M: The stranger fought alongside Wren, the two were even back to back at one point as they kept the Jacobites at bay.  They fought for a while, it seemed like when they killed one enemy another would take his place, but they were eventually able to eliminate all of them.

"Well, I suppose I misjudged you before," the stranger said, her breathing ragged as the pain of her wounds started to become too much, "perhaps you younger ones are not as fragile as I thought, you impress me."

She fell to her knees, her energy draining through her blood, she slowly lay on her side and chuckled, "Well, guess I'm the one dying a humiliating death after all, oh how karma is a bitch, at least I was able to fight alongside my kind one last time."

N: "The feeling's not mutual," Wren smiled at her, although it didn't have any warmth, "anyone who treats Wales like that deserves to die." She fell on all fours, the effects of the Sync disappearing, turning her wings and both her eyes to normal, and Royal looked up to the stranger, "See you in hell," before collapsing. The Sync only drained the remaining energy she had, and along with her injury from before, the unconscious hybrid lay there, lying in her own blood.

Soon, Saxon, Johann, and Heinrich, along with some soldiers, ran into the clearing, surprised to see the many dead Jacobites littered around, and in the center lay Royal and the stranger, and the entity immediately noticed the figure's wings. Looking around for Anglo, he guessed that he already found Wales, so he told the two with him to check on the hybrid while he checked on the newcomer.

The pair went over to Royal, who was barely hanging on, her breathing shallow, and they didn't know what to do. Using a medkit provided by a soldier, they tried to close all the wounds they could see.

Crouching down, Saxon saw the ragged breathing of the stranger, and when he looked at her in the eye, an aura did for around her head, "so you're a countryhuman," he spoke. Scanning her injuries, he asked one of the soldiers to bring a medkit, "we need to get you to safety," he said, "I don't know who you are but you need assistance."

M: The stranger's eyes faded from red back to green, "do what you want, it's not like I have the strength to resist at the moment."

She stayed relatively silent as the soldiers treated her, growling every now and then when they did something she didn't like.  When someone tried to remove her mask she grabbed their wrist and squeezed very hard, "touch my mask and I will skin you alive," she warned, her eyes turning back to red.

N: "You're feisty," Saxon commented, and the soldier struggled to escape from her grip, so he sighed, "Let him go, we will be more careful next time." When she eventually did, the soldier rubbed his wrist, red from her grip, and kept a safe distance from the stranger.

The soldiers did the best they could do, patching her up, but when a soldier was about to touch her wings, Saxon stopped them, knowing that you shouldn't touch a winged country's wings, and worried about what she would do. He didn't recall seeing the stranger during the time he has been in the British Isles, he was sure that Wilfred and Wren were the only ones who lived there who were not part of his family, guess he was wrong.

Johann and Heinrich were in more trouble. They were able to roll Royal over onto her side, revealing her stomach wound, and they were trying to block her wound with clean cloths. Whenever they did, blood would still seep through, so they applied more pressure. "We need to take her back," the Mandorian spoke, but the other shook his head.

"She's unstable, moving her would make it worse," Heinrich stated, and he breathed out in relief when no blood appeared on the fifth layer of cloth.

"We are going to take them nonetheless," Saxon told everyone, "Royal can take it, and this one has enough strength to threaten a soldier," and he ordered for stretchers to be brought. After a couple of minutes, they were brought and had the hybrid placed on one.

Placing a stretcher next to the stranger, the entity warned, "Now, don't resist too much, and especially don't hurt my men. It may hurt but we need to move you now." Four soldiers stood on standby, ready for the order.

M: "I'm not as fragile as you new generations," the stranger spat, "I am more than capable of moving on my own."

She rolled over and started trying to stand, one of the soldiers tried to stop her but she pulled out another dagger and pointed it at him, daring him to come closer.  The soldier backed up and the stranger continued to stand up.

"Fucking hell," she said as she adjusted her balance, "I'm gonna feel that in the morning, I'm getting too old to deal with this shit."

She tried to take a step but fell on her knee, groaning in pain.  With a huff of frustration, she said, "Fine, I guess I could use a little help."

N: Confused by how the stranger was able to get up or move at all for that matter, Saxon walked up to her and held out a hand, "I would prefer that you don't stab me in the back while I assist you," he said. He tilted his head to the side, "And what do you mean by a new generation, I wouldn't even class myself to be in the same generation as my great-grandchildren. I'm way too old for them."

"You're forgetting that Father is way older than you," Johann spoke up, "you're practically a baby next to him."

"Mandoria is on a different level of ancient," the entity chuckled. The soldiers got ready, lifting up Royal's stretcher, and stood at attention, Heinrich still applying pressure on her wound. "You ready," Saxon asked the stranger.

