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Code Oblivion Chapter 7: On We Go!

Noah looked around the car, making sure they were fully packed. Commander Hart had been most generous in giving them the supplies they needed for the trip. It would probably take a few days to get to Crosstown from the road. He felt his tail wag, he was looking forward to going home, even if it was only for a bit. It was going to be hard, going home without his dad but he knew he needed to do this. He looked at the small urn sitting safely in the storage area. He would return his ashes, he had no idea where his dad had truly come from or how to track on his old family so it felt only right to spread his ashes where he and his dad built a life together.

'I'll miss him, but at least I got to avenge his death. Now I just have to make him proud. I'll never let another event like Eldra happen again if I can help it.' He thought as he did one last bit of inventory. He was still a bit nervous about the trip, it was going to be a long one and he probably wouldn't have much privacy during it. The car was built like an RV except heavily armored and had the symbol of Eldra's Military Force. The car was also about the size of a tank...so they would have enough space to move about but he would probably have to share a room meaning he if he needed to get off he would probably have to do so in the bathroom. He could only imagine how Aidan managed during Academy living in a dorm.

Speaking of Aidan, the wolf was off with Sergeant Rodgers, apparently his wife had gone into labor today and Aidan said he was going to go be with the Sergeant so to quote the elder wolf's own words. 'To make sure that Todd doesn't faint like a little bitch during the birth.' Those two seemed to be like him and Emily, always having each other's backs. The lab was a very friendly man, and had welcomed all of them into his home since Aidan's place had been one of the homes ravaged by the fires. It was a bit crowded and cramped but they all had a great time. He felt a bit bad about dragging Aidan away from home. Flint and Elena were doing their own things as well, since the quarantine had been lifted many had left the city only leaving a few remaining citizens whose homes hadn't been destroyed in the attack. It felt a bit lonely to be honest, Jerome had left with the first wave of people, the ones who had decided to join the MODD Academy and he didn't really know any of the other people his age besides Aria who was busy looking after her father.

He had been quietly wishing the feline would have joined them but he understood the boy had other goals. He still hoped they would meet again on their respective travels. Maybe one of his vision things would send him to Minetrocia? As he was putting the finishing touches on the inventory (he was more doing it out of boredom in all honesty as he didn't really have anything else to do), he was broken from his thoughts when a cold voice rang out.

"I hear you're leaving tonight, that true kid?" The figure asked, causing him to jump several inches before turning around to see a familiar grumpy looking jackal who had an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

"Oh Major Burke, how are you doing?" He asked, deciding to address the man by his rank as a sign of respect. He still wasn't exactly sure what he thought of the jackal, he had the weirdest feeling he had met the man before. It wouldn't have been too far fetched, he didn't remember anything of his first 8 years of life so he could have very well ran into the man as a young pup but the mild feeling of unease left him a bit restless in the man's presence. "As for leaving yeah, we were going to leave earlier but Mrs. Rodgers water broke and Aidan is at the HQ infirmary with Sgt. Rodgers to provide moral support. Why do you ask Sir?" He asked, his head tilted a bit to the side. The other dog showed no emotion on his face, though that seemed to be his normal state but when the man spoke Noah was genuinely surprised.

"I want to come with you." the man said, his voice firm and brooking no dissent.

'Wait what...?' Was the first thing to go through Noah's mind, this made no sense, why would the jackal ever want to come with them? By all accounts he didn't seem to like any of them the slightest bit, plus he had a son. Would he really just leave him behind? The Jackal seemed to catch his internal debate as he explained himself.

"I sent my son off with one of the leaving groups, my sister is going to take care of him, I feel I have an obligation to help you out, even if it's the last thing I want to do." He said, his voice remaining cold as ice. "It's going to be dangerous and it wouldn't feel right to just let a kid like you go off on some crazy goose chase without lending you my experience." He continued, shrugging slightly. "Plus I feel it will help me repent for all the blood I spilt during my time in the military, I've done a lot of things I regret during that time. So may you allow me to join you so I can wash the blood off my paws?" Noah thought about this for a bit, having another experienced soldier would be handy, but at the same time he would have to ask Aidan what he thought since the two didn't seem to get along.

"I don't mind, I guess Major, but you'll have to clear it with the others." Noah said awkwardly, he really wished he could not feel uncomfortable around the man, the possibility of being stuck in the van with him for several days made him nervous, not that he thought the man was dangerous or a threat but the odd sense of familiarity was still distressing in a sense. The man just shrugged before turning to walk away. "Wait, Major Burke, where are you going?" Noah asked, he had figured the man would just stay around so the fact he was just leaving surprised him. The man turned around and looked him straight in the eye causing Noah to freeze and stand up straight, he even had the urge to salute the man but he quashed that urge.

