Last time we left off with Dalka having healed Havoc, and in the process of returning to her company. Now, we continue.

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I messed up my jacket some more. It was already wrinkled and dirty, covered in food and dirt stains, so there wasn't much I could do to it. Still, I tried. It had taken me a while to make my hair look like I hadn't re-braided it or cleaned it in three weeks, and Genz and I had both taken the time to smear mud, dirt, and then made it look like we'd had our heads thrown in buckets of water. The look had taken nearly an hour, in which time Genz had found someone to give him a black eye, and managed to make his Mohawk look like a drooping Mohawk. After one final smearing of mud on my coat, Genz and I walked out of the 'enemy camp', down the main street and into the waiting and worried arms of our friends.

We reported to Sou, who made Byan take photographical evidence (Personally I just think he did it for blackmail), and told him; Yes the Rebels fed and watered us, No we never saw where we were being held, No they only gave Genz a black eye because he tried to escape, No we were not tortured, Yes the Rebels were very civilized. By the time we were finished Sou had a report ready to send to Central about where we'd been, and why we'd been missing for the last three weeks.

When we finished in the command tent we took turns having cold showers. During the trip back I had been willing to talk to Genz about anything but how I'd fixed Havoc, except to tell him I wasn't willing to do it ever again. Believe me, he tried too, asked me every way he could think of. He even sat through an hour long explanation about how the spine worked and what had happened to Havoc's. I never told him anything about the night of the transmutation. The one time he pressed I told him, I'd rather have Havoc think his recovery was a miracle than tell him what really happened.

Supper in the mess tent was a bright affair that night, I spent a lot of time explaining to Jacob, Lam, Ami and Byan that I never really left the hospital so I didn't have any souvenirs for them. That night after dinner I asked Windchester to bring his violin and help me with something. I transmuted a truck into a piano and together we played just about every song we both knew. Everyone off duty joined us, listening. At one point Jacob got Genz just drunk enough to join him in a few, less than manly, off key ballads, that sounded a bit like drinking songs coming from them. Lam asked me to finish up the night with a calming song. I chose the one I'd sung for Havoc in the Hospital. Half way through it I noticed a few rebels just far enough away that they could still hear the music. I smiled, it was a good sign.

About three weeks after Genz and I got back the Rebels surrendered. We'd been having weekly talent nights with them, and the fighting had stopped for the most part. Quietly Sou, the rebel leader, and myself had been working on a peace treaty. By the time they surrendered Sou had worked it out so that the worst the rebels and natives got was heavy patrolling and taxes, not to mention their land now belonged to the government. I didn't think it was highly fair, but it was better than the lot of them going to jail for the rest of their lives. A week after they'd surrendered, the our entire company was transferred to south Headquarters, because of some city called Leor. It was there that I saw Havoc again for the first time in a month.

I saw him, but I doubt he saw me. He was smoking a cigarette as Ami, Lam, Jacob and I were walking to lunch. I sighed at him but didn't stop. He had a goofy look on his face and I was appalled at how quickly he'd picked the habit back up. In the week I'd been with him, I'd gotten him to cut back to a single nicotine stick every two days. Now I could tell by the bulge in his coat pocket he was smoking at least half a packet a day.

The day the surveillance balloon went up, so did I. I transmuted my wings on and flew high circles around the city, with binoculars, a map, and pencil. I ended up with more information than the Balloon pilot but I only shared it with my company. The next day the leader for the southern Headquarters ordered us to attack the city. I told Sou that the plan was bad, and that if we entered the city we'd all die. He ordered us to stay outside the city, and when that transmutation circle went up, we were the only whole company that survived. Sou was demoted for disobeying orders, from whatever rank the high ups had given him for the Rebel surrender.

After helping to clean that mess up we were transferred again. This time we all went up to central for evaluation. We were there for two weeks, just long enough for all of us to get a quick physical and mental check up (spent as much time as I could with Harry, Gracia and Elysia). Then we were sent north.

The new commander was nothing like Sou, even though Sou worked under him. The first thing the man did was break me away from Genz and the others and put me on a team that had trained to work with Alchemists. It didn't turn out well.

I'd been with my new team a week. Most of them I didn't know that well. My Big brother was a slim kid not much older than me, and he talked too much. I couldn't remember his name to save my life and other than his low weight he had one of those faces that was so common you wouldn't remember it very well. The leader of our group was an older Major, with graying hair. I never knew his name.

My team had been sent out to escort an important shipment to the front lines and then take mail and letters back to the headquarters. It was the middle of winter, so there was deep snow, and we had to use dog sled teams and skies. It was a good day for traveling, clear skies that made the snow bright. In the forest it was near perfect light. I could see nearly every detail in the trees. This morning I'd transmuted myself a pair of sunglasses, out of my goggles, and was wearing them. They were lighter then the heavy glass goggles the rest of the team wore.

I was different than the rest of my group. Over my layered uniform I wore a molted white coat with a warm fur lining, I remembered about layering due to all the survival shows Samuel had loved. I nearly blended in with the surroundings, whereas my team looked like a set of blue targets. Each of them had their regulation royal blue coats that fell just past their knees. They were exactly the same as mine, except I'd transmuted the color to my blanket, the blanket was now somewhere between royal blue and dark blue. I'd learned, since arriving, how to transmute my wings so they went through my clothes and coat.

