Tom Elm and his father stand outside their farmhouse, watching the horizon. For weeks, the columns of smoke have been steadily moving closer, and Tom's father is concerned that whatever attacked Atheia is moving their way. Fearing for their lives, a number of the surrounding families have fled their homes and are hiding out at the Elms' farm until they know what's going on. Strange noises in the night and a lack of contact with other surrounding villages has everyone on edge.
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, metallic objects appear in the sky. Bones begin dropping out of them. Tom's father turns to him and looks him in the eye.
"Gather up the other children. Hide." He has a wild look in his eyes. He is terrified. Tom is terrified too, but he does as he is told. He runs back to the house and gathers up all the children he can find. As the Bones close in, they make a mad dash for the house's cellar. After waving the children in hurriedly, Tom slams the cellar doors shut. All the children huddle into the back corner. Suddenly, before they even have a chance to hide themselves, the doors swing wide open.
Tom hesitates, expecting a rush of Bones to storm in to the cellar and take all the children prisoner. Instead, there's no one there. Additionally, the outside scenery has completely changed. Through the doorway he can see bleak stone cliffs instead of the acres of farmland he expected. He looks around confused, only to find that all the other children have disappeared.
In a panic, he sprints up the cellar steps and out into the strange landscape that awaits him. He's at the bottom of a massive canyon that stretches endlessly behind him. In front of him, however, it only continues a short distance before it abruptly closes off, dead ending in a massive wall of stone with a small cave entrance at its base.
Standing at the entrance to that cave is a pair of small figures, one slightly larger than the other. As Tom gets closer to the cave, they begins to take shape. The larger one is Fone Bone, and standing next to him is a small, dark haired human boy. As soon as Tom sees them, he begins running toward them.
"Stop!" He shouts, though they don't notice him. "Don't go!" Still no reaction. "Fone, don't listen to him!" Tom stops in his tracks as the boy turns to face him. His eyes gleam with unbridled malice. Tom's hand begin shaking, but he swallows and continues onward. A golden light begins to shine from the boy, so bright that Tom can barely see. "He's using you!" He continues to shout, his skin beginning to burn. "You can't trust-
-Havaki!" Tom Elm shouted, sitting up in his cot and waking his raccoon friend Roderick, who was nestled just below Tom's feet. Tom looked around momentarily. He was in the tent he'd been provided after arriving at the temple a few short days ago. In the tent with him were some of the children whom Fone had helped rescue from the farm, all still sound asleep.
"Tom?" Roderick asked, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?" Roderick trotted over to his friend.
"It was just a dream." Tom sighed.
"Another nightmare about the Spark?"
"I don't think so…" Tom muttered. "It was there, but this time the presence felt different."
"How so?"
"I don't know how to explain it. But, it was like the air itself was on fire." Tom slumped back. "And that wasn't even the weirdest part. Lorimar wasn't there like usual. Instead, it was…" He paused. Suddenly he screwed his eyes shut.
"What?" Roderick pressed. "Who was it? And what're you doing with your face?"
"Can't remember all the details." Tom said. "It's all a bit fuzzy." Suddenly Tom felt a pull in his stomach. An emptiness. A yearning. The last time he felt that force was back when he first separated from the Spark, before Lorimar sealed it away. Suddenly his eyes shot wide open. "Fone." He said. Roderick took a step back.
Suddenly Tom threw off the cot's sheet and dashed through the tent flap. Roderick followed desperately after him. Tom sprinted through the camp as fast as he could, weaving through the maze of tents until he came to a passageway. Ducking through the entrance, he came upon a smaller room.
"Let's go get Fone." Tom heard someone in the room say as he blundered into it, panting.
"You guys are looking for Fone, right?" Tom asked the three people in the room. "Well I think I know where he's gone." The entire room was momentarily silent.
"What is this, some kind of joke?" Nagratek said to Thorn. He turned to Tom. "Kid, you need to leave."
"Wait." Thorn grabbed his shoulder. "I recognize him. That's Tom Elm."
"The kid who managed to use the Spark and not implode?" Nagratek seized Tom up. "Impressive stuff, I guess. But what does that have to do with Fone's location?"
"It's a bit difficult to explain." Tom smiled sheepishly. "You probably won't believe me."
"Kid, let me let you in on a little secret." Smiley said as he began looking through his vest for a cigar. "Thorn's th' chosen one. Nagratek's immortal. I'm a literal walkin' corpse. My older cousin's the exiled leader of our country, my younger cousin's possessed by a crystal, and my best friend was just named king of th' rat creatures." Finally locating one crumpled cigar, he lit it and took a massive puff. "At this point, we'll believe pretty much anythin'."
"Possessed by a crystal." Tom said. "So I was right. Fone really has merged with the Spark."
"How did you know that?" Nagratek asked. He clenched his teeth and subtly shifted his stance.
