The monitors in front of me moves around at the command of my finger, arranging themselves in the order I was looking for. Already my eyes were starting to hurt from staring at them for so long but I didn't want to stop right now, there was still too much information to go through. Yuuno had given me the files on Jail Scaglietti at my request but once again I had underestimated the boy's power to find and sort data. Anyone else I knew could get me a folder together highlighting things I would like to know in about three days but Yuuno's one day job has already taken me four days to go through it and I still havn't finished everything I wanted to. So far I had managed to gain a lot of valuable knowledge, most of which I was sure would come in handy later on down the line. The one thing that made me worried, however, was the repeated mention of 'Project F', the code name for the process of creating artificial but real human beings. I knew he was interested in it but from the files I've been reading it looks more along the line of him trying to reproduce the results of it. As far as I know I'm the only life creation to stem from it, although there were numerous semi-successful attempts. Most of those results either went insane shortly after being awaken or weren't able to think properly. It was one thing I never really enjoyed looking at, the lifeless people floating in tubes. My body shivered and I couldn't help but hug myself. I, too, had been like that before. Why I was alive right now was probably due to my sister's memories being implanted in me. I thought they were my own, and I was mentally stable the moment I awoke. Come to think of it, according to the information Yuuno had collected before, Wily Scaglietti also used past memories and emotions- although edited- to make his first creation. If two people were able to do it, I couldn't help but wonder... Were there more out there we just didn't know about? If so... would we draw to each other the way Skeith was drawn to Nanoha?
6th Mobile Division: Reminisce II
By: Satashi
“What'cha doing?” Nanoha's voice floated around the monitors after a playful knocking on Fate's open office door. “It's past lunch time, you said you were going to eat with me today.”
Fate blinked at her before quickly glancing over at her clock and realizing the time. “Oh my, I'm so sorry! Her hands typed quickly, starting to save her work. “Just give me three seconds and-”
“Can't,” The brown haired girl sat on the edge of her desk and smiled down at her. “I have my appointment with Shamal in ten minutes. Although I could re-schedule it again...”
“No!” Fate frowned at her lover. “Do not re-schedule it! You have been putting this off since the day we got here.” Standing up, she marched over to Nanoha and poked her nose. “You're going. I'll walk you there just to make sure.” The blond grabbed Nanoha's hand and lead her out of the office, much to the displeasure of the one in tow. “I'll make you a lovely dinner since I stood you up today, so look forward to it okay Kitten?”
“Kitten?” Nanoha instantly smiled. “Hehe, you never call me pet names.”
Blushing, Fate continued along her way. “Would you rather me call you 'bunny' then?”
“Either or,” She trotted a few steps to catch up to her friend and walk next to her properly. “Can I call you something too? Like 'honey muffin' or 'sweetie pie' or maybe 'cupcake'?”
“I'm not a food you know.” Fate giggled at her as they boarded the elevator
“Really? Because I could just eat you up.” She smiled as the doors to the elevator closed and leaned forward to prove her point. The doors re-opened a few moments later and the two walked down the hallway leading to the medical room. “Shamal, I'm here!” Her call summoned forth the doctor from her small office and got a happy smile.
“Nanoha-chan you came!” clapping her hands in front of her, Shamal gave the two girls a happy look. “I was going to come hunt for you in a few minutes.”
“Of course I came!”
“I dragged her here,” Fate said at the same time. Her fiancée blushed darkly and looked away since it was the truth. “You will be thankful when you don't have headaches anymore.” Fate leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Oh my, Fate-chan,” Shamal took a few steps to get close to the confused girl and gently tilted her head to the side. “How on earth did you get this bruise?” She inspected her neck closer. “It looks like you were bit, did you get in a fight with someone?”
“Um...” Fate took a step back and bowed lightly to her. “Please take good care of Nanoha for me.” With that she turned around quickly and jogged out of the room, not looking back before running down the hallway.
“Was it something I said?” Shamal reached out and grabbed Nanoha's shirt collar to keep her from sneaking away without even looking. “You're already here Nanoha-chan.”
“But Shaaaamaaaallll...”
“You're nineteen, that doesn't work on me anymore.” She smiled happily down at her. “Come on, this will be over before you know it and after today you won't have anymore headaches while you do your desk work.” Shamal sat the pouting girl in a chair and held back a comment about how cute her blushing face made her look.
“No slack.” Vita allowed her barrier jacket to fade away from her. “I have to run a patrol tonight so I can't train them this evening so I just made sure to get in enough right now to cover for it.”
“...Have they been at it for four hours straight?” Fate sweated lightly when the smaller girl nodded. “Good thing tomorrow is Firesday... That aside, have you seen Yuuno?”
“Over there on the observation deck, he's inspecting the battle data and compiling it for us so he can make a graph of their improvements based on their magical output through the devices.”
Fate paused a moment. “You've been around Nanoha way too much to be talking like that.” The blond took off before Vita could fully process being compared to Nanoha and flew over to Yuuno. “Hey there.”
“Hello Fate,” The boy made a monitor appear next to him and flew it over to her without taking his eyes off what he was doing. “There you go, all the data on Lutecia I could find.”
