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Why...? Why do I go on...? Why do I go on through this pain and suffering, through this neverending torture?

I sped onto the highway that led into Nurakami, cutting through the wrecks that littered the street. The other side of the highway was bustling with everyone trying to escape the city... they were all idiots, this path would get them killed...

Sure enough, I heard the roar of a jet above us, and a Murria bomber flew overhead, dropping its payload of death across the opposite end of the highway. Vehicles and bodies flew, burning like comets in the morning sky. I had to swerve to dodge one, and then quickly right myself to avoid another.

People on the opposite lane, separated by roadblocks from my lane, started leaping out of their cars and running through the maze of vehicles, hoping that the firebombs didn't destroy them. But the bomber was turning around...

I sped past a welcome sign to Nurakami as I entered, quickly speeding down an exit ramp. The old jeep was rattling, but I wasn't sure if it was from the vibrations from the bombing or the vehicle's age itself.

The streets were utter chaos. People were fleeing in every direction, dodging cars and bullets. Murria forces patrolled the streets, gunning down everyone.

I sped down four city blocks before screeching around a corner, almost flattening a Vaux in the process. But that Vaux was running from a firing squad of Murria just down the street.

I ducked down as I smashed through them, their bullets tearing holes in the chassis of the jeep and shattering the windshield. One body bounced over the jeep, and I took that as my cue to get back up. I put my goggles on and took another turn.

Another bombing run flew overhead, tearing holes in the massive skyscrapers around me. One of the buildings started collapsing out ahead; I darted past before it blocked the road.

I screeched down another path and caught the Spire-city in my sights. It was being viciously bombed, and leaning a bit to the left. I was frightened... would Nurakami fall?

Then I realized something- the hospital that Nilus and Malek were in was under the shadow of the Spire-city. If it fell, they would be crushed!

I jammed the jeep into the highest gear, and something started grinding. I didn't care; I had to get there fast.

Suddenly, a Murria jeep came speeding in ahead of me, firing in my direction from a rear-mounted turret. The bullets ripped through my jeep, and one hit me in the shoulder, throwing me back for a moment. I pulled myself up and swerved out of the way, crashing through the glass lobby of one business building. I rolled through and came out at the opposite end, my hood aflame with what seemed to be napalm.

I glanced up as I sped down the road- a bombing run had just hit that building, covering it with flammable liquid; and some had gotten on my jeep. Shit.

More bullets flew past, and one took out my rear left tire. I struggled to keep my jeep driving straight, sparks flying high. The path to the hospital was now short- I had to get on a raised highway, travel it for another mile, and then exit it again. That was all I had left...

A bombing run shattered the road ahead of me, forcing me to dart to the side; my busted tire making the turning difficult. But then something happened- the turret got lucky. Another one of the bullets penetrated my other rear tire, and it blew out in a massive explosion. No, no- this won't happen.

'You won't stop me!' I screamed, flooring the gas as I sped onto the highway. I leapt up the exit ramp, landing hard. But I kept going, the hood now almost gone due to the napalm.

Another bombing run smashed the highway ahead, tossing wrecks of cars into the air like they were toys. I leapt across the new hole, losing one of my rear wheels in the process. No, I can't lose this. I just can't...

A bullet blew a hole in my right ear, making me yip in pain. I was no stranger to pain, but that actually hurt... And it stunned me just enough to not see the wreck that was in front of me. I collided with the wreck at a massive speed, and my seat belt snapped. I felt myself getting thrown through the air, hitting the hard, cold concrete viciously, and skidding across it for nearly twenty feet. I tried to get up, but I think I broke my arm...

One of the Murria jeeps halted next to me, and the occupants jumped out. The gunner was a Murria was a false beak and dark blue feathers, the other had bright red. They stood over me as I tried to get up, hurting everywhere. The pain, the blood...

'Heh, look at this one. So young, too...' The red one commented.

'He was certainly brave. I like that.' The one with the false beak added. 'Tender, young, and fresh.'

'Command said we need to crush any rebellion here before we can have our way with the Heretics.' The red one said.

'I'm so glad the high priest says it's fair to have a bit of... fun with these monsters.' The blue one laughed, licking his metal beak. 'Throw him in the back of the jeep. We'll deal with him later.'

The red one picked me up by the collar of my jacket, and with absurd strength, tossed me into the back of the jeep, right next to the turret. I cried out in pain when I landed; they had thrown me on my broken arm.

'Oh, did the little boy land on his boo-boo?' The red one chortled. I growled as he was getting up to the turret, and he kicked me in the face because of it. I started whimpering; he had hit me in my already black eye.

'Well, don't damage the goods, man! Stun him a bit if you want, but don't damage the thing!'

Thing. Is that what we were to the Murria? Just things...? Things for them to have their ways with, things that could be kicked around. We were at the bottom of their spiritual ladder; I think they counted earthworms above us...

I knew what the blue one had in mind, and I didn't want to get violated again. I had suffered enough pain. Enough torment.

My gun had survived the crash; it was under my coat. I used my one good arm to reach in and slowly grab it; the jeep was moving and neither of the Murria noticed my movements. But who should I shoot? The driver, and risk the agony of another crash? Or the gunner, and risk the driver attacking me?

I felt the handle and grasped it, several of my fingers crying out in pain; their pain turning into a chorus when I pulled the gun out. Tears ran down my cheeks, but I tried not to sob- they would hear me if I did.

I raised my gun and fired it at the gunner, blowing the top half of him into bits. The recoil smashed my arm into the floor, making me cry out in pain again. Then the driver spun around to see me aiming my gun at his face. It was unloaded, but he didn't know that- there were two barrels, after all.

'Take me to the Central Nurakami hospital. Now.' I spat. He stared down the barrel intently.

'No.' He smiled. 'You have no bullets.'

He was about to grab me when the Spire-city high above us started to groan loudly, and it tumbled over. The massive weight smashing to the ground created a gigantic shockwave that threw up huge clouds of dust and made a lot of noise, shaking the both of us and shrouding us in dust. I took advantage of the moment and grabbed the soldier's belt- each Murria soldier held a knife at his belt. I yanked it off, pulled it out, and stabbed the soldier multiple times in the crotch. He fell down, screaming in pain, and then I slammed the knife into his skull. I then pushed his corpse off of me and clambered out of the jeep, barely standing. My right side was bloodied; my arm was broken, and that whole side was shredded and bleeding. I also walked with a heavy limp, too... My ears were ringing from the collapse. You could drive a car behind me right now and I wouldn't hear.

I started limping down the exit ramp, towards where the Spire-city had collapsed. I was crying as I walked- Malek and Nilus had to be dead. They had to be- the hospital was right in the center of the collapse...

I clenched my hands around the handle of my gun... I had lost so much; so many friends and family...

I put my gun away; my other arm hung limply, so I couldn't reload. I would bear so many scars. Oh god, why does this happen to me...? Why me...?

