DISCLAIMER: I do not own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, but I wish I did.

P.S. Tantum is a planet that I made up. It is completely covered with scorching deserts and has been having serious rebellion trouble. Its government is close to collapsing. Many leaders there are corrupt and part of the rebellion group.

Key: 'Thoughts/telepathy'

"Talking"

"Talking in a different language"

ENJOY

Chapter 1: The Beginning or The End?

"This is Enforcer Fate T. Harlaown performing the routine check-in with Sector 6. Are you there, Lieutenant Colonel Yagami?" I waited for a response from the holographic screen in front of me, taking a moment to straighten out my black Enforcer uniform and fix my long blonde hair. After several seconds, a woman with pink hair and piercing blue eyes appeared on the screen. I might've been imagining it, but I could have sworn that those deep blue orbs softened significantly when they met my red orbs. 'Yeah, MUST be my imagination' I thought.

"Hello, First Lieutenant Signum. Where's Lieutenant Colonel Yagami?" I asked.

"So formal, Testarossa." Signum smirked. "If you were my subordinate, I would make you address me like that all the time."

"Ha-ha, very funny," I replied sarcastically. "I'm calling for work, so what you call 'formal' is what I call appropriate for business. And I would love to banter with you back and forth, but I need to report to the Lieutenant Colonel right away."

"Well, Hayate is in a meeting with Nanoha at the moment; they're discussing what to do when your mission is over. Just tell me your status, and then I will report to Hayate for you."

"I'm currently headed for the airfield of Tantum for departure. The Tantum Army insisted on escorting me; they believe that I'm in danger with all the rebels roaming the desert presently." Signum raised one eyebrow, which is probably the first time I've seen her with a variation of worry in her expression.

"You're in danger? Have you been threatened?" I sighed.

"I wouldn't call one particularly aggressive video that was delivered to my temporary headquarters a 'threat', but yeah, I've been engaged by the rebels once or twice." Signum looked like she was about to interrupt, but I held up my hand to silence her before she could sound one syllable. "Look, I've had my share of attacks while on different planets for missions, but I can tell you that this is nothing serious. However, I've gathered some information on the rebels, just in case." I paused, curious as to whether Signum would scold me about not being careful or not reporting this sooner.

After a moment of silence, I continued.

"They call themselves the 'Tantum Riders'. Well known for surprise attacks in broad daylight, the Riders focus their efforts on the army's tanks and heavily armored vehicles using bazookas, missiles, the works. The sand dunes are what the Riders' best weapon, giving them a better view, sturdy defense, and camouflage. They rebel ut of greed, not justice."

"Testarossa, why don't you just fly to the airfield? That way, you would eliminate the chance of actually being attacked." Signum asked. In the background, I could hear footsteps approaching the door behind Signum. I could almost hear my heart beat in my ears from anticipation.

I haven't seen Nanoha for almost a year now, due to the mission on the planet Tantum. We thought that it would only take two to three months to get the government stabilized, but the Riders have been making it almost impossible with their constant threats and raids. Hayate was pushed by Nanoha constantly to let her come and help me, but I refused. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Nanoha got badly hurt on a mission… Again.

I shuddered. Soon after Nanoha and I joined the Bureau, Nanoha was sent on a mission with Vita. Nanoha pushed herself too hard and almost didn't come back alive. The doctors thought that she would never be able to fly again, but Nanoha proved them wrong. But it's not how Nanoha got hurt that scared me.

It was that she got hurt and how Vita was affected by it. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to hold Nanoha in my arms, her body broken and bloody and her life almost gone. Even though she got better, Vita has never really been the same since, but I don't blame her. At the time, both Yuuno Scrya (childhood friend of Nanoha) and I were rivals, but I was completely unaware as to how Vita felt about Nanoha. Of course, I don't have to worry about her now since I'm currently dating a certain side-ponytailed Captain. Yup, I finally got my act together and confessed to Nanoha. It actually happened soon after that night that I found her on her rooftop, crying her eyes out about Vivio. Ever since we got Vivio back, we've been dating, which is four years including the year this mission has eaten up.

To sum it up, I REALLY wanted to see Nanoha. The last time that I even got to see her face was at least four months ago; she's been really busy with Vivio and trying to support me from home.

Signum coughed. "Hey, Testarossa… I'd really like to finish this report before your girlfriend gets in here and distracts you completely. Okay?" I felt my face burning. 'I must look like a tomato right now.'

