CHAPTER 14

REVELATIONS

Checking his mana screen, Dutch saw that he had been driving down the narrow back road for almost half an hour. His search for the next member of his old team had taken him far out into the sticks of Rosenblum. Dutch knew she valued her privacy, but he couldn't help but wonder if Jadis for all her tough talk wasn't some sort of closet agoraphobic.

Finally, the dense growth of trees began to thin out and Dutch found himself pulling up to a large mansion. Like himself, Jadis was a veteran of both the military and the Norma Management Board and had been awarded accordingly for her service. Parking in front of the front steps, Dutch opened the car door and was greeted to a thin blonde man in glasses and a blue suit.

"Mr Villson," the man greeted. "My name is Owen. I'm Ms. Kellerman's personal assistant. We've been expecting you."

"Well then let's not keep the lady waiting," he answered. 'And I use the term loosely,' he joked to himself. Following the valet inside, Dutch raised an eyebrow as he was led deeper into the mansion. Jadis' taste in art was, unique, to say the least. Marble sculptures and paintings adorned every nook and wall, all of them involving thin and effeminate young men who were barely out of their teens. All in various stages of undress and engaging in some rather "vigorous" physical activities with each other. Finally, a pair of glass doors loomed before them which Owen opened, revealing an indoor pool. And swimming towards them was the one he had come to meet. Tall as Dutch, Jadis Kellerman's long silver hair trailed behind her as she reached the edge of the pool and nearly vaulted her entire length out of the water onto the deck. She was wearing a red one piece that clashed against her tanned skin with water dripping down her muscular yet feminine frame. Dutch had always had an admiration for his former Sargent. Though he also knew to keep it respectful. Dutch had seen more than one man either come on to her in an obnoxious manner or made some snide comment about her sexuality only to wind up with a broken limb or two.

"Well, well, Dutch Villson," she said. "It's been a while."

"A few years at least," Jadis beckoned to Owen and the assistant gave a curt nod as he walked out the door.

"You still take your whiskey straight, up right?" she asked as she toweled off.

"Like any real man does." A patio table and two chairs had been set up nearby and the two of them sat down. "I'll cut straight to the chase then. Master Embryo has received intelligence that a secret terrorist group is forming. Norma sympathizers are attempting to move undocumented Norma."

"Are they more of those primitives?" she asked.

"Possibly," Dutch nodded. "But it's more likely these are human dissidents. Not so long ago, I encountered an old associate of mine who was hiding one right on the edge of the Arzenal quarantine zone."

"Anyone I know?" she asked.

"It was Gaz." Jadis raised an eyebrow.

"Does that mean the Norma he was hiding was Subject Alpha? To think the little bastard and Gaz were alive all these years and hiding right under our nose. Did you get them?"

"Gaz was dealt with, but the boy escaped and wound up in Arzenal of all places. I told Master Embryo I would snatch him out of there, but he refused and practically exiled me from his service. I've been replaced by some upstart kid called Blackadder. I've never even heard of him until now, but he claims he's Embryo's right-hand man." Jadis frowned and leaned back in her chair.

"Hopefully the DRAGON's will get him, but those Norma like to stick together." Being the former Inspector General of Arzanel, Jadis had first-hand knowledge of how the Norma behaved and how cunning they could be. Still, admonishing discipline to them had always been an enjoyable activity for her. One blonde in particular, 'Zola' had been especially hesitant to fall in line but at least Jadis had plenty of chances to entertain herself with her. "So what do you want to do?"

"First I have to redeem myself to Master Embryo by dealing with the dissidents. I figured I'd get everyone back together to do it. Just like we handled those filthy savages and their Norma allies 10 years ago. You interested?" Jadis grinned like a hungry lioness.

"Retirement is fine, but it does get boring after a while," she said. "Alright. I'm in. And who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to pay Arzenal a little visit. For old time's sake of course." The door opened and Jadis's valet returned with a tray on which two glasses of liquor were mounted.

"Glad to have you on board," he said as he raised his drink.

"Glad to be on board," she smirked as they clinked their glasses. After briefing her on the mission details, Dutch gave her his contact data before taking his leave to find their next teammate. He was rather grateful to have such a trustworthy and loyal ally like Jadis. And meeting with her brought back memories of when they eliminated the Ancient Humans' and Norma rebellion 10 years ago. Still, Dutch couldn't help feeling a bit of remorse and even anger. As good a friend as she was, Jadis didn't fill the hole Gavin had left. Even after all that had happened, the revelation of his former best friend being the one to protect Subject Alpha was a bitter pill. Ever since the first day Dutch met Gavin, he was everything Dutch aspired to be.

(30 years ago)

Drenched in sweat, Dutch flopped down on his bunk, his chest heaving from the 9 km run. Ever since wakeup at 6 AM, it had been non-stop gruelling exercises for five hours. Guzzling down his water, he started to relax until he saw 3 larger boys his age approaching him.

"You're pathetic Villson!"

"Because of you we have to run an extra 3 km tomorrow all because you couldn't keep up!"

"Why did you even join the Academy anyway? You're nothing than a bag of skin and bones."

"You're completely useless Villson!" Dutch tched and did his best to ignore them. It wasn't as if he had much of a choice. His less than stellar grades had left Dutch with a limited future. He would have been perfectly happy though just to be left alone but to his annoyance, his father had pulled a few strings and enrolled him in the Academy in order to man him up. Not like his younger brother who had graduated Highschool at the age of 16 and was drafted into a research team working under the Norma Management board. While Donnie was living his dream of finding a cure for the Norma condition, Dutch was stuck in a dorm full of jerks like these guys. And with his lanky frame he couldn't even shut them up.

