On a TV plastered against the wall, a live news report was being aired. It was covering the chaos that was unfolding across Denver from the sky.

On the chopper, the reporter was in such panic, exclaiming haphazardly. “I-It seems that th-they’ve been rioting for… about five-eight-ten-five minutes I think, and have overtaken the streets. Also, i-if you see the flames, it’s implied that they’ve… Sweet Celestia, they managed to destroy military vehicles in the process! They appear to be heading towards… wait, point the camera at the capitol!”

The camera shifted all the way to the capitol building. There, smoke was arising around the building’s golden dome. “Sweet Celestia, they’ve already arrived at the capitol…! I-I don’t know if they’ll be able to handle that many-”

“We’re being locked!” the pilot shouted.

“What?”

The camera turned to the incoming missile that was hurdling towards them like a raging bull.

BOOM!

The screen distorted heavily before being cut to static.

“Bridgette…? Bridgette!” the anchorman shouted. “Damn, we lost her… damn it…”

The screen struggled to transition between the footage and the news desk.

On the other side, was the window. There, Jacklyn witnessed the chopper incinerate before descending to the ground without any grace. Then he felt someone grab her from the arm. “Huh?”

“C’mon Jackie, let’s go!” Ivan shouted.

She hardly reacted to him pulling her away from the window, she just went along and hid her grief from the others.

Down the hall, two Earth ponies were fatally shot as they held hopelessly to their position next to the elevators.

“So, what’re you gonna do with us?” asked Ivan.

“Make sure you three seek asylum.” Dave answered as he pressed the down button on the elevator.

“Asylum?” asked Lance.

“We’re not going to let the HUE try to get to you again.” Dave declared. “So we’re going to let a ‘’higher’ being lend you a hand.”

“Huh?”

“Step aside guys, let the lieutenant handle this.” he said without cracking a smile.

The lieutenant stood in front of the door and lifted his rifle. After the elevator’s ‘ding’, and after the door slide opened…

“Ah, mister lieutenant.” They heard a male voice say. “Where’s-”

Rat-at-at-at-at-at-at-at-at-at!

“Clear.” he declared.

“Alright, let’s get inside.” Dave ordered.

“Sir!” his subordinates chanted.

“Come on, you three!” Dave said to Ivan and the others. They only followed along.

Inside, the bodies of three armed ponies lied with blood splotched behind them. It nearly made Jacklyn want to faint, but was able to hold it in. However, her attempt to ignore those bodies were futile.

“Ivan?” Jacklyn said after the elevator door closed.

“Yeah?”

Jacklyn opened her mouth to speak, but immediately decided against it.

This made Ivan worry. “J-”

“Jackie, we’re gonna need you on the front.” Dave ordered.

“Roger.” Jacklyn said, walking in front of them.

“And Jackie-”

Her shield expanded to cover the width of the door.

Dave frowned, but pulled it together. “Alright boys and girls, take your positions!”

They pointed their rifles at the elevator door, while completely blocking Ivan and Lance’s sights. Through the glimpses of that Ivan saw though, Jacklyn’s head was slightly facing down towards her shield. He kept that frown further, for her gloom was making his gloom even more deep.

Ding!

In front of them now were ponies and human beings armed with a wide range of rifles, and they were pointed directly at them.

“Duck!” Dave screamed.

His subordinates did as such, the bullets would start raining down immediately after.

“Shoot!” Ivan screamed, then he and Lance would duck as well.

Suddenly, as the bullets were pelting against the walls, a teal aura engulfed Jacklyn’s shield. It was pulling at it relentlessly. However, through Ivan’s perspective, Jacklyn held on like a sailor during a storm. It was like a game of tug of war.

“Ready!” Dave shouted.

The squadron pulled out their grenades, then pulled out the pins.

“Now!”

They tossed them over the shield and out the door.

“Grenade!” one of their adversaries shouted.

Back at the elevator, Dave had a remote detonator in his hands. Concurrently, the fighters would quickly provide the three with goggles.

Pressing the button would be followed by a muffled blast that would unleash a large cloud of white smoke.  The teal aura no longer had a hold of Jacklyn’s shield, and everyone’s eyes was protected by the incoming smoke. Dave then lifted a finger in the air, and pointed it out the door. After patting Jacklyn on the shoulder to tell her the same thing, they starting bolting out of the elevator with their hands gripping onto their rifles.

They fired aimlessly through the smoke, shooting down anyone they saw through their infrared vision. Through it all, Ivan and the others saw Dave and one of his subordinates open up a large tile like a cellar door. They’d enter with haste when they saw the two wave at them to get in. The others kept firing as much as they could as it went underway. Once they were done, the subordinate patted each of the others on the shoulder, and thus they would follow along.

The last fighter aimed kept shooting as much as possible, while taking his steps back.

Rat-at-at!

A unicorn soldier yelped, as a bullet struck her throat.

Twang!

“Shoot!” The last fighter’s eyes struggled to blink as she could’ve sworn that a bullet was close to popping them out. She aimed her rifle at the perpetrator: An HUE soldier blind firing like mad. She didn’t hesitate to end her with bullets to the chest and head. By then, she was already at the opening, so she climbed down, and closed the hatch behind her.

Once everyone was out of their sight, Dave waved his hand down the massive sewer tunnel, and thus they all went running down it.

“So Ivan,” Dave whispered. “Long time no see.”

“It’s only been four days.” Ivan commented.

“Doesn’t matter.” zinged Dave. “Anyway, what exactly lead you three to Salt Lake.”

Ivan rolled his eyes and sighed. “We ran into some trouble, and now we can’t go to Washington State.”

“Damn.” Dave said with disappointment. “Does that explain the guy who’s with you two?”

“No.” Lance said. “Let’s just say that they ran into some trouble when they got me on board.”

“Ugh.” Ivan groaned. “Can we talk about this when we reach our destination?”

Dave complied. “Sure thing. Where we’re going, you can talk about it all you want.”

Jacklyn kept her head between the ground, and the direction they were heading. However, she’d grit her teeth a bit before asking, “Where are we going?”

Everyone heard it loud and clear. Aside from Ivan and Lance’s concerned looks, Dave let out a rather neutral feeling when answering. “Well, first off, it’s not around here.”

“The hell?”

Celestia was immediately worried when she noticed the major’s drastic change in her tone of voice. “Major, is every-”

“Impossible!” she said coldly. “That’s the fifth time they got in there, and they []still[/] haven’t bolstered defenses!”

This was an immediate red flag for Celestia. She stood on all four hooves and trotted to the Major’s side.

“Damn it!” the Major stomped her feet against the floor, resting her head against her free hand. “I got freaking Celestial here waiting for that boy to show up, and you’re telling me that-!”

She felt a hoof press against her shoulder like a cushion.

Kindly, Celestial told her, “Please hang up the phone.”

In a defeatist attitude, she said to the other caller. “Alright then, I’ll call you later.”

“What the-” the last thing they heard from the clearly disgruntled person on the other end.

The major sat up and arched her back against the chair. “Sorry Celestia, I wish we would’ve protected him-”

She put that same hoof on her hair. “It’s okay, what matters to me now is that he’s in safe hands.”

That statement got the Major’s worry to multiply. “What do you mean?”

Celestia trotted back to her seat. “What do you think the terrorists’ goal is?”

She put a hand behind her head. “Uh…, free their country, I guess?”

Celestia put her hooves on the table between them. “So I doubt they want to torture a fellow countryman, right?”

