Where am I...

It's all white...

Yoshika opened her eyes and felt herself floating in space. Everything she could see was white, yet it was fitting for some reason.

"Miyafuji Yoshika, Mage of Space. Hero of your Era." a voice sounded inside her head.

Who... Who are you?

"It does not matter who it is. You need to recognize your destiny."

Okay... What is it?

The white area started changing all around her. A world formed in front of her eyes.

"The current world as it is is threatened by the one you call Guardian. He is your fated enemy, your paths are on a collision course."

The world soon showed a city in flames and darkness all over. Yoshika saw dead bodies all over the place and a peculiar sight. It was a man flying across the buildings. "Is that..." She narrowed her eyes. "SCHMIDT?!"

"The boy is at a crossroads. He will either turn against Guardian, or turn against you."

How can I prevent that? I'm branded a traitor.

"I do not know. I only know the absolute truths about this world. You are the catalyst of change Miyafuji."

Yoshika sighed. The world then changed and showed 2 people entering a portal.

Guardian and Schmidt.

"Correct. They have entered into the Chaos Rift. They will leave. But there will be something there that changes one."

What is it?

"I do not know. But Guardian will learn about The Singularity."

You don't mean... Yoshika's mind raced. The Observer had mentioned that the singularity events were starting to coincide. It meant that the forces of the gods are starting to collect once again in the world.

"You are a smart one. The Gods power is going to be hijacked. Miyafuji Yoshika, you will either be the recipient of this-"

Or Guardian will be. How long do I have?

"Their time in the Chaos Rift only teaches them the knowledge of the power. The Singularity itself will happen at a certain place at a certain time. It will happen when you are both there."

Why does it require both of us there?

"Chaos may be the weaponiziation of good will, but it is not evil. It is good will which had lost its way. Chaos became sentient during the massacre. It sealed itself off in the Chaos Rift and left Hope outside to save anyone it found."

That doesn't answer my question though...

"The question you are asking is already answered."

I still don't understand...

"As one of the heroes of our era, you have the god's blessing."

It explains why I need to be there. It still doesn't explain Guardian or Schmidt's place in all this.

"Guardian is someone who has learned about the Singularity somehow. He seeks the catalyst. The princess."

So the Neuroi inside of me? She's a princess or so I heard from the Observer.

"No Miyafuji... You are the princess."

The darkness enveloped Schmidt and Guardian. He watched as the darkness formed into something tangible.

"Guardian... Where are we?"

"We are in the Chaos Rift. You will meet the creator of the Neuroi here."

"WHAT?!" Schmidt tensed himself up. He wasn't expecting such a big battle at the moment.

"Calm down. It isn't a bad thing."

The darkness formed into a man. It was a man who resembled the director a lot...

"Why are you here." it said.

"The Singularity is coming. I want to know when and where."

"So you came to search me out." He turned to Schmidt.

"Hm. Why aren't you resonating with me? Tell me your name son."

"I am Schmidt. Squad Captain of R.E.C.O.N Zero Alpha." He didn't see the need to tell the rest of his name.

"Ahh... You are an honorable one. That's probably why."

"Why what?"

"Never mind that," Guardian interrupted, "Where is it happening"

"I've been in here since that day. Considering you found me... You probably know about it."

"The Reckoning...This was the revenge of the gods?"

"..." The man didn't say anything.

Schmidt felt a pang of regret. It seemed like this man was connected to this 'Reckoning'. "Maybe it isn't a good idea to pry..."

"No. Tell me the truth. Is the Neuroi just the people you created from that day? Did you recreate them from your image? Why are you attacking the other world!" Guardian was becoming more angry by the second.

The man raised his clouded hand. "Really now. Are you blaming me for this?"

"You created the Neuroi, and the heroes right?"

"I have."

"Then why are we fighting against each other? Is this just a game?!"

"It seems so. But your goal was in vain. The Neuroi are coming this very second. They've noticed you've entered my domain."

Guardian smirked. "Fine. But before then... Schmidt. Shoot him."

"What?!" Schmidt said.

"I said 'Shoot him'," He turned away. "Or I will shoot you myself."

Schmidt pulled out his gun. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The man opened his arms and let Schmidt take aim.

