Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Crisis
Chapter 15: Encounter with Fate
Xx~~*~~xX
The side of the mountain exploded outward, dust and rocky debris raining down the slope. Fate shot out of the smoke, Hayate following a moment behind, firing off another Ragnarok spell. Her target easily dodged, coming back in for the attack.
Hayate threw up a barrier, knowing her speed and physical skills could never match Fate's. Her only edge was that she had slightly greater magical power. Except that Bardiche popped a couple of cartridges and began to break through that barrier.
"Crossfire Shoot!"
Fate leapt back as several orange shots sought her out, fired from Teana who was standing just outside the hole Hayate's first Ragnarok spell had made. Fate twisted and turned in the air, gathering all the shots together and blocking them with a Round Shield.
Arf noticed all this from the room they had started in, but she shifted to woman form and turned back to check on Zafira who had saved her. "How bad is it? Can you move?"
The Guardian Beast grit his teeth, pulling himself to all fours. "I'll live. But you need to be more careful."
Arf looked as ashamed as she felt. "I'm sorry. But I couldn't believe Fate would attack us like that."
"The doctor is notorious for his brainwashing techniques," Zafira replied. "Now you need to go help Hayate and Teana; even together, they may not be a match for Fate at full power. I'll follow when I can." When Arf hesitated, he added, "Please."
"I'll be back," she told him. "Don't go dying on me."
He nodded. "Same to you."
She leaned down to kiss his furry cheek, then jumped out the hole, switching to full dog form.
Zafira stared at her retreating form.
x~~*~~x
They didn't realize it until it was too late. In their pursuit of, and close range combat with, the cyborgs Tre and Sette, Signum and Vita found themselves back in the cavernous hanger they initially came from. Of course, that meant that every drone there turned on them, forcing them to split their attention between drone and cyborg.
"Get out of my way!" Vita demanded, busting through another type-1 and swinging at Sette's blade boomerangs, destroying them. However, Tre came in and smashed into Vita's hastily formed barrier, knocking the smaller girl away.
Signum finished off several type-3 drones just in time to witness Vita being attacked, cursing at the fact that the two cyborgs were using the drones to distract one while they double-teamed the other. She controlled her sword, now in fiery snake form, whipping it towards the pair, forcing them to scatter and preventing a followup attack on the hammer knight.
Vita pulled out of her unwanted dive, waving her hand to create eight silver balls. Swinging Graf Eisen, she launched all eight projectiles up at the cyborg girls. The pair dodged, but half of the shots hit drones while the other half struck the ceiling, dislodging the steel supports and other ceiling materials. The resulting mini-avalanche came crashing down, burying several more drones.
And gave Signum an idea as she dodged more gadgets, flying full speed at Tre. "[How do you feel about more destruction?]"
Vita grinned, exchanging melee attacks with Sette. "[You know me. There's nothing Graf Eisen and I can't destroy.]"
Signum smiled, blocking Tre's Wide Impulse strike with a barrier. "[Then here's what I have in mind...]"
x~~*~~x
Vivio awoke, not even realizing that she had lost consciousness. As she dragged herself to her feet, she hoped she hadn't been out long. She stumbled to the safe door, wondering why it seemed smaller. Then she glanced down and noticed she had a more prominent chest and longer arms.
Of course, she realized; She was in her Kaiser form now. Which meant she couldn't go out the way she came in. Or could she?
Concentrating, she tried to control her magic, to condense it and return to normal size. For a moment, her body was enveloped in multi-colored light, but the strain was too much and she gave up. She'd just have to try and get out the way she was.
Peeking out the storage room door, the coast seemed clear, and she made a run for it.
x~~*~~x
Teana kept firing, forcing Fate to stay on the move. When she received the signal, she stopped, and Arf tried to bind Fate's limbs, just managing to snag her left leg while Hayate let out her next spell.
"Gods in the heavens, mighty wolf slayer, render the spear and strike my enemies true; Gungnir Lance!" she chanted, unleashing dozens of light spears that streaked toward the target.
"Sonic Form," Bardiche intoned as he was swung downwards, a second before the lances converged.
Arf clenched her eyes shut as she heard Teana ask, "Did we get her?"
Hayate inhaled sharply as she realized what was coming, turning and trying to put up a barrier. But she wasn't fast enough; Fate's Riot Zanber swords tore through her forming barrier, cutting into her left arm and leg. Teana was firing again, preventing Fate from following up, but the damage was done; Hayate lost altitude as she grabbed her left arm in pain.
