Author's Note:

Hey guys! Airbendergal here!

Im awfully sorry it took so long to update. School has started already, and it's getting really busy. It's kind of difficult for me to find time to update, but don't be discouraged! I will write the chapters, and put effort into doing so.

Anyway, here's the latest chapter. It's not the last, don't worry. The battle is still on going...

Who will triumph? Read on to find out!

Chapter 25:

"AMBUSH!"

We had walked right into a trap.

Emperor Larsa quickly got to this feet, and clung onto the metal railings of the airship. The Alexander swayed slowly, like a kite in a cool summer breeze. Its stabilizers were kicking in, and the roar of the engines had told everyone that the airship devices were having a hard time. The machinists flooded into the cockpit, bringing with them kits filled with tools that would aid the struggling machine.

"How much further?" Larsa called below.

"Visibility's at sixty-four percent, and counting, sire!" called the coxswain. "A few more kilometers!"

"Why didn't the radar detect them?" Ashe asked.

"The interruption of the clouds must have rendered us blind!" Al-Cid called from behind, and he was obliged to shout for there was a terrible humming noise that overwhelmed his voice. "We will not be able to pick up signals within a thick brush!"

"They knew we were coming! Blast!" Larsa yelled, as he struggled to get off the platform. His garments fluttered and snapped dynamically in the wind. "Judge Zargabaath! Perform the necessary procedures!"

The Alexander was losing altitude, and losing it quick.

The emperor reached out his hand so that I could take hold of it. "Catalina, come!" he cried, as he extended his reach a little bit further. Larsa was supporting himself on the railing while reaching out to me. "Take my hand! We must get out of the unstable platform."

I moved, step by slow step, across the platform, and tried to grab hold of my husband's hand. But, as I was an inch's distance away from his grasp, a clamorous BOOM shook the heavens, like a drum-roll of thunder. A blinding light erupted in front of the view window, and I reflexively shielded my eyes. The metal flooring beneath us swayed like a raft on the waves. I stumbled, and fell back, but Larsa grabbed my forearm, and leapt towards the solid ground.

"Are you alright?" he panted.

I nodded my head, and looked towards the view window. I could already see the clear night sky fading into view, and some shooting stars. Wait. Shooting stars? Those were not heavenly bodies, but a hail of canonballs! Far across the distance, a line of heavy-cruiser battleships launched a swarm of silver locusts. They zipped across the sky!

"Return Fire!" Larsa cried. "Judge Zargabaath, the main cannons!"

"Prepare the first volley!" echoed the judge magister.

At once the Alexander started to tremble. The humming noises were getting louder. Grmmm…the rumble of the engines…grmmm….and then two large cannons began to protrude from the sides of the window. These were the Alexanders' biggest T-620 carronades and stretched about 50 meters long. They were the arms of hell. Electricity surged across the room, sending static flickers across the walls and floors, and the sound of an impending explosion traversed through the cockpit.

Grrrr…grrr…grrmmmm….

BOOM!

The T-620 carronades shot large projectiles through air at an impossibly fast speed. The recoil of the blast caused the airship to jerk, and that powerful jolt sent everyone to their knees. I screamed a bit, but the fusillade of deafening roars had engulfed my shrieks.

My husband looked at me and yelled. "Get back into the safety room, Catalina!"

"Never! I will not leave you!" I yelled back.

"Do as I say!" The emperor flailed his arms, expressing a sudden outburst of rage.

Someone grabbed my wrist. I looked back and saw it was my brother, Al-Cid. He tugged me lightly, but after I hesitated to respond, he forcefully pulled me back. I fumbled back, and my torso curled as I twisted in the other direction. The doors behind us opened automatically, and my brother took advantage of it.

"Catalina, come!" Al-Cid cried.

I tried to resist, but it only made my brother more annoyed. With a forceful tug, my brother managed to pull me through the automatic doors as they slowly rejoined. Behind the ever-slimming crack in between the two doors, I could see Emperor Larsa. He was pointing and shouting commands at the people below. The gap in the door grew thinner and thinner, and when we had traveled half of the gangway, the entry to the cockpit had sealed.

The ground beneath us began to shake. The metal body we were in shivered and shook. Steam hissed through the pipes, and the sound of loose gears and bolts bounced off the walls and floors. The ceiling was low and decorated with electric conduits. Thick wires ran across the floor beneath us, and the sometimes you could hear the sound of static surging through the Alexander's veins.

"We're being battered by bombshells!" Ashe exclaimed.

"I hope Larsa knows what he's doing!" Al-Cid leapt forward into another passageway.

"zzt…zzt…Pandaemonium, get into position!" Judge Zargabaath's voice was distorted through the intercom. "Ifrit, forward, and open fire…zzt…front guard! Prepare the volleys..zzt."

We had reached the main deck of the Alexander. Soldiers, hoplites, gunners and mages ran across the deck, like little silver bugs, shouting and passing commands. Most of them made their way to the gun decks, while others were busy at the machines. We passed through the busy sea of imperials, and surprisingly it seemed that anyone had barely noticed us.

"Seven light cruisers, east, north east!" someone shouted from my left.

