It had been some time since Nanoha had been able to leave the safety of the TSAB's confining walls and breathe in the air of the outside world for herself. Ever since Red Scorpion's first attack, she had never been in a fit state to walk around outside the hospital ward. Now that she was able to, however, it was alarming to see the effects which the entire Bureua had suffered through. Extra security had been put into place on every corner, and half of the northern perimeter was being rebuild completely.
She leaned upon the railing of the balcony which overlooked the training grounds upon which Vita and Signum usually trained, not too far from the hospital wing. The sight of the hospital was a description of the last week in itself – there was still a giant hole gaping where Ward 4X used to be, which Ungore and Srethis had escaped through.
Signum hadn't moved from the location of the close time portal in all this time. She still continued to stand guard, as if expecting the portal to suddenly open by itself and spit Vita out. Even when Hayate had gone and told her personally that they were preparing to rescue Vita, the Velka Knight had just nodded silently and gone back to her post. Barely any reaction, as if resigning herself to waiting.
"Nanoha-mama?" Vivio's red and green pupils were a mix of sadness and worry. "You're going to go away again, aren't you?"
Oguba had told her that there would be no change. No change in time, between the moment they stepped through the portal and the instant they re-emerged with Vita rescued, and hopefully the rest of Red Scorpion carted along with them. It would be as if no time had passed in Mid-Childa.
"I am," Nanoha said, smiling gently as she lifted her daughter up to rest in the crook of her shoulder. "But I'll be back so quickly that you won't miss me."
"I will miss you, Mama." Vivio's eyes filled with tears. "You left last time, without telling me. And you came back home so late that I almost didn't see you at all."
Nanoha froze for a moment. Vivio was talking about the time in which she had almost died. If it hadn't been thanks to Oguba, she might not have come back at all.
My wish to Oguba. The binding of the contract. What did I wish for? How did he grant it? I wished for...I wished for...
"Vivio, Mama promised to you that she would stay with you," she said, wrapping the girl up in her embrace, smoothing down her sandy-blonde hair affectionately. "But sometimes there are people who want to hurt us. And if Mama lets them do that, then Mama won't be able to stay with you as much, Vivio." She closed her eyes painfully as she traced Vivio's hairline with her fingers. "Mama just needs to stop these people. She'll back to you in a flash before you know it, and then we can spend all our time together. Okay, Vivio?"
Her daughter looked up hopefully towards her, her face shining. "Fate-mama too?"
Nanoha kissed her on the forehead. "Yes, Fate-mama will always be here too. We both love you so much, Vivio..."
She knew that Vivio had an understanding of what she meant. Vivio wasn't any ordinary child – she had been in the fight against Scaglietti and the Numbers and knew what Nanoha and Fate had to do every day. And that meant, at the same time, that Vivio might also realise that it was the kind of scenario which some people didn't survive. Your friends could die as quickly as that.
Not that anything like that was going to happen, of course. Nanoha refused to allow that. It was one of the reason why she refused to let Caro and Shamal come along on this round, considering how badly damaged they had been by the most recent attack on the Bureau. Besides which, they were both more suited for healing magic.
Nothing bad's going to happen on the other side. Oguba has given us forewarning of the abilities of our enemies, and our main priority is to get Vita back safe and sound. Maybe Red Scorpion might have another trick up their sleeve, but we outnumber them. They're nothing that Riot Force 6 can't handle. In the end, they're just another group of criminal mages using magic only to benefit themselves and to harm others. We can't allow them to walk free.
Sometimes it ached to have people you love close to your heart, especially when you were fighting on the front line. Your enemies could use them against you, take them away from you...the thought of anyone taking Vivio away from her brought back unpleasant memories from the JS Incident, though they were thankfully short ones. The good thing was that they would not have to confront Red Scorpion in a place where innocent people's lives could be endangered. After Vita, Nanoha decided she would not be taking any more chances.
It felt strange for her to be put in charge of this operation. Nanoha's role in the TSAB, after all, was officially just a combat instructor. Before, the orders would come from the higher-ups above, from Carim, from Chrono and the generals on board The Claudia...at the very least, Hayate would have some authority upon the mission.
But now things were different. This talk of time travel was being kept restricted within the Bureau at lower-level, and all but ignored by officials of higher rank. Chrono had shown his scepticism before, but that was nothing to how the traditional patriarchal-types of Carim's Church would react if confronted with such information.
Which meant it was now up to them. And Nanoha, with Oguba in her hand, wielding a new power that defied belief; she was the one they looked up to for leadership right now. Perhaps part of the illusion was that the Bureau had started to crumble when she fell, and had gotten itself together when Nanoha recovered, but that had been nothing but a coincidence in her opinion.
Still, it had come as a pleasant surprise – if Hayate and the others wanted her to command the rescue mission, then so be it. Nanoha had already been thinking about the number of people they should take with them to rescue Vita. A small group of mages should be sufficient, of high calibre and formidable firepower.
