About Eight years before Tero Tazakani met with his father in the room behind the stage to discuss his family, Margaret Tazumaki stepped off of her Gourin.

The Gourin is a flying animal, which is mounted on by humans. These humans refer to these mountable animals as Mounts, and they are tamed and used for transportation. The Gourin has the same head shape and colors as a rat, but has wings just like a bat. It has an extremely large tail which helps with gliding and changing directions.

Margaret was accompanied by two other royal soldiers that served under Jonah's Perrior. They were also on Gourins of their own. All three of them walked toward the massive black and red castle which towered over them a couple hundred feet.

Jolik had been expecting them, and he had allowed for them to arrive. In the past, other diplomats or nobles that had tried to set up meetings with him were shot down. And on many occasions, when these nobles had planned to go in person without asking for a meeting, they were shot down as well, but not in terms of plans, but from their mounts before they hit the ground.

He had heard of Margaret because of her many achievements throughout the Kingdom of Mace and all the surrounding places. He was not only impressed with her ability to effectively give back to communities that he had seen her own peers destroy, but in her ability to make even the most "evil" people respect her and give her what she wanted. At the end of the day, Jolik was an admirer of hers.

But he was unsure of whether or not this was a facade she put on.

As Margaret and her two guards walked towards the entrance of the castle, they looked around them. The sight that they saw would make anyone faint. Both of the guards were shaking uncontrollably as they walked, but tried to keep their composure in the face of the queen.

Around them, in every corner, were men armed with plasma guns, swords, and even their own power strains, all pointing directly at them. They were ordered to fire in the event that they made any sudden movements which could be seen as a threat, but were specifically told to not aim at Margaret. They were even instructed to not get her in the crossfire, and if she was even slightly grazed with a bullet, Jolik would personally execute them and their family in the central square of the Kingdom.

The guards realized that they were the main targets of their weapons they saw the fixture upon them and not Margaret.

"No need to be afraid." she said. "As long as you don't get a cramp, scream, or move sharply, you should be just fine."

Nothing that Margaret could say would ease the tension of these two guards. However, their anxiousness would be slightly dissolved as they heard an unfamiliar but recognizable voice.

"CEASE YOUR AIM!"

All of the militants stopped pointing their weapons at the visitors.

As this happened, the three visitors stopped in their tracks as they saw Jolik appear in front of them, shout his command, and start walking ever so slightly towards them.

He first looked straight at Margaret, and then slowly eyed down the shaking guards that only shook more as their gaze met.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Jiuna! Princess Margaret, and...you two." He exclaimed.

They all smiled and bowed. "Thank you for the warm welcome" Margaret started, "I'm seriously no princess though. That title shouldn't even concern someone like me."

Jolik smirked. "Well, if anyone deserves it out of your court, it's you." He realized that he was flattering her too much for his liking. This was still a serious matter. He wiped the smile off of his face at an insant.

"Anyway, I have no time to waste. My upper guard is waiting in the bottom room of the kingdom for our discussion. Shall we?" He put on a half smile to signify that he was welcoming and pointed behind him to the Kingdom.

Margaret nodded and they started walking towards the Kingdom.

Upon entering, they all turned to the left and entered a large, spacious room with many art pieces upon the walls, large glass windows, a huge ceiling, and a massive roundtable in the middle. Jolik was not lying about his upper hand. Many of the superior people within his court sat at this table. Margaret and her two guards sat at one end, and Jolik sat at the other end and faced her.

Margaret and Jolik's gaze met once again as the guards were observing everything around them. Although they were not as anxious as they were outside, they were still uncomfortable since they were in the presence of an evil warrior.

"Well then," Jolik began. "Let's start."

As the hours passed, they discussed many things. How Jolik was going about ruling his country, Margaret's approach for peace, both of their views of the world, morality, and many other topics.

As the conversation was coming to a close, Jolik was increasingly more happy than when it had started.

"So let me get this straight." Jolik said. "You don't actually want an alliance?"

Margaret smiled brightly. "It's not the best course of action. Your views and the governments view clash too much. There's not too much that can be done in terms of peace. However, you've done a great job at ruling your Kingdom and that says something. However, your past is always going to haunt you. No matter what type of great things you do now, nothing can make up for the horrible things you did in order to obtain your throne."

