Hi everyone, SK here.

I feel like these chapters have all been intense ever since Serena died... I really wish that we would return to partying like in chapter 24 but oh well.  Things are only getting worse in this chapter... so I'm not gonna waste anymore time and I'll start.  Enjoy!

Verity

I glance at Layra.  Of course she knows that I killed Dad, how could she not?  It's her job to know these things.

Still, all she's doing is staring at me.  For once I'm at a loss of words.  I'm still riding off that high, Dad is dead, he's dead and I killed him.  He and Mom are together again, I reunited my parents and saved the fairies from death by Balance Ritual, right?  

Layra looks like she's still expecting a statement from me, so I give her one.  "One of us had to die."  Using logic is best here.  "Dad already got a chance to lead, and the Colony needs a fresh Leader.  No one else would've done the job, so I did."

The- no, not the Dark Minister.  My Minister.  She nods thoughtfully, letting out a deep sigh.  "Well, what's done is done."  Adjusting her gaze toward me, she adds, "I guess I should commend you for your actions, however immoral they may be.  You saved all of them from the Balance Ritual... and yourself."

Surprise fills me.  "You're... you're not mad...?"

She shrugs.  "Sometimes, you'll need to do things that are bad in order to help the greater good; in this case, that's killing your dad-"

"Thank you," I rush up to my Minister and hug her tightly.  Tears begin to downpour before I become aware that I'm about to cry.  Up until now I hadn't really realized the extent of what I've done, what I've planned.  I think I was too caught up in it all, all the trauma making me a bit mad.  "Thank you for understanding."  I thought I could do this all alone, but here I am, crying into Layra.  

Said Minister wraps her arms around me in a comforting manner.  "I've had to kill people that I love to be able to survive as well," she murmurs.  "I can't say I know what you're feeling but I can say that I've gone through similar circumstances... although believe me, your actions were much nobler than mine."

The question forms on the tip of my tongue, but now isn't the best time to ask her about that.  "What happens now?" I ask, pulling away from her.  Still sniffling a little, I rub my eyes to try and dry them out.

"Well first you and August need to go and announce that Ash has died.  If you're looking to go to war, then you need to tell everyone that as well.  After that, you need to name your new Advisor as quickly as possible so their training can begin," she adds with a bit of emphasis.  "But even before you make those announcements... you need to check on your brother."

I wince.  "How is he handling things?"  That answer should be obvious, I yell at myself.  Obviously he's not doing well if Layra's telling you to check on him.

"I'm not going to disclose anything specific to you," she begins gravely, "but he's been having panic attacks lately, he had a pretty bad one this morning.  Ash's death probably will make him take a turn for the worse."  She does have a point.  

"I'll go now then," I tell her promptly.  "Assuming we're done here...?"  My question trails off, but she's quick to respond.

My Minister just shoos me away with a wave of her hand.  "Go.  If you need anything, come find me."

"Okay."  I exit the Minister's room, closing the door with a soft click.  For some reason it feels extra exhausting taking the stairs today, but I continue to climb them anyway.  My fingers curl themselves into a fist and my shoulders tense up the further my thoughts stray.  I hope Dad isn't mad at me.  Oh, what am I thinking, of course he is, but it's not like I can ask for his forgiveness right?  I don't have that right anymore, not after I killed him.

Raising my hand, I knock it against August's new door.  "Auggs?" I call out.  A second later, it's not August that opens the door, but Heliux.  

The stone-faced Minister looks unsurprisingly drained as he gazes at me.  Layra hasn't told him the truth yet, but I have no idea how he'll react when he figures it out.  Past Heliux I can see August sitting on his bed, and even from behind he looks so broken.  

"Can I have some alone time with him?" 

Heliux ponders my question for a moment, but nods.  "Of course."  Turning back to August, he adds, "Your Lightness, remember what we talked about earlier this morning, alright?"  Once he receives a nod, Heliux gives me a small nod of his own and promptly leaves the room.  "What we talked about earlier this morning?", I wonder what that's about.  