“Before I even asked,” She smiled and stored the monitor in Bardiche. “You're the best.”
“I try,” Yuuno grinned as he finished up his work since the training was over for the day. “You'll get the details when you go through that personally but I'll go ahead and tell you... Lutecia and Zest seem to be working for someone and not just for themselves... From their pattern and goals, I have strong evidence to connect them to Scaglietti.”
“I see...” Fate glared out in the distance. “We finally have another shot at him...”
“Fate...” Yuuno stood and put a hand on her shoulder. “I'll help too. We'll get his time time, for certain.”
“Thank you.” She looked over at him and softened a little. “Sorry I get so tense when we talk about him, I normally take it out on you.”
Yuuno chuckled to himself and closed his eyes. “It comes with the territory of being the messenger... I need to get to Hayate and give her the folder on Lutecia as well, want to come?”
“Can we get some food along the way?”
“Haha, sure. I skipped lunch.” Yuuno put a hand on her back to guide her off towards the mess hall.
Tia sank down in the water in thought, idly running the question over in her head a few times. She had also noticed the sudden harder training and even the slight change in her teacher's eyes. Nanoha's normally caring and gentle eyes now had a sadness and anger deep in them sometimes when she fought. Normally after the occasion she would be hit by some spell and her next moves would be quicker and more precise, as if she had been jarred back from day dreaming. “Yes,” She finally answered her friend. “I think they are trying to prepare us as best they can for something yet to come.”
“Like what?” Subaru slid over next to the girl who had both her arms over the side of the large bath tub. “Something about that Scaglietti? Or Lutecia?”
“Whatever Scaglietti is about, they are being secretive with it. We are going to be briefed soon about Lutecia but everything we hear about the other person is from conversations that stop when we get too close to them.” Tia sighed and closed her eyes. “I just wish they would tell us everything.”
“They have their reasons.” Subaru slid closer yet again, this time sitting right next to her girlfriend and pulling Tia's arm down from the bathtub so it would be over her shoulders instead. “For now let's just wait until they can tell us about it.”
“Um, y-yeah...”
“...Is this too much?” Subaru blushed lightly.
“Um...no... No, it's okay.” She gave Subaru's shoulder a small squeeze to encourage her to rest against her body more. “Its fine...”
The girl shyly reached one hand back up to touch the one on her shoulder. “Being held by Tia is the best.”
“R-really?”
“Mmmhmm...” She sighed out contently.
“Oh, you're in here too?” Caro's voice floated over to them, making each girl jump lightly. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all,” Tia blushed darkly, allowing the girl to sit next to her
Caro blinked, suddenly looking up and voicing her thoughts aloud. “For some reason I have the strangest feeling that I have really bad timing...”
“Hehe, thank you.” The red eyed girl nuzzled back against her a moment before looking at her fully. “Hey you're not wearing them!”
Instantly Nanoha blushed. “I don't have to when I'm not working...”
“I want to see them!”
“But...”
“Come on, put them on!”
Nanoha looked down a moment before slowly reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small hard case. With a flick she opened it and took out a small pair of glasses, slowly opening it up and putting them on. The frame was thin, a light silver color with barely visible flecks of blue across them. The lens themselves were also small, covering her eyes and not much else. “...I feel stupid...”
“Awww,” Fate smiled brightly, voice actually going above it's normal soft spoken tone. “You're adorable!” Before Nanoha could react, she brought up her hands and formed a camera screen, snapping a picture. Her lover appeared shocked a moment before looking away shyly. “I love them, Kitten.”
The pet name seemed to lift her spirits enough to make eye contact again. “Well, since you're not the type of person to use pet names I'll reward you by letting you keep that picture.”
“You're too kind.” Fate stirred her mirepoix sauce before continuing. “Have you tried reading anything yet?” Her body shifted over to the side to check her noodles and prepare to start building the dish for the oven
“Yes, I don't have to hold things out at arm's length anymore.” Nanoha pushed up her glasses on her nose, a motion she just knew would turn into a habit soon. “Shamal said I had long vision capable of making sniper rifle scopes look like children's toys, but because of it I couldn't focus on anything close up... That's why I was having headaches when I used my monitors so much.”
“I told you.” Fate put a hand on her hip. “Mou, you should have listened to me a month ago.”
“Oh like you always listen to what I say.”
“I do.”
“Do not.”
“Do so!”
“Not, not!”
“Do too!”
“Not, not, not!” The two girls glared at each other a moment before dissolving into giggles.
"What is it?" Elio took the offered sack and peeked inside.
"A little bit of rum, add it to your drink if you're having a bad day. Now scoot on back to base before you're caught with that."
"Military can drink regardless of age."
"Yeah but it makes me look bad, now go!" He pointed at the door and grinned. "I have a date in five minutes and I have to prepare for it! Oh, and don't juggle them if you crack a bottle okay? Just stop right then and throw it away.”
