Project Remix: A Nanoha/Negima Fusion of Epic Proportions

[Heaven's Deamon]

I'm fairly certain that in StrikerS the Saint's Cradle was identified as something connected to El Hazard, the fact it required a Saint's presence to be activated implies that the Saints are also a remnant of El Hazard since I doubt the Belkans would have been able to modify it to the degree that would require without being able to build more Cradles. Also, The Saint's role in the Cradle was only activating it and acting as a guardian, Considering that the Saint Kings presumably ruled Belka you would expect them to have more of a Command role in the Cradle if the Belkans were responsible for the conection between them.

[Uldihaa]

The military otaku on AnimeSuki would tell you that difficulty in establishing a unit within a military power like the TSAB is an uphill battle regardless of your background. Moreover, when Hayate goes before the brass in StrikerS episode 2 to explain the unit's purpose, she walks away from the meeting with either total or near-total support from the brass, the only real exception being Regius, who wasn't present for some reason.

Hayate also had the full blessing and support of the Three Legendary Admirals. So while there might have been some grumbling, most career officers would have been careful not to say or do anything that might be seen as deliberately hindering Hayate's career. That's actually shown in StrikerS when Regius has to use a round-about way to try to cause Hayate trouble; i.e. the off-screen inspection.

As for Hayate becoming an Enforcer...I doubt there would be any more resistance to this than when she joined the Ground Forces. Keep in mind that Enforcers are also usually under the command of someone else, usually the Captain/Admiral of whatever ship they are assigned to. Heck, Chrono was under the command of his own mother!

That's a matter of timeline issues. Negi and the rest come into play in the A's to StrikerS timeskip, with Asuna becoming Alex's apprentice, and Arisa and Suzuka becoming Negi's pactio partners, like I mentioned earlier.

First some questions: Will Asuna become a squire before or after meeting Negi? (Personally I'm more in favor of before.) Also, even though Asuna's AMF seems to be limited to her skin (excepting times when something amplified it) how will that affect her training as a Belkan Knight? If I remember right, the manga says that the Knights use magic to enhance, both themselves and their weapons (though not the way Caro does). Perhaps an experimental Device based on what they learned from the Gadgets (though the timeline might be a little tricky...I think Nanoha was in her second year of highschool when they first battled the AMF Gadgets)? I just felt the need to point out that while having a natural AMF is cool, it could cause some real problems if you're trying to become a magic-wielding knight .

I do have to say that this idea sounds interesting, since I can't see any real conflicts between the magic systems used (wonder if Negi and/or Konoka might get a Device...). I do have to admit to being a little...wary...of an OC, but that's mainly a knee-jerk reaction to fanfic OCs .

Here's a thought: How would Negi's battle with Eva at the beginning of the Negima series play out? I'd suggest changing it from her trying to suck his blood to testing to see if he is worth training, due to her experience training Nanoha and Company. I'd expect her to have changed at least as much from interacting with Nanoha as she did from doing the same for Negi and friends in the original canon. She could even have cut a deal with the TSAB to 'scout' and train mages for them (or perhaps as payment for training Nanoha and friends) in exchange for them helping her break the curse (or create something that would suppress it).

You might want to have Negi form a Pactio with either Ku Fei, Kaede, or Setsuna before the Kyoto arc, since he had Asuna for melee combat in canon (assuming that Asuna is not available). He's going to need a fighter-type for Kyoto unless you plan to totally change that arc.

I think that's about all I have for the moment, but I'll checking this regularly to see if I can offer any help.

[Comartemis]

Device feeds on it's user linker core, Hayate problem is because of lack of safeguard mechanism on BoD. Yuno can't use full form of Raising Heart because he have not enough magical reserve. Also because of that Konoka and Negi are potentially best suited for high level device magic.

