Foreword:

It's weird... I can picture Kaden in my mind pretty easily (for obvious reasons ;P), but I still have a hard time getting my mind around the image of teenage Alister Azimuth. *_* I think I'm getting better about it, though. ^-^ Anyways, I wish I could've posted this chapter sooner, but I was just having the darnedest time working out the fight scene, and then my laptop broke, and... Yeah, it's just been one of those weeks. DX But! I finally finished, and here it is. :) Before we get going, though, I have to report some possible future delay on my end. I have big life changes coming up in the next few weeks that will almost certainly affect my writing schedule. I'm hoping I won't have to put this story on hold (I'll do everything in my power to prevent that!), but don't be surprised if the wait between updates gets longer. Also, I've made some minor edits to the earlier chapters, but nothing you need to go back and reread for. I'm just making a note, that's all. ;) Okay, everybody—time for Al's perspective on the pirate raid! XD

"Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love."

— 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

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Alister prayed under his breath for Kaden's safety as their conversation abruptly ended. That cocky little daredevil was bound to get himself in some kind of trouble... but his willingness—nay, eagerness—to risk his own safety for the sake of strangers was more than admirable. It wouldn't be all that surprising if Kaden actually managed to do some good in the resistance effort—Alister just hoped he wouldn't get himself sliced to ribbons in the process.

Forcing his worry aside, he dashed through the halls of the Militia Training Center. A foreboding urgency infused the air as he and his comrades in arms made their way to the ship hanger, alarms blaring in their ears and periodically bathing the surroundings in a blood-red glow. Alister led the charge of battle-ready Lombaxes as they came streaming into the massive room where rows of identical ships lined the outer walls. A narrow strip of light appeared down the central aisle, widening by the second, and Alister looked up at the high ceiling as it parted, allowing the light of day to stream into the dark.

Raiken was standing in the center of the massive space, near the fleet's largest ship which was positioned separately from all the others. He turned to see his troops charging toward him, and wasted no time in beginning his rushed, minimal briefing.

"All right, ladies, it's time to see if all your training has been worth my time. We're estimating about thirty ships, and several hundred raiders. They're spread out across the Southeastern portion of the settlement, from Central Plaza clear out to the suburbs at the edge of town. Most of them aren't heavily armed, so I don't expect they'll offer heavy resistance, but don't let your guard down. You all know your team and ship assignments, so move out!"

"Yes, sir!" the gathering said in unison, and they immediately dispersed, each rushing to their ships where they began launch sequences with adept speed.

Just as Alister was about to join them, Raiken grasped his arm. "Hold it, Azimuth," he said. "You're coming with me."

Alister repressed a gasp of surprise and gazed up at his commander. The other two high-tier members present looked surprised as well, but they didn't argue. Offering no explanation, Raiken waltzed up the ramp leading into the large ship, and the two other Lombaxes followed. Alister hesitated for a second, doubting his own senses, but then took a deep breath and hurried aboard the the flagship.

When he emerged in the cockpit, Alister scanned for an empty chair and jumped into the first one he saw. He could already feel his muscles tensing, his battle and survival instincts competing for supremacy. Having joined the militia by choice, it was not as though he didn't expect to fight at some point, but what in the world was he doing on the flagship with the core elite? He glanced up at Raiken, who was in the pilot's seat with his second-in-command already prepping the ship for launch in the seat beside him.

"Open a channel to the fleet," Raiken ordered, and his co-pilot obediently punched in the command sequence. Raiken then proceeded to rattle off another string of instructions.

"I want everyone spread out in standard defensive formation. Half of the personnel on each ship will be discharged as infantry while the remaining crew maintains an aerial assault. Pilots, focus on taking out the enemy ships. If they can't get away we might be able to recover some of our losses, and the more casualties they suffer, the less likely they are to try this kind of stunt again."

As he said all this, Raiken expertly guided the control stick of the ship with his left hand while adjusting the speed and altitude dials with his right. Alister watched him in amazement, and swallowed as he gathered his nerve to face the coming battle. Raiken was a seasoned war veteran who'd seen enough action in his lifetime to make this kind of thing routine. Alister was still a relatively new recruit, who had never even been in real combat before. Raiken had more experience being a soldier than Alister had being alive. He was grateful to be facing this challenge with such a hardened warrior fighting by his side, but the idea that he was actually going into battle for the first time still made him... uneasy.