"Will you guys back off already!" Dutch and his tormentors looked over to see a boy of average build with platinum blonde hair sitting on the edge of a nearby bed.

"Fuck off Standall! You're just as bad. Always trailing at the back with the rest of the useless punks they let in."

"Yeah well that explains how you three got in," Dutch muttered. Realizing too late what he had said, Dutch suddenly found himself yanked to his feet as one of them seized him by the collar of his shirt.

"What did you say?" he growled. "That's it. Time to show you just what…"

"Hey, move it. You're in my way." Behind the three bullies, a tall young man with dark brown hair and built like a rock had suddenly appeared.

"Huh! Who the hell are you?"

"The guy who's going to kick your ass if you don't move it!" the newcomer warned. The bullies' eyes shot open in shock before narrowing in anger.

"Well what do we have here? Looks like we have two smart asses who…" before he could finish, the big young man closed the distance and stared him down.

"Who what?" he asked. The three toughs, now faced with someone who wasn't afraid of them and who more than likely could hold his own, quickly lost their composure.

"Just forget it," the leader said. Shoving Dutch back onto the bed, he beckoned to his friends before casting a warning glance back at Dutch. "We'll deal with you later." As the bullies left, Dutch clenched his hands in anger when he felt his bed creak.

"You okay?" Dutch looked up and saw that the bigger boy who had saved him from a potential beating was sitting next to him.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Those three have been getting on my nerves all day. Listen, don't let those pricks get to you. It's only the first week of training and we've all got another three years till we graduate." Easy for you to say, Dutch thought to himself. If this was just the first week, he doubted he'd make it to the end of the month. "So what's your name?"

"Villson," he said. "Dutch Villson."

"I'm Gavin, Gavin Wright. But my friends back home called me Gaz." Dutch was beyond confused by that.

"Why did they call you that?" he asked as Gaz went slightly red.

"Well, I sort of gave myself that name. I thought it made me sound tougher. It actually made me into a bit of a laughingstock but hey it forced me to back it up against guys like that so I can't complain." Despite his frustration, Dutch actually began to feel a little better. He was quite surprised by how kind Gaz was. In his experience, people who were larger and bigger always bullied him. Gaz however seemed almost 'cool.' In the weeks that followed, Gaz helped Dutch when he needed. Keeping the thugs off his back, helping him get in shape, and giving him encouragement to keep moving on when Dutch finally told Gaz why he joined the Academy. Gaz even admitted to Dutch he never had many friends as some people feared him due to his size.

One day, Gaz and Dutch sat in their barracks playing a game of battle ships via MANA screen when Dutch suddenly realized something. "Hey Gaz, why did you join the Academy. It doesn't seem like you're being forced like me and Standall."

"I want to protect this world and my nation," Gaz told him.

"What do you mean? Protect from what?"

"From the Norma. What else?"

"Seriously?" Dutch cried as he sat up. "I wouldn't want to get within 100 feet of those freaks."

"I've seen one up close once." Gaz said.

"Really? What happened? How did you survive?"

"It was nothing really, I was 10 at the time and it was a Norma no older than me. It turned out the mother had been caught keeping her a secret and was arrested in my neighborhood. It climbed into my treehouse crying and pulling at my shirt asking me to hide her from the police."

"So what did you do?" Dutch sat up and puffed his chest in pride.

"I held it down and called for help. I practically spat in its face as the little monster was taken away. The truth was that it had injured another boy before it found me. And I could only imagine what a full-grown Norma could do if it was somehow allowed to run free. A lot of people could die or worse and I will not let that happen." Dutch stared at his friend and was amazed at how cool he was. Most people would be too terrified to get near a Norma, but Gaz was willing to risk his own life to keep people safe. 'I'll do it too,' Dutch decided. 'I want to protect the world from the Norma. Especially Donnie.' His own brother was researching them and who knew what risk he was putting himself through. Out of his entire family, Donnie was the only one who never treated him as a lost cause.

(Present, Arzenal)

November was ending and soon winter would be setting in for the residents of Arzanel. Outside had turned icy which made the ground slippery and training even more grueling than normal. The AC now changed to heat but that wasn't the only thing keeping two Norma in particular warm. Opening his eyes; Cal's body had a warm fuzzy feeling as if he never felt more alive. He had been having this feeling for the past month ever since he would always wake up to a certain Pinkett sleeping on his shoulder. He looked down to see Naomi still sound asleep, a warm smile on her face. His hand gently caressed her cheek and Naomi slowly opened her beautiful purple eyes.

"Morning." Naomi yawned.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Cal said making Naomi giggle. She shifted position on top of him as Cal stroked her loose pink hair. "I wish we didn't have to get up for training," Cal sighed. "I could spend the entire day like this."

"Me too," she sighed. Naomi could cherish moments like this forever, but the blare of morning roll call forced them to peel themselves out of bed.

"I won't lose this time to you with our run." Cal vowed and Naomi snickered at the image of Cal tripping and sliding all over the place from the ice outside.

"Well I did lose you to Rosalie and Chris last week," Naomi smirked, making Cal go red. It was no secret how close Cal and Naomi had gotten. Whenever nobody could find them it wasn't hard to suspect what they were up to. A few of the girls would give Naomi death glares as she passed but she didn't care. Surprisingly Zola and the others took the news very well, just as long as Cal visited them every now and again.

