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I was laying in a world of blackness...everywhere I looked was more darkness as far as the eye could see. It was getting a bit distressing and I wasn't liking this at all.

"Where the hell am I!?" I cried out in frustration. Last thing I remembered was seeing Rex... he said I was his brother... It would definitely explain things, like why Isaac uh... my birth father mentioned him and why I remembered who I presumed was a much younger version of him. It was still so confusing though, I had all these memories but they were so broken and distorted that I couldn't make things out clearly. "Hello?" I shouted out, hoping someone would answer. "Is anyone here? Do you know where I am?!"

"You are in your inner world... Let's call it... Naught shall we?" A voice rang out, I jumped a bit (or well as much as I could jump floating in a void.)

"Thanatos...?" I asked, that voice didn't really sound like him but who else could it be? The voice just let out a chuckle before it answered my inquiry.

"Not quite... but maybe it would be best too show myself? Maybe that would be for the best." Out of nowhere an armored figure appeared making me leap back again. The figure was very tall around 6'8 I'd wager, his armor was white and gold and was beautifully ornate in it's details. He also wore a crowned helmet that hid his face in complete blackness. The only thing I could make out were his eyes, a bright sapphire blue, not unlike my own but his pupils were shaped like 8 pointed stars. This figure, whoever he was made me uncomfortable and I for whatever reason felt as if I knew the figure.

"Wh-who the hell are you?" I shouted out. "What do you mean my 'inner world'? And why call it Naught?" I was so confused... nothing made sense...

"You may call me R3," the figure stated. "As for this being your inner world? The fracture of your memories have broken it into many pieces." He explained. "But, you can rebuild this world. As you gradually remember things this world will slowly fix itself." The figure... I was going to assume he was male, judging by his voice. "But that is not why I brought you here." He said before he snapped his fingers making a table appear out of nowhere with two chairs on either side. "Sit, we have much to discuss."

"If you say so..." I stated feebly as I did as I was told. The chair was comfy and I relaxed as best I could. The figure... R3 as he wanted to be called sat on the other chair letting his head fall onto his paws. "What do you want to talk to me about?" I asked, getting tired of this mystery bullshit. "And why bring me here? You could have shown up in the real world right?" R3 nodded, I was assuming he was smiling judging by the amusement in his voice but it was difficult to really tell... since all I could make out were those creepy eyes of his.

"I could have yes, and I might appear to you there eventually but right now I thought it best to have our first meeting here in your Naught." He said before his voice became solemn. "Your path will be a difficult one young Jacob, Greasham will only be the beginning of your story." He told me. "You will both lose and gain much in the process but you will survive."

"What are you a fortune teller or something?" I asked him annoyed, because if so I am really not interested... I don't believe that wishy-washy nonsense. R3 seemed especially amused at that because he could only let out a great burst of laughter at that. "What's so funny!?" I asked him with a huff, he continued his laughter for several more minutes before he finally regained control of himself.

"I am no fortune teller, but I can see how your story will unfold. You will have quite the interesting one I can assure you!" He said cheerfully. "A very interesting one, but that is for another time I assure you, I would not want to spoil anything for you!" I just rolled my eyes at that, he wasn't making any sense and if anything he was getting off on not making sense.

"Can you please explain more about my Naught? What happens when it becomes complete? What will it look like?"

"Those I cannot answer but as I said, as you begin to remember and reconnect your fractured memories Naught will slowly begin to repair itself. But Naught is the true zenith of your soul, Naught is from where your brand is sourced so as it repairs you will be able to become stronger, so that should be incentive enough to remember things right?"

"Yeah... it really is... but... can I see your face? No offense but your eyes are kinda creeping me out..." R3 just chuckled as he stood up to his full height. Slowly he moved his gloved paws up towards his helm.

"Yes, I will do so." He said as he slowly took it off and what I saw utterly broke my heart.

