Ten months after Lillian decimated the town of Hunteria with her army led by her brother, Cameron, the leader of the mysterious Organization, X and Zero were lost. Not physically, although, judging from the sight and state of things, they might as well have been lost physically as well as mentally.
They were lost because they were lied to for who knows how long. Their mayor had planned this attack since her arrival into Hunteria all of those years ago, and the worse part of it all? X knew of this attack and never warned anyone because he trusted Lillian not to go through with her sadistic plan. Even when they were under the city, in the tunnels, he had hoped then that she would turn away from her evil, but he was wrong twice over, and he felt the most at fault.
That was why he left Hunteria. And he had no plans to ever return. But he had to, right? Wasn't that why he searched for the Rebellion in the first place? And seeing Swoop back in Hunteria with the Eternal Circle after Lillian's departure increased his fears and guilt.
What would Zero and Brody, and for that matter, the Rebellion, think of him of he were to reveal that he had always known of Lillian's plans? Would Zero see him differently? Would he be hated?
"I never wanted this..."
X, Zero, Brody and Jack hid out in an old, abandoned facility the Hunterian troops used for battle after the cold winter set in. It was the only way they would be able to stay warm for the moment.
"None of us did, X.. Lillian lied to all of us and we paid for her lies. Hunteria's dead, and we helped kill it."
Brody remained silent. He knew his aunt, or at least, he thought he did. When he had nothing, Lillian helped him by recruiting him to the Nuvara Mercenary Division, and he made something of himself. He was working for credits, yes, but working nonetheless. Then everything went wrong, and he was left barren again. And he felt himself lost within his own thoughts.
"We were all fooled. But the people were fooled most of all. In order for us to maintain any sense of normalcy here, we need to stop Lillian and her army."
One of the members of the Rebellion, Bee, scoffed loudly.
"And how the hell do we do that, Jack? We already lost Jazz in the attack. You wanna lose Arcee next?"
Jack balled his fist and counted. Bee could be a pain at times.
"Damn it, Bee. I know that! But Hunteria is no longer the only city that's in danger! We need to do something!"
Zero stood up.
"Alright, alright. I agree, Lillian needs to be stopped, but we don't have the capabilities or armory to go after her and that weapon right now. We also have to get the people out of the city in case Lillian swings back around to finish the job."
X stayed silent throughout the entire exchange between them, for fear he would speak incorrectly, or worse.
"What do you think, X?"
X looked up at the mention of his name.
"W-what do I think of what?"
"What do you think we should do about Lillian and Hunteria? Your opinions are needed just as much as the others here."
X took a breath and steadied himself.
"Jack's right. We need to stop Lillian. That's the obvious answer here. But... The Hunterians aren't safe. If we go after Lillian and her army, who's to say that they aren't prepared for that and have troops waiting for us to leave so they can kill the rest of our people? We have to plan this out.. and it might take time."
"Time we don't have!"
Bee spoke up in defiance.
"We can't sit around, twiddling our thumbs, hoping for a miracle here! You sought us out to fight, X! And we lost Jazz because of our inexperience!"
"Because of me."
X replied in truth.
"You lost Jazz because of me. I searched for you because I was afraid of what had happened. I left Hunteria because of Lillian... I tried to stop her all those years ago, but I failed..."
Zero looked at X. They exchanged a glance as if to apologize to one another for being so distant.
"I knew of Lillian's goals when she first arrived in Hunteria, but I never said anything because I thought that she wanted to help the people. For so long, I had hoped that she wouldn't do this... go down this path that she's on with Swoop... I helped her build that weapon unknowingly and I helped her destroy Hunteria... it's all my fault..."
X sobbed quietly as Zero placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"It's not your fault, X. Don't place the blame on yourself, because we were all blinded by her lies. You didn't know she was building a weapon. You may have had some part in it, but what she chose to do afterwards is her fault and hers alone. Which is why we need to stop her. And we need to stop Swoop as well. The Eternal Circle is far worse than anything Lillian could do... and if she ever recruits them to help her..."
Zero couldn't finish the thought. Brody stood up.
"I know a place where we can lay low for a while and think of a plan to stop my aunt and uncle. It's far away from Hunteria, but the trek is long... and in this weather, we might have to make multiple runs and stops."
