[Record 04: A Fiery Reunion]

"Vivio, this isn't a good time to talk about this," advised Chrono.

"Then when is a good time to talk about this, Uncle Chrono?" Vivio persisted loudly. The blond hung her head low with her bangs covering her eyes. "I should have been told about this from the beginning."

Chrono felt his palm caress his face. "She's like how Fate was during her periods as a teenager, more temperamental than a dragon," he mentally complained. Sighing, the raven-haired man said, "We could talk about this any other time, just now now."

Vivio still seemed unsatisfied, but she eventually sighed with defeat. "Fine. I'll just ask Nanoha-mama about it tomorrow."

Chrono crossed his arms and sighed. "I understand how you feel about this Vivio," he began, "but we need to think about Alicia's well being as we proceed from here on, okay?"

Vivio was silent for a moment, eyeing her "younger sister" with eyes filled with empathy and confusion. She was at a loss with several desired outcomes and no solutions to get her those outcomes. Just as she was about to answer Chrono though, her communicator beeped.

"Vivio, I found him," said Einhart. "He's with another boy now though. They're in casual clothes wandering town with two older girls about our age. Shall I actively pursue him?"

The blond cocked a curious eyebrow. "He's with friends? I thought he would be reporting back to a base or something." Humming to herself thoughtfully, she replied, "Keep tailing him and send me your active coordinates. I'll be there in a minute."

"Roger," replied Einhart while hanging up.

At last Vivio's gaze shifted between Alicia, Chrono, and the door. Her body tensed while her feet shuffled about. The blond's gaze finally settled on Chrono, silently asking him whether he would let her leave or not.

There was silence.

"Are you gonna go after him?" asked Chrono.

Vivio nodded. "I have to."

Chrono said nothing for a moment, eyeing Alicia with a worry-filled gaze. "Avoiding conflict with Yuusei is your best bet if you want him to come with you quietly, but he may attack you without warning. He may even attempt to kill you. Are you prepared for that?"

With serious eyes, Vivio replied, "Bring it."

"Hmm." At last, Chrono motioned to the door. "Good luck, Vivio. Just remember that Alicia sneaking out never happened. Your mothers will kill me if they find out."

Giggling, Vivio replied, "Right. Thanks, Uncle Chrono." With that, the blond immediately flew out the door and made to join Einhart in the city.

Meanwhile, Yuusei was currently travelling with Koga and the two resonators, who had returned to their original forms. They had just finished their showers at a public bathhouse that they had snuck into and were currently taking a break and enjoying a bit of sight-seeing around the city. "This city's such a peaceful place," muttered Yuusei.

"Almost makes me feel bad that we were told to tear it up," murmured Koga.

Aerith eyed the two boys for a moment before asking, "Don't you two have families to go home to? According to my database, most children your age would be home at this hour."

Koga and Yuusei looked at each other for a moment, but soon nodded their heads and stared off into space. "Truth is, Aerith, we don't have parents," answered Yuusei.

Koga nodded. "Yuusei was separated from his parents after he was born. They never came to get him, so they sorta abandoned him. As for me, I don't know my parents all that well since I've never met them before."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," said Aerith apologetically. "I had no idea that the two of you were-"

"No worries, Aerith. You didn't mean anything bad by it," replied Yuusei with a friendly grin.

"I-I see," said Aerith slowly. "Very well then."

Olivia snickered and nudged Aerith on the side with mischievous eyes. "Oh ho! You've found yourself quite a fine lord, hmm, Aerith?"

Aerith flushed and shook her head. "O-Olivia that's taking things out of context!"

"Yeah right," teased Olivia, "You should see the look on your face right now. It's hilarious!"

Einhart, who was listening in on their conversation from afar, felt terribly confused. "I didn't expect someone who's wanted for execution to be out playing so freely in town like this," she thought to herself quietly. Looking around, she said, "Better get them to come with me before someone else finds them."

Just as Einhart was about to continue walking towards them, Vivio quietly ran up behind her. "Sorry I'm late!"

Einhart immediately shushed her and pointed directly ahead of them to the party of four who were continuing their stroll through town. Their backs were completely turned and it seemed that they had not yet sensed their presence.

"Let's see if we can engage them in a conversation," suggested Einhart

"Good idea," replied Vivio whilst nodding her head.

