*Chapter Seventeen*
News of the fall of EverlastVille reached everywhere. EverlastVille was one of the largest magical realms, in fact, the last of the huge realm that has not yet being brought down by OZ previously. Now, all that was left were the small realms. Part of the blame was put on the current king and after the defeat, he was stripped of his royal title and banished. No one likes a coward and weakling for a king. They had put up with him only because he has royal blood. Now with OZ as the new ruler, there is no need for him.
Once again, the unrest began.
" Master Quatre!" Rasid came into the tent, puffing.
" What is it, Rasid?"
" EverlastVille…EverlastVille has fallen under OZ's rule!"
" What?!" Both Quatre and Duo could not believe their ears. Rasid reiterated the news once more, this time more slowly. Then, he proceeded to explaining the battle last night and how surreptitiously and unscrupulously it was done. Once again, the boys were tricked. And it was enough to make even the mildest of person flare up.
Duo banged his fists on the table, shouting in rage. Quatre's chest heaved with effort. Rasid went out and brought in two glasses of water for them. Both boys refused the offer.
" Despicable…OZ is despicable…" Duo hissed.
" Tricked, we were tricked again," Quatre said, a little more calm than Duo. " Their main intention was to subdue EverlastVille for revenge. Those…"
" Bastards, that's what they are," Duo finished the sentence for him. " And they'll pay for it, everyone of them. They'll pay for it!"
Rasid cut in, " And the Maganac people shall stand by you. Master Quatre, what's the next step?"
Quatre thought for a while before answering, " OZ would not launch another attack so soon after this victory. They must all be celebrating. Duo, we must look for the others. Heero is wrong in one aspect – the Gundam boys must never separate. That's what the tablets want us to do – unite."
Wufei could punch himself for not realizing it sooner. No wonder he did not feel the joy of that victory! The feeling, that bad feeling he had had referred to the revenge OZ would take. He could feel it, but he did little to interpret it.
It is all my fault. I have brought harm to the people. I have sinned. I do not deserve to hold this tablet. If only I have realized it sooner, EverlastVille would not fall, innocent people would not die. Please forgive me…I promise you I will seek revenge on your behalf and eliminate OZ. I will kill Treize and whoever that 'Master' is. I want revenge!
" I want revenge!!!…" Wufei hollered to the sky.
Trowa and Heero sat in silence. It was late afternoon now and none of them had their lunch yet. And neither did they bother to make dinner. It was too late now, too late for them to save EverlastVille and the people that had died. They should have acted sooner, should have had an inkling of what OZ is up to. After all, didn't all the troubles started with OZ wanting to kill them that fateful afternoon after school?
Heero has not moved at all. His face was expressionless too, as if he was still in a shock. Trowa portrayed a more thoughtful demeanour than his. It had been hours now since they had received the news and talked about it. Seven hours to be precise.
Trowa glanced at his companion. Heero did not move a muscle at all. Even he, with all his coolness could not do that. He took his hat off him.
" Are you thinking what I'm thinking we should do next?" he said, breaking the silence.
The Perfect Soldier whispered, " Revenge."
Relena was still feeling the shock she had felt after breakfast when the news came. How are they? How are they? Her friends at Magic Town, the professors, the people there, how are they coping with it? And most importantly, are they still alive? Dorothy had gone out for a walk, saying that she needs to take a breath of fresh air. Maybe she should too. She got up.
Two knocks came on the door. It was her brother. " Brother," she said politely.
Zechs was as shocked as her to hear about the news. He had not expected it to be so swift. It was like a tornado had blown across them, so powerful. He had not heard from Noin at all. He had expected a report from her. She can never be too busy to not submit a firsthand report to him. This was not like her at all.
" How are you, Relena?" Zechs asked.
" OZ is so…" she looked at him. " Despicable. Obnoxious. Reprehensible." She turned away from him, took one breath of air, faced him again and said, " Hateful."
Zechs did not say a word.
" Aren't you going to say anything?" Relena asked with a frown.
Zechs stared at her quietly. " OZ is powerful and formidable. I guess the fault lies with capable leaders."
" Heero will stop it all. All the atrocities that OZ have done shall be returned."
" Can he?"
" Yes, he can. I want you to back out Brother. You can still turn back."
" No."
" Why?" Relena cried. " Brother, you know OZ is a cult. And you joined it for revenge. Now that you have your revenge, can't you go? Tell Treize you want to stop."
" Don't be so naïve Relena!" Zechs shouted back. " OZ is an organization that you pledge your whole life to! Even if I made a mistake, I cannot back out now. OZ will never let me off. I know too much."
