-Flashback-

Dwight approached Yuki. This was his first time being alone with her. Normally Mario was by this girl, but this time, he was no where to be seen. "Hey."

Yuki turned and smiled, "Hey, bud." She replied shyly. "What's up?"

Dwight plopped down on the rock next to her, "Couldn't sleep... Too anxious about the mission." He twiddled his thumbs and then sighed, "I mean, I don't understand what is so important about these few crystals. If we can't really sell this stuff to anyone because we are outlaws, what purpose do they serve to us?"

Yuki laughed. She had been the one to give the tip about Victoria's crystal mines on Vickstralia. It was a well-known fact that the gems were nearly priceless and worth a fortune, but what wasn't as well-known was the fact that many Dark Soldier energy weapons used the crystals as focusing lenses. "You see," She started, "The energy weapons that a Dark Soldier will wield in battle are actually quite weak in output. The long barrel contains two or three of the green blue crystals while a yellow crystal is embedded further in on the body just in front of the energy emitter." To make it plainer, the former Dark Soldier drew a cross-section diagram in the sand explaining all the inner workings of the powerful guns. "We aren't stealing these to get rich as much as we are stealing these to cripple the Dark Soldiers stationed on this continent."

Dwight understood. He understood why they were out in the middle of no where at midnight with limited supplies. He understood why everytime he tried to make an energy weapon, the output was less than favorable. But he also understood just what Mario saw in Yuki, "Wow. Not only pretty, but also intelligent. Rare find," He joked.

Yuki just smirked, "Hands off, kid. I'm spoken for."

Dwight smiled on the outside but frowned on the inside. This was the one reason Dwight didn't like Mario; once Yuki showed up the month before, she was not only in the Resistance, but she had replaced Molly in Mario's heart. He remembered staying up countless nights listening to Molly moan on and on that Mario was never really into her seriously and that he always was saving his heart for Yuki. The girl he wasn't even sure was alive for the longest time takes priority over the girl who saved your ungrateful ass? It would be despicable if it wasn't so much like him. But Dwight never showed his anger to Mario and even pretended to grow closer to the only boy. After all, as much as he hated to admit it, if it wasn't for Mario, the Resistance wouldn't have had a fighting chance.

"Well, thanks for the explanation, Yuki," Dwight turned to leave, "Just in tie, too. It seems your BF has returned to camp."

True enough, Mario was making his way back to soon as he was in the light of the synthetic campfire, he spoke, "Welp, that was no fun."

"What do you mean?" Yuki enveloped him in a sultry but short hug before she let him continue.

"To put it simply; mining doesn't stop at night." He crouched down and warmed his hands by the synthetic fire. "Dark Soldiers patrol the caves and outside the caves for nearly half a mile. They also have sentry turrets at-guard near every entrance."

"Near almost every entrance." Yuki reminded him. The spring she had found when she escaped her brush with death so many years ago had been revealed to connect to their target. This was naturally why she was even on the mission.

"What's going on?" Molly finally appeared.

Dwight's heart melted. As much as he didn't like what Mario had done to her heart, he was glad she would be available. He watched as she wiped the sleep from her eyes in a cutesy fashion and then yawned. "Excuse you," he said.

Molly stuck her tongue out at the boy and reiterated her question.

"If all goes as planned, we will be attacking within the hour." Mario summed up.

Dwight cocked an eyebrow, "Could have sworn a minute ago you said that the place is guarded tightly by patrols of Dark Soldiers within a half mile of the place?"

Mario nodded, "This is true, but we will already be in the caves when we attack. Or have you forgotten about Yuki's secret cave entrance?"

Dwight didn't like the idea of going down in that cave... Something just didn't feel right. But he knew better than to voice his concerns. After all, he was known t be a worrywart at times.

"It'll be okay, Big D," Molly tussled his hair. "Besides, I've been wanting to see the beauty of those crystal formations for the longest time."