The echo of my footsteps is the only sound in this empty room as I approach my brother.  I sit down with him on his bed, draping my arm around his shoulder.  August has always been taller than me, but it's moments like these that make me feel bigger than him.  "Don't tell me how he died," he whispers.  "I'm not ready to know that yet."

And I'm not ready to tell you the truth.  "Oka-"

He stares at me suddenly.  "I just want to know one thing.  Was it quick?  Did he suffer?  He d-didn't suffer, r-right?" his voice is like what cracked porcelain would be as a sound.

I think for a moment, then shake my head.  "Dad didn't suffer, I promise.  He told me that before he died."  I want to hit myself for lying to my brother, especially in his current state, but what choice do I have?

August remains quiet, so I talk instead.  "Layra mentioned that you had a pretty bad panic attack this morning, are you alright?"

I see him flinch ever so slightly, but he seems to barely lose his composure if at all.  "Yeah, I'm fine," he says in a quiet voice.  "Heliux helped."

Heliux?  Help?  That doesn't sound right, but okay.  "I'm glad he did, but Auggs, if you ever feel that way again, come get me, alright?"

He nods, wiping his eyes.  "I will Ver, it's just..." his voice trails away and he lets out a sigh.  "I want Valerie back."

"Me too."  I voice my thoughts before thinking twice about it.  "But if we want to go to war-"

"We can still go to war," he says while interrupting me, "but we need Valerie back.  Someone needs to claim those Queen's Elements and it needs to be her.  Besides..." he tears up again.  "Valerie is one of the last things that I have left to hold onto.  You and her, and the Ministers too.  That's it.  I need her back."  August stares at me, his cerulean eyes filled with cerulean (okay, not cerulean, they're transparent) tears.  "And you're not allowed to leave either.  Not without me.  We go together or not at all."

"Absolutely."  I think for a moment.  "It would be a good idea to get one of the Ministers to go searching for her, both of them should be able to locate her.  After, we can finally finish this and get our revenge on the humans."

August's nod is more firm now.  "Yes, they need to suffer-" he starts to say, but then goes to interrupt himself, "-but if there's any way that this is possible, we need to find Valerie's friends and keep them safe here.  She cares about them and I care about her, and if she knows they're safe-"

I cut my brother's rambling off right there.  "While it might not be possible, we'll certainly try," I say encouragingly, then following up by pulling his arm to get him off of his bed.  "But for now, we need to make some announcements to the Colony, Auggs.  We need to act like Leaders."

He sighs.  "I figured so..." he shivers.  "I'm not sure that I'm ready."

I squeeze his hand.  "Then I'll be ready for the both of us."

August tosses me a weak smile.  "I'm glad you're my sister, Ver.  I don't think I'd be able to do this without you."

"And I'm glad you're my brother, Auggs... and same here."

Together, we push open the glass doors that lead out to the Leaders' shared balcony, a.k.a. the place where they make important announcements to the whole Colony.  I step close to the edge, about to call out to the whole Colony for the first time when I spot someone down below.  Pale blonde hair, pink sunset-like dress, two pairs of wings, each different shades and colours... 

That's Alara.  What is she doing here?

Looking up, she seems to spot the two of us on the balcony and beckons us down toward her.  She already has a fairly large crowd surrounding her, even though her Spirit Soldiers don't seem to be present at all.

"So Ash is dead," she muses as our feet touch base on the ground.  Alara stares at my neck, probably at the Necklace that's resting there.  From the faces of the surrounding fairies, I can guess that she already told them the news as well.  My twin intuition kicks in and I find myself grabbing August's hand.  It's shaking, probably due to Alara's words.

I give the Queen a nod.  "Dad is dead, I'm the Leader now.  And we were just about to announce..." I trail off, do I really want to announce this now in an informal way?  

