Snowmans, One hit fanfic stop!

by Snowman23

A series of one-hit stories: characters include: Isara Gunther, Marina Wulstan and Ted Ustinov, Ramona Linton and Nils Daerden, Alexis Hilden, Marion Seghiban, Rene Randall, Welkin and Magari. Newest character and story: Chloe Blixen- A Painters Plight.

6. WelkinxMagari: Old Wounds, New Wounds

Welkin x Magari: Old Wounds, New Wounds

In a small clearing in the Leanbluff woods was a small family of Porcavian pigs. A mother pig, a bigger father pig and a bunch of little piglets. All were munching on grass, or burying their snouts in berry bushes and eating the delicious tiny berries within. There was much oinking, flapping of tiny wings and squealing coming from the happy little family.

Meanwhile, about fifteen meters away was a small Darcsen girl, eyeing this porcavian family with a pair of binoculars. This girl was Magari and she had been silently following the family for the last few hours. It was nearing noon and she had been out in the woods since dawn first came. She was on a personal mission to collect information for a new subject of study, the Porcavian pigs, that she was scheduled for later that evening during her tutoring session with Welkin Gunther.

Ever since her first out and about learning session with Welkin, Magari had developed a love of the outdoors. She learned that seeing and experiencing things on your own and not from a book was a much more rewarding feeling.

Magari then lowered the binoculars after careful observation of what the Porcavians were eating and their other behaviour out in their natural habitat. As she jotted down this information she thought to herself, I'm so excited! I can't wait to show all of this to Mr. Gunther! All this information and all gathered on my own. No books at all! he'll be so impressed!

Magari then yawned and checked her wrist watch, It's almost noon… I should head back soon. I'll bet Rene's probably worried sick by now. Sorry, Rene, I wanted you to come along as well… But I need to do this for myself. That and I don't think you'd be able to sit still and be as patient for as long as I am able to.

Magari was just about to raise the binoculars back up to her eyes when her stomach growled. She held a hand against it and gritted her teeth, hoping she didn't give away her presence. At the same time, the pigs all perked their heads up and were scanning the surrounding area, after hearing a strange sound. Magari's stomach growled once again, loud enough this time that the pigs and piglets all took off in fear, squealing and grunting the whole way.

Aww… I had hoped to get just a little bit more time to study them. Perhaps it is just as well though. I've been out here all morning and only had a granola bar to eat before I headed out. Magari thought disappointedly.

A smile then spread across her face as she thought, I should still have some of Alicia's delicious bread in my pouch! I'll have some before I head back! But just enough to tide me over until lunch time.

Magari then crawled on her hands and knees towards her engineers belt and packs. She then opened one of the white pouches and looked inside. After shuffling some items around, she found the fair sized piece of bread that was sealed in a small bag. She opened it and retrieved the bun and immediately bit into it. As she chewed, she moaned in pure ecstasy at its delicious taste and texture. The bun was still soft, the insides still fluffy and even without butter, jam or anything else it was perfect.

Just then, overhead, she heard a bird chirping excitedly. She looked up as she was still chewing and spotted Jarde, Avans' bird. She smiled happily and said, "Hello, Jarde! I see that you found me once again, and at meal time no less. They weren't kidding about those homing senses of yours!"

Jarde was bouncing up and down on the branch that he was perched upon and Magari laughed, "Alright, Alright! I'll give you some!"

Magari then shifted her position and was now sitting on the backs of her ankles, she then held out her gloved index finger and said, "Come here, boy!"

Jarde chirped happily, then he flew down and landed perfectly on her finger. Magari brought her hand back and held it next to her bread that was clutched in her other hand. Jarde began to peck at the bread, tearing off little pieces and gobbling them down quickly.

Magari giggled and said, "I'll never understand how you and Avan can eat so much food! Where do you put it all in those little bodies of yours!"

Jardes' head then popped up, a piece of bread still held in his beak. His little head then darted back and forth, looking all around the area. Curious, Magari asked, "What's wrong, boy?"

Suddenly, she heard a rustle in the nearby bushes, followed by more rustling to her left and right in the surrounding bushes and tall grass.

Jarde then flew off of Magaris' finger and soared up towards the branches of a nearby tree. Magari was beginning to get nervous, the sounds were growing louder, coming ever closer. Her heart began to thump when she realized that she was being surrounded. But by what?

"What is that? Animals… People or… oh no… Rebels!"

She decided not to wait to see who or whatever it was, so she reached down and just got the button to her sidearm pouch clipped off when she heard, "Freeze, Dark-hair!"

She then looked up, right into the barrel of a rifle held by a Rebel soldier. Then, emerging from the bushes and tall grass all around her came even more rebels. Magari swallowed hard as they all began to laugh evilly.

"That Dark-hair talked so loud to that damn bird that we could have found her in the dark!" said a lancer.

"Bah, I didn't even need to hear her! I could smell her the moment we entered this area!" said an angry looking shock trooper with a yellow helmet.

Though Magari was scared, she made a conscious effort to count the number of soldiers and carefully assess her situation. Her head moved from left to right as she counted in her head, One… two… three… four… five… oh no… there's ten of them and they're on all sides. I don't even have a chance here… I shouldn't have come alone…

A very large, very muscular fencer then started to walk towards Magari as she looked up from her kneeling position on the ground. He was grinning as he carried his large sword on his shoulder and shield on the other arm, his hand was against his hip in a cocky manner.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he asked aloud, "A Darcsen… and all alone too. You're either very brave or incredibly stupid to come all this way by yourself!"

He then swung his sword, but stopped just an inch or two from her neck, "I could have your head dangling from the tip of my sword in a heartbeat if I wanted to."

Though, during the entire swing and even after it, Magari didn't flinch at all. She simply said, "I'm not afraid…"

"Humph, well you should be. You know who we are and what our mission is… to purge all the Darcsen from this land and overthrow that Dark-hair archduchess of yours!" said the fencer.

"Sir… if I may ask. Why haven't we killed her yet? She's a Darcsen, sir. The very people we're trying to eliminate." asked a scout.

The fencer smiled, then lifted up Magaris chin with the tip of his sword and looked at her with lust in his eyes, "That may be… But I have never seen such a beautiful Darcsen girl in all my life! She's an exception, so let's take her back to base and have some fun with her first."

"I call seconds!" said the shock trooper.

"No! Not that! Kill me if you must, but not that!" Magari cried. To her, the idea of rape was worse than dieing. Worse yet, she knew that it wouldn't stop after the leader had his turn. She'd be used and abused by all of the men in the camp, no doubt, then probably be killed after their fun was over. But to be alive and conscious through it all was a far worse fate to be forced to endure.

The fencer leader then made a grab for Magari's hand while saying, "Yeah, yeah, we'll get to that later. But for now- AH!" he screamed as an angry bird came swooping down, it then sank its sharp talons into his face and began to peck away at his flesh with his sharp beak.

"No! Jarde, don't!" Magari screamed.

But it was too late, the leader ripped the bird from his face, drew his arm back and threw it at a nearby tree. Jarde struck the tree hard, then fell into a pile of bushes down below, and was knocked out cold.

Magari jumped to her feet, then tried to run to help Jarde. But the shock trooper she passed grabbed a handful of her long dark hair and pulled her back hard. Her poor head jerked to the side, ripping out some of her hair, along with her beloved Darcsen patterned hair braid. It fell to the ground and lay amongst the few strands of her dark-blue/black hair.

The shock trooper then threw her back towards the others solders, two of which each grabbed an arm and held her as she tried to break loose. She kicked wildly and screamed at the top of her lungs. The Rebels were surprised at her apparent strength as she pulled them forward, trying to retrieve her hair braid from off the ground. It was no simple piece of fabric or hair accessory. It was an irreplaceable and deeply sentimental item to Magari.

One of the scouts was getting irritated by her constant screaming, so he turned his rifle around and was about to smack her right in the face with the wooden butt-stock to shut her up. Luckily, he was stopped before he could do so by the fencer leader.

"Whoa, whoa! No need for that," The fencer then passed his sword and shield to the scout. He smiled evilly as he walked up to Magari and drew his fist back, "Allow me!" He then swung full force and punched Magari so hard in the stomach that her feet actually lifted a few inches off of the ground as her body lurched forward. Her dark blue eyes bulged out, all of her breath was knocked out of her lungs and then… her eyes started to darken, her head falling forward, then she passed out. Her limp body only being held up by the soldiers on either side of her.

The Fencer leader then turned back and said, "Do not damage that pretty face of hers! That's the only thing that's keeping her alive. I don't want to spoil her beauty, not before I'm done with her at least, Ha-ha!"

He then grabbed Magari and with his impressive strength, he lifted her up and onto his shoulder. His hand wrapped around her back. Magari's arms were hanging seemingly lifeless down his back as he carried her off towards the rebel encampment. His soldiers retrieved most of her gear and they followed their leader, laughing and giving each other high-fives in anticipation for what was to come later on tonight.

---

A short while later, Jarde began to come to. He quickly hopped out of the bush and scanned the area. But, sadly, Magari and her captors were gone. Nearby, however, was Magari's Darcsen patterned hair braid with bits of her hair all around it. Jarde hopped towards it, looked down at it and cooed in sadness and despair.

She was gone. The girl who was always so nice to him, played with him and fed him was gone, forever. There was nothing a tiny bird like him could do to help her now… Unless, yes, that was it!

Jarde then picked up her hair braid and held it in his beak. He then tried to fly, but after only a few flaps, his right wing hurt immensely. He tried again and fell back to the ground, it hurt so much to fly. But he needed to get help for Magari. So, pushing through the pain, Jarde tried once more and this time got airborne. He gained some altitude, then turned in the direction of Lanseal and flew as fast as he could back to the academy.

---

It was nearing one o'clock now and afternoon classes were about to start. The cadets of Class G were taking their seats, some were chatting to their neighbour, others were doing their own thing. Sofia was brushing her long dark-brown hair while looking into a small hand mirror and admiring herself. Zeri was talking to Mischlitt about the new romance novel written by Nadine, a fellow Darcsen and former member of Squad Seven from the last war. Nichol was getting scolded by Franca about tidying the inside of his messy, messy desk. Helmut was sitting with is arms crossed, staring straight ahead and grumbling.

Meanwhile, Rene kept looking over at Magari's desk, which was empty. At first it didn't worry her too much, Rene had arrived to class early, perhaps Magari was on her way now. But as the minutes continued to tick by, Rene began to get more and more worried. Magari was never late for class, why would she start now?

Rene then leaned over and whispered to Noel, who had just arrived and sat in her desk. "Hey, Noel, have you seen Magari today? Perhaps in the hallways or anywhere during your way to class?"

Noel thought for a few moments, then shook her head, "No, I haven't seen her all day. Why?"

Rene sighed, "I'm worried… Why isn't she here yet? She's never late for class, not even when she's sick!"

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll turn up soon, Rene. She still has a few seconds before-"

*Ding-Dong-Dang-Dong. Dong-Dang-Ding-Dong* rang the afternoon bell, class had just started. Rene ran a hand through her short orange hair and thought worriedly, Come on, Magari… Where are you, girl…

The door to the classroom then opened and professor Brixham entered, however, another man was following him. Some of the students who recognized him gasped right away, others whispered to each other, trying to find out just who he was.

Avan then spoke up, "Hey! It's Welkin Gunther!" Avan announced, "Hey, Welkin! What brings you here today?"

Professor Brixham stood in front of Welkin just before he could answer, he then said, "Class, I'd like to introduce you all to Welkin Gunther, recipient of the Gallian Medal of Honour, former leader of Squad Seven and guest lecturer for today's class.

"Wow! Awesome! Oh! Ah!" said the students all around the room.

"Be nice to him, class. Please remember to raise your hand for questions and to mind your manners."

