Chapter One: Mysterious Encounter! Nanoha Becomes a Magical Girl!

The room of a particular little girl is decorated primarily in pink, with occasional pictures of family or friends adorning the walls and furniture. Though sunrise was a couple of hours ago, the room is completely silent except for the quiet breathing of its slumebering occupant. ...right up until some older rock music cut in from somewhere, loudly, startling the girl awake with a yelp.

HIIIIIIGHWAAAAY~ TOOOO THE DANGER ZONE! (ba dun-da-dun) I'LL TAKE YA RIIIIIIGHT IIIIINTOOOO THE DANGER ZOOOOOOONE!

"Okay, Mister Loggins, I'm up!" the girl adorably cried. Fighting to keep her eyes open, she flung out an arm for her nightstand, attempting to grab her cell phone... but succeeded only in brushing it onto the floor, where it bounced once and ended up beneath the bed.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO~, UNTIL YOU GET IT UP HIGH AS YOU CAN GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

"Mister Loggins, can you please sing a little quieter?!" A pink-pyjama'd form rose up from beneath the sheets, and reached out over the edge of the bed... and reached... and reached... and reached... "Aaahh - oof!" ...and then fell over and wound up sprawled across the floor with a loud thud. "...ow."

Before the room could be assaulted with another booming lyric, the girl finally managed to get a hand on her phone, and turned the alarm off.

Blearily getting to her feet, the girl asked herself, "...how did the volume get turned up that loud, anyway?"

The door opened, and an older girl with long black hair popped her head in. The girl said, "April Fool's, Nanoha!"

"But Miyukiii, that was yesterday!"

Miyuki laughed. "And I didn't get to get you yesterday, so there!"

A pout. "But that's not how it's supposed to work!"

Miyuki playfully stuck out her tongue. "Too bad~!"

A few moments after her older sister ran back out to train in the family's dojo, Nanoha winced as she began rubbing the back of her head where she hit the floor. "But seriously," she muttered, "what was with that wierd dream?"

Nanoha Takamachi, an ordinary third grader at West City Elementary School. A very bright, energetic, and friendly young lady with auburn hair and bright blue eyes, her favorite subject in school is mathematics, and her favorite movie is Top Gun. She has two older siblings - a sister, Miyuki, who is a junior in high school; and a brother, Kyouya, currently in his freshman year of college. Their father, Shiro, was a soldier and martial artist before he settled down. The family matriarch, Momoko, is a first-rate chef who handles all the baking for the family restaurant, the Midori-ya - a sweet shop specializing in cakes and other, similar confections.

In Nanoha's picture-perfect ordinary life, this is the beginning of yet another usual day. ...or so she believes.

After the end of their elementary classes for the day, Nanoha and two of her friends were making their way to cram school. One, Alisa Bannings, was a haughty but compassionate blonde. The other, Suzuka Tsukimura, was a more space-y girl with purple hair.

"An evil alien dust bunny? That's certainly... bizarre. And you say it was fighting a magical boy?" Alisa grinned. "Just what kind of comics have you been reading lately?"

"Now, now, Alisa, there's no need to tease her about it. It was all just a dream, you know?"

"Sure, I know that, but it sounded kind of interesting. That's why I'm asking if there's some specific show or comic or something that inspired her to come up with it."

"I don't think so," Nanoha mused. "Actually, if I think a little more about it, it was kind of scary. It looked like the boy was hurt really badly."

Alisa hmm'ed in contemplation, before shrugging it off. "Ah well, that's what you get for watching video recordings of the Tenkaichi Budokai all the time."

"Hey!" Nanoha indignantly cried. "I don't watch it all the time! You make it sound like I'm some kind of... fight junkie or something!"

Now it was Suzuka's turn to start teasing. "I know, I know. ...But Nanoha, that champion Hercule is really incredible, isn't he?"

Nanoha stopped abruptly, and turned to her friend, with a horrified expression. "Suzuka, how could you say that?! That guy doesn't know the real pride and honor behind martial arts! Before he came around, there was a time when the title of 'Strongest Under the Heavens' really meant something!"

The other two girls simply stood there and glanced at each other with a knowing grin. A split-second later, Nanoha realized that she'd been played like a cheap fiddle. "...Jeez," she pouted, "that was mean of you, Suzuka."

A giggle. "I'm sorry, but sometimes you just make it so... easy. Although I guess it does make sense that would you be more in-tune about that sort of thing, since your family has a history of martial arts..."

"Oh, I just remembered!" Alisa dropped her fist into her open palm. "My mom won some stadium tickets to the next Budokai in a company lottery, but you know she's really not into that stuff. Do you want to come with, Nanoha? Suzuka?"