Schmidt shot him. However, instead of dying, the man blasted him with a force never felt before. He felt something awaken inside of him and his skin started turning black. He then went unconscious. The man walked up to Schmidt and placed a palm on his forehead.

The man entered his mind and said, "Schmidt... I've given you a piece of myself. You are now part Neuroi. Reverse my mistakes."

The man looked up at Guardian. "You really shouldn't have done that. The Singularity event will backfire. Your plans will fail. Turn back on this path now."

Guardian turned and took off his mask. "Are you sure?" He turned into his grotesque Neuroi form.

The man raised his eyebrows. "Ah... The Guardian of the Temples..."

"You remember me now... I fully intend to finish our job. I still remember everything we did. I also know why we failed."

The man tensed up.

Guardian smirked. "I messed up the spell. I changed some of the runes before we started. The reason you are like this is because of me."

The man's face relaxed. "Ahh. So everything leads to you."

"The Neuroi are under my control now."

"So it seems. They don't seem to be listening to me."

"You're my prisoner now."

"And yet... you still don't understand the Singularity event won't happen without her."

"Her?"

"Yes, you need that girl to come to do anything. Otherwise... there won't be enough divine power to harness the rest."

Guardian smiled and started laughing. "Thank you." He picked up Schmidt and walked away. The man stared off into the distance and sighed.

"His overconfidence will be his downfall..."

Yoshika reeled from the revelation. Her? A princess?! She laughed at the notion.

So what is my father? The king of what?

"Miyafuji, some things are best left for him to answer."

He's... alive?

"Yes. He lives on, but he is trapped somewhere."

Where?! Can you tell me?!

"I can, but I choose not to. I only deal in the absolute truth, and this... this is something beyond me. You will understand in due time..."

You selfish piece of... Why even bother.

"I am sorry. I can only speak for you and your future."

I think its time I left.

"Then let it be so."

The world swirled around Yoshika until she found herself in the library again. The observer and the Neuroi girl were drinking tea at a table. The Observer looked up. "You're back."

"I am. And we need to leave."

"Ahh. Well Neuroi, this chat has been very interesting. But I believe it is time for you to go."

She put her cup down and nodded. "It is. Yoshika, did you learn anything?"

She shook her head. "Nothing definitive. Lets go."

The Neuroi nodded and headed towards the door.

"Miyafuji, you have been given a lot of information with no end." The Observer called out. "Let it be known that it will not be for naught. The Truth always comes out, but not in the most obvious ways. Remember this."

Those were his parting words as she walked through the door. The staircase reformed as she walked back up the stairs.

"Oh Yoshika, you're back." the old woman said. She had been sitting at the register reading a book.

"Yeah. It wasn't as enlightening as I had hoped." She looked around. "Did nothing happen when I left?"

"The space you were in was outside of time itself. Basically, you were only gone for about 30 seconds."

"Ahh... Can I see the striker now?" The research awakened Yoshika's curiosity.

The old woman thought for a second. "Very well." She walked towards the back and called out, "Yoshika, come over to the office for a moment."

Yoshika went into the store's office. Her mouth dropped at the amount of papers surrounding the office. In the middle was a magical seal surrounding what looked like a striker plan. "Wha... What the hell is this?! This wasn't here before!"

"I only removed the seal upon this area. It hides your father's final work. He was in England researching a new part when the event happened. The MA sent teams to search for any trace of him, but he had disappeared. He became a taboo topic soon after."

Yoshika picked up a piece of paper trying to decipher its contents. "Why would he be taboo?"

"The MA had many reasons, but before he left, he sealed this area. Even the most skilled trackers couldn't find it."

Yoshika looked further through the notes. "Huh... The striker material is foreign... I've never heard of this stuff before..."

"Do you understand why the MA wanted to stop this?" the old woman said.

"No. I don't. I only want to know why it surrounds this striker." Yoshika placed the papers down and looked at the striker. It seemed to have a lot of parts. "This striker is peculiar. It doesn't follow any of the current laws of striker building."

"Yoshika. Hold on." The old woman closed her eyes. Yoshika looked up. A chill went down her spine.

"Something... Somethings out there." A cold creeping feeling surrounded the area. Yoshika dared not to breathe.

"Yoshika. Take the plans and run. I'll stall."

"Are you sure? I can try to push them back." Yoshika felt the ring vibrate.

"Yoshika, don't tell me you have a ring on you."

