[Record 07: Sisters]

The room was in silent chaos. Sofia and Nanoha were locked into a deep staring contest, Fate was still trying to overcome the shock of what she had just heard, Signum and Aerith were trying to assess whether or not the situation would become a bloodbath, Subaru and Teana were hoping to survive the seemingly inevitable rain of lasers, Koga and Hilda were clinging to each other in fear of Nanoha's hostile aura, and Alicia was hiding behind her mother barely conscious mother.

"N-No way," muttered Fate. "But, wait, I don't remember anything about this." Her eyes fell once more on Sofia, who responded by grinned and returning her attention to Nanoha.

Nanoha's deep-blue eyes locked with Sofia's deep-red ones. The latter's resemblance to her beloved blond swordswoman was uncanny, but the smirk she wore reminded her vaguely of her favorite trickster commander. The white devil looked down at her son for a moment, her eyes softening for a brief second before returning her gaze to Sofia with a feigned smile. "I," she paused, "I see." Looking away with an awkward smile, she said, "I guess he would go and get himself a girlfriend someday, right?" Suddenly, the rage-filled tension in the air vanished, but was swiftly replaced with an unusual sadness. "Just don't do anything too outrageous, alright?" Laughing, the white devil joked, "I'll have to punish the both of you if you try to do anything foolish."

Teana's shoulder reflexively twitched at the word "punish" while Subaru swallowed at the thought of being punished by Nanoha. The two heaved a relieved sigh when they realized that they were safe for now.

Looking up at Nanoha's wounded face, Sofia's satisfied smirk immediately disappeared. "She's the total opposite of what we were told about her. If memory serves, the white devil's supposed to be a ruthless woman; but right now, she looks like she's about to cry." Upon seeing Nanoha's shoulders quiver, she looked down at Yuusei with narrowed eyes. "It appears that we've got some falsified information on our hands."

The silver-haired mage looked to her right and took note of Hilda glaring at her with crossed arms. "Sofia, that was a low blow," scolded the red-head. "Please apologize to Ms. Nanoha."

"Hold up, are you guys seriously going out?" interjected Koga with a confused tone of voice.

Sofia grinned and winked at Koga suggestively. "And what we are?"

Koga rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Then I'd say you're full of it."

"Hmph, how rude. You should be more trusting of me," argued Sofia.

"Sofia," reminded Hilda sternly.

"I know, I know," replied Sofia. Looking up at Nanoha, Sofia gulped. "U-Um?"

"Hmm?" Upon realizing that Sofia was trying to speak to her, Nanoha immediately returned to life. "O-Oh. Right! Nyahaha, congratulations! Normally I would have liked to meet you first, but the circumstances are a bit strange and-"

"I'm sorry," interjected Sofia. "That last part about being Yuusei's girlfriend was a just a joke. We go way back, but we're actually just friends, honest. Hilda and I came here to save Koga and him after hearing that you guys had found and detained them. We had no idea that something like this had happened." Staring into Nanoha's confused eyes and back at Yuusei's sleeping form, she said, "But in a twisted sort of way, maybe it's for the better that things went down like this."

Nanoha gazed at the silver-haired mage inquisitively, but a sigh of relief quickly escaped her lips. "I-I see. Nyahaha, Well, I'm glad that you understand now." Looking at her comrades, the white devil assumed a stern countenance and added, "But harming TSAB officers is a crime and you will need to do time for it."

Sofia chuckled. "Alright then." Suddenly, the silver-haired mage's countenance turned grim. "I'll go quietly, but only on one condition."

Teana immediately rose from the hospital bed, clenching her teeth to suppress the pain. "You are in no position to make demands. You threatened and assaulted multiple officers, successfully wounded four of them, and damaged public property. Your charges are already heavy. Being cooperative during investigation is your best option here."

"I think not. Trust me, you'll want to fulfill this condition whether you like it or not," replied Sofia. Leveling her gaze on Alicia, she said, "It's for Alicia's own safety."

"Huh?" Alicia perked up at the mention of her name. "My safety? Why?"

Sofia flashed the little blond mage a toothy grin, revealing that her upper-right canine had become much longer and sharper. "Because you're like me."

A tense silence fell over the room.

"Like you?" repeated Alicia. "Yeah. We're sisters, aren't we? We even look similar. Of course I'm like you."

"She isn't talking about looks, Alicia," said Koga with a distant voice.

"Huh? What does she mean then, Koga?" asked Alicia.

Koga remained silent.

Hilda shuffled her feet uncomfortably. Her eyes were glued to the floor. "What she means, Alicia, is that you have the same ability as her."

