Chapter 21: Return

When Hilda and Alain finally emerged from the woods, they found the air to be quite tense around the others, especially what with Hilda wearing his jacket. Alain felt a twinge of guilt spring up at the reminder of how much trouble he must have been causing. 'First I almost get myself killed… then they see the results.' He realized. 'I've been worrying these guys half to death today haven't I' he thought.

"Look guys…" he finally said. "I'm… I'm sorry about back there. I just… for years I've been thinking about that thing. But I never really thought about how I'd react when I actually finally found him."

"It's hard not to get it." High Roller said. "I have no idea how I'd act if I was in your place… though I guess for me it's not nearly as personal a matter."

"Don't go and beat yourself up." Chopper put a hand on Alain's shoulder. "Next time, you just need to go at him swinging harder than before. Preferably with a clear head."

"If it's even possible." Alain looked over to Wyvern, feeling another guilty sting as he looked over the damage to the machine. "Wyvern… next time… when I find out what it is I'm really fighting for…"

"You can rest assured, Alain, my faith in you has not wavered." The unit assured him. "I always have your best interest in mind. It is my duty as your partner to do so. The way you were fighting back there however, I cannot say I agreed with it. But I do not doubt your ability in the least. We are partners. If there is an obstacle, if there is something you and I lack then we will overcome it."

"Since when were you the sentimental type?" Hilda asked.

"If I am to be honest, while I do not understand it, I believe I am feeling what you would call frustration." Wyvern said, surprising the group. "Marcus and I lost to that foe ten years ago. And being faced with it again, I have realized I too lack something. Yet, I cannot seem to find a solution to that problem. And I find it bothersome. Knowing that perhaps, if I knew what I was lacking, I could have prevented this situation from repeating. I do not know why I feel such a way."

"A robot who can be sore about losing." Huxian smirked. "That's new."

"This one just keeps getting more complicated." Shamrock sighed.

"Then I guess you and me both have a lot of things to sort out." Alain decided. "Anyway, what's the plan here? I don't think the Siegfried is going to be coming back. Come to think of it, the pilot said something."

"What exactly?" Tusk asked, the group huddling together to hear the latest development.

"Something about 'a change of plans'." Alain replied. "But not much more than that. Also what we've suspected since Farbanti is true. He works for Embryo. And he has some kind of interest in Wyvern."

"Just great…" Huxian grimaced. "This just got a hundred times worse than we thought."

"Dammit." Chopper hissed. "If Embryo is involved, who the hell knows what's coming next? Alright, first thing's first, we need to get you lot back to Arzenal. When we get back to the mainland, we'll tell Big Boss and Heartbreak what happened, and hopefully start planning from there."

"I'll return to Misurugi once we've dropped them off." Tusk said. "I can get into the palace no problem, so I should be able to sneak a bug into the Emperor's office."

"There's one other problem though." Alain added. "Jill."

"The Commander?" Ange asked.

"Yeah." Alain nodded. "Jill… she hasn't wanted a thing to do with CROSS since Farbanti. I've had to keep the fact I'm still in contact with them pretty tight lipped. Just getting these guys to help me and Tusk is likely gonna put me in the same boat as you two."

"What the hell was she expecting you two to do?" Hilda growled. "Just go off the seat of your asses to try and get both of us… actually no, didn't you say she said to just ignore me and get Ange?"

"More or less."

"Geez, I can't wait to get answers about all this crap." Hilda sighed.

"I can... maybe try to convince her." Alain said. "I don't know how well it'll go though. Jill's changed a lot over the past ten years. I don't know if she'll want CROSS's help even if she knows they might come for Arzenal."

"One step at a time I guess." High Roller said. "Who knows if Arzenal is gonna have some kind of reckoning coming either. Especially from Rosenblum."

"Isn't that the kingdom that runs Arzenal?" Hilda realized. "And… we… kidnapped their princess. Shit!"

"I wonder how Lady Misty is." Momoka mused. "I hope she's alright."

"What did you even do with her anyway?" Alain asked.

"After we landed," Ange told him. "we knocked her out and left her tied up in the Perolina costume."

"That's definitely going to invite something." Alain winced.

"Let us get going." Wyvern interrupted. "The sooner we can begin forming a strategy, the better." The others nodded as they all mounted up. As Alain dropped down into Wyvern's cockpit, he paused to look at the machine's console. "Is something wrong?"

