"So you two are the ones who offered to come and help?" Fie asked the A-Rank Bracers after greetings had been made.

"How could I say no when there are bad guys in need of a good beat down?" Estelle looked fired up, which was no surprise to anyone who knew her.

"Crossbell has been kind to us. Of course we are willing to help, especially if Ouroboros might be involved." Joshua was certainly a lot more calm about the matter, but no less intense with his response.

"And plus, Renne couldn't come so it falls to us to protect her old family."

"Well, it's certainly reassuring to have you on our side. And it's good to see you guys again." It had been over a year since Rean last talked to the duo from Liberl.

"Well." Michel interjected. "I can handle your transfer on my own if you guys want to go out and catch up. Don't stay out too late though, as tomorrow will have the final briefing before the operation."

With that dismissal the four Bracers departed together as Fie and Rean had no real plans for that evening. "We were pretty ecstatic when we found out you were becoming a Bracer, Rean. I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Hehe. Same." Estelle agreed with her partner. "I was pretty suspicious of you at first, but you turned out to be a pretty good guy. Guess I should have trusted in Olivier's judgment."

"He was right this time, but I'm not sure I would trust that fruitcake Prince more than I can help it." Sure Fie liked Olivier well enough, but that man was weird.

"True! Can you believe he once said Joshua was cuter than me?" The two Erebonians took a good look at Estelle, than switched to Joshua, than back to Estelle again. "Oh come on! You two don't agree with him, right?"

"Hmm... That's a tough one." Fie thought about it for a moment. "I bet Joshua would look cute in a dress though."

Estelle's indignation died in an instant. "Oh! He absolutely does. I actually have some pictures from a school play we did a few years back. He looks absolutely adorable!" Joshua paled as the conversation took a very dangerous turn.

"That sounds amazing. Do you have them on you?" A curious Fie asked.

"Sorry, I left them back at home. If you ever go to Liberl I will show you. Or wait! We can find a dress for him while we're here!" Estelle thought that was a brilliant idea. Joshua thought the opposite.

"Let's get Rean in one too." Now Rean was the one paling at his partner's words.

"They are getting along too well." Joshua muttered as the two males trailed behind the scheming girls at a safe distance.

"Yeah. I'm... kinda concerned for our safety." Rean agreed. Still, he couldn't deny he was happy that Fie was able to bond with someone outside of their circle of friends from Thors so easily.

"It should be alright, I think?" If Joshua was trying to sound convincing, he failed.

"And what are the two of you whispering about?" They looked ahead to see the two girls looking back at them suspiciously.

"Nothing much. Just shocked at how close you two are." Technically the truth.

"Actually, speaking of close." Estelle looked between the two with the beginnings of a blush on her face. "You two moved really fast."

"I think you two are moving really slow." Fie countered with a simple shrug.

"No, but seriously. You guys got together at Mishelam, right? That was barely a year ago and here you are already engaged. Isn't that a bit much?"

"Maybe?" This time it was Rean who shrugged. "But to clarify a point, although we got together at Mishelam I have had feelings for Fie for a lot longer. I was just a coward who refused to act on them."

Fie took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "And I didn't understand my own feelings at the time either. Honestly I feel kinda dumb that it took me that long, especially after that dance all those years ago, but Jaeger life doesn't really teach you things like that."

"Either way." Rean continued. "Maybe it was fast, but it just felt right, you know? Like I know I wanted it and I know she wanted it, so who cares what others think?"

"It's ok to be selfish." Fie supported.

Estelle looked between the two as she tried to retort, but couldn't find the words. Joshua... just looked pensive. Fie did her best to hide her grin; she knew exactly what was going through his mind and wondered how long it would take for him to gather his courage to pop the question.

Seeing as neither of the two were in the mood to speak, Rean awkwardly coughed. "Ahem. So, anyways. You guys must have been up to some fun stuff this past year? Want to swap stories?"

"I kinda want to hear about the Liberl Incident." Fie admitted.

"Oh yeah. I heard about it somewhat...but that was all from Bleublanc." Not the most unbiased or flattering source, to be sure.

