Unmei Force Solitary Legends: Eternal Embers
Chapter 7: Taking Back Yuell
In the hallways...
Richard was walking down his hallways, after finishing his break, and heading to the drill grounds. However, in the middle of his path there, he encountered Brixham, who was looking for him.
"Rain, may I have a moment?" Brixham asked him with a slightly urgent tone.
"You seem troubled, Brixham. Go on, tell me what is in your mind." Richard responded back casually.
"I want to speak to you about Erik Kampmann." Brixham stated with a serious expression. "I've received multiple complaints about his conduct from others in the class. Especially in regards to a tendency to violence and a lack of cooperation. They say they aren't comfortable fighting alongside him. You know what friction in the class will do on the field, I hope?"
"...It's not like I haven't tried, Brixham." Richard responded back, his tone turning into one of harshness. "I am aware of what his lone-wolf attitude does. That is why he is rarely deployed for missions, and those specific ones require a lone unit in one area. I've tried to convince him to work on teamwork, but even with my own manner of discipline, he won't budge. When I caught him fighting other students from other classes, I tried to stop him, and pointed out his errors. That ended up turning him towards me, and forcing me to use drastic measures to pacify him."
"I assume that pacification involved you slamming a fist hard enough in his abdomen that resulted in him being completely bare of appetite?" Brixham retorted back. "I won't judge you, since you were forced to act on him. However, I must tell you that you don't do that again, the nurse was quite concerned about the recent cases of serious injuries lately from our class, due to their... intriguing level of severity."
"I'm well aware. Hopefully, I can take a much less violent approach to him, and find out what put him off teamwork and friendship, making him a lone delinquent. Once I figure the problem... you won't be hearing these kinds of complaints soon enough." Richard assured Brixham.
"Please do." Brixham simply replied back, before he then left Richard to continue his path to the drill grounds. When he made his way past the courtyard of the academy, he then heard something in the distance, which resembled joyous laughter, and what intrigued Richard, was the fact that voice belong to Erik himself.
Richard don't even waste a moment rushing over, as he made his way towards a line of trees, before hiding carefully behind them, and seeing that Erik had several cute white chicks resting on his head and shoulders, and one of them was perched on his finger, as Erik seemed to looked quite content and happy, in contrast to his usual bitter and threatening expression.
"All right, hold on!" Erik chuckled lightly, as the bird on his finger chirped greedily, as the blonde student pulled out several bread crumbs from his pocket, and feeding it to the chick on his finger. "I'll feed you now, guy. Just calm down, would you?'
The chick slowly devoured the food, before flapping its wing gently, and letting out a series of happy tweets, which pleased Erik greatly.
"Sheesh, you sure eat a ton. How do you even get off the ground when you'll become so fat with this?" Erik joked. "That's right, take your time, little guy, nobody's taking your food."
The chick chirped a few times, as the chicks on top of his head and shoulder tweeted in response, as they seemed to be hungry for some more.
"Geez, you guys are really famished today, aren't you?" Erik remarked, before he then pulled out more bread-crumbs, and fed all of the chicks. "Don't worry, there's enough to go around for you all."
After a while, the chick decided to fly away, being content with the food that Erik fed them, as the 'delinquent' waved back at them with a smile, as if wishing them good fortune. At the moment, Richard decided to come out, as he made sound that alerted Erik about him, as his expression snapped back to his usual bitter one.
"Who's there!?" Erik exclaimed, before seeing Richard. "What were you doing spying on me like that? Are you trying to find something about me that you can exploit?"
Richard remained silent with a stoic expression, as this infuriated Erik further, as he immediately put his fists up.
"What's with the silent game? Talk, you bastard!" Erik shouted back. "Talk, or it's going to be Round 2 this-"
"Erik, would you like for me to believe that this is really you?" Richard asked softly.
"Haw!? What did you say!?" Erik exclaimed harshly.
"I'll say this again, more clearly. Erik, would you like for me to believe that the you that I just saw, is the real you?" Richard repeated himself with a much more firm tone. "Or is that a facade that you put up for yourself, for these young chicks?"
"I don't need to explain jack to you!" Erik exclaimed back. "You should know the damn answer yourself, if you're so clever, instructor!"
Richard didn't rise to Erik's insult. "I'm not going to put you on the spot, I want to hear you say it yourself, regardless of what the situation is." He stated. "That is all I ask of you. Whatever you say, stays between us and us only. You have my weighty word on that."
Erik was silent, before he then scoffed brutishly. "Feh. That wasn't the real me." Erik responded back. "I just simply know how to control myself around birds. I'm not so ruthless that I would hate little birds like these."
"...Is that really what you have to say for yourself?" Richard said, before he then shook his head. "Because I know certainly that you just lied there."
"What do you mean by that!? What do you know? Just because I cared for a few birds, doesn't make me a goody-t-" Erik fumed back.
"If you actually paid attention to classes, the chicks that you were tending to, were the child of Gallian doves." Richard interrupted. "And there is one thing that Gallian doves are famous for... They are almost impossible to approach at all. That is because the Gallian doves have a certain trait that drives them away from people. It is theorised that the Gallian doves can read one's heart, and any form of sin and indecency drives them away, while a heart of kindness and warmth attracts them. It is as if only someone with a pure enough heart can approach them, let alone feed them like that. Tell me, Erik... If you really were as bad as you act like to the other students, then the chicks would have fled at the mere sight of you, let alone before you approach them. Does that prove that your previous statement was false?"
"You damned sly instructor..." Erik snarled. "I told you before, stay out of my damn business! I won't fall for whatever junk you're going to tell me! I'm not going to change myself just to suit all of the classmates I'm stuck with!"
"Then tell me this, Erik. If you're such a good person that the Gaillan doves are willing to stick by you..." Richard responded back. "Why not use that against other people? Why instead twist your own kindness into spite and hatred for others? Why act like as if you hate every single person in this world to some degree?"
Erik was silent, before he then turned his head away, and muttered something under his breath, with the words 'don't trust them.' barely audible to Richard.
"I'm sorry, what did you say? I didn't quite catch all of that." Richard asked Erik.
"I said, forget it! And once again, do me a favour and screw off! I'm not here to be lectured by you about who I should be friends with, who I shouldn't! I'm pretty damn fine as I am!" Erik snapped at Richard, before he then stomped away.
Richard then sighed, before he then turned away, continuing to the drill-grounds.
"Well, there's progress at least." Richard remarked to himself. "Now... just have to wait for the right time to come."
Inside the classroom...
Gus decided to bring Helmut over to discuss things, and get to know the Imperial student a little better. He invited him using a letter requesting for them to meet inside one of the empty classrooms during the break. As expected, Helmut came as quickly as he could, sliding the door open, and closing it behind him.
"Helmut, I'm glad that I can meet you here." Gus stated.
"You have requested me to come meet you here. I have no position to object against that." Helmut responded back.
"I... I want to ask you a few things." Gus replied back. "Could you tell me about your Empire, from your own perspective?"
"...Why do you ask me such a question?" Helmut questioned back. "Are you not a veteran of the previous war? You should be well aware of what the Empire is like, considering that we were formerly your enemies. Even then, why not use the text-books here as a reference? They paint a colourful picture."
"Sarcasm doesn't fit you, Helmut." Gus denied, shaking his head. "Even if you were our enemies, that doesn't mean that we can't hope to understand each other. I know the text books are slightly biased against your country. So I want to hear your view of your own nation. At least tell me how you grew up in your own nation. What were your schools, both civilian and military, like?"
"I studied in a military academy near the capital." Helmut answered back. "The basic academic and physical training regiments were similar to that of Lanseal's. The only major difference between here and there, is our oath of fealty to His Imperial Excellence."
"The emperor..." Gus muttered. "I see. I should expect that, considering that the invasion commander was one of the crown princes of the Empire."
"I assume you know that the Empire is ruled by His Excellence absolutely. All military personnel swear to give their all in loyal services to Him." Helmut responded back. "That includes his off-spring, which includes the Crown Prince."
