Expect fast updates this time I said... gah, I'm so full of shit. Well, two months is an improvement at least, and I'm going to stop talking now, lest I take six months to update the next chapter...

Edit: A Big thank you to Victor John Foxfire for pointing an embarrassing amount of incomplete sentences in this chapter.

Well, Kirche and Louise were harder to get apart than he realized at first. The shouting match between them had gone to truly bizarre and outlandish insults. Such as 'being bigger than the ballast bags on Tristan's capital airship, though he tucked away the airship part for later use, and Kirche claiming she stuffed her bra with dust specks. Yeah, he felt the need to finally put an end to that after that last part.

Regardless, he still felt that this was a good thing. He had some allies, albeit one a bit tenuous with Tabitha and ,well, loud with Kirche, but at least the former was willing to be near him with glaring kept to a minimal. Still room for improvement, but some progress was better than none. In any case, he'd better set things straight between them sooner rather than later.

He excused himself and Tabitha, saying they had some things to sort out. They both got more than a few wary looks from everyone in the group, and a worried set of mewls from the dragon. Tabitha gave the dragon her reassurances. The beast still looked unsure, but relented with some further encouragement from it's master it seemed to placated, if barely. Though he could still feel the eyes on him as he and the blue haired girl began to leave to discuss things in private.

"You be nice to him Tabs. I don't want to hear any sounds of you two clawing at each other. I haven't even gotten my chance yet." She said with a wink.

In one solitary moment, both he and the girl were sympatico. They both shot a nasty set of glares the redhead's way. Naturally, she wasn't fazed, indeed reveling in it. It made him wonder just how often the blue haired girl did send that particular look her way.

Louise gaged. "Must you turn everything into some sort of vulgar joke!?" Louise exclaimed.

"What? It's funny!"

"Only to you! To anyone one else with any semblance of taste they are absolutely detestable, lowbrow jokes!"

"Well I was referring to looks the sour puss's over there give." She said pointing at the still glaring pair.

"I have to act like this because the sour grapefruits over there only know how to frown. If they would just smile once in a while then..." Her voice suddenly cut off with a slight gust of wind. She didn't notice at first continuing to talk and make a gesture which indicated... something. he didn't want to know what. There was only one known wind mage among them so he knew who it was.

Surprisingly enough Louise didn't look all that happy at her annoyance's predicament."... I haven't seen that one done in a while..." Louise said softly.

"Silence spell. Useful with her." Tabitha said simply and she continued on without a care in the world. Shephard chuckled at the still oblivious redhead's expense before following.

"Do try to work things out with Shephard." Cattleya said. Sparky still on her wrist, and Gill and evn BArney looking at him with looks, approximated in barney's case, of concern. They sensed underlying tension in the group starting to pick up again and they looked ready to jump to his aid.

"I'll try." He said, mustering as much confidence as he could in an effort to relax the pets. With one final look he turned and followed Tabitha.

They walked off into the forest, a decent distance between them and the group but not too far. Just in case. The duo came to a stop. The stared at eacher, the girl waiting on him to start apparently.

"So… your mother." He stated, starting off with the obvious subject.

"Yes." She replied, a cold stern professionalism encompassing her form.

"I'm guessing she was attacked and you intervened. Was it the entire group?"

She shook her head. "Only one."

"Only one? Hm. Did they have any guns on them? My world's guns?" He clarified. "They would look different than your guns. They would be capable of firing multiple shots without reloading for one thing."

He didn;t need to say anything else before the girl responded. "Yes."

Well that confirmed it. Whoever sent them still had their guns. Assault rifles, suppressors, if they were taught how any of those things worked things were bound to get interesting later. Of particular worry for him was sniper rifles. If they learned how to use one of those he might not even get the chance to fight back. He'd had two particularly close calls with them back in Black Mesa. Even now he could still feel getting the wind knocked out of him and the painful bruising and cracked ribs resulting from it. Vest didn't protect from the impact force completely.

The biggest obstacle was manufacturing the ammunition required for them. Guns were very easy to jam to any multitude of reasons, but improperly shaped or prepared ammunition would put a damper, and a potentially explosive one, on any gun wielder no matter how skilled. So it wasn't a guarantee, but it was a possibility and that was just as bad in his book.

His internal musings came to halt when he noticed Tabitha looking at him, still with an uncertain expression. Well he managed to get more intel, but in regards to winning over the girl it was he should probably start now.

"Look. Tabitha, I understand why you're nervous. Technically, I am afflicted with the Black Ops. Technically." He stressed that word. "But I absolutely detest those fuckers."

"You want to know what really happened? In Black Mesa, they were ordered to kill any civilians the HECU missed and any stragglers left behind when everyone else pulled out. I think you can put the rest together."

"I can give you my personal and absolute word, that I am not their friend. Hell, I wish you managed to kill whoever the fucker was that attacked you and your mother. Certainly one less pain in the ass we have to deal with now…" he muttered.

"Yes. Kirche told me. Understand. Not the issue." She replied coldly.

"Then what is?" He pressed.

She paused for a few seconds before responding. "Suspicious."

"Of me?" She nodded.

"Why?"

"You stayed with her."

"Me staying with her is suspicious?"

"Yes. No reason to. Could have left. Why stay?" She asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Not saying something."

Heh, observant one wasn't she? He had a feeling there was something more to this girl than what he could grasp about her initially, and this confirmed it. She lacked the flair and general attitude of the other students he had witnessed. Well, he couldn't answer the question, he knew that, and the girl didn't seem the type to just let it go. He had to try something else. A bit dirty in his mind, but the option of simply talking things out nicely seemed to have gone.

'Tabitha, you survived an encounter with a Black Ops. As much as I loathe the fuckers they're not unskilled. Actually that reminds me. How old where you when you took one of them on?"

Tabitha gave him a look of accusation."Dodging."

He immediately shot back."So are you. How long ago was it when your encounter with them?"

She paused, still giving him an accusing look. "Eight years."

"And how old are you now?"

"Fifteen."

"So… an eight year old mage managed to survive getting into a tangle with some of my world's elite operatives? That's not normal, even with magic." He said.

He could see her hands tense slightly, attempting to bring the staff in a more appropriate position to whack him with it if it came to that. He could feel the wind pick up around them as well. At first he dismissed it as a random breeze, but then he remembered Cattleya's explanation about passive abilities and studied it. It seemed to be heading to her general direction even as unorganized as it was.

"You're movements aren't like the other students either. Yours speaks of combat experience. You're adjusting your hands to try and . And that wind… that's your passive ability right? Would make swinging that staff in my direction easier and more powerful. Too close to get a spell off."

He remembered what she said, and then something clicked in his mind. Something that should have been obvious.

"Or maybe it means you value secrecy as well... I mean why else haven't you told your mother about this. Or did you send a letter to her? I mean, you must have told her about this right?"

At that her eyes narrowed, and her fists clenched tightly on her staff, the cloak she was wearing suddenly flapping as the wind picked up it's intensity around her again.

"She would like to know right? That one of her own attackers could be behind bars? Wouldn't she?"

"Stop." She hissed, venom dripping from the word. He heard creaking as her hands trembled and gripped her staff with barely subdued anger. Definitely hit a nerve right there. The wind was was a testament tot hat ans it gained intensity, the leaves on the tree visibly moving now as the wind coalesced around the girl. His hand wandered instinctualy towards his holstered wrench, but he was still reasonably sure it won't come to that.

Finally the breeze died down. The girl looking at him with an intense gaze behind her glasses.

"Are you a threat?" She asked.

"Only to people who make themselves one to me." He responded.

"Look, I understand why your're nervous, and you have every right to be. You only have my word and I've been on the receiving end of getting burned and mislead by them before. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm here to make sure Louise stays safe. I'm not going anywhere, and I really don't want to deal with you getting up in our business. If you really want to help keep her safe, then by all means, do what you can. But if you make yourself a threat, then I'll treat you like one. Understood?"

She was silent. She still held her staff in a way that made him uneasy, but whatever she was feeling before seemed to be subsiding. The breeze was dying down slightly at least.

"Yes." She finally replied. It was a hesitant one. One with a foundation on shaky trust on both sides, but for now that was all they could offer each other.

"Good. I'll hold you to that."

