“Alright all, no way to go except up, I guess.” Phoenix sighed, staring at the base of the impossibly tall mountain the SPSF found themselves at.

“Can’t we just tunnel through-” One trainee began, only to be met with a soft hand from Prarie.

“We definitely shouldn’t disturb the native ecosystem, we are tasked with protecting it, after all.”

Phoenix nodded in agreement, carefully looking for footholds to begin climbing.

“We don’t want to cause harm, correct. Especially in an ecosystem we know nothing about. Even where it looks the most dead and barren, there is life.”

“It only looks like one or two people can even reasonably try to climb this.” Roavin shook his head.

“I’ll look for another way around.” Swifty sighed, beginning to walk off towards the side of the mountain. Others began following him, leaving Prarie and Phoenix alone to climb.

“You didn’t want to follow everyone else?” Phoenix asked, as she carefully began hoisting herself up.

“I think it’s time I test my strength. I’ll take this way.” Prarie walked up to the slanted wall, and began carefully climbing as well. “Besides, we’ll stick together, just in case something happens to either of us.”

“Sounds good.”

The pair began climbing the mountain carefully, proceeding slowly so as to avoid falling or breaking things. The climb was difficult, from the lack of walkable paths to the loose, falling pebbles, to the random bugs that would be roused from their slumber and made to scurry away. The skies quickly clouded over, signalling precipitation of some form was incoming. The wind kicked up, buffeting the pair as they continued to climb.

“Looks like weather is incoming.” Phoenix sighed, her voice hardly above a whisper as she struggled to continue. “This is starting to look bad.”

“We won’t give up though.” Prarie smiled, lifting another hand to the next crevice he could find, carefully grabbing hold and pulling himself up further. “We have to find a way out of this strange world. But more importantly, we have to make sure this realm stays safe while we do so, and make sure our way back doesn’t cause any harm to our world.”

“Right.” Phoenix nodded, refueled by the determination the promising young trainee showed, and began dragging herself up once again. Suddenly, the rains started pouring, the sound of the raindrops making a hissing sound as it hit Phoenix’ skin.

“It’s raining!” Prarie shouted over the sudden downpour, using his currently-free hand to shield his eyes from the freezing rain. Phoenix hissed, trying to hold on to her current position as the rapidly-intensifying winds and rain threatened to blow the pair right off the mountain.

“Keep going.” Phoenix squeaked, her body freezing up and turning a cold dark gray. “Almost out of this.”

Prarie nodded, resuming the climb while checking to make sure that Phoenix was still climbing behind him, until the surface leveled out enough to walk on. The pair stayed low anyways, though by now it was no longer raining, but misty and foggy. Yet there still was more to go.

“I think we’re so high up, we’re above the storm.” Prarie shivered, looking around the place the pair found themselves. “Do you reckon everyone else managed to stay dry?”

“No.” Phoenix only whispered, visibly wincing as fine gray dust fell off her skin as she moved her mouth to form words.

“We should keep going, get to the top.” Prarie sighed, grapping Phoenix’ arm and dragging her up the mountain, until everything completely leveled out. At this point, they could all see the clouds clear as day beneath them, and the sun shining brightly in the sky. The entire way they had come from was completely clouded over, but the opposite side of the mountain was clear. The dense forests seemed tiny and insignificant from the peak, despite looking majestic from the ground.

“We are on top of the world.”

“I swear, plot armor is the only thing that kept me alive here.” Phoenix sighed as she felt revived by the sun’s rays, her skin returning to their normal color as she shook the rain off of her. She looked up at Prarie, then over the other side of the mountain, and gasped. “Oh my gosh you can really see everything from here.”

“Plot armor…?” Prarie asked, confused. “Is that something that can help us…?”

“Oh right! I forgot the entire reason I had wanted to climb in the first place!” Phoenix gasped, quickly whipping out a pair of binoculars and slowly scanning the visible area. “That way.” Phoenix pointed directly forwards. She stood up, taking in the view one last time. “There’s a glowing thing just over that way. That has to be some sort of portal that could take us home.”
Phoenix got quiet for a second, thinking a little bit

“Before we continue though, I want you to climb down as a soldier.”

Prarie fell silent, staring in shock at Phoenix.

“You’ve earned it, Prar. The way you’ve been fighting for justice, your passion for protecting the land, no matter how big or small, is definitely something admirable. You are a voice for those whose voices are quiet, even ignored. You certainly have my admiration, Soldier Prarie.”

Prarie nodded gratefully, a wide smile on his face as he realized what just happened.

“Well, time to climb down this mountain a soldier.”
 



The descent from the mountain was much easier than the climb, and the group very quickly came together once again.

“Did you see anything?” Nakari asked.

“We saw the portal, it is a far distance away, so we should get going as quickly as possible.”

“I figured.” Roavin nodded, picking up the pace as he took the lead forward into the dense forests.

Everyone followed suit, treading carefully through the thick forest, until they came across a small clearing. At first glance, nothing was there, and the group was just about to keep moving. However, Phoenix stopped the group, when she heard the small noise of laughter.

