Chapter 1: The Wedding

Important Announcement To All Mages And Officers Of Riot Force 6!

The Time-Space Bureau is pleased to announce that the wedding of Captain Takamachi Nanoha and Enforcer Fate Testarossa will be taking place this coming month at the Church of Hayate.

Please keep all prior engagements with the Church to the minimum notice period until the confirmation for this occasion has come through. All former members of Riot Force 6 will be issued an invitation shortly, plus any additional close relations of the brides, so please keep an eye out for that.

Coming soon to a wedding near you!

P.S. Bring presents for Vivio.

The brightly-coloured poster covered a considerable section of the outside of Yagami Hayate's office that morning. There was a large group of young mages clustered around it, chattering to each other excitedly, not least because the poster also included a slightly-flattering picture of Nanoha and Fate on the bottom.

Tiana Lanstar had to crane her neck and then stand on tiptoe to see over the heads of the rookie mages who were now all blocking the corridor. She knew who they were, recognised the faces. They were all young trainees who had trained under Nanoha or Fate, had grown to respect and admire and love the couple, and right now they were gushing over Hayate's poster.

"Subaru, the entire corridor is packed full of fangirls," she complained. "We're going to be late if we take this route."

Her blue-haired companion had a glazed smile on her face, stars in her eyes. She gave no indication that she had taken in a single word.

"Subaru?" Tiana replied, giving her a firm prod. "Hey! Are you listening to me?"

Subaru shook her head, still looking dazed. She sometimes zoned out whilst Tiana was speaking, but today she looked especially scatter-brained.

"They're getting married, Tia," she said blissfully, all her body language screaming the danger signs of being Lovestruck. "Married. It's so beautiful..."

Great. As if the path wasn't blocked with dozens of fans of Nanoha and Fate, Subaru had opted to join in on their side. Reluctantly, Tiana resigned herself to her fate. Everyone looked up to the Three Aces. After all, she deeply admired Takamachi Nanoha herself after the scene she had made long ago whilst training to be a Striker. It didn't mean she had to stand here fawning over her captain's wedding. The poster didn't even give a specific date.

Tiana frowned and tried to push forward to look at the poster again. Something about it didn't seem quite right. Several dozen apprentice mages prevented her from being able to see too far ahead, and she felt her hackles rise in irritation. She didn't want to push hew way through the crowd too forcibly; she might not be able to get out again.

"Subaru, don't you think it's strange?" she said suspiciously. "Nanoha-san and Fate-san haven't said a word about this to us."

The short-haired mage closed her eyes, her face trembling with emotion. "Maybe they wanted it to be a surprise," she whispered.

Tiana sighed. "I guess you're right," she said reluctantly. "Nanoha-san wouldn't announce her wedding unless she really was getting marri- "

"What's this about my wedding, Tiana?" a soft familiar voice said from behind her.

The redhead jumped and the two girls spun around to see Nanoha standing there in her regular combat instructor's uniform, smiling easily at them. There was no sign of Fate accompanying her. She seemed to have no idea about the disruption further on down the hall.

Instinctively, Tiana stood to attention and zipped her mouth shut. Mentioning anything like this to Nanoha would be completely the wrong idea-

"We just heard that you and Fate-san are getting married!" Subaru said excitedly, skipping forward like an ecstatic schoolgirl. "Congratulaions!"

Damn it Subaru.

"Married?" the combat instructor repeated slowly. A rapid flush was spreading throughout her cheeks, and when she spoke there was an abrupt dryness to her voice. "To...to Fate...?"

I knew it, Tiana thought in disgust, with a quick glare at Subaru. She doesn't know about it after all. Which means...

"Did you...who..." Nanoha regained her composure with an effort, gripping the sides of her clothes tightly. "Who told you that I was getting married?"

Tiana jerked her head over to the squabbling crowd assembled outside Hayate's office. "The poster's been up on the door for the last few hours."

She had just a brief glimpse of Nanoha's face switching between sheer terror, utmost confusion and sudden realisation before the captain brushed forward ahead of them, pushing her way through the crowd to Hayate's office. Her brow was set and she looked incredibly annoyed at the entire affair.

Almost immediately she was swamped by rookie mages all bursting to know the news firsthand.

"Nanoha-san! Are you and Fate-san really...?"

"Nanoha, Nanoha-san! Can I come to the wedding? Am I invited? I'm so happy for you, I just want to - "

"Oh my gosh, Nanoha-san! Congratulations! Can I be one of the bridesmaids if Vita is still ill? Can I - ?"