"Oh... Yeah, sure." Estelle latched onto the idea. "But in return I want to hear about life at a military academy. Tita has told me a lot, but I want to know more about the infamous Class VII."

"I'm a bit curious myself." Joshua added.


"So you just stared at her while she slept!?" The storytelling went well. Originally they talked about the Liberl Incident and Erebonian Civil War, but eventually the conversation devolved into more personal stories. Like the current one of the first meeting between Rean and Fie.

"Right?" Fie agreed with the older girl. "I thought he was just some creepy perv. Especially when he buried his face in Alisa's boobs right after."

"Maybe I was wrong about you Rean Schwarzer."

"In my defense I was just really confused at why a girl was sleeping in the park by herself on the first day of school. And Fie? You know as well as I do that I tried to catch Alisa when we fell. It was an accident." Said girl responded with a grin and a shrug. Why were his friends so insistent on making him out to be some kind of sexual deviant all the time?

"I don't think you are going to win this one." Joshua advised. He truly believed the Erebonian hero, but experience has taught him that Estelle can be truly stubborn and that some battles are worth retreating from.

Taking pity on her beloved, Fie set her eyes on the two targets sitting opposite of her. "So when did the two of you start seeing each other as more than siblings? I bet that was weird."

Joshua's face was tinted red at that comment, but it was Estelle who stole the cake. The girl was so red that she looked ready to pass out."W-w-well, I didn't at first, b-but when we started our Bracer journey I noticed other g-girls starting to fall for Joshua. Like Josette." Her embarrassment gave way to annoyance at that last bit.

"Ah. I know that feeling well." Fie could definitely relate.

"I dunno. It still feels a bit weird for me. I know you aren't related by blood, but I could never imagine having a relationship like that with Elise..." Rean closed his eyes in thought, but try as he might he just couldn't picture it.

Never mind. Rean deserved no pity from Fie. Leaning over the table, she whispered to the pair from Liberl. "Elise has had a crush on Rean for as long as I've known her, but Rean had the biggest sister complex in Zemuria. Watch this."

Pulling back, she turned to Rean and remarked innocently. "Speaking of Elise, I heard her date with Patrick went well. I was surprised when I heard you gave them your blessing."

"W-WHAT!? I did no such thing! I can't believe Patrick would do something like that! Quick Fie, we need to go home right now and save Elise!" To emphasis the point Rean drew his tachi and held it menacingly.

"And this is the man I chose to marry." Fie lamented as the other two Bracers laughed at his humiliating antics.


After calming Rean down and reassuring him that no Patrick and Elise (probably) weren't in a secret relationship, the rest of the night passed smoothly. They continued to swap stories for a while, but eventually parted as Estelle wanted to visit her Crossbellian friends and Fie just wanted to sleep.

The next day all of the relevant parties were ushered to Orchis Tower where a final meeting was held. The two former students from Thors couldn't help but realize that the room they were in is the same room that the West Zemuria Trade Conference had taken place in all those years ago. That revelation didn't stop the two from taking their seats alongside the other Bracers and SSS members.

It was Chief Sergei presiding over the meeting. "We have been observing the Red Constellation these last few days, and while they haven't made any overt actions, they have been spending the time digging in. In short, they are prepared for us." Here he paused to take a drag from his cigarette.

"Despite that, we are sticking to the original plan. Luckily, with all the recent help that has arrived, we have enough people to make three separate teams and enough specialists to take a more covert approach. Remember: Your goal is to slip inside the battlefield and strike from within so they are disoriented and leaderless when the CGF attacks."

"The first group will be striking north from Tangram Gate. It's a long trek, so perfect for our Bracers. Lynn, Aeolia, Estelle, and Joshua. Follow Joshua's lead when you reach the Ancient Battlefield." That got four nods from the ones chosen, although Aeolia couldn't help but pout as she wouldn't be with Tio or Fie.

"Rixia, you know the area better than most, will you be alright taking the direct route from the west?" The assassin merely nodded in agreement. "Good. Lloyd, Elie, Randy, and Tio. Follow her lead. Do what you do best, okay?" The Chief knew his squad would be alright, but worried for them all the same.

