Thank you for the reviews! Sorry my upload schedule is super inconsistent. Between work and college things get pretty busy! But writing is pretty relaxing and I do enjoy it a lot.

Murakumo13: Thank you for your kind words! I'm sure you figured out already but I enjoy putting bits and pieces of other anime or movies into the story. Such as my bit with Caster, Saber and etc, they're all from Fate and I'll add more as the story progresses. Which I hope is at a reasonable pace. As for romance, I'm still on the fence about pairings. I know I can make Shin and Lena work pretty easy but I have been toying with the idea of putting Shin with someone else that I have in mind and changing things up a bit from the OG story. Again undecided as of now.

ErrorDataExpunged: More details on the Juggernaut will be unveiled soon, not this chapter but soon!

And thank you for all the views and follows and favorites! It's quite a motivating factor! Also in case anyone was wondering where the past chapter and this chapters events fall in regards to canon. Think of it between episode 2 and 3. Should give a better idea of where we are in the canonical timeline if it wasn't clear.

Anyways. Enjoy!


The afternoon sun was stifling as it hung high in the sky.

I felt absolutely exhausted as I sat numbly in front of the barracks, if you could even call it that. The grass felt nice underneath me as I contemplated taking a nap on the cool ground. I looked over at my torn up blood stained uniform that was on the ground in front of me. A good portion of the front was covered in blood, my blood, and there were cuts in the fabric all over. I was lucky that I just sustained minor injuries from that battle. Thankfully they had some old spares for me to wear and I fit right in with the 86s. My vision drifted over to three bodies draped over with a white cloth surrounded by their comrades.

Three of my Marines died.

The death of three people was on my hands.

In the grand scheme of things, we got off lucky. The legion had us dead to rights and we managed to win with only a handful of casualties and injuries. There was some damage to the chinooks but otherwise, we fought well especially with what we had to work with.

Yet it hurt my heart to see those three dead bodies draped with plain white sheets.

I held my hands close to my chest to hide the way they were shaking now that the adrenaline wore off. I ran the battle over and over again in my head to see what I could do better. And I needed to do better, that was the pressure I had put upon myself.

Closing my eyes I took a deep breath for what seemed like the thousandth time since that battle. I gingerly placed my surprisingly clean cover over my head and slowly stood up, wincing as I did so. I hid my hobble as best as I could, something in my left leg was probably sprained from my fall.

"Sebrina." I called out to the older woman as I approached the group of marines.

"Sir? You need to rest."

I waved her off. "I rested enough, time to get back to work."

"Which is?"

I gazed down at the dead marines. "...Figure out what to do with the bodies."

Sebrina sighed. "I'll take care of that, I'll give them the burial they deserve and let their families know."

Shaking my head I slowly knelt down and placed my hands on the chest of one of the deceased men. "I'll take care of it Sebrina, please let me handle this." I all but begged her.

"...Fine."

"Thank you." I softly murmured. I closed my eyes in a moment of silence. When I opened my eyes, I turned to the 86s and found them staring at us by their juggernauts.

How would these soldiers feel knowing they couldn't even give their dead a proper burial but mine would enjoy such a luxury?

They would hate me and my men no doubt, if they didn't already. And I couldn't blame them for it. They had every right to be angry and bitter.

I couldn't help but stumble as I got up. Thankfully, Sebrina was right there to catch me.

"Colonel, I got you." She grunted as she grabbed my arm and pulled it around her shoulder.

I was leaning heavily against her now but she didn't show any sort of discomfort as she held up my body. Something was definitely wrong with my leg, it was getting harder and harder to put my weight on it, especially my knee. "Thank you..would you mind helping me to the 86s? I need to talk to them."

She looked at me with narrowed eyes. "For what?"

"Just let me talk to them."

She sighed again. "Fine….come on."

I grunted as I limped along.

"Captain Nouzen, may I have a word?" I asked as we approached them.

He stared at me with his typical stoic expression. "Yes sir, what is it?"

"It's about my men, thank you for coming in to save my men. A lot more….no….all of them would've died without you all, so thank you." I gave him and the other 86s a somber smile.

"We didn't save all of them, Colonel" He commented as he looked at the three bodies.

I nodded. "Unfortunately that's the reality of war, you can never save everyone….." I took a deep breath. "Captain I have something to ask you...and you can give me your honest answer."