"Everyone," Nanoha said to the trainee mages patiently, raising her voice to be heard, "please do not crowd the hallway like this. You have training sessions to attend."

She pushed her way into Hayate's office and closed the door quietly but firmly behind her, leaving an awed murmuring in her wake.

Subaru shrugged and smiled at Tiana. "I'm so happy for them."

With a snort, the red-haired mage dug her elbow sharply into her friend's ribs.

"Ow!" Subaru rubbed her side painfully. "What did you do that for?"

Tiana shook her head. She couldn't be bothered to explain everything all over again, about how unlikely it was that there was any real wedding in progress, at how Nanoha had looked like she was going to have a heart attack just then, let alone what Fate would think..."Let's just go, Subaru," she said, pulling her friend along through the gap in the crowd. "We're late."

Planetary Off-Worlder Rehabilitation Centre
Sector H58K4
Specialist Unit For Cybernetic Organisms

Ginga Nakijima had the colours at her disposal, monitors and terminal flashing in front of the two combat cyborgs who watched attentively as she drew up data and information for their current session. As the manager of the cyborg rehabilitation centre, and as a previous combat cyborg herself, she had the sympathies and respect of her current subjects.

"Subjects", yes. The thought brought a smile to her face as she connected into the main framework of the facility to beam Cinque's and Sei's personal progress reports directly on-screen. Not too long ago they had been trying to kill each other. And she...she had almost killed Subaru. Her sister. Her own flesh and blood. Distinctly, Ginga forced the memories from her mind. That was all in the past. Scaglietti had long since been put away, and the task at hand was to give his creations the life they hadn't been allowed to have.

"Cinque, Sei." Ginga smiled kindly at the two of them, her current priority. It was hard to remember all of their names, but these two in particular had made the greatest progress so far. Cinque was the small girl with long-white hair and an eyepatch; Subaru had fought her once. And Sei, of course, was known for her ability to pass through any solid substance; floor, walls, ceiling, water, be what it may. The two of them were no longer clothed in the dark blue of Scaglietti's combat designs, but in natural human clothing.

She cleared her throat and flicked several switches on the monitors in front of her. "The two of you are doing really well in your rehabilitation period. I have the results from the psychological tests from yesterday." They showed very high readings, a promising sign which could lead to their release from the clinic and perhaps even adoption into normal society. "Sei, can I ask you about your test first?"

The blue-haired cyborg tossed her hair back, cheerful as ever, it seemed. "The diagrammatical scope?"

Ginga nodded. "I asked you to tell me what was the first word that entered your head when you looked at it." Sei's results appeared on the screen next to her, upon which was written a single word: BEAUTY. "Why did you write that? It's a hard question, I know. But try to answer."

The cyborg crossed her legs and brought the side of her hand down her cheek. "I saw a picture of two people who were in love."

"And love is beautiful?" Ginga pressed attentively.

Sei shrugged good-naturedly. "It reminded me of my sisters."

"Cinque, what do you think?" Ginga turned towards the surly white-haired girl who had kept silent so far. "You wrote something different. But that's okay. There isn't any right or wrong answer. It's how you perceive it." Cinque's result sheet swirled on the monitor on her right, on which the word "LONELINESS" was framed in small undeveloped handwriting. "What's your thought process?"

Cinque gazed at her as if looking into a mirror. "I saw two people who looked sad."

Ginga raised an eyebrow. "Even though they're together?"

"They can be together and not be happy," the cyborg said quietly. "Just like - " A sudden fierce light came into her eye and her mouth fell open slightly. "Ow," she muttered, as Ginga looked on concernedly. "Headache," she said quickly, warding away kindly arms. "I'm fine."

Ginga walked over to her and felt the skin of her forehead tenderly. Her temperature was normal. On the first day, if she had ever made skin contact with any of the combat cyborgs, they would have become withdrawn for hours on end.

"Are you sure you're all right?" she said gently.

"I have a headache, too," Sei said uneasily.

"Wait - "

"He's gone," Cinque said numbly, her hands falling away to her sides, eyes trailing the floor. "I can feel it. Sei, you should be able to feel it too."

The blue-haired girl nodded slowly.

Ginga got to her feet unsteadily, not understanding. "Whatever are the pair of you talking about?" she said. "Do you feel well?"

"We're fine," Sei said in a near whisper, her hands gripping the sides of her chair tightly. "But...he...is gone."

