Hey all, Altus here. This is my first installment in our Asmira series.

Disclaimer: I don't own EOtech, Israel Weapon Industries, Fabrique Nationale, or Gamefreak.

-!-

"Do you ever think about it?" she asked, turning to me from her spot on the staircase.

"Think about what?"

"Us. This. The Core."

He chuckled. "What is there to think about? You joined, and I was born into it. The Core is our home."

"No… That's not it…" she replied, her head tilting down in thought. "I'm thinking… Are we on the right side?"

"Careful Serena. That's coming awfully close to treason."

"I know Aeric. Still, no side is innocent in a war. Major David-"

"Was tried and hung. He was collaborating with the enemy." interrupted the male, now known as Aeric.

"But why? Core soldiers are especially known for their fierce loyalty. What could have caused one, especially a leading member, to go turncoat on us?"

He didn't answer, now honestly thinking about it himself. Finally, he stood up. "I don't know why he turned on us. But it's best not to question it, lest we risk treason as I've already said. Now come on. We've got to get back to our posts."

She nodded in agreement, and began going upwards, with him heading downwards.

-!-

Aeric shook his head, trying to clear it of the memory. No, he thought to himself. I don't need to be thinking about that. Not right now. And honestly? He probably shouldn't be thinking about it period. His father won't- no, wouldn't have, liked it.

With a sigh, he looked up at the casket in front of him, the small picture on top of it catching his eye once more. It was of him, his father, and his twin brother Richard. In it, they were on a small boat, fishing for magikarp. They all looked content, happy even. But the picture was taken before they found out their father had cancer. From the moment of diagnosis, he was told he would survive for another six months. He lasted three.

Aeric thought about all of this, and what was to come. After their father had fallen, the title of leader of the Core fell on Richard, as he was technically older than Aeric. That was more than likely good though, as he always was stronger than Aeric emotionally. Their father's death had hit them both hard, but Richard remained strong. He was, for a time, Aeric's shoulder to cry on. Though they weren't especially close, he always tried to be there for his "little brother". But, when he couldn't be, Aeric's friend Serena always had been.

Serena, while she wasn't nearly as strong or fast as the other Core soldiers, she was smarter. Being the same age as Aeric, the two had quickly made friends in grade school and, though he was taught to think and react, she had taught him to feel. And with those emotions came attachments. That's why his father's death had hit him so hard compared to Richard. But, the sense of loss was not the only thing it brought. His mother died when he was five, and in turn, he and his brother were given a Gible, which they promptly named Gabby.

Gabby played with them both, though she quickly gravitated more towards Richard. That was fine with Aeric, as he grew close to his father's froslass, Deliah.

Speaking of the froslass, it was sitting on a chair in the corner of the small funeral parlor. With a sigh, Aeric looked up from his spot in the parlor towards Deliah, who was already looking back at him with a worried look in her eyes. Slowly, she got up out of the chair, floating her way towards Aeric.

"Master? Are you going to be okay?" she asked, concern evident in her translated voice. While he was glad she could talk to him, he wasn't exactly happy with the circumstances behind it. His father had given him and his brother both an earpiece and six collars. The collar itself, one of which was around the froslasses neck, connected to the earpiece, which translated what the pokemon said into a language he could understand. It was a sort of last gift from him to the two.

Aeric didn't say anything, instead just shaking his head as a single tear dripped down off of his cheek. Slowly, she floated forward, wrapping her arms around Aeric. "It's okay… Just let it out…" she cooed gently, tears coming to her own eyes as he pulled her closer, ducking his head under hers.

After a moment of silence, he sniffled and pulled back, taking her hands in his. "How? How are you not hurting?" he asked her, tears now dripping from his eyes. She smiled grimly and shook her head.

