"...All in dust is lost to ashes..."

I traced my finger through the snow while biting my thumb, trying formulating a plan. This was going downhill. Fast.

"Travis, How far is that enemy blockade?" I asked behind me. Travis emerged from behind me, looking around for any signs of an enemy. His hair was sprinkled with snow and his coat showed some wear. He held his butterfly knife tightly, spinning it every once in awhile, perhaps out of nervous habit.

"About a couple of miles down. North-East."

I kicked the snow. "Damn it!" That meant there's no way we could intercept that rebellion without them coming in contact with the Dust mine. I wrote hurriedly on a small piece of paper and handed it to Travis. He took it and looked at me, awaiting orders

"Give these orders to Savannah and Trinity. They are to stay together for the first two miles, then split at the mine, but stay within a relative distance. This is an overriding order above all else. Return to me when you deliver it." I adjusted my coat, brushing off the snow from my shoulders. I brushed off my sleeves revealing the emblem of a flower. Its threads were a metallic silver, dancing among the stitched pattern which truly showed the beauty of the blossom. "I'll be at the mine." I said, turning to depart.

He grips the paper tightly and nods, his breath coming out in icy clouds. "Sure thing. See you then." He turns and is about to move out, but stops. "Ah, I forgot. Dakota."

I turn and brush my hair out of my eyes. "Yeah?"

"First of all, don't die." He said. Travis always had a way of making light of any situation. He might be an oaf at times, but he had his likenesses. For example, he could be very clumsy and a little dull at times, but that didn't dull his knife in the face of danger. We all adored him. I rolled my eyes and grinned at his comment. "Second of all, New Dawn called."

"Oh?" That was the infantry regiment of the mercenary group I belonged to, Tekkaden.

"Pull out and regroup." He said. "They want to form a good offensive position so that everyone can enter safe. Skye claimed we can corner them if they go first." Travis concluded.

I sighed. "I'm sorry Travis, we can't follow that order."

Travis rebuked my statement. "But if Silver goes in first, there's no guarantee that backup can come fast enough-"

I was starting to sound a little frustrated, but I had to be stern with my team member. "AND if we don't others will die! Does he know how many people are in that mine!?"

Travis turns his face away from me. "N-no...but-!"

"Then we can't waste time! Tell Skye we're advancing after you deliver that message to Trin and Savannah. No matter what, you will meet up with me at the mine before sundown. Now go! That's an order!" I command.

He nods and runs off without a word, looking a little uncertain.

I sigh, clenching the grips to my weapons, "Dammit, this is tough." I didn't like disagreeing with my fellow Captains. Skye and I were two of them. I led the regiment, Silver, and my friend Skye led New Dawn. We were passing orders around via messenger to avoid any sort of radio detection. Telepathic detection was also a possibility, so we were avoiding it. Telepathy was Savannah's Semblance, but since there are many unique Semblances, we didn't want to take a chance on someone being able to read her telepathy.

I then focus my attention down the gulch I've been stationed at. The mine is about half a league away, and the enemy is almost at the middle ground between the mine and I.

"Well, let the games begin." I mutter. Vaulting the fallen tree I've been leaning against, I begin to quickly slide down the mountain. I land sideways on a tree trunk and jump off it, bouncing off two more trees before landing and sprinting off. I was going to be the only one at the mine, and if I was correct...Skye would force himself after me. I stifle a laugh. He'd think I'm suicidal for this. As I come across fallen branches I pull out one of my swords and it extends in an electrical strike, like an enraged viper. The trunk splits in half, it's inner rings, red as magma. I pull out the other blade and do the same to other trees in front of me, blue streaks of crackling electricity around me. Making my way through the last trunk, the blades recoil back into their original positions.

"Quicksilver…" I muttered the name of the blade set. They were high voltage blades that required little to no Dust, but their output was exceptional. The attacks were the quickest and it isn't easy for anyone to just up and clash with these blades, making them perfect for Team Silver, the regiment I lead. I continue down the hill and stop behind a boulder, reaching a path. It was recently tread upon, so I felt I was on the right track.

"Now then, better load up." I said, pulling out what looked like two halves of the tip of the Quicksilver blades. I ejected the two empty capsules and insert the new ones. They were filled with a small amount of extremely unstable Lightning Dust. After setting the cartridges, I ran down the path quietly and stealthily. I'm the only one of my team taking this route to the mine and dangerously close behind the enemy. I needed to keep my wits while I tried to get in front of them. I continued to sprint through the frozen forest, quiet like the wind.

A few minutes later, I break into a clearing that's about a mile and a half out from the mine. It's then when I see the enemy not too far off. Travis relayed to me an estimate, numbers wise, about the enemy force, but if he was truly accurate, then a lot of reinforcements arrived.

I bolt for the tree line and dash parallel to the enemy mass, slowly overtaking them. It's when I do that I see the size of their numbers.

