As dawn turned to dusk

And the fields turned to grey

I saw a silver of your hair

In the goodbye you failed to say

**

Baylord Yama moved like a hound in a hunt.

He was the predator in this battle, his fury consuming the entire space with an overpowering force. Canine claws drew blood of the Lo Po Bia as homage to their fallen clan, and it was only the beginning. The opposing Windbird arched its elegant neck like a swan and gave a shrill cry in protest. Yama flashed a jagged grin full of blood as Bam raced past him to the frozen waterfall.

I've got to finish this up to help that punk soon.

Instincts told him that the boy was going to need reinforcements at the final wall. He nodded to Doom and Paul who flanked his sides, both complete with their transformations. He crouched like a bristling tiger ready to pounce – and froze.

What...is that smell?   

His nose twitched.  It smells like that bitch Maschenny. Yellow eyes narrowed. He couldn't smell her before, which means that she was on the move. Wait, no, there was someone else. It was the scent of the other boy, the one who was with them at the Fang before. The one with blue hair.

"Brother!" Doom bellowed, eyes flashing. "Let's kill this bastard!" Yama clenched his fist and straightened to a full nine feet. "Now!" he barked.

He would tell Bam about what he smelled after he killed this Lo Po Bia. Later. He didn't realise that by then, it would have been too late.

**

The sea of stone debris near the center of the waterfall suspended in the air, mirroring an aftermath of a massive shipwreck. There seemed to be so much more of it near the center, where the giant suspendium hung in its glory – the largest floating stone in the entire Tower. No one knew where this precious vertical started or ended. It was the object of expedition by many, but conquered by none.

The third wall barricaded the frozen waterfall in a tight square. Bam's eyes followed the height of the tall concrete, inspecting every inch for a possible weakness. At the wall's narrow rim, he caught sight of a forked tongue and a single poisonous eye.

"Karaka...what is that thing?"

"It's the ancient giant cobra, guardian of the Nest." Karaka looked grim. "I wouldn't touch that venomous worm with a ten foot pole."

Bam launched his Red Thryssa against the gate, watching it dissolve into the barrier like water taking to a sponge. "This isn't like the second gate, Karaka." He couldn't sense a spell that he could break into. He contemplated his options and started to unfold his thorn.

"Wait – Bam!" Karaka held up a hand as he heard the whirr of an aircraft from above.

They looked up. No ship could have come through the second gate where Yama and crew were standing guard. They exchanged glances – it must have come from inside of the third gate. It was someone from Jahad's army.

It was a small transport which meant that it could only hold a handful of people, but Karaka continued to tense. There were a thousand scenarios running through his head and he prayed – to anyone – that the person who stepped out wouldn't be Adori Jahad, Lyborick Khun, or Maschenny Jah –

His heart dropped to his stomach when he saw a flash of silver blue. "Maschenny Jahad." He gritted his teeth.

Bam stood his ground as she walked towards him. She was different from the young Maschenny he had seen in the Hidden Floor – taller, colder and haughtier than he last remembered. Long hair clustered around her pale skin; a delicate piece of white jade nestled in a blue rose. He always had mixed feelings each time saw that same shade of blue hair and eyes. It was the exact same color as Khun's, yet so inexplicably different.

"You are both looking at me as if I am an intruder," she said, amused. Her short blue cape was fastened by an ornate gold brooch and she casted a long, slender shadow. There was a crackle of electricity with each step she took.

"You have no business doing here now," Karaka challenged. "What would Jahad's forces think of you coming here alone, just before the third wall?"

Maschenny was unaffected. "Such rudeness..." she said in disappointment. "That old cod didn't teach his students manners, did he?"

"And coming alone, you said?" She gave an exquisite smile.

"I brought us some company."

Bam and Karaka watched as the door of her small transport slid open, revealing a familiar man with brown hair. The usual lollipop in his mouth was missing, and he had lost considerable weight.