"Da-dad!?" I cried out. Right in front of me stood my father... but it wasn't... he still had R3's eyes and he just sighed, before he put his helm back on.

"I am not the man you called Dad, without my helmet I would appear to be the person whom they wish to see most, deepest in their hearts. That person for you would be your Father, though you can hide it from others you feel a great deal of pain and guilt regarding your father's death. Thinking he might still be alive if you hadn't ran off. But such thinking is a waste, what's past is past and the what-if scenarios will never bring him back. No matter how much you wish it."

"I guess that is true... but I still miss him, even if he kept so many things hidden from me he was still my dad... he helped raise me into who I am." I told him softly. "It's just hard, especially after remembering how my biological father was killed."

"You mean Isaac? Yes, he was killed right in front of you." R3 stated calmly.

"Do you know who killed them?"

"I do, but I cannot tell you, that could derail your story, you must figure things out on your own. Such is the way of the world, I cannot do that for you as it would only impede your growth as a person." I sighed frustrated, I figured he would say that, I had a feeling that R3 wasn't one to give you a straight answer, but it was still annoying having my suspicions.

"What are you anyway? Are you a god?"

"I am no God, you can trust me on that." He stated firmly. "I am No One of importance, I'm from this reality but at the same time I'm not. I'm merely here to help you find a path." He explained.

"No One of importance eh...? Somehow I doubt that." I stated in a sarcastic manner. "But are we done? I kinda want to wake up you know, my hometown is kinda being invaded by lunatics..." R3 just nodded before standing up.

"Very well then, we will meet again soon I'm sure, it was good speaking with you Jacob! Oh and do be nice to James. He isn't as bad as you think he is!" I just let out a hmph at that but didn't say anything. With as snap of his fingers everything immediately went black and I felt like I was fading...

...

I let out a pained groan as I slowly opened my eyes. My head was killing me at the moment and I was still trying to figure out what the hell was that dream thing. Who was R3? Just how did he know so much and why did he keep on going on about my 'story'. As I woke I found myself in a tent and saw both Aidan and Rex hover over me. Rex was the first person to notice my eyes open and proceeded to grab me in a rib-cracking hug. I let out a grunt but he didn't seem to notice.

"You're awake! I was so worried!" He cried out. I just looked at him oddly, it was hard to believe I had a brother, an Elemental Lord no less! Even if I didn't remember him I still knew him... it was confusing but it was as if my subconscious remembered him even if I couldn't myself.

"I'm fine..." I said while I tried to get out of Rex's grip. "How is everything? What's the situation regarding Inquisition!?"

"We regained control over the majority of the town, Inquisition is held up in the highschool though. We can't easily reach them as they got snipers set up all around the perimeter. The civilians are still in lockdown though and MODD is sending one of their Super Units in." Great, Supers were coming... this was going to be fun...

"Where is everyone?" I asked, Rex was the one who answered going so before Aidan could even open his mouth.

"Most of your friends are on the front line, the Alsatian and leopard are still in camp with us, the one you call Flint is with them making sure they stay safe while he waited for you to wake up." He explained. "But what happened? You just randomly spazzed out! You scared me!"

"I honestly don't know what happened really," I admitted. "I think it might be my memories trying to resurface forcefully... I think I still have them, deep down in my subconscious and they sometimes try and forcefully break out which lead into my spazz attacks. Like the fact I know who you are, but at the same time I have absolutely no memory of you, only random flashes." I explained as best I could. "My memories are so jumbled I can't even begin to untangle them right now."

"I guess that is a flaw in that serum your father gave you, it might have wiped your memory from your conscious mind but memories can't be erased completely." Aidan theorized. "It makes sense, memories make us who we are, a person without memory is nothing but an empty puppet." Well, that was a thought... Rex himself just kept his eyes on me, as if he was afraid I would vanish if he looked away, even for a second.

"I can't believe you were alive all along... just what happened to you? Who took you and how did you end up here of all places?" Thankfully Aidan answered that for me because I still didn't fully understand everything about my past.

