"Hold…formation!" Patriot's raspy voice rang through the battlefield. "...and…march!"

One by one, thunderous steps moved forward as shields bashed back ursine spears. Rings and shouting echoed through the field. Men screamed as they were either impaled or cut down, but the Aegis marched on. Over the corpses of the fallen, the Aegis pushed the line and the Ursus infantry was now on the backfoot. As they retreated, giving stabs at the shield to no avail, officers began to panic as their reinforcements failed to show.

No, the reinforcements and heavy infantry were either being frozen solid or burned to a crisp as they struggled to buy time and simply hold the line. As they were pushed back, officers either ordered a retreat or demanded the ultimate sacrifice of their men. The line began to fracture, and that's when black dots took to the sky before slowly moving over the line and an Aegis pointed out the drones.

"Shields…!" Patriot ordered as he raised his shield skyward. "...Formation!"

Like a well oiled machine, the Aegis pulled their own line inwards until they had encircled the troops most vulnerable and waited.

The sky screamed and howled as shells flew through air and converged onto the line. Ursus soldiers were now in a full route, but by the time they noticed it was too late, the bombardment had begun. The first shell struck Patriot's shield and the earth cracked beneath him. Following suite were many more shells that all screamed in haphazard unison as they made to bomb their position, but the Aegis held firm. If one man fell, he was pulled in and the formation was re-established. Within the shields, the lesser soldiers held their heads and prayed to whatever forces they bothered to believe in as the crack of earth and shrapnel hitting metal sounded around them.

One position was hit at point blank and Patriot watched helplessly as a chunk of their own was ripped by the shell and a rain of body parts and gear. An arm was impaled on his horn, prompting him to simply rip it off and toss it down. After that he looked to the Ursus side and his soul throbbed familiarly at the sight. Ursine bodies and wounded littered the battlefield line far more than his own, but it didn't stop him from feeling some form of pity.

Once the bombardment ceased as the artillery somewhere in the distance began reloading their shells, a lone sentinel walked up to the old wendigo.

"Patriot, Sir, shall we give chase?"

"Let…them…flee. It…changes…nothing…"

"But sir, the enemy will regroup."

Patriot simply breathed in response, a low metallic vibrating sounding from his mutated larynx as the retreating soldiers fled out of sight.

"...Tend…wounded…bury…dead…" he ordered before turning to address his men and slammed his spear into the earth. Suddenly, all attention was on the old general and he said one word, loud and clear for all his men to hear.

"...Victory…!"

Cheers erupted as the guerillas celebrated, but the battle was far from over. Behind enemy lines, another battle was still being waged as the Yetis and Talulah's squadrons had made sure the main force of the enemies that just retreated had nowhere to go that was truly safe. As the soldiers returned to their base of operation, they would soon find themselves being greeted by a sudden onset of cold. Ice crystals created a thick fog and winter quickly overcame summer.

Soldiers, still dressed for summer began to freeze and the fog made determining where they even were difficult.

It was then that the sound of a bolt flying through the air and piercing bodies sounded. Screams followed shortly after and the first of the Yeti infantry began pouring in. Casters and Icebreakers worked in tandem to ensure the strong did not have the opportunity to help their comrades as the rest of the infantry proceeded to cut down the stragglers in vicious melees that left dead mostly on the Ursus side.

The screams pierced Frostnova's skull and she gritted her teeth as she watched the panicked eyes of their victims fall to glassy stares frozen in time as her body's arts soon froze the outside, creating grim statues of the dead, many not older than their mid twenties.

"Ursine scum, forcing us to kill those we should be protecting…" she said before stomping out the skull of an officer who likely took part of the suffering. Any that were barely alive faced a mercy killing, Frostnova, unable to stomach causing the men and women she killed to suffer, felt her heart sink. She should've been protecting these people, but here they were, simple conscripts, citizens forced to take up arms against their fellow man for the selfish select few.

It didn't take long for the confused and unruly to be wrapped up and Frostnova forced her arts down. It was still cold, but it had stopped getting colder, and the sun soon began to peek through the fog and melt the ice crystals obscuring their vision.

"Round them up! Bind them, but do not kill them, we will decide their fate later!"

