OH. MY. GAWD. THAT. TOOK. FOREVER.

I must caution you: set aside at least a whole hour before reading this chapter. It's extremely long, but the Siege of Ghirlandaio is practically a story in its own right. There was so much fine-tuning I had to do in so many different places, so forgive me if you find some big mistakes. In Microsoft Word, this takes up 70 (count them: 70) pages, and counts up at over 25000 words! As you can guess, that's a lot of time I spent writing.

Enough. I've kept this from you, my audience, for too long. I give you Chapter 8.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Chapter 8: Of Ghosts and Valkyrur

The mood in Squad Seven's barracks was universally irate. News of the attempt on Marina Wulfstan's life—as well as her disappearance—had spread rapidly through its members, and a few members had leaked small bits of information to other militia soldiers as well.

Standing before the squad, Captain Varrot and Welkin were busy explaining the details of the earlier events to the Sevens as best they could. No further evidence besides Rosie and Cherry's findings turned up that contradicted the assumption that Marina was captured. To make things worse, Nancy, though alive and in stable condition, was now in a coma. The doctors were unsure whether or not she would ever awaken from it, much to Ted and Emile's dismay. Montley's death had come as a shock, especially to Jann, though Herbert, in his usual laziness, didn't show remorse for what had happened.

None of the Sevens were taking the news well, especially Catherine.

"I can't believe the general would go this far," said Claudia.

"And here I thought he had a shred of decency in him," added Knute. "Seems I was wrong."

"You're damn right, you're wrong!" said Catherine. "I know the man: he'd use his own mother as a shield if it meant saving his skin!"

"Catherine, please! Settle down," said Varrot. "I know this news has come as an outrage to all of you. I share your sentiments, and I assure you that measures will be taken to see that General Damon is brought to justice."

"Great, so who gets to kill him?" asked Jane, hoping she would be picked.

"No one. And I find your very suggestion appalling, Corporal Turner."

The Sevens were left fuming. They couldn't understand why Varrot was keeping them from exacting justice against General Damon for his crime.

"Everyone, please! Take it easy!" Welkin shouted.

His words went unheeded. The Sevens continued to voice rabble on and complain.

"Quiet!" Largo roared loudly.

Almost immediately, the Sevens piped down.

"Thank you, Largo," said Varrot. Then, turning back to the Sevens, she said, "I understand you all feel the need to exact revenge on the general immediately, but you must also understand that, in a sense, the Gallian Army needs him for the siege on Ghirlandaio tomorrow. If he were to be killed, it could derail the entire operation. We cannot afford to let that happen while the Imperial Army is still in Gallia."

The Sevens mumbled loudly in discontent to Varrot's words. Catherine, among them, was infuriated. Eleanor did have a valid point, but she was again letting Damon off the hook for his crimes. He had to pay!

"Everyone, listen," said Welkin. "I know you probably disagree with Captain Varrot's say on this, but I for one agree with her. Taking Damon out right now would only create more problems for us. But we promise you: once the Imperials have been driven out of Gallia, Captain Varrot and I plan to present our evidence directly to Princess Cordelia. So I don't want anyone jeopardizing our case by attacking the general. We don't want to give him another advantage over us."

Again, the Sevens were left mumbling, though there were quite a few who now agreed with the plan. Catherine, however, did not. She knew that bringing Damon to trial wouldn't amount to much in the long run.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," said Varrot. "I will keep the recording safe in my office. Until then, you and your squad are to avoid any confrontations with General Damon or his staff. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"One other thing: since your squad is currently shorthanded, I've had two men from Squad Five reassigned to your command, as well as one of the newer recruits." Then, hearing a knock on the door, she said, "Enter."

The door to the barracks swung open as three soldiers entered. One was a pale, yet large man with oddly-fashioned blond hair, wearing a lancer's armor. His rank was a Private. The other two, however, were people the Sevens quickly recognized. One was a young Darcsen boy with spiky hair, while the other was a tall, grey-haired sniper with a gaunt, somewhat handsome face.

"Mintz? Julius?" said Welkin, surprised to see the former Sevens.

"Hi, everyone! It's been a while!" said Mintz.

"Mintz! Oh, it's so good to see you!" Nadine said as she ran up to Mintz and hugged the young Darcsen engineer.

As several of the other Sevens went to greet Mintz, Julius strode past the crowd and stood before Welkin in a salute.

"Lance Corporal Julius Klotz, reporting for duty, Lieutenant Gunther," said Julius.

"At ease," said Welkin. "It's good to see you back, Julius. Mintz too."

"Likewise, sir. I'll do whatever I can to help in Wulfstan's absence."

"Hey, Gunther!" said the new recruit, a lancer. "Theold Bohr here. Remember the name."

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Welcome aboard, Theold."

"Yeah, yeah. Can the niceties."

As Theold walked away, turning his bad attitude toward some of the others, Welkin watched him in perplexed confusion. It didn't take long for Theold to start boasting to the others on how important he would be in the siege.

Scoffing, Largo said, "Typical glory hog. Where'd you find him, Elle?"

"I apologize if Private Bohr's behavior is… undesirable, but we are somewhat short on available men and I had to pick from what was left. He was certainly not my first choice, but despite his attitude, Private Bohr is a competent lancer."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Captain," said Welkin. "We'll work with what we've got. And thank you for bringing back Mintz and Julius. I know I can count on them."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. If you will excuse me…"

Varrot walked to the door and into the hallway. Then, a few seconds later, she stopped upon hearing Catherine say, "Same old plan, Elle? Just let the general get away with what he's doing?"

Turning to face Catherine, Varrot said, "Catherine, unlike with what happened to Pamela and Frederick, I am not about to turn a blind eye to General Damon this time. As soon as we have ended this war, I will expose his actions."

"And how far do you think a conviction's going to go? You and I both know that Damon and Borg are old pals! Damon will never see court because of him!"

"I know that Prime Minister Borg is an obstacle, but that is exactly why I plan to give Princess Cordelia the evidence directly."

"Oh, and that will make things SO much better!" Catherine said sarcastically. "Elle, Cordelia's not the one in power at the capital! What good do you think she'll be able to do?"

Calmly, Varrot answered, "As much as she can. She is Gallia's sovereign ruler, after all."

"In two years, maybe! Right now, she's little better than a puppet! Elle, we can't win this by playing Damon's game, and you've been playing it since day one!"

Now becoming somewhat cross, Varrot said, "That is because, unlike you, Catherine, I wish to do things in a lawful manner."

"To hell with that! Laws are made by those in power, and they can bend them however they please! You keep doing things "lawfully", and sooner or later it'll be you who Damon kills next!"

"Catherine–"

"NO, Elle! I'm sick of you always trying to compromise! This isn't about doing things by-the-book anymore! Justice isn't gonna prevail because you follow some damn procedure to the letter! The only way Damon's gonna face justice is if we do things our own way!"

Stunned, Varrot asked, "Catherine O'Hara, are you listening to yourself?"

In an icy tone of anger, Catherine answered, "YES! And I mean every bit of it. He's gone too far too many times now, and I say he should pay the price for it!"

Catherine stormed away from Varrot, who could only watch as her old friend left. Varrot worried that Catherine was going to do something she would regret.

And unbeknownst to her or anyone from Squad Seven, an officer from the Regular Army slowly snuck out of the barracks.


The echo of water dropping into a small puddle periodically rang through the lowest level of Ghirlandaio. The level itself was damp and extremely unsanitary, though the Imperials made no effort to clean the place. They really had no need to; Ghirlandaio's lowest level was home to its dungeon.

In one room of the dungeons, a guard sat at an old wooden table on an equally old wooden chair. The soldier was sleeping due to boredom toward his duty of guarding what his superiors had told him was a very dangerous prisoner. She didn't look dangerous.

Just then, two more Imperial soldiers came down a flight of stairs and entered the chamber. One was carrying a ZM MP 5, while the other had a tray of food consisting of a stale loaf of bread and leftover stew. The stew already looked as though it had gone cold.

The two Imperials soon reached their destination, the fourth cell in a row of five. The first Imperial looked inside the cell and said, "Hey, prisoner, meal time."

Inside the cell, Marina took a short look at the door. She'd only been in the cell for less than a day, so she hadn't really gotten settled in by now. Not that she intended to stay for very long, but so far she hadn't found a good chance to escape. After all, Ghirlandaio itself was still crawling with Imperial soldiers; escape was pretty much impossible at the time.

Deciding she had to keep her strength up, Marina slowly got up and walked to the door of her cell. She stood before the door for a moment, but the guards did nothing.

"…I'm waiting…"

"Nuh-uh, Ghostie," said the Imperial. "You aren't getting a crumb unless we see you beg like the dog you are!"

The Imperial's counterpart laughed and said, "Come on, Wulfie, beg for your dog food!" Both Imperials laughed at this insult.

"…"

Marina had expected something like this would happen. The Imperials wanted her to break in the prison, so that her eventual death would be that much more inspiring to the Imperial Army. Marina, however, wasn't about to play their game.

Turning away from the door, Marina walked back toward a bed in the back of the room, intending to get some more rest. This action clearly angered the Imperials.

"Hey, get back here, you stinking Gallian blyat!" said the first Imperial.

When Marina ignored them, the first Imperial stomped over to the guard's desk and took hold of a ring of keys. Selecting the key to Marina's cell, he used it to unlock and wrench open the iron door.

As both Imperials stepped in, the first one said, "You're going to beg for us, and you're going to do it now!"

With his last word, the Imperial grasped the stale loaf of bread and tossed it, hitting Marina's right shoulder. Marina felt it, but ignored the hit, knowing they were trying to get on her nerves.

"Hey, maybe she's not hungry," said the second Imperial in a lecherous tone, putting down his ZM MP 5. "Maybe she wants something else, heh heh."

Realizing what his comrade meant, the first Imperial snickered as he set the food tray on the ground. The two then advanced on Marina.

Marina scowled as she heard their sniggering and turned to face them. They intended to take advantage of her predicament for their own perverse pleasures. Yet she had also anticipated this, and already knew how to deal with it.

The first Imperial reached out at Marina. In a quick movement, Marina grabbed the man's shoulders and swung a knee into his groin. The soldier recoiled in pain as Marina shoved him away. The second Imperial, reacting to this, tried to punch Marina. Marina countered by knocking the strike away, grabbing the man's arm, and twisting it harshly. The soldier screamed in pain, but stopped as Marina released him and struck him in the head with a fist. He fell to the ground, moaning as his body cringed.

It was at this moment that Marina heard shouts coming down into the dungeon. The other guards had heard the struggle, and she wasn't as eager to fight them. She turned away from the door just as two guards with submachine guns showed up.

"Hands up, now!" shouted one of the guards.

Marina didn't listen, but instead walked casually to her bed and sat down on it. It was enough to show she wasn't trying to escape; the guards didn't shoot her.

A few seconds later, an officer ran up behind the two guards. Looking at the two wounded soldiers, then at Marina, he said, "What the hell is going on here?"

"…Ask those two… they need to learn to keep their hands to themselves…"

The officer realized what Marina met, much to his consternation. Looking angrily down at the two wounded soldiers, he shouted, "Get them up to the infirmary!"

The guards kept their weapons trained on Marina as they knelt down to help the two soldiers to their feet. The guards escorted the two soldiers out of the dungeon.

As they did, the officer said to Marina, "My apologies. General Jaeger said that you were to be treated well as a prisoner, and those two have been troublemakers ever since they got here. Rest assured – I plan to have them punished severely."

"…"

With a short smile, the officer added, "If anything, you did me a bit of a favor by roughing them up. High Command doesn't approve of corporal punishment. I'm sure they'll remember this for a while."

Marina chose not to respond, prompting the officer to leave and shut the door to her cell on the way out. As the officer's footsteps echoed, Marina knelt down and scooped up the stale loaf of bread. It was all she had to eat at the moment; her struggle with the two soldiers had knocked the bowl of stew over, spilling its contents onto the grimy floor. The bowl itself had been broken, apparently made of pottery.

Noting how hard the bread was, Marina swung the loaf at the wall, breaking it into smaller pieces. Placing a bite-sized piece in her mouth, Marina was immediately met by a very dry and bland taste, though she managed to swallow it.

Alicia's bread loaves were far better. Marina wondered how she and the other Sevens were faring, knowing she was missing in action. Catherine probably wasn't taking the news well…


"What? Are you sure?" Damon hissed to one of his officers.

"Yes sir," said the officer. "Captain Varrot's holding onto the evidence presently, and word on Sergeant Wulfstan's disappearance is spreading throughout the militia."

Damon began to twitch angrily at hearing this. An information leak of this degree was a disaster for him. Though no one would be able to convict him based solely on hearsay, Varrot's physical evidence would be a serious threat. And since so many people knew about his actions, Damon couldn't have Varrot eliminated; it would only provide further proof of his involvement on the attempt on Marina Wulfstan's life.

What left Damon confused, however, was how Varrot had obtained physical evidence. Vargas' crew had caught the militia reporter, and even though she had been turned loose, all the physical evidence was destroyed. Had he missed something?

With his keys jittering in his hands, Damon opened the door to his office and marched in. He had to think of a way out.

"What do you want us to do about Captain Varrot, sir?"

"I don't know, shut up! Let me think…"

Suddenly, as Damon was mulling his options, he heard the officer let out a short gasp, followed by a loud thud as the officer fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Turn around, General," a voice said angrily.

Damon slowly turned around. Surprise came across his face upon seeing Catherine, who had hidden behind the door, pointing a pistol at him.

"O'Hara? What is the meaning of this?" Damon demanded.

Angrily, yet in a scarily calm voice, Catherine said, "Twenty years ago, I lost two of my best friends at Naggiar because of you. Today, I just lost someone else I held dear."

"That's quite a shame, O'Hara, but casualties are inevitable in war. You, among all people, should know that."

"Shut up! I'm not buying any more of that horseshit! You tried to have Marina killed, and because of that the Imperials got her! It's your fault, you bastard!"

"What are you babbling about, O'Hara? I had nothing to do with Wulfstan's disappearance, just as I had nothing to do with what happened back then!"

"LIAR!" Catherine screamed. "I already heard the recording between you and Vargas! You even tried to have Ellet killed for it, you demented maniac!"

Damon knew he couldn't lie anymore to Catherine. She'd either see right through it or she'd shoot him for it. Either way, Damon was cornered, and very likely running out of time before Catherine snapped.

Backing away, Damon said, "Now, O'Hara, let's be reasonable–"

Storming furiously at Damon, Catherine struck the general with the butt of her pistol, sending him to the carpet. Damon tried to crawl away, but Catherine pressed a boot down on his back, pinning him to the floor. She then cocked the hammer of her gun and pressed the barrel to the back of Damon's head.

Through clenched teeth, Catherine hissed, "I should have done this twenty years ago, you son of a bitch!"

"Hands up! Drop it!" shouted a man's voice.

On a reflex, Catherine swung her pistol toward the source of the voice. Then, to her shock, the butt of a Mags MXX smashed into her arm. Catherine screamed in pain as she dropped her gun. Barely a second later passed before Catherine was struck again by the same Mags, sending her to the ground.

Catherine lay on the floor with a large bruise on her cheek as four more of Damon's bodyguards rushed into the room and trained their submachine guns on her. Damon's aide entered the room and quickly knelt down next to the general.

"Sir, are you alright?" asked the aide.

"I'm fine, you idiots! How'd you let her through?"

Damon pushed himself back up, straightened his collar, and looked down at Catherine, whose livid expression showed her hatred. To Damon's surprise, Catherine screamed as she tried to lunge at him, but one of his bodyguards quickly kicked her to the floor again. She continued to struggle violently, but this was met by a series of violent blows from the Regulars. Soon, she lay still, wounded but alive, and whimpering in a deranged manner.

Then, one of Damon's men readied his submachine gun to finish Catherine off. "Burn in hell, traitor!"

"Hold your fire!" shouted Damon. "I want her alive!"

The bodyguards, along with Damon's aide, were confused by this order. Regardless, they chose to obey. Catherine, battered and wounded, was too enraged to wonder what Damon was thinking.

With a short laugh, Damon said, "She's just what I needed right now. Lock her up, and make sure no one visits her without my direct authorization! Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" was the unanimous response.

Two of the bodyguards then grabbed Catherine by her arms and dragged her out of the hallway. A third followed, keeping his Mags trained on her. Two others moved the officer Catherine had knocked out, carrying him off to the infirmary.

