
"Yes, we do."
Ange then put a hand on the table and merely glared that her.
"How could you work with such people!" she retorted. "Why don't you just off them like they should be!?"
Haku and Lia mere laughed at her along with the magicless detective. As the confused Ange looked around the table, she could also see Mio and Maxine staring at her while Aya and Miki showed.
"W-What? What's wrong with that?"
After Aya toned down the laughter, she answered, "First thing, it's rude when you talk people down just because they can't use magic, let alone destroy it. That does not matter in our resistance."
"Matters to me!"
"Well, it doesn't matter to us. And that brings the second thing, if you have any negative thoughts on Finch, he originally worked with intelligence. During the early stages and late after, he helped us gain information. Even though he's laid back on it and resumed to normal police work, he still became very handy when we needed him."
"Whatever you say, Aya," Finch went with her. "Just doing what I can."
Ange was still stunned by this. Even though she was surrounded by those who used magic, she still treated those who couldn't as equals. This kind of culture shock almost made her faint. What kept her from doing so is her experience of being labeled as the same kind of person. What they called a Norma.
"Well," Ange was trying to make an excuse or reason. "Every culture is different, you know."
"We already know well enough, Ange," Finch answered back. "That's how these ladies won the first war."
And that brought out something Ange wanted to discuss.
"And why do you keep calling me 'Ange'?"
"Aya told it to us," Maxine informed. "I also looked for more background about you, checking both you, your equipment, and the Ragna-mail itself. The archives said your name was 'Ange' and were identified as Norma #1203-77."
"That's also quite rude of you stating someone informally like that!"
"How so?" Lia asked with disappointment.
"To address my real name, it's Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi, First Princess of the Misurugi Empire." She stopped for a moment. "Or at least...former Princess."
"We know that," Lia replied. "Aya told us that, and we're actually surprised to finally find a princess around here! It's good to see you and we hope to at least be friends!"
"Then maybe you should at least treat me formerly!"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Ms. Angelise." Finch noted. "Even if you are a former princess, it may not be safe enough to call you "Her Majesty". Especially after what we learned about you and where you come from."
"How come?" Angelise repeated.
"Once this is done," Maxine finished her drink before instructing, "We'll guide you to the next room."
It was an hour after they were finished eating. Afterwards, they were taken to another room. The now-called Angelise was in the center. She faced Aya, Miki, and Maxine in the front with some kind of holographic screen behind them. Mio and Lia were on the left corner and Finch and Haku were on the right.
Aya was handing a proposition to Angelise. "We want to you join our resistance. To help us fight against the AMF and other large enemies who threaten us. You'll have to enlist and start as a basic soldier before you can reach your deserved ranks. But if you do, then we'll be more than happy to reward you everything else you want. Including finding some ideas of getting you home."
"What will you do if I don't?"
"We won't kill you if that's what you're thinking. We just need you to cooperate with us and put you to work as a way to earn your keep. We know about your situation and will help you in anyway possible."
"That's why I want to return home. To show them I'm not who they think I am! If you know about me, then you can at least prove that I'm not a Norma!"
The surrounding group was silent. That clearly showed Angelise is going to hear what she doesn't want.
"That's the bad news, unfortunately." Finch said in an unfortunate manner. "Aside not finding a way home, the truth is, you are a Norma."
"Prove it!" Angelise demanded.
A holographic image showing her body was then projected from the table in a surprising response. Adding more hurt to the injury, Maxine stepped in.
"I ran an analysis while you were knocked unconscious." She projected a wide holographic image from the table, and zooming into a genetic structure. "This was a quick scan on your DNA. It's quite complex compared to a normal human, but the distinguished additions are what determine if the organism can use the magic of your type, not use it at all, or outright cancel it."
"You're referring to Mana and barriers?"
"If that's what you call it your world, yes."
"But...you're using magic in front of me! You're magic users, aren't you? Your magic is working fine around me!"
"That's because our magic is different. Here."
Max called Aya and Miki to Angelise. The two held their white crystals and transformed into their magical girl selves. Walking over to the stunned Ange, they raised their hands near her. She could observe how Miki's glove started to wither and the her bow twisted like before. Meanwhile, Aya's gauntlet never changed.
"From what we learned, the Mana you use is completely cancelled out when you come into contact. In our world, though we can still our abilities, being around Norma like you seems to nullify them. Just as you see with Miki's gloves and bow."
"Then what about you?"
"I'm different. You see, in our world- something that could also be applied to yours- we have a three-attribute system when it comes to every speck of energy and matter in the world. These are identified as magic, normal, and anti-magic. They go in a rock-paper-scissors combination, countering out one while being countered by the other. Despite it being rare, there are ways to combine the three."
"So you mean-"
"Exactly. Unlike many other magical girls here, my starting form channels both magic and normal attributes, in contrast to your normal and anti-magic ones. So my magic is immune to your effects, and that's how I got into you."
"How you got into me. As in...'reading my memories'?
"Exactly," Aya confirmed. And that explained everything to Angelise as her one-braid, black-haired informant approach her with a more gentle tone. "I saw everything that you've been through, Angelise. Everything from what you used be as a princess. Optimistic, dignified, cheerful, and even hopeful of the world. What took that away from you was your expose as a Norma, something you were completely unaware of and became the world's enemy because of it. Then forced into a fight you didn't want to be in. Seeing everything tear you apart like that, making you believe the world is cruel like that, with enough power to transform you into something you weren't supposed to be. I...just didn't want you to see the world that way. Regardless whether you see yourself as a Norma or not."
Aya then wrapped around Angelise, almost like a hug.
"That's why I'm doing this for you. Whatever you lost as 'Ange'- I don't know what, but something that well-defined you, in a good way- all I want is to save it."
Seeing Aya's expression, Angelise...sympathized the girl, in a way. She could understand what she's trying to do are for good intentions and she was correct about one thing. Should she have stayed in the prison she recalled, at least in her mind, it definitely would have transformed her into something different.
Therefore, she respected Aya, "I...appreciate everything you're trying to for me. I really thank you for it." She then shook as Aya back away. "But so what if I do cancel magic? That doesn't mean I'm wanna kill Mana users or any like that! Not to mention having these..." she looked down disgusted by her very revealing outfit. "These clothes and short hair. Or even remembering myself as 'Ange'!"
"That's the other thing," Maxine inserted while changing the image to Angelise's brain. "During the check up, I did brain scans along with your body. Your brain had limited activity in certain areas and they appeared to be damaged or shut off. To ask, about until when do you think you have solid memory?
Calmly, Angelise estimated, "After sixteenth birthday when I was sent to Arzenal. Maybe...after a week or month?"
"I see. And according to our limited sources and scans put you around 17 or 18 years old. That was probably when you went by the name 'Ange' instead of Angelise. So that could mean only one thing."
"I lost my memory."
"In medical terms, you have amnesia. Probably induced from battle, near the time you crashed, or some traumatic event that made you black out."
Angelise shook her head again, "I still can't recall anything. Even if I tried."
"Then what about the Ragna-mail, which you first called a Para-mail?" Haku pointed out. "Maybe you learned a lot more fighting when you were...her? I bet 'she' was a lot more respectable as soldier that way."
"Haku is right, Angelise." Maxine supported her with new images. "The scan on the muscles shows signs of intense experiences. This applies not only to strength and speed, but also reaction time and muscle memory. Just like brushing teeth or eating a meal. There also signs of internal damage and former external damage from battle."
"Now that you mention it," Angelise started moving her arms more. She started doing rapid spins and jerking before stopping. "It does feel like I can do more. A lot more than I once thought."
"That alone can be a clue." Aya shared her thoughts. "That's how you can recover from amnesia, or at least how I see it. It takes just one thing related to bring it all back."
Thinking it over, Angelise knew she was right. All it took was one certain event to bring everything back. But that's the reason why Angelise declined her offer.
"I prefer to leave the past behind. I...I don't think I want to even remember what I did as Ange. I'd rather live peacefully, now that I'm out of that hellhole."
"You have no other choice," Mio warned her. "First of all, you may be a former princess and are no longer in Arzenal, but that doesn't mean you can just slack off. You got to pull up your own weight. I bet you learned that back in Arzenal, haven't you?"
Angelise froze for a bit, suddenly recalling seemingly random memories back in Arzenal where she slaughtered scores of dragon-like creatures then given cash as a result. A few times, she got most of the kills and collected huge bounties for them compared everyone else around, who apparently all girls. She even remembered having her maid all of a sudden.
That was supported by Mio's next words. "More importantly, that Ragna-mail we have in storage is yours and we believe you have combat experience related to 'Ange', whether inside or out of it. So like or not, you're an extremely valuable asset to us, especially against our new fight against the AMF, which I think you'll enjoy fighting against."
"The AMF," the acronym seriously confused Angelise after hearing it a few times. "Is this the enemy you said you were facing? Bigger than the Norma?"
Aya stepped up to answer. "Yes, and it's short for the 'Anti-Magic Faction'."
Angelise froze from those words. "You mean-"
"Everyone says that and yes, that's exactly what it is. An organization that hunts down magical girls and anything else pertaining to magic."
While it reminded her of her view on Norma, she was more disgusted by the organization by their purpose."
"Why!? What do they have against magic?"
"They have various reasons. For many, it's cultural or religious, under the belief that magic can't be trusted and will result in destruction of the world. That ties to the belief that magic is obsolete, that humanity no longer needs miracle and that they're therefore wasteful. Even more, their top brass often have selfish reasons. Jealousy, money, thinking magic's for children or dumb. Worst comes to worst, they do it simply on the thought they can."
All those words were slow to process in Angelise's head. While what she heard about Norma was a long negative description, this one about the AMF was so longer it hurt her head. What kept her from being overwhelmed is the irritating confusion about the girls around her who were fighting against them.
"But you why join with them?"
"Say again?" Aya asked.
"If the AMF are that cruel, why do have them on your side?"
"Because we try to subdue as many as we can."
"Didn't you say they'd kill magical girls for its own sake?" Angelise said in confusion. "How can you still be so forgiving of them?"
"I also said that some had more realistic reasons, like they haven't seen the real importance of magic or have given up on it. Though we have our different way handling the AMF, I find it more moral for us to save whoever we can, and that's why I'm the personified leader of the resistance. To learn about them and show they don't have to be pawns for the higher-ups. We were able to do it before. In fact, a significant number of our major resistance forces are former members of the AMF. And thanks to us, they've changed for the better."
Absurd, Angelise thought, but interesting. That idea never came across her mind. In this case, it was seeing the Norma for herself and if she could reform them to do good. But there's seeing them as equals- despite her idealist stance, that was far more than idealistic, at the point she called stupid. It's happened in this world though and even if she wanted talk badly about it, she'd be shouted down and could lose trustworthy friends like she had before. So she could say nothing about it.
"Much of our suffering came from the activities of the AMF." Hakusho tried to encourage her. "I don't care what got you thinking about disposing of Norma, normal people who can't use magic or cancel magic or whatever. This is where we can show you the difference."
"Besides," Miki added. "If you leave the past behind, what will you do now? You know you can't go back. And because your empire doesn't exist here, you can't just go back into luxury. Someone or something can help you, but you still need pull yourself up."
No matter how much she wanted to deny or resist some of the point, Angelise could only agree with everything.
"We're just here to help," Aya raised a hand. "And hopefully, you may something even greater than your previous livelihoods."
Angelise stopped a moment to think about it. But afterward, she answered.
"Let me say this. I still don't understand what going on here. And even if I cancel abilities just like the Norma or this..AMF, I can show I don't murder like them! Or hate magic just as they do! If nothing else, it would be an interesting challenge."
"Interesting challenge?" Hakusho asked.
"Yes, that was my wish for when was about to take the throne. All this time, I've feeling empty with what I wanted to do in my life. Even as a princess, even with my optimism, even with my crusade against Norma, I felt...empty. My only wish was do something that was hard, difficult."
"And now you got. Not just a challenge, but something more."
"If that's the case," Angelise reached for Aya's hand and shouted. "I'll do it!"
The room was full of smiles with her decision. Aya's stood out the most, obviously because she was right in front of Angelise. She recalled what she said. She may be in a new world with potential dangers up ahead. She may no longer able to return home. She may not receive the life she used to have. But she's at least some place that's gentler and more fit for. She may find something better than either her time as a princess or her time in Arzenal. And most importantly, she was going to be in a challenge. Exactly what she wished for.
So now, time for some notes.
First thing, yes. The Ange from the end has been reverted back to the Angelise she was back in the beginning of the series. And I know, it'll be a hell of a problem when other Cross Ange characters join in.
The other thing is about the Anti-Magic Faction. Like Aya said, they're a militarist organization that hunts down magic beings with sci-fi weaponry. Think of it was as a combination of a Puritan or anti-arcane cult, a multinational corporation, and a decentralized fascist military superstate all in one. Originally, they were only seen on Earth, similar to the new HYDRA from the Marvel series. Even if they're evicted from Earth, they're now busy colonizing other stars, developing new technologies, and reforming the same large armies as they had before.
