SIN's eyes were peeled open, revealing they were bloodshot and crusty from not sleeping all night-the night terrors made sleep impossible. Now it was the break of dawn of the pink and orange horizon casting long blue shadows over the grassy hills. The fragrance of flowers and pollen was heavy in the air, giving it a soothing quality that failed to touch SIN.

All he could focus on was revenge. On killing Nikolai, Halone and Leiden. His father told him that today the demons were officially in the stages of declaring war against the rebels as well as any and all their collaborators.

But it was too little too late. His love was dead, his heart was broken and his brain was in pain. He wasn't living anymore, merely existing-as if a ghost was possessing every step he took.

He was drowning everyday, pulled into a riptide by his grief. Unable to swim, sinking and screaming silently as his lungs filled with water. Everything was so dark and cold since love died.

All the passion they had shared in intimate midnight rendezvous, all the heat and the energy, was now dead and buried. He wasn't sure who he was anymore, he was numb and withdrawn. The only thing that made any sense, the only reason he could see to go on, was to kill those who killed his love.

And he was have his revenge in this life, then spend eternity dancing among the stars with his love.

Nothing would come between them, even though death separated their bodies in his heart love was still burning and alive. And in death they would be reunited.

This, he had to believe. It was all he had left to hold onto.

At dusk he would leave the demon territory, never to return, embarking on a quest for revenge. He had been training for months now, learning how to survive in the wild, how to fight. He knew he had this. He was strong enough to walk through the flames of Hell, and for his journey he would need every ounce of strength within his body.

Meanwhile as the early morning sun's rays shimmered golden rays inside of Nikolai's cave he jolted awake in a cold sweat, dreaming of the pregnant demon he watched be murdered.

Waking up he was grounded by the feeling of stones underfoot, he remembered he wasn't in that dark place anymore even though dark clouds hung over him, he wished the bad dreams would remain in his dreams but they haunted his every waking moment-turning everything into one big nightmare, it haunted him like a poltergeist.

Sleepily getting to his feet he decided to see Leiden, and hope he left Leiden without more wounds or bandage up.

As he approached Leiden's cave he saw Leiden's animal form, grey and shaggy, leaving the mouth of it.

"Sir," Nikolai chirped up, failing to mask the nerves cracking in his voice.

"Yes?" Leiden answered blandly.

"Do you think the rebellion is changing?" he asked, hoping it to be a decent icebreaker.

"Yes," Leiden said, "it has changed. We've lost our way slightly, but I plan to get it back on track."

"What's...ah um, whats-".

"What do you want to ask Nikolai?".

"Why kill children?".

Leiden was silent, seeing Nikolai was still hesitant to speak up-whether it was out of respect for his leader, fear for his attacker, his soldier mentality of not questioning orders or a mixture of all three.

"All we're doing here is breeding more hate, creating more violence. We used to be just, humble and noble warriors but now we're degenerates, depraved and debauched."

"That's a very fair assessment," Leiden said, Nikolai nodded anxiously-slightly taken aback, his lips parted in a gobsmacked expression.

"Like I say, we've lost our way, but this hasn't gone unnoticed. We might be lost but the cause is worth fighting for. We'll fight our way back on top."

"Sir...my question, why kill children? I mean, just...why?" he asked.

"All demons have to be exterminated like the infestation they are-whether they are children is irrelevant, they are demons before they are children. They deserve to die, that's true justice-not the cowards treaty," Leiden said, Nikolai suppressed a grimace of dissatisfaction.

"Take this advice. Stop listening to Alexis so much. She might be my sister but she still tests my patience. She doesn't understand the cause, and she tries to poison people against it. Take no heed of her."

"But what if she's right?" Nikolai asked with apprehension, his body tensing-prepared to jump if Leiden lunged at him.

"Everyone is trying to tell me I'm wrong, it's weak and pathetic for cowering from the glory of the kill whether its child, mother and something else!" Leiden roared, the fur on the back of his neck prickling upwards into a threatening, menacing mane that bulked his butch frame.

