Chapter 20 - Courageous Escape
10.30.1204 - Saturday
It had been a few hours since Crow had led the invasion of Trista. Despite the Imperial Liberation Front ordering everyone to stay inside their homes or dorm rooms, many Thors students had escaped from Trista and made their way to safer locations to hide in.
Among those who had made their escape from Trista were all the remaining members of Class VII. They were all surprised to wake up in their dorm rooms with bandages around the wounds they had sustained from their recent battle. They quickly held an emergency meeting and agreed to split up across the empire to hide from the Noble Alliance, and look for Rean if they could. Despite the last thing they all saw before collapsing was Crow piercing Valimar right where Rean was located, they held out hope that Celine had managed to help Rean and Valimar escape from their dire situation. Emma was able to sense that Celine was still in good health which only gave them more hope. After preparing bags with spare clothes and food for themselves, they split into three groups and left their dorm.
However, Class VII failed to notice that two more people were also inside their dorm. First there was Towa, who had been left in Rean's room after she collapsed with Class VII. Then there was Crow, who was hiding in his room. He had listened in on Class VII's plan and made sure to keep an eye out for Celdic, Legram, and the Nord Highlands.
Now all he needed to do was wait for Towa to wake up.
"Rean!" Towa gasped as she woke up.
"O-Oh, I was just having a nightmare. F-For a second there I thought Crow was a terrorist, and that he had k-killed Rean." Towa told herself.
Towa soon realized that she wasn't in her room.
"Wait, where am I?" Towa asked herself out loud.
Towa then heard someone enter the room she was in.
"Looks like you're finally awake." Crow greeted. Despite the cheerful greeting, Towa could tell that something was off about Crow.
"Crow… who's room is this?" Towa asked. She was unsure to tell Crow about her nightmare, especially considering the role that he played in it.
Crow didn't answer Towa's question. All he did was simply throw what looked like a locket at her.
Despite being caught off guard, Towa was able to catch the locket. Without much thought she opened it and was surprised to see a picture of Rean inside. She soon turned to Crow for an explanation.
"It's a common practice in Jurai that when someone close like a family member or a lover passes away to commission a locket and put in a picture of the recently deceased inside. Think of it as a way to keep someone close to your heart. I actually got one for Rean with a picture of you way back when I finalized my plans for the attack on Orchis Tower." Crow explained.
Gone was Crow's cheerful and smug tone that Towa had grown so accustomed to after knowing him for so long, and its place a cold and bitter version of the Crow Armbrust she thought she knew.
Towa immediately realized what Crow was really trying to tell her. Her nightmare wasn't just in her head. That had all just happened. Crow was not only a member of the Imperial Liberation Front, but he was their leader. And to make the invasion go as smoothly as possible, he eliminated the biggest threat standing in his way: Rean.
Something inside Towa finally snapped. Without even thinking, she got up and put her arms around Crow.
"Crow… why? Why are you doing this!? Why are you leading the Imperial Liberation Front!? D-Did you plan to still do the attack on Orchis Tower knowing full well that I was going to be there!? Has our time at Thors with Angie and George been some sort of lie!? Why did you kill Rean!?" Towa sobbed.
Crow's only stood silently before pushing Towa off.
It was clear to Towa that Crow's silence was his answer to all her questions. The person in front of her wasn't the friend she made while at Thors, but some monster who'd been deceiving everyone the whole time.
"You have five minutes before before George leaves. The Imperial Liberation Front will not harm any runaways. I requested Scarlet to fill you up a bag with spare clothes and some food, it should be downstairs by the door. Consider it a farewell gift from the Crow Armbrust you thought you knew." Crow said before leaving.
After trying to process everything that had just happened, Towa made her way downstairs. There she found the bag Crow had told her about. True to his word (for once) it had some spare clothes and food for her. She made sure to put the locket Crow gave her inside the bag. If that was all she had to remember Rean by, then she was going to do her best to keep it safe.
Soon Towa made her way outside and spotted George waiting for her nearby.
Trista was silent, it was difficult for Towa to see the town she'd spent almost two years in become so desolate in under a week.
George informed Towa about his getaway plan. They would go through the woods surrounding the east exit and sneak their way into Celdic.
Seeing no real alternative, Towa agreed to join him.
She knew she was going to be leaving Trista soon anyway, but she never could have imagined leaving this soon and in its current condition.
Sneaking through the woods was dreadful.
Not that it surprised Towa, the whole day had been dreadful.
George could see that Towa was miserable and decided to tell her what Class VII was planning and what he saw happen after everyone else collapsed.
"Towa, you don't have to worry about Class VII. I saw them leave the Class VII Dorm before you, and they told me about their plan. They're going to split up around Erebonia and lay low for a while and look for Rean if they have the chance. I told them how I saw his Divine Knight fly into the sky to look for a safe place to heal. Emma also said she still sensed that her cat was still in good health. That means Rean's still probably also safe somewhere out there." George informed Towa.
Towa slowly took in everything George told her, and it made her feel even worse.
"George, I know what you're trying to do. I appreciate it, don't get me wrong. But I know what I saw, Crow killed Rean without a hint of mercy in front of us. Honestly, I'm envious how Class VII can still hold out hope." Towa told George.
There was more Towa wanted to get off her chest; her worries about her family back in Heimdallr, Angelica's safety, her fears about what was going to happen to Trista, her anger towards how Crow had been lying to them the whole time they'd known him, and most painful of all: her regret over not telling Rean how she felt.
She recalled how optimistic she was earlier that day to confront Ren when he returned from defending Trista.
