Illya 6

It's the one year anniversary and I figured I'd better update. Now, this chapter's not the best, but it was probably as good as I was going to get it in any decent timeframe, and the chapter itself wasn't really crucial enough to the story to warrant me spending the next four months trying to get it perfect. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy it and look forward to the next chapter turning out better than this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Kalied or Nanoha, and while I wouldn't turn them down if offered, I won't be holding my breath.

"This place is amazing." Kuro said, looking out the window at the vast forest and clear lake.

"Don't forget the reason why we're here." Rin and Luvia both said at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah…" Kuro replied, not paying them any attention at all, "It's a test. They're not going to let us do anything unless we pass. I know."

"You don't have to be so casual about it." Illya muttered, "Some of us are still a little nervous, you know."

"None of you have anything to worry about." Caren said, sipping her tea without a care in the world, "Even if your organs explode or your skin falls off, I'm sure you'll do fine."

"That's not going to happen!" Shamal said, smacking the back of her head. Ignoring her, Shamal gave them all a smile, "Don't do anything too dangerous, and you should be fine." She assured them.

"It's time to go, isn't it?" Irisviel asked, and Shamal nodded.

"The captains said that the training session will begin at noon."

"Thank you." Irisviel nodded, "Everyone, you heard what she said. All of you are going to be fine, I know it." Reaching into her pocket, she withdrew four class cards, "Each of you get two cards. Lancer and Berserker are too dangerous, so our remaining cards are Saber, Rider, Caster, and Assassin."

"Miyu, you should take Saber and Rider." Illya said, taking the Caster and Assassin cards.

"But Saber's the strongest card! You should take it-"

"Miyu, you have experience installing the cards before. I don't. You're the stronger fighter, so you should take the stronger cards."

"...Okay." Miyu nodded after a moment, "But promise me that if you run into any trouble, you'll come find me, alright?"

"Okay!"

"Now that that's settled, we should get some warm ups in beforehand." Iri said, leading them out into the forest to practice.

"The rules of the battle are fairly simple." Nanoha told them once all of Riot Force Six had gathered at a clearing not too far from the inn, "Use whatever magic or abilities you can. Show us everything you've got."

"Don't stress over it being a test too much." Fate added with a small smile, "We can't move forward without knowing each of your capabilities, and a mock battle is the best way to do so."

"Stars and Lightning will operate in teams as they have been." Signum said, turning to Illya group, "It was decided that you would all act as a group. Each of you have already passed trials worse than this, but you've always done so as a team. Use that experience to your advantage and show your skills to their fullest."

"And since you haven't got a captain class fighter, the best we can do is giving you a numerical edge." Nanoha chuckled weakly.

"We won't be coordinating with the forwards, though." Vita said, gripping the hammer necklace around her neck, "This is supposed to be a test of your skills. It won't mean anything if you just get crushed by us before you could."

"Stars, you'll be based around the lake to the north." Fate said, pointing towards the north, "Lightning, we're based at the base of the mountain. And you guys are here, in the forest."

"Right!" They all said quickly, and they nodded.

"The battle begins in half an hour." Signum said, equipping her armor along with Vita, "Use that time to come up with a plan."

"The battle will be over once everyone's skills have been determined." Nanoha said, turning her jewel into a staff, "So don't be afraid to show us everything you've got."

"Enough chit-chat." Signum said, turning away from them and flying towards the mountain.

"Agreed." Vita smirked, giving them one last look, "Don't let me down, midgets. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're made of."

Fate and Nanoha shared a look and smiled, "Then let's wrap up here. Everyone, I'll fire off an explosion when it's time to start."

Stars and Lightning split up to follow their leaders, leaving them all alone.

After a moment of silence, Irisviel took a step forward and addressed them all.

"So, is everyone ready to fight?" she asked, and they nodded slowly, "Our group might not be as well trained as our opponents, but you've all fought together against some real monsters, haven't you? This shouldn't be too hard for you."

"The rogue spirits are driven entirely by instinct, though." Rin sighed, "When our opponent actually uses strategy to fight… Well, Bazett should prove how lacking we are in that department."

"I don't think that any of our opponents will be quite that strong." Luvia shook her head, "Not during a simple skills test, at least. Regardless, the experience we've gathered at this point should be more than enough to pull us through."

"Agreed." Iri giggled, "Now then, we have seven members, and they have eight. Assuming that the captains don't get involved at the start like they said they wouldn't, we should be in good shape."