“All right,” Elio rolled up the end of the bag he was carrying and walked out of the almost empty night club and into the morning sun. After taking a breath his stomach growled at him angrily, demanding to be fed. The boy looked at his watch and realized that he could probably make it to his favorite taco stand just in time for their opening if he started walking now. With a goal in mind he started to plan out his day as he walked. 'I can get back to the base around two o'clock so that will give me a chance to see if anyone is free to train with, or maybe I can use the standard training field since I'm already on the other side of the base... A change in work outs could be good.' With a nod to himself he continued along his way a moment before slowing down to a stop and looking around. Strada was vibrating against his wrist lightly, a silent warning that a confirmed threat was nearby. The boy glanced around a little more before realizing that the street he was on would be a bad place for a battle. Dodging past the people he turned the corner and came face to face with a girl his height. After the initial shock he regained himself enough to look at her purple hair and eyes. Her two part dress was a dark black, flared at the hems with purple. The top covered her chest and looped around to her back complete with purple lace around the edges and a bow with a heart on it up front. The bottom part started at her waist, just below her exposed stomach and flared out to her knees into a full puffy dress with purple lace and mini bows scattered along it. The arms were not covered but instead had a band that went around her small biceps. Gloves graced her hands reminding the boy instantly of the ones Caro wore.
“Elio,” She greeted him softly, clasping her hands in front of herself and bowing towards him. The red head leaped backwards instantly, body flaring out with a small fire as his barrier jacket formed around him. His spear came at his call as well, sending the people around them scrambling to get away from the now armed male. “I did not come here to fight,” Lutecia continued as he circled her, posed to strike.
“You are wanted by the government, please come along quietly and without resistance.”
“Do you... not wish to know about your past, Elio?” Lutecia met his eyes, gazing at him softly. “Why you were adopted when you were four, and why your parents died when you were eight.”
“You... How do you know that!?”
“I can find out everything for you.” Lutecia walked over to him and stood in front of the boy again. “Will you come with me so we can talk, please?”
Elio quickly ran the situation over in his mind before answering. If he were to lower his guard it would allow her to attack him before he could react. On the other hand if she was telling the truth and only wanted to exchange information with him he would be able to find out why he couldn't remember anything that happened before he was adopted. “How can I trust you?”
Lutecia simply started to remove her gloves from her hands and tucked them into a small purse on her side. “Please talk with me?”
A few moments passed before Elio lowered his stance but still kept his spear out. “How do you know my past?” He repeated his question once more.
“Because I found it out for you, knight.” The girl turned and began to walk, making Elio run a few steps to keep up with her. “I thought you might like to know.”
“Tell me.”
“Do you really not trust me so?” She looked at his spear. “I won't hurt you, I promise.”
Her tone made Elio wince physically. She was so quiet, so soft spoken, that he felt as if he had wronged her just by being rude. “I'm sorry,” Strada went back into his watch form but he kept his barrier jacket on since she also had hers. “Is that better?”
“Thank you.” She bowed lightly towards him. “Would you like to come back to my house? We can talk all you like there.”
“I'm sorry.” Elio stopped walking. “Are you just toying with me, Lutecia? Why are you after relics? Why do you claim to know about my past when even Fate-san can't find anything? Why are you being so polite with me? Why are you here alone?”
“Because,” She answered easily, turning and walking back over to him before looking up into his eyes. “I want you... to be my knight.” Her hand reached up and touched his cheek. “Come with me...”
“Elio!” Fate's voice called out to him, making the boy turn to look where the sound was coming from.
“Until next time, Elio.” Lutecia's voice floated up into his ear before she quickly kissed his cheek.
Turning around, he gasped out. The boy spun a few times but could no longer find the girl who had just kissed him. “What... what was that all about...?”
“What's going on!?” Fate finally made it to him and panted, bending over to catch her breath. “Shari suddenly told me your barrier jacket was activated!” Caro came up to them next, her short legs making her a little slower.
“I don't know.” He looked over at Caro uneasily when she glared at the glistening spot on his cheek where Lutecia's lip balm rubbed off on him. Before he could say anything the girl stormed over to him and reached up, holding his cheek with one hand and vigorously rubbing the spot with the sleeve of her shirt. “H-hey! Ow, that hurts...”
“Then don't let her do it!” She countered, taking after Nanoha and puffing out her cheeks at him.
“Um,” Fate scratched her cheek with one finger. “Elio, would you mind if we stayed with you until you're finished in the town...I'd like to hear what just happened too?”
“Sure,” He looked up into the sky, wondering what exactly was going on with him. “I'd prefer that actually...”
“Tia,” Nanoha waved at the girl to show the end of the sparring match. Neither had won, but in all she considered it over when her expectations were met. “Your energy output has been stable lately, breaking the line of personal levitation even while battling... Would you want to learn how to fly?”
“Fly!? Me!?”
The teacher giggled to herself. “Well, I really shouldn't say that since you won't be able to truly soar until you're at least a double A, but yes, the training can begin now. I believe you will be able to hover a little. Although not much, it will make all the difference in the world when combined with Subaru's wing road. I've noticed that you two have your own combos with it so this will help out.”
“Flying...” Tia couldn't seem to comprehend it just yet. “I'll be able to...”
Nanoha scratched her head, obviously seeing Tia tune her out after the world 'fly' left her mouth. With a quick raising of her hands she formed a keyboard and monitor. Moments later and her call went through, revealing Yuuno. “Hey there, are you busy?”
