Sound Stage 02 (a.k.a. Episode 14.5) - Riot Force Six Family Portrait
As everyone gets ready to start their day, Fate is reflecting on how Nanoha has become Vivio's new "Mama". Subaru and Teana joke that if Vivio is going to start calling Fate "Mama" too, perhaps Erio and Caro will get jealous. The latter two rather indignantly deny this, which seems to bother Fate a little.
Elsewhere, Alto and Lucino are chatting in the unit lounge, and talk a bit about their families. Alto is mortified to learn that the entire staff seems to have found out one of her embarrassing childhood stories, apparently courtesy of Vice.
Having lunch later, Nanoha introduces Vivio to caramel milk, which she immediately takes to. Nanoha says that they'll be sure to find Vivio a 'real' mother eventually, but Vivio says she loves Nanoha more than any real mother.
Hayate and her Guardian Knights visit the Saint Church, where the Knights are taken for a check-up by Sister Schach. Verossa and Carim are watching them from the latter's office. Verossa mentions that while looking into the Ground Forces, he found that quite a few people are suspicious of Hayate because of her past. It seems Hayate has chosen to keep most of the details of the Book of Darkness Incident secret, in order to protect the Wolkenritter from taking blame for it. Carim agrees that it's unfortunate, but Hayate is stubborn that way. Changing the subject, Carim says she's heard complaints of Verossa being late or skipping work lately, although his performance is still excellent. She threatens to have Schach discipline him, a prospect which Verossa finds alarming.
Coming off shift later that day, Fate, Erio and Caro make plans for dinner. Fate also suggests they should do more things together as a family; however, the children demur, saying they shouldn't expect special treatment. Just then, an alert comes in — several Gadgets have been spotted nearby, and the Lightning members have to scramble to deal with them.
They easily take care of the Gadgets, unaware that they're being watched by Quattro and Lutecia. Quattro says that she wants Lutecia to see Erio and especially Caro in action, because she thinks they might be a match for her summoned creatures. She adds that she's heard Caro has another dragon she can summon which might even be able to defeat Lutecia's ultimate summon, Hakutenou. Lutecia is unconvinced, but thanks Quattro for her concern. Quattro thinks to herself that Lutecia should be easier to manipulate now.
After the battle, Fate has to stay and deal with the cleanup, and apologizes to Erio and Caro about having to cancel dinner. They say it's all right, and give Fate some candy as they leave. Fate is touched but also seems conflicted.
Caro and Erio return to base, but they are bothered because they both noticed Fate looking rather sad and lonely. They don't understand it, because they've both been working hard to be helpful and not be a burden on Fate... what are they doing wrong? As they're commiserating tearfully, they run into Subaru and Teana, who ask them what the matter is. After a brief explanation, they decide that what Erio and Caro really need is to talk to someone who's an expert on Fate, and they know just the person...
When she gets back to base, Fate talks to Shario and confides that she's worried about her relationship with Erio and Caro. She wants to be a good parent to them, but it feels like they're pushing her away. Shari, too, says Fate should talk to an expert.
Meanwhile, Nanoha tries to put Vivio to bed, but Vivio says she isn't sleepy and asks Nanoha to talk to her some more. She wants to know more about "Nanoha-mama" and "Fate-mama". Nanoha starts to tell her about how she first met Fate...
Erio and Caro talk to the "expert on Fate", who turns out to be Arf. At the same time Fate has a talk with her mother Lindy about parenting. After good advice is received all around, they go and have a heart-to-heart with each other. Arf and Lindy compare notes and decide that everyone's going to be all right now, although they have to admit it's amusing how stubborn all their children can be.
Returning home, Hayate and the Wolkenritter have noticed all the family drama going on around them, but decide it's none of their business. They're worried about this mysterious Unison Device, Agito, whom they encountered in the last battle. They don't know who her master is, but they'd better be prepared, because a Belkan Knight in unison mode is a powerful opponent. Rein says she will protect them all, because that's the duty of the Blessed Wind...
Tropes
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Carim accuses Verossa of being this; he doesn't exactly deny it.
- Breather Episode: Par for the course for the Sound Stages, although this one is even less plot-relevant than most.
- The Bus Came Back: Lindy makes her first appearance this season, although she's been mentioned a few times. She'll appear a couple more times in the anime, albeit Demoted to Extra.
- Chekhov's Gun: Lutecia's most powerful summoned creature, Hakutenou, is name-dropped. Lutecia describes him as invincible. He won't actually appear until very late in the season, and then only briefly.
- Lower-Deck Episode: Track 2 focuses on Alto and Lucino, two background characters who (along with Shario) make up the Bridge Bunnies of Long Arch. While they've technically appeared in most episodes, their roles up to now have been so small that viewers could be forgiven for not knowing who they are. (They will get slightly more to do towards the end of the season, but only slightly.)
- Noodle Incident: Alto's "embarrassing incident in the school washroom when she was seven". We don't hear any details, but it evidently stemmed from her somehow believing she was a boy. Alto is mortified to discover that the story has spread all over the base.
- One of the Boys: Alto was the only girl among her siblings. Apparently when she was small, she thought she was a boy too.
- Slice of Life: Pretty much the entire episode. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it gives us a nice look into some aspects of the characters that the regular anime doesn't have time for.
- Those Two Girls: Alto and Lucino take this role here, which they actually don't tend to do much in the regular anime episodes.
