-The Next Morning-

As soon as the morning sun rose from the horizon, you were up and about, pulling Cid awake. He groggily followed you through the forest at a jogging pace. After yesterday's 5 mile run, you figured it would be okay to just take it a little slower. You had brought a small bag that had been hidden away in your coat; it held a few beef jerky sticks, a few bandages, a jug for water, a compass, and a folded map. Right now you were busy interpreting the map, clutching the compass with a vice grip. You wandered through the trees, stopping every once in a while to take a sip of water. Cid hardly spoke throughout the hike. You knew what was on his mind. He was upset about Marcus and the two brothers. They were more than likely dead, but Cid was more upset about the fact that you left them behind. Turning to him, you stopped him in his tracks and leaned against the nearby oak tree. Hidden behind the leaves was a small marking. Scratching at it, you made your own mark to the tree. Sighing, you slid to the ground with your back to the tree.

"Looks like they're not here yet," you said, gesturing towards the mark. This was a system set up just in

case everyone was separated. You had made your mark, and so has Cid…but Frank and Demitri haven't, which meant they haven't been here yet. Cid looked at you with worry painted across his face. He wasn't the unemotional type like you were, he needed to know everything was okay…even if it wasn't.

"Cid, it will be fine," you assured him, this time a little forcefully. It was going to be okay, the brothers were both capable to take care of themselves. So, standing up, you ordered Cid to get the fire going while you hunted.

Hunting was something that came easily to you. Seeing the prey, sneaking up behind quietly, and then shooting off an arrow…it was all so simple. Compared to the forest, District 13 was like a large city…underground. There were so many politics and dirty dealing…you preferred being in the actual fight. Right here, right now, this was your specialty. And you weren't about to go off and get yourself, or Cid, killed by noisy Peacekeepers. So, you took a deep breath and told Cid to be back by mid-day. You then proceeded to slip quietly off into the forest trees and around the bends.

It took about two hours to get a good tracking of a deer, so you followed it up to a fresh water spring, where it proceeded to drop dead when you pierced it's heart with a makeshift, wooden arrow. You then went over and cut it up into several large pieces, and then sliced it even further down. There was no reason to keep a dead deer on your back for miles. It wasn't for another hour that you had finally cut it up and wrapped it enough so that it was of a manageable amount.

That was when you heard it. It started off as a sort of whispering between the leaves. Instinct pulled you to the nearest bush and forced you to duck under a grouping of branches. You then watched as feet appeared from around the corner, each foot causing a few twigs to snap rather loudly. Then you saw them. It was Frank and Demitri, crashing through the underbrush. Demitri was practically carrying Frank on his back. He set the man down by the pond and scooped up some water from the creek. He then forced the clear liquid into Frank's open mouth, and sighed with exhaustion.

You carefully walked out from the bush, slowly as to not scare them. However, as soon as your foot hit a twig, Demitri was on his feet and pointing a Peacekeeper automatic at you with a mean face. You put your arms up in surrender, and calmly walked forward. As soon as he saw your face, Demitri dropped the act and put the gun down. He wiped the sweat from his face and gestured you over.

There was no hug, or emotional strangle, there was just logic and acceptance that your teammates were still alive. You were happy, but right now the most important thing you could do for them is keep a level head. Demitri crouched down and picked up Frank's head, gently showing you several cuts. And then he moved down to Frank's left leg, which held a serious gash running from the knee to the ankle in a weird kind of spiral.

"It was a trap. One of the Peacekeepers threw something at Frank, and it wrapped around his leg cutting off all circulation. I did everything I could do, but I don't know how much damage the machine did," he admitted, his accent throwing you off slightly. You nodded your head and pulled up the leg of his pants, holding back a shriek at the sight of it. Well, the machine was off alright. But it left a pretty nasty gash in its wake. Puss had built up inside the wound, the skin molten and pushed up. Blue veins sprawled up across the wound like nasty cobwebs. He needed water. Without speaking, you ripped the pant leg off and began working through the process mentally.

First, you need to clear the wound of puss and get rid of any obstructions to the bloodstream. It wasn't going to be pleasant. Looking up at Demitri, you took a deep breath. "Is he unconscious?" you asked quietly. Demitri nodded, giving you a confused look. You held down his wounded leg and nodded at Frank's shoulders.

