"W-what do you mean, they got?" Napoleon could detect the fear in Celestia's voice, the way her eyes flitted up to him nervously, before focusing on something on the ground; the way she would shy away when he offered her his hand.

Napoleon smirked, enjoying the rare occasion. He spent so much time paranoid about his own life, it was a relief to get the chance to relax a little bit.

"I forget how deeply you feel," Napoleon remarked. It still surprised him, seeing people get so sad over trivial little things. No wonder they'd lost. War was not for the faint of heart.

"You don't?"

"If we felt things the way you did, we would be broken. We're really not as heartless as you think."

"You say that, but the way you kill without flinching makes me think otherwise," Celestia retorted.

"I wasn't always like this," he admitted. "Come, walk with me." He extended his hand to her, watching as she shakily put her hand out, before withdrawing it. He didn't have time for this. "That wasn't a choice."

It was ironic how cold her hand was, considering she was the princess of the sun. He led her to a balcony, taking a seat on a loveseat. She took the seat across from him, letting a small bird land on her finger before it flew away.

"Let me tell you a story. I think it'll clear things up..."

****

"Hey! Hey you!" A high voice chirped.

He turned around from the pebble he was kicking, feeling a twinge of annoyance. This was the short break he had after another grueling day of training-the last thing he needed was someone pestering him.

A scrawny boy around his age popped out from behind a crate. He had a head of reddish-purple hair, the curls cropped close to his head.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy, drawing his dagger instinctively. Even at the young age of ten, he had learnt to be wary of everyone he didn't know. "Who are you?" He demanded, putting on his scariest voice.

"Devan. I just moved here. That's my house over there!" He pointed to one of the shacks in the distance.

There wasn't much that remained of the once-glorious Duskan empire. Ever since the Netherbane-Nightshade alliance was established roughly forty years ago, the Dusks had been driven out of most of their territory. His mother and the citizens had to flee all the way to the mostly uninhabited Tenebrisian islands up north, and partnered with the Song family.

The only true building in the area was the giant fortress, which he was standing behind. It was mostly people moving out, never in.

"I'm from a pretty small village," Devan explained. "It's basically in the middle of nowhere."

He nodded, satisfied with Devan's answer. Devan then revealed something from behind his back-it was a spherical object, but rubbery and squishy.

"It's really cool-it bounces when you throw it. See?"

They played, throwing it to and fro, bouncing it on the ground and tossing it as high as they could.

From a distance, he heard the calls of ereza.

"I gotta go," Napoleon muttered, heading around the corner. Devan followed him.

"Who is it?" Devan asked.

"Sister," he mumbled.

"Can I meet her?"

His mood soured at the thought. He liked having something all to himself. There was nothing else of his that was private, or could truly call his own.

"No," he snapped.

"Why?"

Ugh, this guy is persistent, he thought, scrambling for an answer.

"Um...she thinks you smell bad."

"Oh," Devan said, eyes darting around quickly. He gave his shirt a little sniff before wrinkling his nose. "You're right. Sorry."

"It's fine." He rounded a corner.

"Wait! I never caught your name."

"Napoleon. Napoleon Dusk."

And so every day that week, after training, he would meet Devan outside the fortress and they would play ball. Talking, laughing, and sniffing the air to see whose farts smelled worse.

"Definitely yours," Devan insisted.

"It is not my fault we had lentils for lunch the fourth time in a row!" Napoleon excused. "You don't have an excuse! What did you eat anyways?"

"Gruel," Devan admitted, putting on a fake "mom" voice. "Devan! Lunch is ready! Today we're eating gruel-flavoured gruel with a side of gruel!"

And soon they were practically rolling around on the ground laughing, as well as debating whether gruel or lentils was the superior lunch.

He suddenly felt something suspicious. "Your mom makes you lunch? Don't you eat it at school?"

"Uh-uh....." Devan stuttered a bit.

"Is your mom a teacher or-"

"Uh-well-um actually I-"

"Oh! That's it. You're working too?"

"Y-yeah," Devan exhaled in relief.

Not everyone was at school full-time. Some kids would go to school in the mornings, eat lunch at home, and then take afternoon jobs. Others would be scouted to do training at the fortress for free, and would later go on to join the military.

