The advance of Crow meant that Laura couldn't watch Rean fly away like she so desperately wanted to, but she and everyone else clearly heard his cries as Valimar departed from the battlefield. Those pleas to stay tore at her heartstrings and would haunt her for many days to come. She could understand it though, as being forced to flee from a battlefield while leaving so many dear friends behind... It was something she didn't even want to think about.
But while she could understand his desire to stay, rationally she knew his retreat was the correct decision to make. This battle was lost, but as long as Rean and his mysterious knight survived they could recover and continue the fight at a later date. And just knowing that he was safe felt like the removal of a great burden from her shoulders.
Of course none of that helped them in that moment as they were left alone against an enemy far more powerful than the Spiegel that Scarlet so easily crushed them with. At least Rean had bought them the time to recover, but it was still a seemingly hopeless situation. They were tired, down a member, and had no plan at all.
"This is gonna suck, isn't it?" Fie muttered from her position right next to the swordswoman.
"It is..." She agreed while taking her stance. "...but we have to fight if we wish to keep our promises." They had told Rean that they were going to protect the others and return to his side. Falling in battle here would break those promises.
The quiet former jaeger allowed a ghost of a smile to adorn her face as she too took up a combat stance. "Me and my big mouth..."
"Well isn't this a nice little act of self-sacrifice." Their former classmate announced as his Azure Knight drew its weapon back. "But don't think I'm gonna go easy on you just 'cause you have no shot at winning. Either get out of my way or I will make you with force, and trust me, none of you want that to happen."
To their credit, not a single one of her classmates flinched. As hopeless as the situation was they were all determined to see it through to the end. Unless a miracle appeared from the heavens in that very moment they were going to fight with everything they had.
Surprisingly, a miracle did actually appear from the heavens in that very moment. "Now is not the time to fall with honor in battle. Not when you have dreams left to fulfill!" Came a loud booming voice from the sky. Laura knew that voice very well, as it was one that she had been hearing for most of her life. "Flee, and live to fight another day!"
Turning, they all confirmed what she already knew. Hovering above Trista was none other than the Courageous, which meant that that voice belonged to her father. Never had she been so relieved to hear him speak as she was in that moment.
"Huh, well I'll be..." Crow muttered through the speakers of his machine. "Looks like this is your lucky day, but let me give you a piece of advice. More soldiers are coming to secure this town, so if you intend to keep your promise to Rean I would advise you all to leave. Now." With his piece said the Azure Knight engaged its thrusters and began flying towards the Courageous. It was a bit galling that Crow completely disregarded them as threats, but that was the harsh reality of the situation they were in. A part of Laura worried for the safety of her father and the rest of the crew, but she knew that they were in a far better position to resist than Class VII was.
With Crow gone that just left the rest of the students – sans their leader – alone on the highway, with just the Drakkhen and Spiegel wrecks keeping them company. "W-what should we do now?" Elliot appeared overwhelmed by the events that had transpired, and Laura couldn't blame him for that at all.
"Crow spoke true." Gaius added as he looked down the road towards the capital. "I can hear it on the wind. More of them are coming."
"We need to get out of here." Alisa stated to unanimous approval.
They quickly exited the road headed south. There was no real destination in mind, but since the nobles weren't specifically looking for them in that moment they figured they would be safe, so long as they were off the roads and out of sight. After a few minutes of trekking through the wilderness they found a little clearing in the middle of some woods that seemed like a good place to relax and take stock of everything that had happened.
"What is going on!?" Sure Machias understood the political scene, but the events of the past hour were so far out of the realm of reason that he was utterly befuddled.
Jusis too looked sour as he ruminated on what just happened. "It is clear that everything that transpired has been planned out for a long time. My family-" He spat that last word out. "and the other Great Houses were working with the Imperial Liberation Front the entire time. Given what we just witnessed I would not at all be surprised to learn they somehow orchestrated the events in Crossbell also..."
"And they did it using Reinford technology." Alisa added with heat in her voice. "There's no way mother didn't at least know about the construction of those Panzer Soldats and that giant airship! I have so many things I need to say to her..."