"It hurt me as well master… But… Pokemon and humans are different in our views. What you see as death, we see as a chance at new life. You know of the distortion realm, yes?" He nodded once, and she continued. "Well, we also believe in what you humans call heaven. Takama-ga-hara. We do not cry for our losses as much, not because it doesn't hurt us, but because we know that they live on. Both there, and in here." she finished, placing a hand on his chest where his heart would be.

They held each other's gaze for a moment, before he broke it to look at the closed casket once more. As one, they walked over to it, each of them placing a hand on its wooden surface.

"Goodbye… Father."

"Goodbye… Victor."

They turned around and began walking towards the entrance of the parlor, where a guard stood waiting. "Where is my brother?" he asked. The guard pat his shoulder awkwardly, in his own effort to console Aeric.

"President Richard took the day off. He's at the shooting range. Would you like for me to escort you?" he asked, already taking a step forwards. But Aeric stopped him with a hand.

"No, it's fine Dale. I'll see myself there." Then, he began walking towards the entrance to the funeral home. Already, he could hear the steady staccato of gunfire as he moved. Ironically, the funeral home was right next to the armory, training area, and the shooting range. The hospital wasn't too far off either.

As he crossed the street to go to the shooting range, he could hear the quick two-step of a person approaching behind him. He turned to see Serena approaching him, her personal Tavor strapped to her back.

Not saying a word, she held him at arm's length, before drawing him into a hug of her own. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it. Victor was a good man, Aeric. He deserved more than… that."

He didn't respond, rather pulling out of her grasp and reaching down to his side to unholster his standard issue pistol. It was a Barak SP-21, and by far his most favored weapon. Though it was the standard weapon of all Core soldiers, his was modified slightly. He had remodeled it to take extended ammunition clips and, because his hands were a little larger than normal, remodeled its gripping and chambering as well. All in all, it could take an extra three rounds in its clips, which he had to modify as well, bringing its ammo count to a high 18, 15, or 13 rounds, depending on the type of ammunition he used.

Turning away from Serena, he walked into the front doors of the shooting range, holding it open for Deliah and Serena to pass through after him. Deliah would have followed anyways, but so would Serena. She knew she needed to be there for her friend at the moment.

"So, where's Richard? Could he not make the funeral?" asked Serena, once the door had shut.

"He's here, at the shooting range. I don't think he could take what happened very well." croaked Aeric. He flashed his gun at the lone man on duty, Serena doing the same with her Tavor, and the trio made their way deeper inside.

Passing through a set of steel double-doors, they stepped into the main shooting area, before skimming over each of the individual stalls to find his brother at the one on the far end, firing away with his own pistol, a five-seven. He had a pair of earmuffs on, so it was doubtful that he could hear them approaching. Not that it mattered. Around him lay at least half a dozen empty ammo clips. Shocked, they turned to look at the standard set of paper targets.

The targets, or what was left of them, slowly came forward, revealing the damage dealt. Not a single round had landed outside the outer ring. Serena let out a slow whistle, grinning slightly. "Nice job, Rich. Almost as good as me."

"Almost?" he replied, as he peeled off his earmuffs. "That's as good as you on your best days, if not more." In response to that statement, she stepped up to the stall next to him, sending a set of targets forwards and pulling her Tavor off of her back, holding it up for the two brothers and froslass to admire.

The gun itself was a real beauty. It could be modified to suit an individual's length. But hers specifically was of the STAR-21 variation. It had an underbarrel bipod, as well as an EOtech reflex sight with a flip-up ACOG scope, and had a cool blue finish, excluding its barrel, which was black.

Deftly, she flipped the ACOG to the side, choosing instead to use the reflex sight to prove her point. After a few seconds, she fired off her shots- simple three round bursts. Ten burst shots later, she shouldered the weapon, bringing her hand down to the button that brought the targets forward. As soon as the target reached her, she yanked it out of the clamps, holding it up to Richard with an obvious smirk on her face. "Told you."