"Well... Moving onto another topic..." Gus stated. "Helmut... I want to ask this from you honestly... Do you think that the way you've been treated is fair?"
"It is not, but like I said, I am in no position to argue." Helmut replied back stonily. "In fact, I am a little surprised that you would show such care for me, when I am your enemy before. I was a Empire soldier when the war was ongoing, so we shouldn't be so cordial with each other."
"Just because you're with the Empire, doesn't mean that you're not a human like the rest of us." Gus countered. "Your country may have done terrible things, but that doesn't mean that this solely defines what your nation is. Yes, people still hate you and your men for what you have done, but in time, that hate will fade away, and there will soon be understanding between us."
"That is dangerously optimistic of you, instructor." Helmut responded back. "Such a mindset would only make it harder for you to prepare yourself for war, and it would be considered treasonous, if you were in the Empire."
"I know, but I refuse to change my view..." Gus responded back. "Helmut, before you continue, I want to tell you one thing... Back in the war, there was a time where Sally and I met a Imperial soldier before... And that one time, we weren't shooting each other, aiming to kill. We were-"
Suddenly, Zeri burst in through the door, as he looked fairly incensed. "I knew it, you would have never come here, if you were never called upon by the instructor." He remarked with a heated tone, all while glaring at Helmut.
"I am merely doing my duty." Helmut answered back.
"And so the empire has a huge army of unquestioning drones like you, to stage invasions, and to man the Darcsen concentration camps they have set up here in Gallia." Zeri responded back with venom in his voice.
"Zeri... Calm down, please." Gus tried to advise Zeri, as Helmut didn't move his face a single inch, listening to Zeri with a stoic expression.
"But I don't expect an Imperial like you would lose sleep over that." Zeri continued. "We Darcsens are just pack mules to you, aren't we? A source of slave labour. But those camps were an assault on human dignity. A mule is better treated! Just know that even if you've forgotten about it, like it was nothing, we Darcsens haven't, and I most certainly refuse to forget about what you have done to us, and that you have not been rightfully punished for it, after all of the Darcsen lives that your nation has ruined!"
"Zeri! This is not how you should be acting! What if Richard was here, hearing all of this-" Gus scolded Zeri, before Helmut rose up on his feet. "Helmut?"
"...It is ill-advised to discuss this further, instructor." Helmut replied back, before he then left the room. "Good day."
After Helmut left, Gus turned to Zeri, with a cross expression.
"Zeri, I know that you're angry at the Empire for what they have done... That doesn't give you the right to judge them as if they're demons in the flesh!" Gus fumed. "This is not what someone like you should be acting like, especially when you're supposed to be the tactician who keeps a calm head with the situation on the field."
"You couldn't possibly-" Zeri tried to argue, before Gus slammed his hands on the table hard.
"How could I not possibly understand!?" Gus roared back. "Do you not know that our entire village was slaughtered to the child just to find Rain!? Of course we know what the Empire has done, but do you think perpetuating all this hatred would do anything to make things better, and prevent all of this happening again!? Zeri, I'll tell you this, and I expect you to believe me fully on this, the Empire's men are the same as ours, despite the cultural and social differences. They cry, smile, laugh, and experience life like us. If you were to discriminate them as they did to you, what makes you better than them!?"
Gus then left, leaving a shocked Zeri behind, as he was left processing what he was told from Gus.
In the drill grounds...
The lancers finished their drill session, as they all went their own ways. However, for Reiner, Marisa was making his way towards him, as she was holding an enclosed letter addressed to him.
"Hey, Reiner!" Marisa shouted, catching the buff lancer's attention. "You got some mail addressed to you! Decided to hold onto it, before I give it to you! It's a letter from home, and it's from your friend Sigrid!"
"Is that so?" Reiner responded back, before he then took the letter and opened it, as he chuckled a little. "It looks like his writing alright, yeah, it's definitely from him!"
Reiner then continued reading the letter, as his jolly attitude dropped, before he even reached the halfway point of the letter. When he finished reading it, he let his arm fall to his side, with a disbelieving expression on his face.
"Reiner? What's wrong?" Marisa asked her student. "Did... Did something happen? What was in the letter?"
"This has to be a joke. Or a mistake... or something! Anything but this!" Reiner exclaimed in disbelief and horror, clutching his head in distress.
"Reiner! Calm down, what's going on?" Marisa shouted.
"Sigrid's... He joined the rebels." Reiner declared the grim news, as Marisa was surprised.
"Wait, what!? I thought that your friend swore to protect the town... Unless..." Marisa replied back.
"He says a speech they gave in town changed his mind about them." Reiner explained. "'The blame for this war lies with Gallia's current ruler, not the revolution. By ousting her, we'll see Gallia transformed into a peaceful, prosperous land. As a participant of this revolution, I can be one of the men shaping Gallia. I hope you'll enlist and join me in the fight.' And it goes on from there."
"That's... That's just utter nonsense!" Marisa burst out in sheer outrage. "Cordelia is a much better person than what those rebels claim! I've seen her myself, and what she has done for all of us in the previous war! There is no damn way that she could be ruining this nation! You saw her yourself, she's a good-natured woman who wants the best for the nation! And what do these damn rebels do!? They ruin the nation themselves by threatening and coercing people to join their cause, and they slaughter Darcsens for purity of races! None of those rebels have anything good for the nation, not with how they carry their actions out!"
"I know you're truly upset hearing this, instructor." Reiner answered back. "But if he's with them, that means that the two of us could wind up fighting. I... Can I keep fighting the rebels like before? Can I still kill them? What if I pulled off one of their masks from one of their corpses, and found Sigrid underneath?"
"I know how you feel about this..." Marisa responded back with sympathy. "No-one wants to fight their friend in war, let alone try to kill them. But you can't let that stop you... If you refused to fight the rebels because you're afraid of your friend being one of the dead... Then you'll be reprimanded for that by others... Even court-martialled for defying orders."
"But I can't fight him... I couldn't..." Reiner muttered quietly.
"Look, I know how you feel, but if you ever come to meet each other... Hope that it's on your lonesome... He'll recognise you, since you don't wear a mask like the rebels do. I'm sure that he feels the same way." Marisa assured Reiner. "If not, I'll try to do what I can to locate him, and persuade him that you're worried about him. However, it's going to be hard to tell, without knowing your friend, how he looks like, and everything else to distinguish him from the other rebels. But back to topic... If you're his friend, then show him why he's fighting for the wrong cause... that he's been lied to by the rebels."
"Right... You're right." Reiner remarked. "If I remind him about Elena, he'll listen. I'm sure that he hasn't forgotten the love he felt for our home. Thanks, instructor. I'll do what I can to steer him right."
"Don't worry, I'll be there to help you." Marisa comforted Reiner, before the two of them separated from each other.
Inside the library...
Magari was silently reading over books on her lonesome, before Elma made her way towards the Darcsen quickly.
"Hello, Magari... Are you alright usually staying in here...?" Elma asked. "I worry that your tendency to spend your time here to be fairly concerning... Would your health wither if you only spent your time in here?"
"I feel certain I get sufficient exercise in our daily drills, Elma." Magari responded back calmly.
"Magari... I know that you're not usually good with people... I admit, I'm a bit shy myself... But if you keep on secluding yourself in here... It won't do well for yourself." Elma warned Magari. "Spending all this time reading books would strain your mind, as there is a limit for the knowledge that even someone as astonishing as you can absorb... So please-"
"Please, leave me to read. I know that you're trying to show concern to me, but I have felt no such thing before." Magari replied back. "There is nothing that can be gained from this conversation."
Elma was silent for a while, as Magari returned to reading her books, before she then took a deep breath.
"Then... I suppose that I have no choice." Elma spoke to herself. "If you believe that books are the only things that can bring about knowledge... Then you're not right."
"I'm sorry, what do you mean?" Magari asked back, curious about Elma's statement.