After this, the two resolved to sneak their way to the front of the party to start a conversation, but Yuusei and Koga were already aware that they were being followed. Noticing this, the two quickly began to pick up their walking pace.

"They the girls?" asked Koga.

Yuusei nodded. "Yeah they are. Should we run for it?"

"Nah, that'd only attract their attention. If they try to intercept us, I say we go quietly. We're fugitives on both sides right now, but I have a feeling that the TSAB is less likely to hurt us than Precia is," answered Koga.

There was silence.

"O-Okay then," said Yuusei hesitantly. "If you say so, Koga."

With their plan of action decided, the two boys purposefully slowed down and let the two girls step in front of them. They had conveniently made their way to the local park. It was a quiet place where people rarely went to at night, so it would make things easier for them if a fight broke out.

"Hey, remember us?" asked Einhart. The minty-haired bruiser came off a tad more intimidating than she probably should have, only realizing this when Yuusei's and Koga's bodies tensed at her words. Aerith and Olivia however seemed unaffected.

Yuusei felt his shoulder stiffen, reconsidering Koga's plan. "Y-Yeah, I do. What do you guys want?"

Vivio stepped forward, noting how she and Einhart looked just like the two girls travelling with Yuusei. Ignoring this fact for the moment, she continued to ease her way toward Yuusei until she was directly in front of him.

Nervous, Koga immediately began to draw closer toward Yuusei to separate him from Vivio. "U-Uh, Miss," he began, "If you have a problem with my friend, maybe you can talk it out with me?" he offered. Koga's voice was hard and cold, a huge change from his usually laid-back demeanor.

Vivio ignored Koga and fell to her knees as she quietly embraced a baffled Yuusei.

Yuusei froze, unable to move in blond's warm embrace. "Wh-What's wrong, miss?"

Everyone remained where they were, dumbfounded by Vivio's behavior.

"I-It's okay," assured Vivio. "Please don't fight with me," she pleaded. "We won't hurt you."

Yuusei flinched as she gently caressed his hair. He thought about it for a moment before remembering that he had come across this girl in the Project-F database: Vivio Takamachi, the product of Project-F that along with Fate Testarossa, led to the some of the basic concept work for Project Photon. She had supposedly been through treatment similar to how Precia treated them. She also happened to be Nanoha Takamachi's adopted daughter and therefore, by adoption, his older sister. At last, Yuusei asked, "How do I know that I can trust you? You wanna hand me over to the TSAB, don't you? There's no reason to put on the whole family act now."

Vivio shook her head. "Had I known you even existed before tonight, I would have tried to find you, protect you, I could have- I should have-" It was no use. The blond was finally sobbing uncontrollably and was not able to form coherent sentences anymore.

Seeing Vivio's tears, something stirred within Yuusei. A sharp, painful feeling ripped into his heart as his resolve caved in around him. His eyes finally softened. "What will you do with me then?"

"What do you mean?" asked Vivio.

"If you don't turn me in, everyone involved with your family could be accused of treason," warned Yuusei. "I'm doubtful that the Aces of Aces wants to live the life of a fugitive-"

"You're coming home with me," interjected Vivio sternly. Her grip tightened on Yuusei's body, refusing to let him go. Looking at the auburn-haired boy's companions, she added, "Your friends can come too. I don't mind."

Yuusei felt his eyes narrow whilst scoffing at the fact that Vivio hadn't answered his question. "Are you listening to me? You all will be branded trai-"

"I don't care," argued Vivio stubbornly. "If anyone tries to take you away again, I'll beat 'em to a pulp!"

While he attempted to remain stiff and cold in the young woman's arms, Yuusei's body finally began to quiver. At last his resolve was near-completely crumbled away. "What am I even doing?" he asked himself quietly. "Why am I rejecting her? This is what I wanted, right? I can be free. I won't have to kill anymore. I can live in a warm house. I'll have a family. I...I..." Finally, tears began to spill from the auburn-haired boy's eyes. "I don't even know what I want anymore!"

There was silence.

"Vivio, we should continue this elsewhere," advised Einhart.

Giggling sheepishly, Vivio replied, "Yeah, you're probably right." Looking to Yuusei and his friends, she said, "Come with us. I promise you that nothing bad will happen to any of you."

Yuusei hesitated, but eventually nodded his head. Koga did so as well, but much more quickly than Yuusei had. "You ladies have yourselves a deal," Koga told them as he and the two resonators made their to Yuusei's side. With their new-found close proximity, they could now use teleportation magic to transport to a new location together.

