"And I am inclined to agree," I said as I casually walked up to the table beside Replay's chair.  I heard Anima give a slight groan.  I knew what she was thinking:  Oh no…Saraya's talking…And what's worse is that I made it a point to use overly dramatic, arrogant motions and hand gestures as I spoke to get my point across.

"All your talk of "treaties" and "making things right" is nothing but an outlandish misconception," I continued.  

"You don't honestly think that your little piece of paper is going to actually DO anything do you?"

"Your treaty is just a farce as is the supposed "hope" that you wish to give to the people of Manda by holding this idiotic meeting."

"Why don't you just come out and tell the people the truth:  that they're all screwed."  Anima moaned silently, unable to do anything to silence me.  I don't know for sure, but Replay may have been smiling.

"Maybe not," Seth replied calmly.  "That is the reason why we are having this meeting:  to look for a possible solution to the problem."

"Oh?  Well excuse me for pointing out the obvious:  but so far your little "plans for peace" haven't done anything."

"And that goes for everyone."

"Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Manda is beyond saving by now.

"As it probably has been for years."  Gage slammed his hand on the table.  Replay had already gotten under his skin, and I was just making it worse with pessimism of my own.

"Are you saying that our past attempts at peace were just futile efforts?"  Gage spat in my direction.  "That they were just wastes of time?  We've been doing our absolute best-"

"Absolute best?"

"You MUST be joking."

"I mean, it's just as Madam Replay said:  you kill many to get to one."

"I thought the saying went "kill one save a thousand"?"

"You are doing the opposite."

"So clearly you're doing something WRONG."

"HA!  What would a mouthy underling from the circus know?  I doubt that you've ever done anything to help establish peace in Manda."  Gage leaned farther over the table.  I followed his lead.

"Whether I have or haven't you'll never know."

"Because unlike some fools and their guns I wouldn't get caught doing it."

"You little…"  Gage pulled up his gun and I readied a kunai.

"Enough Gage," Unknown said, her voice hardly audible through her mask.

"Settle down Saraya," Replay told me calmly.  I put my knife away and backed off as Gage did the same.  He and I continued to glare at each other, I had a smirk on my face knowing full well I had won that little argument.

"So then what do you suggest?"  Seth said, breaking the short silence.  His voice verged on annoyed.

"Simple," I began, "I'd be willing to give this treaty a try, if, and only if, you, Mister Seth, weren't the only one who was writing the thing."

"Obviously the words written on it by one man alone will be biased towards the side for which he fights."

"To counter this, someone from each side needs to partake in its design."

"And in finality, if you want to be completely fair to the majority of Manda, let them decide on what seems right."

"Since they too are going to be affected by this "treaty", we might as well include them when making a final decision."

"It will also help make the treaty closer to fair as long as the chosen civilians aren't, shall we say, "kept under prying eyes"."