Brixham then stepped aside and stood in the corner of the classroom and looked on. Welkin then walked up to the desk, tapped a pile of papers he held in his hands and smiled at the class. "Greetings, students of Class G. As Professor Brixham said, I am Welkin Gunther. But you may simply call me 'Welkin' or 'Mr. G' as I've been called in the past.

I heard from a fellow student of yours that some of you are having trouble getting along with each other and working together in the classroom and out in the field during missions. I understand you are all from different backgrounds, but it's important to be able to work together and build trust among your squad mates.

Believe it or not, Squad Seven used to have the same problems at the start of the last great war. We fought, we argued, we nearly punched each others lights out on many occasions. But through tough work, cooperation and team building exercises, we became the mightiest fighting force in the entire Gallia militia.

Now, I'd like to take this time to help teach you ways to-"

*THWACK* came a sound from the nearby windows, causing everyone in the classroom to turn their heads and begin to murmur and whisper to one another.

"What was that?" Coleen asked as she stood up from her desk.

"I don't know…" said Morris.

"I think something hit the window… was it a ball?" Anisette asked.

Avan then got up and walked towards the window. It was cracked and there were bits of feathers and fluff all around the point of impact. Avan then opened the window and looked down at the ground and gasped.

"Jarde! Jarde, are you alright?" Avan asked as he leaned out the window, scooped up Jarde from off the ground and brought him into the classroom. He then carefully placed him on top of his desk. Poor Jarde looked completely worn out as he lay on his back and panted. However, there was something still clutched in his tiny beak

Now even more students were leaving their desks and crowding around Avan in order to see what was happening.

Professor Brixham walked up to this desk and stood next to Welkin, "Avan Hardins! What seems to be the problem?" he asked, tapping his pointer on top of the desk impatiently. Getting Welkin to come in for a visit was no easy task and now his lesson time was being interrupted.

"It's alright, Jarde…" Avan said worriedly, ignoring Professor Brixhams question. His gaze then shifted to Jarde's beak, still clutching something very tightly as he panted, purely worn out and hurting.

"Hmmm… what's this?" Avan asked as he picked out whatever it was that Jarde was holding onto. He could now see that it was a piece of soft fabric, he unravelled it and now saw a familiar looking pattern.

Avan gasped and turned to Zeri, "Zeri! Is this what I think it is?"

Zeri took the item from Avan, adjusted his glasses with his other hand and looked at it closely. After careful examination, his eyes looked over to Mischlitt and she nodded her head. She also recognized what it was, then she answered, "…Yes… This item bears the Darcsen colors and pattern… But where did it come from?"

Meanwhile, Welkin was making his way over to the crowd of students all chattering loudly, curious to see what all the commotion was about. Rene, however, muscled her way past everyone else and snatched the hair braid out of Zeri's hand. Then, everyone could see the look of fear and panic begin to set into her face.

"This… is Magari's hair braid!" Rene's head then snapped back and looked at Magari's empty desk and she gasped loudly. "No! Magari!"

Avan turned away from tending to Jarde and asked, "What's wrong, Rene? What's this about Magari?"

Rene turned to Avan and held out the hair braid for him and everyone else to see, "Avan! This is Magari's hair braid! I'm absolutely certain of it!

I just know that something terrible must have happened to her! We have to find her!"

Now, Welkin was also getting worried about what he was hearing. Magari regularly dropped by his home for tutoring sessions whenever she was free. As his student, he felt a very close connection with her. Also… there was another reason he treasured being in her presence, but this he kept to himself for now.

"Has anyone see Magari today?" Welkin asked aloud.

No one answered at first, but the students heads were all turning to one another. Then, ever so slowly, a single hand began to rise from the crowd, and it belonged to Nichol, "I-I saw her t-this morning, sir. She was heading for the front gates, sir. Also, she was fully dressed in her engineering uniform and had most of gear with her… Almost as if she was heading out for a mission or something."

Rene ran up to Nichol and took him by the shoulders, and while shaking him she asked shrilly, "When! When!"

Nichol's eyes looked down at the floor as he tried to recall, "I-I think around seven o'clock this morning… Maybe earlier… She was alone, too."

"And you didn't say anything to any of us! Didn't tell anyone that she was going out on her own? Why would you do that!"

Franca finally stepped in between the two and broke Rene's hold from his arms. She then placed her arm protectively in front of her younger brother, and glared at Rene, "Keep your hands off my brother! He's trying to help you!"

Rene shook her head and turned her back to Franca and Nichol and was now breathing heavier, getting more and more worked up.

"I-I'm sorry… I just assumed that she had gotten permission and was allowed to go out. Perhaps I should have talked to her or did something… I'm sorry…" Nichol said apologetically.

Franca turned to Nichol and shook her head, "You don't have to apologize for anything, Nichol. You did nothing wrong. I doubt Magari would have said anything to you anyhow. She's not exactly a people person."

"Magari's in trouble, guys! We have to go out and look for her!" Rene screeched.

No one moved, but many looked worried or were uncertain about what to do. It was true that Magari was missing, but was she really in as much trouble as Rene was telling everyone?

Fed up, Rene pushed her way past everyone else and ran to the back of the classroom. She swiftly opened up one of the storage lockers that held all of the class's weapons, gear and tools. She then dug out a lancer uniform, armour and all the other essential gear that she'd need and began to get suited up as fast as she could.

Professor Brixham called out to Rene, "Miss Randall! You are not allowed to open those lockers unless you have been summoned for a mission!"

Rene stood up and with wide eyes, she cried, "Magari's in trouble! Can't anyone else see that! Am I the only one who knows this to be true!"

Some of the students backed up a few steps. Rene was always so calm, kind, caring and always smiling. Now she was different and behaving in a way that no one had ever seen before. Rene shook her head and continued to put her lancer uniform and gear on.

As they continued to watch, some people were beginning to get scared, such as Cosette at Rene's extreme change of behaviour. She walked over to Avan and held onto his arm for comfort. Now even Avan couldn't find the words to calm this tense and escalating situation.

Alexis, however, was the first to approach Rene and she looked down at Rene as she was quickly lacing up her combat boots. "Calm down, Rene. How can you be so certain of what you're saying? How can you tell so much just from seeing what you believe to be Magari's hair braid?" Alexis asked.

Rene turned to Alexis, by this time she was trembling and breathing heavily, "It's because she would never, ever leave something so precious behind! Not if she could help it!"

"Hmmm… I do not quite understand what you mean." said Alexis.

"She means that it was given to Magari by someone who deeply cared for her. Perhaps her mother or father or someone just as important to her," said Mischlitt, "We Darcsen do not simply go out to a store and buy these Darcsen patterned items that we wear. Whether it be a cloak, a hair braid, an arm band or anything else with our peoples pattern sown onto it.

Each and every one of them was carefully hand-made and stitched by someone close to us. Such as our parents, relatives or best friends. Upon completion they are given to us as a gift or for protection from harm if it's been blessed with a protective charm. It's because of this that their value to us is irreplaceable.

Rene knows this as well I'm sure, because she's Magaris best friend. It's why she knows that Magari or any other Darcsen would never lose something such as this so carelessly. I too believe that something must have happened to her, if she became parted with it."

Zeri nodded, "We take great pride in owning them and will go to great lengths to protect them. Darcsen in the past have been known to be killed by slave hunters because they were too proud to remove their cherished items upon command. So something definitely must have happened to her if she is no longer in possession of something so meaningful to her."

Rene nodded, "Magari has two hair-braids. One was made by her mother, the other by her father! They were given to her when she and I left for the Academy. Now do you believe me? Would any of you neglect something such as this so carelessly?"

"Hmm… your explanation is sound," Alexis admitted. She then headed to the back of the room as well and began to take out her Fencers uniform, gear and sword.

Rene gasped, "Alexis? What are you-"

"You'll need help if you're going out to look for her. So I'll come, too."

Avan smiled, walked up to Rene and placed his hand on her shoulder, "We believe you, Rene. I believe you… Jarde wouldn't have come here in the middle of class if something wasn't wrong. He knows better.

I also know that Jarde has come to love Magari. Their bond is strong, because whenever I'm away and unable to care for him, I send Jarde to her room. I know that I can trust her to fed him, play with him and take care of him for me.

They had to have been together when whatever happened to her, happened to her."

Professor Brixham made his way through the crowd and sighed, "Class, I do not think that we can send all of you out on this 'Rescue mission' as you call it. What if something happens while you are away? We have to always be ready to move out if we are summoned."

As Brixham was speaking; Avan, Zeri, Cosette, Alexis and Mischlitt had already made their way over to the lockers and were retrieving their shock trooper, engineer, armoured tech and scout equipment and weapons. They had already made up their mind about joining Rene in going out to search for Magari.

Seeing that his words were having no affect, Brixham finally asked, "More importantly… do you even know where to begin looking for her? She could be anywhere if she's not on the academy grounds."

Everyone who was getting ready finally stopped and looked at Brixham, they hadn't thought of that part yet.

Rene turned to Avan, "What about Jarde? Can we get him to lead us back to where they last were?"

Avan turned to Coleen, who had taken over tending to Jarde. She looked up at Avan and the others and shook her head, "No… He's hurt really bad, Avan. I'm surprised that he was even able to fly back here with how badly his wing's been injured."

Zeri was rubbing his chin, thinking hard about something else that was bothering him, "I'm more curious as to how she managed to leave the academy grounds in the first place. The front gates are usually sealed so early in the morning and the academy is surrounded by a moat with only one bridge leading out. So how did she manage to leave so easily?"

Professor Brixham shrugged, "No idea… I'd never have allowed Magari to leave so early in the morning. Most of all, I wouldn't let her leave by herself. The only thing I can think of is that she must have gotten clearance from the Head Master. He and he alone would be the only one able to give such special permission for her to leave like that."

Avan nodded, stood up and was now dressed in his scouting uniform and had all of his gear on as well. He then turned to the others and said, "Alright, guys, I'm off to speak to the Head Master to find out if he knows where Magari has gone.

If anyone else is coming with us to look for Magari, then get suited up and be ready to move out as soon as I return."

Just as Avan left the classroom, he noticed that Welkin was standing outside, "Hey, Avan. I'd like to come with you to the Head Master's office."

"Hmm, what for?" Avan asked.

Welkin sighed, "I have a pretty good idea of where Magari went…"

"You do? Where?"

Welkin shook his head, "Just to be certain, we'll hear what the Head Master has to say. So, let's go."

Avan wasn't going to say no to a war hero, so he lead while Welkin followed. There were no words spoken between the two as they ran across the academy grounds towards the head masters office.

---

A few minutes later, Welkin and Avan were standing in front of the Head Master's desk. He was listening to Avan tell the story of what happened earlier in the class room, Rene's thoughts on the matter and lastly, the search and rescue plan that they had in mind.

After all was explained, the Head Master leaned back in his chair and sighed, "I see… so you all believe that your classmate, Magari, has run into some sort of trouble during her leave from the academy?"

"Yes, sir, we do. We were wondering if you happen to know where she went?"

The Head Master stroked his beard and thought for a moment. He then said, "Ah yes, I remember now. She requested leave for a research assignment, a rather peculiar one at that. But, she has always gotten permission straight from me in the past for these such outings."

"Where did she go?"

"She went to the woods of-"

"LeanBluff." Welkin and the Head Master said at the same time.

Avan turned his head to Welkin, "Huh?"

"I see… So she really did go there to study today's topic for our evening tutoring session. It's the only other place besides the Woods of Kloden, which is up in the north, to study Porcavians in their natural habitat." said Welkin.

"Magari went there to study pigs? What?" Avan asked as he scratched his head.

"What else were you expecting?" Welkin asked.

