In my rush to see my brother, and in my investigation of this disk, I completely forgot the severity of the situation. Right now I needed to get down, and the only way down was back the way we came. Right now, there was that beast of a canine waiting for me. It was hard for Emily and I together to fend it off; how was I supposed to deal with it alone? I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I jumped up, startled, and instinctively reached for my belt.

“Sen! It's okay! It's me. We're fine; we made it.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Less than a minute. Where's Lucas? Is everything alright?”

I made sure to hide my face before saying, “Yeah. He's busy right now.”

“Busy?” Emily asked. She moved towards me and made eye contact. I didn't break it, because that would be more suspicious. She was trying to see if everything really was alright.

“It's complicated, I think.”

Emily laughed and grabbed my hand. “Well, if you don't know, then it must be very complicated. Come on. Phillip has detained the hematites, we should check in with Officer Taylor.”

“Right. Then we can continue,” I said as Emily guided me back through the news station. “Wait!” I said. I pulled free of her grasp and returned to the editor's room. I grabbed the disk from the computer and smashed it on the floor. I ground my heel into it to make sure that the damage was complete.

“What was that?”

“That was what my brother wanted to show me. That was what the hematites were after. Information.” Emily nodded and we descended the ruin that was the news station. I collected Bastion when the time was right, as we continued down the building. Outside, we could no longer hear the sounds of battle raging nearby. The hematites must have retreated. They were repelled for the time being, but they'd be back. They wouldn't find what they were looking for, but thye'd start looking for something else instead.

When we were outside again, Phillip greeted us, and directed us to Officer Taylor. She was helping another soldier limp back to camp along the beach. He was missing a leg, and the wound was bleeding badly; it was leaving a thin trail behind them. He seemed barely conscious. Emily rushed over to help him on the other side. “What happened?”

“The tite thing blasted a rock right next to him. Completely shredded his leg, but we were able to salvage his left leg. He won't be happy when he realizes what happened.”

“Can't you heal it? Officer Phillip helped heal us when we were ambushed.”

“We did heal him. The rest is up to fate. Healing can only go so far. His leg was beyond repair. He's lucky he was able to keep his left leg If it weren't for Officer Foeg, bless his soul, he would be missing both legs right now.”

“What happened to Officer Foeg?” Emily asked.

“He was between the two; look back,” she nodded back at the beach with her head. “These finniks better get their due, and I want you two to help give it to them.”

I stopped and watched them continue onwards. I followed the trail of blood back to the beach; it was a disaster. There were several officers helping dig a hole with some assistance from their creatures. Next to them, was a body and a bloody pile of sand. Someone died today during a simple raid. I couldn't believe it. Hardly an hour ago, Emily and I were ready to help fight this battle, and other people were getting injured or dying.

I suddenly remembered that I was injured and almost died as well. If it weren't for Phillip's quick thinking and Doc, I would be dead. Burned alive from the inside out from poison. First my father, and now Officer Foeg.

I didn't have much time to think before another group of soldiers walked up to me with a large quadruped slowly lagging behind them. It seemed uninjured for the most part, but something was wrong. It had beautiful white fur covering its sleek body. It would have reflected the sun angelicly, if it weren't for all the dirty covering it. It had two sturdy wings tucked loosely against its body. Its face and paws were bald, and dark. Its fur formed a hefty mane around its neck. It was somberly staring at the ground and whimpering.

“...tite bloke didn't even have a chance to react. Boom. Hey kid, you alright?”

“Yeah. It's just different seeing this side of things.”

“This is nothing. I once saw a ninomo eat a man from the inside...”

“Matthew!”

The officer talking to me turned around. He had a beard full of stubble, but no hair on his head. He had pales eyes to match his pale complexion. “What? You want these kids to volunteer for this without knowing!? Wouldn't you want to know?”

“Sure, but does he need the details?”

“That's the whole part about knowing,” the other officer sighed and walked away. Mathew turned back to me and said, “the tite thing simply walked in through the leg. It was another case like this. His leg is wide open, but before we can get to him. This tite ninomo slides in through the leg, and the man goes nuts. Scratching, yelling, screaming. Seconds later, the ninomo just bursts out of his chest and leaves like nothing happened. There was nothing we could do, except watch him die. We barely froze the thing before it got to us, you know why? Because it was full. Foeg? Tite kid, that's nothing.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. I got poisoned, but that was it.”

“Heh. Poison's not much better. It's like they burn you from the inside. It runs through your veins too. I burnt my hand once, and there's hardly a comparison between the two.”

“You're not good at selling the military you know.”

Mathew laughed. “Am I though? If you want to join with the military, you have to be prepared. War is deadly, friends are going to die. But you work with the best friends you'll ever have. The people who fight, are people who subject themselves to this every day. They are so dedicated to keeping everyone safe, that they are willing to risk pain like that to do it. I don't know about you, but I want to be one of those people. Reliable under any circumstance. Reliable until death. Wouldn't you?”