They knew that Red Scorpion had at least four mages of their own. Hayate had argued that there could be much more – after all, what if there were a million of them on the other side? - but Oguba had testified against this. No, he said, or Red Scorpion would surely have sought to bind many more contracts with him. Three contracts alone meant that their numbers were still very low.
"Nanoha-san!"
She turned to see Subaru and Tiana waving at them as they approached from just a little further along the balcony. The two forwards had their arms linked together snugly, shoulders touching. Nanoha couldn't help noticing that the two of them were mysteriously wearing each other's shirts; either that or Subaru's sleeves had grown since she'd last seen her.
"We're going through the portal this evening, aren't we?" Subaru said excitedly. "And you're taking us too?"
"Of course you're both coming along," Nanoha said, taking Vivio off her arm and gently lowering her to the ground. Tiana knelt down to catch the little girl's hands in a high-five. "I'd be mad to leave out two of my best pupils, wouldn't I? Besides, Vita will be glad to see you two again."
"Or grumpy," Tiana remarked, and the other two laughed. "Hey," she said to Vivio, "don't worry about your Mama, okay? We won't be gone long."
"I'll try," the little girl mumbled, hugging onto her mother's leg in a clingy fashion.
"So is Erio coming too?" the sharpshooter asked with interest. "I heard he was really worried when Caro was hurt."
"It was pretty bad for her," Nanoha said sympathetically. "I'm impressed she could summon Voltaire in the state she was in. But yes, Erio will be coming with us. He says he wants to do it for Caro's sake."
Subaru grinned. "I can't believe this. We're actually going to go through time to another dimension! Is this - "
The smile died on her face when she saw Nanoha's stern expression, hand on her hip with a no-nonsense manner. Next to her, Tiana swallowed uneasily.
"You're excited about this?" Nanoha said softly. "That's wonderful. I'm glad you're full of spirit about advancing into enemy territory and rescuing Vita. Or is it that you're just thrilled at the idea of going through the time portal?" Her gaze softened as Subaru and Tiana averted their gazes to avoid hers and she pressed on. "Is this an adventure to you? A game? Because that's not what it is at all. Not when people die at the expense of others. Not when our opponents on the other side would not hesitate to kill us if they had the slightest chance. This isn't a game, you two. This isn't us embarking on a fantastic voyage to the great unknown. We're going through into a place that luckily Oguba has forewarned us about. And for that reason, it is all the more essential that we be on our guard once we're out there. Do the two of you understand?"
"Yes, Nanoha-san," the two forwards sighed, their heads bowed.
"Good." Nanoha relaxed, reaching down to pick up Vivio again. "Because we can't go out there thinking it's all flowers and roses and then be up against - "
She stopped dead when she saw Vivio's face. Her daughter looked like she was about to cry.
"V-Vivio?" she stammered. "Are you all right? Did Nanoha-mama say something wro - "
She caught Subaru and Tiana looking at her sympathetically and it hit her.
Uh-oh. Maybe I shouldn't have...maybe I shouldn't have talked like that in front of Vivio. I was talking about people dying when we go through the portal. Yes, I definitely should not have talked like that in front of Vivio.
"Vivio, I didn't mean it like that!" she said hastily, wrapping the girl up in her arms protectively as she wiped her eyes with a quickly-drawn tissue. "It's okay, Vivio! Mama's not going to go away like that, I promise!"
Fate was right. I really haven't been spending enough time around Vivio. It's true I can be a bit strict sometimes but if I only spent more time with her then I'd know to act a bit more considerate when she's -
"Vivio, don't cry!" she said desperately. "I promise it'll be okay! I'll go home early today and cook you dinner before evening. Your favourite food. And we'll eat it with Fate-mama, okay? Would you like that, Vivio?"
People everywhere were turning to stare at her, but that wasn't what bothered Nanoha right now. Her daughter was hurt, and it was her fault.
"Nanoha, you're so hopeless," came a familiar voice from behind her.
Startled, she half-turned as Fate took Vivio out of her arms, lifting her up just underneath her arms to rest on her shoulders. Helplessly Nanoha watched as Fate whispered soft words of reassurance and consolation to Vivio, hugging her around the waist and slowly dissipating the loneliness and sadness welling up within their daughter. Slowly but surely, Vivio began to stop crying, holding onto Fate with one hand.
I'm a bad mother, Nanoha thought in despair. I can't even comfort my own child properly?
"You're not a bad mother," said Hayate, walking up to stand beside Fate with that quirky smile of hers. It was if she'd read the words in Nanoha's mind. "You're just not a very available one."
Nanoha's heart sank. The words didn't make her feel any better. On a day that she was forced to leave Vivio behind, even for a moment, and something like this would drive her daughter even further away from her -
"Mama," Vivio said pleadingly.