Avan shook his head, "I don't know… That she volunteered for a recon patrol or went out there for a special mission… just not this…"

Avan shrugged, turned to the Head Master and said, "Now that you know the situation, can I have your approval for a search and rescue mission, sir?"

The Head Master rubbed his chin, "Hmmm… I can only approve for a small party to head that way, not the whole class. Word has it that the Rebels are planning to make a push north sometime soon. We do not know where along our border it is that they plan to make this push. So we cannot send so many of our soldiers looking for this lost student of yours.

But if Magari is indeed in trouble, it might be because the Rebels have already advanced into the Leanbluff woods and captured her… or worse."

Welkin then leaned forward and placed his hands on the Head Master's desk and said, "Sir, I'd like to accompany them into the woods."

"What? No, Welkin, you don't have to do that. We can handle it!" Avan said.

Welkin turned to Avan, "I feel mostly responsible for her being out there in the first place, as I gave her the assignment. Also, I've been her nature and history tutor for quite some time now, which makes me feel quite close to her. So, it should be me who goes more than anyone else."

The Head Master nodded, "Very well, if it's a famous war hero that is going out into the woods, it'll make it that much easier to write up the order."

"What?" Avan asked.

"The famous Welkin Gunther from Squad Seven is heading out into the Leanbluff woods on a mission of his own and has requested an escort unit from Class G to accompany him. How does that sound, better?"

Avan grinned, "Yes, sir, it does!"

"Very well, you have my permission to head out into the Leanbluff woods. But remember; this is a rescue mission, nothing else. Find Magari and bring her back as quick as you can. If she was captured, then the Rebel units in that area may only be a vanguard unit, with the rest of the Rebel army not be far behind them.

Take only who you feel would be best suited for this mission from your class. We may need the other students here if the rebels are pushing anywhere else from the south towards our borders."

Now with permission granted, Welkin and Avan left the office and got ready to move out. Avan headed back to the classroom to gather those who were coming and Welkin went back to his home on the academy grounds to get ready as well.

---

Soon, Avan was back in the classroom. He saw Rene, Cosette, Zeri, Mischlitt, Noel, Nichol, Franca, Alexis, Melissa, Lotte and Anisette all suited up in their gear and ready to move out.

"Good news, guys! We've just been given permission from the Head Master to commence the rescue mission. Our destination is the Leanbluff woods. That's where Magari was headed to this morning, so let's go!"

Professor Brixham face palmed himself and sighed, "Guess there's no stopping you. But I trust that you're not all going?"

Avan shook his head, "Nah, we should only need these eleven volunteers, Brixy. The rest of the class has been ordered to remain here and await orders, just in case the Rebels are making a push anywhere other than the LeanBluff woods."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go! Hurry!" Rene implored.

Rene then lead the way out of the classroom, and the others followed close behind her. But as soon as they left the school and were headed to the front gates, Avan took off in another direction.

"Where are you going!" Cosette shouted.

Avan turned his head towards the others, "I'll be right back, guys! I need to check on Welkin Gunther! He's coming along too!"

"What!" Anisette exclaimed, "THE Welkin Gunther is coming on this mission… No way! Now's my chance to see if all the stories my sister told me about him are true!"

Lotte laughed, "Ha-ha! I knew my reporters intuition was correct in making me decide to come along! I'm sure to land a major scoop here!"

A small smile curved up on Alexis's lips, "Hmmm… a chance to see how a real war veteran fights and leads."

"Whatever, I'm not interested in all that. My only interest is in protecting Zeri! No one's going to hurt ya… not on my watch, tee-hee-hee!" Melissa snickered quietly.

Zeri looked over at Mischlitt, she nodded in response. They both had a very good idea as to why Welkin was coming along. Because they were Darcsen, they knew something about Welkin's past that others might not know.

---

A short while later, Avan arrived at the Gunther household. Avan quickly ascended the steps and was just about to knock on the door. Suddenly, from an open side window, he could hear Alicia seemingly arguing with Welkin.

"Welkin! You don't have to go on this mission!"

"Yes I do, she's my student and I feel a strong sense of responsibility in getting her back safe and sound. She wouldn't have even been out there in the first place if I didn't give her that assignment."

Avan could hear Alicia sigh, "Welkin… I didn't want to say anything, because you seemed so happy… And I admit that there's a resemblance, but Magari isn't Isara…"

Avan didn't like to Eavesdrop, but this was something he hadn't heard about.

"Who is Isara?" Avan asked silently.

"I couldn't do anything to help Isara… you remember that, right? How helpless we felt, how much it hurt us to sit by and do nothing to help her as she… But here I have a chance to do what I couldn't do for her! I have to try!"

"Welkin, we've already fought and lived through a very tough war. We earned our retirement, let the other cadets handle this."

Avan hated to interfere, but they needed to get moving, as it was already getting late into the afternoon. He then knocked on the door, and waited.

"Avan's here, I have to get going. Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright, you've got to trust me, Alicia."

"Alright, Welkin… I understand why you feel you need to do this. Just remember that there's a difference between these two girls…"

Avan could hear Welkin coming to the front door now, but also heard Alicia call out to him, "And Welkin! You had better be back before tomorrow evening… otherwise… I'm going to have to come out there and find you myself. And you know what that means!"

"Yeah, I know, we wouldn't want that to happen."

Welkin then answered the door and to Avan's surprise, he was dressed in a militia uniform. Closer inspection, however, revealed that it was his old Squad Seven uniform.

"Alright, Avan! I'm ready!" Welkin said ecstatically. He noticed Avan staring at his uniform, "Hehe, yeah, I know. I also can't believe that I'm wearing this old relic. But we do need a way to differentiate each other from the enemy. It also helps get me back into the feel of my old fighting days."

"Good idea, sir. I'm sure we'll succeed with you on our side!"

---

A few minutes later, they were at the front gates where the rest of the squad was waiting. This time, Lavinia was waiting with Class G's APC. A small blue jeep was also nearby, with Zeri at the wheel.

The other students began to whisper and point as they watched Welkin walk past in his old Squad Seven uniform, cap and all his old gear, including his flare gun. Welkin then stood next to the jeep.

He turned to everyone and said, "Alright, Class! time to head to the Leanbluff woods and bring Magari back home!"

Everyone raised their weapons, cheered and climbed into the back of the APC. Avan and Cosette climbed into the back of the jeep. Welkin sat in the passenger seat of the jeep, looked back to confirm that everyone was in, then with a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Class G, Move out!"

The Jeep drove forward down the main road of the academy and lead the way, with the APC following right behind them. They then left the academy, drove over the bridge and sped down the dirt road leading towards the Leanbluff woods. Hopefully, they'd get there before nightfall.

---

Sometime later, deep inside the Leanbluff woods stood the Rebels vanguard encampment. Their party was small, a little less than thirty soldiers and their one Darcsen prisoner. And it was only now that Magari was beginning to come to.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, her head lifted up. But her body felt constricted, she could not move her arms, which were behind her back. She found that they were tied to a pole. There was a rag stuff into her mouth and tied around her head that muffled any words or sounds that she tried to make. She jerked her entire body left and right a few times to try to escape. Just then, the flap to the tent opened up and there stood the huge fencer that she had encountered earlier.

"Ah, I see you're awake," said the Fencer as he took off his helmet and set it down. He then knelt down in front of Magari and took her by the chin and lifted her head up in order to look into her eyes.

"No fear." said the fencer with a smile, "Even though you know what we plan to do with you before we ultimately kill you.

I must admit, you are so very beautiful… for a dark-hair. If only the rest of your female race were this pretty, then we'd have a much harder time shooting them all."

He then pulled down the rag from Magari's mouth and smiled while clutching her chin. "Does that make you angry to hear?"

Magari shook her head, "My people do not retaliate. We also do not become angry quite so easily."

The Fencer stood up and laughed, "No, you don't! That is why we are having such an easy time exterminating your kind. Every village we've been to, we just gun everyone down and they do not put up the slightest amount of resistance. If you keep this up, it shouldn't be long before this war's over."

He then got up and began to back out of the tent, "I'll be back for you later... because right now... we've got a deserter to find and take care of."

Magari then lowered her head and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that for the moment, she was safe. Not only that, she had hid her real fear quite well under pressure. The truth was that the whole idea of being inside a rebel encampment, fearing for the moment when they would come to beat and rape her over and over again was a terrible fate to have to wait for.

---

Sometime later, a few kilo meters away, Class G's APC and the jeep could go no further into the woods. They would make too much noise and have a hard time moving through the dense trees and rough terrain. From here on out, it was on foot.

The students got out of the vehicles and gathered together in a circle. Now they had to find the location where Magari was last known to have been.

"Now that we're here… where do we begin?" Mischlitt asked.

Avan reached back to his rear pouch, "The Head Master gave us a map that shows Magari's planned route for her solo mission." said Avan, showing the map to the rest of the cadets as they crowded around even closer.

The given route wasn't charted too deeply into the woods. It was, however, a very long route that stretched for miles along the outskirts of the huge forest.

Zeri adjusted his glasses with his middle finger and groaned, "It'll take some time to search this whole route… and that's if she didn't venture off course and go further into the woods."

Avan nodded, "I know, but we have to try. Maybe if we-"

"EEEKK!" Cosette screeched as she unbuckled her belt and threw away her pouch packs, "S-s-something's inside my pouch! I could feel it moving around!"

Everyone looked and saw a little bulge sticking out from one of Cosette's pouches, and it really was moving. Avan slowly crept forward, picked up the pouch, opened it and peered inside.

"Jarde?" Avan asked aloud, "Buddy, what are you doing here? I thought I left you back at the academy?"

Avan then lifted Jarde out of the pouch and he began to chirp and whistle. "Alright, buddy, I think it's time to go back into the pouch. We can leave you back at the APC with-"

Suddenly, Jarde took off from Avans hand and tried to fly, but quickly fell to the ground onto his back. "Easy, boy! Don't hurt yourself!" Avan warned and he tried to pick Jarde up. But this time, Jarde actually pecked at his hand, broke free, and then tried to fly once more. This time he was successful. While he was in the air, he turned to the others and began chirping loudly, then took off to the southeast, headed into the woods.

"Strange bird…" Anisette said as she scratched her head.

Avan started to jog away from the group, following Jarde. He turned and yelled, "Come on, guys! Jarde was the last one with Magari! He must be leading us to where he last saw her!"

Welkin nodded, "Birds like Jarde are known for their extreme homing skills. I guarantee that he'll have no trouble leading us back to where he and Magari last were together."

The entire group then began to follow Avan as he looked up at the sky and continued to run after Jarde.

After a few minutes of flying, Jarde descended from the sky and into the trees, then came upon a familiar clearing. With so much pain coursing through his damaged wing, Jarde could barely stay afloat. Having finally made it back to square one with help this time, he dropped his wings and fell the rest of the way to the ground. His poor body came crashing to the ground and skidded to a stop, not far from the scene of the struggle between Magari and her Rebel captors.

Avan and the others then emerged from the bushes and brush that they were running through. A quick look around the area showed that there were once many people here and signs of a struggle. There were many disturbed bushes, flattened grass and broken branches all around. Avan also saw Jarde lying on his back, so he ran up to him and scooped him up.

"Good job, boy. Even though you were injured, you helped us find the exact spot that we were looking for!"

"Spread out! Search the area!" Welkin ordered.

Everyone then fanned out and began checking for any clues as to what happened here or where Magari or anyone else with her may have gone.

A short while into the search, Mischlitt laid her war hammer down and knelt on the ground to inspect something that had caught her eye. She then lifted her head and called for Zeri. He came running and knelt down as well, Mischlitt then showed him what she had collected from off the ground.

"Darcsen hair…" Mischlitt said after showing him the few long strands that she held in her fingertips.

Zeri nodded, "Hmm… There's no mistake when it comes to that color of hair."

