I should have made a note of this the first time I introduced Lusa, in this story and IJNAL, but Lusa is played by Zendaya Coleman in my mental casting. I like to cast my OCs. Also on that note, my new character, Asta, is played by Yvonne Strahovski from the TV shows Chuck and Dexter , if anyone's interested in a google search for a better visual.

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Kim was no fool. She wasn't just going to waltz around until someone found her. With the smoke still thick but now thinning, Kim ducked inside an outbuilding she knew wasn't on fire. She'd lay low and get some rest, figure something out at first light.

She found herself in some kind of machine shop and cursed her lack of luck. It was pitch black and only holes in the walls allowed her to see little spots clearly. Comfortable sleep wouldn't be possible in her surroundings. Every little sound would set her on edge and keep her from closing her eyes. This night would be hell, and she had to go through it alone. No Jack at her side. To her it felt like her first night at 327 all over again.

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Jack was not so patient. Jack intended on walking around until he found someone to take his problems out on. If he had to kill everybody here to find Kim, so be it.

The smoke was lifting and a wolfish smirk took over. He saw two Imperial soldiers talking and decided to eavesdrop before slaughtering them.

"Commander Kai will be happy to learn we've successfully brought down a camp before Jack could liberate it, won't he?" one of the two asked.

"Of course he will, Corporal. What he'll be less pleased about is that WE LOST THE FUCKING EMPRESS!" the higher up shouted, shoving the simple foot soldier to the ground.

Jack knew it was only a matter of time before Kai figured out about Kim's existence and what it meant, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. He also had to smile to himself because Kim had apparently slipped past them. That was all he needed to know. Now he just had to find Kim wherever she happened to be.

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Kim woke up the next morning and trained her ears for any sound that would tell her if she was alone or not. When she decided it was safe to peak out of the building she had taken refuge in, she found out she was indeed alone.

Kim tiptoed out into the morning air and was happy to see clear blue sky. She thought about investigating, seeing what had happened here yesterday, but a gut feeling also told her to get the hell out of Dodge.

She ran to the wall to see the gate was again wide open. Much to her dismay, it wasn't as simple as just walking back to camp. A long line of Imperial soldiers was winding it's way down the road towards the rebel camp.

"Damn!" Kim cursed her luck. She wasn't sure she would be able to sneak past a force of over a thousand men without being seen. She also couldn't let them storm the camp without warning her people.

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Kim had escaped and Jack had to find her, that much he knew. Kim was smart, she would go in the opposite direction from the one thousand people that would love nothing more than shipping her to Kai.

Jack trusted Jerry and Lusa to dispatch this force and liberate the prisoners they were transporting. They were delivering two thousand potential warriors right to them. Jack smirked at the thought.

With Jack sure of Kim's mind, he set off down the road towards god only knew where. He also figured Kim would skirt the road so as not to get lost but not to be so easily detected. She would be able to read traffic to keep an eye on possible friends and obvious foes. Such as Jack wandering the roads alone.

Jack felt bad for any group of Imperials under one hundred men. Jack was in a rare mood for blood, and any blood on his sword was blood incapable of spilling that of his friends. Blood incapable of hurting Kim.

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Kim kept to the woods along the road, staying low and moving quickly. She had to get to camp first, which shouldn't be a problem. The Imperial body was moving slow, the workers of 328 in the middle of their ranks. Five hundred soldiers in front and five hundred behind.

It would take all day for Kim to travel back to camp. It would be nightfall before either force could hope to organize let alone engage. Kim was good, but she wouldn't dare fight in the dark without Jack. Kim was new to practical command instead of just theoretical and textbooks. Jack had the charisma and experience that the troops would need to carry them.

Kim didn't even know where Jack was. Did he go back to camp for reinforcements? Did he find a way to go in after her? Where were Jerry and Lusa? All she knew was that she was alone right now. She knew what she had to do. She had to lead the army to its first victory and free two thousand men and women. She had to be strong. She had to put away personal problems for now and see that the rebellion didn't fail before it could truly begin.

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"So let me get this straight," Jerry said, his hands clasped together. "Kim fell for a trap and Jack went after her, then told you to come back here to link up with Milton and Brody while he finds Kim?" Jerry tried to catch up.

"Yes, that's correct," Lusa confirmed.

