Chapter eight: Preparations
"What're YOU doing here, Albert?!" Caesar growled at his taller, older brother.
The elder Silverberg simply smirked. "I heard that the council finally flipped and they've hired a guy with thousands of soldiers." He said. "I decided to lend you a hand just this once."
"How can we trust you?" Cecile asked, not dropping her stance.
"Because the Bishop is here." Albert replied. "If I help out, I'll have a much better chance at becoming Harmonia's head strategist."
Caesar shook his head in hopelessness. "You just couldn't settle for A strategist, could you? You NEED to have the title of Main Strategist." He sighed.
Albert smirked smugly. "You catch on fast, Caesar."
Cecile turned around as she saw Thomas and his team approaching. "What do YOU think, Thomas?" She asked.
Thomas scratched his chin, seemingly in deep thought. Finally, he gave his answer. "It might be better to have two strategists. We might have a better chance." He turned to Albert. "But you must promise to work alongside Caesar and accept good ideas he suggests."
Albert sighed. "A heavy price, but worth it. I'll do it."
This time, it was Caesar who sighed. "Okay. If we're going to work together, we might as well start planning for the battle."
As everyone, Albert included, walked through the castle, the elder Silverberg spoke up. "First, we must gather everyone together." He said. "We must find out who is willing to fight. This battle is going to be harder than your last one, Caesar. Some people who don't normally fight must now fight."
Caesar paused for a second. "That might be the best solution." He turned to the young castle master. "Thomas, I must ask you to gather everyone here within the next fifteen minutes."
"I'll do it quicker." Thomas replied. He glanced over at the silent juggler in his party. "Toppo only has seven hours until he goes insane."
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A short while later, all people in the castle, numbering well over a hundred, were gathered to listen to the Silverberg brothers, who stood at the front of the crowd. Albert listened as Caesar spoke to everyone.
"Now, I assume that you all know that danger this castle is in." Caesar said. "Now, because this army invading is so big, we'll need much more units than normal. That means that we'll need fighting assistance of people who don't usually fight."
Several sounds of people talking quietly were heard after Caesar had said this statement. Albert stepped in. "Now, before Caesar and I get to work on the strategy, we'll need to know who's all fighting." He said as he looked around the crowd. "Are there any people here who don't usually fight that are willing to help out?"
Almost instantly, a middle-aged man with a mustache raised his arm into the air. "I may not have won a lot of duels, but I'm willing to help!" Guillaume shouted boldly.
Most of the people were confused at this, but Hugo, Mellville and co. and Thomas were among the people who actually witnessed Guillaume in battle. Yes, he could get a little overconfident, but at least he could fight.
In the meantime, another hand was raised, this time by a man in blue Harmonian gear. "I am willing to give it my all for once in a long time!" Dios stated. "You have my sword!"
"MINE TOO!" Peggi shouted, shoving his fist into the air as well.
Dupa and Bazba exchanged glances when they heard the Blacksmith say that.
"I thought Peggi was injured in battle." Bazba whispered to the lizard chief. "That's why he became a Blacksmith."
"I thought that, too." Dupa replied with an eyebrow raised. "We'll just have to wait and see."
A young man in a red outfit confidently raised his hand. "I'll help!" Dr. Tuta shouted. "I fought in the Dunan Unification War and am skilled in hand combat!"
Mio gasped as she covered her mouth. Sure, she knew that Tuta was an experienced fighter, but he was putting his life on the line! Mio forced herself to calm down, mentally saying to herself that the doctor knew what he was doing.
A tall man dressed as a cowboy also raised his hand. "I've got a weapon of my own, you know!" Billy shouted. "I'll show those guy's that I'm not just good at playing cards!"
Melville, who was standing beside Billy, looked up at his father and beamed. At long last, Billy was finally going to raise his sword against the enemy again. Billy looked down at Melville, saw the smile and smirked himself.
Sweat dripped down Nadir's face behind his mask. This was his big chance to raise his sword again, but there was a risk of people like Futch recognizing him by the way he fought. Silently, Nadir looked through the crowd at Apple, who was returning the glare. Apple was the only one who knew who Nadir really was, and she knew how everyone would react if they found out that a Highland General was actually the friendly, yet odd, producer.
Nadir gulped. It was the right thing to do. He slowly raised his hand. "Um...I know a thing or two about sword fighting. I'll do what I can."