The main conversation topic thoroughly exhausted the two of them shifted awkwardly, the previous tension still lingering in the air like a bad smell. He needed to start clearing up the air. So he decided to go with something that had been on his mind for a while.

"So… I've been meaning to ask… why is your dragon so infatuated with Gill?"

"He smells good." She responded with a deadpan tone even for her.

"…Seriously? I mean Cattleya theorized that was the reason... but still.. it's a fucking dragon. How the hell

" Giving too much credit." She rolled her eyes, in what he guess was a rare show of humor in the girl.

"Have you talked to him?" Tabitha asked.

"No."

"Why not? Might get information."

"Yeah, because he'll tell his life story to me, the guy responsible for scorching half of his face off."

"You should try. Anything could help."

Well, today was his own personal 'get off your ass day' but even then he had his doubts. You just don;t information

"You're right. I should try." He said, his tone voice betraying his reluctance to do so.

"You wanna tag along? You got history with them too."

"… No."

"All right then. And Tabitha. They are going to try again. Just be on your guard for that, all right?"

"Yes." She nodded.

The rest of the group was relived that nothing happened between the two of them when they returned, the area. Shephard decided to temporarily bring the girls back inside the Academy walls for a bit, at least while he talked to Castavin. He had no interest in letting them get too far away from him, lest Karin discover it. He could feel the glare she would give him if he did that. And the razor wind as well, but who was keeping score?

He was trying to track down Colbert, and after asking a maid if she had seem him recently he headed off towards him. He was pretty sure him talking to Castavin was alright, but he wasn't ashamed to admit that Karin made him a bit more cautious on how to approach things. He managed to catch sight of him before long thankfully. He seemed to be in thought about something before Shephads approached caused him to turn.

"Ah, Shephard. I heard explosions coming from the woods, but I guessed it was you and Miss Valliere."

"Yeah. Been trying to teach her to put them to use when trouble decides to find us again. It's gonna take more than one day, but she's showing promise for just one day."

"I would like to start off by apologizing again for her behavior. That discussion about your past could have been handled better." He said adjusting his glasses in nervousness.

"You don't say…"

"As I have said, she is very passionate about both of her daughters well being. If I may blunt, I am surprised she did not do something more drastic… and messy."

Shephard still had his arms crossed and grimaced slight at the news.

"Though you deserve a commendation for lasting as long as you did against her. It is a feat not often managed against her. Even if she was holding back."

"It was five minutes."

"Exactly." Colbert said without any sarcasm or anything else resembling a joke of the statement.

"Look, I'll cut to the chase. I'm going to talk to the survivor. I realized that I'd been ignoring a potential source of information. I just wanted to make sure that I won't be stepping on any toes will I?"

Colbert shook his head. "No, not at all. If anything, I am surprised you are letting us handle one of you own world's soldiers. Karin brought it up after you left and I was forced to agree. As much we feel Castavin deserves punishment, will an execution of a foreign soldier not anger your government?"

"Fuck that. The sooner you cut that bastard's head off the better."

"Besides, they were involved in a covert op Colbert. The entirety of the Black Mesa Incident was supposed to be kept secret. They probably would have killed him themselves if they ever got their hands on them. Officially they would, but privately they would approve. It would be one less hole for them to plug. Though I think with me being here, that's already

"Still, we are talking about killing one of your government's soldiers. Despite the circumstances, I am wary of any political consequences that will result from this. This is not something that should be taken lightly. Are you not worried?"

"That is true. If by some miracle they do, they might use it as an excuse to send troops into this country... tell you what. If they do, just say I killed them all." He offered.

Colbert was a bit taken aback by Shephard's complete "Shephard, you seem very willing to aid against your own government." He said cautiously, unsure on how to truly approach the topic.

He snorted. "They lost my fucking loyalty the moment they tried to kill me. Actually, they lost it the moment they murdered their own people for their own agenda. Apart from a few friends, who were also involved, I got nothing to go back to, at least in that part of my life. I'm a loose end too after all. My only real worry is my family. After what I've seen, I know they're not above going after them to get to me. Hell, they might anyway just to spite me."

"I am merely saying, that for a man who has been so harmed by one, you are rather willing to engage in a cover up…"

"It's different. Both those fuckers deserve it. Thing is, No matter what you do Colbert, I think trouble is going to follow. If they manage to find a way here, but I don't think they will. The world they found, Xen, is the only one. Your world? I'm pretty damn sure them coming here was just a freak accident."

"What in Founder's name did happen?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. Colbert always did have an interest in expanding his knowledge into things other than magic. Why those devices recovered from the Black Ops never ceased to amuse him. Night vision without magic. Simply astounding!

"I don't know myself. All I know is something called a Resonance Cascade happened. A product of science and engineering so far above my knowledge it makes my head hurt just thinking about it. It opened a gateway to Xen, the resident life took offense and that's the Black Mesa incident in a nutshell. Like I said, I don't think they knew your world even existed. But if by some far off possibility they do, don't drop my name. I still got family remember." He said pausing for a brief moment.

"Go ahead and execute him under the guise of just some merc to the populace. I won't tell his true identity." He said with sincerity.

Colbert said nothing for a few moments. He was debating what he was going to do, but he felt the man deserved to know. "Shephard you have been very forthright in many regards, and you have shown an unbelievable amount of patience with everything that has been thrown at you. I feel you deserve to know something that could very well effect you in the near future."

"What I am about to tell you cannot be told to anyone else. Do you understand?"

He nodded.

"Very well…"

He leaned in and whispered.

Shephard's body was as a steel cable as he entered the room with Colbert, the mage beckoning the guards in the room to leave and give them some privacy. As they left Shephard's gaze never faltered from the man in the cell. The left side of his face was marred by scar tissue, and uneven as there was a bit more space on the left side of his mouth than there should be and he could see where he was missing a tooth. The door closed leaving them alone, never once did their eyes falter from each other, disdain for the other ever present.

Shephard did however take some slight comfort in the fact that Castavin was without shoes. The long fall boots he had taken had not been replaced.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Honestly? To kill you. Preferably by smashing your head in." He deadpanned.

He chuckled at the threat. "Heh. Likewise. Though I'd personally prefer a slit throat if it's too much trouble." He said casually.

"All right, let's talk about why you have to be here. You wanna ask me questions and get answers right? Sorry Colbert got all I'm gonna give in that regard. I got a lot on my mind on the moment as well. You know, my friends murderer standing in front of me. Among other things."

"You attacked me, it was self defense. Besides, after all the shit you pulled you really expect me to give you any goddamn sympathy?"

"Well no I suppose not. I mean I did sic Karin on you, that was pretty evil of me…" He said, grinning as he did.

"She didn't believe you for a second dumb ass."

"Oh… well that shut me up. That explains how your alive. Been on the wrong side of that bitch before and I barely got away."

"While we're on that subject, why the fuck did you try and kidnap the goddamn princess of Tristain?"

"Ah, you heard about that? I'm surprised she told you. Wanted to keep it a secret to prevent the crown from appearing weak or whatnot."

"What the fuck where you thinking? We're both in enough shit with our own government, why the hell did you have to piss off another?"

He shrugged. "I was a mercenary. I had bills to pay, mouths to feed, survival for me and my friends. Just like going after that girl you had. It was nothing personal. And I didn't plan on doing it if that helps. I'll spare you the details of it, but I got a job that involved merely stealing something from the palace, not the girl herself. Instead, I end up face to face with a royal toddler at the time and I swear to fucking god the universe was out to get m e cause Karin walked in not two seconds later. You've seen what that woman can do Shephard. That princess was literally the only thing standing between me and getting a new appreciation for how clean they keep floors." He said, his fingers rubbing his neck for emphasis.

"Even then, I had to be on the run for a whole goddamn month before I lost her completely. And considering that months here are an extra five days I like to think I suffered enough."

"Who are you working for?" Shephard asked. Though he knew the likely response.

"Now Shephard, do you really think I'm going to answer that?"

"I don't see why not. I mean, I understand if you didn't out of loyalty, but for some odd reason, I just can't grasp that being the case." he deadpanned. "What else have you got to lose?"

"Yeah, well I can't." he said before closing his eyes in frustration at his choice of words.