"I want to ask you a question." Elma stated her challenge boldly. "If you can answer this question properly, then I won't question your logic, nor will I ever ask you about your behaviours again... It's not that serious, but it worries me still... If you fail to answer this question, then you must understand that there is more to life than reading books. All I ask is that you come and walk outside with me, so we can talk about things together."
"Go on, tell me." Magari replied back.
"Alright, then I'll ask you this... What are the traits of the cerulean scarab?" Elma stated her question clearly.
"The cerulean scarab is a hard-shelled beetle of a pale, sky blue colour." Magari answered smoothly, as if she was repeating what was written in the books she reads. "They live exclusively in Imperial territory, and move seasonally in packs."
"...That is actually correct." Elma accepted, as Magari looked pleased with herself. "But there's more to that, especially with the migration part, and their colouration."
"What!?" Magari exclaimed, before Welkin came in.
"Hello, Mr Welkin." Elma greeted Welkin.
"And hello to you as well, Elma." Welkin greeted back, before turning to Magari. "She is right. Don't get me wrong, your answer was close enough, to earn a full mark on the test."
"But that's because it's what you're taught to know from the curriculum's books." Elma responded back. "I was surprised when I found out about the facts as well, since they're not in the books."
"...I can't accept this..." Magari denied, as she was shaking her head. "It was written in a text-book. It must be right..."
"Not always." Welkin replied back. "And I suppose that this should be the right time of the year..."
"What? How? Gallia is outside the cerulean scarab's territory." Magari asked.
"That's something that you need to find out." Elma responded back, with the best attempt at a sly smirk. "I can tell you that they're in the Leanbluff forest. But you'll need to see for yourself something fascinating about them."
"Indeed, I'm sure that it would be a great surprise. Let me know the next time you two sortie out into Leanbluff." Welkin stated, before he turned to leave. "All right, kids, I'll see you later."
Welkin then left, as Magari turned to Elma. "How... How did you know this?" She asked the disguised demoness.
"Because I actually was sad about what happened to you. Mr Welkin found me, and I explained the situation to him. It was him who suggested the question to test you with. As for how I know the answer... He took me to Leanbluff himself, using the Edelweiss." Elma explained. "I then found the cerulean scarab there, but I won't tell you exactly what I saw. After all, you heard him, you need to see it yourself to believe it. I hope that you'll be willing to come with us when that time comes..."
Elma then left, leaving Magari fairly flustered, as she was racking her head, wondering about what happened.
In the back of the courtyard...
Mischlitt was sitting down, with her back against the building wall, as she was holding a thread and needle, as she was repairing what seemed to be a fabric Darcsen doll, not too different to the one that the girl from Fouzen had. She was intently focused on her task, before she heard footsteps, and seeing that Isara came over to see her.
"Hello, Mischlitt... I was just looking for you." Isara greeted Mischlitt, before looking down at the doll in her hands. "What's that doll in your hands? It seems to look like that it's one of the traditional ones that they give to their young..."
"Indeed, it's a charm. I should expect that you would recognise it, as you're a Darcsen yourself." Mischlitt answered back. "It had begun to fray, so I thought to mend it before it would break apart into a mess."
"I can understand, especially when this doll might be quite precious to you." Isara nodded back in understanding. "Was this from your childhood?"
"Not quite. The people of my village gave it to me upon my departure. I've kept it close, as a reminder of them during my time here." Mischlitt responded back.
"I see... Just one thing... Do you ever wish that you had friends here, that you were close with the class?" Mischlitt answered back. "Doesn't it twist your heart seeing me becomes friends with most of the classmates, and make you feel like you could have done the same? It would help to dispel the loneliness and homesickness that you would have. Our class here are fairly nice, compared to the rest of the people here."
"I don't. They and I are too different." Mischlitt shook her head. "Incompatible."
"You know, I once knew a person who was like that. In fact, she was less reclusive and more violent with her views." Isara answered back, sitting beside Mischlitt. "Except that she changed for the better eventually, and saw that we Darcsens aren't as bad as people make it seem. She even decided to fight for the Darcsens, in contrast to her earlier opinion. Regardless whether we are Darcsen or not, we are all part of Class G, and we are all equals here."
Mischlitt remained silent, before Isara sighed.
"I understand that most of the nation hasn't ceased its hostilities and discrimination of the Darcsens. There are too many examples for that." Isara continued. "But that doesn't mean that you would lump all of the other people together, as people who discriminate you as something less than human. There's no excuse for you to act like you did, putting up a tall wall between you and everyone here."
"But..." Mischlitt tried to say, before being cut off by Isara.
"No. I want to listen to me here, Mischlitt. To be fair, I'm quite cross with how you act." Isara admitted. "You believe there's no hope in reconciliation, when there are more and more examples of it being possible. If you don't give that a try... You have no right to proclaim that there is no hope, you are merely being the same as the people who discriminate Darcsens, because you refuse to look beyond the surface, and see a person's true feelings about others. Look at Rain, he was once abused and distrusted by Squad 7 before, and look what he is now. I sincerely hope that you'll be able to learn something from him."
Isara then stood up, before she then slowly walked away. "I suppose that I've said all I can. I'm sorry that I had to put my words in this manner, but you needed a harsh scolding to snap you out of your attitude." Isara responded back. "I hope that you'll consider my words carefully, and that you'll learn to see the better in others."
She then left the courtyard, as Mischlitt looked down at the Darcsen doll charm in her hand silently, thinking deeply about what she was told.
In the dorms...
Corrin made her way to the front of Cosette's dorm door, as she heard something coming towards her room, considering that her own dorm was near Cosette's own. However, not once did the disguised noble ever made her way into her neighbour's room. However, since Corrin heard that it was actually Avan coming, she decided to see what was going on.
She stood in front of the door, before she then knocked on the door.
"Who's there? C'mon in, it's unlocked." Cosette responded back through the closed door, as Corrin took that as permission to enter the room.
When Corrin entered the room, she almost had to restrain her own shock and disgust at the decorations in the room. The fact there were several different contrasting colours in the same room, with one of the window curtains set being a red and yellow polka dot pattern, the other being a yellow and blue polka dot pattern, while her bed was striped purple-and-white, and her pillow was red and white. Aside from that, she had the typical table with her subject books and stationery placed onto it, with a lamp on it. She also had a ragnite-powered heater beside one of the walls. Behind her bed was a large cabinet, with several plush animals that Corrin would have to admit were cute to look at. Avan and Cosette were talking to each other, as they both turned to her.
Avan noticed the shocked expression on Corrin's face. "You noticed it too, didn't you?" He told her.
"It's..." Corrin stated, as she took some time to consider her words, seeing Cosette's fragile expression. "Cosette, I hate to break the bad news to you, but you need to re-decorate your room. It's not too bad, but it could be a little better for the people who may come to visit it."
"See, even Corrin states it's blinding!" Avan exclaimed.
"I really thought that I did a decent job of decorating..." Cosette answered back dejectedly.
"Anyway, here's that book on medicine that you checked out. You left it there." Avan stated, handing the book to her.
"Oh, thanks!" Cosette thanked Avan, as she put the book on the table. "I was just wondering where I'd put it."
"You know, I've got to say I'm impressed. I couldn't understand a word of it." Avan admitted, scratching the back of his head. "Your dad was a doctor, right? Did he teach you this stuff?"
"He was amazing! And the whole city loved him. He could never sit by when he knew people needed help." Cosette detailed about her father to both Avan and Corrin. "He'd always be heading off to little villages in the mountains or poorer towns."
"Sounds like a real stand-up guy." Avan smiled back.
"I agree with Avan, your father has a strong sense of kindness and equality." Corrin responded back. "It is something that is rarely seen in people."
"Heh heh. Yeah, that's why I want to be like him." Cosette chuckled joyfully.
"I'm sure you will be. Especially if you stop leaving your books at-" Avan teased Cosette, before the door was knocked upon with urgency, before the door slammed open to reveal a desperate Coleen.
