AN: Another one shot for y'all. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and its characters do not belong to me.

The sky had been dark and cloudy the whole day, accompanied by rain, thunder and lightning, as if it was foretelling that something will happen today. It was only eight o'clock in the evening, but the streets were unusually quiet. This wasn't the best weather to have any outdoor activity and no one wanted to risk getting sick by walking in the downpour.

No one, except Fate Testarossa.

Fate wandered on the street with her faithful companion Arf, not knowing where to go after they left their house and what to do after that. They walked in silence for an hour or so, preferring not to discourage themselves with these questions. Fate understood that there will be no turning back when she walked out on her mother and Arf, being the loyal friend, knew that she will stick with Fate no matter what. They cannot and will not turn back now. Not now, not ever.

Looking at the sky, Fate idly wondered when the downpour would cease and where could she and Arf get a shelter from the rain in the mean time. They had no friends in or out town, as a matter of fact, they don't really have any friends at all. Arf was the only friend Fate had ever had, and yet, the precise relationship which bonded them was actually that of a master and her familiar. Remembering this, Fate suddenly felt guilty towards Arf. A master should provide the necessities for her familiar and ensure its welfare but she had denied Arf of all these things when she left her mother. She knew that she would be facing a hard life after she leaving, but she forgot that she would be subjecting Arf to the same difficult life. Perhaps Arf wouldn't have suffered if she had another mage as her master. Just thinking about that made Fate depressed. Would Arf leave her after she realise what they were getting into?

As if sensing Fate's distress, Arf broke the silence, asking her master if she had anywhere in particular that she would like to go. Fate did not answer her. Instead, she led her familiar to a telephone booth where they could temporarily be sheltered from the rain.

"Fate, are you okay? You're totally soaked. We really should have grabbed an umbrella before leaving huh?" Arf grinned. In contrast to Fate's solemn and grave expression, Arf seemed to be very happy about all that had happened.

"I guess I was too distracted to notice the rain."

"Yeah, me too. I was really surprised when you and Precia started to raise your voices."

"I am surprised myself. I never thought I would shout at her. Not even after… you know."

"Maybe it's stress. Or maybe you just got enough of her pushing you around." Arf's grin got wider. "Anyway, I'm just happy that you decided to leave. You really should have done that like years ago."

"You're happy that I left?" Fate was confused. "But… look at us now. If I haven't left we would at least still have food and shelter, not being drenched and left starving on the streets. We don't have any money now, no place to go, nothing to do and you're happy about it?"

"Fate, you know what I always said to you. Anything is better than staying around the house and being pushed around by your supposed mother." Arf paused. She knew what she was about to ask was a sensitive question, but still she needed to know what Fate think. "Fate… now that you know everything, do you still think of Precia as your mother?"

There was a long pause before Fate answered. "I don't know. She said not to call her that. I knew that she didn't like me, but I always thought that it was because I did something wrong. I never thought that it would be because… because I wasn't… her real daughter. I'm just a clone. It's really… shocking."

"Fate…"

"Don't worry, Arf. At least I know the truth now." Fate smiled, albeit bitterly. If she hadn't seen the girl in the glass jar, Precia Testarossa would never tell her anything and she would remain her blind loyalty to her mother, to be more precise, creator, until the day Precia's real daughter Alicia was resurrected. Then Fate, the useless clone, would be cast aside.

If she hadn't found out the truth… if she hadn't accidentally stumbled into a passageway in Precia's room…

Fate was amazed that she had never seen this place before. She thought that she knew the house so well, having living in the house for almost ten years after she and her mother left the Garden of Time, and yet, standing in the dimly-lighted and cool hallway, Fate just realised that perhaps she did not know the house as well as she thought. Judging from the length of the pathway, Fate gathered that this space must have been created through her mother's magic.

But why? Why did Precia need a secret room behind her bookshelf?

As she reached the end of the pathway, Fate could see bright and coloured lights flashing in the spacious area. Different types of machineries and magical articles were arranged in a rectangular border around the room and wooden tables holding test tubes and chemicals were arranged in a circular order, encircling a big glass jar in the centre of the secret room.

A big glass jar fused with hundreds of different wires.

A big jar filled with yellowish plasma.

A big jar with a sleeping young girl inside.

A young girl who looked exactly identical to a nine-year-old Fate.

Fate was, needless to say, shocked. She had no idea where she was, who the young girl in the glass jar was and why were they so identical in appearance. She wanted to know who the girl is and what was she doing in the room but she couldn't decide what she should do.

"My, I was just wondering who would have wandered into here. I must have been careless to leave the passageway open. But I remember telling you not to enter my room without my permission. I never thought that you would be the disobedient and curious type, Fate." A figure stepped out from the shadows of the large machines. A figure filled with malice.

"I went to your room because I had some questions about the book I was reading yesterday. You didn't answer when I knocked but I thought you were inside so I came in. I'm really sorry, mother."

