Author's note: So... there we go. Chapter 2. Also, friendly reminder: fanfic writers pour a lot of effort and thought into their fanfics, and even a comment as simple as "i loved it" really can make our days! So, never hesitate to leave some love fort he writers! 3

Takeo I – Werewolf Island, 24th October 2012, 22:26

Family. What was family, really? Only those who were bound to you by blood, or those who had taken roots in your heart? Though they shared no blood with M-21, Frankenstein and Raizel... would they ever deny that they were more than just friends? Would they be what some might call family? On the battlefield once more, yet unlike back in the days of the Union, every single fight had meaning. Whether they protected their home or came to rescue their friend – this time, Takeo was fighting for something real. Not a lie, not a cruel game of power devised by someone with unfair power over others. Teira – no. Aris. She could not break him. He might have lost a false sister, but he won a whole new family that loved him in earnest. That's why he fought without fear – even when a blast of incredible energy almost knocked them off their feet. While Raizel and Frankenstein took care of the warriors and whatever caused this blast, they would find M-21 and get him to safety. "I do not know the energy that lingers in the air," Seira remarked while Regis examined traces of a battle that had taken place here just before they had arrived. The werewolf lands were vast, and they could not afford to waste time on searching in the wrong directions.

Yet something felt... amiss. From second to another, the tension of being in hostile territory was replaced by something more vague, something that felt... almost empty. Tao had frozen in his tracks, and he did the same. A couple of seconds passed before Seira and Regis came to a halt as well.
"Something is wrong." Tao was the first one to say it, and Takeo confirmed with a nod. He could feel it too - yet why could the two nobles not feel it too, then? Their senses were so much better developed than theirs.

Then, it struck him. He'd gotten so used to it, that he had no longer noticed it anymore. Now, it was the absence that felt amiss. "The Dark Spear." This invisible tether that connected both him and Tao to Frankenstein was gone. The lingering sensation of the Spear's essence gnawing at the edges of their soul was gone – and it frightened him.
"I cannot feel it either." Tao ran a gloved hand through his hair. Sweat started to form on his forehead. This... paired with the catastrophic battle taking place not too far from here... What can it possibly mean?

Regis approached, wringing his hands. "... there are more bad news." Takeo swallowed hard. Just how many bad news would there be for this blasted day? He was almost afraid to hear what else was coming at them. Seira turned her eyes towards the site of the major battle.

"The Lord is summoning the Clan Leaders." She raised one hand towards the lights in the sky above the battle site. "It is imperative that we must go and assist the Lord."

Juraki I – Werewolf Island, 24th October 2012, 22:30

At first, Juraki has been doubtful about the physical enhancements they had gone through. They must become strong through their own efforts, like the honorable warriors of the old days. Yet when all progress stalled... when he realized that there was only way to serve their people even better than they had in the past... Though he hated it, he now stood corrected. How many lives would the invaders have claimed, had they not all accepted the new power?

While Gayare and their two innitates brought Lunark and the strange chimera to what was left of the castle, he decided to seek out other scattered groups of warriors. The fight was not over yet. He stopped by the group of three younger warriors, led by Bashum. They seemed in pretty bad shape. Juraki averted his eyes from the body of a fallen comrade.
"What's the situation?"
"The Nobles retreated towards the main battle in the west, all of a sudden," a grey-haired werewolf said, sat against a rock. He was still recovering from his wound.
"Why are they abandoning the fight all of a sudden?", Bashum questioned, one hand up against his forehead. They all had wanted to be heroes – what was left of that, now?

"I tell you why they are abandoning the fight." The four warriors turned their heads. Zaiga, one of their Elder Warriors, accompanied by one other. He must have barely gotten out of a fight as well. Just how strong were the invaders? And how many were there?! Zaiga stopped near them.

"The Clan Leaders must be joining their Lord. We should go and find ours too."
They all turned their eyes towards the heavy smoke rising from the North, where the Lord's castle stood before the assault. Gayare was headed that way – Juraki hoped that the way was clear up tothere. They did not need Lunark and that modified human getting loose and recovering enough to cause even more trouble than they already had to deal with as it is.

"He must be where all that energy is coming from," Bashum mused aloud and Zaiga confirmed with a nod. That's where the nobles have been off to as well – chances were, their Lord would be found there as well.

Even though this was a presumptuous thought, Juraki hoped that the Lord was not in the same difficulties they all had run into. If their Lord was overpowered too, who would be left to defend their people? A handful of exhausted warriors whose bodies were messed up after so many critical battles in rapid succession?

"Let's not waste any time." Juraki was the first to turn and head towards the lights in the sky. "Let us gather and drive them out."

Maduke I – Werewolf Island, 24th October 2012, 22:43

Sometimes you placed a bet and won more than you expected. Lunark had not only brought him Muzaka, but also the nobles. Maduke could not possibly have asked for a greater gift – with this invasion, the nobles offered him a perfect reason to go to war in earnest. Nevermind the castle. Those could be rebuilt. If it meant that he would be rid of his enemies at last... and if he answered such a brazen invasion, how could the Union possibly even try to condemn him? After tonight, he would be simply the Lord who protected his people.