Subaru, Teana, and Signum gazed at Sofia and then stared at Alicia with horror-stricken eyes. "H-Hold on," said Subaru. "You don't mean that weird power she used on Vivio earlier, do you?"

"If you mean my power of assimilation, then yes, I'm talking about that power," answered Sofia quietly.

Alicia looked from left to right with confusion and fear rising in her gut. "W-Wait a minute! What are you all talking about? Sofia, did you attack Vivio-"

"I did," admitted Sofia with a straight face.

Silence permeated the room. Alicia stared at the silver-haired witch, who only returned her astonished gaze with an indifferent one.

"Why?" asked Alicia loudly. "We're family, aren't we? Speaking of which, if we're really sisters, why haven't I seen you before? Before tonight, you didn't even exist!" Frustration was evident in the little blond's progressively rising voice. Glaring at her shoes, the little mage muttered, "None of this makes any sense."

Sofia looked down for the first time with a guilt-ridden face. "I'm sorry." She instead turned her attention to Teana, who gave the young mage a stern glare. "She and I can talk later." Looking once more at the sniffling Alicia, she said, "I think she has suffered enough for today." Turning her attention to Fate, she asked, "May I go buy a drink? I," she paused, "Need a moment to rest."

Fate immediately made her way over to the silver-haired mage with a pair of handcuffs at the ready. "Very well. It will be informal, but I want to ask you a few questions off-the-record before we turn you over for official interrogation."

As if on cue, Einhart had finally arrived with Vivio. The minty-haired bruiser immediately took note of the handcuffed Sofia and the sobbing Alicia and looked to Subaru for answers. Subaru in turn responded by shaking her head. "I-Is everything alright?"

"I suppose, but to answer your question, we don't really know ourselves," answered Nanoha. Sauntering over to Einhart, she said, "Einhart, I'll take care of Vivio for you. I need you to do us an important favor right now."

Einhart seemed puzzled by the sudden request, but immediately went along with it. "S-Sure, Nanoha. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to contact Lutecia and have her look something up for us. It's very important," replied Nanoha.

"Lutecia?" repeated Einhart. While the minty-haired bruiser was on good terms with the violet-haired mage, she was not exactly the type to casually call her on the phone for the sake of striking up a conversation. "I-I suppose I could. We don't speak too often though, but I'll see what I can do." Carefully handing Vivio to Nanoha, Einhart said, "Please take care of her." Looking down at the bite on Vivio's neck, she gripped her right fist. "I'm really worried about her."

The white devil beamed. "Nyahaha! Don't you worry, Einhart. She's gonna be just fine. We actually have a room opened up for the two of you, so you can follow me there while we call Lutecia."

"Ah, very well then." Einhart struggled to her feet and offered to assist Nanoha in supporting Vivio's body. Together, the two slowly left the hospital room and made for the room next door.

"A-Ah." Sofia quickly regretted stopping them when Einhart and Nanoha immediately turned around. "Um," she paused, "Nevermind. It probably wouldn't help much anyway."

Teana struggled into an upright position. "Any information that you can give us, whether it be a guess or not, would be helpful at this moment. Doing so may also lighten your sentence."

Sofia bit her lip. "The Tome of Baldr." She nodded her head. "The Tome of Baldr. It's an old book with knowledge on human experimentation done by the Ancient Belkans. If you guys find it, it will probably give you a better understanding of what's going on than we ever could."

Nanoha giggled. "Thank you, Sofia." Turning her attention to Einhart, she asked, "Shall we get going?"

"Yes," replied Einhart. With that, the two immediately left with Vivio for the room next door.

Turning her head to Fate and assessing her from head-to-toe, Sofia said, "Wow, we really do look alike. If we don't mention my hair anyway."

Fate stared down at Sofia. She was filled with questions, yet she was not quite sure of how to ask them. "Where?" It was all she really could ask.

Sofia smiled uncomfortably. "I don't really know all the details, but if I had to guess, we were probably brought up in different environments to see if it would affect how our powers eventually triggered. It looks to me like Alicia is a late bloomer."

"Uh huh," replied Fate. "Well, are you ready to go grab that snack? If you answer my questions, I can at least remove those handcuffs."

Sofia looked down at Alicia worriedly. Her eyes softened before she looked up and eyed her friends, who nodded in approval. Finally, the silver-haired mage replied, "I'll answer what I can."


Meanwhile...


Nanoha and Einhart tiredly sat beside Vivio's hospital bed. There was little to say, so the room was filled with an awkward silence. Shamal would probably return and attend to Subaru's hand first before coming over to work on Vivio. The rest of the staff had to check on the patients who may have been injured during Sofia's attack.