"Long time no see," he said simply, brown eyes creasing into a smile. His shattered arms were held down by iron cast bars.

Karaka and Bam immediately started towards the airship. "Teacher!"

A whip of lightning cracked across their path and they were sent skidding backwards. Maschenny stood between them, a formidable bridge they could not cross. She clicked her tongue as she watched them tremble with purpose.

"Nothing is for free, brats." She lifted her sharp chin. "If you do three things for me, you can have the old cod." She was satisfied at her generosity – merely three things! After all, she had a promise to keep to her brother.

Karaka lips moved indistinctly as he spoke to Bam. "If Yama, you and I team up on her, we don't have to agree to her terms."

Bam's eyes swiveled back to the path they came from. "But he's still occupied with Yasratcha..."

"Such indecisiveness," she said, picking at her long nails. "Seems like you're not that important after all!" She turned back to gave Jinsung a smirk. She had grown a bit fond of him now after all these placid months. His presence had been her only excitement.

"You don't have any advice for them?"

Her captive smiled wryly. "I'm not a guide, and whatever they choose, I have a feeling that you will have your way."

"Just don't miss this old man when I'm gone."

Her blue eyes narrowed. "Tch." Being sentimental was never one of her strong points. She condensed the iron bars on his broken bones, reveling in the way he gritted his teeth in pain. "I'll just capture you again, when I need you," she simpered.

"Stop it!" Bam cried. "Tell us the three things!"

She smiled inwardly. She knew he would come round, just like her dear brother. So young and easy to manipulate...

"Follow me through the third wall, and I will let you know."

And so they walked round the third gate where tiny purple flowers found footholds in chinks between the bricks, creeping up the wall insidiously. There were shapeless shadows in the dust and a hollowness beneath their feet.

A mystery of the unknown was always the finest attraction.

Bam walked a step behind the Princess of Jahad, unnerved by their temporarily alliance – or so he thought. He didn't allow his resolve to waver an inch. Now that he found Jinsung, he would not let this opportunity go. It was a game which he was determined to win.

"I will win this, no matter what."

Bam looked straight at Maschenny as she stopped at an unremarkable part of the wall; an invisible entrance. It was the same dull color as the rest of the encirclement. Up ahead the odd-eyed cobra slithered closer, as if smelling its prey.

Maschenny looked at him piteously, knowing that he was still in the dark. "My dear boy," she said, tapping a finger on his chin pointedly to make a statement. She was only slightly taller than him now.

"You've already lost."

**

Khun was alone in Maschenny's floating ship.

He scoffed at how vulnerable he was feeling – such weakness. He had got accustomed to having companions, having a team and...having Bam. He sat, unshackled, a prisoner only of his own mind.

The princess didn't bother to restrain him in any way – you won't go anywhere Khun. Not when I have a spear to your heart – and shortly took her leave. There was something very important that she had to do.

Khun twirled the blade of the white heavenly mirror between his fingers in contemplation. He thought of the possible vulgar details of Maschenny's plan. He thought with melancholy about whether Bam would be angry with him. He smiled wistfully, wondering if he would have to conjure a forest of ice this time for Bam to forgive him again. The blade slipped through his fingers and sipped blood; a foreboding. 

It seemed that hours had passed before he felt a slow rumble. It sounded like the groan of a coming thunderstorm, and the ship started to shake. He stood up uneasily, catching the edge of the table to maintain his balance.

He kicked open the door and his eyes widened. The aircraft was less than a mile away from the Nest and it gave a bird's eye view of the floating fortress, which was currently crumbling.

The suspendium was snapped in half, and the suspended bricks that constructed the defensive perimeter plummeted to the ground like comets. Shards of floating stones punctured the air and glittered amidst the madness. He barely had time to guess who could have produced such a pandemonium before he was shoved backwards.

"Maschenny!"

