Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Crisis

Chapter 5: Loss and Rebuilding

Xx~~*~~xX

"Shamal said he won't be asleep too long," Fate tried to tell her. "He'll wake up eventually. You know she's the best doctor around."

Nanoha could only place her hands on the unconscious Yuuno's from where she sat, as he lay in the hospital bed in TSAB headquarters. Arisa and Suzuka sat on the other side of the bed. Yuuno was their close friend, too, despite the fact they had only known him as a ferret for almost a year. They wouldn't be able to surprise Fate with their presence on Mid-childa at the planned surprise party, but they knew they had to be here anyway.

Fate sighed as she saw a couple of teardrops land on the back of Nanoha's hand, from her lowered head. She leaned down to hug Nanoha from the side.

"I remember the first time we saw him," Arisa reminisced. "We were wondering what was going on when Nanoha-chan ran off. And there was an injured ferret."

Suzuka smiled a bit. "Knowing what we do now, all their actions over those few months made sense. He always seemed to be very smart for an animal."

Arisa blushed a bit and turned to the side, a scowl on her face. "And I've never quite forgiven him for not letting us know he was a boy and allowing me to take him into the bath!"

Suzuka's smile widened a bit more and all three girls heads were drawn to the giggle, followed by a sniff, as Nanoha brought her head up and wiped her eyes.

"Thanks, you two, I needed that," Nanoha told them. "It was a shock for me, too, finding out who he was. He introduced me to magic and changed my life. I don't think I can ever repay him. I just wish I had been there."

"There was nothing any of us could have done," Fate insisted, trying to get through to her friend. "Subaru and Teana feel bad, too, for not being able to help him sooner. They don't know which one of them was responsible for the rock that was dislodged and hit him in the head. But he'll wake up and be fine, you'll see."

Nanoha smiled and took hold of one of Fate's hands. "And here I am, completely forgetting that Arf is still missing, totally ignoring how you're feeling."

"Arf is still alive," Fate informed her matter-of-factly. "There is a constant link between master and familiar. If she were dead, I'd know. If she's alive, then we can assume she was captured. Which means we WILL get her back, too." She looked across the bed. "Arisa, Suzuka, can I see you two in the hall for a moment? You too, Agito."

The two girls nodded, understanding. As they got up, a small figure lifted off from the corner and floated over to follow Fate. But before she reached the door, Agito sighed and flew back over to the pony-tailed girl to whisper into her ear.

Fate could hear Nanoha's sharp intake of breath, then saw her nod and thank Agito, who flew out of the room. Fate took one last look at the two in the room, then shut the door to give them some privacy.

x~~*~~x

"Fate, how is she?" Subaru asked nervously.

"She'll be fine," the agent replied. "Nanoha is strong. How are you doing, Subaru?"

The mage cyborg flexed her right leg a bit to demonstrate the whining noise. "Repairs to my systems are good, although my right leg needs a few more fixes. And my head is a little woozy. I had a slight concussion."

Fate nodded. "Alright, you'll have to sit out for now. Nanoha will come out of that door soon and will want to go bash some heads. I know you'll want to go, but if you want to help, you can watch Yuuno and do some research. What have we got for leads?"

"Not much," Chrono admitted. "Even if we assume Jail is involved somehow, there's no way to know for certain, and it doesn't gain us anything. Subaru might have something, though."

Teana nudged her friend who was looking downcast about sitting out. "Well, I didn't want to say, because I don't really think it's the case, but...."

"But what?" Fate prodded. "Anything at all can help."

Subaru sighed. "I got the distinct impression that I was being attacked by cyborgs. The energy attacks didn't feel magical. I didn't want to say, because I don't think my sisters are responsible."

"They might not be," Signum offered. "For all we know, Jail had made other cyborgs. Or they might not realize what they are doing."

"Signum's right," Teana agreed. "You should head home and talk to Ginga. See if your sisters have been acting funny lately. Maybe they are being mind-controlled, like Lutecia was. At the very least, we could eliminate them from being suspect."

"And I'll head over to the St. Church," Chrono added. "I can talk with Carim and Schach. They have the cyborgs Sein, Otto, and Deed with them."

Fate nodded. "I have a couple of leads I would like to follow up, too, by myself. I'll leave Teana with you for now, Subaru. If you'll excuse me."

Teana stared at Fate's retreating back, waiting until she was out of earshot. "There she goes again! She's been acting strangely lately, and I can't figure out why." She stomped her foot.

"What do you mean?" Subaru inquired, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I've been working with Fate for a long time now, and we've always followed up every lead, no matter how small, together," Teana answered. "But lately, she's been acting different. She doesn't want to go interrogate Jail, and now she's going off on her own."

