The mercs are here! They have their own little sub-plot...I'm actually a bit more excited for it that the actual GITS plot XD Lets just say, their's more ties on this team than you'd think...and the empire has affected more people than who we know now

Also holy crap I'm writing speech in stories kinda correct it's a miracle

(Oh look, I'm actually writing the plot again...surprising)

The clang of swords echoed through the stone training room. Two men, one dressed in purple, with long violet hair tucked under a penguin hat, and a dark skinned man with black hair barely sticking out from under his hood, dressed in dark colors, were locked in a battle, blades clashing together.

Standing off to the side were two more men; one with reddish brown hair and green eyes, wearing blue, and a blonde man, who radiated power, dressed in orange.

His bright blue eyes watched the duo, studying there every move, trying to catch all their flaws. The other, younger man was simply watching, shouting encouragements to the dark skinned man.

The purple haired man strained as his sword met his opponents again, neither of them letting up. The dark skinned man frowned, and pushed forward with his blade. Suddenly, he brought one of his feet up, hooking it behind his knee. He pulled forward, and the purple haired man yelled as he went down, hitting the ground with a grunt.

He quickly aimed his sword to the man's throat, but not touching it. He groaned quietly.

" Okay, Cameron, you win. " he grinned up at his friend. " Good move, though. "

Cameron only gave him a small smile as an answer. He slid his sword back into its sheath, and reached out a hand to the other. He grabbed it, and let the dark skinned man pull him to his feet.

" Oh, come on, Luke, " The russet-haired man called over to the loser of the fight. " I thought you were stronger than that! "

Luke rolled his eyes. " I'm good, Travis, but Cam is still better. I have the strength, but he has the strategies. " He told him.

The man next to Travis began clapping. He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the duo. Cameron flinched slightly, and Luke glanced at him worriedly. He never understood why Cameron was so scared of Stephen. Yes, he was a massive jerk, and one of the most hated people in the Empire, but that didn't explain why he was scared. He was brought out of his thoughts by Stephen talking.

" Not dreadful. But not great, either. Luke, your stance was off. You weren't paying attention to you enemy's movements or actions. You could have easily noticed his next move and avoided it, taking the upper hand.

" Cameron, your weight was off. You were leaning more to your right, and not keeping it balanced like you should have. Besides, Luke was going easy on you. You could easily tell he wasn't using his full strength. Honestly, boy, if you can't even take down a teammate going easy, how can you take down any target? "

Luke frowned as Cameron lowered his head, looking almost embarrassed. His gaze hardened into a glare. He opened his mouth to snap back at the older mercenary, but a new voice silenced him.

" Now, now, Stephen, set a good example for them. Supervising is more than just criticism, it's critique. Show them how to fix things. "

Each mercenary spun around towards the training room entrance, and fell to one knee in a bow. None of them would look up or rise unless ordered to to so, just as they had been trained to since they were young, or, in Luke's case, since he arrived here years ago.

" Sire. " Stephen murmured, voice losing all its hostility. No one spoke to this man with even the slightest bit of anger, or cheek. Not even Stephen, his right hand man. Not if you valued your life.

" Rise. All of you. " The man ordered. They got back to their feet, but continued facing the man, awaiting his next words. He may show up often around them, but his appearances still meant more than just stopping by to say hello.

The Emperor was who he was. Alexander Dawne, leader of the Empire for centuries, ruling with an iron fist. He was tall, tan, blonde, with piercing ice blue eyes. His face seemed permanently set with frown lines, making smiles look strange on him. He was known for being rather cruel and unforgiving, along with his harsh punishments. Luke still remembered the earlier days of the Crown issue, when they had had to burn down his home, taking the life of his wife and child. His sister-in-law and nephew. The Emperor had known they were in there, and had not cared. That was why he always tried to stay on his good side. To protect his wife and daughter.

He took notice of another form behind the Emperor. Much smaller than he was, with his head slightly bowed down, not looking any of them in the eye. Their leader looked back at him, then snapped his fingers to get his attention. His head snapped up towards him, and the Emperor motioned for him to come forward.

Once he was in view, Luke finally got a good look at him. Short and scrawny, with curly, caramel colored hair sticking out from under his hood. He had bright, magenta eyes, that still held a childish innocence that the rest of them had lost a long time ago. He noticed the boy was wearing green, with a signature peridot gemstone. Crown's old color and stone, one that they thought would not be used for a long time. His hood was lined with black fur, already suited for the colder seasons setting in. Their own would not be switched over for a while. Probably did not want to waste time switching five when they could simply do four.