I fell to my knees, whimpering in agony. My right knee had been shredded almost to the bone, and it was throbbing violently.

'Why...? Why can't someone save me...? Why can't this torment end...?' I muttered through the tears.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of vehicles roaring up the exit ramp, and I limped to the side. A Vaux jeep sped past, and behind it was a field ambulance. It was an interesting vehicle, with two small treads on either side. The back was a large cube, and the front was a cage cockpit, with a small machine gun mounted within. The cube bore a large red cross, and the whole vehicle was covered in scratches. The one window in the center of the cross had shattered.

The field ambulance screeched to a halt next to me, and the back doors were swung open. A familiar bandaged face popped out.

'Azeus! Get in!' Nilus yelled over the din of another bombing in the distance. I staggered back up and almost fell in, dizzy from the loss of blood. Nilus helped me in and onto the one stretcher within. I noticed there was a Vaux nurse inside, and the driver was a Nizani.

'Oh, by Rui... what happened?' Nilus asked me. The Nurse pushed her away as she went to try to staunch the bleeding.

'Crashed trying to get here... Agh, this hurts...' I cried.

'Then stop moving, silly boy! I'm trying to patch you up!' The nurse exclaimed. She worked quickly, wrapping my larger injuries in gauze. She was careful with the knee, though.

'I'm glad you made it, but damn...' Nilus commented. 'Is your father...?'

I shook my head vigorously, my neck being the only join that didn't hurt to move. I was tearing up.

'I lost him, damn it. He died protecting me, even though he had beat me the night before... I lost him...'

'May Rui protect his spirit... I'm sorry, Azeus. I truly am.'

'Is your father... Ack!' I exclaimed. We hit a bump in the road, and the nurse accidentally jammed a blood feed into my arm in the wrong spot. Some explosions rocked the ambulance.

'He's fine, just behind us in the caravan! We fled with what we could a few minutes before the spire collapsed.' Nilus explained.

'Oh, thank the stars...' I cried, happy that at least Malek and Nilus made it out alive.

A bomber blew up the other part of the raised highway, throwing concrete through the air and taking out the back vehicle of the caravan. We had nearly ten vehicles to start with, hopefully we'll make it out with most of them.

'Rui, save us!' Nilus cried when another bomber came past, weakening the bridge further. The first one soared past the other way, riddling the caravan with bullets. The driver ahead of us was killed, and the vehicle crashed. We were losing people!

'This is going to be rough!' The driver said from the front. He swerved the ambulance sharply, dodging a massive chunk that was missing from the road. He then sped back into the lane; and we were promptly met with a large force of soldiers who started firing upon us. Bullets blasted through our ambulance, shredding the driver with a cry of agony and injuring the nurse, who fell to the ground. The driver's corpse was still holding down the gas pedal, so we blasted through the force with a tide of blood and gore.

I staggered up from the stretcher, holding my broken arm steady as I walked towards the driver's seat. I then leapt over, shoved the dead Nizani out, and Started driving with my one good arm.

'Where we going?' I asked over the din of the gunfire behind us. Another caravan vehicle exploded in an inferno.

'Out! We thought this would lead us from the city.' Nilus explained. An explosion rocked the highway, and one of the doors was blown open. The nurse, who was trying to get up, was thrown down again. Nilus was trying to help her.

'The highways are packed with cars; and are easy targets! We need to take the smaller roads!' I exclaimed, Sending us down an exit ramp. The others followed.

As we drove, a building ahead of us was violently bombed. Glass rained down on us, and the building started to collapse. It didn't crush anyone- but it split us up. The others were split from us.

'Shit! Radio Malek, tell the others to go right and follow that road; it'll take them out of the city, but it's risky!' I yelled.

'Right! We'll meet them there, right?' Nilus asked.

'We damn well should!' I yelled, screeching around another corner. We just narrowly dodged an explosion that rocked the street, collapsing multiple buildings. The inferno that the city had become was overwhelming...

I sped down the street, crashing through the fires that littered it. Napalm was splashed on our side from another explosion, and we actually lost our rear right tread. Sparks started flying.

I took a large, rounded turn up a hill, grinding the rear wheels on the asphalt. The ambulance had enough momentum to smash through a burnt-out wreck that was in the way, but as it flipped over us it dented the front badly, almost catching my legs. We sped onto the road the caravan should be coming down; with a small group of soldiers ahead of us. I reached up and switched on the machine gun, shooting the soldiers down so that we could speed past. That group had already lost some people- I could see the caravan up ahead. They had crashed through the group, but had lost a member in the process; a jeep laid on the side of the road, freshly smashed.

The ground shook from behind us as a plane neared, and with it a volley of missiles. These collided with the nearby buildings, collapsing more. This was utter chaos.

I slammed on the brakes, making the missiles that were homing in on us smash into the road ahead. This forced us back, and around a secondary road. This one had been partially closed off; but we smashed through the makeshift roadblock. Bodies flew as we crashed through another group of soldiers and then sped into the residential sector; the area was full of large houses.

Above us floated a massive monster of a flying machine; a length of metal long enough to be an aircraft carrier, held aloft by several flame-spurting engines and a whole array of gigantic propellers, some hundreds of feet wide. Aircraft were launching from it- so it was an aircraft carrier. But it flew...

I slammed the ambulance into its highest gears, and the sirens automatically switched on. From where the doors hung open behind us, I could see a few jeeps pursuing us.

'We've got company!' Nilus yelled, trying to help the nurse who was bleeding out. The bullet had hit her in the stomach, and the bandages weren't doing much.

I grimaced and tossed Nilus my gun, along with four slugs for it. She stared at them in confusion.

'Use it! You know how to reload it; and be careful about the recoil!' I yelled, slamming the steering wheel hard to the left to dodge a bombing. All of the people had fled or perished by now.

A blast echoed from the back, and I saw one of the two jeeps crash from my rear view mirror- Nilus had taken out the engine.

'Good work! Now the other!' I yelled. Explosions shook the road- a bomber passed by, destroying a line of houses. One of the explosions was so close we almost flipped.

'Azeus! Do you read me?!' Malek yelled over the driver radio. I couldn't reply- my arm was still immovable- so I smashed the reply button with my snout.

'Yeah, I read! I have a broken arm, so I can't reply properly, but I hear you! Are you- Shit!' I cried, swerving out of the way of a tank that had suddenly appeared in the road. The tank shell blew up a building to my right, including its occupants that were fleeing.

'Azeus! I'm here, damn it! Keep driving eastwards, right? We'll meet you in the wastes; just follow the signal! And keep Nilus alive!' Malek yelled.

I smashed the reply button again with my nose; that time it hurt. 'They should turn away when we get out there! Just keep driving! Nilus is fine, don't worry! We'll make it!' I yelled. A volley of machine gun fire tore its way through the ambulance, killing the nurse, grazing Nilus, and hitting me in the side. I yelled in pain, and almost lost control. But I clenched tightly onto the steering wheel, and kept driving. Nilus fired again; this shot took out the second jeep's driver with a blast of gore, and the jeep crashed into a building.

