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Chapter XIV: Plotting through the Darkness

"It's so easy to get lost in personal problems that it's hard to remember that you're part of a bigger machine, a cog in a sea of machinery that is constantly ticking away due to the design of some grander power.

"Suddenly, instead of just chasing down a rogue Chronomancer and his schemes, I was involved in the desires of gods and legends. Admittedly, Chronos was a legend in himself and Aria was fairly ancient but being chosen and told to do something by the Sun Goddess...? That was some heavy shit right there...

"It made me wonder... where was this all leading? And would I follow along?"

Ironfrost was contrary to the fierce, brutish exterior that most Lupus adopted. It was surprisingly beautiful and serene despite the war torn no man's land and the hundreds of rebel tents that littered the area outside of the pristine, white city. From the distance, Hunter could make out the design of the city was built to resemble a snowflake. It sat at the very centre of a broad, rushing river with bridges and districts of the cities forming the arms and branches of the snowflake. Even from a distance, the city glistened with like a diamond. The tranquil waters of the river reflected its pure white walls. It seemed that even Moonclaws' rebels were hesitant to mar the walls of the beautiful city. There wasn't a single burn, a dent or shattered building within the walls.

"So how does one exactly fight a war when both sides regenerate?" Hunter asked.

"Attrition," Tanar rumbled. "One side or the other will run out of resources eventually. Regardless of how fast a side regenerates, if they have no food, their own hunger will eat at them." The Dire Wolf padded past the thick forest. The group had steered clear of the main road to avoid running into any of Moonclaw's patrols. Standing on the crest of a hill, they overlooked the entire battlefield.

"That is what Phalgymr was doing with Clockwork," Elena whispered softly. "The city is no ally of Ironfrost but it has always been an open trade route. Leandros could have sent troops to get fresh supplies up the river."

"Phalgymr was working with Chronos," Aria whispered softly. She lowered her gaze towards the encampment. "He was supporting Moonclaw's rebellion. The question remains... is Moonclaw but a pawn or is he in cahoots with him?"

Another voice exploded out from behind them.

"Why doncha ask the Commander himself?"

The entire group spun around only to find dozens of Lupus emerging from nowhere. The scenery around them just seemed to shatter into tiny flakes and fall off their broad, furry shoulders like the flakes were fragments of a mirror that perfectly reflected their environment. Arrows were levelled at them and, of all things, high end energy weapons restricted to Haven and the upper Stations.

Hunter found himself staring down the muzzle of a rail rifle, a weapon capable of shooting a powerful, aerodynamically manufactured bullet through fifty-foot steel, reinforced walls. By the looks of the glowing runes running across the flanks of the weapon, it was magically imbued as well... and customised. It wasn't a new weapon. It was a weapon given to this Lupus long enough for the Lupus to customise it.

"Clever," Andy murmured, rubbing his goatee thoughtfully. "Creating a light fragmentation spell akin to cloaking and coating yourself in a snow-like covering. I've never seen that kind of cloaking before."

"Glad ya like it, kitty," grinned the biggest Lupus and clearly the leader. "Now why doncha just put yer paws and hands up and we'll be on our way. No funny business now. The Commander has been expecting ya'll."

"Expecting us?"

"Yep." The Lupus stepped aside and let his troops start ushering each of their newly acquired prisoners away. "The Commander is pretty darn smart. He knew ya'll in particular would be comin' this way."

That smacks of Chronos' interference...

Hunter was tempted to casually reach for Zero Hour, pretending to check the time before unleashing it and wiping that grin of the smug Lupus' face. However, he caught Aria's gentle shake of her head and Tanar willingly let himself get muzzled. They were willing to get captured...

I suppose it's not these Lupus' fault that they're being manipulated...

They were led rather gently through the vast encampment. Hunter's heart sank the further they travelled. It hit him that while Ironfrost was indeed immense, Moonclaw's encampment was even larger. There had to be thousands of Lupus camped out in the forests and thousands more in the open plains outside of the city. He wondered just how large the Lupus population was... and then he noticed...

"They're not all Lupus..." he murmured.

"Nope!" exclaimed the leader of the band. "We got lotsa sympathisers. Hell, plenty of 'em are even willing to becoming like us. See that lady there?" He hiked a thumb at a band of women who were doing drills with weaponry. "Them are feminist types. They agree with the Commander. They want female Lupus as well."

How long will it take them to realise that you can actually get pregnant from having sex with a Lupus_...?_

When the finally reached a large, fortified hill, the rest of the soldiers left them with only the leader taking them up to the largest tent. He pulled back the flap. Hunter half-expected to see Chronos sitting on a throne there, waiting for them with that cocky smirk of his.

Instead, there was the biggest Lupus he had seen so far huddled over a map with several other Lupus, one female Bovios and two female humans. The Lupus had to at least be nine feet tall and brimming with muscle from head to toe. His fur was a steel grey save for the hair between his ears which was streaked with black. He fixed them all with soft, brown eyes.

"I've been expecting you," rumbled Moonclaw, his voice shaking Hunter's core. The Wulfun's pack instincts kicked in and he wanted to fall to his knees, tuck his tail between his legs and piss himself in front of this tremendous alpha.

"And where did this clairvoyance come from?" Aria asked.

Moonclaw flicked an ear. Hunter noted that his left one was torn. The other men and women around him turned, rolled up the map in front of them and left. Vicious, distrusted stares were thrown at the newcomers but once the tent flaps were closed, Moonclaw visible relaxed and eased.

"I must apologise for the rough welcome," he said, smiling them in a friendly manner. "Being the leader of a rebellion is mostly about appearances and less about strategizing."

"Why? Because your tactics are handed to you by an eternal Wulfun?" Aria retorted hotly. "Tell me honestly, Moonclaw, who is pulling your strings?"

The massive Lupus placed all his weight on his left leg and folded his arms. "I will tell you mine if you tell me yours, Lady Aria Valkyrie."

Aria shook her head and stepped forward. "You realise you are being tricked and manipulated by an enemy of the Church!"

WHAM!

Moonclaw's fists hit the table, nearly breaking it in half. "If freedom for my people, equality for all races and the truth revealed about all our species means allying with an 'enemy of the Church' then consider us enemies! He has done nothing but bring light to that which the Church has kept secret for millennia!"

"All for his own agenda!"

Moonclaw jabbed a finger at her, his lips peeling back in a vicious snarl. "Do you deny that the Vampiri are fully capable of reproducing with other species? Do you refute the claim that Lupus are fertile? Can you stand by the claim that all the Church of the Tower rewrote the memories of everyone with memories of the Last Chronomancer because they could not stand losing to his just cause!?"

He straightened, eyes flaring. "Tell me that now, Angel, and I will willingly tear down my banners, stop my rebellion and order all my men to swear fealty to Leandros."

Okay... Ouch...

Aria shut her eyes, unable to respond and merely ducked her head.

"I thought so," the Lupus said. "My rebellion will continue."

"And what will become of us?"

Moonclaw's ears perked. The tent flaps suddenly burst open and a Lupus poked his head inside. "Commander! The doors to Ironfrost are opening!"

What?

"What?" Moonclaw exclaimed.

Whatever hatred Aria bore for Moonclaw was instantly forgotten and they were all running out of the tent, rushing towards the line of soldiers that stood tense at the edge of the no man's land. Every soldier - be they Lupus, human, nonhuman, male or female - instant gave way to Moonclaw who towered over them all.

As the soldier had mentioned, the enormous white doors of Ironfrost were slowly opening. The drawbridge had already been lowered crossing the rushing waters of the river. Hunter couldn't see very well from the distance but Aria conjured a pair of binoculars and handed one to everyone, even forgetting her grievance and handed one to Moonclaw. Through them, Hunter watched the doors swung open...

Silhouetted against the light beyond... was a Wulfun... one wearing a scarf that billowed out behind him.

Harm Chronos approached slowly, his paws folded behind his back and that knowing smirk on his muzzle. He walked with immense confidence. Even from the binoculars, Hunter was gripped with dread and an overwhelming sense of insignificance.

Oh shit...

As the door swung wider open, he made out the athletic figure of Alaric or Duke Dalzemor to Chronos' right. To Chronomancer's left was the tall, graceful Phalgymr. Beside Phalgymr was what appeared to be a Dire Wolf... only... it looked more... feral. It's lower jaw jutted out and its canines were extended to look like tusks. Its features were less lupine and more... beastly.

"A warg..." Andy murmured.

"Warg?" Hunter echoed.