"Probably with good reason," came a new voice. The group turned to see Nanoha closing Yuuno's door behind him.

"Nanoha-chan!" Arisa and Suzuka ran up to either side of her, each taking a hand. "Are you okay," the former asked.

She nodded. "I'll be alright, and thank you. But I'll need you two to watch Yuuno-kun for me, for a few days."

Teana and Subaru promptly bowed low from the waist.

"We're so sorry!"

"I'm sorry I didn't rescue him sooner, Nanoha!"

The Ace-of-aces put a hand on each of their shoulders. "It's alright. We can't all go around blaming ourselves for things. Not when we have a mission to accomplish."

The two straightened up as they were hugged, then released.

"But Fate has a point," Nanoha continued. "Jail won't tell us a thing. Either he doesn't know, or he has a plan and obviously won't let us in on it." She smiled mischievously. "However, I do have an idea of who we could ask."

As the group moved off, Signum noticed her unison partner was hanging back a bit. "Something wrong, Agito?"

The demon girl watched the backs of the group. "I think I'm beginning to understand why you all have such a strong bond with each other."

Signum smiled, as she took hold of Agito and set her on her shoulder, then started walking to catch up. "Ah, indeed."

x~~*~~x

"...but Shamal says she's pretty sure he'll be okay," Hayate was saying from the monitor screen. "How are you two doing?"

"Zafira and I just landed on this planet," Vita replied. "We'll be taking a shuttle out to the Wildlife Preserve within the hour. But I just talked to the director there. He said Erio and Caro had departed awhile ago, and hadn't checked in yet, although communications can be sparse there at times. Based on what you've said, though, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Me, too," Hayate agreed. "Do what you can to find them, and see if you can bring them here. I've been talking with Colonel Nakajima, along with the rest of the generals. They seem a bit more eager this time to cooperate with my plans." She half-smiled. "I think they're hoping to get some of the glory this time."

"You're reforming Section Six?" Vita asked, surprised.

Hayate shook her head. "No, the current units are already stretched thin. The ground forces lost quite a bit of manpower due to the JS incident. The combination of the Peace conference attack, the Einherjar attacks, and the Cradle battle have taken their toll. I might be able to roll one or two of the ground units together, though, for a joint mission objective."

"Don't push yourself too hard," Vita reminded her. "And make sure Nanoha doesn't, either. The last thing we need is for her to overdo it again."

"You have my word," Hayate assured her, nodding solemnly. "Nanoha has done a lot, for a lot of people. You and I both her owe her much."

Vita and Hayate looked at each other in silence for a few moments, both understanding their vow: they would protect Nanoha from herself if need be.

"But for now, Zafira and I will go make sure those two kids are okay," Vita said at last. "I'll contact you again when I have something to report."

"Acknowledged," Hayate replied, then signed off.

Vita turned to look at Zafira, who was standing against the wall nearby in human-form, having heard everything. He shared the same look with Vita, then the two walked off to the shuttle area of the spaceport.

x~~*~~x

The person in the cell raised her head, took note of her visitor, and sighed. "Why are you here again?"

Nanoha stepped fully into the light with a gentle smile. "You ask me that every time I'm here. Don't you want someone to talk to?"

"Ha!" Quattro scoffed. "Week after week you show up to visit, and what for? I helped kidnap and torture that little runt of yours. I hurt many of your friends. You won. You're supposed to leave your enemies to rot."

"I told you the first time I came," Nanoha responded, not seemingly fazed in the least. "I've fought many enemies that have hurt me badly. But that's doesn't mean we have to stay enemies. I know the doctor created you, used you, programmed you."

"You keep saying that, but I still chose what I did," Quattro snapped back. "All your pretty words don't mean anything. I used the doctor, too. And used my sisters."

"And that's all you want out of life?" Nanoha asked. "To use people? Don't you want friends or a real family? Most of your sisters are finding a nice life outside. What do you want, really?"

"Good for them," the #4 cyborg responded drily, ignoring the last question. "So what's your real reason for today's visit? You've been coming often enough, that I can tell you want something this time."

The visitor nodded. "You're right, I do have an added motive for today. We've been tracking a number of incidents lately, that involve gadget drones and possible cyborg attacks. Were you aware of any other plans Jail may have had, beyond the Cradle?"

Quattro stared at her, then sighed. "No. But I figured he had some sort of backup plan. That's why he put his genetic code in us. If he didn't reset our internal timer occasionally, his code would impregnate us, and advanced gestation would produce another him in a month or two. At least that was the case, until the TSAB deactivated those particular devices inside us. That makes me think he had something else planned if it failed."

