People stared as Drake left the room. Most were enraged or confused. Some were sad. General Lilac was... Her feelings were hard to describe at the moment. Even as her subordinates clamored for justice, honor, respect, and whatnot, she stared at the spot he had been. And then she turned to Ruli. No... Her daughter was too angry, too emotional. She needed someone level-headed. Her eyes wandered towards Sarah. She would do.

While the officers discussed, she pulled the young woman aside, and whispered lightly in her ear. Sarah's expression turned from shock to surprise and then caution. She nodded repeatedly, and hurried out of the room.

"Get out. All of you. That includes you, Ruli."

The soldiers filled out of the room one by one. General Lilac kept a stern stare even when her daughter glanced at her worriedly. But when the door closed, and only she had her companions were left, she slumped down in a chair.

She was tired. So, so tired. Drake's words reminded her of all the things she had been trying to forget over the years. She thought that maybe if she ignored them, they would go away. Unfortunately, that was the issue with problems. No matter how hard you tried to pretend they didn't exist, they would still be there when you opened your eyes.

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

No one stopped Drake as he walked through the corridors of General Lilac's headquarters, and out into the rain. Some stared at his bloodied clothes, but soon turned back to what they were doing. They were at war, and such a sight was far too common.

Letting the rain fall on him, Drake sighed. He was still very angry, but now he was starting to regret some of his actions. Not threatening the general or quitting being a scout, no. Those had been pleasurable. But he felt that maybe he should have talked to General Lilac in private. Now that he had cooled down a little, he understood that she had no other option but to refute him in front of her subordinates. If he had been more tactful, maybe he would have gotten some real answers.

Not that it mattered. The young girl was still dead, and nothing would bring her back. Why was he so fixated on making things right then? He wasn't a child who believed in a world of peace and justice. He knew death and violence were always just a step away. So why...

"Drake!"

Someone called him, and Drake was pulled back from his dark thoughts. Whirling around, hand on his pistol - he was on edge - but not actually drawing it, he saw Sarah. He had a slight impression of the woman, but that's all.

"Yes?"

"Err... Hello."

He raised an eyebrow while she shifted her way from one foot to the other, uncomfortable. Clearly, she wanted to say something, but didn't know how. Drake had just threatened to kill everyone in the meeting room, and that kinda included her.

"Spill it."

"Uhmm... General Lilac wanted me to tell you two things. She said it's the start of an apology, and that it's up to you to decide whether you accept it or not."

She shifted uncomfortably as Drake stared at her with a deadpan expression. Even Frainer and Kniivar seemed to be glaring mockingly, although she was sure the Iferes couldn't do that.

"Apology? No thanks."

"W-Wait! Wait, please!"

Sarah scuttled after Drake as he turned his back to her, and walked away. Finally, after a lot of insistence, she got him to stop and listen. Seeing the exasperated look on his face, she got the feeling he was only willing to do so because he didn't want to get her in trouble.

Still, he was impatient, and not without reason. If General Larson hadn't received strict orders to do nothing, he would already have had Drake arrested and prepped for execution.

Carefully repeating, word for word, what General Lilac told her, Sarah informed Drake of two pieces of news that shocked him as much as it stunned her when she heard it minutes ago.

"First thing is, there is a ranger looking for you. Appeared here yesterday, and asked for you. The general told her the city you were staying in, and she took off."

Okay, that was a surprising bit of news. Or maybe not so much? He was, as General Lilac herself had put it, half a ranger. Still, it wasn't worth an apology. So, he just nodded, and stared at Sarah.

"Hum. What else?"

"Also... Uhmm..."

Sarah wet her lips. What General Lilac had told her was absurd. She couldn't come close to imagine it, but... She shook her head as Drake glared, waiting.

"General Lilac wanted me to tell you that there is an... An Old One in Lapidum. Which is causing the rain. She said she thought this was important for you to know, cause you wanna be a ranger."

"Oh. Oh!"

This certainly surprised Drake more. Compared to Old Ones, rangers were as common as pebbles. His mind raced through the possibilities, connecting dots, and his eyes widened.

"Surely not..."

Drake remembered meeting an Old One once. How could he forget? The imposing presence made him want to kneel back then, and the thought still remained. And it was too much of a coincidence... One was followed by rain everywhere it went, the other called a storm that had already lasted a month just by sleeping.

"Lapidum, hum? Bah! I would give you a message for you to pass onto Lilac, but I'm afraid that you get you court-martialed. Just tell her I got her apologies, and that it isn't worth sh*t. Those who died are still dead."

Sarah started, and so did a few soldiers who heard Drake. She wanted to say something, anything. She wanted to say he was being unfair, that the general tried her best, that... Maybe sensing her hesitation, Drake glared at her. Staring into his brown eyes, she suddenly remembered who she was talking to. His clothes were still wet with the blood of the Menoraz soldiers he had killed. Soldiers like her. She shuddered, and closed her mouth.

"You are a good person, Sarah. It's a pity you are under someone like her, but that doesn't change your nature. Try not to die."

Those were weird parting words, but Drake was speaking what he genuinely thought. It left the soldier staring at him, more than a little stunned.

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

Life was weird. As Drake left the military base, explosions and gunfire behind him, that was all he could think about.

Two months ago, he was a graduate at Blue Coral University. He had never left Blue Coral City, nor had he done anything noteworthy. And now, here he was, yelling at generals, and going to meet another ranger. Not only that, he was supposed to end a war that had already claimed thousands of lives.

