I backed away from Inugami, hurt and confused. My head started to spin, and I dropped back onto the bed.

"You mean, all this time?" His ears drooped low.

"I've been keeping watch over you ever since. But I could only watch and make sure that you stayed alive, nothing more." He sighed. "I couldn't tell you what to do, lead you back to being a detective, not after you joined the agency and found out the truth about the world." Thoughts clashed inside my mind, desperately trying to fit a lost fragment into an already skewed puzzle.

"But, I- I-" I stammered, unable to find any phrase or words that could match what I was feeling. My chest tightened, lungs feeling as if they'd collapse under an unknown pressure in the cavern. "I need some air."

Varg pointed a casted arm towards the mouth of a cavern. I pushed past the both of them, limping towards the exit.

"I brought NOMS!" Keith barged in, holding a bunch of snack foods. I barreled into him, knocking everything onto the ground. I broke into a hobbled run, heading down the long rocky corridors towards the outside world, feeling the tunnel rise and slope, as if I was climbing. Sure enough, I ended up on a plateau overlooking Gem Fido. I was greeted by a somewhat sickly gray night sky, water crashing down from the angry clouds heavy with rain. I was soaked in seconds, but the air was strangely clear and easy to breathe through, the lack of heaviness in the air almost disturbing. I fell to my knees, gasping.

I didn't know what to think anymore, what to feel anymore, whether I should be happy that Nora's alive, angry at the fact that he's been with me all this time and I didn't even know, or sad that I just abandoned everything so suddenly out of a panic. It was like the world was crashing down like thunder and lightning, I couldn't keep anything together anymore. With a thunderclap, everything went black again as I heard a crack against the rock ground.

"So here we are once again, Aoi." A voice called out.

'No... NO!' I opened my eyes to see my human self, grinning from ear to ear as its form stood over me.

"Heavy sleeper, I see." It smirked as it backed away. I found myself in a familiar place, a slight din rising above consciousness. Mahogany booths, a heavy stench of alcohol, an ambiguous liquid coating the planked floor.

"Up and at 'em, I owe you a drink, don't I..."

"What?" My paw clapped against my temples as a searing migraine reached a throbbing peak.

"Feh, from the looks of it, you already look like you had an entire keg's worth. Oh well, some hair of the dog will fix you right up, no pun intended." It grabbed the sleeve of my dobuku and hoisted me up onto a stool. A rugged slide across a greased table brought a mug of a suspicious beverage in front of me. "You just suffered what many people call a mental breakdown of the confessional variety. Stranger comes up, tells you nothing but the truth, but to take a line from a few good men, 'you couldn't handle the truth'." I push the mug away from me, if IT was here, then this must be a nightmare.

"Come on now, we've known each other long enough." How can I know a nightmare when I've only had it once. I grabbed the mug on the table and tossed it at the apparition, it melted right through it's face and smashed on the opposite wall.

"WHAT ARE YOU!" I barked. It merely took a mug in hand, nursing the froth from the rim.

"Slow learner AND a heavy sleeper. Damn, how did you manage to graduate in the first place?" It chuckled and walked right up to me. "I'm your past, remember, we back at your apartment. Heheh, miss me?" As he leaned in close, I drew my blade, slicing 'my past' in half. The upper half slicked off of the lower and fell to the floor.

"Ouch." I turned around, point my blade at the phantom. It grabbed the tip of my blade, making it vanish in thin air. "You can't kill me, Aoi, or even hurt me for that matter. After all, you can't destroy what you can never forget." A striking migraine coursed through my head, my vision blurred like static on a television, images flying paste me until it stopped at a particular place in time. I vomited as my vision went back to normal. After taking a few brief gasps of air, I looked up to find myself in...

"No..." I got up staggering, whirling around to confirm my surroundings, "NO!" But no words of denial could change the memory, one I thought I had put behind me.

"That's right Aoi... that small, little, inconspicuous island just off of Ostrav Novaya Sibk. Where it was you..." it jabbed a finger into my chest, "... who let your entire team die, and you who blew them to smithereens." I looked around me in horror, everything was ablaze once more, the smoke, the snow, the runway, all there. I turned towards an overturned Humvee, and saw myself, bloody and dying, holding the small, standard ordinance pistol that finished the mission, pointed at me.

