Nanoha FanFiction Discussion

[vic-vic]

Originally Posted by 00-Raiser

So between my other stuff, I did manage to squeeze this one out, if only because I wanted to get some dark thoughts out of my head. Yes, this fic has some dark twists pertaining to Hayate's past. No, deathcurse hasn't cornered the market on giving Hayate a hard time Wasn't quite sure where I was gonna take this idea, but it managed to drag me along instead

Spoiler for Behind the Smile:

In the beginning people thought it was so unfortunate that I was born without the ability to use my legs. They’d offer their sympathy and assistance, but I would just smile at them and say it wasn’t necessary.

The fact was I was far from unhappy. Sure, I was bound to my wheelchair, but that was just the way it had always been. It was normal for me so I never despaired over it. I had no reason to because I was extremely happy since I had such kind, loving parents by my side.

But then I didn’t and my Hell began.

Having no living relatives, there wasn’t much choice other than dumping me into the system. While the lawyers and whoever else argued over what was to be done with my family’s estate and possessions, I was placed into a foster home.

The couple I was sent to live with were all smiles when I arrived. Both of them were on the chubby side, giving off the sort of impression one would expect from the Claus family. By all appearances they were warmly welcoming a poor unfortunate child into their home with the intent of caring for her.

Appearances can be deceiving.

As soon as the social worker dropped me off, the pleasant air froze over and the happy faces petrified.

“Okay you little brat.” They said. “While you’re staying here you’ll earn your keep, you hear?”

Certainly I had no intention of freeloading. I could clean what I could reach, and my mother had taught me how to cook so helping around the house wouldn’t be much of a problem.

These people quickly proved to be unsatisfiable, however. My attempts to help out resulted in smacks and scolds of “you’ll just break something” or “I know how to prepare dinner!” They took it upon themselves to ‘educate me’ on my proper place, which usually involved knocking over my wheelchair. They’d say how I should crawl along the ground like the scum I was while handing me a toothbrush with instructions to scrub the floor.

I could only take refuge in the room they had given me. It was a nice enough room, I suppose. It had to be, or else when the officials came for their inspection they’d know something was up. Oh how I desired to speak up about the horrible treatment I was receiving, but the threats kept me silent.

“If you talk we’ll hunt you down and make you pay!”

Imagining what would be worse than what I was already going through had my mouth clamped tight. When asked how things were going, I’d just smile and say things were great.

If I had known what was yet to come, maybe I would have taken the chance after all.

He came in late one night, swaggering up to my bed, the putrid stench of the booze waking me up. Before I could say anything, a hand smothered my mouth and he was on top of me, tearing away the sheets and pulling at my pyjamas.

His weight pinned me to the bed, rendering me immobile despite my attempts to resist. Yet his hand, tongue, and other unmentionables found their way across my now exposed body, causing muffled cries of terror in their wake.

“I said you were going to earn your keep.” He whispered in my ear before flipping me onto my stomach. “Your virginity will sell for a high price, but why should I miss out on sampling the merchandise? I can just use the back door.”

And use it he did. I wanted to fight back, to kick and scream, but my useless legs were no good and his hand remained firmly over my mouth.

It hurts.

Oh God it hurts.

Stop.

Make it stop.

Help me.

Some one help me!

Even if I could get the words out, what would it have done? Would that woman come to save me? Would she stop her husband from raping me? I can say without a doubt that the answer was no.

“This is our secret, little girl.” He said sweetly when he had finished. “You know what’ll happen if you tell.”

Violated, I just lay there for the rest of the night, staring blankly at the wall as my vision swam. Why was this happening? What had I done to deserve all this? I didn’t understand it. I had been a good girl, hadn’t I? I listened to my parents and I was nice to others, so why did I have to suffer so much?

I wanted to do something about it, but what could I have done? I was just a weak and defenceless child stuck in a wheelchair. Resisting was out of the question and I couldn’t even run away because of my damn legs!

He would come in again other nights to repeat the process and I had lost my only sanctuary. The pain would linger even after he had finished, making the following day a nightmare as well since I had to sit in my chair the whole time.

I desperately searched for some kind of escape, and I managed to find one. The child friendly façade the household sported featured a collection of books that I wouldn’t be hit for touching. And so I escaped into fiction, immersing myself in stories about brave warriors, fierce dragons, mighty robots, and the epic battles they participated in. Fantasy stories in particular I was rather fond of. Some books had illustrations, and I was quite impressed with the costume designs.

They did the trick and got me away from it all. They had me dreaming of the day when a handsome prince would ride up on a white horse and take me somewhere far away where I wouldn’t be spat at, hit, or sodomized.

How fitting that my salvation arrived in the form of a piece of paper.

I remember how excited I was when I got that letter and learned that an old friend of my father’s was willing to support me. He had arranged it so that I could return to the home I shared with my parents and he would see to it that I’d have everything I needed to survive on my own.

The couple fought this, of course. They finally had a buyer, apparently, so thank God I was saved when I was. I moved out of that house and never looked back.

It was some small consolation that I received a visit from the police some time later. They wanted to ask some questions about that couple after they got busted for child trafficking, among other things. I refused to comment, though. I didn’t want to relive those horrible weeks.

With a new lease on life, I began my time alone. It was hard, living in that house with all those memories of happier times. I half expected my parents to jump out at any moment and we’d all have a big surprise party. That never happened, obviously. I had moments where I’d just cry in the empty building, but given the alternative it suited me just fine. Again, books helped stave off my loneliness and I was glad that the local library was nearby.

I worked hard to keep the household in shape. I keep things tidy and kept myself well fed to show everyone I could take care of myself and I didn’t need to be sent to another foster home.

Money was never an issue, as my father’s friend gave me more than I needed. He even arranged for me to receive treatment at the local hospital. Thanks to him and Dr Ishida I finally remembered what it was like to have some one care about you. I didn’t want to cause them too much trouble, though, so I never told them what I had been through. Whenever they asked if I was okay I’d just smile and say I was fine.

I had no idea who my benefactor was, but that got me excited since it reminded me of a book I had read. Like in the book I wrote him letters letting him know how I was doing and stuff like that. He’d write back and his words definitely gave off the feel of an older, dignified gentleman. I wondered if I’d ever get to meet him in person.

Another meeting came before that, though. I’ll never forget the morning of my ninth birthday. As usual I had gotten lost in a book and read it until midnight. When the clock chimed, they appeared and my life changed once again.

Signum, Shamal, Vita, and Zafira. It had all been quite unbelievable at first: magic, ancient books, physical constructs of programs… It really was like something out of one of my books!

They looked to me as their master, asked me to give them orders, but I would have felt wrong doing it. When I heard of their pasts, of how they would be used for nefarious purposes and treated cruelly by their previous masters, it brought back memories of scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush, and that man’s weight on top of me. I knew of such horrors and would not subject them to such things. I would not use them that way.

And so I had gained a family. They were not mere programs in a book, they were wonderful people who filled my days with joy. It was unbelievable how happy I was. I had finally moved out of that Hell and gained a little paradise, but a part of me worried. To be blessed with so much happiness at once was an ill omen. It wouldn’t last long.

That Christmas I was sent back to Hell.

I once again lost my family, and this time it was by the hand of people I thought were my friends.

I had had enough.

All it took were those dark thoughts to set things in motion.

When that long night came to close, things were back to being great again. My family was restored, my legs would be healed, and Reinforce had been freed of the corruption that had caused so much trouble. I thought everything was going to be fine, but…

Why does fate hate me so much?

Reinforce finally had a chance to be happy, but the defence program was beginning to rebuild itself inside of her and the only way to finally put an end to it was to put an end to her. I begged her not to do it, actually ordered her not to, but…

It just wasn’t fair! Why did such a cruel thing have to happen? Yet again I had to watch another person dear to me leave and never return.

I barely had time to grieve before I was swept up in what was to follow. Because I was technically a criminal, I had to answer to the Bureau and face several inquiries and trials. Thankfully I was given some leniency, but I didn’t have much choice in regards to my future path. I would have to become a mage for the Bureau and that was that.

I didn’t mind it so much since it gave me and my kids opportunities for a happy life and to use our abilities for the good of others.

I was prepared to accept that, when I received summons to meet with a certain individual. He was one Admiral Gil Graham, and he revealed to me that he the mysterious friend of my father who had been supporting me. I was pleasantly surprised on several levels. Here was the man who I had dreamed of meeting for so long, and he was actually a high ranking official that operated on another world.

There were so many things I wanted to talk to him face to face about, but before I could even open my mouth he got down on his knees and apologised to me. I was rightly confused by his actions and he proceeded to explain everything to me.

He wasn’t really a friend of my father. He had only reached out to me because I was Reinforce’s current master. He’s the one who had my knights killed before me in order to completely the book and make it go berserk. It was all for the sake for sealing the book and me along with it in ice and tossing me into a dimensional rift. He claimed it would ensure the book would never cause harm again, and since I had no one, my sacrifice wouldn’t have been such a big deal.

No one cared about me, after all.

For a moment I thought my paralysis had spread to my whole body. Sure, I wasn’t expecting to marry him when I found out who he was, but this… What was I supposed to think of it? This man had saved me from that foster home, but only so he could lock me away for good.

He had used me, just like how that other man had used me.

I wanted to be furious at him, and on some level I was, but even if his intentions were to seal me away the fact remained that if it wasn’t for his actions I would probably be some glorified sex toy sold to the highest bidder. I wouldn’t have met Dr. Ishida, wouldn’t have gained my family, and wouldn’t have made the friends I have now…

Should I hate him or be grateful to him? I just didn’t know. When he begged for forgiveness I wasn’t sure if I could give it to him. He did seem sincere, though, so even if I didn’t mean it I threw on a smile and told him it was okay.

Even now that he lives in England, I still keep in contact with him. I guess that means I did eventually forgive him after all.

Still, my faith had been shattered because of it and it was awhile before I found myself trusting a man again. I know it wasn’t fair to all the guys out there, but I couldn’t help it. I received my fair share of love letters in school, not as much as Fate-chan or Suzuka-chan, but a decent amount. I wanted to give them a chance, but whenever they looked at me in the way hormone driven teenage boys do, I’d always see the face of the man who raped me. That hungry look in his eyes that saw me as a piece of meat was burned into my memory and my attempts to forget proved futile.

I tried to combat this by being rather physical with my female friends. I thought that maybe if boys saw me groping other girls they’d think I was a lesbian and give up on me. But maybe my aversion to boys had me wanting to convince myself that I was into girls? If that was the case, it didn’t work. I still desired to be with a boy, but I was just too afraid.

Then again, I had been groping the others long before then, so I wonder… Did I want to feel and focus on others’ bodies because I was disgusted with my own? Their bodies are unsullied and maybe I hoped some of that would transfer to me.

All things considered, that was the only blight on my life during the years. I could walk again and I was surrounded by family and friends, but my past still haunted me. I didn’t dare tell the others about it. How could I? They were all enjoying their lives and I didn’t want to bog them down with my story, especially my kids who were finally free from their own pasts.

The situation at school proved a bit too much, though, so the moment I graduated middle school I decided to leave Earth and move to Mid Childa to be a mage full time. I was just running away, but I wanted to leave those horrible memories behind me.

But that was impossible. No matter where you are, people don’t change.

I worked hard in an attempt to climb up the chain of command. The higher position I got, the more I’d be able to help those at large. I took a variety of tests and exams, but there was a rather large obstacle in my way. My criminal record was always being rubbed in my face and used as an excuse as to why I failed.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. Often times I was approached with certain propositions from high ranking male officials. They offered to forget about my past and give me desirable positions if I did certain types of favours for them.

I was disgusted by their forwardness and terrified by how many others wore the same face as my ex-guardian. I promptly refused, naturally, but that just meant I’d need to work even harder to obtain what I wanted.

The stress of it all had me falling back to an old crutch: reading. After a day of crushed dreams, I would head to the library for something to lose myself in. The Bureau’s library certainly lived up to its name, so there was no shortage of things to choose from.

Plus, he was there too.

I’d never really spent much time with Yuuno-kun before. I’d see him around a few times, and Nanoha-chan would often talk about him, but I didn’t know him that well otherwise. I was a bit apprehensive around him at first, but I still smiled and politely conversed with him.

It didn’t take long for me to get comfortable around him. There was just something about him that put me at ease. Be it his kind nature or gentle smile, I always felt safe around him. I enjoyed having long conversations with him, discussing a case I was working on, or a book I had read recently. He’d offer his input, giving suggestions on an angle to pursue, or what novel I might enjoy reading next. It was so much fun. He treated me like a friend and he didn’t look at me the way other guys did.

I’m not sure when it was I started wishing he would.

It just figures, doesn’t it, that the one guy I finally fall for has absolutely no interest in me romantically. Whatever higher power there is sure loves messing with me.

Yuuno-kun had a thing for Nanoha-chan, that much was clear, so I knew I didn’t stand a chance. Nanoha-chan is so vibrant and pretty while I was dirty and disgusting so I resigned myself to defeat. It hurt to see them chat happily together, but I smiled with them anyways.

I bore all my hardships the best I could, but even I have my limits. One big thing finally pushed me over the edge.

I was in on the bust of a large Lost Logia smuggling ring and it went off perfectly. We stormed their headquarters and arrested them all with zero casualties. While sweeping the rest of the building, I discovered a horrific room. It was rank with the stench of every bodily fluid imaginable, but what the nose smelled was nothing compared to what the eyes saw.

Chained to the wall were several children, all of whom were naked and covered in cuts, bruises and other sorts of wounds. Smuggling Lost Logia weren’t the only illegal thing the criminals did.

While other mages rushed in to free the children, I just stood there in shock. Their eyes, dear God, their eyes were so pained, defeated, and empty. But I didn’t see them, no. The one I saw chained to that wall was me as a little girl, alone, frightened, beaten, and used. I swear I was going to be sick on the spot, but I managed to hold on. I had a job to do, and I did it, but images of that room kept forcing their way into my thoughts.

It was late, but the moment I was free to go my feet took me to the library. There had to be some large book there I could let absorb me, anything to get my mind somewhere else.

I should have known Yuuno-kun would still be there.

I wanted to be alone in case I broke down, but that was not meant to be. I just smiled and said I was fine but he – ha ha – read me like a book. Concern was plastered over his face and the sincerity of it was too much for me.

I broke.

I swear I cried so much I suffered dehydration. Poor Yuuno-kun should have caught a cold after he let me sob into his chest, but he just held me until I let it all out.