The boy raising one white-green glove in a wave, his mask moving up with his smile. He said nothing. The Emperor frowned and jabbed him in the ribs. He yelped quietly.

" Well, boy, introduce yourself. " Their leader told him with a frown.

He quickly nodded. " Tal. Tal Cox, " he said with a smile. The Emperor put a hand on his shoulder. " He's your new member. " His smile never fell. The kid was far too happy for this line of work. He had probably never killed someone, like Luke had. Probably never even seen someone die. The Emperor had more than likely just seen some kid, who looked like he had a slim chance at doing what he needed, and was at a 'good age' to be trained, and taken him. Probably from his family, nonetheless. He could not be old enough to be living without his mom or dad yet. The thought made his blood boil. No child deserved to be in this life so soon.

" Well, I'll leave you boys to get aquatinted. Stephen, I'd like to speak with you. Privately. " The head mercenary nodded, and walked over to their leader. They started for the door, leaving Tal behind.

Tanner went over to Tal, and threw an arm around his shoulder. " Say, kid...is your mom by any chance Jen Cox? " He asked.

The boys expression suddenly darkened. His smile dropped. " Yes. She was, " He growled, putting emphasis on was. " Go ahead. Say what you want about her. About me. About how she's lower than you, how she's a whore, how people like her shouldn't be alive. How I never should have been born, how I'm a bastard, how I'm awful because I don't happen to know who my biological father is because my mom used to sleep around. Say it all! I've heard it before. "

Tanner's eyes widened at the outburst, and he pulled his arm away, putting his hands up. " Whoa, kid. I wasn't going to say any of that. I promise. I was just asking. " His expression softened a little. " I knew your stepfather, you know. He was a good man. He tried to help save my little boy's life, when he got sick a few years ago. The same sickness they took your mother. I...would never say something like that to her. Or about her. Especially not now, when she isn't even here to defend herself. "

Tal still looked angry, but said nothing else. Tanner sighed. " C'mon, kid. I'll show you your room. You'll be living here, am I correct? "

The younger boy eventually nodded. He smiled. " Alright. Cameron! You know the place better than me. Lead us. " The trio started out, leaving Luke behind. The purple haired man was frowning. What could Stephen and the Emperor be talking about? He thought. Especially right after introducing a new member to the team.

He quickly left out the main entrance, heading to the Emperor's study, where he always went when he needed to speak privately. Sure enough, he could hear faint voices in the room, sounding as if they were arguing.

He crept up to the door, and pressed his ear to it, listening. It was a bit muffled at first, but he eventually was able to make out words.

" ...Until we can find a replacement, Stephen. It won't be permanent, " was the first thing he heard from the Emperor. Luke frowned. Were they talking about Tal? Was he just some stand-in for someone else? Well, it did make sense, he did seem a little young.

" And then what? We can't just let him wander around, with all our secrets in his hands. Who knows what he could do with it! He could cause an uprising! We don't need that, Sire. " Stephen snapped. Luke sighed in his head. Yep, they were talking about Tal, and he did not like the direction the conversation seemed to be heading.

" Then...we take care of him. Just like we did before. Except, this silencing will be more...permanent. " Luke could practically see the Emperor's grin as he said it. His blood was running cold.

Stephen chuckled. " Oh, fun. Another poor child that will die screaming. "

" You can't do too much, Stephen. We still need to make it look like an accident, don't we? "

" Who would miss him? No one knows he even really exists around here, Sire. No one will stop and mull over the death of Tal Cox. No one will guess anything, and a possible leak will be gone. It's a win-win situation. "

Luke did not even realize he had gasped until the men inside did not speak again. Realizing he'd been caught, he quickly started moving in place, making it sound as if someone was running off, then called out. " Hey! "

The door swung open, and the Emperor stood there, glaring. He turned his gaze to Luke, staring him down. " Rain. What was that. "

Luke met his gaze. " I caught one of the servant girls listening at your door, Sire. She saw me and ran off before I could catch her, but I do not think she listened for very long. "

The Emperor frowned. " And why are you here? " He asked.

" I came to request permission to return home. Marsh and Wilson are getting the new recruit settled in, and I doubt they need my help. And Sadria is hoping I get home earlier tonight, so I can watch our daughter as she is going out tonight... "

The older man frowned again, then sighed. " Very well, Rain. But only because this will be your last night with them for some time. " His eyes snapped open wide. " What? "

The blonde smirked at him. " Didn't anyone tell you? You leave tomorrow to start hunting down Crown and his little gang. Who knows when you'll be back? " He turned on his heel and stepped back into the study, slamming the door in Luke's face. The man flinched back. Why didn't anyone tell me?

