Hibiki Tokai flopped onto his bed, his mind in turmoil.
The former engineer-turned-Bangata pilot had just returned from yet another mission. But whilst this mission began as one of reconnaissance - and therefore boring beyond belief - it ended in a way he didn't expect. An ending that, quite literally, turned his world upside down and brought an end to the life he had grown so accustomed to.
Hibiki lay on his bed in utter silence as his brain wandered.....
He should be happy right? He's slain more foes then any other professional Tarakan Bangata pilot will ever face! He's become, although more through accident, such a pilot who's faced the worst the Earth forces could through at him! And he has, at long last, broken free from the shell that was his miserable life as a lower-class engineer back on Taraak! This was the life he wanted to live! A life that came from his own decision! A chance to prove himself that he wasn't a loser at all!
But what happens when such a winning streak comes to an abrupt halt?
Okay, so maybe this new life had had it's fair share of drawbacks, but such obstacles were no reason to give up. He faced these problems in his own unique way with every intention of overcoming them. And those that he couldn't, he grew to tolerate - Indeed such a move gave him the tools and the strength to face even greater challenges.
In spite of it all, however, there was one problem he couldn't triumph over.
But should it bother him? At least now he wouldn't have to hear her voice, nor her persistent chasing and her consistently pathetic rambling. And he won't have to see her face, nor her happy smile and her wonderful cooking.....
Hibiki could feel his fingers grip the bed sheets in the grip of a fist. He could also his face flush with anger.
Mere minutes ago, Hibiki had returned from the reconnaissance mission, but not without his hands bloodied......
Oh, who is he trying to kid? She's still alive right? Maybe she's down at the medical bay, receiving treatment from the skilled hands of Duero. And knowing the doctor's talents, it won't be long before she's back on her feet......
There's only one problem.
The body was never recovered.
Immediately, Hibiki's self-constructed illusion of hope came crashing down to the floor and shattered into many pieces. Has she really gone for good?
He looked up towards the door. She can't be! She's not dead! In fact, any minute now, she'll come marching through the doorway, without a scratch, bearing a big smile and a plateful of delicious food.
The door didn't move in any way at all. It remained cold, silent and inanimate.
Hibiki blinked. What's happening to him? It wasn't like him to hide from the truth by erecting walls of self-delusion! Why would he go with such an act of ignorance?
Should he really care? He was born into a miserable existence on Taraak, but eventually went on to build himself a better life on the Nirvana. Thus he should be able overcome this obstacle to rebuild his life to back to where it was, right?
Dita was after all a constant annoyance to his everyday life! As far as Hibiki was concerned, she had no idea as to what was happening around her and she was so blind to the fact that he was continuously pushing her away.
Yet even if Dita was an annoyance, she was one that he'd eventually grown accustomed to and had previously grown worried when she wasn't around. She was the first pirate he had encountered ever since his little 'stunt' back on Taraaku and she was the one he saw the most of ever since. She was the one who had the greatest faith in him when one else had. She was the only one who appreciated his company when everyone else shunned him. And over time, she made herself out to be a small, vital pillar of support. Such a pillar was largely ignored, but all it wanted to do was to be Hibiki's friend when no one else dared.
But he was too blind to see......
Suddenly, with an angry roar, he drove his fist into the pillow. He was such an idiot! He had always wanted to become stronger in order to proclaim to the world that he wasn't anyone's fool.
Yet, in spite of it all, he couldn't save someone who only wanted to be his friend......
However, had Hibiki been paying more attention to the world outside his troubled mind, he would've heard the sounds of a fist thumping very loudly on the door. A fist that belonged to one Barnette Orangello.
"Come on outta there!" she shouted. "It's no use hiding!"
Standing nearby, was Barnette's constant companion, Jura Basil Elden who watched this scene with a disapproving eye.
"Barnette....." she said softly.
But unfortunately for Jura, the green-haired girl didn't seem to listen.
"You can't hide in there forever Hibiki!" she yelled "You......"
Suddenly, Barnette's sentence was cut off by a hand that shot out to grip her wrist. A hand that belonged to her blonde-haired companion.
"Jura....." The green haired said softly, her rage slowly subsiding at her friends touch.
"Leave him" Jura said solemnly. "He's just as upset as we are"
"....But....But....." Barnette protested. "If it wasn't for him, Dita would still be alive!"
