Disclaimer:
I do not own Valkyria Chronicles. While this story might still have some of the lighter hearted elements of the VC series, I still aim to give it a supernatural twist and maybe get us into the spirit of Halloween too.

Autumn had come to the Principality of Gallia and the war with the Empire had continued on. As the air cooled and the leaves began to change colors, so too had the pace of the conflict. With winter on the way, the Imperial advance had slowed and the skirmishes had lessened in their intensity allowing for both sides to stop and breathe. Likewise, Alex Raymond took a deep breath of the cool evening air as he stood perched atop a lookout tower of the village admiring the clear October skies. The blonde shocktrooper pulled out a pair of small binoculars and tried to look out over the small hamlet of Autumnvale in the direction of the frontlines.

This sleepy little town nestled at the edge of the Kloden Wildwood had remained largely untouched by the war but the shifting battle lines had drifted ever closer. Several miles northeast of Autumnvale, elements of Squad 7 and the other Gallian militia were sure to be facing off with the enemy but things had been quiet so far. As Alex scanned the horizon, he spotted an old run down mansion just outside of town limits. The curious looking manor was nestled in a quiet meadow half obscured by the dark woods and for a moment, Alex wondered if anyone lived there. As he looked closer at the desolate forbidding looking estate, Alex thought he spotted a few strange flickering lights there before he heard a familiar voice calling from below.

"Hey Bird! How's the weather up there?" came the friendly voice of Aika Thompson as she neared the base of the wooden tower and called up to her comrade."See anything interesting?"

Alex smiled at the use of his nickname given by a few of his friends of the squad as he clambered down to meet her.

"No such luck Aika," he finally said to the auburn haired scout once he reached the bottom, "It was such a nice evening I just thought I'd get a little air."

Once he greeted her, Alex found Aika was accompanied by her best friend and partner in crime, Vyse Inglebard. Vyse was a shorter young man with an athletic build, unruly brown hair, and a penchant for sporting a goggle over one eye. Whether it was for a fashion statement or it served some practical purpose no one quite knew. Having grown up together, Vyse and Aika were known to be brash and fearless fighters, if at times a little reckless too. Wherever one of them was, it was a sure bet the other would be close by. Although he was not quite as bold or reckless as the other two, Alex was still an adventurous spirit at heart and that was probably the reason he tended to spend a lot more time with them and became their friend too.

"I can't say I blame you," Vyse smiled as they all started to amble toward the town's central market, "There hasn't been much for us to do lately with the rest of the squad on their op. Man, I'm just chomping at the bit for some action right now."

Presently, the better part of Squad 7 was somewhere in the woods helping to block an Imperial advance. With the town of Autumnvale serving as a sort of basecamp, other Gallian militiamen who had been wounded in the fighting had been taken here to recover. Fortunately, Alex, Vyse, and Aika had been among those that were chosen to remain behind as part of the reserve forces. Unfortunately, they hadn't expected that things would be quite so boring here either.

As they came upon the center of town, the three friends watched as many of the local townspeople began to congregate around the central marketplace and put some last minute touches on on projects. The militia had only been in town for a couple days, but by the looks of things, the villagers were setting up for some kind of celebration. Colorful lights were being strung up by stacks of hay bales and bushels of corn while decorative scarecrows and carved pumpkins made by the children were being prepared.

"Hmm… I wonder what's going on here?" Alex asked curiously. He was surprised when someone spoke up from behind.

"From what I heard, it looks like Autumnvale's local Harvest Festival."

The three turned around quickly to see Lt. Faldio Landzaat, the commanding officer of Squad 1 who had been tasked to supervise the reserve Gallian troops in town. The three stopped and saluted before the handsome young officer returned the gesture with a genial smile.

"I'm sorry everyone. I was just passing by and couldn't help but overhear," Faldio said, "I had been speaking with the mayor this morning and he said that every year the town of Autumnvale has its annual Harvest Festival. He said the party lasts for three days and because of the town's name, it's a beloved tradition. Some even say this same festival has been celebrated here since the Middle Ages."

"Hey, that's great and all… but don't you think it might be a little risky to have a big party with the war still going on? And right in their backyard too?" Aika asked.

Faldio shrugged, "There were some in the town who felt the same way, but many others felt that it would still be good to try and do something to lift everyone's spirits. This war has caused enough fear and tragedy so it isn't wrong to want to put it all aside... at least for a day, right?"

"Well look on the bright side! If there's a festival going, there's bound to be lots of fun things to do, right?" Vyse said optimistically as he began to wander off toward some food stalls, "Maybe we could rustle up some good grub, or maybe some pumpkin ale?"

Aika gave a sigh as she began to follow after him before giving an apologetic look to Faldio, "Excuse me Lieutenant. I'd better go keep an eye on Vyse and make sure he doesn't do anything that'll land us all in the stockade."

