• The United Kingdom had changed quite a lot since the fall of Victor Koidra, and that was the same with it's citizens. Many continued with their normal lives after Koidra was destroyed, others had taken up new lives in different careers. Elizabeth Hutchins was voted out as Prime Minister, and was replaced with Ryan Morrisey who helped raise the flag against Koidra and keep the United Kingdom safe from terrorist attacks by creating the force known as Section 16. Anti-terrorist agents trained to use robots better known as "Combat Mechs" which utilise advanced weaponry and are piloted from within by a specially trained agent.

    Among the four hundred agents within Section 16, one stood out from the others: Tai Strife. After defeating Koidra and finishing his time at Forest High Boarding School, Tai left the GPDN along with Kari and some of the other agents. After Kari left for Japan to become the future Empress, Tai joined the police force along with his brother Davis. Both showed exceptional skills and talents, but Tai was drafted into Section 16 while Davis stayed on to become Detective Inspector. It had been a difficult transition for Tai to go from GPDN agent, to a normal police officer and then to a member of Section 16 but it had gotten a lot harder in the past couple of weeks for Tai. He was on the train from London to Southampton after going through one of the worst experiances he had ever been through.

    Tai had changed since the days of the GPDN, he no longer had his famed red and black spiked hair, it was replaced with his natural hair style of pure white in which he had from birth. He still wore the same mix of gothic and grunge style clothing from before consisting of a pair of black jeans, a black long sleeve t shirt and a long leather trench coat and a pair of thick leather boots. His crystal ble eyes were partially covered by his fringe yet it didn't seem to bother him. His gaze was fixed to the overcast sky and the dark clouds that remained. He was uncomfortable on the train, the seats were hard and were covered with a rough orange material. The frames were made of plastic and joined onto the floor as well as the seat next to him. He had tried getting some sleep, and it was an hour into the journey when Tai finally started to nod off. The sounds of the train speeding along filled in his head, and the painfull memories of the days that had passed flooded back to him.



    It all started as a bright sunny day, peace filled the base of Section 16 until the call came through.

    "This is an urgent call out to all available Mech Pilots, Death Scythe rebels are currently making an attempt at destroying London's West End. All pilots are required to intercept and apprehend the suspects"

    Those words started the fighting off. The base was in a rush as every pilot in at the time rushed from the lounge room towards the hanger. They had their neural suits on all ready so that as soon as they were ready, they could take off in no time flat. It was the usual routine, a call out would be made and a number of pilots and mechs would deploy. Tai ran out into the hangar, followed by Emma, the one he loved the most since Kari left. She was the most beautiful woman Tai had seen since his time as an agent. She was around the same height, and with a slender physique and a slim body. Her hair was brunette and extended almost three inches below her shoulder and was tied back and placed under her neuro suit. She ran with elequance as she darted through the pilots while getting towards her Mech. Every Mech in the hangar stood at least 500 ft, some were even bigger. Each pilot was able to customise their mechs with their own features and with that no two mechs were the same. Tai had customised his with three different colours of paint. The armour was painted with a mix of crimson red and a bronze colour, and on the left shoulder pad was Tai's personal emblem of a black raven with it's wings at full spread over a blue cross in honour of his time spent at Forest High Boarding School. Emma's was of similar dark colours consisting of purple as the primary colour and black as the secondary colour with a white tiger on the left shoulder pad. Both Tai and Emma glanced towards one another and nodded, singalling their intentions to work as a single unit. They had always decided to work as a team, they were considered the best duo in Section 16 and to continuously continue to work together, they had built up the highest kill count of almost 1000 Combat Mechs shot down. To Tai, their partnership reminded him back to the days of the GPDN, when he and Kari would work together. He had become affectionate and after dating, Tai had built up the courage to propose to Emma, and if it wasn't for the alarms going of then he would have done it. They both rushed up the metallic steps towards the chest of the Combat Mechs and they quickly opened up to allow them both inside. Tai quickly jumped in, sitting back in the cocpit and allowing the neuro suits to intergrate into the Mech itself and as soon as the cocpit closed up; Tai looked through his HUD and checked everything was right. The system started to run it's checks. Ammo was one hundred percent ready and all missiles had been loaded. Tai started to test the gyro movement links and moved his hand, mimicing the effects of picking something up, yet his Mech had picked up the heavy assault gun and had detached itself from the rafters. Despite the confined spaces Tai didn't feel clostrophobic and had complete control over the systems as his flight suit was snug around the body while he was linked up to the controls of the Combat Mech.