"This is the part you aren't going to believe." Tom gulped. "I saw it in a dream." Nagratek rushed forward and grabbed Tom by his shirt.
"Nagratek!" Thorn shouted, grabbing the hilt of her sword. "What's gotten into you?"
"He's connected with the Spark somehow." Nagratek put his hand around Tom's throat. "How else would he be able to know what it's doing?"
"Queen Thorn…" Tom gasped. "Help…"
"Nagratek, let him go." Thorn growled, drawing her sword and placing it against his throat.
"Don't be stupid, Thorn." Nagratek smirked. "If he's connected to the Spark, that means he's connected to Lorimar too. She could be controlling him for all we know." He squeezed tighter around Tom's throat. "Now, tell me everything you can about what you saw."
"I… know… Lorimar wasn't… there…" He managed to blurt out in between raspy breaths. Nagratek dropped him. Before Tom recovered, he placed his hand against Tom's temple. Both of their eyes began to glow. After a moment, Nagratek backed off and let Tom get back on his feet.
"There is something seriously wrong with you" Thorn said, still holding her sword to his throat.
"He's telling the truth." Nagratek said as he pushed her blade and her comment aside. "I scanned his mind. It was brief, and I didn't get a look at much, but it was enough to confirm his story. Fone was there, along with… something that I have to assume is the Catalyst. Lorimar wasn't in the dream, though. Which is puzzling, considering her link to the Spark."
"You could have just asked, you know." Tom said as he composed himself. "And is isn't puzzling. It just means that he's left Lorimar and latched onto Fone."
"Who's he?" Thorn asked, sheathing her sword.
"The Spark." Tom said matter-of-factly.
"That's impossible." Nagratek interjected. "The Spark's a manifestation of the energy of creation. It doesn't have a mind of its own. Suggesting otherwise is, frankly, absurd."
"It does." Tom responded. "That's why it could leave Lorimar's soul and bond with Fone's in the first place. It can even communicate. I talked to it briefly after I killed the Nacht. We didn't speak long, but I did learn that Its name is Havaki."
"Havaki, that's…" Nagratek's words trailed off. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. Thanks for the info, kid. Now you should head back to bed. We can handle things from here."
"I don't think so." Tom crossed his arms. "You still don't know where to go looking. I do."
"Where?" Nagratek crossed his arms. Everyone in the room stared at Tom.
"Okay, so I don't exactly know where he is." Tom threw his hands up. "But I get this pulling sensation in my gut whenever I concentrate on the dream. I think my soul is reaching out to Havaki, and if we follow it, it could lead us to Fone." Thorn and Nagratek looked at each other.
"Fine." Nagratek scoffed. "You're coming with us. I've got more important things to deal with anyway. Thorn, get these two outside and bring Tom up to speed as best you can. I've got one more loose end to tie up before we get underway."
"Sure." Thorn nodded reluctantly, leading Smiley and Tom to the camp's makeshift hangar. "Don't mind him." She whispered into Tom's ear. "He's just a grumpy old man."
Nagratek, meanwhile, made his way to the storage room Phoney stuck Smiley and Gabriel in after the assault. Smiley's cot was upended and his handcuffs were lying in pieces on the floor, but Gabriel's shackles were still intact, and he was still planted firmly in his seat. Nagratek turned the empty cot back upright and sat on it.
"Do you know who I am?" He asked.
"Glaian told me of you." Gabriel replied. "Jigafta Utenki. He said I'd know you by the scars." Gabriel motioned to his face. "He spoke highly of you. Almost fanatically. And although he hid it well, I got the sense he was absolutely terrified of you. I don't even want to know what you have to do to make a man like him afraid, but you have my commendations nonetheless."
"I didn't come here for your commendations. I came for your loyalty."
"You think you can scare me into dancing to your tune?" Gabriel chuckled. "I stopped being afraid of pain when I joined Tarsil's Vedu. And I stopped being afraid of death when my wife died in my arms."
"Oh please. We're men of reason. I'm sure we can come to some understanding without having to resort to… vulgarities. I'm here to make you an offer."
"That's rich!" Gabriel laughed. "The world slowly dies around us, forces beyond our control attempt to tear this reality in two, and you come to me with an offer? What is it? What can you possibly offer me now? Freedom? Power? Money? There is no meaning in such trivialities anymore."
"You seem to have mistaken me for a fool, or someone who lacks observation. I'm not offering you material wealth. I'm offering you that which you claim no longer exists. Meaning."
"And how are you going to do that? Stop the inevitable destruction of existence? You'd have to be insane to even entertain the notion."
"It was that kind of insanity that led me to found the Vedu in the first place." Nagratek smirked. Gabriel's eyes widened. After a moment, however, he adopted the same smug look as the Bone sitting opposite him.