"No, just a bit surprised." Alain said. "And… I'm glad I've got you as my partner. Next time… let's find a way to beat that guy. There has to be some way to use the ARISE system on command."

As they had hoped, they were totally clear during the rest of the flight back to Arzenal. For the sake of speed and discretion, Garuda Team split off from the Wyvern and Tusk once they were within radar range. Knowing if that landing on the main runway would only cause a heap of trouble, Alain and Tusk had opted for the one tiny patch of beach at the back of Arzenal's cliffs. As they exited the Runner's extra compartment, Ange and Hilda took a moment to look up at the place. What came next, neither of them were quite looking forward to.

"So, this is where we part ways for now." Tusk said.

"You really have to leave?" Ange asked.

"Yeah. I have to find out what it is your brother plans to do next. At least for now, Arzenal is still safe… well, relatively anyway."

"No place safer than a jail cell." Hilda dryly said.

"You're really expecting the worst aren't you?" Ange said.

"We deserted, so of course I am. We're lucky the rules don't allow them to execute us."

"I think I've had enough attempted executions already." Ange sighed.

"Be careful out there." Alain said, he and Tusk clasping hands. "Though I'm sure I don't need to say that. If you see Big Boss, tell him I said hey."

"Will do." Tusk climbed back onto his Runner.

"Tusk." Ange called, Tusk looking back as he was about to turn the Runner. "Thank you for coming. If it wasn't for you and your friends… who knows what would have happened to me. I definitely would have been dead."

"Like I said, I'm your Knight. But, it's also because I want to do it." Tusk replied. "So next time… I kind of hope we can spend more time together."

"Definitely." Ange nodded, turning around to grimace at the three sets of knowing stares being shot her way as Tusk's Runner took off over the water. "Cut it out!"

"Now I really want to know what happened between you two." Hilda scoffed.

"I'm sure you two will have plenty of time to talk about such things in confinement." From the entrance, Jill walked out into view, her snide expression falling a bit when she looked at Alain. "What's with you? You look like a dog who just got kicked too hard."

"Hey!" Hilda snapped, not that Jill cared.

"Same as ever." Ange huffed, approaching the Commander. "There's something I want you to tell me. I want answers."

"Oh and you'll get them alright. But…" In a blur of her cloak, Jill drove the fist of her prosthetic right into Ange's gut, the girl giving a shocked gasp as she pitched forward onto the sand. "First you need to be punished."

"Lady Angelise!" Momoka stepped forward, only for Alain to hold her back. "How could you?!"

"Subordinates who act out of line need to be properly disciplined." Jill said, Momoka glaring at her. "Alain, keep your pet in check. So, Hilda, am I going to need to do the same? Or will you come quietly?"

"I saw this coming, so I won't bother." Hilda said, putting her hands up. "But, I want answers too. I've already figured a lot I probably shouldn't know."

"I don't doubt that." Jill looked at Alain again. "Alain, return Wyvern to the hangar and then meet me in my office for debriefing. I want a full report about what happened. Including why your Para-mail is so beat up."

"Yes ma'am." Alain saluted, but Jill still looked irked with him as she hauled Ange off, Hilda looking back as she followed after the Commander, not resisting when a pair of security staff rushed out and put her into cuffs.

"What will we do now?" Momoka asked, turning to find Alain already getting back into Wyvern.

"We'll just have to wait it out." Alain said, holding out a hand. Momoka took it and he pulled her up onto the machine. "For now… just stick with the Inspector. She'll probably be too busy freaking out though."

"I do hope Lady Angelise and Miss Hilda will be okay." Momoka said. "Is this jail bad?"

"Well…" Alain sighed, glancing back to the entrance. "It's definitely not a fun time. Or a comfortable one."

"Oh dear…" she fretted. Alain at least felt glad someone could be worried at a time like this. He knew he had plenty of his own trouble coming.

Alain couldn't help but dread as Jill leaned back into her chair as he gave his report. He would rather have gone back to being yelled at by Mei after she'd seen the state Wyvern was in. The Head Armorer had been almost inconsolable over it.

"So…" Jill's summarized, her voice a special kind of cold. "Not only did you bring CROSS into an operation I specifically said would only be between you and Tusk, you went against my orders and went after Hilda first, you ran into the thing that destroyed Farbanti ten years ago, and nearly got Wyvern destroyed." Jill's hands tightened up as she netted them together, Alain nodding. "If it wasn't for the fact I already have to put Ange and Hilda into confinement for their desertion, you know full well I could punish you just as severely for insubordination, correct?"