"Sir?"

"Will you allow me to give my men a proper burial with their families."

Silence fell over everyone as they registered what I had said.

"Johan!" Sebrina hissed out. "What the fu-!"

"Quiet, Captain Merigold."

"...Unbelievable." She growled out as she pushed me off of her and stormed away.

I winced as I was forced to put my weight on my bad leg but gritted my teeth through the sharp pain shooting up my leg. "It's a selfish request I know….with how none of you were allowed to give a proper send off to your own comrades. Which is why I want your blessing Captain Nouzen."

Shin stared at me for a long while, much like the others who gazed at me with wide eyes. I could see a myriad of emotions running through each of them.

Some were angry.

Some were confused.

Some were surprised.

Some were sad.

All of them were correct.

"Why me?" He finally asked.

I smirked slightly to lighten the mood. "You're one of the best damn soldiers I've seen. Who else but you?"

He took a long time to study me before sighing. "If I were the vindictive type, I would definitely say no but I am not. Your soldiers deserve it sir."

"Thank you Captain." I bowed my head in gratitude before giving him a wry smile. "Also for future reference, do take care to not call my men soldiers. They're still Marines at heart and they would prefer to be called as such."

"Does that mean they're staying here?"

I nodded. "I haven't made the arrangements yet but it'll be sooner than later. And while I am not present, you can refer to Captain Sebrina. She's an excellent commander, you'll find no other like her." I sighed as I glanced back at the woman in question. She looked furious as her grey eyes stared me down.. "She and a number of my men are like you, you know."

"Like us?"

I shifted my cover over my eyes. "They aren't of Alba descent, not all of them anyway." I saw Shin's eyes widen in surprise. "They can tell you more if you wish to know Captain. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some business to take care of." I gave the younger captain and limped my way back to Sebrina and the rest of my men.

Unlike their captain the rest of the men looked relaxed. Well as relaxed as they could be given the circumstances. Whatever they were feeling at the moment was hidden under a veil of professionalism.

"Sorry about that Sebrina, I'll take care of it from here. Go ahead and set up shop here."

She grumbled something under her breath before storming away.

I watched in silence as she walked into the building in a brisk manner. I sighed. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like some time with them, alone."

They all nodded in silence and gave me a salute. I returned a halfhearted one back before I turned to the three bodies. For a while I just stood there in silence.

This was what the 86s have been going through the last decade. No they had it even worse, unlike these three men, their comrades wouldn't be given the proper rest they deserved. I slowly felt a migraine coming from my temples and took another deep breath as I rubbed them slowly with my fingertips. I felt the Para-RAID on my neck shift slightly at the movement and was reminded of another loose end I had to tie up.

"Para-RAID activate, synchronization target, Major Milize." I felt a slight hum against my neck as the device connected the two of us. "Major Milize?"

"Ah Colonel Richter, is there something I can help you with?" She asked cautiously.

I nodded, not that she could see it. "Yes, it's about your report. Have you filed it yet?"

"No sir, I am in the process of writing it right now."

"Good." I took a moment to choose my words carefully. She would not like what I was about to say, not one bit. "Major...could you do me a favor please?"

"W-what is it?"

I closed my eyes. "Omit any details regarding me and my men from your report and the juggernauts."

"...what?" Her voice was just barely above a whisper. "B-But-!"

"I know...I know Major but please, if word gets out what happened here then it makes things complicated. Because as far as the military is concerned….I never gave anyone my Juggernauts and I certainly don't have my own private militia separate from the men I command in my unit. Everything from here on out, is just between me, Spearhead and you."

"What….but….you never told me this! You never told me anything about your men or your plan or…..anything." She sounded hurt, as if she was lied to and I could understand why. "What else are you not telling me?"

When I opened my eyes, 2nd Lieutenant Kirschblute was standing by me in silence. There was a soft expression on her face as she stared up at me. "A lot." I admitted quietly. "And I'll tell you in due time but trust me on this, for both you and I….keep this silent. We. Are. Not. Here. Unless you want me to get court martialed and executed along with my men."

"Execution? For what?!"

I couldn't help but smile at her innocence. Has she not caught on yet? She was far too innocent for her own good. My smile quickly disappeared and was replaced by a cynical expression on my face.

For being traitors. Is what I wanted to say but she couldn't know, not yet.