"Evil feral wolves," Moonclaw said, lowering his binoculars temporarily. "In ages past, they were a pest farther south. Packs of them were everywhere and considering their size, they were strong enough to raid entire villages and devastate them. They're less intelligent than Dire Wolves and were supposedly driven past Chillfarn. How Chronos tamed one... I cannot imagine."

"He is Lord Harm Chronos for a reason," Tanar answered as if that answered everything.

The four figures stepped off the drawbridge. Chronos unfolded his paws from behind him, revealing... a megaphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced. "An open invitation to a group of special individuals into the warm embrace of Leandros von Lupus' court! This one time only, the King of the Lupus is willing to negotiate and be diplomatic."

He lifted his free paw forward, offering it to them even at the vast distance between them. "He is willing to hear the suggestion of secession from the Church from the beautiful Lady Aria Valkyrie and her companions."

Moonclaw balked and stared at Aria in surprise. "You came here to convince Leandros to bow to my demands."

"No," she snarled back. "I came here to end a war."

"He is also willing to listen to the Commander of the rebellion to hear the demands of surrender."

Moonclaw threw his binoculars to the ground. "I will not balk so easily!" he snapped at Aria. "We are winning this war! If you think I'm afraid of the Church -"

"You should be! Have you seen the night sky!?"

"Ladies and gentlemen," Chronos exclaimed proudly, "this is a momentous occasion! Please, help me in celebrating! Let's all give a big hand of applause to the envoys of peace!"

Bang! Boom! Crack!

Hunter nearly dropped his binoculars as fireworks erupted from somewhere behind Chronos and shot into the air. The dazzling display may his jaw drop. A loud fanfare blared alongside the fireworks, triumphant music that seemed to make light of the situation.

"Is this some sort of mockery from Leandros!?" shouted a nearby Lupus soldier.

"He's making fun of us, he is!"

"This is what I think of his 'celebration'."

Moonclaw suddenly flung around. "No!"

In that moment, Hunter realised that Moonclaw hadn't told any of his troops that Chronos was the one in command.

There was a loud ka-thwap and huge boulders shot into the air, hurtled by enormous catapults. They immediately went straight for Chronos who lowered his megaphone and grinned broadly. The Wulfun suddenly crouched and vaulted into the air, higher than could be possible for any normal person. Hunter could barely keep up with him, following the streak of white with his binoculars. Chronos spun in mid-air, slamming a foot hard against the closet boulder. There was a sound like peeling thunder and the boulder shot back towards one of its brothers. The two massive rocks collided in mid-air, shattering into a thousand pieces. Chronos seemed to twist in the air, changing his direction. A strange glyph shaped like an intricately designed clock face appeared at his feet and he seemed to stand on it despite the angle. He launched off the glistening platform. The Wulfun disappeared behind another boulder.

That sound of peeling thunder came again and the boulder shot straight back towards the line of rebels.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Hunter realised all too late that the boulders were coming straight for them.

"Run... Run!" he cried, scrambling for Zero Hour. A dark shadow suddenly fell over him.

He expected to see the craggy features of death rushing towards him. Instead... he found Chronos' golden eyes, staring at him with a smile on the connecting muzzle. Chronos merely reached back with one paw and -

Thud.

... he caught the boulder.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

All the other boulders crashed into the one in his paw, shattering it completely and breaking apart. Large slabs of rock fell behind the Chronomancer who still had his claws dug into one slab.

"I do love playing catch," the Wulfun said, slowly drifting down to the ground.

Chronos turned and walked back towards the gates, tail wagging and scarf billowing out behind him.

Hunter could only stand still, petrified.

"No one fire another shot!" Moonclaw shouted. He nodded towards the closest Lupus, a young man about Hunter's age. "Go, Nev. Get my things. Let us see what Leandros wants." The boy saluted and was gone.

"You didn't know he was in there, did you?" Hunter asked.

Moonclaw shook his head. "No... I thought Chronos was elsewhere. I had no idea..."

Tanar snorted and began padding forward. "No one ever does."

*****

Leandros' castle was surprisingly lavished and... homoerotic for a race who prided themselves in feral brutality and biting cold. The walls were lines with climbing roses. Potted plants of various colours occupied the gaps between sweeping columns shaped like massive, naked, Lupus holding up the roof.

Hunter strode down a black and blue carpeted aisle towards the central throne. No one escorted them. Lupus soldiers lay across statues and in corners looking exhausted and beaten. Some were writing letters and others were holding each other. Many stared at Moonclaw with hatred. When Chronos passed them, though, that hatred turned into abject fear.

There was no need for an escort.

They were pulled forward by fear of the Chronomancer.

Hunter glanced from face to face, wondering if any of them even suspected what he knew. He wondered how they would react if they even suspected that Chronos held the power of one of the legendary Seraphim... or that he had the unconditional trust of one of their Gods.

They passed two, enormous white doors and stepped into what appeared to be Leandros' throne room. Unlike most throne rooms that had the seats of power elevated on a dais, Leandros sat in a deep indentation in the ground. It seemed like the room was more like an auditorium than a throne room.

Leandros' icy chair seemed to be made more out of light blue crystal than real ice. Strangely, Leandros was only about eight feet tall, average of a Lupus. His build was impressive but nothing as bulky as the immense Moonclaw. His soft, brown fur was reminiscent of Smallfang's and he sat lounged in his throne, wearing an iron crown and looking bored. There was an impressive amount of daggers that hung from his belt like a kilt.

All in all, he wasn't exactly how Hunter had expected to King of the Lupus to look like. After seeing Eton and Smallfang, he half-expected Leandros to be the biggest, meanest and fiercest of them all. When he saw Moonclaw, he had the strange notion Leandros would be a towering giant. But this... he just looked...

Normal.

The presence of an empty, smaller throne beside Leandros' was also a little... disturbing.

"Two chairs...?" he murmured.

"One is for the Warden of Chillfarn," Andy whispered in return. "Besides Leandros, the Warden is the second authority of the Lupus."

His eyes left the throne and followed the white Wulfun who seemed to emanate so much confidence that it almost made him weak in the knees. Chronos just seemed capable of commanding anyone with his mere presence. The Chronomancer strode down the central aisle, Phalgymr and Alaric flanking him. That warg of his followed shortly after, its fur completely golden. One of the few Lupus soldiers in the room actually knelt and offered a prayer to some god.

"Guess who I found," Chronos said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder.

Leandros scowled, the sound reverberating in the room. "Like you had not planned this from the beginning." He didn't even straighten for Aria or Moonclaw. "Let us be done with this farce so we can move on to whatever plot you have in store for us all."

The Chronomancer rolled his eyes, placing his paws on his hips. "Aw come on, Leandros. I've had this planned for the past five hundred years. The least you could do is play along. It'll be more fun that way."

The King of the Lupus scowled. "If the few fragments of free will I have are to deprive you of the sick pleasure of watching us squirm under your plots, then so be it."

Chronos sighed. "You're no fun." He turned his back to the court, to the large number of Lupus soldiers and to Leandros. Several soldiers flinched at the sudden movement. The glimmer in his eyes showed he was truly enjoying the moment. His golden eyes fell on the gathered group. "Anyone want to guess why I brought you all here?"

"To end this war in favour of freedom from the Church?" asked Moonclaw, back straight and proud.

"Nope."

The Commander's stance deflated and his jaw hung open.

"To kill us?" Eton grunted.

"Of course not."

"To gloat?"

"You only get one guess," Harm said, waggling a finger at him. "Anyone else?" His eyes went to Andy. "How about you, Andy? Surely you've figured it out by now?"

Hunter regarded the Leomian curiously.

Figured what out?

Sadly, the Leomian shook his head. "All I have pieced together is that you have the makings of an enormous war machine. You have gathered allies around you. The Vampiri are on your side. Sympathisers of Moonclaw's cause add to the ranks. You have a vast network of underground tunnels capable of invading any section of the Station you wish and a hidden army of hybrids. I can only hazard to guess that by bringing us here, you hope to convince us all to join you and then we all launch an attack against the Church."

I guess that makes sense...

"Close. But no." Chronos dropped his paws, regarding Andy with a mix of exasperation and amusement. "Come on, Andy! I gave you a big clue! 'They were here first'! No? Tell me you at least visited the libraries in Corona? Nothing?"

He sighed and threw his paws up into the air. "Oh well! Looks like this'll be more of a surprise, then! Come on out!"

Hunter felt a chill run down his spine and every fur on his arm stand on end. The shadows around him began to seethe like gas. Fierce, ice-blue eyes glistened amongst the shadows. Dozens of pairs appeared, dark silhouettes forming amongst the noxious clouds. Hunter reached for Zero Hour as the others readied their weapons.