“I wish I could be so noble. They murdered my father and burned my home. I want revenge.”

“Careful with that though. Sure its a great motivator, but make sure it doesn't cloud your judgment.”

“It won't.”

“Aww isn't that sweet, seems you have anew friend, friend,” Mathew gestured to the animal that had been staring at me intently and inching ever so slowly towards me. “By the way, what's your name kid?”

“Sen,” I replied.

“Mathew. You can skip this officer garbage. I don't believe in it, unless I need to. You help me, I help you, we're brothers. None of this officer this or that. You a fighting kind?”

“You mean, am I good?”

“Yeah.”

“I'm learning.”

“You get room on your hexili for her?” he asked patting the creature on her head. “She was Officer Foeg's. Tite, there I go breaking my own rules, but he deserves it. Died with honor. His defenders kinda went berserk when he died, it made them easy targets. Sombra here is the only one of his that surived. She's quite the fighter, and seems to have taken a liking to you.”

I actually paid attention to the creature in front of me. She had golden eyes perched atop her short snout. I reached my hand, palm up, up to her face, and she sniffed it inquisitively. She didn't appear to be sniffing my hand as much as around my hand. She began sniffing along my forearm. I scratched behind her ear, and she returned by thrusting her head affectionately into my arms. Her fur felt like silk despite its current condition.

“I take that as a yes?” Mathew asked. He wasn't smiling, but he was clearly enjoying the scene. It was a nice respite from the terrors of war. I nodded.

“What's her name again?”

“Sombra. She's a great defender. She can fly, and if you're light enough, she can carry you.” Mathew looked between the both of us. “She's got you covered. Here's her pec,” he said handing me a small crystal. “It might be awkward at first, but the energies will sort themselves out very quickly.”

“Thank you.”

“No. Thank her. She picked you. I better go before I'm missed. Good luck out there Sen. I wish you well on your travels. You should probably come along to; I know you were here under Taylor's orders.”

“Right,” I said while pressing Sombra's pec into my heptili. I heard her purr quickly before she faded from view. Mather and I quickly made our way back to camp; it wasn't far. Taylor was running back and forth between beds of several fallen officers. Emily was following her. Mathew you waved and head elsewhere, before leaving me to the other two women.

“Are they alright?” I asked.

“They're critical. They'll need to be monitored overnight to ensure the best results.”

“I'm sorry to hear that Officer. Is there any way I can help?”

“No. You can help by getting as much training as you can, and making sure none of this happens to you. That will help.”

“I know what

...you mean. With that being the case, we should head out Emily.”

“Officer Taylor said we could stay the night here, and that they would drop us off in Pilvash by morning.”

“Really, sir?”

“Of course. It will give you a chance to rest up, and we're sending a convoy out past it to go to Locusin. There have reports of some raids there. We're driving through Pilvash, so it's fine wit me.”

“Well, thank you sir. That's very kind of you.”

“Just because I'm in the military doesn't mean I don't have a heart,” Officer Taylor said as she laughed. “Go heal up your defenders and find a place to take a nap, both of you, the conoy sets out at midnight.”

“Yes, sir,” we said as we made our way over to the healing machine. We put our pecs into the machine and watched as the red laser shined through each one. It was a quick process, but the changes it would bring excited me. Not wanting to disappoint Officer Taylor, we found an empty tent with a pair of cots. The tent was a bit larger than Emily's, and the cots were more comfortable than the blankets. I would miss being smothered by Hydra, but I thought I could manage it for one night.

We didn't do much but try our best to fall asleep quickly. It was easy to do after today. Emily had exhausted herself in battle, and I had been poisoned and healed again. Either way, the day's events took their tolls on us. We fell asleep in the comparitively better accomodations within minutes. It felt like seconds before we were woken up by an officer. I couldn't see anyhting, because the officer was shining a flashlight in our faces.

“We're moving on to Pilvash now. Are you two ready?” the officer asked us. She was wearing some sort of mask, so her head looked odd in the shadows.

Emily yawned and stretched her arms largely over her head. “Yup,” she answered dreamily. I nodded and quickly sat on the edge of the cot. We packed our bags during the afternoon, so we simply grabbed our bags and left with the soldier. Before we got into the cars we each went to the bathroom so we could last the ride.

The ride itself wasn't overly long. By foot, it would've taken us all day to get there.We had to reach a large river, and then we'd have to find the bridge to let us pass over it, and then continue along the road to Pilvash. Driving was much better for us. It cut an entire day off of our trip, and would give us that much more flexibility. If we were going to travel around the land, we might as well enjoy it a little bit too.

When we arrived at Pilvash, the sky was still dark. The officers pulled over at a hotel, and dropped us off. Without saying much of anything, they drove off to continue onto Locusin. Unlike us, they were only about halfway done with their journey. Emily and I both looked at each other and smiled; we weren't tired.

Emily grabbed my hand, “Come on Sen! Let's go to the lake.”