The minty-haired bruiser awkwardly took out Tio. "I-I can call her now, if you'd like."

"Un," replied the white devil. "Good idea."

"Tio, call Lutecia," commanded Einhart softly.

"Nyaa," replied Tio.

A moment of elevator like music passed as a small video chat screen appeared above Tio's head. After what felt like eons, a violet-haired mage finally graced the screen with her appearance. "Ohohoho! Einhart! This is rare. What can I do for on this fine evening?" Looking around, she said, "Ah, Nanoha's here too! Where's Vivio? I simply have to show her this dress I bought the other day."

Einhart shuffled in her seat uncomfortably. "W-Well-"

"Vivio got hurt in an attack just now, but the attacker eventually decided to give themselves up and is currently in our custody," answered Nanoha. "The attacker told us that their power is the result of Ancient Belkan science, specifically, science from a book called the Tome of Baldr. Do you think that you could find some information for us?"

"What? Vivio got hurt?" asked Lutecia worriedly. "Is she okay?"

The minty-haired bruiser bit her lip and looked back down at the slowly breathing blond. "I hope so."

Silence fell over the room.

"The Tome of Baldr, huh?" repeated Lutecia. The violet mage chuckled before clearing her throat. "Not a problem! As you know, I have one of the largest collections of Ancient Belkan tomes around." The purple-haired mage twirled with excitement as she loudly made her claim. "To save time, I'll send Yuuno and Carim a message in the event that either the Infinity Library or the Saint Church has something that I don't, but have no fear! I'll get on it right now and get back to you tomorrow."

"O-Okay. Thank you, Lutecia," said Einhart.

"Aw, Einy! No need for the formalities. We're friends. It's what we do!" cheered Lutecia.

Einhart felt an invisible vein pop at Lutecia's newfound nickname for her, but swiftly dismissed it after reminding herself that the violet mage was her best source of information if she wanted to help Vivio. "R-Right."

Nanoha giggled before focusing the camera on herself. "Well, we'll be going then. Please text the details to us. If you could, forward the details to Shamal as well. She may need the data for medical research."

"Of course," replied Lutecia. Waving, she said, "Give Vivio my regards! Tata!" With that, the camera finally disappeared.

Nanoha and Einhart were once again left alone in the small hospital room. Neither seemed like they wanted to talk about Vivio's injuries, but neither really knew what to talk about. The day had been filled with all sorts of unusual occurrences and both esteemed fighters were on edge.

"S-So," began Einhart, "I was going to ask you about something today, but it seems like my timing has been ruined."

"Oh don't worry about that, Einhart," replied Nanoha. "Go ahead and ask me. I'm sure that whatever it may be, I'll be able to help you out."

"Well," the minty-haired bruiser paused and bit her lip. There was a brief silence before she finally said, "I wanted your permission."

"Permission?" repeated Nanoha. A moment of silence took hold of the room, but the white devil eventually caught on to the meaning behind Einhart's words. "Is it actually that time already? Nyahaha, to think, I never thought that I would see Vivio get married so soon."

"W-We don't mind waiting if you feel that it's too soon!" shrieked a nervous Einhart. The poor child was flushed from head to toe. Gripping her fist, she said, "I'm not all that experienced, and I may be a bit soft-spoken, but I am confident in my ability to care for Vivio!"

Nanoha flushed and giggled whilst bringing her hands to her face. "Oh my, Einhart, you remind me so much of Fate when she was younger."

Einhart shrugged her shoulders and shuffled her feet. "I-Is that a bad thing?"

"No, not at all. It's a wonderful thing." Taking Einhart's hand, Nanoha finally said, "But I want you to do something for me before I give the two of you the O.K."

Before Einhart could ask what Nanoha was talking about, Shamal burst through the door. "I heard about what happened from Subaru. Is Vivio alright?" Looking down at Vivio, she immediately checked the bite around her neck. "Strange, an unusual kind of mana is flowing through the bite on her neck."

Nanoha sighed before rising to her feet. "I'm going to go check on Fate and Sofia. Einhart?"

Einhart immediately rose to her feet. "Y-Yes, Nanoha?" Several thoughts were racing through Einhart's mind as she gazed into Nanoha's unreadable, blue eyes. "What is it? What does she want me to do?"

Seeing the puzzled expression on Einhart's face, Nanoha immediately smiled. "I expect to see you next Saturday at the fourth training barracks at fourteen-hundred. Am I understood?"

The minty-haired bruiser was initially puzzled. After a moment's pondering, realization finally lit her eyes. "O-Of course! I'll be sure to exceed your expectations."

A playful spark sprung to life in Nanoha's eyes. "I would certainly hope so. After all, I'm going to be coming at you with my full power. I hope you're ready."