"They are gorgeous," Yuki reminisced. She turned away from the group and headed into her campsite to gear up. Others in the party also started the gearing up process except for Mario and Molly. Mario motioned for the girl to join him outside of the campgrounds. They had problems to discuss.

Once both were sure they were sufficiently far from the camp not to be heard, Molly started, "You love her, don't you?"

Mario was silent.

"Hey, it's okay. I completely understand the choice."

"You do, don't you?" Mario replied. "She was my first actual love."

Molly smirked, "And the past girlfriends you had don't count?"

Mario chuckled at Molly's joke, "Of course they do... Just... Not it the same way. Yuki is different. I don't know how, but she completes me." The two stood in silence for a moment before Mario continued, "I know this is kind of... hurtful to you. A girl who was an enemy and a factor in my past comes back and I immediately all for her again, but i can't help it."

Molly laughed, "Oh, Mario! You're being such a Drama King! I do like you and, yeah, I wanted to be with you, but... Happiness before wants, right?" Molly couldn't help but let a tear trickled down her cheek. "It's no biggie, really. I don't think it would have worked out between us... After all, did you see the looks Dwight gave us?"

Mario wiped the tear from her tender cheek and grinned, "You should see the looks I'm getting now that Yuki is here."

Molly rolled her eyes, "Oh, I can only imagine!" she responded in jest, "Sometimes I wonder whether he is actually fond of you or not."


Unbeknownst to the two friends trying to repair their relationship, Dwight was watching from his tent. He just can't give up, can he? He thought to himself. Even when his old girl comes back, he still feels the need to play with Molly's heart! His eyes squinted in the darkness. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he thought could read body language pretty well and from the shaking Molly's body was doing; she was crying. Undeserving of leadership... He doesn't know the first thing about leading! Dwight crawled back into his abode and drifted into a fitful nap.


Molly finally calmed her laughter. Mario had just told her the funniest joke she had heard in a long while. And heaven knew, she needed the laugh. With her spirits high again, Molly breathed a deep sigh. It was as if a weight was dropped from he shoulders. "I can't believe you had to do that just to get some pizza!"

Mario finished his fit of laughter, "Ha ha, yep!" Another silent moment as the two began to wonder about the up-coming mission. "Molly?"

"Yeah?"

"I gotta know... are we cool?" Mario asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are we cool? You know; no hard feelings and such?" Mario stuck out his hand to shake hers.

Molly ignored his hand and just wrapped her arms around him. It would hurt for awhile seeing his happy face with Yuki; but she knew that if he was happy, she should be happy for him. They were friends. She was sure that from the moment she laid eyes on him, injured in the forrest, that they would be together. Granted this wasn't necessarily what she had in mind at first, but hey life's funny that way right? She knew that no matter what, even now that they were no longer a potential item, he would be there for her. Always. "Yeah," she responded nuzzling her nose into his neck lovingly, "We're cool."


One hour later, the entire team was ready. Molly, Mario, Yuki, Dwight, Lawrence, Jenny, and another girl named Sofi were all packed and ready to hit Victoria where it hurt the most: her power. "Let's go, team!" With that announcement and a wave of his gauntleted hand, Lawrence led his motley crew into the cave Yuki had shown them the day before. Once inside, every member switched from night vision to normal vision. And for good reason.

"These crystals are beautiful!" Sofi squealed. The light from the moon was filtered perfectly into the large chamber and reflected off the water and the crystals, easily illuminating the cave. "And you say the water is so pure and enhanced by natural minerals that it heightens awareness?"

Yuki scrunched up her nose, "Well, now that you say it that way and make it sound all... exposition-y; basically yeah."

Without asking permission, Molly and Jenny kneeled at the pool of water and took drinks. Lawrence didn't reprimand them. In fact, he, too, stooped to taste the water. And he loved it.

"Alright, pour out your waters and fill up here!" He could feel the natural liquid wash over his senses. His senses felt enhanced and his awareness more keen. His failing eyesight was returning. "This miracle water may come in handy at some point in the mission!"