Alister looked out the ship's windshield as the the militia fleet rose up through the open ceiling of the hangar and took to the skies. He waited a moment after Raiken stopped speaking to be sure he was finished before daring to voice his concern.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" he asked, trying not to let any apprehension leak into his voice.

"Granted," Raiken replied.

"Why did you bring me with you?"

"Because you're the best this militia has to offer."

Alister stifled a gasp, wondering if he'd heard correctly. "But... I have the least experience out of almost anyone."

"Let me tell you something, Azimuth," the war veteran said in a hard, steady voice. "How good of a soldier you are has nothing to do with your age or your upbringing, and even your training isn't what's most important... The only thing that really matters is how strongly you believe in what you're doing—because everything else hinges on that."

Alister gaped in awed silence, unable to think of anything to say in response to Raiken's empowering statement. Then one of the other Lombaxes in the ship turned to face him with a hard smile and said, "He's right, kid. I sure can fight a heck of a lot better now than I could when I was your age, but I never would've gotten where I am without a whole lot of raw ambition... and you have that in abundance."

In spite of the foreboding danger poisoning the moment, Alister couldn't help but smile at this compliment. Suddenly he didn't feel so out of his element anymore. No longer was he surrounded by his superiors, but his comrades. Lombaxes just like him, who wanted to protect the innocent just like he did... and despite a staggering difference in age and maturity, they had faith in him.

Suddenly Raiken got up out of his seat while the Lombax sitting beside Alister automatically rose to replace him. Alister gulped down his nerves as Raiken looked down at him and asked, "Ready?"

With a determined nod, Alister got on his feet. The ship pulled down near to the ground, and the lower hatch eased ominously open to a view of the street zipping by not two meters away. Alister's heart pounded in his chest as he waited for a signal. What couldn't have been more than a few seconds felt like five minutes.

"Now!" Raiken shouted, and Alister leapt into action in synch with his leader, perfectly executing the 'tuck-and-roll' maneuver that he'd practiced in training simulations until it was instinct. He plunged headfirst through the open hatch as though he were diving underwater, then coiled up his body as he contacted the ground to land in a somersault. Raiken landed beside him, and they both surveyed the surrounding area to assess the situation.

The pirates had arrived just minutes ago and had already done a great deal of damage. Hovercars with holes blasted through their engines were crashing headlong into buildings. Shattered glass was raining down in the streets like hail. Lombaxes scattered in all directions in a frantic effort to flee— some of them hindered by serious injuries—screaming in either fear or pain. Alister's compassion swelled within him, but he forced himself to ignore it. He had to remember that his purpose here was to eliminate the threat, not to tend the hurt.

He looked to his commander for instructions, and Raiken immediately provided them. "Follow me!"

Alister obeyed, and barreled at top speed after Raiken as he led the way through the streets, explaining his plan as he went. "We need to take out the leaders; it'll make the rest panic and lose cohesion as a group, which will make them easier to pick off."

"Yes, sir."

Raiken shortly halted in his tracks, his eyes snapping off to the right. He didn't even need to explain to his partner that he'd singled out their first target. The pirate was huge. A bulky mass of gray and brown metal with a boxy head and a gigantic cannon in place of one arm. His other arm extended awkwardly from the shoulder joint in the shape of an arc, where it ended in a strange iron disc that was stamped against the ground like it was meant to anchor the creature in place. Such a notion wouldn't have been all that surprising, either, since the pirate's legs were laughably short, and most certainly too weak to support the rest of his massive frame on their own.

He barked out orders to the pirates around him in mangled nautical slang that no one but another pirate could fully understand. Periodically he fired off a large bomb for no apparent reason and demolished the side of yet another building. Alister felt his anger rising within him as he glared at the spectacle in disgust. A split second later he reached for his holstered weapon and charged ahead, one step behind his superior. The monster pirate turned to see them within the same second that they began firing their blasters.

No effect. The discharge from their weapons dissipated harmlessly against his armor, and the creature's misshapen face contorted into a twisted smile.

"Ye be hungry for punishment, I see," he said. "Have at it, then!"

He leveled his cannon in their direction, and the two Lombaxes bolted out of the way as a bomb almost as big as either of them blasted forth and exploded, leaving an impressive crater where they had stood mere seconds ago.

