Hunter’s Perch, 5:34am

The heavens above had opened up, unleashing a deluge of torrential rain upon the chilly valley. The sun had yet to peek over the mountains but was threatening to do so shortly, giving both sides a small window in which darkness proved to be the thin line between life and death. High above the land and far detracted from the battle for Fort Blackclaw, Righteous Justice steamed hard for Hunter’s Perch, all guns trained forward. Each of the nine massive main guns of the destroyer were prepared for combat, half loaded with potent airburst munitions, and the other half prepared to go slug for slug with the enemy vessels clinging to the air around the castle.

It had been some time since Jack had laid eyes upon the castle, though he had wished to never see it again after what he went through on his first visit. A deep scowl carved itself into his stoney features, causing his grip to tighten on the weapons he held close.

At his side stood Flitter, who regarded the castle with much the same energy through her NVGs. “Ugly place.” She muttered, seemingly to herself but without care of who would hear.

“It’s uglier on the inside.” Jack responded quietly, rolling his shoulders. By now the enemy had spotted them, even among the dark clouds that seemed to cling to the jagged mountains like a death shawl.

Nodding faintly, Flitter turned from his side and looked to the crew. “Ladies and Gentlemen! Prepare to defend yourselves!” It was the only order she gave, and the only one she needed to. The Righteous opened fire, starting the fight with a knock-out straight left. The massive 406mm shells slammed into the imperial vessels, blasting open decks and buckling armour plating while the concussive blast turned nearby crew and fliers to jelly that fell lifelessly to earth. With the opening punches thrown, the deck of the swift destroyer lit up as if set ablaze, every gun firing on whatever target they could train upon. Tracers cut the air like a million fireflies, buzzing back and forth to end life and saw away at flesh. The airburst rounds followed as the Imperial defenders rallied with perfect precision, filling the air amid the tracers with singing shrapnel that knew no ally.

Bolts of plasma joined the lead rounds, cutting away all in the path of the destroyer as it made a bee-line straight for the castle. Everyone onboard the Righteous knew that this was likely a one way trip, and they would be damned if they wouldn’t make it count. Guns fired until they were cherry red, and the crew fought until the deck was slick with hot casings, torrential rain, and flowing blood. As an imperial corvette fell to the mountainside spewing flames and molten metal, the Righteous kicked sideways, drifting into close proximity with the castle.

“GO!” Flitter bellowed over comms as the strike team disgorged onto the stone landing below. They were met with immediate fire, which they responded to with precise and deadly blows from their advanced weaponry. Jack took to the front, leading the team across the open landing pad as the Righteous slipped away from the berth and fell back from the mountain, continuing to brawl with the enemy vessels.

The fighting was brutally violent in the close quarters, with there barely being enough air to breath for all the lead and plasma being flung back and forth. Despite the danger, the team daringly pushed forward, continuing to stretch into the castle in search of The Elements, The Emperor, and Forge.

Turning a corner, Jack fired his rifle like a scythe, cutting a pair of guards in half with the raw rate of fire the weapon was capable of. “Clear!” He called, stalking deeper in as the team followed behind him, a blue pegasi in the middle of the pack. Dash looked about frantically, trying to get her bearings. She wore heavy armour that would likely interfere with her flying for long, but would save her from meeting an untimely end at the bite of an Imperial bullet. A simple SMG sat strapped to her side in a saddle, the firing bit hanging near her mouth as she panted from the adrenaline coursing through her system.

Jack paused for a moment to check his map, and activate the sonar ping to expand it. He stood stock still as JSOG spread out through the hall, weapons trained on every approach. They stacked a dozen fresh bodies by the time the scan completed, and Jack waved them forward again.

“Changing mag.” Ace called as he stuck to Baron’s back, the empty cylinder falling to the stone with a clatter as he slid home a new one and activated the feed. As Ace lifted his attentions, stone exploded, and a neat hole punched itself through mere inches from Baron’s midsection. “COVER!” Leaping forward, he rammed himself between her shoulder blades, driving the humanized changeling to the ground as another round cut through the wall, striking him in the side with enough force to spray blood across the stonework.

“MAN DOWN, COVER, COVER!” The order went up as another two round cut through the stone, the echoing thump of the autocannon echoing through the cold, candle lit halls.