Actually Yuuno just isn't of the proper nature to use RH to her full extent. Remember, this is the same guy who held his ground against Vita in A's episode 2 while trying to bring down the Wolkenritter's barrier at the same time; he's at least AA-rank or AAA-rank with a specialization in defensive magic to be able to pull that off, never mind how his binding spells were actually of use against the BoD's viral defense program in the A's climax.

/Reads fic's idea... than again.../ And there goes my hope for the good Nanoha/Negima cross Sad It's... damn, i can't say how it is without use of some specific russian idioms

Anyway i still think that i need to help fellow nanohafan/negimafan even if his ideas of good fic are on other side of my ideas... So i will be pure technical:

Why not share, al? Even if we don't see eye to eye on what makes a good crossover, your opinions may yet have some influence on the story.

Part of the problem with incorporating a lot of Negima elements into Nanoha is the fact that I'm still working my way through the manga at a snail's pace; I've only just started on the magic world arc on One Manga's scanlations archive. If I could, for instance, incorporate Fate Averruncus into the overall plot, I'd do it in a second, but I'm still in the dark as to his motives, abilities, and general plans, which makes that somewhat difficult.

Also Saint bloodline is NOT from Al Hazard, but genetical project of Belka Empire royality on themselves.

Comacanon backstory actually has the Sankt Kaiser Vivian being a Forerunner, a survivor of Al Hazard's destruction, who possesses god-like powers just like the rest of her race. Genetic manipulation doesn't come until way later down the line, when the royal bloodline is thinning out and Vivian's descendants are trying to recover some of her power by reproducing her genetic code. They're only partially successful, but the results manifest as the Saint's Armor.

Thoug it's possible that there are other results of experiments (see Asuna - royality, heterohromia, walking AMF... just perfect candidature).

...you know what, that's actually not such a bad idea. I'll give it some thought and see if I can't believably work it into the story. Might be tricky selling it as a concept to the guys on AnimeSuki, though...

First some questions: Will Asuna become a squire before or after meeting Negi?

Before. By the time StrikerS rolls around, Asuna and Alex have already been working together for quite some time, upwards of a year or two, and the Ala Alba don't enter the picture on Mid-Childa until near the end of StrikerS at the earliest.

Also, even though Asuna's AMF seems to be limited to her skin (excepting times when something amplified it) how will that affect her training as a Belkan Knight? If I remember right, the manga says that the Knights use magic to enhance, both themselves and their weapons (though not the way Caro does). Perhaps an experimental Device based on what they learned from the Gadgets (though the timeline might be a little tricky...I think Nanoha was in her second year of highschool when they first battled the AMF Gadgets)? I just felt the need to point out that while having a natural AMF is cool, it could cause some real problems if you're trying to become a magic-wielding knight.

Not really, since what Asuna has isn't AMF, at least not the way Jail uses it. Asuna's abilities as a complete magic canceler seem to be closer to the Saint's Armor than to AMF, though obviously a lesser version since there are spells that can affect her and physical damage isn't blocked at all. See also her ability to use kanka, which requires magic usage.

I do have to say that this idea sounds interesting, since I can't see any real conflicts between the magic systems used (wonder if Negi and/or Konoka might get a Device...). I do have to admit to being a little...wary...of an OC, but that's mainly a knee-jerk reaction to fanfic OCs

Better get used to them; there's a few more who show up in StrikerS to round out the expanded RF6. One of them is another Type-00 Cyborg from the same production line as Subaru, who has a noted penchant for extreme beamspam and a fondness for really big guns. She's the second Guard Wing in the Forwards, using her penchant for mass-fire spells the lay down suppressive and covering fire. Picture the Heavyarms Custom from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, and you've got the basic idea as to what this girl can do in Full Drive. I wouldn't worry too much about the OCs; my development of these characters takes place largely on an AS thread dedicated to creating Original Characters. If Alex and company start to stray into Mary-Sueness, they'll let me hear about it. Loudly.