All present tactfully ignored the pink haired girl slamming her head into the table when she realized the participants of the final group. "I've heard good things about you Fie, so I want you to lead Arios, Rean, and Juna past Armorica and swing around from the north." The girl in question blinked. Sure it made sense for her to lead as she was the most capable one when it came to stealth and reconnaissance, but it felt weird being in charge when Rean was there. Plus she would be leading someone over a decade older than her who was considered a legend in this country.

But before she could start doubting herself her squad came to her support. Sure she had expected the supporting smile and reassuring squeeze of the hand from Rean, but it still left her feeling warm and fuzzy. Arios sent her a respectful nod and even Juna, despite possibly suffering from the onset of a concussion, was aware enough to shoot her a thumbs-up.

"Make sure you all prepare well tonight, as your infiltration begins at noon tomorrow. The CGF is to wait thirty minutes for you to make an opening before they launch their attack, so you had better hurry. If all goes according to plan we should overwhelm them before they have a chance to escape, but keep your eyes open for any surprises."


Although the day was still young, the participants were told to take it off and relax, so it was suggested that the group spend the afternoon relaxing at Mishelam as that had worked out so well before the Twilight (by Tio, of course). Seeing no reason to decline, the mixed group of Bracers and Police found themselves on the cruise ship to the resort, with KeA and Shizuku in tow.

"This isn't how I imagined we would be spending our day." Rean admitted as the resort came into view.

"True, but it should be fun."

"Mmm." Rean couldn't disagree with her. They had fond memories of this place, after all. "So what do you want to do first?"

"Let's do the Horror Coaster. I came so close to getting a perfect score last time and I want that record. I get the gun, of course."

He smiled at Fie's exuberance. "Let's do it." He had a feeling he would be there until she got that perfect score, but there were worse places to be.

Turns out, he was a prophet. They ended up riding the coaster four times, but eventually Fie got the perfect score she desired. Still, she was happy and that was enough to make it a worthwhile endeavor. As they departed from the horror ride the two of them noticed a large crowd gathered in the central park. Among the crowds they spotted Lloyd and Tio together, and separate from them was Juna. Curious, they approached the former student from Thors.

"Oh this? The Mishy Show is about to begin." Sure enough, the big dumb cat mascot was standing there. Curious, the duo decided to watch the show for a bit.

"You know, I can sorta see the appeal of Mishy." Fie mused as they watched the antics of the mascot with his pink sister Mishette and rival the Mecha Mishy. "He's kinda cute, in a dorky sort of way. Used to think the same of you, actually."

"Cute... in a dorky sort of way?" He muttered in disbelief.

"Yup. Thankfully you grew to be pretty sexy." She shamelessly admitted. Sadly Rean was unfazed by her teasing, but luckily for her they weren't alone.

"Seriously? Get a room you two." Juna muttered in embarrassment.

"We probably will at some point." There was no way Fie wasn't going to exploit that opening. It was all worth it to see Juna become as pink as her hair.

Time passed as they watched the show. It wasn't the most interesting thing, but it wasn't the worst use of their time. All of that changed as the show was nearing it's end.

"Meeheehee. And that brings us to the end of the show. Or... am I forgetting something?" The cat mascot tilted it's giant head in thought,

"Mishy Dance! Mishy Dance!" The crowd chanted.

"Of course! How could I forget about the Mishy Dance?! But Mishy needs someone to dance with him. Any volunteers?" Naturally the crowd went wild as dozens of excited guests clamored for the chance. The mascot scanned the crowd before settling it's big beady eyes... on the Erebonian hero.

"Oh my! It seems even the Ashen Chevalier himself has come seeking Mishlightenment! How 'bout it mister hero?"

It actually took Rean a second to realize he was the one being addressed. But once he did he quickly wilted under the dozens of expectant eyes. "H-huh? N-no I..." His attempts to refuse were ruined when he was shoved from behind by a pair of strong arms. As the crowd erupted in cheers he turned and saw that it was Fie responsible for the greatest of betrayals. She merely shot him a brilliant grin as he swore eternal revenge.