Another hand was raised. The young man who owned it spoke up. "I may not be able to fight with a real weapon." Barts said. Suddenly, he raised his farming tool into the air. "But I'm sure I can do just as good by swinging a hoe around!"
Kathy quickly put her hand up. "I'll take some of those who don't feel like fighting strong units and stake out at the ranch. It's done being rebuilt anyway." She said confidently. "That way, if any soldiers come through to the ranch, they'll be weakened from battle, allowing my group to finish them off. I'm sure we can find lots of heavy things to throw!"
Caesar and Albert nodded. Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a whisper coming from the left. They turned their heads and saw Landis in the middle of a huddle with Melville, Alanis, Belle and Rody.
Landis turned from the huddle to stare at the brothers. He raised his hand into the air. "Yuh-huh. Sirs, permission to lead my own unit and the rest of my team being Melville, Alanis and Belle, with Rody as support."
Although confused, the Silverberg brothers looked at each other and nodded. Albert turned back to the crowd. "Anyone else?" After several seconds of silence, Albert was convinced that no one else was going to volunteer. "Very well. That's good enough." He said.
Caesar nodded. "We'll get straight to work on the strategy. Until we're finished, everyone can do what they want, as we don't know who would be in which units."
Everyone agreed as the two Silverberg brothers left the crowd and walked towards Budehuc.
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Toppo again found himself sitting at the fountain, this time staring at the back of his left hand, which had the imprint of the True Rage Rune embedded into it. He sure hoped that he'd have enough time to re-seal it after the battle. If not, he'd lose his sanity and do who-knows-what.
The juggler was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a couple sets of footsteps approaching. Toppo raised his head and saw Nei and Shabon approaching.
"Toppo," Nei said as she approached him. "What did Eike want to show you in the secret basement?"
Toppo froze. That was right! Nei and Shabon didn't know about the rune yet! He slowly got to his feet. "You ready for a shock?" He asked.
Nei raised an eyebrow. "Why? What is it?"
Slowly, Toppo extended his left hand, showing the back of it to his friends. While Nei looked confused, Shabon beamed when she saw it. "Wow! You've got a new rune!"
Nei tilted her head to one side. "I've never seen that rune before. What is it?"
Toppo sighed. "True Rage."
Nei's eyes sprang open. "'True Rage'? A true rune?!"
Silently, the juggler nodded. "However, I have less than seven hours to return it to the hidden basement." He said. "If it takes longer than that, the rune will take control of me and drive me insane."
Nei and Shabon gasped at the same time. "If that's the case, then why'd you take it?!" Nei asked frantically.
"Because it's essential if we're to win this battle against the council's soldiers." Toppo replied. When he saw tears running down both of the girl's faces, Toppo gently embraced them both. "Don't worry. The battle will be over before the time is up." He said. "I swear that I won't let myself go insane. If that happens, who'll be here to protect you two?"
Nei forced a weak smile as she hugged Toppo. She hoped that Toppo was right in saying that the battle would be over before his time ran out.
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Apple stood outside the large room on the main floor of Budehuc, staring through the open door. Caesar and Albert sat at opposite ends of a table, each furiously scribbling down notes on paper. They were writing down notes so fast that Apple could swear that smoke was starting to rise from the paper. She had never seen Caesar write so fast before. She didn't know if he was really using his head or was just having a childish competition with Albert to see who could finish first.
Suddenly, both Caesar and Albert put their pens down. "Done!" They both said at the same time.
"Okay. Let's see what you can do, Albert." Caesar said to his brother. "Hand me your notes."
Albert smirked. "Only if you do the same."
Caesar and Albert handed each other their notes and quickly read them over.
"Well, I'd say that your strategy is actually competent this time, Caesar." Albert said calmly. However, he failed to mention that Caesar's strategy was about as good as anything Albert had done in the past.
"And I must admit that your unit setup is on the same level as mine for a change." Caesar countered.
"We must quickly show these to the rest of the castle and prepare for battle." Albert said.
Caesar nodded as they both stood up and walked towards the door, where Apple was waiting. As the Silverberg brothers passed, Apple shook her head. "Those two..." She said to herself as he smirked.
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Again, Caesar and Albert stood in front of everyone else, this time holding several sheets of paper. It didn't take long for the two to finish writing down the strategy, which was good for Toppo. Albert cleared his throat to draw attention to him and Caesar.
