jamesb497: I'm happy you're excited. Quite frankly, I'm really excited too, to write future chapters that is. I've got a lot planned that I can't wait for you guys to see. Well, thank you, I appreciate that.

Apex85: Fair enough. Reading back over it, I agree with you it's more average than anything else. That said, not like I could bust out their coolest moves, so...yeah. Anyway, glad you seemed to like it. Yeah, I liked writing it. I always wanted them to get taken down a peg or two, so I took the chance to do just that. Oh yeah. And believe me, if you think that's bad...just you wait. I plan on one day leaving you guys with cliffhangers the size and intensity of the first Cold Steel's ending. Not to mention the emotional impact.

GeassKing101: Good, I'm glad you seem to be enjoying it so much. Thank you. Well, this took a turn didn't it? Regardless, I will indulge. I, too, am rather disappointed by the lack of Fie doujinshis. Mostly because, quite frankly, she's my favorite of the girls. Alas, not much I can do about it. I can't draw for shit. No, it'd be more accurate to say I couldn't draw something good even to save my life. That said, I am glad the one doujin that is out there is her with Rean, I can't stand her with anyone else. It just hits a button of 'ah hell na!' in me. It's why I won't read stories where she's not paired with Rean, which, sadly, leaves me without a lot of Trails stories to read. Though, I can read stories without any pairings, though those are hard to find as well. Anyway, one last thing. There is another doujin with Fie in it, with Rean too, where all the Class VII girls, with the exception of Millium, jump his bones. It's not in English either though, so...that sucks. But, I digress.

No problem, feel free to rant anytime my friend. I'm here to listen. Thank you again, and I will do my best.

RedBurningDragon: The dust cloud didn't last very long though...oh well, whatever. Yeah, I really didn't like that either. Thank you. Also, I fixed the error you noticed, as well as several you didn't, that I did when going back over it. Thanks for that as well, by the way.

Guest: Well, you certainly cut straight to it, don't you? And since I don't like to lie, at most I'll dodge a question and honestly say I can't answer it lest I spoil something, I'll just go ahead and tell you that you're not wrong. One of those things does, probably, happen. Question is, which one is it? Also, his name is Gideon. And one more thing, I am I just that obvious? Or was this just your intuition sniffing something out?

Just one thing before we start. Has anyone seen the new leaks regarding Trails of Cold Steel III? Goddamn! Everyone from Class VII is looking awesome! Fie, Millium and Gaius especially. I kind of wish Jusis had kept his green color scheme, thought it worked really well for him, still, he looks really cool regardless. Machias is still good and Elliot, he's got a ponytail! I never imagined that for him, but hey, what works, works, right? Yeah, those scans seriously got my blood pumping! I can't wait till it get's localized! It just might literally kill me having to wait for it in English! XD No, seriously, it might.

Anyway, once again, thanks to all those who reviewed, and allow me to thank those who have added this story to their favorites and alerts since the last update. KirochkaSveta, and kaleb-yamato, thank you!

Alrighty then, the finale of chapter one. The end of the Celdic arc. It's here. Tell me what you think. Please read, review and enjoy.


ACT I - CHAPTER I - FINALE

,,,

Tension fading as the situation wound down, all the teen combatants, with the exception of Rean, who had already done so, put their weapons away and severed their ARCUS links.

"Eheh. You really are amazing, Rean." Elliot complimented his friend. "I mean, you summoned those flames without even using your ARCUS! I didn't even know that was possible." He confessed.

"Haha, it's nothing, really. There are plenty of people out there who could do way more than what I just did, trust me." Rean waved the compliment off, a somewhat self conscious smile spreading across his face as he did, while he cringed in pain for the umpteenth time.

"Perhaps, but that's no reason to sell yourself short." Gaius countered. "That truly was incredible."

"Come on Gaius, you used the wind the same way I used fire in that fight." The raven-haired teen pointed out.

The soft spoken nord didn't try to deny it. "That does not change the fact that what you did was impressive." He rebutted. "I have trained for years to harness the wind, I know from firsthand experience that it is no simple task."

"You guys are unbelievable." Elliot stated. "You're all so strong and composed. It's like you've handled this kind of stuff before."

"I have." Fie put that fact out there, purposely ignoring the gaze of Laura, who had been staring at her for a number of moments now.

"Heh, I guess I should've expected you to say that. I mean, I should be surprised, but by the way you talk about these sorts of things, I'm really not." The timid violinist remarked.

'The way she moved during that battle...her technique, her speed, her strength, all with that tiny frame...and she was still holding something back...' Laura pondered the enigma that was Fie Claussell, her curiosity having kicked into overdrive. It was burning, she needed to know what this girl was about. The warrior in her especially.

"Laura, is something wrong?" Rean questioned the blue-haired girl, noticing the way she was watching Fie to be quite similar to how she had been looking at him most of the day before.

Pulled from her thoughts, the well spoken swordswoman pried her eyes away from the only other female in the area, and shifted her attention to her follow blade wielder. "My apologies. Could you repeat that?"

"I was asking if everything was alright. You were staring at Fie pretty hard there." The swordsman mentioned.