"Bang."

I woke up gasping for breath, but this time tied to a bed in someplace unfamiliar, with Keith staring down at me.

"Is it just me, or do every time you wake up it's either from a nightmare or-"

"I have to pee..." At this Keith smiled.

"So you do remember." I grimaced. On days when he was bored out of his mind, he would spike one of my drinks with a diuretic, something like ground up caffeine pills. Halfway through the night I would wake up and somehow be tied down to my bed with the urge to go to the bathroom. Bastard always smilled whenever I woke up and refused to let me go until I said...

=9 months ago=

"C'mon, just say it, No one will think of you any less for it," He flashed a wicked grin as I thrashed around in my own bed, this time strapped with jumper cables. How in the world does he manage to do this?

"Keith, let me out this instant, or my foot is going in your ass."

"What's that? It sounded like you said you had to do something. But WHAT?" It was no use struggling, he had me tied down tight, and the urge was near bursting at this point. I sighed and dropped back into bed.

"I..."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeees?"

"... have to pee."

"Well why didn't you just say so?" The second he cut loose the cables I dashed to my bathroom, granted sweet relief.

=Present=

"Damn that never gets old." Keith chuckled before undoing the belts that held me to the bed.

"Where the hell did you get belts?" He bit his bottom lip smiling smugly.

"I just happen to have belts stashed all over Equestria in case of a belt emergency." I stared at him. "Right, I keep forgetting you're not a brony." I stood up, half expecting the need to relieve myself, but surprisingly, nothing.

"Yeah, about why I had to tie you down," he explained, rubbing the back of his head, "When we found you, you were, well, all over the place, like kind of an unconscious panic attack. Without my devices, or even a properly functioning EKG, I had no idea what the hell was going on. So to be safe and to prevent you from choking on your own tongue, we tied you down and gagged you. after you calmed down, we took out the gag and let you sleep, and even then, you were tossing and turning. Diagnosis: you had one HELLUVA nightmare." He went over to a table and got a few drinks, pouring each of us a glass of what looked like blue wine. To taunt me, he lifted his hoof and flexed it towards me after putting down the bottle, mushing up his face in an expression he described as a "troll" face.

"Betcha kinda wondering how hooves work, dontcha?" I shook my head and took the glass and downed it, coughing at the strong kick behind it.

"Pheh, you're no fun." He downed his shot, giving a mix between a grunt and a sigh. "That's some good shit right there. Down here in the warren, they call it 'ocean fire'. I call it 'One hell of a one night stand on the beach'. So, tell me all about it." I sighed, brushing back my hair with a free paw.

"A mission, back when I was with the Agency."

"Ooh, gettin' into the James Bond shit right here." I flashed him a glare. Taking a glance around, I thought I was in a bar: polished lacquered floors, bar stools, even some ambient lamps to give a warm feel to the place.

"I saw it all again, the mission... 'Off the Record'." He paused right before he was about to pour another shot.

"Shit bro... THAT mission?" I nodded. I had told him about it when we met, it was my last one before I 'retired'. He blew out a low whistle.

"Any ideas why you're having nightmares about it NOW?" I shook my head. Up until now, all I've really had were slight thoughts about it, an occasional pang of regret, but nothing really worth going to a psychiatrist about.

"But ever since recently, that one mission has been nagging at me. It's like I'm suppose to learn something from it or-" I placed the glass back on the slicked bar table, "-or if that might happen again." Keith filled my glass with something different this time, something white. I raised an eyebrow.

"It's milk, paranoid-much." He answered. I took a gulp of it, finding the taste rather soothing. "Dude, there's no nuclear facilities around here harboring planet destroying weapons and shit like that." I clenched my teeth.

"No, there's something worse out there." I pointed a claw at Keith.

"In the past few months, I've learned a few things. One, we're not the only ones who made it here. And two, they can turn out to be just as volatile."

"Whoa, you mean there are other-"

"Humans, Keith. 3 of them I've already met, as well as one possible human turned diamond-dog. Griffin's a teenager with a primed battleship, Knightmare you'd enjoy as he shares your taste in music, and Celt is rather brutish in the way he deals with problems, but logical." I weight each outcome to the latter, taking 'humanity' into account.