"What was that?" Rene asked as she pushed her way past Zeri, nearly knocking him over and took the few strands from Mischlitt, "No… it can't be…"

"Don't worry, Rene," Mischlitt said calmly, "There's no blood or spent bullet cartridges lying around. So there wasn't a fight here, that's for certain."

"I found something!" Avan called out from some bushes he was kneeling in. He then stood up and held up two objects. One was a pair of binoculars, the other was a piece of bread.

Cosette, who was nearby, ran up to Avan and looked at what he had collected. Then she took the piece of bread and sniffed it, a rather strange action, then said, "This bread had to have been made by Alicia. No doubt about it."

Zeri walked up to them while scratching the back of his head, "How can you be so sure?"

Avan shook his head, "She eats it everyday and nearly buys out the bakery when she goes there. Believe me, she knows Alicia's bread when she smells it."

To their left, Anisette and Noel were kneeling against the ground, inspecting the many boot prints that were scattered around the area. One set was unique, the others were the all same.

"These are Lanseal combat boots," Noel pointed out to the smaller pair of footprints.

Anisette nodded, "These have to be rebel combat boots… It confirms what we were worrying about. Magari was definitely taken by the rebels."

"B-but why?" Nichol asked, "Don't the rebels usually kill any Darcsens that they come across…?"

"Nichol!" Franca barked, smacking him in the back of the head, then tilting her head towards Rene, who was standing close by.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Rene…" Nichol apologized.

Rene shook her head and walked away, worrying about all the time that they were wasting by trying to figure out the obvious. Magari was taken, and she was probably only spared because of her exquisite beauty. That was something that even Rene was able to figure out on her own. Even worse, she knew what the fate of someone as beautiful as her best friend would most likely be.

Just as she finished that thought, Alexis shouted to the group, "It's a scout!"

Everyone turned their heads and looked to where Alexis was pointing, and standing there was a lone Rebel with a rifle. The strange thing was that he looked petrified with fear, not something common among the Rebel army.

Rene then shouted, "He probably knows where Magari is! Let's take him prisoner!" The rebel then turned and ran into the woods as fast as he could. Rene dropped her lance, took out her pistol and began to give chase.

The others were about to follow, but Welkin ran to the front of the group and held up his hands, "Hang on, Class! He may not be alone! And this could be a trap!"

Rene looked back as she ran and saw the rest of the class hanging back. Shrilly, she implored them for all that she was worth, "Come on, guys! He's getting away! Hurry!"

Unable to hold himself in place, the naturally bold and hot-headed Avan took off and ran after Rene. Cosette and Zeri followed and tried to catch up. The rest of the class made sure that the area was secure before following.

Up ahead, the lone Rebel continued to run for his life. But his shoulders were constantly bumping into trees, causing him to stumble every few steps. He looked back and saw that he was being chased by a single, but very enraged, orange haired girl.

"Get back here!" Rene screamed as she nimbly weaved past trees like they were opponents in her way on the soccer field.

Suddenly, a branch came swinging out from behind a tree up ahead and Rene saw the Rebel get smacked so hard in the face by it that when his head snapped back, his helmet flew right off.

The Rebel was knocked onto his back, and he was seeing stars and his whole world spun in dizzying circles. As everything was slowly coming back into focus, he looked over and saw a black haired girl with a teal bowtie in her hair. She was snickering and holding a tree branch against her shoulder, her other hand on her hip.

"Where the hell did she come from?" the young rebel asked

Suddenly, the same orange haired girl who was chasing him, climbed on top of him, grabbed him by the front of his jacket. He was then pulled right nose to nose with her. She then screamed, "Where's Magari! Where is she!"

Avan, Cosette and Zeri arrived on the scene and saw Rene shaking the rebel as hard as she could.

"Please, don't hurt me! I'm a deserter!" the rebel soldier cried.

"You're lying! Tell us what you did with Magari!"

Avan and Cosette rushed forward and pried Rene off of the rebel soldier, who now appeared to be quite young and obviously quite frightened.

Zeri stepped between the prisoner and Rene, "Calm down, Rene. Let us take it from here."

"No! He must know what happened to Magari! He appeared at the exact spot where she was taken!"

Welkin and the other students then arrived on the scene and saw that the Rebel had been subdued. Welkin approached Zeri, Cosette and Avan and asked, "What happened here?"

Zeri looked up at Melissa and smiled, "We caught the lone rebel, thanks to Melissa. I didn't even see her leave our group, but she somehow managed to get ahead of us and take him out."

"How in the world did you disappear like that so easily?" Anisette asked in amazement.

"Tee hee, I wouldn't be a very good scout if I couldn't come and go unnoticed whenever I wanted to, now would I?" Melissa snickered.

Welkin then stepped forward, "Alright, let me talk to him."

He then knelt down in front of the Rebel soldier, while behind him, Cosette and Avan were each holding onto Rene's arms, trying to keep her away while Welkin interrogated their prisoner.

"What did you do with Magari! Tell us! Tell us NOW!" Rene screamed.

The Rebel trembled in fear and looked up at all the soldiers that were circled around him, glaring down at him. Welkin then put his hand on his shoulder, "Don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you, I promise." Welkin said reassuringly, "My name is Welkin Gunther and we're out here trying to find a squad mate. Her name's Magari and she's a Darcsen. Do you know who we're talking about now?"

The Rebel didn't respond right away, but he was looking at Welkin with surprise in his eyes, "No way… Welkin Gunther? Leader of Squad Seven during the last war?"

Welkin smiled, "Yes, the same."

The Rebel smiled, then Rene interrupted, "Where's Magari, Scumbag! Tell us or I swear I'll kick the living sh-"

Welkin looked back at Rene and held his hand up, "That's enough, Rene!" Welkin ordered, "We're not going to do anything of the sort."

Cosette patted Rene on the shoulder, "You've got to calm down, Rene. Let Welkin handle this."

Avan nodded, "He knows what he's doing. Trust his judgement."

Welkin then went back to speaking with the Rebel, "You said earlier that you were a deserter. What did you mean by that?"

The rebel shook his head and pulled out a tiny blue spiral pendant from around his neck and showed it to Welkin,

"I'm a Yggdist and I signed up to fight after a very moving speech given to us by General Audrey Gassenarl after she learned of Princess Cordelia's deception. She told us that like the princess, all Darcsen's were deceptive, and that their non-hostile outer appearance was all a lie, an act.

She told us that the Princess's confession, combined with the recent flow of Darcsen immigrants from the Empire… was the beginning of another Darcsen ruled Gallia. Audrey said that the Darcsens were coming here to take over Gallia and follow their Darcsen princess in ruling over the Non-Darcsen people once again.

Audrey predicted that the Darcsen's always had this intention in mind… that from the very beginning, they were just waiting… for the right moment to strike. It wasn't hard to believe that that moment was now. Gallia's military was nearly destroyed in the last war, so there wouldn't be much to stand in the Darcsens way from taking over.

I didn't believe it at first, but when the Darcsens started coming into Gallia… with wave after wave of fresh immigrants, and their numbers swelled into the tens of thousands… it seemed like it truly was an invasion force.

So, like many in my home town and of our faith, I took up arms to defend Gallia from once again becoming a Darcsen ruled nation."

Welkin nodded, "I see, go on."

"B-but… what I have seen on the field of battle isn't war… it's genocide," the Rebel said, "Each and every town and village we march into, there is never any resistance. Our army has slaughtered hundreds of Darcsens… Men, Women, Children, Elderly… they gun them down all the same.

If this really were an invasion force trying to take over Gallia, then they would be armed and shooting back. But they aren't and they never do. They stay true to their Darcsen beliefs of non-violence, even in the face of certain death. They're not evil and they're definitely not trying to take over Gallia… We were lied to!"

"And you just couldn't take it anymore?" Welkin asked.

The Rebel shook his head as tears were building up in his eyes, "No… I couldn't. I wanted out… but if I ever tried to desert and was captured… I'd be strung up and my body would be displayed as a warning to any others who wanted out too. But… I decided to try…

I had to wait… until I could find a moment when I could make my escape. That moment came when my unit left me behind to guard the encampment while they scouted ahead. When I was certain they were far enough away, I ran… I ran faster than I have ever run in my entire life. Then… I came upon you and your unit…"

Welkin tilted his head, "Why didn't you just surrender to us?"

The Rebels eyes shifted over to Rene, and she was glaring, her teeth bared as she breathed in and out angrily.

"I was about to… but then she came charging directly at me. Fearing for my life, I turned and ran… then I was caught. I guess I'm dead either way… whether by you or my own unit if they ever catch me."

Welkin nodded, "I believe your story…" said Welkin. He then stood up and offered his hand out to the Rebel. He took it and was helped to his feet. Welkin then held out his hand, "The rifle."

The Rebel handed his rifle over to Welkin, Welkin then smiled and moved his head to the side, "Go on, you're free to go."

"What!" The Rebel asked in disbelief.

"You can't be serious!" Rene shouted

"You're letting him go?" Cosette asked

"Welkin, are you sure that's a good idea?" Avan asked

Welkin didn't answer as he was still talking to the Rebel, "Head back the way we came and you'll come across a dirt road. Walk down it towards Lanseal Academy and turn yourself into the first Army or Lanseal forces that you come across, got it?"

"Y-you mean it… I can just go!" The Rebel asked.

Welkin nodded and smiled, "Keep safe as you go."

The Rebel started to run off as the Class G students moved to clear a path, but he suddenly stopped and rushed back to Welkin, "I… I'm not sure if my unit will still be at the same encampment, perhaps they may have moved after I ran away and continued scouting the area. But here, take this." The Rebel said as he dug out a map in a clear pouch and handed it to Welkin, "It's the last place we were camped. Maybe this Darcsen girl-"

"Her name's Magari!" Rene interrupted.

The Rebel nodded nervously, "Y-yeah, I-If Magari were captured by my unit, then that's where she most likely would have been taken."

Welkin patted the Rebel on the shoulder, "Thank you for this valuable information. Good luck on your way out of the forest."

The Rebel nodded, turned and ran away as fast as he could while laughing happily. Class G's soldiers all watched him leave, then turned to Welkin and looked at him, some with worry in their eyes.

"S-sir… W-what if he was lying?" Nichol asked.

Franca nodded, "He very well could have been. I've never met a good Rebel all throughout this civil war."

Noel was shaking slightly, "W-what if he goes back to his unit and leads them back to us?"

Welkin dusted off his pants, stood up and turned to the students, "He won't. He just wants out of this war."

Alexis shook her head disapprovingly, "I do not think it was wise to let him go off on his own. Perhaps we should have kept him with us, or left him back at the APC, under-guard."

Again, Welkin shook his head, "Don't worry. I promise; he won't report us."

"How can you be so sure?" Mischlitt asked.

Welkin closed his eyes and nodded to himself, "Because I've had an encounter like this before, during the last war. One that still haunts me to this day…

Alicia and I were out scouting out a path through the mountain forests, in order to find a safe route for our tank and soldiers to travel through. But we had to take shelter in a nearby cabin during a sudden snowstorm. As we spent the night there, alone and separated from the rest of the squad, an Imperial soldier suddenly entered the cabin and we were faced with an armed standoff.

After much deliberation and negotiations, we agreed to lower our weapons and share the shelter. But that was when we realized just how severely injured and scared the Imperial soldier really was.

As we attempted to treat him, he told us about how the Imperial army wasn't at all what he expected it to be and how he was forced into battle time and time again. Finally, after so much killing, watching his friends die in battle… it all became too much for him. One night he attempted to run away, but he was shot in the back by his own Imperial comrades, resulting in the injuries we discovered him with.

We both sympathized with him and wanted to help him get away, but… we weren't able to save him. He died of his wounds, but not before he told us how he was glad to have met us and told us his name, to remember him by… and I've never forgotten it…"

Now, nearly all of the Class G soldiers eyes were looking down at the ground sadly.

