We run as fast as we can, but the ship is huge. There was no way we can get out of the impact zone. Pedestrians scream in the streets, terrified. I can't blame them. They think they're going to die. I'm pretty sure I'm going to die. After everything I've lived through, this is what's going to kill me- a spaceship falling out of nowhere.

It occurs to me that I might be able to cushion the landing with my magic. I skid to a stop and begin eating the screams. The sounds of terror and panic taste terrible, but they fuel my determination. I can save some of them. I have to.

"Dragon slayer secret art: Sonic boom!" The wave of sound hits the spaceship. I hold it as long as I can, slowing the momentum as much as possible, until I'm unable to hold it any longer.

Destiny grabs my arm and hauls me back as the ship continues to fall. "Raiden, come on!"

There's a roar and suddenly, the engines fire up. A collective sigh of relief ripples through the crowd as the ship begins to rise. It clears the buildings and heads away from a city. Whoever is piloting that ship doesn't belong here any more than the rest of us to. I have the sudden urge to follow it, if only to figure out who it was that had almost killed hundreds of people.

"Midnight," I begin. She holds up a hand for silence.

"No. We aren't... Where's Natsu?"

Lexi leaps into the air and points in the direction he'd disappeared. "He, Happy, and Lucy followed the ship."

Midnight groans. "Of course he did. Fine, we'll follow the ship, then."

The adrenaline begins to wear off and I feel the effects of using my magic up in such a large attack. Lexi catches me as I fall and everything goes black.

***

Khen stuck the needle through Naoki's skin again and he bit back a cry of pain. She looked up at him with a worried expression every time the needle pierced his skin, but he smiled at her reassuringly and she continued.

"What does it mean?" she asked.

Naoki's brows furrowed. "What does what mean?"

She poked the needle through his skin again and pulled the string taught. "You started calling me Nikkō." Her face reddened. "I don't know what it means."

"It means sunshine. You said your name meant nobody. I didn't think it fit you," he told her with a smile.

There was a stab of pain and then she was tying off the thread. She looked like she was about to say she was nobody again, so he said something first.

"You aren't nobody, Nikkō. Cagan wouldn't have kept coming back for you if you were nobody." Naoki tipped her head up and met her gaze. "Everyone matters, including you."

He thought he saw a hint of a smile on her face, but she looked away too quickly for him to be sure. She grabbed the bandage and wrapped it around his arm. He flexed it when she finished, testing it. Moving it was painful, but she'd done a good job. He wouldn't be able to fight well with that arm for a while, but he would manage with the other.

Now we just have to survive the rest of this.

***

Naoki's words echoed in Khen's mind. "The woman I love." He didn't know she'd heard- she was sure of it. If he had, surely he would have rescinded the statement. That was something she didn't want. He had said he loved her. No one had ever told her that. But... wasn't it the love of a men that had hounded her all these years, when they forced themselves on her?

She looked up at Naoki and decided that was wrong. Maybe she didn't know what love was, but she knew what it wasn't and it didn't cause people to hurt others. Those men hurt her because of her beauty. Her curse. But was that the reason Naoki had said he loved her?

Eventually, her thoughts grew too tangled to make sense of and she gave up. Her head hurt, a dull pounding ache in her temples. She rubbed them, hoping it might help.

A door opened and Khen looked up, expecting to see the others climbing into the car. Naoki pulled her behind a seat, further into the back of the car. "It's not the others," he whispered. "I don't know these people."

Khen's headache intensified. She peeked around a seat and spotted a group of roughly ten people sitting up toward the front.

"When you said we should steal KITT, I didn't expect it to be so easy," a man said. His voice was calm and steady. Khen shivered. That tone was one she knew well. The deadliest warriors in the Hun army used that tone. They were the ones that didn't take prisoners.

"They never leave immediately," another guy answered. "We just have to get out before they decide to come back."

The engine started and KITT's voice echoed within the car. "Akram Arnold, you are not a recognized driver," the car said.

"Midnight just recently approved me," Akram answered. "So take us where we need to go."

"You are the ones that ride in the trunk," KITT noted.

"Let me drive or I'll dump soda on you!"

Khen looked up at Naoki. "They'll strand the others," she whispered.

An red-haired guy stepped into the car. His eyes glowed red, sending shivers down Khen's spine. He looked right at her and she saw his nostrils flare.