"About time you two showed up," Hilda snarked as they emerged topside. "I'm surprised you can manage to keep your clothes on for more than five minutes." That was another thing that had changed. Ever since the Category 4, while she and Cal still snarked at each other, Hilda had lost a good deal of her attitude towards him and actually acted in a way that seemed almost friendly. The two of them had even established a rivalry over at the arcade.

Surprisingly, morning training was cut short though Cal noticed Zola and the rest seemed to be expecting it. As first squad stood waiting outside of their locker room, the Commander and Inspector came around the corner and with them were six of the younger kids. Three were dressed in the white tunics of pilots and the rest in orange overalls. And Cal was quick to recognize one girl with short dark green hair. Miranda?

"Step forward," Jill ordered as Miranda moved away from the group, fidgeting and wringing her hands. "She's all yours Zola."

"Yes Ma'am," Zola saluted as Jill and Emma walked off to escort the rest of the kids to whatever squad or armourer group, they would be working in. "Welcome to the first Squad of death. I'm Captain Zola." Miranda snapped to attention and saluted her Captain before Zola gave her a little push towards the rest of the squad. "Introduce yourselves." One by one Salia gave Miranda a rundown of all the squad mates. Cal gave Miranda a half wave with his signature grin which seemed to help make her feel a little more at ease. To Cal's surprise everyone kept things professional and mutual compared to when he arrived, but he guessed that had to do with the fact it was their first time meeting a man.

"Hello, my name is Miranda." She nervously greeted. "I hope we all get along."

"No problem!" Vivian said excitedly sticking out her hand as Miranda shook it. "Welcome to the First squad!" Getting down to business the squad changed into their plug suits. As a rookie, Miranda receive the standard plug suit all new recruits wore. Unlike Cal's old one which was second hand and altered, Miranda wore a light grey one with pale blue lining the same color as the standard Glaive. Unlike the Visors she wore a large helmet which was suitable for the younger pilots.

"How come I didn't get a helmet when I joined?" Cal moaned making the squad roll their eyes in amusement.

"Because your head wouldn't fit silly." Naomi giggled.

"Alright enough with the jokes." Zola barked. "Salia I want you to run battle scenario Chi again and test out our new formation. I'll show the Newbie the ropes. Let's go." Miranda gave a slight whimper, but Cal laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her an assuring nod. He knew from personal experience how intimidating Zola could be at first. Besides, despite her lascivious Cal knew Miranda had a few years before Zola would even think of making a move on her.

Ever since the Category 4 DRAGON attack a month ago, it was pretty quiet except for third squad being launched for a Category 1. It was as if the DRAGONs had suffered a huge loss and had backed off for a while. Even still, Zola wanted everyone to be prepared as she had a feeling this was just a calm before one really bad storm. For now, she was busy in training a new recruit while everyone else was practicing Formation Chi.

Unlike Cal who was thrown in the deep end due to his age, Miranda's ride was going to be easy and slow. At least by Zola's standards. The moment Miranda was ready, Zola remote launched her, and the girl let out a panicked scream from inside the simulator as she shot off. The first experience of flying was always the worse, but it was certainly entertaining for those watching. Seeking to get a better idea of her capabilities, Zola threw in some aerial turbulence and Miranda swerved left and right around the sky trying to maintain control. When Zola pulled her into a dive Miranda reacted too late and crashed into one of the large shard rocks.

After finishing their own simulator mission, the rest of first squad took a water break as they waited for Zola to finish. "You did really well Salia," Cal praised.

"Thanks," Salia smiled. "It is difficult taking charge of the whole squad whenever Zola has other matters to attend to."

"Well I did say back then you would make a good Captain. Those lizards won't stand a chance with you in charge."

"Excuse me!" Zola called from the simulator as Cal grinned. Salia however couldn't shake her feelings of guilt. Ever since Naomi and Cal had become lovers, Salia couldn't help feeling jealous, even though Naomi had told her she wouldn't mind sharing him. But of even greater worry was what Jill had told her. Ever since learning the reason for why he was born she knew he deserved to know but what would happen if she did? Would he hate her for it?

"Hey, what is it?" he asked as he saw how tense she was.

"I've…just got a lot on my mind," she answered.

"Hey if you're stressed out I don't mind putting on the costume for you again," Cal teased, making her blush as she covered his mouth.

"Sshh keep your voice down!" Salia hissed when they heard Zola calling out instructions to Miranda. Everyone wandered over to observe and watched the screen as Miranda pulled off a rather good pull up dive as Zola finally shut off the simulation.

"Well she's definitely above average when it comes to newbies, but she still needs a lot of work." Zola pointed out just before they all heard the sudden sound of spewing. Cal opened the simulator and lurched back from the sight and smell. Zola sighed at she handed Miranda a bucket. "You'll be cleaning that up."

Over the next few days Miranda was tested in the harshest conditions. She slipped and fell constantly on the icy track during the morning run. Unlike everyone else who was used to the hardships of constant physical training, she almost passed out a few times from exhaustion and she couldn't score a single hit during target practice. The cold weather made it difficult for everyone since they couldn't keep warm with movement. Only Cal wasn't too badly affected due to all the times he spent hunting on cold winter nights.

"Just take it easy," Cal urged her. "Steady your breathing and use that to focus."

"It's heavy." Miranda panted as she struggled to hold up the standard assault rifle. As she missed again, Cal came over knelt down to help position her arms and hands in the right place. "Okay keep both eyes open and squeeze the trigger don't pull." It took a few tries, but she finally managed to hit the outer edge of the large bullseye.

"I did it!" She cheered.