"So you're Nagratek. Now I understand why Glaian was so afraid of you. And I take it you have a plan to stop the impending cataclysm?"
"Something like that." Nagratek stood up and stretched out his hand. "Brother Gabriel. Will you return to your place among us? Will you serve the Eye once again?"
"Why not?" Gabriel responded, grasping Nagratek's outstretched hand firmly. As they cemented their grip, memories began to flow from Nagratek's head to Gabriel's. Atheia. Glaian's body. A chestnut haired woman named Eosutana. After several moments of continuous transfer, Nagratek let Gabriel recover while he reached down and undid his cuffs. As soon as he was able, Gabriel stood up and rubbed his wrists.
"So do you understand your mission?" Nagratek asked.
"Perfectly." Gabriel replied.
"Good. I only had the reserve energy to do that once anyway. Now, until you get some actual results and redeem yourself in the eyes of the others, this mission stays between the two of us."
"Naturally."
"There're supplies across the hall. Take as much time as you need." Nagratek began walking back up the stairs. "And there's an exit to the left that'll put you out at the tree line. From there, it's a two day walk to Atheia. After that, you're on your own." Nagratek left the supply room and walked back to the hangar.
When he arrived, he found Thorn, Smiley, and Tom standing near one of the dropships. Perched on Tom's shoulder was Roderick, standing with his arms crossed as he chewed his friend out.
"What's wrong with you?" The Raccoon asked. "We're supposed to be a team. What possessed you to just run off on your own like that?"
"I promise it won't happen again." Tom said.
"Doubtful." Roderick pouted. "But if you're running off on some big adventure, I can't in good conscious let you go alone."
"So now we're bringing a raccoon with us?" Nagratek asked as he approached the four.
"Roderick is a member of a vast community of forest creatures spanning the entire Valley, he's very connected to the dreaming, and he knows most of the mountain terrain." Thorn shot back. "We'd be stupid not the bring him."
"Fine, whatever." Nagratek waived his hand. "Let's just get this underway." The four of them began to walk on to the dropship's ramp. Suddenly a voice broke out behind them.
"You!" A man shouted, stomping his way toward Nagratek despite two Venu attempting to hold him back. It was William, Taneal's brother. "You're the one 'in charge' around here, aren't you?" He looked directly at Nagratek. "I want to know where my sister is!"
"Boy…" Nagratek rubbed the bridge of his considerable nose. "I don't have the time or the patience to deal with another personal problem today, so I'll make this brief. Your sister is acting as my emissary to the Dragon Council at Deren Guard. If you want to see her again, I suggest starting there. And if you are dumb enough to brave the home of the dragons, and you do find your sister, tell her to contact the temple as soon as possible. Otherwise, I don't much care what you do." Nagratek turned around and walked onto the dropship.
"Sorry 'bout that." Smiley said, taking another puff of his cigar. "He's had a rough day."
"If you need anything, find my grandmother." Thorn said as she, Smiley, Tom, and Roderick all boarded as well. "She'll be more than happy to help you." The dropship ramp closed behind them, and after they all strapped in, the craft lifted up into the sky.
"So, kid?" Nagratek asked after they all settled in. "Where to?"
"North." Tom said, closing his eyes to concentrate. "We need to go north." After a moment of pause, he continued. "That can't be a coincidence."
"What?" Thorn asked.
"Percival headed north after we defeated the Nacht, looking for his brother Norman on the advice of Ted. A massive canyon system was at the top of his list. My dream also took place in a canyon, which means we're more than likely heading for the same place."
"I knew it." Nagratek put his head in his hands. After a minute of silence, he brought his face back up. "I think I know where we're going."
"If you know, then what's got you so stressed out?"
"I don't know where it is precisely. Shard's the only living being who's ever been there, and he can't even remember most of what he saw, or any concrete details. It's surrounded by myth and legend. Back when I was still human, people used to call it the birthplace of death. It's where the Locust first burst into reality and merged with Mim."
"What are we looking for then?" Thorn shifted in her seat. "Some sort of barren wasteland?"
"Even worse. We're going to the Crystal Councilman's original laboratory."
Three Bones sat huddled around a burning fireplace in a log hut. One sat in a small wooden chair, cleaning an assault rifle. Another sat at a table, rewiring a handheld radio. The third stood as close to the window as he could without leaving the warmth of the fire, staring out the window at the trees, the slowly falling snow, and the gradually setting sun. All of them wore heavy civilian clothing, their only unifying feature being the arm bands bearing the symbol of the Eye Glaian had begun distributing to his "crusaders" when he took Argus City.
"Have you gotten the damn thing working yet?" The one at the window asked as he turned to address the one sitting at the table.
"I'm no miracle worker." She responded. "That blast from the sky fried this thing pretty good. But I'll get it working yet."
"You'd better. We need to know what's happening. The Norgabard could be attacked any minute."