"'Can't' Now why is that? All of your friends are dead, you're probably going to be executed so you're dead either way… Unless there's someone else involved. Someone who still needs you." he guessed. There as no visible cue from Castavin, but logically it only made sense. Even before, he knew these guys were known for doing anything under the best of circumstances. Why would he hold his tongue now? That only pointed to something, or someone, else being at stake here.

"It was pretty stupid of you as well. Attacking me without any guns. Now maybe you lost them, or you ran out of ammo long ago, but again I doubt that. Was there anymore to your team?"

He said nothing, but there was an anger in his eyes now. He looked at Shephard with what he was sure was a mirror of his own face right now."…My daughter." He finally said. He looked away as though he had committed a betrayal. How rich.

"You knocked up a local?"

He snapped back with the glare. More at the tone he felt than anything. "No. She's an adopted one, but… goddammit, why the hell did you have to be here?"

Now it made a bit more sense. His employers were also doubling as hostage takers. And they were far behind on their due ensuring her safety. But still, Castavin wouldn't go through this unless there was a hope she could survive. There was more to this.

"Hm. So now you're on the receiving end of a hostage situation. Oh the irony…"

"Shut the fuck up. She's all I got left worth anything to me from here to earth anymore. I know I can't go back to earth, not without getting a more modern execution there. Neither can you."

The older man continued. "I knew my life was over the moment we got here. No way are the guys upstairs going to risk any intel leaks. We all tried to just start a new life on this world and for a while, I honestly thought we could all die of old age." He said wistfully staring off into space.

"How did you even get a daughter in the first place?" Shephard asked, shifting on his feet.

"Her mother was the first one most of us met when we first arrived. She was being attacked and we figured the grateful victim was more useful to us and less likely to turn on us than the thugs, so we helped out. I admit, it was a matter of pragmatism at first. But hell, as time went on they both grew on us. All of us. Even Foyet-" The smile that he had at the thoughts of this unknown daughter vanished at the name. Bingo.

"Foyet, huh?"

He paused for a few moments. he continued talking, trying to ignore his slip up. "Her mother died eventually. We actually trained to be one of us. And she was. Came with on more than a few missions and I got to say having a powerful magic user is quite handy. Sadly she died on one mission. Goddammed shitty luck being the cause of it. But I promised her that I would keep her daughter safe."

Shephard gave a condescending sneer. "What the hell do you care? You're Black Ops. You guys make false promises all time and would backstab any allies if it meant precisely one more fucking cent in your pocket."

"… I can't deny that. I've seen it done too often back home. But the funny thing is, I was always told I had too big a heart. My own teammates told me such sometimes too. Heh, they stopped giving me crap bout that when they got soft on the kid themselves."He chuckled.

He paused. He looked at Shephard, an unknown thought processes going on in his head.

"Shephard can I ask you something?"

"No."

"Why did you stay with that girl? Louise. I mean, don't me wrong, I know we're both fucked when it comes to going home and just resuming our lives, but something about you and here I just can't put my finger on. I mean, you were caught in one of those teleportation events right? You must have been scared, fighting for your life now suddenly you and her are partners? No. I don't buy that. What are you really up to? Something keeping you here?"

"You sounded surprised about it before. Sounded like you didn't know what happened to me." He said, remembering his words.

"Eh, I just said that at the time to try and freak you out." He said grinning. Bastard.

"But seriously, why stay with the girl?"

"You mean aside from wandering off into a magical wilderness where I would have to scavenge or turn to mercenary work to survive?"

"Nothing you can't handle. Special forces know all about living off the land and adapting. I should know. You said it yourself; we're on our governments shit list. What are they gonna do? Throw us in prison for interfering with by all accounts, an alien society? I think that charge is gonna have to get in line. But my point is, speaking from experience, I don't think you're staying with her for entirely benevolent reasons. And I don't think that girl is above throwing you to the wolves to serve herself or her nation. And we were never officially discharged, so our asses still belong to the government. Tristain would be ordered to hand you over to earth, labeling you as a war criminal who killed civilians. And there would be fuck all you could do to refute those claims."

He paused. "Then again… maybe it would be for the best. She'd be rid of a section 8 at least."

Shephard blinked. "What?"

"Don't play dumb with me Shephard. I saw the way the way you were grinning like a psychopath while you choked the life out of me."

"I may have lost my cool." He said as he shifted on his feet again.

Castavin shook his head. "Well it wasn't the first time. I heard radio reports about you and your battles, during them…and the aftermath. You running across open ground, getting in close and engaging in melee fights with the enemy. My personal favorite is you impaling someone on a piece of rebar jutting from the wall and you bashing his lower jaw off with your wrench. Shephard there's occasionally letting your emotions get the better of you, and then there's that. That is pure fucking sadism no doubt about that. It nearly got Louise kidnapped a couple nights back as well. All you had to do was shoot them with your bug, but you behaved recklessly, left her side to get in close and put that girl in danger you could have avoided entirely."

The words stung. Hard. His hands clenched. The man in the cell noticed.

"You better get that temper of yours under control Shephard. Compartmentalize Black Mesa. You may hide it well now, but sooner or later it's gonna get someone killed if you let it get out of hand."

"Don't give me any lectures on how to act." He curtly replied.

He shrugged. "Just giving you some honest criticism. Can't blame an old timer for trying to impart some wisdom. Always perplexed me how young people think acting hotheaded and unpleasant mouthy little pissant translates into being a badass. You're a special forces soldier, fucking act like it. Fucking devil dog frat boys..." He muttered.

Shephard, not eager to linger on this subject moved on to his next question. "Castavin, does a blue haired girl named Tabitha ring any bells for you?"

"Tabitha? No can't say that it does."

"She claimed she was attacked by one of your group about eight years ago. That on of you tried to, presumably, kill her mother."

"Now that… I can't confirm. I know for certain that I wasn't involved with that. I've gotta pretty good guess on who was though. Foyet. Thomas Foyet. The only member of my team you didn't kill. He could be a bit hard to keep track of sometimes. And even I could disagree on many things that man did. He's a cold ruthless bastard, but a loyal one. He was given another assignment by our 'wonderful' employers. Even I don't know where he is. That's all I can give you about him."

Shephard eyed the man for any sighs of deceit.

"One last question: Did you teach your employers how to use modern guns?"

"No. They took em off us and only let us have em when we were on assignment. We've only been working with them for about three months or so."

"That's everything then." He didn't feel the need to give any pleasantries so he turned on his heel and made to leave.

"Shephard, Before you go I wanted to tell you something."

Curious he turned back to face him. Castavin had walked right up to the bars and was staring right into his eyes with an intense gaze, no longer cold and subdued and burning with anger.

"Lydia Langford, Peirce Arthur , Taylor Wakefield. Those are the names of the people YOU killed. They've been with me through hell and back more times than I can remember. There were as my family. And you killed them."

Shephard wasn't sure what caused the next series of actions. Whether it was the tone of voice from a goddamn Black Ops, or the look he gave him something inside of Shephard suddenly gave way. The next thing he knew he took two steps and was right in the face of Castavin. His words came out in a glutteral growl and his hands was barely retrained from socking him right then and there.

"You really expect me to feel bad about that? You really expect me to give you any fucking sympathy? Well I won't. I remember all the people you killed. I remember Forbes losing his legs, hearing his screams as his flesh separated on his legs. I remember turning my head for one second and then turning back to find MacMillian lying dead with his throat slit . I remember nearly being drowned by one, my lungs burning with water. I remember the fucking nuclear bomb that wiped out the whole damn facility. Every single one of you fuckers took something that day. I don't give a damn about taking something from any of you."

"I'm not sorry for anything I did to you. Now back then and not now."

His voice took on an even deeper tone and his eyes flashed with something that made even the older and hardened Castavin pause. "If I ever find your daughter I'll put her in the ground with the rest of your family."

The weight of the silence that followed could have crushed a tank. Shephard surprised himself with the sheer viciousness of that statement. He suddenly realized just how close he was leaning and the way Castavin looked at him. He saw a look of anger, and just a little bit of fear, pass on his face. His hands shook. Eager for things not pleasant.

"I think… you have some fucking issues boy."

There was nothing more to be said With an uneasiness between them Shephard walked until he was out of sight.

Castavin let out an angry shout as he kicked the nearby wall.

He walked past Colbert, the spectacled man looking worried at his brisk pace and the expression he wore. He followed him, worried about a number of things just from the way the door flew open with more force than necessary. He walked past him a distracted angry look in his eyes. He stopped. He still had one thing left to do.