And told him she had. The paper target, impossible though it seemed, did not have a single hole outside the inner ring, which was completely gone. Richard stared at it, mouth open. Aeric on the other hand, wasn't surprised. He had seen her hit a can with it at 300 yards. Granted, she had equipped an extended barrel, but the point remained. With a sigh, Aeric turned around and began walking away, Deliah following soon after.

"Hey, wait a second Aery." called Richard, stopping him with a hand on his shoulder. The older brother spun him around, pulling him into a tight one-armed half hug. "I'm sorry it happened so soon." he said, his voice a low whisper. "You were closest to dad. This shouldn't have happened so soon for you."

"I know big bro… But… Why didn't you come to the funeral?"

"You know me… We all have to deal in our own ways. This is mine." he said, holding up his pistol. Aeric nodded his understanding and turned away, looking over the stalls himself. But, he shook his head. "Maybe for you, but not for me."

With that, he slid his pistol into its holster, stopping when his phone rang in his opposite pocket. When they answered it, he heard the voice of General Davidson on the line.

"Sergeant White?"

"Yes, General." he replied, his back straightening almost instantly and his voice void of emotion. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that with the higher officials in the Core, he could not show as much emotion, if any at all.

"Report to the command post, immediately. There is someone here to see you. I am about to ask the same of your brother, President Richard."

"No need, General. He's here with me, I'll get him to come too."

"Good. Oh, and Aeric?"

"Yes, General?"

"I'm sorry about your father. He was a good person, and a great leader."

Internally, Aeric smiled at that. Not all of his generals had exactly thought well of his father, though that was how he liked it. He enjoyed getting more than one perspective on situations, and it often was a key factor in the decisions he made, which was what made him a great leader. As a father however, he succeeded because he "always had time for his boys."

"Thank you, general."

"Please, you two are meeting us on informal terms. Call me Jacob, or David if you must." This caused Aeric to hesitate, but nevertheless, he responded, saying "Yes, Eric. We'll be there in twenty minutes."

With that, he closed his phone, and slid it back into his pocket. He turned to Richard briefly, long enough to say "General Davidson needs us." and look at Deliah. She floated over to him as he held out a pokeball, gently pressing it to recall herself into it. He replaced it on his belt and walked out, already planning on taking a taxi to the command post.

Honestly speaking, he felt bad for Deliah. He knew she did not like being put inside her pokeball, but it was either that, or he leave her behind at his quarters. General Davidson, kind though he may be, did not like, nor tolerate, any pokemon at all. So, it was best for her to remain in the ball.

Soon enough, he was riding up to the command post, the cab driver immediately being allowed in the gate when the guard at the post saw Aeric. Upon his request, the cab driver stopped in front of the main entrance, allowing Aeric a full view of Richard and General Davidson, who stood in the main lobby conversing with one another. Aeric muttered under his breath as he paid the cab driver, a little agitated. How the hell did Richard do that? He hadn't left before Aeric, and as far as he knew, he didn't own any other pokemon besides Gabby.

"You say somethin?" asked the cabbie, looking at him through the rearview mirror.

"No, I didn't. Regardless, thanks for the ride, mr…"

"Joseph. And thanks for listening to me ramble on!" He had been talking? Oops. Regardless, he smiled back at the cabbie and shook his head. "It's no trouble. I enjoy listening to others." A lie straight through his teeth, but he more than likely wouldn't meet the cabbie again. "See you later."

At that, he shut the door, turning and walking into the building where Richard and the General stood, a smug smile on the former's face. "What took you so long?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"I still don't know how you get over here so fast President Richard. I had to take a taxi, and I still left ahead of you." Aeric replied, remaining formal. In reality, he wanted to say something much more crude to his brother, but General Davidson definitely would not allow it. He did not feel like running another three laps around the city again. And while that may not seem like much, the city itself is about 3 miles across both ways, so it would be more like 36 miles, something Richard would have enjoyed watching him do.