"..." Yoshika sighed. "I do."

"Ahh. I can't blame you. You didn't know." A blast appeared at the door. "Crap. Not much time. Yoshika, take what you can and run. Anna will explain later!" The old woman ran towards the entrance and summoned up a shield.

Yoshika nodded and took the plans. "How will I grab all these notes?!"

The old woman looked back and said, "The notes are useless!"

"What?! Then what the hell have I been reading?!"

Another blast shook the place. "Ugh...," the old woman shook. "Its a misdirection. His notes lie in a different place. Now go!"

"Where will I find this place?!" Yoshika shouted.

"You've already seen it!" The old woman replied. Another blast rocked the shop.

"Quickly, leave!" the old woman shouted. Her form was starting to weaken. Yoshika opened the door when another explosion shook the place. She turned around. There stood a man who looked extremely familiar.

"Is that... Grand Wizard McDowell?!" the Neuroi shouted.

Grand Wizard McDowell had a different look that Yoshika had expected. He was young for a Grand Wizard, and he was wearing dark robes with an emblem shining on the side. "Where are the files?" he asked slowly. His voice was deep, it showed a strong form of authority behind it. He turned to the back room. "We know it's there." Yoshika quickly ran out the door.

The old woman scoffed. "Like you're going to find anything useful."

"That is for me to find out Familiar. Also, where is the Mage of Space, we followed her here."

"She is gone. And so will you!" The old woman threw spells at the entourage surrounding her and was soon standing alone with the Grand Wizard.

He laughed and sighed. "So you intend to stall for her. What is Miyafuji Ichiro trying to hide from us... that only his daughter could see?"

"Is that really your business now? You couldn't stand it when he wouldn't divulge his research to you. What else if you find his daughter?"

He turned to the old woman and stared her down. Despite his hard stare the old woman dropped her stance and patted him on the shoulder. "McDowell, you are too kind. If you really did want to find her, then I would have been eliminated immediately. Instead, I get this stare." She grabbed a broom and started sweeping. "You and I both know what happened with the Council years ago."

He sighed and sat down. "Familiar, why do you oppose me so? I'm only trying to do my job for the best of the MA."

"Not everything has to be known. Do you not trust him?"

"I still do. If there's anything I remember him for, its loyalty. I don't think he's intending to betray us. Yet, that research is dangerous. He's meddling with gods now."

"Is that why you came? To stop Yoshika from destiny?"

McDowell raised his head. "Destiny? I only know from legend that the Mage of Space and the Mage of Time are touched by the Gods... but are you saying that..."

The old woman nodded. "Yes. Miyafuji himself said that he will not finish this. He has not been touched by the Gods."

"So his daughter is the only recipient of this... What a troublesome man. Familiar, I have one question."

The old woman stopped sweeping. "What is it?"

McDowell stood up and woke his comrades. "If destiny compels her to do this... then what is mine?"

"I am only a familiar. I can't answer that for you."

McDowell laughed and walked out the door. As he left, he called out, "Then, what if I make my own?"

"I thought this was a one question thing?"

"Do you think destiny can be forged?"

"It might. Destiny is the end. Your path is determined by you."

McDowell nodded and walked away from the area. A soldier behind him asked, "Sir why didn't you eliminate that familiar?"

"Nothing special. She's useless now, her jobs done."

"So would that mean..."

McDowell stopped. "I can't say what would happen... But there will be change. Its inevitable. I just hope we are strong enough to withstand it..."

Yoshika ran off towards the area Anna had specified. The ring vibrated with power as she burst through the doors with plans in her hands.

"What the hell?" someone shouted as Yoshika stopped to take her breath.

"Yoshika? Why are you out of breath?" Anna asked as she walked out.

"Things happened." Yoshika said quickly. She had run from one district to another. "There's something weird going on here Anna."

"Tell me something I don't know. What in the world made you come in like that?" she asked. Before Yoshika could reply she said, "Never mind. Prying ears need not listen to this." Anna said sternly at the group hiding behind the door. "Oi, you're supposed to be guarding people, not eavesdropping. Don't let me catch you." The group shuffled away from the door. Anna shook her head and brought Yoshika to a secluded room. "Alright, what is it?"

"I was walking around the Business District when someone gave me this." Yoshika held out the vibrating ring. Anna's eyes widened.

