Chapter 1: A Rough Start

Log Date: Three – Seven – Twenty-two-Twenty-three. Entry Number Five. It has been a few periods since I have done one of these. … Well I suppose I should be grateful that the other entries are still intact despite their age. Anyhow, so far we have managed to finally gather enough resources to begin Phase One of our official plan, though I must admit that it is strange how we have not started Phase One sooner considering our connections and our resourcefulness. Oh well, I must not worry about something that trivial compared to … other things. After all, the Duke of Mitozal was kind enough to spare us some of the required resources despite the obvious obstacles. … My only, correction, my foremost concern is that the Hecharums will take advantage of our debilitated defenses and wreak their havoc once more. Our family is resilient, but even when all of us are around, the Hecharums are very challenging to deal with and contain.

Hopefully, I am just being paranoid once more and everything is going to be adequate. … After all, after that tragic, devastating night, I cannot bear the thought, the sight, or the very idea of losing anybody else. I do not know what I will do if I see another city being devoured by those horrendous red flames. Heh … maybe I will lose myself to immense animosity again. … I am not ready for another sight like that, and I do not think I ever will be, not as I am now at least. It is almost time. I cannot get distracted by such meager thoughts of anxiety and trepidation, or else I might actually lose them all … and myself as well to antagonism. Heh. End log entry.

A little more than a month had passed as the violet-blue night sky with its milky-white stellar-diamonds covered Jeho's horizon while Fidelio, Marwan, Brion, Junaleho, and Jahid moved swiftly through the peacock-blue Krichero Forest. "Where are we going?" Junaleho and Jahid asked simultaneously as the clouds moved out of the sky's starry spotlight. The evening's light now gleamed upon Jahid, a 4'5" boy with emerald-green hair, warm-beige skin, oval-shaped face, and emerald-green, almond eyes underneath straight eyebrows. "We're going to Zakuren, little ones. It's a military city in Hananomal's southernmost state, Usamera. We're going there to find out if there are other survivors that can offer us their help in the future battle." Fidelio answered.

"Wait … that means … that this … is our first real mission!" they shouted with excitement and in unison.

"Shh! Yes, yes it is, but try to keep quiet. We don't know if the Hecharums might be here or not, nor do we want to reveal our location if that'd be the case." Brion whispered.

"In any case, let's all equip the Telekite Headbands," Fidelio whispered as he handed everyone headbands with a golden stone in the center. Once the headbands were equipped, they carefully and swiftly moved through the blue fields of tall blades toward Zakuren, the main city that trained some of best warriors of the Western Provinces of Jeho. A few weeks ago, before the start of Phase One, "Fidel, hwagsilhae (are you sure)?" Arijun asked out of concern. "Are you sure about bringing Jahid and Junaleho along on the mission?"

Fidelio sighed and nodded, "Sí Arijun, I believe that those two need the experience. Oh! And if you're concerned about Elina not receiving the same treatment, Doctora Emmi, Elina is going to step up and aid in maintaining our defensive line and prevent Hecharums from advancing northward as usual. Since she's su niña (your daughter), I can safely assume that you've taught her a bit of science include engineering and technology, correct?"

Emmi sighed and nodded, "Yes, yes I did. She should know enough to check the status of the perimeter sensors and possibly repair them as long as I accompany her."

"Bueno, more hands-on experience will be good for her, and will better explain to her why what we do is so important. After all, Hananomal and Polynesial are the only West Provinces left that are practically intact, despite the Hecharum threat. The Placidic Ocean acts like a natural barrier for Polynesial, who has an excellent navy, so worrying about their safety is meaningless, especially with the Hecharum Navy currently out of commission. Our defensive line is crucial to prevent Hecharum advancement to Hananomal, which is connected via land to northern Mitozal."

"I still feel bad for the southern portion of Mitozal," Marwan admitted with his face toward the ground.

Fidelio sighed and nodded in agreement, "We all do Arwan, but we simply do not have enough individuals to assist us; and even if we did, the probabilities of there being survivors diminishes with each passing rotation. At least because of our efforts, Hananomal and northern Mitozal have offered us manufactured resources in exchange for our continuous work and the natural resources that we have available."