"Good job." Cal praised. "Keep at it and you'll be a pro." When they switched to the crossbows again, Cal once again outshot everyone. Much to Zola, Hilda and Rosalie's frustration. Salia, Naomi and Ersha will still a little awkward as well but Vivian and Chris had gotten used to the weapon and managed to shoot at nearly the same level as Cal. As he walked the range, Cal came up behind Hilda who was flushed from both the cold weather and her anger at using a weapon she detested.

"Want some help?" Cal offered.

"Screw off I can do it!" she grimaced. Just before pulling the trigger, Cal gave her a little bump and she yelped as she took her shot out of shock and scored a perfect hit. "Whatever. I don't even know why we're doing this. It's not like we'll ever use one in combat."

"You're just jealous of my natural talent," Cal joked.

"Please," Hilda scoffed with a sly grin. "You still haven't won a game of table tennis, air hockey, or pool against me. Save it for when you beat me at something that matters."

"Hey, shut up! Those were just warm up matches."

"Yeah right loser." she smirked as she flicked him on the head. Zola watched and couldn't help but find the situation cute. Now that Cal and Naomi were an item, Hilda had relaxed a bit now that she didn't have to worry about losing her position in Zola's circle. Now if only she could get her two favorite playmates in bed at once. Ersha also felt very happy that Cal and Hilda could finally get along. She thought making the pie for Cal was very sweet even though Hilda had threatened her to keep it a secret from everyone.

Sitting atop a supply crate, Vivian watched as Mei and the armorers attached her new upgraded sub machine gun to her Razor. She scanned the hanger and saw Big Bro kicking back in his Para-mail with Irma and a few more of the armorers watching him. Curious as to what he was doing, Vivian hopped off and climbed up and saw him sketching his Glaive with a four-barrel rotary cannon replacing his right gun. "Hey Big Bro!" Vivian yelled making everyone jump.

"Damn it Vivian I thought I told you not to do that!" Cal swore

"So are you thinking of getting another upgrade?" Vivian asked.

"Yeah I'd like to do something different, so I stand out from Naomi and Rosalie. But without any sorties it'll probably take a while." With the DRAGONs being quiet, all the other squadrons had been forced to take part time jobs across base in order to earn money. Even Jasmine had to reduce Cal's hours due to the surplus of help she was getting.

"I know that feeling," Vivian sighed. "I just got a new rifle that cost over 9 million and now I can't even try it out."

"Where the hell do you get your money from?" he asked as Vivian noticed he was using the Perolina pencil she and Ersha had gotten him his first day, she reached into her pocket.

"Hey check this out!" she beamed as she handed him the Perolina keychain. "Ersha and Naomi have one too. Now when we're in combat, we can form our own Perolina squad."

"Sounds good," he said as he stuck it under the indicator. To be honest he didn't feel care much for Perolina but if it made her happy, he could put up with it. After finishing his drawing, he and Vivian went to play some arcade games and found Hilda, Rosalie and Chris in one corner playing 'Pablo Kart.' Chris however was standing back and just watching the others play. "Hey guys need a fourth player?"

"Hell yeah," Rosalie grinned, "I'm low on cash and I smell a win."

"You lot have no chance against me." Hilda boasted.

"I can't," Chris mumbled. "I don't have any money."

"Well then don't bet," Cal suggested. "Hey guys, Chris can still play anyway right?"

"Huh? Yeah sure," Hilda agreed. Cal couldn't understand why she was so meek compared to Hilda and Rosalie. It was almost if she were scared to speak her mind. With Vivian acting as cheerleader, Cal and the other girls began their game and despite jockeying back and forth for the lead, in the end Chris managed to use the oil spill powerup to make them skid out and take the win.

"Way to go Chris!" Vivian cheered.

"Yeah but I won where it counts," Hilda boasted. As she counted out her winnings, Cal took the chance to lead Chris aside and hand her a stack of bills.

"Here."

"Why? I didn't bet." She tried to give it back, but Cal was having none of it.

"Look you won so you earned it fair and square. Just consider it a favour for me." Chris looked up and him and smiled.

"Thank you," she said as Rosalie leaned her arm on his shoulder.

"Hey if you want, we could watch another episode of Elite Space within our room. And if I remember correctly, the next episode has a love scene." Rosalie flashed a dirty grin though Chris just blushed.

"We're just watching, right?" The last time he had watched Elite Space in their quarters he somehow had managed to end up with the two of them on top of him.

"Well," Chris said, "you do owe me a favor." Hilda was listening in on the three and grimaced in disgust.

"You two are as bad as Zola."

"How, what does Rosalie mean?" Vivian asked.

"Never mind." Hilda sighed.

Thankfully, despite no small amount of effort on their part, Rosalie and Chris kept their hands to themselves and the three of them were able to watch the episode without incident. Feeling his stomach rumble, Cal decided to go catch some dinner, especially since both Ersha and Tanya were working the mess hall tonight. After grabbing a tray, Cal saw none other than Miranda sitting by herself at the far end, aimlessly poking at her food with her fork.

"Hey Miranda," he said as he sat down across from her, the younger girl flinching a bit.

"Oh…hi Cal."

"Something wrong?" he asked. "You need to keep your strength up if you're going to survive basic training. Come on what's wrong?"

"I just feel like such a screwup," she sulked. "I studied hard so I could get into the first squad, to be with the best and I still can't fly without crashing."

"Don't worry about it." Cal reassured. "You've only just started. It took me a while to get used to things."

