In the middle of the camp, fires rose higher and higher, everyone gathering around to see what the commotion was about. And as the news spread faster and faster with word of mouth, every person's eyes instead shifted back onto the flames, watching in melancholy. Terna was watching way further up high, away from the general crowd, her hand pressing against the thick skyscraper's window. Behind her, everyone was slowly beginning to snap out of the shock they had at their moment of arrival, instead focusing on Terna's sadness. Behind them, a group of young men were standing by the door, showing emotion where they shouldn't give that they weren't built like actual soldiers. Lass approached the young men. Around his age, and tried breaking the ice.

"So...you guys. Can you tell me about the whole situation behind Gaz? You seem to have known him well. I don't mean to interrupt you, however. If that's cool with you."

One of the soldiers approached him, "Yeah. Gaz was actually the man. He definitely wasn't family-like with Terna but...he surely felt like it. We were his 'most fit' soldiers and had to have our eyes on Terna because of it. I guess we failed. Were it not for his knowledge as an old veteran, I doubt we'd have any chance of putting up resistance against official forces. Infantry, black ops, he passed down a lot to us over the past few months. We all feel like we are partial to blame for him being gone...it was our job to watch Terna at all times, but I guess our lack of discipline showed up for her to escape. Sometimes, I personally wish I was actually trained in the military to be able to help more. Like you guys, somewhat."

"I doubt they would make a perfect example of discipline for you to follow." Ikarisa sighed.

"As soon as something went south, I saw you guys drop all you're bickering and head out as one to face a threat. Granted, it was just Riko coming to warn us about military activity, and the usual mock missiles trying to get us to stand down, but it really left an impression on us when we saw you from a distance."

Terna abruptly stepped in, "Riko is responsible for Gaz's death. My dad's body burning down there is his doing."

The soldier stood there in shock, "Wait...no. He was an inside ally, giving us details on official's moves."

"It's true, according to Terna. Same with a statue we saw while coming here, the people who killed Gaz while going after Terna had the exact same symbol on their suits. Probably special forces one's, but still belonging to the DPD." Anya confirmed.

"I have to keep going. I can't let that keep me down...neither can anyone. Guys, soldier duty aside, we are all people here. We can't give in to Neviro's act." Terna told the soldiers.

A female soldier stepped in, "Bullshit. When I look at the military and the police, what am I supposed to say, 'These are people?' These pigs support the sick bastard up in the town hall like he's a god, instead of joining us and pointing the gun at him. Hell, the same soldiers who support him turned their backs to even their families, because we all know for a fact that once we go down they are next!"

Another soldier stepped in, "I agree! We're burning Gaz, and why? Because they killed him in order to give Neviro total control by going for the root. We did this to him instead of burying him in order to keep it a secret as well...we could've raised a statue in his honor considering what he did."

"We did this to avoid having to announce the first death of this conflict, like Gaz told me because otherwise, the general public could be riled up to join at this point. And we've already got a few thousand suffering already, never mind the fact that if that news reached the military, they'd waste no time trying to apprehend all of us. Either way, with the clear instructions he gave me for this case, we avoid turning our dream into another's nightmare or losing the dream altogether." Terna explained.

"We should probably calm down-" Yuno tried to step in.

The female soldier pointed her gun at Lass, "And how do we know they're not traitors to us as well? Funny how it took you three and the flying mascot here showing up for Gaz to get killed, after over half a year of holding strong!"

Lass lifted his hands up to avoid further conflict, "Doubt the way you're acting leaves me any room to prove that we're not."

Terna stepped between them, "Their arrival pushed Gaz over the edge. It pushed him to chase after me, after wanting to do so for too long. Their arrival became an irregularity in our race and made Riko believe that it was time to strike. Their arrival also saved me, kept the military from engaging because of their status and will likely be the reason why we'll win in the end. Can we please...talk things over? Dad would've wanted nothing more than for this to end, and for me to finally restore some peace in the city, it's all I wish to do now. Far too many of you failed to listen to my songs or cry when I was singing during my days as an idol in the company, but you did so in your darkest times, which honors me way more than that. So hear me one more time...or I'm obligated to silence myself forever. My voice brought you to a place you're screaming to get out of and all I want is to make your screams heard by others."

His inspiring talk gradually made the female soldier back down, lowering her weapon as Lass lowered his hands, restoring a somewhat stressful situation back to a peaceful state. Inspiring as her talk was, silence remained briefly after, as she began thinking to herself, walking back towards the window. She came back to everyone after a moment, a new sparkle of hope shining in her eyes.

