Locust Main City, Nexus

Present Time

Understand what a world must do to survive – what humans must do, and what WE must do. But survive we must.
Now the humans' long struggle against overwhelming odds approaches the final, desperate stand…

-Queen Myrrah of the Locust Horde, addressing new locust troops waiting to go into battle for the first time.

The echoing silence was what bothered me the most.

I knew I was in the right place; how many sprawling underground cities could there be? I'd expected heavy resistance in the form of every grub imaginable; wretches, boomers, brumacks, and more, but the hallways were startling, unsettling bare.

Nexus, despite being the main Locust stronghold, was still one of the most ornate cities I'd ever been in. The hallways were lavishly decorated with tall, sloping ceilings and strange inscriptions printed upon the walls. The stone buildings towered floors above my head. And yet, there were still no grubs to be found. They had to be fighting some other battle in another part of the city.

The one thing that was disorienting was that where the sky normally was, there was a thick, heavy curtain of dirt. It was a huge, unending, earthen grave. The only light came from the slightly luminescent glow of the imulsion, and the glowing orbs of flaming torches that peered out behind windows. Despite the huge, impressive architecture, there was a film of dust and dirt that was ever-present and covered everything. There were dark shadows in the corners and niches of the city, places where the sun's warmth had never shone. The stifling oppressiveness of the darkness swirled around the tall buildings, making me shiver with dread.

Anya's warning about being in the middle of the battlefield hung heavy on my mind, forcing me to keep to quiet shadows and corners. I found myself glancing up frequently to check the earthen ceiling, finding it still in place and stable…at least for now. It was almost too easy to imagine the COG forces above, barreling down on Nexus for the invasion.

I headed for the central tower; it was the closest thing I'd seen to a palace, and it was my bet that I'd find the Locust Queen there, and Marcus and…him. The palace was in the middle of the city, as far as you could get away from the churning lake of imulsion underneath the city. The COG forces would need solid ground to land on. Marcus would set off the beacon there, as to ensure no gears would land in the luminescent goop.

It only took me seconds to analyze the facts and come up with a plan. It bothered me how easily I could guess at their plans, and how well I could read them. Perhaps there would be time to ponder that later, but right now, it sure came in handy.

I treaded carefully onto their stone streets, my footsteps echoing ominously around me. All was quiet, which unnerved me. This was the Locust's main city; and yet there wasn't a grub to be found. Where were they all at?

The answer came to me in a bloody pile of mangled limbs and shell casings. There had been a fight here recently, and, judging by the jagged cuts from a chainsaw bayonet, it was between these grubs and the gears. I knelt cautiously next to a bloody corpse, stalling for time before gathering up the courage to look around. Their bodies aren't here… I thought to myself. They might still be alive. The thought came with an inexplicable pang of… not exactly happiness, but relief, maybe? Which made absolutely no sense; if the grubs killed them, I would be relieved of my task. I should have been hoping to find their dead corpses strewn around, instead of pleased to know they were still around.

I clicked my fingers for Sam to follow, and she abandoned the detached arm she had been sniffing thoughtfully. She bounded over to my side, fur bristling slightly. She didn't like being underground any more than I did. We headed off towards the tallest building in the center of the city, finding more and more pockets of bloody battlefields strewn frequently along the way. I searched furtively for Delta's bodies, but to no avail. It seemed that task was doomed to fall to me.

I don't have to hurt all of them, right? A part of my mind argued with me. Just…him, the murderer. Cole, Marcus…Baird….I won't hurt them, will I?

I didn't have an answer for myself. I found myself slowing down, hesitant to reach the center building, where I would find Delta. Traitorous thoughts skittered through my mind, holding me captive. I froze against the cool wall of a building For a moment, I didn't see the sprawling city before me. Instead, I saw Cole's wide grin as he called me 'Lil Sis'. I saw Baird's shocking blond hair, and the slight smirk he'd give me when I said a snarky comment he approved of.

But then, I saw the spray of blood and bones painting the walls, how he dropped the pistol that took my mother's life, Marcus' cold and unfeeling gaze as he called me 'Sylvia'. I tiredly ran a hand down my face, feeling the thick coating of dirt, blood, and tears on my face. I briefly closed my eyes, listening to the silence that screamed the truth. A life for a life…

I pushed away from the wall, taking off at a light jog for the Queen' palace.

Of course, I seethed silently. A tiny, dark, tunnel. Just my luck.

I'd found my way into the Queen's palace by way of a small hole in the side of a crumbling wall. Small, dark places were definitely not my favorite place to spend my time, but it looked like I had no choice. Great…

Sam gave me a questioning look, cocking her head to one side and perking her ears. Your call, boss, she seemed to say, sitting on her haunches. I sucked in a breath and lay down on the dusty ground. I army-crawled forward, trying to scold myself into keeping my breathing deep and even.


"No, please!" she cried out, fighting against Bane. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

The monster before her bared his teeth and thrust her forward, deeper into the closet. She tried to escape again, so he slapped her – hard – with the back of his hands. She fell against the door jam, whimpering slightly. "Get in there!" he roared at her, kicking at her with his heavy boots until she retreated into the dark closet. He slammed the thick door shut, blocking any and all dim light.

"No!" she cried, feeling the tears drench the collar of her dirty shirt. She thumped her tiny fist against the door. This was another of Bane's sadistic tortures, one of her most hated. Anything was better than being locked in the stifling darkness and silence. Still, Bane knew how she hated the closet treatment, so it was a punishment he pulled regularly.

She sat on the dirty ground, having to remind herself to breathe. Her eyes sank shut - not that it made a difference against the thick black. The only sound within the small casket-like room was that of her own cries and whimpers. She placed her hands against two of the walls, just to make sure they weren't, in fact, closing in on her. Breath…she mentally whispered, fighting the fear and horror pressing heavily against her heart.


The tunnel scraped the top of my head, but as long as I kept my eyes forward and focused on the dim light emanating from the exit, I was fine. Sam crawled through behind me, and I listened to the familiar sound of her light panting, scolding myself for the sudden adrenaline rush.

I peeked out of the other side of the tunnel, seeing two heavily-armored legs cast their shadow across my face. Two guards, standing outside my tunnel. I grinned slowly; This…is gonna be fun…

Getting softly to my feet, I stayed pressed against the wall at their backs. They were watching the hallway, either not noticing or not caring about the entrance behind them. In truth, there weren't many who would have been able to fit through it. One of the few benefits of being small, I guess.

"Excuse me!" I sing-songed from behind them. They jumped, startled, scrambling for their weapons. They both turned in towards me, still caught off guard. I reached up, and, grabbing both from their necks, I slammed their heads forward.

Their heads slammed together with enough force to knock them both out.. They slumped simultaneously to the ground, out cold. I stood between them, shaking my head. "I'm impressed," I muttered sarcastically, running my eyes over their motionless forms. "I've never seen such small minds within such big heads." I stepped over them, waiting for Sam to crawl out of the tunnel behind me.

The ornate hallway, speckled with tall pillars that added dimension to the thick stone walls, spread out both to the left and right. I looked in both directions, seeing nothing that said 'Queen's Room this way'. I deliberated for a second before deciding that the right would lead further into the palace. I stepped over one of the unconscious grubs, making sure to kick him – hard – as I headed to the left.

I passed an open balcony that overlooked the rest of the city, and I paused to look at the ceiling. Just then, a large, cylindrical, metal grindlift barreled its' way through the earthen ceiling. It blazed towards the ground in a rush of flame and sparks; a shooting star of bright light and promised death. They landed on the southern side of the city. Seconds later, the echoing sound of gunfire could be heard.