As the guards left, Damon's aide asked, "Sir, why did you let her live?"

"Word of my little plan from last night has gotten out amongst the men. If the higher-ups back in Randgriz get any solid evidence, I'm finished!"

"So, how does she fit into this?"

Damon did not answer this. A twisted grin appeared on his face.


Cezary strode through the grimy catacombs of Ghirlandaio, dressed in a black Imperial officer's outfit. Pinned to his shoulder was a single silver bar, the insignia of a 1st lieutenant in the Imperial Army. It wasn't quite the captain rank Jaeger had promised him, but it was a start.

Still, the rank didn't bring him immunity from persecution. Several Imperials still gave him nasty glances when he passed them. Cezary wasn't surprised; his rank was earned through treachery, and the Imperials rarely abided a traitor. The rank would temporarily serve to protect him, but he was going to have to earn further protection by helping to win the war.

The bad thing was General Jaeger had been called away from Ghirlandaio shortly after his group had returned from patrol. He was heading to meet up with Maximilian, who was audaciously leading a force directly toward Randgriz. Cezary planned to leave Ghirlandaio and join up with Jaeger the next day. He had some unfinished business to attend to, and it was already getting dark outside.

Walking up to a set of darkened stairs, Cezary slowly descended into the dungeons, taking care not to slip on the grimy floor. The air was sickening, but he had been through worse. He had business with a certain prisoner.

Coming up to Marina's cell, Cezary watched for a moment as Marina realized his presence. Not moving from her bed, Marina's contemptuous violet eyes met with Cezary's light blue ones.

"…Just when I was starting to get cozy, you decide to stroll on down here…"

"Oh, that reaaally stings, Wulfstan. Tch, still an insufferable bitch."

"Insufferable's a word I think suits you, Cezary."

Smirking, Cezary said, "You can keep up that tough girl shtick all you like, Wulfstan. But we'll see how tough you are when you're put before a firing squad. A lotta guys here wanna see you die, including me. I've even asked General Jaeger to put me on the firing squad. I plan to put a round right here." Cezary touched a finger between his eyes as he finished his sentence.

"I bet you'll miss."

This response seemed to push one of Cezary's buttons. He drew a pistol from his belt, pointing it at Marina's head. It was her Colt .45. Cezary had taken all her weapons when she was captured, claiming them for himself. Marina was surprised that the Imperial commanders let him keep the GSR-XXX, which was strapped to his back.

"I don't miss, Wulfstan," Cezary hissed.

"Funny, I seem to remember you missed me at that ravine."

Cocking the hammer on Marina's pistol, Cezary said, "Well, maybe I should just finish you off right now. It'd save me from having to wait."

At that moment, the tip of a sword shot out, hovering near Cezary's neck. "And yet you shall wait, vermin," said a commanding voice.

Slowly turning, Cezary saw that Selvaria was standing next to him, her rapier close to his throat. Neither he nor Marina had expected her to be there, let alone protecting Marina from a premature death.

"Do you mind, Lady Valkyria?" said Cezary. "She and I were talking."

"If you wish to keep your head attached to your body, then you will leave us, worm!" Selvaria snapped.

For a moment, Cezary glared at Selvaria angrily. What business did she have denying him the chance to kill his hated rival?

Selvaria, however, glared back with her crimson eyes. It was enough to make Cezary back down and holster the pistol. Scoffing, Cezary left the dungeon, muttering threats under his breath.

Getting to her feet, Marina said, "…Thanks…"

Turning to Marina, Selvaria said, "Your death will not serve to fulfill the desires of one man, Ghost of Gallia. Your death is to account for the deaths of many you have slain, and to put at ease those who have lost comrades at your hands."

"Sounds like dying either way. You just make it sound glorified."

"Do I?" Selvaria asked bemusedly.

"Yup. Getting shot to death while tied to a pole sounds like a pretty undignified way to go, if you ask me. You make it sound like an honor."

Selvaria lifted her rapier, making the blade level with her flat palm. She then said, "Oh, but you deserve such an honor. You truly live up to your name, Ghost of Gallia. Though I pierced your heart with this very blade, you found a way to cheat death."

"I told you back then, I wasn't afraid to die. I'm still not. Then again, maybe you really did kill me, and I really am a ghost."

With a quick swipe, the tip of Selvaria's rapier nicked Marina's left cheek. Wincing, Marina touched a hand to the small scratch as it bled.

"Even a ghost like yourself can be killed," Selvaria said casually.

"I guess so…"

As she sheathed her blade, Selvaria said, "I will admit to you, Ghost, that I was impressed by your bravery at Naggiar. A lone soldier, who dared to challenge me, a Scion of the Valkyrur. You even succeeded at wounding me. That is no mere feat."

"I was just doing what was necessary to let the others complete their mission."

"You value your own life less than the lives of others?"

Marina paused for a moment, and then said, "…Maybe…"

"You are a strange one, Ghost. You and I, we are quite similar."

"I find that hard to believe."

"You do not think you are the same as I am?"

"I'm not a descendent of the Valkyrur. And I wouldn't sacrifice everyone around me just to save one man. You seem to have that problem with Maximilian."

Marina half-expected Selvaria to kill her right there and then, but she didn't. Instead, Selvaria seemed to smirk at this remark.

"I owe my life to His Grace, a debt I can never hope to repay."

Marina's curiosity was piqued at this. "Really…? What'd he do to make you owe him that much?"

"He gave me a purpose in life. He saved me from the hell that is Asgard. And… he gave me my name, Selvaria Bles."

Selvaria lowered her head, while Marina listened curiously to her tale.

"I was alone… Always…"


"Stop, A-One!" shouted a man.

"There's no use running! You have nowhere to go!" shouted another man.

Outside a large Imperial facility, called Asgard by the people who worked there, three scientists ran after a twelve-year-old girl with silver hair and pale skin. She was covered in small bruises and cuts, and only had a tattered white sheet as clothing. Her eyes, however, were ruby red.

The girl, A1, ran desperately into a maze of bushes in Asgard's garden. She continually swerved around corners, left and right, desperately trying to shake off her pursuers. She had to get away. She had tried so many times to get away, but each attempt had failed.

But after only a couple of minutes, the girl began to tire. Her legs were becoming sore, and she was running out of breath. She could still hear the scientists nearby searching for her. It was only a matter of time before they found her.

She could run no further. A1 sat down next to a bush filled with blue flowers, wrapping her arms around her tired legs. She began to cry.

She heard footsteps approaching. One of the scientists must have found her. A1 opened her eyes to see who it was.

It wasn't a scientist. It was a young man, about nineteen-years-old, wearing a white military ensemble. His blond hair and blue eyes were matched by a truly handsome face. A1 had never seen anyone like him before.

For a moment, the two just stared at one another.

"What is your name?" asked the prince.

Slowly, the girl said, "A1."

"That is an unusual name. It doesn't suit you."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the two heard a woman's voice shout, "A-One, show yourself! You can't hide forever!"

The voice was close by. Seconds later, a woman wearing a lab coat walked onto the scene. She had long black hair and wore glasses in front of her green eyes. She wore a leather vest under her lab coat, one that revealed a small amount of her cleavage. She looked as though she were in her mid-twenties or so.

"There you are, A-One," said the woman. "Third time this week; when are you going to– Ah! P-Prince Maximilian! I didn't notice you!"

The woman bowed to Maximilian as he glanced toward her. He then asked, "You are Clementia Forster, correct?"

Recollecting herself, the woman said, "Yes, Your Grace, I am the head scientist here at Asgard. I was not expecting you here, and I apologize if A-One has inconvenienced you. She is a troublemaker, you see."

Maximilian said nothing to this. From her position, A1 watched as Clementia approached her.

"Now then, A-One, come along back to your cell. And don't struggle this time, or–"

To Clementia's surprise, Maximilian had stepped in front of A1.

"Doctor Forster, this girl is no longer your concern. From this moment on, she will be under my care."

Startled, Clementia said, "What? What are you talking about?"

"She is the very reason why I am here, doctor. She will serve me from now on."

"Prince Maximilian, have you gone mad? Do you have any idea what kind of power A-One commands?"

Calmly, Maximilian answered, "More than you would believe, doctor."

Now frustrated, Clementia brushed aside part of her lab coat, drawing a pistol from its holster. "I'm afraid I can't let you take her. I am under direct orders from the Emperor himself to see that A-One is trained to become the Empire's champion. She is not yours to take as you see fit."

Maximilian ignored Clementia, and turned to A1. He extended a hand and said, "Do you wish to leave this place?"

A1 could not answer. She timidly began to extend her hand to Maximilian. But as she did, she heard a pistol click.

In what seemed like an instant, A1 watched as Maximilian swung around, drawing his sword, and slashed at Clementia's gun. Clementia recoiled in shock, clasping her hand as her gun clattered to the ground. Before she could react, Maximilian had raised the tip of his blade to her throat.

Recovering from her surprise, Clementia said angrily, "The Emperor will have your head for this!"

"Will he, now? Perhaps you should be more concerned about your own head, Doctor Forster. His Excellency is most displeased with your lack of progress. He has ordered that I shut down your operation, and has permitted me to claim any assets I see fit in doing so."

"What? Th-That can't be! No!"

Looking to her sides, Clementia saw a number of Imperial soldiers advancing on the facility, most whom were engineers and technicians, all under Maximilian's command. Clementia fell to her knees in disbelief. Deep down, she knew Maximilian's words were true. She was finished.

Taking his attention away from Clementia, Maximilian turned back to A1 as he sheathed his sword. He then looked to the blue flowers, clasping one in his hand.

"Selvaria. The name of this flower." Looking at A1, Maximilian said, "That shall be your name from now on. Selvaria Bles."

A1 blushed as Maximilian handed her the flower. She slowly stood up as Maximilian turned around, and she followed him out of the garden.


"So you just followed him because he gave you a name?" asked Marina. "Sounds like something a lovesick puppy would do…"

Angry with the remark, Selvaria snapped, "You would be smart to watch your tongue, Ghost, lest I decide to cut it out!"

"…"

Calming herself, Selvaria added, "From that day forward, I vowed to always serve him, even if I had to give my life for him. I would end a thousand lives if he asked it of me, without question."

Marina waited a moment before asking, "…Because you love him…?"

Selvaria paused, and then said, "Yes."

"…"

"And what of you, Ghost of Gallia? What is your purpose? Why do you fight?"

Marina said nothing for a moment, but then said, "…To honor my father…"


Varrot sat in her office, deep in thought over the events of that day. Damon's conspiracy was something that could create a significant political storm back at Randgriz. Even if Cordelia were to receive the information, she still had to worry about Prime Minister Borg. Borg was a close friend of Damon's, and his political influence would surely lessen the charges set against Damon in the end.

It couldn't be helped, though. At the very least, revealing the conspiracy would tarnish Damon's reputation irreparably. It would be a victory, albeit small.

To Varrot's surprise, the door to her office swung open as four armed Regulars barged in, moving to surround her. As Varrot quickly stood up, an officer from the Regular Army, Major Beier, entered the room.

"Major Beier. Is there something I can help you with?" asked Varrot.

"Captain Eleanor Varrot, you are under arrest for treason," said Beier.

Bewildered, Varrot said, "Treason? I've done no such thing!"

"Approximately one hour ago, Captain, one of your men, Corporal Catherine O'Hara, made a failed attempt on General Damon's life. She's now in the stockade. You are suspected of being an accomplice in her actions."

Varrot did her best to keep her tone civil as she said, "What you are suggesting is absurd. Catherine and I may be old friends, but I would never assist her in–"

"You will come with us, Captain. Lieutenant, take her away!"

One of the Regulars stepped up to Varrot. She then realized that they weren't even going to let her try and explain herself. They either wouldn't believe her, or they would twist the facts of her story. Damon, it seemed, wanted her silenced; hopefully, he wouldn't resort to bloodshed in her case.

Sighing in a defeated tone, Varrot said, "Very well. Lead on."

Beier's men stood at Varrot's side as they escorted her out of the office. As they entered the hallway, however, Varrot saw Largo storming toward the Regulars. He had apparently overheard everything.

"Let her go!" Largo demanded of Beier.

"Largo, stand down," Varrot said commandingly. "Stay out of this."

"The hell I will! Damon's not getting away with this!"

"You heard your superior, Sergeant Potter," said Beier. "She said to stay out of this matter, so you'll stay out of it. It's that or we can have you locked up as well."

Largo was sorely tempted to ignore Beier's warning and to simply punch the Regular Major in the face. But as he took another step, he saw Varrot shaking her head, telling him not to intervene. Reluctantly, Largo lowered his stance.

"Inform Lieutenant Gunther of what has happened here," said Varrot. "And tell him not to get involved." Seeing that Largo wasn't backing down, Varrot added, "Largo, trust me on this."

"Got it," Largo said reluctantly.

Largo turned and left as Beier's men escorted Varrot out of the building.


"Ever since I was four, my father raised me to be a soldier. He spent almost every day teaching me how to hunt, how to fight, and how to survive. I never got to interact much with other people. Hell, I didn't even get much of an education back then. It was all about training, even when it was raining or freezing. He'd keep me going until I collapsed or lost consciousness."

As Marina told this to Selvaria, memories of those days flashed before her eyes. Her father had been a harsh teacher, pushing Marina each day to become better and better. Early on, she had hated it, hated him.

"You hated him for it?" asked Selvaria.

"…At first, yeah. At least until I was eight…"


In his cabin, sitting in the dark as he smoked a cigar, Marcus Wulfstan rocked his chair back and forth, watching the woods from a nearby window. He slowly took a breath from his cigar, blowing out a thick cloud of smoke a second later.

A shadow approached from the outside. The door swung open, revealing a nineteen-year-old Catherine O'Hara in the door. She was clearly angry about something.

"Marcus, we need to talk," said Catherine, completely serious.

"O'Hara, I don't recall inviting you over tonight," said Marcus, his voice bold and distinguished by age.

"You think I haven't noticed how you've been treating Marina lately? That poor girl came to me last week, sick as a dog! What do you think you're doing to her?"

"What I will, Catherine. If my daughter is going to be a soldier, she needs to learn how to survive the way I've survived. She is a Wulfstan, and I'll be damned if she doesn't grow up a Wulfstan. How I raise her is none of your business."

"Well it is now! I'm taking her off your hands, like it or not! Now where is she?"

Marcus didn't answer, but continued to stare at the woods, taking another breath from his cigar.

"Where is she?"

Again, Marcus didn't answer, continuing to stare out at the forest. A moment later, Catherine realized what Marcus had done.

"Oh my God… You… you monster… Marcus, what have you done?"

Catherine ran out of the cabin, her face stricken in horror. She ran out into the woods, shouting out "Marina!" into the night.

As Catherine disappeared from view, Marcus took another puff of his cigar.


Dawn had begun to break, shining dim light into the forest. A few birds were chirping as they flew through the trees.

Though she hadn't slept a wink that night, Catherine trudged on through the foliage, looking for any sign of Marina. "Marina!" she shouted, but there was no reply.

Stopping next to a tree, Catherine was forced to catch her breath. Exhausted, she rubbed her eyes. She had been searching for nearly eight hours, but the Forstwald Woods were large. There hadn't even been a slight trace of Marina.

Then, as she looked ahead, Catherine saw a small trail of red leading deeper into the forest. It was blood. Catherine feared that she was too late. Marina was just a child and the Forstwald Woods were a dangerous place. Many predators stalked the woods, most notably a large clan of wolves.

"Oh my God…"

Catherine slowly moved to follow the blood trail, praying that Marina would be alright. A minute later, Catherine reached a small clearing. What she saw astonished her.

"Ma-Marina?"

In the middle of the clearing, a small fire pit billowed small wisps of smoke from a few remaining embers. Suspended on a spit above the fire pit was the charred body of a rabbit, which had been skinned before being cooked. The pelt had apparently been used, along with two others, in making a makeshift mattress.

And sleeping on that mattress was a young eight-year-old girl with black hair. Her pale skin and small sheet dress had been stained red with blood, especially around her mouth and hands. Next to her was a jagged rock, also covered in blood, clearly used as a crude knife.

Catherine slowly walked over to the girl. As she did, she suddenly felt herself step on a twig. Hearing the noise, Marina's violet eyes opened. The girl sprung to her feet, grasping the stone knife in her hand fiercely, snarling at Catherine.

