Author's Notes
Hi to everyone!
Here we are, just 3 chapters far from ending (Epilogue exluded, but this time it should be some sort of "post credit scene"). Things are at their place, here in this chapters the final pieces will reach their place for the final battle and what will come next.
All previous side-stories will reach conclusion, and all characters will know their fate.
Thank you all for supporting me in my work, I hope this ending will like you.
See you soon!^_^
Cj Spencer
10
Once the danger was passed, Valenti and the others finally lowered the rope down from the collapsed bridge, but Lunardi hesitated for a very long time before grabbing it.
«Come on, let's pull it!»
Finally Lunardi was able to put his feet to the ground once again, but despite this no one wanted to celebrate.
«Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!» he kept on shouting while punching ground.
There was the most complete shock in everyone's eyes. They had never seen such tremendous creature in their lives, and even if Rocco's sacrifice had been able to kill it now what remained of the Falcon-1 felt alone and hopeless like never before.
Lunardi too was about to lose every hope, but all of a sudden Rocco's last words echoed in his mind: bring them home.
That's true: that was what he had to do.
Maybe most of the Falcon-1 was dead, but he still could hope to save what remained; he had to.
«Come on, now we know where to go.» he said rising up from earth, this time without even trying to hide tears. «Just a bit more and this fucking nightmare will be over. We owe it to Rocco, Rizzoli and all of the others. If we want to honor their sacrifice, now we must come back home. Everyone!»
Obviously one couldn't expect that a simple yet powerful speech was enough to clean everyone's mind from all fears after what Giada and the others had just seen, even considering that the same Flavio still had problems in accepting such tremendous and savage bad luck that was chasing them. But right due to all difficulties already faced, the idea that after so much time now they knew for sure that they were not alone, and someone was really waiting them to bring them home not too far from there was enough to give them the hope they needed to escape that hell once and for all.
«We have already faced more than what many soldiers have ever seen in their lives.» Flavio said again. «And there will be plenty of our companions to mourn once back. But right because of this, we cannot afford to die. Because if we die, no one will ever know the sacrifices Rocco and the others made to save us.» then he shouted. «You must… we must live! For them!»
Gradually, everyone started accepting that there was nothing they could do apart for keep on walking, and once recovered horses what remained of the Falcon-1 finally moved again, heading south-east.
The end of the nightmare was near.
When Dante and his finally reunited squad were informed about the fact that the guys of the Falcon-1 were still alive, they were so anxious to go out there and bring them finally back home that they voluntarily renounced to their last day-off to depart immediately, leaving the sole Zori behind now that her presence was no more necessary.
So, once opened a safe route among the Plains, a chinook carrying Dante's men and General Agrippa immediately took off and pointed south, loaded as more as possible with enough extra fuel to complete its over two-thousands km long roundtrip to Tarvisium.
Regarding the same Agrippa, he still had problems in accepting all things he had seen since the first time he had put a step inside of Castria. The Green People's impressive technology was far beyond anything the Empire could hope to gain in thousands of years, and the Vicequeen's fears about the fate their nation could face in defying them further now were his too.
«I must say I still have problems in accepting that a human being was able to create all this.» he said at a certain point, looking at the Plains beyond the glass and understanding that it wasn't a dream. «And without magic or some sort of divine assistance.»
«I thought you didn't believe in Gods, General.» Dante said from the seat in front of him
«Me too. But what I saw on Castria made me doubt about this. I can't believe that a mere human is able to build such war machines without help.»
«That's why your civilization is unable to evolve, General.» Mazzega said. «You spent so much time thinking to have nothing to learn, that you never found out what human brain is able to imagine.»
«The creation is a divine act. That's what they always told us. We mortals have to accept what the Gods choose to teach us, and nothing more.»
«If this is what you really think» Betton asked. «Then why did you open the Gate?»
«The Gate was a divine gift. According to our priests, it was just a way to show us how there were other worlds besides our own. But Emperor Molt has defied the Gods, and chose that those worlds had to become part of his dominion. And that's why you're here. You're the plague the Gods has sent against him to punish his arrogance.»
«Trust me General.» Dante said. «The ones that sent us here are all but Gods.»
«Gods act in the most unpredictable ways. Maybe they're merely using you too.»
Such metaphysical and theological discussion came to an end the moment pilots announced that there were just twelve more minutes of flight before reaching Tarvisium.
«I can't believe it.» Agrippa said. «We needed over three months to travel this route, and you did the same in less than twelve hours.»
«We'll talk about later.» the pilot said from the cockpit. «So, where's the landing place?»