A hall away, an elite griffon soldier slowly panned the muzzle of the cannon over the wall, claw squeezed around the trigger as he sent round after round down range into JSOG. So focused was he on his archanotech scope that he didn’t notice the eerily quiet bulk of the Thanatos operator who had slid up beside him, until a heavy boot forced him over onto his back, and a fat gunmuzzle emptied two rounds into his chest and face.

Thunder boomed outside and shook the castle windows as Jack returned to the squad, finding Mythic Ace’s armour opened up and Baron swiftly applying first aid to the oozing wound. The round had gone through his side, taking out a portion of his midsection and leaving behind a wound that would need immediate professional attention. As bad as it looked, Ace smacked Baron’s shoulder and yelled. “Just foam it and seal me up! I can pick up the rear!” He gasped after speaking, forcing his lung to take in air through the shock of pain.

“I’m giving you a pain shot, hold still.” Baron spoke calmly as she worked while the rest of the squad took up defensive positions around the pair. They didn’t have time for this, not any more.

“I can’t fight if I’m doped, Baron.” Ace shot back through grit teeth, trying to stop her from wasting the supplies on his dark oozing wound.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Baron slapped the man across the face before sticking her extended index finger into it. “Stop trying to impress me, cowpony. You’re getting it whether you like it or not.”

“Ace, can you walk?” Jack demanded as he looked over his shoulder at him. His ex-bodyguard simply looked up and gave him a grin through bloody teeth, nodding once as he slid his helmet back on.

Flitter turned and pointed to Baron. “Give him a hand, we’ll pick up the slack. Jack, once we secure a viable location we need to send him back.”

“Affirmative. Scan’s done, this way.” Jack waved them forward as Baron filled the gaping hole in Ace’s side with quick expanding coagulant foam, before bodily picking him up and having him lean heavily on her as she one handed the rifle she was armed with. Tucking the stock into her armpit, the changeling took no pause in protecting her teammate.

Cutting through the halls like white hot knives, JSOG carved and shot and fought onward and upward, spilling blood across the halls and stacking corpses like cordwood. They moved as one, covering every approach, cycling out as reloads were performed as fast as the shooting had been moments prior. They were one being, moving effortlessly through the puppets that stood before them and their final goal.

“We’re close.” Jack murmured into his comm as he paused outside a large set of double doors. “Twelve targets, five ponies. Dash?” He turned to the mare, who perked and looked up at him with wide, fierce eyes. “We breach, you get the talismans off the others. You secure them however you can, and we’ll kill everything that tries to stop you.” He only faintly glanced to the team as they nodded in agreement, while Dash took in a deep breath and whispered out

“Oorah.”

Approaching the massive doors, Jack rolled his shoulders and sneered, his own anger coming out as his sights settled on a single thermal outline among the others. His large armoured fingers curled into his fist, from three, to two, to one, to none where the door shattered inward like balsa, showering splinters across the room.

Magic lanced across the room, cutting into the team and felling someone with an angry cry of pain. Jack didn’t dare flick his eyes from the sight of regal armour, fleeing out the back door. His rounds cut through the bodyguard before the Emperor, blowing the griffon guard to pieces, as only one round slipped through the meat and gristle to penetrate the Emperor’s hide. The door slammed shut behind the griffon as he fled, leaving his guards and the elements to fend for themselves. Magic, bullets, and plasma cut back and forth through the air, over the bolt of blue that dodged and danced like a gymnast through the field of fire, tackling into the purple mare at the lead of the group. Twilight went down hard, ringing her head off stone as Dash wrenched the corrupted crown off her friend’s head, before diving upon the others.

The remaining griffon guards lasted as long as their cover did, which is to say they ended much the same; in flaming piles of shrapnel and blood. It took seconds, but with each round cutting across the small open room, it felt like it took eternity for Dash to remove the last and final talisman from Fluttershy as she snarled and bit into Dash’s foreleg. As the golden apparel bounced across the floor, Jack ripped forward the last mask of control, and crushed it in his grip.

The power washed over the room and the castle, erasing the control Carolus and Jalgromak had left, save for those wearing masks. Without the talismans to corrupt them, the elements of Harmony took their first gasps of air as free mares, for the first time in weeks. A cacophony of cries went up, enraged, disgusted, broken and sorrowful as they all hugged each other, sobbing hot, angry tears.

Turning from the scene, Jack looked back to his team to find Taven sprawled on his back, and Flitter limping from a smoking hole in her thigh armour. “I’m fine!” She yelled angrily, waving him off the second his vision alighted to her wound. “Taven! Get Taven!”

