SonicANIME2010 here, bringing in another chapter to Lyrical Familiar. Well, this chapter will serve as sort of an intermission between the two arcs. The Little Planet arc will start with Palmtree Panic next chapter, but for now; let's have some fun.

[Earth]
[Undisclosed Location]
[No BGM]

Plotting, that's what Doctor Eggman was doing. He certainly didn't spend the past few months crying like a little baby over the destruction of his toys on South Island. No, that teddy bear next to his chair was definitely not his. He just stole it from some kid way back when, though it did have his name written in marker and the ink was so old it was barely visible. Yes, esteemed scientist Doctor Eggman was most certainly not crying; he was plotting.

"I can't believe my robots were so easily destroyed!" The mad scientist ranted to no one in particular, perhaps a habit of his that never was curbed, "And by a little rodent no less!"

The doctor stared angrily at the display of the monitors from his computer. The object in display was the same blue hedgehog, Sonic, that had single-handedly destroyed his base. The footage was taken from what was left of his robots and the cameras he had placed around to alert him of any resistance. The footage was analyzed not only on the visual standpoint, but also from a statistical standpoint. The computer monitors displayed some of the data that said computer was able to calculate; height, body weight, mass. Those stats were then compared to the data taken from the battle; and the inconsistencies frustrated the scientist to no end.

"It's statistically impossible! How is that rodent capable of such speed?" The doctor ranted, "There's no way that someone of such short size and weight is capable of the damage he's done!"

Eggman had gotten that sense of déjà vu but shrugged it off rather quickly. He knew full well that he had already gone through that rant or similar variations of it many times since his defeat. It troubled him even more that the data he could gather wasn't enough to use towards improving his robots to counter such speed. He spent the past few weeks improving what he could, however, but aside from the overall defense and armor; it wasn't much. He still hadn't gotten an answer for the speed factor.

"I have more than enough robots to launch a second raid on South Island, but they won't get me far unless I can find an answer to that rodent's speed" The doctor grumbled in his little monologue phase, "I can't negate it, but if I could find something to match his speed."

A loud alert from another computer screen pulled Doctor Eggman from his thoughts. He had programmed his alarm system to alert him of many scenarios: intrusions, attacks, schedule alerts, etc. In the current case, as there were no signs that his hidden base was intruded upon, it had to have been a schedule of his own design.

"What's this…?" The mad scientist glanced at the screen. A sinister grin appeared on his face as he must have seen something he wanted, "Yes… it is getting to that time, isn't it?

"It's been almost a year since Little Planet had appeared. This is just perfect" Eggman chuckled darkly as a plot of his own had quickly started to develop, "This time I'm prepared for it too. And if my calculations are correct; not even that pesky hedgehog will be able to stop me this time!

"Once again the world will know the true evil that is Doctor Eggman!" Said doctor shouted so loud that he could hear his own voice echoing throughout his lair, "O~ ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! O~ ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! O~ ho-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!"

[OP: "Innocent Starter" Nana Mizuki]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Lyrical Familiar
Chapter 16
Prelude to Little Planet

[Uminari City, Japan]
[Residential District, Takamachi Residence]
[Local Time: 0845 am]
[BGM: "Spiran Scenery" Final Fantasy X Remaster OST]

Only an hour or so had passed since the detachment of mages sent from the TSAB had picked up Precia Testarossa. All of them were in civilian clothes; Nanoha had worn a reddish long-sleeve shirt underneath a pink and white t-shirt, purplish-pink skirt, long white socks and brown shoes with only a slight heel to them. Fate sported a black t-shirt and skirt combo with boots almost a quarter of the way up her calf.

While their clothes were civil and not too much to note, the fact that the two girls had traded hair ties was of note. Nanoha had tied her hair into pigtails with Fate's signature black hair ties while Fate had Nanoha's white ones. They had agreed to trade earlier as a sign to show their friendship, of course both girls, Fate especially, were shy about it.

Lindy had taken that time to set out a plan for the day before deciding to head out. It was planned so the woman would drop off Nanoha, Yuuno, Sonic along with Fate and Arf at the Takamachi residence while she, Chrono and Amy could spend a good half of the day hunting for a house that would be suitable for their needs. If any positive results came up, they'd jump on it quickly, but otherwise they'll keep looking until they could break for lunch.