Less than four miles far from Tarvisium there was a deep and narrow sinkhole, carefully avoided by the locals for its dangerous walls and lack of paths to reach the bottom, making it the best place to hide something big as an helicopter.
The two pilots made Dante's squad and General Agrippa come off not too far from the main road, then they run hiding in the sinkhole, landing without problems on the grassy bottom.
«And done it. Now, let's wait.»
«How much, exactly?»
«Until General Agrippa will have spoken with the Vicequeen and the city's governor. Then they'll send someone to surveil the helicopter and we'll be free to join the Major and the others waiting for the Falcon-1.»
Everything was so silent, so peaceful that both of them quickly forgot their duties, taking a bit of rest after all those hours spent flying.
Copilot Pizzoni was a botany scholar before enrolling, so like many other times in the past he left the helicopter and started searching for unknown flowers and plants among the high grass, making photos and taking notes waiting for the moment when he could make everything public.
His chief Ghiraldo instead quickly fell asleep over the pilot seat, sleeping so well that over three hours had passed when he woke up.
«Hell, I slept for too much. Pizzoni, why didn't you wake me up?»
But the copilot didn't answer, and looking beyond the glass Ghiraldo was neither able to see him.
«Again!?» he protested, remembering that time when he found him lying on the ground, completely lost in admiring a flower.
Ghiraldo then left the vehicle to search for him, but despite his calling, no one answered.
«Pizzoni, this is not fun! Come the hell out now!»
Finally, he noted his partner's motionless figure lying among the grass close to the hole's walls. For a moment, he thought that he was simply too much taken by his work to pay attention, then he reached him with a few steps. However, when Ghiraldo was finally above him, what he saw was Pizzoni's head pierced by an arrow, and his friend already died.
«What the…» he tried to say, and an instant later one more arrow came down from the sky, this time pointed right against him.
Covering their uniforms with woolen cloaks, Dante and his men followed Agrippa till the doors of Tarvisium, and for a moment everyone remained surprised to find them closed.
«Probably it's an order of the Vicequeen.» the General supposed. «Now that Reich controls the Plains, the surveillance has been implemented.»
Before they could go too much closer, a sentinel shouted from the top of the northern doors.
«Who are you?»
«I'm General Titus Quintus Agrippa, Imperial Commander! I'm here to speak with Her Highness the Vicequeen and His Excellency Labio!»
Hearing this, the sentinel immediately ordered to open the doors, and the moment they crossed them, Agrippa, Dante and the rest of the Falcon-9 found the same captain of the City Guards Severio waiting for them.
«Welcome back, General.» he said while vigorously shaking his arm at the Army's way. «What a surprise. We were waiting you for the end of the spring.»
«A bit of things have happened, my friend. And honestly I doubt you could believe me even if I tried to tell you.»
«And your friends?» Severio asked looking at Dante and his men, and at the little fairy accompanying one of them in particular.
«It's a long story. Her Highness Kanaria is here, right?»
«Of course. She arrived a couple of weeks ago, and told us everything. I still can't believe that Reich has conquered the Plains.»
«That's why I'm here. I need to speak with her immediately.»
«Of course. I've already sent someone to call her. Meanwhile, His Grace too wants to see you. He's waiting for you in the audience hall, and told me to bring you there.»
«All right, let's go. But first, can you bring something to drink for my escort? They're exhausted for this long voyage.»
«Certainly. Ehi you, bring this men the best ale we have in our storages!»
«Yes, Captain.»
Then, without waiting further, Agrippa and Severio left for the palace.
Severio leaded Agrippa till the audience hall, staying at his side even when the General finally found himself face to face with Governor Labio.
Certainly, Labio and the other Governors of Tarvisium before him loved to feel important; apart for the its being barely a bit smaller than the Imperial Palace's throne room, the hall's special position had been planned right to allow to the twilight sun to be aligned with the massive rose window behind the Governor's chair, filling the whole room with so much light that candles and torches were completely useless.
«Welcome back, General.» Labio said with a smile. «In the end, your journey has been shorter than expected.»
«I'm glad to see you in good health, Governor Labio.» Agrippa respectfully said. «Where his Her Highness Kanaria?»
«In her rooms. I sent someone to call her, she'll be here soon. Meanwhile, why don't you speak me a bit of your mission? For someone who was supposed to travel till the world's end, your journey has been quite short. Does this mean that you'll tell Her Highness that you failed.»
«On contrary, Your Grace. My mission has been successful.»
«Nice to hear this. So? Can you tell me what this mysterious mission is now?»
«I'm sorry I can't, Your Grace. My oath forces me to keep the secret until I'll inform the Vicequeen.»
