Unit R traveled for two, full days until they reached the outskirts of Nature's Reserve. Flying over the high fence, the angels touched down just outside the headquarters where the rangers were located. Rae had planned to strike a deal with the rangers in exchange for their permission to stay in Nature's Reserve, so the main operations building was their first stop.

Rae scrunched his brows as he surveyed the front lot. Four vehicles used by rangers were parked in the lot, however, other than that, it was empty. Rae had expected the lot to be filled with rangers' vehicles. It was strange to see it so empty.

Rae's suspicions were confirmed as the unit neared the building. The lights were off, and no movement could be detected from the inside. It had been vacated. Easily hacking the electric lock, Rae opened the back door to the headquarters before carefully entering the dark building.

Kilo and Castyr followed behind Rae as the colonel drew his sword and made his way to the main lobby. From there, the unit split up into its three teams and scouted out the rest of the building.

"No one's here," Destil reported as he and his team returned after a few minutes. It was not too large of a facility, so searching it did not take long.

"Confirmed, it's been evacuated," Azyr agreed with R-12's captain.

Kilo nodded in agreement with his fellow team captains as the unit reunited.

"I assume the rangers were called out to aid efforts in Dexys," Sinjae said as he came to stand behind his team's captain.

"Whatever the situation is, it's all the better for us that no one's here," Destil pointed out. "The fewer who know where we are, the better."

The other team leaders nodded in silent agreement. It was best if no one knew that the unit was hiding out somewhere in the depths of Nature's Reserve. As long as they were not discovered, they could safely train Axel into a soldier experienced enough to join the war.

"Let's move out," Rae commanded after looking around the main lobby once more. Although the headquarters would make for a great base, it was still too obvious a place in which to set up shop. Rae intended to almost get lost in the mountains of the reserve. That was the best way to protect Axel and ensure he could focus on training.

Following the colonel, the rest of the unit followed Rae back to the front lot where they commandeered the abandoned vehicles. Designed to be used by the rangers in the wilderness of the reserve, the rovers were perfect modes of transportation. Following the main road that led into the reserve, Rae led his unit deep into the woods before splitting off from the main road and continuing toward the mountain.

Axel looked out the window of the lead rover and gazed in awe at the trees as they drove through the woods. Never in his life had he seen nature that was so beautiful. Sure, Dexys had its fair share of parks, but nothing could beat raw nature. Natural trees were taller and sturdier than he had expected and much more grandiose.

It was about midday when the unit came to the base of the mountain where they found a vacated base that was once utilized by rangers. The base was small, but it had plenty of space for the angelic unit. With a stream nearby and plenty of essential pills, the unit had all the tools it needed to make this their base for the next few months.

Their new base was comprised of three small buildings. One was filled with bunk beds and shower rooms, and the second was a gym/training center while the third was a dining room with desks and workspaces. After checking each of the buildings and making sure they had been completely vacated, the team captains then secured the perimeter of their new base.

Once everything had been checked and secured, the unit then came together and gathered in the dining room where Rae set up the rotation for guarding the base. "Three members from one team will walk the perimeter at night. We will rotate through the three teams until everyone has guarded before restarting the rotations."

Pausing to give his unit a chance for questions, Rae then turned to each team's vernals and requested, "Do your best to welcome Axel to the unit and show him the ropes. He does not have the decades of training you do and needs to surpass even your level of experience within the next few months."

Axel swallowed dryly when he heard the colonel add, "Things will not be easy for him, so care for him well."

"Ae, Colonel," the six vernals answered proudly. They were happy to receive a command from the colonel and were determined to perform their duties to the best of their abilities.

Axel bowed his head in thanks to the vernals as he awkwardly made eye contact with a few of them. Turning from the vernals, Rae then addressed the entirety of the unit, "I will be leading the efforts to train Axel with the support of the vernals. Therefore, we will be dependent on your expertise to protect the base and keep it secure."

