Demise
Chapter Four
Repton
Brotherhood

Cyclonia was losing. That was a well known fact. His brothers were on edge, not liking being on the losing side of the war. They spoke among themselves, wishing that he would switch sides, like so many others did. None of them said anything to his face however. They feared him too much for that.

They didn't know what he knew however. They didn't know just how much they were between a rock and a hard place.

On one side, there were the Sky Knights, ready to bring "justice" down upon them. On the other was Master Cyclonis. She had made a promise to him that if he ever made a move against her, she would raze Terra Bogaton. He had little doubt that she would keep her word.

Why couldn't they see that? Couldn't they see that every decision he's made was for them? Repton didn't consider himself a sentimental person, but there were just somethings you had to stay loyal to. They were family, and he had made a promise to mother to keep his hatch mates safe.

Tilting his head slightly, he took in his brothers who were sitting silently at his back. Their eyes were dull and tired looking. None of them had gotten any sleep last night. That was pretty much impossible with the two battle fleets fighting it out over their heads. His brothers didn't know it, but Master Cyclonis had contacted him last night, demanding to know why he wasn't attacking the Sky Knights. She gave him until noon to decide just where his loyalties lie. if he wasn't out there attacking the enemies of Cyclonia, his terra was going to get razed.

He hissed slightly as his eyes ran over the collection of squadron shields on the wall. Those had been his pride, his joy. But now, they suddenly seemed unimportant. He turned to face his brothers, uncertain of what he had to say. He needed to make a decision, and soon. Noon was coming close.

They looked up at him expectantly.

Repton hissed slightly, considering what he had to say. "Boys... I'm... I'm giving you an order." He had considered his options carefully, and found that this was the only one that gave his brothers a chance at survival. "Leave here and join the Sky Knights."

They looked relieved, glad to see that Repton had seen the light of things. They all turned to go to their sky rides. It was Spitz who noticed that he made no move to join them. "Boss?"

"I'm not coming with you," Repton replied, hissing through his teeth. "I have to fight for the Cyclonians."

His brothers looked startled, more like alarmed.

"You're going to fight against us?" Hoerk asked, confused like he often was.

"Not against you... Just against the Sky Knights. I have no choice." He turned away from them. "Now go." When none of them moved, he turned and glared at them. "I thought I told you to leave!" He drew his boomerang and it ignited, casting shadows on his three brothers.

"But boss... Who'll take care of us?" Leugey asked. He had always relied on what Repton told him to do. What could he do without him?

"You can take care of yourselves." Repton lifted his weapon before turning towards them again. "This is our only chance! If you don't leave right now, I'll kill you! I swear I will!"

Their eyes widened and they all took a step back. Leugey's eyes filled with tears- he had always been the sentimental one. None of them knew what was going on. The only one who even had a chance of understanding the situation was Spitz, but Repton was in no mood for filling him in.

Why didn't they leave, dammit? Why couldn't they just follow their orders? Snarling, he took a step forward. "GO!"

The three scrambled away and mounted their sky rides. They took off, not having to worry about the air defense system; it had been disabled by enemies long ago. Leugey turned back to look at Repton as he left their hut, but was met only with Repton's cold glare.

Extinguishing his blade, Repton mounted his skimmer and flew off toward the Cyclonian side of the battle.

The battle had not gone well for the Cyclonians, but the Sky Knights made no move to take Terra Bogaton, so it remained in Cyclonian hands for the time being. Repton had managed to avoid his brothers during the battle much to his relief.

Much to his displeasure, Cyclonis asked to see him. The meeting place was Bogaton; she had decided to make a base their. He knelt down before her, not meeting her gaze.

"You must think that I'm a fool, Repton," she hissed.

Repton couldn't help but glance up at her. "What do you mean?"

"I know what you did. How you betrayed my by sending your brothers away!"

"No, they left on their own," he lied. He had a lie all thought out in case he hadn't died during the battle. "They're cowards and traitors, all of them!" He hissed for an extra effect.

"I am no fool! I know that you ordered them away!" Master Cyclonis thrust a familiar looking crystal in his direction.

Repton's eyes widened as he was suddenly crushed against a tree. Memories from the throne room flashed before his eyes as he was slowly crushed. "N-no!" He was dying, slowly and painfully as he tried to gasp for air.

His reptilian eyes caught a flash of yellow and a sudden burst of anger from Master Cyclonis. Suddenly, he was on the ground gasping for breath. He glanced to the left, where he spotted Spitz, catching his boomerang as it returned to him.

"You fool!" Repton managed to gasp. He was suddenly hoisted to his feet by Hoerk.

"We're getting out of here, boss."

Master Cyclonis retrieved her crystal from the ground and was about to thrust it at Repton again, when a large figure burst through the guards and bounced into her, throwing her to the ground.

"You're all fools," Repton said weakly. "I ordered you away for a reason!"

Hoerk grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards his skimmer. He was joined by Spitz and Leugey who ducked to avoid crystal blasts.

"You'll regret this Repton!" Master Cyclonis shrieked at him. "Terra Bogaton will be razed to the ground."

Repton stared at her angry face as his brothers flew him away. "Why? Why would you disobey a direct order like that?" he hissed. "Now Terra Bogaton will be destroyed! Our home!" His eyes sparkled in anger.

Spitz glanced at him. "You're our hatch mate," he said. He seemed a bit nervous at Repton's anger. "We couldn't let you get killed like that..." He hissed a bit nervously. "Would you have left us to get killed?"

He wanted to snarl a yes, but he was too tired to argue. "Let's just get out of here."

From aboard an Atmosian battleship, the brothers watched as their terra was razed to the ground by Master Cyclonis's forces. Repton clenched his teeth together, unwilling to show emotion in front of his brothers. His eyes sparkled in anger. "I will avenge Terra Bogaton." His voice was cold and deadly serious.

"No," Spitz replied. "We will... We all will. We're brothers. We'll do it together."

Repton just closed his eyes and nodded. He opened them again. "Hmph... You're just lucky about that promise I made to mother..." He swallowed any emotion that he had and turned away from them. He had thought that if he lost Terra Bogaton, that he lost everything. But perhaps he was wrong. He had something left after all. Brotherhood.