"I don't really have to tell you anything kid. But if you want to know, I'm going to take a walk." The man replied with, voice still cold as ice.

'Damn, you don't have to be such an asshole dude.' Noah thought to himself but just nodded and shrugged as the Major just snorted and left him alone. Noah really hoped that the man wasn't going to be like this during their trip, otherwise the entire thing would be a nightmare. With a sigh, he finished doing the inventory and walked out before taking out his phone. He still had no service as the communication towers hadn't been fully repaired so he couldn't do anything with that. He was bored, he really wished that Jerome hadn't left, he was missing the cougar. He was a funny guy plus the sex was pretty good. Though in all honesty Jerome was the only person he had sex with so that was probably skewed. 'I wonder what Aidan is like in bed? I wonder how big he is?' He thought to himself before he realized just what he was thinking which stopped him directly in his tracks. 'Okay Noah, slow down there! You just became sexually active, maybe don't think about the military sergeant, gay or not he's an adult and you aren't. That would be illegal and he could get in a lot of trouble if anything did happen.' He thought to himself, shaking his head wildly.

'What brought that on though?' His thoughts continued. 'I mean yeah he is hot, and I always found military men pretty attractive but am I one of those people who have sex once and become insaitable?' That was a horrfying thought, he had heard about people who become completely addicted to sex and go to insane lengths to get it, some of which involved rape. Was he going to be like that? He shook his head once again and let out a sigh. 'Don't think such things Noah, you are a teen so being horny is normal. He's a hot attractive military man so it's natural you'd have an attraction to him. Just don't let it go out of control.' With that in his head he decided to go to the clinic. He really didn't have anything else to do so at least he could support Sgt. Rodgers and he could see the baby.

As he left the garage area he could see there were hundreds of cleanup crews running around the city to clean up the rubble and get things ready for the reconstruction crew to help rebuild the city. There were also a lot of reporters around the city interviewing everyone they saw. They had arrived almost immediately after the quarantine around Eldra had been lifted. He even passed Loni doing her job with a new camera man though he could tell that this was hard for her, he had learned her previous cameraman had been her fiance so having someone replace him must have been agonizing. Unfortunately for him the lioness also saw him and her face lit up brightly as she rushed towards him.

"Ah, Noah! I was wondering where you had gone." She said brightly before taking out her microphone. "Would you care about doing an interview?" She whispered and gave him a pleading look. He felt his stomach drop. He had already done a massive speech at the ceremony yesterday so doing an interview where it would probably be seen all around Mortaelis made his heart skip a beat. But could he truly say no to those eyes? Despite being feline Loni had an uncanny puppy dog look and he felt his resolve weaken.

'It can't hurt can it? Plus Loni was there so she knows what happened so I don't have to explain much hopefully. So I guess I can do this?' He thought as he let out another sigh. 'I sigh a lot don't I?' "Sure, I mean you were there right? I'd feel more comfortable with you than anyone else." He said with a small smile. She just clapped her hands together and gave him a bright smile which made him blush, he was gay but Loni was a very pretty girl.

"Thank you!" She said before turning towards the ferret who was serving as her cameraman giving him a thumbs-up. With a deep breath and a small smile she counted down on the seconds until she went live. "Hello, Loni Daniels reporting from Eldra. I was amongst the people who were in Eldra during the attack. I am glad to report I am fine." She said before she looked down almost near tears. "Though my fiance Billie Wildman, my cameraman was one of the casualties." She said before turning around to wipe her eyes before turning back around. "But he was only one of the many people who lost their lives here in Eldra, I am here with a fellow person who also lost a loved one." She said before aiming the mic up at Noah's face given he was a few inches taller than she was. "Care to introduce yourself?" Noah swallowed the urge to throw up before he started speaking scared out of his wits.

"I'm Noah... Noah Littlesea... um... hello everyone?" He stated, Lono just smiled and placed a reassuring paw on his shoulder before asking him another question.

"Can you tell us where you are from Noah, I already know of course but can you inform your audience, and tell them how old you are?"

"Um, I'm from a town in Rillotia called Crosstown...and I'm fifteen." He continued, doing his best to get his courage up. He could do this, he knew he could. Loni smiled again, seemingly proud of him doing such a good job given the light pat on the back she gave him.

"And what brought you to Eldra? Did you come to the festival?" She asked, and Noah just gave a quiet nod.

"Yeah, I came with my dad..." He started but his voice broke when he said the word dad.

"Can you tell us about your dad Noah?" She asked, putting another paw on his shoulder, he nodded and let out a strained smile.