"Achoo!" A certain blue hedgehog familiar sneezed and brought his gloved finger to wipe off his nose.

"Bless you" Nanoha helped her familiar's efforts by giving him a small tissue.

"Thanks" Sonic gratefully received such piece of paper and cleaned out his nose of any possible offending germs, "That came out of nowhere."

"A sneeze is usually a sign that someone's talking about you behind your back." Fate noted in some explanatory manner. She quickly sported an adorable blush in shyness when her innocent remark earned a curious glance or two, "S-so I read…"

"Anyways…" Lindy cleared her throat a little to draw attention away from the flustered blonde and back to the plan set for the day, "Everyone here knows the plan, right?"

"We... as in me, Nanoha, Arf, Fate and Tutorial Ferret, get dropped off here to visit with Nanoha's family" Sonic listed out the specifics of said plan, "While you three go out house hunting for a base?"

"Hai" Chrono confirmed, "Preferably one close to this house. It will be much more convenient than having to warp back and forth to the Asura."

"Nanoha?" Lindy addressed the aforementioned brunette, getting a quick nod in reply, "Did you call your family ahead of time?"

"Hai, I called less than a few minutes ago when we arrived" Nanoha nodded in confirmation to the woman's question, "We are expected, and I think Alisa-chan and Suzuka-chan are here too."

"I think Alisa was the one who helped me when I was injured." Arf noted in memory, "I'll make sure to thank her."

"I hope they'll like me…" Fate admitted softly in her nervous state, "I didn't make a good first impression with them…"

"Daijobu, Fate-chan!" Nanoha cheerfully grabbed Fate's hand in hers; eliciting yet another adorable pinkness of said blonde's cheeks, "Alisa-chan and Suzuka-chan are really nice, you'll get along fine."

[Inside the house]
[BGM: "Spiran Scenery" Final Fantasy X Remaster OST]

Momoko had busied herself with washing the dishes with her older daughter helping out while Shiro and Kyouya were watching television by the couch with Alisa and Suzuka. They were eagerly waiting for Nanoha and Sonic to come through the front door at any time, and they were going to welcome them back with open arms.

For them all, it was a relief to hear that Nanoha was going to return to them safe and sound. They were all quite worried, especially when the Uminari was blindsided by a chain of quakes. It was a scary day for everyone. The quakes felt so severe and dangerous; they inspired even more fear with the fact that Sonic and Nanoha were out there. It was only the optimism of Alisa and Suzuka had in confidence of their best friend that kept everyone from assuming the worst.

The sounds of the door opening and a soft patter of footsteps drew the attention of them all. It looked like their fears were about to be put to ease finally. Still, they waited until they heard the cheerful voices of the two first before acting.

"We're home!" Nanoha and Sonic called out as they entered.

The two didn't get much further through the door before they were tackled by blurs of purple and dirty-blonde. Nanoha barely had enough time to brace herself when Alisa tackled her to the wall. Sonic was not immune to such either as he had Suzuka to tend with. They could feel the tears from both girls on their chests.

Not ones to interrupt such a moment, Lindy, Amy and Chrono waited patiently at the doorway. Fate, recognizing the two quickly, took refuge behind the leg of Arf's human form in shyness. Arf, for the most part, took the scene in stride, though she had understood the feelings of the tackling duo. Lastly, Yuuno, who took to his ferret form as it was the form Nanoha's family recognized first, actually hid behind Arf as well. His reasons were understood by Arf, but she would hold no mercy as it was the ferret's own fault.

"Idiots" Alisa said in between her tears as she relaxed her grip and released Nanoha from it, though she still had a stern glare for said brunette, "You're both idiots."

"We were so worried about you" Suzuka added as she followed suit with her dirty-blonde friend, "We almost thought you weren't going to make it"

"Sorry" Nanoha apologized while her familiar, having little to say, opted to let her do the talking, "We're really sorry for making you worry about us."

"While you guys were out, the whole city was hit by earthquakes" Shiro said as he, with his wife, and older children following suit, walked toward the group at the door, "No one we've talked to could explain it."