One of the things you have to remember about this fic is that it was originally developed on an OC Thread, so obviously original characters are going to be the order of the day. It's also a collaboration, a "shared universe" that characters created by multiple authors come together in the same verse, sometimes in the same story.

A notable example is a creation by noted military otaku Wild Goose, the Order of Freelance Mages, an elite squad of mages attached to the Main Branch who do double duty as a Black Ops unit. Their numbers include such names as Franz Yaeger, one of Goose's OCs, and Sergeant Johnson Ivanovich and John-117; you'd know those last two better as Johnson and the Master Chief from Halo. They show up during the HQ battle in StrikerS and start busting heads, and are one of the reasons why Jail's plans go south in a very big and very catastrophic way.

Here's a thought: How would Negi's battle with Eva at the beginning of the Negima series play out? I'd suggest changing it from her trying to suck his blood to testing to see if he is worth training, due to her experience training Nanoha and Company. I'd expect her to have changed at least as much from interacting with Nanoha as she did from doing the same for Negi and friends in the original canon. She could even have cut a deal with the TSAB to 'scout' and train mages for them (or perhaps as payment for training Nanoha and friends) in exchange for them helping her break the curse (or create something that would suppress it).

That sounds like a very reasonable idea.

You might want to have Negi form a Pactio with either Ku Fei, Kaede, or Setsuna before the Kyoto arc, since he had Asuna for melee combat in canon (assuming that Asuna is not available). He's going to need a fighter-type for Kyoto unless you plan to totally change that arc.

That's what Arisa is there for.

[al103]

Actually Yuuno [skip]

Yuno's equivalent in Ala Alba would be Yue. Not strong but can do something strongest magest can't because of he really knows what and how to do.

Even if we don't see eye to eye on what makes a good crossover, your opinions may yet have some influence on the story.

1. This plot is good for humor fic. Realy good. But i just hate comedies.
2. Or it will be serious fic... And i see it as it will be not working mix, or it will ruin both series.
And at least half of OP lines made me want to get somewhere out of here.

Not really, since what Asuna has isn't AMF, at least not the way Jail uses it. Asuna's abilities as a complete magic canceler seem to be closer to the Saint's Armor than to AMF, though obviously a lesser version since there are spells that can affect her and physical damage isn't blocked at all. See also her ability to use kanka, which requires magic usage.

AMF don't cancel magic as power. It scrambler actually - it brokes magical form. And Asuna's abilities are closer to AMF, because with amplifier they actually cancel magic just like AMF and on big territory. I don't see Saint Armor do that...

PS. About Hayate as Enforcer... Not possible. Enforcer is frontline attacker. Hayate by the nature can not be frontline attacker, she is a person who can miss with nuke blast as shown more than once... And she continuosly said that she is awfull fighter and just good support. I tend to trust her that in direct combat she will lose to nanohatrained Caro. I don't think that even Eva would help with that...

[Comartemis]

1. This plot is good for humor fic. Realy good. But i just hate comedies.

Why read Negima, then?

2. Or it will be serious fic... And i see it as it will be not working mix, or it will ruin both series.
And at least half of OP lines made me want to get somewhere out of here.

Well if you can't come up with anything specific...

AMF don't cancel magic as power. It scrambler actually - it brokes magical form. And Asuna's abilities are closer to AMF, because with amplifier they actually cancel magic just like AMF and on big territory. I don't see Saint Armor do that...

Something like that. AMF de-links mana which has been linked together by the linker core, preventing spells from being cast because the power source is screwed up; basically it reduces usable MP to zero except for extremely powerful mages like the Aces. The catch to that is that AMF prevents mana from being used within the radius of the AMF, whereas Asuna's magic canceling abilities seems to be high-powered magic resistance, not so much cancellation. Asuna's usage as a human shield generator in the magic wars could be explained as her being hooked up to an arcane energy source like a Relic, which would boost the power of her ability substantially.