"Meeheehee! So excited! Remember to dance with passion and pizzazz~"

Off to the side Fie and Juna watched as Rean struggled to mimic the mascot's dance with great amusement. Thinking fast the silver-haired girl pulled out her ARCUS and started to record the dance.

"Oh! That's a great idea." Juna was quick to mimic her.

"Future generations must know of this moment." Fie stated with all seriousness.

"Are you gonna send it to your classmates?" At seeing her nod, Juna giggled. "Me too. Nobody will ever respect their Instructor after this."

"He's not doing that bad." Tio noted from her position with Lloyd as she observed the Erebonian picking up the moves fairly quickly. "Still, if he messes this up he will suffer an Ether Buster for his failures."

"W-well. The dance isn't that complex, especially for a trained martial artist." Lloyd remembered his own experience with the Mishy Dance was about the same in its awkwardness. He briefly considered which one of them was the luckier one, but one glance at the two giggling girls as they recorded the entire dance made him quickly realize that wearing the costume was actually a huge boon for him, despite how hot and miserable it had been.

Back with Rean, the Schwarzer heir had realized that as long as he focused on the dance and ignored everything else the embarrassment wouldn't overwhelm him. Of course he was still as red as a cherry as he performed a spirited spin in a circular motion around the cat. Luckily he had managed to figure out the routine and didn't think he was making a complete fool of himself.

"Meeheehee, you're doing pretty good mister." Apparently Mishy agreed as he provided encouragement, but quiet enough that only he could hear. "Do you know my signature phrase?"

He actually did. It wasn't something he thought about much, but he had been dragged to enough Mishy shows over the years to remember that much, at least. "We say it at the end of the dance, right?"

"You got it! Now let's give them a finale to remember~" With that the pair separated while spinning in circles, before closing back together and circled each other once again, all the while still spinning.

"Let's dance and make a wishy with Mishy!" Only one of the pair shouted it with real enthusiasm, but nobody appeared to notice as the crowd roared in delight.


"Hahahahaha!" Fie wasn't normally one to laugh so boisterously, but some things were worth it. This being one of them.

"...It wasn't funny." The embarrassed blush that had finally started to fade after the end of that traumatic experience came back full force as the girl couldn't contain her humor. Seriously, she was laughing so hard that tears were coming down her eyes!

"Yeah it was! Oh Aidios today is the best day ever!" Here she broke into another fit of giggles.

Rean waited, annoyed, for the girl to finish her laughing fit. "You good now?" And had to wait even longer as that triggered another fit. "Honestly... And don't think I didn't see you with your ARCUS out. You had to send that to all our friends, didn't you?"

Fie gasped, hurt. "I would never! …Only most of them. Juna handled the rest." Her impish grin caused him to groan in dismay, worried that his reputation might never recover.

"Aaaaanyways," Rean desperately tried to change the subject so he wouldn't have to hear about it any longer, although deep down he knew that that would be the most popular video among Class VII for many months, "what do you want to do now? Should we go ride the Ferris Wheel?"

"Nah, I got a better idea."


"Huh, maybe this wasn't a better idea after all." In hindsight the place wanted to visit was pretty obvious. A small hill with a bench overlooking the lakeside beach. The place where it all began for them. The only problem...

"No fireworks. No lanterns. And the sounds of kids screaming and laughing as they play in the water. Yeah, this place isn't the most romantic during the day."

"Ah well. Can't win them all." With a shrug of her shoulders Fie plopped her butt down on the bench and beckoned for Rean to join her.

"Oh look. Fie and a bench. Name a more iconic duo?" Rean quipped sarcastically, but didn't hesitate to join her on the bench.

"Rean and Mishy?" She easily ignored his dirty look as she rested her head on his lap. "Still, this isn't bad."

He rolled his eyes at that. So very Fie. Still, as he stroked her hair he couldn't exactly disagree.

"It's funny." She continued. "Back when I was with Zephyr, the one thing the Boss absolutely forbid was for me to fight against the Red Constellation. Other groups were fine to fight against, but never them. Always said they were too ruthless and skilled. And he was right. Every time we clashed with them we suffered loss.