"Oh, that." Realizing she had been caught staring, in a scrutinizing manner no less, she quickly came up with something. "I was simply wondering what it was she used on that beast. It was quite effective." Not exactly a lie, that was indeed one of the queries she had for the younger girl, but it was simply a drop in the bucket that was her piqued interest.

"A plastic explosive." The silver-haired girl answered nonchalantly.

"You carry plastic explosives around with you!?" Elliot squawked incredulously, staring at the younger teen like she was crazy.

"What fair maiden doesn't?" Fie responded with a quirk of the brow, her tone making it nigh impossible to tell if she was joking or, quite possible, entirely serious.

"Right, ahaha." The orange-haired teen chuckled nervously. Bereft of any appropriate response to such a statement, he opted not to really say anything to it. None of the members of Class VII could hope to form an adequate reply to that, so he certainly wasn't the odd man out this time.

Focus off of her fellow female for the moment, Laura turned her attention to Rean. "I mustn't neglect to tell you how impressed I am with that technique of yours. If you are truly only a beginner, I must admit that I am quite anxious to see what you will be capable of at the intermediary level, let alone mastery of your style." The noble girl praised her fellow swordsman. "In fact, if I may be so presumptuous, I'd say I've found my new sparring partner." The excitement that lay underneath her tone wasn't difficult to hear, even if she was trying to downplay it.

"Hey, don't go overboard now. I can assure you, if we were to battle, you'd wipe the floor with me no problem." Rean tried to tell her, his self conscious smile widening, as he tried to laugh her off. Which was, as it turned out, a very bad idea. Grasping at his sides, he sucked in a sharp breath of air, pain flaring throughout his torso. He had already come to the conclusion that laughing was a stupid thing to do while he was in this state, yet he just couldn't help himself it seemed.

Fie noticeably frowned at this, while the others immediately asked if he was okay, to which he answered that he was.

Because of this, Elliot was vividly reminded exactly why his friend was in such bad shape. Quickly turning to face him, the younger boy proceeded to express his appreciation. "Rean, thank you! You saved my life." His gratitude was almost overwhelming, as he formally bowed to the older boy.

"Hey, don't do that! It's okay!" Rean tried to assure his classmate frantically. "I mean, we're friends right?" He posed to the timid violinist, to which he nodded affirmatively. "That's what friends do, they look out for each other."

"Shut up." Came Fie's voice suddenly, interrupting the two's exchange.

"Huh?" Was Rean's eloquent response, as the younger girl came to a stop in front of him, now standing over him from his position on the ground.

"You need to stop talking." She reiterated the same sentiment. "All you're doing is aggravating your injuries." She informed him matter-of-factly. "You need to conserve your strength. We don't want them getting any worse."

"O-Oh, well, okay, fair enough." The modest swordsman conceded easily enough.

"Good." She said with a nod of her head.

Meanwhile, Gaius and Laura shared a glance, that Elliot joined in on as well. This would only fuel their suspicions about the two, that was for sure.

"U-Unbelievable..." One of the provincial soldiers muttered, as he and the other eight men finally got themselves up and off the ground.

"How could a couple of kids be this strong!?" Another soldier questioned incredulously.

"That bastard...this wasn't supposed to happen!" Cursed the bandit leader.

"Who are you talking about?" Rean inquired of the bandit, in spite of what he had agreed to do.

Before Fie could get onto him for speaking again however, Rean once more sensed the presence of a tenth individual. Time seemed to slow down for the young man in that instance, as his head snapped to the location of this presence, where he spotted a man with glasses and blue-grey hair aiming a large orbal pistol down at them, Fie and him in the path of the barrel in particular. Worst of all...he had already pulled the trigger. 'How could I be so stupid!? I should have paid more attention! I knew there was a tenth!'

"Fie, get down!" Acting without thinking, Rean leapt to his feet and shoved Fie aside, time resuming its normal flow as it did, preventing the injured teen from having a chance in hell of getting out of the way. As a result, he took the bullet straight to his right shoulder, knocking him off his feet and straight on to his back onto the ground. With his weakened constitution, he was unable to stay on his feet, nor was he able to bite back the scream that pried itself from his throat.

"REAN!"

Left hand grasping at his right shoulder, Rean did his best to put pressure on the wound, as the blood began to soak through his white shirt and even his red blazer. And, of course, this only served to aggravate his current injuries, sending flares of agony through the upper half of his body.

"Rean..." Fie all but whispered, her tone solicitous in nature, as she got up off the ground. Instead of opting to stand, she instead remained on her knees, as she came over to her best friend's side. 'I messed up. I...I can't believe it...I forgot about the tenth. How could I mess up like that!?' She began to berate herself mentally, as she assisted her childhood friend in putting pressure on his wound.

It was out of shock more than anything else that the four who hadn't been shot failed to think of looking to see where the bullet came from, too concerned with Rean to do so. But they came to their senses rather quickly, Fie being the first in the matter to do so. She did instruct Elliot to help Rean keep pressure on the wound first though.