"Alisa, Jusis..."
"They're gonna move swiftly. Strike while the Imperial Army is confused and isolated. A common tactic with jaegers." Fie stated with certainty. "Especially Zephyr..." Given the events that had just occurred the younger girl had almost forgotten that her old family was involved.
It was obvious that Fie was correct with her assessment. Still... "The Imperial Army is strong. I am sure some of it will manage to recover."
"Right!" Elliot agreed with her. "Dad's way out at the remains of Garrelia. There's no way they'll be able to catch him off guard!"
Gaius nodded along. "General Vander too. He has always been a good friend to the people of Nord so I am sure he will be alright for a time."
"Yup! And even though I can't get in contact with them I know that the RMP and Intelligence Division are both doing what they can as well. Claire and Lechter especially!" Millium added happily, despite the situation they were in.
"So this means we have a full blown Civil War on our hands..." It was preferable to everyone immediately capitulating to the Noble Faction, but it still promised untold death and suffering for Erebonia.
"None of that's important. Emma, what happened with Rean?" While Laura wasn't sure she agreed with Fie that a massive civil war wasn't important, it was true that she was far more worried in that moment about the swordsman that had caught her heart.
While the others might not have felt as strongly about it as she did, they were all just as curious for the answer and the mysterious president found herself at the center of attention. "Well... I don't know too much, but I can tell you that the machine Rean was piloting was Valimar, the Ashen Knight. One of the seven Divine Knights of legend. The trials we faced in the Old Schoolhouse were a prerequisite for the knight to choose a pilot, or an 'Awakener' as they are known."
"And what of the machine Crow was piloting?" Gaius asked. "Was that also one of these Divine Knight?"
"It was." She confirmed. "Ordine, the Azure Knight."
A thought came to Laura's mind. "Wouldn't that mean that Crow overcame the same trials that we did? And he said it was three years ago..." Just how skilled was their classmate that none of them noticed even the tiniest hint of his true strength?
"He did, although I suspect he had assistance from my sister, Vita."
"And what about your cat Celine? We all heard her speaking!" Given everything that had happened Laura had forgotten that detail until Alisa brought it back up.
"Right. She's my familiar sent to assist me in my mission of seeking out and guiding any potential Awakeners..." Emma sighed despondently. "...A mission I completely failed at. I am truly sorry for all the trouble my inexperience has caused you!" She gave an apologetic bow.
Jusis snorted. "I do not think we are the ones you should be apologizing to. I believe that honor goes to Rean."
"Albarea's right. It's not your fault. And even so, none of us could have predicted what just happened."
"So... What do we do now?" It was Elliot that asked the most pressing question. As overwhelming as the past hour had been they couldn't just hang out near the academy indefinitely. Sooner or later they would have to act.
Fie furrowed her brow in thought before letting out a sigh. "You guys should rest up for a bit." It was sound advice, as even Laura was feeling the physical and emotional drain of recent events. And it was plainly visible that she was one of the best off, as while the others had improved a great deal during the past half-year it was clear that they were nearing the end of their endurance. That being said, she couldn't help but notice that Fie had excluded herself from her suggestion.
"And what are you going to do?" Gaius asked curiously, also noticing that discrepancy.
"I'm gonna head back. I want to check in on the school and look for any signs of Sara and the other instructors. We need more info before we can take action."
That idea caused a ripple of alarm to ride through the assembled group. "That's dangerous!"
"Are you nuts?"
"Shouldn't we do it together?"
The younger girl was unflinchingly stoic under the barrage of comments sent her way. That being said, Laura could feel her resolve and decided to place her trust in her. "Alright, I think it is a good idea. I just wish we could do anything to help you..." During her time as a student of Class VII Laura had come to understand her own limitations and the need to rely on others, but that still didn't mean she had to like being forced to do so.
"Kay. I'll be back before you know it." The former jaeger made to depart.
But Laura had one more thing to say to her, so she stepped up and grabbed her shoulder before she could leave. "I know this is an obvious statement, but take care of yourself, all right? I... I don't think I could handle losing you too."
