AuthorsNote: It's been a while... I've had a lot going on and this story was not at the top of my priorities list. I apologize... Please review, or message me for questions. Also, my beta reader hasn't had time to help with my story anymore, so he quit. If any of yall are interested in beta reading (meaning you get to read these stories as I work on them)... PM me.

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Priscilla

(a few hours earlier)

Priscilla jolted upright, she had been dreaming, she looked down at her body and saw that she was still in her human form.

Her dream had showed her the past and it brought back memories. Although she didn't remember everything, she remembered enough.

She remembered that she was an awakened being, and that she had awakened while hunting down Teresa, the same Teresa who had devoured her family.

"Teresa… I will find you…" she said to herself seething with rage.

Suddenly Raki began to wake up. He opened his eyes and looked up at her, she looked down at him.

For the most part she ignored whatever it was he was saying, she was too hungry to care. However there was one thing she did want to know…

"Raki… What am I?" she asked. She needed to know if he would tell the truth.

After waiting for what seemed like forever he responded.

"You are a soldier." he told her.

It was not the response she was looking for… but at this point she just didn't care. His usefulness had run out.

She was starving.

She debated whether or not she should eat him.

She decided not to. He HAD taken care of her, so it was her way of saying thank you. But it was the last favor she would ever do for him.

Priscilla made her way to the darker part of the cave so that Raki would feel more inclined to leave.

At last he did.

Soon afterwards, when Raki was nowhere to be seen, she stepped outside.

"All this time… I have kept myself hidden." she thought.

"I will hide this no more…"

"I have been trapped and compressed for too long."

Priscilla's bones began to crack and her skin began to turn purple.

"Teresa…" she repeated the name in her mind.

"I will find you…" she growled.

Priscilla's body grew taller.

"And when I do…" Wings shot out from her back, and a horn shot out of her forehead.

Priscilla lept out into the sky and flew away, heading immediately for the town she first met Teresa in.

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The Viper

"So… He was here…"

The Viper held one cold and metallic hand against an old escape pod which had planted itself deep into the ground.

It could only belong to one person…

The Viper climbed inside, he began to look around for one very specific item.

After about a minute of searching the Viper stepped out of the pod. "Ah… so you took it with you… that wasn't very smart, now I can make you come to me." chuckled the Viper.

The Viper had been searching for the handheld radio that was put into every escape pod. As it seemed, Raki had taken the radio when he first left the escape pod along with all his other things.

The Viper took a step back and sat down. He took off his bag and placed it between his feet. He opened it slowly and carefully.

The Viper carefully removed his own long distance radio, which he used to contact his commanders.

He held the radio to his mask and began to speak. "This is Viper, I have important information on the whereabouts of target LS-11…"

After a moment of silence an eager voice came over the radio.

"Have you found him yet?" asked the man on the radio.

"Negative, but I found his escape pod, and I have reason to believe that the people in this area know his whereabouts." Explained The Viper. "But I need a supply drop, Specifically one with explosives, grenades, and mark IV Olympain Armor."

"Roger that, whatever you need, just bring him back here, dead or alive. And be careful, we need his body intact." said the man on the Radio.

"Roger that…" replied The Viper.

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Raki & Clare

Dread, that was the only feeling that came to Raki's mind when he saw her.

Clare stared into his eyes, with her own eyes widened.

No one said a word, the wind stopped blowing, every bird in the area stopped singing. The entire world fell quiet and still for one moment.

Helen slowly released her grip on Raki. Cynthia saw this and understood the message.

Helen and Cynthia slowly began to back away, leaving the other duo with the most tense conversation of their lives.

They continued to stare at each other, neither of them said a word. However they both wanted to, each one wanted to say something to the other, but neither of them knew what to say.

After an eternity the silence was broken.

Raki began to speak. "Clare… I-" he started, but was cut off by a cry from Clare, accompanied by a swift right hook to the face.

Clare's punch was hard, and it knocked Raki to the ground, but it didn't knock him out.

Clare stood above him, her breathing was heavy, her fist was still raised, and she had a look of utter rage in her eye.

Raki looked up at Clare with a pained expression. Not because he was physically hurt, but because he realized that he had hurt Clare so bad that she had to lash out at him.

Clare, internally, was a flurry of emotions. Part of her was full of rage and anger at the sight of him. But another part of her was secretly overjoyed to see him. She had missed him...