    "Hey Tai you ready?" Emma's calming but commanding voice came through the communications system as she appeared on Tai's HUD.

    "You know me Emma, i'm always ready" Tai answered as he watched Emma take off and Tai followed right behind her.



    They flew into the London sky, dodging barrages of missiles and anti-aircraft fire coming from Death Scythe Combat Mechs. Each one was painted with a sickly green colour and an emblem of two scythes joined as a cross. Each Mech carried the same heavy assault rifle that Tai used but they were fireing with out care as each of the Section 16 Combat Mechs flew down the Thames river, avoiding missile fire and energy bullets while flying under the bridges and evading the boats. Over 40 Death Scythe Combat Mechs had gathered, and in that one sortie, only a dozen Section 16 Combat Mechs launched from the hangar to take on the threat. It was enough though; even before getting into close range with the Death Scythe Mech's; Tai and Emma had already taken down a respectable twelve between them and continued to barrage the enemy with a storm of laser rounds. Tai favoured heavy assault tactics while Emma went for the idea of using lighter weapons that had a faster reload rate and a better accuracy. Both came out of flight mode, splashing down in the river and causing a small tidal wave. The water was shallow compared to the Combat Mechs and every time they moved, they cut through the water like it wasn't even there. All twelve Combat Mechs set up a fire base and were laying down surpressing fire, reducing the Death Scythe numbers from thirty, down to nine without even loosing a single member of the unit. It was as if the Death Scythe weren't even trying. Eventually their numbers were reduced to all but three which had started to retreat, running from the river and taking flight, heading towards the more populated areas of London. The agents weren't going to follow them seeing as it would risk the lives of innocent people around them. That was all changed when the call from HQ ordered them to persue, they didn't want any of the Death Scythe members to make it back to their base, and even if they did it would help bring them down from the inside if they knew the location of the base. Obediantly the agents started to follow, taking to the skies to get a better view.

    Both Tai and Emma started to fly over Hyde Park, scanning the area for any Combat Mech energy but came up with nothing. If the Death Scythe pilots were their before then it wasn't the case now. Both ascended to a better altitude, trying not to burn the field with their thrusters and hoping to see if any of the other agents had any luck. They both looked to the corners of the city and everything was quiet. The skies were only filled with other agents and Section 16 choppers, but no planes flew across and none of the Death Scythe Combat Mechs. "I don't think we'll take down any more Death Scythes Tai. Maybe we should move on to the next area" Emma stated as she moved her Mech to face Tai who had his gun ready and waiting to open fire on anything that attacks them. "Maybe your right, but i just wanna do a scan of the area from the sky first" Tai pointed out and activated his thrusters and proceeded towards the atmosphere, stopping at double the height of Big Ben. Activating his scanners; Tai checked his HUD and waited for the results and much to his annoyance, there wasn't any Death Scythe Mechs in the area, just a couple of people running through the streets to avoid any danger. "Your right, come on Emma let's go" Tai finished and descended back to the ground and towards Emma. "I guess if there were any Death Scythe pilots around then they would have attacked by now" Emma pointed out as she turned towards the Thames river and started to glide back. Before they could move past the park, a flash of red light shot down from the sky, piercing Emma's mech in the shoulder and rupturing the fuel cells. The attack was quick, without a sound being made and the only indication of the attack happening came from the flash of light and Tai instantly grabbed her mech before it could fall and smash into the buildings. Tai looked through his HUD in shock as he looked at Emma's cocpit opening up and revealing her shot body. Somehow the attack managed to pierce her cocpit and cause severe damage to her body. Her neuro suit was shredded and covered in blood. Tai quickly released himself from his cocpit, the cables detaching themselves from the suit and the HUD disappearing as he watched the chest open up and letting the sun shine in. He burst from the cocpit, jumping from the seat and across the metal plates of the mechs legs, jumping towards her and catching her before she fell onto the ground. He cradled her in his arms, while resting down in front of Emma's open cocpit. Through his demon senses, Tai could tell Emma was dieing as he could see her shredded tissue and damaged nerves and arteries, her pace slowed down as she looked towards Tai. "I'm sorry Emma, i couldn't save you" Tai said as tears started to stream from his eyes and his body shook. "Don't be Tai" Emma started while looking into his eyes. "You shouldn't cry for what's happening, you couldn't have prevented it"