"Blood. I smell blood."

Naoki pulled her away, but she saw the man approaching. He was going to kill them.

"If everyone would please take their seats, we'll be on our way." KITT's voice startled her. Naoki's hand covered her mouth, muffling her surprised squeak.

They moved onto a seat, staying low, and waited. The red-haired man came into view and looked straight at them, just as KITT ejected them from the car.

Naoki wrapped his arms around her, cushioning her landing with his body. KITT disappeared from the street before they could be followed. Khen got off Naoki's chest and he climbed to his feet with a groan. Blood had soaked through his bandage.

She was about to suggest replacing the bandage when a shadow fell over them. She looked up and found an enormous ship flying above them. Following close behind were Natsu, Happy, and Lucy. They didn't notice Naoki or Khen staring- they were too focused on the ship. Not too long after they disappeared down the street, Midnight followed with the rest of the team.

"Should we follow them?" Naoki asked.

Khen glanced at the space where KITT had been and nodded. There wasn't much else they could do.

***

"What was that, Xadanar?" Felix demanded. He didn't have to guard the door anymore. A quick check had confirmed that the others were gone. Somehow, they had survived. At least, until the engine cut a second time and they almost crushed a city.

"I'm sorry!" Xadanar said. "I swear, I didn't hit the button that time. It must have been the black hole."

Felix glanced at the button Xadanar had pushed earlier. It was red. A big, red button. He resisted the urge to slam his head repeatedly against the wall. Xadanar was a great mechanic, but he was clearly not cut out to be a pilot. "It's red," Felix said. "A red button. The only red button. Why did you push it? What possessed you to push the one red button?"

Xadanar angled the ship down toward the harbor. It landed with a splash, rocking slightly before settling into place. Then he faced Felix. "We're alive, aren't we?"

Someone knocked on the window, interrupting Felix's response. When they looked up, they saw a winged blue cat hovering at the window, carrying a pink-haired guy. The guy waved and grinned at them. "Where's the front door?" he shouted.

Xadanar shook his head and pressed a button. Thankfully, it was the right one this time and opened the door at the back of the ship. Felix pointed in the general direction of the door. "Back there," he said with a sigh. When the pink-haired guy left, Felix turned to Xadanar. "Being with you is terrible for a person's health, Xadanar. You're going to get me killed."

"Says the guy hated by nearly everyone at the Station. Now come on- we have visitors." Xadanar grinned and opened the door. "We can give them a grand tour."

***

When I wake up, I can tell I've missed a lot. I'm inside some sort of ship, on a bunk bed. No one else is in the room, so I start to get up, only to fall back onto the bed again, exhausted and nauseated. I haven't recovered my magic yet. Something else is causing the nausea though. The ship has me disoriented.

Motion sickness? I've never had problems with it before. Bile rises in my throat and I lean over, puking all over the floor. With a groan, I sink back into the pillow and squeeze my eyes shut. Clearly the fact that I didn't have it before is no longer important. I just hope it's a short trip.

***

Things were progressively getting worse. Nine new people had joined their group, Akram and his group stole KITT, and Midnight was beginning to feel like things might have gone better for her if she'd disappeared in New York when she had the chance. It clearly wasn't her New York, but at this point, she didn't care anymore. The one thing- the only thing- keeping her here was Lily. Midnight couldn't abandon her.

Jenny had been killed, which meant that Midnight didn't have anyone to help her keep an eye on her army of recruits. It unsettled her, being the sole leader of a group containing over sixty people. She didn't work with people, much less lead them. Staying in the shadows was her thing and practically impossible with such a large group following her.

Trevor didn't make things easier. She did her best to avoid him and the uncomfortable situation he represented. It was easier with so many people, she had to admit that, but she would have faced him in a second if it could've saved her from dealing with everyone else.

When the ship, which Xadanar had introduced as Lola, landed, Midnight stepped outside into a familiar warehouse. She recognized the ships, cars, and other various modes of transportation that she had chosen from when she was first 'recruited' to act as a mentor. They were back where things had started.

She didn't see KITT, but she did see a group approaching their team. This, she decided, was probably the reason they were there. Either that, or they were going to have to deal with even more recruits. Hopefully it was the first one.

The others were still on the ship, except for Raiden and Natsu, who had both stumbled off moaning, followed by Destiny and Lucy. Midnight turned to the two girls.

