Innocence Seekers: April Light/Chapter 1/Episode 4

This is the fourth episode, "Battle in Space" (宇宙の戦い), of the first chapter of Innocence Seekers: April Light.

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Episode text
Mirai's dragon flew very quickly up into the air, carrying Mirai and Uzuki. When the dragon reached an altitude of around 5,000 metres:

–Mirai: Uzuki, the air's getting thinner, so let's change into our mage outfits.

–Uzuki: Okay.

Both girls changed into their mage outfits.

–Mirai: Right, then...

The dragon picked up speed, until it was moving at supersonic speeds. Soon, it reached an altitude of 30,000 metres. It was then that Mirai spotted enemies.

–Mirai: Uzuki, there are enemies up ahead. Could you disembark and engage them?

–Uzuki: Eh? At this speed? Couldn't you do something, Mi-chan?

–Mirai: Sorry, but apart from my abilitites as a summoner, I'm pretty much useless in the air. Unlike you or your sister, I lack the ability to use wind- and electricity-based spells which are vital for aerial combat. I'm pretty much reliant on my dragon right now.

–Uzuki: Ah, that's too bad. But, at this speed, wouldn't I...

–Mirai: Keep your barrier up. With or without a mage outfit, no one likes having air being blown at them at supersonic speeds. Uzuki, you are capable of flight, am I correct?

–Uzuki: Ah, yes.

Uzuki jumped off the dragon, and flew towards the enemy. She began to cast a spell, and a yellow magic circle appeared beneath her feet. The air began to become electrified.

–Uzuki: Here goes...

In a flash, the enemies were struck by a massive electric shock, causing them to fall. However, more enemies arrived.

–Mirai: More?

Uzuki headed to the second group of enemies, and proceeded to attack them with the same spell, with similar results. A third group of enemies arrived.

–Uzuki: Mi-chan, they keep coming. How long are we...

It was then that Uzuki noticed that Mirai was not responding.

–Uzuki: Mi-chan, can you hear me?

Again, there was no response.

–Uzuki: Mi-chan!

This time, Mirai turned towards Uzuki. She began to communicate with Uzuki, but without using speech, instead using telepathy.

–Mirai: &lt;Uzuki, you're not going to get anything across shouting through supersonic winds. If you want to speak to me, use telepathy.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;Ah, okay. Anyway, how long are we going to do this?&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;Well, for as long as the Donsilan ship has these... things. And it looks like that there is no end to this.&gt;

Meanwhile, Mirai's dragon sent out a massive flame breath towards the enemies, incinerating them. A fourth group of enemies arrived.

–Uzuki: &lt;You're right. There's no end to this.&gt;

Uzuki was about to cast another spell; however, green magic bullets flew from behind Uzuki and shot down the enemies in front of her. Uzuki turned around and saw a green figure flying straight towards her.

–Uzuki: &lt;Mi-chan, is that...&gt;

Mirai turned around.

–Mirai: &lt;Wait, is that Wakaba?&gt;

The girl in green caught up with Uzuki and Mirai. It was Wakaba.

–Uzuki: &lt;Wakaba, what are you doing here?&gt;

–Wakaba: &lt;Uzuki, I felt that you needed help here. Let me take care of the monsters; you can just focus on what you have to do.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;Ah, okay.&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;Wakaba, please hold off the enemy here. I'm going to teach Uzuki how to use her Inherent Ability.&gt;

–Wakaba: &lt;Okay.&gt;

Wakaba flew ahead, to meet with the next wave of enemies.

–Uzuki: &lt;Will she be okay?&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;I think so. Even though I've never really spoken to Mizuki that much in the years between the Gakran incident three years ago and now, I had the fortune of meeting Wakaba a while ago. In a way, she's kind of like Sakura... and your sister.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;I think Mizuki said the same thing. Particularly the part about my sister.&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;Come to think about it, Mizuki did get along well with Yayoi.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;I think it was more about looking after Chiru-chan than anything.&gt;

Mirai giggled.

–Mirai: &lt;Akari said the same thing.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;But, come to think about it, why was Mizuki able to become good friends with Chiru-chan when you had a fight with Mizuki? I mean, you have a similar personality to that of Chiru-chan, so...&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;I think it's because our first meetings were different. Michiru was lost when Mizuki first met her, but in my first meeting with her, I was too shy to even speak up or help, when we needed to do a group project.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;So you became friends with Inorin instead.&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;That's right. Anyway, Uzuki, let's get started, shall we?&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;I'm ready.&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;Your Inherent Ability is a type which requires Full Burst mode.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;So how do I activate Full Burst mode?&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;First, focus as if you're casting a huge spell.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;Okay.&gt;

Uzuki closed her eyes and began to focus. A large yellow magic circle appeared beneath her feet.