Once I get to fights with the AMF, I'll introduce you many of the weapons they use. And trust me, they're smart and have quite the arsenal to challenge both ULJA and Cross Ange characters.
That is all.
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JayF
The Idol Producer
I'm trying my level best to finish the chapter but the part where Ange was reintroduced really made me lose interest. Banter among OC's are important and I'm not really feeling the comradeship they're supposed to have.
I really hope your reason for rebooting Ange so to speak is for a good reason. Continuation fics are good because they build and grow an already established character.
Also, break it into shorter chapters. The introduction of the OC are plodding. Try reducing the sentences so it's sharper and you might want the language to be more vivid.
I really hope your reason for rebooting Ange so to speak is for a good reason. Continuation fics are good because they build and grow an already established character.
Also, break it into shorter chapters. The introduction of the OC are plodding. Try reducing the sentences so it's sharper and you might want the language to be more vivid.
The next few chapters are gonna be gauging Angelise's abilities and exploring more about ULJA's setting. So things will be dull until the first battle starts afterward...unless you're interested in the world building of my series.
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Chapter 2
Examinations
It was a brand new day when the sun finally came up.
At this moment, Angelise would be alerted by sirens. By then, she'd gear up and launch for a mission in hunting down DRAGONs. That's how it worked back in Arzenal. Long before, while still a princess of Misurugi, she'd be waking up for school or ceremonies. She'd live in a very comfortable atmosphere and would usually have her maid, Momoka to help her. But that was then. Though her time of waking up was ideal to her time a princess, the atmosphere she had was similar to Arzenal, a room common to the installation with just the basic necessities. The difference is that she was never forced by people to live in here, she merely had no choice.
That's simply because in this world, Arzenal and Misurugi don't exist. Instead, she was on Arahi, an island nation immense compared to Arzenal, with a similar culture to Misurugi, but a bizarre difference she stressed over.
What was the most frustrating was that she's in a world where Mana users or magic users actually got along with those who didn't. Those kinds of people, the Norma, would never be treated equally in her world. Not even her, despite her really favoring equality among others. Not to mention being persecuted as a Norma and, in this world, being shown that she was a true Norma as she disrupted magic. She stressed over this from the beginning after she ranted out that she'll join the inhabitants' "resistance".
What was I doing back there? she thought. Snapping to join with this rebel group without thinking?
But it looked like Arahi populace, specifically Aya and her magical girls, were aware of that. That must be why, instead of immediately sending her into combat, they'd give her a while to adjust. Though the culture shock wore away today, the pain of having to deal with it was still there.
The door to the room opened up. Angelise jerked to find Mio with a very stern look.
"Angelise, it's time we get going!"
"A-Already!?"
"That's right! Today's the day we get some action from you."
Angelise flinched a little and reached for the blanket to cover herself, "I will, I'm in the middle of changing, right now."
"Not in those clothes, you aren't!" Mio stepped forward, pulling the sheets and seeing Angelise in normal clothing, not in the military uniform that was acceptable for today's occasion. "We need you in the military uniform, right away!"
"Y-Yes, Mio!"
"And by the way, it's Sirs for now. Until you have my respect, you are to call me that, you hear?"
"Y-Yes, Sirs!"
"I want more confidence from you! Again!"
"Yes, Sirs!"
Angelise quickly tossed the clothing onto her bed, getting out of those she already put on, before searching for her military uniform. Mio's continuous watch on her made her unnerving, who expressed serious concern with her way of changing, to the point she had to help her wear the clothes right.
In one way, Mio reminded her of Zola, one of her first leaders with a cybernetic right eye back in Arzenal. From her recalled memories, her instructor was trying to teach her the harshness of what was to come. But Zola was also the hedonistic kind of woman, a hypocrite one might call her. Mio, on the other hand, did not look like one with any kind of hedonistic behavior. This girl was serious to the core and though she wasn't too physical, she meant what she said. Angelise could even understand Mio groaning in her mind.
What kind of upbringing did this girl have, not learning how to wear clothes on the appropriate occasion? I just hope it's only from the amnesia and not her actual childhood as a pretended-to-be-magical princess.
No need to worry about it now. This was what Aya wanted and Mio trusted her for the most part. Even if she didn't have the exact mindset of a soldier, that and her personality were best of magical girls and are what made Aya the iconic leader of the resistance. All Mio could hope for is that it wouldn't come down on their shoulders.
---
A few minutes later, the two characters were walking down a metallic corridor, crowded somewhat with some military personnel.
Angelise was on the right side of Mio, all suited up in a military uniform. It's declared to be one of Arahi's women uniforms, though not as militaristic one would think. Angelise noticed the short sleeves like the uniforms she wore back in Arzenal. But this uniform was less metallic or pad-like, more of linen that went with the black colors. They also weren't as flashy, remembering the shiny suits she wore when riding the Para-mails. But something told her that was going to change.
Until then, Angelise proceeded with what was ahead of her. Though she knew she was in for training, she wasn't given the exact details. In one way, she was a little worried from some of her experience back in Arzenal, as she recalled one of her instructors having a…torture room?...for herself. And despite the simulators, she clearly was put into harsh training in learning how to fight. But again, this is a different world; this is not Arzenal anymore, but Arahi. So training itself in this world could also be different.
The two approached the end of the corridor where a metallic door stood. As it opened up, a male officer in men's military uniform came up front of them. He was raising a computer pad resembling a clipboard, something Angelise was familiar with. But the male officer was not.
He suddenly stopped upon the two girls who he nearly bumped into. When he noticed one of the girls, he quickly jumped and did a quick salute with his free right hand.
"Sergeant Mio!"
"Relax, private," she spoke calmly, ignoring that fact she was nearly bumped into. "As long as the testing ground is ready, I won't squeeze you. And I mean, is the testing site ready?"
"Yes, Sergeant. The stored mecha is a little late, but it should be here once the first phase is done."
"I see. We'll need them to hurry up because I'm not sure how long phase one will last. This test is for our guest recruit here."
The officer turned to Angelise, who reacted with a similar salute after being nudged by Mio. Despite suspicions, the officer nodded.
"Understood."
The officer stepped aside as the two girls entered. Angelise wondered with worry at the officer as he focused back on his pad. A bright light then turned her attention away, revealing the training field ahead of her.
The testing ground looked like a huge cubic room with bright lights hanging from the ceiling. The place was like a maze with tall walls surrounding the many different rooms. Next to her were platforms that held a few mecha, followed by a wide passageway that lead to the other side of the room. On the corners were two lifts to the roof, holding a number of vehicles and mecha. On the far end was a large opening that went out into the sea as VTOL aircraft came in.
Angelise could see the various activities going on in the room. On the far left, she could see who looked like Hakusho in the air; she wielded a lead pipe as well as pipes on her back that gave her lift. She was currently sparring with a dark-skinned girl with fire abilities. Passing Angelise were a few other magical girls flying around the room; the leading one dropping sphere that formed circles, which the following girls flew through.
It was fun to watch in her opinion. It reminded her iaria, a type of ballgame the involved vehicles that she professed at school. She went off on a daydream as she recalled those happy times.
Angelise was then interrupted by gunfire, which came from the rooms straight in front of her. She could see a few flying machines poking above, which were firing on the ground before being destroyed by magical blasts.
While Angelise gulped, she felt a snag by Mio, walking towards the apparent shooting section of the training facility.
"Come, private. We got training to do, and this will be your first stop."
It made Angelise unnerved about the mentioned "phase one" of her tests. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like it was going to be easy.
-----
After a few moments, Angelise felt more curious than scared.
Mio brought her into the maze of rooms before sending her into a rectangular one. Angelise stood within by an end of the longer side as Mio left her alone. The ceiling projected a field that rendered the room completely silent, possibly to kept the noises from distracting her. In front of her, a section of the floor that went across the room opened up. A stand emerge from the ground that went above Angelise's waist. When she approached, she saw headphones, goggles, a few gun cases and a number of large boxes beside them.
Angelise went up the case furthest to the left. Opening it up, she found a handgun inside.
The handgun was very sleek compared to the firearms she was familiar with, at least barrel part. The trigger and handle were narrow and the barrel was slim, but it still had gun markers to help the wielder aim. Yet, the gun looked very small, adding much to Angelise's curiosity.
"Hey, are you there? Stop playing around!"
The voice of Mio suddenly made Angelise jump to left, finding a little device next to the opened case. It was an earpiece, specifically a microphone as Angelise recognized the smaller rubber part she'd put into her ear. Not wanting to keep her instructor waiting, Angelise put the headphone on her right ear, but something seemed off.
"Don't worry about a microphone. We can hear you clearly within the room, even without one."
"Are...you sure?" Angelise said to test it out.
"Of course, we can! You think we'd leave you no way to talk to us?" A familiar voice came out.
"Lia?"
"Hey there, Angelise-sama! We're to help you out and say 'Good Luck' on your training!"
"Uh, thanks. Though this looks more like a test than a simulator."
"That's the main objective of today," A third voice identified as Maxine came in. "Though because of your circumstances, we had to change the equipment for this mock operation. The pistol you're carrying is an example."
"What is it?"
"It's the primary handgun for the Anti-Magic Faction."
"This...is an AMF weapon?"
"Exactly, carried just about all full-fledged personnel. The sleek design is made to be lightweight and easy to carry unnoticed. And just because it's small doesn't mean they're powerless. Each of those shots can do significant damage to magical girls as well as magic based objects. Fortunately, they're not too damaging and if they are not used for covert operations, they are for last resorts."
"I see....But why give me this gun?"
"Because it has safeguard features that keep magic-based entities from using them. All small arms weapons have Anti-Magical alloys that protect the wearer along with itself. Aside from mitigating magical effects, the handgun is also reactive towards magic. Though the gun itself won't be destroyed, the magical wielder will receive burns or decay that'll force them to drop the weapons. And if that wasn't enough, the guns also have ID recognition anytime someone touches the weapons. So if one magic user was strong enough to wield the gun, the system will keep him or her from firing. So unless the ID recognition was overridden or other circumstances come up, it's not a suitable weapon for magic users."
"So you're still seeing me as a Norma, aren't you?"
"Even if you are, you're still able to carry the weapon without risk. 'Ange' will probably agree with me."
"I don't remember saying that as Ange."
"Memories of that aren't important, complainer," Mio talked over. "You still hold of her experiences. That's what we'll be gauging today."
"Yes, Sirs!"
Angelise reacted quickly to check on the handgun while also putting on the headset and goggles. Recalling her training at Arzenal, she took out the magazine and found it empty. Searching around, she went to the large metal boxes beside the weapon cases and opened the first one to the left, finding a bunch of magazines that resembled the one for her gun. Taking a loaded one out, Angelise loaded the AMF handgun, loaded the slide and returned to her original position when Mio called out her instructions.
"Alright, the first phase is simple. Across from the stand, there are going to be targets for you to shoot at. Unless you're that amnesiac, you should know that each of the cases beside you houses a different weapon, with an ammo box corresponding to what's in order. We'll be doing a number of different number of rounds for every weapon. Each round consists of three targets, with changes in mobility and distance. You task is to empty your full clip onto each target. Once that's done, we'll analyze your score and proceed to the next round or weapon until phase one is complete."
"I see...so it's like target practice..."
"You know the drill. Now, get ready! Targets are coming up!"
"Y-Yes, Sirs!"
A buzzer went off and the targets went up. Back in Arzenal, the shapes would be either simple circular targets, human figurines or even large ones resembling dragons when in a Para-mail. Of the three types, the circular ones came up, but instead of paper or cardboard, these ones were made of light blue-green magical energy. Angelise guessed this was their common target and was a way to view performance, seeing some of the rings change to red-orange and back.
Angelise first didn't start too well; upon raising the handgun, she just pointed at the left target and fired without giving time to aim or even stabilize her gun before firing again. She even had her eyes closed up shooting, just the same as firing blindly. Once she was done, she opened them to see the poor results. The only good shots she had were the first couple that only got close to the center, marked as yellow dots. The others were way off the target and even she could sense Mio's disappointment in her first try.
Angelise moaned at herself as she went to get another magazine. She put some thought into it, thinking of how she did poorly that time. That's when things start coming back, not as memories but as experiences. She cursed herself upon her impatience and lack of focus and strengthened herself as she finished reloading.
At the next target, Angelise gave more time and focus. After aiming dead center, or at least what felt comfortable and reasonable as the center with the cursors, she fired while blinking. But she didn't continue afterward, but gave a lot of time to bring gun back to her target before firing again.
Once all shots were fired, Angelise did a sharper review of her performance. As expected, she did a lot better; about all were marked on the target as yellow dots- the majority of them were in the first few rings from the center. But even though she was more accurate, she still put too much time in between shots. While her first attempt was fast yet inaccurate, this one was the other way around.
As Angelise reloaded again, she proceeded with her last target. More of her training came back to her and she had both of her hands on her handgun and gripped it tightly to take the recoil more. She also aimed a little higher with the cursors, aiming straight on as she both quickly and accurately. Once all rounds were emptied, she looked at the target with all the dots very close to the center if not dead in.
Satisfied with this run, Angelise felt more confident and comfortable as the targets vanished.