Not being a group to disobey orders, especially such tasty ones, every member dumped out the fountain water they had received from base and filled their canteens up with this water to the brim.

"If this goes well, Law-man," Mario said to his brother, "Remind me to tell our scout teams back at the base to get an aqueduct to the base down here."

"I just put in the orders on standby pending the success of this mission." Lawrence was one step ahead. "Alright," His voice raised again as he addressed his team, "Move out!"

It didn't take too long for them to get to the main crystal deposit and things were looking sunny for the group.

"I still don't like this," Dwight complained. He was bringing up the rear, partly because he was scared and partly because he was carrying the B.F.G. "This has been too easy. You mean to tell me there have been no patrols down this way... at all?"

Molly shot Dwight a dirty look knowing that the young man was implying Yuki to be a traitor. "Oh hush. If we do get caught, it will be due to your constant complaining."

Sofi let out a giggle before switching her H.U.D. to a thermal scan. "There is a patrol coming this way... Larger patrol than normal. Dare say they have their men doubled now."

Lawrence and Mario both switched to thermal scan and saw the same thing. "They are coming our way..." Lawrence started, "But not because we are here. The urgency in their steps are in no way in sync with what we normally see."

Dwight took a seat near a crevasse, set down his giant weapon, and scanned the radio waves in an effort to tap into the Dark Soldiers communications. After listening for a mere two minutes he muttered, "I knew it."

"What?" Yuki turned to the seated boy. "What are they saying?"

Dwight rose suddenly and started to back up his stuff. "Their mining. It has awoken something down here."

"Something?"

"And it is angry." he put his hand to his ear again, "Something like a being comprised solely of the crystals they are harvesting and pure energy...crap."

"What?" The rest of the group exclaimed in unison.

"It's heading this way!" Dwight started to run off, but Mario's grip prevented him from getting far. "Now hang on there, squirt. We have a mission that we have to finish."

"Mario's right." Sofi agreed. "We don't know if this being exists and if it does, it shouldn't want to harm us. We are trying to end their mining endeavors!"

"Yeah..." Molly mumbled, "With sixty tons of explosives,"

"You think we should have brought more?" Jenny asked innocently.

"No! I'm just saying, maybe it is best that this creature dispose of the Dark Soldiers instead of us."

Lawrence placed a reassuring hand on Molly's shoulder, "We have to finish this mission. We can't leave this to chance. If the creature isn't real or is killed, then we will just have to come back here. And who knows how thick the security will be then?"

"I sure don't" Yuki said.

"So it is settled then? We move on to our doom?" Moaned Dwight.

"If you want to call it that, then yes. We are moving forward."


Tirelessly, the team moved on. Every-so-often they would have to duck into a pit, alley, or crevasse to avoid detection from Dark Soldiers. But aside from those moments, progress was stable and quick. "We're here." Lawrence breathed the words that the group longed to hear spoken.

"Who sets up the device?"

Sofi stepped up to the plate, "I do." She used a thick adhesive to attach the explosives to the base of the center mining column and began tapping in the start codes. "Everyone start clearing out, I'm giving us a time of 5 minutes to be out of the main blast radius." As her fingers flew over the panel, the others stood guard.

"Do you really believe that there is some energy being down here feeding off the crystals?" Molly asked Dwight.

"At this point, Victoria herself could fall from the sky and land at our feet offering us crumpets and I wouldn't bat an eyelash. We've experienced weirder things, haven't we?" He gave her hand a loving and reassuring squeeze before a blood-curdling scream echoed in through the caves. "The hell was that?"

"I don't know..." Lawrence switched to thermal view, "Sofi, hurry with those codes. I want that countdown started within the next thirty seconds."

"Aye, captain."

Gunshots and laser blasts rang out.

"Don't shoot lasers at it, you idiots!" An unseen Dark Soldier's voice yelled over the chaos in one of the caves, "It feeds off the energy!"

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to kill it we-eahhhgggggg!" Whatever protest that man had left was swallowed up in his screams. The flashes of light got closer.