"Caesar and I have finished the unit setup and are about to reveal them." Albert said. "Keep in mind that we will have more units than normal, so there will be some units led by people who have never led a unit before."
Caesar looked at the piece of paper in his hands and started to reveal the unit setup.
"Hugo's team: Hugo, Samus, Nicolas and Joker."
"Geddoe's team: Geddoe, Nadir, Borus and Nei."
"Chris' team: Chris, Cecile, Mua and Fubar."
"Thomas' team: Thomas, Ruby, Elaine and Tuta."
"Toppo's team: Toppo, Sharon, Mel and Juan."
Toppo sighed as he heard this. He was actually getting his own team. This was expected, however, because of his newfound True Rune. Caesar and Albert continued.
"Sasarai's team: Sasarai, Big Viki, Beecham and Gadget Z."
"Lucia's team: Lucia, Percival, Jacques and Shabon."
"Futch's team: Futch, Ace, Leo and Barts."
"Duke's team: Duke, Shiba, Rhett and Guillaume."
"Dupa's team: Dupa, Gau, Sgt. Joe and Dios."
"Lilly's team: Lilly, Queen, Wilder and Nash."
"Fred's team: Fred, Wan Fu, Bright and Estella."
"Franz's team: Franz, Emily, Kenji and Roland."
"Reed's team: Reed, Bazba, Edge and Watari."
Reed's eyes widened and his heartbeat quickened. He was actually getting his own unit?! He couldn't believe it! Why him? Was it because he was the strongest of the three Tinto warriors? Or was it because he had a Rage Rune of his own embedded into his right hand?
"Landis' team: Landis, Melville, Alanis and Belle."
"Peggi's team: Peggi, Ayame, Augustine and Rico."
"Billy's team: Billy, Salome, Young Viki and Yuiri."
"Yumi's team: Yumi, Twaikin, Aila and Sanae Y."
Albert looked towards the middle of the crowd. "Have you found anyone who is willing to join you, Kathy?" He asked.
Kathy nodded. "Yes. Elliot, Maime, Scott and Gordon."
Caesar nodded. "Okay. That will be all. If anyone has a loved one, you'd better say goodbye now, because we need to get ready as soon as we can."
To be continued...
"What're YOU doing here, Albert?!" Caesar growled at his taller, older brother.
The elder Silverberg simply smirked. "I heard that the council finally flipped and they've hired a guy with thousands of soldiers." He said. "I decided to lend you a hand just this once."
"How can we trust you?" Cecile asked, not dropping her stance.
"Because the Bishop is here." Albert replied. "If I help out, I'll have a much better chance at becoming Harmonia's head strategist."
Caesar shook his head in hopelessness. "You just couldn't settle for A strategist, could you? You NEED to have the title of Main Strategist." He sighed.
Albert smirked smugly. "You catch on fast, Caesar."
Cecile turned around as she saw Thomas and his team approaching. "What do YOU think, Thomas?" She asked.
Thomas scratched his chin, seemingly in deep thought. Finally, he gave his answer. "It might be better to have two strategists. We might have a better chance." He turned to Albert. "But you must promise to work alongside Caesar and accept good ideas he suggests."
Albert sighed. "A heavy price, but worth it. I'll do it."
This time, it was Caesar who sighed. "Okay. If we're going to work together, we might as well start planning for the battle."
As everyone, Albert included, walked through the castle, the elder Silverberg spoke up. "First, we must gather everyone together." He said. "We must find out who is willing to fight. This battle is going to be harder than your last one, Caesar. Some people who don't normally fight must now fight."
Caesar paused for a second. "That might be the best solution." He turned to the young castle master. "Thomas, I must ask you to gather everyone here within the next fifteen minutes."
"I'll do it quicker." Thomas replied. He glanced over at the silent juggler in his party. "Toppo only has seven hours until he goes insane."
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A short while later, all people in the castle, numbering well over a hundred, were gathered to listen to the Silverberg brothers, who stood at the front of the crowd. Albert listened as Caesar spoke to everyone.
"Now, I assume that you all know that danger this castle is in." Caesar said. "Now, because this army invading is so big, we'll need much more units than normal. That means that we'll need fighting assistance of people who don't usually fight."
Several sounds of people talking quietly were heard after Caesar had said this statement. Albert stepped in. "Now, before Caesar and I get to work on the strategy, we'll need to know who's all fighting." He said as he looked around the crowd. "Are there any people here who don't usually fight that are willing to help out?"