I told him about what I saw and how it had affected me. Before I could stop myself I also told him about what had been done to me while I was a child, how that man would sneak into my room every night and do those things to me. He was the first person that I ever told that too, and he was the last person I wanted to find out. I was afraid that if he knew, he’d shove me away and never want anything to do with damaged goods like me ever again.

What an idiot I was. Yuuno-kun wasn’t the kind of person who would do something like that. Instead he held me tighter and stroked my hair, whispering in my ear that it was okay, that it wasn’t my fault, that I wasn’t dirty or disgusting.

Hearing him say those things helped immensely. Finally getting it out and hearing such encouragement broke the chains in my chest. My secret was revealed, but here was a trusted individual who I cared for and who I knew cared for me completely accepting it. For the first time the darkness of my past was obliterated by the light of my present.

I guess the truth does set you free.

He wiped away my tears, gave me a tissue to blow my nose with, and that loving smile he gave me… Damn, it made me fall for him even harder.

With his support behind me, I soon told everything to Nanoha-chan and the others. They actually sat there and cried with me when I had finished and I thanked the heavens for giving me friends who cared for me so much. They didn’t think any less of me, they were just a little mad that I didn’t tell them about it sooner. That got a little laugh out of me and it made me smile, really smile, freely and easily for the first time in a long time.

Things changed for the better after that, and so far it’s stayed that way. I hope fate is finally giving me a reward for all the crap it put me through. With my loved ones by my side I’ve renewed my determination with more vigour. Criminal record or no, I will one day become a top commander and nothing will stand in my way! As for Yuuno-kun, well, I’ve been far less successful in that department…

But hey, I’m working on it!

Spoiler for notes:

Main inspirations were Criminal Minds, the In Death series, Bitter Virgin, and of course deathcurse Between this and Dependence, I wonder if this kind of thing gives the impression that I'm one sick fuck

Poor Hayate has a tough time in her childhood. And her primary love interest love her best friend.

Good piece of angst 00-Raiser.

[Moczo]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

...

I'm calling this part 10.

Spoiler for Changes PT 10:

A few days later...

Chrono looked at the screen and frowned softly. "So, with Nanoha's help, we managed to get nine of the Jewel Seeds. Combined with the six that aren't found, that means that the other girl has six Jewel Seeds herself." He turned to Amy. "Are you certain?"

The girl nodded at him. "Yes. All the remaining Jewel Seeds are not on the ground. Which means they can only be in one place..."

"The ocean." He sighed and grumbled about stupid planets having more water than they knew what to do with. "Still, nothing much we can do until they activate on their own..."

Or someone else activated them by force.

(---)

Alicia looked at Arf and sighed. "So, you and Fate got six seeds, huh?" When she nodded, Alicia shook her head. "Well, that's fine."

"Huh?" To say Arf was confused was an understatement, didn't Alicia need at least ten of those Jewel Seeds?

The woman had a sad smile on her face as she stood up from the table. "It's okay, Arf, I should have expected to fail once the Bureau got off its butt and came here." She had faith in Fate and Arf, but to go against anyone with full and proper training? She sighed, before shaking her head and smiling at Arf. "You and Fate did great. After tonight, I don't want you two going out to look anymore."

"Huh?!" Arf stood, her eyes wide as she stared at the woman. "All that work, for nothing?!"

"Arf, it's not that, I just don't want you or Fate to be badly hurt. If the two of you go against the Bureau, you will be."

Squeezing her hand into a fist, Arf growled slightly. "You'll see... We'll get four more by tonight."

"Arf, wait!" Alicia tried to stop the familiar, but she was already gone and out the door. "No..." A cold sensation welled up in her chest as she ran out of the kitchen. "Arf! Fate!" She stared as the two weren't in the living room. "Linith!"

"Lady Alicia?" The catgirl blinked as she saw her master's worried face. "What's wrong?"

"Go after them." Alicia shuddered, her face seemingly blue. "Something big is going to happen. For god's sake, stop them!"

Linith didn't need anymore motivation as she took off out the window, tracing after Fate and Arf's magic signature. Alicia had a weird way of knowing just when something bad was going to happen sometimes. This was one of those times, she was certain of it.

(---)

"What's going on?!" Arf yelled as she and Fate got over the site where they suspected the Jewel Seeds to be.

"I'm not sure." Fate grimaced as she and Arf were forced to dodge out of the way of twisters. "It's like it just started all of a sudden!" Still, if there were six seeds under the water, leaving them alone would be the worst thing in the world.

(---)

"Just what is she thinking?!" Amy gasped as she looked at Fate and Arf battle against the out of control Jewel Seeds.

"Did she activate them?" Lindy asked as she came into the control room.

Chrono shook his head. "No. They just went off on their own." Not pleasant, but it was better this way. "Still, it doesn't look like she has the situation under control, does it?"

"I'm here!" He turned to see Nanoha and Yuuno run into the room. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing." Chrono turned away to watch the screen. "We're going to let her handle this and you two will stay here."

"What?!" Nanoha was stunned, she couldn't believe it. Chrono wouldn't do something like this, would he?

"It's simple, either she seals up the Jewel Seeds and is worn out, or she fails, but bleeds a lot of power out of them. Either way, after she's done, we'll just swoop in and clean up the mess."

"Nanoha..." The brunette turned to the blond boy next to her. "Go. I'll cover for you."

"Thank you, Yuuno-kun." Nanoha smiled as she ran for the teleporter.

Chrono felt a quick build-up of magic behind him and he turned to look, his eyes wide. "What the heck are you doing?!" He yelled, but found himself unable to move forward due to a barrier that materialized in front of him.

"I'm going to go down there and help that girl before she gets killed!" Nanoha yelled as Yuuno finished the teleport and dropped her high above the battlefield.

"Sorry." Yuuno shook his head and followed after Nanoha.

"My, my..." Lindy shook her head. Who knew Yuuno was so skilled? 'Able to make a barrier, teleport Nanoha down and follow after her, without a device and through this ship? Impressive.'

Chrono grimaced and watched as Nanoha and Yuuno lent their aid to Fate and Arf. "Amy, send me down there." He didn't even wait for a reply as he ran to the teleporter.

Lindy sighed as she watched her son disappear. 'Clyde, if you were here, what would you do about your son right now?' She asked herself before turning to the view screen. "Amy, make sure to get them back here as soon as possible."

Amy nodded as they watched the events play out.

(---)

Fate looked at the girl in front of her. "Why?" When she blinked, Fate sighed softly. "Why help me? Aren't we enemies?"

Nanoha shrugged at that, the six Jewel Seeds between them floated harmlessly. "You aren't a bad person, you could have done a lot to me when we first fought, but you didn't." She smiled softly. "I'd like to think that we could be friends."

Before Fate could answer, blue binds wrapped around her and pinned her arms and legs to her body. "What the?"

"Fate Testarossa, you are under arrest." Chrono said calmly as he floated into the area. He looked around for her familiar but couldn't see her. "Where..?"

"How dare you!?" He heard her voice from behind, moments before a hard kick to the back of his head, knocking him off balance. "Fate!" Arf yelled as she flew to grab the blond girl. "What the?" She blinked, there were only three Jewel Seeds there. "Where are the others..?" She turned and saw Chrono holding up three Jewel Seeds between his fingers. "What the?" When did he get those? She growled as she watched him seal them into his device. "You..." They were one short, just one Jewel Seed short and these two had them! "Fate!" She turned to see that Fate had broken the binds. "We just need one more!"

Fate nodded. 'One more, then Mother will have all that she needs.' The blond girl took a stance behind Arf.

Chrono grimaced as he looked at them. He might have been skilled, but he didn't relish the thought of fighting two people as powerful as them. "Nanoha, Yuuno, I'll need some back-up." At least he could deal with the familiar or the master easily enough if the other one was distracted or fighting.

"Actually, you'll be handing over a Jewel Seed now." A new voice was heard as Nanoha and Chrono spun around to see a woman in a gray and white outfit holding Yuuno around the waist with long nails pointing towards his exposed neck. "Or this boy will be dead." The dead-serious look in her eyes had both Chrono and Nanoha stunned.

'Linith...' Fate couldn't believe that Linith would do this, but she was. 'Why?' She didn't want to kill anyone, she didn't think that Linith wanted to either.

"Well?" The familiar asked, her tone cold and sharp as she pulled her hand back to stab at Yuuno's neck. "Just one Jewel Seed and I'll let him go."

"We can't trust you." Chrono yelled and then grimaced. 'Gods, I sound like a character from some cheesy book right now.' Still, if she was still for a few more moments, he could bind her up and... "Urgh!"

"Not this time!" Arf yelled as she punched Chrono in the small of the back before grabbing him by his jacket and throwing him to the ocean below. "You!" She spun to Nanoha. "Just give me one of your Jewel Seeds and the ferret will be okay." When Nanoha didn't respond, Arf's face got a bit mischevious. "Or maybe you'll take me up on that offer to become my personal pet?"

Arf didn't know why Nanoha blushed at that, but it sure was weird, and kind of funny. If she saw that girl more often, she'd have to tease her more like this.

"...You'll let Yuuno-kun go if I give you a Jewel Seed?" Nanoha looked at Linith, who nodded.

"Just one and he won't be harmed."

"Put out." Raising Heart intoned as a Jewel Seed was released from the pink orb.

Nanoha grabbed the Jewel Seed with her left hand before throwing it right at Linith. True to her word, she let Yuuno go as she grabbed the Seed out of mid-air. "Arf, Fate, we're leaving!"

The two nodded as they all disappeared.

"How could you?!" Chrono yelled at Nanoha as he got close to them again He was so close to getting to the root of all of this, and she just GIVES up one of the Jewel Seeds like that?!

Nanoha ignored him and floated over to Yuuno. "Are you okay?"

Yuuno nodded and smiled at the girl. "I wasn't in any danger, Nanoha."

"Huh?" Nanoha and Chrono blinked as Yuuno blushed slightly.

"She told me, that she wouldn't hurt me, she just wanted the Jewel Seed, and those two to go with her safely, that's all."

"GAH!" Chrono felt like tearing his hair out. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"

"I was worried she might actually hurt me if I did tell you." Yuuno sighed as he looked at Nanoha. "It's okay, Nanoha." He smiled at her as he grabbed her hands, getting her to blink in surprise at him. "Thank you."

"Welcome." She smiled softly, glad he was okay.

Hooray for screwing with canon!

Heh... I begin to wonder if maybe Chrono and Yuuno weren't cut from the canon cast so as to avoid them someday making the situation worse like they did right here? Depending on how Alicia actually plans to use the Jewel Seeds, it's possible things just got really bad...

Unless the story ends with her successfully healing Precia, then everyone goes out for tea and cookies and Nanoha invites Fate to her birthday party. Hooray!

[RadiantBeam]

Originally Posted by Moczo

Unless the story ends with her successfully healing Precia, then everyone goes out for tea and cookies and Nanoha invites Fate to her birthday party. Hooray!

This is Nanoha. Befriending must be involved at some point. And when befriending is involved, it must include huge bright pink laser beams of DOOM friendship.

[Nanya01]

Originally Posted by 00-Raiser

Hm, interesting... Though I admit I'd like to have seen what would happen if they refused to give up a Jewel Seed and Yuuno got taken back as a hostage until they changed their minds. Having Yuuno hang out with the Testarossa family would be fun

Oh well, let's see what Alicia will do now.

To be honest, I never thought about that.

[Kaijo]

Originally Posted by shiroi mahotsukai

I was just wondering who could play that role, shame we've got no one to stare at him from behind corners. Or maybe we could have a chain of yandere stalkers all the way down the road.

Isn't it obvious? Caro asked about Yuuno once, so she was curious about him.

So we have Fate-tan on Nanoha's head, being stalked by Yuuno, who'se being stalked by Caro, who is being stalked by Erio, who is being stalked by Lutecia, who is being stalked by Vivio....

And I ran out of vaguely loose connections. =(

[Nanya01]

Spoiler for Changes PT 11:

"Well, what do you two have to say for yourselves?" Lindy asked as she looked at the two young children. When they appologized, Lindy shook her head and had to remind herself that not only were they just children, they weren't part of the Bureau and ordering them around was a lot harder to do. "At any rate, they have ten Jewel Seeds." Seeing the ashamed looks on Nanoha's face, Lindy suddenly smiled. "Oh, Amy, have they stopped yet?"

"Not yet." Amy's voice was heard as Nanoha and Yuuno looked at her in confusion, what the heck was she talking about here?

Seeing their looks and sensing Chrono's confusion, Lindy grinned similar to a cat that got a canary. "Oh, sorry, we forgot to tell you that we slipped a little tracking spell onto the seals of all the Jewel Seeds that you collected, Nanoha."

"Huh? When did..." She trailed off, her eyes becoming white and blank as she held a finger up to her face. "Oh!" She smacked an open palm with her fist. "When you wanted to see my Jewel Seeds!"

Lindy nodded and smiled at her. "Sorry for not telling you, but we thought it would be for the best, in case something happened and the Testarossa girl got her hands on them, we could find them easily enough." When Nanoha nodded in understanding, Lindy mentally let out a sigh of relief. She did trust Nanoha, but there was always a chance of things going wrong.

"For now, we'll just..."

"Admiral!" Amy's voice interrupted. "They stopped somewhere in the city, but before we could send anyone, they teleported off planet."

"What?" Lindy stood and moved to the control room, Chrono, Yuuno and Nanoha following her. The four reached the room quickly enough as Amy was pouring her fingers over the keyboard. "What do you mean?"

"They did. I found the energy signals of ten Jewel Seeds and four people." Amy suddenly smiled as the energy didn't completely disappear. "Good." She smiled softly. "We got them."

"So, there was another person involved..." Lindy muttered to herself softly. "Chrono, Nanoha, Yuuno."

"Yes?" The three snapped to attention at the way she was speaking.

"I want you three on standbye." She didn't even look to see them nod as she gave orders to find some way to communicate with the occupants inside of the floating building.

"Um, Miss Lindy?" When the older woman turned to look at her, Nanoha gulped slightly. "Why don't we send in any of your armed soldiers?"

Lindy shook her head. "I would, but they have ten Jewel Seeds, and with Miss Fate, Miss Arf and two unknowns, I would rather not risk any of my men."

"Ma'am!" A man called from the below deck. "We have visuals."

