Sound Stage 01 (a.k.a. Episode 6.5) - Work Trip: Riot Force Six!! ~ Emergency Search Mission in Uminari City ~
(Like other Nanoha Sound Stages, this 'episode' is made up of short audio-only vignettes interspersed with the occasional Image Song.)
The Saint Church receives word of a possible Lost Logia sighting on a non-administered world: Earth. It turns out the sighting was in Uminari City — Nanoha and Hayate's original home town. Riot Force Six is ordered to investigate. As they prepare to travel there by interdimensional teleportation, the four Forwards review what little they know about Earth. At the same time, Rein surprises them by transforming into 'Full Size' mode, becoming the size of a child like Erio and Caro. This form will allow her to blend in on Earth; she explains that she doesn't normally use it because it consumes a lot of magical power.
Arriving on Earth, the members are met by Nanoha's childhood friends Alisa Bannings and Suzuka Tsukimura, who act as local TSAB civilian contacts. Nanoha, Fate and Hayate brief the team members about the mission, reminding them to be unobtrusive but also to protect bystanders if necessary.
After spending much of the day searching fruitlessly, they receive word from the Church that the Lost Logia is neither a Relic nor contraband, simply something that got lost by accident. While their automated probes continue scanning for it, the team decides to regroup for dinner. On the way there, Nanoha takes Subaru, Teana and Rein to her family's cafe, Midori-ya, where the two Forwards are nonplussed to meet Nanoha's parents and her sister Miyuki.
The unit members gather for dinner at Alisa's cottage, where Miyuki shows up again, bringing Chrono's wife Amy and Fate's magical familiar Arf along with her. Various reunions ensue, followed by round-table introductions for everybody's benefit. The Forwards, feeling a bit overwhelmed, go off and talk a little about how Riot Force Six is starting to feel like a family for them. Teana, though she won't admit it, is a bit downcast because she doesn't have a family of her own. Subaru tries to cheer her up, which goes about as well as it usually does.
After dinner, they're still waiting for results from the scans, so everybody decides to head to the famous public baths "Uminari Sparkle Spa". After a lot of relaxation, conversation, and Les Yay, everyone is feeling refreshed. Just as they are coming out, though, Caro and Shamal's devices detect a Lost Logia reaction, and the pursuit is suddenly on.
The target turns out to be an amorphous blob-like thing which creates copies of itself and is highly resistant to physical attacks. The senior officers create a barrier to protect the area and focus on preventing any of the copies from escaping into the city, while the four Forwards attack it directly. By working together and combining their skills, they are able to subdue and seal the target without any collateral damage.
Having completed their mission, Riot Force Six bids farewell to their friends on Earth, and returns to Mid-Childa with the captured Lost Logia. Most of them are happy with a job well done, but Teana seems dissatisfied with her performance somehow...
Tropes
- Absurdly Youthful Mother: Nanoha's mother Momoko is still this, apparently; lampshaded by Subaru and Teana.
- Breather Episode: This Sound Stage is mostly a light-hearted interlude, with no Relics, Gadgets, or political intrigue.
- The Bus Came Back: Alisa, Suzuka, Momoko, Shirou, Miyuki and Amy make their sole appearances of the season here. Arf will appear a couple of times later on, but only for brief cameos.
- Call-Back: When they find out they're going to Earth, Erio remarks that they were just talking about it the other day (in episode 6).
- Continuity Nod: The bathhouse that everyone visits is the same one that they visited back in the first Sound Stage of A's.
- Foreshadowing: Teana starts worrying about whether her skills are up to the standards of the other members. She is also clearly feeling the weight of being alone with no real family. These will both be important to the plot of the next few episodes.
- Furo Scene: Quite a lengthy one, spanning several tracks and involving multiple different conversations/interactions. Any Fanservice is limited, however, due to the audio-only nature of this 'episode'.
- Insignificant Little Blue Planet: The TSAB and Saint Church mostly know Earth as "Non-Administered World #97". It's described in the mission briefing as "Culture Level: D; Magic Level: None; Dimensional Transit System: None". On the flip side, the Forwards remark that, magic and technology differences aside, Earth seems very similar to Mid-Childa.
- Internal Homage: The entire Sound Stage is essentially one giant tribute to the earlier episodes of the first season, what with it involving a Lost Logia that landed on Earth which created a Monster of the Week that the rookies had to defeat via sealing, much like Nanoha did on her first outings as a Magical Girl. It gets lampshaded after the mission was over, with Fate mentioning to Nanoha how the entire thing reminded her of the past and Nanoha thinking of sending an email to Yuuno about the entire thing afterwards.
- Like an Old Married Couple: Several of Subaru and Teana's interactions come across a lot like this.
- No Hero to His Valet: Nanoha's family treats her as if she was a college student who just came home on break rather than a legendary combat instructor, much to the shock of the Forwards.
- Running Gag: Hayate's breast fetish is an ongoing joke from the A's Sound Stages.note
- Written-In Absence: Unlike the rest of Nanoha's family, Kyouya doesn't appear note . This is handwaved by mentioning that he is working in Germany along with Shinobu.