"Sofi! start the damned timer, NOW!" Just as Lawrence finished barking at his subordinate, a pair of Dark Soldiers found them.

"Well, what do we have here?" One asked rhetorically. "Saboteurs?"

"Actually, no." Mario stepped forward, "We were called down here to fix your mining equipment. It's busted."

"It is?" The second Dark Soldier looked at the main column's frame. "Looks fine to me."

"No, you idiot!" The first one hit the second, "He was being sarcastic! It isn't busted!"

"It's about to be!" Molly shot the second man's head off with her shotgun.

"Bloody hell!" The first Dark Soldier barely fired three rounds before he was peppered with bullets from Lawrence's gun. "Sofi?"

"Nearly finished! ... DONE!" She stood quickly, "Let's get out of ... here."

Before them stood a creature completely made of pure energy. In the center of the creature's torso was a pink gem. It opened its "arms" and energy flew across towards them.

"Move!" Lawrence didn't need to make the command, though. The team had already split and dived. The energy struck only ground.

"I told you guys it was real!" Dwight unslung his B.F.G. and launched a barrage of bullets and bolts on the creature. The Bullets just whizzed through the apparition but the energy bolts were absorbed.

"You dufus!" Yuki shouted at Dwight, "Didn't you hear what those Dark Soldiers shouted about shooting it with energy?"

Dwight ignored her and continued to fire, directing the creature's attention away from his teammates.

"Dwight's buying us some time!" Mario shouted above the drone of Dwight's B.F.G. "We need to move; now!" The rest of the team followed Mario down the shaft they had entered. "We're nearly there." The group hadn't bothered being stealthy or clever. They knew that the Dark Solders were just as in a hurry to get away as they were.

"What about Dwight?" Molly asked as they neared the exit from the caves to their entry crystal chamber.

"He's right behind us."

Dwight had been able to set the gun on auto-fire and leave it between his team and the creature. He was running back to them, barely in sight.

As soon as the group was near enough to the giant crystal island, they stopped their running and drew in heavy breaths. "That was too close," panted Sofi. "Any idea what that was?"

No one got the chance to respond. You invade my sanctum, destroy my home, The strange voice was in everyone's head, and then try to defy me and leave? I wont have it! The voice grew so loud, so powerful and angry, that every member doubled over and clutched his or her head in agony. If felt as if their minds were being torn apart.

Mario managed to program in a basic command to his helmet to direct minimal power to the external. The low constant surge of energy was just enough to kick the voice from his head. After realizing it had worked, he instructed all the others to do the same.

"Good job, Mario." Molly playfully punched his shoulder.

"Thanks,"

"Yeah," Dwight added with a hint of venom. "Good job and such. Celebrate, but it isn't over yet!" The words were barely out of his mouth when the ground was rent in two sections, effectively dividing the group. Mario, Dwight, and Molly on one side; Lawrence, Sofi, and Jenny on the other. Yuki was caught in the middle and fell into the fissure.

"YUKI!" Mario ran to the edge to find her barely holding on to a scraggly rock, "Hold on!" He went to his pack to retrieve a cord, but too late. Once he found one and turned around, from the center of the fissure came a large mountain. This pushed Yuki straight up and into the air above and into another level of the underground caves. Realizing it was futile to try and save her, or anyone else, Mario stood still and huddled with Molly and Dwight.

"What's going on?" Molly shouted above the noise of the shifting earth.

"I think it is those crystals, the thing can control them and since there must be crystal residue in all levels of the ground here, it can control the earth!"

Dwight didn't like the sound of that. You are a lot harder to kill than the others. Dwight didn't like the sound of that, either. The voice was back. "Why don't you come out and face us like a man?" Demanded Dwight.

"Poor choice of words, mortal." The ghastly fiend appeared before them instantly. "This is my domain! You are at my mercy!"

"What did we do to you?" Molly asked, "We haven't harmed you; we were here to end the mining operation, not aid it! How about you just let us go and-"

"No! You do not make the demands here! I do." The thing opened its 'hands' and energy shot out.