Strangely... no horrendous, shadowy monster emerged from the shadows.

What emerged... were pure-white nonhumans... He had never seen a white Draconis before but the tall creature strode through the shadows and stood beside Chronos, wielding a glistening, obsidian blade. Flanking the tall reptile dressed in thick, white, furry clothing were other albino-like nonhumans. There was a Wulfun with fur as white as Chronos', a Bovios that was completely white and an artic Vulpunus. All of them had the same, bright blue eyes.

"Everyone," Chronos said, sweeping his paws towards the reptile. "I'd like to introduce you to Malfemir... King of the Darkened."

There was a clatter of metal.

Weapons were dropped in horror.

"You must be joking!" Aria exclaimed. "The Darkened are horrendous creatures of pure shadow that consume the light and cannot stand being in the presence of the Sun Spire! This... That... He is a... a..."

Malfemir smiled darkly. "Perhaps this is the form you are more familiar with?"

The shadows suddenly lunged for the Draconis. A tremendous roar escaped him as the creature surged upwards, his wings growing into immense lengths and his form shifting into a titanic, demonic figure that consumed most of the room. Elena screamed and even Serena let out a soft cry. As quickly as it came, the shadow was gone and once again, the Draconis stood there.

Malfemir coughed as if he was clearing his throat.

Hunter's eyes widened.

Incendius never had a sun...

"You were here first..." he murmured.

All eyes flicked towards him. Chronos' smile grew.

"Oh shit... you were here first!" Hunter shouted, pointing at Malfemir. "You're the natives of Incendius!"

Slowly... Malfemir nodded.

"Well done!" Chronos exclaimed, clapping his paws together. "Now for an extra point, what happened to them? Why were they driven beyond Chillfarn?"

Hunter scrambled for his memories... thinking about what Shinniah said. Then, he realised just why she had been appalled by her father's actions. The Darkened - natives of Incendius - were fighting the Church, the invaders. However, Adramalech had rallied the Church's forces under his banner and killed thousands of Darkened just to see her!

"I... I don't know..."

"Awww, that's too bad," Chronos said. "How about a bonus question?" He grinned broadly. "With this new information, anyone want to guess what I'm doing?"

Aria stepped forward, lifting Gungnir at him. "You're going to shatter the grip of the Church on Incendius! This is all a lie! This 'Malfemir' is nothing more than the perfect hybridisation of your experiments with fusing Darkened with normal people! You reveal to everyone your 'Darkened' making a preposterous accusation that they were the natives of this land and the Church drove them out, people will believe you, rebel against the Church and drive north, shattering Corona!"

The Chronomancer made a loud, buzzing noise. "Wrong. My eyes aren't set north, Aria." He paused for effect, his smile growing. "They're geared very much in the south."

South... the south...

Something in the south...

"Tell you what?" the Chronomancer said. "After this, why don't you all go north back to Corona. Ask Inquisitor Dorthango about the 'Farmer's Archives'. I'm sure he'll be very enlightening. Make sure Tynvandar is there too. You'll just love his expression."

Aria's fist was shaking. "I am done playing your game, Harm! Just tell us!"

His eyes narrowed slightly though his smile grew bigger. "Oh Aria... You know the best way for students to learn is for them to come to the conclusion themselves."

"We are not your students! We are not your pawns!"

Chronos tilted his head to the side, staring at her almost curiously. "And yet you are acting like a child." He shrugged, turning away from her and back towards Leandros. "We are all gathered here because one way or another, the Lupus civil war is going to end. Whether it is Leandros giving in to pressure and seceding from the Church or Moonclaw dropping the rebellion after learning there is a grander mess on the line or..." He tilted his head back fixing Aria with a firm gaze. "... a Chronomancer devastating both sides... this rebellion will end."

"What is the purpose of starting this rebellion if you were going to just end it!?" Eton shouted.

"Who says I started it?"

Hunter's heart skipped a beat.

No one did...

We all just assumed...

He was behind Phalgymr's plot... and Phalgymr was helping Moonclaw... So...

"Why did this rebellion start?" he asked softly.

Harm grinned, turning towards Leandros. "Want to tell us, Leandros?" The King of the Lupus was unresponsive. "No? How about you, Aria? Tanar? No? Smallfang?"

Smallfang... What does he have to do with this?

The Chronomancer sighed, stuffing his paws into his pockets. He stepped back, giving everyone a good view of Leandros. "Fine then. The reason this war started... is because Leandros had a son."

Wait... so what?

"Remember, this is before the rebellion," Chronos said, as if reading his thoughts. "Moonclaw found out. Found out about the massive lie and cover-up. He fought for equality and the truth to be revealed. That is why the rebellion began. I had nothing to do with it." His eyes fixed on Aria. "Before you go spouting your conspiracy theories, no, I did not go around whispering truths or even smuggling Leandros' child out of Ironfrost. That was done without my interference. I was honestly too busy smuggling Malfemir past Chillfarn."

So he doesn't control everything... But he can if he wants to... He's adaptive...

But still... That's why this started...? So what does Smallfang...?

...

No... No!

Harm smirked at Smallfang. "Anything you want to say to your father, Smallfang?"

*****

Leandros had kicked them all out of the throne room. He didn't seem angry. More... defeated. He dismissed them all save for Smallfang. Chronos strode out of there with his tail swaying arrogantly.

The moment the doors shut behind them, Hunter collided with the Chronomancer, picking up the smaller Wulfun and slamming him hard against a nearby column.

"What the hell was that about!?" he roared.

"Hunter!" came the unanimous cry of shock.

Suddenly, weapons were drawn and levelled. Phalgymr had two crossbows levelled at Hunter's forehead while Aria had Gungnir levelled at the Vampiri's throat. Ford had Revolution poised at Alaric's temple while the Blood Mage had summoned blades of blood and levelled them at Eton and Serena.

"You had no right to do that to them!" Hunter shouted, shaking the Chronomancer. "Do you think what you're doing is 'for their own good'!? Smallfang clearly didn't want to be anywhere near his father and you brought him here for this confrontation! What gives you the right to force that upon them!?"

Chronos narrowed his eyes slightly, the smug smirk on his features just growing wider. "I'm sorry. How exactly did I force Smallfang to come here, with you?"

...

That's right... Smallfang came with us knowing where he was going... He didn't even hesitate...

"But you capitalised on that!"

"Did I call out his name when I invited all of you into Ironfrost?"

Frustration was building in Hunter. He wouldn't have been so mad if Chronos had taken a second to think about his responses but the Chronomancer didn't even blink between his retorts. Everything was playing out according to his plan and his replies were well-prepared beforehand!

"Hunter," Aria said softly. "Let him go."

"Not until he admits that he's being a royal bastard!" he roared. "He's messing with people's lives!" He shook Chronos one more time. "Can't you see that you're hurting people!? Thousands died in Clockwork and Mirecragg! Aren't you the least bit sorry about any of that!?"

Their gazes met, the arrogance shining through Chronos' golden eyes. "No."

The audacity of the statement just horrified Hunter. It reminded him of Titus Shockarm. Not a single hint of remorse despite all his sin.

"Why!?"

"Because I have done nothing wrong."

"You killed so many!"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

WHAM!

Hunter wasn't sure why it felt so good to punch the Chronomancer but his knuckles were braying for more. He growled loudly and lifted his fist again -

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

All the while, Chronos just took it, staring at him with those cocky, golden eyes. That smirk never left his muzzle. Even as blood began to drip down from cuts on his cheek and from the corners of his lips, he just continued to smile.

A firm hand seized Hunter's wrist and another grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from the Chronomancer. Phalgymr prised Chronos away from him, looking more frightened than worried. The golden-eyed Wulfun just smiled, gently waving away Phalgymr's concern.

"Satisfied?" Chronos asked.

"Not until you're fucking dead," Hunter growled. "You're going to pay for every life you've taken, for every future you've ruined and for each person you've scarred!"

There was a strange hint to Chronos' eyes. "I'm sure I will."

Hunter shrugged off Aria and Eton's grips, turning around in a huff. He waited for the moment when Eton had taken a few steps back before seizing Zero Hour and -

"The time is now, Zero Hour!"

He flung around, swinging his sword -

Thud.

His eyes widened.

Using a single finger... Harm Chronos blocked the Time-destroying Valour. Right before Hunter's eyes, the Chronomancer's wounds began to heal. He fixated directly on the point of contact of his blade and Chronos. They were definitely touching! And yet, Chronos was just standing there... not disappearing into a cloud of dust!

How...?