"For acting without orders, it may be hard to believe but even I have superiors of my own. What I did today goes against what our military has stood for the past nine years. Things will get ugly quick so please keep this quiet for now Lena."

There was a short pause before I heard her sigh in exasperation. "I still think this isn't right….but I'll do it if it's an order."

"I'm not ordering anything from you, I'm just asking you as a friend Lena."

"I-I...that's…" She trailed off into another round of silence. "I'll do it but I need a thorough explanation when you get back."

I laughed. "Yes, ma'am."

"Is that all?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes it is, thank you. If I am back early enough tomorrow then we can chat over tea."

"Good." And she terminated the connection. I stared down at the younger soldier with a neutral expression. "Yes?"

The woman next to me sighed. "Are you sure it was wise to lie to her sir?"

"No." I shook my head. "But I never lied to her 2nd Lieutenant, just an omission of the whole truth."

"Of the fact that we are technically traitors now?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not technically, we are traitors of the state." I corrected her.

She snorted. "You are awfully calm about this sir."

"Well I did plan for this after all. It's just the way the world goes Miss Kirschblute." I shifted my attention to my Juggernauts. "By the way, how did the Juggernaut hold up? Were there any problems?"

She shook her head. "No, it performed well. It feels very similar to my old one. Just a little heavier but I kind of like that. It feels safer in your cockpit."

Well that was good to hear at least. "Good, I will give you and anyone in Spearhead interested a more detailed rundown later but if you don't mind I need to figure out what to do with the bodies of my men." I lightly tapped the underside of my chin in thought and paid the 2nd lieutenant no mind as she walked away.

My men were not even a part of the Republic military, in fact not even Jayce knew just how many were under my command. He knew Sebrina and a small handful of Saber but that was it. He didn't even know that a good portion of my men weren't Alba.

And being that they were essentially his own militia there were no places inside the Gran Mur where I could bury the bodies without getting some unwanted attention. Three bullet ridden bodies were common in war, not inside the walls. But that didn't mean the families of those who died didn't deserve to see their loved ones one last time.

I bit my lips in frustration. The best I could manage would be some place in the woods where no one could find the graves but that didn't sit right with me. My men deserved better and they would get better. I just had to figure something out.

"Colonel."

Shin's quiet voice snapped me from my own thoughts. "Yes Captain?" He looked up at me with his deep red eyes.

"If you are having any issues of where to bury the Marines….you can do it here."

My eyes widened in surprise. "A-Are you sure about that? What about your own men? What will they think?"

He shrugged. "It won't matter what they think, what matters is doing the right thing isn't it?" He lightly massaged his shoulder as he looked over at the rest of Spearhead. They were all gathered around the new Juggernauts now. "We decided long ago that we would fight until the bitter end to honor the death of those that came before us and that we wouldn't sully their sacrifices with petty revenge or anything of the sort. So go ahead Colonel, we don't mind."

I found myself reevaluating the young Captain before me again. What a guy. Him and his soldiers were one of a kind. Through everything they were subjected to, they would still turn the other cheek and show mercy and benevolence to the very people that turned them away.

Adversity bred strong men and women, and these people were the strongest. I smiled in gratitude. "Thank you again Captain, you lot are far too kind."

He shrugged. "No need to thank me, Kirschblute came up with the idea." He gave me a nod and left, leaving me alone again.

"Did she now?" I murmured as I recalled her smiling face before she ran away. "I'll have to thank her later then." I quietly promised myself. And now came the hard part.

Telling their loved ones of the news.

I bit my lips at the thought. Honestly I would rather face the Legion again then face the widows of his dead Marines. A part of me wanted to let Sebrina handle the matter, like she originally intended to but I couldn't do that, not to my own Marines.

These people were the only ones in the nation that willingly threw away their old lives and identities to place their belief in me when I had nothing but my own words. Two years ago I had tracked them down one by one, either in the camps or living a normal life to give them an ultimatum, follow me and die for the new Republic I would found or die for the old rotten one.

They all chose to die for me. And funny enough all of them said pretty much the same thing, Semper Fi Until I Die.

The faithful few, even to a nation that had thrown them away like trash. Hell no one even remembered the Marines now. All but forgotten in the books of history.

So I couldn't in good conscience dishonor them. Not now, not ever.

