Chapter 24 - Family Ties

12.23.1204 - Thursday (Touring Erebonia 3)

The day had gone rather smoothly, well as smoothly as any day in the Civil War could go anyways.

The Courageous had spent the day going around Eastern Erebonia doing requests that Prince Olivert and Major Mueller had sent them. They also managed to get their hands on some Zemurian Ore from one of the shrines. After handing it to George and Professor Schmidt, Towa ordered Class VII to rest for the remainder of the day.

Rean decided to make himself some coffee in the cafeteria, and seeing as there was some extra sugar available, he also made some coffee for Towa while he was at it. Within a few minutes, Rean surprised Towa with a sugar filled coffee.

The two sat down to chat while drinking their coffee together before getting notified about a new message. They both went to check what it was.

To their surprise they had received a new request straight from Baron Schwarzer. It was rather vague on details. The only specific thing included was that he wanted Rean and at least one other person to visit Ymir.

"Sorry to cut our chat short Captain Towa, but I should probably go to Ymir with Valimar as soon as I can." Rean said before finishing his coffee.

"Not so fast! The request mentioned that someone else has to go with you. And seeing as I ordered everyone to rest, it's up to your Captain to join you." Towa announced before finishing her coffee.

Knowing full well he couldn't reject his Captain's orders, Rean agreed to take Towa with him.

Rean and Towa quickly went to the garage and got inside Valimar.

"Alright, Valimar let's head to Ymir!" Rean ordered.

"Acknowledged." Valimar responded.

Before Towa knew it, Valimar stood up and entered the Spirit Path so they could get to Ymir in no time.


Rean and Towa thanked Valimar before letting them rest in Ymir Valley.

Luckily the monsters they saw on the way to Ymir knew not to mess with either Rean or Towa, and soon they made it to Ymir.

"Alright, we should probably head to my folk's place." Rean said as he led Towa to the Schwarzer residence.

After knocking, Lady Schwarzer welcomed them both inside. Rean and Towa quickly took off their coats and put them on the coat hanger.

"We got here as fast as we could, what happened?" Rean asked after greeting Lady Schwarzer.

"Ah yes our request, your father is waiting for you in his room. He's starting to get better." Lady Schwarzer responded.

After Rean left to speak with Baron Schwarzer, Towa properly greeted Lady Schwarzer.

"Hello Lady Schwarzer, I hope you don't mind my intrusion. Rean and I read Baron Schwarzer's request and decided to come together to let his classmates rest." Towa explained. Towa suddenly felt a chill go down her spine.

"Don't worry dear. I couldn't be happier to see the captain of Courageous going out of her way to help my son." Lady Schwarzer explained.

Towa could swear that Lady Schwarzer had started eyeing her.

"Oh, I just remembered that I need to finish preparing the tea. Captain Herschel, you wouldn't mind helping me would you?" Lady Schwarzer asked.

"Of Course! I'll be glad to help Lady Schwarzer." Towa said as Lady Schwarzer led her to the kitchen.


Rean quickly made his way to Baron Schwarzer's side.

"Dad! I'm here, what's wrong?" Rean said as he saw Baron Schwarzer lift his head to see him.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to have a chat with my boy." Baron Schwarzer said as sat up on his bed.

"Oh, man you had me really worried there for a second." Rean admitted.

Rean and Baron suddenly heard wind blowing outside a window. It seemed as if Rean and Towa had made it just in time, as a blizzard had just started.

"You know, the weather outside is exactly how it was when I picked you up." Baron Schwarzer said.

"You mean found me." Rean corrected. His father had told him the story of how he found him in the woods around 13 years ago so many times that Rean had memorized it by heart.

Rean smiled as he recalled the story to Baron Schwarzer. "It was a dark April morning. Despite there being a blizzard, you had decided to go hunt for some geese in the nearby forest early in the morning for mom and Elise that day. While exploring the forest however, you stumbled upon something unexpected: a five-year old child. After checking their pulse you took them home, fed them, raised them, named them, and gave them a home. And that five year-old child was me: Rean Schwarzer."

Baron Schwarzer could only listen silently as heard Rean tell the story he himself had told him for the past 13 years. Despite the smile on his son's face, he could tell that there was pain behind it.