"Teana, look out!" Hayate shouted to the girl on the ground.
The gun mage turned, seemingly in slow motion, eyes widening in fear as she saw Fate's approach. But Hayate knew Teana wouldn't be able to act in time as Fate's swords came down.
Arf crashed into Tea, knocking the girl out of the way while lashing out with a claw. The familiar howled in pain as she was hit, but her claw managed to snag Fate's left side, cutting into the jacket and leaving four red streaks. Fate cut off the attack and retreated, holding her left side, face twisted in pain and anger.
"Arf!" Teana exclaimed in worry, noting the long red gashes in the familiar's side. "Are you alright?"
"I'll live," she replied, wincing. "But you might have to fight without me for a bit...."
Teana nodded and stood, facing Fate who was floating in the air, out of reach. Hayate felt Rein stabilize her condition, but it wasn't looking good. Fate held the edge in speed, so unless they got lucky or came up with a brilliant plan, they'd be picked off one-by-one.
x~~*~~x
The multiple impacts sent the cyborg tumbling down the hallway, despite the hastily formed triangle shield she put up at the last second. Gritting her teeth, Subaru pulled herself to her feet. Her barrier jacket was torn in a dozen places and her head was ringing, but she felt she could still fight.
Though with Nove down and Dieci's cannon destroyed, the odds were looking better. [Wait, where is Dieci?] Instinctively, she swung out with her right arm, knocking the twin glowing red swords and their holder aside.
"What the... Deed!?" Subaru exclaimed. "You, too!?"
And that wasn't all. Now that she was turned, she could see Otto down the hall, right hand in the air holding a spinning green glow. Subaru took off as Otto's Ray Storm struck, the multiple beams of light landing all around her. Knowing Otto was weaker in close combat, Subaru tried to close the distance. But Wendi and Cinque were still firing at her, and several near impacts lifted her from the floor and sent her body tumbling down the hall like a rag doll.
Subaru ended up near Otto. "Why!? Why are you helping the doctor again!?"
But then she noticed something; Otto's right leg appeared to be heavily damaged. [I didn't touch her, so why...] An image flashed her mind of her damaging Nove's right leg. A quick scan of the wide corridor confirmed that Nove had disappeared.
And Deed's form was shifting, becoming Sein, who then sunk into the floor.
"Copies!" Subaru realized, jumping back to her feet as the fire resumed, her inner fire lighting. "You're all copies! Mach Calibur, Full Drive!"
"Ignition!" her deviced finished for her.
"Gear Excellion!" Subaru shouted, blue wings forming on her skates.
"ACS engaged!" Mach Calibur intoned as the newly-empowered cyborg girl took off a split second before the next shots reached her.
Since "Otto" was closest, Subaru grabbed the smaller girl's arm and spun, tossing her down the corridor at Cinque to block the thrown daggers. Then she engaged her afterburners, taking off like a shot up the wall and across the ceiling in a spiral approach. Wendi was unable to hit her at those speeds, and was forced to turn her gun-board into a shield to block Subaru's cartridge-enhanced punch.
Subaru activated Vibration Shatter upon impact, demolishing the board and continuing through to slam into the Wendi cyborg, sending it flying away. She turned to see Cinque tossing more daggers, but Subaru's attempt to dodge was stopped; two hands had appeared from the floor and were holding her right leg.
"Protection Powered!" Mach Calibur intoned, sensing her master's predicament. The blue barrier blocked most of it, but some made it through, the blast slamming her up against the wall.
She knew she had sustained damage, but she wondered if her optics had been affected, as she saw two Cinques readying another barrage. In the next instant, she realized that it was just two of the shape-shifting cyborgs, but she wouldn't be able to dodge quickly enough this time; however, there was one trick she had left up her sleeve.
Popping several cartridges and activating Vibration Shatter, Subaru slammed her right knuckle into the ground, shaking the entire corridor and causing all cyborgs to lose their footing. That bought her time to skate over to the first Cinque and send her flying into the second Cinque with a powerful kick. The first one nearly split apart at the impact, revealing all mechanical and electrical parts within.
[They're just robots!] Subaru realized, then screamed as several ray storm blasts hit her back side. Otto had recovered, firing from the floor, unable to get up with it's damaged leg.
Subaru roared and charged, taking a few Ray Storm shots to her arms that shredded the last of her jacket and chipped at her arms. She snagged the Otto from the floor and did a quick 180 degree turn, going up the wall again, using the robot Otto for a shield to block thrown daggers from the two Cinques. The Sein must have changed to one as well, as a previous Cinque was still on the ground, nearly split in two pieces.
