Chapter 10: Slaying the Dreamer

Unknown area

D-Day + 35 days, dusk

Alistair's POV

What the hell just happened? Why's it so cold? I'm freezing here… What happened here? Huh? These two have blood on their faces!

"Private, wake up. Boy, wake up!" no use. He is probably dead. Fuck! How long have we been in this state? Huh…this one to my front is still breathing, heavily but breathing. "Lad, wake up! What happened here?"

He barely spoke, more like a whisper: "It hurts… it hurts and it burns. My head, it will blow up from the pain, sir…"

"You'll be fine. Can you move your head?

"No… it hurts so bad. Sir, I'm freezing here."

"What is your name, lad?"

"Mack… sir. Private… Johannes…. Mack."

I had a good look around. There was snow outside. We were in a forest. A snowy forest with large trees. The driver was not there, door open. The Humvee was wrecked. Somehow this guy managed to drive into a fucking tree.

"What happened here, Mack?"

"I don't know. All nice and good until that damn fog. Then…" he could barely speak "then we hit the tree. Alex died right next to you. Think he softened your impact. You must leave, Lt. Leave before one of those creatures finds you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Right after the impact… I fell unconscious. When I woke up I heard a strange scream, an animal roaring just outside. I have never seen such creatures… Fuck this world and this expedition. Will get us all killed…"

"What did it look like? And where is the driver?"

"He went outside to see what was going on. He should be nearby. His leg… his leg is broken from the impact with the tree. Sir… what is going on?"

"Hell if I know. I don't like this situation either."

"Get out of here, Lt. Save yourself. Go before that thing comes back."

"What comes back?" I asked the young man. But he was falling asleep, slowly passing out. "Come on, Mack, don't sleep yet!"

"Sorry, sir. I am very tired. I find it hard to speak. It was strange, something like a jellyfish with teeth and tentacles and wings. It was able to tear those two holes in the roof in an instant…"

"Did that thing snatch the sergeant?"

"No. He put a few bullets into it. Go look for him and get the keys to take down your handcuffs."

"What?"

"If you want… to survive... you must take those off."

"Don't pass out on me, Mack. I'll be back."

I helped myself stand on my feet. Alex, the one to my right died in an instant. Looks like his neck snapped and suffered other injuries to the head. "Stay awake, lad. I will get you out of here." were my words for Mack before kicking the door and get out of the vehicle. The sergeant was not far from the scene, he was lying face down in the snow in a pool of blood. I had a hope of him being alive… but that hope turned to dust when I noticed a hole in his chest. A hole large enough for my hand to force its way through. I cursed the shitty situation I've found myself in. I was feeling colder and colder in this damn dark forest. I turned the NCO over to search his pockets for the keys. Man died with his eyes open… Fuck, it is all over again… like that one time in Iraq when fighting those ISIS bastards. The fact that he had blood stains on his clothes did not help. Come on…where the fuck are those keys?

"Dammit!" I let a scream in frustration. I'm feeling so cold my fingers are going numb. I must find a heat source, maybe a fire. But first…the hands. Maybe a bullet..? No, the cuffs are thick steel, it could ricochet and injure me. "Fuck! Frak it!"

I am not going to die in this damn place!

End of POV

Alistair had a good look around. In the fading daylight he could distinguish the thick forest and a big cliff to the east. He didn't know where the cardinal points were, for him it was to the rear of the vehicle that found itself dead in a pine tree. The 42 year old British officer made his way to the Humvee. He had a good look where the driver should be. "Damn bastard, here you are." he said when he spotted the key. It was with the startup button of the car. He turned backwards to be able to grab it and finally managed to catch it after what looked like a comedy number.

"Hey, Mack! You still up?"

"Barely…" the young man replied in a loud whisper.

"Help me with these. Here's the key."

Alistair handed him the key. Because Mack could not move his head resting on the vehicle's wall, Alistair has to turn with his back and lower his hands to Mack's left hand in which he held the key.

"If you were my Melinda… I'd die happy." Mack smiled as he set his prisoner free.

"Believe me, I'd like a girl's warmth and comfort too. Thanks. Can you move?"

