AN: Talk about a long chapter. I went crazy with this one. This is definitely the longest chapter I've written for this story. I tend to average 6,000 to 7,000 words on a good day but when I hit 9,000 to 10,000 then I'm in the zone. This is probably the last chapter for this year seeing as I tend to update each story once a month. Looking forward to what the new year will bring unless, you know, the world ends. Anyway, thanks again to everyone who reviews. Thanks specifically to the following people for reviewing the last chapter: LC Rina, Inara Seraph, Tsuchiyasa, Rapier11, Redmoon021, Lance58, Hyuuga-Sword, Yo-kun, Parme-san, trumm12345, ThePanicHour, Spikesagitta, Jay, Aka Chibi-chan, Honulicious, Nyaaaaaaah, Xenoverse, bardiche, darkvalk, 2takuya, devilhamster, kiruchi, genetic-depression and all the guest reviews!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Safe and Sound

"What a wonderful opportunity for you girls to strengthen the bond with your new friends!"

Lindy clamored around the room excitedly gathering everything the twins would need for the sleepover at the Takamachi's. On the sofa sat two duffel bags with various things sticking out of them. Fate and Alicia were going through it and rearranging things since they had a bit of an OCD when it came to having things organized. Lindy found this to be a bit overwhelming at first when in their first week in living with them they'd rearranged the entire house to be more orderly. Lindy had to admit that it was easier to find things but she wasn't one to be overly organized. A little messiness made things feel more at home. It was something she was still working on with the girls, but they'd made some progress. The twins stopped trying to keep everything in the house meticulously neat and had kept it strictly to their rooms.

Fate and Alicia continued to fold and organize the clothes Lindy threw their way.

"What exactly is involved in this kind of gathering?" Alicia asked.

"Well it's been a few years since I've been to one," Alicia and Fate resisted the urge to point that it'd probably been more than a few years for Lindy, but they'd found that mentioning age to women opened up a can of worms they'd rather not deal with. "But usually you give each other makeovers, watch scary movies together, and just enjoy each other's company."

"Hmm, is there a purpose to this?" Fate asked this time.

"Getting to know each other better I suppose. Having these sorts of gatherings helps build a stronger friendship."

"And all…. Friends do this?" Alicia still sounded unsure about spending the night anywhere near Hayate. The girl was clingy enough as it was. Would she try something during this gathering? She felt she'd better watch out for Hayate more than Shiro.

"A majority do."

"Hmm…." Was Fate and Alicia's response.

Lindy smiled at her two girls.

"You don't have to be scared."

"We're not scared." The twins huffed at such a notion. Like a simple gathering would scare them.

"Fine, fine. Don't be so nervous then."

The twins said nothing this time and just grumbled under their breath.

"I know this is all new for you but I know you'll be fine. Just remember everything I told you and, more importantly, don't worry about Shiro-san. I doubt he'll do much with his wife hovering over his shoulder." Lindy giggled. "That man is thoroughly whipped by his wife."

xxx

"I'm not comfortable with this." Signum was pacing back in forth in front of Hayate who was sitting on their living room couch.

"Nothing's going to happen, Signum. It's not like I haven't been around them before."

"That was at school. In a place we could keep an eye on them."

"Like Shiro Takamachi isn't going to keep an eye on them in his home. He probably has the placed rigged with cameras and additional guards at this point."

Signum had to concede that point. Shiro was probably more uncomfortable with this than she was. Still, this definitely was different. At school she not only had the opportunity to keep an eye on them herself, but they were surrounded by other teachers who weren't just trained to teach, but also trained to fight. She wouldn't be able to do anything if Hayate went. How was she supposed to keep her safe?

"Signum, believe me, I'll be okay."

"But…."

"I trust them."

"…."

"I say we listen to Hayate." Shamal entered the room with Vita and Reinforce.

"Not you too." Signum frowned. She felt like she was the only one speaking with reason.

The blonde nurse walked up to her wife and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Honey, you worry too much."

"I feel like I'm the only one worrying."

"You aren't the only one. I worry too but have they given you a reason to think they'd hurt Hayate?"

"Not but…"

"No buts! However, if it will make you feel better, Vita and Reinforce will be going as well." Shamal motioned to the younger girls.

"What?" Hayate looked towards her two bodyguards.

"We're just going to make sure you don't do anything stupid." Vita answered.

"Mistress has a tendency to push Alicia Harlaown's buttons." Reinforce added.

"Oh I see. So it's me you don't trust." Hayate chuckled. "Well then, shall we get going?"

xxx

"I don't want them in this house."

"But daddy!"

"I said no and my word is final!"

Nanoha and her father had been having this argument since the moment she walked through the door. His mood had already been bad since someone had tipped him off about his daughter's sudden declaration concerning a certain blonde assassin. Of course being as stubborn as she was, Nanoha wasn't about to let her father ruin her chance to get to know Fate better. Each of them would not back down and for Shiro, this was a first. His children hardly ever fought him when it came to certain decisions he made for them and when they did, it was solved in a manner that didn't involve yelling. This though, he was sure everyone in the house could hear their argument.

"That's enough you two." Momoko stood before them with both hands on her hips. "Shiro I already called Lindy and let her know it was okay to bring her two girls."

"What? Honey why would you…"

"Because they deserve a chance. Isn't that the reason you've thrown your support behind them as well?"

"That is for a different matter."

"No it's not. You can't just support them in public then think you can say otherwise when it comes to personal matters."

Shiro didn't say anything. He hated to admit his wife had a point. Saying one thing and doing another…. That wasn't like him. He couldn't help it though. This was his baby and she had chosen the most dangerous person to associate herself with!

"Go get ready for your guests Nanoha." Momoko shooed her daughter away. "I'll handle your father. Don't worry about a thing."