"It's a real shame though," Emmi commented with a sigh.

"What's a shame sweetheart?" Brion asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That we aren't offered people as well. We know that only the higher-ups in Hananomal and Mitozal are well aware of this threat, but shouldn't that mean that we receive aid as a result? We know that Hananomal is currently making preparations and is talking with the other provinces about the situation, but what about Mitozal, the very province that we're directly protecting? The Duke claims to support our efforts, but he's essentially forcing us to eat out of his hand by dangling certain necessary resources on a stick. Not to mention, we don't even have confirmation that he's with the Duke of Hananomal in getting the other provinces to form an alliance. On top of that, he demands that we inform him about details in our plan and our progress in executing our plan. If you ask me, he's acting rather suspicious by not helping us further despite our achievements. And then there's Polynesial, who claims to not believe us, but I'm sure the officials there are either too afraid to fight the Hecharums or are too confident in their current defenses. We should have at least let them experience the devastating power of the Hecharum Navy before we destroyed it."

"Um, dear, we promised not to bring any of that up remember?" Brion whispered to Emmi with a nervous smile. Emmi's eyes widened as she realized that it was too late to take back what she had said and looked at Fidelio in embarrassment and worry. Fidelio's face darkened while Marwan, Arijun, and Naama simultaneously looked at the ground nervously and awkwardly. Emmi stuttered, "I'm … I-I'm sorry Fidelio, I-" Fidelio turned around to face the wall and held up his left hand as a polite sign for Emmi to stop talking, which she does, embarrassment and nervousness written on her face.

"Lo siento Doctora Emmi y todos. (I'm sorry Doctor Emmi and everyone.) I'm truly sorry that my past actions and decisions, and who I am hinder us from making … significant progress. I … I just don't want to make any unnecessary enemies, well, any more than we've already made. If we did allow the Hecharum Navy to briefly attack Polynesial, without a doubt some, if not all, of the officials will blame us as a reason for the damage they received. I know I shouldn't be concerned with such opposition, but I'm more concerned how all of you will be effected. For one, stopping the Hecharum Navy cost us the entire Royal Star-Force and with it, a big portion of Grand General Brion's charisma since the only reason why they helped us was because the Grand Star General was Grand General Brion's best friend. It was my idea and because of it … Jeho has almost no air defense and the Grand General lost a great friend. Oh, and let's also not forget to mention that I'm a crossbreed. Therefore, I'm not exactly on the top of the trustworthy list as a result my mixed heritage and blood, so I doubt that Polynesial would support us because I'm the … "impure" leader of the group."

Everyone remained awkwardly silent for a while until Brion and Marwan slowly got up simultaneously. "S-since the Magen is finished being repaired, we should prep the Magen as soon as possible. It might be a long journey to Usamera, so the sooner we leave the better." Brion declared, breaking the awkward silence in the process.

Fidelio sighed and nodded, "Y-yeah, you're right Grand General. Vamonos (Let's go)! Let's all make haste as soon as possible." Back in the present, the group of men looked at the ruins of pewter-gray concrete buildings from afar as they emerged from the grass and stand on top of a hill. Their eyes widened as they see red flames glowing brightly, spreading, and ravaging the establishment as if they were alive, greedy, and hungry. With the wind blowing rather roughly, the men felt the immense heat, pressure, and presence of the flames as well as see the ash-gray smoke rise from the military city into the dark canopy of night. They all knew something instantly from the horrendous sight, the Hecharums had already arrived before them, someway, somehow. Purely acting out of his emotions, with his eyes glowing intensely, Fidelio ran straight to the city in the blink of an eye, his head down and his face dark as he dashed toward the inferno. Marwan, worried about Fidelio, quickly cleared his own confusion, and signaled the other three to follow him and to quickly catch up to Fidelio as they slid down the hill.