"Take cover!" Raiken ordered, and they dashed around the corner of the nearest building. There was no time to relax, though, and they remained at high alert.

"What now?" Alister asked.

"Do you have that freeze gadget that you always use in training?"

"Yeah."

"All right, listen: we're gonna go back out there, and when that thing takes aim, I want you to get one of those bombs into his cannon. Leave the rest to me."

Alister swallowed nervously. Did he say inside the cannon? Alister prided himself on being an accurate shot, but target practice in training was a completely different story. Ready or not, however, he had to try. This was a crisis situation, and he couldn't afford to question his capabilities. He nodded in confirmation, and Raiken turned from him to face the direction from which the pirate's derogatory shouts still issued. An explosion sounded nearby and a tremor shook them hard. Alister had to jump out of the way as a huge chunk of the structure sheltering them crumbled loose and came crashing down. He hated to imagine what the other side of the building looked like right now.

"That's our cue," Raiken said, and Alister followed him back into the fray.

Sure enough, as soon as they came around the corner the pirate turned his ugly head to fix his gaze, and once more pointed his enormous weapon at them. Alister steeled his nerves and forced himself to drop the sudden observation that he could probably fit inside that barrel. He kept moving forward just fast enough not to give away his intentions, and waited until he could see straight down the length of the cannon, where another bomb was armed and ready.

Just as a faint yellow glow began rising up in the belly of the beast, Alister pitched hard with his right arm. He shut his eyes and hoped for a miracle as a tiny cryobomb left his hand. If he missed, it was all over. The device seared through the air and announced its landing with a clank and a familiar hiss. A worried look crossed the pirate's face for a split second before his shoulder exploded. The fearsome cannon arm that had moments ago posed such a huge threat fell harmless to the ground, and Alister's face broke into an ecstatic grin.

It was too early to celebrate, however. The pirate was still standing. Wasting no time, Raiken raced toward him and scrambled up his remaining arm. He anticipated the monster's wild thrashing and held tight to the collar-like ring of armor around his neck, all the while wedging his blaster's nose through a crack in the head plating. Alister heard the familiar but muffled sound of the weapon going off at least four times, and immediately the great beast's movement ceased. His cold, still body tumbled forward and clattered to the ground, while Raiken leapt from the back of its head to join his excited partner on the ground.

"Sir, that was—!"

"Save it, Azimuth, there's no time for that now. The raiders are already retreating back to their ships. We have to destroy as many of them as possible before they can escape!"

"Yes, sir!"

Alister saluted his commander, and the two warriors charged back into battle side-by-side.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Once in training, Raiken had told Alister that, "even when it's over, it's not over." Alister had never understood exactly what that meant until now. The raid had lasted about fifteen minutes, but just from looking around one could tell that it would likely take months if not years to repair all the damage. It had taken two solid hours just to calm things down after the fact, and Alister had spent those hours rushing furiously about, doing his part as a member of the militia to aid the people. There were so many immediate needs to be filled—and so many casualties.

Whenever he saw someone limping on a hurt leg or screaming in agony from a deep flesh wound, he bit his lip and tried to draw comfort from the fact that they fared far better than the dozens of Lombaxes who had lost a lot more than a limb in the raid. The sidewalks were lined with lifeless bodies spilling warm blood onto cold pavement, and the air was infused with the smell of charred flesh from victims of the pirates' vaporizing rays. Alister gagged on the breaths that filled his lungs, and gasped in relief when he had to climb into the remains of a collapsed building where it smelled of dust and smoke. His stomach turned over, however, when he reached the children he'd been sent in to rescue and found one of them crushed between two giant chunks of rubble, the other two crying frantically for someone to help him.

When finally things calmed enough and the air cleared enough for Alister to breathe easy, he heaved an exhausted sigh and let his head and shoulders fall limp, resisting the urge to just collapse on the ground in the fetal position. He straightened when he felt a strong hand clap him on the back, and turned to look at Raiken as he came up beside him.

"You did well back there, Azimuth," he said, managing a weak smile. It was obvious, though, that he was just as upset right now as Alister was.

"Thank you, sir," Alister replied, wearing an even weaker smile. Normally he would have been beaming with pride that the hard-nosed, impossible-to-please ex-Lieutenant had actually paid him a direct compliment, and for the second time in one day... but nothing felt good to hear right now. In the wake of such a cruel injustice, all was bleak for both of them.