Nanoha's face lit up with a smile. She wasted no time in getting to her room and changing out of her school uniform. She could hardly wait for her friends to arrive.

xxx

"Here we are!" Lindy announced. She pulled up to the gate and pushed the intercom letting the guard on hand know of their arrival. It only took a second for the gate to beep and open up for them. It was a short drive from the front gate to the house but Fate and Alicia took this opportunity to take a look around the premises. They were looking out for anything out of the ordinary that might be a danger to them later. Alicia and Fate made eye contact for a second after surveying the area. They'd found some interesting things, but didn't feel like it'd become too much of a problem as long as they behaved themselves around Shiro. The car came to a stop. Lindy put the car in park so she could turn to talk to the twins one last time.

"Are you girls ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Alicia looked towards the house. She raised an eye brow at the two snipers she spotted. Shiro really wasn't taking any chances considering she and Fate found two others in the yard under the cover of the bushes.

"I know this must be overwhelming, but I know you can do this. Just like you've overcoming your hardships at school, you'll also prevail over whatever Shiro throws at you."

"We won't let you down." Fate opened the door to the car and was about to step out but stopped. She turned back to Lindy and looked long and hard at her adopted mother.

"Is something wrong? " Lindy was unsure of why Fate was staring so hard.

Then, to her shock, Fate suddenly hugged her. She'd been so stunned she didn't even hug back. Alicia was surprised too but thought it couldn't hurt to follow Fate's lead. As soon as Fate pulled away she moved in for a hug of her own. Lindy was able to regain her sense and hugged Alicia back.

"Bye, Lindy-san." Fate then hopped out the door.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Alicia said as well before leaving the car.

Lindy smiled, trying not to become too emotional.

"See you tomorrow girls."

The twins waved as Lindy pulled away before entering the house. Lindy wiped away a stray tear. This had been the first time they'd ever hugged her out of their own free will. They were still awkward about physical contact, but she couldn't deny that they were better about it. Where as they used to shy away from anyone's touch, they now allowed it to happen and, if they were comfortable, they'd initiate it. They were growing and she was glad to know that she was there to watch them blossom into amazing women.

Fate and Alicia stood in front of the door to the Takamachi's house, unsure of what to do next. They figured it would probably be a good idea to knock so that they would look less suspicious by standing there.

"Welcome to our home!"

The twins were startled by the sudden appearance of a woman they recognized as Momoko Takamachi. How she'd been able to sneak up behind them, they weren't sure and it was slightly disconcerting. They watched the woman carefully. She looked harmless, but they had a feeling she could probably match them blow for blow should she need to. Everyone in this family was hiding something, they were sure of that.

"Well don't just stand there. Please, come inside." Momoko opened the door for them and motioned for them to step through. The twins did as they were told and followed Momoko into her home. They removed their shoes and continued into the foyer. Momoko lead them further into the house to a rather large living room. They were somewhat relieved that Shiro was nowhere in sight. They weren't expecting to avoid him the entire time they were there but it felt nice to not worry about him for the time being.

"Nanoha went upstairs to change. She'll be down in a moment. Why don't you have a seat while I get you girls something to drink?"

"Thank you." Alicia knew this was the polite thing to do. It would be rude to decline her host's gesture.

She and Fate sat down and waited quietly while Momoko left to get their drinks. The girls looked around the room to pass the time. In a way, it reminded them of their own with all the pictures the family had of various trips and activities they'd been to. Lindy had done the same to their living room. They remembered when they first arrived they wondered why Lindy was so into taking pictures of them. Then as they slowly watched their walls fill up with pictures or themselves, they realized that their adopted mother was trying to make them feel like part of something. It was odd at first, but they'd gotten used to it and they had to admit that they did feel like part of the family now thanks to Lindy's tireless work to make them understand what it meant.

With no visible danger around them, Alicia and Fate got up to take a better look around. Fate ended up being drawn a particular picture sitting over the fire place. As she got closer, she realized it was a picture of Nanoha when she was younger. She was sleeping under a tree in her mother's lap. If she had to guess, she's say the auburn haired girl was around nine or ten years old. She looked almost the same with the exception of the twin tails. Fate recalled that, at one point, she too wore her hair in a similar fashion when she was that age.

"I hope you girls don't mind tea." Momoko walked through into the room. She spotted Fate looking at the picture of Nanoha and smiled to herself. "I see you've found a picture of Nanoha."

Fate nodded at the older woman's question. An evil glint appeared in Momoko's eyes.

"Nanoha has always been an adorable child, but I have something far more adorable than that picture."

Momoko placed the tray with their drink down on the coffee table and left the room again. It didn't take her long to return with a book in her hand. She sat on the couch and began flipping through the book. Curious, Fate and Alicia each took a seat beside Momoko and watched her flip through various pages. She came to a stop at a page labeled "Nanoha 1 year old".

"See? My daughter has always been rather cute."

Fate found herself agreeing with Momoko's statement. Even she had to admit the pictures of a baby Nanoha sleeping were heartwarming.

"Mom! What are you doing!"

In a flash, the album in Momoko's hands was snatched away from them. A red faced Nanoha pouted at her mother.

"Oh my, did you perhaps want to show Fate-chan your baby pictures? I'm sorry for robbing you of this opportunity."

"That's not why I'm upset!"

Momoko smirked. "Ah, but I'm sure Fate-chan found them to be rather cute. Wouldn't you say Fate-chan?"

Finding herself suddenly caught in the mother and daughter argument, she looked between Momoko, who was smiling from what she caused, and Nanoha, who looked about ready to pass out from all the blushing she was doing. She looked to Alicia for some direction but was met with a blank stare meaning Alicia was just as lost in what to do in this type of situation. Deciding on a course of action, Fate picked something that would hopefully not offend anyone.

"I need to use the restroom." Fate looked to Nanoha hoping she would get the message.

Nanoha looked at her oddly for a few seconds wondering why she'd told her specifically, but then understood what the blonde assassin was trying to do.

"Ah, let me show you where it is!"

Fate stood up and followed Nanoha as she fled the room with the album in hand. Alicia breathed in relief that nothing bad had come out of that exchange.