"Thank you, Randy, open them up." A screen popped up and let everyone see a rather large white circular design on the floor, Fate, Arf and the woman who threatened Yuuno were standing at various points, ten Jewel Seeds spun around two figures in the center. The one on the floor had long, dark hair that had several people gasping as they saw who it was. "Precia Testarossa..." Lindy whispered softly, remembering the intelligence report that Amy had dug up just the other day. "That means..." She looked at the other woman, who turned to look at the camera. "Alicia Testarossa, I presume?"

"Yes..." The blond woman said as she stood up. "I take it that you're here because of what my daughter, familiar and my daughter's familiar have done to you and your people?"

"Partially, we also need to discuss your usage of the Jewel Seeds."

Alicia nodded but turned away. "Forgive me, but I need to use them now."

"You can't!" Chrono yelled as he stepped forward. "That many Jewel Seeds together could cause a major rip between the dimensions!"

"It's the only way to cast this spell!" Alicia yelled back and for the first time, Lindy noticed an open spell book on the floor. "The magic requirements for this are enormous!"

"Hold on a second, Miss Testarossa." Lindy squeezed her son's shoulder to keep him calm. "If we allow you to do what you're going to do, will you surrender the Jewel Seeds right away?"

Everyone blinked at Lindy in surprise, but Alicia nodded. "Yes! If I cast this spell, my mother will be healed and I'll gladly give you the Jewel Seeds."

Lindy thought about it for a few moments before turning to the three mages behind her. "Chrono, Nanoha, Yuuno, I want you three to go there and help."

"Huh?!"

Lindy ignored them and turned to the view monitor. "Miss Testarossa, I wish to send you some additional support. Having three people watch the energy fluctuations of the Jewel Seeds to make sure that they don't go out of control isn't the easiest thing. Having six people to make sure that they don't go out of control sounds better, don't you think?"

The woman in the lab coat nodded. "Please hurry though, mother doesn't have much time left."

"Of course." Lindy nodded and then turned to Nanoha, Chrono and Yuuno. "You heard me, you will assist Alicia Testarossa on this, and whether she succedes or fails, you are to collect the Jewel Seeds and bring them back." When they nodded, she shooed them off. "And, Chrono..."

"Yes, mother?"

"You will need to bring them all in for questioning."

"Of course." He nodded as the three were teleported off of the ship.

Lindy hated to do something like that, but she just couldn't over-look the crimes committed by Fate Testarossa.

(---)

Alicia nodded at the three as they ran into the room. "Please, take positions between Fate, Arf and Linith." As she watched them do that, she idly wondered why the girl looked at Arf and blushed while the blond boy looked at Linith slightly uncomfortable, before concentrating on the spell in front of her.

As she watched her mother speak in some sort of weird chant, Fate's eyes widened as she saw the Jewel Seeds suddenly glow and fire some energy beam straight at her mother. "Ngh." She took a deep breath and concentrated on the Jewel Seeds, which had stopped spinning, thankfully, and tried to make sure that none of them were flaring with more power than they needed to.

Alicia held her hands forward and gasped softly as a powerful white beam of magic converged onto the prone form of her mother. It was so bright that everyone, except Alicia, who was being covered in the light as well, had to look away. "Mother?" She asked after several moments when the light finally faded away.

"Nnngh... Alicia?" Precia asked as she sat up. "What happened?"

"Nanoha..." Chrono signalled to the younger girl, who nodded, the two slowly gathered the Jewel Seeds and Nanoha was privately relieved when no one made any motion to stop them.

She stopped when she felt Arf kneel behind her and put a hand on her belly. "That offer is still on the table, if you want it." Nanoha's face turned bright red as Arf laughed at her discomfort and let her go.

"Alicia..." Precia smiled and hugged her daughter. "Thank you, daughter, you did it."

Alicia smiled as she hugged Precia back. "So, you're better now, right?"

Precia nodded but her eyes caught something coming towards her. "I see that your tool is still alive."

Those words had everyone stop, except Chrono, who sealed up the last Jewel Seed, but even he was still looking at them in slight shock.

"Mother?" Alicia let go and looked at her mother. "What..."

"You never told her, did you?" Precia looked at Fate with some disgust. "How you created her just to be a tool."

"Stop..." Alicia trembled, her mother couldn't tell Fate. No, telling her was the worst thing that could happen!

"You honestly came to care for your own clone, how cute."

Fate's eyes widened, a clone? She was a clone? And a tool? "...Mother?" She whispered softly. When Alicia didn't move or say anything, her eyes watered up. Was she hated by her mother so much?

"You should at least give her the dignity of knowing that you used my research to clone yourself, Alicia..."

"Mother..." Alicia trembled slightly. "Stop..."

Precia stood up and glared at Fate. "You were nothing more than a tool my daughter made to help her gather these Jewel Seeds and heal me, nothing more, nothing less." She held up a hand to block a punch from Arf. "Oh, it's you..." She snorted before back-handing Arf and sending her flying across the room. "My... I think that healing spell worked too well, Alicia..."

Fate couldn't stop herself from crying at that point. "Mother..."

"Shut it!" Precia yelled at the small blond. "You're not real! You're nothing more than a tool, to be used and then thrown away when you break, or maybe used for something else? But, it doesn't matter, we don't need you anymore, you're free to..."

There was a loud slapping noise, and a resounding silence as Precia stumbled back, tenderly touching her cheek. "...What?"

"Enough... Precia..." Alicia trembled, her hand still straight up from where she slapped Precia in the face.

Turning to Fate, Alicia kept her head down as she nodded to Chrono's question. "Yes, it's true... Everything that she said was true. I made Fate in a laboratory ten years ago today, I made her a clone of myself and I intended to mentally program her to not feel any emotions at all, a perfect magical weapon, one that couldn't feel fear, pain or joy, one that would fight with no problems..."

Fate nearly fell to her knees, but stopped as Linith grabbed her by her shoulders. It was the only reason that she didn't stop looking at Alicia. "Why..?"

"My mother was the only person I had, Fate..." Alicia took a deep breath, before looking up, tears falling down her face. "But..." She smiled, even with the tears falling. "You did something that no tool could ever do, Fate..."

The girl, her eyes burning with tears, blinked at Alicia. "What?"

"You smiled at me." Tears fell down her face even faster at that point. "I realized, I was so stupid..." Alicia rubbed her eyes, but couldn't get them to stop. "You weren't a tool... You were my daughter... I love you, daughter..."

"M...Mother!" Fate cried and ran to Alicia, who knelt down, and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, mother, I'm so sorry for doubting you."

"It's okay, Fate..." Alicia rubbed her daughter's back gently as they held each other and cried together. "I was worried that you'd hate me."

Fate shook her head. "How can I hate my own mother?"

Those words had Alicia crying again as the two clung to each other for support.

I got more coming, but I thought this would be a good point to stop at.

[Nanya01]

Originally Posted by Kaijo

Isn't it obvious? Caro asked about Yuuno once, so she was curious about him.

So we have Fate-tan on Nanoha's head, being stalked by Yuuno, who'se being stalked by Caro, who is being stalked by Erio, who is being stalked by Lutecia, who is being stalked by Vivio....

And I ran out of vaguely loose connections. =(

Well, obviously, Zafira's stalking Vivio, Otto's stalking Zafira, Deed's stalking Otto, Wendi's stalking Deed, since it looks fun, Nove's stalking after Wendi and Sein just wants to grope all the boobies.

[Kaijo]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Well, obviously, Zafira's stalking Vivio, Otto's stalking Zafira, Deed's stalking Otto, Wendi's stalking Deed, since it looks fun, Nove's stalking after Wendi and Sein just wants to grope all the boobies.

That's one way. Although I missed the obvious in my list.

Einhart stalking Vivio, who is stalked by Nove... who is being stalked by Subaru, who is being stalked by Teana, who is being stalked by Sein or Hayate who just want to grope everyone...

Okay, I think I'm going too far off track...

[Moczo]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Spoiler for Changes PT 11:

"Well, what do you two have to say for yourselves?" Lindy asked as she looked at the two young children. When they appologized, Lindy shook her head and had to remind herself that not only were they just children, they weren't part of the Bureau and ordering them around was a lot harder to do. "At any rate, they have ten Jewel Seeds." Seeing the ashamed looks on Nanoha's face, Lindy suddenly smiled. "Oh, Amy, have they stopped yet?"

"Not yet." Amy's voice was heard as Nanoha and Yuuno looked at her in confusion, what the heck was she talking about here?

Seeing their looks and sensing Chrono's confusion, Lindy grinned similar to a cat that got a canary. "Oh, sorry, we forgot to tell you that we slipped a little tracking spell onto the seals of all the Jewel Seeds that you collected, Nanoha."

"Huh? When did..." She trailed off, her eyes becoming white and blank as she held a finger up to her face. "Oh!" She smacked an open palm with her fist. "When you wanted to see my Jewel Seeds!"

Lindy nodded and smiled at her. "Sorry for not telling you, but we thought it would be for the best, in case something happened and the Testarossa girl got her hands on them, we could find them easily enough." When Nanoha nodded in understanding, Lindy mentally let out a sigh of relief. She did trust Nanoha, but there was always a chance of things going wrong.

"For now, we'll just..."

"Admiral!" Amy's voice interrupted. "They stopped somewhere in the city, but before we could send anyone, they teleported off planet."

"What?" Lindy stood and moved to the control room, Chrono, Yuuno and Nanoha following her. The four reached the room quickly enough as Amy was pouring her fingers over the keyboard. "What do you mean?"

"They did. I found the energy signals of ten Jewel Seeds and four people." Amy suddenly smiled as the energy didn't completely disappear. "Good." She smiled softly. "We got them."

"So, there was another person involved..." Lindy muttered to herself softly. "Chrono, Nanoha, Yuuno."

"Yes?" The three snapped to attention at the way she was speaking.

"I want you three on standbye." She didn't even look to see them nod as she gave orders to find some way to communicate with the occupants inside of the floating building.

"Um, Miss Lindy?" When the older woman turned to look at her, Nanoha gulped slightly. "Why don't we send in any of your armed soldiers?"

Lindy shook her head. "I would, but they have ten Jewel Seeds, and with Miss Fate, Miss Arf and two unknowns, I would rather not risk any of my men."

"Ma'am!" A man called from the below deck. "We have visuals."

"Thank you, Randy, open them up." A screen popped up and let everyone see a rather large white circular design on the floor, Fate, Arf and the woman who threatened Yuuno were standing at various points, ten Jewel Seeds spun around two figures in the center. The one on the floor had long, dark hair that had several people gasping as they saw who it was. "Precia Testarossa..." Lindy whispered softly, remembering the intelligence report that Amy had dug up just the other day. "That means..." She looked at the other woman, who turned to look at the camera. "Alicia Testarossa, I presume?"

"Yes..." The blond woman said as she stood up. "I take it that you're here because of what my daughter, familiar and my daughter's familiar have done to you and your people?"

"Partially, we also need to discuss your usage of the Jewel Seeds."

Alicia nodded but turned away. "Forgive me, but I need to use them now."

"You can't!" Chrono yelled as he stepped forward. "That many Jewel Seeds together could cause a major rip between the dimensions!"

"It's the only way to cast this spell!" Alicia yelled back and for the first time, Lindy noticed an open spell book on the floor. "The magic requirements for this are enormous!"

"Hold on a second, Miss Testarossa." Lindy squeezed her son's shoulder to keep him calm. "If we allow you to do what you're going to do, will you surrender the Jewel Seeds right away?"

Everyone blinked at Lindy in surprise, but Alicia nodded. "Yes! If I cast this spell, my mother will be healed and I'll gladly give you the Jewel Seeds."

Lindy thought about it for a few moments before turning to the three mages behind her. "Chrono, Nanoha, Yuuno, I want you three to go there and help."

"Huh?!"

Lindy ignored them and turned to the view monitor. "Miss Testarossa, I wish to send you some additional support. Having three people watch the energy fluctuations of the Jewel Seeds to make sure that they don't go out of control isn't the easiest thing. Having six people to make sure that they don't go out of control sounds better, don't you think?"

The woman in the lab coat nodded. "Please hurry though, mother doesn't have much time left."

"Of course." Lindy nodded and then turned to Nanoha, Chrono and Yuuno. "You heard me, you will assist Alicia Testarossa on this, and whether she succedes or fails, you are to collect the Jewel Seeds and bring them back." When they nodded, she shooed them off. "And, Chrono..."

"Yes, mother?"

"You will need to bring them all in for questioning."

"Of course." He nodded as the three were teleported off of the ship.

Lindy hated to do something like that, but she just couldn't over-look the crimes committed by Fate Testarossa.

(---)

Alicia nodded at the three as they ran into the room. "Please, take positions between Fate, Arf and Linith." As she watched them do that, she idly wondered why the girl looked at Arf and blushed while the blond boy looked at Linith slightly uncomfortable, before concentrating on the spell in front of her.

As she watched her mother speak in some sort of weird chant, Fate's eyes widened as she saw the Jewel Seeds suddenly glow and fire some energy beam straight at her mother. "Ngh." She took a deep breath and concentrated on the Jewel Seeds, which had stopped spinning, thankfully, and tried to make sure that none of them were flaring with more power than they needed to.

Alicia held her hands forward and gasped softly as a powerful white beam of magic converged onto the prone form of her mother. It was so bright that everyone, except Alicia, who was being covered in the light as well, had to look away. "Mother?" She asked after several moments when the light finally faded away.

"Nnngh... Alicia?" Precia asked as she sat up. "What happened?"

"Nanoha..." Chrono signalled to the younger girl, who nodded, the two slowly gathered the Jewel Seeds and Nanoha was privately relieved when no one made any motion to stop them.

She stopped when she felt Arf kneel behind her and put a hand on her belly. "That offer is still on the table, if you want it." Nanoha's face turned bright red as Arf laughed at her discomfort and let her go.

"Alicia..." Precia smiled and hugged her daughter. "Thank you, daughter, you did it."

Alicia smiled as she hugged Precia back. "So, you're better now, right?"

Precia nodded but her eyes caught something coming towards her. "I see that your tool is still alive."

Those words had everyone stop, except Chrono, who sealed up the last Jewel Seed, but even he was still looking at them in slight shock.

"Mother?" Alicia let go and looked at her mother. "What..."

"You never told her, did you?" Precia looked at Fate with some disgust. "How you created her just to be a tool."

"Stop..." Alicia trembled, her mother couldn't tell Fate. No, telling her was the worst thing that could happen!

"You honestly came to care for your own clone, how cute."

Fate's eyes widened, a clone? She was a clone? And a tool? "...Mother?" She whispered softly. When Alicia didn't move or say anything, her eyes watered up. Was she hated by her mother so much?