Soon, Frostnova began marching out of the enemy camp with their remaining force and prisoners of war. She cast her gaze over, and wanted nothing more to set the ice crystals back up to hide the bodies, but when she saw the still shivering conscripts, she paused. With a shake of her head she ordered them to reunite with Patriot and return to base.

She didn't exchange words with her father, she didn't even bother looking at him, yet she felt a hand bump her head.

"...You…did…good…" Patriot said, his gaze shifted to the prisoners she had taken. She looked at him in a stupor, why was he praising her for taking prisoners of war. For all she knew they would die being treated or Talulah and Patriot may decide to hang them. Why was he praising her?

"...They…are…also…victims. They…deserve…mercy…"

A small piece of Frostnova felt her heart warm and throb, but at the same time it was still cold.

"...War…is…bad. It's…good…you…know…"

"But when will it end? When will the sacrifices be enough?"

"...I…don't…know…" the old wendigo rattled. Frostnova placed her head down and bit her lip before. She felt his hand again, armored and cold as the environment that followed her, but it was comforting. In that moment, she felt it fade away and for a moment there was nothing else in the world save for the marching columns of men that blurred as the only clear thing was ahead of her. "...I…did…not…find…light. But…you…can…"

Yelena felt icy crystals fall through her face and she moved to hug Buldrokkas'tee. At that moment, she chose to smile. It wasn't a pleasant smile, but it was a happy one. Buldrokkas'tee's eyes slitted as he smiled under his mask too. Even if they both felt chilled to the bone from the hug, it was still warmer than the sun itself.

By the time August had rolled around, Evan could now look in the mirror and see a different body had developed through all his training. It was rather impressive what a couple months of rigorous near-daily calisthenics would do, but it made sense since they were designed to create soldiers as fast as humanly possible. For once in his life, muscle was visible, if only a little bit. No, he hadn't made astounding progress, but he had made much more than he ever dreamed of previously.

Sure, he still had regular work to do, but he could at least walk around feeling a sense of accomplishment, and not in constant pain. During the months he had decided to take up some of the offers others gave him once he had gotten used to training at least once a day. While by now he was far from the boulder lifting levels of Sideroca, which shouldn't be possible for him anyways. He could at least keep up with Grani now, even if it did seem like he came out worse for wear than she did.

Dur'nar had also been instructing him in basic unarmed and armed combat. Essentially, how to defend oneself with a simple sword or when stuck to one's sidearms, which meant knife in this case. Regardless, he now usually ended up returning to bed bruised in several parts which was rather annoying. But in the process he had managed to pass a basic test for a field operator. Now he was expected to understand how to assist in tight situations, which made him uneasy, but when would he really need to use it?

It seemed the busybody feline had taken over his regular monitoring, as Kal'tsit moved on to more important business. He had to wonder if she decided trying to control him directly wasn't going to work or if much like Amiya, he had caused an increased workload by doing his job. Either way, the last couple months had been pretty lax in an odd way. Some minor projects of note came along like the first prototype jammer being made, or the fact he had been helping Lena install some solar panels around the Convalescence Garden so that the garden could become even more self-sufficient.

He did have to wonder though, if he should be concerned about returning to his old world at times, but considering he had no clue what brought him here or why, he had just assumed it wouldn't be as convenient to get back. Despite that rationalization, he had to wonder what was going on back in his old world now that he was approaching half a year spent on Terra. It wasn't until his thoughts became pessimistic did he decide to let out a rather forlorn sigh and wonder.

"Is something wrong?" Magallan asked with a concerned look.

"Just…thinking about home, and how it's going to be six months since I left it."

"Ah, I see," she commented before they both turned back to their work. From the tone of her voice, he could tell she understood somewhat. Nothing was really said for a while as the two simply performed their work, that was until a knock sounded on the door and Angelina poked her head in.

"Miss Magallan, I have a delivery for you," she commented before walking over and handing a letter to the penguin liberi. "I also have some for you too," she added before passing a wad of letters to Evan. He flipped through them briefly and separated them out from business to personal on a nearby table before looking at the personal. More letters from his Lungmen pen pals made up the personal pile, but one from the business pile seal caught his eye briefly before Magallan made a sound of surprise.