"Get the others," she said. "I think we're about to find out why we're here."

***

"Everyone's eating," Raven said. Her voice startled Khen, who looked up. "Shouldn't you join them?"

"I'm not hungry," Khen said. She was, but her stomach hurt and she didn't want to make it worse by eating.

"You're too thin to skip meals, Khen," Raven said. "Especially in your condition."

"What condition?" Naoki walked in carrying two plates of food. He handed one to Khen, a frown on his face. "Is something wrong?"

Khen looked between Naoki and Raven, confused. "C-condition? What do you mean?" What did Raven know that Khen didn't? Did it have to do with the stomach pain and nausea she'd been experiencing so often?

Raven frowned. "You didn't know you were pregnant?"

The words took a moment to register. For a moment, Khen refused to believe it. She couldn't have a baby. How could she, in a world as harsh as this? She put a hand on her stomach and imagined the life forming there. A baby. A tiny, innocent child. Even if she did survive, she would be sent home, back to the war camps. She couldn't let her child grow up in those circumstances.

"Pregnant?" Naoki looked at her. She wasn't sure what she expected to see in his expression, but he didn't look angry or disappointed or disgusted. He just looked... surprised. "Wait, Raven-san, how did you know?"

"I felt the baby's emotions. It's a bit early to tell, but it feels like a girl."

Khen stared down at the plate of food on her lap and smiled. The news made her happy. She couldn't help it- the idea, as terrifying as it was, excited her. For a brief moment, she forgot about every rational reason why this child couldn't be and let herself imagine a life with her daughter.

A call from outside pulled her back to reality. Lucy walked into the room. In her arms was a white creature with a round face and a long, pointed nose with a black spiral. It was adorable, with its little feet hanging down under Lucy's arms.

"Midnight needs everyone outside," Lucy told them, then disappeared, probably to continue spreading the message.

Naoki stood and held out his hand to Khen. She stared at it for a moment before realizing he was offering her help up. She took it and set her plate on a nearby table. Raven's eyes flicked between them.

"Just kiss already," she muttered.

His face reddened and Khen realized she was still holding his hand. She released it and backed away. "I..."

"Oh... I'm sorry, that was..." Raven rubbed her forehead. "Ignore me."

"We should go outside," Naoki said, changing the subject. "But... uh... let's not tell Midnight-san about Khen-san. I don't think she would react well."

"Fine," Raven agreed. "But the symptoms are getting more obvious. She'll find out eventually."

"Just, let's keep her in the dark for as long as possible. She didn't react well when Wren..." Naoki stopped. "You know what I mean."

Khen stayed quiet, lacing her finger together. Worries and fears coalesced into one crystal clear question: how was she going to have and protect a baby from the same life she lived?

Raven tapped Khen's shoulder. "Don't stress, Khen. You have to let yourself enjoy thing sometimes, despite the fear."

***

"We've come to help you escape," one of the newcomers- Obi-Wan- told them.

"Slight problem," Midnight said. "The Unseelie King has my daughter. If I leave, he'll kill her."

"Know about that, we do," Yoda said. "A plan, we made."

Eclipse watched the conversation with interest. The plan, Yoda explained, involved splitting into three groups. One would go to a political meeting, one would sneak into the base and find a data-pad with the information on the trapped families- Lily and the families of the other tributes, and the last one, likely the biggest group, would fight Dooku's army in the sky. Splitting up, she decided, could work in her favor.

Akram had given her and Vex a simple task. All they had to do was discreetly take out Midnight and the strongest members of her team. The rest would crumble into chaos once their main command structure disappeared. Most importantly, they had to get rid of Dylan.

Eclipse didn't mind doing Akram's dirty work. For now, at least. It gave her a chance to see what she and Vex were going up against. Plus, it allowed her to do something she loved- tear a bunch of people apart from the inside.

"They're a mess," Vex whispered, leaning toward her.

She stole a kiss and smiled up at him. "Of course they are, dear. It's a team with over fifty members, comprised of people who barely know each other. There are some strong fighters, though." Eclipse gestured toward the two groups of people who routinely clustered together. "Those are two teams, there. They could be a problem. Aurora or Aiden could step up to fill the void if Midnight died."

Vex nodded. "I think you should offer to go to the political meeting," he suggested. "If we split up, we'll be able to study them in smaller groups and form a better plan of attack."