" Brother – "
He softened. " But you have a whole life ahead of you and Magic Kingdom. You can do a lot of things. You can kill me."
Relena took a step back. " What? No."
" That is the only way to leave OZ for me. And that is the only way you can help me. I am happy to have you as a sister. Really, I am contented." He smiled at her and walked out of the room.
" Brother…" Her voice was hoarse. She sank to the floor, weak. Why must Heaven be so cruel to us? Is this like, something fun?
Dorothy ran in. " Miss Relena! What happened?" Finding no answer from her, Dorothy guessed, " You had a quarrel with your brother? Is it about that?"
" Brother…Brother wants me to kill him," Relena whispered.
" It's ok…don't think about it anymore," Dorothy said. She tipped her head forward, such that her long hair covered her face partially, and smiled.
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" Well done, Treize, Lady Une. I am so proud of you," Master complimented.
" Thank you, Master." The two of them bowed.
Master laughed. " Rise, my faithful subjects. You deserve it. And you should feel proud of yourselves too. You have done an excellent job. I don't know what I will do without you, Treize."
" You flatter me, Master," Treize said.
Master laughed again. " I have prepared a banquet tonight in your honour Treize. Enjoy yourselves, have fun and make merry! All in the name of OZ!"
" Long live OZ!" Treize and Lady Une said in unison.
Nearby, the hiding mute girl smiled too.
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" Sally Po!" an officer called.
" Yes!" Sally replied loudly.
"The names of the soldiers that I have just called out have all pass this rigorous exercise. They shall proceed on. Those who haven't, you have only one choice – get out. Is that clear?"
" Yes, Sir!" the group of forty or so new soldiers cried.
" Those who pass, welcome to OZ. We need good soldiers like you. Tomorrow morning, 7 am sharp, assemble here. Latecomers, I will show no mercy. Clear? Dismiss!"
The soldiers parted. Sally ran up to the officer. " Sir, can I ask you a question?"
" Speak," he grunted.
" Where is it that we shall proceed to tomorrow?"
" You people are the elite soldiers. Need you ask? You are going straight to the headquarters. Count yourself lucky to be able to serve OZ. Some soldiers take years before they can enter the headquarters while others have never lay an eye on the secret location of OZ's headquarters."
" OZ has many bases around. Where is the headquarters exactly?"
" Why ask when you can see for yourself tomorrow? Off, soldier!"
" Yes, Sir!" The officer trotted off, leaving Sally with her own thoughts. A friend playfully slapped her on the shoulder.
" Yo, Sally! What is it?" he asked.
" Nothing. I guess I'm surprised to be able to get in," she lied.
" So am I. OZ is going to be around for a long time, that's what everyone is saying. All the magical realms are goners, small and big ones alike. It's either you are on this side or you die."
" Honestly, you like OZ?" she asked.
" The truth?" he lowered his volume. " It's for survival, Sally. It's for survival. If you are in it, you can at least guarantee a life free from troubles. They won't kill their own soldiers, would they?"
Sally shook her head. He patted her on the shoulder and left. " No, but they can betray. OZ is such," Sally muttered.
Sally could not believe her eyes. The location of OZ's headquarters is actually…here.
The officer looked at the new soldiers with a cold gaze and calmly said, " Now that you know the location, all of you are expected to keep this a secret. If you try to divulge it…let me warn you, Master is watching. He is watching your every move. Don't bother trying to escape. The only way out of here is death. And none of you can back out now. It is too late. Come on now! Move it!"
The troop marched forward and entered the gates. Sally was still very much in a shock. The officer glared at her. She hastened her footsteps. No point in revealing her identity now. Let's see this super headquarters first before I decide the next move.
The new elite group followed their officer to their bunks. Sally shared it with another female soldier in a room all by themselves. There were not many women on the team. Sally was the only one in her group. While her male colleagues had to share a room, she only has to share it with one person. Her roommate was out. Sally plopped down on the bed. She stretched herself on her soft bed. This is not a headquarters, this is a palace! Even the bunk looks so…elegant. She picked up her pillow. It's stuffed with feathers! Not cotton, feathers!
She got up and went to her assigned cupboard. There were four sets of new uniforms and a silk dress. A note was stuck to the dress.
To all new soldiers: This is a gift from Master.
Everyone has one. Hope you like it.
OZ.
Can the Master be so kind and generous? The more Sally thought, the more baffled she became. She studied the room closely. Even the table was made of the finest wood. A window overlooked the rest of the females' rooms. The feeling was exactly like living in a palace. I wonder what's for lunch.
