CHAPTER EIGHT

The sun descended towards the horizon as the people of Paradis headed for their homes. The survey corps headed towards their barracks as the golden light of evening shone over the island. Towards the outer rim of the wall, a few sentries posted atop the gate to Wall Maria looked up and saw a black streak zooming through the sky. Before they had a chance to reach for their rifles, a figure landed. Both men stared dumbfounded at the woman in the strange black armor. She regarded them much the way a pet owner regards a yapping dog. One man drew his service pistol and the bullet ricocheted off her chest plate. In a blink, she stood a foot from them, collars firmly in her hands. She held them close enough to smell the oil of her dark hair.

"Where is," she thought a moment, "the powerful one?" She saw they didn't quite understand, so she flew upwards with them in her grip. "Where is the boy who can do what I can do?"

The soldiers coughed and sputtered. "He's…he's in Trost!"

"Good," she said, gripping them tighter. "Take me to him."

Abducted against their will, they pointed her in the right direction as she flew. After a few minutes of flying, she came to the city of Trost and a large evening crowd gathered to stare at the woman hovering. She came down to a reasonable height and unceremoniously dumped the two guards on the stone pavement. The crowd pointed and stared. "Where is your savior?" Her question caused folks to look back and forth at each other, confused. A few seemed to get it, however.

"Armin is on the other side of town," one man said. "Who the hell are you?"

"An interested party," she said, ignoring him. She flew up to just above the tallest buildings. She took in a deep breath. "Kar-El!" Her shout echoed, despite the crowd talking. "I demand your attention!"

She wondered how long she would have to wait. It turned out she wouldn't have to wait long. Armin flew up from the crowd and met her in the air. She gave a grin. This was the first crucial moment. Only the blood of the House of El would open the Phantom Zone. This kid looked like he hadn't seen a serious fight in his life.

"Alright," Armin said. "You've got my attention. Who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Faora Hu-Ul," Faora explained, "and like you, I'm Kryptonian." She saw his face turn a bit sour in response. This was a good first start. "I'm sure you've wondered about our people."

"My father told me the only survivors were criminals," he said. "I'm not eager to meet my own kind."

Faora tilted her head a few degrees. "Come on," she said. "You have to be open minded."

"I'm willing to accept friends or allies," he explained, "but let me assure you." He swallowed, doing his best to maintain his composure. "I will not allow the humans to be destroyed."

A chuckle escaped. "I assure you, this is an opportunity to rebuild our people," she said.

"If you want to rebuild our people," he said, "I will help you. But you have to understand why I'm so skeptical."

"Of course," she said. "You've been told the tumultuous history of our world."

His gaze tightened. "I was told of the wars our people fought against each other," he explained. "Of how the Zod family fought to dominate the planet."

She gave a slight grin. "There were disagreements," she said. "The council believed that each person deserved an equal chance to preserve their lineage and their livelihood, and the factions that sided with Zod believed that certain bloodlines had degenerated, and the result could not be tolerated for our planet."

"I can't support the latter," Armin admitted. "And I won't tolerate anyone who tries to impair people's freedom to choose."

She shook her head. "A fair point." She folded her arms. "But even still, you must have noticed that your powers make people…more agreeable than not?"

"I've deliberately tried to be as hands-off as possible. Just because I've helped the people I'm around the most doesn't mean I won't help others. I just want to reduce the conflict by as much as possible."

She pointed over her shoulder. "My ship is that way," she said. "I can't open the Phantom Zone, so, as of right now, it's just you and me."

He followed her as she flew off. "So, what's your plan?" he asked. "I'm going to take a risk and trust you. So, what are you planning to do?"

"I'm looking for a way to selectively open the Phantom Zone," she said. "Not everyone who was sent there was a criminal. Near the end, your uncle Jor-El had a plan to save as many as possible. A large section of several cities were saved. We need to communicate with those in the Zone and discover which ones deserve to be released."

Armin had a bad feeling. What, though, would he do? Would he attack the only person from his home planet he'd seen? Were there others waiting to attack him? One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to go along with any plan until he knew everything he could possibly know. No one was going to get him to do anything until he had assurances that no huge disaster would come to the people of Earth. He'd grown up among them. Some of them were family to him. If he found himself torn between them, he felt he would choose Earth.