A familiar chirping sound broke the heavy silence, and suddenly a small device fluttered into view and stopped in front of them, suspended in the air. It was one of those hovering holo-screens that was used to deliver messages. Before Alister had the sense to wonder where it had come from, it announced in a robotic, prerecorded voice, "Message for the current leader of the Lumos settlement's local militia."

"Relay the message," Raiken said automatically, and the blank screen blinked to a crisp image of an orange Lombax in impressive uniform.

"This is General Braxton of the Lombax Pretorian Guard. Report on your—" The officer stopped suddenly and blinked in surprise. "Oh, my... Raiken, is that you?"

The black Lombax stiffened. "It's been a long time," he said after a second's hesitation. "I'm afraid catching up will have to wait, however. Right now we're dealing with the aftermath of the most significant incident to concern Lombax kind since the end of the Great War."

"Indeed," said the officer. "I didn't think any race other than the Agorians would have the gall to attack a Lombax settlement. Next thing you know they'll be trying to pull a raid on bloody Fastoon."

"I don't think there's much danger of something that extreme for quite some time. This raid appears to have been fairly random. However, it does confirm my recent fears that the number of pirates and mercenaries in Polaris is increasing exponentially, and they perceive our inability to keep up with them. If something isn't done, attacks on Lombaxes similar to this one will not only continue, but grow worse."

The General sighed in frustration. "What a mess... The Vullards were already squeamish about allowing us to have a settlement on one of their planets. Decisive military action is definitely in order, Raiken. What do you suggest?"

"At the moment I can only request that you send troops from Fastoon to Lumos to fortify our defenses. We've repelled the pirates, but it's still possible that an unscrupulous third party will try to take advantage of the fact that we're vulnerable at the moment."

The look on General Braxton's face made it painfully obvious that he was averse to this idea, and he heaved another defeated sigh before reluctantly muttering, "Very well. But I have a return request to make of you... As I'm sure you know, Fastoon doesn't have many surplus soldiers to send off at the moment. So I'd like you to inquire among your militia, as well as the civilians living in the Lumos settlement, for volunteers to join the formal military and relocate to Fastoon for proper training."

"I'll see to it."

"And Raiken," Braxton quickly interjected, "I don't imagine you're very warm to the idea of rejoining the Guard yourself, but... If there's any chance you'd reconsider, I can have you reinstated at your former rank, and I can even pull some strings to make sure you retain command over any among your current subordinates who join alongside you... The military is in need of strong leadership, especially at a time like this."

Raiken drew in a long, sharp breath, and Alister could tell he was holding back a very potent emotional response. Compared to his hidden loathing for this new request, General Braxton's reluctance to send troops looked like overjoyed eagerness. Nonetheless, he closed his eyes and considered seriously for a brief moment, then looked back up to lock eyes with the officer and said, "All right, then... I'll leave it to my second-in-command to wrap things up here... and I'll be on my way to Fastoon within the hour."

"Well, I appreciate your gusto, but there's really no need to rush your arrival so much. Feel free to finish your business on Lumos first."

"Thank you, General... but if I'm going to do this, I need to do it now, without giving myself time to reconsider."

Braxton stared at his new colleague knowingly and sympathetically for a few silent seconds. "I understand," he said at last. "My sincerest gratitude."

The transmission cut out and the holo-screen flew away. Raiken huffed a sigh that sounded almost like a growl and muttered under his breath. It was almost inaudible, but Alister thought he made out something like, 'once a soldier, always a soldier.'

The black Lombax turned and started to walk away, and Alister rushed after him, urgently pleading, "Sir, let me come with you."

"That's not necessary, Azimuth," Raiken said flatly, without slowing his pace or even turning to look at his subordinate. "You heard what he said. Soon there'll be a transport full of new recruits bound for Fastoon. Just wait until then and take the time to think it over and get your affairs in order."

Alister rushed to his side and matched his pace, stubbornly arguing, "I don't have any affairs to get in order—and I've been thinking it over since I was a kid." He brazenly grabbed Raiken's arm, commanding his attention and stopping him in his tracks. It took a lot of effort not to wince at the affronted look on his commander's face. Surely such a breach in protocol merited severe reprimand, especially since Raiken was essentially a Lieutenant as of two minutes ago. But Alister was willing to face that risk, rather than watch this opportunity slip through his fingers.