"We were just going to announce that we will, in fact, be going to war against the humans," states August in a voice that contrasts greatly to the one he was using earlier.  I glance at him, a little surprised that he started speaking, but he keeps going.  "The humans killed Mom, they're looking for a war and we're not going to be cowardly and hide from them."  He then turns to look at me- I guess it's my turn to talk.

"The humans killed Dad when we were on our way to discuss an alternate peace proposal.  They murdered him, and just left me to watch my own father die.  They don't deserve mercy.  The humans killed our parents," I reiterate, as if it wasn't clear enough, "our parents who never did anything to deserve to die that way.  Let's fight to avenge them!" 

I raise my fist in the air, letting out a war cry.  Many fairies echo it, even the ones that not so long ago were so adamant about creating peace between us, not conflict.  August gives me a nod as I glance at him.  He wants this too, he's willing to fight.  

"And to win this war," comes Heliux's voice.  The whole group of us turn to see him and Layra walking up to the scene as he continues.  "To win, we will be retrieving Valerie from the humans.  Not just for her own safety, but to have the power of a Queen on our side."

Alara nods, looking mildly unamused.  "The Queen's Elements are waiting in the tower and someone must claim them."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," says Alain, speaking up, "but don't the Elements return to you if someone tries to pass the challenge and dies?  Why can't-"

"So, if that is the route that we would like to take, who would like to volunteer?"  Alara's clearly annoyed question is met by silence, everyone averting their eyes away from her.  "That's what I thought."  She glances at Heliux and Layra.  "One or both of you, I don't care who, go fetch her.  She needs to come back and take that test as soon as possible."

"Now?" asks Layra.

"Now."

"Okay, I'll go then," returns the Dark Minister, but before she can go Heliux grabs her wrist.

"Be safe," he whispers, pressing his forehead against hers.  "Don't take the Route either.  Use portals when you can.  Go bring our Star home."

"I will," she breathes out.  She stares at him for a second, then turns her head toward me.  "Verity, the Darks are solely under you for now.  I will do my best to get back here fast, but-"

I wave her off.  "I know.  Go get Val back."  I smile at her and Layra nods, finally leaving the Colony.  

After she leaves, Alara speaks up again.  "I'm going to return to the castle, tell Valerie to go there as soon as she returns."  With a final nod the Queen makes her exit, leaving a crowd of murmuring fairies behind her.  

"Come on," August says suddenly, staring at me.  "We need to make this announcement."  I nod.

Maintaining my grip on my brother's hand, the two of us fly back up to our balcony to formally announce to all fairies that a war is on the horizon and that we will be winning it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Heliux

Hours have passed since Layra's departure, yet she still has not returned with our daughter.  Too much time has gone by, so naturally I am beginning to get a little worried.  I know Layra well enough to know that she loves to be as efficient as she can be, and all this time definitely is not the definition of that.

As I pace around my room, three possible situations are highlighted for me.

One, Valerie does not wish to return to us.

Two, Layra has been captured by the humans.

Three, both of them have been captured by the humans.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, letting out a heavy sigh.  There's only the faint hope that nothing has gone wrong, and that is the only thing I can hold on to at the moment; however, I must admit that I am struggling to do that.  They are my only family.  I cannot lose them, I must not lose them...

Stopping my frantic pacing, I lean my head against the wall and just stand still.  Layra, Valerie, the two people who I care about more than any other.  What if they were to become trapped out there, without any way to return home?  Without any way for me to reach them?  They are my everything, I would stop a supernova for them, I can't just-

A knock sounds at my door, interrupting my panic.  I sigh once again.  "Yes?"

"Heliux."  Lin's voice sounds through the cold wooden door.  "Verity sent me to get you, something happened."

"What?"  My breath hitches.

"I don't know why, but Celebi showed up," she answers, sounding a little unsure of herself.  My panic softens itself into confusion.  Celebi?  Why would Celebi show up now out of all times?