"There's two more people in their group not yet accounted for. One is an adopted daughter, the other is another Black Op. Their employers are not exactly on good terms with them, so their keeping the daughter as collateral. He seemed pretty damn sure that revealing their identity would mean bad news for the daughter so he didn't budge on that. They do however have my world's guns. That's all I got out of him."

His hands still shook slightly, whether from rage or his own self loathing he had no clue. But they trembled and Colbert took notice of it.

"I need to be alone for a few minutes all right?"

Colbert looked at him in the way only a veteran could. "Shephard, I'm serious. If you ever need to vent some of your feelings, I can lend an ear."

Shephard nodded, an empty promise they both felt, and walked off still a bit lost in his thoughts. Soon he found himself outside in a courtyard. The setting sun was just over the wall of the Academy and reflecting off the white walls withing creating a bright golden aura in the courtyard. He leaned against the wall outside soaking in the scene. It helped calm his nerves after the scene in the dungeon as his hands finally stopped shaking. Always was a bit of a sucker for picturesque scene like this.

Though he did get a feeling that very soon it would be-

"Excuse me! Shephard!"

Interrupted. Yep. He had noticed that pattern by now.

Sighing, he turned towards the voice already knowing who it belonged to. Guichie.

"I huh, I just heard! Duchess de la Vallière was here!? THE Heavy Wind was here and you met her!?"He asked excitedly.

The blonds enthusiasm caught him off guard

"Well, more like she tried to cut my head off, then tried to bite my head off. Then tried glaring my head off. But yeah, I met her."

"Wow… The Heavy Wind. I cannot believe I missed an opportunity to meet her.! Is she still here? Would It be possible for me to meet her?" He asked.

"Yes, talk to the mother of the girl you humiliated a few days prior. Yo know, in front of large group of students."

In an instant, the giddiness was gone, replaced with a visible weight on the blondes being, Shephard could have sworn his eye s gone completely white for just second at the sudden fear. God, it always creeped him out when that happened...

"Ah ha, n-now now,I admit I was acting out of l-line by doing that, but surely there's no need to dwell on something so trivial?" He trailed off in a series of whimpers.

"Well… you DID humiliate her in front of everyone. And didn't you start this over a perfume bottle?" He said teasing the boy.

"I apologized! You'll tell her right!? Oh father isn't going to like this." He said

Shephard held up a hand. "Relax, she left Guichie. We had a talk and Louise didn't mention anything about it. But why the hell did you have to pick on her? Hell, why did ANYONE pick on her if they all knew who her mother was?"

"First of all, I would like to make it clear that I had nothing to do with anything involving teasing Louise about her magic… outside of that incident on the day of the duel." He said, rubbing his neck in a guilty fashion.

"Secondly, well I do recall it started out very gradually. And that lovely Mrs' Zerbst was the first one to start it. All the students from Tristain kept a healthy distance from her due to knowledge of her family. But soon everyone began to realize that she didn't say anything about Kirche teasing her, a Germanian of all people, so everyone eventually got bold enough to start teasing her themselves."

"One hell of a way to thank a war hero." Teenagers he had to remind himself. They were usually missing neurons. Or they were dedicated to hormonal pursuits.

"I agree. My father, General Gramont, holds a great deal of respect for her. I have heard stories of entire armies falling to her winds."

"No kidding. I've been on the receiving end of that wind just a few hours ago, and those stories have merit."

"Y-Y-You actually fought her?! And lived!?"

"It was a five minute scrap, and it ended with her nearly cutting my head off and actually cutting down a part of a forest. And it was sobering. Reminded me that there's more that overconfident students with two timing ambitions I 'll have to go against." He jabbed again smirking.

"Yes, quite.." Guiche said shifting thoush as he did a loose object fell to the ground, starling them both.

"What the hell is that?"

"This? Only The Heated Passions of Crimson Despair." He said dramatically, holding his rose wand out, his cape catching a convenient breeze.

"...I stand corrected: What the flying monkey fuck is that?"

"A romance adventure novel! And no It isn't mine. I merely read this one before. It is actually Siesta's. She dropped it a while back and I keep meaning to return it to her, but I keep forgetting. You really should give them a chance. Quite thrilling, and full of tales of heroism and romance. You know my mother-"

At the maid's named, Shephard had tuned out somewhat. Siesta had seemed genuine in her desires to get back to how things were between them, but a part of Shephard just plain doubted it would be that easy. He had killed someone close her to her, you don't just forget that. Maybe it was his own bias in that regard, but he still felt like giving the maid some knew how things got after something like this happened.

"How has she been since Mott?"

"Handling as well as she can I suppose. As for her friend, It still stings her as you can imagine. Losing someone who cared about you is painful. Even if she was revealed to be a less than desirable type. The rest of the staff were shocked, but Siesta was the closest to her out of all of them. Talking seems to be her way of coping. She talks a lot, surprisingly to me most of the time."

"But She does not hate you Shephard. You should know this, she told you herself. She doesn't like it, but she understands what happened. Your hand was forced. In fact, that is why I wanted to speak to you. She would like a chance to talk to you again when you have time so you can clear the air between you. After speaking and working with her, I believe it will far easier than that you imagine it to be."

"Really?" The doubt was audible.

"Again she told you herself. I suppose she has to focus on the people still alive in her life. She mentions them quite a bit while we work sometimes."

"She has?"

Guiche smiled. "Yes. She is quite talkative once she gets comfortable around you. Rambles sometimes too, easily losing her train of thought. Sometimes, she rambles on about them. She tells stories. Stories of Lydia. Stories of her home. Tales of her family and her life growing up there..." He trailed off, a glazed look in his eyes.

"Something on your mind?"

He looked uncomfortable, the blonde finding the ground interesting suddenly. "It's just… hearing her talking about them hearing how important that they are to her, and how much they depend on her… I was threatening to have her fired." He said looking back up at Shephard.

"And she doesn't hold a grudge about it. I swear that is the one thing I cannot grass She smiles at me, talks to me without any malice . Not once even when I was duped into that service she didn't take advantage of it, even when I expected some sort of petty retaliation. And this was before our adventure Count Mott, so she had no reason to. I just… I…" he struggled on how to express himself for a few moments, his face holding an expression begging for an answer.

"Why is she being so nice to me?"

"It is a mystery isn't it? Her being nice to you is what her in trouble in the first place." He said.

He visibly flinched at the reminder. "That was an overreaction I admit, and I did hit her I admit that as well. I..." He trailed off again before his eyes lit up with fear.

"Oh founder, Father would never let me live this down…"

Shephard raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound right. Guiche made damn sure that he could get her fired for the embarrassment.

"You wanna explain why that is? Sounded to me like you weren't exactly big on servants to begin with. You said it yourself, you have no servants at all."

"Well yes. I was just trying to put on a show. Trying to do something to draw away attention from what had happened to me. As for why the Gramont household has no servants or maid to speak of, that however is a somewhat complicated affair. You see, my father he forged his family name. It wasn't always Gramont, but he never once spoke of who he was before. In short, he was a noble without heritage, legacy, a glorified commoner if you will. Well, mercenary is the correct term I believe."

"A mercenary?"

"Well, It's a bit too long to explain right now, but he proved himself a masterful tactician in a particularly nasty spat with some Germanian troublemakers. From what I hear, he managed to bottleneck a large number of them in a mountain pass, just long enough for the Heavy Wind to arrive and, in his own words, give the mountain pass an ankle deep river of blood." He blanched at the mental image that statement produced.

And Shephard sent a dew more 'fuck yous' mentally to Castavin for the attempted murder by proxy on his behalf.

"Well, despite the Heavy Wind overshadowing my father by a considerable margin he was recognized for holding the line until she arrived. He was given the position of general, and eventually married my mother, the rest is history."

Shephard nodded. "So your father pretty much grew up working alongside commoners pretty much huh. That explains some things at least."

"Yes. Mother told, before she passed on anyway, that he worked along side quite a few of them during his mercenary days. In fact, one commoner in particular, whom he told many stories about, he himself said was more family to him than his bastard of a father. Believe me Shephard, he would not have taken the dishonorable actions I had taken the days prior well. Despite his complicated feelings toward them, he has never tolerated any physical violence or any other kind of abuse on them."

