Part 1

The sound of a child’s laughter filled the previously silent room. The child came into the world with a happy grin on her face and beautiful eyes. She reached for her mother, but recoiled when she noticed she was sick. Brook cried and attacked her captors to try and save her mother when she felt a small prick on her arm. She became very weak and drowsy. The man holding her took her away and the room darkened.

She remembers the pain that was forced upon her in her early years. In the midst of it though, she learned to escape. She was free from whoever those guys were, but she did miss the blue man. He had blue hair, and he acted blue. So he was blue.

She learned to speak from him and through travelers that she would occasionally follow. She used to live somewhere where snow hugged the grass, but then she had moved so far away that sand would hug the grass now. One day, she figured out that there was a lot of sand. You could dig as far down as 3 trees tall, too, and it all was still sand. Now, she lives in a region with more humans than before. She saw them walk by more often, and stone hugged the grass where they walked.

Leaves hugged the grass now, and the air was becoming sharp. They crunch under her feet, she really enjoyed the sound and feel of the leaves. The trees seemed to be sick. They couldn't hold their leaves up anymore.

She flew to the top of a tree. It was very difficult to do with her weak wings but she was getting better. Her wings were cutting the wind better and better every day. Soon, she would soar to better places. Where snow, sand, and leaves hugged the grass. She loved all of them. She especially really missed the snow.

She was just about to leap to another treetop when she saw the bird people trying to catch her again. They were regular people but they kinda looked like birds, because of their white beaks. They tried shooting her with darts and putting a net over her, but they were stupid, thinking they could outmaneuver her. Stupid humans.

You need wings to catch me, Stupids.

She giggled and glided across the treetops, escaping them easily, as usual.

Rei was staring off and thinking again.

Did she make a mistake?

She always thinks about that day all those years ago.. the hope that vanished in his eyes..

It was burned into her memories. She had talked to Connor about it, heck, even tried to rescue him once, but she couldn't find him.

He was.. missing? The one answer she received was, "Leo isn't here anymore"

There has to be some way to help Leo. He can't be dead. He isn't dead.

But, what if he starved to death in that room??

No, he would've been found before then.

But she could have opened that damn door.

Rei was crying a bit. She kept thinking until Connor put his hand on her shoulder.

"Stop thinking about it so hard."

His voice sounded more human every day. He built it himself. She could see that he was currently tweaking it because it was open. She hugged him.

"I'm fine.. I just wish things were different that day.."

"Yeah me too.. I'm very worried about what they could've done to him.. but what they do isn't your fault, Rei. You did what you could that day."

…

Rei looked outside the window at her child, playing in the wild flowers. Luceille was running back to the house with an armful of flowers she picked herself. Rei couldn't help but smile.

"I brought you flowers! They were reaalllly pretty today so I wanted to.. put them in the vases!"

Rei smiled. "Alright Lucy. Let's decorate the house."

Luceille did a celebratory hop over to the first vase and counted the flowers as she put them in it. Connor watched them for a moment before he went into his study to work on his devices.

Rei sighed and looked down in thought. Lucielle was about 4 years old now. Born in 2003, about a year after the incident. She reminded her so much of Leo that sometimes she couldn’t bear to look at her without getting teary eyed.

Part 2

The dragon hunters reviewed their requested shipment of biological weapons. Tubs upon tubs of Anthracylin, and various ways of implementation.

Sierra, their leader, was observing the shipment thoroughly. She didn't like the crusaders too much, but they were a valuable asset to their cause. The stuff was potent enough to actually affect dragons, and not many other injections can say the same. Those rag-tag kidnappers seem to actually prove useful lately. About time. However, this doesn’t change the fact that they let my ‘project’ escape. Ho no. Nothing makes up for such a detrimental mistake.. However,

Sierra glanced at her notes, organized neatly on her desk. She had detailed drawings of a girl with long, messy and curly purple hair that had leaves and twigs tangled up in her locks. Her skin gradients between pearlescent scales and flesh in a unique vitiligo. The beast growls through her eyes, but everything else about her is childlike. “Innocent.”