Marwan, Brion, Jahid, and Junaleho arrived at the city's main square, Auratals out and ready, only to see Fidelio with Armsku and Igniken out as ultramarine flames encircle the square amongst the Hecharum's red flames. The team gasping for breath saw Fidelio instantly and mercilessly slash and shred through seven Hecharum warriors with an expressionless, emotionless, darkened face. "Fidelio!" Marwan shouted as he ran, grabbed Fidelio, and shoved him against a cracked wall, shoving Fidelio once more to limit his vicious struggling. "Lio! Your emotions are taking over you again!" he shouts as he violently shakes the snarling Fidelio. "Don't you remember?! You aren't someone who is driven by hatred or anger, you … you don't 'cause that's not who you are! Swiznik! What's the word you use?! You aren't rancorous! You aren't rancorous so for the sake of the stars, snap out of it already Lio before I do something I might regret!" Marwan shouted at his best friend as he immediately slapped Fidelio with the back of his metal right hand and pushed him to ground.

At that moment, Fidelio's face lit up to show his eyes glowing ultramarine and releasing flames of the same color as he fell to the ground on his knees then on his hands as well. Fidelio panted and sweated excessively out of fear due to his sudden realization of what had happened. 'I … I … dang it! How did I let this happen?!' Fidelio thought. 'If Arwan wasn't here, I might have attacked everything in sight until I was so out of it that I would attack everyone. … Cálmate (Calm down). Estas bien ahora (You're fine now). You're yourself again, so just do your best to stay in control in order to repay them for dealing with your broken, unstable self. Control your enmity and use it only on enemies if necessary.'

As Fidelio finally began to calm down, his eyes cool, and began to glow dimmer. Marwan sighed in relief before smiling and offering Fidelio a hand up with a smirk. "I know the ground doesn't get that much appreciation, but I wouldn't recommend laying down on it in a place like this. Also, sorry that left a mark." Marwan said both jokingly and apologetically. Fidelio slightly chuckled and smiled before he rolled his eyes and took Marwan's hand up with a slight sigh of relief. "Don't worry Arwan, it'll heal. I'm more worried about how Arijun will react to all of this in all honesty."

"Oh, yeah, nearly forgot about how worried she can be, especially when it comes to you." Fidelio opened his mouth to say something after getting up but he was immediately interrupted by the sudden sound of Hecharum steps. Drawing two red swords, an Hecharum captain commanded, "Take the enemy out first and then expand! We will spread ourselves over this new land for the glory of the our new empire!"

"Yes sir, Captain Dapsehabo." The team smiled as the Hecharums charged full force at the team. Fidelio immediately summoned Armsku and blocked an overhead attack from a pouncing Hecharum before summoning Igniken and slashing an exposed spot on the Hecharum's stomach, shredding the Hecharum. He then heel-turned right to dodge another Hecharum coming from behind and to whack him with Armsku before stabbing him with Igniken in an exposed spot on his back. Fidelio sighed in relief, "Still got it even after all of that." He then turned around to see if Marwan required help only to smile and see that Marwan did not need any help at all.

Marwan smiled confidently and summoned Fulmari, "Come at me, you redheads! I dare you!" He clashed with one Hecharum, kicked him in the stomach, and slashed him with all his might. Immediately afterwards, Marwan thrust the shaft end into an Hecharum behind him and then spun Fulmari around to make the two remaining Hecharums back up out of fear. He then planted Fulmari and propelled himself into the Hecharum in front, immediately stabbing the Hecharum in the chest through cracks in the armor. Marwan then finished the last Hecharum off by quickly turning around to clash Fulmari against the Hecharum's sword. Marwan smiled and slowly increased his strength, slowly overpowering the terrified Hecharum. Marwan then pushed the Hecharum back with full force and slashed him to shreds, smiling as he looked at Brion.

Brion took on four Hecharums by tripping one with his tail, swinging another into the tripped Hecharum, and then stabbing both of the down Hecharums. He then heel-turns right behind the third Hecharum and thrusted Brandao into his back, shredding the third Hecharum. The fourth Hecharum pounces on Brion and attempted to thrust his sword into Brion's chest only have Brandao's shaft block the attack. Brion smiled and fell backwards on top of the Hecharum. He then finished the Hecharum by stabbing Brandao into the fallen Hecharum. "Only the captain is left." Brion claimed with a sigh of relief and a smile.

