Magic Versus Tech Zwei

Aumilia trained her staff on the enemy. He seemed to have some kind of armor... well, no time to waste. This had to be dealt with quickly, so she could help the miners! And there was one spell that would be perfect for dealing with infantry... as long as it hit, it was guaranteed to kill.

"Um meinen Feinden einen schnellen Tod zu bewilligen, anrufe ich Sie, Feind-Hammer!"

The shield provided by Unzerbrechlich flickered, as the incredibly strong magical burst known as Fiend-Hammer tore towards her foe.

----

The Librarian blinked.

"Um..." she tilted her head, "I suppose if you want to help, you can."

She leaned against Cirno, still feeling weak.

----

"And I'm sure you'll achieve that somehow," replied Remma, reaching out to pat Nel on the head. "Just don't catch any of your friends in it."

Akuma merely kicked the tree Boudicca was with enough force to snap it in half. He followed up the kick with an uppercut aimed at the elf woman.

----
Dassy scrunched her face up in confusion. She mentally accessed a pilot list but she couldn't find anyone to help Norine.

"Uh, I don't think so..." Her face abruptly lit up. "Wait, I know!"

A humanoid robot appeared, lifting Norine's copilot out of the mecha, and getting in itself. It was sleek and silver, with two red eyes on its face and nothing else.

"I can remote control this robot, and it'll be just like I'm your copilot. Yay!" Dassy would have gone herself, but as she was the main AI core, that probably wasn't a smart idea.

Boudicca leapt out of the tree at around the moment it was kicked; narrowly avoiding the uppercut. She rolled upon landing, and managed to get to her feet.

"I'll make you pay for that tree, you piece of scrap metal!" she said.

--

"Sure," said Norine. "Lets get going,"

She was a bit nervous about Dassy being her copilot, even if it was temporary. However, the loli-AI had managed to control the fortress just fine up to now. Surely she wouldn't have a problem with one backpack unit.

Cirno nodded, "Cirno wants to help. So here just let Cirno take The Librarian to bed where she can sleep," Cirno smiled and grabbed up The Librarian in a Bridal Carrying position.

"Ok?" Cirno checked to make sure she was comfortable.

"Bookworm, Bookwoooooorm," a voice called, coming from somewhere within the depths of the library, "Come back to bed, it's all cold without you~"

The voice, naturally, came from the Queen, who was, rather unusually, hopping and leaning against the shelves rather than just using the shadows cast by her clothing. This was probably because the Librarian had forced a short nightdress of some description upon and there were no shadows to let her construct her normal replacement. Combined with her lack of blindfold (though thankfully still shut eyes) and the girl was downright creepy.

The Librarian blinked, as she was suddenly scooped off of her feet and into Cirno's arms. "Oh, um, you don't have to pick me up, I'm fine. I can walk mysel..."

The voicing calling to her was easily audible. The Librarian turned her head towards the source of the sound. Her throat was rather tender, she didn't want to call back, but she quickly looked up towards Cirno. "Take me to her, please!"

Cirno was kind of confused, but nodded, "Ok," she responded as she took off towards the voice.

She felt a bit odd about the voice, but didn't really think much beyond it possibly being an enemy, but she didn't expect it to be a problem since The Librarian seemed to be friends.

As she rounded the corner she saw the strange looking girl and frowned a bit. She seemed to have a bit of trouble walking. Was everyone here sick? Cirno walked forward.

"You should stay in bed, you know. That way, your illness wouldn't play up and cause problems when you're talking to robots..." the Queen scolded, frowning at her friend and doing her best to maintain balance on one leg. Most people would wonder how she knew what had happened; most people didn't know just how far the apparent child's sight extended. Or that it could lay bare every secret of their body with the right prodding.

She'd make a brilliant surgeon.

The Librarian frowned. She didn't want to stay in bed the whole day... she'd already been in bed the whole day! She'd wanted to go see who was at the door... and make sure that they weren't dangerous, of course. Hurting anyone in the Library, or the Librarian's books, would be unforgivable. "But... I didn't want to stay in bed any longer..."

Her voice was still rather weak.

Akuma leaped at Boudicca, aiming a flying kick at her head.

"You will do no such thing, pest!" He roared as he did so.

Boudicca caught Akuma's leg in mid-air; and swung him at the ground extremely hard.

"If you have a soul, then I'll send it to hell!" she yelled.

Akuma merely planted his hands on the ground, front-flipping and attempting to kick Boudicca in the face.

"Not if you get there first!"

It seemed that the other girl didn't want to lay down. Cirno could understand this, staying in bed all day was no way to spend your time! But she was sick, so she shouldn't do too much.

"Cirno wants to know where her bed is, so The Librarian can rest," she said, looking to the Queen for help, "It may be a good idea for the other girl before me to take a seat as well. What is her name Cirno asks," she had a small smile, her smile only seeming able to become so big.

-------------------

Lee was instantly on guard, raising his blade and replied immediately, "Lee, of the Edgemasters," Lee noticed the other man was using a rather archaic weapon, just like himself. "Ah, not tech..."