'Your gun has a lot of knockback, Azeus! Why the hell do you use it?' Nilus asked, climbing up to the cockpit with me.

'I use it to tear wings off of planes.' I commented. I jumped a curb, and started speeding out into the snow. I could see the remains of the caravan out there too; three jeeps and the other ambulance. I started towards them.

'We lost that nurse.' Nilus commented, looking sorrowfully at the body. She also pulled her foot up- she was standing on the body of the original driver.

'I couldn't even tell her thanks.' I said to myself. I was still covered in my own blood, and rather weak.

'Can you take the wheel? We're close to the caravan, and we're out of the range of the bombers...' I added.

'Oh, sure.' Nilus said, taking the wheel as I limped out of the chair. I sat down inside the main compartment, on the floor. One person has only so much blood.

I staggered up and grabbed the blood transfusion that the nurse was trying to give me and stabbed it into my arm, hoping that I did it right. Vaux blood is Vaux blood, there shouldn't be problems with it.

But I still lost consciousness.

Mother... Father... You're both here now... I'm sorry to have failed you...

Why did you both leave me alone in this damnable world...? It's like you left me to die...

I cannot hold them off forever... I cannot fight for peace alone...

My heart still pounded in my chest, thundering strong. It pounded on in the search of hope, in the search of peace. Even if things seemed like they could not be overcome, I would have to try...

'Azeus... please, wake up... You've saved me again and again, I can't lose you...'

I slowly cracked open my eyes and found myself inside the other ambulance. The only way I was able to tell was because this one had less bullet holes, and both Malek and Nilus were sitting in there with me. A heart monitor quietly beeped nearby, its sensors taped onto my wrist. A blood infusion was slowly trickling into me, moved from where I had stabbed it in myself. Nilus was also over me, and she smiled when I opened my eyes.

'Oh, Rui... Azeus, I don't know how you survive it all. I really don't.' Nilus commented.

'I barely make it out.... haha, that's how it always works.' I groaned. They had my broken arm in a sling, and a long length of bandage covered most of my left leg.

'And it seems I have to thank you for saving my daughter once again, Azeus Vaux.' Malek stated. 'And myself, for that matter. I'm sorry about Nurakami. Wasn't it the capital city?'

'Technically, yes...' I replied, sitting up and tearing the heart monitor sensor from my wrist. '...Otdykh is our other main city, and the secondary capital. If something was to happen to Nurakami, all remaining armies would go to protect Otdykh... Remaining political officers and military officers would go there, and a retaliatory effort would be made. I'm pretty sure that city's just about impenetrable now...'

'Is it from that monster of a ship, the Murria flying fortress?' Malek asked.

'There's never been anything like that except maybe the old War Engines of Lore, so I don't know. Actually, is that one of the old Engines? Did the Murria find one? Because those engines...' I started, but I burst into a fit of coughing. I was hurt bad.

'Don't strain yourself, Azeus! Please.' Nilus exclaimed, trying to hold me steady. The fit stopped, and I let out a hoarse thanks.

'We can radio some of the border outposts at Ablehnea, call for pickup. From there we can take another flight and get to our capital in a few days.'

'The Vaux may take the movement of even one plane into their lines as an attack right now; we best just drive there.' I recommended.

'But that'll take much longer; we hardly have the food or supplies.' Malek replied.

'There's usually a town every fifty miles or so. How many of my brothers and sisters do we have in the caravan...?'

'We used to have nearly twenty of them. Now, there's only five, from what I've heard. They're all drivers, except one. He's usually a pilot, and he actually knew Nilus. Says he was the one who got you two here.'

I chuckled to myself. The pilot who I had met in the bomber- Lycoris- had somehow found his way into the caravan. 'Yeah, I know him too. When we near a town, send them in and tell them to ask for supplies. knowing the patriotism of most Vaux, they'll get supplies probably cheaply, if not for free.'

'Alright, there's some good logic behind that.' Malek replied. 'Get the caravan moving again! Let's get going!'

Suddenly, the ambulance sputtered to life and started driving. We were on our way.

We travelled for only an hour until we saw the smoke. It was pitch black, and it billowed up into the air quietly. It forbode the worst.

I was soon sitting up at the front with the Vaux driving, an older woman named Gilia Vaux. She had greying fur, and bore a few missing patches. She also wore a pair of dirty brown slacks with thick boots, and a simple woolen jacket that was grey. Obviously not military.

'That cannot be good.' Gilia muttered to herself, shaking her head as she sped up. As we passed the crest of the last hill, we saw the ruins. The town was a small one; only about fifty or so houses, but half of them were farms and all had been totally obliterated. Napalmed. But this fire seemed more intense, and the smoke was different. A different formula...?

'The bombers have been here too!' I exclaimed. Nilus peered over my shoulder.

'Oh no...' Nilus muttered.

'Any remaining supplies that may have been there are probably burnt to hell now. Hey, mister Nizani, what's the orders?' Gilia yelled into the back of the ambulance. Malek could see the ruins, too.

'The name's Malek, driver. And wait here... We have no other choice. I'll need to radio in for pickup.' Malek replied, and then he gave the driver a very specific radio wavelength.

'Is this wise?' I asked.

'Probably not. but it's our only choice now.'

The radio crackled to life, with a few utterings on the other side. 'Hey, do you read me? Respond, border patrol! This is naval commander Malek Disanti, here with my own daughter and about twenty refugees! We need pickup!'

There was what seemed to be a few words thrown between people on the other side, and then a response. 'We read you, commander Malek. Where is your location?' A flat voice replied.

'Thank Rui for that. We're about fifty miles to the east of the remains of Nurakami; nearby a smaller bombed out town. There's three jeeps and two ambulances in the caravan; we're not far from this town's ruins.' Malek replied.

'Roger that; we know the area. We have a bomber in the area; it'll come to pick you up soon.' The voice on the other end replied, and the radio shut itself off.

'They have troops in the area?' Gilia asked, confused. 'The Murria attacked, not you guys.'

'Unless... No, they wouldn't. They wouldn't dare.' Malek said to himself, sitting back down inside the back. I went in there with him, and Nilus sat down next to her father.

'Who wouldn't dare?' I asked.

'Do you know how Nizani military movements work? Well, the big ones anyhow?' Malek asked. I shook my head. 'We have the admiral and then three commanders; Air, Land, and then Sea. One controls the Army, another the Air Force, and then there's me with the Navy. But no matter what military movements may happen, we need to get approval from the other three. The admiral has the highest authority on matters, but no matter what, he cannot do any movements without the consent of the three commanders. It's a strange way of doing it, but it assures that the movements are well thought out. But tensions tend to be high between commanders- if those bastards somehow got Nizani forces to ally with the Murria to take control of part of Severnaya, then things may just have to change. Especially seeing as they all knew I was here.'

