Disclaimer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha belongs to Seven Arcs and all respective license holders. The Persona Series belongs to ATLUS. I only own this fic and nothing else. I also own all the mistakes too.


Chapter 6: Will of Fate

Arf didn't recognize where she was. The look, the smell, the atmosphere, none of it felt familiar. She had woken earlier with a snap of her eyes, which currently swept to and fro about room. Nothing was unusual about it. It looked like a standard room, save for how bare it was. From the scarcity of personal affects, this was most likely a guest room, or perhaps just one that went unused. As soon as she realized it, she panicked. Looking around frantically she discovered that she was the only one in the room. Fate wasn't here.

"Fa-" She stopped herself. It wouldn't make do to let whoever brought her here to know she was awake. Instead she got out of bed as quietly as possible. Walking towards the door, a sound began pricking at her ears. Someone outside her room was talking. She slowly opened the door to minimize the sound coming out. Feeling about with magic, she noted the lack of defenses or traps. Whoever brought them here was either naïve, stupid, or perhaps both. Not only that, she detected Fate from within one of the other rooms. She seemed safe where she was, and she felt relieved knowing that she was fine. With more confidence she walked out of her room. Making sure she didn't make any sound as she stepped on the hard wood floor.

The sounds from downstairs became clearer once she was out of the room. A conversation of some sort was going on. Ignoring it she began to walk over to the Room Fate was in to wake her up, only to read the name that hung on the door.

"Ren?" She read. The name was familiar, trudging up memories of a smug, terrifying young man. Was that where she was? In that young man's house? She was about to simply throw that thought away, but then she remembered a few other things, and had a few questions as well. Why didn't they finish them off? They could have easily just ended them last night or taken their Jewel Seeds. Why take them back and provide a place of rest? Why heal Fate, also ridding her of the scars inflicted by that bitch? They had every opportunity to do what they wanted to further their own objectives but didn't.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and walked down the stairs. They'd know she was coming, the stairs made too much noise as she descended. Going over to where the door where the sounds were loudest, something began to tickle her nose as well, a slight spicy smell. It smelled delightful and absolutely smothered her nose, teasing a mouthwatering dish. Shaking her head of such thoughts, she swung the door open.

"Huh?" She heard as she walked in. As she'd expected the boy was there… in an apron?

"Oh, you're up." She turned to the side to see the cat sitting on the couch watching the morning news. "We were wondering when you were going to get up." Her eyes narrowed in caution. This was the time to ask. She had to make it count. These people, who acted so strangely, she had to have answers, and perhaps maybe she could save her master. Well that was the hope.

Her stomach had other ideas, giving a single protracted growl. It was at that point she realized the whole room smelled of something stewing.

"Want some?" She realized the boy was cooking, stirring a pot that sat on the stove. Taking the ladle out, he poured some of the sauce he'd been cooking onto a plate of rice. "It's called curry. We have plenty." He held the plate out for her to eat… Well there wasn't any harm asking over breakfast!

-0-0-6-0-0-

Her eyes fluttered open. She realized that she was on the floor, her head on her arm. Though she should have been more alarmed, for some reason her response was muted. She should have immediately called Bardiche as soon as she was awake, but she instead just slowly rose up. Looking around she found that she was in total darkness. There was nothing around.

"Arf!" She called, hoping that her familiar would hear her. No reply, and yet even so she didn't panic. It wasn't that she was prepared for this or that this was expected. "Arf!" She called again, only to be met by silence once more. This was a situation where she'd normally panic in fact. However, something compelled her to remain calm, or more like, something comforted her and helped her to remain calm. She looked about again. Still nothing around, until a light shown in the distance. She covered her eyes as the light blinded her.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but upon doing so, she saw in the distance a young man standing near the light. He seemed to be interacting with it in some manner, though at the distance she was at it was difficult to tell what exactly was happening. Then the light seemed to shimmer as if gesturing to him before suddenly, that young man turned to face her. Squinting, she realized she recognized the young man. It was-

-0-0-6-0-0-

Her eyes snapped open this time, the light of the outside poured meekly into the room through a single opening between the curtains. Scanning it, the room was, simply put, plain. It had some décor here and there but was mostly empty. Though the desk at the side alongside the books and bag seemed to indicate the resident was a student. Shaking the sleep off of her, she quickly got up and did a magic scan of the area. No traps, and Arf was downstairs alongside two other signatures. She then remembered what happened last night.

She remembered fighting and losing to the young man of their group. It was a humiliating loss. She grimaced remembering that. She pushed it out of her head. She just simply had to defeat him next time. Take the previous battle and apply new tactics to shut him down. Probably a binding spell would be appropriate. She then walked out of the room without hesitation. Her destination was to go where Arf was. Though when she scanned again, Arf was staying in place… Realizing that her familiar might be in danger, she ran downstairs.

"Bardiche!" she commanded, as she practically flew down the rest of the steps.

"Set Up!" The staff appeared in hand just as she slammed against the door where Arf was. Immediately she pointed Bardiche around, trying to see just where the threat was. The room seemed some combination of living room, dining room and kitchen. Looking about she saw the cat immediately, apparently sitting on the couch watching TV, and over a bit in the back she could see him. Though her tension fell when she realized that he was apparently cooking something, wearing an apron. What was going on?