"We can" Lindy spoke up, "But I don't think your front door is the best place to talk about it"

The woman's words rang true as the family and friends were so caught up in welcoming Nanoha and Sonic that they didn't give them the chance to enter the house all the way. A rather humorous point at that, but true, everyone was allowed to go in; fully revealing all of the guests that were with the two.

Fate, despite her best efforts of hiding behind Arf in her shyness, was still found out quite quickly, mainly because of the familiar she was hiding behind. It was only a matter of time before someone would notice her. With that in mind, she stood beside Arf and put on about as best of a polite manner that she could despite her shy demeanor.

"Ara, I know you" Sure enough, it was Alisa who noticed her first and made the comment, "Weren't you the one who knocked out Nanoha-chan during that one time?"

"H-hai" Fate wasn't able to deny it, nor could she fight the regretful look on her face and she found herself staring at her shoes, "I'm sorry"

"Alisa-chan, we're friends now" Nanoha sent a serious look at the dirty-blonde, sending the key message to back off. Satisfied with her result, she sent a confident smile at Fate, "It's okay, Fate-chan, introduce yourself."

"I'm Fate… Fate Testarossa." Said blonde had a slight dip of her head in a polite bow, her face sporting a cute shade of pink in her shy blush, "I'm sorry for putting you all through so much trouble directly or indirectly with my actions. I hope you'll come to forgive me and that we can get along."

Once again Fate was the subject of a majority of everyone's gaze. Nanoha's family, along with Alisa and Suzuka, glanced at the blonde with a neutral, almost analytical, gaze. It unnerved Fate a little and she found herself withdrawing back a little, especially as Alisa approached her first.

"Hmmm…" Alisa looked over the blonde girl, analyzing her a little. It didn't take her long to end such analysis; the fact that Fate looked so cute when she was shy helped in that. The dirty-blonde had a small smirk, "You pass"

"Huh?" Fate was completely confused, "Pass?"

"She means that you're going to be our friend" Suzuka walked over and placed her hand on the dirty-blonde's shoulders, eliciting a comical shiver from her, "And you're going to behave; ne Alisa-chan?"

"H-hai…" Alisa let out a comical gulp as she was pulled back a ways.

"Fate-san's familiar, Arf, is the tall one right next to her" Lindy noted, pointing out the silent wolf girl familiar. She then saw fir to introduce the others with her in respective order, "Chrono here is my son and one of the enforcers we have on call. Amy Limietta is our information specialist."

"Pleasure to meet your acquaintance," Chrono bowed formally.

"Nice to meet you guys as well." Amy followed suit, "And don't mind Chrono-kun too much, he can be a real brat sometimes."

"I am not going to comment on that," The boy kept true to his word and instead brought up a little concept that bugged him, "We're getting off topic here"

"He's right" Lindy noted in agreement and glanced at the others, "We were about to discuss the quakes?"

"Yeah they were so sudden and most of us were scared" Miyuki reflected on that day, she was training in the dojo with Kyouya and her father when the quake struck, "It started almost mid-day and it lasted more than just a few minutes."

"That was a dimensional quake" Lindy noted, she had the authority to explain a few things, but not all as the Bureau still had to run through a few specifics, "They were caused by a chain reaction that included the simultaneous activation of multiple Jewel Seeds."

"We have a suspect in custody and en route to our main base to be tried" Chrono added, "But that's all we can say for now"

"And Fate-san?" Shiro questioned, curious as to the circumstances regarding his daughter's new friend.

"Technically, she's an accomplice, along with her familiar." Lindy noted, "However, due to recent circumstances, I've managed to arrange for her to be a contractee mage to assist us in an upcoming case."

"Are we allowed to hear about this one?" Shiro asked, somewhat skeptical, though he had good reason for such feelings.

"Yes because this world is going to be directly involved" Lindy affirmed, but she wasn't below a mischievous streak of her own, "However I'm not going to tell you just yet. I'm a bit behind schedule with the preparations that I still have to make while we're here."

"The first includes getting a house in the city" Amy noted, breaking her silence, "It will serve as our little "base" planet-side"

"And we'll be leaving Fate-san and Arf-san here while we're out" The admiral added, "We won't be out for too long and if needed, Nanoha-san knows my cell number.

