Chapter 3: Another Average Morning

Darkness, that was what surrounded him...It permeated his entire vision. He knew that he was standing on something that was very cold, very moist, and somewhat soft in between his toes...almost as if it were alive. As soon as he took a few hesitant steps forward he caught a glimpse of a faint green light at the end of a tunnel of sorts. His breathing quickened and his heart was starting to beat faster as he started to run towards that light. As he continued forward he began to hear screams from men, women, and children to the point that he couldn't hear his feet touching the surface below his feet. As soon as he made it through the light, he felt as if he was falling from great heights and as soon as he swiveled his head back to the entrance he saw that he was indeed falling. He didn't even have the time to scream out as he fell into a shaft of hexagonal cells lined with a glowing green organic mass.

He thought he was going to be falling forever but instead he felt something wrap around his arms, legs, and chest and he saw the infinite glowing green below him despite the fact he had stopped falling. A metallic web-like substance had crawled around his legs, uncomfortably forcing his pants against his skin and it had also entangled his arms above his head and held his torso in place. He tried to struggle but he couldn't move a single muscle in his body with the exception of being able to crane his neck and move his eyes. He started to panic because he felt like a puppet with its strings being cruelly held above his head or an insect caught in a spider's web.

Can you feel it?

What was that? He looked about frantically for the origin of that voice but with no luck.

We are everywhere and we are nowhere.

He didn't know how to describe it...it sounded like many voices echoing in his ears rather than one.

Are you afraid?

This was beyond frightening for him.

You are in our realm now, you can't escape us.

He didn't like the sound of that! He once again tried to renew his efforts of struggling until he saw what appeared to be an amorphous funnel of slime descending from above...it was a dark red color almost like the blood that ran inside of his body but...it moved on its own accord rather than just falling into the abyss below. When it reached him, the end of it formed itself into a hand with three fingers and one thumb. It flexed about as the mass got closer to his body with its almost involuntary spasms, he wished he could scream right now but he felt as if something was blocking his throat! One of its fingers came close to his face and began stroking his cheek almost as if it were to comfort him but instead it didn't really help him at all because it felt like actual blood touching the side of his face!

You will not resist us.

And then all of a sudden he felt a sudden burning feeling on the bones of his back, he craned his neck to see that the hand changed into several tendrils each with spikes at the end of them that were piercing the skin of his back. OW! It was too hot, too hot, TOO HOT! It was burning his neck and his head! Please, somebody make this stop! He didn't want to die! It hurts, it hurts, IT HURTS!

When the sound of a scream entered Gertrud Barkhorn's ears, her eyes quickly opened and her training immediately kicked in. She jumped out of bed and started running towards the source of the noise, she passed by the speedy Charlotte Yeager in her green t-shirt, Mio Sakamoto carrying her sword while wearing her white yukata, and a surprised Lynette Bishop and Miyafuji Yoshika in their nightgowns peeking outside their rooms.

Without even a hint of hesitation she turned right to the door of one of the rooms and kicked it open to find the young boy Danniel screaming his heart out in his sleep, tears rolling down his face and his arms flailing about. Fearing the worst, she then grabbed the boy by the shoulders and shook him.

"Wake up, Danniel! Wake up!"

With a gasp the boys eyes burst open to see the sight of the Karlslander ace in a white-colored T-shirt that went down to her waist. The boys breathing slowed down for a moment, that was something that Barkhorn expected but what she didn't expect was the boy suddenly pouncing on her and wrapping his arms around her as he cried into her chest. It took a moment for her to process that it wasn't an act of aggression on his part before her expression softened and she slowly started stroking his back with her fingers.

"What happened?" The Karlslander turned her head to the buxom redhead of the 501st, a worried expression plastered on her face while a cautious Mio stood next to her with a sword by her side.

"Nightmare, really bad one."

She heard Mio mutter something in her own native tongue, as she looked at them both before turning to the others who were outside the room.

"Everyone, back to bed. It wasn't an attack, so go back to your rooms."

She heard Miyafuji ask. "What happened?"

"Danniel had a nightmare." was the response from the older Fuso women.

There was an "Is he okay?" from Lynette Bishop before Shirley asked her to give Barkhorn and Danniel some space. She shook her head as the boy's crying was starting to taper down to whimpers and hiccups.