Getting to her feet, she, Laura and Gaius sought out the source of the metal projectile with their eyes. Only, by the time they located who had shot it, another had been fired, and it hit it's mark.

Bullet tearing straight through the skin, muscle and bone with ease, it ripped out of the back the bandit leader's head, leaving a bloody hole on both sides. Dropping to the ground dead, the ruby liquid that sustained him began pooling around his cranium.

The other eight men panicked, quickly fleeing the clearing to the best of their capabilities, shouting in fear all the while. To their luck, not another shot was fired in the time it took them to get out of range.

"Who the hell are you?" Fie demanded, uncharacteristically hostile in tone, drawing her twin gunswords as she did.

Laura and Gaius followed her lead and did the same with their weapons.

"Me?" The violet eyed man queried sarcastically. "Well, if you must know, in some circles I am known as G. And that is, perhaps, all you will ever know." G finished, taking aim at them once more.

Dropping into battle stances, the three prepared to begin another fight, when suddenly...

"There you are, G." Suddenly came a new voice, one that none of the teens below recognized.

His attention diverted, G glanced over to his right, where a man who had just got up onto the cliff walked into sight.

This man stood six feet tall with a slightly muscular build, light skin, and appeared to be in his early thirties. He had purple hair just shy of shoulder length, and as for his eyes, they were obscured by a pair of sunglasses with silver frames. As for the rest of his attire, he wore a sleeveless, form-fitting white shirt, under a simple black, waist-length coat. Along with a pair of black pants with white stripes running vertically down the sides, and black combat boots with white buckles.

"About time you showed up." G stated with the beginnings of a frown. "You're late. Care to explain why?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Got caught up on my way here, damn animals in the outlying forest of this place all wanted a piece of me, and who was I to deny them?" He said with a shrug of his shoulders, clearly no care in the matter, or at all it seemed. "That said, I'm here aren't I? So it's fine. Let's just get on with this plan of yours."

"Don't be so hasty." G told him. "In case you hadn't noticed, we have a couple of interlopers in our midst." The bespectacled man gestured to the teens below with a wave of his pistol, as he informed the other man of this. "They've been a nuisance, and it would be beneficial to remove them from the equation entirely before moving forward."

"What, you mean those kids down there?" The shades wearing man asked, taking a moment to glance down at the teens in question as he did. "You've gotta be kidding me G-Man, they're just a couple of brats." He remarked dismissively. "What kind of threat could they pose?"

"While it's true they're no serious threat, they've proven themselves to be quite the pests. That-" Before G could finish, the new guy cut him off.

"Wait a tic, G-Man, are you telling me those kids are the ones that messed up your first plan?" He queried skeptically, before quickly realizing this was the case. "Oh man, that's just...that's just too good." His mirth abundantly clear, the purple haired newcomer was apparently greatly amused by this, grinning ear to ear. "The ever-grim, super serious G-Man, who never needs anyone's help, no matter what, actually had to call me in because of a bunch of tots? Wait till the other guys hear about this!" And with that, the new guy began to outright laugh at his ally.

The beginnings of a frown now warped into a full-blown scowl, as G bit his tongue on the subject, not appreciating the other man's reaction even in the slightest. Nevertheless, it would do no good to start a fight. "Warrick, first of all, it wasn't my fault the first plan fell through. It was the incompetence of those bandits. And second, how many times must I tell you, do not call me that. Finally, why don't you stop laughing like an idiot, and go do what you came here to do!" He bit at the end.

Calming down to a few chuckles, the man, whose name was apparently Warrick, brought it back down. "Whoa, snippy. Guess I must've hit a sore spot. My bad. But still, look at'em. They're probably scared witless down there. Just a bunch of kids who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground." He said derisively, looking down at the group of teens once more. "How come you haven't handled them? I mean, you already put a hole in one of them, shouldn't be too hard to finish him off and take care of the others. Not like they're-" Words dying in his throat, Warrick paused, before crouching down and taking a hard look at the teenagers below.

"Well shit. I take it back G-Man, I think I see why you were having problems with this group of munchkins." Warrick retracted his derision of the group and, by proxy, G. Remaining crouched, he continued to speak. "My, my, if it isn't little Fie. Didn't think I'd ever see you again. Long time no see, huh?" He addressed the youngest of the five below.

"Am I supposed to know you?" She inquired, still clearly hostile.

"Shit yeah." He replied immediately. "I mean, we didn't exactly see each other more than two or three times, but it's not like I could ever forget you. You were Rutger's little urchin tag-along. But more than that, you were there when my brother died." As he informed her of this, he pushed his shades up, revealing his striking purple eyes. The same exact eyes of the man who Rean had eviscerated.

Eyes widening a fraction, Fie remained silent as she processed this. At the same time, Laura began to eye her fellow female out of her peripheral vision.

Meanwhile, Rean's mind was racing at the fact that this man was the brother of the jaeger from eight years ago. Still, his injuries kept him from thinking too much on this fact.

