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Epilogue: Human

"Truth is written in blood."

The swords of his bloodline cut through shell and cables alike and decapitated the unnatural creature where it stood. Its diabolic engine hissed sharply and died off, but he had no time to rest or even to celebrate his triumph. New monstrosities emerged from everywhere around him and required his full attention.

How dared the Claxan to invade Corneria? And worse, those fateless cowards didn't even show themselves but sent their blasphemous machines instead! This building was the crucial point of the hive planet and thus the epicentrum of their attack, for they could eradicate a large part of the government with one sweep here. But Nevlamas worries were of a different kind: This building was also hosting lady Krystal and the human, Ryan Lewis, right now; The first was his secret love, the second - although he was still denying it - his friend, so he had to stand his ground at all costs. The great hall he was defending was the only access to the main elevator of the 85th floor and although he didn't know how things were going on the other levels he was determined to let none of the invaders pass. He stood alone against a never-ending torrent of steel since he had lost sight of the icewolf, knowing that his stamina was long overworked. But life be damned, he died for his love and his friends - there was no death more noble, even if he found it embraced by soulless robots.

He dodged the shots of his enemies - humanoid beasts that were armed for both ranged and close combat - and turned his raw hatred against them: "Come, you cursed rats! I'll show you true steel!"

"Your wish is my command, scum."

The lizard heard an unmistakable sound building up behind him and threw himself to the ground. A short, glaring flare burned his eyes, quickly followed by a hail of blaster fire. The lizard saw how every single shot struck down one attacker and sighed - in combination with the voice he had heard before there was barely any doubt concerning the identity of his saviour.

Within seconds the robots were obliterated and nothing but scrap on the ground. The gunslinger grabbed him rudely and forced him to stand up. Nevlamas still prayed that it was just Fox, or maybe Kiba. But fate knew no mercy.

Sergeant Joshua Rat had indulged in another dramatic entrance.

"You may be a worthless piece of junk, but you are still good for killing after all", the rat assessed.

"Nice to see you too", Nevlamas polished a scale: "I gladly return that compliment." He shortly fell silent: "So you're still alive."

"Indeed. The medics Krystal had called for were able to safe me in time." The lizard examined his body: The cloths were clean, his fur shone, the whole appearance looked groomed.

"And why this sudden change of heart?", he asked carefully.

With a heavy sigh, Joshua sheathed his weapons and his companion followed his example: "The blow our lady gave me back then may have caused a brain concussion - and I got that in black in white - but it also gave me a piece of her mind. Or at least that's what I like to think. I always imagine what Tereny would have said, seeing me like I was those days.... I suppose every story needs a fool that is blinded by hatred. But now I do understand: My life is by far too precious to be wasted like that."

Nevlamas cocked his head: "So it was just fear of death?"

"What are you thinking, reptile, of course not! If nothing but fear would have been my motivation you would have a hole between your eyes right now! No. I refound my ideals... I had almost forgotten why I became a soldier. I couldn't undo Tereny's death anymore, but there is still so much suffering that I could heal, yes, that I could even prevent! This is why I'm wearing this uniform. To protect the weak, to solace the innocent, to give hope to the forgotten..." His voice became quieter and quieter, slowly dying off.

His opponent grasped his arms: "You are no soldier, sergeant. You are a warrior. Not many would have been able to forgive me."

A sticky, warm substance hit the lizard's face and blinded him, making him jump away; He wiped it away and it ran down his fingers, dripping on the ground. Joshua had spat on him.

"Don't think that I forgiven you! Such a deed would speak of naivity, not of greatness!", his voice was soaked with a disturbing coldness: "You are the enemy of my enemy, that is the only reason why you are safe from me - for now. We are brothers in arms as long as you are serving Corneria and no matter how much I hate you: I will not lay hands on my sibling." The soldier snarled, he had talked himself into rage.

The bloodscale contemplated his words: "I think that I am glad to be the enemy of your enemy. This is more than I deserve."

"Indeed, scum. Indeed."

"By the way, since when were you aware of my presence here?"

"Since your arrival. To watch you becoming a soldier made my urges to kill you even stronger, if I am honest."

"But at least you learned to control your cursing habits."

That stifled the conversation just as he had planned. Joshua was alive and he was his ally, those were comforting informations but they would be of no use if none survived to rejoice in them! Ryan was in danger, Krystal was in danger - there was no time for gossip!

"Were those the last robots?", the rat asked.

"If only. They seem to attack in waves, I can't say why. But I promise you, it's only a matter of time until we get new company."

"I see. Oh, and before you ask: Your sweetie pie is just fine. I don't know about the human but I was told his kind is used to war, so I guess he'll stand his ground as well."

Nevlamas darted a glance at him that would have turned the greatest heroes into terrified cowards. His opponent didn't even blink. "From where did you get that!?", the reptile hissed: "I never told anyone that..."

"And you didn't rape her in puplic, but that is pretty much everything you have not done. The way how you look at her can't be misinterpreted. I was wachting you after all, lizard."

Now the bloodscale was the one that had to calm himself. They had just recently met and the good sergeant was already driving him up the wall. "A suggestion: I was originally defending this floor together with the icewolf, but I lost him during our last retreat. A warrior like him would be a great loss, but I have to defend this passage", he concealed that it were the swords and not the wolf he was worried about: "If you want to make yourself useful, then go and search him. If he is still alive, safe him and send him to me. I could really use his expertise here."

"Nordic? The battle psyker?"

"Precisely. He or his corpse should be somewhere around here."

"I'm on my way.", Joshua saluted, a gesture that could have been honouring without the cynical grin accompanying it, the he pulled out his blaster guns and dashed into one of the many corridors that led away from the hall - still smiling.

Nevlamas looked after him. Until now he had thought that his old nemesis was underestimating the danger they all were in, but by now he began to ask himself if the soldier hadn't simply lost his marbles.

Whatever.

He waited until he was alone, then he sat down. This new piece on the board had the potential to turn the tables towards victory - and that was necessary, for their enemies were cheating. No matter how many pieces the defenders sweeped under the carpet, the Claxan always had another set in reserve. He would have to discuss this happening with Ryan. After all, chess was his department.

Still it was good to have a trustworthy ally. Zephyr, Gunner, Razgriz - yes even Icewolf, Ryan and Kiba - each of them was a possible traitor. Joshua was not. Though he was as noble-minded and heroic as the mage knight himself, his seething hatred for the entire world would make him deaf to any influence. Noblesse could degenerate into decadence and valour into self-righteousness, but fury remained pure. He went his own way, that made him predictable.

Suddenly, his instincts jolted him out of his thoughts and he jumped up before he even knew what he was doing. His hands lashed out behind his back, swords already drawn. The twin blades ripped Steel and wires, began to hum with electric energy - energy that evenually became an arched lightning that flew back into the circuits it came from, devastating the robot's electricity. The foolish machine slumped down.

Nevlamas needed but a heartbeat to switch into a defensive stance. His head twitched around, looking for further enemies. He wasn't disappointed.

The new wave's vanguard had tried to ambush him, the main wave however approached unconcealed. The bloodscale retreated into the last free corridor and hid behind a pile of scrap - to fight an open combat would have been suicide.

He heard them drawing closer, closer to the elevator he was guarding and thus closer to him. While the first attackers passed his hideout, he sent silent pleas to gods he didn't believe in anymore. They were his death-prayers - he would not survive this battle. That was a detail he hadn't told Joshua: He hadn't sent him away to search a friend that was probably dead anyway, he had sent him away so that at least his life wasn't sacrificed for this eventually futile stalling technique.

Nevlamas tensed his exhausted muscles for the last time and prepared himself. When he finally rose he wasn't doing it for the gods; It was the name of his love he was shouting: Krystal.

He jumped right into the sluggish machines, charged at them like a dervish. He saw that he had underestimated their number - there were almost thirty of them.

The moment of surprise alone reducced their number by five. A spinning movement cut their heads from their shoulders as if they were blossoms. The lizard slammed his fist into one of the decapitated monstrosities and sent it against its siblings. For one moment he could catch breath.

Then they attacked. Their vile cyber-minds seemed to prefer close combat in such a situation. How bad for them. He was vastly outclassing them at close range, now that he could draw from the unlimited resources of his true craft - killing. He danced between them like a snake, like a gust, like a harlequin! Whenever his blades broke through steel and cut through armoured engines he demonstrated the simple truth behind an ancient philosophy: Flesh over steel. A claw tried to grab him, but he dodged it and cut it off. The crippled attacker retreated, but the gap he left behind was immediately closed.

Something in his head twitched and he jumped aside - a split second before a steely fist hit the ground he had been standing on with such force that he almost lost his balance.

Nevlamas cursed. The rush of battle had carried him away, he realized. The strike had come from behind him, he had almost been encircled without even noticing it. He retreated even further, this time into a corner of the hall. A swift counting revealed that half of his foes were still standing. He took a deep breath, then he charged again and into the approaching fiends, flailing around like a rabid animal. More of them fell, their remains littered the ground.

He heard the doors of the elevator opening, but he didn't allow the sound to distract him. Concentration was essential now.

"Nev!", shouted a voice and his concentration was gone. For a short moment he froze, a mistake that almost killed him.

There was only a very, very small number of persons that could dare to call him like that without dicing with death. Ryan Lewis, that now entered the room, was one of them. He saw him sheathing his guns and drawing his sword, then the human threw himself into the fray.

In his way, Ryan was a fighter just as skilled as his friend; He lacked speed and passion, but made up for that disadvantage with focus and technique. Man and lizard advanced side by side. The longer blade drew silver lines into the air while the one wielding it parried, countered and attacked. His relative calmness and strict fencing stance formed a counterpoint to Nevlamas who was rampaging beside him like a madman.

Soon the attackers were reduced to scrap and the two of them proceeded, closer to one of the most dire disasters the young bloodscale would ever face. He didn't know it, was unable to understand the bitter irony of his live: The Black Rage made him see betrayal everywhere - and the Black Rage made him betray everyone. That he would soon try to kill the human was unbelievable.

But in the deepest pits of his mind, a realization began to emerge: The endless stream of time would take them away, each and every one existing, and their names and deeds would be forgotten. It would eventually wash away his sins - they would be lost in eternity. Lost like thoughts in chaos. Lost like souls in the ether.

Lost like tears in rain.

It was time to begin.