With shock Clare looked at her own hand which was still closed in a fist. She slowly opened it and brought it down to her side.

She had struck him…

She couldn't even believe it herself.

Raki stood up, they were roughly five feet away from each other.

She stepped closer to him. Every step sending wave after wave of anxiety and disturbance through both of them.

Maybe she should have just walked away, not even acknowledging his existence, but something was pulling her closer, drawing her in.

As Clare got closer, Raki's hair stood on end, he felt chills flow through his body, freezing him to the bone.

As Clare stepped closer she reflected upon everything.

Raki had been forced into slavery after she left him in the forest…

No...back then, she didn't just leave him, she abandoned him…

He was brought to the north and thrown into a cell, left alone to die.

He was brought onto another planet and was forced to fight in a war he didn't belong in. He survived what no one else could, all so he could keep his promise and find HER.

Clare received a small sense of joy from this thought, knowing that he had done all of that for her. It felt good to know that someone cared that much.

However her pleasant thoughts would be cut short as she continued to reflect.

She was now three feet away.

While he was there, in that war, he met Priscilla.

The same Priscilla who had taken everything away from her…. The same Priscilla who killed Teresa.

That very same monster had manipulated and fooled Raki, along with nearly making Clare awaken.

Deep down she knew that Raki was not to blame for believing in Priscilla's humanity…

But….. He left.

Even after finding out that she was a monster he still went with her and allied himself to her.

He knowingly sided with Priscilla…

And that…

Was unforgivable…

Clare stopped dead in her tracks, roughly two feet away from Raki.

Raki looked into her eyes, they seemed to dart around in a confused manner.

Raki knew what she was thinking. Every fiber of his body wanted to say something, to say anything, to somehow put his pride away and get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness. But instead he stood there, not moving a muscle.

Clare's gaze became fixed on Raki, and her look of mixed emotions and confusion suddenly shifted into a look of bitter resentment and disgust.

She spun herself around and began to walk away. Refusing to look back.

There was nothing left to say...

Upon seeing this, Raki's heart became heavy, full of leaden pain and sorrow.

As Clare walked away Raki lifted one hand up, reaching out for her. "Clare wait!" he plead.

Clare stopped and looked halfway over her shoulder.

"Clare… please… I didn't know about her… I didn't know what she was to you...I'm sorry...please…" he managed to choke out. "Please just forgive me…"

Clare faced straight ahead and closed her eyes, memories flashed before her, memories of everything good that happened between them.

Her memory showed her the time when she first met him, how everyone in town had been terrified of her, everyone except for him.

She remembered how he had defended her in Rabona, and how he had stopped her from awakening.

She remembered how he fought Ophelia for her.

She remembered their kiss and their promise.

She remembered finally finding him, and spending time watching over him.

She remembered Saints Day, and his drunken ramblings.

She remembered him rushing in last second and saving her from Riful.

Clare opened her eyes and felt an all too familiar sting from behind them.

After a long pause she looked over her shoulder once more, "You can come with us…" she managed to say.

"To Hayshen…" she finished doing her best to keep an emotionless composure.

She faced forward and began to walk quickly, not wanting anyone to see her face.

Raki felt relieved knowing that she would at least speak to him.

Helen and Cynthia emerged back onto the trail near Raki.

Cynthia smiled at Raki and then hurried to catch up with Clare.

Helen leaned over near Raki and whispered in his ear. "Good job kid… I don't think she hates you…"

Upon hearing this, Raki let out a small smile.

"...as much." Winked Helen.

He quickly turned his head toward her. "As much?" Raki asked worriedly.

Helen just chuckled and began to walk forward.

Raki stayed put for a moment, then he just shook his head and hurried to catch up with Helen, who was still lagging behind the other two.

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Raki

The four of them, Clare, Cynthia, Helen, and Raki, were closing in on Hayshen, the distance between getting smaller and smaller.

Clare and Cynthia were taking point, and Helen and Raki lagged behind.

Raki still wasn't sure if he and Clare were on speaking terms, so he stayed back, playing it safe.

Crunch

He looked straight at Helen who, to his surprise, had just bitten into an apple.

"Helen?" he asked.

"MmHm?" responded Helen, with part of the apple still in her mouth.

"Where the hell do you keep finding those? I'm almost certain apples don't grow up here." he asked.

Helen swallowed her food, then looked up at him. "That's my secret!" she smiled.