The Otto in her hands virtually disintegrated after the next barrage, but it was enough cover to grab a Cinque on the way as a replacement. The last robot Cinque threw daggers into the ground at her feet and activated a yellow barrier. Subaru switched the Cinque she was holding to her left hand as she wound up with her right.
"Divine Buster!" she shouted, activating her IS at the same time as she slammed her fist into the Cinque she was holding. The blast went through the first one and slammed into the shield at pointblank range, the Vibration Shatter penetrating and and impaling the second.
At the exact same moment, the daggers in the floor exploded, tossing Subaru away to land in a heap. Even after the dust settled, she didn't move.
x~~*~~x
Caro sped through the hallways on Adelinde, Fried tucked under her arm so he would have problems trying to keep up in flight; the medium-sized emerald dragon was very fast. But at this rate, she felt she felt confident it wouldn't take long to find Erio and Fate.
She was half-right, as she backtracked past an open door. Inside was a small number of human-sized containers, lined up against one wall, filled with a yellow watery substance. And one of them contained what she was looking for.
"Erio!" she cried, leaping off Adelinde and running up to the container. "Hold on, I'll have you out in a second."
"It is quite touching to see two people so close, find each other again," Jail remarked, the illusion hiding him, Uno, and Quattro dropping. "Although I must admit I didn't expect you to be the one to get here first."
Caro stared at them fiercly, stepping protectively in front of Erio's transparent container, flanked by Fried and Adelinde. "I'm taking him back."
"That could be dangerous," Uno hinted, a finger hovering over a key on her holographic keyboard. "If he's removed from there, it might be hazardous to his health."
The young summoner grit her teeth, her eyes wavering a bit in fear. What could she do now?
x~~*~~x
Vivio left the old Section Six facility behind, flying away at top speed. She had given up trying to return to the window to make her escape, and instead just made her own exit. She hadn't planned on it, but she was about to be cornered by people walking through the halls. So, she just punched her way out. It would obviously raise an alert, but the only important thing was reaching her mama now.
The medical facility wasn't too far away, and like before, Vivio knew their was a window on the room where Nanoha was kept. Finding it, she was relieved to see her mama was asleep. She poked a finger through the glass and unlocked the window, sliding it open and slipping inside, closing it after her.
The sight of her mother in the bed, breathing mask over her face, tore the younger girl's heart in two. She had always seen her mother as a strong figure, able to face anything. But she appeared so weak here.
But not anymore. Vivio climbed onto the bed above her mother and concentrated her magic. It was partially easier now because she could draw upon so much, but the normal stream had become a raging torrent; she had to work to exert more control.
Multi-colored light grew to encompass both, and for a moment, the relic appeared in front of Vivio. She fought hard to keep control, as the magic threatened to go wild. She just needed to transfer a part of the relic to her mother to repair her linker core and facilitate healing. For a moment, Nanoha's body levitated, as Vivio whimpered in pain.
Then there was a bright flash of rainbow light and the room was returned to darkness.
x~~*~~x
Fate wasn't moving as fast now, but she certainly was still faster then the rest of them. It was thanks to Zafira, who returned to the fight, doing his his best to protect the weakened Hayate and Rein that kept the fight on almost even terms. Arf was still recuperating under some trees, as the battle had progressed down the mountain to the forest below.
Teana felt that last point was almost the worst one, because while it gave her some cover, it also impeded her view to shoot the rapidly flying Fate. As she reloaded, she also realized she had exactly one more magazine for each gun. They needed to end this soon, because if it took everything they had, they wouldn't have anything left to confront Jail with.
[Think Tea!] she mentally scolded herself, firing off a few more shots to keep Fate away from Hayate. [Fate is too fast to hit, with shots or binds. How do you stop an enemy like that?] She thought back over her training, the gist of an idea beginning to form. [Speed has it's advantages, but disadvantages, too. Movement that's too quick to follow, is also too quick to think about....]
"[Hayate, can you hear me?]" the gun mage sent. "[I have an idea, but it's going to require all of us.]"
"[Zafira and I are able, but what about Arf?]" Hayate asked, firing off another wave of Gungnir lances.
"[If it's for Fate, I can do it,]" Arf declared with strong conviction.
"[Okay, then listen up,]" Tea sent to all of them, outlining the plan.
After it was done, Hayate seemed to have a few doubts. "[You sure you can pull that off, Tea?]"