"Your sister is rather cute as well, Alicia-chan."

"Ah, thank you…." Alicia wasn't sure where Momoko was going with this.

"I wonder if your reactions are just as cute."

Alicia shivered. For the first time in her life, she cursed her sister for leaving her alone with Momoko Takamachi.

"Nanoha?" Fate questioned the girl who was walking silently in front of her. "Are you alright?"

Nanoha stopped walking. Fate hoped this wasn't a bad sign.

"I'm sorry." Nanoha whispered.

Frowning, Fate moved in front of the auburn haired girl. She was clutching the album to her chest, her head bowed. The blonde could still see a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"For acting like such a child over some pictures."

Fate tilted her head to one side. Was Nanoha embarrassed from the pictures? If that was the case then she needed to ease her mind of the matter. It was only right for her to do so.

"I though, Nanoha was cute."

The auburn haired girls head shot up. She stared wide-eyed at Fate, her blush getting darker by the second.

"There is nothing to be ashamed about." Fate added hoping this would help. For good measure, she figured hugging her would not hurt either. It was a good way to reassure someone. Lindy always told them as much So, without hesitating further, she pulled the blushing girl to her. Nanoha could do nothing but melt into the blondes embrace. Silently, she thanked her mom for bringing out the album. If it hadn't been for her, she wouldn't have had this moment with Fate.

"Ahem."

Fate and Nanoha pulled away from each other. Fate stepped a bit further away from Nanoha after realizing who it was that joined them in the hall.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Shiro said as he glared at the blonde assassin.

xxx

"Enjoying yourself?"

"I can't complain about the peace and quiet." Precia smirked. She couldn't see who her visitor was but she knew that voice anywhere. "Should you be visiting me?"

"I spoke with Panther a few hours ago."

"Ah, how is she now a days?"

"The same as ever."

"Good. I need her to keep doing what she's doing."

"Which is all well and fine, but do you realize you're the one causing problems?" Sniper knew Panther would frown upon the conversation they were having especially after she'd said to leave Precia to do what she wanted.

"Oh? How so?"

"Lindy Harlaown."

Precia chuckled. So that's what this was about. She imagined that Linith had no problem with her actions but wasn't surprised that her visitor had a problem with the way she was handling her job.

"You should loosen up a bit Sniper."

"You're jeopardizing the plan."

"In what way?"

"You keep telling her unnecessary things."

"I don't expect you to know the extent of my plan, Sniper, so I ask that you kindly keep out of my business."

Precia heard a growl.

"I'm putting myself at risk because I believe in your plan yet you're doing as you please? I don't see how you think I can just stand by and allow you to continue as you are."

"Sniper." Precia's voice lost all hint of its playfulness. "All you need to worry about it playing your part without getting caught. Anything beyond that is not your concern. We told you before didn't we? No negative repercussions will befall you if you just play your part. Do not question my methods again."

A tense silence fell upon them.

"Very well, I will speak no more on the subject."

Precia heard footsteps echo and disappear. That was one problem taken care of. Now all she had to do was wait for Lindy Harlaown to come to her and she was sure the green haired woman would seek her out. If she was right, then she wouldn't have to wait much longer.

xxx

Shiro, Fate and Nanoha returned to the living to find a very happy looking Momoko and a red faced Alicia sitting on the opposite couch doing everything to not look at the woman sitting across from her. Fate, in an effort to put some distance between herself and Shiro, joined her sister on the other couch.

"Alicia?" Fate's unasked question was evident to the older twin.

"I do not want to talk about it."

That only made Fate want to know what happened even more, but she was going to respect her sister's wishes. It must've been pretty bad if Alicia didn't want to discuss it with her. Nanoha had been about to sit next to Fate but Shiro's firm grip on her arm made sure she didn't. Instead she was forced to sit with her parents across from the twins. Alicia sat up straight upon noticing that Shiro would be joining them. The girls sat in an awkward silence with Shiro there. They weren't sure how to act around him when all he was doing was glaring at them. At least Momoko made them feel welcomed with her cheery personality.

The tense silence was broken with a ring of the doorbell.

"I better go see who that is." Momoko smiled reassuring at the twins before fixing her husband with a glare that said he better not do anything while she was gone. Much to the twin's relief, it seemed like Shiro was indeed rather whipped by his wife.

It didn't take long before Momoko came back with new guests.

"Hi guys! We're here!"

"Hayate-chan!" Nanoha stood up to greet the short brunette.

"Hey," Hayate whispered once Nanoha was close enough. "What's with the scary guards outside?"

"Daddy's being paranoid again." Nanoha whispered back.

"Then let's make him less paranoid."

Before Nanoha could as how she planned on doing that, Hayate stepped around her and set her eyes on a certain blonde assassin.

"Alicia-chan!"

Alicia looked in Hayate's direction. The sparkle in those blue eyes made her nervous. She had a feeling Hayate was going to do something she wasn't going to like. Hayate practically ran to the blonde and threw her arms around the girl. Shiro watched in horror as Alicia fell back on the couch under Hayate's weight. He quickly stood up ready to grab Hayate and pull her to safety blonde but stopped when he noticed that Alicia hadn't even moved a muscle as Hayate continued to lie on top of her.

"What are you doing?" Alicia asked. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Greeting you." Hayate answered back cheerfully.

"Please stop."

"But it wouldn't be any fun if I did."

Alicia was spared any further teasing thanks to Reinforce dragging her mistress off the annoyed assassin. Alicia sat up, a frown on her lips.

"Rein-chan!" Hayate struggled slightly. "Just let me hug her a bit longer!"

"Please don't release her." Alicia hoped that Reinforce would listen to her request. She and Reinforce weren't friends per say but she'd been around the silver haired girl enough seeing as she always found herself in the company of Hayate whether she liked it or not.

The doorbell rang once again.

"It's so good to have so many guests over." Momoko quickly left to answer the door once again.