Watching her grow in the wild, like the other beasts, is research enough, for now.

They had an implanted tracker on the child in case she ever wandered too far. It was like taking care of a pet, and it was very infuriating. She had a squad that made sure she was able to find food, water, shelter, everything she could possibly need, so they could monitor her in her own natural way before testing her physiologically. She could be the key to many advancements in Anthracyllin based medicines. Sierra smiled at the thought.

It was only a matter of time.

As Sierra tidied up her desk for the Igor, one of the crusaders approached her. Sierra sighed in annoyance. “I’m not going out with you Natz.” She didn’t even need to look and see if it was that dirty bastard, he was the only crusader dog that would bother her and he always reeked of whisky and smoke. She heard his drunk chuckle. “I’m only checking up on our scouting division is all.. I got pro..promoted you know. Hehe.”

“You’re drunk. Get out of my facility before you set the place on fire again.”

Natz sighed. “Why don’t you loosen up? You’re always so uptight, you should drink more, maybe you’ll be less of a bitch.”

Sierra had never sipped spirits, she thought. “Fine. I’ll humor you just this once because I’ve never gone out to drink.” She had a bad feeling but she dismissed it, blaming it on the low ventilation in the facility. She honestly didn't care who it was with, she just wanted to leave for a little bit. Those walls were driving her insane and she finally had a reason to leave.

Sierra woke up in the Crusader’s bunker, in a bed on one of the lower floors, near the laboratories. She was far from her own bunker. She sat up and the sudden chill she felt reminded her that she was completely bare, beside that son of bitch Natz. She suddenly felt very light headed. She had no recollection of the night before, but it was very easy to assume how the night ended. She facepalmed.

“Oh god..”

Part 3

He remembered his last glimmer of hope very well. Rei.

It was the last night he ever saw them. Rei was carrying Connor, who had a deep injury on his neck. She put her hand on the window to his cell, in tears, "I'm so sorry, Leo."

Of course she would save Connor.

I'm a murderer anyways… heh..

He tried to escape by ramming the door, when he tripped on chains and hit his head very hard, rendering him unconscious.

It didn't take long for the crusaders to find him, though. The lab was the first place they searched. After Vi found him and tended to his wounds, Amy and Creek were all he could think about. He almost mistook Victoria for.. Creek... Natz stopped the angry mob from killing him and told them that he helped the crusaders by contributing to a greater cause.

Leo felt a bit of closure somehow. I helped the crusaders. I'm useful.

Leo was spared and promoted for his noble sacrifice. Vi made sure of it.

Leo lived in silence, and was alienated by what remained of his rank. He ignored them though, he was superior to them now, so their approval is unnecessary. He cut his hair to commemorate his victory on the day Marx died.

But was it worth it? Did she really have to die?

He couldn't get these thoughts out of his head. He moved past it. HE DIDN'T CARE. WHY CAN'T HE STOP THINKING ABOUT THAT DAMNED GIRL?!

He scoffed and stared down often, and he could feel Victoria’s eyes on his back, and every time he looked back at her, she looked away sheepishly, as though she had done something wrong.

He sighed and stared off. Vi went to him and hugged him, comforted him. Leo was.. calmer now.

I owe this girl my life. He put his arm around her shoulder. He felt her smile. “You’re finally warming up to me.”

Leo sighed and manipulated his feelings into comfort from her. For a moment, her red eyes reminded him of Amy’s bad eye. Amy was ashamed of her strange demon eye, but Victoria.. She wears them with pride. She always smiles and provides for the crusaders. She is an outstanding soldier. Leo sighed and replied to her, “I’m confused about some things.”

“About what?”

“I feel like I’ve lost something really special to me, and it’s my fault, and even though it helped the crusaders, I feel no happiness or pride from my actions.”

Vi knew what he was talking about. She let go of him and sat beside him on the desk.

