Chronicle VII: Little Brother

"Vivio, clone isn't the right word for it!" Chrono reminded. "They're still their children, they were just genetically engineered prior to their birth," he added.

"Then why does Alicia-chan almost exactly like Fate-mama, huh Uncle Chrono?" Vivio persisted loudly.

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, he said, "I am not sure. I look very similar to my father, perhaps it was just coincidence," he suggested. "Besides, how would you explain that Nanoha's 'clone' came out a boy rather than a girl if they were just clones?" he asked.

Vivio shook her head. "Maybe there was a mishap during the duplication process of Nanoha-mama's cells? Messing up a chromosome probably isn't that hard with all of the stuff we can do on Mid-Childa," she argued.

Chrono crossed his arms. Vivio was really scratching the bottom of the barrel to win this argument, but Vivio had a personal bone to pick with this incident. After all, Vivio herself was a product of Project-Fate-related work and a victim of people who tried to use her to fulfill their own selfish ambitions. "I understand how you feel about this Vivio," he began, "but we need to think about Alicia-chan as we proceed from here okay?"

Vivio was silent for a moment, eyeing her "younger sister" with eyes filled with empathy and confusion. She was at a loss and was having a hard time deciding where she would go from here. Just as she was about to answer Chrono though, her communicator beeped.

"Vivio, I found him," Einhart said. "He's with another boy now though. They're in casual clothes wandering town with two older girls about our age," she told the blonde.

Vivio raised an eyebrow. He's with friends? I thought he would be reporting back to a base or something, Vivio thought to herself curiously. "Keep tailing him and send me your active coordinates. I'll be there in a minute," she told the silvery-mint-haired girl.

"Roger," Einhart replied as she hung up.

Vivio was left to shift her gaze between Alicia, Chrono, and the door. Her feet shuffled, and her body filled with tension. This was their chance to question him peacefully, she had to hurry!

Chrono stared at her for a moment, saying nothing with a stiff expression plastered onto his face. "Gonna go?" he asked.

Vivio nodded. "I have to," she replied.

Chrono said nothing, but eventually smiled at her and pointed towards the door. "Just be safe and remember to take him to a safe place quietly if you manage to apprehend him," he told her quietly.

Vivio nodded to him, saying, "Thanks Chrono," as she made for the door.

Just as she was about to leave though, Chrono said to her, "Just remember though that Alicia-chan sneaking out never happened," he told her. "Your mothers will kill me."

Vivio giggled and shook her head. "It's okay, I wasn't gonna tell them anyway," she told him cheerfully. After that, she shot through the door and quickly made to haste to join Einhart in pursuing Yuusei.


Speaking of Yuusei, the boy was currently travelling with Koga and the two resonators. They had just finished their showers at a public bathhouse that they snuck into and were currently taking a break and enjoying a bit of sight-seeing.

During their servitude to Precia, Yuusei and Koga were never allowed out on leisure trips, so moments like these were incredibly precious to them. "City's nice as always," Yuusei muttered.

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

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," Yuusei explained.

Koga nodded. "I don't know who my parents are, but Yuusei was separated from his parents after he was born. They never came to get him, so they sorta abandoned him," he added.

Aerith looked away for a moment. "Oh, I-I'm sorry Yuusei, I had no idea," she told Yuusei apologetically.

Yuusei smiled at her. "Ah it's fine Aerith. You didn't mean anything bad by it," he replied gently.

Olivia snickered and nudged Aerith on the side. "You've found yourself quite a fine lord huh Aerith?" she teased.

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

Olivia rolled her eyes and giggled. "Yeah right, you should see the look on your face right now!" she exclaimed.

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 to herself, "Better get them to come with me before anyone else finds them," she told herself.

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

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," Einhart suggested.

Vivio nodded to her. "Good idea," Vivio answered.

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?" Koga asked in a whisper.

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. If anything, it may give us an in to the HQ. If we're not separated from the girls, it'll be perfect!" Koga told the younger boy with gleeful tone of voice. He seemed to really believe that this would work.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Yuusei replied, trusting the older boy's judgment. They 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?" Einhart asked. She came off a tad more intimidating than she probably should have.