The Major tapped her feet against the floor as she thought. “I guess.”

After some time, Ivan and the others finally stopped running.

“Did… Did you also forget that… it was far away from there?” Ivan panted, carrying an exhausted Jacklyn by the arm.

“Heh, sorry.” Dave chuckled, then he pushed open the door above them, and on the other side, they could hear footsteps come rushing in.

“Let me help you up!”

“Thanks, Royce.” Dave said as a man pulled him up through the opening. Once he was up, he turned to help the others out. Once they were up, they, especially Ivan, decided to take a look around.

The altar consisted of roses being displayed by a long flower box. The flower box hung underneath a triptych displaying a beautiful pink haired girl in the middle. Five girls in colorful outfits and hair reached towards her like sheep to a good shepherd. Their teared eyes displaying solace and gratitude as the pink haired girl welcomed them with open arms. Her radiant white dress, ribbons on her hair, and the high-heeled shoes bearing wings represented her benevolence quite well, along with that amiable smile. The background behind the girls was of the vast cosmos of space, which spanned to each fold in the triptych. The two folds that stood next to the center one consisted of endless patterns of roses and their thorn-riddled stems, intertwined with oddly-shaped letters that made words, and then made sentences.

  Then he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around. “Huh?”

“So you’re the boy they’re talking about.” An adult woman on the other end asked him curiously.

“Uh~… yeah.” Ivan briefly glanced at her attire, then he took another look at the triptych. He noticed that the only difference between their clothing, is that the lady’s hair was dark, and not pink. “Nice dress, by the way?”

She replied in gratitude. “Thank you, sir.”

“Oh, messenger!” The man who helped them up said while running towards him, but he immediately stopped upon noticing that Ivan was there, and staring back at him. He immediately held onto her hands as she stared at him with quivering lips. “Um, pleased to meet you, mister….”

“Uh….” Ivan, who had already taken a glimpse at his pink robe and rose crown, swallowed some vomit before saying, “Just… Just call me Ivan, sir.”

“Oh, right.” He reached a hand out to him without a moment’s notice. “My Name’s Royce, sir.”

“Okay then.” Ivan returned the gesture, and the two shook hands.

“My name is Yuka.” said the woman. “I’m the Church’s messenger.”

Ivan switched his sight to her. “Messenger?”

“An equivalent to a priest.” Dave explained.

“Oh.” Then he reached his hand out. “Please to meet you…, messenger.”

Yuka laughed a bit. “So it’s true, Madoka’s hand hasn’t touched Chicago yet?”

Ivan was perplexed. “Uh, no, no she hasn’t.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.” Yuka said with a hint pity. Then she walked past him to meet with Dave. “Anyway, It’s a good thing you’ve managed to come back, Dave.”

Dave made a slight bow. “Thanks, Yuka.”

“You’re welcome, oh, and who are these two?” She was leaning to his right to spot the two in question.

Lance walked up to her with amity. “The name is Lance, pleased to meet you, ma’am.”

‘Mmhm.” She then let go and headed for Jacklyn. “Are you okay, Madame?”

He found that Jacklyn’s hand was gripping onto the baton again. Ivan, who was watching this unfold, tensed immediately before lifting a hand, his feet set to charge.

“Madame?” Yuka said with more wariness.

Jacklyn swung her baton towards her face, and Ivan took off immediately to stop her.

Thwap!

The baton was flying away from her hand, and away from Yuka’s cheek. “Huh?”

Then he noticed his intended collision course. “Shoot! Umph!”

“Oof!”

Thud!

“Ow~.” Slowly, he pulled away from Jacklyn to face the alter. The baton was still there, sitting front and center on the altar. However, resting above the roses on the flower box, was an arrow with a ball in place for the tip. He looked down at Jacklyn to notice that she was in the same shock as he was. They then looked above to the other side. A man carrying an oddly designed longbow was standing on a wide window ledge. The next arrow he took out, aside from being a hot pink, now had a much sharper tip.

To Ivan, he looked kind of like a shrine maiden from the geography books, only the weird dress-like trousers were pink. Ivan waved at him despite the odd clothing, and his soulless glare. “Uh, hey!”

The man only nodded before pulling the arrow against the bowstring.

“It seems to me that you’re not in any good mood, aren’t you?” asked Yuka in a kind manner.

“Huh?” Jacklyn turned up to find Yuka leaning down to her with a hand raised in the air. She responded by giving her, her hand. Once she was on her two feet, she immediately turned away. “Uh, yes, you’re right.”

“That’s what I thought.” She looked to Royce. “Royce, bring her something to eat!”

Jacklyn lifted a hand to touch him on the back of his shoulder, his violent flinch nearly cost her what she was about to say. “Uah…! Uh…, No, no, it’s okay. I just had a bad day, is all.”

Ivan, who was standing next to her, just looked up to the ceiling. Upon seeing the countless cosmos of space on the ceiling, he closed his eyes and sighed. “Thank god.”

“I think they’re pretty certain that we’re hiding them here.” said the caller quite worryingly. “The other churches and temples are reporting the same thing.”

“It seems so.” said Yuka through her smartphone. “Have they arrived at your temple?”

“Yeah, they’re guns are pointing at us as we speak.”

“Oh.” Yuka tensed up at this. “Okay…, call me when anything happens.”

“Yes, may our lady protect you.”

“And may her hands reach out to you.” Yuka then hung up.

She walked over to the others, who were staring at a desktop computer screen. On it, Dave was cycling through countless cameras, there, HUE personnel have surrounded multiple churches and temples to a tee.

“God damn.” Ivan said.

“Thankfully, they’re not going to be surrounding this place anytime soon.” Yuka commented as he joined the group.

“Whaddaya mean?”

“We’re all the way in Lakewood, Ivan.” Dave said. “Near the city-limits, mind you.”

Jacklyn groaned. “That explains a lot.”

“You’re not the energetic type, aren’t you?” asked Dave.

“D’oh~.” she sighed, and took another gulp from her water bottle.

“Hey, at least it was worth it.” Dave reminded

She sighed. “Yeah…, i-if you say so.”

“Now what’s your business with us, Dave?” asked Ivan.

Dave used his body to turn the swivel chair around, “First, you’re gonna tell me what brought you all the way out to Denver?”

“Urch!” Ivan was more than willing to hold back. “We… we were… uh-”

“My uncle turned out to be a Celestia loyalist, and left Washington state.” Jacklyn explained hurriedly. “He was our only ticket there!”

“God damn.” It was Dave’s turn to say that.

Not caring about the shock Ivan was feeling, Jacklyn elbowed him on the hip.

“Umph!” He was stammering at first, but managed to say something. “H-je told me to go to the Soviet Consulate in Salt Lake to have it sorted out, but then we were turned down, and we ended up here.”

“Oh really?” Dave then turned to Lance. “And you?”

“I found them wandering in the woods during artillery fire.” he answered without any stalling. “Now that I know what these kids are capable of, I’m basically their hostage.”

“Okay,” Ivan intervened. “Now that we got that out of the way, what the hell are you planning with us?”

“Ivan!” Jacklyn scolded.

After rolling his eyes at Ivan’s rudeness, Dave would speak up, “Put it simply, a nighttime operation to get you three out of here.”

This astounded them, except for Ivan. He was now rolling his eyes. “Sorry buddy, we plan on heading to the Central Union, by boat mind you.”

Dave turned around. “Seriously, From where?”

“Galveston.” He immediately covered his mouth shut.