"Please, sir..." he entreated in his most submissive, respectful tone. "Take me with you."

Raiken stood stone-still, regarding Alister with a sharp gaze and an entirely unreadable expression. Finally he said, "You realize that once you commit to this, there's no turning back."

"I know," Alister replied with firm conviction.

A twitch of the Lieutenant's lips betrayed the faintest of smiles, and he crossed his arms in front of him. "All right, then. I'll go make preparations to leave and come back to collect you in a little while."

Alister's face broke out into a grateful grin. He straightened and said with a strong salute, "Yes, sir!"

Raiken rolled his eyes and turned to walk away, and Alister watched him disappear into the haze that had permeated the air from all of the dust and crumbled infrastructure. The teenager released his anxiety in the form of a long exhale. He hadn't felt this rush of fear mixed with excitement since the day he was initiated into the militia. One more hurdle cleared. One more huge step toward his goal. It was getting closer by the day, and he would keep pressing forward, no matter how frightening it was.

He absentmindedly glanced off to the right, and through a thin veil of rising smoke he saw a blurry image of what looked like an amber Lombax staggering by. He gasped. Could that be... "Kaden?"

The figure turned to face him as the smoke cleared, revealing his ashen young face as he muttered, "Alister..."

"Kaden!" Alister rushed to his friend, both happy and worried. Kaden was in one piece, thank God, but he didn't look so good. "Are you all right?"

Kaden drew an unsteady breath, and his focus drifted to the ground as he said in a weak voice, "I think I'm gonna pass out..."

He stumbled forward and Alister caught him by the arms as he practically collapsed on him.

"Whoa! What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No..."

"What happened?"

Kaden struggled to steady himself, swallowing as he looked up and met Alister's concerned eyes. At last he ventured to explain, "Nayeli's parents... were killed in the raid."

"Oh, wow..." Alister murmured in shock. "What did you do?"

"Well, I... I asked her to marry me."

Alister blinked a few times, eying his friend in dumbfounded silence. After a long pause, he at last muttered, "You... what?"

A panicked look washed over Kaden's face as he added, "She said yes."

Another long pause. "She what?!"

"You've gotta help me, Al!" Kaden exclaimed, grasping Alister's arms tightly as fearful desperation filled his eyes. "I'm not ready to get married! I'm freakin' seventeen years old!"

"Yeah, I know, and she's—what, sixteen?"

"You're not helping!"

"Well, you're not making any sense! I mean— seriously, what the heck?"

Kaden stepped back and attempted to calm himself, taking a few seconds to steady his panicked breathing. "All right, look..." he said, his voice still a bit shaky. "I just—didn't want her to get swallowed up by the legal system, okay? I figured if she got married, then..."

Alister stared in shock at Kaden as he trailed off. He had never seen him like this—gasping out each breath while his dilated green eyes zipped to and fro. The fact that he had even thought to do something like this, much less actually mustered the nerve to do it...

Alister had never respected his best friend more, even though he'd also never seen him in a weaker state.

"Whoa..." he whispered in awe. "You really..."

Kaden kept his face low, his ears hanging limp behind his head... He wasn't exaggerating how distressful this was for him. All the spirit had drained right out of him, and he was barely able to function in his shock.

"Where's Nayeli now?" Alister asked, trying to say something useful despite his surprise.

"I'm not sure... She had to go identify her mother's body..." Kaden said nothing for a short moment, then exclaimed, "What should I do, Al? Tell me what I should do!"

At that moment Alister could not have described how badly he wanted to help Kaden—how much he wished he could say something encouraging to bolster his shattered confidence—but he was still in shock himself, and helpless to answer the pressing question before him.

To make things even worse, Raiken suddenly came running around the corner of a nearby building, urgently calling out, "Come on, Azimuth! The ship is being prepared for takeoff as we speak."

Kaden gasped and looked from the leader of the militia back to his friend. "You're leaving?"

Alister felt a pang of guilt jolt through him as he looked into Kaden's eyes, which were glazed over in childlike dread. He hesitantly explained, "The military is sending troops here to defend against possible future attacks, but... in exchange they need volunteers from Lumos to join the formal military and undergo training on Fastoon."

