Disclaimer: I do not own MGLN but my girlfriend reckons she should!

Author's Notes: I apologise for the haphazard updates. I know some of you have been eagerly waiting to find out what will happen between Nanoha and Fate but I had to write this chapter first. As the saying goes it's all about the teasing… right...? Getting the heart pumping… something like that… ;-)

I promise that the next two chapters after this one will not disappoint. They are almost done. Next chapter should be updated by next week-end.

A special thank you to FateKitty; Zarosguth; Lance58; LC Rina; nanofatelicious; Will Lockhart; nanofatehere and Nanofate X3 for your reviews. Also a big thank you to all those following, who have favourited and are reading this story. Thank you guys!

A special shout out to kurosunoiku :-) for pushing me to update and write more :-)

Zarosguth: Thank you for spotting that, lol squizzes isn't even a word! Don't know where I got that from… lol I have changed it to the correct spelling :-) I enjoyed reading your possible ways for Fate to react to Nanoha's question. Indeed it will be one of those reactions. I won't spoil it for you though :-) The answer will be revealed next week.

Nanofate X3: I had envisioned Nanoha and Fate to be in their early twenties. Hope this doesn't put you off the story.

WARNING: Profanities!


Chapter 27

Insight

Precia's P.O.V.

She was perfection.

The most spectacular human being in existence.

She knew no weakness. She was exact; methodical; ruthless; unforgiving; a survivor.

She was and still is my everything.

I have tried to reclaim her legacy and revive her name. I have tried to bring her spirit back to life but so far I have been unsuccessful. I have been cursed with failed Experiments time and time again. My current one is a constant source of disappointment although… I won't stop. She will eventually have to break and I will re-piece her soul to my specifications and then she will reclaim her true name. I will not accept any other outcomes. She is the last surviving relative…

They look oddly identical considering the generational difference. Their eyes, however, are the giveaway. The Experiment shows nothing but weakness in them.

Whereas hers where beautifully cold.

Ha! I can only imagine what the Church would think if they saw what their beloved original Project has morphed into today.

Europe… what a mess it was in those days.

And that stupid Church in Italy… thinking it was doing good amidst the Cold War. Taking in orphans in a Project coined Hope. It was said they wanted to bring hope to the remote communities. Bastards sent the orphans to do the job they were too scared to do. According to them children were the perfect tools. No-one would stop a child carrying medicine and supplies that is until a mercenary group caught one of them and decided it too was a good idea. They promptly took over changing the aims of the children. From then on children would be used as weapons of war; a war that they claimed wasn't over, a war that was taken from them.

No-one would suspect children, children that would carry out assassinations, plant bombs, carry weapons and messages. Children no-one would notice. Children no-one would miss.

Turns out girls had a higher success rate and were therefore favoured for the missions. Boys, however, weren't discarded. They were used in other departments. The younger the better.

I remember as if it were yesterday.

I hadn't known the Church's creed with their Project Hope. By the time I was brought to the "orphanage", the mercenary group was already in control and very much settled in. They had turned warfare into a lucrative business while promoting their own beliefs under the guise and in the premises of the Church.

I had arrived as a young teenager in the mist of Project Destiny. That is were I saw her.

I wouldn't be used for missions. They had said: "Experiment 279: first name Precia, last name Testarossa. The subject has scored high in strategy and mathematics. Subject also has a high propensity for manipulation and an immense dissatisfaction with failure. Due to subjects past, possibly to the events leading up to becoming an orphan, 279 has latent trauma, issues of abandonment, which is quite common among most subjects as well as loss of identity. 279 proves to be psychologically and emotionally unstable and is therefore unfit for field work, however, 279 will be a valued asset in the experimental psychology division and tactical logistics division."

We were all reborn. They trained and brainwashed us according to what we scored highest in. Bonus points if we had a lack of empathy.

My life was meaningless until the day I saw her. She was the champion of Project Destiny. Some even started calling her Destiny. She put all other Experiments working missions to shame.

