(A/N: This chapter is meant to be shorter and more so a filler chapter, but I'd consider it entirely needed for the upcoming events of chapter 7 and maybe 8.)

The trip back had been pretty much just that-a trip, it was uneventful and the team had reached home base without much issue.

To prevent any alarms being raised even before they had landed, they had the guardian return to the book

Fotus was of course, ecstatic that they had managed to return with the book, but even his excitement over the book was overshowed by his desire to make sure Artemis was okay.

It was without a question that Artemis was injured, but it was far more mild then it could've been.

The boney claw that had sliced its way across her face would leave a nasty scar for a while, but no permanent damage had incurred. 

At least, not physical damage at least.

Her brain and heart had calmed down from her flashbacks, but Fotus knew the issue ran far deeper then simple trauma.

Artemis had been along his ranks for several years now, she often portrayed herself as a normal, energetic teenage girl, but those who truly knew her knew that, that was largely just a front.

Artemis was a demi-human, and had incurred a bit of bias and hostility by some groups of radical anti-demi-human groups.

Beneath her energetic façade, roamed a scared, lost girl who just wanted her family back.

Fotus knew her story better then most, he knew all his warlords stories, after all he was the reason that most of them we're alive.

He knew that every waking moment, Artemis-along with most other of his warriors fought their own battles that only they could win, but he wanted to give them something else to believe in.

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Artemis Moon looked out over a railing, her cuts now dulled and healed so they were simply fleshy, pink scars, her eye's whist unharmed-seemed that for the time being, had lost their signature glow.

The sunset was pretty, she had to admit even in her quiet state, she watched the setting sun drift behind some clouds as she heard the door open and close behind her.

Glancing back slightly, she recognized the newcomer as Fotus, she relaxed somewhat and give him a slight smile, while she couldn't see his face, she had no doubt that the leader she cared for as much as she did was smiling right back at her.

Silently standing alongside her, Fotus towering over her somewhat in terms of height, he said nothing, instead electing her to take things at her own pace as he watched the sunset right along side her.

After a few moments of silence, Artemis sighed, causing Fotus to tilt his head slightly at her.

"What's on your mind?" asked Fotus, seeing her eye's burry themselves in thought.

"just..I'm sorry" she said quietly.

"You have nothing to apologize for Artemis" Fotus responded calmly.

"But..I failed..I fell back into the loop, I worked at it for years, all your work to help me, and at the slightest glance I fell back into the loop.." she said sadly.

Fotus responded a few seconds later with a slight shake of his head.

"you haven't failed anything, trauma is not something that we can just forget, and your memories are more vivid then most, you've done the best you can, I can't ask any more of you" Fotus said gently.

Artemis looked down for a second and mused.

"I feel like a liability, with how easily I had been scanned and brought down.." she said in turn.

"No warrior is without a flaw, or a weakness, no one knew much about the guardian, even I wasn't fully certain on what it was like, no one could've known the tricks it would pull to defend itself and the book" Fotus responded evenly.

"I just..remember how out there, even if it doesn't seem like it, there's many people who won't view me as an equal due to my status as a demihuman, I know there are many who do, but..there are many who won't" she said with a sigh after a few more minutes.

In the distance an NSCR jet flew over a distant airfield, a simple patrol running, it flew in a straight line, the roar of it's engines able to be heard quietly as it banked to the right and vanished into a cloud bank.

Fotus sighed, he knew exactly what Artemis was subconsciously referring to.

Roughly two hundred years ago, a year-long period became known as the demi-human purge.

Several dozen groups collectively referring to themselves as the "cleansers" began a series of violent terror attacks on towns that were exclusively or featured a heavy demi-human population.

No one knew for a while the true reasoning behind the attacks rather then simple racial bias.

But either way, by the end of the first month, over three-thousand demi-humans had been killed in senseless violence.

They took a perverted form of pride in their acts, and proclaimed that they were chosen to "wipe the world clean"

However, however they viewed themselves, the world view them as one thing.

Terrorists.

The world only saw them as killers and murderers who killed innocent men, women, and children.

Eventually a year after the attacks began, a combined force of various police and military forces located their main headquarters, and swiftly brought an end to the era that would be known as the Demi-human purge, but the damage had already been done.

Human and demi-human relations had been shattered, many demi-humans now viewed-even over a hundred years later, humans with suspicious and distrust, friendships between the two still very much existed, but most demi-humans and humans looked at each other in distrust and suspicion.

Demi-humans being afraid that a repeat of the purge will happen, and humans being nervous that Demi-humans would attack them out of fear of humans.