"Easy, Marina," said Catherine, holding out her hands to show she meant no harm. "It's me, Cathy. Don't worry, it's gonna be okay."

Marina didn't lower her knife, however, and continued to snarl as though she were a wolf. As Catherine took another step forward, Marina swiped at her, forcing Catherine to back off.

"Marina, it's me! It's Catherine! I'm not gonna hurt you."

For a moment, Marina continued to snarl at Catherine. But then, she stopped, looking at something behind her. Her ferocity vanished, replaced by a look of innocence.

"D-Dad…?" Marina whimpered.

With a soft moan, Marina collapsed. Shocked, Catherine rushed forward and scooped the unconscious child into her arms. She quickly placed a hand to the child's chest; her heart beat softly, and short breaths escaped Marina's blue lips. She was so cold to the touch.

A look of rage appeared on Catherine's face as she turned to face Marcus, who stood a few meters away. Smoke billowed from a cigar in his fingers.

Walking toward the two, Marcus said proudly, "That's my girl."

But as Marcus neared her, Catherine slapped him in the face. She then turned Marina away from him and snapped, "Are you insane, Marcus? This girl's barely alive! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I knew Marina was up for a test like this, Catherine. She's survived out here a full three days, just like I taught her. I can't say I've ever been more proud of her."

"You're a maniac! To think I ever followed your command four years ago! To think any of us did!"

"D-Dad…"

Startled, Catherine looked at the girl in her arms. "Marina?"

Looking in her arms, Catherine saw Marina was staring at her father, reaching out a small hand to him.

"D-Dad… H-How did… I… do…?"

Marcus dropped his cigar to the ground, crushing it under his boot, and then walked over to Catherine and Marina. Gently grasping Marina's hand, he said, "You did well, Marina. Get some rest; you've earned it."

With a short smile, Marina shut her eyes as she again lost consciousness. Marcus then took hold of his daughter, cradling her gently in his arms. Then, with a stunned Catherine in tow, Marcus carried Marina out of the Forstwald Woods.


"After that experience, things changed," said Marina. "I took to my father's lessons even when he didn't tell me to. He taught me how to shoot, but more importantly, he taught me how to fight like a hunter. How to hide, how to move invisibly… how to kill… He showed me all that and more. That is, until he died when I was fourteen…"

"I see…" said Selvaria.

Suddenly realizing what she was saying, Marina said, "Dunno why I just told you all that…"

"Yours is a truly remarkable tale, Ghost of Gallia. You seem born a warrior, else your father's teachings would have been wasted on you."

"…"

"In a way, we are both similar," Selvaria remarked. "We two were raised to be soldiers, yet while you were raised to serve Gallia as a hunter, I was made to serve the Empire as a Valkyria. You and I are alike and unalike."

"…Guess you're right… doesn't really matter, though, does it? Come tomorrow, your men will have me shipped off to some camp in the Empire, where I'll be put to death."

"A truly unfortunate fate for one such as you, I'm afraid. But one I must condemn you to, Ghost of Gallia."

With that, Selvaria turned and strode toward the exit to the dungeon. But after a few steps, she stopped as Marina said, "A word of warning, General Bles. If I get the chance, I will shoot you down."

"You still utter threats to me?"

"It's a warning, from one soldier to another."

Selvaria simply smirked at this, then continued up the stairs and vanished. In her cell, Marina lay down on her bed, and soon drifted off to sleep.


Welkin looked up at the starry sky as he stood outside Squad Seven's barracks, his mind troubled. Largo had just informed him that Captain Varrot had been arrested by Damon's men on a false treason charge, allegedly assisting Catherine in an attempt on Damon's life. Varrot, however, had instructed him not to intervene. She had the right idea; they couldn't afford to give Damon any more to work with against them.

Then, Welkin heard footsteps approaching as Juno said, "Welkin! Welkin!"

Welkin turned just as Juno ran right up to him, almost colliding with him. "Juno, what's wrong?"

"It's Catherine! Damon's men – they took her and Captain Varrot away! They said she tried to kill General Damon!"

"Calm down, Juno. Largo already told me about it."

"Welkin, you have to do something!"

"There's nothing we can do right now, Juno," said Welkin. "We'd only be playing right into Damon's hands if we tried to free them."

"But, Welkin–"

"I know how you feel, Juno, but it's not up to me. Captain Varrot ordered us to stay out of it, and I agree with her call on this. If we do anything, Damon's position will only become stronger. Don't worry; once we speak with Princess Cordelia, Catherine and Varrot will be released. I promise."

With tears now beginning to fill her eyes, Juno sobbed as she turned away and said, "You wouldn't say that if it were Alicia in trouble."

"What?" Welkin said, startled by Juno's words.

At that very moment, Welkin and Juno failed to notice that Alicia, who was in the middle of a midnight stroll, had walked onto the scene. Seeing the two together and Juno in tears, Alicia decided to stay hidden behind a corner. She then looked around to listen in on the conversation.

"If it were Alicia, you'd probably have already done something crazy to rescue her," said Juno. "But for anyone else, you're content to just sit and do nothing! Even… even if it were me in there… you wouldn't…"

Confused, Welkin asked, "Juno, what are you saying?"

At that moment, Juno suddenly threw herself at Welkin, crying loudly as she beat her fists against his chest lightly. Welkin didn't resist; Juno wasn't really trying to hurt him, after all. She was simply distressed.

"It's always about her, Welkin! It's always about you and Alicia! I can't stand it! To you, I'm nothing compared to her! But Welkin, I… I…"

Grasping one of Juno's wrists at this moment, Welkin said, "Juno, that's not true! You and I have known each other for so long now. I still care for you like I always have!"

Alicia was shocked to hear this. What about her? What did she mean to Welkin?

"Y-You mean that, Welkin?" asked Juno.

"Of course I do."

Sniffling, Juno said, "We-Welkin… I'm so happy to hear you say that… Because Welkin… I… I…"

What Alicia saw next broke her heart. Juno had risen up and kissed Welkin right on the lips. And Welkin kissed her back…

Trying not to be heard, Alicia slowly walked away, crying silently.

Welkin, surprised that Juno had kissed him, suddenly realized what he was doing. He slowly removed his lips from Juno's, leaving the girl confused.

"We-Welkin…?"

"Juno, I… I didn't realize you felt this way about me."

"Well I do, Welkin! I… I love you!"

Juno tried to kiss Welkin again, but this time he was forced to push her away. Shocked, Juno's expression turned to sorrow and confusion as Welkin stepped back.

Trying to be serious, Welkin said, "Juno, you and I have been friends for as long as I've known you. And I don't want that to change."

"W-What?" Juno said in pained disbelief.

"You have to understand. Alicia's been there for me since the start of this. Without her, I would have lost my mind when Isara died. And I've always been there for her when she needs me." Sighing, Welkin said, "I'm sorry, but the way I feel about her and the way I feel about you… those feelings are too different."

"So… you don't l-love me?"

"I do, Juno. But not the same way I love Alicia."

This was all Juno needed to hear. Her heart seemed to stop beating in her chest, crushed by Welkin's words.

Juno turned away and said, "You know, Welkin? I-I always th-thought you a-and I… w-we'd…" Juno couldn't finish her sentence.

Welkin could only watch as Juno ran away from him, weeping loudly from a broken heart.


Catherine lay in her cell, still sore from the beating she had received at the hands of Damon's bodyguards. She found it strange that Damon had let her live and cursed herself for failing to kill him. She had the perfect opportunity and she let it go to waste! Now she would certainly face a firing squad for attempted murder.

Just then, Catherine heard the door to the stockade open, accompanied by several footsteps. A moment later, Captain Varrot was escorted into the stockade by two Regular officers. The guard opened the door to Catherine's cell, and Varrot entered. The door shut behind her.

"Elle…?"

"Catherine O'Hara, I am very disappointed in you," said Varrot. "I believed you were better than this, but you seem to have proven me wrong."

"At least I was trying to do something, Elle, instead of just sitting on my ass!"

"Did you not think about the consequences of your actions? This is exactly why I wanted to do things by the book."

Before Catherine could say anything else, the two heard more footsteps enter the stockade. Turning to the door, they saw General Damon enter the room, accompanied by Major Beier. Damon held a cassette tape in his hand.

"You're sure this is it?" Damon asked Beier.

"Of course, sir," said Beier. "I listened to it myself."

"Good work, Major. Dismissed." As Beier saluted the general and turned to leave, Damon looked at Varrot and Catherine and said, "I need to thank the two of you personally. If you hadn't tried to kill me, I'd never have been able to get this back. It's quite ironic, actually."

Catherine watched in despair as Damon dropped the cassette to the floor and crushed it under his foot. Damon, seemingly enjoying it, stamped on the tape several more times, grinding it under his boot.

"There, that takes care of that," Damon said, clearly relieved. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need my rest before tomorrow's siege. When Ghirlandaio is ours again, I'll be hailed as a hero!"

Damon laughed as he turned to leave. But at the same instant, Catherine lunged at the cell bars, trying to grab Damon through them. Damon recoiled as a deranged Catherine almost grabbed his uniform. Next to him, his escorts raised their weapons.

To Damon's surprise, Varrot struck Catherine in the back of the head, causing her to hit her head on the cell bars. The sniper fell to the floor, unconscious.

Straightening his uniform, Damon said, "I don't think I'll have any trouble putting her to death, Captain."

Varrot watched with an icy stare as Damon left the stockade with his escort. She then knelt down and rolled Catherine onto her back. Fortunately, the damage wasn't permanent; she was just stunned. She moaned gently.

Then, feeling tired, Varrot went over to one of the beds and lay down. As she did, she mused on how things seemed to be continually going from bad-to-worse.


Alicia ran as hard and fast as she could. She didn't know where she was in the forest, or where she was going. She just ran, leaving a trail of tears in her wake.

How could Welkin have betrayed her trust like that? She thought he cared for her, when in reality it was Juno he loved! She had been a fool believing otherwise!

Alicia soon reached a clearing in the woods, leading to a wide field of rolling grass. Running out of breath, Alicia stopped running and fell to her knees.

The whole world seemed to be falling apart for Alicia. Her friends feared her, Welkin had chosen Juno over her, and fate had cursed her with the power of the Valkyrur, a power that brought ruin to those around her. The people of Gallia, nobles and commoners alike, all saw her as a weapon meant to crush Gallia's enemies.

It was more than Alicia could take. All her dreams, everything she had cared for, were slipping away from her bit by bit. Each minute that passed for her had now become a nightmare she couldn't awaken from.

"Welkin… why…"

Burying her face in her hands, Alicia's sobs echoed silently through the forest.

"It's… It's not fair…"

Blue light began to shimmer from Alicia's body.

"It's not fair…"

An aura of azure flames began to envelop Alicia as her hair began to turn silver and her eyes a bloody crimson. The grass around her began to rustle as though a gentle wind were emanating from her.

"It's not fair!"

As she screamed, Alicia unleashed a wave of blue fire all around her. The grass was instantly set aflame and crumbled to ashes. The soil was scorched, hardening until it began to crack under the pressure of Alicia's power.

Opening her eyes, Alicia saw the flames roaring out around her. Terror now accompanied her sorrow upon seeing the destruction her powers were causing. Immediately, she held her head and struggled to contain her power, pleading for the flames to go away.

Alicia's silver hair began to fade, changing back to its regular brown. Her eyes did the same as the blue aura surrounding her body faded, and the blue fires burned out. Still, it did not stop a few small flames from burning around her, clinging to what remained of the once grassy field.

Looking at the devastation, Alicia couldn't stop herself from crying. Now her power was running wild; her feelings of pain and betrayal were only fanning the azure flames within her. Anything near her faced the threat of annihilation.

It was at this thought that Alicia remembered Marina's warning.

"Attachment is a weakness to us as soldiers…"

Alicia thought deeply about these words. The sniper's warning was quite sound: Alicia's care for the Sevens seemed to have a negative effect on her control over her powers. Her love for Welkin, in particular, seemed to be a poison that threatened to send her power into rampancy. Alicia knew Marina didn't know what it was like wielding the power of the Valkyrur, but she knew better than anyone just how terrifying it could be, having fought a Valkyria in single combat. She knew just how dangerous Alicia's power could be, and for that reason had promised to kill Alicia if she couldn't control her power. But now Alicia didn't have that protection. Marina was missing, and quite likely she was already dead. No one else would be able to stop Alicia in the event her powers went rampant.

There was only one option: Alicia had to learn to control her power. She cringed at the thought: doing so would involve detaching herself from all her friends and loved ones. She would have to embrace her existence as a weapon, not a human being. But what choice did she have? If she didn't control her power, it would probably destroy her and everyone close to her. Alicia couldn't bear the thought of it.

Standing up slowly, Alicia wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, and then shut her eyes, entering a focused state. Slowly, blue light began to shimmer from her body. Her brown hair once again turned silver. Opening her now-crimson eyes, Alicia held a hand out in front of her, observing the blue aura that now surrounded her body. She then watched as a blue flame sprouted above her palm.


The next morning arrived with a grey sky. The air was dry and the heat was mild. The sun, however, failed to shine through the clouds.

The remnants of the Imperial Army scrambled to their positions. The roar of tank engines accompanied the shouts of officers and foot soldiers. Ghirlandaio's elevators busily moved soldiers up and down the towers and parapets.

Sitting at a desk, Cezary carefully inspected his new GSR-XXX, which had been procured from Marina. It was a magnificent sniper rifle, made for the best snipers: rigid, precise, and powerful. Despite the rough conditions Marina had put it through the previous day, it was undamaged. Next to the rifle was a bandolier with twenty extra rounds for the rifle.

Cezary lamented how he would only get twenty shots; it was all Marina had on her. He didn't want to use Imperial rounds with the rifle, as they would risk damaging it. He would have to make due with what he had, but twenty shots weren't likely to do much against over a thousand Gallian soldiers.

Satisfied that the rifle was in good condition, Cezary slung it over his shoulder and made his way out of the office, heading for Ghirlandaio's eastern tower. The aerie would be an ideal position to snipe from. Truthfully, Cezary wished he could have fled the fortress. Attempting it now, however surely have him take a bullet to the back. He had no choice but to stay and fight.

Meanwhile, inside her quarters, Selvaria dressed herself in her form-fitting leather uniform, strapping her Ragnite rapier to her belt. After making a short prayer, Selvaria collected her Ragnite lance and shield, and left her quarters for the battlefield. Blue flames began to crackle around her as she took each step.

Over the intercom, the same message rang through the ears of the Imperials: the Gallian Army was advancing on Ghirlandaio.


Marina listened intently to the voice on the intercom and to the alarms. The rumble of tanks could be felt even through the thick concrete walls.

So the others were on their way, Marina thought. It probably wouldn't matter. Marina could already hear footsteps coming down into the dungeon. Looking to the entrance, Marina saw an Imperial sergeant leading two of his men into the dungeon. All three were armed.

The sergeant gestured to the prison guard to open Marina's cell, which he did quickly. Marina got to her feet as the sergeant walked up to her cell, holding a small length of rope in his hands. Not needing any instruction, Marina held out her wrists to the sergeant, letting him wrap the rope around them, binding her arms. Marina wondered why the sergeant wasn't using metal cuffs, but didn't complain either way.

"Alright, let's make this quick," said the sergeant. "Right this way."

"…"

Marina followed the sergeant out of the dungeon, followed by his subordinates. But as she walked up the stairs, her escort failed to notice as she fiddled with something in her fingers.


From his jeep at the rear of the Gallian formation, General Damon looked on at Ghirlandaio with a smile on his face. This would surely be his greatest achievement yet. The Imperials, even with their Valkyria, wouldn't stand up to Gallia's military might.

After all, Gallia's own Valkyria was at the front of the formation.

Ahead of the rest of the Gallian Army, Alicia's body crackled with blue fire. Her hair glowed silver, and her eyes had turned crimson red from her transformation. She firmly held her lance and shield in hand as she walked forward, keeping her gaze fixed on another blue flame ahead of her.

Standing in front of Ghirlandaio's gates was Selvaria, ready for battle. Yet Alicia was able to sense Selvaria's power; she was so much stronger than at Naggiar. But Alicia knew she would win. She had to win for Gallia.

Not too far behind her, Squad Seven advanced alongside the Edelweiss and the Shamrock. Welkin had his head sticking out of the turret hatch, watching Alicia as she marched forward. His face had concern written all over it.