An orc popped out from behind a tree, lifting a tree straight up into the air, then knocking a series of trees to the ground, laughing as they crashed to the ground.

“Hold it!” Phoenix shouted, drawing out her katanas as she leaped forward, followed by the rest of her group. “What are you even doing?”

“This is my land, get out.” The orc growled.

“You’re literally destroying the forest.” Prarie crossed his arms. “You shouldn’t do that.”

“Watch me.” The orc laughed, swinging the tree he held at the group. However, his hit was slow enough for the SPSF to skillfully dodge.

“Cringe.” Swifty laughed, aiming a gun right for the orc and firing. The orc laughed, swinging the tree right for Swifty, who skillfully dodged once again.

“No u.” The orc shouted, turning to throw the trunk at a group of trainees. The group dodged the attack, laughing at the orc failing to take down any SPSFers.

“Let’s get rid of him, he’s not even of this world. He’s just from another world.” Nakari sighed, throwing a spear at the creature.

Phoenix jumped up and came from behind the being, slicing the creature in two with her fiery katanas, landing on her feet gracefully.

“Let’s get this place cleaned up.” Phoenix ordered, picking up the orc’s trash from the clearing while others focused on clearing the demolished trees from the area.

After a little while, a few tall beings stepped up from the woods.

“Let us finish here, if you’d like, and find your way home. Thank you for taking down the orc.” One of the beings said, holding out their hand.

“Alright, sounds good. Thank you.” Phoenix grabbed the being’s hand, shaking it firmly. “Sorry about the orc.”

“That being has been here for a long while, we were getting sick of waiting for it to leave.”

“Understood.” Phoenix nodded, and the SPSF left the clearing, leaving the mysterious beings to clean it up and start planting seeds.
 



The sun rose over the strange land once again, as the members of the SPSF rose once again, waking up one by one. The crew had gained new friends, and they’ve lost some friends. Nevertheless, they were all stuck in the new world, though at least they had a general idea of where they needed to go.

Phoenix was the first to rise with the sun, her wings stretched out to absorb every ray of sunlight she could. Soon enough, the generals would wake up, dismissing the night guard from their post and allowing them to get some rest while they prepared breakfast for everyone. More of the soldiers and trainees would rise up soon enough, helping to clean up the campsite, leaving just the sleeping bags of the sleeping guards by the time Roavin and Nakari announced that breakfast was ready. Everyone would eat, saving two bowls for the night guards, and then the most junior SPSFer would wake the sleeping guards. That trainee would pack the remaining sleeping bags up while everyone else helped clean up breakfast while the night guards groggily ate their breakfast, and then, after making extra sure that their campsite was totally cleaned up, they would head off, leaving not a trace of their stay behind.

This morning was no different. Pretty soon, Phoenix heard the rustling that signalled that the generals had woken up and were on their way to relieve the night guard of their duty.

Last night’s guard duties had fallen to Swifty and Shangyuen, and just a look at them told that the pair was tired. The two barely made it to their sleeping bags before crashing.

When Phoenix’ sunbath was done, she flew into the tallest tree she could easily spot, trying to orient herself to where they needed to go, as well as look around and make sure there weren’t any other groups in the vicinity up to no good. And very quickly an unusual rustling of leaves caught Phoenix’ attention, in the direction that the SPSF would go once their morning routine was done. Upon closer observation, she spotted a few wolves, accompanied by a few others. She flew back down from the trees, landing right next to the generals while they waited for the deer meat they hunted yesterday to cook.

“Hey, seems like there’s some suspicious activity ahead. We need to move quickly and quietly today.” Phoenix whispered over the sound of the crackling fire.

“What’s up?” Nakari asked, poking one of the steaks with a stick.

“Wolves. And they’re not alone.”

“Lone Wolves United?” Roavin asked, toasting some bread on a skewer over another fire.

“Possibly. And they’re not alone.”

“That’s not a good sign.” Nakari sighed. “If that’s the Wolves, then that means that somehow, they got here. And if they got here, then more likely than not there’s some target they want.”

“Exactly.”

The three sat in silence as they finished their morning tasks, as Phoenix went off to wake the rest of the military up and get the camp cleaned up. The rest of the morning was uneventful, and after a while, everything was cleaned up.

The SPSF moved quicker through the woods than normal today, as Phoenix kept her eyes on the group that they quickly closed in on.

A look in the sky showed a harrowing sight: Black Hawks quickly flying ahead. However, old friends popped in, gathering a massive showing after a few hours on the chase.

The target was just ahead: a smallish gun-shaped device. It was held in a mostly abandoned clearing, where the wilderness was beginning to grow back over the village within.

“They’ve gathered quite a bit of people…” Haku sighed, sizing up the giant pile on the opposing side.

“We can’t let them take that gun. Do you all know what it is?” Benevolent Thomas stared at the gun, the look of worry clear on his face.