"He was amazing, he took me in and adopted me when I was only 8 and he was my everything..." Noah said before staring down at the ground. "But sadly he didn't make it through the attack." He muttered sadly, eyes still cast downward. Loni just nodded sympathetically before hugging him.

"It's sad to hear but it's obvious he did an amazing job raising you Noah. Do you want to shout someone out before we end this interview?" She asked him in an attempt to cheer the boy up. Noah just nodded before backing away before looking towards the camera.

"Yes I do, let me say this. I miss you Emily, I hope to see you soon!" He said with a wink and after that Loni ended the interview.

"You did a great job!" She said before giving Noah another hug. "I'm sorry I put you through this but you did so well." Noah just smiled and hugged her back.

"It's no problem, but I'm still gonna go to the clinic you wanna come too?" He asked, Loni nodded and turned to her cameraman that she was done for the day so he could go back to his quarters and she'd talk to him again shortly. The man just nodded and smiled back towards them both before walking off humming a small song to himself leaving the two of them alone.

As they started walking Loni said something that surprised him greatly. "Elena said you guys are heading to Graesham today, do you think I could come as well? I could act as your chronicler. Plus I need a break from work, losing Billie makes work hard and while I like Tyson I don't think I can work with him like I did with Billie." She said as she fiddled with the engagement rings that were on a cord around her neck. "It's why I feel so bad for Flint, he lost his fiance as well, Billie and I planned on getting married and having a family, We would always joke and debate how many children we would have." She said before her voice broke and she started to sob. Noah panicked a bit, he was not equipped to deal with emotional women, now more than ever he wished Emily was here, she was good at stuff like this. But after taking a breath he knelt down next to the woman.

"It's hard I know, I don't have someone like that but I could only imagine how hard it is. But you had the love and can find love again one day, might take awhile but that's the beauty of life isn't it? You aren't limited to loving one person." Loni looked up to him, her bright green eyes shining brightly.

"I guess you are right... it's just hard right now, but may I come with you?" Noah smiled and hugged her close.

"Sure, Major Burke wants to come as well, it will be crowded but I think we will be okay." He said. "But let's go to the Clinic and celebrate with him and Sgt. Rodgers and his wife about the new baby!" He said as he helped her get up and they walked to the clinic to see the adorable newborn and the happy parents.

///

"Yes I do, let me say this. I miss you Emily, I hope to see you soon!" Was the last thing Jay saw before the interview ended and he sighed and turned the tv off. He rolled over on his bed and stared at the wall on the opposite side. He didn't understand why he was hurt, why would Littlesea mention him? Of course he would mention Emily, she was his best friend. That made sense. Why would he mention his tormentor and bully? Jay knew he shouldn't be hurt but he still beat himself up over the way he had treated the wolf. He knew he was a pathetic cliche, a stupid closet case who tormented the person he had feelings for so nobody would realize he was a flaming queer himself.

"I'm such an idiot, I wasted any chance I got to tell him how I feel. With his dad dead why would he come back?" Jay said, feeling even more miserable. He was honestly sad to hear that Dr. Littlesea died, he had actually treated him when he had broken his arm while playing football. And despite treating him coldly given he had to know that he was the boy who constantly tormented his son he still treated him with respect and even with the coldness was still nicer than any other adult had treated him before. It made his jealousy towards Littlesea even worse. He was envious at how the kid had a great dad while his own father refused to even acknowledge he even existed half the time.

"So what am I going to do?" Jay asked himself, he was bored in all honesty, he didn't really have any real friends, he had groupies he hung out in school but he didn't feel close to any of them, he didn't really feel close to anyone really. The People who weren't up his ass because he was the QB of the football team looked down on him for being the child of the local drunk and the whore. Nobody really expected him to amount to anything, and he couldn't blame them really, his grades were dismal and he knew he had a nasty temper. But he had a plan on how to make something of himself. He was going to get out of this damn town, he knew he had no chance if he stayed here. Not when everyone expected him to go the route of his parents. He got out of his bed and bent down under it to take out a box and took out an envelope. It was his acceptance letter to the MODD Academy in Minetrocia. He had been plotting this move for years, and it took a lot of planning but he made it work. He would be sixteen in a few months and when that day came he would make his way to the Academy. He had been saving up money to take a bus to Vernati City and take the flight. With MODD he could make something of himself, hell he could even get matched to a glyph. Hell, if he was lucky he could become an Elemental Lord! That would show everyone to underestimate him! He was broken from his fantasy when he heard rampant knocking on the door which made him jump and quickly jam the envelope back into the box before shoving it under the bed.