"There's no one to blame." Jura replied sharply.
Barnette sighed a sigh that was mixed with defeat and heartache. Nevertheless, she nodded her head in agreement
However, unbeknownst to the two Dread pilots, they were being watched.
Standing a short distance away down the corridor, Meia Gisborn sighed heavily.
Indeed, the news of Dita's recent death has certainly sent shock-waves through the whole crew of the Nirvana. A sombre mood has rapidly gripped the pirates in a tight hold.
But out of all the crew, Jura Barnette, Meia and Hibiki were taking it the worst. Indeed, they were with Dita when she.....
Meia bowed her head and closed her eyes. It wasn't like her to loose someone on a mission. Normally, she would've just shrugged off such a passing with a indifferent eye. But losing a comrade like that.....
Ever since, she became a Dread leader, she had always had the self-belief that doing her job was the most important thing of all - above all else. And when she was charged with Dita, a trainee Dread pilot, Meia made it a special priority to keep her out of trouble. Sure, such an arrangement was chaotic to begin with, but it was only matter of time that Dita would eventually grow accustomed to the adrenalin, the rush and the mayhem that battlefields provide. But Dita somehow managed to survive. Call it luck, call it fate, call it what you will - Dita still survived any conflict that she was dragged into - to emerge with the experience brought on from the event itself. And over time, this experience resulted in a gradual improvement in her piloting and combat skills.
But no amount of experience could change the disaster that befell them all.....
She sighed a second time. Try as she might, she still can't forget the sound of Dita's death scream echoing through her eardrums....
Hibiki Tokai, the former engineer and now an accidental Bangata pilot and pirate, blinked at the computer screen. There, right there in front of him, was the reason why he was summoned to the bridge. And why he, along with Jura, Barnette, Dita and Meia all faced the prospects of a new mission.
Before him, was an image of a yellow planet, accompanied by a passage of informative data. But Hibiki didn't want to know what the data said - he already knew. Besides anyone can see that any planet coloured yellow is obviously a desert world.
"So what is this eh?"
"This" BC explained. "Was only discovered just recently."
"What is it?" Barnette demanded. "It looks freaky."
"That we don't know" replied the sub-commander. "The information we managed to retrieve showed us very little. What we do know however, is that this planet used to be inhabited by a civilisation that dates back further then the origins of both Taraku and Mejule. However reports show that the planet has long since been abandoned."
Meia raised an eyebrow "Abandoned?"
BC nodded grimly. "Precisely. There appears to be no type of life forms on the planet whatsoever"
"No life forms?" Dita echoed, blinking in astonishment.
"Ha!" Hibiki declared in a truly mocking tone. "If there is no one left, then why should we even bother? What are the chances of finding something, if anything, still on a desert world?! If there are no people left, then there's nothing on offer for us down there!"
"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you" snapped Meia. "Can't you listen to reason and follow the basic of orders just for once?!"
"Yeah. You would know all about that wouldn't you?" Hibiki argued.
"Go in there?!" Jura exclaimed, both eyes staring at the computer screen. "I hate desert worlds! The sand makes my skin all rough!"
"QUIET!" came a shout.
Suddenly, all the Dread pilots, and the one Bangata pilot, all ceased chatter. They all looked up, in attentive silence as they all came to the realisation that their leader, Magno Vivan had spoken.
The Boss glared down at the younger pirates, before clearing her throat.
"I want all of you to go to that planet" she declared firmly. "I want all of you to make at least some sort of investigation."
Then she added: "Is all of that too much to ask?"
Predicably, it took only Hibiki to provide a retort.
"You can't be serious!" he snapped. "Exactly what will that achieve?"
"You certainly have no patience don't you?" Meia sighed.
Before Hibiki could issue another barrage of angered insults at the blue-haired pirate, The Boss spoke up again.
"Don't you get it?" she said sternly. "This is a world from the past. If this planet's civilisation dates back before the days of colonisation, then this is an artifice from our history. Both man and woman. Therefore, I want an exploratory team to go in there and find anything we can use - or at least find out what happened to the people who once occupied it."
"Yes Ma'am!" Jura, Barnette, Meia and Dita all said in unison. Hibiki however didn't say anything. Instead he adapted an expression that was, at once, of defiance and boredom.