"W-Where did you... Yoshika... you-" Anna sputtered. Her normal composure was missing as she looked nervous.

"Anna... What is this? It almost got me killed. The old woman told me to run here as quickly as possible."

Anna stared deeply at the ring. As she placed her hand over the ring, her eyes widened with fear. "Yoshika... tell me... was this woman... a Familiar?"

"Yes. She was."

Anna took her hand away. "That woman is no ordinary familiar. She is the MA's Guardian."

"Wait, what do you mean? She said she's fueled by my father's magic."

Anna nodded and replied, "Yes, but there's more to her story than she reveals. She is a guardian familiar, only magical beings of great power can conjure those."

"So... Is my father some sort of supernatural being?" Yoshika asked cautiously. It seemed unlikely he was.

"No. Thats not it." Anna said quickly. She rubbed her head. "He's not a regular human though. Maybe you already know that. Don't answer. I don't want to know."

Yoshika frowned. "Then why the hell is my father a taboo around here?! What did he do here?!"

Anna sighed. "You know as well as I do that I don't follow MA politics."

"No I don't Anna! I don't know anything about this place! I'm being dragged around by a string here by people who say they know what the hell is best for me and then they get me pulled into this?! I want answers dammit!" Yoshika shouted.

Anna slammed her fist on the table. "Enough! I know that you're frustrated with the way your life has turned out, but it won't get any better by shouting at me. Are you done?"

"Hell no I'm not!" Yoshika snarled back. "I have two personas lying within my subconscious, each one with a different life story, and a different purpose. I'm mediating that, along with Guardian, along with the 501st, and now this crap! You think I'm frustrated? No, I'm fucking furious!" She breathed out in anger. Anna let her continue. "I maybe a hero, I might not actually be human, but goddamn it, I'm still human!" Anna noticed a change in the air around Yoshika. Magic was starting to leak out around Yoshika and affect things around her. The ring started to vibrate at a more violent pace.

"Yoshika, this might not sound like the best advice from me, but you need to calm yourself." Anna said slowly. She wanted to avoid angering her further, but she still had to deal with her wrath.

"I'm not your plaything! I asked for my magic back, but this is the price I had to pay! I'm now battling the gods themselves, and I can't get an answer to simple questions! Who am I?! What am I?! I don't know anymore! I'm doing this for the sake of the world, and yet the world won't give me something in return? Does everybody here pity me or something?! Just because I lost my magic doesn't mean I useless! Now that I have it back, I'm being thrown this and that without a godforsaken reason, and when I ask, I get nothing?! What the hell is that?!"

Anna finally snapped at Yoshika. "Yoshika, concentrate! I need you to calm down! This isn't normal of you!"

"Oh really now Anna?!" Yoshika threw a fist at her in anger. Her mind was blank. She was enveloped by rage.

"Yoshika, I'm sorry." Anna dodged the punch and quickly knocked her out. She finally took the ring from her hands.

"Why is my past haunting me again after all these years..."

A MageKnight burst into the room. "We heard the shouting all the way in our quarters! What happened?!"

"Yoshika's unstable. It's as I had feared. The Neuroi and her are mixing together."

"Shall we bring her out of the city?"

Anna shook her head. "No, she is unskilled. The MA needs to train her immediately. Her frustrations are only a sign she's under increased pressure."

The MageKnight nodded. "Shall we train her to be one of our medics?"

"No." Anna turned to MageKnight. The plans Yoshika held unfolded. Anna took a long look at them and said, "Get me the Grand Wizards."

Ugh... What the hell happened...

"Yoshika... that outburst...", Caelum said slowly.

I don't know what that was. It just started coming out.

"Don't tell me the Neuroi and you...", Caleum said.

"No, none of that was my doing. Shes becoming like me, but in the cunning and brutishness aspect. I'm pretty sure that outburst wasn't me.", the Neuroi said.

In any case... I'm unconscious now. I hope Anna isn't mad.

"Doubt it. She thinks its my doing no doubt.", the Neuroi sighed. "Also maybe its time I told you the truth."

You don't need to. I'm apparently the princess.

"No. That's only half of it."

What do you mean?

"You're the princess, no doubt, but from where..."

Caelum asked, "Is it possible that its connected to Chaos?"