Faora couldn't help but smile to herself; this child struck her as hopelessly naïve. Even right now, he probably kept telling himself that, should there be a trap, he wouldn't fall for it. Quite the contrary, he'd already fallen for the first part of it merely by agreeing to follow her to the ship. Zod had more tricks up his sleeve than merely escaping the Zone. He had plans for this world. She had accompanied her General loyally through the worst of the civil war, and with the decrepit lineages destroyed by the death of their planet, she would see his vision through to the end.

The ocean passed by beneath them at incredible speeds, and Armin thought of the amazing circumstances that lay before him and behind him. His planet had died, his people scattered to the reaches of space, and now, a survivor came to him. Even still, politics were involved. The alarms in his head were going off a dozen at a time. So many things seemed wrong. Still, he counted on his wits to keep him ahead of any traps. He didn't trust her. His curiosity, more than anything, propelled him forward.

After about five minutes, they arrived at the site. Faora had moved her ship from where she landed. They stood in a wooded area far away from any nearby cities. Outside the ship stood a large metallic device. It resembled a cannon attached to a pair of crystalline legs. Armin recognized it from his father's lessons. "Is that the Phantom Zone projector?" he asked.

Faora nodded. "Yes," she explained. "And I'm not asking you to do anything. I just wanted to show you."

"So, what's the plan now?" Armin asked.

"We have to discuss that," she said. "Obviously, there's no reason for you to trust me. So, I'm letting you keep in control of the situation."

Armin folded his arms. "So, we're at an impasse." He resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. "Give me something more than that."

"I can give you your cousin, Kal-El," Faora said.

Armin froze. Words failed him. His stance faltered. Finally, he was able to say, "You're lying. Kal-El is in space, his ship hasn't landed yet."

Faora shook her head. "No, that's not accurate," she said. "His ship never made it off Krypton. We pulled him into the Phantom Zone shortly after the planet's destruction."

Armin cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean," he asked for clarification, "you 'pulled him into' the Phantom Zone?"

"What I mean," Faora explained, "is that Jor-El built a backup safety mechanism into the Projector inside the zone and outside."

Just then, the projector fired a beam, which opened a window into the zone. An imposing figure, familiar from Zor-El's lessons, strode up to the window, clutching a young man in his arm. Armin recognized him instantly.

"Zod!" Armin shouted.

The general pushed the young man forward. "Go see your cousin, Kal," he told the young man.

Armin moved forward. "How…?"

Kal-El opened his mouth, presumably to yell, "Stay back!" Before he could, however, the projector fired a second beam, and the window opened to several feet in diameter and became a portal. The light temporarily caught Armin off guard. The general moved forward, along with his young unwilling assistant. He took in the bright yellow sun's radiance, empowering his cells.

"The trap sprung the instant you decided to follow me," Faora said, grabbing both Armin's arms and holding him in place.

Zod propelled forward and slammed a fist into his target's gut.

The pain shot through Armin like a bullet. The last time he felt anything resembling this had been when his powers were new, and a titan tried to bite him in half. Zod then delivered a right hook to the cheek that jarred his senses and sent searing pain through his head. A ringing sounded through his ear. Before Armin could react, the general clutched his head in both hands and yanked it down into a rising knee strike.

Before Zod could strike again, Kal-El grabbed the fist and pulled the would-be assailant into a torso kick that launched him into the air. He fired a burst of heat vision that caught Faora in her surprised eyes and pulled Armin free.

"But how…?" Armin began.

"Not now!" Kal-El said, pulling himself into a boxing stance.

Armin heeded his cousin's advice and faced the General, who righted himself midair. "Don't punch, strike!" His cousin told him. Before he had a chance to ask, Zod flew in at incredible speed, almost catching him by surprise. He managed to parry the straight right hand, pushing it aside and delivering a sternum punch. The General gave a huff, and brushed it off, moving forward into an elbow strike. The force drove the wind out of him.

"Strike!" Kal-El repeated.

Armin saw what his cousin was doing. Kal-El would parry and strike with the tips of his fingers, his hand held like a blade, or with his elbow. He understood immediately, dodging a blow from Zod not very efficiently. Zod caught him on the side of the arm, launching him into the dirt.