'Are you saying that your own fellow commanders are trying to kill us, father?' Nilus asked. I was a bit startled.

'They may be. Keep on guard, even when in the plane.' Malek replied, with a hint of anger in his voice.

'This war makes monsters of all of us.' I commented. Malek nodded.

'I still have control and support; if those treacherous bastards killed me normally, they'd get some serious backlash. They must of been trying to make it look accidental. either that or they're going to pass me off as corrupt and delivering secrets to the enemy or something.'

'Even the sides are fighting themselves. The war has turned to shit.' I muttered to myself.

A bomber came by the pick us up later; landing in the snow almost silently. The Nizani pilots wore different flying gear; with a full helmet that covered over their short beaks and a leather, double buttoned jacket. A few of the jackets had thick collars to cover the neck, and they also wore long leather gloves and black leather pants. The helmets all had a green stripe running down them.

They picked us up without even saying a word to most of us, and we were flying towards the capital city of Hauptstadt in short time. The twenty or so of us were sitting in the back of the very empty bomb bay, silently. I noticed that there was some napalm in here, to one side- looked like the rest had been deployed.

I was sitting across from the other young pilot, Lycoris. He bore a few new injuries, including a large bandage around his upper right arm.

'You survived, Azeus. I'm glad to see that.' Lycoris said to me, his voice full of fatigue.

'I don't know how I did it, to be honest.' I replied.

'I had so much to lose. My family was down there. My chances at being an officer gone too, torn from me by these damned feathered zealots!' Lycoris yelled. Some of the Nizani gave him weary glances.

'Calm yourself, man. We all lost things.' I told him, placing my one good hand on his shoulder.

'Damn it, what the hell did you lose?! I had a brother and both of my parents down there in that blaze; they were torn from me by the damned Murria!' Lycoris exclaimed.

'Hey, I lost my father too; he was the only member of my family left! Now stop ranting and raving; you'll be able to mourn for them later.' I told him.

'I didn't even think you had any family left, you dirty traitor!' Lycoris yelled at me. He obviously knew my past. One of the Nizani survivors- part of Malek's guard- was laying his hand on his sidearm.

'That was a long time ago.' I told him. Lycoris stood up suddenly.

'It still matters, you damned fool! You probably lead them to Nurakami so that we wouldn't attack again, you pacifist bastard!' Lycoris snapped, punching me in the jaw. I stopped his next swing, and one of the Nizani guards knocked him down while the others stood up and pointed their guns at him. Nilus moved over to me and helped me wipe the blood from my jaw- Lycoris punched me with his claws out.

'Damn it, you Vaux! We're getting you out of there; the Murria may be similar to us, but we aren't the same!' The guard yelled. He was on top of him, stabbing his gun into his ear. 'You need to learn that, or we'll throw you out of the damn plane!'

'You alright...?' Nilus asked.

'Yeah. Didn't see that coming...' I replied.

'Hey, you Vaux- calm yourself down, for Rui's sake!' Malek yelled. 'The Murria instituted this attack; not us! And if my people did do it... well, it was against my orders.'

'See? See! They probably did do it! You damnable sonovabitch feathered-' Lycoris screamed again, but this time was clubbed over the head by the guard on top of him, knocking him out.

'Lunatic.' The Nizani guard muttered as he picked Lycoris up by the collar. He placed him back in his chair, and the other guards sat down. That one guard gave Gilia a weary glance, and the woman replied with a shrug. The guard sighed and sat back down.

'I don't blame him for losing it. That was our homeland that was torn from us. Eradicated in a matter of hours. The Vaux have had that land since the dawn of time; or at least since the earliest of what records we have left. Generation upon generation have been born and lived there, although they may have died upon foreign soil. Hundreds of thousands of my brothers and sisters have given their lives to protect that snowy land; and it was all lost in a brief moment of time considering its history.' I stated. I held my head in my hands. 'I just wish I could have done something to save it...' I wept.

'The Vaux will come back from this. I know they will. Tell him, Father!' Nilus consoled me, hugging me at the same time. I winced in pain from my broken arm, and she pulled back.

'I'll be honest, I don't know if they will.' Malek replied. I sobbed harder, knowing that there was probably no hope for my "family". Not with that flying fortress.

'Father!' Nilus exclaimed, irritated.

'I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Unless we can destroy that flying fortress, the Murria will be tearing their way through the land, capturing all of it in the name of Rui. The Hebii won't even bother unless it attacks their land; so it's up to us and what remains of the Vaux.' Malek replied. One of the other caravan survivors- an older Vaux with a worried expression on his face- turned to Malek.

'But I just want to have a home to return to. There hasn't been any major territorial captures like this for many, many years. I don't know how we could ever regain the territory we lost.'

'I will do everything I can. I want peace as much as the next man-' Malek replied, but he stopped when he noticed the man on his other side was one of his guards. '...as Azeus does. And I will certainly do everything I can to make it so.'

'Thank you, Malek. At least I know I have a friend or two in high places.' I said, wiping away some of the tears.

'You saved my daughter multiple times and saved me once, too. Least I can do.'

I smiled and then tried to rest.

We soon reached Ablehenea. The major characteristic about the Nizani homeland were its forests- They covered most of the land, and stood in some areas hundreds of feet off of the ground. Most had trunks nearly fifty feet wide, and some even had homes carved inside. The spire cities here were taller than all others so that they could reach over the trees.

The forest floor, on most occasions, was a place rife with monsters. Mutants made during the time of the old War Engines of Lore are said to live down there; killing any ignorant travellers. Another legend says there's a tribe of beings that were the creation of intermingling between the Murria and Nizani, and other legends even say that there's one of the actual War Engines down there; overgrown and fallen over, but still in an operable shape.

Most Nizani cities that weren't spire cities were one of two things- they were either built within the largest trees that sometimes towered over the forest, more than a thousand feet in height, or some cities rest on the surface of the multiple lakes in Ablehenea, held aloft by an elaborate maze of buoyancy devices and anchors. There are roads in Ablehenea, but they're only through clearings, where the massive trees were cut down to give room for the road. In several areas, the road actually goes over the huge stumps. Ablehenea, in stark contrast to Azuma, its neighbor, was a lush, vibrant place where food and water was hardly an issue. The issue was choosing what you were going to eat and drink, not if.Hauptstadt was an interesting city; not a conventional one either. The city itself had the construction of a spire city- metal buildings and all- but it was constructed around the trunk of the largest tree in the land, and so the city itself stood hundreds of feet above the ground. Hauptstadt also had two layers- the second layer built right over the first, shadowing it. They both somehow were supported on the massive tree's trunk that was nearly two hundred feet in width. From what I knew, the trunk itself was heavily guarded.

