Chapter Twenty-Three: Divine Retribution
As the battle raged on around him, James continued to run across the landscape towards the lookout tower where the Director had been taken. Held at gunpoint, Morgan was forced to climb the ladder to the tower's top. The Radiant One climbed up after him, somehow managing despite holding both a pistol and his sceptre. The pair of guards waited at the bottom, guns at the ready.
Running past the explosions that littered the area, James pulled out his own gun. At this distance it was hard to get a good shot, and the running didn't help. Rather than alert them with a few wayward shots, he decided to get closer before firing. However, this came with its own share of risks.
Both of the guards noticed James approaching, opening fire. He had to tuck and roll to avoid being hit, making his way over towards the tower in a serpentine pattern. He fired back, still moving too fast to hit either of them.
As James drew closer to the tower, he took cover behind one of the support beams. Bullets ricocheted off of the other side as he tried to make himself as skinny as possible. He waited for them to reload, and then dove from behind cover to fire on them.
He managed to graze one of them, throwing him off balance; the other retreated to behind cover. James took this opportunity to take down the first one, slamming the butt of his rifle into his head. As this one fell unconscious, the other took aim at James. Before they could fire, James sprinted forward, tacking them to the ground. The cultist's weapon fired into the air, but James was unharmed. He sent a punch against their head, knocking this one out as well.
James took a moment to catch his breath. He would need to be on top of things if he wanted to go head-to-head with the Radiant One. Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, he gripped onto the ladder and began the ascent. The ground shook with another quake, but he held tight.
Up on the viewing platform at the precipice, the Radiant One held Mills out near the edge, forcing him to view all of the carnage that was going on on the ground. "Can you see now, Director?" he said. "Your army never stood a chance against mine. Your defenses will be ravaged, your soldiers slaughtered. This is the penance that must be paid for daring to stand against the Diamonds!"
Despite his situation, Morgan was unafraid of his captor. "You truly are a madman," he said. "You let your blind faith and obedience cloud your better judgement."
"Clarity has long been mistaken for madness among our kind," the Radiant One responded. "My faith and obedience to the Diamonds allows me to see clearer than any before me!"
"And what does your clarity allow you to see?" said Morgan. "That we are all about to die? Or that the Diamonds returning would only result in our destruction?"
"It would result in our ascension!" the Radiant One shouted indignantly, pushing Mills closer to the edge. "For too long, humanity has been wallowing in its own filth, tearing itself apart over petty grudges! I aim to bring peace to our race! For us to become a part of something greater!"
"Even if what you speak is true...why would you want to be a servant of the Diamonds?" Morgan said. "A mere pawn in a tyrannical regime, spreading death across the universe, servitor to rulers who give less than a damn about you?"
"You know nothing, heretic!" shouted the Radiant One, Mills' words clearly striking a nerve. "When you are reincarnated as a lowly off-color, you will wish you had heeded my warning! But for now, you will watch as your feeble attempts at resistance are torn asunder! And when BAINE is nothing but ash...you will join them."
"Unlikely." The Radiant One turned around, pulling Morgan with him, to see that James had made it up to the platform. He stood near the ladder, aiming his gun at the Children's leader. "Let him go."
"Unlikely," said the Radiant One, parroting James' words. He placed the Director in front of himself, shielding himself from harm. "I'm sorry to say, but this I cannot do."
"What do you have to gain from this?" asked James. "From any of this? Why attack BAINE if the Cluster is going to destroy the Earth anyway?"
"You cannot be allowed to escape Homeworld's wrath," the Radiant One said. "Sinners such as yourself cannot be allowed the same graces as those like us, who are loyal to the Diamonds' dogma. Although we may die, we will not permit you to escape judgement. In fact…"
The Radiant One suddenly pointed his pistol at James, letting a few bullets fly. With nowhere to take cover, James was forced to hold up his own gun to prevent himself from being shot. This rendered the rifle inoperable in the process.
With a gun no longer being aimed at this head, Mills was finally able to take action. He thrust his elbow into the Radiant One's gut, momentarily winding him. As he tried to aim his gun at his escaped hostage, Morgan caught his arm, forcing it upwards as he moved to restrain him.
But the Radiant One was not without tricks. Staff still in hand, he swung the makeshift weapon Morgan, making contact with his arm. The Director let go, as he moved a short distance away, preparing to take another swing.
James threw his useless gun aside, charging. He grabbed onto the Radiant One's staff, the two of them wrestling for control. After struggling for a bit, Morgan reeled up to throw a punch. James let go just as the punch connected, knocking the Radiant One back.