"Our corp, while embroiled in quite the battle with yours, was still looking for work regardless. Got to make that mira somehow after all. He decided to go with an easy contract, kill a minor noble's heir. Simple enough, especially so considering the heir was just a child. However, something went wrong and he died. Sure, I was upset, who wouldn't be. But, I understood, that kind of shit can happen anytime in our line of work. No, what got to me, was the fact that you just happened to be there when it happened. Somehow, someway, you both ended up in Ymir at the same time. Kind of suspicious, don't ya think?" Warrick's tone, once mirthful and carefree, was now much more serious, and venomous.

"How could someone like my big brother be done in, in a backwoods hole like Ymir?" Posed the jaeger. "I haven't the slightest clue. You on the other hand, assuredly do." His eyes locked solely on Fie as he said this. "Perhaps you somehow managed to kill him, or more likely, one of your Zephyr buddies did it for you. Or just maybe it was someone else entirely. Nevertheless, one way or another, I'm sure you know who killed him. And you're going to tell me who it was. Or else." His eyes narrowed dangerously, his threat all too clear.

Rean, having finally sat up with the help of Elliot, opened his mouth to speak, cringing with one eye closed as he did. Fie, knowing that he was going to give Warrick just the answer he wanted, in hopes of keeping her from being harmed, preempted him. "Ask all you want, I have no intention of telling you anything." She stated firmly.

"Is that so? Huh. You leave me no choice then." With that, Warrick proceeded to stand, and reach back and pull a machete from one of the dual leather holders attacked to the small of his back, which the teens just now took note of.

"You're-" Fie started, only to be interrupted.

"That's right kid, I'm the Silver Serpent corp's Silver Haze." The jaeger proclaimed proudly. "Or, well, I used to be. You know, until your buddies ground us into all but nothing." It was evident he was sore over that. "But, I guess we kind of have that in common, huh? You used to be Zephyr's Sylphid. And now you're just Sylphid. We're kind of like two peas in a pod, I'm now a solo jaeger, you're now now solo jaeger-"

"No." The silver-haired girl cut him off mid-sentence, denying his words.

"I'm sorry?" He said with a quirk of his brow.

"I'm not a jaeger, not anymore." She corrected him.

That, that was the moment when it all clicked for Laura. 'A jaeger?!' And unbeknownst to even herself, her mind had already rejected the notion of associating with someone who would sink as low to become a killer for hire. After all, a jaeger was the exact opposite of a knight. What she did know though, was that her emotions were awhirl upon this revelation.

"Jaeger!?" Elliot repeated, looking toward the younger girl in disbelief as he did. He made sure to keep the pressure on his friend's wound though.

"I see, everything falls into place if that's the case." Gaius acknowledged, clearly the least surprised of the three not in the know.

"Fie..." Rean grunted her name through grit teeth, pain plaguing his torso nonstop. He hadn't wanted the others to find out about her past like this. 'I wanted her to open up to them herself.'

"Oh sweetie, you don't ever stop being a jaeger, not really." The tone he took was so damn condescending, that it would get on anyone's nerves. "You're proving me right, even as we speak. That stance you've taken leaves little to no openings, your eyes are cold and hard, those of a trained killer. And even more than that, your friend is bleeding out right behind you, and all you care about is the enemy in front of you." It didn't help that he sounded so damn pleased with himself either.

Fie, taking just about everyone off guard, noticeably flinched at those words, the last part cutting deeper than the rest.

And that was all the opening the older man needed, leaping down to their level, landing right in front of Fie, doing so faster than any of them could react, he attacked.

The fifteen year old barely had enough time to dodge, jumping back at the last moment, barely avoiding the blade of the machete as it was swung on her. So close it came that it took a few strands of her hair with it when it passed by. She would have opted to counterattack immediately afterward, but as soon as she tried, he was slashing at her with the machete again, leaving her no time to do anything but evade once more, sidestepping to the right to do so.

Anticipating this, Warrick shifted his footing, and proceeded to nail the young girl hard in the stomach with a right jab. The blow knocked the wind out of her, causing her to nearly double over in pain as she gasped for air. Following it up, he clocked her right between the eyes with a right straight, knocking her to the ground onto her back, and causing her to slide several feet from the force of the punch.

"Fie!" Rean exclaimed, as he began forcing himself to his feet, despite Elliot trying to keep him from getting up and aggravating his injuries, which he surely would.

Laura and Gaius had already taken action, both launching an attack of their own, a strong swing of her blade from the noble, and a quick thrust of his spear from the nord. Their efforts were thwarted however, as the jaeger whirled around to face them, and raised his machete to block the incoming sword strike, stopping it in it's tracks as steel met steel. At the same time, he reached out and took hold of the neck of the spear, using his strength to keep it from moving any further closer to him. Both teens attempted to overcome him, of course, but his strength outstripped theirs, preventing them from gaining any ground on him.

Warrick, hating to ever be on the defensive, lashed out with his right leg, ramming his foot into Laura's abdomen, the force of the kick knocking her off her feet, sending her sliding across the ground a few feet, and causing her to gasp in pain. She, just like Fie had with hers, retained her grip on her weapon though.