Suzuka smiled and nodded, while Nanoha gasped. The brunette's eyes sparkling with excitement, she asked, "Can I? Can I really, Alisa?!"

A smirk. "Of course you can! What are friends for?"

Around that time, they came upon a dirt path through a city park. "You know," Suzuka began, "we could save a lot of time if we went through the park..."

Alisa spared only a brief glance at the suggested route. "We could, but then we could also run the risk of getting hurt on a rough path like that. And it's not like we're running late or anything anyway..."

Suzuka sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I was just thinking that it might also be nice to take a different route every so often..."

"Hmm... maybe next time, that sound fair? What do you think, Nanoha? ...Nanoha? What's wrong?"

Her friends hadn't noticed, but Nanoha had seemingly drifted off to another world. Concernedly gazing down the parkway path, she eventually asked, "Did you guys hear something just now?"

The girls paused. "Something like... what?"

Nanoha didn't answer immediately, uncertainly looking at her surroundings. "I thought it sounded like someone's voice..."

Suzuka and Alisa glanced at each other, before straining their ears to listen for the sound that had disturbed their friend. Several seconds later, Alisa shook her head. "No, I don't hear anythi-"

Someone, please... help me...

"There it is again!"

Suzuka and Alisa jumped from Nanoha's outburst, before sharing a worried expression. "...I still didn't hear anything," Suzuka said. "Did you, Alisa?"

"...no, I didn't."

Someone... please... lend me... your powers...

"I know I heard someone down that path! I'm going to check it out!" With that, Nanoha ran off into the wooded park.

"Nanoha! Wait!" After a moment, Alisa sighed. "Looks like you're getting your scenic route today after all, huh Suzuka?"

"I didn't mean for it to be like this, though..."

When the two caught up with their friend, they found Nanoha a little ways off of the path, crouched down in a meadow, worriedly looking over a small animal of some kind. The critter weakly, pitiably turned to look at the girls, revealing a red spherical gem tied around its neck. Turning to her friends, Nanoha said, "It looks like its really hurt... what should we do?"

While the girls spent several seconds in a panic until Suzuka thought to call her parents, the wounded and exhausted animal nudged its nose against Nanoha's hand, before once more falling unconscious.

Several blocks away, in a high-tech dome-shaped residence...

A half-dressed woman with blue hair let out a yawn, still having not completely woken up from her previous night of partying. "Honestly," she grumbled in irritation, "what the heck's wrong with me? Knocking over the damn Dragon Radar while I'm doing maintenance on it..."

After screwing a particular wire back into place, she let out a sigh. "Well, I guess that's what I get for trying to work with delicate equipment when I'm still half-asleep..."

Bulma reached for a cup of steaming fluid, took a sip, and then made an expression of complete and total disgust. "Ugh! There are two super-geniuses living in this house, with thousands of patents between us, and we still can't build a decent damned coffee maker?! I hate this crap!"

Bulma started to toss the cup and its contents out through the open window, when the Dragon Radar suddenly beeped at her. "...what the...?"

Her attention now held by the gadget and its reaction, Bulma set the cup of atrocious coffee back down on the desk and began poking and prodding at the Dragon Radar. "...well, that's... bizarre. It's reading all seven Dragon Balls... and all within in the West City area? That can't be right, the odds of all seven being found and then randomly gathered in a general area with that kind of grouping are..."

Bulma leaned back in her chair, looking-but-not-really-looking at her ceiling in thought. "Even ignoring that, normally Goku would've showed up ages ago, asking to borrow the Dragon Radar so he could retrieve the Four-Star Dragon Ball, his grandpa's keepsake..."

The more Bulma considered the situation, the more wrong it felt. Eventually, however, she let out a breath and relaxed. "...Oh, it's probably just malfunctioning. I did drop it while it was half-disassembled, after all. I'll just call up Goku real quick and make sure the Four-Star's still over at his place, that'll solve it."

Reaching for a cellular satellite phone of her own design, the bluenette scientist idly remarked, "Actually, it's been a couple of years since anybody's seen hide or hair of that guy..." Narrowing her eyes as she put in the number, Bulma muttered, "this contact information better still be current..."

After a few seconds of dial tone, Bulma heard a woman's voice. "Hello? This is the Son residence."

"Oh, Chi-Chi! It's me, Bulma!"

There was a split-second pause."Oh, Bulma! It's been a couple of years now, hasn't it? I'd give the phone to Goku for you, but he's outside somewhere training right now. ...and I'm in the middle of fixing dinner. If you want, I could pass on a message, though."