"Dodge!" The three jumped in separate directions. At the end of his roll, Mario briefly radioed his brother to see how things were on his end.

"We've managed to find a way out, but we have to climb. Sofi is already through the hole and Jenny's nearly there." Lawrence responded as quietly as he could over a communication device.

Mario breathed a short sigh of relief. At least three were nearly okay.

Molly held out her weapon and fired but the creature came closer. It slammed the earth beneath her and she fell. "Mario!"

Mario turned and saw the piece of land Molly was on was broken off and drifting away on a river of green liquid energy. That's when he noticed that he too was drifting away. The only one on solid ground was Dwight. "Dwight!"

Dwight reached out with his hand and a foldable polearm weapon and somehow managed to get a grip on Mario's island before it could drift further out. But Moly was too far out.

"Don't worry, Molly!" Dwight called out. "We'll think of something!" But he honestly had no ideas. "Mario?"

"Eh?"

"Please tell me you have an idea of what to do?"

"Well, there is one thing..."

"That is?"

"Duck!" he pushed Dwight's head down just as twin beams of searing energy blasted the earthen wall behind them. "Let's move." He checked the position of Molly's craft as he ushered Dwight behind some of the green crystal formation. Then Mario noticed something.

The creature came close to them, but as soon as it was within arm's distance of the crystals that hid them from view, the creature recoiled as if burned and the gem at its center flashed orange.

"That's it, Dwight!"

"What?" Then the pieces came together for Dwight, too. "I get it... It can't be close. Those crystals must mess with its energy flow and may break up his molecular structure!"

Mario nodded. "Probably why it kept this as a sanctum. At the right location here, it would be in perfect balance and harmony with the environment. The mining was throwing off his... inner peace so to speak." He looked again at Molly's island. She was doing her best to stop it from floating away more by trying to paddle in the opposite direction, but whatever she used as a paddle was just disintegrated on contact. "You get to Molly, I'll try and get the beast to touch the crystal." Mario kicked a thinner spike from the crystal formation and gave one piece to Dwight for good measure and kept the larger on for himself. "Get going!"

Dwight didn't need to be told twice to go to Molly's aide. With quickness of breath, feet, and heart, he was at the short of the green energy pool reaching with his polearm.

"You think you can catch her before she is swept away forever?" The beast threw a bolt of energy at Dwight, but missed.

"Hey! You think he is the bigger threat?" Mario called out, "You're a lot dumber than you look. Turn around and face me!"

"Gladly." The beast turned and rushed Mario, hands straight out. Suddenly it recoiled and wailed. Turning to the side, it narrowly avoided the crystal in Mario's hand. "No! What are you doing?"

Mario lunghed forward and managed to swipe the crystal through the creature. "It's called 'revenge.' Ever heard of it?" He swiped again, but the creature rose into the air and started to back up and over the green glowing lake. Only got one shot at this. With all his might, Mario threw the spike forward at the center of the creatue. Of course the creature saw it coming and easily avoided in by flying even farther back... into a much larger green crystal formation.

With a yelp followed by an unearthly yell, the creature started to fade from view and became distorted into what could only be described as a black hole. Inside the black hole was a city and people were walking in front of the hole, but no one noticed it. "What the hell..."

"Hurry up!" Mario's scream brought Dwight back to reality. He saw Mario working on pulling Molly's island closer to the mainland. But because of the black hole, the green liquid was starting to pull her away again, this time down a waterfall. "Hold on, Molly!" Dwight wrapped his arms around Mario's waist and together the two pulled against the liquid's current.

"This isn't working!"

Suddenly lasers began firing from the other-worldly apparition randomly about the cave. "Watch out!" Dwight released Mario and dodged an incoming laser nimbly.

The laser barely scorched Mario's back, but Dwight could still tell it stung because Mario released his hold on the polearm, and thus, the island.

"What is this place?" Mario's voice was far away.