"Let me guess, you'll pit the girls against the forwards and leave the captains to the rest of us?" Caren said casually, leaning up against a tree nearby.

"...Withso few gems, I'm not confident that Rin or I can contend with them." Luvia said truthfully, and given her lack of a snarky retort, Rin felt the same.

"What about together?" Iri asked them, "If you work together, can you beat one of the subcaptains with the few gems you have?"

"...Well, we won't know unless we try." Rin admitted, "If me and miss moneybags work together, we can probably hold out for a little while, at least."

"Then you two try and fight Vita." Iri nodded, "Caren, you take Signum, and I'll fight Fate."

"And Nanoha?" Caren asked, "Are you really going to just ignore the most dangerous member of their side?"

"Everyone who finishes their matches will converge and fight her as a group." Iri answered, "At the opening stages, she'll likely be the only one who will not make any moves. We can afford to ignore her until she starts to make a move."

"Momma, you've put a lot of thought into this." Illya said once she gave her reasoning.

"Of course, I did, sweetie." She giggled, "I used to do this all the time for Kiritsugu. You can just leave gaining the advantage to Momma!"

"So, it's going to be four against three?" Kuro asked her, "I mean, Miyu, Illya, and I against Teana, Subaru, Erio, and Caro, right?"

"That would be ideal." Iri admitted after a moment, "But there's a slight problem with that."

"They'll be coming at us from two sides." Caren said for her, "Most likely, we'll need to split up to engage both groups."

"I'll fight against Caro and Erio." Kuro announced.

"...That would be best." Iri admitted, "Caro's skill in individual combat isn't significant, and while the combination with Erio is worrisome, your skills are several levels higher than his. Even without mastery over your new implants, the two of them alone shouldn't be able to beat you."

"Will you be alright on your own?" Miyu asked, and she nodded.

"Besides, I'd rather not fight against Subaru." She smiled, changing from her casual clothes to her battle clothes, "And once you beat the others, you can come give me a hand if I need it."

"Then we have our plan." Iri said happily, "Now, we just have to get ready to start the fun."

The moment that a magic explosion sounded in the air, Kuro and Irisviel split off from the rest to go towards the lightning base at the foot of the nearby mountain. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of battle, which meant that the rest must have found their opponents.

Speaking of opponents, Irisviel stopped when she saw her hover in the sky to her left, surveying the battle across from them.

"Dear, I know you'll do great." She said, patting Kuro's head and ushering her off. Fate hadn't seemed to notice her yet, so she took a moment to compose herself. Right now, she wasn't going to be fighting as Illya and Kuro's mother. She was the wife of the Mage Killer. Removing several strands of her hair, she joined them together into a rope stronger than steel wire and whipped it around Fate's leg, crashing her straight down into the forest floor.

"Ow..." Fate muttered getting up, but she gave a fearless smile as soon as she saw Irisviel, "I wasn't expecting to be attacked so early."

"Of course, you weren't." Iri smiled, transfiguring the rope into swords, birds, and defensive nets, "No one would willingly provoke someone as powerful as you.. But letting you pick the terms would be just as dangerous. Better to take you out now then wait for you to come for us later."

Fate put a hand to her ear, "Nanoha, I'm engaging Irisviel."

Leaving Irisviel behind, Kuro charged forward, both her swords ready in her hand. Every step she ran, she got more and more alert. They were already well within Lightning's territory, so it shouldn't be long until-

No sooner did she think that then she reached the mountain without finding them. There's no way that she'd missed them, which means either they were planning to ambush her around here or-

"Kuro!" Illya said telepathically, "Erio and Caro are over here!"

"I wasn't expecting to run into this many people." Erio said, holding Strada firmly in his hand while standing in front of Caro, "We were going to attack Stars first."

"Is that so, did you think we were the easy ones?" Tia asked, guns pointed at Erio as well as Illya and Miyu.

"No." He answered, sprinting forward and knocking her aside before she could shoot, "Just that you wouldn't be expecting it."

"Tia!" Subaru shouted, stopping his advance.

"I'm fine!" She answered, getting back to her feet, "Hold them off, I'll end this quickly!"

Miyu immediately installed the Saber card, placing herself between Illya and Tia.

"Illya, run." Miyu warned her, "Get some distance and leave this to me." Without waiting for a response, Miyu charged in, engaging Subaru and Erio at the same time while also blocking any shots Tia aimed at her.