"You're wondering how I'm still able to do this, right?" Chronos said, his grin growing broader. "Well, maybe I've stopped Time for your blade just a micrometre from my flesh? Or maybe I'm able to control Time to the point where I can nullify anything even remotely resembling my Anti-Time techniques? I did invent them, remember. Then again, maybe, this is all a dream?"

The Chronomancer reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out an apple. He tapped it slightly against Zero Hour. Almost instantly, the little piece of fruit began dissolving into dust. Hunter regarded the gauntlet section of his Valour and watched the hands of the clock slowly spin.

"It's funny," Chronos said, chuckling softly as he ground the dust of the apple in his paw. "The apple symbolises so many things in our world. Many consider it the forbidden fruit; a symbol of sin and temptation." His eyes obtained an almost... sad edge. "In the Illuminus Weizar, the word for apple is 'm?lum' while the word for evil is 'malum'. Yet in other cultures, it is a sign of redemption, immortality, rebirth, health and beauty."

He gripped Zero Hour, forcing a still stunned Hunter to lower the weapon. Chronos reached into his pocket and withdrew another apple, absently tossing it into the air and catching it again.

The Chronomancer turned his back to Hunter, striding casually away. Phalgymr and Alaric followed him, eyeing the group warily. All the while, Chronos was tossing the apple absently into the air. "Who can we blame?" he asked. "When we are all guilty?"

Then... he took a bite out of the apple.

*****

Night had come once more to Incendius and now, more than ever, Hunter could feel just how dangerous it was. He stood alone on a balcony that overlooked the training yard for the Lupus far below. Dozens of tents had been set up for the remaining Lupus loyal to Leandros. There wasn't enough room for them in the castle and the city was too dangerous with the rebels milling about. There was an advance guard watching the walls but all in all, most of the city was abandoned. While during the day, Ironfrost was a glistening, white jewel, at night, it was a black, mostly empty shadow that loomed over them all.

What made it worse, Chronos was in their midst, walking freely amongst them. Who was to say he wouldn't slay each and every one of the remaining loyal Lupus, open the gates and let the rebels through?

Hunter leaned on the balcony, his claws digging into the white stone.

That all did not make sense, however. Chronos had Moonclaw at his mercy, ordering the rebels through the commander to stand down... Why would he do such a thing? Could he be trusted when he said that he hadn't started the rebellion? Leandros' reaction and indeed Smallfang's was evidence enough... but what of Moonclaw? He didn't recognise Smallfang... Maybe he just knew Leandros had a son?

Gah... I'm not suited for all this scheming and intrigue...

In desperate need of something to calm his roiling mind, Hunter reached for his Telecube and quickly texted Daniel.

'Hey. I made it safely to Ironfrost.'

He waited a few moments for the reply.

Ding!

Right on cue.

'Really? Are you serious? I've been looking at the news. You're smack dab in the middle of that Lupus rebellion thing. Why the hell are you there of all places?'

Hunter sighed and began typing his response.

'Because I hoped to stop it with a couple of others... Turns out it won't be that easy...'

'Damn... Well... according to what I've read, Incendius is going to hell. The Apex Clericus Solis is scrambling to get a Sunrise Festival running. I think he's going to resign or something. Rumour has it that after all the shit that's gone down, Tynvandar won't be in office for much longer.'

'Isn't he the last of his line?'

'Yep. His sister, Yulanda, died in the Burning Rebellion fifty years ago. His father never had another child. Some cousins could take the throne but it's going to chance Incendius... Hell, with Mirecragg destroyed and now the turmoil with the Lupus_... I don't know, Hunter. Are you sure you want to be there?'_

Hunter smiled at Daniel's concern. 'I do. My boyfriend is here.'

'Heh, that's right. You haven't told me about him yet. What's he like? When do I get to meet him?'

For a second, he hesitated. Then... 'Not sure about that last one, Daniel, but his name is Eton Slater. He's a Lupus_. Strong, built, buff but really sweet inside.'_

'I figured you'd be the kind of guy to go for other big guys. Call it clichéd but I think big guys go for other big guys. Well, the gay guys anyone. That's not offensive, is it?'

'Nah. It's true.' Hunter paused before hitting 'send'. 'Funny thing is, his ex is also here... He pined over her for a long time then she crushed his heart by rejecting him.'

'Were they ever really going out?'

He paused. 'No.'

'Then they weren't going out. But clearly, you're still afraid that he has feelings for her.'

'He hates her. It's really hard for him to let that go. And she just takes it. The funny thing is, she's a good person. I can't hate her just because Eton hates her, can I? I mean, her rejection is what made him gay and ultimately led to me. How can I hate her for that?'

'Simple answer? You can't. Honestly, I wouldn't want to get caught between a former love. It just opens up a whole new can of worms. But, knowing you...'

Daniel paused, clearly thinking about what he could say that wouldn't offend Hunter. It was really sweet of him and a reason Hunter called him his 'best friend'.

'I got it!' Daniel exclaimed, suddenly coming back. 'Nothing gimmicky, I swear.'

Somehow, he doubted that.

'Just get them together, Hunter. I bet neither of them have ever really talked in a while. Get them to sit down, sort out their feelings and I'm sure everything will be fine.'

'But what if this reignites something between them?' He wasn't honestly afraid of that but now that he thought about it, it became a very real possibility. 'What if, after Eton stops hating her guts for no reason, he starts remembering all the good times they had and suddenly, he's choosing between me and him?'

'Are you afraid of losing him?'

'Of course! I...' He stopped. Then deleted that extra 'I'.

'Hunter, if you care about him, you'll do what is best for him and not selfishly keep him to yourself. Look at it this way; if you do the math, by letting him hate her, you are allowing two people to get hurt; Eton and this girl. If, however, you patch up their differences, only one person gets hurt: you. Are you saying that your happiness is more important than their own?'

He wanted to say 'yes' but just looking over that... it stuck a guilty spike through his stomach.

'I just don't want to be alone...'

'What am I? Chopped liver!?'

Hunter snickered. 'You know what I mean.'

'I know. Just ribbing ya.' Daniel's next message took a minute to get back. 'Look, you've been on a couple of dates. But these things always fall on your lap. Back in high school, you were asked out because that cheerleader wanted to get back at her boyfriend. In the military, you 'went out' with the rest of the boys because they asked you to come along. You've never asked anyone out, hunted for anyone's affections or actively sought to woo anyone.'

"Yeah," Hunter murmured softly. "Initiative has always been my issue... Captain Rushwater said as much."

Daniel's next test message came in a second later. 'For the first time, I'm hearing you want to actually pursue someone. Well, you can consider this your 'first time'. What are the chances of you finding your true love on your first try?'

He sighed heavily. 'Low... but I'd rather find them on the first try than go through the heartbreak of finding out they're not the one.'

'And that's exactly the problem. You're afraid that it won't work out. Well, fact is, Hunter, it probably won't. That's why you gotta make it work out. Invest in the relationship. Do what you can to make it work. If it doesn't, well... Own it.'

Hunter blinked as his own words came back, staring at him on that glistening screen.

Own it. Let it go.

He laughed softly.

'Sly son-of-a-bitch.'

'That's why you love me,' Daniel replied. 'If it ends up not working out, then at least you gave it your all and you know it definitely wouldn't have worked. Whatever else, that's one less person that you know isn't 'the one'. From that, all you can do, is move on and keep searching. If anything, at least you would've gotten a friend out of it, right?'

'Assuming it isn't a bitter break up.' Hunter hit 'send' before immediately typing the next message. 'Thanks Daniel. That really helped. I'll give this a really good shot.'

'Anytime buddy. Anytime.'

Hunter shut off his Telecube and smiled.

"He's a really good friend, isn't he?"

He froze. The sound of that bright, masculine tenor instantly set him on edge. His paw was reaching for Zero Hour when he remembered that wouldn't work on the Chronomancer. Frozen in fear, he could only stand there as Chronos snuck up behind him. The soft sound of a blade being pulled from its scabbard made the scar on his chest tingle.

"Ashwing," Chronos said, stepping in front of him and regarding the bright, glimmering, red blade. "A friend gave this to me. Roran was his name. Said I reminded him of my father."

"You have family?" Hunter snarled bitterly.

For a second, Chronos' golden eyes lost their mocking edge and just looked... sad. Then it was gone. "No. My 'father' was me fifty years ago. It's somewhat amusing to see how people's memories adjust and compensate for the wild alterations the Church made." Chronos waved the sword lightly through the air. It fit his paws perfectly. "You see, the Redaction Spell was a Divine Magic spell; magic based entirely on creation. It cannot destroy anything. But the Church doesn't know everything that I've done. They altered what they could but those bits and pieces that they couldn't... well, they were left in people's minds, in their souls. Naturally, they compensate, their subconscious fabricate memories around that. Some think that I was a fragment of a dream. Others believe I was just a hallucination. Others still think I am someone else."