"I knew that going in." Alain replied. "But I did what I felt I had to in order to get the best result. I know you have issues with CROSS but we can't act like we don't need their help. Besides, I have a feeling you know this isn't the first time I got them to help me."

"The time with the maid was different." Jill bit. "But, considering the circumstances I'll limit your punishment to docking what would have otherwise been your pay for this mission. Besides, I'm far more interested in what you learned from fighting the Siegfried yourself."

"Well… it has some kind of special system of its own. It's not the Archangel System like Villkiss and the Ragna-mails though. Instead, it used Mana, meaning its pilot is a human. When it activated, the Siegfried began to move… differently. Patterns I could barely get a read on. And moving in ways I didn't think a Para-mail could."

"Did you at least manage keep up until that system came into play?" Jill asked, Alain nodding. "I can understand your desire for revenge. That thing killed your parents and those of your friends. But Embryo is the prime concern. Not his lackey. I don't have a problem with you destroying it and killing the pilot if it gets in your way again, but not at the expense of Libertus. Whatever your problem is, face it, deal with it, and get back into top form. When the time comes, I need every piece in play, and I won't have you jeopardize everything for the sake of a grudge. Is that clear?"

"Absolutely."

"Good." Jill turned to the side. "I already called Salia. You can join her and the rest of Garm in their discussion of Hilda and Ange. Naomi will have to step up in order to avoid them being grounded. You'll be flying with them on their upcoming sortie to make sure she doesn't have any problems."

"Yes ma'am."

"Dismissed."

Once he was out of the office and a fair distance from it, Alain stopped and slammed a fist against the wall. Jill was right. It wasn't just him and his issues. Libertus could very well depend on a number of factors, and if he lost or hesitated, it could all come crashing down. And then what? He winced when his hand flared, remembering he still had that injury from earlier. 'Man that was stupid of me.'

"Alain?" Hearing his name, Alain looked over to see Salia approaching. "You're back?!"

"Hey." Alain responded. "And yeah. Have been for a bit. Just got done with the debrief." He was quick to hide his bandaged hand in his jacket pocket when Salia's eyes trailed to it. "That's nothing. Just something I did to myself."

"What happened while you were gone? I heard some people talking and they said Wyvern came back looking like it had been through a rough fight." Alain really didn't want to have to retell the story for a second time, but it wasn't like Salia didn't have the right to know. And after he did, he grimaced again as Salia started to shake. "The thing that… the reason mom and dad…" Salia sank down a bit as she covered her mouth, memories just as unpleasant for her flashing through her mind. "But you at least…"

"Not really." Alain grumbled. "Keeping up was all I could do, and it stopped being a fight half way through. My only chance if it shows up again is that Wyvern and I can find out how to use the ARISE system at will."

"You… are okay right?" Salia asked as she stood up and grabbed Alain by the hand.

"Physically at least." Alain sighed. "It's something I can think about later. Mei's already raked me over the coals about getting Wyvern damaged. Plus we've got other things to deal with."

"Right… Hilda and Ange." Salia looked down as her eyes narrowed. "I can't believe those two. Ange I can maybe get but Hilda? Deserting and leaving us hanging like that… don't they think about anyone but themselves?"

"That's kind of unfair." Alain said, Salia flinching. "Look… both of them had their reasons. Do I agree with them? No. But I understand them. Especially Hilda. These past few days have been a lot for all of us. And it's not really in my nature to go yapping about that to other people."

"You're acting… different." Salia murmured, her grip on Alain's hand tightening.

"I just have a lot I need to sort out." Alain pulled his bandaged hand away, his eyes lingering on it. "Because until now I'd always thought I was so sure about everything but… now I'm not. I'm afraid of dying. I'm afraid of losing. I'm afraid of failing. And feeling like I'm not strong enough to do anything about it is even scarier. If I go off the deep end again… look, this is just something I need to think through on my own."

"That's fine." Salia said. "I… we just need you to be there with us." It was obvious Salia had wanted to say something else. "I'm just glad you came back to us in one piece. But don't lose in front of me, alright? I don't like that idea."

"Heh… Hilda said the same thing." Alain hummed, Salia flinching again. "I don't need to be some hero, but I can't just run away either."

"Being reminded of that…" Salia huffed, Alain wincing a bit. "Let's go get the others. This is probably going to be a mess. Especially with Chris… you wouldn't believe the mood she's been in since we found out they deserted."