"It was Manx who ordered the hit on your father and your brother's abduction." He started firmly. "Apparently your brother came into contact with some MODD superweapon when you guys took a trip too Greasham."

"I remember that! It was our last trip before he was abducted! Jake had decided to snoop in a restricted area and they found him an hour or so later unconscious!" Rex blurted out. "I never thought to connect the dots! But why does Manx want Kael?" Aidan's face darkened at that however and I myself was becoming mildly uncomfortable with the subject.

"I don't know, but MODD spent the next three years doing brutal experiments on your brother. But one of the workers, a man named Alistair took pity on him and broke him out and gave him a serum to wipe his memory... is that right Kael?" I just nodded my affirmation, it certainly sounded like the truth. "Very well then, Alistair drove them to Crosstown and started to raise him as his own blood." Aidan stated in a somewhat sad voice, as if he missed his own father.

"Why didn't he just return him home? Back to me and my mother though!? While I appreciate what he did he should have gave him back... Mom had all but given up on finding you... if I had any idea you were in Crosstown I would have came and got you."

"Who says I would've went with you? You would've been nothing but a complete stranger to me and I barely remember you now as is! Elemental Lord or not I wouldn't leave my Dad because you claimed to be my brother. I was happy there, my dad was good to me and he raised me as best he could, even though he kept so much hidden I still love him..." I said barely holding back tears, I wouldn't let myself cry. Not when we were in the middle of a war. "But I'm up! We need to rendezvous with the others!" I said as I got up but before I could Rex stopped me and pushed me back down.

"You aren't going anywhere! Lieutenant Hart and I will go but you will stay here with McAlister and the other two! It's far too dangerous!" Aidan just sighed, obviously seeing my annoyance before he gently laid a paw on the smaller wolf's shoulder.

"Listen Commander Reaper, I understand your motives but Kael is a pretty capable fighter. He was the one who took out Hydra and plus this is his home, he has the right to try and defend it." He stated smoothly in an attempt to convince my brother but instead it had the opposite effect as Rex immediately fell into a rage.

"YOU LET HIM FIGHT HYDRA? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! HE IS A KID! HE HAS NO BUSINESS FIGHTING IN A WARZONE!!"

"DON'T CALL ME A KID!!" I shouted right back at him. "I'm sick and fucking tired of everyone treating me like a helpless infant! I can fight! I have this power!" I said while activating my Brand. "I am more than capable of holding my own! As Aidan said, this is my HOME! I'm not going to sit and watch everyone else do all the work!" I said before pushing him away (He might have been older but I was still bigger.) Rex flailed a bit, barely keeping his balance while I stood up and stretched. "Now let's get going!" Aidan nodded and sensing he was outnumbered Rex just grumbled before nodding as well.

With that settled we all stepped outside and saw Emily, Flint and Dawson sitting by the fire pit. Surprisingly it was Dawson who noticed first.

"You're up!" He said before he ran up and hugged me, though once he sensed me tense he wisely let go and backed away awkwardly. "I... I mean we were so worried! You were out for hours! Shouldn't you stay in bed?" He asked in concern. I still wasn't angry with him, finding out he had been tormenting me because he couldn't handle he was gay did nothing to endear him to me.

"I'm fine," I told him stiffly. "You never worried about me before so don't start now." Dawson flinched back a bit, obviously hurt by the words but it served him right for all the shit he put me through.

"Listen.." He started off carefully. "I'm sorry for how I treated you, I was a coward and I know that is hardly an excuse but I'm still sorry." He stated firmly. "You saved my life! Let me help you in return, at least let me try and redeem myself to you..." He pleaded softly. I glowered at him but was surprised to feel Rex lay paw on my shoulder.