Chronos regarded the blade, holding it in both paws. "Roran thought I am the son of another Wulfun that looked just like me but had green eyes. In memory of the time we spent together, he forged a blade for the day we would meet again. Ashwing."

Hunter growled. "It says a lot about you that you'd go about pulling the strings of a guy and then toss aside the blade he gave you that he hoped would commemorate your time together."

Chronos just chuckled. "Yes... Yes it does, doesn't it?" He shook his head absently. "I could have restored his memory, you know. I could have used Chronometric Tracing to make him aware of all that had happened."

Wait... He didn't...?

"I didn't," Chronos said, as if reading his mind. "He's about seventy years old now. Nearing the end of his life. He nor I have the time to spend following a path that could never be." Harm Chronos flipped the sword, hilt first to Hunter. "It's too small for your paws, isn't it?"

Hunter gingerly reached for the blade, gripping the hilt. "Little bit..."

"Give me a second." Chronos shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Hunter was half-tempted to thrust the blade right into the Wulfun's chest. The moment he considered that thought, he felt the blade in his paws shift and move. To his utter surprise, he felt the hilt of the weapon lengthening, stretching until he could rest his paw around it comfortably. As a result, the rest of the weapon grew as well. It became as long as Zero Hour but not as wide.

The Chronomancer opened his eyes. For a brief instant, Hunter found himself staring into identical emerald green eyes to his own. Then, they faded into the same, bright gold.

"What did you do...?" Hunter asked, taking the blade in awe.

"I reached back in Time and just altered a single fact," answered the Wulfun with a shrug.

"I thought time travel was impossible."

"That's bullshit," came the short answer. "We all time travel. Only it's forwards in time and at a constant rate."

Hunter snarled. "You know what I meant."

Nodding, Chronos said, "I didn't travel back in time. Just 'reached back'. Chronomancers always tried travelling back in time but it's like swimming against a very strong current. It just can't be done and you just expend your energy before drowning. All I did was get a very big pole and reach past the current to where I wanted and poke at the past. That's enough."

Chronos took a few steps back, smiling faintly. "Take care of that sword, Hunter. Gods gave us the world and gods gave us the capacity to sin. Sometimes, it's good to be able to do something with our own paws."

The door suddenly sprang open and a waft of pine and hazelnuts entered Hunter's nostrils. He flung around in time to see Eton barging inside.

"There you are!" exclaimed the Lupus. "Smallfang is missing. None of Leandros' men can find him."

Hunter spun back towards Chronos...

... but found the Chronomancer gone.

Of course...

"Hunter!"

He nodded and turned back. "Yeah... Yeah okay, let's go."

*****

"Me must find him," Aria said, pacing quickly back and forth. Hunter and the rest of the group had gathered in front of Leandros' castle. The Lupus King was giving orders to his men to scour the city a short distance away.

"Is it true?" Ford asked. "Is he really Leandros' son?"

The Templar paused and let out a soft sigh. "Most likely."

"You knew about this?"

"I was made aware of Leandros' son but I never knew his identity. The political storm that would have hit Incendius from the discovery would have crippled the Lupus." Her eyes flared up at Moonclaw who stood a short distance away, arms crossed over his chest. "When did you find out?"

"That is none of your concern," growled the Lupus. "It is important that we find him."

Aria stormed over to him, her piercing amethyst eyes staring straight into him. Her Compulsion flooded the air with electricity. "Why? What is your stake in this? Why would you want Smallfang alive and found?"

Moonclaw growled. "If you think that I have ambitions to take the Lupus throne then you should reconsider your accusations, Templar. I only seek to free the Lupus from oppression. Smallfang knows the truth just as much as I do and it is he who I intend to place on the throne."

"Have you even considered that he might not want to take the throne and that is why he fled?"

"Who was the one who brought him back home, Templar!?" growled the titanic Lupus. "You may have been ignorant of his true purpose but it was you who took him here. Surely if he had doubts, he would have refused to come!"

That's right... Why would Smallfang come along if he was just going to run away...

Hunter's eyes went to Leandros. The Lupus King was giving orders to the other Lupus. There was a quiet menace about him. A lot like Harm Chronos but Leandros didn't have that cocky, 'everything-is-going-according-to-my-plan' look on his face. He actually looked deflated, defeated. His heart was elsewhere.

Tanar stepped in between both Aria and Moonclaw, Blade Legion activating and pushing them both back with swords. "This is not the time to be placing blame. We must find Smallfang."

But Smallfang clearly doesn't want to be found...

"Why?" Hunter asked, causing several eyes to flick towards him. "Why are we looking for him? Smallfang was banished from this place, right? He came back and now he ran off again. Why are we dragging him back here?" He turned to Moonclaw. "If he knows you want to put him on the throne and he left, doesn't that say a lot about what he wants?"

The commander of the Lupus rebels stormed over to him. Hunter's pack instincts began kicking in again. His tail was sliding in between his legs but he stood his ground.

"Life is seldom about what the individual wants, pup," growled Moonclaw.

Hunter felt Eton slide to his flank. Elena was on the other. Strangely, he felt empowered with both of them there. He couldn't think up of anything witty to say. Yet still, he opened his muzzle. "That's great. So when you started this war, was it something you did for everyone else or was it something you wanted? Did you want puppies? Is that why you started this war?"

Moonclaw's eyes flashed and his big paw came rushing forward. Hunter had time to consider that he didn't have the time to summon Zero Hour but Ashwing was resting over his shoulder. Eton and Elena were already moving to defend him as well. He was halfway to pulling out Ashwing when...

Harm Chronos stepped in between him and Moonclaw, striding past them casually and muttering 'excuse me' very softly. That smirk was on his features again. Everyone froze. Even Leandros stopped his speech as the Chronomancer walked up to the entrance of Ironfrost's castle. The Chronomancer turned but his eyes were directed to the sky.

Then he began waving.

"Heeeeey! Heeeeey!" he shouted, waving his arms wildly through the air. "Can you see me!? Blink once if you can't and twice if you can!"

...

Okay, he's absolutely nuts.

Chronos scowled playfully and placed his paws on his hips. "Awww, come on, I know you're there."

Eton leaned close to Hunter's ears. "Is he being haunted by a little creepy girl too?"

"It would explain so much," Hunter replied.

Chronos rolled his eyes. "Come on, man. It's been over two and a half millennia since we saw each other. The least you could do is say 'hi' in person instead of hiding behind a ship's cloaking device." The Wulfun wagged a finger into the sky. "If you don't come out, I'll have to drag you out."

...

Hunter took a step away from Chronos.

He's nuts!

Sighing, the Chronomancer gave a shrug and formed a little gun with his fingers. "You asked for it..." His tone became less playful and utterly dangerous, dripping with cocky menace. "...Titus Shockarm."

... What!?

Chronos pulled the trigger to his 'gun'. "Bam!"

A loud, electrical buzzing filled the air followed by a high pitched keening that forced Hunter to his knees. He managed to glance over his shoulder, eyes widening in horror. The sky was suddenly filled with electricity. The gargantuan shape of blessed Deomian metal appeared out of thin air. Gun barrels, missile batteries and menacing ionised beam cannons came into view. A hanger filled with fighters appeared followed shortly by the thick, bulky frame of the main body...

The enormous seven hundred and fifty-metre long, bulky, blocky frame of a Tiberius Class battleship came into view. Its main body was connected to secondary frame on its right flank by thick pipes and a fifty metre, thickly armoured walkway. The secondary body held the ships' hanger and could be used as a lifeboat if it ever went down. Like the rest of the ship, it was brimming with weaponry. Mighty engines roared behind it, filling the air with heavy charged molecules while large, discs glowing eerily blue dotted its underside; the anti-gravity discs that kept it well in the air despite its enormous bulk.

Chronos turned his 'gun' to the right. "Bam!" The air buzzed and more of that high-pitched screeching. He seemed unaffected and turned to the left. "Bam!"

Two supporting ships appeared. Each of them were blocky just like the Tiberius. Much smaller though. The one of the right sported an enormous cannon just underneath its bridge that took up the majority of its frame. The one on the left had dozens of smaller cannons on its flank.

"Holy shit..." Hunter stammered, falling onto his rear and scrambling back. "A Tiberius..." His eyes went to the right most ship. "...Antioch..." And to the left. "...Carthage... Warships..."