-----
As new targets were set for the next round, the magical girls nearby observed from a deck at mid-height on the right side of the training hall. Maxine and Mio were by a group of military officers monitoring the arena, viewing a large screen above them that showed Angelise's performance.
"She still has some kinks," another girl pointed out, sitting in the back. She was in black, ragged clothing, composed of a gothic skirt, long socks and moccasin shoes. She had blood red eyes and long black hair with red streaks, tied with bat-shaped decorations into two pigtails by the sides.
"Don't worry, Ria," her bright-blue eyed sister called out to her. "She just needs a little more training, that's all."
"Even so," Aya inserted. "My hypothesis is correct. She still retains her training from the past."
"Chances were already plausible," Maxine supported. "She did say she recalled about a month at Arzenal before her arrival here."
"Question is," Mio reminded them, "How much of her training does she retain?"
The girl continued to observe, both through the windows and the screen of her performance.
-----
Angelise was close to the end after about an hour of shooting targets. She could understand the challenges and how they applied to real life warfare from how she saw it. For weapons, she went through submachine guns, standard assault rifles, shotguns, and the like.
She was now down to the last one, a Barrett M82 sniper rifle that terrified her both by its size and recoil. Ever since she fired a .50 caliber shot, she wondered who could fire something like that without having her arm torn off. Fortunately as optimistic as she was, the rifle wouldn't be made if it wasn't safe.
She was keeping an eye on her target, which changed as instructed. The changes were from distance to size and sometimes, the target were moving around. This was a combination of all three factors, going as far across the small room it could go, being a very small target, and moving around at a significant speed.
I guess a small target in front of you is no different from a large target up in the distance, she thought about the size. Still, this kind of target is a little ridiculous.
She was down the last of her ten rounds in the magazine and came nowhere near her target. She may have scratched the sides, but it wasn't enough to satisfy her capability. She focused on her target, aiming a little ahead of it unlike most of her shot. Relaxing her arms and moving the rifle slowly, she kept track of the target before she felt comfortable with taking the shot.
Pulling the trigger, the rifle shook a little like usual. Angelise closed eyed her eyes a bit, waiting for the rifle to calm down while hoping she got it this time.
When she opened her eyes, she saw it was...somewhat on. It didn't hit right into the target, but got onto the outermost circle. Angelise sighed with her thoughts.
I need to work more on this.
She was interrupted when a beeping sound came into the room. She then heard Mio on the radio.
"Phase one is now finished. Good job, Angelise." And while Angelise had second thoughts, Mio also noted. "We'll be doing these kinds of exercises again, so you'll have more time to practice your skills during your stay. Now, place the weapon and equipment back so we can get to phase two."
"Yes, Sirs." Angelise complied.
-----
As Angelise returned her weapons and equipment, the girls in the deck reviewed her results.
"Overall, she's very much a well-rounded fighter," Maxine noted.
"We'll see," Ria had some doubts as first impression didn't mean too much to her.
"Still, her records are amazing. Even with her experience," Lia had the opposite reaction.
"Still some kinks to flatten out," Mio pointed out. "But afterward, she should be ready for missions within the month."
"Maybe we should teach her to assemble the guns?"
"This test is more about physical skills than smarts. That can wait until later." Mio started walking out the door. "It's time to put the princess back into those tests."
As the door opened, an officer- the same officer she went by before- reported to her.
"Mio, the mecha has arrived and is stationed on the rooftop."
"Good, once phase two and three are done, we can immediately get to phase four and five."
-----
This and the beginning of the next chapter will list out the performance Angelise retains from the past series.
While the AMF hasn't arrived yet, I can list out some that are just introduced into the chapter, even if they're just small arms.
Standard Issue AMF Handgun- Has a sleek design for quick drawing and a fast rate of fire. Fires 12 .25 caliber rounds per magazine and good for a last resort against magical girls.
The rest of the examinations and performance will come in the next chapter.
-----
Chapter 2
Examinations
It was a brand new day when the sun finally came up.
At this moment, Angelise would be alerted by sirens. By then, she'd gear up and launch for a mission in hunting down DRAGONs. That's how it worked back in Arzenal. Long before, while still a princess of Misurugi, she'd be waking up for school or ceremonies. She'd live in a very comfortable atmosphere and would usually have her maid, Momoka to help her. But that was then. Though her time of waking up was ideal to her time a princess, the atmosphere she had was similar to Arzenal, a room common to the installation with just the basic necessities. The difference is that she was never forced by people to live in here, she merely had no choice.
That's simply because in this world, Arzenal and Misurugi don't exist. Instead, she was on Arahi, an island nation immense compared to Arzenal, with a similar culture to Misurugi, but a bizarre difference she stressed over.
What was the most frustrating was that she's in a world where Mana users or magic users actually got along with those who didn't. Those kinds of people, the Norma, would never be treated equally in her world. Not even her, despite her really favoring equality among others. Not to mention being persecuted as a Norma and, in this world, being shown that she was a true Norma as she disrupted magic. She stressed over this from the beginning after she ranted out that she'll join the inhabitants' "resistance".
What was I doing back there? she thought. Snapping to join with this rebel group without thinking?
But it looked like Arahi populace, specifically Aya and her magical girls, were aware of that. That must be why, instead of immediately sending her into combat, they'd give her a while to adjust. Though the culture shock wore away today, the pain of having to deal with it was still there.
The door to the room opened up. Angelise jerked to find Mio with a very stern look.
"Angelise, it's time we get going!"
"A-Already!?"
"That's right! Today's the day we get some action from you."
Angelise flinched a little and reached for the blanket to cover herself, "I will, I'm in the middle of changing, right now."
"Not in those clothes, you aren't!" Mio stepped forward, pulling the sheets and seeing Angelise in normal clothing, not in the military uniform that was acceptable for today's occasion. "We need you in the military uniform, right away!"
"Y-Yes, Mio!"
"And by the way, it's Sirs for now. Until you have my respect, you are to call me that, you hear?"
"Y-Yes, Sirs!"
"I want more confidence from you! Again!"
"Yes, Sirs!"
Angelise quickly tossed the clothing onto her bed, getting out of those she already put on, before searching for her military uniform. Mio's continuous watch on her made her unnerving, who expressed serious concern with her way of changing, to the point she had to help her wear the clothes right.
In one way, Mio reminded her of Zola, one of her first leaders with a cybernetic right eye back in Arzenal. From her recalled memories, her instructor was trying to teach her the harshness of what was to come. But Zola was also the hedonistic kind of woman, a hypocrite one might call her. Mio, on the other hand, did not look like one with any kind of hedonistic behavior. This girl was serious to the core and though she wasn't too physical, she meant what she said. Angelise could even understand Mio groaning in her mind.
What kind of upbringing did this girl have, not learning how to wear clothes on the appropriate occasion? I just hope it's only from the amnesia and not her actual childhood as a pretended-to-be-magical princess.
No need to worry about it now. This was what Aya wanted and Mio trusted her for the most part. Even if she didn't have the exact mindset of a soldier, that and her personality were best of magical girls and are what made Aya the iconic leader of the resistance. All Mio could hope for is that it wouldn't come down on their shoulders.
---
A few minutes later, the two characters were walking down a metallic corridor, crowded somewhat with some military personnel.
Angelise was on the right side of Mio, all suited up in a military uniform. It's declared to be one of Arahi's women uniforms, though not as militaristic one would think. Angelise noticed the short sleeves like the uniforms she wore back in Arzenal. But this uniform was less metallic or pad-like, more of linen that went with the black colors. They also weren't as flashy, remembering the shiny suits she wore when riding the Para-mails. But something told her that was going to change.
Until then, Angelise proceeded with what was ahead of her. Though she knew she was in for training, she wasn't given the exact details. In one way, she was a little worried from some of her experience back in Arzenal, as she recalled one of her instructors having a…torture room?...for herself. And despite the simulators, she clearly was put into harsh training in learning how to fight. But again, this is a different world; this is not Arzenal anymore, but Arahi. So training itself in this world could also be different.
The two approached the end of the corridor where a metallic door stood. As it opened up, a male officer in men's military uniform came up front of them. He was raising a computer pad resembling a clipboard, something Angelise was familiar with. But the male officer was not.
He suddenly stopped upon the two girls who he nearly bumped into. When he noticed one of the girls, he quickly jumped and did a quick salute with his free right hand.
"Sergeant Mio!"
"Relax, private," she spoke calmly, ignoring that fact she was nearly bumped into. "As long as the testing ground is ready, I won't squeeze you. And I mean, is the testing site ready?"
"Yes, Sergeant. The stored mecha is a little late, but it should be here once the first phase is done."
"I see. We'll need them to hurry up because I'm not sure how long phase one will last. This test is for our guest recruit here."
The officer turned to Angelise, who reacted with a similar salute after being nudged by Mio. Despite suspicions, the officer nodded.
"Understood."
The officer stepped aside as the two girls entered. Angelise wondered with worry at the officer as he focused back on his pad. A bright light then turned her attention away, revealing the training field ahead of her.
The testing ground looked like a huge cubic room with bright lights hanging from the ceiling. The place was like a maze with tall walls surrounding the many different rooms. Next to her were platforms that held a few mecha, followed by a wide passageway that lead to the other side of the room. On the corners were two lifts to the roof, holding a number of vehicles and mecha. On the far end was a large opening that went out into the sea as VTOL aircraft came in.
Angelise could see the various activities going on in the room. On the far left, she could see who looked like Hakusho in the air; she wielded a lead pipe as well as pipes on her back that gave her lift. She was currently sparring with a dark-skinned girl with fire abilities. Passing Angelise were a few other magical girls flying around the room; the leading one dropping sphere that formed circles, which the following girls flew through.
It was fun to watch in her opinion. It reminded her iaria, a type of ballgame the involved vehicles that she professed at school. She went off on a daydream as she recalled those happy times.
Angelise was then interrupted by gunfire, which came from the rooms straight in front of her. She could see a few flying machines poking above, which were firing on the ground before being destroyed by magical blasts.
While Angelise gulped, she felt a snag by Mio, walking towards the apparent shooting section of the training facility.
"Come, private. We got training to do, and this will be your first stop."
It made Angelise unnerved about the mentioned "phase one" of her tests. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like it was going to be easy.
-----
After a few moments, Angelise felt more curious than scared.
Mio brought her into the maze of rooms before sending her into a rectangular one. Angelise stood within by an end of the longer side as Mio left her alone. The ceiling projected a field that rendered the room completely silent, possibly to kept the noises from distracting her. In front of her, a section of the floor that went across the room opened up. A stand emerge from the ground that went above Angelise's waist. When she approached, she saw headphones, goggles, a few gun cases and a number of large boxes beside them.
Angelise went up the case furthest to the left. Opening it up, she found a handgun inside.
The handgun was very sleek compared to the firearms she was familiar with, at least barrel part. The trigger and handle were narrow and the barrel was slim, but it still had gun markers to help the wielder aim. Yet, the gun looked very small, adding much to Angelise's curiosity.
"Hey, are you there? Stop playing around!"
The voice of Mio suddenly made Angelise jump to left, finding a little device next to the opened case. It was an earpiece, specifically a microphone as Angelise recognized the smaller rubber part she'd put into her ear. Not wanting to keep her instructor waiting, Angelise put the headphone on her right ear, but something seemed off.
"Don't worry about a microphone. We can hear you clearly within the room, even without one."
"Are...you sure?" Angelise said to test it out.
"Of course, we can! You think we'd leave you no way to talk to us?" A familiar voice came out.
"Lia?"
"Hey there, Angelise-sama! We're to help you out and say 'Good Luck' on your training!"
"Uh, thanks. Though this looks more like a test than a simulator."
"That's the main objective of today," A third voice identified as Maxine came in. "Though because of your circumstances, we had to change the equipment for this mock operation. The pistol you're carrying is an example."
"What is it?"
"It's the primary handgun for the Anti-Magic Faction."
"This...is an AMF weapon?"
"Exactly, carried just about all full-fledged personnel. The sleek design is made to be lightweight and easy to carry unnoticed. And just because it's small doesn't mean they're powerless. Each of those shots can do significant damage to magical girls as well as magic based objects. Fortunately, they're not too damaging and if they are not used for covert operations, they are for last resorts."
"I see....But why give me this gun?"
"Because it has safeguard features that keep magic-based entities from using them. All small arms weapons have Anti-Magical alloys that protect the wearer along with itself. Aside from mitigating magical effects, the handgun is also reactive towards magic. Though the gun itself won't be destroyed, the magical wielder will receive burns or decay that'll force them to drop the weapons. And if that wasn't enough, the guns also have ID recognition anytime someone touches the weapons. So if one magic user was strong enough to wield the gun, the system will keep him or her from firing. So unless the ID recognition was overridden or other circumstances come up, it's not a suitable weapon for magic users."
"So you're still seeing me as a Norma, aren't you?"
"Even if you are, you're still able to carry the weapon without risk. 'Ange' will probably agree with me."
"I don't remember saying that as Ange."
"Memories of that aren't important, complainer," Mio talked over. "You still hold of her experiences. That's what we'll be gauging today."
"Yes, Sirs!"
