Chapter 19: In the Front Line

*Notes:

I would like to thank all the readers and supporters that have followed this story, and especially thank the people who have commented and expressed their preferences and/or possible endings. Thank you for your patience, now the time has come!

There are two routes from here, each one with also different endings to choose from. This is the first choice you can make. Please comment with your preferred option. The option with more votes will be posted first, however, both will be posted. If there are no comments on this chapter, unfortunately, I will not be able to continue with the story.

The desert was calm and silent under the light of the stars. A warm wind blowing against the endless dunes; the sand burying the remains of the corpses left by the crows.

But the heat of the desert did not reach the comfort of Waver's tent, where he rested after a long battle. He was lying on the carpet that served as his bed. After a long yawn and a stretch, he sat on the carpet, his eyes catching his own reflection on a silver tray by his bed. He barely recognized the man in front of him. He had gotten so used to having his hair tied, he had not noticed it had grown past his shoulders. His skin had also gotten some color under the sun.

He smiled, briefly, pleased by the image in front of him, then skillfully dressed himself in his favorite robe to join his friends outside.

"There he is!" Said Alexander, rising a cup when he saw Waver coming out of his tent. "Come join us!"

Macedonian soldiers chanted and laughed, drank and cheered. Waver walked among them, finding a place on the ground between Alexander and Hephaestion. Ptolemy joined them, handing Waver a golden cup full of wine.

"You did well today!" Alexander praised his soldiers, energetically. "Another great victory for the Macedonian army!"

The men cheered and clapped.

"Especially Waver!" Added Ptolemy. "I was surprised. You have become a fine soldier"

"I barely managed to raise a barrier to protect us". Waver denied. He stared at his wine, hesitant.

"Drink!" Alexander ordered, wrapping an arm around Waver's neck with clumsiness.

"You are drunk." Noticed Waver, a strong scent of alcohol on Alexander's mouth.

"Nonsense!" He said with a smile, bringing his cup to Waver's lips.

"I'm not a baby! I can drink by myself!" He yelled, slightly annoyed. He took the cup away from him and had a sip of wine.

"Baby Waver." Alexander chuckled, delighted, pinching one of Waver's cheeks.

"Stop it". Waver grabbed his hands. Alexander lost his balance and fell forward. The wine spilled all over them.

Ptolemy grabbed Alexander by his clothes and lifted him in the air, barely able to stand straight himself.

"Look what you have done," He said, "Now he needs another one".

"You are both drunk…" Waver sighed. "Hephaestion, say something…"

But Hephaestion was already passed out on the ground.

"How the hell did you all get so drunk while I was away?!" He yelled in frustration. "How long did I sleep?!"

"Come on, Waver", Ptolemy, ignored him, pouring more wine into Waver's cup. "We've been in this Zeus-forsaken desert for months now. We have finally taken the advantage and made the Persians fall back! It is time to celebrate!"

"The Persians!" Suddenly yelled Hephaestion as he heard that word.

"No, you dumb drunk," Alexander smacked him softly on the head, "They are already gone".

"Who are you calling dumb, you idiot?"

Hephaestion pushed him. Alexander hit his back against Ptolemy, whose cup slipped his hands, spilling the wine again.

"Alright that's it…" Ptolemy turned to hit Alexander but got Hephaestion instead.

Waver took a deep breath, ready to witness another pointless fight between the three of them.

"Here we go…" He said, rolling his eyes. This time he poured himself some wine.

"Alexandros," Parmenion interrupted them. "A letter from your mother"

The three of them instantly stopped and turn to Parmenion. Alexander sobered up a little to read the letter.

Waver and the rest studied the prince's face, slowly brightening as he read it.

"And?" Asked Waver, impatient.

"She is doing well in Epirus," he said as he rolled back the paper. "Her brother's troops are taking over in the northern front. It seems like they have stopped the Persians over there as well."

Alexander paused to pour himself more wine.

"The good news is that my mother said we will meet in Pella very soon".

"That's great news!" Observed Waver.

"Finally!" Hephaestion said, lying down on the ground, "I miss my bed".

"I'm sure Cleo will be the happiest to see us, right Ptolemy?" Alexander's eyebrows raised and fell several times watching Ptolemy's joy on his face.

"R-right". He said, suddenly serious. "She will be happy to see us. All of us".

Alexander and Hephaestion exchanged looks and smirked at Ptolemy in a suggestive way.

"What are you looking at?!" He asked, aggressively.

Waver giggled, and so did they.

Alexander now got on his feet. He stood tall, cup in hand, turning to his soldiers.