The city's base tree grew near a massive river that lead to the ocean, and a large part of the Nizani naval forces stood there. Nizani war boats were heavily armored, with solid metal hulls and rows upon rows of artillery cannons inlaid inside the hulls. On each one, a variety of humongous cannons watched the skies.

A long landing pad was set up for us, and we landed without trouble. The group was lead out.

The landing pad itself was made from metal, and it was balanced precariously on the Hauptstadt city tree's branches. Those scared me; the branches weren't very wide at all.

'Don't worry about the landing pad, Vaux. It's precisely crafted for this sort of landing, and it's much stronger than it looks.' One the posted guards said to me. The city guards wore plate armor, carried assault rifles, and wore helmets similar to the ones the pilots wore. A single green stripe ran down the helmet and the center of their armor.

'Considering the age of this place, I'll believe you.' I said. The guard smiled and retook his post.

The group of survivors was led down a long walkway that was balanced on one of the branches, so its path was a little erratic. This path led to a thin stairwell, and then we entered the city.

Hauptstadt was a packed city, with thin streets that were spaced between the compact buildings. Crowds milled about, most seemingly with purpose. Most were also Nizani, but a few of the other three species could be seen about. A Hebii negotiating a deal with a streetside vendor, a colorful Murria having a chat with a local on a doorstep, that sort of thing.

'Take the others to a place for them to stay. Find them a hotel or something. Here-' Malek said to one of the guards. He handed the guard a slip of paper with his signature on it. '-just wave that in front of the manager, and he'll give them the rooms.'

'What about that one, sir?' The guard asked, pointing to Lycoris. He was still out cold, and a guard was carrying him over his shoulder.

'Do the same.' Malek said. Right before we split up, Gilia came over to me.

'You be careful, young brother. Who knows what may be around?' Gilia said to me.

'I'll be fine.' I replied.

'You better.' The old female said, before walking off with the other survivors. Malek's guards who survived the inferno came with us.

As we walked through the tight streets, Malek informed us- well, mostly me- on how the city worked.

The government officials, like in seemingly any city, lived above the people. The second layer of the city is mostly to the richer Nizani, Where they lived in decadence. The poorer laborers and soldiers still lived decently; a large difference between the poor/rich castes of the neighboring Hebii. Travel between layers was allowed, although not many did it except on military matters. Food was shipped up there, and everything they could ever want was in this tree. Why would they leave?

Malek, along with the other big four commanders, lived in one of the tallest towers, standing right in the center of the top layer. The tower itself was supported with the much smaller trunk.

Soon, we entered the checkpoint. Even though travel between layers was free to anyone, there were security checkpoints going up. The checkpoint was just a handful of Nizani with guns and a few rotating gates. The path up was one of six large elevators.

'Halt! We need to check...sorry, sir.' One of the Nizani guardsmen said, only noticing Malek halfway into his statement.

'No harm done, guard. How's the state of things?' Malek asked, stopping at the checkpoint. We stopped behind him.

'As you should know sir, we have recently allied ourselves with the Murria-' The guard started, but Malek interrupted him.

'What? They would do that without my consent? Damn it, We're supposed to agree on these things together!' Malek yelled. He beckoned for us to get onto the nearest elevator, and we climbed on. Each elevator was a metal platform about twenty feet square, held up by four chains. The railing looked thin and frail, and it was controlled by a bored looking Nizani with black feathers. He saluted when we got on.

'Get us up there. NOW.' Malek growled, and the attendant scrambled to get the elevator started. The elevator slowly began its ascent.

'Those bastards! Those god damned batards! They allied with the Murria while I was away, and yet they knew I was right in the middle of their bombing zone!' Malek ranted. 'Why the bloody hell do they want to kill me? They are going to get a damn talking to, and I'm going to make it right on national radio!'

'Calm yourself, father. Please. There must be some reasoning behind this.'

'I knew something was wrong...' I muttered, still distraught. Damn Murria, allying with the Nizani in a way that they shouldn't have. Damn Nizani leaders for doing this... Why...?

'Reasoning? My dear, wonderful Nilus- there was no way that was a simple mistake; I told them several times that I was going there to pick you up. Chione must be behind this.'

'Chione...? Who's that...?' I asked.

'Chione Tolr is our air force commander. She's not the friendliest type, and too god-damned aggressive for her own good. Fond of subterfuge and betrayal; her personality automatically put her against me when she took over the place of the old general. She leads the airforce well; but she has an extreme dislike for the other branches. Always trying to get close to the admiral, the bitch.'

'You think she did this...?' I asked.

'There's a rule that if one of the four is indisposed, the other three can agree upon things until a new commander is found to replace the old- but only two have to agree upon things. If she got close to the admiral, and swayed his opinion, she could have easily orchestrated this as an offensive against the species she distastes of the most and assassinate the general she hates the most, in one swift blow.' Malek continued. 'I want to throw that bitch from the side of the Hauptstadt right now. Let her try to fly.'

'Father, language...' Nilus muttered. It was almost unheard of for one of the Four to curse this much. But Malek had a reason.

'If what you say is true, I'd held you toss her off.' I said, almost choking on the words. There were so few people in this world that I would want to kill right now; but if this Chione Tolr was the one who caused the invasion, then she would certainly gain a spot on that list.

The elevator clanked to a halt, and Malek led the group out.

'Guards, disperse. You're not needed right now, so go get some rest. You've earned it. And Azeus, come with us. There's an extra bed in my residence.' Malek said.

The second level of Hauptstadt was different, to say the least. The roads were wider and made from polished cobble, while the buildings were more ornate. Most were built from different metals, although some were built from brick and/or wood. There was a cluster of glass spires in the center of the city, leaning on the tree trunk for support. Their tips were unnoticeable; for they reached high into the upper branches of the gigantic tree. We were going to one of those spires.

'Our home is up there; Azeus. You'll always have a place to sleep with us.' Nilus said as we walked. People in the street would sometimes salute or bow to Malek, and he would nod to each one.

'...And who's the one in control of the ground troops? You haven't said a word about them.' I asked.

'That would be a large, brown feathered Nizani by the name of Agosti Deak. He's a muscular one with a lot of bombast and pomp in his voice; but he really doesn't match his voice at times. Vicious with his tactics, but most of the time leaves the smaller movements to his subordinates. And even though Agosti and I have had an argument or two, we're still on good terms. He wouldn't be the type to do this sort of thing, and would have been the one that was overruled, most likely. He, most likely, would have vouched for me.' Malek explained.

'At least we have someone who seems trustworthy up there.' I replied.

'Sometimes, I swear he's almost too trustworthy for his own good!' The old Nizani exclaimed. 'But he's a good man. The admiral, Prades Brai, is an older man; and somewhat frail in his old age. Leads well, but he's... well, rather impressionable. Easy to sway in opinion. That's why Chione's probably always near him, so that when Prades dies- and that's probably soon, going by the old man's age- He'll pick Chione as his successor.'

