[Nanya01]

*looks left, looks right*

*Clears throat*

While the re-write of Chapter 26 is slowly under way (sue me, I was busy all dammed day today! On second thought, don't, I'm broke right now.)...

RadiantBeam and I have the next Chapter to Day in the Life to show you...

Chapter 27

Zafira

As per usual, multi-post chapter.

Spoiler for Zafira:

It was early morning, the sun was just rising over the horizon as Schach smiled as she saw Signum sitting at the table in the commons area at the Saint Church. "Morning, Signum."

"Morning, Schach, thanks for inviting me for breakfast." She smiled at her friend and blinked as she saw Sein grinning from behind Schach. "Good morning, Sein, how are you?"

"Signum, Schach, good morning." Sein grinned at them. "No Vice today?"

Signum shook her head. "He got called away on a supplies run. He'll be back soon, though. Probably by afternoon."

"We were planning to meet him then," Schach added.

Sein grinned at them, chuckling softly. "Maybe he's got a girl waiting for him and that's why..." She trailed off at the twin looks the two were giving him. "Ah... It was a joke. A joke!" She whimpered and backed up. "I'll... I'll go and get Deed and make breakfast, bye!" She couldn't get out of the area fast enough.

Signum sighed. "Sein likes to pick trouble still, apparently."

"She's a good girl, just a little open about things she shouldn't be." Schach shook her head, amused.

But neither of them could ignore the small burning in their stomachs.

"... You think it's true, Signum?"

"Hm?"

"You think Vice is dating someone?"

Signum blinked a few times and grimaced as she thought about it. "I... I would rather not think about it." It was worse, in her opinion, because Vice was generally a very nice guy and any girl that caught his attention would be rather lucky, in her opinion.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Schach sighed even as the thought made her grimace. "He really is a very sweet man, once you take the time to sit down and talk to him."

Signum nodded as Schach sat down at the table with her. "He is. When he's not trying to be too charming." She chuckled softly at her own attempt at a joke.

"Honestly, I think he tries a little too hard; he always wants to impress the ladies he meets." Schach chuckled. "He was the same with me when we first met."

"Oh really?" Signum leaned in close to her. "This is interesting, I never knew that." It didn't surprise her, honestly, but it was still interesting to find out that Vice had flirted with Schach.

"Yeah." She laughed softly. "I think Carim scared him slightly, he backed off on the flirting though." Schach chuckled softly. "How about you? Did he try to charm you too?"

"A bit, but I never really feel uncomfortable when he flirted with me." Signum shrugged softly and chuckled as she leaned back in her seat.

"Really?" Schach blinked.

"Does that surprise you?"

"A little bit, I guess. You never seemed like the type who enjoyed being flirted with."

"I don't." Signum said honestly, getting a blink of surprise and confusion from Schach. "However, he didn't try flirting with me just to see if he could get somewhere with me. Vice was rather playful about it."

"Playful?"

"Yes. I've never felt like he does it specifically on purpose. Most of the time he just talks to me and goes along with however the conversation is going."

Schach shook her head and smiled at Signum. "Oh, so that's how it is." She chuckled at the look of confusion on Signum's face.

"How what is?"

Schach narrowed her eyes and leaned in, grinning softly. "I think you rather like our dear friend, Vice more than just a friend."

"Eh? What?" Signum wasn't often taken off guard. Schach had a rare privilege in seeing her with a completely stunned look on her face. "What makes you say that?"

"You can tell that he's flirting with you from time to time, which doesn't surprise me because we are, after all, talking about you." Schach chuckled. "Yet you don't seem to mind his attention. I do recall a time when you put one young man down quite soundly for hitting on you."

Signum was silent for awhile as she thought about that. What had changed? She wasn't sure anymore. Vice wasn't that bad of a guy, nice looking, a decent role model for younger mages, and charming when he wasn't trying too hard. But, she didn't know what changed, why she didn't mind it.

Schach blinked as Signum didn't say anything and seemingly stared into nothingness for awhile. "Signum?"

"I... didn't notice, to be honest." Signum shrugged. "Vice was the one who wanted to talk to me more, and I had no problem with letting him do that."

"Really?" Schach blinked and raised an eyebrow. "What if he did have a girlfriend though?"

She expected Signum to blow it off. Or at the very least not react very much.

Seeing a flash of hurt in her eyes and a grimace on her face, one that was on her face and gone so fast that she nearly missed it, wasn't something she had anticipated.

"I would be happy for him." Signum seemed as if she was pretending the hurt, the grimace had never been seen. "He's mentioned every now and then that he would like to have a girlfriend, and it's not my business if he manages to find one."

Schach wondered why it felt like Signum was lying.

"What?" Signum blinked as Schach looked at her for a long moment.

"Signum... Do you like Vice?"

Something flickered in Signum's eyes before fading away, so fast that Schach almost missed it. "I care about him," she said at last. "He's been a good friend to me and has never pushed my boundaries."

Schach nodded at her friend before smiling as Deed and Otto came out with some breakfast. "Thank you." The two younger girls really were helpful around the place. It was too bad that they had to go through what they did before ending up here.

"No problem, though I think you scared poor Sein stiff." Deed said, smiling softly, getting a chuckle from Schach.

"Ah, my bad." Schach laughed softly. "I'll talk to her later."

"I wouldn't say stiff," Otto said after a minute. "I think more than anything she was surprised." She smiled. "She's used to getting such reactions from Schach, but Signum was new."