"Our creator," Cinque breathed, bringing her face back up to eye-level. "Doctor Scaglietti...he is no more."

Ginga stared at both of them in disbelief for a moment, then whirled around and flashed her hands across the computer monitors, searching through the framework. There was only one reason why her subjects would speak like this. And she had a bad feeling about what they were saying. Verification wasn't far away.

Yagami Hayate had moved into working in Special Operations with the army after the disbanding of Riot Force 6. With her primary dream realised, it was as if she had achieved everything she wanted. The JS Incident was behind her, the Saint's Cradle had been destroyed, and the Lost Logias were no longer a threat to the stability of the TSA...

But it wasn't that way at all. It came with power, power that others relied on, bringing with it a distinct loneliness which had toyed with Hayate for some time. Until she had come to think of the times before Riot Force 6 as nostalgic. The times she spent with Nanoha and Fate, who even now were far away from her and would prefer to spend their time with Vivio or on more important things...

Nanoha, she thought sadly, adding another domino to the tower on her desk. It would be good to see you and Fate again.

The door flew open and Nanoha burst in with perfect timing.

"Hayate, why are Fate and me getting married?" she asked breathlessly. "What's going on?"

The short-haired mage at the desk added a fourteenth domino to the tower with a dreamy-like expression on her face. "It's great to see you too," she murmured, rubbing her eyes.

Nanoha vanished out of the room for a moment and then re-appeared holding the wedding poster which had been plastered on the door. "Hayate, I'm serious! Wh...why is there a wedding going on? My wedding? I don't know anything about this!" She was starting to panic. "Did Fate do this? Did I give her too many false signals and she got the wrong idea?!"

"Um, Nanoha..." Hayate yawned tiredly and stood up from behind her desk. "I'm not sure it's exactly like - "

"Maybe it was that scene with Vivio last week," Nanoha babbled, pacing up and down. "When Vivio said the two of us were like a married couple, and maybe when I gave that look to Vivio which meant eat your greens, maybe Fate thought I was aiming at her, and misread it as a signal that I should be - "

"Maybe," Hayate said heavily. "Or maybe one of your other friends set the whole thing up because she misses having you around."

The long-haired combat instructor looked at her quizzically for a moment, then frowned at the poster. Then she stared at Hayate again.

"Hayate, it was all your idea...?"

The former commander of Riot Force 6 avoided her gaze shyly. "It was just a joke to get your attention a little," she said awkwardly, brushing her arm against the taller woman. "I didn't mean to worry you..."

Nanoha's face creased in sympathy. "Hayate, you don't have to do that," she said warmly, drawing her friend into a tight embrace. "Fate and I can always make time for you. It's just that...well, Fate's with the Interstellar Navigation Bureau now as an Enforcer. We don't have as much time with each other, let alone with you..." She sighed, rubbing her head against Hayate's shoulder. "And you just seem to be so busy all the time."

"I'm not busy," Hayate said emphatically. "Do you know what I'm doing now?" She eased herself out of the hug and slumped back in front of her desk again. "Ask me what I'm doing now."

"Well, what are you doi- "

Hayate leaned forward suddenly and brought her face nose-to-nose with hers. "I am making a domino tower," she whispered dramatically. She tossed a fifteenth domino onto the pile and it all came crashing down spectacularly.

"But," Nanoha pursued urgently, "I thought you were working in Special Operations with- "

"I was. And I am." The mage prodded the pile of dominoes sadly. "But I wasn't enjoying myself. There was something missing." She sat up straight for a moment, her eyes looking far away into the past. "Nanoha, when I was leading Riot Force 6, it was a dream, a passion of mine that I wanted to realise. I had drive. I had energy. But now?" She stood two dominoes up on their sides, staring at them wistfully. "Now it's like I don't have the motivation anymore. I'm working for a cause that I'm not passionate about. I'm playing dominoes with myself on my day off."

"Oh, Hayate," Nanoha said gently, stroking her neck tenderly. "You should have told us. You don't have to feel demotivated all the time. What you need is..." She thought about this for a second. "You need another dream to work towards."

Hayate's eyes lit up. "That's true. I could do that." She stood up and tapped the side of her head for a moment, thinking. "But Riot Force 6 was my first real dream. I only have one dream left."

"That's still something," Nanoha said with a faint smile. "So what is this other dream?"

"Um..." Her friend hesitated for a second. "To build an army of lesbians."

The two of them stared at each other for a few moments.

