AN: Hope everyone is alright. This is a rather crazy time to be alive and I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy. I know I'm already getting a little stir crazy, so here's this chapter to tide you over for a little. God knows I should have posted it weeks ago.

All for the sake of their loved ones.

They fought and painted the sky in their colors.

This first clash already paved the way to their fated battle.

Let's continue...

War of the Knight Sky

Chapter 2: Babel

Takamachi Nanoha was not having a good night.

It certainly didn't start that way. Her day had started off great. She had woken up early and gotten in some magic training before breakfast. School was fun and everyone got to see another video mail from Fate. In fact, Fate even said that she would be coming to visit soon. She was looking forward to seeing everyone again.

After school, Shirou had come over for sword practice with Miyuki and she had been able to watch them spar for a bit before dinner. Her older siblings were pushing him harder since his swordsmanship had suddenly progressed in the last few months. She had grabbed onto Shirou and was able to convince him to play with her before he went home.

It was a normal day filled with normal happiness.

And then it happened.

A barrier fell around Uminari.

The change was sudden. One moment she was doing her homework in her room and then suddenly a flare of magic passed over her senses and her house was silent. There was no noise of her parents cleaning up downstairs, no Miyuki struggling with her own math homework, and no Kyouya speaking to his girlfriend on the phone.

Complete silence.

After a brief attempt at contacting Shirou with Raising Heart ended up in failure, Nanoha decided to go investigate. She transformed into her Barrier jacket and took to the air to find the source of the barrier.

Normally, Nanoha would enjoy the flight. The freedom that came with soaring in the sky, but the dull colorless backdrop of an empty city and the silence that accompanied it, along with her inability to contact Shirou filled her with unease.

That sinking feeling only grew when she caught sight of flashing colors accompanied by the sound of rampant destruction. The area was in the general direction towards Shirou's house. She knew that she had no reason to think it, but she could not help but think that somehow, some way, Shirou was involved.

"Raising Heart, let's go." Nanoha tightened her grip around the staff and shot off towards the source of the battle.

Or she would have, if a person had not suddenly appeared in her path.

"Eh?"

Nanoha managed to stop her flight before she collided with the new arrival. Floating before her was a woman that she had never seen before. A woman dressed in white and pink stood in her way, an ornate sword drawn.

"I cannot allow you to pass."

"Umm, who are you?" Nanoha asked slightly bewildered at the sudden arrival of the woman. "And why can't I pass?"

"Signum." The mage in front of her introduced herself simply. "And I cannot allow you to aid the target."

"Target?" Nanoha repeated in confusion before her eyes widened in realization. "Shirou!"

Nanoha tried to rush past the woman, but Signum intercepted her path and sent her flying backwards with a deft swing of her sword. It had been sheer instinct that allowed Nanoha to bring up Raising Heart in time to block the strike.

Nanoha tried to maneuver around the woman, but each time she tried to rush past she was knocked back.

"I see. That would explain the odd readings. It was not one signal that we kept losing, but two." Signum noted as she stared intently at Nanoha. The female knight rushed forward and swung her sword.

[Round Shield.] Without prompting from its master, Raising Heart called up the shield spell to protect Nanoha, blocking the sword with the pink circle.

"Why?" Nanoha questioned the woman in front of her. "Why are you attacking Shirou? Why are you doing this?"

The female knight said nothing as she pressed her blade harder against Raising Heart.

[Flash Move.] Raising Heart toned out.

A high speed movement spell designed by pumping extra magic to the flight spell Flyer Fin. It was supposed to create enough distance between her and Signum so that she had the room to counter attack. What she failed to account for was Signum's ability to easily track the high speed movement and chase after her.

The sky flashed as two lights, one pink and one purple, blurred through the sky and clashed over and over again. It was a chase. The pink light would constantly maneuver away from the purple light, but no matter how it moved the purple light followed relentlessly.

"Raising Heart, please!" Nanoha cried out as she ducked another swipe of Signum's sword.

[Divine Shooter.] Five divine spheres circled Nanoha as she retreated from her pursuer. She twisted her body to face Signum and pointed Raising Heart at her target.