His cross-spear held more by the enemy than him at the moment, Gaius chose to release his hold on it and simply try to rush the older man, as his attention was on Laura. That didn't work out so well, as the jaeger sidestepped the foreigner and made him pay for the maneuver with a good thwack of the shaft of his own spear across the back of his head, nearly knocking the teen unconscious as he did.

Another teen on the ground, the Silver Haze threw the spear to the dirt, turning to face his next challenger. And proceeded to laugh in his face, as it was Rean, barely able to keep himself upright, gripping his unsheathed tachi so tightly that his knuckles were discolored. "What you gonna do? Flail at me? Look kid, I don't know for sure what happened to you, but I can tell you've got at least a few broken bones, I'm guessing ribs judging by your breathing, most, if not all of them in fact. Not to mention a bullet wound to the shoulder on top of that, speaking of which, shouldn't you be keeping pressure on that? Wouldn't want to bleed out would we? Ah, whatever, not like I care." He finished dismissively, truly not caring in the slightest.

Rean, sloppily, pivoted forward and attempted to slash the man with his blade, but in his condition, with a simple step to the side, his attack was avoided and he was sent sprawling onto the ground. Wincing, the black-haired boy inhaled sharply, as he fought back the cry of pain that tried to leave his throat.

"See? And I didn't even have to touch you. Face it, you're done. Ain't going to be any fighting for you for awhile." Warrick told him, before turning to face Elliot, not missing a beat in addressing him. "As for you, I wouldn't try that."

At that, the orange-haired boy froze, hands clenching his orbal staff deathly tight, clearly having been in the middle of performing an art.

"You saw what I just did to your pals. If you couldn't tell, I hit pretty hard. So trust me when I say, you don't want to see what I can do with this machete of mine." He warned the sixteen year old, effectively intimidating him.

"Pay attention Warrick!" Shouted G, before the sound of guns firing near simultaneously echoed through the clearing.

Heart pounding a little faster, the jaeger realized a bullet, no, two bullets, had just come this close to hitting him, having just grazed him, taking a few strands of his hair with them. The only reason they hadn't hit him, was that he had shifted his position, ever so slightly, when he heard G shout like that. Eyes widening a little, he turned around to face who had fired them, to see Fie, back on her feet, her twin gunswords aimed directly at him. Moreover, the only reason she hadn't fired again, as he quickly realized, was that G had covered for him, shooting just as she had, the bespectacled man's bullet missing the fifteen year old by a centimeter. It had nearly hit her foot, judging by the small hole there. It had served it's purpose however, as it showed her the consequences of her actions, acting as a warning shot. If she fired again, she would die with the next shot from the violet haired man's pistol. That was the only reason the purple haired jaeger was still alive.

"Well...shit. That was close." The Silver Haze remarked, sounding unperturbed, despite having come this close to biting the bullet, literally. "You...you certainly are one hell of a shot. If I didn't get that heads up just know, I'd be taking a dirt nap." He acknowledge her marksmanship, sounding genuine for once. "And man, just look at that face of yours. It's just like stone, completely emotionless. And we can't forget your eyes, calculating and somehow even colder than before. Hell, I can even see the satisfaction in them that you nearly killed me. Say what you want girly, but you are the spitting image of a veteran jaeger." He apprised her with a self-satisfied smirk, seemingly regaining the bit of confidence that had faded with that little occurrence.

This time she didn't flinch, much to Warrick's disappointment. Since that was the case, and seeing as the moment she tried to move even an inch she'd be killed, the jaeger and the former jaeger began a stare-down. Neither let up, that is until a groan caught the older one's attention, his eyes shifting away from the girl and down to the dark-haired teen. That's when he got an idea, and it showed, as his grin widened considerably, though it took on a sinister quality as it did.

Without warning, he acted, ramming the side of his leg into Rean's broken ribs, kicking him rather hard in the side. Which, of course, elicited quite the cry of pain from the boy, as well as causing him to roll over onto his back, clutching his side, blade lying in the dirt and grass beside him. Eyes seeking out Fie, the purple haired man was pleased with the reaction he saw, her mask slipping as concern flashed in her yellow-green irises, followed by anger. "Oh, I'm sorry, did that bother you? Upset you?" He mocked the former jaeger. "Good."

Wanting to see more, he took it up a notch. He brought his right foot up, before bringing it back down, full-force stomping on the seventeen year old's chest, forcing a scream even worse than the first to rip itself out from his throat. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH-ACK!" Only for it to come to an end, as the raven-haired boy began to hack up blood, undoubtedly from the worsening of his injuries.

This time, the long haired jaeger got an even better reaction. Gone was the indifference completely, as her anger quickly morphed into rage, the emotion reflected not only in her eyes, but her visage as well. However, he wasn't allowed to enjoy it for long, as she threw caution to the wind and proceeded to act.

Redirecting her aim, the silver-haired girl fired two shots up at G, managing to do so before he could pull the trigger on his own gun. That, obviously, would distract him for a few moments, as he dodged. Using that to her advantage, Fie broke into a dead-sprint, irises shifting to Warrick, locking onto her target.