"What do you do?" He asked.

"My parents run a grilled meat stall at the market, and I deliver it when needed." Devan puffed out his chest at the last part. "It tastes really good, so feel free to stop by! What do you do?"

"Military training," he grumbled, rubbing his shoulder. He had bruised it in hand-to-hand combat.

Every Saturday night, Elvira would host meetings, where everyone would list strange sightings and other new things that had happened during the week.

"I hit a bullseye in archery, not to brag," Nereza boasted, giving a pompous toss of her bright blue hair and gazing up at her mother.

Before she had what he and Ebony called the Big Switch, she put all her effort into impressing the empress, and loved to tattle on other students.

She pouted when the empress only nodded slightly, before moving onto Specter.

Specter stared at the ground, mumbling incoherently that archery was stupid and he wanted to go to bed.

"Specter, now," Elvira threw a knife into the table in front of him. "Thank you."

"Uhhhh....we didn't have lentils for lunch today?" Specter tried.

"NO!" Elvria yelled, before taking a few very quick breaths. "First of all, unimportant, and second of all, those WERE lentils!"

"But they were red," he whimpered. "Lentils are green."

"Lentils come in a variety of different colors," Ebony corrected him, and the empress set her focus on her.

"When I was walking around outside, I noticed that the ground was coated in a fine, grey powder. It looks almost like ash. It's possible that there have been nearby explosions, or maybe volcano eruptions. But they weren't here the last time we had a meeting," Ebony said.

The corner of his mothers' mouth twitched up into a slight smirk. "Not bad."

He already knew he was next.

"Napoleon? Anything to share?"

Easy. Devan. But he knew he couldn't say that. He liked that Devan was part of his private world, and he wanted to keep him and training completely separate.

"Anything?" Elvira pressed.

"N-no," he admitted, body tense, the back of his neck starting to burn with angst.

"And yet, you're so talkative with your little friend," she remarked. "Well, if that's all...."

She then gave him a peculiar look he couldn't quite comprehend-something between disappointment and anger.

Friend? How did she know about Devan? But she could always just be referencing Ebony....right?

He was just exiting the room when Nereza pulled him aside.

"You're going to regret that," was all she said, before she turned on her heel and walked away, followed by her three friends.

Regret what? He wondered, but he already knew.

Devan.

*****

Unlike his usual playful demeanor, Devan was dead serious when they next met. "Napoleon, I need you to do me a favor," Devan requested.

"Yeah, of course," he agreed.

"I need Emberlight," Devan asserted.

Emberlight was a yellow material that could only be mined from the volcanoes bordering the empire. It would respond to the heat of other objects, turning hotter and glowing red as it did. It was very useful for keeping warm, especially during the chilly nights. But since it was quite rare, it could only be bought in small quantities.

"Then get some," Napoleon retorted as a joke, but felt guilty when Devan looked down at the floor sheepishly.

"I-we can't afford it," Devan mumbled, kicking dirt up from the ground.

"How much do you need?" Napoleon asked.

"Three clumps will be good."

"I'm not sure how I can get any...I'm not supposed to explore around the city and I'm not sure if my mom will let me-"

"Napoleon, please," Devan begged, grabbing both of his arms. "For me. You know I would do anything for you."

"Ah, I really shouldn't....everyone will be so mad if they find out that I stole from the supply-"

"What, is your mom the empress or something?" Devan snorted, his voice taking on a meaner tone, before freezing, a sly look glinting in his eyes. "You should be fine, then. Who's going to punish you?"

He really, really wanted to help Devan, but he also knew that stealing was a bad idea. And three clumps? Why three?

"Fine, if you don't want to help me, be that way," Devan snapped, before storming away.

"Devan, wait! Devan!!" He sighed dejectedly, returning to his dorm. Maybe the right thing to do was to steal the Emberlight. Devan was one of the few things that brought him happiness. Three seemed a bit excessive, but maybe one for him and each of his parents!

"I'll make it up to you, Devan," he muttered to himself. "I'll do whatever it takes."

*****

"What did you call me here for?" Ebony whined. The supply room was dark and stuffy, and smelled like dried blood. "It's Sunday, ourr rest day and I'm hungry."

"Lunch isn't for another three hours, you know there's nothing to eat," he refuted.

"Ok, fine! But I wanna hang out with Specter," she insisted.

"You can, once you help me with this."

He could see Ebony thinking it over. To her, he was a cool older boy (and the best in training) asking her for help.

"I need to know what it is first. I'll see."

Napoleon exhaled. "I need you to get me three clumps of Emberlight."

"Three?!" She exclaimed. "Why three? Don't you have your own?"

"Yeah, but I lost it," he lied.

"Then ask for another one! Why do you want three new ones?"

"I-I don't want to get in trouble!" he admitted. "Mom will kill me and you know it!"

"Ok, ok, that's a good point," Ebony agreed. "But won't we get in more trouble for stealing? You know if you lose something, the only thing that will happen is Empress Elvira might give you a lecture. If you steal, you get a public flogging. What seems worse to you? Hmph! I'm not doing it. Do it yourself."

"Ebony! You're so talented and so agile, you are perfect for this job! You don't understand! You know I'll get caught, but-"

"No, Napoleon. It's weird that you need three...it's a bad idea. So, bye." She gave him a wave, but he saw her run for the door.

He lunged at her, grabbing a hold of her wrist and yanking her back.

His ability was creating explosions, but he refrained from using it, knowing it would make a loud noise, and might injure her. Even without it, he still managed to restrain her, as she had only just started training this year, at age six, while he had been training for four years.

She tried to scream, but he put his hand over her mouth so no one would hear her.

"Ebony, listen to me."

He put on his Big Brother voice-the voice that he'd use when he wanted Specter to give him his weekly fig.

"I know you really don't want to do this....but it's for a good cause. And I know you're good friends with Specter, you wouldn't want me to hurt him, would you? Because then it would be all. Your. Fault."

Her eyes started to well up with tears, and he felt guilty instantly, before he thought of Devan. He hadn't seen him in a full week, and he hadn't ever experienced such overwhelming feelings of loneliness. When everyone was asleep, he would cry silently as he clutched his Emberlight.

"I know you think that you can just go tell one of the trainers. But they would never believe you. No one would. You want to protect Specter, right?"

She nodded.

"Then get me the Emberlight," he hissed, releasing her. "Meet me here in two days."

She got up, dusting herself off, before bolting out the door.

********

Two days had passed, and instead of meeting Devan at the usual spot, he met Ebony in the supply room.

"Emberlight, please," Napoleon asked, extending his hand. "Emberlight, please," he demanded, and she jumped back, but still handed all three clumps over.

"Thanks, Ebony. I really appreciate it!" He beamed, opening his arms to give her a hug. And he really was proud of her.

But she shifted away from him, activating her ability. Then she was a blur of motion, and the door slammed behind her.

He slumped in defeat. He would make Devan happy, but he had to hurt Ebony in the process.

Though it was all worth it when he saw Devan standing in their usual spot.

"Devan! Devan!" He ran towards Devan, and he turned around. "I have it!"

Devan broke into a grin, pocketing the Emberlight. "Thanks, Napoleon! I knew you would come around!"

Devan gave Napoleon a pat on the shoulder. And he nearly screamed at the top of his lungs in joy. He had his friend back!

"You're pretty cool, you know that, Napoleon?" Devan asked him.

"Uh, thanks, you too!" He returned the compliment. "Can we play ball, please?"

"Sure," Devan agreed.

So they played, he having more fun than he'd ever had in his life. It was nearly pitch black when Devan said he had to go. They were both sweating, but he was satisfied. It was as if they'd made up for the lost time.

"Bye, Devan! When will I see you again?" He asked.

"Soon," Devan smirked. "Very soon."

*****

The room was on fire. Red tendrils of flames curled up to the ceiling, and the smoke burned his throat and his eyes, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. Since when was smoke sour? He wondered, grabbing his towel and putting it over his nose and mouth.

His eyes watered, blurring his vision as he followed his classmates out of the room. They were only thirty minutes into conditioning, the first class, when the fire had started.