"Hey you worthless bastard! I'm out of beer! Get me some, make yourself useful for once!" A harsh male voice rang from the other side of the door. The voice was heavily slurred and Jay could positively smell the booze drifting from the other side. His dad had only been home for a few days and it was already hell. He wished badly that the man had stayed in jail, things were so much better when he was gone, his mother was still a whore and drug addict but at least she looked at him with some form of love...when she noticed he was there at any rate. However whenever his father looked at him he saw nothing but seething hatred.

"I'm fifteen dad, I can't buy you any booze, you have to be 20 remember?" He shouted at the door annoyed, that only got him even louder banging on the other side of the door and Jay just winced at the noise.

"Are you picking an attitude with me, you worthless piece of shit! This is how you treat me! You aren't even my son goddamnit and I still let you stay!" The drunk voice shouted from the other side. That was one more thing Jay hated about his father. Despite everything, the man never accepted him as his own no matter what Jay said. Even though he was the spitting image of the man when he was his age. It would never be enough. It hurt at first, at that age Jay didn't understand why his dad hated him so much but now he honestly didn't care. In a few months he would be out of here and he would never see the bastard again.

"I'm not putting on an attitude, I can't get you your booze I'm sorry." He said as calmly as he could. He just heard a huff and the voice started to fade away.

"I guess I'll get some myself...stupid worthless bastard, I should have forced that whore to get an abortion. How did I get stuck raising some other man's child? What a disgrace. Stupid worthless brat...." With that Jay heard the man walk away and then a few minutes the front door opened and slam shut meaning the man was gone. He let out a sigh of relief he hadn't felt like dealing with the man today.

'Well since he's gone I can leave my room finally. I guess I can take a walk or something? We got a big snow so I can maybe build a snowman or something.' Jay thought to himself as he gathered some warmer clothes. A tanktop and shorts was not going to be enough to go outside in the winter. Once he gathered all that he zipped up his heavy jacket and stepped out of his room, looking around to make sure his dad was indeed gone. He frowned. There were filthy beer bottles and various other items strewn across the floor as he walked around, warily making sure he didn't step on any loose needles on the ground. He wasn't sure what his mom was on but he knew he didn't want to experience it. The place was starting to look nice before his dad got out of jail. He was actually starting to wean his mother off of her drugs but sadly, when his dad got back it went back to the way it was before, filth and despair. He seriously couldn't wait to get out of this hellhole. As he got to the living room he saw his mother was on the couch, half naked and with a puddle of vomit on the floor next to her. She had some needle stuck in her arm and with a sigh he walked up and found the gloves he had kept in a shelf in the kitchen and placed them on his paws before he walked towards his mom. He first checked her pulse to make sure she was alive. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt a weak but firm pulse and gingerly took the needle out of her arm and went to throw it in the trash. He then sighed and started to clean up the vomit from the floor and once that was cleaned he threw the rags into the trash and then grabbed a blanket to cover his mother to preserve her modesty.

"I wish you'd stop doing this to yourself mom." He said with a sad sigh. It was painful watching her slowly do this to herself. He didn't care what happened to his dad in all honesty, his father didn't care about him so why would he care about the drunk? But his mom, despite her flaws and her issues he knew she did love him even if she was hardly ever sober enough to show it. Sensing his thoughts were getting a bit too depressing he sighed and kissed his mom on the forehead which made her stir a bit before she turned over in her sleep which made him give her a sad smile. "I'm going out, please get some rest mom." He said as he grabbed his keys from the stand and left out the front door before locking it down. He shivered as he felt the icy cold against his exposed fur. They had gotten a massive snowstorm about a day after Littlesea had left town but he had been used to this weather. As he stepped away from his home he briefly wondered where he was going to go. He didn't really have much to do. He knew what few people he considered 'friends' were probably busy and he knew their parents wouldn't want him there, they didn't even try to hide their disdain for him. They just looked down on him because of his father and that wasn't fair. While he was far from perfect and he knew it, his treatment of Littlesea being the obvious example but he wasn't like his father, he just wished they would give him a chance. He hadn't realized he had been walking before he found himself in front of Littlesea's house. 'Huh, it almost figures I would find myself here.' He thought to himself with a bit of self-aware irony. It was a fairly simple building really, two stories and made of stone just like every other house in this town. It had a small porch with a swing and several plants.

One thing he noticed there were hundreds of flowers laying on the porch, undoubtedly left by people out of respect, he instantly felt guilty about not having flowers of his own to bring. He let out a sigh before he walked up towards the building. It was crazy to think, he might never see Littlesea again. He didn't really have any reason to come back in all honesty without his dad. He would never be able to tell him how he felt. 'I deserve that I guess, I had plenty of chances to do so beforehand but I kept on fucking it up. I guess it's time to move on.' Well once he was at the academy he could just hook up with a bunch of guys, he had several sexual encounters with a few girls but that had been more of a thing he forced himself to do so nobody would suspect his true sexuality. He never found it really appealing and he had always thought about fucking Littlesea while he was doing the deed. 'Okay, maybe I'm a bit too obsessed with the wolf... that is kinda creepy.' He thought to himself with a sad laugh. 'God I'm pathetic.' With a sigh he was about to leave before he heard someone come up from behind him in the snow and before he was able to turn around he heard the person speak.