"You can't think of anything else he might have said or did, which didn't relate to the Saint and Cradle project?"

"Only that I think the Relics might have been meant for something else," she replied, leaning back in her bunk and tracing a finger against the wall. "I don't think he needed as many as he obtained, so I don't know what he might have been stockpiling them for." She paused and shrugged. "And why would you believe me anyway?"

Nanoha smiled at her again, which made Quattro feel uncomfortable inside. "Because you need a friend. Someone to trust you, and who better than one you have hurt the worst?"

Quattro scoffed again. "Oh please, don't hide it; you just want information out of me."

"While I would like information, I also want to be your friend," Nanoha said quietly. "I'll keep coming back, even after this over, for as long as it takes."

The cyborg turned away, facing the wall. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted Nanoha to be able to read her expression at the moment. "So, what else do you want? You're still here, so I assume you want something more."

"Yes, a friend of ours has been captured. Do you have any idea where she might have been taken, if Jail's plans were involved?"

Quattro was silent for a moment. "I told the TSAB everything they wanted to know... but... there were a couple of locations that we abandoned early after I was born. I don't know what, if anything was going on there, though, as the doctor didn't say anything about them. I only know about them from seeing their deactivated status in the database. Not sure if your friend could be there, or if you'll find anything."

A green screen appeared near Quattro, who typed in the locations, then watched it disappear.

"Thank you, Quattro-san," Nanoha told her, bowing. "There is hope for you. And I will see what I can do about your sentence."

"I still don't care about you or your friends," the other woman declared, still not daring to face her visitor. "You're walking into a trap, and as far as I'm concerned, every one of you can rot there. Now get lost, I'm tired."

Nanoha bowed again, then stepped away, leaving Quattro alone with her uneasiness. [That girl gives me the creeps.]

"[Are they gone?]"

"[Yes, Doctor, Nanoha just left with her friend, hidden in the shadows,]" Quattro replied, through their subspace link.

"[And you gave them the locations of the research bases?]" he asked. Quattro replied in the affirmative. "[What's the matter? Having second thoughts?]"

"[Absolutely not!]" she shot back, fiercely. "[The sooner I can get out of this place and away from her, the better. The girl makes me sick.]"

"[Then I have good news for you,]" Quattro could hear the doctor grinning. "[My subspace link has finally located where Tre is and I've made contact. We will make our escape soon.]" The cyborg could hear him laughing in her mind; it was almost nauseating. "[The fools have their magical telepathy, but they didn't for a moment think I couldn't duplicate that through pure technology as well! Be ready!]"

"[Yes, Doctor,]" Quattro replied, obediently.

x~~*~~x

"I honestly didn't think you'd get anything out of her," Teana admitted, as the two walked through the prison complex. "Hell, I didn't think you'd even talk to her again. Aren't you mad because of what she did to your daughter!?"

Nanoha half-smiled. "Of course I was. But Vivio is okay now. There is an old saying on my planet: 'The best way to defeat your enemies, is to make them your friends.' I've been trying to do that, even before I heard about it, for a long time."

Teana shook her head. "Sounds crazy to me. What if she had killed Vivio? Could you still try to be friends with her? What if Yuuno dies?"

The young mother inhaled and exhaled slowly, before responding. "I don't know. But I believe if you try your hardest, and believe with all your heart and soul, than you can avoid things like that. Anger, while understandable, will hurt you the most if you let it go on too long. A grudge is a cancer that will eat away at you, and prevent you from accomplishing your goals." She turned to smile at the gun mage. "And if you've learned something, then it's worth it."

"Maybe...." Teana sounded unsure. "I hated the Bureau for what they did to my brother. I know I couldn't do anything to prevent his death. So I don't know...."

Nanoha placed a hand on her shoulder. "But you are here, now, and because of that, many have lived. Subaru, Erio, and Caro owe their lives to you, because you worked to show what you were made of. You led them well, when you were in the forwards. Without you taking on those three cyborgs, the others might have been overwhelmed. Continue to put your strength into something positive like that, and you know your brother would be proud of you."

Teana sighed in defeat. "How do you do that?"

Nanoha just giggled, as the two girls entered the shuttle bay.

x~~*~~x

"I found him!"

Caro limped excitedly over to where Erio called from, using the branch he had found for her as a crutch. In return, she had made a splint and sling for his arm, using parts of her skirt and his jacket. She watched as Erio carefully scooped up Fried from the bushes and handed him to her, who took him and sat down against a tree.

"How is he?" Erio asked, sitting down next to her.

