Chapter 26

Listening to reason

Haze… That was the only word to describe my vision as I was coming to. I felt my feet being dragged against a floor, I looked around and saw that I was being dragged down some… Hallway.

"Oh, hell no, you are not throwing me in a cell," I thought angrily.

With one good yank, I pulled my captors down and clunked their heads together. Though I hit the floor, they did too. I slowly got up on one knee and looked down at the men. They were out cold. I rose to my feet and started to reach for my Colts. But I didn't feel anything. I reached for my Karabela. Nothing. I reached for my Dirk. Empty.

"Fucker's stripped me," I muttered.

I looked down and grabbed one of the soldier's weapons.

"MP-40? Heh, I expected better," I murmured as I grabbed two clips off the man, "but it's better than running around unarmed."

I turned and prepared to go get my weapons back, but I stopped and looked over my shoulder.

"…Nah, there might be more here," I murmured.

I grabbed the soldier's side arm and tucked it in my jacket, then I started to have a look around.

"Where are you Terrell?" I thought.

I moved down the hallway, keeping my eyes and ears open. As I kept walking, I picked up the sound of… Voices from nearby. I moved to the corner on the right and listened.

"Ich kann nicht glauben, dass du Silverblade tatsächlich abgeschossen hast. Ich meine, THE Silverblade (I can't believe that you actually shot down Silverblade. I mean, THE Silverblade)," said the first voice, "Du mein Freund bist eine absolute Legende (you my friend are an absolute legend)."

I made a face and came around the corner.

"Hey!" I barked.

The hunters froze.

"Welcher von euch hat mich erschossen (Which one of you fucker's shot me down)?" I growled.

The hunters started to go for the MP-40s, but I raised mine and fired on them, gunning the bastards down… Well, I gunned down the hunter on the left, the one on the right just took some bad shots and he couldn't really go for his side arm… let alone raise his own MP-40. I walked over to him and knelt beside him.

"Ich suche einen Mann. Dunkelhäutig. Ein Pilot. Wo ist er (I'm looking for a man. Dark-skinned. A pilot. Where is he)?" I asked.

"...Fahr zur Hölle (...Go to hell)," the hunter said before spitting in my face.

Not the smartest fish in the barrel, is he? I punched the man right into his lungs three times.

"Lass es uns noch einmal versuchen (Let's try that again)," I said.

"E-Er ist in Damiens Büro, er hat ihn gefesselt und unter schwerer Bewachung (H-He's at Damien's office, he's got him chained up and under heavy guard)," he winced.

The hunter started laughing.

"Aber du schaffst es nicht hinein, sobald die anderen dich um die Basis laufen sehen, bist du eine tote Frau (But you won't make it inside, as soon as the others see you walking around the base, you're a dead woman)," he mocked.

"... ich zähle darauf (I'm counting on it)," I said.

I punched the man in the face, knocking him unconscious. I grabbed my MP-40 and kept going until I managed to find the main area of the prison; and not only did I manage to reach the entrance, there was something that made me stop.

"Beschlagnahmt (Confiscated)?" I murmured as I saw a door.

I fired a few shots and blew the door knob off, then I kicked it open and looked inside. I gasped. It was my weapons!

"Yes!" I chirped.

I threw down the MP-40 and started to get my things back together.

"That was a lot quicker than I thought," I thought as I strapped up my Karabela and grabbed my Colts, "wonder why they put the confiscated items up front though."

"HEY!" someone barked.

I froze. I whirled around and saw a hunter coming into the building.

"…Oh," I said.

I raised his MP-40, I raised my Colts and started to squeeze of shots… But all I heard was clicking.

"Dammit!" I snapped.

I threw my firearms at the man and he ducked. Little did he know, that as soon as I threw my weapons, I charged and drove my main hidden blade into his stomach three times and threw him to the floor.

"I'm definitely going to take full responsibility for that," I murmured as I picked up my weapons.

I grabbed my ammo cases, holstered my Colts, and tugged on my hood.

"Damien Chapelle… I'm coming for you," I thought.

I raced out of the prison building and was met with a fiery sky. The sun was setting? That can't be. How long was I out?

"Hey!" someone barked.

I saw a hunter pointing fingers at me, but I drew my main hand Colt and fired, shooting him dead.

