SonicANIME2010 here, bringing in another chapter of Lyrical Familiar. Yup for those who haven't noticed, I'm bringing in some movie materials for this one. Plot twists and cliffhangers galore; this will be fun. Let's go

[Earth]
[Air Combat Zone]
[No BGM]

The eerie, uncomfortable silence settled in for Nanoha, Sonic, Yuuno and Lindy. The only noise and feelings came from the downpour of rain that the ocean was sometimes subjected to during the spring time. No one said a word yet, and it was really hard to say anything at the moment and they let the depressing mode speak for itself.

What had just happened was really hard for anyone to fathom, not just for the event itself, but how quick it went. Within minutes what had appeared to be a peaceful resolution and sealing of the last Jewel Seeds had turned into hell. The Asura was attacked by magical lightning that came from another dimension. The lightning was apparently also aimed for Fate, as she was knocked out almost instantaneously by it; leaving Arf to escape with her. Not that the escape was hard, the lightning did provide cover.

For Nanoha and Sonic, they were especially affected and had their thoughts plagued by questions. Who was behind the attack on the Asura? Why were they after the Jewel Seeds, and why did they also go after Fate? Well, the latter thought was from Sonic. He was particularly miffed; if he heard right in Fate identifying the spell as her mothers, why would someone show disregard for her daughter's life so much so that she'd allow her to be struck by the spell?

Unfortunately, the time they had for thoughts was cut short in a sudden as Lindy Harlaown, after giving the scene another once-over, had sighed and turned to face the rest of the group. The trio of youths couldn't help but flinch a little bit under the stern gaze of the woman. She didn't look pleased and her body language showed in the folding of her arms under her chest.

"We're heading back now" the woman calmly, but firmly, informed the three, "There's nothing else for us here"

"Hai!" The trio saluted without missing a beat. And unfortunately for Nanoha and Sonic, as much as they may have wanted otherwise; they couldn't help but notice that the woman had levelled a serious look in their direction, the type of look that basically meant they were in trouble and there was nothing they could do to avoid it.

"As for you two, Nanoha-san and Sonic-san" The woman's expression was firm and serious, "You'll both receive a stern lecture from me about this."

No doubt about it this time; Nanoha and Sonic were in big trouble.

[Opening: "Innocent Starter" Nana Mizuki]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Lyrical Familiar
Chapter 12
Everyone's Separate Heart-felt Vows

[Dimensional Space]
[Time-Space Administration Inter-Dimensional Cruise Patrol Warship "Asura"]
[No BGM]

For the crew of the Asura; none could hide that shared feeling of sympathy they had when they saw their admiral immediately take the duo of local mage and familiar straight for the debriefing rooms after transferring. It was a feeling similar to being back in school; where a student made a scene so bad that the principal had to intervene. In the current case, the metaphorical Principal Harlaown wasted no time in escorting the duo to the conference room.

It was in this particular room, with the lights dimmed to add to the mood, where Nanoha and Sonic stood on one end of the table; their eyes closed and faces showing that defeated expression as they waited for the woman to seat herself on the opposite end. Both of them knew it was coming and they both know what they had done to deserve their lecture, so there was little reason to fight it.

For her part, Lindy couldn't help but sigh in some hindsight. She knew that she had to give the two kids her lecture, and she knew why, there was no question they had deserved it. She honestly would've preferred that she hadn't had to do this. Nevertheless, her duties required it and it had to be done, and she couldn't show mercy just because she liked them.

"Following all instructions and orders is a necessary rule in order to protect an organization, not just an individual." The woman went straight to the point; while her voice and tone may have that motherly vibe, that also added further hurt for the duo as they could almost picture Momoko Takamachi saying the same thing with quite the same effect, "Your reckless decisions and actions may have put not only you, but everyone else around you in danger as well.

"You understand that," Lindy paused in her speech briefly to add a little alternation to her tone to imply a question in there, "Ne?"

"Hai, (ma'am)…" The duo acknowledged without any pause; and no jokes from the blue hedgehog; that would've only poured oil into the metaphorical fire.

"Normally, this would be cause for me to punish you two severely" The woman began, noting the wince from the duo as if they were expecting her to do such. She couldn't help but let a small upward curve of her lips as she informed them to the contrary, "However, as a result of your actions, we have gained a little bit. So, for this one time, I'll let it pass."

Neither Sonic nor Nanoha could hide the relief they had felt to hear that they were not going to get reprimanded outside of the lecture. Their musings were halted by the woman continuing; she had paused to let them acknowledge her lecture, but she wasn't done.

"However; there will be no next time." The woman said sternly, leaving no room for argument, "Understood?"

"Hai (ma'am)" The two agreed with again no snappy commentary from the blue hedgehog.

"We're really sorry" Nanoha added on her own note.

"Now then… The problem is what happens from here?" The woman reclined backward in her seat a little and addressed her resident enforcer/son, "Chrono, any ideas on the cause of all of this?"

"Hai" the boy, who had nothing but sympathy for the two locals, but hid it well, confirmed and made his way toward the table, sending a request to the ship bunny assistant Amy along the way, "Amy, bring up the monitors"

[BGM: "Golbez. Clad in Dark" Final Fantasy IV OST (Arrangement/DS/IOS)]

"Hai hai~" the brunette teen chimed in reply and activated the display monitors in the middle of the table. The screen displayed the profile of an older woman with purple hair; a woman that was recognized by all except the locals and their resident archeologist.

"Ara…" Lindy started a bit, staring at the profile on screen as information started to appear about the woman in question, "Her..."