Einhart's shoulder shook at Nanoha's words, but the minty-haired bruiser remained steadfast and resisted the urge to crumble before Nanoha's playful intimidation. "I'll be ready," she said with a resolute voice. With that, Nanoha waved goodbye and left the room. Returning her attention to Shamal, Einhart's face turned grim as she asked, "Is Vivio going to be alright?"

Shamal on the other hand was positively beaming. "She will be fine. I recommend that the two of you take it easy and avoid sparring for a few days, but after that, Vivio will be as good as new. On the other hand, Einhart," she paused, "I'll be rooting for you." It took Shamal a moment to realize that Einhart had a similar bite on her own neck. "Einhart, you didn't tell me that you had received a similar injury."

The minty-haired bruiser winced as Shamal made to investigate the wound. After rubbing a blazing anti-septic onto it, the doctor struck a pensive pose. "It appears that this bite has an unusual property. It appears that mana from your own body left this spot, while mana from another source met it just outside the wound from another source. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes," answered Einhart. "A strange girl bit us and caused our mana to start leaking from our bodies at an uncontrollable rate. After which, she began to create a copy of our linker cores by using her own mana." Scratching her head, Einhart muttered, "I don't quite understand it. From what it looks like, she copies the appearances and abilities of those she copies linker cores from."

"It's just like the Book of Darkness," said Shamal quietly.

"The Book of Darkness?" repeated Einhart with intrigue. "What makes you say that Doctor Shamal?" The minty-haired bruiser took a seat on the bed next to Vivio's.

"Yes, well," Shamal paused, "The Book of Darkness had a similar ability that allowed it to create copies of Linker Cores from powerful mages without causing permanent damage. The Book of Darkness however was simply a tome with a special type of magic installed into it. It's not impossible that a mage with that kind of rare skill exists. This bite is probably how she triggers the skill." Einhart took a moment to rub the bite mark, wincing as she did so. Shamal immediately stood up with a roll of bandages in her hands. "Please don't move. I need to make sure that your neck is properly covered. The wound is probably sensitive right now and will need some time to recover. I don't want you doing anything until next week Saturday. That should give you enough time to recover for your match."

"But-"

"Am I understood, Einhart?" Shamal stood over the young woman with a smile, but beneath that smile hid an incredibly strict gaze.

Einhart nodded reluctantly, thoroughly defeated. "Y-Yes ma'am."


Meanwhile...


Koga, Aerith, and Hilda sat on the three guest chairs beside Yuusei's bed. The three sat in awkward silence as Subaru and Teana kept their eyes trained on them. Koga leaned over and locked eyes with Hilda, who seemed just as nervous with the two pairs of wary eyes staring at them. Both of them were desperate to break the silence. "S-So," began Hilda sheepishly, "This is one of the resonators that the two of you stole? She looks an awful lot like one of the girls we saw earlier."

"Right?" Koga replied with strained laughter. "I don't know all of the details, but it looks like they were made in an attempt to copy abilities from a few people. Seems to be a bust though. Look at her linker core color. It's not even remotely close to the same color."

"Indeed," affirmed Aerith. "While we are called the sankt and hegemon resonators, it is not quite accurate to say we're perfect models. Fact of the matter is, the only things they could perfect as of this moment are our appearances and bits of their fighting styles. Perfectly-functional linker cores and accurate magic colors were not yet perfected. The two we were assigned to, Prometheus and Pandora, were meant to be beta-testers to see if our abilities were useful in combat. I believe the newer, more-improved models, were being worked on in the lab below ours." Placing a finger on her lips, she hummed in deep thought.

"Hold on," interrupted Teana. "There are more of you?"

"And what do you mean by more perfected?" asked Subaru worriedly.

Aerith looked to Koga and Hilda for permission to speak. Both of them immediately gave her an approving nod. The last thing they wanted was for that awkward silence to return. "Very well," said the minty-haired resonator. "We resonators were made as multi-purpose unison devices for both regular mages and eclipse infectees alike. While not only possessing the functions of a unison device, we were created to be like familiars in our ability to be participate in real-time combat; however, it was eventually discovered that resonators require functioning linker cores. From what we heard, Precia Testarossa developed a working theory that stated that with proper samples of magic and DNA, we could closely replicate the magic of older mages for use among mages of a new generation. Unfortunately, the project has had very few successes as of lately. Most of our fellow resonators either broke or were scrapped for inefficiency. Olivia and I are among three currently working beta-models."

"Three?" repeated Subaru. Nervously clenching her one working fist, she asked, "So there's one more of you?"