The first time I had properly seen her was outside the Church's grounds. She was crouched by a small bush. I had been near by under a tree reading when she caught my eye. I had known who she was from the start, her reputation preceded her. I had only caught glimpses of her until that fateful day.

Her entire body was still as she watched something right in front of her. Whatever it was must have been really small because I couldn't make it out. I had continued to watch her with rapt fascination hoping to get a clue.

Her blonde hair had shone beautifully competing for radiance with the sun. In my heart I knew who won. I had never spoken to her before and not even after but I knew her voice must have been penetrating and commanding.

Later I was to discover overhearing her speak to our superiors that it was completely toneless.

Her eyes betrayed nothing. They were usually emotionless. She was renowned for her viciousness and indifference to cruelty. Sometimes I heard she relished in it. She executed her missions to perfection. She never spoke to other Experiments and kept to herself. I had never seen her break her cold façade before that moment. It was to be the first and last time.

I had been acutely jealous of whatever she was watching. For nothing had ever taken her attention for more than a mere second before. The mysterious object must have changed somehow as I saw the corners of her mouth curve up. No one but me was there to witness this momentous event. Apart from her lips nothing of her moved. She remained like that for what felt like hours. My eyes refused to look away. It felt like I was intruding on a very private moment. Something I am sure she never wanted to share.

Then suddenly her head snapped up to follow something and it was then that I realised what it was that she had been watching. It had been a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis and taking its very first flight.

Watching her from the shadows I realised that nothing got her attention quite like a butterfly. She was very subtle about it but I knew what to look for. I alone shared this secret with her. One she hadn't confided in me with. I pretended to know the reason why she loved butterflies so and formulated many hypotheses in my head but deep inside I was burning with curiosity.

Before her I had always felt out of place, nothing could help heal my wounds and sooth my scars. I was lost until her. She became my religion, she became my purpose. Until the day that she was no more.

Yet she never knew of my existence.

She had been real. A faith I have since subscribed to. A martyr gone from this world too soon. I would never forget her or the love she had for butterflies that I immediately adopted as my own. Worthless fools at the Church soon forgot her but I would make sure that she would be reborn from the ashes like a vengeful phoenix. I would make them regret and claim their operation as my own. I have since then kept good on my promises. Those idiots got what was coming to them and now Jail and I have made the Project what it is today.

Everything is going according to plan, according to the plan I silently promised her that day so many years ago when I found out she was gone. Well everything except my current disappointing Experiment who continuously fails to meet my expectations, however, I will get my results one way or another…

"My Purple Butterfly?"

I look up from the file I had been reading. The memories of the past flutter through my mind. I glance back at the file laying flat on my desk, her listless eyes in the photo staring back at me. It's an old file I keep with me like a bible. Her file…

Jail, my literal partner in crime, has his arms crossed against his chest and is leaning by the entrance to my office. His lab coat is open at the front. "Reminiscing about the past?" He asks breaking my train of thoughts once again.

I do not answer him. I despise being interrupted when thinking of her. Jail uncrosses his arms and makes his way fully into my office. He takes a chair from the desk in front of me and pulls it out slightly before settling himself on it, raising his legs and setting them on the edge of the desk, crossing them at the heels. A familiarity born out of years spent together.

I open the drawer of my desk and pull out two glasses and a bottle of scotch. I unscrew the cap and pour us both half a glass. I replace the cap on the bottle and place it on the desk and hand Jail a glass, who leans slightly forward to accept it.

"Just what the doctored ordered." Jail says to nobody in particular.

I bring the glass to my lips and inhale the somewhat spicy aroma which makes my mouth salivate. I take a sip and briefly close my eyes. The unique and rich flavours melding perfectly on my tongue.

"I presume you have just come back from checking up on your Experiment." I casually say leaning back on my chair whilst holding onto the glass of scotch.

"Indeed I have." He says with a smirk, alluding to the fact that he has done a whole lot more with his toy. A shiver of disgust runs down my spine. Does he really think I do not know what they do together? How that Experiment of his throws herself on him in complete blind obsession?