"Then shouldn't you be watching the window?" The third one asked, looking up from his gun. "You are the lookout, after all."
"Yeah…" The first one grumbled as he turned back to the window. Just then, the radio crackled to life.
"-come bearing the greatest of sorrows from the frontlines." A voice came into focus over the radio.
"Hey, that's Izaroth!" The woman shouted.
"Quiet." The man in the chair hissed, leaning toward the radio. "This sounds important."
"It is with a heavy heart that I bring you the news of the death of our beloved leader." Izaroth continued. "Glaian Nagratek, may his soul find peace, has fallen in the line of duty against our enemy."
"Oh god…" The man at the window muttered, leaving the window and joining the others around the radio.
"It has now fallen to me to uphold his mantle, to carry on his struggle against the humans who wish us dead. Even now, the snake woman Satranik Haenkos assaults our shores with an army of treacherous, rampaging human mongrels. But we will not falter. I assure you all that I will drive out the invaders, unify our people, and stamp out our great enemy once and for all. I will guide our country through these trying times, and I will make sure our great leader's dream of a free Bone people is realized." The broadcast cut out.
"Dear lord…" The woman stood up and tried to compose herself. "What are we going to do?"
"We'll persevere, as we always have." The man at the window put his hand on her shoulder. "We will see this war to its end. And we will stand among heroes, victorious on the final day."
"What was that?" The man in the chair asked. He grabbed his rifle and stood up, aiming straight out the window.
"I didn't see anything." The man at the window peered through the glass into the snowy foothills beyond.
"I definitely saw movement." The man tightened his grip.
"You probably just saw a fox or-" As the man at the window spoke, a bullet flew through it, skewering him right in between his eyes. Before he hit the floor, two more tore through the window, striking down his comrades. A few seconds later, X'lish walked through the door.
"Clear!" She shouted as she looked around. Nibet and Phoney followed her in.
"You're aim seems to be getting better, Phoney." Nibet remarked as she studied the bullet holes in the three soldiers.
"I'd prefer not to have to kill more of my own people." Phoney said as he holstered his gun. "I'm still President, and I'm still responsible for them."
"You haven't been President for months. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you died when Argus City fell. At this point, you can pretty much do whatever you want."
"That doesn't matter. As soon as we find Admiral Haenkos, I'm reassuming control of my country and putting an end to this farce."
"Well that won't happen until we get what we need from the Norgabard." X'lish interjected as she slipped the armbands off of the dead bodies. "You may be the President, but don't forget that we still have Jigafta's Orders to carry out."
"Nagratek." Phoney corrected, grabbing an armband from X'lish's hand. "His name is Nagratek."
"I refuse to get used to that."
"You'd better not let him know that." Nibet said as she took an armband and put it on. "We've got what we need. Let's get moving before someone notices the bodies."
After they had all situated their armbands, they left the cabin and began heading north. Eventually, they hit the edge of the tree line, and just in front of them stood the looming figure of the Norgabard.
"Remember the last time we were all here?" X'lish asked as they hung back at the edge of the forest.
"Let's just get this over with." Nibet sighed. She put her arm around X'lish, imitating a wounded limp, and the two of them began hobbling across the open field in front of the Norgabard. Phoney followed closely behind them. As they approached the gate, one of the guards noticed them.
"Halt!" He shouted, raising his firearm. "Identify your-" He was cut short when he noticed their armbands. Immediately, he lowered his weapon and ran out to meet them.
"You don't know how good it is to see a friendly face." X'lish grunted, dragging Nibet's body toward the gate. Phoney drew his gun and faced away from the guard, who had begun helping X'lish carry Nibet.
"What happened, sister?" The guard asked as they four of them came upon the gate.
"We ran into an enemy patrol. We managed to take them out, but my sister twisted her leg. We've been skirting around enemy forces for the past few hours trying to get back here."
"That's odd." The guard commented as his partner opened up the gate. "We haven't gotten any reports of enemy movement this far north."
"I'm not surprised." Nibet smirked as they made it through the gate. She stood up on her legs again and drew her pistols. "We took out most of the lookout posts on our way here." She shot the two guards in between their eyes. As they hit the ground, X'lish slung a silenced assault rifle off of her back and shot the other three Bones walking around the courtyard.
"Let's get moving." Nibet said as she dipped her finders in the guard's blood and spread it on her leg. "We've got to make this convincing." She reassumed her wounded limp as the three of them headed further into the fortress.
"Sniper!" X'lish shouted as they entered the interior of the complex. "Take cover!" Instantly people in the hallways began scrambling. Soon, a siren began blaring and a platoon of soldiers rushed past them on their way to the courtyard.
"You there!" Someone shouted as they moved amongst the din. A man with an officer's band approached them. "You were in the courtyard. What's going on out there?"
