Disclaimer - I own Advance Wars! MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

(A couple of workers at Nintendo appear and beat up Ascension.)

Ascension: Let me rephrase that... I don't own anything in this fic except Red Sun, its CO and several random extras.

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CHAPTER 1: AFTERMATH

A tall figure stood on the edge of a cliff, staring at the faint line on the horizon where sky and sea meet. A light breeze blew his hair and cloak around, but still he stood, still as a statue.

Finally, he spoke. "The sky is eternal, it seems." He held his chin thoughtfully. "As is with the sea, and all things, I suppose. Virtue and sin are to up and down, and good and evil are to left and right. What is a direction? Nothing but a name. All directions would eventually lead to the same destination. There is no death after death, no life after life."

He paused. "Just like there is no peace after peace, and no violence after violence," he finished. His hands dropped, and clenched into fists. "I sense... peace, in this place. Too much. The balance is being disrupted. Soon, the world must run red with blood, or we shall all be doomed."

Seemingly satisfied, the man turned around and slowly walked away.

There had been no one else on the cliff: no one to hear him talk.

*****

Meanwhile, somewhere on the northern coast of Orange Star, another cloaked figure was hissing out orders to his underlings. This particular cloaked figure wore a mask and was currently in a very bad mood.

"Faster, fool," rasped Sturm. "We must be away from this blasted land before dawn. That traitor, Hawke, must not know that I survived his pathetic attempt on my life. Now move!"

The Black Hole soldier he was addressing said nothing and finished loading a crate onto a lander. "Good," said Sturm. "We will leave immediately."

He boarded his personal battleship, the flagship of the tiny fleet. "Just sail west," he ordered the helm officer. "I will give you further instructions later."

The helm officer saluted. "It shall be as you say, Lord Sturm!"

*****

Dawn broke over the sky of Red Sun. At some point in the past, the country had celebrated and mourned. The old premier of the nation had passed away, and a new one had stepped in. Premier Brin, though an efficient military CO, was not a very decisive person. He had a long way to go to prove that he was worthy of his shoes.

Brin's ascension brought up a rather serious subject. For many decades, Red Sun had operated under a heavy iron curtain. No living person in any other country knew its existence. This long-term isolation from the rest of the world led to xenophobia, up to the point which the Red Sun COs were bent on destroying all other nations. The old premier had been organizing the military for the invasion, but his untimely death had halted his grand plans. Brin had been urged time and time again to order the mobilization of the Red Sun army, but he still hadn't made a firm decision.

Two Red Sun COs were especially maddened about this turn of events, and it was just Fate that made them the highest-ranking officers of the Red Sun army. Kelalith and Yal'Dan were on the verge of pacing their offices in frustration. Both were so eager to bring war to the evil countries in the east, they could be considered fanatical. Their numerous complaints to Brin were not so much ignored as met with annoying indecisiveness.

*****

And in the east, the COs of Orange Star, Blue Moon, Yellow Comet and Green Earth threw a party in celebration of their apparent victory over alien invaders, blissfully oblivious to...

"A dark cloud approaches with frightening speed, in its wake shrouding all with the mask of death. A mask is... a mask. A disguise. It seems so, but it is not. A lie is great, but truth is greater. A lie is less, but truth is lesser."

The cloaked figure stared to the horizon, still as a statue.

*****

(Please review and give me some comments! If you think this is worth continuing, I will. If you don't, well...)