http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BdCHgzU9beA

Sorry guys. Something is seriously wrong. I can never find the energy to write, and keep putting this off. I can no longer tell you when the next chapter is to be expected. I apologize for my recent behavior.

I'm gonna try to get some stuff done tonight. I think I have writers block, for I have no idea how to continue. I want the dialogue to be perfect, which in turn is slowing down the process. I'm going to have to lower my expectations and remember that I will get better at writing with practice.

It was disgusting.

But the others enjoyed it, so Cracker acted like she did too. While manning her post wishing she could do something less boring and more useful, her comrades had brought two of the mechanical demons into the camp.

It had been the first time that Cracker had ever seen one, having only been told tales of the
death and terror these 'knights' caused.

Ekusonos, her deranged, bloodthirsty, untrustworthy nemesis had told her how a single knight could wipe out an entire encampment without caring to clean the blood off of their blades.

Spiral Knights have invaded their Homeworld, Cradle.

That was many years ago.

Now they were locked in war with her kind, the gremlins, for control. Cracker never fully understood the conflict.

A dissection of these 'Spiral Knights' concluded that they seemed to be comprised of both metallic and organic substances.

Already rumors have spread of the Darkfang creating a weapon that would paralyze anything metallic. These were just rumors to Cracker, hardly seeming possible.

That kind of technology was unthinkable.

When she saw those two knights, she swore her heart stopped.

The creatures looked much different then she imagined.

Gone were the images of warmongering savages, cold and faceless enemies. Although she could not see past the armor, it told her enough.

They looked as if made by gods, as much of an overreaction as that was. She looked and looked again as the others carried the unconscious beings towards her.

One was wearing an eccentric hood and cloak, seeming to be made of a strange fabric. A
nearby gremlin was beaming, holding a piece of weaponry that looked toxic.

The other knight was wearing a light looking thing, not as protective as the other's cloak.

Cracker suddenly heard a deep growl emanating from beside her. She looked and saw that
in their cages of wolvers, one was brave enough to stand and rebel. Soon the others wolvers
around it, all of which had taken a huge beating started to stir.

"Shaddup!" she snarled.

She flung her wrench forward against the cage three times, causing a high pitched ringing to ripple through the air, and making the resilient wolver yip and fall back down.

Cracker hated her job.

All she was good for was guarding mutts that they should have killed.

She wished she could be out there, studying knights. But then realized why they were bringing two unconscious Spiral Knights towards her.

Despite calming the wolvers down, they started to grow unruly once more.

The gremlins barreled past, heading towards an empty cage at the edge of the camp. Trees
crowded along the boarder, their temporary base having been made in a rare clearing of land.

"Bwa!" a voice shrieked from behind her.

Cracker jumped and yelped, fear coursing through her veins. She then heard cackling and saw a Ghostmane Stalker on the ground in front of her, laughing for his successful scare.

She hated this little gremlin.

"What's the matter with you, Ekusonos?!" she crowed. The stalker hoisted himself up from the ground and gave her a filthy sneer.

"Stop complaining, you stupid wench." he jeered.

Cracker wished she could wipe that stupid grin off of his face right there and then.

Although they had grown up together, Ekusonos hated her for some reason.

So she returned the favor, and hated him right back.

Holding back the tide of rage and hate, she seethed. "Where in Vog's name were you? If you think I was going to stand here and cover for your shift, then surely you've gone crazy."

Cracker honestly didn't mind guarding the cages.

There was nothing else to do in the camp, since they've only settled there a few hours ago.

She and the others would be packing up and shipping out tomorrow anyway.

Ekusonos simply snorted, briefly glancing at the Thwackers not ten yards away, stuffing the
two unconscious aliens into metallic cages.

He looked back at Cracker with pride twinkling in his eyes. "Where do you think? I bagged us some knights."

He said this with a snarky and aggravating demeanor.

Surely he was aware of her fascination with knights.

Cracker was awed that he had helped in the capture, but felt nauseated by it at the same
time.

"Yeah, well I don't care," she lied. "Now if you're done with pretending you're actually
important for once, you'll be happy to know that it's your shift."

Ekusonos' grin fell back into a lopsided scowl that seemed etched into his face.

Like most Ghostmane Stalkers, Ekusonos was shorter than the average Thwacker.

Ekusonos had no other distinguishable features, as his whole body was covered in a cloak that could render him invisible.

She tossed her wrench and other tools that the stalker would need for the job on the ground.

Finally, she took out the keys to all of the cages in the area, and gave Ekusonos a cruel grin.

She threw the keys at the cages. She wasn't stupid, and did not throw it actually inside the cage.