"A line of Rozarrian heavy cruisers, coming from the front!" another one yelled.

"Get out the secondary carronades! The mortars! Go! Go! Go!"

"Prepare the third volley!"

The Alexander turned on its side and faced the Rozarrian lines of fire. Cannonballs shot through the sky and created streaks among the stars, as if Faram himself painted monochrome stripes across the heavens. The black of night turned into brightness, as fire flowers bloomed all around us. The sound of explosions and gunfire played with our hearing, and I was forced to shield my ears and run down another gangway that lead to the safety room. The war had created a garden of doom.

"Fire!" cried a judge.

The carronades blasted a hailstorm of projectiles in the direction of the Rozarrian ships.

In the distance, a Rozarrian light cruiser burst into flames, and spiraled downward into the abyss.

"All remora…zzt…Dispatching squadron…zzt...24-C air cutters..zzt!"

I peered outside a porthole, and saw the air cutter remoras take to the sky like a swarm of locusts. The skies around the combat zone looked was a star field. Lasers and cannons came from every direction, shimmering and lighting up the night like heavenly bodies. Starbursts appeared every now and then, and for every starburst I knew a life had been taken…taken because of me.

"zzt…keep your formations tight! And..zzzt..!"

The hour passed, and I was beginning to fear that Archadia's forces were losing. Many airships, be that of friend or foe, were sunk and swallowed by the darkness below us. Al-Cid, Ashe, Anhella and I remained inside the safety room, where we watched as each cruiser was engulfed in flames. At the sight of more casualties I began to cry, and for once my brother did nothing to comfort me.

"I must help Larsa," he told me, ignorant of my feelings. "Leosandro has ruined our empire. Stay here, Catalina. All you women must be kept safe. My leave I take."

"Brother, no!" I cried.

"Catalina, we have to accept the truth!" Al-Cid exclaimed.

"What truth?" I hissed.

"That father could be dead!"

"Do not say that, Al-Cid! He is alive and well!"

"Well, what if you are wrong? Leosandro—I saw him torture father with my own eyes! He has been exiled. For all we know, Edelmiro could be rotting away in a cave!"

"Your ill-thinking has gotten the better of you, brother!"

"Hah, you eat your own words, Catalina!"

"Stop it, both of you!" a voice cut in.

My brother and I both stopped bickering, and our heads turned to the queen. Ashelia was already quite infuriated at the noise both of us were making. She raised a finger and said, "Arguing won't do anything to help. I want to help Emperor Larsa as much as you do. We must find a way to do so, and the best way is to stay put. If we go against his orders, we'd only be adding to the chaos."

My brother sighed, and put a hand to his forehead. "Heh, the queen's words are right…"

I could not bear to stay still, even for a second, for I was absolutely anxious about Emperor Larsa. He had promised me that he would never leave my side, and I would never leave his. As a woman, I was bound to my duty, and even more than my duty, I was bound to my promise and love for him. I could hear muffled thunder in the distance; the battle around us was hard-fought.

Just then, someone entered the room. It was a Dalmascan messenger.

"Your Highness, a message from General Aablesk!" he cried, as he bowed. At once he unfurled his parchment and read out loud. "Queen Ashelia! The Rozarrian front guard has fallen for the imitation camp. They have bombarded the fake squadron base, and we have returned fire. The Rozarrians bring about their heavy cruisers, and we believe that they have brought in Jylland ships as well. Take caution, my lady, for Jylland could be dragged into this situation."

"Has there been any major casualties?" asked the queen.

The messenger never expected to be asked any questions from the queen herself. Being a lowly messenger, his only job was to deliver the parchment. But he had broken the scope of his duties and answered Queen Ashelia's questions. "I am informed that a few of our Dalmascan light cruisers have been sunk, my lady. As I've seen it, we have seemed to be outnumbered three to one."

"You are very brave to have come here, sir," Ashe commented. "What is your name?"

"Smitt, your Highness."

"Sir Smitt, go and return to the Nam-Yensa, and inform the generals about this ambush. You must fly, fly away, and tell them to deploy a few of our ships here for back-up," Queen Ashelia ordered. "Do not make your way through the thick cloud mass, tell them, and that the Rozarrians have built a rearguard on the Roda border."

"At once, my lady," bowed Smitt.

"Zzt…Ifrit leaders, keep your squadrons tight…zzt!" Judge Zargabaath rang.

"Zzt…this is Ifrit leader!" another voice joined in the static. "A Rozarrian Destroyer is in pursuit, 50 miles west, south west…zzt!"

There were loud booms that came from outside and rattled the airship. From the porthole, I could see the front line was now veiled in smoke. The explosions and gunpowder had created a dismal haze around the field, rendering minor visibility to the close-combat airships. The air cutter remoras zoomed past us in every direction, firing lines of ammunition at the opposing forces. I pressed my face against the glass to see a better view of the fighting outside. In the distance I could discern a large and formidable airship. Its visage was filled with grandeur: it was a Class A heavy cruiser with massive sails, and a hull decorated with the insignia of the Rozarrian Empire.

It was the Kirin, Rozarria's mothership. It was the Royal Warship.

"Leosandro is coming," I said, looking towards my brother. "And he comes towards us."