"W-What? My recent expedition has been canceled!"

"Oh, that stinks," Angelina replied, still not having left the workshop. Actually, now that he thought about it, it was late in the day, so maybe she didn't have any more pressing deliveries to make. "Why'd it get cancelled?"

"Says here civil unrest, which makes sense for Northern Ursus these days."

"What's been going on up north?"

Both of them blinked a little and exchanged glances. Angelina quickly remembered then decided to explain.

"I've heard that the infected militia, Reunion, has been pushing south, seeming to want to get out of the tundra. No one really saw it coming, and some sources say the Ursus Sixth Army has been struggling to halt their advance."

"The people on the tundra aren't bad, but it's such a shame what Ursus' infected policies have done. Expeditions have been harder and harder to get approved to the Ice Fields due to the tundra's civil unrest."

"So they cut your expedition for your own safety?"

"A little…specifically they can't provide an escort on account of Reunion."

"Why not have Rhodes Island serve as your escort? We have plenty of combat operators waiting for missions," Angelina suggested, to which Magallan visibly perked up as though she had been handed a divine epiphany.

"Yeah! I could hire Rhodes Island operators."

"Well, you wouldn't have to hire us, so much as go ask The Doctor for approval."

"Wait, really? I could have my security force for free?!"

"Well, you would have to either give a good reason or pay a commission fee, but since you work here I don't think The Doctor will make it very expensive."

"I'm going to go ask him right now! Sorry Evan, but this is important to me."

He didn't entirely know what to say as Magallan swiftly left the room, but Angelina giggled and said, "Well, I guess that leaves the two of us. That was my last delivery. I like my work, but it is always refreshing to see the workday end. When do you get off?"

"Oh, I was kind of just working to work I guess, my shift's been over for a little bit."

"Ah, would you be interested in accompanying me to dinner? I've only been sustaining myself on snacks this whole day, which will certainly mean a scolding from the medics."

"Are they usually strict about diet here? I haven't noticed much management for me."

"For us infected, our diet is usually strictly managed. Since you don't fall under that, I imagine there's some leniency for you."

"Makes sense, though they do allow you some decisions, don't they?"

"Sometimes, but mostly we rely on the good will of others to snag some unhealthy treats from time to time."

"Do you think I could make something? I've been considering baking something for a while now."

"You cook?" Angelina asked, and when he nodded in affirmation, she beamed ear to ear. "Well, I would love to try your food. What are you considering making?"

"Maybe a pie, something to celebrate the fact I'll have been here for six months in a bit."

"Wow, has it been that long?"

Evan let loose a couple laughs before looking at what he was working on and sighing.

"I guess it has…"

He barely registered Angelina's footsteps as she walked closer and knelt in front of him.

"Do you need someone to talk to?" she asked, brows arched in worry. "I-I know what it's like, being far from home, from where you wanted to be in life. I may still be able to see my family, and am familiar with the world, but I get it."

For some reason, he felt a kinship, that she really did understand some of it, if a small piece. To this, he smiled and said, "You're a good friend."

Angelina smiled back then replied, "That's good to hear. So come on, let's get some grub, as you would say."

It started off a day like any other. Go train, work, see Folinic, library, then free time, but when he saw Folinic, she was clearly distracted. Feeling curious, he decided to ask her what was wrong. What he got in response, shocked him.

"Wolumonde's been hit by a catastrophe, and we've lost contact with our operators in the region. All operators in that region are considered missing in action, including a very close friend of mine, Atro."

"Ah," he said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What I want are answers!" Folinic snapped, slamming her hand down onto the table with force enough to make his senses pop from the harsh collision. "First an earthquake hits the region, then a catastrophe clips the city, and now I don't know if my friend is…is…"

"Look, if you need space, we can reschedule when you're feeling up for it."

"N-No!" Folinic snapped, grabbing his wrist suddenly as he stood up from his chair. He looked into her eyes, they were shaking wildly and she seemed panicked, worried, confused, and shocked all at the same time. "I-I've been assigned by Kal'tsit as your medic in her place…"

The feline took a few deep heavy breaths then let go of his wrist. Where her hand had been, a red band mark was all that remained of her panic. Both sat back down, but Folinic held her head low as she gripped her hands on her lap.