"And the fourth one?"

"Echo, the Diamond-Dog." I took out the newspaper clipping that I read on Griffin's ship,
"A reporter by the name of Renee Expose witnessed an exchange of dialogue between Griffin and Echo, including a bit you know well known as 'Do you like bananas?'" At this Keith sat down holding the newspaper in his hooves, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

"Holy tit-nuggets, these guys are bronies!" My ears perked.

"Like you?"

"Exactly, part of the herd." He started to chuckle, "Bitch, we gonna have fun tonight."

"I don't-" I had trouble grasping why Keith was so excited about this.

"With the exception of you, all the humans you and I know of so far are all bronies. Meaning if we can stir up a brony alliance, we can make your job a whole lot easier." At this, I laughed.

"Is that so? From what I can tell, two of these "bronies" hate each other's guts, and one's in control of a battleship wielding the philosophy of, and I quote, "If this world isn't going to be the utopia it's suppose to be, then I'll personally kick the living shit out of it 'til it is." Tell me, Keith, what does that say of the 'brony' code that preaches love and tolerance? But then again, I can't fault you for having that bit of hope. However I can fault you to think that human nature ever changes. Who knows, maybe someday all humans around the world will finally get it in their heads to quit living for themselves and just live. And maybe someday..." I finish my glass. "... I won't have to pick up a sword."

"Being a part of something worth while means that you believe in it with everything you have, not just having a common interest. Interests change, and when another person decides you aren't a part of their agenda anymore, that's when you wind up dead or having lost everything you have." I stood up.

"And I will be honest here, I don't believe I can really BE a leader." I hopped the table and grabbed what looked like a bottle of scotch. I took the cork in my fangs and yanked it out of the bottle, then poured it over a cut above my nose from the fight, the sting confirmed that it was there, not healing properly. I placed the bottle on the table next to Keith.

"All I really wanted was to start something new. When I think about it, I finally got what I wanted, to take out the one target that had haunted me my entire life, but at what cost? I think back and count the bodies of collateral casualties that resulted, and found out something about myself." I felt tears coming to my eyes.

"I'm no leader. I'm not some general fit to lead an army against overwhelming odds to liberate a country. Hell, on terms of troops, all I have are two other diamond dogs. Over these past few months, they've shown more mettle than half of C Class at the Agency. But-" Tears started to flow, just the thought of the two. "They're my family now, and I'd rather die a thousand times over than see them die once." I sighed heavily, wiping my eyes with a sleeve.

"I'm no Sun Tzu, nor Julius Caesar, nor Vladimir Draculea, who lead troops to die with honor without a second thought, never to see their family again. No... I care too much about family to lose them again."

"No... what I am..." I grabbed a glass filled with a burgundy wine, downing it without a second thought. "I am nothing but a murderer."

"The Nightmare was right. I can't escape my past. It's always there. I thought I had faced it when Eol killed Ensin. I thought that seeing him kill Ensin was enough to confirm that I had made the right choice. Now all I realize is that yes, I made the right choice, but everything leading up to that one moment, was all wrong."

"Everything's come full circle now, everything's laid out on the ground. But how do I finally bury it?" I clutched my hair in my paws in frustration.

"Easy," Keith said it so nonchalantly, as if mocking me, "Just do what you wanted to do, finish what you started. After all, you wanted something new, this is it. Sure it may involve killing and all that stuff, but instead it's not just about a target anymore. It's about saving an entire people. I don't know where I got this quote from, and quite frankly, I don't give a shit, but I heard from somewhere that the road to peace is often littered with blood and corpses, and from what human history tells us, that bastard or bitch--can't decide which one--is right in my opinion. And hey, it's something you want that you hoped to get after killing the guy who shivved your parents, right? Some peace?" Suddenly Knightmare's words rang throughout my mind:

'A little peace and happiness where it's needed...' At that a slow smile crept across my face, and I started to laugh. It was small at first, almost a snicker, then a chuckle, then a full and hearty laugh.

"Dude, you really have some issues, first you're all depressed and shit, now you're laughing like someone drunk off of-" He took his glass and sniffed it. "Nevermind..."