Alex and Faldio exchanged a bemused laugh before Alex parted ways with him and began walking down another pathway of the town center. Here and there, he passed a few other fellow Squad 7 members and exchanged friendly waves. He had to admit, maybe this festival was a good idea after all. The smell of fresh food wafted in the air and faint strings of music floated in the air from some local band on the corner. As he strolled, Alex took a little time to admire some of the decorations and the arts and crafts being sold at a few stalls. That was until he spotted a female scout from Squad 7 standing by a merchant's stall admiring some dresses and rolls of fabrics.

Ramona Linton had always been one of the more notable members of the squad. Prior to her enlistment, the young redheaded scout had been a model for the popular fashion magazine Gallian Girl and while her confidence and poise served her well on the battlefield, her beauty had also been the cause of several male squadmates getting distracted; running into trees or tripping over themselves during training exercises. Unfortunately, Alex had been no exception either. He took a moment to gather up his courage and remind himself that he was still a shocktrooper, and a Gallian soldier. If he could run headlong into a hail of enemy bullets and mortar fire, then there was no reason he couldn't talk to a pretty girl, right?

He strolled over and cleared his throat, greeting her with a timid wave, "Hey Ramona. I was just passing by and thought I'd say hello."

She looked up for a moment and graced him with a polite smile before going back to studying one of the dresses in the stall, "Oh, hi Alex. Nice to see you too."

He paused and waited for a long moment but Ramona seemed a little preoccupied with the plain orange autumn dress in front of her. Alex asked lamely, "Umm... are you interested in buying that dress?"

She shook her head and chewed her bottom lip in dismay, "Hmm... I don't know. Maybe. I was actually thinking of something I could do to customize the dress if I bought it. I'm always thinking about new ways to design my own clothing styles and maybe even market them after the war."

"Really? I figured you might want to get back into modeling instead."

"Oh I still do," Ramona said with a sigh as she gave up on the dress and walked away from the stall, "But I thought it might be fun to make my own mark on the fashion world and... oh, sorry. You probably don't want to hear me gab on and on about clothes and makeup, and accessories and all that stuff. I swear, once I get going I just can't stop and..."

"Err... don't sweat it. It's cool," Alex interrupted with a bemused chuckle, "I'm surprised to see you aren't hanging out with your usual crew of Edy and Cherry. Usually you girls are always together."

"Well, it seems I'm on my own right now," Ramona shrugged, "Edy's away on that op with the rest of the squad and Cherry is still recovering from a busted ankle. You're not with your crew either? Vyse and Aika?"

"Oh I think they're off doing their own thing tonight," Alex said hesitantly, "I guess since our friends have left us high and dry, you wouldn't want to... I don't know..."

"Hang out and look around the festival?" Ramona replied calmly while leading the way, "Sure. Why not? I guess it could be fun, right?"

"Uh... right. Sounds great," Alex sighed in relief as he joined her and tried not to sound too eager either.

A short while later, the two came across Aika and Vyse who were sitting down on some wooden benches listening to the local musicians play while a few villagers were in the street dancing. Vyse sat contentedly drinking a mug of pumpkin ale and he greeted his comrades as they came over, "Hey Alex! Ramona! Come on over and try some of this local brew. It's great stuff."

Before they could reply, they saw a younger brunette girl in her early teens come over to pull at Vyse's sleeve. She wore a a makeshift veil and a simple white dress that looked more like a bedsheet or a cheap Halloween costume. Even more unusual, she had her face painted to give off a bit of a skeletal visage. The girl gave a giggle as she pulled at his sleeve trying to get him to stand up, "Oooh, a handsome young Gallian soldier. Beware. You will suffer terrible misfortune at the hands of a sinister woman."

Vyse gave his female best friend a joking grin, "Oh believe me, you have no idea my misfortune already."

"Hey!" Aika huffed indignantly but she was cut off by the 'ghostly' girl.

"If you come and dance with me, I can promise you won't be cursed by the White Widow and..."

"Elise! Cut that out," came the voice of an older middle aged man who suddenly came over to the benches with a reproving frown. He had an air of authority with short graying hair and a trim matching beard. It took a moment to recognize him, but they recalled him as Mr. Arentz, the town mayor and likely this girl's father too, "Don't bother these soldiers. You should go play pranks with your friends somewhere else tonight."

"Yes Papa," Elise sighed as she conceded to her father and wandered off into the crowd to find her other friends.

Mr. Arentz sighed and gave an apologetic look, "I'm so sorry about that. My daughter can be a bit of a trickster and during festivals like these, she and the other kids like to play pranks on people."

"That's okay sir. No harm done," Alex answered politely, "But I am curious. Did Halloween come early this year or is dressing up some part of the festival too?"

