If there were any positives to be had about the recent attack on Ymir it was that the Noble Alliance had lived up to their word and no collateral damage occurred. Already people were beginning to exit their homes to assess the situation now that the Pantagruel was a distant speck on the horizon. Seeing that nobody had been hurt this time was a huge relief to the people.

But that did little to alleviate the morose atmosphere that had settled over Class VII as they struggled to pick up the pieces from the battle.

Rean was gone. Again. And just a day after all of Class VII had been reunited. In a way that made it worse than what had happened at Trista the month prior.

Laura shook her head grimly. Now was not the time to get caught up in pessimistic thoughts. At least they knew where Rean was and she was reliably confidant that they would not go back on their word. Rean might be a prisoner, but at least he should be safe for some time.

And there was no reason for her to get so caught up on the negatives when it was clear that the rest of her classmates were. She had always admired Rean's ability to use his empathy to keep the team inspired, but he was gone now. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but she was determined to do use what she had learned from him and fill that void.

After taking the time to recover from such a terribly demoralizing battle, Class VII and their allies reconvened inside the Schwarzer estate to plan their next action. Rean's mother was kind enough to offer them all dinner – although Laura suspected it was more so the older woman could keep herself busy and not dwell on the fact that both of her children were now prisoners. The baron, meanwhile, contented himself by sitting alongside the group, quietly listening to their discussion.

"We need to get Rean back." She stated the obvious truth to the group.

"I agree, but..." Machias shook his head helplessly. "...how?"

"Regnitz is correct." Gone was the usual bickering between rivals. "We know that he should be on board the Pantagruel, but that just makes getting to him all the more difficult."

Captain Claire frowned heavily. "We've been trying to track the airship's movements since it was first unveiled at the capital last month. The only time it ever lands is for infrequent maintenance work. Supplies and crew are transferred to it via smaller cargo craft."

"Could we possibly sneak on board one of those?" Toval asked.

His fellow bracer shook her head. "I looked into it a while back. Seems like most of the resupply happens at the capital. While I'm sure we could sneak a small group in if we really wanted to, against an army of monsters like that we would need a lot more than a small group."

"And we don't have access to Valimar anymore." Gaius pointed out. "Without his ability to teleport it will be difficult for us to travel anywhere even if we wanted to."

"The only place we could get to right now on foot is Roer. Sharon do you think it would be possible for us to find an airship there?"

"I'm sorry, Lady Alisa, but I would strongly advise against it. Marquis Rogner has the city locked down tight and with Chairman Irina currently unavailable..."

Elliot frowned miserably. "I guess we could ask my dad for help?"

"Knowing your father he would probably oblige, but I do not believe it is a sound idea. To pull off an assault like that would require such a troop commitment that not even Fa- Duke Albarea would fail to seize on the opening."

"Ooh! I know!" All eyes turned towards Millium at her exclamation. "Can't we just do what Vita did with that cool teleportation spell? We have a witch of our own, right?"

Their hopeful looks faded as Emma shrank under the attention. "I-I'm so sorry! I know Vita can pull it off, but I'm not skilled enough for something like that..."

"We could do it if we were closer." Celine spoke up in defense of her partner. "It wouldn't be hard if we use Valimar as a focal point." The cat hissed angrily. "I can't believe that jerk threw me out of Valimar like that! He's going to pay!"

Despite the situation her threats were enough to cause a few chuckles, which lightened the mood slightly. "I'm sure you'll get your chance eventually." Instructor Sara teased with a grin. Said grin faded slightly as she glanced around the room. "I take it no one else has any bright ideas?"

"Perhaps we should adjourn this discussion for now?" Laura suggested to the group. "As eager as we all are to find a solution now it seems that we are stuck. Maybe we will have better luck after a hearty meal and some much needed rest?"

While she wasn't entirely sure she believed it herself, the others seemed to jump at the idea of taking a break from this fruitless discussion, with even the adults chiming in their support. "We spent all last night thinking about our plans as a class and now we're gonna spend all tonight thinking about this?" Alisa groused. "...Although I doubt I would be able to sleep much as is." Her admission earned quite a few nods of agreement.

Decision made the group decided to stick around and wait for Lucia's promised meal, with Sharon excusing herself to assist the Schwarzer matriarch. Despite their best efforts to ignore the events of earlier, conversation was stilted and it was fortunate that the food arrived as quickly as it did. The hearty meal was enough to raise spirits a little, but most of Class VII began retreating back to the Phoenix Wings immediately upon meal's conclusion.