"So what caused him to change? If he had all these views about them, why did his view on them become 'complicated'?"

"A botched attempt to ensure the safety of a commoner village about 14 years ago."

His eyes widened briefly at the mention of the years passed. His ears perked for any relevant information that would come.

"It was during an absolutely torrential downpour that had been going on for a day and half. Father, having been , ordered his sons to take some soldiers and see of they required assistance, as said village was located at the bottom of a set of hills. My father knew they were in risk of flooding so he sent his sons to see if they needed to check on the water levels. When they arrived however … my brothers were killed. Stabbed to death by an unknown assailant. They were both found dead and the killer. There was... some very unfortunate aftereffects resulting from that..." He trailed off.

"Truthfully, I do not know myself why he eventually fired the servants in our household. I suppose on some level he felt a bit of betrayal. He occasionally told me stories of his adventures beforehand and he was quite good friends with a commoner, said he was like brother to him. But their deaths changed him. A few days later he ordered all of the servants to go home and never come back." He said.

"A rash decision made in a fit of grief is what it sounds like."

"The Brimiric faith does say that it is a nobles duty to not only lead them, but protect the commoners. Father in some ways was a hard liner in that regard, but from what I hear, it was his way of coping with a less than excellent former family. He never spoke of them in any positive fashion."

"Yeah, in my opinion Guiche, I have my doubts about that system myself. I mean, when I first met her, Siesta screamed pretty loudly and all I did was tap her on the shoulder. Didn't exactly seem like she felt safe at all."

"Admittedly, there have been cases cropping up about nobles abusing their power. And I don't have to remind you about the cretin Mott. Bastard deserved what you did to him. But why do have such doubts?"

"It bothers me, because you guys have power, and that they can't do much except rely on your goodwill to ensure nothing bad will happen."

He felt an example was in order. "Think back to our duel Guichie. Anything could have went in that duel right?"

"Well yes."

"To put it bluntly, I could have cut your head off and nothing would have come out of it right?"

"Well, the retribution from father…" He began, failing to notice the rhetorical.

"My point is, I had all the power in the world on you in that moment. I had you at my mercy; I could have done whatever I damn well pleased." He said stepping forward slightly.

"Hell I could have just hit you with a bolt of electricity and been done with it, and left you with a messed up face. Again, nothing you could have done."

"Now imagine that someone has to work for someone under those conditions for a very long time..." He said. The was staring at him wide eyed. His rose wand, but the words seemed to be rattling around in his head.

"I understand your point very well Shephard, and I am not blind to fact that abuse of power is a part of reality. But I must ask…Why didn't you? Why did you take such a soft stance on me?" He asked. He was visibly nervous, but her held his ground.

"Because, I saw you holding you punches. Your weapons were blunt and you weren't hitting with lethal force. And when you thought you killed me you weren't smiling, but you looked like you were about to throw up. Just didn't strike me as a ruthless killer."

"Like I said before, I've met some real sick fucks in my time, and you just didn't have that vibe. A horrible dresser maybe, but frankly that's all."

"I still acted like an ass, even if nothing were to come of it. I just... I was so embarrassed, so humiliated, I just blanked somewhat. I lashed out at the first thing I was looking at."

Shephard nodded."And that's why I don't hate you. You actually came and apologized, and for all your bitching, actually tried to make things up to Siesta."

he softened his gaze."I've made screw ups like that in my time Guichie. Lost my temper, did things I…"

He stopped talking as the memories flowed over him.

'Really fucking regret. But how you respond to your mistakes, in my personal opinion, says more about a person than actually making them. You tried to make things up, and you did by Siesta's book, and you still are. Hell, I Didn't respond all that well to my mistakes. Ran away from them in some sense. You at least stood you ground, and I respect that. You're better than you think you are."

Guiche said nothing for a few moments. The he spoke with a tone of honest gratitude."…Thank you."

"Still can't dress worth a damn though. You'd poke out the eye of a manticore with that fashion sense." Shephard said, smirk appearing on his face suddenly.

"Bah, says the man who wears a polka dotted nightgown constantly."

"For the love of, how do you get polka dots outta this? This is urban camouflage."

"Well I suppose gazes would pass over that unholy mess. One must avert their eyes from that lest they go blind... and your clothes are not much better than your face either. " Guichie smirked. Shephard promptly gave him a middle finger.

Guiche stared at the extended middle digit."Why are you doing that?" He asked, absolutely no offense in his voice. Damn culture barriers.

"So, other than helping out the servants, what else have you been up to?"

"Well... not much really. Montmorency still is quite upset with me and refuses to talk to, and well, more a few people have. In hindsight, acting like such a fool did more to harm my reputation than Siesta ever could. It seems your words hold wisdom. But what of those attacks on Miss Valliere?

"Listen, Guichie. I'm going to be real blunt here. Lydia, I feel was only the beginning. Someone is after Louise and I just know they're going to make another attempt to capture her."

The blonde had a look of surprise.

"I don't know when though. Keep an eye out for any suspicious activities. You're a lot more familiar with the servants now and you have a better trust among them. You're in the best position to spot any more infiltration attempts through that way. Just let me know if anyone strikes you as being out of place, okay?

He nodded, a determined look in his eyes.

"Good. You know, we've started a training regimen to help her even the odds. If you want you could always join. We could certainly use something to counter balance the innuendo machine of Kirche..." he muttered,

"I would like that. I don't have much else going on anymore these days."

"Okay, see you then." With that Shephard walked towards the sisters, but he didn't get far before being stopped briefly by Guiche's voice.

"And don't forget about Siesta Shephard. Just talk to her. If she can forgive me, I hardly think forgiving you will be that taxing to her."

"I hope so." Shephard said without turning back, leaving the blonde alone in the gold hued courtyard.

With that Shephard walked back to the sisters room, which was an easy task with the redhead once again teasing the girl. Tabitha had retreated earlier in the day, much to the dragons and Gill's reluctance, but he guessed she just needed a bit more time. Just as well he supposed. Kirche lingered though, never failing to provide her commentary where she, felt it was needed.

And sadly it was rubbing off on him as he felt himself make a dirty joke out of that last sentence. And that one... damn redhead.

All right time to move onto business. 'We've made some progress today. A bit too little for my taste, but I'll take it."

"Little progress? I've managed to hit most of those targets, and look at everything we have come up with for my magic!"

"Yeah, but there's still room for improvement and those were only basic practices. We still have a ways to go yet before I think I'll be comfortable."

"What about me?" Cattleya asked.

"Well, those golems you mentioned will come in handy, but again, we need to practice. Same thing mostly, try. And I think we should start a workout regimen for both of you. Get your strength, stamina up to better levels. We're gonna have to start early to get those in before classes."

Kirche grinned and Shephard already dreaded what she had to say. "I think you might have some trouble there Shephard. Louise never was one for mornings. I should tell you about the time she was late for class and rushed in with only one sock on and no-"

Louise's face red at whatever that incident was and Shephard swore her hair was sizzling. "Finish that sentence Zerbst I'll-"

Shephard put a lid on the conversation before it could escalate. "Enough. Kirche, I appreciate you trying lighten the mood, but it wouldn't kill you to say something other than jokes you know." Shephard. said.

"Like I said earlier, the reactions are most of the amusement i get from them. But, if you must know Louise, he's right. This isn't a game, or a show of honor. It's life or death. Despite how much I teased you, I really don't want to see you get hurt. Take this seriously and listen to him."

Everyone has stopped talking for a few good moments. And was staring at the redhead for the honesty and lack of mischievousness in that entire batch for words. He knew she had the capacity for it, but he assumed somewhat that if she did it too intensely, she could die of some horrible poisoning as a result.

"See? Me saying serious stuff only makes everyone else uneasy. I'll Leave the grim and dark to you, and you leave the 'upbeat' to me." She said with a wink.

"Oh goddammit..." He facepalmed. Mostly to hide his grin, however pained it was. A quick glance at Cattleya told him a similar tale.

"Zerbst!" The lone dissenter exclaimed.

Thankfully, having been right outside their rooms, Kirche quickly retried to before Louise go on a tirade. Still muttering about the redhead Louise swiftly entered her room as well followed by her sister. He decided to wait outside while they dressed for the night when he got another surprise.