"Right. I have an idea! We have to end it now, before the news eventually slips out of Dad's death, so hear me out. A parade."

"A...parade?" Ikarisa curiously asked."

"That's right. One final parade, spanning from the tourist area, all the way to the town hall, gathering all who want to join us. Those near the float, and up ahead where the speakers will blast will be enhanced by my voice as well. We definitely have the means to do it, since Musica wanted a multi-idol parade to span the tourist area mid-season, ordering the required supplies at the storage house by the port and signing me up for it."

"So we're swapping to fully offensive?" Lass asked.

"There's no point stalling what's going to inevitably happen, so we might as well take advantage of the news and make it happen ourselves. I have a wide array of songs ready to go and inspire everyone as well. I'm no general, I'm no Gaz. So I'll need someone else to take the lead up front, while I do what I know best."

"Wonder who that will be." Yuno sarcastically asked.

"Still haven't used up the voucher for everyone listening to my plan yet. The military invasion was a fluke anyway, so that doesn't count." Lass stood his ground.

"It needs to be a flawless performance. It won't be my first time on stage, but the stress is there for sure, given the situation." Terna anxiously said.

"Won't you be looking to get shot at if you stay on stage, in the middle of the open?" the first soldier asked.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"We could implement some more things on the float, like a barrier maybe. Something that won't obstruct sound for her voice to be clearly transmitted. I have a few ideas, not like I haven't assembled things before, but I need to see how the float fairs as well, what load it can take and all that. Worse case, I take some things from my company's other containers from other storage houses and just send them more after it's done. But as far as technology and things go, I can help, but I ain't an expert." Anya said.

"We have a ton of people from all sorts of companies here, I'm sure they'll help!" Terna vigorously said.

"So, how much time are we talking about here? Surely you're not expecting 24 hours, right?" Yuno asked.

"We don't have a choice, we need to hustle a bit." Lass agreed, "Gaz had a name that will surely not fly by easily. Meaning that since everyone still has contact with their families and friends outside the factory zone, it's highly likely news will break out fast and make the DPD and the military contain the outrage of the first death before we can capitalize on it. Realistically speaking, we have a good enough chance of making it, because the only thing to worry about is the float. With an army of rebels the size of this one, it's small enough that we can coordinate it quickly. Not like we're expecting professional-level work anyway. That goes for us four too. Our edge comes from our Obsulyte, of course. But the people...these aren't exactly monsters we're facing."

"We definitely won't be facing boy scouts. The problem is, the DPD has a good enough chance to use rubber...the military though? Based on my shoulder from yesterday's fiasco, that tells me that the moment the military steps in, we're looking at live ammunition instead.", Anya worryingly said, remembering her pain.

"Hmm. My voice will enhance the durability of those around it as well, but I can't guarantee that we will last such powerful weapons." Terna nodded.

The female soldier stepped in, "Look, I'll suggest this. We release the news right away and let the people rile up."

"What? Why?" Terna asked.

"Wait, I think she's right, use mass panic to our advantage instead." Anya pointed out.

"My name is Lora, I used to be the PR director for Musica. And I can guarantee you, if we capitalize on this before the military does, we could come out on top."

"This could backfire, but if what I'm thinking holds ground, riling everyone up and causing a panic might work in our favor in this one indeed. Usually, what I expect to happen, is that the cops will step in to stop the riots, then the Special Forces, then the military the more it progresses. Subsequently, they will all gradually be forced to swap to fakes instead of live ammo, because everyone will be ticketed off by Gaz's death. Adding to the death toll will make this ten times worse. And like I said, Delpha hasn't known that much war, its soldiers have families and friends there, so I don't think they'll be excited enough themselves to have to add numbers after Gaz. I can see the damage being severe as well. If what we were told was true, then this whole inner circle rebellion was a taboo subject that already has everyone tip-toeing at the edge of a cliff as is. We push them off with this news and chaos is sure to unfold. But we need to get to the pissed-off people before the military and DPD quells them down." Anya thought.

"In 24 hours? Absolutely easy to do. It's enough chaos to be able to take control of them. If they try to quell the rage, given how things have been, it could take them over a month. We're not quelling anything, we're going with the flow and are simply telling everyone to follow us to grant their wishes. We aren't going against their flow like the others might try." Lora said.

"I had to deal with bad PR before, but I have no idea how this will work out at all."

"Mrs Anya, I assure you, I ain't a soldier, but I am a damn good director. It's a gamble, for sure, but the risk-reward factor is at around 20/80. It'd be stupid not to take advantage of this while we can."