"The war has finally come to an end!" He announced. Everyone turned to him.

"You have fought bravely! And those who have perished, may their souls watch over us from the stars, among Orion and the heroes, and grant us a safe journey home!"

The men clamored with enthusiasm, chanting Alexander's name.

"But this victory we owe to every single one of you!" He continued.

"To Ptolemy, the wise and cautious, we owe our impeccable defense!"

He paused to appreciate the round of applause. Ptolemy scratched his head nervously, slightly blushing, then smirked.

"Hephaestion's bravery for bringing us our greatest offense!" He grabbed Hephaestion's wrist and lifted his hand. Hephaestion smiled humbly.

"And Parmenion's experience, guiding us with the right strategy". He raised his cup towards the man, who answered with a nod of acknowledgement.

"And last but not least…"

Alexander lowered his voice, slowly turning to Waver.

"Waver's kindness and perseverance, whose compassion for the needed will always be remembered".

Waver's heart suddenly stopped, feeling all the eyes on him at once. Alexander gave him a warm smile.

Waver looked around him. Dozens of gentle faces of gratitude moved him to tears.

"Cheers!" They all said in unison, clashing their cups, splashing wine everywhere. Everyone drank, except Waver, who subtly put his cup down. He smiled and wiped his tears of joy.

But the smile quickly faded. Something begun to bother him.

"I think I'm a little drunk," He excused himself, getting up. "I'll call it a night".

"Huh?" Alexander turned to him, disappointed. "So early?" He grabbed his hand with clumsiness.

Waver smiled at him.

"Thank you". He said, gently letting go of his hand. Then slowly headed back to his tent.

With his head against the pillow, Alexander's words kept echoing in Waver's mind.

"…Waver's kindness and perseverance, whose compassion for the needed will always be remembered".

He wondered how many people would actually remember him years from now.

He turned to his side, giving it some more thought.

He thought of how many people had helped him in the past, and how he remembered every single one of them. He thought of the old couple in Japan, waiting for him to write them a letter. Mister… what was his name?

He closed his eyes, thinking so hard had made him suddenly tired.

Waver…

Someone called. The voice of a man, soft yet playful. Like a childish melody. A sudden scent of flowers in his nose.

You need to go back…

"Back where?" Waver wondered.

The memory of the Clock Tower appeared in his mind.

"I NEED TO GO BACK!" He suddenly jumped from the carpet; eyes opened wide.

The past few months he had been so focused on surviving the war against the Persians that he had completely forgotten about finding a way to return to the present. He had gotten used to his new life in ancient Greece, nearly forgetting about the comfort of the modern days.

He panicked for a moment.

He was never supposed to help in this war that much. Even if he had not been using his magic against the Persian soldiers. He was never meant to be remembered by these people. He was probably not even supposed to stay in a different time for that long. He recalled his deceased professor Lord El-Melloi's words in his first lessons.

"…Not only will you affect the past with your interactions, but also your entire being. If you alter something from the past, even your existence may never occur in the future…"

A cold sweat ran down his face.

He tried to remember his life in London. He pictured his apartment, the classroom, the Clock Tower. Everything still fresh in his mind after thinking hard. But… what had he been doing before that?

His thoughts were all jumbled. He shook his head a couple of times. What was he doing in Japan back then? Why couldn't he remember that old couple's names?

The image of a grail and the clash of swords flashed through his memories.

Then, a horse. A chariot. A red cape. And golden chains.

"Rider". He whispered. The blurry image of a man haunted his memories. His face remained in the shadows.

"This is bad…" He told himself. "I need to get out of here, soon."

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. But something else was disturbing him now.

"Help!"

He heard people screaming outside.

"Somebody! Help!"

Indistinct cries in the distance.

Little by little, soft lights appeared from different directions around the tent. Waver felt suddenly hot.

"A fire?" He thought, wiping the sweat from his forehead. His eyes caught on his wrist, where his bracelet glowed bright blue.

"I need to find Alexander!"

He rushed out of the tent. A strong smell of smoke and gunpowder. Fire arrows falling from the sky, like shooting stars. The Macedonians ran around the burning tents in circles, food and war loot already reduced to ashes.

"Alexander!" Waver looked for him, but the smoke made it hard for him to see.

He rushed to the place they were gathering a moment ago, but there was nobody there.

"Alexander!" He called again, sore throat, eyes itchy. "Hephaestion! Ptolemy! Parmenion! Where are you?!"

He looked around but could only see Macedonians wandering erratically. A few horses ran loose in different direction. He hid under a broken chariot, fearing for the Persians to find him.

"Wait a moment", he realized. "I don't see any Persians".