Laura too found herself considering her next action, but found herself distracted by someone who hadn't elected to move at all since the meeting began. "Lord Schwarzer? Are you alright?" She asked tentatively.

Her query seemed to have startled the injured man from his reverie. "Ah. Laura. I'm fine, but thanks for asking."

"...Are you certain?" Perhaps it was impolite to press the question, but given everything that had happened she wanted to be sure.

"I am." He confirmed with a small smile. "Lucia and I are worried about Rean, naturally, but after listening to you all I am confident that you guys will be able to bring him back safely."

Laura blinked. She had not been expecting that. "But why? We were unable to come up with any way of helping Rean."

"That may be so, but despite the difficulty of the task not one of you appeared ready to give up. As challenging as things may be, so long as you continue to work through this adversity I have faith that you will prevail in the end."

"Oh..." She had heard a similar message from her father many times.

"And plus..." Teo continued, a teasing look in his eyes. "...From the very first letters Rean sent us about his classmates it was always clear that he held you in special regard as someone he admired greatly. He seems to think that you are capable of accomplishing anything, so I will heed his words and entrust my son's safety to you."

She couldn't help but flush under the praise. Did Rean really think that of her, even from the very beginning? "I-I promise I won't let you down." She stuttered out.

"I know you won't. It might be an unfair comparison to make, but you are your father's daughter, after all. Not to mention you've been blessed with many capable friends who are willing to share that burden with you."

"I have been." She agreed with a smile. "Thank you for your kind words, and have a good night." With a polite nod she excused herself from the conversation and the Schwarzer estate. Although brief, it had done a lot for her spirits knowing that others held such faith in her.

Which was good, because as she stepped out into the chilly Ymir evening she encountered someone who looked like they were in need of some of that positive atmosphere. "Fie? Were you waiting for me?"

The younger girl – who had been sporting a very prominent frown on her face – blinked as she pondered the question. "I...Maybe?"

"Want to take a walk with me?" Although the silver-haired girl gave no visible response she fell in step next to her anyways. "Are you doing alright? I noticed you were silent during the meeting." Not to mention how lost and confused she was currently looking.

"I'm fi-" Fie cut herself off before shaking her head. "I'm not fine. After everything that's happened I thought we could finally start to move on with our lives, and yet here we are again. It's like nothing's changed...

She balled her fists as her eyes screwed shut. "I'm angry that this somehow happened again. Rean's gone again and nothing we did could have stopped that. Are we really so powerless...?" She shook her head, not giving Laura a chance to answer. "You would think I would be used to this by now, and yet it keeps hurting worse and worse each time..."

"I think it hurts so much worse because you've been growing. You finally found a place to belong, so losing it hurts. And since you've matured so much you cannot simply bottle it in and detach yourself from everything like you did when your jaeger corp disbanded."

Her partner stared at her with pleading eyes. "...How are you so calm right now? You only just got back so this should be a lot harder on you, and yet..."

"Believe me, it does hurt. A lot." She placed a hand on her chest. "It is as if someone has stabbed a blade through me and the wound refuses to heal. But the reason I am trying to remain calm right now? It's because one of us needs to."

"Huh?"

"In fact..." She continued with certainty. "I am quite certain that right now you are in more pain than Rean is."

Fie narrowed her eyes in challenge. "And what makes you so confident of that?" The question did little to hide her embarrassed hue, though.

"Duke Cayenne is not an idiot. If he really wants Rean to join the Noble Alliance then I am quite certain that he will remain unharmed."

The corner of Fie's eyes twitched as a little bit of humor finally came back into those beautiful eyes. "Dunno. Sounds like an idiot to me if he actually expects Rean to join his side."

Despite herself Laura couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Fair enough." She conceded easily enough. "Still, I believe he is being treated quite well. And perhaps it is a bit naive of me, but I refuse to believe the Crow Armbrust we knew was entirely a lie. I want to believe that he wouldn't let Rean come to harm."

"Mmm." Fie agreed with a hum. "Can't really speak for Ouroboros – even if that crazy knight lady doesn't seem the type – but I know Xeno and Leo won't do anything if they've been paid otherwise." She paused, before narrowing her eyes thoughtfully. "Although if they found out about our relationship..."

Laura couldn't help but pale a little. "...I hadn't considered that." Suddenly she felt a lot less certain about everything. While she had only seen them in passing, all the stories she had heard about the corps known as Zephyr made them out to be utterly ruthless and extremely protective of Fie. A terrifying combo.