M: The stranger did a double-take when Saxon mentioned Mandoria, her eyes turning yellow from surprise, "King Mandoria is alive, how is that possible?  Resurrection is beyond your generation's power, no current Eternal should wield that magic."

She took the entity's hand and allowed him to hold her weight, "at least it's good to know I am not the only true Eternal anymore.  Yes, I am ready, someone please collect my bow and arrows, it took me a month to gather enough flint to make them."

N: "I'll do that," Johann volunteered, and he picked up the nearest arrow next to him, but he froze up when he saw it coated in blood, wiping off onto his hand, "Actually, someone else can do it." A couple of soldiers gathered the arrows and bow while the entity looped his arm around the stranger.

"What are Eternals," Heinrich asked.

"They are basically countries that are super old and can perform magic," Johann explained, wiping off the blood, "Father is one. When I was younger, I would sneak around the castle and sometimes see him make a clone of Prussia and fight him." He paused at the mention of the Prussian, and continued, "But I haven't heard of a country nowadays performing magic, except maybe Prussia, I have no idea what he did to Father."

"Eternal, you say," he said with a frown, slowly walking towards the castle, "so you are what, half a million, a million years old? Well let me ask you this, did you know this entire time that Mandoria was alive, obviously before Prussia went to him, and you didn't make it known to him that he's not the last of his kind?" They continued to walk until they finally exited the woods, the castle clearly visible in the distance.

M: "Well pardon me that I have been surviving on my own for eons, trying to hide from you Short-Lives," the stranger growled, "your kind drove us to extinction, a mighty empire of Eternals spanning across the supercontinent, an empire that stood mighty for hundreds of millions of years, fell to your greedy hands, YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHING I EVER LOVED!!!!"

Just then a loud whinny was heard nearby, along with a roar, everyone turned in the direction of the noise and two creatures burst out of the woods, one was Edel, and the other was a horse.  The horse was a lapis lazuli hue with gold speckles on its flank, it had black hair and hooves, except it didn't have four hooves, it had eight.

"Sleipnir," the stranger called, she pushed out of Saxon's grip and tried to walk over to the horse, falling a few times but eventually hugged the equine, "Sleip, what are you doing here, I told you to wait at camp."

The horse neighed and stomped its two right legs, the stranger nodded, "Yes, I know, but I can't come back, you need to go, it's dangerous for you more than it is for me."

N: "Well, countryhumans also destroyed my home and used me so I think you got your payback," Heinrich mumbled, getting an elbow right in his side by Johann, who said it was not to the same level.

When Edel came into view, Johann was shocked, "Edel, what are you doing here?" He walked up to the dragon and hugged him, "And who is that?"

"Sleipnir," Saxon gasped, staring at the horse, and when some of the soldiers raised their weapons, he snapped at them, "Don't you fucking dare!"

The entity turned back to the horse and just gawked. "You're not the actual Sleipnir," he mumbled, "you can't be, he's with Woden, but your legs ... how?"

"Wait," Heinrich spoke up, "what do you mean by your camp?"

M: "Are you that stupid,"  the stranger spat, "My camp as in where I live, duh, what else would I mean by that."

When Saxon mentioned Woden the stranger chuckled, "Back in the days of the empire, these were the steeds, they have lifespans like us so never die unless they are outwardly killed, we called them Sigvens, they were what you call horses.  Sleipnir here is the last of his kind, his original name was Lagoon but after he wandered off and was spotted by the Short-Lives, he inspired their stories of Sleipnir, I thought the name was hilarious so it stuck, didn't it big guy."

The eight-legged horse nickered and nudged the stranger, moving her mask cockeyed and showing gold markings on black skin, she quickly moved it back into place but then fell to her butt and held her head.

"I'm getting a little dizzy," she muttered, then pat one of Sleipnir's legs, "go home buddy, I'll see you there, eventually, just make sure to stay out of sight ok."

The animal whinnied and nudged her again, then he took a step back and turned completely invisible, the sound of trotting soon left the area.

N: Saxon watched in awe as the eight-legged horse disappeared, and after a moment of staring, he turned his attention back to the stranger. "Let's get you inside now," he said, walking towards her and helping her up, "and if you wish, you can go, but not before explaining exactly who you are."

They walked silently back, the entity ordering the soldiers carrying Royal to go ahead, so the group left was him, the stranger, Edel, and Johann, along with a couple of soldiers.

When they approached the entrance, Johann asked, "Umm, so, did you know Mandoria all those millennia ago? What was he like?"

M: "No, I don't know him personally," the stranger admitted, "as far as I know he was born around the time of our destruction, I am several million years old while he is only a few hundred thousand years old.  I know he is an Eternal because we can see each others' magical aura, I managed to get a glimpse of him when he was here at one point, I was in a nearby village getting supplies when I saw him, a golden glow emanating from him, that's how I knew he was an Eternal."