"Listen, I talked to him about this and while I can't stand what he did to you..." He stated glaring towards the Alsatian. "It's obvious that he is remorseful for his actions, it isn't good to always keep a grudge, because in the end it only hurts you." I looked between him and Dawson in irritation. While he seemed remorseful now how long would it last? Would he eventually go back to his bullying ways? Or did he have an actual change of heart?

"Whatever..." I muttered before turning towards Aidan. "How is this going down? One of us will have to stay here with Dawson and Emily, it's too dangerous to leave them alone and I don't want them in a warzone." Dawson just glowered and protested my words.

"It's my home too Littlesea! You are not forcing me into the background! I might not have one of those fancy brands but I still have this!" He stated while showing me the gun he nicked off of one of the Inquisition fighters. "I can fight and I will, if you go so do I!" I was about to complain but Aidan swiftly cut me off.

"Remember what I said Kael, you can't stop him no more than I can stop you, you'd be hypocritical to stop him." I glowered at him feeling somewhat betrayed and that was before Rex spoke.

"He's right Jake, the arguments you made apply to you as well, you can't stop him if he wants to go." I just glared at them both before relenting with a sigh.

"Fine... and you Em? Please say you will stay behind at least?"

"I'll stay here, just be careful alright? Both of you." She told me before hugging me. "I'm proud of you Kael, you have grown up so much in such a short time. Your dad would be just as proud." I didn't say anything...all I've done was just hug her back, still not wanting to cry. She let me go and did the same thing with Dawson. "And for you, fuck your Father, he's a piece of shit and you know it! Don't worry about what he thinks and be yourself okay? You have a good head on your shoulders don't forget that." Dawson just blushed at that but hugged her close anyway.

"Just be careful okay? And keep out of trouble!" He told her before turning towards me. "Let's get on it shall we?" I nodded as did Rex and Aidan. After saying our goodbye's we quickly rushed towards the school. Crosstown was in shambles, the Inquisition did a number on it but I was just glad the casualties seemed low in comparison to Eldra. I saw various police officers patrolling certain sections of the town, most looked exhausted probably because they didn't get any sleep. Shaking my head I brought my focus back to where it was needed.

The school looked the same but instead of the flagpole holding the Rillotian national flag it held the flag of the Inquisition, a black flag with a red dagger. I had seen news reports on how the Inquisition had conquered most of southwestern Weleshna and had imposed their brutal laws. It wasn't helped by the fact that the Weleshnian Government was infamously unstable having been marred by several brutal civil wars after the events of the Great Seal War. If it wasn't for MODD the current government would have probably collapsed by now.

It seemed like the rest of the gang had set up a makeshift base on the outskirts of the school. They were joined by Chief Geller and Mayor Stephens. The mayor, a pudgy walrus was looking incredibly frazzled while Chief Geller, a tall fit dragon looked more annoyed at his boss.

"Settle yourself Gary!" He ordered but the walrus just glared at him.

"Calm down?! My town was INVADED BY TERRORISTS! How they even got into Rillotia is a wonder and why did they strike here? We're a small town with no real strategic value! My citizens have been injured and their property destroyed! If it wasn't for these people Inquisition would have slaughtered us all!" He cried out gesturing towards the girls and Dolan.

"That may be true but right now we have them on the ropes, they are isolated and trapped. All we need to do is wait for MODD to send in their Super Forces to clean things up!" He said before he took notice of us approaching... well, mostly Rex. "Commander Reaper! I was wondering where you were! What is the status of the MODD units? Are they sending any other Elemental Lords?" Rex just walked up to him and shook his paw.

"It's good to meet you Chief I was with my brother and they should be here within the day and MODD thought one Elemental Lord was enough." He explained to the dragon. "So what are the plans?"

"You have a brother?" He asked surprised. "I didn't know you had a brother Commander." Rex just smiled while rubbing his paws through his platinum blond hair. He actually had impressive arms, he might have been shorter but he definitely was better built in comparison to me.

"Yes I do!" He said before he grabbed me and placed me in front of him. "Meet my brother, Jacob Reaper!" The chief looked gobsmacked at that however, taken completely by surprise it seemed.