“Galveston?”

Ivan pulled his hands away, and sighed. “The guy at the consulate told us that we should go there.”

Dave rubbed his forehead against his hand. “You three truly are some starry eyed fools, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Ivan, along with Lance and Jacklyn, were in a state of bewilderedness. “Well, where the hell do you plan on taking us, then?”

Dave opened a window on the computer, which contained a map. On it, he circled over the US-Mexican Border with the mouse. “Right here, buddy.”

“Wait, you mean through there?”

Dave cracked his knuckles, and addressed his point. “You do realize that no civilian boat is allowed on gulf waters, Ivan.”

This came as a surprise to Ivan. “What?”

“The treaty outright states that you’re not allowed to leave anywhere.” Dave mentioned. “You remember that, right?”

“Uh…” Ivan rubbed his hand against the back of his head. “Guess that applies to leaving the country too then.”

A little annoyed, Dave stated, “It’s obvious that the commies wanted to lure you into some sort of trap.”

“And what trap would that be then?” Ivan asked concernedly.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Dave turned back. “There’s some sort of strategy in that.”

Ivan was nervous, and so were the others. Jacklyn asked. “You don’t mean…?”

He nodded without saying it for them.

“Ugh~!” Ivan flung her hands in the air, walking to the pink colored wall to slam it with his hands. “Of course they would, Damn it!”

Lance needed to have his say. “But if they wanted him too, wouldn’t they’ve just-”

Dave lifted his hand, making Lance stop. “You seriously thought there was a second option?”

Lance could not say anything, and starting rubbing his face. “Oh Blimey!”

“The fortification in the gulf is sealed tight.” Dave explained coldly. “Even if you were lucky enough to sail passed the US fleet, you’d still have to take on the Central fleet. They abide by the treaty too, you know.”

Ivan had already gone back to rejoin the group, and was tapping his feet like a firing pistol. Impatiently, he had to ask, “So, what’s your plan?”

“Leave that up to me.” said Yuka while walking towards the doorway.

“And what will happen if we do?” asked Ivan, as the others paid attention.

“Uh…, we’ll help out?”

Ivan sighed. “So…, what do you propose then?”

She put her hands together as she said these words. “First, we’re going to need your weapons.”

Ivan was taken aback. “What?”

“If you want to get there safely, you have to abandon them.”

“Uh… F-for what?”

Yuka raised her voice. “You want to head to the Central Union, or what?”

Ivan was quiet, keeping his firm glare.

Calmly, she began to explain. “There’s a city south of here called Pueblo. It’s around forty miles from the HUE-BLU front. In order to get there safely, I suggest that you take a bus. Once at Pueblo, you do your best to bypass security and head through I-25 to reach the Mexican border.”

Ivan and the others began to put in their thoughts.

“Shooting down any HUE troops while heading south will only bring in too much attention.” she brought up without any hesitation. “Escaping the HUE through stealth is the only way it can be achieved.”

Ivan breathed in and out as he spoke, then he faced his rifle. “But what if we had to fight, what then?”

  Yuka smiled. “I got you covered... Royce!”

His shoes could be heard tapping against the floor, getting louder before he arrived at the door. “Uh, yes Messenger Yuka?”

“Get Roberta on the phone for me!” he ordered. “I need to ask her something.”

“Yes ma’am!” he said with a cutesy salute. Then he was off to do as such.

Ivan immediately lost his frustration, and asked, “Who’s she?”

“A Gunsmith.” She turned around to head out the door. However, she decided to stop for a moment to tell him this. “In other words, your ticket out of here.”

Then she was gone. The three watched with their mixed reactions, which Ivan noticed when he looked at them briefly. Lance was leaning against the wall, holding onto the barrel of his rifle. He was facing Jacklyn, who had her hands gripping both her shield and her baton with such force. Her already visible sadness was enough paint the picture in some way.

“Ech~!” Dave stretched his arms as much as possible, before setting them down on the keyboard. “You three have been through a ton of hell since this morning, huh?”

“Yeah.” said Jacklyn, and it immediately got their attention. “We’ve been through a lot today.”

She sat up and headed out the door. “I’m gonna ask for the bathroom, be right back.”

Ivan reached his hand in the air, but he’d put it down immediately. By then, she had already left the room.

“Good choice, Ivan.” said Dave.

“Huh?”

He noticed that Dave was facing down with the pensive of looks. After a short moment, he lifted his head up with a glare in his eye. “You didn’t take her to the edge.”

Ivan simply faced at the door again, and looked out of it. Past the pillar nearby, he could see her talk to the man with the bow and arrow. He pointed at one particular direction while speaking back to her, and after some nodding, she was on her way to the bathroom. Although she was silent about it, he could tell how he felt.

It was the first thing she saw when entering the bathroom. It was written on a sheet of paper with black marker, and was taped on a blue water jug that sat over the wide sink. Seeing that, Jacklyn’s hands turned into fists. “Right.”

She checked the toilet, she was somewhat relieved that there was still plenty of it to go around.

After using it, and flushing, she went over to the sink. She turned the faucets, and noticed that they were right, and it only added to the frustration. She started dispensing water from the jug once she was finished with lathering her hands with soap. When she was done, she stopped dispensing water. She walked towards the toilet, and found that they were right as well. She went to pull open the shower curtain sealed everything past the toilet, and surprise, surprise, yet another container holding another batch of water.

Then there was the sound of sirens outside. Helicopter rotors could be heard getting louder and louder, but the deliberately blurry window prevented her from actually seeing them. She shot to the bathtub’s faucet and turned it, but once again, they were right. Her hand gripped onto the rim, and they gripped even tighter as she continuously turned that faucet a couple more time.

“Grr!”

She let go of the faucet to punch the ceramic wall holding it like a hammer. She was breathing heavily, as she kept that tight hold on that rim and her fist. For a while, she was completely unaware of the tears that were starting to build up. In desperation, she pulled her hand away from the wall to wipe them away. “Damn it… Damn it…. Celestia, help me.”

“Want some Cola?” Jacklyn heard Yuka ask.

“Sure.” Ivan would say.

“Here you go.” Yuka said playfully.

Jacklyn would see Ivan catch the can after Yuka tossed it to him. Ivan would comment on the drink. “Hm, Megaspell Cola seems to be popular round here, huh?”

“It’s all that we have to drink, Ivan.” Royce mentioned.

“Seriously?” he asked while opening the can, then he took in one large gulp.

“The HUE doesn’t have much to offer us, so Cola will have to do.” Yuka opened her own can of soda after handing some out to the others. “Not to mention that rations won’t be distributed for another month, so crackers, ham, and soda will have to do.”

“Oh…, I see.” Ivan then found Jacklyn standing on the staircase. “Hey Jackie, you want soda?”

He could see that she was still down and out, but regardless, “Jackie?”

She faced up in a hasty surprise. “Whu?”

After looking around in confusion, she found her. When that happen, Ivan asked again, “Want some soda?”

“Um… okay!” She jogged over to him. After Yuka handed her a soda, she too started drinking.

“You okay now?” Yuka asked gently.

“Yeah, yeah.” she said almost instantly as she opened her can of cola. “I’m doing fine.”

She took in around five large gulps of soda, before pulling out. After gasping out a breath of air, she said, “Yep, It’s all fine and good.”

Ivan scowled at her, and her answer. Before drinking another sip, he mumbled sarcastically. “Right~.”