Pushing the door open, I see a Dark Fairy who looks a slight bit impatient.  "Where?" I ask her.

"The Centre Plaza."

"Alright, let's go then."

Lin leads the way, her blonde hair swishing back and forth slightly as she walks.  "Oh, by the way," she announces suddenly, "Verity's named me her Advisor.  Just thought I'd let ya know."

"That's excellent news," I tell her warmly.  "I hope you will fill Gary's position well."

"You can count on me!" she gives me a goofy smile and keeps continuing forward.  We round the bends on the Colony's paths and just like she said earlier, Celebi is hovering in the centre of the Colony with a rather large crowd of fairies watching it.  Her Darkness and His Lightness are at the head of said crowd.

I push my way through countless fairies to greet them and the Mythical Pokemon.  "Both of you," I start, and the twins turn toward me after hearing my voice.  "Have you figured out why Celebi is here?"  Frantic panting reaches my ears and I spot Ren, the person who I assigned to guard the Route today.  His blonde locks are extra ruffled, most likely from the running.  

Before either of the twins can answer, Celebi uses its psychic powers to communicate the answer telepathically, much like how Layra does with her special powers.  "Valerie sent me here to guard you all.  She said you would need it."

Interesting.  "I see," I say absently, my voice sounding far away.  If Valerie sent Celebi here to protect us, that means that there is a chance that something devastating can happen today.  

Then, suddenly and almost on cue with my current train of thought, the ground starts to tremble.  A large booming voice sounds through the forest.  "It went this way!"  

Not a fairy.  Definitely a human.

Wide-eyed, I glance at Ren.  He left his guard position to lead Celebi to the Colony, leaving the Route open for humans to come through.

Oh, Starshine.  You tried to help us, but you destroyed us instead.

Fairies are starting to come out of their rooms, are starting to exit the various establishments around the Colony because of the sudden shaking.  One by one, most likely due to spotting Celebi, we are joined by them in the Colony's centre.  The tremors begin to grow larger and more frequent, meaning they are approaching closer.  

In a flash I remember the protocols that are to be taken.  If there is enough time, every fairy can exit the Colony quickly and safely without harm, and the Leaders and I can take care of saving our books and artifacts.  The twins look a little bit shaken when I turn to them, but my voice is as firm as ever.  "August, Verity.  Get everyone to exit the Colony right this instant, go and leave near the theatre-"

"Well well well."  A different voice, somewhat familiar, booms above us.  The fairies, including myself, turn their heads to meet the malicious eyes of a human; surprisingly I recognize this one, I saw him during our attempted peace mission.  His name is Lance.  In his hands is an electronic device, most likely a smartphone although it could be some other device with a camera, with its camera light on; this is being filmed.

Even though they are the Leaders, I am once again reminded of the twins' youth and inexperience when they are too much in shock to do anything about the invasion.  I, on the other hand, have dealt with a human invasion before.  "You are not welcome here," I tell him coldly and firmly.  "Leave."

As if on cue, about a dozen other humans come out of the bushes and stand in a cluster in front of us.  Now things are troubling.  When humans have found the Route, most were not malicious and it was at most one or two at a time, not twelve or fifteen.  Lance is also stone-cold as he says "Make us."

Celebi flies up and using its psychic powers carries Lance out of the forest, but not before he shouts a command to his minions:

"Capture them, destroy it!  Destroy it all!"

Instantly the humans swarm the Colony, most of them equipped with the filming devices, our home that is so much smaller compared to them.  They come in too quick and there is too many for me to deal with at once.  It doesn't take long for buildings to come down, and I yell for the fairies to run, run anywhere that is far away from here.  They do.

"Heliux-" Verity says, but before she can finish a giant human hand reaches out for us.  Frozen in shock, I watch in horror as August is roughly grabbed off the ground.  His expression radiates fear, his eyes trembling and his shoulders shaking, as he stares back at me and his sister.  The human tosses the Light Leader in a silver cage, and I swear under my breath.  I just failed my one job as Minister.  Keep my Leader safe.