And yet... Despite knowing that we will be fighting that entire Corp tomorrow, I'm not worried at all. Maybe it's naive, but I truly believe we will win tomorrow. They are dangerous, but after all the stuff we fought together I just can't be worried. Plus we have some stupidly strong friends, even when we aren't in Erebonia."

"And we have each other." Rean added. "I feel like I could take on the entire world when I have you watching my back."

"Mmm." Fie made an agreeable hum as she closed her eyes and started to doze off.

"Really? In a place like this?"

"You have a better idea? If not, let me sleep."

"Hmm... Well, we are at the beach, so why not go swimming?"

Fie perked up at the idea. "Sure you don't just want to see me in a swimsuit?" She asked with a catlike grin.

He rolled his eyes. "Sure, let's go with that." It was certainly a nice bonus, but he knew admitting that would only invite teasing from the girl.


The day had finally arrived for the assault on the Ancient Battlefield. First they stopped by the Guild and saw off the Tangram team as they departed first. Shortly after the other three Bracers departed on Rean's bike, with the Divine Blade of Wind awkwardly situated in the sidecar.

Armorica, as one would expect, was a veritable fortress at this point. They had to pass three separate CGF checkpoints just to reach the village, which itself was filled to the brim with soldiers and armored cars. Arriving, they met up with the SSS and acquired their fourth member.

Saying their farewells to Juna's team, the four exited the village to the north. Their route took them into a large forest near the village. After a few minutes traveling at a brisk pace the group swung east towards the mountains. Once they reached the range Fie called for a quick halt.

"We're still pretty far from our target, but we'll probably start seeing their monsters patrolling soon, so this will be a good place to wait." It was already fairly close to noon, but timing was critical. If they attacked early it would ruin the surprise, but if they were late they might not accomplish their objectives before the primary CGF assault.

Once the clock hit noon... "Alright, let's go. I'm gonna scout ahead a bit so we have advanced warning of any threats. Keep moving forward, but remain alert just in case." She was actually pretty fortunate with her team. While she might be the only stealth specialist, she knew Rean had extremely keen senses and suspected that Arios would as well, given their shared training.

Darting ahead, Fie positioned herself about a selge in front of the rest of the team as she kept vigil. Far enough for her scouting to be useful, but not so far that she can't regroup if something happens. For a time they advanced, quickly, but cautiously.

Just as she could see the Battlefield in the distance she sensed multiple presences approaching. Quietly, the girl sought out a good vantage point and saw three Blade Cougars trotting towards them. It appeared to just be a routine patrol as the beasts were patrolling normally, but their approach would put them right in her team's path.

Stealthily, she retreated to the rest of her squad. Unsurprisingly, Juna was the only one to jump when she appeared, as the others must have sensed her presence. "We have three Cougars approaching that way." She pointed a finger towards where their foe was. "Rean, take the one on the left. Arios, the middle. I got the one on the right. Sorry Juna, but you're on standby for this one.

The pinkette pouted, but nodded in understanding. As proud of her skills as she was, even she would admit that this kind of sneaking mission wasn't one she was well suited for. Still, she would be ready to clobber any bad guys if any others approached or in the unlikely event that someone failed in their attack.

After a few heartbeats, the three monsters crested a ridge and came into view. They paused as they discovered the intruders, but were well trained and almost immediately turned around in an attempt to alert their masters. Unfortunately for them, their opponents were extremely well trained and prepared for this encounter.

With a flash, the three speedsters vanished from view, with both Rean and Arios utilizing a Gale and Fie with just her natural speed. The eldest of the three was the first to arrive, cleanly slicing through his beast in a single stroke. Rean and Fie were just behind him, and had little trouble defeating their respective foes before they could even so much as utter a sound.

Fie stared at the dead monsters for a second. "They will know something is wrong when they don't come back, but we should have plenty of time before that happens." With the threat eliminated the group continued their advance, with Fie electing to remain with the group since they were so close to their destination.

They managed to reach the perimeter of the battlefield with no further incident. Hunkering down in a good spot they were able to observe the northern half of the area.

"I see two patrols in the area. A mix of soldiers and monsters." Rean pointed out.

