A/N: Hi! This is a story that a friend of mine is writing. I offered to post it for her so she can get feedback. This is her first story so I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

We all sat silently in the airships, anxiously, waiting for our orders to land and begin Operation Vermillion Bird. Well, all except for two of us.

"Let's see who's stronger right now!" Sice shouted.

"Bring it on!" Nine yelled back.

Before they had a chance to do anything, Queen interceded. "Before a mission is not a time to test your strength."

I approached Ace who was waking up from a nap. Ace really can sleep anywhere…

I sat down next to him and summoned my Ancient Tome in my hand. "Are you prepared for the Eidolon summoning?" I asked him.

"Yes. He is all ready to go." Ace replied, summoning his cards.

I nodded in acknowledgement. "We should be receiving the signal soon. You, Queen, and Nine are meeting with Izana Kunigiri to receive the COMMS, right?"

Ace nodded. "Who are you teamed up with?"

"King and Trey," I responded. "I'm not thrilled that I have to work with Trey, but I guess it's better than being paired with Nine."

Ace laughed. "I'll send a signal when I need you for the summoning."

"I'll be waiting for it."

The signal sounded for us to begin Operation Vermillion Bird. We split into our groups and jumped from the airship. All around us, Dominion Legionaries were falling to the Militesi troops.

"It appears that we really are the only ones who can use magic right now." Trey stated.

"Yeah, it seems that way." King answered. I nodded in agreement.

We continued on, taking down enemy troops as we made our way further and further into Akademeia. We eventually met up with Cater, Eight, and Cinque. They gave us our COMMS and we proceeded.

"Can you hear me?" An unfamiliar voice echoed in my ear. "I am your Commanding Officer." Our Commanding Officer?

"Lily! We are ready to summon Odin. Head to the Arena right now!" Ace's voice sounded in the receiver.

"I'm on my way!" I replied to Ace. "King, Trey."

They both nodded at me. "Go."

I ran as fast as I could to the Arena. Ace was there waiting for me with Seven and Jack. On the ground behind them were two cadets from Akademeia lying unconscious. In front of us was the White Tiger Secundus l'Cie. She stood in front of a giant machine that I assumed was the crystal jammer.

"This sucks," the l'Cie said.

"That's the machine we need to take out, right?" I asked.

Ace nodded.

In the blink of an eye, the l'Cie transported herself in to the crystal jammer, and she fired it up.

"Ready?" Ace asked me.

I nodded. My Tome appeared in my hand and I began to read from it. "Conjuro te Odin . Tuitionem nostri populum tuum in fortitudine potentiae!"

Ace placed his card on the ground and the other two lent us their magic energy. Ace's card glowed yellow and Odin appeared in front of us. The Secundus White Tiger l'Cie grew angry and shouted from insider the Crystal Jammer. Ace and I controlled Odin as he fought the l'Cie. In the end, we were able to successfully drive the Militesi Empire back. Rubrum was safe for now!

I walked through the front doors of Akademeia. My siblings and I stopped and looked around.

"I forgot how big this place is." Jack said.

Cinque looked terrified. "I could easily get lost in this place."

I took Cinque's hand in mine and smiled. "Don't worry Cinque, I memorized the map. I'll make sure you don't get lost."

Her hand squeezed mine. "Yay! Big Sis is gonna look after me!"

I smiled and gently shook my head. Silly.

Cinque and I led the way to our new classroom. When we reached the classroom we all looked around in curiosity.

"So this is what a classroom looks like." King said.

We were all excitedly discussing what we should do when a strange noise echoed throughout the room. It was a mixture of boots repeatedly hitting the floor combined with the jingling of metal on a uniform. We turned and saw a man walking towards us. There was something intriguing and oddly attractive about him. I think it must have been a combination of the metal mask that covered the lower half of his face, his beautiful blue eyes, his purple hair, and the intimidating aura that surrounded him. We all took our seats and waited for him to speak.

"All right, let's cut through the formalities. I am now your commanding officer, Kurasame." The man said.

Ace shifted in his seat, "Commanding officer?"

The Commander continued. "Yes, as of this moment, you are under my command. The authorization came directly from Archsorceress Arecia Al-Rashia"

Once again, Ace couldn't hide his surprise once again. "From Mother?!"

Nine wasn't having any of this. "Hey, take a hike, yo! We only take orders from Mother, got it? You're not wanted here, y—" Nine hadn't even finished the word before the back of our CO's hand connected with his face. The impact sent Nine flying into a wall. I could hear a few of my siblings gasp in surprise. Huh. Nine sure needs it. He's such a hothead.

Nine stands up and wipes the blood from his mouth. "Ow, that hurt!" This time, Nine tried punching the Commander. However, our CO caught his wrist, twisted him around, and threw him over the desk.

"That's enough!" Queen shouted. Cater tried attacking the Commander, but he blocked it with blizzard magic. Ace also tried to get him, but his sword pierced Ace's card before the attack could happen.

"Whew! This guys is pretty tough!" Jack laughed.

"Not for long!" Nine rebuffed, holding his stomach.

Queen interjected again, "He said it was Mother's decision! Are you saying you won't follow Mother's orders?" Nine clicked his tongue in response.

"Satisfied?" Our Commanding Officer asked.

I missed the rest of what he said because I was completely absorbed in my own thoughts. I think we'll get along just fine…