The bookworm closed down the monitor full of text and smiled at her. “Never too busy for you.”
“Flirt,” She accused with a smile. “I'm going to teach Tia a little bit about flying, can you come to my training field?”
“Oi...” Yuuno suddenly got nervous. “you're not going to-”
“Sure am,” She gave him a peace sign. “Give a girl a little fun.”
“You're sadistic.” The screen cut off shortly after he stood up to come to her.
“Okay, Tia, come here a moment please?” Nanoha motioned her over and turned the girl around so they were facing the same direction. “Spread your arms out really wide and close your eyes.” She wrapped her arms around the girl's waist tightly. “Stand on my feet, it's okay my boots won't let you hurt me. Good, now imagine yourself lifting into the air. Lifting... lifting... Breath in steadily, taste the fresh air...” Nanoha smiled when she saw Yuuno come up to them and land. “Now take a deep breath. Really deep. Imagine yourself floating upwards as you breathe...good...good... now take a huge breath, as if you were about to scream at the top of your lungs. Now open your eyes.” Nanoha grinned when the girl instantly went stiff in her arms. She had flown them up so high into the air that it would take a little over half a minute for her to fall all the way down. “Now fly!” She dropped the girl happily.
Tia screamed out frantically, flailing her arms out as she fell. When her breath ran out she took in another gasp before repeating, tumbling head over heels. Finally after what seemed like an eternity she found herself being embraced and slowing down drastically. The wind stopped beating around her and she used the time to cling onto whoever had saved her and begin to hyperventilate. Seconds passed before she would open her eyes and realize that they were back on the ground and it was Yuuno that was carrying her. “Y-Yuuno-san...” Slowly she collected herself and nodded at him to show that she could stand. Nanoha landed a little bit away from her and walked over to the shaking girl cheerfully. “You... you... dropped me!”
“Now that you know what it's like to tumble through the air we won't have that worry lingering in the back of your mind.” She smiled innocently, making Tia suddenly remember that the girl in front of her was nick named 'white devil' for a reason.
“Subaru,” Tia called her attention over and motioned for her to sit. “How was your training?”
“Great,” She instantly started picking things off her girlfriend's plate. “Yours?”
“Scary.” The girl shivered slightly, still not quite over what happened.
“Hello,” Nanoha sat down next to them and placed her plate on the table.
“Nanoha-san!” Subaru looked at her happily. “You rarely eat at the mess hall with us.”
“Nyahaha,” She speared a small cherry tomato on her plate and smiled, offering it to Tia. “Have you tried one of these, there are some just like it on my home planet!”
Tia scooted away from Nanoha, eying the bite as if it would explode the second she placed it in her mouth. “I'm never trusting you ever again.”
“Sounds like someone had flying lessons,” Fate greeted them as she sat down also. “Nanoha, you didn't...?” The smile she got made her sigh out. “I know it works, but still...”
“Vita-chan, what's the best way to teach someone how to fly?” Nanoha asked the short girl.
“Drop them from a high altitude.”
“Thank you!” Nanoha watched Elio sit down across from her and Caro plop down on the other side of the table, far away from him. She blinked a moment and leaned over towards Fate. “Ne, why aren't our kids sitting by each other?”
“They're arguing,” Fate whispered back to her softly. “I'm not entirely sure why but I think it has to do with Lutecia.”
“Ahhh...” Nanoha bit into her food and thought about it while looking over at her little girl who was feeding her dragon table scraps. The rest of the group started talking to each other, soon drowning out the other's voices as they laughed and shared their days. Caro ended up feeding most of her dinner to Freidliche before letting out a small sigh and leaving the table without telling anyone. Seeing her 'daughter' leave so suddenly without even eating made Nanoha feel a little uneasy so she got up and followed her. “Hey there,” she greeted when they reached the elevator. “Want to come up to my loft? I have cookies.”
“... 'kay.” Caro reached up and took the offered hand and held it while waiting for the short ride up to be over. Once they reached her guardian's home she sat on the couch while waiting on the offered treats to arrive. Freidliche curled up at the end of the furniture and laid down for a small nap after his meal. A plate of cookies were placed on the coffee table in front of her and she found one being offered so she took it and bit down, chewing thoughtfully. “Thank you,”
“No matter what, cookies always make things better.” Nanoha put an arm around the girl. “What's troubling you sweetheart?”
“... Mommy, what's 'jealousy' mean?”
“Where did you hear that from?”
“Subaru-san and Tia-san were talking the other day after we had the encounter with Lutecia-chan... I told them what happened and they said I was jealous and made a comment about how cute it was.” She looked up at Nanoha sadly. “I don't feel cute at all right now...”
“Well,” She pondered on how to answer her. “being jealous isn't cute, but I suppose from an outside point of view it can look that way to them...” She decided to leave out the fact that she also found it insanely cute for her to be jealous at such an early age. “Jealousy is... How should I put this... A feeling you get when somebody has something you want really really badly, or if something you do have suddenly belongs to someone else... I guess...”
“But I havn't lost anything...Nor do I want something someone else has...”