"AUGUST!" Verity screams for her brother.  I'm about to create a black hole in that human's heart to kill him, but he reaches for the Dark Leader herself.  Not letting her get taken, I grab her wrist and forcefully pull her away for the scene and the captured Light Leader.

The two of us run into a seemingly untouched alley between two of the buildings, and for a brief moment watch as the only home that we have ever known collapses and is reduced to nothing but dirt and rubble as its inhabitants are captured as if they were Pokemon taken by Team Rocket.  My breath hitches as I see both Advisors get taken.  Other than Layra, if she has not been c-captured herself, Verity and I are the last fairies in command left.  

"H-Heliux," the Dark Leader stammers, and she sounds so defeated yet so defiant and angry.  

"Verity, I need you to listen to me and listen well," I tell her.  "We don't have much time.  There are-" my words are interrupted by the large crashing noise of the Leaders' building going down... my belongings being destroyed with it.  I shake away my thoughts.  No time to think about that now.  "There are artifacts that we need to save, things that cannot be restored.  Right now, go to the Initiation Chamber and grab the Initiation Bracelet, then run as far away from here as you can.  Just keep running, flying, and do not look back."

"What about-"

"I will be fine, just do as I say," I tell her.  "GO!"

Quickly she nods, running away from our little hiding spot.  I trust that she will be able to save the Bracelet, and I aim my sights on my next destination: the Library.  Luckily, it has not been touched as much; it was built underground for a reason.  

Swiftly I fly out of the alleyway, dodging human hands and legs as well as falling structures and fleeing fairies.  My wings carry me faster and faster, fueled by pure adrenaline at this point.  I need to save all the artifacts stored in the library.  They have existed for billions of years and they are not about to be destroyed now.

I touch the ground at the door to the Library, enter it, and lock it behind me.  I don't want any other fairies to think that it will be safe hiding in here, because it is not safe in the slightest.  Instead of taking the stairs, I quickly leap over the railing and find myself falling faster and faster toward the bottom.  Countless floors of books pass me as I whiz by.  My wings slow me down as I near the bottom, my feet hitting the ground firmly which creates a small cloud of dust.  

My mind is focused only on my job, I cannot let concerning thoughts distract me at the current moment.  This is what I- well, Layra and I- was meant to do.  Reaching the south wall I place my hand on the secret scanner.  Only Ministers have access to this.  Once the scan is complete a small panel opens up revealing the panic button.  I don't hesitate to press it.

Instantly, the books light up in blue, the cyan ring starting at the bottom floor and spiraling around the building until it reaches the uppermost floor.  Then, in the same order they lit up with the blue light, the books start to disappear.  As the spell coded into the panic button sends them all to a special, safe-guarded room in the castle for their protection, I go to grab the other artifacts.  

Scanning my hand opened up all the other secret compartments in the Library.  The first is the Necklace stronghold, the slate grey box that stores all of the other currently-unused Necklaces to keep them and the souls they hold unharmed.  I open the box, as Layra and I are the only ones that can, and do a brief check to make sure they are all unharmed.  The Necklaces stare back at me, gleaming with a cold shine.  I will keep you all safe, I think to the fairy souls, and close the box.  

Tucking the stronghold box under my left arm I use my right hand to do a brief check on the other stronghold box, the one that stores the Royal Sapphires.  A rainbow of gemstones, each of them housing the soul of a long-gone Queen or King, sit inside with a polished shine.  Each of them used to sit inside the infamous Sapphire Staff, but they are discarded when the new successor comes along because a new sapphire is created.  Closing the box, I tuck it just underneath the other box under my left arm.  

With my remaining hand I grab the last thing I need to save, yet another stronghold box.  This one contains ten Pokeballs, each containing a Pokemon.  I grab it, about to create a portal to escape when a communication window opens up.  