"There's no shame in admitting you need some time to yourself, you don't have to keep pushing."

For once, she scoffed and said, "You sound like everyone else when you say that…"

"Besides, what can you do until the news comes? Worrying about it won't do any good."

"And that's supposed to solve the problem, how?" she spat back with a shocking amount of venom. "Atro might be dead, and you're telling me not to worry, do you even hear yourself?"

"Ok, I was just trying to help. Again, if you need time-"

"S-Sorry!" she suddenly apologized, eyes returning to normal. "You came for a checkup, not to hear about my problems."

"Yes, but you're clearly not in your best mindset. Look, I can ask Kal'tsit or someone else to do my vitals and checkup, I don't think any of them will blame you, and I don't know if I can help you or provide support if you're going to keep snapping at me. Maybe it's best if I leave."

Once again, his wrist was grabbed, but in a much gentler fashion. Instead of anger and confusion, he looked as her eyes glistened over with tears and a look of fear was upon her features.

"Please don't leave…" she pleaded with an oddly vulnerable tremble to her voice. Evan sighed and sat down, waiting. After a few moments of silence, she took a deep breath then began explaining. "I-If Professor Kal'tsit knows…she'll make me stop working, if I stop working…I'll start…" she gulped, tears starting to stream down her cheeks as she held back painful memories. Gently, Evan reached out and ever so gently reached for her back. He didn't know why, but it felt oddly correct. It's not like Folinic was a stranger, but this was really testing the boundaries.

She didn't pull away or stop him as he started to gently rub circles into her back. Slowly through grunting chokes, she kept herself from breaking down enough to finally reach for her tools, finally finding strength enough to go through with the brief checkup.

Before he left, he gave a few taps on her shoulder until she looked at him so he could ask, "Are you going to be OK?"

"For now…" she muttered. "...Thanks…"

"Hey, if you ever need a shoulder to lean on, mine's always available."

Folinic snorted before looking at him, a minorly amused pull to her lips as she smiled meekly at him.

He moved to get up and leave, not bothering to look back as Folinic continued to look into her lap, pondering his words.

The next day, a meeting was held in which Evan sat awkwardly in the Doctor's Office along with Kal'tsit, Closure, and Amiya as they discussed a very important fact of his fate.

"Absolutely not!" Kal'tsit nearly shouted, slamming her hand on the Doctor's desk before leaning in closer. "We will not send him to a catastrophe site!"

"But the CC organization-"

"The Contingency Contract Organization will get their panels, but we are not sending Evan as a field operator!"

"Miss Kal'tsit, please let Dokutah-"

"No, I will not approve this! We can't risk him coming into contact with active originium!"

"W-Well, he is the inventor, who better do we have to send in the first place?" Closure asked nervously, earning her a terrifying gaze of cold malice from Kal'tsit. "B-But they're not particularly difficult to set up…"

"You all have one chance to explain, don't waste it."

"Thank you," Doctor said before pulling the remote out and the device that mirrored a smart-board or something similar changed, showing the disaster zone. "The town of Wolumonde is located here, between the Catastrophe that hit it, and this new scar in the earth created by the earthquake. Due to the damage of the quake, Wolomunde cannot proceed through its original route to avoid the Catastrophe. Thankfully it only clipped the town, but we still have minimal data on the damage. In response, the CC organization has already sent out the call for aid and has asked us to assist in sending medics, catastrophe messengers, engineers, and emergency supplies. Problem is, the catastrophe still hasn't left the region, so the only way to get equipment into the town is through the earthquake site. Of course, someone could ride the edge of the catastrophe and get there much faster, but for a convoy that would be impossible. Amiya, if you would."