Luckily, the hall hadn't burst into flames yet, but he heard shouts coming from the first floor.

"We have to get to the bunker during emergencies!" Nereza said.

"But it's downstairs, and it could be dangerous there," Specter mentioned, already heading towards the upstairs stairwell with a few others.

"Well we can't go upstairs, hot air rises!" Akiro, Napoleon's best friend, yelled.

A second after he did, the stairwell was swallowed up by red fire, Specter and the others screaming as they ran back.

"Let's get to the bunker, NOW!" He roared, all of them immediately nodding, following him down the stairwell.

Their footsteps clopped loudly on the ground as they ran, a few of the kids tripping. They finally reached the landing.

The main room was burning, anyone who was on the floor trying desperately to put the fires out. Arrows, knives and other weapons flew through holes in the wall, occasionally burying themselves in an unfortunate soldiers' body.

"This way!" A soldier led them over to the bunker, casting a protective shield around the group.

He tripped, but her strong hands pulled him up. She opened the hatch of the bunker, letting all of them go inside. The material was fire-proof, so they would be safe.

"What about you?" Specter asked her.

"I'll be fine! You guys just stay there until we come get you," she reassured him.

Once they were all inside, she closed the hatch, shutting them all into darkness.

A few of the kids were crying softly, and as he sat against the cold wall, he winced as they made contact with the burns marring his skin.

The sounds of war outside slowed, until they came to a halt. He shielded his eyes as the hatch door was open, and he rose on shaky legs to greet the aftermath.

The fortress was wrecked with holes, and a few corpses, both Duskan, and what he guessed to be Netherbaenian, littered the floor. Parts of the building were charred.

His mother called everyone in for an emergency meeting. "As you know, there was a brutal attack on our fortress. It seems that the Netherbanes created a flammable bomb using our supply of Emberlight. But how they got it is the question. Someone must've stolen it. Who was it?"

Napoleon dug the nail of his pointer finger into the pad of his thumb, trying to steady his breathing.

He looked up to see Ebony rising to her feet. '"I-it was me. I stole it."

A lot of people gasped audibly throughout the room. Ebony of all people?

"Silence," his mother snapped, eyes darting around annoyedly before fixating on Ebony. "Go on."

"I stole the Emberlight. It was my fault," she said, her lip quivering.

"Why?" the Empress demanded.

"I stole it b-because...b-because I-" she burst into tears. "I really really don't want to say why because I don't want to hurt him and-"

The Empress rose from her throne, walking over to Ebony.

Ebony whimpered. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I just want to protect him!"

Everyone was surprised when the Empress wrapped her arms around Ebony. "Ebony, I admire the way you want to protect your classmates. But the right thing to do is to say who it was. I don't believe that you stole the Emberlight willingly. So who made you do it?"

She bit her lip, shaking in the Empress' arms.

"Just say the name, Ebony. I promise, you will not be punished for what happened. Nothing will happen to you," she reassured her.

"Napoleon!" Ebony screamed, bursting into a fresh bout of tears. "He made me do it or else he would hurt Specter and now I'm scared because he told me not to tell and I just did it and-"

"Don't cry, Ebony," the Empress whispered, stroking her hair. "You did the right thing. You were very brave for telling us."

"Thank you."

"Here, come sit next to me." The Empress beckoned, and Ebony took a seat at the foot of her throne.

"Napoleon." Her sharp voice, such a contrast to the calm way she talked to Ebony, made him stiffen in fear. "You have a lot of explaining to do. A lot."

He sighed. "You're right. I forced Ebony to steal Emberlight, and I threatened to hurt Specter if she didn't. But, I don't see what this has to do with the attack."

"Think, Napoleon. You must've let the Emberlight fall into the wrong hands," the Empress growled.

"Well, I gave the Emberlight to a boy named Devan and-"

No. No. Nonononono.

His world seemed to shatter into a million shards of glass, raining down on him in a parade of humiliation. He fell to his knees, his vision blurring around the edges.

"It-it can't be him! It can't be Devan! Oh my goodness please tell me this isn't true! I thought he was just my friend!" Napoleon shouted, slamming his fist against the ground.