"It's better if we do this at your place, Ein," advised Vivio.

"Is that gonna be okay with Nanoha-san?" asked Einhart.

"It'll be fine. I'll tell her that I'm sleeping over. We can tell her about all of this after that," answered Vivio.

Einhart nodded. "Very well, let's go then," she said while summoning a green magic circle. In a flash, they were engulfed by light and made haste towards Einhart's house. As they did so, Vivio mentally relayed the events from the park to Chrono.

"Should I send guards to Einhart's house?" asked Chrono.

"No. We just promised them that nothing bad would happen. I just want to talk with them for a while. I'm gonna tell Mama where I am soon, but I just thought I'd let you know first," answered Vivio.

"Okay, be safe," replied Chrono.

"I will," said Vivio.

Not too long after that conversation was over, the group arrived at the large home of Einhart Stratos. Yuusei, Koga, Aerith, and Olivia could only gaze up at the amazing manor in awe. They had never seen something like this before. Einhart's home was incredibly beautiful and held a regal air to it.

Watching the four children, Vivio understood their sentiments well. She was equally as impressed when she had first seen it herself. Smiling brightly, Vivio asked, "Ready to go inside?"

Meanwhile...

Back at the Takamachi-Harlaown residence, Chrono had left Alicia's room to make a business call. While he did so, Alicia sneakily opened an eye to find that no one was in her room at the moment. Taking advantage of this, she slowly sat herself up and began to reflect on what she had just learned. "What in the world were they talking about it? If all of that's true, who am I? Who is Yuusei? Nothing's making sense to me anymore." All of these thoughts and more swam through her head, leaving her filled with confusion. "Why was Vivio so upset? Isn't Fate-mama like this too?" she asked herself. Hearing Chrono's footsteps, she quickly dove back under the covers.

Listening from under her blanket, Alicia heard Chrono reopen the door. When he took note of Alicia's supposedly still-sleeping figure, he sighed and left the room once more. After making sure he had shut the door, Alicia returned to her sitting position and looked out the window. Seeing the fire caused by Yuusei's magic consuming the city, she asked herself, "Why aren't you here too?"

Meanwhile, Prometheus and Pandora were fighting the TSAB mages and knights. Fortunately -or unfortunately- the reaper and witch siblings weren't doing so well. Every attack they attempted was pushed back and swiftly countered. That counter was quickly followed by an attack. They couldn't keep up.

Prometheus growled at them as he tapped the ground with his scythe. A scarlet magic circle appearing beneath him. "We will finish this sometime soon," he warned. Looking at Nanoha and Fate he grinned cruelly and said, "I just can't wait until you two see what the auburn-haired brat looks like going all out. He'll be a monster for all to see, just like his devil of a mother!"

Nanoha's face twisted with rage as she quickly readied Raising Heart and mercilessly unleashed several shots from her Axel Shooter spell at once. Prometheus laughed cruelly as he and Pandora teleported away, causing all six shots to miss. Nanoha's hands shook as she tightly gripped Raising Heart.

Worrying for her partner, Fate quickly placed a hand over hers. "We don't know what he's talking about yet, Nanoha. Let's not jump to any conclusions," she advised.

Nanoha smiled sadly at Fate while hugging her and whispering, "I want to sleep close together tonight."

Fate smiled and brought the auburn-haired mage into a warm embrace. "Okay."

Thoma on the other hand struck a pensive pose, staring off in the general direction of Einhart's house. "Hmm."

"What's wrong, Thoma?" asked Lily.

"It's strange," whispered Thoma, "But I'm picking up Eclipse Virus readings from over there."

"What do you think it could mean?"

"I don't know yet. Prometheus and Pandora were similar cases, but these four signals seem to be more proper cases."

"What should we do?"

"I'm gonna sneak away. We'll take Isis with us, but we're gonna go check it out," replied Thoma.

Thoma could hear Lily humming in his head. "Okay, let's get moving then. Remember, we have to report to Hayate-san in the morning."

After sensing that their conversation was over, Thoma slyly strolled over to Isis and tapped her shoulder. "There's another set of signals not too far from here. Lily and I are gonna go check it out. You in?"

Isis nodded with a grin. "Always."

Looking towards everyone else, Thoma said, "Hey, everyone! Our unit is gonna go check something out. We'll see you all tomorrow at the post-mission briefing!"