"Kaelan Littlesea is your brother!? I never knew he had a brother! Wait...Jacob?" Rex just sighed.

"It's a long story but yes he is my brother, he was taken by the same people who murdered my father ten years ago." He explained as best he could. "I've been searching for him for years but someone told me if I would go to Crosstown I would find my brother and I did." He stated bluntly. "But the plans Chief, what are we going to do about the Inquisition? We've got them cornered."

"We were planning on waiting them out. If MODD forces will be arriving soon we have no reason to not just let MODD handle it, they are better trained and equipped for situations such as this we are small town police offers who barely deal with crime, we barely held out and we would have lost if it hadn't been for your intervention." The Chief admitted. "I see no reason to unnecessarily risk my men when we've got professionals coming here."

"That is reasonable, but you can let us handle it." I stated catching him by surprise.

"How? They got snipers on all the highest parts of the building! You step one foot into the courtyard and you are dead." He stated. "And no offense but why are you and Dawson even here? You two are kids you should be in the Shelter!" I just growled, frustrated...I hated how people kept on telling me that! Even Dawson looked unhappy. On a whim I activated my brand and let my power flow through me.

"I'm not staying in a shelter while waiting for the adults to fix things! I can fight and I will!" The chief just gave me a baffled look but quickly shut himself up. "There is a passage into the boiler room from the sewers I found by accident a few months ago!" I stated. "I doubt they know about it and we can catch them off guard by then. You and your men can strike and we can finish this ourselves!"

"Okay then show us this passage." Aidan stated, not seemingly interested in how I found it. Shrugging that off I led our group (Me, Aidan, Rex, Dawson and Elena. Loni and Dolan would stay with the others.)

The sewers were as clean as ever. I read books on how sewers used to be disgusting filthy places but with advancements on matter disintegrates we were able to eliminate the waste and left with pure unsullied water which was then cleansed even further before being recycled into the water we used removing any remaining trace amounts of waste from the water. The place was also very well lit. We walked through the sewers until I stopped in front of a random wall. I knocked on it at a certain fashion and it opened revealing a dark passage.

"Come-on! I hollered as I entered the passage. It was dark and very cramped in here but I could see perfectly thanks to my power over darkness. The passage was rather long, about a half mile between the sewer and the boiler room. I wasn't exactly sure just why it was here and who made it but I had only been here once or twice but I remembered it well. The others were following behind me and Aidan in particular looked quite uncomfortable as he barely seemed to fit in here. After several minutes of watching we finally reached the end of the passage.

"We're here!" I told them as I tried my best to open the passage as quietly as I could. When I slipped it open I quickly climbed out and looked around, the room was completely empty and I couldn't hear anyone nearby. So I stuck my head back into the passage. "It's clear!" I told them before I moved out of the way. The boiler room was pretty standard. Several boilers lined the room which provided heat to the school. Since the school was so relatively small we rarely used all four but right at that moment all four were glowing. Seeing this Aidan quickly came up with a plan.

"Hey I have an idea. If we can sabotage the boilers we can shut off all heat inside the building. Since it's freezing outside they will definitely notice it and will send someone to fix it! When they do we ambush them!" He said while pounding his fist. "One of us can then grab their clothes and infiltrate their group and distract them while the rest of us strike them unaware!"

"Actually pretty good!" Elena commented as she walked up towards the boiler before she opened one of the panels and showed the boiler interface. "Thankfully I can get these shut off in a jiffy! My Dad owns a workshop and I used to help around the business before I left for college." She said as she quickly typed in a command that quickly shut off the boiler. "Boilers like this have a specialized shutdown code that it's down until you put in the reverse code! I doubt any of them could figure that out!" And with the rest of the boilers were locked down.

Quickly we all hid and for several long minutes we waited until someone finally arrived. The figure looked around my height and build and he seemed quite annoyed about something.