Shaking off the impact, the Radiant One prepared himself for combat. "Why do you continue to fight!?" he exclaimed. "Soon, all life will be snuffed out on this miserable planet! It is pointless to try and resist!"
James and Morgan stood side by side, bracing themselves for the battle to come. "Well...maybe that's why we're fighting," said James. "Because it's pointless."
The Radiant One let out a peal of mirthless laughter. "I suppose so," he said. "After all, I still fight as well."
"If it is pointless, why not stop all of this?" asked Morgan. "Neither of us have anything to gain from this war!"
"That is where you're wrong," said the Radiant One. "Pointless as it may be, in the name of the Diamonds…" He held up his staff. "...I will fight to the last."
The Radiant One charged; James and Morgan did the same. James was caught by a swing of the Radiant One's staff, though Morganwas able to get a punch in. The Radiant One swung once more, Morgan blocking with his arm. James recovered from the impact, grappling with the Children's leader.
Although he was a surprisingly adept combatant, the Radiant One was clearly outmatched, something he seemed to realize. He began taking on a more defensive stance, focusing on distancing himself from the two fighters.
"We've got him on the ropes," said James. "Let's finish this before it escalates any further."
"Agreed," said Mills. The two split up, trying to cover their opponent from both sides. The Radiant One, seemingly growing tired from the ongoing fight, was unsure of which one to face, something they would take advantage of.
"Enough of this!" said the Radiant One. He grabbed the head of his staff pointing the lower end of it at Morgan. Twisting the head, a shot of some kind of energy was fired from a nozzle at the tip, striking the Director in the chest. It seemed to be concussive in nature, stunning rather than harming him.
James ran in for another strike at the Radiant One, crouching underneath this staff before driving his fist towards his stomach. The Radiant One dodged to the side at the last second, retaliating with a punch of his own.
The Radiant One raised his staff above his head, preparing to bring it down on James. However, a click from behind him caused him to turn around. Morgan held on to the Radiant One's discarded pistol, aiming it at him.
"Seems as though devotion can only get you so far," Morgan said.
"Further than you will get," said the Radiant One. Quicker than Morgan could react, he flung his staff sideways. This projectile struck Morgan, causing him to miss his shot. The Radiant One shoulder-charged him, colliding with Morgan before he could react. This impact caused Morgan to stumble backwards, his momentum carrying him over the guardrail and down towards the ground below.
"NO!" James sprang to his feet, running to catch the Director before he could fall. But by the time he reached the edge, Morgan had fallen too far. James couldn't bring himself to watch what happened when he hit the ground, looking away.
"An ignominious end for an ignominious creature," said the Radiant One. "And you will join him!" He raised his staff over his head, preparing to bring it down on James.
"You will!" Just as the Radiant One swung the staff down, James reached up and caught it mid-swing. He pulled himself to his feet, the two of them struggling for control of the staff.
After a few moments of trying to pry the staff from the Radiant One's grip, James remembered what the staff had done earlier. Grabbing the staff by the diamond-shaped head, James forced the tip against the robed figure's chest. He twisted the head, sending an energy blast into his opponent's chest, who released his grasp over the contested weapon as he was knocked backwards.
James didn't waste time letting the Radiant One recover. As soon as he held the staff in his hands, he swung it like the club as hard as he could. The head collided with the Radiant One's, a loud crack reverberating through the air. He was still on his feet, so James swung again. And again, and again, until James was sure that he had to at least be somewhat dazed. Summoning all of his strength, as well as his inner batter, James swung the staff one final time, hard enough for the Radiant One to briefly go airborne.
What James hadn't noticed was that the multicolored head of the staff was becoming more and more cracked with each swing. With this final blow, the glass gave way, shattering into pieces, and revealing the object hidden inside.
James only had a moment to realize what it was. Sealed within this staff was a gemstone. Smooth in texture and pinkish in color, it was shaped like a heart, and could have fit into a person's hand. Light shone out from the gem: it was about to form.
Both James and the Radiant One were pushed back by the sheer size of the creature, barely managing to avoid being shoved off of the edge. The corrupted Gem was now fully visible. It resembled a butterfly, or perhaps a moth. Either way, James had to roll out of the way of the confused creature's pointed limbs as it stomped across the platform. The Gem extended its wings, covered with intricate diamond and heart patterns, before taking off into the sky.
Someone would have to deal with the corrupted Gem later. Right now, James' attention was drawn to the Radiant One, who had pulled himself up off the floor.