That is until Meia nudged him with her elbow.
Sighing Hibiki nodded his agreement.
Within moments, a quartet of sleek Dreads, and one human-shaped Bangata, all sped across the surface of the planet. But the surface itself was hardly anything special: it was nothing more then a horizon of endless sand that stretched as far as the eye could see.
"So far so good....." Jura casually muttered.
"Whaddaya mean by that?" Hibiki snapped over the com-link. "This is boring as hell! No bad guys have showed up! And there is nothing to see for sand! Some mission this is!"
"Then why did you come along then?!" retorted a very irate Barnette.
"Because I made him" interjected the calm, commanding voice of Meia.
"Still" she continued. "He does have a point - Nothing has showed up yet."
"No bad aliens?" Dita inquired. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Not quite" said the blue-haired girl. "It all means that this, so far, has been easy."
Suddenly, Jura made a shout of utter exclamation.
"What the hell is THAT?!"
And then it came, creeping over the horizon as the five pirates sped along their way. It came as a slow speck before gradually growing with size as the Dreads, and the Bangata drew nearer.
"I think this may be a lead for our investigation....." Meia said.
"Whatever....." Hibiki muttered
Gradually, the speck eventually grew into a colossal monstrosity that towered over the five pirates.
"Whatever it is" Barnette said. "It's big"
It didn't take long for this discovery to take on it's true form.
It was a pyramid. A mighty construction made from a bright sandstone that reached from the desert to the sky. All around the pyramids base, there were ruins - remains that had been abandoned long ago only to be scorched by the sun and worn away by sandstorms.
But no amount of centuries had ever harmed the pyramid. It still stood no matter how many natural obstacles that challenged it.
The four Dreads and the Bangata came to a screeching halt at the base of the stone monument. If there was any other evidence required to say that the planet was once inhabited, this was it. Five pairs of eyes gazed up at the pyramid in awed, amazed silence.
Even Hibiki was silent - But not for long.
"What the hell is this thing?"
Fortunately he did receive his answer. Unfortunately, it came from an excited, truly distinctive, voice that rang out through the comm-link.
"It's a pyramid!" Dita yelled, happily. "It was made by aliens who visited this planet long ago! The people of this planet use this pyramid to provide a method of communication!"
Unfortunately for Dita, her assessment was met with a chorus of groans of derision.
Shortly afterwards, the pirates brought their respective vehicles down onto the sand and set out on foot to investigate this new discovery.
Out of the five, the one who appeared to be enjoying this mission the most was Dita. Her eyes sparkled as she stepped out onto the sand and gazed up at the pyramid.
"Wow!" she said. "This is incredible!"
Immediately she whipped out her camera to take some shots of the stone edifice that towered above the five pirates. Then she turned to Hibiki.
"Isn't this so cool, Mr. Alien?!"
Hibiki groaned.
"I hope we're not down here for long" Jura grumbled. "I don't want the sand to ruin my soft skin!"
"Enough of that!" Meia said, bringing authority to her cohorts. "We've got a job to do, remember?"
But Dita wasn't listening to Meia - only to her fascination with all things with extra-terrestrial. With a squeal of excitement, the red-head girl sped off to encircle the pyramid, her camera clicking away like mad.
"Dita!" the blue-haired girl shouted.
"Forget her, Meia" Barnette said. "At least she's happy"
"Such enthusiasm" Jura added.
As Dita was too busy being rapt in the pyramid, the four remaining pirates split up to pick their way through the surrounding ruins, looking for something, anything, that would point to a clue on the people who had once inhabited this planet.
However, after a long while, no such thing eventuated. There was nothing these ruins could hide or reveal apart from silent walls made from the same sandstone that had been used to build the pyramid. Whatever secrets these ruins held, they certainly weren't going to part with them in a hurry.
Hibiki slumped down on his backside in defeat. This was a terrible mission. Here they were, searching for a hollow objective within an abandoned city whilst being besieged by the scorching sand and the relentless heat from the sun. There weren't any signs of life for miles and these ruins bore obvious signs of having not been touched for countless ages.
Just then, he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching him. The engineer looked up to see Meia standing before him, with an expression of utter fatigue.
"Find anything?" Hibiki inquired.
The blue-haired girl shook her head, wearily.