Who is that? I wondered, pausing with idle curiosity. Maybe…Cole and Baird? There had to be hundreds of gears on the surface about to bombard the quiet city of Nexus; the chances that it was the two gears I was worried about were slim. But…still…I had hoped I would get to the other half of Delta before they did.

The entrance of another grindlift propelled me into action. I took off down the hallway, heading deeper into the Queen's palace.

"They do not understand," a voice suddenly echoed through the hallway, transmitted over some sort of hidden speaker system. I stumbled for a second and then tightened my grip upon my lancer. It was a feminine voice, but not one I had heard before. "They do not know why we wage this war. Why we cannot stop. Will not stop. Why we will fight and fight and fight."

I slowed to a stop, listening closely to the voice. Could that have been…the Queen? "Until we win…Or we die. And we are not dead yet."

Sam growled low in her throat, and I started walking again. "Despite their best efforts at survival, the Humans of Sera continue to march blindly to their imminent doom."

"Yep," I said to myself. "Definitely the Queen."

"We could have cooperated with the ground walkers for our mutual salvation, but they are humans, and they only understand dominance and ownership," she continued. I assumed the 'ground walkers' were us. Yeah, cooperating with Locust. Like that would ever happen…

I started walking again, trying my best to ignore the Queen's propaganda echoing through the hallways. She spouted off fancy ways of saying that they had to kill all humans, that destroying the 'ground walkers' was their only chance at survival. Guess what? Destroying the Locusts was our only chance at survival. I kept walking, until a certain line caught my attention.

"The Lambent are inferior. The plague must be stopped."

I puzzled over her statement. Who exactly were the 'Lambent'? It had to be another fancy term like 'ground walkers'. I figured it didn't matter and started forward again, doing my best to ignore the Queen's propaganda - but it wasn't easy. It felt like there were speakers literally around every corner. Her loud, arrogant voice echoed through the halls, bringing forth a message of hatred and killing for all of Nexus to hear. "Like the humans, the Lambent are weak. Crush them beneath your feet!"

"Yeah, yeah…" I muttered, fed up with listening to her. I turned down another endless hallway, feeling the frustration well up within my chest yet again. Nexus was huge. Even the Queen's palace was taking hours to search. I forced myself to jog to the end of the tunnel. Just before I turned around, about to head back to the staircase, the ominous sound of gunfire rang out from the left.

Curbing the persistent urge to go running head long into the battle, I ducked down and crept along the side of the balcony, peeking out from one of the numerous ornate windows. I could see the locust, mostly grubs, alternating between shooting and reloading. Sliding my sniper off my shoulders, I looked through the scope for the attacking gears. It perturbed me when I couldn't find them immediately. Instead, what I did see confused and shocked me.

There were no gears in the fight. Instead, it almost looked like the locusts were fighting each other.

"What the-" I bit out, my eyebrows knitting together. On one side of the 'battlefield', there were dozens of normal grubs, firing a cacophony of bullets, shells, and grenades. On the other end of the spectrum, the other 'locust' stumbled across the room. They used no weapons – unless you counted the way they blew up when fired upon – and had no discernible method of attack. The difference between the two species of locust was easy to decipher, as one type was glowing. Their skin pulsed faintly with the same acrid yellow color of imulsion. I watched – transfixed – as another glowing grub blew into large, charred pieces. Its' body immediately lost the faint radiance of yellow, decomposing into a detonated, organic grenade. The blaze of yellow didn't disappear, however.

The yellow light left the destroyed shell of a body, and crept upon the ground like a living thing. It gained speed rapidly, moving fluidly like water across the ground. One of the unaffected grubs leapt out of the way, but another wasn't so lucky. He gave a huge, rumbling yell as the lights wrapped themselves around his boots and crawled upward. He stomped furiously upon the ground, desperate to free himself. But, just like the shadows that occupied the corners of the battlefield, the lights were irrepressible in their pursuit. How did one get rid of something that was never truly there?

The grub gave one last, strangled sob before collapsing onto the ground. The blaze of brilliance sank its' way down into his flesh, contorting and transforming the grub's thick, grey flesh until it pulsed with yellow. His body morphed before my eyes, becoming longer and larger. It seemed to shift away from him in an explosion of growth until the transformed thing bore no resemblance to the grub that had been standing there seconds before. It lurched to its' feet and started stumbling to a new victim, the rifle laying forgotten on the ground.

Another grub – the one who had jumped out of the way – fired blindly at the new figure. I felt the rush of heat as it exploded, scattering bits of charred flesh around the battlefield arena. I quickly ducked back around the wall to avoid being hit with the contaminated effluent. Holy hell! I thought to myself, What was that?

The answer came to me quickly, even though I had not searched for it. It had to be the lambent – one of the 'enemies' the Queen had been harping about on the intercom. The ones she was still going on about, over the intercom. I couldn't focus long enough to make sense of the pragmatic speech going on, however.

"The locusts are fighting each other," I said numbly, not moving from my seat on the hard marble ground. "Of course. Why wouldn't they be?"

Actually, just the sight of the moving lights had triggered the gut-deep fight-or-flight reaction. If the blaze of yellow had been coming at me, I would have fired first too, no questions asked. I was still stunned at the very implications of what this could mean. If, in fact, the 'Lambent' were what had forced the locusts out of their tunnels, and beginning the decade-and-a-half war with us humans, what would this mean for us?

Taking a deep breath and getting to my feet, I figured I was getting ahead of myself. The locusts were a ruthless and bloodthirsty species. If the lambent wasn't the reason they crawled out of their tunnels, then they would have found another excuse. I only had to look through my memory to see the absolute slaughter those grubs released upon humans. Still – the lambent could turn out to be a much bigger threat.

I slunk up the steps again, walking away from the myriad of battlefield sounds emanating from the floor beneath me. I climbed another flight of stone stairs, listening to the Queen drone on. "The great flood shall vanquish all of our enemies. Let it flow," she called out to her troops. I'd like to drown you, if it would shut you up… I grumbled to myself, climbing up onto another landing. "We cannot allow the Lambent to pollute the surface!" she continued. "We must bury their infection here! The world is rightfully ours, and we will destroy you!"

I passed beneath another speaker, and had to resist the urge to cover my ears as there was a sudden, screeching rush of feedback, almost as if somebody had grabbed a microphone and was overriding the Queen's speech. "Delta Squad in your house, bitch!" an all-too familiar voice cursed out. I froze in place, staring breathlessly at the speaker. "You hear that shit?"

"I…" I gasped, caught off guard. The speaker…it was…

"Cole?"

"You grubby-ass bitches are goin' down! Like, way down! Dead down!" Cole continued his tirade over the intercom. "So down you ain't even gonna know which way is up! Your asses are gonna be cryin' to your skank-ass queen, 'Oh mommy, don't let the bad men hurt us'! Fuck you! We gonna whoop your momma's ass! Woo-!" Then there was a loud, groaning crash, like someone had ripped out the wiring to the entire system. What we – the listeners – were left with was sweet, blessed silence.

