The Reappearance of Testarossa Fate

Beginning A/N:

I'd like to thank all you guys that reviewed my story! Despite my lack of favs/follows at first, I got SIX reviews within the first couple of hours after I published the original one shot! What's more, every single reviewer was pleased with my work! I'm really beginning to like the Nanoha community! I honestly didn't believe that an angst fic would get such awesome responses!

Also, please be aware that this is slightly more fantasy-related that it is romantic. I couldn't write a fic purely about romance to SAVE MY LIFE. I can easily write it as a second genre, but having a story be entirely about romance is just… impossible for me. That said, don't think you're going to see them kissing in the first chapter. I need time to build up their relationship first.

Anyway, my first lines of this story will be the lines I used in the preview. Anyway, sit back, relax and have a good read!

Unknown Date, 2023

My eyes slowly fluttered open, yet I didn't find myself inside the prison I thought I would be in. In fact, I didn't think I would ever live again, so the very fact that I was opening my eyes came as a huge shock to me.

How do I still exist? Wait… I'm not in the computer! Does that mean that…? I'm in the afterlife? No, that can't be…

Indeed, I was not in the prison that had kept me confined to do nothing but watch the one I loved.

I was in a glass tube… with a real body of my own.

Wait… I can't remember her name or face! Who was she? Was it all just a dream?

I noticed that I didn't seem to be breathing air. This substance that I was inhaling was of a very different density.

Wait… am I breathing a liquid?!

I began to cough violently, catching the attention of someone outside of my new prison.

I heard muffled sounds coming from outside, but I couldn't concentrate enough to hear what they were saying over my fit of coughs.

I finally stopped coughing, as I didn't have enough energy to do so.

Everything faded into black.

When my eyes slowly opened, the last thing I expected was to be in a bed. I could feel the bed with my body, almost as if I was human.

I heard someone slowly enter the room.

"Ah, you're awake! Hello, my name is Lindy Harlaown, nice to meet you!" she said as she sat down on the bed.

The woman, now known to me as Lindy, had a light green colored hair with very strange bangs, as well as a long ponytail. However, unlike my master's, her ponytail was on the back of her head.

"H-hello…" I trailed off, noting that my voice sounded exactly the same. "M-my name is Fate Testarossa."

"Silly, I already knew that! Anyway, I bet you have a lot of questions, don't you? Come on, we'll go to my room and talk," Lindy said gently, getting up and signaling for me to come over.

Once I got out of bed, I immediately fell down. "Ouch…"

"Oh, that's right. You were a computer program before all this, so you wouldn't know how to move around properly," Lindy observed.

She grabbed me by the arms and helped me get up, starting to lead me out of the room.

We walked through the halls, Lindy helping me every time I stumbled. I couldn't help but marvel at the extravagance of the hallways. Beautiful paintings lined the left wall, while windows that showed the blue sky that I never got to see from inside my old prison.

This place is so beautiful… are we really flying in a plane?

When we entered a large room that seemed to be a bedroom, I asked, "You mean… I'm not an AI anymore?"

"Correct! I used a complex technology to take your program and salvage it just before you were deleted by that girl's antivirus system!"

"So, you hacked my master's system," I said with a slight edge to my voice.

"You catch on fast! Don't worry though, I didn't do anything else. After all, I didn't want to damage my friend's daughter's beautiful supercomputer!"

"So… you know my master? Wait… that doesn't explain why I'm in a real body."

"Well, I should probably explain the technology that I created first. Listen closely, as I'll only say this once," Lindy said, taking on a serious tone.

I nodded vigorously, signaling for her to continue.

"All right. This technology is way ahead of its time. It allows me to turn an artificial intelligence program into a… soul of sorts, which can then be transferred into one of my artificially created bodies. However, I should tell you that your new body is not mechanical. It is essentially a soulless human body that I created using a process similar to cloning.

"Your case is a special one. Since you not only had your own appearance designed for you, but you were also the first sentient AI, and you had your own voice, I decided to custom make your body to fit your original design program perfectly. You are now a carbon copy of your original design, but at the same time, you are now a real human, in every sense of the word."

"Except for the fact that my body was created artificially, right?"

"Correct again! Now, I would like to offer a proposition," Lindy said, her voice soft.

"What is it?" I asked with uncertainty.

