Jez was suddenly shaken awake, and he looked around for several seconds before seeing a Zodiac Soldier standing before him, mouth covered by his mask. "The General wishes to see you in his office," the Zodiac said, and Jez nodded, standing, stretching, and following the Zodiac through the prison before finally arriving at the gate, which slid open, and he still followed the Zodiac away. "Don't even think about trying to escape," the Zodiac said as Jez's eyes wondered to the surrounding Black Forest, and the Zodiac did not wait before saying, "If you even try to assault me and flee, we have strict orders to execute a few Spectres. Starting with your friend...Rose." Jez's shoulders slumped, and he banished the thought from his head as quickly as it had come. "I will take him," a voice said, and the two of them turned to find the Kernel standing before them.
"I am under strict orders, sir. I will be the one taking him down," replied the Zodiac, standing his ground and glaring at the Kernel. Bang! The Zodiac fell to the side, a bullet hole in his head and the Kernel holstered his smoking pistol once more, grabbing Jez's arm firmly and dragging him along the path. "I wanted a word with you," the Kernel muttered as they strode forward, getting closer toward the school where Jez's fate awaited. "I know that your mother was murdered by Spectres, but why you decided to free them...that is beyond me." Another surge of anger ran through Jez, and he gently clenched his fists by his side, knowing that the Kernel was the one who had killed his mother. "So why don't you tell me why you got your friend killed just to save a few pathetic Spectres?"
Jez remained silent, not wanting to say anything to the Kernel, and the murderer chuckled, as though finding Jez's actions. "You are as stubborn as your mother was," he growled, and then they broke through the Black Forest, right next to the school. Jez felt the Kernel push him towards the double glass doors of the school, and Jez didn't need telling twice, striding into the school and marching through the empty hallways until, finally, coming to a stop inside his father's office. "Sit!" demanded the General, anger spilling from every word he said, and Jez did so, sitting in the brown leather chair in front of the General's desk. "Father, if you just let me explain," Jez began, but his father cut him off by slamming his fist against the desk angrily. "Zodiac people demand loyalty! I demand loyalty! That is the only thing you cannot give me, as you have shown!"
His father sat behind the desk, his fist red from punching the wooden desk, and Jez sat still, waiting for his father to continue. When nothing was said, Jez decided the time was right to speak. "Father, I was doing the right thing!" If anything, those words seemed to anger the General even more, "You think betraying my trust, attacking the Zodiac Soldiers and getting your friend killed was the right thing?" he yelled, and Jez did not have an answer to that. The General sighed and observed Jez, something like curiosity in his eyes. "The Kernel also tells me the Black Knight figured out what you were up to, so he went to confront you. Now, you would have thought the Black Knight would have been able to take you on and report you to me, but then we found him only this morning, locked in the storage section of the gym."
The General leaned forwards to be closer to Jez, staring into his son's eyes intently, and then he whispered, "You have grown strong and powerful, just like I knew you would. Your mother would be proud of you." That made Jez realise he had left out a crucial piece of information so, with a heavy heart, he murmured, "The Kernel killed mom." Now the General looked angry again, leaning back in his chair and glaring at Jez. "That's ridiculous. We do not have time to talk about conspiracy theories on how your mother died. She was killed by a Spectre and everyone knows it." The General stood, cracking his knuckles quickly and then staring down at Jez. "The United State Alliances are moving across the border and are about to engage in battle against our Army. I have to be on the front lines, and I want you to join me." Jez knew he really did not have a choice, so he nodded, stood, and followed his father from the room.
***
The jeep rode along the desert, spraying up sand behind it as it drifted into the Zodiac Camp, where the Kernel stood waiting, their soldiers just rising from the single trench as one and firing down on the enemy. "What is the situation like?" the General asked as he climbed out the jeep, Jez doing the same, and the Kernel chuckled. "We are winning this battle. The United State Alliances have already started to retreat!" The General sighed, thanked the Kernel for the information, and then pointed out to the battlefield, "I need groups one, four and six to defend the Camp, and you need to go to the place and make sure it is secured. If anyone is to discover it, then what we are fighting for will disappear!" The Kernel nodded, saluted quickly, and then turned away, running across the sand and withdrawing his pistol.
Jez grabbed a pistol from the door of the jeep and slipped away from the General, who was talking to another Zodiac Soldier. He gave chase to the General, who began jogging while saying through the radio, "The enemy is retreating. Squadrons one, four and six, drop back, over." Jez loaded the gun loudly, and the Kernel came to a sudden stop. He turned, an expression of anger on his face to find Jez aiming a gun at his chest. "You killed my mother!" Jez shouted, "And you killed my best friend!" now the Kernel looked like he was grinning. "This is for them!" Jez yelled, but before he could pull the trigger, the Kernel spoke. "I killed your friend, yes, but I did not kill your mother. I believe your father was the one to snuff her out like a light." Jez was shocked. He slowly lowered the gun, his heart now racing as tears stung at his eyes, and then something hard hit him in the back of the head, sending him sprawling onto the ground.