"I mean, I know I'm not Jack and all, but, maybe we should keep moving forward instead of back, you know? Aren't the guys gonna get pissed if we keep bouncing back and forth instead of doin' stuff? We need to do something cool or everyone's gonna think we're not actually doing anything."

Lusa chewed her lip for a moment as she mulled over Jerry's words. She found him to be right. They would think this was all some kind of game. Morale would bottom out if they didn't make something happen soon.

"Okay, fine," Lusa said with a sigh. "We'll keep them moving forward. I just hope we don't get in over our heads without Jack and Kim."

"Relax baby, we got this," Jerry said confidently. "If Jack didn't trust us, he wouldn't have left us in command. He wouldn't have given us any orders."

"We're breaking the orders he did give us!" Lusa argued, now thinking about forgetting Jerry's words. She cursed ger indecisiveness.

"Yes we are, but for something better," Jerry continued to argue. "Oh, look at that! Camp is done," he pointed out with a smile. "Let's go do big things," Jerry leaned over and kissed her cheek before riding off to the head of the column, a small entourage of cavalry behind him.

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Jack had been moving down the same road for some time now, not having seen a single soul. That didn't surprise him, given this was a supply and prisoner transport road. As Jack's aggression ebbed with time, his common sense came back. Maybe it wasn't a great idea to go for the throat of anything with a pulse.

Jack had to find Kim and he couldn't do that if he was maimed or dead. Allowing arrogance and pride to pick a fight he couldn't win wouldn't help anyone but Kai. Jack was possibly the deadliest man on either side of the rebellion with a katana and martial arts.

Jack was reduced to an average man when faced with the lethal single handed crossbows every soldier was issued. With twenty one foot darts per soldier, the need for archers was removed and every battle began with a hail storm of steel tipped darts before hand to hand combat could even begin. Jack could win any fight one on one, but the crossbows made him a mortal. He was a great shot, but he couldn't best thirty men by himself.

Jack was beginning to wonder how long it would take him to find his poor runaway blonde. What shape would she be in? How long would he have to look before he found her? He refused to think the worst. He knew she was smart, strong and capable.

His heart was pulling itself apart in his chest. He wanted to believe she was untouchable, that she couldn't be hurt. He was also her lover, meaning his heart wasn't listening to his head. He feared that they had recovered her, that they had already put her to the sword or were torturing her just because of who she was. He was petrified that she had been harmed in her escape and she was weak and hurting, scared and alone somewhere. He had to find her and the sooner the better, for her and for himself.

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Kim ducked low in the tall bushes that hugged the roadside. Perfect for ambushes, the blonde fox mused. She heard someone ahead, and by the sounds of it, a great host. Had there been another Imperial regiment that left earlier this morning? Kim began to panic in her own mind, fearing for her friends and for herself. What would she do if she couldn't get back to her people?

Her train of thought halted when she realized the sound was coming towards her, not going away from her. Kim's first instinct was to stay low and draw the small crossbow from the holster on the small of her back. She removed a small dart from little bag just above it, the opening adjusting to how many bolts remained so they wouldn't slide about.

Her jaw dropped when she saw Jerry and Lusa appear on horseback, and then the entire brigade behind them. She rushed out of the bushes and nearly knocked Lusa off the horse as she jumped on to hug her best friend.

"Oh my god, Kim!" Lusa shouted, hugging her almost sister back just as tightly. "What happened?"

"Kim, welcome back!" Jerry said with a huge smile.

"You saw them close the gate on me, but after that, the smoke was so thick I couldn't see ten feet in front of me. Imperial soldiers tried to take me, but I killed them," Kim said without hesitation. They were at war and she knew it. "I knew I couldn't safely get out, so I hid in a building until this morning and then slipped back out through the open gate."

Kim stopped when she noticed the absence of a very key figure. She kicked herself for taking this long. "Where's Jack? Watching for stragglers?" Kim guessed.

"Jack's out hunting for you, princess," Jerry chuckled darkly. "After you fell for that trap, Jack went all 'oh, I need to find her and I'll blow up the world to do it.' We haven't seen him since last night," Jerry caught her up to speed.

"Jack's still out there looking for me?" Kim double checked like she had a hard time believing it.

"Didn't I just say that?" Jerry scratched his head, not sure himself anymore.