"Jay? What on earth are you doing here?" He heard a girl's voice ask and he didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. He tilted his head over to see a young leopard girl holding a large bouquet of flowers in her paws. "You aren't here to cause trouble are you?" She asked, her voice raw, he saw there were bags under her eyes and they looked a bit red. She must have been crying for a bit before she came here. He knew she wasn't in the right state but the alsatian still felt his hackles rise at her words. She seemed to notice this and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, it's just been a rough few days. I just saw Noah's interview on TV and just been crying ever since. I can't believe Dr. Littlesea is gone." She said before wiping away her tears. "I can't even imagine what he is going through, he seemed to be doing fine but you never know with him. Noah is pretty good at hiding his feelings when he wants to." Jay just nodded before letting her continue to speak. "So what are you doing here? Are you here to bring flowers as well?"

"No, I didn't have any. I just had to get out of my house. It's been hell since my dad got out of jail. Things were doing fine without him and with him back my mom is right back at rock bottom." He said with an aggravated sigh. "I'm just so sick of everything, If I had it my way I would be out of this shithole. It's not like anyone would miss me if I just vanished." He stated, his voice turning bitter as he turned back towards the house. "Everybody here thinks I'm less than shit. No matter how many football games I win, everybody in this town will just think I'm worthless and good for nothing because of who my parents are. It's not fair, and I just want to get out." He said before looking back at Emily. "When did you get back? I thought you'd be in Atlas until New Years? Visiting your brother right? He goes to school there right?" Emily just nodded staying silent for a few moments.

"Yeah, we were going to spend the week with Nico but once we heard about what happened in Eldra we rushed home." She said while gripping the flowers in her paws. "I was so worried about Noah, I tried calling his phone over and over and he wouldn't answer so I was terrified something happened to him. But he's fine...he's alive...I'm so relieved but I can only imagine what he's going through. I mean he went through a horrific Unsealed attack that killed hundreds, he must have been so terrified. Not only that, he lost his father in the attack." She said with a shiver. "He seemed fine in the interview but god only knows what's going on inside his head." Jay just sighed and walked up towards her and hugged her. She stiffened up briefly before she relaxed and embraced him back.

"I'm sure he's fine, Littlesea is a tough customer. I've always admired that about him honestly." Jay admitted softly. "I admired a lot about him and that only fueled my envy of him. I was so jealous of him to the point I hated him, but at the same time I was so obsessed with him and I wanted his attention, I wanted to be him, be with him. I fell in love with the person I hated the most, isn't that fucked up?" He stated bitterly. "Maybe I am a just a fuck up, a messed up child. A byproduct of a family." He said, his eyes starting to tear up. "I tried to off myself once you know." He stated casually, his voice empty. Emily pushed away from him looking up in shock.

"What!?" She asked, sounding horrified. "Are you serious?" Jay just walked on over the porch swing and sat down, doing his best to avoid crushing the flowers. Emily sat down next to him but he didn't look towards her and simply started swinging, moving them back and forth. "Did you seriously try and kill yourself? When?" She asked, putting a paw on his shoulder. He didn't say anything for a moment but Emily's insistent gaze and paw made him sigh and start talking.

"Was over the summer, when dad was still in jail." He started rubbing his wrist. "I was feeling worthless, I barely passed 9th grade. My mother was still whoring herself and I was certain that nobody would miss me so that night I snuck out of the house and walked towards the Crosstown bridge." He started griping himself even tighter. "I was going to jump off the bridge and end everything but you know what happened? On my way I actually ran into Littlesea. He was by himself and he was heading to the bridge to look at the fireflies. And we talked...or well argued and once we were done shouting at each other he simply shrugged and went back off to the bridge but me? I felt more alive than I had in a long time. Littlesea had saved my life and he had no idea. I think that was the point that I figured out I had fallen in love with him and that scared me. But I decided that I would one day make him mine, that I would one day share my feelings and pray that he would forgive me for my sins against him. I know that is delusional but it was what kept me going. I honestly wasn't aiming to fight Littlesea that day, you know? I wanted to wish him a happy holiday but I just choked and went the hostile route." He said, shaking his head. "Whenever I try to talk to him I freeze up and then go hostile and wind up feeling like shit right after."

