"Where is the core anyways?"

"I don't know."

"Why not!?"

"I am the chief engineer not a core worker!"

"Are any of the core workers available?"

"No they stay at the Citadel and work on the WALKER when we come back from our expeditions."

"So nobody here knows where the bloody core is!?"

"Not here anyways!"

"Oh my freaking-"

A loud clatter gets their attention and they see the portal open up in the WALKER and an old man climbs out looking at them.

"I heard you are looking for the core."

"We are..."

He grabs one of them and tries to pull him closer to the WALKERS.

"Come on!!"

"Dude get off of me!"

He pushes the old man to the ground and scrambles away.

"Please trust me."

They all nod together and run after the old man who was climbing back into the WALKER. He leads them to the ventilation system groaning in pain.

"Oh my back. Well this is where I must leave you young heroes!"

And just like that the old man disappears through the corridors.

"Well that was sure strange!"

"Yeah who was that?"

The Captain doesn't reply. Instead he crawls into the vents and looks around. He knocks on one panel and it drops out a blueprint of the WALKER.

"This is why that old man led us here."

He waves the blueprint behind him.

"Does it have the Core on it?"

"No, but it has the main reactor."

"Why does that help us?"

"The main reactor is where the Core lies, alive and beating."

"What is the fastest way to the core?"

"Through the ventilation system."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Yes."

"Why is it dangerous?"

"We had one person go well... rouge."

"Wow! what happened?"

"Well we captured him but he escaped our custody through the ventilation. But he was never found where the ventilation emptied out so there are myths that he is still in the vents wandering..."

"How long ago was this?"

"Two years. These vents spread out everywhere but some of the vents are rusted and dislocated."

"Well we don't have time to sit around talking!"

They are climbing into the vents after tying together. The dragons are stuck outside of the vents but they are following them through the corridors. While in the vents the Captain stops more than once realigning the map. The map rustles like old newspaper in the wind.

"UGH!"

"Man you sure were stuck!"

"Yeah!"

"Hahaha!"

Just then the Captain disappears with a 'Whoosh' down a pipe. They all call down to him quickly.

"Are you okay!?"

"Any damaged body parts?"

"No I'm good! You guys should come on down!"

They all jump in one after another until they hit the bottom. Before them was the main reactor. The dragons were right outside of the door watching them, intently thinking: Let us in! Let us in!!!! The group ran over to the doors and threw them open embracing their dragons in their own way. They all take a look around the main reactor looking at the thundering machinery. This beating heart of steel is an imposing sight to all of them. The rumbling of the machinery all around them deafens them. Looking at the sheer size of the reactor they knew. The core must be at the center... They all run closer to the machine before stopping. The dragons though keep charging the reactor before noticing the energy field buzzing with power around the reactor.

"That must be the reactor!"

The dragons shout over the roar of the machinery in reply.

"Yeah duh!"

"How do we get in!?"

"Over here!"

The Captain points to a keyhole with no visible keys saying: Use me!

They all groan almost at the same time. We're going to have to pick the lock... Just then the shield cracks all down the sides threatening to collapse!

"We need to move quickly!!"

"Yeah that's obvious!!"

"While a few of us try to repair the reactor we need our best Divina to hold the fusion explosion, from destroying all of us."

The power from their magic seems to wear down the shield even more threatening total collapse.

"Wait!"

"What!?"

"We should let the shield collapse and we can make a stronger one!!"

"That's a great idea!! I think."

"Can we even do that!?"

"We might have to!"

The shield seems fractured now like it wants to collapse but can't. When they blast the shield with their powerful flames it melts away and while the Divina captures the radiation holding it, while the others repair the shielding. The new core seems much happier in its new home of magic and engineering feats that have never been seen before. They all breathe a sigh of relief when the reactor settles down alive and beating within the heart of steel.

"That. Was. Close."

"Way. Too. Close."

"Well we sealed the core with no radiation leaks so that's good!"

"Except one."

One of the Divina was wheezing because the radiation managed to get into her lungs and she would die within minutes unless someone could help her. Which nobody could. She was wheezing and coughing blood all over the ground. The radiation infused with her blood was toxic.

"H-he-help"

"We can't..."

"We're so sorry..."

"There's nothing you can do?"

"No."

Just then she lurches when her breathing stops and she dies with a smile on her face. They all huddle together and look away from anybody who comes near. They speak in ancient Runick.

"ퟤퟮퟲퟤퟣퟣퟦ"

"Let her body be no more."

"ힱힺퟚퟱퟝ"

"Let her light shine bright."

"ᓳᔮᕃᔍ"

"And her soul rests in peace."

Celesta's body breaks apart like a golden mirror floating away and dissipating into nothing. All of their faces are soaked in tears.

"She was su-such a g-g-g-go-good friend..."

"She is still wi-with us in our he-hea-hearts..."