Baron Schwarzer knew better than anyone that Rean would overthink anything told to him, especially a story filled with so many holes as to how he found him. Like how low the odds of Baron Schwarzer just casually stumbling upon an abandoned child, or how they knew Rean's birthday was in May, or even how they knew his birth name was Rean. Baron Schwarzer knew that Rean simply had chosen a long time ago to accept the story as it was told to him. Either to not worry his family, or simply because Rean didn't want to think about it.

"Rean, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner." Baron Schwarzer said.

"About what?" Rean asked.

"There's more to that story son." Baron Schwarzer revealed.

Rean sat silently as he listened to Baron Schwarzer reveal a bit more about what really happened on that dark April morning.


Lady Schwarzer and Towa had started to talk while Rean was upstairs with Baron Schwarzer.

"Oh, are you sure you don't mind me being here?" Towa asked.

"Nonsense, you're welcome to the Schwarzer residence anytime. Actually, I'm sure you might be more helpful than anyone else Rean could have brought." Lady Schwarzer answered.

"What do you mean?" Towa asked nervously.

"Seeing as you're the captain of the Courageous, I assume you keep an eye on everything?" Lady Schwarzer asked.

"Yup, nothing gets past me!" Towa answered.

"Then do you know if Rean's got his eyes on any girl? As his mother, I need to know who's gotten my boy's heart aflutter." Lady Schwarzer cheerfully asked.

"Uh..." Towa responded. She was very hesitant to tell Lady Schwarzer that the girl in question was standing in front of her at that very moment.

"If I tell her what happened she'll probably tell me to keep dreaming. I can only imagine which noble they intend to marry Rean off too. Probably someone like Laura or even Princess Alfin probably. There was no way they would give their blessing to her. The only social value the Herschel name had was an import shop in Heimdallr." Towa thought to herself.

Lady Herschel and Towa suddenly heard something open.

They saw nothing in the kitchen and checked around the house before discovering that the front door had been opened.

"Must have been the wind. Good thing you and Rean made it before this blizzard started." Lady Schwarzer said as she closed the front door, but not before Towa noticed footprints leading to a nearby forest.

Lady Schwarzer and Towa quickly returned to the kitchen to finish the tea that they were preparing, and to continue the conversation they were having.

Towa did her best to dodge Lady Schwarzer's questions.

After a few minutes Towa had to finish preparing the tea herself, as Lady Schwarzer got too occupied asking her to confirm or deny which girl onboard the Courageous Rean showed interest in.

Towa gave the same answer to all the girls Lady Schwarzer brought up: "Sorry, I think they're just friends". Admittedly, Towa got a bit offended when she realized that Lady Schwarzer had managed to name every girl onboard the Courageous, except for her.

"Is that really all of them?" Lady Schwarzer asked herself aloud.

"You forgot to ask about me…" Towa accidentally retorted.

Towa immediately froze upon realizing what she had said. She felt a chill go down her spine as she heard Lady Schwarzer ask the same question she had asked about the other girls.

"Well? Are you and my son more than 'just friends'?" Lady Schwarzer cheerfully asked.

"W-We're just f-friends as well!" Towa quickly answered. She did her best to hide how flustered she had gotten.

Towa was sure Lady Schwarzer would be able to look through her lie, but luckily for her it seemed as if Lady Schwarzer believed her.

"Alright then. Oh the tea should be done by now. Shall we take it upstairs?" Lady Schwarzer responded.

Towa helped Lady Schwarzer by taking the tray with the tea that they had made upstairs.

"Sorry for the delay! Here's the tea you two!" Lady Schwarzer said as she opened the door to Baron Schwarzer's room.

Towa almost dropped the tray when they saw that Rean was nowhere to be seen, with Baron Schwarzer silently looking outside at a nearby forest from the window by his bed.

Towa immediately realized that the sound she and Lady Schwarzer heard earlier must have been Rean leaving. She recalled the footprints leading to the forest and that Rean's coat was still on the coat hanger. Without much thought, Towa placed the tray on a nearby table and excused herself.

Before Baron Schwarzer and Lady Schwarzer could react, Towa quickly made her way downstairs and put on her coat and grabbed Rean's coat before exiting through the front door.

Baron Schwarzer and Lady Schwarzer watched on from the window next to Baron Schwarzer's bed as Towa made her way into the forest to chase after their son.

"I take it Rean didn't take the truth well?" Lady Schwarzer asked.

"It still wasn't the whole truth, only the parts I knew he wouldn't mind me sharing with Rean. To be honest he took the news better than I expected, running outside to the forest during a blizzard aside." Baron Schwarzer answered.