"Miyu, you can't fight the four of them on your own." Illya said, taking out the caster card, "I'll fight too. Ruby, Install!"

"It's finally my turn!" Ruby giggled, light covering them as the card was activated. Illya felt the staff in her hand disappear, and her outfit changed into a dark black dress and cloak, but she could feel her powers beginning to swell.

Not just her magic, but strange thoughts and memories moved through her head. The magic that flowed through her body wasn't Mage craft as it was practiced by Rin, Luvia, and her mother. It was magic from the time of the gods, the magic that this spi- that she once used to earn the moniker 'Witch of Betrayal, Medea.' Magic stronger than any other!

As the light dimmed, she extended a hand. A staff of magic appeared in her hand.

"That's Caster." Miyu said softly, and she nodded.

"This card gave us a bit of trouble the last time." She said, pointing the staff at her opponents, "But now-!" Three magic circles burst into existence, firing off wave after wave of tremendous magic power at the four across from them. The attacks sent them flying back, clearing quite a bit of the surroundings as well.

"Illya, your magic power was depleted a fair bit from that little barrage." Ruby said from the staff in her hand, "You won't be able to fire off another like that without recovering your mana."

"Illya, we should leave." Miyu nodded, "That attack wasn't enough to take them out. We need to regroup with Kuro before they can recover."

"Leave them to me." Caren said, walking out from behind the tree and heading straight down the path of destruction Illya had made, "Regroup with Kuro and engage Nanoha. Those are your new orders. Goodness, your mother expects far too much from me..."

Nanoha, Vita and Signum all watched the battles with interest. Fate's fight with Irisviel was locked in a stalemate, with Irisviel being unable to damage Fate, but Fate unable to break through her defenses either. Caren's fight with the forwards was much more one-sided, even with the numerical and magical advantage. That woman was a much better combatant than she'd led them to believe.

The girls had regrouped to gather their energy, but….

The issue was with the other two.

"Would you at least try to move with a bit more grace?" Luvia scoffed after Rin triped over a tree root.

"'Grace' my ass, we're in the middle of a forest, dumbass." Rin growled, "Where was your 'grace' a few minutes ago, when you nearly broke your ankle on a little pebble?"

"That was an enemy trap, you uncultured baboon!" Luvia shouted angrily, "If you can't even see something that obvious then frankly, you're a hazard to my health!"

"'A trap?' Rin mocked her, "Oh, of course, what idiot prepares for pebbles in a forest? Clearly everything should be well paved with streetlights to ensure that your limo doesn't get even a single speck of dust on it, right your majesty?!"

Luvia's eye twitched, "You lumbering oaf!"

"Daft bimbo!" Rin retorted, raising her hand at the same time as Luvia did.

"Hey, I just realized something..." Luvia grinned.

"What a coincidence, I was just thinking the same thing." Rin giggled.

""If all I need to do is show my skills, I'll show them by defeating you!""

"I think we can agree that they probably aren't the best teammates." Signum sighed, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Their skills aren't bad, though. I'm actually somewhat impressed." Vita admitted halfheartedly.

"We've gotten a good grasp on most of their skills." Signum nodded, staring at the girls a good distance ahead of them, "They're the only ones left."

"Then maybe it's about time we give them a little test." Nanoha smiled, motioning for them both to stand back.

"Teena, Subaru, better stand back." She warned Stars Squad telepathically, charging a massive attack in the center of the sky. '75% should be enough.'

"This isn't good." Fate realized, looking up into the sky as Nanoha started charging a particular spell. Given her aim, though, it wasn't meant for Lightning. It was aimed at the girls, "Erio, Caro, best move away.' she warned them all, "Nanoha's about to use a big one."

"What's that, I wonder?" Irisviel asked, sending the birds she'd formed from her hair out to attack her.

"Knowing Nanoha, a test." Fate answered, dodging her attacks and firing off a few more spears of lightning, but none made it past the web of hair that Irisviel had surrounded herself with, "For your daughters and the others."

"Oh?" Iri smiled, turning to watch, "This should be interesting."

Seeing that she wasn't likely to interfere or attack again, Fate also turned to watch the attack.

"That's not good…" Kuro gulped nervously as the ball of magic in front of Nanoha grew even larger, "Guys, we have a problem!"

"I've noticed!" Miyu shouted, jumping to one of the treetops. The wind surrounding her sword vanished, and the sword reappeared in a golden light, "I'll counter it with Excalibur!"