"Old retrofitted and most likely to be retired ships," Chronos said, stepping forward and smirking at the ships. "Titus was really scraping the bottom of the barrel to get these hunks of junk." He smiled directly at Hunter. "You wanted to know why we should look for Smallfang? Well..." He pointed straight upwards. "That's why."

The guns on the ship came alive.

Huge bullets the size of a man and designed to pierce powerful kinetic shielding and thick armour came shooting out of cannons the size of entire houses! Missiles - technology that was far out of Incendius' reach - came shooting out of batteries, leaving ionised trails that looked like glistening, blue streaks in the air.

Entire houses were torn to shreds in a matter of seconds. The beautiful, glistening, white brick was ripped apart from strong foundations, thrown aside like flaming confetti. Terrible explosions ripped across all of Ironfrost. Fires were instantly started, ripping across hundreds of streets and throwing acrid, black plumes of smoke into the air.

A loud rumbling began filling the air. Hunter spied one of the many beam cannons on the Tiberius' flank starting to glow.

"Run!" he screamed. "Everyone run!"

He was on his feet and bolting across the street when the first strike came.

An enormous beam of superheated plasma came shooting out of the cannon, falling upon the streets like a glistening, purple rod of death. It burned right through buildings without pausing, leaving only a smouldering pile of charred rubble. Even from about a hundred metres away from the blast, Hunter could feel the heat emanating from the weapon. His fur was on edge from the charge in the air.

He watched as the two smaller ships began to turn in the air, suspended by their powerful anti-gravity units and propelled by their engines. He caught sight of the names of the ships on their flanks as they turned.

The Antioch was the H2GB Malicious Spear and the Carthage was the H2LC Wings of Damnation.

Those ships... They're ships Captain Rushwater knew about... Part of the junk fleet she commands... but never had the people to man...

The Malicious Spear turned its massive gun barrel past the gates of Ironfrost. Tiny beams of blue light began shooting out of the barrel, much smaller than the gun should have been able to fire. It took him a moment to realise those were ionising beams. Wherever they were striking, it was ionising the air into a flammable substance.

"Oh shit! No!"

There was a sound like a thunderclap. A blast of blue light erupted from the Malicious Spear's main canon, disappearing beyond Ironfrosts gates.

BOOOOOM!

A titanic eruption shot through the air, a pillar of blue and black smoke that sizzled through the air.

They were firing at the rebels!

The Wings of Damnation began firing its own flank-based beam cannons, filling the air with streams of parallel, scalding light. One suck beam collided with a tower of Ironfrost's castle. It cleaved right through the entire structure. The shattered fragments came raining down into the courtyard of the castle, sending Lupus screaming in horror.

"Titus!" Aria screamed but her voice was being drowned by the roar of the ships weapons and the desperate cries of the Lupus. "What are you doing!? You're killing innocent people!"

As if to reply to her, a beam of light can shooting straight towards her.

Hunter could only watch in horror as Aria stood in mute shock, death rapidly approaching. He found himself screaming her name. Her eyes tore away from the impending death, locked with his. Her mouth was slightly agape like she was wondering why it would end this way.

Suddenly, a white shape stepped in front of her.

Harm Chronos held his paw up in front of the beam. Golden runes and glistening images of cogs appeared in front of his fingertips. The beam just... halted where it was. While the light kept being pumped straight into the same location, it did not proceed further. In fact, it almost seemed like it was growing, gathering into an enormous, blistering ball.

Whoever was manning the beam cannon had enough sense to stop firing.

Chronos let out a soft chuckle.

Then flicked his paw to the right.

The ball of light shot straight towards the Malicious Spear. The ship was too preoccupied with its own assignment to see the ball of searing light. Hunter could almost hear the crew's screams as the ball slammed right into its flank. It shattered through the warship's shields with ease, breaking through the glistening, sphere of hexagonal, tessellated segments and smashing right into its flank. Armour was ripped to shreds and burned but the ship was far from done.

"Darn," Chronos said, "I missed."

No you didn't...

Hunter knew ship mechanics inside and out; even old ones like the Antioch. Chronos had disabled the ion cannon of the ship, effectively making it helpless. It had its few guns but the Antioch was a long-ranged support gunboat with favouritism towards its main cannon. It wasn't meant for head on engagements. A reason why it was discontinued; it was too risky to have a horribly slow ship that would become helpless once its directional main cannon was disabled.

Chronos glanced over his shoulder at Aria. "Go. Find Smallfang." His eyes then darted to the Lupus King. "Leandros! Open the city gates! Get everyone inside the city!"

"Are you mad!?" Leandros barked, throwing aside the Lupus who were desperately trying to hurry him away. "I will be letting rebels into my city!"

"Better to survive with an enemy from a civil war than to die at the cannons of a dilapidated warship. Go! Take them to the tunnels beneath the city! The beam cannons will take hours to get through them."

Loud roaring could be heard in short bursts. Hunter's eyes went straight to the Tiberius which was appropriately named the H2B Final Moments. The ships' hangers were wide open and dozens of small dots were streaming out of it.

Fighters... Shit!

The fur on the back of his neck suddenly prickled and his eyes were diverted back to Harm Chronos. The Chronomancer suddenly had a glistening, red feather in his paws, holding it delicately by its stem with his thumb and forefinger. He was holding it at eyelevel.

"Rebirth is nigh, Firefeather_."_

He suddenly swung the feather in a wide arch. Flames erupted from the trinket, surging outwards in a tremendous flare. In a second, he was suddenly holding a glistening, bright red blade shaped like a fiery wing. Its curved face was both beautiful and menacing. The intricately designed, arched cleaver was made exactly for Chronos' paws. Tassels that looked like the tail feathers of a red peacock hung from the hilt of the blade, blowing in the wind.

The Creed... The Seraph Adramalech...

"Go!" Chronos shouted. "I'll hold them off!"

Gungnir was suddenly levelled at his throat. Chronos' golden eyes regarded Aria... and they stood still... Chronos was eyeing her with this, 'Come on, you know you want to' look. It was a cocky and a little but coy. Aria's lips were quivering and her other hand was tightened into a fist. One half of her body wanted to punch him. The other looked... excited. It was just the way her lips were fighting back a smile.

"Not alone," Aria responded. "Gungnir!"

Her spear sprang to life, blossoming a pair of white, glowing, feathered wings. She threw the spear to the ground where it hovered a foot off the air. She stepped onto it, balancing delicately on the weapon as it slowly lifted into the air.

"We'll all help," announced Ford, striding forward and drawing his Valour. "Eton, Serena, help Lord Leandros get those gates open! Ophelia, stay with me! We'll cover the retreat of the survivors! Andy, Tanar, get what remaining Lupus in the city to one place. Get them to wherever those tunnels are!"

BOOM! BOOM!

A nearby building exploded. A fighter flew overhead... only to suddenly stop.

Glistening, silver strings were wrapped across its hull... all leading to Ophelia.

"Yay!" the little, Vulpunus girl exclaimed brightly. "Let's play planes!" She swung her paws blissfully through the air and the fighter was thrown wildly around.

BOOM!

It crashed into another fighter, sending flaming debris everywhere.

"Awww..." Ophelia's sadness was only momentary when she saw more of the fighters streaming by. "Yay! More planes!"

She's crazy!

Chronos gripped his blade in both paws. "Fly, Firefeather," he whispered. Streaks of fiery light shot from the pommel of the weapon and disappeared into his back. The air was suddenly afire with heat. A pair of fiery, red wings sprang from the Chronomancer's back.

"Find Smallfang!" shouted the Chronomancer, his eyes at the ships. Then, softly he added, "Get everyone to safety... Go..."

*****

Chaos ripped across all of Ironfrost with fires and explosions rocking the entire city.

Hunter was left with Elena and Moonclaw, bolting through the city, dodging debris and narrowly avoiding blasts of light, missiles and heavy, kinetic weaponry. They weaved through alleyways to avoid being seen by the ships' sensors.

They dove into one such alleyway just as a rain of heavy, arm-sized bullets came blasting across the street.

"I always thought holy warships fired lasers," Elena panted, sweat rolling off her brow. She wiped the droplets with the back of her hand.

Hunter watched the Final Moments, wondering if Rushwater was on board. "Common misconception," he responded. "Against other ships' shields, energy weapons are great. It wears down kinetic barriers faster than conventional weaponry. Against hulls and other targets, bullets work the best."

"And what of those beams?"