«You was sent in search of the Green People, right?»
Agrippa remained speechless.
«What!?»
«There's no need to deny it, General. She told me everything. You were supposed to negotiate a ceasefire between the Empire and the Green People in the name of the North. But considering the kind of things happened in meantime, I have really few doubts that this mere ceasefire will become something else at this point, am I right?»
The General hesitated for a moment, but at the end, he thought that if Kanaria trusted Labio at the point of revealing him her plans, there was no reason for him to not do the same.
«We ignored Her Highness' worries about Reich for too much time, and now that threat has become real all of a sudden. We cannot afford a war against both of these tremendous enemies. But since even the Green People sees Reich as a threat, there's no reason for us to not cooperate, especially now that we know that the Green People has no bad intentions against us.»
«Where's your pride, General? You're the last person I could imagine to hear saying such things.»
«With all respect, if you had seen what I saw in Castria, you too would think the same. There's nothing capable to oppose the Green People, neither Reich. The whole Empire will burn if we should continue this insane was much longer. But if we join forces, then the true menace will be stopped once and for all, and this counts more than my pride. That's why I need to speak with Her Highness as soon as possible, because at this point every second counts to save the Empire.»
Labio appeared being quite surprised in front of Agrippa's sincere and incredible words, but at the end he almost seemed to smile in satisfaction.
«I understand. Than you made your choice at least.»
«Your Grace!?» replied a confused Agrippa.
The moment Labio snapped his fingers the doors of the room opened again, and Agrippa saw with his eyes the Vicequeen, firmly chained dressed in rags like a vulgar thief, forcefully taken inside by a couple of guards.
«Your Highness!»
«Agrippa!»
However, the moment he tried to draw the sword, he found Saverio's one already pointed against her neck.
«Don't force me, my friend.» the Captain said with a sinister smile.
At that point, an enraged Agrippa turned again to Labio.
«What's the meaning of this?»
«Unfortunately, someone went before you, General. Someone with a better offer for us.»
Dante and his men were tired and thirsty for the long journey, but of course, they couldn't ignore their duties.
For this, once taken into a nearby outdoor veranda, they gently refused the ale the soldiers had been told to offer them, preferring instead a bit of fresh water.
Once again, everyone were quite interested in Lily; it was quite rare already for a man to see a fairy of the flowers, but the sight of a fairy so attached to a human was even more incredible.
«Ehi man, how much do you want for this fairy?»
«Sorry, she's not on sale.» Betton replied, unable to count how many times he had said it already.
Lily was a bit worried, but it was quite normal after all, with all those interested eyes watching her.
«What's wrong, Lily?» Betton asked seeing his little friend looking at him with a strange glance. «Come on, there's nothing to worry about. They're allies.»
Dante was about to drink too, but due to a distraction the glass fell to the ground.
«Shit.»
«Don't worry.» said one of the soldiers. «We bring you another one.»
However, the moment that man lowered to take the glass, the Major noted a strange tattoo on his neck, only partially hidden by hair and the Imperial helmet.
«What the…»
But that sole instant he took to fully realize the sight of that infamous sign and try to warn his men was already too much, because the moment he turned to tell everyone to not drink he saw Sarpi and the others collapse to the ground. Almost at the same time, one of the soldiers caught Lily before she could try to escape, closing her into a bottle.
«You, bastards!»
However it was too late even for him, because a second later two more soldiers immediately grabbed him tightly, taking all weapons away from him and forcing him on his knees.
«You're from Reich, fucking scum! What have you done to my men?»
«Relax, they're just sleeping.» said another fake imperial soldier, probably their chief. «Orders were to catch you alive.»
«Orders from who?»
At that point, one more soldier came out from a close barrack, but this time he was dressed with the infamous, black uniform of a Reichian General; he silently walked around Sarpi and the others, ultimately stopping right in front of Dante.
«And you are?» the newcomer asked
«You first, bastard.» Dante replied, receiving a tremendous punch in the abdomen as punishment
«Honestly, I had settled this trap for someone else. But you too belong to the Singing People, so I think it's still a good result after all.»
Then, he nodded his head, and the guards immediately pulled the still asleep guys of the Falcon-9 up from the ground; Dante turned to them, and for just an instant he noted one of them winking at him, completely unnoticed by their jailers.
Dante remained speechless: probably it was still thanks to that strange thing the centaurs had made her drink.
When the guards distracted for a second, Mazzega immediately freed herself, running away before they could completely understand what was happening.
«Idiots!» protested the second in command. «Chase her!»
