"Commander Q, what are your squadrons doing here?" A voice comes through transmission and I still briefly. For a second I thought it was Lazarus. 

"Squadrons, stand down. I repeat stand down. We have been lied to. Our best interests lie with General Lucian not---." 

Commander Q fiddles frantically with the monitor but the line remains dead. 

"They cut us off," He turns to us, shrugging hopelessly. 

"Hopefully, they heard enough," Luna murmurs and all of us turn to the carnage just out side Earth's atmosphere. 

Shards of metal scraps float almost everywhere, some of them graze our ship and I notice the jagged edges are tinged with ash. We move through the mess, slowly and in anticipation. The abundance of metal only tells me that we are getting closer. 

"General Lucian is on Earth. So is Lazarus," Deneb alerts us and my heart starts beating frantically in my chest. 

Soon the sound of bullets and laser beams reach our ears and we find ourselves facing the battle outside Earth's atmosphere. 

We dive in without wasting a second as Luna shouts instructions to our side while Commander Q does the same to his.

The only problem is that his transmission has been disabled. 

I grit my teeth in frustration as we weave through Plutonian space ships and start shooting at them. However, Commander Q's squad fires to immobilise the opposing ships not destroy them. 

It's obvious he doesn't want to kill any of his soldiers even though some of them have started to pursue us. 

This unanticipated turn of events causes some confusion among st the ships here and almost all of them cease fire momentarily. 

The transmission to our ship crackles suddenly and I almost burst into happiness when Pollux is able to hack through. 

"Speak now Commander Q. Before they shut us off again." 

Commander Q does as told and when he is done, for a second the sky is bathed in darkness. No more laser beams, no more explosions only the light from Earth and the distant stars. 

Everyone is in hesitation. 

This brief moment of peace is finally interrupted by the crackling of our transmission systems. 

"Commander Q and his squadrons have betrayed the empire. Shoot them down. Kill every last alien and Plutonian who is against us. They are a detriment to our cause and our very existence," Lazarus's sharp voice fills up our entire control room and the hair on the back of my neck raises. 

I turn to Luna only to see her staring at me as well. Her eyes are filled with worry but I am unsure who she is more worried for. 

Lazarus or Lucian.

She turns away but I catch the guilt in her eyes anyway. 

The battle in outer space ensues for longer than I'd anticipated and it is much worse when my fingers are empty. The soldiers here take over the thrusters and shoot down our enemy while I can only watch. 

My hands twitch to hold on to something useful but all I can do is stare and pray that we make it out of this. I don't realise that I am shaking until a small, furry hand curls around my own. 

I look down to see Vix and squeeze his hand in response. It feels like a sponge and it seems to absorb all my angst and worries. I hold on to Vix and the peace he seems to radiate as we watch the Plutonian soldiers do what they do best; fight. 

After a while it finally dawns on me that we are winning. Commander Q's involvement not only helped with our numbers, it also helped create doubt on the opposing side. 

Not all of them are willing to shoot us down, some even stop fighting. Soon the battle in the air is over and we are heading to Earth where the battle on the ground continues. 

I don't feel the familiar peace that I felt when I first landed on Earth after escaping Pluto. We cut through Earth's tumultuous atmosphere and I can feel my stomach twisting into knots as I stare out the window. My fingers tighten around Vix's but he shows no sign of discomfort. 

Instead of tall grey buildings and sky scrapers, we come across a vast expanse of ice. The ice here is white like paper, unlike the dull grey on Pluto. 

I release Vix's hand and all but rush to the window in the control room when I see a crowd of soldiers up ahead. 

Lucian must be somewhere in there. 

A large spinning device drills into the ice, the bottom part consists of rings twisting in all directions. It digs further and further, sending long propagating cracks throughout the icy surface. 

The top half of the device looks like a long tower that reaches into the sky. It is so long that I can't see where it ends. 

I notice the same contraption lies up ahead as well. 

"The all seeing eye," Luna murmurs in horror. "Shoot it! Shoot it down!" 

Commander Q does as told, spewing out numerous smart bullets that fly through the air towards the spinning nightmare in the ice. Some of them are shot down but two manage to hit that thing. It bursts into splinters and we proceed to the next one. 

"Something coming our way," A soldier warns and I turn to see three weird looking contraptions latch onto our ship. 

"Damn it," Commander Q exhales and Luna stares at the small black spider looking devices curiously. 

"What are those?" 

Before anyone can answer her question our protective shields go down and numerous laser beams fly our way. 

I look down at the crowds of soldiers engrossed in battle on the ice. There are aliens putting in their fair share of the fight. They are easy to spot but it's difficult to catch Lucian because the silver heads are everywhere. 

A bullet hits our ship sending us hurtling to the side and the alarms start booming. 

"Lets get off. Join the fight," I shout, eager to join the others on the ground. 

The soldiers scurry about to ease our landing but our ship crashes into the thick ice, sending most of us across the floor. I scamper to the doors, grabbing my gun in the process when a hand stops me by the arm. 

I look up to see Luna, the storm in her eyes one of conflict. 

