Authors Notes:- I haven't written in quite a while and it shows. I aimed to be as accurate as I could to the game lore, while also giving myself a bit of creative freedom. I first played the Trails game back when XSeed released Trails in the Sky FC in 2011. I was blessed with this game and the wait of its sequel, that kept me hooked on the series since. While I don't think I could do the Sky series justice with written prose, Cold Steel has given me some creative freedoms with how it's ended so far. Just remember this was written before Cold Steel 3 was released and as such, things can be be easily invalidated. That being said, who doesn't write these for fun maybes? Anyway, I hope you enjoy my little passion project this past weekend. This story is complete even though I'm uploading it in parts, to make reading the chunks more manageable. I'll edit this chapter when that's all done. Edit: It's all uploaded. Enjoy the complete version!

"Alisa. Please stop chasing me." The hollow, familiar voice rung out.

"Rean I..." Alisa was lost in the white mist that surrounded her on the glassy landscape, but that was not of her interest. Her interest, was of course was the voice that belonged to the man. She couldn't just let him go like this. Before the thought even came to her mind, she was already running. Her feet were carrying her to destination, fuelled by her heart. The milky white surrounds began to darken until eventually, she was unable to discern her way.

Tap Tap Tap

A hefty succession of knocks ran against a door, waking Alisa Reinford from her slumber. The blonde haired girl rose up slowly and winced to try and focus on her musty surroundings of a pint sized dormitory decorated with modest oak furniture. On the desk sat an old, ornate radio.

"Alisa, wake up!"

The voice was discernible behind the wooden doorway. Alisa quickly snapped to her senses and wiped the drool from her face and went to look at the orbal clock next to her bed. It was 9:16am.

"Crap!" Alisa uttered. She hopped out of her bed and approached the door, opening it ajar slightly to not share her disorganised appearance of messy hair and sleeping slacks. Behind the door was Elliot, the orange haired musician from her class.

"Are you okay Alisa? You took a while to answer the door there, you feeling too sick to come to class today? Instructor Sara sent me to go check on you, since she's busy with class and all. It already started 17 minutes ago."

"I-I'm fine! I just woke up a little late for once... t-that's all! There's absolutely nothing to be worried about."

"I mean, I would be worried about the Instructor placing a heel on you or worse-"

"Elliot, I'll be ready as soon as I can. Thank you for your concern." Alisa nodded "But if you don't mind..." She blushed a little as she thought over her words "I need a bit of privacy to get changed."

Elliot didn't think to cross Alisa's drowsy mood further. He sighed thankfully that she was okay and he didn't get the fortune of experiencing her wrath for once. After all, Alisa Reinford was a fellow accomplice and student at Class VII, and they had been granted nearly a year so far to stew on their relationships with one another. That being said, it was not hard to notice the ruptured holes in the team since the incident in Crossbell. Somehow, they were just expected to return to their school lives for another few months. The scars wouldn't heal.

Upon finally reaching the classroom, there wasn't much noise when Alisa allowed herself entry. The classroom wasn't as filled as most, there were far less students than what would deem normal for most. Amongst the members...

Laura Arseid, the pride of Legram, a blue haired woman who seemed polite in demeanour, but could wield a massive claymore in her delicate hands.

Gaius Worzel, a man that seemed one with nature, who hailed from a nomadic location in Nord highlands. Being in such a foreign, man made structure was something Alisa was surprised he was at ease with. But no matter where he seemed to be, he always seemed at one with his environment.

Machias Regnitz, the bespectacled and occasionally irritable fellow. He was often seen as less of a thinker and more of a speaker, a trait adopted from his father. He also inherited his resolve to take action, never backing down from a challenge thrown in his direction.

Emma Millstein an intelligent girl with a mysterious cat familiar she was seen with from time to time. A witch from a secluded point in Erebonia she entered Class VII to see the end of a purpose. She's still currently the class president as well as the highest scoring student on exams.

There was also Elliot Craig. A boy burdened by a militaristic father who took his pride in music. He had a soothing air around him, always trying to remain in a somewhat positive spirit compared to the rest of the class.

Finally, there was Fie Claussel a dropout from a jaeger group with snow white hair. Her personality was relaxed, like a cat lounging in the sun. She was fairly capable with speed and dealing with deadly arms and covert operations.

The classroom looked decidedly more empty than usual though. Jusis, a blonde noble from Bareahard was vacant taking charge of matters while his elder brother was occupied in Crossbell.

"Alisa. Are you going to stay standing there or are you going to sit down?" Sara winced over at the girl, giving her a cold, harsh stare.

"I'm sorry!" Alisa had snapped out of her trance. She couldn't figure out why she was thinking so much.

"Now, since you decided to turn up, I'll quickly recap a few things..." Sara quickly devolved into blabbing about varying politics and military subjects. "As you know Millium and Rean are out in Crossbell so you probably won't see then for a while, but it just goes to show how Class VII and all of Thors play an integral role in our working society, for some, the reality of it just happened a little bit sooner."

Suddenly, Alisa's ears pricked at the sound of name drops. Instructor Sara was indeed right – Rean hadn't been at school for a long time and the latter, Millium Orion had been completely written off on leave for military purposes.

The class went on for a while. Eventually, after a day of long lectures, the class was finally dismissed. Alisa rose from her seat once all her belongings were packed -that was until she was stopped.

"Alisa, I need to see you before you go. Alright?" It was instructor Sara herself.

Alisa gulped. It was probably due to her lack of punctuality today. She braced herself for the worst. "Yes Sara?" She approached her teacher, trying to mask the panic in her tone.

"I think you and I need a little talk." Sara glanced at the door, making sure the last person had left the room. "Now, feel free to take a seat."

Alisa nodded and pulled a chair near the front. It squeaked a little under the smooth surface of the floor.

"You know Alisa, if Trista became occupied this morning and you were asleep, what would you have thought of yourself? Punctuality is especially important when we're faced with such real threats of danger like that each day."

"Instructor I..."

"But you don't have to be sorry." Sara rested her palm on the desk and looked straight into the girls eyes. "It's written all over your face. But I already got a call that Rean will be back this week. So stop worrying so much. If you start getting sick, who's going to run the Reinford group hmm?"

Alisa blushed. "I uhhh..."

"Now go on, get. I got a date with a bottle tonight I'm not sharing. Gotta have some kind of crutch to get us through these troubled times eh?" Sara herself seemed to be withholding some kind of burden.

Deep down, Sara wasn't happy with the situation either.