The morning had been rough for Lyra. She woke up with a migraine, which made it much more difficult to get out of bed. Maybe she should get it checked out, like Reina said... after all, this had been going on for the past week. What if she was coming down with something? Or perhaps it was stress based?

Lyra didn't think it was stressed based. While she didn't like the secrets, it wasn't to the point to stress her and give her a migraine... although, speaking of secrets...

Lyra's mind instantly went to the conversation that happened yesterday. The Mercenary group... She had heard of them when in Grendan. They were a powerful group.

That made her think…would something happen? Layfon didn't explain, but he did seem concerned with the group being here.

Whatever the case was, Lyra needed to get up. She would just take some medicine to help ward off the headache. While her head was protesting, Lyra quickly headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready. Considering it was the day of the platoon match, Lyra wasn't required to wear her uniform. So she wore something casual. With how cold it was getting (cold in her mind), she decided to go with jeans and a light jacket. Not that it mattered. She would be changing into her military arts gear as soon as she got there. With her jacket on, Lyra headed out of her room, passing through the main room where she was greeted by her roommates.

"Good luck in your match, Lyra," Reina cheered.

"Don't worry, we'll be there cheering you on," Clarissa added.

Lyra smiled at the group, "thanks. I'll make sure to keep an ear open."

"Nope. You better be focused on the match," Clarissa interrupted.

Lyra smirked. With a wave to the two, she headed out of the door.

In preparation for the different platoon matches scheduled that week, there were three facilities that were being used. The schedules for the platoon matches had been sent out earlier that week so that the teams knew when to be prepared for their matches and in which facility they would take place. Nina had given everyone a copy of it so that they could remember.

Lyra, having never been to the facility, made sure to hold on to hers. Knowing how her luck tended to be, she had to be proactive with finding the right place. She made sure to plan out the route a day in advance and actually travel it to see how long it would take. The route itself was not difficult. Also, it was not that far. However, Lyra knew that with the rush it may take her longer and she needed to arrive with an adequate amount of time to prepare.

One would think that Lyra was being overly cautious and perhaps Lyra was. However, she was not the one to make this decision. Her captain suggested it due to the numerous times she got lost.

Nina had been constantly warning Lyra about arriving late.

"It was already an embarrassment when you arrived late to the docking bay when we were being sent on the mission," Nina had remarked.

"That was because the President called for me at the last second," Lyra had argued.

"And yet he managed to get there before you," was how Nina responded.

Lyra pouted, "you can't exactly prove that was true. He didn't show up until we were about to head out." She argued.

"Well, it still doesn't explain how you managed to get on the wrong tram..." Nina replied.

Lyra tensed and tried to come up with a response but then shrugged, "can't argue there..." was her response. "Either way, point made. I'll be sure to be there before you ask."

And so she decided to be proactive. However, that also meant that now, Lyra was quite early and unfortunately the only one out of the platoon there. She had already had a light breakfast before arriving so she figured she would go to their area and sit in the locker room to meditate.

Upon entering the room, Lyra was welcomed to an unexpected sight. It was Sharnid sitting on one of the chairs with his legs propped up on the other one, pushing off to lean back in the chair he was sitting in. He was in deep thoughts. It was obvious due to the fact he didn't react when she entered the room. Then again, the door was opened. But still. What was even more shocking was to see the uniform he was wearing. It was a long red overcoat with a silver chest plate closing the jacket shut. THis must have been his old uniform from when he was in the tenth platoon.

"I'm not sure if this is a dream due to nerves of the match, or the sight before me is real," she remarked. It caused him to turn his head in her direction and waved.

"Yo. Glad you came first."

She had to admit, she was disappointed that the moment wasn't as comical as she expected it to be. He didn't even jump. But his response…

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"I need you to let me handle Sienna," he replied bluntly, causing Lyra's initial response to be, "huh?"

"I know you're supposed to be the one in the lead with my support, but I need you to let me handle Sienna," he repeated.

Lyra raised a brow, crossing her arms. "I mean, I'm not questioning your skills or anything, but we can't just let our emotions get the best of us - even if this is just a platoon match. Couldn't this be sorted out at a later time?" she tried asking. It didn't make sense to suddenly change the plan like this.