"You should at least give her the dignity of knowing that you used my research to clone yourself, Alicia..."

"Mother..." Alicia trembled slightly. "Stop..."

Precia stood up and glared at Fate. "You were nothing more than a tool my daughter made to help her gather these Jewel Seeds and heal me, nothing more, nothing less." She held up a hand to block a punch from Arf. "Oh, it's you..." She snorted before back-handing Arf and sending her flying across the room. "My... I think that healing spell worked too well, Alicia..."

Fate couldn't stop herself from crying at that point. "Mother..."

"Shut it!" Precia yelled at the small blond. "You're not real! You're nothing more than a tool, to be used and then thrown away when you break, or maybe used for something else? But, it doesn't matter, we don't need you anymore, you're free to..."

There was a loud slapping noise, and a resounding silence as Precia stumbled back, tenderly touching her cheek. "...What?"

"Enough... Precia..." Alicia trembled, her hand still straight up from where she slapped Precia in the face.

Turning to Fate, Alicia kept her head down as she nodded to Chrono's question. "Yes, it's true... Everything that she said was true. I made Fate in a laboratory ten years ago today, I made her a clone of myself and I intended to mentally program her to not feel any emotions at all, a perfect magical weapon, one that couldn't feel fear, pain or joy, one that would fight with no problems..."

Fate nearly fell to her knees, but stopped as Linith grabbed her by her shoulders. It was the only reason that she didn't stop looking at Alicia. "Why..?"

"My mother was the only person I had, Fate..." Alicia took a deep breath, before looking up, tears falling down her face. "But..." She smiled, even with the tears falling. "You did something that no tool could ever do, Fate..."

The girl, her eyes burning with tears, blinked at Alicia. "What?"

"You smiled at me." Tears fell down her face even faster at that point. "I realized, I was so stupid..." Alicia rubbed her eyes, but couldn't get them to stop. "You weren't a tool... You were my daughter... I love you, daughter..."

"M...Mother!" Fate cried and ran to Alicia, who knelt down, and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, mother, I'm so sorry for doubting you."

"It's okay, Fate..." Alicia rubbed her daughter's back gently as they held each other and cried together. "I was worried that you'd hate me."

Fate shook her head. "How can I hate my own mother?"

Those words had Alicia crying again as the two clung to each other for support.

I got more coming, but I thought this would be a good point to stop at.

... It would feel silly to just leave 'awwwwwwwwwwwwwww' as a review again, although this merits it.

My word Precia is a bitch, though. I mean, that's not anything new, it's just... well, damn.

[vic-vic]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Spoiler for Changes PT 11:

"Well, what do you two have to say for yourselves?" Lindy asked as she looked at the two young children. When they appologized, Lindy shook her head and had to remind herself that not only were they just children, they weren't part of the Bureau and ordering them around was a lot harder to do. "At any rate, they have ten Jewel Seeds." Seeing the ashamed looks on Nanoha's face, Lindy suddenly smiled. "Oh, Amy, have they stopped yet?"

"Not yet." Amy's voice was heard as Nanoha and Yuuno looked at her in confusion, what the heck was she talking about here?

Seeing their looks and sensing Chrono's confusion, Lindy grinned similar to a cat that got a canary. "Oh, sorry, we forgot to tell you that we slipped a little tracking spell onto the seals of all the Jewel Seeds that you collected, Nanoha."

"Huh? When did..." She trailed off, her eyes becoming white and blank as she held a finger up to her face. "Oh!" She smacked an open palm with her fist. "When you wanted to see my Jewel Seeds!"

Lindy nodded and smiled at her. "Sorry for not telling you, but we thought it would be for the best, in case something happened and the Testarossa girl got her hands on them, we could find them easily enough." When Nanoha nodded in understanding, Lindy mentally let out a sigh of relief. She did trust Nanoha, but there was always a chance of things going wrong.

"For now, we'll just..."

"Admiral!" Amy's voice interrupted. "They stopped somewhere in the city, but before we could send anyone, they teleported off planet."

"What?" Lindy stood and moved to the control room, Chrono, Yuuno and Nanoha following her. The four reached the room quickly enough as Amy was pouring her fingers over the keyboard. "What do you mean?"

"They did. I found the energy signals of ten Jewel Seeds and four people." Amy suddenly smiled as the energy didn't completely disappear. "Good." She smiled softly. "We got them."

"So, there was another person involved..." Lindy muttered to herself softly. "Chrono, Nanoha, Yuuno."

"Yes?" The three snapped to attention at the way she was speaking.

"I want you three on standbye." She didn't even look to see them nod as she gave orders to find some way to communicate with the occupants inside of the floating building.

"Um, Miss Lindy?" When the older woman turned to look at her, Nanoha gulped slightly. "Why don't we send in any of your armed soldiers?"

Lindy shook her head. "I would, but they have ten Jewel Seeds, and with Miss Fate, Miss Arf and two unknowns, I would rather not risk any of my men."

"Ma'am!" A man called from the below deck. "We have visuals."

"Thank you, Randy, open them up." A screen popped up and let everyone see a rather large white circular design on the floor, Fate, Arf and the woman who threatened Yuuno were standing at various points, ten Jewel Seeds spun around two figures in the center. The one on the floor had long, dark hair that had several people gasping as they saw who it was. "Precia Testarossa..." Lindy whispered softly, remembering the intelligence report that Amy had dug up just the other day. "That means..." She looked at the other woman, who turned to look at the camera. "Alicia Testarossa, I presume?"

"Yes..." The blond woman said as she stood up. "I take it that you're here because of what my daughter, familiar and my daughter's familiar have done to you and your people?"

"Partially, we also need to discuss your usage of the Jewel Seeds."

Alicia nodded but turned away. "Forgive me, but I need to use them now."

"You can't!" Chrono yelled as he stepped forward. "That many Jewel Seeds together could cause a major rip between the dimensions!"

"It's the only way to cast this spell!" Alicia yelled back and for the first time, Lindy noticed an open spell book on the floor. "The magic requirements for this are enormous!"

"Hold on a second, Miss Testarossa." Lindy squeezed her son's shoulder to keep him calm. "If we allow you to do what you're going to do, will you surrender the Jewel Seeds right away?"

Everyone blinked at Lindy in surprise, but Alicia nodded. "Yes! If I cast this spell, my mother will be healed and I'll gladly give you the Jewel Seeds."

Lindy thought about it for a few moments before turning to the three mages behind her. "Chrono, Nanoha, Yuuno, I want you three to go there and help."

"Huh?!"

Lindy ignored them and turned to the view monitor. "Miss Testarossa, I wish to send you some additional support. Having three people watch the energy fluctuations of the Jewel Seeds to make sure that they don't go out of control isn't the easiest thing. Having six people to make sure that they don't go out of control sounds better, don't you think?"

The woman in the lab coat nodded. "Please hurry though, mother doesn't have much time left."

"Of course." Lindy nodded and then turned to Nanoha, Chrono and Yuuno. "You heard me, you will assist Alicia Testarossa on this, and whether she succedes or fails, you are to collect the Jewel Seeds and bring them back." When they nodded, she shooed them off. "And, Chrono..."

"Yes, mother?"

"You will need to bring them all in for questioning."

"Of course." He nodded as the three were teleported off of the ship.

Lindy hated to do something like that, but she just couldn't over-look the crimes committed by Fate Testarossa.

(---)

Alicia nodded at the three as they ran into the room. "Please, take positions between Fate, Arf and Linith." As she watched them do that, she idly wondered why the girl looked at Arf and blushed while the blond boy looked at Linith slightly uncomfortable, before concentrating on the spell in front of her.

As she watched her mother speak in some sort of weird chant, Fate's eyes widened as she saw the Jewel Seeds suddenly glow and fire some energy beam straight at her mother. "Ngh." She took a deep breath and concentrated on the Jewel Seeds, which had stopped spinning, thankfully, and tried to make sure that none of them were flaring with more power than they needed to.

Alicia held her hands forward and gasped softly as a powerful white beam of magic converged onto the prone form of her mother. It was so bright that everyone, except Alicia, who was being covered in the light as well, had to look away. "Mother?" She asked after several moments when the light finally faded away.

"Nnngh... Alicia?" Precia asked as she sat up. "What happened?"

"Nanoha..." Chrono signalled to the younger girl, who nodded, the two slowly gathered the Jewel Seeds and Nanoha was privately relieved when no one made any motion to stop them.

She stopped when she felt Arf kneel behind her and put a hand on her belly. "That offer is still on the table, if you want it." Nanoha's face turned bright red as Arf laughed at her discomfort and let her go.

"Alicia..." Precia smiled and hugged her daughter. "Thank you, daughter, you did it."

Alicia smiled as she hugged Precia back. "So, you're better now, right?"

Precia nodded but her eyes caught something coming towards her. "I see that your tool is still alive."

Those words had everyone stop, except Chrono, who sealed up the last Jewel Seed, but even he was still looking at them in slight shock.

"Mother?" Alicia let go and looked at her mother. "What..."

"You never told her, did you?" Precia looked at Fate with some disgust. "How you created her just to be a tool."

"Stop..." Alicia trembled, her mother couldn't tell Fate. No, telling her was the worst thing that could happen!

"You honestly came to care for your own clone, how cute."

Fate's eyes widened, a clone? She was a clone? And a tool? "...Mother?" She whispered softly. When Alicia didn't move or say anything, her eyes watered up. Was she hated by her mother so much?

"You should at least give her the dignity of knowing that you used my research to clone yourself, Alicia..."

"Mother..." Alicia trembled slightly. "Stop..."

Precia stood up and glared at Fate. "You were nothing more than a tool my daughter made to help her gather these Jewel Seeds and heal me, nothing more, nothing less." She held up a hand to block a punch from Arf. "Oh, it's you..." She snorted before back-handing Arf and sending her flying across the room. "My... I think that healing spell worked too well, Alicia..."

Fate couldn't stop herself from crying at that point. "Mother..."

"Shut it!" Precia yelled at the small blond. "You're not real! You're nothing more than a tool, to be used and then thrown away when you break, or maybe used for something else? But, it doesn't matter, we don't need you anymore, you're free to..."

There was a loud slapping noise, and a resounding silence as Precia stumbled back, tenderly touching her cheek. "...What?"

"Enough... Precia..." Alicia trembled, her hand still straight up from where she slapped Precia in the face.

Turning to Fate, Alicia kept her head down as she nodded to Chrono's question. "Yes, it's true... Everything that she said was true. I made Fate in a laboratory ten years ago today, I made her a clone of myself and I intended to mentally program her to not feel any emotions at all, a perfect magical weapon, one that couldn't feel fear, pain or joy, one that would fight with no problems..."

Fate nearly fell to her knees, but stopped as Linith grabbed her by her shoulders. It was the only reason that she didn't stop looking at Alicia. "Why..?"

"My mother was the only person I had, Fate..." Alicia took a deep breath, before looking up, tears falling down her face. "But..." She smiled, even with the tears falling. "You did something that no tool could ever do, Fate..."

The girl, her eyes burning with tears, blinked at Alicia. "What?"

"You smiled at me." Tears fell down her face even faster at that point. "I realized, I was so stupid..." Alicia rubbed her eyes, but couldn't get them to stop. "You weren't a tool... You were my daughter... I love you, daughter..."

"M...Mother!" Fate cried and ran to Alicia, who knelt down, and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, mother, I'm so sorry for doubting you."

"It's okay, Fate..." Alicia rubbed her daughter's back gently as they held each other and cried together. "I was worried that you'd hate me."

Fate shook her head. "How can I hate my own mother?"

Those words had Alicia crying again as the two clung to each other for support.

I got more coming, but I thought this would be a good point to stop at.

So cute

Hm, Precia just like in canon a little too obessed with Alicia.

[00-Raiser]

Originally Posted by Megaolix

Great, now I feel depressed (which also mean you did a great job with the mood of this). Going to read some happy stories now to counter this.

Well, I did try to have a positive turn at the end Wanted to give the feeling of "It's all looking bright from here!"

Originally Posted by Yasanagi

Raiser: Nice to see that you took some risks there with your take on her background. Thanks for sharing.

You're welcome

Originally Posted by deathcurse

Er, nice to see that I'm inspiring more Hayate darkfics! More seriously, this is pretty grim, but keeping out of the melodramatic angst territory .

Hayate's mental thoughts were written really well, still keeping her relatively determined and optimistic while adding that more serious, grimmer side to her.

I loved the ending, it was humourous and very in character. It does let this potentially very emotionally downer story become more optimistic at the end ^^.

Glad you liked it Yeah, I like to have optimistic endings, especially with my angst pieces. I think angst is only effective when the character works to over come it in the end.

Originally Posted by Tiresias

Spoiler for comment:

All the adoption horror? Not much of a surprise there. The matter with Graham? Same deal. Hayate X Yuuno? Didn't see that one coming

Hehe, well I wasn't sure if I should add the Hayate/Yuuno angle cuz it felt like just me being a fanboy that could have spoiled the piece. But as I went on the story was basically begging me to take it into that direction, so I did I remember how deathcurse was saying that Yuuno was that safe guy the girls could lean on, and I figured that after what Hayate's been through, she really needed a safe guy. I recalled how it worked in Bitter Virgin so I took some elements from that too.

Originally Posted by Tempy

Suddenly, Alicia decides that she really likes this guy. Too bad he's too young.

Alicia: ... But he'd make the perfect son-in-law!

Originally Posted by vic-vic

Poor Hayate has a tough time in her childhood. And her primary love interest love her best friend.

Good piece of angst 00-Raiser.

Thanks! I'm glad the fic went over so well

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Spoiler for Changes PT 11:

"Well, what do you two have to say for yourselves?" Lindy asked as she looked at the two young children. When they appologized, Lindy shook her head and had to remind herself that not only were they just children, they weren't part of the Bureau and ordering them around was a lot harder to do. "At any rate, they have ten Jewel Seeds." Seeing the ashamed looks on Nanoha's face, Lindy suddenly smiled. "Oh, Amy, have they stopped yet?"

"Not yet." Amy's voice was heard as Nanoha and Yuuno looked at her in confusion, what the heck was she talking about here?

Seeing their looks and sensing Chrono's confusion, Lindy grinned similar to a cat that got a canary. "Oh, sorry, we forgot to tell you that we slipped a little tracking spell onto the seals of all the Jewel Seeds that you collected, Nanoha."

