"So, what's your name's?" Espera asks, "Forgot to ask you."

"I'm Awan." Awan says.

"And I'm Emilia." I speak.

"Espera is my last name. My first name is Arnur." He says, "Pleasure to meet you two." He stands and walks over to a box, looking through it. "Where're you two from?" He asks.

"Oh, we're from Extraca, up north." I speak.

"I see..." Arnur says, "you said Extraca was attacked? First, I've heard of that."

"Yeah, it got attacked. I used this thing on my wrist, the Explosionationer and I made their ship fall from the sky." I add, "Then a militia we'd gathered fought them and beat them."

"Huh. So, you were a fighter before coming here." Arnur says, "At first, I had my doubts about accepting your help as you're just children. But I'm won over now. Glad to have you. That thing... The Explosionationer you called it?" He says, "May just be our trump card. Our secret weapon."

"You... You really think so?" I ask.

"Of course. No one else can fire an explosion from their hand." He says, "That's powerful." He pulls a rifle out of the box. "You'll be vital I feel."

"So, what should we do to start off? Y'know, our first operation." I ask him.

"Hmmm... Good question." Arnur says, "We need to gather more people, and we need some more weapons. If we get people, we'll need weapons to arm them with. We lost most of ours in our failed operation when we got captured."

"Okay... Where do we get weapons?" Awan chimes in.

"Also, a good question. I do kind of know, but it'll probably be dangerous with just us three. Across the river, the other half of the city, Runevein has a warehouse of arms and ammunition." He looks at me, "But, we have enough arms for at least a few more members. So we'll focus on gaining more allies first. Then, we'll raid the warehouse."

"Anyone you can think of who'd care to join?" I ask, as he hands me the pistol he had as he'd use the rifle.

"A few. Anyone you can think of?" He asked me.

"Um... Maybe that woman Awan and I met when we arrived?" I ask.

"I don't know..." Awan says, "She seemed very nervous when telling us about the group. Don't know if she has the guts."

"Yeah..." I speak.

"Worth a shot though." Arnur says, "You never know unless you try. Let's split up. I'll go gather the people I think will join, and you try to gather that one. If you can manage that, then it should be enough." He says, "Team, move out." The three of us walk over to the hole in the alley, and Arnur moves the palette aside for us to exit. "Here." He hands Awan a pistol. "Now you both have one. Only use them if absolutely necessary. Move quietly and act unassuming." After we exit, he splits ways with Awan and I.

"Okay Emilia." Awan says, "Where will we find her?"

"We met her down by the dock. We should check there, I think." I say, and Awan nods.

"Right." Awan says, as we walk out of the alleyway, looking around cautiously. We steadily walk down to the dock and stop at our boat. "She's not here." He speaks.

"Sigh... Why did we even bring her up if we didn't know where to find her?" I speak.

"Don't give up just yet." Awan says, "After we met with her, she walked up the stairs and to the right. She probably lives somewhere on the right side of the city."

"Right... That makes sense. Let's go and check it out." I say, and we go back up the stairs, heading to the right. We walk up one of the narrow streets, with people chatting along the sidewalks. Some people give us odd looks, likely recognizing our weapons on our sides. We continue through the street, until someone walks over to us.

"Hello." Says a young man, "You two looking for someone?" He speaks.

"Yes." I say, "A brunette woman. Her hair was in a bun."

"Why? And what's with those weapons?" He asks, "You aren't affiliated with Runevein are you?"

"Huh? Oh! No no no!" Awan says, "We have these weapons for defense! We fought Runevein earlier, so they could still be looking for us!"

"That so?" He says, "Thank you for telling me that. You're making this easy." He suddenly pulls out a pistol.

"Get down!" Awan tackles me to the ground as the man shoots. He reloads quickly and begins aiming toward us. But before he pulls the trigger a loud bang rings out as he gets hit through the head, falling upon the ground. "What the?"

"Who did that?" I ask. We look up at the window of a building to the left, and we see a man in the window with a rifle. The man stands and moves out of the way of the window. We both stand. "Is that man an ally?"

"I don't know." Awan says as the man exits his building, rifle over his shoulder.

"You two." The man says, "Are you members of the resistance?" He asks.

"Yeah. Who're you?" I speak.

"The name's Jokull. I've been wanting to join but haven't had any luck at finding their headquarters." He speaks.

"Ah! Great! We're looking for new members!" I say, "Welcome!" I shake his hand.

"I didn't know children were in their ranks." He says, unsure look on his face.

"Oh, we joined today. I'm Awan, and this is Emilia." Awan says, "If you heard loud noises a while ago near the casino, that was us. We freed a member who was captured by Runevein."

"Yeah!" I add, "So we're capable!"

"If you say so..." Jokull says.

"Can you actually help us?" I ask, "We're looking for a woman. She's a brunette with a bun in her hair."

"Hmm... She sounds familiar. She's a tad nervous when talking to her?" He asks.

"Yeah!" I speak.

"Then I think I know who you're looking for. Follow me." Jokull says. We follow him to a nearby building, knocking on its door, which opens. The woman we were looking for opens it.