It was just resting on the outside of the bars, on a metal slab.

Wolvers soon came near it sniffling and snuffling.

Cracker finally turned away to go anywhere but here. But not before she saw Ekusonos give her a deathly glare.

As she walked away, perhaps five yards, she heard a loud snap and a curse.

Thankfully gremlins could heal from bites easily enough.

-------

She stood under a small shelter, a piece of cloth raised above their heads. Pieces of the said cloth had fallen from it's entirety. Those pieces reached down and grasped the ground giving itan extremely messy and quickly constructed look.

Although a layer of cloth blocked her view of Ekusonos, she could easily view half of the cages from this range.

She brought her attention to the gremlins near the front. Albeit the structure didn't technically
have a front, if it did, that's where it would be.

At first, you would only notice the main gremlin.

This gremlin was huge.

Not in an obese or bulky manner, but as in height.

Perhaps one-point-five times the size of an average gremlin, the female gremlin in front of Cracker was just like the other warmasters.

Syph was at least a head taller than the two captains next to her.

Her posture demanded respect, and emanated authority. On her feet, she sported standard-issue combat boots.

Once said in a paper article, Cracker found that Syph had said she wore them because all other members of the warmaster council were behemoths.

Giants of power that could knock you out with just a few hits.

She preferred striking quickly and lethally. Her boots allowed her great mobility, and some protection.

On her legs and torso, she wore something that had only been seen on members of the council.

If a gremlin decided to parade around in armor like this, they would surely be executed on the
spot for impersonation of an important figure. She donned the highest tier of protection and
mobility, a mix of metal and fabric.

Although Cracker could not describe the uniform fully, it appeared to look like plates of metal underneath a light dapper cloak.

The metal seemed the be made from the grandest forge, always gleaming even when there was no
light around. It was vibrant in color, but somehow it was always gray. The cloak was made of
the finest fabric.

Yes, even finer than fine fabric.

It swirled around her when Syph moved, the bottom of it never touching the ground.

She wore no helmet.

Syph usually wore high-tech goggles in battle, but as of now she looked at her soldiers through her own eyes.

Her fur was gray and white, the gray complementing her light blue attire.

The last noticeable thing about Syph was her sidearm. The sheer beauty of the gun was
chilling.

With its long barrel, it was able to shoot long distances with no need to replace ammunition for a long period of time.

It's palette matched Syph's fur, whether by design or a personal touch, Cracker could not tell.

It seemed to be winking at Cracker, saying, "Ha ha. Your weapons suck."

And indeed, this gun would put the weapons of the metallic invaders to shame.

Cracker hoped she would one day see it in action.

Syph briefly glanced at her as Cracker entered the large area, but then continued to talk with the other two gremlins.

Technically, this was a recreation area, intended for members of the 'expedition' to rest or
entertain themselves when they weren't on duty.

Of the forty member party, no other gremlins besides the ones already mentioned were present. Perhaps they were loitering around the perimeter.

Cracker just turned to exit and look for something to do when a feminine voice said, "Where do you think you're going?"

The voice was laced with silver, seductive and tantalizing yet fearsome and powerful.

She realized that Syph was addressing her, and stuttered for a response.

"W-what?" She babbled. Why was a warmaster addressing her?

The regal gremlin was stalking over to here, but as she got closer it turned into a casual stroll.

Cracker saw the two captains shuffle away, frustration on their faces.

Syph stopped a comfortable distance away.

While Cracker noticed she was a head taller than normal gremlins, the warmaster was at least a head and a half taller than herself.

"Relax, young cub," Syph soothed, more than a hint of amusement in her voice.

Perhaps seeing Cracker cringe with what may be awe, she continued, "Answer, child. What is one as young as yourself doing among my hand-picked soldiers?"

She seemed genuinely concerned and surprised.

Cracker had a flash of Ekusonos in her mind.

Thinking of him as a 'hand-picked soldier' would make her laugh. But she didn't laugh.

Syph's presence was still a mystery to her, and she knew that getting used to it would be quite a task.

Still Cracker gaped, but eventually she pulled herself together and spoke to the legend. "I-I was chosen by you. R-remember? You came to me and told me that-"

"Ah, yes!" The woman interrupted with a gentle laugh. "I seem to recall asking a little cub such as yourself to accompany us. I suppose my memory hasn't been what it used to be!"

Crackers Politely laughed along, not daring to get on anyone's bad side, let alone Syph's.

"Continue on! Although I assume you could only be resting if you are here. Tell me, what is your assignment, girl?"

Receiving all of this attention from such a prominent figure, Cracker gladly obliged. "I work by
guarding the wolver containment cages, m'lady. "

She beamed, despite admitting herself as a low-ranking member. She had also remember the proper way to address such an esteemed member of the gremlin military.