General Davidson spoke up then. "I have already explained what's happening to President Richard, and I will do the same with you, Sergeant White. We're meeting with your father's will executor, and after that, because of something in the will, I'm assigning you your first mission."

Aeric nearly fell over at that. His first assignment? Admittedly yes, he'd dreamed of doing something more than just wall work, but to finally get to go out on a mission? He was ecstatic on the inside. Richard smiled, already knowing how excited his brother was to hear that news. He could practically see the twinkle in his eyes returning already, and General Davidson could see it too, though he held his tongue on the matter

"If you'll follow me, please." he said, gesturing with a hand to the elevator near the rear of the lobby.

-!-

"Okay, Richard Daniel White and Aeric Simon White?" asked the suited Lawyer, who sat in front of a large desk. The General had taken a side seat, and the two brothers sat in front of it, listening to the lawyer. As one, they nodded at his question. "Good. Everything seems to be in order. Now all that is left is the will." he said, holding up a small paper. Both Richard and Aeric leaned forwards at that, curious already.

"I'm just going to read the part that pertains to the two of you. Your father wasn't really a man of possessions, so there isn't much. Is that alright?" They both nodded again, and the lawyer's gaze shifted downward, focusing on one of the paragraphs.

"To my two sons, Richard and Aeric White, I leave my entire fortune, to be divided evenly. Herewithin, they shall be placed in locked bank accounts, to be given a small sum of monthly, until the arrival of their twenty-first birthday, upon which, the full funds will become available. Individually, I leave my son, Richard White, my prized hunting rifle, in the hopes that he will get more use out of it than me. To my son, Aeric White, I leave my Froslass, Deliah, in the hopes that he could do what I never did: complete the gym circuit, as well as-

Aeric zoned out, his thoughts springing up immediately. His father had never shown any interest in pokemon battles, and the only pokemon he had ever had was Deliah. Then again, where had he gotten Deliah? He supposed he could ask her, but it seemed too soon.

"Do you understand what you have been given Aeric?" interrupted the lawyer, his tone sharp. Aeric snapped back to attention, shaking his head. The lawyers face remained straight, though internally he was sighing. "Let me read it again. 'To my son, Aeric White, I leave my Froslass, Deliah, in the hopes that he could do what I never did: complete the gym circuit, as well as my pocketwatch and my GTAR."' Everything else does not pertain to you two, except this." he finished, holding out two small white letters to both Richard and Aeric.

His hands shaking, Aeric took the letter from the lawyer, unfolding it to read it's contents.

My son Aeric,

I am so, so proud of you. For years, you put up with mean old pops without so much as a single complaint. Despite not liking half the things I made you do, you never hated me, and neither did your brother. I know especially that you hated your latest job, wall duty. In truth, I had you assigned to that. Not because I love you, but because I was afraid. I knew I was sick, long before the cancer actually showed itself. I wanted you close to me, not far away on missions. Now, I realize all I've been doing is holding you back. So, as a last gift from me, I had General Davidson arrange three tours for you, all in different parts of Asmira. Son please, though I'm gone, stay safe. Don't think I haven't seen you with your eyes on that girl, Serena.

Aeric smiled at that. Francis was a jokester, to the end. He rubbed his eyes with a hand, then looked back down to the paper, continuing to read.

You've no doubt had my will read out by now, so I want you to keep that GTAR close to you on missions. It kept me alive more than once in my own tours, and I believe that it will do the same for you. One last thing. Please, keep an eye on your brother. You know as much as I do that he's meant to be the leader of the Core, but he's more than that. He's your brother. Be there for him, when he needs you.

With love, Your Father,

Francis White

With a sigh, Aeric sat back on his seat, a small smile etched onto his face. After a moment of contemplating, he turned to the Lawyer. "Where can I get the pocketwatch and gun?" he asked simply, rubbing his hand over Deliah's pokeball in his pocket. He had her, so that was enough for him, but the gun and pocket watch would be nice to have as well.

