Aya Felicity was in a coma like state. Her mind was alert but her body wouldn't respond. She could feel everytime someone touched her.

She tried to open her eyes but couldn't. She began to wonder if she was dead. It was then did she hear someone say something about a recovery craft.

That's right, Kana had hit her with a powerful black mana skill and gravely wounded her. Her side felt like it was on fire but she could endure. She could feel she wasn't in any danger of dying. The medic must be quite skilled to be keeping her alive when it's a two-day journey back to Atlantis.

She decided to use this opportunity to rest her mind. She drifted off to sleep and dreamt.

Her subconscious remembered the time Kaden had talked her into going across the harsh desert of Xraxtus to save pinned down master Knights The scorpions there were massive and could use mana. Kaden hadn't slow down. It was the Sphinx that almost killed them.

That was the first time he performed his flame avatar in a life or death scenario. Of course he'd still had died if Aya hadn't been there.

The two had saved each others necks countless times. She and Kaden we're basically siblings. Her mind conjured the image of her looking at Kaden in a incubator pod for the first time. She had been young and was fascinated by him.

She remembered playing with him as a baby and a toddler. He wouldn't remember any of it. Of course since Kaden had his memory wiped Aya had always been there.

She felt a bit guilty that she didn't get to spend much time with Kariah-Belle when she was a kid. They only played together twice. Aya figured she would be too young to remember. She also knew that the Nadire Massacre traumatized her, resulting in missing memories.

Aya lost track of how many times she faded in and out of consciousness. Her mind thought of many things during this time. She worked as best she could to keep her mind away from her father.

Eventually the hoverrover stopped and Aya assumed their destination had been reached.

She felt Iris' hand on her cheek. Then she was sent to the emergency room.

Luckily Holy Knight Fire Rose was in the emergency room waiting for any injured. The Knight was renowned for her recovery and support skills.

"Phoenix rob!" Shouted the holy Knight.

Aya felt her life force being replenished. In under an minute her life force was fully restored. Aya felt powerful. She had never felt so powerful before. Not even in her stardust armor. The pain at her side disappeared and Aya opened her eyes.

She was on fire but wasn't burning. She checked her person and found a robe of fire clocked her person.

Aya looked around and saw that other Knights where also bestowed this power. Kariah and the others smiled at her.

"We meet again, Felicity." Aya remembered the voice.

Aya's head snapped to Fire Rose. Her hair was a firey red and orange. She wore red and pink armor. She had red ruby like scales cover her right arm and flaked her cheek.

Aya smiled at Scyra Felicity. "You saved me again Fire Rose."

Aya had worked with the holy Knight once before. During what should've been a simple retrieval mission turned into an ambush, Black weapon had been hunting Scyra who was a Divine Knight at the time. Aya would've died if not for Scyra.

The Stoneheart didn't bother to force a smile even though she could quite well.

"I'm glad you didn't die. That would've sucked."

"You're telling me." She said.

Kariah-Belle hugged her sobbing. "I thought you were going to die."

"I wasn't in any danger. We had a good medical Knight." Aya hugged her back.

"Yeah but I was still worried. I hated seeing you like that."

Always the sweet girl.

"Alright cry baby," said Kaden. "Don't get your snot all over her."

Kariah stuck her tongue at him. Iris was there to hug her next. "Nice job surviving. You did well."

Aya hesitated. She was still upset with her mentor but knew life was too short to hold grudges. She hugged her back and said, "It's thanks to your training that I could hold my own out there."

"It's thanks to your hard work." Iris said with a smile.

Kaden gave a forced smile. Yeah something was definitely off. He looked defeated. That's not something you often see from the Nadire.

The two hugged. "I never expected you to die out there, Frozen Gun."

So that's why he didn't transform. Aya thought. She recalled a time Kaden thought she had died. It was during a bounty hunting mission. Iris was leading a campaign against Mirage. She was trying to capture him but he evaded her at every turn. It was during this campaign did Iris send Aya and Kaden to investigate a sighting. It turned out to be an ambush. Mirage had almost killed Aya. Kaden thought she was dead when she passed out. When Aya woke Kaden had transformed in his berserk armor and was fighting the bounty hunters. Mirage had gotten away in the confusion.

"Alright," said Iris. "Everyone follow me."

                -------------------------

Akio Stoneheart felt sick to her stomach. Lax-Rim was dead. The man she wanted to marry was only a corpse now.

She felt like she would throw up in the back of this hover rover. Kana and the other criminals they managed to capture rode in another vehicle.

Akio looked over to Kariah. She held Aya's hand. Aya lay on a table unconscious. A medic cleaned the wound and bandaged it but if she didn't receive proper medical treatment fast the wound would prove fatal. It was thanks to a recovery skill that Aya could hang on. It would be faster if they could fly but with the Darkness up there staying hidden among the snowy trees was the safest option.

Akio turned her attention to Kaden. The story went: Kariah-Belle died and Kaden went berserk. In his transformed state he nearly killed Kariah again but Lax-Rim took the hit.

The Stoneheart stood and walked shakily over to Lax-Rim's body. He looked so at peace. Akio touched his cheek. It was just like him to rush headfirst into danger without worrying about the consequences. The fool. The brave fool.

A tear escaped her eye. His hopes and dreams were gone. He'd never be king of a nation now. Her heart ached even more. She supported that dream. She supported almost everything he did. The two were mostly always on the same page. Kariah would often tease that their love story was something out of a romance novel. Now Akio could see how right she was.

Except this romance ended in tragedy.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. Akio turned to see it was Xex.