The Neuroi replied, "Neuroi and Chaos are connected."

So... I have Chaos inside of me? Then why am I not attacking other humans?

"I have no idea... From what I remember, we had a command structure. That's why we use the hives."

And destroying the hives stops the Neuroi... Ugh... this is confusing.

"Yoshika, it's better to ignore the Neuroi for now. The Singularity is your biggest issue."

I'm not even close to ready either. Do you know when it will happen?

"It doesn't matter when, it's where. Weren't you listening?" the Neuroi said.

"It won't happen until you and Guardian himself are there at the same time." Caelum said. "You still have time to get ready. Guardian still needs more time it seems."

"It's not even that... Schmidt is resisting Guardian. That's his biggest problem. If Guardian can't get Schmidt under control, he won't make his move."

How long do you think that will take?

The Neuroi thought for a second. "Depends on his will power. You know him better than any of us."

"Aetas is also there as well. He'll be able to do something."

"But... It's only a matter of time. Yoshika, you need to do something before he turns."

I know... I know... It's just been so confusing these days. My father... Schmidt... Everyone... It's not the same. I even started going crazy in front of Anna... Am I really fit for this?

Caelum reassured her, "Yoshika, heroes aren't perfect. You are a hero of this era. You are also human. The pressure gets to people. They will understand. However, you have a duty to everyone as well. Your job is to protect everyone. If you have the will to do that, you are a hero."

And yet... I don't feel like one. This is the path I've chosen. I hope you guys can help me.

"I will be with you until the end." Caelum said.

The Neuroi added, "As will I. We are all one. You are us."

Thank you.

Yoshika opened her eyes. She had laid in a soft bed for a little while. A MageKnight noticed and walked over.

"You were out for a long time. Anna decided to send everyone to sleep."

"So why are you awake?"

The MageKnight laughed. "It's my shift. I can't just leave you alone."

"Ahh... Did Anna go to sleep?" Yoshika sat up in the bed.

"No. She had an emergency meeting to go to. She'll be back in a little while."

The MageKnight sat down and started reading a technical book. Yoshika got up and walked over to see what he was reading. It was a book about strikers. "What is the MageKnights doing with Striker books?"

The MageKnight looked up and sighed. "Command wants us to switch from brooms to strikers."

"Why is that?"

"Command thinks we're behind in the war. While our brooms have helped us on occasion, we usually are late to things. So, now they want us to get strikers. They decided this model is the best."

Yoshika looked at the model. "Briston Bullpup ..." Yoshika sighed. "Is your Command full of idiots?!"

"Wha?! This is apparently the best striker for our uses!" The MageKnight showed a pamphlet that was clearly over a decade old.

"You guys don't get mail often do you?"

"Once in a while. The outside world usually leaks in at some point."

"Let me tell you right now, the model you're using is over a decade and a half old. We've advanced beyond that."

The MageKnight laughed. "Humanity hasn't been researching magic as long as we have. How do you expect that they would have built better things with magic than we have?"

Yoshika had no response to that. She knew about how strikers worked, but didn't know enough to explain the magic behind it. "Well..."

The door opened. Anna walked in with Grand Wizard McDowell. "..." Yoshika closed her fists.

"Whoa, Yoshika, calm down. He won't attack."

"I saw him... I saw him there!" Yoshika shouted back.

Anna stood between McDowell and Yoshika. "Yoshika, he knows everything."

"Knows what?!"

McDowell pushed aside Anna. "Yoshika, what happened in the shop is not connected to you. It's connected to the ring."

Yoshika relaxed herself. "The ring?"

McDowell showed her the blue ring she had received. "This ring is your fathers. It resonates with emotional power and outputs magical power based on that. He created it while researching with the MA. When the ring was activated, we had to investigate. However the old woman was protecting the research. From your point of view, we were trying to attack her, but we only wanted to know why you had the ring."

"Lies... all of them. You're after the research."

McDowell laughed. "Yoshika, if we were after the research, then we would have gotten help from our contacts outside."

"Then why is your MageKnight division using decade old strikers?!" Yoshika pointed to the old book.

"That's the most recent research we've been able to get our hands on!"

"ITS OVER 15 YEARS OLD! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL THEM?!"

McDowell grimaced. "Yoshika... are you telling the truth?"