“Um...” The older girl thought harder, glancing over at the door when Fate came in. “Well, here's an example. Back when I was younger, I spent a lot of time with Yuuno-kun. Everyone always said how cute of a couple we were, but Fate wanted me to be a couple with her, so you could say that Fate was jealous of Yuuno-kun.”
“H-hey...” Fate blushed, wondering what she had just walked in on.
“So think for a moment...” Nanoha continued. “If you were really close to a friend and someone else suddenly moved in and took that person away from you, 'jealous' is how you would feel. You would want that special someone back, or want the other person to stop trying and take that friend from you.”
Caro chewed on the words along with her cookie. “So...What I'm feeling is jealousy for Lutecia for trying to take my knight from me?”
“I believe so?” Nanoha looked over at Fate, who nodded after hearing it all. “Yes, that may be it. Jealousy is a nasty feeling, don't dwell on it. It is one of those things that will make you do things you normally wouldn't ever do. We don't want our cute little Caro-chan to turn into a mean person do we?”
“No,” She answered immediately.
“Then try not to worry about it, or to push Elio away because of how you feel. No need to be angry at him after all.”
“He shouldn't have let her kiss him!” She suddenly protested.
Fate came to Nanoha's rescue when she seemed to be at a loss for words. “Well, the first time he was in a struggle bind, and the second time I distracted him,” She smiled lightly at the look she received.
Caro bit into the cookie harshly and mumbled. “He still shouldn't have let it happen... he's my knight...”
“Aaaaaand, that's what jealousy does to you.” Nanoha pet Caro's head. “We just said we didn't want Caro-chan to be mean right?” The words hit the little girl hard, making her look down sadly. “Don't be like that. Why don't you just go talk with him and see for yourself that Elio is yours and not Lutecia's?”
“Maybe bring him something to show that you're sorry for treating him bad too,” Fate added in. “He has a huge sweet tooth, you can use our kitchen to make something for him.”
The small girl looked up at Fate “Really? You won't mind?”
“Anytime,” She confirmed. She watched the two on the couch finish up their conversation and waved to Caro when she left, a new cookie in hand. Freidliche gave them a thankful look for taking care of it's master before following her into the hallway. “Well,” She spoke up. “She takes after you all right.”
“How so?”
“She looks adorable when she's angry.” Fate laughed at Nanoha's embarrassed look. “The way you puff out your cheeks and wrinkle your nose is priceless.”
“I do not do that!” The blue eyed girl protested, standing up and proceeding to do what she just denied. “Stop picking on me, miss jealous over a ferret. Mou, you're just like a man sometimes.”
“Me?” Fate followed her up the stairs after grabbing a cookie for herself. “Why am I like a guy, if anything it's you, miss raging hormones.” She started nibbling her treat while arguing playfully.
Nanoha turned around, flushing. “I do not have raging hormones, I'm your average girl in her early twenties!”
“You're a sex crazed teenager!” Fate pushed her onto the bed. “Admit it! You're the male of the relationship.”
“Mou, fine!” Nanoha rolled her over. “Then let me show you how manly I can be!”
Fate blushed darkly and closed her eyes, offering herself to her lover. A few moments passed and she suddenly opened her eyes back up. “Hey, give me back my cookie!”
“You snooze you lose, and you lose!” Nanoha ate the last of it and licked her fingers. “Serves you right you big boobed demon! Calling me a man, honestly.” She crossed her arms and hmphed at her. After a moment she opened one eye to look and gasped out when Fate wasn't paying attention anymore. “Hey, don't ignore me when I'm pouting!” The flight instructor flailed out her arms.
“You'll catch a cold,” Subaru's voice made Tia jump a little before she wrapped a blanket around her and held the girl from behind. “What are you thinking about?”
She blushed softly, feeling the warmth of Subaru's body against her back and the added comfort of the blanket she had around them as well. “Different things,” She answered evasively. “What are you thinking about?”
“How your hair looks pretty in the moonlight.” Subaru giggled lightly.
It was happening again, the casual act of laughing made Tia drop down all her barricades. She didn't have to prove herself to Subaru, never has. Her room mate knew this but it never stopped her from trying to do it anyway, secretly wanting her praise. On the outside she was always stern and ready, but Subaru knew more than that. She knew the girl inside that hid underneath it all, and she also knew how to make her truly smile. “Hey,” She spoke up, lightly turning around in the embrace to look at Subaru. Her arms went up around her neck and felt Subaru's tighten around her waist. “Will you... kiss me?”
Subaru leaned forward instantly, giving Tia's forehead a small peck before rubbing their noses together and finally meeting her lips with her own. The action itself was simple, but it was still the first one they had shared since becoming a couple. She held it as long as she could before pulling away lightly, feeling their lips stick to each other's for just a small moment. Tia leaned forward slowly, reclaiming them once again and making Subaru gasp out lightly in the kiss. The second one didn't last near as long and the third one even shorter than that, but each one would remain in her memory for a long time to come she was sure. Her mouth opened to say something but the orange haired girl simply pressed against her chest, resting her head on Subaru's shoulder. Instead of speaking, she simply held onto her and rubbed her back gently.
“Let's...” Tia whispered after a long moment. “Be more open about our relationship for now on... okay?”