I scanned the area and found my men talking to each other off to the side of the building. I slowly limped my own over to them. They all focused on me as I approached them. "Ladies and gents, gather around in a school circle." I calmly ordered the battered and bruised Marines. They all took a knee around me in a semicircle.

One of the tankers gave me an old chair to sit in before joining the rest. "Thank you."

"Yes sir."

I flipped the chair around so that the back of the chair was in front of me. I sighed as I finally took some pressure off my bad knee. I crossed my arms on top of the back of the chair and laid my chin on it. "Alright people, here's the deal." I took a deep breath. "We lost three good men today….thankfully we are going to give them a proper burial. Unfortunately due to time and the situation at hand, we have to make due with what we got. That being said, I need some bodies."

All hands shot up instantly.

I blinked. "Let me at least tell you all what I need first." I chuckled at their enthusiasm. Or maybe it was less enthusiasm and more of a dedication to their fellow Marine. Whichever it was, it filled me with pride in my men. "I need six bodies to fold the flags during the funeral."

Again all hands shot up so I just picked them at random. "You know I might as well not even bother asking you people since all of you want the same damn job." I lightly jabbed at them, earning a round of laughs before I turned to a more somber tone. "Does…..does anyone know taps?"

After a moment a single hand rose up.

I looked at the older Marine. "Can you perform taps sergeant?"

He looked unsure for a moment before straightening up. "Give me a trumpet or a bugle sir and a day and I'll have it down again."

"Excellent, consider it done." I nodded in satisfaction. "And next…..seven for the 21 gun salute." I picked out the few I needed before continuing. "The rest of you will be the body bearers….the last to let them down. Everyone understand? Any questions?"

"When are we doing this sir? And what about a chaplain?"

I thought for a moment. "...Two days from now and I'll figure out a way to get a chaplain." Everyone looked at each other. "We don't have much time to do this, let's make it quick and perfect. Dismissed." They all stood up and snapped a salute at me. I just waved them off. "Enjoy the rest of the day and get ready to settle in. This will be your new home for a while."

They all looked surprised at the tidbit of news. "I'll go into detail later but know that you will have your time with your families soon but this will be your station from here on out, all of you." I watched them all leave before turning my head towards the town.

From the distance I could see black smoke coming up from several places from where the battle took place.

And what a sobering experience that was.

The stinging sensation all over my torso was a harsh reminder of how close I was to dying. It was a miracle that most of the shrapnel were barely skin deep. Frankly, I should've died with how close those shells had landed or at least not be walking around.

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Looking over I saw a pair of beautiful green eyes staring at me. "Hey Sebrina, took your contacts out?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I figure I'm ok to relax a bit here but that's not why I'm here."

"Oh? And how can I be of service madam?" I smirked at the older woman.

She lightly hit my shoulder. "Quiet you." She sighed as her hand found itself back on my shoulder for a gentle squeeze. "It still pisses me off how you do things without telling anyone and sometimes I think you just make things up as you go but regardless...I shouldn't have reacted the way I did in front of Captain Nouzen. Sorry."

I reached over my shoulder and laid my hand on top of hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "No worries, I know I can be unreasonable at times...and thank you for putting up with my antics."

"Who else would?" She chuckled. "You also drive Major Stillen nuts too from what I hear."

I scoffed. "The brute deserves it most of the time, you'd know if you talked to him for a minute."

"Hmmm speaking of, does he know?"

I shrugged. "He does and he's in but I haven't told him the nitty gritty." I sighed as I recalled that conversation. "But he thinks I would be better to lead than him, fought me all the way to the end and refused to be the one to lead this country."

"Good because he's right." She said with absolute certainty.

"No I'm not, I just pull some strings like a puppeteer. My place is in Intelligence, no one needs to know me." Not even I was convinced by my own words. "The country needs someone who can inspire others and has a real name for everyone to rally around, not some scheming bastard with delusions of grandeur."

"...isn't a puppeteer a master of their puppets?"

I was confused where she was going with this. "Yes? What does that have to do with anything?"

"If you're a puppeteer then why not make this country your puppet? You have a vision, you have ambition and you have the will. Even if all of us die here, as long as you are alive then this country has a chance at digging out of its grave. There are millions of me, Undertaker, Major Milize….but there is only one of you. I hope you can realize that."

"I'm no one special."