Relations had begun to improve the past few years, but it was slow, and one had to know how to watch their tongue when speaking about such a topic.

A fact that however, disgusted Fotus to his core was the existence of various trafficking markets that viewed demi-humans as mere product.

The nations with those markets within their walls did one of two things.

Most nations waged a war against those markets forcing them to go under ground, and hide from the public eye, but there were a few small nations that for some sick reason, allowed them to persist within the public.

That had befallen Artemis and her older sister, after a few radicals who were a remnant of the purge groups stormed her families house and killed her and her sisters parents, resulting them in being captured at a young age, and throughout most of their teenage years they lived in a cage, slowly starved and worked to the bone, every so often someone they knew would be sold or dragged off once their usage for the cleansers had worn thin.

Fotus knew what befell those in those cages, but Fotus never asked, he knew that it would only harm things further.

When it seemed that their time had come, they were transported to a hideout in the woods to be "taken care of"

Or that was the plan, if they hadn't been detected by a passing NSCR patrol, led by Fotus himself who were on their way back to their base at the time.

Right away they had scanned the convoy and knew they were a slave trader convoy.

That alone was a reason for them to attack, and they crossing into their legitimate territory was just icing on the cake for them.

Artemis was the only survivor, her sister having been shot in front of her before they set off.

At first Artemis was barely able to move on her own, could hardly even walk, for the first few months after she was saved, she was mute, and was fearful of everyone around her.

Fotus managed to make headway after a few years, the two like many others in the NSCR, forming close bonds with the leader of the NSCR, eventually Artemis bloomed into the warrior she is today, becoming a skilled sniper, scout and recon specialist.

All this ran through his head as he found Artemis leaning into him, her arms gentle around him in a hug.

Fotus smiled to himself slightly and gently patted her on the head.

In a lot of nations something like this would get them disciplined or exiled.

Fotus had no such issues.

Hugging her back gently after a few seconds, Artemis then took a step back and sighed.

"I still wonder..what would be if you hadn't-" she began.

Fotus gently raised a hand to stop her from continuing.

"don't think to much on that okay?, I know something that'll cheer you right up" said Fotus.

A quick flash of confusion crossed her face as she tilted her head.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Fotus chuckled and responded evenly.

"Go get some rest for the night, your have your surprise in the morning" he said.

Artemis narrowed her eye's in a slightly joking manner.

"your up to something..but..sleep does sound nice, so I'll suppose I'll listen to it this time" she replied, allowing a light of her former self to shine through again.

Fotus nodded and watched Artemis make her way back to her personal quarters.

Fotus took one last look at the quickly diming sun, his enhanced vision spying the great wall in the vast distance.

Without another word Fotus turned around and began to make his war back down to ground level, passing a small number of troops along the way, each of them stopping and saluting him as he passed, he returned their salutes with a nod.

It wasn't long till he came to find Alina talking with another girl, in some ways she was similar to Oni, but in other ways completely different.

This was Interface, another longtime member of the NSCR, imbued with a cybernetic eye that allowed her to hack just about anything she could look at, she was his foremost infiltration, sabotage and intelligence gathering expert, if it was digital in someway-she could track it.

As Fotus got close to the two they took notice of him and turned to face him.

"How is she?" asked Alina.

"she's doing well all things considered, her emotional scars are gonna take a while to heal however" he admitted.

Alina nodded in response as Interface spoke up.

"We got a fix on the main target, as well as every detail I could find, it's being sent to your feed as we speak" she said.

On que, just as she finished speaking, bars and boxes of text appeared in Fotus's helmet vision, looking over it for a few seconds, Fotus nodded.

"alright, good work Interface." he responded, causing her to smile somewhat.

"You need me or anyone else to go with you?" asked Alina.

Fotus thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"As much as I know you'd be helpful, but this time I'll go alone, nothing personal, but there's a loose end I must tie up on my end" he said after a few moments.

Interface and Alina nodded with understanding as Interface spoke up again.

"Either way, I'm watching your ass through the SAT feeds, even for a prime human like yourself, your not unbeatable" she said with a smirk.

Fotus chuckled "maybe, maybe not, but trust me-I'll be fine, if I need help I'll let you know" he responded.

The two nodded as Alina asked.

"What do you want us to tell the others what your doing?" she asked.

Fotus thought for a moment, then chuckled lightly.

"Just tell them I've gone for a midnight stroll, I'll be back before dawn anyway" he responded.

The two gave short, small laughs as they nodded.

"And when are you leaving sir?" asked Alina.

"Right now" said Fotus simply.

He had a debt to collect.