"I can easily finish that small fry." Marwan immediately responded as he smiled and clenched Fulmari.

"No," Fidelio immediately replied, "those two children can handle him just fine. Just stop any Hecharums that might interfere with their battle." Brion and Marwan nodded in response as they watched Junaleho and Jahid. Captain Dapsehabo was certainly more skilled than the other Hecharum soldiers as he was using two swords and barely leaving any openings. After running around Dapsehabo and dodging for a while, Junaleho and Jahid noticed that Dapsehabo was finally getting tired so Junaleho immediately slid underneath Dapsehabo and punched the back of his knee. At the same time, Jahid jumped and punched Dapsehabo in the face, Dapsehabo falling hard on his back as a result. Dapsehabo immediately jumped back up and swung at the charging children. However, the children heel-turned to dodge and go for a simultaneous sweep-kick, which knocked Dapsehabo of his feet again.

Captain Dapsehabo smiled as he flipped to his feet and grabbed the children's feet before throwing them hard into the ground. He then turned to look at the rest of the team with a cocky smile, which Brion and Marwan reacted by pointing their weapons at Dapsehabo. Fidelio, however, immediately blocked the path of Brion and Marwan with his left hand, to which the two reacted with a step back. "Aww! You don't want revenge for their deaths, pests?" Dapsehabo taunted with an evil giggle. The three warriors smiled and chuckled, while Dapsehabo raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Isn't it a rule to check that the enemy is finished off or they'll come back stronger?" Marwan asked rhetorically.

"I don't know, Arwan. I wonder if he knows." Fidelio replied sarcastically.

Captain Dapsehabo kept his eyebrow up and he grabbed his swords, "What?" At that, Dapsehabo's eyes immediately widened as Junaleho and Jahid emerged from the dust with nothing more than small scrapes on their faces, the smiles on their faces hiding any sign of damage. Dapsehabo clenches his teeth as he blocks Junaleho's overhead-kick with his swords. While Dapsehabo was distracted by Junaleho, Jahid dashed behind Dapsehabo and then dashed underneath him to grab his legs. Once Dapsehabo lost balance and Jahid got out of the way, Junaleho, having used Dapsehabo's swords as a way to launch himself back into the air, punched Dapsehabo's head into the ground. After kicking the swords away, both Junaleho and Jahid immediately stomp of Dapsehabo's wrists and legs and then thrust their glowing fists several times into Dapsehabo's chest, eventually breaking his armor and shredding him as a result. Brion smiled, "I'll be darned. Y'all really trained your kids pretty darn well."

Marwan chuckled and smirked, "Naturally, Grand General. It's an expected result when the kids are trained by some of the best warriors."

Fidelio rolled his eyes and smirked, "You mean yourself, Arwan?"

Marwan shrugged and laughed, "Heh. Maybe, but you know that you're a good warrior too, Lio." Brion laughed and walked with Fidelio and Marwan to the kids. "Yeah! Our first real battle and victory!" Junaleho shouted with excitement, their adrenaline clearly still there.

"We even shredded an Hecharum captain together!" Jahid added.

"High-five?" Junaleho asked eagerly.

"High-five!" Jahid exclaimed. The Homoxian children jumped and high-fived each other, Fidelio and Marwan smiling at the sight as they felt like proud parents. The team wiped off the dust from their uniforms until they all feel a sudden chill down their backs that would make anyone fall to their knees in fear and despair. It was an immense chill that felt like a dozen spiders with iced legs were slowly and steadily crawling up one's spine. "So … you're the ones that have been attacking and eliminating our squads. … Ha, ha, hah … your cheap gifts from Yelohiwah won't save you this time. For I am General Zarbodapso of the Sword Squadron, and you will pay for eliminating my men and my captain!" shouted a figure shrouded in shadow in a high, masculine, taunting voice.