She caught her breath, realising that Vivio was no longer clinging fiercely to Fate. She was calling to her other mother, reaching out for her. Quickly, Nanoha knelt down to squeeze Vivio's hand, so that their daughter was between both of them. With both her parents by her side, Vivio seemed to be more content, although she was clearly still annoyed at Nanoha.
"I'm sorry I made you cry, Vivio," Nanoha said quietly. "I meant what I said. After today, I'm going to spend a lot more time with you."
The little girl nodded. "I know. Because you promised." She tugged at the sleeve of her other parent. "Fate-mama, Nanoha-mama said she'll cook dinner tonight."
"She did?" Fate raised an eyebrow as Nanoha's cheeks flushed a slight pink. "That's very good of her to offer." She smiled knowingly. "And is it going to be your favourite food, Vivio?"
"Yes!" Vivio beamed.
"But Nanoha-mama isn't very good at making it, is she? She burnt it last time, remember?"
Vivio's face fell, and her mouth half-opened as if she wanted to say something else. Helpfully, Fate bent down to whisper into her ear, but loud enough for everyone else to hear.
"Do you want me to help her with it?"
Their daughter brightened up again. "Yes, Fate-mama," she said proudly.
Nanoha thought she would faint from all the pressure. This was too much. Making Vivio upset, trying to comfort her, failing, having Fate rush in just in time, then doing a joint effort with Fate to console Vivio again...
"Hayate?" she asked. "How long have you been standing there?"
The leader of Riot Force 6 whistled innocently. "Oh...not long."
"How long?"
Hayate shrugged. "Five minutes. Maybe ten. Fifteen." She looked up to the sky where the sun shone down upon them. "Don't you think it's such a beautiful day to- "
"If you've been standing here that long," Nanoha persisted, lowering her voice so that Vivio couldn't hear, "then you've been watching me struggle with Vivio?"
The short-haired mage looked around in every other direction. "Maybe."
"And Fate just happens to turn up at that exact moment?" Nanoha said, folding her arms.
Hayate sighed. "You looked like you needed some help." She bent close and whispered conspiratorially, "Word of advice, Great Mother Nanoha: don't talk to Vivio about death. You really need to spend more time with her."
"I am going to!" Nanoha said frustratedly. "I promised, didn't I? I already promised. And - "
Wait. That was my wish to Oguba, wasn't it? My promise that I made to Vivio. Before we were attacked. Before Oguba appeared. I came home late again for the last time. I promised Vivio that I would never come home late again and would spend more time with her. And I asked Oguba to allow me to fulfil that promise. That was the reason why I lived and didn't die.
"Anyway," Hayate went on, a knowing smile coming across her lips, "that's not the whole reason I called Fate over here. You see, Fate has something to tell you."
Fate nodded absent-mindedly with a faraway look in her eyes. Then the impact of what Hayate had just said seemed to strike home, and her face went all panicky in an instant.
"W-what?" she said, wide-eyed. "Now?"
"Yes, now." Hayate rolled her eyes with a mixture of exasperation and adoration at how Fate was acting. "If you don't ask Nanoha now, you might not get another chance."
"I'm sorry?" Nanoha said curiously. "Ask me what?" Was this what Fate had been about to say to her yesterday before the meeting?
Fate smiled awkwardly and started to push herself away from the rest of them. "It's fine. I can't exactly ask at a time like this. I'll ask later when - "
Impatiently, Hayate pushed her back towards Nanoha. The blonde mage stumbled forward and stepped on someone's toes.
"Ow!"
"I'm sorry, Subaru, I didn't see your foot there...Hayate, you pushed me right onto Subaru's foot. That just wasn't very nice."
"Will you stop changing the subject?" the short-haired mage said. "You've been wanting to ask Nanoha all week and you're going to put if off again?"
"Ask me what?" Nanoha burst out, unable to stand it anymore. "Fate, what did you want to ask me? You can ask me anything!"
Fate looked around nervously, catching Hayate's side-glance of resignation to whatever happened next, from the confusion on Nanoha's face, to Vivio's smiling curiousity, to where Subaru was hopping from her sore foot. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth – and then appeared to change her mind.
"I'll ask you somewhere more private," she said at last.
Nanoha felt really lost. "But with all the preparations to move out through the time portal, there isn't anywhere private. It's going to be really busy and I was going to talk to Mariel about Raging Heart as well."
"I'll ask you somewhere in private," Fate said again, growing tense. "On a private part of this corridor."
"This is a very public corridor," Hayate pointed out. "Oh Fate, just tell her. It's the best time."
"It isn't. It never is the best time. I..." Fate shut her eyes and turned away for a moment, then quickly turned back again when she saw Vivio looking up at her. "I'm sorry. It's awkward now."