Fate scooted over on the couch to allow Vita, Reinforce and Hayate to sit. Reinforce and Vita made sure they sat between Hayate and Alicia to keep their mistress from making more trouble for herself. Hayate though had not given up and was sprawled out over both her body guards' laps in a futile attempt to reach the blonde assassin.

"Alicia-chan…" Hayate whined her arm stretched out towards the blonde.

Alicia ignored the whining girl and instead drank some of the tea that Momoko had so thoughtfully brought out for them.

"We're here!" Carim, followed by Suzuka and Arisa, joined them in the living room.

"It's good to see you guys made it." Nanoha hugged the three girls. She'd actually been worried that perhaps their parents wouldn't have allowed them to join them seeing how her own father had strong reservations about the twins being there.

"What's with all the scary guards outside?" Arisa asked loudly.

"For protection." Shiro answered her.

"Like we need any more protection with those two around." Arisa pointed at the twins. "They could probably take an army out on their own."

"We're not capable of bringing down an army." Alicia answered simply.

"At least not without proper planning." Fate finished.

Everyone stared at the twins like they'd grown an extra set of limbs. Then, Hayate burst out into laughter. The rest of the girls soon followed. Shiro was not amused what so ever and resolved to just glare harder at the twins only because his wife was throwing him glares that kept him saying anything inappropriate. Fate and Alicia weren't sure what was so funny and opted to keep drinking their teas like nothing was wrong.

"Sounds like everyone is having a good time in here." Miyuki walked into the room with the rest of the family. She couldn't remember the last time she saw their house so alive with guests.

Carim stopped laughing and stared at the beauty that walked into the room. For a moment she forgot how to breathe.

"Guys, this is my older sister Miyuki." Nanoha introduced her sister. "Kyouya, my brother, is around here somewhere. He'll probably be joining us for dinner."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Miyuki smiled.

"The pleasure's all mine." Carim found herself saying. Hayate snorted, trying not to laugh at her friend. Carim turned a shade of pink and glared at Hayate. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."

"Well, since everyone is here, why don't we start dinner?" Momoko asked.

Everyone agreed and followed the older woman to the dining room. Fate and Alicia tried to sit as far away as possible from Shiro but since Nanoha wanted to sit close to them, Shiro was always just there. After playing musical chairs for the better part of five minutes, Momoko had enough and dragged Shiro to his normal seat at the head of the table. She then let the girls have free rein to choose their seats. Nanoha wasted no time in claiming the seat next to Fate and Hayate claimed the one next to Alicia. Miyuki sat to the left of her father and Carim next to her. Reinforce, Vita, Arisa, and Suzuka took whatever seats remained on both sides of the table. Two spots were still left for which, everyone assumed was for Nanoha's brother and his body guard.

"Wow, we have a full house today." Kyouya walked in with Shinobu.

"Nanoha's friends are all having a sleep over today." Momoko smiled.

"Welcome everyone. I'm Kyouya, Nanoha's big brother. This is Shinobu, my body guard."

"You mean your girlfriend." Miyuki teased.

"S-shut up!" Kyouya blushed and sat down.

"Ah, I didn't know you were dating anyone sis." Suzuka looked over at her sister with a grin. "Do our parents know?"

"Suzuka…." Shinobu growled.

"Ah, Shinobu-san is your older sister right Suzuka-chan?" Nanoha asked.

"That's right. Speaking of which, mom and dad say hi and that you need to visit more often."

"I'll do what I can."

Dinner went off without a hitch. There was much teasing done between Hayate and Suzuka towards Carim and Shinobu respectively. Fate and Alicia had planned not to talk much during dinner but their friends refused to leave them out of any conversation. Carim easily pulled Alicia into a discussion about a new gun she'd been testing for a manufacturer. This put off Hayate a bit seeing as Alicia wasn't as easily lured into conversation by her. Nanoha was finding she was having a similar problem with the way Fate and Suzuka so easily talked about their choice of weapons. It didn't help matters when Shinobu joined in the conversation since she favored that type of weapon as well. As dinner wore on though, Nanoha found that the twins were a lot more relaxed and Fate even started talking to her on her own. Hayate was pleased to find that she was also brought into conversation by Alicia which she decided not to ruin by teasing the blonde.

With dinner done, the girls thanked Momoko for the meal and headed up to Nanoha's room so their sleep over could actually being. Momoko looked to Shiro after the girls left.

"Well, are you still worried?"

Shiro said nothing and crossed his arms over his chest in thought.

"I think you worried unnecessarily." Miyuki added. "They were pretty tamed the entire time and they even put up with any teasing thrown their way. Alicia especially seeing as Hayate-chan can be merciless sometimes."

"They're no danger to us dad." Kyouya agreed with his sister. "They did seem rather tense at the beginning of dinner but that was because you'd been glaring at them the entire time. After a while though, they got comfortable and seemed rather nice to me. Awkward maybe, but that's normal."

Shiro sighed in defeat.

"I concede that they haven't done anything to warrant the snipers I hired, but they still need to prove to me that I can trust them."

His children smiled as did his wife. It was an improvement over him not wanting them in his home at all.

"Ah, Miyuki-san?"

Their attention was brought over to Carim who'd returned from Nanoha's room.

"Yes?"

"Umm," Carim cleared her throat. They heard snickering coming from the hall and could only assume the girls were spying on their friend. Carim turned and glared towards the hall before turning back with a nervous smile. "Ah, we're going to be watching scary movies so I was wondering if you wanted to join us?"

Miyuki smiled at the flustered blonde girl. It was rather cute of her to invite her to join them.

"I'd love to. I'll be up in a bit."

Carim smiled. "Great! Ah, I- We'll be waiting!"

Carim rushed off. They heard the tell-tale signs of laughter and Carim threatening her friends for laughing at her. Momoko giggled.

"Looks like someone has a crush you."

"M-mom!"

"Ah, my daughters are growing up so fast!"