"You okay?" It was her wing-mate and long-time friend Erica Hartmann.

"Yeah, I thought it was an attack of all things."

"So...what now?" Gertrud Barkhorn paused for a second before making a decision.

"Go back to bed, I'll see you in the morning."

"But-"

"That's an order, Lieutenant." Erica was about to retort but when she saw Danniel nuzzle into her friend's chest she just gave her an understanding nod before closing the door behind her. The Karlslander let out a sigh before helping the boy stand up and setting him on his bed, while she sat next to him.

"You alright, k- Danniel?" She saw the boy nod once or twice before letting out another sigh, it had been a long time since she had done something like this especially since...

She pushed that thought away to focus on the events of the present rather than the events of the past.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The boy seemed hesitant at first but then after a nod he decided to give Gertrud Barkhorn a brief summary of the dream he had as she listened intently. Despite his young age, Danniel gave her a clear summary of the events that occurred in his sleep. When he finished letting it out, her mouth was slightly agape and her eyes had widened in shock. When he started off, it sounded like the stereotypical dream of being lost inside a dark room but when he got past the point where he was falling that was when she started to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The details of him being tortured before his awakening was what had her attention...not only did it seem unusual for a child his age to have such a nightmare but it was also disturbing how realistic it seemed in his mind. Thinking quickly, she made a decision.

"Wait here, I'll be right back."

He patiently waited for her return, wiping away his tears with his hands and giving the occasional sniffle as he tried to regain his composure. It felt like half an hour had passed before she finally returned, and when she did the blonde noticed she was carrying a larger pillow in her arms. She quickly switched the smaller one for Danniel for the larger one. Danniel didn't know how that would help but he decided to go back under the covers of his bed. However, he suddenly noticed Gertrud Barkhorn pulling part of the covers up to fit her muscular feminine frame in. Before he could protest, she put a finger to his lip.

"Just get some sleep."

With a quick yawn he decided to shut his eyes and fall asleep, with Gertrud Barkhorn following afterwards. During the night though, the boy shuddered in his sleep awakening the young women sleeping beside him, she thought he was having another nightmare but then he suddenly rolled over towards her, wrapped his arms around her mid-section, and cuddled close to her for warmth. With a small smile and a sigh, she quickly wrapped her arms around him before falling back to asleep so that they both could share their warmth with each other.

The night ended as quickly as it began when the sun rose over the horizon, shining its warmth onto those in its light. Mio had awoken and began her morning training with her sword while Sanya was slowly flying back to base after a long exhausting night patrol.

Minna on the other hand was listening to her long-time friend Gertrud Barkhorn tell her about their young guest's nightmare that had caused him to wake half the base with his horrifying screams of anguish. While Minna didn't show it, she found the entire story to be a bit unnerving...

"Is there anything else he told you?" Gertrud Barkhorn shook her head, while Minna nodded.

"Alright then, you're dismissed."

"Thank you, ma'am."

As soon as she left Minna rubbed her face in exhaustion, the details of the boy's dream were so cryptic that not even she could figure out what it meant. What does it mean? She shook her head and leaned back into her seat, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head that told her that something wasn't right with this story and it didn't have to do with the Neuroi that she and the others had fought for years. She sighed again. 'I better be prepared for ANYTHING at this point, I'll have to call up some friends in High Command, maybe they'll know what to do.'

Little did she know that she wouldn't be prepared for the worse.

By the time it was mid-day, everyone was up and attending to whatever business they had to take care of on base. Lynette Bishop and Miyafuji Yoshika were once again in the middle of training with Sakamoto Mio as she pushed them to their limits. Charlotte Yeager was working on her Striker Unit in the hangar while her wingmate was lying asleep on two crates behind her. Occasionally Charlotte would look outside to see how well the two girls were fairing under Mio's training, they were both doing pushups while Mio was yelling something to them but the young Liberion women couldn't really make it out. She caught a glimpse of Perrine standing behind part of the hangar doors watching Mio from a short distance, she chuckled to herself. 'She wants the Major's attention so badly...I wonder when she'll learn when to quit while shes still ahead.'

She perked up when she heard Eila, Sanya, and Danniel coming in the door across the hangar with the older girl leading the younger girl about while the young boy followed.

"Hey, what are you three up to?" Charlotte asked while she placed her tools down.

