(During Issue 8: events before Sunday)

"Heck! Never knew teaching was this hard when you're in a field! " Ray says as he reads on another comic book on his lap, with the other hand holding out a flashlight as Eric and he sits along a fallen tree log, that overlooks the camp base, codename: 'Pasture Heights'. "Lucky for you, Eric, your voice echoes around the barn while I need to yell out my instructions."

Within the next four days after the rebels' arrival, the rebels positioned up their tents outside as their temporary shelters with campfires placed around the camp. A large invincible curtain around the field is provided by Grantaire to protect the Meridianites from the watchful and curious eye of the Earthlings.

Together with the Vanguards they also created training dummies for sword fighting and practice targets for archery lessons. Soon as the rebels were ready and introduced, Eric and Ray started to train the rebels. Eric teaches the basics of sword fighting in the barn. While outside the snowy pasture, Ray trains the others on archery fundamentals.

"Well, at least you have the ability to instruct than I do." Eric replies as he sips hot coffee from his tumbler. "I always think my 'students' never understood me well if I keep on stuttering and running through words so fast."

"You'll get used to it!" Ray replies as he pats Eric's back. "Didn't you just familiarize yourself with the names of each rebel and what they could do with just a wink of an eye? What kind of brain do you have in there, Einstein?"

"I just happen to know them that's all. I think nothing's really special if I didn't use my brain such as Math and History just as you ace them." Eric replies. "Besides, because of your talkative and communication skills, I think you made progress yourself within the past days."

"Made a few friends I guess, if that's what you call 'progress' but so far, most of them just shoot their arrows to the outside of the target." Ray replies. "Which is also frustrating as well when I have to use most of my mana just to recreate the arrows for them not to waste the spare!"

"So would you like to switch places then?" Eric snickers.

"Nah, I know you're good archer just as Nigel, but sword fighting ad hand-to-hand combat is not really my fighting style." Ray explains. "So just leave the best archer, which is me, to handle their archery lessons."

Eric chuckles for a short while and silence soon takes over. The only silence heard is the rustling of the trees by the breezing and cold wind. Small droplets of snow hail over the place as the sunset atmosphere gets to be a bit chilly as the Vanguards huddled themselves from to their thick cloaks over their uniforms."

"Speaking of Nigel" Eric breaks the silence. "Do you think it's alright to leave him to train the other rebels?" He asks with concern. It was also a few days ago, by the permission of Caleb, when the recruited rebels from Caleb's Corps decided to use the queen's rest house as their second base, codename: 'Calluna Fort'.

"I guess he'll be alright. I mean it looks like he wanted it?"

"Yap, I got that." Eric replies. "He looks even relieved when I announced that he won't have to 'babysit' the Guardians or to do our daily night shifts around the town because we have our hands full."

"Doesn't he have Grantaire at his side? He'll guide him all the way through."

"To remind you, Grantaire is a busy informant to the lieutenant. What happens if he's not there to guide Nigel?" Eric explains and pauses for a while. "Do you think it's best for us if we one of us trains there? I don't judge his skills though being a top notch hand-to-hand combatant, but not to offend Nigel or anything, but I never seen him teach nor lead since we started out the academe, considering training a hundred men right off the bat."

"I have faith in him that it'll work out even though his only half inch shorter than you are." Ray says. "Just as I have to you too when you started out being Atlas of our legion." Ray snickers.

"Well that's because there's just the two of you." Eric replies as he observes Ray still reading his comic book. "You seem calm from the start. Why are you so confident on him? Or aren't you just concerned with this whole situation?"

"You think too much Eric—" he stops when he looks at his watch. "And what you look at the time, it's time to get your butt off from your set because break time's over." Ray gets up from his seat and heads back to the camp and Eric soon follows.


(During Issue 8: events before Sunday)

"Flames! Break time's over and Grantaire isn't here yet!" Nigel whispers to himself as he peeps out from the subway door and waits Grantaire's arrival from Meridian for Caleb has called him. He promised to Nigel that he would reach in time before the break is over but to no sign of his coming.

