Leaning on the railing on Kaijin Base’s shoulder platform, staring out into the expanse of dark and night, it all hit. Kayden winced.

The old Skyguard was gone. Bakor had survived, but he was now dead. Lauren was lost to her own evil. Alive, but lost. Tham was blinded. Haroken was badly hurt. Kayden himself was exhausted, in every possible way. They all were.

And the villagers of Bargolen were still imprisoned. Most likely dead already. And the Skyfall Empire had never been stronger.

Kayden wanted everything to be over already.

What had he accomplished? Nothing. He felt like so long had passed since he’d left the village of Bargolen with Tham. But he had achieved nothing.

So many promises had been made. Had he fulfilled any yet?

He was so tired.

“Hey,” Tham said from behind him. “Varokan wants us in the strategy room. He says we all need to talk.”

“Right,” Kayden nodded. “I’ll… be right there.”

“Sure,” Tham nodded. He approached Kayden with slow steps. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Kayden whispered. “It’s just… Have we been of any use, Tham? Have we done any good?”

Tham remained silent for a moment. “Look. We may not have saved our village yet. We maybe haven’t yet toppled the Skyfall Empire. Sure, I’m blind now. We’ve gone through painful things. But… you’ve helped a lot. You know who I would’ve been if you hadn’t shown up? Maybe I’d still live peacefully in my village. Maybe not. I don’t know. But what I do know is that, without you, I would still be that weak and immature little kid who feared wandering too far from his village. Who froze at danger he had thrown himself into. Who would’ve been content with living a life of nothingness! You know what? Even though we haven’t yet accomplished what we set out to do, I feel like a hero. I’ve been able to rise up to every single challenge I’ve faced. And that’s thanks to you.”

“Tham…” Kayden started, looking at him.

“And I’m not done!” Tham said, his voice wavering. “Without you, the Mimicker would still be a blood-thirsty blade rotting away in a cave! Without you, Haroken would still be too ashamed to leave his mountain. He would’ve stayed that way forever! Without you, Merdilen would still be living pointlessly and wasting his life away! Without you, Hassah would still be a slave. She’d most likely be dead by now. Kayden… you’re a hero, man! You–”

Kayden hugged Tham tight.

“Thank you,” Kayden whispered, his voice weak. “I mean it.”

“Just don’t forget it,” Tham said.

“I’ll try. I… I won’t.”

“Good,” Tham nodded. “Now, let’s go inside. The world needs us. But, most importantly, our friends do.”

Heading inside, Kayden and Tham met up with the rest. The whole Skyguard except for Haroken was present –his size made it really hard for him to be Gravitybent to this height, so he had stayed at a lower platform. Chafter and the Right-Hand Man were also there, along with Varokan, the dark-skinned woman whom Kayden had been told to be Barani, and several other high-ranking members of the rebellion known worldwide as the Libertatum Brotherhood.

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“Okay,” Varokan said. “Skyguard, welcome to Kaijin Base. I believe you have something you’d like to share.”

Kayden remained silent for a moment.

“...Yeah,” he finally started. “A very precious person surrendered his life to hand us this information. If Abner Chafter and the Right-Hand Man trust you all, then we do too. Besides… we need your help. So… here goes nothing.”

Kayden explained it all as best he could. About the realm of power that was the Echo, and how Bakor had gotten there. He talked about the Oath of Megalo, the sword that Bakor found that could erase people from time and space, and the World Energy Factor, which was sending all sorts of beings back from the Echo to whichever reality it came across.

The whole group said nothing through his narration, and remained silent well after he was done.

“...If not for your reputation I’d call you a jester,” Varokan finally said. “But, given who you are… Timeless, what do you propose?”

Kayden was exhausted. He didn’t want to think. But he forced himself to do so anyway.

“Unbadda,” he said. “The Unbound air mines. We’ve got people we need to save there. A high-level strike would not only help us with that, but would give the rebellion the resource it most preciously needs if it wants a shot against an empire: Unbound air vials. Lawbending enhancers.”

Varokan folded his arms. “And how’d we pull off such a feat?”

“I don’t know,” Kayden sincerely said. “I’m sure you know your people well. I don’t wanna take over.”

Varokan sighed. “You know the Everbender will show up in a matter of minutes if we even dare approach that place.”

“She could show up anywhere,” Tham interjected. “The Everbender may be the strongest Lawbender in every branch. She’d probably even show up here if she thought the rebellion a menace. She could search the whole empire in a matter of days.”

“Don’t you dare call us weak,” Varokan glared.

“My point exactly,” Tham said, looking in the direction of his voice. “The Everbender has no idea how strong this rebellion is. If she did, it’d already be long gone. Just like the Wondrous Wanderers Guild, and you know it. So, no matter what, your first move must be to get as strong as possible. Anything else and we’re all dead.”

“The young man is right,” Barani, the dark-skinned older woman, said. “Willpower isn’t enough. We lack resources, and that’s a fact.”

“You’re all giving the Everbender way more credit than she deserves,” Varokan said, narrowing his eyes. “I did mention her, and she’s not to be taken lightly, but we’re safe here. We–”

“Shut up,” Kayden said, pursing his lips. “You have no idea how strong she can be. How ruthless. If she knew you existed, you’d be dead. That’s it.”

“Don’t you dare ask me to shut up,” Varokan hissed. “Much less here. That I don’t immediately agree to your ‘plan’ should mean enough. We’re not going to the Unbound air mines. Not right away, at least.”

“We attack any other point and she’ll wipe us out!” Kayden exclaimed. “Our only chance is to enhance our powers as soon as possible!”

“You have no idea what we’re capable of,” Varokan said. “You–!”

“Kayden’s right.” Merdilen said, face down, speaking for the first time since they’d gotten to Kaijin Base. “She’s a lit fuse. She’d destroy the whole world if she wanted to.”

Everyone turned their eyes to him. Kayden knew Merdilen wasn’t even from this world. How’d he know?

“I know because I’ve been in her place.”

Merdilen’s statement made Kayden freeze.

“...What?” Tham muttered.

“Oh, you’ve been in her place?” Varokan asked loudly. “Are you a traitor or a spy?”

“Don’t you call him that!” Kayden shouted. “No matter his past, he’s one of us now! Okay?”

“Who do you even think you are?” Varokan shouted back. “You just…”

Somehow, his volume lowered, his voice getting quieter and quieter as his face grew redder.

“Okay,” Hassah muttered, Soundbending. “Enough shouting. The information was shared. Let’s call it a day. We will all get some much-needed rest, and we’ll meet up again tomorrow and talk again after some nice sleep and healthy breakfast.” She glared at Kayden and then at Varokan. “Any objections?”

“Thank you,” Barani said, sighing. “These men just can’t get enough on the battlefield, eh?”

The tension didn’t seem to dissipate as some other rebel members guided the Skyguard to their sleeping quarters. Kayden was mad, but most of all, he was exhausted. He barely noticed where he lay down his head before falling asleep.