Author Note: It's the depressing epilogue! Excellent! Air guitar
Seriously though, this is in a way the epilogue of Advance Wars: Red Mesa, and the prologue of Red Mesa 2 – The Crusade War, the upcoming sequel. So sit tight folks! I have much more time on my hands now.
Also, Master of the Phoenix, I would take you up on your offer, but I have other plans. However, I am planning to do a humorous fanfic based on the Red Mesa continuity, so...knowing grin
Disclaimer: Advance Wars, Advance Wars 2, and their content are copyright Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Red Mesa and its CO's are my intellectual property.
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Advance Wars: Red Mesa – Epilogue
By CO Shade.
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Cougar's POV
Damn...why did he go through with it? What selfless quality lodged in every fibre of his being forced him to make that decision? He sacrificed himself to save us all...
Swift - Sarah, is devastated. She's been an emotional wreck ever since Matt died, and visits his grave everyday. She's always wearing that medallion Matt wore, maybe to remind herself – and us all – of him, to remind us of the greatest leader Red Mesa ever had. Yes, even ex-General Victor conceded that fact, accepting that Shade might not have been as directly powerful as him, he can – could, bring anyone to their knees with his abilities. He knew us all well, and treated us like his family, throwing the chain of command out of the window sometimes. And yet we never really, truly knew him – even after all that time, his past was a mystery to us. All we knew about him was that his real name was Matthew Awner. He was 20 – too young to die like that – and his abilities in the field of battle. He never told us where he came from or what his past was like. I asked Victor about him, as we all have in time, but he refused to say anything. I detected a weird glint in his eye, like there was something about Matt that he could not or wished not to reveal.
Now that he's gone, it feels like the heart and soul of our country has been torn out in the most cruel and barbaric manner. The day of Matt's death – June twenty-third – has been designated as a national day of mourning. Without him, we're significantly weaker. He was shining, guiding light to the Army – to everyone.
Rest in peace, Matt. May the heavens be merciful on your soul.
Diesel's POV
Matt...everyone's taking his loss so hard, including myself. The day of his funeral was especially hard...
It was a grey, overcast day, as if the very weather were in mourning. There was no rain, but the sombre mood was enough to dampen anyone's spirits. Every CO in Cosmo Land was there, including Nell, and, surprisingly, Hachi. We were all in black, and even Andy looked sad, much unlike his usual, hyper self. Cougar was in black as well, ditching his trademark clothes in favour of his black and red military uniform, his hair tied back in a ponytail, giving in to Matt's wishes for once. He had always wanted Cougar to wear something connected with the Army...
Each of the remaining Red Mesan CO's gave their speeches about Matt. Each noted his admirable qualities. Swift was in no condition to speak – she had her head buried in my shoulder most of the way through, crying. When my turn came to speak, I went up to the podium and faced everyone, biting my lip. I gazed over the silent, mourning crowd, and opened my mouth.
"There is not much left that I can say about Matt," I said. "But he deserves to be spoken about by every single one of us. He was taken from us in the cruellest way possible -–forced into a lose-lose situation by circumstances beyond his control. He could have backed out, and let us all die at the hands of Black Hole. But his human spirit overthrew the instinct of self-preservation that we all have, and he gave himself to save this world. But he made sure we would remember his sacrifice. Our memories of him are ingrained into our very souls, and are a grim reminder of what will happen if we squabble amongst ourselves while Death knocks at the door yet again."
"We are only as strong as we are united as weak as we are divided – we must not allow conflict to come between us if we want any hope of winning over Black Hole, because God knows they don't argue. Let Matt be remembered for being more than what everyone knows; let him be remembered as a symbol of hope for this world." I stepped down form the podium and returned to my seat amidst applause.
Matt was given a full military send-off – Last Post and all. He deserved it for his actions. There was a quote on his gravestone that struck a bell within my memory:
"War might be a necessary evil...but Black Hole's evil extends far beyond necessary." He said that when he was going to his doom...
So help us God, when we face Black Hole again. We won't hold back...