Signum blinked. "Well, then I apologize."

Deed chuckled softly and smiled at the two. "It's okay, but maybe you two should try to not be so jealous over the thought of Vice being with a girl. He doesn't really strike me as someone who would want a bunch of girlfriends at once." She blinked at the looks she was getting and she blushed. "Then again, neither does Yuuno, but he has both Nanoha and Fate."

"How do you..."

"I read a lot." Deed interrupted Schach as she blushed a lot more. "When I'm not helping people here or in training with you, Sister Schach, I read a lot."

"She does." Otto said and patted her sister's back.

"To be fair to Yuuno, he didn't see it coming," Signum added.

"I know, I know." Deed smirked. "Though it's still fun to read. The press was having a field day with it, you remember there was such a big debate over who Nanoha would end up with..."

Sigum rubbed her forehead and groaned. "Please don't remind me. I had people asking me questions that I didn't want to answer."

"Well, you are publicly known as Fate's sparring partner and someone that she spends a lot of time with off duty, so, people were curious." Deed shrugged slightly. "Fate and Nanoha are basically celebrities after all, so people get curious."

Schach looked at Signum curiously. "I didn't know the press went after you."

"Like bloodhounds." Signum shuddered just remembering it. "Vita and I both. We're very close to Nanoha and Fate, as sparring partners and as friends, and a lot of the reporters thought we were... more than that." She coughed lightly. "Even now I meet a person or two who thinks I'm heartbroken because Fate went with Yuuno and Nanoha."

"You could always lie and say it dented your armor," Vice called cheerfully as he strolled into the conversation.

Both Schach and Signum looked at Vice and smiled softly. "Good morning, Vice." Signum said softly as he sat down next to them. "I'm surprised, I thought you had a delivery today."

"Not for another hour." Vice chuckled softly. "I was up early enough and thought to come over here to have breakfast. Deed, Otto and Sein are better cooks than most of the restaurants in town." He smiled as Otto and Deed blushed, stammered and excused themselves from the group.

"Flirt." Schach chuckled at him. "You shouldn't hit on those two, they don't know how to handle it."

"I don't mean them any harm. Besides, they should get used to it so that when some guys come sniffing around they'll know how to react." Vice grinned at the thought. "So what was this I heard about Signum possibly being Fate's lover?"

Signum cringed.

"It was just some people in the press being stupid and looking into things too much. They thought that Vita was Nanoha's lover." Signum rolled her eyes. "The only person Vita would let touch her like that would be Hayate anyway."

"Really?" Both Schach and Vice blinked in confusion as Signum shook her head.

"Yes, but I honestly don't think either Vita or Hayate would do that." Signum rolled her eyes at that thought and brushed it off. "No matter how much it looks like, I highly doubt that either Vita or Hayate are doing that with each other."

"Ah, media idiots," Vice shook his head and chuckled.

"And even if they do do that eventually, Zafira and Shamal and I would know before anyone else." Signum sighed.

Schach raised a brow. "Really? I heard that Shamal moved out of Hayate's house, but I didn't want to seem nosy."

Signum nodded at her. "You heard right. Shamal moved into an apartment above her clinic with Miyuki."

Vice rasied an eyebrow at hearing that. "She moved in with Miyuki, huh? Didn't see that one coming."

"Miyuki is Nanoha's older sister, right?" Schach asked, and Signum nodded. "Huh. I'm surprised. You'd mentioned once or twice that Shamal liked someone, but..."

Signum shrugged and smiled softly as she ate some food, before nodding after swallowing it. "Yes. I was rather surprised that she likes That Thing's sister so much." Her smile widened slightly as her two friends groaned at her.

"Must you always call Nanoha that?" Schach asked as she rubbed her forehead in dismay.

"But it's such a fitting name for her." Signum smirked.

Vice shook his head, amused. "And here I was reading the news and hearing so many crazy theories about your love life, Signum..."

"Oh?" Signum looked at him curiously.

"Yes. Either you were in love with Fate or you were in love with Shamal depending on what paper you read."

Signum shook her head. "As close as I have been with my fellow knights, I'm not that close with them. What about you, Vice?"

"Huh?" Vice blinked as Signum looked at him with amusement in her eyes.

"I heard rumors, back when we were in Section Six, of you being in a relationship with either Teana or Subaru, depending on who was saying them."

Vice laughed. "As much as I'd like to say I'm the stallion the papers make me out to be, none of it's true. Subaru never even looked at me that way, and Teana's more of a little sister to me. She still likes to come to me for advice sometimes, and not just on shooting these days."

"Oh?" Signum raised an eyebrow at him. "What kind of advice?"

"Would you believe advice on how to be a better girlfriend for Subaru?" He chuckled softly at the two as they blinked in surprise. "I know, surprised me too."

"You're serious?" Schach asked.

"Completely. Honestly, it's a little harder for me because I'm a guy and not a girl, but I try to help her anyway." Vice shrugged. "She really wants to be good for Subaru, and she doesn't feel comfortable talking to anyone else about it. I was actually pretty flattered when she told me."

"Speaking of rumors..." Signum trailed off and looked at Schach, who blinked a few times. "I heard rumors that you and Knight Carim were a little closer than most."

"Funny, because the rumors I heard was that Knight Carim and General Hayate being lovers." Vice said, smiling at Schach. "Any truth to those rumors?"