His idea was a good one. She could use more practice in political situations anyway. "Let's get started, then."

***

"Naoki."

The voice gave Naoki pause. He should be sticking with his group and going to the political meeting. It was important. But that voice... he was sure he'd heard his name. He glanced down the hall it had come from.

There was nothing there except for more lights and stone. Of course. He was about to continue when the call came again. "Naoki."

A head of blue hair came into view. "Midnight-san?" he asked, heading down the hall toward her. "Shouldn't you be with Obi-Wan?"

"I heard something," she said. She was frowning. "Someone kept saying my name."

"That was me." A tall, pale man stepped around a corner and smiled at them. Naoki noticed the horns first- they were white and curved down around the man's face. The left side of his face was hideous and disfigured, with a missing eye, scars, and ashy skin. In contrast, the right side of his face was normal. Handsome even, despite the soulless black eyes and unsettling smile. A gold band encircled his forehead.

"The Unseelie King." Midnight crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

"I've a proposition for you," the King said. "A deal, of sorts."

"No," Naoki said. "Whatever it is, I don't care and I don't want to know."

"That's a bit rude." The King cocked his head. "You haven't heard my proposal yet. Anyway, you don't know what happens if you refuse."

This wasn't going to go well. Naoki could tell already. "Fine, what do you want?"

"That's better. Now, I have reason to believe that Ozai or Dooku, perhaps both, are planning to betray me. If you two can get me information on this, I'll let you see your family."

"I don't have family," Naoki commented. "Nor do I trust you."

"I do not lie, Hojo. And don't think I don't know about your family. However, there is a certain woman whom I believe you might like to see. I can arrange a meeting with Tatsu."

Naoki's mouth went dry. That wasn't possible. Tatsu was dead. He'd seen it happen. His fingers curled around her poison vial. But if it was possible, could he refuse this offer? What if he could warn her and save her?

Khen. Her name flashed through his mind. Tatsu was gone. He couldn't cling to her forever. Already he had spent too much time mourning her. Besides, if she knew he was even considering this offer, he had the feeling she would tell him not to do it.

"Of course, if you refused, I would have to kill you and the people you love," the Unseelie King added.

"So we don't really have a choice." Midnight glared at him angrily.

"You have a choice, Midnight. You can live and help me, or die knowing that you could have saved yourself and your family, had you helped me."

Naoki couldn't do this. But if the Unseelie King was going to threaten the people that he loved, what choice did he have? Tatsu aside, what about Khen? She wasn't a fighter. For that matter, she was pregnant. The Unseelie King didn't care about any of that. If they survived and went home, he wouldn't care about what happened to the people who had died along the way, or what would happen to the people who didn't have a real home to return to.

"I'll help you," Naoki said. "But not to see Tatsu. I want you to promise that if we live, you'll let Khen choose where she wants to go. You can't send her back where she came from."

The Unseelie King scrutinized Naoki for a few moments before answering. "Bring me my information and I'll consider your request. Midnight?"

"What do you think?" she snapped. "I'll help."

***

Midnight had seemed torn about who to send when they split up. It seemed logical to send the weaker fighters with Yoda, since it was the safest place for them to go. None of them trusted Ozai, though, which made the decision a bit more difficult. If Ozai attacked them, there had to be fighters there to protect the others. But they wanted the meeting to go well, which meant that people who were good with politics would have to go was well.

In the end, along with Yoda, Zuko, and Katara, Midnight also sent Kaylee, Gavin, Naoki, Khen, Raven, Zylah, Yasahiro, Seraphina, and the Aiden that arrived with Yoda. She agreed to let Eclipse join the group as well. Eclipse predicted this decision. The only person she missed was Zylah.

Eclipse wasn't sure what to make of the demon. Zylah was cocky, constantly tried to separate Kaylee and Gage from the others, and didn't like to take orders. Not exactly the best ambassador, but Eclipse supposed that meant she was probably a good fighter. Otherwise there wouldn't be much of a reason to send her.

Naoki had disappeared somewhere along the way. No one seemed overly worried about him, but Eclipse couldn't help feeling his disappearance meant something bad for the team's mission. Since she was currently working with them, she didn't like it.

The room they entered for the meeting was large, with a long table in the middle. A fire burned in the hearth nearby. Eclipse took note of it and the way Katara and Zuko eyed it cautiously as they took their seats. Ozai wasn't called the Fire Lord for nothing, she supposed.