"I'm surprised you aren't laughing yourself. Don't you see? All through this whole thing I've been second guessing myself, even third guessing myself on why I've been doing all this, when the answer was right in front of my nose. To start something new, something worthwhile, and to finally get 'a little peace and happiness.'" I got up and reached for a new vintage, this time a nice bottle that looked like the Equestrian equivalent Krug: a favorite vintage of mine.

"So laugh, smile, give a grin that you always do. Let's celebrate." I pop open the cork and pour the crystal tan liquor in a few champagne flutes. "Kanpai!" After uneasily glancing at me, Keith shrugged and grabbed a glass.

"What the hell, we're young, we're used to getting drunk off our asses. Cheers, Bichkas!" This marked the third time I had ever gotten drunk. But I didn't pay it any mind, after all, everything started to make more sense the more I drank, thanks to someone I had thought to be dead.

I hurled into a latrine the moment I woke up the next morning.

"Sure you don't need me to hold you hair ba-"

"BLUAEUGHA!" I emptied my stomach contents into the porcelain throne, coughing viciously afterward.

"... right." He started to pour some boiling water over some ground up black beans. "Thank God for coffee, nature's 'get over alcohol' drink. Sure it's fucking debatable whether it actually helps but WHO GIVES A SHIT! Helps for me, Fuckers!"

After ridding my stomach of any trace of alcohol, I wiped my muzzle clean on a towel, heading towards a seat.

"You want a cup?" I glared at him. I knew to become wary whenever him and any diuretic was involved. "OH COME ON! THOSE DAYS WERE FUN AND YOU KNOW IT!" I glanced around the bar, taking note of two missing personnel.

"Where's Ubi and Eol?" He slapped his forehead with a hoof.

"OH SHIT! I forgot I left them at the practice range!"

"WHAT?!" My ears shot up. If Keith forgets something, I've taken to it usually mean something bad has happened.

Keith led me to a few hallways until we got to what looked like a large training area. In the middle was Eol sparring with Ubi, I sighed in relief.

"Damn, how long have you two been at it?" As soon as he said that, Eol lost focus, leaving him open to Ubi's round house.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Eol swore, "I almost had him, Keith."

"Counts 41 to zero," Ubi remarks with a blank expression. Keith looked back at me.

"Nice family..." I ignored him and looked around at the large expanse of rock, ballistics targets far across the range of a bow and arrow.

"What exactly do you 'practice' here?" I had a very strong hunch where this was going. He cracked a devious grin.

"Well, you see, being given 6 months and about 4000 bits actually goes a long way." He waved for the three of us to follow him to a safe sealed tightly.

"Using that fucked up mistress by the name of 'logistics' I played with the Equestrian stock market, raked in a VERY handsome amount, and was able to afford this high density, nigh indestructible alloy safe to house something very special." He toyed around with the heavily coded lock for about 2 minutes before an audible click was heard. The safe door opened wide to reveal an...

... entire arsenal of human weaponry.

"Keith... what the fuck did you do in six months." Ubi and Eol were confused at what they were looking at. Keith silently went over to a rack that held about 10 handguns, grabbing one and tossing it to me.

"Remember how to use that?" I couldn't believe my eyes, besides a few design details, the gun in my paw was the exact same model of a CZ75, it fit comfortably in my paw. He threw me a clip, instinctively I drew the slide back, slid in the clip, and released the slide to load.

"Modified to hold a 15 round clip, titanium grip, and a special alloy for the body of the pistol, engravings done by a gold engraver, friend of mine in the warrens. Due to your 'unique' anatomy, I took the liberty of loading them with--you guessed it-- 50 caliber rounds, modified the barrel and load to accommodate. And don't think I've forgotten your rep of the olden days, I KNOW you can fucking used that thing, so don't give me any lip about it. Also I took the liberty of using some unicorn magic to embed each weapon we use with a DNA signature spell, so that they can't be fired except by you or me. I've kept this project under wraps for about 6 months, taken every precaution, and even destroyed the blueprints when I was done with them." I was absolutely amazed.

"How did you-"

"Remember when you told me that I would be more of a liability than an asset on your journey? Well, I kinda felt a bit stung, of course, but I took your words to heart. Getting a smithing cutey mark kinda made it dawn on me that there's not going to be many genetics labs in Equestria for me to actually do any experimentation or testing. Think about it, 'why do ponies get their cutie marks? Cause they find something that they were meant to do. The universe wanted me to make stuff. So this is what I made. But, that's just
the tip of the iceberg. Check this out." He went over to a lone case in the middle of the room, clicking open the clasps that held it closed, inside was a small metal hilt. He picked it up and handed it to me.