Arios added on to that "They are alert, but don't appear to have been tipped off." Which meant none of the other groups had been spotted. Good.

"Oh! I see a guy in those ruins."

"A sniper. Good catch." Fie had spotted him too, but let the other girl have it after not being allowed to participate in the previous fight. "He's perfectly positioned to spot the main approach, but isn't looking this way, so let's wait for the patrols to pass and take him out."

The group of four did as she commanded. Again Fie took point, which allowed her to spot a couple well-placed mines on some of the more obvious approach routes. Carefully avoiding the explosives and patrols, the group made it to the ruined structure and Arios promptly knocked the oblivious sniper out with the hilt of his sword. Using the vantage point, Fie took a quick scan of the area. Out of the corner of her eye she spied the tiniest bit of indigo hair hidden away towards the west. She gave a quick thumbs up in that direction, and the mop of hair promptly vanished. Knowing that Rixia would understand that the route was clear, Fie continued her observations.

"Over there." She pointed out. In the courtyard of a massive structure they could spot a small airship. "That's our destination." She decided aloud.

"The Sun Fort." Arios muttered with distaste. The others recognized the name for it's role in the Cult incident and correctly surmised that the Divine Blade was thinking about his own role in that tragedy.

"C'mon, let's go." The combined Bracer/Police team descended from the ruins and made their way towards the central building. Fortunately the Jaegers were far more concerned with defending the perimeter so it was a lot easier for them to make it through.

Arriving, they discovered that not only was their airship there, but so were most of the heavy weapons and explosives that the corp used. Fie checked the time of her ARCUS; 12:26, perfect. "You guys start trashing their gear while I sabotage their airship. Once I detonate my explosives they'll know we're here, so be ready for a fight."

Although she didn't have enough explosives on her person to deal with an airship like that, the Red Constellation was kind enough to donate some of their own to the cause. Using the borrowed tools she was able to thoroughly saturate the engines with with enough firepower to completely destroy them. Seeing that her team had completed their task and was prepared to face the enemy, she triggered the detonator.

While she would have loved to turn the entire craft into a giant fireball, she had only placed enough to cause a small explosion, but one that completely wrecked the engines and ensured the airship would never fly again. Still, she knew it was enough to catch the attention of ever Jaeger in a five selge radius, which meant that they had accomplished their mission of creating a distraction and now their only objective was to survive.

The first enemies in the courtyard were a group of four cougars and two Jaegers with assault rifles. Unlike the monsters they ambushed earlier, these ones were alert and not so easy to kill, especially as their masters were providing suppression fire. Still a fight they could win, but one that would take time. Especially true as an entire squad of enemy soldiers arrived on the walls to provide over-watch fire and a trio of swordsmen emerged from the Sun Fort itself. Even more enemies were closing and soon they would be overwhelmed.

Fie found herself facing a pair of cougars and the two gunners. It was hard to find an opening with the beasts baring down on her constantly, so she instead focused on evading and countering when an opening presented itself. Off to the side she could see Arios dealing with a large group of beasts while Juna supported him at range. Rean was fending off the three sword Jaegers, but like her was unable to take the offensive due to their coordinated tactics.

He made eye contact with her and she knew he had the same thought as her. If they couldn't find an opening for themselves than they would just have to find openings for each other. Charging her gunblades, Fie flipped over a charging beast and fired a blast of orbal energy at one of the gunners. The trained Jaeger didn't even flinch as he could tell the shot was poorly aimed and would miss him by two arge... but realized his mistake when he heard a scream from where the bullets struck. Discipline failing in that moment, the mercenary turned his head and saw that the shot had hit one of his fellows who had been fighting the dark-haired swordsman. He also managed to see a blade of crimson energy rapidly approaching him, but that was the last thing he saw.

With one of her enemies unconscious the ex-Zephyr member was able to take the offensive against her remaining adversaries. Allowing herself to be surrounded by the two monsters she feigned vulnerability, enticing the creatures to attack in unison. She couldn't quite keep the smirk off her face as she deftly dodged, leaving the two foes to collide with each other. This also gave her the brief opening she needed to overwhelm the second Jaeger, which she immediately did.