"Your so-called friend was a spy for the Netherbanes," the Empress seethed, her voice tinted with rage.

"I trusted him!" Napoleon yelled.

"You never trust the enemy," the Empress hissed.

"How could I have known?! I didn't even know Emberlight could explode! Hell, I didn't even know that he was in league with the Netherbanes! He didn't look like one!"

"Well you would have known, if you hadn't kept this a secret from all of us," the Empress scolded, stalking over to him. "It's uncharacteristic of you to not share anything at our weekly meetings. I suspected something was going on, but I never thought you would betray us like this!"

"I just wanted to have one thing all to myself, is that too much to ask?!" Napoleon retaliated, backing away from her.

"You cost us lives, Napoleon. Your own selfish desires caused this. This is all your fault, " the Empress remarked, surprisingly composed, the one calm in his chaotic life.

"It's not my fault I'm miserable here!" His voice was raspy from all the screaming he had done.

The Empress stepped closer to him, but he jumped out of reach. "Get off of me!"

"I'm your mother, Napoleon," the Empress reasoned. "I'm doing this because I love you."

"YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!" He roared, one of the lights exploding and raining sparks down on the watching audience.

The room fell quiet.

He sat on the ground, panting from the adrenaline rush. Shit. She's going to kill you. We're dead. The Empress' shadow loomed over him, an ominous threat of what would come next.

She knelt down, so they were at eye level.

"Napoleon, look at me," she asked, her voice sounding almost concerned. "Look at me."

She took his chin in her hand. "I love you. And I am sorry. I am so, so, sorry."

She rose, her voice turning cold as she turned towards two guards. "Grab him."

He was hoisted up by the guards, his feet kicking blindly in mid air as he begged for help. They dragged him towards the door, and his stomach churned at the thought of what might happen to me. "Help me! Please help me!"

"You brought this upon yourself, Napoleon," the Empress said from her spot on the throne, once again unaffected. Nereza tried to get up from her spot at the foot of the throne, but the Empress grabbed her arm, pulling her back down. "Don't help him. He deserves it."

He remembered being strapped down onto a cold, hard, table, and a sedative clouding his senses, then it was all a blank spot.

He remembered Ebony going in to visit him after the operation, then backing away in shock. "That isn't Napoleon! That isn't Napoleon! Where is Napoleon?" She screamed, being dragged away by some of the older kids.

Specter acting increasingly violent, trying to get a reaction out of Napoleon. He slammed him against walls, slapped him across the face, even wrapped his hands around his throat-but was horrified to find that Napoleon wouldn't get mad, or cry, or even yell at him- he would just stare blankly.

Nereza, who at the time was a sort of teacher's pet, liked to find ways to get Napoleon into trouble. Getting flogged, which would've usually made Napoleon a nervous wreck, barely phased him. He just accepted the punishment and moved on, much to her confusion.

He didn't really know what was wrong with him. He just knew that when deaths were announced, he didn't feel sadness. When he got beaten in a fight, he didn't feel anger. And even when Nereza, Specter, Ebony and Akiro combined their apple slices together to give him a full one-he didn't feel anything.

He knew he should've. But they had changed him in that operation. He knew what he was supposed to feel, and he could feel small twinges of it, but it was never the same.

He tested his limits, desperate to feel something. He skinned small animals alive, he terrorized the younger children, he even drove his best friend Akiro to tears. He became hated. Everyone stayed away from him, and he was isolated.

"I want to be like the other kids," he begged his mom when he saw her. "Please."

"You were, once," she remarked. "But you're better this way. "

"But now everyone hates me! And I'm such a horrible person and I kill things and-"

She put a finger to his lips and smirked. "My son, you're much, much better this way."

"My emotions got out of control, so she took them away," Napoleon summarized. Those were hard times, times he didn't like to think about.

"I'm so, so sorry," Celestia whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Sorry isn't going to do anything. I don't need your sympathy." Napoleon cut her off. "Besides," he paused. "I'm much, much, better this way."

Ok, I know that was intense. VERY intense. So, now you know why Napoleon's so messed up. What did you guys think? Vote if you enjoyed it, and comment ANY thoughts. I'd love to hear them! -Sapphire