'Father thinks that she'll change things greatly around here, and not for the better.' Nilus added.

'Of course she'll change things. She hates the other species of Vitria, almost in the same order as the Murria hate the others. So she'll probably treat you horribly, Azeus- I'd suggest watching out for her. But chances are she'd cause such an attack.' Malek finished. He opened the door for us as we entered the main spire.

The lobby of this spire was ornately designed. The large, open floor was a mosaic of the city's tree, and a statue stood in the center of a Nizani soldier in heavy armor, standing upon the body of a Hebii. The soldier carried a large rifle and a blade, and seemed to be commanding some unseen forces. He was carved from bronze.

'Who's that?' I asked as we neared the elevators at the far end of the building.

'Wymark Volpe. An old war hero from myth; said to have taken down one of the old War Engines of Lore with a small squadron of men. He later constructed the four commanders structure.'

'Every species has their old war heroes. I was named after one of the old Vaux heroes who had a similar story to Wymark there.' I replied. We stepped into the elevator, which was built onto the outside of the spire. It was a circular glass chamber, with the tree emblem etched into the metal floor. Malek took out a key from his jacket, and twisted it in a key slot under the floor buttons. The elevator started moving.

'Really? His story was similar?' Nilus asked.

'The mythical Azeus Vaux was said to have taken down one of the War Engines alone with nothing but his plane. He then went to set up the modern military structure for the Vaux military, which was a mess before he came around.' I replied. I gazed out the window as we moved up; monstrous branches covered in ten-foot leaves covered most of my view.

'I wonder if there's a correlation?' Malek pondered. 'Well, it's not the time for that now.'

The elevator rose above the leaves, revealing the landscape. The top of the tree's canopy stretched on for a massive, long way, and beyond it the rest of the forest could be seen. It was a foggy day, so not much could actually be seen apart from a few miles. Birds floated around the tree, almost like they acknowledged its inhabitants.

'This goes up really high, doesn't it...?' I asked. Nilus nodded.

'At least three thousand feet. Highest point in Vitria, apart from some mountains.' Nilus replied. 'The only people even allowed up here are the highest ranking military officials, their family, and their guests.'

'I'm pretty sure you're the first Vaux to even walk its halls.' Malek added. 'Actually, I'm pretty sure you're the first that's not Nizani to come here.'

'Didn't Agosti Deak bring in a Hebii a few years back for diplomatic talks?' Nilus questioned.

'I... I think you're right. Okay, second non-Nizani to grace its halls.' Malek admitted. The shiny doors slid open, and we stepped into a wide corridor. There were four doors in the corridor, two on each side. The far end was a massive glass window, and eight guards stood watch, two to each door. Two also stood next to the elevator door.

'Welcome back, General Disanti. Is this Vaux your guest...?' One of the elevator guards asked.

'A very welcomed and honored guest. This young man has saved me and my daughter several times, and he will always be welcome here. Remember that.' Malek replied, not even glancing at the guard. The guard shrugged, and we entered the first door to the right.

We stepped into a large, quarter-circle room. The rounded part was a window, and several pieces of plush furniture were laid out tastefully in the center. The dark blue carpet was cleaned well, and the minibar in the back seemed to be well stocked. There were three dark wood doors in the back wall, and the wall itself had multiple shelves and paintings hanging from it. Each shelf held a variety of books, but one had a few small sculptures.

'Make yourself at home, Azeus. Get out of that scuffed up clothing and let the laundry lady clean it up. Or get a new one, that too.' Malek stated. 'I need to go call the other four, and get a meeting going. Should be quick.'

And with that, Malek stepped into the door furthest to the right. I went and sat down on the large, half circle couch in the center of the room, took my large jacket off, and stretched. My pilot's hat had been lost in that mess, so the only other thing I removed was my boots, kicking them off onto the ground. Stretching hurt, and I whimpered in pain. I didn't realize how badly I had actually been injured. My arm was still broken, and the other arm ached as I moved it. I had no shirt under my jacket, although most of my lower torso was covered up by thick covering of ragged bandages. My tail had a few bandages on it, and one of my legs was wrapped in multiple bandages too. There was another on my snout, and it was always trying to come off.

'We've both been torn up by this...' Nilus muttered, sitting down next to me. Nilus was certainly right; she had been battered too. Half of her upper head was covered in bandages, including her missing eye. Her jacket had been torn to all hell by something during our escape from Nurakami, and thus the bandages there hung limply. One of her lower arms was straddled in bloody bandages, the bandages themselves only ending just before her fingers. One of her feet had a bandage around the arch, and I only noticed that because she removed her shoes. My feet were in a worse shape. My torturers from back in Hametsu had taken a liking to them, and along with the several metal toes I now had my feet were decorated in scars.

'War leaves scars. But why us...? I've suffered too damn much. It's hard to hang on sometimes...' I muttered, leaning my head back. I moved my legs and accidentally kicked the table that was in front of the couch, putting a scratch in it with one of my metal toes. I grimaced, but Nilus shrugged.

'Table's not a problem. Don't worry about it. We've got enough to worry about as is.' Nilus replied. 'Chione, the other factions, a possible counterattack from the Vaux, and our own damn bandages.'

'They won't counterattack.' I replied. 'I remember learning this back when I was in the military, when I was only fourteen. If Severnaya loses a large amount of land- and thus people- the Vaux would be going on total defense. No interest in revenge until their army has been resurrected to its original strength, and that could easily mean ten years or more.'

'Damn. I'm sorry. And hey, wait a sec- you joined the military when you were fourteen?'

'My father forced me into it; and that coupled with the draft... well, the military used to have a higher age threshold, but that's been lowered since due to the number of casualties. They just need more troops, and sooner. I fled a year after joining.' I responded.

'You're no stranger to misery, for sure...' Nilus muttered. Suddenly, the door behind us bust open, and Malek stepped out. He was wearing a purple robe of sorts, which almost made me laugh due to its bagginess. He started heading out for the front door, but he turned to us.

'They've set up a meeting. I'll be only a few floors above, but it'll be broadcast on radio and television. I'd suggest you watch. And I'll send someone here with fresh bandages...' Malek said to us, before leaving.

'I hope it'll work out up there.' I commented.

'It better.' Malek replied, walking out.

Nilus and I sat silent for a minutes, not knowing what to say. A television made from metal and slimmed down from the normal boxes that everyone else has sat in front of us, silent. Nilus almost switched it on, but I stopped her. Placed my scarred hand on her bandaged one.

'No. I like the silence, the sound of the wind. It's calming.'

'Heh, alright. I'll switch it on in an hour or so, when father's meeting with the other three will start.' Nilus replied, getting up. 'In the meantime, anything you want to drink?'

'Nothing with alcohol, please.' I replied.

'Orange juice it is, then.' Nilus responded, getting behind the minibar and mixing a drink. As I laid there on the couch, I watched a plane fly by. It was grey and unpainted, with a single propeller. The cockpit was enclosed; couldn't see the pilot. It had side windows, though.