"Yes, Dokutah," Amiya said before a number of documents were pulled up. "The CC organization has ordered a number of solar panels to serve as emergency generators, since this technology created by Mr. Carvey allows the generation of power without originium and is relatively easy to transport. We've been in contact with the CC organization, and we wish to send a small shipment of these panels to Wolumonde through the emergency route along with a few necessary operators. That's where you come in, Evan. Dokutah and I believe this would be a great opportunity for you to see what we consider to be the most important missions of Rhodes first hand. As the inventor of the device, we believe you would be perfect for the transport and emergency setup of the panels as we get proper emergency resources through the earthquake site."

"What I disagree with is sending him anywhere near a catastrophe site, much less within arm's reach of an active catastrophe. We don't know how his body will respond to active originium, and I don't think it's a good idea, even with medic operators monitoring him the whole way."

"Yes, but that's not for you to decide, Evan will decide whether he wants to go. We've talked about this already."

"I am his primary medic, and I say it is too risky!" Kal'tsit declared with another slam. "We haven't even run controlled tests on whether his body will even accept originium, much less the processes it goes through with exposure! I'm not risking his health and possibly life in this operation!"

"And what if I want to go?"

Kal'tsit whipped her head to him, her eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I've heard this before, and as Amiya said you can't stop me if I want to go."

"But it is unwise to do so, you co-"

"I still wish to go, risks be damned. If I run into active originium, I'll avoid it. Besides, you can have someone you trust monitor my health."

"I can monitor him!" a new voice said from the door. Standing in the entryway was Folinic along with Lisa, who looked nervous.

"And how do I know I can trust you?" Kal'tsit asked with narrowed eyes. "And that this isn't some attempt to go find Atro?"

Folinic froze, but to some people's shock, Lisa stepped forward.

"Kal'tsit-sensei, that's not fair!" Lisa exclaimed with a slight quiver to her voice, but she stood strong. "It's not fair to Folinic onee-san, she's hurting really bad…she needs to find out what happened…and…I-I also want to know what happened to Atro-san!"

"Unacceptable, you and Folinic will not skirt the edge of a catastrophe just so you can go chasing for a single operator, Suzuran."

Lisa's ears drooped and she stammered, fidgeting with the staff in her little hands. She looked like she was about to cry, and that was what did it.

"Alright, enough!" Evan yelled, standing up. "I'm done negotiating. Send us through the earthquake site if you want us to avoid the catastrophe, but it's clear to me that what's not being valued is our thoughts on the matter. We don't have to agree, but I'm not going to set a precedent where I can't help those in need because of some risks, and I also don't want Folinic and Lisa to suffer not knowing what happened to Atro. They at least deserve closure, regardless of the outcome."

"You're already at risk, we wouldn't be able to guarantee your safety. You should also remain away from the catastrophe site so that you aren't exposed to active originium if possible. Do you still wish to go, against my wisdom?"

What really bothered him was how Kal'tsit looked at him in this moment. Normally, he was relieved he couldn't usually tell what she was thinking, but the way she looked at him now, worked up after having so many challenge her view, he could see it. She thought she knew best. She may not be willing to say it, but she was trying to control their choices through reasoning.

"I'm going. Folinic and Lisa can come with me."

Nothing was said for a while, and Kal'tsit looked around the room before giving a sharp 'tsk' and said, "Do what you all want, I have other tasks to do today."

Kal'tsit soon marched out of the room and the door shut was almost like a slam, despite the fact it was automatic. No one said a word for several moments, shocked that Kal'tsit of all people had admitted defeat in an argument and stormed out.

"Well that doesn't happen everyday," Doctor quipped before turning to the three volunteers before him. "I'll work with Amiya on getting the three of you a squad. Until then, I recommend you start preparing. With the state of Wolumonde right now, I plan to send you out as soon as possible."

Before they could all leave, however, the Doctor called Evan's name and asked to speak with him in private. As everyone left the room, a few gave glances back, curious as to the conversation they would ultimately be excluded from. Once everyone was out, the Doctor spoke.

"Evan Carvey, I wish to appoint you as the commander of this expedition."

"...What…?" he asked, simply shocked to the point he couldn't even muster a reaction.

"Well, first off, this isn't a combat operation, so you are allowed to command the unit. Furthermore, I will also allow you to transfer command at any point to any number of operators if you do run into trouble, but I want you to take a step towards being a leader."