"Hai… a mage from Mid-Childa just like us, Precia Testarossa" Chrono confirmed as more information appeared, "Her specialty was development of energy for inter-dimensional travel. She was a grand mage, and yet was exiled for causing an accident through illegal research.

"The wavelength and signature of the magical attack just now matches the data we have on file." Chrono glanced at Nanoha a little bit, knowing that she fought the girl he was about to refer to, "And that girl, Fate, is probably her daughter."

"Back then, she did say "Kaa-san"..." Nanoha noted in memory, though momentarily flinching from it as she was a little bit close to the girl when she was struck.

"Parent and child..." Lindy noted, "Huh…"

"She didn't look like she was surprised." the girl went on further, "I almost thought she looked scared."

"I would be too if I was on the wrong end of some magical, lightning attack" Sonic couldn't help but quip, and then quickly elaborate further, "If I didn't know better, I'd say the attack was aimed at her as well."

"I hate to agree with you on, that Sonic-kun" Nanoha noted, staring at her feet for a moment, "But I think you're right… She was hit by too much of it to be an accident. But what kind of mother would want to hurt her own daughter?"

"I don't know..." Lindy folded her hands underneath her chin in thought. She needed more information, "Amy! Bring up more information on Lady Precia; find out what happened after her exile; everything from her family information and so on."

"Hai hai~! I'll look for them right away" The brunette chimed in acknowledgement. Seriously, give this girl a raise or something.

The display of Precia Testarossa was still on in the middle of the table. She had no idea what to think, much like her familiar did. All the two of them could do was just stare at the woman; they were confused with her apparent motives and actions, but couldn't judge yet.

"This is Fate-chan's kaa-san..." Nanoha noted quietly.

[Dimensional Space]
["Garden of Time"]
[BGM: "Golbez, Clad in Dark" Final Fantasy IV OST (Arrangement/DS/IOS)]

The disturbingly all-too-familiar whipping noise could be heard throughout the lair of Precia Testarossa. For the most part, they weren't accompanied by the squeals of Fate, as she kept quiet and only whimpered as she endured the pain. Her mother was upset with her again and had taken it out in the form of usual whippings. The only difference in this punishment was the longer pauses between strikes, although they were for the woman to catch her breath. Precia appeared tired, no real surprise considering the effort she put out earlier. Regardless, that didn't change the fact that she was upset with the girl.

"You had a big chance in front of you" The woman breathed out, "And all you did was stand by in a daze"

"I'm sorry..." Fate could only admit as she hung there, hung by her arms in chains. She had made her mother upset with her again; and this was her punishment. Her body would scream at her with every blow inflicted, but she had to endure it.

"How horrible, Fate…" Precia, slowly and slightly, closed the gap between herself and her daughter. The all-too-familiar whip was in hand and ready for another wave of punishment, "Do you really mean to make your kaa-san that sad?"

More lashings, more squeals; Fate had to endure it all. As she endured it, she couldn't help but recall the words that her white-clad rival had said to her. Friends, could that really happen? Why would her rival want to be a friend? That thought confused her, but she never voiced those thoughts in front of her mother. She just endured the lashings like it was the only thing she could've done.

[Dimensional Space]
[Time-Space Administration Inter-Dimensional Cruise Patrol Warship "Asura"]
[BGM: "Yogizashi" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]

It didn't take long for Amy to gather the data she could get available to her. So much so that no one had to leave the room while she did so. Arguably, it took her more time to get the information organized to present than it did to attain it. It didn't take her long for that either.

"Precia Testarossa" Amy Limietta began her debriefing as she paced her steps in the meeting room, "According to Mid history, she was the head of Sector 3 of the Central Technology Development Office 26 years ago. However, at the time, she was developing a dimensional travel energy motor called the Hudra, where she conducted an experiment using illegal materials, and failed.

"Because it resulted in a mid-size dimensional tremor, she was forced to leave Central, and was relocated to a rural branch." The brunette teen continued as the information she presented was also backed up with recorded footage of a disturbance so devastating even the ground had a negative reaction, "After being relocated to the outskirts, she was involved in tech research for several years. After a while though, she went missing… nothing since then."

"What about her family?" Lindy asked, hoping to bring more pieces from the metaphorical puzzle together, "And her activities when she went missing?"

"All of the data regarding that has been completely erased" Amy informed the admiral in a neutral tone, "We're contacting HQ as we speak to have the data looked over."

"How much time will it take?" the woman asked, ever-so-thoughtful about how she planned to deal with this new threat.

"I believe it will be in the next day or two" the brunette applied her own speculation

"Hmm… neither Lady Precia nor Fate-chan should be able to move around too much after the amount of power they exhibited. We'll use that time to strengthen the Asura's defenses" Lindy made her decision firm. With all of the data presented, the woman stood up from her chair to address the three kids at the opposite end of the table, "It will be best that you three rest for a while"

"Ah..." Nanoha readily was about to argue, "demo..."

"Especially you both, Nanoha-san, Sonic-san" Lindy cut off the girl before the argument could be presented, "It's not good for Nanoha-san to be absent from school for too long; and I don't know what Sonic-san does during the day with Nanoha-san's family, but it's best not to worry them"

"Usually I work at the café her family runs" Sonic noted, "But most of my free time is spent on a personal project."

"What kind of project?" Even the admiral had her moments of allowing her curiosity to get the better of her.

"Eh... just restoring a plane." The hedgehog shrugged, "The only thing I'm missing is the engine and I'm waiting to hear back from one of Nanoha-chan's friends."

"If you'd like, I could accompany some of our ship techs down there and see what we could do to help" the woman offered, her mind at work in determining ways to encourage these locals that she liked to help out more, "It won't take long for the staff to boost this Asura's defenses, and more often than not, they get bored."