I froze in the hallway, still straining to hear, as if Cole would come back on, calling me 'Lil' Sis' or something. Well…I thought cynically to myself, I guess it's safe to say Cole and Baird are reunited with Delta…

The thought didn't bring the expected relief I hoped it would. Meeting up with Baird and Cole was something I had hoped to avoid. 'Inspiring speeches' aside, their presence made what I had to do ten times harder. Sam gave one, almost silent woof, signaling she had recognized Cole's voice also. I looked at her – tip of her tail wagging, mouth open and panting, eyes bright and looking at me for guidance – and wondered if I deserved her loyalty on this mission. She gave me this look, this "Well? Are we gonna go find 'Mr. free-food' or not?" and took a few prancing steps up the stairwell.

"Yeah…" I muttered to her, all enthusiasm vacant from my voice. "Yeah, let's go."

Just because I knew Baird and Cole were somewhere in the building, didn't mean I knew where that 'somewhere' was. I still had no choice but to go floor by floor, rising slowly through the Queen's palace. Even if there were directory signs saying, 'Hey idiot! Go this way!' there was no way I could have read them. I climbed one more flight of marble stairs, bypassing what looked to be like some sort of science-y lab. If Baird had been here, he could have made some sense of the flashing computer screens and whatnot, but they meant as little to me as the locust scribes on the walls.

This new floor exited upon yet another senseless balcony, looking onto a huge, open arena. After a courtesy gaze for dimly-glowing blue lights, I trooped onwards toward the next staircase.

That was when I heard Cole's voice again, only this time in person, and not over the intercom.

"Yo baby, I'm home!" he called out, sounding so close to me. I froze for a split second before turning and racing back to the balcony. "You hear that? Bring me back to the old days… number 83!" He said the last word in a thunderous, echoing shout that filled the hallway I was racing down. "The Cole Train!" he finished, his voice reverberating around the huge rooms like a sports announcer.

They're here, they're here, they're here, my mind panted to me in a relentless, panic-filled mantra. I leapt over a crashed statue, skidding to a stop by the balcony. I reached for my longshot, whipping it off of my shoulders and into an ideal firing position, using the railing as a rest. My heart beat frantically in my ears as I swept the room with my eyes.

There. I could just make out a heavily-armored boot moving as the wearer shifted his weight. I could hear the low droning of conversation, but nothing short of Cole's bellowing voice was going to reach me. I tried taking a few deep breaths, but nothing helped. I was suddenly a huge ball of nerves – adrenaline rushing through my body in almost toxic amounts. Everything seemed to be moving at hyper-speed, but still slow enough for me to process every tiny movement through my sniper. I watched – breathless – as someone in COG uniform stepped out from under the far balcony, into my sights.

It took me a fraction of a pounding heartbeat to recognize that mop of bright, blond hair. "Baird…" I breathed, somehow relieved and disappointed at the same time. He did a slow scan of the room, never raising his line of sight to the above balcony, where I was. I scanned him for any signs of harm, but found none – no knife wounds, no gunshot holes, no make-shift splints for broken bones. There was some blood splattered across his armor, but I'd be willing to bet it was from an unlucky grub, and not from him.

He turned, as if someone had called his name, before following what I could assume was the rest of Delta back under the balcony, and out of my sight. Momentarily saddened by his leaving, I forced myself back into action, slinging my sniper back across my shoulders by its' strap. Finally, finally, I knew where I was going. I raced back through the balcony, hanging a left instead of a right, going through the science labs. Some annoying screen beeped at me while I passed, and I gave it an irritated glace.

It was what I saw that made me do a double-take.

It was Jacinto. The crumbling city was easily recognizable from the tall, impressive turrets of the Allfathers Library and the Octus tower. It also included the supposedly solid bedrock core that Jacinto sat upon, although now there were large gashes and tunnels cutting through Jacinto's impenetrable core. The screen flashed through a simulation, filling the dark areas of empty space in the bedrocks with a deep blue color. The walls of the tunnels gave way, crashing in on one another. I watched, horror filled, as the COG's pride – the solid fuck-ton of granite rock below the last bastion of humanity – gave way to this blue fluid simulator. Simulated chunks of the city gave way, crashing through to the underground. It took a matter of minutes for the simulation to run its' course, culminating with all of Jacinto underground, and covered with the thick, destructive blue fluid.

Water…I realized, stricken with fear. It's water. They're planning on sinking Jacinto…

Suddenly, one of the pompous lines the Queen had fed her troops over the deactivated intercom flashed through my mind: "Jacinto shall sink, and all of our enemies will be vanquished". I hadn't realized they literally meant sink.

"Oh…God…" I whispered as the screen froze and reset. My feet took a stumbling step backwards, as if separating myself from the truth would make it false. Images of my life spent in Jacinto flashed through my mind – Ace, the military base, and all the dirty and broken streets that had their own certain charm. Plus the thousands, no – millions - of innocent civilians that still called the city home. All of them, washed away in one great, orchestrated attack of the locust.

I was sprinting for the exit before I had even consciously told my legs what to do. Sam stayed flush with my heels, not understanding the sudden urgency to get away, far away. Screw Delta – they could focus on taking out the Queen. I had to get to Jacinto and warn…who, exactly? Who would listen to me? A small, Stranded girl with a lancer and a prophecy of doom wouldn't warrant shit with the higher ups of COG authority.

Someone will listen, I told myself forcibly, unwilling to believe the opposite. Someone important. Then they'll have to evacuate. I sprinted around another corner, feeling my pack thump frantically against my legs. The hallway turned out to be a dead end, culminating in a small, inside-out room. There were two passways, connected by another one that I occupied. Three false walls sprung up through the floor, seriating the room into the three parts. The false walls were made of wood and thick, painted windows that concealed the floor below. I turned to go around, before a voice - one that was quickly coming to be familiar – wafted up through the ground.

"You are the first humans to ever desecrate this palace with your presence." I could hear the words reverberate with authority around the floor beneath me. They're here… I wondered to myself, feeling my heart beat frantically in my chest. It figured that as soon as I stopped looking for them, I would find them. Thoughts of Jacinto flew through my mind as my mouth watered for justice.

I needed a way to see to the floor below me. I searched frantically for a doorway, a staircase, a something that would allow me to peer down to the floor beneath me. With my luck, they'd kill the queen and be gone before I could complete my task.

"It's her!" I heard Dom's voice whisper – I was that close. That close, and I might as well have been on the other side of the city; I was that far from reaching my goal. I spun around, frustrated, and found my deliverance in the form of a broken stained-glass window. I hastened to my perch, looking feverishly out upon the lower floor, upon the Queen's chambers.

My breathing came in hard, labored pants that echoed coldly around me, and I trailed my eyes across the four gears on the floor below me. A large, glass chandelier hung from the ceiling in front of me, casting light upon the floor below. Their backs faced me, as they were completely oblivious to my existence. It's him…. my mind whispered cautiously to me, as my eyes locked upon a familiar head of black hair – the same color of my own.

"Hello….father…." I whispered as I brought my sniper around from its' sling. I pressed the cold stock to my cheek, closing one eye and gazing hungrily from my scope. I pulled back the bolt, checking the worn brass bullet in the chamber, before letting it slide shut.

The crosshairs centered upon his back as my finger curled easily around the trigger.

NO! A part of my mind protested adamantly. I flinched away from the trigger, my finger automatically going to the safety and clicking it back on. I blinked, stunned, and shifted away from the scope.

In my moment of hesitation, the Queen continued her self-righteous rant. The queen was wearing a thick, heavy gown of what looked like twisted and tangled tentacles. They caressed her slim body; a large, life-like hump of Locust design enveloping her back. But the most astonishing thing was that she was human. "And I assure you," she said, "You will almost certainly be the last."

