Yet more time passed, and still, nothing of Taylor. It had been a month since Veronica and Zachary had seen him last, and the two were barely sane with not knowing what was wrong. What they didn’t know was that he was at home with Isaac and Diana...not realizing that they knew nothing of what had happened. Veronica had suffered so much in that past month without Taylor, and she needed him so much...they weren’t sure of when or how this war was going to end, and she needed him there with her. She was scarred everywhere, physically and emotionally, and there was no way she could go back now. They still fought the enemies, and they still came back, with more scars and future nightmares than ever. And there was always more war to fight when they woke up in the mornings.

“HA HA!” Taylor tossed the crutch to the side, laughing triumphantly and jumping up and down to test his leg’s endurance. It held, amazingly, and didn’t hurt anymore. He walked a few feet, waiting for it to buckle and cause him to collapse, but it never buckled. It held fast, which meant he could forget that god-awful crutch. He ran to his mother, grinning. They hugged each other, both glad he was done with being slightly crippled. It was the happiest Diana had seen Taylor in seven or eight months, and she hoped to never forget the look on his face. However, he had other plans in mind now, plans he was sure she wasn’t going to like. He toned his smile down a bit and looked right in his mother’s eyes.
“Mom...I want to go back. Zac and Ronnie can’t do this without me. I know they can’t.”
Diana’s face fell.
“Oh, Tay, please don’t...”
He shushed her, putting a finger to her lips. (Three years before, he never would have even considered doing that.)
“Mom, I have to. I can’t let them down. It’s for them, Mom. They need me. Promise you’ll respect my decision?”
She nodded slowly.
“Promise, Tay. Promise.”