Signum crossed her arms, eyeing Thoma and Isis curiously.

Thoma internally cursed. "Oh no. Signum's onto us."

"Do you want back up?" asked Signum. It wasn't really a question. It was an order.

"U-Uh sure," stuttered Thoma, "You can come along if you'd like, Signum."

"Mm," replied Signum. "I'm leaving with the Zero Unit as well."

Fate raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you want us to come with you guys?"

Signum shook her head, smiling. "Don't worry, they have me with them. We'll be fine."

Fate seemed hesitant, but eventually nodded her head in defeat. "Alright then, Signum, but please be careful."

"Of course," replied Signum.

With that, the unit of four sped off in the direction of the new signals while everyone else watched them with intense suspicion.

"That's too weird. Why would they go to check it out immediately? Usually, Signum would ask Commander Yagami before heading out like this," thought Erio. Looking around, the red-head noticed that everyone's faces were filled with suspicion. At last, he said to the crowd, "I'll follow them in secret. Caro will come with me. Anyone else want to come with me-?"

"We're going," answered Nanoha and Fate quickly. In fact, they said it so quickly that they had almost cut Erio off at the end of his offer.

Erio looked back in the direction Signum was heading along with the Zero Unit. It was in the direction of Einhart's house. Realizing this, he understood their worries. "Alright, let's wait awhile before heading there. We should let the guests arrive in waves or Einhart might get worried.""

"You got it, Captain Erio," replied Nanoha and Fate teasingly.

Looking at everyone else, Nanoha said, "I think it's best if we keep the group as small as possible from here onward. Everyone else, please return to Hayate and tell her what's happening."

"Roger," replied the remaining crew. That is, everyone with the exception of Vita.

"Me too," said Vita. "I'm going too."

After everyone had left, Erio gave Vita the nod of approval. "We will wait about three more minutes. That will give them enough time to get there and walk through the door. It might look kind of suspicious if a huge horde of us drop in at once."

"Right."

After everyone agreed, the newly-formed team began their wait.

Meanwhile, at the Stratos residence, the doorbell sounded. Einhart raised an eyebrow, but curled her fists. "What if it's ex-comrades of the boys?" Looking back at an inquisitive-looking Yuusei and a relaxed Koga, Einhart said, "I'm getting the door, Vivio."

Hearing the stiff tone in Einhart's voice, Vivio's eyes grew serious. "Okay," she said quietly. "If anything's wrong, just call for me."

"Mm," replied Einhart whilst traveling out of the living room and into a maze of hallways. Once she had finally arrived at the door, the minty-haired bruiser opened it to find Signum and the Zero Unit there waiting for her. "O-Oh," she said, "H-Hello everyone, why the late visi-"

"Do you have guests, Stratos?" asked Signum bluntly.

Einhart smiled nervously. Arguing with Signum wasn't really something anyone enjoyed doing. "K-Kind of." Looking at them, she added, "But first, please return to your unarmed forms, you'll scare them."

Raising an eyebrow, Signum and the Zero Unit complied. Thoma went as far as to disengage from Lily.

Looking at all of them, Einhart nodded her head and decided that it was finally safe to let them in. "Okay, come in. They're in the living room upstairs with Vivio."

With that, the group made their way into Einhart's house.

A few minutes later...

When Yuusei and Koga had caught sight of Einhart's four guests, they immediately re-armored, causing Signum to immediately withdraw Laevatein, and Thoma to react. Isis seemed to be the only one not quite ready to draw out her weapon. Vivio immediately stood between the two and yelled, "Wait, wait! They're on our side!"

Signum caressed her face with her palm. "What are those two doing here Vivio?" she asked sternly.

Yuusei eyed her for a moment before making his way behind Vivio, just barely standing beside his sister. "You're the one I fought yesterday, aren't you?"

"Correct. I am Signum, and this is Laevatein," answered Signum. "Boy, what is your name?"

"Yuusei," the boy paused, "Yuusei Takamachi, son of the Aces of Aces." A powerful aura of deep-red magic engulfed the boy's body, but his incredible display of power did little to impress Signum.

Signum eyed the blazing aura intently. She was intrigued by the boy's ferocity, but it did little to impress her; rather, she was more impressed by the sheer density of his mana. "Such potent mana at a young age. He is definitely Nanoha's son," she thought to herself. "Where did you learn such control over your magic?"