Sharnid let out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair, pulling his bangs back. He then let them go and shook his head before looking at her, "look, after Zuellini's defeat in the intercity match, our captain was distraught. He was crying because he wasn't able to do anything. And for that reason, we took an oath to protect Zuellini," he suddenly started, "however, that wasn't the truth. The truth was, Dinn took the oath, and Sienna and I followed because Sienna had feelings for Dinn and I... well I had feelings for Sienna, that's why I took it. But I knew that our relationship was breaking...The oath was made because of our feelings for each other so how long would we be able to keep it up?"

Lyra did her best to hide the surprised expression her face was trying to give away. She didn't think that Sharnid would actually have feelings for someone to the point of taking an oath like that. The way he acted they seemed to be short term spiels... but maybe that was why?

She then cleared her throat to refocus and listen to him.

"So you decided to leave..." Lyra concluded.

"I'm a sniper. I observe from a distance. I saw this relationship would not last. Someone would not be able to keep at it. One of us would break first and while Dinn may have been fine with it, it would be different for Sienna and me."

Lyra quietly listened. That must have been Sharnid.

"But I didn't break the relationship clearly," he continued and then paused to think before a smirk appeared to himself. "This is a guy's weakness… but I failed to break that relationship properly and so that's why I need you to let me do this."

Lyra was thinking. She understood what he wanted to do, but the rest of them had a different goal. A goal to prevent Zuellini from being questioned.

Sharnid must have noticed as he was speaking again, "look. We're supposed to make it so the two strongest members are unable to continue fighting. I don't really think Sienna needs to be defeated like that. After all, I know she's not taking the drugs. She's the only one who took the promise the three of us made seriously, but if I can make her see that, then that'll be enough to stop her. That'll be enough to break her," he added. The last part was said mostly to himself, while thinking.

Lyra was now feeling uncomfortable. This was not a side she had seen to Sharnid before. He was serious, lost in thoughts. It was obvious the situation disturbed him.

She knew there was more to their history and while Lyra was very curious to understand it, she knew it wasn't appropriate to push him and considering he hadn't been telling her the full details, she would respect his privacy.

Even so, she ends up nodding her head, "just let me know what you want me to do then."

"In order to get her to understand, I'll need to speak with her directly without the other platoon members interfering," Sharnid remarked.

Lyra nodded again, "alright. The plan already was to separate Dinn and Dalsienna and Layfon has Dinn covered so I'll keep the other members away. But we need to be careful. They'll know something is up if you go in directly targeting her."

"Most likely, they're going to assume you and Layfon are going to target Dinn and Sienna," Sharnid replied, "that's the obvious move. But if they see I'm leading, that could allow the others to stay back and possibly reroute and head either to assist Dinn or those who are targeting the flag."

Lyra nodded agreeing with that, "so what would you suggest? Unless I initiate the attack with Dalsienna and then let you take over once the other two show themselves?"

Sharnid nodded, "that could work."

Lyra then sighed, "so that's covered, but you know we're going to have to tell Nina. She won't like the change in plan without her approval."

"Yeah, I don't think it should be a problem," he just replied. It was obvious he didn't really want to tell the whole situation to the captain, but Lyra really didn't want another scolding.

Sharnid smirked seeing the doubtful look. "I'll talk to her when they come. The overall plan stays the same, just us two switching roles." He replied. He was still lost in thoughts, most likely thinking of the promise he and the other two made.

Lyra didn't know what else to say to him and decided to excuse herself to go change into her uniform.

The entire situation was complicated. There was the initial situation regarding Dinn and his members taking the overload drug – a drug that is illegal. Then, there was the more personal issue regarding Sharnid, Dinn, and Dalsienna. On top of it all they had to add in the risk of the Haikizuko appearing. It was here in Zuellini… And the mercenary group was here because of that. Haia… that was the name of the leader. He obviously had other motives which targeted Layfon. That was also concerning. Lyra hoped that nothing major would happen between him and Layfon. They really needed to focus on protecting the city.

