Chapter 4: Exodus
A/N: Really quickly I want to say that this account has gone through two name changes since I started this story, I should be satisfied with my name now, so hopefully the name changes will stop. Just to assure everyone they are in the right place, I was Synchronistic, then Suros, and now I am going by A Dusty Old Qrow.
Also the more I read fics, the more I see people adding disclaimers at the beginning of every one of their chapters so just so we are clear, I don't own any of the characters or settings, it all belongs to Square Enix.
Lightning's POV
Thoughts of Serah kept the notion of sleep at bay while I tossed and turned under my blankets. I was dead set on finding her, but what would I do after that? How would I even begin my apology for the things I said. The rational part of my brain told me that my sister would understand or at least attempt to, but the rest of my mind was trying its damndest to present me with worst-case scenarios.
I shifted my body to lay on my right side.
Then there was Cloud, he was… strange. I knew there was something off about him the second he ran into me during the fireworks festival. After he walked off I tried to narrow down what could've caused his eyes to look so unnatural to me. Chalking it up to being some sort of trick created by lighting didn't sit well with me, and that explanation was debunked twice today. When I saw him at the cafe and outside of my house his eyes still had that lifelike glow. It was harder to see, and I had to focus to find it, but it was there.
I moved onto my left side.
Physical features aside, Cloud carried himself in a way only people in the military did. Each stride he took was full of confidence and purpose. He definitely wasn't Guardian Corps though, I've never seen or heard of him, Lieutenant Amodar didn't seem to know him either. He looked too young to be some sort of big shot for PSICOM, and if he was from their branch he'd have armor depicting it. Unless he was some sort of agent that went under the guise of anonymity, which was highly unlikely, the blonde was just an anomaly.
I returned to laying flat on my back.
I hadn't forgotten that he had asked me what a Pulse l'cie was. That was some of the most basic knowledge anyone living on Cocoon had. Someone from NORA would be dumb enough to try and pull a joke like that, but he seemed to be really adamant about not wanting to be affiliated with them. The only reason I gave him the benefit of the doubt was because not believing someone is what got me in this mess in the first place. However, that still begged the question: how did he not know what the significance of a Pulse l'cie was? Maybe I'd find out if he proved useful when we looked for Serah.
I switched which of my two pillows was on top.
Great, I had gotten away from thinking about my sister only to come full circle once again. The abnormal silence inside and outside of the house wasn't helping either. It just left me with my thoughts and reminded me of the conditions I was in. The second the Purge was announced two PSICOM guards appeared at my front door and told me that I'd be under house arrest. They didn't tell me why, but a quick call to Amodar confirmed my suspicions. PSICOM was making sure the Guardian Corps didn't have the chance to interfere. I had always planned to find a way out, but one wrong move meant that I'd be up to my waist in bullet casings.
I buried my face into my pillows, all this thinking was driving me nuts!
The second my face pushed into the soft cushion is when I heard it. The sound was hard to make out thanks to the thickness of the walls, but I could hear the faint noise of the piano in the living room. Was Cloud playing it? Who else could it be? I had to see this for myself.
I swung my legs out from under the covers and onto my cold bedroom floor. Still wearing my brown cropped sweater and skirt, I quickly moved to the doorknob. I lied and told myself that I was only up to yell at him for not being asleep, but the truth was that I wanted to be able to hear what he was playing. He didn't strike me as the type to play such a beautiful instrument.
My bedroom door emitted a soft sound as I slightly pushed it open causing me to curse under my breath. Luckily, the blonde didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't care. It was pretty dark, and I didn't have a completely straight shot to the living room from my door, but the moonlight that poured in through the window highlighted Cloud just enough for me to be able to see his spiky hairstyle.
The song he played was one I had never heard before, but he never strayed from its melody. I had to admit, I was slightly impressed. If he fought as well as he played music then maybe he'd be helpful after all.
Softly shutting the door, I headed back to my bed. The momentary distraction wasn't enough to completely clear my head, but it allowed my exhaustion from the day's events to finally set in. A few minutes later, I was out like a light.
Sunlight pierced through my bedroom window a lot sooner than I would've liked. The sound of knocking on my bedroom door caused me to jolt upright. Maybe everything that happened on my birthday was a horrible dream and today was my real day off. Maybe I took advantage of not working today by sleeping in and Serah was knocking to wake me up. As much as I wanted to believe those things were true, those ideas died immediately thanks to the eerie silence outside and the unfamiliar knocking pattern.
