Fie groaned audibly as she awoke. Her entire body ached, she was feeling extremely parched, and most importantly, her head hurt like nothing she had ever experienced before. She had taken blows to the head that hurt less than this! And to make it worse she had no idea why she felt this way.

Miserably she forced her eyes open as she tried to analyze her surroundings, but winced as the brightness of the room caused her head more pain. And this is with the curtains to the windows closed! Blearily she realized that she was alone in her own bed and that she wasn't wearing anything at all. Not an uncommon occurrence. What was odd is that she didn't see any sign of her clothes anywhere. Usually when she engaged in late night fun with Rean they would have to spend the next morning picking up scattered articles of clothing from wherever they threw them in their scramble to undress, but outside of Rean's jacket haphazardly hanging off a chair there was nothing.

"Ah, you're awake."

"Too loud." She complained, which was odd as Rean didn't even greet her that loudly. She looked up to see him standing in the entrance to their room, but thanks to the open door... "Too bright."

Quickly Rean moved to fix the problem, but perhaps he was a bit too quick as the sound of the door slamming shut caused her to wince as a lance of pain shot through her skull. "Sorry about that. Here, I brought you something that might help." Only now did she realize that he was holding a plate with toast on it. And in his other hand was a cup that was filled with what looked like tea.

"...Thanks." She muttered as she took the offered items, only now understanding just how hungry and thirsty she really was. Her betrothed was kind enough to wait while she spent the next few minutes with the provided breakfast. It was a simple meal, but it helped out a lot, even dulling the pain in her head a little. "What happened?"

Rean chuckled, but was nice enough to do so quietly. "Where to begin? Hmm... How much do you remember?"

What did she remember? Slowly the gears in her head began to turn. She remembered... It had been August 31, her birthday and the anniversary of the day they got together. Rean had suggested all kinds of different activities to celebrate, but had left the final decision to her. Instead of any of those she made the decision to sleep in and be lazy that day, since Sara had followed through with her promise of inviting them out to drinks that night, and they had plans to resume their bracer duties the next day.

He had protested the idea at first, but it was her choice and eventually he accepted her boring decision. They cuddled in bed until the afternoon at which point they reluctantly accepted the inevitable fact that they needed to get up. She spent much of the afternoon working on her fledgling garden while he took care of a few minor issues around the house that had cropped up over their long absence. All in all it was a very simple but enjoyable day.

That evening he had taken her to the capital via train a little early as he insisted he at least buy her dinner somewhere, something which she accepted easy enough. The restaurant he chose was of a higher quality than what they would normally pick, but not to such a level that would only appeal to the rich and pompous nobles. She had no complaints about his choice and together they enjoyed a wonderful meal.

After that is where it got hazy in her mind. She remembered going with Rean to the bar where Sara was at. She recalled faces- Sara, Toval, Schera, Laura, Emma, Machias, and Elliot. After that...

"Right, I figured as much." He said after she recalled the last things she remembered. "What happened is that you are a total lightweight."

She stiffened. That couldn't be true, could it? She was going to be the cool one, easily able to keep up with her friends and enjoy the stupid things they do when they got drunk. "I... I mean that's only because it was my first time, right?"

He shook his head, dashing her hopes. "Sorry. Experience helps, but I don't think it's enough to help someone who was completely out of it after two drinks."

Noooo. That's impossible. It can't be true! But one look at Rean's face told her that he was dead serious. "This sucks!" She whined as she slumped back onto the bed in defeat. Fortunately her hangover had already started to dull a bit and she only winced marginally at her actions.

"It was pretty entertaining to watch." He added unhelpfully.

Her eyes widened in horror as she processed his words. "What did I do?" She reluctantly asked, already dreading the answer.

"Ah... Let's just say that you are a very affectionate drunk..."

She blinked. That's it? That didn't sound so bad. "Aww, were you embarrassed that I was showing you some love in public?"

"That part wasn't so bad." He admitted. "It was all the other people that you went after that made it funny."

She froze. She hadn't even considered that possibility. "What did I do?" She repeated her earlier question, again dreading the answer. He seemed reluctant to answer, which only worried her more. "Tell me!" She insisted.