“Well, think about it like this. If you hadn’t killed her, she could’ve killed you. Honestly, I never liked her from the start because I knew she was co-conspiring with her traitor of a father, but I have to respect that she got away with it for so long. If you hadn’t trusted your gut at that moment, you would be dead. You would have died. Connor would’ve died too. And.. I’m glad you’re still alive.” she giggled in her short, cute way and tilted her head a bit. “We could take over this place y’know, but I would need you as a partner.”

Leo had not been able to think while she spoke. He blinked a few times, like the silence after her words threw him off. He thought for a moment. “I don’t think I’m the right person to lead the crusades. I think too much about everything and I have.. violent outbursts sometimes. I’m no leader.”

Vi nodded. “That’s the problem. You don’t have to think so much. You’re cuter when you’re stupid.” She got down and left. “And you owe it to the ones before you to create a revolution, because you are the only one here crazy enough to do so.” She smirked and turned her head forward fast enough to flip her hair as she skip-walked away.

He sat there and stared  down, in his thoughts. What if..? If Vi knew he could overthrow the crusades, he definitely could. He could turn things around, keep things in check, make up for what he had done. He stopped himself from thinking about Creek and Amy. It’s not like he loved them, but he did, at one point, care for them both very much as friends. He still couldn't believe they were both gone, or that Amy had betrayed him like that, but.. It’s just part of the grieving process.

He was thinking about them anyway, unfortunately.

Part 4

It had been a few weeks since that night. That damn night.

Sierra had hoped she would at least be able to remember her first time, but it is what it is.

She could tell for sure now. She was definitely pregnant, She sighed and leaned back in her chair. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to work because of it. She had to find a temporary replacement for the hunters while she was in labor. How annoying.

She then had a sudden realization. It made her choke on her breath.

What if Estelle found out about this? She surely would.. at least after the child is born.. Especially since she has a child of her own.

She thought to herself, “I just won’t tell him about it”

Ameille would figure it out though. She’s too smart and paranoid about every woman Natz interacts with to not be able to gather that this child is her husband’s. She’s also too arrogant to accept that I didn’t want the child, especially one with her “perfect” husband, but she would never believe me. Sierra’s mind was racing. She would have the child, and then what? Is death inevitable? Even if she ran, Estelle would hunt her for the rest of her life, just like Connor and Rei. And Brook.

It was her only real chance though. She would likely find out soon and hunt Sierra for “tempting her beloved.”

She got up and started formulating her escape plot.

Brook’s belly grumbled with hunger. She hadn’t found food in a few days.

She scurried on the forest floor, waiting for some unsuspecting critter to crawl within her reach. She caught the scent of something.. sweet.. nearby while she was focusing on trying to catch an animal’s scent. She followed the scent cautiously to some sort of building. She was a bit too close to the huge human colony, but the smell piqued her interest enough to ignore it.

She peeked into the window and noticed about 4 humans were inside, sitting at a long table, drinking.. Piss? Gross. It seemed to be making them stupid.

Brook thought they were already stupid for drinking piss.

As she kept observing the room’s features, a girl with long, braided white hair and sleek black wings just like Brook’s walked to the window from another room, carrying some sort of dish. The smell got stronger. Brook realized the scent was coming from the dish and jumped into the room and stole it and ran to the corner before devouring it like a wild beast.

The girl was startled but laughed. Brook looked over at her, with pie covering the bottom half of her face and her hands. She was embarrassed.

The girl giggled and stuck her hand out. “If you wanted pie, you could’ve come through the front door and had some! Is your mouth ok? That just came out of the oven.”

Brook just looked at her in awe. She’s just like me! I wonder how fast her wings go!

“My name is Len. What’s yours?” Len held out her hand for some reason.

“...Brook.” Brook looked at her hand then at her own. Are her hands small or are mine huge? And.. She doesn’t have any scales.. Or horns.. She recoiled a bit.

A tall human.. No, this wasn’t a human.. A tall.. Creature that was shaped like a human walked over to them and observed Brook. His orangish eyes glowed. Brook could sense his power and tensed up a bit.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Come here. I have more food.. Upstairs.” The Creature ripped a paper off of the wall and led Brook upstairs.**