Ozai sat at the head of the table, hands folded in front of him. He looked calm, his black hair combed neatly back. There was a glint in his eyes- a look of evil that Eclipse was familiar with. He looked a lot like Zuko, she realized. Or, rather, Zuko looked a lot like him. His son, perhaps?

"Zuko," Ozai said.

"Father," Zuko answered. He avoided eye contact with Ozai, his fingers drumming the table lightly.

There was a moment of silence, until Eclipse decided she should probably start the negotiations. "Lord Ozai," she said, smiling at him. "We've come to request an alliance with you."

***

Quinlynn was less than enthusiastic about this. A group of six people sneaking around a giant base, sure. Two or three could have gotten the job done, but she understood wanting enough people around so that if they were found, they would have a fighting chance. Still, fifteen people seemed like overkill. If it had just been her team, she would have felt a lot less jumpy.

Breathe, Quin. We've got this. She peeked around a corner and spotted two droids wandering around. Pulling back, she signed to the others. "Two droids."

Sifiso nodded and looked at Aiden. Their leader turned to Obi-Wan. "You're leading this," he whispered. "What do we do?"

"I'll handle them," Obi-Wan said.

He lit his lightsaber and ran out toward the droids. The blue blade cut them down before they had a chance to do anything. Sifiso ran out and caught the body parts. They found a nearby closet and quickly stashed the mangled droid parts before moving on.

"How far?" Quinlynn held up her communicator, the words showing up on a white screen.

"The control room should be close," Obi-Wan answered.

She nodded and slipped the communicator into her pocket. If they got into a fight, she would need both of her hands free. As they slipped down another hall, she noticed Natsu with his scarf around his face, flattened against the wall in a weird pose. What...? Happy sat on his shoulder, an intense look on his blue cat face, copying Natsu's pose.

"What are you two doing?" Cayden hissed, voicing Quinlynn's thoughts.

"I'm a ninja," Natsu whispered back. "Nin-nin."

Quinlynn rolled her eyes, a small smile forming on her lips. Natsu could be a clueless idiot sometimes, but it was hard not to like him. She just hoped he didn't totally mess things up for them.

***

"Xadanar, why would you offer to do this?" Felix asked. "You are putting our way home in jeopardy right now! Lola's going to be the first fighter destroyed. You can't maneuver us around the smaller ships properly."

"Don't distract me," Xadanar said. He was staring at the control panel and chewing his lower lip, something he only did when he was concentrating really hard.

"We haven't even lifted off yet," Felix said. "Anyway, can't you just label the buttons?"

"I found it!"

"Found what?"

"The ignition," Xadanar explained.

Felix slumped into the co-pilot's chair. "We're going to die."

***

Naoki slipped around a corner and flattened against the wall, followed by Midnight. The wall was cold to touch, but he didn't mind. It helped him focus- gave him something real to cling to. All the magic and technology was starting to get overwhelming. More so as they traveled through the maze of corridors that was this base. Every room they passed had panels of wiring, buttons, switches, and blinking lights. At this point, he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to be looking for anymore.

We should have gone to the political meeting and talked to Ozai, Naoki thought. But the Fire Lord wasn't in his room. If there was any incriminating evidence against him, it would probably be there.

"I think I found his room," Midnight said. She pointed through a doorway. "It's clear."

"How do we know it's his?"

"We don't, but it's a room and there's like, three fireplaces in here. He is the Fire Lord. May as well check it out."

Naoki rolled his eyes and followed her into the room. There wasn't much to see in the place. Ozai wasn't the best decorator. Actually, the place lacked almost all decoration. There was a bed in the center of the room and a desk in the corner. Naoki started with the desk while Midnight looked through the rest of the room.

He flipped through the papers in the top drawer, scanning them for anything that might tell them about Ozai's plans. There were a lot of plans for some sort of machine, but nothing that explicitly said 'I'm going to betray the Unseelie King'. He supposed it wouldn't be that easy, though. It never was.

"Find anything?" Midnight asked, poking her head through a door into a connecting room.

"Just a lot of plans for some sort of machine. I think... it's hard to tell." He pulled out the papers just in case and handed them to Midnight.

She glanced through them. "I think you're right. We can't prove what it's for, though." She folded them up and stuck them in her pocket. "Let's see what else we can find."