The Silver Haze was a little surprised by the sheer daringness of such a move, nevertheless, he removed his foot from the younger male's chest and prepared to take her on. Only to be caught off guard, as a cry of "Aqua Bleed!" reached his ears, causing him to act on instinct and quickly backstep, a ball of water speeding past him as a result. Diverting his attention to the source it came from, he saw who was responsible. The same timid boy he had intimidated into inaction. The same one who had just thrown an art at him. Hell, the boy was now getting ready to use another one.

Fie's swift movement allowed her to utilize the momentary diversion of her enemy's focus, closing the distance between them before he could notice. Unfortunately, just when she was there, right in his personal space, preparing to sink one of her gunswords deep into his flesh, his attention returned to her. Grabbing ahold of her right wrist, Warrick stopped the thrust of her gunsword in its tracks, the tip of the blade a mere centimeter or two from touching him. He then did the same with her left gunsword, taking hold of her forearm and halting her arm's motion.

Not missing a beat, the fifteen year old shot her right knee up, in an attempt to strike him in the solar plexus with it. To no avail, as the jaeger pulled his left knee up at almost the exact same time, and blocked it. Not a moment after their knees slammed together, the former jaeger retracted her leg and placed her foot back on the ground, while simultaneously bringing her left leg up and ramming the length of it into the older man's side. She did this before he had the chance to counter it, nailing him in the ribs with a solid kick as a result.

Grunting in annoyance more than pain, though the hit had hurt him a bit, Warrick met the younger girl's eyes, to see her glaring at him. If looks could kill, he'd be dead, that was for sure. This just amused him however, although he was much less amused, when he heard a shout of, "Needle Shoot!"

His eyes immediately sought Elliot out, only to see he wasn't launching the art at him. Rather, he was sending it G's way, he found that out as he followed it with his colored orbs, the shoulder sized clump of earth shooting up at the repositioned bespectacled man. This forced him to dodge once again, preventing him from firing down upon the teens.

Using the jaeger's divided attention, Fie positioned her index fingers, and proceeded to pull the triggers on her gunswords. Or she would have, if she were able. Alas, as it turned out, the thirty something year old had seen this coming, and had quickly transitioned to alternate holds of her hands, rather than her wrist and forearm. Although that kept her from putting some bullets in him, that was alright. As he had failed to notice those behind him.

Or rather he did notice them, but at almost the last possible moment. Pushing the fifteen year old back, Silver Haze leapt out of the way, avoiding a large swing of Laura's bastard sword as he did. Only to be forced to move again, as Gaius, having gotten back to his feet as well, tried to sweep him with his cross-spear.

Successfully evading both attacks, he moved to attack in turn, only to have to shield his face with his machete, as Fie took two quick shots at him. The bullets ricocheted off his weapon, leaving him unharmed. While Laura and Gaius advanced on him, going for a pincer attack. He attempted to shift his stance to defend, but was prevented from doing so, almost tripping when he did, as something kept one of his feet from moving.

Instantly, he knew who it was. Nevertheless, he turned his vision downward, to see the struggling to remain conscious Rean, one hand on his wounded shoulder to keep the bleeding to a minimum, and the other wrapped around the jaeger's right ankle. Scowling now, Warrick was clearly not having fun with these teenagers anymore. And with no amusement left in it for him...

Without warning, Warrick brought his unhindered foot up and slammed it down against the dark-haired boy, stomping hard on the back of his head. This caused him to let up on his grip, allowing the jaeger to duck under both the noble girl and the foreign boy's attacks. Socking them both in the gut, he rose back to his full height, took hold of their weapons, and lifted them, and their wielders as a result. Tossing them both to the side, he went to turn back around, hearing the youngest male shout out the name of another art as he did, undoubtedly trying to keep G at bay.

Only to nearly have his face sliced open by Fie, the nimble girl having leapt at him, going for a downward angle slash with her right gunsword. Swaying out of the way, he lifted his machete, only to have to stop in the middle of his attack as he shifted his body to his left. He did this to avoid the former jaeger's other gunsword, which she had actually tossed his way, in an attempt to get him. It failed, but she had clearly anticipated it would, as with her now free had, she transitioned into a single-handed handstand. Turning her body at a certain angle, she shot her right leg forward, slamming the length of it into the back of the long-haired man's head.

The blow to his head managed to make him stumble a tad, but he quickly recovered, as when Fie put her feet back on the ground and attempted a spin-kick, aiming right for his face, he caught her leg by the shin. Gripping it tight, killing it's momentum completely, she was left with one foot off the ground and only one of her weapons, not the most ideal position to be in. Not that it stopped her, as she took quick aim with her remaining gunsword, and attempted to pull the trigger before she could be stopped. Her attempt to inflict some kind of injury or wound failed, as he pushed the weapon away, altering it's trajectory by the time the bullet was fired. Funny enough, it was sent G's way, forcing him to dodge yet again.

Not giving her time to continue her assault, Warrick all but coldcocked Fie, hitting her square in the face with a strong right straight, the blow disorienting her and nearly knocking her out. Not to mention the short cry of pain it forced her to let out. He then pulled her leg upward and shoved her backwards, sending her sprawling onto the ground.

