The train ride back to Trista should have been a more positive affair. As distasteful as their missions had been they'd all been completed successfully. And while the betrayal of the archaisms had led to some tragic civilian casualties, they could take a little solace in the fact their presence had prevented a far greater disaster from occurring.

Unsurprisingly, however, none of that seemed to matter to Rean. Laura couldn't exactly blame him for acting as distant as he was given everything that had happened, but it was concerning all the same. Rean was always the one pushing herself and the rest of Class VII forward, so to see him acting so timid and worn down left her at a loss.

At least he wasn't so out of it that he wasn't listening to their words or responding in turn, even if those responses tended to be way more curt than his usual behavior. It was an unspoken agreement between her and Fie to keep the conversations they were having to be things of interest to their quiet third companion, even if that was a difficult prospect on such a long ride home.

"I wonder if they are going to find the hidden factory or not..."

They'd left both Sara and Altina behind when they boarded the train, with the former wanting to spend a few more days in her hometown doing whatever she could while the latter was recalled back to wherever the government kept her when she wasn't on missions. From what intelligence Altina was willing to share, General Le Guin's army had begun a search for the suspected archaism factory in North Ambria, but orders from the Imperial Government had ordered them to stand down. On paper it was so the troops could prepare themselves to be relieved and go home as soon as the occupation force arrived.

But personally Laura suspected that Chancellor Osborne didn't want the factory to be found just yet. It would certainly line up with what they'd witnessed of the manipulative chancellor atop the Infernal Castle.

"I'm sure Sara'll search for it when she can, but I can't say I have much hope for her. And for once I don't think it'll be her fault."

"Hmm..." For a brief moment Laura held hope that Rean was about to contribute to the conversation, but the swordsman failed to follow up with anything and a depressing silence once again filled the mostly empty train car they were in.

"D-Did anyone find out what caused the archaisms to stop?" Laura asked, as much to break the quiet as to sate her own curiosity.

Fie surprised her by nodding her head, "I did a little poking around while... you know." While Rean was sleeping, "Sounds like a Northern Jaeger recruit was against what her leaders was doing and was able to destroy the device controlling all the archaisms."

"Sounds like quite the story." The blue-haired girl praised genuinely.

"We owe her a lot." Rean's own praise lacked the same fire, but considering it was the liveliest thing he'd said since they embarked she'd accept it.

"Dunno if she surrendered with the city or was a part of the group that slipped away."

Those jaegers that had escaped the battle were branded as criminals to be arrested, but given what she'd seen since arriving at Thors was doubtful they'd actually be captured. A small group of elite mercenaries could run circles around whatever military or law enforcement was sent after them, especially so long as there existed power hungry individuals willing to pay top mira for skilled warriors, even if they were fugitives.

Fie let out a yawn and a stretch as the train came to a brief halt at the next station, "Dunno 'bout you guys, but I'm glad we're finally going home. Army cots are not for me."

Laura could only respond with the most unimpressed look imaginable, "And yet we're always finding you passed out on a bench, or on the roof, or under a tree, or-"

"Just because I'm that talented doesn't mean I don't prefer our bed. Plus I'm gonna need lots of rest before Vivi and the others get their claws in me."

"You think she's going to ask you about- Oh."

Laura cut herself off. Vivi would definitely be interrogating Fie. And she herself would be facing that same kind of scrutiny from her own club and classmates. But that wasn't the main issue.

Rean didn't react verbally to her words, but the worn down swordsman seemed to shrink into himself as he stared down at his hands in his lap. Any questions she or Fie would need to suffer through would be magnified ten-fold for Rean.

"...I'm not sure I'm ready for this." He weakly admitted what she'd come to realize, "T-The others are going to be so curious and-"

Not just their fellow students, either. Even if the teachers and citizens of Trista were more understanding of Rean's situation compared to the average person they were undoubtedly going to be very interested in his return.

It wasn't as if they could remain away from their homes forever, but perhaps a small break wouldn't hurt? But just where could they possibly go on such short notice.

"The train is now departing from Leeves. The next stop is... Heimdallr. Heimdallr." Came the automated train announcement.