Avan nodded his head and asked, "What was his name?"

Welkin closed his eyes and sighed, "Mikhail… Mikhail Webber. That was his name."

Welkin then looked back and said, "I saw the same fear in that Rebel boys eyes. Heard the same desperation in his voice… That is why I believe he was telling the truth.

By helping this boy today… I got a chance to do what I couldn't do with Mikhail. I was able to help him safely get away, alive and well. Now he won't have to fight a war that he doesn't want to anymore."

Alexis nodded, "A very noble and admirable move, sir. I never would have thought to do the same thing…"

Avan grinned, "It's why he was the leader of Squad Seven! The greatest militia squad in the whole entire war! Ha-ha!"

Rene broke free of Avan and Cosette's grip and turned her back to everyone, "You may have just endangered Magari's life even more by letting him go!

What if he's caught by his own unit, interrogated and tells them about another Lanseal unit that he encountered out in the forest. One that is trying to rescue their Darcsen prisoner. They'll kill her before we can ever get to her, and it'll be all your fault! "

"Rene, Don't-" Avan started, but that was when Welkin brushed past him.

"It's alright. You've got to trust me, Rene. I know what I'm doing." Welkin said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

Rene smacked his hand away and turned to face him and shouted, "Shut up! I can't believe how relaxed you are when Magari is somewhere out there right now, frightened and alone… Who knows what those damn Rebels could be doing to her right now!"

"I know that, Rene. I'm just as worried about her as you are."

"No! You're not!" Rene shot back, "What makes you think you have any idea how I feel? It's so damn easy for you to say that, because you aren't as close to Magari as I am! She's been my friend since childhood!"

Avan stomped towards the two, "Hey! Rene! That's enough-" Avan started.

But Zeri held his arm out and stopped Avan in his tracks. Mischlitt also stood in front of Avan and placed her hand on his chest, keeping him back as well. She then said, "Wait. Don't interfere."

Rene continued with, "So don't tell me to calm down! Because someone I love is in great danger right now! You have Alicia, the love of your life and she's safe and sound back at the academy right now, right?

Maybe if she were out here and in Magari's position, maybe then I'd listen to you. Because then the most important person in your life would be in danger of dying!"

Avan started to move forward again, gritting his teeth. But Mischlitt held her hand firmly against his chest, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Wait. Just wait."

Welkin nodded, "I admit, if Alicia were in this position then I probably wouldn't feel so calm and collected right now.

But… I've already felt something much worse than this…" said Welkin.

He then reached down to his front breast pocket and dug something out and looked at it with such sad eyes. He then held it out to Rene. She took it, looked at it and instantly gasped upon seeing a younger Welkin dressed in civilian clothing with his arm around a small Darcsen girl wearing a green dress and shawl. She wore the shawl that had the Darcsen colors and pattern sown onto it with great pride.

They were both were smiling, both looked extremely close to one another, and their love for each other was clearly evident in this happy picture. But what shocked Rene the most, was that this small Darcsen girl in the picture bore a striking resemblance to Magari.

"Because the most important person in my life has already been taken from me…" Welkin continued with a cracking voice, full of sadness and pain.

Only some of the students like Cosette and Avan gasped upon hearing this. Zeri, Mischlitt and anyone else who knew more about certain events from the last war, already knew that Welkin had a younger Darcsen step-sister… who was killed in the fighting.

Avan now understood why Mischlitt was holding him back, this was something that Welkin needed to say directly to Rene. No one in the entire group could even begin to understand what Rene was feeling, but Welkin knew. He understood not only what it means to lose someone, but what it means to have a Darcsen girl as close to you as a sister would be.

Rene was still holding onto the picture as Welkin sighed and said, "Her name was Isara Gunther. She was my sister, my best friend and… the only family member that I had left.

She was fatally wounded after we had taken the Marberry shores fortress back from the Imperials. But she met her death with great courage, never showing any fear, other than having to leaving her big brother behind, knowing that he'd be alone once she was gone.

I held her in my arms as she died… There was nothing I could do to help her, nothing at all, except be there for her in her final moments."

Cosette was near the point of crying, so she took hold of Avans arm and held onto it. Zeri and Mischlitt looked at each other and shook their heads. Noel took her hat off and held it to her chest. Even Alexis and Anisette had a look of sadness on their face.

"So, Rene… You're not the only one who knows what it's like to lose somebody…"

That was when Welkin heard someone fall to the ground. A quick look over his shoulder showed Rene to be sitting on the forest floor while holding a hand cupped over her mouth. She already had tears flowing down her cheeks and she was releasing stifled sobs.

"Rene?" Welkin asked as he rushed up to her and knelt down next to her.

She removed her hand from her mouth, and took Welkin's hand, "I'm sorry!" she sobbed, "I didn't know… I didn't mean to-"

Welkin then hugged her head against his chest and rested his cheek on top of her head, "It's alright…" he said comfortingly while rocking her softly back and forth, letting her have a good cry. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Rene. I know how sad, angry and worried you must be feeling for Magari right now…"

Welkin blinked away some tears, "But we're going to get her back! I promise you; we'll find Magari and bring her home!"

---

An hour later, most of the cadets were huddled around a series of tiny burning fires, trying to keep warm now that the sun had set.

Avan, Zeri and Cosette sat around a small burning fire, small enough to not give off too much light, but still able to provide some comfortable level of warmth.

Avan looked over his shoulder, spotting Welkin and Rene sitting together, chatting quietly in front of another small fire.

"Wow… I had no idea that Welkin had a Darcsen step-sister." said Avan.

Cosette nodded, then looked over at Zeri, "But you seemed to know, right Zeri?"

Zeri chuckled and nodded his head, "About Isara Gunther? Of course I knew. She's famous amongst the Darcsen people. Not only for the fact that she was the pilot of the Edelweiss, but because she's the biological daughter of Theimer; Inventor of the Edelweiss, brilliant mechanic and weapons inventor.

His daughter Isara was so much like him; just as brilliant, just as skilled with a wrench and just as good at inventing things."

"If anyone knows what Rene is going through… it's Welkin." said Cosette.

Avan nodded, then some movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He and everyone else instinctively picked up their weapons and aimed them at the possible approaching threat.

Melissa and Lotte then appeared as soon as they entered the light of the fires, both seemed out of breath and had some sweat glistening on their faces and foreheads.

Lotte then approached Avan and saluted him, "Avan, sir! We… we…" Lotte panted.

"It's alright. Take your time." Avan said softly.

Melissa took over, "We found the rebel encampment. It was exactly where that deserter said it would be."

Avan was about to answer, but Welkin softly pushed past him, "How far from here?" he asked, seemingly taking charge.

"Less than a mile, sir. Our own encampment is seemingly right on their doorstep." Melissa continued.

Welkin nodded, "Take me there. I want to see it for myself, so I can plan the rescue mission accordingly."

As Class Chair, Avan was about to object, but he quickly remembered the conversation he had overheard between Alicia and Welkin. Along with hearing about Welkin's Darcsen step-sister that he was unable to save during the last war, and seeing how it still haunted him to this day. Knowing this, Avan had no trouble handing command of Class G over to Welkin.

"Lead the way." said Avan, he then turned to the rest of the class. "Wait here. We'll be back soon."

Together, Avan, Welkin, Zeri, Cosette and Melissa were about to set off. But before they could, Rene rushed up to the group and tugged on Welkin's arm. "I'm coming with you."

Welkin looked off to the side and thought for a moment, "Very well… But as long as you're with us, you'll do as I command… for both your safety and Magari's."

Rene took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Alright… I'll try my best."

"Good, then let's go!" said Welkin. He and his small group then headed off to scout out the Rebel encampment.

---

A short time later, Welkin and the others were slowly crawling through some tall grass on a small hill overlooking the fair sized rebel camp. There were about a dozen tents set up in a large square pattern. The entire camp was surrounded by barbed wire with wooden posts that looked to have been quickly pounded into the ground. Two machine gun emplacements were set up at either end of the camp, those being the entrance and exits. Worst of all, there had to be twenty or more soldiers inside. Though this was only the small Rebel vanguard force, it was still twice as large as Class G's current force.

Avan noticed Cosette trembling next to him, "W-we'll never be able to get in… it's too well guarded!"

Welkin meanwhile was scanning the base with his binoculars, "Not quite so… the enemy have no tanks, no heavy artillery or any other kind of heavy weapon support. It'll be tough, but if we plan this just right… we may be able to pull it off."

---

Meanwhile, down in the encampment, Magari was still struggling to break free from her bonds. Though her wrists were cut up from rubbing against the rough rope, she was close to pulling one hand out. The sound of the tent flap opening snapped her head forward again. And there stood the Rebel fencer leader. He removed his yellow helmet and threw it to the other side of the tent, also kicking a small folding table over.

"The traitor scum got away! We searched everywhere!" He roared. Then he turned to Magari and eyed her with near insatiable lust. "Oh, It's been a tough day… and I could use a release."

He then rushed forward and began to kiss her mouth, all the while Magari was struggling to pull her head away, trying hard to keep her mouth clamped shut. She whimpered in disgust. He tasted of sweat and strong drink… had he really been searching for the traitor, she wondered. If so, it wasn't while sober.

He held onto the back of her head tightly, pulling her forward, trying to force his wriggling tongue into her mouth. Which was a big mistake. As soon as it entered, Magari clamped down hard, biting into it and drawing blood.

The Fencer yelled in rage and pulled his tongue free and held his mouth as blood dripped to the ground.

"Woo Dark-hawed Bwitch!" He screamed, drawing his fist back and smacking her across the cheek with the back of his hand. Magari screamed as loud as she could after the blow.

---

So loud in fact that Welkin and the others on the nearby hill actually heard her high pitched shriek of terror. Seconds later in the camp below, some soldiers began to scurry around, some rushing to the source of the scream, located in the middle of the camp.

Hearing her best friend in such distress, Rene nearly lost all control of herself and was about to climb to her feet to rush to Magari's aid. But as she tried, she felt an enormous weight throw itself on top of her and pin her to the ground. A hand also clamped tightly around her mouth.

"Shh! Calm down, Rene." Welkin whispered into her ear, "I know it's hard but you've got to remain quiet, otherwise you'll give away our position. Then there'll be no chance to save Magari."

Avan joined in, "At least now we know that Magari is still alive, Rene. That means there's still a chance to save her."

Welkin nodded, "If for no on else, then do it for Magari, Rene."

Tears of anger and the helplessness of not being able to help her best friend streamed down Rene's face and over Welkin's hand.

---

Meanwhile, down in the Rebel encampment, the Rebel leader was no longer alone in his tent. Two other soldiers were now in there. One tending to the leaders badly cut tongue, the other waiting to deliver a message.

"We just received word from the main force, sir. They'll be here sometime tomorrow afternoon, sir. They want one last report of our findings in the surrounding area and whether it's still safe to move through."

The Rebel fencer took the bloody rag out of his mouth and tossed it aside in frustration. "What's there to tell?" He asked angrily, "How many times do we need to tell them that it's 'All Clear' from here!"

"Sorry, sir. Just telling you what I was ordered to deliver."

The leader shook his head, "Fine, I'll be right there."

The two soldiers saluted, then left the tent. Meanwhile, the leader was walking to the other side of his tent, he retrieved his helmet from off the ground and tucked it under his arm. He then held his chin as he looked down at his Darcsen prisoner, still tied to the main post of the tent and he smiled down at her.

She had a dark purple bruise on either cheek, the first blow only hurt her. The second blow semi-knocked her out and her head was slowly swaying from side to side as she moaned.

"You've still got some spunk left in you… even after we haven't fed you or anything." the leader teased, "Well… I'll just come back a little later. Maybe then you'll be too weak to resist."