Earlier that day, Squad Seven had gathered in the hanger next to the Edelweiss. They were all dressed in their combat rigs and held their weapons at attention. Catherine's absence was sorely felt. The Sevens already knew about her arrest, as well as the arrest of Captain Varrot.

Standing before his squad, Welkin said, "Alright Sevens, there's not much to say about today that hasn't already been said. This will probably be the most important battle we've fought these past eight months. Once we retake Ghirlandaio, the war will be over. We'll all get to go home. I ask of all of you to give me everything you've got today."

The Sevens voiced their approval, though without shouting. Welkin knew, however, that they were all eager to end the war that day. Eight months of warfare and its horrors were about to come to an end.

Then, from her place at the side of the crowd, Dallas asked, "Um, sir, where's Miss Alicia?"

The question hit Welkin like a pile of bricks. Alicia was nowhere to be seen! Apparently, the others had heard Dallas, and also looked around the hanger for her.

A second later, however, Dallas looked to the entrance of the hanger and said happily, "Miss Alicia!"

Welkin quickly turned toward the hanger doors.

"A-Alicia…"

His heart sank as he saw Alicia, her hair silver and her eyes red, bearing the Ragnite lance and shield of the Valkyrur.

"What is it, Lieutenant Gunther?" Alicia asked. Her voice echoed in an otherworldly tone.

"Alicia, I… you promised me that you wouldn't use your powers."

Her expression unchanging, Alicia said, "I apologize, Lieutenant, but my power will be needed if we are to win the battle, for we will face the Empire's Scion to the Valkyrur, and only my power can match hers. You, of all people, should know that."

"But Alicia, you can't control your power! It's too dangerous!"

As Welkin walked toward her, Alicia swung her lance in a quick motion. The Sevens recoiled as a wall of blue flame sprouted inches in front of Welkin, who stumbled back in surprise. The flames quickly subsided with a quick motion from Alicia's lance.

"Does it look like I'm not in control, Lieutenant Gunther?" Alicia asked icily.

"Alicia, what's gotten into you?" shouted Rosie. "You almost fried the boss!"

"He would be wise to stay away from me, Sergeant Stark, as would the rest of you. Do not get in my way in the coming battle, or I will not hesitate to force you aside."

Squad Seven stood stunned at these words. This Valkyria couldn't be the Alicia they had known from Bruhl.

"Fear not, however, for should you follow my lead, Gallia shall claim victory in the coming battle. That I promise you."

Alicia turned around and began to walk away. Standing in tears, Dallas suddenly ran forward and cried, "Miss Alicia! Wait!"

As Dallas came within inches of Alicia, the aura of blue flames surrounding her suddenly intensified for a split second. The force of the surge blew Dallas back, screaming as she landed on the ground. The Sevens watched in mute shock as this happened; Welkin could not believe his eyes.

"Dallas!" said Aika as she slid over to the engineer's side.

Dallas continued to cry as she pushed herself up. She was physically unharmed, but it was palpable that Alicia's display of power had hurt her emotionally.

"M-Miss Alicia…" Dallas sobbed.

As Aika tried to comfort Dallas, Welkin stepped forward, now frustrated, and said, "Alicia, why are you doing this?" Alicia stopped as Welkin walked toward her and continued, "We've been through so much together, but this isn't like you at all! Whatever's happening to you, I want to help you get through it! Alicia–"

"Stop calling me that!" Alicia shouted, her aura of fire flaring up for a brief moment as she did. Welkin yelped as he was forced back from Alicia.

As the flames surrounding her receded, Alicia turned to Welkin. Small tears were trickling down her face, despite the blue fire that surrounded her body. Then, Welkin watched as Alicia planted her lance into the ground, reached up, and unfastened the red scarf that covered her now-silver hair. As her long hair flowed down her sides, her pigtails coming undone, Alicia tossed the red scarf aside as though it were a rag. Welkin stared in disbelief as the red cloth floated downward while Alicia drew her lance from the ground.

In an almost proud tone, Alicia declared, "Alicia Melchiott is dead. I am a Valkyria, not a woman. That life has passed."

As Alicia turned away, Welkin slowly knelt down and grasped her scarf in his hand. It pained him to see the sentimental piece of clothing cast aside so callously by its owner.

Squad Seven watched silently as the Valkyria strode away from them.


Welkin grimaced at the memory. Why was Alicia doing this? For an odd reason, Welkin couldn't shake the feeling that Alicia was somehow doing this to spite him. But why would she do this to him?

Ahead of Squad Seven, Alicia continued to advance toward Selvaria. Seeing that Selvaria too was advancing toward her, Alicia stopped for a moment, prompting the Gallians behind her to stop as well.

Turning to the soldiers, Alicia shouted, "Sons of Gallia! Today we free ourselves from the oppression of the Imperial Army! Ghirlandaio stands before you, grasped by the hands of the enemy! I ask that you show them no mercy, for they will show you none!"

Gallia's soldiers roared valorously to Alicia's call to arms. But none of Squad Seven did; they found it hard to believe that Alicia was acting this way.

"Alicia…" Welkin said silently as he clutched the girl's red scarf in his hand.

"Leave the Azure Witch to me, Sons of Gallia, and crush those who would follow her! Let not a son of the Empire be spared Gallia's wrath!"

Again, the Gallian Army roared with approval. On Ghirlandaio's walls, the Imperials braced themselves for the inevitable attack.

Then, Alicia turned as Selvaria shouted, "You speak so boldly, Scion of Gallia! You speak as though I am certain to die at your hands! You are wrong. Before this day is done, you shall be not but ashes upon the wind!"

Selvaria directed her lance at Alicia, brimming with energy, and unleashed a devastating beam at her and the Gallian Army. As the Gallians ran away from the beam, Alicia raised her shield to the threat, projecting a blue barrier before her. The beam struck the barrier in a brilliant flash of light, but Alicia held off the attack.

The beam soon passed. From where she stood, Selvaria watched as the dust cleared around Alicia. She still stood strong, lowering her barrier as she rushed forward.

Readying her lance, Selvaria said, "Your Grace, I will not fail you again."

Selvaria shouted as she charged at Alicia. Their lances met in an earth-shaking clash, neither giving an inch. Then, Selvaria swung her shield at Alicia, catching her off guard and bashing her in the face. Alicia was forced to defend as Selvaria made several quick jabs at her.

For a moment, the Gallians and Imperials watched as the two clashed. But then, from his place at the rear of the formation, General Damon shouted, "DON'T JUST STAND THERE WATCHING! ALL FORCES, ATTACK!"

The Gallians surged forward at Ghirlandaio. The Imperials opened fire. The siege had begun.


Cezary watched as the battle started. Both Valkyria clashed with one another in a display of azure fire and light. Tanks rolled behind lines of infantry, their cannons blaring as they exchanged shells. Bullets flew all over the place, from trench to trench, accompanied by the screaming and shouting of men and women.

On the eastern side of the canyon leading to Ghirlandaio, Squad Seven began entering the trenches, covered by the Edelweiss and the Shamrock. Cezary wanted to take a shot at the Edelweiss, but knew that the rifle he held wouldn't even leave a paint scratch on the well-armored tanks. He'd have to make due with other targets.

Taking aim down into the canyon, a minimum 450 meter shot from his position, Cezary centered his sights on Walter Nash, a Squad Seven lancer. Cezary had always known Walter as being overconfident in his abilities, which were sorely lacking. He was an eyesore, making himself an easy target as he stood outside the trenches.

"So long, Nash."

The GSR cracked. An instant later, Walter fell as the bullet entered his head. Next to him, Jane shouted, "Ah shit! Nash is down!"

"Snipers! Get your heads down!" Largo bellowed.

The other Sevens quickly began running for the trenches, keeping their heads hidden from other possible snipers. Cezary was satisfied, however; creating fear was part of the sniper's role. The more Squad Seven was forced to keep its head down, the less of a threat it would be.

Cezary was also left marveling at how accurate the GSR-XXX was. His older GSR-XXR tended to lose some accuracy at distances around 500 meters due to wind resistance, but the newer GSR's round had flown straight as an arrow. Nash had been at least 600 meters away. The rifle's accuracy was impressive, to say the least.

"I'm gonna like this thing," Cezary said as he reloaded the rifle.

Taking aim at an officer from the Regulars, Cezary fired again.


Shells and bullets whistled through the air above Rosie's head, which she kept down low in a trench. Behind her were Cherry, Nadine, Ramona and Julius, all who also kept their heads down. Each one was doing whatever they could to stay hidden as they slowly made their way to a gatehouse at the foot of Ghirlandaio's wall.

After what seemed like an eternity, the team reached the gate. Miraculously, the Imperials weren't paying attention to them, too focused on the bulk of the Gallian Army. Rosie was thankful of this; she couldn't afford to lose any teammates at the time.

As much as Rosie wanted to be in the trenches helping the other Sevens, she and her group had an important mission on their hands. They were to infiltrate Ghirlandaio's walls, make their way to the eastern tower, and secure it, eliminating any enemy snipers and threats as needed. This objective had been run by Rosie and her team nearly a dozen times now, so they all knew the plan.

But as of the previous day, Rosie had been given another mission from Welkin. If it were possible, Rosie was to find and rescue Marina. She would've done it even if it weren't an order.

Turning to Nadine, Rosie said, "Do it."

Nodding, Nadine pulled the pin on her smoke grenade and tossed it at the opening in the gate. Seconds later, the gate was engulfed in a cloud of smog.

"After me, kiddos!" Rosie shouted, rushing into the smokescreen. The others followed close behind her.

Emerging from the smoke behind a supply truck, Rosie did her best to stay hidden as she made her way to a building that connected to Ghirlandaio's interior. Sneaking over to an iron door, Rosie tried the handle, but quickly discovered that the door was locked. She had expected this, however. Looking back, she saw the rest of her team come out of the smoke, led by Cherry.

"Everyone alright?" Rosie asked loudly, yet without shouting.

"Sure thing, Rosie," said Cherry.

"Good. Nadine, blow the door."

Nadine took out a grenade as she snuck up to the door. Jamming the grenade into the door handle, Nadine pulled the cord and ran back as she said, "Fire in the hole!"

The grenade blew the door right off its hinges. Rosie rushed into the room, quickly spotting two wounded Imperials trying to recover from the blast. She quickly mowed them down with her Mags MXXII.

"Clear! Come on, let's go!"

Rosie's team advanced into the darkness of Ghirlandaio's corridors.


Ducking in a trench next to Knute and two Regulars, Theold was angrily keeping his head down. The Imperials seemed to have it out for him; four different riflemen had targeted him in the past two minutes, though three were now dead.

Peering out of the trench, Theold saw to his surprise that Alicia was struggling to keep up with Selvaria's relentless assault. It was exactly the opposite of what Theold expected to see; sources said that the Imperial Valkyria had been easily defeated by Gallia's Valkyria at Naggiar, but now the opposite was happening.

"What is she doing?" Theold shouted. "Why doesn't she just finish her off?"

"Why are you asking me?" Knute answered. "I do not know and I do not intend to waste my energies thinking about it."

"Shut it! Just load me up, alright?"

Knute, deciding it would be pointless to bicker with the newer lancer, took a Lancaar round out of his pack and loaded it into Theold's lance. But as he finished, he was surprised to see that Theold was taking aim at Selvaria.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Heh, I kill that witch, and I'll be a hero!"

"You cannot be serious."

Ignoring Knute's opinion, Theold directed his Lancaar at Selvaria. The two Valkyria presently had their lances locked together, trying to overpower each other. A second later, the rocket screamed out of Theold's Lancaar.

But Selvaria heard it coming. She shoved hard, knocking Alicia back, and then kicked her away. Spinning around, Selvaria swung her lance at the Lancaar round, batting it away. The round spun out of control as it slammed into Ghirlandaio's wall.

Theold was initially shocked to see his shot had been deflected, but now looked on in horror as Selvaria's lance fired a blast of blue flame at him. The lancer barely managed to move an inch before the blast struck him, exploding on impact. In the blink of an eye, Theold was disintegrated.

Knute, who was next to Theold, had tried to run when he saw Selvaria aiming at them. But he was not fast enough; the azure flames washed over Knute as he screamed. The engineer toppled to the ground with severe burns across his body. Two fragments of rock had also dug deeply into his back. Opposite where Theold had been, the two Regulars were incinerated by the explosion.

Nearby, Mintz looked on in shock as Knute lay limp on the ground. The Darcsen had watched Theold's death, and now, frozen in shock, he could only watch as Knute's life was leaving him. The sight of it brought back horrible memories of what Selvaria had done at Barious; the smell and sounds only intensified the memories.

Suddenly realizing what he was doing, Mintz jumped down into the trench and scurried over to Knute's side. Upon seeing the extent of Knute's injuries, Mintz knew he couldn't save him.

"Knute, hang in there! Just hang on!"

"What a… waste… Now I can't…" Knute gagged his last breath as his head slumped over.

"Knute? Knute?"

Mintz tried to stir Knute, but the engineer gave no reaction. Mintz lowered his head in mourning; Knute was gone.

In the middle of the battlefield, Alicia screamed as she fired a flurry of blue blasts at Selvaria. Spinning around, Selvaria skillfully deflected the shots with her lance and shield. Then, with another loud shout, Alicia unleashed a powerful beam at Selvaria. Selvaria dashed away from the beam, which struck the ground harmlessly.

Surprised at Selvaria's dodge, Alicia was forced to hastily block a counterstrike from her. The powerful blow sent Alicia flying a short distance back, but she managed to land with a brief stumble.

Wincing in pain, Alicia watched as Selvaria took a stance, readying her lance for a charge.


From the aerie of Ghirlandaio's eastern tower, Cezary aimed his rifle down at the battlefield. He had seen several of the Sevens, but they were doing a good job at hiding in the trenches and behind clouds of dust and smoke. Cezary had managed to snipe down a few Gallians so far, but it wasn't amounting to much.

Looking down at the duel between Selvaria and Alicia, Cezary decided against shooting at Alicia. The last time he had tried it, it had almost cost him his life. Besides, Selvaria was winning; there was no need to risk his own neck.

Then, as Cezary ducked back behind the fortifications, another thought came to mind. The whole battle was creating a world of confusion for both the Gallians and Imperials. As a sniper, he had been taught to thrive on confusion; it was very useful for letting one escape or hide.

But for Cezary, this was also a problem: Marina had also been taught to thrive on chaos. And she was very good at it.

Cezary slid over to a nearby radio and began adjusting its frequency.


Marina wondered why her escorts had stopped. The sergeant had his hand to his earpiece, leaving his two subordinates just as confused.

"Sergeant, change of plans," Cezary said through the earpiece. "General Bles doesn't want to take any chances with the prisoner. Kill her."

"I heard nothing about this from the general," the sergeant answered.

"You want to ask her about this? Be my guest and distract her while she's fighting Gallia's Valkyria. You heard me; General Bles said to kill the prisoner! NOW!"

Marina watched as the sergeant grimaced. She hadn't heard the transmission, but guessed what it meant: they were to execute her on the spot.

Cocking his pistol, the sergeant turned to Marina and said, "Change of plans. I'll be sure to make this quick for you. Now just– UGH!"

Before the sergeant finished his sentence, Marina had attacked. On the floor now were a set of ropes, which had been cut, and a small shard of pottery stained lightly with blood.

With her hands free, Marina rushed forward, slamming her body weight into the sergeant and knocking him back. But as she did, her hands grasped the pistol and she wrenched it away from him.

Startled, the other two guards raised their rifles to shoot Marina. They were too slow; in quick succession, Marina fired a quick shot into each of them. Both dropped to the floor with bullets in their heads.

Still maintaining her momentum, Marina swung back around and smashed the sergeant in the head with the butt of his own gun. The sergeant went down quickly, lying on his back.

Looking up in a daze, the sergeant saw Marina aim the pistol straight at him. "No! No, DON–"


A loud bang echoed through Cezary's earpiece following the sound of a struggle, which had involved two other similar sounds.

"What's going on down there? Respond! What the hell is happening?"

No one responded.

Growling furiously, Cezary stormed away from his position as he shouted, "I have had it with that BITCH!"