Bulma shook her head. "Nah, I just have a quick question, and then I'll let you get back to cooking. To make this quick, basically, the Dragon Radar broke, and it's showing that all seven Dragon Balls are scattered around here in West City. It's probably broken, but I figured that I'd go ahead and check if you guys still had the Four-Star as an easy test for that."

On the other end of the line, Chi-Chi glanced at her beloved baby boy, and the homemade hat resting on his head. And on that hat, was indeed the Four-Star Dragon Ball. "Yep, it's still here."

Bulma let out a little laugh. "Yeah, that's what I figured. Good thing I made a second Radar in case the first one ever got messed up like this. Anyway, thanks, and I'll let you get back to your cooking. Tell Goku I said hi!"

After that, Bulma ended the call and sighed. "Yeah, I figured it was broken. Now I just need to figure out exactly what-"

The malfunctioning Dragan Radar beeped again, and Bulma looked at it. "The heck? One of the Dragon Balls is on the move? ...maybe I should check things out after all before I fix it..."

West City - Makihara Veterinary...

"Well, girls," the veterinarian said as she finished washing her hands, "the little guy's wounds aren't that severe. However, he does seem very weak. It's probable that he spent a long while in that injured state before you found him."

Nanoha, Suzuka, and Alisa all heaved a sigh of collective relief. "Thank you so very much, doctor!"

"You're welcome. That's what I'm here for."

"...doctor," Alisa spoke up, "this little guy's a ferret, isn't he? I think he might be someone's pet."

The vet strode back to the table where the now-bandaged critter was resting, contemplating that. "It does seem to be a ferret, though it must a very strange breed - I've never heard of one with what I'd describe as blonde fur before. And this thing around its neck... it looks like some sort of gem."

As the woman lightly reached out to the scarlet orb so that she could examine it, the ferret promptly woke up, prompting gasps from all present. Rather than the fearful or hostile reaction one might have expected from a animal suddenly thrust into a strange place surrounded by unfamiliar people, the ferret coolly and calmly regarded the doctor, and then the three schoolgirls. After briefly observing all three, it focused its attention on Nanoha.

"Nanoha," Alisa whispered, "it's looking at you."

Though she could see that quite well for herself, Nanoha nevertheless started a bit at having it pointed out to her. Unsure of what to do, the girl tentatively extended a finger to the ferret.

The ferret watched for a second, sniffed, and then licked the tip of her finger, prompting a soft squee from the tickling sensation. Evidently, it liked her. ...And then it promptly rolled back over and fell asleep again.

After a moment of silence, the vet said, "I think it's for the best that we let him sleep for now. Don't worry, I'll make sure to take very good care of him until tomorrow." A friendly smile. "So if you want to check on him, just come by at any time."

"Yes, we will!"

"...Wait," Alisa realized, "we're going to be late for prep school!"

"Oh no!"

And with that, Nanoha, Suzuka, and Alisa promptly bid their farewells and beat a hasty retreat.

Later that night, at the Takamachi residence...

"...and the poor thing doesn't have anywhere else to go," Nanoha anxiously concluded, "so I was thinking that maybe we could take care of it for a while."

Shiro sat back in his seat at the dinner table, crossing his arms in thought. "A ferret, huh?" After several seconds of contemplation, he asked, "What is a ferret, anyway?"

Nanoha, Kyouya, and Miyuki all nearly fell out of their seats, aghast at their father's obliviousness.

Kyouya scratched his head, trying to regain some composure. "It's kind of like a weasel, isn't it?"

"Actually, ferrets have been a pretty popular pet for a while now," Miyuki added.

As she brought her delicious, delicious home-cooked dinner to the table, Momok asked, "Ferrets are small, furry creatures, aren't they?"

"You know what ferrets are?" Shiro asked in surprise.

Ignoring the question, Nanoha gestured with her hands to show the ferret's approximate size. "It's... about this big."

"Well," Momoko began, "if it's just for a little while, you can keep it... so long as you keep it in a cage and take good care of it. That sound good, everyone?"

When the three Takamachi children all responded in the affirmative, Shiro nodded and smiled. "All right then, that's that. Now then, the finest chef in the world cooked an amazing dinner for us, so we can't let it get cold now!"

Momoko lightly and playfully smacked her husband on the arm. "Don't you go starting with that again, dear...!"

Two hours later, Makihara Veterinary...

Yuuno Scrya awoke with a start, still using the ferret form he'd changed into in order to accelerate his recovery. ...although, it'd have been pretty awkward if he had resumed his human form, since the vet had placed him in a ferret cage.