The stranger stopped in her tracks, so much talking had made her dizzy again and her legs actually gave out for a second.

"I think that's enough questions," she groaned, "it's making me lightheaded.

N: Johann nodded and remained silent for the remainder of the walk, and the three of them finally arrived at the infirmary. Inside, Royal was already in one of the beds, being treated by doctors while Anglo worked on her wings, meanwhile, Wales lay in the bed next to her. England heard of the news that Wales arrived earlier, and evading the capture of the servants, ran straight to the room and his heart dropped at the sight of his injured son.

The Englishman sat next to his son, holding his eyes as he tried to keep back tears. Wales was lying on his front, unconscious from the pain, and he didn't register his father's pleas to wake up.

Nearby, Wolfgang and Erna sat in adjacent beds, their injuries already treated, and Heinrich sat with them, perking up when he saw Johann walk in. The Mandorian waved, but the moment that he saw Rowen, he tried to hide behind Saxon.

M: Rowen was talking to BE, when he noticed that Johann was gone he had a servant go look for him, but when he started hearing the gunshots he panicked and had been searching for him since.  He was using a crutch since his leg wasn't ready yet, and BE had come when he heard what happened.

Rowen turned when he noticed the others come in and when he saw Johann he hobbled over as fast as he could, "Johann, where have you been, I was worried sick," he started roughly looking over his son for injuries, and when he found none he grabbed him by the ear and pulled his head down, "what the hell were you thinking, boy, you scared me to death when I heard gunshots and you were missing, the next time you feel like sneaking out again let me know, I will not lose you too, I will not lose another family, you hear me?!"

N: Johann winced in pain when he was pulled down, "Oww," he yelped, "Ow, I'm sorry, ok? I'm sorry, Hezyka, es tut mir leid." The son continued to whine as he tried to free himself, and in the mix, he said, "You're not going to lose me, Hezyka, I promise."

M: "I better not, I can't live with myself as it is, you and your father are the only ones keeping me sane," Rowen said, "if I lost either of you there would be no reason to live anymore."

Rowen finally let go and took a few breaths to calm himself down, then when the parently storm subsided he gently hugged Johann.

"Don't do that ever again Finzenda, I was so scared, I didn't know if you were hurt or worse," he whispered, a single tear running down his cheek, "I love you more than life itself, and I would give mine without question to protect you, just please don't scare me like that again."

N: "I won't," Johann replied, returning the hug, "I'm sorry. Life is too important for it to be taken away." He continued to hug him, feeling guilty that he brought this on his father. After a while, he finally let go and walked Rowen back to Mandoria, after that, he went to a different bed and lay down. Wolfgang and Erna were just talking but Heinrich watched the Mandorian with concern.

"Are you ok," the knight asked Johann, "you seem ... normal."

"Why wouldn't I," the other replied with confusion, resting his head on the pillow, and whispered, "I'm fine." Finally closing his eyes, his restlessness disappeared and he fell asleep.

Heinrich was not convinced by the answer, and he gained his friends' attention, quietly speaking to them in German. "Guys," he spoke, "I think that axeman Johann killed was the first person he ever killed."

Both of the knight's eyes widened, and Wolfgang was the first to react, replying in German, "You sure?"

"Ja," Heinrich replied, "when I was teaching him, his stance was shaky. He was inexperienced."

"And he didn't answer immediately when you asked him to join us," Erna grumbled, facepalming herself, "how did we not see?"

"The important thing now is: who is going to be there when reality hits him," Wolfe spoke, and both he and Erna looked at Heinrich.

"We have only seen each other for just under a month after years of being separated," he spoke, shaking his head, "no, his Vater should be the one." The three of them looked over to Rowen, and Heinrich stood up and walked over to the Mandorian.

"Umm, Rowen," the knight spoke, "could we talk privately?"

M: Rowen looked to Heinrich in confusion, "Uh ... sure, I guess."

He stood up with the help of his crutch and started following the Prussian towards the door, but stopped when he noticed the stranger sitting on a nearby bed being treated.

"Who is that?" He asked

"I don't think that should be your concern, Short-Life," the stranger huffed, "keep to yourself if you know what's good for you."

She proved that point when someone tried to treat a cut on her tail and she bitch slapped them with her wing, leaving a small scratch on their face with the three clawed fingers on the wrist.

"Watch what you're fucking touching," she growled at the man lying on the floor, "or next time you're going to lose an eye."

N: "I told you not to hurt my men," Saxon snapped, "we're trying to help, and yes they shouldn't have touched your tail, but don't bloody kill them."