"Oh, Noah never told me about that, but I'm glad you changed your mind Jay, so things are rough at home? With your dad back?" She asked him, then placed her paw on his shoulder this time.

"Yeah, I hate it there when my dad is home. He barely pays attention to me and when he does it is mostly insults and swears. I don't think he's ever called me by my name. Like ever, to this day he still insists I'm not his. He keeps saying i'm some other man's kid."

That's stupid!" Emily burst out in confusion. "You two look just alike, I saw pictures of your dad when he was our age and you guys are identical!" Jay just shook his head and sighed.

"You know that, I know that and I know deep down that he knows it but he doesn't care. He's never cared and I've stopped caring a long time ago. The only person that really matters is my mom. It's what makes seeing her waste away like she is so hard." He said, his voice going back to being dull. "My dad is destroying her and I wish she'd just leave him, I even begged her to do so while he was in jail but she refused. She said she gave her vows and she would keep them even if she sleeps around and so does he. I'll never understand that but she insists. I'm just afraid he's going to kill her one day. Either driving her to overdose on her drugs or kill her in a drunken rage." He said with an exasperated sigh. "I've already given up hope she'll make it out alive. It's just so painful to watch. I feel so alone sometimes. I just wanted so bad to tell Littlesea my feelings but now I think it's too late, I'll never be able to confess how I feel now." He said as he got up and started pacing around. "But you know what? I'm done with this. I've got plans on making my own life." He said, standing his face firm, turning around he faced her with a smile.

"Oh what's that then?" Emily asked, genuinely curious which made Jay smirk, enjoying having her under his thrall.

"I'm going to join the MODD academy when I turn 16! I've already been accepted. Had to forge my parents signature but they won't care, I'm sure they'll be ecstatic about getting me out of their hair." He said with a small shrug. "I'm going to make something of myself. I'm going to join MODD and work my ass off until I get a Glyph and become an officer. Hell, I might be an Elemental Lord one day!" He said, positively beaming, it felt wonderful being able to share this with someone. Emily just watched him as he explained his dreams, giving him a happy and gentle smile.

"That's awesome Jay, you should do it if you see Noah again, he'd be all over you." Jay just froze and went bright red and he looked down embarrassed at the thought.

"I doubt it, I mean he hates me and he has every right to. Plus I doubt I'd ever see him again." Jay said as he continued to stare at his feet. "I blew it with him and I'll have to accept that." He said with a sigh. Emily just shook her head and went up to hug him making him flinch a bit.

"It's getting late, you gonna head home?" Emily asked him. Jay just shrugged, he really didn't want to go home. He didn't want to deal with his dad, see his mom shooting up some drug and just living in filth. Emily once again picked up on this and frowned. "You don't want to go home do you? You really hate it there huh?" Jay didn't say anything. He just nodded, looking as miserable as he felt. He wished he could just run away but he was just stuck here until he turned 16. Emily just tapped her chin. "Does your dad hurt you?" She asked him in a concerned tone.

"When he can get to me yeah, I'm faster than he is but he's stronger...bigger. The man might be a useless drunk but he's still a vetern and he hasn't lost his edge even after twenty years out of service." He said, wincing and subconsciously rubbing old wounds that had been inflicted on him. He had gotten better about avoiding the man when he was in one of his rages and he thankfully hadn't been on the receiving end of one of those beatings since his dad had gotten out of jail but he wasn't sure how long that would last. "I'm fine though," He said after he saw the distraught look on Emily's face. "I'm good at avoiding him, it's helped build up my endurance and my reflexes at least." He said while flexing a bit. "It's part of why I'm so good at football honestly." Emily just shook her head and looked like she was about to cry which made him panic.

"Please don't cry Emily!" He stated, waving his paws out in front of him. Emily just let out a half sob, half chuckle as she embraced him once again.

"That's not right! You shouldn't have to live with that. Abuse is wrong no matter what." She said before giving him a stern look before she grabbed his paw and started pulling him with her. "You know what? How about you stay with us for a bit, my mom is a psychiatrist so maybe you can talk to her. Get some things off your chest and see if she can do anything to help." This shocked Jay as he tried to pull away from the girl but her grip was like iron.

"I can't bother you like that Emily! I'll be fine, I promise!" He babbled as she continued to drag him away from his house but this didn't faze her one bit as she continued on.