"Huh? When did..." She trailed off, her eyes becoming white and blank as she held a finger up to her face. "Oh!" She smacked an open palm with her fist. "When you wanted to see my Jewel Seeds!"

Lindy nodded and smiled at her. "Sorry for not telling you, but we thought it would be for the best, in case something happened and the Testarossa girl got her hands on them, we could find them easily enough." When Nanoha nodded in understanding, Lindy mentally let out a sigh of relief. She did trust Nanoha, but there was always a chance of things going wrong.

"For now, we'll just..."

"Admiral!" Amy's voice interrupted. "They stopped somewhere in the city, but before we could send anyone, they teleported off planet."

"What?" Lindy stood and moved to the control room, Chrono, Yuuno and Nanoha following her. The four reached the room quickly enough as Amy was pouring her fingers over the keyboard. "What do you mean?"

"They did. I found the energy signals of ten Jewel Seeds and four people." Amy suddenly smiled as the energy didn't completely disappear. "Good." She smiled softly. "We got them."

"So, there was another person involved..." Lindy muttered to herself softly. "Chrono, Nanoha, Yuuno."

"Yes?" The three snapped to attention at the way she was speaking.

"I want you three on standbye." She didn't even look to see them nod as she gave orders to find some way to communicate with the occupants inside of the floating building.

"Um, Miss Lindy?" When the older woman turned to look at her, Nanoha gulped slightly. "Why don't we send in any of your armed soldiers?"

Lindy shook her head. "I would, but they have ten Jewel Seeds, and with Miss Fate, Miss Arf and two unknowns, I would rather not risk any of my men."

"Ma'am!" A man called from the below deck. "We have visuals."

"Thank you, Randy, open them up." A screen popped up and let everyone see a rather large white circular design on the floor, Fate, Arf and the woman who threatened Yuuno were standing at various points, ten Jewel Seeds spun around two figures in the center. The one on the floor had long, dark hair that had several people gasping as they saw who it was. "Precia Testarossa..." Lindy whispered softly, remembering the intelligence report that Amy had dug up just the other day. "That means..." She looked at the other woman, who turned to look at the camera. "Alicia Testarossa, I presume?"

"Yes..." The blond woman said as she stood up. "I take it that you're here because of what my daughter, familiar and my daughter's familiar have done to you and your people?"

"Partially, we also need to discuss your usage of the Jewel Seeds."

Alicia nodded but turned away. "Forgive me, but I need to use them now."

"You can't!" Chrono yelled as he stepped forward. "That many Jewel Seeds together could cause a major rip between the dimensions!"

"It's the only way to cast this spell!" Alicia yelled back and for the first time, Lindy noticed an open spell book on the floor. "The magic requirements for this are enormous!"

"Hold on a second, Miss Testarossa." Lindy squeezed her son's shoulder to keep him calm. "If we allow you to do what you're going to do, will you surrender the Jewel Seeds right away?"

Everyone blinked at Lindy in surprise, but Alicia nodded. "Yes! If I cast this spell, my mother will be healed and I'll gladly give you the Jewel Seeds."

Lindy thought about it for a few moments before turning to the three mages behind her. "Chrono, Nanoha, Yuuno, I want you three to go there and help."

"Huh?!"

Lindy ignored them and turned to the view monitor. "Miss Testarossa, I wish to send you some additional support. Having three people watch the energy fluctuations of the Jewel Seeds to make sure that they don't go out of control isn't the easiest thing. Having six people to make sure that they don't go out of control sounds better, don't you think?"

The woman in the lab coat nodded. "Please hurry though, mother doesn't have much time left."

"Of course." Lindy nodded and then turned to Nanoha, Chrono and Yuuno. "You heard me, you will assist Alicia Testarossa on this, and whether she succedes or fails, you are to collect the Jewel Seeds and bring them back." When they nodded, she shooed them off. "And, Chrono..."

"Yes, mother?"

"You will need to bring them all in for questioning."

"Of course." He nodded as the three were teleported off of the ship.

Lindy hated to do something like that, but she just couldn't over-look the crimes committed by Fate Testarossa.

(---)

Alicia nodded at the three as they ran into the room. "Please, take positions between Fate, Arf and Linith." As she watched them do that, she idly wondered why the girl looked at Arf and blushed while the blond boy looked at Linith slightly uncomfortable, before concentrating on the spell in front of her.

As she watched her mother speak in some sort of weird chant, Fate's eyes widened as she saw the Jewel Seeds suddenly glow and fire some energy beam straight at her mother. "Ngh." She took a deep breath and concentrated on the Jewel Seeds, which had stopped spinning, thankfully, and tried to make sure that none of them were flaring with more power than they needed to.

Alicia held her hands forward and gasped softly as a powerful white beam of magic converged onto the prone form of her mother. It was so bright that everyone, except Alicia, who was being covered in the light as well, had to look away. "Mother?" She asked after several moments when the light finally faded away.

"Nnngh... Alicia?" Precia asked as she sat up. "What happened?"

"Nanoha..." Chrono signalled to the younger girl, who nodded, the two slowly gathered the Jewel Seeds and Nanoha was privately relieved when no one made any motion to stop them.

She stopped when she felt Arf kneel behind her and put a hand on her belly. "That offer is still on the table, if you want it." Nanoha's face turned bright red as Arf laughed at her discomfort and let her go.

"Alicia..." Precia smiled and hugged her daughter. "Thank you, daughter, you did it."

Alicia smiled as she hugged Precia back. "So, you're better now, right?"

Precia nodded but her eyes caught something coming towards her. "I see that your tool is still alive."

Those words had everyone stop, except Chrono, who sealed up the last Jewel Seed, but even he was still looking at them in slight shock.

"Mother?" Alicia let go and looked at her mother. "What..."

"You never told her, did you?" Precia looked at Fate with some disgust. "How you created her just to be a tool."

"Stop..." Alicia trembled, her mother couldn't tell Fate. No, telling her was the worst thing that could happen!

"You honestly came to care for your own clone, how cute."

Fate's eyes widened, a clone? She was a clone? And a tool? "...Mother?" She whispered softly. When Alicia didn't move or say anything, her eyes watered up. Was she hated by her mother so much?

"You should at least give her the dignity of knowing that you used my research to clone yourself, Alicia..."

"Mother..." Alicia trembled slightly. "Stop..."

Precia stood up and glared at Fate. "You were nothing more than a tool my daughter made to help her gather these Jewel Seeds and heal me, nothing more, nothing less." She held up a hand to block a punch from Arf. "Oh, it's you..." She snorted before back-handing Arf and sending her flying across the room. "My... I think that healing spell worked too well, Alicia..."

Fate couldn't stop herself from crying at that point. "Mother..."

"Shut it!" Precia yelled at the small blond. "You're not real! You're nothing more than a tool, to be used and then thrown away when you break, or maybe used for something else? But, it doesn't matter, we don't need you anymore, you're free to..."

There was a loud slapping noise, and a resounding silence as Precia stumbled back, tenderly touching her cheek. "...What?"

"Enough... Precia..." Alicia trembled, her hand still straight up from where she slapped Precia in the face.

Turning to Fate, Alicia kept her head down as she nodded to Chrono's question. "Yes, it's true... Everything that she said was true. I made Fate in a laboratory ten years ago today, I made her a clone of myself and I intended to mentally program her to not feel any emotions at all, a perfect magical weapon, one that couldn't feel fear, pain or joy, one that would fight with no problems..."

Fate nearly fell to her knees, but stopped as Linith grabbed her by her shoulders. It was the only reason that she didn't stop looking at Alicia. "Why..?"

"My mother was the only person I had, Fate..." Alicia took a deep breath, before looking up, tears falling down her face. "But..." She smiled, even with the tears falling. "You did something that no tool could ever do, Fate..."

The girl, her eyes burning with tears, blinked at Alicia. "What?"

"You smiled at me." Tears fell down her face even faster at that point. "I realized, I was so stupid..." Alicia rubbed her eyes, but couldn't get them to stop. "You weren't a tool... You were my daughter... I love you, daughter..."

"M...Mother!" Fate cried and ran to Alicia, who knelt down, and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, mother, I'm so sorry for doubting you."

"It's okay, Fate..." Alicia rubbed her daughter's back gently as they held each other and cried together. "I was worried that you'd hate me."

Fate shook her head. "How can I hate my own mother?"

Those words had Alicia crying again as the two clung to each other for support.

I got more coming, but I thought this would be a good point to stop at.

Situation resolved!

OR IS IT?!

Somehow I can see Precia not liking this so she resists and then suddenly BOSS FIGHT!

[Nanya01]

Well, Raiser, read and find out...

Spoiler for Changes PT 12:

Linith smiled as she saw the two hug each other, before going to where Arf was and helping her onto her feet. "You okay?"

"Do kitties chase puppies?" Arf asked, her eyes swirling as she wobbled back and forth.

"You're just fine." Linith smiled, though she made a mental note to ask Arf just what offer she made to the girl in white that had her blushing so much.

Precia stared at the two, before glaring at the smaller of the two blondes. "How dare you..?" They both turned to her as she seemingly arced a fist, as if she were holding a small ball in it. "How dare you take my Alicia away from me?!"

Everyone's eyes widened as one of Fate's spells, the Photon Launcher, was launched from Precia's fingertips at the two.

Alicia couldn't believe it, to go so far... "Why..?" She asked softly, before she felt her daughter push her away, moments before the spell crashed into her body and sending her flying across the room and crashing into a wall, where she fell to the ground, not moving.

"Just let me put that thing out of its misery, Alicia, and you'll see, we'll be together and happy." Another Photon Launcher flew at Fate's downed form, before a green wall got in the way. "What?!" She turned and glared at Yuuno. "You... How dare you?!" She growled and prepared to fire another spell when pink binds wrapped around her body.

"How dare you?" A soft voice spoke up as Nanoha stood beside Alicia, her eyes were obscured by the shadow of her hair. "Fate tried so hard, even risking her life, just to make sure that her mother could heal you, and you throw her AWAY?!" Nanoha's body exploded with pink energy, even as a circle appeared under her feet and dots of light seemed to appear in front of her. "You throw away your family like trash when they worked so hard to save you?!" Nanoha looked up, her eyes showing pure rage at the older woman, who, despite herself, gulped slightly. "That girl and I, we weren't friends, but I respected her. She never took things further than I did, and never tried to kill me or anyone else. She just wanted the Jewel Seeds for her mother so they could help you, and you just... THROW HER AWAY?!"

"Starlight Breaker." Raising Heart intoned as Nanoha snapped her device forward, a gigantic pink beam snapped forward, converging on the prone form of Precia, who could only stare in shock as she was engulfed by the huge amount of magical energy.

Alicia didn't care for any of this, when she heard the device call out the attack, she had already left the girl's side and made her way to Fate. "oh no..." She gasped as she saw some blood trickling out from her head. "Linith!" She yelled telepathically over the roar of powerful magic.

"Coming!" Linith yelled back as she ran and ignored the way her creator was being punished. Precia might have made Linith into a familiar, but Alicia was Linith's master, it was a weird situation if she ever stopped to think about it. "Oh dear..." She whispered as she cast a quick healing spell and hoped that it would stop any more bleeding or brain damage to the young girl.

As the magic subsided, Nanoha walked forward slowly as Precia peeled herself, literally, off of the wall she was forced into. The older woman fell to the floor in a crumpled heap and gasped as she looked up at the girl. "You... Why do you dare interfere?!"

"Divine..."

"How dare you throw away your family like that?" Nanoha whispered softly, the sheer rage in her eyes would have been enough to make even a devil hesitate for a moment.

"Buster...

Nanoha pointed her staff at Precia again, the older woman's eyes widened as a pink beam, not as powerful as the one that had just pummeled her previously, crashed into her body and knocked her into the wall gain.

"Again!" Nanoha yelled after that spell abated and fired another Divine Buster into Precia, getting her to cry out as blood was expelled from her mouth.

"We have to stop her!" Chrono yelled to Yuuno as the two ran towards Nanoha. He knew Nanoha, she was no killer, but if she didn't stop, Precia would be dead. He grabbed her shoulder after that last Divine Buster, all she did was turn to him and look at him with those berserk, dead eyes before pointing an open palm at him. "Nanoha, what?"

"Strike Smasher." She whispered softly and Chrono barely got a shield up before he was blown away from Nanoha, the arms to his jacket were destroyed and his arms were smoldering from that attack.

"What is she?" Chrono asked as Nanoha turned back to Precia and wound up for another attack.

"Nanoha!" Yuuno grabbed the girl from behind in a hug. "Stop!"

Nanoha's eyes widened as she felt Yuuno behind her. "Yuuno...kun..?" The pink glow abated from her body as she slumped, tiredly against him. "So tired..."

"Just rest then." Yuuno whispered to her as she nodded and closed her eyes, consciousness fleeing her.

Chrono grimaced as his arms burned. "What a mess..." He sighed softly.

"Chrono! Are you okay?" His mother's voice was heard in his head as he nodded.

"My arms are a bit on the extra crispy side, but I'm okay... We need a pick up, we got at least two injured people down here."

"On it." Amy's voice was heard and Chrono smiled softly, at least this was going to be taken care of quickly enough.

Still, one thing bothered him... Just why did Nanoha go berserk like that?

[ninryu]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Well, Raiser, read and find out...

Spoiler for Changes PT 12:

Linith smiled as she saw the two hug each other, before going to where Arf was and helping her onto her feet. "You okay?"

"Do kitties chase puppies?" Arf asked, her eyes swirling as she wobbled back and forth.

"You're just fine." Linith smiled, though she made a mental note to ask Arf just what offer she made to the girl in white that had her blushing so much.

Precia stared at the two, before glaring at the smaller of the two blondes. "How dare you..?" They both turned to her as she seemingly arced a fist, as if she were holding a small ball in it. "How dare you take my Alicia away from me?!"

Everyone's eyes widened as one of Fate's spells, the Photon Launcher, was launched from Precia's fingertips at the two.

Alicia couldn't believe it, to go so far... "Why..?" She asked softly, before she felt her daughter push her away, moments before the spell crashed into her body and sending her flying across the room and crashing into a wall, where she fell to the ground, not moving.

"Just let me put that thing out of its misery, Alicia, and you'll see, we'll be together and happy." Another Photon Launcher flew at Fate's downed form, before a green wall got in the way. "What?!" She turned and glared at Yuuno. "You... How dare you?!" She growled and prepared to fire another spell when pink binds wrapped around her body.