With that, he ducked under the tent flap and left Magari in her dazed state and headed off.

---

Back on the hill, Zeri was hurriedly sketching the layout of the camp into a notepad. After some careful observations he was able to tell where Magari was located within, seeing as how that's where the scream came from, where the rebels rushed to, and the leader bearing the yellow helmet emerged from.

"Alright, I'm done here." said Zeri.

"Me too." said Avan, he had committed the layout to memory.

Welkin was still pinning Rene down, his hand still held firmly around her mouth. "I'm going to take my hand away… promise me you won't yell or anything?"

Rene nodded her head, then as promised, she kept quiet as Welkin moved his hand away.

Welkin then waved his head back, "Alright, let's go back." he instructed and everyone slowly crawled backwards through the tall grass and snuck quietly back to the others from Class G.

Not long after, Welkin and the others were back at the camp. But it was Zeri who led the briefing of what they found. Welkin was walking through the forest a short distance away. Sometimes he bent down, scooped up a handful of soil and let it sift through his fingers, then moved on. Other times he was looking up at the sky, the stars and the moon above. As if taking some kind of observations that only he himself knew about.

Avan and Cosette rushed over to Welkin, "Something on your mind, sir?" Avan asked.

Welkin tapped his chin for a few moments, "What kind of equipment did we bring along for this mission, besides our weapons and APC?"

"Our utility APC is loaded down with shovels, picks and other tools, sir. We didn't have a chance to offload it and refit from the previous mission." Cosette answered.

"Good, this is very good." said Welkin. He then walked back to the group and interrupted the briefing.

"Alright class, head back to the APC and offload all of the tools used for digging. Then I want half of you to break off into pairs and prepare to start digging holes.

I'll come over to your groups one by one and tell you how far out I want them spaced, and how deep and wide I want each groups hole to be.

The other half will start collecting branches, bushes and anything else we can cover the holes with-"

"You want us to dig holes!" Rene interrupted. "What about Magari! We can't waste time on such a ridiculous task!"

"Trust me, this is an essential part of the rescue mission." said Welkin reassuringly.

"But-" Rene started. But she stopped when a hand planted on her shoulder. She looked back and saw Mischlitt glaring at her.

"Listen to the Lieutenant, Rene. He knows how to use his numbers wisely. I for one trust Magari's life in his more than capable hands."

Zeri nodded, then turned to the others, "You heard the Lieutenant! Head back to the APC and bring the tools he requested, quickly!"

As the others did as they were told, Avan walked up to Welkin, leaned in and whispered. "So… what's the plan?"

Welkin turned and smiled, "Tell me, Do you know of a clever little hunter known as… 'The trap door' spider?"

Avan shook his head, "No… why?"

"If all goes well… then our numbers won't matter."

Hours later, dawn was approaching, and a very, very thick layer of fog was beginning to roll into the woods of Leanbluff. It was so thick that it made the current rebel patrol very difficult, even spooky.

Four rebels were walking in a line formation, the squad leader turned to his troops. "Eyes sharp, men! We're going to have to be extra vigilant today, given the current weather conditions."

The soldier trailing in the back groaned, "How are we supposed to find anything in this blasted fog."

The soldier next to him slapped him on the shoulder, "Relax, pal! A few more hours and we'll be joined by the rest of the main force. Then, we'll be able to retire to the rear and let the others handle the real work."

"Then let's wrap up this patrol, and quick. I'm itching to get back to camp and have a go at that beautiful dark-hair that we captured yesterday." said a younger scout.

"I thought for sure she was only a lookout for a much larger group. But we've yet to encounter any other Lanseal or regular army forces." said a shock trooper.

"Lanseal scouts, dead ahead!" the squad leader shouted while pointing to a young girl with a blue and red beret. A young girl with black hair and a teal bowtie in her hair was standing right next to her.

"Uh oh. RUN~!" shouted the girl with the beret. She dropped her mortar lance and ran. Her squad mate dropped her rifle, then turned and ran as fast as she could.

The shock trooper eagerly rubbed his hands together, "Great! More beautiful women that we can have some fun with. They're unarmed, so let's take them alive!"

The group of rebels then began to give chase, that was when the two girls split up and ran in opposite directions.

"Half of you follow the other girl, the rest of you are with me!" the leader ordered.

Two followed the black haired girl, the rest followed the beret wearing girl.

Meanwhile, Noel looked over her shoulder as she ran and smiled, "It's working."

She then looked forward and spotted her hiding place; a small hole in the ground, with a grey wool blanket draped over top, which had grass, dirt, and other forest floor coverings on top of it, providing excellent camouflage. This was all propped up by a stick. Noel then slide along the ground feet first, like she was sliding into second base, while knocking the branch aside and she completely disappeared. Now, with the blanket down and covering the hole, she blended in perfectly with the rest of the forest background.

Moments later, the two rebel soldiers entered the area. But, the girl they were after was gone and all was quiet once again.

The shock trooper walked ahead and looked around, barely missing stepping on top of Noel's hiding place. The scout that was with him was trembling as he swung his gun around and searched

"I-I think that we should go back, sir. There may be more out there."

"Just shut up and look! She can't have gone far! Maybe she went to the ground and- AAAHHH!" He and his squad mate screamed as their ankles were grabbed and pulled back hard, causing them to fall forward.

The shock trooper quickly looked back and saw a silver haired girl with a blue and white bowtie in her hair, along with a Darcsen girl wearing glasses holding onto his ankles. They had both emerged from a large hole in the ground with a camouflaged tarp covering it.

Opposite of the shock trooper, his squad mate was in the exact same predicament. But his ankles were being held by a brown haired girl and a brown haired boy with freckles, both had been hiding in hole covered by a camouflaged blanket or tarp as well.

Then, in perfect unison and with a mighty tug, the shock trooper and his squad mate were pulled into the separate holes. Their cries for help were quickly silenced as they disappeared under the camouflaged blankets and could no longer be distinguished with the rest of the surrounding forest.

Moments later, Anisette and Mischlitt emerged from their hiding place. Across from them, Nichol and Franca came out of their covered hole and replaced the camouflaged blanket back over the top, completely hiding the bodies from view.

Noel them stood up from her hiding place, "Great job, guys!" she praised, "That went perfectly."

Franca shook her head, "Trap door spider… How in the world did the lieutenant ever think up something like this."

"It wouldn't be the first time Welkin took an idea from nature and turned it into a brilliant strategy for use on a battlefield." Mischlitt said with admiration.

"Alright, time to get back to the group. I'm sure the Rebels will come to investigate their missing patrol sometime soon." Anisette said.

---

At the Rebel encampment a few minutes later, the sole surviving Rebel was spotted by the front entrance gunners. He was waving his hands wildly, and screaming like a mad man.

"Help~!" He cried, "The rest of my patrol is gone!"

The Rebel fencer leader approached the trembling young scout, "Quit your babbling and tell me what happened, boy!"

The younger scout shook his head, "I-I can't really explain it, sir! One moment we were all on patrol, the next minute we were chasing two Lanseal scouts. B-but I got separated from the others when I was ordered to search a designated area.

When I came back… the others were gone!"

"Gone?" asked the Fencer, "What do you mean by 'Gone', soldier? Come on! Give me proper details!"

"T-that's just it, sir…" said the scout, "I tried to go back and regroup with the others… But I couldn't find them! All I found… was this." He then held up a single grey helmet.

"That's all?"

The scout nodded, "Yes, sir. I never heard a single gunshot, couldn't find a drop of blood, a spent bullet cartridge or anything! I-it's like they just… vanished."

The fencer looked over to the other junior officers and nodded his head, then turned to the whole camp and shouted, "Prepare for battle! We're going out to find the source of these disappearances! Whoever's behind this, we'll find them and make them pay!"

A young shock trooper ran to the middle of the base and stepped up onto an overturned box, raised a bugle to his mouth and trumpeted out a call to action tune repeatedly. The base then went into a frenzy of activity. Soldiers were running to their tents to gather their weapons, armour and gear. The soldiers at the front and rear exits of the base were cocking back the action of their large machine guns and aiming them towards the foggy forests.

---

At the same time, all the noise and shouting from the soldiers had finally awoken Magari from her unconscious state. She gave her head a shake, then quickly remembered where she was and what was going on. Now that she saw that she was all alone again, she went back to working on trying to get free and escape while the base was preoccupied with other things. Her poor wrists were nearly rubbed raw, her eyes glistened with tears, but she fought through the pain and continued to try and pull one of her hands free.

---

Not long after, much of the base was emptied and the large force of Rebels were moving through the forest in a line of battle towards the last known location of the lost rebel patrol. A minute or two later they had arrived. But by now the fog was worse than it was in the morning, making it hard to see even a few meters in all directions. This spooked some of the younger soldiers as they continued to walk forward.

Suddenly, "GAAHH!" screamed the lead scout as he was struck multiple times by rifle fire and dropped to the ground, dead.

"Get down!" screamed the fencer leader, and all of the soldiers moved behind trees, or got low to the ground and looked up ahead. Though it was hard to see, the soldiers could make out multiple yellow muzzle flashes from a large patch of bushes and shrubs. They had found their attackers position.

Some of the Rebel scouts and shock troopers began to fire back at the enemy position. A braver shock trooper got up, ran while pulling the pin on a grenade and threw it with all his might towards the bushes. It exploded just in front of the bush and some of the firing from the enemy ceased.

This is strange, thought the Fencer. The firing from the enemy was wild, erratic and horribly aimed. Either their enemy were inexperienced in battle, or the fog was giving them the same amount of trouble with their aiming.

Whatever the case, the enemy was still firing at them and missing constantly. They were doing nothing more than rapidly exhausting their ammo supplies with such terrible aim. That made the Fencer smile, "Fix bayonets!" he ordered. Everyone quickly followed the order, and the Fencer got his large sword and shield ready for action.

Then, one by one, the muzzle flashes up ahead began to cease, and in a matter of seconds all was silent. The Fencer grinned, then shouted, "Charge!"

All of the soldiers yelled as they got up and began to charge across the open forest ground towards the enemy position up ahead. They must have still been in the process of reloading, because they weren't firing or doing anything to stop the full on charge.

"What the! AAHH!" screamed some of the soldiers on either side of the flanks as they fell into large covered pits and disappeared beneath the ground. At the same time, the soldiers in the middle, including the fencer leader, reached the spot where the muzzle flashes had originated.

But there were no enemy soldiers within the bushes, only rifles propped up on sticks with strings tied around their triggers. The long length of strings from the triggers led into a small, but now empty hole in the ground with a camouflaged blanket lying nearby. That was when the fencer leader realized it. Whoever was in that hole was completely shielded from all the return fire, even the grenade explosion as they pulled the triggers blindly… an ambush!

"Attack, Class G!" echoed a young mans voice throughout the foggy forest. The Fencer looked back and saw multiple soldiers spring forth from the ground, throwing blankets aside as they emerged from holes like gophers and started attacking.

One silver haired girl jumped up her hole and began to spray the whole area with machine gun fire as she laughed wildly. Another girl with a mortar lance stood up, aimed and fired into the middle of a bunched up group of soldiers, sending them flying when the round exploded.

"It's the Lanseal forces!" a Rebel scout shouted.

The Fencer roared, "Bloody cowards! What a dirty trick that was!"

One of his junior officers came running up to him, "Sir! We must pull back!"

The fencer cursed, and then looked around. He could only make out a small number of his once large force of twenty soldiers. But the Rebels stood no chance here. Before anyone could make out exactly where the Lanseal soldiers were attacking from, they ducked back down into their holes and others stood up from elsewhere and continued firing. Almost like a deadly game of 'whack-a-mole'.

"Back to the camp!" The fencer shouted, "All troops! Fall back!"

