I quickly packed my bags and we all went aboard a private jet with Secretary Saito. He said we would have the funeral a day after we arrived. I took my seat in the jet and stared at everyone else solemnly. 

Across from my seat was an empty one. Unfortunately, Finn couldn’t come. Fortunately, Jacy, Ernest, Wyatt, and Ava came. 

Wyatt looked around smiling. “Nice to see you two, dear ladies,” Wyatt said shaking hands with Ava and Jacy. 

“Wyatt?” Jacy asked. 

“Who’d ya think I was?” Wyatt asked. 

“You’ve just — changed,” a Jacy said.

“You have, too, pretty lady,” Wyatt said.

Jacy blushed.

Ernest fidgeted his fingers nervously.

I looked to Ava, but she looked away and sighed. She was still mad at me.

“Ava, I’m sorry,” I said.

“You know, I don’t really care.” she said. “I just want some quiet time.” I sighed and looked at the empty seat. Finn was supposed to be here.

I felt the plane lurch as it took off.

Sora entered, from the pilot room.

“Got the autopilot all set,” he said. “Off to Kinkaku-ji.”

Wyatt clapped, saying, “Magnificent!”

“Hey, guys,” Jacy started.

“Yeah?”

“Have you heard the news?”

 “What is it?” Ernest asked

“The Reconstruction is almost complete!” Jacy exclaimed.

“Oh, cool,” I said.

“How?” Ernest asked.

“Some sort of machinery. I think they’re called...” She trailed off. “I forgot.”

“OverSeers,” Secretary Saito said. “We actually designed them over in Japan. I’ve even been to an OverSeer construction facility. Huge Mech like vehicle, that are to be used for lifting heavy equipment and such.”

“How long until we can move back to America?” Ernest asked.

“I’ve heard that it’s about a year away from finishing,” Jacy answered.

“Nice!” I said.

“Where’s Cry Baby, Finn?” Wyatt asked.

“He said he couldn’t come.” I sighed, “I tried, but he wouldn’t. I don’t see why he’s so depressed these days.”  I said.

“Really? You don’t see it?” Ava blurted out suddenly. “His best friend is dead. My best friend is dead. These are hard times. Why don’t you guys mourn for Mary, too?”

“We Do, Ava,” I said. “We just moved on from it.”

“This is not something you can move on from, Dylan!”

“I—” I never finished my sentence for I was interrupted by a loud bang, I looked out the window. The whole wing was a flame.

“Dammit!” Sora said, as he rushed into the pilot’s room. I followed him.

The screen was blank, except one symbol. 

“The Horsemen Symbol,” Sora said. “This can’t be.”

“What?”

“This plane is of the highest tech, it’s not supposed to be easily hacked.”

“Easily,” I said.

“Nothing can stop a true hack.”

“Let’s go,” said a guard as he entered the pilot room.

All three of us raced out. “Everyone, we will be leaving through the back door,” the guard announced. Everyone got up and ran down the hall towards the “Emergency Exit”. However as we were passing the bathrooms, another boom erupted the bathroom walls flew off fire coming forth. Secretary Saito, who, because of his old age, was behind the group, was thrown back by a large piece of the wall, and trapped under a larger chunk of the plane.

He screamed in agony. The three guards on the plane raced forward trying to lift the brick off him. I helped, but it was still too heavy. 

“Leave!” Saito yelled to us.

“No!” I screamed.

“I have nothing more to live for in this world if it falls to the Horsemen. Let me die, now.”

“Sir, we are under strict orders to—” one of the guards started.

“Well I give you permission to deny those order, soldier, now lead these children off the plane.”

“Yes, Sir,” said the guards.

“We can’t leave him to die!” Jacy said, grief and defiance in her voice.

“Miss, he told you to save yourselves. Obey him.”

“No!” Ernest screamed.

I leaned over the piece of the wall pushing with all my might. 

“I’ll save him!” I yelled at the guards. The guards pulled me off, dragging me to the emergency exit.

Wyatt got off the plane first an automatic parachute attached to his back. Then, Ava. Jacy, Ernest, and last, Me.

“Slip this on,” one guard said.

I did as he said, pulling on the light automatic parachute. I looked back. I cold see Sora lying there. Lifeless.

I jumped tears streaming out of my eyes, as I feel out of the blue. The guards followed, closely behind. We were above the coast of Japan, just about a mile away.

We swam there and pulled ourselves onto the shore.

“Whew,” said Ernest lying down in the black sand.

I stood up and saw the plane falling to the water below, fire streaming behind.

The guards grouped us all together, and told us they had just sent a message to a nearby city, that they needed rescuing.

It took about three hours, before we were rescued.

On the helocarrier to the city, Ava cried.

Sora was dead.

Prime Minister Akamine was dead.

I looked to the group on the helocarrier. One of the guards from the plane, had a giant scorch on his back, which a medic was fixing. Ernest’s nose was bleeding, and another guard had bleeding wrists. My head kind of hurt, and I could tell Wyatt was rather tired, because he was fast asleep on the metal helocarrier bench, drool dripping from his mouth.

There was a lurch as the helocarrier landed. The door opened. We walked out, and were led into Tokyo. I never thought we’d be back. I saw Ava having a hard time looking around since Mary had been killed here.

Newer and bright, neon signs lined the streets, and tall sleek skyscrapers were different from our last visit to Japan.

I checked, into a motel and got rooms for all of us.

I slept that night, but roughly. I tossed and turned in my sleep.

Death was all that filled my dreams.

Ava layer before my feet, blood pouring, from her chest and nose, eyes blank. 

“No,” I murmured, I looked around. Wyatt was stabbed in the chest and stuck right to a building wall, by a strange looking metal spike. Ernest was lying among rubble, eyes closed.

“No!” I screamed.

I ran forward, shaking Ernest. He might be just unconscious.

His eyelids fell open and I saw they were pale, and fogged over. He was Dead. I looked around. Where was Jacy? Or Finn?

I saw some other people, I didn’t know. No wait, there was another person I recognized— Ekon Osborne, but older.

All dead. How had this happened?!

I woke with a start, noticing it was all just a dream.

I got up, since it was already 6:56, and got dressed. I went outside and saw that Ava was awake, sitting on a bench, with glove, hat, and sweater.

“Hey,” I said. She jumped, just noticing me.

“Oh, hey,” she said, waving awkwardly.

She was looking at her phone. “Someone, texted me saying, that they rescheduled The Prime Minister’s funeral, it’s two Wednesdays from now.”

“Secretary Saito’s?” I asked.

“They haven’t told me anything about his,” she said. She sniffed. Her eyes watered up.

I sat down next to her. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said, wiping her red nose with her sweater sleeve.

“You don’t seem fine,” I countered.

“The Horsemen, always attack where we are,” she said. “I’m scared, Dylan. It’s like they are following us.”

“They’re not following us,” I said to calm her. “Probably a coincidence.”

“England, the field trip at France, an American Reconstruction site, The plane here— I don’t think this a coincidence, Dylan.”

I was lost of words. She grabbed my arm, and gripped it hard.

“It’ll be okay, Ava,” I said.

Tears streaked down her cheeks from her pretty eyes. She rested her head on my shoulder, and we stared at the urban landscape.