Zero shook his head.
"The elderly won't be able to withstand this blizzard. They'll die of hypothermia before we ever reach the waystation."
"We can hold them all in the Sanctuary. It's big enough for the Hunterians. Hell, it's big enough for a dinosaur or three. We can wait out the blizzard and make the trek to the armory in Nuvara Town in the morning if possible."
"Sounds good to me."
Zero, X and Brody worked with the young and elderly as they traversed the treacherous cold on the path to the Rebellion's base of operations. While Jack, Arcee, Bee and Prowl worked with the city officials to shut down Hunteria as a way of deterring Lillian from returning.
Once everyone had bundled up for the journey, the city officials shut the gates to the entrance, never to return to their former home, as it was no longer safe. X and Zero stood in front of the gates in somber remembrance.
"What comes after this, Zero.. What do we do next?"
Zero kept his glance on the gates.
"We stop Lillian. And we stop Swoop. Whatever it takes, we stop them both. We have to."
"And what if we lose?"
Zero then turned to look at X.
"If we lose... than we do that together. You and me. Like old times."
X chuckled lightly as they walked away from the gates and into the white blinding scenery towards the Sanctuary.
But Zero was right. If they did not stop Lillian, she would continue to destroy civilizations and communities, not to mention cause total annihilation with her weapon. And if the Eternal Circle caught up to her... the results could be more than catastrophic, it could be universally fatal.
It was now or never.
Whatever it took to stop her, X would do it.
Even if it cost him his life..
Swoop and the Circle returned to the Freya Circuit to begin the next phase of their plan. If they hoped to put an end to Lillian's rule and warpath, they would need to recruit more people to the Circle. Swoop was also building an army, one that would strike fear into Lillian.
"We need more members within the Circle. If we have any hopes of killing Lillian, I need more than what's in front of me. Show me where I must go."
The Circle spoke collectively to Swoop. As if all of the entities combined into one being as they spoke.
"WE HAVE A FEW THOUSAND FOLLOWERS FAR FROM THE FREYA CIRCUIT. IN A COMMUNITY KNOWN ONLY AS THE FALLS. BUT THEY ARE STRONG IN NUMBERS AND THEY ARE EAGER TO JOIN OUR CAUSE. YOU MUST BE STEADFAST AND RECRUIT THEM. RETURN THEM TO US AND WE SHALL CONTINUE OUR PHASE."
Swoop grinned menacingly. Excellent. He knew exactly how to reach The Falls. Recruiting the rest of the members would be easy.
"I will not fail you. They will join us."
He put on his trench coat and headed towards the Falls, with an ultimatum for the future members.
"They will join us... or they will die.."
As Lillian observed the scene through the window of the Executioner, the gears turned in her mind.
She didn't want this. But they had to learn. They treated her wrong, and they must pay for it. It didn't start in Hunteria, but it would most certainly end with an iron fist.
"We've finally done it. This is only the start of a new beginning, Cameron. The whole world will soon fear all of us."
Cameron looked out of the window alongside his sister.
"All of the pain you have been dealt will be avenged, Lillian. I promise you that. Everyone that has ever wronged or hurt you shall soon feel your wrath and vengeance as the Executioner rains down its fire upon the world. And Swoop will no longer be a nuisance."
As Lillian watched the people down below flee from the various beams and lasers shooting out of the vessel's weapon caches, she smiled mischievously.
"You are correct, brother.. Soon, the world will feel the anger and rage I have held within for years as they will become powerless to stop the hellfire raining down on them.. A fitting end to their hatred... I can hardly wait.."
Cameron placed a hand on her shoulder as he returned to his seat, firing a solid beam on a few thousand innocents, as they quickly vaporized on the spot, prompting a grin from Lillian.
"Run, run, run all you want..."
She watched the people attempt to flee from the wrath of Cameron's attacks, but to no avail.
"You all brought this on yourselves for treating me like I was nothing..."
As thousands upon thousands lay dead, Cameron finally relented to move on to the next group of soon-to-be victims as Lillian returned to her seat, deep in thought.
"And now... Now is the endgame..."
"...Now you will all BURN."
To Be Continued...