"You don't have to do that..." Sonic tried to reason, "The plane's really, really old anyway and the parts are hard enough to find."

"At any rate; I probably should let you kids return home." the woman declared, "Its best that you two make appearances with your families and schoolmates just to let them know how you're doing."

"The only family Sonic-kun has right now is mine." Nanoha noted, "But, we probably should check in and tell them we're okay."

"They already know what we're doing out here anyway." The blue hedgehog noted, "We haven't been exactly keeping this a secret from day one."

"You told them?!" Chrono glared at the group, the blue rodent in particular for being so nonchalant, "You're not supposed tell anyone about this!"

"I'll take responsibility for that" Yuuno spoke up, trying to leave some of the pressure off his friends and allies, "They didn't know any better; but I did, and I was the one who told their friends and family."

"That's even wors-…"

"Chrono, that's enough" Lindy interrupted her son in his mini-tirade; the clearer heads prevail most of the time for a reason, "While you've made your point and our presence and magic should be kept in a low profile; could you blame them if it was out of necessity?"

"Hai..." the enforcer stopped himself. Mentally he couldn't help but be self-critical over his lack of control at a time when he needed it.

"Besides, we could use this to our advantage. There would've been a need to inform them anyways; we were just saved the trouble" Lindy noted; though she did send a stern look at the resident archeologist, "However, Yuuno-san; this doesn't excuse you from doing it, so I will have a word with you before I allow you to leave."

"Hai (ma'am)…" The boy nodded with a small sigh, knowing full well from the start that his unauthorized debriefing will come back to haunt him.

[Dimensional Space]
["Garden of Time"]
[No BGM]

All was done, another round of Fate's lashings have been dealt with. The poor girl was barely conscious and just laid on the floor. Precia had left the room to gaze and calculate the Jewel Seeds that were captured all together. One thing was for sure, what she had done couldn't be forgotten, especially in the view of a certain wolf familiar.

"Fate! Fate!" Arf's voice could've been heard echoing out through the lair as the wolf-woman sprinted to the throne room. The poor wolf was freaking out as she checked on the condition of her master; her voice softened as she embraced the girl, "Fate… Fate..."

There was a cocktail of emotions working their way through Arf's system to her mind. Concern, anger, sadness, frustration, more anger; it all worked through her. The familiar's anger overpowered all other emotions that she felt. The wolf-woman gritted her teeth in such anger as she glared ahead at the door from where Precia was. The line in the sand was drawn; Arf would not let that woman harm her precious Fate ever again!

Deep in the cavern of her lair, Precia, who was oblivious to the feelings of the wolf familiar, gazed at the 9 Jewel Seeds in front of her. Even if she wasn't oblivious to the feelings or sudden burst of killer intent from behind her, she honestly didn't care. All that mattered to her were the Jewel Seeds; collecting them all and using them for whatever purpose.

"Only 9 Jewel Seeds" The woman gazed at them, thinking out loud, "I can cause a dimensional disturbance with these, but I can't reach Al Hazard"

A coughing fit put a stall to her musings. The fit of coughs were almost deathly serious as some of her blood was coughed out in her fit. The coughs, at least for her, were a sign of ill omen. And it brought to her attention one thing that she was running out of.

'Time…. I don't have much time left' the woman thought to herself as she grasped her mouth for almost dear life, 'Not for me, not for Alicia...'

[BGM: "Golbez, Clad in Black" Final Fantasy IV (Arrangement/DS/IOS version)]

As the saying went, when it rains, it pours. The metaphorical pouring occurred when an explosion occurred at the entrance to the cavern. The impact created a dust cloud and, of course, it drew Precia's attention. The woman, for the most part, may have been caught a little bit off guard by the intrusion, but she gave barely a courtesy look in that direction.

At the other end of the dust appeared Arf who appeared calm for the most part. The wolf woman's calmness betrayed the tranquil fury in her heart as she walked down the steps close to the entrance. For her part, Precia didn't care; she had given the familiar a courtesy look, but merely turned her back, an action that for most would've been a grave mistake.

For Arf, she had endured watching the pain this woman had inflicted on Fate for far too long; and she had enough of it. The second she took that last step and touched down on the ground, Arf's temper flared. The wolf woman let out an angry growl and rushed rather recklessly toward the older woman. Sadly, her efforts were blocked by a purple barrier of the older woman's creation.

With a soft, subtle smirk through that purple lipstick, Precia watched as the pitiful familiar futilely tried to break her barrier. She honestly could've done so many things to the young wolf girl, but decided against it on a pure whim. It was only on that whim that Precia had dismissed the barrier and let the wolf have her say. The woman was greeted rather rudely by Arf gripping the collar of her dress.

"You're her mother, and that girl is your daughter, right?!" Arf shouted in anger and frustration at the woman; screw the part of clear minds prevailing, this wolf angry and could take no more, "She's trying her hardest for you! How the hell can you be so cruel to her?!"

It took only one look into that face of Precia's that caused Arf to relent for a moment. That look was one of pain, hurt and disappointment was obvious on the woman's face. It was Arf's moment of relent that proved to be a mistake. Precia took it and impacted the wolf girl with a powerful point blank spell that blasted the girl a fair distance away.

"She's terrible at making a good familiar." Precia said in disappointment as she slowly approached the offending familiar. In the woman's right palm was an orb of mana "Too many excessive emotions…"

"Fate… Your daughter wants you to smile so much… she wants you to be a kind person again, and does so much…" Arf grunted out as her back was against a gathering of rock. Her wounds from Precia's spell overtook her as she flinched in pain and perhaps future pain. The latter was apparently more of the case as the woman in front of her called forth her staff.

