Brant marched down an unlit hallway in the Kemarian stronghold, striding alongside Aaron as they followed Chariya to the Overseer's office. She hadn't communicated her intentions to them yet, but the fact she now held not one, but two pistols in her hands seemed to imply they were somewhat less than peaceful.

Chariya kicked the door open and pointed both guns at the Overseer's head. "On the floor, now! Put your hands behind your head!"

The Overseer stared at the princess with widened eyes, but complied. Everybody else in the office stood frozen in place, gazing at the scene unfolding with hands on their hearts and mouths agape, among whom Hannah stood.

"What have I done?" the patchy-bearded man cried from where he knelt on the floor.

"You know good and well what you have done!" Chariya shouted, "In my absence, you were made aware of one of our men losing his mind, and you did nothing about it! The bloodbath that ensued, you allowed it to happen, and to worsen your crimes, you told me nothing about it! You instead allowed me to believe all was well in my absence. On what grounds have you done this?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, your highness."

Brant gritted his teeth, stepped around Chariya, and snatched the man up by the collar. He slammed his spine into a cabinet, creating a loud boom when the metal door rattled on its hinges. "You're lying, and everybody knows it. Come clean!"

The Overseer stared down at Brant with nothing in his eyes but pure terror. "Okay, I'll talk!"

Brant hurled the man to the ground. "You'd better."

Chariya coughed. "You had better start talking, because my fingers are about ready to pull these triggers."

"It was him!" the Overseer shouted, pointing his trembling finger at Brant. "He made me do it!"

Brant tightened his lips as all eyes in the room landed on him. "If you wouldn't mind, explain the utter nonsense that just spilled from your lips."

"Chariya, don't you see it? He's a monster! Always has been, always will be!" He turned to Brant. "You...you vile creature! You slew my brothers! Right before me! Their blood splashed into my eyes and—"

"That was clearly before I came to realize the error of my ways." Brant said, "And I apologize."

"No." the Overseer replied, wiping his eyes, "No you don't. You'd do it all over again if it suited your pleasure. Even now!"

"That's not—"

"This is all beside the point." Chariya growled, "Why did you withhold information from me? That is what I came here to ask!"

"Because, I want this dour brute dead!"

"And how does allowing a deranged madman to run loose in my base accomplish that?"

The Overseer sighed. "One of the men brought Mr. Pulung before me. Said he was messed up in the head, and he wanted me to evaluate him. So I talked to him. He said there was...a beautiful voice in his head, telling him horrible things."

Aaron cleared his throat from where he stood behind Chariya. "Like what?"

"Much of it is far too graphic to repeat, I'm afraid. But primarily, he said the voice kept telling him to grab a gun and shoot up the base. At first, he said, he was absolutely disgusted. But the voice, he said, was so smooth and seductive that it compelled him. When I talked to him, he said the only thing holding him back was fear of consequence."

Chariya dropped one of her pistols and put a hand to her mouth. "So you...allowed him?"

The Overseer nodded. "I told him to go ahead, and then flee. It was a necessary sacrifice. Me allowing him to clear his head in that way made him more susceptible to my stipulation."

"Which was what?" Brant asked.

"To find the Divine Flock and inform them of your disgusting and impending presence here. I know I can't kill you, Nayan," he declared through gritted teeth, "but I know they can. And will."

Brant inhaled sharply. He snatched the man up again and hurled him at the cabinet. His head dented the metal door, and he hollered. While he curled up on the ground, the brawny man kicked his ribs. A loud cracking sound ensued, drawing a scream from the Overseer and a flinch from everybody else.

When Brant reached down to grab the man up again, Aaron hurried over and yanked him back. "What do you think you're doing?"

Brant wrestled his way out of Aaron's grasp. "Just when we thought we had a single moment of safety, this happens!"

"Look at him." the Overseer hissed, "Even now, after all I've said, he's only proving me right. He's a mindless beast, a monster. He's unworthy of the respect you all so readily throw at him. Nothing's changed. He's the same revolting creature you drug from the mud a week ago, only now he's manipulated you. Tricked you into thinking he's changed. But he is in reality the same man. An unworthy fiend."

Brant growled and lunged forward, only for Aaron to hold him back. He strained to escape his grasp, but Aaron held on tight, pinning his arms uselessly behind his back. Brant met Hannah's gaze, and the disappointment in her eyes pierced his confidence like an arrow popping a balloon. To worsen the blow, she looked away and hung her head.