Angelise reacted quickly to check on the handgun while also putting on the headset and goggles. Recalling her training at Arzenal, she took out the magazine and found it empty. Searching around, she went to the large metal boxes beside the weapon cases and opened the first one to the left, finding a bunch of magazines that resembled the one for her gun. Taking a loaded one out, Angelise loaded the AMF handgun, loaded the slide and returned to her original position when Mio called out her instructions.
"Alright, the first phase is simple. Across from the stand, there are going to be targets for you to shoot at. Unless you're that amnesiac, you should know that each of the cases beside you houses a different weapon, with an ammo box corresponding to what's in order. We'll be doing a number of different number of rounds for every weapon. Each round consists of three targets, with changes in mobility and distance. You task is to empty your full clip onto each target. Once that's done, we'll analyze your score and proceed to the next round or weapon until phase one is complete."
"I see...so it's like target practice..."
"You know the drill. Now, get ready! Targets are coming up!"
"Y-Yes, Sirs!"
A buzzer went off and the targets went up. Back in Arzenal, the shapes would be either simple circular targets, human figurines or even large ones resembling dragons when in a Para-mail. Of the three types, the circular ones came up, but instead of paper or cardboard, these ones were made of light blue-green magical energy. Angelise guessed this was their common target and was a way to view performance, seeing some of the rings change to red-orange and back.
Angelise first didn't start too well; upon raising the handgun, she just pointed at the left target and fired without giving time to aim or even stabilize her gun before firing again. She even had her eyes closed up shooting, just the same as firing blindly. Once she was done, she opened them to see the poor results. The only good shots she had were the first couple that only got close to the center, marked as yellow dots. The others were way off the target and even she could sense Mio's disappointment in her first try.
Angelise moaned at herself as she went to get another magazine. She put some thought into it, thinking of how she did poorly that time. That's when things start coming back, not as memories but as experiences. She cursed herself upon her impatience and lack of focus and strengthened herself as she finished reloading.
At the next target, Angelise gave more time and focus. After aiming dead center, or at least what felt comfortable and reasonable as the center with the cursors, she fired while blinking. But she didn't continue afterward, but gave a lot of time to bring gun back to her target before firing again.
Once all shots were fired, Angelise did a sharper review of her performance. As expected, she did a lot better; about all were marked on the target as yellow dots- the majority of them were in the first few rings from the center. But even though she was more accurate, she still put too much time in between shots. While her first attempt was fast yet inaccurate, this one was the other way around.
As Angelise reloaded again, she proceeded with her last target. More of her training came back to her and she had both of her hands on her handgun and gripped it tightly to take the recoil more. She also aimed a little higher with the cursors, aiming straight on as she both quickly and accurately. Once all rounds were emptied, she looked at the target with all the dots very close to the center if not dead in.
Satisfied with this run, Angelise felt more confident and comfortable as the targets vanished.
-----
As new targets were set for the next round, the magical girls nearby observed from a deck at mid-height on the right side of the training hall. Maxine and Mio were by a group of military officers monitoring the arena, viewing a large screen above them that showed Angelise's performance.
"She still has some kinks," another girl pointed out, sitting in the back. She was in black, ragged clothing, composed of a gothic skirt, long socks and moccasin shoes. She had blood red eyes and long black hair with red streaks, tied with bat-shaped decorations into two pigtails by the sides.
"Don't worry, Ria," her bright-blue eyed sister called out to her. "She just needs a little more training, that's all."
"Even so," Aya inserted. "My hypothesis is correct. She still retains her training from the past."
"Chances were already plausible," Maxine supported. "She did say she recalled about a month at Arzenal before her arrival here."
"Question is," Mio reminded them, "How much of her training does she retain?"
The girl continued to observe, both through the windows and the screen of her performance.
-----
Angelise was close to the end after about an hour of shooting targets. She could understand the challenges and how they applied to real life warfare from how she saw it. For weapons, she went through submachine guns, standard assault rifles, shotguns, and the like.
She was now down to the last one, a Barrett M82 sniper rifle that terrified her both by its size and recoil. Ever since she fired a .50 caliber shot, she wondered who could fire something like that without having her arm torn off. Fortunately as optimistic as she was, the rifle wouldn't be made if it wasn't safe.
She was keeping an eye on her target, which changed as instructed. The changes were from distance to size and sometimes, the target were moving around. This was a combination of all three factors, going as far across the small room it could go, being a very small target, and moving around at a significant speed.
I guess a small target in front of you is no different from a large target up in the distance, she thought about the size. Still, this kind of target is a little ridiculous.
She was down the last of her ten rounds in the magazine and came nowhere near her target. She may have scratched the sides, but it wasn't enough to satisfy her capability. She focused on her target, aiming a little ahead of it unlike most of her shot. Relaxing her arms and moving the rifle slowly, she kept track of the target before she felt comfortable with taking the shot.
Pulling the trigger, the rifle shook a little like usual. Angelise closed eyed her eyes a bit, waiting for the rifle to calm down while hoping she got it this time.
When she opened her eyes, she saw it was...somewhat on. It didn't hit right into the target, but got onto the outermost circle. Angelise sighed with her thoughts.
I need to work more on this.
She was interrupted when a beeping sound came into the room. She then heard Mio on the radio.
"Phase one is now finished. Good job, Angelise." And while Angelise had second thoughts, Mio also noted. "We'll be doing these kinds of exercises again, so you'll have more time to practice your skills during your stay. Now, place the weapon and equipment back so we can get to phase two."
"Yes, Sirs." Angelise complied.
-----
As Angelise returned her weapons and equipment, the girls in the deck reviewed her results.
"Overall, she's very much a well-rounded fighter," Maxine noted.
"We'll see," Ria had some doubts as first impression didn't mean too much to her.
"Still, her records are amazing. Even with her experience," Lia had the opposite reaction.
"Still some kinks to flatten out," Mio pointed out. "But afterward, she should be ready for missions within the month."
"Maybe we should teach her to assemble the guns?"
"This test is more about physical skills than smarts. That can wait until later." Mio started walking out the door. "It's time to put the princess back into those tests."
As the door opened, an officer- the same officer she went by before- reported to her.
"Mio, the mecha has arrived and is stationed on the rooftop."
"Good, once phase two and three are done, we can immediately get to phase four and five."
-----
This and the beginning of the next chapter will list out the performance Angelise retains from the past series.
While the AMF hasn't arrived yet, I can list out some that are just introduced into the chapter, even if they're just small arms.
Standard Issue AMF Handgun- Has a sleek design for quick drawing and a fast rate of fire. Fires 12 .25 caliber rounds per magazine and good for a last resort against magical girls.
The rest of the examinations and performance will come in the next chapter.
So after this chapter, there would be a list of Angelise's current performance that retained from her "Ange" self back in canon. Even if these performances are a little absurd, please do be reminded that Mana users and Norma were genetically altered humans since their genesis, so abnormal performance would be expected.
This'll also be the time I introduce some of the weapons and vehicles the AMF uses. More info will be after the chapter.
-----
Another hour had passed after Angelise was sent up to the rooftop of the training grounds.
Before then came phase two, which examined her physical limitations. Due to her experiences and training she remembered, she went through much of the obstacle courses set up for her. It's due to those same experiences she was good physical performance, from being able to run between 40 and 50 mph at sprint speed to a reaction time around 0.3 seconds.
However, her strength, agility and combat ability needed some work. That came from the subsequent phase three- sparring with Sergeant Mio- and weightlifting examinations from phase two. After being beaten a few times by Mio and having a mere average strength of 70 pounds, Angelise could even see through Mio that she'll need practice.
But now, it was time for phase four. And the task? Piloting her mecha.
Beside her was the mecha she piloted, what she remembered as a Para-mail, but was also dubbed a Ragna-mail. Like all the Para-mails she knew, it was a slim humanoid robot capable of transforming into a fighter jet, which justified the use of a cockpit seat for the torso like most of the VTOL aircraft surrounding her. These mecha were basically mass produced weapons, made to hunt down dragons or Dimensional Rift Attuned Gargantuan Organic Neotypes. There were various types she witnessed, herself piloting the close-quarters Glaive. Later, she was given a mail much like the Glaive, but described as a rugged prototype weapon. In one person's words, it was "an angel of destruction and creation....fit for someone who wanted to die".
Now that angel of destruction was hers and though she can't recall exactly, judging by how it was called a Ragna-mail, it was more than a mere mass produced weapon. Her mind was wanting to get inside the machine and her body was more than eager to pilot it.
That is when Mio's voice came that allowed her.
"Okay Angelise, get into your Ragna-mail now for phase four."
Angelise complied to the order. Walking up to a wired lift installed onto the seat, she pulled herself up to the cockpit seat.
Climbing inside, she looked around as she observed the controls and systems within the Ragna-mail. With the heavy winds blowing into her hair from the rocky shores up in the distance, she felt very cold and uncomfortable. Moreover, she was worried she didn't remember all of her training as a mail rider and may accidentally cause something that'll cause a catastrophe. Both the cold winds bothered her the most and once she found the function to close the cockpit, things started to feel warmer.
After a brief moment of silence and sigh, she was contacted again, but by Maxine this time.
"Phase four is about to commence. In simple terms, it'll judge your skill in piloting your Ragna-mail."
Angelise nodded at the smart magical girl's summary.
"We'll start with easy maneuvers for now, but as time goes on, we'll be looking forward to getting you to practice on whatever needs improvement. Things like your reaction time and agility of your mecha."
"I understand."
"Pleased to hear it. Now, can you start up the Ragna-mail for us?"
And while Angelise grabbed onto the controls...nothing happened. She pulled on the controls a few times, yet it wouldn't respond. Checking the systems on the cockpit, everything looked in perfect order, but she noticed there were a few missing functions and options. She went through the systems and controls repeatedly on the unresponsive machine.
"What's wrong?" Maxine noticed the Ragna-mail hadn't started yet. "Are you able to pilot it?"
"No," Angelise obviously stated. "It won't turn on!"
"Do you have the key in? There should be enough power."
"I...don't think that's the problem."
"What is it, then?"
Angelise was in deep thought about every memory she had in the Ragna-mail. One specific memory she still retained was having this kind of problem before, or at least somewhat. She noticed something happening in the process; her old royalty ring, one she wore on her fingers started glowing. Moments afterward, the machine started and activated by her will.
With that, Angelise checked her hands, only find her ring was gone. She answered to Maxine.
"My ring!"
"Say again?"
"My ring, where's my ring?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I remember operating this before. I need to have my ring first. Do you know where it is?"
"Why should a ring be important on this examination?"
"Because that's what I need to start this. I don't know why, but I remember the system is locked out. Somehow, the only thing that can start it is my royalty ring."
"I see," Maxine replied. "Stay in there for now. I'll see what I can do."
-----
Maxine went offline from communications. She was in a light blue military uniform instead of her magical girl attire, which meant she had no visor or staff. She turned to her confused comrades as they were all in another observation deck at a top corner of the training room.
"What's going on?" Aya asked.
"Apparently, Angelise needs...a ring." Maxine summarized.
"A ring?" Ria repeated in ridicule.
"The Ragna-mail won't start and from she she remembers, she needs a some kind or royalty ring in order to activate it."
"You said you found her and the mecha on beaches, right? Good luck finding that, unless you want to start digging within the sand."
But her twin sister, Lia had the opposite reaction.
"Actually, I found something while I was there!"
The other girls turned to her as Lia reached into the pocket within her shirt. She took out a ring, the exact one she found when stumbling upon the Ragna-mail.
"This must be the ring she was talking about."
"I see," Maxine nodded. "I'll message her right away."
-----
Angelise was still inside her closed cockpit seat, waiting for further orders. She could think of anything else besides the royalty ring she had that could possibly activate the Ragna-mail. Until she received it, there was nothing else she could do but wait.
She then got another message from Maxine.
"Angelise, I think we found your ring."
"Where?"
"Lia says she picked it up while you were unconscious. She'll bring it up to you any moment now. Come out and get it."
With that instruction, Angelise opened up the cockpit seat and climb back down from the Ragna-mail. Almost immediately after land, she found Lia running up to her.
"Here's your ring, Angelise-sama!"
Lia tossed the ring to Angelise. Upon catching the ring, Angelise giggled at how Lia was intending to call by a royal honorific. But she was more concerned about the ring, just to be sure it was the right one.
Indeed it was, the same silver ring with an emerald gem that represented the power of the Misurugi Empire. She recalled being given the ring by her mother Sophia, a just a day before the Baptism Ritual when she was exiled and her family overthrown. Even without her privileges and titles, she still managed to hold onto the key royal ring that belonged to them. Now, this ring became more of necessity as it somehow activated her mail.
"You should be lucky I found it," Lia commented. "If I didn't, it could've been buried in the sand and you never would've started your mecha."
"Uh, thank you, Lia," Angelise nodded back to her.
"Good with your test, Angelise-sama!" Lia smiled and waved.
Angelise waved back as Lia rushed back to the observation post. She returned to her own post, taking the wired lift back up to the cockpit of the Ragna-mail.