"Isn't there a way we can go for absolute zero casualties here? Because it's still 20%. I don't care about what corporate bullshit you're on, people are people. Even a single death is enough to break a family." Lass angrily said.

"Bite me, I always chose to kill one and save four in the trolley problem. You're far too young to understand that, unlike her who has company experience. If we don't do this, a whole lot more people are dying. Once the news gets out with us taking advantage of it, we're in a different galaxy of shit with the casualty numbers. We have fakes ready to ensure we don't do damage ourselves, but other risk factors are what we're talking about here."

"Yeah, I saw your fakes alright." Anya angrily said.

"You're standing here, he's through the 4th round of morphine at the hospital. I'd say that we've closed the subject with both sides on equal terms at this point." Lora sighed.

"Anyway. What you both said makes more than enough sense. I will do whatever you wish, but I would be lying if I said I'm not likely to go out of my way to stop someone from getting hurt, even if that means derailing from the starting plan.", Ikarisa nodded.

"No, I refuse to engage in a battle I know I'll have to actively hurt actual people. Monsters, who gives a shit, they're on the chopping block before I even need to think twice. Not people. You guys can go ahead with that little parade of yours, but I won't let anyone die, not because of me, or anyone else I know I can prevent from doing so.", Lass angrily said.

"Our side can guarantee the no-death policy...but the gamble for the military remains. Worse case, we lose to the aforementioned 20% and they use live ammunition during the riot to set an example." the first soldier worryingly said.

Everyone then turned their eyes on Terna, waiting for an answer while leaving along with her their trust, loyalty and to an extent, part of their worries and hopes for her to bare. And so, she made the decision.

"We will go with the riot plan. But...Lass. I want to see what the full extent of the safety measures you are going to do are. Because of that, I'm with you, I don't want anyone to die. Not because of me, not because of anyone."

"I'll see what I can come up with on that. But first, let's get everyone up to date with everything about the plan."

"Leave that to us. Gaz's body has probably...diminished by now. We have to help everyone pull through for tomorrow because we can't afford to waste a single minute." Lora said, "You guys can take the information duty, I'll be off to the commercial unit. Have some PR to do."

The other soldiers left the room alongside Lora, leaving everyone else behind, they too getting ready to do their part. Once again, Terna approached the window one last time, looking at the now low-burning fire. It wasn't long after that Anya left the group, mumbling and going over points of the plan to approach Terna, standing by her side from the thick window.

"Hey, uh...I just remembered something I wanted to tell you. It kind of slipped my mind after all the stuff that clustered together at once. Plus, you weren't exactly at a place to talk before getting excited about the plan right now." Anya leaned against the window.

"It's a fresh wound. But like Dad said, if I look at a wound all the time, it won't get healed."

"Alright then. I'll cut to the chase. Are you the exact same Terna I remember from when I was a kid, the classic musician? You know, the one with stage fright?"

Terna's eyes lit up, "Anya?"

Anya got excited bouncing back from the window, "I began fearing the fact that I got you wrong with someone else who bared the same name! Hey superstar! How's it been? My doubts festered so bad back there, you changed top to bottom since I saw you before having to leave the city!"

"Anya!" Terna hugged her, "I-I thought you had...died. I also never really managed to get your last name at all!"

"Wasn't that big a name a decade ago anyway? You did join the group late anyway, so I guess you stuck with 'Anya' from the get-go, instead of 'Ana' and everything else."

"I'm so incredibly happy to see you again! You changed a bunch as well. Uh...at least physically."

"Hey, I'm a big personality. Can't have that change in a million years. Sure made it out into the world though. Both me and you! I remember that day you fell on stage all shaking and everything too...how things have changed!"

"It took a lot of practice even here, before I got used to even having a faceless radio broadcast. I feel like I'm about to shed tears of happiness. I really thought all my familiar people, my friends were gone forever after this. Gaz was the only thing I believed survived alongside me when that horrible invasion happened!"

"I guess I did leave on a hasty manner before shit turned real down bad back there. I'm glad to be with ya again though!"

"You can't imagine how much more glad I am!"

Ikarisa went up to them alongside everyone else, "A happy reunion?"

"You bet Risa! The wolfy menace and superstar, back at it again!"

"Quite the pair indeed. Where do you know each other from, actually?" Yuno asked.

"Since childhood. The name of the country escapes me right now, but it was definitely in Victoria, somewhere up north. But boy, those memories. I remember a bunch of other people there too, mostly my close friends. Unfortunately didn't have enough time due to my studies, but it was still fun when I was around them."

"I wish I could land a finger on childhood friends' identities too." Lass sighed.

"Wow, you have friends?" Anya nagged him.