"Well today was an interesting one wasn't it?" The sword piped up nearly causing Shephard to jump.

"Geez Derf, I keep forgetting about you."

"Heh, that can be a valuable trait partner. You should try silently skulking once in a while. I got a feeling you'd be better at it than you'd think."

He shrugged. "I already make it a policy not to open my mouth unless I have something to say."

"So do I partner. Let me tall ya, sometimes I got a new owner who didn't know I could talk who decided to try and use me for nefarious ends. Suddenly shouting and revealing them to their would be victims never got old." He chuckled to himself.

"Listen, I appreciate keeping the ladies safe and all, but after hearing that goon Castavin talk, I got curious myself… why did you stay with pinky?"

Shephard groaned in a way that conveyed no small sense of annoyance.

"I know, repeat subject for you today, but it's an honest question. You're not suffering any effects from the runes."

"Well, Im guessing it' what Cattleya aid. They're just not designed to work on humans."

"No... that's not it partner. I've seen these types of runes before. 6000 years ago."

"Yeah, you mentioned something like that. Sounds like you've had your fair share of experiences then."

"Yep! Seen more battles in my time and even more magic, some of which was lost to time. Let's just say these runes were indeed made for humans."

"But they ain't working… and I really don't know what to say about that."

"The hell are talking about? What magic? Who did this before?"

"… partner, listen to me. This magic should have worked on you, but it isn't. Aren't you worried about that?"

He opened his mouth but closed it again when he realized just how true that statement was. And the implications it spoke of.

Yes actually there was if there was indeed a reason to be worried it would be about that.

"Listen, me and those runes were connected. And when you held me, I felt something... off about you. Like blue hair and Castavin said, there's something... I don;t wanna accuse you of anything, you being my partner and all, but... you have to understand that this magic is not so easily countered."

"I don't why you aren't being affected... butI know who did the original spell, but… I'm not sure If I should tell you. Honestly."

"Why?"

"It'll mean something for pinky Shephard. You said it your self, She wants to prove mommy proud. And if she finds out you've been keeping this from her, I don't think she'll ever forgive you. They'll both know your hiding something, and I think the track record of people suspecting you speaks for it self. If it comes down to it being inevitable, I'll spill the beans, but until then, You knowing would just cause a lot more problems that it will solve. Frankly, I don't think that girl knows what she really wants. I mean, she talks about being a great mage,and hoping to measure up to her mother, but she seems to forget the fact that usually means killing people. I'm kinda hoping you can put that cognitive dissonance to rest soon partner. You got enough problems on your hands."

"I don't think keeping valuable information from your allies solves problems either." Shephard responded.

"I think sometimes one's supposed 'allies' can be more dangerous than their enemies partner. Not you of course, but before you came to pick me up, I heard stories coming from a bunch of foot soldiers in the store. They were telling stories of the queen starting to become a bit flaky."

"Flaky?

"Yeah. Couldn't figure out the cause of it for a while.. until Castavin that is. I don't wanna be the one to knock over that pile of unstable bricks. She'll know you're hiding something and believe me partner, it's serious. I don't wanna break up the team dynamic you're trying to build. Specially since old pinky decided to reveal some past mistakes of yours. I think even you feel little pinky is keeping you around on a bit of shaken trust. If you hide something from her, especially this, I worry bout her and you getting along at all. I'm sorry partner, I really really am. I can't say anymore, but I feel you deserved to know that much at least."

"And one last thing partner... You should really try to work on that vindictive streak of yours. That man was right: Nothing good will come of that. 6000 years I've been around, I've seen more than my fair share of people that just couldn't let something go. Forsaken everything in the pursuit of nothing. " Wit the the sword went quiet, sliding back into it's sheath, leaving Shephard alone with the new information.

This was just fucking great. He needed to step up the regimen. He could already feel the ticking hands of the clock for their next batch of trouble. And it wasn't that high to begin with...

Cattleya opened the door, and despite once again wearing a revealing nightgown, Shephard was lost in thought had what Derf had partially reveled.

She looked at him with concern. What is it Shephard?"

He sighed. "I don't know. Just wondering what's waiting for us I suppose. I have a feeling we're gonna slammed with something soon. I just feel it..." he stepped inside, Cattleya closing the door behind him.

"I don't doubt that. But whatever happens, we will be ready."

"Maybe. Today was a good start, but tomorrow, I think we should start those phyiscal regimens. Push ups, sit ups, somethig to build muscl. No offeene, but you two don;t exactly strike me as the most physically strong."

"What? After everything we found out i can do with my magic, we have to do physical training?"

"Today was a start. It's not enough Louise. I want you to be capable with and without your magic. That means honing your body. Remember, you only countered that agent because he underestimated you. You can't count on that Louise. You need to be able tohold your won without magic." He said firmly.

"And Cattleya. Tomorrow I want to see how well you can actually use your earth capabilities. And eventually I want to see how well you can do while under the effects of your illness. I want you to be 100% sure that you can handle yourself if it acts up, understood?"

"Shephard, wait, she-" Cattleya held up an arm.

"No, he's right Louise. I am without a doubt going to be a bit of a wild card sometime, and I will take responsibility to ensure that the risk is minimized. I would be a fool to do otherwise. But I am confident Shephard, that I can handle myself." She said, a hint of defensiveness coming up again.

"I don't doubt your words, but I just want to get a solid grasp of what we both can expect from you in the best and worst of times so we have a better understanding of each other as a team. Nothing more, nothing less."

Cattleya processed his words, a look of surprise coming across her features, and one of slight apology. "...I appreciate it." She smiled. "And thank you for not treating me like a child."

At the women's tone of respect, Shephard found himself grinning as well. " No problem."

No words came after that for some reason. Instead Louise seemed to be blushing and felt like speaking up again.

"H-hey! Shephard, what exactly were you planning on doing with those boots anyway? They've been sitting over there for two days now!" Louise piped up, with a non sequitur conversation topic to boot. Heh. Boot.

"Boots? What are you.. oh yeah." He said as he lazily turned to the objects.

Sitting in the corner behind the crate that delivered his pets, laid the two pair of long fall boots he had taken from the Black Ops. He.. hadn't really come up with anything.

"Well to be honest, that was a spur of the moment thing. I don't really know how we're going to get use from boots that let you fall from any height."

"Wait, what?" Cattleya asked looking at him with a astonished look

"Boots that protect you from falling. No, I don;t know how they work beyond that. Hell, all of Aperture was a bit screwy."

"Aperture?"

he shook his head. "Story for another time Cattleya. I'l fill you in tomorrow if you're interested, but for now,those boots protect you from falling, end of story."

"Your world sounds very strange sometimes Shephard Cattleya said as she crawled into bed with Louise.

"Tell me about it..." He said. Soon the sisters were asleep.

He laid down in the hay, and long after the two sisters went to sleep, all the he stayed awake. Derfs words, his actions in the dungeon hung on his mind. Everything was piling up and he had only just begun trying to shovel it out of the way. Just keep pressing forward he supposed. What else could he do? Slowly, his eyelids drifted downwards and he drifted off to sleep.

And as he slept he began to dream, his hand glowing with light. And Louise stirred in her sleep as well.

A little ways from the Academy stood a dead tree with a simple bright red rag hanging from one if it's branches. A signal for certain people, simple piece of rubbish to everyone else. A shadow flew over the tree, belonging to a griffion with three riders on it's back.

The intended recipients saw it, and proceeded into the forest. The creature weaved through the trees, it having done this a few times before.

Eventually they came upon a house, long since abandoned by the original owner and it showed, holding a look of disrepair. It suited the new occasional occupier just fine. It meant people were less likely to snoop. The The group dismounted their ride and moved forward, the slight rustle of their gear echoing through the near silence of the forest.

One of them knocked on the door as they arrived and the response was immediate.

"What else can you call an Outie?"

"A fucking prick." She rolled her eyes, as did everyone else at the abrasive response.

It was all formality really. She knew who they were, but years of adhering to practice wasn't about to leave them tonight. The door opened with a long droning creak.

They all stepped inside, their heavy boot steps kicking up the dust on the floor and sending clouds of it floating in the moonlight room. They all began to set the packs they carried

One was tanned skin revealing his Germanian orgins. His lean muscles. His hair was a dull white, cropping out from the riding mask he still wore. As he set his pack down, he occasionaly shot Chloe a few glances. Ones that held annoyance at her presence.