"You might want to ask Sonic about this one as well" Lindy was kind enough to leave a little hint while she was taking her leave with Amy and Chrono in tow, "He was the one who brought this to my attention"

With an amused look on her face, the admiral took her leave. As she did, everyone else levelled a glance at the aforementioned blue hedgehog. Sonic could barely react as he found himself tossed right into the fire. It was duly noted to him that amongst those staring at him, Fate and Arf were probably the most curious.

"Traitor…" Sonic grumbled a bit about being tossed to the metaphorical lions' den; though there was little malice in his tone and he let out a sigh of defeat, "Alright, ever heard of Little Planet?"

[With Lindy, Amy and Chrono]
[No BGM]

"Admiral" Chrono addressed his mother rather formally, but appropriately so as they were on the clock, "Can I ask a question?"

"You just did" Lindy remarked in amusement, drawing a giggle from her intelligence officer and a groan from her son, "At any rate, go ahead."

"Why are we putting so much trust in this blue hedgehog?" The teen queried in his poorly-hidden skepticism.

"Are you questioning this because of Sonic's status as a familiar?" Lindy levelled a questioning look to counter her son's skeptical one. She'll give an answer to her son's question, but she'd prefer to discern the reasoning behind it first.

"Partly" Chrono admitted, "But he's been secretive and guarding. Don't you find it a little bit odd that he neglected to inform you of this until it became convenient for him to do so?"

"Not really, he admitted that this was a stretch to begin with and we were lucky that Admiral Leti gave us the green light" Lindy noted, "And if you hear Sonic's story, you'll be more understanding of his reluctance."

"You're referring to the islands he hails from?" Amy offered, "From the intelligence that I could gather, the islands were under attack by a scientist out for world conquest or something."

"Doctor Eggman" the admiral confirmed, "His actions have painted a negative light for how the others of South Island regard us humans. I would argue that it was Nanoha's drive of reaching out to him that kept Sonic from following down that same path."

"If the rumors of this Little Planet are true, what are we going to do?" the teen enforcer asked, "If it's as big as this hedgehog says, we'll have a tough time sealing it."

"I'll send a small team to investigate" Lindy noted with a knowing grin on her face.

"You're going to send the girls and their familiars out there" Chrono easily could've seen the plotting of his mother at work.

"What better way to test their skills?" the admiral had every right to feel confident about her plotting; she sent a teasing look to her son, "Don't you worry about being left out; you'll be kept on reserve should they need it."

"I didn't…" Chrono was about to argue to the contrary of that statement but failed as he couldn't come up with anything, "How did you know?"

"I know you" was the only statement that the admiral needed to reply with.

"Oh! Found one!" Amy changed the topic when she found a modest little two story house close to the Midori-ya café; it just so happened to be on sale and at a reasonable price.

"Let's check it out" The admiral led her intelligence officer and assistant inside, leaving a rather silent Chrono behind.

"I need to stop being so readable" Chrono let out a defeated sigh and followed his mother and Amy inside.

[Takamachi Residence]
[No BGM]

A brief silence fell over those in the household as Sonic had finished explaining what he could about Little Planet. He could honestly offer no more to them than what he could offer the admiral on the Asura.

For the most part, the family took it all easily. Shiro was stoic to take it all in stride as was his wife, they had grown to trust the blue hedgehog and be patient with him. The same was said for Miyuki and Kyouya. Nanoha, having heard plenty of the urban legends and rumors from her familiar himself, felt happy that he was starting to trust people more.

It surprised Fate and Arf at how the Bureau was so quick to work with it, but they were still grateful that the hedgehog went so far for them. There was little doubt that the two would probably need to have a word with Sonic and Nanoha later on if the chance arrives.

As for Alisa and Suzuka, they were honestly just glad that Nanoha and Sonic weren't trying to keep secrets from them. Sure, it was to all sorts of frustration that they wouldn't be able to help them, but if they could support them from the sidelines, that was just fine.

"Do you have any idea what you could face out there?" Shiro queried, "Objects of power or importance can easily draw attention from the wrong kind of people."

