A/N : I cannot thankyou all enough for being extremely patience with my speed. Special thanks to those who kept giving lovely reviews everytime I post a new chapter, you're the reason I get to this chapter!

Disclaimer : I do not own Glee, but the plot of this story is mine


Blunder and Interpose

Wes had rolled thousand times on his bed, trying to find the least painful position that he could sleep on but no such luck.

It was true that he felt he was getting stronger, especially since the infirmary had released him to his own room. He knew he should not complain, not when the other option that he had was death itself. But still, every move that he made made him cringed in pain. Not one inch of his skin was saved from the fire. Even with the help of Soldier Pill and Dalton medicine, he felt that he would never be complete again.

He still could not bear to look at the mirror and saw himself there.

This was his punishment for going to McKinley. It was not the fact that he was doing a suicide mission. For Dalton, he would do anything to protect him. He was always ready to die every time he led his army into countless war. No, what was against principal was trying to assassinate a man just because he will descent the enemy's throne in the future.

And he was right. The death of the soldier who was with the prince when he was being caught was unavoidable. If he did not defend himself, he would have killed him instead. But when there were only him and the prince himself, he knew he could not do it. Having been into war against McKinley so many times made him knew the face of their high ranking soldiers, and he never saw the prince among them. He was just like Blaine, who was sooner or later become war casualties between those two kingdoms.

Wes unconsciously gritted his teeth when Blaine's face came to him all of the sudden. It was only after he was being released from the infirmary, which was yesterday, that he knew about Blaine's mission and what drove him to do it. What made it worse was the fact that no one told him until he dug the information from Trent; he would have punch him on the spot if moving did not bother him so much now.

He was furious at Sebastian but, just like himself, he acted under the King's order. He was aware of the King's irrational decisions upon Prince Cooper's death but sending his other son to a suicide mission crossed way over the line. Wes could not believe he was willing to trade his only son for McKinley's throne. Then again, he never showed any kind of affection to Blaine, unlike to Dalton's golden boy.

Wes carefully turned his head to the other side, wincing when the pain came back to his skin. It had been weeks since Blaine went to McKinley all by himself and no news came back to Dalton whatsoever. It was true that King Hummel died while Blaine was still there but rumor said that it was caused by Carmel's delegation. He could only hope that Blaine did not get tangled with that assassination or else Dalton would gain a new enemy.

He was about to try getting what was left from the dawn when suddenly a loud bang came from his door. Wes groaned in annoyance; there goes his sleep.

"Who is it?" he groaned. He was secretly hoping that there was no mission waiting for him behind that door, especially if it was from the King.

"It's Nick!" He did not try to cover his worry that been dripping all over his words. "It's kind of urgent, can you let me inside?"

His mind was alert the moment he knew that it was Nick. "A moment!" he said, as he was carefully but be as quick as he could to get up from the bed. He bit his mouth to stifle another groan when he forced his legs to stand and slowly made his way to the door. Gods, he really hoped Nick would not confirm his fear just now. What kind of urgent matter at this time of hour, anyway?

As soon as the door was being unlocked by Wes, Nick barged in and almost knocked him out in the process.

"What the hell Nick!"

Nick did not bother to say sorry and turned to close the door and locked it again. The look on his face suddenly frightened him, as if someone had died.

"Sebastian has replaced you as the Great General and now he's assembling the whole troops at the square," Nick said in a low voice, as if someone could overhear them.

The first news should startle him but he knew this would come eventually after his failure in McKinley. What followed it though . . .

"Why Sebastian?" If I am deemed incapable of doing my task, it should be you!" Wes asked incredulously. "And what are the troops for?"

Nick could only shake his head. "My guess is as good as yours. He only said to assembly our men to the square," he took a deep breath before finishing his words, "battle ready."

Wes' heart stopped at that. For the first time, Wes had the chance to take a good look at Nick's outfit and realised that he was wearing his battle gears. "Are we going to attack McKinley? But Blaine . . ."