It was all quiet for a moment, the only sound was the sipping of their sodas and the police sirens outside. It wouldn’t take long before Yuka would find a way to start up a conversation, and she found it on the necklace that Jacklyn wore. “So Ma’am, are you of Harmonist faith?”

“Huh?” She remembered the necklace, and got a hold of it immediately. “Uh, yes, yes I am. S-so you are of Madokist faith, right?”

“Of course.” Yuka said happily. “Why wouldn’t I be wearing this?”

Jacklyn laughed a little. “Touché.”

It became quiet for a moment more, and then Jacklyn would ask, “Where is everyone, anyway?”

Yuka’s tone darkened when she replied. “They’re all home, only Royce’s here.”

“Yeah.” Royce said while rubbing his arm. “And I’ve been here longer than they have.”

Jacklyn got a bit curious. “Huh?”

“I took him in since he was a little boy.” Yuka explained. “Poor guy was out on his own when he came here.”

“Oh…” Jacklyn’s gloom was returning. “I see.”

“It was during a protest eleven years ago.” Royce said. “HUE troops went ballistic that day, and I was one of the handful to get out alive, heh heh”

“Man, that’s some messed up stuff.” Lance commented. “You know; we sort of encountered the same thing.”

This was a shock to the two.

“What do you mean?” asked Yuka.

“Uh-” He stopped to look at Ivan, who in turn looked back at him once he noticed that. With a sigh, a reluctant one it seemed, Ivan gestured him to continue, Lance nodded. “Well, there were these kids we found in a forest outside of Salt Lake.”

The three gasped. “What?”

“There were these kids who have been left alone by their caretaker.” Lance relayed rather solemnly. “She even left the oldest, who’s only twelve by the way, to manage them.”

“For how long?” a panicked Dave asked.

“Five years, sir.”

“Are you serious?”

He nodded.

“Aw shoot, poor kids.” Dave exclaimed, walking away from the group. “I’m calling Double F to do something about that.”

“The Salt Lake fighters are already reeling from their offensive Dave.” Ivan argued. “I doubt they’d want to go on such an operation!”

“Yeah, coming from the guy who sided with the reds!” he said harshly.

This took Ivan aback. “We didn’t have a choice, Lance! Plus, I’m certain that we weren’t the ones who fired first!”

Dave was suspicious, and he stopped walking. “Huh?”

“Fighters in Salt Lake ambushed us as we were leaving!” Ivan explained. “No doubt they were a part of your resistance group.”

“But-”

“It’s obvious that your group wanted us dead or something. What terrorist group would shout ‘God Bless America’ before shooting at us?”

Dave, in a panic, started scratching his hair. When he came up with something, he stopped doing it. “Well then, when I came to your rescue, why didn’t you resist?”

Ivan’s mouth sealed tight as his body tensed. “Erm...”

Dave placed his hands on his hips. “You started slandering us with trying to kill you, so why did you come to us then?”

“Um...” Ivan was glancing in every direction he could see in. Then he admitted defeat by facing downwards, but, he’d say nothing.

“Exactly.” Dave filled in. “Now with that ounce of trust you have for us, let us help.”

With his defeated tone of voice, he simply said, “Fine then.”

“Hmph.” He walked past him, and headed down the chapel.

In the midst of hearing Dave’s boots pound against the floor, Yuka decided to change the conversation. “By the way, Roberta responded. She said that she’ll be glad to provide you three with weapons. She also knows a way out into the BLU lines.”

Ivan faced up in relief. “Oh, that sounds good.”

Her fingers would tap against each other. “However…, she says that she has a deal that she wants to make with you, never told me what it was, but says that she needs your help.”

Ivan put his hand over his arm. “Very well, we’ll head there.”

Yuka, frowning at the gloomy atmosphere they were giving off, decided to change the topic again. “Do you know who Homura Akemi is?”

“Who?”

She sighed, facing the triptych at the front. “Poor Homura was a lonely girl who found hope in two girls named Madoka and Mami.”

She gradually walked to the altar. “But, they had to fight a massive witch capable of causing mass destruction… Mami died fighting it, and so did Madoka. In grief, she told Kyubey to grant her the power to go back in time so she can fight by their side.”

Ivan was a little critical on one part of the story. “Who’s Kyub-”

“Sadly, it ended the same way. Every single goddamn time, they were either killed or turned to witches.” Yuka then headed for the watering can on the altar, and picked it up. “But in one timeline, Madoka learned that they were being duped by Kyubey. As she and Homura lied dying, she told her to go back and time and fix everything… to stop her from ever being tricked into becoming a Magical Girl.”

She poured water on the long bed of roses. “Countless times, she tried doing that, but countless times she failed. It wasn’t until in one timeline that Madoka decided to make a wish. That being to basically become a goddess, by taking in all of the despair experienced by every Magical Girl throughout time. Instead of turning to witches.[spoiler/]”

Yuka stopped pouring water, and looked at the center panel of the triptych. In her sights, Homura, the long dark haired girl, had her hand stretched out to reach the pink haired lady, as her eyes were tearing up. However, the main focus was on the red ribbon on her hair. “[spoiler]Sadly, this meant that her existence would be wiped away. Homura didn’t want that though, but Madoka insisted that she fight on. Madoka’s ribbon was all Homura had to remember her, and she’d keep on fighting to protect what Madoka valued.”

She looked away from the panel, and found that the three were just standing there with their gloomy faces. This made her laugh a little. “Let me tell you this, then. Back in Japan, I remember my Grandmother telling me how they’d drop countless bombs on our town. That the place would be reduced to near ashes overnight, as if staring into hell itself. Looking back, when the Soviets were still on Japanese soil, I now knew what my Grandma meant. Only in my case, the war was going nowhere, and they just kept bombing us.”

She clenched her hands onto the handle of the watering can. “With everything in ruins, violence was everywhere. Worst yet, the police were hardly ever around to do anything about it. Inevitably, I had to join the crime life. It got so bad that I lost both my parents when we were looting another family’s shop.”

They’d see that Yuka was slightly bending over as her face looked down at the floor. “I was on my own, not caring whether death or an end to the chaos came first…, but, neither of them would. I even decided to leave my town…, so that I don’t have to constantly focus on which would win.”

But, she straightened up once again, a smile on her face. She used her thumb to point back at the panel of the girls. “Then, when I was in Tokyo, this show started airing, and my whole life changed from there. It was quite scare at first, to be honest, but it’s certainly worth the watch…. Madoka gave me hope, gave me confidence that whichever came first, I will go through with it without worry. Then I heard that she was quickly becoming a deity in real life, and I joined without holding back.”

“Uh…, you okay?” asked Ivan.

Yuka frowned. “Sorry, I guess no matter how concise I make it, that backstory still hurts.”

She could see the concern in their faces grow further and further. “Trust us, you will be safe and sound in the Central Union in no time. Sure, it is not going to be easy, sure people are going to come after you, but it is better than heading towards a death sentence.”

She walked to Jacklyn, and put a hand on her shoulder. “As much as I want to tell you to lay down and let Madoka take in all your pain, I can only say that your soul gem isn’t fully tainted yet.”

“Uh, What’s a soul gem?” Ivan questioned.

Yuka gave a playful smile. “In short, you still got a little hope in you, so don’t give up.”

Ivan shrugged. “Hm, makes sense to me.”

Jacklyn kept his head down. “Alright then, I know we’ll make it.”

Ivan glimpsed at her baton, and he could see that that grip was growing tighter and tighter.