"She's an Eternal," Heinrich answered, "super old and likes to call us humans Short-Life." The knight didn't wait anymore, walking away from the stranger and towards the door, opening it, and standing at the entrance, "may we?"

M: "Yes, of course," Rowen responded, leaving Saxon and the stranger to bicker.

Once they were out in the hallway Rowen asked, "ok, now before you say anything I need to ask, what the hell happened, nearly half the people in this castle are injured and two of them are unconscious, not to mention there is a strange person who is an Eternal, that's impossible, Mandoria's the only one left.

N: Heinrich sighed, "While Johann was with us, we heard a gunshot, and soon after a large group ambushed us in the woods. We were able to fend them off, and when we went further in to find Royal, we saw her and the stranger lying on the ground, surrounded by even more of the same men. I asked one of the soldiers who they were, and apparently, they are called Jacobites." He looked past the Mandorian and saw the Eternal through the door, "as for her, I didn't know such a thing existed, but when you see someone who was half-dead stand up, you start to question things."

The man paused, thinking whether this is the right time to tell Rowen what happened, but he finally made up his mind. "Rowen, I would like to ask," he asked cautiously, "has Johann ever ... taken a life? If not, just ... keep an eye on him."

M: Rowen was confused by the question at first but when it clicked he nodded in understanding.

"He's been with me on hunting trips before," he explained, "he has killed but they were small game animals like rabbits and foxes, though we never used muskets to hunt, too loud.  He was still in cadet training when Prussia came, it was illegal for a cadet to fight a person unless it was for training, so he never experienced taking a human life before."

He looked to Johann's sleeping figure and sighed, "Thank you for telling me, Heinz, I'll make sure he gets through this once he realizes what happened.  You and your friends also know this as well as I do, so whatever you can do to help him I would appreciate it, and thank you, you may have gotten him into trouble but I'm just glad he has such caring and protective friends."

N: Heinrich nodded, "We just got to stick together, that's how any of us got through, although Wolfe might have to put aside his rivalry for the time being," he chuckled to himself, but turned more serious, "I should have never invited him. I'm sure you know that to take a life slowly grinds away your own, it's a sort of innocence that anyone should treasure, and I feel ashamed that I brought it about."

Before Rowen could respond, a servant ran in between them, squeezing through the door and stopping before BE, bowing before speaking.

"Your Majesty," they spoke, slightly out of breath, "your father, Sir Scotland, has arrived at the gates." The empire stared quietly at the servant, turning to his brother and father, who perked up at the mention of Scotland.

"This is definitely not a good time," BE mumbled, and he turned back to the servant, "Bring him in, but send him directly to the throne room, or anywhere if you tell me where, I don't care. Just. Not. Here." The servant nodded and rushed back out.

"Are you going to tell him," Anglo asked after the servant left, "Albion, you can't keep Wales a secret?"

"I will, I will," the empire replied, rubbing his head as he thought about how to tell his father, "but you know how Dad is about Ireland and Wales, especially Wales. Also, it was his people who want to bring back the Scottish kings to the English throne, and that makes it worse."

M: "What makes it worse is you not telling Scotland about Wales," Rowen said when he and Heinrich came back in, "if my son was hurt I would want to know about it immediately, no matter the severity, if you hide it for too long it would make him angry.  Think about it, what if one of your sons was in Wales's place, wouldn't you want to know about it immediately."

While they were talking, the stranger was eavesdropping and caught Scotland's name, "Oh, Scotty's here, been such a long time since I've seen him, wonder how he's grown up.  Does that mean that Celtica's here too?"

N: Saxon did a double take when the stranger mentioned them, "Wait, since when did you know them?"

"It sort of makes sense," Anglo commented, "Celtica is old, they keep Nessie under their protection, and they value creatures. I mean, he has a unicorn as his national animal."

"Grandma is in London," BE answered the stranger's question, "and Dad is here, apparently." The empire turned to Rowen, "You're probably right, I just wanted to deal with things one at a time."

Just then, a shout was heard down the corridors and soon returned the same servant, running as fast as he could to the empire. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "I'm sorry, your Majesty. I told Sir Scotland to go to the throne room, and he asked why, and when I didn't answer, he forced me to."

Right after he spoke, heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor, and in came the Scotsman, his long hair loosely tied back as he donned his cloak. He scanned the room, surprised to see so many people, and his eyes momentarily paused at the stranger before arriving to Wales.

"Dè thachair? (What happened)," he said quietly, slowly approaching his son as his face turned to horror when he saw his wing.

"Jacobites," England said simply, getting a low growl from Scotland. The Scotsman knelt down next to Wales' bed, running his hand through his hair, and his eyes landed on the stitching, which peeked out from underneath the bandaging.

"Who did this? With the thread," he asked, reaching out for it, but he refrained just before he touched the wound.