"Still..." She eventually continued after shaking away those worrisome thoughts. "While things aren't good right now, I am choosing to hold onto hope. Somehow we will find a way to make things right, as we have always done thus far." To reinforce the point she took Fie's hand into her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Hope, huh? You really are naive." And yet despite the words Fie returned the squeeze. "I dunno about all that, but I guess it does beat standing around feeling sorry for myself."

The blue-haired swordswoman let out a laugh. "Indeed it does. What do you say? Think we should turn in early for the night?" Although they had been walking around Ymir without a real destination in mind, their travels had conveniently placed them near the Phoenix Wings.

"Kay." Despite here agreement Fie turned away from the resort. "But not here."

As their hands were connected Laura found herself willingly dragged along. That she was being led back the way they came soon made her intentions clear. "Going back to Rean's house?" She asked rhetorically.

"His bed is way more comfortable." Fie proclaimed. "And his parents didn't mind when I slept there when he was in Nord, so..."

"...Very well." Truth be told Laura certainly wasn't against the idea. While she doubted the bed was actually more comfortable in a physical sense, there was something about the idea that just seemed right to her.

Entering the small mansion the duo passed by Lucia – who greeted them with a warm smile – before making their way into Rean's bedroom. After spending a few minutes undressing and getting ready the two settled in on his bed.

While Fie had slept with her a few times during the final months at Thors, this was the first time they had shared a bed since getting together intimately, and Laura was half expecting Fie to use the opening to try something. Fortunately – or unfortunately? - the events of the day must have worn her companion out, as she almost immediately drifted off to sleep like only she could.

As much as she longed to join her in slumber, Laura couldn't help but gaze down upon the sleeping girl thoughtfully. The peaceful expression she wore was a stark contrast to her usual indifference and the softness of her body belied the fierce warrior she usually was. Like this it was easy to remember that despite her maturity she was still just a sixteen year old girl that was experiencing human emotion for the first time.

Brushing away a stray lock of silver hair she leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Good night, Fie." Silently she vowed to protect Fie's happiness. It didn't matter if it was the Noble Alliance, her old Zephyr family, or anyone else. She would cut down anyone who stood between the girl and the happy life she deserved.

Sleep followed shortly after that declaration.

With a quiet yawn Fie awoke from her slumber. Bleary eyes were slow to adjust to the morning, but as her brain began to process things she soon realized that the situation was abnormal. This was Rean's bedroom, but the pillow she had been resting on was Laura?

Eyes widened as the events of the previous day came to mind. So it hadn't been a terrible nightmare after all. Her old family had shown up to rip her away from her new family. Damn.

And yet even as those depressing thoughts plagued her mind she didn't let it consume her like it had previously. Perhaps it was because of her talk the previous night, or maybe it was simply the benefits of some much needed rest, but now that she was awake she was more than ready to once again resume brainstorming ideas on how to save Rean.

Sitting up she glanced down at her companion as Laura began to stir. It was a shame that she hadn't been in a great state of mind the previous night as had it been any other time she would have gladly tried to take advantage of their time together. With the situation as it was peaceful nights together were often few and far between, so missing out on a prime chance like that was a real missed opportunity.

Oh well. Even if she missed the chance to further corrupt Laura Fie could still make sure she was the first thing she would see when she finally opened her eyes. Leaning over she watched as Laura blinked a few times before opening her eyes for good, almost immediately locking eyes with her. "Good morning-"

Laura was unable to finish as Fie leaned down and claimed her mouth with her own. Despite her initial surprise the blue-haired girl didn't pull away – although that might have been partially attributed to the fact that she was pinned to the bed – and reciprocated the gesture.

She hadn't really noticed it at the time, but kissing Laura was far different from kissing Rean. Her lips were a lot softer, she had a different flavor to her, and she responded more shyly, even compared to those first days with Rean.

It was different, but no worse in her opinion. It was just like a dessert: Why stick with a single flavor when you can enjoy two equally good ones at the same time?

She wondered if the others felt the same way. Perhaps she should ask once they've managed to get Rean back?

It took a few seconds before the need for air caused her to pull back from that spontaneous action. Despite a red face Laura smiled warmly up at her. "I see that you are in a good mood this morning. Are you feeling better?"

Ah, right. The previous night. Fie couldn't help but look away awkwardly. "Uh. Yeah. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to show off such an uncool side of me like that..."

"Not at all." Her partner responded with a smile as she too sat up from the bed. "As a matter of fact, you've made me quite happy. I doubt there are many people whom you are willing to trust with your 'uncool' side."

