Sky ran through the demolished city, looking around for any survivors that he and the others might have missed. The squids looked like they had retreated. All was left was corpses... Sky closed his eyes and took a trembling breath. Human corpses littered the street more than squids did. But Sky knew that was always the hardest part, losing so many soldiers. But one squid's death led them closer to victory, and every human they lost would make the others fight harder for survival and for revenge. But the thing was... The humans laying on the ground didn't ask for this. They had planned on going about their day and then going home; some probably had families to take care of and love. Hell, some children were probably caught in the crossfire...

He gritted his teeth before he ran around a corner. He froze at what he saw. A leaning tower that looked ready to fall any second stood a few yards from him, and he saw people running out of it. He watched them run past him, before he felt it.

A sound much like a heartbeat thumped in his right rib cage, fast and rapid as his eyes widened in shock and horror. He stared at the building, frozen.

A black haired male ran down the stairs of the building, holding a kid in his arm as he held the hand of the mother, leading her toward the entrance of the building behind him. She coughed harshly as the dust weighed heavily down on their chests as he gritted his teeth. Then he saw a few of the support beams beginning to shake, and his eyes widened in horror as he saw the door frame of the exit beginning to shake itself. It was about to collapse. He looked back at the mother before he shoved her unconscious child in her arms, before he grabbed her and threw her forward. She stumbled, falling and tumbling through the doorway of the shaking building.

"NO!" Sky screamed as he saw the building beginning to shake, running forward as he saw a female with a child in her arms tumble out. He had to get in there, he was still in there, he had to save him he had to save him NO NO NO!

"SKY!" He suddenly heard True's voice scream, arms wrapping around his waist and yanking him off his feet just as he was about to run into the building. Sky screamed as he kicked his feet roughly, shaking his head roughly as True yanked them from the building that was about to collapse.

"NO! NO! LET ME SAVE HIM!" Sky screamed. "LET ME SAVE HIM! YOU HAVE TO LET ME SAVE HIM!" Seto raced to the mother and child, pulling the sobbing mother to her feet as he gently pulled them away from the building that was about to collapse. Sky screamed louder as the doorway collapsed, leaving no way for anyone to get in or out. He let out a loud sob as the building finally fell, concrete pieces and glass pieces going everywhere as tears welled in Sky's golden eyes. True dropped him, breathing heavily as Seto shielded the mother and child from the scene and debris.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Seto asked worriedly as he gently wiped away the woman's tears away with the end of his purple cloak. She held her child, who looked to be maybe about two, to her chest, trembling roughly.

"H-He hit his head, a-and he hasn't woken up since!" She sobbed. Seto bit his lip and held out his arms.

"May I see him?" He asked gently, his brown eyes glowing softly. "I'm a doctor, maybe I can help him." She sniffled, nodding shakily before she handed her child over to him. He knelt down, laying him down on the ground gently before he placed his hands on either side of his head. His hands began to glow a gentle purple, his eyes glowing the same shade but brighter as purple wisps curled around his fingers before slipping up the black strands of the child's hair. The mother watched with wide eyed disbelief as her child shifted before his eyes slowly opened, revealing a soft brown. Seto smiled, letting his hands drop away. "Just a small concussion, I fixed it." He picked the two year old up, handing him to his mother who was crying in relief.

She rocked her child back and forth, her shoulders shaking as her child buried his head into her neck. "M-Mommy..." He whispered, and the mother cried harder.

"Joey, oh god, J-Joey... M-My poor little boy..." Seto watched sadly, a small smile on his face before he looked over at Sky and True. Sky had his head buried his hands, his shoulders shaking as he sat on his knees. True was staring down at him with confusion, looking over at Seto who blinked uncertainly. True held up his hands in a 'I-have-no-fucking-idea' fashion, and Seto just shook his head tiredly before he helped the mother stand. "Come on, we should get you to the police so they can keep you safe." Seto said gently before he looked up at the sky. "I think the squids are all gone True. Maybe we should meet with the others." True nodded in agreement before he grabbed Sky by the back of his shirt, dragging him away from the building.

Sky didn't fight it, letting his hands fall away as he stared at the building with tears streaking down his cheeks. No, no, be alive, be alive... Please... But the rubble didn't shift and no one emerged from it. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting his head drop.


It was about thirty minutes later. Sky had dried his tears and it hardly even looked like he had been crying. He stood in a circle with the others. Mitch was out of arrows and he looked exhausted, leaning against Jerome who was cleaning his ax with a rag he had pulled from his pocket. Seto was sitting cross legged on the ground, his head down as he breathed heavily. The weight of all the magic he had used was weighing down on him, some exhaustion setting in. Ty was sitting on a rock, looking around at all the destruction that had befallen his home city. True was rubbing his face, sliding his katana into the sheath on his back. Sky watched them all, before he sighed.

"I know we're all tired, but we have a lot of work to do." He said. "We still have to find two other people, then we'll be able to build the army and fight the squids."

"What?!" Jerome snarled as he looked up. "You're insane if you think that me and Mitch are going to join this!"

"Jerome-!" Mitch tried to argue, but stopped when Jerome glared at him.

"NO! I'm putting my foot down Mitchell! Look around you! There's bodies everywhere, one of them could have ended up being you! We're not warriors!" Mitch stared at him, before he looked down wordlessly.

"You have to be." Sky said emotionlessly, and Jerome glared at him.

"You can't force us to come with you." He growled.

"No, I can't." Sky said. "But just know that you would be digging your grave if you walked away." Jerome narrowed his eyes.

"Is that a threat?"

"Not at all. But the squids know your faces and they know your skills. And so do the people. There's nowhere you can go where no one will know you. The people with either fear or shun you, perhaps even hate you. The squids will be hunting you down, to either kill you or to take you both back to their base to torture."

Mitch stared at Sky with wide eyes while Jerome glared at him. Sky stared back steadily, his arms crossed. "If you want to be able to survive, you have to come with us."

"... J-Jerome, he has a point..." Mitch whispered. Jerome glared at Sky before he snarled loudly.

"I know, and that's why I hate him. Fine, we'll do this, but we're gone as soon as this damn war is over!" He snapped.

"Expect to be around for a couple of years." Sky said simply before he looked at the others. "I'm guessing you're all in this too?"

"I have to be." True said simply. "I have nowhere else to go."

"They destroyed my home." Ty whispered as he looked at Sky. "They're going to pay."

"I'd follow you to Hell." Seto smiled, and Sky smiled back ever so slightly before he looked up at the sky.

"All we need is the other two."

"Look no more."

Everyone froze.


A hand burst from the debris of the fallen building from before, gripping the ground before they ragged themselves out with a loud grunt of pain. They collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily before they slowly raised their head and looked around. Tired brown eyes that looked older then what they looked like gleamed in the light, and they let out a soft groan before their head fell onto the ground and they were unconscious.