The lawyer smiled at his question, reaching a hand into the desk. "The gun, you can find in the weapons locker. You're not on mission, so if you want to carry it with you outside of combat zones, you must apply for a permit. As for the pocketwatch, here." He held out his cupped hand, allowing Aeric to pull the mentioned item from his hand. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Made from hand forged steel, the little piece of technology served as a sort of good luck charm, though the watch itself didn't work. It couldn't, what with the bullet embedded in its front.

Aeric slowly slid it into his belt on the right side, looping it through to sit in his pants pocket. He turned to his brother, who held up a thumb, showing his support for the item. "Looking like Dad already." he said with a chuckle.

"Ahem." came General Davidson. The two brothers turned to him, seeing that he had stood up as well. "I hate to break up this little get together, but I have things I need to attend to, so I have a question or two for Aeric, if that's alright Mr. President."

Richard waved his hand dismissively at the question, signaling for the General to continue. He grew straight faced, and turned to Aeric. "You have two choices, Sergeant White. You can either wait until the next Tour becomes available for you, in about two months. Or, though I don't approve of it, you can leave in two days time on a supply plane headed for the town, Kara's Vale, though we're only staying in the area for another two weeks."

Aeric didn't even think about it before he answered. "I'll take the supply plane." The General's eyebrow raised at that, but he shook his head. "Alright. What about Deliah, your Froslass? Will she come with you, or will she remain here?"

Aeric took longer to think about that. On one hand, she could be a huge asset. Being a partial ghost type, normal bullets couldn't necessarily harm her. On another, there was still a chance they could come up against some opposition that could actually harm her.

Finally, he came to a decision. "I'll just leave that up to her. She should decide that one. As for that permit…" he continued, his voice trailing off. The general, though he had a look of detest on his face at first, smiled. "Don't worry about it. It'll be here when you get back."

The lawyer, for a moment, looked like he wanted to voice otherwise, but remained silent when Davidson's eyes turned on him. He scoffed at the silence, then turned to the two brothers.

"You're free to go. Aeric, I want to see that you've gotten at least a little training in before I send you off to Kara's Vale." Aeric snapped to attention, saluting and letting out a crisp, "Yes sir.", before walking out the door to the small room, Richard hot on his heels.

The older brother soon caught up with him, easily keeping pace. "So," he began, "Do you know where Dale is?" Aeric snorted at that, soon doubling over against the elevator in laughter.

-!-

"You're what?!"

That was the first thing Deliah said to Aeric when he told her of the upcoming tour. Honestly speaking, he was surprised she didn't try and slap him at first. They were back at his home in Nara, and he had released her from her pokeball so the two could talk. Needless to say, she wasn't taking the news too well.

"I'm going on tour in two days." repeated Aeric. He made to continue, but Deliah scoffed. "That's it? No goodbye? No, I love you?"

Aeric nearly did a double take at that last statement, but smiled regardless. "I never said you couldn't come with me. After all, I could use a friend where I'm going."

"...Oh. Well, of course I'm coming, but…"

"But?" asked Aeric, confused.

"What about your father? Are you sure you're not just running away from the issue?" she asked. She had a worried gleam in her eyes, and in truth, she may have been right. Aeric had so far shown a similar reaction to Richard's, in the fact that there was little emotion. True, he had gone to his father's funeral, but other than that, nothing.

Aeric sighed, leaning back onto the couch beneath him. He remained silent for a moment, contemplating what Deliah had just asked. Finally, he looked over at her. "Maybe I am, I don't really know. But one thing is for sure. I need to go on this Tour."

"Why can't you just wait for the next one? It's only two months from now, like you said." "That's just it Deliah. I don't want to be here. This place is home, and while home may be where the heart is, i need a break from it all. It reminds me too much of Father."

