Cross Conviction

Dressed in his pajamas, Sturm walked down the corridor back toward his dorm room, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that lingered over him. He stopped at the junction of the atrium and the dormitory wing and gazed off toward the main hall, lined with pictures and portraits. It had been two days since he awoke from that strange dream, but Fiesel's piercing eyes remained seared in his brain. Perhaps the uncanny reminiscence of these halls to the warped sprawl of his prior vision was the source of the anxiety that nagged at his subconscious. 

With a subtle shake of his head, Sturm cleared the mental blockage and continued on his way. Upon arriving at the door to room 103, the boy was immediately assaulted by Max's familiar tonally-challenged rantings.

"No way, Major Damage sucks, man! I'd kick his Tommy ass!"

Sturm raised an eyebrow, curious about the topic of discussion, and entered the room. He then hastily closed the door behind him to spare the rest of their classmates from his friend's evening shouting. Inside he found Magnolia sitting on the edge of his bed, with Gustavo leaning against the desk, and Max laying across the floor with his head supported by his hand.

Crossing his arms, Gustavo contested Max's certainly. "Major Damage created an explosion so powerful that it shook windows in London, Max. It took the Hurricane to bring him down," he explained, "Though, if you mean you could kick his ass now, then I'd be inclined to agree... seeing as he's dead."

Though she remained silent, Magnolia's cynical sneer conveyed her thoughts clearly.

Major Damage... What a ridiculous name.

"I knew that! I was just saying..." Max snapped back.

With the conversation dying down for a moment, Sturm walked over and nudged Max's leg with his foot. "The showers have cleared out. I know you don't like using them when anyone else is in there, so maybe you should go now before someone else does."

Looking up at Sturm, Max gave him a quick nod. "Thanks, buddy. I'll head over there in a few. But first, I gotta get these guys to quit selling me short!"

With an exaggerated sigh, Magnolia finally spoke up. "No one is selling you short, lunatic. You keep insisting that you're going to defeat people who run faster than a bullet or hit harder than a meteor."

"And at least two-thirds of them have already been dead," added Gustavo.

Max's face flushed blue with embarrassment. "Hey come on, you started it by saying you could have assassinated Knightfall by yourself!"

Shrugging, Gustavo restated his position for Sturm's convenience. "All I said was that if Naranja went for a swim in his tea without him realizing, there would be nothing Knightfall could do."

Covering her face with her hand, Magnolia groaned.

Knightfall? Truly these English names are all asinine.

"Come on man, that's so stupid!" Max exclaimed argumentatively, "Tea is hot, and hot water kills frogs instantly! Haven't you heard the saying?!"

Gustavo's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Are you talking about the frog in the boiling water?" he inquired, disbelief heavy in his voice, "That isn't how the saying goes and it's not even true."

Seeing these three get along brought a slight smile to Sturm's face. Boasting and arguing aside, there was no malice between them. Even Magnolia seemed to prefer the company of her teammates to the solitude of her room. For once, Sturm almost felt like a normal teenager surrounded by his friends, if only for the moment. Given the nature of their situation, he could never be too certain how long their bonds would hold, and that thought remained ever-present in his mind. 

"Yeah, whatever..." Max muttered in defeat. "Okay, what about you, Sturm? Who's the strongest exceptional you think you could beat?"

Given that Magnolia was currently occupying his bed, Sturm made himself comfortable across from her on the vacant bunk beneath Gustavo's. "Um..." Sturm hesitated, "I don't really know."

"Aw, come on!" Max challenged him, "Just pick one!"

"Go on now," Magnolia chimed in, "It's not as if anyone is being modest here."

Sturm took a deep breath and exhaled sharply in thought. As most young knight candidates do, he had occasionally pitted himself against various combatants in his mind. Still, the question of the strongest Sturm could defeat was one that he hadn't given much consideration to.

Unsatisfied with his friend's delayed response, Max made a proposal of his own. "How about Blizzard?"

Magnolia scoffed. "Blizzard froze an entire city during the Soviet Railway War. How exactly would any of you hope to contend with that?"