She will be marching into battle where she will most likely meet the man she thought she would spend her life with. This is the first time she will be seeing him since she deserted him on Pluto's air base and for a brief second I wonder if she will succumb by going back to him. 

The doubt in her eyes sends a shiver down my spine. 

"We go in together. It's safer that way." She releases me and my hand tightens around the handle of my gun. 

The door slides open and we rush out onto the white ice. Everyone is fighting near the spinning contraption we shot down but I can see that the crowd has dwindled. 

The number of dead bodies lying on the ground greatly outnumber those still standing. 

I gulp, swallowing down the bitter fear that has lodged in my throat like a knife, threatening to cut my insides open. 

I still can't see Lucian. 

We take cover behind blocks of ice and fire when we can, moving closer and closer to the battlefield. 

Up close I can see that the Plutonians on Lazarus's side do in fact out number us. I catch Lazarus standing behind a shield of soldiers. He barks orders and some of his soldiers fire through huge devices. They shoot out multiple laser beams at once. 

A head of salt and pepper catches my sight and I have to hold myself back from running to Remulus. He is hiding by another piece of rock with Altair next to him. They try their best to shoot at Lazarus but his shields are too strong. 

There are too many covering him. 

Just then a soldier in a helmet rushes to Remulus and takes cover with them. My heart leaps to my throat as I take in his slim frame, broad shoulders and long legs that stretch over the ice as he bends down. 

The huge gun Lazarus's uses aims at the boulder they are hiding behind and it bursts into pieces after being shot multiple times. 

I try my best to shoot at Lazarus's side while Lucian, Remulus and Altair rush to take cover elsewhere. 

Commander Q gestures for us to go closer but Luna is frozen like the ice around us. She sits by the boulder, her expression filled with turmoil. 

"I can't," Her voice cracks. "I can't watch." 

A tear slides down her pale cheek and drops to the floor as an icicle. 

I nod, not wanting to push her further. She's already done so much more than any of us could. I squeeze her shoulder and the rest of us rush off to join Lucian and his soldiers. 

Some of them are in helmets but Remulus and Altair are not. I see their faces brighten against the cold white background when they see us. 

"Minion!" Remulus says, his face is filled with exhaustion but I don't miss the relief in his eyes. "Took you long enough." 

"Commander Q?" Lucian asks in confusion. His voice carries through his helmet robotically and he grabs my hand, pulling me towards him protectively. 

"General Luna explained everything. We are fools who have been fooled, General Lucian. Please forgive us and allow us to serve your cause," Commander Q says quickly and his soldiers huddle behind us. 

We don't have much time for talk because a flurry of bullets crash into the rocks in front of us. 

"I'm sick of that damn machine," Lucian mutters. "Do you any officers still flying? Can any of them shoot it down?" 

Commander Q speaks into his broken communicator, calling for reinforcements but there are no replies.

"Heard you loud and clear, General Lucian," Pollux's voice comes through one of the communicators and I see a few ships flying from afar. Soon more ships approach from the sky and then I hear a round of explosions. 

We peep through a hole in the rocks to see Lazarus's squad retreating, their gun machines all destroyed. 

The soldiers back up and we take this opportunity to charge at them. Even General Lyra, Commander Rigel and other familiar faces join the fight. 

My legs burn at the exertion but I scream, along with the others as we run towards them, firing like mad people. 

Lazarus's soldiers try their best to cover him but some of them hesitate when they see Commander Q and his soldiers with us. 

"This is absurd! What are you doing! Kill them all!" Lazarus screams hopelessly but it's easy to see that he has lost. 

His own greed was the thing that finally defeated him. 

He runs to his ship, a small black ball with wings that make it look like an insect. I turn to Lucian, smiling in victory even though some are still fighting. 

He is standing about a hundred metres away, facing me. He pulls off his helmet and I barely make out his face when something wraps around my waist like a tight coil. 

Frowning I look down to see a rope like device wrapped around my torso and the next thing I know I am hurtling across the ice like a piece of rock. I try to reach out and grab something but everything is a blur.

My body hits something hard, sending ripples of pain across my back. 

Something grabs me and the wall shuts, engulfing me in darkness. I blink profusely at my surroundings. Dim grey walls and a small control board and then I see Lazarus standing by the window. 

He presses a button and speaks in a deranged voice. "Lucian, come alone or I blow her brains into pieces. Send out any message for help and I blow her brains to pieces. Don't test me." 

The engines start running and soon we are up in the air, flying away from Earth once again. 

I roll onto my side and groan loudly. "You have lost. Your officers have turned against you. You won't make it out of here like this." 

Lazarus walks over to me and kicks me so that I am lying on my back facing him. 

He steps on my wrist, enjoying the pain in my face but I notice his gaze is different. His eyes are blood shot and crazed. I have never seen him look so unnerved. 

A sliver of fear crawls up my spine. "He won't come alone." I say hopefully although even I know it's a lie. 

Lazarus bends down, his features now twisted into something inhumane. A person who has lost everything, a person who is driven by hatred and obsession.

"Oh he will come for you, Bone Breaker. I am counting on it." 

Guess, double update woot woot! 

Did anyone expect the ending though?