“If they get that, the raiders will have easier, deadlier access to other towns.” Jamie sighed, patting their unicorn gently on its nose.

“Exactly. We can’t let them get it, no matter the cost.” Haku shook his head.

“Phoenix, call in the Civilians. We can’t let them get this thing, no matter what it costs us.” Benevolent Thomas ordered, looking determined ahead at the abandoned village ahead.

“Let’s charge in the meantime and try to keep them away.” Phoenix nodded, leading troops into the area, fighting hard against the invaders.

As civilians gathered over the next few days, they finally managed to provide a real fight against the raiders. The battle was fierce, and lasted for a long time. But finally, the raiders began to retreat. The defenders cleaned up after the battle, securing the village from future attack.

The journey, however, continues.
 
 



“Hey, we did well there against the raiders!” Melix chirped cheerfully, as the SPSFers made their way away from the abandoned village. “We defended that village, and the raiders won’t be coming back anytime soon!”

“Right.” Phoenix nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. “And you’ve been doing amazing too, you’re just about ready to become a soldier too… but do you have the spirit?”

“Spirit?” Melix asked, a puzzled look on his face. “What do you mean?”

“You will know what I mean.” Phoenix patted the trainee’s shoulder before walking ahead to where the generals stood, chatting happily with Commander Viet about military things.

The march after the siege wasn’t nearly as fast-paced or demanding as immediately prior to the siege. Trainees chatted happily amongst themselves, filled with a new sense of pride and hope as they talked about what they would do as soon as they got home. The soldiers stayed vigilant, keeping their eyes out for new opportunities to help anyone they could find. Melix found himself more in-line with the soldiers than not as the march continued that day, taking every opportunity he had to assist where he could.

That evening, it was clear that Melix was preoccupied with his thoughts rather than paying attention to what was going on.

“And tonight’s guard will be… Prar and Melix.” Phoenix announced. Melix nodded, somewhat relieved that he would have an excuse to stay up all night to contemplate what was meant.

“Alright Melix, let’s go to post. Do your best to stay awake.” Prarie chuckled as he climbed up a tree, keeping vigilant watch to the clearing where the rest of the military prepared to sleep.

Melix climbed up another tree, coming to rest on a branch that gave him the best view of the area. The moon rose high into the sky as the camp fell quiet.

“What’s wrong?” Prarie whispered from where he was, taking note of his distracted friend.

“Phoenix told me earlier today that I’m just about ready to be promoted. But she asked a confusing question and didn't clarify.”

“What was that question?” Prarie asked, moving closer.

“Do I have the spirit?”

“Well, I think it’s fairly obvious what she meant.” Prarie smiled. “She means, have you learned what it means to be a member of the SPSF?”

“Well yeah. We defend everything from those who wish to do things harm. It’s beyond just simply defending random places against raiders, but a sense of wanting to protect everyone’s right to exist, no matter what form they take. Defending the environment from those who want to make a mess of things.”

Prarie nodded, looking up to the night sky, in silence.

However, a loud explosion followed by a piercing cry interrupted the stillness of the night. Prarie and Melix swiveled their heads in the direction of the cry, seeing a bat fall from the sky, landing on the ground.

“Find the hunter. I’ll take care of the bat.” Melix whispered, swinging down from the trees, running after the creature that fell to the ground.

Melix scooped the creature into his arms, surprised by how light the creature was. He took off once again for the camp, where he quickly examined the bat to find where it had been shot, and treated the creature the best he could. The creature soon fell asleep in Melix’ arms, which left him to finish the night guard duty with the injured bat in his arms. Prarie soon returned to the camp with the culprit tightly bound, a man who seemed worse for wear.

“Found the dude.” Prarie chuckled, gesturing to the man he dragged in. “He tried to put up a fight, but you don’t mess with a highly-trained soldier of the SPSF.”

“He shot a Fijian Flying Fox. It’ll live, but it’s messed up that anyone would shoot an innocent creature that’s just existing.”

“It really is. Especially with how few of them are left, trying to kill them is really bad.” Prarie sighed.

“Good job, Melix.” A mysterious yet familiar voice echoed from the darkness. When Prarie and Melix turned around, they saw Phoenix standing behind them, a large smile on her face.

“What-” Melix looked to the minister with another confused expression, seemingly unable to understand what just happened.

“I’m a light sleeper. I heard the gunshot, and was pleasantly surprised how Melix really showed his spirit almost immediately. And saving the bat’s life, I’m thoroughly impressed.” Phoenix elaborated.

“Oh.”

“Any last words, Trainee Melix?” Phoenix smirked, stuffing her hand in her pocket. Melix jumped back, terrified.

“Wait, don’t-” Melix held his arms up, only to relax when Phoenix pulled out a little emblem from her pocket. She handed it over to the new soldier, trying to hold in her laughter.

“Any first words, Soldier Melix?”

“Thank you!” Melix smiled, studying the small pin thing with unmistakable joy.

“When we get home, we need to hold proper promotion ceremonies for the both of you.”