Mack wanted to shook his head. "I can't move… I don't feel much, only my left arm but it is slowly going numb. Ah… I never thought I'd die in such a lame way…"

"You ain't going to die, private!"

"Spare me, Lt., for I know too well that I will die. Is good that I won't feel much. Hypothermia will get me if not the injury to my head. Something's fucked up inside. It hurts and burns…"

"Listen, I am going to look for some firewood to keep us warm. Don't you dare give up as long as you breathe!"

" Go ahead. I will tell you after you're back…"

"Take care. Here, take this M1911 and shoot anything that isn't me. I'll have this guy's…"

"Alex…"

"Alex's M4 to defend myself with. Did you try by chance to get in touch with any unit with the radio?"

"The sergeant tried… nobody replied. We are out of range."

"Bloody hell!"

"Bloody… bloody indeed."

"Stay alive. I'll be back as soon as I can."

So, the condemned Lieutenant Alistair left the Humvee and started looking around for firewood.

Special Region, Dessria highway

Everyone fell unconscious after the loud thunder and the fog. The first to wake up was Lelei who woke up everyone else.

Itami: "What the hell just happened?"

Kurata: "Uh… ugh! I fell asleep while driving!"

Itami: "Looks like everyone fell asleep. Kurata… you dumb fool…" Itami said as he opened the door, reached for his gun and wanted to step out but decided it was better not to. "You bogged us down in heavy mud…"

Kurata: "Not my fault, Itami-san!"

Itami: "Kurokawa, Lelei, Princess, Miss Bozes, are you alright?"

Pina and Bozes just woke up. "Yeah… I think I am."

Kurokawa: "I'm good."

Lelei: "Yes. Itami, how long has it been?"

Itami had a look at his watch. He was shocked when he saw that it indicated 7pm. Lelei: "Something happened… something not good."

Itami through his radio to the other vehicles: "Come in, everyone. I want a sitrep."

"Light truck… all good. Erwin, Rory and Tuka and everyone else is fine."

"LAV crew doing well. Sir, the British Humvee is missing!"

"What!? Are they nowhere to be seen?"

"No, I see a huge black spot where they were supposed to be, just behind us."

"Damn it! Uhm… Can you guys pull us out of this mud? The tires are deep in the mud and stuck."

"LAV will give it a try. Throwing a hook, please fix it on the vehicle."

Katsumoto threw a hook at Itami's vehicle. The Lt reached out for it, it fell in the mud, and fixed it to the rear of their vehicle. With effort, the LAV pulled the Humvee out and put it back on road. Rain started to fall again.

"Thank you, guys. Now, let's look for Lt. Alistair and the other three. Please start searching around while I report to HQ." Itami instructed everyone.

Pina was nervous. She exchanged looks with Lelei and Bozes before asking Itami what's going on. "We don't know yet, Princess. Please keep your calm, everything will be fine." He replied before proceeding to change frequencies. "This is RCT3 actual to HQ, come in Alnus."

A short ccccchhhhh sound could be heard before a voice spoke. "Alnus to RCT3 actual, what happened? You are 5 hours late. A search and rescue party has been sent to look for you."

"RCT3 actual here, I don't know either. Nobody knows. Some weird weather caught us off guard. Lt Alistair's Humvee disappeared and all that is left of them is a huge black spot on the road. My men are searching the surroundings. Heavy rain started, a dense fog and then we were all out cold. Lelei blames all this on magic."

"What do you mean, Itami!? You let that British officer get away on purpose!"

"I didn't! Stop the nonsense and tell the S&R to hurry up. We need to find them. All four plus the vehicle are missing. And send a car to pick the girls, they must make it to base asap."

The voices changed on the radio. Now it was Hazama on the other line. "Lt. Itami! Return right now with everyone to Alnus. The S&R will take care of the rest. I want a report immediately! Nothing vanishes in thin air!"

"Y-Yes sir!" he replied with a sad voice. Itami threw the radio into the windshield and muttered something for himself. He then went outside and had good look around. Fields and fields… he was nowhere to be seen. "Damn it! Everyone, listen up! Get back in your vehicles, we are going back to Alnus. General Hazama's orders. A S&R team will look for them."