"Oh, Fate-chan!" Her head snapped on to Arf. A wave of relief hitting her as she realized that Arf was okay… only for all of the tension to be replaced by confusion when she realized that Arf was eating something. Bardiche practically fell from her hand when she saw this. "You just have to try this thing called curry, it's amazing!" She said as she placed another spoon of this 'curry' into her mouth.

"Cur-ry?" She didn't know what that was. She wanted to deny the offer, but as the smell entered her nose, her stomach betrayed her, letting out a huge grumble. Ren raised an amused eyebrow as he saw the little girl begin to blush.

"Here," he said, offering her a plate as well. "Can't skip breakfast."

"Come on Fate-chan! This is great!" She watched as Arf took yet another bite, squirming about as she tasted the curry again. Arf looked so happy eating it. "So good!" Fate was confused again. First healing her, then giving her a place to rest, and now feeding them? Why?

"Come on, it's best while it's warm," Ren told her, as he set a plate down for her next to Arf, placing silverware right by the plate. Her stomach grumbled again. One bite couldn't hurt. And so far, he hadn't proved a danger. He hadn't hurt her at all so far. She stowed Bardiche away, sending it back into its jewel state as she walked over to the table, taking her seat. She then saw the young man place his own plate down in front of her on the other side of the table.

"Itadakimasu…" he quietly said as he then began to dig in as well. Unlike Arf, he was more controlled in his consumption, though it was probably because he was used to eating this 'curry'.

Watching the two of them consume it so readily, she looked down at her own plate. Doing so exposed her point blank to the smell of spices. It was still warm, steaming up to her face, almost obscuring her vision. In front of her was a plate of rice that had some sort of sauce poured over it, a combination of carrots, potatoes, onions, and chicken, all drenched in a spice filled stew. Her mouth began to water as she took the spoon that sat next to the plate. Scooping up some of the rice and stew portion, she looked at it once more by itself, some chicken and carrots in this batch. She blew on it a couple of times to cool it down, each breath she took making her inhale some of the musk of the dish, making her hungrier each time she did so. Finally, she took a bite.

Her eyes widened as she tasted the curry. The flavor of the stew drenching the rice, potato and chicken. The rice was steamed just right, fluffy but still solid. The curry had completely dyed the rice in its cavalcade of spices. The carrot was also soft, it's flavor not completely taken by the curry, instead serving as a sweet accent to the rest of the dish. It wasn't so strong as to overshadow the rest of the flavors, but instead made her appreciate the spiciness more. The chicken was juicy, it was cooked firm, but it served as the sole thing to chew through, giving volume to the dish. Each bite releasing even more flavor sealed into the meat that the spices accented. Each of the ingredients practically danced in her mouth as she continued to chew through her single spoonful until finally, she finally swallowed her first bite. Though it was a strange clash of flavors, they all still worked together, creating something better despite their differences.

"It's good…" She let out. It was really good.

"Hm?" Ren thought Fate had said something, only to be met by a shake of her head as she then continued to eat her Curry. She took her bites slowly at first, but her pace did quicken just a bit as she continued her meal. The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence, save for Arf's occasional comment and moan as she ate her own plate down to the last speck of rice. Fate continued to enjoy her own meal.

As she was eating, she ruminated on her memories. Mother wasn't home for a lot of the time. As a result, she spent most meals alone. She wanted to wait for her mother, but since she came home after her bedtime, she had no choice but to eat by herself. Though she could see mother anytime she wanted now, they still didn't eat together. She didn't know when mother became so distant and cold. She wanted it to be like the old days. A quick glance had her see Ren still eating and Arf now patting her stomach. She wondered if this was what it was like to eat as a family. Being able to eat with people you love, with people who love you back; was it something like this?

"You okay?" She was brought back to reality as she looked up to see Ren looking at her concerned. She didn't know why he was asking. "Here." He offered to her a nearby tissue. What did she need that for? It wasn't until she heard it fall to the table, but she realized that she was crying.

"Huh?" She couldn't figure it out. Why was she crying? Why did she feel like all she could do was cry? She had nothing to be sad about. She just had to make mother happy, that's all. She just had to gather the Jewel Seeds and then Mother would love her again. That's all she had to do. That would set things right again. So why did it hurt so much?

"Hey what did you do!?" Arf shouted, placing an arm in front of Fate, causing Ren to reel back.

"Nothing, she just started crying all of a sudden," he swatted Arf's arm out of the way as he went ahead and wiped Fate's tears away. "There, there. There's nothing to cry about right now." Fate did nothing to stop him as he placed the tissue on her cheeks. She noted that he was gentle, putting only the right amount of force to be able to successfully dry her face. After doing so on one side, he proceeded to do so with the other, being just as gentle and soft as the first time. When she was done, she sniffled just a bit, getting the whole thing out of her system. "Better?" Fate nodded her head.

"Thank you…" she told him, her eyes a bit puffy.

"No problem. Finished?" She looked down. Apparently, she had finished her plate without her noticing. She felt a bit disappointed but nodded. It wouldn't do her any good to eat too much. He then did the same for Arf's plate before walking over to the kitchen and taking the dishes to the sink.

"Well, if you're fine, let's have that little chat then shall we?" Morgana hopped up onto the table using one of the chairs as an intermediary. "So, I'm sure you have a few questions," He opened. "However, Let's start from the top. I'm Morgana."

"Ren Amamiya," Ren said as he sat down.

"Arf's the name, and this here is Fate Testarossa," Arf told them, pointing to Fate when she introduced her.