–Mirai: &lt;Then, repeat what I say next.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;Okay.&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;Bloom, my flower.&gt;

Uzuki gathered herself for a moment, then she took a deep breath.

–Uzuki: Bloom, my flower!

Suddenly, there was a massive burst of yellow light. When the brilliant glow died down, Uzuki's weapon and mage outfit were altered. There were what appeared to be boosters embedded into her mage outfit's boots and gloves, and her sword was not only a lot longer, it continuously crackled with electricity.

–Mirai: &lt;Unfortunately, that's all I can teach you. My own Inherent Ability is a passive ability; its activation requirements don't apply to yours.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;That's okay, Mi-chan. I can feel it now. I think I know how to use it. Now, it's time to put my new power to the test.&gt;

Suddenly, there was a telepathic signal.

–Wakaba: &lt;Uzuki, Mirai, I'm beginning to have some problems here.&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;Wakaba, what's going on?&gt;

–Wakaba: &lt;The monsters... their numbers were ever-increasing. Now there are so many that they're beginning to overwhelm me.&gt;

–Mirai: &lt;Hold on, Wakaba!&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;We're going to help!&gt;

Uzuki reinforced her barrier, then sped off towards Wakaba. Thanks to Full Burst mode, she was able to achieve hypersonic speeds, which, while putting her barrier under significant thermal and mechanical strain, allowed her to close the distance between herself and Wakaba. In less than half a minute, she managed to reach the monsters, 65 kilometres from the ground.

–Uzuki: &lt;Wakaba, let me handle this.&gt;

–Wakaba: &lt;Okay. Actually, I'll help as well.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;Wait, are you sure? I mean...&gt;

–Wakaba: &lt;Don't worry about me, Uzuki. What's important is that you reach the spaceship.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;Right.&gt;

Wakaba readied her bow, and a massive amount of green magic arrows materialised within it. Uzuki began to cast a spell herself, and her sword began to build up electricity.

–Uzuki: &lt;Okay, then. One...&gt;

–Wakaba: &lt;... two...&gt;

Both girls began their attack. The sheer scale of the attack resulted in a massive display of light, and when the attack stopped, the enemy was nowhere to be seen.

–Wakaba: &lt;I think that's all of them. Uzuki, go ahead. I'm going to head back to the surface.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;Okay.&gt;

Uzuki went ahead.

"It's now up to me. If I don't do this, then..."

Uzuki managed to reach space. However, she could not see where the enemy spaceship was, as it was so far away. However, she found herself right next to the Amaterasu. It was then that she saw what appeared to be a salvo of missiles heading straight towards the Namari spaceship. Uzuki reinforced her barrier to prepare for the onslaught.

The Amaterasu&#39;s point defence system went to work straight away. Laser turrets and guns tracked the missiles, shooting them down whenever they got too close. However, they appeared to be at their limit. Uzuki looked around and saw that the Amaterasu&#39;s radiators were glowing red, brighter and hotter than it should. Of course, Himawari had said that she ordered the Amaterasu to charge its main gun, but there did not seem to be much more power the Amaterasu could consume in its current state.

Inevitably, some of the missiles went through the point defence, detonating close to the magic barrier. Each detonation created a massive blinding flash of light, straining the ship's barrier further. Uzuki did not know what exactly were the missiles, but knew that she needed to get away very quickly. She flew away from the Amaterasu, and tried to find the origin of the missiles. It was then that she sensed it. It was very faint, but it was the enemy ship, or at at least the glow from its radiators, a thousand kilometres away, at a higher orbit than the Amaterasu.

Now Uzuki knew where the ship was, so she began to activate her Inherent Ability. She closed her eyes, and began to focus. A large magic circle appeared beneath her feet. She mouthed her incantation, a short poem in Namari taught to her by her eldest sister Mutsuki, but with her own modifications, but with no air, there was nothing which could hear it. With the incantation complete, she pointed her sword, almost completely covered with sparks and electric arcs, towards the enemy ship. At that moment, there was a massive flash of light originating from the enemy ship, almost as if a 30-megaton nuclear weapon were set off right next to it. Then, almost on cue, the Amaterasu fired its main gun at the enemy ship. The massive white orb travelled very quickly towards the enemy ship and impacted it, destroying it in an instant. Then, silence. Several minutes of silence. Of course, the entire battle was always silent, as there was no air, but this was a lack of communication, a wait. Then came the telepathic message from Himawari.