I gently rubbed my eyes to clear any sleepiness from them before getting out from under the warmth of the covers. The rest of my uniform sat on a nightstand adjacent to my bed and I got to work buckling my white top coat. Soon my crimson leg pouch, black weapon holster, Guardian Corps pauldron, and boots helped complete my uniform and I headed toward the door.
I was never one to dawdle when things had to be done, and knowing that today would be devoted to finding and bringing back my sister made sure that I didn't waste even half a second. A gloved fist hovered mere centimeters from my nose when I opened the door which caused my eyes to narrow immediately at the blonde waiting impatiently for me. His face was placid as he dropped his hand to his side before giving me a knowing look. The facial expression was hard and gave off a vibe that said, 'we have a mission to carry out.' I didn't care for the look and I simply walked toward the kitchen.
"We'll leave after I get something edible inside of my body," I announced dryly as I walked away.
Cloud wordlessly followed me into the kitchen before leaning against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. Occasionally I'd catch a glimpse of him as I prepared some of the leftovers that were in the fridge and he looked as uninterested as ever, but I'd be damned if I said that I couldn't feel his gaze follow me around the kitchen. There wasn't even much to prepare since I was trying to spend as little time possible, but the fact that the only thing separating the blonde and myself was a dining table is what made it easy to make eye contact from time to time.
The silence in the room remained intact save for the occasional pop from a container I opened and the sound of my fridge door being in use as I put things away. I had noticed that there were fewer leftovers than last night which lead me to assume Cloud had already eaten. I could've just asked him, he was standing right there, but there was no point in asking a question I already knew the answer to. Instead I quickly ate my simple meal before heading toward thee living room with the blonde shadowing my movements.
"You're awfully quiet," I pointed out as I took in the view that my living room window provided. The sun brilliantly lit up the sky outside and a quick check of the clock on my phone let me know that it was half past nine. It was as good a time as any to head out for the train station.
"You told me to be," the blue-eyed man replied in an even tone causing me to raise an eyebrow as I turned to look at him. Cloud crossed his arms and leaned back slightly before speaking again, "'don't talk to me or try to talk to me until we leave tomorrow'?" he quoted my words in a manner that wasn't a command, but a question. It was the phrase that I had told him last night before heading into my room, and hearing it caused me to sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose in annoyance.
I couldn't tell if he was trying to be helpful by showing he could listen, or if he was being a smartass. There was no sign that it was the latter thanks to the clear lack of amusement on the blonde's face, but there was no sign it was the former either. I shook my head, his intentions didn't matter, what did was finding my sister. The sooner she was home, the sooner we could all go back to normalcy or whatever was left of it after the Purge.
"We're going now," I announced before turning around to open the window.
I've never seen the transparent barrier inch down so slowly in my life. My mind reminded me that it was going at the same speed it always did, but the fact that it was the first barrier between me and my sister made it move at a snail's pace. Once it completely lowered I hopped through with ease before turning to face Cloud.
"You carrying so many weapons is only going to slow us down in the long run," I began, "just pick one or two and let's go. You can return to being a walking weapon rack when we get back."
"I already have," he replied before climbing over the low barrier and walking past me to head into one of my neighbor's backyards.
With his back turned to me I was able to see the black harness he wore looked adjusted from its normal configuration that held six individual swords to hold just one large one. The blade itself was bigger than what I was used to seeing most soldiers carry, and that alone made me wonder how clumsy he would be wielding it. All of the previous weapons he had slung onto his back must've come together somehow to make this monstrosity, it was convenient if nothing else.
I didn't let inspecting Cloud's weapon slow me down and I made sure to stay close to him just in case we were caught. I definitely wasn't convinced that telling PSICOM I was helping them would be a very good explanation, but it was better than nothing. Staying out of sight proved difficult thanks to all of the soldiers patrolling up and down the neighborhoods, but we managed to avoid them thanks to the placement of the few alleys throughout Bodhum. We almost made it to the station without being caught, that is until the final stretch between one of the alleyways and the stairs into Bodhum station. A PSICOM grunt walked into the alley a few seconds before we were about to exit. I could tell by the way he suddenly stopped that he probably had a deer in headlights look under that helmet.
"You two! Stay where you are!" he yelled before slowly walking toward us with his weapon raised.