He got to his feet, ignoring the graze on his arm. His estranged sister slid the door close with an air of finality, in her hand a shiny, olive colored egg. A green lizard's tail twitched at the bottom of the egg's curve.

"...I had thought there were no more eggs at the Nest."

Maschenny tucked her prize in a lighthouse and started the controls of the aircraft as debris continued to cascade.

"There was one left," she murmured.

Khun stared at her back, wondering if he could be quick enough to plunge a knife into her heart. The egg... the fallen Nest... "What did make Bam do?" He demanded.

She tossed her head irritably. "You can't think straight when it comes to him, Aguero."

"I wouldn't have been able to force him to do anything," she said matter-of-factly. "Just like how I couldn't have forced you to be here with me now."

"Why me? You could have asked anyone else – Hwa Ryun, Evankhell – "

"It had to be you, my dear brother." Her blue eyes were sharp. Khun was reminded of why he loathed to look at his reflection. It always reminded him of where he was from, and where he hated to be.

"Before we catch up on the good old days, shall we watch a show?"

A shinsoo projection emerged from her lighthouse. She settled in her chair comfortably, clasping her hands together. This was really the best part that she was looking forward to – watching Khun Aguero Agnes, break to pieces.

Khun recognized the aircraft shown on the screen. It was Team Bam's. His lips parted dryly as he watched the group head back to the aircraft. Evankhell, Rak, Hockney, Leesoo, Hwa Ryun, Karaka, Jinsung... and Bam.

They were swift, and in the next few moments, they were about to discover that he was gone.

He couldn't bring himself to watch – no, he really could not. He turned away averting his eyes, an inexplicable constriction in his chest. Maschenny did not allow him to take the easy way out. She gripped his head forward and pried his eyelids open with her shinsoo, taking perverse delight in the flicker of panic she saw on his stricken face. His agitation nourished her pleasure.

Khun checked that his pocket was fully disconnected before the crew entered the aircraft.

It seemed like eternity before Bam re-emerged first, with an expression he'd never seen before. It wasn't rage or anger...it was fear.

Jahad's reinforcements started to arrive and they surrounded the aircraft; soldier ants scuttling around its prey. The disintegrating Nest was a sardonic backdrop. Bam was shouting something he couldn't hear – Maschenny's lighthouse wasn't close enough. He watched in horror as Bam shot like a bullet towards the Nest, and Evankhell screamed after him.

"What is he doing, that idiot," Khun whispered.

Karaka tore after Bam at breakneck speed in attempt to restrain him. With the Nest in shambles, it was a matter of time before the division leaders of Lo Po Bia would make their way here. Bam struggled with Karaka obstinately, and in seconds Evankhell entered the fray. Bam would not relent – he was not going back to the ship. Rak stormed out seconds later, and pulling them all apart, joined Bam's side to face the Nest.

Khun watched, his heart tearing apart, as Bam activated both his thorns and Rak hitched his spear, both ready to face Jahad's army.

"How touching," Maschenny breathed. Finally, the promise of destructive chaos she had been carefully tending would begin.

Jahad's forces didn't hold back and they fully intended to use numbers to their advantage. Khun lost count of the number of rankers he could recognize, and he saw Lyborick lurk at the background knowing that he was waiting for a good shot. He knew Lyborick as a half Khun, and unlike Kallavan who would embrace an honorable one to one, Lyborick would not hesitate to execute a killing blow from the shadows.

He could bring himself to look no longer as someone took a chunk from Bam's shoulder. He watched the blood spurt, as if it was his own, color draining from his face.

He had to do something.

Khun connected his pocket to Leesoo's in less than a second.

"WHERE. THE. FUCK. ARE. YOU?!"

Leesoo growled, spitting out each word as if it was poison. He was at that moment, decidedly more deadly than the giant cobra.

"Get Bam away. Now."