"How dare you?" A soft voice spoke up as Nanoha stood beside Alicia, her eyes were obscured by the shadow of her hair. "Fate tried so hard, even risking her life, just to make sure that her mother could heal you, and you throw her AWAY?!" Nanoha's body exploded with pink energy, even as a circle appeared under her feet and dots of light seemed to appear in front of her. "You throw away your family like trash when they worked so hard to save you?!" Nanoha looked up, her eyes showing pure rage at the older woman, who, despite herself, gulped slightly. "That girl and I, we weren't friends, but I respected her. She never took things further than I did, and never tried to kill me or anyone else. She just wanted the Jewel Seeds for her mother so they could help you, and you just... THROW HER AWAY?!"

"Starlight Breaker." Raising Heart intoned as Nanoha snapped her device forward, a gigantic pink beam snapped forward, converging on the prone form of Precia, who could only stare in shock as she was engulfed by the huge amount of magical energy.

Alicia didn't care for any of this, when she heard the device call out the attack, she had already left the girl's side and made her way to Fate. "oh no..." She gasped as she saw some blood trickling out from her head. "Linith!" She yelled telepathically over the roar of powerful magic.

"Coming!" Linith yelled back as she ran and ignored the way her creator was being punished. Precia might have made Linith into a familiar, but Alicia was Linith's master, it was a weird situation if she ever stopped to think about it. "Oh dear..." She whispered as she cast a quick healing spell and hoped that it would stop any more bleeding or brain damage to the young girl.

As the magic subsided, Nanoha walked forward slowly as Precia peeled herself, literally, off of the wall she was forced into. The older woman fell to the floor in a crumpled heap and gasped as she looked up at the girl. "You... Why do you dare interfere?!"

"Divine..."

"How dare you throw away your family like that?" Nanoha whispered softly, the sheer rage in her eyes would have been enough to make even a devil hesitate for a moment.

"Buster...

Nanoha pointed her staff at Precia again, the older woman's eyes widened as a pink beam, not as powerful as the one that had just pummeled her previously, crashed into her body and knocked her into the wall gain.

"Again!" Nanoha yelled after that spell abated and fired another Divine Buster into Precia, getting her to cry out as blood was expelled from her mouth.

"We have to stop her!" Chrono yelled to Yuuno as the two ran towards Nanoha. He knew Nanoha, she was no killer, but if she didn't stop, Precia would be dead. He grabbed her shoulder after that last Divine Buster, all she did was turn to him and look at him with those berserk, dead eyes before pointing an open palm at him. "Nanoha, what?"

"Strike Smasher." She whispered softly and Chrono barely got a shield up before he was blown away from Nanoha, the arms to his jacket were destroyed and his arms were smoldering from that attack.

"What is she?" Chrono asked as Nanoha turned back to Precia and wound up for another attack.

"Nanoha!" Yuuno grabbed the girl from behind in a hug. "Stop!"

Nanoha's eyes widened as she felt Yuuno behind her. "Yuuno...kun..?" The pink glow abated from her body as she slumped, tiredly against him. "So tired..."

"Just rest then." Yuuno whispered to her as she nodded and closed her eyes, consciousness fleeing her.

Chrono grimaced as his arms burned. "What a mess..." He sighed softly.

"Chrono! Are you okay?" His mother's voice was heard in his head as he nodded.

"My arms are a bit on the extra crispy side, but I'm okay... We need a pick up, we got at least two injured people down here."

"On it." Amy's voice was heard and Chrono smiled softly, at least this was going to be taken care of quickly enough.

Still, one thing bothered him... Just why did Nanoha go berserk like that?

oo, things starting to get off canon. I wonder how it will go on?

[00-Raiser]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Well, Raiser, read and find out...

Spoiler for Changes PT 12:

Linith smiled as she saw the two hug each other, before going to where Arf was and helping her onto her feet. "You okay?"

"Do kitties chase puppies?" Arf asked, her eyes swirling as she wobbled back and forth.

"You're just fine." Linith smiled, though she made a mental note to ask Arf just what offer she made to the girl in white that had her blushing so much.

Precia stared at the two, before glaring at the smaller of the two blondes. "How dare you..?" They both turned to her as she seemingly arced a fist, as if she were holding a small ball in it. "How dare you take my Alicia away from me?!"

Everyone's eyes widened as one of Fate's spells, the Photon Launcher, was launched from Precia's fingertips at the two.

Alicia couldn't believe it, to go so far... "Why..?" She asked softly, before she felt her daughter push her away, moments before the spell crashed into her body and sending her flying across the room and crashing into a wall, where she fell to the ground, not moving.

"Just let me put that thing out of its misery, Alicia, and you'll see, we'll be together and happy." Another Photon Launcher flew at Fate's downed form, before a green wall got in the way. "What?!" She turned and glared at Yuuno. "You... How dare you?!" She growled and prepared to fire another spell when pink binds wrapped around her body.

"How dare you?" A soft voice spoke up as Nanoha stood beside Alicia, her eyes were obscured by the shadow of her hair. "Fate tried so hard, even risking her life, just to make sure that her mother could heal you, and you throw her AWAY?!" Nanoha's body exploded with pink energy, even as a circle appeared under her feet and dots of light seemed to appear in front of her. "You throw away your family like trash when they worked so hard to save you?!" Nanoha looked up, her eyes showing pure rage at the older woman, who, despite herself, gulped slightly. "That girl and I, we weren't friends, but I respected her. She never took things further than I did, and never tried to kill me or anyone else. She just wanted the Jewel Seeds for her mother so they could help you, and you just... THROW HER AWAY?!"

"Starlight Breaker." Raising Heart intoned as Nanoha snapped her device forward, a gigantic pink beam snapped forward, converging on the prone form of Precia, who could only stare in shock as she was engulfed by the huge amount of magical energy.

Alicia didn't care for any of this, when she heard the device call out the attack, she had already left the girl's side and made her way to Fate. "oh no..." She gasped as she saw some blood trickling out from her head. "Linith!" She yelled telepathically over the roar of powerful magic.

"Coming!" Linith yelled back as she ran and ignored the way her creator was being punished. Precia might have made Linith into a familiar, but Alicia was Linith's master, it was a weird situation if she ever stopped to think about it. "Oh dear..." She whispered as she cast a quick healing spell and hoped that it would stop any more bleeding or brain damage to the young girl.

As the magic subsided, Nanoha walked forward slowly as Precia peeled herself, literally, off of the wall she was forced into. The older woman fell to the floor in a crumpled heap and gasped as she looked up at the girl. "You... Why do you dare interfere?!"

"Divine..."

"How dare you throw away your family like that?" Nanoha whispered softly, the sheer rage in her eyes would have been enough to make even a devil hesitate for a moment.

"Buster...

Nanoha pointed her staff at Precia again, the older woman's eyes widened as a pink beam, not as powerful as the one that had just pummeled her previously, crashed into her body and knocked her into the wall gain.

"Again!" Nanoha yelled after that spell abated and fired another Divine Buster into Precia, getting her to cry out as blood was expelled from her mouth.

"We have to stop her!" Chrono yelled to Yuuno as the two ran towards Nanoha. He knew Nanoha, she was no killer, but if she didn't stop, Precia would be dead. He grabbed her shoulder after that last Divine Buster, all she did was turn to him and look at him with those berserk, dead eyes before pointing an open palm at him. "Nanoha, what?"

"Strike Smasher." She whispered softly and Chrono barely got a shield up before he was blown away from Nanoha, the arms to his jacket were destroyed and his arms were smoldering from that attack.

"What is she?" Chrono asked as Nanoha turned back to Precia and wound up for another attack.

"Nanoha!" Yuuno grabbed the girl from behind in a hug. "Stop!"

Nanoha's eyes widened as she felt Yuuno behind her. "Yuuno...kun..?" The pink glow abated from her body as she slumped, tiredly against him. "So tired..."

"Just rest then." Yuuno whispered to her as she nodded and closed her eyes, consciousness fleeing her.

Chrono grimaced as his arms burned. "What a mess..." He sighed softly.

"Chrono! Are you okay?" His mother's voice was heard in his head as he nodded.

"My arms are a bit on the extra crispy side, but I'm okay... We need a pick up, we got at least two injured people down here."

"On it." Amy's voice was heard and Chrono smiled softly, at least this was going to be taken care of quickly enough.

Still, one thing bothered him... Just why did Nanoha go berserk like that?

Yuuno with the cool down hug FTW!

And suddenly, another plot line opens! Where will this series go now?

[shiroi mahotsukai]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Well, Raiser, read and find out...

Spoiler for Changes PT 12:

Linith smiled as she saw the two hug each other, before going to where Arf was and helping her onto her feet. "You okay?"

"Do kitties chase puppies?" Arf asked, her eyes swirling as she wobbled back and forth.

"You're just fine." Linith smiled, though she made a mental note to ask Arf just what offer she made to the girl in white that had her blushing so much.

Precia stared at the two, before glaring at the smaller of the two blondes. "How dare you..?" They both turned to her as she seemingly arced a fist, as if she were holding a small ball in it. "How dare you take my Alicia away from me?!"

Everyone's eyes widened as one of Fate's spells, the Photon Launcher, was launched from Precia's fingertips at the two.

Alicia couldn't believe it, to go so far... "Why..?" She asked softly, before she felt her daughter push her away, moments before the spell crashed into her body and sending her flying across the room and crashing into a wall, where she fell to the ground, not moving.

"Just let me put that thing out of its misery, Alicia, and you'll see, we'll be together and happy." Another Photon Launcher flew at Fate's downed form, before a green wall got in the way. "What?!" She turned and glared at Yuuno. "You... How dare you?!" She growled and prepared to fire another spell when pink binds wrapped around her body.

"How dare you?" A soft voice spoke up as Nanoha stood beside Alicia, her eyes were obscured by the shadow of her hair. "Fate tried so hard, even risking her life, just to make sure that her mother could heal you, and you throw her AWAY?!" Nanoha's body exploded with pink energy, even as a circle appeared under her feet and dots of light seemed to appear in front of her. "You throw away your family like trash when they worked so hard to save you?!" Nanoha looked up, her eyes showing pure rage at the older woman, who, despite herself, gulped slightly. "That girl and I, we weren't friends, but I respected her. She never took things further than I did, and never tried to kill me or anyone else. She just wanted the Jewel Seeds for her mother so they could help you, and you just... THROW HER AWAY?!"

"Starlight Breaker." Raising Heart intoned as Nanoha snapped her device forward, a gigantic pink beam snapped forward, converging on the prone form of Precia, who could only stare in shock as she was engulfed by the huge amount of magical energy.

Alicia didn't care for any of this, when she heard the device call out the attack, she had already left the girl's side and made her way to Fate. "oh no..." She gasped as she saw some blood trickling out from her head. "Linith!" She yelled telepathically over the roar of powerful magic.

"Coming!" Linith yelled back as she ran and ignored the way her creator was being punished. Precia might have made Linith into a familiar, but Alicia was Linith's master, it was a weird situation if she ever stopped to think about it. "Oh dear..." She whispered as she cast a quick healing spell and hoped that it would stop any more bleeding or brain damage to the young girl.

As the magic subsided, Nanoha walked forward slowly as Precia peeled herself, literally, off of the wall she was forced into. The older woman fell to the floor in a crumpled heap and gasped as she looked up at the girl. "You... Why do you dare interfere?!"

"Divine..."

"How dare you throw away your family like that?" Nanoha whispered softly, the sheer rage in her eyes would have been enough to make even a devil hesitate for a moment.

"Buster...

Nanoha pointed her staff at Precia again, the older woman's eyes widened as a pink beam, not as powerful as the one that had just pummeled her previously, crashed into her body and knocked her into the wall gain.

"Again!" Nanoha yelled after that spell abated and fired another Divine Buster into Precia, getting her to cry out as blood was expelled from her mouth.

"We have to stop her!" Chrono yelled to Yuuno as the two ran towards Nanoha. He knew Nanoha, she was no killer, but if she didn't stop, Precia would be dead. He grabbed her shoulder after that last Divine Buster, all she did was turn to him and look at him with those berserk, dead eyes before pointing an open palm at him. "Nanoha, what?"

"Strike Smasher." She whispered softly and Chrono barely got a shield up before he was blown away from Nanoha, the arms to his jacket were destroyed and his arms were smoldering from that attack.

"What is she?" Chrono asked as Nanoha turned back to Precia and wound up for another attack.

"Nanoha!" Yuuno grabbed the girl from behind in a hug. "Stop!"

Nanoha's eyes widened as she felt Yuuno behind her. "Yuuno...kun..?" The pink glow abated from her body as she slumped, tiredly against him. "So tired..."

"Just rest then." Yuuno whispered to her as she nodded and closed her eyes, consciousness fleeing her.

Chrono grimaced as his arms burned. "What a mess..." He sighed softly.

"Chrono! Are you okay?" His mother's voice was heard in his head as he nodded.

"My arms are a bit on the extra crispy side, but I'm okay... We need a pick up, we got at least two injured people down here."

"On it." Amy's voice was heard and Chrono smiled softly, at least this was going to be taken care of quickly enough.

Still, one thing bothered him... Just why did Nanoha go berserk like that?

Another great chapter Nanya, for some reason i just can't seem to understand that brought the image of a certain spikey haired pharoh repeatedly shouting "MONSUTA KADO" to burn itself in my mind. And now we have another question left to answer, why did Nanoha go beserk.

[SilentOutlaw]

Originally Posted by shiroi mahotsukai

why did Nanoha go beserk.

Maybe it's a sore spot for her because of her own family issues?

[ninryu]

Originally Posted by SilentOutlaw

Maybe it's a sore spot for her because of her own family issues?

I have a feeling Nanoha's past is little different in this story.

[Alavon]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Well, Raiser, read and find out...

Spoiler for Changes PT 12:

Linith smiled as she saw the two hug each other, before going to where Arf was and helping her onto her feet. "You okay?"

"Do kitties chase puppies?" Arf asked, her eyes swirling as she wobbled back and forth.

"You're just fine." Linith smiled, though she made a mental note to ask Arf just what offer she made to the girl in white that had her blushing so much.

Precia stared at the two, before glaring at the smaller of the two blondes. "How dare you..?" They both turned to her as she seemingly arced a fist, as if she were holding a small ball in it. "How dare you take my Alicia away from me?!"

Everyone's eyes widened as one of Fate's spells, the Photon Launcher, was launched from Precia's fingertips at the two.

Alicia couldn't believe it, to go so far... "Why..?" She asked softly, before she felt her daughter push her away, moments before the spell crashed into her body and sending her flying across the room and crashing into a wall, where she fell to the ground, not moving.