"And me? Do I not remind you of my old master? Of Victor?" she asked, seemingly hurt. Aeric smiled, shaking his head. "You do, but in a good way. You remind me of all the happy times I had with him."

Deliah looked down when he said that, thinking herself. Finally, she pat the seat beside her three times. Aeric turned, watching as she floated up, and he set his feet where she once sat. she floated over to his torso, laying down and curling up on his chest, as it had become a common practice for the two in recent times.

She spoke up after a moment, nudging his chest gently. "I'm sorry if you don't want me coming with you. I just don't want to see you hurt."

Aeric chuckled, patting her with a hand. "I've no real reason to worry Deliah. They're sending me to Kara's Vale, remember?"

"Maybe, but the rebels…. Who knows what they're willing to do, regardless of the binding festival. You've heard the same horrible stories I have of their cruelty."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. The binding festival is the only REAL neutral time where Core soldiers and rebels interact with one another, besides within the city Omni Resorts. Even then, they keep to separate sides."

"I know that. It isn't going to stop me from worrying." Aeric said nothing, only laying there with his arm over Deliah. Then something occurred to him.

"Are you sure you only want to go to watch over me?" he said with a grin. Deliah shifted uncomfortably then, shaking her head no.

"Are you sure?" he continued, pressing her. "It has nothing to do with the Binding festival itself?"

She giggled herself then, looking up at him. "Maybe~"

"Knew it."

-!-

In the following two days, Aeric informed Serena of his up and coming "Tour", short though it may be. She was excited for him, to say the least. As she was more of the smarter type, she had never really gotten to go on Tour either, though she didn't mind. She and her Skarmory, Stelos, were a great team as wall guards. The "Metal Bucket", as Richard called it oh-so cleverly, was an interesting character. He was slow, though a fair bit faster than most other skarmory like him, and it was obvious he and Serena were close. They often went for flights together, and she convinced Aeric to tag along once, to both Aeric and Stelos's dismay. It was not that they didn't like each other, they got along fine. Stelos, as Serena put it, was territorial, though what over Aeric did not understand.

They did indeed get some training time in, Serena made sure of that. "A good five hours at the target range never hurt anybody." she said, when Aeric lowered his GTAR. The gun, affectionately named Beth by its former owner, was slightly heavy in his arms, especially after five hours of continuous use. But, she was right. Aeric had quickly gotten used to each of the individual firing settings, and was shooting accurately up to 50 yards away, more than enough to deal with any threat in his opinion.

Soon enough, the time came for him to leave for Kara's Vale. He stood by the supply plane as it was being loaded, Serena smoothing out his blue and white uniform. Richard was snickering, and Stelos stood beside her, letting out little huffs that Aeric assumed to be snickering as well. Embarrassed, he stood there as she fussed over him, smoothing out the little wrinkles she could find like a mother and her young.

"You just gonna stand there and let her do that?" asked Richard, his tone finally turning serious. Aeric just shrugged his shoulders. "Not like I could stop her." Stelos, thankfully, took that as his cue to move forward and place one of his metal feathered wings on her shoulder. She looked back at him, nodding slowly as he spoke to her. Though, the most Richard and Aeric could make out was a low, "Skar-, Skarmory Skar, mory."

The pokeball on Serena's waist connected to the collar around Stelo's neck, which was in turn connected to a small microchip implanted behind Serena's ear. It was what allowed the trainer to communicate with his or her pokemon, and, once Deliah was registered to Aeric, allowed him to communicate with her.

Serena nodded slowly, turning to Stelos with a large smile. Stelos knelt down, Serena climbing onto his back and locking her legs in front of his wings. Slowly, he rose back up, letting Richard to move past him to get to Aeric.

"So where's Deliah? I thought she was coming with you." he asked, looking around. "She is. I think she's using the restroom."

"Am not!" came a voice from behind them. They all turned to see Deliah approaching them, a rather large brown paper bag in her hands. She stopped at Aeric's side, nudging him slightly with her head, before turning and setting the paper bag at their feet.