    "I just wish i asked you the question before we were called out" Tai commented as Emma looked at him with a feint smile. "I was always gonna say yes to you Tai. I love you, and i always have done. Now although i may be passing on i want you to continue. I know about how you loved Princess Kari, you used to tell me about your time in the GPDN and although we were together there was a part of you that still loved her. I want you to follow your heart, find the one you love besides me, and be happy" Emma coughed up some blood as Tai continued to cry for her. "Good bye Tai, i'll miss you" Emma finished and as the wind blew past, her body went limp, her least breath filled the air and the last expression was a smile that made Tai burst in tears after loosing the one he loved. The sun slowly faded, the light turned to darkness as the clouds started to form above London. Looking to the sky, he watched as Section 16 choppers encircled them, yet his attention came to the bright light that glowed in the sky, and materialised into a focused beam that shot down onto the mechs and wiping out everything within the radius.



    Tai suddenly flung forward, waking from his dream and looking around at his surroundings and at the other passengers on the train. The skies had spots of blue dotted along towards the horizon and judging by the windows, it had been raining a bit while he was asleep. Tai pulled his eyes down and rubbed his forehead. His eyes were irritated, itchy and had grown heavier since waking up, but he was used to restless sleeps from the GPDN.

    "I know it's none of my business, but it looks like you've had a rough sleep" an old person, sitting across from Tai said with a calm voice. Tai turned to face the old man, looking at his balding hair and wrinkled skin. He was wearing a pair of blue denim jeans and a grey jumper under a blue raincoat.

    "I guess you could call it a bed dream, but i see it more as an alternative memory" Tai stated as the old man looked towards him. "You sound like it's happened on more than one occassion"

    "In my current line of work, it has" Tai replied while taking in deep breathes to calm himself. It was wierd, Tai usually kept his feelings to himself and rarely shared them with strangers, yet there was something about the man across from him that allowed him to be calm and open which was a first in Tai's life. "It's happened a number of times even before i started my job"

    "What kind of work do you do?" he asked as Tai tried to repress the painfull memory he just experianced. "I'm a member of Section 16. I'm a Mech Pilot" Tai continued as he remembered to his previous lines of work. "I started life at an Extreme Sports shop, i then moved onto working in the GPDN, then a member of the police force and finally i joined Section 16"

    "Quite the CV you've got there. I must say it's refreshing to meet another former member of the GPDN" he stated as Tai seemed to perk up with better interest than when the conversation started. "Names Nicholas Gates, former GPDN agent and full time weapons designer"

    "Tai Strife, former GPDN agent and full time Section 16 agent among other things"