"THAT'S the Locust queen?" Baird said, stunned. "But…she's hot! I mean, seriously hot!" My eyes flickered instinctively to him – easy to identify with his beacon of blond hair. Hot? I thought, annoyed.

Cole's booming voice echoed through the room, louder than them all. "I thought she was supposed to be butt ugly!"

The light banter in the face of adversity forced me to rethink things. I couldn't evade thoughts of Cole and Baird any longer. If I shot Dom, they would turn and fire back. Could I force myself to shoot at them? The same ones I had quickly been growing accustomed to? The ones I was learning to think of as friends?

"You're planning on flooding the hollow," Marcus said in his low, gravelly voice. The deep timber of his speech reverberated through me, making me shiver. Marcus….he'd never forgive me either. "Then I guess we would be the last," he finished.

I dragged my eyes away from Marcus' tall frame, and forced myself to look upon the man I was attempting to kill. His tall, broad frame flickered through my memory, wrenching back forgotten fables of a childhood in another world – in another reality. I felt the ghost of his arms around me as he used to swing me high in the air, the both of us laughing happily. How his strong hugs could reassure, heal, and protect from scrapes and bruises. I remembered how his chest would vibrate with laughter as I sat upon his lap, playing all sorts of games.

For the first time in almost fifteen years, I remembered everything.


"You know Mom will never let you keep it, right?" Bennie asked her, as brother and sister tromped through the woods behind their house.

Sylvie glanced down at the brown-and-tan puppy tagging along with the pair. She had found the small dog as they were playing, and she was adamant that the time had come for their family to have a dog. "Sure she will," Sylvia answered, laughing as the dog tried to chew on her shoelaces. "No one can resist Molly once they meet her."

Bennie shook his head, exasperated. He decided not to press it; he knew how stubborn his little sister could be. They came round the side of the house, passing through the narrow alleyway between their house and their neighbor's.

Sylvia, who was busy playing with 'Molly', didn't notice the rusty, black car sitting in their driveway until Bennie let out an excited yell. "Dad!" he called, taking off in a sprint before Sylvia could snap her head up to look. She saw her tall, strong father standing upon the front stoop, holding her mother in his arms.

"Daddy!" she also squealed excitedly, following in her brother's footsteps. Dominic grinned widely at his two young children, bending down to receive both of them in a tight hug. Molly came along for the ride, barking and yapping at their feet.

"Hey, sweetheart!" Dom said to his daughter, picking her up in his arms. He tilted his jaw to receive her kiss to his cheek, before kissing her back upon her forehead. Bennie, who considered himself too old to share in the spectacle of love, stood awkwardly off to the side. Dom noticed this, and settled for ruffling his son's hair fondly. They're growing up… Dom reminded himself for the millionth time. Coming home was always a bittersweet event, as it always reminded him of what he missed while he was away.

"You're home early," Maria noted, smiling slightly at her family.

Dom smiled back, feeling Sylvia wrap a small arm around his neck. "They're just running training missions now that the war's over, so they gave almost everyone the weekend off. I've got a fifty-hour pass."

The pendulum wars had only just ended three weeks ago; news which had come with a slight sense of astonishment. The world had been at war for eighty-plus years, so the concept of peace was a new one to all of Pelruan.

The smile fell from Maria's face as she observed the small dog at her feet, tugging on her shoestrings. "Uh…Sylvia?" she questioned, her voice low and evenly-measured. It was a tone Sylvia had come to know as trouble. "What is this?"

"That's Molly!" Sylvia chirped, grinning widely. She turned her pleading face to Dom. "Can we keep her? Please, Daddy? Please!"

Dom felt his heart instantly melt; he never could refuse his children anything. "She is only a small dog," he hedged, looking down at 'Molly'. The COG didn't exactly train its' soldiers to be resistant to adorable little girls with big brown eyes, although sometimes Dom wished they would. "I don't see why not."

"Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sylvia squealed, hugging her father's neck tightly. Dom hugged her back, missing the frown spreading across Maria's face.

She crossed her arms across her chest before motioning back towards the house. "No need to stay out on the porch. Let's go inside."

They trooped through the front door, Molly prancing into the foyer like she already owned the place. Dom set Sylvia on her feet, and she and Bennie ran into the kitchen to play with Molly. Dom started to follow them, but Maria latched onto his sleeve. Dom turned to face her, his smile fading as he spied her expression. "Uh-oh," he said, only slightly teasing. "What did I do wrong?"

Maria let go of his sleeve and shook her head. "Dom, I'm raising two children almost by myself, keeping this house running, plus all of the chores and shopping…"

"I think I know where you're going with this," Dom interrupted, pulling her into a warm embrace. "You don't want to keep the dog."

Her shoulders slumped, signifying surrender. "It's just…I spend all day running after Bennie and Sylvie. Running after a dog doesn't sound any more appealing."

"You're right," Dom said. "It was careless. I should have talked to you before saying yes." He pressed a light kiss against her lips before continuing. "I'm sure that they'll understand when you tell them."

"When I tell them!" she sputtered in indignation. "Nuh-uh! I'm not being the bad guy on this one. This is your mess to clean up, mister."

He chuckled, receiving a glimpse into the 'mom' persona Maria had taken over. "Of course," he said, though his voice carried a twinge of regret. The squeals of laughter and barking echoed around the house. He was not looking forward to disappointing his kids.

He meandered into the kitchen, being sure to take his time doing so. "Hey guys," he started out, voice heavy with displeasure. "I've got some bad news."

Sylvia peered up at him from the kitchen floor, Molly bouncing excitedly in her lap. She caught on quickly to the distress in her father's voice, and how his eyes scoped over Molly unhappily. A sudden knot of dread formed in her chest, and she squeezed the small dog tighter to her chest, as if that would protect them both from the imminent bad news.

"You see," Dom started off, squatting down to look his children in the eyes. Suddenly, his eyes sparked with mischief – the same way Sylvia's and Bennie's sometimes did when they had something planned. "Your mother-"

He was interrupted by a sudden, sharp smack! across the back of his head. He ducked once, before turning his devious smile upwards, meeting Maria's disapproving gaze. "You see," Maria said, casting a caustic glare at Dom's smirking face. "If we keep Molly….she's going to need a bath!"

"A bath!" Bennie and Sylvia agreed enthusiastically. They hopped up from their perch on the kitchen floor and sprinted towards the back bathroom, with Molly yapping excitedly at their heels. Dom gave her a stunned look, eyebrows raised as he got to his feet.

"What?" Maria said indignantly, walking around him to follow her children to the bathtub. "I wasn't about to let you turn me into the bad guy. Besides," she continued, pausing at the bathroom door and gifting him with a coy smile. "The pound is already closed for the day. One night won't hurt."

Dom shook his head, amused, before following his family into the back bathroom. When will I ever stop being surprised by her? he wondered tenderly.

Bennie and Sylvia knelt beside the sparkling white tub, Bennie reaching around his younger sister to turn on the faucet. Molly hung back by the cabinet, suddenly looking unsure about her decision to follow the pair of children home. Maria slumped against the doorjamb, observing the chaos before her with a resigned sigh. It's just a bathroom, she patiently reminded herself. It can be cleaned…

Dom danced around Maria, shifting his way into the small room that was quickly becoming claustrophobic. "Alright, recruits, listen up!" he called Bennie and Sylvia to attention in a booming cadence, layering his hands behind his back like some grizzled old sergeant.

"Sir, yes, sir!" his children answered immediately. This was a game they had played often and for hours at a time. They loved playing 'army' with their father, and the fact he was still wearing his COG uniform only added to the façade.