Itami waited for everyone to get inside the cars, he stood outside his Humvee. He had a good look around and one more at the dark spot on the ground. Everyone stared at him as he paused deep in thought before speaking. "Kurata, take the girls back to Alnus. Pops, you have command. Return to base. I will come later. Don't tell them via radio."

Kuwahara: "What are you doing, Lt?"

Itami: "I'm looking for my friend. Now get going. That's an order."

Kuwahara: "Aye, sir! Please take care of yourself."

Itami stood there in the rain, not moving a finger as the convoy slowly picked up speed. "Right!" was his only word he spoke before feeling something sharp slowly thrusting in his back. He turned around slowly to see what it was. "RORY!?"

"What? Did you think you'd be alone here?"

Italica, Combat Unit Europa HQ

D-Day + 35 days, 8pm

Dietrich: "What do you mean he disappeared!? … Yes, I'm sorry, sir. … What of it? … Yes, they are here. They arrived at 3pm, I think. … No. Should we? … Copy that. … What about my request for patrols? … Thank you, General. Good evening." the German colonel wished Hazama before putting down the radio headphones. Then, Dietrich held his head in his palms. He was obviously frustrated by something. He was like this for a full minute before fixing the commander of the Italian contingent with his eyes. All four officers were gathered in the HQ.

Dante: "What is it, Col?"

Dietrich: "Say, Major Dante, did you encounter RCT3 on your way here?"

Dante: "Yes. My men and his greeted each other and high fived while passing by."

Dietrich: "Did you notice anything strange? How many vehicles were there?"

Dante: "Three Japanese and a British Humvee. That makes four."

Oliver: "What happened?"

Dietrich: "The British car went missing."

Robert, the Lt-Col of the British contingent, jumped off his seat: "What do you mean it went missing?"

Dietrich: "I don't know, dammit!"

Robert: "Things don't disappear in thin air!"

Dietrich: "I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED! It was the general on the line. RCT3 said that a heavy fog rolled in with the heavy rain and then a thunder! Then everyone was KO for a few hours."

Dante: "Now that you mention it, sir, there was a dense fog. We had to reduce our speed to avoid accidents. And we heard a thunder too. But didn't know it was this serious."

Oliver: "What is going on?"

Robert: "I want to know the same thing. Four of my men are missing! We must do something."

Dante: "Did Alnus say anything else?"

Dietrich: "A S&R party was sent… Scheiße! I bet Itami had something to do with this!"

Oliver: "He didn't look like that kind of a guy."

Dietrich: "He and Lt Alistair share a friendly relationship. Knowing he was going to be trialed and probably end up bad …he must have come up with a shit ass plan!"

Dante: "Colonel, calm down. We know nothing yet."

Dietrich: "What kind of world is this, gentlemen? General Hazama also mentioned that that girl Lelei… she is studying magic. Apparently she felt something's wrong before they left Italica."

Robert: "So, I'm supposed to believe that a magic trick made four British soldiers vanish into thin air? THAT'S BULLSHIT!"

Dietrich spoke this time with a grim voice: "Mind your manners… Lt-Col Robert!"

Oliver: "Please excuse our friend here, Colonel. You must understand his situation."

Dietrich: "Let's keep a clear head and think this through…"

Dante: "Considering everything so far, it might have been a magic trick. I mean…just look at this world. Elves, wolf people, dragons, magic… If the mage student said that it was magic…then it must have been."

Robert: "How can there be such a thing as magic?"

Dietrich: "Lt-Col Robert, do you believe in God?"

Robert: "Yes, sir."

Dietrich: "Why?"

Robert: "Because he's real…"

Dietrich: "Are you serious, Lt-Col?"

Robert: "What am I supposed to say?"

Dietrich: "There is no proof for God's existence but you believe in him. Unless he spoke to you… then you are a crazy person. And still… nobody would believe you."

Oliver: "We get the point, sir. No need to roast him." he spoke while mischievously smiling to Robert.

Robert: "Oy, you frakin' bastard!"

Oliver: "Don't get fired up. Is just a joke, not a penis, don't take it so hard."