The past few days were rough from the 'Calluna Fort' as rebel recruits from the Clearview Cross portal, where the railroad and telephone booth is found, were transferred discretely to the subway underground during midnight lead by Nigel and Grantaire. They watched cover them up with large thick blankets and erased snowy footprints on the ground as well.

As the rebels settled in the rooms of the rest house and created training equipment such dummies and targets, they started their training under the governance of mostly by Grantaire and the assistance of Nigel. The hall was arranged as their training grounds, mostly for sword fighting.

"Hey kid!" a familiar large and fierce galhot approaches Nigel. "Isn't time to get back to our training?"

"Y-Yeah s-sure, Gruul." Nigel stutters as he picks up his sword. "Everyone!…umm—please go—to your respective umm…lines." He calls them out awkwardly at them as the large rebels follow his orders with a bit of chuckle to themselves.

'Flames! I'm off to a bad start! If Eric and Ray were here!' he then stands on the improvised elevated wooden platform podium on front of the stairs. 'I think I should be more like Ray who is more of the approachable type.' As the rebels get to their positions on front of their dummies, Nigel breathes a heavy sigh. "G-Good d-d-day!" he awkwardly greets on front of them with a crooked and somehow a forced smile.

The rebels respond to confusion and puzzlement written on their faces. Some look at each other while others chuckle silently to themselves, while others make small spurt of a controlled laugh.

'Truly! Not to a start!' Nigel tells to his miserable self as he tries to smile and be Ray. "S-So umm—we will—" he starts to wield his sword.

"Hey kid!" shouts as the loud yell cuts Nigel off the from behind the lines behind as the rebels and Nigel glance to the source of the shout

"Excuse me?" Nigel replies confusingly.

Gruul marches to the podium as the rebels give way as they form a narrow aisle along the path. "Are you sure you're a legendary legionate you say you are? Because I think you aren't the kind that I was thinking of! I came here to learn from this Vanguard just as the lieutenant wanted me to, but all we get is just Grantaire's teaching! Not is all new!" he amusingly laughs as the rebels chuckles slightly.

"P-Please get back to your line." Nigel politely commands to him as he controls his anger. 'Flames! If I were Ray, how could have I handled this?! Just keep breathing and you'll be alright!'

"You may have won last time when we were first met, before Vathek interrupted us!" Gruul says as he continues to march hauntingly as he recalls when the past when he and other Caleb's men invaded Earth but suddenly were stopped by the three Vanguards. "Don't you know me? I am Gruul! The strongest warrior of Caleb's Corps! No rebel fighter has ever dared me! I can even take you down in one blow!" he yells as he climbs up to the stage.

"I need you to get back to your lines." Nigel mumbles as he retreats with a few steps back and breathes heavily and controls anger. 'Just count…No need to be angry, just contain it. Calm yourself down just as Eric does! ' He says to himself as he grits his teeth and encloses his fist fiercely.

"Afraid boy?!" Gruul yells at his small stature. "You may be the great legionate, but you're just a small and short Earthling kid! I mean were even taller than you!" he cracks up a joke as the rebels' chuckles echo around the large hall.

Nigel as he feels humiliated on front of the rebels tries to calm himself down, though already at the height of limit. 'Just calm down and talk the matter out! Just like Eric does—' But soon, his ears become deaf as the laughter becomes louder and rowdier as his world spins around him in a swirl, until his patience breaks down.

'Screw it!' Nigel says as he madly and angrily thrusts his sword and breaks the wooden floor.

Gruul shockingly moves back from Nigel's sudden outraged gesture as the rebels stop their disarray of chuckles and laughs. Silence then begins to rule the air as they feel an invisible aura of rage from him.

"So you think you're better than me?!" Nigel furiously yells as he takes out his sword that sticks out from the podium. "Then why don't we settle things here?" he challenges him.