    For the next hour, Tai and Nicholas exchanged stories about their time in the GPDN, both had stories to share about different adventures and different fights. They tried to outdo one another at who had the worse experiance and it seemed Nicholas had the upper hand in the conversation. Even if Tai did become a vampire and a beast during his time in the GPDN, Nicholas managed to beat him as apparently he had once been a host to a virus created by the Hiroshian's when they invaded the planet. According to Nicholas' memory; the virus mutated his body and turned him into the same alien the GPDN were fighting. "What was it like to go through the changes you went through?" Tai asked as he got up and sat next to Nicholas. "Well were do i begin. It was frightening, and chlostrophobic at the same time" Nicholas started as Tai blocked all sounds out but Nicholas' speech. "I might aswell tell you the story from the beginning, as to save any confusion. I was being evacuated on one of the GPDN's star ship; The Gauntlet and as we reached space; Hiroshian ships came from no where, and boarded the ship, taking everyone on board prisoner and killing anyone who got in their way. When they took us on board their ship, they judged us like cattle at a farmers auction, picking out flaws and traits that people had. Then they split us up into men and women. We were seperated from there on. We were taken to what looked like a laboratory, and they injected us with the virus"

    "Do you know what happened to the women?" Tai asked as he remembered Kari being on board the same ship at the time. They never spoke of what happened to one another during that time. With Kari captured by the Hiroshians while he was fighting them in the Caspian Basin in the Middle East, they forgot to ask one another about their experiances and Tai wrote everything down in a diary he kept. "I'm afraid i couldn't tell you. Some say they were selected for breeding new soldiers, others say that one of them was selected out of the group and she was taken to a testing lab while her mind was probed. Apart from that i don't know anything else, i'm sorry"

    "Don't be, it's the best explanation i've got" Tai continued as he sat back. "So what happened after you were injected with the virus?"

    "Well for what seemed to be an eternity, we sat in a pitch black room, with no lights and nothing to eat. The thing about it was that we didn't want to eat anything. After a while our vision came back to us, but it was different, everything we saw was red. We were led out of the room and into an armoury, that's where we found out the virus had mutated us into the Hiroshians themselves" Nicholas stopped at that point and started to rub his eyes. From Tai's guess it looked like Nicholas was getting tired, but he continued with his story, even when Tai wasn't expecting him to. Through out his time in the GPDN Tai had heard stories about gruesome and disturbing events, yet it felt like Nicholas' tale topped them all but he was inclined to continued listening. "From that point we were given the armour that all Hiroshian's use and taught how to fight as a single unit, much like Spartan fighting. I have to admit, they do follow a strict doctrine of order, i just can't remember what they call it. I know they had a certain name for it but i don't know what"

    "Asharinsa" Tai stated and Nicholas nodded in agreement. "It's translation means "fighting as one" They form single impenetrable units consisting of fifteen or more Hiroshians. They bond together, almost like a family" Tai explained as he remembered back to meeting the Hiroshian leader. "I have to admit their society is an honourable one, even if they do travel the galaxy draining it of what they need"

    "What did they want with our planet?" Nicholas asked as Tai remembered the fighting that took place in the Middle East. "They were after the oil underneath the planet, particularly under the Caspian Basin" Tai explained as the train slowly came to a halt. After all the time spent talking about the past, they failed to notice that they had reached Winchester station. The time seemed to pass by and immediately Nicholas got up from his seat to pick up his luggage. "It was nice meeting you Tai, and say hi to Lance for me"

    "Will do Nicholas, i hope to see you around in the future" Tai finished and watched as Nicholas walked down the carriage with his suitcase behind him. Turning his attention back to the train, he looked through the window, watching Nicholas turn away and walk out the train station. In a sense that was just what Tai needed after the past couple of weeks. He could rarely get a decent conversation from anyone at Section 16, and meeting Nicholas was just what he needed. The carriage started to fill up with more passengers, and seeing as Nicholas was gone Tai decided to return to his normal seat and make sure his stuff was still with him. He needed to get in touch with his cousin Serenity and quickly, so he can choose a place to jump off and meet her. He was always curious as to why neither Lance or Davis could pick him up, yet he knew they had good reasons, well Lance at least. Reaching into his back pack; Tai pulled out his phone and started to flick through the numbers until he came up with Serenity's number. Pressing the call button, he held it up to his ear and waited it to be connected. "Hello... Hey Serenity... I'm just leaving Winchester Station... I'll be half an hour, an hour tops... yeah i'll meet you at Park Way station... I'll see you there... alright later Serenity" Tai finished and placed his phone back in the bag and sat down, looking towards the window and watching Winchester pass him by while thinking of what it would be like when he returns home. Maybe everything would have changed, maybe not. All Tai knows is that it will be great to see most of the people from his past. Sitting back against the window, Tai started to feel his eyes getting heavier. Maybe going back to sleep was what he needed. Sitting back, Tai rested on the window pane and drifted off, leaving the rest of the world out of his subconcience.