Yuuno cast his senses about, quickly detecting the Jewel Seed he'd been fighting earlier.

[It approaches,] Raging Heart observed.

"Yeah. ...and I still haven't recovered enough yet to capture it on my own..."

The Intelligent Device hanging around his neck chimed, [Do not blame yourself. It could not be helped.]

Despite his mechanical companion's words, Yuuno still felt ashamed of his weakness. I'm the one who dug them up, and now those Lost Logia have been set loose upon this world... and I'm not even able to set it right on my own...

But set it right he would, even if he had to depend on others for help. Opening his mind, Yuuno quickly scanned through the city until he found the native girl he'd encountered earlier - the auburn-haired that had helped him - and contacted her through telepathy.

Can you hear me? ...are you there? Can you hear me?!

He 'felt' as much as 'heard' the girl's surprise. So, she could hear him. That confirmed what he'd been thinking since their first encounter many hours earlier - that the girl had the potential to use magic.

I know you can hear my voice. Listen, please, Yuuno begged. I need you to lend me some of your power. Just for a little while.

Yuuno could sense the Jewel Seed suddenly accelerate in his direction. Please hurry and come to me! There's danger! It will be here in a matter of moments!

The malevolent magical energy surged in his direction again, and Yuuno cut off his telepathy. In his weakened state, he knew that surviving the coming battle would take his full attention and effort...

Nanoha panted from exertion as she ran toward Makihara Veterinary, her mind a whirl of confusion. The wounded ferret she found earlier that day had called out to her using ESP, and had begged her to help it. And now here she was, having snuck out of the house in the middle of the night so she could run to the ferret and save it. From... something. Nanoha didn't have a clue what, but as worried as the little guy had sounded, it was probably something really really bad.

And if that's the case, Nanoha wondered, then what could I do about it? It's not like I have any special traits or talen-... that thought immediately fell dead, when Nanoha remembered how Alisa's merciless persuasion on the topic earlier that day. And Nanoha could admit that maybe she did get better grades in math and science than Alisa did, but it wasn't like that would really be a lot of help in the current situation, would it?

Turning the corner to arrive at her destination, Nanoha suddenly stopped cold and gripped her head in pain as a ringing noise echoed through the area. "It's... it's that sound again!" After but a moment or two, the sound stopped, and Nanoha opened her eyes again.

"Wait, when did this-?!" Looking at the world as if through a hazy purple filter, the view before her had suddenly and completely changed. The street was completely and totally wrecked, littered with craters. The buildings weren't in any better shape, either, with several walls having collapsed. Telephone poles and streetlights were knocked over, roughly snapped into pieces. "What... what happened here?"

At that time, the evil alien dust bunny monster from her dream crashed through the veterinary wall, apparently chasing after something...

"Ah! It's the little ferret!"

Nanoha's cry caught the ferret's attention, and it promptly made a fantastic leap toward her. The monster attempted to follow suit, but was bound up in a bundle of telephone cables. Seeing her chance, Nanoha promptly turned around and ran away, the ferret relatively safe in her arms.

"You really came," said the ferret. "Even though I prayed, I almost didn't believe that you would come and help me..."

Nanoha barely managed to keep from tripping over herself in shock. "I-it talks?!"

The ferret ignored Nanoha's surprise. "Please, I need your help. I came to this world searching for dangerous artifacts that I accidentally let loose, but it seems like I'm not powerful enough to retrieve them on my own. So... please! Lend me your power! I promise that I'll reward you for your efforts as soon as I'm able to!"

Hearing an explosion some distance behind her, Nanoha dived behind a street light that was still upright. "Can't you talk about rewards and stuff a little bit later?!"

The ferret seemed a bit abashed, as if it had expected to be dealing with a more selfish kind of person. "Y-yes, you're right. I'm sorry."

Nanoha fidgeted for a moment, before coming to a decision. "W-well, if you think there's something I can do to help, then just tell me what it is!"

"Here, take this." The ferret then offered its shining red gem to Nanoha, prompting her to hold it. "Now, repeat after me."

While girl and ferret recited a magical incantation, the monster had managed to free itself and was barrelling towards them at high speed.

After a moment, Nanoha finished, "...Raging Heart, set up!"

Raging Heart chimed. [Stand by, ready. Set Up.]

What manner of powers will Nanoha gain from her contact with the alien space ferret? Will Yuuno reveal to her that he is actually an alien space human? And just what is the nature of the Dragon Radar's malfunction?

FIND OUT NEXT TIME, ON DRAGON! BALL! N!