The door opened and in walked in her roommate. " Hi," the girl greeted her. " Welcome to OZ."
Sally stared at her for a minute. " You are…Hilde!"
Hilde smiled casually. " Hi Miss Po. What brings you here?"
" What are you doing here? Aren't you in Magic Town? What happened?"
Hilde closed the door. Her face had turned serious. And depressed. " A lot of things had happened. Especially concerning Magic Town, EverlastVille. It fell, as you know by now."
Sally sat down on her bed. " Yes," she said. " Those scoundrels. I swear I'll kill them."
" Count me in. Miss Po, what are you doing here?"
" Call me Sally. Miss Po sounds too formal. And I am no longer a principal, remember? Looks like we need to exchange a lot of news. It'll take a while to explain all. First…"
A bell rang. " Lunch time," Hilde said. " We'll talk tonight."
" This is…lunch?" Sally looked down at her tray. Her gold tray. She swallowed once, twice and pinched herself. Hilde giggled.
" Roast turkey, chicken pie, mashed potato, vegetable salad, yogurt…all made from the finest ingredients. This is lunch? Or are we celebrating something?" Sally said in disbelief.
Hilde stifled her giggles. " Too good to be true, right? I had the same reaction too when I first came here. You haven't seen dinner. Last night, there were apple pies and chocolate cakes for desert. You choose one. The cake was scrumptious."
" What's for dinner tonight?" Sally asked promptly, her hand reaching for the turkey meat.
" Chopsticks, Sally? Or do you prefer fork and knife?" Hilde said.
" Hands will do," Sally answered. Both of them laughed.
It was past eleven o'clock and they were still wide awake. Sally had just finished telling Hilde about meeting Wufei and later joining a camp training new elite OZ soldiers so as to find out more about OZ. Hilde listened attentively.
"…And that's how I got here," Sally concluded. " What about you, Hilde?"
Hilde sighed. " After Relena and Dorothy left the school to search for Heero, I subsequently left too to do some investigating on my own and also hoping I can find the boys. Catherine was pretty upset at first about it but she got over it. You know, I was once a young OZ soldier. After my parents died, I came to live with my uncle, who was an OZ officer. He forced me to join him. He worked on one of the bases. He had never known where the headquarters is and neither did I. I later escaped to EverlastVille.
" History aside, after I left Magic Town, I went back to the base. The war had thrown the soldiers there into a chaotic state for most of them there are old and, frankly speaking, useless soldiers. It was like a retirement camp. I slipped in easily with an old OZ member card I have. I'm lucky that they have not changed the card at all. That day, some higher ranking officers came to choose some soldiers to receive new training to replace the ones that had died in battles. I was chosen and taken here.
" I still keep in contact with Catherine and when I found out that OZ had taken over EverlastVille, you have no idea how angry I was. I wanted to kill them right away! But I can't. I wanted to inform Duo and the boys that I had found out their headquarters but I can't get out. No soldier is allowed to get out of here unless with permission. And this whole place is protected by magic. There is nothing I can do except to pretend some more that I am a loyal OZ dog." Hilde twisted her face in disgust.
" How is Magic Town right now?" Sally asked.
" According to Catherine, everyone is afraid. Things changed overnight and everyone is nervous. They keep their doors shut and other than going out to buy food, they are always indoors. Everyday, people died. OZ patrols the streets everyday, committing atrocities. The five professors and Howard tried to fight back only to be caught and thrown into jail, along with other brave protestors and innocent people. OZ kept questioning the people about Duo and the others, torturing anyone who did not give them a satisfying answer or whom they think are lying to them. Catherine and the kids lied about the five boys, hoping to protect them. I don't think the professors told them anything either. I haven't heard from Catherine since then," Hilde said.
" Don't worry, I'm sure she's all right," Sally said. " Right now, we have to think of a way to tell the boys about OZ's headquarters."
Hilde frowned. " It's going to be hard. We don't know how strong OZ's security magic is."
Security magic refers to the security system of a place. Like burglars alarms, radar system, close-circuit cameras…you get the idea. But it is all done with magic.
" If this place can go undetected for such a long time, the magic in here has got to be very formidable. This means that the 'Master' is someone very cunning. We don't know what tricks he has up his sleeves. For now, we better familiarize ourselves with this place and find out as much as we can about this 'Master' and everything that we need to help the boys get in here. They are going to need all the inside help they can get for this," said Sally.
Hilde nodded her head and yawned. She switched off her bedside lamp and lay on the bed. " Ok. Goodnight."
Sally followed suit. " Goodnight."