It took her every ounce of remaining strength she still had to come to terms that Rean was gone. The last thing he did was protect her from Crow, and now Rean was dead because of it.
Towa and George suddenly heard a loud airship fly over them.
Before they could make a run for it, a loud familiar voice came from the airship.
"Be not afraid!"
Once on board the airship, Towa and George received a proper update on the status of Erebonia.
A civil war had broken out across the Empire. The Noble Alliance had been funding the Imperial Liberation Front's efforts for around three years in an attempt to make the Imperial Army and by extension Chancellor Osborne and his government look weak. It finally culminated in Crow assassinating Chancellor Osborne to leave no one to oppose the leaders of the Noble Alliance from taking control of Erebonia.
The Noble Alliance however seemingly didn't expect the Courageous led by Prince Olivert and Viscount Arseid to also stand against them.
Originally, Prince Olivert had intended to take back Trista before nightfall, but Toval, Mueller, and Captain Arseid refuted his plan.
They had lost enough valuable time hiding Princess Alfin and Elise away in Ymir that taking back Trista would be impossible with their current resources. Instead, they went with Prince Olivert's back up plan of surveying the land around Trista to find any runaways.
In the end, Towa and George were the only people they were able to find.
"So you guys have no idea where any of the runaway Thors students or staff are?" George asked.
"We originally planned to use Reinford's Arcus tracking system to locate them and take them somewhere safe, but the Noble Alliance also took over Roer. It turns out Marquis Rogner was a member of the Noble Alliance from the beginning." Captain Arseid answered.
Towa and George now understood why Angelica was locked inside her home ever since the incident in Roer a few months ago.
"Judging by your bags I imagine you were planning to hide out in Celdic I take it?" Toval asked.
"Right." George responded. It was clear to him that Towa was in no condition to talk with anyone.
"Well how about you join our crew? I'm sure Mueller can confirm how much manpower we are in need of." Prince Olivert asked.
"I can confirm that currently the Courageous is running off of emergency reserves. We would appreciate it if you considered lending us your aid George Nome and Student Council President Towa Herschel." Mueller continued.
"Gladly." George responded.
"I… I'm sorry, but is there somewhere I can go and think privately about this?" Towa asked.
"There's a closet down the hall. Take your time." Prince Olivert calmly answered.
Towa made her way to the closet Prince Olivert had pointed her towards. She made sure to take her bag with her.
Once inside she closed the door behind her, and took out the locket Crow had given to her earlier.
She opened the locket and saw the picture of Rean inside. It was difficult not to start crying again, but she didn't. She knew better than to give up when things got difficult. She remembered what George had told her earlier; about how he saw Rean's Divine Knight fly up into the sky, how Class VII held out hope that he was still alive, and how Emma's familiar who was with Rean inside the Divine Knight was still in good health. The only thing indicating to her that Rean was dead was the locket Crow gave her. But if she learned anything that day, it was that the Crow Armbrust she knew was a liar.
"R-Rean… Don't you worry I- no we'll all find you. As long as I don't give into my despair, then I know that you'll be alright. I know better than to underestimate you. You might've lost today, but I still believe in you. I'll do everything I can to help the Courageous in the meantime. We might not be sure where everyone is right now, but if I do my best to help, then everyone can get accounted for and moved to a safer area sooner rather than later. I-I know we'll reunite again. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. When it happens I'll give you the tightest hug of your life. A-And when the moment is right, I'll tell you how I feel." Towa whispered to the picture of Rean inside the locket.
After putting the locket back in her bag, she made her way back to the conference room.
"Prince Olivert and Captain Arseid, Student Council President Towa Herschel reporting for duty! What should I do first?" Towa announced.
12.12.1204 - Sunday
It had been over a month since Towa and George had joined the Courageous' crew.
It took a while to get the hang of things, but they eventually found their roles. George had taken over the lab and helped Prince Olivert develop a new more enhanced orbal gun for himself. Towa found herself helping around the entire ship, if someone needed help with anything then she was always up to the challenge.
As thanks for their assistance, Prince Olivert had gifted them each with a useful item. George was given an upgraded portable orbal computer and Towa was given an orbal gun he had imported from Liberl.
Towa was initially uncomfortable with wielding such a thing, but then she recalled what had happened in Trista. How she failed to protect Rean and Class VII from Crow. She knew that if she could learn to properly use her orbal gun then nothing like that could happen again. So when the day comes where she needs to protect the others, then she'll be ready.
Recently, they had received an anonymous tip that informed them that something important was waiting for them around Ymir. Fearing it could be a trap, Prince Olivert had sent only Toval to investigate. Towa had insisted on also going to Ymir, but Prince Olivert shot that idea down. Due to the situation's secrecy the only people who could read the reports Toval sent back the following days were Prince Olivert and Captain Arseid.
Towa was busy helping around the bridge when Captain Arseid made an announcement to the crew.
They had received a call from Class VII in Ymir, and they were to fly there immediately.
Towa was glad to finally hear from Class VII. She knew that if Class VII were in the same place, it meant that they had all reunited.
Author's Note
Thus the Cold Steel 2 Arc begins.
Unfortunately, since Cold Steel 2 is already a bit shorter along with the fact that I'll be skipping the Prologue and Act 1in this story expect the Cold Steel 2 Arc to not be as long as the Cold Steel 1 Arc.
Also since Cold Steel 2 is more condensed into one-two months, expect the pacing to be a bit quicker than before.
Hopefully you all enjoy the new arc!
By the way, yes this story will include Cold Steel 3 and Cold Steel 4. Hajimari on the other hand will not be included in this story. ;)