Upon getting into her seat, Angelise closed the cockpit again. Calming down, she was deep in thought as the moments upon activating the Ragna-mail came to mind. Upon reaching the controls and desiring to have the mecha start up, her desire came true at the signs.
The ring glowed its emerald color a little before the mecha's power plant started up. Lights around the machine turned on all around Angelise, about all of them still giving an all-green status. The consoles in front of her also changed systems, showing the same statuses back to her. She could even feel the mecha move upon her thoughts among the controls.
And that was when Angelise's Ragna-mail, the AW-CBX007 Villkiss reawakened.
Even without seeing the blue energy wings sprout, Angelise knew that she was ready to fly, feeling the machine roar at a normal output. Even without her orders, she launched her mecha up into the air, passing a few aircraft above and surprising some of the men below.
She soared up to almost a hundred meters above sea level, though the testing arena was already high up from the surrounding shoals. Upon stopping there, she witnessed the entire scene around her. In her direction beyond the shoals and mentioned beaches, she could see the rest of what the girls called Arahi. Like she was told, it was a large island far beyond what Arzenal was, so much she could see a massive city in the distance. And that was only...a third or fourth of the island, the rest was made of flat plains and mountainous terrain on the right.
Angelise was clearly amazed as she confirmed everything what she was told about Arahi. It truly had characteristics of her old Empire of Misurugi while having some of Arzenal, especially the military bases and beaches she found. She thought about it so much that her body felt very light.
Not that she was distracted, snapping back to it once Maxine's voice came back.
"Looks like you got the Ragna-mail working."
"I did, and it's...wonderful…"
"Enjoying the scenery, aren't you?" Mio's voice joined in.
"Uh yes, Sirs. Just seeing wanted to see Arahi for myself, that's all."
"Well, there you have it. Now sightseeing is over, you can do more after the examination. Start paying attention!"
"Yes, Sirs!"
"Phase four is now about piloting your Ragna-mail," Maxine listed the instructions. "Judging by how started, I assume you know the simple controls, are you not?"
"Yes I am."
"Okay then, so we'll skip that part. The rest of the test is you guiding your vehicle through a series of rings and illusionary pathways. Once a VTOL craft flies past you to display that, you'll follow it and go through the rings while staying within the illusionary tunnels. Since it's used to practice flying in tight spaces, it's best if you can try flying without even grazing on the tunnel of illusions. Once the tunnel stops, phase four will be over and you'll be all set for the final phase. Am I clear on this?"
"Yes, Sirs."
"Any other questions?"
"There is one thing I want to say."
"What?"
"This Para-mail, or Ragna-mail that you call it, is named the Villkiss. Perhaps you could refer to it was just that?"
"Acknowledged," Maxine kept that in mind as the VTOL craft flew by the Ragna-mail. Like the other VTOL aircraft, it four large engines that blended in with the curved wings shaped like a mooncrest, two on the front and the other two in the back. The main body was still a little bulky, suggesting it was made for transportation in addition to training services.
"Villkiss, phase four starts now."
-----
With the orders given, the VTOL craft projected what the girls by the observation could easily see as the illusionary tunnel.
The first test was to see if Angelise still learned how to change modes on the Ragna-mail, considering nature of the tunnel and speed of the VTOL aircraft projecting it. Knowing the specifications of the Ragna-mail and Para-mails alike, the girls knew she would have to switch to the Villkiss's fighter form dubbed the "Flight Mode".
They noticed how it took a while for Angelise to get the picture at first. Stuck in her mecha form dubbed the "Destroyer Mode", the Ragna-mail was moving incredibly slow compared to the craft way out in front. Eventually, they detected the Villkiss going to the more appropriate Flight mode once there was a sudden huge boost of speed within the tunnel.
"Speed of the villkiss is holding steady," Maxine witnessed the monitors that check the Ragna-mail's status and current form.
"Looks like she understands the purpose of this exercise now," Mio commented. "Shouldn't have taken too long."
"Maybe it's for better handling," Lia thought. "She can't relearn too quickly."
"She's not a robot, yes, but this is still sink-or-swim. She can't wait for too long or she'll get shot down before she knows it."
The girls ended the discussion as Maxine continued directing the VTOL for its next instructions and illusions. The others watched the monitors and paid attention to whatever grazes and pathways the Villkiss was taking during the simulation.
Meanwhile, Aya had something else on her mind...
I just hope phase five doesn't end too badly.
-----
It took about a fifteen minutes when the illusionary tunnel ceased. She noticed the VTOL craft projecting it turning around and heading back to the hangar bays within the nearby training facility.
The simulated tunnel was...challenging to put it lightly. The chosen setting was a set of narrow canyons through a high peninsula and a lake and stream down below. Granted that aside from an cylindrical grid to show the edges of the tunnel, the features of the tunnels were impressive with many realistic features taken into account. Not only were there bridges and randomly uneven surfaces to serve as obstacles, but wind and sunny weather conditions were created as well. But that also added to the sudden challenge in the fourth phase.
Angelise went back to her current performance. Her performance began rough like usual, trying to keep up with the VTOL craft that went in front of her while stuck in the Destroyer Mode. When she found the craft going too fast, she switched the Ragna-mail into its Flight Mode to pick up the pace. Only remembering her basic training and spotty memories involving the Ragna-mail, Angelise struggled for a moment on the controls. When she got used to the controls, she already grazed the tunnel a moment, automatically making a mark on her performance.
That wasn't the only time during the test she grazed on the tests; several times, she had to graze the tunnel in order to avoid obstacles thrown at her. Once or twice was due the weather and wind conditions that pushed her Ragna-mail around. Similar results came for getting through the rings as some were extremely difficult to reach without hitting anything, some impossible thanks to her position in the tunnel when they came before her. Even though some of this was inevitable, Angelise recalled finding better ways and paths to meet the challenge's rules and bet she'd get a poor rating for her performance. The only thing she could relax about was phase four being over.
When the tunnel was finished, Angelise found herself back above Arahi's training grounds. Switching back to the Ragna-mails Destroyer form, she awaited new instructions from Maxine.
"Okay, Angelise. With that done, it's time for the last phase."
Angelise nodded in compliance. She also sighed in relief as she knew once this was done, she could take a rest and eat for once. The entire examination was already stressing her out and she felt herself starving thanks to all the energy she spent.
A while after receiving no other instructions prompted the former princess to ask.
"So, what's phase five?"
"Simple," Mio answered on the orders, "Survival."
Alerts went off inside the Villkiss as Angelise looked at the monitors. Nearby were several signatures were incoming toward her location, but exceedingly small. Usually, this would be picked up when DRAGONs were found, but Angelise was sure they were not DRAGONs; they were too small to be Scuna and gave off weird and unknown signatures.
"Wingmen are incoming!"
It wasn't long before Angelise could see the aircraft from her cockpit. She found five small aircraft, too tiny to be manned, concluding that these were automated weapons. Dubbed "Wingmen", they were small flying wings with geometric and sharp designs. The wingspan and length of the aircraft were nearly squared in comparison, yet it was sleek and flat in height. On the bottom were two guns innermost and two banks outermost, which Angelise assumed contained missiles, supported by the connection frame between the wings and body. In the bottom center and some areas on top, she could see gaps that were the intake of the drones' turbines.
Once she got a clear view of the drones, the guns of the drones already started flashing, prompting her to evade as the drones went by. As she decided on her next course of action, another complication came as a cubic field suddenly formed around her. It was red-orange in color, though it was more dark red at the edges. Approaching one of the faces of the field, Angelise felt the Villkiss going into solid contact, concluding it was some kind of force field to keep her in. The weirder part was not the Wingman entering the force field, but the bullets they fired bounced in the internal walls. As the drones made sharp turns to avoid contact with the internal walls, Angelise also predicted this was made to put objects and keep them in.
As she evaded the Wingmen's gunfire again, she called onto the radio.
"Are you trying to kill me!?"
"Why would we?" Mio shot back. "This is to see how much you're able to survive in a real firefight, simulated by AMF drones we accumulated."
"And destroying my mail!?"
"They won't destroy it, miss oblivious. But they're not gonna be loaded with mere blanks either. They just have live rounds that won't penetrate as much against your strong armor, but even that doesn't mean they're harmless."
Angelise understood what Mio after a few moments. During those few moments, her Ragna-mail suffered a few shots on the arms and was being targeted by a small missile shot at her. Despite her attempt to evade it, the missile exploded upon impact on her right arm. Angelise couldn't see well of the damage thanks to the smoke and metallic sparkles, but she could see the damage dealt on the screen. While the arm was still intact, there were alarms going off as it showed the right arm not responding. While attempting to move the right arm with the sticks, she heard no mechanical sounds that told it was working right.
Mio gave a more detailed explanation of what happened.
"A number of rounds and the missiles will temporarily screw with your mecha's controls, simulating the real-life effect of your machine jamming in a firefight. If you want to avoid more effects to your Ragna-mail, then stop taking hits and start counterattacking!"
Angelise didn't have to say she'd comply to that statement as the point was already given.
Starting her counter, Angelise grabbed her sword with her still functioning left arm, stationed in the wings of the mecha just like the normal Para-mails. As the seemingly agile Wingmen made another quick run, Ange was more than ready for them. After dodging more of their gunfire, the Wingmen passed dangerously close to Villkiss. Angelise took the opportunity to swing her sword and with luck, sliced through one of the automated flying drones as it exploded.
Angelise felt some satisfaction in this kind of fight. Back in Arzenal, she wasn't allowed to kill DRAGONs that were the primary targets of their attacks. Instead, she was supposed to freeze them and do so while cooperating with the Norma she despised. But in this world, there wasn't much hesitation as she could destroy these drones without the risk of killing people. Even if it did in terms of real life combat, she was more than fine with the enemy she'd be facing.
This kind of satisfaction went on as she destroyed another Wingman with the same tactic. Another swing and she got two Wingman this time. She didn't bother much to wait for the last one as she trailed behind it in Flight mode, then sliced it into two with her sword while flipping into Destroyer mode once she caught up to it.
A pause came by, but Angelise only gave time for breathing. Knowing the difficulty of these tests, she doubted that this would be complete this easily or quickly. And as the magical girls said before, this was merely to test her current capabilities.
Her suspicions came true when more signatures were detected and Maxine massaged her.
"More Wingmen incoming, including a few Prayers."
When she turned to her new enemies, she quickly strafed to the right as more gunfire came in. She found around six Wingmen and three new weapons that were called Prayers.
To her surprise, the new drones looked like smaller Glaive Para-mails in Flight mode, except they were a little bulkier and had different weapons. Instead of one central primary gun, they had two machineguns and four missile banks on the sides.
That reminded her, apparently during the last battle, the right arm that was disabled was now online again and she could move it well with with controls. More importantly, she had a ranged weapon herself, which she used to fight the DRAGONs. It was usually be sub-machinegun with a high rate of fire and a missile launcher attached to it for stronger targets. After avoiding more of the fire and a few missiles, she landed on the bottom of the cubic force field and reached for her gun.
She found nothing. Actually, she noticed this ever since she transformed into Flight Mode. Instead, something else on the back of the Villkiss that explained its abnormal weight and consequently subnormal speed; it was a strange, shiny rifle with a long blade. Judging by some sections, she deduced that it was some kind of energy weapon. Though she couldn't remember, it had to be sometime when she was "Ange" did she acquire this strange weapon. It was more than enough for Angelise to ask as she wielded the rifle.
"What's this?"
"What you're carrying there is your energy-based rifle," Maxine replied. "Based on what we found, it uses battery power like usual, so we were more than able to recharge it to full capacity for you."
"Well, thank you, but...I'm supposed to have a sub-machinegun. Where'd it go?"
"That's still back in storage. Of all your weapons, that carried mass-based weaponry that requires certain rounds and missiles. There's still ammo, but it would be pointless to use it up without having some way to replicate it. Therefore, we've kept you to weapons we are more than capable of recharging or replicating, like your sword and beam weapon."
Angelise didn't have much time to say anything else as the drones entered the field. Taking aim, she fired a beam at the incoming troops as it cut through two Wingmen and a Prayer. The remaining drones retaliated by spreading out as they opened fire on the Villkiss.
Hovered back as the gunfire trialed and the missiles impacted in front of her. Though they looked like they were seeking her like the previous missiles fired at her, they only hit the ground barely in front of the Villkiss. As Angelise struggled to regain control, she checked to see all of its systems still functioning.
She turned her attention back to the rest of the drones as the two Prayers suddenly hit the ground. That was when the differences between the Prayers and the Glaive Para-mails came clears, size and bulkiness aside. For arms, they were merely fitted with its two machineguns, which to her limited knowledge of weapons looked like old M2 Brownings. The four missile banks were stationed evenly on the shoulders.
As the Prayers opened fire, Angelise engages the Villkiss's wings flew around while avoiding gunfire from the Wingmen above. She also noticed how the torsos of the Prayers moved from the legs, something not too typical from the Para-mails she knew. Putting away the beam rifle, she took out her sword again while converging onto the Para-mail knockoffs. While the Prayers programming noticed its intent, the Villkiss already flew past them and cut them down in the middle of their transformation back into fighters.