"You don't have the mana to use Excalibur right now." Sapphire warned.

"I don't have much of a choice." Miyu shook her head, "I can't intercept it without full power, but I might be able to deflect the bulk of the power upwards if I can time it correctly."

"Miyu, I'll try to counter it with Rule Breaker!" Illya said, pulling out the tiny dagger, "Even if it's a different style, it still shouldn't be able to survive a hit from this!"

"No, you can't." Miyu shook her head, "Your reaction time isn't fast enough to hit it with the dagger before it hits you. At most, you've a twenty percent chance of success. It's too risky. You could be seriously injured."

"We don't have time to be arguing!" Illya shouted back just as Nanoha fired the cannon.

Miyu raised her sword to release her noble phantasm, but the glow had faded and was flickering weakly. The dagger in Illya's hand was poised to strike, but her hand was shaking with uncertainty as the beam surged down on them.

Acting quickly, Kuro jumped into the air, "Rho Aias!" She cried out, and the shield formed in front of them. Her hands were clammy, waiting for a crack to form that was sign their doom. But no cracks formed. The blast tore through the first few layers, but it stopped just shy of piercing the fifth level. The force of the blast sent them reeling, but none took any damage as the spell was stopped by the last second shield.

"They blocked it?" Nanoha smiled, raising her staff again, "Interesting."

"Divine Buster." Raising Heart called out, charging a blast before they'd successfully recovered from the first. The second hit ripped through the last two layers of the shield, hitting Kuro head on. Illya caught her out of the air, and together with Miyu started to fall back.

"Nanoha, that looked like overkill." Hayate warned, but she shook her head.

"It was only 80% of my full strength. And no cartridges. Frankly, after she blocked Starlight, I think this much was called for."

'That may be, but keep in mind that they are still kids.' Fate added, 'Even if you're not going all out, there's no reason to go overboard.'

"I know. Still, I think it's time for me to get in there. Raising Heart." Nanoha said, and the device in her hand shifted modes.

"Scatter shot."

"Kuro!" Illya shouted, flying towards Kuro and catching her out of the sky.

"Idiot, move!" Kuro groaned as soon as she was caught, "She's firing again."

"I know." She said, turning around and producing magic circles all around her, "Full burst."

"She's not the only one who knows a thing or two about magic barrages." Ruby giggled, "Fully charged and ready when you are, my dear."

"Illya." Miyu said, leaping into the air behind her.

"Take Kuro and go." Illya said without looking away from Nanoha, who was still charging her own attack, "I'll hold her off."

"Illya, this is crazy!" Kuro shouted, but Illya passed her to Miyu anyway.

"I'll be back to help in just a minute." Miyu promised, running off to find someplace safe to leave Kuro.

"She's ready to fire." Ruby warned, "I don't think I have to tell you that your strength isn't what it used to be."

"I know." Illya admitted, "I can't actually beat her. She's too tough."

"Then why did you let Miyu leave?"

"Because if I didn't, we'd have all lost." Illya answered, raising her staff at the same moment as Nanoha, "Now fire!"

Both sides released their magic at the same time, and they met in the middle of the battlefield. The entire sky was engulfed in the ensuing explosion, knocking the fighters from the sky.

Miyu didn't turn around at the sound of the explosion. Regardless of what happened, she needed to get Kuro to safety and recover her mana. After that, she' rescue Illya. She just had to make it in time.

"Are we done yet?" Caren asked, she her head in disappointment, "All this fighting isn't suited to someone of my training."

"That's insane." Subaru panted, picking herself up off the ground.

"That's bullshit." Teena growled, "She can't seriously expect us to believe that she's fighting all four of us and still isn't good at fighting."

"Believe it if you want, but do it somewhere else." Caren answered her, turning away, "The sight of healthy people disgusts me, and while I wouldn't mind hurting you all a bit, this really seems like it's unnecessary."

Erio surged forward, spear aimed at her back, and without turning around, she flicked a black key back at his head. Using the moment when he dodged, she casually grabs the back of his shirt and tosses him into the trees. Caro tried to run after him, but the key she threw landed in her shadow, binding her to the forest floor.

"You can stay there and relax for a while." she told her, "Nurse's orders."

"Cover me!" Subaru shouted, charging a divine buster in front of her. Teena nodded, throwing down as much covering fire as she could to force some distance between Caren and Subaru. Caren, for her part, dodged the bullets without a care in the world.