"Just rumors." Schach rolled her eyes at them. "Knight Carim is more interested in cosplay with General Hayate than sharing her bed."

"And the rumors about you?" Vice asked.

"Completely false." Schach shrugged. "So far as I know, anyway. If Knight Carim is interested in me that way, she's done nothing to indicate it."

Signum chuckled softly and shook her head as the trio ate. Rumors were rather stupid, honestly. But still, something that Sein said still bothered her. "Vice... This might be another rumor, but I heard that you were seeing someone right now."

"I wish." Vice said with a sigh. "It would be nice to have someone to go on dates with or just sleep in the same bed and help keep the bed warm."

"So.. you're single?" Schach believed him, she liked to think that the three of them were close enough that he'd mention it before he dated anyone.

"Still single, yes." Vice didn't mention it, but he had tried to give Alto a chance, he really had, but he just couldn't see the girl as anyone but his subordinate and a good friend.

Schach laughed softly. "Look at us, the three of us are subjects of rumors that fly left and right."

"And no one's going to believe us if we tell the truth, either." Signum said and smirked her friends.

"Of course not."

"It'd still be fun to try, though," Vice said, more to himself than anyone else. "I'd love to see the look on the reporters' face when we say no, really, we're single."

"Which reminds me..." Schach glanced at Signum curiously. "Has the media caught wind of what Shamal's been up to lately? All I see is more speculation about the apparently hot, sex-filled affair you have with her."

"They should look at Miyuki more than they look at me." Signum shook her head. "Honestly, can't these people be a little more interested in something other than our sex lives?"

"It's not nearly as entertaining." Vice chuckled as he ate. "Schach, tell Deed, Otto and Sein that they're getting better at making breakfast."

There was a crash as Otto tumbled out of the hallway, causing the three to look at her, as she blushed, got up, stammered and ran away.

"I think she heard you." Schach said dryly as she smirked at Vice. "You need to tone down the charm around those three."

"I wasn't even trying that hard," Vice said with a laugh. "I wouldn't have done it if I knew it'd have that effect on them."

"They aren't used to being praised like that. It's a new sensation for them." Schach turned to Signum. "Why hasn't the press looked at Miyuki, anyway? Do they just not know she exists? Or are they really that interested in the thought of you... and Shamal..."

Signum shuddered.

"I think it's more along the lines of the fact of who her sister is and who Shamal is. Miyuki, in comparison, isn't nearly as interesting as Nanoha, Shamal or Signum are." Vice said and blinked as Storm Raider warned him of the time. "Ah, sorry, ladies, as much fun as I have with you two, I do have to get to my delivery now. I'm free this afternoon if either of you want to spend some time with me."

"Of course." Schach smiled as Vice got up and left the table. She then looked at Signum, who was trying to fight off a soft blush. "I think he just asked you out on a date."

"He offered it to you too." Signum said, coughing slightly.

"Maybe, but I wasn't the one he was looking at." Schach smirked. "He's trying to be a gentleman about it. It's rather cute, to be honest."

"What about you, though?" Signum looked at her. "Aren't you interested in him?"

"Yeah... But I could be happy if my best friend was happy with him." Schach smirked at Signum softly. "Though, if you don't make a move soon, I might just swoop in and steal him away from you."

"... That isn't fair," Signum groaned, dropping her head to the table with a clunk.

"All's fair in love and war, remember?"

Signum twitched and groaned again.

Schach chuckled and patted her friend's shoulder. "Good luck, Signum. Vice is a good guy."

Signum smiled and nodded in thanks, before she smirked softly. "You better make sure that Sein, Otto and Deed don't pass out with a blush when they start talking to boys." She then thought about it for a moment. "Or girls, in Otto's case, if they don't know that she's a girl."

"I think Otto and Carim prefer it that way." Schach admitted with a soft chuckle.

At that, Signum could only chuckle as she stood up, bowed softly and left the Church.

(---)

In the Infinity Library, Arf, in her small child form, blinked as she saw Dieci, dressed in a skirt and brown shirt, sitting at one of the tables and reading several books. "Dieci, what are you doing here?"

"Studying the combat cyborg body system." Dieci flipped another page. "I got curious about it after that talk I had with Knight Carim and Sister Schach, so I've been looking for books on the subject."

Arf blinked and leaned in, looking at the books she was reading. "Basic anatomy?"

"Want to compare how we're different to normal people." Dieci said softly. "Plus, you know, it would be nice if I could repair my sisters if they got badly injured or were shutting down and make things easier."

"None of you can fix each other?" Arf blinked.

"No, only the Doctor did those kinds of things. He never taught us how to do it ourselves."

"But, aren't there a bunch of scientists that can do that?" Arf was confused as Dieci sighed softly.

"Yeah, there are. But, I would just like to be able to fix my sisters in case something goes wrong." Dieci put her books down and groaned. "It's a lot of work, to be honest."

"So... why do it?"

Dieci sighed. "Because if something happens and we can't reach a scientist or doctor to help, I want to be able to do something instead of just sitting there as one of my sisters shuts down."

"Oh..." Arf said softly and smiled. "I can help you find books if you need more."

"Thank you." Dieci smiled at the small familiar.

"Is that your only reason?" Arf checked the computer.

"... Well..." Dieci hesitated. "I've been thinking a lot, lately, about how the Doctor brainwashed Ginga..."

"Yeah, what did he do, exactly?"

"I... Didn't see or know, exactly." Dieci scratched her cheek lightly. "I don't want to bring it up, but I want to help in case something like that happens again."