"Perhaps there is some validity to what he has said." Chariya said to Aaron. "Confine Brant until we can ascertain where his true loyalties lie." She turned to other men standing around and pointed at the Overseer. "And you, go lock him up."

Brant hung his head and allowed Aaron to remove the weapon-generating gloves from his hands and clasp a pair of handcuffs around his wrists. Then he let himself be led away to a cell, his eyes moistening with every step.

********************

Dove stepped to the edge of the balcony, his three companions trailing behind him. Once he reached the flower-lined railing, he turned to face them.

"Are you quite sure you don't want me to come along?" Eagle asked.

Dove nodded. "Very much so. Until you have attained your divinity, you three ought to ease up on your exertions. For appearance's sake, I shall gather unto myself a body of soldiers to accompany me, but that will be all I require. You shall behold my face again shortly."

Eagle held up his hand. "Wait. I want to know, what do you think is speaking in that man's ears? Is he just mad, or—"

"It may very well be one of the gods calling unto him. Perhaps Kookaburra inviteth him to participate in The Grand Hunt."

Eagle nodded. "Maybe so. That, of course, undermines our training program. Does the god's direct choosing override our preparations, and all the men that exert themselves even now to achieve fusion with Kookaburra's spirit?"

"Indeed, it is all about the gods and their desires, not the devisings and procedures of mortal men. I advise you three to inquire into this matter further, and if it appeareth clear to you that Kookaburra, or indeed any god, be behind this, that you enter him into the appropriate training program."

The three nodded. "Will do." they said in unison.

Dove nodded. "With that, I take my leave of you. When I lay eyes on you all again, victory over Brant and the rest of his contemptible allies shall have been achieved."

The white-robed man soared into the skies above, leaving the three gods in waiting to exchange a glance and head back inside.

********************

"What can we do now?" Chariya exclaimed as she frantically paced. An assembly of her men sat before her in the briefing room, staring up with worried eyes and troubled countenances. "The Alconteans will shortly be handed the locations to both our bases, including this one, which is not even prepared for normal operations, let alone withstanding an assault!"

Aaron nodded grimly from where he sat in the first row, one arm draped over Wendy's shoulder, the other over Keira's. "Well, unfortunate as it is, we have to face reality. I'm confident the other base can withstand a reasonably large attack, at least for a while, but we've gotta fortify this place, and as quickly as possible."

"But how?" Chariya asked, "The entire west wing has yet to be constructed, and many adjoining areas have not even received their walls!"

Aaron bit his lip. "I don't know."

"We might as well just surrender! We'll have to do it eventually anyway!" screeched one man who sat in the back.

"I did not come this far, and labor this long, to surrender at only the possibility of failure." Chariya declared with conviction.

"Oh yeah? Well, what're we gonna do, then?" the man argued, "Complete three months of construction in three days? Good luck with that, but I'ma head out!"

Chariya watched helplessly as the man stood up, put his hat on, and marched out the door, tossing his gun onto an empty chair as he approached the doorway. A few others followed.

"How long does it take to make a safe bunker?" Baird asked.

Wendy snorted. "A bloody long time just to make a bunker, period. Let alone a safe one."

A red-haired woman sitting behind Aaron growled. "If only the energy shields in movies actually existed."

Aaron glanced back at her and grinned. Despite her negativity, her remark had sparked an idea in his brain. "How about an...iron skeleton?"

Chariya raised an eyebrow. "Please explain."

Aaron rose to his feet and sprinted to the blackboard behind the princess. He snatched up a piece of chalk and scribbled away. A couple minutes later, he stepped away and motioned for the onlookers to observe his drawing.

He'd started with a crude drawing of the unfinished base, and over that, he'd scribbled a dome structure resembling a jungle gym. The structure stood over the entire stronghold below.

Aaron grinned and finally opened his mouth to speak. "I've seen we have a ton of iron beams laying around, so let's put them to use. We can build a structure like this, an iron skeleton, if you will, over the whole base, and it's not complicated. We can erect something like this quickly, especially with all the hands we'll have on deck. Then, to this framework, we only need to screw panels onto the intersecting joints, and boom, we've got an armored dome protecting the whole base, walls or not."

Chariya clapped her hands together. "This is brilliant! We are indebted to you, Aaron."

He smirked. "Don't mention it. Even still, we'd better get working."

As everybody scrambled out of their seats around her, Wendy watched Aaron approach and grab his jacket. She smiled at him. "You're bloody smart."

Aaron chuckled. "I know, thanks."

The two dashed through the door side by side, joining the throng of other insurgents eager to begin construction of the iron skeleton.