“I have him!” Minerva called out as she slid to her knees, checking the downed man’s vitals. “Come on, come on…”

Jack’s fists curled in fury, but he forced himself to focus. Bringing up a small canister, he sprayed a large square across the outermost wall, before blasting it away with the breaching charge. “Captain Alsan, do you read? We have the Elements, ready to RTB!” Torrential rain poured through the hole as thunder boomed and lightning peeled by the ship clinging to the air. It was still pitch dark, the sun having not crested the mountains.

“I hear you, but I have bad news.” The captain responded through grit teeth. “We’ve taken engine damage, we can only muster combat speed.”

The news gave Jack pause, a flash of panic ripping through him. His plan was in flames already, and he had to think fast. “...Copy. Sending over our wounded and the Elements shortly. Once they are onboard, you are to let nobody return to the castle, and immediately retreat at all possible speed. Do whatever you have to do to get the hell out.” A lump was forming in his throat, his fingers trembling faintly inside his armour. The immediate protests of the Elements fell on deaf ears as he turned toward JSOG.

Taven was on his side, gasping for breath as he drooled blood. He grinned faintly at Jack, the light in his eyes fading from the magical gutshot. Clenching his fists, Jack shook his head and disengaged his helmet, letting it unfold and nestle down in his thick collar. “Flitter.” He spoke with a voice ragged with emotion as he strode toward her.

The woman unsealed her own helmet, quirking a brow. “We still need the Emperor, we’re still in this, Jack-”

“You can’t send us back, do you have any idea what that monster did to us!?” Twilight screamed, her fury coalescing as magical energy over her body. He ignored her.

He ignored her, as he wrapped his arms around Flitter, hugging her tightly as he kissed her deep before the others. The kiss lasted only a moment, taking her by surprise, before he rested his forehead against hers. “I-” He nearly choked on the words as he forced them up and out, through the little locked box he’d held them so tight within for so long. “I love you Flitter.” He all but whispered the words, watching her eyes widen and her own breath catch in her throat. “I love you so much, and I’m sorry I-” He cringed, tears stinging his eyes. “I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to tell you until now. And-” He drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry for what I have to do.”

“Jack-” She started with a wavering voice, before he activated the talisman recall, sending the whole team, and the Elements back to the Righteous Justice. They went off one after the other, sending either a shocked soldier or screaming Element away to safety. Flitter lunged for him, eyes with and mouth open, but she wasn’t fast enough to beat the spell as it teleported her through the hole and onto the ship.

Inhaling deeply, he activated his comms. “Captain Alsan, GO! Give it all you’ve got! Don’t wait for me!”

“I copy-”

“JACK! JACK YOU BASTARD, DON’T YOU DO THIS! DON’T YOU DO THIS TO ME!” Flitter screamed furiously into her comms as the Destroyer turned away from the fort and began steaming off.

Reactivating his helmet, Jack’s features hardened into titanium slabs as he checked the time.

5:50am

“Stay on the ship, Flitter. If you come back, you’re DEAD.” He spat like the word was molten metal stuck in his mouth, the burning in his eyes testament to the heat. “I’ll do everything I can to come back to you, I promise.” He said softly, almost a whimper as the last vestige of his kindly emotions left him.

“You-” She whispered back, voice rife with thick emotions. “You better come back to me, Jack!”

“Don’t let the others leave.” He said softly, turning to the door where Carolus had fled through. “I love you Flitter Falenas.”

“I know… I love you too, Jack Kessle.” The comm line went silent as he cut it, forcing his mind to the task that remained before him.

“Sammy?” He spoke quietly as he pushed the door open, eyes alighting to the blood trail leading away.

“Yes Father?”

“You’re the best magic knife intelligence a marine could ever ask for.”

“...Thank you, Father.”

Stalking the blood stains through the halls, Jack almost wanted to smile as his attentions fell upon Carolus, splayed out on the floor, holding his bloody leg. The griffon spied him at the same time, and lifted a long, gilded pistol at him, squeezing the trigger as many times as the trigger would allow. The fat rounds bounced and spalled off Jack’s shining silver plates, the attack cut short as he backhanded the weapon, shattering it and scattering the pieces across the floor. “I told you I’d get you.” Jack spoke smoothly as he grabbed Carolus by the forearm, pulling him closer.