"I'd like you to become my adopted daughter. If that were to happen, I'm sure you would be able to become great friends with everyone around here. I'm also sure that you could get especially close with Nanoha… Hehe," she said, a mischievous look appearing in her eyes near the end.

Nanoha? Who's that?

"Don't worry, I'll give you some time to think it over. Rest until then. I don't want you getting sick from overexertion." She said with that same gentle tone, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Thank you."

As I laid there, sprawled out on Lindy's bed, I started to question myself. I know I want to accept, but… what will I do if I see this Nanoha person she was talking about? I feel like I know her, but… I want to leave that life behind. Well, if you could even call that a life.

Then I thought of something. Why is she being so nice to me? Is it just because of her fascination with the first sentient AI?

I rose my hand to my face, studying it carefully. It really does look human. I really am… a human now, aren't I?

Then I noticed a strange feeling start to overwhelm my abdomen. Is this… hunger?

A loud noise akin to a growl confirmed my suspicions.

"It's a good thing I came to get you when I did, you sound very hungry! Come with me, Fate," a man with jet-black hair said, coming in and offering his hand.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, that's right. My name is Chrono, and I'm Lindy's son. If you accept her proposal, then I'll be your big brother!" Chrono said, flashing a wide smile.

As I took his hand, he began to lead me through that same hallway, this time towards another area.

While we were walking, I noticed that on the wall once filled with windows showing the beautiful blue sky, there were now windows that showed other gigantic rooms with various other things in them. One had an ancient-looking library, one had what appeared to be an old onsen… no, that can't be. We're in the sky, aren't we?

"As you can see, we're not living in a place that you or your master would be used to," Chrono suddenly said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah. All I know is that we're in the sky and that that onsen over there is fake," I replied, pointing to the onsen in the room we just passed.

"Actually, that's real."

What?

"I'll allow my mom to explain that once we get to dinner. For now, let's just focus on helping you get there. I heard you're still getting used to your real body, so I'll carry you on my back, okay?"

Too tired from walking to resist, I merely let him put me on my back, even slinging my arms around his shoulders for support.

I wonder… will I ever be able to walk on my own?

I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice our surroundings.

"Here we are! The banquet hall!"

I looked over his shoulder to see a beautiful, ancient-looking room. Paintings from what seemed to be hundreds of years ago lined the walls. Chandeliers with gold frames and precious gems hanging from them lit the room with an ethereal light. At the center of it all, there laid a long table lined with plates filled with delicious-looking foods of all kinds.

At the other end of the table, Lindy sat, patiently waiting for us to come in.

"Fate, Chrono! Welcome to the banquet hall!" she said with an enthusiastic wave.

"No matter how many times I come here, I'm always amazed by how beautiful this place is…" Chrono whispered in awe.

"But don't you live here?" I inquired curiously.

"No, no. you see, we're a team of explorers, and we just happened to find this floating Castle-like place. While we're trying to figure out the mysteries of this place, we've set up some living areas. We've also been renovating the place so it'd be easier to look for clues," Lindy started.

Clues to what?

"You should've seen this place when we got here! It looked hundreds of years old! Well, it still does in the areas we're still searching."

"Like that library Chrono and I passed on the way here?" I queried, showing little curiosity compared to the level I felt on the inside.

"Precisely! We're still searching there, and we actually plan to keep that room preserved," Chrono added.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you looking for?" I inquired, puzzled.

"We only look for one thing, and that's treasure," Lindy replied. "We're currently searching for a legendary artifact."

"And that artifact is…?" I asked edgily.

As if she could sense my agitation, she quickly responded with, "We're looking for an ancient Mid-Childan piece of technology."

"Mid-Childan?"

"Yes. Mid-Childa is an ancient civilization that is said to have had technology so advanced that it makes our current technological advancements look like cavemen inventing wheels," Lindy replied with an interrupt-me-and-you-die tone.

"The artifact we are currently searching for is a crystal known as Bardiche."

"But you said you were looking for a piece of technology."

"We are. Bardiche is an artifact that was said to possess a strange power. It was able to transform into a weapon, one that had power over the sky. And of course, we want to figure out how it works!"

"I don't quite understand. Why do you believe that it's here specifically?"

"Well, a picture of it was at the door we first entered when we got here. Hey, would you mind helping us for the time being? We're kind of shorthanded here," Lindy proposed.

"Why wouldn't you bring sufficient staff?"

"We did. They just all ended up d—"

"Chrono!"

"Right, right."