"But what if I don't. What if I finally get into combat and the DRAGONs kill…"

"Okay that's enough," he interrupted. "You won't do yourself any good if you think like that." Getting up, Cal moved over so he could sit alongside her. "Look I'm not gonna lie. It will get very tough. But you're not on you own. Everyone will look out for you. Even the Captain. I know she can be scary, but she takes care of all of us. Things will turn out alright just so long as we all stick together." He put his arm around her and felt the same sense of protective nature like he had with Vivian. His assurance made Miranda feel better enough to eat, though she was very disturbed by Cal's bad table manners.

The next day Cal, along with Ersha promised Miranda they would take her to visit Coco after training. Coming to the classroom during the kid's break, the entire class jumped for joy when they saw Cal. It had been a while since he last visited, and they were more than glad to see him. Coco was delighted to see her friend again and was very eager to know the kind of things that she did now that Miranda was a pilot for first squad. Miranda gave her a run down and Coco looked at her friend in amazement.

"That's so cool! So when do you start fighting the DRAGONs?" Coco asked. Miranda simply shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know but I hope not until I can learn to fly without crashing." Coco saw how nervous her best friend looked and had an idea.

"Here take this," she said handing out her keychain to Miranda who examined it and recognized it was the symbol of first squad. "It was a gift from Cal. He said it would bring me luck and I think you need it more than me." Miranda smiled as she hugged Coco. She was such a kid but that's what Miranda liked about her. They had spent their whole lives on Arzanel and they were practically like sisters.

After a few hours Cal and Ersha called it a day and said goodbye to the kids. As Miranda went on her own way Cal could tell something didn't feel right with Ersha.

"Is something wrong Ersha?" he asked.

"You could say that," she admitted. Ersha knew she could trust Cal and decided to show him rather than tell him. Down they went into the lower levels of Arzanel and came to a door that read 'nursery.' "Keep the volume down okay." Ersha whispered. Cal nodded and as Ersha opened the door he couldn't help but let out a soft gasp. In the room was a number of pink cribs. Most of them were empty but he caught the sight of 4 very small babies fast asleep before Ersha quietly shut the door. "We just got them in today," she said. "It's beyond cruel for them to be put in a place like this, but this is the world we live in."

"How?" he whispered. "How can the humans do this? They're just babies." Cal's head pounded, his stomach was burning, and his fist clenched as he fought down the urge to punch the wall.

"I know, it makes me sad that they will never know their parents." Ersha said. "But most of us experienced this."

"Were you…" Cal began but Ersha already knew what he was going to ask.

"Yes. I've never known my parents. I don't know when I came here but I assume it was a few days after I was born. I have no knowledge or memory of the outside world."

"Do they all come here like this?" he asked.

"If they're lucky," Ersha said. "I know Naomi told you about Hilda. She was brought in when she was six. Unlike most of us she knew her family before she was taken from them. Honestly, I'm not sure if that makes her fortunate or not." And just like that, a lot of things about Hilda made sense to Cal.

"So who takes care of them?"

"Mostly older residents though me and Ms Mary help out when we can. It's one of the reasons I spend so much time with the kids. I want to give them a happy childhood before they're old enough to be pressed into service."

"Was there someone like you who took care of you when you were little?" Ersha nodded and smiled at the memory of a young woman with long brown hair.

"Yes. Her name was Vanessa. She was a pilot and was very popular with the kids. I always looked up to her and wanted to be just like her." Ersha then remembered that Cal had mentioned about his life with his Gramps, but he never once mentioned his mother. "Cal I always wanted to ask but felt it would be rude if I did but…did you ever know your own parents?" Cal shook his head as unpleasant thoughts regarding the conversation he overheard rose to the front of his mind. 'Why?' he wondered. 'Why is it that they we're forced to live like this, yet Jill said I was going to be killed when I was born? Was it just because I'm a male Norma? But why is it that Gramps saved me when no one else would?'

"No. But my Gramps said my mother was a friend and he promised her he'd keep me safe."

"Well you were very lucky to have him," Ersha smiled.

"These kids are lucky to have you too." Cal said. Ersha looked at him and felt her heart pound and her body began to heat. She felt the flush in her cheeks and without thinking, kissed Cal passionately. Her arms wrapped around his neck but as quickly as it began, she pulled away as Cal stared at her wide eyed.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have done that." She panicked.

"Hey it's okay…I just..."

"No it's not okay! Naomi is my closest friend. I'd never forgive myself if I got in the way of you two." Before Cal could reassure her, she ran off tears welling in her eyes. Cal felt as if a ton of bricks fell on him, he knew where he stood with Naomi, but he never once considered that Ersha had feelings for him too. It was easy with Zola, Rosalie, and Chris since they were only looking for simple pleasures but who else had these kinds of feelings for him. He remembered that in Elite Space his favourite character Dom the Bomb had 4 lovers but that was an anime. Did things like that even work in the real world?

The next day the weather took another bad turn as heavy rain lashed everywhere and the cold weather made everything even more miserable. Target practice was cancelled so everyone took it upon themselves to train a little more in the simulators. Zola was in the process of giving Miranda extra training. There was no telling when the next DRAGON attack would come, and the first sortie was always the hardest for new recruits. She wanted to make sure Miranda was fully prepared for whatever the DRAGONs threw at her.

Salia, meanwhile, was sparring with Cal and had a close 5 to 4 match score. Ever since Jill had refused to give Cal Siegfried, Salia decided to work tooth and nail to bring out Cal's full potential. Next, she took him on a level 12 attack mission, the highest level for single pilot. To her surprise Cal managed to take down 80% of the enemies before being hit from behind and crashing into the water. He was getting more skilled every day and was almost as good as her and Zola.