Armin barely had time to right himself as his foe shot like a cannonball at him. He saw the fists aimed at him and he ducked beneath them, flattening his hands and firing them forward at Zod like a spear. The impact in the upper chest brought a loud gasp from the General and he attempted an attack. He mimicked his younger foe's attack and attempted to strike with fingertips, but Armin saw it coming, courtesy of Zor-El's training, and struck the arm at the elbow, drawing a yelp of pain and a curse. Zod swung for the head and Armin ducked to the right, which was a mistake as it put him directly in the path of a rising knee to the right abdomen.

Not wasting a moment, the General fired a rapid series of strikes that brought a cry of agony from Armin as his entire torso lit up with pain, and a small spurt of blood from his mouth. Armin might have had training, he realized, but this General Zod was a master fighter. Before he could turn the tables again, he found himself on the receiving end of a critical series of blows.

Kal-El threw Faora off him and attempted to join his cousin on attacking Zod, but the general predicted the attack and whirled aside. The two cousins stood side to side against the two warriors. Armin felt a little guilty as he shelved his own frustration. He hadn't been involved in a real fight—one involving actual effort—in years. When he had his power for the first time, he had to struggle only in terms of hiding his power from the masses. Now, against actual Kryptonians, and skilled combatants, no less, he found his efforts coming up short. The enemy took damage as well as he did, and his fighting skill came up hilariously low. Maybe if he could fight as well as Levi, something good would happen.

Zod would not be denied, and Faora earned her keep as his second-in-command. Kal-El and Armin struggled with all their might, but the two trained fighters would not falter. "Kar," Kal-El said to Armin, "I'm sorry. This couldn't have happened without me…"

Before Armin could even protest, he found himself pummeled with a flurry of blows that staggered him. Zod looked over at Faora, and she dashed away from the fight. "Now!" Armin shouted, and the two cousins double teamed Zod as fast as they could. They managed to catch the general off guard.

"You're too late!" Zod shouted, dodging upwards. Before either cousin could react, they were unmade. Armin felt his senses fail him as his vision distorted away into nothing. A million tiny pinpricks all over his body travelled from his toes to his head and within an instant, all sensation vanished. He tried to scream but could not. His body had travelled somewhere away from feeling.

"Kar?"

Light returned to his eyes slowly. Armin shook himself awake and sat up. His short-haired cousin held both his shoulders. "Kar, are you ok?"

"What the hell…?" Armin said, clamoring to his feet. His breath labored into and out of his lungs. Every part of him felt heavy and aching. This sensation of physical tiredness hadn't been a part of his experience since childhood. "Where are we? Is this the…"

Kal-El nodded. "This is the Phantom Zone."

Armin shook his head again, looking around. They were in a rocky area with desolate, grayish hills and mountains all around. The sky had no discernable color other than shades of gray. There was light, albeit from seemingly nowhere and everywhere at once. Only after taking a few steps did he realize just how much sensation he did not feel when he had power. His legs burned with each step. He felt as though he'd walked the distance of the Earth itself. Thoughts a mile a minute weighed on his mind. "Kal, how is this possible? I thought we were both infants when we were sent away?" Agony caught him as he pictured the terror the two of them would cause. "We've got to find a way back to stop them!"

Kal-El motioned in a specific direction. "Walk and I'll explain," he began.

Armin nodded, and the two of them began travelling over the unforgiving terrain. It occurred to him that his cousin wore a traditional Kryptonian bodysuit, fashioned out of incredible fibers, and he himself wore the leather and hide outfit of the Scout Regiment. His cousin's futuristic boots probably would handle the terrain more than Armin's own worn leather hiking boots.

"Zod and his crew are criminals, as you likely knew," Kal continued. "The Zone containment failed a few months after Krypton exploded. They were able to briefly interact with the real universe because a section of the Zone became physically tied to the real universe. That's how they captured my ship."

Armin gave his cousin a once-over. "But, you've aged in the zone!"

"Again," Kal-El explained, "since part of the Zone bleeds into the physical reality, they used the Zone Projector to have me exit the zone at specific locations to gather supplies from former Kryptonian outposts and some of our fellow people who were in stasis on other planets during the olden days of the exploration of space."

"But if you could exit the zone, why would you go back in?"

Kal-El's expression hardened. "In years of exploration," he said, dour, "we never found another inhabitable planet. Also, I wanted to see you. I wanted to see something other than the Zone and the criminals inside."