Dom paced the small amount of room afforded to him, staring down his children. He had to bite down a grin at their attempt at being at 'attention', while they giggled and fidgeted by the bathtub. "Your mission," he barked out, "should you choose to accept it – which you will, because you have no other choice – is to bathe this dog!" He pointed assuredly at Molly, who was sniffing interestedly at his boots. "This mission is a matter of national importance, and your mother's sanity."

Maria snickered behind him and he felt her reach into the cabinet and pull something out. "Your weapons," he said pompously, reaching behind him. Maria placed a towel and a bottle of baby shampoo into his outstretched palm. "These are very dangerous and highly explosive – use them with caution."

He placed the bottle of shampoo into his son's outstretched hands as if he was passing off a live hand grenade. Sylvia cradled the soft, blue towel in her arm like she was holding a rifle. They pounced on Molly, lifting her up and over the lip of the bathtub. They drenched her with warm water, and scrubbed gobs of shampoo into her sopping wet fur. Molly stood stock still as the sudsy water dripped around her paws and down the drain.

As the dirt washed away from her, Sylvia was surprised to find that the dog wasn't brown and tan, as she had originally thought, but more tan and white. "Time to rinse!" Bennie said cheerfully, leaving his post by the bathtub to lean around his sister.

Molly, spying her one chance at escaping her indignity, dove for the hole Bennie left in his wake, hefting her wet paws up and over the rim of the bathtub. "Molly!" Sylvia screeched, jumping for her and missing. Bennie reached for her also, but ended up tripping over his sister and the pair went down in a pile of limbs and hollers. Dom dove for Molly, but ended up banging heads with Maria, who had also bent for the sudsy ball of fur.

"Get her!" Sylvia screeched, untangling herself from her brother. She leapt to her feet and lunged out the door, tripping her parents with her small body.

Maria sprawled her body against the bathroom door, diving out of the way as Bennie went rushing past. "We're going mission critical!" he hollered, running out of the wrecked bathroom.

What followed was nothing less than utter pandemonium. Molly raced from room to room, trailing a horde of yelling mothers, hollering fathers, and giggling children. She left a trail of soapy water everywhere she went, which caused everyone to slip and skid across the linoleum floors. Molly dove under the kitchen table and flew through the labyrinth of chair and table legs. The group separated, Maria and Dom taking the left while Sylvia and Bennie took to the right.

Molly paused under the table, utterly freaked out by the turn of events. She paced nervously around chair legs while the strange beings yelled loudly at her. Panting heavily, she searched for an escape. It came to her in the form of an opening door, just across the room. She bolted out from under the table, heading out at full speed towards the front door.

A dark form continued opening the door, releasing its' hold upon the doorknob as the sudsy pup ran through the door. "No!" Sylvia cried, reaching desperately from across the room, as if her foot long arms could miraculously stretch far enough to keep Molly from running out the door.

The stranger at the door quickly ducked down, snatching the dog before she could jump the doorjamb. He straightened up quickly, rising to his gigantic height. Molly accepted her fate, licking the face of her capturer. He gave her a disgruntled look, tilting his head, before she found the straps of his do-rag and began chewing on them.

"Uncle Marcus!" Bennie called, racing Sylvia to the door. Sylvia wrapped her tiny arms around his knees, grinning up at him. Bennie came to his side, admiring the COG armor – heavy with metal adornments.

"Uhh…" Marcus breathed, not exactly sure of his next move. He pulled away from the soapy dog chewing on his do-rag, who settled instead for lapping at his ear.

Maria had to stifle a laugh at Marcus' perplexed face. She'd hate for him to think she was laughing at him, instead of the idea of strong, impenetrable Marcus was suddenly covered with puppies and children. "Here," she said, tossing out a life preserver to him. She reached for Molly, holding the soapy dog at arm's length.

"Thanks," he said to her, retying his slobbery do-rag strings. He nodded once to Bennie and Sylvia, before gently tugging out of her grip.

Dom came up behind the trio, instantly picking up Sylvia and resting her against his hip. "Sup, Marcus?" he greeted his best friend. "You get the weekend off too?"

Marcus nodded once, adding a gravelly, "Yeah".

Dom didn't have to ask if he'd went and seen his father, Adam Fenix, yet. He knew what the answer would be. For the Fenixes, the least amount of interaction between the two was preferable. Dom didn't know how a family could function like that, with years passing before they spoke again, and, when they did, only mumbled pleasantries drifting between the two. Dom wondered, for the thousandth time, how something so important as family could come to mean almost nothing to someone; how parent and child could exist whilst ignoring one another.

Dom swore yet again that it would never happen to his family.

"Uncle Marcus!" Bennie called up to his gentle giant. "Come into the back yard! You gotta see the tree-house we've been building!"

Taking advantage of this reprieve from the awkward, the two adults followed the children back outside, leaving Maria with the dog. Marcus and Dom stayed close to the house, discussing the future of Pelruan while the youngsters argued and fought and played together in the back yard.

Finally, Sylvia coaxed her father and uncle into a game of hide-and-seek, with the stipulation that Dom be 'it' first. They flew through rounds of the game, trading off who hid and who sought. They were equally matched; the pair of gears having trouble finding hiding spots big enough to conceal their large frames, the children not adept at finding good spots to hide.

Finally, Sylvia found an excellent hiding spot, wedged between the wood pile and barn. She scrunched down, hiding from Dom, who was 'it' again. She stifled a giggle, wondering how long it would take him to find her.

They'll never find me! She thought victoriously. They'll have to call out the neighbors, and the police, and the entire army before they find me here! She almost crowed with self-satisfaction and pride, shifting her weight from one sneakered foot to the other.

She heard the muffled groans and cheers as first Bennie was found, and then Marcus. Sylvia smirked again, ignoring how the rough wood scratched her skin. She tried to pinpoint their locations in the yard by listening to the sound of footsteps on the lawn.

"Sylvie?" Dom's worried voice called out. Nuh-uh! Sylvia taunted to herself. You're not going to catch me that easily!

Time ticked on, the trio of boys still scouring the lawn. Finally Maria leaned out the kitchen window, calling them for supper. Sylvia heard Dom tell Bennie and Marcus to go on inside, that he'd continue looking. She frowned when the backdoor slammed shut.

Suddenly, this hiding place didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. She grew increasingly aware of how the wood of both the shed and the woodpile scratched at her skin on both sides. She had to use the restroom, and a drop of sweat dripped slowly between her shoulder blades. She listened as Dom looked around the yard again, before the back door slammed shut again.

He left…she thought uncertainly to herself. He actually doesn't want to find me…Her eyes flooded with tears, and she tried unsuccessfully to stop her lower lip from trembling. Suddenly, this game didn't seem so fun anymore. The sun was quickly setting behind the trees, taking with it the warmth of the day. She rose slowly to her feet, her legs protesting the movement after sitting still for so long. She wiped one dirty hand across her face, clearing her cheek of the first tears to fall.

"Sylvia," her father said in a deep, reassuring timber. She spun at the sound of his voice, seeing him standing tall on the other side of the woodshed. She stared at him for a second, clamping her teeth down onto her lower lip to keep it from trembling. For a split second, the bit of space between them seemed like an immeasurable gulf, one born out of her sadness and his fear. They stared at each other for the tiniest bit of time, before Dom took the first step, crossing the yard towards her. He pulled her into a hug without hesitation. In response, she immediately wrapped her small arms around his neck, burrowing her face – already rife with fresh tears – against his chest.