"What the hell was that?" I heard someone ask.

"It came from over there," I heard someone else say.

That's something I didn't want to hear. Thinking fast, I started climbing up onto the building as fast as I could and moved to the middle of the roof, out of their line of sight.

"That was close," I thought.

I slowly made my way back towards the edge of the roof though, to see how many hunters had arrived. I counted at least two to three. One of them was kneeling by his fallen comrade and checking him out.

"…We've got a man down," said the first hunter.

"What? But how?" asked the second hunter.

"You don't think…" the third hunter started to say.

The hunters looked over at the building and started to make there way over. I ejected my hidden blades and waited for them to get close, when they did, I dropped down on them and killed them both.

"What the!?" exclaimed the third hunter.

Without hesitating, I loaded my main hidden gun, aimed, and fired, shooting him in the shoulder and causing him to fall over. I walked over and knelt beside the man.

"Where is Damien Chapelle?" I asked.

"C-C-C-Command Center… Th-That way," he groaned, pointing to the right, "north of the entrance."

"Appreciate it," I said.

I ejected my main hidden blade and stabbed the hunter in the chest, then I pulled up my mask and started to make my way towards Damian's command center.

"I've got to keep a low profile," I thought, "if even one hunter spots me, I'm dead."

I moved through the base, quickly and quietly, keeping my eyes and ears open for any hunters that were on patrol.

"…Ten drań musi być kulkami głęboko w dupie Templariuszy (This bastard must be balls deep in the Templar's ass), if he's able to construct his own base of operations," I thought.

I looked around the base while I was moving and I could make out a number of buildings that I recognized; I saw a mess hall, I saw an armory, I saw an airfield… I think I saw a garage for armored vehicles.

"Oh-ho… What's this?" I thought, spying something of… Value.

It was a flak nest.

"That nest could pose a problem if my friends happen to come back with reinforcements," I thought.

I snuck over to the nest and jumped over the wall that they had constructed. I got ready to begin sabotaging the nest when I saw a hunter who was standing guard. Luckily, his back was turned. Regardless, it was better to be safe than sorry. Which is why I walked up behind the guy… And got him in a headlock so I could choke the bitch out, ha!

"HMMMPH! MMM-MMMPH! MMMM!" he screamed as he started to struggle.

"Shh, shh, shh, easy daddy, easy… Easy… Just let it happen… Let it happen," I whispered.

The hunter started to struggle less and less until finally… He went limp. I laid him against the wall of the nest and looked around so I could find something… Anything to light this nest up. I didn't find anything at first, but then I saw something that caught my eye.

"Munition crates," I murmured, "Damian must suspect that the others will come back too."

I walked over to each crate and put them all together. I took one of my grenades, pulled the pin and ran like hell towards… What I assumed was the showers. All of a sudden, there was a massive explosion, that sent a shot of adrenaline through me.

"Well… That was loud," I thought.

And it was because of the explosion, that the entire base went crazy. I saw scores of hunters start racing towards the sound of the explosion, like flies being drawn to the scent of gówno konia (horse shit).

"Now's my chance!" I thought.

I booked it towards the command center, sticking close to the wall of the base, I ran as fast as I could while everyone was distracted and used my Eagle Vision to get a lock on where the command center was. I climbed up on top of a building and looked around to see where the command center was. I saw a building glowing golden.

"Bingo," I whispered.

I dropped down and raced over to the command center. Without even thinking, I kicked open the door.

"What in the blazes-"

But the hunter who was at the desk was cut off as I whipped out my main hand Colt and shot him in the chest, twice.

"DAMIEN!" I screamed.

The sound of heavy boots could be heard throughout the lobby. Hunters were coming. I pulled out my other Colt and started blasting as the first hunter rounded the corner, dropping him to the ground. The second hunter came out of the entrance to the right and started to fire, but I dove towards the desk and ducked down, then I popped up and fired, shooting the man in the head, spraying blood and brain matter everywhere.

The third hunter came out from the right, he too was shot dead, then the fourth, and the fifth hunter, who came from the right entrance.

"DAMIEN!" I screamed.

I started walking over towards the left entrance, holstering my Colts in the process, but then… I stopped. Without warning, I whipped out my main hand Colt and started shooting through the wall. A pained grunt was heard, followed by a thud.

