**I know it's been a while, but I needed time to mourn the loss of my sister. I know she wouldn't want me to do this to myself, to stop writing, which I thought about doing several times since her death. She'd kick my ass if I did that, I know it, so I'm going to continue and at least finish posting the stories that are up right now. As far future work, we'll just have to wait and see. Thank you all for being incredibly patient, I know my postings have been sporadic and I can't promise it won't keep happening because...well...life. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new installments and God bless you all!**

Chapter 20

Something else was bothering Crow and Melyssa didn't have the faintest idea what it could be. Just the tone of his voice alone told her he was anything except all right. There was nothing she could do for him – he had to help himself before anyone else could.

"No, you're not. It's okay, I won't ask."

Maybe grabbing his hand to hold it was presumptuous of her. It had been a natural reaction since he'd come to finally talk to her. Was he bothered by the fact she ran away from home and hadn't seen her parents in over a year? Now that she thought about it, they hadn't discussed it because she had walked away before he could question anything. Why did things have to be so complicated?

Nope, he wasn't bothered in the least that she had run away from home and hadn't seen her parents. That was her business. He was amused by it actually, and rather admiring of her gumption. She had known what she wanted, she knew she had to find alternative means to get it, and she had gone for it, consequences be damned. Nobody had been hurt in the process, besides said parents maybe, on an emotional level, and she was getting an education and working towards acquiring her dream. Not many people could say that, ever.

"I'm not going to worry about the past." He informed her, the decision just kind of clicking in his head as he stared intently down at her, turning sideways in the seat so his body was facing hers. "I've been trying to make myself remember and feeling like I'm letting you down," Which he had been, by being distant. "And I'm done with it. If it happens, it happens." Crow gave her his patent smile, eyes staring intently into hers. "And we have enough to worry about with Ouroboros in Jurai without adding more fire to the flames."

"We do, yes." Crow probably knew members of Ouroboros better than anyone since they had been his allies during the civil war. He more than likely had inside information that would help Class VII figure out what exactly they were doing and after. "And you're not letting me down, Crow. You never were. I'm sorry for putting so much pressure on you. I didn't realize I was doing it until now." He was fine just the way he was and maybe it was a blessing in disguise he didn't remember her or the past. "Instructor Rean did say if we have time, we can go see my parents if we want." More than likely, it would have to be at night after the investigating for the day is over. "He also said Ouroboros has something to do with the political nature in Jurai and that worries me."

"That doesn't surprise me… Ouroboros likes to destabilize economic zones that are already fragile and everything is fragile right now." Jurai was small, but it was also a focal port and provider of certain goods, so casting Jurai into chaos would have a rippling effect. Maybe not overly major -at first-, but that was how the 'secret' society worked, in the shadows and with long-term goals instead of short-term gains. "Then there's the fact that we're at peace and all it'll take is a few well-placed daggers, figuratively speaking, to disrupt that…" He sighed, pushing silver hair off his forehead. "This is going to be an interesting field study."

They still hadn't been able to form a proper Combat Link with each other either. Rean was determined to get them to do it, so they would be hunting down Ouroboros linked together. Melyssa went to say something else when her room began to shake and an explosion suddenly went off.

"We're being attacked!"

"Everyone, head to the back of the train!"

That could be heard through her room door and both Melyssa and Crow were up instantly, racing out into the hallway. Another explosion hit and it sent them both flying back into her room to the opposite wall. The train was…tilting…they were falling!

"CROW!" She cried out, knowing they were being ambushed and more than likely, it was from Ouroboros.

Screaming ensued as the train plummeted from the tracks and down into the water, exploding half of it and the other half began to sink. Crow tried breaking the window and finally managed to succeed as they both swam out of it, but Melyssa caught her arm on a shard, slicing it open.

Crow the student was gone and the man who had led the terrorist organization was out in full swing. One arm went around Melyssa, dragging her away from the sinking train. He didn't bother with surfacing, the train sinking would drag them and everything around down with it. Eventually, he surfaced, glancing down to make sure she had a pulse, and pressed his hand to check. "You okay?" His voice came out strained, gruff, oblivious to the fact that she was bleeding.