"Are we going to have to fight them?" Armin said. "There's only the two of us, and if nobody has powers here, we're doomed."

"That's why we're going this way," Kal assured. "There's multiple places in the Zone where people have set up camp. There's friendly places far away from where the Ruling Council dumped its trash."

Armin stopped for a moment. "Wait, I remember something," he said. "Faora said there is a projector inside the zone. That's our ticket back to Earth!"

"We're not going back to Earth first," Kal-El said. "There was no fighting them. They were two of Krypton's best soldiers."

"So where the hell are we going?"

"To get reinforcements."

Armin did a double take. "Reinforcements?" He almost shouted.

They climbed up a rocky hill and sat on a few smooth rocks to get their bearings and to relax a moment. "You see," Kal explained, "When most of the colonies were abandoned when Krypton cancelled their space exploration program, the people who could not have escaped in time were put in stasis, and their pods had enough energy for twenty years."

"Makes sense," Armin agreed. He paused a moment to think. "Wait, how do we know they're on our side?"

"Most of them are from the Exploration Guild, which is sternly non-military," Kal assured. "And besides, I spoke to some of their most important members."

Armin coughed and his breathing slowed down, making him somewhat relaxed. Still, he felt more tired than he had been in literal years. "You may not want to hear this," he said, rubbing his eyes, "but how much farther do we have to walk?"

"It's a day's journey that way," Kal-El said, pointing. "See that light over there? That's a camp I stay at most of the time. They haven't had to fight criminals in years."

"A day's journey?" Armin asked. "But we don't have food or water!"

"We're not in the truly physical part of the Zone yet." He wiped his brow and produced a dry hand. "See? You're not really sweating. You can't die in this part of the Zone. Most people live in the partially physical parts of the zone because they want to grow old and die, and eventually leave the zone."

"But," Armin argued, "couldn't you let them out?"

"En masse? No. Not without you."

Armin tilted his head a bit in confusion. "What?"

"A single member of the House of El can enter and leave the Zone at specific points, but in order to open a full-fledged portal, there has to be at least two."

"There's no other way?"

Kal shook his head. "Not without the projector that Faora and Zod have."

A horrifying thought caught Armin. He almost jerked upwards. "Oh shit! Zod's going to let the criminals out!"

Kal shook his head. "That's not going to happen," he said.

Armin looked at him, blinking. "I'm sorry, but how?"

Kal looked up. "Most of them can't be let out except by us."

"So," Armin said, realizing, "that means they're going to come for us!"

Kal stood up. "Which is why we're going to beat them to our destination."

They started walking again, this time moving at a faster pace. After climbing down the hill, the rocks flattened out into a smoother path, indicating this route had been frequently travelled. Despite aching feet, they began jogging since the smaller, smoother rocks crunched more easily under their feet. Hours passed as the two moved on, ignoring the fire burning in their legs. After six hours, the two had to stop again to relax.

Kal-El leaned back on a large rock. "So, Kar," he asked, "what have you been up to on Earth?"

Armin let out a whistle. "Where do I even begin," he asked no one.

"Just take it from the top."

"Ha. Alright," Armin said, letting out a chuckle. "My powers didn't manifest for a while. The island I grew up on was inhabited by giant human-like beings called Titans, and the cities of normal humans were surrounded by giant walls to keep them out."

Kal-El sat up. "That sounds…pretty terrible," he said.

"It's kind of ironic," Armin countered. "I developed my powers, and within a few years, we'd exterminated all the monsters. After more than a century of living in constant fear, and with my help, they're almost a non-issue right now."

"I'm sure the people you saved aren't complaining," Kal-El argued.

Armin shrugged. "It won't matter if we don't stop Zod."

As they got up to travel again, Kal-El replied, "He's arrogant. He won't kill everyone because he wants people to lord over."

"I'm just pissed at how easy it was for him to beat me."

"We'll take care of it together," Kal-El said. "You weren't prepared, but we'll be."

Armin didn't know how comfortable he felt about the whole idea. What was Zod planning? Surely with having had years to plan the whole ordeal, things wouldn't go smoothly. He didn't know what to expect, but he felt that they were walking into a trap. A few more hours passed, and with utter agony in their bodies from the journey, they made it to a makeshift city. Somehow, those trapped there had fashioned the crystal and rock into shelters and buildings of various arrangement. The gray rock and the formless sky had changed color. The sky showed various scenes from distant galaxies. The star map constantly changed overhead.