"Oh... It's you two kids again... And Jokull..." She speaks.

"Hello Arna. You seem to be doing well." Jokull says, "These kids have been looking for you."

"What do you want from me?" She asks, nervously clenching her door.

"I was wondering..." I say, "Do you want to join the resistance and help fight Runevein?"

"What?" She asks, "Y-you want me to... Fight Runevein?"

"Yes, we were just wondering-" She cuts me off.

"No. I-I don't want to..." She says, shaking.

"Listen Arna, I'm joining." Jokull says, "So I'll protect you."

"I-I'm not like you. I'll just slow everyone down... I'm not a fighter." Arna says.

"Wait." Awan says, "We only needed to get one fighter right, Emilia?" He asks.

"Yeah." I speak.

"And we got Jokull for that." Awan says. He then looks at Arna. "So, we won't need you for combat. Anything you're good at that could help?" He asks her.

"I... D-don't know..." She says, stuttering nervously.

"Hmmm... Oh! I know!" Jokull says, "She's a d*** good doctor! Her family were all doctors or nurses, so she knows how to treat wounds."

"Okay." Awan says, "You don't have to fight, but a doctor could really help the cause!" He adds, "Think you could help out?"

"I-I don't know..." As she sits there thinking, Jokull notices guards over at the person he shot.

"We need to get inside." Jokull says as the guards look over towards us. They see our guns and recognize Awan and I from when we fled the casino with Arnur.

"Hey! You!" One of the guards yelled.

"Inside!" Jokull says as we run inside, closing the door and locking it behind us. The guards bang on the door.

"Stay back." I speak. I use the Explosionationer, shooting ice, which covers the floor in front of the door. "They'll slip if they try to come in now."

"That thing on your wrist is odd. But good thinking." Jokull says, "You two." He says to Awan and I, "Get behind cover in case they do get in. And Arna, go into another room and hide. You'll be fine. I swear it." He then walks up some stairs to the second floor. "I'll be up here for offense. Awan, Emilia, you two handle the defense."

"Got it." Awan says, drawing his pistol. I drew mine too, and ready the Explosionationer. We then get behind the wall in a room across from the door, on opposite sides of the doorway.

"This is a bit nerve wracking..." I say, "But, I won't give up."

"Neither will I." Awan says, "And don't forget this all was your idea."

"Sigh... I know." I say, and we both laugh a bit. Suddenly we hear a gunshot, with Jokull having shot from a two-story window to the guards below.

"Take that!" Jokull says. Just then, we hear the door crash open. And then we hear multiple thuds from the ice. Awan and I both lean through the doorway, firing upon the guards struggling to regain their footing. We hear wails of pain as the guards get hit. We duck behind cover again as bullets get fired at us through the door from the outside. We hear Jokull still firing, and Jokull being fired upon.

"This is intense!" I yell.

"Yeah, it is!" Awan says. We can hear Arna freaking out upstairs.

"This is it." Jokull says as he descends the stairs. "Our final stand. I got rid of the guys farther out. Now we have ones just beyond the door. We gotta break through." He says, "You two ready?" He asks.

"We are." I speak.

"Good. Let's do this thing." Jokull says. We all walk over to the front door, hiding behind either side of the wall. "Hey Awan..." Jokull whispers, "Use it as a distraction. Throw it." Awan nods, unsheathing the sword and throwing it out the door. It lands out there and fulfills its purpose. While the two remaining guards are distracted, Jokull runs out, pulling out two guns he had, aiming them to either side, firing. The two falls. "Good Job you two." He speaks. He walks back in, "Arna! It's safe to come out!" He yells. Arna comes downstairs, shaking all over.

"I've m-made up my mind." Arna says, "I'll join the resistance as a doctor..."

"Welcome." I say, shaking her hand. "Now that we've fended them off, we should go to the hideout." The four of us return to the hideout as swiftly as possible. Upon arrival, we see that Arnur has returned with four others.

"Ah! There are the two kids I was talking about. And they brought two new members! Welcome!" Arnur says, "This is Emilia and Awan. Emilia and Awan, these four are Andrea, Breki, Embla, and Fridmar. Old friends of mine."

"Hi." I say, "Nice to meet you."

"Who are these two?" Arnur asks me.

"I'm Jokull, and this is Arna." Jokull says.

"I did hear gunfire earlier, was it you four?" Arnur asks.

"Yeah... We got attacked by Runevein." I say, "But we got rid of all of them!"

"Good. Would've been a shame to lose anyone." Arnur adds, "Now, what about each of your jobs? What'll you two do to help?"

"I'm a fighter." Jokull says.

"And I'll... Be a doctor and help treat wounds or sickness." Arna says, fidgeting nervously.

"Good. Both jobs are sorely needed." Arnur says, "All of you chat and get to know one another. I'm taking everything I know into account, and I'm going to draw up our plan of attack." He then walks into a small room.

"Hey." Andrea says, "You two kids are adorable. And Arnur said you can handle yourselves. He also told us about that little device on your hand." She says, looking at the Explosionationer.

"So, you can fire explosions from that thing?" Fridmar asked, "He said it would be a trump card of ours."