The Rebels turned and started to run back towards the camp, while all the Lanseal cadets emerged from their holes and began to cheer, both at the complete success of their clever ambush and at the sight of the fleeing Rebels.

A short distance away, Zeri popped out of his small hole and smiled, "Phase one complete… Let's hope phase two goes just as well." He said to Mischlitt who was with him. Zeri then cupped his hands against the side of his mouth, "Regroup! Make for the camp, but slowly! Let's give the others time to complete phase two!"

---

Back at the camp, the now panicky group of Rebels were finally coming into view from the gunners position. "Don't shoot!" the Fencer shouted, and the gunners lowered the barrel and let them run past and enter the camp.

The furious fencer threw his helmet to the ground, then turned to the others. "All forces! Be ready for the oncoming attack! I want mortar teams on the north entrance! Troops to take up position amongst the sandbags, and extra ammo for the gunners!"

"Yes, sir!" the small band of survivors shouted. There were only Eleven left, with the remaining eight that had stayed at the camp.

A small group of six soldiers were running back to the armoury to collect the mortar emplacements and shells. They entered and saw a lone crouching Rebel soldier at the grenade box, next to the fifty calibre machine gun rounds.

"What are you doing here?" the mortar officer asked.

The Rebel stood up, turned and saluted them, "Orders, sir! I was sent to gather extra ammunition for the machine gun emplacements, sir!" said in a strange voice.

A corporal looked at the short Rebel, "Aren't you a little short for a soldier?

The mortar officer turned to the Corporal, "Shut up! We've got to hurry and get set up before those Lanseal kids get here."

He then tuned back to the small Rebel soldier. "Very well. Carry on, soldier!" said the officer. They then moved past him and gathered the two mortar tubes, base plates and explosive shells and then exited the armoury tent.

Meanwhile, most of the soldiers were moving to the northern position, jumping into the small cut trenches and aiming their rifles and machine guns over the sandbag defences. The machine gunners pointed their barrels towards the forests and waited. Close by, the mortar crews were busy erecting their mortar tubes and laying out shells in firing order. "Be ready!" the fencer shouted.

On the other side of the camp, which was mostly abandoned, a single Rebel soldier ran up to the machine gun emplacement and set down two boxes of ammo. He then knelt down next to the two gunners.

"Alright, they'll be coming straight at us from this position! Be ready! Eyes forward, got it?" the soldier said.

"They won't get past us!" The gunner replied eagerly. The belt feeder nodded and held the belt out straight as he searched for targets along with the gunner.

"Good, and remember; eyes forward!" the soldier said as he slowly back up, "Eyes forward… eyes forward…"

He then turned and began to run as fast as he could away from the machine gun crew. The gunner and belt feeder looked back, and then down at the ground… where multiple grenade sticks were cooking on the ground, all of their cords pulled.

"Oh shi-" was all they both managed to scream, before all of the grenades exploded, completely obliterating the gun emplacement.

At the northern end of the camp, the fencer stood up and looked back after hearing a massive explosion go off. The other soldiers also turned, just in time to see a huge ball of black smoke and fire rise up into the air.

Immediately afterward, an even larger explosion shook the entire camp, coming from the armoury and ammo storage tent. And while their attention was focused on that area of the camp, another Rebel soldier pulled the cords on another large bundle of grenades, tossed them next to the pile of mortar shells and took off running into the middle of the camp.

One of the soldiers manning the mortar happened to look back and see bundle, he turned to the others, "Get dow-" But too late as the grenades exploded and destroyed both the machine gun and the mortars, along with their crews. The soldiers nearest to it were hit by the wall of fire and shrapnel. The blast wave took care of the others, throwing them to the ground.

The Fencer was dazed, and slowly he began to sit up, shaking his head as the ringing in his ears began to die down. He looked over at the burning wreckage from the destroyed machine gun and mortars. As his hearing returned, he could hear all of his soldiers moaning and groaning from the ground.

Before he could even give an order, he heard the sound of shouting and gunfire coming from the forest. He looked back and saw the Lanseal forces approaching, and he knew that they were the ones behind this sabotage.

"Fall back into the camp, men! Fall back! We've got no cover here!" The fencer ordered.

As the Fencer watched his soldiers run away in fear from the front entrance, he growled, "Damn it all."

He then followed his soldiers and they re-grouped in the middle of the camp, trying to set up boxes or any cover they could before the Lanseal forces entered the camp and overwhelmed them.

An idea then came to the fencer, "Hold them off here for as long as you can, men!" He ordered. He then turned with an evil grin and started towards his tent, which held their Darcsen prisoner. "If they're coming for you, girl… They're going to be sorely disappointed when they find you dead!"

---

Back at the Fencers tent, Magari had finally gotten one of her hands free from the pole. She quickly untied her other hand, then leaned forward to work on getting her feet free. But before she could do so, a lone Rebel with a machine gun ducked under the tent flap and looked at her.

Magari screamed, and tried to back away. The Rebel tossed aside his machine gun, ran up to Magari and cupped his hand over her mouth.

"No, no, no! Shh! Shh! Keep quiet, Magari!" The Rebel pleaded.

Magari froze, her eyes wide in surprise. That was when the Rebel took off his helmet and looked back down at Magari. And to her surprise… it was Welkin Gunther, disguised in a rebel uniform. He then knelt down and began to untie Magari's rope bound feet.

"Welkin! What are you-"

"No time for that!" Welkin said as he finished untying Magari's feet. "Let's get out of here while the Rebels are still confused and disorganized."

He then helped Magari to her feet, but before he could lead her out of the tent, she broke free from his grip unexpectedly, "Wait! There's something I need to get!" She then moved to collect her belt and pouch packs from off the nearby table.

Welkin looked back, "Come on, Magari! There's no time to- Oof!" Welkin then fell forward, knocked out cold. Magari gasped as she looked down at Welkin, then looked back up. To her horror, she spotted the Rebel fencer standing there. He was holding his sword backwards, and there was some blood on the pommel of his sword handle.

"Surprised to see me?" He asked with a grin, "Surely you didn't think I was going to let your friends get you out of here alive, did you?"

Magari backed up, but soon bumped into some large crates, now there was no where else to go.

The Fencer raised his sword up and pointed the tip at Magari's chest, "No ones going to save you now!"

Suddenly, another Rebel soldier came charging into the tent tackled the fencer from behind. They both flew forward, and Magari dove out of the way at the last second, just as they crashed into the main support post for the tent and knocked it over. The whole tent then folded inward and collapsed on top of everyone inside, engulfing them in darkness.

Magari quickly crawled on her stomach and tried to find a way out. Despite the darkness, she could hear sounds of a fight or struggle between her and her new saviour. As Magari continued to crawl, she came across a body and quickly knew that it had to be Welkin. Rather than continue on, she pulled his body close and held onto him, making it her mission to protect him.

A moment later, the huge fencer roared and was able to lift the whole tent as he stood up, and then threw it aside. Magari could now see what the situation inside the base was. Many of the tents were burning, hand to hand fighting was going on all around the base between her fellow classmates and the remaining Rebel forces. She also saw the face of her saviour; it was Rene, also wearing a Rebel uniform, but her helmet was removed now.

The Fencer retrieved his sword from off the ground, but left his shield where it was. Rene looked around and next to her foot, she found one of the long thick metal support poles for the tent. She picked it up and held it like a staff. She then placed herself a short distance in front of Magari and Welkin.

"I will kill you if you touch her!" She screamed.

"I'd like to see you try!" The Fencer yelled as he charged forward and performed a powerful overhead swing. Rene sidestepped out of the way, just in time to avoid being cut in half. Rene then swung her pole at the Rebel and hit him hard in the back. He cursed, then charged at Rene and their intense fight began.

The Rebel swung his sword, cutting through the air repeatedly. Thankfully, most of the cuts were blocked by Rene's makeshift staff weapon. All the while, Magari was holding Welkin's head in her lap and watching her best friend with awe. She had never seen Rene fight with such intensity to defend her before now.

Mid-way through the fight, the Fencer turned his hips and side swung at Rene, putting all his massive weight and strength into the swing. Rene raised the metal pole up in front of her and blocked with the middle of the shaft. This time, however, the swing was so hard from the muscular fencer, that she was knocked off her feet and fell onto her back. The Rebel ran up to Rene while roaring and began to perform overhead swings and chops at her downed form. Rene held the pole up and blocked some blows, and was able to deflect others, but knew she wouldn't be able to do so for long.

As the Fencer brought the sword overhead for another chop, Rene thrust the pole forward, right into the side of his knee, collapsing his leg. He roared, dropped his sword and tried to punch her. But Rene thrust the pole forward and smacked the fencer in the face with the section of pole held between her two hands. This only enraged him even more, so he grabbed her hands that were holding the pole, trapping them. He then pulled Rene forward, slamming her poor face into his metal helmet multiple times in a series of sickening head-butts.

Her grip around the pole weakened as her eyes rolled up into her head, and a stream of blood flowed down her forehead from a deep, gruesome gash. Once the fencer released his tight grip around her trapped hands, she fell onto her back and blacked out. The Fencer smiled, removed his slightly dented helmet and threw it aside. He then stood up, walked over to his sword and picked it up. He then loomed over Rene's downed figure and aimed the tip of his sword over her brave heart. He then heard a scream.

He looked over and saw the pretty Darcsen girl looking at him with horror in her eyes, he grinned evilly, "You get to watch her die!"

Just as the fencer raised his sword up, the sound of another girl screaming angrily caught his attention. He looked to his left and spotted an armoured tech Darcsen girl with glasses, charging at him.

"Mischlitt!" Magari yelled.

"Bah, another Dark-haired bitch!" The Fencer said in disgust. He ignored the pretty Darcsen and his previous attacker and charged towards the other Darcsen girl with glasses, yelling as he ran at her.

Half-way through his charge, he dropped his sword and continued on. And just when Mischlitt swung her large hammer at him, he caught it by the shaft halfway through the swing and stopped it dead cold with his massive strength. He then pulled Mischlitt forward and slammed his forehead into the bridge of her nose and dazed her. He then pulled her shield from her arm and performed an overhead smash, just as Mischlitt snapped out of her daze and attempted to cover her head with her hands and arms. Once she was slammed into the ground, he brought the whole shield over his head and threw it on top of her downed body in one final despicable act.

"Mischlitt! No!" Magari screamed as she jumped up onto the Fencers back.

"Get off me, Dark-hair!" The Fencer roared as he spun around in circles. But Magari held on tight, then bit into his ear as hard as she could, all while growling. The Fencer screamed in pain, then backed up and slammed Magari into a pile of boxes behind them. Magari groaned in pain as the air was knocked clean out of her. Her grip around his throat weakened slightly

He stepped forward a few steps, then threw all his weight back and slammed her into the pile of boxes once again. This time, her arms that were once wrapped around his neck, had let go. He grabbed both of her hands and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her even harder into the ground this time.

Magari moaned and rolled over onto her stomach. The Fencer walked up to her and kicked her right in the stomach, sending her rolling a short distance away. "Damn, Dark-hair!" He screamed as he kicked her again, sending her rolling once more. "If I had known that you'd cause this much of a calamity, I'd have killed you the moment I first saw you!"

Nearby, "No… Magari… No…" Mischlitt said weakly, her hand was extended out towards Magari. As beat up as she was, Mischlitt still tried to crawl towards Magari and help her. She was also getting very close to her war hammer now. Just a few more inches and she'd have her weapon back in her hands.

The Fencer shook his head, "Stubborn dark-hairs…". He then walked towards Mischlitt and just as her hand wrapped around the shaft of her war hammer, the fencer stepped on top of it. Mischlitt gritted her teeth and groaned painfully. The Fencer then wound up and kicked her right across the face, sending her already broken glasses flying, as well as knocking her out cold.