"That's not our only problem, Subaru," said Teana whilst pressing her back against the wall. "If she's right, then not only is there one more resonator that isn't accounted for, they're making newer and better ones. At this rate, more dangerous enemies will appear and the two we encountered earlier will become even more challenging to fight than they were last time."

Hilda blinked a few times. "Ah, that's right. Koga, where is your resonator? Separation greater than a few kilometers is said to be taxing, isn't it?"

Koga grinned a bit and leaned back into his chair. "Olivia? She's here. I just set the appearance-changing function to dormant. I can pull her out if you'd like."

"It may be best to do so," suggested Aerith. "Olivia is much more knowledgeable on the subject than I am. It may be best to ask her a few questions."

"Huh?" Koga's surprise was written all over his face. A blank stare was plastered onto his face. "Really? That clown?"

"Hmph, how rude," complained Olivia. "I'll have you know that my functionality is actually the best among the three working betas with Aerith's being the second best. The last of us, Melanie, isn't exactly what you would call functional."

"Hmm? What do you mean, Olivia?" asked Koga.

"Hey, call her out," ordered Teana. "We can't hear anything the two of you are saying. The information she's providing could prove vital to resolving this incident."

"Ah, right. Sorry." Chuckling, Koga said, "Well, you heard her, Olivia. Come on out."

"Roger!" A bright light consumed the room, but when it subsided, Olivia had reappeared. Stretching, she let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Oh thank god. It was so cramped in there! You have no idea how irritating it is to be used by someone with only sixty-five-percent compatibility."

Koga rolled his eyes. "Well excuuuuuuse me, princess. I was obviously compatible enough for you to resonate, so it's no big deal."

"Well, not quite," interjected Aerith. "The lower your compatibility, the less likely the resonator will be to function properly." Crossing her arms, she said, "That having been said, your lack of compatibility is a health concern. It could eventually damage your linker core. The fact that the two of you are also eclipse drivers rather than practitioners of Mid-Childan or Belkan magic will make casting magic with us particularly taxing. Without maintenance from the lab, the four of us were likely to destroy ourselves from the inside out within a few weeks."

"In other words, Precia had anti-theft methods built into the two of you. The clever bitch," muttered Koga dejectedly. He yawned loudly before pulling out a small bag of potato chips from his jacket pocket. "Damn I'm tired." Looking over at Teana and Subaru, the young man asked, "Hey, can we have places to sleep? I'm tired already."

Hilda felt her composure slacken. "Are you kidding me? We're in the middle of a crisis and you're complaining that you're tired?" Huffing, she said, "Honestly, Koga. This is why everyone calls you a clown."

Koga made to say something until he noticed Olivia sticking her tongue out at him. Growling, he rolled his eyes and bit into a potato chip. "Whatever," he said whilst snacking on the tiny chip.

Watching them, Teana relaxed her shoulders. Exasperation and an enormous headache were quickly settling in. "They really are just children."

Subaru laughed sheepishly. "Now, now, why don't we relax a little? There's not much we can do with damage like this." Looking down at her device, Subaru added, "And getting confrontational with our only lead won't solve anything."

"U-Um," Alicia took a moment to take a close look at Olivia. After walking a few laps around her, she immediately made her way to Aerith and began to closely inspect her every inch. The poor resonators felt their confidence faltering beneath the scrutinizing eye of the little blond mage.

"Y-Yes? Is something wrong?" asked Aerith nervously.

Alicia finally put her hands together. "You two really do look like Sis and Einhart!" she said loudly. An expression of discontent worked its way onto Alicia's face. "Great. More of them. I was having a hard enough time figuring out that Sofia girl." Crossing her arms, she looked the two of them once more and sighed. "I need a time out. I think I'm gonna go check on how my mamas are doing."

"W-Wait, Alicia-" Subaru wasn't able to finish her plea, because Alicia was already out the door and strolling over to the cafeteria where she was certain that Fate and Nanoha were interrogating Sofia.

This once more left Hilda and Koga alone with Teana, Subaru, and the two resonators. An awkward silence fell over the six of them as they gazed at one another. Finally, Olivia broke the silence. "Um, would it be less confusing if the two of us just went around in our battle forms."

"Yes!" was the resounding answer.


Meanwhile...


"They did what? Wait, so now they're at the clinic with everyone else under interrogation? Uh huh. Alright. I got it. Listen, Shamal, I'm finishing some stuff up here at the office. I will be right there. Please don't move. Goodbye." Hayate sighed loudly as she loudly dumped her phone back into her purse. An exasperated hand met her face as she quietly stared at the metallic ceiling. "Good grief."