"Usually designed for anti-ship weapons but can be used for anything." He nodded at the ships. "Those are old ships. Old designs. Those beams are pure energy. Great for burning through barriers and moderately effective against hulls. But modern ships use Promethean cannons which fire superheated metal generated from Divine Magic conduits. It's like firing energised lava at people. It tears through barriers and rips through hulls."

Moonclaw slumped against the wall nearby. The heavy stink of his massive body moving filled the air. Suddenly, he didn't seem so much like an alpha... just another scared guy. "Why would the Church need ships that fight other ships?"

"Demons have obtained ship-building technology. They have their own warships in the void. That and sometimes crews turn traitor. Plus there are pirates."

Pirates... I wonder...

Loud screeching filled the air and for a second, he feared it was more fighters. He peeked around the corner and found it was far worse than just a few fighters that the Paladins could dispose of easily. Large, black dots were emerging from the Final Moment's hanger. As they drew closer, he recognised the massive turbine engines built specifically for atmospheric travel instead of the ion engine and anti-gravity plates of the fighters. The broad fuselage and bulky shape dotted with several tear-shaped protrusions on their undersides marked these as not fighters or even bombers.

They were dropships.

"We've got to go," he urged, pulling Elena away.

Moonclaw barred their path. "No! Not this way." Hunter challenged him with a glare. "I know where Smallfang is." The Lupus nodded in the opposite direction back towards where the dropships were gathering. "There is a tunnel on the eastern island. It's an old escape route. It leads past the walls and well into the planes. It's the way Smallfang escaped from Ironfrost in the first place."

Hunter angled his head at the hulking Lupus. "And you know this because...?"

"Don't get any ideas, pup. I heard it from him when we last spoke."

"You met him before and you didn't even flick an ear when your men captured us."

"Because I promised to keep his secret," growled the Lupus. "How was I supposed to know Chronos would unveil it?"

"Because he's a fucking Chronomancer," Hunter growled back. "Just like the same bastard that's bombarding this place." As if to support his claim, a loud, metallic crash hit his ears followed by the screeching of heavily plated doors swinging open. Somewhere nearby, a drop pod had been deployed. "Your suggestion is better than nothing. Lead the way. I don't want to be around when those troops get here."

Moonclaw grunted, looking almost relieved. They quickly charged back the way they came, ducking between streets. Thankfully, with the troops on the ground, the Final Moments' batteries had fallen relatively silent. Occasionally, it would shout out a few blasts here and there but whoever was captaining the ship clearly didn't want his men to die. Whoever he was had balls to stand up to a Chronomancer like Titus.

A loud explosion rippled through the air.

Above them, the cruiser, the Wings of Damnation, was suddenly afire. Explosions rippled across its hull. Its shielding failed and large chunks of its body began falling from the sky in fiery streaks. Escape pods were shooting out of its hull. Hunter wondered if Eton was one of those that helped destroy the monster.

He decided he didn't want to find out or worry about it.

He needed to find Smallfang.

Boom!

Just as they ducked behind a building, a drop pod smashed into the street a short distance away. The large, teardrop-shaped structure was about five storeys tall and built with a small engine to guide its trajectory. The walls of the drop pod slowly peeled open, forming ramps for the dozen or so troops stations inside to come pouring out.

Hunter caught a glimpse of them.

Definitely not military issue. Their attire was a mix and match of military, civilian and assorted armours. Their weapons were custom built as well. They were mercenaries.

The Captain must have just given Titus the ships and not the crew... He must've gotten them here by himself.

Damn, two weeks to gather a crew to man three ships and a ground party...

Hunter pressed his paw against a rear door of the building and was relieved to see it open. He pushed it open, gesturing for the other two to fall silent and snuck inside. Moonclaw had to duck but they managed to make it into the small home. Staying low, they pressed themselves against the walls. The mercenaries barked orders at one another and began charging through the streets.

"Those are guns..." Elena murmured. "Laser guns?"

"No," Hunter responded softly. "Laser guns are only for local police and law enforcement. Lasers take a lot of energy and tend to overheat if you want them to actually slice through flesh. So standard military laser technology is built for short bursts that take ages before a reload is required and only burn the surface. They're used for when you want to capture someone alive." He nodded at the door. "Those guys are wielding kinetic weapons. They're out to kill."

"You know much about military weaponry," grunted Moonclaw.

"Just because I'm a military engineer doesn't mean I'm ignorant of this stuff. We all get trained on the topic in boot camp." He perked his ears then folded them back when he heard more mercenaries charging by. "You'll still find some pretty retro guys and gun nuts wielding laser weapons but you'll find they can't get more than few shots off before their weapons overheat. It's the plasma weapons you'll have to worry about. Oh and the magically infused ones. Generally they're too expensive for mercs like these guys to afford."

"They're mercenaries?" Elena asked. "How can you tell?"

"No standard military uniform. Customised weaponry. Plus they're disorganised. They're sending troops into areas that haven't been secured by bombardment. That's a death sentence right there. They're also running through the streets like madmen. They're loud and aren't even trying to be sneaky." Hunter fished out Zero Hour and whispered its activation phrase. The Valour came into being, causing Moonclaw's eyes to widen. "When fighting an enemy on their home turf, stealth is your best friend."

Moonclaw ducked his head as more mercenaries charged past. "You have a Valour? You are a Paladin?"

"No. I have a Valour. Not a Paladin." He realised Elena was still without a weapon and reached over his shoulder. Pulling Ashwing from its scabbard, he handed it to her. "Take care of this. I'll want it back. I still owe Chronos for stabbing me."

She nodded and gripped the weapon.

BANG!

The door suddenly sprang open. Hunter caught sight of a mercenary's boot and the human foolishly charging in without even checking his surroundings. He was on his feet and slicing through the merc's arm before the man could even see him. Quickly, he gripped the wooden door and threw it back, slamming it right into the face of the merc following the first.

"Go!" he barked.

Elena and Moonclaw were instantly on their feet just as gunfire began ripping through the house. Windows were instantly shattered. Hyper-velocity bullets designed to shatter upon impact after burying into a foe's body as deeply as possible came shooting through the air. Hunter dove for the ground, scrambling to pull his headphones over his ears. The constant rat-tat-tat of guns died away before becoming completely consumed by the heavy rock music of his player.

The world once again became a mess of cogs and gears that only he could understand.

The door sprang open once more. The mercenary beyond was flanked by another two. Hunter could see the opening and he quickly charged back at them. Their guns came rising up but he seized the door and swung it back at them. Before it hit its limit, he kicked the door forward, throwing it off its hinges and into the wildly firing mercenaries. In the confusion, he ducked back into the house and hurled himself through the adjacent window. He rolled into a crouch beside the left side mercenary who was still reeling from the door being sent at him. Hunter charged at the man, using his superior bulk to through the tall equine nonhuman off his feet and hurl him into the other flanking mercenary. The merc that got hit by the door was just recovering when Hunter dashed past him, slicing him across the back. That one, simple wound was enough to damn him. As for the other two, as they scrambled on the ground trying to untangle from one another, Hunter jabbed them through their sides with Zero Hour, ending their life.

His danger senses began screaming and he spun around. More mercenaries appeared across the street and the levelled their guns at him. Through his warped vision, he could see the trajectory their bullets would come and he plotted a course, planned his movements. Before the first bullet came shooting out of the barrel, he was already halfway to them, swinging Zero Hour through the air. The bullet collided with the blade before he swung it to slice through the others, taking every bullet down with a simple swing of his sword.

From the look of the cogs that represented the men's vocal chords, they were screaming but he couldn't hear them. Being untrained and unprofessional, the men just kept firing instead of retreating. Hunter mowed them all down, charging at the closest one and slipping behind him, using the wildly firing man as a meat shield and a way to drive the others down. When the mercenaries scattered, Hunter stabbed his prisoner before throwing the rapidly degenerating man into the closest mercenary. The plume of black dust the man became stunned his next target. That momentary distraction was the last thing the man knew.

The other mercenaries turned tail and fled, dropping their weapons.

Panting hard, Hunter pulled his headphones from his ears, returning the world to its natural state.

"Elena," he breathed.

Mildly noting that he had now gained a good three hundred and fifty or so years, Hunter ran back into the house. There were large ice blocks in the front of the building and he followed them. Mercenaries were impaled on icy spikes while others were just frozen inside.

He slipped into an alleyway -

And suddenly found Ashwing levelled at his throat.

"Whoa! Whoa! It's me!"

Elena relaxed. "Thank the Mother Goddess," she sighed, throwing her arms around him in relief. "Are you hurt?"

"Better than ever," he answered, showing her Zero Hour's gauntlet. "Where's Moonclaw?"