The Fencer quickly picked up Mischlitt's large war hammer and started back towards Magari, gripping it tightly. Magari was weak and so very sore by now, she simply rolled over onto her back and didn't have the strength to fight or defend herself anymore. The Fencer then looked down at her and growled, "I'm going to enjoy smashing your greasy head in!"

But just as he brought the hammer back, he could hear another girl screaming, coming from directly behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the same orange haired girl back on her feet, pole back in her hands as well. She then body checked him, hockey style, right in the middle of his back. He flew forward and crashed into an already fiercely burning tent a short distance ahead and fell into it.

He screamed loudly as he was being burned alive. His body thrashed wildly, his arms flew all over the place. The other half of the burning tent then fell inward and pinned him down as he continued to thrash and burn.

Magari looked away, as did Rene. It was a gruesome sight, one they didn't want to watch anymore, not even for someone as evil as he was. Then, moments later, all of his screams stopped and his body became still. Rene sighed heavily as she realized that the fighting was either over or dying down, both here and all over the base.

Rene then let go of her pole weapon and it fell to the ground with a clang. She leaned forward slightly and panted in pure exhaustion. Her breath was visible in the cool morning air. Sweat was steaming off of her orange air and the rest of her body as she looked around at the flaming rebel base in disbelief. A few hours ago, from her observation point at the nearby hill, she'd never have believed that it was even possible to take this base with so few soldiers. But somehow… they did.

Slowly, Rene turned to Magari and looked at her.

"Magari…" she said softly. She then started to walk towards her best friend.

Magari looked up at Rene with relief and joy in her eyes. But, in the blink of an eye, her expression changed to one of pure horror. "RENE!" Magari screamed as she pointed to something behind her best friend.

Rene turned with wide eyes and saw the most horrible sight she could ever expect to see; The fencer was back on his feet, his whole body still engulfed in flame. His sword was back in his hands and held over his head as he roared in extreme anger and charged at Rene.

Rene looked all around for a weapon, and found another pole, though this one was much thinner and lighter. She bent down and picked it up, bringing it up over her head to defend herself. She managed to successfully block the attack, but the once straight pole was instantly bent into a 'V' shape by the massive hit. Thankfully, the sharp blade stopped just an inch from Rene's face and she fell onto her back with the bent pole still in her hands.

The Fencer roared like a wild beast, then brought the sword back overhead for one final killing swoop. Rene's protective instincts took over and she rolled over and threw herself on top of Magari in a last desperate attempt to protect her best friend by shielding her body with her own. Completely willing to sacrifice her own life to save her best friend's, without even a second thought.

A brightly burning flare round then struck the fencer right in his open, roaring mouth and became lodged in there as it burned fiercely. The Fencer let go of his sword and grasped his throat as the force of the blow threw him back and he landed once again in the burning fire of the tent. This time, he didn't get back up.

Rene and Magari could hardly believe what had just happened, so they looked back and saw Welkin in a sitting position with a flare gun in his hand. The end of the barrel was smoking, it was him who had saved the two of them. He then dropped the gun and fell onto his back, closed his eyes and exhaled deeply in relief.

"It's over…" He said aloud.

Magari and Rene also breathed a sigh of relief in unison. Magari fell back and rested her head against the ground. Rene fell forward and rested her head against Magari's chest. And both remained quiet for a moment or two, then Rene asked, "Why… Tell me why…"

"What?" Magari asked as she raised her head.

Rene then looked up at Magari with tears glistening in her emerald green eyes. "Why didn't you take me with you… I would have gone anywhere with you, you must have know that, Magari!"

"I'm sorry, Rene." Magari said as she felt tears start to sting her eyes as well, "I should have-"|

But she didn't have time to finish as Rene crawled forward and was now nose to nose with Magari as she lay on top of her and looked deep into her eyes. She then caressed Magari's bruised cheek, "You're my best friend… You are everything to me, Magari… Everything!" Rene said as she continued to stroke Magari's cheek.

Two tear drops then landed on Magari's cheek and streamed down, leaving visible streaks. "If anything ever happened to you… I don't know what I'd do…" Rene sobbed.

Magari placed her hand around the back of Rene's neck and pulled her forward, kissing her on the cheek, then embracing her into a hug as they cried hard against each others shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Rene! I'll never leave you behind again!"

---

Meanwhile, all over the base, the fighting had stopped. All the Rebels were either dead or had retreated into the forest, alone or in pairs. The cadets of Class G were walking around the base, searching for any stragglers or regrouping with their friends.

Avan, Cosette and Zeri walked together through the base and couldn't believe that it was taken so easily and with their few numbers. The Lieutenant truly was a master strategist. And this sense of accomplishment that they were feeling must have been the same that his old squad felt in the last war, after a plan had worked out so well.

"You know… those colors kind of suit you, Avan." Cosette teased as she looked at Avan, still dressed in a Rebel uniform.

Avan rolled his eyes, "I can't wait to get this thing off! Still… it was quite exhilarating being among the enemy and not even being noticed."

Just then, Melissa and Lotte rushed up to the group. "Sir! Look at what we found in one of the tents!" Lotte said excitedly as she held up a map and papers with Rebel radio frequencies, along with other valuable information.

"These show the exact path that the Rebel main force will take when they make their push north. As well as their strength, numbers and other crucial information that we can use to plan our defence perfectly." Melissa added.

Avan smiled and held up a hand, "All in good time, Melissa." He then pointed up ahead and they saw Rene and Magari in a loving embrace. "I've got to tell the others! See to the injured, Cosette!"

"Right away!" Cosette said with a laugh.

---

Avan then ran to the middle of the encampment, leapt up onto a large crate and shouted, "Magari's alive, guys! We did it!"

Everyone raised their weapons up and cheered or clapped. Friends hugged each other and congratulated one another. Most of all, there were a few members in the squad who were celebrating their own achievements; Melissa had successfully protected Zeri from harm all throughout the entire mission, everything else came second. Lotte was going to get her first major scoop, after witnessing an amazing victory for class G, despite the enormous amount of odds and obstacles they had to face. Anisette got to see, first hand, that all of her sisters stories about Welkin Gunther weren't exaggerated, no matter how impossible they seemed in the past. He really was all that he was rumoured to be, and more. Alexis learned so much from Welkin, not just how to fight and lead, but how to be compassionate, patient, brilliant, brave and enduring in such difficult times, even in war times.

---

Not long after, the others joined Avan as he rushed back to Magari's side. They arrived to find Zeri tending to Mischlitt, Rene was taking care of Magari and Cosette was off to the side with Welkin, tending to the wound on the back of his head.

Avan walked up to Magari and gave a signature chuckle, "We're all so glad that you're safe, Magari! You really had us worried there for a moment or two!"

"I'm sorry… for all the trouble I caused…" Magari said as she bowed her head.

Zeri shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Magari. You know that if you're ever in trouble, we'll always come and help you out. That includes if you want to ask any of us to accompany you on one of your outings next time."

Avan nodded, "Feel free to ask me! I'm always up for an outing away from the academy! Ha-ha!"

Zeri smiled, "And I!"

Cosette joined in, "I as well!"

"Aye! Absolutely! Anytime!" The others shouted.

Magari smiled brightly, "Thank you… all of you…" then she asked, "I'm curious… How in the world did you ever manage to find me? Even I had no clue as to where I was in this huge forest!"

Before anyone could answer, a bird chirped loudly from the treetops. Everyone looked up and saw a small brown bird circling over head.

"Jarde!" Magari said happily. He then flew down and landed perfectly on Magari's finger just as she held it out. He then chirped and cooed happily as he looked at Magari. She brought her hand close to her face and he nuzzled her cheek and forehead as she giggled.

Cosette was a little bit shocked, "Avan! How did he-"

"Jarde's always been a quick healer!" Avan said with a chuckle, "Nothing keeps this guy down… Well, not for long anyhow!"

"You can thank Jarde! He brought something back to the academy, something that helped Rene know immediately that you were in trouble." Zeri added happily.

"Really?" Magari asked in bewilderment.

Cosette nodded and reached to her rear pouch and dug around for something as she walked towards Magari. "He brought us… this!" Cosette said as she showed Magari her beloved hair braid with the Darcsen pattern sown onto it.

"Oh… thank you! I feared that I had lost this forever!"

Avan chuckled, "Nope, Jarde made sure you'd get it back!"

Zeri grinned and shook his head, "He's a far smarter bird than I ever dared to believe."

Magari then tickled Jarde's belly with her finger, "Thank you, Jarde! I'm going to feed you till your big and fat for this!"

Avan scratched the back of his head nervously, "Yeah… I still need him to be able to fly me messages back and forth to my mom, you know."

Welkin approached the group as they all laughed out loud at Avan's comment, "It's so good to see you safe and sound, Magari." said Welkin with a smile.

"Welkin contributed to much of our victory. You should have seen all that he did to get us here!" Avan said.

Welkin held up a hand, "You'll hear it all later, I promise. But for now, let's return to the academy and tell the others the good news and plan our defence for the upcoming Rebel advancement across our border." said Welkin, he then bent down next to Magari, "Can you walk?"

"I think so… But I'm a little weak, both from the fighting and not being fed during my time in captivity… So maybe I should-". Before she could finish her sentence, Welkin scooped her up and cradled her in his arms as he smiled down at her.

"You just rest. I'll carry you back, if you don't mind." Welkin said to both Magari and Rene. Rene smiled and nodded, Magari blushed brightly and then nodded as well.

Welkin then led the group, as they walked Magari tugged on his jacket. "Welkin… I… have something I want to show you…" she said as she dug into her right pouch and retrieved a notebook and showed it to him. "I collected so much information on the research assignment that you gave me, Welkin. I hope you'll… be pleased with what I found. I wanted… so very much to… make you proud of me…'

Welkin smiled, "I am, Magari. More than you will ever know." said Welkin, "I heard how you acted so bravely to protect me when I was knocked unconscious…"

"Of course… I care about you… so very much, Welkin." Magari said nervously and while blushing.

Welkin bent his head down and tapped his forehead softly against Magari's, an affectionate gesture which he used to do with his Darcsen step-sister Isara. "I feel the same way…"

Magari swallowed hard, then held onto Welkin's jacket as she looked up at him, "I… was wondering, Welkin. Would it be alright… if I came over more often than our twice weekly tutoring sessions?" she asked while looking off to the side. She then looked up at him with rosy red cheeks, "And not just for lessons… But to talk, visit and do other things with both you and Alicia…"

Welkin blinked away some tears that were welling up in his eyes, "I would like that… I truly would, Magari."

"Thank you… Welkin…" Magari said tiredly. She then nuzzled her head against his warm chest and closed her eyes, utterly at peace and able to fall asleep in his strong, caring arms.

Welkin looked down at Magari and was overcome with emotion as tears fell from his eyes. He had done it, he had done what he couldn't do for his little sister over two years ago… He had saved Magari from suffering the same fate and losing someone just as precious to him.

Then, something compelled him to look up towards a nearby hill. He turned and looked up, and standing there was his sister, Isara Gunther. She hadn't aged a day or changed the slightest in appearance since her death at age sixteen. She was still dressed in her militia uniform and Darcsen shawl, the last outfit Welkin last saw her with when she was still alive.

As she silently stood on the hilltop, looking down at Welkin, she was slightly transparent in the morning light and seemingly glowing. Finally, she cupped her hands together in front of her chest, smiled brightly and nodded her head. Though she didn't say a word, Welkin knew that she was also happy that her big brother was able to gain some inner peace with himself after finally being able to save someone he cared for as deeply as her. She then turned and began to slowly fade away with each step she took, until she disappeared in a beautiful sea of glitter and sparkles just as the sunlight broke through a layer of morning clouds.

THE END