Oops. A little late, but… what can I say? Sorry.

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Knives reached the top of the spire and sat down. He blew lightly on his abraded fingertips and wondered why the people around him seemed to love torturing themselves to reach these heights. Scaling the sides of rocks was not high on his list of fun things to do with his time, but apparently he was in the minority with that view. After a sufficient period of time passed to ease the stinging, he turned around and looked for Ace.

She was perched on the highest point of the spire, looking at him curiously. His eyes narrowed as he wondered if she was making fun of him, but he let the thought pass him by without acting on it.

"Hello," he said conversationally.

She nodded, a solemn gesture more suited to a queen on her throne than her present position. A regal hand was lifted and waved in greeting. He smiled at the picture, then stood and walked over to her. Picking her up from her perch, he held her close, inhaling the scent of her hair before setting her on the ground.

"We should talk," he said, settling himself on the ground after brushing away some pebbles and stones. Ace shrugged and followed suit. She looked at him intently, waiting for him to speak.

"I need to know what you know about that woman. I'm sure you have a reason for wanting her to live; I want to hear it."

The girl shrugged in response.

Knives leaned in and grabbed her shoulders. "A shrug is not going to save her life. Either you give me a good reason to not kill her, or she won't see another dawn. Speak, girl. I know you can."

She glared at him. "Fine," she whispered, her voice hoarse with disuse. "She has goals that lie alongside yours."

"The ending of humanity? I find that hard to believe."

"No, the ending of the threat to the plants. She searches for a solution that will allow for both parties to live in peace."

"There is no such solution. As long as the humans are allowed to live they will destroy. It's in their nature."

She nodded, then shrugged. "You may be right. But you may be wrong, too. It's not like giving her a chance now will harm your efforts later."

"It might. You cannot predict the future any more than I can. Right now the balance between the races is precarious. She could destroy us, maybe not on purpose, but we would be destroyed all the same."

"She might. You, might, too, if you try and fail."

"I won't fail."

"Again? You don't have a great track record, yourself."

"My brother has agreed to stay out of things this time. The humans alone cannot stand against me."

She sighed. "I still don't agree with the need to annihilate the humans. You know that many plants do not see the need to destroy them. Curtail their deprivations, yes, but extinction? You fanatics do not speak for us all."

"But you support me."

"Considering that our only other option until now has been your brother's apathetic desire to let the humans realize the error of their ways on their own, yes, you have had support. Kiley is looking for a different solution, one that I think many of us will prefer to yours. We need to give her time, to see if she can realize some of her dreams."

Knives shook his head. "I still don't see what she is supposed to be able to accomplish. And why? Why does a human even care what happens to the plants?"

"Humans care. Some of them, when they know. She, though, you know she was in a war, back on her world, yes?" At his nod, she continued. "It was a war between humans and the genetically altered. The humans saw it as a war for the survival of their species, and the Genalts fought for their lives. As the war stretched on people lived their entire lives under the specter of hate and death, like a sickly miasma that touched every facet of their lives.

"And some people, sick of war, sought to see if the two peoples could live together, in peace. And some could. Many more wished to, the hatreds of the past dissolving under the weight of pain in the present. She tried, in the last few years of her life, to promote the cause of peace.

"She has killed enough and seen enough death to crave peace. Every fiber of her soul cries out to end strife, as she has seen more of it than she can stand. She doesn't care about species, anymore, or the moral high ground, or who did what to whom and what should be done about it. She just wants to see peace before she dies again.

"And to bring about this peace? She feels the need to redeem herself, and to be a peacemaker would do it for her. She can stop herself from killing, and from causing needless pain, but changing herself is not enough. It wasn't hard enough for her to feel like it could erase her guilt. But stopping others? That's incredibly difficult."

"Impossible, more like."

"Exactly. If she can do the impossible, maybe she can finally forgive herself. She isn't being completely altruistic in her drive to stop the abuse of the plants, but her reasons aren't entirely selfish, either. But whatever her reasons, many of us prefer the results she is aiming for, rather than yours."

"You say we rather frequently. Do you communicate with our sisters so often?"

"Whenever I'm bored, which since you two won't let me train with you in the afternoons is… pretty much every afternoon."

He nodded slowly. "That's a lot…"

She grinned impishly. "They told me to tell you 'hi.' And to keep you from killing her before she has a chance to try out her ideas. If she fails, well, they won't stop you from doing what you feel is necessary. I might, though, depending on what you think is necessary."