"You're in my way..." The woman declared coldly; however her face soon gave way to an almost sadistic smirk, "Be gone!"

Energy gathered at the tip of the staff as the woman appeared ready to fire off another spell, this one with probably a good amount of that deadly feeling. Arf, however, was not about to take her apparent death for granted just yet. With as much strength and power that she could muster despite her weakened condition, she activated a quick spell of her own just as Precia fired.

The resulting explosion created a gaping hole in the floor that was deep enough to go through the ground of the lair. Through the dust of that explosion flew an orange blur of magic and speed. Though she was injured, Arf was still able to pull off the last ditch teleportation spell.

'It doesn't matter where I teleport!' Arf weakly said in her thoughts; she just wanted to get out of there, 'I'm sorry, Fate! Please wait for me... just for a little while.'

[No BGM]

Back up in the impact spot, Precia didn't even so much as give the scene a courtesy look before she turned away. The woman, slowly, but with intent, walked back to the throne room of her lair. Her unconscious daughter lied there, covered by the small cloak that used to belong to Arf. She didn't wait to wake the blonde as time was running short still.

"Fate…. "The woman called out to the girl, "Wake up, Fate."

"Hai..." the girl softly answered back. She was still weak from her latest punishment, but still answered the woman, "Okaa-san..."

"The number of Jewel Seeds you have brought me is nine." The woman said as she displayed all nine for the girl to see. Her tone didn't need to hide the disappointment she felt, "This isn't enough. I need at least five more. If possible, even more than that; hurry and retrieve them for your kaa-san."

"Hai…" Fate answered as she slowly managed to muster the strength to seat herself up. As she did so, she couldn't help but notice the familiarity of the cloak that was on her, "Arf?"

"Oh… that girl ran away" The woman blatantly lied; her purple lipstick coated lips having a slight upward curve to them, "She said she was scared, and had had enough.

"If you need one, I'll get you a better familiar." The woman knelt down to her daughter and made a dishonest offer; however the tone she carried still exuded honesty, "Don't forget that your one true ally is your kaa-san. Got it, Fate?"

"Hai…" Fate's own answer held half of her sincerity as well. Try as she might, she'll never be able to forget Arf. Part of her knew it, but it was deep down and her devotion to Precia overpowered such thought, "kaa-san..."

[Earth]
[Uminari City, Japan]
[Residential District, Takamachi Residence]
[BGM: "Eeto desu ne" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]

It was a little bit into the mid-afternoon when Nanoha and Sonic finally returned home with their tutorial ferret in tow. However, it came to a bigger surprise to the others of the family when there was another woman right behind the kids plus ferret. Regardless, they welcomed the teal-haired woman, figuring that she would be the one to provide a clear explanation.

Explanations were among one of the things that Lindy had on her agenda when she graced the Takamachi family with a visit. On that same agenda, Lindy was set to check out the biplane that Sonic had said was a personal project, and it didn't take long for a small group of techs to make their way to the backyard and scope out said old relic of a plane.

At the moment, however, her focus was debriefing the family of Nanoha and Sonic's activities. The advantage of said family knowing about magic made it rather easy. Easy in the sense that she didn't have to doctor the truth with a cover story. Make no mistake, she still had given Yuuno a stern lecture prior to coming out, which explained why the Tutorial Ferret was quiet.

"And that's how it's been for the past ten days" Lindy noted; let it not be said that she couldn't handle a casual environment. She was easily dressed for the social call in her brownish skirt, purple long-sleeved shirt and the light shawl-like fabric wrapped around her elbows. She was also easily able to talk about everything with the family as if it was the weather or something.

"Lindy-san..." Nanoha was easily impressed further by the easy, friendly tone that the woman had carried in her explanations. Her familiar/little brother, Sonic, was also impressed but opted to let Nanoha do all of the talking, "This isn't even a lie or a cover story."

"Sugoi..." Yuuno added

"I may have the need to inform them of the whole truth" Lindy added to the mindspeak conversation as she easily multi-tasked with small talk with Momoko Takamachi, "However, that doesn't mean I'm going to make your family worry while I do so."

"…. However, despite their faults, Nanoha-san and Sonic-san are excellent children" The kind, experienced admiral went on to give kind words for the aforementioned children. If one were to draw comparison, the woman sounded much like a schoolteacher serenading about her students, "I really would like my child to be more like them."

"Oh..." Momoko let herself be a bit embarrassed as she set her tea on the table, "I wouldn't go that far."

"Really." Lindy was most certainly not about to let a chance to embarrass her son while he was absent go to waste, "My Chrono-kun isn't good at being nice to others."

"Nanoha..." Miyuki turned to address her younger sister, "You're going to be able to stay here for a few days, right?"

"Hai" Nanoha confirmed such question

"Alisa-chan and Suzuka-chan have been worried about you two" Kyouya added, "Have you contacted them yet?"

"Hai." Nanoha nodded without missing a beat, "I sent them an email a while ago."

[En route to Bannings Residence]
[No BGM]

Sure enough, Alisa had received the email from Nanoha informing her that she was home safely. It came to a hidden relief for the dirty-blonde, and, although she wouldn't be able to confirm it for herself, but she knew that Suzuka had also received the message from their mutual friend. At the moment, Alisa was being driven home from her lessons as the sun was setting.

"And send!" The girl chimed almost musically as she sent a message from her phone and flipped it shut.

"Alisa-Ojou-sama" the driver of her car, an older man with a full head of grayish hair and a matching moustache, "Did you receive good news?"

"Not really. Just an ordinary email." The Anglophone downplayed the importance of the message a bit and stared out the window of the backseat for the car. As she did so, she must've noticed something off of the road to the left, because it gave her a start, "Samejima, stop the car for a second!"