Rosie slowly peered around a corner. Seeing that the coast was clear, she signaled for the others to advance behind her. The group followed Rosie as she made her way toward an iron door leading to a set of stairs. Unless she had gotten herself lost, Rosie was told that it would lead down into Ghirlandaio's lower levels. Down there, they would be able to find Marina and rescue her.

Rosie tried to the door handle. Unsurprisingly, it was locked. Turning to Ramona, Rosie said, "Linton, get this lock."

"Huh?" Ramona said, confused. "Nadine's got all the grenades, Rosie."

"You wanna let the Imps know we're here? Get over here and pick the lock."

"What? Whyyy me?"

"You're the one who's always sneaking into town at night."

Before Ramona could protest further, Julius said, "Stop complaining and do your job, Linton."

Ramona, realizing she didn't really have a choice, scowled at Julius as she moved over to the door to look at the lock. Immediately she was disgusted by the job; the door was covered in grime and rust, though the lock was still solid. It was then that she realized something.

"Uhhh, guys? I don't have anything to pick this with. Anyone got a bobby pin or something?"

Rosie sighed in disbelief. She was tempted to just blow open the door, but she wanted to keep the group hidden for as long as possible. Then, looking at Ramona, she got an idea.

"Huh? Hey, Rosie! What the hell!"

Rosie had pulled out Ramona's hairpins, causing the scout's stylized spiral to come loose. Ramona's strawberry blonde hair was now in a wild mess.

In a fit of rage, Ramona hissed at Rosie, "Do you have any idea how long it takes to get my hair like that?"

"Suck it up!" Rosie retorted, shoving the hairpins into Ramona's hand.

In a huff, Ramona turned to the lock and began to pick at it.


Musaad kept his head down in a trench as bullets whizzed over the top. As he reloaded his Gallian-SXX, he briefly looked to his sides. Nina was to his left, taking potshots at the Imperials, while six other Gallians stood beside both of them. As he looked to his right, however, Musaad saw a young man from Squad Three take a rifle round to his head. The poor lad dropped to the trench floor without even a whimper.

The veteran found it ironic that he was back at Ghirlandaio. He had participated in its defense when the Empire first took it at the start of the war. During that battle, General Damon had attempted to use large quantities of Ragnite Gas to defeat the Imperials, but the effort had failed. The official story was that the Imperials had used the gas, but Musaad knew this was just to cover Damon's tracks. If the general was good at anything, Musaad thought, it was making up a good alibi.

Just then, the blast from a grenade near the trench snapped Musaad's mind back to the fight. He turned to Nina, who had ducked back into the trench and was in the middle of reloading her Mags MXX.

"Dammit, there's no end to this!" shouted Nina.

"I hear ya, Nina!" Musaad replied. Then, one of the Regulars next to them took a round to his neck. Seeing this, Musaad shouted, "Watch the right!"

Turning, Nina saw three Imperial scouts trying to rush their position, followed by a lancer with a Lancaar-SH MX. Swinging around her submachine gun, the athletic shock trooper unleashed a barrage of rounds that cut two of the scouts down. But just as she fired at the third one, the Imperial lancer launched a mortar round.

"INCOMI–"

The explosive impacted in the trench next to Nina and Musaad. Shrapnel ripped into Nina's torso, while Musaad took a piece of metal to his back. Toppling over, Musaad struck his head on the side of the trench, and then fell to the floor, unconscious. The Gallians that were with them each took shards of metal to their limbs and chest.

Nearby, Largo saw the explosion at Musaad's position. "Musaad!"

Infuriated, Largo raised his Theimer MXI and fired a round at the lancer who had just hit Musaad's position. The round struck the lancer directly, blowing him to pieces. With the enemy gone, Largo tossed away the spent lance and crept quickly down the trench, picking up a Gallian-SX off the body of a Regular. Behind him, Dorothy and Hannes followed closely, along with two other Gallian soldiers.

A few seconds later, Largo saw Musaad on the floor of the trench, bleeding from a gash in his forehead and a piece of shrapnel in his back. Past him, three more Regular Army soldiers were down from the explosion, one who was in pieces. The stench of blood was nauseating, but Largo was used to it by now.

"Medic!" Largo bellowed. "Howard, Salinger, covering fire!"

Dorothy and Hannes immediately rose up in the trench and opened fire on any Imperials they could see. Behind them, the other Gallians did the same. Meanwhile, Largo slowly moved up to check the other Gallians for possible survivors. None of them had stood a chance from the explosion.

Then, he saw Nina face down in the trench, hit by at least five pieces of shrapnel in her torso. She was probably killed immediately by the mortar round.

"Dammit!"

A few moments later, a medic from the militia showed up, one Largo didn't recognize. He was probably a new recruit, but he quickly went to work on Musaad. To Largo's relief, the young medic knew what he was doing.

A rifle round suddenly impacted on the rim of the trench, a few inches from Largo's head. Instinctively, Largo ducked down into the trench, then lifted up his rifle and fired blindly at an Imperial-occupied machinegun nest.

Then, as she rose to take a shot, Dorothy screamed as a sniper round struck her in the shoulder. She toppled into the trench, crying out in agony. Largo grimaced as the medic quickly slid over to Dorothy, assessing her wound.

The situation was quickly turning into a suicide mission.


Now in the lower levels of Ghirlandaio, Rosie kept her ears and eyes peeled for any sign of Imperial movement. But as her team came into a junction point, Rosie stopped, looking in each direction the junction split.

"Rosie? What is it?" asked Nadine.

"Shut up a sec! Lemme think…" Rosie hissed. Then, in a defeated tone, she said, "Dammit, Nadine, give me the map. These tunnels all look alike."

Nadine reached into her pack to search for the map she had been given of Ghirlandaio's interior.

Next to them, Ramona turned to Cherry and whispered, "I can't believe this! My hair… Ugh, I look like such a tramp."

"Don't worry, Ramona," said Cherry. "I'll fix you riiight up."

As Cherry stood behind Ramona, trying to fix the latter's hair problem, Julius continued to listen for any sounds. Then, he heard it: at least two Imperial voices close by. The voices were getting louder; they were getting closer.

"Hey, hey, careful, Cherry!" Ramona muttered. Cherry was having difficulty seeing what she was doing due to the poor lighting in the tunnels.

"Just hooold still a sec, Ramona," said Cherry. "Stop fidgeting so–"

"OW! Cherry! Watch it!" Cherry had accidentally pricked Ramona's skin with one of the hairpins.

Rosie, initially startled by Ramona's scream, was alerted to the sound of Imperial voices nearby. They had heard them; their alarmed shouting made that fact clear. The two scouts had blown their cover.

A second later, two Imperial shock troopers emerged in one of the hallways. Three more appeared further down the hall from other corridors.

"Get to cover, now!" Rosie shouted as she dashed for cover.

The group scrambled behind cover as the Imperials opened fire on them.

After quickly firing a blind burst down the hallway, Rosie shouted, "Nice going, Linton!"

Just as Ramona was about to retort, she heard more Imperial voices coming from one of the other hallways. Ramona turned and fired as two scouts appeared, hitting one in the leg.


Alicia yelped as a blow from Selvaria's lance slammed into her shield, knocking the girl back a few meters. Alicia barely managed to keep her footing, but Selvaria was already rushing her again. Selvaria's lance swung in a crescent arc as Alicia leapt away from the blow, using the momentum from Selvaria's previous blow.

Out of range for a melee attack, Selvaria directed her lance at Alicia and unleashed a blast of blue flame from the weapon. Alicia was forced to dash away from the shot, which instead struck a Gallian tank, obliterating it.

Then, Alicia heard a Regular Army officer shout, "All gunners, target the enemy Valkyria! Fire at will!"

"You fools! Don't!" Alicia screamed, but her cries went unheeded.

Five tanks from the Regular Army directed their cannons at Selvaria and fired, sending explosive shells careening at her. Selvaria raised her shield, projecting a blue barrier around her that blocked every shell the tanks fired. At the same time, dozens of Regulars aimed their rifles and submachine guns at the Valkyria and unleashed a torrent of bullets. The attack had no effect.

"Fools…" Selvaria raised her lance, which spiraled as it charged with energy. "DIE!"

Alicia was forced to leap away as a massive stream of energy surged from Selvaria's lance, which she directed in a fan-shaped sweep. Everything that was in the path of Selvaria's attack was disintegrated.

As she finished her attack, Selvaria looked up to see Alicia diving at her from above, howling as she thrust her lance forward. Selvaria immediately countered with a hard slash, a blow that sent Alicia flying with a loud shriek.


Welkin watched from the Edelweiss as Alicia crashed to the ground. As the dust cleared, he could see blood trailing down her face.

It was more than Welkin could bear to watch. He wanted so badly to turn the Edelweiss' cannon against Selvaria, but he knew it would amount to nothing. Nothing the rest of the Gallian Army had could hope to stand up to Selvaria. Already Knute and Theold had been killed attempting to attack Selvaria; he didn't want to lose anyone else in such an effort.

But another part of him knew that Alicia was, at this rate, going to perish unless someone helped her. Alicia, however, seemed to be trying to keep anyone from assisting her, wishing to face Selvaria alone.

Knowing he could not help Alicia at the time, Welkin turned his attention back to the battle. Targeting an Imperial machinegun nest, the Edelweiss sent a mortar round careening into the pit, blowing it and its occupants to pieces.


Entering a small hallway, Marina aimed a stolen ZM Kar 5 down the darkened corridor, watching for any movement. The shuddering and echoing booms caused by the outside battle, however, weren't helping her in trying to discern any threats.

Marina was in a bad position. It wasn't going to take long for the Imperials to start searching for her. She had to keep moving if she was to have any chance of escape. The problem was, however, that Marina feared she was lost in the catacombs. When the Imperials had brought her down to the prison, she had been blindfolded so that she wouldn't be able to retrace her steps.

Fortunately, Marina had managed to obtain an Imperial rifle, a pistol, but she had little ammo for either weapon. Most important, however, was that she had taken an earpiece radio off one of her escorts, so she was able to listen to Imperial radio chatter. Voices of Imperial officers giving out orders rang in her ear as she continually adjusted the frequency of the earpiece, trying to tap into a Gallian signal.

Suddenly, Marina heard a familiar voice. "Cherry… got him?"

"Got'em, Rosie … totally … clear …" came Cherry's distorted voice.

"Not … still need to … Marina and … hell outta …"

Static was flooding Marina's ear. The walls of Ghirlandaio were probably causing interference with the radio.

Marina slowly turned the dial on her earpiece, trying to get a clearer signal. Within seconds, the static subsided, but only somewhat.

"Rosie, this is Marina. Do you copy?" Marina said in a loud whisper.

"Marina? Is that you? I can barely hear you. Cherry, boost the signal!" Rosie's voice was muffled by static, but Marina was able to make out her words.

An echoing sound caught Marina's attention, prompting her to instinctively turn toward the sound and raise her rifle. There was no one down the hallway, but Marina suspected she wasn't alone.

Then, the static in her earpiece began to clear further.

"Marina, this is Rosie. Do you copy?

"I'm here, Stark," Marina answered.

With a short laugh, Rosie said, "Damn glad to hear your voice."

"About time you guys showed up…"

"We're patching in the boss. Hang on a sec."

A small moment of silence passed. Then, Marina could hear the distant sounds of battle through the earpiece.

Through the earpiece, Welkin's voice came in. "Marina, are you alright?"

"For now, sir," Marina responded, her attention not entirely focused on the transmission.

"Where are you?"

"Bottom level, dungeons, not exactly sure where…" Marina's eyes narrowed as she added, "And I've got company…"

At that moment, Marina saw a group of shadows coming down the hallway, which were accompanied by the chatter of Imperial soldiers.


Kneeling down, Rosie heard the sound of Imperial shouting from Marina's position, followed by several gunshots. She could hear the gunshots echoing through the tunnels, but couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were.

"Dammit, she's got trouble!"

"Marina, can you hold your position?" said Welkin.

"…I'll try…"

"Rosie, find her as fast as you can!"

"Got it! Let's move!" Rosie said loudly, so the others could hear.

Rosie rushed off while the others followed as quickly as they could.


The sound of cannon fire continued to echo in the distance, heard even from within the prison cells where Captain Varrot and Catherine sat. Outside their cell, only a single guard, a second lieutenant from the Regular Army, was left on duty.

As she sat next to the bars, Catherine said, "We should be out there, Elle. The others… they need our help."

"Catherine, it was your own fault that we are in this predicament," Varrot said coldly.

"I know, I know, Elle. I just… I had to do something about him. But I blew it, and you're paying the price because I screwed up."

"Hey, old maids! Shut up!" said the guard, having overheard their conversation.

Catherine shot a nasty look at the guard, but he wasn't intimidated by her. With a sigh, Catherine continued to mull over how badly things had gone.

Then, the sound approaching footsteps caught Catherine's attention. It also caught the attention of the guard, who turned to the entrance. A shadow was outside the room.

A moment later, to Catherine's surprise, Juno walked in. Her face seemed darker than usual, drained of color.

"Juno? What's she…"

The guard immediately got to his feet and advanced toward her. "Hey, this area's off-limits, peasant! Scram!"

"I just wanted to see a friend for a bit," said Juno, her voice lacking any real energy.

"No one is allowed to see the prisoners. General Damon's orders. Now beat it!"

"Please, just for a minute?"

"Hmm, maybe," said the guard, grinning lecherously. "But it's gonna cost you." Then, as Juno moved to reach for her pockets, the guard grabbed Juno's wrists and added, "I ain't interested your money, cutie."

To Catherine's horror, Juno struggled to get away from the guard, but he was too strong. The guard shoved Juno back, causing her to strike her head against a wall. Juno was knocked senseless, allowing the guard to wrap one of his hands around both of Juno's wrists and hoist her arms over her head, pinning her to the wall.

Rattling the bars to her cell, Catherine shouted, "Get away from her!"

Varrot, who stood next to Catherine, added, "Guard, you will release that girl this instant!"

The guard, too busy struggling with Juno, ignored the two prisoners. Juno, having regained her senses, was now screaming for help as she tried to free herself.

"Stop it! Let go! Let me go!"

"Shut up! You wanna see your friends in there, right?" As Juno stopped screaming, the guard added, "That's right. Just be a good peasant girl for a couple of minutes, and I'll let you see them. Got it?"

Juno, her face stricken with embarrassment and shame, made a short nod. She had to help to Catherine, and if this was the price, she'd pay it. In either case, she couldn't break free of the guard's grip; she didn't have a choice either way. If she cooperated, she had a better chance of helping Catherine.

Seeing Juno's nod, Catherine shouted, "Juno, don't!"

"That's a good girl," said the guard with a snicker.

Smiling lecherously, the guard moved his right hand to Juno's left breast, grasping it. Juno gasped as the guard groped her, her face turning red. After a moment of the guard's fondling, she watched in mortification as he reached for her belt and began to unfasten it. Juno shut her eyes tightly, unable to endure the thought that she would soon be raped…

Suddenly, the guard made a short gasp of pain, which had been preceded by a sickening crack. Surprised, Juno watched as the guard toppled away from her, releasing his grip on her wrists.

"S-Susie?"

Standing behind where the guard had been was Susie Evans, holding a now-broken desk lamp in her hands. She had apparently struck the guard from behind with it. She was breathing heavily and held a look of shock on her face.

"A-Are you alright, Juno?" asked Susie.

Sighing in relief, Juno said, "A lot better now. What about you? What are you doing here?"

In her usual meek voice, Susie said, "I-I couldn't just let him do to you what happened to me…"

Juno remembered how Susie had been raped by Giorgios Geld, an experience that had surely scarred the poor girl for life. Susie had been taken off the active roster as a result. Juno realized then just how lucky she was by comparison.

"Thanks, Susie. I owe you one. Honestly, I hoped it would be easier to get past this guy. If it weren't for you…" Juno decided not to finish her sentence as she set right the damage the guard had done to her clothing.

Susie sniffled as she wiped a tear from her eye. She then looked down remorsefully at the guard as Juno knelt down and took his keys. Susie loathed violence, but she didn't have another choice in that case.

As Juno walked up to the cell door and opened it, Catherine asked, "Juno, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, Catherine. Now come on, I'm getting the two of you out of here."

"Sergeant Coren, I hope you realize what you are doing," said Varrot.

"Yeah, I do, Captain. I'm doing what I feel I have to do to help Welkin. Listen, I heard the two of you arguing last night, and personally I agree with Catherine. Something needs to be done about General Damon now."