Voices came from the hall. Naoki held a finger to his lips and moved to the door to listen. He opened it a crack and peered through it. A tall man with white hair and a neatly trimmed beard walked by, followed by a bunch of droids and several other people. They were heading in the direction of the meeting.

Naoki moved away from the door and gestured for Midnight to join him. "I think it's Dooku," he whispered. "He's heading toward the meeting."

She peeked through the crack in the door. "We can't be sure, though."

"Something's going down, Midnight-san. He wouldn't take an army with him otherwise."

"You're probably right." She chewed her lip. "But this means Dooku's room is empty. We can check it."

He stepped away from her, shocked. The people she was supposed to be leading were in danger and she wanted to investigate further? "The papers will have to be enough for the Unseelie King. Come on- we have to warn the others!"

She shook her head and slipped through the door. "Do what you want, Naoki. I'm not risking Lily."

***

"How would an alliance with you benefit me?" Ozai asked.

"Arrogant, Dooku is," Yoda said. "Betray you, he will."

"We can help you take him down," Eclipse offered. "If you ally with him, you'll run the high risk of being betrayed. Allying with us would benefit you more. The risk of betrayal is lower and we'll be of more help."

Khen watched the proceedings, uncomfortable. Everyone was quick to offer reasons why Ozai shouldn't ally with Dooku and why he should join them. She shouldn't be there. She was just another person, sent to the meeting because it was assumed to be the safest place for her. It should have made her feel better, but she felt bare and unprotected.

Eventually, she tuned out the noise around her and tried not to squirm under the gaze of the firebenders surrounding Ozai. Her hand went to her stomach, which, for once, didn't hurt.

"Look, we could be here for hours discussing this," Zylah said. "Or, you could make a decision."

Everyone turned to her, giving her an annoyed look, except Ozai, who seemed intrigued. He stood and placed his hands on the table. "You make a good point, Zylah. I've made my choice."

The sound of feet pounding against the floor echoed through the chamber. A tall, white haired man walked inside, followed by several other men and women and a bunch of droids.

Khen searched the room for an escape, but the droids had covered the exit. Kaylee moved next to Khen and slipped a hand into hers. "Stay behind me," Kaylee whispered.

***

"Guys, they're on my tail!" Iva yelled. Felix could hear panic in her voice. She was new to piloting... and most technology in general, really. There was no way she'd shake a tail on her own.

"I've got you, Iva. Hang in there," Felix told her. He turned Lola's guns on the ships tailing Iva and opened fire. The ships exploded into flaming debris that quickly extinguished and floated away into space.

"Thanks, Felix," Iva said.

Someone yelled something on the mic and Felix jumped as a loud bang followed. In front of him, he saw a ship explode. "They got me," Nolan whispered.

Felix saw Nolan's body drift out into space, still mostly intact. Bile rose in his throat. They hadn't been trained for this- to watch real death. This wasn't something he could joke about, despite how much he wished he could put a lighter spin on things.

"Get your head in the game, Felix!" Xadanar shouted. "We've got incoming." He yanked back on the controls, sending Lola shooting upward. A barrage of plasma blasts passed just underneath them.

Don't think about it right now. There isn't time. Felix redirected the guns and pressed the release, returning fire. The ships behind them exploded. Satisfaction flowed through Felix for the briefest moment. Until he saw the tattered remains of the man who had piloted the ship. There were people on both sides of this thing. He was killing humans. Wasn't that exactly what he had said he would never do? His finger paused on the release button. What made it okay to kill someone?

"It's kill or be killed, buddy," Xadanar said, almost as if he'd read Felix's mind. "Them or us."

"Yeah."

***

Zylah didn't wait for people to start talking again. She'd had enough of the negotiations. This was always going to happen and they'd all known it. All she'd done was speed up the process a bit. She released her demon side. Black horns grew in spirals out of her head and her skin took on a reddish tint. Wings sprouted from her back and she leaped into the air. She squeezed off six shots from the pistol she'd found, but they bounced off of the droids' armor and the Sith just blocked them. Only one hit its mark, taking down a firebender.

After that, things got crazy. Yoda pulled out his lightsaber and attacked Dooku. Their lightsabers clashed, green on red. The little green alien held up surprisingly well. Zylah hadn't been too sure about his fighting abilities, but he clearly knew what he was doing.