"Coleen!? What's wrong?" Corrin quickly asked. "Are you alright-"
"I just heard some professors talking... The rebels have entered central Gallia! There's a big battle going on in Yuell, and the Army is having a rough time!" Coleen shouted out in a hurry.
"Wait, in Yuell?" Cosette asked back.
"Isn't that where you're-" Avan was about to say.
"But Yuell's not... Why? The city will be ruined again! Everyone'll be..." Cosette responded back with disbelief in her voice, as she slowly took a few steps back, before her eyes dilated in fear, as if she had her past traumas reawakened. "Ugh... Dad... Mom... No... No..."
Corrin quickly noticed the state that Cosette was in, as she rushed to her, and quickly held her by the shoulders. "Cosette, calm down, it's alright! We're here for you... We're here for you.." She assured Cosette in a soothing voice. "We'll find a way to get some help for Yuell."
"Let's go, Cosette! We can help make sure everybody there stays safe!" Avan exclaimed. "I'm sure Brixham will let us go, if we explain the situation to him. C'mon!"
"O-Okay!" Cosette managed to answer back, before she was dragged by Avan out of her dorms.
Corrin noticed that she had no reason to be inside the dorms, as she rushed out of them, hoping to find Richard, and ask them to help convince Brixham or someone with authority to allow them to sortie out to Yuell. Fortunately for her, Richard was passing by the dorms, as she rushed to him quickly.
"Rain, we need to talk! Cosette's home-town is being attacked!" Corrin stated frantically. "We need to-!"
"I heard. Avan is not exactly subtle with his shouting." Richard interrupted with a hand raised. "I'll get to fixing it immediately. However, I can see that's not the only thing that disturbing you right now. Tell me... Did you step inside Colette's dorm room?"
"I... I did." Corrin admitted. "The decorations that she did to it... By the gods... The only kind of person who could decorate a room this eye-hurting would have to be..."
"Colourblind?' Richard finished with a raised eye-brow, as Corrin was shocked. "That's right. Your suspicions about Cosette is right. She's truly colorblind without any doubt. I may have not made it public, and neither did any of the staff, but we know for sure. Both from the records, and from our observations."
"Then why... Why did you have someone like you be a engineer?" Corrin responded back.
"She can do fine in her role even with that. However, that's not the real problem here. It's what caused it in the first place." Richard answered back. "Because I can tell you this, Cosette wasn't colour-blind to begin with."
"She wasn't, then that means the only possible explanation for this would be...-" Corrin remarked, before the answer clicked in her mind, and she dreaded it. "Oh no..."
"That's right. The truth is... that trauma related to her hometown, Yuell, has left her colour-blind by subconscious effects." Richard responded back grimly. "That means... she's at risk of suffering severe PTSD in the mission."
In the back of the class buildings...
"...I guess we couldn't get permission after all." Cosette muttered with hopelessness.
"Damn it!" Avan roared, punching the building wall in frustration, ignoring the pain it brought him. "Outside our jurisdiction!? Yuell's a little north of us, so we can't move without Army orders!? Stupid!"
"I applied here because I wanted to protect what matters to me, but now..." Cosette replied back.
"Let's go anyway." Avan suggested. "Even if it's just us two."
"What!?" Cosette squawked in shock.
"I know two people isn't going to be enough to drive back the rebels." Avan answered back. "But maybe we can make an opening for the Army to turn things around. We're not exactly green-horns here, we can handle it."
"Avan..." Cosette stated.
"'The pain of my friend is my own'. Leon's words." Avan stated. "Any time I felt blue or got mad or got hurt, he was right there for me. He'd be worrying along or getting mad with me. We faced it all together. If it can't even help you even in these dire times... I have no right to look up to my brother."
"Avan, I..." Cosette responded back, touched by Avan's words, as she began to cry. "Thank you... I..."
"I knew it." Zeri stated, as Avan and Cosette turned around to see him standing just behind them. "This is just the sort of stunt you're likely to pull."
"Zeri!? Did you come here to tag along with-" Avan responded back with hope, before Zeri crushed that hope, when he seized Avan by the collar of his shirt, and dragging him closer with a furious expression.
"Avan, I will make this very clear to you. I know that your bleeding heart demands that you would do anything to help Cosette's town..." Zeri snarled back. "There is so many problems with what you're trying to do, but let's start with the first and more pressing one first. If they find you out here, trying to sneak off into Yuell, you'll be expelled before you can even have a word to explain this."
"This is more important-" Avan tried to responded back, before being shook by Zeri, stopping him
"You don't get it, do you. The academy rules forbid you trying to sortie alone! And you're basically going AWOL!" Zeri responded back. "And for what!? So you can go into a suicidal mission without any chance of survival, and not only ruin Lanseal's reputation as the ones stopping the rebel insurgence, but make a sacrifice in vain!?"
" Or maybe we'll actually make a difference! We won't know until we try." Avan answered back strongly.
"For god's sake-" Zeri snapped, before shoving his face closer to Avan, and taking a very sharp and cold tone. "You're a scout, Avan. A scout. And Cosette's only a engineer. Sure, you'll be able to handle a squad of rebels alone, I can admit that, but do you even have a clue what is happening at Yuell? This is a major rebel invasion, Avan Hardins! Armoured corps, elite troops, and not to mention that there would be those artificial valkyria there, potentially! Your odds of surviving, let alone succeeding at whatever hare-brained brain you just cooked up!"
"So what, then? If the enemy's too strong, you just give up!?" Avan roared back, before Zeri had enough, and slammed Avan against the wall hard, as Cosette cried out in horror.
"For once in your life, LISTEN TO ME!" Zeri screamed in Avan's face. "Listen to yourself! You don't even have a good plan about how to deal with those rebels there! Even Welkin Gunther had a plan to turn the enemy's superior odds against them in the great battle of Naggiar Plains! That's the reason he survived that battle that decimated the Gallian Army! Did you truly lose all sense of logic and reasoning, all for the sake of personal gratification!? You know that most of the class would be happy to fight alongside you for the sake of helping others, but we don't argue, because we know that there is a reason for it!"
Avan struggled in Zeri's grip, before he then slammed his fist into Zeri's cheek, knocking the Darcsen boy aside, as Avan stepped back.
"Is this really what you think, Zeri!?" Avan exclaimed. "I thought that you were trying to become a damn hero for the Darcsens! What would you be a hero for, if you just sat around playing it safe long enough to get those promotions!? If you can't help a friend who's suffering, then you don't deserve to be a hero!"
"Avan... Damn... it..." Zeri groaned, as he was holding his swollen cheek, before Corrin rushed into the scene.
"Avan, stop! Stop,please!" Corrin exclaimed, as Avan turned his attention to her, with his rage haven't being exhausted from decking Zeri earlier.
"What do you want, Karin!? Are you here to stop us. Well, you can just-" Avan shouted back.
"Avan, please, I'm not against helping Yuell... But please, PLEASE don't bring Cosette with you into the mission!" Corrin exclaimed. "I'm begging you, don't, please!"
"Karin...? Are you alright...?" Cosette asked back, worried about the desperation in Corrin's words.
"Cosette, please... I know that you want to help someone, but I don't want to lose your own mental stability by revisiting whatever... hell that Yuell has been to you!" Corrin begged. "Please, Avan... Don't let her go, please don't let her go...!"
"Karin, I'm fine... I have to help the people in Yuell, I have to-" Cosette tried to reason with Corrin.
"No you don't! Look at you, when you heard the mention of Yuell being attacked... You were so terrified and shivering in fear..." Corrin yelled back. "You can't possibly be fine if you go there again... You won't be the same... You can't go... You don't have to hurt yourself to overcome whatever trauma the scene of your hometown being attacked has caused you..."
"What... What are you talking about, Karin...?" Avan asked back, confused about what Corrin was talking about it.
"Avan... Please listen... Rain... He knows what is going on. Just... Just please wait a little longer." Corrin answered back. "We'll save Yuell, we'll all fight to help it... Just please... Please don't bring Cosette with you... She can't bear going there again... I can tell... You saw her... It won't be easy on her..."