"Sanya and I were going to get some fresh air." Eila said as she gently stroked the Orussian's ghostly white hair as she spoke.

"And what about him?

Upon turning her attention towards Danniel, he just shrugged.

"I haven't explored the outside of the base since I came here yesterday so I thought I would join them."

Before Charlotte could ask any further questions she heard the yelp of three distinct voices and she along with Eila, Sanya, and Danniel turned towards the tangled mess of limbs that was Perrine, Lynette and Miyafuji. It was a baffling thing to see at first, that is until Perrine pried herself out and then brushed her dress off in front of the two girls currently sprawled on the floor before turning around and beginning a long rant about them and their habits in the JFW.

Danniel thought she was being very hostile towards the witches from Fuso and Britannia but he didn't know what say to her until a very devious thought popped into his head. With a devious smile he started sneaking up behind her slowly, which didn't go unnoticed by Shirley, Eila, and Sanya.

"What is he-" Eila was suddenly silenced by a grinning Shirley as she and Sanya curiously watched the young boy get closer to Perrine.

"This ought to be good..." Eila and Sanya gave Shirley a puzzled look before looking at Danniel who was now right behind the Gailian Noble-turned-Witch. It was now clear what he planned to do, Eila had a mischievous smile much like Shirley's while Sanya looked away with a small scowl on her face.

Lynette noticed a pair of hands behind Perrine's knees but before she could warn her, Danniel bent his arms in a quick upward motion that caused the back of her skirt to fly in the air and exposing her panties to everyone in the hangar. The noble didn't notice that the boy was behind her until it was too late, she heard the sound of fabric being quickly moved, she felt the back of skirt parting from her bottom, and then she felt a breeze in between her thighs...

She let out a screech of protest as her face darkened to a deep red while her arms tried to catch the ends of her skirt that were flipped by Danniel. The sound of laughter could be heard through out the hangar as Shirley wrapped one of her arms around one of the striker units to support herself while Eila fell on the floor laughing her ass off with her legs kicking in the air. Sanya tried to keep her composure but she couldn't stop herself from giggling so hard while Danniel, the mastermind behind this little shenanigan was clutching his chest with both arms.

However, when a red-faced scowling Gailian noble turned around to face him his laughter faded out quickly. Her yellow eyes were burning with anger, her hands were scrunched up into fists, and she was violently shaking as she started to speak.

"You...little..."

"God damn it, Erica!" A certain ace of Karlsland was trying to keep her cool while her wingmate and fellow ace started joking around about what happened last night.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm just pulling your leg!" Erica was laughing about her companion sleeping with Danniel after he had his nightmare, she find that it was not only good blackmail material but she secretly thought the whole entire thing was freaking adorable!

"There is a difference between joking an-"

"PERVERT!" The very sound of that voice interrupted their banter.

"Was that-"

"Perrine? Yes"

Both of them agreed that they wouldn't trifle with that blonde-haired noble for the rest of the day.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE CRETIN!"

Danniel shouldn't have flipped her skirt, he thought that she would leave Miyafuji and Lynette alone after he did that but he underestimated how temperamental the Gailian Noble would be. Because of that miscalculation, he was now being chased around the base by Perrine who was now wielding a Rapier and using her magic to shoot bolts of electricity at him.

"STOP RUNNING AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN!"

At the rate he was going, he would be absolutely exhausted by the time she caught up with him and god only knows what she would do to him once she did! Before he could even figure out where to go next he found himself in front of a dead end, when Perrine found him pressed against the wall she slowly and ominously marched towards him fuming all the way.

"I finally...got you...little...bastard!"

As soon as she was right in front of him, she grabbed his right wrist, spun him around so that his back was facing her, and then she started to hit him on the rump with the blade of her rapier.

"THIS! IS WHAT! YOU GET! FOR! FLIPPING MY! DAMN SKIRT!"

When she was finished, she released the boy whose eyes were filled with tears to run off somewhere but not before she gave him one more good whack to his buttocks. She panted slowly as she watched the boy run off but when he was gone she let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Merde..."

She hoped that there the rest of the day would be relatively quiet...

That is until she heard the sound of the siren go off.

Sorry that it has taken so long for me to finish this chapter. Much like last time I've had to divert attention away from this to other important things I've needed to get done.

Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter done SOONER rather than later.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Cheers,

-Vent Xekart.