But it was completely useless, because with unhuman agility the young woman climbed the closest building, jumping right into one of the many waterways passing across the whole city immediately after and vanishing like dust.
«Don't care for her.»
«But, General Donzark…»
«She has nowhere to run. And without their flying machine, she neither can hope to come back to Castria.»
Then, at that point, Dante and others were taken away.
Kanaria still couldn't believe that one of the persons he had always trusted so much had become her enemy and betrayed their nation.
Something in her heart told her immediately that those newcomers arrived from nowhere the past week had something to hide, but to not bring offense to her minister she didn't protested when they asked to speak with Labio privately.
After that, everything happened in the blink of an eye. Armored guards had entered in her rooms while sleeping, taking away her Imperial ensigns, her magic baton and even her same dresses, throwing her in a tiny jail without further explanations.
For days she had protested and shouted with all her voice demanding an explanation, but no one ever answered; however, she was almost sure to know where those strangers came from, and who they really were.
Finally, a couple of days after having seen her loyal General captured and taken away, the guards visited her cell one more time, once again binding her with chains before taking her in the palace's main library, where Labio and the strangers' commander were waiting her.
«Hello again, Your Highness.» said the enemy officer. «I suppose it's time for me to introduce myself. I'm General Donzark, loyal servant of Her Highness Ygraine Empress of Reich. I never apologized for your sudden change of room. Don't worry, it won't last long.»
«You, Labio!» the girl said completely ignoring him and pointing her anger instead to her Governor. «You sold yourself to Reich, didn't you? You betrayed the Empire!»
«It's quite strange for you to speak about treason, Kanaria.» calmly said Labio. «Who's tried to negotiate a ceasefire with our enemies, going against every rule of our nation?»
«I did it just to save the Empire!» then she turned again to Donzerk. «Save it from them!»
«Reich is not our enemy, Kanaria.»
«What!?»
«All they want is to create a new nation. And after what they did in the Plains, they proved us that they have all they need to succeed. Then, why keep on serving a dying Empire? We thought to be invincible for too much time, my dear. All we can do is to make the right decision before it's too late.»
«The Empire is not already doomed! We can still try to save it!»
«How? Siding with these Green People? With barbarians from another world? We don't even know why they're here, or what's their true purpose.»
«The Green People doesn't want to wipe our culture away, force us between submitting to a false God or be killed.»
«I can assure you that this is still better than seeing all we fought for turned to dust. Reich doesn't want to destroy the Empire. They're not the savages we always thought. They will simply merge their kingdom with our, creating one single nation. Right, General Donzark?»
«Precisely. Empress Ygraine is an enlightened ruler. Her goal is not to destroy your Empire, but to merge both our empires in a single, mighty nation. With our powers combined neither the Singing People, or the Green People as you call them, will be a match for us.»
«And what will be the price for all this?» the Vicequeen replied in challenge.
Donzark at that point got up from the seat and threateningly approached, firmly grabbing her red cheeks with his powerful hand.
«Watch out, little bird. Or there may be no place for you in the world we'll create. What could you gain by throwing your life away for a dying empire? Some sacrifices will be necessary to make sure that our nations can become one, and it would be a true waste for such a cute face to be one of them.»
Kanaria however kept on looking at him in defy, ultimately freeing herself from Donzark's grasp with a fast movement.
«It doesn't matter what you say, I will never betray my people! And I'm surprised you did it, Labio!»
«If you're speaking of the Empire, they're not your people, am I right?» Labio replied.
Hearing this, the Vicequeen hesitated for a moment, and a beam of insecurity appeared in her eyes.
It wasn't completely false: everything she had done since her first day as a Vicequeen, all her efforts as a ruler had always been done thinking to the sake of the people of the North first; that same mission to try negotiate with the Green People had as a primal goal to save her native land more than anything else, even at the cost of going against her Emperor or his decisions.
«The Empire's safety is the North's safety. I'm doing all this just for our people.»
«Like me.» the Governor seriously said while turning to her. «I made my choice, Kanaria. And for your own sake, your one should be the same.»
Once understood that his longtime friend had no intention to listen, Kanaria lowered her eyes in desperation and sadness.
«Don't worry, Your Highness.» Donzark finally said «You will have all time to reflect about your final choice in Oder. Meanwhile, enjoy your stay.»
Lunardi and the Falcon-1 advanced more and more in Imperial territory, with the hope to see the end of that hell as the only force capable to make them keep walking.
All maps and other instruments necessary to try find the right way had been lost while escaping the dragon, so Lunardi had no choice but observing sky at night, praying every God that he was remembering correctly all things Sadee had thought him about the Special Region's astronomy.