"Hold him down. I need to clear any infection in the wound, and it's going to be painful," you commanded, bringing out a pocket knife. Demitri slowly put his large hands on Frank's shoulders.

"What happens if he wakes up?" he asked with wide eyes. You looked back at the wound, and put the knife against the swollen part.

"Just be prepared…," you said softly. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath…

"No Juliet, you have to cut open the wound and THEN clean it."

You rolled your eyes and continued messing around with the dummy. Meanwhile, Lazy stalked around you with a click of a heel and a scratch of the head. You smiled at the sound of his black, suede shoes making their way across the floorboards. Of course, Lazy would think your stitches needed work. But stitching up skin-like fabric wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, especially when the needle you were using was made out of a refined tree twig, and the thread was some left over bow string. You continued sowing it up, thinking about the lesson you had just learned from Lazy. As soon as you made the first rough stitch, he came over and slapped the table harshly. He stared straight into your eyes. His were a bright blue, and one of them was lazy. It swiveled in another direction, at first this had kind of freaked you out. But Lazy was as harmless as a housefly.

"What do you do after you clean the wound, Juliet?" he asked, his mouth in a crooked smile. You thought for a moment and then smiled brightly. You had this. You turned back to your work, and began messaging the arm of the 'patient' so that a pretend puss would squeeze out of it. Lazy clapped a hand on your shoulder happily and gave a loud hoot. You smiled and finished up the dummy's injury before turning to Lazy. His smile was huge and showed all of his teeth. His dark hair was swept into perfect order, and his dress was impeccable. It was like he was always ready for a business meeting. He patted the dummy on the leg sympathetically.

"Well, it looks like I've finally taught you something…," he said, jokingly. He knew that, in reality, he had taught you everything. This small healing was just one of the many lessons that you've had from him. And it certainly wasn't your last…

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Demitri asked, wiping off his hands in the pond. You sniffed and looked back down at the unconscious Frank. It had been a tought operation. Frank had woken up right in the middle when you were still cleaning out the puss, and he had freaked out. But Demitri, being the best friend, had done Frank the honor of knocking him back unconscious. If he hadn't, Frank would've hurt himself even more. But right now, his leg was all stitched up, thanks to Demitri's extra needle and yarn. You were silent for a moment, as you cleaned off your hands of blood. It was getting late and Cid would start to worry about where you were. It was time to get back.

"Cid's waiting for me about two miles East. We promised we'd meet back up about mid-day, he'll start to worry if I don't get back in time," you said, pushing your hair back. Demitri nodded his head vaguely and wiped some sweat off his own forehead.

"Frank won't be up for another hour. Why don't you go get Cid and we'll wait for you," he suggested. You nodded in agreement, and then handed him some raw meat.

"If Frank wakes up, give him some water, and cook him some food. He'll be really hungry, and really thirsty. But make sure he doesn't move. I'll check on his wound when I get back," you said, turning away. Demitri grabbed your arm softly, making you turn around in confusion. He looked deep into your eyes with a kindness and gentleness you didn't know he possessed.

"I'm glad you're alive," he said, his words slow and deep. You smiled and walked up to him.

"I'm glad you're alive too," you said softly. Chuckling, he brought you into a bear-like hug for a good full minute before letting you go. Giving him one last smile, you began running back East towards the meeting point with Cid.

Two hours later, you found yourself back at the meeting place, grinning ear to ear at the spectacle before you. Cid was hung up in a tree by his ankles. He squirmed restlessly against the rope, his goggles hanging across his face ridiculously. "How did you manage to do THAT, Cid?" you called up to him. His face blushed and he mumbled something. You leaned up against the tree and put a hand to your ear teasingly.

"Ugh…I just wanted to catch something…," he mumbled. You laughed and then grabbed your knife and swiftly cut him down. He fell to the ground in a pile of limbs and then jumped right back up again. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and pointed at the fire nearby. "At least I got the fire started," he murmured. You walked over and messed up his hair before bending over and cooking the meat you had carried.

"Hey, I found Demitri and Frank…they're alive," you said, making sure ALL the meat was properly cooked through. Cid jumped up, his blue eyes wide with excitement.

"Where?!" he asked excitedly. You laughed and patted the ground next to you. He sat down and twisted his legs across so that he was sitting facing you.