"Lover?" she asked.

Akio nodded.

She nodded back her eyebrows furrowed in understanding and pain. Akio guessed she too had lost a lover.

There was a silence before she spoke. "The life of a Knight is often filled with losses. Find solace knowing he died a hero protecting the Lightkeeper."

Akio snatched away and peered at her senior. "Solace? He's dead. Where's the solace in that?"

Xex gave a sympathetic look. "I understand your anger but be careful not to fall to darkness. All you can do now is honor his death."

Akio sighed but nodded. She didn't have anything to say. She knew Xex was right. Lax-Rim would still want her to be happy. To live a life she could be proud of. Still, that didn't stop the pain or the anger. All she could think about was what his last breath must have felt like and more tears escaped her eyes.

Suddenly she felt arms wrap around her. It was Kariah-Belle. She reeked of sweat.

Akio turned in her embrace. She thanked Kul for Kariah.

The Stoneheart gazed at Kaden. He watched them with remorse.

"So Rygilya got away?" said Svett. "Crafty fellow, using the confusion of the battle to escape."

Kaden's frown grew deeper. "It was my fault. I took my eyes off him."

Ikirria waved a hand in dismissal. "It's no one's fault. He planned his escape carefully."

"What about Blizzhaven?" Kaden asked.

"A separate team of mana suit users are on their way there now."

"Though the chances of anyone having survived are slim." Ian chimed in.

Kaden narrowed his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know?"

The other man slumped in his seat. "Sorry," he muttered.

Hours passed and Akio was sitting next to Kariah. Kariah-Belle stared at Aya.

Two days had passed when they made it back to Atlantis. Akio was too weary to be happy about making it back alive. They stepped out of the rover and were greeted by Iris.

"Well don't you look like shit." then she noticed Lax-Rim's corpse and her expression became one of sorrow. "Damn. He was a good man."

Akio choked on a sob. The pain felt like it would kill her.

Aya was next to come out of the rover carried on a stretcher. Iris brushed the back of her hand against her cheek. "Get her to the emergency room!" she ordered. "And contact search team omega. Tell them Kaden is back."

Aya and the rest of the injured were rushed to the ER. Iris was right beside her. She looked tired but she didn't look worried.

When they had reached the ER there was holy Knight: Fire Rose. Akio was amazed with the other Stoneheart. Of course everyone knew her. She was seen on tv advertising the latest tech from the Order of Knights.

She also heard stories of the holy Knight's victories against the criminal organization Known as Talon.

Fire Rose healed every one instantaneously. Everyone was glad Aya had awoken.

It was later did everyone walk down the corridor.

Iris cleared her throat. "Let me be the first to tell you that humanity has formed an alliance with the Vympiri."

"We what?" said, Monty.

"Yes, Monty. We've allied ourselves with them in order to stand a chance against the Darkness."

"Are we sure this is a good idea?"

"I'm with Monty on this one."  spoke Kaden as he handed Lax-Rim body over. "Are we sure they can be trusted?"

Akio shared their concerns.

Iris shrugged. "So far they've been very cooperative." she turned to walk and motioned for them to follow. "Those aren't the only new faces you'll see around. We've got visitors from beyond the stars."

"Wait more aliens?!" exclaimed Kariah-Belle.

"Dont worry. These one's are friendly."

When they exited the emergency center Akio saw Vympiri and her guard went up. Her mind flashed back to when she first saw a Vympiri. That had been a frightening experience. She shook the memory away.

"I don't like this." Said Svett. "But if it's for the sake of survival I'll endure."

The group walked in silence, weaving through the crowd of humans and Vympiri. They came to a door which slide open. They came into a large room with all kinds of levers and switches.

Inside stood the Supreme Council and other Knights. A Vympiri and humanoid creatures with pointy ears were also there. Two of the pointy-eared beings had red hair while two others had white hair. They gave off an aura Akio had never felt before.

A red eye watched them curiously. "Ah the Lightkeeper and the Darkkeeper. A pleaser to meet you. A pleaser to meet you all."

"Who is this guy?" Asked Kaden wearily.

The Vympiri spoke. "My name is Alucard. I've come a very long way to help humanity."

"Are these the visitor from outer space?" Kariah asked in wonder. She was particularly interested in the pointy-eared beings as was Akio.

"Yes." said Iris.

"What are they?"

"We are known as Fae." one of them spoke. "We serve under commander Alucard in the Galactic Order."

Akio recalled the first time she faced a Darkness champion. He had mentioned a Galactic order.

"Have you come to defeat the Darkness?" inquire Kyanè.

"No. I'm afraid not." spoke Alucard. "My peers would not allow me a fighting force. We do not have the means to help you take back your planet. However, we can help you escape the Darkness."

He took a large key which Akio assumed was the Key of Atlantis and stuck it in a keyhole. The switches began to light up. The whole city rumbled.

Alucard looked to Iris. She nodded. He flipped a switch and hit a few buttons. The Fae started to hit switches as well.

The rumbling grew more intense and
From the ceiling Akio could see the the city was rising. It seemed to be phasing through the very earth itself.

"Okay this is way cool," said Kariah-Belle.

"Reaching the surface in T minus ten seconds." one of the Fae said. 

Everyone waited breathlessly. Within seconds the sky could be seen. It was night time and the stars in the sky shone brightly.

The city kept rising until finally it left earths atmosphere.

The robed man pulled a lever and the city shot into space. Through the large window to the front, Akio could see a white tunnel with all kinds of colors inside.

"We are moving three times the speed of light," Alucard said.

Akio wished Lax-Rim could experience this.