Raki shook his head. "What? Are you blessed by some kind of apple god?" he asked sarcastically.

Suddenly Helen stuck her hand out and stopped Raki from taking another step.

Raki looked forward and saw that he had almost walked right into Clare, who was stopped in the middle of the road, looking at Helen.

"Helen, we are almost in the town, will you please put your hood up." she reprimanded.

"Whatever." she said, pulling her hood over her head.

Before turning back around, Clare spared a small glance at Raki, then she proceeded to turn and face the town.

The Four of them walked into town, carefully.

Every single one of them felt like something was wrong.

Cynthia started. "It's so…"

"So quiet…" Raki finished her sentence.

They walked further into town, passing by buildings that were so quiet they seemed empty. If they hadn't seen the occasional glance from inside the window, they would have thought that the entire town had been abandoned.

"We should head for the center of town" said Cynthia "If anyone's gonna be outside, they would probably be there." she said.

"I wouldn't do that…" said an unrecognized voice from behind them.

The four of them turned around and saw a middle aged man sitting on his porch stairs.

The man had an empty look in his eyes, like he had his soul ripped out. His face looked like that of a recently deceased corpse.

When he talked to them it seemed like he wasn't really looking at them, but looking through them.

"Ever since that man passed through…" he mumbled.

"I'm sorry." said Raki "What happened? Where is everyone? What's at the center of town?" he asked.

The man continued mumbling, Raki could barely make out what he was saying, but at one point it seemed like he was saying something among the lines of "Haven't even cleaned up the mess…"

"We should keep moving…" said Helen.

The four of them began to head for the center of town, passing by building after building.

At last Clare and Cynthia turned the last corner, and they both simultaneously saw the center of town.

Both of their eyes widened at the same time. Cynthia let out a quiet "Oh god…"

"What? What is it?" asked Raki, hurrying to up to the corner so that he could see.

He hurried in front of Clare and Cynthia, and then he stopped dead in his tracks.

Bodies…

The dead bodies of children, women, and men alike littered the ground. Blood stained the stones on the ground, and the walls of surrounding buildings.

The bodies were covered in blood, and filled full of…

"Bullet… Holes…" said Raki.

At least thirty bodies lined the street. All of them with looks of terror and pain etched permanently on their face.

His eyes were wider than anyone else's, his breathing sped up and his heart rate went through the roof.

He had seen this carnage too many times before.

Reality began to flicker. It was happening again.

He quickly stepped off to the side, away from the others. He faced away from the bodies and leaned against the wall of a building.

He was shaking violently.

Clare looked at him and immediately recognized what was happening, she remembered exactly what Deneve said the first time it happened.

Raki's mind flashed images of dead soldiers over and over. Unlike before, he wasn't pulled into his mind, but his vision began to flicker. One moment he was in Hayshen, the next he was standing over the bodies of dead soldiers.

Clare ran over to him.

"Hey it's not real! There's nothing there! Stay with me!"

Raki blinked and jolted back as he was brought back to reality.

He looked to his left and saw that Clare was standing in front of him.

He looked at her arms, he hadn't noticed immediately but she had placed them on his shoulders.

Clare saw him look at her arms, she quickly removed them.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

Raki opened his mouth to speak, "Y-yea I'm fine…"

"What the hell happened here?" asked Helen.

They had all seen their fair share of carnage, but the way that the townspeople were acting, and the way the bodies were laid out… It just seemed so much worse.

"Why would someone do this?" wondered Cynthia.

Her question was rhetorical, but nevertheless she received a response.

"To send a message…" said another unseen voice.

All four of their heads turned to the right, to see a pale, ghostly looking man exiting his home.

"What message? And to who?" asked Raki, fearing that he already knew the answer.

"What's your name kid?" asked the pale man.

"It's Raki…" he responded.

"Hmm…" the man's eyes widened. "Does the phrase LS-11 mean anything to you?" asked the man.

Raki froze up. "LS-11?" he mumbled. LS-11 was the special callsign given to him when he passed special forces selection. Every operator was given a callsign with two letters and any amount of numbers.

Raki slowly and rigidly nodded his head.

"Hmm…" said the ghostly man. You see those two bodies over there? He asked pointing to a woman and a little girl.

"Yea…" replied Raki quietly.

"Well kid…That's my wife and only daughter… And they are dead because of you… them and countless others… that man said he left this same message in every town he passed since Douga. The same message, just for you…"

Raki's heart dropped into his stomach, he froze up, his eyes began to sting. He now understood that countless innocent people lost their lives because of him.