"I can name one already" Sonic noted rather instantly, "Eggman"

"That man used to be highly respected in the field of science and technology" Momoko noted in some understanding, "It's honestly quite scary; thinking about what the loss of sanity, even for a moment, could do to a genius mind."

"H-hai…" Fate was the first to affirm to that, cringing a little in phantom pain. Luckily for her, Arf had opted to sit next to her. She leaned into her familiar's side to find comfort.

Fate's actions drew looks from the majority of those in the living room. Respectfully, however, the family chose not to comment on such, noticing the way the girl had acted. Alisa and Suzuka looked like they had something to ask in curiosity, but they kept quiet when Nanoha and Sonic sent them a combined "leave it" look.

"At any rate" Shiro decided that a change of topic was in order as he turned his attention to Fate, "Fate-san, do you have a place to stay?"

"Lindy-san's my legal guardian; I think I'm going to stay with her for now" Fate replied softly, "Why do you ask?"

"Our guest room is open" the father figure of the Takamachi residence offered, "You can stay for the night if Lindy-san can't find a house"

"Oh, um... n-no, it's fine" Fate tried to be as polite as she could be in declining the offer. Her shyness had a majority of those present trying hard to keep control "I don't wish to burden you"

"You'll be fine" Momoko encouraged, "Besides, think of this as an opportunity to get to know Nanoha-chan more."

"I don't know if Lindy-san would approve" The blonde fought off the increasing blush of her shyness at the thoughts of sleeping over with her new friend could bring, "I'll have to talk to her"

"We're back" Speaking of the devil, Lindy, flanked with Amy and Chrono, entered the living room. The woman looked to be the bearer of good news.

"That was quick" Even Sonic was surprised by how fast it went

"We were only looking for a place to suit our needs." Chrono noted as if there wasn't much to the feat, "It's not like we were planning on staying on this world long-term."

"Chrono-kun, be nice" Amy Limietta scolded the bratty enforcer.

"At any rate" Shiro felt the need to get everyone back on topic, "Admiral?"

"Yeah?" Lindy replied

"Would you mind if Fate-san and Arf stay the night here?" the man asked, "I was originally going to offer her our guest room should your party be unable to acquire a house."

"That works out better for us actually" the woman agreed quite quickly, and she was easily able to explain her reasoning behind it, "We still have some of Fate-san's things on the Asura; we'll need some time to move them to her new room in our house, so until then, she'll be free to stay over here."

"Why not make it a sleepover?" Sonic innocently offered; wincing a little as he found himself in the center of attention, "What?"

"That could work" Momoko noted

"It'll give us more time to move Fate's belongings to her room" Lindy added.

"Ano…" Poor Fate looked so awkward in being the topic of discussion once again, "Is this really okay?"

"I don't see anything wrong with it" Shiro shrugged a little.

"A sleepover is a great way for new friends to get to know each other better" Nanoha added

"Sonic-kun, you're a genius!" Alisa had an excited grin that, if anyone were to look closer, they would've noticed the mischievous auras she had as she thought of the fun she could have at a sleepover, "We'll have so much fun"

"Yes we will…" Arf grinned a little herself, though her excitement had caused the girl to sprout her wolf-like ears and wagging tail. If that wasn't bad enough, the wolf girl had noticed the demeanor of the dirty-blonde heiress and had agreed on the same mindset.

'Uhoh…' Sonic gulped a little in comical nervousness, 'I sense a disturbance in the force'

[Undisclosed Location]
[No BGM]

Doctor Eggman had spent the majority of his day making sure all of his preparations were set. His thoughts were primarily focused around the phenomenon that was Little Planet. If the calculations were correct, which they usually were, the Planet's next appearance could be as early as tomorrow.

"Oh~ Ho-ho-ho!" the mad scientist laughed much like an arrogant noblewoman as his genius mind was hard at work, "Finally! All of the preparations are set! My robots have been reinforced in armor and weaponry. I don't know if they'll be able to stop the pesky hedgehog, but they'll be perfect for stalling.

"If I could discover the secret of Little Planet, then I can convert it to use in my machines" Eggman loudly declared his intentions, "And when I do, not only will I be able to conquer South Island, but the whole earth!"