Hayate rose from her chair and picked her up her staff. "Well, guess I better head to the scene too. Things are getting real serious." A white magic circle appeared beneath her feat. As the energy swirled around her, she thought to herself, "I have a feeling that this is only the beginning of our troubles. I just hope that things do not end as gravely as they did last time." With a bright flash of light, Hayate disappeared from the office.


Meanwhile...


Sofia greedily chugged the large can of mountain dew in front of her before snatching the bag of chocolate-covered cookies and munching down at least three of them. Satisfied, she let out a content sigh. "Ah, much better."

Fate and Nanoha stared at the younger girl with incredulous eyes. Not because of what she just did, but because it was the twelfth time she had done that in the last five minutes. "U-Um," began Fate nervously. "Why are you taking in so much sugar?"

"We don't have a problem with you buying all of these snacks," added Nanoha, "but isn't it unhealthy for a girl your age to be eating so much? You'll get fat."

The silver-haired mage laughed playfully. "Yeah, I suppose that could happen. I need it right now though. Whenever I use that much magic, I need to re-supply my body with enough calories to replace the ones I lose during the casting process. To be honest, until all of this digests, I probably couldn't cast another bombardment spell if I wanted to." Sofia looked up to see that Nanoha and Fate still had their eyes trained on her. Sighing, she asked, "What's wrong? I can't eat with you guys looking at me like that. I've answered every question you've had up until now, so why the long faces?"

"Well, yes, you've been very helpful and the information you've given us will be a huge help in the coming months, but," Fate paused. She seemed like she wanted to say more, but the blond swordswoman just couldn't say it. Fate turned to Nanoha for assistance.

Nanoha seemed just as hard pressed for something to say. "W-We wanted to ask you another question. It's not about Precia," Nanoha paused when she noticed Fate's body tense up. "It's just that we wanted to know if you had met someone while you were spending time in the lab. We asked Koga, but he refused to say anything on the matter-"

"It's about Ivory, right?" asked Sofia. "Yeah, I knew her. Sis was a nice girl. A very kind and beautiful woman, but that kindness eventually destroyed her."

Nanoha and Fate felt their hearts sink. Fate's complexion paled and Nanoha clenched both fists. Fate was the first to speak. "Th-Then, is she-"

"We don't know," answered Sofia quietly. "If I knew, I'd tell you. This is probably why Koga didn't want to bring it up either. No one knows what happened to Ivory after that day. We wish we did."

"That day?" repeated Nanoha. "Koga insisted that we ask Yuusei, but will you tell us?" Sofia looked up at Nanoha and Fate with wavering eyes. "Please. We have to know! That girl, Ivory, is our-"

"I know," said Ivory. Her hair fell over her eyes. "Ivory was," she paused to find the right word, "she was always smiling, kind of a weirdo to be honest. Up until that day, Ivory truly believed that we would meet our real parents and be able to live better lives." The silver-haired mage gazed out left toward the vending machine. Finally, she lowered her head into her hands. "She was a fool, an amazing fool." Nanoha and Fate braced themselves for the worst as Sofia's gaze met theirs once more. "Ivory disappeared two years ago."

Silence filled the room. If Nanoha had dropped Raising Heart, you probably would have the sound of the ruby bead hitting the floor. Fate's and Nanoha's hearts sank, threatening to shatter. They wanted to ask what had happened, but they suddenly feared the answer. The two mages looked gazed into each other's eyes fearfully. What should they do? What could they do? Was Ivory dead? Or was she wandering about, avoiding capture on both sides just waiting for them to save her? Questions assaulted them one after another and neither mage knew what to do.

"No body was ever found," added Sofia quickly. "Hilda has already given up hope, but Koga, Yuusei, and I believe she's still out there somewhere!" A defiant light began to shine in Sofia's eyes. "Precia tried to make an example out of her, but mid-way through, a giant explosion occurred on the stage. Yuusei and I found a hole in the ceiling of the stadium. Hilda tries to say that it was probably just a result of the explosion, but I'm positive that Ivory used that as part of her escape."

Nanoha seemed relieved, but Fate was nearly as hopeful. The blond's face was clouded over with despair. "I'd love to think otherwise, but if it was Precia, then Ivory may really be dead." The swordswoman bit her lip. "Thank you for telling us."

"Mama?" Fate turned to the doorway to find Alicia standing near the entrance to the cafeteria. Sauntering toward her mother, Alicia immediately began to assess the situation. "What's going on?" Staring at the seething expression on Fate's face, the little mage asked, "What happened, Mama? Is everything okay?"

No answer.

"Mama?" Alicia tried once more.

Fate smiled gently before pulling her daughter into a deep embrace. "I'm sorry, Alicia. I'll be back. I just need to check on something real quick. I'll be back soon. I promise."