"Arf, why are we doing this?" Fate asked, finally vocalizing her question. Though she pushed it out of her mind for a moment while eating, she couldn't ignore it any longer. This was especially so given how Arf tried to tell them off last night and was now seemingly doing the exact opposite thing.

"Fate-chan, there's no harm in just talking right?" She said as she put an arm around the blonde girl. "Besides, with how soundly they beat us we should be careful about how we approach," Arf added telepathically. Though she kept hidden that she had a bit of hope for the young man. She might not have been alive as long as her master, but she could see things that Fate couldn't. The look in Ren's eye when he spoke to them last night told her something that she could trust. Arf didn't share Fate's opinion on her 'mother'.

"I see," Fate decided to trust Arf on the matter. Besides, there was no harm in learning more about your enemy. "Then what are you two?" Ren and Morgana explained to the two of them who they were, just the powers rather. They made sure to not include aspects involving their Phantom Thief activities, basically telling them more or less the same things as they told Nanoha and Yuuno.

"And what of Morgana?" Fate followed, given that they didn't explain his existence.

"You could say I'm something like a familiar. Don't misunderstand. I'm completely independent, but I was kind of born to help this guy out with figuring his powers out and a few other things," Morgana explained, still being careful to leave enough details out. Given the precarious situation between the two groups (though it was lessening as Ren felt it), he wasn't questioned on that front. Fate and Arf seemed to accept the answers they were given.

Fate thought on it more than Arf did however; one's true self. It was a concept that seemed to gnaw at her. Why was it that when she tried to pin down who she truly was, the answer didn't feel right? When she was about to answer it internally, that she was her mother's daughter, for some reason last night's dream rose up. That light that she remembered seeing for some reason casted a shadow of doubt on that claim. She found she was empty handed about the answer of who she was.

"Fate-chan?" Arf asked, bringing Fate back from her thoughts.

"It's nothing," she said, dismissing Arf's concern. She quickly moved on with the discussion with the other party. "So, what is it that the two of you want then? Ransom? A Hostage?" Those were the two most likely outcomes she could think of, but they didn't match entirely, given Ren's behavior prior.

"Hmm… neither of those," Ren answered, as Fate suspected.

"Then why did you take us back to your home?" If it wasn't either of those things, then what reason did he have to do this? Was he stupid? Insane? Perhaps both?

"I'm just not someone who can turn a blind eye when I see something like what I saw last night," he answered right away. Fate blinked twice at hearing that. What? That was his answer? She wasn't someone who needed help though. What did he mean by that? "Hey, Arf-san." The familiar perked up at hearing her name. "Have you and Fate ever been looked down upon like scum? Thrown out for reasons beyond your control? Othered by pretty much everyone, everywhere, even by the people who were supposed to stand by you?" The two of them heard it. Though his tone was even and calm, the both of them could sense something much darker lurking within his measured speech. For Fate it confused her. For Arf though, it brought tiny sliver of hope.

"Maybe not something like that, but I think I know what you're talking about. I think I was wrong about you," Arf admitted. She remembered that she said a few things to them last night. Though that other magical girl might still fit the bill, talking to him showed her that he wasn't cut from the same cloth. In fact, in her eyes, he might have been closer to the two of them, rather than that other girl and her ferret.

"Arf what are you-"

"Fate-chan, Master," Fate was surprised to hear Arf formally address her so. It was rare for her to do that, being that she only did as such under the most serious of circumstances. "Let me speak for a moment." She had to do this. In her eyes, Fate was trapped. Fate didn't even know she was trapped. Maybe this was the chance she was waiting for to save her master from that monster. She turned back to the young man, not waiting for a response from Fate. "Let me guess what you want to ask. You want to know who was the one that gave Fate-chan those scars right?"

"Arf!" Fate cried. She didn't want to talk about that. It was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

"Aren't you straight to the point," Morgana told Arf, ignoring the currently panicking Fate. "Have to admit I'm somewhat impressed."

"Same here. A shame to say, but we met our match last night." And more than that, Arf thought. If it was them, maybe they could beat that bitch. Fate was AAA class, near the very top. If he could toy with them, then they had to be able to be able to do something about her. Silence pervaded as they each stared at one another.

Fate still distraught, confused by this whole thing. She was a mess of emotions. Completely lost in what Arf was doing, fearful of what they might think of the mother she loved, unsure of the warm feeling that she was given moments before during their meal together. She could still feel his hand on her cheek when he wiped her tears away. It was what she wanted mother to do for her. Why did she feel happy remembering him do that? The smile he gave her when she stopped crying, was everything she wanted from mother. Why did her heart feel at ease from him doing it? Why couldn't it be mother? Why couldn't it be both? She barely realized what she just asked in her mind as it all came to head in just a moment later.

"Precia Testarossa," Arf told them. "She's the one that hurt Fate."

"Arf! Stop!" She finally commanded, putting her foot down once and for all, not knowing that doing so caused cracks to form. "She isn't like that. She's just confused is all. When we get the Jewel Seeds, she'll be better. She'll be happy then! It will be like how it used to be. So please! Stop bad mouthing her!" Fate's plea rang throughout the empty house, a desperate bargain.