"I told the Commander of the Tantum Army to let me fly, but he didn't really give me a choice."

"I smell a set up," Signum scrunched her nose as if she just sniffed a garbage truck.

"So do I, but I think it would have looked bad for me to disrespect the Commander's last orders to me." I smiled. "I don't think I'll miss feeling like a mercenary. Working for that man was terrible." Suddenly, I heard gunfire outside. Signum heard it, too.

"Testarossa, please don't tell me that you are in a heavily armored vehicle crossing the desert right now and that gunfire is going off right outside your vehicle." Signum paled as an explosion sounded, and it was close.

"Umm… okay. I'm not in a heavily armored vehicle crossing—"

"Testarossa! This is not a joking matter!" The softness of her deep blue eyes vanished as Signum yelled and stood abruptly, knocking her chair over. Before either of us could say anything, the door opened behind Signum. That's when I saw her for the first time in months.

"Nanoha…" I muttered under my breath. She was as beautiful as ever, but then an explosion went off underneath my vehicle, sending it flipping and flying through the air. After some rolling, the armored vehicle settled on its roof. As I hung upside down, I made the holographic screen move to my wrist communicator, creating a more compact screen. I was regaining my senses, but it was hard to do with a bunch of yelling coming at me from the three women on the screen.

"Hey!" I yelled, shutting them all up. I smiled. "Good thing I was wearing my seatbelt." I tried to laugh, but ended coughing. I looked at the hand that I used to cover my mouth. It was covered with blood.

"Testarossa! Listen to me." I looked at the screen, trying and failing to not look at Nanoha. "You need to get out of there. The vehicle could blow up at anytime."

"Right," I said. It was difficult to hear most of what Signum said with all the explosions and gun shots in the area, but I got the idea. I needed to move it if I didn't want to go flying in this car again. I unbuckled my seatbelt and successfully hit my head on the ground.

"I knew it. This ceiling is way too low." I sat up and rubbed my head for a split second, then crawled to the door. As I was opening it, Hayate spoke to me via my wrist screen.

"Once you get outside, activate Bardiche and get out of there. I have already contacted the Tantum airfield. They'll search the skies for you." I mumbled an "okay" as I climbed out of the overturned vehicle. I paused, my legs still in my almost death chamber.

"…Testarossa?"

"Has anyone else noticed that it's suddenly quiet?" I whispered. Moving slowly, I crawled out of the vehicle completely and put my back against the outside. I muttered a curse under my breath as I noticed that one of my shins was broken and a deep gash in my abdomen was causing me to lose a lot of blood. I knew from just looking at it that I only had a few minutes before I passed out from blood loss. 'Great. Just great.'

I lifted up my wrist to speak, but then I heard a gun being cocked, the tip pushing at the back of my head. I heard a terrified gasp from my wrist. A man's voice boomed in my ears, speaking the language of Tantum. After spending a whole year on this planet, I've become almost fluent.

"You are the blonde Bureau Enforcer that we have been after for many months, yes? I will be welcomed as a hero back at our headquarters," the man said.

"What is your name?" I asked. The man seemed to consider whether he should answer me or just blow my brains out. Thankfully, he chose to post-pone my death.

"Raggul."

"Please, Raggul… Please let me say goodbye… Please…" I've never been big on begging, especially when it comes to people that are trying to kill me, but this was different. Not only was I at gunpoint with no chance of getting away without a bullet in me, but I was also losing a lot of blood. Not only was I going to die… I might die with Nanoha watching. There's no way that I was going to let Nanoha see that.

"Why should I? Why shouldn't I just make your comrades watch as I kill you?" He pushed my head forward with the gun for emphasis. I winced slightly in pain. 'I must have done something when I fell earlier,' I thought. My wrist was still posed right in front of my face, so it was extremely difficult for me not to look at Signum and Hayate's faces, but it was painful to keep my eyes off of Nanoha.

"Because," I paused, looking for the right way to phrase what I wanted to say. " Because… the love of my life is watching. I just want to say goodbye… one last time."

I don't know how long I just sat there, waiting for my executioner to decide if my love is worth his time. It felt like a lifetime before I felt the gun removed from my skull. I almost collapsed, either from relief or blood loss… Who knows?