The silver-haired student couldn't help but glare playfully at Laura to mask her embarrassment. She was being teased! "Stop trying to sound like Rean. His cheesiness is infecting you." She groused petulantly.

"I think we've all infected each other in some form or other. You've certainly become a lot more honest with yourself, or have you already forgotten yesterday morning?"

"Y-Yeah, well..." She sputtered, not appreciating being the one put on the spot for a change. "...I'll make it up to you. One of these days the situation will be reversed and it'll be you who needs to be uncool and I'll be the one to look after you."

The swordswoman hummed thoughtfully before sending a warm look her way, not at all bothered by the warning. "Hopefully such a day never comes, but if it does know that I will be counting on you. Thank you, Fie."

Bah. Laura could be unflappable at the worst of times. Grumbling to herself Fie got out of bed, with her companion following suit, mirth plainly visible in her eyes. As they got ready for the day ahead, Fie's mind raced as she recalled a detail from the previous day. Something which she felt needed to be addressed.

"Once we get Rean back..." Her tone made it quite clear she now believed they would somehow. "...we need to carry out his punishment."

Her comment caused a brow to rise in confused interest. "Punishment?"

"Yup. Punishment. Remember how he promised us he wasn't going anywhere again? Well that was a lie."

"In his defense it was not as if he had much chance..."

Fie shook her head, a grin now adorning her face. "Irrelevant. Maybe he should have thought about that before making a promise like that. 'I promise I won't leave you ever again... unless I get my ass kicked in a big mech battle.' or something."

Laura giggled, whether from her words or from her poor impersonation of Rean's voice. "Very well. I can agree to that, so long as it's nothing overly malicious. Have you thought about what form you want this punishment to take?"

"Nah. Not yet. We can figure something out later. We got more immediate things to worry about at the moment." Can't punish Rean without Rean, obviously.

Once fully prepared the two exited the bedroom. Fortunately it didn't seem that the Schwarzers had left their room yet so they were spared any sort of awkward conversation. It was thanks to that silence that as they made their way down the stairs Fie heard a noise. Straining her ears she focused on that noise. It almost sounded like...

Eyes widened in realization and without saying a word her feet carried her the rest of the way down the steps and out the door before her partner could even move. "F-Fie!?" She was sure that Laura would be following suit soon enough, but for now her focus was entirely on the skies above Ymir. She was now certain that she was hearing the faint thrum of an airship engine, but it didn't sound anything like the Pantagruel...

There! In the far distance she spotted a dot on the distant horizon. But it was red...

"Fie! What is it?" The Arseid asked once she finally caught up. Instead of answering she merely pointed a finger towards the distant sky. A gasp was the only verbal sign that they were now staring at the same thing.

The Courageous was approaching.

As the crimson airship got closer the noise dominated the entire town as people stuck their heads out to take a look. But where the Pantagruel caused everyone to retreat into their houses, the Courageous was enough to cause an excited murmur through the village. One that was plain to see on the faces of their closest classmates as the same comprehension dawned on them.

The airship began to slow as it reached the town before looping around as if searching for a place to land. Finding a spot of sufficient size just outside of town the large craft slowly began its final descent to the ground below as she and the rest of Class VII sprinted towards it.

There were two figures standing on the deck, gazing down upon them as the Courageous landed. One was Prince Olivert. As much of a weirdo as the man was, there was no denying that the founder of Class VII was a very welcome sight for weary eyes.

But it was the second figure that caused Fie to reach over and give Laura's hand a reassuring squeeze. It was obvious to her just how worried her friend had been for her father, but that was all in the past now. Victor S. Arseid – still wearing the hat of a captain - seemed to notice the two of them as he gave a small smile that was noticeable even from this distance.

Although Fie wasn't certain as to why the craft was here now, already she was hard at work pondering the implications. With the Courageous they now had the missing piece needed to mount a rescue operation to get Rean back. There was still a lot of planning to do, and it undoubtedly won't be easy, but now-

Her mind drifted back to their conversation the previous night. "Just gotta hold onto hope, right?" She repeated aloud. This time it was Laura who returned the squeeze.

Neither of them had been expecting hope to arrive on crimson wings, but this worked out very well for them indeed.

Boarding the craft Class VII were surprised to find that there were more reunions to be had, as both Towa and George were there to greet them. Fie was certain that that there was a story that she was interested in hearing, that would be for a later time. Right now time was of the essence. Class VII quickly found themselves ushered onto the bridge of the craft.