Shiro groaned. Now another blonde was after his daughter, his only consolation was that this one wasn't an assassin. Being a father to two girls was stressful.

xxx

Miyuki arrived in Nanoha's room to find the girls were all sprawled out on the floor, snacks in hand, trying to pick out a movie to watch. There were various cases littering the ground but two seemed to be the ones the girls were debating on.

"Zombies!" Hayate exclaimed. "They're the best kind of horror movies to watch."

"No one thinks zombies are scary!" Arisa countered. "If anything ghosts are scarier."

"Ghosts are not that scary." Hayate snorted.

"How about this one?" Nanoha held up a different movie case. "It's about an alien that shape shifts into the person it kills."

"Hmm, I guess I'd be willing to give it a shot." Hayate said. "I don't think I've seen that one any way."

"Fine." Arisa also agreed. "Better than watching a zombie movie."

"Zombie movies are the best and you know it!" Hayate and Arisa soon began their argument again.

"Haha, they've been arguing about this for a while." Carim said to Miyuki.

"Who knew Hayate-chan was such a zombie fan though."

"I know right? Umm, want to sit next to me? Uh, I mean it's the only spot left so if you don't want to I can always…."

"It's fine Carim-chan." Miyuki giggled. "I don't mind sitting next to you."

Miyuki wondered how much cuter Carim could be. Everyone got comfortable while Nanoha put the movie in. Nanoha turned off the lights in the room for added effect. She then went to take her place next to Fate who was watching the screen with interest. She and Alicia never really watched any movies except when they had movie nights with Lindy, Amy, and Chrono but those were far between what with Lindy, Chrono and Amy's varying schedules. They didn't mind though considering they preferred to open up a good book. The opening credits rolled by followed by the movie title. The opening scene of the movie was of a helicopter chasing a dog. A man then began shooting at the dog as it ran through the snow.

"Aww, that poor dog." Nanoha lamented.

"Why would he do such a thing!" Arisa was a big dog lover and hated when anything bad happened to them whether that be in real life of in movies. "Run boy run!" she cheered for the dog.

The dog made it to a campsite. The people in the helicopter landed and were about to throw a grenade but it slipped out of the man's hands and into the snow. The helicopter pilot tried to find it and throw it farther but it exploded killing him and destroying the helicopter. The man with the gun then turned to the people who had come out to see the commotion and said something in Norwegian before continuing his assault on the dog. Eventually, one of the other men on the base shot and killed the man.

"Yay! The dog lived!" Arisa cheered.

"I wonder what he was saying." Suzuka asked.

"He said to get away from that thing. It's not a dog but some sort of thing intimidating a dog. Then he called them idiots." Fate answered.

Everyone looked at the blonde girl.

"You speak Norwegian?" Vita asked.

"I know a lot of languages." Fate answered simply.

"So, how about we watch another movie?" Hayate asked her friends.

"Why?" Alicia asked. "This movie just started."

"Yeah but I think Fate just spoiled the rest of the movie."

"Were we not supposed to know that part yet?" Fate asked.

"I'm pretty sure they were going to reveal that later in the movie." Suzuka giggled.

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

"It's okay Fate-chan. You didn't know." Nanoha reassured the blonde.

Arisa got up and changed the movie out to the one she wanted. It was about a boy in a coma who was being haunted by evil spirits. Fate, Alicia, and Reinforce didn't find it particularly scary but the rest of their friends did. Nanoha had been glued to Fate's arm for most of the movie but the blonde didn't mind and allowed the auburn haired girl to use her as a giant teddy bear. Hayate wasn't that scared and was using this more as an excuse to try to latch onto Alicia but the blonde was not letting her have her way. Alicia kept her at bay for most of the movie, but when she noticed that Hayate was genuinely scared during certain scenes, she held the brunettes hand to which Hayate would then hug Alicia's arm. Over all they had fun watching the movie. Nanoha brought out several board games that they decided would fun to do after Alicia and Fate revealed they'd never played one before. It soon got late enough that Miyuki was going to retire to her room but Carim invited her to spend the night with them in Nanoha's room. Seeing no reason to refuse, Miyuki agreed and left to get changed into her pajamas.

The rest of the girls soon followed and got ready for bed as well. It was rather late and that last game of Monopoly they played got rather competitive when Hayate and Alicia were the last two left in the game without going bankrupt.

"Alright I'm turning off the lights!" Nanoha announced.

"Okay!" everyone else answered.

Nanoha had been thinking about sleeping on her bed, but the chance to sleep next to Fate had been too tempting. She lay down next to the girl who was already drifting off. Nanoha's own eyes were becoming heavy, but she resolved to stay awake long enough to see Fate's sleeping face. She tried to anyway, but she soon followed the blonde into dreamland.

"Wake up Fate-chan."

"Hmm?"

Fate was sure she'd just fallen asleep so why did she have to get up already?

"You're going to be late for work if you don't."

Work? Fate didn't have a job. Her only job was going to school.

"Is Fate-mama not waking up?"

"Fate-mama is being stubborn this morning."

Fate slowly opened her eyes. Nanoha and a little girl were leaning over her.

"You're awake Fate-mama!"

"Mmm, I'm awake." Fate sat up and stretched.

"Breakfast will be ready soon." Nanoha smiled. "So hurry and get dressed okay?"

Fate nodded wordlessly.

"Are you still asleep Fate-chan?" Nanoha asked noticing the dazed look the blonde Enforcer was giving her.

"Ah, maybe."

"Then let me help you wake up."

Nanoha cupped Fate's cheeks and pressed her lips to Fate's. Vivio rolled her eyes as she walked out of the room.

"Nanoha-mama and Fate-mama are always so lovey dovey right Chris?" she asked her device. The little bunny nodded in response.

"Are you awake now?" Nanoha asked.

Fate took one of Nanoha's hands in her own and kissed the gold band on her ring finger. They had been married for a whole year now. She'd made sure to get this day off in order to properly celebrate it with her wife.

"I think I need another one, just to be sure." Fate answered.

Nanoha giggled. "I guess I can spoil you today. Happy anniversary Fate-chan."