"Alright, alright. But instead of telling you, I can show you instead." Here he reached over to the nearby table and grabbed his ARCUS II.

"You recorded it?" She hissed as she realized what he had done. Rean ignored her as he loaded up the video. She was torn between wanting to tear his hair out and wanting to know exactly what horrors she had committed, but eventually curiosity won out and she leaned over his shoulder as he began the video.

'Everyone laughed in amusement as Fie staggered across the floor, her usual grace nowhere to be found. Her face was flushed red and she barely seemed to notice where she was going as she giggled maniacally.

"Wow, I figured she wouldn't hold her drink well, but this is just pathetic." Came the voice of Sara as the group continued to watch the birthday girl make a complete ass of herself.

"It's not that bad, is it?" Emma replied, ever the supportive one. "I mean yes she's not a good drinker, but it's nice to see her acting so... carefree after everything that's happened."

Opening her mouth proved to be a huge mistake for the young witch, as doing so attracted the attention of the drunken menace in question. While her natural agility was gone her speed was not, and within a second the young bracer had made her way across the room and was within Emma's personal space. "Eek!" Was her only response as Fie proceeded to nuzzle her face into the older girl's breasts.

"Hehe. I've always admired your amazing chest. It feels so soft and bouncy~" Soon enough she raised her hands to join in the fun...'

"This is just one big prank, right?" A red-faced Fie desperately asked. "You guys invited Phantom Thief B for some reason?"

"Do you want me to agree with you, or do you want the truth?"

She tried to glare at him for his unhelpful comment, but the sheer level of embarrassment on her face caused it to lose any effect. "This is awful! I turn into Angelica when I'm drunk!"

"Well... Not quite." She glanced at him in confusion, but he pointed towards the screen. "Angelica only goes after the girls."

'After having her fun with Emma, the delighted Fie scanned the room for her next victim. Of all the people in their little group there was one member who was doing his level best to ignore her shenanigans while he calmly drank his beer. Unacceptable.

Machias had no idea how to react when a wild Sylphid suddenly appeared and found a seat on his lap. "F-Fie?!"

"Shut up. I'm comfy."

The chess expert clearly had no idea what do to in that situation. There was a very pretty girl sitting on his lap. A very pretty girl who was drunk out of her mind. And also engaged to one of his closest friends. He sent a confused glance in the direction of the camera... and paled as he witnessed a horror that would linger in his mind for the rest of his life. With a burst of strength honed from many years of fighting with a shotgun he managed to push the giggling girl away from him.'

"What did you do to get him to respond like that?" She asked, curiosity enough to temporarily overcome her horror at the spectacle she was witnessing. Machias looked about ready to wet himself, which meant it was probably a good thing he got her off his lap, even if the impostor on the screen seemed none too happy about it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her partner replied with a straight face. Of course. Crazy overprotective Rean. A total pain in the butt to deal with, but she couldn't deny it wasn't occasionally a nice feeling.

'While the others were content to laugh at her antics, only one person cared enough to try and reign her in. And that person wasn't Rean.

"Fie, maybe you should calm down a little..." Laura stated as she took one step towards the silver-haired menace to society.

"Laura! My bestest best friend ever! I love you so much!" In a move more reminiscent of Millium, the young bracer decided to greet her 'bestest best friend ever' with a flying tackle hug. While surprised by the move, Laura had clearly been expecting something and was still sober enough that her reflexes were up to the task of catching her.

The Arseid master appeared unsure of how to act as the drunken girl was firmly latched to her with her legs and arms wrapped around her body. It didn't help that in the process of catching her that Laura's hands were holding her in a rather inappropriate spot. "Um, Fie? Perhaps this isn't the best idea?" Worried, the girl turned her eyes towards the camera, clearly thinking about the one behind it. She visibly relaxed when it appeared she didn't see whatever she had been fearing, and reluctantly allowed herself to continue her hold on her best friend.'

"I noticed you don't seem to react the same when it's another girl..." Fie noted pointedly in a vain attempt to forget about the horrors she was witnessing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rean repeated with a straight face.