According to Laura's dad the Courageous had been keeping tabs on the Pantagruel for quite some time, so when it suddenly diverted itself to go to Ymir it piqued their interest. Thus the reason for their arrival here.

They in turn detailed exactly what had happened during the assault and how Rean had been taken by the Noble Alliance. Towa and George both appeared downcast by the news that Crow was still fighting against them and Fie could only imagine how much that betrayal stung. Despite that, however, it seemed that the two seniors were fully committed to helping out in any way they could.

"Hmm..." The prince mused seriously after hearing their tale. Fie stared impatiently at the man. As the one in charge of the vessel it was his decision that mattered the most, after all. "It seems our dear friend Rean has found himself in quite the predicament, hasn't he?" Breaking the serious expression a wide grin adorned his face. "One of my greatest regrets was missing out on the exciting airship prison break during my time in Liberl, but it seems the Goddess has seen fit to grant me a second chance. Why don't we go lend Rean a hand?"

Although none of Class VII said anything, it was as if all the tension in the room suddenly left at once. Despite his eccentricities Prince Olivert was a good friend. "Get me an update on the status of the Pantagruel!" The captain boomed to the skeleton crew manning the stations.

"Sir! The airship passed into Kreuzen territory as of five hours ago! Recent radio reports indicate that it is currently cruising at low speeds towards Heimdallr."

"Excellent. Set course towards the Kreuzen province." The Viscount ordered. "We cannot afford to be noticed, so take care to avoid any military installation and halt us just outside of the Pantagruel's long-range radar detection range."

"Yes, sir!" The crew sprang into action, rushing to fulfill their captain's orders. Within seconds the Courageous was off the ground and flying through the chilly skies of northern Erebonia at amazing speeds.

Class VII and their allies – both old and new – made their way towards the conference room on the lower level. It was time for them to come up with a plan. Given how fast the Courageous was moving Fie didn't think they had that much time to prepare, all things considered, but she was confident that it would be enough.

"Father, will you be joining us?" Laura asked once everyone was seated. Fie lamented the fact that their need for haste prevented her best friend from having the happy emotional reunion she deserved, but the happiness radiating from the girl was still painfully apparent in her eyes.

Her dad too seemed quite relieved as he nodded his head. "I will. As confident as I am in the skill of you and your friends, from all accounts there are a few individuals on the other side that are still beyond any of you. And as enlightening as my time as a captain has been, I am first and foremost a swordsman and it has been a while since I last held my blade."

Awesome. They needed a crazy powerhouse to match the one the Noble Alliance had. Fie wasn't sure who would win in a fight between Victor S. Arseid and McBurn, but she could readily agree that he was far better suited for that fight than any of them.

"And naturally I shall be accompanying you as well." Prince Olivert proclaimed.

"Your Highness... Is that really wise?" Claire asked dubiously.

"Worry not my dear captain. Although it has been some time, neither my gun nor my wit has dulled in any capacity. In fact I am quite looking forward to meeting my erstwhile rival and debating the merits of love and beauty once again."

Fie wasn't alone in staring blankly at the prince. "Eh, he's probably fine." Sara eventually conceded with a shrug. "I've heard from friends in Liberl that this guy's actually a pretty good fighter."

"I-I wish I could join you too, but I don't think I would be any help..." Towa was not at all happy with that admission and Fie knew just how painful that helpless feeling was.

Luckily Laura's dad had a solution. "Actually, I was going to ask if you would be willing to take control of this ship during the mission."

"Oooh. Now that's a good idea. As a matter of fact, perhaps we afterwords we should..." The prince shook his head with a small laugh. "Let's just shelve that discussion for now and focus on getting Rean back." She wasn't sure if he had done that intentionally or not, but now her curiosity was piqued. Still, he was right in that Rean was more important than whatever crazy future plan he had in mind.

"But how do we even get onto the Pantagruel?" Gaius asked. "I admit I don't have the most experience with airships, but I don't believe the Courageous has any landing craft on board...?"

It was a good question, but she perked up as she recalled something from the previous day. "Emma, you said you could teleport us to Valimar if we were close, right? "

"Yes! Celine and I can definitely pull it off!" The witch looked quite relieved that she could actually be helpful after all.

Given the dangers this mission presented and the absolute monsters the other side possessed Fie knew that no amount of planning would give them a total shot at victory, but she wasn't worried. They had all the pieces needed to stage a rescue attempt and that was enough for her. This time it would be she and the rest of Class VII who came to Rean's aid.

With hope in her grasp she knew they would not fail.