"Nngh..."

Rokka gained consciousness to find she definitely was not on the forest floor. She was on something soft. She opened her eyes. She was in a house.

Rokka took a few deep breaths as she tried to assess the damage done to her. Was she able to move or would that cause a lot of pain? It didn't feel that painful. She figured she should be able to move as long as she took it easy.

Rokka cautiously sat up. She took in her surroundings more. Chu2 was beside her. They were on blankets on a floor. They were in a room of a house.

Rokka looked around more. She didn't see anyone. Who had saved them?

She found out the answer soon enough. She heard voices coming from a different room. She recognized some of them. Roselia was here. She didn't know who some of the other voices belonged to, though.

Someone entered the room. It was Lisa. She smiled when she saw Rokka was up.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Lisa asked as she walked over to her.

"Okay... um... what happened? How'd you find us?" Rokka wanted to know that now.

"Sayo and Yukina were out patrolling when this hooded figure threw some rocks at them. They gave chase and found you guys. It seems that demon wanted to lead them to you." Lisa explained.

"A hooded figure? A black hood with blood on it?" Rokka asked.

Lisa nodded, "That's what they described. I guess you met them."

"They saved me... they shot a demon who would've killed me otherwise..." Rokka mumbled.

"I see. Well, I guess whoever they are they're on our side. So, how did you end up like that?" Lisa started checking Rokka's wounds.

"We tried to attack a camp... but we underestimated the number of demons living there..." Rokka whispered, "I... I don't know if the others got out..."

"I'll see if Yukina would consider looking for them."

Rokka fell silent for a while. She was worried. What if the others were dead? Was she a coward for running away? But... Pareo had told her too. Should she have resisted? Should she have stayed?

"Will she be okay?" Rokka glanced at Chu2.

"She'll be fine." Lisa reassured her.

"I see you've woken up." Yukina entered the room.

"She said the other three may not have gotten out from the attack. Should we go look for them now?" Lisa said.

"You tried to attack that camp?" Yukina questioned Rokka.

Rokka nodded, "Y-yeah..."

"I'll see about looking for them." Yukina said and then she left the room again.

Rokka stared at where she had just left. She didn't know if that behavior was usual of her or not. She was starting to assume it was.

"That was a pretty stupid idea to do." Lisa commented.

"..." Rokka didn't have anything to comment.

She knew it was a very stupid idea. But, they didn't know it was back then. Chu2 said there weren't that many demons. Even she knew better than to put them in too much risk. They just did a bad job assessing the scene before attacking.

"Just rest up for now. I'll come check on you later." Lisa said.

"Okay..."

Rokka didn't know if she would be able to rest. She was still to worried about everyone else to do that. But, who knew how long it might be before they found out what had happened to the others.

The only good thing was that two of them were safe. That meant they didn't need to spread as thin if a rescue mission was needed. It also was good that they could tell others what had happened.

Rokka didn't want to think of what might've happened to them if they all were caught. They might not ever have had any hope of being saved. They might've never had the chance to escape.

Rokka looked over all the bandages covering her body. If she had this much done to her from just one demon, what happened to the others? Chu2 was in considerably worse shape than her. That just worsened her worrying.

She laid back down and tried to rest. She wanted to help them. If they needed to rescue the others she wanted to be there to do it too. But, would she be able to? She wasn't going to just magically heal. These wounds would take time to heal. She didn't have much time.

"Hey..."

Rokka looked over at the door. Ako was there. She smiled and waved, before coming to sit beside Rokka.

"How are you feeling?" Ako asked.

"I'm alright... just... worried."

"Yukina already sent some scouts out. We'll find them soon." Ako said.

"What if there's nothing to find?" As much as Rokka didn't want to think about it, there was reason to believe they could all be dead.

"I don't think they're dead." Ako stated, "After what you told me, I think it would be in their interest to take them back to the main base alive."

"I guess..."

Ako pouted, "Come on. I'm sure they'll be okay."

"Do you see what they did to us? How can you be so sure?" Rokka challenged quietly.

"How come you guys got away?" Ako asked, "Isn't it likely they could've too?"

"Pareo told me to run... she didn't... and I don't know where Rei or Masuki were at." Rokka said.

"Try to believe in them." Ako pleaded, "I'm sure they found a way to stay alive."

DIVIDER--

Yukina had requested three of them go look for the missing demons. Afterglow was with them for the time being as they were discussing things. The scouting party was Sayo, Tomoe, and Moca.

"So, this camp is apparently full of demons from the organization." Sayo stated, "Be careful. Who knows if they're doing patrols."

"Why did they even try to attack them?" Moca questioned, "Doesn't seem very wise."

"Maybe they thought there weren't as many demons?" Tomoe suggested.

"Whatever the case may be, they got in deep trouble with them."

They walked on in silence. The camp was not very far away now. They needed to be on high alert. They had to make sure nothing caught them off guard.

"I think I see the camp through there." Tomoe whispered and pointed to a small opening between some trees.

They walked over to it and looked. The camp was slightly visible from there. They really didn't want to go any closer if they didn't have to. Even being this close was extremely risky. One wrong move and the camp would all know they were here.

"Do you see them anywhere?" Sayo asked.

They scanned the camp for signs of the three demons. They weren't seeing anything at first. It was hard to get a good view.

"Imma try and climb this tree." Moca stated, "Don't worry. I'll be careful."

"I don't know if you should..." Sayo wasn't too on-board with that idea.

"It's our best bet at getting a closer look." Moca defended, "We can't get much closer than this."