They all leave the main reactor heading to their dorms and rooms to mourn this huge loss of their best friend. Her body may have disappeared but the radiation in her blood has not...In Mire's and Osborn's Room.

"She- She's gone isn't she... There is no bringing her back is there?"

"I'm sorry..."

Mire's tears soak his bandage around his neck when a piece of shrapnel tore out of the metal shield slicing his neck open with a jagged edge. He cries for hours on end while Os embraces him comfortingly as he can. The bandage around his neck is ruby red when Amilsia comes in to change the bandage on his neck. Mire winces when the bandage leaves his neck Amilsia looks at it and says...

"That's gonna leave a pretty good scar when it heals up Mire."

"Yeah I figured on that."

"So do you need to talk?"

"Um yeah I-I could talk..."

"Well I am all ears."

"I- I am just shocked that two friends have already been lost... And we haven't even started our journey..."

"Journey?"

"Oh umm never mind..."

Amilsia slowly leans forward and wraps her wings around him giving him a type of warmth that he has never felt before. It was a type of longing that he never knew he wanted before. Her scales are a royal purple with swirls of a dark crimson and blue starbursts that envelope him in an aura of comfort and peace. She was his anchor in the stormy seas. She kept him whole.

"So what did you need to talk about?"

"I have a couple of questions about life. Like why does it end? Why can't we bring people back from the dead? Will I ever see her again or is she..."

"Well I can answer two of those questions for you."

"First of all life ends because if it didn't end we would overpopulate the world and kill it. Second of all bringing people back from the dead is called necromancy and it is forbidden by everything we live for. For the last question... It depends on what you believe in."

"Wow that really helped me put some heavy stuff in the right place! Thanks so much-ch."

"I know this is hard for you."

She shoots a look at Os that she really meant all of us. They all curl up on the bed together comforting Mire.

Igor's and Balissaria's Room.

"HOW COULD SHE LEAVE LIKE THAT!?"

"Calm down."

"SHE LEFT US!! YOU SHOULD BE MAD!!"

"Anger will not help in this situation."

"I hate your cold logic."

"You may hate me all you wish. But what I said is correct, and believe it or not I miss her as well."

"You do?"

"Yes I do."

"She was great wasn't she?"

"She had the best powers out of all of us..."

"She was powerful."

"What are you?"

"Why I am a THUNDERSEER!"

Thunder booms all around them when she replies THUNDERSEER and the booming slowly recedes while she keeps talking.

"Sorry about the thunder, I did that for a dramatic effect!"

"It's fine!"

"Now you see why my logic works."

"Yeah, I am not really thinking about it now."

"I am glad I could help you out."

"Thanks Balissaria for helping me sort out some stuff."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well... I thought you hated all of us."

"Why?"

"You have always kind of seemed... cold and steely."

"Oh. I am sorry if I seem that way."

"It's fine but if you could be a little less steeled, we would appreciate that."

"I... guess I could try."

"Thanks."

Lowe's Room.

He curled up on his bed all alone. His heart breaking and his eyes bloodshot he wonders something. Why do I still choose to live?

All it does is cause me pain. So maybe I should try to change the way I am thinking. Music! That's what Celesta did when she was sad! She always played music! He leaps off of his bed with enthusiasm unseen in him before. His closet automatically opens as he approaches it and he searches for his drum set. As he pulls it out his heart starts to thunder. Can I control my power enough to risk this? I mean my power is powerful enough on its own but if I do this... He shakes off this thought and moves the drums into the corner of his small bedroom. He begins with one simple note. Each time he strikes the drum the less he thinks and the more he improvises. The groan of the over stressed metal. The hiss of the steam rushing through the hot steel pipes. The steady hum of the electricity pulsing through the wires around him. This all adds to the beat of the song he was improvising. the power in his body grows greater with every strike of the drumstick. He looks around and suddenly stops playing the music. Crpa crap crap!! I need to discharge the vibrations I accumulated! Otherwise my power will overload and I will put a hole through something!! He looks around quickly but nothing here looks hard enough to withstand the force of a full Stryke. He runs to the other dorms thundering through the halls like an elephant in a china shop until he finds Igor's and Ballisaria's room. He raps on the door quickly and winces. Crap I should not have done that!! Now I have to focus even more!! Igor opens the door and immediately runs to get Ballisaria when he sees how much power is pulsing under his skin. She comes out groggily. That is until she is shocked awake by the look of his power threatening to destroy anything not hardened against a full blast of pure power. The rolling power under his skin is threatening to force its way out.

"You need to get outside quickly so you can release the power you've accumulated."

"Yes I know that! Sorry for yelling!"

"We will take you to the Captain, and see what he can do."

"Okay! I understand!"

They quickly move past the rest of the dorms sounding like thunder in the middle of an earthquake. Which just then the WALKER lurches to the side. Alarms blair and smoke starts to roll through the halls. When Lowe looks around all he sees is steam and shadows. The thundering footsteps seem to pass right by him... no through him like they are flooding everything he is. All of the voices cascade over one another. He can pick out snippets of conversation the same way you find strawberries ready for picking out of the whole garden.