"Go on," He leaned towards me, whispering loudly, "press the fucking button."

As soon as I did, a blade extended out of the hilt, segmented into parts that locked into place. The design of the blade was reminiscent of a ninjato, but the metal gleamed with a blue tint. The length and balance was equal to that of a wakizashi. I gave it a few swings, the weight was a bit light, but smooth. Keith held out his hoof. I gave it back.
"When I first saw your katana able to put out a fire with just a swing, I had to admit, I was a bit jealous. But this little beauty..." He twirled the sword once around his fetlocks. "...is my magnum opus. Go ahead, try to cut it." I drew Kokuryu and slashed at the blade, the impact staggering Keith.

"Oh shi-" he fell back onto his flank, Eol and Ubi giving a snicker, but after a second of pause, my eyes widened in surprise. Keith's blade had survived, fully intact, with not a dent or even a nick in the blade. With a flick of his wrist, he brought the blade back into the hilt.

"Neat isn't it. But unfortunately it's not as sharp as dragon scale, but its light, compact, and perfect for VERY close quarters. Face it Aoi, you're not going to be able to swing your sword-sword everywhere, especially in tight places like a warren. It may not be as efficient, but I can absolutely guarantee that it will not break. Tested it myself." He tossed it back to me with a smile. "Consider it a LATE AS FUCK Christmas gift. So what do you think, am I 'combat ready'?" It hit me what he was asking. He wanted to come along. He did all this so I would think he was worth it.

And from personal experience, when Keith set his mind to something, he would grab the superglue and stick to it.

"Tell you what, Keith. You can come with me on one condition. You promise that when I say you cannot handle this, that you immediately go back to this warren or Canterlot, I think your efforts can help the princesses with defending Equestria." At this Keith's jaw dropped to the floor, making a miniature crater in the concrete.

"HOLLUP BRUH! The Princesses? You mean-"

"Who else, Princess Celestia and Princess-" He didn't let me finish as he tackled hugged me by surprise.

"TELL ME EVERYTHING. OH MY FUCKING GOD! YOU MET THEM?! I mean, what are they like, are they just like in the show, are they just like in the fan fics? Does Luna really have 'THE ABACUS?'" I immediately regret mentioning the princesses to Keith. But at the current moment, ha trouble breathing. He noticed and set me own on the ground.

"Right... sorry." I coughed and regained a standing position.

"Not sure what you mean by the first two. But the third, and never breath a word of this to either of them, but I did overhear Griffin Blackmailing Luna about an abacus of some sort." Keith took a pair of sunglasses from behind his back, placed them on his face before slowly lowering them.

"Mother of GAAAAAWD!" He perched the shades upon his head before continuing. "Okay, I had my moment, but yeah, I promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my -AH DAMMIT!" He jammed his hoof in his eye, making me severely doubt him for a second, Eol doubled over, laughing his ass off. I shook my head, snickering.

A muffled explosion reached our ears as the ground started to shake beneath us.

"The fuck was that?" Oh no...

"Ubi, Eol, Get topside, We'll meet you there!" I barked, they saluted and turned to Keith, "Here's your big moment, How many clips can you spare?"

"Dude, we got more ammo than Alucard." I blinked.

"Just take whatever much you need, I'll follow later." I went inside the safe, grabbed 5 clips of Ammunition.

"Also take a clip of the rounds in the small black box." I obliged, opening the glossed over case. Inside was a case of 40 rounds labeled...

"No fucking way..." I gave a low whistle, loading up a clip of 15 of the rounds, giving Keith a raised eyebrow. "... High Explosive Rounds?"

"Like I said, take A CLIP, that shit will fuck fuck up and make shit hit the fan." I grabbed an ammo belt and loaded the clips, holstering the gun at my hip.

"I'll lock up, don't worry about it." I nodded and headed after Eol and Ubi.

"We're under attack!" Just as I feared, the entire warren was shaking more and more. It wasn't long before I found Varg, armed to the teeth in battle armor.