"I'm not sure," she replied, stroking him softly. He barely uttered a squeak, before going to sleep. "I almost feels as if he's sick. I have a sort of connection to him, usually. But ever since the fall, it's been hard to sense him."

"Yeah, when I was boosting us out of that hole, my connection to Strada seemed kinda funny, too," he admitted. "It was like my attempts to control it, were going awry. I'd think right, and it would go left."

Caro looked up at him, cocking her head slightly. "Now that I think about it, if the two are connected, it might make sense."

"How so?"

"Well, I told you dragons are more magically-attuned than most creatures," she explained. "Well, it's more than that; they actually use a bit of magic to fly and breathe fire. I use magic to increase his size, but he's the one who controls that after I've made him grow. If he suddenly couldn't control it, then it might explain why he feels this way, and why my connection with him is weaker." Her face grew worried. "We need to get out of here, Erio."

"We will," he assured her. "We've been out here awhile, so I'm sure they plan to send rescue parties soon. And even if they don't, I think we just need to get farther away from this particular area. Fried seemed fine until we got here. But first, we need to get some rest. We're both injured, and pushing ourselves won't do any of us any good."

x~~*~~x

Arf's eyes slowly drifted open, then realized the added light was amplifying her headache. Seething, she dragged herself into a sitting position while dabbing her head with her hand, and took a look around.

Her first discovery was that she was in a cell with bars. The room just outside her cell made it look less like a jail cell, and more like an experimentation room. There was a table with straps to hold down a subject, and several cabinets lining the dirty linoleum walls. A broken sink with a rusty faucet dripped nearby, and an overhead light barely glowed, flickering occasionally.

Arf got the impression she wasn't going to get any visitors soon.

Her next major discovery, was that she had a cellmate. She almost missed this fact, since said cellmate was covered in a dirty brown cloth and laying in the corner, barely moving. It was only a low moan that drew her attention.

"Hey, are you okay?" the familiar asked, reaching over to touch the form. "Did your captors hurt you?"

"Nnn!" The person turned a bit, exposing a green eye and part of her face from the hood, and then jerked away from Arf's hand.

Arf frowned, pulling her arm back, double-checking to make sure she was in her human adult form. "I'm sorry if I frightened you. My name is Arf. What's yours?"

The figure sat up, looking at her with the one eye, but there didn't seem to be much life behind it.

"Well, I don't suppose you could tell me where are captors are, or what they want from us?" Arf sighed as the figure looked away, apparently having lost interest. "Well, I'm gonna get out of here."

She stood up and grasped the bars and pulled... and pulled. After several minutes of strain, she gave up.

"Of course, that would be too easy," she remarked, then turned back to the figure. "I'm gonna change into a big doggy, but don't worry, I won't hurt you, okay?"

The shrouded figure seemed to ignore her, so Arf sighed and changed form, with some difficulty. She felt some relief that her cellmate didn't seem fazed at all. But she also felt disappointment when she discovered she couldn't pull up her magic, nor could she bite through the cell bars. She wondered if there was some sort of AMF present. That would make sense if it was a cell for holding magical subjects. Arf changed back into woman form and sat down.

"Hmmm, that's out. I'm gonna have to think of something else, or hope that Subaru or someone knows where I am." She paused, studying her cellmate again, then started to move slowly towards it again. "You don't seem well, so I'm going to check you. Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

The figure watched her approach, shivering as Arf slowly reached up and pushed the hood away, revealing the smudged face of a girl underneath; a girl with mid length dirty-white hair and blue-green eyes.

[If I had to guess, I'd say she was late teens, or early twenties,] Arf thought. [She'd probably be quite attractive if she was cleaned up.] She pressed her hand to the girl's forehead. [Hmm, doesn't seem warm, so that can't be the problem.]

The girl reached out to press her own hand against Arf's head, causing the latter to pause in fascination, then smile. "You want to check to see if I'm okay, too?"

The girl smiled a bit awkwardly, too, then withdraw her hand, returning to her zombie-like state.

"Well,we're gonna be cellmates for awhile, until I can think of something," Arf thought aloud. "But it seems like you've been through something. I promise, when we get out of here, I have some friends that can help you. For now, though, I guess we're stuck with each other."

Arf looked up, wondering what Fate and the rest of her friends were doing, and if Subaru and Yuuno were okay. Did she manage to save him? [Ironic that I'm the one that needs saving now,] she thought darkly. [Oh Arf, what have you got yourself into?]

Xx~~*~~xX

Author's notes:

Oh Quattro, how I love thee, let me count the ways.... She's always fascinated me as a character, although I admit I liked her glasses form better, heh. Chapter 5 cleanup finished. Oh, and good C&C is always welcome.