"Sergeant, I did not disagree with Catherine's opinion," Varrot said sternly. "What I did not agree with, however, was her trying to kill the general in cold blood!"

"I don't agree with it either, ma'am," Juno said in agreement. "But you can't just sit by and wait until you get back to Randgriz to do something about him! Couldn't you at least put him under arrest or something?"

"That, Sergeant Coren, would be mutiny."

"Count me in, Juno," said Catherine. "Anything to see that bastard behind bars."

Somewhat appalled, Varrot asked, "Catherine, do you know what will happen if we attempt something so reckless?"

"If it keeps Damon from trying to kill us in our sleep, I say it's the lesser of two evils. Come on, Elle, if not that, what else can we do?"

Varrot paused for a moment. The idea of mutiny wasn't one she could decide on lightly. If it failed, she would likely face a death penalty, and several more people could be caught up in the ordeal as well. On the other hand, if Damon was allowed to continue running loose, he was likely to continue his attempts to silence them.

Sighing, Varrot said, "Very well, but I will need to speak with the other militia officers on this matter. If the worst should happen, I will need to be the one to take full responsibility for this."

"The hell you will, Elle!" said Catherine. "Juno, Susie, let's get out of here."

The four left the stockade, leaving the guard unconscious on the floor.


An Imperial stepped out from behind a corner, firing his ZM Kar 4 down the concrete hallway. After his two shots, one bullet struck him in the neck, sending him to the floor as his throat filled with blood.

"Chritz! Damn you!" shouted a second Imperial, who fired furiously at the first one's assailant.

Ducking behind a wall, Marina patiently waited to strike as bits of stone chipped off the side of the corner. With so little ammunition, she had to pick her shots carefully. Worse, the ZM Kar 5 was living up to its reputation as an inaccurate weapon. She did have her stolen pistol, but compared to her Colt, the weapon was sorely lacking in terms of accuracy. Imperial weaponry emphasized power rather than precision.

A fifth shot from the Imperial's rifle rang out. The Imperial's clip was empty. Marina swung out from cover and fired two rounds, both hitting the Imperial in the chest. The soldier went down quickly, dying as he hit the floor.

Then, a burst of submachine gun fire from a ZM MP 5 peppered Marina's position, forcing her to hide again. The shots stopped just as she hid; this Imperial shock trooper was not as trigger-happy as his counterparts. Marina guessed he still had some shots left in his gun. Attacking now would be suicide.

Oddly enough, Marina didn't hear the soldier approaching her position. She quickly realized what the shock trooper was up to upon hearing a clicking sound. She dashed away from the corner as a grenade flew into the room. The grenade exploded, sending shrapnel in all directions. Marina was knocked off balance by the shockwave.

Lying on the floor, Marina checked herself. To her relief, none of the shrapnel pieces had hit her, though some had come close. Then, a second later, Marina heard rapid footsteps approaching. She aimed at the corridor just as the shock trooper entered the room, expecting to find her wounded or dead from the grenade.

The reality was quite the opposite. The shock trooper barely had a moment to look at Marina before she shot him in the head. The Imperial's submachine gun sprayed rounds as he fell, though the shots went wide, missing Marina.

Panting loudly, Marina got to her feet. She had to keep moving and hope to meet up with Rosie. She otherwise wasn't likely to last long.

In the distance, Marina could hear more Imperials shouting. She quickly made her way down a nearby corridor. A few seconds later, Marina exited into another room lined with pipes.

Out of nowhere, the lancer struck, roaring as he bludgeoned Marina with his shoulder. Marina was knocked back, dropping her rifle as she landed on the ground. As the lancer tried to stomp on her, Marina rolled away, retaliating with a kick to his legs. The blow had no effect. She swung a second kick to his gut; no effect.

The lancer grinned as he reached down and grabbed Marina by her jacket, lifting her off the ground with one arm. Marina got a good look at him; though his face was masked by his helmet, the lancer was comparable in size to Largo. He was also as strong as he was large. Marina, of a much smaller frame, knew she had little chance in a hand-to-hand fight.

Marina reached for her pistol and drew it, but the lancer saw this. He batted the gun out of her hand, and then grasped her jacket with both hands as she tried to pry herself free of his grip. With a heave, the lancer tossed her. Marina yelped as she flew into a set of pipes, falling to the ground with a loud thud.


Rosie ducked behind a wall as rifle rounds flew at her, then stuck out her Mags and fired a blind burst. Opposite her, behind another corner, Cherry watched as Nadine readied a grenade. As Rosie fired another blind burst, Nadine took the opportunity to throw her grenade. The device exploded between a pair of Imperial soldiers, annihilating them.

Just at that moment, Rosie heard Ramona shout, "On our six!"

Ramona fired at an Imperial shock trooper, striking him in the upper chest. She then turned to fire at another one, but realized too late that she had already emptied her clip. To her relief, the scout took a sniper round to his head from Julius.

"Thanks, Jules," said Ramona as she slid a new clip into her rifle.

Julius did not reply, choosing instead to reload his own rifle now that the enemies had been dealt with. The look on his face showed he wasn't interested in Ramona's praise. Then, Rosie gestured for the group to follow her. Rosie took point as the group descended deeper into the catacombs.

"Jeez, he's still such a creep," Ramona whispered to Cherry.

"I know, Ramona," Cherry replied. "Doesn't even say "you're welcome" when he saves your life. Hasn't he ever heard of manners?"

"Hey, shut it, you two!" Rosie hissed. "We don't need more Imps finding us because you can't keep your mouths shut!"

"Sorrrryyyy…" both girls responded simultaneously in embarrassment.

Just then, a loud, familiar scream echoed through the tunnels.

"What was that?" Cherry asked nervously.

Rosie had recognized the scream. Immediately she rushed off in its direction. The others, a little startled by her sudden action, chased after her.


Marina yelped again as she was, for a third time, thrown against a wall, and again she fell to the ground. The lancer was giving her a severe beating, and she had barely managed to scratch him. Not only was he much stronger than her, but his armor protected him quite well from any hand-to-hand attacks. Without a gun, she had no way to kill him; she hadn't been able to find a knife on any of the guards she had killed.

The lancer had also blocked any attempts Marina made to escape, as well as any attempts to retrieve her stolen firearms. In addition to being large, the Imperial was surprisingly fast. This man, Marina thought, knew what he was doing.

The lancer neared Marina, cracking his knuckles eagerly as she got up again. He swung a fist at Marina, which she dodged. She then grabbed his arm and tried to place the lancer in a hold, but a strong jerk of his arm foiled Marina's attempt. The lancer countered, backhanding Marina and sending her stumbling back into a water pipe. The impact sent Marina to the ground again on her hands and knees.

As Marina tried to stand up, the lancer got behind her and wrapped his right arm around her neck, pressing his left palm against the back of her head. Marina attempted to pry herself free of the lancer's choke hold, but he was too strong. She gasped for air as she struggled, drudging her feet across the floor toward a nearby wall. She and the lancer soon faced the wall, barely half a meter away.

Lightheadedness began to settle in. Marina's body began to go numb, and she felt her lungs were about to burst. She knew this was a bad sign; she only had seconds to escape before she either suffocated or had her neck broken.

With a loud scream, Marina lifted her legs and kicked against the wall. The force of the move knocked the surprised Imperial lancer onto his back, also causing him to lose his grip on Marina. The sniper tumbled over him, landing face down barely a foot away.

Trying to catch her breath, adrenaline rushing through her, Marina scrambled to her feet. The lancer rolled onto his front and looked up at Marina as he too scrambled to get up. His helmet had fallen off, revealing a grizzled face. Marina swung a hard punch to the lancer's head, sending him back to the floor.

Not even a second later, Marina was left gasping in pain as she held her hand. The blow she had dealt the tough Imperial was like punching a concrete wall to her, even without his helmet. To her relief, she hadn't broken any of her fingers, though her hand stung terribly.

The lancer roared as he rose up and charged, tackling Marina and sending her to the ground on her back. Before she could try to recover, the lancer had wrapped his fingers around Marina's neck. She tried to kick him off her, but without success.

Gasping for air, Marina stretched her right arm out, desperately trying to find something to strike the lancer with. Then, at the tips of her fingers, she felt the cold metal of her stolen pistol. Her hand desperately reached for it, trying to grab hold of the gun before she suffocated.

Just as she felt her head beginning to go numb, her hand grasped the gun. Instinctively, Marina swung the butt of the weapon to the lancer's temple. The blow was enough to make him flinch and loosen his grip on her. Marina kicked the stunned lancer in his stomach, pushing him away from her.

Then, just as the Imperial had stumbled back a step, Marina had aimed her pistol right at his head. Her face held an uncharacteristic look of frenzied rage.

With an infuriated shout, Marina fired.

The lancer groaned silently as he fell backwards, crashing to the floor. A single bullet hole was in his forehead.

Breathing very heavily, Marina lay on her back for a few seconds. She then slowly got to her feet, keeping her pistol trained on the dead lancer. The adrenaline coursing through her kept her from lowering her gun.

Then, Marina cried out as a hard object struck the back of her head. Her head rang like a bell as stars engulfed anything she could see. She nearly blacked out as she fell forward and hit the floor.

Standing behind her was Cezary, who had just clubbed Marina with the butt of her own rifle. Next to him were two other Imperial soldiers, both with their weapons trained on Marina.

"I gotta hand it to you, Wulfstan, you're one tough bitch to kill," Cezary said nastily as he aimed the sniper rifle at Marina.

Groaning, Marina slowly turned to face Cezary. She had dropped her pistol when Cezary had struck her. She was defenseless.

"Schmidt made you a real nice gun. I'll have to thank him if I see him."

"…Just get it over with…"

As Marina glared at Cezary, who leveled the barrel of the GSR-XXX at her head, he said, "Say hi to the devil when you get to hell, Wulfstan."

Cezary's finger closed around the trigger. Marina refused to flinch or shut her eyes. She wasn't afraid to die.

Suddenly, one of Cezary's escorts screamed as a burst of rounds entered his back. The second Imperial swung around to face the assailant, but was met by another burst from Rosie's Mags MXXII. As Rosie rushed at him, Cezary swung around and took aim at her with the GSR. Just as he pulled the trigger, Rosie knocked the rifle away, causing the shot to hit the ceiling. Rosie smashed Cezary in the face with the butt of her submachine gun. Cezary was sent to the ground on his side, hissing loudly from the pain rushing through his head.

"Had to be you, you prick!" Rosie snapped as she took aim at Cezary. Turning to Marina, she asked, "You alright?"

With a short groan, Marina answered, "Took you long enough, Stark."

"You're welcome. Looks like you had fun down here."

Marina slowly pushed herself up, rubbing the back of her head as Rosie kept her Mags aimed at Cezary. A second later, Cherry, Nadine, Ramona and Julius came running into the room.

"Whoaaa, look, it's Cezary!" said Cherry.

"I knooow. What's this traitor doing here?" Ramona added.

Not taking her eyes off Cezary, Rosie said, "Cherry, radio the boss. Ramona, get his weapons."

While Cherry went to work with her radio, Ramona brought Cezary to his feet at gunpoint. Upon standing up, Cezary slowly turned toward Nadine while Ramona frisked him. His face made it clear that the sight of the Darcsen disgusted him.

"Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse, you bring this dark-haired bitch with you." Nadine's face lit with shock as Cezary added, "I really wish you could've let her die at Vasel, Wulfstan. Just like how you let Gunther die."

Infuriated with Cezary's insult, Nadine angrily raised a fist to strike him. Before she could, Julius caught her by the wrist. Nadine looked to see Julius staring right at her. She got the message, lowering her hand.

"Tch, typical dark-hair," Cezary said with a smirk. Then, turning to Julius, Cezary said, "I always wondered when I'd see you again, Klotz. So what, you've gotten so close to that kid that you're now a dark-hair lover? Pathetic…"

"You're the one to pity, Regard," Julius retorted calmly. "I always thought you were unbearable, but I also believed you were better than this. Seems I was wrong."

"I'll tell you again, Klotz: you can kiss my ass."

Julius said nothing as he turned away from Cezary and glanced at Marina. At that moment, Rosie was busy checking Marina's injuries. She was badly bruised and had leftover cuts from the previous day. Her jacket had been torn in various places, and her hair was a complete mess; for once, both of her eyes were revealed. It was a more intimidating sight than usual for her.

"You look like hell, Marina," said Rosie.

"I'll be fine."

"Hey, Marina? Isn't this yours?" asked Ramona, presenting Marina her Colt and its holster.

Marina took hold of the gun, strapping the holster back around her waist. Finishing, she then took the GSR-XXX from Ramona and a few rounds.

"Those would've made really nice trophies, Wulfstan," said Cezary.

"I bet they would."

Flipping her Colt in her hand, Marina smashed the butt of it into Cezary's face.


Four Imperials scrambled away from a wall of sandbags as a tank shell plummeted down behind it, blowing the wall and two of the Imperials to smithereens. One of the fleeing Imperials shot back at the Edelweiss, but was mowed down by the tank's coaxial machinegun.

Inside the Edelweiss, Welkin scanned through the Imperial defenses, trying to decide on his next target. In truth, he wanted to help Alicia, but this was the best thing he could think of doing at the moment. The Edelweiss, despite being superior to the Imperial tanks, was no match for a Valkyria.

The Edelweiss shook as a tank round bounced off its armor. Turning the turret, Welkin saw an Imperial medium tank with its cannon aimed at the Edelweiss, trying to move in a strafing run. The Edelweiss returned fire, striking the Imperial tank's hull directly and blowing apart its treads. The Imperial tank screeched to a halt, firing another round at the Edelweiss, yet missing.

Before Welkin could request another shell, a lancer round collided with the Imperial tank, blowing it to pieces. Welkin then heard "He's down, boss!" from Largo in his headset.

"Thanks for the assist, Largo," said Welkin. "What's our status?"

"Real bad. Nina's dead, Musaad and Dorothy are down, and those snipers are still picking us off from the walls. I hate to say it, but we're not gonna hold out much longer at this rate."

At that moment, Rosie's voice came in over the radio. "Boss, this is Rosie. We got Marina. I'm patching her through."

Finally some good news, Welkin thought. After a short pause, Marina's voice sounded in his headset. "Sergeant Marina Wulfstan reporting, sir."

"Marina, are you alright?"

"I can still fight, sir."

"She's a bit beat up, but it's nothing a little Ragnaid can't fix, boss," said Rosie. "Another thing, boss: we caught Cezary."

Surprised, Welkin asked, "Cezary? He's here?"

"Yeah. He was about to put a round in Marina's head when I found her. Don't worry; he's down, at least for now. What do you want us to do with him?"

"Lock him up somewhere for the moment. When this battle is over, we'll take him back to Randgriz to stand trial. Listen, things are getting really bad out here. The Imperials are hammering us from the walls, and the enemy Valkyria is still fighting Alicia. We need those walls cleared of enemy snipers or they'll pick us off the second we leave the trenches."

"We're on it, boss."

"Make it fast. We can't hold out for much longer."

As the transmission ended, Welkin heard Largo launching another rocket from his Theimer.


Bullets sprayed out of Vyse's Mags MXXII, raking a line of sandbags. A stray shot hit an Imperial scout in his shoulder, dropping him as he screamed. Two other scouts fired back at Vyse, prompting him to take cover in the trench he stood in. Next to him, Aika and Freesia were similarly forced back into cover as bullets impacted near the top of the trench.

"Dammit, there's no end to these guys!" Freesia hissed.

"Tell me about it!" Vyse said enthusiastically. "But these guys don't know who they're messing with, right Aika?" Unexpectedly, Aika didn't respond. "Uh, Aika?"

"Vyse? I think we're in serious trouble."

Turning, Vyse saw that Aika was peeking out of the trench, watching the duel between Alicia and Selvaria. Even from where he was, Vyse could see that Alicia was having trouble standing.

Selvaria took several quick strikes at Alicia, which she desperately parried. Then, in a surprise attack, Selvaria bashed Alicia with her shield, knocking her back several meters. Alicia managed to stop herself from falling, but just barely.

"Ooh, that had to hurt," said Freesia.

"Someone's gotta do something!" said Aika. "She's gonna die at this rate!"

It didn't take long for Aika to regret what she had just said. Next to her, she heard Vyse drop his submachine gun and draw out his two cutlasses. Aika looked at her friend in disbelief.