Also, the fact remains that only certain types of magic are canceled by Asuna's ability. If it was AMF, it would cancel all magic within an area of effect, including attempts at creating pactios and beneficial magic such as the mana component of kanka.

PS. About Hayate as Enforcer... Not possible. Enforcer is frontline attacker. Hayate by the nature can not be frontline attacker, she is a person who can miss with nuke blast as shown more than once... And she continuosly said that she is awfull fighter and just good support. I tend to trust her that in direct combat she will lose to nanohatrained Caro. I don't think that even Eva would help with that...

On the contrary; not just possible, but very very possible and necessary. In fact that's one of the big points of Comacanon; to undo the criminal shafting that Hayate was put through by 7Arcs and make her into a frontline fighter. The "horrible control" thing is a pathetic and lazy excuse to not develop Hayate as a character and stick her on the back lines where she withers away in obscurity. This is not the case in Comacanon, and is one of the few canon points I am perfectly willing to totally and completely ignore in favor of developing one of the best characters in the entire series.

Besides, it's been theorized on the AnimeSuki boards that the reason for Hayate's weakness in combat is due to her slacking off in her training in favor of developing her career and relying overmuch on the Wolkenritter in battle while intentionally making herself into a backline fighter/artillery mage. Eva is going to have a few things to say about that, whether Hayate likes it or not. And don't forget the temporal distortion component of Eva's resort; extensive usage of Eva's resort as a training ground can give Hayate a few extra years to build on her control if she uses it enough.

[al103]

Why read Negima, then?

I love added humor in plot. I hate comedy. And after first 2 volumes Negima is second, not first. And i hate both Negima anime half time not because of horrible plot, but because of comedy overdose.

PS. About Hayate

1. Combat = character development? It's not anime, damn it! I hate "Nodoka needs attack magic" idiocy from the AQS forums... i love Amy, Hayate, Alto & Caro and also love Chisame, Asakura, Nodoka... as they are. I LOVE when it's shown that direct combat is not all and support is important.
2. Eva would say something? Like hell she would. Hayate is classical second line attack mage whos role not to attack but to support frontliners. If she thought that Negi would be suited for that (and honored his choice when he chose othervise) why do you think she can will do othervise to Hayate?
3. For me Strikers manga is best part of Nanoha.

PPS. About resort - dont forget that resort affect biological age.

[Comartemis]

1. Combat = character development? It's not anime, damn it!

Um... yes it is? Unless you're referring to the live action Negima series, which I haven't been...

I hate "Nodoka needs attack magic" idiocy from the AQS forums... i love Amy, Hayate, Alto & Caro and also love Chisame, Asakura, Nodoka... as they are. I LOVE when it's shown that direct combat is not all and support is important.

Support is important, I will gladly grant you that. But Hayate isn't treated as a support mage in StrikerS or anywhere else; she's the mother of all glass cannons who can't do anything by herself unless she's miles away from the battlefield, and that sickens me and many of her other fans. Caro and Erio are closer to the support mage/front attacker combo than anyone else in the series, and even Caro can defend herself more than adequately with her summoning spells when Erio's not present.

If you want pure support, I've got an OC for you who shows up in StrikerS whose spell list looks a lot like Yuuno's, with lots of shields, healing magic, and binding magic being his primary weapons. And he's still dangerous to other mages because of the one or two attack spells he has which he uses once his enemies are immobilized and defenseless. Hayate is nothing like that. Yuuno could handle facing another mage in direct combat. Hayate can't. And that's pathetic for the strongest of the Aces.

2. Eva would say something? Like hell she would. Hayate is classical second line attack mage whos role not to attack but to support frontliners. If she thought that Negi would be suited for that (and honored his choice when he chose othervise) why do you think she can will do othervise to Hayate?

See above arguement as to why she's not a support mage.

PPS. About resort - dont forget that resort affect biological age.

Does it? Must've missed that part.