Helen spoke up. "Hey cut it out asshole! This isn't his fault! Stop saying that shit!"

Raki piped up. "What was his message? What did he want?" he pleaded.

The ghostly man sat down, and unsheathed a knife.

"Five words… that's all he said…" mumbled the man, twirling the knife in his hand. "My entire family died for five stupid fucking words…" choked the man, tears rushing to his eyes. "It's the only reason I still live, so I can pass on these five fucking words to you! So that no one else has to die for your sake!" Roared the man

Each word hit Raki like a freight train. "Please sir, what did he say?" Raki begged.

The man held the knife to his own throat, "He wants your cooperation…. Or you life…"

As the man finished his sentence he slid the knife across his throat, killing himself.

The four of them watched on in horror, as the man, who had nothing left, choked on his own blood.

When the man's heart finally stopped beating Raki fell to his knees.

He declared to himself that the death of these innocent people would be avenged, that he would make it right.

Even if it meant dying.

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Tabitha

The search had been going on for hours, but nobody found any trace of Raki

Since the morning after that man had arrived at their hideout Tabitha and three of her comrades were scouring the north, searching for any sign of the young man but found nothing.

Miria had gone south, closer to Hayshen, Yuma had gone farther north, and Deneve was checking the west, leaving Tabitha with the east.

Tabitha was getting ready to call off her search when she noticed something off in the distance, something was falling… from the sky.

It had to be just a few miles away, but it was falling fast.

She picked up her pace and began heading towards the falling object.

Roughly ten minutes after the object landed she had closed in near it's position.

Her instincts told her to stay quiet, and out of sight.

She detected no aura, but that wouldn't help much if she was facing a human.

She got even closer to where she believed it to have landed, after a long uncanny silence she finally heard something to the left. It sounded like rustling, or shifting.

She moved closer to the noise, maintaining a low profile.

At last, hidden in the tree's she saw a vessel, similar to the "pod" that Raki had come from, but this one was smaller, perhaps a third of the size.

Her entire body laid down, hidden behind branches for cover.

She was about to move closer when she saw that same man from the night before step out from behind the vessel. His armor looked different, it was even bigger than before, she doubted his armor could be penetrated by any standard attack.

How had she not heard him with all that armor on.

What shocked her most was his face, he was holding his helmet in his hands, clearly about to put it on, revealing his entire head.

He was completely bald and his skin was pale and veiny. He had black eyes and blue lips.

He placed the helmet on his head and locked it in place.

Suddenly, his masked face looked straight in her direction.

Shocked, she lightly gasped and quickly moved her right hand back so that she could move her body back, but when her hand landed she heard a snap. She looked down at her hand and saw that she had broken a twig.

Her head quickly jolted back up to look at the Viper, but he had disappeared. She moved her head around quickly and could find no sign of him. She began to stand up when she saw a shadow cast down beside her.

With speed faster than any normal human eye could track she stood up, turned around and unsheathed her sword.

But before she could take her first swing she was swiftly knocked down by a punch to the face.

No ordinary human could have hit her that hard.

She looked up, her vision fuzzy and doubled. She saw the Viper kneeling over her, one hand on her sword arm, and one hand on her throat.

"How did he move that fast?" she wondered. "And why did he not make a noise?"

"Ya know… I was kinda hoping for the bitch with the chin length hair… but you'll just have to do."

Tabitha had no choice. She had to release her yoki, it was life or death.

With all her power she attempted to throw him off of her arm, but to no avail, his armor weighed an ungodly amount.

He began to squeeze his hand around her throat.

Instantly her airway collapsed and she couldn't breathe.

The Viper maintained his pressure.

With her left hand she tried to rip his arm off of her neck, but it wouldn't budge.

He lifted her into the air, letting go of her right arm, which had already dropped her sword.

Her face began to turn purple from lack of oxygen.

She released more and more yoki, but couldn't get him off.

Her head was pounding, her hearing was starting to vanish.

"I'm going to die…" She thought. "I failed… I failed my comrades, I failed all of them…"

Her vision began to darken, and she began to lose feeling in her body.

At last, Tabitha went limp, and the Viper dropped her body to the ground.

The Viper kicked her lightly, making sure she wouldn't get back up, he then threw her body over his shoulder and walked off towards Pieta.