"Mario! Dwight! Help!" Molly was screaming.

Mario just stood.

Dwight scrambled to his feet and managed to shake Mario awake, "Dude! Molly!"

"Somebody, help me!" Molly cried out. She was approaching the black hole, Dwight realized the black hole was actually a tear in the fabric of reality. If she were to pass through it she would suffer a fate worse than death.

"Mario! For Pete's Sake, wake the Hell up!" He slapped Mario's face and pointed at Molly,s drifting island.

In a flash, Mario grabbed a staff and reached out for her. Molly managed to use her repulser boots the get within arms reach of the polearm. But right when she was about to grab hold of the stick, a laser bored a hole through Molly's palm. She screamed in anguish at her ruined and and momentarily lost control of the repulser boots, smashing her island against a rock jutting out of the liquid. This prevented her from drifting farther, but also made were farther away from the shore.

Mario looked around and remembered Yuki had packed a small hovorboard. If I could get to Yuki and get that board, I can get to Molly! "Dwight, stay here!" Mario instructed as he started to the last place he saw Yuki.

"I'll be back!" Mario called out to the wounded girl.

Molly just screamed more. "For Fate's sake! Make the pain stop!"

A bullet struck Dwight's shoulder. Pain shot through his body. Who the hell was that? He turned and saw some Dark Soldiers rushing out of the caves. Apparently they heard the commotion but were blissfully unaware of the entire event. "Halt, rebel scu-ahh!" The first to were blasted by a wayward laser beam. The remaining three took cover and stupidly started shooting at the tear in reality.

"Stop it!" Dwight shouted at the three, "You'll just make is stronger!" He ran to where Mario was climbing and pulled the teammate back down the cave wall. "Got down here and help! They'll either hit MOlly or make that thing suck all of us up!"

"Dwight!" Mario shook the younger boy, "Dwight! You have to stay here with Molly!"

Dwight slapped Mario aside, "No! We can save her from the vortex!"

"Not alone! No we can't!" Mario shook his head, "I'll be right back; I promise!" And then Mario climbed up the cave wall.

Dwight looked around the room. Lasers were firing, Molly was trapped, Dark Soldiers were shooting, and whats more, the entire cave was under deep stress. Soon the chamber would collapse. I have to do something. Anything... He looked around and saw his B.F.G. lying down on the ground. "Hey, Dark Soldiers!"

They paused their shooting for a moment and looked at Dwight. He was holding what could only be described as a minigun-laser cannon lovechild.

"Go to Hell!" Dwight opened fire on the three, killing them in mere seconds. I know he said to stay put and watch over Molly, Dwight thought as he ran into the passageway the Dark Soldiers had emerged from, But who knows? There may be a faster method of getting to here where they came from! After all, they wouldn't come down here without supplies, would they?

Molly watched her friend run out of the room and her hopes dropped. She knew Mario had gone to get something to help. It wasn't in his nature to desert a team mate; especially not her. But now Dwight was running? Her hope started to fade.


"No, no!" Dwight frantically searched the Dark Soldier outpost for anything that could be of use. But all he could find were weapons and rocks. "There's got to be something here; anything! C'mon!" Finally he found a longer pole. With his rescue tool in hand, he ran back to Molly. As soon as he entered the chamber, he knew somehting had gone terribly wrong. The air was thinner and Molly was lying face down on her island.

"Molly!" Dwight rushed to the edge of the shore and jabbed his new pole forward for her to grab. He had to prod her back a few times before she stirred and weakly grabbed hold of the tip. "Hang on, Molly!" He shouted as he started to reel her in, "I've gotcha!"

Finally Molly was at the shore. Over the loud droning of the rip, he could barely hear her gasping for air. The vortex is sucking out all the oxygen! then he remembered the rocks. Hey... if the green crystal started this, perhaps the pink crystal can stabilize it just like it was the creature's heart! He stood up from Molly, "I'll be back! Don't worry!"

Molly gasped, "Don't leave me!"