"You know, It's fine to be humble but it's also fine to be greedy Johan." She lightly patted my shoulders before walking away. "You are the King, so start thinking like it."

I felt a shiver run down my spine at the comment. Of the ways she could've said that, why did she say it like I already acted like a king? We had a king, a king with most of his powers stripped away but still the king of this country. I acted nothing like that man. I shook my head to get rid of my rapidly spiraling thoughts. I was reading too much into it.

For a long moment I gazed up at the clear blue skies as I basked in the sun. After a while I sighed and moved out of my seat. I grunted as I felt a jolt of pain shoot up from my knee. I swallowed the pain and began walking towards the pilots of the chinooks.

The bullet ridden helicopters would draw unnecessary attention if we went directly back to the airbase. I would need to be dropped off at our base in the 85th district and take a car back to the capital.

In another stroke of good fortune, the crew of the transport booked it as soon as the cargo was unloaded and left before the Legion got into town. Those pilots were not under my command or payroll so I would've had to take some drastic measures to silence them if they knew what was really going on.

It wouldn't take a genius to put two and two together if given the right hints.

I got lucky again.

But would my luck hold out next time? Or the time after that? No, my luck would run out eventually. I needed to be more careful.

And it was time to get back to work.


Hours later

"What the fuck happened out there Johan? Why do you need one of my chaplains? And why are you in that old uniform?"

I sat across an uncharacteristically stern Jayce. "The Legion attacked us in force. The 86s wouldn't be enough so I had to commit my own men….I lost three good men this morning. And my other uniform was ruined during the fight."

Jayce's eyes widened before he sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "You actually fought the Legion?! And it looks like you got hurt too. Damn it, who else knows what happened? Is this something we have to keep silent?"

"Only Major Milize and yes. Otherwise...well we'd get fucked." I shrugged at my own statement.

There was a long stretch of silence between the two of us as we sipped at our tea. I didn't know what was going through Jayce's head, for once. The man was easy to read most of the time, this wasn't one of them. Sitting in front of me wasn't my best friend but the next heir to the Stillen family and I had to conduct in such a manner. After all, my family's history and lineage paled in comparison to his.

"I wish…..I really wish you talked to me about some of this shit beforehand and not just drop it on me without warning." He sighed again in exasperation. "Like your men, I didn't even know you had your own men and equipment, privately owned, like how the hell do you even afford all that? Then your little plan to go outside the Gran Mur. Just drop it on me without giving me a say in the matter. Come on Johan, give me something to work with here."

I winced at the harsh words. That was the second time someone had said that within a span of a few hours. "...Sorry."

"Whatever man, it's partly my own fault.:"

I gave him a confused stare. "How?"

Jayce crossed his thick arms across his chest. "Well, you were never this secretive before joining Intel. I don't know what the hell happened but keeping everything to yourself isn't healthy. You can trust me at least, right?"

"Yeah….Yeah I know and I do trust you. It's just I didn't know how you would react to well….everything. To be honest I still don't." I replied in an unsure tone.

Jayce let out a grunt as he put his cup down on the table between us. "Well I'm still not sure about all of this either, I have my loyalty to my country even if it is rotten to the core but something needs to be done. I know that and many of my own men know that. Speaking of, I don't even know how to break this to my men Johan or if they would be willing to follow us into hell. They may just rat us out."

"You could-"

"Me? No, YOU are going to tell my men to put everything they have at risk to fulfill your own ambitions for the good of the country. And if you want to meet your own hellish timeline then I suggest you do that soon brother."

I sat there numbly at the ultimatum. My head ran through a number of ways to figure that mess out but I quickly shut it down in favor of dealing with the problem at hand right now. "I'll figure it out but getting back on topic, can you get me what I need?"

Jayce closed his eyes in thought. "By tomorrow right?"

"Yes."

He poured another cup of hot tea before he continued. "You got your man and a bugle too. Although I'm pretty sure we have one laying around here somewhere." He looked around his room before shrugging. "Whatever the case is, you'll get what you need."

I bowed my head in gratitude. "Thank you Jayce." When I looked up I was confused to see my friend with a sad expression on his face.

"And what about the families? How are you dealing with that?"

I rubbed my hands together nervously at the thought. He just had to remind me. "I'm...going to take care of that with Captain Sebrina tomorrow so if it's possible I need everything before I set out."