Regardless. Hayate is not becoming a glass cannon in Comacanon. That's final. This is an alternate universe for a reason, al.

[Uldihaa]

On the contrary; not just possible, but very very possible and necessary. In fact that's one of the big points of Comacanon; to undo the criminal shafting that Hayate was put through by 7Arcs and make her into a frontline fighter. The "horrible control" thing is a pathetic and lazy excuse to not develop Hayate as a character and stick her on the back lines where she withers away in obscurity. This is not the case in Comacanon, and is one of the few canon points I am perfectly willing to totally and completely ignore in favor of developing one of the best characters in the entire series.

Besides, it's been theorized on the AnimeSuki boards that the reason for Hayate's weakness in combat is due to her slacking off in her training in favor of developing her career and relying overmuch on the Wolkenritter in battle while intentionally making herself into a backline fighter/artillery mage. Eva is going to have a few things to say about that, whether Hayate likes it or not. And don't forget the temporal distortion component of Eva's resort; extensive usage of Eva's resort as a training ground can give Hayate a few extra years to build on her control if she uses it enough.

I can actually accept Hayate as a front-liner, though you might want to still have her prefer AoE type spells (similar to the way Nanoha prefers ranged spells). She can just be better at controlling them, allowing her to do the 'a few cubic meters'-scale AoE and the 'several hundred cubic meters'-scale attacks. I always figured that the reason she never gained the fine control of her power needed for a 'one on one' fight was due, at least in part, to the loss of the first Reinforce; she then went for years before creating Rein. In other words, she didn't have a Device with an AI that could directly help her refine her control until it was too late to do so; she got AoE spells dumped into her head, along with a tremendous amount of magical power.

Which reminds me, I would caution you about making all of the Nanoha characters front-liners. It could lead to unbalancing the 'team'; after all, front-liners can only fight for a short time without support-types to back them up, keep an eye out for things the fighters can't yet 'see', and patch them back together. I know you like Shamal , but making her a front-liner too would actually limit your plot/story flexibility; the more front-liners you have, the more fight-scene writing you'll have to do for each character (think finale to Festival arc in Negima, only worse ). I'd recommend having Shamal decide to remain rear-support, but having learned a few tricksy attack spells meant to help her escape and/or buy time for front-liners to arrive; maybe even have her learn to weave one-shot 'trap spells' in her defense barriers.

[al103]

Hayate is not "glass canon". "With my knights by my side... Oh! It's other thing entirely." - Hayate said something like that in strikers manga. Hayate is GROUP fighter, not lone fighter. And she can certainly combat alone - she just can't attack and defend at the same time i think. Just like Yuno. And Yuno is not "glass canon", he is iron wall of defence in boys body even without device.

>Um... yes it is? Unless you're referring to the live action Negima series, which I haven't been...

Oh? You aren't writing fic, but make anime? How new to me. Fic type of development = book type of development.

[Comartemis]

Which reminds me, I would caution you about making all of the Nanoha characters front-liners. It could lead to unbalancing the 'team'; after all, front-liners can only fight for a short time without support-types to back them up, keep an eye out for things the fighters can't yet 'see', and patch them back together. I know you like Shamal Wink , but making her a front-liner too would actually limit your plot/story flexibility; the more front-liners you have, the more fight-scene writing you'll have to do for each character (think finale to Festival arc in Negima, only worse Confused ). I'd recommend having Shamal decide to remain rear-support, but having learned a few tricksy attack spells meant to help her escape and/or buy time for front-liners to arrive; maybe even have her learn to weave one-shot 'trap spells' in her defense barriers.

No, Shamal and Zafira are definitely remaining support fighters, though Shamal is probably going to get a few Reflect-type shields to knock incoming attacks back at her enemies.

Hayate is not "glass canon". "With my knights by my side... Oh! It's other thing entirely." - Hayate said something like that in strikers manga. Hayate is GROUP fighter, not lone fighter.