"It won't be a bother, we have a spare room after all. With Nico in Atlas we mostly use it as a guest room anyway. Plus you and Nico are around the same size so clothing is covered." She continued on their way. "Listen Jay, I'm not going to abandon you like everyone else. I know you got big plans for when you turn sixteen but until you reach that you'll need a place to stay that's safe. I can't risk you having a nasty fight with your dad that leaves you crippled or worse, dead. This abuse ends here, and hopefully we can get help for your mom as well. You can stay with us until we get her to a point where she can take care of you herself." Jay hated this feeling...the feeling of hope. He had long given up on it. He knew things would never get better. It's why he was so desperate to get out of this hellhole. It was the only way he could make things better for himself. But what Emily was offering him? Even after he had treated her best friend so horribly for years. Why was she doing this for him?

"Why are you doing this Emily? Why do you care so much what happens to me? I have been nothing but horrible to your best friend for ages. You have every reason to hate me...I don't get it, I don't deserve your help." Emily stopped dragging for him for a moment and turned towards him looking him directly in the eyes.

"You do deserve my help Jay, you are a good guy underneath. You are hurting and I can't in my right mind let you continue hurting like you are. If I don't help you then I'm just as much a monster as your dad is." She said with a sigh. "And I don't like how you treated Noah but I do understand why you did so even if it is a ginormous cliche, there's reason for it." Jay just blushed lightly and looked down again, he wasn't used to this level of kindness but he was grateful for it.

"Thanks Emily..." He said, giving her a bright smile. She just smiled in return and they continued to her house.

"You're welcome James, you deserve it." She said as they continued through the snow and despite the cold he had never felt warmer.

///

"Is everyone ready?" Noah heard Aidan asked as they stood outside the tank-van. The entire travel party was there, all of them packed and ready for their journey to Crosstown and Vinewood. But they weren't the only people there, Commander Hart, Lt. Commander Higgs and a tired but beaming Sgt. Rodgers who was holding a sleeping infant girl in his arms. Her name was Lillie. Thankfully despite the chaos she had been born happy and healthy. Her mother was still in the clinic but the birth went well. "Is everyone packed and ready? It will be a few days to get to Crosstown so I hope you guys are ready because we're not going to be heading back okay?" The group all nodded, looking towards each other before he turned his attention to his dad. "I'm going to miss you dad, I'll call you when we reach Crosstown." His dad smiled and nodded as he leaned back on his wheelchair.

"I know, Aria and I will take care of things here so take care of young Jacob okay?" He said while giving Noah a bright smile which Noah returned if a bit awkwardly. The man insisted on calling him Jacob and Noah didn't really have the heart of telling him to stop. The man meant well so he just grinned and beared it. It was only fair, Jacob was the name he was born with and the Commander knew his parents so it was just how things were. Aidan smiled and nodded as he patted Noah on the head ruffling his hair a bit which made Noah scowl a bit at the older wolf. It made him feel like a kid when he did that.

"I will look after the kid, don't worry about that!" He said while ruffling Noah's hair even more making the boy glare at him even more. Once everyone was done laughing at his expense they all calmed down before getting a bit more serious. They were really leaving, the past few days had been wild and Noah was just happy they were heading to his home. Even if he wasn't going to stay there long, he would at least be able to say goodbye to Emily and spread his dad's ashes. His thoughts briefly went to Dawson, which perplexed him. Why was he thinking about the alsatian? He would hopefully avoid him during his trip back home. If he did he would try and bury the hatchet with the other boy. As much as he loathed the dog he didn't think it was worth keeping that anger in him. He kinda felt sorry for the guy, he knew Dawson's homelife was pretty horrible. His dad was a worthless drunk and had frequently been arrested for public drunkeness and the occasional DUI. He had thought that the man would have been in jail for his last one, but given he was a vetern he had gotten off after only a few months. It only fit that Dawson would turn into a bully as he had heard from his dad that most bullies had bad home lives and were bullied and abused themselves. He just let out a frustrated sigh. He would deal with this later.

Soon enough they were all getting in the tank-van. Once they were in they all chose their own rooms. There were about four small bedrooms in the vehicle along with a single bathroom with a small shower. That wasn't going to be fun sharing one bathroom with six people but he was sure they would manage. There was also a tiny kitchen as well so they had pretty much everything they needed. After much discussion --the girls would of course take one of the rooms for themselves--, it was decided that he would share a room with Aidan while Flint and Major Burke would share the last one. Neither Flint or the Major seemed to like the idea much but they just sighed and agreed to the arrangements as Aidan wanted to be in the room so he could keep an eye on him.

Once that was dealt with they went to the front of the vehicle. There were two seats in the cockpit; one for the driver and another person. Given he was the one with the military training Aidan declared he was the one who drove and Noah instantly called shotgun which made everyone chuckle, blushing at how childish it was but he didn't care. Soon enough he was strapped into his seat as the others went back to other parts and soon enough they were moving from the garage and on their way to Crosstown.