–Himawari: &lt;Uzuki, we've succeeded. You can come back now.&gt;

–Uzuki: &lt;Understood, Himawari.&gt;

Uzuki returned to Haralni's atmosphere, where Mirai was waiting. Uzuki went out of Full Burst mode and landed onto Mirai's dragon.

–Mirai: Good work, Uzuki.

–Uzuki: I... I couldn't have done it without you. But now... I feel... very tired...

Uzuki lost consciousness.

–Mirai: Uzuki?

Mirai grabbed hold of Uzuki, to ensure that she did not fall off. Mirai headed back down to the surface, where everyone else was waiting.

–Wakaba: Uzuki!

Wakaba ran towards the dragon, while Mirai leapt off it, carrying Uzuki with her.

–Wakaba: Mirai, is she okay?

–Mirai: I guess the strain was too much for her. But at least she's still alive.

Aoi and Benio walked towards Mirai.

–Aoi: Mirai, do you know what happened?

–Mirai: I've personally never seen the condition Uzuki is in. But I think I know what has happened.

–Benio: Uzuki.... Mirai, you said that the strain was too much. What do you mean?

–Mirai: My guess... is that Uzuki used up too much of her mana.

–Aoi: So, what happens now?

Himawari and Louise walked up to Mirai.

–Himawari: Mirai, can you take Uzuki inside? I'm going to contact Fukuyama about this.

–Mirai: Ah, okay.

Mirai headed inside the house, while carrying Uzuki.

–Benio: Himawari, what are you going to do now?

–Himawari: First I'm going to tell Fukuyama everything which has happened. Hopefully she'll send a shuttle down to take us to the Amaterasu.

–Benio: But what exactly happened to Uzuki?

–Louise: I'll answer that. My sisters knew of two cases, both which happened four years ago. It's called mana starvation, and it occurs whenever a mage uses up all of his or her mana.

–Wakaba: I've heard of it from Mizuki. Louise, the two cases were Natasha and Chelsea, right?

–Louise: That's correct. Those two cases were quite severe, and we needed a rare medicine in order to cure them.

–Aoi: Just how rare is this medicine, and will we need it?

–Louise: The medicine must be created by at least two exceptionally powerful alchemists, over a period of four months. At the moment, there are only three doses, and all of them are in Treproa. However, given Uzuki's condition, we won't need it.

–Aoi: Well, I'm glad it's not that serious.

–Louise: However, if we don't act now, her condition could worsen.

–Aoi: What do you mean?

–Wakaba: Aoi, there hasn't been any cases of anyone recovering from mana starvation on their own.

–Benio: If that's the case, then we must do something. Louise, how much time do we have?

–Louise: I'd say... about two weeks. Once that much time has passed, if she hasn't been treated, then we'll have reached the worst case scenario. It is possible to delay this with healing magic, but we need someone with specific knowledge about this condition.

–Benio: Do you know someone who can help us?

–Wakaba: Well, I know someone who may be able to help.

–Benio: Wakaba, who is it?

–Wakaba: It's Chelsea's younger sister, Catherine.

–Aoi: Catherine?

–Louise: Wakaba, I knew you were going to mention her. However, she's normally on Earth, and the Portal Monolith inside only leads to Fuenod.

–Himawari: I was thinking the same thing, Wakaba. Catherine is one of the most powerful healers among us magical girls, and has been for quite some time. So I asked Fukuyama to take us to Earth, so we can meet with Catherine. It should only be an hour from here.

–Aoi: One thing, though. Do you know where Catherine lives?

–Wakaba: She lives in Sydney... I think. I don't know her address, though.

–Louise: Okay... how are we supposed to find her?

The house's door opened. It was Lyra.

–Lyra: ... I can show you the way.

–Louise: Ah, Lyra, we appreciate it.

–Himawari: Lyra, have you been to Chelsea's house?

–Lyra: I have. I know where it is.

–Himawari: That makes our job easier.

One of the Amaterasu&#39;s shuttles suddenly appeared, and landed near the house.