No, the Forwards are group fighters. Hayate is more of a combination of a commander and an artillery battery. Hayate doesn't fight period, she stands back miles away from the battlefield and pumps out ultra-long-range magical cannon fire while the Wolks do the close-range stuff. The second she gets too close to the battlefield, she gets pwned nearly instantly.

And she can certainly combat alone - she just can't attack and defend at the same time i think. Just like Yuno. And Yuno is not "glass canon", he is iron wall of defence in boys body even without device.

If Hayate is able to fight on her own, then why did she stand by and watch most of the aerial battle with the Saint's Cradle? Your statement is completely at odds with the point you made earlier of canon Hayate being inferior to Caro in direct combat. And where in the world did you get the idea that I thought Yuuno was a glass cannon?

Oh? You aren't writing fic, but make anime? How new to me. Fic type of development = book type of development.

Kindly explain what exactly it is you're trying to say next time. "It's not anime, damn it!" leads to me going "...uh, yeah, both Negima and Nanoha are anime series."

[al103]

The second she gets too close to the battlefield, she gets pwned nearly instantly.

If Hayate is able to fight on her own, then [i]why did she stand by and watch most of the aerial battle with the Saint's Cradle?

She is not and she did not. There were at least 10k drones near SC... and thinking that reserve of 600 air drones (which are ineffective inside craddle) was thrown only by autodefense system in end of combat - i think more. Hayate simply couldn't stay out of combat there. So i conclude that she did shielding for her troups beside command & control... And we DID see scene where 2 from ground forces shot drones while third shield them from fire. And i really think that without overS class shielding airforces would be smashed by quantity.

And where in the world did you get the idea that I thought Yuuno was a glass cannon?

I didn't. I just can't understand where you get that statement about Hayate... By simple magical reserve her shield can recieve more damage than nanoha's and fate's and still stand i think.

Kindly explain what exactly it is you're trying to say next time. "It's not anime, damn it!" leads to me going "...uh, yeah, both Negima and Nanoha are anime series."

1. There is no Negima anime. (and there is no Tsukihime anime too)
2. You write fic. In fic you can easily do character development without frontline combat strikes.

[Uldihaa]

I think I read somewhere (I think it was the StrikerS manga) that one of Hayate's problems is that she isn't particularly good at the kind of high-speed multi-tasking, and spell casting, that front-liners need; but that can be easily taken care of by Eva's training. I also got the impression Hayate's big 'nukes' are time-consuming to cast, either because they can't be cast by a Device like most combat spells (think of the weather-control spells Fate cast in the manga), or she didn't have a proper Device to aid her spell casting; Rein seemed more power-enhancement rather than doing what Storage and Intelligent Devices do. As I recall, Hayate always did a verbal incantation when casting.

Come to think of it, part of Hayate's problems might come from 'starting her training late' due to the time she spent recovering from her paralysis (and possibly from the 'coddling' she probably received from her friends and Knights {a case of 'killing with kindness}). Eva, on the other hand, could never be accused of 'killing with kindness' .

I am interested in seeing what you plan on doing with Arisa and Suzuka ( I actually missed them in StrikerS).

[Comartemis]

She is not and she did not. There were at least 10k drones near SC... and thinking that reserve of 600 air drones (which are ineffective inside craddle) was thrown only by autodefense system in end of combat - i think more. Hayate simply couldn't stay out of combat there. So i conclude that she did shielding for her troups beside command & control... And we DID see scene where 2 from ground forces shot drones while third shield them from fire. And i really think that without overS class shielding airforces would be smashed by quantity.

Firstly, I would very much like to see where the "she was shielding them the whole time" bit is supported in canon, or even any evidence that Hayate has a shield spell that can be projected away from herself.

Second, you're operating without a key piece of information from the DVD booklets.