Life was weird.

Feeling a drop of rain slide down his nose, Drake raised a hand to wipe it - not that it mattered, but this one specifically was making his nose itch. It was then that he saw his fingers, still covered in blood, and so were his hands and forearms.

It hadn't bothered him before. He had been too focused to think of it. But now it did. Not so much irking as flinching, Drake scrubbed his hands hard, but the blood seemed to cling to his skin even in the heavy rain. It refused to be washed.

After a few moments of frantic scrubbing, Drake gave up. Entering the city looking like that was going to be tricky, but he was pretty sure the only way to get rid of all the blood and filth was a long and warm bath.

Resigning himself to his destiny, he rode silently. Frainer and Kniivar could feel he was in a bad mood, so they didn't bother him. Raising his head to look at the gray sky, Drake let the rain fall on his face, and sighed.

"End this war, hum?"

...

As he had expected, the guards at the gates - police officers, since the usual soldiers were dying a few kilometers away - didn't like the idea of letting Drake enter the city looking like he was. It took little convincing for them to get out of the way though, mainly because they recognized Drake, and not at all because of the scary glare he gave them.

Seeing his hotel a few buildings away, Drake was already imagining himself soaking in the hot tub, and forgetting his problems. So, of course, that was not what happened.

Instead, as soon as he pushed the door to the establishment, he saw a woman sitting on one of the couches at the reception, drinking coffee. Even when she was sitting down, Drake could tell she was tall. Taller than him, at least.

She had dark skin - not black, but almost there. Instead, it was the skin of someone who spent days under the sun. She looked to about thirty years old, with black wavy hair, and striking green eyes. She was quite beautiful, in Drake's opinion. The missing top of her left ear didn't change that. In fact, it gave her a valiant aura that Drake appreciated.

Not that any of this mattered. Drake was just taking in what he saw. He had no intention of chasing after pretty girls, not at the moment. Still, he couldn't help but stop and stare at her. Not because she was stunning, neither because of the Ifere behind her. No, he stared because she was a ranger.

She didn't have a badge pinned on her chest, nor was she wearing any kind of uniform - she was using clothes very similar to Drake's, in fact. But at this very moment, every cell in his body was screaming danger. Her killing intent, although not directed at anyone in particular, was much heavier than even that of the Cleaners'. If she wasn't the ranger Sarah mentioned, then she was a mass murderer.

"Hello! How can I help... Ahhh!!!"

His line of thought was interrupted by the receptionist, who heard the door opening, and looked up from her cellphone to greet him. She couldn't help but yell when seeing him covered in blood. Shaking his head, he slowly retracted the hand that had instinctively reached for his pistol.

The scream also alerted the woman, although Drake had no doubt she had noticed him the moment he came in. She raised her head, and looked at him. Her eyes flashed with surprise for a split second before a smile blossomed on her face, and she got up.

"You must be Drake, I suppose?"

"Yep. I imagine it was Ben who sent you?"

The ranger laughed, while Drake gave a reassuring nod to the receptionist. Now that she had recognized him, she wasn't nearly as frightened. Word had spread about how Drake had helped a few people who found themselves attacked by criminals.

"Close, but no. There's a war going on, so even if we can't interfere, boss still sent a few of us to keep an eye on things. I'm just the closest. Although Ben did tip me off to your presence. He said you could be of help. Now I see why."

The woman nodded appreciatively, and Drake relaxed. Maybe because his body finally recognized her as an ally, he felt the pressure from her killing intent disappear. She reached out with a hand, which he took. It was calloused, and she wasn't at all bothered by the blood in his, as it was to be expected.

"Satre Voullue, ranger."

"Drake Stronter... Just that, for now."

"Haha! I like your spirit, kid!"

Both of them smiled. Meanwhile, Frainer and Kniivar walked - floated - forward to meet her companion. Drake only spared it a glance, for now. He could meet it later, after he was done talking with Satre.

"Now, Ben told me I could find you here, but how the hell did you know I was looking for you?"

Drake grinned slightly. It was still a mystery to him how Higler managed to discover not only the city, but also the hotel he was staying in. Not only that, but he also managed to have someone deliver a message to his room.

"I talked to Lilac a few hours ago."

"Oh? Damn, we must have missed each other by a little, then! No matter, though. I needed to talk with her again anyway, so we can go together tomorrow."

"Uhmm... I don't think that's a good idea."

Clenching his fists, Drake gestured to his bloody clothes. For the first time since they started talking, Satre's smile faltered, and was replaced with a frown. She hadn't asked about it before, but now that Drake had mentioned it, and also rejected her suggestion, she had to know.

"Why?"

"I killed some Menoraz soldiers. Seven of them, to be exact."

He heard the receptionist gasp, but ignored it. If he didn't want her to hear it, he would have left the hotel before telling Satre. The ranger stared at him, but there was no reproach on her words when she spoke.

"I trust you had your reasons?"

"Uhum. But I got there too late."

"And what does that have to do with General Isabella Lilac?"

"I might have lost my temper a little, and confronted her. And aimed a gun at one of her generals. And broke his wrist."

Once again, there was a shocked gasp coming from behind the counter as the receptionist received enough material for a week of gossip. Drake's attention was focused on Satre, however, and on how she reacted. A smile slowly found it's way to her face, and was followed by booming laughter.

"Hahaha! Ben wasn't lying, hahaha... You really are prime ranger material, kid! I think we will get along very well! Hahaha!"