"I thought so," I said to myself.

I walked through the left entrance, but I jumped back as another hunter fired on me with his MP-40. I heard her coming towards me as I holstered my Colt again, when she rounded the corner, I reached forward and grabbed the gun barrel, pulling her forward and driving my elbow into her nose. The hunter, or huntress rather, let out a pained yelp and dropped her weapon. Without hesitating, I threw a punch and struck her in the jaw, then I punched her in the nose again and kicked her in the knee.

A sickening pop was heard, followed by a loud scream. I grabbed the woman and pinned her to the wall, then I socked her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to drop to the floor. I picked up one of the MP-40s and started to make my way towards Damien's office.

"Hold it Silverblade!" a hunter barked from the other end of the hall.

"Fuck," I said.

I kicked open the door to a lounge and dove inside as the hunter started firing. I popped around the corner and fired back, even tossed a grenade down the hall and charged forward just before it went off. As I got closer, I saw an arm come out of a doorway and I took it to the face, leaving me stunned for a few seconds. When I managed to gain my senses, a huntress reached out and grabbed my gun.

"Hey! Hey! No! This is my gun! Mine!" I barked as she and I started wrestling with it.

I got my finger on the trigger and started firing blindly. As the huntress and I were struggling to get the gun, which had stopped firing after I took my finger off the trigger, I looked over her shoulder and saw that hunter rounding the corner. I saw him pull the pin of a grenade.

"LOUISE! MOVE!" he barked as he threw it.

But I drove my knee into her gut, her face, and then I picked up the grenade the hunter threw and stuffed it into her coat, then I kicked her to the floor and dove into the room she came out of. I heard Louise let out distressed noises, then she started to scream and finally… Boom. I peeked out of the room and looked down to see what became of Louise. I swallowed a wave of nausea and slowly brought my head back in.

"…Dear god, that's disgusting," I groaned, shaking my head.

I exhaled and started to step back into the hallway when that hunter had his MP-40 aimed at my face.

"…Got you," he said.

I swatted the barrel to the left, grabbed it and pulled the hunter forward, driving the back of my fist into his face, then I grabbed his head and smashed it against the wall. The hunter went limp and dropped to the floor.

"Punk ass," I huffed as I kept going.

I turned right and made my way towards Damien's office, which was right down the hall. I kicked open the door and standing in front of his desk… Was the headhunter himself.

"…Traitor…" I growled as I clenched my fist, "where is he?"

"You're going to need to be a little bit more specific," said Damien.

"Where's Terrell?" I hissed.

Damien smiled and moved to the left, revealing Terrell, who seemed a bit… Roughed up. He didn't have any blood or cuts, he just looked… Bruised.

"He was quite a troublesome boy," said Damien, "escaped from his cell three times before I decided to have him placed under my supervision."

"…You could've executed him when you captured him… What stayed your hand?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Isn't it obvious? I did it to draw you in," said Damien, "you see… You've killed one too many of my hunters. You destroyed the prototypes that we were in the process of making and now I've got the Bruno Eberhart breathing down my fucking neck."

"So, you figured you'd stop sending out your dogs and bring me in so you can kill me yourself," I said.

"That's right," said Damien.

I whipped out my Colts. Damien whipped out his sidearm and aimed it at Terrell.

"…Ah, ah, ah… Do you think you're fast enough to kill me before I put one in his head?" he asked.

Terrell slowly raised his head. I didn't realize that he had lost consciousness… Or that he was asleep… Please tell me he was just asleep.

"…Ariela," he said with a light chuckle, "well aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

"I'm getting us out of here Terrell," I said, "just hold on."

"Don't waste your time," said Terrell, "this guy was one of us Ariela, he's probably planned something ahead of time if you managed to bust a cap in his ass… But let's be real, you're not faster on the trigger than him, are you?"

I looked at Terrell, then I looked at Damien. I gritted my teeth and lowered my weapons.

"That's a good girl," he said.

"…Look, before you kill us Damien, I just want to know… Turning your back on the order after France surrendered… Was it worth it?" I asked.

Damien was quiet for a moment, then he let out a heavy sigh and spoke.

"…So, you heard about that?" he asked, "but you only know a fraction of why I turned on the brotherhood."