Fie's gaze softened a little bit. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I promise." With one final wave the silver-haired girl left the assembled group. Laura and the rest watched silently as she made her way through a group of trees and out of sight.
The lone girl made her way through the woods as she pondered her infiltration route. She didn't know how many soldiers were in the town, but it was probably enough to make entering through Trista a risky proposition. She would stick out, especially if all the civilians were still holed up at the Academy. She couldn't pretend to be another student either, as her distinctive red Class VII uniform was a huge liability.
Instead her best option was to remain completely unseen and approach from the back near the Old Schoolhouse. From there she should be able to find a good vantage point to see what was going on. For the others it might have seemed an impossible task, but Fie relished the moment to truly flex her skills.
She hadn't expected to enjoy her time in Class VII as she did, but there were times when it was a bit stifling. Early on it became obvious that there were only a few classmates with real combat experience, so she often had to step up and fight the enemy head on to protect them. She did it without hesitation, but it wasn't where her true strengths lay.
No, she was at her strongest when she could utilize distractions and cover to fight stealthily, attacking unexpectedly and striking the most vulnerable enemies while they were unwary. Even if she wasn't planning on doing any fighting on this little reconnaissance mission of hers it was still nice to play to her strengths. Now that she thought about it, the others had become pretty strong fighters in the past six months. Perhaps she should start fighting like her old self more often...
Those were thoughts for an increasingly murky future. Her immediate focus was on the highway she needed to cross and the column of panzer soldats that were currently wheeling down the road. As she observed it became clear that they were just passing through on the road to Celdic and weren't actually stopping at Trista or the academy. If she had to hazard a guess it would be that they were going to help the Kreuzen army secure the Twin Dragons Bridge, thereby isolating the 4th Armored Division at the border.
Once the mechanized column was gone she darted across the road, idly noting that it was near the place where they had just fought and that neither of the downed Soldats were still there. Hopefully Scarlet had elected to return to her base and wasn't actively searching for her classmates.
Briefly she paused in her trek to make a quick check of Trista's western exit. As she expected, the entrance into town was guarded by an armored car, a Drakkhen, and a handful of provincial troops. There was no sneaking in that way. She couldn't see any movement inside the town itself. Although her vision didn't extend that far, she had to assume the railroad tracks were also being watched.
The rest of the trip between the road and the Old Schoolhouse was dense woodland, so she allowed her guard to relax slightly. This meant that her mind was now free to wander, something she really didn't want, but couldn't really prevent. The events of the day were of course forefront in her head.
Retreating wasn't a bad thing. Every jaeger knew as much as sometimes even with the best plan a battlefield can turn against you on a whim. It was preferable to dying, obviously. That being said, watching Rean being forced to retreat in his giant mech hurt her far more than she cared to admit.
Her new family was crumbling and her old family had just resurfaced on the other side. Needless to say, she was an absolute mess right now, even if she hid it well from the rest of the group. This feeling was similar to the one she went through after Zephyr disbanded.
There was one major difference, however: The promise she made to Rean. At the time she had said it in an attempt to calm him a tiny bit, but now it loomed ever large in her mind. She couldn't allow herself to give in to despair because she needed to protect the others. It's something he would have done, and so she would do so in his stead.
That was easier said than done. They were all now fugitives on the run and she knew just how difficult that was going to be. She would not be deterred, however. She would keep them safe until the time they were finally be able to reunite with Rean and move forward as a class.
Ahead she could see the trees thinning out and the Old Schoolhouse came into view. She had expected the place to be completely deserted and for the most part she was right. What she wasn't expecting to see was Instructor Mary, a couple students she couldn't make out... and was that a flash of obnoxious pink?
Either way, it was a pretty sizable group that was rushing into the woods on the other side of the building. So some of the other students and faculty were escaping the school. That was good to know. She considered chasing them down to see what was going on, but given how much of a head start they had she discarded the idea as time was at a premium for her.
Instead she filed the knowledge away and continued on her original mission. Avoiding the path she instead cut directly to the Engineering Building. Since the building was abandoned she decided to use that for her observation. George would forgive her for breaking and entering. Probably. Not like it mattered much to her.