    A short time later; the vibrations and the train bumping along the tracks awoke Tai and as his eyes slowly opened, he found himself watching planes take off and as he shifted his gaze; he found the train coming towards Southampton Parkway and he realised that after the time spent on the train, he was finally home. He had been away from Southampton for almost two years ever since joining Section 16 and had been living in a small apartment supplied by Section 16. It was a nice place, considering they were made for Section 16 agents. He could overlook the River Thames in the morning and it was close to the tube station allowing him easy access to different parts of London.

    Getting up from the seats; Tai pulled his suitcase out from the rack and gripped it by the handles and reached over for his bag when he caught something in the corner of his eye from outside. Something about what Tai saw startled him, and made him uneasy which usually meant something was going to go wrong. The troubling part about it was the fact Tai hadn't had any dream to warn him of the coming day. Shaking the thought from his mind; Tai gripped his suitcase tightly and slung his back pack over his shoulder and started to walk towards the carriage doors.

    As the train came to a halt; Tai looked out of the carriage doors and watched the airport, alive with activity and noise. The train came to a sudden stop and with that the doors hissed open, and Tai stepped out onto the ground and knew that he was finally in Southampton.

    He looked at his surroundings, and breathed a sigh of relief to know that in a short amount of time he would be sleeping in a comfortable bed, in a place that was all too familiar for him. Tai wheeled his suitcase along, walking towards the footbridge while looking through the windows of the train towards the other side to see if Serenity was there waiting for him but with the amount of people standing their, it was hard to tell whether she was there or not. Walking on towards the steps, the sounds of loud screaming filled the station that came from the other side of the track. There was a lot of commotion and people rushing out of the station and into safety. Remembering back to his days in the GPDN, Tai realised that when people started screaming, it either meant that a crazed gunman was on the loose, or vampires or other supernatural creatures were on the rampage. Tai rushed up and over the bridge, barely holding onto his suitcase as he ran. Looking down to the double doors into the station and watched as they smashed open with two security guards flying through the air and smashing into the trains, landing on the tracks and causing sparks and electricity to fly as the bodies were burnt to death, if they weren't already dead. Tai looked on as people came running out onto the platform which really pissed him off. If there were more people on the platform, then it would mean that it would be harder to get to the targets. He stopped before he reached the steps down to see four assailants, each armed with long swords and wearing thick heavy armour, made with black metal and with stained blood and rusted joints. They all wore large helms, covering all but their souless eyes. They started to round up the people around them, putting them into three groups of men, women and children. Seperating them and keeping away from one another, making the children cry, the mothers distraught and causing the fathers to become so angry that they loose all sense and start trying to fight back against the assailants, but ending up like the fried guards that lay on the rails, only some of them had lost their heads or other appendages. Tai watched as one of the assailants pointed a long broad sword towards him and signalled to the other three who shoved through the groups and towards the steps. "Well this is interesting" Tai commented as he dropped his bag on the floor and let go of his suitcase. Those around him watched in curiosity at how he could be so calm at the time, yet they were unaware of Tai's past. Unzipping his bag; Tai grabbed a handle and pulled out Armuria which translated into Blood Spiller, Armuria was a katana that had been passed down through his family on his mother's side in the Ankaran Royal Family. Armuria was a pure silver blade, created by the finest weaponsmith's on the island of Ankara for the Royal Family, and despite the fact that Tai wanted nothing to do with the Royal Family, his services to Ankara had allowed him to keep the Armuria, while his brother Davis kept the Lalae Amer, the twin to the Armuria which was translated as Life Ender. As Tai unsheathed Armuria, he could feel an aura resonating from the blade as it lived up to it's name that made Tai want to spill the blood of those that harmed the innocent. The hilt was covered in a white cloth with black lace embroided into gothic spiral designs. The blade measured far beyond three feet and shimmered the sun as it past through the clouds. Tai pointed his blade down towards the assailants, and with a defiant look in his eyes, in a fluid movement he gripped Armuria and jumped from the foot bridge and landed in front of the assailants, causing a tremor in the ground but not strong enough to knock anyone down. The four assailants encircled Tai, holding their swords ready and all four of them desperate to attack. Tai looked on at his surroundings, four armour clad warriors each ready to cut him into pieces. Tai slowly shut his eyes and started to listen. A cool breeze flowed through the station and calmed his movements. He was tense, the train ride hadn't helped the way he was feeling and neither did the fact that Tai had slept on the train. With his eyes shut; Tai heard the coming sounds of footsteps from behind him and he simply counted to three in his mind and he pivoted on his right foot and held his arm out in front and forced it up in the air and felt a second gust of wind pass through the station and Tai slowly opened his eyes to see ash be carried along in the winds. No wonder Armuria resonated a violent aura in his hands; the three remaining assailants were vampires, the creatures it was crafted to destroy. He watched the other three move into a triangle position around him tro try and prevent any means of escape but Tai wouldn't back down, as long as he could stand he would always fight.