"Uh-huh." Normally she would be able to use something like that to tease him relentlessly, but right now that was completely impossible as she knew that right now he had far more ammo at his disposal. Something that galled her greatly. She had a feeling that she was never going to be able to live down this humiliation.

"Oh look, I think you've found a new target." She really wanted to hit her lover for acting like he didn't already know what was about to happen, but morbid curiosity demanded she continued to watch the unfolding horror.

'After showing her affection to Laura, the cat-like girl was on the prowl for her next target. Her eyes roamed from one potential victim to the next. Rean, Toval, Sara, Schera...

When her eyes reached Elliot the young musician made the greatest mistake possible. He flinched. Foolish. The good hunter will always smell fear.

Immediately realizing his mistake, the youngest Craig quickly shot to his feet and made a break for it. He maybe made it three steps before he was captured by a powerful pair of arms. "Caught you~" Fie sang as she held him from behind like a teddy bear.

"Help! Please! I don't want to die!" Elliot pleaded, sounding more like the timid boy at Thors than the experienced warrior musician he had become later on. He kept his arms up in the air palms facing out, as if to show the amused spectators (or one person in particular) that he wasn't doing anything inappropriate to the drunken woman who was nuzzling him from behind.'

"This is the worst." She moaned, feeling more humiliation than she had ever felt in her life. "Nobody's gonna let me live this down, are they?"

"I thought it was pretty funny." He admitted with absolutely no shame whatsoever.

She tried to level her fiercest glare at Rean, but knew she probably couldn't intimidate a baby in her current state."Why were you recording this anyways?"

"Don't tell me you already forgot? Mishelam Wonderland?"

"T-That was different! You making a fool out of yourself was funny. This isn't!"

If she was looking for any support from her lover her hopes were to be dashed. "I dunno, everyone seems to be laughing and finding it funny. Maybe this is a you problem?"

Was Rean always this cruel and heartless or was she just a terrible influence on that once kind and honest noble boy? "This sucks! My reputation is gonna go down the drain! I was supposed to be the cool one! I'm not supposed to be Sara!"

"Oh! Speaking of Sara, you might want to continue to watch. The best part is coming up soon." If she had been feeling trepidation before, hearing the words 'best part' and 'Sara' together filled with an immense feeling of dread and despair. And yet despite that she couldn't turn away, wanting to see this horrible train wreck to its brutal and deadly conclusion.

'After finally releasing the traumatized boy, the impostor that looked like Fie continued her escapades. By this point most of the bystanders had fled to escape the insane girl, leaving only those in her close circle of friends to continue watching her make a fool of herself. Fortunately it appeared that her rampage was starting to come to an end...

"Hey Fie, what about me?" Or at least it was until Sara opened her mouth and drew all eyes to herself. "What? I'm not ready for her to stop making a fool out of herself. This is pure comedy gold! C'mon, Fie. Whatever you got for me I can handle!"

It was hard to tell if the silver-haired young woman even understood the trap or the mocking tone, but a challenge was issued and it was time to show her big sister just how much she cared. With no hesitation she approached the challenger. Sara remained in her seat with a confident smirk as the younger girl approached before stopping right in front of her.

Sara stared at Fie. Fie stared at Sara. Sara continued to stare at Fie. Fie leaned in and captured Sara's lips with her own.

Despite her earlier confidence it was painfully clear that the former instructor had not even remotely anticipated that move judging by the burning blush that now consumed her face. Everyone watched in stunned silence, save Schera who started making cat calls. Frantically she tried to pull away, but found that Fie had a death grip on her head with her hands'

"I... kissed Sara?" She stared unblinking as she watched the nightmarish scene play out in horrific detail in front of her. "That's it, my life is over."

It's not that bad." He replied, trying to reassure her. His efforts were obviously doomed to failure as she stared at him with a disbelieving look on her face. "I mean... It's pretty bad, but you'll recover from this!" Fie whimpered. She actually whimpered. And her eyes had tears in them. He couldn't recall ever seeing the confident girl look so pitiful as she did in that moment. "It's almost over, so just hang on for a minute longer?"