Well, that was convenient, "How about we spend the night in the capital? Should give us all plenty of time to unwind after everything that's happened." She asked brightly.

In theory her idea was a sound one. A day in the familiar capital sounded like a pleasant outing, plus it would give Rean a little more time to mentally prepare himself for their return to Trista.

Sadly for the three of them Laura failed to realize just how terrible of an idea it truly was.

Since it was fairly late in the evening and Fie was complaining incessantly about wanting to sleep, the first place they visited was the closest hotel to the train station. Compared to other such locales they'd visited in the past it was fairly run of the mill, but since they only intended to spend the night it was more than enough for their needs.

Plus it was certainly a far cry above the military lodgings they'd spent the past few days living on.

There were a lot of things she wanted to say or do, but as soon as the three of them got to their rooms the stress and exhaustion of the past days caught up with them almost immediately, and it was unanimously decided that anything else could wait for the morning and that it was time for sleep. And it was a sleep which came on almost as soon as they laid their bodies onto the soft beds.

The next morning the trio was out an about as they walked down Vainqueur street without a destination in mind. That was honestly fine with her, but she wasn't surprised when a certain someone decided to open her mouth and complain, "So are we gonna do something or are we just gonna walk around all day? Could've done that in Haliask, you know."

Laura rolled her eyes at Fie's expected statement, "If you are that impatient you're free to go off on your own and do whatever you want." She supported her kind statement with a beatific smile knowing it was an offer the other girl simply couldn't accept.

"Bah. You really suck, you know that?" The grumpy little silver-haired menace's capitulation was music to her ears, "Can't we at least go to the park or something?"

As much as she knew Fie mostly just wanted an excuse to laze about the idea wasn't a terrible one, "What do you think, Rean?"

"I'm alright with that."

She really shouldn't have been surprised by his answer. Even if Rean wasn't exactly out of it it seemed like he lacked the energy to truly think for himself at the moment, instead opting to just go along with whatever they came up with. While it made her decisions easier Laura couldn't help but wish Rean would argue the point a little more.

The first few minutes of their walk to the park were as pleasant as the early November weather. It was still fairly early in the morning so Heimdallr was in the midst of waking up, which meant that traffic was a little lighter than usual. A perfect day for a stroll.

"What's going on over there?" Fie asked.

Following her gaze Laura saw a sizable crowd gathered near one of the street merchants. For some reason she had a bad feeling about it, but their curiosity compelled them onward regardless, "What's going on?"

"The Chronicle just released their special on the war!" Came the reply from an excited pedestrian.

Uh oh. That bad feeling in her chest grew a hundredfold. She could feel Rean stiffen from beside her.

"Crap. We need to get out of here." Fie whispered, "Now."

The reason for that became obvious as soon as the crowd parted just enough for the Arseid to catch a glimpse at the newspapers on display. Just below the massive headline proclaiming victory over North Ambria was a picture that caused Laura's heart to skip a beat.

To her it was the image of Valimar retreating back to the camp with an unconscious Rean inside.

But to the people reading the paper? It was a heroic image of the Ashen Chevalier flying triumphant over the city just after its liberation.

How the Chronicle managed to get a picture in the middle of the battle like that she'd never know, but that wasn't important, "He did it! The Ashen Chevalier did it!"

"Thanks Aidios for the Ashen Chevalier!"

"We'll be safe from Calvard so long as he's around!"

"Hip Hip Hooray!"

Their praise of Rean was honest, but completely misplaced. Still, it wasn't anything she or anyone else could do anything about. Their ignorance was built upon the foundation of lies that Chancellor Osborne crafted after the previous war and competing against his well-laid plans wasn't something they could do at the moment.

But more importantly than changing public opinion...

She turned her gaze just as Rean took a panicked step backwards away from the commotion. Unfortunately in his current state he failed to realize that other people had followed their cue and gathered behind them to see what the commotion was all about. "E-Excuse me..." He mumbled out after bumping into one such person.

"It's no problem, young man. I must say... have we met before?"