'How often do planes fly by?' I asked.

'Not very often. When they do; they're either the air force or joyriders. We're so far away from the front lines, we can afford to let people fly freely.' Nilus replied.

'And how often do unpainted and unmarked planes fly by?' I asked again.

'Unpainted and unmarked? All pedestrian planes are painted, usually in bright colors...' Nilus muttered. Then the plane turned our way- and a laser sight focused in.

'Shit! Get down!' I screamed, leaping over and behind the couch just as a large bullet shattered the window. The plane was a long way away, and the bullets kept cracking down.

I rolled from behind the couch and to the minibar, whee it was partially blocked by the wall. The plane turned to get a better shot.

'God-damned sniper!' I yelled, sliding behind the wooden minibar. The plane, as I now saw to be of a Murria design, somehow stopped in the air. And now I realized- it had rotors built into its wings. Then the pilot opened the top of the roof and stood up in the cockpit, and now I could see them. Whoever the assassin was didn't matter; they were wearing a thick cloak so I couldn't even see which species they were.

Suddenly, guards burst in. There were eight of them, and each one carried an assault rifle. They started firing at the plane, but the bullets didn't even reach.

The pilot was a skilled sniper; their rifle fired powerful bullets, and most landed in the guards' bodies. Ones head was blown to bits, another had his arm shot off. But they kept on firing.

'Fools, god-damned fools...' I muttered as we cowered behind the minibar. Soon, the firing stopped.

The plane turned again, and the pilot leapt back into the cockpit. But this time he launched a volley of machine gun fire; this tore up the minibar and shredded the furniture. The television exploded in a shower of sparks, and a few bullets grazed us.

'Rui, save us!' Nilus cried. A chunk of the minibar was blown off, and it smashed her in the head. Nilus was swiftly knocked out.

'Shit, Nilus!' I exclaimed. I then realized something- my gun was in my jacket; currently laying on the ground in the middle of the open.

The plane closed the distance between us; but suddenly a volley of bullets pinged off of its side. The plane turned suddenly; besieged from another angle. The pilot tossed something into the room before flying quickly off.

I peered over the top of the shredded minibar, saw no plane, and collected Nilus. I picked her up in my arms and limped up to the entrance. Several bullets had torn through my skin, and one had blown the top part of my right ear off.

I placed Nilus down next to me and picked up the item that the assassin had tossed in. It was a small tin canister that popped open with only a little bit of force. It was empty apart from a single slip of paper. This slip, and more specifically the scrawled words on it, chilled me to the bone.

You'll be mine soon, Plaything.

I crushed the slip of paper in my hands, and let out a cry of rage and terror. Noemon was alive. Oh god, I had only hit the side of his face. Didn't kill him. Damn it, I should have thrown him off one of the damn cliffs...

I hung my head in my hands and wept. I didn't want to fight that madman again. I didn't want to endure more suffering...

The security and medical crews found me like that, sobbing with that slip of paper clenched tightly between my fingers. One of the guards- a male Nizani with brown feathers, a cracked beak, and a muscular build, crouched down next to me.

'...What happened?' He asked.

'Nilus is alright... Just a bang on the head...' I muttered.

'That's good to know, but I want to know what happened, and why the quarters of one of the four generals was totally destroyed by a plane.' The Nizani said. Some medical crews picked up Nilus.

'An old foe... is coming for me...' I wept, clenching even tighter onto the paper. 'But why...? WHY? OH GOD, WHY?!' I screamed to the sky, tear running down my cheeks.

'Calm down, kid. No single man can break into Hauptstadt.' The Nizani said, placing his hand on my shoulder. 'I don't fucking care if he's a demon from the pits of the Abyss, he won't make it in.'

'...He may as well be...' I cried, my head falling into my hands again. 'I thought I had already killed him. I could have sworn I did...'

'Can you stand? Let's get you to the medical bay, eh? Get some rest.' The Nizani said to me. He moved his hand and grabbed onto mine.

'...Let me just grab... my coat...' I muttered.

'Sure, Vaux. Sure.' The Nizani replied. I grabbed my coat, put it on, and then followed the Nizani out.

But before I had even walked a few feet out of the shredded doorway, I collapsed.

Noemon. That name is synchronous with Evil. With Torment. With Horror. Scars. Pain. I don't want that pain again, never again... Why did he have to be alive...? Why...?

How can there be a god if such monsters live even after death...? Too many questions...

Who...? Who sent him... And why? Is he still working for Agenor? Or someone else...? Why, why, why? Why must I be his "plaything"? Why must I be the one to bear these scars on my frail shoulders...?

Enough why. Enough how. Enough torment. Enough pain. That twisted, broken monster must be slain. He must, no matter what...

I woke to find myself in the medical bay; alone. I was in a hospital bed in a mostly empty ward, with only one Nizani in the far corner, sound asleep. I was still wearing my dirty pants, but my jacket and gun had been laid on the bed to my left. I tried to get up, but realized that there was an IV in my arm, and laid back down. At that same moment, a nurse walked in. He was a Hebii with a small, short frame and black scales... just the man I was looking for. He was wearing wrinkled hospital scrubs.

'Ganix. By the stars...' I muttered. The weak Hebii smiled as he came over, and then sat down on the bed next to me.

'I came to this ward as soon as I could, when I heard that you ended up here. I also heard about Nurakami... I'm sorry about it.'

'Thanks, Ganix. I am too.' I replied.

'I also heard some serious shit happened up there, in the spire...'

I realized I had been clenching that slip of paper so hard that even while unconscious, it stayed between my fingers. I handed it to Ganix, shakily.

'Is that handwriting Noemon's...?' I asked. Ganix stared at the slip in utter fright.

'...Y-yes... Where did you get this...?'

'...An unmarked plane attacked me and Nilus while we were trying to relax with a Murria-built plane that could even stop in mid air. He was a sniper, and then started using machine guns against us and the guardsmen. Thankfully some of the local air force ran him away, but he tossed in a canister with that slip in it into the room...'

'Noemon wasn't much of a writer- the only words he ever really wrote often was his name, signed in blood- but it's his script, all right. Why did he have to be back...? Why? I thought you killed him!'

'I...I thought so too.' I replied. I clenched my fist, and tried to sit up. Ganix got me to lay back down again.

'Don't try to sit up; bad for the IV.' Ganix explained. The Hebii was crying a bit, too.

'...Is Nilus alright...?'

'Still out, but she's fine.' Ganix replied. 'Some of the other nurses are helping her in the next room.'

'...Is there any possibility the note was forged?' I asked.

'No. Noemon's handwriting was unique. That's the problem... He's somehow back...'

'I don't want to have to deal with the pain of fighting him again...' I muttered. Then I decided to change the subject. 'How's Lex been? You two been keeping in contact?'