Jolik was becoming a bit more bitter by the second. "I don't get it. That's exactly what all these "good" rulers do as we-"

"I'm aware." Margaret interrupted. "I don't agree with that. If it were up to me, they'd serve the same fate as any other evil person. However, you have to realize the power difference. This world isn't based on morality. It's based on power. While you are very powerful, you have to understand that you are alone. It's you versus the government. And the government includes the King, his men, the citizens of the Kingdom of Mace and any other under his rule, and anyone who opposes evil. You're no match against the side of good."

Jolik's face was neutral but grim. "And what side are you on?"

Margaret slightly smiled. Not in a friendly manner, but to show confidence.

"The side that allows me to spread peace." Margaret got up from her chair and turned around. She continued speaking. "And unfortunately, that is none of them. So I guess you can say we're the same, in the sense that we are both alone."

Jolik got up as well, curious as to what she was saying.

"I think the term 'evil' has gone past it's original definition. You're not extremely immoral. You shed blood. We shed blood. It's all the same. You aren't evil. You just lack power."

Jolik was now approaching Margaret with a pleading face.

"And after all, it's not like I can-"

"WHY?" Jolik pleaded.

Jolik's face was very anxious, tense, and weary. He gripped Margaret's sleeve to turn her back around.

The guards went to reach for their weapons but realized the territory that they were in. They got up from their chair but did not make any movements after that. Some of Jolik's upper hand did as well.

Margaret turned around and faced the ruler.

"Why can't I just...live normally and rule. Your husband's father does it. Your husband did it with his army. Hell, even you do it. You have people under your command at all times. They respect you. I have people like that too...but it's different. So much different. No one questions anyone of the "good" people's authority, so why does mine have to be-"

Jolik was cut off short by Margaret wrapping her arms around him. She hugged him, and he embraced her.

Margaret's face was blank, but she was compassionate all the same.

"I ask that question too, all the time." Margaret replied in a calming voice.

Tears fell down Jolik's face as he hugged Margaret back.

After a few seconds, Margaret broke from the hug and looked at Jolik in the face.

"Like I said. There's no need for an alliance. Not yet at least. Nothing is ever going to get better. Conflict will occur all the same. It's true that government doesn't wish to seek an alliance. They don't care about your Kingdom, only you. You must live as if the demands for alliances are simply issues that can be brushed away, like a fly at the dinner table, or an itch on your back." Margaret stated firmly.

Jolik nodded once as he wiped the tears off his face.

"Rule as if you are the best ruler in the world. Don't let anyone call you evil. You're letting your citizens prosper and giving them a good life. What's so evil about that?"

Jolik finally smiled for the first time since he got up from his chair.

"Thank you..." Jolik's voice shook as he said this.

Jolik turned around and looked at everyone at the table.

"Come on, let's see the guests off."

As they all stepped outside, Jolik remained fixated on Margaret. Margaret noticed this and smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you again." Jolik said. "I've always had a hard time trying to communicate with the "good." You've given me a new perspective and I can't think you enough."

"No problem." Margaret said enthusiastically. "After all, we're pretty much all the same. The only thing that is truly different is-"

"Wait." Jolik stopped her mid sentence. He was looking at the sky and he folded his arms. "What-no. Who the hell is that?"

In the sky, there were two aircrafts charging straight towards them. As they came more into view, it was clear that they were property of the world government.

Margaret's expression was confused. What were they planning to do? Did they figure out that I snuck out here? She thought.

However, both of them realized exactly what was going on when they saw the large nuclear bombs attached to the bottom of both of these aircrafts. As soon as this happened, Margaret started to whimper and panic.

However, Jolik stayed calm and focused. He started using his power and created an extremely tough rubber circle that acted as a shield. One would think that he'd be using it to shield himself and all the others, but that was not the case. He put his complete focus and effort into surrounding Margaret with the rubber and layering it as thick as he could.

Margaret was confused at first. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be..." She stopped herself as she saw the look on Jolik's face. She realized that his intentions were absolute, and that he wanted to fully focus on accomplishing his task.