He was breathing heavily, apparently trying to control his anger. He held his hand over his mask, which had been torn by the repeated strikes. "Why...can't...you understand!?" he yelled. "There is no point to any of this! We, humans, are all worthless! I am trying to bring our kind into an era of prosperity!"
"By joining the Diamonds?" said James. "Even if what you believe about reincarnation is true, I don't think they'd have our best interests in mind, even as Gems."
"Of course you don't think!" cried the Radiant One. He tore off his mask, revealing his true face. Though contorted in fury, his complexion was ghostly pale, aside from some wounds from where the staff had hit. His messy hair was pure white as well, almost the same color as his skin. His eyes were two different colors: his left eye was a deep blue, his right eye a golden yellow. "None of you ever think about how much better life would be if we could be Gems!"
"Locked in service to a bunch of genocidal maniacs?" said James, clearly unimpressed. "No thanks."
"We could work for something greater! Something to serve, rather than just meaningless insects, crawling around on a worthless rock! At lead we would have a purpose!" He fell to his knees as he quivered with rage, placing his head in his hands.
James stood there, preparing for when his second wind came. But the Radiant One just sat there, barely moving. Eventually, he stopped shivering altogether. James approached him cautiously, nudging him with his foot. "Uh...R-Radiant One? You good?" No reply. He was still breathing, so James leaned closer to see what was happening. Although the cult leader seemed to still be conscious, he was completely unresponsive, just staring down at the floor. Shrugging, James walked to the other side of the tower and sat there, not wanting to leave him alone should he try and escape.
As it turns out, destroying that staff and setting the Gem within free had unintended consequences for the greater war. Using that same staff, the Radiant One was able to control the Cluster mutants, driving them to become violent and aggressive towards humans, something they wouldn't have otherwise been unless provoked. With the mutants in question reverting to a relatively docile state, the Children of Homeworld lost their greatest edge in the battle. Although they had impressive hardware, BAINE did as well. What BAINE didn't have, however, was a seemingly endless army of mutated Gems. And now that these Gems were no longer being controlled, their advantage was gone.
It wasn't long before the battle had ended. It took several hours of fighting like hell, but BAINE had finally managed to triumph over their adversaries. It was only when no more helicopters filled the air, no more explosions shook the ground, that James realized the war was over. He felt it safe to finally descend the ladder towards the ground, leaving the Radiant One in the tower.
Upon reaching the ground, James was immediately greeted by Ichigo and Luke. The latter was quick to pat him on the back, while the former made his excitement clear. "We won!" exclaimed Ichigo. "It was pretty touch-and-go for a moment back there, but we did it!"
"James, I saw you up there!" said Luke. "You and their boss going head-to-head, that was amazing! I take it you won, seeing as you're still here…"
"Where's the Director?" said James. When he had looked around, he hadn't seen him, which could either have been a good thing or a bad thing.
Ichigo and Luke both looked to one another, their excitement faltering. "Some of our medics took him to the infirmary a while ago," said Ichigo. "He's not dead, but…"
"He's hurt pretty bad," finished Luke. "They don't know if he'll be able to recover."
James looked down, internally cursing himself. "I was supposed to save him," he said quietly. "I couldn't even do that. If I had only been a little bit faster I-"
"Don't talk like that, Rook." Daniel approached the trio, looking as authoritative as ever despite being exhausted from the long fight. "If you hadn't gone after them, not only would Director Mills be dead right now, but the Radiant One very well could have escaped. Thanks to you, not only could Mills survive, but we've captured the leader of the Children of Homeworld. I think that counts as a victory."
"I'd like to think just surviving this whole ordeal is victory enough!" said Hester. "But Daniel's right. Regardless of casualties, we managed to stop the Children of Homeworld. We couldn't have done it without any one of you."
"Indeed," said Daniel. "Many good soldiers were lost today. We wouldn't have won without their efforts."
"I shot down a helicopter!" exclaimed Ichigo.
"And Ichigo, who shot down a helicopter," said Daniel. "Now, this has been a long, hard fight. We need to regroup with the other Fireteams."
"That's what he says when he means 'take a nap'!" Luke said aside to James.
With the war over, the only thing left to do was to return to base. A celebration wouldn't have been out of place, but for now, being alive was the only celebration anyone needed.
"You know what?" said James. "I haven't felt any quakes in a while."
"Huh, I guess you're right," said Luke. "I guess that means the Gems took care of the Cluster!"
"I guess that makes two victories in one day," said James, finally cracking a smile.