Ace stood over his brothers, Shade, Four-Oh, and Ry. They were dead. Of course they were, Ace had been named for his luck, but it never seemed to rub off on the people he loved. Now he was alone. Iota, the squad that had gone on the mission with them, had lost one of their brothers, Jack. Ace felt deep pity and concern as their squad leader, One-Eye, who had seemed so calm and steady, sat next to the dead clone and wouldn't look up. He remembered what Four-Oh had always said, "Well Ace, the river rolls on." His eyes stung through the tears, he missed all of them so, so much. It was... very hard. Ace didn't know, but this would never leave him. Death would always be hard for him. He looked up as Joker, Iota's medic approached him and held a hand out to him. "Let's go, soldier. The river rolls on, eh?" Ace's heart stopped. There was no way Joker knew that Four-Oh used to say that. That didn't change how much it hurt. He accepted the hand up, and followed Iota through the half-destroyed forest to the ship that had brought them there. He wouldn't forget. He would never, ever forget his brothers...