"…Go on," I said.

"Jean Chappelle," said Damien.

"…Who is he?" I asked.

"…He was my brother," said Damien, "and much like the rest of my brothers and sisters, he was killed when Germany invaded. When we heard that Marshal Philippe Pétain was not going to be departing for Africa while the rest of cabinet and parliament were in the midst of arguing whether to depart or not, we feared the worst… We feared that he would go down fighting…"

I didn't say anything… If anything, hearing him say that made my heart grow soft… Until I heard this.

"…But that bastard ended up signing an armistice with Hitler and his Templar allies," said Damien, "and before I knew it… France was split in two. And what's worse… Is that Hitler had the armistice signed at Compiègne."

"What's so bad about that?" I asked.

Damien sighed.

"Stupid girl," he muttered, "Compiègne was the site of the 1918 Armstice that ended the first World War with Germany's surrender. He chose that place for symbolic purposes… For revenge. He humiliated us and just wanted to take us out of the fight."

Damien clenched his fist.

"The news struck the entire brotherhood to the core… However, everyone saw this as a chance to take back our country from our enemies since Hitler did not take over all of France," he said.

"But you had other plans," I said.

"Aye," said Damien, "I took it upon myself to go after one of the Templar leaders. One of the members of their circle… And I knew just who to hunt down and assassinate."

"Eberhart," I said.

Damien nodded.

"He was responsible for supplying weapons and ammunition to the rest of his brothers. The man had enough money and power to construct his own private country for god's sake…" said Damien, "I figured if I took him out, it would deal a crippling blow to the Templars. I hunted him down, I had him at gunpoint ready to end his life… But then he asked me… Why I was so angry."

I said nothing. Damien continued.

"I told him that Philippe was a coward for surrendering to the Axis… To the Templars," said Damien, "I told him that the signing of the armistice at Compiègne was humiliating revenge and that I wasn't going to stand for it. The Field Marshal laughed, and he told me that I was a fool to think that chasing after one of the heads of the Templar Order was going to change anything. He even said that Hitler was a fool for not conquering all of France. He said that controlling only half of it would give the Free French a chance to waste their lives fighting for a lost cause… Just like the members of your order."

That made me gasp.

"…Do you understand what I'm trying to say Silverblade?" asked Damien, "why fight for a lost cause? Why waste lives fighting a battle… That's been going on since before you or I have been born?"

Just then, Damien started to smile.

"…Actually… I'll do you one better… What happens when you manage to wipe out as many Germans as they've wiped out your people?" he asked, "what happens when the cause you've been fighting so hard for… Ends up being all for nothing?"

That question hurt.

"Tell me… Do you feel like that you're still making a difference for your people?" asked Damien, "do you feel like you're still the symbol you're supposed to be? Do you feel like your personal battle is starting to be for nothing?"

I looked down for a moment, letting the questions sink in.

"…No," I said.

Damien frowned.

"Even if I'm losing in my personal battle… Who's to say that the Templars are in a losing battle themselves?" I asked, "so they kill hundreds, maybe thousands of us. We kill hundreds, maybe thousands of them and stop their plots. They put us down, we take them with us. They rise again, we rise with them."

Damien gritted his teeth.

"You might not realize it Damien, but you switching over to the Templars doesn't mean that you're getting your 'winning battle'. As far as I'm concerned, you're just losing a different battle all together. Only difference is that your loss will be ten times greater," I said.

Damien formed his hands into tight fists, but then he loosened them up and let out a scoff.

"…So naïve…" he said, "and here I thought I could get you to listen to reason."

Damien went for his sword.

"However, if you won't listen to reason and choose to be a sacrificial lamb for the brotherhood… Then as a member of the Templar order," he said as he drew it, "I shall gladly kill you to help them… Further achieve their goal of bringing peace and freedom to the people."

I drew my Karabela and got in a ready stance. Damien and I swung and locked our swords together, our blinds ground against each other, causing sparks to dance as we pushed against each other. With a twirl of the wrist, I broke the lock and aimed my blade at his throat.

"Ready?" I asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said.

With a swing of his sword, he knocked my blade away and went for a thrust, I jumped back and came to a sliding stop.

"Let's do this," I thought.