He nodded. "Right." He gave me a sly smirk after a moment of silence. "So about this Sebrina. You two on a first name basis?"

"Yeah, we're….close I guess."

"Hmmm. How'd you end up meeting her?"

I felt my eyes drifting off into my cold tea as I recalled the memory. "About two yeras ago right after I joined Intel, I tracked all of my men down. Most were in the 85th district and some were in the camps."

"...She's an 86."

"Yeah, she was the first one I talked to. I actually had to go back a second time to convince her but I managed to sneak her out pretty easily before she got transferred to her unit."

Jayce looked at me oddly. "And no one noticed?"

I laughed at his expression. I had the same expression when I found out they didn't even notice one of their prisoners missing. "It's a joke down there. All those "superior" Alba soldiers are just drunk or high most of the time and if they did notice, they just didn't care to bring it up to anyone." I was ready to step in but these people were so lazy that it worked to my advantage and it was like that at all the camps.

"What a shitshow." Jayce mumbled as he shook his head. "Well I'm just glad you finally have a woman in your life Johan. You can't have me forever you know?"

"I'm not entirely sure we're like that but it's fine where we are at right now." I leaned back in the cool leather chair and sipped on my cold tea.

Jayce wasn't having it as he continued to tease me. "You know, not trying to be gay or anything but you're a handsome guy. Maybe you could convince her and one of those 86s or the Major in a threesome? Ya know, before everything gets crazy."

I nearly choked on my drink as I fell into a coughing fit. "Fuck off!"

He raised his hands up in surrender. "Hey I'm just saying man, not even I managed that, as of now anyway. Plus when you're the king of this country, you're allowed to have a harem. I think it's actually encouraged in fact." He said in a matter of fact tone.

When I finally got control of my breathing and the tingling sensation from the numerous cuts, I gave him a glare. "Out of your damn mind Jayce and I also don't need a history lesson from you of all people."

"I'm out of my mind? Look who's talking." He laughed out loud. "Besides I needed to get you back at least a little bit. Come on."

I rolled my eyes and washed down the rest of my cup before sighing. "Yeah...Yeah you aren't wrong."

"So where's she right now?"

Leaning forward I absentmindedly poured another cup, letting the sly undertone of his comment get past me. "In the car."

"Oh…..Oh really now?"

I looked up at the man. I wasn't letting that comment get past me. "The hell are you thinking Jayce?"

He gave me a not so innocent grin. "Well why don't the two of you stay the night? It's getting late now and I'm sure she would appreciate my mansion compared to yours."

"Sorry my mansion doesn't live up to your standards sir." I scoffed before I mulled the suggestion over. Screw it, why not. "Alright why not. We had a long day, might as well not make it longer than it needs to be."

Jayce put his cup down and stood up abruptly, shocking me a bit. "Good! Dinner will be ready soon and I'll make sure her room is good to go."

I ignored the rapidly forming headache from my friends' antics in favor of sipping on my steaming cup of tea. I quickly downed the hot liquid before walking over to the room next to us. I locked the door behind me and walked over to the closet and grabbed my spare set of clothes I kept here. Seeing that I would be having dinner with Jayce and his family I grabbed a purple collared shirt and black slacks along with a matching black tie and shoe. I put the old outdated tan and brown uniform into the closet but made a mental note to grab it before I left tomorrow. I took special care putting on my clothes to not open my wounds.

When I stepped out of my guestroom I nearly ran into one of the maids. "Oh, excuse me!"

She gave me a quick bow as she held onto a bundle of sheets. "Sorry Colonel! If you would excuse me." She turned and hurriedly made her way down the white hallway.

I watched the maid practically run down the hall with a confused stare. "Why is she in such a rush?" I mumbled to myself as I began making my way down the building. When I got outside, I saw a familiar black car waiting in the courtyard. I walked over to the driver side and tapped against the window. After a moment the tinted windows rolled down, revealing a tired looking Sebrina. "Hey."

She rubbed her eye as she regained her bearings. "Mmm sorry, I dozed off for a little bit. Are we ready to head out?"

I leaned against the car with my hands. "Nope, we're staying the night here. Go ahead and hop out, we're eating dinner soon."

"Here?" She asked with a dubious look on her face. "You sure that's wise? Thought we were going to your house?"

"Plans change." I shrugged nonchalantly. "Let's go."