"I know," Nick cut him quickly. "That's why I thought you want to hear what Smythe has to say about this too. Wear this, though," he said, as he handed a black cloak that usually is used by cavalry. He looked hesitated for a moment but then dismissed whatever it was that bothered him. "It's just for precaution."

His hand felt cold when he received the cloak. For years he had served Dalton as the Great General and in a blink of an eye, not only that he was stripped off from his rank, he had to disguise himself to attend a simple assembly.

"I understand," Wes said, and he did because he would do anything to make sure that his guess was wrong.


Kurt's injured leg had gone numb for sitting on the cold floor for hours now. He, Rachel, and unconscious Puck were huddling on the corner of their cell with their still damp clothes in silence.

It was a nightmare. Finn's voice was still ringing on Kurt's head. They have demoted you. Not only he threw away his chance on saving Blaine, he dragged his friends along to their death. Just like Dalton's power, those words sucked away Kurt's energy that he did not even fight back like Puck when the guards dragged them to their cell.

His eyes were swollen from the constant cry. Pathetic. Did Gods curse him, making him attract Death to whoever dares to love him? He tried his best to save them but the aftermath was always the opposite. His parents, Blaine, his friends, his people; they all suffered because of his action. Can he just do one thing right for once?

Rachel adopted his silence act ever since they were put in the cell. Her legs were bent upward and her head rest on top of her folded arms above the knees, face facing away from Kurt. Finn's action must have affected her too, especially that she was the closest one to him beside the Queen herself. However, deep down he knew that he was right, that he had to protect the throne from Elliott by obeying the council. He could not have him took all the blame for covering the mess Kurt made.

"Rachel," he called her with low voice. When he received no response, he tried again. "I'm s-"

"If you are apologizing to me, I swear to McKinley I'm going to strangle you with my bare hands," Rachel's harsh voice suddenly erupted, even though she still would not face him.

Kurt bit his tongue for awhile, but he at least had to say this on behalf of his step brother. "The blame is on me. He did the right thing."

Rachel abruptly unfolded her arms and threw a heavy punch at him. Just as Kurt was thrown to his side, Rachel did not stop and before he knew it she was already on top of him and punched him again.

"Shut up! You shut up!" she screamed while keep hitting him on the face. "You don't know anything about him! He's a coward with big words! A coward who gave promises and sweet empty flattery only to break every single one of it in the next hour!" Kurt felt blood from his torn lips and his head pounded in pain but he let her continue her impingement on him. However, the blows stopped as quick as it started. Rachel, instead, put her fists on top of Kurt's chest and bowed her head, sending fat tears to drop onto Kurt's still wet shirt.

"He proposed me," she sobbed now. "We promised to protect each other, no matter what happened to this kingdom or the Second World. I have waited so long for him to ask me. Then he went along with those monsters and sent us here. I'm such an idiot."

Kurt's heart clenched at the sudden news. This made him felt even guiltier. His irrational behavior had caused Finn to do this to his new fiancee; he could not imagine how disappointed she was of him.

"That's right, lash it all on me. It's okay," Kurt said slowly in a much gentler voice. "It's my fault that he had to do that to you, but please, don't put the blame on him. He loves you, Rachel," he added, covered both of her bloodied fists with his, "And you're lucky to have a brave man on your side. Don't let this change that."

Kurt thought he had said too much and she would hit him again, but that was the least he could do to protect Finn. Rachel, instead, did nothing but kept her head low so he could not see her face. But when she looked at him, for the first time since he met her, she looked small and broken.

"I just want peace," she whispered with a near broken voice. "I want us to grow old together, not thinking about war and who will die next. Every day I wake up and meet my friends and the creeping thoughts keep coming back, that if I would see you all again tomorrow and the day after that. I'm so tired, Kurt," she was undone at the last sentence and broke down on his chest.

Kurt could do nothing but hold her back and without his permission, he shed the last tear to the ground.