"Shoot!"

The five bolts of magic raced through the sky towards her enemy.

"Tch." Signum scoffed as she brought out her sword, slicing through two of the orbs even as her body twisted to avoid the remaining shots. She closed the distance between them in a single instant and raised her blade.

"Raising Heart!" Nanoha cried out as her Device raised a Protection spell to defend her. The pink barrier wrapped around her as she raised her staff protectively across her body.

"Laevatein, cut through." Signum ordered as she struck. It was a deceptively simple overhead cut, but at this range, Nanoha could see the ease and grace in the strike. Laevatein met the barrier and smashed through it, barely slowing down from the resistance before crashing against Raising Heart. The magic empowered blow launched Nanoha into one of the many skyscrapers around them.

"A talent for ranged combat while neglecting close combat, it seems that this is the standard for this era's battlefield." Signum commented calmly as she took a moment to brush dust off her shoulder where one of the girl's shots managed to graze her.

Any further musing was interrupted as the smoke and dust covering the area where Nanoha had been flung to was blown away. The magical girl stood unflinchingly as she gathered magical energy into the tip of her staff, now switched to the more battle oriented Cannon Mode.

["Divine…"] Nanoha pointed Raising Heart, the Device chipped and missing a wing of one of its fins, up at her enemy. ["Buster!"]

The sky was dyed pink as the bombardment spell tore through the air.

[Panzerschild.] Laevatein declared as the triangle shield spell materialised instantly in front of Signum.

Immediately, Signum realized she had underestimated her opponent. The bombardment spell had hit her barrier with a staggering amount of power. Even as she stood safely behind her shield, she could see the cracks rapidly appearing as her opponent poured more power into her spell.

Despite herself, Signum felt a smirk rise up on her face as her Panzerschild finally shattered and she was enveloped by pink light. This one had quite a bit of fight in her.

Nanoha fought to catch her breath as she kept a keen eye for her opponent. She had put quite a bit of power into that last spell, but she had a feeling that her opponent was more than strong enough to endure it.

She was proven right when the smoke from her attack faded and Signum remained in the sky, scuffed but unmoved.

"I see. You are certainly different from those mages before." Signum acknowledged the girl in front of her and held out Laevatein. "But against a Belkan Knight, that will not be enough."

A mechanism in the hilt of the device cycled like a gun, the blade of Laevatein was engulfed by flames as the weapon cried out, [Explosion!]

Nanoha watched in confusion as Signum's Device expelled something that looked like a spent bullet. The knight raised her sword once more and Nanoha tightened her grip on Raising Heart.

'Shirou, please be safe.' Nanoha had a feeling that this battle would not end quickly. So all she could do now was hope for her friend's safety before her battle escalated once more.

Emiya Shirou was in terrible danger.

"You're wide open!" Vita cried out.

Shirou watched as Vita charged at him, her magical war hammer raised to strike him down. His right arm was no longer moving and there was no time to use Projection before she would strike him. There was nothing he could do to escape the next blow.

Shirou closed his eyes and futilely raised an arm over his face to protect it.

There was a loud crash in the air and Shirou wondered briefly why he felt no pain. Had he been hit so hard that his nerves just stopped working?

"Tch, reinforcements." Vita's annoyed voice cut through his musings and Shirou slowly opened his eyes.

Standing protectively in front of him was a blonde haired girl, dressed in black Barrier Jacket with a cape thrown over it. In her hands Intelligent Device Bardiche clashed against Graf Eisen, preventing it from moving an inch forward.

Fate Testarossa had arrived on the battlefield.

"Fate?" Shirou stared at the girl in complete surprise.

Fate looked back at Shirou before turning back to Vita. She gripped Bardiche tightly and decreed.

"By the authority of the TSAB, I am placing you under arrest for assault. Surrender and we can resolve this without further conflict."

"Surrender?" Vita spat on the ground in disgust. "Do you think that I'm scared of another brat and her pet?"

With those words, Vita shot up into the air, claiming the sky as the next battlefield.