It took less than a second for the car to pull over to the left side of the road and come to a complete stop. Alisa was even quicker to get out of the car and make for the dirt road to the side. If anyone were to look in that direction, there would definitely be some cause for the girl's concern.

[BGM: "Kizuna Shinjite" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]

Blood; a trail of blood led up the dirt road. Alisa wasted no time in following it with a dead-run sprint. She let out a soft gasp when the trail of blood ended to reveal a large wolf-like creature. The wolf was laying on her side and gasping for breath in pain of her obvious wounds. Despite knowing that she wasn't going to let this wolf succumb to injury, Alisa couldn't help but note the oddities.

"A dog?" the dirty-blonde noted her thoughts out loud, "A really big one at that, and that fur seems familiar."

The wolf, for her part, was far too tired and injured to respond to the voice. Even if she wasn't, she also wasn't in a position to recognize the voice anyway. All she could do was just lay there weakly.

"Alisa-ojou-sama!" the driver called out as he joined the heiress's side. It didn't take long for him to note the presence of the large wolf, "Its wounds appear to be severe"

"But it's still alive; and we can't just leave it here." Alisa said to her driver; "Samejima!"

"Understood" the man didn't need to be told of the full order as he knew what was needed. Slowly, the man started to kneel down toward the injured wolf, intending on carrying it to the car. As he did so, the wolf's left eye started to open as if to determine who this new presence was.

'Fate…' was the weak wolf's only thought.

[Bannings Residence]
[BGM: "Kono hiroi sekai ni" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]

Once Alisa had taken the wolf to her home, she placed her in a large cage to let her rest and recover. Barring a snack or two, not once did Alisa leave that wolf's side. Her reasons for doing so were multiple, but one outweighed all of the others.

Alisa would no doubt consider herself a dog girl. She cared deeply for the canine sort and would often rescue the injured dogs and take care of them until they found homes. It didn't matter the breed of dog either for that matter. In a way, she was similar to Suzuka, who would do the same thing for cats.

It was at this cage where Arf had awoken. She woke up amongst a feeling of total confusion. Not only was she in an unfamiliar environment, a lot of time had apparently passed while she had rested. It took her a while before she could gather any of her senses yet, but that didn't stop her from opening her eyes.

"Ah! You're awake!" the next sense was her hearing as she heard a young voice call to her. Upon looking toward the source of the voice, she found herself staring at a girl with dirty blonde hair. The girl was flanked by two big dogs to either side of her, with their expressions unreadable.

'This girl…' Arf's primary focus was on the girl in the middle, trying to place the familiarity of the girl in memory, 'I've seen her before...'

"You're built really tough. You were hurt really bad, but they said your life wasn't in danger." The girl, who upon a further look from Arf, was revealed to be carrying a bowl of food, opened the gate door and set the bowl at the wolf's feet, "I'll take care of you until your wounds are healed up."

Arf, rightfully feeling confused, sat up and stared at the girl further, trying to place her in memory. Her efforts were probably misunderstood as the dirty-blonde girl stroked her forehead softly.

"So rest easy." The girl said in a soft but kind tone and then it all came together for Arf. The girl was the one who stood up for Fate's apparent rivals at the onsen weeks ago.

'She's their friend!' The wolf stared in awe as she watched the girl close the gate, but make no attempt to go anywhere.

"Here." The girl pointed to the dog food at Arf's feet, "It's soft food, can you eat it?"

"Hai…" Arf answered softly as she took note of the food and nibble at it a bit. Taking the chance there, she gazed at the girl's face for a reaction. From her point of view, she had to give the blonde some credit, as she didn't appear to be too surprised like one normally would.

"So you can talk too" Alisa noted in some observation as she gave the wolf a curious glance. Trying to place the possible familiarity to the odd, abnormal wolf; she noted the odd, but familiar fur color, but the voice wasn't too familiar.

"We've met before" Arf noted softly, figuring she better break the ice and let the girl know just who she was giving hospitality to. Not that she was in a condition to do anything about it, but it was still something she felt necessary, "The last time, I was in a different form."

"Ara… eto…" Now Alisa was starting to figure it out. She could start to place the voice; alongside that there were several points that started to piece it all together. The biggest one was when the wolf noted to a different form. She let out a soft gasp in realization, "W-wait… weren't you at the onsen?!"

"That's right…" The wolf coughed a bit in between bites. A sign that she was probably trying to eat her food too fast, "ugh..."

"You're eating too fast. The food's not going anywhere" Alisa softly consoled the wolf. Despite knowing who she was; there was still no way she was going to just ignore her, "You should take your time and rest after you eat. We'll talk more when you get better.

"Although with that appetite of yours" The blonde grinned a bit in humor, "That certainly won't take long."

[The next day]
[Public Seishou Auxiliary Elementary School]
[Grade 3, Class 1]
[No BGM]

For Nanoha, there were a multiple of reasons to be happy to be at school. The main reason for her happiness and excitement was the fact that she could see her best friends again. They, for the most part, were just as happy to see her, even if Suzuka displayed such feeling a little bit better than Alisa did.

"Nanoha-chan!" the purple-haired heiress had to show major restraint as she fought the urge to hug the heck out of her best friend in the classroom.

"It's good to see you, Suzuka-chan" Nanoha smiled happily and cheerfully. Her optimism evident as she gazed at Alisa, hoping that the girl wasn't mad with her, "You too Alisa-chan."

"Hmph!" Alisa put on a little bit of a show that furthered her status as a tsundere as she turned away and folded her arms; though she couldn't hide the slight upward curve of her lips in relief to see Nanoha again.