"There was a sniper." X'lish responded, not stopping. "He got most of us. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get my sister to the infirmary."
"But the infirmary's that way." The man pointed behind him, in the opposite direction they were headed. "Just who are you?" He asked, moving in front of them and cutting them off. As soon as he got a look at Nibet's face, he froze.
"Is there a problem?" She asked.
"Nibet Trenya?" He muttered, dumbfounded. "Weren't you in the east with the High Lord?"
"I don't have time for this." She sighed. Before he could respond, she shot him through the heart. Phoney managed to catch him before his body hit the ground, and before the few people remaining in the hallways noticed. As soon as the coast was clear, he laid the body in a nearby storage room.
"You really need to stop shooting people." He commented as they continued on their way.
"He was about to blow our cover." Nibet said as she stood up straight.
"It looks like you've done that yourself, Nibet Trenya." A voice spoke behind them. They all turned around. Across the hallway behind them was a squadron of soldiers with their guns drawn. In between them were Nemyunoi and her brother Wunkhani, Glaian's former lieutenants.
"Nemyunoi." Nibet spat. "To what do I owe this displeasure?"
"Oh look, the bitch can talk back." Nemyunoi smirked. "And here I was beginning to think Lord Glaian had beaten that attitude out of you." She stepped forward and drew a sword from her back. "At least this means I get to have the pleasure of doing that myself."
"Nibet, who is this?" X'lish asked, drawing her own sword.
"Ah, you must be X'lish Trenya. I've heard so much about you. Though I do hope your body guarding skills have improved over the years. Otherwise your President might end up like my mother. You might have known her as Lady Ryonia."
"I hadn't realized Glaian's favor inflated a person's head this much, Nemyunoi." Nibet laughed as she too unsheathed her blade. "Hopefully you'll provide some form of amusement before I slice your throat open." Suddenly Wunkhani rushed forward and slammed his fist into Nibet's gut. She barely managed to block the strike with the edge of her sword. Wunkhani's fingers began bleeding, but he didn't move.
"Don't you dare speak to her like that, you cur." He hissed into Nibet's ear. In response, X'lish placed her sword again his neck.
"Any last words?" She asked.
"I doubt it." Nibet replied backing away from Wunkhani. "He never was much of a talker."
As X'lish prepared to behead Wunkhani, he ducked to the side and swept her off of her feet. As he did so, Nemyunoi ran forward and poised her sword to lash out at X'lish gut. Nibet deflected her blow at the last second with her own weapon. She drew her gun and aimed it at Nemyunoi's face, but before she could pull the trigger Wunkhani grabbed it and crushed the barrel with his bare hands. X'lish staggered to her feet and elbowed Wunkhani in the small of his back, giving Nibet time to get clear of his reach.
Suddenly, Phoney raised his gun and shot a pipe above their heads. Steam flooded the hallway. The four combatants halted their skirmish amid the torrid of gas. Phoney began to flee down the hallway toward their goal, and X'lish and Nibet instantly followed him.
"Stop them!" Nemyunoi shouted, still recovering her breath. The squad behind her ran into the cloud after the three intruders.
"What's wrong with you?" Nibet asked as they ran through a series of side passages. "We had that fight."
"Will you pull your head out of your ass for two seconds?" Phoney shot back. "We have a job to do. You can get back to whatever that was after we get what we came for. Do you understand me?"
"Perfectly." Nibet pouted.
"Look at Phoney, being all responsible." X'lish chuckled. "They grow up so fast."
"Hey, I've been responsible my whole life." Phoney protested as they ascended a flight of stairs.
"That's highly debatable. Didn't you build an orphanage on a hazardous waste landfill or something?"
"I said responsible. Not ethical. That's something I'm still sort of working on."
"Hey you two." Nibet said, stopping at a large wooden door. Phoney and X'lish slid to a halt as well. "We're here." They scrambled inside the room as quick as they could. A moment after they closed the door, Nemyunoi's squad ran by.
"We should be safe for now." Phoney sighed as he stared down the same set of filing cabinets that had greeted him in this room just a few short months ago. "Now let's get what we came for and get out."
They began pouring through the various cabinets, each filled with myriads of files and documents. Shipping manifests, transcripts, documentation of all kinds. Paperwork.
"Remember." Phoney hissed, looking over his shoulder as another group of Bones ran past the closed door. "We're looking for more information on the recent shipments made by Export Systems International. Anything that seems out of place."
"I've got something." Nibet raised a piece of paper into the air. The other two gathered around her to look at it. "It's a shipping manifest, Export Systems International as per usual. It looks like they recently moved some heavy cargo out to the frontlines."
"When?" Phoney asked.
"Several shipments over the last few weeks. But all the contents of the shipments have been scrubbed. There's nothing here to indicate what they moved or how much." She pulled out another file. "All this just three days after they sent a massive bulk shipment of ammo and rations. I'm thinking this is it."