The Engineering Building didn't really give her a good vantage point, but it was enough to get a feel for the security before moving onto her final target. There were a few soldiers running around. Some of them appeared to be chasing down some of the escaping students while others were standing guard to prevent others from attempting it. She waited for the former to pass and ignored the latter, as their attentions were focused inwards and not outwards.
Her final destination was climbing the Student Union Building. That would allow her to see both the front gate and the auditorium where the civilians should still be located. Climbing up the back of the building would have been nearly impossible if security was tighter, but with everyone so distracted it was child's play. Once situated on the roof she began her scan.
The first thing she noticed was that the Auditorium was being emptied out by the noble soldiers. None of them were being threatening to the civilians, but it was clear that their freedom of movement was being heavily restricted. They were fearful, especially as they laid eyes on a pair of Soldats standing idly near the main gate, but none of them appeared harmed or were being mistreated in any way.
The same could not be said for Principal Vandyck and Instructor Beatrix. These two had the barrels of many guns pointed their way as they were escorted into the building. Despite that, they still appeared mostly unharmed from the battle and Fie suspected that if they wanted to they could easily escape from the situation. Perhaps they gave themselves up willingly in order to provide comfort to the students?
That would also explain why they were the only two from the battle present. Neither Instructor Neithardt or Instructor Thomas were with them. And of course Sara wasn't either. Fie couldn't picture that woman ever giving herself up to a bunch of noble idiots. She was definitely out there somewhere, but unfortunately she knew that Sara wouldn't be found until Sara wanted to be found. A shame, as her skill and experience at that moment would almost make up for her obnoxious personality. Almost.
She considered calling it with that and returning to her friends, but decided to hold back for a few minutes longer. That delay bore fruit as the principal, clearly under direction from his captors, called an outdoor assembly of all the remaining students and staff. The nobles clearly wanted to see who they had captured and which of the important students had managed to elude them.
Despite being a minority in the overall student body, a large majority of the remaining students were wearing the white of the nobility. She was actually somewhat impressed that they had apparently allowed themselves to be captured to buy time for most of the commoners to flee. Not all of them had, however, but she didn't recognize any of the few green uniforms that remained, so that probably meant the important ones were all gone. She didn't see any sign of Vivi, so perhaps it was her that she saw leaving to the north? Edel was present, but she appeared as unbothered as ever, which was a relief to see.
Of note was the fact that Patrick appeared to be the one taking charge of the remaining students. She still wasn't sure what to feel about the son of House Hyarms, but her opinion of him had at the very least gone up a bit since the 'jaeger-tot' days. Rean seemed to hold him in decent regard, at the very least.
But if Patrick was in charge, where was Towa? She was pretty sure that despite her position none of the nobles would have done anything to harm her, as that would be akin to harming an adorable little kitten. That probably meant that she had fled, but that was a bit surprising as she would have expected the president to stick around and provide extra leadership for the remaining students. Maybe there was more to that story? The lack of George was another sign that the two second-year students had probably fled with the others.
While a part of her did think she could gather more information if she investigated a little more thoroughly, she doubted any of it would be worth the risk. Plus, she had promised Laura that she would be back safely. With that in mind she took one last look at the school that had become her home before making her egress.
The return trip wasn't anything too difficult. There were a few soldiers patrolling about, but their net was loose enough for her to easily slip through. Still, it was clear that their patrol areas were beginning to expand outwards, making it obvious to her that Class VII couldn't afford to stick around forever.
She found the others where she left them originally. They appeared to be in discussion about something or other and none of them noticed her arrival as they were all looking away from her. While the circumstances weren't ideal, she couldn't pass up this chance to mess with her friends a bit.
With silence and swiftness she approached the assembled group, coming to a stop directly behind Alisa and Emma. "I'm back."
Four of them literally jumped from fright while the rest merely spun around to face her, hands nervously clenching their weapons. Perfect.