"I cannot wait to see how Muzaka is holding up against Titan. Good work, Ignes." Though he was feeling sour over the fact that she was almost defeated... Admittedly, they would be in trouble if she had failed to keep her promises.
"Muzaka is not the one fighting him, Lord." He had seen Ignes making that face before and it brought no good news. "The Noblesse is here."
"The Noblesse? Well, would you look at that." he cleared his throat. "Looks like you are getting your vengeance sooner than expected. Savour it."
"The Lord is there as well."
Her words almost made him stop dead in his tracks, and Mirai almost bumped into his back as his steps slowed. The Noble Lord? He almost burst out into laughter, stuck between nervousness and malicious joy. Today was a gift that kept on giving, clearly. The Lord, the Noblesse, several Clan Leaders, and with some luck, even Muzaka. If Lunark had returned here, she must have brought him as well. Good. Let them all come – he would bury them by the time the sun rose.

The ground trembled beneath their feet as they approached the battlefield.
"The Titan is almost uncontrollable," Ignes brought up from the side. "He might rampage and attack everything and anything in its vicinity."
"Then let the nobles deal with him." He waved his hand in dismissal. Then, they would take care of whatever would be left. Nothing on earth shall spoil this day. This brilliant woman, this divine gift, had awakened the titan and made his warriors more powerful than ever.
"He might attack us too!", she insisted, though he had no more patience left for her words. She had awakened him, and had awakened him in time. This was not the time for humility.

Oh, the Titan was... almost beautiful in a morbid way he could not grasp. There she was, the noble Lord. Was this all the power the fabled Ragnarok could muster up?
"Lord! What is that?!" Mirai stared with terror, clinging to her sister's arm with fright. Of course, they could not possibly comprehend the marvel they had created.
"This... is the Pride of our People." The ultimate weapon of destruction. The most powerful creature on earth. Now that he was this close... even he felt cold at the mere thought of possibly having to face this abomination. Incredible.

"... Ser Raizel..." Ignes blinked, eyes fixated on an unmoving figure on the ground. Given the small crater that had formed upon an impact... Maduke glanced down at her. There he was, the Noblesse, her great Nemesis, flat out in the dirt like a worm.
"I need to see him -" Before she could sprint off, he seized her forearm and kept her from moving any further towards the Lord's battle against the titan.
"You can have a good look at his lifeless face when Titan is dealt with."

The Noble clan leaders who arrived at the scene did not make a difference. Especially not now that the first of his warriors started to reach the battle site. This marked the beginning of the end for them. Behind him, Ignes paced up and down, restless, he could almost smell her cold sweat. Unfortunately, she was not the only one losing her composure. It figured. No one here had ever seen such a power like the Titan. Oh, the faces they all would make when they saw his true power – he almost longed for carnage, feeling as though the bloodthirsty itch possessing the other warriors was slowly spreading out to him as well.

"MADUKE!" That voice – he would recognize it anywhere. This... this must be the best day of his life. Today was the day of his ultimate triumph. With bared fangs, Muzaka approached him and his warriors at wide stride.
"You! You will answer for what you have done to our people!"
"Look at the traitor who returned with the people he always preferred over his own people!" Shamelessly, he pointed his index finger at Muzaka. The victor would always be the judge – and the vanquished the accused.
"You! You experimented on our people! And Garda – Maduke! Answer me! What did you do to her?!"
Oh. Then he had found Garda already, and Maduke felt a great and terrible anguish at the thought of not having seen that with his own eyes. Had Muzaka really killed his most loyal companion? And could he possibly have done that without knowing the extent of her loyalty and her suffering? The mere thought filled him with a wild desire to confess everything.

He wanted Muzaka to die knowing just how far his treason had gone.

Before he could even begin to unravel, an explosion nearby tore him out of focus. One of the nobles really had dared to attack them! That energy, too – No way. The noble sorcery that had brought his castle down in flames and ash.
"Mirai! Urne!" He pointed his arm in the direction of the female Clan Leader who'd tried to launch an attack on them. Had Zaiga not been more attentive than him, she would have gotten them. This was unpardonable. "I want that bitch alive!", he snarled and the twins followed his order.

"Maduke! You did not answer me, you bastard!", Muzaka growled. Before he could charge at them, however, Ignes stepped forward and out of line. Maduke had almost forgotten she was there.

"Muzaka! Do you really want to chitchat while your friend is getting killed?!"
Her words made Muzaka stop in his tracks, grey eyes widening. Of course. The Noblesse... That might be quite interesting to see.
"Do you see him there?!" Ignes pointed towards the motionless figure near the Noble Lord and another clan leader. These fools were still protecting him from Titan? Unbelievable.

With a howl of anger, Muzaka did what could only be expected of him. He would need his strength to face the True Lord without embarrassing himself – but instead, he chose to join the Nobles in their fight against the Titan.