"After the fight I need to find him," Kim said in a rush. "Did you guys get my horse back?"

"Yeah we did, and wait... what fight?" Lusa was dumbfounded.

"There's a regiment of Imperial soldiers heading this way," Kim said as her horse, Badass, was brought forward.

"I don't speak army, Kim," Lusa told her with a 'duh' look.

Kim rolled her eyes at her best friend who was more of an assistant than a soldier. "A regiment is one thousand soldiers, Luse."

"We have five thousand," Lusa stated the obvious.

"Yes, five regiments makes a brigade. We have a brigade," Kim furthered the lesson.

"Then what are you worried about?" Jerry asked, no longer following.

"Urgh!" Kim exclaimed, burying her face in her hands. "We don't have Jack for our first battle, and even though we have a huge advantage, I don't want to throw lives away. We need every soldier."

"Okay, so we're gonna whoop as, then you're on your way to find Jack but you have no idea how to find him. Yeah, that seems smart," Jerry rolled his eyes. Kim and Lusa were both shocked by his attitude. "We have the army. If Jack can't find an army..."

"Jack can find an army, but he may not even make contact with us if he doesn't think I'm here," Kim said and immediately caught the looks on Jerry and Lusa's faces.

"How much do you mean to Jack, Kim?" Lusa asked softly. "This isn't just about you being the Empress, is it?"

"You're asking about how close me and Jack are?" Kim humorlessly snickered. "We've known each other since Dragon Academy at age fourteen. We dated until seventeen when I was thrown into 327. After Jack came for me, he promised we'd never be split apart like that again. That's why we need to find him. He won't come back until he knows I'm safe and can be with him," Kim explained in whole.

"Damn girl," Jerry whistled low.

"Jack's a smart guy, Kim," Lusa told her supportively. "Let's continue our tour and Jack should be able to track our movements. He'll hear about our exploits and he'll know you're behind it. We need to keep this revolution rolling and you know it."

"Yes, we do," Kim said reluctantly, nodding and her head down. "We need to start by wiping out that regiment and securing the prisoners they took from 328."

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Jack waltzed into a nearby village, knowing nobody here would dare fuck with him. Jack didn't know if there was an Empire wide price on his head, or if his role was yet hidden. No one here could cash it in and he would be long gone before a real threat could reach him.

With a worry free mind, Jack went to the local tavern for news.

"Excuse me," Jack said politely as he headed up to the bar.

"Captain Brewer! What brings you here?" the bar keep asked, never having expected to see the young Dragon in person.

"Emperor Ty himself gave me orders to meet a military detachment around here. Has anyone said anything about an Imperial force in the area? They weren't at the rendezvous point and were supposed to be there yesterday," Jack lied through his ass.

"I'm glad you came by, Captain," the man smirked. "The 356th Regiment was here yesterday. They passed through town and the officers had a meal. As I served them, I overheard them talking about hitting Camp 328, then they were going on to 327. Why are we flexing muscle at our own camps?"

"Because a rebellion's coming," Jack answered and left in a hurry, going back the way he came. There was a battle coming.

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"They're going to be coming right at us, straight up the road," Kim said, mapping it out in the dirt. "We can annihilate them by putting a regiment on each side of the road, and then box them in ahead and behind with two more regiments. We'll have one more in reserve and we won't need your cavalry, Jerry," Kim finished. "We have half the ammunition per person that they do," Kim warned.

"I was happy our factory team pumped out that many bolts. We were down to the wire on that one," Lusa said. "They were definitely the camp MVPs," she chuckled.

"Your dam supplied the energy that allowed production," Jerry countered in Lusa's favor.

"The camp was a well oiled machine that sang cumbia, I get it," Kim groaned, rolling her eyes. "Let's get our brigade on the move. The Imperials will be up at any time. I hauled ass to get here first."

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Rudy held up a hand and the small party came to a stop in a small clearing. "Something doesn't feel right," he said quietly.

"What's wrong, bro?" Ty asked, coming up next to him. "You got that weird hair on the back of your neck thing?"

"Yeah I do," Rudy confirmed, removing his katana from his back, Ty and the Dragons following suit. "Keep an eye on the tree line," Rudy warned as his horse continued forward at a torturously slow pace.

"I'm not sure I wanna. I'm feeling some bad joojoo over there, too," Ty confirmed, matching Rudy's pace.