"You're still too green." She told them while she walked calmly towards the charging Subaru, "If I can determine your aim from your eyes, I can dodge your shots before you even fire them." To prove the point, Caren intercepted one of her shots with a black key and, before she could fire a second, she was already thrown to the ground with her guns thrown off to the side.

"Teena!" Subaru shouted, trying to launch her attack, but her fist couldn't reach it. A black key easily pinned her shadow to the ground.

"Sorry, but you all lose." Caren smiled, walking off into the forest.

"Kuro, stay here." Miyu said, hiding her beside a tree in the back of their base.

"You're going back to help Illya?" Kuro guessed, and she nodded, "Be careful."

"With both of us, there should be a way for us to win."

"I wouldn't count on it." She heard a familiar voice say behind them, and she swung her sword even as she turned around, though it was deflected easily.

"Signum." Miyu said, taking her stance against one of the vice captains.

"I'll admit, seeing you block Nanoha's attack and not being taken out by the buster was impressive." She said truthfully, "Regardless, I'm not as kind as Nanoha. It'll take more than determination and defense to earn a passing grade from me."

Miyu immediately tried to find a way out. More than any of the other captains, Signum was the opponent that she wanted to fight the least. Unfortunately, there was no way to escape without leaving Kuro behind, and she was in no condition to fight back.

As if guessing her intention, Signum smiled, "Have you given up on escaping? Good, then come at me."

"Kuro, get back." Miyu ordered, pointing her sword backwards. Kuro rolled out of the way, and the air surrounding her sword propelled her forward. Signum clearly wasn't expecting this, but still managed to block her slash handily with the hilt of her sword.

"Is this really all you have?" Signum asked swinging her sword to force Miyu away. "Your sword is undoubtedly impressive, but if you believe this fight is so simple that you can coast by on mediocre skills like that, you're severely overestimating yourself."

Despite her own attempts, Miyu's attacks were all blocked with absurd ease. Even attempts to gain the edge through strategic use Strike Air were entirely ineffective. They let her bypass Signum's guard, but she was still able to dodge by a hair every time despite the invisible blade.

And every time, Signum answered the near hit with a brutal elbow to the chest or knocking the sword out of her hand and sending her flying.

"Are you quite finished?" Signum asked, sheathing her sword and turning away in disappointment, "Well, maybe I'll go and handle your friend for Nanoha. If she's this weak too, Nanoha shouldn't have to deal with her."

The moment she finished speaking, she knew it had the desired result. The wind concealing her sword dissipated silently, and it began to glow with an intense golden light.

"I won't let you or anyone else hurt Illya!" Miyu shouted, and the light grew more intense, "Never again!"

"So, this is your trump card." Signum whispered softly as the area was bathed in the beautiful light, "Impressive, but still, not enough."

"Ex-"

"Too slow!" Signum shouted, "Laevatein!"

"Jawohl" The blade responded, loading a cartridge. Swinging the blade like a whip, Signum struck the side of Excalibur with enough force to spin Miyu as she swung. Unable to stop herself, she shouted, "-calibur!"

The blast utterly leveled the entire area ahead of her, uprooting trees and carving a trench in the earth.

"Damn it, Luvia, would you stop running!?" Rin shouted blasting her with nearly a dozen Gandr shots, but all of them were avoided or intercepted with ease.

"Don't give me that, Rin Tohsaka!" Luvia laughed as she avoided her countless attacks, "Surely an untrained monkey can at least throw a banana with some finesse. Otherwise, what on earth could you do to entertain me at the zoo?"

Rin's eye twitched angrily, "Scratch that." She said, stopping her attacks for just a moment to catch her breath, "Keep running. Because if you don't, I WILL KILL YOU!"

"It seems I've touched a nerve." Luvia grinned, pulling out a handful of gems, "Well then, let's see how you take it when I show you a mere fraction of the Edelfelt family po-"

"Idiot, down!" Rin shouted, tackling her to the ground and wrenching the gems from her hand. Immediately, all of them shattered into dust, but every protection spell that Rin knew formed behind them. A split second later, all of them shattered under the colossal wave of light.

Signum could only shake her head in amazement. That attack was definitely more than they should have been able to manage. It was a good thing she didn't take it head on. Even she would've been seriously injured at least. Across from her, Miyu had nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Her sword wasn't even hidden behind the cloak of air anymore.