As they walked off, Alain found Salia wouldn't be willing to let go of his hand until they'd gotten to the briefing room.

Arzenal's cell block was a place that, perhaps surprisingly, saw little use. One could chalk it up to the tolerance for whatever shenanigans Norma got up to during missions, so it was a rare day for one to get thrown into the place. As such if someone were to be put into a cell, then it assured the entire base they had to have done something extreme to earn it. And desertion was certainly on that list.

"When are they even supposed to get here?" Hilda groaned as she leaned her head back against the bare wall of the cramped space. It was hardly enough to be livable even by Arzenal's standards. The "beds" she and Ange were graced with were barely more than a few slabs of wood chained to the wall, with a thin, scratchy excuse for a pillow and blanket being their only covering. Nor was she liking the idea of that exposed toilet. 'Well at least it's probably clean…'

And then there was the matter of her partner in crime, who was still out like a light on the floor.

"Hey, Ange! How long are you going to stay down?" Hilda leaned forward and lightly tapped Ange with a foot, the blonde groaning in pain. "Commander's got one hell of a right hook huh? Alain's been hit by that thing more times than you might care to count."

"Shut up…" Ange groaned, holding her throbbing stomach. As she sat up, the girl noticed she'd been stripped naked. "That's the second damn time in a week!"

"They put some of your uniform on the bed." Hilda pointed out. "All the better, I think our friends should be here any moment now."

"You're still calling them that?" Ange bitterly noted as she hurriedly dressed herself just in time for them to hear the heavy clanking of the outer doors opening. Salia, Ersha, Rosalie, Chris, and Alain coming last. Hilda was quick to assume Ersha had gotten Vivian to stay away by occupying her with something. She couldn't guess why Naomi was absent. "And now this."

"I'm here to inform both of you of your punishment." Salia pulled up the clipboard that was tucked under her arm. "Ange and Hilda of Garm Squadron, for your desertion, you'll be placed in the suspension quarters for one week. Your wealth and property will also be confiscated. This includes your Para-mails, of course."

"This is just something you have to take responsibility for." Ersha said. "You're bother deserters after all." In a rare showing, Ersha's expression was downcast as she looked at the two. "Why? Why did you two run?"

"Huh?" Ange raised a brow while Hilda remained silent, looking away when she caught the glare Chris was giving her.

"We've all been here since we were babies." Ersha continued. "We don't know anything about the outside world, and there's nobody waiting for us. We don't have a reason to leave. There's no place for us Norma outside. So why?"

"Because they're not like us." Salia said. "Ange especially. We never should have trusted her."

"Come on, there has to be some reason!" Rosalie spoke up. "Hilda, why didn't you just talk to us if there was a problem? We're friends, aren't we?"

"Tch, don't waste your time." Chris scoffed. "She never thought of us as friends."

"Chris…" Alain murmured.

"It's not like I have some excuse." Hilda said. "I left because I thought there was something for me out there. I was wrong, so now I'm paying the price for that. If you want to be pissed at me about it, feel free. No use talking it over when I'm locked in a cell like this."

"Then why leave in the first place?!" Chris growled, slamming a hand onto the cell. "What was the point huh?"

"Like I said, a prison cell isn't the place for us to talk this out." Hilda bit back. "Be angry with me, hate me for all I care. I probably deserve it. But when I am out of here, you'll find out why. And that I get it now. I get what all of you went through. We are different. But I can do my best to try and understand that." Alain couldn't stop a small smile from showing, Hilda looking away from him when she caught it. Chris looked between the two, giving a grimace of annoyance.

"Whatever. Rosalie, let's go." Chris's surprisingly firm tone made Rosalie flinch to attention.

"O-Okay." Rosalie gave a worried look to Alain. 'I'll stop by later.' He mouthed, the girl nodding.

"I bought back all of Captain Zola's stuff." Chris added. "I don't want you to have any of it."

"You weren't kidding when you said Chris is in a mood." Alain said, looking to Salia as Chris and Rosalie left.

"That's all that needs to be said here." Salia spared a look back as she left too.

"I'm sure it'll be fine when you're out." Ersha assured, pulling Alain a bit of a ways off. "Alain, is something wrong? You've been awfully quiet since you got back. Salia seemed worried about something too."