Yuusei shrugged his shoulders. "We're all taught to do stuff like this. I'm actually not all that special. Two friends of ours, Sofia and Hilda, are really good at it though. One attack from either of them and you're a goner!" The auburn-haired boy seemed to grow pale upon recalling something terrible regarding the two people in question.

Signum felt her grip on Laevatein slacken. "It appears that Vivio and Einhart have succeeded in convincing him that we mean no harm," she thought to herself quietly. "Very well. Who are these other three individuals?"

Yuusei looked back to them, and eventually back to Signum, a reacted Thoma, and Isis. "I want the two behind you to introduce themselves first," answered the auburn-haired boy.

Thoma smiled and immediately stepped forward. "I'm Thoma Avenir, an Eclipse Driver. My plug, who you saw earlier, is named Lily."

"Nice to meet you," said Lily over telepathy.

Isis smiled at the four runaways and gave them a relaxed wave. "And I'm Isis. Thoma and I came here to check out Eclipse Virus signals coming from this house. Do you happen to know anything about this?"

Koga and Yuusei looked at each other and grinned. "'Know about it?'" repeated Koga with an enthusiastic grin on his face.

"Truth is, Koga and I are infectees ourselves," explained Yuusei. "The two behind us are resonators, a new type of unison device with the ability to function as unison devices, reactors, and combat-efficient knights."

At that moment, Aerith and Olivia stood, causing the entire crowd to stand at attention with the exceptions of Yuusei and Koga. The two of them grinned ear-to-ear.

"Ready to show off?" asked Koga.

Yuusei snickered. "Just don't screw up."

Yuusei took Aerith's right hand while Koga took Olivia's left, causing two respective magic circles to appear. Aerith's was a bright whitish-silver, while Olivia's was gold with green sparks. The magic circle then began to divide into multiple rings and gathered around the two boys. After that, they began to spin, creating a large, spinning pillar of light around the two of them.

"React!" the two boys yelled as they light settled. They appeared once again in the forms they had used during their little escape earlier this evening with Koga's hair pale-blond with his eyes green, and Yuusei with snow-white hair and golden eyes.

Yuusei's eyes gleamed with confidence as he withdrew a white and gold swordcannon similar to Thoma's divider. "Our magic is basically copied off of battle data from various sources." Looking at Thoma, he said, "Most of my fighting style was based off of your battle data."

Koga nodded, adding, "And mine was based off of various members of the Hückebein family." Looking down at his hands, Koga muttered, "The only problem with our strand of the Eclipse is that it's not a natural strand, so our powers have overwritten our normal magic."

Vivio tilted her head. "'Overwritten?'"

Yuusei nodded. "Normally, the average human being can learn multiple magic systems. You yourself are known for that, aren't you?"

Vivio nodded.

"Right. Well, in the case of our strands, we cannot use our Mid-Childan magic or our Belkan magic at all. It's been completely sealed off due to the unnatural virus strand corrupting our linker cores. It's a dangerous process and it's incredibly unstable. We'll probably require medical check ups on a daily basis once the vaccines they give us wear off," explained Yuusei.

Thoma nodded his head. "So what you're saying is that you guys can't use normal magic at all?"

"Plus added dangers to our health aside from the normal risks that come with the Eclipse," answered Koga. Hearing the sound of several objects landing in the courtyard, Koga smirked as he said, "Looks like you have more guests, Miss Einhart."

Einhart nodded, raising an eyebrow as she cautiously made her way down the stairs.

Meanwhile, outside; Erio, Caro, Nanoha, Fate, and Vita stood outside of the Stratos residence.

Vita's arms were crossed as she impatiently tapped her foot. "Geez that Stratos girl takes forever!"

Nanoha smiled, giggling lightly. "Nyahaha! Oh Vita, she's still young."

Vita huffed. She ceased her tapping, but kept her eyes trained on the door.

Eventually, Einhart did open the door, but when she saw Nanoha and Fate, her eyes filled with panic. "Oh no! Vivio! Your mothers are here!"

Vivio grew tense, but eventually regained her composure. "Let them in, Ein."

"But-"

"Don't worry. She wanted to see him just as bad as I did."

"…Very well," replied Einhart. Moving aside, she said, "Everyone's on the second floor. Please, make yourselves at home."

While Einhart was welcoming her new guests, Yuusei and Koga were receiving advice from Thoma.