Almost instantly, a middle-aged man with a mustache raised his arm into the air. "I may not have won a lot of duels, but I'm willing to help!" Guillaume shouted boldly.
Most of the people were confused at this, but Hugo, Mellville and co. and Thomas were among the people who actually witnessed Guillaume in battle. Yes, he could get a little overconfident, but at least he could fight.
In the meantime, another hand was raised, this time by a man in blue Harmonian gear. "I am willing to give it my all for once in a long time!" Dios stated. "You have my sword!"
"MINE TOO!" Peggi shouted, shoving his fist into the air as well.
Dupa and Bazba exchanged glances when they heard the Blacksmith say that.
"I thought Peggi was injured in battle." Bazba whispered to the lizard chief. "That's why he became a Blacksmith."
"I thought that, too." Dupa replied with an eyebrow raised. "We'll just have to wait and see."
A young man in a red outfit confidently raised his hand. "I'll help!" Dr. Tuta shouted. "I fought in the Dunan Unification War and am skilled in hand combat!"
Mio gasped as she covered her mouth. Sure, she knew that Tuta was an experienced fighter, but he was putting his life on the line! Mio forced herself to calm down, mentally saying to herself that the doctor knew what he was doing.
A tall man dressed as a cowboy also raised his hand. "I've got a weapon of my own, you know!" Billy shouted. "I'll show those guy's that I'm not just good at playing cards!"
Melville, who was standing beside Billy, looked up at his father and beamed. At long last, Billy was finally going to raise his sword against the enemy again. Billy looked down at Melville, saw the smile and smirked himself.
Sweat dripped down Nadir's face behind his mask. This was his big chance to raise his sword again, but there was a risk of people like Futch recognizing him by the way he fought. Silently, Nadir looked through the crowd at Apple, who was returning the glare. Apple was the only one who knew who Nadir really was, and she knew how everyone would react if they found out that a Highland General was actually the friendly, yet odd, producer.
Nadir gulped. It was the right thing to do. He slowly raised his hand. "Um...I know a thing or two about sword fighting. I'll do what I can."
Another hand was raised. The young man who owned it spoke up. "I may not be able to fight with a real weapon." Barts said. Suddenly, he raised his farming tool into the air. "But I'm sure I can do just as good by swinging a hoe around!"
Kathy quickly put her hand up. "I'll take some of those who don't feel like fighting strong units and stake out at the ranch. It's done being rebuilt anyway." She said confidently. "That way, if any soldiers come through to the ranch, they'll be weakened from battle, allowing my group to finish them off. I'm sure we can find lots of heavy things to throw!"
Caesar and Albert nodded. Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a whisper coming from the left. They turned their heads and saw Landis in the middle of a huddle with Melville, Alanis, Belle and Rody.
Landis turned from the huddle to stare at the brothers. He raised his hand into the air. "Yuh-huh. Sirs, permission to lead my own unit and the rest of my team being Melville, Alanis and Belle, with Rody as support."
Although confused, the Silverberg brothers looked at each other and nodded. Albert turned back to the crowd. "Anyone else?" After several seconds of silence, Albert was convinced that no one else was going to volunteer. "Very well. That's good enough." He said.
Caesar nodded. "We'll get straight to work on the strategy. Until we're finished, everyone can do what they want, as we don't know who would be in which units."
Everyone agreed as the two Silverberg brothers left the crowd and walked towards Budehuc.
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Toppo again found himself sitting at the fountain, this time staring at the back of his left hand, which had the imprint of the True Rage Rune embedded into it. He sure hoped that he'd have enough time to re-seal it after the battle. If not, he'd lose his sanity and do who-knows-what.
The juggler was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a couple sets of footsteps approaching. Toppo raised his head and saw Nei and Shabon approaching.
"Toppo," Nei said as she approached him. "What did Eike want to show you in the secret basement?"
Toppo froze. That was right! Nei and Shabon didn't know about the rune yet! He slowly got to his feet. "You ready for a shock?" He asked.
Nei raised an eyebrow. "Why? What is it?"
Slowly, Toppo extended his left hand, showing the back of it to his friends. While Nei looked confused, Shabon beamed when she saw it. "Wow! You've got a new rune!"
Nei tilted her head to one side. "I've never seen that rune before. What is it?"