Fate smiled. "Happy anniversary Nanoha."

"Sshhh, you'll wake them up!"

"Then hurry up and take the picture!"

Fate mumbled something. What was going on?

"I got it!"

Fate opened her eyes. She was surprised to find that Nanoha's sleeping face was the first thing that greeted her.

"Good morning Fate-chan!" Hayate grinned.

Fate spared her audience a look before directing her gaze back to Nanoha. Why were they sleeping so close to each other? Fate tried to pull away but that only caused Nanoha to snuggle closer.

Carim giggled. "We're going down to get breakfast. You guys take your time!"

Hayate grabbed Alicia who'd been silently watching her sister like she was some sort of zoo animal on display. With everyone gone, Fate felt herself grow nervous at just how close Nanoha was to her. She knew she needed to wake up the sleeping girl. Shiro would come looking for them soon once he noticed they weren't among their friends at breakfast.

"Nanoha?" Fate gently nudged the other girl. "Wake up."

"Mmm, just five more minutes."

"I need you to wake up."

Nanoha groaned but slowly opened her eyes. They widened as she realized what kind of position she was in. Nanoha quickly pushed herself away from Fate.

"I'm so sorry Fate-chan!"

"It's okay."

The two sat looking at each other awkwardly before Fate suggested they join their friends at breakfast. Nanoha nodded in agreement. The two girls got ready in silence. Fate was not enjoying this silence. She may not be much of a talker but Nanoha being so silent was unnerving. She disliked hearing some people talk, but she found Nanoha's voice to be pleasant.

"Nanoha?" Fate stopped her walk to the dining room.

"Yes?"

Fate walked to the girl and held her hand in her own. Nanoha looked surprised by her actions.

"EH? F-Fate-chan?"

"I don't dislike you."

"What?"

"This morning, I'm not upset about it so don't worry. Okay?"

Nanoha smiled and squeezed back. The two joined everyone else at breakfast. Fate was relieved that Shiro wasn't glaring at her or Alicia this time. Breakfast turned out to be a much more enjoyable affair.

"So what do you girls have planned for today?" Momoko asked.

"We're going to the mall." Suzuka answered.

"Eh? When did we decide this?" Nanoha asked.

"While we waited for you guys." Carim answered this time. "We figured that Fate-chan and Alicia-chan don't go out a lot so why not go to the mall?"

With that decided, they finished their breakfast and waited out front for Shiro to bring around two SUV's that would be taking them to the mall. The girls quickly clamored into the vehicles once they pulled up, they were eager to do some shopping with the twins. Upon arriving at the mall, their driver's, who were hired by Nanoha's dad, left which surprised them. They thought for sure Shiro wouldn't want to leave them alone with the twins. They saw this as a good sign. Perhaps Shiro had a change of heart about the girl? They could only hope. Fate and Alicia though, weren't so easily convinced of this. Within a few minutes of walking around, the twins spotted some odd people around the mall. Shiro obviously hadn't planned to leave them to their own devices. The twins though weren't surprised nor were they offended that Shiro had people tailing them. It was the smart thing to do and they couldn't blame him. The twins ignored them for the most part and concentrated on enjoying themselves with their friends.

"Let's go pick out a new outfit for them!" Hayate suggested.

"But I already have plenty of clothes." Alicia said.

"You can never have too many clothes." Hayate lead the group as they journeyed through the mall.

Along the way, they took some detours and looked around other stores. Arisa bought a new video game for herself and was so scandalized that the twins had never touched a console that she bought a brand new one for them to play. The twins tried to refuse her very generous gift but Arisa would hear none of it. They accepted the gift and promised Arisa that they'd play the system and let her know what they thought. They continued on until Nanoha spotted a photo booth. It didn't take long for Hayate and the others to agree that they needed to take pictures in order to commemorate their very first time hanging out. Somehow, they ended up fitting everyone, including Reinforce and Vita in the small booth. After their group photo, they each took turns taking pictures with whomever else they wanted. Fate and Alicia waited patiently while everyone else had their fun. Fate was looking off to the side, at nothing really, when she noticed something was off. The guys that had been tailing them were no longer around.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha brought her attention to her. "Let's take one together."

Fate nodded. Before she did though, she made eye contact with Alicia. Tilting her head in the direction she'd been looking at, Alicia got the message and nodded.

"We're going next Alicia-chan." Hayate latched onto Alicia's arm.

"Mmm." Was the blonde's simple response while she scanned the area. She quickly picked up on what Fate had been trying to tell her. It was not a good sign the team tailing them was suddenly gone. Looking around more, she tried to spot anything else might be out of place. Fate and Nanoha came out of the booth moments later.

"Let's go!" Hayate quickly pulled her along.

The girls eventually continued on their way to a clothing store. Fate and Alicia stayed behind the group looking absently at everything around them. At least it looked like they were looking around in wonder. They were, in fact, trying to figure out why it seemed like the crowds were thinning out as they walked further along the mall. Something was wrong and they needed to figure it out fast. The last thing they wanted was for their friends to get hurt.

"Can we stop by a furniture store?" Fate suddenly asked.

"Huh? Sure I don't see why not." Hayate responded. "I think there's one over that way."

"What are you guys looking for?" Suzuka joined them at the back of the group. She'd noticed the twins were looking around but not in a tourist kind of way.

"A book case." Alicia answered. She was slightly surprised that Suzuka had picked up on her and Fate's odd behavior considering that she and Fate had been as inconspicuous as possible about their actions. They hadn't wanted to alarm them for no reason.

"Ah, you guys do read a lot of books don't you? You must have a big collection." Carim joined them. Suzuka had made her aware that something was going on but neither she nor the twins it seemed were sure what it was quite yet. Reinforce and Vita caught wind of something as well though and had placed themselves strategically around Nanoha, Hayate and Arisa.

"There's the store!" Carim jogged ahead of them with Suzuka. They'd wanted to get there first to survey the area. The others joined them at a display of a bedroom.