"Where were you? I might have had to leave without you." commented Aeric, reaching down and fingering the bag. Deliah popped his hand, smiling. "Not yet! Thats for the trip!"

He chuckled. "What is it?"

"Donuts!" she announced proudly. He gasped, reaching down and opening the bag despite another cry of protest from Deliah. Inside were 8 glazed donuts, all in a neat row. He was tempted to eat one right then and there, but Deliah popped his hand again, taking the bag from him.

"NO." she said, sticking her small tongue out at him. Aeric rubbed the back of his hand, letting out an overdramatic sniffle. "Guilting me won't work, you know." she remarked. Aeric sighed, smiling. "I tried."

"So… what's she not letting you at Aeric?" asked Richard, looking down at the bag himself. He had always not liked being unable to know something.

"Now, if I told you that, you'd make her hand them over." responded Aeric.

"Them? And you know, if I really wanted to, I'd make her hand the bag over regardless."

"Touche. It's donuts. She packed them for the trip up to Kara's Vale." Richard immediately looked hungry, but shook his head. "As much as I like donuts, I'll leave them be. Don't feel like receiving an ice beam to the face for my troubles. As for you going to Kara's Vale, are you still set on going? You haven't gotten on the plane yet, so it's not too late to change your mind."

Aeric smiled at that, reaching over and patting his brother on the shoulder. Normally, his brother wouldn't worry, so it was different, seeing him a little worried now. "It is too late, Richard. Besides, I need this. I need time away from Nara, if only to think."

Richard sighed, but straightened back up, stepping back. "If that's what it takes to get you back here, go ahead."

Just then, the maintenance officer of the plane tapped Aeric on the shoulder, crossing him arms. "We're ready to go. Are you coming or not?"

"I am. Just give me a moment. Does my Froslass have to be in her ball?" asked, Aeric, turning to face him.

"We're wheels up in five, so hurry. And no, she can remain out. The only pokemon that must remain in balls are electric types, interfering with our equipment and all." Aeric sighed a sigh of relief, knowing he would have some form of entertainment during the ride.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, bro," Richard spoke once more. Aeric turned back to his brother before the two met in one last hug, "You stay safe out there. And you," he then turned to Deliah, "make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid, you hear?" he told her with a smirk.

"Don't worry, he'll be safe," she said, but all Richard heard was her saying her name repeatedly. He took it as she understood him. With one last sigh, Richard backed away, where Aeric and Deliah both proceeded to their seats.

Strapping himself in, he looked over and saw Deliah floating right next to him, one of her arms soon wrapping itself around his shoulder. With a smirk, he turned to her, "So about those donuts.."

A/N: Hiya!

So, Altus was being lazy and didn't include a closing A/N. So, that's my que to steal the show! This is Crisis btw!

How are you all liking the story? Do you have a favorite character yet? Do you have a favorite Author yet? :3

I really do hope that you're all enjoying so far. We have a lot of time, effort, and mental struggle put into this story and it's plot. Not even joking, planning began back in June of 2017. It's now October of 2017. Not the longest planning period ever, buuuut~... still. I hope you appreciate it!

There's one more author making his debut in this first set of chapters, but that does not mean least at all ;3.

I wonder what he has planned? Guess you'll just have to find out, now won't you? ;3.

Also, is this kind of story layout unique enough for you all? Too unique? 3: I hope Not!

Hmm... I feel like I should mention something else. Oh well, guess I forgot. What A surprise lmao :3.

Aren't I just such an awesome friend, doing Altus's work for him? Some might even say that I'm awfully Handy, if you catch my drift ;3. I mean, I personally love it when someone else does my work. Actually... that's a lie :3. Oh well, what's he gonna do? Complain? XD

I think I've had the spotlight for long enough, I'd best get my butt moving before I get found out! Enjoy the story!

Altus: Crisis, you ass.