Whirling to face the two he heard coming from behind once more, he blocked both Gaius and Laura's weapons with his machete. This clash didn't last for more than a moment though, as the sound of a pistol being fired reached everyone's ears, and the bullet hit the ground right next to Elliot's feet, drawing all eyes to him. The shot had come from G, who had just stopped the timid violinist from performing yet another art. He looked none too pleased either, then again, who would be? He had just spent the last minute and a half dodging bullets and arts.

Although, just a second later, things got even more hectic, as three more individuals came onto the scene. Two bearing fully-automatic assault rifles, and the third a large pistol. Though calling it a pistol, which it still was, might be a bit of an understatement. As it looked more akin to a hand cannon than anything. Because of these weapons, and the grey and black Railway Military Police uniforms they sported, all attention was shifted to them.

"The RMP?" Warrick said the acronym of the group aloud, pulling back as he watched them.

"That's enough!" One of them cried, stepping out front in front of the other two. Said person was a beautiful young woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, with light skin, hot pink eyes, and long, sky blue hair, tied back in a long ponytail.

"The Icy Maiden..." G spoke the woman's alias with aggravation.

'Why has one of the Chancellor's dogs come here?' The Silver Haze wondered to himself. 'They can't possibly know.'

"RMP?" Gaius repeated the acronym, his confusion clear.

"They're supposed to be the most elite unit in the whole of the imperial army..." Elliot muttered aloud.

"We apprehended eight men that came running from this park." The Icy Maiden stated. "They informed me I would find some kind of skirmish going on here. What they failed to tell me, however, is just who the two of you are." She continued. "Care to fill me in?" Despite the way it was phrased, it was quite clear that wasn't a request.

G, knowing when to cut his losses, decided it was time to retreat. With that in mind, he snapped his wrist up and rapidly fired three shots from his orbal handgun. At the same time, Warrick shoved Gaius and Laura back, before running for it, leaping up onto the cliff and following after G as they moved to get out of there.

The shots were evaded, not that it was hard with how sloppily their trajectory had been, and the woman known as Icy Maiden proceeded to return fire. One of the shots managed to graze G's arm, but he and his jaeger ally were able to disappear from sight before anything more serious could be done to them. Not that the RMP intended to allow them to escape. "After them!" The Icy Maiden ordered.

As the other two RMP soldiers did as they were told, Rean began once more forcing himself off the ground. Eyes seeking out Fie, now on his knees, he pushed up onto his feet. He attempted to lumber over to her, the state he was in preventing him from doing more than that. However, the adrenaline coursing through his system having long since faded, the young swordsman was no longer able to fight the agonizing pain that consumed his upper body. Succumbing to his injuries, he stumbled and proceeded to fall face first onto the round, passing out.


Face calm and still, eyes closed, breathing slow but steady, strands of hair tickling his forehead. That was the state of Rean Schwarzer. He was asleep, lying in a train booth, his head on Fie's lap, it acting as a pillow. She watched him as he slept, the events from just a few hours ago replaying in her head.

After everything had settled down, the woman had introduced herself as Claire Rieveldt, a Captain of the RMP. She assisted them with treating Rean, along with the Market Manager Otto, as the two of them knew a good deal of medical knowledge between them. Bandaging his chest and right shoulder, they put him to bed in the upstairs bedroom of Otto's house. He had woken up shortly after, long enough for Claire to introduce herself, Otto to thank him along with the others, and to take a bit of pain medication. He exchanged a few words with Fie, letting her know that he was glad she was okay, before falling to sleep. He remained asleep, even when Sara showed up and they all boarded the train. He hadn't reawoken yet, and probably wouldn't for sometime.

Fie was caught up in her own little world, as she stared at Rean's face, her thoughts racing. That is until the conversation of the others, coming from the row just behind her, snapped her out of her trance.

"Sh-She's asleep again..." Elliot stated a little disbelievingly, looking toward the booths on the opposite side, where Sara had zonked out.

"One could assume she was just faking it. But..." Gaius began.

"Right, her breathing. Judging by the rhythm of it, she truly is asleep." Laura finished for him.

"Well, I guess it makes sense. It sounded like Group B's field study was a train wreck. Combined that with coming all the way back to Celdic before it was even time for the last train, and anyone would be wiped." The orange-haired teen reasoned, looking back toward his classmates. "Though, I will admit, it is hard to imagine her working hard. Considering her usual attitude and all."

"It does seem she's genuinely looking out for us, however." The blue-haired swordswoman added.

The three continued to converse, but Fie once again blocked them out, as her eyes returned to the sleeping face her childhood friend.


"I'm not afraid of you."

Those are the words she had said to him. Those would be the last words he heard from her for a long, long time. That thought saddened the young girl to no end. She didn't wish to leave. She wanted to stay. But how could she do that? Zephyr, her family, was waiting for her. She couldn't just leave them, couldn't just forget about them. They were all she had known for almost as long as she could remember. Her earliest memories were of wandering a war-torn battlefield, and everything after that was when she was with them. She had been with them most of her life. And yet, in only six months, this boy had somehow become just as precious to her as they were.