As they left the ruined city limits, they were soon surrounded by the snowy mountains that encircled Eldra. It was beautiful and Noah took out his phone and started taking pictures of the scenery. He would have to send these to Emily once he got the chance. Looking towards the older wolf he gave him a small smile.

"Thanks for everything Aidan, you saved my life so many times and you are taking me to Graesham. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you." Aidan just smiled back and looked towards the boy briefly before putting his eyes back on the road.

"It's no big deal kid. It's my job to look after the innocent after all. It's an honor to do so. Plus you're special. You were given that power for a reason and I feel like I can help with that you know?" He said with a smirk. "Plus this is a chance to get out of Eldra for a bit. I love Eldra but I've only really been away from there when I was in the Academy." He said with a small shrug. "I pretty much joined the Eldra branch of the Salmarta MODD Defense Corps as soon as I graduated. I had the chance to join the Sinra branch but I decided I would rather be closer to home. Never been a city boy you know?" He said with a small smirk. "But sometimes I wanted to explore the world I guess but I didn't want to leave my family." Noah just nodded, enjoying how he was getting to learn more about Aidan.

"It was the same for me, I love Crosstown but I wanted to see the world so badly. My dream was to join the World Riders. We had a representative come to our school and it sounded so awesome so I decided I would work my ass off to join them. I mean being a courier sounds awesome. I'd get to see the world and the pay is pretty good from what I hear. Have you ever met anyone from the World Riders?"

"Of Course, MODD uses their services all the time. They are good at their job. But it's still dangerous work, you know that right? A lot of their couriers get killed in action since they often are carrying top secret information for some company so the companies rival will send an assassin to go after the courier to get a leg up on their competition. And of course any courier carrying any information from MODD will attract the attention of the myriad of anti-MODD militias around Mortaelis." Noah just nodded, the representative had also mentioned the dangers but Noah had been too enthralled to care.

"Yeah, the representative made it clear how dangerous it was. But it was still my dream, it's like it was something I was meant to do you know?" Noah said in a happy tone. "I wanted to make something of myself, make my dad proud and makes things easier for him. I mean he took me in even though he didn't have to. I wanted to repay him for raising me." Noah said as he looked towards the snowy terrain ahead of them. "I miss him..." Noah then said, his heart breaking all over again. "It's hard to believe he's gone..." Aidan just sighed and reached over to ruffle the boy's head once again.

"I understand how you feel kid, I miss my mom to this day, even if it's been a decade. Losing a parent is hard, especially when it is the result of tragedy but know that they may be gone but they'll always be there for you right here." He said as he poked at Noah's chest right where his heart was. "Cheesy as it sounds that's what my dad always told me and it always helped me." Noah just nodded, it did sound cheesy but it did comfort him a bit. "And trust me kid, your dad is beaming down upon you right now, I mean you saved us all after all. And you have the ability to make sure it never happens again. So don't worry about making your dad proud since I'm sure you have already." He said before looking away for a bit.

"So do you have any intention of meeting your real family? Your mom and brother? They would probably be ecstatic to know you are alive after all." Aidan said gently. "Plus you could learn more about your past. I mean we can still do the travel stuff but it couldn't hurt to see them." Noah just sighed and sank down in his seat. He had been thinking about that. Why was he so afraid to meet his birth family? He knew he had a mother and a brother but how could he see them when he had no memory of them? Would they be hurt? Angry? Maybe when he gained more of his memories he could find them?

"Maybe one day? I just don't want to see them when I have no memory of them. It wouldn't be fair to them if they know me and I don't know them." Noah let out a frustrated sigh. "I just know so little about myself. It's frustrating, I wish I knew more but I'm scared to. What would I have been like if I hadn't been taken from my family? I would have never met Emily for one thing, I guess I'd have a different set of friends I guess? I would have a brother would we be closer? Would we be estranged? FIght all the time or hate each other? It's just so much to question but right now I don't want to. I just lost the only dad I've ever known, I don't want to think of another family I was taken from. Right now I just want to focus on our current objection." Aidan just nodded and turned back towards the road.

"I understand, it's a lot to take in isn't it?" He said in a sympathetic tone. "You have so much to work towards but you are a kid, you have plenty of time so don't rush." He said as he looked towards the boy before focusing back on the road. "But it's getting late, go get some rest man, I'll drive for a bit then have somebody take over." Noah just let out a loud yawn before shaking his head. Aidan was right, it was getting late and he was tired.

"Yeah, I'm going to get some sleep, see you later." He said before he got up and walked into the main area of the vehicle. He saw Flint and Elena were sitting at the tiny table with Major Burke and Loni nowhere to be seen, probably having gone to bed themselves. After giving them a wave he went to the room he and Aidan shared and got into the bed and fell asleep, wondering where the future would lead him.