"Good god," Armin said. "What is this pain? My legs hurt before, but now…"

"This is the part of the Zone that's physical," Kal-El explained. "The closer we get to the inner projector, the more your body becomes tangible."

"In other words," Armin clarified, "the pain isn't just the 'essence' of pain, it's actual pain." His cousin nodded. "Fantastic."

"Hopefully we can rest a bit before we go," Kal-El said. "I mean, the people here are nicer…" Something struck him as odd.

Armin looked up and saw a gleam of light from one of the buildings up ahead. "What the hell…?" Something about it seemed familiar. His eyes went wide. "Oh, SHIT!" He draped an arm around his cousin and hit the deck. The stones were smoother but still hurt his knees.

Not a few moments after he ducked, a shot rang out and a small stone behind their heads exploded into gravel. The two cousins crouch-walked away in separate directions. Signaling to each other, they formulated a hack job of a plan.

"God dammit," A voice shouted, moving from one rooftop post to another and reloading.

Armin ducked behind a rock a few seconds after a crack and a pop of chunks of stone flying off sounded behind him. He leapt from his hideout to a straight run towards the building the shooter occupied. He quickly moved behind a large crystal as he saw the shooter ready another shot.

Kal-El had gotten closer to the building than Armin, and he had a plan to get at least one of them on the roof to tangle with the shooter. Armin saw what he had in mind and made a run for another outcropping. Since the shooter was one man with one gun, he prioritized the closer man first. Armin used this initiative to close the gap. When his cousin ducked below the shot, the two of them closed in on a large rock formation near the base of the building.

"Now!" Armin shouted as he gave his cousin a boost. With a bound, the young man grabbed onto the ledge and yanked himself up. The shooter dashed over and attempted an assault. Kal-El took a few heavy blows, but eventually got his bearings and fought back. Armin climbed up the side by means of jagged rocks sticking out. He landed the last blow that knocked the shooter off his feet.

Armin drew the gun off the ground and at the downed assailant. "Talk!" He learned from Levi that less was sometimes more. Kal-El sat on the ledge next to his cousin.

The thing wasn't human, but even so, both Kryptonians could make out the look of fear on the thing's face. "It doesn't matter now," he said. "Now that you two are here, they can get out!"

"Who…?" Armin didn't have to finish the sentence. Footsteps sounded outside the building. Both looked over the edge. At least thirteen figures stood firm, some with knives fashioned out of rock.

"Come down, House of El!" A man with pale skin and ear-length brown hair said.

Armin saw they wore the ebony bodysuits of the military guild. These were loyal servants of Zod. "Dammit," he swore. "They beat us here."

"I should've seen this coming," Kal-El replied.

"What do we do?" Armin asked.

The man clapped his hands once for effect. "House of El!" he repeated. "Even if you kill one of us, we'll be up there in a moment! The only way you live is with us!"

Kal-El winked at his cousin, and that didn't help at all. Armin threw the gun aside and they reluctantly climbed down. On the bottom, the men quickly surrounded and grabbed them, holding their arms behind their backs. "Oof!" Armin exclaimed, angry at being shoved around. "You aren't getting out without both of us, so why be so fucking aggressive?"

"Insurance," the man said.

"Who the fuck are you?" Armin asked.

"Name's Fer-Gor," the man said. "Commander Gor to you, loyal servant of General Zod."

"You're still an asshole," Kal-El added.

"The General has been looking for a new planet for Krypton to live on," Gor said. "Earth is just right. Especially considering it has a yellow sun. Our new empire will not be challenged."

Another Kryptonian added, "You're going to take us there."

"Fuck you," Armin said.

"Ah, but I'm sure you want to see your friends again," Gor replied. "I'm certain if you comply, Zod will let the ones you love most live."

The projector was a short walk from the makeshift village. A large, crystal platform had been fashioned carefully and on it stood a large console with an emblem on the center with the symbol of the House of El inside.

The men stood on the platform and pushed the two to the center. "I've put the coordinates in," Gor said. "Just activate the machine."

"No funny business!" One of the Kryptonians shouted. "We're watching you!"

Armin followed Kal-El to the projector. "Here?" He placed his hand on the symbol.