Swift's POV
Most of us are still wondering why...why he did it. I think I know now...he wanted to act because it's in his very nature to. He refused to accept the alternative because it would go against his very beliefs. How do I know? Because I know where he was born, and where he came from. Where did I get this information?
From Matt himself. When I returned home...that day...there was a video message waiting for me. I was in too much of a state to give any thought to it...I was crying non stop, heavily depressed, and just wanted to sleep, tiredness pulling at my consciousness. I stopped when I realised who it was from...I pressed play almost immediately.
Matt came up on the viewscreen, his face melancholy. "Sarah...I'm sending you this because I know that I'm going to die..." He said, fighting tears. "By the time you watch this, I'll be nothing more than dust and echoes..." He took a deep breath, and steadied himself. "I just wanted to say...I love you. I've always loved you with the whole of my heart, even though my head has only just realised it. Since I know I'm a dead man walking, I want you to know everything." My eyes went wide when he continued. "Where I came from, what happened in my past, why I have to do this. Everything." I wiped my eyes and sat down on the couch, watching the picture of Matt intently. What he said shocked me, even as it made total sense...
"I was born in the Holy Union of the Third Covenant."
It all made sense! The way he acted, so very pure, righteous, and altruistic. He always put the needs of others before himself, even as he hid behind a shroud of mystery. He we hadn't come to that discovery already was weird...people born in the Third Covenant were educated from birth to have the above qualities, so it was clear to see why Matt had made that sacrifice...to do the alternative was heresy.
"I lived what you could call a normal life there for sixteen years. After that, I left the Third Covenant for other lands...I was young, and had a thirst for adventure. I have a brother back home, Valorian. Weird name, powerful CO. I hear he's pretty high up in their Army nowadays...anyway, I eventually wound in Red Mesa after journeying for about a year. I've been here ever since." Matt paused. I sniffed slightly, and waited for him to continue. "I wish I could tell you more, but Father Time waits for no man," He said. "If you or Red Mesa needs help, contact these co-ordinates at a high communications frequency." The numbers 218.230.444.567.777 flashed up on the screen. "It's a secure channel to the Third Covenant. Ask for my brother." He paused again, and wiped a tear from his eye. "I've left you something. A little something...to remind you of me. Check in your bedroom." The video ended. I did what Matt said, and went upstairs to my bedroom. There, lying on the pillow, was Matt's medallion. I broke down and hugged it to myself, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Goodbye..."
Location: Unknown.
Time: Unknown.
Communiqué intercepted.
Nature of Communiqué: Unknown.
Communiqué originated from: Unknown.
Time of Communiqué: Unknown.
Open? Y/N.
Y
Username and password required.
User: Sonja
Pass:
Accepted. Welcome Commander Sonja.
Open intercepted Communiqué? Y/N.
Y
Opening Communiqué...
Working...
Communiqué is encoded.
Attempting to find closest encryption method.
Near match found. Encryption nearly matches that of top priority Black Hole transmissions.
Decoding...
WARNING: Communiqué not decoded fully.
Nature of Communiqué has been found.
Communiqué is a text-only transmission.
Opening...
Hawke: Lash. You !!!! that you !!!!! something.
Lash: I sure !!!. It's a !!!!!!.
Hawke: Who?
Lash: It's !!!!!.
Hawke: Interesting. !! managed to !!!!!!!?
Lash: Yes. Can I !!! !!! for research?
Hawke: Yes. !! would be !!!! beneficial if !! !!!!! utilise !!! power.
Lash: Took the !!!!! right out of my !!!!!.
Hawke: Keep !!! !!!!! though...!! could work !!! us.
Lash: !!!!. Lash out.
Communiqué ends.
Save Communiqué? Y/N
Y
Saving...Save Complete.
Log Out
Logging out...
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End of Epilogue
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Author Note: And there we go. That wraps this fanfic up. Big thanks go to all my reviewers, and the insane folks at Advance Wars Net.
Hawke: Why?
Because I can, Hawke. Anyway, sit tight and wait for the sequel, or I'll bash you with Shade's gravestone.
...Repeatedly.