"Phew," he gasped as he exited his simulator. "That was intense."

"Well you did really well," she said. "Hopefully though you won't really have to take on a DRAGON horde by yourself."

"I wouldn't even dream of it." Cal laughed. The two headed for the showers, yet despite his success at the day's training, Cal still felt ill at ease. The thought of babies being taken from their mothers and chucked in a place like this it was inhuman. Was his mother ever brought here? Or did she die trying to protect him? Libertus, Villkiss, and Siegfried, what were they? It was too much for Cal's brain to handle and every bitter feeling had finally burst though it's boundaries. "Salia," he said as he came to a stop.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I need to tell you.".

"Okay, what is it?"

"A few weeks ago…I couldn't sleep, and I saw you walking down the hallways." Salia felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. "I followed you and I overheard a few things."

"WHAT!" Salia cried. "You heard!?" Salia could feel herself about to curl into a ball. How could have she been so reckless. "How much?"

"Everything." This was bad. Was Cal going to hate her now after not telling him. She broke into a cold sweat and she pulled him into the locker room where thankfully they were alone.

"Cal I'm so sorry I wanted to tell you but…commander Jill made me swear not to. She said it was their responsibility and I don't even know the full story of your past or Gaz."

"Salia it's okay," he assured her. "I could tell by the conversation you and Mei didn't know the truth about me. I'm not mad at you and Mei. But Jill and the others have a lot of explaining to do. I think it's about time they give me a reason as to why they have been lying to me."

"Cal you're not seriously thinking of…"

"I've got to Salia. I'm sick of being left in the dark and things being kept secret about me."

"Cal please don't! You have no idea how dangerous this is. If Jill were to find out you were listening, even I won't be able to protect you." If Cal even so much as heard the name Libertus or Villkiss, there was no telling what Jill would do to him. Worst case scenario she would silence him permanently.

"Salia, all my life I've wondered who I was. And if a male Norma was never meant to exist then why am I even alive?"

"Don't say things like that." Salia begged. "You're not a mistake. Clearly this Gaz who took care of you didn't think so and look at all you've done since you got here and all the things you've done for us." The bitterness in Cal had somewhat vanished by Salia's kind words.

"I hope that's true but there's only one way to find out. No more lies. It's about time I finally learned the truth."

"What are you going to do?" Salia asked. Cal thought for a moment. If he demanded Jasmine for answers it would get him nowhere. But he did have another idea.

"Salia I need you to answer me correctly, when is the next time you and everyone else are going to have a meeting."

"I'm not sure I like where this is going." Salia didn't want to betray Jill but maybe bringing Cal into the fold was for the best. It might give Jill a reason to give Cal Siegfried and ultimately tell him the reason behind Libertus. "What do you intend to do?"

"When the meeting starts, make sure you get there first, so it doesn't look like I followed you. Then I'll come in at the right time and stand my ground." Salia hoped this would work. It made her scared for Cal but with Jasmine and Maggie there it might help the situation if Jill were to lose her temper.

"Okay it's tomorrow night at 11:30 after curfew. But please Cal, please be careful."

Before Salia knew it, Cal pulled her into a hug, the side of her face was pressed against his hard chest as he wrapped his toned arms around her. Salia's face went brick red that he was holding her this way and she wrapped her arms around him too.

"I'll be fine. And I promise I won't get you in trouble." Salia smiled as they broke from their hug, she was about to leave but Cal offered her to stay. "You don't have to keep on waiting every time I have a shower. You could just come in like everyone else. Even Hilda doesn't hang back anymore." Salia gulped and felt as though she would pass out as Cal removed his top but decided to just go with the flow.

Taking a shower next to him wasn't as bad as she thought it would be though she had to fight the temptation of sneaking a peek. Tomorrow night was going to be eventful. She just hoped that everything would not go south for Cal.

Finishing up her third set on the bench press, Scarlett finally decided to take a break. With no singulars since the incident with the Category 4, she had plenty of free time to spend in the gym. Which was good as she had even more pent up frustration to work off. Scarlett knew she wasn't the first Captain to lose a comrade on a bad sortie, but she still felt like a failure for allowing Janette and Selina to die. The two of them had flown with Scarlett for five years, and now they were both dead because of some surprise blitz. And like Zola, she now had a new recruit of her own to break in.

"I thought I'd find you here." Scarlett looked up and gave an annoyed groan at the sight of Zola. "Where's our resident stud?"

"He called off for today," Scarlett answered. "Said he needed to conserve his energy for something he needed to do." Which was just fine with Scarlett. She could use some time to herself anyway.

"I heard you purchased Janette and Selina's headstones yourself," Zola said as she sat down beside her. "That's pretty generous."

"Is there something you want?" Scarlett asked. She really was not in the mood for Zola's attitude.

"Hey, I know we have history but I'm a captain too," she said. "Believe me, I get it. You feel it more than the others when someone dies. And that's why we have to keep it together. For our girls' sake. If anyone can make it past this, it's you. You always were the strong one. And not just on the outside." Scarlett finally felt a smile grow on her face as she wiped at her eyes. Cal and her own squad had offered their sympathies to her but none of them really understood the way Zola did.

"Thanks Zola," she said, "I feel a little better"

"Well," Zola purred, "If you're still pent up I know a way to make you forget your troubles."

"Do you realize how perverted your expression looks right now?" Scarlett asked as Zola chuckled.