"Run th-"

"Get out!! No-"

"They ar-"

"AHHHHHH!!!!!"

When the smoke finally clears he can see the path of devastation left behind by the thing that scared everyone. The beast turns to look at you and shakes its head in confusion. The beast runs off and the Captain turns the corner just as the beast man thing disappears. The Captain starts to yell at them."How could you have done this!?"

"We didn't! Something else did!"

"It looked half beast half man!"

"We need to get outside!!"

"Why?"

They point at Lowe and he takes one look and starts running. They look disgusted until he shouts something.

"Well are you coming or not?"

They all run after the Captain. They run through the corridors but the lights are a dark blood red.
"Why are the lights red like that?"

"We entered a Territory where we are never supposed to go, just for this reason."

"What reason?"
"These man-beasts hate us."

"We might be able to help."

"Can you speak ancient Runick?"

"Yes."

"You have 2 months."

"Two months!?"

"Yes."

"That's not nearly enough time to settle a debate that's gone on for!! For..."

"How long has it been going on for?"

He asks it a hushed whisper that amuses the rest of the crew.

"About four or five." Wait has it been hundreds or thousands? "Hundreds or thousands of years."

"How are we supposed to settle a generational debate in three months!?"

"I don't know! That's your job!"

"ARGH!!"

Lowe cries out in pain and they reach under his arms again to lift him. They drag him along as fast as they can while avoiding any sensitive areas. Soon they are walking outside of the WALKER. The moist wind whips their hair around as ice crystals build in their hair, they are tromping through two, two and a half feet of snow.

"Alright! I think we are far enough away from the WALKER."

"For what!?" The captain calls out to them.

"This."

"Oh boy... here it comes!!"

The power under Lowe's skin suddenly rushes out as a torrent of pure power. The power thunders out of his body faster than the strike of a viper, as his eyes widen the Captain suddenly ducks and cries out. A spear whizzes from the treeline and lands right between Lowe's legs. He immediately aims his Stryke at the treeline and the trees immediately start to rip out of the ground and shove the trees back.

"STOP!!"

"অছৰ৳ৌ!!"

Translation: "Why are you here!?"
The dragons reply: "ᬜᬜᬊ᭨᭩."

Dragon Translation: "We are here to stop the fight between you and the Human Empire."

The creature tilts its head.

"I can talk some broken English."

"I am Lowe."

"Good to meet you."

"The same."

"Good."

"May we meet the rest of the tribe?"

The creatures hisses bitterly when they mention its tribe. It turns away from them looking deeper into the forest.

"I-I was banished from the Venom Swamp."

"Venom Swamp?"

"Yes. Many of the ShadowMancers attacked us here. We fought very hard to keep them away from the rest of our trees but they pushed us back to the Venom Swamp."

Everyone looks around through themselves and their group. ShadowMancers are a serious issue and the way to deal with them is not easy.

"A ShadowMancer looks much like the grim reaper except for a stormy gray mask. The mask has small thunder clouds set in an onyx stone. Their eyes look like a wisp of smoke that solidified. The ShadowMancer will soar straight at you and stop about half a foot away from you and lean into you, their eyes will pull the life and age from your body into the eyes."

"Whoah."

Soon a fire was being lit and the humans are fast asleep. Os and Amilsia slowly walk away from the campsite and back into the plains behind the mountains. They turn slowly towards each other, their eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"You know... We shouldn't do this..."

"Yeah. I know..."

"But that doesn't stop me from loving you."

"I love you so much..."

They fly up to the caves in the mountains, their wingtips touching sweetly. All night passes in the cave. When the first light creeps onto their scales they slowly walk back to camp. Mire and Lowe are already awake and starting a fire.

"Where were you guys this morning?"

"Oh umm..."

"We were out exploring together!"

"Oh, Okay!"

Well I wasn't lying... I mean technically we were exploring, just in a different way. Os looks down on his foreleg where Amilsia had heated up his scales and changed their colors ever so slightly... She looked exactly the same except she had golden speckles on her underbelly scales. Since nobody really looks under her, it wasn't noticeable. The two of them look over to each other and immediately look away from the other. They are both blushing deep red.

"Hey Os are you feeling okay? You're kinda flushed."

"Yeah! I feel fine! Just don't ask why..."

"Ooookayyy?"

Os walks away quickly saying he is going to see if there are any ManBeasts hiding nearby. Amilsia is soon walking into the forest in a different direction to try and find a gift for the Matriarch. A small lake soon comes into the view of both dragons. Both are completely engrossed in their work. Os bumps right into her and blushes, embarrassed. 

"Im sorry..."

"Oh shut up you dork." 

She pulls him into a kiss that seems to last an eternity.