That innocent question caused all three Thors students to panic, but the two girls bottled up that feeling a lot better than the swordsman who was beginning to panic. He was wearing his glasses, sure, but it was only a rudimentary disguise. And given she was more than certain the Chronicle issue being handed around held that same stock photo of Rean from the start of the year-

"Isn't that the Ashen Chevalier?"

"What!? Where!?"

"Oh my goddess, it is! It's the Ashen Chevalier!"

"I'm glad I brought my camera!"

"Have my babies!"

Had Rean been in a good mental state he would've found a way to awkwardly deal with the situation as well as possible. It might cost them some time, plenty of empty words, and a little lost dignity at the hands of some overly grabby girls, but he would've pulled it off.

Sadly Rean's mental state was not in a good place. And this only served to degrade it further.

"E-Excuse me...!" Laura barely heard Rean speak over the excited hum of the crowd, but she definitely noticed as he shoved through the oppressive mass before making a hasty retreat towards one of Heimdallr's many side roads. The Arseid let out a rather unladylike curse as she realized she wouldn't be able to keep up – Not even her sense of urgency and current distaste at the people around her was enough for her to violently force her way through the mob and risk hurting him.

She wasn't surprised to find that Fie had beaten her out of the crowd, but the agile girl had a heavy frown on her face when Laura joined her, "Did you see where he went? I couldn't see over everyone."

It was a shame the situation was no laughing matter as this would've been a premium chance to tease her for her height.

Instead she pointed in the direction Rean had gone. The boy had long since passed from her vision, but that didn't stop them from sprinting down the same path he'd vanished into. Fortunately none of the people they left behind seemed too keen to follow after their hero.

The two girls followed the trail for a good minute or so before Fie slowed her run as they came to an intersection between two different alleys, forcing Laura to do the same, "Why'd we stop?"

"I know you're impatient, 'cause I am too. But we need to do this right. Pretty sure Rean doesn't know where he's going, so if we go the wrong way it might become impossible to find him."

"R-Right. Sorry." The chastisement was enough for her to do what she could to clamp down on her own panic. The swordswoman tried to follow her partner's actions, but compared to Fie she was a complete neophyte at tracking others, especially in a dense urban jungle like Heimdallr was. In her eyes both paths looked tantalizing and daunting in equal measure.

But that was fine, because Fie was there to cover for her weakness, as she would do were their roles reversed, "This way." The other girl stated before going down the right path at a steady jog. Laura didn't see the need to question what Fie had seen that she didn't, instead she simply placed her faith in the judgment and began to follow behind.

Twice more the duo came across path splits and twice more they had to halt. But each time Fie seemed convinced they were on the trail and so they continued moving forward.

If Rean continued moving at his full speed it would've been nearly impossible for the two of them to catch him at their current pace, but there were two reasons why Laura was fairly confident that wouldn't be the case. Firstly was that Fie was almost certainly correct when she said he didn't know where he was going. These back alleys wouldn't last forever and eventually he'd either find himself at a dead end or have to risk entering a very busy main street if he wanted to continue his panicked flight.

And right now she doubted he'd do that, especially as the path they were on was completely deserted. For someone seeking to escape the capital's massive crowds this was the best place he could possibly be. It was possible he could attempt to enter a building, but she knew Rean wasn't the type of person to enter random buildings without permission, even in his panicked state.

"Over there!" Sure enough Fie's directions proved flawless as they spotted their target sitting despondently on the steps of some rundown building at the end of the side street they were on. As much as Laura wished to rush to his comfort she was afraid of spooking him, so she slowed her advance to a walk. This time it seemed like Fie was content to let her take the lead.

"Rean?" She called out softly once it became clear he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. The startled swordsman flinched, but calmed down once he saw who it was, "O-Oh. Hey, you two." Didn't stop him from looking away right after shamefully, however, "...Sorry about that. I didn't mean to make you have to chase me around like that."

"No worries. You're a hundred years from being able to run from me." Fie bragged, causing Rean to briefly smirk at her bravado.

A shame that smile only lasted for a second, "I must've looked really pathetic back there, huh?"

"Forget about that! It isn't important!" Laura couldn't quite keep the heat out of her voice, "I'm more worried about you."

"I'm alri-" She took a little satisfaction in seeing her glare kill the lie about to escape his mouth, "I'm..."