"Shh…" he quieted her, hugging her tighter. "Why didn't you come out when I called you?" he admonished her quietly. He felt her small, bony shoulders rise and fall in a shrug.

"I-I thought you stopped looking for me," she hiccupped. She was distraught in the reliant, contingent way little children had, looking for her parents to make the world perfect again. "I thought you didn't care."

He pulled her closer to him, stifling his laughter. "Baby girl, calm down." He smoothed her raven hair back from her damp face, cradling her head in his large, calloused hands. He gently tugged her face upwards until she made eyecontact with him. He rubbed his thumbs reassuringly across her cheeks, wiping away her tears. "I would never abandon you, okay? I will always protect you, and I will always bring you home, safe and sound."

Her glistening brown eyes – eyes the same color of his own – gazed back at him, before she finally cracked a small smile. "Okay," she agreed.

He picked her up, heading back towards the house. "I love you," he reminded her again.

She curled in against his chest, warm and comfortable in the protecting arms of her father. "I love you, too, daddy."


I gasped for breath, still reeling from the strength of the memory. It had flashed through my mind in a second, but it felt more like an eternity. The sniper slumped from my arms, held in place only by the strap around my arm. My vision grew hazy and blurred with tears that I struggled to blink away. Damn it… I thought to myself, letting my eyes sink shut. Suddenly, I was so sick of being here – in Nexus, hunting Delta, being in combat – that all I wanted was to return to my home in the Stranded camp, forgetting any of this ever happened. For a second, the desire was so strong that I almost turned away from the window and left Nexus, never to return to this wretched place. Instead, the Queen spoke again, anchoring me in place.

"There are still ways for us to sink Jacinto. You will perish, along with the Lambent." So I was right. The locusts were focused on destroying Jacinto. They were going to flood the hollow, washing away the bedrock of support for Jacinto's very exsistence. I swallowed thickly against the horror, the thought of a new threat focusing my mind.

I almost jumped when Marcus' deep, gravelly voice came up from below. "Not if we sink it first," he threatened, and I watched as he took a menacing step towards the Queen. Marcus also looked unharmed, and a confusing tidal wave of relief and frustration ran through me.

Come on! An evil voice whispered through my mind. This is your chance! Pull the damn trigger and run! For a moment in time, the voice seemed to be preaching the reasonable truth. After all, it continued, 'Life for a Life'. That's the motto, isn't it?

"A life for a life," I whispered in agreement, gripping the sniper again. I swept the crosshairs across the room, resting on a familiar figure with raven hair. I froze as I was reaching for the trigger. Suddenly, all I wanted was to quit; just lay down my rifle, return home, and forget this entire day. All the twists and roundabouts through the last hell-packed day had left my nerves exposed and shell-shocked. Exhausted, I stared lazily at Dom through the scope, my finger barely resting on the trigger guard. "Turn around," I begged quietly, desperate for just a glimpse of the man I now knew as my father. "Please….just turn around."

"It no longer matters," the Queen said, echoing my thoughts. "Skorge – destroy them."

The Queen suddenly turned and ran from the room. Marcus whipped around to shoot at her, but was suddenly interrupted by an almost forgotten figure in the room – one I had not noticed before. He jumped from the back wall where his ornamental robes had blended in with the rough edges of the stone. He leapt into the middle of my four gears, growling menacingly at them.

"Baird, Cole!" Marcus barked out, backing away from the figure who I assumed was 'Skorge'. "After the Queen!"

All signs of apathy gone, I watched – thunderstruck - as Baird and Cole took after the Queen. Marcus fired a burst of rounds at Skorge to get his attention off of the fleeing figures. Skorge roared again in frustration, swinging a long, ornamental weapon that was little more than a bloodthirsty chainsaw at the tip of a long, metal handle.

Finally, Dom turned, just in time to see Skorge advancing upon him. In the split second afforded to me, I saw the shock and dread cross over his expression before it shifted to a grim acceptance of his fate. Beneath that, however, was the fatigue and crushed soul of a man who had lost everything. His brown eyes – eyes exactly like my own, I realized suddenly – were flat black. He looked haggard and drawn, as if all hope and reasoning and faith had suddenly been sapped from his life. I didn't have to think at all to figure out why he felt like that. Maria…I realized suddenly.

Perhaps Maria had been my mother, but she had been Dom's wife. I could barely remember her, all the things that made her special. He probably couldn't get the memories out of his head. And if the only thing I could think of was him raising the gun to her forehead, I couldn't imagine how many times worse it would be for Dom.

I wasn't mad anymore. I couldn't be. There was no more room inside me for anything other than the crushing agony I felt.

I realized all of this is a sudden burst of clarity, but that was all I had time for. Skorge was still advancing upon Dom, swinging his weapon around for the finishing blow that would end his life. Marcus was yelling something, but there was no time for Dom to maneuver or escape. He was going to die here, even if it wasn't from my own hand.

A sudden, piercing shot rang out, breaking the chain on the huge, glass chandelier keeping watch over the room. If it wasn't for the sudden pressure on my shoulder, and the hot ejected brass sent sprawling from my rifle, I'd never know it was me who shot. Everyone – including Skorge and myself – brought our eyes up to the ceiling. Because of the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the thing almost seemed to fall in slow motion. It swayed once with the breaking chain, before plummeting towards the ground at a breakneck speed. Dom had just enough time to jump clear, but Skorge did not.

I almost dropped the rifle in shock of what I'd done. Instead of taking his life, I ended up saving him. He rolled to his feet, bruised but alive. Skorge was still alive as well, howling wordlessly under the twisted remnants of glass and metal. Instinctively, my eyes flickered to the only other person left in the room – Marcus.

His glacier-blue eyes trailed the hidden balcony, looking for who had shot. He froze when our eyes met, and I wondered what he saw - a lonely, small girl who turned out to be the daughter of his best friend, or the dark, temperamental woman who had tried to kill them. I didn't look away, even as my vision blurred once again and a thick pain in my throat made it hard to swallow. He looked almost…sympathetic, for lack of a better word. Remorseful. Apologetic. I knew he knew what I'd had planned, and he knew that I was the one who saved him and his brother – my father.

Marcus gave me a single nod; acknowledging me, apologizing to me. That one action said it all – I knew, and I'm sorry. Our silent conversation gave Skorge the split-second he needed to get back to his feet. He brushed off the remnants of broken glass and metal, roaring before swinging his weapon at them threateningly.

"Marcus!" Dom bellowed, his voice echoing along with the burst of fire from his lancer. Marcus broke eye-contact, jumping in to provide backup. I pulled away from the window, unable to watch another minute. I shoved the longshot back across my shoulders, fighting the tears back. So, I failed in this, too… a voice whispered sardonically to me, but for some reason I didn't feel like I had failed. Still, the pressure in my chest grew to an almost unbearable point. I tried to lesson it the only way I knew how – I ran.

I needed to find an exit before I exploded. My breath came in a mixture of pants and sobs, and I felt betrayal bear down on my heart. I was lost, not just in Nexus, but in myself. I finally knew the truth, but now I had no idea who I was.

Nexus wasn't the place to try and find out.

I raced back through the science labs, Sam keeping pace with my heels. The same screen flashed through its simulation, bringing its foreboding warning of Jacinto's end. It was just one more reminder of how bad this day was – and getting worse by the second. Some instinct made me take the stairs up to the top of the palace - up, and hopefully through some sort of opening to the real world, because none of this could be real.