He started down the hallway, hands folded behind his back. His wife had thought he would have another few days at home before they went out hunting, that was why she was going out...he thought he would get a few more days with his wife and daughter.

What would he tell Sadria?

" It's beautiful, isn't it? "

Amethyst jumped at the sudden voice, almost dropping the wooden staff in her hands. She'd been admiring it while her newest patient was asleep, looking over the expert designs carved into it, and the amazing condition it was in. She had not expected the girl to wake up so early, not with the injuries she had.

The demigoddess set the staff back down next to the bed, and raised her gaze to the younger girl. " Very much so. Who made it? "

Her smile had a sad aura to it. " My sister. Once we discovered my foot was too badly injured for me to be able to,walk again, she carved it for me. Stayed in real good condition, too, despite what we've went through together... "

Amethyst frowned, but did not add onto that comment. Something about the way she said it made it pretty clear it was not something she felt comfortable with talking about. Especially since it seemed to involve her sister, who was not with her.

" What is your name? " She finally asked, putting her elbows on the bed and resting her head in her hands. The girl looked up at her, and the smile changed to a more relaxed, happier one.

" Roxanne Mistren. But, just call me Roxy. Roxanne is too formal, " She said. " And, I know who you are. I recognize you. You're Amethyst, aren't you? The demigodess? "

Amethyst nodded. " Sadly, yes, I am. " she reached out her hand to Roxanne. " It is very nice to meet you, Roxanne. "

The brunette took her outstretched hand in her own, and shook it. " Very nice to meet you, too, Amethyst. It's an honor. " She rolled her eyes.

" Oh, honestly, that is not necessary, Roxanne. Down here, I am just like everyone else. Fighting for a greater cause, and wanting the horrors on this land to cease, " She told her. Her eyes had visibly darkened as she spoke. " Trying to put an end to the destruction my father is causing... "

Roxanne frowned, and looked like she was about to say something, but a loud shriek from the floor below stopped her. Amethyst's eyes widened briefly, then she relaxed when she realized it was one of happiness, not of terror. There were small thuds on the stairs, and Marrion appeared, followed much more slowly by a tired looking Zayliee.

The young child rushed over to her mother, squealing. Amethyst smiled and held her arms out, letting her daughter crawl into her lap. Zayliee whined and padded over to them, flopping down on the floor next to her chair with a huff. Amethyst chuckled.

" Tired, old girl? " she whispered, reaching down to scratch her wolf between the ears. Zayliee flicked her ear, and briefly gazed up at her elder master, before closing her eyes. Marrion, tired of not having her mother's attention, reached up and waved one of her hands in front of her face. Amethyst sighed and looked down at her child, putting one of her arms around her to keep her from falling off. " Yes, Marrion? What is it? "

The child raised her other hand, holding it out to her mother. " Look! Look! " She cried.

The demigoddess peered down at the object in her daughter's hands. It was, she noticed, in fact not an object, but a necklace. Hanging from it were smooth, wooden rectangles, that got longer the closer they got to the center. It still looked to be in rather good condition, if not a bit scratched up.

" It looks beautiful, Marrion, " she complimented, taking it from her daughter's hand when she pushed it closer to her. " Here, how about we put it on y- "

" No! "

Amethyst tensed slightly. " No? Why not, darling? "

Marrion was shaking her head. " For Mommy! Not for me! "

Her eyes widened. " But, Marrion, why do you not want to wear it? "

The little girl seemed to ignore her question. " It's for you, Mommy! You wear! "

Suddenly, a moment that seemed so long ago, back when things were happy, when she did not have so many responsibilities weighing down on her returned to her mind.

" Daddy! "

" Look, Daddy! Look at what I made! "

" It looks wonderful, Amethyst. Here, why don't we put it on you? "

" No, Daddy. Not for me. For you! "

" For me? "

" Thank you, baby girl. "

" ...I love you, Daddy... "

" I love you, too, little jewel... "

Amethyst took a deep breath, trying to push the memory back as she smiled down at her daughter, praying her eyes wouldn't water. " Alright, precious, if you insist. " she murmured, as she slipped the necklace over her head.