The Black Knight stood over Jez's feebly moving body, and the Kernel laughed, "Put him in the jeep, I will deal with him later like the scum he is." The Knight nodded, saluted the Kernel as two Zodiac Soldiers stood behind him, and the Kernel turned to continue his race away from the battle at large. "Let's lock him into the jeep," the Black Knight said, standing over Jez, and Jez's eyes snapped open, a single vision passing before his eyes. Zara, on the bed he had imagined they were talking on, saying, "Fight...back." Jez put his hands beneath him and pushed himself to his feet, raising his fists and facing the Black Knight and two Zodiacs. The Black Knight charged, punching at Jez, but Jez batted the fists aside, raised his leg and kicked the Black Knight in the chest, sending him flying back. A Zodiac ran forwards, a knife in hand, and stabbed at Jez, the weapon slashing dangerously through the air.
Jez took a step back as he grabbed the Zodiac's wrist, twisted it, and forced him down onto one knee. Fear consumed the Zodiac's eyes, and then Jez kneed him straight in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. The last Zodiac seemed hesitant as he charged forwards, gun raised, and Jez ran to meet him, kicking the gun from his outstretched arm, spinning on the spot, elbowing him in the gut and then finally flipping him over his shoulder. The Black Knight was before Jez yet again, this time a long sword in his hand, but Jez grabbed the gun from the Zodiac he had knocked out, lifted it, and fired. It hit the Knight's armour, and the Black Knight screamed as he fell back, hitting the sand with a crash. Jez looked around, expecting his next enemy, and saw another four Zodiacs running at him.
Jez ran forwards, fists clenched as he ran, then he spun on the spot, kicking out, landing his foot against a Zodiac's chest, and the Zodiac went down. Jez raised both hands, catching two fists from two different Zodiacs, and he jumped up, kicking out with both legs and landing easily as the two fell back, unconscious. The final Zodiac took Jez by surprise as he punched him across the face, and Jez staggered back, shocked by the sudden movement. The Zodiac advanced and punched again, but Jez ducked aside, knocking the hand away, punching the Zodiac in the face thrice and then sending him crumpling onto the sand. Jez made sure to check around the battlefield, and he saw the Spectre, off all people, hitting the sand right at the General's feet! The General's voice was clear as he spoke, "What a pleasure it is to meet you, the last Spectre! Any last words before I blow your brains out?"
Jez took a deep breath, and began sprinting towards the General, kicking up sand behind him as he heard the Spectre yell, as though in slow motion, "Yeah! Go...to...hell!" Jez suddenly took his chance to dive at the Spectre, grabbing the man and rolling into the trench as an explosion went off above, shaking the ground and sending debris and limps raining down onto them. Jez crouched in the trench, waiting for the dust to settle before looking around. His father was gone, most likely blown up in the explosion, and a majority of Zodiacs were dead. Jez looked down to the Spectre whom he had just saved and saw him laying on the ground, eyes closed and expression limp. Jez sighed, bent down, and lifted the Spectre up, quickly climbing out the trench, finding the jeep he had arrived in, and then setting him into the back of the jeep.
"Traitor..." mumbled a voice nearby, and Jez turned on the spot, finding the Black Knight laying on the ground, blood dripping from a hole in the armoured part of his shoulder. "Ah, I see my shot didn't kill you," Jez said, stepping away from the jeep, but the Black Knight didn't respond, instead weakly raising his sword, getting to his feet, and taking a clumsy swipe at Jez. Jez ducked, grabbed the hilt of the sword, and kicked the Black Knight. The Black Knight stumbled backwards, and Jez held the sword to his throat. "You have been trying to stop me this entire time," Jez hissed, pressing the tip of the sword against the Knight's throat, a bead of blood forming against the sharp point. The Black Knight looked defeated, so tired he could not even move his arms, and Jez slowly raised the sword over his left shoulder.
"I am going to end all of this," he muttered, "And it starts by ending you." The Black Knight closed his eyes, and Jez sliced down. There was a splatter of blood, and the Black Knight fell to the side, blood dripping from a long slash across his face. Jez tossed the sword aside, looked at the unconscious Spectre, and then climbed into the jeep. He started the engine and drove, keeping his foot pressed against the accelerator as the jeep raced across the sand.
***
The doctor was grieving. He had cried for most of the day, and definitely all night. He still had not changed from his mud-stained clothes or his bloodied doctor's coat. All he did now was sit at his desk and stare at the monitor, which showed four different points in the hospital. One showed the main carpark, one showed the lobby, one showed the East Wing and the final one showed the West Wing. The doctor had not had anyone in for over two weeks, but he still waited for someone, anyone, to come in. It would take his mind off things, especially his dead daughter. Suddenly, an army jeep pulled up to the carpark, a Zodiac sliding out the front seat, grabbing a body from the back, and then rushing into the lobby. The doctor quickly dried his eyes, put on a new coat and then rushed out to greet them, stopping dead when he saw the Kernel before him.
"What can I do for you, sir?" the doctor asked, trying not to sound bitter as he stared into the face of his daughter's killer, and the Kernel held out the body in his hands. "He is incredibly injured. I found his body upon the battlefield. You need to heal him!" the doctor looked down at the man in the Kernel's arms, and he shuddered. "He is still alive?" the doctor whispered, and the Kernel nodded, thrusting the body into the doctor's hands while growling, "You need to fix him, otherwise you will be seeing your daughter sooner than you would like!"