Nanoha immediately stood up. "That's right!" The white devil beamed. Patting Alicia on the head, the older mage said, "We're going to investigate something important. Stay here with Sofia, okay?"

Sofia looked down at her handcuffs. One of the cuffs had been released and instead shackled to the table. She chuckled bitterly before raising her head and giving Alicia a nervous smile. "Yeah. Why don't we talk a little. I think you have a lot of questions. I may just have a lot of the answers."

Fate immediately shot Sofia a warning glance. "If anything happens to her, you're the first one I'm pinning liability on."

Sofia bit her lip. An almost hurt expression was just barely being made visible on her face before she feigned indifference. "Understood," was all she said. Regaining her smile, Sofia patted the seat next to her. "Have a seat, Sis. We've got a lot to catch up on."

Hearing Sofia's words, Fate stopped mid-step. Seeing Fate stop, Nanoha immediately stopped walking and turned around at the door way. "Fate?"

Fate looked back at Alicia and Sofia with a guilt-ridden expression. "That's right. No matter how little I know about her, she's my daughter as well." Remembering various moments from her past with Precia, Fate winced, her shoulders flinching upon remembering the crack of her mother's whip. "She's just like me." At last she said, "I'm sorry, Sofia. That was uncalled for."

Sofia looked up, seemingly surprised. Retaining her smile, she replied, "It's okay. I'm used to it. Go on now, Nanoha's waiting. I'll take care of Alicia until then, I promise." The blond swordswoman disappeared from view. Sofia flushed as an unusual warmth enveloped her body. "Wh-What?" Looking up, she found herself in Fate's embrace. Her eyes wavered for a brief moment, but the silver-haired mage's smile never faltered. "I-Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing needs to be wrong for me to hug my own daughter," answered Fate. Leaning closer, she whispered, "It's okay now. You don't need to be strong anymore."

Losing her bravado, Sofia could not answer Fate's reassuring words. Instead, she merely looked away.

Satisfied, Fate rose and returned to Nanoha's side. "We'll be back soon. Be safe, you two." Her smile was warm and reassuring. She and Nanoha left the room without another room. Their footsteps echoed throughout the hallway and back into the cafeteria.

There was an awkward silence between Sofia and Alicia. For several minutes Alicia kept her eyes trained on Sofia whilst Sofia made sure to keep her face out of Alicia's view. From the corner of her eye, Alicia finally noticed the single tear that escaped Sofia's eyes. "Sofia?"

"Hmm? What's up kiddo?" replied Sofia.

Alicia struggled with the question. "Mama's hugs are warm, aren't they?" Sofia's shoulders flinched at the warmth of Alicia's touch. She found her entire body stiff when Alicia decided to hug her instead. "We're family, right? If you don't do bad things anymore, we can spend even more time like this."

Sofia was silent for a moment. "More time like this, huh?" It was for a fleeting moment, but Sofia enjoyed the thought of such blissful peace. Leading an ordinary life, having a little sister, and having a warm home; the thought brought about a strange, unfamiliar feeling within her. "You know," she paused to turn around and returned the shorter mage's embrace as best as she could with her one free arm. "I'd like that." Closing her eyes, Sofia let out a deep sigh. "But odds are Koga, Hilda, Yuusei, and I will all be dead by next week Friday." Gripping Alicia even tighter than before, she thought to herself, "So before that happens, I'll teach this girl everything I know. I'll tell it all to her so that maybe she can work with these people to stop that that mad woman."

Alicia tapped Sofia on the back. "So-Sofia? You're squeezing me!" She made this apparent by gasping for air and repeatedly tapping the older mage's back.

"A-Ah! Sorry!" Sofia immediately backed off with a sheepish laugh. "I don't really know my own strength some times." Smiling, she reached into skirt's pocket and pulled out a strange ring. The band was silver with strange runes engraved into it while the gem appeared to be made of emerald. She then revealed her right hand to show that she had a matching ring on her own hand. "The ring I'm going to give you is one of three special rings called the Rings of Aegis. You can use it to protect yourself once you've become skilled enough at casting magic. I dare say not even Hilda's Gungnir could pierce this shield." Placing it in Alicia's hand, she said, "Try it on. It fits itself to its wearer, so don't worry about the size."

Alicia stared at the ring, taken in by its shining splendor before equipping it to her finger. The ring immediately began to reshape itself to Alicia's finger. The blonde let out an excited squeal while taking in the ring's astonishing beauty. She took a long moment to admire it in the cafeteria's light. The younger mage immediately locked the older into an incredible bear hug. "Thanks, Sis!"