"I'm just curious how your body feels compared to everyone else with all these sexy muscles." Zola ran her hand up Scarlett's thigh when without warning Scarlett, flipped up her legs and wrapped them around Zola's neck to toss her to the ground where she pinned her underneath,

"That trick won't work on me," she said with an evil grin, eliciting a nervous gulp from Zola. "But I know a few other ways to release some stress."

Dressed in her orange pajamas, Ersha sat on her bed and watched as the rain pounded at the window when she heard the door open. "Hey Ersha," Naomi said.

"Oh, hi Naomi. No Cal tonight?"

"Nope. He said he didn't feel good. I offered to stay, but something seemed to be bothering him so I thought it would be best to leave him be." It was then that Naomi noticed how unusually gloomy her roommate looked. Ersha's eyes were red as if she had been crying for some time. "Ersha is something wrong?" When she didn't answer, Naomi sat down beside her and clasped her hand. "C'mon tell me. Is it the kids? I heard we got in a shipment of new arrivals today." Ersha shook her head and bit her lips as tears welled in her eyes. "Then what is it?"

"It's Cal," she finally said. "I kissed him. I kissed him even though I know how you feel about him and how he feels about you. I feel so ashamed of myself." Ersha hands covered her face and began to cry. "I couldn't help it. I feel something for him but…I feel like I've betrayed you. I'm so sorry." Ersha expected a shout of outrage or even a slap across her face. To her surprise, she felt a gentle caress on her cheek as Naomi pulled her gaze back up to hers.

"It's okay Ersha." Naomi said, "I don't see what the problem is."

"How can you say that?"

"I don't mind sharing him," Naomi smiled which made Ersha's eyes bulge in shock.

"Wh…what!" She gasped.

"He's the only man on an island full of women. The only way I'd be able to keep him to myself was to keep him locked up in my room." Ersha had never expected a reaction like this. In the romance manga she had read, things like what she did tended to destroy friendships. "I know it sounds strange, but who can say what is normal? We live in a world where we're locked away in this place all because we can't use Mana. I've always known you and Salia like him a lot and I think you should be honest with him. All I want is for us all to be happy and I'd feel terrible if you and Salia didn't open up to him because of me. We've all been through a lot to hold any regrets." Naomi did have a point and Ersha felt a lot better. Zola had multiple partners in the past after Scarlett including Hilda, Rosalie, Chris and Cal himself.

"Naomi…thank you," she half sobbed as she threw her arms around Naomi's shoulders. She had always wanted to experience what the humans did when it came to finding a partner of the opposite sex and the thought of actually doing so was like a dream come true. "How do you think Salia will take this news?" she giggled.

"Well I think it will take a little coaxing to admit her feelings," Naomi laughed, knowing how stubborn Salia could be.

Cal waited and waited until even the rain tapping on the window seemed to be counting off the time. Finally, his alarm clock beeped 11:25, giving enough time to get to where the meeting was held. Cal opened his door and peeked out, checking right and left in case anyone was around. Certain the coast was clear, he quietly shut his door and walked down the dark hallways. Cal felt himself go weak in the knees but kept himself together. It was time he finally learned the truth and he wasn't going to back down without a fight.

Then something strange happened, Cal felt himself feel light as a feather and everything around him seemed as if all the color had been drained. 'Wait no not again! Why is this happening now!?' Feeling a familiar presence behind him, Cal turned around and there was the same mysterious figure as before. Only this time he could make out the barest hiss of a whisper.

"Keep going, a little closer now."

"Who are you?" he demanded, a cold sweat beading on his brow. "What do you want?"

"Keep going. Everything you have wanted to know is so close." Dismissing it as just another hallucination, Cal shook his head and continued on his way, but the voice wouldn't stop talking. "Everything you have known to be true is a lie. The people who pretend to care about you have lied to you." Cal tried to ignore it but when he blinked, the figure was suddenly standing in front of him further down the hall. It was far too dark to make out any features, but he could make out the figure has Long hair that billowed in a gust of air.

Cal took off at a run toward it, the figure's green eyes locked on him when suddenly it retreated around the corner. Cal skidded around after it but all he saw was a darkened hallway. Once again, whoever it was had vanished from sight.

"I feel your pain my boy. Remember my voice. When you are ready, you will come to me. I'll be waiting for you Cal."

He had to be going insane. How did that, whatever it was know his name? He didn't know if it was real or not, but it made him very scared, so he hurried along his way. Finally, Cal arrived outside the door to Commander Jill's office and heard mumbling behind it.

"It's done," Mei beamed as she puffed out her chest. The ice bullet launcher is ready to go. I've taken the liberty of equipping it to Siegfried already. Those two rust buckets still need a little work, but I'll do what I can."

"Focus on Siegfried first since we have the pilot we need, but I'll decide when he gets it." Jill ordered.

"I was thinking, I'll repaint it from black to dark blue maybe, to match Cal's…"

"No, that machine is a symbol of hope not a toy." Jill barked. Siegfried was the only remnant of what was left of the Ancient Folk and she wanted it to be kept that way. As discreetly as she could, Salia checked her watch. 'Why isn't Cal here yet?' she wondered. Could he have gotten held up by Zola again? She had to buy him some time and there was something she wanted to discuss with Jill.

"Commander maybe we can bring Villkiss and Siegfried back at the same time." Jill gave Salia a questionable look. "I could pilot Villkiss again, maybe I could…"

"We've already had this conversation Salia."

"But…"

"No buts, I'm not going to repeat myself." Jill said coldly as she turned to Jasmine. "Why is it you haven't told the boy yet about Gaz's past? I thought you would have handled it by now!"

"How do you know that?" Jasmine asked in alarm.