Fate looked back, her eyes resting on Shirou for just a moment. She nodded and took off into the night sky ready to meet Vita in combat.

Shirou stepped forward to chase after Fate when an arm wrapped around him and pulled him back. Shirou yelped and swung an elbow backward only for it to be caught and twisted behind his back.

"Woah there, rein it in for a moment, brat." Shirou struggled for a moment before recognizing the voice.

"Arf?" Shirou exclaimed in surprise. The hands holding him let go and Shirou spun around to find Fate's familiar hovering over him. "You came too?"

"Yep, we're here to investigate the barrier around the city." The dog eared familiar looked down at him with a grin on her face. "Me and Fate's trial finished up and we tried to call you and Nanoha to tell you the news."

"It's over?" Shirou looked over at Arf with curiosity and worry in equal parts as the red darts in the sky were intercepted by several yellow ones, illuminating the sky with their explosions. "Did everything go alright?"

"Mostly. Lindy put in a good word for us, so we're going to be just fine." Seeing the relief in Shirou's eyes, Arf ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "We got here as soon as we could after we couldn't get in touch."

The levity in Arf's voice disappeared as she looked up at two blurs of yellow and red light twisting through the sky before clashing against each other. Shirou scowled as he watched Fate switch Bardiche into Scythe form before rushing Vita once more. "Looks like it was a good thing too. Another second there and things would have been bad."

"I was fine." Shirou scowled as he walked over to pick up the fallen Kanshou. He dropped the sword again when a fist slammed onto the top of his head. "Ow, what was that for?" Shirou twisted around and glared at Arf who was looking at him innocently.

"Nothing. I just thought that a brat needed to learn his limits." Arf smirked down at Shirou.

Shirou shook his head to clear it. His vision was filled with stars from the blow and his already shaky limbs trembled with the effort to keep him upright. His rather tenuous grasp on standing was not lost on Arf.

"Oi, you alright there, brat?" Despite the history of conflict between the two of them, there was genuine worry in Arf's tone.

"I'm fine." Shirou forced his body to stop shaking and it did if only for the moment. He looked up at the sky searching for Fate. The yellow light was now on the defensive as it was being chased by the red light. The two continued to collide in the sky, but the yellow light was sent flying backwards after each clash. "Think you can carry me up there?"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Shirou looked back at Arf in confusion only to be met with an outstretched hand with a single finger pulled back.

Shirou yelped as Arf flicked him on his forehead. Completely surprised by the sudden attack, he could only flail his arms for a moment before falling down.

Shirou crashed onto the ground and saw stars. He tried to will his body to stand up, but it was a futile effort. He had dropped Kanshou and lost the enhancements that came with the sword and his body was already weakened from repeated Projections. Unable to gather the strength to stand up once more, Shirou could only glower petulantly at Arf.

"I'm going to go help Fate, you are going to stay down here where it's safe." Arf said smugly as she picked Shirou up by the back of his collar and deposited him in the safety of one of the buildings. She raised a hand up and summoned up another magical circle around Shirou. "There, now be a good boy and stay inside the barrier where it's safe." Arf instructed Shirou teasingly before flying off to help her master.

"Arf, wait!" Shirou tried to call Arf back, but the familiar ignored him, rising up into the air to aid her master. Shirou gritted his teeth and fell back against the wall next to him.

Shirou hated to admit it, but Arf was right. He looked down at his trembling hands. They were empty and lacked the strength to grip any weapon even if he had the energy to summon one. There was nothing he could do.

Shirou could only watch the sky as his friends battled to protect him. His helplessness burning quietly in his heart.

Yuuno Scrya had prepared himself for the worst when Amy had first told him that something was preventing them from contacting Nanoha and Shirou. If the last year had prepared him for anything, it was dangerous situations appearing without warning.

When they looked into the problem, they found a barrier spell of unknown origins encompassing the entire city.

They had responded to this immediately. Lindy had pushed the Arthra to its limits to cut their travel time to Earth and Yuuno used the time to help the bridge crew begin to decrypt the barrier spell around the city.