Her Majesty's face fills the magic glass, her pale blonde locks drooping over her rose-coloured eyes as she speaks.  "Heliux, Brooklyn said that she saw all the books appear in the Safe Room, and I got the panic alert.  What's going on?"

"The humans found the Colony, they've destroyed it all," I tell her, my voice rushed.  I really need to get out of here.

Her eyes widen.  "My, that's dreadful," she whispers.  "Are all the fairies safe?  My Spirit Soldiers and I can go out and retrieve them to bring them to the castle, it should be safe here-"

"Some of them were captured," I spit out, feeling full of guilt as I did not try to save any of them.  "His Lightness and both Advisors were among them.  There is no news on Layra either," I add, foreseeing her next question.  "And do not leave the castle, any of you.  I know I do not have the authority to say that but with the humans roaming around, it is better to have less of us out and about.  I will be bringing all the fairies to the castle though."

"All by yourself?"

"I have the Element of Space, I can find them all and bring them to you," I remind her.  "I also have with me the three stronghold boxes.  I ensure you that no harm will come to any of them or the things that rest inside."

"I know," she muses.  "You go then.  Get far away from there and we'll talk about restoring the Colony at a later point- however," she adds with an actual smile (the expression seems a bit odd to me at the moment, considering what is going on), "I guess this is the first time you're leading, huh?  Or at least the first in a long while.  I'm trusting the Colony to you, Heliux."

"I'm trusting the kingdom to you, son."

No no no.  Not now.  Not now.

I curtly nod to the Queen and end the connection.  Why did she have to say that?  Why did she have to bring up that memory of my father?  All the memories surrounding that point in my life are still somehow clear, even billions of years later.  They hurt too much.  The memory begins to disorient me.

Using my less occupied arm, I open a portal to a spot far away from the Colony.  This part of the forest is silent compared to the place I left, and I pause for a moment to regain my thoughts.  The Queen was not wrong; Layra is not here, neither are the Advisors.  His Lightness has been captured and Her Darkness is still a new Leader, I cannot expect her to lead anyone at this point, although Verity never fails to surprise me.  Even so, it is all... all up to me.

My eyes close and begin to burn slightly as I use my Space powers.  On the backs of my eyelids I can see the forest opening up before me.  Fairies are scattered throughout it, but thankfully the humans are still at the Colony; they are most likely working on destroying it.  My breath hitches when I think about the damages.  No.  Stop this.  

"Your needs don't matter.  All that matters are the needs of the people."

Although my fathers words when talking about my mother's execution were harsh, right now he has a point.  Curses.  Why did Her Majesty have to rile up these memories now when times are crucial?

Summoning my willpower I create about thirty portals in a semi circle in front of me.  After a few seconds, I see the frightened faces of fairies poking through the white discs.  Once they see me, they are quick to run through.

When Verity enters out through her portal, followed by Ren and Lillie, she runs up to me.  "Did you do what you had to do?" she asks.

I give her a nod.  "Yes, everything is safe."  I nod my chin toward the three boxes.  "But," I add, raising my voice so all the fairies can hear, "the Colony is not safe to live in at the moment.  Many of us have been captured-" their eyes darken, "- and the humans are actively searching for us.  We will all be travelling to the castle to stay with Her Majesty for the time being, and we will operate there."

Without waiting for the fairies' responses I open up a portal with my right hand.  While this will not take us directly to the castle, it is the closest point where we can open a portal to.  I gesture the fairies through one by one, Verity standing beside me and making sure every fairy goes through.  She has both of her parents' genes in her, that's for sure.  When we are the last fairies left, I follow Verity through the portal and snap it closed behind us.  

