In the Skies above the City of Aksai the two modified Z-13s fought above igniting the sky from the lights that came from their thrusters. Alon grinned excitedly as he fired his last remaining shots from his Gunblade at Liyab who dodged the first one but the second grazed him near the chest.

"You're quite the shot." Liyab complimented him as he fired his last remaining shots at him and then discarded the two Rifles and pulled the Kukris and closed the gap further as the two mechs engaged in close quarters combat his Kukris caused sparks with Alon's Sword.

"Is that the best you got?"

"Just getting started!"

Alon deflected the kukris and tried to punch him, however, Liyab ignited its leg Saber and sliced him upward slicing his physical sword in half. Liyab then finally activated the arm and leg mounted sabres while Alon pulled out the two spare sabres as the two locked blades again. However, this time Liyab has a head mounted Vulcan and began to open fire throwing Alon off as he swung his sabre upwards slicing his right arm off only for Alon to retaliate by swinging downwards slicing off his arm causing both of their mechs to sustain damage and back away.

"I'll let you walk away for repairs," Alon said half hoping that he'll take his word and fly off so he can get some repairs.

"I can still fight," Liyab said as Alon readied for another assault from him but a withdraw flare was released once more forcing the two to withdraw once more.

"Better not run away on the next push!" Liyab told him as Alon silently flew back as soon as he was out of range from Liyab's Zio, he quietly let out a sigh of relief realizing that he had nearly just escaped death.

Though that did not save him from the disapproving looks of Wu and Filia who immediately were staring at the missing arm from the ReZio as he flew back into the main hangar to undergo the repairs needed.

"Normally we'd say take it easy but compared to the last one, this is honestly minor." Wu shrugged as Filia looked through her tablet typing down any further improvements she can add to the ReZio.

"Don't worry Martial, in just a few hours we'll get a new Arm on that." She then turned to Alon with an amused smile. "Just make sure to not repeat that, we don't exactly have any custom made arms because if you lose that then you'll no doubt just stick to the standard Zio Arms instead."

"I'll make sure then," Alon said as he saw Dain walking towards him looking at the footage of his fight.

According to Tsuna, the Optics of a Mech were also designed to record and store the footage of the Mech that allows the crew to study the mistakes made by the Pilot but also keep track of the confirmed kills made each sortie.

"Naga, can I have a word with you in private?" Dain said walking towards him as he set aside the datapad that showed it. "Yes sir," Alon said as they followed a more secluded part of the hangar.

"I saw your entire sortie earlier and I would like to first begin praising you for your skill not only for your confirmed kills but also your ability to keep up with what appears to be an Ace Pilot for the Orthus present." He said looking at him in the eye. There was a bit of pride swelling inside of Alon when he heard that, it even made him feel that he had earned his place within the crew.

However.

"But what you did was also reckless and dangerous, what if he just lured you in to be killed by enemy reinforcements, not to mention the damage he left on the ReZio, just like what Martial and Ms. Ziora the ReZio is highly valuable to Memento Mori as a whole." He said moving the timestamp to his 'duel' with Liyab. "Which is why next time I order you to avoid doing a similar stunt in the future."

"I understand," Alon nodded after an audible sigh from Dain he patted him on the shoulder it was his way of signalling his 'Commanding Officer' Mode, a term that Dain himself coined where he begins to differentiate personal and business to prevent any misunderstandings and grievances.

"Take a break, word from the grapevine was that the Erys and Ptolema had begun making peace talks but that's not to say we're not getting into any fights later on," Dain said walking off as Alon stretched his back for a moment and let out a yawn.

"Yeah I doubt this will end quickly," Alon commented as he followed after Dain while watching the Engineers repair the damages.

[Legacy of Earth]

They were having dinner at the large hall, Alon watched as Dain, Hayato and Erys and the head of the Istarian Armed forces were discussing the defence. Despite their cornered situation, the morale was high as the four fought on the front lines as well.

"Do you think we'll win?" Alon heard the Pilot next to him mutter in a low voice, he turned to find a young woman the same age as Marina was, she had platinum blond hair and pale blue eyes that had dark circles around them while she was slowly clenching her shaking hands.

She's traumatized, Alon concluded as though a veil had been lifted he began to notice more traumatized soldiers around him. Near the Wall Alon saw an entire squad of soldiers sharing a meal on the floor while surrounded by a handful of identification tags, likely the tags of their squadmates. One soldier seated next to the Pilot next to him had a blank stare in front of her barely touching the food in front of her.