Ozai faced off with Katara and Zuko. They danced back and forth, throwing fire and water at each other. Katara and Zuko seemed to be barely holding off Ozai, who blocked their attacks with relative ease. Zylah made a note to help them out if she got the chance. First, she had to figure out how to destroy these droids and Sith, since her gun seemed ineffective.

She landed on the table and dropped under a blast from a droid, sweeping her foot out and knocking it over. It hit the floor with a clash and she grabbed its blaster. This gun was much more effective. It took the droid's head off and left it smoking. Zylah took to the air again and took out several more.

Then she spotted Kaylee, using a chair in a weak attempt to fend off several battle droids. Good grief, how is she Pheki royal? Has she even been in a fight? Zylah dropped out of the air and landed on the droids. The blaster she'd stolen did the rest. She grabbed a second one and shoved it into Kaylee's hands. She saw Khen behind Kaylee and sighed. She tossed her blaster to Khen and picked up another one. "Shoot them. It's not difficult."

Zylah turned and pulled the trigger on her blaster, downing another droid. "See? Simple."

***

Obi-Wan leads us to a room full of odd contraptions I don't recognize. He picks up one of them and smiles. "This is it," he says. "This datapad should tell us what we need to know."

He clicks something and the screen begins to glow blue, reminding me of a lacrima. There's a moment of hushed silence while we all wait for the verdict. Obi-Wan doesn't say anything for a while. Finally, Natsu gets impatient and peers over his shoulder.

"What does it say?" Sifiso asks.

"I know what we have to do," Obi-Wan begins. Immediately, I know it's bad. "It won't be easy."

Great. Sokka reaches for the datapad and Obi-Wan hands it to her. "We can get to where your families are being kept, but we need a portal key. According to the datapad, the key is on kept on King Sargon at all times."

"Let's go get it then." Natsu grins and cracks his knuckles.

"It's not that simple," Sokka tells him. "King Sargon isn't here."

There's a blast outside the door and then we hear the droids.

"Intruder! Intruder!"

"Guys, they found us!" Cayden yells.

"It's a little late to warn us now," Toph says. She runs out the door into the fight, quickly followed by Natsu and the others.

Adrenaline floods my system, burning away the last of my exhaustion from earlier. I eat a quick meal, taking in the sound of the blasters firing and droids yelling alerts. Then I let sound cocoon my hands and jump into the fight.

***

Kiernan directed his ship toward the star destroyer. Kazumi sat behind him in the ship, calmly watching the fight. He wished he felt as calm as she was. The loth-cat amazed him sometimes. It wasn't normal, how dedicated she was to him. Loth-cats were normally so jumpy and unwilling to trust. He wished he'd left her at the warehouse, but she wouldn't stay when he tried. Now if he died, she would go down with him.

"Kiernan, watch the turrets!" Anakin yelled.

The warning made Kiernan jump and pull back on his controls. This worked in his favor, getting him out of the way of a plasma blast that would have gone straight through the ship. "Thanks, Anakin."

Another round of blasts threatened to take out his ship. He maneuvered through them and fired at one of the turrets. A second ship pulled up next to him and he looked over, spotting Vex in the front seat. Vex pulled his ship around in front of Kiernan and fired.

The blast hit Kiernan's ship head on. Fire exploded in front of him. He cried out in confusion and pain as the fire seared his skin. Vex had shot his ship down. Why? Kiernan didn't have time to think about that before he was in was in space and he couldn't breathe. The last thing Kiernan was Kazumi, drifting away from him, her body limp. She'd been faithful to the end and he'd failed her.

***

By the time they finally managed to land most of their ships, Felix had listened and watched as, one by one, they lost Strundu'ul, Iva, Trevor, Eris, Demetriot, Dai, and Patsy. He didn't know them, but it still hurt. They were fallen comrades. It didn't affect him nearly as much as it did the people who had become attached to them.

Every time Crystal saw anyone die, she burst into tears. That kind of innocence- the ability to mourn the fallen on both sides of the battle- it was a luxury the rest of them couldn't afford. Felix wished he could stop the fight. What was the point of killing so many people simply because a couple of guys couldn't get enough power?

It was a relief when they finally landed. However, it quickly became apparent that the battle was far from over. When they stepped outside, they stepped straight into a warzone. Blasters fired around them, but everything seemed to curve around them, almost as if they were safe inside some sort of bubble.

