Author's note: Wow… how long has it been? Did I forget I still had this thing? I can't remember… it must be that dodgy looking fish I had for supper back in October or something… Anyway, I'm back and this time I'm not letting my laziness or any fish to stop me from finishing this story (at least I hope so). Please remember to review, or I really would cease my muse from going any further with this idea.

Chapter 8: Seeds of Rebellion

It had always amazed Atto to think that despite the various disasters and so called Armageddon everyone talked about; the human race always seemed to survive virtually unscathed. Over the course of a million years nature has always tried all she could to dispose of the ape descendent life forms but to no avail, mankind continued to exist in some form and multiplied even faster than they did before.

Now though, Atto wasn't all that sure.

As he searched the large and crowded warehouse for anyone he might recognise, he realised that this time, Mother Nature had been serious. Whispers of what had happened after the initial attack filled the place as men, women, and children discussed in terror of what shall become of them. Those who had volunteered as scouts to the surface claimed that Ascalon appeared to be disserted, and all that's left of the city were ruins and shadows of its once glory past.

But there were other rumours, rumours of hope and peace, and as he approached the far end of the warehouse, he began to pick up what some people were saying.

"They say that the sky's blue again," One boy no older than him whispered in the corner.

"But that's impossible," came a reply from a girl who was sat hunched against the wall with her head leaned against the boy's shoulder, she appeared to have sustained an injury to her shoulder and even from this distance, Atto could tell that an infection is working it's way throughout her system, "Ever since the neutron bomb went off, the sky was decimated with all life forms unprotected from it's radiation eradicated." She paused for a moment and looked briefly at Atto's direction before turning back to her companion, "I suppose it would be nice to see it for real, though, to feel the wind in your hair and the sun in your eyes…"

"Then go up there and see it, then."

Both kids stared upwards at Atto, who was now standing right before them, intent to join the conversation. Silence then followed with neither of the three knowing what to say, the boy wore a look of slight annoyance in his face at the sudden intrusion yet the girl had curiosity written all over her.

"But we can't, there might still be more of them up there," She whispered with her eyes still fixed on the stranger, "Besides, no one's been outside the city limits for decades now, who knows if the air is still contaminated."

Atto knelt down at one knee and locked his eyes onto hers, for a moment, she looked almost identical to Angel but he blinked the thought away and whispered, "Those dragon riders came from the outside, don't you think they should be vomiting all over the place if the air really is contaminated?"

Silence fell between them again; the boy sat near Atto was getting angry now, for all he knows this kid could be a dangerous madman looking for some extra meat. Yet there he was, staring intently into the girl with no emotion on his face at all and for a brief second, the boy wondered if he knew them.

"What are you saying, then?" He asked, finally getting the stranger to notice his existence, "That we should just go up there and check it out? Even when my sister might get her head taken off by some dragon riding freak?"

"I'm not a child anymore, Yarou! So stop treating me like one." The girl stared at her brother sternly, making sure that her point was being fully put across before turning back to Atto, "Are you saying that you know how to get up there without being seen?"

"Lucy!" The boy cried in protest but to no avail.

Atto looked away from her eyes and thought about it, he has yet to fully explore the compound to know all of it's entrances and exits, plus there's too much people around for them to leave without some adults dragging them back to their places the moment they're seen anywhere near the doors. But on the other hand, there's so much noise in here that everyone would be occupied with something.

"I'll report back here as soon as I check the place out, be ready to get moving as soon as I return." And with that, he stood up and began to walk away before a firm hand was placed onto his shoulder and pulled him back. When he turns to see whom it was the eyes of the boy known as Yarou met his and he's not happy with what was happening.

"Listen, wise guy," He snarled, ready to knock Atto out without any warning, "I'm not letting you take my sister away without an explanation, just what are you playing at? What good would it do to us even if you somehow manage to get us out? Do you even know what you're doing?"

Atto stared back at him for a few seconds before replying in the calmest tone he could master, "Those scouts believes that the city is empty of anyone else, we are all that's left, yet they do nothing about it. Do you seriously want stay here for the rest of your life whilst worrying about what you might find up there? Man kind didn't become the top dog of this planet without taking risks and that's exactly what I intend to do." He took a brief glance at Yarou's sister, who was starting to pull on bits of extra clothing in case the temperature might be lower than she's used to, "Your sister seemed to be prepared to take the risk to find out what's out there, are you?"

Perplexed, the boy took his hand off of Atto's shoulder but he continued to stare at him with mistrust written all over his face and even as he watched the stranger walk towards the nearest exit he can find, Yarou couldn't help but feel that he's on to something other than exploration.

As dawn rose, the flames that served as a reminder of battle finally died down. Across the wasteland that was Ascalon, three teenagers crawled from the smashed remains of a large bunker and stood facing the devastation that stared back at them. From above, the calling of an eagle caught their eye as it soared with a graceful flick of its wings and disappeared beyond the horizon.

"Life…" Atto whispered, stretching to get one last glimpse of the bird that seemed so out of place against the remains of this ghost city. They headed onwards, devoid of any sense of where they were and where they were going, for everything that once seemed so familiar were now smashed beyond recognition. From a nearby stadium with its roof totally caved in came the smell of burning flesh as insects and birds alike pecking away at the rotting bodies of men, women and children. The three paused and glanced at the building, trying to remember what it was once like, before the nightmare came.

"See?" Yarou turned to the others with disgust written on his face, they have barely made more than a few hundred yards, and already his arms and legs were covered with even more bruises and cuts than before. "There's nothing here, nothing but corpses anyway."

For a few moments, they searched the skies, hoping to see another eagle or some other signs that there's still hope for this city. None came.

"Let's go," Yarou spoke again, this time tugging at his sister's arm, beckoning her to go back. Nearby, however, Atto remained as still as ever, continuing to stare at the sky.

"There's nothing here!"

As though brought back to reality, the still heavily wounded boy looked back at his two companions and smiled. "Exactly, there's nothing here, no dragons, no men with swords, nothing. We're safe to come out." He studied their faces for any reactions but saw none. For the first time, even Lucy seemed eager to get back to safety.

"It is nice to see the sky again," She whispered, waving at her surroundings "But I can't ignore all this, I mean for all I know one of these bodies could be my best friend," She stared into Atto's eyes, her mouth quivering at the memories and pointed at a deserted rail way station with a MD express crumpled into a sphere of crushed metal and shattered glass, "And my parents could've been on that train when it crashed and…" She slump onto her knees and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut it all away, "…and I just can't bear to see all this, not with my eyes and not in my dreams, I just can't bear it."

Her brother quickly knelt down and embraced her into a tight hug, sometimes the only way for a big brother to calm his siblings and for a moment, all that could be heard was their quiet sobs and the distant calls of a crow. All of a sudden, Ascalon never seemed so empty, so deserted, so dead, and Atto smashed his fist against a nearby piece of rubble to make some sort of noise to cover the unbearable silence as much as burying his own grief into the dusty little crater filled with the blood seeping from his hand.

"They're dead, I know," He turned to the couple, both of whom were staring at him in amazement, "but we are still here, and unless we want to hand our lives to them on a silver platter, we've got to survive."