"Does it say where they were taking these shipments?"
"Camp Stalwart. Last I heard, Glaian was using it as his command center in the west. I think it's worth a look."
"Well it better be." X'lish interjected, drawing her gun. The handle on the door began to turn. "Because we're about to have company." The three scattered just before the door swung open.
A lone Bone rushed in, panting frantically as he slammed the door shut behind him. Nibet poked her head out from behind a cabinet to get a better look at him. His entire face was covered in bandages. She gripped her gun and prepared to put him down. He saw her out of the corner of his eye. Before she could react, however, he rushed forward, grabbed her hair, and pulled her out of her hiding spot. She raised her gun to take a shot at him, but he wrenched it out of her hand before she could pull the trigger. Then he slammed her head against the floor, picked her back up, and put her in a choke hold with her gun resting against her temple.
"Hello Nibet." He growled. His voice sounded like he'd been stabbed in his voice box. "Did you think it'd be that easy to put me down?" She struggled for breath as he tightened his hold. Through the pain, she managed to get a solid grip on a knife in her belt.
"I don't know who you are, but go to hell." She grunted, driving the knife into her attacker's stomach. He caught her hand inches from his skin.
"Did you think that was going to work on me twice?" He hissed, his voice seeming to level out. "I'm not giving you the satisfaction of killing me again. I'm going to gut you slowly, like you gutted me. And then I'm going to find Glaian and-"
"Alright that's enough." X'lish said as she stepped out of her hiding spot, her gun aimed at the attacker's forehead. "Put my sister down, or I put you down." She locked eyes with the man holding her sister hostage. Suddenly his grip loosened. Instantly, Nibet twisted out of his hold and rushed to X'lish's side, drawing her sword.
"X'lish?" The man asked, dropping the gun in his hands. "Is that you? What are you doing here? Why are you…?" His voice trailed off. X'lish walked up to him and put her gun to his head.
"You'd better start explaining yourself." She pressed the gun into the bandages between his eyes. He stared at her dumbfounded. It was at that point Phoney decided to poke his head out and see just what was going on. Once the man saw him round the corner, he began to laugh.
"You two finally managed to get one over on me, huh?" He asked as he stood up. X'lish slammed him against the wall. "Though I guess it had to happen sometime." His voice had finally returned to normal. Instantly X'lish recognized who it was she was speaking to.
"That's not possible…" She muttered, backing away from the man. He reached up and undid the bandages on his face. As the wrappings fell away, X'lish's heart skipped a beat. She reached her hand out to touch his face. She looked into his eyes. Staring back at her were they eyes of a dead man. They were the eyes of her husband: Faldr Milzaek.
"This declaration of war will not go unanswered!" Glaian smirked as Faldr struggled in the snow, his body going numb as he slowly lost consciousness. He tried to move with the last of his energy, but instead he collapsed, blood gushing from his stomach. He faded in and out of consciousness, only catching snippets of what was happening around him. Men dragging him through the snow. His hands strapped to a table. Bones in lab coats crowded around him. Then the pain began again. Not just in his gut, but all over his body. His face, his chest, his limbs, all felt like they were being torn apart.
Suddenly he sat up, screaming, his entire body sore. A Bone in a lab coat next to him squealed and dropped a stack of files. Faldr ignored him and looked around. He was sitting on a table in a room full of medical equipment. He had leather straps on his wrists that he ripped off of the table when he sat up. He quickly wrenched them off before noticing that his entire body was covered in bandages. Then the barrel of a gun was pressed against his head. He turned to see the Bone in the lab coat holding a gun, visibly shaking as he faced down Faldr.
"St… Stay back…" He stuttered.
"Where am I?" Faldr grunted. He was surprised at how gravely his voice sounded.
"You aren't supposed to be able to move." The doctor calmed down slightly and began examining Faldr in greater detail. "After what we did to you… How did you come out of that coma so quickly?" Faldr knocked the gun aside and grabbed the man by the throat.
"What did you do to me? How long was I out?" He asked. The doctor gave only a meek yelp as a response. "Answer me!" Faldr shouted. The man fainted. Faldr threw his limp body aside and stood up. Very cautiously, he opened a door on the far side of the room and was immediately greeted by a group of armed soldiers in a hallway led by an angry woman wielding a sword.
"And now you're up." She grumbled, motioning for her troops to surround Faldr. "It's just been one thing after another today." Just then Faldr rushed forward and slammed his shoulder into her gut. As she doubled over, he grabbed her and held her out in front of him while he edged past her men, being careful to keep her in the path of their guns. Once he cleared her troop, he threw her down and ran for his life. After winding through several long passageways, the procession of soldiers not far behind him, he ducked through a small wooden door and hid as they went past.