In the light, he could see she was pale and attributed it to what had just happened. Coughing and gasping for air, Melyssa couldn't answer him at first, but the noises she made told him she was alive. Crow didn't let go of her as he began swimming towards land. Her arm was throbbing, searing with pain from the cut and she was losing blood slowly but surely. Eventually, they made it to dry land and Melyssa crawled on her hands and knees, upheaving water she had consumed. She heard something rip and slowly turned her head to see Crow wrapping her arm in some kind of cloth.

"W-What in Aidios' name just happened?" She stammered, coughing more while he finished tending to her wound the best he could. "C-Crow, are you hurt?"

"No."

He wasn't even in shock and a small part of him felt bad for the other people from the train. Some of them wouldn't have made it, some may drown, and he would bet a lot of them were in shock right now, struggling to make it out of the water. It occurred to him that some of their classmates from Class VII may have not made it if they were in the initial explosion range on the train. He couldn't think of that, not right now. Right now he had to focus on their survival.

"Is there anything else?" He asked once done with her arm, beginning to take stock of her limbs before cupping her face and checking to make sure she wasn't in shock.

Rean, Ash, Juna, Altina, Kurt…they were nowhere to be found and Melyssa could already feel the tears boiling in her eyes. Her throat felt like it was locking up, the shock of the attack draining out of her. Goddess, pull it together, she mentally chastised, shaking her head when Crow asked the same question again regarding if she had any other injuries. "W-We have to…we have to move. We have to find Rean and everyone else…" Thankfully, her Cutlass was still strapped to her side and Crow had his double-saber and pistols. Slowly getting to her feet with his help, Melyssa wiped the tears away that streamed down her cheeks and took a few deep breaths. "W-We need to find out where we are too…"

"No, you need to stop and breathe," Crow informed her, standing with his feet spread apart, his eyes were on her, but he was listening to the sounds of people screaming and crying, stuff in the water, it was a disaster. "We also need to assess which side of the lake we're on and stay cautious. Whoever planted the bomb may be lurking and waiting to pick off survivors." Which would make helping anyone disastrous because then they were targets. Ouroboros would be expecting people to help others, it was a weakness of good people.

What if they were dead? Rean…Ash…Melyssa immediately pushed that thought firmly out of her mind, refusing to succumb to despair so soon. There were others that had surfaced from the train, but they had gone to the other side of the lake. "Okay…" Reaching up, she scrubbed her hands down her face and through her loose hair, the tail she had it in halfway out. Melyssa didn't care about how she looked and pulled her Cutlass out, nodding at Crow. Her arm was killing her, but she'd suffered worse pain than a cut and would be fine. "All right, lead the way then. I've got your back." This wasn't good since they couldn't form a Combat Link yet, but then again, there was no time like the present to practice.

Rean, Ash, and most of the rest were not new to battle or situations like this. Granted, nobody was ever actually prepared for a train to explode and send them careening over a bridge, but… they had survived a lot of other extreme, dangerous situations and come out the other side. He wasn't overly concerned for them so much as the people on the train who were just civilians. This was a great way for them to build a bond, trust, survival situations usually were, but he had a feeling this was not what Rean had been thinking of.

"This way, we're going around the long way." And low, out of sight because he liked their heads on their shoulders.

She was a first year and Crow was a second year, not to mention he used to be the leader of a terrorist group. Melyssa trusted him enough to follow him and do as she was told, thankful her legs hadn't been damaged in the explosion. They trekked from the lake and headed through the wilderness, cutting down monsters they ran into. Thankfully, they weren't too strong, so they didn't even need to use a Combat Link to demolish them. The ARCUS II was waterproof, apparently, because it still worked perfectly. They finally managed to get to the top of the hill they trekked and could see the bridge completely destroyed where the train had been attacked.

"Goddess…" She whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and her eyes were wide in horror at the destruction.