Rean paused before looking down at his hands, "...I'm not sure how I'm supposed to keep going on like this."

"Rean..."

"I knew it wouldn't be easy," He continued, heedless of her concern, "but I kept telling myself that I could handle it so long as I was helping people. But now? Now I'm not so sure. I tried to help North Ambria... and failed. I tried to help Crossbell... and failed. And before that I tried to help Crow, and..."

"But you didn't fail them!" Fie interjected, "Sure those places got occupied, but flags change all the time. That's not the important part."

"Even still-"

"I'm not gonna pretend that the Boss was a good man," Fie continued, intentionally cutting Rean off, "but he always stressed that civilians shouldn't be targeted intentionally. And yet each and every time Zephyr fought in a town the end result was... bad. Way worse than what just happened in Haliask. Trust me when I say things would've been way worse had you not been there You did a good thing, Rean."

Once again he opened his mouth to argue, but Laura took Fie's pause as her invitation to chime in, "And don't think I didn't hear you trying to blame yourself for Crow. Any blame you think you deserve needs to be shared among all of Class VII."

"But-"

"Maybe if we'd put the clues together a little faster we would've realized he was C. Perhaps we might've seen behind his jokester facade had we been a little more attentive. And had we looked at the bigger picture perhaps we would've realized we were all pawns in the same grand scheme."

"That's not-"

"But at the end of the day the blame for his death falls squarely on the shoulders of Duke Cayenne and Chancellor Osborne."

"My father-"

"Is the Baron of Ymir, not that guy." Fie interjected, earning a grateful nod from the blue-haired girl, "He may share your blood, but family is something greater than that."

"She's right. Whatever ties you have with the chancellor are irrelevant. Your heart is entirely your own."

Their words were having an effect as Rean seemed visibly calmer than he had been before, but the somber look had yet to fade, "Even still, what if I become a danger to everyone around me?"

"You won't! We'll be there to make sure-"

This time it was Rean who cut her off, "...My memories of those final minutes in Haliask are still a mess, but I recall a feeling... It was like I was hanging over the abyss. Had the fight gone on any longer or my concentration slipped a little more I would've fallen in. How can you say with any confidence that something like that won't happen again?"

Laura wanted to provide an answer to that desperate question, she truly did. Despite that fervent desire, however, she couldn't. It was a question she couldn't possibly have an answer to. And given the flummoxed expression on Fie's face it was clear her partner was suffering from the same issue.

Rean must've realized that too as he let out a mirthless laugh, "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to burden you with such an impossible question. I'm better now, I promise."

Even if he was being truthful Laura couldn't help but keenly feel the sting of failure. Even if they'd managed to calm him down their failure at addressing the crux of his troubles weighed heavily upon the caring girl.

"W-Well..." Fie stated awkwardly in an effort to shift the conversation, "dunno about you guys but I'm kinda sick of standing around in this dirty alley. Let's go crash Machias or Elliot's school or something."

The Arseid thought visiting their friends was a pretty good idea, minus the crashing of schools of course, but Rean seemed hesitant, "I'm... not so sure that's a good idea. Even if I'm feeling better I'm sure they'd see right through me and I don't want them to worry, so..."

It wasn't hard to read between the lines, "You don't intend on telling the others what happened?"

"I'll tell them!" He reassured quickly under her glare, "When the time comes I'll make sure they all know."

That wasn't the answer she was looking for, but she'd accept it... for now.

"You should at least tell Emma." Fie suggested. She continued before Rean could argue the point, "Even if she doesn't understand your powers having someone with magic look over you can't hurt."

"I'll tell her if you won't." Laura supported that suggestion harshly, "She did give us the means to contact her before she graduated..."

"Alright, we'll let her know." Once again he capitulated instantly under their combined pressure.

"Great!" She chirped happily with that situation resolved, "I think it is about time we make our way home, don't you?"

Laura was fuming.

Fie had come up with a good idea to get them home. Since the midday trains out of the capital were usually quite full and the risk of someone recognizing Rean was too high at the moment, the lithe girl volunteered to go back on her own, grab the orbal bike, and return to pick them up. It was a long and convoluted plan, but given time was no issue for them both she and Rean accepted it and settled in for the wait.