Ascending upwards, Angelise used the same word to impale a Wingman from below. While the drone exploded, blinding the others, Angelise exchanged for her rifle again. She got one of last three Wingmen by surprise as the other two retaliated. While they fired missiles and more bullets at the Villkiss, Angelise easily cut through the missiles with her beams, destroying them along with the Wingmen that fired them.
Angelise took a deep breath following the conclusion of this wave.
"Already getting tired, Angelise?" Mio called in.
"You said these thing were called "Prayers", right? They look like miniature Para-mails."
"We noticed that, too," Maxine replied. "But they're not as dangerous as the larger Mantis."
"Mantis?"
The response came several sudden hits from the side.
Without knowing it, Angelise was hit by the side and back from more AMF drones as expected. This wave had about six Wingmen, four Prayers and two larger vehicles that were about as big as her Ragna-mail.
She could predict that these were the mentioned "Mantis" fighters as they were also larger versions of the prayers. On a larger scale, the differences between a Glaive Para-mail and these machines were more clear. Like the Prayers, the Mantids had merely sharp and geometric shapes. They also had no heads when in Destroyer Mode as one transformed onto the ground. They merely had two larger Vulcan guns for arms, equipped with long bayonets, and six missiles on each shoulder. Some of the missiles were already empty, assuming that these were the ones who shot at her.
That laos gave her immediate problems. Seeing the Villkiss's status, it was far from good. The left arm was disabled and she wasn't sure if the right arm will be active any longer. That meant that she couldn't use her new gun in a stable position, if she ever wanted to take a shot. That meant she'll have to resort to melee combat like before.
However, while putting the rifle away, the drones then continued to fire with a combination of guns and missiles. When Angelise tried to take out her sword, some of the incoming drones broke wing to avoid her swings. This was counterattacked by more guns and missiles aimed at her.
Damnit, this is a little too much!
Easy as that, it was like these drones learned from the previous waves and used that against her. Now she was so much trouble, at least in real battlefield standpoint. With all of her limbs shot, Angelise was just floating helplessly in the air while guns and missiles continued to pelt her.
If only...If only this thing has something that didn't need arms or legs...
And then, something made her gasp, which her gave an idea. Though risky and unsure of its power, she recalled memories. These ones involved similar Para-mail- or possibly Ragna-mail in this matter- having mounted on their shoulders. They resembled large beams or pillars that were...transparent? More like they were ripping through space-time and images appeared within the beam. One such mail was a black one tearing through a naval fleet. There was also a red one, having characteristics of a DRAGON that protected her from the same black one. While she can't recall the whole thing, her mind pictured the images...and a song.
While these weapons were used, a song played in her head somewhat. The same one...that her mother, Sophia sang to her past. In both memories, the same song was played as if it was required.
Curious as she was, it was her last chance to survive this wave before whatever awaited her for failure at this point. Checking the interface to see no similar weapons active, she assumed it was merely unlocked as those weapons were built-in inside the shoulders. The song she heard from both those short memories mean they were...a password.
Of course, the demonstrated power could probably destroy everything in sight, which prompted her to call.
"Uh, Max, Mio."
"What is it?" Mio asked in an irritated voice. "You had enough already?"
"No, I'm still going this last round."
"But Angelise," Maxine warned. "All of the Villkiss's body parts have been disabled. You can no longer fight in this round."
"Of course, I do! Just let me try something."
"What are your saying?"
"Brace yourselves!" Angelise turned off the line as she took a deep breath.
-----
When Angelise cut the line, Maxine and Mio's minds stall for a moment, but then it hit them.
"She must've remembered how the use the Time-space cannons." Maxine concluded.
"At this point already?" Aya said in shock.
"Seems like it." Mio sneered.
It was more than evident through the field, where the Villkiss going through a change in color. Mio cursed at this sighting.
"Damnit, she's really gonna do it."
"Quickly, call an emergency evac!" Lia suggested.
"They're not gonna get out in time!"
"Will the field hold?"
"For a little while at least," Maxine answered. "Who knows how long?"
As all the girls rushed to a distance or some kind of cover where they could project defenses, Mio stayed behind. Being at Max's former spot, she opened up a line to the entire arena below.
"This is an emergency, ladies! Duck and cover, raise defenses! All aircraft in the vicinity get away from the arena as quickly as possible! Everybody else, GET DOWN!"
-----
As Angelise continued to sing, she noticed how the Villkiss changed its behavior as well as its color. Dubbed the Uriel Mode, the Ragna-mail manifest gold color on its armor with a new option available on the cockpit terminals. As she continued singing, she found the new weapon available for her located on the shoulders. Called the Space-Time Convergence Cannons, they opened up and charged up in preparation to fire. With the option selected, Angelise operated its aiming system before finally firing.
Like she saw before, the power was so great she could feel it from her cockpit. Finding herself light in the seat, he witnessed the stretching of space and time coming of the destructive weapons. Though it was just a smidgen, she could also see the vast images of space and other worlds, some of them looking familiar to her. The biggest part to her though was the firepower even without arms and legs.
Demonstrating that power while singing, she already annihilated a third of the wave consisting of three Wingmen and two Prayers. Two more Wingmen and a Mantis on her right pitched upward to avoid the cannons, but it was already too late. The cannons were pretty easy to turn and while the planes were in the middle of pointing upward, they were sucked into the cannons before disintegrating. The last two Prayers and Wingmen came from the rear left, trying to shoot down one of her wings to disable. Fortunately for her, their first shoots missed, allowing Angelise to see their incoming direction. Moving to the right, she turned the cannons so they fired straight at the airborne drones. The last Wingman and a Prayer attempted to break way, but were caught in the line of fire. The other Prayer tried to simultaneously descend and transform, but its arm got caught into the cannons and was destroyed like the others. She found the last Prayer on the now weakening shield, thanks to the continuous impact on it from the Villkiss's Time-Space cannons.
But then, something made her stop.
She was just about to finish Mantis standing on the bottom face of the force field. As it helplessly fired at the Villkiss, its bullets and missiles were absorbed by the cannons as they close in. Once they both hit the same target, her voice stopped as the two beams suddenly converged and caused something to stretch even more.
"W-What's going on?"
In one way, it was almost like her own Villkiss was being pulled in as it stretched the front. Shortly afterward, the magical barrier for the testing ground collapsed, but not until the large warp stopped. It concluded with a large blast that screwed with Angelise's line of vision as she covered her eyes. Following that, she could feel the Villkiss being pushed back as it changed back to its normal colors. The blast then died down as the Ragna-mail crashed onto the cliffs by the training facility.
A while after the sudden wave, Angelise woke up still in the cockpit seat. While the interface showed no systems malfunctioning, she felt as if the Ragna-mail was lying on its back. No doubt she was wondering happened just there, maybe something about the Convergence cannons she didn't know? But that could wait, what was more important for her was the damage. Seeing everything now operational, she engaged the thrusters in Destroyer mode.
Turning to the arena while in the air, at least that was still intact. Well, most of it. Angelise noticed a huge vertex of the cubic building got torn off. She could see the inside of the arena being a mess while metal beams that made the structure were bent towards the blast. The aircraft onboard were trashed and some of the roof just fell down. She could hear a large thud in her head, thinking of the impact on the ground afterward.
Angelise then hit the communication line.
"Is...everyone okay?"
-----
Once the sounds of the Space-Time Convergence Cannons died down, Mio peeked from the window consoles to see the sky clear as day. She sighed with relief that she wasn't killed, but also clinched her fist for such a move. But first, she turned to the now trashed office, calling out to everyone else in hiding or protection under glowing and rune-carved fields.
"Everyone okay?"
"We're here, alright," a friendly voice came that was Lia's.
In a moment, everyone else came out of hiding and magical barriers turned off to show everyone's safety.
"Dear," Ria was sure of the sudden event. "What...what just happened?"
Their answer came when they looked through the observation deck. As the Villkiss flew back into the air, they found the wrecked scattered across the roof. While Mio didn't see any on the roof when the Villkiss went into Uriel Mode, she still wasn't sure if there were no casualties. That was no surprise as a huge chunk of the roof collapsed onto the training arena. They heard a flew magic fields and attacks heard as sounds of dust filled the wind. It signalled that the magical girls below smashed the chunk of debris before it could crush anyone, so casualties were luckily low. Still, the weapons that caused put some of the girls on edge.
"I think…" Lia began. "We're gonna need a much bigger training ground."
Though that was already an understatement.
-----
The end part was just a theory I had in what the cannons actually converge on a specific point that made sense. Perhaps that is more of an explanation to how the apocalyptic World War caused that much destruction.
Now that this chapter is done, time to introduce some weapons used by the Anti-Magic Faction.
Some of the weapons you read or are mentioned here are:
Wingman- A small flying drone for aerial interception. It resembled a narrow, geometric flying wing for agility while maintaining speed between 30 MPH and Mach 0.5. Its main armament is two machine guns and two missile hardpoints.
Mantis- A transforming fighter-walker for aerial superiority and ground support respectively. Its main armament is two heavy chainguns with long bayonets on its arms and two racks with six missiles each on its shoulders. The arms and legs are made of interchangeable parts, so an arm can be salvaged to repair one or both of its legs. In case both arms are lost, there's hidden hardpoint in the torso for an extra weapon or other piece of equipment for defense.
The design is like a crossbreed between the Glaive Para-mail and the Terran Viking from Starcraft II.
Prayer- A smaller drone version of the Mantis. It's main armament is two heavy machineguns and three missiles, two stationed on the shoulder and the other in the torso.
During this chapter, there's also an aircraft used on Arahi I developed called the Mooncrest. Basically, it's a four-thruster moon-shaped aircraft designed for transport, whether its troops or heavy objects on grappling hooks. They can also act as shuttles so the girls can escape and travel into space. Though not Angelise's primary transport, it's a major vehicle when Angelise is given assigned operations.
Next chapter will explore more about the city of Arahi and its history. Afterward, we'll get to the first actual battle between the magical girls plus the Villkiss and a force of the AMF.
This'll also be the time I introduce some of the weapons and vehicles the AMF uses. More info will be after the chapter.
-----
Another hour had passed after Angelise was sent up to the rooftop of the training grounds.
Before then came phase two, which examined her physical limitations. Due to her experiences and training she remembered, she went through much of the obstacle courses set up for her. It's due to those same experiences she was good physical performance, from being able to run between 40 and 50 mph at sprint speed to a reaction time around 0.3 seconds.
However, her strength, agility and combat ability needed some work. That came from the subsequent phase three- sparring with Sergeant Mio- and weightlifting examinations from phase two. After being beaten a few times by Mio and having a mere average strength of 70 pounds, Angelise could even see through Mio that she'll need practice.
But now, it was time for phase four. And the task? Piloting her mecha.
Beside her was the mecha she piloted, what she remembered as a Para-mail, but was also dubbed a Ragna-mail. Like all the Para-mails she knew, it was a slim humanoid robot capable of transforming into a fighter jet, which justified the use of a cockpit seat for the torso like most of the VTOL aircraft surrounding her. These mecha were basically mass produced weapons, made to hunt down dragons or Dimensional Rift Attuned Gargantuan Organic Neotypes. There were various types she witnessed, herself piloting the close-quarters Glaive. Later, she was given a mail much like the Glaive, but described as a rugged prototype weapon. In one person's words, it was "an angel of destruction and creation....fit for someone who wanted to die".
Now that angel of destruction was hers and though she can't recall exactly, judging by how it was called a Ragna-mail, it was more than a mere mass produced weapon. Her mind was wanting to get inside the machine and her body was more than eager to pilot it.
That is when Mio's voice came that allowed her.
"Okay Angelise, get into your Ragna-mail now for phase four."
Angelise complied to the order. Walking up to a wired lift installed onto the seat, she pulled herself up to the cockpit seat.
Climbing inside, she looked around as she observed the controls and systems within the Ragna-mail. With the heavy winds blowing into her hair from the rocky shores up in the distance, she felt very cold and uncomfortable. Moreover, she was worried she didn't remember all of her training as a mail rider and may accidentally cause something that'll cause a catastrophe. Both the cold winds bothered her the most and once she found the function to close the cockpit, things started to feel warmer.
After a brief moment of silence and sigh, she was contacted again, but by Maxine this time.
"Phase four is about to commence. In simple terms, it'll judge your skill in piloting your Ragna-mail."
Angelise nodded at the smart magical girl's summary.
"We'll start with easy maneuvers for now, but as time goes on, we'll be looking forward to getting you to practice on whatever needs improvement. Things like your reaction time and agility of your mecha."
"I understand."
"Pleased to hear it. Now, can you start up the Ragna-mail for us?"
And while Angelise grabbed onto the controls...nothing happened. She pulled on the controls a few times, yet it wouldn't respond. Checking the systems on the cockpit, everything looked in perfect order, but she noticed there were a few missing functions and options. She went through the systems and controls repeatedly on the unresponsive machine.
"What's wrong?" Maxine noticed the Ragna-mail hadn't started yet. "Are you able to pilot it?"
"No," Angelise obviously stated. "It won't turn on!"