Yuka lifted her other hand, and softly touched Jacklyn’s chin with it. She lifted her head up to take a look into her eyes, and that’s when she found her answer. “It was sleep, was it? Not water?”

All the while, Jacklyn was looking back at her eyes as well. They radiated such kindness, that she developed enough discouragement to keep staring at them. “Um…, I guess so.”

She smiled. “Come with me, then.”

Jacklyn, seeing that she had put her hand in the space between them, decided to get a hold of it. In a dazed voice, she gave her answer. “Okay.”

Hand in hand, they walked down the chapel, then Yuka told the others, “Wait here for me, okay?”

They nodded.

And then they were on their way.

Dave stared at the two as they were walking, and without getting in their way, he headed for the others.

Seeing this, Ivan switched topic. “What happened?”

“Their sending a task force to go and get them.” Dave exposited. “Hope no one gets hurt along the way.”

“Yeah, hope.” Ivan said sarcastically.

“Huh?”

Ivan cut to the chase. “I forgot to tell you that those kids are armed with guns.”

Dave scratched his hair. “Ugh, that’s why we’re going out there with guns ourselves.”

“Oh.” Ivan chuckled in embarrassment. “I see.”

They were quiet for a moment. Then Royce spoke up. “What are the children like?”

Lance turned to face him. “Hmm?”

“The kids in the house, how are they like?”

Lance was rather wary on what he wanted to say next. He adjusted a collar a bit before speaking. “Well… the girl running the place is like twelve… sadly, she lost her parents when she was crossing the border into the US.”

Royce gasped. “You don’t mean…”

“Yep, Just like Yuk-Ow!” Ivan flinched after feeling his arm being pummeled by Dave’s fist. “That hurt, man!”

Dave swiped two pinched fingers across his lips at him in a frustrated manner.

In a bit of perplexity from what they just saw, Royce and Lance decided to return to the conversation at hand. Lance spoke first. “Yeah, they truly are going to that length to stop them.”

“Is the girl all right?”

“I can tell that she somewhat isn’t.” Lance admitted. “However, I can tell that she’s not letting that faze her. Those kids are doing fine on their own thanks to her. I’m just worried as to how long that will last.”

“Don’t worry, you two.” Dave assured them. “I’m confident that they won’t be harmed.”

“You sure?” asked Ivan in that same bitter tone.

Dave focused on him now, and just as annoyed as before.

“After what happened at Salt Lake?” Ivan added.

Dave rolled his eyes. “I talked to Salt Lake command about it, said that the group that had ambushed you was having a little dispute with them. It had something to do with allying with some sort of mercenary group to capture you three.”

Ivan was instantly quiet.

“Ivan?”

There was no answer.

“Ivan?”

“Huh?”

That’s when he snapped out of it. “Um, yeah. Uh, you were saying?”

Dave was already suspicious. “Ivan, is there something you’re not telling us?”

Ivan’s body was overwrought, his mouth quivering. “Um… um.”

“Spit it out, man!”

He took a few steps away from the group, while putting his hand on his shoulder.

With that, Dave was not going to have it. “Ivan, just tell me, please.”

After a little bit of thought, Ivan took a deep breath before speaking. “Dave, did you ask the command about who those Mercs were?”

“Uh…, I did.” Dave said worryingly. “They weren’t clear as to who they were, though.”

Ivan faced the floor. “Oh…, okay. Um… Dave?”

“Yes, Ivan?”

“If you ever hear that a contract with a group called the Legion was made between the ALM and them, please leave the group.”

“What do you mean?”

He grit his teeth for a moment. “Just keep that in mind if they ever come.”

Lance lifted his mouth, but no words were coming out for moment. But, through his trembling lips, he managed to say, “Just…, just look out for them, sir.”

“Huh?”

With all Dave’s attention focused on him, he continued. “They’re… they’re really intimidating, sir.”

Dave took out a phone, and began typing down those words on the notepad app.  Once he put it away, “Alright then, you two have my word.”

Regardless, Dave could see that Lance was staring at him with intent eyes. His eyes cocked to the right, and Dave instantly understood. “Now Ivan, you think you can go and see if Jackie’s doing all right?”

“Huh?” Ivan faced him with bemused eyes. “Oh, okay.”

“The infirmary is right next to the computer room.” Royce told him.

“Got it.” Ivan called back.

It was now between Dave and Lance, and Lance could tell that he was nervous of him.

“Y-you can’t be serious!” Dave exclaimed.

Lance was taken aback by this statement. “Huh?”

“Ivan was telling me about that back in Wyoming.”

He was baffled at this. “So…, why is he…” Lance took a few steps back to pace around. He then slapped his hands against his hips. “The guy shot me in the stomach, just to tell me that he doesn’t want to tell me anything.”

Dave was too shocked to say anything anymore, except this: “What’s the hell is up with that kid?”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t know, sir. The guy’s been pretty secretive about his life prior to now.”

“Hmm, couldn’t agree more.” Dave took another good long look at the triptych.

“But…, I can say with certainty that he doesn’t like it that way.”

Dave faced back at him. “Huh?”

“He’s told me a couple of things, about Chicago, stuff like that.” He was reluctant to say the following, but he knew it had to be said. “But I can see why he’s secretive about it… so… j-just be on the lookout for those people, alright?”

“Okay then.” Simultaneously, he woke up his smartphone to reread the notes: A woman in purple, a little girl with a katana, a pony with a sickle cutie mark, and men in black. “I’ll warn the others about them, hopefully, they’ll listen.”

“Thanks sir.”

What they didn’t know, Ivan heard through their whispering. He sat next to Jacklyn’s bed as she laid fast asleep there. He was a bit too tired to do anything, or at least say something. Instead, and in defeat, he pressed his head up against the mattress and groaned. Quietly, he muttered, “Damn it.”

“Mercenary group?” Double F reiterated.

“Yes sir.” said the fighter. “Salt Lake command said that they were disputing with the group outside the Soviet Consulate-”

“That’s enough.” Double F flipped open his laptop.

“B-but sir-”

“I want you to get in contact with them regarding to raid on that house mentioned.” Double F then put on some glasses. “Tell them that they are to stock up on extra food in search for that house.”

“Sir, is something wrong?” the fighter asked with a less stammering tone.

Dave put his fist against his cheek. “It was disappointing to see her go. They clearly were no match against the Soviets, and now they’re gone.”

“I agree, sir.”

He then sat up straight. “Do me a favor and please have better judgement, okay?”

The fighter nodded.

“I don’t want any of you to end up like them. So please, if you have to disobey orders, know exactly what you’re doing.”

“Yes sir.”

“Okay, you’re dismissed.”

They saluted, and then the fighter would exit the room.

Alone now, Double F went in to check his email, and found that he had one message in his inbox. Clicking it, his heart raced when he read who it was from: The Legion. The message read simply, “Did you really thought that you bring them down?”

There were two attached photos at the bottom. Circumspectly and unwillingly, he slowly pointed his mouse towards it. When he clicked the first one, and it lead him to an image of a little girl slicing his way through red uniformed soldiers with her katana. It made him gag, especially in the second photo, where she stood above the bodies like a murderous supervillain. He swore he could feel goosebumps spread across his body.

“You win, Trevor.” he’d mumble to himself.

Anya, who had already arrived outside the arena, knew that the cloud’s calming dark shade of blue wasn’t going to hide the countless streams of smoke that covered it. To that, she rubbed her forehead in disappointment. She then proceeded down the pavement towards the arena’s entrance. There, four pony soldiers were there to greet her. One of them, a Pegasus pony, fluttered over to her.