"You have two minutes to say what you have to. After that, well…" he chuckled. I didn't have much energy left, so I might not get to experience what the man had planned for me. My vision was poor, and my hands were shaking. 'I don't have much time at all.'

I finally looked at the screen, and almost wished that I hadn't. Hayate was pale as a ghost. Signum's expression was one of fear and anguish, which means a lot coming from the Leader of the Knights. But… Nanoha's face… It hurt me more than that gun ever could. No emotion was present on her face. No smile, no hint of what she may be thinking. Nothing… except the tears that were gathering in her eyes.

"Hayate…" I said, my voice was raspy, my throat dry. "Do whatever you can to keep the government here stable, but don't let another agent of the Bureau step foot on this god–forsaken planet. Don't let my sacrifices go to waste, okay?" She nodded her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I won't. I promise." I felt something warm on my chin. I wiped it and found blood on my hand. Not a good sign…

"Signum." The knight raised her gaze, deep blue meeting wine red, for might be the last time. "I will leave Caro and Erio in your care. You have taught me so much through our battles… I can only hope you can teach at least half of that to my kids. Half of your knowledge would make them the best Bureau agents that ever lived." I gave a weak smile and laugh, but started coughing up more blood. "Don't you dare forget the name Testarossa." She smiled in response, making me feel like I got punched in the gut. The small grin was beautiful, but so sad at the same time.

"You have one minute," the man interrupted. I grimaced. I had one minute to say everything I have ever wanted to say to the woman I have loved for most of my life… A lifetime wouldn't give me enough time to do that. I breathed in deeply.

"Nanoha," I said as I exhaled. "I… I could never have enough time to tell you how much…" I stopped. My eyes were burning from the tears that threatened to spill over. 'I won't cry. I'll be strong in these last moments… For Nanoha.' "…How much I love you."

She started at me for at least ten seconds… ten long silent seconds. Then something clicked into place. She started screaming at me, screaming for me. I just sat there, listening to her cries and trying not to cry myself. I only had to say one word to make her listen.

"Nanoha…"

"Fate… please… Please don't leave me!"

"Nanoha… Listen."

Regardless of the pain, I stood. Despite the jolts of pain racking through my leg because of my broken shin, I took step after step towards the man who has sworn to kill me. My wrist was by my side so that Nanoha could see what I was doing. So that she could see that I wasn't going to go down without fighting back.

"What are you doing? Stand back!" The man pointed the gun at me, and halted. "Now… turn around." I did as I was told. 'Bardiche, get ready!'

"Nanoha… I'm sorry... Forgive me!" I took action and turned as fast as my body would let me, but the gun was faster. As I turned to my right, the man pulled the trigger. I didn't feel anything at first, so I called out to Bardiche: "SONIC MOVE!"

I moved faster than any bullet could, quickly disarming the man and knocking him of balance, then changing my wrist communicator to a homing device. I heard Nanoha's last scream for me before the muffled buzzing started, which meant the device was working.

"Bind," I commanded. Several yellow rings wrapped around the man, who looked quite surprised and angry. "Sorry, Raggul, but I believe that this is your flight." Using whatever magical strength I had left, I hurled the man north-bound. After the adrenaline died down, I collapsed in the sand and heat; I felt the intense and fresh pain from the bullet wound in my right arm. I had only a little strength left. I figured that I should use it to say goodbye to my oldest friend.

"So Bardiche… How far do you suppose that man went?" I asked, huffing with exhaustion.

"About one hundred kilometers, sir."

"Is that enough to kill him?"

"Results may vary. The man could easily land in a sand dune, which would cushion his fall. There is the small probability that he could be intercepted by a cactus, but that is very unlikely, sir." I had to smile at that.

"It was a pleasure being able to fight with you, Bardiche."

"I believe that you are underestimating Lieutenant Colonel Hayate Yagami's ability to send out a reinforcement squad, sir."

"What do you mean?"

"That vehicle approaching us at approximately 80.5 miles per hour is an Administration Bureau vehicle, is it not, sir? If not, they should be pulled over for ignoring the speed limit which is clearly marked as 40 miles per hour." I looked over in the distance.

"That was fast…" I muttered before the darkness consumed me. A familiar scream was ringing in my ears. 'Nanoha…'

END?

Wolf of Wind: Hey guys! This is my first time writing a Nanoha fanfic, so yeah... I'll continue the story soon, but be patient until then. I hope you enjoy it!