"You think it could be bad?"

Dieci shook her head. "I honestly don't know. I know Ginga snapped out of the trance when Subaru saved her, so unless the Doctor gets his hands on her again or planted something in her that we haven't detected she should be fine." She went back to the book. "Though..."

"Huh?"

"According to this book, the place where Ginga was hurt when she and Teana saved Teela? That's... close to one of our operating circuits."

"Huh?" Arf blinked as Dieci pointed out the graph in the book to her. "That regulates the controls to your nervous systems." Arf gulped slightly as she read what would happen if the damage wasn't treated. "...Okay, slowly shutting down because it's not repaired, that sucks."

Dieci nodded at her. "Thankfully, Ginga was fixed before it got out of control."

"Was she, though?" Arf was suddenly worried.

"I don't know. I'd need a way to check the medical records of the ship to be sure if she was treated or not, but I don't have clearance for that. Hopefully if it was bad, she'll start showing symptoms sooner rather than later... it could pass by undetected for years."

"You'd have to open her body up to know for sure, wouldn't you?" Arf sighed as Dieci nodded. "Let's just hope that she doesn't have anything wrong with her."

Dieci sighed and went back to reading. "Yeah..."

She was still nervous, but for Ginga's sake, as well as Wendi's and Nove's, she hoped she was wrong.

---

Ginga sighed sleepily and slowly opened her eyes, blinking, and grimaced. Well, she thought, this was rather annoying.

It had started a little awhile ago, after her mission; sometimes her body was a little slow to move after she woke up, or her vision didn't clear as quickly as it usually did.

The doctor on the ship had said nothing was wrong with her and she hadn't thought anything about it. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go in and get looked at to see if everything was running smoothly after all.

...Well, as soon as she could get out from under her lovers, who were using her breasts as pillows.

This was a regular occurance, Ginga thought with a slight smile as she lifted her hands, one gently stroking Nove's hair while the other rubbed Wendi's back. Ever since the beginning, her lovers had always liked sleeping on top of her.

A small tremor ran through her hand, and she frowned.

Her stomach growled and she blushed slightly. "That explains that." She muttered softly, she always twitched if she got too hungry. "Nove, Wendi... Come on, I'm hungry."

They both mumbled sleepily and, if anything, snuggled closer to her. Ginga sighed. "You two really are such snuggle monsters," she murmured, but there was no bite in her voice.

Still, she was hungry, and she needed to get up. "Okay, you two. If you don't get up..." She sighed as they just cuddled closer. "Sorry about this." She muttered and reached down to pinch them both on their butts.

"Oww!" Wendi groaned as she shot up.

Nove rubbed her butt and glared lightly at her naked lover. "What was that for?"

"I'm hungry. You two wouldn't move." Ginga smiled. "Come on, get up. I'll make you guys something." Amused by the glare Nove was giving her even as Wendi's eyes lit up, Ginga sat up.

Only to yelp and fall back against the bed, a hand flying to her chest as she trembled. "Oh, hell," she rasped as sharp, bright pain ripped through her spine and made a beeline for her chest, shoulders, and legs. "What the heck?"

"Ginga!" Her lovers looked at her worriedly as Ginga winced.

"Call... Scientists... Hurry..." She groaned and bit her lips to prevent herself from screaming out.

Wendi was just about to leap off the bed and call a screen, with or without clothes, when the pain suddenly stopped. Ginga slowly winced, lowering her hand from her chest, and flexed her fingers a few times. Feeling no punishment, she slowly sat up, but the pain that had wracked her body seemed to have subsided.

"Ginga?" Nove asked as she put an arm under Ginga's back to steady her lover. "Are you okay?"

"Not sure..." Ginga frowned softly. "Let's get dressed, I'll eat something and then go see the scientists." She just hoped that the worst that was wrong was that she needed a tune-up.

"What happened?" Wendi asked softly.

"I don't know... I just started to sit up and the pain came out of nowhere."

Nove nodded and helped Ginga stand up out of bed. "Come on, let's hit the shower."

"Huh?" Ginga blinked as Nove blushed at her.

"I can at least wash your body down and if you feel pain again, at least we can make a call quickly, okay?" Nove was blushing softly but Wendi grinned at the two of them.

"I love washing the two of you down!" She chuckled as she grinned at them.

Ginga couldn't fight the laugh even if she tried. "Sure," she said. "Let's go take a shower."

The delighted pair of smiles she received from her lovers made her chest warm.

It didn't take long for Ginga to find herself naked on an examination table, with her eyes closed as her body was deeply scanned and probed by the machine that was scanning her over.

In the examination room, Mariel looked at Nove and Wendi and frowned slightly. "You're saying that she only complained about the pain today?"

Nove nodded. "Yeah. She woke us up and said she was hungry and that she'd make us something because we weren't too happy about waking up, but then when she sat up she fell back down and started shaking." The memory of seeing Ginga like that made the short redhead tremble, and Wendi gently pulled her closer.

"Really?" Mariel frowned softly. "Because the damage I'm seeing is almost two months old."

"Two months?" Wendi blinked a few times. "She'll be okay, won't she?"

"If she had waited any longer, no, she wouldn't be okay. But, I think we'll have to do some repairs to her body, but I think she'll be able to function normally after a little bit of work."

"It isn't like she did it on purpose," Nove said softly. "I don't think she even knew she had a problem."