–Himawari: Well, Lyra, can you get Mirai to come out?

–Lyra: Okay!

Lyra entered the house. After a while, she exited. Mirai was accompanying her, while carrying Uzuki.

–Himawari: Okay, everyone, let's hop on.

The shuttle's door opened. Everyone boarded the shuttle, and then the door closed. The shuttle then proceeded to take off.

At the Amaterasu&#39;s infirmary, Mirai set Uzuki down on a bed. The ship's doctor, Tomomi Ishizuka, took a look at Uzuki's condition.

–Ishizuka: I see. This is indeed mana starvation. Princess, while I can treat her condition, she won't wake up unless it is cured.

–Himawari: I'm sure the captain told you this, but we're heading to Earth to meet with someone who can cure mana starvation.

–Ishizuka: Princess, I know you are the princess, but you should be considerate to the crew here. After all, everyone has to live in cramped conditions here for who knows how long.

–Himawari: Well, my sister had ordered the Himiko to replace this ship at Haralni; it should reach the planet in around 14 hours. I've asked the captain to have the ship remain in orbit around Earth to undergo repair before returning.

–Ishizuka: Well, we were lucky there weren't any casualties in that battle.

Benio walked up to Ishizuka.

–Benio: Umm, might you be Tomomi Ishizuka?

–Ishizuka: You know me?

–Benio: I'm Benio Shinokura. I'm one of Akari's second cousins.

–Ishizuka: Wait, you're Akari's cousin?

–Himawari: I can see why Benio seems to know about you. After all, you worked alongside Akane while both of you were still magical girls.

–Ishizuka: I see. I still remember the time when we fought together.

–Aoi: Ishizuka, who else fought with you at that time?

–Ishizuka: Well, apart from Akane, there was Mayu, who's now the captain of this ship...

–Wakaba: You mean Fukuyama, right?

–Ishizuka: Ah, yes. The others were Amane, Minori, Tsukika, and Mikako.

–Aoi: Wait... I'm confused. You just gave me a list of given names.

–Himawari: Okay, Amane is Amane Kigawa. Minori is Minori Kurosawa. Tsukika is Tsukika Miyana. And Mikako is...

Mirai interrupted Himawari.

–Mirai: Umm, Ishizuka-sensei...

–Ishizuka: Ah, it's you, Mirai. I almost didn't recognise you. How have you been? What about Mikako?

–Mirai: I've been well, and so is my mother. Um, there's something I need to tell you.

–Ishizuka: What is it?

–Mirai: The girl we just brought in, well... She's one of Tsukika's daughters. Her name is Uzuki.

–Ishizuka: I see. But what was she doing on Haralni?

–Himawari: Well, it was the only way we could destroy the Donsilan ship. Mutsuki is currently on Elrodom on an assignment, and there was no one else with the required abilities.

–Ishizuka: I have to admit, though, she saved all of us. If it weren't for her, we probably wouldn't be here.

–Mirai: Umm, anyway, what do we do with Uzuki's magic device? When I checked, it had entered safe mode.

–Ishizuka: When I was still a magical girl, we had Amane check for us. This time, though, Amane's not here. But at least her daughter is.

–Mirai: Eh? Hiyori is with us?

The door opened. It was Hiyori.

–Himawari: Speak of the devil...

–Mirai: Hiyori!

–Hiyori: It's been a while, Mirai. I trust you've been doing well.

–Mirai: I have. But Uzuki...

–Hiyori: I heard everything from Louise. Mana starvation is one of the worst things which can affect a magical girl. It's probably up there with mana poisoning.

–Benio: Mana poisoning? You mean the condition where a mage exceeds his or her strain capacity for an extended period of time?

–Aoi: Wait, what is mana poisoning?

–Benio: From what Inori told me, each mage has three parameters detailing their ability to use mana. They are pool capacity, bucket capacity, and strain capacity. Pool capacity represents one's internal mana reserves, and using more mana than one's pool capacity without an intervening recovery period or the use of a mana potion will lead to mana starvation. This happened to Uzuki, as you can see.

–Hiyori: But if one tries to use more mana than one's strain capacity at once, provided that it is not an Inherent Ability, it will lead to mana poisoning. However, let's not discuss these things for the moment. I have a device to fix right now.

–Aoi: Ah, okay.

Hiyori took Uzuki's magic device and inspected it.

