"AMATAAAAAA!" It's as if my heart has stopped beating. Time seems to slow down as a sudden burden weighs down on my shoulders. I can no longer breathe. My body won't move.

Amata? No. No way. Amata?

Bullets fly, but I can't hear the gunshots. The shouting and chaos from the guards has completely disappeared. Nothing but silence fills my eardrums.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I scream at the top of my lungs, even though I can't hear myself anymore. Any sound has been completely blocked out with absolute silence. "YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!"

It doesn't even occur to me that I just talked like that. The silence is deafening, and my whole body feels light and airy with rage.

Amata's limp body falls, but never hits the ground. A guard has leaped over the railing, attached to a grappling hook and wire, and is holding Amata by the arm. He shoots himself back up and tosses Amata over the railing onto the platform next to me. His wings drape over the edge.

But there's no blood. Not a single gunshot wound on him. And he's breathing. Did he just faint?

His eyes open, and the sound returns as I hear him yell, "M-Mikono! Run-" A guard stamps his foot down on Amata's head before lifting him up by the collar of his Element suit.

"Amata! Leave him alone!"

Another guard nudges me with a gun. "Don't move! You're coming with us!"

They start to lead us away, but Amata struggles against the two guards restraining him now. "MOM! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MOTHER?! GIVE HER BACK!"

The guard that rescued him from falling balls his hand into a fist, and then swings a punch hard at Amata's face.

"NO!" I cry.

Amata has gone almost completely limp again. His legs drag on the ground as they lead us away. Blood trickles out of his nose and the gauze around his neck is starting to come off.

"You son of a bitch," Amata spits. "Let me go."

The guards take us to a giant door and lead us through. Inside resides what seems to be a conference and control room. Izumo sits in a giant chair, and our squad stands before him. It appears that they just got there.

"What in the hell?!" Donar exclaims upon the sight of Amata and I. "What did you two do?!"

The guards shove me aside next to Kagura, while they throw Amata face-down on the floor. One stamps his foot on his head again, holding it down into the floor.

"What did you do to her?" Despite the fact his face is squished into the floor, Amata speaks harshly at his father. "What did you do to my mother, you monster?!" Saliva and blood are dripping out of his mouth and pooling on the floor near his face.

Izumo raises his eyebrow. "Hello, Son. Nice to see you, too."

"Is that all you have to say to me?!" Amata forces his head up against the guard's foot, to make himself heard better. "After all those years, that's all you dare to say?! You took Mom from her home and left me to fend for myself?! And now she's half-dead!"

"Be quiet!" The guard presses down on Amata's head with his foot again, forcing him to give up.

"Your mother wanted to come. She was helping to save our planet! Alicia was a caring soul who was willing to sacrifice herself for the entire planet! Maybe that's something you wouldn't understand, you selfish boy! She was willing to fix everything my grandmother didn't! Ever since Ianthe was built, this planet has turned into a womanless disaster!" Izumo looks to me, seeing the horror on my face and my stance. I'm ready to leap at Amata and help him. "Is that your lover? She's a fine specimen. I believe she's the one we took until Kagura stole her from us," he says as he glances at Kagura.

"No! You stole her from us!" Amata says through gritted teeth.

"We're not here to discuss that!" Donar bellows. "We're here to discuss an alliance."

"An alliance?" Izumo narrows his eyes. "Vega wants to ally with Altair? Explain."

Donar begins to talk about Mykage and his attacks on Amata and I, how he's messed with everything, Apollo and Silvia, and a possible threat he poses against both worlds.

"You do realize Mykage is our ally, correct?" Izumo says.

"I'm well aware," Donar chides back. "But in case you haven't noticed, he hasn't been an exemplary ally. We want your help to defeat him. In return, we'll help you to reverse this curse. You can take the deal or leave it. If we don't have an agreement, then just know that Vega will not be afraid to launch an attack on your people if you try anything funny."

"What exactly are this 'Mykage's' ulterior motives? Do they play a presto melody-"

"I'm gonna need you to stop with those damn musical terms of yours," Kagura says out of the side of his mouth to Shrade.

"He wants to create his own world, I think," Amata speaks up.

I look over at him. "How do you know that?!"

"You never bothered to ask what I saw during my seizure, did you?"

Donar's eyes widen. "Now you're telling us this?!"

The guards allow Amata to stand and he faces his father. "Mykage is angry about what happened twelve thousand years ago. He believed when he gave up his life alongside Apollo and Sirius de Alisia, he would finally be with his beloved Apollonius, or his reincarnation, Apollo. However, at the last minute, Mykage, then known as Toma, was outraged when he realized Apollo was not Apollonius, but the reincarnation of Pollon, Apollonius's companion and best friend. Now, he wants to create his own world where he can rule and love does not exist."

"You know all this from that dream?!" I exclaim.

"You'd be surprised how much bullshit that guy spouts before he tries to kill you," Amata says. "He's using Altair to get what he wants, and he wants me dead for trying to interfere, as well as not being his 'ideal beloved'." He glances at me. "He wants you dead, too. Or at least he wants you to 'pay for taking away his precious Apollonius'." I can see the fear and pain on his face.

My stomach sinks. This whole thing is worse than I thought.

Izumo thinks for several moments. "Fine. It's a deal. We shall cut all ties with Mykage. It's clear that he is chasing after his own desires and we have no need for him, with the exception of the teleport gates. For now, we shall not notify him of this and pretend to continue operations with him just so we can have access to the gates for your soldiers to come through. We may discuss further bargaining and equal trade later."

"How about you give my mother back?" Amata sneers. "There's something you could do to thank us. Give her back."