"What do you mean that the instructor has a plan for this?" Zeri asked back.
At the mention of him, Richard arrived at the scene, as he saw that he came at the most opportune time.
"Looks like that I managed to get here, before the situation has blown up in all of your faces." Richard stated with a hint of relief in his voice. "Alright, Avan... Listen to me. I know what you want to do... And believe me, I would do the same in your shoes. However, leave the work of getting that sortie out to me. I can get it in a way that can be considering legit and fair."
"Instructor, you can't possibly be thinking of allowing this to happen-" Zeri tried to plead.
"Yuell is a major gateway point between the two parts of Gallia, Zeri." Richard answered back solemnly. "If it falls, then the rebels have much easier access to Randgriz, since the major town will act as a suitable forward base for them to launch their assault from. It must be defended at all costs, and the Army aren't enough."
"But what about Polar Star-" Cosette was about to say.
"You won't believe it either, since there is no official news of it... But Mellvere is under attack as well." Richard declared. "So far, I've convinced the people working in that organisation to direct their efforts there... It shares the same condition as Yuell is right now."
"Wait, what!?" Avan exclaimed in horror. "My hometown is attacked as well...!? Then that means..."
"That's right, you're forced between a cruel choice, Avan." Richard answered back. "Either you choose to save your hometown from being attacked, or help Cosette's hometown. You don't have time to intercept both assaults. By the time you're done in Yuell, the fighting there will be over as well."
"Damn it..." Avan growled.
"However, hope isn't lost. Polar Star can handle the rebel assault on their own, and with our support, we'll be able to ensure it's success." Richard responded back. "So you can relax, knowing that your hometown will be in safe hands. Polar Star are made of men that I know damn well, that can hold the line at any costs, and hold the rebels like a water-tight dam."
"Wait, 'our'?" Zeri asked, noting how Richard said the word.
"That's right, we have to support Polar Star in the battle of Mellvere. Still, we won't leave you all alone. Sally will help you. She can help to deal with causalities and help you as a potent combatant as well." Richard answered back. "I hope that you'll be fine with that. Now then, onto the pressing matter itself."
He then gestured for the four students to huddle up with him, as he began to lower his voice to a whisper.
"Alright, listen closely. Officially, I have requested a patrol of the southern regions, in order to intercept rebel forces that might be heading to Yuell, thus supporting it indirectly. That's what Principal Kluivert and Brixham will now." Richard explained the plan to them. "However, during your 'mission', you'll move to your true objective, the town of Yuell, and carry the necessary operations to relieve rebel presence in the area. Avan Hardins, I entrust you with the fate of Class G-7 in your hands. I'll file you information about the current situation at Yuell. Use that information, and properly set up a plan to face the rebels, you don't have much time to do that. I'll make this clear, I'm only doing this, because it is for the good of the nation and personal justice. You cannot let any of your classmates die for that, especially not Elma, Karin or Isara. If any of them do... I won't forgive you, Avan, and that is something that you'll feel for the rest of your living days."
Avan shivered at Richard's threat, before they released the huddle.
"Right then, make the proper preparations." Richard reminded Avan and the others, before he turned to leave. "I wish you the best for your mission to save Yuell."
As Richard left the area, Zeri then turned to Avan with a sour expression.
"You're lucky that the instructor had a plan for all of this." Zeri remarked. "You better make the most of it, and don't get us killed. This is a almost impossible fight that we're getting into. I hope you'll be prepared, because we're going to be relying on your command more than ever there."
"I know..." Avan remarked. "Let's just head back... We can talk about this later."
The four students made their way back to the campus, as Avan thanked Richard in his own inner heart, for giving him and Cosette the chance to save Yuell.
In Yuell...
The large town looked like that the fighting had almost ended, as there was debris and rubble everywhere, and most of the houses were charred black by the flames.
"This is Yuell? It's a mess..." Avan remarked, as the entirety of Class G-7 managed to make it there, without any obstructions, thanks to Richard's smooth planning.
Cosette was shivering, before she was embraced by Coleen and Karin, who held her steady.
"Cosette... It's alright, we're here." Karin responded back. "We won't let your home-town suffer from the rebels any longer."
Suddenly, they heard the sound of a mortar shell whistling through the air, as the class instinctively dispersed, as the mortar shell dropped right near them, although not exactly where they were gathered.
"They're really dedicated to take this town, if they already set up mortar encampments to bombard the defenders..." Isara remarked.
"Right, we need a plan." Avan stated, before he pulled out the notes that Richard wrote about the situation in Yuell. "We haven't got enough people to make a proper frontal assault, but there's a arms depot... There definitely has to be. If there's one thing that instructor Remi taught me, blow their arms depot, and their ammo reserves go poof. They'll have to retreat ground if that happens."
"And while they're on the run... We press the offensive on them, and crush as many of their forces, while their morale is wavering." Zeri continued the plan. "But we'll need a squad to separate from the main force to deal with that."
"Let me be a part of the raid team. I cannot let Cosette deal with any of this any longer." Corrin volunteered.
"I'll remain here. Students, if you're heavily injured, I can use the reserves of ragna-aid to bring you back into the battle as soon as possible." Sanae stated.
"Then we got nothing stopping us from holding the enemy off, while the raid team takes care of the enemy arms depot." Avan remarked. "Now, let's go take back Yuell, step by step! Class G-7, move out!"
Raid Team: Avan, Cosette, Karin, Coleen
Diversion Team: Zeri, Isara, Elma, Marion, Reiner, Granoro(+Lavinia)
In one part of the town...
The diversion team moved into action, as they prepared to intercept enemy forces, while the raid team was on the move towards where the enemy arms depot was.
"We have to hold the line, for Avan and the others...!" Isara exclaimed, as she moved forward, and struck down one of the rebel scouts with her improved war-pick, which sliced through the field suit of the enemy soldier.
Zeri and Reiner moved into motion, as they gunned down the enemy in front of them, as Reiner's lance halted the enemy light tank where it was, before Lavinia used the Granoro's cannon to finish the job.
"Isara, look out, the enemy search-light is heading your way!" Marion exclaimed, as the area was rife with searchlights, looking for the Gallian class-members. However, Isara quickly hid in the shadows, away from the path of the light, as it passed by her harmlessly. "So that's what they used to find us... They're detecting us with the searchlights, in order to bombard us... Interesting."
"Hey, anyone can hear us...?" Avan's crackled voice rang through the class comms. "We got a major problem here. The enemy sealed their arms depot shut. We can't seem to find a way in."
"But it seems that these doors are automated... We can't seem to find any switches here... Perhaps in your area..." Corrin stated as well through the comms.
"We'll take care of it." Zeri responded back, before he then noticed a ladder going onto a balcony overlooking the area. "Hm..."
Zeri then climbed up it, attracting the attention of a rebel scout, who tried to fire at him, more specifically his hands. However, Zeri didn't get hit by the shots, and retaliated, by releasing one hand, and using it to hold the sub-machine gun and kill the rebel scout quickly. He then finished his climb, before he found the switch, being guarded by a small squad of rebels with a tank.
"We found the switch, but the enemy is guarding. I'll activate the switch, while you guys distract them." Zeri informed the rest of the squad, who responded affirmatively.
Zeri then slowly made his way across, as the advancing squad tripped a few searchlights on the way, but they were moving without stopping, as they fired a torrent of gun-fire onto the rebels, who were forced behind cover, as their tank didn't last long in the cross-sights of both the Granoro and Reiner. He then slipped down, before shooting the covered rebels from behind with controlled bursts of his gun, and then activating the switch, the red light turning green.
"All up to you now, Avan." Zeri remarked, before speaking with the rest of his squad "Keep the perimeter secure! We need to ensure the enemy doesn't try to assault us through here!"
Near the arms depot...