“Yes,” Subaru closed her eyes and pulled her closer. Her eyes watered happily as she nuzzled her girlfriend's hair like a kitten would.
“I like you, Subaru... a lot.”
“You too,” She replied softly, giving her a kiss to the temple. “I like you a lot too.” Subaru smiled, feeling as if nothing could make her any happier than she was right now. 'One day I will tell you I love you again... until you're ready I'll still be here, waiting. Take your time, Tia, I won't go anywhere I promise.'
“How many?” Hayate asked as she sat in her commanding chair. The two night watchers typed quickly, bringing up a visual of several drones flying around the ocean. “Looks like...”
“Fifty-seven,” Nanoha stated after a few moments. “No wait, sixty three, more just came.” She couldn't help but be proud of herself when everyone gave her a shocked look. 'Bah, who needs glasses?'
“That's too many...” Hayate frowned. “It's a diversion.”
“We can split up,” Fate offered. “ Nanoha and I can take out the drones, Lightning and Stars can search the area.”
“Right.” Hayate nodded. “Move out!”
“Ma'am!” The two leaders leapt back out the window, followed by their students after a few confused seconds.
“Wha-what's going on!?” Subaru asked out, skating after them as quickly as she could on her road.
“Get to the helicopter and meet up with us!” Fate shouted back before taking off with her partner and leaving them in her wake. “Nanoha, have you not done any scramble drills with them?”
“Only one,” She admitted sadly. “I'm such a screw up...”
“Don't worry, we'll work on it later. Right now lets focus on destroying all of these. We're on our own so be careful.”
“If only Vita and the others didn't have to go patrol a neighboring town...” Nanoha set herself, spinning in the air to balance herself out and wake her up more. Her body stretched out as she flew, trying to prepare herself for the upcoming work out. “Sighted. They all seem to be doing nothing but flying around... New models on visual. Options?”
“I'll take the new models and gather the data. You stay mid range and take them out as you see fit. If this is really 'him' then we need to finish this quickly.”
“Fate-chan, Nanoha-chan,” Hayate's face appeared on a screen flying by both of them. “Permission granted for Triple-A.”
“Thank you,” Nanoha gave her an encouraging smile, knowing the limiter release was primarily due to her being worried they wouldn't react fast enough thanks to the rude awakening. “Raising Heart, remove limiter. Stance: AAA.” She received a confirmation and felt a ripple of energy behind her as well, proof that Fate also powered up. Upon reaching the battlefield she slowed down and formed her staff in shooting mode. Her left hand caught it in the air and she eyed her targets to pick out the best method of engaging. Her hand twitched nervously when she realized how difficult of a battle this would be. Surprisingly she felt suddenly calmer when her right hand decided to flex it's fingers in an effort to prepare. 'We can do this... In an hour I'll be back in my bed snoozing...' She gripped her fist and grabbed her staff with both hands. As soon as the first explosion came from Fate's side she let loose a massive blast of energy at the same time as a barrier formed around them.
“Will they be okay?” Subaru asked, watching the battle in the distance from a window of the helicopter. “Sixty-three...” She swallowed thickly. 'All four of us have to get together before we can even take twenty...When we're solo five or six is our limit before we start getting hurt.'
“Don't worry,” Rein told her as she flew close to the girl. “They were given access to triple-A, so they will be able to take them out easily. As for you four,” The small girl spun in the air, changing into her barrier jacket. “Lightning, you will be deployed on the east side of the bridge. Stars, you will be on the west. Your goal is to cover the grounds as fast as you can so split up and search. You are looking for anything at all that looks suspicious. Subaru, use your wing road to get a better aerial view. Caro, can you ride Freidliche?” She received a small nod so she continued. “Then you and Elio fly around together, if you see something, drop Elio off and continue searching on your own.” The forwards all saluted as the hatch of the aircraft opened. Freidliche ran out first, giving a small jump before shifting into his larger form and roaring out. Caro nodded to herself and looked over at Elio before taking his hand and leaping onto her dragon's back with him. The two flew away from the helicopter quickly and started scanning their area while Subaru and Tia leapt as well, sliding down the wing road.
“Freidliche, could you loop around over by that dark section over there?” Caro pointed to the side and felt her dragon do as requested. After a small pause she smiled and pet the scales of her summon. “I'll pass on the reins, thank you. You're my friend, not my slave.”
“Telepathy?” Elio held on to her during the bank and looked to the side to inspect the area.
“Mm, Kind of. I can understand him, so when he growls or something he's normally just talking to me.” Caro trailed off her sentence after seeing a small flash of light. “Over there, I saw something like a magical circle.” Flying fast, the trio descended to the area and inspected. “There, at the park!”
Elio summoned his spear and stood up on top of Freidliche to wait for the right moment. When the chance came he leapt off and soared towards the ground with his spear raised above his head. The person below him reached up and grabbed the attack with both hands, twisting around and slinging the boy along the ground. With a grunt he skidded across the grass and slammed into a tree. “Caro-hime... I'm going to need some help...” The red head grunted and pushed himself up, ignoring the burning sensation on his back. “It's the other guy, Zest.”