Immediately afterwards, the shadow jumped into the ring of flames to show himself as an Hecharum with four, muscular arms. He wore Hecharum armor of similar design, but with one key difference, his garnet-red, diamond face with black stripes and red, almond eyes underneath his steep-arch eyebrows completely showed and donned a black diadem on top of his long, straight, black hair. The armor was made of an unknown, red metal alloy that was stronger than a soldier's steel armor and was decorated with black stripes and lining. Zarbodapso pulled out four swords, one in each hand, and smiled with his triangle-like teeth in excitement. "Hope you can keep me entertained, it's been a while since I've had a proper battle exercise."

'A-a-a Hecharum general?! We've fought just about every Hecharum from captain to warrior, but an Hecharum general, not even a marshal?! He has four arms too?! Do you think that that's one of the reasons why he broke through our defensive line?' Marwan continuously and anxiously asked.

'Probably the fact that he has four arms, that he's an Hecharum marshal, or perhaps a different reason that we're unaware of.' Fidelio answered in the best way he could. Everyone in the team slowly turned around with squinted faces, all of them ready to charge at Zarbodapso. However, Fidelio swished his left hand behind himself and in front the others, which was signal for everyone else to stay back no matter what. "Quedarse atrás (Stay behind)! I'll handle this everyone," Fidelio told them as he squinted and peered at the amused-smiling Zarbodapso.

'No, Lio!' Marwan began, 'You mustn't, we'll-'

'This is not up for debate! We don't know what this source of entropy in strange, dark armor can do, and I won't let any of you get injured needlessly. I'm the leader and it's my responsibility to put everyone else first before myself. Besides, so far no weapon in existence can penetrate Armsku, so I'll be fine, especially with my abilities. Just stay back, shred the remaining forces, and search for any survivors buried in the rubble, passed out near the flames, or otherwise. Just don't come back to help me. That's an order.' Fidelio responded in thought while the others looked at Fidelio with concern and worry. After taking a deep breath and quickly eating a banana, Fidelio slowly walked towards Zarbodapso with a grave expression.

After a little while, Brion and Jahid obeyed Fidelio and rushed away to search for any survivors. Junaleho looked back before he shook his head and rushed to join Brion and Jahid while Marwan stood there for a bit longer before he clenched his teeth and fists, following the others immediately afterwards. Fidelio sighed and smiled before he looked back at Zarbodapso with squinted, ignited eyes. Zarbodapso smiled, twirled his swords, and then asked as he grips his weapons tightly, "Are you seriously underestimating me, bluewood?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. It really all depends on how this skirmish ends in all honesty. Either way, I'm planning on coming out of this alive, one way or another. Now if I shred you or scar you at the same time, I won't dare complain." Fidelio replied with a smile of determination, yet uncertainty.

"Tch! Your spirit is admirable at most, but don't get cocky." Zarbodapso pointed the swords in his right hands at Fidelio with a menacing grin. "I can sense your fear and anxiety, if you have any sense of reasoning, you'll flee before you meet your end."

Fidelio sweated and gulped nervously before smiling, "Nothing is set in stone, idiota. You can't predict the future and nor can I, but I'll guarantee you one thing, a fight you won't forget!" Fidelio charged at Zarbodapso, dust blowing as he pushed himself off of the ground and summoned his blazing Igniken and his shimmering Armsku. Zarbodapso smiled, moved right, and instantly swung all four of his swords at Fidelio, only to find Fidelio's shield blocking the path of the swing. Realizing that Fidelio had not moved an inch since the clash and that the shield was left without a single scratch, Zarbodapso's eyes widened with shock and a brief feeling of fear and worry. Fidelio smiled anxiously and then wielded Igniken in a series of dodges, slashes, clashes, thrusts, parries, and swings against Zarbodapso. However, since Zarbodapso had four arms and was just as skilled and knowledgeable of swordsmanship as Fidelio, none of Fidelio's attacks made a single, direct hit that would cause major damage.