"Damn…" I muttered. I look to the branches above me, then kick off the ground and grab a hold of a tree. Keeping my momentum I swing forward and land on the branches high in the trees. I hop from branch to branch, eventually creating a gap between me and the ground troops behind.

"Looks like I'll make it." I say, with reassurance.

I continue on my journey to the mine, soon creating a sizable gap from the enemy. I look forward and see buildings on the edge of the clearing.

"Thank God." I murmur with a sigh.

I had reached the mine with time to spare. I then made my way a bit deeper in the forest and found a tall tree, dressed in a gown of snow. I leap up the branches and land on one just above the canopy to get a view of the mine properly. Everything looked in place, so I would wait for the rest of my team to reach my position, then we would enter the mine and set an ambush. I jumped back down to the ground, using my weapon to grip a branch to ensure my safe descent. Electricity sparks through the trees. I reach the floor without any problems. I retract the blades and sheath my weapons, then begin walking to the entrance of the mine.

I laugh to myself, "Guess, Skye's gonna have to catch up this time."

Across The Battlefield

2 Hours Earlier...

"...Pull out and regroup 1 mile out south-west of the mine. We must go on the offensive if we are to come back with minimal casualties. New Dawn will meet Silver there." I said with haste in my voice.

The sound of a projectile hits the tree next to me, causing debris to fall over my body. I stand up behind the tree I was against and peer out from one side and return five shots down range where the enemy is held up.

I sigh then crouch down behind the tree, "Travis, if we let them go into the mine first we can corner them, they'll have no escape." I said with a little more calmness.

"Now go tell Dakota my orders." I said peering back around the tree.

"Okay, I will, Skye." He said right before he ran off, back towards Dakota.

I fire the rest of my clip over my head at the enemy front, then sighed. I sat again my eyes wandering down to my grim covered weapon.

"Damn, the dirt's covering the sun design. I'm gonna have to clean this when we get back."

My weapon, or weapons, were dual carbine rifles with elongated bayonets. The wooden frame was now scorched and dirt covered. The sun design I referred to was a swinging arm that had half a sun on the tip. My other had the same layout except it was a crescent moon. When extended, the two arms could connect together when the rifles are placed sights together, along with the sights themselves connecting as well. That's when the bayonets extend over the barrels and for a single blade. Together, they form the great sword Son Luna, from their individual names Apollo and Selene, The Sun and the moon. My own design.

"Dakota…"

Hopefully, he approves my plan, if not then what will we do? It's too risky to enter before them. Silver would be the cornered ones, if that happened.

I rubbed the temples of my head. I've been firing at the enemy off and on for hours at this position and it's finally getting to me. I gave my head a good shake, then pulled a fresh magazine out of my ammo box, proceeding to reload. I let the empty clip hit the mound of dry clips at my feet, and then set the newly loaded gun in it's holster and begin to think.

The enemy is held up at a ridge about a quarter mile off of my position. I'm right at the front lines and I've spread my team out across the line. About 100 meters apart from each other. I'm confident that we can all hold the line this way. If me and one other can make a diversion big enough for them to focus all attention on the middle, the outer men can flank and attack from behind.

All I need to do is relay the plan to them...But how, is the question? If I leave for a second the line breaks. I can't relay a plan over radio and I can't call Savannah, considering our precautions.

At the Schnee Dust Mine, present time...

I slid into the cave, before they arrived, and kneeled at the entrance. It wasn't long now. Maybe five more minutes, give or take, until they'd arrive at that cave entrance. No workers had come out the front, so that was good. Didn't want to afford any extra lives.

I clutched the handles of the Quicksilver set tightly. I felt the hot and nervous sweat that coagulated on my hands. This was the feeling I lived for. A powerful sense of life or death as I waited for the result of a predestined encounter. Life? Or death? I asked myself such questions with a slight tinge of fear on my mind, but never really cared. A question was meaningless. An answer ended it all.

Therefore, I would always answer.

It was a stony silence as I waited patiently for someone or something to arrive. Grimm, the rebellion, New Dawn, Silver, Burst, anyone. I was tired of being kept in this silence.

Finally, a break. I stepped outside with my two swords, electricity flowing up my arms in blue streaks. A massive marching parade of armored Faunis had arrived in front of me, wielding various weapons, holding various Dust crystals with them. A Faunis who looked to be a leader eyed me sharply.

"Human. Identify yourself." He said, almost robotically.

I quickly examined him. He was a slender man, sprouting fox-like ears and an almost visible bushy tail. His eyes were stone cold and he seemed silent, but intimidating.

I took a breath and spoke. "Dakota. My last name isn't important though. I suppose…" I eyed the giant line of Faunis readying themselves at me.

"...you have a death wish, huh? So it doesn't even matter, right?"

Some of them flinched, but barely so. They were a tough bunch.