As if hearing an insult, Precia screamed. "Don't call me mother! No… Not in front of Alicia! Alicia, my precious daughter…" Precia glared at Fate before turning to the girl in the glass jar. "My Alicia."

"Alicia? Mother…" Fate was cruelly cut off by a strike from the long whip which suddenly appeared in Precia's hands.

"You worthless scum! You are not my daughter! I have only Alicia."

"But…" Fate was taken off guard. This was not the first time Precia hit her, but Precia had always hang her up before beating her so she had time to prepare for what to come. This was too sudden for Fate to comprehend.

"You're just a clone, Fate, a useless clone of my dear Alicia. Now that the Jewel Seeds collection is almost complete, I don't need you anymore. Alicia will return to me soon and you… can be gone."

"I am… just a clone?" Fate's mind could not process the sudden detail given to her. If she was shocked to find out about the secret passageway in her mother's room, she was even more shocked now.

"My poor Alicia…she was so young. There must be a way for her to live. I preserved her body, hoping that she'll return to me someday. I finally found a way in an ancient spell book. If I could open the path to Al-Hazard Alicia could be resurrected! But to do that I'll need to collect all the Jewel Seeds… and why bother going through all the dangers and troubles of collecting them myself when I can get a worthless clone to do it?" Precia's maniacal laughter echoed throughout the space.

Fate was speechless.

"Now that you know everything, get up and keep on looking for the remaining Jewel Seeds!" Precia screamed at Fate before murmuring to herself. "Just a few more, Alicia, a few more Jewel Seeds and you will return to me soon. Then I can get rid of the useless clone."

"Well, you're not the only one who's shocked. I am too. But at least now you're free from her. And I am happy for you, Fate, I really am." Arf smiled. "Sure, things might be a bit difficult for us now, but as I always said, anything is better than suffering for that woman!"

"But Arf… what are we going to do?" Fate was lost. Her magic was not strong enough to create an alternate space for them to live in and they couldn't really move to another planet. After years of obtaining Jewel Seeds illegally from many different planets, Fate wasn't surprised to know that she was on top of their Wanted list. But there's no way they could survive in this rain and hunger either. She really should have taken some money or food along with her when she left. Guess her mind was just too… occupied to even remember that.

Precia had never treated Fate nicely, but after she told Fate the truth, she did not even bother to hide her true nature anymore. She denied Fate proper food and care before the last Jewel Seed was found. When the Jewel Seeds failed to open the path to Al-Hazard and almost destroyed Alicia's body, Precia became mad. If she had been slightly abnormal before, she was now completely insane. She kept Alicia's body in her room while she rummaged through tonnes of spell book, believing that there must be another way to resurrect her beloved daughter.

Then she found it. Another way to Al-Hazard. This time, instead of the Jewel Seeds, a Relic was needed to open the pathway. An ancient Relic which had been rumoured to disappear mysteriously thousands of years ago.

As usual, Fate was sent to look for the Relic. When she still couldn't find it after months of searching, the beatings became even harder to bear until Fate finally snapped.

Fate was treated like a slave by the person whom she had always thought as her mother, and she simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Mother, I'm sorry. I won't do it anymore. This is just not how I would like to live my life."

"Traitor! I've looked after you for years and this is how you repay me!"

"I'm really sorry, but I don't want to spend my whole life doing something which I now realise is impossible."

"It is not impossible! We can resurrect Alicia!"

"Please mother, wake up from your dreams! Alicia is gone and there is nothing you can do! You've tried your best to resurrect her and it hadn't worked. That's it. The Jewel Seeds alone couldn't open the path to Al-Hazard and the Relic needed is lost forever. There's nothing else we can do."

"No! You are lying, you good-for-nothing traitor! I don't need you, you lowly clone! Leave if you want, I don't need you. I have my precious Alicia and I will resurrect her!"

"Well, we can't do much now. But I've heard from the other nearby dogs that there's an old unoccupied shack somewhere around. We could repair that and live there until we can afford a better place. Then we can go out and work to earn money to buy food. I did see a few 'Help Wanted' signs when we walked past the shops just now." Arf grinned at her master. "Don't worry Fate, whatever happens, I'll be here for you."

"Arf... thank you. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"Hey, you're the one who gave me a new life you know. Just promise me you won't go back to Precia ever again?"

Fate looked at Arf but did not answer her question.

"Fate?"

"The truth always hurt, but I still have to face it. I promise you I'll never return to her again. She only wanted Alicia as her daughter, she's made that clear enough. From now on, you are my only family, Arf. We'll stay together." The rain was stopping and Fate looked up at the brightening sky. "We have no one who would stand up for us, but we still have each other, right?"

"Of course, Fate. I'll always follow you around, whether you like it or not."

"So… where is the shack you're talking about?"

"Just a few kilometres away. Oh look, here's another shop with the 'Help Wanted' sign…"

AN: So that's the end of the story. Thanks fo reading and do leave a review to tell me what you think about it =D