Mr. Arentz shook his head, "No. I think Elise was just making light of a local ghost story around here, the tale of the Widow in White."

Ramona gave a thoughtful look, "Well the work on her costume wasn't too bad, but this story sounds way more interesting. I'd love it if you could tell us more?"

"A ghost story?" Aika yelped as she tried to rise from her seat, "No way! Nuh uh. I won't have any part of this!"

Vyse gently grabbed her arm and sat her back down, "Oh come on Aika. Sit down and don't be such a scaredy cat."

If there was anything that unsettled the normally brave and tomboyish Aika, it was the mention of ghosts and spirits. She gave a mild grumble and reluctantly joined her friends as the mayor began to tell a story. "Well... not too far outside of the town limits is an old mansion in the woods. It was owned by the Langbroeks, an old noble family who used to rule over this area. The story involves one of the daughters of the family, a young woman named Dominique. Early on in the First Europan War, she was engaged to be married to an officer in the Gallian Army. Before they could get married, he was called away and went off to fight but he never returned."

Ramona covered her mouth in dismay, "Oh no... that's so tragic!"

Mr. Arentz nodded quietly, "Yes. It was said that Dominique was so grief stricken that she refused to believe that her fiancee had died... so she waited and waited for him. Even a year later, she continued to wait and other villagers wondered if she had begun to lose her mind. They say that on some nights Dominique would dress herself in the white wedding gown she was supposed to wear and go wandering in the nearby meadows of the estate looking for her lost love but she never found him."

"Creepy," Alex simply muttered with a quiet nod of agreement from Vyse.

The mayor sighed, "Not long after, it was said that Dominique lost her will to live and she died of a broken heart. Much like her, Dominique's family soon fell on hard times and the estate was sold off. It eventually fell into ruin over the years due to neglect. As far as I know, nobody lives there anymore but an old servant of the family who lives in town still goes up there from time to time to try and tend the grounds."

"I'm guessing a lot of the locals think the place is bad luck now, or maybe even haunted?" Aika asked.

Arentz shrugged, "That depends on what you choose to believe. There are a number of people from town who claim that the spirit of Dominique still wanders on her family estate. On certain nights when mists cover the ground, they claim they've seen her. Others have said that strange things go on around the house... things like voices in the winds, strange lights, or birds and wildlife steering clear of the grounds. Of course, those are just some of the exaggerated stories that haven't been proven."

Aika shivered again, "Hmm, I think I'll take the townsfolk's advice and steer clear of there too."

"What about this groundskeeper you mentioned? What does he think of all this?" Vyse asked excitedly.

The mayor shrugged, "I don't know really. Clement always kept quiet about it, but I suppose you could ask him yourself... if you can find him."

"What do you mean by that?" Ramona asked hesitantly.

"Clement has been away for a few days now and no one has seen him," Arentz said with a dark expression, "He usually spends a few days at a time doing work on that crumbling manor but it's a bit unusual for him to be away this long. I was actually getting ready to organize a search party to find him."

"Maybe we can help you with that," Vyse offered, "We could take a fireteam up there to patrol tomorrow morning. We can make it more of a search and rescue mission instead of a search and destroy one."

"Are you crazy?" Aika protested, "Did you not listen to that story? What part of haunted house and bad luck did you not understand?"

"But what about that Clement guy?" Ramona asked, "If he's hurt or in trouble, we can't just leave him stranded either."

Alex grimaced quietly to himself. He agreed with Ramona that helping was probably the right thing to do, depending on Lt. Landzaat's approval. But after hearing that odd story and having seen those strange lights around the house earlier that evening, maybe Aika was right to be a little bit wary too. Vyse slung a cajoling arm over Aika's shoulders and whispered quietly to her, deciding to appeal to their more self interested nature, "Ramona's right. And besides, who knows what kind of treasure might be lying around an old abandoned manor, right?"

Aika paused and thought it over. If they did find something worth looting, it would probably be worth a whole lot more than the Gallian Army was paying them right now. "Well... maybe."

"That's my girl!" Vyse grinned before turning to Alex, "How about you, Bird? You in? Are you with us?"

Alex looked to his squadmates and suddenly felt overwhelming peer pressure. It was hard enough saying no to Vyse and Aika whenever they got themselves into a situation, but Mayor Arentz seemed genuinely grateful for the offer too. The town was already being nice enough to let the militia stay here and the least that they could do was help out the townsfolk in return. Even more, if Ramona was going, that was another incentive to join the group. Despite his own misgivings, he didn't want to look like he was chickening out in front of her or the rest of his friends for that matter. He would still plan to tell them about what he saw tomorrow morning but then again... maybe it was nothing at all? Maybe it was a trick of the light, or maybe just his imagination? He gave a guarded smile and nodded quietly to his comrades, "Yeah... let's do this thing."