Ren sighed. In such a short time the girl's face became completely marred in tears again. Her eyes were puffed red, and it was clear she was trying to hold the worst of it back. It was what he expected to hear, it was all he needed to hear. It still brought a grimace to his face to hear it. He wanted to ask more smoothly than that. Ease the idea in, but now it just all exploded at once. He had his answer at least, and it was every bit as bad as the things he and his friends stopped in the past. He could see the faces on Futaba, Haru, Makoto, and Yusuke were they here to comment on the matter; Yusuke in particular stuck out. He had to approach this better than he did that time.

"It's alright," he started. "We won't talk about your mom then." He said as he began to pat Fate's head to calm her down. Only after doing so did he realize that it was probably a mistake and was poised to take his hand back, only to realize that Fate hadn't resisted. Instead she seemed to calm down, her crying having turned into sniffles. It was clear that despite the abuse that was confirmed by Arf, Fate still very much loved her mother. That just made things all the worse though. "Let's talk about something else okay?"

"Okay…" Fate practically whispered. At first, she actually did want to throw his hand away the moment she felt it upon her scalp. However, the way his hand brushed itself on her hair calmed her down. It made her feel safe, as if he was genuinely looking out for her. She wanted his hand to stay there. It felt like something missing was found, but she couldn't place what. Though it still didn't feel right to her.

Then the door bell rang. Fate practically jumped in her seat at the sudden ringing that echoed through the house. Ren half expected this turn of events, though was still a bit surprised. Regardless, he quietly took his hand back and went to check the front door. Fate followed him shortly after, curious as to who it was, her caution somewhat gone at this point. Though that may have been because she realized how cold her head felt. She was hoping that perhaps- She threw the thought out again. She shouldn't have such thoughts. Then as soon as Ren reached the front door, with Fate in tow, he opened it without a moment's hesitation.

"Hello Ren!" Nanoha greeted him with cheer.

"Greetings!" Yuuno followed, sitting on Nanoha's shoulder.

"Shouldn't you be in school Nanoha-chan?" Ren asked, checking the clock to find that it was clearly about ten in the morning or so.

"What about you?" Nanoha asked back.

"I can't exactly leave a guest unattended," he told Nanoha. She let out a light giggle at his weak excuse. It was a school day, but both of them had opted to skip. It wasn't like Ren was learning anything anyways. As long as he showed up later to make up for it, he should be fine. He could also probably get away with a fake illness as a means to allay suspicion if the teachers wanted to pry.

"Speaking of whom, where is Fa-" Nanoha quickly spotted Fate behind Ren. Unfortunately, Fate's face still looked as it did a few moments ago; tear stained and a bit ruined. Ren began to pinch his nose as a flash of pink entered his vision. They really didn't have time for this. He could only feel exasperated as he began to speak.

"Nanoha-chan, let's calm down for a moment," he politely said in even, measured tones. She did not calm down in that moment.

-0-0-6-0-0-

"So good!" It was the last of his curry, but it was a noble sacrifice. Nanoha apparently had rushed out before having breakfast, hid around the park for a couple of hours to check and ward off suspicion, before coming over to his house. The result, Nanoha was quite hungry, as evident by the way she voraciously devoured her meal. Ren leaned against the counter, watching her eat as the others watched on. Though he could swear Fate's mouth looked a bit moist. He decided to ignore that and focus on the coffee in hand. Ah, just what he needed. He missed the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

"Nanoha-chan, remember what we came here for," Yuuno tried to remind the brunette as she finished licking her lips after having eaten her entire plate.

"Oh! That's right! Hey, Fate-chan! Let's have that talk!" Nanoha told Fate somewhat forcefully.

"Not exactly something you should be asking when you have a grain of rice on your cheek," Ren pointed out, walking over to where she was. Nanoha watched as Ren seemed to put his finger dangerously close to her cheek. She shut her eyes. She could feel her face flush as she anticipated his hand upon her face. When that didn't happen at the time she thought it would, she opened her eyes, only to be met by cloth as it rubbed against her mouth. "There, clean now. What? Expecting something else?" Nanoha's brow was furrowed.

"Meanie!" She said as she threw her fist at him. Of course, she didn't put any actual power behind it, but she made sure to hit her mark.

"Right, right…" he said as he took the fake punch in stride, sipping on his coffee again.

Fate looked on, mesmerized by the scene in front of her. To her, this was the first time she had seen the two of them interacting outside of the times they were on the hunt for Jewel Seeds. While they were serious on the job at those times, here they were anything but. Ren seemed to playfully toy with Nanoha, but in a sort of kind way that would only be allowed between close friends. He didn't push too far, but certainly the way he messed with her was like was practically dancing around her, leaving her in a daze. Nanoha, for her part didn't seem angry at all, despite the way she acted. Actually, she seemed to be having fun with it, having been ready to receive such teasing. Though it was clear she was trying her hardest to keep up, she wasn't catching up anytime soon. Still, she didn't take it lying down, as evident by what her half acted, half actual indignation in the form of her weak attempts at admonishment.

Though the scene was something to admire, and admire she did, she couldn't help but feel something ugly welling up in her from watching it. She felt as if she wanted something like that, but with whom? She almost wanted to say her mother, but that wasn't quite right, nor was it wrong. It's like every time she wanted to answer, she came up with two different solutions, in two different directions. What did she want exactly? In the end, the only thing she was certain of, was that looking at them made her chest tighten, feeling as if a knot squeezed itself in her heart.