Soon it came time for the match to begin. Everyone was there now. While waiting for them, Lyra and Sharnid had gone over their plan, discussing what each would do. It was interesting to have Sharnid so serious. Lyra felt odd discussing tactics with him like this. Sharnid was usually so carefree and Lyra was normally spending majority of the time trying to get him to focus and yet here she was the one who kept getting distracted due to his change in attitude.

"Alright. Everyone has their DITES checked and approved right?" Nina asked the group as they headed down the corridor to the entrance from where they would enter the field.

Sharnid had explained to her the change that Lyra and him discussed. The fact that they both had come early and formulated a plan, was something Nina didn't like, but the captain made sure to express how she was proud they discussed and planned everything. She seemed to understand immediately what Sharnid wanted to do and didn't push it. Then again, the captain did recruit Sharnid right after he left the platoon. So she felt some guilt as well and decided to leave it be.

"Lyra, don't get lost on the field how," Sharnid teased.

"Seriously? It's not like I do that every time," she tried to argue.

"But you do," Sharnid replied, "also, 'careful not to misplace your glasses."

Lyra frowned. That was his doing. She would have responded, but Nina was ordering them all to focus.

There was silence on the field for a few moments. The only sounds were from the crowd in the distance. Soon a bell came and the match began.

First the team waited for Felli to scout the areas. "It's as expected. Majority are with the second in command," she described after a bit.

Lyra furrowed her brows. They were on defense this time. So they had to make sure that all of the other platoon members were accounted for the entire time. With the enemy confirmed, the seventeenth platoon moved forwards with their attack. Even though they were on the defense, they couldn't afford to wait and just defend. They had a time limit and they needed to keep the situation in their hands. The goal wasn't just to win the platoon match.

"You're arriving at the first checkpoint." Felli's voice came through the petal that was traveling with them. As she said it, they arrived out of the forest terrain onto the open field. In the distance, she could Dalsienna charging in their direction.

Damn she's fast… Lyra thought. They were supposed to have more time before seeing her. But she was here by herself. That meant Layfon succeeded in separating her from Dinn and the other members.

"Of course the seventeenth platoon captain would send you out to stop me," she scoffed, but Lyra just smirked.

"I mean, shows how much confidence they have in me," was her response to that, but Dalsienna's expression didn't change.

"More like, dependent… Everyone knows that the two newbies are the reason why that platoon has even managed to advance after the first rounds," she mocked, "everyone else on that team is useless."

Lyra just shrugged, "meh, we all have our opinions. As much as I would love to debate you on who sucks and who doesn't, now's really not the time. Maybe we can debate this over lunch some day?"

"As if!" Dalsienna snapped. The nonchalant response from Lyra seemed to trigger her. Lyra smirked and readied her sword as Dalsienna came charging at her.

Well, that was easy… Lyra thought to herself. Then again, Dalsienna would understand she didn't have time to be stalled. Had this been any other platoon match, Lyra gladly would have tried to delay the fight, but now was different.

Plus, she needed to get Dalsienna fighting before the others caught up to her.

Lyra soon brought her sword forwards and began to run at Dalsienna as well. The second in command let out a battle cry as she thrusted her lance forwards. Lyra grunted, blocking the attack. Dalsienna was strong and her attacks were aggressive. Lyra was forced to go on the defense as Dalsienna continued to strike. Lyra was forced to jump back to dodge each attack. She needed to focus.

With that the attack began. Lyra increased her kei, focusing it towards her legs and then arms so that she could push Dalsienna back. It worked and it gave time for Lyra to ready herself and charge at Dalsienna. Electricity coursed through her sword as she struck down.

As expected, Dalsienna brought her lance out to block it, but as soon as their weapons made contact, Lyra shot out her kei, stunning Dalsienna.

Lyra smirked. The look on the second in command's face as she stood paralyzed, was satisfying. Lyra soon began her follow-up attack, aiming to move forwards while maintaining contact and striking Dalsienna in the stomach to knock her down. This would then weaken her and allow Sharnid to move forwards and take over without the risk of getting defeated.

However, as Lyra started to channel some kei towards her legs to increase her speed and striking power, she suddenly felt herself slip. What?!Lyra slightly stumbled, but caught herself as she continued the strike. However, the slip caused her sword to lose contact with Dalsienna's. While it was a split second, the connection was lost and so Dalsienna was able to bring her arm down to block the strike.