"Yeah, I can." I spoke.

"Where'd you get that thing?" Andrea asks me.

"Oh, my dad made it. He's been a crafty person all his life. After Extraca got attacked, my dad gave it to me for Awan and I to share. For self-defense." I speak.

"Heard you used it to fight off guards when you helped Arnur escape the casino." Breki says.

"I did. Extraca got attacked a second time too, and I used it, causing their ship to crash." I speak.

"Wow, you're a little hero already." Andrea says, "Not gonna lie, I was concerned before meeting you two, but I think you'll be a good help. Glad to have both of you."

"Thank you." I say, smiling. Arnur walks out of the room.

"Okay guys, come inside the room. I've worked out our plan." He speaks. We walk in.

"Wow." I say as we enter. The room is filled with chairs and a large table, with papers and a map lying on it. "That was fast." I tell Arnur as we sit.

"Okay, so, now that everyone is seated, let's get started." Arnur says, "In this operation, we're going to raid a Runevein warehouse filled with arms and ammunition." He says, "Emilia will be crucial for the beginning stages. She'll use the device on her wrist to fire an explosion and blast the wall open. After that, the fighters, Jokull, Andrea, Berki, Embla, Fridmar, and myself, will enter and take out any foes, capturing the building." He lifts a paper. "This will not only give us more supplies to put to use, but it will also cripple the Runevein forces."

"Excuse me." Andrea says, "What's the end goal to this whole thing?"

"Total desolation of Runevein in the city. Then, one day, total extermination of Runevein throughout the region." Arnur says, "Any more questions?" He asks and no one has any. "Then let's get moving."

"Um... Sir?" Awan says, "Shouldn't we wait for night to approach? It's still daylight out. They'll be able to see us pretty easily."

"They up their guards at the warehouse when it's dark out. So, they'll be ready. It's best to attack now. Same day the stuff at the casino happened, they wouldn't expect a coordinated attack on a guarded location." Arnur says, "And besides, even if we did attack at night, we're starting off with an explosion. So, they'll know we're there. Okay, go back out there and get armed with weapons. Should have enough for all of you." Everyone stands, and all go to get ready except for me.

"Arnur?" I ask.

"Yes, Emilia?" Arnur says.

"Are you sure I can do this?" I ask, "I mean, I know I've helped some, but are you sure I can handle such an important job?"

"I know you can. Don't stress yourself. You've yet to fail us. So, I have faith in you." Arnur says, "It'll all be fine. We're going to win this."

"Alright, if you say so." I speak.

"Let's go then." Arnur says as me and him exit seeing everyone getting ready. "Once everyone's ready, we'll go." He tells everyone. It takes a few minutes for everyone to get ready. Eventually however, they line up in front of Arnur. I joined them. "Okay everyone, let's roll out. And remember Emilia, your main job is to blast our way in. You can help fight but stay back." We then exit the hole in the wall, and we walk towards the river, crossing over a bridge to the other side of the city. We walk down the streets, as the sun starts to set. We scan the street cautiously, looking for any signs of guards. We slowly and steadily reach the warehouse.

"We're here, what now?" I ask.

"The guards are all inside. At night they have guards circling the perimeter. Another reason I wanted to attack during the day. Emilia." He looks at me. "When you're ready, do it." He lined us all up in front of a wall, with me in front. I took a heavy breath in.

"We've got this." I say to myself. I firmly plant my feet and take a sturdy stance. I then raise my arm and point it at the wall. I push the left button, sending an explosion at the wall, and the wall caves in, with debris flying. The rest charge in ahead, and I put my arm down. I ran in, ready to help. I look, seeing two guards were taken out by the explosion, but there are more. All I can hear is gunfire. I see Breki was hit in the leg. I duck behind cover, unholstering my gun. I raise up and fire at a guard, hitting him in the stomach. "Got one!" I duck down behind cover. Eventually the gunfire slows.

"We won!" I hear Arnur say. I stand up.

"We won?" I ask. I walk farther into the building. I hear the rest of them cheering. I approach Arnur. "We won?" I asked him, "That was fast."

"Yeah, it was." He says, "We have some of the best in the business though. They were caught off guard by the explosion. So, many of them were too panicked to do much."

"Wow." I look at our new stockpile of weapons and ammunition. "We have so much now."

"Yep." Arnur says.

"So, what's our next move?" I ask.

"Taking the casino. Hopefully this'll help us rally support for said mission. They use the casino as their base in the city. If we take the casino, they no longer will exist here. Then we can expand our reach and take the region from them, wiping them out." Arnur says, "Good job today."

"We all pitched in for this." I speak.

"Heh." He says, "Yeah we did."

"Oh! Breki got shot!" I yell.

"Don't worry." Arnur says, "Already have Andrea taking him back to Arna for treatment."

"Oh, good." I say, relieved.

"Injuries are expected in war." He adds, "It's good we didn't lose anyone. Now that we have the warehouse, we just need to keep control of it." He speaks.

"We'll succeed. The Runevein will regret attacking Extraca." I say, clenching my fists. "They'll regret taking my mom's leg! I swear it."

To be continued...