Luckily for Sara there was one person who could rescue her from this surprising fate. Despite the fact he still had his ARCUS recording, Rean made his way across the room towards where the two women were trapped in a passionate embrace. First he coughed awkwardly to get his partner to finally release their coworker and turn to him."Alright Fie, I think I need to get you home now..."

"Rean!" Quickly forgetting about the Purple Lightning she instead leapt at him in a move similar to the one she used on Laura, except with a lot less grace and a lot more force. The cameraman clearly had not been prepared for such a move as the impact of the collision sent both of them crashing to the floor with the ARCUS leaving his grip and clattering to the floor, camera faced away from the action.

While the two watching the video could no longer see the action, they could still hear it, and what sounded like pants being unbuckled hinted as to what was going on. "H-Hey! Fie! Stop that! I need my pants! Let go!"

"Woohoo! Take em off!" Despite the shocking situation she had just found herself in, to Sara's credit she was quick to recover. "Get his clothes off!"

Although the chaos could still be clearly heard in the background, the ARCUS screen shifted as it was picked up."I guess I should turn this off?" A voice muttered, one easily identified as belonging to Laura.

What followed next was... sad. Listening to the mechanically challenged woman trying and failing to figure out how to turn off the camera for multiple minutes to no success. At one point she even managed to turn the camera onto selfie mode causing the view to shift to that of her confused face, before accidentally snapping a picture of herself. Eventually she just gave up completely and turned the entire orbment off, ending the video abruptly.'

"Oh, Laura..." At least she could find humor in these dark times thanks to her friend's complete inability to handle orbal technology. "Send me that picture of her big dumb confused face when you get the chance."

"Already done."

Nice. Good to know that Rean knew what she wanted. But that brief moment of levity gave way to the reality of the situation. "So what happened after the video ended? Please tell me you managed to stop me." Sure she might have suggested they do it in a place where they might get caught before, but not in the middle of a dingy bar floor with all their friends around them. No thanks.

"I did... eventually. Not before you managed to get my pants off and give the others a free show, though." Rean appeared quite displeased by that news, unsurprisingly. "Once I managed to get you off me I got dressed and got us to a train home..." Clearly there was something he wasn't saying based on the redness of his face at that last bit.

With the horrid story at an end Fie finally allowed herself to get out of bed so she could get started on the day. Her hangover had receded to manageable levels by this point so she was able to function properly. She bent down to reach for her clothes before remembering...

"Oh yeah, where are my clothes?" She asked, looking back to her partner. "And where are yours?" For the first time she noticed that he wasn't dressed in his usual outfit at all.

"Ahah... Our clothes are probably still on the train..."

She blinked in confusion. "Why would our... Oh."

"Fortunately I managed to find us an empty car, so I don't think anybody saw us. You were sound asleep when we got back to Trista and wouldn't wake up, so it was all I could handle to carry you, our weapons, and our orbments back home.

The pieces started to fall into place for her. They had some what was probably awesome train sex, which finally wore her out after her earlier stupidity. The fact that Rean's jacket was in the house meant that he had probably covered her up with it before bringing her home, since he was an overprotective dork like that. And if he was also carrying their weapons and ARCUS units...

"Wait, does that mean you were streaking across Trista last night? While carrying an unconscious girl? Rean you dirty beast!" It was a tiny comeback, but it felt nice to get a little teasing in after the misery of what had happened.

"I... Made sure to run really fast?" He defended weakly. "I don't think anyone saw us, but I'm pretty sure a few people on the train heard us."

"Joy." She muttered as she began to dress herself in one of her casual outfits. "This sucks. I spent the last two years being annoyed that I wasn't old enough to drink, only for this to happen. Never touching booze again, no matter what Sara says. So what are we doing today?"

He laughed awkwardly, knowing just how much she wasn't going to like his answer. "Today's the day we return to the guild, remember?"

His assumption was dead on the mira as Fie paled considerably. "Crap. Sara's totally gonna be there, isn't she?" She couldn't even blame the older woman either. In her shoes she would totally do the same, as what happened last night was prime teasing material.