I followed her eagerly. We would have plenty of time to relax and unwind at the lake. It was hours before the sun would dawn on us. It was dark, but Olive would be able to help with that. I released her from her pec and her body permeated a light aura that helped guide our path. While the trees slept, we wove in-between their dreams.

The walk was wonderful, despite what we had just come from. Emily and I talked about our memories of the great lake. They weren't from this particular area of the great lake, but the great lake was almost an ocean in and of itself; it covered a lot of area in the land. When we came to the shore, I sat down on a rock, but Emily had other plans. She released Borris, and climbed on his back. Floating on the lake was much more fun, than simply watching it from a rock. She helped me up as well, and Borris waded into the lake.

“Go wherever you want Borris, we're here for the ride.” Borris roared in acknowledgement. “Oh, but no diving. We're not exactly water proof.” We both laughed. We both set our packs down on by the back of his neck, and rested against them. The smell of the lake, and the gentle rocking of Borris was extremely relaxing.

“This is where I got Hydra,” Emily said, “speaking of which.” She let Hydra out of his pec and he appeared in the water. He was slightly more mature; his arms wre better formed. “My have you changed. Do you remember here Hydra?” Hydra's two heads looked longingly at the water around it. It dove into the lake; we wouldn't really see much of him for the rest of the night. “Sorry Borris. We're not riding on him. IF you see anything you want down there, ask Hydra to get it for you.”

“How long ago did you get Hydra here?”

“I dunno exactly, just over a year. Borris, in fact, helped me get him, huh Borris? It was a nice summer day, and my friends and I came down to enjoy the beach...” Emily trailed off.

“Emily?” I asked. She didn't answer. She was awake, but she was looking down. I saw a tear fall from her face. “Is everything alright?”

“I don't know where my friends are anymore.”

I put my arm around her and said, “I know how you feel.”

“I know. It still sucks. It all changed so fast. One day I had several pets with me, the next, it was just me and Hydra. Well, and Borris, but he was at the house with my parents. My friends and any pets with them were taken too. Theh only reason why I was able to keep hydra was because he was hidden in my hood at the time. You know how I like to keep him out and about.”

“He's cute. Well, he was cuter when he was smaller.”

Emily laughed. “Yeah, but now he can fight. And he's wanted to fight for me, but he was too small. I'm glad that he's growing up. I wish it took a little longer though. That machine, I don't know what it does, but they change after it.”

“For us, that's a good thing. It's just you and me, and them. We need them to be strong for us.”

Emily turned back to the lake, the shore was distant now, and she leaned further into my arm. “Just us and them. What happenes after this do you think?”

“I didn't get that far in planning. I'm here to fight the hematites. Afterwards, I have nowhere to go.”

“You could stay with us. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind. They think highly of you because of the ferry at Kajil. That's really the reason they let me go in the first place. I told them that I would be going with you. They knew you kept me safe before; they knew you would do it again.”

“You know, it was really because of Phillip, not me.”

“They didn't have to know that. And if they did, we wouldn't be here right now.”

I shrugged. “That wouldn't be good. It's comfortable here.”

“Duh. Borris' shell is incredibly soft despite its defensive capabilities. Its very comfortable to sit on.”

We both laughed. “That's not what I meant, Emily.”

“I know. It's nice to be among your friends. You feel free, and comfortable, and safe.”

That wasn't what I meant either.

We continued to drift lazily through the lake, with Olive giving us a low ambient lighting. Borris grunted, and began to shake. “Borris? What's wrong?”

The water lit up with a dark orange light, and Borris turned left hard. The water on our right bubbled slightly. “You think that's Hydra?” I asked.

“No. Borris is upset. Borris, get Hydra up here please.” Borris stuck his head in the water, and let loose a roar. We couldn't hear it much from above the water, but he bubbles he was making was an enormous racket. Emily stood up, and began looking around in all directions. I stayed low, but did the same. Hydra surfaced far away to our right, and started to weave his over to us. Before he got to close, the water unsettled and splashed open.

Another large creature emerged. It had two heads, two arms that ended in sharp claws, and it was very big. One head had a wild ruddy mane, and the other head was covered in thick blue spikes. It was a parent snise. It was an angry snise.

“Sen, I don't have anything to use against this. Hydra's too small, and we're riding on Borris. Sunbeam doesn't stand a chance against him.”

“How do you know its a male?”

“Is that really what you're worried about here?”

I grunted as I stood up. “Fair enough, here, you hold onto Axel. I'll try out my newest defender, Sombra. She should be able to take some heat off of us.”

“You got a new defender?”

“Is that really what you're focusing on here?”

Emily slapped my shoulder. “Oh, stop it.” I released Sombra from her pec, and she appeared on the back of Borris. “She's beautiful.”

Sombra nuzzled her head against my arm, and I patted her head. I pointed at the snise that was circling with Hydra. “Sombra, I need your help. We need to fight that big snise. I'm going to need you to fly.” Sombra nodded, and knelt down on the back of...