It was a difficult job when they could not figure out the type or origin to the spell, though there was a feeling in the back of Yuuno's mind that he had seen this type of magic before. When they had arrived at Earth, they could only pierce the barrier spell long enough to send a small party inside.

Their high magical strength and familiarity with the city in question had pushed Yuuno, Fate, and Arf into that team, thankfully enough. He probably would have gone crazy waiting on the ship doing nothing while his friends were in danger.

They were to find and secure Shirou and Nanoha before moving to find the origin of the barrier spell. Fate and Arf would find Shirou while Yuuno would find Nanoha. They would link up after making sure their friends were safe.

He could see someone on the ground. He did not recognize the figure, so it must be one of the unknown mages. She was standing over something interacting with what looked to be a grimoire. It took Yuuno a moment to get an angle on what the mage was doing.

There on the ground, lying a heap with the broken pieces of Raising Heart around her, was Takamachi Nanoha.

For a brief moment, Yuuno Scrya's heart stopped. He was too late.

But his worst fears were dispelled as Nanoha moved on the ground. But that fear quickly turned to rage as he noticed the various injuries on her body as well as the agony on her face. Nanoha writhed in pain as the grimoire in the mage's hand did something to her.

That would not do.

The world blurred as Yuuno dove, pushing his flight spell to its maximum output, he overlaid several barriers around his body as he charged the female mage. Yuuno was aware of his lacking abilities with shooting magic and his close combat capabilities only extended to the basics. However, by manipulating the basic Protection barrier spell, he could use his talent in defensive magic and transform into an unstoppable battering ram.

Protection Smash. It was Yuuno Scrya's solution to his lack of offensive skills.

"Get away from her!"

Yuuno slammed into the mage like a wrecking ball and from the protection of his own barriers watched her fly dozens of meters away before crashing through the wall of a nearby building.

"Yu...yuuno?" Nanoha looked up at her friend in confusion.

Yuuno's mind cleared in an instant at his friend's voice. He floated down to her side and smiled gently. "I'm sorry, Nanoha, I was a bit late."

He immediately began casting as soon as he knelt next to her. His hands glowed green as he started to mend Nanoha's injuries. Physical Heal was the most basic of healing magic and not one he was particularly skilled at, but it would have to do for now until they could get Nanoha onto the Arthra's infirmary.

"Fate's trial had ended so we wanted to contact both you and Shirou." Yuuno explained his presence as he continued emergency treatment. "When we could not get through to either of you, we began to worry. We got here as fast as we could and found the barrier around the city."

"I see…" The weakness of Nanoha's voice worried Yuuno. What did that mage do to her? "Yuuno-kun… Shirou is…"

"Fate and Arf are already on it." Yuuno reassured Nanoha. He looked over at the building that he had knocked the mage into with a scowl. "Who was that? What did she do to you?"

"She said her name was Signum." Despite Yuuno's treatment, Nanoha's voice was growing weaker and he could see her struggling to keep awake. One of her hands grasped at her own chest in desperate confusion. "I…I don't…"

"I see. I should have expected reinforcements." Yuuno froze at the calm composed voice that came from above him.

Signum stood in the sky. He could see small signs of battle damage on her Barrier Jacket, a burn here and a small cut there, and the way she was clutching her shoulder meant she had certainly felt his attack. Still, the composure and presence of the warrior in front of him still made Yuuno apprehensive.

"Yuuno…" Yuuno looked down to see Nanoha weakly grabbing his arm. Fear radiated out from her eyes. One of her precious friends was already in danger across from the city and another was about to enter into combat with a warrior that had bested her.

Yuuno smiled at her to reassure her before lifting her up in his arms. "Don't worry, I'll be okay." He carried her over to one of the walls of the building and propped her against it.

"Nanoha, stay here." He cast a barrier spell around her to protect her before flying back up into the air ignoring her weak protests.

"She called you Signum." Yuuno said as he rose up to the female mage's level. His eyes carefully observing the knight's weapon and armor.

"Yes, Signum, Knight of the Sword." Signum introduced herself solemnly as she brandished her weapon.