"It was only a matter of time before someone found out." Varg said gravely. "But the question is, WHO is our enemy?"

"No time to think, but what we know is we've got an entire warren filled with ponies, griffins, and diamond dogs alike. How are you holding up?"

"Fine as a fiddle, being undead has it's perks..." He chuckled before grabbing a war trident, swinging it deftly with one paw. "And you?"

"I'll be damned to hell if I let one foreign paw hurt my family," I growled.

"Heh, let's see you put some substance behind those words, pup." He tossed me a small glass monocle. "Take a look, they brought a secret weapon." I cocked my head before bringing the glass to eye level. The rock seemed to peel back to reveal everything on the outside, including...

"A blue dragon?"

"That's not all, look up." I raised my view angle to find a full scale airship, lesser armored than Griffin's but dangerous all the same, canons lining the port bow.

"Shit!" I tossed the monocle back to Varg. "Any ideas?"

"Hmm, we may have something that can take on a dragon, but the airship, that's a whole different story." My mind raced to come up with an idea. The key components of a battleship are it's weapons as well as the crew to fire them. THE CREW!

"We need to lure them down," I explained briefly, "Play bluff, make them come out of their barrier, and take out the crew." Varg smirked.

"Heh, I like your thinking." He looked passed me, "Topaz! Get archers on the top plateau, and tell them..."

"Yes Master?" His lips drew back in a devilish grin.

"... run out the sweeps."

=Keith=

I pour myself a pint of good old froth, shot of One night stand, and hold myself a mini sake bomb. The pints empty by the time the first drop of foam hits the table.

"AAAAhh... DAMN that's the good shit." I pick up a large case from the vault, a suitcase, and close the vault for good measure.

"Note: please do not operate live ordinance while under the influence." I gave a loud cackle, "MILITARY PROTOCOL MY ASS! I'm a better shot when I'm drunk anyway." Oh if only Mordecai were to see my pasty Irish ass right now.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before we head out this evening I would like to make announcement in light of the irony of my final statement for the night..." I sling the case over my shoulder like a boss before making the best one liner a drunk guy could ever make on a potentially suicidal mission.

"INVADERS MUST DIE!!!"

=Aoi=

"Ubi, Eol!" They follow me as I head towards the plateau. "We're going hunting. Bring your long bows and weapons. They disperse and joined up with me at a junction in the warren, armed by the staff. Topaz and her company rush past me holding long wide tubes with a piece of cloth tied to the ends.

"Here's the plan, Varg's focus is going to be on the airship, while we take out the dragon, once the dragon's dead, the troops are going to bail the airship. Ubi, you're on mop up crew, help Topaz with the ground battle. Eol..." His ears flattened.

"You're with me."

"Uh, what?"

"Did I stutter?"

"No, it's, do you really think I'm ready to fight a dragon?"

"Not nearly enough, but I will need your help in pissing it off."

And pissed off he did, literally. More specifically off the side of the mountain. Apparently, according to Diamond dog customs, its a clan wide insult for one of it's members to urinate off of a high area in full view. According to the instantaneous reaction of the dragon diving towards us, its an extremely vulgar and degrading insult as well. As Eol and I finished emptying out the last few drops from our bladders, much to the mixed reactions of the muffled chagrin and laughter of some of Topaz's team, I managed to push Eol out of the way as the dragon careened towards the plateau, taking off a chunk of the cliff in its massive jaws. The second fire team opened a side volley on the dragon's face, ripping back the cords on the tubes to reveal them to be portable cannons.

The flash of the fire gave me leeway to sneak in and dive unto the dragon's muzzle.

"Surprise!" I lifted my blade high and plunged it into the dragons upper maw, the blade sliding past the overlapping scales and meeting tender flesh. The dragon gave an earth shattering roar and struggled, shaking it's head vigorously as it hovered above the cliff. The main fire team started to open fire on the main airship, the port bow returning fire, littering the front part of the plateau with miniature craters. As every volley was fired, the front team retreated to reload as the back team fired the next volley, dodging if enemy fire was headed their way.