Nanoha shook her head and took her hands in hers softly. "Don't worry about that," she said quietly. "If there's something you need to ask me, Fate, ask me it right now. Hayate's right – we might not get the time later. Don't worry about everyone here. They're all our friends, remember? But..." She hesitated as she saw the mix of conflicting emotions in the blonde mage's eyes. It could be something really important that she could entrust to no one else. Maybe there's a really good reason not to say it out loud with so many people here. "Fate, if you really need a moment alone with me right now, then I can just - "
"No," her lover said suddenly, hardening her resolve and lifting her head up high again. "That doesn't matter. If I wait until we're alone, then I'll have waited too long. I can ask you right now in front of everyone."
Nanoha smiled. "Okay, whatever makes you more comfortable. So what did you want to..."
Without another word, Fate took a small square box out of her pocket, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, her lips trembling every so slightly. She thrust her hand forward and presented the box to Nanoha with hope shining in her eyes.
"Please open it," she whispered. "It's a present from me to you."
For a moment, Nanoha just looked at her in a mixture of gratitude and acceptance. It was a look which said, You don't need to give anything to me. You don't need to give me gifts or presents. There isn't anything which you could give me which is a greater gift than being by my side with Vivio. Besides which, she had never known Fate to get so worked up over a simple present before...
Even so, Nanoha felt a peculiar feeling rush over her as she reached over to open the box. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, increased her heart rate ever so faintly and choked her with excitement for just a moment...
She undid the clasps and opened the box to reveal – a beautiful, intricately-carved ring, set in the middle of the velvet-covered interior. The ring was embedded with a triad of three crimson gems, intertwined with a second triad of three yellow triangular-shaped gems, to merge into an infinite circle. Red gems and yellow gems. Raging Heart and Bardiche.
"F-Fate...?" Nanoha almost couldn't bring herself to speak. There...there was only one reason why Fate would give her a ring like this...
Unexpectedly, the blonde mage drew herself up and cleared her throat.
"Mariel helped craft it for me," the Enforcer said brightly. "When you wear it, a moderate amount of your magical power will be stored away as a reserve and be amplified by five times. You can use it as an emergency if you somehow run out of power. I've got the matching pair, too."
Wait. This ring is...really just an innocent gift to help me in battle? That's really all it is? It's got nothing to do with Fate wanting to...
"Thank you, Fate..." Nanoha couldn't quite hide the disappointment on her face. She swallowed, her heart plummeting. For a moment there she had really thought that had Fate had intended to...well, it didn't matter anymore now. She had to remember that Fate saw things from a different view, after all. "It's beautiful," she managed. "It really is. For a second there I actually thought that you were going to use the ring to propo- "
The words caught in her throat and dissipated when she saw what Fate was doing.
With a soft unspoken smile, the blonde mage had gracefully lowered herself onto one knee in front of Nanoha, her eyes closed with a faint glimmer of dampness caged between. She raised her chin up in this position and lifted her hand to take Nanoha's, opening her eyes up to gaze directly into hers.
Red and blue pupils met each other in a single moment, neither able to look away. The empty box fell from Nanoha's hands with a crash.
"Nanoha," Fate said with deep emotion, interlocking their fingers together. "Will you marry me?"
It was the first time in her life that five simple words had brought her to tears so easily.
The lights had dimmed in the TSA Engineering Division by sundown, and the laboratories had closed early to lend their support to the other squads of the Bureau. The cabinets were all sealed shut with the products of hundreds of experimental devices kept safe and secure within their doors, and the place was now all but deserted.
Deserted, that is, save for one single technician seated at the central laboratory table. There were two gems laid out in front of her – one circular and orb-like, one shaped like a diamond, and both instantly familiar to any member of the Time-Space Administration Bureau in recent years.
Mariel looked up as the automatic doors of the laboratory entrance slid open, and a tall blue-eyed mage with her brown hair stretching down in a single ponytail to her waist burst in breathlessly. She leaned over on the edge of the table, her eyes slightly red as she struggled to get her breath out.
"Nanoha-san?" Mariel asked worriedly, quickly rising to her feet. "Are you quite all right?"
Nanoha raised a hand as she panted, holding on to the table and breathing hard. "I'm fine, Mariel," she managed after a few more seconds of this. "I just ran down four flights of staircases. I know I've been keeping you, but today has just been so busy with one thing after another..."
And Fate's proposal to her had come smackbang on top of that list of things. Asking for her hand in marriage in front of everyone, including Vivio...Nanoha had scarcely been able to get the words out on the spot...
"I didn't mind waiting a bit longer," Mariel said, readjusting her glasses. Nanoha's lack of composure and red-rimmed eyes concerned her, but now wasn't the time to ask her about such things. The scientist in her was already gesturing towards the two jewels on the table, taking in their beauty and complexity, their power...she needed to tell Nanoha the details and get it over with. After all, there wasn't a lot of science involved that she could help with here.
"I'll get to the point," the researcher said. "You came here to receive the upgraded version of Raging Heart?"
Nanoha took a step forward and touched the first orb-like jewel on the table. It felt cold to the touch, but there was no doubt in her mind as to what and who it was.