"Probably didn't." Mariel shook her head and sighed. "This was just a very damaged nerve in her, but it was connected to a bunch of nerves that were connected to important systems, so it slowly broke down until it became a real problem for her."

Wendi and Nove both shuddered at that. "She'll be okay though, right?" Wendi asked.

Mariel sighed again. "Depending on how bad the damage is and how long it's had to spread, I can't say. Right now the best we can do is repair the damaged connections and monitor her closely, and hopefully that's all she'll need."

"So..." Nove started slowly as she looked at Ginga through the window. "How long?"

"I'm not sure. Depends on how bad the damage truly is, this is just a preliminary scan, we have to do a deep scan to know for sure." Mariel sighed softly at the looks of concern in Wendi and Nove's eyes. "Look, it's going to take a few hours for the scans to finish, and after we're done, we'll have to do some surgery."

"You mean repair her." Nove grumbled out, she hated how it made her, Ginga, Wendi and their sisters look like nothing but machines, but it was the truth of the matter.

Mariel's eyes softened as she put a hand on Nove. "Please, don't say it like that. You make it sound like you aren't anything more than a machine. Nove, you are yourself, not a machine. Just because you and Ginga are cyborgs doesn't mean that you're not people."

"I know, it's just... We're so... So different than normal people. Things like this, it's just a slap in the face to keep reminding us." Nove sighed as Wendi hugged her from behind, trying to get her to relax.

"Nove, come on. Mariel knows what she's doing. She's been working on Ginga and Subaru for a long time." Wendi was just as worried about Ginga, but she knew that that Nove needed someone to hold her right now.

Mariel sighed again. She could understand Nove's frustrations, but there was very little she could do. Even when a problem was caught, the combat cyborg's system could never fully be repaired to how it had been before that problem. The fact that Subaru and Ginga were the prototypes that had inspired Jail's Numbers didn't help the situation.

"Nove, I'm going to do the best I can for her. I can't make any promises. In terms of design and structure, Ginga is much older and less developed than you or Wendi. I can help her, but it's going to take time."

----

Ginga blinked, lifting her head up as the door to the room opened and Mariel came in. "Anything yet?" she asked.

"Still scanning." Mariel shook her head. "Sorry, Ginga. We haven't gotten any faster at this."

"It's all right." The purple-haired woman blinked when she looked through the glass and saw Nove and Wendi, still waiting. "They're still out there?"

"I told them it would take a few hours, but they're stubborn." Mariel shook her head. "Why couldn't you fall in love with a nice, sweet, mild-mannered boy?"

Ginga cracked a small smile at her. "Sometimes I wonder that myself." She took a deep breath and smiled up at the window. "But... I honestly do love them. Plus, mild-mannered would be boring. Tell me, Mariel... What's the worst-case scenario right now?"

Mariel sighed heavily, there was no point in lying to her. "Absolute worst case, the damage is too horrible and you start to shut down permanently while we work on you. But that's so unlikely that you shouldn't worry about it. The most likely thing is that you won't be able to access your IS, magic and would probably have to retire from active duty."

"I see..." Ginga closed her eyes and sighed. "Mariel, I'd rather not have to be stuck at home for the rest of my life because I got hurt like this. Please, do what you can."

"I'll do my best, but no promises." Mariel shook her head. "You've taken a lot of hits, Ginga. I didn't want to worry your girlfriends out there, but your system's completely shot. If you take another hit like this, you'll shut down completely. You won't even have time to get to me."

Ginga snorted softly. "I bet." Getting beat up by Nove, Wendi, Cinque and Subaru within the span of a week probably wasn't the best for her. "Listen, Mariel, if you can't do anything for my systems... Don't lie to be about it, okay?"

Mariel paused in what she was doing. "You're asking me to shut you down."

"If it comes to that... yes."

There was another long pause before Mariel sighed. "Your lovers would kill me."

Ginga nodded at her. "Before you do though, let me talk to them at least." She sighed and lifted her left hand up and Mariel watched as it twitched nearly uncontrollably. "I don't think that I'll be much use to anyone if I can't control this, Mariel."

"You're something else, you know that?" The scientist shook her head. "Thankfully, you don't need to worry about shutting down anytime soon. But... I'm going to have to open you up to get at the worst of it."

Ginga sighed and winced, she figured as much. "Fine... It's not like we have a spare body for my brain to be put into anyway."

"You watch too much science fiction." Mariel said, getting a laugh from the both of them.

"It's not my fault, Wendi loves those old movie marathons."

Mariel laughed again before sobering up. "At the very least, let me tell them what I'm going to do. I don't think they'll be too happy with me if I cut you open without any warning."

Ginga cringed and sighed. "Let them in," she murmured. "I'll explain it to them. They need to be prepared."

"That's fine. I need to call in a few people to come in and help me out." Mariel sighed and rubbed her forehead. "What a mess." She shook her head and went to get Nove and Wendi.

Ginga sighed and closed her eyes, relaxing slightly until she heard someone clear their throat slightly. "Hey... You two look like you're looking at a dying person."

"You can't see yourself right now," Wendi joked gently, and Ginga smiled as she opened her eyes. Despite the joke, the tall redhead looked genuinely worried. Nove looked worse, even as Wendi held her close.

I'm not looking forward to this...

Quietly Ginga held up her hand, watched it tremble. "If this keeps up, I'm having Mariel shut me down," she said softly.