The team of four were holding their position, hunkered down behind cover, as Karin used her shield and sword to slice through any enemy who was foolish enough to approach, while Avan and Coleen used their weapons to bombard and assault the rushing enemies. They saw that the gates to the arms depot were closed, before one of them was opened.
"Now's our chance! Everyone forward!" Avan exclaimed, as the squad moved out of cover, and sprinted through the open doors.
Corrin noticed that there was a tank aiming at them, as she jumped onto the tank, and used her blade to sever the tank cannon at the base, with a mighty swing of the blade, rendering it useless, much to the awe of the rest of the team. Avan quickly turned his attention back to inside the arms depots, where the guards rose their weapons to intercept them. However, Avan was determined and ready, as he raised his rifle, and struck each of them with a headshot, reloading his rifle quickly and smoothly each time. When all of the depot guards fell dead, Coleen quickly armed her mortar lance, while Avan quickly dropped his grenade supply around the arms depot, in order to set off a chain reaction to demolish it completely.
"Alright, light it up, Coleen!" Avan ordered, as Coleen complied with the order, firing the mortar into the arms depot, as the team made a hasty retreat, before the entire building exploded violently. "Woo-hoo! Now that's the rebel's supplies taken care of! Everyone, let's get out of here!"
The squad made a quick retreat from the battlefield, as the rest of the rebels were too focused on the destruction of their arms depot to notice the squad slipping by them.
Inside the streets of Yuell...
"Hardins! Cosette! Karin! Coleen!" Francas shouted, as the raid team returned. "Are you alright?"
"Hey, guys... Some fireworks we made, huh?" Avan joked with a triumphant grin.
"I still can't believe that the situation is turning to our favour so easily." Zeri remarked. "I guess that Rain was right to trust us to handle this."
"Whoo! This is crazy!" Rene remarked with excitement. "Never thought that we're right up against the rebels' main force right here."
"I'm fairly glad that none of us are hurt at all." Raymond added with relief in his voice.
"Enough chatter, you all." Zeri warned everyone. "We're still mid-operation here. So then, what next, Avan?"
"Thank you, Zeri. Now then, we're going to drive the enemy back with one mighty push. And then, your home-town will be saved for real, Cosette!" Avan shouted, turning to Cosette, and seeing her quite pale-faced with fear. "Cosette?"
"...Mm? Ah!" Cosette exclaimed, as she snapped out of her trance. "R-Right. Thank you, Zeri!"
"Are you all right? You look awfully pale. You should fall back." Zeri asked with some concern in his voice.
"No! I can't! I'm fine... I'll be fine..." Cosette remarked back hastily.
"Well, tell us if anything comes up. Don't do anything crazy out there." Avan responded back, as Zeri nodded to that. "The enemy is confused, guys. We'll move in and take their camps. Is everyone ready for the final push? Let's go take back Cosette's home!"
Assault Team: Granoro(+Lavinia), Zeri, Avan, Cosette, Karin, Noel
Inside the streets near the church...
The Granoro roared into action, as the streets were just wide enough for it to drive through, as Lavinia moved it through them, before firing a tank-shell through the side of a enemy rebel tank, as the well-aimed shot destroyed it before it could notice what happened. The rebels tried firing at the tank, their bullets pinging harmlessly of it. Behind it, was the rest of the squad, as Zeri and Avan took the ladder by the side, and climbed up to finish off the rebels on the rooftops, allowing them to reach the enemy camp in the area without problems. For the honours of capturing it, Karin decided to do it, as she cut down the rebel standing guard on it, before replacing the flag on it.
"Alright, we need to get moving. The enemy main camp has to be through here!" Avan shouted to his squad-mates, as they nodded together, and proceeded through it to the next area.
When they arrived at the next area, they found that the area was lined with impassable hills, and the entire area seemed to be placed inside a shallow canyon. What's more, they could all see and even smell the toxic waste strewn over the area, as the purple sludge were everywhere to be seen.
"Urgh... Is this possibly what the rebels have done to this town as well?" Corrin stated. "If they did... Then they're carrying out biological warfare in this town... Unforgivable...!"
"We don't know that for sure." Zeri responded back. "One thing's for sure. We cannot set foot inside of it, lest it poisons us just waddling inside of it."
"Take a hitch-hike on my tank, you guys." Lavinia told them. "Sludge like that ain't going to stop this baby, so we'll get you across, safe and sound."
When they slowly made their away across, they could see the enemy main base, which seemed to be connected to a maze of trenches,and right in front of it was a enemy tank, except it looked like that it was custom-made, as it was a red tank with the golden insignia of the rebels, with golden coloured treads, and was fortified with additional armour. Not only that, but there was also large rocket-tubes which seemed to be connected to the top of the tank itself. The very sight of it shocked the group.
"What is that thing...!?" Noel exclaimed.
"Whatever it is, it ain't good. It has to be the enemy commander's personal vehicle." Zeri answered back, before the tank's rocket tubes began to arc upwards. "What the...!?"
Suddenly, it fired rockets out of its rocket-tubes, as the rockets shot into the air. The other classmates were confused about where the rockets were going, all except for Cosette, who traced the trajectory of the rockets, as it was about to rain down upon them.
"Everyone into the trenches...!" Cosette exclaimed. "They're bombarding the entire area!"
"What do you mean-" Avan exclaimed, as he looked up, as the rockets finally stopped rising, and began their descent down. "OH HEL! EVERYONE MAKE A BREAK FOR IT!"
Avan and the entire team made a break for the trenches, as Lavinia noticed that there was a gatling bunker aiming at them, as she readied her cannon round, and fired it right at the exposed radiator of the structure, destroying it easily. After that was done, she tried to move the tank into as much cover as possible, praying that the bombardment won't straight-up scrap the Granoro when it lands.
As Corrin dragged Cosette inside the trenches, the rockets finally landed, as they struck most of the area around the tank, as it didn't seemed to be harmed much by the indirect fire of its own ordinance. However, the Granoro was a different case, as most of its hull was damaged, and it was barely functioning at all.
"Took a real big hit here... Got real major damage here..." Lavinia groaned back through the comms. "Ain't going to last another hit with that."
"Then we won't give it the chance!" Avan shouted, as the tank's radiator was exposed to everyone, as Karin was already making her way to it, as she was hacking the radiator furiously, her weapon dealing noticeable damage to it. "Everyone, fire on it before it can reload its attack!"
The entire squad fired on the enemy tank, as Lavinia managed to push the Granoro to fire a cannon round right on its front, before dodging the return fire from its own cannon turret. Karin noticed the wave of explosive rushing her way, as she moved aside, as the squad threw every grenade onto the tank's radiator, while Noel was pumping lance rocket upon lance rocket onto it. Eventually, the tank finally gave out, as the radiator and engine on it fell silent.
"Finally, we've taken care of it..." Cosette sighed in relief. "That was truly dreadful..."
"Well,hope we don't have to face it again... I'll need your help making the necessary repairs to the Granoro." Lavinia sighed. "You and Sally both... We're done here. The enemy is definitely going to have to retreat, with their main base captured all the sudden like this. And their commander got more on their plate on dragging themselves out of that piece of scrap that is their tank..."
Avan was silent, as the group pulled out of the area, their objective complete.
Back in the streets of Yuell...
Avan checked the status of the rebels through his set of binoculars, as the commanding tank was retreating, barely working after some quick repairs, limping along the road, while the rest of the rebel forces retreat out of the smoking town.
"Phew... Looks like they're leaving." Avan sighed in relief, lowering his binoculars.
"I'm glad that we managed to stop them before they could go any further..." Corrin stated her opinion as well.
"That was only because that there might have been news that their Mellvere assault has been repelled." Isara responded back. "With us taking a large portion of their morale with our capture of their camps here... Plus the crushing fact of their other assault failing... They have no choice but to retreat."
"And for the better." Zeri remarked. "But, we're not done here. Cosette, I need a hand. The main plaza is flooded with wounded civilians."
"What!?" Avan exclaimed. "C'mon! Let's go!"