Flight at high altitudes like what the air forces were doing in the climax is way more difficult than the simple levitation spells we see in classic and A's, to the point where the Air Forces don't accept any applicants below A-rank. This means that, down to the last man, every single participant in the aerial battle with the drones defending the Cradle were approximately on par with Nanoha while under her limiter. And we see in StrikerS episode 5 what a AA-rank Nanoha can do to a swarm of drones, though she has anti-AMF training that would make her more effective against drones than a mage without that training.

By simple magical reserve her shield can recieve more damage than nanoha's and fate's and still stand i think.

This is something we can only speculate on since Hayate never uses a shield of any sort in StrikerS. I'd be inclined to agree that her shield could take a good deal of punishment if it were a simple matter of how much mana you pump into it, but there are simple spells specifically designed to break shields; witness Arf's Barrier Break against Vita in A's episode 2. Besides, there's a lot more to combat than simply having a good shield, as Shamal and Zafira proved when the Cyborgs slapped them around during the HQ attack.

Also, if shields were simply a matter of power, then Yuuno's shields wouldn't be any more effective than Nanoha's shields.

I think I read somewhere (I think it was the StrikerS manga) that one of Hayate's problems is that she isn't particularly good at the kind of high-speed multi-tasking, and spell casting, that front-liners need; but that can be easily taken care of by Eva's training.

It's more like control issues; she has trouble forming spell templates without Reinforce's assistance. Hrelsvelgr, for instance, was cast while using targeting data acquired from Long Arch's long-range sensor equipment, and the charge time on that spell was still upwards of about 30 seconds or so.

[al103]

Firstly, I would very much like to see where the "she was shielding them the whole time" bit is supported in canon, or even any evidence that Hayate has a shield spell that can be projected away from herself.

1. Nanoha have such spells, Fate have... redshirt ground mage have such a spell and Hayte not? With her character to protect all in her care? This joke is not funny.
2. Hayate commanded mages to stay in defense formation... in aerial high-speed combat. It's either need of high-level protection spells or Hayate is worst tactician ever.

And we see in StrikerS episode 5 what a AA-rank Nanoha can do to a swarm of drones, though she has anti-AMF training that would make her more effective against drones than a mage without that training.

In manga AA head of training facility pwned Fate and Nanoha combined - AAA that time. Chrono is level down in power department - but he is sure he can do the same. So basicaly magical rank is as good characterisation as power of spherical horse in vacuum. Also there was at least TEN THOUSAND drones + craddle point defense batteries.

[Uldihaa]

1. Nanoha have such spells, Fate have... redshirt ground mage have such a spell and Hayte not? With her character to protect all in her care? This joke is not funny.

Hayate doesn't have any single target spells, or small area spells either (not that we see anyway). Also, as I recall, of the three of them only Fate is shown to have a shield spell that she can cast on someone else.

2. Hayate commanded mages to stay in defense formation... in aerial high-speed combat. It's either need of high-level protection spells or Hayate is worst tactician ever.

Or she was making sure that they all stayed within support range of each other.

In manga AA head of training facility pwned Fate and Nanoha combined - AAA that time. Chrono is level down in power department - but he is sure he can do the same. So basicaly magical rank is as good characterisation as power of spherical horse in vacuum. Also there was at least TEN THOUSAND drones + craddle point defense batteries.

Don't recall this. Are you talking about the old-woman Fate talks to in StrikerS manga? The chapter that introduces Erio?

Anyway, this is beside the point, and off-topic Al. This kind of canon debate would probably be better in the Nanoha thread. Com has presented good arguments as to why and how Hayate can be a front-liner, and this thread is for helping Com with a fic, not to debate canon.

EDIT: I found the page I was looking for about Hayate's combat skill here. So it does look like canon Hayate is a 'glass-canon'. Though this does kinda shot my idea of having her train harder in the foot . Still, you could still use the 'she just didn't try hard enough' reason. Or it could have been due to a side-effect of not having an AI-controlled Device...