"Anyway, we have a certain place that we're searching at the moment, and we believe we found the entrance to Bardiche's chamber. The only problem is that it has a few… requirements for it to open."

"Such as?"

"Well, it needs a certain person to be there in order for it to open. We only recently found this out in a book in that ancient library you passed by. Oddly enough, that person looks strikingly similar to you."

"So you want me to go and see if I can open it?"

"Yup!"

"You're insane. I'm a computer program, so even if it did look like me, it wouldn't be me."

"Let me quote what the book we found said," Chrono told me.

"A child born through unconventional means will appear to awaken our deity, Bardiche, and set the Hands of Fate into motion."

"Then it has an illustration of a person that looks exactly like you."

What?

"So… will you help us?" Lindy pleaded.

I sighed loudly, saying, "All right, I'll help."

After dinner, as Lindy carried me to the library, I absentmindedly asked myself, "Will I ever be able to walk on my own?"

"Don't worry, Fate. You'll be able to walk in no time! You just have to get used to your new body," Lindy reassured me.

"Thanks, Lindy…" I said softly.

"Don't mention it. Anyway, we're here! Here, I'll let you down."

After she let me down, I said, "Thank you."

"No problem! Okay, let me show you the book before we go in."

She went over to a bookshelf, grabbing a book and coming back. By this time, I had fallen to the ground due to my weak legs. She helped me into a chair and gave me the book she pulled from the shelf.

"Here, read this. You should still have the intelligence you had as an AI, so you should be able to understand that language."

"That doesn't make sense. Unless…" I trailed off.

"Yup! I added the language to your program before I turned you into a soul and put you in your body!" Lindy said with a wide smile.

Of course she did.

"Well, I'll take a look." I relented.

The book couldn't have been more than one hundred pages long, judging by its thickness, and the print was very big. I flipped through the pages to look for any distortions. It was strange, but the book had no marks in it, not even a bend or tear on a single page.

Deciding that I should probably start, I read the title.

The book of Fate

What a strange title. I thought as I reopened the book.

A child born through unconventional means will appear to awaken our deity, Bardiche, and set the Hands of Fate into motion.

I turned the page.

This child will become the Savior who will resurrect our race with the power of Bardiche.

Wow… I thought as I turned the page.

"… It's blank? Lindy, look at this. The next page is blank," I informed her, beckoning her over.

Once she had gotten a good look, I turned back to the previous page to study it some more.

"… Surprising."

"Yeah…"

"No, I mean that that wasn't there before."

"What?"

"It never said anything about a savior. That page used to be blank as well."

"… Huh?"

"I guess it writes about stuff that happens in the near future," Lindy said, though her tone of voice made it sound like a question.

"You must be joking."

"I don't know… anyway, let me show how where the passageway is. Come over here so I can carry you."

"I want to try walking on my own two feet," I said with a determined look.

"Okay! That'll be good for your rehabilitation."

She took my hand and began to lead me deeper into the library. As we passed more and more bookshelves, I noted that they seemed to hold older and older books.

We finally arrived at the back of the library, a closed stone door standing before us.

"Whoa… this door… is huge," I whispered to myself.

"Go stand before it."

I let go of her hand, shakily walking up to the door. To my surprise, it began to take on an ethereal light, the two halves of the door began to fade away, revealing a long set of stairs.

"You go first. After all, it did open for you, Fate."

"All right…"

As soon as I walked through the door, I heard a strange noise coming from behind me. I turned around, and to my surprise, found that the doorway had vanished, leaving a wall in its wake.

Well then… it looks like I have to get Bardiche before I can leave here.

I shakily walked down the stairs, all the while holding onto the guardrail that I miraculously found in the dark. I couldn't see even two feet in front of me, which was very alarming.

All right, there's nothing to be afraid of…

Just then, a bat swooped down and dive-bombed for my head. I dodged just in time, although that didn't stop me from falling to my knees from the sudden jerk on my legs.

Damn… it looks like my rehabilitation still has a long way to go.

With the bat having disappeared, I shakily got up and continued walking.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I took in what I could sense was a large room before me.

I couldn't see anything, but I already knew something was wrong.

With the guardrail no longer of any use, I let go of it and carefully walked further into the room. Once I got to the middle…

Torches lit up in a yellow fire around me, illuminating the area to reveal three yellow crystals in the back of the room… and a giant black and yellow wyvern in the air in front of them.

What do I do?! Maybe… I've got it!