"I've already got an army of lesbians, haven't I?" she said mournfully.

Sadly, Nanoha nodded in agreement. "I'm afraid so. Don't despair!" she said quickly as Hayate slumped her head back onto her desk again. "You've got friends. Contacts! And me and Fate! We can meet up for a drink tomorrow and we can talk like old times!"

"Let's hope so," Hayate said heavily. She looked genuinely distraught. "I'm sorry for making a fake wedding for you, Nanoha. I hope Fate isn't angry at me..."

"Fate won't be angry at you, Hayate. I was just surprised, that was all." And I was scared that Fate really wanted to marry me. Especially with Vivio...Nanoha repressed a shudder. She could feel her face getting hot just at the thought. But Hayate really was lonely after all this time. And she shouldn't have to be. She had the Wolkenritter to protect her, her friends, but with so much work to do all at once and everyone's priorities, it seemed that in the end she was left alone. She needed Nanoha and Fate by her side more than ever.

Even Hayate's office seemed empty. Her desk was right at the corner of the wall, next to Rein's smaller desk with-

Wait a second. Rein?...

"Hayate?" Nanoha said in a puzzled tone. "Why isn't Rein here? Isn't she supposed to be always working with you?"

"Oh, Rein," Hayate replied off-handedly. "She's a bit pre-occupied. She fell in the toilet."

"What?"

"It was my fault. I'm sorry." The short-haired mage wiped a tear from her eye. "I was trying to lift the seat and talk to her at the same time, and I accidentally smacked her and she fell in."

Nanoha stared at her friend in wide-eyed astonishment. Clearly Hayate was having a worse day than usual.

"Hayate, Rein is a high-ranking unison device and your personal second!" she said frantically. "You can't just leave her floating in the toilet!"

"It's fine. I managed to fish her out with a stick." Hayate blew at one of the dominoes and watched it fly off the edge of the table. "Actually, she's wrapped in the soggy toilet paper by the windowsill. Don't touch it," she warned before Nanoha could move. "She's still condensing back to normal."

The main buzzer sounded in the distance, signalling the end of the morning training session. Both girls perked up at the sound. Reluctantly, Nanoha turned to go. She had her own duties to attend to, as much as she wanted to stay with Hayate and catch up with her.

"Hayate, I'll see you later," she said, looking straight into her friend's sad hazel eyes. "That's a promise. I'm not just saying that. I'll talk to Fate the instant I get home and the three of us will go out tomorrow for lunch." She reached over and hugged Hayate tightly, feeling the barest touch of the embrace returned. "I'm not going to let one of my best friends feel lonely around me."

Hayate managed a soft smile. "Thanks..." she murmured softly, though a part of her felt like she didn't want to believe it. But that was just absurd. Nanoha was always there for her. Her, and Fate. She always had been. "Thanks, Nanoha."

Sadly, she watched the door close shut, listening to the sound of Nanoha's footsteps gradually fade away. She'd needed to talk to someone. Nanoha, more than anyone else. It already felt better to get her feelings out to one of her closest friends. The rest of the "people" she saw everyday – Mariel, the generals in the army, Vice, even Tiana – they were always good to her. But she couldn't confide in them. She couldn't tell them her secrets. It was a truth that was getting her down more and more by the day.

Hayate turned back to the window with a sigh, looking out into the open daylight.

"Finally," hissed a voice like black acid rising up behind her. "I thought she'd never leave."

She spun around, the cross of Reinforce in her hand as the hidden figure moved across the back of the office and crouched into a foreign fighting stance. The sign of a pentagram opened out beneath its feet. The sign of a mage.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "How do you get in here? What are you doi- "

The figure vanished from the edge of her vision, chanting under its breath.

"Chronological Time Switch."

A black finger stabbed at the back of her neck and Hayate felt the spell slam into her body, crumpling as she staggered forward and hit the floor. Her vision blurred and the world swam across her eyes, her mind sifting as if in a dream. Her last thoughts were of Nanoha and Fate as she lost consciousness completely.

Okay, that's the first chapter, which I think will be more representative of the entire fic than just the intro. I may have made this a bit too long, I'm not sure.

This is actually my first try at writing something in this style. I usually go for shipfics and romance but seeing as Lyrical Nanoha is full of action I thought I'd try this too. Also, most of my fics tend to be a bit quirky and have a silly sense of humour places (hence Hayate's behaviour in this chapter), so that'll be part of it.

Hope you like it so far! Please review if you can :)