"Huh!?" Cosette blurted out, before she was dragged by Avan again. "Wait, Avan!"
They reached the central plaza, as the engineers were already onto work on treating the wounded, using both ragna-aid and their first-aid techniques to soothe and alleviate the pain of the patients, as well as treat whatever wounds and injuries they can. Sanae was in the centre of it, barking out orders for the engineers to follow, regarding the treatment of their patients. The rest tried their best to help, as they were either tasked with applying more basic variations of first aid, or patrolling the perimeter for any rebel stragglers aiming for a easy kill.
"Hamsun, slowly extract the jagged piece of metal from his arm, you cannot risk damaging it further by being careless!" Sanae shouted out, before snapping between the classes' engineers. "Moen, use the bandage to restrict blood flow to his arm, then treat the deep abrasions while the blood doesn't cloud your vision of the wound site! Collins, the ragna-aid only needs to be applied on the most severe of wounds, the ones that won't recover easily! Treat the major wounds, then the minor wounds! Magari, use burn cream to alleviate your patient's burns. There may be some third-degree burns on him, but you can't treat them for now. At least the burn cream will soothe the pain, and prevent him from going into shock from the immense pain he must have been suffering through!"
"Holy... She's really leading our engineers to keep everyone alive and stable..." Avan remarked with awe at Sanae's leadership.
"Nngh... Rrgh..." A injured male citizen cried, as his legs were lacerated from fallen debris, as some of it was lodged inside of his legs.
"I-It hurts... Help me!" A young girl cried, as her head was bleeding, while Elma was treating her, by bandaging her head, and using ragna-aid to soothe the pain.
"Ssh, ssh... It's alright... I'm here to help... You're going to be okay... It won't hurt soon enough... You'll be fine..." Elma cooed in a comforting tone, which help to calm the panicking girl a little.
"I..." Cosette remarked, as she was shocked at the scene before her, seeing all of the blood strewn in the main plaza, and the cries of suffering from the hundreds upon hundreds of wounded citizens in Yuell.
"Cosette, this man needs immediate attention." Zeri stated, as he helped the man whose legs were injured, to move to a more suitable area to treat him. "Here, I'll help."
"That smell... Blood... Dad... Mom..." Cosette shivered, as her eyes shifted out of focus again, her expression paler than ever.
"Cosette? What's the matter? We need to hurry!" Zeri shouted, as the man groaned in pain once again.
"No... I'm scared! I... I can't! I can't help them!" Cosette cried out in sheer fear, as she was clutching her head with a terrified expression on her face.
"Pull it together, Cosette! You're an engineer, right? You want to be a doctor!" Avan shouted back to her.
"Ugh... But I can't see anything! I don't... I can't see any colour!" Cosette whimpered. "I can't... Blood scares me... Red scares me! Aah...!"
"Cosette, you... Are you saying you're colorblind?" Zeri remarked with shock, as Avan then realised that he should have known earlier, seeing Cosette's room.
"But wait. You've treated me plenty of times before!" Avan tried to persuade Cosette to shed her fear. "Just remember what you did then! You can do it. These people need you!"
"No, I... I'm too scared... If I mess up, all these people will die!" Cosette screamed back.
"No way! I know that you can do it, Cosette! You're really good with medicine, the people need you to-" Avan was about to say, before something tore through his stomach from behind, as it looked like a high-calibre sniper bullet, leaving behind a massive spray of blood as it entered and exited through the class chair's body. "Guh!?"
"Avan!?" Cosette exclaimed in horror, as she turned towards Avan's direction.
"Heh heh... So, am I gonna die here?" Avan dryly chuckled, as he was clutching his stomach wound with one hand, which was already dirty with blood, his body hunched over, and a expression on pain on his face. "What a... stupid... joke..."
"Avan!" Zeri exclaimed, before he readied his weapon, and quickly searched for the assailant. "Where are they...!? They have to be close, if they managed to get a clear line of shot from here!"
Suddenly, there was the sound of another gun-shot, as Zeri turned to the source of the shot, as it was Nichol with his sniper rifle raised, and he shot down a rebel sniper from the ceiling of one of the buildings, as the rebel dropped dead onto the ground.
"I got him... I got him..." Nichol huffed, as he was breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down.
Sanae heard the gunshot as well, as she rushed over to the scene.
"I heard the sound of a rifle gunshot. What happened-" Sanae tried to say, before she then saw Avan on the ground, with blood leaking from his stomach wound. "OH GOD, AVAN!"
"Avan's been sniped from behind, and the round penetrated through the field suit. It's complete penetration, instructor Sally!" Zeri quickly reported the situation.
"Where did he get hit, where did he..." Sanae frantically demanded, before she then took the hand covering Avan's wound off, seeing it completely. "Oh no... Oh, this can't be happening...!"
Sanae then turned her head around, as she rolled Avan over slowly and carefully, so as not to aggravate the wound, before slowly applying pressure on the wound with a bandage cloth, which was already stained red in the first few moments it was absorbing the flowing blood from the wound. She checked each of the engineers, who were occupied with saving their patients, as they seemed to look like that the process was critical for each of them.
"FUCK!" Sanae cursed out in frustration. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! I can't handle this alone...! He's too severely injured for me to treat alone...! But the other engineers, they're occupied with treating critical patients... I can't ask them for help, with how critical their treatments are for their patients!"
"Instructor, please calm down...!" Zeri tried to assure Sanae, who was on the brink of snapping. "We're all here to help. What's the situation."
"That shot didn't just tear through merely blood vessels, from the entry and exit points of the wound, that tore right through his stomach... The acid's burning through the stomach, making the wound much worse and life-threatening!" Sanae quickly explained. "I'm holding pressure to delay his bleed-out, but I need someone else to treat him... I can't have any of you treat him... I need another engineer who is specialised with medicine..."
"There is one... But Cosette..." Zeri responded back.
"I don't care! She's the only hope that we'll have a chance to bring Avan back alive!" Sanae roared back. "Bring her over, I'll try to snap her out of it... If I can't... Get the first engineer who's finished their treatment... I hope that Avan's body can last until then, but I doubt it... Cosette is likely the only one who can treat him in time, before the damage is more permanent!"
"...Roger, instructor." Zeri complied, before he then dragged Cosette over, as she was comatose on her feet, her eyes unfocused. "What do you have to-"
"Cosette? COSETTE! Can you hear me right now!?" Sanae shouted at Cosette.
"In-Instructor Sally... I... I can't... I can't..." Cosette stuttered.
"Avan's dying! That gunshot was a high-calibre sniper round cutting right through his field suit, and through his stomach!" Sanae screamed at her. "I can't hold Avan's blood pressure for long... If I release my hold to treat the rest of the wound, he'll be in hypovolemic shock! He's going to die if you don't help me...!
"But... The blood... It scares me... The red... I'm so scared... Someone help..." Cosette continued to whimper.
"DAMN IT ALL, Cosette! You're the only one who can help! No-one else knows how to properly treat the wound in time!" Sanae yelled in desperation. "You know how to treat that wound with your expertise! We need it! WE NEED YOU! So please, stop letting your past inhibit your ability to save more lives! You need to stop letting your past hold a strangling grip over your mind!"
"Unh... Unh..." Cosette sobbed, as she tried her best to calm herself, although they all failed, with the trauma running through her mind.
"Cosette... Please... What would your parents think, if you were to lose your mind because of the fact that blood has driven you to this kind of catatonic state..." Sanae pleaded. "You said that you wanted to be more like your father... Your father refused to let blood stop him from saving lives... It's scary, but someone has to temper through their fears of seeing one's liquid life spilled everywhere to be seen... It's a fear that one must face to become a doctor. If you can't handle the blood, then you're no doctor, you're a coward! Put aside those fears, and save lives as you're meant to! People put their faith into you to pick them up from time to time, how could betray that trust!?"
"I... I...!" Cosette exclaimed, as her mental state was becoming more and more volatile.