“ACK! Y-yes, so you’ve found me, monkey!” The Emperor spat at Jack, laughing at him through the agony of his wound being aggravated. “Go ahead, give me everything you think I deserve! Give me back all the pain and anger you’ve felt!” The Emperor’s eyes glowed blue in the dark, only undercut in their power when lightning flashed by the windows of the storm swept castle. The appeal truly was there, a deep dark desire to slowly pluck the griffon and torture him beyond belief.

“Oh, I’ll do that and more.” Jack purred gently as he dug into his armoured pouches, retrieving a small metallic cylinder that was coated in biohazard warnings. “But not when I have a rendezvous with your god and a schedule to keep.” He popped the cap off the armoured cylinder, and shook free a corvellan toxdart. “I’ll see you in hell, Carolus, and we’ll finish this right. Tell the Devil who sent you.” He stabbed the dark into the exposed flesh on Carolus’ forearm, earning a squawk of pain. With cold efficiency, Jack twisted the arm until it popped free of the socket, earning another cry from the boy emperor. He then grabbed the opposite arm, and repeated the action until Carolus was immobile on the floor, a twisted wretch of a creature bound in gilded armour splayed on blood slicked marble floors. “I don’t want you ending yourself too quickly. Enjoy what comes next, Cyka. You earned every second.” He spat back with molten fury as Carolus’ eyes began to widen and go bloodshot. The griffon choked on his words as they engorged his tongue, the overpowered neurotoxin swiftly moving through his broken body.

“Good.” Jack purred again as he watched the Emperor buck and thrash on the ground, aggravating his broken and twisted limbs. Choked screams and blood curdling squalls began to pour from Carolus, telling of the alien agony inflicted upon him. “It works. Sammy, set a three minute detonation timer, voice code authorization as a backup.” There was a brief pause as he waited for her to confirm before nodding. Without another word, he set forward, toward the largest chamber in the castle. Carolus’ screams painted a nearly pleasant backdrop against the roaring storm outside. The massive oaken doors swung open, revealing a massive banquet room, repurposed into an abattoir for Doctor Forge. The hippogriff stood at the end of the hall, before a massive tank that towered a half dozen meters tall, and just as many wide. A maze of wires and tubes ran to the tank. The doctor took a step away from the tank as it rumbled, the rivets blowing off it like gunshots that destroyed delicate archanotech machinery around the room. Steam hissed free across the hall as Jack stepped in, eyes narrowing as he lined up a shot on the Doctor’s chest.

5:53:02am

The vessel split, and a large humanoid creature lifted itself free, feathered wings flaring. The god made incarnate was a perfect being, ten feet tall, rippling in muscle and clad in perfect porcelain skin. Upon its head sat a face that was all too painfully familiar.

Petyr stared back at Jack with cold, unfeeling blue eyes that glowed with impossible divine power, locking surely onto him like a laser. Fingers rolled, popping knuckles as the god made flesh slapped aside the doctor who opened his mouth to speak, plastering the hippogriff against the wall as if he hadn’t had any bones at all. Wordlessly, a sword shimmered into existence in Jalgromak’s hand, and the point was directed toward Jack’s heart.

5:53:34am

In an instant, Jack squeezed the trigger and leapt forward, every weapon mounted to his armour spooling and spitting, launching a fusillade of death at Jalgromak as he leapt for cover. His physical power and speed proved to be the only thing that kept him alive, as Order lunged forward like a bullet, cleaving into the wall with his silver sword where Jack had been only a mere split second ago, cutting only the sole of his boot off with the cleave.

The god lunged again, swinging expertly at the marine as he backpedalled and circled, emptying whole magazines into the perfect, impenetrable hide of the god before him. He lifted his rifle, allowing it to be sundered by a blow meant for his throat as he rolled away, unloading his rocket racks on the God’s side. The rattle orchestra of explosions left only a smudge of darkness upon the god’s side as he swung again, carving off a piece of Jack’s armour. He was playing with him, Jack was sure of it.

5:53:42am

As his shoulder mounted launchers chimed empty, Jack Jetted backward to avoid a cleaving blow, only to find Jalgromak following him through, sword point forward. Gritting his teeth as fear took over him, Jack leveled his arm at Order, and unleashed the BFG DD. The shrieking green ball lashed out at the god, inflaming the skin it touched, turning the perfect porcelain skin to an angry red. Snarling, the god put a hand to its side as it deftly dodged the bulk of the shot, allowing the round to slide past him and detonate against the far wall, opening the hall to the storm outside.