    "Kill him" one of them said in a sharp voice and they rushed towards him but Tai jumped into the air, landing behind one the vampires, he slashed him across the chest, chopping him in half and turning him into ash. A third vampire charged at him and started to duel against Tai. Both fought on with equal ferocity but Tai had more fluidity and grace with his moves. In a lightning quick slash; Tai had finished off his opponent and swept his ashes to the winds. "This is rediculous" Tai commented and looking towards the final vampire, he held his hand up with his palm facing the vampire and he summoned all his demon essence, and used it in one large pulse attack, immobilising the vampire where he stood and keeping him in position while Tai stepped forward. "Who sent you to kill me?" Tai started as the vampire tried to struggle from the powers that bound him, but Tai just tightened his force upon the assailant and walked towards him. "I'll ask again, who sent you to kill me?"

    "The one known as Koidra" he answered and Tai stopped pacing and looked into his eyes. He could tell the vampire wasn't lying, it was seen in the pair of red eyes that stared back at him. "Koidra was destroyed... i was there and he fell by my own blade"

    "That was Victor Koidra, but you will never find out from me"

    "I don't need to" Tai commented and released his grip with the demon chains and cut him down the centre, turning him into ash and breathing a resenting sigh as he resheathed Armuria and walked back towards his bag and suitcase so he can meet Serenity.

    "Freeze! Stop where you are?" armed guards rushed from the station, each wearing bullet proof vests and carrying SMG's while rushing behind riot sheilds. "Stop where you are, drop your weapon and stick your hands above your head"

    "Wait!" A familiar voice shouted out to Tai. A strong determined voice called out, making everyone turn towards a mid height girl with an average body type and physique for a woman of her age. She was wearing a pair of black trousers with a black t shirt and a gun holster around her body covered with a leather jacket. Her hair was jet black and was free flowing and reached just under her neck. She walked on towards the armed security and looked for the leader. "You are to release this person immediately and drop any charges you may have"

    "Under who's authority?" someone stepped forward and faced her, oberserving her features but mostly looking towards the pistol she had under her jacket. "Who are you to just waltz on by and order us around?" he asked with a gruff voice. "I am Serenity Hojiaru, Rank A Agent of the Global Paranormal Defence Network. Now i command you to release him or i shall have you arrested under suspicion of conspiring with known Paranormal Terrorists"