"If there any were any people here, they left a long time ago"
"I don't blame them" Hibiki grumbled. "I would leave too if I was stuck here in the middle of nowhere in this heat"
"Must you be so consistently sarcastic?" Meia inquired with a disapproving gaze.
"Hey, it's just my way of doing things" Hibiki replied, with a grin.
"But anyway" he went on as he got to his feet, "I don't know about you but I'm getting off this lousy rock"
Meia frowned.
"And just who's authority are you acting on?"
"Look around you Meia" Hibiki said, his facial expression showing signs of annoyance of Meia's consistently stubborn behaviour. "This place has been long abandoned! There is no sign of life for miles! There is nothing here!"
"We have been ordered to explore this planet" Meia said sternly. "We are here to find out what happened to the planet's former inhabitants. And that is exactly what we'll do."
"There is nothing here!" the engineer snapped again. "Nothing! You can't surely expect to make an exploratory mission from these ruins?!"
Meia sighed.
"All right" she declared firmly. "You've made your point. We'll leave"
Hibiki grinned, delighted that his words had brought the result he was looking for.
"I'll go and tell Jura and Barnette" Meia went on. "You go find Dita"
Immediately, Hibiki's grin evaporated, to make way for utter exasperation.
"What?!?" he yelled. "You want me to go after that Alien girl?!?"
Meia didn't reply. Instead, she folded her arms and locked the engineer within a definitive gaze.
Hibiki sighed in resignation. "All right! All right! I'm going!"
And with that, he started picking his way through the ruins, heading back towards the pyramid - the place where he had seen the red-head last.
Dammit, why must he always be laden with looking after that lunatic? Why must she constantly follow him around? Everywhere he went, it was indeed certain that Dita would be there. There has no hope for the boy to escape her bizarre fetish for all things UFO-related nor her pathetic badgering with requests to get to know him better.
And now, as more and more situations arise that require the two teenagers to work together, it seemed unlikely that he ever will.....
By now, the boy had reached the foot of the pyramid - The mighty edifice that towered above him, like a massive mountain of sandstone. Being a former engineer, Hibiki was fairly impressed with the amount of effort that had been invested in this monument. Taraak certainly had it's fair share of mighty structures that towered above the ground and reached for the sky, but even those seem feeble by comparison.
The boy blinked at the pyramid. For what reason was such a colossal structure built? Why was such an enormous mountain of sandstone ever conceived? Considering the amount of effort gone into building this, the pyramid must at least serve some crucial purpose.
Sadly, the only people who could answer that question were members of a generation who had long since moved away from this area. The workers who had built this pyramid had been lost in the mists of time and had taken their motivations and reasons with them - leaving no one around to answer the questions of a curious onlooker.
Hibiki shook his head. Perhaps he'll never know......
The engineer then started making his way around the base of the pyramid, in his task to find where Dita had disappeared to. But even then, his mind was wrapped up in a turmoil of doubt. He had been sent to locate 'Alien-girl' but this wasn't a move of his own choosing. To be honest, he felt annoyed that 'Alien-girl' had gone and gotten herself lost. Thus, he had no time for such irresponsible and reckless behaviour. Worse still, there was the chance that when he finds her, she is going to overjoyed that 'Mr. Alien' went to effort to find her. The results of this little episode will mean that Hibiki will never be left alone as Dita would have more reason to continue with more of her pathetic badgering.
Only now with more vigour.
Still, such a situation does have it's advantages - in the prospects that she may cook him another wonderful meal! Yeah, 'Alien-girl' may be annoying at times but she certainly had her moments of usefulness......
By now the engineer had reached a corner in the base of the pyramid. He then spun on his heel in order to continue his circling of the great edifice. However, this side was pretty much newly discovered as it was an area that the exploration party had yet to investigate. As Hibiki gazed lazily across the undiscovered country that was this new side, his mind was continuing it's pondering. Where the hell was that blasted 'Alien-girl'? There wasn't anywhere along this pyramid where anyone could......
Hang on
What the......
What the hell is that?
The engineer's eyes widened at his new discovery. There, in the centre of this baseline, a section of the slope had been cut away. Whilst the rest of slope reached down to the sands, this cutting brought an abrupt halt to this portion of the slope.
Intrigued, Hibiki hurried over to investigate.