"Why'd they send me? I don't know how these boilers work! Bah I can't believe we were foiled! If we could nab the weapon we can finally force everyone to our Lady's will!" Weapon? Why in the world would a weapon be here... unless they meant me.... before he could get close to where we were standing Elena came out from behind him and smacked him several times with her naginata rendering him unconscious in seconds, seeing everyone's shocked faces she just raised her eyebrow.

"What? I grew up in Oxis, the Civilization section sure but my Grandfather was a Tribal Chief, he taught me all about survival and combat!" She exclaimed before looking at the unconscious figure. "So who's gonna fit?" She asked. Everyone looked towards each other. The girls were out, the clothing was form tight and Aidan and Dawson were both far too bulky leaving me and Rex as options.

"I'll go!" I offered. "We're very close in build, and we're roughly the same height!" Predictably Rex protested almost immediately after I brought it up.

"Absolutely not! You aren't going up against those terrorist yourself!" He snarled as quietly as he possibly could. I just rolled my eyes and waved his worries aside.

"I'm the closest in build to the guy, so we would be less likely to be noticed if it was me and besides you're shorter anyway." I explained to him. "Plus Aidan and Dawson are far too bulky so let me handle this!" Rex just gave a frustrated sigh before relenting.

"Just please be careful!" He muttered unhappily. Before he woke up we quickly stripped the guy to his underwear. He looked like a young jackal and looked about 17 and I had no idea how he had fallen into such a group. Slowly I went into the passage so I could change. The clothes fit well enough thankfully and when I slipped on the helmet I doubt anyone would notice I wasn't the guy. After a quick debriefing I was sent out of the boiler room. The school was eerily quiet, most of the walls were defaced with Inquisition propaganda.

I carefully kept in the shadows, careful not to be discovered. Even if I was in disguise I thought it best to keep myself hidden. Finally though I found the rest of the Inquisition forces. They were mostly huddled up in the Principal's office. Slowly I crept in and when someone noticed me the person sounded annoyed.

"What the hell Moses!? I told you not to come back until you fixed the boilers!" The voice sounded female but her face was obscured by a mask and her form by a thick robe. She must have been one of the Inquisition Nuns. They were the Religious Authority of the Inquisition and when they spoke it was believed absolute.

"I'm sorry Sister I couldn't figure it out." The woman just gave out a disdainful sniff as if disgusted at my answer.

"I should have never allowed Abraham to let you come, your continued incompetence is staggering. We need the heat back on but never you mind we have a meeting with Abraham, he wants to speak to you!" She said before sending me into the office proper. In stood another burly figure completely enveloped in his black cloak. There were several other people but I ignored them.

"Joseph what is the situation?" He asked coldly towards another cloaked man. The figure shook his head and sighed, as if dreading giving his answer.

"Not good sir, a large number of our men have been apprehended and we are surrounded, we cannot get outside and MODD is sending one of the super divisions. Also the boilers have shut down." He said before turning to me.

"Guess you couldn't figure it out. Don't know why they sent you, would be better off using you as a shield you would be far more useful dead and full of holes than alive." He told me cruelly. I barely hid my snarl, Inquisition member or not I actually felt sorry for this Moses, it seemed as if nobody gave him any respect...

"Basically this mission is a failure, we have not found the vessel of the weapon, our source was wrong it seemed." The man sitting down just snarled and banged his fist on the table making everyone else wince. Quick as a flash he grabbed his gun and blew the others brains out. I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't let out a yell... This man just murdered one of his allies in cold blood for no apparent reason.

"Anyone else want to question my sources? The vessel is here somewhere, we will not give up until we find it!" He snarled out. "I don't care if we have to fight the entirety of MODD's military might we are not leaving!" He blared out harshly. "Now leave me be! I want to be alone!" He stated coldly. Everyone was quick to get out while a few dragged the corpse outside but right as I was about to step outside I heard a click which made me freeze. "Where do you think you're going kid? You didn't think I wouldn't be able to smell out an imposter?" He hissed out.