    "What? There is no proof"

    "Well the fact that you held back the squad fully aware that four armed assailants were taking people captive and killing those around them. You then moved in knowing full well in the fact that they had been killed and turned your weapons on the person that killed them" Serenity concluded as she turned towards Tai who was walking down the footbridge with his bags in hand. "Where is your proof?" the squad leader asked as he stepped back as Tai walked towards him. "With one phone call i can have satellite images in my hand, i can also have it sent to your superiors" Serenity answered and without anyone saying another word; the squad backed away into the station while Serenity looked around at the scared and frightened people. She had never planned for this happening, so it was hard to think of something to say. "Ladies and gentlemen, can i have your attention. My name is Serenity Hojiaru of the GPDN. I'm afraid you just witnessed a vampire attack. I have sent for a GPDN team to come and clear up the mess. Now i don't want anyone to leave the station until the GPDN team have arrived. Thank you for your co operation" Serenity finished and looked around, noticing a bright blue flash of the warp gates in the corner of her eye. They had turned up and it was for the better, now that they had arrived, she could breif who ever was in charge and get away from the place. "If' you'll excuse me, i must see to other matters" Serenity finished and walked over towards Tai who had started to lean against the wall and take in everything that was going on around him. "How are you feeling Tai?" Serenity asked as she stood beside him. "I'm o.k. i guess. Considering everything that's happened in the past month it could be worse" Tai answered as he picked up his stuff. "What about you?"

    "I've been a bit busy. We've had a lot of problems with the rift between the human and demon worlds but we're currently trying to create a way of getting rid it" Serenity answered as they watched the GPDN agents talk with the people standing around the platform. Their conversation was difficult, despite their calm nature it was difficult to say anything happy as they had both been through the same problems. With Tai loosing Emma and Serenity loosing the one she loved, neither could say something to cheer one another up. "Hey, i best go and brief the agent in charge and then we can get moving"

    "Go ahead" Tai replied and Serenity went to join the group of agents, leaving Tai on his own.



    A little while later; Tai was finally on his way home. Serenity had briefed the agents on what to do and to what had gone on so there was no need for her to stay. She was driving through the New Forest, the sun was reflecting off the metallic green paint of her Mercedes and shone in front of her but didn't stop her from driving safely. Tai was gazing through the window, looking out towards the forest areas, remembering what he had left behind two years ago to join Section 16 and live in London. Serenity had stuck some music on which helped the mood a little, she had chosen Def Leppard and they both enjoyed the soothing rock that it offered but it wasn't enough. "You know i'm seriously considering resigning from Section 16?" Tai commented as he looked out the window. "What was that?" Serenity asked as she turned the music down. "I said i'm considering resigning from Section 16"

    "What? How come?"

    "I don't know, it's just that ever since what happened i haven't had that much enthusiasm towards the work. I might move back to Southampton permenantly and just get a job with the Police like last time" Tai answered as Serenity looked through the window at the road ahead. "I know its your choice Tai, but you shouldn't give something up just because of a bad experience. If that was the case then i would have given up work with the GPDN a long time ago" Serenity explained as they drove out onto the motorway. "What would i do without someone like you?"

    "I don't know, but you would be making some strange decisions, then again you already do" Serenity answered and they both started to laugh out loud, cheering one another up and finally getting a smile from the two of them. "Hey Serenity, there's one more thing i need to know; how come Davis or gramps couldn't come and pick me up?" Tai asked as Serenity turned towards him. "Well when i spoke to them Davis was working on a murder case so was a little busy, and as for Granddad, i think he was going to the doctors for a check up on his elbow"

    "What happened to his elbow?" Tai asked as he looked out the front of the car and into the horizon. "I was never told about it"