"Yuuno Scrya." Yuuno gave his name in return. "Will you surrender? Assault against civilians is a serious crime."

"I apologize, but I refuse." Signum closed her eyes and shook her head solemnly. "I cannot surrender."

"I see. Then under the TSAB's authority, I am placing you under arrest." Yuuno decreed.

The two opponents floated in the air for a brief moment before the battle began.

"Chain Bind!" Green chains erupted out of Yuuno's hands to capture Signum, but the knight simply cut through the binding spell with a powerful swing of her sword before rushing forward.

Yuuno did not panic as Signum rapidly entered short range. As soon as his binding spell had failed, he had already begun casting his next spells.

Laevatein's downward path was interrupted by Yuuno's Round Shield. The sword grinded against the shield spell briefly before Signum realized she could not break through it.

Instead, Signum pushed off the shield spell and twisted, pivoting her body around the barrier and Yuuno to arrive behind him. She swung at his back. If she could not break through the front, it was a simple matter, she would attack the undefended spots.

Except, Yuuno did not have an undefended area. He could not keep up with Signum, but that did not mean his spell casting could not. A second Round Shield appeared behind Yuuno to stop Laevatein. Twisting his body, Yuuno conjured a small compressed ball of mana and released it over his shoulder. The single magical bullet exploded into a grapeshot spread.

The cluster of pellets caught Signum in the center of her chest and threw her backwards. She beat a hasty retreat as several green circles appeared around her, each one releasing green chains to bind her.

Not willing to lose control of the flow of battle, Yuuno charged forward, once more casting Protection Smash. The solid green barrier appeared protectively around him as he tore through the air on an impact course for Signum.

"Laevatein, my armor." Signum called out to her Device, ready to meet Yuuno's attack head on.

[Panzergeist!] A purple aura appeared around Signum, ready to defend her against any assault.

Green clashed against purple as Yuuno smashed into Signum's barrier. The two lights clashed for just a moment, but green immediately overpowered the purple. Yuuno pressed harder against Signum's defense as his own barrier eroded hers.

But Signum's spell had done its purpose. It had slowed Yuuno's charge long enough for Signum to swing her sword. Sparks flew as Laevatein bit into the green barrier and with a mighty swing knocked Yuuno's charge off course. The sudden change in direction along with a quick sidestep put Signum out of Yuuno's path.

Yuuno did not let up his offensive. He could not let this mage dictate the engagement. While he prided himself on his defensive magic, he had no doubt that the knight in front of him could bypass it if given the chance.

The twisted game of ping pong repeated itself several times as Yuuno tried to smash Signum over and over again. Each time, he was met with the same defense. Signum's barrier would slow him down just enough for her to sidestep and knock him off-course with a swing of her sword. She would have just enough time to reset her stance before Yuuno would return for another attempt.

"I see. You have overlaid several different barrier spells over yourself and modified them for high speed flight." Signum commented on Yuuno's spell as his unrelenting assault continued. "The strength of the barrier prevents the opponent from interrupting the charge as well as creating a very damaging attack. It is a well constructed spell providing both a strong offense and defense."

"But it is too risky." Signum shook her head, raising Laevatein up once more.

It was too straight forward. A charging attack gave his opponent an easy target and while his barriers were impressive, they were by no means impenetrable. If an opponent pierced through his barriers, he would have no defenses nor any room for evasion. Such a complicated spell also had the burden of a high mana cost, quickly draining his stamina while she could defend with a basic barrier spell and some swordplay.

She would show him the flaws in his spell with this next attack.

"Laevatein, cut through and-"

"Don't bother. It's over." Yuuno declared, his voice clear, cutting through Signum's order to her Device.

"What do you mean?" Signum stared hard at the boy who slowly floated down until he was once more standing on the ground. The green barrier around him faded away as he landed. "This fight is far from over."

Yuuno smiled up at Signum and shook his head. "You're right. But defeating you was never my goal. I have no doubt that you could defeat me if this continued. I had a very different objective. One that I have been working towards even as I searched for Nanoha and one that I continued fighting even as I fought you."