"That was a step in the right direction, at least." Signum told her while Laevatein returned to sword form, "The number of people who could survive a direct hit from that is low indeed. Regardless, an all or nothing attack is worthless in a fight like this. You might have been able to prevail without it, but you certainly can't now that you've used it."

"Funny, but I think she bought just enough time." Kuro said from behind Miyu, almost entirely concealed by the dust of the Excalibur blast. As the dust cleared, it became clear that she was on her feet, drawing back the string of her bow with a long silver arrow notched to it. "She gave me just enough time to recover. Miyu, get back!"

Miyu leapt into the air, and Kuro fired the arrow at that exact moment. The arrow was flying too fast to block or deflect, leaving her a single option. Throwing Laevatein aside, Signum reached forward and plucked her arrow out of the air.

"Also not a bad attack." She said while Kuro was staring in shock, "If you'd been able to fire from a concealed position, you may have been able to land a clean hit."

"You monster." Kuro said bitterly, "I used just about everything I had left, and you didn't even have to try."

"Don't feel too bad." Signum assured her, picking up Laevatein and placing the hilt against her sheath at her waist, "Yours is not the first arrow I've commandeered from my foe, nor will it be the last. Though I'll admit it's far from the weakest." Laevatein fused with its sheath, turning into a bow as well, "Now, allow me to demonstrate how a true swordsman uses a bow."

"Strumfalken!" Laevatein called out, and without hesitation, Signum released the arrow and eliminated Kuro from the battle.

"Signum…" Hayate said warningly, and she chuckled, returning Laevatein to sword form and sliding the sheath back onto her waist.

"Not to worry. She'll be fine." Signum assured her, "I held back enough to avoid any real damage."

"So, what are your feelings?" Hayate asked, and she cracked a small smile.

"As far as abilities go, they're probably stronger than you guys were back in the day." She admitted, "They never had a chance of winning against us, but I'll be the first to admit they gave me a run for my money."

"That's hell of a lot of praise coming from you." Vita added.

"Even so, they've earned it." Signum responded, scanning the skies but not finding any trace of her other opponent, "Vita, I'll leave Miyu to you. Just to be safe, I'll take Kuro to Shamal."

"Roger that." Vita replied.

"Signum, bring Rin and Luvia with you as well." Shamal interjected, "They were both hit by that attack a moment ago. They're both unconscious, and I can't teleport them out of there with the battlefield in chaos like this."

"Understood." Signum said, holding Kuro in her arms and tracing the crevice created by Excalibur to find the other two. Beside them, she found a single handwritten note stuck underneath a kaleidoscope.

"She's persistent." Nanoha smiled to herself following another blast of magic that came flying towards her from deep in the forest. A single layered barrier intercepted it automatically, but if she moved into the open again, there was no doubt that Illya would fire again.

"Do you need help, Nanoha?" Fate asked, and it was clear that she couldn't believe she had to ask that question.

"No, I'll be fine." She assured her, blocking another attack and hovering in the air for a moment, "But I think I've got a good enough measure of her skills."

"Buster Mode." Her device said immediately, charging her attack at maximum power.

"Divine Buster."

'I've got to find Illya.'

Those were the only words that Miyu could think of after watching Kuro being defeated. Even if she tried, she couldn't possibly defeat Signum. Her only option was running along the treetops. If she and Illya could regroup, then maybe they'd be enough to match one of the captains.

That was proving easier said than done, however. The battle in the air had already been concluded, and it had dawned on her that Illya might have already been eliminated, but even so...!

A distance ahead of her, she saw a large blast of pink magic, Nanoha's trademark, and with hope renewed, she hurried towards it.

Halfway there, however, she was stopped by someone blocking her path.

"Figured you'd try and help your friend." Vita said, swinging her hammer casually to the side, "But you're not getting past me. Sorry, but that's about all there is to it."

Miyu doesn't respond to her, releasing the mana she'd recovered into the blade of her sword. Strike Air rocketed her forward almost faster than Vita could see, but it wasn't enough.

Jumping back, Vita swung her hammer in time to send Miyu crashing through several trees and into the ground. Landing beside her, Vita shook her head in amazement.

"What dumbass tries to force their way past an armed opponent who's more experienced than they are?" Vita scoffed, staring down at her, "Now get up. I know that wasn't strong enough to take you out."