"What are you talking about!?" I asked nervously. The man just shook his head, seemingly annoyed at my antics "save it kid, I knew you were an imposter as soon as I saw you, you carry yourself differently, you seem competent...something I would never mistake Moses for, the only reason I brought him was because I hoped somebody would kill him and if that failed I would have put a bullet through his head myself! Now take off the mask, let me see your face before I shoot you." I shuddered and turned around and saw he had his gun aimed at me. It was one of the old school ones, the ones with metal bullets and I knew I was in a pickle.

Quietly I removed my mask and showed my face which made the man burst out laughing.

"I was right after all, you are just the person we were looking for!" He snickered evilly. "Cannot believe you came right to us! Saved us all a lot of trouble!" He cackled.

"What do you want me for anyway!?" I shouted out spitefully. "I'm not going to help you, you do realize that right? I refuse to help a murderous terrorist scumbag like you! Especially after you had the gall to attack my hometown!" The man didn't get angry but just chuckled.

"I don't need you to help us concisely!" He said before breaking out a glowing red serum. "Just a drop of this and you will be a mindless little slave! We just need your body and powers, I could care less about anything else!" I stepped back , I was really in trouble. I was unarmed (Having left my blade with the others) and I probably didn't have the time to active my brand and I wasn't very good at fighting yet.

"Go to hell!" I snarled out as I backed away from him. "I'm not going to even let you get close enough to even try and get me!" I told him while getting into a fighting stance, even if I couldn't quite fight that well unarmed I would still make his life hell if necessary. The man just laughed as he got up and got into his own fighting stance.

"You got spirit kid, gotta admire it...shame we are going to turn you into a puppet, I quite like your fire!" He told me before he charged. I barely got out of the way before he slammed into the door. He grunted as he hit it but he didn't look fazed in the least. "Good dodge kid! But let's get serious!" He said before he charged at me again. I dodged once more but I wasn't able to respond when he slammed his foot into my stomach causing me to gasp out painfully while I doubled over. He was so focused on me he didn't even seem to notice the chaos that was happening outside the office.

"Heh not so tough now are you kid?" He asked me as he grabbed me by the scruff of my neck bringing us both to eye level. I didn't even try to justify that remark, instead opting to spit at his face. He just calmly wiped the spit off his mask and chuckled. "Yup! You definitely got fire but sayonara kiddo! Because you are going to be a very good puppet soon!" He states as he brought the vile towards my lips but before he could force me to drink it I heard three shots fire and his body jerked each time before his grip loosened allowing me to break free. I saw Dawson at the door his gun still smoking and a dead serious look on his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked me. I just nodded slowly before I started to walk towards him but before I could do so I was jerked to the ground and found the bastard above me grabbing my throat with his massive paws.

"Stupid brat! If I die I'm taking you with me!" He snarled before he slammed my head towards the floor temporarily stunning me so I wasn't able to struggle. His paws were getting tighter and tighter and I was slowly starting to fade and just before I finally blacked I heard more shots and felt something warm fall onto my face...

...

The first thing I noticed when I came to is that I was laying in a bright room. Groggily I groaned out and rubbed my eyes, as if to make things clearer. Once my eyesight stopped being foggy I saw that I was in what looked like a hospital bay. But it was definitely not the one in Crosstown, it looked far more high tech.

"Where the hell am I?" I groaned out in a confused manner. All I really remembered was that bastard Abraham trying to choke me out.

"You're in the MODD Flagship Gaia." Another voice spoke, I jumped briefly and quickly turned my head to see Dawson sitting in the bed next to mine. He actually looked pretty banged up, he had several bruises and a black eye and his head was wrapped in several thick bandages.

"What happened to you!?" I cried out in shock. "Looks like you got banged up? And what happened? Why aren't we in Crosstown anymore? What happened to the Inquisition? Is everybody okay!? How long have I been out?" I asked, my questions coming a mile a minute. Annoyed Dawson just grimaced at me.