I tightened my hood and scarf against the cold, my fur lined gloves making two dark spots in my white. My new big brother bumped me lightly to keep up. He reached up and pulled his scarf below his chin, "Cold isn't it?"

I nodded, wishing the other Major had let me keep a rifle. I felt strange without the weight that rested on the boy's shoulders. I picked up my pace a little coming even with one of the lead sled dogs. He pulled at his harness a little more, and I reached out stroking his muzzle, calming him.

"How do you do that?" My big brother said, leaning closer to me, his breath coming out in foggy bursts. "I mean the dogs. They won't let anyone but their handlers touch them, but you come and they herd around you."

I shrugged.

My big brother chuckled, "Maybe you're part animal. That's why you connect with them?"

I shrugged again.

"Hesperus!" The Major barked.

I nodded to my brother and picked up my pace even more, until I was even with him. I threw him a half hearted salute, more intent on my movements than him, and then skied next to him for a while.

He looked at me, his eyes invisible in the dark red glass goggles, "You know that coat is against regulations?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, and spoke through the scarf, "But it's safer than wearing that blue. That's like wearing an 'Oh shot me please' outfit, especially in this snow."

The older man snorted, "Alright, you can wear it. Listen, the next platoon is suppose to be somewhere around here. Go up and look for them," He ordered.

I sighed, but nodded and knelt down to pull off my skies. My brother was next to me by the time I'd untied them. He took the skies and poles and went to tie them to a sled. I transmuted my wings on and took off. I had to jump from branch to branch to get above the tree line. As soon as I was twenty feet above the tree line I realized I wouldn't be able to see anything from my proper height so I was forced to fly just above the trees. After a few minutes the forest tapered off and I was flying over a large clearing.

Out over the sloping snow covered hills it looked like a desert of white sand. I was taken back by the image it was so familiar. I was circling the clearing when I heard the gunshots.

Pain laced through my right wing, right down to my shoulder. I started dropping like a stone. It hurt to beat my right wing, I ended up using my left to try and slow my descent. I still hit the ground like a falling ship, leaving a rut in the snow where I'd been dragged and then churned up more snow leaving blood from my wing as I continued to roll.

I noticed this as I stood up slowly. I didn't remember making the rut or rolling, but my body did. My shoulder and neck hurt from skidding, and my wing was completely mangled. The gunfire had hit one of the joints in the wing and the fall had further broken the bones. I wouldn't be able to pull the wings back in until I fixed it, and I couldn't fix it now as the sounds of a gunfight got closer to me. The transmutation would draw too much attention.

I pulled one of my handguns, Lam had given me two for my birthday. Unlike my rifle I'd been allowed to keep them, and my sword was still strapped to my side. Carefully I waded through the snow, and hiding in a ring of bushes I watched. My team killed most of the enemy. The dogs were anchored in place, half of them dead, and what remained of my team hid behind the sleds, firing at the half hidden enemy. There were only three of my team left, one called out to another, asking were I was. The other called back that he'd seen me get hit and fall, then he jerked oddly and the snow was covered with his blood and other things, I'd rather not know what they were.

Slowly I raised my gun and pointed it. A moment later I knew what it felt like to watch someone fall by my bullet. My shot caused havoc among the enemy, it gave the two other members of my team a chance to take out all but one, before they both fell. The last man, the last enemy had a wound, but once he'd slipped into the brush I lost sight of him. I holstered my gun and pulled my sword and one of my knives.

I backed away from the bush, trying to ignore the pain in my wing. I never expected the man to come out of nowhere. He jumped for me. I raised my sword in time to meet his. He hit like a ton of bricks sending me rolling again. I came up and screamed, my entire right side felt like it was on fire. I never thought I'd be able to move it again. The man backed off for a moment and as we took in the sight of the other. I saw the crimson on his white coat, and the attention someone had paid to make sure his clothes fit him.

The pause was short though and he attacked again. Something took over my movements. I stepped back from him, using his momentum to send him past me. When he turned and came at me again I guided our swords into the ground, and placed my knife into his rib cage.

The feeling of the blade going into mortal flesh woke me from whatever trance I'd been in. The man coughed and choked on my shoulder. "Easy," I cooed to him as I helped him to the ground, "Easy."

I pulled open his coat thinking to help him, but the man stopped me, holding my hand in place, "You… would save… the man who… shot you?" He gasped, "War… is not this… way… You must… fight… or die."

"I would have no one die," I told him, trying to pull out of his grasp and open his coat.

"No…" He reassured me, "I will… die… this day… And you… the victor… will live." He pulled a short knife from his sleeve and buried it in his neck.

I felt myself shake as his chest rose once more then just stopped. His eyes were open and looking straight up, but they did not see. I backed up from him on my hands and feet, until I found my back against a tree. My gaze went up looking to the clear, blue sky before my world went dark, and the cold took me.

And with that, I'm going to leave you. One of my traditional Cliff hangers. You people better review if you want that next chapter to go up any time soon.