"Ah! I remember when I use to want my room to look like the displays." Hayate walked over to it to look around.

"I used to be the same way." Nanoha commented as she looked around with Hayate. "Seems kind of silly now doesn't it?"

"Get them down!" Alicia suddenly yelled.

Reinforce quickly grabbed Hayate and took her to the floor. Vita did the same with Nanoha while Suzuka took care of Arisa. Gun fire filled the store as Fate and Alicia ran across the store hoping to draw the gun fire away from their friends. They had been right; this had something to do with them. The flipped over tables and whatever else they could use as cover in order to give them time to figure out where the assailants were. The gun fire stopped momentarily, probably so they could reload and advance on them. Carim joined the twins.

"What's the plan?"

"We are going to draw their gun fire; you stay with the others and find a way to escape." Alicia answered.

"No."

"We have no time to argue." Fate snapped.

"I'm not going to leave you two to put yourselves in danger again while I do nothing. I'm going to help whether you like it or not."

"No time to fight about this." Suzuka joined them. "Let's work together and get out of here in one piece."

The twins didn't like it but they had no choice but to agree.

"Alright," Alicia brought out a gun she'd always had on herself in case of emergencies. She never felt comfortable being without a gun and after the whole school incident she was inclined to never be without one again. Similarly, Fate had some small knives on her as well. She handed a few over to Alicia. Lucky for them, Carim and Suzuka were also carrying around weapons of their own. It seemed like they weren't the only ones who were being overly cautions now a days. "Fate and I are going to draw their gun fire. We don't know how many there are but we need to figure out how many we're up against so we can take them out." she handed her gun to Suzuka "Can you handle one of these?"

"I'm insulted that you think I can't."

"Provide cover fire for Fate and me. We'll move in and take them out as soon as we know the numbers we're up against."

"Let's do this." Carim cocked her gun.

Nodding, Fate and Alicia ran in opposite directions and drew the gun fire to them. Fate counted five guys with automatic guns advancing on them in the store. She and Alicia took cover again. She held up five fingers for Alicia, Carim, and Suzuka to see. Alicia held up five in turn meaning it was only those five attacking them. For what purpose though? Fate knew for sure they weren't from The Guild so who were they. What did they want? There would be plenty of time to find those answers out once they captured them. Alicia signaled to Fate their assault plan. With Vita and Reinforce looking after Arisa, Nanoha, and Hayate, the four of them would concentrate on taking out the five assailants. Vita and Reinforce could be providing cover fire from their spots as Fate and Alicia advanced on their prey. Fate gave the okay. Alicia held up three fingers for them all to see. The countdown was beginning.

Three.

Two.

One.

xxx

Shiro slammed the phone down. He'd lost contact with the team he'd sent to the mall with the girls. He'd been on the phone with the captain of his team when suddenly their conversation was cut short. From what he could make out, there was a struggle before the phone went dead. He was too far away to reach the mall in time with another team to investigate the matter. He didn't want to think the worst had happened but that's the only thing that was running though his mind. Picking the phone back up again, he quickly dialed another number.

"Lindy speaking."

"It's Shiro."

"Shiro-san, what can I do for you?"

"We have a problem. The team I sent to monitor the girls while they were out has gone silent."

Lindy knew that a team going silent was never a good thing.

"Any clues as to why?"

"No, but it sounds like there was a struggle before I lost contact."

"I'll mobilize my unit at once."

"I'm on my way as well."

"Don't worry Shiro-san. They'll be okay."

Shiro hung up and quickly got himself ready to head out. Time was of the essence.

xxx

"Arg!"

One of the men went down from Fate slamming his head into a wall. With Carim, Suzuka, Vita, and Reinforce giving her cover fire, she was able to get close enough to engage them in close combat. Alicia was finding it be easier as well. Fate grabbed a nearby lamp and threw it at her next target. She quickly rushed at the temporarily stunned man. He pointed his gun at Fate blindly with the intent to shoot her, but Carim shot first hitting his hand. He dropped the gun allowing Fate to smash his face with her fist. Picking up the discarded weapon, Fate assisted Alicia by incapacitating the remaining men for her knock out.

An eerie silence befell them as the last assailant fell by Alicia's hand. Fate, Alicia, Suzuka, and Carim gathered around the entrance where the fallen assailants laid. Fate and Alicia looked over them trying to find any sort of identification that would help them figure out who might have sent them. Their investigation was cut short when a loud bang rang through the store. It'd come from somewhere in the back.

"The back entrance!" Fate and Alicia exclaimed before quickly running toward the back with Suzuka and Carim right on their tail. Their progress was halted when smoke bombs were set off.

"Crap, I can't see anything!" Carim coughed.

"You two head back to Reinforce and the others!" Fate yelled to Suzuka and Carim. "We'll take care of things here!"

Fate ripped off a piece of cloth from her shirt to make a make shift bandanna. This hadn't been her first fight in this type of situation but Carim and Suzuka had no experience.

"Kill anyone who gets in the way!" a voice yelled. "Just make sure you grab Takamachi and Yagami!"

"Vita! Reinforce!" Fate yelled. She'd though for sure they were after them but now that they knew that wasn't the case, they needed to readjust their strategy. "Take them and run!"

Since they'd been able to clear the front, then they should have no problems escaping. At least Fate had hoped that would be the case.

"Shit!" Vita screamed. "There were still more in the front!"

That wasn't good. They'd sent the first five guys in to test the waters against them. They needed to regroup and find a way to escape, or at least get everyone else to safety.

"They took them! They took Hayate, Nanoha and Arisa" Reinforce suddenly yelled.

Fate's blood froze. They'd cornered them and now they took Nanoha, Hayate and Arisa. Why Arisa though? She thought they were only after Hayate and Nanoha. Whatever restraints she'd placed on herself during this fight were discarded in that instant. Nothing mattered now except getting her friends back safely. Running past all the gun fire, Fate found the source of the smoke and kicked the canister into a far corner of the store hoping to make the area clearer for her to take out her targets. Alicia had the same idea and had done the same to clear another area. With things more visible, Fate and Alicia wasted no time in taking out everything that stood in their way. Bullets grazed them but they paid the small scrapes no mind.