"Raging Heart?" she whispered.
There was no reply.
"Initially, when you were brought back to us unconscious," Mariel explained, "Raging Heart was completely unresponsive. When I tried to perform a maintenance check on it, I received a string of error messages which demanded that parts of the Lost Logia Oguba – they had to have been components of Oguba, because no other materials would make such reference to time travel and displacement itself – be installed to its program. In other words, Raging Heart requested that it receive an upgrade from Oguba's parts itself. You remember during the Book of Darkness incident – when Raging Heart was first fitted with Velka-type instalments – a similar situation was repeated." She sighed. "I felt sure that once I had upgraded Raging Heart with Oguba's components as best as I could, then the device would be back to normal. Sadly, however..."
Nanoha closed her hand around the red gem-like device, her mind racing. If Raging Heart really was unresponsive – as in, it really wasn't working – then she would be helpless in battle. She wouldn't be able to transform, wield a weapon, initialise any of her attacks...
She refused to let this bring her down now. The rescue party was already set up and ready to leave. She was leaving in less than an hour with everyone.
"Oguba?" she said.
Instantly, Raging Heart soared to life, becoming warm within her palm. A mechanical vibrating surged through her hand and shafts of light struck out in all directions, escaping to curl around harmlessly through the air. Concealed within, the same foreign blue writing began to paint itself again and again over the device.
"I am ready to serve you, Takamachi Nanoha," the voice of Raging Heart said out loud.
She relaxed and let her hand drop, releasing the orb into her inner pocket. It was going to be all right. Not exactly what she'd hoped for, but you had to do the best in the circumstances.
"What happened to Oguba's physical form?" she asked. The form of the Lost Logia herself, received into her possession through the dream-like world she had experienced.
Wordlessly, Mariel gestured to the second jewel on the table. A diamond-shaped glimmer of blue, fading into black...
"That's a Jewel Seed!" Nanoha exclaimed.
Mariel nodded. "Yuuno-kun did mention to us before how Oguba started out as a Jewel Seed before it was corrupted and was able to gain power and even a mind of its own. I went through all of Raging Heart's requests – and each and every one of Oguba's components was transferred into it. Now this is all that is left. But don't worry," she added quickly, "it can't hurt anyone. It's devoid of energy or magic at all. Everything's been sucked out of it. It's just a dead Jewel Seed, a useless chunk of matter." Her eyes narrowed curiously. "But maybe I could run tests on whether you could pour energy back into it...I wonder if it would work..."
"I think I see what's happened here," Nanoha said, interjecting before the scientist became lost in her own academic fascinations. "Oguba's entire self has been poured into Raging Heart. I guess it would have to be that way – Oguba probably wouldn't be able to function without all of its parts. But that means Raging Heart itself can't respond."
"I was able to try and study Oguba a little bit for you," Mariel said. "It's a mystery to all of us here, of course – but I could still make my estimates with Yuuno-kun's invaluable help. My theory is that...regarding this "contract" that Oguba has made with you...Raging Heart has also been involved. I feel that the device you hold now will function as a combination of the powers of Oguba and Raging Heart. Once the contract is fully completed, Oguba will depart your device – and Raging Heart will re-activate and be back to normal once more. Of course, you will lose the upgrade by then."
That makes sense. After all, Raging Heart has always been a part of me. But it still disturbs me that Oguba has to take possession like this. It still feels as if Raging Heart isn't back with me yet. It's just a stranger speaking in their voice.
"As for technicalities and extra abilities and effects," Mariel continued, "I'm afraid I cannot be of much help. I am quite confident, however, that your newly upgraded device will indeed allow you to open up time portals for a limited time, as Oguba claimed. The mandatory conditions required are all in place. I also have reason to believe, Nanoha-san, that you will be well-protected from any Time-based attacks from Red Scorpion – perhaps even immune to. But I cannot tell you how to use these abilities. I spoke to Oguba for some time, and he assured me that he would help you in the matter and speak to you directly when the time came."
Vague as ever, Nanoha thought. Maybe he will. Maybe I'll walk right into the middle of Red Scorpion without a clue and suddenly Oguba's powers will come rushing into my head all of a sudden and I'll suddenly know how to reverse everything that's happened.
On the other hand, maybe not. This was not a time to be naïve and hopeful of the future. She had to be sure of what she held in her hands. She trusted in Oguba, but until he was actually able to open the time portal for her...Nanoha still had her doubts about what else he could supposedly do.
"Thanks for your help, Mariel," she said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She didn't have time to be weary or exhausted. Not when she was about to lead a team of mages into enemy territory. She resolved to get at least some rest before they went out there. "Thank you for everything you've done. I need to stay here for a while longer, so don't worry about using up any more of your time here. I'll lock up after you."
Mariel's brushed a lock of her green hair aside, looking for a moment as if she wanted to say something. Like some quiet words of consolation, to alleviate all the stress and pain that Nanoha was surely going through or...no. There were people who could say those things to Nanoha far better than she. She just had to do her own part. That was the best she could do.