I brushed past the smoke emanating from the dragon's nostrils to find Eol, hanging on to a dragon whisker. My jaw dropped as he smacked a fist into an open paw then raised it up high. A mighty slam gave way to the sound of cracking scales as he plunged his bare fist onto the dragon's scaled muzzle, he peeled back the broken bits and pointed a claw at the exposed flesh. I threw him Keith’s blade, and with a deft motion, he stabbed the sword into the dragon's nose, twisting it. I could hear a loud low coughing coming from the dragon, then a gurgling noise. A glaring yellow eye scanned across it's nose and looked dead at me. With the nose partially
still, I yanked out Kokuryu and slashed at its eye, fluid rushing out of the open socket.

"OFF NOW!" I grabbed Eol by the scruff and dragged him into a running jump back onto the plateau before the dragon started to fall. We landed in a roll, a mortar landing two yards away, blowing out my eardrums, I looked down at the falling beast, clutching my ringing ears. Eol's stab forced blood into the dragon's inner nose, causing it to slowly choke on its own blood. I braced a hurdled Eol and brought him towards the inner plateau.

A screaming backlash later brought back the sounds of the battle, as the ship started to come closer towards the mountain. But to my horror the ship was accelerating.

"SHIT! EVERYONE FALL BACK NOW!" I waved my paw towards the inner sanctum of the mountain, Topaz caught on and led her fire team back inside. I motioned for Eol and Ubi to do the same.

"JUST DO IT NOW!" I yelled to them, Ubi brought Eol, paws still clasped over his ears from shell-shock, back inside with the others.

Immediately I ejected the standard clip and loaded the explosive rounds. I pulled back the slide, letting loose the loud rounds that burst from the barrel. Each round impacted with a loud crunch into the steel plating of the ship, making heavy dents, one stray round completely eviscerating one of the enemy crew. I got a closer look at each of the ones at the helm: griffons and ponies all saluting with tears in their eyes. I open fire on the ship, the bullets taking apart masts, balloons, and bow. Closer and closer the ship got until I felt something push me aside.

It was Keith, carrying a long solid case, He broke the clasps holding it shut, bringing forth a gun longer than I was tall, wielding a barrel the width of my arm. He got down on one knee, bringing the gun's sights level with his eyes, loading a large shell into the chamber. With a loud shout breaking through the fire and roaring engines, he laughed triumphantly.

"BITCHES LOVE CANNONS!!!"

The round screamed through the air as it ripped straight through the engine of the mechanical behemoth. The entire ship was a blaze, losing altitude and slowly started to decelerate.

"IT'S GONNA CRASH!" I yelled as Keith loaded another round. I dashed to grab his arm, leading him away from the center towards the east side of the plateau. When the ship was less than 50 yards away from the mountain, Keith turned around one last time at the edge of the Plateau.

"MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS, MUTHAFUCKAS!" he bellowed as he let loose another round, the kickback launching him back into me, knocking us both off the cliff. The round slammed into the ship turning it enough for it to skid across the side of the mountain on impact. I grabbed Keith in one arm, pulling off my dobuku. The air fluffed under the garment, as we sailed across the mountain face.

"KEITH, IF WE MAKE IT OUT ALIVE, I AM PERSONALLY KICKING YOUR ASS!" I screamed in his ear as I tilted the makeshift parachute to make contact with the face. I started to run on the rocky surface, slowing us down until we made it to a smaller plateau leading inside, the impact doing no favors for my newly healed knee.

I laid back onto the hard ground, Keith doing the same, out of breathe, and proud of it.

"You see... this is one of the reasons why I quit the Agency," I huffed, "too many damn explosions."

The relief party found us not long after, and soon we got treatment for minor wounds. Sadly a few griffons and ponies were caught in a few mortar blasts. The official count: 3 dead and 14 wounded, 2 griffons who will never get to fly again, and a unicorn without a horn.

We held a funeral for the three that died, and the entire den of the warren was filled with those who knew the deceased personally, a reception followed, the four of us rather eating sparingly while the related drowned their sorrows in heavy drink. It was especially heavy for the departed's friends, who came with them here as refugees, and who'd been with them for who knows how long. All the while, the thought constantly came back, 'It could have happened to any of us.'

"Makes you grateful that you are living." Ubi said quietly, almost as if he had read my mind. I looked at each of them, reminded of how we first met. Keith, drug crazed man who tried to stab me with a scalpel when we first met. Eol, orphan who lost his father to a greedy leader. Ubi, thought me a potential enemy at first; now, family.