She cared for Elise, and Teo and Lucia too, she even enjoyed the company of most of the villagers here in Ymir. However, none of them were as close to her as Rean was. He was the one who found her after all. For some stupid, crazy reason, he ventured into that snowstorm when he heard her cry for help. Something she had done before even realizing she had. It had been the first time she was alone in such a long time, and she just wanted someone to be there, at least until she found her way out. Though she'd by lying if she said she didn't want them to remain when it was over. She hated being alone. She had an almost crippling fear of it.

He only secured his place in heart every day after that. From little acts of kindness for no other reason than just because, to somehow managing to pick up on the times when she was down and giving her someone to talk to. To the headpats to the sharing of his fears, to just being there whenever she needed or desired him to be. And finally, having someone just as weak as her, throw that weakness aside to protect her. He was just as much a part of her family as every member of Zephyr was. To leave him here, without even saying goodbye...just felt wrong.

As much as it pained her, she didn't have a choice. 'If it wasn't for me, this wouldn't have happened.' She thought to herself with disdain. 'If I hadn't helped that man, none of this would have happened.'

"Come now Fie, let's get going." The sound of Leonidas's voice reached her ears, breaking her out of her trance.

Raising her eyes from ground, little seven year old Fie Claussell followed her two guardians and boarded the cable car.


It still pained Fie to remember that. It happened, there was no getting around that. She had left Rean behind, disappeared from his life entirely. It hurt the both of them. Only to have her own family leave her some years later. 'Just like I did to Rean.'

"This time, it'll be different. I promise." Fie whispered to herself and the unconscious Rean, fixing his hair so that the strands were no long hanging over his forehead. "I won't lose the last bit of family I have left." She swore to herself.


Just outside the train, unbeknownst to those riding the rails, on a cliff overlooking the tracks, was G. The darkness of night prevented him from being seen out the windows as the large metal vehicle passed by. His arms were crossed, as he watched the train continue on, not taking his eyes off it until it was just a mere dot in the distance of the horizon.

That's when a man of roughly the same height, decked out in a black combat suit akin to armor, with an almost ornate cape and a black helmet with a red visor came to stand next to the bespectacled man.

"I must admit, I wasn't expecting the Icy Maiden to show up when she did." The masked man spoke, his voice clearly augmented by some kind of voice changer. "We may need to adjust our plans to compensate for this interference."

"That won't be necessary." G assured him, pushing his glasses back up on his face with his index and middle fingers. "This was not significant setback. If anything, it provided an unexpected bonus...giving us a valuable glimpse into the means through which the RMP and Intelligence Division coordinate their efforts." He explained. "With both organizations posing sizable threats to our operation, that information alone makes this all worthwhile."

"Haha. Valid point." The masked man conceded.

"That said..." G began, the air of confidence fading, replaced by annoyance and anger. "...if this ignoramus had been on time, we could have still accomplished our task." He told the darkly dressed figure, turning to pointedly gaze at the jaeger in their midst, sitting down with his back against a tree.

"Oh, you're going to blame it on me are you?" Warrick queried.

"You're the one who showed up hours late, fool! The whole reason you were the backup plan was because you were in the area! Explain to me how in the hell it took you two damn hours to get there!?" G demanded of the younger man.

"You know, stuff...and things." The purple-haired man replied a little hesitantly, shrugging his shoulders as he did.

"You have got to be kidding me! You mean you don't even have an excuse!?" The blue-grey haired man inquired with vexation.

"I don't need one! I'm not part of your little group!" The Silver Haze rebutted, his ire beginning to flare as well. Thinking better of shouting at his bosses however, he calmed down. "You keep my pockets full, so I do jobs for ya. Simple as that." The Silver Haze said matter-of-factly.

G would have continued their 'discourse', but was cut off by the man in black.

"Should we proceed as planned, then?" He posed to the violet eyed man, as he turned around.

"Hmph. Of course!" G confirmed, confidence returning, so much so that it was almost smug. "The tyrant must yet face the merciless hammer of judgement."

"Yes. May his lofty ambitions be crushed to dust and swept away!" The masked man exclaimed, before beginning to walk away.

"Jeez. Melodramatic much?" Warrick whispered to himself beneath his breath, rolling his eyes as he did. 'I'm not much for their theatrics and 'noble goal' and all that shit, but the pay is good, so...whatever.' He thought to himself, letting out a yawn as he did. 'Though I will admit, I'm rather glad I'm working for them. I got to meet Sylphid because of'em. And hopefully I'll do so again. Then, I can find out who did you in, big brother.'


END NOTE: I wanted to get this one out before the end of June, but, ya know, things rarely work out the way you intend them too and all that. But hey, a month ain't too bad right? Anyway, hoped you guys enjoyed the final part of the Celdic field study. Also, how'd you like Warrick? What, did you think I'd have it be a jaeger that Rean killed and not have that come back in some kind of way? Of course not! I rarely do things, in real life or writing, for no reason. There are exceptions of course, but that's neither here nor there.