The fox guy, who looked to be the leader, circled with me. He fixed his stare directly into my eyes. It felt as though he was judging me and my power through my soul. I admit, I felt a little uneasy from him, compared to most of the opponents I had faced.

I broke the silence once more. "So tell me, animal. How much do you know?" I asked. I had to evaluate if this army was a threat. We had heard a lot about them, but I didn't really want to start killing Faunis if they were just a bunch of insurgents.

He tapped his head, smiling while his gaze remained directly at me. He then finally spoke in an oddly calm voice. "Oh...Deus?"

My eyes raised. Now THERE was something of value. "How...did you know that?" I glared at him.

Deus...the only people that knew about THAT were me and Skye…?! I thought to myself.

I looked shocked for a minute, but I slumped my head down and shrugged, shaking my head with a capitulating posture. "Well. If that's the case," I said chuckling. "Then none of you can leave alive. I'm not letting any of you lay a foot in this mine." I said, holding a stance with one blade behind me and the other in front of my chest.

The fox held his hand up. "Haha! Well, you know...This mine wasn't exactly the only thing we wanted. It's not everyday that we get to come face to face with a leader of a Tekkaden regiment. Silver, right? The assassin squad." he assumed.

He guessed correct. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that we were known. A mercenary group like us was making it into the big time, and we were getting some reputation. "HA!" I laughed sharply at him. "Well, if you're going to talk like that, at least do it without the sniper aiming for my jugular vein." I say. Hearing a sniper shot a split second before, I swing the whip blade in one direction, vaporizing the sniper bullet.

The fox raises an eyebrow. "Hm? Ah, I can hear it...that's your Semblance, isn't it?"

The whip blade recoiled back, and I turn away from his gaze, keeping a neutral expression. "Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. My Semblance could be anything. You have no way of knowing that. Even a Faunis can't sense Semblances. Sharp eyes, though."

"Well, mine are sharp compared to yours." he retorted, crossing his arms while big grin spread across his face.

It was only then that I realized I had just fallen into a trap. It was another bullet, but...I couldn't hear it or sense where it was coming from.

"What-?!" I sidestep, hoping my guess was correct, but I guessed incorrectly and it was too late. My head was an open target.

"Dammit-!" I scream right before a shard of black shrapnel comes in contact with the bullet and blows its trajectory off. The Faunis looked frantically for the culprit who was responsible for saving my life, before they directed their attention to one figure.

"That shot…!" I look to the cave top. My partner, Jai-Lin stood there she was holding one of her black swords while the other was split into a cloud of shards that formed wings behind her.

She floated down. "Look at Team Burst, saving your ass again." She said, pointing her sword at the fox.

"Ah. Team Burst is here too?" The fox-looking Faunis said slyly. "Now we just need New Dawn and all the pieces will be here." he muttered silent and hopeful.

I pressed a trigger and the voltage on the whip blades went up. I think an extra boost would be enough to put these idiots in their place.

"You know Jai," I turned to her, appreciative to her help. "a woman is attractive when she tries to show off." I said, grinning.

Jai scoffed, remaining composed. She grinned a bit from the comment, shaking her head in playful disapproval. "Oh, I've done worse." She snapped her fingers and we all saw her blade separate into small pieces. They split and zipped around the entire mass surrounding the entire rebellion force with a ring of black shards.

"Touché. Touché…" I said smiling wider at her comeback. Jai slowly descended, brushing her hair from her face, a white streak clearly visible in her bangs.

"Now then. Any updates?" I said, eyeing the enemy as they prepared to attack us with full force, but were reluctant, due to the massive amount of shards surrounding them.

"Not really." She said, almost disappointingly. "But I'm here because I heard you blatantly rejected a perfectly good order." she said, squinting her eyes at me, scrutinizing me.

I shrug, staying unaffected by her eyes. "Some rules are meant to be broken." I then return to my stance. "But now we'll wait for everyone else to get here. Once that happens...we can start the real party." I looked at the blades I held. "But you know...Quicksilver and Seventh Sanctum could really use a re-fuse soon.

She shakes her head. "Not something I'd waste on these guys."

I nod, understanding her conservative thinking. "In which case, I suppose as a couple, it's only formal I ask you to dance with me." I say, smiling.

She flexed her free fingers and grinned. "I'm a little rusty at dancing." She said. "I've been know to cut others pretty bad when I'm unpolished."

I smiled with a passion for the coming battle burning within my eyes. "Oh don't worry...that's EXACTLY what I wanted…!"

To be continued in Chapter 2: The Fuse Begins to Burn

Thanks for reading the first chapter of Reminiscence. I hope you're enjoying it. (^_^) If you did enjoy it, I hope you'll stick around to see it all continue. Please, by all means, leave feedback and tell me what you think! The story is being written by a collective of writers, with me at the helm of it all, so we don't mind recommendations for improvement.