Miyu jumped off the ground and faced off with her, "You held back, didn't you?" She asked while the mana from Sapphire restored the armor on her front that had been all but destroyed, "Why?"

"What's the point of a test if I take you out just like that?" Vita countered, discharging a cartridge, "But this time, I'm not holding back, so give it all you've got."

"Lady Miyu." Sapphire warned her as she took her stance, but she didn't need to be told anything. Her transformation was already starting to break down. This would be the last attack she had as the saber card before she was left defenseless.

"Sapphire, focus all of your power on defense." She ordered, running straight at Vita. The little knight clearly not expecting that strategy, but she didn't hesitate to swing her hammer. Miyu stopped and took the attack head on. Thanks to Sapphire's defenses, she didn't take any damage, but it was the last straw for the saber card which was eject immediately after.

Stepping past Vita's weapon, Miyu pointed her staff directly at Vita's face, "Now."

Vita's eyes widened, but she didn't have time to dodge the incoming blast. But Miyu knew that an attack that weak wasn't going to be enough to win, so she leapt back to dodge Vita's counter.

"...Okay, that wasn't bad." Vita admitted, straightening her hat and gripping the hammer with both hands, "I was expecting you to deflect it, not take it head on and hit me when my guard was down. Full marks for creativity, but you can't do much if that's all you've got."

"Install-" Miyu replied, setting the card to Sapphire.

"No, you don't!" Vita shouted, swinging down Graf Eisen. The blow sent up a cloud of dust, but Vita immediately knew it didn't work. That feeling was immediately confirmed when she tried to shrink her hammer without success. In the air above, she finally noticed Miyu coming straight towards her.

"Eisen mode release!" Vita ordered, returning the device to standby form and ducking out of the way. Miyu's nail stabbed where she'd been standing a moment earlier, and with no wasted movement, she whipped the chain around Vita's stomach.

"I'm ending this now." Miyu said clearly, removing the blinders she'd worn since the Rider class card was installed, and Vita's entire body froze up.

"The hell is this?!" Vita grunted, struggling against the invisible force that kept her almost entirely immobilized.

"Mystic Eyes of Petrification." Miyu responded, walking towards her, dagger in hand, "The moment ours eyes met, the battle was over."

Vita gave a small smile, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Hammerform!" Graf Eisen called out, returning to its full form and sending up a cloud of dust on contact with the ground. Miyu closed her eyes reflexively, freeing Vita just long enough to avoid the subsequent strike. Picking up the hammer, Vita knocked her to the ground with a full-strength kick, pinning her face down with her hammer. After a few minutes of helplessness, Vita let her up.

"That's all. You can take a rest while the others finish up." Vita said with a small smile before returning to the battlefield.

'Vita, you're finished as well?' Nanoha asked, momentarily taking her eyes off of Illya across from her.

'Yeah, I'm done.' Vita responded, 'Just you two left.'

'You need to step up your game.' Fate giggled telepathically.

'I know.' Nanoha sighed, 'But she keeps coming up with new tactics. I wanted to give her a chance to show everything she's got.'

'If she can keep up that long against you, she's already got my passing grade.' Signum chuckled.

'Yes, but we need to end this sooner or later.' Nanoha replied, "Raising Heart."

"Understood, my master." the device answered her, sending out silent pulses of magic into the air around them. Given the direction and force of her attacks, she was likely still in the immediate area.

As soon as the results of the scan were revealed, Nanoha pointed her staff into the forest, "Now Lock."

"Restrict Lock."

Illya let out a yelp of surprise, falling from the tree despite her presence being concealed by the assassin card.

"So, you were using that one." Nanoha smiled, standing over her, "I guess you won't be able to get out of my bind without that dagger of yours, right?"

"Scattershot." Raising Heart called out, and Nanoha fired not only at the Illya directly in front of her, but also at the four identical Illyas about to attack her from behind.

"Sorry about that." Nanoha apologized, helping Illya off the ground in front of her, "But you're out."

Illya's expression fell, "Oh…"

"Cheer up." Nanoha smiled, patting her on the back, "You did well. Let's go back to the inn and talk with the others."

"Okay…" Illya replied, still sounding utterly crestfallen.

After nearly two hours of deliberation, the captains returned to the infirmary where the rest of their members were being checked by Shamal.

"We've reached our decisions." Hayate smiled, gathering everyone's attention.