As he drew nearer, the true nature of this discovery was gradually revealed. It was a pair of great stone pillars - both made from the same stone that had been used the pyramid. These pillars were supporting a stone platform which, in turn, was home to an ornate carving for a ferocious beast. A beast with a long snout, long pointed ears, a horrific snarl and aggressive eyes that glared back at Hibiki.
The engineer blinked back at the carving. Then his gaze moved down to what lay between the pillars themselves.
It was a huge black hole. A hole that marked the beginnings of a hallway. A hallway that led into the darkened depths of the pyramid itself.
Hibiki blinked at the gateway. This discovery was certainly unexpected but, at the same time, it seemed a likely place for someone to hide.
The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small light tube. He clicked the top part of the tube and, on command, the tube lit up with a pale blue light. And then, without a further ado, the engineer plunged into the dark hallway and into the pyramid itself.
The first thing that struck the boy how the air was so cold and dark. After making his way several layers of dust and numerous cobwebs, the boy carried on looking for Dita.
After a few yards, the boy grew annoyed. With the walls continually echoing of his footsteps, this place seems largely empty. Already there was the chance that his assumption was wrong.....
Hibiki's facial expression hardened. Since when has he ever been wrong?
Suddenly, Hibiki's thoughts were abruptly broken with something most unexpected.
Up ahead, the hallway was lit up with a peculiar bright turquoise glow.
The boy growled as his eyes were suddenly, but briefly, blinded from groping around the gloom. He raised his hand to provide a shield the glare. What the hell happened? Where did that glow come from? Could it......
Hibiki paused momentarily. Could this be a lead on 'Alien-girl's' disappearance?
With his hands still raised before him, the engineer hurried into the glow and, hopefully, towards it's source.
Eventually, Hibiki turned a corner......
.....and then, what he saw next had him gaping astonishment.
The corner had really been a doorway into a larger chamber. This new chamber wasn't in anyway anything to look at - it's walls were bare and there was nothing in the way of furniture. But what made this room significant was a great stone plinth located in the dead centre of the room. And atop the plinth as the source of the turquoise glow: It was a large crystal that played house to dancing shades of turquoise, pink and blue.
And with her hands lying on the crystal......
"DITA!" Hibiki yelled.
Urgency launched the engineer into action. He raced across the room and to the Dread pilot - She herself was petrified with astonishment at the crystal and the glow that emitted from it. Her expression was a mixture of fear and curiosity.
Immediately forgetting about the thoughts on her annoying behaviour, the boy grabbed the girl by her shoulders and shook her.
"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled.
"M-M-M-Mr. Alien" Dita stammered, suddenly noticing the boy. "How did you get here?"
"I came looking for ya!" Hibiki snapped, in exasperation. "Now lets get outta here!"
"B-B-But....."
"Forget it!" the boy shouted, taking a step back. "We don't have time for this!"
However, had both Dita and Hibiki noticed, the colours in crystal began growing more frequent and more frantic in movement. This behaviour began increasing over the time of few seconds.
Then it happened.
The crystal suddenly exploded.
Such was the force of the explosion that Hibiki was thrown off his feet and back through the doorway. He hit the wall with a great thud and sank down onto the floor with a groan.
Such was the impact that he didn't notice the glow die down into nothing.
Nor did he hear the ghastly wail that echoed throughout the pyramid.
"Hibiki!" came a shout.
The engineer looked up to see Meia hurrying over, carrying a glow tube.
"Are you all right?"
Hibiki grimaced in pain yet he still managed a grin.
"Heh, I've been through worse"
The Dread leader blinked before shaking her head.
"Somehow I doubt that"
She then knelt down to help the boy to his feet and to lend him a shoulder to lean on.
Just then Hibiki noticed Meia's face. It had grown pale in complexion - very unusual behaviour on her part.
The boy followed the Dread leader's gaze.....
And then he saw it. There, illuminated by Meia's glow-tube, was Dita. She lay on the floor as still as possible and with her eyes closed.
"DITA!" Meia screamed.
"Look!" Hibiki yelled urgently, his hand tugging the blue-haired girls arm.
It was there and then that Meia noticed the crystal. It still sat atop the (still standing) plinth - only now it had a massive crack across it's surface - The force of the explosion smashed a hole in the crystal leaving a thin, but mysterious, trail of smoke that drifted to the ceiling. Now, the colours that were imprisoned within the crystal had grown more frantic. They danced with frenzied vigour and bathed the entire chamber with an startling illumination of colour.