Lee still kept his sword up but it was clear he wasn't as on guard as before. "What's your name?

Lee sighed, "Looking for a friend. Blue haired girl, about yey tall, carrying a sword that might look a bit like this, seen her?" He asked. Might as well try.

He didn't really expect to find any new clues here, but maybe they could help each other out.

"Me? You can call me the Queen, Queen of Sacrifice. Now... umm... Bookworm's bed is behind me, up some stairs, and hedged in on all sides by bookcases," the girl explained, following the path in her head, "Be careful not to trip over the book on the floor... I did. It hurt."

She would have taken the advice to sit down, it was certainly a sensible idea, but that lack of any seating in the area precluded that option.

Lee nodded, "Yeah, I can do that," Lee wasn't completely off guard, but he could recognize that the guy didn't mean any harm. To be honest, Lee saw this more as him helping the other guy out, and figured it'd just be good for his karma if he protected him.

"Hm... I really have no idea where to look though... it might be easier to just do what you want, eh? Where are you heading?"

----------------

Cirno nodded, and went that way, carrying the Librarian.

---------------

The shot from Aumilia hit it's mark, Zack crying out as he died in a glorious flash of light.

The Librarian looked back at the Queen.

"Ah... You're going to fall, if you don't come with us, you're all off-balance!" she called to her, concerned for her friend's lack of balance.

----

Aumilia lowered Göttlicher Arm, as the body of her opponent fell to the ground. Feind-hammer had done its job, the body was totally lifeless. She had no time to waste, of course. Briefly scanning the area to make sure it was safe, she made a bid to sprint for the mine's entrance.

"I know that," the Queen said, right before toppling over. Fortunately, she reacted in time to not fall over... mostly. She ended up propped up by a hastily formed pseudolimb of hair, "Umm... little help, one of you? I can't get around easily in this dress..."

---

Nana was lost. This... wasn't too surprising, she hadn't been let go with a map.She was so sleepy... it was tiring to keep walking without being able to stop and rest! She didn't even have any food. It was just her, her pyjamas, and the teddy she'd been given as a farewell present. Somehow, she'd come into a forest and now she was lost! There'd been noises but... there were voices ahead!

"Uhm..." Nana mumbled, stumbling across the two and looking sheepish. That man had a sword, and that one had coconuts! Why did the man have metal coconuts? They were kind of scary...

"Uhm... Hm," He thought that over. Last saw her? Yesterday, and it was...

A flashback to a bounty hunter working for tech, trying to collect bounties on 'magical beings'. He had hit Cirno and Lee with a concussive rifle, and Lee suggested they split up. He had followed Lee, so he set up a trap and took him down...

"Uhm... a fight. We got seperated, some forest. I had to leave the forest because he had the advantage," He shrugged. He was terrible with directions actually. This may not even be the same forest.

"As for Jace, I might be able to take you to him. He might be able to set me up with someone to help me find Cirno as well..." He shrugged.

"And if we run into Cyborgs, well -" He stopped suddenly as a girl walked up.

Now, being a member of a magical race of sword wielding superhumans, and having his knowledge of the various species of magic in the world, his first thought was that she was not what she appeared to be. However, he wasn't one to play it cautious if it meant possibly leaving a child in danger.

"Hey there, where'd you come from?" Lee asked the little girl, smiling carefully at her. He did not, however, put away his sword, simply pointed it so that it wasn't threatening to stab her.

-------

"Oh, forgot. Cirno can help carry The Queen if there is no protest," Cirno adjusted The Librarian in her arms and grabbed up the Queen, so that they were sitting in her arms facing each other over Cirno's head.

"There we go, is everyone comfortable?" Cirno asked, smiling. Clearly they didn't weigh much, as she held them easily.

"This is fine," the Queen said, wrapping her arm around Cirno as far as she was able and resting it close to her friend. Given that she wasn't even looking in that direction or present earlier in the day, the crippled girl's next words were rather strange, "Bookworm, you look pale and you were sick earlier... why did you get out of bed if you're not feeling well?"

---

"U-umm... back!" Nana said, pointing behind her. His hair was spiky and... why did he have a sword out? She couldn't hurt anyone! Why would she want to hurt anyone? People were nice and friendly, even if they had... strange ideas. The sword was scary!

"Someone was at the door..." The Librarian replied, frowning. She coughed before she could speak again. She was used to the Queen's abilities, having lived with her for so long. "I had to go see who it was! And it was Cirno. I couldn't just ignore a visitor..."

Cirno frowned. Had she been a bother? She carried them off towards the bed. To get there she had to step over many books.

"Cirno hopes she did not cause anyone trouble..." Cirno said, her face becoming emotionless as she walked along.

-----------------

"Ah, I see," Lee couldn't help but smile brightly at her. She was clearly just a little girl. He put his sword away, "Come on now, lets get you home. It's dangerous out here, you know?" He held out his hand to her.

"Don't worry, if you hadn't come, Bookworm would have found another excuse to vomit her insides on the floor. I can't help her dressed like this, so... thanks!" the Queen said, connecting the dots and smiling happily. They ought to be nearly at the Librarian's bed. It was big, even if it was hedged in by bookcases, and that meant there was plenty of room for the two to share a bed without touching. Not that the Queen managed to avoid hugging the (actually a year older, despite appearances) girl.

