"So, Reana really isn't here anymore."

"Yes. Her volunteering period is over. We're under staff right now." Bryan said solemnly. "Glad to see you're in one piece."

I knew he was always looked exhausted even before we got along, but this time, he looked extremely worn out. His usual dark toned skin turned pale, his hair messy, and his body looked thinner. "You're not going?"

"To where?" Bryan replied bitterly. He gestured on all of his body. "You think I wasn't from around here?"

"Probably."

Bryan sighed. "You're half right," he admitted. "I am not from here. Not from Yemen, at least. But is that matter? This endless war had taken not only lives from millions of survivor of this planet."

I shifted my gaze to serene Fatima on my lap before wandering to the desert aroung us, comparing the sight of this camp before I was captured.

"Is this all of them?"

"As you see." Bryan told grimly. "We have nothing much left. I've asked for supplies and more staffs, but we're in Maha's territory now. Everything about Humans were regulated strictly." He laughed bitterly. "Moving out again was not even an option. With this mess and s many lives on stake, none of us can make it to another country."

He looked Fatima who hugged me tightly, soundly sat on my lap.

"Good thing is, that girl finally opened up to someone other than Reana." Bryan told me. "The first month was a mess. She refused to interact with anyone. We've begun to think about replacing her to a safer place. Far away from this war. She refused."

On my lap, Fatima suddenly nodded. She gazed up on me with unusually happy face. "Fatima ... stay!"

"You should sleep."

The girl shook her head. "No."

Fatima poked my shirt, she pointed at her chest. Then she shook her head.

"She doesn't want you to go." Bryan explained when I was at loss. Fatima spoke in puzzle again. "Because the last time you were here, you leave her."

She pouted and snuggled to me even closer.

"Will you stay?" Bryan stopped me. His eyes met mine and I saw anxiety clouded his eyes. "This time?'

That question finally out. Honestly, I didn't know what to do next. But Reana isn't here and I heard Equatorial was in mess. Just like Hadriah. I am a fugitive now. Alliance's couldn't just sat idly. I brought Lohengrin with me, so they might have sent pursuer to drag me back and sent me to where I supposed to be: Equatorial Federation.

No one talked between us. Winds of night whirled wildly outside, like a sand storm.

"No." I told him. Fatima hold me tighter. I hugged her close. "I will leave immediately. I came here to make sure you were all right. All of you. That's all."

"I see." Bryan sighed. "Many things have happened to you."

I looked at my arms. The pain in my chest now spiraling, whirling like a wind. Uncontrollable. Though, it didn't feel bad at all, I couldn't get used to things like this in anytime near. I was Fatima safe right now. Because I haven't take half of the drugs yet. If I took it, I couldn't be holding her like this.

This girl would be nothing but a hindrance, I would think like that for sure. Abandoning her would be the best and the first choice in my mind and there was no doubt I would do that immediately. Leaving her to the world that could do anything to her.

I flinched when Fatima suddenly trembled in my arms.

"Many things happened indeed, Oberst."

That voice cracked every last of peace I've felt here. The winds got chilly as I turned around, facing a floating shackle-blade.

Alliance's soldier stood before my eyes, with his subordinates surrounding me. I didn't hear or sense his whereabouts. It wasn't something extraordinary with my current condition, but the chilling sensation crept up my spine and the floating silver chain around me was saying something else.

Behind him, Bryan stood still like a good kid, calmly surrounded by men from Alliance. He didn't seem surprise or afraid when pointed his gun to me, shot me multiple times and pushed me out of the tent

Something in my stomach burn, spun, and burst out like a flame. My head hot with rage. My chest burned with pain and my lungs dry because of their engulfed merciless blaze. I tugged Fatima closer to my chest as the chain encircling us.

"His Eminence has requested your return immediately." Leutnant Dimitri said, didn't even bother to hide his true voice. "Oberst Nathaniel."

***

My back crashed the ground with a loud thud, when we were thrown off the tent. The gust of wind and the cold of silent slapped me on the face. I looked around, seeing no trace of humans left. They were here just a moment ago, doing chores, but now all of them disappeared like smokes.

"Surprising humans.'" The Alliance's soldier remarked. "With only a single wanr, they run for their lives like flock of animals."

The shackles spiraling in the air like a tentacles. The blades aimed at me while bullets kept tormenting my movements by circling me and entrapped me within the chain's territory.