"I'd be lying if I said I was fine." Alain admitted, doing his best to give Ersha a reassuring smile as that worried look of hers returned. "But it'll be fine, I promise. I'll meet you all in a bit, I need to talk with those two about something before I go."

"Alright." Ersha leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek, slowly letting go of his arm as she left. 'I guess I'm also realizing how lucky I am to have these people around me.' Alain thought as he returned to the cell.

"Well, that was mess." Hilda noted, laying down on the bench.

"Until now I'd never really thought about what the rest had it like." Ange admitted with a sigh. "Being here since you were a baby. No wonder no one's tried to escape before."

"Well that's the regular case. Some of us were actually born here." Alain said as he sat down, Ange giving him a raised brow, then looking to Hilda, who nodded in confirmation. "To make the long story short, back before CROSS was a thing there was a group of those pre-Mana humans who joined up with Arzenal. Me, Salia, Chris, and Naomi are just a few of the kids who were born at that time. Tusk as well."

"So that's what Tusk meant when he said you and him had Norma mothers." Ange asked, Alain nodding. "Let me guess, it also has to do with the Villkiss and whatever it is the Commander knows, right?"

"Libertus." Alain said. "We call it Libertus. The plan to make a world where the ones rejected by the Mana World can live in peace and freedom. The Farbanti disaster ten years ago was the crux of it's failure back then. The reason Jill is the one who should tell you, Ange… is because she used to be the one who piloted Villkiss."

"Huh?!" Ange gasped, Hilda looking just as shocked.

"Like I've said before, I'm not at liberty to talk about all of this right now. But… if something happens like we're expecting, then I think everyone is going to learn the truth sooner than we think." Alain looked off to the exit. "To be honest, for the longest time we've had a little inner circle planning this in the wings. Jill, Jasmine, Maggy, Salia, Mei, and myself. Ange, you arriving here two months ago is what kick started it. That ring of yours, hell the fact you're of royal blood… that's the lynchpin to Libertus. Despite what Salia said, Jill doesn't have any plans for you not to pilot Villkiss once you're out of here."

"You're just making me want answers all the more now." Ange huffed. "She used to be it's pilot… just what is Villkiss anyway? Why do Jill and Salia always seem to be making a big deal out of it?"

"I think I remember Salia tried to pilot it herself a few years ago." Hilda said. "It didn't go well though. The thing got totally trashed and she was a mess afterwards. Nobody knew why it happened though. They just said it was some kind of system malfunction."

"That's part of all of this." Alain confirmed. "Villkiss is… special. Only certain people are capable of piloting it. That's why the two of them are so stuck on it. That's really all that I can say, other than that Villkiss and its pilot are key parts of Libertus. As far as Jill is concerned… you're a lot more important than you might think."

"I'm not exactly in the mood to be treated as something special nowadays." Ange huffed.

"Well, take that one up with Jill when you can. She'll tell you the full story then, I'm sure." Alain stood, dusting himself off. "I'll find some time to stop by and check in here and there over the next few days."

"Which reminds me…" Ange said, her eyes narrowing. "If you do anything to Momoka while I'm in here I'm cutting it off, got it?"

"Yeah yeah." Alain said with a wave. "She'll be fine, don't worry. I'll make sure Maggy doesn't put anything weird into her head. Lord knows what that woman's gonna try and convince her of."

"Good." Ange huffed, her eyes trailing back until she heard the door clank shut. Then she looked at Hilda. "Alright, spill it, the hell happened between you and him before you showed up?"

"How about you tell me what happened between you and that Tusk guy and then I'll talk." Hilda returned.

"Fair enough." Ange surmised. "He pulled me out of Villkiss after I crash landed on his island, tied me up to this bed, fell into my crotch after I woke up… then like an idiot I ran into the forest in the rain and got bit by a snake. Idiot sucked the poison out but… he did save my life. Of course while he was fixing Villkiss somehow he faceplanted on me a few more times. I strung him up in a tree once or twice as punishment. But… I can't really say it was a bad time."

"That is… much weirder than I thought it would be." Hilda commented. She did find the image of Tusk, through wild chance or a defiance of physics planting his face between Ange's legs amusing at the least. "It was different for me. After I found my mom, some cops showed up when I was leaving. I beat up a few of them." Ange raised a brow, Hilda glaring at being caught. The mostly healed bruises still on her face said a lot more than her mouth was. "Alright, fine! I was pretty out of it and they beat the hell out of me. Alain appeared out of nowhere and took them down. I don't actually think he killed any of them either. After that, we spent a day just talking it out at a cabin those CROSS guys have as a hideout."