"So, if we concentrate hard enough, we can create particle blades?" asked Yuusei excitedly.

"Right," answered Thoma. "Upon focusing enough energy, you'll be able to perform particle strikes. They're invisible to the average eye, so they're great for sneak attacks-"

"Hey, Thoma," yelled Isis. "Don't you think you're telling them a bit too much? They're not even our allies yet!"

"O-Oh, right," stuttered Thoma. Smiling apologetically, he said, "If you guys join our side, I can tell you more."

Yuusei nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds good."

"Count me in," chimed Koga.

The two boys shook Thoma's hand, leaving Isis to think to herself, "Yeesh, the two of them are almost as enthusiastic as Nanoha is about fighting. Well, at least they were easier to convince than the Grendels were."

Everyone was in the middle of their own interactions. The boys were talking with Thoma, Isis was now in the middle of catching up with Vivio, and Erio and Caro seemed to be relaxing on a nearby couch paying little attention to their surroundings. All of this came to a sudden halt when a certain white devil's voice pierced the room.

"YUUSEI!" yelled Nanoha.

Yuusei immediately looked up when he heard his name. His eyes finally fell on a woman in a white mage garb. "M-Mother."

Nanoha wasted no time in charging the currently white-haired boy. As she approached him, Yuusei summoned forth his divider and held it in a defensive stance. Nanoha stepped back, horribly shocked. "Y-Yuusei?"

Yuusei stared at her, his eyes never wavering. "Tell me why you did it."

Nanoha was devastated by Yuusei's hostile voice, but she maintained her composure while making a serious face. "I don't know what they told you, but we did everything we could to get you back. For what it's worth, I'm sorry that this happened to you." Suddenly looking at the boy's Eclipse markings, her eyes grew wide. "Those markings!"

Yuusei looked at her sadly. "That's right. I'm an Eclipse Driver. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't hold me like a normal person." His shoulders began to quiver.

Tears began to form in Nanoha's eyes. "I-Is something wrong?"

"You're damn right something was wrong!" yelled Yuusei. "Do you know what they did to me in there? They nearly killed me on a daily basis! And then Ivory tried to rebel against them and they… and they!" the boy broke down into a senseless fit of wailing. His comrade, Koga, stood completely shocked by the sudden outburst.

Nanoha's eyes burned from the tears that she was desperately trying to hold back. She finally crouched down, embracing the auburn-haired boy. "I'm sorry," she said, her own eyes filling with tears. "I'm so sorry!" she said through uncontrollable sobs.

Fate made to step forward to do, but was immediately stopped by Signum. "I don't think this is the end of it, Testarossa.".

Fate raised an eyebrow, but soon realized what she had meant when she sensed the massive amount of hostile energy building up around Yuusei.

Nanoha looked down at him, only now noticing his white hair and golden eyes. "You're going to have to introduce me to your Reactor Plug."

Yuusei laughed with a hoarse voice. "Yeah. I'm sure she'd like that."

There was silence.

At last, Yuusei suddenly began to grit his teeth. "…I want a match."

Nanoha looked down at him, confused by his words. "What?"

"If you really wanna make things up to me, then let's start with a one-on-one," answered Yuusei. Staring his mother down, he said, "I can't forgive you for what happened back then. Not just yet."

Nanoha remained where she sat in shock, but eventually, a smile crept onto her face. "Sure," replied the white devil. Suddenly, her smile blossomed fully with a final tear. "Nothing would make me happier than to see what my son is capable of!"

Yuusei was surprised by the positive response. "Okay then. Let's do this!"

Nanoha smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, okay!"

The two immediately made their way to the door leading into the hallway when they were met halfway by Fate. The blond stared down at Yuusei with curious eyes. "So, you're Yuusei." Giggling, she said, "It's strange. The last time that I saw you, you were much smaller."

Yuusei eyed Fate with interest. "This woman looks like Ivory and Alicia," he thought to himself quietly. Looking at the blond swordswoman a little more closely, he thought to himself, "Must be Nanoha's partner, Fate Testarossa." His eyes stilled trained on her, a final thought swam across his mind. "She's beautiful…"

Having noticed the boys stares, and finding them all too familiar, Fate smiled playfully at the boy. "Geez, you're so much like your mother," she teased. Without warning, she lowered herself to his level and embraced him with her blinding speed. "Welcome home, Yuu."