"Alright. Just be careful. We don't know how far they can see." Sayo sighed.

"Okay." Moca nodded and then slowly started making her way up the tree.

She made sure to be extra careful of her footing. She didn't want to shake the tree too much. If they could see it from the camp, it would doom them. It needed to look as natural as possible.

Moca eventually made it to a good area of the tree. She was able to see the camp well from her position. She just hoped they couldn't see her as well as she could them.

Moca looked around the camp for signs of any indication as to where the demons were at. She noticed a ragged looking tent. On clsoer inspection she could see blood leading into the tent. While she couldn't see inside, she could guess that was where any prisoners were being held.

The organization had no medics. If you got hurt, oh well. They had no sympathy for those who were hurt. Well, unless you were really important. Then you got treated. But no regular worker did.

Moca carefully climbed back down the tree. Tomoe and Sayo were waiting impatiently for her to come down. They didn't like being here.

"What did you see?" Tomoe asked.

"There's prisoners. I can't tell who it is, but they have someone. There's a tent with fresh blood leading to it." Moca explained.

"Let's get back and tell everyone." Sayo ordered.

DIVIDER--

Once everyone had been informed of what they had found, it was time to plan what to do next. They didn't have confirmation the prisoners were who they were looking for. They couldn't know if this was the right move, but they had to hope it was.

The plan was quite simple. They would raid the camp head on. They had enough demons to do it and have a good chance of winning. If all of them went, besides Rokka and Chu2, they would almost match the number of demons reported at that camp.

Rokka and Chu2 were not joining. Rokka was not able to even stand. Trying to caused sharp pain in her wounds. Chu2 was still unconscious. Because of that, someone needed to stay with them. Tsugumi offered to remain.

They decided they would head out in the morning. It would give them a little time to rest up before the attack. They would definitely need their strength if they were to do this. Some might end up having to carry them away if they were unconscious. That would be taxing.

Rokka was upset that she couldn't go. She really wanted to be there. But, she knew it was imposible. She was too hurt to go. She would just hold them back.

DIVIDER--

When morning came, they headed out. They split into two groups. Roselia was one and Afterglow was another. They would attack from opposite ends of the xamp to try and catch them off guard. They hoped it would work enough to give them an advantage.

Roselia would go first and once Afterglow saw them, they would charge in. They just hoped they wouldn't be spotted before they could go. The camp might've increased security since the attack.

Yukina was at the front. They were just in front of the camp now. She was waiting to see when the best opening would appear for them. The three guards at the front needed to be distracted just enough that they could kill them before they could raise alarm.

After a few minutes, a strong breeze came through. The leaves falling off the trees caught the attention of the guards. Yukina signaled to charge immediately. The leaves wouldn't provide a very long distraction. They needed to act now or else they might not get another opportunity of surprise.

Yukina went to the middle guard. She quickly slit his throat. Sayo took the farthest left and broke his neck. She hadn't meant to do that. The plan was to slit their throats. She just came at him with a lot of force. Lisa took the right demon and messily slit his throat. She had misjudged the position and missed the artery. She had to strike two times to kill him swiftly.

Yukina motioned for them to enter the camp. Ako and Rinko brought up the rear of the group. When they all entered the camp, the four Afterglow members charged in from the rear. Thankfully no one was guarding that area.

Demons started coming out of their tents. The battle started. Moat were fairing well by themselves. Rinko stayed at Ako's side to help her. Tomoe would've liked to do that, but she was on the opposite end of the camp.

Yukina was still at the front of their group. She was facing the incoming demons head on. It was tough, but she was managing. As long as Sayo and Lisa were taking out the demons as quickly as they tried to swarm her, it was okay.

Rinko and Ako stayed behind them to pick off any demons that were trying to do sneak attacks. It was working well for the five of them. They were keeping up with the demons that were coming out.

Afterglow was struggling a little. With them not having Tsugumi, they were a bit more outnumbered. Himari and Moca were fighting as a tag team. One would start the fight and the other would finish it. It allowed them to not expend all their energy as quickly. Tomoe was fighting by herself. She was barely keeping up with the demons coming at her.

Ran was about the same as her. She was fighting on her own as well. She was slightly better off than Tomoe. That was purely just luck. Less demons were coming for her. They were going at Moca and Himari more.

Rinko, Ako, and Lisa diverged from Sayo and Yukina once the demons were at a smaller number. They went into the tent to see what was going on in there.

Two demons stood guard. They were easily taken down. Inside the tent were the three demons this rescue mission had been for. Thankfully, they were all conscious.

"Look for a key. They're chains." Lisa said.

"Found it!" Ako easily spotted the key and grabbed it.

She tossed it to Lisa. Lisa quickly unlocked the chains. Rinko stood guard to make sure no demon tried to take them by surprise. Ako went over and helped Lisa.

"Can you stand?" Lisa asked them.

"I think so."

With some help, the three of them got to their feet. After making sure they all could stand and move, Lisa took the lead. They snuck out of the camp. Ako and Rinko brought up the rear. No one seemed to notice them as they left the camp. That was ideal. They were the group that most didn't want anyone following them.

"Fall back!"

Once Yukina saw they were out, she called for them to leave. They would be better off running with them. Yukina joined Lisa at the front.

Sayo went off on her own to make sure no one was following them back. Ran and Tomoe went together. Himari and Moca went together too. The four of them met up a little bit out of the camp and they continued the retreat together.

However, they weren't out of the clear yet. The organization had been alerted of this attack and had sent Pastel*Palettes after them all. This was going to be ugly.