Author's Note: -pant, pant- Man, I'm beat…I did my best to do Chapter 6 as well and as quickly as possible, but it took a little effort…sorry, guys!

This one is for Alavon-sama for helping me figure out the plot! (although that plot-help isn't in this chapter…) Thank you!

Fate tried to scream, but she had no air left. The door was still open! She ran towards it, but Precia was faster and snapped it shut, locking it. Fate stumbled backwards as Precia raised her belt and swung it at Fate.

Precia missed and Fate ran blindly, trying to escape. Precia caught up to her and knocked her to the floor with her free hand, then brought the belt down.

Fate screamed. She couldn't hold it in.

Precia smiled. "You won't get away from me this time, Fate," she whispered. "You will stop making Alicia suffer…"

Fate stared up at her mother with confusion in her eyes, but Precia already had a knife in her hand. Precia really meant to kill her?

"You'll go to jail," croaked Fate. "Then where will Alicia go?"

Precia smiled. "My darling Alicia will be fine…she will no longer be bothered by you, at any rate," she whispered. She lunged. Fate scrambled out of the way as Precia dived for her.

"It's really no use running, Fate," Precia said. "You will die,"

Precia brought the belt up again, and Fate held in her cry of pain this time, clenching her teeth tightly.

"Hmm…" Precia struck harder this time, but Fate had already taken off, running. "Didn't I tell you not to run?" asked Precia, following her daughter slowly.

Fate made her way to the front door and felt for the lock, but Precia struck her again, so hard that it threw Fate away from the door, and smashed her to the wood floor.

Bleeding from the cut the newest whip had given her, Fate staggered to her feet, one hand over her injury, and ran towards the stairs.

Precia aimed at her feet this time, and the belt tripped her, returning her to the floor. Precia held the knife high, and prepared to strike.

The door burst open and Alicia stood there, breathing hard, her blond hair stuck to her forehead. Her mouth dropped open, seeing Fate on the floor, Precia with the belt and a knife.

"No…" her lips formed the word soundlessly. "No…"

Precia took this oppurtunity to launch herself at Fate, trying to stab her, and succeeded. But she missed Fate's heart and got her shoulder instead.

Fate let out a scream of pain, and Alicia ran forwards, reaching for her. Precia pushed her out of the way. "Stay back, Alicia!" she ordered.

Fate stared up at her mother, looming over her, as she wrenched the knife out of Fate's shoulder painfully, and brought it up again. The scene blurred as Fate stared up into her mother's hate-filled eyes.

Why?

Because you were born.

The knife came down.

Alicia had grabbed her mother's arm before it had come in contact with Fate's body. Her eyes were shocked, her shoulders shaking.

"Mother…You can't!"

"Get out of the way!" Precia threw her daughter off her arm and prepared to strike a second time, but another hand stopped her.

It was not Fate or Alicia, or anyone they knew, in fact.

There was the unfamiliar face of a police officer, holding Precia back.

Precia spat at the man, forcing him off of her, and took a look around the room. At Fate, Alicia, the officers who had come into the room.

Precia raised the knife again.

And stabbed herself in the heart.

***

Alicia sobbed into Nanoha's shoulder, her whole body wracked with sobs that shook her horribly. "M…Mother…Fate…" she cried every so often, and Nanoha patted her back as her sobs increased.

"Fate-chan is going to be okay," Nanoha assured her. "She'll be fine…"

"There was so much blood…" moaned Alicia. "And Mother…stabbed her…and herself…"

"It's okay, Alicia, it's okay," murmured Nanoha.

"It's not!" wailed Alicia. "If Fate dies, it'll be all my fault!"

"Fate will pull through this," Nanoha assured the blond girl who was sobbing uncontrollably into her shoulder. "She's not on critical, anymore, right?"

Alicia sniffled pathetically. "But…she lost so much blood…And…The knife went straight through…Her arm…"

"They saved it," Nanoha assured Alicia. "They got there in time, and they saved it. It didn't go straight through, Alicia-chan. Who told you that?"

"But…But…" Alicia cried. "She's…"

A nurse with messy brown hair poked her head out from the operating room and pressed a finger to her lips, her green eyes serious. "Fate-chan is sleeping," she whispered.

Alicia nodded tearfully and pressed her face back into Nanoha's shoulder, quiet now.

The nurse did not leave. "Maybe you should go home," she said kindly. "Fate-chan will not wake up for several hours,"

"Where can I go?" moaned Alicia.

"You can stay with us," Lindy Harlown offered. She was sitting across the room, Arf leaning on her shoulder, Chrono on the other, and Amy sitting on Chrono's other side. "We have room for you,"

"Or with me," piped up Nanoha.

Alicia sniffed. "I think I'll stay with Nanoha…sorry, Lindy-san," she said.

"It's fine," Lindy said. "Come on, all of you," she ordered her family. "Into the car, let's go," she had a slight smile on her face as Chrono rolled his eyes, and Arf snapped a salute.

"Bye, Alicia-chan," Arf called as she left.

"We should go too, Alicia," Nanoha added as they left. "Mom wants to know about Fate-chan and if she's going to be okay,"

"'Kay," agreed Alicia, and walked slowly with Nanoha out of the waiting room.

***

Fate didn't hurt anymore. She was drifting in dark water. It was pretty. She felt oddly light, like a feather, as she drifted. There was no light, but the darkness seemed like a screen, as if she could tell there was light behind it.

Where was she? The last thing she remembered was Precia about to stab her a second time…was she dead? Fate shuddered at the thought. No, she didn't want to be dead.

As she drifted, she dreamed.

She dreamed of Alicia, and Nanoha and Arf.

But mostly she dreamed of someone who was lost but found herself again.

And with that, Fate opened her eyes.

***

"Fate-chan is up, Alicia-chan…if you want to see her. She just opened her eyes," reported the messy-haired nurse quietly.

Alicia nodded, and Nanoha took her hand as they stood up and made their way into Fate's room.

Everything was white. Fate's burgundy eyes found Nanoha and Alicia as soon as they came in, and she smiled. "Alicia," she said, but her gaze was aprehensive as she eyed her sister.

Alicia ran to her sister and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Fate! I'm sorry I was mean and I called you a liar and that I got you stabbed! I'm really sorry!"
"Um…ow," Fate said carefully, and Alicia drew back, wiping her eyes on her hand.

"Sorry,"

"It's okay," Fate assured her, then smiled. "I'm sorry about what happened, Alicia. About Mother, and…And I'm not mad. I'm just happy that you're back,"

"Fate!" Alicia cried, and wrapped her arms around Fate, more careful this time.

And for a moment, they were happy.

A/N: Okay, I admit it, I'm a softie and didn't want the cliffhanger to last…this was really short, I know, and I wrote it in about half-an-hour. SORRY!

Next chapter will be on tomorrow! Bye!