Dwight looked around but Mario was nowhere to be seen, "Where is he?" Dwight asked himself. Then he turned to Molly, "I promise I'll be back, just hang on!"

"To what?" Molly joked weakly.

Dwight didn't laugh. Instead he ran again to the Dark Soldier camp.

Molly watched him leave and set her head down on the cold earth floor. She had a sad feeling she would not live through this experience. She needed at least a medpak, but everytime Dwight was near, he didn't give her the chance to ask for one. She coughed up blood.


Dwight found the rock he wanted in less than five minutes and ran back. If his theory was correct, these rocks contained an energy that was nearly identical with the wavelength that held the fabric of this reality together. If two of the different rocks were to come in contact, it would devastate the wavs and reality would collapse. As he entered the chamber again, his theory was reinforced; the pink crystals grew on the exact opposite side of the chamber from the green ones. "Here I go!" With nothing to lose, Dwight chucked the pink rock into the hole then ran to Molly.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Before Molly could reply, there was a crash and the noise and winds died down. The swirling vortex started to fade from view and tie itself up.

"Molly?" Dwight looked at her and then realized that she was very pale and was lying in her own blood. Her limbs were splayed out weakly. "MOLLY!"

The girl stirred and managed to prop herself up on her elbows. She looked into Dwight's face, "Huh?"

"We won!" Dwight cried out, relieved she was alright.

Molly smiled her beautiful smile. And then collapsed.

"Mo-Molly?" Dwight tentatively called to his love. But she didn't stir.

Molly was dead.

Suddenly there was a crumbling and a wall gave way under the stress of the now-ended event. Without thinking, Dwight ran to the exit crying bitterly. Outside Lawrence and Sofi were standing around Jenny, who was lying down holding her knee close.

"Dwight!" Lawrence called out when he saw the boy approach the exit, "Where's Molly and Mario?"

Dwight stumbled out of the cave. There was a person coming forward from another cave exit, he was carrying another person; female. Even though he remembered what he had just witnessed, a part of Dwight hoped it was Molly. It wasn't.

Mario came into focus carrying Yuki. "I'm sorry, Dwight..."

"Shut up!"

Mario didn't respond to the outburst, but set Yuki down. She was unconscious and there was a terrible gash in her forehead. "We were attacked by some rabid... cave-dwellers. Mario couldn't think of any other way to describe the creatures that had gone from lovable and cute to deadly and ferocious. "Let's get Molly now. Hopefully this board still has energy-"

"You don't even know, do you?" Dwight asked him boiling over, "Where were you?"

"I just told you we were attacked! Where were you? You should have been with Molly! you're supposed to be there now! But the attack has stopped so lets just get her out of there, yeah?"

"She's dead!" Dwight burst out.


Back at the Resistance HQ, Dwight had told everything that had happened. How he figured out what the black hole was, how he closed it, how he fought off the Dark Soldiers, and even how he used some of their stuff to figure out what to do.

But Mario wasn't happy, "You disobeyed."

"I did what I had to do and it worked!" Dwight shot back, "You're the one that failed here!"

"Did you at least once administer a medpak to Molly?" Lawrence asked quietly.

Dwight's heart plummeted. "No..." It was his fault.

Lawrence looked sadly at Molly's mangled body and broke down.

Dwight was crying biter tears and looked at Mario.

Mario shook his head, his eyes bloodshot from crying. "Why couldn't you have just followed what I had said?"

-End Flashback-

A/N: Woah! A year or so later I finally revive my story! What's the deal? Well, College got in the way among other things, but I am finally back and hoping to finish my EPIC story! So leave a response! I started the revival off with the flash back (This was going to be the next part of the story anyway so nothing has been left out.) But i did make it much more detailed and longer. I am hoping also new people read the story to give me a fresh opinion of it. Nothing in the story will change and the ending won't change either, I already have an outline written up and everything. But, in your review, if there is something you wish me to try and work in or something awesome you think is missing, comment on it and I'll see what I can do! :D Read and Review please!