“Elio,” Zest greeted him, pulling back the hood of his cloak and observing him. “Just who I was looking for.” His eyes went over to Caro when she dropped down from the sky. “And Caro as well I see.” The next moment a two story tall dragon landed with a loud crash and roared directly into the man's face. “...Maybe this won't be so easy after all...”
Fate flipped through the air, cleaving one of the drones in half before blasting several more with short burst of magical bullets. “Arc Saber!” Bardiche slashed through the air and cut through three more of her opponents. “Nanoha, a few are trying to leave the barrier.”
“I see them.” The girl charged her staff up quickly. “Control Buster!” A large beam shot through the mass of drones, zig-zagging through several of them before reaching the other side of the shield. Nanoha closed her eyes tightly and felt her magic in her fingertips. “Get them...” Fingers moved quickly, guiding her attack towards the devices and giving chase for fifteen seconds before melting through their AMF field and blowing them up. “I got the-ahhh!” Nanoha screamed out when her eyes re-opened to the sight of several new type drones circling her. “Flash move!” Her escape was cut off just as fast, forcing her back towards the middle of them. The drones charged her all at once, nimbly dancing around her bullets while she flew around quickly. No matter how much she flipped and looped she still found herself constantly swarmed by the machines, each deflecting her blast or simply avoiding them all together. 'They're not normal drones...Someone is flying them...' Her eyes looked for an escape route quickly. “Fate, I need some help!” Her eyes found her partner, who was stopped yet again on her way over to battle a group that seemed to be moving just as fast. Raising Heart's auto barrier saved her hide as the machines started to counter attack, swirling circles around her and shooting balls of energy and lasers constantly. Her staff swung out at them, firing yet again and missing. 'What do I do!?'
“Have you forgotten me?”
Nanoha's eyes widened, hearing the tone of a tuning fork echo throughout her body. Her right hand flexed out, popping the knuckles of each joint. 'If projectiles don't work...' The girl heard her heart beat in her ears. 'Loan me a little of your power!' Nanoha held up Raising Heart. The gold tips blurred out before forming a curved surface to shield the gem and lashed out pink energy from it to create a scythe. “Phase Shift: Fate!” Magenta energy flared around her, covering her body and re-writing the data of her jacket. Her hair ribbons dissolved and allowed her hair to fly out behind her before being kept together by a single white ribbon near the tip. Her body was covered by a white form-fitting fabric that covered her much like a one piece bathing suit would. Two small blue belts wrapped around the top and bottom of her breast before tightening slightly and solidifying. A larger belt went around her waist, hanging loosely around her with a white-ish blue skirt coming from it. Thigh high stockings graced her legs, also accented by the small blue belt straps near both the top and bottom. White ankle high boots formed over her feet, flaring out a little at the top for maneuverability. Gloves embraced her hands, also as clean as snow. A blue triangle appeared on the top of them before finally a matching cape flared out behind her, attached at her shoulders. Nanoha took in a deep breath, grabbing her weapon and preparing herself to strike. “Arc Saber!” Her plasma blade flared our thickly as she slashed, cleaving several of the drones in half and allowing her a path of escape.
“Nanoha!?”
“Nanoha Phase shifted: Fate mode. ” She called over to her as the two went back-to-back. “I feel stronger...”
“Limiter breeched,” Raising Heart informed her. “S- status achieved.”
“Oops,” She laughed nervously while looking at the remaining army. “Hayate-chan will scold me.”
“Never mind that, is that my old barrier jacket!?”
“Yes,” She admitted shyly. “I thought it would be fitting since I'm using your combat data.” She gripped her scythe and mimicked Fate's pose. “One thing, though.”
“What's that?” Fate narrowed her eyes and prepared to strike.
“...Does it always feel this drafty in various places?”
Fate smirked. “You get used to it.” With that she launched herself forward to engage once again.
On the ground not too far from the battle raging in the skies Tia reloaded her guns before rolling out from behind a car and shooting down a few drones in the air. “This is getting stupid!” She cried out, ducking back under her cover and shooting homing bullets into the air. “Subaru, they're only here to keep us from going someplace!”
“I know!” She cried out, skating around the parking lot to avoid lasers. Two drones blew up with a little help of her fist but four more flew over to them and started attacking. “They're not trying to kill us, they're just keeping us busy! But why!?” She ducked under an attack and cut a flip with her wing road. “...The Lightning members!”
“Rein-san!” Tia quickly opened up a com patch to her. “Check in on the Lightning squad!” She watched the silver haired girl quickly type things out before getting a few monitors around her. “That's... that's Zest!” Tia called over her shoulder to her friend. “Subaru! We have to get to them!”
Zest shifted his shoulder lightly as he shrugged off another attack from Elio's spear. The attacks were getting a little slower as the enchanting magic faded, allowing him to land a clean kick on the boy's stomach to send him reeling backwards. The dragon lashed it's tail out at him, forcing him into the air only to be knocked out from a well placed cleave from it's claw. The man hit the ground hard and coughed out roughly. “It seems that dragon of yours is more powerful than I thought...” Zest stood up and angrily ran his hand along the blood leaking from his arm. “I have no choice... Blood binds!” The red liquid spread around him, drawing from his own body, before collecting in a ball in front of him. “With the price of my life essence, I bind thee!” The ball shattered, slinging red chain links around Freidliche quickly, tightening and slamming the beast to the ground and trapping him.