At one moment, Fidelio flipped back to create some distance between him and Zarbodapso in order to catch his breath and think. Zarbodapso smiled as he glared back at Fidelio and said, "Your skills and swordsmanship are admirable, bluenette. How did you reach such a remarkable level despite being so young? Please do the honors and humor me by answering my question honestly."

Fidelio panted softly and slowly as cold sweat softly and quietly slid down his face, "... Cinco (Five) … about five orbits of continuous training, fighting, and preparing is what led me to the level of skill I have now. Though it's not enough, what I lack in skill, I'll make up in will and hard work."

"Five orbits huh?" Zarbodapso asked rhetorically as he charged at and clashed with Fidelio, a cocky smile and crazed eyes on Zarbodapso' face. "That is indeed a long time, but it's not like that or your will matters. After all, you're tired, while you haven't made a single scratch on me, other than on my armor. Perhaps your stupidity has caused your downfall, bluewood." Frustrated, Fidelio's eyes began releasing his flames of bellicose from his eyes once more. As he yelled, screamed, and snarled, a shroud of faint, ultramarine light formed around his body and emitted a powerful presence that Fidelio did not show at the beginning of the battle. Zarbodapso jumped back instinctively and then became temporarily paralyzed by the burning look of animus in Fidelio's dagger-eyes. This sudden, temporary paralysis was enough for Fidelio to make a quick cut underneath Zarbodapso' ruby-red right eye before he could even blink. Slowly feeling the cut on his cheek, Zarbodapso became both petrified and enraged. "You scrap of driftwood! Look what you've done! You'll pay for attacking and injuring me, an Hecharum marshal!" Zarbodapso shouted as he pointed a sword at Fidelio.

"Oh?" Fidelio responded, his voice slightly deeper and echoic. "Are you going to run to your mamá now that you got a boo-boo? Aww so sad. Do you need a kiss to make feel better? I thought you were a good swordsman, but it looks like your only good with a sword and nothing more." Fidelio smiled menacingly, giving Zarbodapso a chill as he sweated nervously. Zarbodapso gulped while clenching his swords as his red eyes shimmer, "D-don't you dare underestimate me driftwood."

"Like you're doing with me? Keep it up and I might actually shred you, which I won't and can't complain about." Fidelio turned around and glared at Zarbodapso, his will shimmering through the fire in his eyes and in sparks around his body. Despite a sense of fear, Zarbodapso refused to back down as he got in position to defend himself against the charging Yaraxian. The long, tiring battle ensued and was filled with constant dodging, slashing, and clashing at faster speeds, this time, Fidelio used his agility to accompany his speed and intellect to continuously overwhelm Zarbodapso and slowly chip away at Zarbodapso. Despite gaining the upper-hand progressively throughout the battle, Fidelio continued to grow more and more frustrated as his body grew more and more tired. Despite his worry of losing himself, Fidelio intentionally fed on his frustration, adding it to empower his will alongside his enmity.

He eventually grew so frustrated that he suddenly attacked and forcibly pushed Zarbodapso against a wall using Armsku as he rapidly swung, thrust, and clashed non-stop, the ultramarine light seeming to shine brighter around Fidelio. Suddenly, Fidelio jumped back out of instinct, tossed Igniken into the air, and summoned two large balls of ultramarine fire in his palms, one per hand. Zarbodapso did not know what was happening, but the sight of Fidelio's actions terrified the living daylights out of Zarbodapso, paralyzing him against the cracked wall. The moment Zarbodapso managed to feel his hand move, Fidelio grabbed Igniken between his flaming hands and fired a beam of intense heat and destruction at Zarbodapso via Igniken's blade. The smoke began to clear as Fidelio sighed deeply, flames coming out of his mouth as he did so. Fidelio slowly trudged towards the incinerated wall with Igniken and Armsku to examine the scene as the intense flames in his eyes vanished into ultramarine smoke. Zarbodapso was nowhere to be seen, but there was no pile of shreds either, much to Fidelio's frustration and disappointment.