The other was a bit more portly, but he still sported a fair amount of muscle. The man's eyes however betrayed the experience he carried. His upper lip had a thin mustache and the rest of his face was clean shaven. His blonde hair, normally still combed neatly as some habits never left him, was ruffled from the wind during the ride. He set to quickly getting it sorted as quick as possible.

Matilda appraised the arrivals, good choices she felt, but the last one caught her attention the most. A familiar golden pigtailed woman smiling broadly at her as she set down her pack, heedles of her hair imperfection during the flight.

"Hey Matilda. Guess who got a second shore leave?" She said.

"Chloe? Didn't think you'd be here. I thought you would have taken some opportunities to go hunting."

"Yeah well, it was decided that the mages would be needed most out in the border control area department."

Matilda's eyes winded, but then she realized that indeed there was no more people arriving as the three were all that came in.

"So how do they expect us to handle a entire school full of magic users with only three?" She asked her frustration at this situation

"Relax, they gave us something that will aid us greatly. Chloe." Virelle gestured to her pack.

She nodded, and reached into the bag she was carrying. She pulled out a bottle, but even then Matilda could make out a faint glow radiating from the bottle. She held it shaking it slightly making the contents slosh around inside. "Sleeping juice. You have any idea how long Perrault had to jerk off the spirits to get that much?"

"It's meditation." Robert replied, annoyed at her attempts of humor. And with her in general.

"Oh, that makes more sense. I was wondering why the local church goers were giving me weird looks. And why they took offense to me calling it a circlejerk…" She joked, earning Roberts ire even more.

"Chloe…" Robert growled in annoyance

Virelle interrupted whatever the man was about to say. "I think we have more important issues at hand than Chloe's brand of humor. Need I remind you all why we are hear? Do you have any idea what is at stake?"

"Actually, yes I do. Everyone in Exalt knows how important this thing is, so why the in name of Brimir, is there only four people for such a critical mission?"

"I thought Chloe told informed you of the recent unplanned Crossover events. They had to divert resources to other known areas to make sure containment isn't breached anymore than it already is." Virelle repeated.

She sighed and shook her head. "She did, but I feel it's a mistake. I agree it's a problem, but this thing is far more important than a few strays. With the networks we have, we could track them down easy. There should be far more in this operation."

"Well apparently not. We've confirmed that the Liberation Path has indeed been started by an Outsider. Add to that the recent discovery of our dump site, which is dangerously close to an area where they usually crossover to, we've had to divert resources to prevent things from getting out of control here. Keeping them from plunging our world into chaos is our ultimate goal." Virelle said.

Matilda shook her head. "Still, such a critical mission and only four people are participating? What kind of malarkey is that?"

"There's only one of them at the Academy right? Four should be plenty to take this mark out." Robert said.

"Maybe, but… I don't know. There is something very off about him and I don't like it."

"You did mention his pets… that is certainly a very bizarre turn of events, but again nothing a few guns can't solve." Virelle said, but Matilda was already fearing the resignation creeping into his voice.

"Oh and by the way, we have nearly jack shit in guns at moment." Chloe said immediately.

"… the hunting partys?" Matilda guessed.

"Yep. All the M4's, SAW's, 50 CAL,s, even the Beretta's were taken, out of the Tristain cell, and I'm guessing you don't want to make another trip to another cell." Chloe stated more than asked.

"Should we postpone this maybe? Wait until we have a more guaranteed chance to succeed?" Virelle suggested.

"No. Karin was here today. Well, after her visit, Osmond confided in me that he' been contemplating on having that Staff destroyed soon. Said he feels a storm is coming, and he feels guilty not doing his part for Tristain as he feels that Staff might help them, but he's not blind to the fact of just how dangerous it is, and he doesn't want that falling into the wrong hands. We need to move as soon as possible if we want to retrieve this. And we have no guns..." She said, rubbing her head at the headache she felt coming on.

"Well except for one…" Chloe said, before pulling a spas 12 shotgun from her pack. Out of reflex she chekced the chamber confirming it was empty before setting it beside a wall.

"Cinder made it very clear she doesn't want ANY casualties apart from the Outsider. No nobles, no commoners, no guards, nothing." Robert said frowning at the gun.

"And she won't get any. You're acting like the process of simply walking up behind him or waiting around a corner while his guard is down is a difficult one. Oh woe is me, my poor plebeian brain cannot comprehend the most basic fucking thing, show me the way my lord!" She dramatically exclaimed, clasping her hands in a prayer gesture.

"Chloe, you-" Robert started, his patience getting thinner with each attempted joke Chloe dished out.

"Enough! Chloe, your sarcasm is not appreciated or wanted." Virelle stated, raising his voice.

"Well, I feel the same way about your mustache, but you're not getting rid of that any time soon either are ya?" She replied, her grin causing the man to shake with anger.

"People like you sorely justify beatings…" He said, his voice and dangerous.

Chloe wasn't perturbed. "Hey now, we only say about Outies." As she said that, the rest of the group, Robert included, finally snickered. Mainly because she unintentionally took a dig at herself. She realized her mistake.

"You know what I fucking mean. Look, I'm sorry, let's just get back to the task at hand. Ya know, fate of Halkegenia resting in our hands, us needing a plan, c'mon we got work to do."

The occupants, Matilda included concurred. With no further words they all gathered around a table In the room.

She pulled out a map of the Academy and laid it on the table allowing all to study it.

"The vault is here in the top most part of the pentagram." She pointed.

"Getting in will be a bit long, but not impossible with my golem. The strength of the reinforcements means we can't just transmute our way In and that brute forcing it will take long enough to bring the whole damn Academy.

"We don't have any C4 charges, do we? I thought some were in rout for this mission?"

"No. We had some inbound from our cell in Galia just for this, but oddly they just disappeared. Vanished. The delivery team swears up and down that nothing happened to them while hey made the delivery. They just... disappeared."

"How do you fucking lose explosives you were transporting?" Matilda demanded.

"I wanna say incompetence, but incompetence would be them forgetting it. Personally I think it reeks of sabotage." Chloe chimed in.

"Don't be ridiculous. No one in Exalt would betray each other, especially not with what's at stake."

"Just saying…"

"It doesn't matter, we'll just have to work with what we got. I can brute force my way in, but I'll definitely need you to watch my back. With this many guards, I don't think we;ll be able to drug all of them before we have to move. Not to mention that Outie, Shephard."

"He won't get that chance Matilda. He'll be dead long before then. I'm more worried about the Vallière girls. Now, I know all the nobles kids are especially off limits, but these two are a living minefield. One scratch and Karin von fuck you wind decides to turn us into blood fragranced aerosol."

"Well that's where you come in again Chloe. You'll disguise as Virelle's's maid. He'll try and distract the serving staff and i think you know what do in that situation.

"Act like a scared helpless rabbit, drug kids, then blow the head off a dick. Yeah I can do that. Virelle, you still remember how to act like a popmus airbag right?"

He gave a sigh that carried a great weight of regret. "Sadly, I do."

"You'll need to slip the sleeping potion in as much of the servant's food as possible, so the students and teachers are guaranteed not to interfere. It should absorb right into it, and it's odorless and flavorless, Perrault made sure of it. We need to minimize Virelle's crowd control responsibilities."

"All right. What about that one other Outie in the dungeon. We gonna kill him too?"

"Yes, I believe we should have the time. As you make your move on Shephard, I will do my best to neutralize him. But I won't make any promises. It might prove too difficult to get to him without casing serious harm to the guards."

"Eh, we'll see."

Matilda turned towards the Germanian. "Robert, you're going to be our extraction. As much as I would love to have you with us, if something happened to you or your gryphon, we'd be stranded. That sleeping mixture won't last forever, and I want to be long gone before we have too many people to deal with."

"So it's a plan then. Drug as many as we can, eliminate Shephard, and make off with the Staff. If there's nothing more anyone wants to bring up we should get some sleep for tomorrow."

Chloe raised a finger. "Just one. Should we make an attempt to remove his PCV after we kill him? I'm sure the researchers would love to get their hands on that."

"It's a definite secondary objective. If we can get it off his body without compromising our main goal good, if not, that Staff takes priority above everything."

"Sounds good."