"Ah," Syph said, her face slightly snarling and taking a darker tone. "I assume you witnessed
the two demons being taken into the camp then?"'

Seeing Cracker's nod, she continued. "Then when your shift begins again, I urge you to have the utmost caution."

Seemingly as an afterthought, she added, "What about the gremlin currently guarding the
cages? He seemed to be close to your ripe young age. Would you trust him?"

Right then, Cracker wanted to tell her what a filthy, disgusting, underhanded, manipulative gremlin Ekusonos was. But she didn't get the chance.

Syph seemed to have read the emotions on her face, and simply let out an enchanting chuckle.

"Ah," she smiled knowingly.

Without another word, Syph walked away.

-----

Back outside, Ekusonos beckoned Cracker to join him by the cages.

She knew nothing good could come of this, but she obliged and now stood two meters away from the stalker, a wide berth. There was dew on the grass now.

Was it like that before?

When she looked down, she thought she noticed a red tint, but ignored it.

"You like knights, right? You should come see this." He gave Cracker a shark grin. Bound by
her curiosity, she followed Ekusonos as he walked toward two cages at the edge of the camp.

To the surprise of the young gremlin, there was no one guarding it.

It was a disturbing thought, and she asked Ekusonos about it.

"Ha! Have you seen them?" Apparently back to his snarky tone, Ekusonos treated Cracker like an idiot.

Cracker gasped when she saw what she thought was two metallic corpses.

The male and female were on cages to the right and left, respectively.

The ground that the metal cagey rested on bore blood.

Not the red blood she thought she would have to feel used to.

This blood was blue.

Cracker did not know how to describe it, but it fascinated her.

The two captives had deep gashes, and looked thoroughly beaten.

When Cracker was a few mere feet away, she finally realized that they were still breathing. She also discovered that she hadn't, and so she took in a gulp of air.

"Y-you had authorization to do this?" she quavered, slightly shaken by the sight.

Their clothes were disgusting unlike earlier, and they looked to be in deep pain.

Furtive to the untrained ear, a high-pitched squeal emanated from the area. T

he wolvers seemed to be in discomfort, but Ekusonos didn't acknowledge it.

"No, but they bloody deserved it," Ekusonos clucked.

Confusing emotions clouded Cracker's head.

She shouldn't feel remorse for the sentients in front of her, but she did. She felt their pain,
somehow it connected through the tangles of the resentment between the two races.

They were unconscious.

"You idiot! What's wrong with you, you sick piece of retrode scrap?! You thought you'd decide to beat two important captives?" She felt her nostrils flaring, giving her a fiercer look.

"Boy, if you think you can strut around like one of the big-wig Warmasters, doing whatever you want and with no one daring to oppose you, then you have something coming to you."

Ekusonos growled back with equal ferocity.

"Wench! You think you know best? You're nothing but a common grunt! Less than that! I OUTRANK you! Perhaps I'm only you're elder by a few months, but I outclass you in every way! I'll see to it that you're removed from your duty to live. If you think your outburst will go unpunished, then YOU have something coming to YOU."

Ekusonos slapped Cracker.

Hard.

She whirled to the side, spots briefly specked her vision before forming into the landscape again.

She didn't let the ground take her, for she kept her balance.

On her face, she felt heat rushing to her cheek. She replayed the scene in her mind, feeling the sting and shock.

Cracker poured every ounce of her anger and resentment into one deathly glare, and left
Ekusonos with a quartet of yelping wolvers,

-------

Ekusonos was a fool.

They all were.

She couldn't fathom their hatred for the Haven-dwellers, she realized this now.

Cracker had gone with the flow, acting as all others had acted.

Her life had attempted to accustom her to the fact that the savage knights were her enemies, but tonight she saw who the real savages were.

Perhaps her bitter resentment for Ekusonos was blinding her to logic, but Cracker told herself
that she was past that.

"Emberlight," she thought. It was the only place that would take her.

She didn't have to do this, she could wait and let the gremlins find a ways to make her hate the knights.

But how could she come home for her mother only to see her father's lust for death in the eyes of her loved ones?

Father was no longer around, but just like him mother would never allow an ally of the Spiral
Knights to live.

Not even if that ally was her own daughter.

Cracker walked to the cages with purpose, something of which she did not have before.

She had found something to fill the black hole in her heart, just as much as a lover or another
excitement would.

Ekusonos passed her, sneering and trying to put her down.

She didn't give him a reaction. Life seemed to slow down as she took her shift.

"I wonder what father would think," she mused as she neared the wolver cages with keys in
hand.