Leesoo swore again. "I said where the fuck are you Khun?! He's not leaving without you! He thinks you've been captured by Lyborick and will fight them to death to get you back – but I know better – if they had you, they would have dragged your body out by now! "

He breathed heavily, and Bam could hear him slamming his fist on the table. "Khun...where are you? Are you safe?"

"Of course he's safe," Maschenny helpfully chimed. She always had the most perfect timing. "He's with family."

Leesoo froze over the phone. "Khun...is that her...that bitch, how –"

"Listen," Khun said. They didn't have much time as he saw Rak take a nasty blow to his side. "Take Bam away now!"

"I told you, he said he's not fucking leaving without you!"

Leesoo bit his lips till it bled. All these bastards. Bam, trying to save everyone himself, Khun, trying to be mister mysterious – "What the hell am I supposed to tell Bam?"

Khun stared at the roof of the aircraft, his eyes blank. If only he was more cruel. Such irony, he thought, when he remembered telling Leesoo years ago that he would be Rachel's legs because it had to be done by the cruelest between them.

But he held on dearly to the memories of Bam's affections – the first time they were reunited at Arlen's hand, each time Bam called his name with unwavering faith, every smile and embrace – and his resolve crumbled together with the Nest. Cruel he could not be.

"...Tell him not to find me." Khun disconnected the pocket.

Leesoo stared at the silent pocket. He rubbed his face wearily and stood up, his tongue swiping across his bleeding lips.

"If you're not dead the next time I see you, Khun Aguero Agnes, I'm going to kill you myself," he muttered.

"For doing this to us. For doing this to Bam."

Leesoo swung open the door to reveal the utter carnage in front of him – the stage smelled like burnt flesh, blood, and death. He gestured to Karaka, who in turn motioned to Evankhell to get her attention. The three exchanged glances, and a mutual understanding was reached.

Khun knew that it wasn't difficult for Evankhell to render Bam unconscious from behind, but when he saw his best friend's body turn limp, he knew that he had nothing more to lose. The one thing that mattered, he had given away.

Karaka shoved Rak back into the carrier by sheer brute force, and Evankhell carried Bam through the door like a broken doll. Hwa Ryun was the last to get in.

The red-witch turned at the last instant, her blazing eyes looking directly at Khun. He realized she knew that he was watching. Her eyelids fluttered shut, as if making a split second decision. She finally held up her first three fingers horizontally, twice. Number seventy seven. She slammed the door to a tight close. "That's all I can do for you, Bam," she had murmured.

The aircraft vanished as if none of this had ever happened.

Khun's entire body trembled as his legs found their place. "Now," he said, looking at Maschenny.

"Tell me what exactly you want." 

**

Less than thirty-six hours later

It was an unearthly hour and everyone was asleep except Leesoo, who offered to be the lookout.

What he was truly looking out for, was Bam.

Leesoo sat at the pilot's seat where the aircraft controls were. The hard chair was driving him nuts, but he didn't want to upset this quietness by moving around. He turned his neck a fraction and saw Bam still immobilized on the couch, with his knees against his chest.

Bam hadn't slept a wink since he woke up. There was a startling greyness underneath his eyes and he couldn't remember when he had last eaten.

Everyone chipped in to make him feel a bit better. Leesoo assured him that Khun wasn't captured and would come back soon. Hwa Ryun said he had his own path to take. She didn't say whether he would come back. Hockney made him coffee every morning. Jinsung said nothing but pulled him into a comforting embrace.

Bam closed his eyes. He was grasping a pencil now, unconsciously outlining the sharp edges of Khun's face, the confidence of his smile and the details of his eyes. Bam could remember all of it – all of its loveliness and subtleties – but he realized he couldn't sketch his bones. He wondered what had bewitched his best friend's heart. His pencil stopped, and Khun's portrait faded into the dark night.

It was always like this, even with Rachel. Leaving without a farewell. Bam diagnosed that he was a person not worth staying for. He felt a wetness on his cheeks; there was only so many times his heart could shed.

For the first time in a long while, he felt truly alone.