From the darkness of the mad scientist's lair, a multitude of glowing eyes, representing the visors of his robots, could be seen. His machines, if the sparks of excess energy were of any clue, looked to boast plenty of power. They were far from perfect; however, as such energy came at a cost; and a cost that Eggman had no answer for.

"This is troubling" The doctor saw those signs and was unhappy with them, "My usual power source won't be able to stabilize these new mechs. I'll have to find an alternative source of energy

"Maybe if I could find something on Little Planet" Eggman thought to himself, suddenly sprouting a flashing light bulb as if he had a brilliant idea, "Yes… Little Planet must have a lot of power if it can disappear and reappear like I've seen before. If I could harness the planet's energy, then my robots will be unstoppable!

"Sonic better enjoy his victories now while he still can" The mad scientist gloated more in his arrogance, "Because, come tomorrow, it will be I who has the last laugh!"

Speaking of laughing, the mad scientist broke into his stereotypical evil laughter once more. It was probably a good thing that he was the only person in his lair aside from his robots; otherwise his sanity would be put into question. Regardless of the apparent lack of a social life, Doctor Eggman was still a formidable person to cross.

[South Island: Never Lake]
[No BGM]

The reading of Tarot Cards, much like any other form of fortune telling, is something of a lost art. It can be awfully inconsistent with the results, which is why it takes either an insane amount of patience or almost a "blind" loyalty in whatever spiritual deities in which said cards represent. Still, if one can develop either, the reading can become something of a hobby.

It was the result of such hobby that led a young, pink-furred female hedgehog to set up a temporary shop of sorts close to the coast of the peaceful lake. Her attire, consisting of a green t-shirt over a white collar polo shirt, orange skirt that opened outward at her waist and blue tennis shoes, may have suggested a somewhat girlish personality, but she carried herself more like a tomboy. She wore a pinkish headband over her head to keep the stray amount of hair from the quills on her head from getting in her way, though there was a slight Mohawk just above her forehead that she found pleasing.

The pink hedgehog sat at a small table with the deck of tarot cards stacked to the side. She wanted to get one last reading in before the end of the day. With a sigh, she shuffled the deck and began her reading.

"Let's see…" the pink hedgehog flipped the first few cards over, "My adventure will start at the start of daylight on an unknown realm over a mysterious lake. I will encounter dangers on said adventure so I should be cautious.

"Along this journey I will encounter the hero of my desire" the girl sounded almost giddy as she read that part, but she had to school her features with discipline; the flipping of the next card helped in that matter, "He will not be alone and will be among partners and allies of his own.

"That much is usual, but I hope the cards favor me in the realm of romance" sadly, the flip of the final card drew a dirty look that was actually quite adorable from the little girl, "Your love will be unrequited."

With a huff, the pink hedgehog stood up from her table and glared at no direction in particular. One could get the feeling that this girl has had such a reading before. Still, with the reading complete, she had confirmed that for the most part, she was right to set up shop at Never Lake; and she will meet the hero of her worships soon. That part got her all giddy like a schoolgirl with a cute crush.

"Unrequited love, hah!" The girl pulled out a large hammer that resembled that of a sledgehammer or a mallet with a confident grin to her tomboyish features, "I'll show destiny how "unrequited" my love will be!"

[Uminari City, Japan]
[Residential District, Takamachi Residence]
[Local Time: 1840 hours (6:40 PM)]
[BGM: "Besaid Island" Final Fantasy X Remaster OST]

With Lindy overseeing the temporary movement of the belongings to the temporary house that would serve as the base of operations planet-side, Fate and Arf were allowed to stay at the Takamachi house for a sleepover with their new friends. Dinner had already been eaten and the girls plus hedgehog and wolf familiars had showered in preparation for innocent nightly fun.

While Nanoha was busy retrieving snacks from her mother and Suzuka helping Alisa with getting the sleeping bags, Fate and Arf took the opportunity to pull Sonic aside for a little chat. They were hoping to get some answers as to the motives behind the blue hedgehog's actions. Unnoticed to them, they had a trio of eavesdroppers.