"S-Sis?" Sofia was taken aback by the word. Smiling she replied, "Anytime, kiddo."

Neither sister noticed Signum watching from the distance. With her arms crossed, she quietly shook her head. "I'm glad. It seems that the two of them are getting along now."

Agito looked on with an approving smile. At last, she asked, "By the way, Signum, who is that girl?"

"It's a long story," replied Signum.


Meanwhile...


"Victor! Victor! We need to go to the hospital, now!" screamed Sieglinde with urgency. She burst into the large study to find a platinum blonde woman behind a mahogany desk reading some kind of old tome.

Victoria immediately lifted her eyes from the tome. "What's wrong, Sieg? Where's the fire?"

"No fire! It's Vivio. I was talking with Einhart right now and it sounds like she got hurt. What should we do?"

The black-haired brawler went into a near three minute rant, venting out her fears until Victoria sighed and rose from her seat. Patting Sieglinde on the head, she said, "Get out of the tracksuit. We're going to the hospital to check on them."

"Ah, okay!" replied Sieglinde as she dashed out of the study.

Victoria took a moment to open the curtains of the study window. It had just begun to rain, but the rumbling of the thunder left her with an unusual sense of foreboding. "It appears that something troublesome has begun once again."


Meanwhile...


"What the hell, Blake? I told you to kill the prisoners! K-I-L-L! Not treat them to free snacks," yelled Prometheus angrily. Lost in his rage, he swatted a young boy's head. The boy in question had jet-black hair and deep-blue eyes. "Can't you do anything right? Even Yuusei's not this much of a pansy!"

"Prometheus, that's enough," scolded Pandora. "You know what happens to Blake when he's set off."

Prometheus cautiously gazed down at Blake's hands. "Whatever. It's not like he has the right equipment to do it anyway. He was stripped of his equipment after failing his last assassination mission, remember?"

"He is still dangerous," assured Pandora. Looking down at Blake, she said, "Though I must say, you've fallen, Blake. You used to complete your missions rather well. None would live to tell the tale if you were after them. It seems strange that you would suddenly decided to stop killing your targets. If you continue to do this, Precia may eventually decide to dispose of you."

"I-I," Blake paused to search for the right words. "I just can't do it anymore."

SLAP!

"Agh!" Blake flinched and winced as he found himself with his back against the laboratory wall.

"Why you!" yelled Prometheus. "I'm real sick of your weakling talk. Do us a favor and drop de-"

"Prometheus!" yelled a woman's voice. It was over a transmission with a sound-only image window.

Prometheus flinched. "Y-Yes? Precia?"

"I need you and Pandora to report to the testing lab immediately. You can reprimand Blake later. Speaking of Blake, may I speak to him?"

"I'm right here," answered Blake warily.

"Blake," began Precia. "You're a special case. I created you to take the place of one of the three failures among the photon test subjects. As such, you have a bit of leeway in your actions, but I cannot tolerate insubordination. Do you have an excuse?"

Blake winced and shook his head slowly. "No, I don't."

"Hmph. Impudent brat." Precia paused. "Very well then. I will assign you a simple task then. Go to the hospital and check on Sofia and Hilda. They have not returned and I am worried that they may have been captured. If you happen to find them, Koga, and/or Yuusei, bring them to me at once."

Blake thought about it for a moment. "Wh-What do you want them for?"

"Do I need a reason to want anything?" yelled Precia. "I am your creator and you will do as you are told! Is that understood, Blake?"

"Y-Yeah, I got it," replied Blake timidly.

"Hmph. I hope so. Do not fail me, Blake. I have grown tired of your antics." With that, the call was terminated. Prometheus, Blake, and Pandora all stood together in silence.

"Well, it appears you lucked out, Runt," teased Prometheus. "Good luck gathering the your fellow failures. Pandora and I have important work to do."

"Goodbye, Blake. I wish you good luck," said Pandora quietly. With that, the two strolled out of the hanger and into what appeared to be an entrance to a lab of sorts.

Blake in turn looked down at his hands before opening the hanger. After poking his head and looking from left to right, he closed the door behind him and stared out into the night sky. "It's not like the others to come back so late. I wonder what's taking them?" The black-haired boy strolled down the street until he looked down at his hands and muttered, "Ah. I forgot my weapons."


Author's Notes: Hello, all! I'm back from the dead to update once more. We've unveiled yet another of the remaining mystery kids. Will this one be a villain? Will the ones that have turned good stay good? Meanwhile, I wonder where Nanoha and Fate have disappeared to? Next time: Sieglinde, Victoria, Hayate, and Blake hit the scene! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter and look forward to seeing you in the next update! This is KaiserPhotos signing off.