I saw Cloud raise his hands as he surveyed the immediate area. It wasn't as if there was anywhere for us to run unless we wanted to be shot in the back. We could easily scale the buildings next to us, but it would only motivate the grunt to call over some friends. I soon found myself holding my breath while I waited for the PSICOM soldier's next move.
"All GC members are supposed to be home, this is a PSICOM op," he announced like I hadn't already known.
I replied without missing a beat, "That's what I had heard, but when I saw this one-" I jerked my head slightly toward the blonde next to me, "-behind my house trying to hide I figured I'd help. I don't want a l'cie in my hometown."
The grunt nodded slowly, seeming to buy it. Luckily for me the large weapon on Cloud's back wasn't completely visible or else that would've only raised more questions. It would be weird if I had subdued someone trying to escape yet they still had their equipment on them.
"Well your help isn't needed, go home," the grunt said sternly, "I'll take the civilian with me."
Of course, PSICOM was as cocky as I expected, cocky enough to turn his back on both me and Cloud as he began to walk out of the alley. I could see the blonde next to me get ready to attack, but this one was all mine.
"That won't be necessary," I hissed and before he could spin around to address me his head was severed from its torso. It wasn't pretty, but it was the only way I could take him out before he could make a sound over his comms.
Without a word, Cloud and I quickly stepped over the body that had crumpled to the floor and ran toward the steps into the station. It was a reckless move, but we managed to slide by and get up the steps. The sound of our boots pounding against the cement was soon drowned out by gunfire and the screams of civilians. Immediately I thought we had gotten caught, but the source of the commotion was found as soon as I stepped into the station. At the bottom of the stairs that headed toward the train were three lifeless people riddled with holes.
"Stay in your lines!" a PSICOM soldier that stood next to a row of civilians yelled, "this is for your own safety!"
'Safety from being killed by the people that swore to protect them maybe.'
My companion continued to stay silent. It showed he was smart enough to know when to talk and when not to. Either that or he was just a reserved person which was a far cry from what the NORA leader was like, it seemed he never knew when to shut up. I guess that was a point toward the blonde in showing that he really wasn't anything like those idiots.
Pushing the evaluation of Cloud to the back of my head, I headed toward the soldier that was issuing commands. He'd be the closest to being a leader around her and that would be my ticket to getting onto the train. The soldier only took his attention off of the civilians for a few seconds to acknowledge me walking toward him.
"What's the GC doing here?" he asked as he caught sight of my pauldron before looking over at the NORA member next to me before continuing, "this op is under PSICOM direction." His voice was far calmer than when he was barking orders, and a bit less stern than that of the soldier we found in the alley.
"So direct me," I replied in a matter of fact tone, "let me on, I want to be Purged."
He looked around slightly confused, maybe a bit uncomfortably from what I could tell from the sigh he let out through his mask. The soldier then leaned in toward me like we were best friends sharing a precious secret, "only civs get purged," he whispered, "Sanctum staff and soldiers are exempt."
"Then I quit," I stated before immediately guiding my hand to the hilt of my weapon and removing it from its holster, a gesture that seemed to worry the guard. I placed the Blazefire Saber in his hands and waited for him to command me.
"Line up!" he barked at me before shifting his attention toward Cloud. It seemed that handing my weapon over had returned the PSICOM soldier's confidence in spades because he then used the same tone in the question he asked the blonde, "and you?"
"Civilian," I could hear him say as I headed toward the back of the line.
As soon as I reached the back of the line I could see Cloud remove his gigantic sword from his back before dropping it into the hands of the PSICOM grunt. Soon a metallic clang resonated through the station as the large weapon and my own hit the floor. The sound and thought alone of my new sword hitting the ground made me grimace, and I could see Cloud had the same facial expression as he headed to line up behind me.
Cloud's POV
When I told Lightning I would help her find her sister, I didn't know what exactly I was signing up for, but when I walked into that train station I knew I had made the right decision. Three civilians were murdered for trying to escape this 'mass evacuation', that was a telltale sign of what was to come. Since that moment on something told me that we weren't exactly going off to our own wonderful utopia where we would be safe.