Elena nodded behind her where Moonclaw was peering across a broad plaza. They approached the commander quietly.

"See that large gate?" asked the Lupus. Across the plaza, about half a kilometre from them and down a heavily guarded street was an enormous, white gate. The plaza itself had been heavily fortified. The drop pods contained automated sentry guns and looked like the mercenaries had chosen the broad, open place as a kill zone. "Across that is a bridge. That bridge leads to the eastern island and where the exit is. We need to get across that." He eyed Hunter. "Can your Paladin powers get us across?"

"I told you, I'm not a Paladin," he growled.

But considering the Time I've accumulated, I could maybe make it across... it'd hurt like hell though...

"Ooh! Ooh! I can help!"

Hunter yelped and fell back in horror.

Ophelia's broad, crimson face was hanging upside down in front of him. She was grinning broadly, hanging from a thick, silvery rope; her Valour, Atropos.

"Ophelia!" Marshall Artem Ford came leaping down from the roof, nimbly jumping from building to the building until he stood in front of them. "Get down from there."

The young Vulpunus stuck her tongue out at Ford before lowering herself gently.

"Sorry about that," Ford said, rubbing the back of his head in exasperation. "We were taking down some fighters when she decided to come here for some reason." He gave Hunter a smile. "She seems to like you."

"He's big, loud and I like him!" Ophelia exclaimed, dancing from foot to foot.

Um... okay...

Ford turned towards the heavily fortified plaza. "We'll take down those men. You all make it across the bridge and find Leandros' son."

"There's only two of you," Elena protested. "How could you possibly take out all those men? There must be fifty of them!"

Ford smiled darkly and lifted his handgun and Valour, Revolution. "With the two of us, the more people there are, the easier it is to destroy them." He nodded at his sister. "Are you ready, Ophelia? It's play time."

Clapping her hands excitedly, Ophelia danced boldly out into the open, shouting, "Yay! Let's play!"

"Wait!" Hunter cried but Ford lifted a paw, telling him to watch.

Ophelia's silvery scarf suddenly unfurled, the strings all disappearing into the air. The mercenaries instantly spotted her but... they didn't fire. The sentry guns turned... but never fired. Instead... they all turned towards one another... Eyes wide in horror, mercenary turned against mercenary and...

... Fired.

Hunter was left breathless as the entire fortification just tore itself to shreds.

"Atropos," Ford murmured. "Her strings pull at the fates of those foolish enough to be caught in her web. Now it is my turn." The one-eyed Vulpunus stepped forward, lifting his gun. Those mercenaries not under Ophelia's control turned and fired at her. Ford fired back. Blood exploded from the foreheads of those men he shot at.

All of them.

Right between the eyes.

"For a guy with one eye he's a killer shot," Hunter murmured.

"They're buying us an opening!" Moonclaw growled. "Move! Now!"

Hunter shot out of their little hiding spot, bolting across the devastated plaza. As he ran, he spied one mercenary duck behind a metal wall. Their eyes met. Then the man's eyes widened as a bullet pierced his forehead. Hunter glanced over his shoulder. Ford was standing about fifty metres away, right beside a happily dancing Ophelia.

I get it... He never misses...

The two made a devastating combination. Ophelia could control masses of people while Ford could execute them all without prejudice. Just a single shot and it would never miss.

That's downright scary.

The loud roars of engines suddenly hit their ears. Winds blasted them back and Hunter was forced to shield his eyes. A dropship came zooming in front of them, its flanks wide open and chain guns levelled straight at them.

Oh shit!

Suddenly, glistening spears of pure crystal shot down from the sky, piercing the dropship. The spears, larger than any building, impaled the ship into the ground.

"What are you waiting for!?" Aria shouted, still surfing on Gungnir. "Go!"

Hunter gave her a nod of thanks before hurrying past her forest of crystal spears. The roar of fighters came back and he spied Aria and the fiery-winged Harm Chronos moving to intercept them. He watched the two move in perfect coordination. Whenever Aria was being tailed by fighters, Chronos would shoot straight at her. She would dip forward and he would tear through the oncoming fighters, their pilots shocked at the sudden appearance. When Chronos was being dogged, Aria would sweep in from another angle and shoot glistening crystal weapons at them.

It seemed that two and a half thousand years of fighting together was not so easily forgotten.

His legs aching, Hunter shot through the large gates of to Ironfrost's eastern island. He winced at the long, white bridge that crossed the river to the island. Tactically, it was a disaster. No cover, no place to move...

"Fuck it," he growled, pulling his headphones over his ears. He charged across, Elena and Moonclaw right beside him.

Above them, Chronos and Aria kept the fighters at bay. Fiery debris rained down from the skies, landing in the water and splashing them all. One fighter tried to take them down with withering fire from ahead. Hunter saw the path that the bullets were taking and pulled ahead of the others. He swung Zero Hour fast; eliminating the bullets that came shooting down at them. Chronos landed on the fighter's cockpit and drove his sword right through the glass. The fighter exploded into a fiery conflagration a second later.

Winded and suddenly utterly exhausted, Hunter reached the gates to the eastern island. He didn't have the strength to ask Moonclaw where the escape tunnel Smallfang took was. He just followed the Lupus across the relatively small island, past pristine white buildings, ruined, fiery streets and a massive, garden...

"What...?" he began, looking around. In a city that looked like it was made completely out of white ice, it was strange to find a plot of verdant land. The trees all bore fruit, untouched by the battle and the grass beneath his boots was well-kempt. The garden, probably around a hundred metres wide and half as long, had only a few seats here and there. They approached one particular tree, a strange, white tree with ruby-red leaves that held a rope swing on one of its branches.

"They call this the Moonrise Garden," Moonclaw panted, wincing as he wiped his brow. For the first time, Hunter noticed the gashing wound on the Lupus' shoulder. It looked like a bullet form a fighter had torn through it. Taking notice of his concern, Moonclaw said, "It is nothing. My regeneration is taking care of it." He nodded towards the garden. "The Lupus take pride in this place. They say that it is the only proof that they are not a savage people." He flicked his ears. "Come, Smallfang shouldn't be -"

"There!" Elena shouted.

At first, Hunter didn't see where she was pointing. Then, amidst the ruby leaves of the white tree, he spotted the hulking figure of the Lupus prince. They approached slowly. Hunter was afraid to find Smallfang dead... Thankfully, the Lupus was wide awake... and rolling a ruby red apple in his paws.

"Smallfang..." Elena began.

"Does the sins of the father carry over to his offspring?" asked the Lupus softly. "Should my father's crimes affect my life? Just because I was born a Lupus, should I be punished?" His claws dug into the apple, tearing through the ruby flesh with the juices running down his paw. "Why should my father's lust, my mother's desperate need for love and the world's prejudices affect me!? I did not ask for any of this! Why start a war over me!?"

He was asking Moonclaw, his brown eyes blazing with confusion and anger.

"This is not just about you," countered Moonclaw. "This is about the Lupus, about Incendius and all of Tower Thirteen! Stop being so selfish! Don't you see what your birth means? The Lupus don't have to be slaves to the Church anymore! We don't have to constantly guard the south from a threat that doesn't exist! You saw Malfemir! He isn't an enemy! The Darkened are just another race oppressed by the Church!"

"Then that's your business!" roared Smallfang. "You know the truth! Use it! Do not use me as your idol or your martyr! Leave me out of it! My life is my own!"

"Your life is never your own!" shouted Moonclaw, shaking a fist at him. He pointed an accusing finger at the Lupus prince. "Whether you like it or not, we must all exist with others and as we exist, we affect everyone else!"

"Consequences..." Hunter murmured softly, his mind drifting back to his conversation with Shinniah. "The consequences of our actions affects others..."

"Yes, exactly," said Moonclaw. "Everything we do affects others. Your flight from your birth right -"

Smallfang threw the apple angrily at the commander. It struck Moonclaw's chest, shattering and splattering the Lupus' chest with sweet, sticky juices. "Birth right!? I am not supposed to exist! How can you call that a 'birth right'!? And speaking of birth rights, why don't you tell your child about hers!?"

Wait, what...?

Moonclaw was suddenly very alarmed. "Smallfang, we agreed -"

"Our agreement is at an end ever since you decided that you would aid my escape only to use me again for your own machinations. Elena..." His eyes narrowed dangerously at her. "Meet your father, Cornelius Clox."

Hunter's jaw dropped.

Elena, eyes wide spun to face Moonclaw.

Just the look the commander's eyes - that look of fear, shock and shame - it damned it.

Then Elena said the one word that clinched the situation, breaking Moonclaw's heart.

"Daddy...?"