"Y-You asking me to a s-sword duel?" He stutters but still tires to intimidate him but also feels uncomfortable when he too feels a strong pressure coming out from Nigel. He pulls out his large sword from his scabbard and poses his fighting stance at him. "Are you sure you can take on me 'staff' boy—?!"

Suddenly, Nigel dashes before him in lightning speed as he launches his sword at him. But luckily in the nick of time, Gruul manages to block the attack. He then quickly maneuvers his sword quickly and rapidly strikes without a chance for his opponent to fight back.

Gruul then starts to retreat back from Nigel's difficult forceful offensive attacks and sees no opening for him to strike back. 'Too strong! Didn't expect for him to be so skillful with the sword as well and not just a staff-wielder! I just have to exhaust him to make my move!' he says to himself. After a few minutes of holding on, he finally notices his opponent slows down, tired from the brawl.

'Now!' Gruul says to himself as he attacks his sword against Nigel and leads the offense and Nigel on the other hand clashes his sword against his to block out the strikes. "I am Gruul! I am the undefeatable—!" he tries to frighten him.

Suddenly, Gruul feels the pressure once more when Nigel's long hair got off the way from his face and in the fast yet slow seconds, Gruul sees the scary and dead eyes on Nigel's eyes as it looks directly straight at Gruul's soul. It's as if Nigel wants to kill him.

Frightened, he loses his momentum is caught off guard when Nigel blows his sword upward to his opponent sword then sends his sword flying to the air and sticks to other side of the podium. Gruul, in defeat kneels down tired to the ground and Nigel points his sword at him. "I may be half an inch shorter than Atlas, but never call me short again!"

Gruul grunts as he still does not accept his defeat. "I-Impossible!" Gruul grunts. "I'm defeated by a mere child! I am Gruul, the undefeated— "

Nigel shocks him as he then thrusts his sword on the wooden stage once more only inches away from his face. He jerks off from the intimidating gesture as he feels the true grimace on front of a terrifying legionate. "Then prove it" He grits his teeth. "Now take the sword and get back in line. Do you understand?"

Gruul as he feels totally threatened and the pressure suffocates his breathing, nods hastily. He quickly gets up takes the sword given to him from Nigel and runs back to the rebel training lines.

The rebels, meanwhile, murmur and gasp to what they have witnessed. A boy who won over the rebel's warriors that only lasted for only a mere minute.

"Silence!" Nigel yells out to the rebels as they also see the terrified and stern look on his gesture. He takes Gruul's sword from the other side of the podium and crosses his arms defiantly as he boasts his posture before them. "Let this be a lesson today you brutes!" he angrily yells loudly at them. "You're here in my trespassed, to be trained so you can be ready to kick-out the hell of Phobos' men! But if you're here for your sweet time just to make fun of me and to challenge me, then you're so dead wrong! Gruul ain't going to save you when the battle starts coming, even to just now when his defeated by so-called-kid!"

"T-Then w-what shall we c-call you sir?" stutters a rebel galhot on front of him.

"From now on, you brutes call me Ignitus!" Nigel reminds the crowd. "And from now on, everything that I say, you follow! Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" "Yes!" the rebels reply in weary and disarray voices.

"Louder and together!" Nigel sternly calls out.

"Sir yes sir!" cries the rebel army as they straighten their backs and reply in unison.


(During Issue 8: events before Sunday)

"If you have the ability to understand your trainees while I befriended them so they can easily approach me, do you know what I notice in Nigel that you and I lack?" Sixty miles away from Heatherfield, Ray says to Eric as they walk away from the camp after the finished training of the day and return home.

"And that is?" Eric asks as he crosses his brow.

"His got the attitude and the guts he needed! Heck! I could think of him shouting at his trainees right now!" Ray jokingly says. "I always think of him as a great and disciplined general someday!"

"That figures, he's always yelling to other of our schoolmates in the academe if they first, can't does their work right, second, his height, and third..." Eric recalls.

"…when our schoolmates compare how skillful you are than him, yeah I know that." he continues.

"That's our Ignitus alright." Eric and Ray snickers.