"That stupid Experiment will probably turn out exactly like your previous two, buried in some nameless pit although I have to commend you for instilling your cruel streak in this one. She could be your twin in that respect." I swirl the amber liquid in my glass.

"Hahaha is that jealousy I hear in your voice Darling? Or is it that your pet is misbehaving again?" Jail rhetorically asks with a chuckle.

My head snaps up to face him. The scotch tastes bitter in my mouth. Irritation must clearly be marked on my features.

"Oh dear, from your reaction alone I can tell that she isn't operating up to standard." Jail continues with his trademark smirk still firmly in place on those deliciously cruel lips.

Jail stands, places his glass on the table and makes his way around my desk. He comes around behind my chair and places his cold hands on my shoulders. I tense briefly before he begins massaging them.

"My, my, you are stiff. You must be missing disciplining your pet. Nothing relaxes you quite like giving a good beating, however," I feel his hair near my face as the next words are salaciously whispered in my ear, "I know something else that will relax you seeing as your pet is nowhere in sight." His tongue licks the top of my ear at the last word. The meaning behind his words is not lost on me. I know perfectly well what he wants and can picture his eyes no doubt leering down at my cleavage.

We have always held an unusual relationship with each other. A companionship of sorts born out of common goals and interests. Sex has never been an issue although the knowledge of where he has been this afternoon doesn't fill me with lust at this very moment.

"Was fucking your Experiment not enough for you?" I snap up to him shrugging his hands off my shoulders.

"Worth a try," he casually says as he makes his way back to his seat. "So where is your elusive Experiment?" He asks.

"At some resort with those low lives we met."

"I am surprised you agreed to let her go." He counters. "Unless you have factored this into the Phase?"

"I have had to factor it in." I sigh. "Her first couple of years, due to us having to relocate because of your past Experiment's failures, has seen that I was unable to manipulate and control her surroundings. This gave her too much free reign, making her already annoyingly present conscious bloom further. After much though and planning, it can and will have to help in reaching the end result. When the Experiment's world shifts, her pathetic so-called friends will unknowingly help in her undoing. She will break to my will." I say as my mind wonders at the possibilities once I finally have her where I want her.

I have had to change my plans due to unforseen events. It didn't help that the short amount of time in her previous life before I was able to get my hands on her where enough for her to develop a damned conscious. This made it harder for me to rear her to my specifications. She seems damned insistent on holding on to her humanity. Ha! A disgrace to my Champion of Project Destiny. Like a wild horse I will break her and she will obey. Simply I will have to radically change her life so that it causes a shift in her mental processes. If anything I will need an event so strong that she will break under my watchful eyes and be reborn how I see fit. It's a slight alteration. The process hasn't been a complete waste. The results will enable me to modify future Experiments accordingly.

"Well I must say pretending to be her mother and creating a pseudo family unit certainly got you the results regardless of her conscious. If anything a person with a conscious can be easier to manipulate in some regards. They have that need to please their mother." Jail laugh, enunciating the last word. "Who would have thought that such a ridiculous notion as a family could make someone perform any acts under the guise of love? I think I will use that for my next Experiment." Jail comments while clutching his chin with his right hand, probably thinking about the potentials. "And what of her mentor, Linith?"

"She will have her part to play in the Chrysalis Phase. I have a special ending prepared for her." I sneer, the final act of this Phase is crucial. Everyone has their part to play, for most unknowingly.

Jail brushes his hair out of his face and laughs. "You're a woman after my own heart. Imagine what we could accomplish if you were not so obsessed with recreating your past, although I won't deny that your Experiment has led to vast improvements in the conditioning process."

"You'd have nothing if it weren't for me." I snap at him. He had come to the Church a couple of years after me. We had made an instant connection. Due to my position within the group I was able to gain access to the higher ups enabling us to execute them and take control. Jail at the time wasn't sound of mind. He didn't have the stability to plan our takeover, only to kill.

Jail raises his open palms in front of him and smirks. "You certainly are quite irritable tonight. I almost feel sorry for your Experiment when she returns."