"Wait wait, back up a bit. He didn't kill the cops that attacked you?" Ange's brow raised right up as Hilda nodded. "I didn't think that guy knew how to be subtle. But then again he also wasn't being his usual smartass self."

"We can pin that on what happened today." Hilda leaned an arm up on her knee. "To be honest just talking with Alain made me realize a lot. I kind of always hated him because I didn't like what he represented. I'd decided to go and let myself be Zola's plaything to survive here, and he was acting as free as a bird. I didn't realize until recently just how much he had shoved onto him by the people around him. I don't think some of the girls here realize how idolizing him like that isn't good for him."

"So the "Ace of Aces" is fallible after all." Ange remarked. "What about your two friends? Chris was pretty pissed off."

"I'll sort things out with them once we're out of this cell." Hilda repeated. "Chris can be pissed off if she wants for now. Alain said things about her parents are kind of raw memories… always took Chris for the quiet type but I guess there was also things she just never wanted to talk with me or Rosalie about."

"It's weird learning some of them had families." Ange bore a wistful look as she stared off out of the small cell window. "My brother seems like he always had it out for me. And my own sister betrayed me."

"At least your parents didn't reject you for being a Norma." Hilda bitterly countered. "Yours at least tried to protect you."

"That's the other thing." Ange said as she let out a huff. "This rotten world… how the hell does that guy do it?"

"Huh? Alain?"

"Yeah." Ange nodded. "He went off the deep end sure, and you had to snap him out of it but he's still not broken. When Sylvia betrayed me, it felt like everything I still had hope in was gone. I just shut down until you all showed up. So how the hell does he come out of being beaten by the thing that killed his family nearly in one piece?"

"I wouldn't give him that much credit." Hilda hummed. "But you do have a point. When he finally calmed down, even if he's being indecisive now, I didn't see that same kind of broken look I'm sure we both had. How the hell he can be hopeful in a world like this, I don't know. He's probably just an idiot."

"Well your idiot at least has an idea of what he's doing."

"What do you mean by…" Hilda stalled when Ange gave her a look, her face almost matching her hair. "It's not like that!"

"Didn't everybody else like to speculate about when you two were going to share a bed?"

"That was all joking around."

"Sure sure." Ange gave a playful wave, Hilda giving a huff, but she had the same snide grin as Ange.

"How far have you gotten with your idiot anyway huh? Aside from his face falling into your crotch apparently." At Hilda's counter, Ange blushed too and started messing with her hair.

"Not that far. We almost kissed one time at the least." Ange admitted, Hilda snickering. "Shove it! At least Tusk doesn't sleep around."

"I don't think he can anyway." Hilda countered, Ange sighing. "You know, I never thought I'd feel better having some stupid chat about men of all things."

"Same here." Ange looked back out the window again. "When I get my answers, I'll make sure that twisted world full of privileged dumbasses gets torn down."

"I might actually be on board with that whole bit of making a place where we can." Hilda said. "If I get to bust some people's heads along the way, that'll be even better."

"It might not take anything less to do that. So, how about it? Would you be willing to team up with me to bring that system down?"

"Let's get out of these cells first." Hilda answered. "I'll consider it until then."

With the sky growing dark from nightfall, Alain took the opportunity to sneak away from his room and get outside. There was a lot of things on his mind, and some fresh air was helping him feel at ease about it. Base personnel technically weren't supposed to be top side at this time, but he knew his way around enough to get out and back with no one the wiser. Once he'd found a spot along the cliff edge he sat down, closing his eyes as the night breeze blew over him.

"Libertus huh? Jill seems to be getting a lot more serious about it…" Alain gave a deep sigh as he laid down in the grass and stared up at the moon. "It's not like I don't understand my place in it. But to think, that thing was right in front of me, and I couldn't even…" Alain felt his jaw tense up as a slow, simmering anger rose up in him.

"Jill's diagnosis that Embryo remains the top priority is strategically sound." Wyvern commented. "However, I feel as if her own reasons may not be as genuine. It is troubling she still refuses to cooperate with CROSS. If something does happen, Arzenal lacks the resources to stand on it's own."