Then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Nibet Trenya. She tried to make a move, but before she could react, he rushed forward, grabbed her hair, and pulled her out of her hiding spot. She raised her gun to take a shot at him, but he wrenched it out of her hand before she could pull the trigger. Then he slammed her head against the floor, picked her back up, and put her in a choke hold with her gun resting against her temple.
"Hello Nibet." He growled, overjoyed that he'd managed to find her so quickly. "Did you think it'd be that easy to put me down?" She struggled for breath as he tightened his hold. Through the pain, she managed to get a solid grip on a knife in her belt.
"I don't know who you are, but go to hell." She grunted, driving the knife into her attacker's stomach. He caught her hand inches from his skin.
"Did you think that was going to work on me twice?" He hissed, his voice seeming to level out, to his own surprise. "I'm not giving you the satisfaction of killing me again. I'm going to gut you slowly, like you gutted me. And then I'm going to find Glaian and-"
"Alright that's enough." Another Bone stepped out from behind a cabinet, her gun aimed at the attacker's forehead. "Put my sister down, or I put you down." She locked eyes with him, and suddenly his grip loosened. It was X'lish. His mind refused to process what he was seeing. Instantly, Nibet twisted out of his hold and rushed to X'lish's side, drawing her sword.
"X'lish?" Faldr asked, dropping the gun in his hands. "Is that you? What are you doing here? Why are you…?" His voice trailed off as his mind raced, trying to figure out what was going on. X'lish walked up to him and put her gun to his head.
"You'd better start explaining yourself." She pressed the gun into the bandages between his eyes. He stared at her dumbfounded, until he saw President Phoncible poke his head around the corner of yet another cabinet. Then he began to laugh, as he realized what an idiot he'd been.
"You two finally managed to get one over on me, huh?" He asked as he stood up. X'lish slammed him against the wall. "Though I guess it had to happen sometime." His voice had finally returned to normal.
"That's not possible…" X'lish muttered, backing away from him. He reached up and undid the bandages on his face. As the wrappings fell away, he looked into her eyes and saw the realization dawn on her face. She reached out and touched him. Then she punched him square in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.
"What was that for?" Faldr shouted as he rubbed his jaw.
"For getting yourself killed, you idiot!" She shouted back. Then she sunk to the ground and threw her arms around him. "I'm just glad you're alright." She began sobbing. Faldr began crying as well. Nibet and Phoney stood by awkwardly. After a moment of intense bawling, Faldr and X'lish managed to compose themselves.
"So…" She began, still taking in the sight before her. "How is it you're still alive?"
"I'm just lucky, I guess." He rubbed the back of his head and let out a small chuckle. "I thought I was done for, but I think Glaian had some doctors patch me up because next thing I knew I woke up on an operating table, covered in bandages."
"Speaking of Glaian, I bet you aren't happy to see me here." Nibet interjected. Faldr glowered at her.
"What are you doing here? Don't tell me you've had a change of heart after you stabbed me in the gut."
"Sort of. Glaian had me under a kind of mind control. I think. I still haven't fully figured out what he did to me. But X'lish managed to pull me out from under his control. For now I'm going to need you to trust me."
"How do I know this isn't a trick?" He asked, standing back up.
"Because Glaian Nagratek is dead." Phoney responded. "He died just a couple of days ago."
"How long have I been out?"
"A little over two months." X'lish answered as she too stood up.
"Two months…" Faldr muttered. "Damn, what did they do to me?"
"Trust me, that's nothing compared to what we've been up to. We're going to have to catch you up on everything that's happened since you 'died' some other time. For now, we need to focus on getting out of here alive."
"Nibet, which way is the roof?" Phoney asked as he opened the door.
"This way." She pointed down one of the nearby hallways. The four left the room and made their way through the fortress. Before long, they emerged onto the snow covered terrace above the fortress.
"So… Would someone mind telling me why we're on the roof?" Faldr asked, looking around.
"We're waiting for our ride." Phoney responded.
"I figured you'd be stupid enough to show up here." Nemyunoi said as she emerged from behind a pillar. Wunkhani followed shortly behind her, but her men were nowhere to be found. "I didn't think you'd manage to find each other so soon, though."
"I take it you guys know who these two are." Faldr said as the four of them spread out across the roof.
"Nemyunoi and Wunkhani Ryonia." X'lish replied, gripping the hilt of her sword.
"You've got to be kidding me." Faldr sighed.
"Oh she's quite serious." Nemyunoi smirked. "And don't think that just because it was one of their teammates that pulled the trigger on my mother that you're getting off the hook. I'm going to make all of you pay for what you did, including your boss Jigafta."
"You're going to have to take a number for that last one." Nibet said as she unsheathed her sword. "He's a pretty busy man these days."
