The Academy was unusually quiet. All the students had assembled for a special ceremony honoring all the fallen of their countries during the lunacy of the Ultranationalist leader Vladimir Makarov's reign of terror. Many IS pilots had lost their lives at the Battle for New York and the rescue mission of the Russian President and his daughter; the IS pilots had found themselves fighting each other.

With the death of Makarov at the hands of British Special Forces Task Force 141 leader, Captain John Price, the world had finally found a new era of peace. Many of the students were crying and embracing each other; all of them were relieved at the fact that the war had ended on such a good note.

The second male IS pilot, an American named Lotus Saintcrow, was standing next to Orimura Ichika and his friends, cheering and celebrating. Suddenly, though, he was called by Ichika's older sister Orimura Chifuyu, who was a teacher at the IS Academy and had known Lotus and his older brother, Jonah Saintcrow, since Lotus, Ichika and their childhood friend Shinonono Houki, younger sister of the genius who created the IS machines, Shinonono Tabane, and her assistant, Yamada Maya. He said to the crew, "I'll be back!" and ran to them.

Ichika saw Chifuyu-nee with a soft look on her face as Yamada-sensei said something to Lotus. His smile evaporated immediately and tears welled up in his eyes. Chifuyu-nee wrapped him in a comforting embrace as Lotus sobbed in anger, pain and sadness. Lotus fell to the ground and Chifuyu followed, never letting go, stroking his hair and rubbing his back soothingly while trying to shush him.

Ichika saw a tall man with a full beard and the military uniform of Great Britain with a strange hat on his head and a cigar in his mouth walk up to Lotus, who held his shoulder tightly for a brief moment. Lotus turned to regard him, his face wet with tears. Ichika moved closer and heard the man say in a strange British accent, "I'm Captain John Price, son; I was a good friend of your uncle's. I thought you might like this." He extended his hand and Ichika saw a pair of dog tags on a metal ball necklace. They were covered in dirt and blood. "This was the only thing found of Staff Sergeant Westbrook when they were sifting through of the rubble of that Siberian mine. I thought since you and he were close, you might want them."

Lotus nodded and grasped them in his hand. Bringing his hand to his chest, he sobbed again with renewed tears. Chifuyu-nee looked at Price and said, "Thanks, John."

Captain Price nodded. "Don't mention it, Blade." He turned and regarded Ichika, then tipped his hat to the first male IS pilot in history and walked away.

Brunetta Auditore, an Italian IS pilot (Female, obviously) and Lotus' girlfriend ran up to Ichika with a worried look on her face. "Ichika-kun?" she asked with a thick Italian accent. "What's wrong with Lodie?"

Ichika sighed and said, "His uncle died in that mine where they rescued President Vorshevsky."

Brunetta's eyes went wide. "Oh, no," she whispered then ran up to her boyfriend and cooed, "Baby." Lotus looked at her and embraced her; Chifuyu got up and walked to Ichika. Putting a hand on his head, she said, "You better be there for him. It's gonna be tough for him for a while."

Ichika nodded. "I will, Chifuyu-nee." He waited for her to hit him for calling her that at school like she usually would, but instead she embraced him in a loving hug. "I love you, Ikkun," she whispered, holding him tight.

Ichika nodded. "I love you too, Chifuyu-nee."

Chifuyu kissed the top of his head and let go of him, then walked off.

Ichika looked to the horizon, and the sun had never looked brighter.

It finally felt like the start of a new day.

The woman was alone. Vodka bottles, used clothing and half-eaten plates of food were strewn across the bedroom. She had locked herself inside of her room and had refused to let anyone in.

Her arms were adorned with cuts and her hair was messy and tangled. She smelled horrible from lack of bathing. Again, she looked at the Desert Eagle on her desk, fully loaded, and contemplated suicide again.

No. That wouldn't change anything. Big Brother Vladimir was gone. The Ultranationalist movement had been destroyed with his passing.

No. She wanted revenge. She wanted blood. She wanted death.

Especially the death of one Captain John Price of the British Special Forces Task Force 141. The man who had killed her beloved big brother.

Draining the last of her vodka, she threw the bottle across the room. Her eyes, red from lack of sleep, were burning with a new purpose.

She got up and walked to her mirror. She had plenty of work to do.

The sister of Vladimir Makarov, Afimiya Makarov, prepared herself for her first steps into darkness.

And vengeance.

Thanks so much for reading! This will be a continued series! I will try to upload as much as I can; don't panic if some uploads come later than others, since my life is hectic, too!

My custom characters, Lotus Saintcrow and Jonah Saintcrow, will be more involved in the story as time goes on! Also, Brunetta Auditore is LittleMiss~Roseann's character; if you haven't read her stories, CHECK THEM OUT. They're f**king fantastic!

That's all from me!

EVER

PRG