“It’s good to see you, Miss Anya.” She greeted rather nervously, her hoof was clearly shaking as she gave her the traditional salute.

“It’s good to meet you too, Miss…” During that brief pause, Anya took a look at her uniform. Although the name was written in Equine, she could still tell what it read. “… Blitz.”

“MmHm.”

“Madame, did the rioters attack your car?” the unicorn pony asked in horror, the car in front of him dented. He could even see Hilda walk clumsily onto the sidewalk, her head in both fear and a daze.

“Never mind that, sir!” Anya grumbled. “Where are they?”

“Who?”

Anya grew more frustrated. “Ugh, the boy that could-”

“He’s been taken away, ma’am.” said Blitz.

“What?”

“One of the human guards was a spy for the local resistance group, and he let the fighters into their suite.” she explained grimly. “Then… then Cherry Sea was shot in the torso, and her entire personnel were murdered.”

Anya’s eyes were widening.

  They sat calmly among some chairs outside the infirmary. Hilda could see the worry on each passerby’s face, but Anya was too worried herself to even look at them.

A group of hooves and feet were now in front of her, and she immediately looked up. The white coats and/or hats they wore instantly gave her both pinch of hope, and worry.

When they saw her, the caramel colored mare in the center spoke first. “Madame, she’s currently in serious condition.”

The news was already gnawing at her heart even more. “Sweet Celestia….”

Loud steps fold be heard across the hallway. When looking in the direction it came from, Anya found a man in a white dress shirt run up to them with the same fear that Anya has.

With her heart broken, she stood up from her seat. “Ethan!”

“Where is she!” he asked with his attention focused on the doctors.

“She’s in serious condition, sir.” the doctor reaffirmed. “But she’s currently conscious at th-”

Without saying a word, he went straight into the infirmary. In a state of uneasiness, the others went in as well. Ethan searched around the endless number of curtains, opening up each and every one of them to find her. But every time, the bed past the curtain would be a human, or a pony he knew nothing about. Each of them were either asleep, or nearly got heart attacks from the tenacious openings. Despite that, Ethan kept pressing onward, hoping that he might-

“Ethan, we’re at row L!” Anya said through the loudspeaker.

Static!

“Uh…” He faced the sign up at the massive ceiling, the sign reading Row A in red.

Anya gave back the walkie-talkie to the doctor that gave her it. “I guess he got really worked up there, didn’t he?”

Feebly, Cherry nodded. “I wish he wasn’t though; it’ll kill him if he does.”

Anya smiled. “You know why he is, right?”

Cherry smiled too. “I’m in the Royal Army, Anya. Remember that.”

Anya was frowning now, her hands clamping onto one another. “I know.”

“So where are they?”

Anya hurriedly put her attention on that issue. “You mean the three on the run?”

She nodded.

Anya put her hand on her arm. “They’re gone, Cherry.”

Cherry was quickly disappointed. “Damn it.”

She looked at the ceiling. “Poor kids.”

Anya had to add, “The resistance is no doubt responsible for this, right?”

“Hm, and they’re probably treating him like garbage or something.” Painfully, she turned her eyes rightward when she heard footsteps. A smile was forming on her face when she noticed who it was. “Oh hey Ethan…, how was your first day on the job?”

Tears were flowing from his eyes before he went to meet her face to face. Gently, he took her hoof into his hand. “Y-y okay, Cherry?”

Tears started flowing from her eyes as well. “Oh sweetie….”

Anya smile may have been small, but it was potent. It would have to fade when Hilda got her attention.

“Are you sure you want to adopt that policy, Anya?” Hilda would ask.

Anya’s heart was warming up as the two gazed into each other’s eyes. “I don’t like it, but I should.”

“And you think that’ll fix it?” Hilda mentioned.

Their noses nuzzling against each other made Anya’s stomach churn, but her warm heart still remained. She walked towards them, much to the dismay of Hilda, who stood there with a hand to the face.

“So Ethan, how was your first day on the job?” Anya questioned with compassion.

“I’ve been doing well, Miss Forrester.” Ethan said calmly. “The director’s been really nice to me, so far.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear, sweetie.” Cherry said while rubbing his cheek.

Anya too was grateful, laughing a bit as well. “Yeah, told you not to be afraid of Odalis.”

“MmHm, don’t know why I was scared to begin with.” Ethan chuckled, blushing.

Hilda looked on, watching the three enjoy themselves for once. Sadly, she could not smile, and instead focused on the massive window down the row. The seats and desks were either wet, or broken beyond repair. The flags above were barely hanging by threads, and the podium was as flat as the floor underneath it. Hilda put a hand on her cream colored hair, and sighed. “That’s the fifth explosion in the past decade, huh?”

Dave, sitting in front of the blackened computer screen, read through the notes taken on his phone. The names given to these people sounded silly at first. When he factored in the pony that Ivan worked with, however, it would give him a hint of intimidation in the process. He tried to delude it by laughing a bit at Ivan’s attitude, though. “Oh Ivan, this is who you’re running from?”

Then he heard the computer wind down. “No, not….”

He moved the mouse around, and pressed the on/off button repeatedly, but nothing came of it. “Grrr, damn blackouts.”

“Ah, Lance have a seat!” He heard Yuka call.

“Uh… okay.” Lance replied.

This got Dave to laugh a bit. “Oh Yuka.”

At the altar, Lance and Yuka sat face to face with one another. A cup of tea was in their hands.

“How was the bath?” she asked kindly, briefly looking up and down at his new shirt, vest, and jeans.

He was blushing in embarrassment. “It was, it was fine.”

“That’s nice.”

“I’m scared, Miss Yuka.” Lance said without vacillating.

“Of what?” she asked quite calmly.

“I’m working with a duo of college students to get to Australia.” His voice made his statement seem desperate. “Worst yet, they’ve don’t seem to be cut for the job! How the hell am I going to get to my wife and kids if one of them was willing to-”

Yuka lifted her hand away from her cup to stop him. “If you think that they are not willing to lead, then you must take leadership. Maybe not directly, but within the shadows at the very least.”

Lance was about to take a drink, but stopped halfway through to tell her something. You know, back in Salt Lake, someone told me the something along those lines.”

“Hm?” she asked curiously. “What would that be?”

“I asked them, how would I be able to survive with people as incompetent as them?” Lance retold. “Then the lady would stay quite bitterly, only if I’m as incompetent as they are.”

“Ouch.”

“That’s when Ivan shot me in the forests for talking about his personal life.”

Yuka put her hand on her cheek. “Oh by Madoka’s grace! Is everything all right now?”

He nodded. “Sure…, but it’s scary to wonder what that boy’s capable of. If I step out of line, then I won’t be able to go home. If you saw my uniform, I was meant to die in the battle I was fighting. I don’t that to happen to be honest.”

Yuka quickly calmed down, then drunk a bit of her tea. “It looks like the three of you have something in common there.”

And he was quick to notice. “Oh, heh heh, looks like that is the case.”

“Were you three able to make up after…? You know.”

“Yeah…, we were able to talk a little more after that.” Lance admitted. “The guy told me a little bit about himself though, not a whole lot, but you know.”

Yuka smiled. “It seems that that boy needs someone to talk to, then.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Then he took another sip of his tea.

Yuka did the same. “Lance, do your best to take care of those two.”

Lance faced down at the half-full cup. “Alright then.”