"Here," Kal-El agreed. He placed his hand over Armin's, and a warm energy overtook them. A glow emerged from the center of the floor and expanded in a circle outward, engulfing them all. "Hands up right away, ok?"

"What?" Armin tried to say, right before his entire body disassembled.

Fire passed through every nerve in his body right before his senses went dark. He felt every part of himself disappear, one piece at a time. Sensation returned a good second later, and he could hardly wait to take in a breath. His lungs burned, and then ached, as fresh air zoomed in. Before his head had a chance to stop spinning, he remembered what his cousin told him and his hands shot up.

"Freeze! Who goes there!" A voice cried out.

Zod's soldiers appeared. "This isn't Earth, what the hell!" a voice shouted behind them.

Armin hit his knees and looked ahead. Kryptonians with various symbols on their bodysuits held laser rifles at shoulder height and trained on the group. Kal-El did not dare shift his gaze away from the group ahead.

"Captain," the male Kryptonian, with sand-colored hair and a thin-but-toned build, said. "Looks like we've got Phantom Zone criminals."

"They're wearing the symbol of the House of Zod," A dark-skinned female Kryptonian said. "Except these two."

The Phantom Zone criminals attempted to fight back. Amidst cries to stop, there was the occasional rifle blast, which felled a prisoner. The group passed by the two El's, and engaged in fisticuffs with the soldiers, also using improvised weaponry. An alarm sounded and from up a hill, out of several buildings, more men followed.

With his head held down, Armin noticed the situation. They were on a planet with a red sun and flora like what he saw in his learning crystals. He ran his hand through the lavender and light blue grass-like plant covering the ground. The air hurt to breathe at first and his nose ran a bit. Wherever they were, it had been krypto-formed. A tear made its way to his eye, as he realized he was feeling the ground and breathing the air of his once home planet for the first, and possibly last time. The sounds of screams and blaster fire went on for a few more minutes, before the silence of the wind returned to prominence.

Footsteps approached. "Alright, the rest of your men are subdued," a female voice said. "Stand up. There's plenty of guns trained on you, so no funny…" Armin and Kal-El stood up and their faces met with the woman's. It was a woman with long blonde hair and a pair of deep blue eyes.

Armin took a moment for it to register. When he did, his jaw almost dropped. Kal-El went teary eyed. "Kara?"

Kara Zor-El had to swallow a moment. "Kal-El," she said to her short-haired cousin. "Is this…who I think it is?"

"This is your brother, Kar-El," Kal-El clarified.

"Brother!" Kara shouted, embracing him tight. Her tears soaked into his uniform. He held her, his arms feeling something he hadn't expected to feel. His family, what was left, had been united for the first time. Brother, sister, and cousin stood shoulder to shoulder and would meet the oncoming challenges together.

"I'm so…" The words escaped Armin for a few moments. "I can't believe…"

"What's going on?" Kara said.

"Zod and Faora are on Earth and opened the Phantom Zone," Kal-El explained. "Trapped us inside. It's likely he's already released a bunch of criminals."

Armin kissed his sister on the cheek. "We can have a reunion later," he said. "Right now, we have to plan."

Kal-El looked around. "There's about twenty here," he explained. "That means there's about fifteen more that could have escaped to Earth."

"What's worse," Armin added, "is Earth's yellow sun. They'll all have powers. Have you ever trained under a yellow sun?"

"I have," Kara said. "Looks like we're going to need the full security detail."

"Captain," the male Kryptonian said, approaching Kara. "What's the story?"

Kara realized she'd ignored her men. "Alright, yes, I forgot," she said. "Lor-Nam, these are my family. We must rescue Earth, it's under attack. Gather the security forces and we will defeat Zod and his men."

"I'm sure the General will approve of this, but, shouldn't we bring this up before the full council," Lor-Nam asked. "I mean, it seems like this is a zoner issue…" He saw Armin staring at him. "What?"

Armin broke from his staring stupor. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry. It's just that you look a lot like someone I know on Earth."

"A human bearing a resemblance to me? Odd." Despite Lor-Nam's doubts, he looked like someone had taken a younger Levi Ackerman and dyed his hair light brown.

"I think enough talk has been done," Kara said. "We bring this before the full council and then we open a portal to Earth."

Armin nodded, clenching his fists. "Yeah, we fight together."