"Until I see a reason for it, I have to trust Jill… as much as I can anyway." Alain said as he sat up. "But unlike her I do trust CROSS. But… that can wait for later. We need to figure this out." Alain pulled out the terminal, Wyvern's AI view flashing onto the screen. "Using the ARISE System… why I want to keep fighting for Libertus… no… why I actually want to protect anything. I don't want it to be for revenge. But protecting something solely for the sake of it? Why doesn't that feel right either?"

"Alain, I do not feel you are the type who simply does things for the sake of it." Wyvern said. "There is a reason behind your desires, a goal that must still be within sight for you. Didn't you say it yourself? That you want to know what your father meant by reaching "skies unknown"?"

"But that's just it!" Alain muttered. "What if I can't do that? What does something like that even mean? 'Reaching skies unknown?' I still don't understand it. Reaching that with everyone I can… of course that's still what I want to do but why? And can I?"

As he mulled over it, his eyes went upwards again. And as he looked at the moon, two darting shapes caught his eye. A pair of birds that Alain recognizing as sea eagles, soaring through the air together. He remembered that they occasionally nested in Arzenal's northern cliffs when passing through during migration. And the way the birds spiraled and swirled around looked just like a dance. 'Dad always admired birds…' he remembered. As his eyes followed the eagles, something falling down also caught his gaze. Alain reached out and found himself holding a large feather one with mottled grey patterns. He was also reminded of that old coin, pulling it out and angling it so the moonlight shone along the faded eagle engraving in it.

"Eagles huh? Didn't dad say something about them representing freedom a long time ago?" Tucking the coin and feather into a pocket, Alain stood and turned, a brief cry of surprise coming from him as he saw Naomi standing behind him. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"Looking for you." Naomi answered. "Ersha's keeping Vivian busy, so I went searching. You're in a mood of your own huh?"

"You could definitely say that." Alain looked down as a scoff passed him. "I'm trying to figure a lot of things out right now. Today was… revealing of a lot for me."

"I can tell by that look of yours. You're almost always grinning or smirking. It's rare to see you looking so worn down." Naomi commented, grabbing Alain by the cheeks. "But your eyes are as bright as always. Whatever it was, it didn't do a thing to discourage you huh? Being stubborn is one of your good points."

"I don't think being stubborn is going to be enough though." Alain said, gently holding Naomi's wrists. "It's a lot to think about. More than I've had to think over than I have in a long time."

"You'll figure it out, you always do." There wasn't a hint of doubt in Naomi's voice as she pulled Alain into a hug, the boy flinching from the action. "You don't always have to be the Ace of Aces. You can just be a normal guy every now and again with us you know?"

"That seems to be a point I'm getting told a lot recently." Alain returned the embrace as he chuckled, Naomi giggling into his ear. And both were surprised when they heard something carry on the air: Singing. Ange singing.

"Shine upon me El Ragna. Upon everything, it spins and spins lu la la li la. Sadness and happiness are both part of my hazy destiny. All of this is the dream works of a minute's time. When God blinks, we are already dead and gone again. Resonate, resonate, now as your true form. Fleetingly, fleetingly, the visions of men recede. It prays for eternity." The song was somewhat familiar by now. Alain recalled a few times over the past two months during sorties that Ange would sing it. He'd always taken it as a quirk of hers. Now though, he was beginning to think there was some significance to that song.

"It's weirdly nostalgic sounding, isn't it?" Naomi commented, keeping a hand threaded with Alain's. "I've only heard it a few times myself but… something about it is familiar."

"Not sure why but yeah. I feel the same way listening to it." Alain said with a chuckle. "Salia would probably be annoyed at us praising Ange for her singing at a time like this."

"She's a deserter in lock up, how dare you be swayed over by a silly song! Right?" Alain stifled his snickering at Naomi mimicking Salia's tone. "I'm also sure things will make sense once you're up there in the skies again. I can't wait to fly with you again."

"It'll make sense huh?" Alain wondered. "Maybe… and, yeah. Me too. I missed it when you were out. Something felt like it was missing whenever I was up there with the others. I'm sure they felt the same way about not having the wild Pixy up there too."

"Hehehe, then I need to make sure my second First Flight leaves a good impression." Alain felt Naomi's grip on his hand tighten. There was worry there despite her confidence. "Now come on, it's getting late. Can't get anything done when you're tired right?"

"Right… though tonight, well…"

"Sometimes making sure someone isn't alone is all you need to do." Naomi said. "You were at my side the entire time while I was in a coma, so let me be by yours while you're trying to sort whatever this is out."

"Yes ma'am."