“Just don’t make it overbearing, okay?”

He looked up with a smile, and nodded. “Yes Ma’am.”

The sky was now completely dark. Ivan’s eyes slowly opened at the sound, and he softly pulled away from the bed he was lying against. Every motion he did felt heavy to him, but that didn’t deter him from looking at who was behind him.

Softly snoring on the bed, was Jacklyn. Ivan could tell that she wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon. Then there was a slow open of the door, and he immediately stood up. “Who’s there?”

The door opened slightly, and Royce was the one to enter. “Uh, mister Ivan, sir?”

Ivan loosened his defensive position. “Yes?”

“It’s almost time to prepare for departure.”

Ivan’s defensive stance was completely gone by then. “Oh…, okay then.”

He was about to wake up Jaclyn when Royce stopped him with, “Uh, Ivan… Messenger Yuka actually wanted to talk to you.”

“Really?” Ivan asked. “Okay then, just hold on.”

He started rubbing his hand against her shoulder. “Come on, Jackie. Time to wake up.”

“Mm~.” She softly opened her eyes as she wearily sat up on the bed. “Oh…, hey Ivan.”

“Time to wake up.” Ivan said.

Jacklyn started rubbing her eyes. “Oh…, already?”

“MmHm.” Ivan answered with a nod.

Jaclyn hugged her knees. “Oh…, I see.”

“Miss Jacklyn, would you like to take a bath?”  Royce asked.

Jacklyn’s attention was already on him. “Hm?”

Timidly, he repeated what he said. “Uh…, would you like to take a bath?”

Deadpanned, she gave her response. “It’s because I’m a woman, right?”

“No…, not that… uh…” Royce was fiddling with his fingers as he withdrew a few steps.

Jacklyn smiled. “It’s all right, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Royce was immediately calm at this.

The only light source in the bathroom was a single candlestick on top of the sink, but that didn’t matter to Jacklyn. It was enough lighting for her to pour a bowl full of warm water on the back of her neck. Chills would run down the parts of her body that wasn’t covered in water. In response, she crossed her arms underneath her beasts as her body arched over. However, she couldn’t help but stand there for a moment as those thoughts were beginning to return. When she had straightened up, she put her hands in between her breasts and laid them atop of one another. Her eyes closed were half lit as the gloom kept pressing on.

“I heard a lot of stories about what happens in those bases.” Yuka said modestly.

“Honestly, I don’t mind living there, but I guess there’s no turning back.” Ivan answered.

Yuka poured some more tea into her foam cup. “Are you sure you want to go all the way to the Central Union?”

Ivan frowned, drinking a little more of his tea. “I have no choice, I’m already a dead man back in Chicago.”

The news was a shock to Yuka. “Seriously?”

And her reaction was a shock to Ivan, but the tenderness that mixed with her surprise, hampered any chance of dodging that question. “Ugh~, yes, anyone who leaves Chicago is marked dead by the authorities. In other words, you can’t go back.”

Yuka held onto her cup with a sense of grief. “Oh, that’s how it is then.”

Ivan told the following to her face to face. “I’m taking Lance back to Australia, and I’ll make sure that Jacklyn’s far away from harm.”

“And you?”

“I…” Ivan took a look at the triptych to his right.

“You don’t know, don’t you?” She could see that his hands were trembling, despite the contrast being bared by his deadpan face.

She closed her eyes a bit and smiled. “It’s okay, there’s no time to get that info out… Not to mention what you’ll do if I keep trying.”

He faced the roses now. “Sorry…”

“It’s okay.” she accepted with comfort. “In times like this… it’s like the Fallout universe.”

“Come again?”

It was now Yuka’s turn to go deadpan. “Oh… right.”

Ivan took another sip of his tea. “Hey Yuka….”

Her face spiked up. “Hmm?”

Ivan put the cup on the floor, and looked directly into her brown eyes with sincerity. “How’d you manage?”

She tilted her head in perplexity.

“How were you able to cope with…” His eyes were veering from left to right. “With… with… losing… your parents.”

“I never did, Ivan.” Yuka confessed rather bluntly.

This was astounding to Ivan. “But then how are you-”

“No matter how hard you try, you can’t forget.” She was looking at the steam coming out of her cup. “The pain may go away, but not completely.”

She then looked directly into his grey eyes. “Care to elaborate.”

He turned away to pick up his cup. “Not really.”

She sighed, but eventually, she smiled. “Well, whatever it may be, I hope you keep that in mind as you go along.”

Ivan drank a little bit more of his tea. “But, do you ever wish you can forget?”

“All the time.” She faced the triptych with a calming smile. “But I know who to turn to if it tries to bring me down.”

Ivan too watched alongside her, but with a worried grimace instead. “Yeah, lucky you.”

“You sure you can carry that on your own?” asked Ivan, pointing at the large pot of warm water Royce was carrying.

“I’ve been doing this since Yuka told me I was strong enough to do it.”

“And when was that?”

He shied away in an instant. “A decade ago.”

“Oh….” Ivan thought about it for a moment. “Wait, seriously?”

“Don’t worry,” Royce said with a chuckle. “I’d carry a much smaller pot.”

“Hmm, I was gonna say.”

They had already taken their first step onto the second floor. The aesthetics sent chills into Ivan. “Did something happen.”

“Yet another blackout.” Royce explained. “The HUE needs that electricity, of course.”

“Ugh, that explains it.” Through that speck of frustration, he had another look around. “Gee, with just candles lighting the hallway, it looks like something out of a hidden temple.”

“Interesting.” Royce complimented. “Was it like this back in Chicago?”

Ivan shrugged. “Eh, you can say that it happened regularly.”

The door to the bathroom opened.

“Oh hey, Jack-” He noticed that all she was wearing was a towel. “Um..., Hey Jackie.”

That’s when she remembered that. Just like Ivan, she too was shying away. “Uh, heh, Ivan.”

Ivan briefly skimmed through her hair. “Uh…, your hair looks completely different.”

“Oh, right.” She got a slight hold onto her straightened hair. “Normally, I’d have a hairstylist do the job.”

“A… a hairstylist?”

Jacklyn nodded. “MmHm.”

Ivan rubbed his forehead. “Ugh, alright then. Come on, Royce, we don’t have much time.”

“Yes sir.” His cheeks too were red, but his eyes were squinting as he passed her by.

Ivan, meanwhile, walked by her with a poker face. “See ya, Jackie.”

“MmHm.” She’d see them enter the bathroom, with Royce setting the pot down on the floor. She looked at Ivan for a moment, who was waiting there with his arms crossed. When she turned away, she felt the urge to do the same, with her legs pressing against one another. She’d smile as her hands rubbed up and down her arms. Then she noticed what she was doing, and gasped. She faced back at the two, who haven’t turned around since entering. In haste, she headed towards the room across from the bathroom, and slammed the door behind her.

“Huh?” Ivan turned around, but no one was there. “Um…”

“Ivan, you okay?”

“Uh….” He looked back at Royce. “Oh, nothing.”

Royce stood up and headed out the door. “Well, let me know if you need anything.”

“Alright then.”

When the door closed behind them, Ivan wasted no time in taking off his clothes. He then stepped into the tub and poured water on his hair almost instantly. He smelled the warm steam the came from the splash. It calmed him, but it was a gradual process. However, he couldn’t help but sadden again. He looked at the closed doorway again, and that frown stayed on his face. A few moments later, he shook his head again, only slowly this time. Then, he was back to pouring water on his body.