"Arg!" one of the assailants fell to the floor after Alicia shot him in the leg. He'd watched his team got taken down by two girls. Two! Alicia walked calmly closer to him. The man tried to get up and run on his one good leg, but Alicia was having none of it. She shot his other leg. The man fell to the floor but continued to try to escape by crawling away. The blonde assassin slammed her foot down on the man's back, effectively stopping him.

"P-please! D-don't kill me! I'm sorry!"

Alicia didn't grace him with an answer and shot him in the head. Having cleared her area she ran to the front of the store with the intent to pursue the people who took Hayate. Fate ripped the cloth off her face and joined her sister to help rescue their friends. They ran past Carim and Suzuka who tried to get them to wait as well as Reinforce and Vita wanting to regroup before heading out but the two assassins had other plans. One they didn't want to involve the other girl's in. They weren't out to subdue anyone. They were out for blood. Something they doubted the other girls would take part in. It probably hadn't even occurred to them yet that they'd killed almost everyone that was involved in the second assault.

The twins rounded a corner only to bump into Nanoha, Hayate, and Arisa. The trance the blondes had been in disappeared as they looked at the girls that had been taken.

"Fate-chan! Oh no, your bleeding!" Nanoha quickly sat the up and fussed over the blonde girl who could only look at her like she'd seen a ghost. Nanoha was going to wipe away the blood from the wound on Fate's cheek she received while dodging bullets, when Fate suddenly grabbed the auburn haired girl and hugged her tightly.

"You're alright."

"But how?" Alicia asked Hayate. She was baffled how they'd been able to escape. Their assailants had been professionals, there was no way a normal civilian could have handled them.

"Ah, well let's just say there's more to me than meets the eye." Hayate winked.

Alicia pulled Hayate to her. The brunette's eyes widened.

"I'm glad you're alright."

Hayate hugged her back, relishing in the fact that Alicia hugged her for a change. It's a shame it couldn't have been under better circumstances but there would be other chances in the future.

"Alicia! Fate!" Carim came to a halt along with the rest of their friends. "You saved them!"

"No." Alicia pulled away from Hayate. "We didn't do anything."

"We took care of them." Arisa grunted. "They let their guards down thinking we were helpless."

Suzuka pulled her blonde friend into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay."

Arisa hugged her friend back, knowing how scared she must've been to hear they'd been taken. The kidnappers hadn't meant to take her too but with all the smoke and confusion, they'd grabbed all three. Carim and Vita walked a bit further down to make sure they were clear for sure this time. The two girls rounded a corner and found four of the kidnappers on the ground unconscious.

"Holy…. The three of them did this?" Carim whistled.

"I don't know about Takamachi and Bannings, but Hayate-chan has had self-defense training."

"What kind of training?"

"The tough kind."

"Hmm, something tells me Nanoha-chan and Arisa-chan had the tough kind of training as well."

They returned to their friends and waited for the police to find them. It was highly likely that all the gun fire had scared plenty of people into calling the police.

xxx

"Hmm, impressive as ever."

Linith took a bite of her candy bar as she lowered her binoculars. She'd watched the entire fight from her spot across the street. She had to admit that even though they'd been somewhat domesticated, the twins were still as deadly as ever although she was surprised that they'd resisted killing the assailants for as long as they did. That fact alone was more impressive than if they had killed everyone. They were different than before, that was for sure.

"So, those are the infamous Testarossa Twins."

"They're Harlaown now." Linith turned to the person who'd suddenly joined her.

"They'll always be Testarossa in The Guilds eyes."

"I suppose that's true." She wordlessly handed over her binoculars to the girl. "Their training will always give away who taught them."

The girl, who had short brown hair, clicked her tongue. She focused her binoculars on Nanoha and Hayate. She'd been very surprised that the two girls had been able to fend off armed assailants. Their records showed nothing about them being this skilled. It was one thing to hear that they had some basic training, but to see them actually handle themselves so well in the mists of battle, well it was certainly unexpected. It just went to show you that the proper training made all the difference.

"This assignment just got more complicated."

"Perhaps but thanks to this failed kidnapping, we'll be able to properly plan ahead."

Laguna handed the binoculars back over to Linith.

"I can't believe we're going through so much trouble for just two girls."

Linith chuckled. "There's more to everything than what is on the surface."

"So when will I know what lies beyond the surface?"

"All in due time my dear."

"Security reasons?"

"Exactly, the less that people know the less of a chance it'll be compromised."

"I suppose I'll just have to place my faith in you."

"Your faith is much appreciated." Linith patted the girls head. She did not take kindly to this action and scowled at the older woman.

"When are you going to stop treating me like a child?"

"Don't be so cold to me Laguna-chan."

"And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me by name, especially when we're on the field."

"Would you prefer I called you by your other nickname?"

"That one is even worse."

"Then I'll stick with Chameleon-chan."

"Try to do so from now on."

"I make no promises. Now, let's get out of here. There's nothing else to see."

Nodding, Laguna followed Linith as she made her way to the edge of the building. They stood side by side before dropping down from the edge. Seconds later, a team of agents burst through the door of the building that led to roof. They'd been ordered to search all surrounding buildings to make sure no other accomplices tried to escape. One of the agents looked over the edge of the building only to see a balcony with a patio table and chair. Nothing else seemed out of place. He signaled to his squad leader that all was clear. One level below them, Linith and Laguna got into an elevator that would take them to the ground floor. No one even knew they were in the building.

AN: That's it for now folks! Were you surprised to see Laguna there at the end? Bet you weren't expecting her to be part of the Assassin's Guild. Expect more surprises to arise as the story goes. As always, I hope you enjoyed and if you did let me know. Reviews, comments, constructive criticisms, and the like are all welcomed. Until next time!