"What the hell....." Hibiki demanded.
"Hold on" Meia murmured, her attention now directed at the damaged crystal, "Look there!"
It was then that Hibiki noticed the smoke as well - it had began to grow. It began to rapidly increase in body and in force. Within seconds, the trail of smoke had grown into a small column.
As the two pirates watched in astonishment, their ears began to pick the sound of a distant whistling noise that slowly crept into the grim scene. A whistling noise that began to grow all the more shrill with each passing second.
"What the....?!" Meia shouted.
Suddenly, in a manner of seconds, the trail of smoke had increased with such size and strength. And it was this increase of the smoke that the whistling noise rallied around. And such was this amalgam that it now grown into a miniature hurricane!
The two pirates blinked at the oddity before them - before the full force of the hurricane's winds began crushing into them!
"What the hell is going here!?" Hibiki bellowed.
"Hibiki" Meia said firmly. "We're getting out of there. Now"
"No way!" the engineer replied, indicating to Dita's prostrate form. "I'm not leaving without her!"
"This is not the time to argue!" the Dread leader argued. "If we don't get outta here we'll be crushed!"
"You call yourself a leader?!" Hibiki snapped back, attacking Meia where it hurt.
"We don't have time for this!"
Regardless, the engineer continued: "A true leader wouldn't leave anyone behind, whether they be alive or dead!"
"Why would you care about what happens to Dita?!" came the retort. "Why should this make a difference?!"
Suddenly a loud roar echoed through the inside of the pyramid. Had the two pirates noticed, the hurricane had grown to such a size and force that it managed to fill a large portion of the chamber. Such was the force that both Meia and Hibiki found themselves forced up against the cold stone wall.
Curiously, Dita's body remained untouched......
Suddenly, as Meia and Hibiki argued on leaving, the hurricane made the decision for them. With a sudden burst of power, the hurricane brought the chamber wall down itself! Centuries of stone work exploded under such wind pressure - leaving the two pirates being blasted through the walls as it collapsed! Next thing they knew, they were being thrown back down the entrance hall at a mind-boggling rate! Such was the force of the hurricane's winds that both Meia and Hibiki were thrown from the pyramid's entrance and onto the soft sand surrounding the edifice.
Meia landed first onto her back. Hibiki followed......
When Hibiki came round, the first thing that struck was the splitting headache that reverberated through his cranium. What the hell just......
It was then that the second thing struck him. His chin was right on top of something soft. Something that took the shape of Meia's.......
And what happened next happened very quickly.
Hibiki suddenly found himself with his eyes locked with a pair of very angry looking aqua eyes. This was followed by a hand that pierced through the air and struck Hibiki on the left cheek. Hard.
Indeed such was the force of the slap that Hibiki went flying off Meia and onto the sand.
Looking annoyed and nursing a swollen face, Hibiki got to his feet.
"What the hell was that for?!" He snapped.
Curiously in spite of the situation, Meia's face went from angry to solemn.
"Don't start that now......" she said softly.
Hibiki blinked at this sudden change of mood. What the......
Then it hit him. Dita!
He quickly turned towards the pyramid.....
.....and what he saw made his jaw drop.
The entrance to the pyramid had collapsed in on itself.
Hibiki could feel his hands quivering.
"No...." he murmured.
"NO!"
Immediately, he charged to the rubble and began digging away with his bare hands. Desperation blinded him to the fact that the rubble consisted of some rather huge rocks but Hibiki didn't care. What mattered was the fact that a comrade was trapped inside. He wasn't prepared to leave anyone behind.
It didn't matter that the boulders confronting him couldn't possibly be moved his hands.
He just had no intention of leaving anyone behind.
Whether they be alive or dead.........
Eventually he stopped as the horror of the situation sank in. Then he fell on to his knees and bowed his head. Nothing could conceal him from the truth. Dita was gone forever....
Meia walked up to stand alongside him, her face showing that the agony of loss was too much to bear on her part.
She silently looked down at Hibiki. Even with his head bowed and his face out of sight, she could tell his expression was one of incredible pain.
Meia sighed softly and turned away.
Nothing can hide the harshness of reality - Dita was gone......
Next Chapter