"All right, we know the plan. Chloe and Verille, I want you to study the guard routs and positions. Know where they are, where they are going to come from so you don't get forced into something. Verille, I hope you been practicing your wind barrier spell.

Verill and Robert nodded and headed off with their copies of the map to study possible flank routes and areas were guards patrol.

Chloe meanwhile was smiling at Matilda.

"What?"

"Just nice seeing you again. Though you still look a little bit like shit, and you seem unusually frustrated. I know you Mattie, you've had to deal with far worse scenarios so this shouldn't bother you. You have another nightmare?" Chloe asked, and rather bluntly getting to the point.

"..yes..." She knew it was hopeless to try and hide it from her.

She sighed in frustration.

"Let's talk for a bit. Okay? I got time to plan my shit later."

Matilda, despite her professionalism protesting it, nodded and soon led her into an adjacent room. She shut the door, giving the two women some privacy.

"So, what was it about?"

She didn't speak. The image still haunted her."… I saw my mother's face…" She breathed out. Chloe let out a silent 'oh' at the revelation.

"I've heard her before, so many times as screamed, felt her hands grab me as I was dragged away from.. but this is the first time I actually saw her." She continued on, looking a mixture of haunted and blissful.

"She looked so… defeated. Her eyes , her face covered in cuts and bruises. How..." Her wrists starting wringing themselves, Matilda not even noticing.

"How could I forget her face for so long Chloe? How could I? How could I be so pathetic?"

"Hey! Don't talk like that. You were a little kid Mattie. A little kid put through hell, you can't blame yourself for having having shitty memory."

"… I still don't remember my father at all. All I know about him is that I got my hair from him, and that's it. I just can't remember." She finished

"Mattie." She grabbed her wrists ceasing their motion and getting the green haired woman to look in her eyes.

"Listen to me. There's no damn shame in not remembering. You think I remember how I got half of my scars? I don't. All this fucking time later I still don't remember a damn thing what happened to me. But I do remember you saving my life. You want pathetic? Be a bait maiden for those damn pretenders whose entire line of logic is 'look at me! I'm the only one with a modern gun in this world! I'm such a badass ooooh!' They act like tough shits who fart democracy even though most of them didn't do shit to save their own people at Black Mesa. You, however... you showed a lot more courage and selflessness than those idiots could ever brag about. So please, stop with the pathetic nonsense about yourself. You're looking at someone who wouldn't be alive without you."

Matilda never broke eye contact with Chloe, the intensity of her gaze locking her in place. A smile tugged at her lips at what Chloe had just said and she still held her hands and Matilda was a bit hesitant to break this moment.

Chloe was te one to move on however. 'But you know what? I had a hunch you could do with some more calming influence. So I brought something extra." She said as she dug around in one of her pockets. She retrieved a small white paper roll filled with herbs of the medicinal kind.

"…Thanks actually. I could use this." She grabbed the herbal mixture. It was a common thing really. After everything they all went through sometimes this really was the only way to calm someone's nerves, to relax that chronic tension and anxiety some of them had. Matilda had prided herself on going quite a bit without it, but she would be lying if she said she didn't feel any temptation from the sight of it.

"No problem."

Matilda gently sat her self down on the floor, heedless of the dust that has gathered on it. Chloe merely pressed her back to the wall and lazily slid down, kicking up a small cloud of dust int he process.

Matilda used her wand to light it and inhaled the smoke. She exhaled. already feeling a bit more relaxed.

They said nothing for a while. They just sat in silence of the room. It had a hole in the corner of the roof letting in a beam of moonlight in the room. The night was peaceful outside with only crickets and a couple of fireflies being the only signs of life outside.

"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like if they didn't get involved? The people we could have known, the lives we could have lived. If they didn't stick them selves in our affairs?" She asked. She was s taring off into space, lost in whatever life she dreamed of at the moment.

"Well considering my life is based on them sticking themselves where they don't belong I have mixed feelings on it." She said with a grin.

Despite her feelings toward the subject, Matilda let out a snort of amusement "Chloe..." She tried for a disapproving tone as A part of her felt she should be a bit more offended but... it was Chloe. She knew how she was a this point.

She shrugged. "Don't diss the red white and blue treatment."

"The What?" Matilda looked bewildered.

"You know, red from the forced penetration, white from the release, and blue for their blue balls they had before."

"Oh founder, Chloe that's inappropriate!" She said as she let a few more snorts.

"Eh, you're smiling, so I'm counting this as a win." Matilda promptly sent a foot into Chloe's ankle. Chloe hardly noticed.

The two women were smiling and struggling not to laugh. One because as much as she protested she found that joke to be quite funny, the other because her green haired friend looked absolutely ridiculous trying to suppresses her laughter.

"It's the drug. Don't get cocky, you perverted hag."

"Cocky huh? Nice pun."

"Ugh..." She rejected responding to the conversation in favor a of taking a drag.

"Hey Mattie. What's the plan on those people you mentioned? The one's who you said been spending some time with him?"

She exhaled. "Same thing as discussed before: Don't kill at all, or inure them if you can help it." She replied matter of factly.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling they're going to turn traitor on us eventually. I just don't like leaving problems coming back to bite us in the ass later." She stated.

"It's just meant to be a forewarning of who might have eschewed loyalties when push comes to shove, nothing concrete. The Vallerie sisters are by far the most at risk. The Gramont kid is a close second. The maid, and the redhead could go either way I feel. But I've changed my mind about Tabitha, the blue haired one. She's definitely someone who's the least effected by his bullshit. Well, her and the Heavy Wind."

"Recruit opportunity you think? Fuck, we need them. Between all the covert ops we've had to invest in and now with the crossovers acting up, we sure as shit could do with some new blood."

"Maybe. I don't think it's out of the question, but we'll have to worry about that at a different time. Though I do feel with Shephard out of the way, the sisters might eventually come around. It'll take a while... hm... but maybe with their mother..." She trailed off, lost in a sudden idea.

"Maybe, but so many people bought into their lies hook line and sinker before. I don't know if they can come back from that."

Matilda took another drag before speaking.

"So who's playing bait maiden this time?" It always was nice to know who had to shake their asses and assets for the cause.

"Well, I know for certain that at least Megan and Jennifer are on that duty. Can't say anything about the rest. At least they can just offer them sedation food these days and not have to go though the whole damn process like back in the old days."

"Yeah definitely. Thank the Founder Perrault got the sedation mixture right a while ago. And less reliant on dirty rounds." It certainly was a problem several years back. They had to make due with 'dirty rounds' as they had come to be known for their weapons. They were notorious for causing the weapons to jam far more often than was reasonable, as reasonable as weapon jams can be at any rate, and they were. They could make cartridges and bullets just fine with transmutation, it was the powder that gave them the most difficulty.

It was quite a while before they got a similar enough formula for the rounds to be on par with the 'military grade rounds' the Outies had. Even through interrogation, they didn't understand half of they said, which wasn't much. All the terms and words they used were completely alien to them so they had to start from scratch and find out the best way themselves. Even what they got in interrogations was dubious. Chloe remembered how one Outie decided to screw with them in a monumental way by adding ROFL to everything and for the longest time Exalt was none the wiser. ROFL guns, ROFL armor, ROFL copters, ROFL tactics. Thank fuck they found out about that before they got to their paperwork faze. That would have been a nightmare and a permanent shame.

Chloe had to admit though, that was a pretty good joke. She really needed to do that herself one of these days.

After one more puff, Chloe deftly plucked the cigar out of her hand, much to her pouting look. "All right that's enough Mattie. Now aint the time to get high. I've got work to do. Just get some rest tonight, cause tomorrow you're going to be our main source of muscle, and we need you at full strength got it?"

She nodded. Reluctantly.

"Good. I'll bring you some breakfast in the morning before we make our move. Good night." She said as she closed the door, leaving the green haired woman behind.

She walked back to the map ready to do some work, but then she glanced at the unfinished herbal drug.

She snubbed it out on a wall and got to work.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, the vault heist starts next chapter! Let's how Shephard's first battle with Halkegenia's X-COM will go... or would that technically make it O-COM? Eh doesn't sound as catchy.

Also, I apologize in advance if what I wrote about bullets and making them was way off base. I think it's pretty damn obvious I'm not a gun nut. If I did something to offend any weapons experts, PM me and I'll gt on fixing that right away.