She was honestly surprised how stiff the two got. Hell, she could see that Nove's hands had turned white from squeezing them into a fist too hard. "Why?" Wendi asked, her voice cracking up as Ginga smiled softly.

"Because," Ginga took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, "because I'd rather not suffer." She smirked slightly. "But that's the worst-case scenario, you two. Mariel's going to have to operate on me. Which means..."

"She's going to have to open you up, isn't she?" Nove said softly as Ginga nodded.

"I was worried you two would be upset if they started operating on me without knowing the truth." Ginga took a deep breath. "If... If they have to shut me down... Please... Tell dad and Subaru that I'm sorry that I couldn't come home."

"Stop that." Wendi said and grabbed Ginga's hand. "Look, that's the worst-case scenario. Mariel said that she should be able to fix this. You might need to take some time off from field work, but I don't think you're going to die."

Wendi could still feel Ginga's hand trembling slightly in her own and squeezed it tightly.

"I'm just warning you." Ginga closed her eyes. "My system isn't as well developed as yours or Nove's, Wendi."

Wendi nodded and squeezed Ginga's hand. "But, they are the best in the business, Ginga." Wendi smiled at her. "I'm sure that they can stop this. Just promise us not to give up, okay?"

Ginga opened her eyes and smiled slightly. "I can promise that."

Wendi nodded and let go of Ginga's hand. Nove hadn't said anything at during the time, and Wendi still didn't look settled.

Ginga sighed. Ignoring her nakedness and current position, she sat up and gently pulled her lovers into a hug. "I'll be all right," she said softly. "I'm just thinking worst case scenario. I've always been that way."

"Gin...Ga..." Nove trembled and hugged Ginga tightly, shaking as she did so. "Please... Please... Come back to us."

"I'll try. I'll try." Ginga promised them. "I'll do my best. I know that Mariel and whoever else that will work on me will do their best as well, okay? So stop crying, you silly girl."

Nove nodded, but she still snuggled as close to Ginga as she possibly could. Wendi wasn't as bad as her shorter lover, but she was holding on tightly.

"You two should go home." Ginga's voice was soft. "This is going to take a few hours, and you didn't eat."

"But..." Wendi spoke up, only to quiet down as Ginga tightened her hug.

"No, I... I don't want you two to see this. Plus, you need to tell Subaru and dad what's going on, okay? They need to know and Subaru might actually listen to you before rushing down here." Ginga smiled softly at them. "Please... Just go make sure that they know what's going on, okay?"

Nove and Wendi exchanged a look. They were reluctant to leave their lover, but...

Wendi sighed. "All right," she said, and gave Ginga a gentle kiss on the forehead. "But we'll be back for you in a few hours, okay?"

"Thank you." Ginga smiled, though her smile was slightly nervous as Mariel came back into the room. "I don't think I'm going to be in trouble, I should be okay, but just be prepared for the worst, okay?"

"Ginga..." Nove shuddered and squirmed. "Don't give up on us, please?"

"I won't. I promise." Ginga said softly and kissed Nove on the forehead.

(---)

"Amy..." Lindy smiled at her pregnant daughter-in-law. "You really need to take it easy." She shook her head as the two of them were cooking dinner, Amy was on a chair reaching for the higher stuff as Lindy hovered around her, to catch her if she fell.

Amy laughed softly and managed to get her hand on what she'd been reaching for, gingerly stepping off the chair with Lindy's help. "I feel fine, Lindy-san. This is actually easier than when I was pregnant the first time around."

Lindy shook her head. "I'm still standing by what I said. I swear, you're worse than Nanoha and Fate sometimes."

Amy rolled her eyes at the older woman. "Please, I'm fine, Lindy. And I wouldn't push myself anywhere near as hard as Nanoha or Fate push themselves all the time." Hearing complaints about how hard Nanoha and Fate were pushing themselves to get back into shape often enough was enough to convince both women that motherhood hadn't changed either of them.

Lindy giggled softly. "Oh, I know. But let this old woman worry about her daughter and grandchildren, please?"

Amy laughed again. "You and Chrono, I swear. He's just as afraid that I'll fall over and break as you are."

Lindy laughed at her. "Fine, fine, you win. I won't worry as much as him. But I had to make sure that you didn't fall down when you're on a chair, you can't use magic to catch yourself, after all."

Amy pouted. "Mou, now you're just making me feel like I'm clumsy."

Lindy laughed softly and patted Amy's shoulder as she smiled at her. "I'll have you know that it's just a safety concern, Amy. If you fell, you might end up hurting the baby."

Amy sighed and nodded, oh, she knew, it was just so freaking annoying right now.

"Speaking of the baby... Have you decided on a name yet?"

"Not yet." Amy smiled slightly, then paused. "Well... we do have one name for if it's a boy..."

Lindy rasied a brow. "Oh?"

"Yes... Chrono was thinking of naming him Clyde."

Lindy's eyes widened slightly, before smiling brightly. "After his father?" When Amy nodded, Lindy nearly squealed and hugged Amy tightly. "Lindy?"

"Sorry, it... I'm just so happy that Chrono decided that." Lindy had tears in her eyes as she smiled.

"It was something he really wanted to do, but he wanted to ask you first before we decided anything in case you didn't like it."

Lindy shook her head while smiling. "No, I'm glad, honestly, that he wanted to name his son after his father." Idly, she noticed that it seemed to be a common thread lately. "I just hope that more people don't decide to do that." She giggled softly as Amy laughed at her.