"She's not super fast or strong or anything," Max explained, "If Sturm got in close, he could take her down, no problem."

Cocking her head, Magnolia contested the notion. "If?"

"No," Sturm finally spoke up, "No way. In battle, Blizzard surrounds herself with air so cold, it sucks the heat out of you immediately when you get too close. Even when she isn't in a fight, it's hard to stand anywhere near her."

"You sound certain of that," chuckled Magnolia, "Does that mean you've met her or are you just insinuating that she looks like a frigid bitch?"

Leaning back in the bed, Sturm put his arms behind his head. "Birthday party. Ninth or tenth, maybe? And not at all, she's actually really nice."

Max's eyes widened at his friend's words. "Wait, for real? You're kidding, right?"

Shaking his head in the negative, Sturm further elaborated. "She was on a team with my dad for years after the Great War. I met most of those guys. Or... the ones who were still alive when I was old enough to remember, I guess."

"A team?" Max pressed as he sat up excitedly, "The Valiant fucking Vanguard?!"

Sturm nodded in the affirmative. The League of Nations Valiant Vanguard was quite likely the most famous and powerful team of exceptionals to ever exist. Originally formed from the most skilled veterans of the Great War-era Triple Entente, its ranks eventually expanded to include the most talented of the former Triple Alliance's exceptionals and those belonging to other League member nations, as well. Following a particularly bloody power grab led by two Valiant Vanguard defectors, sweeping reform changed the composition and strategic aim of the team. Since 1926, the Vanguard was composed of six exceptionals- one British "crusader", one French "musketeer", one Soviet "hero", one Polish "Hussar", one Italian "centurion", and one German Iron Knight. 

Since Germany's inception into the League of Nations around the time of the Vanguard's reformation and until the later Nazi decision to abandon the organization, Leopold Sturm had been Germany's representative. As such, Sturm had occasionally come in contact with the team's other members during his childhood. Regardless, he had only met Blizzard herself once before she was eventually arrested on suspicion of being an agent of the White Russian Movement after the Vanguard's dissolution. 

"Man, that's so badass!" Max exclaimed, "Why would you keep that shit to yourself?!"

Sturm chuckled awkwardly. "It just didn't seem like a big deal. It's not like I knew them well or anything."

"Fair enough..." huffed Max. "But when your dad gets back, you totally gotta ask him to introduce us to some of his old teammates! That would be like a dream."

"Maybe," Sturm answered with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Having had her fill of discussion, Magnolia hopped to her feet and made her way to the door that connected her room. "Now then," she announced, "I had something to tell you boys, but I suppose it's a discussion best saved for tomorrow."

"Um... okay," Max said softly.

With her hand on the knob, Magnolia turned her head toward the group. "Sturm?" she spoke up once more.

The boy sat up and looked through the bunk's slats at her. "What is it?"

"How are you feeling?"

Sturm blinked with some surprise. Though Magnolia had occasionally tended to him in the infirmary, he assumed that Scharf's orders were her only motivation. It wasn't like the girl to show any legitimate concern for her allies.

"I'm alright," answered Sturm, "A little stressed obviously, but nothing really out of the ordinary."

Closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, Magnolia pondered her next words. "I'm... not sure you should be back here yet."

Unable to accept that Magnolia was actually worried about his wellbeing, Sturm suspected that her motivations might be of a more selfish nature. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hold you back any more than I already have this week, I promise."

Magnolia stared at him blankly for a moment before passing into her room and shutting the door behind her.

"You know," said Max, "I'm kind of surprised she didn't slam the door. She always slams the door after you guys talk while she's on her way out."

Sturm simply shook his head and sighed. 

"Max," started Gustavo, "weren't you going to shower?"

"Oh shit!", cried Max, looking down at his watch, "Yeah, yeah, I gotta hurry before there's a party in there again."

Glancing over at Max, who was hurriedly preparing his shower bag, Gustavo curiously inquired, "Again?"

"Don't ask, man," Max groaned before dashing out the door, leaving it ajar behind him.