    "I did offer to phone but gramps said not to worry" Serenity replied she drove onto a long stretch of road that ran parralel to the forests. Tai recognised the roads well, he was finally coming home after so long and with one more pass, he would be in a place he could remember. It had been so long since he had seen a rural area while not in a train or in his Combat Mech, and the sight of the forests was welcoming compared to the urban areas he was used to. He looked to the mounds of grass and remembered all the motocross races he had been involved in when he was younger and looking towards the forests he could remember the time spent walking through with his friends and even having paintball matches. He had missed it all, he rarely took any holiday and even when he did it was only for the weekend and he spent most of the time in London. He looked into the horizon and he saw his old home come into view. The country manor where he spent most of his life growing up in and had the most fun. The wooden fencing that came into view hadn't changed, and eventually they started to drive parralel to the manor and reached the gates. Nothing had changed since Tai left, the gates were still remote operated and the security systems were still in place as the gates would only open if the pressure sensors had enough weight on them.

    Driving into the manor; Tai looked at the same house he left behind with everything the way it was. The garage was shut with three cars parked outside; a dark blue 2008 Nissan Skyline, a fire truck red 2019 Dodge Viper, and a jade green 2020 Aston Martin Vanquish all parked outside the closed shutters. "Well it looks like both Davis and gramps are in" Tai commented as he walked up to the front door and pulled out a key from his jacket pocket. "Hey Tai i was thinking, if you do resign from the GPDN, instead of going back to the police, why don't you rejoin the GPDN and do what you used to do?" Serenity suggested as she brought his bags up to him. "It's a thought, but i'm gonna enjoy my three months holiday and just relax" Tai replied as he opened the door and walked through, followed by Serenity.

    Tai looked on at the features he left behind. The floors were covered with the same white tiles and the banisters and the wood work was varnished and led all through out the house. The colours of the wall had been given new covers of paint, and there were some new pictures hanging up, mixing with the old ones. He looked around at everything and breathed a long sigh as he walked into the kitchen."Gramps! Davis! Where are you?" Tai shouted as he looked around. "Well the cars were there, so they must be in" Serenity commented as Tai joined her at the front door. "Maybe there out in the conservatory" Tai suggested as he walked on through past the stairway and into the conservatory, passing the games room and the library.



    "Surprise!" everyone shouted as Tai walked into the conservatory and found everyone waiting for him and a large banner saying "welcome home!" hung from the windows and Tai was in shock as Davis and Lance stepped forward, both coming to greet him. A lot of people from Tai's past had turned up to welcome him back including Nick, Cristina, Faith, Boom and Kris and a lot of his school friends.

    "Welcome back Tai" Lance started as he walked forward towards him. Lance hadn't changed much, except for the fact that he used a cane to help get around better yet his clothing still consisted of a pair of blue denim jeans and a black t shirt like always. "Thanks gramps" Tai continued as they shared a hug. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble. You know i hate surprise parties"

    "Sorry Tai, but we just had to" Lance replied as Davis joined them both. He had dyed his hair and it had grown longer which had turned into bigger spikes than what Tai could remember yet he always liked Davis' spikes and most of the time he would style them into a similar way. Despite the longer hair; Davis' clothing style had changed, being a Detective Inspector; Davis had to set an example in punctuality and had to wear a pair of smart trousers instead of jeans and a shirt instead of a normal t shirt.

    "Hey Tai"

    "Hey Davis" Tai replied and they both shared another hug and looked towards everyone. "It's great to see you all" Tai commented as he turned towards Serenity. "And i'm guessing you were involved in all this?" Tai asked as she stepped forward and giggled under her breath. "Afraid so, sorry for the secrecy" Serenity apologised as they walked towards the guests so Tai could say hi to all of them and give them the attention that they deserve. It was hard to believe what Tai left behind and although Tai never admitted regretting it, it still lay deep within him and it seemed to show when he returned. Walking around the conservatory, there was still one person missing besides Kari and Celestial that Tai wanted to see from his past which was Raven yet when he asked Lance or Davis where he had been, neither of them knew which was strange as Raven would always tell someone what he's up to. No matter what was going on; Tai could finally say he was home and actually mean it, and for once he was happy, even after the death of Emma back in London.