He looked again. He could only see men in Macedonian armors. He glanced down at his bracelet; the blue gleam was still there.

"This can't be anything good", he feared.

Another blueish gleam caught his eye from the other side of the camp.

"Alexander!"

He could distinguish the prince's silhouette behind the screen of smoke. He rushed towards him.

A second shape appeared as the wind blew away the smoke. A Macedonian soldier held a spear through Alexander's leg.

The prince fell, blood pouring onto the ground.

Waver ran even faster.

He watched the soldier lift his spear one more time.

Waver searched for Alexander's dagger on the ground beside him. Without thinking, his body moved, picking up the sword to slam it with all his strength against the spear. His arms were shaking; he could feel the vibration of the clashing metals down to his elbows.

The soldier stepped back. Eyes golden and gray staring at him with an empty expression.

The soldier pointed the spear at him; Waver charged again. This time the soldier blocked Waver's blow in a single movement, sending him several meters away.

"Waver…" Alexander called, helpless, half conscious from the ground.

But the soldier was fast.

Before he could even see anything, Waver felt a sharp blade in the middle of his chest.

"Waver!" Cried Alexander, watching him bleed with a dagger in his chest. He tried to get up, but the soldier now ran to Alexander, holding him against the ground.

Waver remained still, like frozen in time. A magical pentagram appeared underneath Waver's feet, and a hand materialized around the dagger.

Alexander could not see well with the soldier holding his head against the ground, but he glanced at the shadow that now held Waver in its arms.

"It's the creature…" He feared the worst. "It's Zurvan…"

Tears of rage clouded his eyes.

"Why?!" The prince yelled, struggling in vain. "A Macedonian…. How could you do this to your own people?!"

"My own people?" A female voice reached his ear. He saw the soldier remove her helmet, letting her purple locks fall to her shoulder.

"My own people tried to kill me", she whispered to his hear, still holding him against the ground. "They thought I was a monster, cursed by the gods. Your people".

"Who are you?"

"Anonumos". She used the Greek word for "nameless".

"I was never given a name" She continued. "Raised to become a shadow, with no will of my own."

"What do you want? Revenge?"

What did she want indeed? The girl had no answer.

To her surprise, Alexander grabbed her hand.

"Let me help you…" He said, panting, "I am sorry for what you have suffered- But, please, do not let my friends suffer".

"Help?" She wondered. What did he mean by that? The touch of his hand had a certain warmth she had never felt before. She reached for his hand, hesitant.

Her thoughts were disrupted by an arrow piercing her shoulder.

"Get away from him!"

Hephaestion's voice gave Alexander hope.

"Waver…", Hephaestion turned to him, gasping with horror at the image of Waver being consumed by a shadow. He shot an arrow at it, and the creature vanished before it could materialize completely.

Waver fell on the ground, unconscious, the magical circle still active underneath him.

"No…" Anonumos let go of Alexander for a moment, turning to Hephaestion.

He recognized the slave girl's distinctive eyes, even in the Macedonian uniform she was wearing.

"You?" He said, pointing an arrow at her.

The girl heard Alexander move behind her. Without turning, she threw her spear at Alexander's other leg to pin him to the ground. Alexander cried in pain, nearly fainting. His head became lighter as he felt the blood leaving his body.

"Hephaestion". The girl whispered. Her words traveled to Hephaestion's brain, as fast and stinging as poison.

An intense headache forced Hephaestion to drop his bow.

His knees week, his blood boiling. He was losing control of his own body. A loud beeping in his ears was driving him insane.

"What are you doing to me?!" He twitched in the ground, covering his ears. A burning fever taking over him.

"Do it".

"Get out of my head!"

He looked up; eyes as black as the night. A deep groan escaped his throat, like a wild beast.

"You and I are the same, Hephaestion". The girl whispered, walking closer to him. "Is this what you really want?"

Hephaestion got on his feet. His body shivered, yet he managed to pick up his bow. He struggled to tense the string to point an arrow at her.

She stared at him. A hypnotizing glare. Hephaestion's body did not respond to him anymore.

I've looked deep into your heart. This is what you truly want. We are the same; I am your blood. Whatever you want, I want it too.

He heard her speak these words in his head.

No…

He opened his mouth but only a loud growl came out.

The beeping in his ears became louder, now unable to hear anything else. His sight faded to black.

Anonumos' glare slowly shifted towards Waver.

Hephaestion's eyes followed hers, his hands shaking as they slowly moved to point at Waver.

Hephaestion:

A. Breaks free from Anonumos' control

B. Loses control and is consumed by darkness