Yuusei felt his shoulder stiff, reconsidering Koga's plan. "Y-Yeah, I do. What do you guys want?" he asked with a threatening voice. He reached into his pocket to rest his hand Divinium, just in case.

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

Koga was starting to grow nervous as well now, making his way toward the two of them. "U-Uh, Miss, 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 relaxed, childish demeanor.

Vivio ignored him and fell to her knees as she embraced the boy, sobbing uncontrollably. Yuusei stood there, taken aback by the sudden turn of events. His traveling companions and Einhart were equally as confused. "It's okay, please don't fight with me," Vivio begged. "We won't hurt you," she told him desperately.

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: she was Vivio Takamachi, the product of Project-F that along with Fate Testarossa, led to the idea of 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.

No one said anything for the longest time, until Yuusei asked, "How do I know that I can trust you?" he asked coldly. "You wanna hand me over to the TSAB don't you?" he asked stiffly.

Vivio shook her head. "No, 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, Vivio was sobbing uncontrollably and was not able to form coherent sentences anymore.

Seeing this woman, who he had only known for no longer than two minutes, cry for him, Yuusei felt incredibly moved by her compassion, but most of all by her warmth and love. "What will you do with me then?" he asked seriously.

"Huh?" Vivio replied. She was still squeezing the boy in her tight embrace, and she didn't quite understand his question.

"If you don't turn me in, your whole family and possibly all of Section-6 will be branded traitors won't they? I'm sure the Aces of Aces wouldn't want that," the boy warned.

Vivio shook her head. "You're coming home with me," she told him sternly. Looking at his companions, she added, "Your friends can come too if they'd like."

Yuusei felt his eyes narrow. What she was offering him didn't match up with what he was told about the Takamachi-Harlaown family. "Didn't you just hear what I said? You all will be branded trai-"

"I don't care," Vivio interjected stubbornly. "If anyone tries to take you away again, I'll help Mama beat them to a pulp," she told him.

Yuusei struggled within himself. This is what he had been looking for- the love of a family, so why? Why was he having a hard time trusting her?

"Vivio, we should continue this elsewhere," Einhart advised, making Vivio aware of all of the stares she was getting from passing-by civilians.

Giggling sheepishly, she said, "Yeah, you're probably right." Looking to Yuusei and his friends, she asked, "Could you please 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 way near Yuusei. With their newfound 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-chan," Vivio told the heterochromatic-eyed girl.

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

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

Einhart nodded. "Very well, let's go then," she said as she summoned 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 at the park to Chrono.

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

No, we promised them nothing bad would happen. I want to just 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, she replied.

Okay, be safe, Chrono told her.

I will, she said.

Not too long after that conversation was over, the group arrived at the large home of Einhart Stratos. Yuusei could only gaze at it in awe along with his travel companions- they had never seen something like this before. Einhart's home was incredibly beautiful and held an air of royalty. Vivio understood their sentiments, she was equally as impressed when she had first seen it herself. Smiling brightly, Vivio asked, "Ready to go inside?"


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. While what Chrono had said made her feel slightly better, she still felt awful.

Alicia was filled with questions. So I could just be a fake? And even if I'm not, I was just part of an experiment? If that's true, who am I? Am I really Alicia Takamachi-Harlaown, or am I some kind of weapon that Mid-Childa made to fight for them? All of these thoughts and more swam through her head, and it left her filled with doubt and despair. Was my life all a lie? she asked herself. Hearing Chrono's footsteps, she quickly dove back under the covers.

Listening from under her blanket she heard Chrono reopen the door. When he Alicia's 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 Yuusei's fire consume Mid-Childa she asked herself, "If I had known the truth, would I be like him?"


Meanwhile, back where Prometheus and Pandora were fighting the TSAB mages and knights, the reaper and witch siblings weren't doing so well. Every attack they attempted was pushed back and quickly 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 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 your little 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 became twisted, rage apparent in her eyes as she quickly readied Raising Heart and mercilessly unleashed several divine busters at once. Prometheus laughed cruelly as they teleported away, causing all three shots to miss. Nanoha's hands shook as she 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 assume the worst," she advised.