"Alright fine, just let me make sure I'm good to go real quick."

I nodded and pushed myself off the car and waited patiently for her. I took the chance to look at myself in the reflection of the car and adjusted my tie. The door opened and Sebrina stepped out looking more alert than before. "Have a nice nap?"

She sighed as she blinked rapidly trying to get used to the pure white walls of the mansion. "Yeah, I don't feel completely dead anymore."

I chuckled. "Well the food here will change that. Come on, let's go." She fell in behind me as we made our way to dinner. With practiced ease I marched through the hallways with my captain in tow. I could hear her sigh in awe at the numerous expensive looking paintings and bright walls. Despite the size of the mansion, there was nowhere where a speck of dust could be found.

When we got to the dining room, most of the food was being placed on the long table. There was a bunch of different meats, soups and a host of other food to be had and the maids were still bringing more stuff out. It was a small feast.

I heard Sebrina gasp in shock.

"Shit...that's a lot of food."

When I looked back she had an uncharacteristically excited look on her face. Much like a child in a toy store. This had to be the nicest thing she has ever eaten. "Yep, welcome to the one percent of the one percent. Come on, we'll sit here and also be on your best behavior."

"Yeah yeah sure." She was drooling over the food even as we sat down towards the middle of the table. There was a few minutes of silence as I stared at the food in front of me. I heard the heavy wooden doors open up with a loud creak and turned my attention to the source.

At the end of the dining hall, opposite of where we came in was the head of the family, General Stillen. He was in his military uniform and had a grandfatherly aura around him. But I knew better than to lower my guard, he was someone he had to be careful around. Behind him was Madam Stillen and Jayce behind her. The woman was taller than both males and had long silver hair that was draped down over her back. She had her full makeup on still, lipstick, eyeliner and all. In short, she was beautiful beyond her years.

I stood up from my chair and gave the General a salute. "Evening General Stillen, thank you for allowing us to enjoy dinner with you and your family. This is Captain Merigold sir, she is my...company for the night." I heard Sebrina scramble out of her chair

"G-Good evening General!"

He gave us a relaxed smile and returned the salute before dropping it. We only dropped ours after him. He quickly crossed the distance and grabbed me a warm hug. "Come now boy! No need to be so damn formal!" He laughed loudly. "And you finally have a woman! When's the marriage?!"

I ignored Sebrina choking on the comment. "Just procedure General." I smirked as I smelled the faint traces of alcohol from the man. "The captain is, unfortunately, not my fiance. Just company sir." The older man gave me a pat on the shoulder before he was pushed away by his wife.I was enveloped in a lovely hug by the matriarch of the Stillen family.

"Ah it's good to see you son. You've been avoiding us!" She pouted as she rested her head on my chest.

With a smirk I pulled the woman away and gently laid a kiss on top of her hand. "Sorry mother, just been busy lately."

"Oh we know, Jayce told us." She said knowingly.

I blinked as she pulled her hand away from mine and glanced at a nonchalant looking Jayce. I had to hold back from making any serious faces in favor of continuing to smile.

The Stillens sat directly across from us and the general gestured for us to sit. "Sit, let's enjoy this food."

I nodded and sat down with Sebrina and quietly noticed that all the maids had left, leaving them alone. We only started eating after they did out of respect. I grabbed a bunch of the meat and various vegetables on my plate before digging in. "Food is amazing as always." I commented after I swallowed my mouthful of food.

"Good, enjoy it son."

I stole a quick glance at the general. The old man got more wrinkles from when I saw him last and his hair and beard was slightly longer. His greyish silver eyes looked tired but there was a glint of steel behind it. This was not like Lena's uncle. I looked down back at my food, enjoying my peace.

But it didn't last long.

"So you convinced my boy to turn traitor huh?"

I was in the process of stabbing a piece of steak with my fork when the general dropped that bomb. I took a quiet, deep breath and put the fork down to face the General of the Big Red One and current head of the Stillen family. Beside me, Sebrina wasn't as composed as I was.

"Yes sir." The sharp eyes of the older man never left my own. I shoved down the urge to look away and shrink into myself and steeled myself.

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "Spill."

"Father-"

"Shut up Jayce." He snapped before regaining his stern but neutral expression. "Go on Colonel."