The last flight of stairs left me in a dark, open floor. I searched in vain for an exit, finding none. "Damn it!" I swore loudly, my voice piercing the suffocating silence. A sudden burst of noise from the other end of the hall bought my attention. I waited for grubs, or gears, or those weird glowing forms to come stampeding out, but none did. At this point, I wasn't sure if that was a relief or not. I swung my lancer around to face front before taking off at a beeline for the other side of the hall.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it damn sure wasn't what I got. It almost looked like a barn, except instead of livestock, there were reavers.

Dozens of the damn things, proportionally stalled and parked in little rooms like horses. My gut instinct was to raise my rifle, but none of them even looked like they were thinking about attacking. The nearest one watched me curiously with its dozen eyes, but didn't make a move. A few snuffled what looked like food or water buckets, some slept upon theie eight legs – legs that looked like tails as they flew through the air.

Flying… I realized suddenly, taking another look at the almost docile reavers. They looked so fearsome and aggressive while in battle, it was almost otherworldly to see them behaving otherwise. "Sam," I addressed her, speaking softly as to not frighten her nor the reaver next to us. "I believe we just found our way out."

Taking a handful of what looked like food from a nearby bucket, I held it out as a peace-offering to the curious reaver in front of us. It snorted at me, but that was it. "Hey," I whispered reassuringly to it, keeping my steps slow and measured. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want a ride, okay?" One of its' eight legs backed up slightly, but then it stayed still. I realized the food was a stupid idea when I couldn't find a discernible mouth. I lightly tossed the handful of green, mossy food on to the ground in front of it. The reaver eyed it warily, before hesitantly lowering itself to the ground. A orifice under its' chin opened up, devouring the meager snack.

"There," I whispered reassuringly to it. "See? We can get along." I crept my way closer to the reaver, muttering inconsequential nothings to it, trying to keep it calm. It laid on the ground as I got closer, allowing for easy climbing. Sam was much harder to convince. She was growling low in her throat, not coming within a dozen feet of the reaver. "Sam," I sing-songed to her, trying to get her attention focused on me, and not the reaver I was climbing atop of. "It's okay, Sam. See? I'm perfectly safe."

Sam didn't look convinced as she ducked her head and took a few hesitant paces closer. I gently reached out and took a coil of rope that was hanging off the side of the reaver, attached to one of the numerous armor plates. The large reaver snorted again, but didn't move away as Sam slowly crept to my side. Opening my mouth, I started singing a barely-remembered ballad that Ace had taught me years ago, the poignant notes echoing slightly off the stall doors. The reaver rested heavily on the ground, settling onto the door floors and giving me easier access to its' back.

I reached into my pack and pulled out the last piece of jerky from so long ago. I held it out invitingly to Sam, trying to lure her closer to me. She took a few more, hesitant steps until she was standing side-by-side with the reaver. I patted the hard leather seat, inviting Sam to hop on top. She gave me a frustrated look before leaping atop the saddle.

We both froze, waiting to see what the reaver would do. It sniffed the ground thoughtfully, but otherwise didn't react. "Alright," I hummed tunelessly, finally running out of lyrics. Gripping the saddle's horn, I pulled myself up. Sam sat in front of me, giving me a slightly reproachful look. "I know," I whispered to her, pulling the coil of rope apart, and creating a makeshift harness for her. I wrapped it under her shoulders, and tied it just tight enough so she wouldn't slide out. Now what? I thought to myself, looking for a place to secure her.

At the rear of the armor plating, there was a deep, covered hole. I assumed it was used for transporting equipment, but it would work perfectly for transporting Sam. I gave her a light push into the cave-like opening, pulling on her harness to tie in securely against a metal ring at the very back. I had to crawl in after her, trying to remember that the dark, creepy hole was only a temporary problem. I felt blindly for the metal ring, concentrating on tying the rope into a secure knot so Sam wouldn't fall while we were – hopefully – flying through the air.

The reaver jolted underneath us, then shuddered violently as someone else climbed atop the reaver. Shit! I thought, clasping a hand over Sam's muzzle to keep her quiet. "Let's go!" an all too familiar – and all too frustrating – voice commanded. The reaver rose to its' feet, my heart pounding in my chest as the world jolted with the movement.

Giving Sam a squeeze to remind her to stay silent, I attempted to rotate in the small space afforded to me. My boots scraped the sides of the metal cage as I faced front. Right in front of me was the locust Queen, reigns in hand. The entire world rolled and pitched as the reaver took flight.

The familiar burst of lancer fire followed us as Cole yelled at the Queen. "Take that, bitch!" he called, and the burst of fire tinged off the side of the armor plating. Cole and Baird had no idea that I was aboard the reaver; they had just been following the Queen, trying to stop her escaping. They were still under Marcus' orders to stop the Queen.

Waiting for them to reload, I quickly stuck my sweaty head out of the carriage back. "Stop!" I mouthed to them, watching as their jaws dropped in shock. Baird – who had his rifle still raised to shoot at the queen – dropped his lancer to the side and stared at me incredulously. It was then I realized I had no idea what Marcus had told them to explain my absence, or if he had given them orders to shoot me on sight after guessing at my plan to kill Dom.

"Bri?" he called, looking completely lost. I sent him a look that clearly said, 'Yes, it's me, you idiot, now stop shooting!' With every second the reaver gained altitude and speed. I did not want to find out what would happen if someone – say, the driver or the reaver – suddenly took a bullet to the head. I had a feeling it wouldn't end well for me, or Sam.

I shot one last, panicked look Cole's way, before stuffing myself back into the storage space. The last thing I needed was to be discovered by the queen as a little hitch-hiker. Crap, crap, crap, crap…I thought to myself, trying to find a way to escape before the Queen noticed me. Of course, any chances of escape severely lessened as the Queen exited through a dark tunnel – no doubt built specifically for reavers coming and going. We exited the tunnel with a blast of fresh air and sunlight.

Sunlight? I thought, panicked. No longer in Nexus, we were now circling around Mount Kadar. I could even see the tiny circle that was the Stranded camp. The reaver banked in a circle while freezing wind batted my face. Fully expecting to die in the Locust city, being back outside was more than a bit disconcerting. Sam gave an uneasy whine low in her throat, so I tossed my arms around her in a bone-crushing hug. I wasn't sure who needed the support more.

Okay, I thought to myself as acres of trees flashed quickly below. When asking yourself if things could get worse, the answer is always yes.

Just as the thought went through my mind, we took an abrupt left turn. Slowing down drastically, the reaver suddenly dropped a few feet as yet another rider jumped aboard. As we took off again at full speed, I spied another tunnel like the one we had flown out of. I examined the ornate robes, mentally comparing them with every grub I'd ever seen. He looked familiar, I just couldn't place him…

Evidently, Sam recognized him immediately. She growled – a deep, warning pitch – and the new rider turned around abruptly. He spotted us straight away, without so much as a gasp of surprise. He hissed at me and swung around his extended chainsaw.

Skorge.

I exploded out of the storage space, bringing my lancer around with the chainsaw screaming. I rolled as he swung at me, grabbing hold of the saddle to keep me from flying off the reaver's wide back. The Queen was shouting something at Skorge – probably telling him to hurry up and kill me – but I ignored her as I leapt back up to my feet.

He snarled at me, taking a massive step in my direction and swinging again. I tried rolling again, but this time I wasn't so lucky. The vicious teeth of his chainsaw swung into my leg, carving out a small piece of my thigh. Blood quickly welled up from the wound, staining my cargos a thick black.