Nanoha smiled at Fate, hugging her before saying quietly, "I want to sleep close together tonight."

Fate smiled and nodded to her. "Okay," she whispered back.

On the other hand, was striking a pensive pose, staring off in the general direction of Einhart's house. "Hm…"

What's a matter Touma? Lily asked.

"It's strange," he whispered.

What is? she asked.

"I sense an energy signature that's almost exactly like the eclipse virus. It's coming from this direction," he said quietly, motioning towards where he was staring.

What do you think it could mean?

"I don't know yet. Prometheus and Pandora were similar cases. While they at least were using eclipse magic, their energy signatures were slightly different from mine and the Hucklebein family's; however, these signals are slightly more different than theirs were."

What should we do?

"I'm gonna sneak away. We'll take Isis with us just in case, but we're gonna go check it out," Touma told her.

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

Touma nodded. After sensing that their conversation was over, he quietly strolled over to Isis and tapped her shoulder. "There's another signal not too far from here. Lily and I are gonna go check it out. You in?" he asked.

Isis nodded with a grin. "Always," she answered.

Looking towards everyone else, he said, "Hey guys! Uh, our unit is gonna go check something out. We'll see you all tomorrow at the post-mission briefing!" he told them loudly.

Signum crossed her arms, eyeing the two curiously. Touma mentally cursed, Signum was probably aware of what he was planning to do. It wasn't hard to sense such a potent energy signal.

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

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

Signum smirked before saying, "I'm leaving with the Silver 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," she told her.

Fate seemed hesitant, but eventually nodded her head in defeat. "Alright then Signum, but please be safe," she said to her worriedly.

Signum nodded to her. "Of course," she replied.

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

That's too weird, why would they go to check it out immediately? Usually Signum asks Hayate-san before heading out like this, Erio thought to himself. Looking around, he noticed everyone's faces were filled with suspicion. Noting that it must be due to the strange energy signal they were all reading, he said to the crowd, "I'll follow them in secret, Caro will come with me. Anyone else want to come with me?"

Nanoha and Fate stepped forward. "We're going," they said almost immediately. They said it so quickly they had almost cut Erio off at the end of his offer.

Erio looked back in the direction Signum was heading along with Unit Silver. It was in the direction of Einhart's house. Realizing this, he understood their worries. "Alright, let's wait awhile before heading there," Erio told them.

"You got it Captain Erio," the two replied teasing.

Looking at everyone else, Nanoha said, "I think if the party is too large, things might get hectic so I think our secondary unit should be large enough. Everyone else, please return to Hayate and tell her what's happening."

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

"Me too," she said. "I'm going too," she told them.

After everyone had left, Erio gave her the nod of approval. "We will wait about three minutes. It will give them time to get there and walk through the door. That way, it won't seem like we're tailing them," he told them quietly.

During the recent years, Erio was being trained to become a captain himself. Because of this, he was often enrolled in courses that revolved around battle strategy.

After everyone agreed, they began their wait, and it was a wait that would seem like an eternity for them.


Meanwhile, at the Stratos residence, the doorbell sounded. Einhart raised an eyebrow, but balled her fist in worry that it may be ex-comrades of Yuusei's. "I'm getting the door Vivio," she said seriously.

Vivio nodded. "Okay," she said as the minty-haired girl left to answer the door.

When Einhart finally arrived at the door, she opened it to find Signum and Unit Silver there waiting for her. "O-Oh, hello everyone, why the late visi-"

"Do you have guests Stratos?" Signum interjected.

Einhart smiled nervously. "K-Kind of, would you like to meet them?" she stuttered. Looking at them, she added, "But please return to your unarmed forms, you'll scare them."

Raising an eyebrow, Signum and Unit Silver complied. Touma went as far as to disengage from Lily.

Looking at all of them, she 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," she told them.

It was a good thing that Einhart had a big house. While those five ventured to the living room, they were unaware that this little gathering was about to become the meeting for all of Section-6 for about five hours.


Author's Notes:

Well, so much for keeping anyone from showing up at the house. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter and look forward to the next.