********************

Brant sighed and continued to stare at the stony floor of his cell as he had been doing for the past thirty minutes. How fickle are these people? he asked himself, The moment they begin to trust you, they immediately backtrack at the first opposite opinion they hear!

He slowly glanced up when he heard footsteps pad outside his cell. Hannah's concerned face stared through the bars as she gripped them with her hands. He stared at her in a somber silence.

"Y'know, I'm concerned about ya." she said, biting her lip.

"Oh, great." Brant replied, hanging his head again. "You too. And why's that?"

"Just...look what ya did to that dude earlier!" Hannah exclaimed, "I hate to say it, but that looked...kinda like an animalistic rage, not the actions of a rational man."

"Do you realize what was happening there?" Brant shouted. He stepped up to the bars abruptly, causing Hannah to step away from them. "This is what that wretch wanted! He wants me locked up so that killing me's anybody's game!" He inhaled sharply. "For goodness' sake, even he himself could walk up to the cell with a gun and shoot me, and there'd be nothing I can do about it!"

Hannah shook her head. "You weren't thinkin' that far ahead. You were just plain mad."

"As if anybody wouldn't get upset at the horrible things he was saying!"

Hannah closed her eyes and breathed for a second. "You told me dat you're fightin' for the good o' people. 'Cause only you understand fully how big a deal these gods are. Well, if ya really care 'bout people, why're ya destroyin' them before the gods even get a chance to try?"

Brant frowned. "I have no idea where you're going with that."

"It's a simple question, Brant. I dunno why you're tryin' to dodge it."

"I'm not dodging! It's just..." he took a moment to gather his breath and thoughts, "I'm just tired of being unfairly judged. People hold me to a higher standard than they'd ever venture to hold themselves, and then they get disappointed...y'know, because I'm just a man! I'm sick and tired of people saying I'm unworthy, especially of simple things like common respect."

Hannah opened her mouth, then closed it and bit her lip. She maintained eye contact for a moment before staring down at her feet. "So...you ain't really fightin' for others like ya said. You're fightin' for yourself. To prove to everyone dat you're worthy of respect."

Brant inhaled the deepest breath he had in his life. After holding it for a second, he released it. "Yes."

She nodded. "Well, I don't wanna be overly critical, but do you reckon dat's really a solid motive?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Well, it's kinda like what we talked about the other day. A good motive is bigger than any individual conflict itself. Nothin's more crushin' than a needless loss, and even moreso when dat loss amounts to everything over nothin'."

Brant scratched his chin. "I feel stupid, because that made no sense to me, at all."

"At the end of the day, you're fightin' for your own honor. Well, what happens if ya fail? Your honor'll be marred, and tossed into the dust. Will the effort still have been worth it?"

"I think so."

"Maybe for you, I reckon. But here's another thang. What if others get wrapped up in dis conflict, and they get hurt an' suffer? Is it still worth it then?"

Brant tightened his lips. "I don't know."

Hannah jumped as her communicator beeped in her pocket. "Well, I reckon ya have some time to think 'bout it. I'll tell ya, I personally think a new motive's in order for ya. But I guess dat's your decision to make."

"I'll think about it." Brant said.

"Well, I've gotta go, but just know, I don't think you're worthless or whatever. I just think you've got some things to sort out before it's safe for us to let ya outta those bars."

Brant watched silently as the brunette slipped her communicator from her pocket and ran down the hallway speaking into it. He sighed and sat back down on his cot.

******************** 

A/N: Well then...curveballs have been thrown, and reputations have been smeared. And...is a new god being born...? I dunno man, lots of crazy stuff there, all good drama hopefully. 

If you liked this chapter, would you be so kind as to leave it a vote and your comments? Thank you, kind sir or ma'am. 😂

(That sounds incredibly weird. "Thank you, kind ma'am".) 

Anyway, any thoughts on the title drop of sorts? The iron skeleton probably isn't what you originally thought it would be, huh? 😆 

For a random question...if you had to pick a favorite month, what would it be and why? 

(For me, I guess I'd pick March. My birthday's at the tail end of it, so that's sweet, and also I just love how the weather tends to be by then. It's a nice transition month, and though it's not usually spring in full swing yet, it's getting there. And I don't mind the cold anyway, so the variance from year to year is pretty nice. Anyway, I like me some March.) 

And now I shall skedaddle for the morning. I hope you have an awesome day ahead of you or perhaps behind, and I'll see you in the next update! Cheerio! 

(I feel rather Danlashian saying that. EXCUSE ME, British. 😂)