"Fate-chan, are you okay?" Looking up, she could see Nanoha leaning over to where she was, concern clear in the girl's eyes. It was the same look she gave her during their previous confrontations. Looking into them, it was a similar feeling to the one she got from Ren. When she looked at Nanoha, she felt as if she was being pierced right through, as if Nanoha was seeing all of her. That she looked at all of her, not with scorn, anger, or hatred, but with worry. It felt like Nanoha looked at her with anguish, not for herself, but for Fate.

"Huh?" Fate had become somewhat stunned by Nanoha's sudden asking.

"Well, you seemed out of it when we were just talking about you." Apparently while she hadn't been paying attention, the rest of them had informed Nanoha of the prior conversation before she had arrived. "Fate, you love your mom, right?"

"She-" before Fate could muster a defense, Nanoha simply asked again.

"You love your mom, right?" Fate, caught off guard, could only nod. "But, moms aren't supposed to do something like what she did." Nanoha looked downwards at Fate's back. Though the scars were gone, she remembered both Ren's and Arf's face when they talked about them.

"Nanoha-" Ren started, trying to reign her in before she perhaps caused things to worsen, but Nanoha turned to him. The looks she gave him, was resolute, though pleading. She wanted to keep going. He simply sighed, giving her the go ahead, to which Nanoha returned his answer with a thankful smile. Unless he did something by force, there was no stopping her. Besides, she wasn't like him. Maybe she could actually get through to Fate. Turning back to her fellow magical girl, Nanoha continued.

"Fate-chan, let's talk to her. Moms are supposed to love their children, but everything she's done so far isn't what moms are supposed to do. She's not supposed to hit you, or send you out on something so dangerous. They're supposed to hold you close, comfort you when you're feeling sad, eat with you at the dinner table, tell you stories, and a whole bunch of other things. Fate-chan, let's go to where your mom is and talk to her." She then took Fate's hands into her own, raising them up as if in shared prayer. There, Nanoha finally said what she wanted to say.

"Talk to her?" Fate… wanted to. She had so many questions, like why mom had suddenly become so distant, why she seemed to lose the warmth she used to feel from her, why whenever they spoke, mom didn't seem to even look at her, why she was desperate to have the Jewel Seeds. She wanted to know. Maybe, all she had to do was ask.

"Remember what I said? Sometimes there are things that can only be conveyed in words." Fate remembered. She, at the time, thought it was such a strange reason for Nanoha to wish to speak to her with, but perhaps they were right. The warmth she felt from Nanoha and Ren when the two spoke to her, when she felt their hands, it was what she wanted from mom again. If she could feel this way thanks to them from simply speaking, then maybe the same could be done with mom. She shifted between looking at Nanoha and Ren. Ren looked on warmly compared to Nanoha's own resolute gaze. She could feel her face warm thanks to the two of them. What was this feeling?

"Incoming transmission!"Bardiche suddenly announced.

"Shit!" Arf cursed, as the jewel form of Bardiche started to emit static. Ren, Morgana, and Yuuno tensed, anticipating the moment when the other side would begin to speak. Nanoha, was more so confused, not sure as to what was going on, or why Arf reacted the way she did. Fate however, Fate had frozen completely.

"Fate, you are to return immediately," a stern, older female voice resounded from Bardiche. Nanoha frowned upon hearing such a cold, distant voice. Looking back at Fate, Nanoha's expression worsened as she saw the blonde girl breathing heavily. She acted immediately.

"Are you Fate-chan's mom?" She asked whoever was on the other side. Ren held in his surprise at Nanoha's sudden outburst. He wanted to wait and see how the situation would play out, but it would seem that plan was long gone.

"What of it?" The person on the other end answered before giving a long sigh. "This is what happens when my attention lapses for even a moment. Fate, did you hear me? You are to return immediately. It would seem that you are in need of discipline."

"Why are you sending Fate-chan out to gather the Jewel Seeds?" Nanoha continued, unperturbed by the prior answer she was given. "What do you need them for?"

"I've no reason to answer your questions. Fate, what are you doing? Get moving! After returning I will need you to continue to gather more Jewel Seeds."

"If they're that important why don't you get them yourself?" Ren interjected, trying to stay as composed as possible, but certainly it was a trial.

"Don't you lecture me, boy! I'm simply just using what I have at hand. Tha-" The woman fell into a coughing fit, and from what Ren heard, it sounded bad, the kind one would cough up blood for. Each cough sounded worse than the last, almost heaving at certain points until it finally started to die down. "Fate, I said return immediately!" Fate got up out of her seat, almost mechanically, shaking Nanoha's hands off as she did so.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha cried as she saw Fate begin to walk out of the room.

"Arf, we're going…" Fate commanded, though Ren could hear a slight tremble in her voice.

"Fate-"

"We're leaving…" Fate interrupted her familiar. As she did so, she flashed a smile at Arf. However, anyone in the room would have told you that it wasn't a happy one. Before she could leave the room entirely though, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Without giving her time to move around-

"You don't have to go," she heard Ren tell her. He wished he had more time, but he had to act now. He suppressed his power that was threatening to flare up, trying to remain calm.

"Hmm… I thought as much… Maybe I can also…" He could hear Morgana whisper to himself. He'd ask what he meant later. He had to say this now.