The gun mage smiled. "[I've had long practice under Nanoha. I can do it. I know this is going to qualify as overdoing it, but I don't think we have a choice now. Arf, can you get into position in the next few minutes?]"
"[I'll be there!]" Arf shot back without a trace of doubt.
"[Alright, here we go!]" Tea communicated. She found an open clearing and formed a couple dozen orange orbs. It took all her concentration to hold onto them, but she couldn't take a chance. "Crossfire Shooter!"
The gun mage launched the variation to her normal attack, straining to control all 24 shots. Fate began to dodge some, and destroy others, seeking to round them all up and destroy them at once. But Tea resisted the bait and kept the shots coming in from all angles.
"Fate!" she shouted, loud enough for the other girl to hear, continuing to use the remaining shots to harass her in the air. "I'm the only one you haven't managed to touch yet. You have to take me down if you want to finish off the rest. Or can't you do that?"
Fate's face betrayed almost no emotion, but there was a hint of a snarl. She said nothing, but brought her Riot Zanber blades together to form the larger Zanber form. In one 360 degree swing of the giant sword, she swept the remaining shots from the sky, then dove at the taunting gunner.
Teana grit her teeth and braced her legs as she activated dagger modes on both her guns; this was going to hurt. Fate swung down and Tea blocked the sword above her head with crossed daggers, the force of inertia due to Fate's rapid dive plus the sword swing sending a strong shock through her body. But somehow she held, the golden blade mere centimeters from her skull.
She clenched an eye shut, pouring what magic she had into maintaining the daggers. [Need... to hold on a little more... Hayate... hurry!]
"[Okay, Teana, now!]" Hayate sent.
"You can probably take me out now," Tea said through clenched teeth, dropping to one knee, her daggers flickering. "But it's going to cost you."
Fate's eyes widened as she glanced upward at what Tea was looking at. A large, dark, crackling ball of magical energy hovered several meters above them.
"Diabolic Emission!" Hayate shouted, releasing the energy.
Fate took off, and Tea did the same, pointing her guns down and activating her thruster flares as Hayate's spell exploded. The gun mage took off like a rocket, horizontal to the ground as she dodged trees, the edges of the spell nipping at her heels. After a bit, she changed her heading, shooting up into the air at a 45 degree angle, trying to get as much altitude as she could. Her current cartridges emptied fully, and she replaced them with her last magazines as the forward momentum kept her rising.
Concentrating, she felt for the magic in the air, pointing her guns downward. The magic began to gather at the end of her guns' barrels.
Fate managed to outrun the blast, pausing and panting at it's outermost edge. That's when the chains snagged her, cast by a waiting Arf with a prepared spell. She added ankle and wrist binds as well, straining to hold the struggling Fate in her weakened state.
"[Tea, hurry, I can't hold her much longer!]" Arf sent, wincing in pain.
The gun mage concentrated, willing the process to speed up. She needed as much magic as she could get. Too little and it wouldn't be enough; too much and Fate would figure out what was happening before she could fire. "[Arf, get clear!]"
Fate began to break free.
"Starlight... BREAKER!" Tea shouted, firing the built up ball of golden-orange magical energy, combining it with the magic in her cartridges.
Fate broke free as she scanned the ground and horizon, not expecting the attack to be coming from above until it was too late. The huge beam slammed into her, her body disappearing from view within. After several moments, the magic became spent, the beam shrinking and disappearing. Fate hovered for a moment, then began to fall, releasing Bardiche as her head tipped backwards.
"Fate!" Arf cried, switching to woman form and flying up to catch the falling girl.
"I did it," Tea said, smiling as she floated in the air, then passed out.
x~~*~~x
"[Agito, ready?]" Signum asked.
The little demon grinned evilly. "[Of course!]"
Signum reached out her left arm as both of them intoned: "Fire Phoenix Flash!" A sword of fire burst into existence from Signum's left hand, but then grew into more of a whip. Using both that and Levantine in fiery snake form, Signum spun the twin whips around her. "Dance of Flames!"
The twin fiery whips lashed out, crashing into gadgets and walls, and forcing Tre and Sette to back off. But Signum wasn't aiming for them, as she slashed into the various entrances and exits spread around the large hanger.
While Signum provided cover, Vita held out her hammer. "Graf Eisen, Limit Break!"
The hammed popped several cartridges. "Zerstörungform!" it announced, growing large and forming a drill on one end.
Vita whipped it around, increasing it's size as she flew at top speed towards the ceiling, then swung with the full rocket force behind it. "Zerstörung Hammer!"