The PSICOM staff were just as stupid as Shinra staff, that was as plain as day when Lightning and I had gotten caught slightly earlier as we were about to leave an alleyway. The grunt that caught us had enough confidence to turn his back on the two of us. I was going to make him regret that mistake by knocking him out with a slam from the flat side of my completed fusion sword, but the Guardian Corps member had other plans. Until she cut that soldier down in cold blood I didn't know if she would have it in her, sure she was in the military but many people who enlisted would never be able to end someone's life without a second thought. Some could find the ability to kill scary, but to me it was comforting knowing that Lightning would stop at nothing until she found her sister.
We had finally made it to the train station, and now I was in the back of the line watching a PSICOM soldier pickup my weapon off of the floor. The idiot tried to one hand it simply because he saw me do it, obviously he had never factored in that maybe normal people weren't meant to carry weapons like that so easily. Then again, I had seen no traces of mako since I had arrived here, that didn't make sense to me though. Just because I was in a different place wouldn't change the fact that mako made up all living things would it? That would have to be a question I asked either Lightning or someone else from Cocoon.
The sound of a male voice brought me out of my thoughts, "excuse me," the voice whispered. Both Lightning and I ignored it, but her azure eyes met with mine as we peered at each other to see how we reacted. The pinkette's face was as neutral as ever, but something about the way she turned her attention forward once more told me that she was content with the fact that I hadn't responded to the person behind us.
"Hey you two," the voice continued, "what gives?" I could see Lightning begin to turn her head to answer the male's question, so much for ignoring him. Then again, the person behind us probably wouldn't have stopped trying to talk if he hadn't gotten the hint the first time.
"We volunteered," I replied for the pinkette before turning to identify the person.
I was immediately greeted by the sight of a dark-skinned middle-aged man who sported an afro. The tone of his skin and the look of his age immediately reminded me of Barret, but this man was a little shorter and his complexion was a much lighter shade than the burly man that I knew. His fashion sense was also much better than Barret's as well. He wore a long olive colored coat on top of a white button-down shirt and khaki colored pants that lead into black boots.
"Really?" the man asked, "you two don't look ready to go quiet into that good night."
"If you want quiet, you better take the next train," Lightning interjected before we both returned our attention ahead of us.
"Well now I really want to see what you're up to," the man replied as he moved up the line with us.
After that the station remained silent only to be interrupted by the sounds of the PSICOM soldiers barking any necessary orders or reminders. Before we boarded the train we were given blue and white gowns that draped over our bodies like a poorly made blanket that kept us neither warm nor comfortable. However, nothing said 'enjoy the ride' like the handcuffs our arms were put in. Nothing was more enamoring than the idea of a 'mass evacuation' to jail. When we finally got on the train I was placed into a seat next to Lightning, and the man that met us in line sat next to me.
"So what happens next?" I whisper toward my companion.
"We wait and see," she replied as the train began moving.
Lightning's POV
Since the second I stepped on this train I knew exactly what I was going to do, I just needed to wait for the right opportunity for me to surprise the guard in our train car. He patrolled up and down the room repeatedly to make sure nothing was amiss. His movements had allowed me to see that the mechanism that controlled our cuffs was held tightly in the grip of one of hands that was wrapped around his rifle. If nothing else, he would soon get bored and grow lazy which would allow me to take him out. Cloud was here to help, but I only really needed him to be able to get to this point, from here on out I could handle everything on my own.
A few minutes past as the train travelled down its set path at high speeds. The guard still wasn't getting sloppy, but that was to be expected. If something didn't happen soon though, I'd have to just take a chance. As if answering my prayers, the train slammed through something causing everyone inside the car to jolt violently, including the guard. I was immediately on my feet and sprinting toward my target. Flipping through the air, I wrapped my bound wrists around the the soldier's neck before snapping it which caused him to fall backwards and let go of both his weapon and the remote that kept my hands stuck together. Without missing a beat I slammed my heel onto the remote releasing me and everyone else.
The doors to our train car opened, but I was already flipping through the air when two fresh PSICOM units entered. I tossed the gown they had given me into the air to be used as a distraction, my enemies took the bait better than I could have imagined and soon the large piece of cloth was peppered with bullets. They didn't have any time to react when I landed directly in front of them and delivered a wide crescent kick that connected with the head of the first soldier to my left. The blow was backed with enough force to steal his consciousness from him and his partner to my right raised his weapon to fire at me. He was far too slow and I knocked the muzzle of his rifle away before spinning toward him and landing a swift backhand onto his skull.