"Do you have the key in? There should be enough power."
"I...don't think that's the problem."
"What is it, then?"
Angelise was in deep thought about every memory she had in the Ragna-mail. One specific memory she still retained was having this kind of problem before, or at least somewhat. She noticed something happening in the process; her old royalty ring, one she wore on her fingers started glowing. Moments afterward, the machine started and activated by her will.
With that, Angelise checked her hands, only find her ring was gone. She answered to Maxine.
"My ring!"
"Say again?"
"My ring, where's my ring?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I remember operating this before. I need to have my ring first. Do you know where it is?"
"Why should a ring be important on this examination?"
"Because that's what I need to start this. I don't know why, but I remember the system is locked out. Somehow, the only thing that can start it is my royalty ring."
"I see," Maxine replied. "Stay in there for now. I'll see what I can do."
-----
Maxine went offline from communications. She was in a light blue military uniform instead of her magical girl attire, which meant she had no visor or staff. She turned to her confused comrades as they were all in another observation deck at a top corner of the training room.
"What's going on?" Aya asked.
"Apparently, Angelise needs...a ring." Maxine summarized.
"A ring?" Ria repeated in ridicule.
"The Ragna-mail won't start and from she she remembers, she needs a some kind or royalty ring in order to activate it."
"You said you found her and the mecha on beaches, right? Good luck finding that, unless you want to start digging within the sand."
But her twin sister, Lia had the opposite reaction.
"Actually, I found something while I was there!"
The other girls turned to her as Lia reached into the pocket within her shirt. She took out a ring, the exact one she found when stumbling upon the Ragna-mail.
"This must be the ring she was talking about."
"I see," Maxine nodded. "I'll message her right away."
-----
Angelise was still inside her closed cockpit seat, waiting for further orders. She could think of anything else besides the royalty ring she had that could possibly activate the Ragna-mail. Until she received it, there was nothing else she could do but wait.
She then got another message from Maxine.
"Angelise, I think we found your ring."
"Where?"
"Lia says she picked it up while you were unconscious. She'll bring it up to you any moment now. Come out and get it."
With that instruction, Angelise opened up the cockpit seat and climb back down from the Ragna-mail. Almost immediately after land, she found Lia running up to her.
"Here's your ring, Angelise-sama!"
Lia tossed the ring to Angelise. Upon catching the ring, Angelise giggled at how Lia was intending to call by a royal honorific. But she was more concerned about the ring, just to be sure it was the right one.
Indeed it was, the same silver ring with an emerald gem that represented the power of the Misurugi Empire. She recalled being given the ring by her mother Sophia, a just a day before the Baptism Ritual when she was exiled and her family overthrown. Even without her privileges and titles, she still managed to hold onto the key royal ring that belonged to them. Now, this ring became more of necessity as it somehow activated her mail.
"You should be lucky I found it," Lia commented. "If I didn't, it could've been buried in the sand and you never would've started your mecha."
"Uh, thank you, Lia," Angelise nodded back to her.
"Good with your test, Angelise-sama!" Lia smiled and waved.
Angelise waved back as Lia rushed back to the observation post. She returned to her own post, taking the wired lift back up to the cockpit of the Ragna-mail.
Upon getting into her seat, Angelise closed the cockpit again. Calming down, she was deep in thought as the moments upon activating the Ragna-mail came to mind. Upon reaching the controls and desiring to have the mecha start up, her desire came true at the signs.
The ring glowed its emerald color a little before the mecha's power plant started up. Lights around the machine turned on all around Angelise, about all of them still giving an all-green status. The consoles in front of her also changed systems, showing the same statuses back to her. She could even feel the mecha move upon her thoughts among the controls.
And that was when Angelise's Ragna-mail, the AW-CBX007 Villkiss reawakened.
Even without seeing the blue energy wings sprout, Angelise knew that she was ready to fly, feeling the machine roar at a normal output. Even without her orders, she launched her mecha up into the air, passing a few aircraft above and surprising some of the men below.
She soared up to almost a hundred meters above sea level, though the testing arena was already high up from the surrounding shoals. Upon stopping there, she witnessed the entire scene around her. In her direction beyond the shoals and mentioned beaches, she could see the rest of what the girls called Arahi. Like she was told, it was a large island far beyond what Arzenal was, so much she could see a massive city in the distance. And that was only...a third or fourth of the island, the rest was made of flat plains and mountainous terrain on the right.
Angelise was clearly amazed as she confirmed everything what she was told about Arahi. It truly had characteristics of her old Empire of Misurugi while having some of Arzenal, especially the military bases and beaches she found. She thought about it so much that her body felt very light.
Not that she was distracted, snapping back to it once Maxine's voice came back.
"Looks like you got the Ragna-mail working."
"I did, and it's...wonderful…"
"Enjoying the scenery, aren't you?" Mio's voice joined in.
"Uh yes, Sirs. Just seeing wanted to see Arahi for myself, that's all."
"Well, there you have it. Now sightseeing is over, you can do more after the examination. Start paying attention!"
"Yes, Sirs!"
"Phase four is now about piloting your Ragna-mail," Maxine listed the instructions. "Judging by how started, I assume you know the simple controls, are you not?"
"Yes I am."
"Okay then, so we'll skip that part. The rest of the test is you guiding your vehicle through a series of rings and illusionary pathways. Once a VTOL craft flies past you to display that, you'll follow it and go through the rings while staying within the illusionary tunnels. Since it's used to practice flying in tight spaces, it's best if you can try flying without even grazing on the tunnel of illusions. Once the tunnel stops, phase four will be over and you'll be all set for the final phase. Am I clear on this?"
"Yes, Sirs."
"Any other questions?"
"There is one thing I want to say."
"What?"
"This Para-mail, or Ragna-mail that you call it, is named the Villkiss. Perhaps you could refer to it was just that?"
"Acknowledged," Maxine kept that in mind as the VTOL craft flew by the Ragna-mail. Like the other VTOL aircraft, it four large engines that blended in with the curved wings shaped like a mooncrest, two on the front and the other two in the back. The main body was still a little bulky, suggesting it was made for transportation in addition to training services.
"Villkiss, phase four starts now."
-----
With the orders given, the VTOL craft projected what the girls by the observation could easily see as the illusionary tunnel.
The first test was to see if Angelise still learned how to change modes on the Ragna-mail, considering nature of the tunnel and speed of the VTOL aircraft projecting it. Knowing the specifications of the Ragna-mail and Para-mails alike, the girls knew she would have to switch to the Villkiss's fighter form dubbed the "Flight Mode".
They noticed how it took a while for Angelise to get the picture at first. Stuck in her mecha form dubbed the "Destroyer Mode", the Ragna-mail was moving incredibly slow compared to the craft way out in front. Eventually, they detected the Villkiss going to the more appropriate Flight mode once there was a sudden huge boost of speed within the tunnel.
"Speed of the villkiss is holding steady," Maxine witnessed the monitors that check the Ragna-mail's status and current form.
"Looks like she understands the purpose of this exercise now," Mio commented. "Shouldn't have taken too long."
"Maybe it's for better handling," Lia thought. "She can't relearn too quickly."
"She's not a robot, yes, but this is still sink-or-swim. She can't wait for too long or she'll get shot down before she knows it."
The girls ended the discussion as Maxine continued directing the VTOL for its next instructions and illusions. The others watched the monitors and paid attention to whatever grazes and pathways the Villkiss was taking during the simulation.
Meanwhile, Aya had something else on her mind...
I just hope phase five doesn't end too badly.
-----
It took about a fifteen minutes when the illusionary tunnel ceased. She noticed the VTOL craft projecting it turning around and heading back to the hangar bays within the nearby training facility.
The simulated tunnel was...challenging to put it lightly. The chosen setting was a set of narrow canyons through a high peninsula and a lake and stream down below. Granted that aside from an cylindrical grid to show the edges of the tunnel, the features of the tunnels were impressive with many realistic features taken into account. Not only were there bridges and randomly uneven surfaces to serve as obstacles, but wind and sunny weather conditions were created as well. But that also added to the sudden challenge in the fourth phase.
Angelise went back to her current performance. Her performance began rough like usual, trying to keep up with the VTOL craft that went in front of her while stuck in the Destroyer Mode. When she found the craft going too fast, she switched the Ragna-mail into its Flight Mode to pick up the pace. Only remembering her basic training and spotty memories involving the Ragna-mail, Angelise struggled for a moment on the controls. When she got used to the controls, she already grazed the tunnel a moment, automatically making a mark on her performance.
That wasn't the only time during the test she grazed on the tests; several times, she had to graze the tunnel in order to avoid obstacles thrown at her. Once or twice was due the weather and wind conditions that pushed her Ragna-mail around. Similar results came for getting through the rings as some were extremely difficult to reach without hitting anything, some impossible thanks to her position in the tunnel when they came before her. Even though some of this was inevitable, Angelise recalled finding better ways and paths to meet the challenge's rules and bet she'd get a poor rating for her performance. The only thing she could relax about was phase four being over.
When the tunnel was finished, Angelise found herself back above Arahi's training grounds. Switching back to the Ragna-mails Destroyer form, she awaited new instructions from Maxine.
"Okay, Angelise. With that done, it's time for the last phase."
Angelise nodded in compliance. She also sighed in relief as she knew once this was done, she could take a rest and eat for once. The entire examination was already stressing her out and she felt herself starving thanks to all the energy she spent.
A while after receiving no other instructions prompted the former princess to ask.
"So, what's phase five?"
"Simple," Mio answered on the orders, "Survival."
Alerts went off inside the Villkiss as Angelise looked at the monitors. Nearby were several signatures were incoming toward her location, but exceedingly small. Usually, this would be picked up when DRAGONs were found, but Angelise was sure they were not DRAGONs; they were too small to be Scuna and gave off weird and unknown signatures.
"Wingmen are incoming!"
It wasn't long before Angelise could see the aircraft from her cockpit. She found five small aircraft, too tiny to be manned, concluding that these were automated weapons. Dubbed "Wingmen", they were small flying wings with geometric and sharp designs. The wingspan and length of the aircraft were nearly squared in comparison, yet it was sleek and flat in height. On the bottom were two guns innermost and two banks outermost, which Angelise assumed contained missiles, supported by the connection frame between the wings and body. In the bottom center and some areas on top, she could see gaps that were the intake of the drones' turbines.
Once she got a clear view of the drones, the guns of the drones already started flashing, prompting her to evade as the drones went by. As she decided on her next course of action, another complication came as a cubic field suddenly formed around her. It was red-orange in color, though it was more dark red at the edges. Approaching one of the faces of the field, Angelise felt the Villkiss going into solid contact, concluding it was some kind of force field to keep her in. The weirder part was not the Wingman entering the force field, but the bullets they fired bounced in the internal walls. As the drones made sharp turns to avoid contact with the internal walls, Angelise also predicted this was made to put objects and keep them in.
As she evaded the Wingmen's gunfire again, she called onto the radio.
"Are you trying to kill me!?"
"Why would we?" Mio shot back. "This is to see how much you're able to survive in a real firefight, simulated by AMF drones we accumulated."
"And destroying my mail!?"
"They won't destroy it, miss oblivious. But they're not gonna be loaded with mere blanks either. They just have live rounds that won't penetrate as much against your strong armor, but even that doesn't mean they're harmless."
Angelise understood what Mio after a few moments. During those few moments, her Ragna-mail suffered a few shots on the arms and was being targeted by a small missile shot at her. Despite her attempt to evade it, the missile exploded upon impact on her right arm. Angelise couldn't see well of the damage thanks to the smoke and metallic sparkles, but she could see the damage dealt on the screen. While the arm was still intact, there were alarms going off as it showed the right arm not responding. While attempting to move the right arm with the sticks, she heard no mechanical sounds that told it was working right.
Mio gave a more detailed explanation of what happened.
"A number of rounds and the missiles will temporarily screw with your mecha's controls, simulating the real-life effect of your machine jamming in a firefight. If you want to avoid more effects to your Ragna-mail, then stop taking hits and start counterattacking!"
Angelise didn't have to say she'd comply to that statement as the point was already given.
Starting her counter, Angelise grabbed her sword with her still functioning left arm, stationed in the wings of the mecha just like the normal Para-mails. As the seemingly agile Wingmen made another quick run, Ange was more than ready for them. After dodging more of their gunfire, the Wingmen passed dangerously close to Villkiss. Angelise took the opportunity to swing her sword and with luck, sliced through one of the automated flying drones as it exploded.
Angelise felt some satisfaction in this kind of fight. Back in Arzenal, she wasn't allowed to kill DRAGONs that were the primary targets of their attacks. Instead, she was supposed to freeze them and do so while cooperating with the Norma she despised. But in this world, there wasn't much hesitation as she could destroy these drones without the risk of killing people. Even if it did in terms of real life combat, she was more than fine with the enemy she'd be facing.
This kind of satisfaction went on as she destroyed another Wingman with the same tactic. Another swing and she got two Wingman this time. She didn't bother much to wait for the last one as she trailed behind it in Flight mode, then sliced it into two with her sword while flipping into Destroyer mode once she caught up to it.