"Nikolai I swear to you right now you will either die for the cause or die for your cowardice, just like all the deserters will die too!" he screamed, his jaws gnashing and muzzle crinkling in a feral, rabid snarl before he charged towards Nikolai, who jumped aside and watched as Leiden run off into the distance, howling for his soldiers to join him so they could rally the camps for the impending war.

His soldiers. Just like Tick and Halone had been. Both bleeding to death in the dirt, his throat ripped out and her savagely mauled. It was no way to go.

Losing sight of Leiden as he continued to run away at full speed he caught sight of something to the side of Leiden, sniffing at the air to catch a scent he smelt pungent healing herbs and bloodied bandages-both too strong to catch a smell of the actual being.

As the figure began moving towards the camp Nikolai wondered if they were a demon spy on a reconnaissance mission. Maybe the we're moving closer to get a better view of the camp.

Maybe this was a ploy, perhaps Leiden had put someone up to this-act like a spy, and if Nikolai was to do nothing Leiden would view him as the weakest link and a threat. And Leiden had a zero tolerance policy on those.

Deciding to investigate he tentatively closed the distance between himself and the stranger. He began to make out details on them, a gemstone was embedded in their chest-they weren't a demon, they had to be a HDG creature, those were the only creatures that relied on gemstones to purify the air as it entered their lungs and allow them to breathe in the air that would otherwise be toxic to them.

Then he noticed the sparkle of the piercing catching in the sunlight. It was a chain connecting a bridge and an ear piercing. Just like Halone's, was he seeing a ghost?

Then she called out to him, "Nikolai!".

"Halone?".

"Can't get rid of me that easily!" she teased, a smirk dancing across her lips as she approached him. He noticed she had changed her hair, it was now just a simple light brown fringe-unlike her long and flowing hair colour shades of brown, black and white.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"With my parents, I limped my way their territory and passed out from blood loss and woke up to being bandaged up by them. They saved my life."

"Thank God they found you."

"What, you missed me?" she asked.

"It's not everyday I find someone as kinky as you."

Halone laughed, feeling slightly awkward and at a loss at what to say.

"It's not just that y'know," he began, "you're a damn fine soldier. A woman after my own heart. Plus I get used to having you around to talk to."

Halone laughed genuinely this time.

"Well I'm glad I can keep you company again. For what it's worth I missed you," she said.

Nikolai chuckled lowly, this time it was his turn to laugh awkwardly.

"You don't have to say it back. But I think it all goes unspoken. We make quite the pair."

"Speaking of pairs where's Shadow and Sky?" she asked, "I came here to get them a g-t-f-o before Leiden got back."

"If you're smart you'll stay," Nikolai said.

Halone quirked a brow, "why?".

"He threatened to kill me. He was dead serious. He told me he'd kill any deserters," Nikolai explained.

"What if he decides to finish what he started and just kills me anyway?" Halone asked.

"Want my advice? Stay here, pull your weight and prove your more useful to him alive than dead. That's what I'm going to do, deserting is certain death."

"Hmm," Halone mulled over his words before suddenly she caught the smell of petrol.

Then a flaming arrow landed in the campfire a few feet away, sending up a flare of red hot flames that swallowed those sat around it, screams lurched out of their scorched throats and pierced the mid morning air.

"Demons! Demons! We're under attack!".

"Evacuate the camp!".

"We have to go!" Nikolai yelled.

"Where's my kids?! I'm not leaving without them!" Halone cried out.

Nikolai stopped dead in his tracks and looked back to Halone, "they're in the camp southwest of here, c'mon I'll take you there, we should be safe there!" he shouted, she took off running and the pair abandoned the camp as it went up in flames and a thick blanket of ash choked their lungs.

Destruction. And all for what?

Up in flames. Burnt to ashes, reduced to nothing.

And all for what?