Yuusei flushed, his embarrassment rising astronomically. "W-Wait a minute! What the? Hold on a sec!" he yelled frantically as he struggled out of the blonde's grip. His burning-red face had the entire room filled with laughter.

Erio strolled behind the boy and ruffled his hair. "It's alright, kid. A lot of boys your age would react like that after getting hugged by a woman as beautiful as Fate."

Yuusei looked down, still embarrassed by his reaction. "O-Oh."

Nanoha laughed, taking the youth's hand in hers. "Still ready to go, Yuusei?"

Yuusei's body returned to an all-business stance. "Yeah. Let's go."

A few minutes later, the two stood across from each other in a field of flowers. Everyone had left the building to come and spectate.

Vivio watched the two auburn-haired warriors with eyes seemingly unreadable. Memories flashed by of when Nanoha had to battle with her life on the line to save the young kaiser, and now, Yuusei and Nanoha had a battle of their own to settle. Instead, this one was to make up for lost time. "It's fitting in a way," she told Einhart over telepathy.

Einhart watched Yuusei warm up, replying, "Like mother like son I suppose. It seems that everyone in the Takamachi family is a battle-maniac. Do you think that he's any good in martial arts?"

Vivio giggled. "Ein, let's not beat up on him yet. He's still a kid."

Einhart pouted. "Geez, I told you to stop calling me that!" Seeing an angle she could use against her beloved friend, she added, "And what of you, Vivio? You've become an overprotective big sister in under an hour."

"I'm just the same with Alicia," argued Vivio.

Einhart giggled. "I never said that it was a bad thing. To be honest, I think that it's kind of cute."

"W-What?" Vivio blushed madly. "E-Einhart-"

Einhart giggled while embracing Vivio from behind. "I win," she whispered mockingly.

"Careful," warned Vivio with a grin, "We might have to have another sparring match tomorrow."

"Come at me," urged Einhart

Just before things could get anymore steamy, Fate interrupted the growing cozy atmosphere with a quick, "Ahem."

Faces brighter than a red stoplight, Einhart and Vivio quickly separated and silently apologized to Fate; who only smiled, rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

The wind howled and lightly brushed up against Yuusei and Nanoha. The white devil stared down her son intently. "I wonder how he will attack me?" she thought to herself quietly. "He has a divider like Thoma's, so I have a feeling that he'll go for a mixed close-range and long-range approach, but we'll see."

Yuusei on the other hand seemed to be burning with what was either intense rage or intense excitement. "Aerith, we're gonna go all out! I want you to use your ability once we've got her on the ropes," commanded the auburn-haired boy over telepathy.

"You got it," replied Aerith.

Ready to begin, Yuusei began the battle by slashing his divider diagonally to test his reflexes. "Hmm." After a moment, he said, "Alright, I'm ready."

Nanoha raised an eyebrow, impressed by the raw power emitting from Yuusei's divider. "Impressive," she thought to herself excitedly. Smiling at he son, she exclaimed, "Come at me!"

Yuusei did as he was told, almost disappearing in a silent flash. He reappeared directly in front of Nanoha, bringing down his divider as if it were a mighty hammer. Steel collided against steel, but Nanoha held up Raising Heart's staff with every ounce of strength in her body. She was unmoved by his attack. "You'll need to do better than that!" warned the white devil.

A burst of magic light shot from a free-formed magic circle near Nanoha's abdomen, knocking Yuusei away from her.

Yuusei immediately stood up, forming a magic circle around the barrel of his divider. "Divide Blazer!" Not too long after that, a blazing stream of red light raced forth from the divider and toward Nanoha.

Nanoha barely managed to protect herself from the blast, using Protection EX to just barely weaken the blast. She smiled at him. The technique was similar to the Divine Buster, but it seemed to have been cast with the intention of destroying a barrier. He had anticipated her trying to block his assault. "He's got talent," she muttered quietly. The white devil could barely contain her excitement. For the first time in years, Nanoha felt alive. Brandishing her staff she yelled, "Is that all you've got?"

Yuusei shook his head, grinning ear to ear. "You haven't seen anything yet!"

The two collided once more. A battle between mother and son had finally begun, but to the spectators, it was a battle between devils.

Author's Notes:

As an apology for the late release of Record 03, Record 04 is out early! Record 05 is where the minor changes begin since we'll basically be caught up to the original story after that. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the latest release!