Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized why I had been getting strange looks all day. I was a mess.

I hadn't shaved, so stubble had settled in. I hadn't combed, so my hair was all over the place. There were bags underneath my red eyes, making it apparent to everyone that I didn't get any sleep at all last night.

I had been busy all day. That rambunctious magic group that Viki tried to tame were off the wall today. Those idiots made it seem like I had taught them absolutely NOTHING. I finally lost hope with them, and reassigned a new leader. I went off to train the archers instead (and, judging by their reactions, the archers are gonna be miffed at the magicians later).

After morning, Pohl insisted that I help him clean the basement storage unit. I resisted at first, but then agreed. I avoided Jillia at all costs. In doing so, I strained my back while carrying a heavy box, even for my standards.

My feet were aching. I hadn't sat down all day, until now, staring at myself in the mirror.

What I need now is some good quiet time to myself. Maybe even a little nap.

Flik was asleep. Not that I can say I blame him- I'm not exactly the perfect vision of help around this joint, and with Kinnison's desertion and Viki's... er... blatant and unforgettable stupididy, he had a whole lot of shit on his shoulders.

Of course, all the pity in the world couldn't stop me from pounding on the door to his office (the desk of which had doubled as a bed in the recent weeks) like a thunderstorm. "Flik! Wake up! I brought you something!"

The only response was a snore. People at this point would surely let Baby Blue sleep.

"HEY FLIK! I said I brought you something- the last thing this so-called army of yours needs! I got ya a little piece of Mathiu!" I shouted twice as loud, getting looks from passer-bys.

"MISTER FLIK!!!" Apple nearly screamed as she banged on Flik's chamber door.

Finally giving in, he opened the door. I gotta say, I should have let him sleep with the way he was looking. He simply shook his head at me and turned to Apple.

"Long time no see, Apple. What have you been up to?"

"Just the usual."

"So." He turned his head back to mine. Not liking what he saw, he turned back to Apple. "What brings you around these parts?" He said, fully opening the door and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I was just going to shop for some gifts, but it seems that I didn't get to Toto in time."

"You saw the destruction then, huh?" He paused, trying to collecting himself. He looked at me. "What were you doing in Toto?"

I grunted. "Bad memory, eh Baby Blue? An old friend of mine lives there- I guess she was picked off by Highland too," I lied, grinding my teeth. I spoke of war, but could think only of vampires. Flik knew I was lying, but bought the lie because he was too groggy (or too drunk, it's hard to tell with guys like us) to discuss it further. "Besides, Makoto wanted to check up on that wacky rune of his. Looks just like a little Genkaku with that shield on his hand."

Flik nodded once, then waved us into the war room. A drool spot the size of Lake Duenan (well, drawn to scale anyway) soaked through the map on the desk, and little green army men were strewn everywhere. I was about to plan a war, but all I could think of... were vampires...

Yep, it was just like old times. Flik and Viktor bickering with each other and looking at maps in cramped war rooms. ...Well, this wasn't nearly as cramped as the one in Toran. That was one thing to be happy about. And another thing to be happy about was that there were actually CHAIRS!! That's right, no more standing around for long 2 or so hour discussions. At least now the droning on of the other strategists could be conducted in comfort.

"What's our army here at the fort?" Apple asked the two.

"Well, our main strength is in the soldiers. We have about 5 units of those, with 3 generals; Viktor, Alen, and Gengen." Flik started.

Viktor snorted half-heartedly as he heard his name mentioned.

"With the reinforcement archers from Greenhill, and Kinnison's recruits, we've got 2 units of archers. However, since Kinnison's deserted, I'm the only general for archers." Flik continued.

Apple nodded her head, analyzing the information being given to her.

"Our weakest point is our magic. We've got one magic unit, and no one to lead them." Flik exhaled, taking a breather. "Due to lack of horses, the only cavalry units will be Viktor and me."

Viktor sneered at that. "Picture me on a horse? I hope the thing don't throw me headlong through a damn wall."

Flik turned to confront him. "You'd rather have Gengen with a horse unit?"

Viktor retreated, mumbling under his breath, "Better him being thrown through a wall than me..."

"Big baby." Flik mumbled as well.

A dog riding a horse? Now that was unheard of, even in other parts of the state.

"Hmm.... Alen, Gengen, the magic unit, and a soldier unit should go to the front line. Then, you, Viktor, and the other archer and soldier units should stay at the fort."

"To solidify the fort defenses?" Flik asked.

"And just in case something unexpected happens."

Flik started moving the miniature war pieces around on the map. "Let's station Alen and the magic unit here." Flik placed a red figurine and a white figuring on the map. "And, let's have Gengen and the soldier unit go here." He picked up a brown figurine and a green figurine right behind the other ones. "Look good, Apple?"

"So far."

Meanwhile, Viktor scanned the room desperately for alcohol. Flik, catching on to what he was doing, picked up the rather unnecessarily big and yellow figurine and hurled it at his head.

Apple took another look at the figurine and saw that it was holding a beer bottle...

Viktor snatched the figurine from Apple's hand and flung it out a window while glaring at his associate. "Why don't you leave me out of the intellectual jargon and let me get a schwill of booze, eh?"

"I'm not going to have Highland take over this fort just because you want to get drunk in the middle of the day." Flik raised his voice. "Are you aware at least where you're going to be stationed?

"Sure," retorted Viktor, finding a half-empty bottle of vodka stashed in one of the room's obscure corner drawers. "Wherever you tell me to be. Isn't that how it always is? If there's one thing I'm good at, Flik, it's following orders."

Flik marched over to Viktor and swiped the bottle from his hands. "Yeah, well." Flik paused, struggling to find the words to say what he expressed. Instead, he wound up taking a gulp from the bottle himself.

Then Apple snatched the bottle from Flik. "Now now, we don't want two drunk generals. We want two drunk generals and a drunk strategist!" She then took a big gulp from the bottle.

Viktor grimmaced as he watched his buzz go down the tube, so to speak. He turned back to Apple. "Anyway, we haven't the foggiest how many Highland dogs Blight's gonna ram down our throat. How long could the mercs stationed here bat back, say, a thousand men?"

"That's about, twice our men, if I did my math correctly. That means each one of our men would have to take down two of theirs." Flik took the bottle back from Apple and took another swig. "Boy, that's gonna suck if they press that hard."

Viktor, obviously not wanting to be left out of the fun, took the bottle back. But that was before Apple grabbed the bottle from Big Bear and finished off the last of the liquor. He looked through the bottle, and saw Flik and Apple. He grunted loudly.

"So, it's settled then." Flik sighed. "We place, those people..." He pointed at the map. "There."

"Yes." Viktor hurried them. "Let's go get drunk!"

The three cheered.