The three talked a little bit about what they could do after class. Most of it was dependent on Nanoha's freedom to stay for a few days. With that actually established, the girls went on to discuss where they were going to play.

"We could go to my place…." Alisa offered; her theatrical tsundere attitude toward Nanoha probably could've won an award or two, "I bought more games recently."

"Really?!" Nanoha sounded really excited to hear that, "If you don't mind, could we invite Sonic-kun too? I think we've converted him to video gaming"

"Ara... That's right!" oddly it took the mention of Sonic to remind Alisa of the talking orange dog she found last night, "Last night, I picked up a dog that was hurt on the way home."

"A dog?" Suzuka couldn't help but ask for some clarification

"Yeah. she was really big and had orange fur. And it had a red stone on her forehead." Alisa nodded to answer the girl, and more details came to her mind quickly, "Oh and she could talk too!"

'Big, orange fur, talking... stone in forehead...' Nanoha pictured the details in her mind and realized quickly with a start, "Oh! I think I know her."

[After School]
[Bannings Residence]
[No BGM]

It took the girls a little bit of time to get to Alisa's house because they had to wait for Sonic to show up at the school, but they still made great time. With the afternoon sun shining brightly behind them; the girls, plus Sonic and a certain Tutorial Ferret, stared into the cage. Sure enough, Alisa's description matched the memories of Sonic, Yuuno and Nanoha; this was Arf; no doubt about it.

"So, it is you..." Nanoha noted in addressing the caged wolf, "Arf-san"

"You..." the wolf, having to rely on her tone as her facial expressions wouldn't be so helpful in determining her true emotions, gave a weak nod.

"You've definitely seen better days, Lassie" Sonic noted in observation as his gaze was locked on the numerous amount of bandages covering the wolf's body, "What in the world happened to you?"

"And what about Fate-chan?" Nanoha added

Arf had said nothing and had turned her back on the girls with a soft sigh of regret. She wasn't willing to have her say in front of too many people. She must've unknowingly sent a message to her counterpart and rival Sonic; because the blue hedgehog gave a soft, understanding nod. Undeterred by the girls, Sonic approached the wolf's cage.

"Sonic-kun" Nanoha blinked in confusion.

"Leave this to me" Sonic sent the girl in mindspeak. The wolf had been trying to talk to him for a while now, so he decided to give her that chance. His face gave way to a mischievous smirk as he gazed between Nanoha and Yuuno, "Oh! Nanoha-chan, don't tell me you forgot about our Tutorial Ferret's dishonesty in the onsen, did you?"

"Eh? The girl blinked for a moment if that, before she matched expressions with her familiar and gave the ferret a dangerous look, "That's right! I had almost forgotten. Thanks for reminding me!"

'Oh crap!' Poor Yuuno had a look on his face akin to that of a deer between the headlights as he found Nanoha's grip on him tighten, if only for show purposes.

"Eh?" Alisa and Suzuka stared in confusion; evidently they didn't get the memo, but they were going to soon enough.

"There's something about Yuuno-kun that he hasn't told you two" Nanoha almost cheerfully chimed as she turned towards the large house, "Why don't we ask him about it.

"Okay..." the two nodded, figuring to just go along with it. Oh boy were they in for a surprise. At the same time, Yuuno-kun was in for some divine punishment.

Sonic gave the trio of girls plus ferret a minute to go inside before he figured that enough time has passed. At long last, the awaited talk that Arf had been lobbying him for the past few encounters. The blue hedgehog, once again, toned down his joking façade as he faced the wolf; whose back was still to him.

[BGM: "Marble zone" Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)

"Alrighty, let's talk" Sonic broke the ice first, "What in the world happened to you? Did something happen with your girly?"

"The fact that you guys are here means that the Bureau is watching this conversation, right now" Arf answered, again keeping her back toward the hedgehog, her own conjecture being drawn from the presence of her rival, "Am I right?"

"Much as I hate nosy intruders" the blue hedgehog nodded with a grumble, "We've got some eavesdroppers."

"This is Chrono Harlaown, Enforcer from the Time-Space Administration" Chrono interjected in an active feed with the resident duo of familiars, "It appears that the situation is complex. If you speak honestly and cooperate, I will make sure that your cooperation doesn't go against you. About you, and your master, Fate Testarossa."

"I'll tell you everything." Arf had taken only a second or two to let out a sigh in defeat, "I'll agree to your terms and tell you everything. However I have a few conditions."

"Conditions?" Chrono made no attempt to hide the bluntness in his tone, "You're hardly in a position to make them- ugh!"

"Ignore Chrono-kun. He can be a meanie sometimes." Amy Limietta, who had apparently jammed her elbow into the rude enforcer's guy, took over, "This is Amy Limietta; I'm a cadet from the Bureau, but I handle the intelligence and research. Name your terms."

"For one, I will only answer questions from the blue hedgehog boy; familiar to familiar." Arf made that point clear; she only wished to deal with the hedgehog's questions; she cared little for what Sonic had done with the information, "Lastly, I want you guys to promise that you'll do everything within your power to save Fate! She hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Fair enough… ehm... we accept your terms" Chrono grumbled a bit, he certainly gained a new respect for the ship bunny/cadet's elbow after his gut took that blow, "Amy... the recorder"

"One step ahead of you" The brunette chimed ever-so-joyfully. Chrono may be her superior, but she was two years older than him and there was no way she'd let the little brat's rudeness ruin any chances to gain intelligence.