"Just let me put that thing out of its misery, Alicia, and you'll see, we'll be together and happy." Another Photon Launcher flew at Fate's downed form, before a green wall got in the way. "What?!" She turned and glared at Yuuno. "You... How dare you?!" She growled and prepared to fire another spell when pink binds wrapped around her body.

"How dare you?" A soft voice spoke up as Nanoha stood beside Alicia, her eyes were obscured by the shadow of her hair. "Fate tried so hard, even risking her life, just to make sure that her mother could heal you, and you throw her AWAY?!" Nanoha's body exploded with pink energy, even as a circle appeared under her feet and dots of light seemed to appear in front of her. "You throw away your family like trash when they worked so hard to save you?!" Nanoha looked up, her eyes showing pure rage at the older woman, who, despite herself, gulped slightly. "That girl and I, we weren't friends, but I respected her. She never took things further than I did, and never tried to kill me or anyone else. She just wanted the Jewel Seeds for her mother so they could help you, and you just... THROW HER AWAY?!"

"Starlight Breaker." Raising Heart intoned as Nanoha snapped her device forward, a gigantic pink beam snapped forward, converging on the prone form of Precia, who could only stare in shock as she was engulfed by the huge amount of magical energy.

Alicia didn't care for any of this, when she heard the device call out the attack, she had already left the girl's side and made her way to Fate. "oh no..." She gasped as she saw some blood trickling out from her head. "Linith!" She yelled telepathically over the roar of powerful magic.

"Coming!" Linith yelled back as she ran and ignored the way her creator was being punished. Precia might have made Linith into a familiar, but Alicia was Linith's master, it was a weird situation if she ever stopped to think about it. "Oh dear..." She whispered as she cast a quick healing spell and hoped that it would stop any more bleeding or brain damage to the young girl.

As the magic subsided, Nanoha walked forward slowly as Precia peeled herself, literally, off of the wall she was forced into. The older woman fell to the floor in a crumpled heap and gasped as she looked up at the girl. "You... Why do you dare interfere?!"

"Divine..."

"How dare you throw away your family like that?" Nanoha whispered softly, the sheer rage in her eyes would have been enough to make even a devil hesitate for a moment.

"Buster...

Nanoha pointed her staff at Precia again, the older woman's eyes widened as a pink beam, not as powerful as the one that had just pummeled her previously, crashed into her body and knocked her into the wall gain.

"Again!" Nanoha yelled after that spell abated and fired another Divine Buster into Precia, getting her to cry out as blood was expelled from her mouth.

"We have to stop her!" Chrono yelled to Yuuno as the two ran towards Nanoha. He knew Nanoha, she was no killer, but if she didn't stop, Precia would be dead. He grabbed her shoulder after that last Divine Buster, all she did was turn to him and look at him with those berserk, dead eyes before pointing an open palm at him. "Nanoha, what?"

"Strike Smasher." She whispered softly and Chrono barely got a shield up before he was blown away from Nanoha, the arms to his jacket were destroyed and his arms were smoldering from that attack.

"What is she?" Chrono asked as Nanoha turned back to Precia and wound up for another attack.

"Nanoha!" Yuuno grabbed the girl from behind in a hug. "Stop!"

Nanoha's eyes widened as she felt Yuuno behind her. "Yuuno...kun..?" The pink glow abated from her body as she slumped, tiredly against him. "So tired..."

"Just rest then." Yuuno whispered to her as she nodded and closed her eyes, consciousness fleeing her.

Chrono grimaced as his arms burned. "What a mess..." He sighed softly.

"Chrono! Are you okay?" His mother's voice was heard in his head as he nodded.

"My arms are a bit on the extra crispy side, but I'm okay... We need a pick up, we got at least two injured people down here."

"On it." Amy's voice was heard and Chrono smiled softly, at least this was going to be taken care of quickly enough.

Still, one thing bothered him... Just why did Nanoha go berserk like that?

Wonderful, just wonderful. You kept to canon a bit but was able to perfectly veer of course that didn't obstruct the story. A whole new chapter just opened up! Now I wanna know why Nanoha went berserk.,,

[Argent Solbright]

Originally Posted by 00-Raiser

So between my other stuff, I did manage to squeeze this one out, if only because I wanted to get some dark thoughts out of my head. Yes, this fic has some dark twists pertaining to Hayate's past. No, deathcurse hasn't cornered the market on giving Hayate a hard time Wasn't quite sure where I was gonna take this idea, but it managed to drag me along instead

Spoiler for Behind the Smile:

In the beginning people thought it was so unfortunate that I was born without the ability to use my legs. They’d offer their sympathy and assistance, but I would just smile at them and say it wasn’t necessary.

The fact was I was far from unhappy. Sure, I was bound to my wheelchair, but that was just the way it had always been. It was normal for me so I never despaired over it. I had no reason to because I was extremely happy since I had such kind, loving parents by my side.

But then I didn’t and my Hell began.

Having no living relatives, there wasn’t much choice other than dumping me into the system. While the lawyers and whoever else argued over what was to be done with my family’s estate and possessions, I was placed into a foster home.

The couple I was sent to live with were all smiles when I arrived. Both of them were on the chubby side, giving off the sort of impression one would expect from the Claus family. By all appearances they were warmly welcoming a poor unfortunate child into their home with the intent of caring for her.

Appearances can be deceiving.

As soon as the social worker dropped me off, the pleasant air froze over and the happy faces petrified.

“Okay you little brat.” They said. “While you’re staying here you’ll earn your keep, you hear?”

Certainly I had no intention of freeloading. I could clean what I could reach, and my mother had taught me how to cook so helping around the house wouldn’t be much of a problem.

These people quickly proved to be unsatisfiable, however. My attempts to help out resulted in smacks and scolds of “you’ll just break something” or “I know how to prepare dinner!” They took it upon themselves to ‘educate me’ on my proper place, which usually involved knocking over my wheelchair. They’d say how I should crawl along the ground like the scum I was while handing me a toothbrush with instructions to scrub the floor.

I could only take refuge in the room they had given me. It was a nice enough room, I suppose. It had to be, or else when the officials came for their inspection they’d know something was up. Oh how I desired to speak up about the horrible treatment I was receiving, but the threats kept me silent.

“If you talk we’ll hunt you down and make you pay!”

Imagining what would be worse than what I was already going through had my mouth clamped tight. When asked how things were going, I’d just smile and say things were great.

If I had known what was yet to come, maybe I would have taken the chance after all.

He came in late one night, swaggering up to my bed, the putrid stench of the booze waking me up. Before I could say anything, a hand smothered my mouth and he was on top of me, tearing away the sheets and pulling at my pyjamas.

His weight pinned me to the bed, rendering me immobile despite my attempts to resist. Yet his hand, tongue, and other unmentionables found their way across my now exposed body, causing muffled cries of terror in their wake.

“I said you were going to earn your keep.” He whispered in my ear before flipping me onto my stomach. “Your virginity will sell for a high price, but why should I miss out on sampling the merchandise? I can just use the back door.”

And use it he did. I wanted to fight back, to kick and scream, but my useless legs were no good and his hand remained firmly over my mouth.

It hurts.

Oh God it hurts.

Stop.

Make it stop.

Help me.

Some one help me!

Even if I could get the words out, what would it have done? Would that woman come to save me? Would she stop her husband from raping me? I can say without a doubt that the answer was no.

“This is our secret, little girl.” He said sweetly when he had finished. “You know what’ll happen if you tell.”

Violated, I just lay there for the rest of the night, staring blankly at the wall as my vision swam. Why was this happening? What had I done to deserve all this? I didn’t understand it. I had been a good girl, hadn’t I? I listened to my parents and I was nice to others, so why did I have to suffer so much?

I wanted to do something about it, but what could I have done? I was just a weak and defenceless child stuck in a wheelchair. Resisting was out of the question and I couldn’t even run away because of my damn legs!

He would come in again other nights to repeat the process and I had lost my only sanctuary. The pain would linger even after he had finished, making the following day a nightmare as well since I had to sit in my chair the whole time.

I desperately searched for some kind of escape, and I managed to find one. The child friendly façade the household sported featured a collection of books that I wouldn’t be hit for touching. And so I escaped into fiction, immersing myself in stories about brave warriors, fierce dragons, mighty robots, and the epic battles they participated in. Fantasy stories in particular I was rather fond of. Some books had illustrations, and I was quite impressed with the costume designs.

They did the trick and got me away from it all. They had me dreaming of the day when a handsome prince would ride up on a white horse and take me somewhere far away where I wouldn’t be spat at, hit, or sodomized.

How fitting that my salvation arrived in the form of a piece of paper.

I remember how excited I was when I got that letter and learned that an old friend of my father’s was willing to support me. He had arranged it so that I could return to the home I shared with my parents and he would see to it that I’d have everything I needed to survive on my own.

The couple fought this, of course. They finally had a buyer, apparently, so thank God I was saved when I was. I moved out of that house and never looked back.

It was some small consolation that I received a visit from the police some time later. They wanted to ask some questions about that couple after they got busted for child trafficking, among other things. I refused to comment, though. I didn’t want to relive those horrible weeks.

With a new lease on life, I began my time alone. It was hard, living in that house with all those memories of happier times. I half expected my parents to jump out at any moment and we’d all have a big surprise party. That never happened, obviously. I had moments where I’d just cry in the empty building, but given the alternative it suited me just fine. Again, books helped stave off my loneliness and I was glad that the local library was nearby.

I worked hard to keep the household in shape. I keep things tidy and kept myself well fed to show everyone I could take care of myself and I didn’t need to be sent to another foster home.

Money was never an issue, as my father’s friend gave me more than I needed. He even arranged for me to receive treatment at the local hospital. Thanks to him and Dr Ishida I finally remembered what it was like to have some one care about you. I didn’t want to cause them too much trouble, though, so I never told them what I had been through. Whenever they asked if I was okay I’d just smile and say I was fine.

I had no idea who my benefactor was, but that got me excited since it reminded me of a book I had read. Like in the book I wrote him letters letting him know how I was doing and stuff like that. He’d write back and his words definitely gave off the feel of an older, dignified gentleman. I wondered if I’d ever get to meet him in person.

Another meeting came before that, though. I’ll never forget the morning of my ninth birthday. As usual I had gotten lost in a book and read it until midnight. When the clock chimed, they appeared and my life changed once again.

Signum, Shamal, Vita, and Zafira. It had all been quite unbelievable at first: magic, ancient books, physical constructs of programs… It really was like something out of one of my books!

They looked to me as their master, asked me to give them orders, but I would have felt wrong doing it. When I heard of their pasts, of how they would be used for nefarious purposes and treated cruelly by their previous masters, it brought back memories of scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush, and that man’s weight on top of me. I knew of such horrors and would not subject them to such things. I would not use them that way.

And so I had gained a family. They were not mere programs in a book, they were wonderful people who filled my days with joy. It was unbelievable how happy I was. I had finally moved out of that Hell and gained a little paradise, but a part of me worried. To be blessed with so much happiness at once was an ill omen. It wouldn’t last long.

That Christmas I was sent back to Hell.

I once again lost my family, and this time it was by the hand of people I thought were my friends.

I had had enough.

All it took were those dark thoughts to set things in motion.

When that long night came to close, things were back to being great again. My family was restored, my legs would be healed, and Reinforce had been freed of the corruption that had caused so much trouble. I thought everything was going to be fine, but…

Why does fate hate me so much?

Reinforce finally had a chance to be happy, but the defence program was beginning to rebuild itself inside of her and the only way to finally put an end to it was to put an end to her. I begged her not to do it, actually ordered her not to, but…

It just wasn’t fair! Why did such a cruel thing have to happen? Yet again I had to watch another person dear to me leave and never return.

I barely had time to grieve before I was swept up in what was to follow. Because I was technically a criminal, I had to answer to the Bureau and face several inquiries and trials. Thankfully I was given some leniency, but I didn’t have much choice in regards to my future path. I would have to become a mage for the Bureau and that was that.

I didn’t mind it so much since it gave me and my kids opportunities for a happy life and to use our abilities for the good of others.

I was prepared to accept that, when I received summons to meet with a certain individual. He was one Admiral Gil Graham, and he revealed to me that he the mysterious friend of my father who had been supporting me. I was pleasantly surprised on several levels. Here was the man who I had dreamed of meeting for so long, and he was actually a high ranking official that operated on another world.

There were so many things I wanted to talk to him face to face about, but before I could even open my mouth he got down on his knees and apologised to me. I was rightly confused by his actions and he proceeded to explain everything to me.

He wasn’t really a friend of my father. He had only reached out to me because I was Reinforce’s current master. He’s the one who had my knights killed before me in order to completely the book and make it go berserk. It was all for the sake for sealing the book and me along with it in ice and tossing me into a dimensional rift. He claimed it would ensure the book would never cause harm again, and since I had no one, my sacrifice wouldn’t have been such a big deal.

No one cared about me, after all.

For a moment I thought my paralysis had spread to my whole body. Sure, I wasn’t expecting to marry him when I found out who he was, but this… What was I supposed to think of it? This man had saved me from that foster home, but only so he could lock me away for good.

He had used me, just like how that other man had used me.

I wanted to be furious at him, and on some level I was, but even if his intentions were to seal me away the fact remained that if it wasn’t for his actions I would probably be some glorified sex toy sold to the highest bidder. I wouldn’t have met Dr. Ishida, wouldn’t have gained my family, and wouldn’t have made the friends I have now…

Should I hate him or be grateful to him? I just didn’t know. When he begged for forgiveness I wasn’t sure if I could give it to him. He did seem sincere, though, so even if I didn’t mean it I threw on a smile and told him it was okay.

Even now that he lives in England, I still keep in contact with him. I guess that means I did eventually forgive him after all.

Still, my faith had been shattered because of it and it was awhile before I found myself trusting a man again. I know it wasn’t fair to all the guys out there, but I couldn’t help it. I received my fair share of love letters in school, not as much as Fate-chan or Suzuka-chan, but a decent amount. I wanted to give them a chance, but whenever they looked at me in the way hormone driven teenage boys do, I’d always see the face of the man who raped me. That hungry look in his eyes that saw me as a piece of meat was burned into my memory and my attempts to forget proved futile.

I tried to combat this by being rather physical with my female friends. I thought that maybe if boys saw me groping other girls they’d think I was a lesbian and give up on me. But maybe my aversion to boys had me wanting to convince myself that I was into girls? If that was the case, it didn’t work. I still desired to be with a boy, but I was just too afraid.