I tried to make a mad dash for the crystals, but ended up falling and rolling into its stand instead. How I rolled past the wyvern, I didn't know.

I got up shakily, turning to look at the crystals. One was a triangular shape, one was square-shaped, and the last one was shaped like a circle.

There are three crystals, and they all have different shapes… wait, there's only one Bardiche! That means that only one of them is the real one! But how will I know which is which?

I could hear the wyvern behind me, flying towards my head in an attempt to decapitate me with its talons.

Wait! I thought as I noticed a piece of text on the wall behind the three crystals.

It's that ancient language!

It read,

If you look into the wyvern's eye, you will find the power to defy.

What does that— AAAH!

Just as soon as I had finished reading it, the wyvern swooped down at me. It missed me by a fraction, making a small scratch on my cheek.

The plaque with the ancient text, however, wasn't so lucky. It had been completely destroyed, along with the wall behind it.

Wait, there's another room behind where the wall used to be!

I looked into the wyvern's eyes, noting that they looked triangular in shape.

That's it! It was the triangle!

I looked behind the wyvern, noting that another copy of the triangular gem sat in the middle of the room.

That must be the real one!

The wyvern started to come at me again, but I knew how to evade it now.

Three, two, one… GO!

Just as the wyvern came within five feet of me, I ducked and rolled forward, just barely avoiding its dive-bomb and coming a few feet closer to my goal: the crystal in the next room, Bardiche.

I decided to get up on my weak legs and chance it by running to the pedestal on which the legendary artifact stood. Somehow, I actually managed to reach it before I would have collapsed.

The wyvern flew at me.

I grabbed Bardiche.

The beast was no more than two feet away when I heard a voice in my head.

'Call to me! Make me your own! Request my power and it shall be yours!'

Wasting no time, I immediately thought of the weapon I thought Bardiche to be.

"Bardiche!"

A pillar of yellow light shot up into the ceiling, making a hole that lead to the sky above, engulfing me and knocking the wyvern back. When the light dissipated, I was holding a one-handed longsword that had a blade of pure energy.

Oddly enough, I felt no fatigue whatsoever, even though I was about to collapse a few seconds prior to activating Bardiche.

The wyvern came charging at me. I swung my sword. A wave of electrical energy shot out of my sword.

The wyvern split in two.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

What's happening?! Is the ground breaking apart?

"Let's hope I can move fast with this thing!"

"Supersonic Driver!" I heard a metallic voice say.

"B-Bardiche?! Did you just say that?"

"Yes, Master. Make haste! We must leave before the castle collapses!"

"R-right!" I said, making a mad dash back up the stairs, arriving in seconds, only to be met with a wall, just like before.

"Lindy! If you're still there, move to the left!"

I heard shuffling coming from the right side of the door and slowly moving to the left.

"Good!"

I slashed Bardiche vertically, the wave that it created cutting the wall in two.

I noticed that the trembling didn't stop up here. In fact, it was so strong here that the walls were beginning to crack.

I busted through, saying, "We have to go, now! How did you get here?"

"We came on an airship, but it's really far from here! I'll call everybody and tell them to board!" Lindy replied, talking into a microphone on her collar to tell everyone to get to the airship.

"Which way?" I inquired.

"Once we get out of the library, take a left, then go straight all the way, and we should see it!"

And we ran.

It was becoming increasingly hard to keep pace with her while Supersonic Driver was active, seeing as she kept losing speed due to fatigue. Eventually, I grew tired of this, so I thought of an idea.

"Hold on tight, Lindy!" I shouted, grabbing her by the waist and speeding up.

"What the—" she yelled.

In mere seconds, we reached the end of the hallway and were greeted by a truly terrifying scene.

The ground that had held their airship had collapsed, and the ship had left without us.

I ran backwards about twenty yards. Lindy, questioning my sanity, yelled, "What are you doing?!"

I immediately started dashing back to the edge at full speed, jumping off the edge in an attempt to land on the departing airship.

However, my attempt was in vain. We were only ten feet away when we started to fall. However, I still hadn't given up hope.

As we fell through the air, I queried, "Bardiche! Do you have a flying mode?"

"Affirmative! Thunderstep, activate!"

Suddenly, little yellow wings appeared on my ankles, stopping us from falling any further. "All right, let's go!"

I suddenly shot up into the air, landing on the ship's landing deck with ease.