"Don't worry they're fine. They're just two miles West of here, next to a pond. We'll finish cooking this meat, and then we'll head over there," you said, ruffling his hair mother-like. He smiled, and that's when you saw just how worried he had been. Everyone was human, but sometimes it took a reminder to know that Cid was still a kid, and he still had emotions. Back when you had hugged Demitri, you had emotions too, and sometimes it wasn't such a bad thing to show them every once in a while.

Cid had followed you back to the pond, and he had hugged Demitri vigorously before turning to Frank. Frank apparently had reawakened as soon as you had left. You then proceeded to check on his leg, which seemed to be going down from the swelling. Frank had taken you by the shoulder and had given you a soft hug. "Demitri told me that if you hadn't healed me, I would have lost my leg. So, thank you," he whispered. You smiled and hugged him back. It had been a long journey, and you needed to get back to District 13.

So, after a few minutes of making sure you had everything, you began moving through the forest. Frank's leg was still wounded, so you ended up going painstakingling slow, but you were able to deal with out until day break. Sighing, you leaned up against a tall oak tree and looked at Frank. He was panting heavily and he was leaning over his knees pathetically. You threw back your hair and walked over to him, forcing him to a sitting position and elevating his leg.

He grimaced as you took off his bandages and cleaned out the stitches. He pushed you away as you attempted to pour some medicine on it. You tsked your tongue and shook your head. "If we don't get it washed out, you'll take on a fever," you explained effortlessly. So, giving you a begrudging look, Frank sighed and leaned back against the tree, taking anything you dished out to him.

By the time you were done redressing his wound, Demitri and Cid had managed to get a fire started and cook some of the game you caught. They handed you and Frank a few pieces of meat and stale bread. You sat down right next to Cid and focused on the fire. It crackled red and gold fiercely. The daylight was slowly turning into darkness, the sun just on the horizon.

You were climbing over the fence when a shout caused you to fall onto your back and wash the wind from your lungs. It took a minute, but you slowly stood up and faced your intruder. He was a middle-aged man with curly white hair, and a dazzling smile. He was wearing some pretty nice slacks and a polo shirt. For this reason, you could guess that he was pretty well-off. However, the most prominent feature wasn't his air of wealthiness, it was his one lazy eye. It swiveled forwards and sideways without any control, while his right one remained heavily on you. You felt your face heat up with embarrassement, and you looked down at your feet. The man walked forward up to you, and put a finger under your chin and lifted it up so that you would look at him.

"And what would a young girl like you be doing out here?" he asked, softly. You sighed and backed up a step, shrugging your shoulders. He smiled for a moment, then got down on eye-level with you.

"And what is your name?" he asked. You took a look at him, scanning his face. He seemed genuine enough…

"Juliet," you whispered. The man stood up straight and smiled brightly, as if he already knew. He held out his hand in invitation.

"Alright, well…hello Juliet…you can just call me Lazy," he said with a smile. You stared at his hand for a moment before slowly gripping it. He gave your hand a vigorous shake and then he let go and walked in the other direction. He took a few steps and then gestured for you to follow. You stood there for a moment, unable to move. Then, taking a breath, you took your first steps forward, and began to follow Lazy.

You woke up in a heap on the ground near a large oak tree. Blinking back sleep, you got up and stretched quickly before shaking the others up. Frank grimaced as you helped him to his feet, but before the hour was up you got everyone moving. It was slow going, but Demetri managed to keep everyone's spirits up. He told tales of previous ventures and how close he and Frank have come to capture and death. They joked around and laughed together, even though Frank winced once in a while from his injury. Cid laughed along, but you could see the sorrow in his eyes when he was silent.

You walked about 12 miles before your group finally got to the drop zone. The hovercraft was sitting in the middle of the field. Checking Frank's bandages one last time, you cleaned out the wound and helped get him on to the back. Demitri took to the wheel and drove off in silence, keeping away from the main train. You sat back, happily enjoying the ride back to District 13. The mission had gone off as planned…but you were returning with one less companion…and that was the hardest thing about it. Watching the green landscape pass swiftly by, you dwelled on Marcus.