Pushing past fairies to make it to the front of the crowd, I feel my adrenaline from earlier begin to die down.  My thoughts are becoming unfocused again, not good for a fairy who is in charge of hundreds of others.  I try to push them away as I lead the fairies to the castle (Verity is with me as well, but she does not know the route well enough), but Alara's words and the sheer effect of what I'm doing alone are taking a toll on me.

~~~~~~~~~~

Verity and I, as well as the hundred other fairies, pour into the clearing that houses the Queen's castle.  Her Darkness is the one that goes up and rapidly knocks on the castle doors, and thankfully they are opened a second or so later by a disheveled looking Star and Kya.  "Come in, all of you," the latter says, and one by one the fairies start to file into the castle.

I make sure that I am last to enter.  "How close are the humans to here?"

"Not close," I reply to the Earth Spirit Soldier.  "I do not think they even know the castle exists.  They will begin searching for us, but they do not have a direction to go in."

"That's good," returns a relieved Star, closing the grand old doors behind us.  "So how's it feel leading, Mr. Grump?"

Not the time, Star.  "Fine." 

My fingers start to tremble as she continues, threatening to drop the box but I do not allow them to.  "I guess since August's been captured and so has Clemont, you're kind of like a Leader yourself right now- also," she adds, her voice growing more sincere, "any news on Layra or Valerie?"

"No," I tell her curtly.  "Now, if you'd please excuse me."  

I've been in these halls enough times to know them fairly well.  My feet take me away from the crowd of fairies and down one of the smaller corridors.  I fumble with the handle, my fingers trembling, and  throw myself in one of the guest rooms.  I set the three boxes on the ground and find myself sinking down to the floor.  

Today has been unbearable.

My breaths quicken and I feel myself start to hyperventilate.  Thoughts begin to swirl around in my mind as my shoulders start to shake.  My hand finds its way on top of my mouth, cupping itself over it as salted tears rain down my face.  

My worst fears.

Losing the ones I love.

Becoming like my father.

Layra, Valerie... they are out there, in that forest, with humans actively searching for them, they are going to get found and I am never going to see them again.

The Colony is no more because I, the one person who could have prevented it if I only looked, didn't do what I was supposed to do.  I didn't protect the fairies.

A sob forces its way out of my throat.  I'm becoming just like him, the old king that provided me half my DNA.  The man I had to run away from all those years ago.  The ruthless, stubborn, strict man who justified his actions because of the needs of his kingdom when they were really his own needs, his own selfish needs, and the people paid the price.

The fairies out there are in need of a Leader, and here I am sobbing because unlike Layra, I cannot control my emotions.

I usually try to keep my memories of my past buried away, but when I'm about to let my beloved and my daughter die just like how my mother died right before my eyes, it is useless to try.

Layra can usually calm me down when these memories resurface, but alas she is not here right now.

It is just me.

Me, myself, and I, and just as expected not one of them are helping.

I love Layra and Valerie so much.  I need to go out there, I need to go find them and hug them close.

"Your need don't matter.  All that matters are the needs of the people."

He's right.  His phantom self is right.  But here I am, not doing anything as finally, finally, the effect of the loss of two brilliant Leaders and friends, the potential loss of my only family, the peril of the fairies just outside these doors, and the destruction of the only place I've called homes for billions of years sets in and I am left stranded and utterly alone in the matter.  Just me.  It was just me and I...

I...

I cannot do this anymore.

I need her.

I need Layra.

I need Valerie.

I need my father to escape my memories.

I can't lead, not like this, not ever, I cannot... I cannot become him.  I promised myself I would not yet here I am, crying like a mere child over the only two people that I have ever truly loved, because it was me, I didn't double back to go search for them.  

Hugging my knees to my chest, I feel despair wash over me.  For the first time in a long while, since a few years after we gave up Valerie, I cry.  

Poor Heliux :(

But anyway yes, the Colony is gone.  Layra is out searching for Valerie and Valerie herself is currently unaware of the situation, because she's focusing on... other matters.  What is she doing?

Next chapter we'll be going back to see what she and her friends were doing while this was going on... so stay tuned.