The two then jumped away from each other.

"That show was pathetic. You don't even know how to properly pace yourself with your kei!" Dalsienna mocked her.

Lyra did her best not to react. In truth, she could feel her headache starting to come back. Lyra was hoping her medicine would have been able to hold off a little longer. Now she would need to work to focus a little better.

Annoyed, Lyra ran at Dalsienna again, and she did the same and the two collided with one another, doing their best to push the other back. As she would increase her kei to push back, Lyra felt her headache growing. She shook her head, trying to fight it off. Why now? She grumbled to herself.

Thankfully right then, three gunshots were heard, with one striking Dalsienna who let out a loud grunt as she moved back and the other two causing the dirt around them to suddenly rise up.

"What did you do to the quality of the dirt?" She coughed. The flow of kei released from the two during their fight allowed for the dirt to stay in the air.

"Honestly, I don't know why you would assume it's me. I'm not a pedologist," Lyra replied as she started to step back. Earlier Nina had buried dry sandbags underground to obstruct Dalsienna's visibility and slow her attack. The sand and dust covered a large part of the field.

Lyra then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over at Sharnid who had appeared.

"Don't worry. They're on their way," Lyra nodded her head and allowed Sharnid to take over the fight. Lyra was surprised that Sharnid would show himself now, instead of waiting until the other two platoon members appeared.

"Yo, Sienna!" Sharnid greeted her cheerfully.

"You dare show yourself in that uniform?" Dalsienna demanded, not falling for the act. Lyra didn't need to see to know how much it angered her. Her voice said it all. "And what's with those toys?" she scoffed.

"Well, they're only considered toys to those who don't know how to use them," he remarked.

"Thirty seconds until one arrives from the west and another twenty from the east," Felli's voice appeared through a petal that came down next to her.

Lyra readied herself to review the two. She needed to make sure Sharnid moved away from this point. Sharnid knew what she was thinking and immediately moved forwards to attack to begin the process.

Lyra then lowered her Kei to hide it from those coming. She couldn't just focus on the one from the west, but she needed to lead him closer to the other. They were trying to corner them and attack Sharnid. At this point, their psychokinesist would have relayed the point to the other members. Lyra moved forwards as well to cover Sharnid. Both had hidden their kei now to get into position before Lyra moved forwards to attack. As she did, she immediately released her kei so that Dalsienna would look towards her. As Dalsienna struck back, Sharnid's kei appeared as he fired bullets in her direction. Lyra immediately pushed her sword forwards, causing the tip of Dalsienna's Lance to hit the ground. That held her in place as the bullet hit her forcing her to stumble off, but immediately, she jumped back up to attack.

"You seriously have to rely on him to fight me?" she mocked through grit teeth. Lyra was impressed with how quickly she was up again. Then again, she was their front line attack, so she would have durability.

"Hey, hey, I wouldn't get Lyra angry if I were you. She can be really scary when angry," Sharnid mocked. It was difficult to see where he was due to the sand and dust. Lyra was actually grateful she had her glasses on. It helped keep a lot of it out.

Sharnid was obviously correct. Dalsienna was holding a grudge on him as well. The attacks had increased and Dalsienna was already charging at her again. She then raises her sword and blocks Dalsienna's attack. Lyra grunted and did her best not to be pushed back. She noticed how the kei amount suddenly increased with Sharnid's comment. Obviously the vice captain did not like it.

It was then she noticed a petal appear by her ear, they're here." she announced.

Lyra then sensed Sharnid's Kei increase and immediately shifted to her left as he fired a few kei bullets towards Dalsienna, forcing her back. Lyra watched for any sudden movements while Sharnid came over next to her.

"Well, it's all you now," she remarked.

"Hmph," was all Sharnid said as he ran forwards.

Lyra then focused for a second to see where the other two were before she moved forwards as well.

Luckily, she didn't need to wait long as the pink petals were soon there. "The enemy will be appearing from the bushes. The one from the East will appear first in 5 seconds followed by the west,," Felli informed her.

