Author's Note: Contains spoilers for Suikoden I and II.

"Yes sir!"

"Yes SIR!!"

"YES SIR!!!"

The captain's tent flap was hurriedly but silently pushed aside as an erect, metallic-blue figure swiftly and boldly exited the large glowing tent. It stood motionless for a short moment, its breath sending wisps of white vapor spiraling up from its warm mouth. Gleaming in the firelight, the helmeted head turned to face the smug eyes of a nearby soldier. Walter's shoulders drooped as he met the familiar sarcastic gaze of his waiting friend.

"Shut up, Tim," Walter mumbled to his silent comrade as he shuffled away towards the glowing fire a dozen yards away. He heard the clanking of Tim's Highland Youth Brigade uniform behind him as his friend jogged to catch up.

"I told you Captain Rowd wouldn't be happy with you," Tim called ahead to Walter. "He told you not to go into the woods while looking for firewood! You know there are monsters in there!"

"I said shut up, Tim," Walter muttered back. He reached the fireside and let himself crash to the ground, the clang of his armor drawing the lazy attention of all the nearby sentries. There was a thick, soup-like broth in a pot over the fire, exuding the aroma of a freshly cooked chicken. Tim, still on his feet, saw Walter glance hungrily at the pot and got a small serving for both of them.

"Thanks," Walter breathed, his voice starting to become more comprehensible as the captain's lecture faded in his memory. He slowly inhaled the warm steam lifting off the broth in the chill night air. Tim sat down next to him as he started to sip from his shallow bowl. Each sip he took filled his body with intense warmth, but it was quickly cooled by the freezing touch of his metal armor.

"Hey there, Walter," a voice called from behind the duo. Startled, Tim turned to see the speaker and found himself staring into a pair of white pants. He looked up to see a boy standing there, wearing a blue sleeveless turtleneck and sporting a leather strap around his torso, which was held in a loop by two metal rings on his chest. His light blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. He looked vaguely familiar, but Tim couldn't quite conjure up his name.

"Oh, hi Jowy," Walter responded. "Don't let the captain see you out of uniform, ok? He's not in a very good mood right now."

"Right," Jowy said with a nod. "I'm getting tired, so I'm off to my tent. I'll see you tomorrow at home in Kyaro!" Giving a final nod farewell, Jowy walked away towards a tent in the corner of the encampment.

So, Tim thought, that's Jowy. Funny, I've never seen him out of uniform.

"Well," Walter announced, climbing to his feet, "I'm off to bed, too. Coming, Tim?"

"Yeah, I'll come. I don't plan on getting too much sleep tonight, though. I can't wait to get home."

Upon entering their tent, Tim and Walter each headed directly for their own beds.

"I'm beat," Walter muttered with a sigh. He dumped his heavy uniform on the floor, muttering about picking it up later, and got into bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Tim took his armor off piece-by-piece and started packing it up for the journey home the next morning. As he was packing, Jowy walked in, accompanied by his friend, Riou. Riou was also out of uniform and dressed as if he was already home in Kyaro; he was wearing a pair of short, black pants, a red gi, a yellow ascot, and a strange gold headpiece that he always wore...nobody really knew why. When Riou and Jowy entered in casual clothes, an audible sigh came from across the tent. Rick, Tim and Walter's tent-mate, was a proud Highlander who scoffed at anyone who didn't give one hundred and ten percent to the country's cause, and that included respecting it by staying in uniform until they got back to Kyaro.

"Hey, Tim," Jowy quietly called out.

"Hi Jowy, hi Riou," Tim quietly replied as Riou and Jowy approached. "Whew…" he sighed, "we can finally go home. We never went to the front line and I'm glad."

"What did you say?" Rick hissed, marching quickly across the room toward Tim. "Those aren't the proud words of a Highland Soldier from the Unicorn Brigade!" He turned to Riou, demanding, "Are you feeling all gushy, too, Riou? Already feel like you're back in Mommy's arms?"

Tim glared at Rick across Riou's shoulders, and Rick glowered back. Sensing a fight, Riou quickly stepped back out of the way as Tim and Rick stepped up to each other, arguing intensely.

"You should be proud to fight for your country!"

"And I will if I need to, but I have no death wish!"

"You can't be a soldier if you're not willing to die!"

"Nor can you be a soldier if you're too willing to die!"

Walter, woken up by all the noise, stepped out of his bed and wearily trudged up to Riou, who was fretting about the brawl that was about to ensue. "Those two are always arguing," Walter called sleepily above the disputing duo, "But I understand both of them." He walked around Riou and calmly tried to break up the escalating argument. Walter was good at this, and, before long, Tim and Rick split up, standing back-to-back and refusing to talk to each other. Walter then gave Riou a sleepy nod and walked lazily back to his bed.

Riou rolled his eyes at the predicament he had accidentally commenced and followed Jowy out of the tent with neither Tim nor Rick glancing away from their respective beds to bid them farewell. Everything shortly returned to normal as the Highland encampment fell into a deep, silent sleep.

"Surprise attack!!!"

"Tim, get up! Get up!! We have to help!"

Tim's eyes jolted open as he suddenly realized what was going on. "Oh, God…" he muttered under his breath, staring at a flame above his head which was quickly devouring the tent. He jumped up and quickly, almost mechanically, climbed into his armored uniform. Tim and Walter rushed out of their tent, passing a surprised Riou and Jowy as they entered. They drew their swords, looking around for the attackers, but found none.

"Hey, Tim, Walter over here!" Captain Rowd called to them. "It's a surprise attack by the City-State! They've broken the peace agreement, those scum! It looks like we're surrounded. Take the mountain path to the east and save yourselves! Hurry!!"

Tim and Walter looked at each other for a second, then nodded in consensus and fled east to the mountain path without looking back. They chased the other Youth Brigade soldiers out of the camp and down the narrow path, which followed a steep cliff face. Making the turn around a portion of the cliff jutting out into the trail's path, their destination, a mountain path leading deep into the woods of Tenzan Pass, was almost in sight. It was then that Walter felt a sharp pain in his back.

"Ahhh!!" he cried as an arrow pierced through his armor and struck his flesh. He fell to the ground face first, his helmet rolling off his head and over the precipice of the cliff overlooking Kyaro Valley.

"Walter!!" Tim called back, coming to an abrupt stop. "Walter, get up! Walter!" Receiving no response, Tim rushed back to pick up his fallen comrade. He stuck his arm under Walter's torso and tried to lift him up.

"Ugh…no, Tim, stop!" Walter cried in pain.

"I won't!" Tim said defiantly. He picked Walter up and helped him stand on his feet by spreading his arm across Walter's back and gripping his opposite shoulder. On Tim's queue, they slowly started to move forward again, one excruciating step at a time.

"Ah! It hurts!" Walter howled. "Mommy…"

"Don't worry, I'll save you…" Tim told him. "We're pals, right?" Then, seeing Riou and Jowy approach looking concerned, Tim called to them, "Don't worry, Riou. Just hurry and get away!"

Riou and Jowy did just that, and, with one final glance back, sprinted away, following behind the remaining escaping soldiers to the woods leading to the mountain path.

Just as Riou passed out of sight, Tim felt a searing pain tear through his body as an arrow struck him directly underneath his right shoulder. Not able to support his own weight in addition to Walter's with his quickly draining energy, Tim fell to his hands and knees, leaving Walter to stumble and fall behind him. For what seemed like several minutes, they lay still, trying to muster the strength to stand and run again.

"W…Walter…" Tim stuttered as he tried to talk through a mouthful of blood.

He received no response from his still friend.

"Walter!" Tim pushed out of his burning lungs. "Walter…no…"

Footsteps! Tim heard footsteps running toward him! He had to call for help…he had to help Walter! But, by the time he managed to cough up "U…Ugh…" the footsteps were receding towards the camp.

For the first time, the thought crossed his mind: he was doomed. He knew this was possible ever since he joined the Unicorn Brigade, but they were so close…they were supposed to be home tomorrow! I can't die now! I can't...the world faded into a dull, dreary darkness.

Chapter Two is up!