Everyone thought that being a member of the royal family or a general was like cheating on Death himself. One could easily use their men as human shields and get all the glory at the end of the battle. They were wrong. They don't know the pain seeing Death come and gone, yanking a person who just greeted you in the morning and you thought he would have a nice day upon him. And what if He decided to take your love ones? He, of all people, knew that it was naive to ignore the dreadful possibility.

"So do I, Rachel. We all do," he said at the end, because what else could he do now?


Nick had managed to sneak Wes into his cavalry troops before he joined the other generals at the front line, so now he was standing among the other soldiers that once while trying to keep his hood covering his face all the time. Not that anyone could recognize him when the burnt wounds deconstructed his face, though.

He looked at the other men and found out soon enough that he was not the only one who was taken aback by the sudden call. Not to mention that Sebastian summoned all of Dalton's troops, including five General Squad, consisted those with extraordinary power (both from destruction level or unique element) and was selected by the general in charge. Wes felt a stab of anger when he saw his Squad was lining up at the front row. They were only five of them, but Wes handpicked and trained them himself for years that they had somewhat become a second family. Seeing them there only to be used by Sebastian as a secondary squad felt like a final blow to the end of his general life.

Sebastian finally showed up a moment later, marching to the front with his black Pegasus. This time, his expression was lack of the smug smile he used to wear; instead, he looked grim as if someone had died. However, what surprised him the most was the man who rode the second Pegasus beside him.

It was the King himself.

The situation looked worse as the time went by.

"Brave people of Dalton," Sebastian began, as he spoke from the top of his lungs, "I gather you all today to share the recent news regarding our prince's current mission."

Wes' hand was as cold as ice as he listened.

"You probably know by now that the prince, under the Highness direct command, is currently infiltrating McKinley's base to give an opening for us here. Apparently, we are not the only one heading toward that path, because just few days ago Carmel deceived them and managed to kill King Hummel himself on the process."

"Knowing that Dalton shares the same vision as Carmel, King Goolsby offered to form an alliance with Dalton and as a gesture of his goodwill, decide to aid us against what is left from McKinley's royal family."

What?!

Wes was not the only one who was taken aback by this. Murmurs were covering the square like a group of confused insects and he knew exactly why. All these years, Carmel had been nothing but a passive audience like Addams. They would not do this unless Goolsby aimed something from the alliance. Goolsby was not an idiot and neither should Anderson.

Sebastian raised his hand to silence the crowd.

"I speak on behalf of the King," he bowed toward King Anderson who still remained silent behind him, "That King Goolsby's intention is nothing but kind. He, just like us, believes that it is time to unite the Second World and give back peace to this land."

Sebastian took a deep breath before he continued. He looked more and more uncomfortable as he kept speaking. "Last night, we received a message from Prince Blaine that he has made an opening for us to infiltrate McKinley but the message was intercepted by unknown cause. We do not know the Prince's current status, but the chance only come once and it is on a short period only so we need to act fast. Carmel has kept their word and will join us once we get to McKinley."

"Prince Blaine has risked his life delivering this to us. He, just like we all, longed for peace in this world and this is our chance to make it happen. I stand here, replacing General Wes' position due to his unfit condition, ask you all to trust me. Trust me that I will finally bring glory that Dalton deserve all this time and I will trust you to help me achieving it."

"Make this war our last one! Fight for Dalton, the King, the Prince, and for all of us who longed for peace! Give what McKinley deserves for making us suffered all this years of grieve and loss! Fight for victory!"

When Wes first met Sebastian, he was foolish enough to try using his power on him and the generals to earn his and their trust. Sebastian's power is to plant an idea on the victim's head and suppress the others so that idea becomes the truth for them. The deepest part of his mind knew that what he said was a lie but that voice was like a mere weak whisper compared to his screaming loud words on his head, so he believed him. It was only after Nick told him that it was a lie and Wes knew he was telling the truth because Nick was immune to any form of lies that he could push Sebastian's words out of his head.