"Oh, I don't know. Makes it easy to name them, huh?"

"I suppose so." Lindy chuckled. "But a name is a very valuable thing."

"True." Amy nodded at her. "Well, enough about names, Chrono's just going to be so happy that you liked it. How about making lunch?"

Lindy laughed and nodded as the two went about making the food.

(---)

"Hey, Zafira." Vita smiled at her fellow knight in wolf form as she saw him coming to the training area. Turning to her students, she smirked at them. "Well, you need to thank Zafira here for volunteering to come down and help me give you all a workout."

"Um, instructor..." One of her students raised a hand nervously. "Aren't you and Instructor Scrya enough?"

Vita shook her head. "One, Instructor Scrya was called to the Infinity Library for the rest of the day. Two, you need to get used to facing down people with different fighting styles. And three, this will let me figure out weaknesses in your abilities." She smirked as they groaned in dismay. "And, trust me, Zafira's insanely good at fighting."

The students whimpered.

Zafira saw their reactions and sighed, shaking his head. "Be thankful she didn't ask Arf to tag along," he rumbled. "She's even better at hand-to-hand fighting than I am."

The students paled.

Zafira shook his head and smirked wolfishly. "Shall we begin?" He asked rhetorically.

Vita chuckled as she watched her students prepare to face down Zafira. Oh, they didn't have a chance against him, but it would be fun to watch. "Begin!" She yelled, bouncing away as she watched the sparring begin.

(---)

Thirty minutes later...

Zafira shook his head and took a few breaths to steady his breathing. "You've trained them well, Vita. They lasted longer than you said they would."

Vita laughed. "Don't thank me, thank Yuuno. He's absolutely merciless with these kids."

Zafira shook his head as he looked at them. "Don't worry about how you did against me. I can give Vita a hard time in my wolf form, you kids did pretty good."

The students smiled softly before Vita walked up to them. "Not bad, that's for sure. I want you kids to go and run for ten minutes, cool off, then hit the shower and get some lunch."

"Yes, instructor!" The students yelled and took off.

"Thanks, Zafira." Vita shook her head. "A lot to go through though."

Zafira gave the equivalent of a wolfish shrug. "I liked it. It's a nice change from what I usually do."

Vita raised a brow. "From what you do?"

"Yes. That and lately I've been helping Arf around the library."

"You spend a lot of time with her, huh?" Vita asked as Zafira nodded, causing the small redhead to smirk at him. "So are you two dating or what?"

A long, awkward silence. Zafira squirmed. "We... haven't really talked about it much," he muttered.

"Really?" Vita blinked at him as he nodded. "Look, Zafira, it's none of my business, really. I just want you to be happy."

"I kind of..." Zafira coughed and sat down, wrapping his tail around his paws. "I don't really know how to ask her about it, to be honest."

Vita sighed and sat down next to him, shaking her head. "I wish I knew how to ask. We knights, we never had a chance to learn how to do anything like that." She blinked as Zafira's tail wrapped around her body. "...Thanks." She smiled and leaned against him, sighing softly. "You always did make me feel good when I was depressed."

"It was just the four of us, back then, Vita."

"Yeah..." Vita sighed softly. "But, Zafira, why don't you just ask her straight up?"

"I... don't really know how to," Zafira admitted at last.

There was a long moment of silence before Vita spoke again. "I think, you know, you should ask Shamal about how to do that," she said. "Since she's the only one of us who's really had success so far with confessing and relationships."

Zafira chuckled softly and nodded at her. "I guess so." He said, blinking as Vita snuggled against him slightly. "You okay?"

"Just remembering all the times that you would carry me out of a battlefield on your back."

Zafira's eyes softened. "If you want, I can carry you to the cafeteria on my back."

"Thanks." Vita smiled and climbed up on his back, leaning on him, sighing softly.

Zafira said nothing as he stood up and walked to the cafeteria. He honestly had missed this, he had forgotten just how close it made him feel to Vita. "...I never told you, did I?"

"Hmm?" She blinked as they entered the building.

"That you're like a sister to me."

Vita blinked, then buried her face into Zafira's fur, trembling slightly.

"Vita?"

"I'm not crying." Her voice was tight.

"Okay," Zafira said softly.

"I just got some dust in my eyes from training."

"Okay." He smiled softly, taking his time getting to the cafeteria, and letting Vita compose herself before he arrived.

(---)

Teela blinked as she opened the door. "Nove and Wendi, right?" She wasn't sure about everyone around Teana just yet, the only person other than Teana she knew straight up was Subaru, and that was because the other woman lived here.

Wendi smiled at Teela and ruffled the small device's hair gently. "Yeah. I'm Wendi, that's Nove." She motioned to the short redhead next to her. "Is Subaru in?"

Teela nodded at her. "She's in the kitchen, cooking me and Teana something to eat. Want to come in?"

"If we could." Wendi laughed. "We've been trying to make stuff on our own, but everything we've been doing at home keeps reminding us of Ginga."

Teela blinked as she let the two in. "Is Ginga okay? She was with you last time you were here, right?" She honestly didn't know too many people and didn't recognize many people by their names just yet.

"That's... That's what we're here for." Wendi sighed softly. Nove was silent as she took her coat off.

"Oh." That was all Teela could say to that.

Nodding, Teela quickly flew back to find Subaru, calling "Come in and sit down! I'll go get Subaru for you!"

Nove and Wendi exchanged a look before tentatively coming inside to sit down on the couch.