Time was of the essence and I picked up one of the rifles dropped by my enemies before running toward the door that lead to another train car. The doors began to slide open and I ran in guns blazing, none of my initial shots hit thanks to the awful recoil these weapons had when one handed, but they forced a soldier out of cover. A swift kick to the jaw was enough to drop him, and I poured rounds into another enemy that made their presence known at the back of the car. I dropped my weapon before picking up another one that was laying at my feet.
It didn't take long before PSICOM units began pouring into the car I occupied and I snapped my fingers to activate the Grav-Con unit that was in the pouch I had strapped to my leg. The familiar feeling of artificial gravity at my fingertips enveloped my body and I used that to my advantage. I knew they'd lock down the train car doors to try and keep me in one area so I flipped backward and gripped onto an enemy's throat with my free hand before slamming them headfirst into the sliding doors. I then took their weapon and pushed off of their body to propel myself into the middle of the room to land a kick that sent another soldier staggering backward.
The artificial gravity coupled with the poor aim of the soldiers around me made me feel like I was doing target practice at a shooting gallery. Rounds whizzed past my head as I slowly spun and emptied bullet after bullet into the people that had become 'skilled' enough to become PSICOM military. The confrontation was over as soon as it started, and I landed gracefully on my feet. Soon the doors were unlocked and Cloud along with a few others poured in.
Cloud's POV
"They all want to fight," I heard the man we met earlier tell Lightning.
Her response was an unimpressed, "good for them."
She yanked her weapon out from one of the containers above the seats, but she made no motion to hand me my own sword which was propped up against the wall next to the sliding doors she stood in front of. It was probably too big for the overhead containers so the soldiers just lazily left it on the ground. I strode past the pinkette and picked it up, it was better that she hadn't tried to hand it to me anyway, she probably would've just embarrassed herself.
I saw Lightning move to the window within seconds, probably to observe the area. I joined her as well and my eyes were greeted with the sight of a network of roads and buildings all seeming to float in a dark abyss. The lack of sunlight reminded me of the almost lifeless slums of Midgar.
Multiple aircraft zipped through the air with the sound of gunfire not too far behind. It turned out that we were all being evacuated to a warzone, what a surprise.
Two aircraft that had begun to get dangerously close to our transport were blown out of the sky by Lightning thanks to the rocket launcher she had taken from our unwanted companion. Unfortunately there were more from where those came from and multiple air units emerged from the cloud of smoke and debris.
The Guardian Corps member fired once more, but missed and the enemy veered off to remove a different train from its tracks. I couldn't do anything but feel almost helpless in this situation, without a ranged weapon I could only watch as several skirmishes took place on different roads. Many different kinds of creatures populated the area around us taking swings at anything that opposed them.
It wasn't long before something huge landed on our train. I couldn't see what it was exactly, but it didn't hesitate to blow a hole in the roof in an attempt to get to us.
"Run!" I heard someone yell, and Lightning and I did just that as we leaped through the hole in the ceiling.
Above we were greeted by an enemy I had never seen before, it was a gigantic white machine that was almost birdlike with two wings that had saw blades for claws and a very long tail that could possibly swat us all off of the train like flies. There were several spotlights coming off from it, but none were pointed at us.
I brought my weapon up to bear and out of the corner of my eye I could see that Lightning had done the same thing.
"They're sending in the big guns now," the man from before pointed out, "what do we do?"
"Watch and learn," was the pinkette's response and I couldn't help but smirk knowing that she had just explained what she would be doing.
I didn't know what this thing was capable of, but waiting to find out wasn't an option. With sword in hand, I dashed toward the large machine and leapt into the air to dodge a swing from its claws. Unfortunately I wasn't the only one with that idea and soon my momentum caused me to make contact with Lightning's body and we fell to the ground.
Unknown to me, she had the same idea and had jumped into the air at the same time I did. I rubbed the side of my head before she grabbed my wrist and yanked me out of the way of another claw swing.
"Get out of my way!" she growled before returning to the offensive.
I merely grunted in response, she can claim I was in her way, but the reality of the situation was that she had been in mine.
Letting the thought disappear quickly, I charged toward the mech again and this time went for its underbelly with an underhand swing. My strike was cut short by the feeling of boots landing on my shoulders before someone used my body to propel themselves into the air.
I didn't even need to see pink locks of hair to know who had done it, and I had to bury my weapon into the train ceiling below us to make sure I didn't kill her on accident.