Dietrich could not believe his ears. Was a high ranking officer like Oliver actually speaking about such things? "Lt-Col Oliver…"

Oliver: "I'm sorry, colonel. I didn't mean it. Not that hard" he made sure to switch his eyes back to Robert when he said 'hard'.

Dante: "Alright, gentlemen. Calm down. Colonel, is there anything else that requires our attention?"

Dietrich leaned on the table with the map, hands crossed. "Not really. You are dismissed. Please attend to your men and make sure night guard is set up."

"Yes, sir." they all said in a choir.

Dietrich: "Also make ready to enter combat within a week or two. The Japanese brigade will be on its way here when the rain stops. Then we'll wait a while longer for the mud to harden. Last thing we need is to get bogged down in heavy mud with our tanks and other vehicles."

Dante: "Did the general say that?"

Dietrich: "Yes. Major, I heard your men were trained to fight in the mountains."

Dante: "Yes, that is right. Most of the Italian army is."

Dietrich: "The Italian soldiers are a vital asset for our offensive through the Duma Mountains." " I fear this campaign won't be as easy as initially expected."

Unknown area

Alistair made it back to the Humvee with a decent amount of firewood he could collect. He took out the little fuel left in the tank and used it to light the fire. He made it in the back of the Humvee, opened the rear a bit to let smoke out but not too much so the wind doesn't blow all the warm air. Now they could sit comfortably.

Alistair: "Did you guys pack anything to eat?"

Mack: "Not really… we only have water."

"Damn. We could use something to eat right now."

"You could use…"

"You starting to piss me off with your negative attitude, lad."

"So what..? Is it that hard for…for you to understand that I can barely do a thing? My left hand is not responding anymore. I can barely speak. I'll probably be dead by morning. Please take my clothing and weapons and get out of here. You don't have to die here, sir."

"Why the fuck are you even so at terms with dying?"

"That is why I joined the army. Well… it… it started a long time ago… when I was 14. Is a rather long story."

"Do we have anything else to do?"

"No… You can laugh at me in the end…I don't care. I will tell you as it is."

"Why would I laugh?"

"I find it amusing sometimes. I joined the British Army because… I wanted to die one day."

"What kind of idiot are you?"

"Hear me out. I was a coward. And I… I still am. I can't do it myself… so… I wanted someone else to do it for… me."

"Mack, how old are you?"

"22, sir."

"That means 8 years. Well, that will make for an interesting story. What happened when you were 14?"

"At 14 I realized the world is a shit place, sir. I don't know how it exactly happened. I used to be the awkward nerd kid when it came to astronomy, history and guns. I had a hard time with the girls. Few friends… you know, that kind of kid. High school was a messy place when it came to socialize but at least my grades were good."

"Go on…"

"Only my soul knows what I was like before. Everybody knew Mack who acted nice, helped his friends and seemed happy in general. But only when I was alone in my room …I was myself. Something dark grew within me… something that pushed me to extreme things in my mind, in my instincts… horrible things. My parents and siblings still don't know who I really am. They know the Mack who does foolish things and is wasting time whenever he can."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"A sister and a brother, both older than me. Do you have siblings, Lt?"

"Aye, that I do. A younger sister. She moved in with her husband just across my parents' house and have a baby together."

"I'm happy for you and them."

"What is your relationship with your siblings?"

"Not a special one. I mean… we look for each other but…sometimes it feels like something is missing. At least for me. Do you know what Aristotle said about madness?"

"No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness."

"Aye! Now…I don't think of myself as a great mind. I certainly am not, compared to others… but I was always above trivial matters. I looked above the carnal desires and thoughts one in his teenage years would have. I looked past money. I think I was an idealist of sorts, a dreamer."

"Small minds discuss people. Regular minds talk about events. And the big minds talk about ideas."

"That may be the only way I can be categorized as a genius of sorts. I developed this arrogance… Hahah" Mack started laughing but blood came out of his mouth when he coughed. "Hah! Peculiar beings, aren't we? And then everything started going sour inside me. More …and more. I felt nothing at one point. Nothing. Not joy, not anger… simply nothing. I found the night sky so relaxing… I know nothing with certainty but the night sky makes me dream."

"Why the hell would a young man like you walk that road?"