Yoshika did not expect this from him. McDowell was a man of authority, but his face showed pure concern. Anna tried to defuse the situation yet again. "McDowell it is as she says. The MA is woefully behind in striker technology."

"Ahh..." He said.

Yoshika extended a hand. "I've worked with the Allied forces in experimental and special force striker equipment. I'm willing to help you."

McDowell stared at her hand and said, "Thanks, but you're untrained. I can't have you leading a division based on my judgment. You need to prove yourself."

Yoshika laughed and put her hand down. "Already he's more reasonable than General Eisen."

"Eisen's a good friend of mine. He has his reasons for putting you in certain positions."

"So I became head of the Research Division for a reason?"

"Yes. I know that you have knowledge, but I want to know if you can lead. I'll put you in for MageKnight training immediately. I hope you can handle it."

"Wait- Hold on just a second here... When did this happen?"

"Anna and I came here to ask you this actually. The Grand Wizards and the Primera wanted you to be a figurehead leader. However, Anna convinced us that you are so much more. Now I'm convinced you can lead us into a new era."

McDowell lowered his head in deference to Fuso traditions. Yoshika couldn't help but feel flattered. "I accept. However... I want to be treated like a recruit. I want to prove myself before I get thrown in the fire."

McDowell beamed. "The MA has treated everyone as equals. You are no different, MageKnight."

"I'm not a MageKnight yet. I also want to get another striker model than this piece of crap."

Anna interrupted their negotiations. "Yoshika, I'll try to get them to approve your request, but I think its best served if you focused on training for now. I don't want you thinking about strikers while we train you. Got it?"

"I guess..."

McDowell turned to leave. "Davies. Throw the book away. I'm sending out a mass communication to all MageKnights that striker discussion has been tabled. Everything said in here stays in here. Got it?"

"Yes sir." He turned and saluted McDowell.

Anna also turned to leave. "Yoshika, get some rest, you're going to need it. Davies, please get some sleep. All shifts are canceled."

"Yes, Ma'am." Everyone left the room and closed the door. Yoshika was left alone in the room.

"A MageKnight? Yoshika, you seriously seem to get some crazy positions.", the Neuroi joked.

I don't choose these things, they come to me.

"Well. Get some sleep. You should clear your mind too."

Ha, if I could get rid of you two I would.

"I meant everything not sentient."

Yes, Yes. Good night.

"Night."

Yoshika turned off the light and drifted off to sleep.

Schmidt woke up in the field with his team around him.

"How long have I been out?", he asked.

"Maybe 20 minutes. Guardian's been busy around the area. He said to leave you until you woke up.", Justin said.

"Alright... Well we should stay in standby until he wants us to return." Schmidt said as he pointed out the positions.

Guardian came back a few minutes later. "Schmidt, we're going back to base. Get the team ready to go."

"Yes sir." The team behind him got ready to leave as a bullet hit the ground near them.

"What the..." Schmidt said.

A bullet whizzed by his head. "GET DOWN. EVERYONE SEARCH FOR THE SNIPER!"

Everyone got their weapons out and ran for cover. Schmidt hid behind a large ruin. He turned on his communicator. "Radios on. All communication is radio communication from now on. Guardian, what's your status."

"I'm fine." Guardian said.

"Everyone else, chime in."

Everyone quickly called in and the radio went silent again.

"Adagio, you hearing me?"

"Loud and Clear. Active radar has been activated. We have backup ready just in case. Dirty Launch is not cleared. I repeat, Dirty Launch has not been cleared."

"Thanks. Do we have any patrols in the sky?"

"Patching you through."

"R.E.C.O.N. Lambda Patrol C, Captain Schmidt. What do you need?"

"Lambda, I need a pass over on our position, can you do that?"

"Roger."

Two strikers flew by as they scanned the area.

"You're-" The radio was cut short as a shot hit one of the patrols. "Fuck, I'm hit, I'm hit!"

The striker fell deep into the woods.

"Damn it. Did you find out where it came from?!" Schmidt shouted back.

The other patrol called in, "Yeah, its in the woods beyond the river. I'm retreating, backup is on the way."

"Roger. R.E.C.O.N. Zero requesting permission to rescue downed Striker."

"Permission granted. Guardian is slowly retreating to base. Proceed with Caution."

"All Zero units, follow me."