5:53:53am

The next strike came in faster and harder, cutting a neat line into Jack’s breastplate as he ducked and dodged, drawing his Kbar knife. Flicking his wrist, the knife thickened and extended into a sword of his own, which he brought up against Order’s following blow.

An explosion of magic and sparks erupted from the pair of weapons as they clashed, the knife’s steel all but screaming as it collided with the unknown material that formed the weapon Jalgromak used. Back and forth the blows rained down, only serving to force Jack back on his heels and cut away sections of his armour.

5:54:00am

With a grunt of exertion, Jack caught the next blow against his weapon, before driving a pilebunker board fist into Jalgromak’s ribs. He almost grinned as his feint worked, and the armour penetrating titanium rod was launched forward on magnets to impale the god.

The rod impacted Jalgromak, earning a grunt of either pain or annoyance, just as the rod exploded into useless fragments. His shock froze Jack in place for a single second, and that was all the time the god of Order made flesh needed to drive his weapon into Jack’s flesh. Gasping in pain, Jack twisted away from the blow, sacrificing muscle in favour of internal organs. His blood quickly poured forth from the burning wound as his regeneration fought to seal it. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his weapon again, and launched at Jalgromak like a man possessed.

5:54:03am

Desperation began to colour his thoughts as he was forced back time and time again, parried and riposted and outplayed at every turn. He had challenged god, and now the god was proving his divinity threefold. Snarling under his helmet as he was struck again, losing a chunk of bicep, Jack lunged forward, snaring Jalgromak’s wrist in his steel crushing grip. Driving his weapon forward, the vorpal blade sliced into the angry red flesh of the god’s side, embedding itself inside him as Jack reached into his vest, and wrapped his hand around the glowing rod that oozed awful power.

5:54:15am

Chaotic energy lashed out around Jack’s fist as he drew out the Chaos Core, using it as a fist filler. With his hand still latched to Jalgromak’s wrist, Jack’s filled hand shot forward and up, striking the much bigger being in the chin and sending Order’s head snapping back with an explosion of chaotic energies. Glee burned away the desperation and fear in Jack’s mind as he accepted the power as his own, accepted the corruption so he could fight just a little longer, and give the Righteous Justice the time it would need to escape the blast radius. He could still escape, he still had his ace in the hole.

Bringing back his fist full of chaos, Jack struck Jalgromak repeatedly, driving his titanium lined fist into the god’s ribs, feeling exhilaration with each impact and each noise of discomfort he earned from the god before him. Bringing the god down low, Jack brought his fist down, aiming to crush the skull that housed the face of a man he’d called friend.

Only, the blow didn’t connect, as his own Kbar slid through armour and impaled Jack’s hand, the shock causing him to drop the core. Deftly catching the core in his free hand, Jalgromak twirled the blade out of the wound, and ran it’s point through Jack’s chest.

5:54:20am

Lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall behind him, Jack gasped for air as the horrible burning sensation of his own blade carving his flesh apart filled his mind. His armour was in tatters, shredded beyond belief as if it had been made of canvas instead of the best materials known to man. His breath came out through grit teeth bound in pain as the sword was left stabbed into him, pinning him to the wall.

5:54:23am

With the core in one hand, Jalgromak grabbed Jack by the throat, and squeezed. His once friendly features twisted in disgust as he tilted Jack’s head side to side, as if examining him. Without warning, the god released his throat, and instead grabbed a great handful of muscle. With a horrific yank, Jack felt his body ripped away from him like it was nothing but a bandaid. Armour and muscle and augment fell to the ground as the god of Order regarded him with almost a smug smile.

5:54:25am

Through pain worse than he’d ever felt in his life, Jack sagged on his own sword, eyes falling to what the god had down to him. Chaotic energy crackled down his body, carving welts of pain into his very soul as he bore witness to the broken, destroyed body he had left Equis with. The one he had died in for the last time. His true form. Jalgromak seemed pleased, though said nothing as he drew the sword out of Jack’s chest, and instead plunged it into his belly, impaling him to the wall once again.

5:54:30am

The agony of living had returned with a vengeance, as if paying him back for all the time he had spent gallivanting around in his new body, for all the joy he’d felt at being a new man. It was as if he was being reminded that he was nothing but a man, and would die as one. Shuddering inside what remained of his armour, Jack slowly turned his gaze upward, to watch as Jalgromak, God of Order, walked toward the hole blown in the wall.