"Don't know, told you. It happened. Then I met her… Melinda. We met through a friend of mine. He wanted to make it up to her, I don't actually know the details of their relationship. You see… I was the courier for a short time between the two. Then they finally decided to split up for good. I kept in touch with her, she seemed like an interesting person. And then I fell for her… and she for me."

"Hahaha! Everyone has a chance, ey?"

"That is up to everyone to decide for itself. We were all nice for two years. Then… she moved out of town and didn't bother to write back anything. Not even a letter… I forgot laughter but I learned to laugh again from her. You know …for a kid in his late teens to be rise higher than the vast majority of humans and find solitude… It pushed me above the edge and I fell deeper into the darkness and madness flowered. Of course I maintained a façade of sanity… but below this mask, sir, it was just insanity."

"What do you mean? You seem a rather sane person."

"That because I managed to meld it in with my reason and compassion. But it was still insanity, madness. What I was thinking and imagining would make any person go crazy. I started to take a liking to gore and fucked up things even more than before. I think that it may have been born of my sympathy towards mankind. I am such a collection of paradoxes… Even in my final moments I can't even think of anything. Not my buddies, not my family… not Melinda."

"The fact that you are so fixed on dying does not help."

"Say, Lt… what is the purpose of living in a world where everyone lives in lies and is bothered by the truth? This is what Earth has become. I think that my only regret is the fact that I don't get the chance to explore the stars as I wanted when I was younger. For a monster I've been I am having a pleasant end." Mack spoke and then silence fell, both listening to the cracking of the fire. "Sir, will you do something for me if you get out of here?"

"Anything."

"Reach for the pocket on my chest. There should be a small notebook and a pen I always keep on me. Please, write something for me. And when you get home… send it to my family? You should get the details from the Army. Ask them to bury it under the apple tree in the garden after they read it and whatever else they well please to do with what is written."

Alistair reached for his pocket and, indeed, found a small notebook, 5x8cm, and a pen.

"What is that you want to write for them?"

Mack looked through a hole in the roof. As if it was destiny's hand, a small hole in the clouds appeared and he could see the stars once more.

"I don't know if they will understand much of it but all I want is for this notebook to be put to rest where I used to spend my nights. Write this little poetry, please." Mack spoke, still watching the lonely star among the clouds. After every verse he paused for a second.

"I shall sit in black light,

Above thy clouds, away from sight,

Where the winds unhindered blow,

Where the few beacons glow,

Where solitude is a plight

And thoughts – the sweet night."

"This is rather an interesting choice of words."

"Second entry like this:

I have held on to the teachings of solitude for so long. But some days the quiet refuses to talk. Some days even silence has no words to say. And one day when all of this is over and this body, this heart and all its desires are reduced to ash, will you be able to sift through the parts you liked and the ones you didn't…and keep the ones you adored and throw away what you hated?"

"I will do my best to get them home, lad. I promise." Alistair spoke as he put the pen and notebook in his own pocket. He had a look at Mack, his eyes stopped moving. "Oy, Mack! You still up?" no response. "Mack! Come on…" tears formed in its eyes. "…don't go, boy…"

Alistair hugged Mack's body and shed tears. Somewhere else, in Italica's fields, someone else was shedding a few tears in someone else's warm embrace.

AN: Chapter 10: Slaying the Dreamer is here. Sorry for the less action packed chapter, but I felt like I had to write this part too :D Will keep you updated with new chapters when I can. Next in GATE: A World of Shame & Glory: RCT3 members go trough the gate and new conflicts take shape in the Imperial Capital. Also, to answer some of the latest reviews.

THERE WON'T BE NUKES! Come on guys, if I nuke then...what is left to do? I don't want to take that path. But I will try to make it interesting, magic VS science.

the renegade soldier: once more, I thank you for your reviews, they are very important to me and i hope you are doing well too :D I won't put in mechs or that sort of thing but advanced weaponry has a nice chance of making it in the following chapters; do keep in mind i mostly come up with the story as i write it. I will do more research for the next chapters about auxilia units and might take longer to post new chapters after the crew returns to the Special Region. Here is Ch 10 so enjoy ^_^

AlxkendBlader: There's more trouble on the way :)