"Are you an idiot!?" I heard myself yell as Lightning landed strikes on the nose of our enemy.
She shot me a dirty look when she landed after her short barrage, and I had to shove her out of the way to avoid being struck by a laser that the machine was firing from its tail.
"I knew this wouldn't work," she said bitterly.
"Knew what wouldn't work?" I growled as I jumped over yet another electrical saw.
"You! You may not talk big, but you're still as useless as the others," the sword wielder spat as she switched her blade into a gun form and fired off a few shots.
"I'd love to help," I replied through gritted teeth as I blocked a laser bolt, "but if you're going to constantly be in the way, then there isn't much I can do!"
"I get in the way!?"
"Hey! Can we save the arguing until after we get rid of metal gear murder over here?" the stranger who now wielded two pistols asked.
The sound of saw blades scraping across the train ceiling made me decide to get back to the task at hand.
"I'll take the left side and you take the right!" Lightning and I found ourselves saying in unison. I felt her scowl aimed toward the back of my head as I took the left side, but no more words were shared as she went right.
All three of us fell into our roles in seconds and we were able to maneuver around without bumping into each other. Lightning and I would bait out strikes and the gunslinger behind us would blow holes through the metallic wings. The only things giving us trouble were the lasers being fired from the machine's tail.
Dodging another wave of projectiles, I exchanged glances with the pinkette.
"I've already measured twice," she shouted, assuring me we were on the same page.
Soon the long metallic appendage curled inward before moving in a sweeping motion headed straight for us. Sparks flew as it scraped across the top of the train, but it didn't get far before Lightning pinned it to the transport with her blade. A split second later I severed the mechanical tail from its body with one clean cut.
If it had the capacity to feel pain, now would be the time for it to show it. Only the sound of electricity crackling filled the air as the machine jumped backward and off of the train to create some distance between us.
I heard the afro sporting gunslinger laugh as he taunted the metal beast, "not so tough are you now?"
The mech responded with its jets humming to life as it dug saw blades into the train below us. It shook the transport violently causing the man to take back his words.
"Hey, that wasn't like a challenge now. All right?"
The machine didn't listen and instead began to lift up the train below us in an attempt to shake us off. All three of us retreated a few cars back, using different methods to get there. Lightning and I landed with grace, but our companion wasn't so lucky.
I momentarily watched the front end of the train plummet into the abyss below before Lightning's voice reached my ears.
"Heads up."
The machine was onto us again, flying to close the distance it had created. It landed with a loud slam that caused the area to shake violently once more.
We immediately fell into the roles we had assigned once more and returned to our attack. Its wings were badly damaged at this point and with its tail gone it had lost range capabilities, or so I thought.
The shielding on the nose of the machine began to slide open revealing a large cannon. My companions immediately opened fire and before it could charge anything I ejected one of the back blades of my fusion sword into my free hand. Extending the weapon's hilt, I dashed toward the cannon and spun diagonally through the the air like a top. My blades made quick work of the dangerous weapon and as soon as my boots touched the ground I jumped back to dodge the large explosion that followed.
The force of the blast alone was enough to knock the giant mech off of the train and it soon joined all those it had slain at the bottom of the abyss.
I heard the sound of Lightning sheathing her weapon, and I did the same after returning the back blade to its place. The nameless man that had joined us loudly caught his breath before doing something he did quite a lot, speaking.
"See what happens when we all get along?" he asked.
I didn't bother to acknowledge what he said, something told me that the look Lightning was giving him probably spoke for both of us.
A\N: Yikes! My downtime between chapters has been a bit longer than I would've liked and I apologize for that. Without going into all the details, I'll just say that my priorities got all muddled and I needed to take a small break from writing this fic. (Also Breath of the Wild came out and, well, I kind of just no life'd that game so.) I'm back now though! So rejoice, or feel bad, whichever is most applicable to you. :D
In all honesty, I had most of the chapter kicking around in my files, but I sat on it while I took a break. I came back to it expecting to torch it to the ground, but I actually ended up liking what I had so far. Hopefully you guys feel the same way!
This wouldn't be an official installment to The Mako-Eyed Warrior without me thanking iLady A for looking over things and setting me straight when necessary. So a big thank you to her! :D
As always, follow, favorite, and review! I've been getting many new followers despite not posting as regularly as I would like, and I thank you all for the support!
Until next chapter, peace!