Crystal walked through the battle untouched, yelling at everyone to just stop. Felix watched, mouth open in shock, as she fearlessly ran around the battlefield, demanding both sides stop fighting. Droids stopped when she stepped in front of her and Felix wondered if the droids were honestly just confused by the little girl.

He was so focused on Crystal's reckless actions that he failed to see the blaster. Xadanar dove at Felix, knocking him out of the way just in time to save him from being dying right then and there. He got up and ducked behind Lola's landing gear.

It took him a second to realize something was missing. The plasma blast must have cauterized the wound when it hit. He felt for his antennae and realized that half of both was missing.

"Felix..." Xadanar whispered. "Your antennae."

His sense of smell, gone just like that. Where before he'd smelled the burning metal and skin, now there was just... nothing. He couldn't smell any of it. Not the faint scent of oil that always clung to Xadanar or the stale smell of the air around them. It was wrong. All wrong.

He sucked in a breath. It would be fine. He could live without his sense of smell. His food would just be bland the rest of this life. He'd never again experience the smell of fresh baked cookies wafting through the room, or smell bread as it baked in the oven. In the minute that it took him to process what had happened and what it meant, he gained a much better appreciation of his sense of smell.

"We gotta move," Xadanar said. He grabbed Felix's arm and dragged the shocked alien away from Lola and into the fight.

Felix mentally pulled himself together and focused on the fight. He would mourn his loss later. First, he had to survive.

***

Zylah had just shoved a blaster into Khen's hand. She didn't know what to do with it or how to use it. Point and shoot. Khen tried it, but her blasts completely missed. Zylah had made it look easy, but Khen had no experience defending herself. She was used to letting people hurt her. It had taken her years to accept that things were always going to be that way- that nothing she did would make her deserve any better. Now Zylah was literally ordering her to fight back. How was she supposed to manage that?

Khen spotted Yoda fighting Dooku. Their lightsabers moved through the air with incredible speed as they fought. Dooku constantly pressed down on Yoda from above, using his height as an advantage against the little green Jedi, but Yoda didn't seem fazed by it. He feinted left and dove to the right, slicing down at Dooku's legs with his lightsaber. Dooku jumped over the attack and sent lighting at Yoda, who blocked with his lightsaber.

"Gavin!" Kaylee ran to Gavin, who lay in a heap on the floor.

Her skin turned white as she ran and Khen watched pearly white horns grow out of Kaylee's head, pushing up through her blonde hair. White wings sprouted from her back and she dove at the droids surrounding Gavin. Khen watched as Kaylee blasted through them as if she'd been doing it for years.

Two more people entered the fight- a woman with black hair and an alien. Behind them, Naoki ran into the room, sword drawn. He ran toward Khen, slamming his katana into anything that got in his way. She began to move toward him, but something stopped her.

She cried out, trapped in her own body. Her limbs wouldn't respond properly. She couldn't move. "Naoki," she whispered. It hurt. It burned. What was happening to her? Tears dripped down her face. She tried to blink them back, but she couldn't stop.

He stopped in front of her and something told her he was in the same situation she was. The black-haired woman walked between them, a smug smile on her face. "Look at you two," she said. "You're so pathetic."

"Leave her alone," Naoki yelled. His fingers twitched, then released their grip on his katana.

"Please." The woman fixed her eyes on Khen, her gaze cold and calculating. "This is way too much fun. You wouldn't want her to miss out."

The room began to darken around them. Khen struggled to break free of whatever was holding her in place. She just wanted to curl up in a bed and cry. When would all of this chaos finally end?

She took a step forward, toward where Naoki stood perfectly still, and her arms raised the blaster Zylah had given her. She opened her mouth to object. To beg this woman not to make her do it. Before she could say anything, the room went from almost pitch black to bright as day. The change made Khen's eyes water.

The woman controlling Khen and Naoki cried out in surprise at the sudden change. Her hold on them released and Khen collapsed. The pain in most of her body had faded, but her stomach still felt like someone was holding a flame to it.

Naoki didn't waste any time taking his sword back. Raven hit the woman from behind and hand-cuffed her arms behind her back. The Naoki ran her through. She dropped to the ground, coughing up blood. Then the life went out of her eyes and she fell in a heap on the floor.

"Khen, are you alright?" Naoki knelt beside her and she looked up at him.

"I'm..." His face blurred in front of her and everything went black.