Marrion grinned up at her, then threw her arms around her mother. " I love you, Mommy. "

Amethyst took another breath, feeling a slight burning on her face as a lone year fell. " I love you, too, Sapphire, " she whispered, as she leaned down and kissed her hair. " I love you so, so much. "

She looked up to see Roxy smiling at them, arms crossed. She sent her a small smirk. " Should you not be resting, Roxanne? "

The brunette groaned. " I've been asleep enough, Amethyst. Your potions healed me enough, and I'm not tired, " she complained.

" You wouldn't sleep for long, anyways, if you did. " The girls moved their gaze to the stairs, where Grayson stood. " I know the mercenaries. They'll be after us soon, especially after the attack on your home, Amethyst. Once their dogs get our scent, we won't be able to stay far ahead. We need to get as big of a start as we can, if we want to reach the Magic Library. We'll leave tomorrow morning, but I thought it would be good to have everyone get out and look around for a bit. "

Roxy frowned. " The Magic Library? " Grayson glanced at her, and she gave a tiny smile to him. " Ah, hi. Roxane Mistren, call me Roxy. You? "

" Grayson Crown. " Her eyes widened. " You mean, like, went-against-the-Empire, wanted-by-everyone, Grayson Crown? "

His expression hardened a bit. " Yes. " She grinned suddenly. " Awesome! About time someone put those jerks in their places! Show 'em they aren't invincible to everything. "

Grayson's mouth dropped open for a few moments, then he smirked. Amethyst rolled her eyes, and stood up. Zayliee got to her feet along with her, looking up at the woman. " Where is Drake? " She asked.

Roxy looked at her. " That cute ender dude? " Amethyst's eyes shot wide. " What? " She turned to look at the younger girl, who shrugged.

" What? Is it wrong I find him cute, from the tiny blurred glimpse I got of him? " Amethyst frowned. " I do not think you wish to be with Drake. He is irresponsible, reckless, impulsive... "

Grayson chuckled. "Are you sure you're not listing off Armen's traits? "

She suddenly tensed, and a somber expression took over her face. Grayson, realizing what he had said, frowned. " Amethyst...I'm...sorry. I didn't think- "

" It is fine. " She interrupted. " Let us just go and meet Drake. " She pushed past him, and started downstairs, Zayliee at her heels. Roxy and Grayson watched her go, with Marrion staring back at them with wide eyes, unaware why her mother was so upset, when only a few minutes earlier she had seemed so happy.

Drake was waiting by the door when she stormed out. She saw him frown, and realized she was probably radiating anger right then. She paused, taking a few deep breathes, trying to calm herself down. She still hated mentions of Armen. Marrion did not need to start asking questions just yet. She knew her father, that he would come back soon, but did not know that her father was the one terrorizing the world. Soon, but not yet.

She jumped when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She glanced over to the ender hybrid. " Amethyst,,are...you alright? " He asked.

She turned her head away from him. " I am fine. Do not concern yourself with me, mortal. "

He did not saying anything else, which she was thankful for. Zayliee nudged at her leg, and she lowered the hand not holding up Marrion, and started petting her fur.

After waiting a few moments, Grayson appeared at the door of the inn they were staying at, supporting Roxy, who was leaning on her staff. One of her feet hung dragged limply behind her. She raised her head, and smiled at Drake. " So you're the ender hybrid. "

He returned the smile. " Yeah. Drake Shotgun. "

" Roxanne Mistren. As I've said, call me Roxy, Roxanne is too formal. " She held out her hand, and they shook. " You been to the Red Keep before? "

He shook his head. " No. You? " She smirked. " Been here since yesterday. Took refuge here not long after I lost my sister. " She shrugged, then paused when she saw their expressions. " What? "

" Roxy... " Drake began. " It...hasn't been a day since we got here. It's...been almost three. You've been out for some time. "

Her eyes widened. " Seriously? That long? Doesn't feel like it... " she frowned. " That's too much time to have passed. " She looked up at them. " And you...stayed with me? You didn't leave? "

Amethyst smiled again, and reached out and placed her hand in her shoulder. " No team member gets left behind. " she murmured. Roxy looked shocked, then grinned. " Well, then, team, what are we waiting for? Let's explore! " She spun on her good heel, and started hobbling off. Grayson rolled his eyes, and the rest of the group followed after the girl.

The oil lamps burned low that night. In the small upstairs inn room, most of the inhabitants were asleep, dead to the world. But not all of them were.

Drake stared up at the ceiling, watching the shadows flickering across the ceiling. No matter how badly he wanted to sleep, he just could not. He felt too hot with the blankets up, he felt too cold without them, every time he closed his eyes, all he could see and feel was a stifling darkness, that seemed to echo with the cries of lost lives, crying out to him to save them, wondering why he had let them die. The loudest of them all was the voice of Armen, calling over the others, asking him why he let him jump, why he didn't save him, why he let Him posses him. Why he has not saved him yet.