The ground rumbled as the fast-moving aircraft approached, and Jolik shed one last tear as he heard the whistling noise of the bombs. His upper hand and the two members of the Perrior that had come with Margaret were all freaking out, figuring out what they should do in their final moments, figuring out any and everything they could do in order to survive the impact.

As the bombs fell, Jolik gave one last look at the shield he created.

"We may have been the same, but there's one big difference you missed." Jolik looked down at the ground. "You're gonna live on."

The bombs hit the castle directly, clashing with the fine stone walls that had been standing for decades. Debris and rubble flew at speeds that couldn't be tracked by the human eye, and it was clear from the start that the target of the explosion was Jolik himself.

Jonakai's face was very grim as he told the final details of the story to Tero.

"Coincidentally, on the same day that Margaret planned her surprise meeting with Jolik, the government planned a surprise attack to take him out." Jonakai was now visibly distraught by the story he told.

Tero's eyes were fixated on his father's face. He was so into the story that he didn't think about expressing too much of his emotion.

"No one knew until they went to search the remains of the castle hours after the incident. I thought it was strange that I hadn't seen her all day, but it wasn't the first time that she had disappeared for a bit and let no one know."

Jonakai sighed.

"They found a rubber ball, crafted by Jolik in his last moments, that was meant to shield her. It was cracked towards the bottom, and it left open a hole, so it was safe to say the explosions had done a bit of damage to the ball...and your mother." Jonakai paced around the room, meeting Tero's gaze every one in a while while telling this information, and towards the end of the sentence, he stared at Tero to keep his composure.

"She was not completely shielded from the attack. I think if the ball had been a bit sturdier, she may have been alright. When they broke the ball open and saw your mother, they tried to speaking to her, however, she was not responding to them."

Tero nodded.

"She was breathing though. They took her back and broke the news to me. It was one of the worst days of my life. They sent her to the medical room and I was with her for days. Her eyes would shut every once in a while, probably to sleep, and then open during waking hours. It's safe to say that she was aware...but she just couldn't communicate with us."

Tero knows this story all too well. He had experienced it. When he saw other people with their mothers, he wondered what had happened to his. Until he was old enough to remember being told, he never realized that the woman he went to see every Thursday was his mother.

She would lay there, eyes open, staring. She needed to be fed things, and she couldn't move or communicate, so any human functions that had to be done were taken care of by doctors. Jonakai visited everyday, unless he was busy, and took Tero with him every Thursday to see her.

"She can still breathe to this day. She still functions like a normal human. Just like us. But she won't talk or move. I still have hope that one day things will change, that one day, she will just crack a smile, or say something, or just..."

At that moment, Tero's emotions poured out of him. Tears ran down his face and he cried like a newborn baby. He had already known about his mothers fate. However, the story, and hearing his father's feelings about the situation had once again made him realize how things were. He never grew up with a mother like his friends or the children of the soldiers that surrounded him in his living quarters. She was here, but she couldn't take care of him, speak to him, or even recognize him. Although he hated the way his father spoke about his hope that would probably never come true, he too had the same hope.

Jonakai ran up to Tero and hugged him.

"I'm sorry...I know this was too much...I said too much and..."

"No." Tero said firmly. "I'm glad...I'm glad we're talking about it...I always wondered what happened...and now that you told me I realize..."

Jonakai pulled out of the hug but still remained close to his son's face.

"Realized what?"

"That Mom made a difference...she accomplished what she wanted...before the thing happened." Tero's voice was shaky, and he was still crying all while saying this.

Jonakai nodded.

"That man...they said he was a bad person, an evil person, but yet, mother was so respectable that he put his own life over hers. Isn't that special? If he had never done that...I may have never even been able to see mom's face still..."

Jonakai smiled to try appreciate what his son was saying.

"Yeah." He said. "I guess you're right."

A few minutes passed and Jonakai let Tero spill out all his emotions. He fixed some things around the room to pass the time. Once Tero stopped crying he asked the burning question.

"Do you still want to hear about your brothers?"

Tero nodded. "Of course."

Jonakai sat back down in his chair.

"I had my first child, Tyde, at age 20, after I retired from my father's army."

Tero nodded, listening to the info. He hoped that this story wouldn't make him cry like he just did, but he knew to be prepared, because his father had always felt very distraught about his first son's fate.