Just like with Generaloberst Ares, my memory only knew his name and the weapon he used. I recognized the weapon and the owner: Leutnant Dimitri. Nothing else, not even those shackles.

"I always knew you had a soft spot." Dimitri approached us. He looked at Fatima with a look that left me shuddered for no reason. "But this is not even a proper joke."

In short, I was in great disadvantage, so I ran away, but not before paid attention to the man that stood behind Dimitri. Once I thought he would look like a good boy, but when I saw his frowning face, something was surely wasn't right.

The hair in my hand stood up at its end. Something was reverberating through all of my arms, like a wind. But it wasn't wind. No wind gave this effect on me. But it indeed flow like a wind.

And it came from Dimitri.

Once again, bullets came from all directions. While holding Fatima close, I dodged all that bullets, almost never made it for those projectiles flew faster than any human's modelling. We took a leapt and jumped over a barricade of Alliance's soldier. My mind went hazy, clouded by emotions. The Lohengrin and the drug in my back slowly weighing me up.

"Fatima." I whispered. "Please hide somewhere—

"Fight." The girl looked upwards. Rather than a crybaby like she always ought to be, Fatima looked unusually determined. Her lips are trembling and her face as white as snow, but her eyes shone brighter. Determined. "Fatima. Stay. Fight!"

The rage in my stomach, the burns in me, slowly drifted away, only by her determined looks. Humans are bunch of liars. But I must admit, some of them were brutally honest to the bone.

"Thank you." I said earnestly to her, confessing what I always felt about humans like her. "Thank you very much, Fatima."

Then, there were no time to talks anymore. Bullets and people were chasing after us. I crouched, slide, skid, and jumped to dodge every single attack. My clothes ripped, my bare feet numbed, as well as my arms, but adrenaline stopped me from being exhausted.

"But it's too dangerous." I told her as I brought her down behind boxes of supplies. We exchange looks. "Hide here until you heard no one walks roamed this area."

"Fatima fine." She lift her pinky finger. "Fight with you. Promise."

This girl didn't know when to give up. I grabbed her hands in return, denying her promise. "No." Then a strong gust of wind slashed behind me. I turned around, ready to evade the attacks, but then something strange happened.

The bullet stopped mid-air. The strange wind came back, but this time, it felt softer, like a breeze. Then my eyes saw a blue electric wave faintly emerged from Fatima's body. It swirled and flew to the bullets around us. Those projectiles dropped like a piece of junk, along with another dozens of bullets. They were no longer threats.

"Fatima?' I turned around, seeing her eyes shone brightly. Questions built up in my mind along with tons of confusion. "What did you—

Storm of chains leapt and attacked us. Blood splattered to my face as a chunk of my arms got ripped off, along with Fatima's. The chains returned, ready to pierced our brains with it this time, but once again, the blue electric waves of Fatima wrapped the chains, stopped them, just like that she did with the bullets.

"What an interesting pet you've got there, Oberst." Dimitri's voice crept up on my back like a snake. "Now I can report to General about one of his lost guinea pig." He looked at me with oddly satisfied look. "I see, you haven't know her yet. The Assimilation Kid."

I fought my best to stay at him, not getting distracted by his words.

But the word Assimilation was more than enough to fuel me up.

Once I heard that name, back when I was working under Raphael. A project to combine the DNA of Humans and Martian who have developed an advanced physical and intelligence.

"Not letting down your guard." He sighed. "Boring."

Like a snake, he launched the counter attack from every directions by spreading his staff into shackles once again. But the shackles stopped mid-air once again and even this time, they were disintegrated like dust. Left me with only the bullets as threats. Fatima coughed besides me and blood sprouted from her mouth.

"Fatima, stop it right now." I hugged her closer. "You hurt yourself."

"Explain...." She whispered. "Hate me?"

"No." Whatever she was trying to say, there is only one thing I got from her sentences. "I don't hate you." I said. "But please stop protecting me. I was more capable of yourself right now."

But of course she didn't listen. None of them would listen. Just like that stupid man. They both dying but pushed themselves too far. And I was in situation where I faced a merciless enemy. Whether my life or them. I would gladly give mine if that could save her.

I launched another attack, right at the time when one bullet pierced through my shoulder blade.

***