Lyra nodded. Just as Felli said, the one from the east appeared just as she moved a few steps back. They were both aiming for Sharnid, which Lyra found stupid.

"Really, you're gonna pretend, I'm not here?" Lyra frowned. She waited until they were both fully out of the trees, before firing a concentrated ball of kei at each of them. The distraction from that allowed her to move forwards, Sharnid had already moved from that location, while continuing to aim at Dalsienna.

Lyra took advantage of that to go after the one who was much closer to his location.

As the two recovered from the sudden attack, Lyra stepped forwards so that they could see her. Both squinted, trying to see through the dust.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'll be entertaining you today," Lyra remarked. Grunts could be heard as they stood, brushing dirt off themselves.

"Heh, I mean slightly better than what we were aiming for," one responded. He was a blue haired baton user. The other was shoulder length brown hair with a sword. "Yeah. At least this won't be a full waste of time."

Lyra frowned. She was honestly disappointed at the lack of hesitation from them. She had heard how people said that the seventeenth platoon was now finally stronger and worth looking at. Lyra knew she was a factor to that, but the fact that these guys didn't show hesitation like they would have if Layfon was there was disappointing.

I need to beat Layfon in front of others…

The two then ran at her. Lyra immediately jumped back to create some space. As she did, she channeled her kei through her sword and swiped horizontally, releasing a blade of kei in their direction. One managed to jump over the blade and continued to run at her. Lyra blocked the attack, but grunted as she was forced to put more kei into her feet to keep from sliding even further back. They jumped away and attacked again with Lyra deciding to block.

They were strong.

Of course they were strong. This was not something Lyra was doubting, but she could tell this was due to the drug. The kei, pumping through their veins at a much higher rate, more volume — this was obvious or else they would not freely be wasting so much. With each attack, Lyra realized more.

They may have increased their kei volume, but they obviously had not learned to properly use it. At this point, Lyra used her similar attack to what she did with Dalsienna. She struck the man with electricity flowing through her sword. Lyra didn't wait for the results and immediately ran forwards to stop the other man who was obviously aiming to assist Dalsienna.

"Hello." she greeted the man, who was obviously into expecting her to catch up to him. "Sorry, I thought you would have understood your fight was with me." she remarked as she swiped her sword with a large amount of kei. The man was struck with electricity and sent flying back. She watched him shudder as the last bit of her kei ran through his body, electrocuting him.

Lyra smirked. "You guys really think that increasing your kei volume will just make you stronger?" She said it aloud, but to herself. Then again, she remembered a time she thought that's all there was to it as well.

It was due to the harsh training from Savaris that she learned the truth.

The two were standing again. Lyra realized that she shouldn't let the fight pan out too long, especially with her headache coming and going. She waited for the two to charge at her again. As they came close enough to strike, Lyra immediately used her kei to move away.

She smirked, seeing them confused. She appeared behind them and immediately struck his back, sending out a blast of kei with him. She then moved before the second one and struck him the same way. Both went flying back and hit the ground — too stunned to move.

Lyra let out a sigh, calming herself. She then frowned, rubbing her head. This headache was getting worse.

Suddenly, she began to feel a whirl of pressure. It made Lyra feel very uncomfortable. The pressure began to grow and suddenly Lyra knew what it was.

The Haikizoku was there…

Lyra looked down at the two unconscious figures before her. They would be fine. The kei was coming from the direction where Layfon was. Lyra needed to head there immediately.

But what about Sharnid?

"Felli?" Lyra called out. Luckily the pink petal was close by.

"Yes," was her response, confirming Lyra's concern.

"Lyra, head there now," It was Nina's voice. "We need to make sure that it doesn't try anything that could harm the other students."

Lyra nodded. "Heading there now," she responded and she hurried through the field. Due to all the External Kei, the sand and dust still floated in the air. That was truly meant to hide the truth from the crowd and it meant hiding the Haikizoku as well.

Entering into the forest part of the battlefield, it didn't take Lyra long to find Layfon, who was fighting. What she saw before was truly a shocking sight. Dinn stood almost lifeless like, but his arms were out as if directing the attacks. However, he wasn't the one attacking. It was the large goat-like figure floating above him. The Haikizoku…

It had taken over Dinn's body.