Across the hallway, Jacklyn opened the door to the room she was in. Standing beside that door was Royce, who immediately pulled his sight away once she made eye contact with him.

“Uh, hey Royce.” she greeted friendlily.

Royce waved shortly. “Um, hey… Uh, Messenger Yuka wants to see you.”

“Oh…, okay.”

Royce nodded before walking away from the door. Jacklyn only watched as sadness was starting to fill her heart as well.

Yuka took in a small gulp of her tea before setting it down on the floor once again. Jacklyn, wearing dress pants and a buttoned up shirt, sat across from her without uttering anything. Her eyes were facing down at the cup of tea in front of her, quivering as she struggled between looking up and the latter.

This was striking a chord in Yuka’s heart. “Is something on your mind?”

Jacklyn faced up, but seeing those eyes made her turn away instantly.

“Don’t worry, you can tell me anything.”

The way back to Yuka’s eyes were slow and petrifying. That feeling would stick with Jacklyn, and it show through her trembling eyes.

“It’s okay, Jackie.” Yuka said calmly. “I forgive you.”

Jacklyn was about to speak before Yuka would interrupt.

“So, what is on your mind?”

Jacklyn’s eyes weakened as she turned back to the cup of tea in front of her.

“This isn’t like you, right?”

Her eyes were quivering again. “I just… I just wanna go home.”

Yuka frowned. “I understand that life in the EPGA isn’t what you thought it was-”

“But what about the mainland?” She asked in a raised voice.

“Jackie, if they can’t afford to power every city in Colorado, then how can they afford to keep the mainland afloat?” Before Jacklyn could say more, Yuka continued. “Also, doesn’t asking that question say a lot about how you feel about the HUE?”

Jacklyn was sulking too. “Touchè.”

After a moment of silence, Jacklyn would say with what little determination she could muster, “But… but I’m confident that there’s still some good within them!”

“Evan after what you’ve seen?”

Jacklyn looked back at her tea, the determination dying out.

“After what I’ve seen, I can say with certainty that you shouldn’t give up on them.”

Jacklyn gasped. “Eh?”

Yuka would explain. “I’ve seen a lot when I was in Japan, that’s why I moved here. Only to realize that it was the exact same thing here as well.”

That statement was astounding to Jacklyn in a way, so she’d ask, “So what then?”

Yuka set the tea onto the floor and told her straightforwardly. “I don’t know.”

Jacklyn did her best to hide her disappointment. “Oh…, why?”

“I don’t know what you’ve been through, and it’s best not to ask.” Yuka disclaimed. “But I don’t think it’s right that you’re like this.”

Jacklyn, still gloomy, would respond. “I only left because I knew Ivan wasn’t dead.”

This was also to Yuka’s surprise. “Really?”

“They told his parents that his body was blown to pieces by artillery fire.” Her eyes were quivering, only tears were accompanying them this time. “But I knew that… that… I knew that he was still alive.”

Yuka put one hand over another. “Well, you should’ve considered what you would face when you treaded down the red zone.”

Jacklyn’s sadness returned before she nodded. “You’re right, I should’ve known.”

Yuka got ahold of the teapot before pouring more on her cup. “And in acknowledging that, are you going to toughen up, at least a little?”

Jacklyn gripped tightly onto her cup. “I will, ma’am… I’ll do my very best.”

Then she heard Yuka giggle. Curiously, she asked her, “What’s so funny?”

“You sort of remind me of a knight, in some way.” Yuka elucidated, then ended up laughing again.

That statement made her blush, she’d face the triptych to hopelessly hide it. “Uh…, w-why say that?”

“It’s just… it’s just… that boy was more than likely in so much distress before you arrived.”

Her eyes turned back to the tea in her hands. “Hm…, I… I never thought about it that way, to be honest.”

Yuka’s jollity was less ecstatic now, but she still showed a sense of hope in that smile. “Huh, with that, you should know that your quest is far from done.”

With a little thought in it, she gave her response. “Right.”

Eventually, Ivan, Jacklyn, and Lance said their goodbyes. Before they knew it, they were waiting by a bus stop down the street. It was as empty as the streets around them, and it was so dark, that they could barely see each other. Ivan adjusted the leather jacket that he was wearing before Jacklyn would ask him, “You okay, Ivan?”

“Hm?”

She looked up to him. “I said..., are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s all good.”

She smiled. “Oh, great.”

He smiled too.

They’d look away from each other, their sights veering in another direction. Then Ivan felt a couple raindrops tap against his jeans, and it ultimately set the mood a bit.

“I’m sorry... huh?”

They turned back to look at each other again.

“Why…? Uh….” They turned away again.

Unhurriedly, rain was tapping against the street. It would only get faster, to the point where it was already falling over everything it could hit.

Ivan nearly jumped when something got ahold of his hand, but he calmed down when he realized that it was only Jacklyn’s hand. “Umph!”

He felt her head rest against his neck. “What the-”

“Why?”

The question was odd to him at first.

“Why does it have to be this way?”

But the audible sobs were enough for him to understand.

“After what happened in… in…” She couldn’t say anything after that, and her tears would keep running down her cheeks.

Slowly, Ivan put an arm around her body. To which, Jacklyn would do the same. “Just let it out, okay?”

She nodded, and held Ivan close.

Lance, meanwhile, looked out into the wetting streets. With that frown still in place, he looked up into the sky. Another flash of lightning would appear, and he muttered to himself, “As incompetent as them, huh?”

He turned back to the two, who were still deep in their own misery. They didn’t know he was watching, and Lance thought it was best for it be that way. When he turned away, his sights were back on the sky. He’d mutter, “Well then….”

From an open window, Yuka saw the bus arrive at their bus stop, and watched them head into it. Just like them, she too was utterly saddened.

“This just proves how incompetent of a leader Anya is!”

Yuka turned his attention back into the chapel. Dave, Royce, and the other fighters were listening to the radio in the center of the chapel.

“The outer territories have been lacking electricity for a long time now!” the man in the radio shouted angrily. “When in Luna’s name are we going to see justice to the citizens we promised to protect! That’s it, as host of the evening show, I, Wolford Brixton will be running for head of state! Get ready to see your empire fall, Anya! I’ll make sure the HUE can mana-.”

In disappointment, Dave turned off the radio. “Alright guys, best that we stop listening.”

Then they noticed that Yuka was in front of them. To which Dave would say, “I need a moment with Yuka, please.”

They complied, and left the area.

Dave was quick to turn his attention to her, and put the radio down on the floor. “Is something wrong, Yuka?

“You think I did right by them, Dave?”

Seeing the distress in her eyes, he stood up to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know, Yuka. You just have to hope that you did.”

After a little thought, she faced the closed door to her right. She then turned back to him. “Uh… Dave, do you want to take a bath?”

Dave pulled his hand away from her to stretch. “Okay then, Ngh~, I think its best that I take one.”

“Uh, Yuka?” Royce called from a distance.

“Yes, Royce?”

“The rain took out the fire!”

They immediately groaned at this. Dave would have his say. “Ugh, there goes my bath.”

However, Yuka chose to laugh at this afterword. “And there goes my tea.”

On the ledge, the man with the bow and arrow would take out a walkie-talkie. “{This is Kenji; the petals have flown. I repeat the petals have flown.}”

Static!

He then waited for a response, and got one. “{Understood.}”

Static! Next Chapter: Chapter 16 Estimated time remaining: 49 Minutes