In the corner of his shattered helmet, the broadcasting light blinked softly. He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut, to accept that he had failed. As Jalgromak spread his wings wide, Jack wanted nothing more than to just die, rather than witness the world he had come to love in some strange, twisted way be wiped clean.

5:54:35am

It was then that his eyes flashed open, that white hot anger returning to his veins. His body was broken, but his spirit and mind remained strong. His anger and hate, used as a fuel one last time. “My name-” He snarled through cracked and bloody lips as he grasped the pistol inside the ruined vest that clung to his bent and broken body. “Is Jack-”

“-Fucking-

He fired the last round in the weapon into the sword that pinned him to the wall, shattering the already badly damaged blade. Discarding the spent revolver, he clutched the near magicless handle of the knife, only an inch or two of blade remaining.

“KESSLE!”

His mechanical feet trod across the floor as Jalgromak took to the skies, Chaos Core in hand. With his ruined hand, Jack forced himself to cinch tight the armoured vest that contained his trump card. The teleporting rune was ruined, as was his chances of escaping, but…

That didn’t matter anymore. He had bought Flitter and JSOG all the time he could.

5:54:40am

With his guts threatening to spill out, and his prosthetics pounding across the ground, Jack leapt from the hole after Jalgromak, hands flashing out to catch whatever they could. With the broken knife, he plunged into the god’s calf, and found himself flying high above the battlefield, into the storm and clouds. Clinging onto Jalgromak, Jack opened his mouth, only to be cut off as the God reached down, and plucked him up. With a snarl, the god Jalgromak began to speak, only to get a face full of bloody spit that defied the blowing winds and driving rain. Infuriated, Jalgromak brought his fist filled with Chaos Core down toward Jack, intending to erase him from existence, right down to the last atom.

5:54:48am

With a grin, Jack turned himself and braced his feet against Jalgromak’s face and neck as he wrapped his arms around the core, pressing it to his chest, against the containment cell of Delta King where chaotic energy began to wildly arc.

"SEMPER FI MOTHER-"

Aboard the Righteous Justice, Flitter watched the live feed from Jack’s armour with gut wrenching pain, her hands clenched into fists as the whole ship sailed as hard as it could to escape whatever it was he had planned. She knew he wasn’t coming home. Her heart ached like a bullet wound as she watched him die, but she couldn’t bear to tear her eyes away.

She watched, as he tore himself free, declaring his name in defiance to the world, and running. The last she saw of him was his mechanical legs as they vanished into the dark storm, his helmet discarded on the ground. Her heart leaped, and for a moment she looked up. A loud bleep to her side distracted her for but a moment, and that moment is what saved her.

The sun appeared over the mountains a half hour early, a ball of impossibly powerful chaotic nuclear fusion that parted the storm like curtains, and boiled the rain in the sky. The mushroom cloud forced itself up and up and up, until it exceeded even the tallest peaks with its horror and beauty, until it’s stem touched the ground, and the concussive shockwave struck the limping vessel, a split second before a wave of combined harmonious magic struck home. Windows exploded inward as it began to fall, voices cried out as engines failed, and the hundred thousand ton vessel plummeted to the earth. As she fell, Flitter’s eyes remained on the broiling nuclear cloud as rippling orange lightning cut the sky, testament to the chaotic energies that had shattered the sky and slain a god.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head, a cold, empty sensation flooding her heart as a wave of purple magic encased the ship as it slammed into the forest below, sliding some way before coming to a gentle stop before the churning river.

Pulling herself from the wreckage, bleeding and weary, Flitter’s eyes drifted to the sky to watch two suns rise, and peace fall over the world.

Author's Notes:

Well, here we are. The End. Almost six years of writing, and it's finally over. I don't know if this ending meets people's expectations, but it feels right to me. I've become a notably different person over these few years, to the point most of you know that I'm no longer with the fandom, and haven't been since 2015ish. I've been through some dark times, and I've had some great times as well.

Despite the trouble Ballad has given me over the years, it's still hard to see it go. Still hard to let go of these characters who I've been building for six years. I think a part of me didn't want to finish Ballad, because it would mean the story would be over.

Either way, I'm happy to have reached the end, to put what I feel to be an appropriate capstone on this 600k+ word beast. I hope that some of you feel the same way as I do. In a world currently wracked with pandemic, strife, and pain, all I will give you is 11k words and a quiet 'goodbye and thanks for all the thumbs'.

There may be an epilogue, but I make no promises.