A pause came by, but Angelise only gave time for breathing. Knowing the difficulty of these tests, she doubted that this would be complete this easily or quickly. And as the magical girls said before, this was merely to test her current capabilities.
Her suspicions came true when more signatures were detected and Maxine massaged her.
"More Wingmen incoming, including a few Prayers."
When she turned to her new enemies, she quickly strafed to the right as more gunfire came in. She found around six Wingmen and three new weapons that were called Prayers.
To her surprise, the new drones looked like smaller Glaive Para-mails in Flight mode, except they were a little bulkier and had different weapons. Instead of one central primary gun, they had two machineguns and four missile banks on the sides.
That reminded her, apparently during the last battle, the right arm that was disabled was now online again and she could move it well with with controls. More importantly, she had a ranged weapon herself, which she used to fight the DRAGONs. It was usually be sub-machinegun with a high rate of fire and a missile launcher attached to it for stronger targets. After avoiding more of the fire and a few missiles, she landed on the bottom of the cubic force field and reached for her gun.
She found nothing. Actually, she noticed this ever since she transformed into Flight Mode. Instead, something else on the back of the Villkiss that explained its abnormal weight and consequently subnormal speed; it was a strange, shiny rifle with a long blade. Judging by some sections, she deduced that it was some kind of energy weapon. Though she couldn't remember, it had to be sometime when she was "Ange" did she acquire this strange weapon. It was more than enough for Angelise to ask as she wielded the rifle.
"What's this?"
"What you're carrying there is your energy-based rifle," Maxine replied. "Based on what we found, it uses battery power like usual, so we were more than able to recharge it to full capacity for you."
"Well, thank you, but...I'm supposed to have a sub-machinegun. Where'd it go?"
"That's still back in storage. Of all your weapons, that carried mass-based weaponry that requires certain rounds and missiles. There's still ammo, but it would be pointless to use it up without having some way to replicate it. Therefore, we've kept you to weapons we are more than capable of recharging or replicating, like your sword and beam weapon."
Angelise didn't have much time to say anything else as the drones entered the field. Taking aim, she fired a beam at the incoming troops as it cut through two Wingmen and a Prayer. The remaining drones retaliated by spreading out as they opened fire on the Villkiss.
Hovered back as the gunfire trialed and the missiles impacted in front of her. Though they looked like they were seeking her like the previous missiles fired at her, they only hit the ground barely in front of the Villkiss. As Angelise struggled to regain control, she checked to see all of its systems still functioning.
She turned her attention back to the rest of the drones as the two Prayers suddenly hit the ground. That was when the differences between the Prayers and the Glaive Para-mails came clears, size and bulkiness aside. For arms, they were merely fitted with its two machineguns, which to her limited knowledge of weapons looked like old M2 Brownings. The four missile banks were stationed evenly on the shoulders.
As the Prayers opened fire, Angelise engages the Villkiss's wings flew around while avoiding gunfire from the Wingmen above. She also noticed how the torsos of the Prayers moved from the legs, something not too typical from the Para-mails she knew. Putting away the beam rifle, she took out her sword again while converging onto the Para-mail knockoffs. While the Prayers programming noticed its intent, the Villkiss already flew past them and cut them down in the middle of their transformation back into fighters.
Ascending upwards, Angelise used the same word to impale a Wingman from below. While the drone exploded, blinding the others, Angelise exchanged for her rifle again. She got one of last three Wingmen by surprise as the other two retaliated. While they fired missiles and more bullets at the Villkiss, Angelise easily cut through the missiles with her beams, destroying them along with the Wingmen that fired them.
Angelise took a deep breath following the conclusion of this wave.
"Already getting tired, Angelise?" Mio called in.
"You said these thing were called "Prayers", right? They look like miniature Para-mails."
"We noticed that, too," Maxine replied. "But they're not as dangerous as the larger Mantis."
"Mantis?"
The response came several sudden hits from the side.
Without knowing it, Angelise was hit by the side and back from more AMF drones as expected. This wave had about six Wingmen, four Prayers and two larger vehicles that were about as big as her Ragna-mail.
She could predict that these were the mentioned "Mantis" fighters as they were also larger versions of the prayers. On a larger scale, the differences between a Glaive Para-mail and these machines were more clear. Like the Prayers, the Mantids had merely sharp and geometric shapes. They also had no heads when in Destroyer Mode as one transformed onto the ground. They merely had two larger Vulcan guns for arms, equipped with long bayonets, and six missiles on each shoulder. Some of the missiles were already empty, assuming that these were the ones who shot at her.
That laos gave her immediate problems. Seeing the Villkiss's status, it was far from good. The left arm was disabled and she wasn't sure if the right arm will be active any longer. That meant that she couldn't use her new gun in a stable position, if she ever wanted to take a shot. That meant she'll have to resort to melee combat like before.
However, while putting the rifle away, the drones then continued to fire with a combination of guns and missiles. When Angelise tried to take out her sword, some of the incoming drones broke wing to avoid her swings. This was counterattacked by more guns and missiles aimed at her.
Damnit, this is a little too much!
Easy as that, it was like these drones learned from the previous waves and used that against her. Now she was so much trouble, at least in real battlefield standpoint. With all of her limbs shot, Angelise was just floating helplessly in the air while guns and missiles continued to pelt her.
If only...If only this thing has something that didn't need arms or legs...
And then, something made her gasp, which her gave an idea. Though risky and unsure of its power, she recalled memories. These ones involved similar Para-mail- or possibly Ragna-mail in this matter- having mounted on their shoulders. They resembled large beams or pillars that were...transparent? More like they were ripping through space-time and images appeared within the beam. One such mail was a black one tearing through a naval fleet. There was also a red one, having characteristics of a DRAGON that protected her from the same black one. While she can't recall the whole thing, her mind pictured the images...and a song.
While these weapons were used, a song played in her head somewhat. The same one...that her mother, Sophia sang to her past. In both memories, the same song was played as if it was required.
Curious as she was, it was her last chance to survive this wave before whatever awaited her for failure at this point. Checking the interface to see no similar weapons active, she assumed it was merely unlocked as those weapons were built-in inside the shoulders. The song she heard from both those short memories mean they were...a password.
Of course, the demonstrated power could probably destroy everything in sight, which prompted her to call.
"Uh, Max, Mio."
"What is it?" Mio asked in an irritated voice. "You had enough already?"
"No, I'm still going this last round."
"But Angelise," Maxine warned. "All of the Villkiss's body parts have been disabled. You can no longer fight in this round."
"Of course, I do! Just let me try something."
"What are your saying?"
"Brace yourselves!" Angelise turned off the line as she took a deep breath.
-----
When Angelise cut the line, Maxine and Mio's minds stall for a moment, but then it hit them.
"She must've remembered how the use the Time-space cannons." Maxine concluded.
"At this point already?" Aya said in shock.
"Seems like it." Mio sneered.
It was more than evident through the field, where the Villkiss going through a change in color. Mio cursed at this sighting.
"Damnit, she's really gonna do it."
"Quickly, call an emergency evac!" Lia suggested.
"They're not gonna get out in time!"
"Will the field hold?"
"For a little while at least," Maxine answered. "Who knows how long?"
As all the girls rushed to a distance or some kind of cover where they could project defenses, Mio stayed behind. Being at Max's former spot, she opened up a line to the entire arena below.
"This is an emergency, ladies! Duck and cover, raise defenses! All aircraft in the vicinity get away from the arena as quickly as possible! Everybody else, GET DOWN!"
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As Angelise continued to sing, she noticed how the Villkiss changed its behavior as well as its color. Dubbed the Uriel Mode, the Ragna-mail manifest gold color on its armor with a new option available on the cockpit terminals. As she continued singing, she found the new weapon available for her located on the shoulders. Called the Space-Time Convergence Cannons, they opened up and charged up in preparation to fire. With the option selected, Angelise operated its aiming system before finally firing.
Like she saw before, the power was so great she could feel it from her cockpit. Finding herself light in the seat, he witnessed the stretching of space and time coming of the destructive weapons. Though it was just a smidgen, she could also see the vast images of space and other worlds, some of them looking familiar to her. The biggest part to her though was the firepower even without arms and legs.
Demonstrating that power while singing, she already annihilated a third of the wave consisting of three Wingmen and two Prayers. Two more Wingmen and a Mantis on her right pitched upward to avoid the cannons, but it was already too late. The cannons were pretty easy to turn and while the planes were in the middle of pointing upward, they were sucked into the cannons before disintegrating. The last two Prayers and Wingmen came from the rear left, trying to shoot down one of her wings to disable. Fortunately for her, their first shoots missed, allowing Angelise to see their incoming direction. Moving to the right, she turned the cannons so they fired straight at the airborne drones. The last Wingman and a Prayer attempted to break way, but were caught in the line of fire. The other Prayer tried to simultaneously descend and transform, but its arm got caught into the cannons and was destroyed like the others. She found the last Prayer on the now weakening shield, thanks to the continuous impact on it from the Villkiss's Time-Space cannons.
But then, something made her stop.
She was just about to finish Mantis standing on the bottom face of the force field. As it helplessly fired at the Villkiss, its bullets and missiles were absorbed by the cannons as they close in. Once they both hit the same target, her voice stopped as the two beams suddenly converged and caused something to stretch even more.
"W-What's going on?"
In one way, it was almost like her own Villkiss was being pulled in as it stretched the front. Shortly afterward, the magical barrier for the testing ground collapsed, but not until the large warp stopped. It concluded with a large blast that screwed with Angelise's line of vision as she covered her eyes. Following that, she could feel the Villkiss being pushed back as it changed back to its normal colors. The blast then died down as the Ragna-mail crashed onto the cliffs by the training facility.
A while after the sudden wave, Angelise woke up still in the cockpit seat. While the interface showed no systems malfunctioning, she felt as if the Ragna-mail was lying on its back. No doubt she was wondering happened just there, maybe something about the Convergence cannons she didn't know? But that could wait, what was more important for her was the damage. Seeing everything now operational, she engaged the thrusters in Destroyer mode.
Turning to the arena while in the air, at least that was still intact. Well, most of it. Angelise noticed a huge vertex of the cubic building got torn off. She could see the inside of the arena being a mess while metal beams that made the structure were bent towards the blast. The aircraft onboard were trashed and some of the roof just fell down. She could hear a large thud in her head, thinking of the impact on the ground afterward.
Angelise then hit the communication line.
"Is...everyone okay?"
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Once the sounds of the Space-Time Convergence Cannons died down, Mio peeked from the window consoles to see the sky clear as day. She sighed with relief that she wasn't killed, but also clinched her fist for such a move. But first, she turned to the now trashed office, calling out to everyone else in hiding or protection under glowing and rune-carved fields.
"Everyone okay?"
"We're here, alright," a friendly voice came that was Lia's.
In a moment, everyone else came out of hiding and magical barriers turned off to show everyone's safety.
"Dear," Ria was sure of the sudden event. "What...what just happened?"
Their answer came when they looked through the observation deck. As the Villkiss flew back into the air, they found the wrecked scattered across the roof. While Mio didn't see any on the roof when the Villkiss went into Uriel Mode, she still wasn't sure if there were no casualties. That was no surprise as a huge chunk of the roof collapsed onto the training arena. They heard a flew magic fields and attacks heard as sounds of dust filled the wind. It signalled that the magical girls below smashed the chunk of debris before it could crush anyone, so casualties were luckily low. Still, the weapons that caused put some of the girls on edge.
"I think…" Lia began. "We're gonna need a much bigger training ground."
Though that was already an understatement.
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The end part was just a theory I had in what the cannons actually converge on a specific point that made sense. Perhaps that is more of an explanation to how the apocalyptic World War caused that much destruction.
Now that this chapter is done, time to introduce some weapons used by the Anti-Magic Faction.
Some of the weapons you read or are mentioned here are:
Wingman- A small flying drone for aerial interception. It resembled a narrow, geometric flying wing for agility while maintaining speed between 30 MPH and Mach 0.5. Its main armament is two machine guns and two missile hardpoints.
Mantis- A transforming fighter-walker for aerial superiority and ground support respectively. Its main armament is two heavy chainguns with long bayonets on its arms and two racks with six missiles each on its shoulders. The arms and legs are made of interchangeable parts, so an arm can be salvaged to repair one or both of its legs. In case both arms are lost, there's hidden hardpoint in the torso for an extra weapon or other piece of equipment for defense.
The design is like a crossbreed between the Glaive Para-mail and the Terran Viking from Starcraft II.
Prayer- A smaller drone version of the Mantis. It's main armament is two heavy machineguns and three missiles, two stationed on the shoulder and the other in the torso.
During this chapter, there's also an aircraft used on Arahi I developed called the Mooncrest. Basically, it's a four-thruster moon-shaped aircraft designed for transport, whether its troops or heavy objects on grappling hooks. They can also act as shuttles so the girls can escape and travel into space. Though not Angelise's primary transport, it's a major vehicle when Angelise is given assigned operations.
Next chapter will explore more about the city of Arahi and its history. Afterward, we'll get to the first actual battle between the magical girls plus the Villkiss and a force of the AMF.
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