"You can stay here. You don't have to go back to someone like that. You can be free. Just stay here." When she finally turned around, she could see that, like Nanoha, Ren was pleading to her to stay. "You are your own person. What do you want?" Her lips pursed, and her eyes watered. She still didn't know what she really wanted, not anymore. Not when she was shown what she could have. Maybe staying was the right choice, maybe leaving was what she wanted. But-

"Fate!" She couldn't leave. Mom still needed her. Everything would be better again if she just did as Mom said.

"I'm sorry…" and like that Fate ran, tears falling as she rushed out the door, and flew. Arf silently followed after her, but not before giving an apologetic nod to them. After Arf seemingly disappeared, the rest of them ran after. However, before they could even make it outside, the two of them were gone. Looking out into the distance, Nanoha continued to try and see if she could spot them, only to be met by empty blue sky.

"Damnit…" She heard Ren silently say, before he began to rub the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"This is bad… Fate-chan seems like she's being used by her mother…" Yuuno finally remarked when he felt it was appropriate for him to re-enter the conversation.

"No kidding. That's… that's abuse," Morgana reiterated. "Reminds me of Yusuke's case." Nanoha didn't know who Yusuke was, but the mood didn't seem to allow for her to ask.

"Nanoha," she turned to him when she heard Ren call her name. "If you want to stay here you can go ahead. For now, let's just rest up until we see them again." It wasn't like she knew what else to do. She nodded in response. "Is there anything you want?"

"I'd like some more curry?" It would help to make things better.

"Sure, just give me some time to make some more." She did eat the last of the previous batch after all.

"Okay." They went back inside to rest. It was all they could do.

-0-0-6-0-0-

Some time had passed since they had last seen Fate and Arf. No Jewel Seed had sprung up either and so eventually Golden Week Came by.

"Hey Ren, so why did your friends ask you to wait at the harbor?" Nanoha asked. When Ren told her that his friends from Tokyo were coming for the holiday, she insisted on meeting them. Ren had wanted her to meet with them too, so that he could finally explain the parts he and Morgana had intentionally left out, particularly about the Phantom Thieves. Currently their whole group were waiting there.

"Indeed, it is quite the strange place to wait for friends," Yuuno added, as he looked out into the sea.

"Yeah, remind me why they wanted us to come here?" Morgana also wasn't privy as to why they were there.

"Don't know. When I asked last night, they just kept quiet about the whole thing." He tried asking and prodding, but they had been unusually coy about the whole thing. It got to the point where they just basically told him that they were going to ignore him until they met up. Hell, they somehow got Ryuji of all people to quiet down. He had his suspicions though.

"Well since we're here, want to see if we can fish something up?" He was asked by his friends to pack a suitcase or something along with a swimsuit, and just in case he brought fishing gear. Nanoha also had some luggage next to her. Apparently, she had to do some convincing at home, but she was allowed to stay out after some help from Miyuki. With her older sister's help, she was able to get her parent's permission, though her older brother Kyouya still had some apprehensions. Though she was told to go anyway by Miyuki, who said she'd take care of it.

"Hmm? Is it just me or is that a ship pulling in over there?" Nanoha pointed to a ship pulling in to the harbor. Though he barely registered Nanoha's wonder as his eyes widened at who was on the boat, which he realized now was a yacht.

"YOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He heard from the distance.

"HEY! REEEEEEEEEEN!"

"REEEEEEEEEN!"

"Huh? Ren are they your friends?" Nanoha asked as she heard the people on the yacht call to them.

"Yeah, it's them alright. Come on!" Morgana called as Ren nodded.

"Let's go," He told Nanoha, prompting the two of them to begin a light run towards where the yacht was anchoring. So, this was what Haru was planning.

-0-0-6-0-0-

"So this is the Nanoha-chan we've heard so much about," Haru was the first to say once they'd been welcomed aboard the yacht, and after the staff went ashore to give them some privacy. "My name is Haru Okumura. Nice to meet you."

"Ryuji Sakamoto! Hope my buddy wasn't too much of a handful!"

"You're one to talk. Oh, Ann Takamaki! Hmm… You're just as cute as I thought you'd be."

"Yusuke Kitagawa, a pleasure."

"Makoto Nijima. It's nice to finally meet you, Nanoha-chan."

"What's up! I'm Futaba Sakura! Hey, so what's it like being a magical girl?" Nanoha and Yuuno stiffened upon hearing as such. Huh? Did they hear her right?

"Futaba-chan, no teasing them," Haru reprimanded almost immediately. "Let them have their make-believe." Nanoha and practically fell to her knees in relief. Okay so apparently, they thou- wait how did they even come to know that? "Nanoha-chan, don't be shy. This yacht might be mine, but feel free to treat this place as if it were home."

"Oh! Um, yes. A-Also, I'm Nanoha Takamichi, nice to meet you all. Oh yeah, and this is Yuuno!" She then took Yuuno out of her bag as if he were some kind of present. She was incredibly nervous, being around so many people almost double her age. It was one thing to say that she wanted to meet them, but another to actually do so.

"Awww, she's so precious. It's kind of evil you had this cute thing all to yourself here in Uminari," Futaba commented as she approached the little girl. "Her ferret is so cute too!"

"Yeah, though I guess it's like Ren to make friends with the unlikeliest people," Ann added as she watched Futaba begin leer over the young girl.

"Now now, give her some space Futaba-chan? Look you're making her nervous," Haru chided Futaba as she tapped the fourteen-year-old girl's shoulder. "You also don't want to scare Yuuno right?"

"Fine," Futaba said, as she placed her hands behind her head.