"Take care out there, Nanoha-san," she said numbly, slipping out through the doors of the laboratory.
Nanoha waited until the sound of the researcher's footsteps had faded away competely, listening to the silence within the lab room. At last, she turned her back to the doors and pressed her knuckles onto the table, her eyes looking down at her feet. It hurt to think. What she had to do know more than anything was -
"Are you done yet?" Fate said pleasantly, walking into the room like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Nanoha made a spluttering sound and instinctively reached for the nearest object to bury her face in. It was a cleansing towel. She choked into it for a moment and then threw it off the table.
"Fate, how long have you been standing there?"
"Me?" The blonde mage pointed at herself questioningly with an air of innocence. "I only just came in now."
Nanoha raised an eyebrow in mild disbelief.
"I did," Fate protested. "I was just walking down the stairs, and Mariel rushed past, and the only thing I said to her was, "Do you know where Nanoha is? It's very important that I find her and find out if she still wants to marry me - " "
"You mean..." The combat instructor took herself away from the table and where Fate was standing against the cabinets. "You mean you didn't know? You didn't hear my answer?"
"I heard some of your answer," the Enforcer mused thoughtfully. "It's just...you weren't very coherent, and you weren't there very long."
Nanoha sighed, wrapping her arms around the other woman's neck. "I'm sorry, Fate. I just didn't know how to react." Especially when being asked in front of a corridor full of people. But she wasn't about to bring that up now, when she had been the one who'd pressed Fate into asking her right there and then. "I guess it's better if I gave you a proper answer that you deserved once we were alone, like we are now."
"I'd like that too," said Fate, smiling as she reached to bring her lover closer. "So, tell me, Nanoha? Will you marry me?"
She seemed so much more confident and at ease with herself than earlier on. It was if she didn't seem afraid of what would happen if she was refused. Her eyes were shining as she looked at Nanoha, waiting for her answer, knowing that really it wouldn't matter if her lover said no after all. Because in the end, Nanoha thought, if I say no, what does it mean for us? We're still going to live together with Vivio. All it will mean is that nothing will have changed. That's all. We'll just live out lives as normal.
But I could never say no to this. Even if Fate hadn't given me this beautiful ring, even if we hadn't adopted Vivio as our daughter, even if we hadn't ended up where e are today...I feel as if the result would still be the same. I'm in love with her, to the point that I wanted to marry her. I could never say no to this.
"Yes," she whispered, and pressed her lips against Fate's, slipping her tongue inside her mouth to taste her as she pressed her hips with the rest of her body to push her partner against the medical cabinet. She felt Fate kissing her back, eyes half-closing in ecstasy and combing down the back of her neck to hold her tighter, closer, right next to the warmth of her heart. "My answer is yes."
Part of her in the back of her mind tried to remind Nanoha that right now wasn't the time for this, that the others were going to be assembling within the hour and would be expecting her to be there. Tiredness wasn't a problem anymore; she felt like her weariness had been erased in moments. Nevertheless, she had to be professional about this. Hesitantly, with Fate's scent in her hair and her lips against her skin, Nanoha started to pull away.
Then she felt Fate's mouth move down to her neck, teeth pulling gently at her skin where her pulse beat hot and fast just underneath. Her body responded in kind as she moaned and ran her own hand down underneath Fate's collar, feeling the buttons give way as she traced her fingers down the blonde woman's bare right shoulder. She dug down, brushing against her clothes whilst trying in vain to ignore the tongue on her neck. It was pretty difficult; Fate knew where her sensitive spot was.
In the next moment Fate had risen to kiss her again and pushed gently forward until Nanoha found herself pinned against the edge of the laboratory table behind her. She knew Fate could be dominant when she really wanted to be, but each time it always caught her by surprise. It didn't mean she didn't enjoy it, though, and Nanoha had to struggle to catch her breath when she felt the buttons of her own uniform give way underneath her lover's touch, brushing against her breasts and feeling down towards the breadth of her hips -
"W-what are you doing?" she murmured, feeling long fingers slip against the wetness between her thighs.
Fate pulled her down all the way onto the table, her skirt slipping free.
"Celebrating our engagement," she whispered, moving forward on top of her hungrily. "Whilst we still can."
Nanoha let a small gasp rise from her throat in the next second, holding Fate's head between her legs, throwing her head back in a multitude of pants and moans as her lover began to pleasure her. She gripped the side of the metal table hard, some part of her thinking that someone would see them doing this, but remembering at the same time that the lights were all out and the place was deserted. This was no way to act just before going on a mission...she had to be more...sensible...
It was too late for that now. Her mind had gone blank and she helplessly let Fate drag her down to the floor, feeling against her soft skin and lips to make love to her at her heart's desire...