Of course it was less tiresome to proceed on horseback, but even considering that one of them had become the flame dragon's dish, and the remaining ones being no more youngsters couldn't face an excess of burden for too much the march was still quite problematic. Not to mention that even if the occupied Plains were now behind their backs they were still in a potentially hostile land, and even if dressed like locals, it was still necessary for them to pay attention to every possible threat.
The travel was silent, even more than before: everyone still had in their eyes Rocco and his terrible death, but Lunardi in particular was unable to remove his final words from his mind, endlessly repeating to himself that at that point everything else no more counted; those guys had to come back home, at all costs.
For too much time he had thought that the life of a single soldier had not the same valor of the squad's safety: but after having seen half of his guys dying in front of him one after another, this sort of dogma that he had learned yet during his first training now seemed so empty, so tremendously wrong.
Every life mattered. And at that point, he wanted to save the remaining ones no matter how.
Finally, one day, after climbing a small hill at the end of the forest, they saw it.
Their goal: the end of their pains, peacefully placed along the banks of a lake, protected by massive walls, a white shining point surrounded by fields and farms.
«That's it!» Lunardi shouted, unable to contain his own joy. «That's Tarvisium!»
Giada and the others had seen so many horrible things that for a moment they were unable to realize what was happening: however, the moment the first of them understood that they were not dreaming, the whole Falcon-1 exploded in a single cry.
«We did it! We're safe!»
All pains and fatigue seemed to fade away like snow at spring, and everyone walked the few remaining miles like children heading to the sweets shop.
When the last breath of sun disappeared beyond the mountains, the Falcon-1 finally reached the last trace of forest before the farms, with the walls of the city now barely a couple of miles far from there.
However, even if excited like the others for having reached safety, Lunardi's cold mind made him note something strange.
«Wait.» he immediately ordered. «Something's off.»
Everyone where all but happy to hear something like that and desperately wanted to keep on running, but at the end the soldier in them prevailed, and they followed their Captain to a cover under a big oak tree along the lake's banks.
«What's the problem?» Cassetti asked
«The doors. Are closed.»
«Yes.» Stefanini said. «And…»
«It's unusual. The imperial rule commands that the cities' doors has to be closed one hour after sunset.»
«Maybe they've heard about Calibria's fall, and they're just taking some precautions.»
«In this case, magic lights and torches should be kept at minimum, but look: the city seems a goddamn Christmas tree.»
After all they had passed, nobody wanted to waste other time for useless worries. But maybe there was still an option to try having a better place to rest at least.
«Maybe we can try to hide in one of those stables and wait for next morning.» Lunardi said pointing to the houses all around the city. «Stay here, I'm going to check.»
Then Flavio left the group and silently moved toward the fields. Farmers and other workers had already left camps and came back to their houses, so all around it was everything incredibly silent for their being just a bunch of meters far from a big city.
Finally, the Captain noted a potentially good repair, an old barrack surrounded by carrot fields. Armed and ready to defend himself, Flavio silently reached the small building, and once reached it and noted that no lights or noises came from inside he smoothly moved the sliding door.
At a first sight it was nothing but an abandoned tool shed, with some old pitchforks and other instruments left rusting in total desolation.
However, what caught Flavio's attention almost immediately were some strange and fresh prints on the muddy soil; they were not signs of the common Imperial sandals, and he needed just a second to recognize them.
Suddenly, the Captain felt a very bad feeling behind him, and even before he could turn back completely a shadow appeared from nowhere and attacked him wielding a pruning knife.
In just a couple of exchanges they ended up disarming each other, then the assaulter jumped right at Lunardi's neck with almost unhuman strength and agility.
«Wait! Wait!» Flavio shouted before that furious beast could open his throat. «We're friends!»
Just hearing his language, the enemy immediately stopped, and Lunardi was finally able to see him, finding himself with a young woman wearing a soaked and dirty military uniform.
«How do you know Italian?»
Right on that moment, even Cassetti and the others arrived on the scene, but before they could try to attack the woman Flavio immediately stopped.
«Captain Lunardi!»
«No, stop! She's Italian!»
«Captain Lunardi!?»
The woman remained visibly speechless, and at the end, she let Lunardi get up.
«You're… the Falcon-1!?»
«We are.»
«My God, I can't believe it. So, you're truly alive.»
«And you are?»
«Soldier Mazzega, Falcon-9. I'm sorry, Captain. I thought you were one of them. They're searching for me since when I escaped.»
«Them who?»
«It's Reich, Sir. Reich has taken Tarvisium.»
«What!?» Cassetti shouted for everyone