"You can see why I don't have a dull moment with these guys" Sonic quipped cleverly to the wolf, his efforts earned him a nod as the wolf had turned to face him finally, "Alright, let's hear the sco-"

"YOU PERVERTED FERRET BOY!" Just as they were about to get started with Arf's story, they had a delay as Alisa's voice could've been heard from within the house...

"What the…" Arf blinked, looking in the direction of the house. A glance toward Sonic showed that the blue hedgehog had trouble keeping the straight face.

"Looks like they found out." Sonic grinned in humor, though he did had a little bit of sympathy for throwing the poor Tutorial Ferret into the metaphorical fire, "I wouldn't want to be a fly in that house right now."

"Pardon me" Amy chimed, "We're getting off topic here."

"Alright alright… let a hedgehog have some fun." Sonic shrugged before leveling a serious glance at Arf. His arms were folded across his chest and his foot was tapping in his decreasing patience, "Let's have the scoop."

"H-hai" the wolf nodded quickly, a little bit unsure of what to think from the light atmosphere. Regardless, she still had to cooperate and inform the Bureau of her knowledge, "Fate's mother, Precia Testarossa, is the start of it all"

Arf spent the next few minutes explaining her story in as much detail that she could gather. She confirmed that Precia Testarossa was after the Jewel Seeds and she was using Fate to gather them. She made no attempt to hide the fact that Precia would often beat Fate with a whip if she did anything to disappoint her. Precia was depicted as cruel in Arf's mind; as no matter how much work and effort Fate put in, her mother still found any way to make fault from it. It drove the wolf to the point where she couldn't stand to watch Fate suffer anymore and lashed out at the woman. Sadly, it only brought her to her current condition.

Meanwhile, Yuuno was in a small dog kennel, which was what Alisa deemed to be the dog house for him. She placed the cage plus ferret on the couch that the TV and game system faced. The three girls were currently playing an RPG when Sonic dragged Nanoha to a mindspeak communication with the Asura.

"Alrighty, Bureau folks got their detail" Sonic, for the most part, appeared calm throughout the whole story, which shocked Nanoha a little despite the hedgehog's improvement, "You catch all of that. Nanoha?"

"Hai... I heard" Nanoha confirmed in reply, her head hung down low as she stared at her dress skirt and shoes. Her body language caught the attention of her friends, who had paused their game; but she had asked that they wait until the conversation was over before she could talk.

"The conditions that you had described to us… along with the testimony of the girl's familiar, Arf as well as her current physical condition… There appear to be no lies or contradictions in her story." Chrono noted on his side from the Asura, "We have more than enough to arrest Precia Testarossa. Just the fact that she attacked the Asura is more than enough reason, but this puts all doubt to rest."

"What's gonna happen now?" Sonic asked

"Once we hear word from the admiral, we'll be forced to change our mission to arrest Precia" Chrono informed; his attention solely on Nanoha and the blue hedgehog now, "What will the two of you do? Nanoha Takamachi, Sonic the Hedgehog?"

[BGM: "Namae wo yonde" Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha OST]

"I…" Nanoha's face gave way to a serious look as she stared up at the screen, giving Chrono that serious look of hers, "I want to save Fate-chan. Arf-san's feelings, and my own will... Seeing a sad look on Fate-chan's face makes me sad as well. That's why I want to save her, from all of the sad things.

"Because I told her that I wanted to be friends with her" Nanoha easily explained her feelings with what she told the blonde earlier, "And I haven't heard her answer yet."

"I'm with her all of the way" Sonic noted in his agreement with Nanoha's feelings, "I'm kinda like my counterpart here. I'll protect Nanoha-chan no matter what she's going to do"

"I understand" Chrono said as he stepped forward to face the two on the screen, "We're thankful to have your magic powers and skills on our side. We'll leave everything concerning Fate Testarossa up to you, Nanoha"

"Well then… That should answer your questions and doubts" Sonic locked eyes with his counterpart behind the cage again, "What do you say to that?"

"I'll agree" Arf nodded, she tapped into the communication to reach Nanoha, "Nanoha.. was it?

"I don't have the right to ask this of you, but please… save Fate!" the wolf pleaded with the girl, "She's all alone right now.."

"It'll be all right. Leave it to me!" Nanoha nodded and closed the communications; rejoining her friends in conversation, "Sorry about that, guys"

"About time you rejoined us in the real world" Alisa playfully teased her brunette friend. Any feelings of contempt she held were gone for the moment in favor of taking on the next level in their video game.

As the trio of gamer chicks played the next level of their action game; Nanoha listened as Chrono listed out his plan to deal with Precia. They'd board the Asura tomorrow then go after the woman, wherever she was. The only issue that rose was the idea that Fate could appear prior to then; to which Nanoha was quick to assure that she'd be able to handle the girl.

Time could fly so fast sometimes when one's focused on a video game. The three girls found themselves enjoying iced tea and cookies for a snack as the setting sun basked the house in the orange-yellow glow.

"I really got into that one!" Alisa lamented about the latest video game they played. Taking a sip through the straw, the dirty-blonde girl let out a pleasured breath as she savored the ice tea.

"It's more fun when you're with us, Nanoha-chan" Suzuka added

"Arigatou.." Nanoha softly but bashfully thanked her friends for their compliments, "Everything will be over soon. I'm sure of it.. and I'm sorry if I worried you two."

"It's alright, Nanoha" Alisa said to the brunette; locking eyes as she gazed at her face, "We're your friends, so we're going to worry about you no matter what's going on."

"Alisa-chan.." the brunette blinked a little bit at the gaze, wondering what else her friend could've been thinking.