"And I wish you'd stop playing with your Experiments." I retort. "They have a specific function and that doesn't include being your personal whores." I rub my temple with my left hand in irritation. I feel a headache coming on.

"Well what's the point if I can't have a bit of fun? It's not like Quattro is complaining either. Why not create the perfect weapon that cherishes her creator?"

"This is what gets the Project in strife. Your previous Experiments perished due to carelessness and stupidity. If I recall the one's sadistic impulses is what got her in trouble. Not to mention your current ones competitiveness and unfounded jealousy concerning you. Reign her in!" I command.

"Hahaha yes Quattro is quite driven. At least it is quite entertaining while it lasts. Uno is keeping an eye on her. She isn't the perfect soldier but she isn't far off and it's not like we will run out of supply. Orphans litter the street." Jail adds waving his hand in front of him in a blasé motion.

"She isn't anywhere near being the perfect soldier. She is too emotional making her unreliable."

"You do have a point. Yours has indeed had a higher success rate completing missions. Quattro does get easily distracted by the small details." I notice the amused glint in his eyes and know exactly what incident he is internally referring to.

"If by small detail you mean the man she so aptly tortured for not apparent reason than to entertain her own ideas then yes. It wasn't part of the mission. Her distraction will eventually lead to her end and you will see that my methods yield better results." I take a sip of my drink. Patience is key to ultimate conditioning. I glance back at the file on my desk. We have come such a long way since Project Destiny. He can waste away his Experiments but I don't have that liberty. Failure is not an option. She is the last remaining relative…

"Hahaha you are so sure of your success granted I can see why considering my previous Experiment's demise, however, don't celebrate prematurely my Dear. Quattro and Fate are both on the same Phase and no doubt will come into contact with each other. The outcomes may just surprise you or us both."

It has always been a sort of competition between Jail and I. Even when we turned the Project into a successful organised crime syndicate. Even when a faction of the military paid us to try and create the perfect soldier. Even when we develop challenges and mind altering conditioning methods for our Experiments together. It always remained a competition. Whose Experiments succeeded the most? Whose methods are better? What to do differently next time?

We have had to cut down on participant size in order to devote more time in conditioning and experimenting with different methods. Project F is between Fate and Quattro. Between love and obsession. Between the past and the future. There can only be one winner and I don't intend to lose…

"Speaking of misbehaving have you any update on that buffoon Regius?" I ask changing the subject.

"Ah yes, good old Regius. Moron doesn't understand the scope of our organisation. He thinks he can threaten us into submission." At this Jail heartily laughs going as far as holding his belly.

"His arrogance knows no bounds. Granted we have been allowed some liberties with him in his position as head of the Military Defence Force and his funding in the past but I think we have used him and his resources to drying point. So he still wants us to bend to his will does he?" I smirk in return. That concept is entirely laughable. He has absolutely no idea who he is dealing with.

"Indeed he thinks he can manipulate us. Little does the bastard know that we have been using him this entire time. It will be a shame when we eventually have to let him go. His idiocy will be missed; however, blackmailing him will be just as entertaining. I would terribly enjoy having a little round puppet to play with."

"Not just yet. The fool obviously let his position of power get to his head, let us entertain his little game a little longer make him think he is still in charge of his little operation. I have sent him a little warning previously although it went straight over his head. Seems he was more interested in my Experiment than what she had to say. We can use this to our advantage. That idiot will dig his own grave when the time comes." I skull my remaining drink.

"Ever the strategist my Dear. I do hope his sexual fetishes don't get him before we can. It would spoil all the fun." Jail sneers in delight. "On that note I shall bid you farewell for now. I must tend to some paperwork of my own. I shall see you later and let you get back to reminiscing." And with a wink he is gone.

I place my empty glass on the desk and look down at the file. The paper is worn and weathered. I gently close it. Project Destiny: Experiment 255. I hold the file up to my heart. Your legacy will live on in Project Fate.

Everything I do I do it for you.

You were and still are my everything, my Alicia…

To be continued…