A sudden force pushed him sideways and he landed with a thud. I'm not dead! That hardly hurt! His eyes shot open. I'm not on the ground, he realized. The ground was a ways away. It took him longer then it should have to figure out that his Sminal had caught him. "Now you've saved me twice." He laughed. She helped him back onto her back ad turned with a jerk, to stab a Wherloo with the horns of her head. Startled, Estil realized that there were around 10 Wherloos left and the Defels had only lost a third of their original army, which was far less than expected. Cera advanced on the largest beast left. Typical. With a shredding sound, the Wherloo fell earthwards in seven pieces. Many remaining Defels landed on the ground, too lazy to fight off the rest. "What are we waiting for?" Estil giggled. Kramor flapped down and sped towards a pack. Flipping this way and that, Estil managed to kill the six in the group. Merfalis and Marla took out another two. That left only one. It charged at Estil like an angry bull. "Let's finish this." Estil whispered to Kramor.

The creature went to attack his stomach, but faked and latched his fingers around his throat and ripped him off Kramor's back. She was going too fast to turn and attack. The Wherloo painfully dangled him in the air by his throat. No air. Get help! Help? He couldn't yell. He couldn't reach the angry beast, so struggling and fighting were useless. He pried at the fingers but they were tighter than he expected. He was going to die soon. I was so close to victory! This isn't fair, I will haunt you! Let go you greasy, hairy baboon! He pleaded. Help. This was his last thought. His head slumped back and everything went black.

Cera watched it all happen. The Wherloo grabbed Estil then chocked him. The Wherloo had flown up high, out of reach. No one could get there in time. Still, she tried. She lept on her Daragot and rocketed towards them, full speed. But the Wherloo continued to rise away from them. With teary eyes, she watched as her mate struggled to lay a hit on it, but couldn't manage it. He clawed at the fingers with no effect. Then with horror, his body gave up and went limp.

Growling with pleasure, the Wherloo released it's grip and Estil fell from the heavens. You will pay! Cera flew up and caught Estil from his free fall. She checked his pulse. There was none. "Land." She commanded her Daragot. "You listen to me, Estil. You cannot die. You hear me? Don't die on me! That's not possible for you. I'm sorry it's just not an option. You changed lives, you changed our history, our worldview. You changed me. And look, you just freed us all from their rain of terror. You need to live! You deserve this freedom! Your the most incredible Defel that's ever lived." She cried. No response. Tears flied from her eyes. "Come on, Estil! Fight it! For me? I can't lose you and April, not in this lifetime, baby. Not in any lifetime. If you don't answer me I will make it hell for you after I die." She gasped. "Please. Live." She begged, laying her forehead against his chest.

Her Daragot landed with a quiet thud. Cera handed Estil to Merfalis. "Save him!" She urged. "There's nothing I can do!" He insisted. "He is the reason we are all free. He is the reason our history now says that you can ride a Sminal. He is special. You will save him. Try harder." She snapped. Kramor landed beside her. Cera turned and looked at the sky. "Let's go kill that son of a bitch." She said, climbing onto the Sminal's back. Surprisingly, she listen and flew up. Kramor went full speed and reached the last Wherloo within minutes.

"That was your biggest mistake." She sounded colder then Antarctica. Cera jumped off Kramor and lunged at the Wherloo. Her bird-like claws slowly peeled off it's skin. The more painful, the better. It bit down on her shoulder, but she didn't care. Her vision went red. Her claws scratched across it's face and she opened it's mouth, then snapped it's jaw. "Don't you bite me." She hissed. Cera lept onto Kramor again. "Finish him." She commanded. The Sminal lit the beast on fire and watched it fall like a shooting star. "The Wherloo's are now extinct!" She declared.

When they finally reached, Estil was still unconscious. Anger boiled through her core. Then, she realized she wasn't mad at Merfalis, she was angry because Estil was never coming back. Cera fell to her knees and sobbed as hard as she ever had. The tears showed no signs of stopping. Life is hard. They say people always move on, but there's some pains you can't get over. I would rather have the Defels lose but Estil live. Life is unfair and I don't care what anyone else says. There are no words to describe the pain. Like a black, burning hole spread through me. I can't move, I'm frozen. I won't move again. Estil was the air I breathed, now there's no air, no hope.

Cera was so lost in her thoughts she didn't see what happened next.

Kramor approached Estil's unmoving body. She bowed her head and breathed a strange gas out her mouth, it was transparent, easy to miss. She breathed the strange gas over his body for a minute, then sat back and watched.

Cera never remembered crying so much in her life, not when April died, not ever. It felt good to let it all out, she had been holding onto it for so long. Maybe I'll just run and never look back. I'll never see the meadow again. I'll leave Draytor all together. Go explore Transor. Maybe I'll forget about my life here, my problems. I shouldn't be here. "Why you crying, babe?" Came a voice from the past. Cera's jaw dropped.