"Cosette... You failed to save the lives of your parents before... Their blood was what caused this trauma..." Sanae spoke softly. "I know that your youthful trauma torments you... But if you let this control you... Avan will die, and this will repeat... over and over with those you care deeply for... Avan's your closest friend... He has risked everything to help you overcome your fears... He was one of the only people who truly wanted to understand you. Tell me, Cosette... Are you willing to let him die, knowing that you could have saved him...? Are you willing to live in your bloodied past, and fail to grasp the bright and hopeful future ahead of you."
"I... I... I...!" Cosette gasped, before she then let out a massive cry of anguish and frustration, as it shocked Zeri, with the amount of emotion into it.
Afterwards, she fell down, as she was panting deeply and heavily, as her eyes returned to focus, as if she was overcoming her own mental trauma by sheer will to protect and save one of her closest friends. Her breathing soon regulated itself, as she put herself back together.
"No... No I won't..." Cosette declared with determination, before she then pulled out her ragna-aid. "Avan... I won't let you die... I WON'T!"
"Cosette..." Sanae replied back, before she then smiled. "You did it, you've overcome your trauma..."
"It was thanks to you... If it wasn't for you... I... I don't know what could have happened to me..." Cosette spoke with gratitude to her instructor. "But right now, Avan... I'll finish the treatment that you started."
Cosette then used her ragna-aid to blanket the wound with the healing particles of the medical tool, before Sanae slipped a bandage on the other side of the wound, sealing both exposed points of the wound, protecting it from outside infection for the time being. Sanae then took the moment to lie her head onto Avan's chest to check his pulse, and was relieved that Avan's pulse, although slightly weak from the loss of blood, was mostly stable for the time being.
"Is... Is Avan...?" Cosette asked, before Sanae nodded her head, as she collapsed with tears in her eyes. "Ah...! Urgh...! Hic...!"
Sanae then held Cosette close, comforting her, as the tension in the air died down, with each wounded civilian saved, thanks to the effort of the squad. Even Zeri couldn't help but feel a strong tinge of sadness and relief, as he almost let a lone tear run down his eye, before he wiped it off.
Several days later...
Avan slowly opened his eyes, as they were a little bit hard to do so, since they were shut for a while, before he gave them a few blinks, to clear off the blurriness of his own vision. He then wiped his eyes to finally finish clearing his vision, before he then rose up into a sitting position.
"Mm? Where...?" Avan remarked, before he was tackled by Cosette with a hug, as she pressed her head against his chest.
"Avan!? I'm... I'm so glad that you're..." Cosette sobbed in relief.
"It's alright, I'm still here... I guess that someone must have saved me..." Avan responded back, rubbing the back of Cosette's head, in a attempt to soothe and comfort her. "Now I know how Rain felt when that sniper round went through one of his lungs... Well, at least in terms of the pain and agony it brought."
"Actually... I was the one to patch you up." Cosette admitted. "Sally managed to keep you from bleeding out, while I treated the wound and made it a lot less serious. You still have the holes on your body, which need a while to heal up."
"Really?" Avan asked back, before he looked down, seeing the slightly bloodied patches attached to the front of his stomach, and the same point on his back. "Huh. I'm all patched up, it seems."
"Sally also had me do a part of the surgery to fix your internals up." Cosette answered back. "To be fair, it would have been hard if I was still affected by what happened earlier. But..."
"Wait, you're not 'affected' anymore, as in-" Avan exclaimed in shock, before Sanae then came in with Richard. "Instructors Rain and Sally."
"Glad that you made a quick recovery, Avan. I knew that even that kind of wound wouldn't keep you down for long, as long it didn't kill you." Richard responded back, with a good-natured tone and a crisp salute.
"Avan, you need to rest, even you can't shrug off that kind of bullet wound." Sanae advised Avan. "It took Rain just more than a week to recover from that lung wound. And you forget that he's something equivalent to a Valkyria. You're lucky that we were able to get the proper tools to treat you fully and properly. You're going to be out for two weeks... At least."
"Woah... I guess I really done it this time." Avan groaned. "Anyway, Cosette said that she's cured of something. Is it her colour-blindness?"
"That's right. I've even done checks to make sure it was completely gone." Sanae confirmed. "She's completely honest here, there's no trace of her trauma-induced condition anymore, and that means that she won't freeze like she did in Yuell, or make any related mistakes ever again."
"Man, you're the boss lady, instructor." Avan grinned back. "Beating the trauma out of her just like a real lady of the battlefield."
"Well, that's fairly accurate. I had to push Cosette quite far to make her break through her own trauma. But it worked, and it saved you and her mind both." Sanae agreed with Avan's statement. "Anyway, you feel a lot better? I hope that the pain-killers that we injected into you, haven't worn off. Because it's going to hurt a lot, since it's been less than 4 days since the success of the Yuell operation."
"I see..." Avan responded back, before turning to Richard. "How did the battle of Mellvere go, instructor?"
"We crushed them under our heel." Richard declared with a smirk. "Your home-town fared a lot better than Yuell, and with the combined forces of us with Polar Star, the rebels retreated. And I managed to give Baldren a fitting gesture for his disposition."
Richard then turned to Sanae and Cosette. "Leave us for the time being. We need to discuss something private amongst each other." He told them, as the two engineers complied and left the room. After that was done, Richard then sighed deeply. "Avan..."
"Instructor... I would just like to say that it was my damn fault that I let myself get shot like that. If I didn't got so concerned about Cosette-" Avan tried to apologise.
"Don't. You did the right thing. Sanae told me that, Zeri told me that, every stormtrooper who witnessed the mission said that." Richard answered back strongly. "You cared for her, and you were just a victim of circumstances. At least you were more fortunate than me, who was forced to make a much more crueller decision."
"How so?" Avan asked, before Richard showed him his lung scar, from the war long ago. "Is this about how you got that wound?"
"Yes. In fact, it could be said that we were in the same situation. Sniper aiming to kill one of us while our guards were down." Richard responded back, before his expression turned solemn. "Except that instead of aiming for Welkin or me... The sniper was aiming for Isara herself. And he would have made his kill, had I not detected him."
"Wait, you got that protecting Isara's life...!?" Avan exclaimed in shock. "Hot damn... If you took a bullet to do that... Then you're one hell of a man..."
"Isara was more to me than just a squadmate. She was a close friend of mine, someone who understands me to a deeper level than most." Richard replied back. "I put my life on the line for her, and I lived with her alive. I'm merely glad that she got to live to finish everything she wanted to do, and pursue further goals for her future. That is the one thing I have no regrets upon. And by the way, congratulations on the mission. If only this was official, you'd be applauded as heroes at the same level as my former Squad 7."
"Yeah... about that... They figured it out, right?" Avan asked with a slightly dread-filled tone.
"Hm... It didn't take them long to realise. Brixham, at least had the dignity to let you all finish your mission, before moving you, and the treated civilians out." Richard responded back. "But the rest of the academy, well, let's just say that they've become quite the rabid frothing dogs on the matter. As soon as you recover, you're booked with the disciplinary committee. And you're likely to get severely punished about all of this."
"Geez, we save Yuell from near-impossible odds, and this is the thanks we get..." Avan growled.
"Don't get angry, the emotion will make your wounds worse." Richard warned Avan. "Regarding that, be at ease, I'll be there, and I'll take most of the blame. After all, you agreed to it, not create it. They can't possibly turn a blind eye to my involvement in all of this, and I'll be taking the same punishment as you will, which might diminish their options on what to do to us."
"So... I guess it's straight to the firing line when I recover..." Avan sighed, before lying back in bed.
"Don't be so fatalistic, they can't possibly do much worse when you've got the support of us war veterans." Richard answered back, then placing a hand on Avan's forehead, rubbing it to help soothe Avan into sleep. "Now rest... You've done Cosette and the country a great favour... You deserve your rest... you brilliant leader.
"Heh... Heh..." Avan chuckled slowly, before he then fell quickly into sleep.