I straightened my back and placed my hands on my lap as I gathered my thoughts. The fact that I wasn't shot dead on the spot was a good start at least. "Something needs to change sir. Based on my findings I predict...no I am sure that the Legion will not cease operation in the next two years. They will continue their fight but we won't be able to, not at our rate. At our rate the 86s will die off like planned….and then so will the Republic."

"So you're trying to change the country by overthrowing the government? Seems short sighted for someone like you. There are ways to bring news like this up, a coup d'etat isn't the first among them."

"Perhaps it wasn't but if we look back on our own history for a bit….was sending the 86s to die for us the first option? Did we truly exhaust all options or was the ruling elite just using the Legion to secure their own power?" I countered back in a smooth manner despite my own racing heart.

The general closed his eyes in thought. "Yes it is unfortunate how that all happened and it shouldn't have happened and you may be right about the nobles. In fact I am sure of it, I had my own suspicions but if someone like you thinks the same then maybe there is some merit behind the accusation."

"Then-"

"However." He cut me off harshly. "You aren't being completely honest."

I pursed my lips at the way he interrupted me but otherwise showed nothing against it. "To your point of other ways besides a full on military coup. Maybe if we were living in a reasonable nation but we are not, not in the slightest. For the past few years I have submitted countless reiterations of the Juggernaut. Many of them are merely upgrades in the manufacturing process and making it more streamlined for production and lowering our costs but not even that passed. That's just one example and I'm sure you are aware as well but this country is built upon a foundation of lies and debauchery. Perhaps you may not know just how far back this goes but I have seen the paperwork, no amount of black ink can change what this leadership has done."

The general scoffed. "You underestimate me boy. Tell me, do you even know why we are in this mess to begin with?"

I narrowed my eyes at the question. After a moment it clicked in my head. "You know...you knew all along."

"I happened to be at the right spot at the wrong time." He said in a matter of fact tone.

Jayce spoke up finally in his confusion. "What are you two talking about?"

I glanced over at the older man. He really was letting me say this but why? Did that mean he was on my side? Or was he just playing sides? Whatever the case was, I couldn't back down now. "The upper echelons of the military, the government and nobles….knew about the Giadian Empire's plans for the Legion. From the very beginning."

The other three occupants stared at me and the general in shock. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Sebrina trembled as she clenched the hems of her pants in a white knuckled grip.

Nonetheless I pushed on. "Due to their ignorance millions of innocent human beings died and when at the precipice of facing the consequences of their inaction, they chose to dive deeper into their own selfish desires and greed for power. We are lucky enough to eat the food that we can but what about the rest of the country? Anyone in the outer limits is barely living as it is and eats artificial garbage day in and day out. And somehow these people believe that they are better than the 86s."

"So you'll force them to change? Easier said than done. People don't change that easily."

"I will." I replied confidently. "They will have to one way or another. I will change this rotten ass country and take back our lost lands, our honor and pride."

The general leaned forward a little more. "You will? Not Jayce?"

I gripped my pants at the calculating stare and returned my own. "...Yes I will. So give me your resources, your men, your money and your connections and I'll change this nation on the day of the Revolution Festival."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I'll drag you all kicking and screaming to glory. You can't kill me so fall in or step aside General Stillen." I firmly stated to the older man. For the first time that evening the general looked taken aback at my ultimatum.

And so did everyone else.

He laughed, a bellowing laugh that echoed throughout the hall. And he laughed for a long time before he finally settled down as he wiped his eyes. "It's been a while since I last felt this excited!":He fell into another bout of laughter as he held his stomach.

I relaxed as I realized we weren't about to get executed. "Excited sir?"

"To fight of course!"

I had to blink as it was my turn to be surprised. "Sir?"

He let out a sigh as he regained his composure. "Thus far I am the oldest living head of the Stillen family. We are warriors first and foremost, always have been and always will be. Our men and our training reflect that and we fear no evil for we are the baddest motherfuckers in the valley." He slammed his hand down on the table and gave me a goading stare. "Give me...my men a war to fight Colonel, I am not here to live forever." He gave me a bloodthirsty grin.

I slowly extended my hand across the table and waited for him to grab my hand. Our eyes never left as we firmly grasped our hands together. "The Revolution Festival General then you'll have your war."

"Two and a half months? That's it? Hah! You got it son, show me what you can do."

I gave the General a knowing smirk. In the end we would both get what we wanted.

"Deal."