Yuuno Scyra had kept his composure throughout the entire fight. Despite the searing anger simmering just under his skin, he did not recklessly throw himself into combat with Signum. He had no doubts that he was horribly outclassed. He was a scholar not a warrior. When it came to combat, he was better suited to the back lines supporting the front line fighters. If he tried to fight Signum with the purpose of defeating her, Yuuno had no doubts that he would lose every time.

No, his only goal was to keep Signum occupied as he achieved his original objective.

Yuuno's hands came up into a combination of hand seals.

"I had trouble figuring out the origin of the barrier, but fighting you and seeing your personal barrier made it all clear. The triangular spell sigil was particularly helpful. I've seen similar designs in my research before, but this is the first time I've seen it used in person. Ancient Belkan magic."

"With the origin of the spell clear, I could find and dismantle the barrier." Yuuno allowed a small smirk to appear on his face at the slight widening of Signum's eyes. He lifted a hand into the air, magical script appearing around his arm before all converging into a tightly wound sphere. "Dispel Force Field, complete."

With those words, the sphere shot up into the sky and pierced the heavens. The world around them shattered.

The barrier surrounding the area was gone and the mages within the barrier were once more pulled into Uminari City as the illusionary city disappeared.

The change was sudden. The color of the city seemed to brighten and the night sky was once more filled with the quiet, but unending noise of a city, even one asleep.

Yuuno looked back up into the sky and frowned when he found it empty. Signum had taken his lapse in attention to retreat. She probably realized that with the barrier gone there was nothing keeping the TSAB from rushing into the scene.

"Yuuno? Are you there Yuuno?" Yuuno smiled as Amy's voice echoed into his mind. Communication spells were back up.

"Yes, this is Yuuno." Yuuno responded as he recast his flying spell and started to make his way back to Nanoha. "I have successfully broken the barrier around the city. I found Nanoha and placed her under a barrier spell for protection. She fought one of the assailants and is injured. She looks like she needs medical attention."

"Right. You are approved for a transfer spell back onto the Arthra along with Nanoha. Bring her up to the infirmary immediately." Amy's voice was calm and professional, but Yuuno could hear the touch of worry in the girl's voice.

"What about Shirou?" Yuuno asked about their other friend even as he landed next to Nanoha. The girl had passed out against the wall. Yuuno gritted his teeth at his friend's condition and carefully picked her up. He started to make the calculations for the transfer spell immediately.

"Fate and Arf both found him fighting another mage. They arrived just in time to save him. He was badly injured. Arf had to force him from continuing to fight in his condition. Fate sustained light injuries, but her Device was damaged heavily." Chrono's voice responded instead of Amy. There was a hint of frustration in the older boy's voice. "Arf is bringing them up now for medical treatment as we speak."

"Right, we'll meet them there. Preparing transfer." Yuuno called out before finishing the transfer spell. As light washed over them and took them away from Earth, Yuuno could not help but think that this battle was the beginning of a much longer conflict.

AN: The Cavalry has arrived, our heroes are matching up a bit differently than in canon and I choose to follow a side character's fight rather than one of our Heroines. Yes, Shirou gets sidelined a bit in this chapter, something I know people are going to complain about, don't worry, he'll get his time to shine.

Those of you that have watched Nanoha As should have noticed that I made a rather large change to how this battle ended. I made the decision to do an unspeakable thing and write out one of Nanoha's friendship cannons, but I'll be honest. She's out of the fight, hard, since you know a solid loss, broken Device, followed by her Linker Core being drained. While it's a decently cool moment in concept, I couldn't really justify it in my own head. So I that got me to writing a combat scene around Yuuno, which was a treat, and I figured that he could eke out a 'win' but not an actual win. So, I just had Yuuno finish his Dispel Spell, which failed in canon.

So, I said I'd wax on a bit on why the large break between Lyrical Days and War, but I doubt people want to hear about my life so I'll keep it short. Tl;dr: Life happened. Rewrite Failed. I got stuck. I got unstuck. I'm lazy. Santo reminded me this was a thing.