"Probably." He agreed easily enough, much to her dismay. "First, however, I was thinking we should stop by the train station to see if there's any way we can get our stuff back."

Sounded like a pain in the butt, but she really did like that outfit so it was worth the attempt. Once finished dressing the two commenced that plan and made the short trek to the station. None of the greetings or looks they got from the townsfolk were any different from usual so it appeared that Rean was correct in that nobody saw anything the previous night.

They approached the woman manning the counter at the station, but she didn't even look up at them as she was busy tapping away on a terminal. "What can I do for you?" She asked professionally while she continued to type away.

"Um... Last night we left some of our clothes on one of the trains. Is there any chance we can possibly get them back?"

"No." The woman stated simply, still not looking at them. "Because of the difficulties in managing the train schedules and short stop duration we have a no return policy. Sorry to say that you are just going to have to accept that loss."

"Please?" Fie asked this time in Rean's place. "Some of our stuff is pretty important to us. Is there anything we can do to get it back?"

The woman scoffed. "Seriously? No means no. You probably thought it would be funny to do something inappropriate on a train for the kicks without putting others into consideration, and only now do you have any regrets. We get your types all the time so just buzz... huh?"

The reason for the pause? She finally deemed the two important enough to look up at. "Wait... Sylphid and the Ashen Chevalier!? Er, ummm... You said you left some stuff on a train from Heimdallr last night, right? Let me make a few calls and see if I can't find it for you!"

"Uh..." Sylphid was at a loss for words as the rude later did a complete attitude shift and was now frantically making calls with her civilian communication device. "That was weird."

Said Ashen Chevalier pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "You'll get used to it. It's a total pain, but at least this time it seems to be working out for us."

"Huh... At least there are a few perks from it all. I still wish everyone would forget about Vivi's stupid article though. Think we could get KeA to change reality so it never gets published or something?"

"First of all, she doesn't have that power anymore. And secondly? Do you want to be the one to suggest that and have the entire SSS come after you for it?"

Come to think of it, yeah. That entire team was as overprotective as Rean when KeA was involved. "Probably not. But there are still other Sept-Terrions undiscovered, right? We could go track one down before Ouroboros finds it and use it to change history so that article is never published. We stop them in their tracks and I get to be freed of all this crap. Everyone wins!"

"But wouldn't doing that change the past so you never saw the need to track down said Sept-Terrion, thus altering the timeline in all kinds of unexpected ways?"

"What? That's stupid. Whoever taught you how time travel works clearly has no idea what they are talking about."

He blinked. "And when did you become an expert on time and space?"

"I always have been." She preened proudly. "Changing one event in the past isn't gonna create some alternate timelines or whatever nonsense you're talking about. Everyone knows that."

He scoffed. "That's stupid, and you know it."

"You're stupid!" She replied hotly.

"Ahem." The lady coughed weakly, having finished her calls in time to hear the last bit of that conversation. The two awkwardly looked away, only now remembering that they had an audience for their silly little argument. "I was... I was able to locate your items. Fortunately the train it's on is scheduled to stop here in just a few minutes, so if you're willing to wait I should have it for you once it does."

"Right, uh... We'll do that." Rean replied awkwardly, unable to make eye contact with her after that previous display.

This time the duo managed to refrain from any silly conversations while they waited. At least they did for all of two minutes. "This is your fault, you know."

Rean arched an eyebrow at that statement. "And how exactly is this my fault?"

"Simple. Next time you just agree with me and don't try and argue every point. Nobody likes someone who always has to get the last word."

"Well sorry, but I'm not going to sit there and let you spout such nonsense without saying anything. You sounded like a little kid with an overactive imagination."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Did you just call me a little kid?"

"I said you sounded like a little kid, but you know what? Sure. Now that you mention it, it fits. You certainly drink like one, after all."

Fie recoiled as if physically struck. "Damn you! You had to bring that back up, didn't you? Well if I'm a little kid doesn't that make you a creepy pedophile?" Let it be known that Fie Claussell was never one to let an opponent get the last hit in, even as she berated Rean for doing the same.

"Really?" Rean deadpanned. "A pedophile?"