Baron Schwarzer then turned to his wife to ask her a question. "By the way, you heard Rean leave from the front door earlier didn't you? Why didn't you stop him before he got too far?"

"I might've not given birth to Rean, but I'm still his mother. And as a mother, it's important to know when I have to let my child leave the nest." Lady Schwarzer answered as she turned to face her husband.

"It also pleases me as a mother to see that my boy has found such a caring partner." Lady Schwarzer revealed.


4.23.1192

It was a dark April morning, and an unexpected blizzard had overtaken Ymir.

A black-haired man with a burnt coat covered in blood was walking through the forest, and in his arms was an unconscious bloodied child no older than five years-old.

Once inside the depths of the forest, the man laid the child down on the ground.

"Oh, Aidios… If you're listening, hear me now. Please, allow this child…" the man started praying.

Within minutes another man could be heard making their way towards the man and the child. Although by the time the other man made it, only the child remained. It was as if the man vanished into thin air.

The other man picked up the child along with an envelope the man had left next to the child. It contained two things, the child's birth certificate and a letter from the man informing the other man about what the child was allowed to be told about their past.

The other man quickly checked the child's pulse, and was relieved to see that the child was still in good condition.

Soon, the other man carried the child back to their home.


12.23.1204 - Thursday (Touring Erebonia 3)

Now back in the present, Rean had returned to depths of forest.

For years the only memory Rean had about the forest was the time he and Elise had wandered in there when they were kids. It was the first time he had used his ogre powers. While looking for a way back home, he and Elise were attacked by a monster. Not wanting Elise to be harmed, Rean started hitting the monster with a stick. Before Rean knew it, he had transformed into his ogre form and killed the monster as Elise watched on in horror. Ever since then Rean did his best not to use his ogre powers out of fear of harming those he was meant to be protecting.

But now Rean had remembered a long forgotten memory about the forest. He now remembered a bloody man in a burnt coat leaving him there and getting picked up by Baron Schwarzer.

Rean was on his knees and crying. It was all he could do after being told the truth by Baron Schwarzer and the memory constantly replaying in his head.

"What's going on!? Why have my parents been lying to me!? Who was that man!? Why were we covered in blood!? Why was his coat burned!? What else are my parents hiding from me!?" Rean yelled.

Rean hated what he had been reduced to. He was the leader of Class VII, but now he was nothing more than a crying child. His only consolation was that no one was around to see him in such a pathetic state.

Suddenly Rean heard someone yelling his name. He quickly stood up and turned around to see who it was, and was shocked to see Towa running towards him.

Rean also sensed a monster behind him ready to attack them.

Before Rean could take out his tachi, Towa took out her orbal gun and used her S-Craft on the monster.

"Rainbow Shot!" Towa yelled as she landed a direct hit on the monster.

Unfortunately before they could celebrate, Rean sensed more monsters behind Towa and activated his ogre powers to get to them before they could harm Towa.

"Spirit Unification!" Rean yelled as he ran behind Towa to strike the monsters.

Now side by side, Rean and Towa noticed that there were more monsters surrounding them. It was as if they were planning to attack Rean while he was down.

Rean and Towa gave each other a nod before taking out their Arcus Units.

"Overdrive!" Rean and Towa yelled in sync.

Once in overdrive Rean and Towa damaged the monsters faster than they could react. Once they sensed that the overdrive was close to ending, Rean and Towa used their S-Crafts to finish the monsters off.

"Azure Flame Slash!" Rean yelled.

"Rainbow Shot!" Towa yelled.

Once the overdrive finished, all the monsters were eliminated. Now only Rean and Towa remained in the depths of the forest.

Rean quickly kneeled down to catch his breath. While the blizzard had subsided during the overdrive, Rean was finally starting to feel cold. He started to regret not bringing his coat with him.

Before Rean knew it however, Towa had walked up to him and draped his coat over him and put her arms around his head. Either because of the coat or by how close Towa had gotten when she also laid her head on his, Rean had started to feel himself heating up.

"Captain Towa-" Rean started to say before getting interrupted.

"It's okay, Rean. I might not know all the details, but what I do know is that you shouldn't suppress how you feel. I'm here for you Rean, don't be afraid to let out your emotions. Don't worry, I promise not to tell anyone about what happened here." Towa said as she started rubbing Rean's head.