"We have plenty of time to get to know one another." Makoto told them as she walked up to take a closer look at Yuuno.

"Yeah, like how's our favorite leader doing?" Ryuji asked, placing an arm around Ren.

"Hey, what about me!?" Morgana asked, feeling a bit ignored at the moment.

"We missed you too Morgana," Yusuke was the one to say.

"Seems you all really missed each other," Yuuno commented.

"Huh?"

"Guys did you hear that?"

"Who said that?" Ryuji, Ann, and Futaba scanned the deck of the ship they were on, but they couldn't find the source of the strange voice that entered the conversation just then. Makoto, Yusuke, and Haru were also perplexed by the sudden addition. However, they didn't notice Nanoha and Yuuno's surprise wasn't exactly the same as their own.

"Are they…" Nanoha's eyes widened as she realized what was probably going on. She turned to Ren, who only gave her a little wink.

"Hey guys!" All eyes turned to Ren when he called. "Here's a surprise of my own." Once he'd made sure that all eyes were on him, he placed a hand on his face as if it were a mask. Then, to the surprise of his friends, his visage blurred before flashing in blue flame. They all let out cries of shock at the sudden pulse of force. However, it was over in a second, and once the surprise wore away, they all stared blank face at what they saw. Ren was in his Joker attire.

"Ren! Dude!" Ryuji was the first to shout.

"I can't believe it…" Makoto let out.

"No way, is this for real?" Ann said, excitement in her voice.

"Awesome!" Futaba cried as she practically jumped to and fro around Ren.

"Amazing, but how?" Yusuke said, seeming both contemplative and shocked.

"Ren…" Haru whispered but was elated at what she was seeing. "Wait, Nanoha-chan!" They all seemed to collectively stop in their tracks as they realized that their group had two extras. Ryuji expressed himself in the most eloquent way possible.

"Shit!"

"Language, Ryuji!" Makoto scolded, though they didn't pursue it any longer given they had to act fast.

"Crap, uh, Nanoha-chan um… awesome special effects, right?" Ann tried to act… with all her usual acting ability.

"What effects? It's just Ren's power isn't it?" Nanoha asked a bit coyly. She had to admit it was a bit fun to be on this side of the revelation.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Futaba asked, before Nanoha was surrounded in a pink light. Before any of them could even make a single noise, Nanoha reappeared in her Barrier Jacket. "What the Hell!?"

"Wait, what the hell is going on!?" Ryuji cried, completely confused as to what was happening.

"Is she…" Makoto began, but was interrupted by Ren.

"I already told you guys, right? Magical Girls," he said with a shrug. Even at this point he still wanted to discredit that very line of thought.

"I see, so you weren't lying then…" Yusuke said, trying, like the rest of them, to come to grips with the fact that they were seeing a magical girl.

"Um, yeah! I guess I'm a magical girl," Nanoha nervously explained. She just followed Ren's lead. In fact, she had no idea that his friends were in on this too, but she didn't want to be left out. Besides if Ren trusted them, she trusted them.

"Well to be more precise she is just a mage who happens to be a young girl," Yuuno added.

"Woah… and you even got a talking animal mascot!" They ignored Futaba's strange comment in exchange on focusing on the strange animal in front of them.

"Hey, don't forget about me you know!" They all turned to find Morgana walking in. "Let me show you guys something I've been saving for the occasion!" Like Ren, Morgana's body seemed to blur before flashing a bright blue. Underneath the light, they could see the cat's body changing into something else, something that the former thieves recognized. When the light dissipated, they saw, standing on two legs some kind of mascot cat character with a big head, yellow scarf around its neck, and a tool belt around its waist. "Ta daa!" Morgana said with a flourish as he completed his transformation.

"When the hell could you do that?" Ren was the one to ask, everyone else still reeling in surprise.

"I've had this curious feeling ever since you got your powers back. It was like I was in the metaverse again, so I decided to see if I could transform. I waited until you were asleep, and bam. Turns out I can turn back into my old self again."

"Old self?" Nanoha asked, still somewhat enamored by Morgana's new (to her) look.

"Yeah, you can think of this as how I'm supposed to look," Morgana explained. "I think thanks to Ren's Jewel Seed, I can transform back. What the seed probably does is that it generates a field similar to the metaverse. This is what allows Ren to transform, and myself as well. I actually tested to see if I could do it outside, but if I'm too far away then it's no good."

"I see… so this metaverse location allows you to access these powers normally. I think I understand then," Yuuno said as he began to look over Morgana. "Hmm? What's wrong with everyone else?"

"You really have to ask that?" Ann said, looking as exasperated as all the others.

"This, is a bit much to take in all at once," Makoto explained. "First being Ren able to transform again, then Magical Girls, then Morgana being able to transform again."

"My head hurts…" Ryuji complained. It took awhile before they all had calmed down again. But once they all had, they gathered around as Morgana began to explain.

"Okay, so just try to feel your Persona. It will be a bit faint, but you should be able to pull it from your mind if you concentrate," Morgana told them the process by which he transformed. Ren wondered why he had to explain it like that, seeing as he didn't put nearly as much effort into it, only to realize, of course he didn't need to. The source that allowed this was inside of him.

"Oh!" Makoto let out as she was the first to glow a bright blue.

"There!" Haru was next.