"Wow, Fate! That was amazing! So, I'm guessing that energy sword is Bardiche?" Lindy said, still frazzled from our little excursion.

"Bardiche, disengage," I said, watching as Bardiche turned back into its yellow crystalline form.

Suddenly, my knees felt weak, and I began to get dizzy.

"Fate, are you okay?"

Everything went black.

I could hear voices from time to time, but I couldn't distinguish who they belonged to.

What's happening?

Then, the blackness shifted into the familiar surroundings of my old master's room. This time, however, I wasn't in my old prison. Instead, I was outside that horrid box, staring at the one I loved. I couldn't distinguish what her face looked like… or even remember her name.

She reached out to hug me… and I pushed her away.

"No! I don't want this! I don't want to see people from my old life! Just leave me alone, please!"

Though her face was blurry, I could still see the tears that fell from her face onto the carpet.

"I'm, sorry, but I just don't want to remember my old life… I need to leave."

"AAH!" I shouted, sitting up in bed.

Even in my dreams, my old life haunt s me… I thought as I surveyed my surroundings.

Wait… I'm in a bed? But the last thing I remember was… landing on the airship's landing deck.

Someone walked in, sitting down on the bed. "Well, you certainly took a while to wake up. We're almost at the landing port!" Lindy said cheerily.

"I see."

"Also, we've been doing research on Bardiche, and we've found that it's actually one of six artifacts that have power over an element. Apparently each one belonged to an ancient civilization, and each one was supposed to be used to resurrect its race," Lindy explained, tossing Bardiche back to me.

"I see. Well, what are we going to do once we get to the landing port?" I inquired nervously as I caught it.

"Well, if it's all right with you, I'd like to meet up with some friends and take you with me."

"Sure, that's fine."

Half an hour later, we arrived at the landing port. As we walked out of the airship, I noticed that my legs were back to being somewhat weak. However, they were slightly stronger than before, enough so that I could walk on my own without too much trouble.

"Chrono, would you mind watching the ship?" Lindy requested.

"Sure thing, Lindy!" Chrono replied, starting to walk back to the airship.

"All right, we just head east until we get to a large white house with a built-in café. The place is named, "Midoriya House". Its name is on the front of the café side. We, however, go in through the back door." Lindy informed me as we continued walking.

"Seems like a fitting name."

As we walked through the city, I marveled at all the things I never got to see as a program. We were currently walking through the shopping district, which meant that every building in the entire area was some kind of store.

Every store varied in size from the ones next to it. No store sold the same merchandise, and every store had a unique theme to it. There were hundreds of people busting about in this block alone.

"Be careful and stick close to me. If you get lost, it'll be really hard to meet back up."

"All right."

Along the way, salespeople came to us and offered to sell us things that nobody really needs, but Lindy turned them all down, saying things like, "We're content with what we have."

Once we finally got past the shopping district, we found ourselves on the edge of the housing area.

There, on the border between the two, sat a large building with the words, "Midoriya House" above an area filled with people munching on various pastries.

"Wow…"

"I know, they're pretty popular for a place situated so far from the inner shopping district."

Lindy led me to the back door, opened it, and shouted, "Tadaima!"

"This isn't your house, Lindy-san!" I heard a soft feminine voice say from up the stairs to the left.

"I heard footsteps coming from the top of the stairs, slowly coming downward.

Once the person came down the stairs and turned the corner, she froze in place, eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Fate-chan…?"

A/N:

What the heck?!

I had NO IDEA that this chapter would get to be so long! This is INSANE!

Anyway, I'm sorry…

In the end, I wasn't able to refrain from making this an action/adventure/fantasy type story… but don't worry, there will still be romance!

I can't help but feel the need to explain some plot holes that I found, but couldn't explain in the story.

The place that they were at in the beginning was literally a castle floating in the sky, made by the Mid-Childans long ago.

Fate really can turn Bardiche into a sword/swords in the anime/manga. Look it up, it's pretty awesome.

The legs are the parts of the body that are most used by humans, so they had the most stress put on them, which in turn made them seem a lot weaker than everything else. That's why it seemed like she could use everything but her legs.

Onsen means "hot spring" in Japanese.

Tadaima means "I'm home" in Japanese.

If you have any further questions, feel free to leave a review or PM me. Please refrain from flaming, however.

All right, you know what time it is! It's disclaimer time!

I don't own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, its characters, or anything else I borrow from the series!

Goodbye!