With that Rean started to cry again, all while Towa continued to rub his head.


After a few minutes Rean and Towa walked back to the Schwarzer residence.

Unsurprisingly, Lady Schwarzer was waiting for them by the front door and they all went inside together.

Once inside, Lady Schwarzer asked Towa to wait downstairs while she, Rean, and Baron Schwarzer talked privately. Not wanting to be rude, Towa did as she was asked. While she didn't know the full picture, it was clear to her that Rean needed to hear what his parents wanted to tell him.


Rean and Lady Schwarzer made their way to Baron Schwarzer's room.

Upon entering, Rean was surprised by Baron Schwarzer and Lady Schwarzer hugging him.

"Mom… Dad?" Rean questioned.

No words were said, but Rean understood what they meant.

Rean felt stupid for thinking that his parents had been lying to him. While there was more to his story than they had led him to believe all his life, he couldn't be more thankful for everything they had done for him. They brought him into their home, they fed him, they raised him, and they gave him a home. While Rean was always his name, they had given him their family name as if he was one of their own. No matter what happened, he was thankful to be Rean Schwarzer. There was more to his story, but he understood that something was preventing his parents from telling him. One day they might tell him, but for now and forever he would always be a Schwarzer.


Lady Schwarzer helped walk Baron Schwarzer downstairs.

Baron Schwarzer apologized to Towa for not properly greeting her earlier and the four sat down in the living room to enjoy the tea Lady Schwarzer and Towa had prepared earlier.

"Wow, this tea is delicious." Rean complimented Lady Schwarzer and Towa.

Lady Schwarzer decided that now would be a fun time to tease her son and Towa.

"Don't thank me, Captain Herschel here was in charge of making your cup. I'm sure she made it with extra love." Lady Schwarzer teased.

In classic Rean fashion, it went right over his head. Meanwhile Towa herself tried to cover her face to hide how red she had gotten, much to Rean's concern. Rean quickly turned to Towa and put his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

"Wait I was the one who ran off without a coat, why are you the one with a fever? That's weird, you don't seem that warm. Still, I'll go get some medicine just in case." Rean said before heading off to look for medicine in the kitchen.

Towa did her best to calm herself down before Rean came back. Not before they noticed that Rean's parent's laughing at them. After Rean gave Towa medicine to prevent her "fever", they all went back to finish their tea.

By the time they finished, Rean and Towa had noticed that the sun was starting to set and decided to return to the Courageous.

Despite claiming that she was fine, Rean went to his room and gave Towa one of his spare hooded sweaters to wear under her coat so she wouldn't risk getting a fever.

Baron Schwarzer and Lady Schwarzer thanked Rean and Towa for helping them with their request and wished them the best of luck with the war.


Soon Rean and Towa returned to Valimar.

"Hey Valimar, sorry we're late." Rean greeted.

"Don't fret. I enjoyed my nap." Valimar responded.

"I guess even Divine Knights need to rest." Towa said.

"If I may ask Rean, why exactly did you bring Captain Herschel with you?" Valimar asked.

"Everyone was relaxing, so Towa decided to join me. Why do you ask?" Rean responded.

"As you know, my memories have slowly been returning." Valimar said.

"Yeah, your speaking has also become less rigid because of it." Rean noted.

"Well one of those memories was of my previous awakener. I recall a time he also brought a close female companion to visit his family. If I recall correctly he had brought her so they could get their blessings to begin courting. So I was curious if you had brought Captain Herschel to do the same." Valimar informed them.

"WHAT!?" Rean and Towa responded as they each felt their faces become a matching shade of red out of embarrassment.

"Those coats seem to be doing an excellent job keeping you two warm, or at least according to my readings." Valimar noted.

"V-Valiamar, t-that wasn't why we're here I swear!" Towa responded.

"Y-Yeah. My parents made a request and Captain T-Towa came along. Nothing else I swear!" Rean explained again.

"I see, my mistake. Shall we return to the Courageous now?" Valimar asked.

"Y-Yes." Rean and Towa said at the same time.

With that embarrassing conversation behind them, Rean and Towa got inside Valimar and returned to the Courageous to prepare for whatever the next day threw at them.


Author's Note

A bit more of an original scenario this time. I based it off of that one event later in the game, but you know, more Rean and Towa focused. Hope you enjoyed it!

Preview - Of course one person had managed to look past the brave face she had put on, and had made their way to console their distraught captain.