I'm back! Here to wow you guys with another chapter of this strange and really emotional story. Hopefully, it will allow you to find it in your hearts to forgive me for taking so long. I'm really sorry and I hope you enjoy the chapter, guys!

Petra's POV

It had been a few days since we had returned. The Fleet had settled into a lull, allowing for soldiers to be let off. Since the Formics were the only real threat we knew of, there was no real purpose for the Fleet to still be intact except to train soldiers guard against any newer alien threats. This made it easier on me, considering I only had twenty people left in my own army.

People had been laid off from the other armies in order to compensate for my lack of one, much to the confusion of the other commanders. They attempted to get information on why my soldiers had disappeared, but I held firm in not giving them an explanation. It was none of their business what my soldiers did. It wasn't even any of my business what my soldiers did unless they were still part of my army.

Once the armies were equal, battle commenced once more, the schedules being decided at Commander meetings. It turns out that, due to being the ones to defeat the Formics, everyone wanted to have a battle with Dragon Army. We were scheduled for three battles in one day at one point and, despite knowing it was unfair, I accepted.

We had gone through much worse when Graff was training Ender to be his puppet. Sometimes, we went days without sleep. If we could do it then, we could do it now. When I told the other Dragon Leaders, they all understood perfectly and the rest of the army went along with it as they had done weeks prior.

And so, we were set on a steady schedule. The number of battles soon waned when the other commanders realized that they were wearing down my soldiers and I finally told them to lay off at one of the commander meetings. Everything became a lull for me as my mind spiraled around the one question haunting my nightmares: when will Ender return?

One afternoon, as I was observing the soldiers after breakfast, Bean and Alai walked over to me, saluting respectfully. I nodded to them calmly and asked, "What do you two need?"

They glanced at each other, obviously not certain how to proceed from there. I waited patiently, knowing that they would figure out a way to tell me when they were prepared.

As always, it was Bean who took the first initiative. He turned to me and took a deep breath, his expression serious. I stood straight, knowing that I couldn't take this topic lightly.

"Look, Petra," Bean murmured. "I want to head back to earth. And so does Alai. We can't take this anymore. Everywhere we go, everyone congratulates us as if we did some great thing instead of thinking it was a game. I want to go back to where the only thing people knew I did was live."

"And I cannot stay where people think I am a hero when I am a villain." Alai added.

I glanced between them and nodded. "Alright then. So you two want to go back? Does anyone else?"

"Well, the people who weren't directly involved in destroying the planet have all already been deployed out." Dink murmured. "They were afraid they would be the next ones to be manipulated the same way Ender was and got outta here as fast as they could. The only ones that would be left would be me, you and Bernard."

I nodded. "Then go ahead. I bid peace to both of you."

"Hey, we're not going forever." Bean told me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "If you need us, just call us back, alright?"

"You got it." I told him, putting my hand on his.

Alai put his hand on my shoulder as well and whispered a soft prayer to me. He and Bean took up their bags and waved to Bernard, Dink and I before walking briskly from the bunkroom. They had every right to be going quickly, once the colonel found out about their departure, there would be hell to pay, but I knew they could handle themselves.

I turned back to my remaining members. Bernard and Dink stood behind me, watching me expectantly. When I simply stared back at them in confusion, they decided to voice their thoughts.

"Aren't you going to go tell Graff they're leaving?" Bernard asked.

"Not yet." I told him. "If I told him now, they will be brought back easily. No, I want to give them time to grab a head start." They both nodded in understanding and I turned to them. "What now?" I asked softly.

"You're… asking us?" Bernard raised a shocked eyebrow.

"I no longer have an army which means I am no longer a commander. I am now fully able to ask you two where we go from here." The pair of them glanced at each other before thinking over the situation.

"When you were awarded at the ceremony," Dink began slowly. "They said you could gain command of any army you chose, right?"

I nodded. "I was given the choice of commanding any army, yes."

Bernard piped in at that moment. "Ender gave you his rank, right?" I nodded expectantly. "Does that mean you're admiral of the Fleet as well?"

I thought about that for a moment. All Ender had done was give me the Dragon Army badge. However, he had stated that he was giving me his rank. In terms of interpretation, that would mean that he was giving me all of his ranks.

I turned back to Bernard with a slow nod. "I suppose it does. What do the two of you have in mind?"

Dink cleared his throat and said, "Well, since Dragon Army is completely the three of us and some stragglers now, I thought we could return to Salamander Army."

"I wouldn't mind joining the two of you there, either." Bernard added. "After working with you for so long, working with people who hadn't gone through the same training wouldn't feel the same."

I mulled over this information. Salamander Army was a ragtag group at this point. Once Bonzo had been hospitalized due to his attempted attack on Ender, the army had practically gone to ruin as the Fleet failed to give them a new commander since Colonel Graff was so focused on making Ender the next person to go to Command School.

If the three of us were to take over Salamander, with me as the apparent army leader, then we could turn it into the formidable opponent it once was under Bonzo's reign. I glanced to my two waiting comrades.

"Alright." I told them simply. "Get your things together. I'm going to go change our armies and then I need to have a talk with Colonel Graff."

"Yes, Commander." Dink agreed, he and Bernard saluting me before turning to their bunks and grabbing up their belongings.

I turned on my heel and began making my way through the compound. Glancing down at the medal that had yet to leave my neck, I reached up and grasped it, squeezing gently. Ender… I thought with a soft sigh. I'll keep Dragon Army safe until you return. I promise.

And there you have it. Once again, I'd like to say I'm sorry it took so long and I'm working out a schedule as we speak, but just know, I'm in college and I have work to do so don't expect updates as often as you would want them to be... and don't hold me to any of my updates cause things happen.

Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fanfiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoange1), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile.