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Interlude 1- Bad Feelings

Have you ever had a bad feeling about something? Like you had a feeling something terrible was about to happen? Well, I had one of those feelings this morning.

"You see, it all started when I woke up late... normally I was good at being up at 0700 and out of the house by 0900. Being a Lieutenant in your dad's division had its perks. But today I rolled out of bed around 0830.

When I saw the time I started cursing up a storm before I quickly got out of bed and gathered my uniform. I made a mad dash to the bathroom while praying that we still had hot water and nearly ran my sister over in the process.

"Hey, watch where you're going Aidan!" she shouted towards me.

That's my name by-the-way, Lieutenant Aidan Hart of the Salmarta division of MODD'S Defense Force. My Unit Leader as mentioned before was none other than Commander Andrew Hart, the Elemental Lord of Metal often known by his Call-name 'The Iron Soldier'...

"Sorry Erika!" I called out before running into the bathroom not bothering to listen to her reply. Erika was my baby sister. She's crazy smart and can fix ANYTHING you give her. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that she got accepted to one of the most prestigious College's in Mortaelis. I'd miss her though, she'd be moving after the festival for winter-term. I quickly sighed to myself as I stripped of my bed-clothes before stepping into the shower. I shivered a bit since it seemed that the warm water was indeed out though I soldiered on and made it quick.

Once I finished my (unfortunately) frigid shower my first objective was to get dressed and after that I ran to the kitchen, hoping I could make myself a quick breakfast. As luck would have it Erika was also in the kitchen. When she saw me, she gave me a tiny smirk.

"Well, if it isn't the man of the hour? Running a bit late aren't we Dan?" She asked me while sticking her tongue out. "I'll fix you something 'kay? I know you hate the food at the barracks..." I winced briefly remembering my first taste of military grub.

"Thanks," I stated weakly as she just chuckled a bit before she returned to what she was doing.

"No problem. Oh, Alec called. He said he hopes we have a good festival." I smirked at that, Alec was the oldest of us. He had gotten transferred to Oxis when they matched him with a Lightning Glyph.

"How is he?" I asked just as Erika laid some eggs in front of me which I immediately devoured.

"Doing well, at least from what he says anyway. Said he missed us and said congrats on the promotion." I just lounged back in my seat and smiled.

"I'm quite proud myself, if I must say so! So, how are going to spend your last few days here?"

"Probably going to the VCRS Center with the guys. It's free today and I want to get on the team at school!" I just let out a derisive snort at that, I never understood her infatuation with those Virtual Sports, she noticed that and scowled. "Oh come on, not everybody is a football jock! VCRS are just as challenging as your stupid sports!"

"Football isn't stupid!" I yelled out. "At least it's real!" Erika just shook her head and sighed at that.

"Not getting into this again Aidan, anyway, you working tonight?"

"Yeah, they got all high-ranking officers handling the patrols so I probably won't be back till late, where's dad?" I asked her. Normally the man didn't come into work till late... she just shrugged lightly herself before speaking.

"I don't know. He was gone before I woke up. I think he might have went in early, he has a lot to do after all. Besides he probably couldn't sleep, we both know how stressed he is during this time of year." She had a point. He was Master of Ceremonies of course and was in charge of getting everything ready. Knowing him he went in to fine-tune things...

"Guess I'll see him at base." I said before getting up. "I'm heading on out, see you sis!" I called out as I grabbed my gun-blade. As I walked out I shivered from the sheer cold, living in the mountains made you used to the snow and cold but damn...! As I made my way through town I as greeted by the residents. Eldra was pretty small as far as cities went, maybe 10,000 people, the majority of them working at the smelting and iron works plants so everyone knew each-other. It was a nice place... even if it was cold...

The streets were absolutely packed though, people were everywhere! This had to be the biggest crowd I've ever seen! I bet every room in the city was filled! I smirked slightly as two particular tourists caught my attention. They were a teenage wolf and a much older one his father probably. They were walking down the street while the older man kept blabbering about the history of some random buildings. The teen nodded occasionally but he didn't really seems to pay any real attention to him

I just shook my head before I continued my path. On my way I passed some more tourists. One was a group of college kids led by a calm looking vixen. Net to her was a tall tiger who's muscles seemed to brim even underneath his heavy jacket. As he passed me I could have sworn he gave me a flirty wink. After them was another father/son duo this time a pair of Doberman's. And finally, after what felt like ages of walking I arrived at MODD's Eldra headquarters. Once I flashed my I.D. card the guard (a grumpy Horse named Ricky) I was let in and almost as soon as I entered I was ambushed by a loud...

"Hey, you're late Hart!" I just rolled my eyes. I knew that voice... I turned to see a happy looking Labrador with messy brown hair standing behind me.

"Alarm clock didn't go off... what about you Sergeant Rogers? How's your wife? Still pregnant?" He nodded vigorously smile widening even more.

"Yeah, 8 months... it's going to be a girl!" He nearly shoated his tail twitching with glee. I'm going to be a Daddy!" I just smiled and patted him on his back. I was very happy for him we'd been close since high-school football. Hell, I got to be best-man at his wedding.

"Happy for you man's let's hope she takes after Lizzie 'cuz you're butt-ass ugly!" He just laughed and punched my shoulder.

"Shut up Hart! You're not a looker yourself!" I smirked at that before I flexed my arm feeling the muscles brim.

"Oh come-on we both know I'm a sexy beast! Look at these muscles!" I was expecting him to snark back before someone spoke up in a dry voice.

"I don't think that has anything to do with your performance Lieutenant Hart." We both turned to see a towering wolf standing behind us formitable arm crossed. He looked to be in his late 40's and he was wearing a modified version of MODD's Commander uniform.

"Dad!" I cried out as I went for a salute with Rogers following suit.

"Commander Hart! Are you doing well sir?" He asked the man whilst still in salute. My father just waved his hand signalling us to break salute. Once we did so he just chuckled lightly before he spoke.

"I'm doing well Sergeant Rogers, how is the wife?" He asked the Labrador kindly. One thing about dad, he always made a point to ask his officers how they were doing and did his best to keep things running while keeping everybody happy. Rogers was quick to respond.

"She's doing well sir!" He stated cheerfully. My dad just chuckled lightly before he patted the lab on the shoulder before he began to walk away from us and down the hall leaving us alone once again. We stayed silent for several moments before Rogers spoke up. "Well, that was interesting... we'll I better get to my station. I'm on patrol tonight..."

"Awesome! So am I!" I stated with a grin causing him to laugh. We parted ways soon after and I went to my own station. Things were pretty slow going as they typically were, Eldra was pretty slow in terms of crime, worst we usually got was someone stealing an old ladies purse and the occasional murder. Not much to keep you occupied really so I mostly spent the day staring out the window in boredom. A highlight of my day was when I went out for lunch I was accosted by a team of reporters lead by a dainty looking Lioness...

"Um, hello?" I asked warily. I've always hated being filmed... it made me feel uncomfortable knowing millions of people were watching me right at this moment.

"Are you Lieutenant Hart? Son of the famed Commander Hart the Iron Soldier?" She asked me point-blank causing me to blink a bit before giving her an answer.

"Um, yes, yes I am... and you are...?" I asked her back as nicely as I could.

"Lani, Lani Daniels of the Shellington News. Please Lieutenant Hart, what all has been put in place to stop a Rebel or Unsealed assault? I believe some people have been worried about their safety during tonight's festivities." I gave her a curt nod on that. Security had been an issue for the setup last thing we needed was for some fucking rebels to ruin things for everybody. I'd be the first to admit that MODD was corrupt but the rebels were hardly any better. Besides they were hardly a threat, a single Elemental Lord could obliterate an entire squadron of them. Didn't stop them from being an annoying nuisance though.

"There is no need to worry ma'am, we've got the entire city on lockdown. If there is a rebel we'd catch him before he could pull anything. As for the Unsealed, we've got the latest anti-Unsealed wards. As long as they stay up the Unsealed will be completely unable to infiltrate the city I can promise you that."

"Thank you Lieutenant, is it possible to sabotage the wards from the inside?" I just laughed at that and shook my head before I answered her inquiry.

"The wards cannot be turned off manually so there are no chance of sabotage the wards from here, and the wards control center is highly guarded so you'd be lucky to even get near it." I stated while the lioness nodded and turned towards her cameraman asking him if he had gotten everything when he nodded she turned back towards me and smiled.

"Thank you Lieutenant, now we'll be off good talking to you!" She wound up asking several more questions for nearly ten minutes until she was satisfied. She then turned towards the camera and signed off. "This is Lani Daniels covering the Festival of Light in Eldra, back to you Martha!" Once she was finished she shook my hand quickly before she motioned to her crew and they started to leave. I just stood there for several more minutes before I shook my head before I continued my way to the cafe. 'Well, that was interesting.' I thought to myself along the way.

Things settled down rather quickly after that, after lunch I as quick to return back to my station. Once I got there I decided it would be good to finish up the paperwork I had been meaning to do for ages. That took a few hours thankfully and once I finished it was my shift for patrol. When I stepped out I found the streets were even more crowded than this morning! People swarmed around the many street-vendors that dotted the various streets.

Thankfully despite the crowds I had little issue getting past everybody. All the tourists gave me a wide berth for whatever reason, probably not wanting to irritate a MODD Officer or something. Didn't really blame them however, from what I heard in some districts the officers were apparently a bunch of tyrannical assholes who lorded their authority over everybody. Well, it made crowd-control easier at any rate. At least the vendors knew me enough to give a small wave or smile before they returned their attention back to their customers so that made me feel better at any rate.

I continued my strolling shivering in the chilly air, it was a chilly night and I couldn't shake the feeling something bad was about to happen. I quickly shook it off as nonsense, we had everything under control that was something I was completely sure of. Besides even if Rebel's attacked they'd be quickly smashed. Tried as I might however I still couldn't shake it off. You're be ridiculous Aidan! Everything's under control.' I thought to myself exasperated. Worrying about nothing was utterly pointless. Gods, I couldn't wait until my shift was over.

Eventually I made my way to Central Plaza which looked quite magnificent tonight countless lanterns were lit around the square making the plaza look like daylight the light also bounced off of the Miotal fountain causing the water to glisten and glitter beautifully. The god himself stood as proud and regal as always. I just took in the sight for awhile. The guys did a great job setting this up I must say. I looked around and saw people taking pictures with their holo-cameras probably as keepsakes one group was standing in front of the fountain posing and laughing while someone took the pictures. I quickly recognized the tiger as the one I had encountered earlier... the one who had given me that wink. He had his arm around an awkward looking husky both laughing about some joke I guessing

Just as I was about to walk away the tiger noticed me and seemed to recognize me almost at once. "Hey, you're the wolf from this morning!" He called out towards me as he left the husky's side. I just gave him a startled look as he continued to walk towards me. I almost reached for my gunblade until I was sure he was unarmed, it wasn't often civilians approached and it wasn't the first time someone had tried to off me so I was being properly paranoid I think. He didn't seem to notice just how close I was from drawing my weapon and kept talking. "Name's Flint, Flint McAlester and you are?" (2309) "Aidan Hart, Lieutenant Aidan Hart, nice to meet you Flint." I stated while grasping his paw into a firm handshake. "So, are you all enjoying yourselves?" I asked. He just gave me a vigorous nod and a huge smile before speaking up.

"Hell yeah, we're having a blast! You guys did a great job here, and I heard there are supposed to be a fireworks display later that true?" He asked excitability guess he really liked fireworks... (2386) "Yup, at midnight. The festival ends with a fireworks display in the honor of the Goddess Alreina... from what I heard their going to be spectacular!" I stated proudly, the fireworks were something we were quite proud. Flint the tiger seemed like he was about to reply before he was interrupted by the same petite vixen I'd Zen him with earlier.

"Leave the man alone Flint! I'm sure he has more pressing issues to attend too." She scolded him gently before turning her attention to me. "I apologize sir, he'd talk your arm off if he could, I'm sorry if he irritated you..." I just shrugged it off cheerfully not at all bothered. It was kinda nice having someone to me out of the blue.

"There was no problem ma'am he wasn't bothering me at all. Have you been enjoying yourself as well? She just chuckled while shaking her blonde-haired head in mirth.

"It's Elena, and yes I've had a great time... but now we better get going, gotta find a good place for the fireworks. Good seeing you sir!" She said before she started to drag the tiger along with her. "C'mon Flint let's go!" Before she motioned towards the others who began to follow the duo until they were all out of sight. I just shook my head again. 'Today's been quite interesting, now better continue my patrols...might try to get a good spot for the show.' I didn't even get to the alleyway before I was nearly bowled over by someone. I staggered back a few steps while the other person fell back on his ass. I was just about to tell him off when I noticed he was just a kid... the same on I'd seen earlier.

"Hey, you okay kid?" I asked him once he came to his senses. But instead of answering he just looked up and gave an audible gulp in response but didn't verbally reply... "You okay kid? Answer me, unless you're mute or something..." I asked him in an irritated tone. That quickly broke him out of his trance and he became flustered at that.

"I-I'm fi-fine sir..." he stated meekly and I just chuckled as I lent him a paw to help him up. He quickly took it and I hoisted him up easily. He stumbled a bit from the force but I held him until he managed to steady himself. Once I was sure he was able to stand on his own two feet I stepped back a bit.

You need to be more careful kid, why were you running around like a madman?" I stated as I regarded him coolly. I didn't smell any alcohol on his breath or anything from what I could tell. "You don't look drunk PR high what's your deal?"

"Someone stole something of ,one!" He blurted out, his fur bristling somewhat as he spoke. "It was a watch... something very important to me..." I just crossed my eyes a bit before I got my notepad out. It wasn't often we problems with theft and the thought of someone stealing off a pup made my blood boil, but I managed to keep my composure as I began to question him.

"Okay, what did you lose?"

"A golden pocket-watch." I just as I entered that into my notepad. Once I finished I reported it toHQ. Once I finished getting things down I looked back to him and smiled. Poor kid looked a bit nervous at the moment.

"Alright, now follow me, I'll help you..." I said as I put my notepad away. Just as I was about to pull my paw out I noticed something big and slightly bulky appear in my pocket. Confused I took it out and saw a large golden pocket-watch just like the kid had described. It looked well crafted and it had something engraved on the outside but I could only make one part out... 'I. Reaper,' huh? "Is this it kid?" I asked him.

"Yes!" He shouted as he jerked it out of my paws. He asked me where I got it and I told him I had no clue. I then realized that I hadn't got his name so I asked him and he said his name was Kaelan something. I then introduced myself and asked him if he was alone, he said no and just as we were going to go searching for his dad I heard something coming towards us.

"Kid watch out!" I hollered as I grabbed him and forced him out of the way just as a sleek, shiny projectile whizzed past us and exploded knocking us back several feet. what the hell!?' I thought to myself just as I turned around to see a group of robot looking creatures scuttling behind us. Their massive red eyes glued onto us and a very familiar crest adorned their foreheads. 'Unsealed in the city? How'd they get past the wards?'

As if on cue my headset activated a crisp feminine voice ringing in my ear.

'Species Identified: Strifer. Larva Level Unsealed. Elemental Alignment: Metal. Seal Alignment: Seal of Burning Iron. Notes: Very weak physically but is very dangerous at long range. Often attacks in groups very seldom found alone. Anti-projectile armor is recommended when fighting. Average Incubation Time: 4 Days.'

'Well, at least these guys will be easy to take out... but what are they doing here? How'd they get past the wards?' I thought to myself just as I got a message confirming my fears. "Aidan, Unsealed have breached the wards! Mandatory evacuation now!" Was all I heard before the line went static. 'What's going on here! I heard an explosion... did base get attacked? I need to get there ASAP but I can't leave the kid... fuck...!'

"Kid, I'm going to take these Unsealed out, I need you to go find some cover immediately. Do not come out until I get you understood?" I said to the kid. He just stared at me for several seconds before he seemed to register what I said. Afterwards came immediate protest.

"What? I can't leave you alone!" He shouted out indignantly. I just sighed and shook my head, kids these days... won't even listen to a direct order...

"You can and you will! Trust me, I can handle myself, you'd just get in the way..."

"But..."

"I SAID RUN FOR COVER SO DO IT GODS DAMNIT!" I shouted out immediately. He gave a frightened jump before nodding reluctantly before running off somewhere. now that that's taken care of I can take these things out' I thought before turning my attention to the Unsealed who had been watching us. "You guys ready to play with the big boys?" I snarked as I quickly unsheathed my gun-blade. They just chittered back in there nonsense language before one quickly started charging up an attack. But before he did so I was already on his ass slicing him in two. 'Too easy.'

I had several others attack me but I was quickly able to dodge the monsters and sliced them in half. Within moments there was only one of the Unsealed left... I had gotten a few burn from a few attacks that connected but nothing was bad enough to actually impede anything. "Is that all you got?" I taunted the lone robot who only gave a mechanical sounding hiss in return. Now come on!" I shouted before charging the beast. It had only an instant to react before I finally sliced it down the middle. But before it died the lil bastard got me right in the chest with a lazer-blast.

"Ow, fuck!" I cried out as the blast sent me flying into the opposite wall stunning me for a brief time. Once I righted myself I quickly done a once-over to check if everything was alright. My outer jacket was singed but the under-armor did it's job thank god so the beam didn't penetrate it and do any real damage. I was about to go checking for the kid before I heard someone give a cry of terror... I was quick to rush towards the noise and when I came to the spot I saw the kid had been cornered by larger looking robots with spindly looking arms and legs my headset quickly responsed identifying the Unsealed.

'Species Identified: Floater Pupae Level Unsealed. Elemental Alignment: Metal. Seal Alignment: Seal of Burning Iron. Notes: Attacks by spinning, arms and legs are both razor sharp. Very fast but very fragile defensively. Long-range weaponry highly recommended. Incubation Time: 3 Days.'

I quickly unsheathed my gun-blade and switched it to gun-mode and pointed it towards the Unsealed, right before I fired I shouted out catching the kid's attention. "Kid, duck!" He looked towards me for a second confused before he noticed my gun-blade was about fire. He immediately ducked behind a cart that had been abandoned right before I released the blast I had been charging up. A massive laser-blast shot from the tip of my weapon and vaporized several of the group leaving the rest of them stunned in the process. Quick as a flash I kept into action and took out the rest of the group before I turned my attention to the kid. "Hey, you alright?"

As I looked closely I noticed he had a few nasty cuts all across his face and his clothes looked torn apart. On instinct I reached for the first-aid kit in my pack but stopped when I saw the cuts begin to heal and close up by themselves and after a few seconds they were gone. I could only stare at him in shock my thoughts going wild. 'What? What just happened? What is this kid? He isn't a Super is he? No, can't be... if he were a Super he would've been able to fight the Unsealed himself...' I was broken from my thoughts when the kid spoke up shakily.

"I'm fine sir, you... you saved my life... thank you..." he said bashfully looking away from me. I only smirked and patted his head lightly somewhat amused to see he had managed to keep his hat on despite all the commotion. I was just about to speak before I heard footsteps rushing towards us. I spun around and was about to shoot the target before I noticed that the footsteps were from a tiger and a vixen, the same two from earlier. The tiger quickly put his hands up in surrender.

"Whoa, easy there Lieutenant! We heard commotion here and went to check for survivors..." I apologized to them and quickly looked around that they were alone. Both had several nasty looks and cuts but besides that they seemed fine.

"Glad you're okay... what happened to your friends?" They both looked away sadly and I had a distinct sense of dread fill my belly.

"We got separated... I don't know where they are..." the vixen stated sadly. She looked tired and scared but when she looked towards me I saw a razor-sharp focus in those eyes. "What is going on here? How did the Unsealed get past the wards?" I just shook my head briefly before I spoke.

"I don't know... I need to get to HQ... Maybe I can get the wards turned back on..." I said before getting up. "You guys need to get out of here and to safety..." I said while gesturing towards the kid. "And take the kid with you, get him to his dad..."

"We can't let you go on alone! You could get killed!" The tiger shouted out.

"I'll be fine! I'm more than capable of holding them off... getting you all to safety is my biggest concern right now..." I stated firmly but the tiger refused to budge. The vixen was next to speak.

"Flint has a point Lieutenant, I saw a makeshift medic center in central plaza... I'm sure we could find some backup there and the rest of us can wait it out there... and we might find our friends and the kid's dad there as well..." I nodded quickly and turned towards the kid who had been watching us quietly. He looked like was deep in thought.

We all got ourselves together and began to make our way towards the plaza. We got ambushed several times by several roaming Unsealed but I was able to take them out rather easily. As we passed through the city we all saw the carnage the Unsealed had wrought. Several buildings were aflame and the entire fire-department seemed to be scattered desperately trying to stop the fires from spreading. A few battles were raging on but I didn't interfere as I thought the soldiers were handling things well...

"This is horrible... I hope many people haven't been hurt..." the vixen mumbled to herself. I just nodded quietly but didn't say anything... odds are that a lot of people had been hurt. We had made no preparations for the possibility of the wards failing, why would we? The wards were supposed to be unbreakable. I just snuffed a bit and looked towards the kid... Kaelan... he looked scared shitless not that I blamed him. He had been attached to my side since we started our way. "You okay kid?" I asked him. He just flicked his ears and looked to me in shock.

"I'm fine sir... I just hope my dad's okay... it's a madhouse here." I just set my paws on his shoulders and bent down to look him in the eyes before I spoke my voice going soft for a moment.

"Listen kid, we'll find your dad I swear it. I won't rest until you guys are back together... you have my word on that's and call me Aidan, that goes for you two as well..." I said looking towards the duo. They just nodded and as soon as I let the kid go he enveloped me in a high catching me off-guard.

"Thank you Aidan," he said while his head was buried in my chest. "You've saved my life and I owe you so much... and stop calling me kid... my name is Kaelan..." he let go immediately after and turned towards the duo behind us. "If I remember what my dad told me the plaza should be right up ahead." He said before walking off. J was quick to catch up and the tiger Flint and vixen Elena followed finally, we managed to reach the plaza... it was a disaster, the once proud statue of Miotal had been knocked off its platform and load on the ground a ruin of itself.

A large assortment of tents surrounded the fountain with guards with MODD issue weapons guarding the entrance. From what I could make out there were several people running around with bandages and various other medical stuffs inside. As soon as we reached the entrance I heard someone shout something out at me. "Aidan is that you?" A familiar looking lab shouted out. He looked pretty bad off, he had numerous injuries all across his body but there was no mistaking who it was.

"Todd!" I shouted as I ran up to him. "Is everybody okay? How's Lizzie and the baby?" I demanded.

"Their fine, Lizzie managed to avoid any trouble getting here... she's resting inside at the moment." I just let out a sigh of relief at that.

"Any world on casualties?" I then asked, he just sighed and shook his head at that. As if he couldn't even answer my question without breaking down. "That bad huh?" He just gave a sense silent nod. I then turned my attention back to Kaelan and the others who had been watching us for the past few minutes. "Hey Todd, have you seen this guy's Dad?" I said gesturing towards the young wolf... Todd's ears pinned back somewhat and he could only look away as if unable to look any of us in the eye. "Something happened didn't it?"

"What's your dad,s name kid?" He asked Kaelan. The wolf frowned at this but spoke up.

"Bryan, Bryan Littlesea sir, what's wrong? Is... is he alright?" Todd just frowned and shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry kid, you're dad... he got hit by a Strafer's blast-cannon... he died before we could do anything to save his life..." I could only look towards the boy dreading his reaction. At first he just stood there stiffly as if he was trying to understand what he was just told. Then the dam broke and he let out an awful cry before he crumbled onto the ground. Elena was the first to comfort him by wrapping him up in her arms while humming to him. I was about to go comfort him myself before Todd grabbed my arm.

"What is it?" I asked him not liking the look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

"It's Erika... she got injured when the VCRS Center got attacked... she... well, she's not doing to well..." I felt myself freeze at that. It couldn't be... no... "I'm sorry man, the doctors said she doesn't have much time yet... do you want me to take you to her?" I could only nod stiffly before looking at Flint who nodded before turning his attention back to the kid. As I followed the Labrador I looked and saw countless injured people filling up the makeshift beds. Some only had minor injuries like cuts and scraps while other looked like they had their limbs blown off. I managed to swallow the bile in my throat while I passed them until we reached another area placed away from the other areas.

This area looked like a hospice/morgue place. Numerous beds were covered in whit sheets while others looked on the verge of death. We passed more had more of these beds until we reached our destination and I just collapsed. There on the bed liar my sister, half her body looked charred and I could barely see any life in them. After a few minutes of sitting there she seemed to finally seemed to notice me.

"Oh Aidan, you're okay, I was so worried..." I frowned as I heard her voice she sounded so weak. I held back my emotions not wanting to upset her so I just smiled and rubbed her face gently.

_I'm okay, don't talk though okay? You need to rest, to preserve your strength." She just let out a chuckle though she gave a painful wince afterwards. She grabbed my paw and squeezed it gently before she spoke out as calmly as she could.

"We both know I'm dying Aidan so save your breath." I just gave her a sour look at that but she continue to talk. "Dad need your help Aidan, he's fighting the Unsealed attacking the base... you... you have to save him..." I could tell she was weakening I just chocked my sobs down and kept the same fake smile and gripped her paw tightly trying not to break down in front of her.

"I'll do my best, I love you Erika..." she just smiled demurely and gave me something that she had in her other paw. My breath hitched at the sight. It was a bronze locket the very same one she cherished so much growing up. "Moms locket..." she just nodded and laced in my own paw. "Erika... I can't take this..."

"Yes you can... don't ask me why but I have a feeling that it will help you in the future. But I love you brother... be safe." She let out before her eyes closed and her body went limp. I sat there for several minutes in shock... just as I was about to break down completely I felt someones paw fall on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Kaelan standing there with Flint and Elena standing a few feet back. I just sniff led before I grabbed the kid into a tight embrace and began sobbing. I could feel his own tears wet my shirt but I didn't care. We both had lost someone dear to us... eventually, we both calmed down and I stood up proudly and faced the gathered group in front of me.

I stood in front of them for several seconds before I decided just what I had to do... I would do my best to keep my promise to Erika. "Listen, we've all probably lost someone today, and I'm sure a lot of you are hurting just as much as I am. But the fact is is that we can't just mourn. These Unsealed have damaged the city but we can fight back!" I cried out as everybody watched me speak.

They stayed silent for several minutes before they started to cheer loudly.'i faced them and took my Gun-blade out and flashed it in front of me. "I'm going to go and try and turn the wards back on! Anyone who's willing to come with me is welcome! But I can't guarantee that you will make it out alive." The group mumbled amongst themselves before I saw Flint and Elena stand forward. After them was a tall older doberman and after him was the lioness reporter from earlier today and last to come forward was Kaelan himself. I was just about to protest before I saw his eyes and knew I wouldn't be able to talk him out of this.

"Anyone else?" I called out. When nobody else stepped up and turned towards the groupo. "Are you sure that you all want to come? It's going to get hairy out there...". I said though my words were mostly meant towards Kaelan. I did not like the idea of the pup going into this fight. They all nodded and I sighed. "Very well, get ready, we'll be heading out in a hour. Grab any weapon you can." I said before I gripped the locket in my paw. 'I swear Erika, I'll save dad... rest in peace