Then again, I had been groping the others long before then, so I wonder… Did I want to feel and focus on others’ bodies because I was disgusted with my own? Their bodies are unsullied and maybe I hoped some of that would transfer to me.

All things considered, that was the only blight on my life during the years. I could walk again and I was surrounded by family and friends, but my past still haunted me. I didn’t dare tell the others about it. How could I? They were all enjoying their lives and I didn’t want to bog them down with my story, especially my kids who were finally free from their own pasts.

The situation at school proved a bit too much, though, so the moment I graduated middle school I decided to leave Earth and move to Mid Childa to be a mage full time. I was just running away, but I wanted to leave those horrible memories behind me.

But that was impossible. No matter where you are, people don’t change.

I worked hard in an attempt to climb up the chain of command. The higher position I got, the more I’d be able to help those at large. I took a variety of tests and exams, but there was a rather large obstacle in my way. My criminal record was always being rubbed in my face and used as an excuse as to why I failed.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. Often times I was approached with certain propositions from high ranking male officials. They offered to forget about my past and give me desirable positions if I did certain types of favours for them.

I was disgusted by their forwardness and terrified by how many others wore the same face as my ex-guardian. I promptly refused, naturally, but that just meant I’d need to work even harder to obtain what I wanted.

The stress of it all had me falling back to an old crutch: reading. After a day of crushed dreams, I would head to the library for something to lose myself in. The Bureau’s library certainly lived up to its name, so there was no shortage of things to choose from.

Plus, he was there too.

I’d never really spent much time with Yuuno-kun before. I’d see him around a few times, and Nanoha-chan would often talk about him, but I didn’t know him that well otherwise. I was a bit apprehensive around him at first, but I still smiled and politely conversed with him.

It didn’t take long for me to get comfortable around him. There was just something about him that put me at ease. Be it his kind nature or gentle smile, I always felt safe around him. I enjoyed having long conversations with him, discussing a case I was working on, or a book I had read recently. He’d offer his input, giving suggestions on an angle to pursue, or what novel I might enjoy reading next. It was so much fun. He treated me like a friend and he didn’t look at me the way other guys did.

I’m not sure when it was I started wishing he would.

It just figures, doesn’t it, that the one guy I finally fall for has absolutely no interest in me romantically. Whatever higher power there is sure loves messing with me.

Yuuno-kun had a thing for Nanoha-chan, that much was clear, so I knew I didn’t stand a chance. Nanoha-chan is so vibrant and pretty while I was dirty and disgusting so I resigned myself to defeat. It hurt to see them chat happily together, but I smiled with them anyways.

I bore all my hardships the best I could, but even I have my limits. One big thing finally pushed me over the edge.

I was in on the bust of a large Lost Logia smuggling ring and it went off perfectly. We stormed their headquarters and arrested them all with zero casualties. While sweeping the rest of the building, I discovered a horrific room. It was rank with the stench of every bodily fluid imaginable, but what the nose smelled was nothing compared to what the eyes saw.

Chained to the wall were several children, all of whom were naked and covered in cuts, bruises and other sorts of wounds. Smuggling Lost Logia weren’t the only illegal thing the criminals did.

While other mages rushed in to free the children, I just stood there in shock. Their eyes, dear God, their eyes were so pained, defeated, and empty. But I didn’t see them, no. The one I saw chained to that wall was me as a little girl, alone, frightened, beaten, and used. I swear I was going to be sick on the spot, but I managed to hold on. I had a job to do, and I did it, but images of that room kept forcing their way into my thoughts.

It was late, but the moment I was free to go my feet took me to the library. There had to be some large book there I could let absorb me, anything to get my mind somewhere else.

I should have known Yuuno-kun would still be there.

I wanted to be alone in case I broke down, but that was not meant to be. I just smiled and said I was fine but he – ha ha – read me like a book. Concern was plastered over his face and the sincerity of it was too much for me.

I broke.

I swear I cried so much I suffered dehydration. Poor Yuuno-kun should have caught a cold after he let me sob into his chest, but he just held me until I let it all out.

I told him about what I saw and how it had affected me. Before I could stop myself I also told him about what had been done to me while I was a child, how that man would sneak into my room every night and do those things to me. He was the first person that I ever told that too, and he was the last person I wanted to find out. I was afraid that if he knew, he’d shove me away and never want anything to do with damaged goods like me ever again.

What an idiot I was. Yuuno-kun wasn’t the kind of person who would do something like that. Instead he held me tighter and stroked my hair, whispering in my ear that it was okay, that it wasn’t my fault, that I wasn’t dirty or disgusting.

Hearing him say those things helped immensely. Finally getting it out and hearing such encouragement broke the chains in my chest. My secret was revealed, but here was a trusted individual who I cared for and who I knew cared for me completely accepting it. For the first time the darkness of my past was obliterated by the light of my present.

I guess the truth does set you free.

He wiped away my tears, gave me a tissue to blow my nose with, and that loving smile he gave me… Damn, it made me fall for him even harder.

With his support behind me, I soon told everything to Nanoha-chan and the others. They actually sat there and cried with me when I had finished and I thanked the heavens for giving me friends who cared for me so much. They didn’t think any less of me, they were just a little mad that I didn’t tell them about it sooner. That got a little laugh out of me and it made me smile, really smile, freely and easily for the first time in a long time.

Things changed for the better after that, and so far it’s stayed that way. I hope fate is finally giving me a reward for all the crap it put me through. With my loved ones by my side I’ve renewed my determination with more vigour. Criminal record or no, I will one day become a top commander and nothing will stand in my way! As for Yuuno-kun, well, I’ve been far less successful in that department…

But hey, I’m working on it!

Spoiler for notes:

Main inspirations were Criminal Minds, the In Death series, Bitter Virgin, and of course deathcurse Between this and Dependence, I wonder if this kind of thing gives the impression that I'm one sick fuck

Delurking to tell you that is the best piece I've seen from you so far (I didn't read everything you write but I think I did at least took a glimpse on almost all of your nanoha fics right from the first ones.) You know, I actually like that particular story a bit. Odd, heh?

Now, speaking about Hayate, I forgot the title but where is the continuation for that other HayatexYuuno story?

[Nanya01]

Spoiler for Changes PT 13:

"Well, this is certainly a mess." The ship's doctor shook his head. "Alright, first up." Pointing at Chrono, he smirked. "Don't go trying to stop berserk cuties like Nanoha anytime in the next few days and those burns will heal properly."

"Hey!" Chrono yelled indignantly as Amy and Lindy both chuckled at him..

"As for the rest, Arf suffered a mild concussion, but she'll be okay, Nanoha exhausted herself, we're just waiting for her to recover, Fate, well, she'll be just fine." The man smiled as he turned to Alicia, who was sitting by Fate's bed. The woman in question let out a sigh of relief. "She just bumped her head too hard and got knocked out, the blood came from a shallow cut just above the hairline, she'll be just fine."

"Thank you." Alicia said softly.

"As for Precia Testarossa, she's banged up pretty heavily, but I don't think she'll need any surgury to get better. It'll just take her longer." Considering Precia's advanced age, the doctor had doubts that she would survive, but that wasn't something he was going to tell anyone at that point.

Lindy nodded and stepped towards Alicia. "Can you come with me? We need to talk."

Alicia shook her head. "Please? I just want to be near my daughter."

Lindy smiled softly. "Of course... Chrono?"

"I'm going to make sure that Nanoha's alright." The boy said as he left the room.

Lindy smiled, it seemed that this was a good experience for him after all. Her face became solemn as she turned to Alicia. "I'll need your version of events for my reports."

"...I take it that there's going to be some criminal charges pressed onto my daughter, huh?"

"It's possible." Lindy wouldn't deny it, but if any charges would be brought up, they would be done after her report got back.

"...If there are any charges to be brought up against Fate, Arf or Linith, I'll take the blame for them." Lindy blinked at her. The blond shook her head. "Please, you have to understand, she's my daughter, I want what's best for her."

Lindy nodded, smiling softly. "Of course. Now, start from the beginning... How did Fate come to be?"

Alicia grimaced, she had a feeling she would be answering this question for some time to come.

(---)

"Nnngh..." She groaned and cracked an eye open. "What happened?" She asked, not expecting an answer from anyone.

"You got mad and nearly killed Precia Testarossa and gave Chrono a burn he won't soon forget."

She winced and looked at Yuuno, before gasping as she saw his hands. "You're hurt."

"Huh?" He looked down at his bandaged hands. "Ah, don't worry, they're just red, the doctor put a salve on them and wrapped them up so that they'd heal quickly." He chuckled at her softly. "How are you though? You passed out."

"Just tired..." Nanoha whimpered and sighed, she just wanted to sleep at that moment.

"Can I ask you something before you go to sleep?" Chrono asked as he walked into the room.

"Chrono-kun..." Nanoha's eyes widened as she saw the bandages from his fingers up past his elbows. "I'm sorry."

The older boy rolled his eyes. "Just tell me why you went so crazy back there."

Nanoha shifted and sat up fully. "...Fate did nothing wrong, she was just trying to help save that woman for her mother, and she was rejected... For just being different."

Chrono bit his lower lip, but he held his tongue for the moment.

"There's nothing more painful than being rejected or separated from your family." Nanoha said in a soft voice that had both boys looking at her. "...I saw what she did to Fate and I remembered how it felt when my dad got badly hurt..."

'Traumatic experience, huh?' Chrono thought to himself, well, at least things made some sense now.

"I couldn't bother them, not with my problems, I had to be strong for their sakes..." Nanoha gripped her head and stared blankly in front of her. "Don't want it... Don't want that ever again... No, never..." She blinked as she felt some arms wrap around her. "...Yuuno-kun?" She blinked at him as he smiled softly. "...Thank you." She hugged him back.

"Do you practice that or something?" Chrono had to shake his head. "Still doesn't explain just why she went so berserk..."

"My guess is, Raising Heart amplified her emotional state." Yuuno spoke up, getting a blink from both Chrono and Nanoha. "It's an Intelligent Device, they have a will of their own and at times they can either influence their owners slightly or rebell against their owners fully."

Chrono shrugged, it was as good an explination as any. Plus it reminded him why Storage and Armed devices were more common; they couldn't screw with their owners.

Yuuno chuckled softly. "Of course, it could be that Raising Heart didn't like what it felt from Nanoha and wanted to make the source go away."

"That's... Putting it mildly..." Nanoha deadpanned as she slumped back against the bed. "Chrono-kun, please, I just want some more sleep."

"Sure." He nodded as he and Yuuno left the room.

"Hey, Chrono..." Yuuno spoke up after they left the room. "Are you going to charge Linith for what she did?"

"I'll have to put it in the report at least, and most likely, yeah, she'll get charged with attempted murder and kidnapping." Sometimes cases were a pain in the ass. If Alicia, Linith, Fate and Arf had been bad people, he and Lindy would have no problem throwing them into prison for the next three hundred years. But they weren't, which made any judgment call hard to do.

"Well, I don't want to press charges." Chrono blinked a few times at Yuuno, who shook his head. "She just wanted to help her master, nothing more. She even said that she didn't want to hurt me, so I don't think she's a bad person."

"Alright, if that's what you want." Chrono shrugged and walked off, he needed to talk to his mother anyway.

(---)

"So, in the meantime, we'll be staying in orbit, just above Earth..." Lindy was talking to her crew. "At least until Nanoha has recovered and can go back to her home." After all, going back to Mid-Childa with someone who wasn't registered with the Bureau would look like they were kidnapping her. "In addition, we need to wait to hear from Head Quarters for what they want to do on this case." As everyone nodded, she sighed and sat back in her chair before turning to look at Yuuno. "You're welcome to come back with us to Mid-Childa. I'm sure that your family is worried."

"Ah." Yuuno took on a slightly surprised look before he shook his head. "Um, no, actually, I'd rather stay here on Earth for now. Even if I went home now, I doubt I'd see any of my clan. We're always out digging up something new and exciting."

"Plus you're worried about Nanoha, huh?" Amy piped in, giggling as Yuuno's face turned bright red.

Lindy chuckled softly. "Alright then, when we go back, we'll leave you here with her."

"Thank you." Yuuno nodded, bowing.

(---)

A few days later...

Nanoha groaned as her cell phone rang. Sitting up in her bed, she picked it up. "Hello?" Her eyes widened. "Uh huh... uh huh... Okay! I'll see you down there!" She hung up her phone and started getting dressed.

"What is it, Nanoha?" Yuuno was in his ferret form and didn't look at her as she got dressed, out of respect for her privacy.

"They're heading back to Mid-Childa today. Miss Lindy got word from her bosses on what they're going to do with Miss Alicia and Fate. I'm going down to the pier to say goodbye."

"I'll come with you." Yuuno smiled. It didn't seem like anything bad was going to happen at least.

(---)

It took about fifteen minutes at max speed for Nanoha to make it to the pier in question. "Fate!" She smiled as she saw the blond, dressed in a white shirt and shorts. "Hey..." She blinked as Fate didn't turn around and she got close to her. "What's wrong..?"

"Why?" Fate asked, her voice seemed to be cracking up as she spun and Nanoha gasped, taking a step back as she saw the unbridled anger in those eyes. "Why did you interfere? If you hadn't, then we would have gotten ten Jewel Seeds before the Bureau got involved and mother would have gotten what she needed..."

"Fate..?" Nanoha looked at Yuuno, who was riding on her shoulder, in confusion. The ferret had no answer to give her. "What..." She turned back to Fate. "What do you mean?"

"If you hadn't interfered, I'd be living with mother happily, instead of being taken away from her!" Fate spun and ran to Arf, clinging to the taller girl.

Nanoha's eyes were wide, she didn't understand at all. "What..?"

"Don't be mad at her." Arf's voice was heard by both Nanoha and Yuuno. "We overheard someone saying that since Fate's a clone of her mother... They're going to split Lady Alicia and Fate up."

"What?" Nanoha looked at Fate, who was crying even more now. "But..."

Chrono sighed and walked up to them, speaking softly. "Alicia created Fate using illegal research, making Artifical Humans, such as clones, is a heavy taboo on our world. In nearly all cases, the child is taken away from the parents."

"But, Chrono..."

"I'll see what I can do, okay?" He smiled at her softly. "There hasn't been a formal decision yet, and mother and I will do all that we can to help her, okay?"

Nanoha nodded and looked at Fate, hoping for the best.

13 is bad luck after all.

Page claim for 1337-ness.