"Uh huh." Her eyes lit up as if she had a thought to prove her point. "This really is your fault! You couldn't keep your beastly urges in check until we got home. Could you?"

"That's not what happened and you know it."

"Do I? We both know that if you really wanted to stop me you would have. Especially when I was so drunk that I could barely walk straight."

Rean grimaced, clearly thinking about the previous night. "...Don't sell yourself short. You're really slippery when drunk. An extra level of unpredictability on top of your superb agility."

"Huh, really? Maybe I should look into that more..."

"Please don't. The last thing Erebonia and the Bracer Guild needs is for another crazy drunk running around creating chaos everywhere."

"Excuse me?" So engrossed were they in their own little world they failed to notice the passing of time until the lady again called out to them. "I was able to recover your stuff."

Sure enough, they found their belongings neatly packed into two separate bags. "Ahah..." Rean chuckled as he realized that they again were having a completely random and lame conversation in the same public place. "Thanks a lot. Is there any way we can repay you?"

"Don't worry about it." She answered with a beaming smile, completely at odds with how they first found her. "I already got my reward for this. Is there anything else you need from me?"

The two bracers exchanged glances, confused at her words. Doubly so when the lady started giggling in a very creepy manner. "Um, no, that is all. Thanks again for your help."

"We should go back home and change before heading to the guild." Fie muttered quietly. Nodding his head in agreement, Rean led his partner back to where they came from.

Once returned they quickly set about changing into their combat outfits so they would be better suited in case the guild wanted them to hunt some monsters, which given how utterly useless their seniors were was a very real possibility. As he had less cloths in his bag Rean was the first to notice something wrong. A second look turned up the same results. "That's odd." He muttered, causing Fie to look at him. "Everything's here except for my underwear..."

She shrugged. "Maybe they just didn't find it. We do tend to be messy when we undress... No, wait. Mine is missing too." It happening once could be attributed to a lazy scan, but it happening to both of them?

The two shared a glance, both immediately recalling the conversation from a few minutes ago.

"I already got my reward for this."

And now they knew exactly what she meant. The former jaeger just shook her head in dismay. This sucks. Everything sucks. Can we just pretend that the last twenty four hours never happened?"

"That works for me." Rean agreed quickly.

The two continued the process of getting ready. After getting changed they collected their weapons and ARCUS units. Curiously, Fie opened her orbment and her eyes widened in horror.

Naturally, her glare fell to the one she most deemed guilty. "Rean... How come I have nineteen messages and six missed calls?" Her voice was perfectly calm, which only terrified the swordsman more.

"Urk!"

"You wouldn't have accidentally sent that video to all our friends, did you?"

"Of course not!" He defended quickly. "The only ones I sent it to were the ones who were already there. I mean they already saw it all so what's the harm, right? Haha..."

That would almost be fine. Most of the people who were present weren't the kind of people to spread such a video, both out of consideration for her and the fact that most of them were put into pretty compromising positions thanks to her actions. There was no way the likes of Laura, Emma, Machias, or Elliot would want such a thing getting out. None of them were the problem.

If there was one person who would gladly go out of her way to make Fie's life a living nightmare, even at her own expense..."You sent it to Sara!?"

"There's a funny story there..." He trailed off, desperately trying to come up with what that funny story could be.

"I see. How about this? Me? I'm gonna drive to the capital. You? You're walking there. And I know how long it takes so don't try and take the train. That should give you all the time you need to come up with your funny story."

She didn't even wait for his response as she used her considerable speed to exit the house and mount the orbal bike before he had a chance to stop her. As traffic laws were merely a suggestion, the girl made great time to the capital without the constant nagging from her life partner behind her. Sadly, once she entered Heimdallr she realized just how miserable it would be dealing with Sara when she was by herself, so with great reluctance she turned the bike around and made the drive back towards Trista to pick up her favorite traitor. At least she found some amusement as she came across the miserable jerk trudging down the highway by himself.


Ahah... sorry Fie. Felt like I had been a little hard on Rean lately so it was time to put the shoe on the other foot for a chapter. I'm sure she will recover from this... some year.