At that moment, an arrow flew, then followed by multiple others. One stuck into the ground close to Rudy. "Your boy Kai pissed off the Wakaidas?" Rudy growled, able to tell from the arrow shaft markings.

"I told you he was pissing off everybody!" Ty barked back as a group of mounted warriors broke from the tree line.

"The Wakaidas shouldn't be fucked with unless you really want a war! Rudy shouted as the Dragons charged forward to engage with the warriors. If they weren't Dragons, they would have no chance.

Rudy, Ty and the Dragons fought wildly against the riders that heavily outnumbered them. The fight turned in their favor until the glade was completely surrounded by warriors on foot. Rudy knew that this fight couldn't be won with only twenty-two swords.

Rudy threw down his sword, the tip sticking into the ground. The others did as he did and the fight stopped before they couldn't turn back.

Another detachment of riders emerged, a tall blonde woman with striking blue eyes and sculpted cheek bones at their head. Her body was strong and athletic under buckskin leggins and a sky blue long sleeve blouse. The Crawford Dynasty katana on her hip caught Rudy's attention immediately. That along with the bow on her back told him she was not afraid of getting her hands dirty.

"What brings the Emperor himself into my lands?" she asked evenly, none too pissed but not friendly either.

Rudy and Ty bowed as low as their saddles would allow, knowing who was speaking to them. "Queen Asta, we swear to you we did not come in hostility," Rudy said, more the diplomat than Ty.

"I figured that by the size of your party," Asta's following laughter was light yet challenged them to challenge her. "My warriors have been oddly bloodthirsty as of late."

"I understand that, and that is why we were here," Ty spoke sensibly. "I didn't want to go to war with you, your majesty. I have been usurped, more or less."

"More or less?" the blonde goddess of a woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's complicated," Ty shrugged and let Rudy do the real talking.

"I am Rudy Gillespie, former Captain of the Black Dragons. You are familiar with the former Emperor, Ty."

"Well met, Captain Gillespie," Asta said with a pleasant smile that made Rudy fight to steady his heart rate. "Ty, we've been on better terms," she mean mugged him.

"We're here to remedy that, and please just call me Rudy," he smiled back and her eye aversion and blush were unmistakable. "Ty has effectively been my prisoner for the last few days. He came to visit me at a camp I was a prisoner at. We turned the camp against him and captured him. Ty's second, Kai, has been calling the shots and was the one who declared war on you."

"What brings you here, Rudy?" Asta asked again, not needing his whole life story.

"Long story short, there's a civil war in the Empire, we're with the Rebellion and we need allies to get this to work," Rudy summed up hard.

"Who leads the rebellion?" she asked curiously.

"Jack Brewer, Kim Crawford and myself," Rudy told her, giving the names he was sure of. He wasn't that up to speed on Milton and Brody's roles.

"Crawford?" Asta asked, obviously intrigued. "The overthrow of the Crawfords led to my people's secession from the Empire," Asta scratched her chin. "I will tell you this, Rudy. I will come back with you. Only me. I wish to meet the other leaders and see your efforts. If I'm convinced it's the best for my people, you will have my hand in this."

"Jack and Kim have forces only a few miles from here. They're on their way to a camp nearby," Rudy informed her. "We should be getting back to them soon."

"I can leave shortly," Asta said with a light smile. "I just have to inform my second of this, and leave him instructions."

"Sweet! It shouldn't take us long to catch up on horseback," Rudy said.

"How close is the camp they're moving on?" Asta asked, becoming oddly rigid in her saddle.

"It's Camp 328. They should be there right about now, or very close to," Rudy said, feeling nervous like Asta's fears were contagious. "Why?"

"Because my scouts reported a force of about a thousand Imperials heading that way just two days ago."

"The Imperials are already there!" Rudy shouted in alarm, turning his horse and leaving in a hurry, Ty, Asta and the Dragons behind him. Asta's second in command would figure things out soon enough.

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I only got three reviews last chapter, and I would like to hear more on what you guys are thinking of the latest developments. Without yay or neigh feedback, I don't know how I'm doing, if this is even readable, or if next chapter should have a cool battle sequence. And to be honest, reviews just make my day. So please hit that little review bubble at the bottom and make me happy please. Thank you.