–Hiyori: I can see that Uzuki's device was not built for her Inherent Ability. If you ask me, it's a serious design flaw. Whoever designed this either did not know about it, or did not have the resources to account for it.

–Aoi: Hiyori, can you fix it?

–Hiyori: I could, but the problem will still remain. Anything I do to this right now will only be a short-term solution; to fix the problem I would need to design an entirely new device for Uzuki.

–Wakaba: What will you do for now?

–Hiyori: Well, even if the device is fixed, it will still give an error message. That's because of Uzuki's condition, and I can't do anything about it. However, for now, I'll just repair the damage.

Hiyori took the device and left.

–Himawari: Well, what will you four do until we get to Earth?

–Mirai: I'm going to help Hiyori. I know a bit about magic devices, so I can help her if she needs help.

Mirai left the infirmary.

–Wakaba: We'll look after Uzuki.

–Himawari: Okay, then. I'm heading to the CIC; there are a number of things I need to discuss with Fukuyama.

Himawari left the infirmary. Wakaba glanced at the display, which was showing Uzuki's condition. Although her vital signs were okay, Wakaba could not help but stare at the red warning mesage on the display, stating that Uzuki's mana was not recovering on its own.

End of Episode 4

Next episode preview
–Wakaba: Since Uzuki isn't available, I'm going to be announcing the next episode.

–Aoi: Wait, Wakaba, who decided that?

–Wakaba: The author did. The author decides everything which happens here.

–Benio: You know, the author prefers to let the story write itself rather than decide every little detail.

–Aoi: Anyway, with Uzuki's absence...

–Benio: If Uzuki dies, then the story will end. Plain and simple. That's why, I'm sure she'll pull through.

–Aoi: Benio, there are stories where the main character dies in the middle.

–Benio: Ah...

–Wakaba: Next time on Innocence Seekers: April Light, Episode 5: "Mana Starvation". We'll be waiting for you!

–Aoi: Wasn't it "Be sure not to miss it!"?

–Benio: Who cares?

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Commentary
If you're wondering how Uzuki's group and Mirai got to Haralni in the first place, I should mention that the Portal Monoliths at the Furusaka Shrine are one-way. While this means that they do not have any chance of spawning monsters when they are activated, it also means that should one use one of these Portal Monoliths, one needs to take the long way back.

I made extensive use of telepathy in the first half of the episode. This is because much of this sequence involves characters flying at supersonic speeds. It's virtually impossible to understand another person's speech while both the speaker and listener are skydiving, so why would characters be able to hear each other while flying? The other alternative is sign language; however, none of the characters understand sign language, although Mirai can lip-read (no, sign language is not pantomime; sign languages often have their own grammar better suited for their medium).

The missiles attacking the Amaterasu are nuclear weapons. In space, much of a nuclear weapon's power is emitted as radiation (hence the blinding flashes of light), and its area of effect is smaller than in atmosphere. However, normal nuclear weapons are wasteful; due to the inverse square rule, a nuclear weapon is most effective with a direct hit, but a direct hit has a chance of destroying the delicate mechanism needed to detonate the weapon. Even with a direct hit, more than 50 per cent (and often much higher) of a nuclear weapon's yield is lost to space. As such, individual nuclear weapons often don't do much to magic barriers in space combat (but a salvo has the potential to bring a barrier down).

Every mage has a magic device. Magic devices help mages channel their mana, and reduce the burden of casting spells. For most mages (such as Uzuki) they can transform into weapons, facilitating magical combat. For others (such as Benio), they merely enhance the mage's magical abilities (although to a greater extent than weapon-based magic devices; thanks to this, Benio is capable of delivering very powerful blows with her fists alone). Not only are magic devices used by mages, but they also form the basis of magical technology in the galaxy. Note that if a magic device cannot handle the amount of mana being channeled through it, damage can result.

The three parameters associated with mages each have a different meaning. A mage's pool capacity is the total amount of mana a mage can store internally. Mages constantly take up mana from the background as long as their internal mana reserves are not full (barring mana starvation). A mage's bucket capacity is the most amount of mana a mage can extract from his/her internal reserves for use in a spell. This affects the maximum power of a mage's spells. A mage's strain capacity is the most amount of mana a mage can manipulate without side effects. Exceeding this for an extended period of time can lead to mana poisoning. All three parameters can be increased by magic devices.

The next episode preview does not feature Uzuki (since, well, she's unconscious). So I had Wakaba do the line normally reserved for Uzuki (although she altered it).