"What is she doing!?" Tre exclaimed in disbelief as the ceiling cratered on impact, cracks spreading out from it.
"She's going to bring the whole place down on us!" Sette shouted in fear. "We have to get out of here!"
However, both cyborgs realized there was nowhere to escape to, as all the exits were destroyed via Signum and Agito's handiwork. In moments, the entire hanger was awash in metal rain as it caved in.
x~~*~~x
Quattro frowned as she watched her multiple screens from where she stood, behind her two compatriots.
"Now, if you'll be so kind as to come with me, I can assure that young Erio will be remain quite fine," Jail said pleasantly.
"It will be alright, for both of you," Uno added, smiling as the doctor held out his hand toward the small girl.
Caro retreated a bit, until her back was against the container, wondering what she should do as the two advanced toward her. She had come to save Erio and Fate, but if she didn't want Erio to be harmed, she'd have to become a prisoner again.
Suddenly the doctor's face contorted in shock and pain. "W-what!?"
Uno turned to see a blade protruding from his chest. "Quattro!? What are you-" Her line was cut off as Quattro pull the sword out and thrust it into Uno chest. "Y-you...."
"My my, I never did like you," Quattro informed her older sister with a smile. "Always looking down on the rest of us."
Jail turned on Quattro in anger, seizing her neck with his cyborg right hand, lifting her into the air as Uno stumbled back and collapsed. The #4 cyborg struggled a bit for breath, but it was obvious the doctor was losing strength. She kicked his chest wound from her raised position, causing him to wince and release his hold as he stumbled back, falling against the wall.
"I... never dreamed you'd... betray me?" he spat out, coughing up blood. "My... mistake."
"I've decided I've grown tired of your dream," she told him bluntly. "I used to admire your intelligence, and thought I wanted your world. Yet, you've failed over and over. Any world you create would doomed to failure. I've had it."
Caro stared, wide-eyed. "You... why?"
Quattro turned without a word, typing into a screen. Erio's pod emptied and opened, and she caught the young boy, as he coughed a few times. She removed her tan robe and draped it around him, then handed him to Caro to hold.
"He'll be fine," Quattro told her, sighing and sitting down. "Well, I'm now your prisoner, summoner girl. What would you have me do?"
Caro could only stare, befuddled at the strange turn of events.
"Signum, Vita, anyone!" came Hayate's voice over the short range radio. "Respond!"
"T-this is Caro," she replied, sensing the desperation in Hayate's words. "I got separated from the others. I also found Erio."
"We have Fate," Hayate told her. "She was brainwashed, but we got her under control. However, she just went into convulsions!"
Caro's head came up as she addressed Quattro and the dying doctor. "What did you do to Fate!?"
Quattro had a look of confusion on her face, but the doctor behind her spoke. "You... shouldn't have killed me. I... linked her mental state... to mine. It's the only... way I could.. enforce my will on her... in so little time. With me dying... the device in her mind is failing... Quattro, I hope you... find your world..." His eyes rolled back into his head and he was still.
The young girl despaired at the thought of losing the only real mother she had known. "No!"
The turncoat cyborg stood, typing quickly into a holographic keyboard. "Follow me, and tell your comrades to bring Fate in. There still may be a way to save her. I'll open all external passages and deactivate all drones."
Caro could only continue to stare.
Quattro stopped and looked back. "Hurry, if you value her life!"
x~~*~~x
Shamal opened the door and turned on the light. "Nanoha? Are you alright? I thought I saw something flash inside here."
Nanoha was sitting up, holding a finger up to the breathing mask. "Shhh."
The doctor looked down to see Nanoha's other hand gently petting the young girl's hair who was sleeping on the bed next to her mama, then whispered, "Vivio? How did she get in here?"
The young mother shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she just missed sleeping next to her mother."
Shamal walked over to Nanoha, bringing up a window to run a quick check on her patient. "You should be getting some rest, too." Her eyes narrowed.
Nanoha tilted her head to the side a bit. "Shamal? What is it?"
x~~*~~x
Fate was laid out on the table, her head hidden under some sort of device, while Quattro typed furiously away at the controls. Thankfully, the convulsions had stopped, at least.
"Are we sure about this?" Subaru asked, having found a chair to sit in. Hayate's group had found her on their way back in.
"We don't have a choice," Hayate replied, watching Quattro intently, wishing she had brought Shamal. "We'd never get her back to Mid-Childa in time."