The teams and their leaders accepted Rae's order and nodded at their colonel with respect. Each member of Unit R knew the importance of the mission given to Rae and their unit by Star Ellessi. Thus, they would give their all to make it successful and protect Axel so long as he remained alive.

When Rae had concluded instructing the unit on how they would operate throughout the next months, he cut them loose to settle into their new base and rest for the remainder of the day. Azyr, Minhyuk, and Nivii took on the responsibility as the first team to guard the camp's perimeter and quickly disappeared from the rest of the unit who had made their way to the dormitory.

Much like the emergency camp that had been set up by Dexys' soldiers, the dormitory in the rangers' camp had several sets of bunk beds lined against the walls with a shower room to the right and a toilet room to the left on the back end of the building. The teams did not need to section themselves based on their three sections as everyone in the unit knew each other well and everyone got along. There was no discrimination within Unit R.

"Axel!" A kind voice called out to Axel who had stood at the entrance to the dormitory and quietly watched as the other members comfortably conversed with each other while choosing their beds.

Looking toward the left, Axel saw the black-haired vernal of Team R-10 waving at him. Following Makio's motions, Axel walked up to the angel who was standing beside a bunk bed set.

"Top or bottom?" Makio asked bluntly as Axel reached him.

"Eh..." It took Axel a moment to process Makio's question. Is he asking about my bed preference...or...? Assuming Makio was wondering where he would prefer to sleep, Axel answered, "Bottom, I guess."

"Okay," Makio responded with a smile before setting a rolled-up blanket onto the bottom bunk. Destil had rummaged through the closets just moments before and had dispersed the blankets and pillows he had found to the rest of the unit.

"Called it!" A hyper voice chirped as Makio began to set up his bed on the top bunk. Axel turned to see Kenji walking up to them with a wide smile on his face. "You're a bottom, right?" Kenji inquired as he came to stand in front of the hangel.

Axel was shocked by Kenji's question. These angels are so forward! Although sexual preferences of all kinds were widely accepted on Earth, it was still a subject not to be brought up so readily. In a way, Axel admired the confidence in which the angels spoke and walked, and he wondered if he, too, would someday be able to walk with such resolve.

"I-I...I do prefer the bottom..." Axel eventually stuttered out as Kenji continued to smile at him.

"Cool! So do I. It's much more comfortable, isn't it?"

"Kenji, I don't think there is as much difference in sleeping in a top bunk than a bottom bunk as you think there is," Makio said to R-12's vernal as he climbed the metal ladder at the end of the bunk set and hoisted himself onto the top bed.

Ah...so, that's what he was asking... Axel felt internally embarrassed by himself when he heard Makio's comment. Get your head out of the gutter, Axel.

"Don't mind him, Axel. Kenji's just weird," Makio told the hangel playfully as he lay down.

"Heyyy, I'm not that weird!" Kenji returned in an attempt to stand up for his strange questions.

"The focus shouldn't be on the 'that', Kenji. It should be on the 'weird'," Makio pointed out as he folded his arm beneath his head.

"Makio!" Kenji goofingly called out as he began to climb the bunks and reach for Makio.

"Hey hey!" Makio returned as he barred Kenji from climbing into his bed.

"I'm going to make you regret saying that!"

"Oh, really now?" Makio said with a smirk, egging on the light-orange-haired.

While the two lieutenants bickered and playfully wrestled one another, Axel ducked underneath Kenji — who was hanging from Makio's bunk — and lay down on the bottom bed. Unrolling the blanket, Axel set the pillow beneath his head before unfolding the blanket and laying it over his body. Surrounded by happy conversations and light laughs, Axel quickly fell asleep in the warm atmosphere created by the unit led by Rae.

Though he felt unsettled by what Star Ellessi had told him upon their meeting, Axel had decided to confront it in the morning. For now, he wished to rest to prepare himself for the long days ahead of him. He longed to do everything in his power to put an end to the war ravaging Dexys and stop the suffering of innocents. But, to do that, he needed to get stronger. And so, stronger he would become.