"I see it…" Then Yusuke. Soon enough they all began to glow blue until, one by one, like dominoes, a shockwave of force resounded from each of them that dispelled the light, leaving them in familiar attire.

"Awesome!"

"We're Back in Business!" Ryuji and Futaba exclaimed.

"Amazing…" Yuuno said, looking upon the rest of them in their transformations. He mentally began to jot down notes as he took in what looked like barrier jackets.

"So cool…" Nanoha let out as she saw each of their transformed states. All of them looked like cool superheroes or something. Of course to her, the coolest one was still Ren.

"Princess." Nanoha turned to see Ren, in his transformed state. "Guys, in line!" Like that, they all grouped up at his command. It only took a moment, and a bit of head butting, but once they were all in place, he turned back to Nanoha. "Allow us to formally introduce ourselves," He said as he then walked to where the rest of his friends are, each of them standing tall, standing firm alongside him like a team. With a final flourish once he was in place, he held his hands out in dramatic fashion an announced, "We are the Phantom Thieves of Heart."

-0-0-6-0-0-

"Only three Jewel Seeds. This is beyond terrible." A woman's voice echoed inside a largely empty throne room. In the center of the circular room, a little girl was hung by the wrists of hands. She was strung up like some common criminal. Vicious wounds littered her body, bloodied, blackened. Her clothes were in tatters, ripped at certain points, revealing more bruises and fresh cuts on her body. Her eyes barely moved, keeping track of the woman as she began to walk towards her. The woman wore predominantly black and purple, her dress cut out in strategic locations such that it still covered what needed covering while revealing otherwise. On her shoulders rested a robe that reached all the way to the floor. In her hand was a staff that clanked on the floor with each step.

"I'm sorry mother," She didn't even have the strength to move her head even the tiniest bit. It took an immense amount of will for her to say even that much.

"Fate, you are my daughter. The sole daughter of the Great Mage, Precia Testarossa." Once she got in close, she placed a hand beneath Fate's chin, lifting it up so that she could see Fate's eyes; half closed, weak, frightened. Her mother's face was distant, her magenta eyes felt as if they pierced right through her. "There is nothing out of our reach, nothing impossible for us. Everything must come to fruition."

"Yes…" was all Fate could say, trying to agree with her mother. Perhaps if she did so, she'd be kinder to her.

"You made me wait this long, and this is all you have to show for it? I can't possibly welcome you home with a smile." Though she said that, Fate could see something like a smile on her mother's face. But it wasn't the smile she wanted to see. It was cold, it was distant, it wasn't warm in the slightest. "You understand, don't you Fate?"

"I-I understand…" Fate weakly replied. She tried her hardest to hide the tremble in her voice.

"Yes, it's why I want you to remember this." She touched one of the open wounds on Fate's body, sending a jolt of pain through her, but she held it in, even as tears began to form in her eyes. "So you won't disappoint me ever again." As she finally let go, Fate heaved, trying to breathe again now that the pain was gone. Only for her eyes to widen in fear again as Precia's staff transformed into a whip. She shut her eyes closed, knowing what was to come. But if she endured, mother would forgive her, right?


Author's Notes:

This came out later than I wanted to for 2 reasons. One, FGO has another event going on, and guess who got a Jalter? Also, it's a lottery event which are the premiere grind events for the game. Two, I had friends go over it in case I didn't portray domestic abuse right. Wanted to make sure that it wasn't egregiously offensive, but still enough to get the point across. Precia is an abuser, straight up. She is really a horrible person, but in domestic abuse situations, of which I've actually seen firsthand, it's a lot more complicated and messy than they usually are portrayed, in most media. There's a lot of lingering feelings going on that sometimes just never gets resolved.

Especially here in Nanoha where Fate really loves her mother, and I mean a lot. It's to the point where she still refers to the woman as her mother, way after the original season, when she's an adult. Fate really loves her mom, and that's something I wanted to capture in some of the writing.

Yeah, also I screwed up a bit. Ren shouldn't have done that thing with the blood splatter again in the previous chapter, but it was cool. I love that scene in the original game so much I kind of bulldozed to have it in, without thinking on it. I'm guessing it's because I thought their faces still bloodied during the summoning, given that whenever they summon their Personas, their faces darken in the game. I thought that was blood, just censored a bit given Japan's propensity to censor violence, but strangely not sex. Turns out it wasn't. Oops. Hindsight, am I right? Also trying to turn down the pedo stuff, trying to portray just simple affection is difficult to balance, since I'm drawing upon my own experiences with little girls… Um… all platonic and not at all creepy I assure you, I still mentor them in programming stuff actually.

Lastly, I haven't actually watched P5A, mostly because I've played the game enough to platinum it, and also that I feel that the pacing would be messed up in it, due to really understandable reasons, but yeah. I might catch up on it when more episodes are out, so I can binge it since I tend to lose focus or interest easily in shows that I don't binge, that aren't Pop Team Epic, which is like binging anyways… while on the dankest shit!

Anyways, as usual. I really appreciate the reviews, especially the ones that are pointing out possible flaws, weaknesses and so on. It really helps to spur me on to write more, as well as improve my ability to write… I hope. You know what they say, good medicine is bitter. Please continue with it.

I hope you all enjoyed what you read and have a nice rest of your day.

PS: Fun fact, did you know that Ann Takamaki, and Fate Testarossa share the same Japanese Voice Actor, Nana Mizuki? I actually completely forgot until I looked it up again.

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