"Enough talk!" Nemyunoi snarled. "Now you all die!" She rushed forward, sword drawn. X'lish and Nibet ran to meet her, their swords clashing. Wunkhani attempted to back up his sister, but stopped in his tracks when Faldr punched him across the face.
"I'm fine with letting my wife handle your sister." He rubbed his hand as Wunkhani shook his head and recomposed himself. "I was never as good with a sword anyway. But you made the mistake of trying to go at us with your fists." Faldr dropped into a martial arts stance. "So now I get to take you apart."
Faldr struck Wunkhani in the chest. Before he could recover, Faldr slammed his fist into Wunkhani's chin. Swept his legs out from under him. Caught him in the temple on the way down. Hit him twice in the ribs before Wunkhani could roll away and stand back up. Despite the barrage of blows, the young acrobat seemed unfazed. Faldr maneuvered behind him, dodging several wide strikes. Then he grabbed Wunkhani's wrist and broke his arm at the elbow. The sound of the joint cracking reverberated across the entire roof.
"Brother!" Nemyunoi screamed, barely holding her own against her two targets. Her outburst distracted her from the fight for just a moment, and in that time Nibet was able to knock the sword from her grip, forcing her even further back
Faldr stood over Wunkhani as he fell to his knees, clutching his arm. Despite the major wound Faldr had inflicted, he remained silent. Not a single sign of pain escaped his lips or crossed his face.
"I'm really sorry about this." Faldr shook his head as Wunkhani stared at his own arm, bent backward by the force of Faldr's blow. "But you really left me with no choice. Now you can either surrender, and we can end this, or stand back up and I can break something else." Wunkhani closed his eyes and stood back up. "Very well." Faldr prepared for another round. Wunkhani ignored him. Instead, he gripped his own arm and bent it back into place.
"Thank you." Wunkhani muttered, putting his fists up, his broken arm seemingly healed.
"Come again?"
"Thanks to you, we've been given the tools to fight long after normal Bones would be dead."
"Thanks to me?" Faldr asked as he and Wunkhani circled each other. "I don't recall ever giving you a hand. I can take one though. That won't be terribly difficult."
"You can drop the act." Wunkhani said, his voice still low and barely audible. "We all know what you are."
"I don't quite know what you mean. But I'll make you tell me, one way or another." Faldr studied Wunkhani's stance, looking for the optimal place to strike. Suddenly a dropship descended from the sky, guns whirling and ramp open. The roof also began shaking, and explosions could be seen off in the distance.
"Another time, perhaps." Wunkhani smiled as he and his sister backed away from their respective fights.
"I'll make sure to thrash you all another time." Nemyunoi hissed as the two of them disappeared back into the Norgabard.
"Let's go." Phoney motioned toward the open ramp.
"I couldn't agree more." X'lish said as the four of them walked onto the dropship. "I've had more than enough amateur hour for one day."
"Hey boss." The dropship's human pilot shouted back as he raised the ramp and prepared for takeoff. "Sorry I'm late. I had pick up a passenger."
"Passenger?" Nibet asked. "What do you mean?"
"He means me." Another Bone stepped out from the cockpit. It was Admiral Satranik Haenkos. "I heard a rumor you all were still alive. So I had to come up here and check it out for myself. And, of course, I brought a battalion of my finest men with me." She surveyed who all was in the dropship as it took off into the sky. "I expect you can explain why… This," She motioned to the four of them, "While we make our way back to my base."
"I can't, exactly." Phoney said. "But I do know someone who can." He pulled out a briefcase from a storage locker and opened it up. It was the same device he had used to contact Faldr and Jigafta months ago. He booted it up and pressed the call button. After a moment, Nagratek's face flickered to life on screen.
"Hello Phoney. I expect you've got some results for me." He said. "Things are... slow going on our end, to say the least. I could really use some good news right now."
"Well you came to the right place." Phoney smirked. "May I introduce Faldr Milzaek and Admiral Satranik Haenkos." Nagratek studied Faldr for a moment.
"Yeah, that about makes sense." He said. "Faldr always was a tough one. So, I take it you two want an explanation?"
"It'd be nice." Faldr shrugged.
"I just got here, and already I have no idea what's going on." Satranik responded. "So I'll take whatever you can give me, Jigafta."
"Right, that." Nagratek sighed. "First of all, my name isn't really Jigafta Utenki. It's Nagratek. As in the true Nagrateks, not Kelkaid's obsessive fantasy. Secondly, before we continue, I need you two to understand that you work for me now. Is that clear."
"My allegiance is to the Republic." Satranik said. "I can't just start taking orders from someone else, even if it's you."
"Would it help to know that Phoney also works for me? Trust me, what I'm about to tell you goes deeper that anything you thought was possible. Now do we understand each other?" Nagratek looked between the two of them. Reluctantly, they both nodded. "Excellent." Nagratek rubbed his hands together. "Now, I suppose the best place to start would be the beginning…"