Schmidt quickly ran from cover to a tree near the forest. The rest of the squad followed. "I'm going on point. Cover me."

Schmidt ran from tree to tree. He waited for a second, then called his team over. As they crossed into the darkness a machine gun ripped through the darkness.

"RETURNING FIRE!" Schmidt began shooting his rifle towards the machine gun fire. Korsky climbed a tree and spotted 2 silhouettes in the trees.

"Schmidt, 2 in the tree in the far right!" Schmidt turned and quickly shot at the people hiding there. They fell out on the bushes. Schmidt moved up and waited to hear reloading of a machine gun. Alice ran up next to him.

"Can you get a clear shot on him?"

"No. Also, you're kinda right on top of me." Schmidt was trying to avoid touching Alice anywhere awkward.

She blushed and scooted over. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Did you see where she fell?"

"Deeper in. We're about 200 meters away."

"Alright. I'm moving up. Cover me."

"Got it."

Schmidt ran towards the next tree and waited. He took a breath and jumped towards the next one. A machine gun ripped through the forest and started pounding on the tree. "Korsky do you see him?!"

"He's on the ground! Alice, you have a clear shot!"

A shot rang out and the machine gun stopped shooting. The rest of the squad ran up to where the machine gun was. "What the hell..." Justin said.

The man lay there with a bullet in his head. He wore regular civilian clothing. The sight confused every one there.

"It's... a farmer?" Alice said.

"But I thought the Neuroi depopulated this place..."

A voice sounded from above the trees. "It still is. However, we feel that the Neuroi's version of government is better than yours."

"Who are you?!" Schmidt shouted.

"We are the Sympathizers. We fight for the Neuroi and liberty."

"You call this liberty?!" Korsky shouted back.

"They let us live in freedom! We don't have to worry about anyone! As long as we don't do anything against them, they don't attack us!"

"Do you know how many of us they have killed?!" Alice shouted

"We do not care! Leave this place, oppressors! We have your friend! She is not doing well..."

"Give her back! What did she do to you?!" Schmidt said.

"We can treat her! But if you don't leave now... Who knows what will happen..."

"Do you promise this?"

"We maybe enemies, but we are not heartless. She is our prisoner! Final warning, leave now!"

"...Retreat." Schmidt said.

"What?! Are you insane?!" Bates said. "We can't leave friends behind!"

"She's in better hands now." Schmidt shouted into the trees, "I want proof you'll treat her properly!"

"Take her dogtag!" The dog tag landed on the ground in front of Schmidt. "We don't know she's military now."

Schmidt looked at the dogtag.

Sergeant Chloë Peterson. Liberon Striker Force 3rd Division, Sigma Squadron.

Alice looked at the dogtag. "Huh... I think I remember her. Her and 4 other girls got in some big trouble for destroying a building..."

"Now is not the time to be reminiscing, Alice." Justin said as a voice rang out again.

"We are only defending our land! Leave now or we will not be so kind to your friend."

"Zero, retreat now. All units are to retreat. No questions." Schmidt took the dogtags and backed out of the forest.

"What the hell are you doing Schmidt?!" Bates shouted.

"Bates, we can't be expected to win in that situation. If we kept fighting, they would have killed her or worse. You need to understand that we need to protect our friends." Anderson said as he turned around to leave.

Kaido quietly said, "He's right. While its frustrating we had to leave, they are only protecting themselves from us. They even said that if she isn't military they would treat her. We'll come back for her."

"We have to." Schmidt said.

"Sympathizers... I've never heard of them before..." Alice said.

Schmidt sighed. This was another enemy for him to face. This time, they were humans.

AN: Writing. Rewriting. Writing. Rewriting. Ugh. If I had a dollar for every time I rewrote this chapter Id be able to get a new video game.

Anyway, I tried my best to keep it interesting! I'm really hoping the pacing is alright. Schmidt may have the less plot intensive side of the story, but he does have to deal with a new enemy. The "Sympathizers" as I have called them. You can imagine them a lot like rebels that like having no structure to society. Yoshika on the other hand has gone through a lot of changes, and the frustration is finally getting to her. No answers and a lot of questions, who wouldn't be going nuts now? Oh well.

That's it for me. Im writing this at 1am, so I need some sleep. Review,Recommend, yadda yadda. I'm going to bed now.

-Poke.