Why he was not a better brother.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position, covering his eyes as he groaned quietly. His hands slowly fell again at the sound of someone else moving. He glanced over to the bed next to his, to see Roxy sitting up, and staring at him with wide blue eyes. " Drake? " she whispered. " Are you okay? "

He frowned. " Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? "

" I've heard you moving all night. " She sighed. " Don't hide it. That only makes it worse. Talk to me. "

He pushed the blankets off his legs, and swung them off the side of the bed. She did the same, though slower than he did. " Well...where do I start? " he muttered.

" Why can't you sleep? Is there any reason? Start there. "

" Well...that's hard to explain, really. I can't explain the reason why, but...I may know the reason behind what I'm seeing. "

" You're seeing things? "

" Well, more like hearing... " he shrugged. " Every time I close my eyes, all I feel is...this crushing darkness. There's people shouting, people that I don't know...and, louder than all of them, is one of my friends, who...we lost about four years ago. Who...we thought died, but...he didn't. " He swallowed hard. Roxanne frowned.

" What happened? "

He gave her a tiny, weak smile. " You've...probably met him, already...four years ago, he jumped to his death, in an attempt to stop, well, you know him as Herobrine, I guess...we all thought he died, and then two years ago, he pops it again, using my friend's body... "

He noticed Roxy's sudden change in expression. " What's wrong? "

" ...That first village he, or they, attacked? It...was my village. "

His jaw slightly dropped at the revelation. Everything suddenly started making sense. The talk of her having traveled for a long time, the injure foot, that easily showed signs of burn scars, the paranoia when they first met her, the fear she originally had when she first saw Amethyst...it all matched up.

She held her hand out to him, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw the golden band around her ring finger. She smiled sadly. " My sister didn't die in the attack...she survive up till about six or seven months ago, got really sick...but...I lost someone else, too.

My parents, we knew they died, we were there, but...I never did know what happened to my fiancé, Hogan. Though, apparently, we were the only two who survived, so...I don't look for him. " She shrugged. " It hurts, but...holding onto the past only makes it worse. We have to live in the future. " She looked up, and smiled at him.

She slid closer to the bedside table, and grabbed a small box. She opened it and dumped the contents out behind her, setting four thin rectangles off to the side. She turned around to face him, holding out a deck of cards. She grinned. " Pick a card, any card. "

Drake looked up to meet her eyes, and smirked, reaching out towards the deck.

It would be the last few hours of peace they would get until everything fell apart once more. But, for them, it was something they both needed; and they would enjoy every minute of it.

" Sir. Are you sure we should be so close? "

Luke glanced over to Tanner, who was staring at Stephen, looking nervous. The head mercenary huffed, rolling his eyes. " What's wrong, Wilson? Scared of a little fire? "

Tanner frowned, and shook his head. " Not usually, no, but when it's someone who's murdered enough people to match at least a fifth or sixth of our population, I'm going to be scared. "

" Oh, he's not interested in us, Wilson. Man up. "

Yeah, I'm sure he isn't. Only because he's trying to kill Crown and his friends right now, Luke thought. He took a moment to glance back at the boy behind him, asleep with his head resting on his back. A tiny smile formed on his face. At least one of the, was not terrified out of their mind right now. Even their horses were scared, trembling and trying to back up. He found himself having to constantly pull Tal's horse, Ameera, forward and in line with his to keep her from running off.

He squinted when he saw forms near the entrance to the Red Keep. He saw glimpses of gold, red, white, and blue, amongst the blobs, but that was all he could really make out. But it didn't take a genius to know who they were. He almost wished it was not them, that they had chosen a different way out. He watched as they took off running, back towards the forest, and away from the burning keep.

Stephen grinned, and looked back at his fellow mercenaries. " Well, boys? Looks like we have work to do. "

Well, this was better than i thought...still not how I'd planned, but...still, I got in everything I wanted to. The scene between Drake and Roxanne, Tal's arrival, the reference to Amethyst and Herobrine, from chapter 4...the scene at the end, with Stephen, who, by the way, I'm guessing you guys will eventually hate, I know I do...

I got in everything I wanted to :)

Now, I'm off to work on my own original fanfiction, which, I swear, won't get in the way of GITS. I'll try and balance updates between them

Still, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even if it's a little boring...action will return soon, trust me

Also I start school in three days f me

Keep on mining, my mineshafters!

-CaptainBat