Fidelio takes a deep breath of disappointment and relief, right before losing consciousness and falling on the ashy, cracked ground. When he finally came to, he felt a sharp, excruciating headache, his ears rang as he grabbed a crack in a wall to help himself up. His breathing was rapid as his heart and body were pumped full of adrenaline, his surroundings appearing to shake in front of him. He eventually calmed down before his eyes widened when he then heard Brion shout via thought, 'Fidelio! Come here quickly! We've managed to find a survivor buried in the rubble!' At the end of the word "rubble", Fidelio stood next to Brion, panting intensely and heavily as sweat poured down him in buckets. His whole body was covered in burns and scorched marks, the smell of smoke and burnt flesh shrouding him. Fidelio wiped his sweat off of his forehead as he pulled out a banana from one of the dusty supply crates nearby. Brion then looked at Fidelio with a raised eyebrow, due to the fact that Fidelio's shirt, gloves, jacket, and half of his pants were no more. "Oye! The fight was intense. Can you really blame me for going a bit overboard and suffering the consequences?" Fidelio responded as he finished his banana, tossing the peel to the side.

"Well at least you're still wearing shorts and your armor, but more importantly, I'm really glad that you're alive." Brion replied with a smile. Fidelio smiled and nodded before looking at Marwan carefully and slowly scavenging a body from the concrete brick rubble, a glimmer of hope sparkling in everyone's eyes. Marwan carried the body up into the faint light of distant flames to show a silver-skinned girl with amethyst-purple hair that covers the right side of her heart-shaped face. "Hmm … she looks about your type, Arwan, maybe even your same breed." Fidelio said, slightly smirking.

Gasping and scoffing at the sudden comment, Marwan immediately replied, "She's … n-not my t-type, and she can't be my breed. … She can't be my breed because we … were wiped out long ago."

"Yet, you're one of the few survivors of your breed, if you count this señorita. I mean, have you ever thought that you might not be the only one of your breed left? Come on, how many silver-skinned beings with this bizarre of a color hair have you seen? Piénsalo mi amigo (Think about it my friend)." Fidelio remarked. Marwan scoffed and stormed off with the metallic girl in his arms after being unable to say anything else. 'He's carrying la señorita (the young lady) bridal-style and doesn't even know it.' Fidelio thought to himself as he smirked. Everyone began walking to the celvolos until Marwan stopped and quietly laid the metallic girl down. He then immediately hugged Fidelio with a smile, "Don't you ever do something like again without me okay? I don't want to lose you too, not after everything else I lost." Fidelio's eyes widened as he blinked and looked at the ground before smiling and hugging Marwan back. "Yeah. I won't do that again, no alone at least, and hey, at least Arijun won't yell at us for fighting since your slap mark burned off."

Marwan released Fidelio from the hug, laughed, and then smiled before patting him on the shoulder, "Good. I rather not be yelled to death, especially when a woman's fury is involved."

"You and me both, Arwan."

"Yeah, anyway, you better keep your word, man of integrity. For now, let's get this young lady on our celvolos and head to the Magen." Everyone smiled and nodded as they rode the hour and a half journey back to the Magen, while the children talked amongst each other about how great it was to experience an actual mission, despite the obvious downsides. "When do you think we can go on missions more often, Papá?" Junaleho asked, his arms wrapped around Fidelio.

"When you and Jahid are able to summon your Auratals. You two and Elina can use Aura-Energy sure, but Auratals will indicate that you're strong enough to fight together without us having to protect you." Fidelio replied as he thrust the throttle forward to increase the speed, the sky displaying the spectacle of the coming of another dawn. The team landed next the Magen as the morning star declared it a new day, everyone being exhausted and drained beyond belief, Fidelio most of all. "Too bad we didn't bring any of the usual medical supplies to treat your burns Fidelio. All we got are things to prevent infection and numb the pain." Brion said as he examined their supplies from both the celvolos and the Magen.