Shaking his head and sending water everywhere, Crow silently echoed her, his wide red eyes taking in everything. If there had been anyone near the explosion site on the train, they were dead and he felt his heart lurch at the thought of his friends being dead. "Come on." He ordered grimly, eyes searching the path ahead. When she didn't immediately move, Crow turned to take Melyssa gently by her shoulders, bending down until his forehead rest against hers for a brief moment. "We got this." He whispered, brushing his nose against hers. "Okay?"

Swallowing hard at the intensity in his eyes, Melyssa exhaled shakily and nodded, believing what he said. They were alive and they had to keep moving, not able to stick around this area for fear of the attackers still lurking. The smell of smoke from the fire and faint screaming of people echoed up at them as Melyssa clutched the front of Crow's jacket. At least he was with her and hadn't perished in the explosion.

"We have to keep moving." She reached up to touch his face with her hand briefly before pulling back. "This is Twin Dragon's Bridge, so more than likely, if anyone from Thors survived, they would head in that direction to the 4th Armored Division. We should head there first unless you don't think that's a good idea?"

"It is… but what about the civilians?" Crow asked quietly. "There are survivors and I think Rean will be down there helping." And hopefully, in his rush to aid people, keep his wits about him and not make himself too big of a target. "We can split up." He offered finally, torn on what to do. This was the problem with having friends and caring about other people, sometimes the survival thing, which usually required being selfish, was tested because one had developed feelings and empathy for other people. "You can go ahead and see if anyone else is there, and get more help, and I can go down and start… dredging the lake and aiding the wounded."

This idea was horrible and she didn't want to be away from Crow. How did Crow know Rean was even still alive? He was talking like he KNEW and it unnerved her if she was honest. He was more worried about the civilians and other members of Thors, that much was obvious. Frowning, Melyssa looked around and then back up into his eyes, finally finding her voice.

"What if Ouroboros is around here somewhere, waiting to attack? Are you sure splitting up is the right thing to do?" At his firm nod, Melyssa felt her heart plummet to the depths of her stomach and stepped back. "Fine, be careful and I'll try to be back as soon as I can with help." Alone, with an injured arm, was going to be LOADS of fun to trek through the wilderness surrounding them.

"If you can't do this, Melyssa, then stay here and stay hidden. I'll be right down there and we can keep in communication with the ARCUS II." Crow said with more patience than he was feeling.

Though, as he stared down at her, he could see the panic in her eyes. This was what Class VII was about at the end of the day, what the Academy was training them for and moments like this, which nobody ever hoped for, tended to weed out who truly belonged and could make it and who could not. His heart ached for her, but at the same time… others had to come first, the people who weren't trained to defend themselves, who may have more than an arm wound.

"No, I said I'd go and that's what I'm going to do. I'm not helpless and I'm not a damn damsel in distress either. I got this." Granted, she didn't know the area very well, but she would figure it out somehow, someway. "Someone has to go inform the 4th Armored Division what happened, so they'll send reinforcements here to help."

Crow was cold-blooded when it came to situations like these, she was quickly discovering and she didn't know if she liked it or not. Rean was completely different from him for sure, but then again, she wasn't with Rean right now to survey how he handled this situation. Maybe he was just as cold.

"See you soon, Armbrust." Winking, she headed off down the hill while he went another direction, both parting ways to do their duties as military academy students.

Coldness and being level-headed, rational, was an automatic reaction from him, given he had been doing things since he was a teenager. Leading terrorist organizations, fighting battles... He had been thoroughly prepared which was sad though currently useful. Crow headed down towards the lake, going faster since he didn't have to worry about Melyssa. There was absolutely no surprise at all finding Rean dragging people up onto the shore.

Rean blinked water out of his eyes, breathing heavily as he surveyed Crow coming at him. "Where's Melyssa?" He demanded, accepting the one-armed hug before they both turned back to the lake.

"She headed for the 4th Armored Division."

"Altina did as well."

"Juna and Kurt are trying to locate Ash right now. He's missing." Rean informed Crow before once again diving into the water, pulling another body up to shore moments later.

Death didn't bother him too much since they had been surrounded by it during the civil war as well as the Twilight.