Signum and Vita said nothing, having arrived after the others while carrying a bound Tre and Sette. The latter pair seemed unusually subdued in attitude as well. When questioned, Vita had just smiled and Signum replied cryptically that their fighting spirit had collapsed along with the house.
Arf knelt by the table in child form, holding Fate's right hand, her sides covered in bloody bandages, tears in her eyes. "Fate...."
"Well, how is it!?" Teana interrogated the enemy cyborg.
"Better if I wasn't disturbed!" Quattro nearly snapped, but there was a hint of worry in her voice... or was it Hayate's imagination? "It's not good. The device in Fate's brain is going out of control, breaking down, causing damage to the surrounding tissue. I've contained it for now, but I don't think I can remove it all before the containment field destabilizes!"
"You said you could save her!" Caro cried, still holding the unconscious Erio.
"I'm trying!" Quattro replied. "But Fate is weak from her fight. She used up a lot of her magical strength. There's not much energy in her body to draw on right now!"
Arf stood up. "So you're saying that you can save her if she had more magical energy available."
"Arf, what are you..." Hayate started to ask.
"Yes, probably, but I'm not sure how we'll do that," the cyborg replied. "Magic isn't my area of specialty."
"I'll do it," Arf stated resolutely, climbing up on the table and crawling over Fate's body. "I have a lot of Fate's magic within me. If I return it, Fate should survive. Plus, I'm still drawing magic from her even now, although it's not much."
"Arf, you can't!" Subaru shouted. "You'll die!"
"I know," the young Arf said sadly as a gentle orange aura enveloped her. "But Fate's well-being and happiness are everything to me. She gave me life. If Fate dies, I'll die anyway. At least this way, one of us can survive."
"Arf...." Hayate whispered, her eyes wavering as she held back tears. "I understand."
Arf began to fade as the aura intensified. "Hayate... everyone... I was glad to have met you. Please tell Nanoha and Yuuno that I'm sorry, and that I was glad to have met them, too. Tell Fate, I was proud to be her familiar...."
Her child body collapsed onto Fate's, disappearing within the orange magical energy. The color fluctuated as orange changed to a brilliant golden hue, then saturated Fate's body.
Arf was gone.
x~~*~~x
Her eyes opened slowly to see several people looking down on her. "What... happened?"
"The doctor brainwashed you," Hayate told her sadly. "You were injured badly."
Fate looked around at the happy, yet sad, faces surrounding her. "I think I... remember some of it. Jail... put something in my head." She blinked. "Why are you all so sad? What else happened? Am I going to be okay?"
Teana looked down. "Fate... I'm sorry..."
"What!?" Fate demanded to know.
"Miss Arf..." Caro tried to say. "She..."
Fate looked around, noticing her familiar's absence. "What about Arf? Where is she?"
"She gave up her life to save yours," Zafira said softly. "She returned the magic you gave her. I'm sorry."
Fate felt as if a truck hit her. "She wouldn't... that can't be the truth..." Yet even Zafira was... crying? At least she thought he was, before he turned away. "Subaru? Hayate?"
"It's my fault," came another voice. "You can blame me. It was my killing of Jail Scaglietti that triggered your convulsions, and thus forced your familiar to give up it's life to save you."
Fate looked past Teana and Hayate, seeing Quattro sitting there in binds. "Quattro!?" Fate's eyes narrowed in anger and she tried to get up, but Subaru and Teana held her down. "Let me go!"
"Fate, stop!" Teana shouted. "She also helped save your life!"
The angry girl paused, although she was still tense. Then she noticed the red-stained bandages resting in her lap. She reached out towards them in confusion.
"They were Arf's," Hayate confirmed. "She had been injured in battle."
It was if the bandages were the trick that brought her past her denial. Shakily, she picked them up, holding them close, recognizing Arf's scent on them.
Fate broke down, crying, holding the bandages to her chest.
Xx~~*~~xX
Author's notes:
Yes, poor Arf indeed. This chapter went a bit longer than normal, but there was a lot I wanted to fit in. There was a bit of foreshadowing in earlier chapters, with Arf's desire to risk her life and find ways to make herself useful to Fate. And hopefully I kept a bit of surprise throughout this chapter, relating to who would make it and who wouldn't.
Fate fans should enjoy the next chapter, as I journey into the dangerous WAFF territory...
I had Quattro's Heel Face Turn planned from the beginning, but it's still not over yet. I have a few more surprises planned where she is concerned. But I'll talk about it a bit more in the notes at the end of the next chapter.