"Illya, you were able to use the limited tools at your disposal to considerable effect." Nanoha smiled, "In a team match, where you would have assistance from Kuro or Miyu's power, you could very well have been successful."

"Your usage of the terrain to your advantage was particularly good." Signum added, "You were able to conceal yourself not only through the class cards, but also by blending into the forest itself. Many highly skilled soldiers lack that level of awareness."

Nodding in agreement, Hayate smiled, "So, you passed. We'll work on streamlining the process to join Riot Force 6."

"That's my baby!" Iri said, hugging the shocked Illya to her chest while the rest of the forwards applauded as well.

Once the cheers for Illya settled down, Hayate cleared her throat again, "Next, Miyu."

This time, Signum took the lead, "Your instincts in battle were sharp, and you're adept at taking advantage of any weaknesses your opponents may leave. You immediately recognized the weaknesses of Vita's Graf Eisen, and were able to adapt your strategy to take advantage. In any other battle, you would likely have been victorious."

"That said, you were way too reckless." Vita added, "Trying to rush past me like you did was one thing, but what kind of strategy is taking a direct hit? Even if you were able to get the advantage, if your opponent were stronger than you were expecting, that kind of thing would get you killed."

"Additionally, you overused the abilities of the cards." Nanoha said seriously, "At the beginning, you were able to match us, but you used more power than Sapphire could supply. For the rest of the fight, you weren't able to sustain enough power to keep fighting."

"Overall, though it was a more difficult decision than with Illya, you've passed as well." Hayate said finally, "You've quite a bit of work ahead of you, but in any event, your skills have more than met our expectations. You should be able to keep up with Nanoha's training."

"Thank you." Miyu said, bowing respectfully while the others cheered her too.

"And finally, Kuro." Hayate said, turning to the last of the girls.

"Well, let's start with the obvious." Nanoha giggled, "Blocking Starlight Breaker's no small feat."

"Even if you used most of your magic power in that defense, most enemies couldn't fire an attack that strong, and those that could would more than likely be handled by one of the captains." Signum nodded in agreement, "In short, if you were able to defend against Nanoha, you could reasonably handle most threats that you went up against. And your final attack was also exceptionally strong. No enemy we've seen up to this point could have survived that attack. Again, you used what little power you had on it, but if you were able to overcome that hurdle, you'd be an army unto yourself."

"In conclusion, I was wrong." Hayate said with a smile, "All of you have passed. I'll do everything in my power to ensure there aren't any more problems."

"Thank you very much!" The three of them bowed.

"Now, for the general test of skills for the rest of Riot Force 6." Hayate said to the rest of members in the infirmary.

"We lost." Teena muttered bitterly.

"Yeah, you did…" Fate nodded in agreement, "But the skills you all displayed were enough to show that you've taken your lessons well. This time, your opponent was just a bit too much for you to handle."

"But we still lost." Erio sighed, "Four against one and we lost."

"Which brings us to you, Caren." Shamal said calmly, though she hadn't taken her eyes off of Caren since they entered the room, "It was somewhat surprising to see the self-proclaimed 'non-combatant' defeating four trained forwards."

"Well, it must've been beginners luck." Caren shrugged, "I promise, the only training I've had was as a nurse."

Shamal opened her mouth to say something, but Hayate shook her head.

"And Irisviel… You matched Fate blow for blow without a device of your own." Hayate said, looking at the woman behind the girls.

"Well, I suppose I did alright…" Iri giggled.

"You are a terrifying group of people." Hayate said finally, "Currently, there are two teams in Riot Force 6. Stars and Lightning. However, with so many new additions, adding them to the current teams will make it more difficult to learn team coordination."

"So, we're forming a new team." Nanoha continued, "With Irisviel as the Captain, and Caren as the Vice-Captain, we'll form a whole new team."

Sorry if the battle seemed a little sporadic. There were a few fights that I didn't really want to show in too much detail (Namely Fate vs Iri and Caren vs Forwards, for... reasons.), and while I could probably have made the rest flow a bit better than it ultimately did, it would really have taken much more time than I was willing to spend on a chapter that was otherwise just a necessary step to move the story along. It certainly didn't help much that fights with large numbers of characters aren't the most suited to writing. Hopefully, future fights will be smaller scale and I can give my full attention to a single battle, not trying to keep four different fights in mind while writing each and every scene.

Anyway, as always, leave any feedback you might have, good or bad, as a review. I do read them all, and even if I don't respond (and I usually do), it's always appreciated.