"Vyse, don't even think about it!"

"Hey, you said someone needs to do something!" said Vyse.

"Yeah, but what you're thinking of doing is suicide! You can't take her on by yourself!"

"Who said pirate boy's going alone?" said Freesia.

Again stunned, Aika turned to see Freesia had drawn her own scimitars. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Oh, god… this is insane…" Aika moaned. "Vyse, this is crazier than anything you've ever done!"

"I know, baby," said Vyse. "Knowing how tough that Valkyria is, this'll probably be the last thing I ever do. But I'm not just gonna sit here and do nothing while Alicia's getting the stuffing beaten out of her! Let's go, Freesia."

As both swordsmen went down the trench, Aika moaned as she decided to follow. "Vyse, wait for me! I swear, if you end up dying on me, I'm taking every bit of treasure you've got!"


Selvaria blocked several weak thrusts from Alicia's lance, and then countered with a spinning swing, a blow that hit Alicia squarely in the side. Alicia was knocked down by the blow, which left a gash in her side that seeped blood. She struggled to move, but her body was weakening.

Selvaria directed her lance at Alicia, ready to finish her off. Alicia stared back at Selvaria. Was this the end?

Just then, Selvaria heard a strange whooshing sound approaching her. She spun around just in time to see a large, curved piece of wood flying at her. She bashed away the weapon with her shield, causing the boomerang to clatter to the ground as Aika raised her rifle and fired. Aika's rounds were blocked by Selvaria's shield.

A loud shout caught Selvaria's attention. Selvaria swung around and parried a blow from Freesia's scimitars with her shield. Then, slashing at Selvaria from behind with his cutlasses, Vyse entered the fray. Selvaria masterfully caught the blow with her lance, leaving her locked between the two sword fighters.

Selvaria smirked. She hadn't expected a group of teenagers to be crazy enough to fight her in hand-to-hand combat, much less those who had any skill with a blade. She had to admit they were brave, at least.

With a loud shout, Selvaria made a hard spin with her lance and shield, flinging Vyse and Freesia away from her. Vyse fell onto his back, but Freesia nimbly managed to stay standing. Selvaria went after her first, making a hard strike from above. Freesia dodged and made a quick slash at Selvaria, forcing her to parry. Selvaria made several more jabs at Freesia, but the dancer weaved around each blow or parried it, yet she wasn't doing so with any ease. Selvaria could see that Freesia was struggling to keep up.

Selvaria landed a strong kick, sending Freesia crashing to the ground. She then spun around as Vyse jumped up and swung a kick at her, blocking it with her shield. Vyse sprung off the shield and swung his blades in a somersault over her. Selvaria raised her lance to block the surprise attack.

Then, behind Selvaria, Aika shouted, "Outta the way, Vyse!" as she threw her boomerang at the Valkyria. Vyse moved away from Selvaria to avoid being hit.

Selvaria leapt over the boomerang as it flew at her. As she twirled through the air, Selvaria's lance began to shimmer with a bright blue light.

Realizing what Selvaria was about to do next, Vyse shouted, "Spread out!"

It was too late. Selvaria shouted as she thrust her lance at the ground, releasing a large shockwave in all directions. The blast blew Vyse back, sending him crashing right into Aika. Both tumbled into a nearby foxhole.

Freesia, on the other hand, jumped back in a flip, barely keeping her balance as she landed. Then, through the dust, Freesia watched in terror as Selvaria unleashed a quick blast of blue fire at her from her lance. Freesia barely had time to try to dodge before the blast impacted a few feet in front of her. The dancer screamed as she was blown back several meters and hurtled to the ground, rolling several times before stopping. Her blades clattered to the ground gracelessly.

"D-Dammit… I…" Freesia slumped over as she lost consciousness.

Seeing Freesia go down, Vyse roared as he charged out of the foxhole and made a beeline at Selvaria. She turned to face him, directing her lance at Vyse. Just as she fired, Vyse darted to the side, avoiding the blast. Caught by surprise, Selvaria barely managed to parry the blow with her shield.

"You Gallians are persistent," Selvaria hissed. "But you will fall like the rest."

"The thing is, lady, I'm not from Gallia!" Vyse retorted.

In a surprise move, Vyse wrenched his swords away, causing Selvaria to accidentally swing her shield arm outward. Vyse took the chance to slash at Selvaria's shield. Though his blades missed her hand, the Ragnite shield was knocked from Selvaria's grip and crashed to the ground.

Recovering from her astonishment, Selvaria parried a spinning slash from Vyse with her lance, taking a few steps back. Selvaria was impressed by the youth's tenacity. Still, she would defeat him; that much was clear.

Vyse assumed a defensive stance as Selvaria drew her rapier. With a weapon in each hand, Selvaria shouted as she rushed at Vyse, slashing her lance and sword at him.


Nadine yelped as she ducked behind a corner to avoid a burst of submachine gun fire. Down the corridor, four more Imperials had engaged them on their way to the eastern tower, and more were surely on their way. It wasn't as though she had expected otherwise, however. Ghirlandaio was crawling with Imperial soldiers.

Opposite Nadine, Ramona fired blindly around the corner, trying to suppress the Imperials. Two of them chose to take cover, but the other two were more stubborn, continuing to fire back at the Sevens. However, one of them paid the price as a sniper round from Julius went through his skull. Opposite the dead Imperial, the others stayed behind cover as they reloaded.

Seconds later, one of the Imperials stood up and fired full-auto with his submachine gun at the Sevens. Retaliating, Rosie fired blindly around a corner, hitting the Imperial's stomach and sending him to the floor. The soldier, despite being wounded, tried to draw his pistol so he could continue fighting. Seeing this, Rosie took careful aim and put another burst of rounds into the wounded soldier, finishing him off. At the same time, Marina had centered her crosshairs on the head of a third Imperial soldier. Her rifle sent its round clean through the Imperial's head. The Imperial slumped over as blood began to drip from his helmet.

Hopelessly outmatched, the last Imperial turned and began to run away. He only got three steps, however, before Marina drew her Colt and shot a single round into the back of his head. The soldier dropped dead.

Seeing Marina do this, Ramona said, "Damn, Marina. You must be really pissed off today."

"…"

Ramona quickly decided to avoid any more conversation with Marina. The sniper's stare was enough warning, but seeing it on her in such a disheveled state was even worse.

"Keep that mouth of yours shut, Linton," said Julius, "unless you've got something useful to say."

Ramona scoffed at how rude Julius had been to her. She had half a mind to slap him, but knew she would quickly regret it if she did, and not just due to the fact that he outranked her. She had never liked him, as he always tried to act tough at the expense of courtesy. Mintz was the only person to whom Julius was even the slightest bit nice, and even to him it was a rare occurrence.

A few minutes later, the team reached the entrance to a large elevator, one that ran through the east tower of Ghirlandaio. That was their objective; the west tower was being handled by another militia squad. Time was short, however; the sounds of the battle outside were not encouraging.

As Nadine worked to hotwire the elevator, Cherry asked, "Sooo, now what?"

"We get up there and kick some Imperial ass, that's what!" said Ramona.

Just as Ramona finished, a loud boom echoed through the fortress walls. Though the others wondered what caused it, Marina had caught a small sound before the explosion. She had heard it before from a Valkyrur's lance.

Grimacing, Marina said, "Rosie, I need to get to the top of the tower."

"Huh? Why do ya need to get there, Marina?" Ramona asked.

Rosie, however, already knew Marina's reason, and said, "Got it. I'll get ya there."

"Uh, don't you mean "we", Rosie?" asked Cherry.

"No, I need you guys to mop up any other Imperials on the other floors. Marina and I will get to the top and take over the sniper nest. I think the others are gonna need her up there. You guys meet up with us at the bottom when you're done."

"Got it," said Julius.

"Suuure thing, Rosie," said Cherry.

A few seconds later, Nadine said "Got it!" as she finished hotwiring the elevator. After a short moment, the doors to the elevator rolled open, allowing the group inside.


Vyse hopped back to avoid a slash from Selvaria's rapier. Breathing heavily, Vyse kept his stance; the battle was taking a lot out of him, but Selvaria didn't show any signs of fatigue. It was, to Vyse's memory, one of the most intense battles he had ever fought in his travels. He feared that it would also be his last battle.

Taking a risk, Vyse leapt at Selvaria and slashed both his cutlasses at her. He quickly realized his mistake as Selvaria swung her lance at him. Vyse caught the blow with his blades, but the sheer force of it sent him careening several meters away, crashing to the ground harshly.

As Vyse tried to recover, Selvaria directed her lance at him, intending to finish him with a final blast. But before she could fire, she heard a voice shout, "Get away from him!"

Turning, Selvaria saw Aika tossing her boomerang at her. Just before the wooden weapon struck her, Selvaria slashed her rapier through it, slicing the boomerang in two. The boomerang halves passed around Selvaria and toppled to the ground.

"What the?" Aika gasped.

Aika quickly raised her rifle and fired at Selvaria. The Valkyria either blocked each shot with her blade or dodged it. Aika's clip ran dry in seconds. Retaliating, Selvaria shot a volley of small, quick bolts of blue flame from her lance. Aika dashed to the side to dodge, but a single bolt struck her left shoulder. The girl screamed as she fell to the ground, clasping the burn mark.

"AIKA!" Vyse shouted.

Now enraged, Vyse rushed at Selvaria, slashing rapidly at her. Selvaria quickly and easily parried each strike; Vyse's anger was getting the better of him. Sooner or later, he was bound to make a mistake.

Then, just as Vyse was readying both of his cutlasses to strike, Selvaria made a lightning fast swing with her rapier, slashing through Vyse's chest. Vyse gasped breathlessly as blood sprayed from the large gash. Dropping his cutlasses to the ground, Vyse fell forward into a growing pool of his own blood.

From where she lay on the ground, Aika watched as Vyse fell. "Vyse! NO!" she screamed in terror.

Looking down at Vyse, Selvaria walked up to the foreign swordsman and raised her lance for the killing blow.

"You were a fool to challenge me, boy. Now suffer the– AAGH!"

Selvaria screamed as a blast of blue fire hit her directly in the side, sending her tumbling across the ground. As she rolled to a stop, Selvaria struggled to stand. The blast had left large burns on her right shoulder and torso. Her uniform was damaged as a result, exposing her right arm and part of her waist. Selvaria's regenerative power, however, was mitigating the damage; she still held firmly onto her lance with her right hand. Despite this, she was clearly wounded.

Turning, Selvaria saw that Alicia had gotten back up. Her lance, which crackled with blue fire, was directed at Selvaria. Selvaria grimaced, cursing herself for being so careless. She saw, however, that Alicia was still having trouble standing.

"Not yet… I haven't… lost this yet…!"

Selvaria quickly stood up and shot a burst of fire at Alicia, who blocked the attack with her shield.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the battlefield, Fina rushed out to Vyse's side, moving him onto his back to check his wound. Seeing the large gash, Fina quickly activated a Ragnaid capsule and administered it to Vyse's wound, trying to slow the bleeding. Thankfully, the cut wasn't deep enough to reach his heart or lungs, but Vyse would still bleed to death if she didn't seal the wound.

As a bullet impacted near her, Fina realized just how exposed she was. She grabbed hold of Vyse's arms and tried to pull him off the battlefield, but he was too heavy. Then, as she looked over her shoulder, Fina saw Aika stumbling toward her, clasping her burnt left shoulder.

"Aika, are you alright?"

Grunting slightly, Aika said, "D-Don't worry about me, Fina. Quick, get Vyse onto my shoulder."

Fina struggled to lift Vyse onto Aika's good shoulder, and then the two slowly moved to carry him off the battlefield as bullets impacted around them. In the trenches, Kevin, Lynn and Dallas did their best to cover them, firing at groups of nearby Imperials.

Barely conscious, Vyse slowly turned his head to Aika and said, "Guess I screwed up, huh baby?"

"Shut up, Vyse," said Aika, too weak to shout at him.


Inside the aerie Ghirlandaio's east tower, a trio of Imperial snipers continued to pick off Gallian soldiers one by one. Most of the remaining Gallians were keeping their heads down, but every so often one would stick his or her head out, providing an easy target. Only one of the four Imperial snipers stationed in the nest had been shot down thanks to the cover the tower provided to them.

One of the snipers centered his sights on a Gallian Regular and fired, hitting the soldier in his neck. The shot was fatal.

"Heh, another Gallian svoloch dead," said the sniper as he reloaded his Brondel MXII. "This is too easy."

But as the sniper was reloading, a grenade flew out from the nearby entrance stairwell. The sniper turned just in time to see the grenade explode a few feet from him. Shrapnel shredded the sniper, while the other two snipers were knocked off balance by the explosion.

The remaining snipers turned around as Rosie rushed out of the stairwell, her Mags blazing. Both snipers were gunned down in barely two seconds.

"All clear, Marina! Do your thing!" said Rosie.

Creeping out of the stairwell, Marina slid over to the side of the tower and looked down at the battlefield below. It was worse than she had expected. At least twenty Gallian tanks were in smoldering ruins, though the Imperials had lost about an equal amount. Bodies of both Imperial and Gallian soldiers littered the battlefield.

Then, Marina saw Selvaria, her lance swelling with energy…


Alicia could barely keep up with Selvaria's rapid assault. Her arms screamed from exhaustion, but she forced them to move against Selvaria's lance and sword. Her legs had gone numb, and her eyes stung with sweat and blood. Any second now, Alicia feared she would collapse.

Selvaria, on the other hand, was starting to show signs of fatigue. Her silver hair was a disheveled mess, while a burn had been added to her left thigh. She still had a great deal of strength left in her, however, something Alicia did not have. Selvaria was going to win simply by outlasting Alicia.

A burst of energy shot from Selvaria's lance. Alicia raised her shield to block it, deflecting the blow. The effort, however, dropped Alicia to her knees as her legs gave out. She gasped for air as her vision began to blur. Her hair began shifting between silver and brown, a sign that her power was fading.

Readying her lance again, Selvaria said, "It ends now!"

A loud boom caught Selvaria's attention. She spun around in time to see the Edelweiss' shell flying at her. She thrust her lance directly into the shell, which exploded as it struck the lance.

Inside the Edelweiss, Welkin tried to peer through the cloud of smoke from the explosion. He knew his move had been reckless, but he had become fed up with staying out of the duel and letting Alicia get beaten to death. At that moment, however, Welkin was left hoping that his surprise attack had finished Selvaria off.

His hopes were dashed, however, as Selvaria emerged from the smoke, still surrounded by blue fire. Soot and ash stained her skin and clothes, but the explosion had not harmed her.

Now, Welkin watched in alarm as energy began to crackle around Selvaria's lance.

"DIE!"

Selvaria fired a devastating beam of energy at the Edelweiss. There wasn't even time for Welkin to give an evasive order to Kreis.

"NOOO!"

At the last second, Alicia jumped in front of the Edelweiss, bracing her shield against the oncoming attack. Welkin watched in mute horror as Alicia screamed, using everything she had left to hold back Selvaria's attack. Despite her best efforts, small streams of blue fire were still battering the Edelweiss, tearing away at the tank's armor.

Then, after what seemed like a full minute, the beam passed. Alicia stumbled back, leaning on the damaged Edelweiss as she dropped her shield.

"N-No more… I can't…"

Alicia slumped to the ground, the aura of blue flames fading around her. She struggled even to breathe.

Inside the Edelweiss, Welkin ignored Kreis as he said, "Welkin, I can't move! We've lost power!"

Welkin wrenched the hatch of the Edelweiss' turret open and pushed himself out of it, leaping down next to Alicia.

"Alicia! Alicia, wake up!"

Welkin tried to stir the battered Valkyria, but she barely had the strength to moan. He then turned to see Selvaria readying another blast. This one was sure to finish them.

"As I told the girl before," said Selvaria, "there is only room for one Scion to the Valkyrur in this world. Now, disappear!"

Slowly stirring, Alicia looked up and saw Selvaria's lance ready to fire. She shut her eyes, knowing she was going to die. Next to her, Welkin wrapped himself around Alicia, intending to shield her from the final shot, even though he knew it would amount to nothing.

The battlefield seemed to go silent as a single loud bang echoed from Ghirlandaio.

Selvaria stood in place, gasping in shock. Pain shot through her as she slowly looked down at her body. Blood trickled from a small bullet hole above her right breast; the sniper round had gone clean through her, and now rested in the side of the Edelweiss.