"Ano…" Fate, still feeling a bit awkward and shy in such a situation, tried to address the hedgehog, "Sonic-san…"

"You can drop the "-san" part" Sonic sought to correct the blonde, "I doubt I'm older than either you or Arf."

"R-right…" Fate nodded, still unsure of herself, "We'd like to um… thank you…"

"For?" the blue hedgehog couldn't help but allow a hint of curiosity to reach his tone.

"Don't play dumb, blue boy" Arf glared lightly at her counterpart, "if it weren't for you, we would've probably be at Mid-Childa right now fighting some courtroom boredom drama or something."

"It wasn't just me" Sonic admitted, "I just gave Lindy-san the info, and heck I wasn't even sure if it would work."

"Well it did, and we'd like to thank you for it" Arf knelt down to the eye-level of her hedgehog counterpart, "You didn't have to do it for our sake."

"May we ask why you did it?" Fate's tone was formal and polite, "And why you saved kaa-san?"

"To be honest, I'm still asking that question myself" the blue hedgehog shrugged, "I could probably think of many reasons why though"

"Can you pick one?" Fate asked

"After what that old woman's done; it just wouldn't feel right to let her probably die and shoulder all of her responsibility to you" Sonic admitted rather quickly, "In addition, I hate when my own efforts go to waste.

"So it was probably selfish of me, but like I ca- uwah!" the blue hedgehog was cut off from whatever he wished to say next as he found himself pulled into an emotional embrace by both Fate and Arf.

"Thank you…" Fate could barely stop the tears from falling as she displayed her gratitude for the hedgehog's efforts, "Thank you…"

"Sure… um… no problem" to say that Sonic felt a bit awkward was probably an understatement, and it had absolutely nothing to do with when Arf pulled him up and pressed the blue hedgehog's face right into her cleavage.

Fate smiled at the energetic antics of her familiar. She was taken by further surprise when the three eavesdroppers, Nanoha, Alisa and Suzuka, decided to group-hug her in a sneak attack. Sure the group hug would involve the hedgehog and wolf, but not until Sonic was freed of Arf's marshmallows.

"Uh… Arf?" Were Sonic in his teens and probably enduring a round of hormones, he would've probably had different thoughts to his predicament. He had a little problem with the lack of oxygen, "C-can't breathe!"

"Oh, right. Hee hee!" The wolf girl released her counterpart, "I guess I got a little overexcited."

"I'll say" Alisa grinned, "I'm a little jealous that you can pull that off."

"Ara~" Arf asked in almost a musical tone, "Did you want some too?"

"Maybe…" the dirty-blonde's grin grew more, "I think we can teach you to sha- ugh!"

"Pillow fight!" Sonic interrupted the antics of the Anglophone with a well-aimed pillow to her head! He had to gulp a little when the pillow slid off the girl's face, revealing her annoyed expression.

"Oh… so you want to play" Alisa's frown was quickly turned upside down and she filled the room with her feral mischievous intent, "Then it is on!"

The pillow fight went on for a good portion of the night until their energy was exhausted. No one was immune to the pillows and the room was beset with giggles for the rest of the sleepover until they all retired to their sleeping bags. For everyone, Fate especially, it was so fun to be able to bond with new friends. As much of a peaceful end the night was, the following day would hold an adventure that could change the lives of all.

[End of Main Chapter]
[But wait, there's more!]

[Omake: Precia's Test]

Precia Testarossa, through her own means of scrying and magic, watched one of Fate's earlier battles with Nanoha. While her attention was on the blonde, she never stopped herself from sneaking glances at the girl in white.

"Hmmm…" the old woman spent a moment to focus entirely on the girl in white; analyzing her. With a rather stoic expression on her face that was betrayed by a blush on her cheeks that indicated less innocent thoughts, her analysis was complete.

"This girl…" The woman pointed her finger at Nanoha, "PASSES!"

What exactly Nanoha passes in is a mystery.

[To be continued?]

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

[End of Chapter 16]

Author's Note: They're Baaaaaaaaaaaaack! The omakes are back! With the conclusion of the Jewel Seed arc, I will take some time to bring back a lighter side of things to the story. And this sets up most of Little Planet. Hmmm… can anyone identify a new character I just introduced? Read, review, all that jazz, I'd like to see some opinions.