---

"Nana doesn't have a home..." the child muttered, moving their teddy bear between herself and Lee. What was the point in taking his hand, if he was only going to take her home? One consequence of her 'upbringing' and nature was that Nana was extremely bad at looking past the literal meanings of things. She could do it, it was just... difficult.

"Don't worry about it, Sis," Nel replied with a huge grin plastered on her face, "I'd never hurt an ally! ...well I might hide a cherry bomb or two under your bed if you mess with me..."

----

Satsuki smacked her hands together, pleased with how quickly that was dealt with. She noticed Aumilia running to the mine and quickly left to catch up. "Hey~ Don't leave Nee-chan, she wants in on the fun too~"

"I wouldn't have vomited out my insides!" the Librarian protested. "It was just a bit of blood..."

Tarry, congealed blood and other such unpleasant fluids, but it wasn't her insides. That, the Librarian was totally sure of. It had hurt, though... maybe laying down for a while would be a good idea.

Cirno came upon the bed. It was surrounded by Books, and completely stuck in by bookcases. It was large though.

Cirno brought the two up and placed them on the bed. She smiled at the two, "Are the both of you alright?" She asked, her smile was a bit mischievious actually.

------------

Lee pulled back his hand a bit, and looked at her in surprise. An orphan? Damn, poor thing...

"Well, in that case, looks like I have no choice, huh?" Lee smiled softly at her, and put his hand back towards her, "See, I can't exactly call myself an upstanding guy if I don't watch over you, right? Come on, I'll take care you," he said, joking in tone.

He didn't really have time to take care of a kid, but who was he to just leave her out here? Cirno would probably get onto him if he did something like that.

--------

A woman came running up to Nel and Remma, "A mission for Pilot Remma Daniels!" The woman recognized Remma already, so without waiting for a response, immediately let her know the situation.

"One of our shipments have been pinned down by a group of trolls south of here, carrying bombs and classified technology," She let the info flow while standing at attention. She was clearly below Remma in the rankings of pilots, and so she was showing proper respect in that sense.

"Yup, yup, plenty comfortable," the Queen said, shuffling over a bit and wrapping her arm around the Librarian, "Things could be better but this is fine, too."

---

"Umm... Nana is called Nana, and Bear is called Bear!" the robot girl announced, pointing to herself and then the aptly-named teddy bear, "Who are you?"

"We've got to save the miners!" Aumilia called back to Satsuki, "They're down he-"

The loud crack of gunfire cut her off. A burst of bullets struck Unzerbrechlich's shield, causing it to flicker. But this wasn't too much of a problem, the soldier was just in front of her. Close-quarters wasn't Aumilia's strongsuit, but she knew how she could handle this. "Trennmaschine-..."

She wasn't very strong, but swinging Göttlicher Arm just right was enough. With a crack, she struck the rifle out of the soldier's hand. Immediately, he drew a knife, but in the time it took him to do that, Aumilia had already pressed the tip of her staff against his chest.

"-Schraubbolzen!"

The bolt tore clear through the man's chest. He went to the ground with a thud, and a gurgle. Aumilia couldn't waste any time, and she could hear the shouts of more soldiers up ahead. She ran past the body.

----

"Hahaha, right, kid, and-Huh?"

A mission. About time, it'd taken forever, but there was a mission alright.

"Must be short notice if there isn't even time for briefing," she said, quickly, pulling on her helmet. The ladder was already in place for her mech, all she had to do was climb up it and get in.

----

"I still feel sick, but it's always nice and comfortable in bed," The Librarian replied, smiling. When smiling until she coughed again. It took her a few moments to recover, during which she ended up lightly leaning against the Queen, wincing.

Cirno flinched at the coughing. She didn't like it when her new friend was hurting like that.

Cirno then plopped down next to The Librarian, her action causing the other two to bounce quite a bit. Clearly she was very heavy, even if she felt sort of warm and soft, you could tell she was an android on sight. It was obvious that she was very heavy due to the materials she was made from.

She then stretched and made a small metallic noise that, after a moment, was clearly a yawn. "Cirno hopes that the Librarian begins to feel better, because Cirno does not like her new friend to be in pain," She put her arm around the other two, and smiled brightly.

--------------

"My name is Lee," he answered the little girl, laughing a bit. She was surprisingly naive and gentle. She didn't seem able to take care of herself out here. He wasn't sure what it was that could have forced her out this far from society... "It is nice to meet you, Nana,"

Already, the Queen was yawning. Sleep was such fun... and the Librarian's dreams were entertaining to play with. You'd never guess the sort of dreams her best friend had by looking at her. Maybe she ought to invite the new girl? Ooh, the possibilities...

---

"I-It's nice to meet you, too..." the robot child said. Lee seemed nice enough, despite the sword. Well... he was male, which might be a bit of a problem later on, but he wasn't anywhere near as frightening as he looked! Maybe he had a younger sister or something back at his home? That would be nice.