Trembling in surprise, Selvaria slowly turned toward Ghirlandaio. She saw what she expected: in the aerie of the eastern tower was a black-haired sniper, her rifle billowing smoke.


From the aerie, Marina watched as Selvaria turned toward her. She had scored the hit the Gallians so desperately needed, but Selvaria wasn't down yet.

"…It ends now, Valkyria…"

A second round blared out from Marina's rifle, striking Selvaria in the chest. Selvaria screamed as the bullet tore through her. She fell on one knee, gasping in pain. Her breath became short as blood dropped from her lips.

Yet from her position, Marina slid open the loading chamber of the GSR-XXX. Selvaria's blue aura had not faded; she was still a threat. Marina knew the next shot would have to hit Selvaria's head. It was the only surefire way to kill her due to her regenerative powers.

Then, with a furious shout, Selvaria directed her lance at Ghirlandaio's tower and unleashed a large blast of blue fire at Marina. Marina saw the blast coming at her and scrambled away from the side of the tower. She barely made it a meter before the blast impacted, blowing off a large segment of the tower. Marina screamed as she was blown off her feet by the explosion. She hit the rear end of the aerie and toppled to the floor like a rag doll.

From where she was positioned, Rosie raised an arm to shield herself from the debris of the explosion. Then, to her shock, she saw Marina lying on the floor.

"Marina!"

Rosie rushed over to Marina's side and quickly checked her pulse. She felt it, though it was weak. Then, Rosie heard Marina moaning; she was alive. Still, Rosie checked Marina's eyes – Marina hadn't suffered from a concussion, but she wasn't sure whether or not the impact might have broken something.

"Marina, are you alright? Hey, Marina! Snap out of it!"

"…My rifle… where… is… it…? Urgh…"

Sighing in relief, Rosie said, "That was too close. Come on, let's get outta here."

Rosie lifted Marina onto her shoulder, scooping up the GSR in the process, and began carrying the wounded sniper back down the stairwell to the elevator below.


Back on the ground, Selvaria struggled to stand as blood dripped at her feet. She was still shocked at how Marina had managed to keep to her word. She had been shot.

Then, Selvaria sensed a nearby surge of power. Dumbstruck, she turned to see Alicia had raised her lance at her, charging up a blast with the last of her power. Next to her, Welkin had apparently been forced away from her by the surge of energy. Her blue aura was glowing brightly; she was pouring everything she had left into the attack.

"No… Not like this…"

Alicia screamed as a powerful blast of blue fire surged from her lance. Unable to dodge, Selvaria raised her lance to the attack, attempting to block with the weapon. For a moment, it seemed as if she would succeed in repelling the attack.

But then, to Selvaria's horror, her lance began to crack. The fracture spread rapidly along the weapon. Blue light shone from cracks in the Ragnite lance.

Selvaria screamed as the lance shattered in her hand. The remnant of Alicia's attack hit Selvaria directly, blowing her away. Selvaria was sent tumbling nearly twenty meters across the ground, finally stopping as she lay on her back. Her rapier clattered to the ground next to her, still intact.

"Your Grace… Forgive me…"

Selvaria's head slumped over as she blacked out.


As she sat next to the Edelweiss, Alicia barely breathed as she saw Selvaria finally go down.

"It… It's over…"

Alicia began to fall over as she lost consciousness. As she fell to the side, Welkin quickly caught her, cradling Alicia in his arms as her hair resumed its brown color. The blue fire surrounding her vanished.

"Alicia? Alicia!" Welkin shouted, but Alicia did not move. "Medic! MEDIC!"

As Welkin continued to shout for a medic, the battlefield suddenly became eerily quiet. From their foxholes and bunkers, the Imperials began to emerge, holding their hands above their heads in surrender. Without Selvaria, they had lost the will to fight.

As she stumbled down the stairs, supported on Rosie's shoulder, Marina looked out a large hole made by Selvaria's last attack and saw the Imperial surrender. She couldn't believe it at first, but it couldn't be denied.

She had won the battle for Gallia.


By the time Rosie had carried Marina out into the large staging area within Ghirlandaio's walls, hundreds of soldiers from the Regular Army had already entered the fortress. At least a hundred Imperial prisoners were being led out of the fortress, though Marina and Rosie suspected there were a great deal more than what they could see.

"Never thought I'd see something like this," said Rosie. "Always thought I'd buy it before this ended. But now look; we've won."

"…"

With a chuckle, Rosie said, "Hell, what am I talking about? You won this battle, Marina."

"…You can put me down now…"

"Huh? You sure?"

"…"

Taking Marina's silence as a "yes", Rosie slowly lowered the sniper off her shoulder. Marina was able to stand, though she was obviously having a great deal of trouble doing so.

"Hey, Rosie! Over here!" Cherry shouted, catching Rosie's attention.

The two sergeants turned to see Cherry, Ramona and Nadine heading for them. Nadine's left leg was wrapped in a bandage, though she still managed to walk with a limp. All three members were covered in dirt, grime and sweat.

"You guys alright?" asked Rosie.

"Yeaaah, we're fine," said Ramona. "Nadine took a hit, but it's nothing a little Ragnaid won't fix."

"Where's Julius?"

"He's busy taking Cezary back to base." With a relieved sigh, Ramona added, "Finally, I can get away from that creep."

"I can't believe it," Nadine sighed. "It's finally over. We can all go home now."

"Yeaaahhh, home sounds good," said Cherry. "Come on. Let's get back to the boss."

As Marina and Rosie followed their comrades outside Ghirlandaio's walls, Marina caught sight of General Damon standing before a wounded Selvaria. From Selvaria's position, Marina deduced that Damon had just struck her. Blood stained her black leather outfit, which was in tatters.

Rosie looked back to see Marina heading over to Selvaria and Damon. Realizing that Marina was asking for trouble, Rosie turned quickly to Cherry and said, "You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up." She then walked after Marina as the sniper neared the two generals.

As he continued to show his dominance over Selvaria, Damon caught sight of Marina in the corner of his eye. Surprised, Damon turned to see that Marina was indeed advancing toward him.

"Wulfstan…!" Damon uttered. "You're still alive?"

"…" Marina silently glared at Damon, this time unnerving the general. "I have some business with General Bles, sir."

Damon wanted immediately to stop Marina from speaking with Selvaria, but then saw Rosie come up behind the sniper. Realizing how serious Marina was, Damon made a short growl as he turned away and entered Ghirlandaio, escorted by two Regulars.

As Damon disappeared, Marina turned to Selvaria as she said, "You lived up to your word, Ghost of Gallia."

"…I gave you fair warning, Valkyria, that given the chance I'd shoot you down. You should've listened."

"Perhaps I should have. I allowed victory to escape my grasp because I allowed you to live." Selvaria made a short grunt of pain before adding, "I find it ironic… You, a mortal woman, bested me, a Scion to the Valkyrur, simply because I showed you mercy."

"…"

"Were I given the same choice again, perhaps I would have killed you. But we do not get such second chances. Now I lie here, having failed His Grace once again." Selvaria shut her eyes as she said, "I truly am without value to him…"

"…For what it's worth, you put up a hell of a fight, General Bles…" As Selvaria looked up at Marina, the sniper added, "I've shot you four times now and I still haven't killed you. That's gotta account for something."

"Hmm…"

After a moment of watching Selvaria, Marina turned to leave. Catching her breath, Selvaria said, "Wait."

Marina turned around to see Selvaria reaching for her sword. The soldiers around her clamored as they snapped up their weapons, thinking she planned to attack.

"Hold your fire!" Marina said commandingly. She knew Selvaria wasn't about to try something stupid.

Though they did not lower their weapons, the soldiers held their fire. Marina then watched as Selvaria slowly reached for her scabbard, unbuckling it from her belt. She seemed to have trouble with it, as though weak. Struggling, Selvaria sheathed her blade within the scabbard.

Selvaria lightly tossed the sheathed blade back, causing it to land at Marina's feet. She then said, "I give my blade to the one who defeated me. Take it."

"I'll make sure Alicia gets it."

"No. It is for you."

Selvaria once again coughed loudly, her body shaking from pain. Marina saw a small droplet of blood land at Selvaria's feet as she coughed. It was then that Marina realized the meaning behind the gesture.

"…You…"

"Farewell, Marina Wulfstan."

Slowly getting to her feet, Selvaria walked off into Ghirlandaio under the Regulars' escort. For a moment, Marina watched as Selvaria left.

Then, walking up next to her, Rosie asked, "What'd she mean by that, Marina?"

Marina didn't answer, instead choosing to look down at the Ragnite blade lying near her feet. Kneeling down, Marina took hold the scabbard; the sword was strangely lightweight, but very well-crafted. Its pommel took the shape of a blue flower. Engraved on the blade were letters in ancient Valkyrur script, which Marina couldn't read. It was unlike any weapon she had ever seen; it was beautiful, flawless, and deadly.

"Hey, Marina? You alright?" asked Rosie.

Marina reluctantly strapped the blade to her belt. She then turned and said, "Let's go."

Rosie was left baffled, but decided to follow Marina back to the others anyways.


About two hours later, as he sat upon a fancy throne in Ghirlandaio's citadel, originally brought to the fortress by the Imperials, Damon sipped on a glass of red wine. At least six guards, along with his personal aide, were with him in the throne room. Across the room, Selvaria kneeled between two guards, her wrists and ankles bound.

Normally at a time like this, he would have been celebrating his victory. But this was not the case. Marina Wulfstan was still alive, and now more dangerous than ever, having survived both his assassination attempt and her Imperial captors. A radio message from the Gallian base outside Ghirlandaio had informed him that Catherine O'Hara and Eleanor Varrot had been freed from the stockade, and they were now under the protection of several militia officers. Though he had won the war, he feared he would lose his standing in the end once news of his conspiracy got back to Randgriz.

Things were quickly coming apart for him. He had to act quickly.

As Damon drank the remainder of his glass, his aide asked him, "General, what is to be done about Captain Varrot and her accomplices?"

After a short pause, Damon said, "I can't afford to take any more chances with them. Wulfstan in particular is a serious threat as long as she's still alive." Damon paused again, and then said, "They'll have to be eliminated, permanently. Get Beier in here; I'll need his help in dealing with those pests."

Across the room, Selvaria heard each of Damon's words. She scoffed in disdain; the man was a vile coward, content to murder his own countrymen for personal gain. To him, status was everything, and it didn't matter who he had to trample upon to improve his standing.

Yet in the end, it would not matter. Both he and everyone still left in Ghirlandaio would soon perish, as would she…


Marina sat in the back of a militia jeep as Fina held a Ragnaid capsule to her neck. The soothing medicine was just what Marina needed at the moment; she had practically been ripped to pieces over the past day, and was covered in bruises and cuts as a result. For once, all Marina wanted to do was get some rest.

Within a few minutes, the jeep reached the Gallian staging area. Ghirlandaio could still be seen from the top of the hill. The Edelweiss and Shamrock were already on hilltop, the former which was severely damaged. Marina saw Kreis looking over the damaged tank with a look of despair, and wondered just how he hoped to fix it.

On another section of the hill, Welkin was speaking with Largo. "How many did we lose today, Largo?" Welkin asked the lancer.

"A lot, boss. We lost Bohr, Nash, Jung and Streiss, and pretty much everyone else is wounded."

"Four dead…" said Welkin, his head hung low. "So many losses…"

"We were lucky, boss. Squad Three was completely destroyed, along with half of Squad Four. The only unit that didn't suffer was Damon's."

"That makes sense. What about Alicia?"

"The doc says she'll pull through thanks to her powers. She hasn't woken up yet, though."

"I see." Then, spotting Marina as she walked toward him, Welkin said, "Marina, I'm glad to see you're alright. Well, mostly."

"…"

"Listen, I've got some bad news."

"And what news would that be, Lieutenant Gunther?" a familiar voice said.

Turning, Marina and Welkin saw Catherine, accompanied by Varrot, Juno and Susie. With Varrot were three other militia officers.

"Captain, wh-what are you doing out here?" Welkin asked in surprise.

"You have Sergeant Coren and Private Evans to thank for that," said Varrot.

"Juno? Susie?"

"I had to do something, Welkin, even if you didn't," said Juno, her tone strangely melancholy. Welkin noticed this, but did his best not to react to it.

Then, unexpectedly, Catherine had run up to Marina and wrapped her arms tightly around the black-haired sniper. Rapidly, Catherine said, "Marina, are you alright? Are you hurt? I was so worried about you! I thought you were dead! I–"

"Let… go… Catherine…!" Catherine didn't realize just how much pain Marina was in from the bear hug she was giving her.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Marina!" Catherine released Marina as she said, "It's just that– Thank God you're alright. When I heard you had gone missing, I just…"

"Lieutenant, do you still have the copy I gave you?" Varrot asked.

Confused, Catherine asked, "Copy? What are you–"

Catherine stopped upon seeing Welkin take a cassette tape out of his belt pouch. She immediately realized what it was, prompting her to look angrily at Varrot.

Exasperated, Catherine said, "Why didn't you tell me about this, Elle?"

"I feared that Damon would find out if I gave you such information. I had your reporter create duplicates of the recording in case Damon caught wind of its existence."

"Damon's sure to know the two of you are out of the stockade," said Largo. "He's not gonna take this lying down, you know."

"I'm aware of that, Largo. But I've decided that Damon is too great a threat for us to allow him to stay in command of the Gallian Army." Clearing her throat, Varrot continued, "I've spoken with several officers from the militia and a few in the Regular Army who I trust. We have agreed that the best course of action would be to place General Damon under military arrest until we can present the recording to Princess Cordelia."

"You mean a mutiny, Captain?" asked Welkin.

Snatching the cassette tape from Welkin's hand, Marina asked, "What is this?"

"Its proof that Damon tried to have you killed, Marina," Catherine answered. "That tank from yesterday; Damon sent it after you."

"…Thought so…" Marina handed back the cassette as she said this. Then, turning to Captain Varrot, she said, "If it'll put Damon behind bars where he belongs, I'm in."

"Count me in, Elle," said Largo.

"Me too," said Welkin. "Damon threatened my squad, my friends, and I won't stand for it any longer."

"Then we are in agreement," said Varrot.

Just as Varrot said this, Marina noticed a great blue light in the corner of her eye. Evidently, just about everyone in the area saw it too, and turned to its source, Ghirlandaio. Blue light was surging from the citadel in a massive swell of energy.

Marina was forced to shield her eyes as the swell burst, giving off a blinding light. The ground shook violently as Ghirlandaio was enveloped in a massive explosion of blue fire. The sound of the blast was deafening, and could be heard for miles. A moment later, a strong gust of wind almost blew Marina off her feet.

As the wind passed, Marina slowly opened her violet eyes and looked back at Ghirlandaio. To her shock, the fortress was gone, along with the two mountains on its sides. In its place was a massive crater from which a blue mushroom-shaped cloud reached toward the sky. Nothing could have survived the explosion.

Marina quickly realized what had caused the blast… or rather, who had caused it. She unbuckled the Ragnite rapier from her belt and looked at the blade. It continued to glow with a dim blue light.

A mix of remorse and gratitude filled Marina's thoughts. Surely thousands of Gallians had perished in the explosion. But at the same time, it had rid Gallia of its corrupt general. Ironically, she was thankful for that.

And lastly, it was the funeral pyre of the greatest warrior Marina had ever known.

Marina shut her violet eyes, uttering a silent prayer to Selvaria Bles.

End of Chapter 8

THERE. DONE! At least until Chapter 9 (which I don't plan to make as long as this).

As you can imagine, the drama parts were an ABSOLUTE BITCH. I had to keep changing them and changing them to make them sound good, and then I kept on getting new ideas on flow. Moments like Vyse, Aika and Freesia taking on Selvaria just came to me, but making them flow properly was so taxing. The Damon Conspiracy storyline, which pretty much came to a close here, just added to the pain. And the Welkin/Juno/Alicia love triangle? GAWD, that was difficult.

But there were moments I truly enjoyed writing: The meeting between Maximilian and A1, Marina's childhood test of survival, and the Ghost of Gallia's struggle to survive Ghirlandaio, were all parts I took special care with. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did writing them.

And outside the story, I had to keep my focus on university work. I actually got most of this done just in the past couple of weeks.

Now it's late, and it's technically Christmas Day. I need to sleep.

...I need to rest...