I cried out with pain, my left hand immediately going to my thigh in an attempt to dam the flow of blood. Skorge loomed ominously above me as the cold wind whipped my hair and face. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was laughing. I attempted to stand, but razor-sharp flashes of pain raced up my leg. In desperation, I looked to the only other human aboard the reaver – the Queen. She was watching me, her cold eyes analyzing my reactions to the pain. Her mouth opened to deliver the last words I would ever hear.

"Kill her."

Skorge took another step forward, lifting his weapon to deliver the final blow. My lancer had fallen away in the attack and was now resting precariously against an armor plate half a dozen feet away. In desperation, I reached for my sidearm, yanking it out of my holster and pointing it at him. Before I could squeeze a round off, he kicked my arm to the side, his wide boot stepping on my wrist. I was still struggling to get away as he brought down his arms to deliver the killing blow.

A sharp snarl bought his attention as one huge, angry, German shepherd lunged out of the storage space, teeth bared. Her jaws and teeth snapped wildly, causing Skorge to take a few steps back out of surprise. I rolled to the other side of the reaver's back, reaching for my lancer. "Sam!" I yelled. "Get back!" I slammed my pistol back inside its' holster as my hands found their places on the lancer.

Because of the thick rope harness, her movements were impeded, and she couldn't quite reach Skorge when he retreated to the other side of the reaver. However, she was in my arc of fire. I tried to get up to my knees, but a flame of pain ignited my thigh. I was still struggling to lift the heavy lancer when Skorge swung his chainsaw at Sam.

He missed her body, but the chainsaw cut easily through the rope harness holding her aboard the reaver. The Queen – who was still flying the reaver – yanked the reigns to the left. The reaver pitched to the right, throwing us all off balance – including Sam. Skorge and I compensated for the twisting world by grabbing a hold of something - a piece of saddle, a plate of armor - but Sam didn't have that luxury. Her paws scrambled for purchase on the slick armor plating, but found none. Claws spread wide and eyes panicked, she tumbled over the side of the reaver with one last, echoing howl.

"Sam!" I screamed, unable or unwilling to believe what my eyes were telling me. Adrenaline suddenly taking care of the pain in my thigh, I stared at the site she had gone overboard, willing her to crawl back aboard. I half-limped, half-crawled my way across the reaver's back, staring down as trees and the side of Mount Kadar flashed beneath us, with no sign of Sam.

Skorge, who had taken advantage of my diversion over Sam, swung his blade at me again. I skittered backwards just in time to see his blade swing past right where my neck had been. He didn't wait for me to regain focus before swinging again, and again, and again. I was suddenly on the defensive, just trying to avoid his deathly blows. He swung out again just as the Queen jerked the reigns to the right.

I dropped the Lancer as my hands struggled to find purchase against the smooth armor. I slid across the reaver's back, finally catching hold of one leg that blew gracefully in the wind. I bounced up and down as the leg-tail floundered with flight. Skorge's face twisted into a horrific grin as he brought his chainsaw down one last time, slicing the reaver's leg neatly in two.

The reaver bucked in pain and agitation, its legs kicking angrily in the wind. I reached out for another handhold, but its' legs escaped my reach. The reaver kept flying horizontally, as I was suddenly falling vertically towards the ground.

Free-falling through open air was a unique experience. It was terrifying, exhilarating, freeing, but you couldn't enjoy it because you knew that at any second you would hit the ground and die. I twisted in the air, reaching vainly for…what, I had no clue. My limbs flailed in panic as the cold wind battered my clothes and hair. The adrenaline was numbing the pain in my leg, so for a brief moment of time, it was like floating across a panic-filled dream.

Then I hit the first tree.

I crashed through the canopy branches with enough force to break ribs. Luckily, the thin, upper-crust branches were small enough to break upon impact. They slowed me down, without killing me straight away. Then came the bigger branches, the ones as thick as my arm. Those didn't break as easily. Instead, they felt like they were breaking me, breaking every bone in my body as I slammed into groups of them at a time.

Crack. My ribs suddenly felt like they were on fire. Bang! My elbow and forearm were now numb with pain. Slam! I didn't really need my left calf, did I?

Despite being thrown around like a human pin-ball, I was still scrambling to find a handhold, find anything that would slow my fall. My hands scraped across dozens of branches, receiving friction-burns from the prickly bark. I twisted again, so now I was falling face-up. My right fist came away with a handful of leaves as my head slammed against another – much thicker – branch.

The pain ballooned from the back of my skull, overshadowing everything else. My vision blurred around the edges as a ringing noise over took any other sound in the woods. One last, long drop and I fell to the frozen ground.

I didn't – couldn't – move, even if I wanted to. The forest floor cradled me in a cocoon of frozen grass and rotting leaves. Filtered rays of sunlight crept through the acre of broken branches and tree limbs above me. I knew it was freezing – the small patches of snow on the ground attested to that – but I didn't feel cold. I didn't feel anything, even though I knew my entire body had to be covered with scratches and bruises, and the wound on my thigh was still weeping blood.

Sam…a part of my brain whispered idly, and for a brief moment in time I wondered where she was, and if she was alive. Then my mind flipped to another thought, one of Skorge. Before our fight on the reaver, he had been fighting Dom and Marcus. I wondered how he managed to escape the two gears. The obvious answer – that Skorge had killed Dom and Marcus – didn't occur to me until far too late. The thought of their deaths filled me with some kind of emotion that remotely resembled sadness. So they died anyway…

My thoughts flew away from me as if my mind was a sieve, and I didn't fight it. Perhaps it was better this way – at least here, alone in the forest, I couldn't hurt anyone I loved. I was tired of fighting, tired of the endless pain, horror, and death. Here, at least, it was quiet. It was peaceful.

My muscles started shivering against the cold, but I still didn't attempt to move for shelter. Soft, frozen crystals of ice fell from the sky, resting gently against my skin. Snow…the word jumped through my mind and then faded away again, just as every other thought did. The beautiful image of frozen crystals decorating my body was the last thing I saw before everything faded to a deep, blissful black.


Author's Note – Erm…did somebody request a long chapter?

Okay, so I'm really sorry this took forever to get out, but this did take forever to write, and finals are never a good time of year for fan-fiction. Plus, the next chapter is going to be just as long as this – maybe even longer! After all, the absolute total destruction of a major city takes some word-count.

Huge thanks to rockforthecross74 for beta-reading this monster of a chapter!

I've also started a new Gears fanfic, entitled 'The Blood of Innocence'. The summary is: The heart of a killer is a hard one. After brutally murdering three of the COG's most prized doctors, Clarissa Rogers is thrown in The Slab to rot along with the effluent of humanity. Fighting to survive with the worst of the worst, she struggles to untangle the woven threads of her past, and the mystery of her imprisonment.

There's plenty of Marcus in the story, plus I'm addressing some very important aspects of the COG that Karen Travis and Epic Games keep pushing towards the backs. (I think I'd be a Stranded, if I ever lived on Sera….) And if any of you have read the new book, The Slab, you'll see some familiar names in there!

***Warning: Fan-Girl Moment Ahead*** Gears of War: Judgment! New Characters! More Baird! *Dies happily*

*Fan-Girl Moment Over* So don't forget to feed the muse on your way out! You wouldn't leave a restaurant without tipping your waitress – why would you leave a story without tipping the writer? Plus, I'll send you a preview of the next chapter! :D So tell me, if you lived on Sera, who would you align with – the COG, the Stranded, or the Locust?