Toppo sighed. "True Rage."
Nei's eyes sprang open. "'True Rage'? A true rune?!"
Silently, the juggler nodded. "However, I have less than seven hours to return it to the hidden basement." He said. "If it takes longer than that, the rune will take control of me and drive me insane."
Nei and Shabon gasped at the same time. "If that's the case, then why'd you take it?!" Nei asked frantically.
"Because it's essential if we're to win this battle against the council's soldiers." Toppo replied. When he saw tears running down both of the girl's faces, Toppo gently embraced them both. "Don't worry. The battle will be over before the time is up." He said. "I swear that I won't let myself go insane. If that happens, who'll be here to protect you two?"
Nei forced a weak smile as she hugged Toppo. She hoped that Toppo was right in saying that the battle would be over before his time ran out.
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Apple stood outside the large room on the main floor of Budehuc, staring through the open door. Caesar and Albert sat at opposite ends of a table, each furiously scribbling down notes on paper. They were writing down notes so fast that Apple could swear that smoke was starting to rise from the paper. She had never seen Caesar write so fast before. She didn't know if he was really using his head or was just having a childish competition with Albert to see who could finish first.
Suddenly, both Caesar and Albert put their pens down. "Done!" They both said at the same time.
"Okay. Let's see what you can do, Albert." Caesar said to his brother. "Hand me your notes."
Albert smirked. "Only if you do the same."
Caesar and Albert handed each other their notes and quickly read them over.
"Well, I'd say that your strategy is actually competent this time, Caesar." Albert said calmly. However, he failed to mention that Caesar's strategy was about as good as anything Albert had done in the past.
"And I must admit that your unit setup is on the same level as mine for a change." Caesar countered.
"We must quickly show these to the rest of the castle and prepare for battle." Albert said.
Caesar nodded as they both stood up and walked towards the door, where Apple was waiting. As the Silverberg brothers passed, Apple shook her head. "Those two..." She said to herself as he smirked.
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Again, Caesar and Albert stood in front of everyone else, this time holding several sheets of paper. It didn't take long for the two to finish writing down the strategy, which was good for Toppo. Albert cleared his throat to draw attention to him and Caesar.
"Caesar and I have finished the unit setup and are about to reveal them." Albert said. "Keep in mind that we will have more units than normal, so there will be some units led by people who have never led a unit before."
Caesar looked at the piece of paper in his hands and started to reveal the unit setup.
"Hugo's team: Hugo, Samus, Nicolas and Joker."
"Geddoe's team: Geddoe, Nadir, Borus and Nei."
"Chris' team: Chris, Cecile, Mua and Fubar."
"Thomas' team: Thomas, Ruby, Elaine and Tuta."
"Toppo's team: Toppo, Sharon, Mel and Juan."
Toppo sighed as he heard this. He was actually getting his own team. This was expected, however, because of his newfound True Rune. Caesar and Albert continued.
"Sasarai's team: Sasarai, Big Viki, Beecham and Gadget Z."
"Lucia's team: Lucia, Percival, Jacques and Shabon."
"Futch's team: Futch, Ace, Leo and Barts."
"Duke's team: Duke, Shiba, Rhett and Guillaume."
"Dupa's team: Dupa, Gau, Sgt. Joe and Dios."
"Lilly's team: Lilly, Queen, Wilder and Nash."
"Fred's team: Fred, Wan Fu, Bright and Estella."
"Franz's team: Franz, Emily, Kenji and Roland."
"Reed's team: Reed, Bazba, Edge and Watari."
Reed's eyes widened and his heartbeat quickened. He was actually getting his own unit?! He couldn't believe it! Why him? Was it because he was the strongest of the three Tinto warriors? Or was it because he had a Rage Rune of his own embedded into his right hand?
"Landis' team: Landis, Melville, Alanis and Belle."
"Peggi's team: Peggi, Ayame, Augustine and Rico."
"Billy's team: Billy, Salome, Young Viki and Yuiri."
"Yumi's team: Yumi, Twaikin, Aila and Sanae Y."
Albert looked towards the middle of the crowd. "Have you found anyone who is willing to join you, Kathy?" He asked.
Kathy nodded. "Yes. Elliot, Maime, Scott and Gordon."
Caesar nodded. "Okay. That will be all. If anyone has a loved one, you'd better say goodbye now, because we need to get ready as soon as we can."
To be continued...