He had been there for you through the whole time. Marcus was one of the oldest citizens of District 13, and he had been one of the best. Looking to the left you saw the Cid was sitting there with his head in his hand, his eyes downcast. Feeling slightly guilty, you scooted over to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked up at you with big watery eyes and a small smile. Sure, you could tell him that everything was alright, but Cid knew differently. The truth was Marcus was dead, Frank was very hurt, and District 13 was still underground. Looking up at the sky you thought about the information you had gathered from District 2.

Just as this thought crossed your mind the hovercraft veered quickly to the left. Cid flew into your side, causing you to crash into the back. Groaning, you gripped the edges and stood up prepared to glare at Demitri. However, just as you stood you were pulled back down by Frank who was sitting up with a mean look on his face. "Look!" he shouted. Glancing upwards, you were caught by a vision of hundreds of hovercrafts loaded with guns and crossbows. A peel of bullets hit the right side of the hovercraft, causing you to hit the deck. Grimacing, you pushed Cid closer to the ground and grabbed a nearby semi-autmatic and let loose a few rounds towards the air.

There were a good hits, but there was just so many of them that it didn't make a difference. Turning to Demitri, you stood up straight and cupped your mouth. "We can't stand this much longer! Defensive maneuvers Demitri" you shouted to the front. Demitri responded by veering to the left and then taking a major dive to the forest bellow. As the hovercraft pitched to the ground, you felt the trees and branches whip through your face and hair, clawing through your clothes. The others screamed, and all you heard before you hit the ground was a major CRUNCH!.

Lying on the ground, you heard the others groan. Getting up, you felt the earth spin slightly before you shook your head into reality. Looking up you saw that District 13's hovercrafts were moving on, completely ignoring you. You thought that it was a little strange how they just continued West instead of killing you off. But you weren't concerned about that now. Instead, you turned to your teammates to find them all sitting up slowly. Quickly running over to Cid, you made sure that he was alright with just minor injuries before turning to Demitri and Frank.

Demitri had already gotten up and was kneeling by Frank. The spunky red-head was lying on the ground with his leg in a bad position. Grimacing, you ran over and gently gripped his head. Sighing in relief, you felt a slow heartbeat between your fingers. You then proceeded to examine the rest of his body, noting the fact that there were limited amounts of scratches and bruises. His leg, however, was a different story.

Because of the impact of the crash, Frank's bandages had been cut off and his wound was even deeper; the stitches broken apart. Grimacing in sympathy, you turned to Demitri and gestured at the wound. "I don't suppose you would have any extra thread, huh?" you asked. He shook his head and leaned against a near tree.

"No, and it looks like his wound's getting worse," he responded, his voice deep and steady, but you could see the fear in his eyes. Nodding slowly, you thought for a moment then grabbed a nearby leaf and carved a whole out of the oak. Dripping the sap from the tree, you spread it across Frank's leg and then wrapped the leaf around it. Stepping back, you grabbed the rest of your canteen water and dumped it onto his face. Frank spluttered and gagged before coming to. Helping him sit up, you leaned him against the tree. He rubbed his head and moaned horribly.

"What….what happened?" he asked slowly. You chuckled gravely and pointed at the sky. He looked up and groaned again. Demitri rubbed his bruised cheek in thought.

"Why aren't they killing us?" he asked seriously.

"Would you prefer they did?!" exclaimed Cid. He was busy trying to rummage the hovercraft, but to no avail. He sighed and looked up at the sky in boredom. "What are we gonna do now? We're out of water, out of food, and our hovercraft is dysfunctional." You thought for a moment and put a hand on your face, feeling a raw spot that was bleeding slightly. Ignoring the slight mark on your cheek, you turned back to your team.

"I don't know what's going on, but we need to get out of here," you said, looking around. By now the hoverships had stopped flying over and were heard in the distance. Cid looked behind the trees for company, but nobody was there…in fact…there were no sounds or smells.

"Man, everything's kind of stil," said Cid, looking around nervously. You nodded in agreement. Everything WAS a little too quiet. You stood up suddenly, realizing what was going on. You grabbed Cid and Demitri.

"Help me get Frank up, we need to get out of here…NOW!" you shouted. Without questions from your two comrades they gathered up Frank in their arms and hauled ass towards the trees.

"What's going on?" asked Demitri, half-carrying Frank. You pushed them further into the forest, not caring on where you were going just as long as you got there as fast as possible. However, before you could take another step, the world exploded.