Of course, they would be traumatized, Alon thought bitterly to himself as he felt immense guilt weigh over him. He was pretty much having the time of his life above while fighting Liyab and yet everyone around him was shaken from their experiences in the fighting be it on the ground or the mechs.

And then the feeling of death that he tried to shake off days ago began to seep its way back into Alon's head.

I can't believe I forgot the reason why I fought alongside Memento Mori in the first place. Alon bitterly thought as he dropped his spoon and let out a deep sigh as he stood up catching the attention of Marina who was talking with Henri earlier.

I needed to fight not just for myself but for the safety of my own family, and yet I've viewed the last few days as some kind of vacation. Alon thought as he walked out of the hall and made his way back into the main hangar to where the ReZio was placed in.

"Alon?" Marina walked next to him with a concerned look on her face. "I'm fine, I just felt like being in here," Alon said as he began to climb his way towards the ReZio but he stopped and remembered something.

"Actually," He said climbing down to Marina. "I need a favour to ask."

"That depends on what am I supposed to do?" Marina said with a doubtful look on her face.

"You remember the girl I was sitting next to?"

"Yeah, the one with the shaking hands?" She said imitating the gesture with her own hands.

"Yeah her," Alon nodded as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "Can you befriend her? Or any of the soldiers that looked traumatized. I was able to get through even a little bit thanks to you, so maybe—"

"That's not how it works," Marina shook her head with a dejected look on her face. "I know you want to help them but it's not that easy."

"I...know, it's just—"

She went on her toes and gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek as Alon let out a defeated sigh. "You don't want them to go through that I know." She said before leaning her head on his chest. "It's written all over your face you know."

"You just know me too well," Alon said as he hugged her.

It was true, in between sorties it was through Marina, Dain, Tsuna and everyone in the Memento Mori that had been his outlet in dealing with the stress of being in active combat zones as well as being plagued with the uncertainty of their future.

"I am your step-sister after all." She giggled as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

"Please don't say that aloud—"

"I know, I know." She smiled pulling away from him as she backed away. "I'll do my best to cheer other people up but we're in a war zone and all."

"Thank you." Alon smiled as she ran out and as soon as she was gone, he turned his attention back to the ReZio. No use sitting around and doing nothing, Alon thought as he climbed up the walkway and climbed into the cockpit.

"You know it's concerning that you're that close with your sister,"

Alon quickly pulled out his handgun and found Tsuna and Dain standing behind him with an amused look on their faces.

"Oh sorry about that," Alon said holding his gun back into the holster. "And what you—

"If you're thinking about making an excuse as to how you two aren't like that, we saw the kiss from earlier," Dain said leaning on the railing with a teasing smile. "You have a Sweet Home Thaumasia vibe going on with her? You got something to explain to us?"

"Fine it is like that," Alon slumped his shoulders in defeat. "My parents were workers on their farm once and they were loyal friends of her parents. But after my parents died in an accident, her parents took me in as their own and were supposed to raise me as their son."

"Oh, so it was bigger?" Tsuna asked. "The farm I mean?"

"Before you crashed and burned what's left, yeah it was a lot bigger," Alon said without hesitation earning an amused chuckle from Dain, Tsuna's crashing to his family farm has been a common joke within the crew. "But the war drained the resources of everyone around so her family had no choice but to let go some workers and lands for the better."

"You forgot the incest part."

"I'm getting there," Alon in an uncomfortable look on his face. "So we both grew up believing we're supposed to be siblings, which was mostly fine until puberty hit."

"But why her?" Dain and Tsuna asked, to be fair it was something the Fourteen-year-old Alon wondered aloud when he first realized that he fell in love with the then twelve-year-old Marina.

"In a small area like Thaumasia, there aren't many options around." Alon defended. It was a lie, there were plenty of young women his age but they weren't interested in Alon as they preferred wealthier nobles as it was clear that Alon was just an adopted son therefore the issue of inheriting the lands would go to his sister instead.

"I tried my best to distance myself from her as I grew up but by the time puberty had kicked in the two of us, it was even more agonizing to handle it." Alon crossed his arms, remembering the frustrating days when Marina would definitely try to make Alon fall in love with her but he constantly distracts himself with either farmland work or housework.

"And then?" They asked in unison.

"Let's just say by the time she turned fifteen and I turned seventeen she decided for a more, aggressive approach," Alon told them with an almost ashamed look on his face. To be fair it was Marina who kept, well, seducing Alon and he felt a bit ashamed for giving in to his urges.