It didn't take long for Subaru, smiling happily, to come out into the living room. "Nove! Wendi!" She was cheerful as she hugged her sisters. "What's up?" She blinked as she looked around. "Where's Gin-nee? Did she get called in for some work or something?"

Nove and Wendi exchanged a look before Wendi took a deep breath, quietly taking Nove's hand. "About that," Wendi began.

"She's getting treated," Nove cut off, closing her eyes.

Subaru blinked several times as she looked at them, her face slowly paling as she rolled the words through her head. "...What?" She asked, gulping softly.

"The injury she received when you guys rescued Teela." Wendi's voice was soft. "I don't know all the details, but it was a lot worse than she thought. Apparently it was close to one of her major nerve connectors."

"Gin-nee... Will she..."

"Mariel and a bunch of other scientists are working on her right now." Nove looked away, sighing, her eyes down-cast as she slumped against the couch.

Subaru let out a breath, relaxing as she heard that. "Thank goodness."

"No... Subaru... she said if it doesn't work, she... she wants to be shut down." Nove sighed, still not looking at her older sister.

Subaru's eyes were wide, her face pale as she thought about it. "Gin...nee... dead?" She trembled and slumped to the floor, her eyes tearing up. "She... She can't... Nove!"

"I don't like it either!" Nove exploded. "But what are we supposed to do? None of us can fix her, and she said she..." Her voice cracked. "She said she doesn't want to be... a burden..." Tears started falling from her eyes then.

"Wendi..." Subaru looked at the taller redhead, who shook her head.

"I... I don't think she'll have to get shut down. But, she said... Just in case, we needed to let you and dad know." Wendi slumped, looking down at the floor, trembling softly. "She woke up this morning, her body in pain and she couldn't even keep herself from shaking hard."

"Ginga said it would take a few hours, and she didn't want us to worry, so she told us to go home." Nove scrubbed furiously at her eyes, hating her tears. "But... it's hard being there, and thinking that she'll never come back!"

"Hey, Subaru, what..." Teana blinked as she came into the room. "Wendi, Nove... Why do you two look like you're preparing for a funeral or something?"

Teela floated out and clung to Teana's shoulder; the tiny Unison Device had only heard snatches of the conversation, but she could understand what it meant. "Your friend," she explained. "The one that was shot. She was hurt really badly."

"Ginga?" Teana blinked as Teela nodded. "What happened to her? I thought the bullet passed right through her."

"It nicked one of her control systems, just enough damage that it caught up to her later." Wendi said softly. "At least that's what Mariel told us."

"... Is it bad?" Teana asked softly.

Nove shuddered. "She was in a lot of pain before... and even when we brought her to Mariel, she wasn't moving right, like she couldn't control her body.

"Gin-nee..." Subaru sniffled softly, trembling. She couldn't imagine her sister not being there. She had always been there, helping her, encouraging her, how could she just...

"Look, guys, we don't know how bad it is, right? And Mariel's one of the best in the business. Give her some credit, okay?" Teana smiled softly getting attention drawn to her. "If they can fix Intelligent Devices like Raising Heart or Unison Devices like Rein, I'm certain that they can at least keep Ginga alive, okay? So, please, stop worrying so much."

"But..." Wendi shook her head. "Teana, Ginga... she wants to be shut down if she can't be fixed."

"Wendi, Nove, Subaru, do you three... Do you three think that it would right if she was alive and suffering?"

"But, Tea..." The three said at the same time as Teana held up a hand and shook her head.

"I know, I know that it's not good. But would you three rather her suffer and unable to do anything but be alive, or would you rather she be able to rest easy?" Teana hated asking this question, she did. She honestly didn't want Ginga to die either, but she didn't want the older woman to suffer horribly either.

Judging from the silence that greeted her question, it was obvious that the three of them had given that matter such thought; and, from the looks on their faces, they didn't like it.

"It's just..." Nove swallowed. "For a long time, Wendi and I... we didn't understand what Ginga was afraid of, and now that we do..."

"I still don't like it." Wendi sighed softly. "I can't... I can't stand the thought of not having Ginga in bed with me and Nove."

"I'm sorry if I sound insensitive," Teana murmured, "but why can't you stand that thought?"

She knew why, of course. She loved someone, too. But she was still curious to hear what Nove and Wendi would say.

"I..." Wendi took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "For me, she... She and Nove... They make me feel so... So alive. I... I can't help but be scared if she wasn't there."

Teana nodded quietly, then glanced at Nove.

Nove squirmed slightly, before she looked up. "She... She helped me... She helped me get over my nervousness about being in a relationship. At first, at first I was with her because I thought I owed her... But, I love her. I don't want to lose that."

Teana sighed. "How many hours before you can go back to her?"

"A few more... We need to talk to dad." Nove sighed and rubbed her forehead, she wasn't looking forward to that. "Not to mention Dieci and Cinque too."

Subaru shook her head helplessly. "Dad got called into work to do some stuff for a new case, Cinque went with him because she was bored, and Dieci's at the library again."

Teana shook her head. "Look, have you two eaten anything yet?" Seeing them shake their heads, she sighed softly. "Alright, why don't you two come on and sit at the table. You'll feel better after you eat. That includes you, Subaru."

"Okay." The three said and made their way for the table.

Teana sighed, when did she get the job of being the one to keep everyone's spirits up?

Which reminded her....

What the hell was she supposed to cook?