Signum stood silently where she had remained for the last day and a half, in the middle of the clearing where Srethis and Ungore had taken Vita away with them through the time portal. She had barely moved from her position, her hands gripping Laevatein in its fully unsheathed form where the blade pointed down into the ground. Her eyes were closed, and her body rocked back and forth slightly on the heels of her boots as she continued to stand guard.
"I have grown a decade older waiting for you," she said, and opened her eyes suddenly, expecting to see Nanoha, Fate and Hayate standing in front of her apologetically.
Signum frowned distastefully. The sight of Subaru, Tiana and Erio was not one which filled her great motivation and determination. She respected their individual powers and abilities, but it wasn't as if any of them was going to suddenly become immensely talented in opening up time portals on the spot. The bearer of Oguba was what they needed right now: Nanoha.
"Signum-san," Erio said sympathetically, "have you been standing guard all this time?"
The Velka Knight refrained from mentioning that doing so actually wasn't that much of a strain on her body in the long-term. Drawing energy from her device and using it to increase her own endurance was a technique she had to rely on before in the past, even for survival. It was true it tired her out to a significant extent, but she did not mind doing so for Vita's sake. In truth, though, it had probably not been necessary.
"Please tell me there are more of you than this," she said. "We cannot possibly expect to rescue Vita with a group of this number."
"We're waiting for Nanoha-san and Fate-san," Subaru said quickly.
Signum nodded slowly. "And the other Velka Knights? Shamal and Zafira? Is Caro going to come along too?"
"Caro's in hospital," Erio said sadly. "Shamal is injured too, so she's staying behind to help with the restorative process with the other squads."
"I see." Signum cast a lazy eye towards the upper floors of the nearby ruin of the hospital. "So the rest of the team is just us. I think I will need to have a word with Hayate about why we aren't bringing along more people. Vita's fate relies on us." She looked towards the three forwards in front of her. As one of the tallest mages in all of the Bureau, she almost towered above them, but never as an expression of deliberate intimidation. "I missed the meeting, but do you all know what we're up against, Subaru-san, Tiana-san, Erio-san? Are you all prepared?"
The three young forwards nodded determinedly as one.
"I'll get them for what they did to Caro," Erio said fiercely.
"I've fought Grylmark twice before now," said Tiana, eyes burning bright. "No more tricks from him now."
Subaru balled one hand into a fist and punched it into the palm of her hand. "We're going to get Vita back, Signum-san. You can count on us!"
I wish I could, the red-haired Guardian Knight thought inwardly. But until we lost Vita, I thought I could count on myself as well. I failed against our enemies and I lost one of my closest friends in the world. If I can't get Vita back today, or it turns out that she is already lost to us, then I will know that I truly cannot trust in my own skills. And if I cannot count on myself...who can I count on?
She looked up sharply as Hayate appeared up ahead of the clearing, walking briskly towards them. She was cradling Vivio in her hands, and a little further behind her were Nanoha and Fate, chatting excitedly to each other. Their faces were somewhat flushed, but the stress and pain that had been apparent in Nanoha's eyes recently had dissipated. Signum wondered for a moment what might have happened, but then pushed the thought away. The most important thing for them now was what lay before them now.
"I'm sorry we're late," Nanoha said, her arm wrapped closely around Fate's. She didn't even seem to notice she was doing it. "We just had a bit of business to finish off upstairs. We're ready to go now."
The look Hayate was giving to her as she said this was truly ludicrous, as if she was trying to stop herself from laughing. With a shrug, the short-haired mage gently lowered Vivio down on to the ground. The little girl ran over to her parents at the first opportunity, speaking to them quietly in a low voice as they reached down to hug her.
"Hayate-san," Signum said, drawing herself up, "I feel greatly relieved that you are accompanying us through the portal. With your powers and abilities, success for us is guaranteed and nothing will be able to stop us. We will go through, bring Vita back, and arrest the perpetrators once and for all."
The leader of Riot Force 6 smiled awkwardly. "I'm glad you have such faith in me, Signum, but I'm not going with you. I have to stay behind, here with the TSAB."
The Velka Knight stared at her for a moment, as if not sure she had heard right.
"With respect, Hayate-san," Signum said with some difficulty, "there is no reason for you to stay behind. We need you with us on the other side to take Vita back from our enemies. Nanoha-san has told us to trust in Oguba, but I have my suspicions like many others, and if something goes wrong - "
"Signum, I would join you if I could," Hayate said with all seriousness. "But there is good reason for me to stay behind. Nanoha and Fate will need someone to take care of Vivio whilst they are gone."
"That person doesn't have to be you," Signum pointed out. "Others in the Bureau are more than capable of such a task."
"Someone also has to keep the Bureau running over here. That person is me. In my absence, Chrono might start taking actions that I may not approve of, though I know he has the best interests of the Bureau at heart."
The Velka Knight refused to be convinced. "That still doesn't mean you have to stay behind, Hayate-san. If you can't give me one concrete reason why you can't come with us, I'm not stepping through that portal."