"Hold up, why do you want me to be a leader? I'm not exactly good at leading…"

"Well, personally I would disagree. I think we have a lot in common. I understand I'm giving you responsibility, but I believe you can be trusted. Besides, you'll be the first responders in Wolumonde as far as anyone is concerned. I think your consideration of others will go a long way to helping the townsfolk who have been displaced and scared. I also think you work well under pressure, but that's just a hunch of mine."

Evan opened his mouth to speak, but held his words before staring into his own skull to try and formulate a sentence.

"Like I said, if you feel uncomfortable commanding, you can transfer command to someone in your squad. I'll have someone who can take over if something goes wrong, but this is my decision. I just wanted to let you know."

True to his word, the Doctor didn't take long to form a squad, and the morning they were to head out, Evan entered the vehicle bay at the base of the landship to see who else would be joining him on the emergency expedition.

The first person he didn't recognize, but was drawn to, was a lupo with an absurdly fluffy tail armed with a crossbow and a whole belt of survival and wilderness gear. She of course noticed this and brought her tail forward and gave a little wink, which made him a little self-conscious that he had been staring and he looked away while rubbing the back of his head. At this she giggled then walked forward.

"Don't be shy, everyone stares at it at first. You must be Evan. I'm a catastrophe messenger and heavy shooter sniper operator, codename Provence. I've heard the children are quite fond of you, right Suzu?"

Suzuran looked away and nodded a little, prompting Provence to giggle then turn her attention back to him. Lisa's hands fiddled with her staff, showing she was nervous, which made him feel some form of glowing warmth.

"Anyways, it'll be my job to guide us around the catastrophe and help with setting up a communications route when we rendezvous with the squad who are supposed to scout out the other methods into Wolumonde. Nice to meet you!"

The other person, he did recognize oddly enough. In fact, it made all too much sense when he considered the Doctor was going to make sure he had someone he could put in charge if he wasn't up to the task.

"Well, this is quite the turn of events. Guess I get to be your tutor more than your teacher this time," Dur'nar said with a smile. "Hope you live up to our expectations, commander."

"Please don't call me that…you least of all…" he groaned, which made the vulpo laugh, forcing him to shortly join.

There was one more face to their little cohort, and it was a rather surprising addition. This last person was out of the way of everyone else, simply looking on with a thousand-yard stare. Her features seemed rather draconian, with the sharp horns and a fiery tail. She wore a jacket over a sweater and didn't pay him mind as he walked over.

"My codename is Reed, and my role is a vanguard operator. That's all you need to know."

Looking at her, there was an oddly jarring feature to her that drew his attention, a seemingly molten burning core shining through her sweater, glowing like a gentle ember. He realized now that standing next to her, she gave off a gentle heat, but not enough to bother him oddly. Maybe it was because thanks to Ifrit and Skyfire he was used to people that gave off heat? Whatever, she didn't seem to want to talk. That wasn't going to stop him though.

"Well, nice to meet you Reed."

"You as well, commander," she softly returned without breaking her distant stare.

"Any reason you decided to come along?"

For the first time Reed looked at him, her stare seemed apathetic in a soothing sort of way, as though he didn't have to worry about her view of him, the world, or even herself. It was kind of jarring, the way she stared at him almost emptily.

"The doctor recommended I join this mission. I'm not sure why, but he did. That's all. I will follow your orders, and guard you with my life."

"Well, again, nice to meet you, and I hope we get along," he said, extending his hand which Reed looked at hesitantly. His smile faltered to a small frown when she didn't return it and simply continued to stare off into the distance.

Before the hour was up, they were all already on the road and speeding for their destination as black clouds crackled in the distance, growing in size as they approached.

Author's Note

Oho, we finally getting some balls rolling. Some stakes, an adventure! Well, today's gonna be a busy day. Hope you guys are ready for more, cuz all I gotta do is post the other two chapters I have to just do preliminary checks over. So I could be releasing those other two today as well.

Since there's not much to respond to, I won't do a Q&A here, but I do read reviews as always, and I do accept PMs if any of ya wanna have a private convo/Q&A.

Now then, wait with baited breath, and for I'm slapping on more chapters today. WHOO!