"... especially when you have friends and family to live with," I added, taking a small sip of milk and honey. I stood up and went to Varg's chambers.

When I entered, he ha just finished taking off his war helmet.

"I guess we didn't need that ground force after all." He place the helmet on the armor mannequin and patted me on the shoulder.

"I have to personally extend a word of thanks to you Aoi. By the time I had arrived on the plateau with the troops, the airship was long out of the sky, and the dragon dead at the base of the mountain." He sat down at a chair, pouring himself a pint of mead. "You really do have the makings of a legend."

"Your words flatter me, but I can't take any credit at all. Eol was--in all sense of the word--actually the one who killed the dragon, and Keith the one who saved the mountain."

Varg passed me a glance of surprised disbelief before laughing, "BWAHAAHAHHA! And if it weren't for you, where would such noble acts have come from?" He got up and pressed a mug into my paws. "You see Aoi, it's not what someone calls you or bequeaths you or how many troops died under your command or how many territories you've conquered that defines you as a true leader. No. A true leader is one who inspires the people who believe in him to do great things. It's not about rank or order, it's one thing that is vital to all soldiers, Kings and infantry alike: it's trust. When you give the people you care about the trust they deserve, they can fulfill it tenfold. It's because of that trust that you see each of your clan as not servants or expendable troops, but family. Which is why you're afraid to even think of what happens when they get hurt, and rather take their injuries yourself."

I hold the mug in my paw, taking a small gulp of the crisp mead.

"I was wondering if there were any survivors on the ship." Varg shook his head.

"All were dead." He downed the mead and opened another bottle. "But you know what I found strange? out of the corpses we buried, not one was a diamond dog." My ears perked up.

"All were ponies and griffons?" I placed the pint on a table. He nodded. "It wasn't a clan who attacked us, it was something else. and with no diamond dogs as a part of their crew-" I thought back to that scene, when all the crew stood there, on deck, saluting. It dawned on me. None were ment to survive in the first place. With so many, so many willing to give their lives away. I slowly pieced it together, none were diamond dogs, all attacking an unknown warren. No, to go so far as to plan a massive assault to destroy a single warren period...

"It's a hate group..." He nodded with a smile.

"But with no survivors, we had no way of pressing the crew for info." He corked the bottle of mead, placing it back on the shelf, "Dead men tell no tales, after all... However, we did a little 'digging' and retrieved a number of spare parts from the ship, and guess what?"

"Go on..."

"A pegasus and a griffon identified the parts as those made solely in one place, said to be the airship capital of Equus." He pulled out a gear, turning it thrice in hand. "with the parts on hand as well as one of your friend's ingenuity, we could build an airship for a bit of payback against the ones who called the attack. The question that remains though, is WHO?" I scratched my chin, gears of my own turning inside my head.

"I get what your saying, we find who or whatever called the attack, and we can plan a counterstrike with minimal collateral damage." I knew where this was going. Varg did as well.

"You've done this much for me, Aoi, and I thank you greatly for it. But if you can do one more, then not only will you have the backing of my entire clan with you, a heavy voice with the council, but you'll also have an airship and crew to give an edge to your campaign." He tossed the gear in my direction.

"And hey, I'll even give you Topaz as a mate. She's a fine bitch, has an irresistible sway to her hindquarters." I gave a slight twinge.

"I'll pass on the mate. But I could go for the support, as well as the airship. So you can count me in." I could make a lot of headway with his opportunity. But I wouldn't be telling the whole truth if I didn't admit there was something else behind my motives. This unknown hate group would go so far to the extent of a kamikaze, to destroy so many more lives. Someone had to be behind all this, someone big. "So what's the plan, and where are we going?" I wanted to find out who.

"Check the gear." I looked down at the small gear, covered in axle grease, after wiping it away, I could make out the name of my next destination:

"Bitsburg."

Author's Notes:

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Finally done. So yes, If you remember correctly, Bitsburg is that kick ass steampunk city where Griffin picked up Geirmund. I'll let you debate about what that means for Aoi and the gang in the comment's below.

And yes, Keith is tagging along with, for all those with sunglasses on... well... you know the drill...