"Will you slow down? Things got a bit violent after you passed out. After I blew out that guys brains the rest of the Inquisition rushed in and attacked me. They probably would have killed me if not for your brother rushing in and blasting them, you should have seen him! How he used his element?" He blurted out excitingly.

"With everyone distracted Lieutenant Hart quickly got everyone rushed into the school and after another twenty or so minutes it was over. With their Field Leader dead they lost their cohesion. Most of the members were apprehended but a lot of them killed themselves by swallowing a cyanide pill rather than be arrested." He stated sadly.

"What about the guy we stole the suit from? Is he okay? Poor guy got no respect from the others, I felt bad for him... And wait? You killed him yourself?"

"Don't act so surprised!" Dawson cried out mildly offended. "I didn't have a choice though... he was strangling you and I had to stop him... I... I didn't want to lose you again, I was so scared when I heard about Eldra and that you were caught up in it." He stated awkwardly. "I've always liked you... it's part of the reason I bullied you, because I couldn't stand the fact I had these feelings for another guy... especially after my Dad ranting and raving about homosexuals all the time."

"So even though you were gay yourself and practically liking me you had to make my life a living nightmare?" I asked annoyed. "That seriously pisses me off you know! Why didn't you ever stand up to that drunk? You are already bigger and are in much better shape. I seriously doubted he would be much of a threat to you!"

"Even then! He would have probably kicked me out! I have no other family so where would I go? Besides, I had an out plan already, all I needed was to survive this year and I would be off to join MODD! I had gotten accepted into one of their training schools. I would be able to not only get away from my worthless parents but I would have a nice future with MODD." He said before he looked down. "My Mother died in the attack, she was still passed out when they set our house ablaze and my Dad barely made it out." He stated bitterly.

"I saw him right as we were heading back the station. He was angry I was still alive and he had hoped he could have been rid of us both. He kept on shouting about how he wished I had been aborted and how he should have left and let her raise her bastard son by herself because there was no way I was his son." He growled out, he actually looked close to tears, I actually felt bad for him, sure I knew his parents were pieces of work but how could a parent say that to their own son!? "I hit him, slugged him right in his worthless drunken mug. I was ready to beat the shit out of him as payback for those years of abuse but your Brother stopped me, told me it wasn't worth it."

"I'm sorry for that, must have been awful." I told him as sympathetically as I could, it really was weird having empathy for the guy who had tormented me for so long but after hearing how fucked up his home like was? "Just how did you not get taken by CPS? You'd think they'd get you out of that hellhole!" He just snorted however.

"CPS is horribly understaffed and underfunded especially here in Vernati! Trust me, I wished they would come and rescue me but I gave up... it was before I met you though, you caught my eye the moment I saw you, it was when we started 3rd Grade, you were new in town but almost nobody had ever saw you before. You looked confused, just staring off into space and at that point I knew I had to be near you and bullying you was the only way I could figure you out. I didn't realize that I liked you until middle school and that was not a happy time."

"I bet it wasn't, I actually really hated you by that point, but now I think I understand more, it's still a bullshit cliche but I think I am starting to forgive you James..." I said, feeling weird about calling him that. "But just promise me that you will not revert back to the old days." The Alsatian just nodded and smiled.

"I promise, but really I think I belong at your side, I'll follow you anywhere trust me on that!" He told me firmly I just laughed and nodded before speaking again.

"So where are the others? And where are we going? Greasham?"

"They are all in the brig the doctor had visited not long before you came to and gave me another dose of regeneration serum and yeah, we'll be there by the days end." I just nodded. It was strange, so much had changed, I was actually making nice with my former tormentor, maybe R3 was right? Shaking my head I just kept on talking, both excited and dreading what I would find out about myself in Greasham, but right now I felt at peace... I just hoped the peace doesn't fall...