'Heh, more than that. He's the one who keeps me sane. We're a kind of match.' Ganix replied.

'I didn't realize you were like that, Ganix.' I replied, chuckling to myself. The Vaux, Hebii, and Murria may have hated homosexuality, but the Nizani couldn't care less. Fitting that they ended up here.

'Hey, it's true. I know it's a bit strange, but it is. I'd rather stay with Lex for the rest of my life than anyone else right now.' Ganix said.

'You two have only know each other for... well, about a week, right? What's with the change of heart?' I asked.

'We've known each other for longer; we just acted like we didn't know each other because of our feelings. It couldn't of been more lucky for his Rotorcage to come.' Gaix responded.

'At least there's something good in this mess. Damn it, I thought I was safe. But no, misfortune follows me everywhere.' I added.

'It's just chance. Sad, horrible chance... Hey, Malek's going to talk with the other three generals shortly, I'll get the radio tuned in.'

'Does he know what happened?'

'Yeah, a message was sent to him about thirty minutes ago. I'm pretty sure he'll mention it during the talks.' Ganix said. He managed to get it to a specific channel that was playing some quiet muzak. 'Well, that's the channel, and I've got other people to take care of. Hopefully we'll see each other again, Azeus.'

'Indeed, Ganix. Good luck out there.' I replied. Ganix nodded with a smile and left.

I sat there for a bit, and then an announcer started speaking on the radio. He had a deeper voice, but well suited for his job.

'Welcome, listeners, to today's grand discussion between the four commanders- Chione Tolr, Agosti Deak, Malek Disanti, and our admiral, Prades Brai. Commander Disanti is bringing up a large point that has been on the minds of just about every Nizani in this great land since it happened- why did we suddenly ally with the Murria, and what were its consequences...?' The announcer explained.

'Thank you.' Malek said to the announcer. Not having the visuals was a problem, but I could determine what they were doing easily enough. 'Now, as many of you know, especially you three commanders, I was in the Vaux capital of Nurakami recently; only a few days ago. This was to collect my daughter from there; she had been captured by Hebii but freed by a kind Vaux, and they had ended up there. Now, I was only gone for a few days; a week was planned so that my daughter, Nilus, could recuperate from the suffering she had endured. Then we peered out the window to find the city being firebombed. You three commanders knew I was there. I could not have said it more times, so there was no way any one of you may have forgotten. I owe my life to that same Vaux now; for he saved me and my daughter once again. And now, I've only heard that an assassin made an attempt at his and my daughter's lives, destroying my personal quarters to get at them with an unmarked fighter plane! There is no way an assassin hired by someone from out of this city could have gotten in, especially with that many weapons. Now, there is only one way this could have happened- Someone said I was incapacitated, and thus made it to where only two were required to make a decision in this committee, and the one who organized it was plotting to kill me and my family! WHY?!'

'Chione, you were the one who organized that attack.' A deep, masculine voice stated. I supposed that to be Agosti Deak.

'Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were in a different area...' A female- Chione- said. There was the sound of something slamming on a table; probably Malek's fist.

'Don't give me that bullshit! I know very well you have not had any good relations with me or my family in the longest time, Chione. My wife was killed by an assassin six years ago; was that one sent by you too?!' Malek roared. I knew his wife was missing, but she was killed by an assassin? The Disanti family bears dark secrets...

'Calm yourself, Malek. Commander Tolr must of had her reasoning behind organizing the attack.' An older voice added. Prades, most likely.

'You agreed with her plans, didn't you?' Malek asked. There was a moment of silence.

'Yes.' Prades said calmly.

'Damn it, I told all of you I was going to Nurakami! I was right in the center of the firebombing! Many of my closest men died there, to protect me from the bombing we ordered! That you two ordered.'

'I tried to stop them, Malek. They wouldn't listen; and because there was no part of the ground troops in the attack, I had no say in it.' Agosti added.

'At least I have one ally here...' Malek grumbled.

'Commander Disanti, may I ask you a few questions?' Chione asked.

'Go ahead, I guess. Nothing else I can do to you.' Malek growled.

'You were in Nurakami before its destruction yes? What did you bring with you?' Chione asked.

'All I had were a few changes of clothing, some money, and a few documents to try to negotiate some sort of peace, for the time being. Try to start up some trade.' Malek replied.

'Then why did the plans for some of our new machines vanish the night before?' Chione asked.

'What? I had nothing to do with that- Commander Tolr, you better not be trying to incriminate me.' Malek growled.

'Hehehe. This plans were under lock and key; only accessible by the four of us and a few engineers. I was sound asleep up here that night, so were Commander Deak and Admiral Brai. You were not in your quarters that night; and you were late to that morning's meeting.' Chione continued.

'I was up late that night planning naval defenses with some of my officers!' Malek exclaimed. 'And anyhow, I didn't get news of my daughter's location until later that day!'

'How do we know that, hhhmmm? You're the only one who doesn't keep records of your communications. You're in more situations with the Murria, Hebii, or Vaux that any one of them could have corrupted you with their heathenistic ideals.'

'...Heathenistic? Damn it, Chione- we are not the Murria! We pride ourselves in being a free-thinking society, open to all! I did not share any secrets, nor did I abandon my people!' Malek yelled.

'Then what is this confession about?' Chione said. There was a quiet click, and a recorded voice started speaking.

'~Tell me, Head Engineer Simo. Your head commander is Malek Disanti, yes?' Chione said from the recording.

'Yes, he is. He's a strange one- always has been- but he became utterly traitorous when our plans disappeared. He, along with some of my engineers, are the only ones that had access to the blueprints of the international wide-spread fire missiles- and those went missing last night. Now, I take the keys from my subordinates at the end of the work day, and then always check on it before leaving myself; it was fine that night. I came back the next morning; it was gone. Commander Disanti was the only other one with a key.' The engineer- Simo- explained.

'How do we not know you did it?' Chione asked.

'I'll admit I was partying late last night with a few friends, and I fell asleep due to beer. Not the greatest thing, but I was too damn drunk to even reach the blueprints. So it was him.' Simo continued.

'Thank you, Simo. That's all I need.~'

The recording cut out.

'You bitch, Chione. How much did you pay him?' Malek growled.

'Nothing.' Chione replied smugly.

'There has to be a mistake here!' Agosti exclaimed.

'I doubt it. Commanded Tolr brings plenty of evidence. This discussion is finished.' Prades said. 'Take him, throw him in the cells.'

'No, no! Damn it! Azeus, get my daughter out of the city!' Malek roared, before the discussion was cut off. I tore the IV from my arm and grabbed my coat, tossing the bed's covers away.

'...Well, there you have it, people of Ablehenea. Commander Malek Disanti, a traitor. And who is this Azeus...? Well, whoever he is, there's people out searching for him now~'

I punched the radio, breaking it in rage. I then started running towards the door.

'Nilus, we're getting the hell out of here...'