Kaden was silent as his countenance began to waver, and he turned away to hide it from his best friend.

"Kaden, I... I don't know what to say..." Alister muttered regretfully.

"No, it's—okay..." Kaden said with some difficulty, clenching his trembling fists. "You've been planning on this all your life. I shouldn't be surprised."

Alister bit his lip and looked away for a second before turning once more to his friend. "I'm sorry, Kade... You've always been there for me, and here I am leaving you at a time like this..."

He closed the gap between them in a few somber steps, grabbed Kaden's shoulder to turn him around, and then grasped his other shoulder to hold him steady as he looked him solemnly in the eye.

"You shouldn't have to face this alone..." he said. "But you can. You're smart enough, strong enough, and kind enough to get through it. I believe in you."

Kaden held his gaze for a quiet moment, then screwed his eyes shut and pressed forward, leaning against Alister's chest and wrapping his arms tightly around him. Alister stifled a surprised gasp, but quickly succumbed to the moment and hugged Kaden back... The two of them had never before expressed their bond in such an affectionate way, and it felt a trifle awkward... but even so, it was a perfect substantiation of how close they really were. All this time, as the days passed in a blur, they had slowly become each other's constant companion—the only trace of stability in a cruel, ever-changing world that had otherwise left them in its dust... And now, even that was changing.

While they had innocently chased their dreams together, they'd never given much consideration to how those dreams would inevitably tear them apart. They both knew that it was coming—that adulthood would one day have its way with their lives—but nonetheless, it took them by surprise. They never imagined it would happen like this; that it would sweep them up so suddenly at such an inopportune time. They had walked the same path side-by-side for so long... but now they were at the crossroads, where the road before them split, and they were not fated to go the same way. Alister knew this was true, but never imagined that leaving would be so hard.

"I'll miss you, buddy," Kaden mumbled despondently.

"Me too," Alister replied, squeezing Kaden a bit tighter just before letting him go. He turned away immediately, fearing the damage to his resolve should he look once more at Kaden's face, and with a torn, wavering heart, he rushed off to follow his commander.

« « « « « ж » » » » »

Kaden's heart sank as he watched his best friend shrink into the distance, resisting the temptation to run after him. In the end, though, his resistance failed and he took flight in pursuit of Alister. He skidded to a stop when he reached the plaza and saw a small ship perched close to where the central fountain once stood. It was the same model as Aphelion, with the same clear overhead dome that would, even if it weren't already open, give full view to a tiny, two-passenger cockpit. Inside the ship, occupying the pilot's chair and already manning the controls, was the fierce-looking black Lombax who Kaden recognized as the infamous ex-Lieutenant Raiken that Alister held in such high regard. The other seat was empty, but Kaden's attention snapped to the gray teenager somberly climbing into it.

"Alister!" he shouted, and his friend turned in surprise to see him as the ship's hatch began to close. "Don't die out there, ya hear?"

The hatch shut, and through its hard transparent alloy Alister forced a smile, raising his arm to deliver a feeble wave.

The thrum of the ship's massive engines filled the air, and the machine lifted off the ground. It rose vertically at a gradual pace until it had cleared the tops of the nearby buildings, then curved around and bolted into the sky at breakneck speed, where it soon disappeared.

Kaden watched all this with a heavy heart, and when it was over he was left alone in the silence that followed. He fell to his knees and clutched his head, groaning in overwhelmed frustration. Somehow his whole world had transformed before his eyes faster than he could even keep up. What would life be like in the days to come? He was afraid to even wonder.

Author's Notes:

- The Pirate 'Leaders'— In case anyone couldn't tell, I based these guys on the mini bosses from the pirate levels of ToD. Sadly, as much as I wanted to, I just didn't have time to comb through the game and fight a few of them before writing up the fight for this chapter. Thus, I ended up having to rely on Youtube walkthroughs (and Shadow of the Colossus :P) when typing up that scene. I hope this didn't result in any wasted potential.

- Theme Song: "Over My Head" by The Fray— Again, not all the lyrics in this song fit perfectly, but it describes how overwhelmed Kaden feels as everything in his life changes all at once. His home has just been attacked for the first time in his entire life, and on top of that he's suddenly engaged and losing his best friend, and... he's totally in over his head. Poor guy. :(