"I was mad at you because you looked so troubled and confused" the girl went on further to let her feelings and reasoning out, "You often looked like you were dazing off somewhere"

"eto…" Nanoha had to wipe her sleeve across her face to wipe away some of the tears she had. She gazed at her friends with that cute, adorable smile of hers, "I know what I want to do now… And it may be dangerous, but I promise I'll come back to you two when I'm done."

"No matter where you are or what you do" Suzuka added, her expression sincere as her face, "We'll be behind you all the way."

"Yeah!" Alisa grinned teasingly toward her friend, figuring she could sneak in a little suggestive line, "Suzuka's fun to play with. But, I really enjoy having fun with y- uguuu!"

"Personal foul!" Sonic interrupted the perverted girl's antics with a pillow to the head. It was thankful that he did as poor Nanoha's face could've rivalled a tomato with how red her face was, "That's a five cookie penalty and I'm going to relieve my apparent older sister from you as it's time for us to head home. We've got a long day."

"Thanks, Sonic-kun" Nanoha recovered fast and joined her hedgehog's side, waving goodbye to her friends.

After retrieving the almost-forgotten Yuuno from the metaphorical dog house and took him home, Nanoha and Sonic had a little chat with their family to inform them of the plans the following morning. From their view, Nanoha's parents were glad, their child finally looked to have her worries figured out.

[Uminari City, residential district]
[Takamachi Residence]
[Time: 5:27 AM]
[BGM: "Spring Yard" Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)]

Nanoha, Yuuno and Sonic had gotten off to an early start to the morning. So early that the sun hadn't risen just yet as the three had started to make their way toward the park; the reasoning was almost simple. The part was the place where they had fought a tree possessed by a Jewel Seed. The three were at a running pace, well to be specific, Nanoha and Yuuno were at a run while Sonic only had to jog.

"Ah.." The blue hedgehog looked to his right and smirked, "Oy, 3 o'clock Nanoha.

"Eh?" the girl had to think a bit before she realized that Sonic was referring to the direction versus the time. As she looked, she almost grinned when she saw a fully-healed Arf running on the elevated wall above them, "Arf-san!"

The wolf said nothing, merely nodding as she leaped over to the left side of Sonic and Nanoha. There was no doubt to the wolf's drive; she was determined to save her master, and she finally felt confident that she had enough backup to do so.

[Uminari Seaside Park]
[Time: 5:55 AM]
[BGM: "Spring Yard" Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)

There the four stood, at the ocean view area of the park. They all stood, or sat in Arf's case, in place. Looking over the peaceful view of the ocean in waiting patience; they were waiting for either the Bureau to pick them up, or for Fate to show up. Whichever came first mattered little for the group, though Nanoha had her own little preference as to which event.

"It's all right if it's here, ne?" The girl sighed and stared at the ground, "Please come out, Fate-chan!"

The girl's plead was greeted by only silence; aside from the rustling of the wind. The silence gave the possibility that Fate probably wasn't going to show up. Either that, or she was waiting for the right moment to make a dramatic entrance, something that Sonic had speculated.

"Okay, can something happen within the next five seconds?" Sonic said out loud in impatience and exasperation as he laid on his back and tapped his gloved finger against his shoe, "We're waaaaaaaaiting~!"

"Scythe form!" Bardiche's declaration of said form seemed to answer the impatience of the blue hedgehog as Fate appeared on the top of a light post.

"Fate! Let's stop this now!" Arf tried to plead with her master; pleading that Fate would answer to reason and stop the madness and pain, "You shouldn't listen to what that woman tells you!

"Fate, you'll end up more and more miserable if you keep going." The wolf's tone and expression displayed her true feelings of worry as she made her last plea an emotional one, "So please, Fate!"

"Gomen, Arf…" The girl softly shook her head, she didn't like putting her familiar through all the emotional pain, but she felt like she had not choice, "I'm still her daughter."

"Well… you tried" Sonic shook his head with a shrug, patting the wolf with his gloved palm as he turned to face Nanoha, "Alright, this is your show now, Nanoha"

Nanoha nodded, closed her eyes and spread her arms out as her magic engulfed her. Quickly she changed into her Barrier Jacket and Raising Heart shifted to its Default/Device form. She stared at the girl with determination in her eyes.

"It's not good enough to just throw it away" Nanoha said, "And it's even worse if I were to run away.

"I'm sure it all started with the Jewel Seeds" The girl set down her own gauntlet and stared Fate down, "So we both should risk every Jewel Seed we have!"

"Put out!" Raising Heart declared as each and every one of Nanoha's collected Jewel Seeds appeared to surround the girl. Nanoha had staked her bet

"Put out!" Bardiche, in turn did the same, signaling Fate's unspoken agreement to the terms. Fate, for her part, remained silent and stoic through it all.

"This is where it starts.. where it all starts" Nanoha declared her feelings once more to a silent Fate as she pointed the tip of Raising Heart at the girl.

Fate remained silent, only the gesturing movement of the scythe form Bardiche served as any acknowledgement to the girl. The girl felt too many emotions that conflicted with one another. Her devotion to her mother clashed with the pain the woman had brought her. Arf's own feelings had played into that inner turmoil. There was one thing that she couldn't doubt. She had to give this upcoming battle all she had, for her mother and the Jewel Seeds.

"Nothing between us has even started yet." Nanoha said as she put her piece to a close, "So to start our true selves...

"Let's begin…"

[Ending: "Little Wish~ Lyrical Step" Yukari Tamura]

[End of Chapter 12]

Author's notes: More plot twists galore! And anyone else expected Arf to change sides? She could only take so much of Fate's pain and would do anything to save her. And yes. Yuuno had to get his justice due… No more onsens for him~! Anyways! Cliffhanger! Yes! Big big battle coming up next chapter! Nanoha versus Fate! The key matchup that decides it all.