Hayate paused for a moment. "All right. Srethis is able to impersonate me. If I don't come along, then you won't be deceived. Red Scorpion has been targeting me deliberately, especially in their first attack. It would not be a good idea for me to come along, Signum." She didn't miss the disappointment in the Velka Knight's eyes, but there was nothing she could do about it. "I'm sorry, but that's the way it's going to be."
Signum shut her eyes painfully for a moment. It was clear that she didn't like it. "Fine. And Agito? I would value having her fight alongside me."
"I sent Rein to look for her. Nobody's seen her in weeks. She's not going to reappear anytime soon, Signum." Hayate hugged the older woman around the waist, lending her as much comfort as she could. "I'm sorry," she said again. "Don't let it get to you, Signum. Nanoha and Fate will be with you. And the forwards are formidable in battle."
"I know that. I also know that Ungore almost beat me, Vita and Shamal single-handedly. We need more firepower, Hayate-san. We need more people."
"The portal can't transport too many people at the same time, Signum," Hayate said, hugging her tighter. "And it can't stay open for long. This is the best we can do. Everyone else we have is injured by the attacks from Red Scorpion. I could send through a squadron of low-level soldiers to support you – but they would be picked off by our enemies in seconds. Wasting lives like that is not why we're here. Signum, it'll be all right. Vita's waiting for you on the other side. You'll see."
She released her quickly and took a step back as Nanoha and Fate walked forward next to everyone. Hayate watched Signum turn away from her regretfully – she hadn't interacted with her Guardian Knights very much at all recently. And now that time was slipping away from them. First Vita was gone. If Signum went too, then this could be the last time that they spoke...no wonder Signum had wanted her to come. It wasn't just because of her abilities.
Vivio stood in front of her, watching and waving at her mothers. Hayate nodded, understanding as she wrapped her arms around the small child protectively; Nanoha and Fate must have had quite a conversation with her. Vivio understood what was going on. If all went as planned, then it would be as if nobody had ever left. No time passed within the portal.
Nanoha's eyes became serious as she turned towards the others, taking Raging Heart out of her inner pocket. Or, to be more accurate, Raging Heart with Oguba combined inside of it.
"We don't know what's on the other side, but we need to be prepared," she said. "Let's all transform now."
Fate, Signum and the rest of the forwards nodded as one, and the sounds of mage devices filled the air.
"Mach Calibre, Set Up!"
"Cross Mirage, Set Up!"
"Strada! Set Up!"
"Bardiche," Fate murmured, "Set Up. Lightning Form."
Nanoha held Raging Heart out in front of her, her arm outstretched, holding it up to the light. What if Raging Heart still refused to respond? What if this didn't work? No. Like she had said before, she refused to let that happen. But even so, she felt her resolve shift just a little.
She heard Oguba's voice in her mind then. "Do not fear," he said. "This is not Raging Heart anymore, not whilst I remain within this device. Do not attempt to summon Raging Heart's powers. I will speak into your mind now. Speak thus my words, and brave the world with my presence."
And she felt the words penetrate deep into her mind, rushing out of her mouth before she could even think to form the words. Words which were alien and foreign to her. Some which she could not even think to pronounce. It was as if they rushed out of her in a great stream of syllables, and with each word, she felt Raging Heart blaze brighter still, beginning to transform...
Her eyes were filled with the everburning light which shot out from the device in her hand, as she continued chanting numbingly, feeling that something was definitely wrong here, that no Lost Logia would act in the way that Oguba was right now, that the portal would not open...
She didn't even feel her body turn around and chant at the top of her voice, inaudible beneath the shrieking of the wind which accompanied the transformation. Raging Heart Excelion was clutched in her left hand, fully transformed and functioning, but at the same it wasn't the Raging Heart she knew...dark blue symbols raced across its entire length, crackling as the air sifted through it, a dark mist sweeping from its end at anything that came too close...
The roaring of the wind grew deafening as the portal before here opened wide. It stretched open wider and wider until it was no longer a simple doorway but a chasm, a giant set of jaws reaching in to ensnare its prey and devour them whole. Time rushed through in a whirling vortex, beckoning to Nanoha and her friends as they were pulled towards the yawning portal, drowning out Vivio's calls for help and Fate's cries towards Nanoha to find out just what had gone wrong.
And then her eyes snapped open, and the howling stopped, and all six mages were sucked into the time portal as one. The blackness was shut away as the portal closed after them in an instant, and all that could be heard in the clearing then was silence.
A/N: I thought about making the love scene more explicit, but then again this isn't M-rated. But I don't know, maybe people might want it to go further.
The NanoFate engagement scene took ages to build up but hopefully Fate wasn't too OOC in the laboratory (like she acted a bit different than usual) but yeah. This chapter took longer than I thought, I realised I hadn't put enough interaction with Vivio either so I wrote a bit about her as well.