"Amata. That's enough," Donar orders.

"I want my mother back, damn it!"

"This whole thing is fucked up." My hand covers my mouth immediately, and my voice sounds extremely hoarse by now.

"So, the curse has started to take effect?" Izumo looks to me. "You're running out of time. We have a deal. Now get that Igura of yours home before she really begins transforming."

Cayenne grabs Amata by the arm. "Let's go. We'll get your mom another time."

Amata tries to shake him off. "No! Are you kidding?!"

"Stop it! We aren't rescuing her now," Donar says sternly as he leads us out of the room. No one says a word as we are escorted out of the building, ride the stolen vehicles back to the graveyard, and prepare for the flight back home.

We all stand around, silent, when Donar suddenly grabs Amata by the collar of his Element suit. "Do you have a death wish?!" he screams in his face. "You could've put the entire mission in jeopardy! You never should've come along!"

Amata doesn't respond. He just averts his eyes.

"I get that you wanna save your mother, but we have more important matters right now! You can't just go running off spouting words and getting all riled up! Do you realize the severity of what you did?! You're not ready for this yet! You should've stayed back and allowed us to handle this! You endangered everyone and pissed off Izumo! Whatever daddy issues you have with him, you should've left them elsewhere!"

Kagura's hands ball up into fists as Donar releases Amata.

"You fucking douche bag," Kagura growls. "YOU REALLY THINK YOU'RE SUCH A GREAT PROTECTOR FOR SYLVIE?! YOU PUT HER IN DANGER, DAMN YOU!"

Before I even know what's happening, Kagura storms up to Amata and punches him in the face.

"NO!" I gasp in alarm. "Stop it! Leave him alone!" My voice sounds as if I've been gargling nails.

"I should kill you right here, right now!" Kagura shouts and punches Amata again, this time in the stomach. Blood sprays out of Amata's mouth and runs out of his nose. "You're nothing but a whiny little jackass! You're no reincarnation of Apollon! You're nothing more than a pathetic wimp who should just die!"

"Kagura!" Cayenne calls. "That's enough!"

Kagura punches Amata one more time in the face, and the orange-haired boy falls to the ground. Donar and my brother run up and restrain Kagura, preventing him from doing any more harm.

"We need to leave," Donar says. "Let's go."

Amata doesn't stand up. He just stares down at the ground, his head hanging.

"Amata! Come on!"

He shakes his head. "You're right..." he utters. "I'm nothing but a wimp... I'm a selfish, pathetic jackass who deserves to die." Tears drip down on the ground, mixed with blood. "I should've just died in that damn hospital like I was supposed to."

I get down on my knees and crouch beside him. "Don't say that!" I put a hand on his shoulder. "Stop it! You don't deserve to die!"

"Yes I do. I put the girl I love most and my friends in danger. I am nothing. I am a failure."

"Amata, stop talking like that! Stop it! You're scaring me!"

Donar calls, "Let's go! We don't have all day!"

"Just go. Leave me here." He stands up. "Leave me. No one needs me. I just mess up everything no matter where I go-"

SMACK.

Everyone stares wide-eyed. Amata holds his cheek where I just slapped him.

"Are you that stupid?!" I scream hoarsely. "Are you that stupid that I have to slap you in the face in order to get you to be reasonable?! LOOK AT YOURSELF! Stop acting like this!" Tears slide down my cheeks. "I just want my Amata back! I want the dork I fell in love with to come back!"

It takes several moments for Amata to finally react. He lowers his hand, now revealing his red, stricken cheek. Using his sleeve, he wipes the blood pouring out of his nose and cleans his mouth.

"I need you! Don't stay here!" I fling my arms around him, beginning to cry. "I want you back! Please! What did you even plan on doing if we left you?!"

He looks away, avoiding eye contact with me. I know what he's thinking.

"You were gonna try and kill yourself again. WEREN'T YOU?! WEREN'T YOU, AMATA?!"

"W-what?" Donar stutters. Cayenne seems equally as shocked.

"Again? What? Amata is that true?!" Cayenne cries. "You tried to take your own life?!"

Amata nods. "After we left Izumo, I was planning on killing Mykage first if you left me here. Then I would've tried saving Mom, and then yeah. I would've done it." I hold him tighter as he says, "I would've killed myself."

"YOU IDIOT!" I scream. "YOU WOULD GO AND BREAK YOUR PROMISE?! YOU SAID YOU'D NEVER TRY THAT AGAIN! YOU SAID YOU COULDN'T LEAVE ME LIKE THAT!" My tears soak into his Element suit. "I JUST WANNA GO BACK IN TIME TO BEFORE JIN'S DEATH! I WANNA FIX EVERYTHING! I WANT YOU BACK, AMATA! I WANT THE GUY WHO CARRIED ME IN THE HALLS BEFORE! I WANT THE GUY WHO GETS SO EMBARRASSED OVER EVERYTHING! I WANT THE DORK WHO STARTS TO FLY EVERY TIME HE LOOKS AT ME! I WANT MY AMATA BACK!" I'm really starting to sob now. "I want my Amata back..."

I feel his hands on my back, holding me close. "I'm sorry..." he says softly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Donar and Cayenne walk up slowly to us, while Kagura and Shrade linger behind near their Vectors.

"Amata, we can get you help," Donar forces himself to say. "We're here for you."

"You really opened my eyes, Amata," Cayenne chimes in. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have realized how amazing my sister really is, and I wouldn't have seen how amazing you are, too. I don't wanna lose you, man."

"Come back with us," I say, my voice just barely able to be heard. "Please."

Amata exhales and nods. "Okay. Let's go home."