"I listen to things." Jill said. "Did you forget there's hidden cameras and microphones to keep an eye on the inspector?" As she remembered, Salia felt herself shake. Did Jill hear her and Cal's conversation in the locker room? It seemed unlikely since it wasn't a place Inspector Emma usually went but she prayed that she didn't.

"Jill," Jasmine said. "I told him when he's ready I would tell him the whole truth."

"Don't give me that bullshit." The only reason you're stalling is for your own sake. Not his."

"That's not fair Jill." Maggie interrupted.

"Enough is enough," Jill decided. "You had your chance. First thing tomorrow, I'll be the one to tell him." To everyone's shock, Jasmine slammed her palm onto Jill's desk.

"You will not!" the elder woman snapped. "I know you'll leave out details he needs to know. Even if Gaz was once our enemy, Cal needs to understand he changed for the better."

"I don't care. Cal's a Norma, same as the rest of us. Him being a male or a science experiment doesn't make him special or free. If he has any real sense of gratitude, then he should appreciate that Gaz risked his neck to save his life in the first place."

"Which is why I don't want you telling him that Gaz was the one who caused his mother's death!" Jasmine countered. Before Jill could counter back, the double doors suddenly flew open and the room fell dead silent at the sight of Cal looking angrier than they had ever seen him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jill growled.

"Cal how long were you listening?" Jasmine said in alarm.

"Enough. And this isn't the first time," Cal said, his voice shaking.

"What have you heard!?" Jill demanded. "Did you tell anyone!?"

"No. But I don't care about that right now. What I want to know is what do you mean my mom died because of Gramps?" Salia glanced at Mei as the young mechanic began to back out of the way. Things were getting ugly very fast. "Why didn't you three tell me? Was it some kind of game to you?"

"Of course not," Maggie said.

"Cal you have to understand," Jasmine said, doing her best to calm him down. "We…I wanted to tell you. It's just…the whole truth is complicated."

"How complicated could it be?!" he yelled. "What did you think? That I would tell the inspector of all people? Why did you keep this from me? Especially after I told you how Gramps died!"

"Cal please calm down," Salia begged. But he was too riled up and all his frustrations came pouring out.

"Gramps had always kept who my mother was a secret! Why is it I'm the only Male Norma in the world? Why did the humans want to kill me when I was born? Am I some mistake? Why didn't any of you three not tell me?"

"I thought it was time," Jill pointed out, "but I left it up to a certain someone to let you know, so don't blame me."

"And Libertus, Villkiss, and Siegfried? Does that have something to do with me too?" Jill snuffed out her cigarette and looked up at Cal.

"Libertus and Villkiss can both wait. As for Siegfried, it's a special machine that could only be piloted by a man. With the right pilot, it could be worth an entire squadron on its own."

"Well I'm the only man on this island so why wasn't I given it from the beginning. I could have maybe saved Janette and Selina."

"No, what's done is done there's no changing that," Jill said. "And the fact is you are not ready to pilot Siegfried. You have no real idea what this world is like and how cruel it really is."

"NO IDEA!" Cal yelled. "I was shot at, kicked, punched and was almost killed by the humans you fucking idiot! Every time I go out, I worry that I'm going to be eaten by those monsters!" Jill sprung up from her chair in anger from Cal's words. "My Gramps died to get me here all because I was a Norma. I know how cruel the humans can be. They tear kids away from their home, force us to battle the DRAGONs, and all because we can't do magic tricks! No wonder Gramps kept me away from this place! At least he didn't want me killed!"

Maggie was just standing with her mouth agape by Cal's burst of anger while Salia looked on the verge of tears and Mei hid behind her. Jasmine meanwhile put herself between Cal and Jill as the latter looked as if she was on the verge of attacking him if he made the wrong move. "So you tell me why my Gramps saved me or I will go to the Inspector this minute!"

"Cal," Jasmine started to say. "It's…

"It's because you were a replacement!" Jill shouted stunning everyone in the room, Cal froze on the spot, all the rage now turned to shock and denial.

"Wh…what…"

"Jill!" Jasmine cried out.

"You lie!" Cal gasped.

"You were a replacement, because he lost his real child. All because she was a Norma."

"Shut up!" Seeing nothing but red Cal, found himself lunging at Jill, when the Commander ducked and planted her prosthetic fist into Cal's stomach.

"Cal!" he heard Salia shriek as Cal felt everything go dizzy and the world faded to black.

Waking up, Cal felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He tried to sit up but found himself held back by something holding him into place. He looked up and found himself in what looked like an infirmary, but not the Arzenal med bay. His left hand was handcuffed to the bed he lay on and a nearby window showed that it was still dark out.

"He's awake." Maggie called. Cal looked up to see the three adults surrounding the bed. "That was really stupid what were you thinking?" Jasmine scolded her voice was very dry.

"Where's Salia and Mei?" he asked.

"This is not their concern," Jill said, a cold glare in her eyes as she looked down at him. "Now you're going to lie there and listen. You're lucky I haven't thrown you into solitary for that little stunt."

"Why… is it true?" Cal whispered feeling nothing but numbness.

"Yes, it's true." Jasmine sighed as she sat down in a chair beside the bed. "Look I know it's a horrible thing to hear but everything your Gramps did was to protect you in the end. But you need to know everything."

"Then please…tell me, I want to know." Jasmine nodded and took his free hand in hers

"Alright it's about time we told you the truth. But I should warn you, what you're about to hear isn't going to be pleasant." Cal gave a slight nod.

"I'm ready."

To be continued…