It took a few seconds for everyone to calm down, and a few minutes after for the the more serious members of the group to scold the mischievous girl who didn't look even remotely apologetic for her actions. Eventually they regained their wits and were ready to listen as Fie made her report.
"So some of the other students managed to escape..."
"Sounds like some of the teachers did too." Machias pointed out after Gaius's comment.
"Including our erstwhile instructor. Would be nice if she were here right now." Jusis would never admit to respecting the older woman, but her knowledge would be appreciated in that moment.
Millium shrugged. "She's probably out looking for a bar that hasn't been occupied by the nobles. Can always look around for her there."
She... probably wasn't doing that. Hopefully. They really didn't want to consider the possibility. "I don't believe we can count on Instructor Sara's help right now, unfortunately."
"Right." Alisa agreed with Emma's comment. "And we can't stand around here forever, especially since it sounds like the provincial armies are moving to secure as much of this country as they can before the Imperial Army can respond..."
"Dad..." Elliot muttered worriedly. "So what do we do now?"
"As much as I would love to oppose my father and the rest of the nobility, right now we are not in a position to do so."
Laura hummed in thought. "As far as I can see, we have two objectives right now. First and foremost is to make sure we aren't captured, as we will be of no help to anybody if we are. Secondly, we need to find Rean."
"You make it sound so easy." Machias countered. "The Noble Alliance is huge and it won't be long before they're searching for us in earnest. As for finding Rean... Where do we even begin? It will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!"
"Finding Rean can't be that hard, can it? I'm sure someone will have seen a giant knight flying around..." Millium trailed off as she considered her words. "...A giant silver knight. We should probably stay away from the blue one. Oh, and the soldats too... Okay so maybe this won't be quite as easy."
Emma shook her head. "Sadly, it might even be worse than that. I don't know the specifics, but from what I've heard the first time an Awakener pilots a Divine Knight is supposed to be very taxing on them. Add to the fact that Rean took a serious hit in his fight with Crow... It might be weeks or even longer before he can recover."
The idea that their classmate was not only missing, but badly injured too was a bitter pill for them to swallow. "O-Oh!" She continued as she noticed the dour looks her comment generated. "D-Don't worry! Celine will protect him, I promise." Despite her words of reassurance nobody was truly convinced, and that seemed to apply to her as well.
"For now, all we can do is place our trust in Rean... and Celine." Trusting in a cat was an odd thing to do, but in Laura's eyes it was all they could do. "So what do we do?" She brought the conversation back to topic.
Fie sighed loudly, drawing all eyes to her. "I think there's only one thing we can do if we want to avoid detection and find any possible leads on Rean..." She hesitated as the next words were hard to form in her mouth, but they had to be said. "...I think we need to split up."
Silence descended onto the group as they contemplated her words. With their instructor missing it was the former jaeger who had the most experience with situations like this despite her young age, so her saying it carried extra weight. Not to mention that was the same conclusion that many of them had privately come to on their own, but couldn't bring themselves to say due to what it entailed.
"I was afraid it would come to that." Jusis was the one to break the silence. "But I suppose it was inevitable."
"A-At least our field studies have prepared us for this. I couldn't imagine doing something like this six months ago..." Elliot was nervous, but resolved.
A feeling shared by Alisa and the rest of the group. "Fie's right. We need to get away from here and that's the best way to avoid being caught."
"How do you think we should do this?" Gaius asked as he turned his attention back to the silver-haired girl.
Fie closed her eyes to both ponder the question and to escape the fact that she was once again at the center of attention. How Rean handled this she did not know, but clearly they needed him back as soon as possible to keep her out of this awkward situation. "It's easier to evade detection with less people, but having more people will make it easier if something goes wrong... Three groups." There were nine of them, so three on each team seemed to be the best number in her mind. "We should spread out and go to places still safe from the Noble Alliance and try to keep an ear open for any news about Rean."
"So... Who is going where?"
Again silence descended as they all pondered the answer to that question. Eventually it was Elliot who spoke up. "W-Well. If any place is still safe from the nobles it would hopefully be Garrelia Fortress. Dad might be able to help us out."
"That's a good idea." Machias quickly agreed with the timid musician. "General Craig should hopefully know what's happening inside the capital. Count me in."
"If the rest of you are agreeable with it, might I suggest Nord?" Unsurprisingly it was Gaius who made this suggestion. "I am pretty sure my home will be safe as long as Zender Gate is holding out, but I wouldn't mind seeing for myself to make certain."
Millium raised an arm excitedly. "Ooh! Ooh! The Nord Highlands were fun. Let me tag along!" The kind Nord merely smiled and nodded at the exuberant girl.
"...If we're heading north, can we stop at Roer on the way? I'm certain that Marquis Rogner has it locked down tight, but maybe I can find some news on mother or Sharon."
"Of course." With Alisa on board that made one full team.
The swordswoman hummed thoughtfully. "If we have one team going north and one going east, might I suggest the rest of us head to Legram? Although my father isn't there, his name and reputation should be enough to keep the army away, at least for a time."
"In that case, I shall accompany you." Jusis agreed with his fellow noble. "Legram is probably the best place for me to find out what my family is up to short of me giving myself up and returning home directly."
That made two. Laura turned towards her best friend. "Would you like to accompany us, Fie?"
"Trust me, I would love to, but..." With great regret the silver-haired girl turned to the two males going to Garrelia. "...you guys might be the most wanted students in this class and you're taking the most dangerous route. Neither of you have any idea what you're doing, do you?" The two Heimdallr natives glanced at each other awkwardly, but didn't say anything. "Thought so. I'm tagging along with them. Sorry, Laura."
If she thought that Laura would be upset at her decision she was very wrong. Maybe a little disappointment, but that was more than offset by the pride she felt that Fie was taking it upon herself to protect their most vulnerable classmates. "Not at all. In that case, would you like to come with us, Emma?"
"Of course! It would be my delight."
With the decision made and the groups decided there was nothing keeping them chained to that location any longer, but despite that none of them made to move. Their time as a class had been something special and none of them were ready to see it end, even if it was just hopefully a temporary parting. They continued to stand there and gaze at each other, wondering who was going to be the first to break the stalemate.
"Do not despair, my friends." To the surprise of nobody, it was Laura who ended up taking charge. "Although we are parting for now, this is not goodbye. We will see each other again."
"Right! And when we do meet up again it will be with Rean by our side!"
"Yes!" Emma agreed with her fellow staff user. "I'm sure if we keep searching we will find Rean and Celine before long."
Machias looked between them all. "...Although I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up finding us first." He noted wryly.
"Haha..." Gaius laughed. "You might be right."
Alisa looked nervous, but determined. "And once we're all together again..."
"...It will be time for Class VII to decide how it is going to operate in this current crisis." Jusis finished for her.
"Woohoo! Class VII is gonna kick so much ass!" The excitable little Millium earned herself a few dry looks for her swearing, but outside of a forlorn sigh from Jusis nobody said anything.
Fie looked at the assembled group. All of them were resolved. Good. She exhaled slightly. "...Let's do this."
Her statement was the final catalyst needed and reluctantly the class began to separate into their respective groups. Gaius, Alisa, and Millium were the first to depart, as the trip to Roer and Nord was the longest by far and they really needed to get started if they intended on making it there before the entire country was overrun. Next was the Garrelia team, with Machias and Elliot starting off in that direction. Fie hesitated for a moment as she turned back to Laura, but decided against hugging her best friend. Instead she simply sent a decisive nod her way, one which was returned. A silent promise to make sure they both endured and did what they could to protect the others. After that she turned and hurried to rejoin the others, leaving Laura, Emma, and Jusis as the final three to depart.
Class VII was broken, but it would not remain that way forever. They just needed to keep faith that one day they would be reunited and with their dear friend in tow. Their bonds of friendship would not allow any other outcome...
Gotta admit, I was originally planning on taking like a week off from writing with the events of CS1 finished and the major events in Their Future, Together resolved. One day later and I was bored out of my mind. Good news for you guys, as this means the fun doesn't stop. Expect to see a couple more chapters like this before we get into CS2 proper.