Resting underneath a tree, Fidelio replied, "Estoy bien, no te preocupes (I'm fine, don't worry), Grand General. I'm not the priority here after all. Please make sure la señorita here keeps having steady breathing patterns and a heartbeat. Besides, we were a bit short on medical ingredients when we left. Hopefully, las mujeres (the women) received our usual supplies of medicina (medicine) and medical ingredients from Mutanci."

"I'm sure the Duke of Mitozal, the Marquis of Tamunca, and the Earl of Mutanci are working on that Lio. After all, they need us to prevent the Hecharums' northward expansion." Marwan reassured Fidelio.

Fidelio sighed and nodded in agreement, "Yeah … yeah you're right Arwan. … Anyhow, I'm … going to take una siesta pequeña (a little nap) after getting the minimal, necessary treatment."

Marwan chuckled and smiled as Brion started treating Fidelio, "Well, I'd say that you've earned it, Lio. Don't worry, the Grand General and I will take turns watching over our small camp." With that and a slight smile, Fidelio closed his eyes and began to sleep deeply, while the children followed soon after. Marwan yawned, "Do want to do first watch Grand General or should I do it?"

Brion looked up at Marwan and smiled as he put the remain supplies away, "I'll do it, but I wanna ask ya somethin' before ya rest."

Marwan yawned again, "Afwan (Excuse me). Anyhow, what is it?"

Brion sighed, "Why do y'all still call me "Grand General" or "Grand General Brion"? The Royal Legion has been disbanded for a few orbits now."

Marwan tapped his chin before answering, "Well … because we respect you. For that reason, Jun and I address you formally; plus, as long as Lio calls you "Grand General" so will Jun and I. The three of us have always shown formality to someone until all three of us agree that we have known that particular person long enough and well enough to not be so formal. Though in all honesty, I doubt that Lio will stop being formal around you, Anisatan (madam) Naama, and Tabiba (doctor) Emmi. I'm sure you already know this, but he doesn't consider himself as the leader, not completely at least. He knows that he's special and that age doesn't matter in leadership, but his blood and weaknesses amongst other things hold him back from being an even better leader than he is now. I don't know how to help him, but I'll support him nonetheless. It's what a true, good friend would do."

Brion chuckled softly and smiles, "Heh, 'til death bids you part huh?"

Marwan laughed and ended with a sigh, "Yes … until death bids us part I suppose."

Brion smiled and commented, "I like how y'all are awfully close. While that is a good thing, be careful that it doesn't undermine who ya are as an individual."

Marwan nodded and yawned as he fell asleep underneath the cool shade of a tree, Brion smiling as he looked at the sleeping metal lady. Brion slowly moved towards her and began to clean off her scorch and dust marks using the cleaning supplies that they had for the celvolos. As the girl's metal began to shine, Brion's eyes widened as he saw the true face of the unconscious lady. 'It can't be! Can it?' he thinks to himself. 'I knew she was there at the base, I sent her there after all, but still it seems too good to be true. … I won't say anything, not yet. I can't be certain, not until I hear her voice. I'll wait until I hear her voice, though I probably won't be able hear it during the journey back. I'll have to wait for Naama to work her magic alongside Emmi and Fidelio. I've waited this long to see her face, I can wait a little bit longer to hear her voice too.'

Time passed as the stone mirror of the celestial night began to rise and light up the darkness with its milky-white starry hosts, the celestial fire resting underneath the horizon. "Is everyone well rested?" Brion asked after he finished securing the supplies as the others finish eating.

Fidelio swallowed his last bite, burped in satisfaction, and nodded, "Sí señor, Grand General Brion. Estamos listos, though I'm suppose the main problema that we'll encounter back home is readjusting our sleeping schedules."

Marwan shrugged as he boarded the Magen, "Not that you get much sleep to begin with, but eh, we'll worry about that when we get home, Lio. Right now, however, getting home with everything and in one piece should be our main concern."

Fidelio softly chuckled and smiled, "Heh. Yeah, you're absolutely correct, Arwan. Vamonos todos! Let's go home everyone! They're all waiting for us to returns and it's best not to keep them for too long." Everyone nods and smiles as they strap in and fly off into the night, soon arriving home and sleeping until the next day comes.