He felt the same sensation now at the square, but he could not push aside Sebastian's new idea of this bizarre plan. So he got no option but to join the continuous battle cry with all of Dalton's soldiers and believed that all McKinley should be killed.

Wes would do anything to bring Blaine back. After all, this would not be his first kill.


Nick was the only one who stood still while the troops went crazy for McKinley's blood. Lies were the only one that he could read from Sebastian's mouth. No one in their right mind should believe that King Goolsby wanted nothing but peace. That was why King Anderson let Sebastian spoke, to manipulate the troops into believing that this was a holy mission for Dalton.

This was a suicide mission for Dalton as especially Blaine. Blaine was still in there and knew nothing about this. He would be the first one to receive the blow if something went wrong.

He should tell someone about this. Wes. The other generals. Blaine. He did not know what happened to Blaine there but he had to warn him about the war that was about to blow on his face. He could ask Skylar, Wes' second hand on his Squad to speak inside Blaine's mind and hoped he had enough time to escape from there. After he snapped Skylar's sense back, he could easily help the others too.

Nick went straight to Skylar's direction, not too far from him, until Sebastian's voice called him name and stopped him.

"Nick, can you come with me? The King is asking for you to meet him personally."

He was telling the truth, that was a good start. However, he needed to get to Skylar first. "Okay, but I need to talk to my men first to give instructions."

"Now, Nick," Sebastian called him again when he was about to turn around, "You know that the King hates to wait."

Nick gritted his teeth but slowly turned his heels toward the man. "Of course," he said, sourly. It'd better be quick.

King Anderson's Pegasus was already on the other side of the square but the rider was nowhere to be found. Nick had no choice but to walk beside Sebastian toward the castle as he also ditched the horse to one of his man. For the first time since everybody was assembled on the square, Nick realized how tense Sebastian was.

"Nervous?" Nick commented casually, thinking probably because of the fact that he just lied to every single Dalton soldier at the same time.

Sebastian snorted. "Me? Nervous?"

Lie.

They almost reached the stairs toward the castle when Nick's curiosity won over his worry. "Why does the King ask for me?"

Sebastian did not answer him until they went through the door. "I have no idea."

Nick stopped his steps at that. Sebastian knew exactly why the King was asking for him. Why did he have to lie about it? After all, he was only delivering message to him.

Unless . . .

A loud crack rang through his ears and before the pain kicked in, Nick's vision went black.


Blaine's consciousness swam back and forth at him. His blurry vision was pointed at the closed door where Kurt disappeared earlier. The moment he heard Kurt's scream, Blaine had managed to drag his deadweight body for no more than a foot toward the door. It was hours ago and now everything was back to total silence and pain started to overcome him again. Whatever Kurt gave him, it had worn off and left Blaine sprawled helplessly on the cold, wet floor.

He hated himself for not able to do anything to protect Kurt out there. He now could only rely on Kurt's friends to help and protect him, before that bastard got to him first.

Gods, he still had so much to say to Kurt, so many things to do and hope for, but he could feel that his body was starting to collapse from pain and fatigue. He had lost the feeling on his limbs, how his lungs trying to overcome the shock, and how his weak heart trying to pump the remaining little amount of blood on his system.

He kept telling his body to keep fighting, that Kurt and his friends still needed him, but his mind also began to shut down. It was getting harder to remember why he was there, what caused all of his pain, and what makes this worth fighting for.

Kurt, he repeated the name over and over on his clouded brain. I chose this for Kurt.

The last thing he saw before he surrendered to the painless world was his bloodied hand lying limp on the ground and pointed toward the door, still refused to accept the fact until his last breath escape his red lips.

I'm sorry. I tried.


A/N : I'm soorryyyy! Don't kill me just yet! It may look bad but it wasn't like you think it was! And before you shake me and tell me to continue, I hate to say that I probably won't be updating again at least until the Christmas holiday. I am currently working on my thesis so it takes most of my time. Sorry again and love you all as always!