Laura had no issues with the plan itself. It was the person responsible for it that was causing her to fume.

After a short wait the bike rolled up to their location. Rean – in his distracted state – hadn't given much consideration before accepting Fie's offer to drive them back. The Arseid had tried to protest, but was forced to acquiesce as Rean was already climbing onto the back of the seat, forcing her to take the sidecar for herself. Still, letting him personally experience the horrors of Fie's driving would be a worthwhile experience for all of them, assuming they survived.

But the other girl defied her expectations by acting uncharacteristically cautious. She obeyed the speed limits, paid respect to other vehicles, and really surprised Laura by actually making use of the brakes. It was so unlike Fie that for a moment she considered the other girl had been kidnapped and replaced by Baron Bleublanc himself.

It was only after a far too easily impressed Rean praised her driving that realization set in. She was holding herself back to make the oblivious boy doubt the past warnings about her reckless tendencies! And the worst part was that if she tried to point that out she'd merely leave herself looking like a bitter loser.

So instead the Arseid had to sit in the sidecar fuming silently while being the only one capable of witnessing Fie's victorious smirk.

Fortunately for her mental state the ride itself wasn't long and soon enough they were rolling into the friendly confines of Trista. Technically they could've gone to school for afternoon classes, but after everything that had happened not even Laura would consider that a viable idea. Instead Fie brought the bike straight to their apartment.

Now that they were home it was time to start thinking about their future plans. But given Rean would likely try to brush off their concerns it was best if he wasn't a part of that conversation, "I think I'll pay a visit to the general store. I'm certain we are pretty low on fresh food now."

"Want me to come-"

"Nah. We can handle it." Fie shook her head at Rean's offer, "Think you can turn whatever we have left in the kitchen into lunch? I'm pretty starved."

It was good that Fie probably realized Laura's intentions, but the frown on Rean's face made it seem like he too understood they didn't want him around at that moment, "...Alright. I'll whip something up."

She smiled gratefully towards him in an attempt at making him feel less unwanted, "Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Sooo..." Fie drawled after they watched him go through the door, "I take it you have an idea?"

Laura nodded her head even as they started walking towards the general store – even if it had been an excuse to get away from Rean the need for food was still very real, "I do. We can't risk Rean using his power again until we have a better understanding of it."

"Yep."

"But at the same time we both know Rean won't hesitate to use it if someone is in danger."

"Uh huh."

"Since we can't help him control that power the best thing we can do is help him get strong enough to where he hopefully won't need to use it as often."

"Heh. Had a feeling that's what you were gonna say. Kinda ironic, don't you think?"

The taller girl tilted her head, "How so?"

"You wanting to help Rean control his powers is how this whole thing we us began to begin with, remember? And now you're suggesting we do the opposite."

Laura couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, "I suppose so." Despite the situation she couldn't help but find the idea amusing.

"Still..." Fie's mirthful look faded into a more contemplative one, "The plan's a good one, but I think there's a bit more we can do."

"How so?"

"I wasn't joking when I said our friends were gonna have a lot of questions, especially for Rean. I'm sure he's done what he could to prepare himself for it, but it's gonna be hard for him to focus on training with all the stress of everyone buzzing around him."

The Arseid bit her lip. It was something she had considered, but it wasn't like they could do anything about it... Or at least that had been her thought until she noticed the look on Fie's face, "I take it you have something on your mind?"

"Yep. Your idea is a good one, but what if instead of training in the old schoolhouse like always we do it somewhere else. Somewhere away from everything."

"You mean like a training trip?" Now that was a thought. Her father took her on many such trips away from civilization when she was young. Same with Rean and his master. And Fie probably had more experience then both of them combined, "That's... not a bad idea at all."

It was then that the flash of a distant long forgotten promise made its way to her mind. That was the final piece needed for Laura to nod her head, "Alright. We'll contact Emma first, but after that..."

Fie smirked as they reached the shop, "...I don't think we'll be getting much fresh food today. But with the right ingredients I can make up some pretty tasty field rations that'll last thanks to Rean's mom."