After that dealing with the two Cougars was a cinch. With the immediate threats dealt with Fie took a quick second to assess the situation. Like her, Rean had used the provided opening to deftly defeat his opponents. Arios and Juna were still engaged in combat, but the pile of dead monsters and unconscious Jaegers were a testament to their success. Despite this, however, the situation was looking increasingly grim as more and more enemies were emerging into the courtyard to engage the squad. The walls of the courtyard were looking especially worrisome as multiple enemy squads were setting up firing positions with even a few snipers in the mix. There had to be at least twenty Jaegers engaging them, with twice that in monsters. Where were the other groups?

Just as she prepared to engage another group, an obnoxious voice called out. "Hey! Why'd you go and trash the Beowulf? You bitch!" The fighting temporarily ceased as Shirley Orlando, Enforcer XVII took to the field. Despite her harsh words the psychotic woman had a happy grin on her face as she beheld the devastation.

"Well, you did leave it unguarded." Fie stated matter-of-factually.

"Hehe, true. I kinda figured Yin would be the one infiltrating this area and she's more the type to go after my pretty little head instead. I always knew you were a sneaky little cat, but I wasn't expecting you to be so... explosive~. And you even managed to bring the Divine Blade of Wind, your Boy Toy, and that girl from school."

That girl from school was rather annoyed at being referred to as such, but she went ignored by everyone else. With the lull in the fighting Fie was able to make out the sounds of heavy fighting in the distance and correctly deduced that the CGF assault was underway. "You do realize we're just the decoys, right?" She asked The Sanguine Ogre.

"Mmm, yup. You guys got us pretty good. But there's one teensy problem with your plan..."

"How many of you will I kill before we are defeated?" Questioned Sigmund Orlando as he strolled into view, flanked by the sniper commander they fought during the Twilight and another high ranking member that they had never met before.

"Great, the gang's all here." Fie proclaimed sarcastically. They were definitely in trouble at this point. She was distracted, however, by Rean discreetly motioning for her to look at something up on the eastern wall. With all the subtly she could muster she did, and spotted exactly what it was that drew his attention. Apparently they weren't totally screwed. She couldn't help but relax somewhat, which was enough to tip off their foe.

"Oh?" The War Ogre asked. The two of you don't seem quite as concerned as your companions. Ah, you aren't the only infiltrators, are you? I was wondering where Randolph was."

"Perceptive Ogre." Fie muttered, annoyed, but the man's observation came too late for the Red Constellation to prepare countermeasures, as at that moment the SSS and Rixia Mao appeared from their hiding spots on the east wall and fell upon the surprised Jaegers.

"Sorry we're late!" Lloyd shouted as he smacked some poor unsuspecting mercenary with a tonfa.

"Thanks for taking care of that sniper." The legendary assassin added as she struck a man with throwing needles, rendering him unconscious.

As if that was a cue, from the other wall the Bracer group emerged. "Yuck. That underground waterway took far longer than I thought." Estelle groused as she prepared to deliver violence to her foes, the rest of her team a few steps behind.

"Well, now this is interesting." Sigmund seemed more intrigued than worried about these developments. "Zax, take care of Randolph's group. Gareth, the other one. Shirley..."

"Sorry daddy, but I want Sylphid~"

"Fair enough. I myself am curious about this Ashen Chevalier. Let's see how long he lasts before I snap him in two."

With that, the Jaeger bosses sprang into action. Seeing the most dangerous foe charging straight towards her lover, Fie made to intercept, but was cut off as the annoying Enforcer got in her way. "Sorry, but your dance is with me~!"

Fie was worried for Rean, but knew he could take care of himself. Luckily he wasn't alone, as somehow Lloyd and Estelle managed to free themselves from the battles on the wall to assist the Erebonian in his battle against the Ogre. Everyone else found themselves swamped by Jaegers and monsters. That was as much as she could tell before the Sanguine Ogre was upon her, and the battle began in earnest.


I was originally planning on having the two fights in this chapter, but got distracted by an image of Rean dancing with Mishy and had to make room for that critical scene instead. Oh well. Next chapter will conclude the Crossbell arc. I hope you enjoyed :)