For a moment Dain and Tsuna were silent, as though they were still processing the information. But then their eyes widened but Dain burst out laughing while Tsuna's face went beet red.

"I didn't know both of you had it in you,"

"To be fair, Fifteen is the accepted age of consent and under Interplanetary Law both of you are legally adults."

"But that aside, why are you so reluctant in hiding it? I mean it sounds like it's widely known in your area that you two are step siblings." Dain asked. "I didn't want to abuse my step parent's generosity by seducing their daughter," Alon answered.

Which was true it was no secret that the two held romantic affections for one another that even in town they knew it. But the issue still stands is that Alon had been taken care of by her parents out of kindness and so they would rightfully be angry when they find out that the Boy they had raised as their son had not only started dating their only daughter but also slept with her, they wouldn't hesitate to kick him out of the farm for it.

"But do you regret it?" Tsuna asked.

"No," Alon answered without a hint of hesitation. "It's just I'm afraid of what backlash she'll get when they realized that she's dating her stepbrother behind closed doors."

"Well, we won't force you on that." Tsuna nodded patting Alon on the head and then looking at the ReZio. "You gonna run a simulation?"

"I was thinking of using the data acquired from my Fight against Liyab to run a simulation, that way I can get better at piloting," Alon said stepping into the cockpit and beginning to type down a handful of codes so he can replicate the combat data into a simulation.

One of the benefits of the Zio is that they have a special learning computer that allows the pilot to remember their previous battles and then run various situations using the combat data acquired so the Pilot can train with an enhanced difficulty.

"Share us your data that way we can train together," Dain said climbing in and looking at one of the panels that shows the data involving it.

[Legacy of Earth]

The following day a new plan was formed. The idea was that all of the Loyalists and the Memento Mori forces are to hold their ground so that they can prepare the Warships as it was clear that they are in a losing battle and their only option, for now, is to escape.

"Will we even survive?" Alon heard from his proximity communication the voice of the girl from last night as they were preparing their defences as she was in a Z-13 as well.

"Hey, we'll make it. Just stay behind me and we'll make it out in one piece okay?" Alon replied, he couldn't stand someone as young as her being scared to fight so he had no other choice but to offer words of encouragement. "But I'm scared." She heard him reply as though she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm scared too but we are what stands between them and the rest of the Loyalists." He replied it was true. He was just as terrified as she was for different reasons. He was scared of losing Dain, Tsuna, Henri and Marina.

"Just remember the people we have to protect and we'll survive," Alon replied to her.

"...Thank you," she said in a low whisper.

From afar both of them saw the opening fire of various artillery from the Tanks that were present. Alon immediately grabbed the spare gun he had borrowed from the Armory and began to return fire. He had spent the entire night running various simulations using the shared data, Dain and Tsuna had shared and was fairly confident that they'll make it out in one piece.

"Get ready," Alon said raising his shield which was prepared for him by the Filia as the bullets either bounced back or absorbed the impact as he remained stationary. The ReZio wasn't designed for stationary combat but given the orders to hold back and buy command some time to prepare the ReZio was forced to do this role.

And then he saw Liyab's Zio-N flying towards him with both blades drawn, this time it was a Kinetic Katana and Wakazashi.

"Get away!" He told the other Pilot who had hid behind him in his shield as he raised it and parried the two blows from the Blades of the Zio-N.

"Dammit! I don't have time for this!" Alon said as he backed away while the other Pilot began to fire back at the Zio-N.

"I can't let you face him alone." She replied.

"No! He's too dangerous, I'll face him on my own," Alon replied as he handed her the rifle and pulled out his Gunblade.

"Good I didn't request for these—" Liyab said about to begin his usual banter but Alon wanted nothing to do with it as he aimed the Blade at the cockpit hoping he'll finally kill him then and there but Liyab quickly deflected it.

"I don't have time to deal with you!" Alon yelled at him as he swung again but Liyab parries the blow and prepared for a stab. But thanks to the Simulations from last night Alon learned to adapt faster as he stepped back and folded the blade and began to open fire at Liyab with his Beam gun.

"Focus on getting rid of the other Mechs!" Alon said as he looked at one of his Panels to reveal another assault from the Rebel forces. Looks like they're getting all out on this. Alon thought as he fired his arm mounted Vulcan and opened fire at the camera of the Zio-N and proceeded to reach into the wiring of the Zio-N and yanked it out. This caused Liyab to let out a shout of disbelief.

"I don't have time to deal with you!" Alon said as he threw the Zio-N to the ground and saw a much larger force coming towards them.

This is gonna be a long day.