“Blood magic!?” Caro gasped out when her dragon roared in pain. “Freidliche!” She watched the dragon scream out as the chains tightened “He'll be crushed!” He hands started to glow brightly. “I'm sorry, Freid, I can't watch you be hurt...Rest for now.” Her gaze looked over to Elio, who was slowly pushing himself back up from the ground. “I'm sorry, my dragoon, I can't give you your armor...” She closed her eyes tightly when her dragon roared out again. “Release!” Thick mist shattered around them as the dragon dissolved back to his home land. As soon as the spell finished she looked up to see the body of Zest in front of her just before she felt a strong fist on her stomach. “Ah...ahhhhh...” Caro slowly fell to her knees, eyes wide as she held her stomach and fell over.
“Princess!!” Elio growled out, gripping his spear and dashing towards him. “You bastard!” Rearing back, he thrust his spear forward and impaled the man's shoulder all the way through. Instead of crying out in pain, Zest simply held up his hand and summoned the blood into another ball in his hand. “...No...” His eyes dilated as the magical energy was completed and was overwhelmed by sudden blackness when it blasted into his body from the point blank range.
“Elio-...kun...” Caro weakly raised her hand from the ground before it was wrapped by red chains and pinned to the dirt. “Elio-kun...” Her vision faded out when the binding spell started sapping her energy. Through the dimming of light in her eyes she watched Zest reach down and pick up Elio before slinging him over his good shoulder and begin carrying him off. “No...No... Don't leave me...” Her hand opened up slowly, trying to reach out to the unconscious form. “Don't take him...from me...Don't...don't...” Her vision hazed more as tears came, hand inching forward more against the tightening bind. “My...Elio...” Her fingers relaxed, hand falling down completely. Caro's eyes were closed, breath weak.
“Caro!” Tia slid down next to her and quickly shot the chains off her body. “Caro! Caro!”
“We can't stay here!” Subaru screamed as she jumped from her wing road and slid on the ground. “There are too many coming!”
“I'm scared to move her!” Tia frowned at the imprints on her jacket left from the crushing chains.
Subaru glared at the approaching small army of drones before glancing back at her already tired partner and unconscious friend. “I don't have a choice...” The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out two shotgun sized shells, loading them into her fist weapon. “Vita-san... Nanoha-san...” Her hand gripped tightly. “I trust in your training...” Her eyes looked up towards the opponents. “Load cartridge!” The glove exploded with energy, grinding and spinning with the new power. “LOAD!” Two shells shot from the release valve. “Divine...” The energy screamed around her. “Buster!” She thrust her hand forward, blasting all the compressed energy at once. Dirt caved in under her as the force buried her boots into the ground underneath her. The attack lasted all of seven seconds before fading away and revealing nothing but falling debris from the drones.
“Subaru...” Tia whispered softly, too shocked to do anything else as her partner quickly yanked off the overheated glove and looked at her blistered hand. “Those were...”
“A-class shells...” She confirmed, panting. “Nanoha-san taught me how...Vita-san told me the conditions to use them...I think this qualified...” She tried to move her fingers but grunted in pain. “But my device...” She looked sadly at the obviously cracked and broken glove.
“Is everyone okay!?” Nanoha called out to them as she and Fate landed. “What was that blast?”
“Caro's hurt!” Tia instantly called out.
“Scan of the area!” Fate commanded Bardiche. “Where is Elio, he should be doing this?”
“Elio...?” Subaru suddenly stood and looked around. “You're right, I don't see him!?”
“Elio!?” Tia called out, turning around in circles. “Eliooooo!?”
Fate swallowed when her scan came back free from all enemy threats but also clean of friendly targets. “Rein! Where is Elio!?”
“I don't...see him...” Rein's voice told her as a screen appeared. “Mistress Hayate, requesting a larger scan!”
“Already ahead of you,” Hayate's image appeared as well, quickly typing. “Shari, double scan!” The group held their breath momentarily before the beep came to signal the end of the process. “Neither the scanner nor his personal tracker can locate him...”
“What happened...?” Nanoha cradled Caro in her arms. A few seconds went by before she shook her head quickly. “Rein, send a medical team! Prepare for an unconscious person and,” She looked at her team. “Minor injuries as well!”
The blond of the group looked up into the sky sadly. “What happened...Where are you, Elio?”
Fate: Elio was taken by the enemy, why or where we do not know.
Tia: Our mission was a failure. The sick feeling won't go away, no matter how much praise I received for making the correct leadership decisions on the battle field.
Subaru: My glove was destroyed, my precious memory of my mother. I'm sad, but right now I can not allow myself to think about it. One of my team is missing, and its my job to protect them all.
Nanoha: I won't give up, no matter what. Fate and I will rescue you, Elio, so hang tough until then. My newly awoken power will be used to rescue those precious to me!
Hayate: Next time, on Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha's 6th Division: Reminisce, “Past relived”
Back to 6th Division: Reminisce Index - Back to Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction