A tale of Sword and Shield
Chapter 1: The Impenetrable Fortress
The continuation of `the Rise of Yin and Yang´ from a different viewpoint, I hope you enjoy.
14th September 1511, 19:00 pm, Alpharia´s Pov:
It was Nuts, from the very beginning on this whole mission was just nuts.
How should we, 3 simple teenagers who just happen to have special powers and equipment, defend over 1.000 citizens and a whole Island, even if reinforcements were to come?
Still 2 hours without dying, 3 against 100 enemies, if not more.
"Tch, speak of an unfair fight." I muttered under my breath, as I used my shield-magic to defend my Siblings and those numbskulls of islanders by our side.
Those idiots, who thought they could do anything against our enemies, but in the process just ended up being in the way.
Momentarily they were more a burden to us, than a real help.
The only merit so far, of bringing them along, is that none of them has yet tried to betray us, just to safe their own life and that they informed us from incoming multidirectional attacks, which we could evade or block off, through me strengthening the shield on that spot.
20 eyes are still better than merely 6 after all, especially in our current situation, which could not be any worse.
We weren´t just stuck, surrounded in the Town´s church, no we were under siege and had literally no escape route nor a possibility to effectively fight.
If they wanted and believe me the way I see it they are more than willing to, they could just bomb the whole church to the ground.
The only reason I could imagine, of why they still haven´t done that yet, is because they want to play with us, mock us, telling us that no matter what we set against them, we will never defeat them and we all will lose everything we are fighting for.
And let´s be honest, our chances of success are currently lower than 50 %.
Our technological equipment has been taken out of comission, ever since these bastards used some kind of attack, which rendered our Mechas unable to function any longer, they dropped to the ground like lifeless chunks of metal and did not restarted in any way.
Betakin called that attack an E.M.P. wave, an Electro-Magnetic-Pulse attack.
A little I understood what it was, I´ve heard that term before in sci-fi movies and I read about theories in science Books, but honestly, I really thought that our Mechas were resistant to such kind of attacks, guess I was too optimistic.
Not to mention that they were instantly bombarded afterwards, luckily the escape hatch was hydraulic and didn´t required any electronical system to open up, otherwise we would be toast.
I almost thought I was a goner, as I was still stuck in my Luce.
Still, making our way to the church to hide inside its almost broken walls, was anything but easy, my shield forces weren´t as strong as I wished them to be, maybe it saved us from injuries but we still had to deal with the impact, which left us breathless more than once.
We were too optimistic.
Just as optimistic as Betakin was before, as he told us to fight, that we would just quickly beat the enemy and then get back to meet up with our Brother Red, that in the end we might even be seen as heroes.
Just as optimistic as I was, thinking that our powers would be supreme, invincible, that our training and our technology would win that battle for us.
Oh, how foolish that wishful thinking was.
We are nothing, we have trained for a few years and believed that our powers were top notch…, what a joke, we never had seen a real battle before, that much has been made painfully clear to me today.
We are jokes if we really thought, that we had a chance against them the way we are.
The first mistake we made was the preparation of killing people, of taking other people´s lives.
We weren´t prepared, not at all.
While sitting in the Mecha, we could use the mentality that it kinda was like playing some kind of videogame, it did not seem real to me, more like a simulation.
But once our Mechas were rendered useless, we suddenly had to fight on our own, with our own bodies, ourselves being there right on the battlefield, smelling the stench of death, hearing the screams of our enemies and the people we could not save, dying in the fire, seeing the gruesomeness of war and feeling the pain with every beat we took.
Suddenly what seemed like an Ego-shooter became painful reality.
I was not prepared for it and neither was Betakin, not to mention poor little Cetala.
We though we were strong, that we were supreme, that we were the ones to defeat the enemy, the destined ones, the chosen ones…, but we underestimated them, big time…, these Lycanians were born for war, created, brainwashed into fighting everything once the order has been given, knowing no fear, hesitation and most certainly no mercy nor moral.
We are fighting since an entire day and still did not seemed to have accomplished much, we hardly have slept and the news we have gotten from Professor Reginald haven´t been any happy ones either, they just keep dragging us down…, if anything I was exhausted and it showed itself in my performance in this battle.
The news which crushed me down the most were about Mom and Opera´s Airships having gone missing in the Devil´s throat.
Although Dad told us that mom had many problems to attend to, hadn´t we much of an idea of what was going on, until he contacted us, after hours of not a word being heard from him.
He said that the enemy was jamming his communication and he so had no opportunity to contact us until they were defeated.
He told us that almost everywhere, all across the Republic, people are being attacked by the same enemies we are currently fighting.
He fought alongside of Brother Red in Airedale against them, after Red and Co. liberated Bassett, the same was now heading towards the Darven islands and later on towards the Devil´s throat to save mom and the others, but foremost to stop the advancement of the local Lycanian Battalions.
Everyone we knew was fighting, fighting to safe people, fighting to survive another day.
We did the same but our entire mentality had been wrong from the very beginning, we are weak, that is what I have understood now most clearly.
The Days were awful but the worst was yesterday in the dead of night, as we had to fight and stay hidden, still oblivious about the situation outside of Bordaussie, unsure when Reinforcements were to come or at all.
Apparently, our call was not received by those who made decisions, the generals and vice-generals, the promise of getting back-up was never fulfilled and we had honestly no idea what to do, how to solve the entire situation.
We were glad as the battles finally subsided a little, giving us time to rest, even if just a little.
We were still under siege, no one knew when the enemy would attack again, and if we were any safe in the raid shelter.
Many Inhabitants were still in hiding, trapped within the town and we had to rescue them all, the entire night we ran back and forth through the town, always fearing we might be spotted and killed by the enemy.
But most of all, it were the screams of agony and pain, which nagged on our mind, whatever happened in the night, it was beyond gruesome, in many houses all we found were corpses and chunks of bloody flesh, severed limbs and so on, I nearly threw up right within my Mecha after witnessing it.
Then there were these things…, I could not describe it any better, it was most likely one of the things that had killed all the people, the one we encountered was like anything I had ever seen, it shrieked back as light fell on it, but instead attacked from the shadows, all we could do was to lure it into a Storehouse, close it in and ignite the lamps and flashbangs.
I wont ever forget these screams I heard that night.
By the time Dawn arrived, I was nearly at the end of my forces
From Cherry and Professor Reginal we got to know that during the night, 5 more warships added themselves to the three which already were here, we were terribly outnumbered and they told us to find some place save to rest for a bit.
Easier said than done though, by the time we reached the church, another E.M.P. wave hit the town, quite a massive one, it crippled our Mechas, fried their systems and left us without equipment and only with our combat armor, guns and knives and the weakening forces we still possessed.
While we rested in that Church, Betakin offered to keep the first watch, which I was grateful for.
He hid outside in disguise, while Cetala began to discuss the entire informations she had gathered during the day with Professor Reginald.
Meanwhile, as I dozed off ready to fall asleep, I remembered all the words I heard the people muttering and whispering, running their mouth about us, earlier that day, in the Raid shelter.
Even though we were here to defend and save them, they still talked shit about us.
"How in the world could it get so far, that we´re risking our lives for people, who still view us Hybrids as some kind of cancer of society, as filth and monsters.
None of them understands us or even try to tolerate our existence before, they spit on us, hate on us once they find out that we exist, what we are, just like back then with Yin and Yang…., but when all hell breaks loose and when the sky is falling down upon them all, suddenly they all depend on us, begging us to fight for them to save them, just because we have those special forces.
Gosh, this makes me so mad." I thought in anger back then, about all of this injustice.
Why can´t we live the way we are, why do we have to wear masks most of the time, just to not be ostracized by others.
To be honest I always hated being a Hybrid, something I told no one in my family directly, as to not make mom sad, but I think they already know it, I loathed the fact that I was different to the other kids of my age, my classmates and friends never knew about me being a hybrid or even a Paladin and I thought, that as long as it never gets out, I would be able to live a peaceful life.
I despised my own brother for his wish to have a normal romance with a girl, I loathed the fact that he had the luck to meet someone like Cherry, who, despite her own tragic experience with the fearsome powers of Hybrids, was understanding and accepting of us.
Why couldn´t I find someone like that, why had it had to be Betakin, who found true love first.
Why did I had to be such a nasty person, being jealous of everyone, even going as far as to try and destroy the relationship of my brother, although effortlessly as we have seen.
All I ever got, once people knew about our secret, were disgusted faces, loathsome glances and spiteful remarks.
"It hurts…, It really hurts you know." I though as I wheezed in exhaustion, as I had to block another massive bullet storm, if nothing else, my Defense was still strong, mostly thanks to Armatura Impervius.
The shield who had sucked up the excess power of the Sword for centuries, helped me much to maintain the forcefield we all were in right now, even if my own forces were nearly exhausted.
However…, I somehow have the feeling that I do not use it right, the shield´s powers were there, but for an ancient relic labeled as the impenetrable fortress, a shield able to defend an entire castle from any kind of damage inflicted to it, the shield´s power now, still let too much damage happen to us, such as the impact and ferocious violence of the attacks and other factors.
If anything, it was weaker than I had imagined it to be, just as strong as our Nono-forcefields, but not stronger.
Maybe it was because I lacked strength, and confidence, maybe it was something else, but I rather think that it was because I could not really concentrate myself on the task at hand…
Even with all the attacks flying at us and all the enemies on our heels, and even though now wasn't the time to think about such things, was I unable to forget the words I had to hear 3 hours before, there in the Raid shelter, in that same room in which we had gathered the people to defend them, to save them from being needlessly killed.
Where all the people were, for whom we had risked our own lives, to save theirs.
Flashback, 3 hours ago, 14th September 1511, 16:00 pm:
While I meditated to uphold the shield-spell, I was unable not to hear the nasty and spiteful muttering here and there, as the people eyed me with suspicion.
Some even whispered about how I was here to imprison them, when actually all I did was to put an extra layer of security over their lives.
To be honest, I was sick and tired of listening.
I was used to hear people trash-talking Hybrids in the newspaper, on radio and television, even 2 years after the incident with Nero and Blank as well as the appearance of Yin and Yang…, but I hoped I would have never to hear it directly, directed at myself for that matter.
But here I sat, having to concentrate, unable to shut my ears from it all.
"Say…., Alpharia…, are you really…., a Hybrid?" Suzanne, one of my Friends, at least I still hoped so but rather doubted it, asked me from afar, keeping a safe distance to me, looking at me with much reluctance and disbelieve.
To make it easier for the shield to be wrapped around us all, I sat right in the middle of the people, though most of them kept their distance as though I possessed a contagious disease.
Even my classmates and my friends kept their distance from me…, that was quite painful, people I had ate, joked, laughed and played with for so long over the last few years, suddenly looked at me as though I had murdered someone of them.
As I looked up to Suzanne and the others, I saw their doubting faces, the fear and the disgust in their eyes, still, from all of them, Suzanne was my best friend, to see her looking at me like this was the last I wanted to see.
When we still sat a few days ago together on the bench in the school yard, during noon break, speaking about crushes, love interests and other girl´s stuff, was I now ostracized by them, their fearful stances, the muttering, the doubting mines, it was enough to know what they really thought.
They thought of me as a monster, an alien, something unnatural, even though I was not even in trance-form and looked still the same as always, except of the E.H.C.A. I wore.
"For the last time, yes, I am a Hybrid, and I was born and I will most likely also die as one…., and no we are not here to conquer the republic." I stated.
"We are not here to kill you or cause mayhem.
We all are not the same, not everyone of us want to create chaos and inconvenience for other people, we are not like Blank and Nero!" I thought as I looked deep in their eyes but I bet even with me saying that, they would still not believe me and keep on questioning our motives, so I guess it was better to be completely open with them, not that there was any merit in hiding anything anymore, the damage was done anyways.
That's why the helmet of my E.H.C.A laid next to me, instead of being over my head, being armour and mask in one.
"In fact, we are here to defend this Island, our Home, from people like those who currently set our homes ablaze."
"They are the enemy, not we." I thought.
"And the only reason I stay here is due to all of you, after all someone has to defend you, should the enemy manage to proceed until here!" I explained and it was the truth.
If despite all or our efforts of hiding, the enemy still manages to find us, then we would be mincemeat if they attack without us having erected a strong shield.
Luckily the defensive-forces of Armatura Impervius were unbroken so far, the most difficult part however, was to actually keep these forces constantly generated.
"A hybrid…, and in such a thing I was infatuated, I can´t believe myself." I heard Mason Walker´s voice whispering, he was my Junior in the Martial Arts Club and I usually went along quite well with him, I knew he had a crush on me and I had to admit he was kind of cute, but that was before all of this happened.
"I was attracted to the very thing I despise the most in this world, with such a monster, how could I?" He whispered but not low enough for me to miss and I felt my blood boiling.
There it was, I was called a thing, a monster, and abomination, just because I was a hybrid I was ostracized, spat on and mobbed.
None of these knuckleheads try to understand us hybrids, some of us just want to live in peace.
"If that is the limit of how far your love for me goes Mason, than it was never even meant to be in the first place.
I am what I am, especially when I take of the mask I had to wear for so long, for most of my life, do you honestly think it was any easy for me to constantly hold myself back not to show anyone, to conceal what I am, what I was born as?
I cannot change it, nor do I want to just because someone who has feelings for the masqueraded me, doesn't want to face the truth.
It is my life goddamit, either you like me the way I am or you do not, it´s not like I care anymore!" I replied and he instantly shut his trap.
"If you want me to keep defending you, you better zip it with your hateful words." I thought, as I looked deep in Masons eyes, while the same quickly averted his eyes.
Seriously, this makes me so mad.
"Could you all now be quiet, I got to concentrate and I don´t need any more hate speeches, mistrusts and what do I know directed at me and my family.
I´m just here to do my job, to fulfil the purpose I was born for, nothing more nothing less, if anyone of you wants to say something mean, save it, I don´t wanna hear it." I spat with much venom.
"I heard all of it before, all the shamming, all the blame we have gotten for things we aren´t to blame for, not all of us are the same as those who attacked the Republic, some of us just want to live peacefully." I thought with boiling anger, thinking back at how often I had to smile while hearing people trash-talk Hybrids, to keep the charade up.
"I want to live too, you know, and the last time I checked, I am in no real obligation to actually defend and safe any of your lives, especially when I know that people will later on trash-talk me and my family, I am contracted to no one, I could just cancel the shield and leave and none of you could stop me, cause none of you would have a right to do that.
So stop trash-talking me and my family and call me a thing…, or a monster…, or whatever…., or else I really will consider leaving you all behind!" I replied in a loud voice and all of a sudden it was as silent as a grave.
"Thank god….., silence at last." I thought as I finally was able to calm down, just before I heard my brothers voice in my ear.
Flashback End:
To hear all of that shit was heavy enough for me to stomach but the attack from the New Moon society, of people we were supposed to save, was what made me lose even more of my confidence, that I was actually doing the right thing.
I was sick and tired of hearing those kinds of insults, couldn´t they see that I was risking my life for them, why did they keep on trash-talking us, when they themselves don´t bend a finger to save themselves.
"I hate this here." I stated to the felt hundredth time.
"We got it Alpha, it´s not like I don´t hate our current situation either, but for now we just have to hold out until reinforcements arrive, apparently some has just landed on the island behind the forest, all we have to do is to wait for them." Betakin explained.
"Well they were supposed to come already yesterday, what has happened to their promise of sending us some men back then, got any clue from the Professor?" I asked harshly, my mood having hit rock-bottom for quite a while now.
"Not sure, but apparently the order for reinforcement never reached the second-in-command or anyone with the needed authority in the Jade Dragon Palace.
Same as Fathers communication, maybe ours was jammed as well, or redirected towards someone who is in ties with the Lycanians, who says the New-Moon-Society is only active in the public, I would not be surprised if some of them even work for the Kurvaz.
It´s not even them who appeared now, but some of S.I.T.K.A., most likely Yin and Yang, if they were to help us, we might have a chance to turn this whole mess around." Betakin explained.
"Even with them here, are we still hopelessly outnumbered, if their Mechas were to fall as well, then this reinforcement has accomplished nothing.
What we need is someone with enough firepower to take these warships down, before they can initiate another E.M.P. attack.
Ever since these freaking things have arrived here, we are cornered and anyone who still hold up high hopes is simply a moron…., if anything it was a mistake to take these people with us, now they are but simple targets, we barely can protect them, and that won´t help much if we wish to actually accomplish anything." I explained.
"Not to mention that the people in the raid shelters are currently without any real safety ever since we are trapped here, if we cannot break free it will be just a matter of time until they are being caught." Cetala replied, as she tried to plan an escape way.
"We just have to hold out for 2 more hours, I am sure that Dad will come with the White Whale and safe us all." Betakin stated, once again optimistic, too much for my taste.
"I really hope you are right there, for if we die, I will make sure to haunt you forever, got it." I replied and he sighed.
"I know, I know…, going on stand-by for the time being, keep the lines open, I will contact you guys if I spot anything unusual!" He replied before I hear some noises, indicating that he moved.
"I would like it more if you would stay here, I don´t trust the E.H.C.A.´s to keep you completely safe." I muttered under my breath…, we may butt our heads and argue a lot with each other, but in the end we are family, he still was my precious little brother…., I would hate to lose him.
Not that I would ever speak that out loud…, though I doubt I really had to do so…, I bet he knows it anyways.
"Come back safe and sound, got it." I stated blushing.
"….Understood, big Sis." He replied with a smile before he vanished in the shadow of a nearby building.
"Got any plans or strategies yet, Ceta?" I asked as I kept observing our immediate surroundings.
"Nothing we can do expect leave this place and our Mechas behind and barricade ourselves into the raid-shelters, holding out until reinforcement and help arrives." Cetala replied.
"Well I guess that is the best we can do, we aren´t really much of a help outside of here anyways.
If the enemy just keeps on duplicating, all we can do is holding the fort until the cavalry arrives, I guess." I mumbled.
"We never really been trained for such a situation, all we ever believed to have to fight, was if only a few enemies would ever invade, like sky pirates or the like, not an whole warmongering armada…, also we always calculated immediate help from the Kurvaz into our plans…, but this is so not like that…., we are out here alone, trying to defend and rescue thousands of citizens, just the three of us and that since yesterday.
Our stamina is not endless, so are our nerves and ideas, I am running out of options and cards to play.
With their EMP attacks they can destroy any Electronic in a radius of a mile, so sending other technologic Tools from the ranch won´t help us in any way, it might just play right in the enemy´s hand, if they get to know about our level of technologies." Cetala explained.
"Well you sure are right…, and all I can do is defend people, I have not even the brains to come up with a suitable and flawless plan like you and my attack power is not even strong enough to be of much help to Betakin, I´m just the shield after all…, I kind of feel myself useless." I replied.
"But you aren´t, you truly give yourself the least credit here, you only listed our strongpoints, but what about yours, we aren´t half as versed in defense spells like you, maybe you are just the Shield of Armatura Impervius…., but that also means that you are the only one who stands between life and death to the citizens and ourselves, if all else fails.
You are just as important than Betakin and myself, stop thinking you are less than us…, stop holding yourself back." Ceta replied and I somehow felt my confidence returning, even if just a little.
"Heads up guys, we get company and not the one we like to have!" I heard Betakin stating aloud over the Intercom and just in that moment some kind of Aircraft came swooping down on us, their canons at the ready.
"Dammit!" I could only shout as I instantly used my Nono, which had a little rest before, to create a force field around the church.
As the bullets stroke the same like a hailstorm, I found my own forces diminishing more and more, visible in the cracks which the forcefield got.
"God. Freaking. Dammit. All!" I shouted as I casted a second shield spell, to shield the men and us directly, without the Church.
As the first shield broke, the hailstorm teared the little church apart bit by bit.
Thanks to channeling all my remaining power into this shield, the same held out as the roof of the church came crashing down on us.
"Why can´t they leave us alone, what is it what they want?" I asked close to crying in desperation, my stamina close to total exhaustion.
The rubble of the roof pushed with extreme weight down on us and I feared that I could only keep this shield up for perhaps 5 more minutes.
"Betakin, do something against them!" I shouted in desperation.
"I´m already on it!" The same answered loudly, as I heard more gunshots but not directed at the church.
"Cetala, Help me, we need to push a hole through the rubble, otherwise we will be crushed." I shouted over the noise of gunshots and collapsing brick walls.
"I´m on it!" She replied aloud, as she too used her forces to fuel my own, pumping them right inside of me.
To say it felt good was an understatement, it felt downright soothing.
Father once said that our own personality reflected itself in our magic.
Cetala usually had a calmer and friendlier character than both Betakin and myself, if she was herself at least, and it showed itself in her magical forces, they felt warm and nice, like a nice breeze atop a hill in the summer.
Betakin´s on the other hand felt a little cooler and simple, not too nice not too cruel, just plain normal, like a cloudless day in spring.
My own magic felt even colder than his, cold and unapproachable.
To be honest it made me sad that I was always so different from everyone.
Even my trance form, which I only ever used twice in my life, seemed to be far more reckless than my usual self, according to what Mom and Dad said after I returned back.
Even normal, I wasn´t too shy to speak my mind and to do things in my own way, maybe that´s why I often seem to have little regard for what my siblings do, but that wasn´t true at all.
"All I ever wanted was to be an idol they could look upon, but in the end, I always be inferior to them." I thought as I felt how, with Cetala´s help, the shield expanded itself and pushed the rubble aside.
"Everyone we need to get out of here, if we stay here we will be an easy target, everyone, back to the raid shelter." Cetala exclaimed loudly taking the command, and the men of the IDA listened to her every word.
"If it were me, would they really follow me?" I wondered…, then again, would I even want them to follow me, as mistrusting to people as I was, would I really want to have a bunch of strangers depend on me, trust me with their lives?
Haven´t I rather forced myself unto them, because it is my duty, if it wasn´t, would I even have made a suggestion to them at all?
I remembered what I told the people in the raid-shelters before.
That I had no personal obligation to help them, I could very well just leave them as they were, not caring about them.
If I would leave them, they would be sat out to danger, they would have to fetch for themselves.
I said all this and maybe deep down I really believed it, I was trash talked by that stupid guy, my own friends, which I had considered as such, kept their distance from me, looked at me in fear and doubt.
The people I sat at the table in school and ate my lunch with, the people I had studied in the library together with, the people I spoke, laughed and joked together, suddenly viewed me as something out of this world, as something alien.
I told them all that, but lets be honest…, did I really, really meant what I said…, wasn´t it rather my sorrowful heart which made me say all this?
Do I really want them to fetch for themselves…, even if I have no obligation to help them…, was it then right to leave them be, powerless as they are?
"If only one…, if just one of them would actually be happy that I am what I am…, then maybe things wouldn´t be as bad as they feel to me, maybe I would be able to believe that my life will not end afterwards, when all is done and peace has returned." I thought to myself as we made our way, stumbling over the rubble, outside of the destroyed church.
That was another of my fears.
If by any chance we do survive, how will it go from there, what will happen to us, will we be seen as abnormal and avoided or will people even accept our existence at all, will we be able to keep going to school, will our classmates even want to be in the same classroom as we…., or will they ostracize us, just like they did with Yin and Yang, will we end up having to move to the White Whale as well?
"Alpharia…, are you alright?" I heard a voice asking, I looked up to see Cetala looking at me with deeply concerned eyes.
Only now I felt the wetness on my cheeks, I must have cried making her worry.
"It´s nothing." I quickly replied, wiping them away.
"No it is definitely something, you haven´t been your usual self for a while now, don´t play me for a fool, I have an eye for that Sis." Cetala stated with narrowed eyes.
"I…., really, it´s nothing." I replied, unsure if I should really tell her my fears, fears which did not only concerned myself but her and Betakin as well.
The last I wanted to see, were people hating on my little sister, even more so, if it ends up being her own school comrades, her friends…, I don´t want her to suffer.
"Alpharia…, I…." she stated with a concerned voice but was harshly interrupted.
"Guys, help!" We suddenly heard it on the Intercom, my head spun around to the direction in which Betakin had ran only to see how he was cornered, a little girl in his arms, most likely a survivor from somewhere out of the broken houses, behind which he had taken cover before.
He had a shield generated, while the strange aircraft from before, although quite beaten, but still flying, fired at him with all its might.
While I processed all of that in a few split-seconds, my body had already set itself in motion unconsciously.
I ignored the shouts of Cetala as I left the safe shield, shouldering the spell on her, I ignored the doubt in my heart that I might be too late, that I might not make it.
All I saw before me was my little brother being in danger for his very life, trying to protect someone.
Who was I to let him die?
I ran as fast as my feet could support me, as fast as the cracked and torn-apart ground allowed it to me, as fast as the wind, which punched itself into my face with a metallic stench, allowed it to me.
I ignored the gun-muzzles which were pointed at me, the shouts of my brother to get away from there, to leave him be and safe myself.
I even ignored the fact, that despite the enemy being ready to fire, my heart felt no other fear, then the prospect of my brother dying in vain, trying to save someone, just because it was the right thing to do.
Yes, this was the answer, the answer which differed me from my siblings, which made me look weak compared to them, which I truly should have thought about when I questioned myself earlier.
We fight because we can, we save because it is the right thing to do, we do it because no one else can.
As I questioned the value of me saving the lives of people, who do not even tolerate our existence, I had forgotten something so fundamental.
Something so stupidly simple.
Something I had preached to someone else, as he wanted to forget about the lives they had erased…, and now in this very situation, I had forgotten all about it.
Every life is precious, every life has a purpose no matter what it is, we ought to honor the gift of life given to us and we all need to do what we can to not let it go to waste.
Who am I to judge whose life is more worth saving than the other, what would I become if I decide to only save the people I care for, when I clearly have the power to save everyone.
I don´t need everyone to like me, if I have but only a few who like me the way I am, I can consider myself happy…, its not like there aren´t such people, we got Yin, Yang, Connor and Orphelia, Professor Feravente, Professor Reginald, even Lady Opera, although she still does not know about our hybrid heritage, but I am sure she can accept it…, and I am sure that along the way, in the future, we will make even more friends.
It would be sad for sure, but if my friends would decide to cut me out of their lives, then so be it, life goes on, it is not the end of the world, as long as we won´t let it become such.
"Seriously, how could I be so stupid to forget something so fundamental!" I shouted at myself as I arrived right within the small shield of Betakin and used my newborn confidence to fuel my own wrath upon my self-loathing, my self-doubt and my own cowardice.
Just in the same moment as the Aircraft fired again.
Betakin stood here, risking his life no matter for whom, he saved anyone he could, regardless of the fact if they like himd or even know him and he them at all, he saved them because he wanted to and because he could do so.
I as his big sister should have been an Idol to him and Cetala and walk infront of them, protecting them, instead of keeping myself in the back and let myself being protected and consoled by them instead.
"No citizen is going to die here anymore, not on my watch!" I shouted aloud as I suddenly felt a massive power flowing through me, like the tides of the ocean, climbing higher, getting stronger per second.
"I save these innocent people, all of them, no matter who they are, why you ask…, because it is the freaking right thing to do!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I released all of my power in one go, the shield got bigger and bigger, enveloping Cetala and the men, the town plaza, expanding even further.
I could even feel the presence of Yin and Yang and some other people, even the people in the raid shelter, it suddenly was as though the shield put a protective blanket all over the town.
The Enemy was pushed away by the expanding forcefield and had to turn away from us, unless they wanted to crash.
"This is truly the right answer my child, the Sword and the Shield forge a unity, if the sword is willing to protect the lives of innocent people, but the shield is not, then this unity suffers, so it is vise versa, if however both are in sync, their power is stronger than every magic shield ever generated." I suddenly heard a voice calling out to me.
Right infront of us something huge crashed right into the ground, spraying dust and tiny rubble all around.
It was nothing which came to harm us, or else the shield would have repelled it.
A Mecha unlike anything I have ever seen before.
Similar to ours he had an inverted cockpit, his main color was Black with just a bit red and white, it reminded me of…
"Father…, is that you?" I asked dumbfounded as I looked at this foreign black Mecha
"Indeed, unfortunately Salamander was out of commission for the time being and since a father should not leave the weight of the world upon the shoulders of his children, I decided to trust in your mother´s genius and use the yet untested Mecha Salamander GX, aka Nephilim, which still stood in the White whale, the same will arrive here in a short while.
You have done well, all three of you, I can say with every fiber of my being that I am proud of you, proud to be able to call you my Children, now rest and let us grown-ups handle the rest." Father´s voice appeared over the intercom.
"No Dad, why should we leave all the weight to you, you are old, you need to keep care of your frail body, so let us young folks help you too, now that some of us seem to be highly motivated to do so." Betakin explained with a wink to me and I blushed.
"I´m not that old…, still, if you think you still can do so then by all means go for it, you are soon old enough to make your own decisions anyways, as well as facing the consequences of your actions.
But I know, that if you stand together you will overcome any hardship that might come your way in the future.
You have big things ahead of you so don´t you dare stop now, see it through to the end." Father stated as we all assembled, Cetala as well as Yin, Yang and that other Mecha which had arrived with them.
The little girl which Betakin and I had protected together was being given in the custody of the Men, who were to make their way towards the Raid shelters, after we witnessed how the bullets just bounced of the shield, keeping the town safe for the time being.
"Dad…, I want to fight too…, I don´t want to just stay here and keep the shield up, if I do so…, how will I ever become stronger, I want to be of help to you guys directly, I want to be your support…, can´t I?" I asked unsure and after thinking for a bit he nodded.
"Alright, then bring the people to the raid shelter and envelop them in a lasting shield, once that is done, you are free to engage the enemy, but by all means be careful, your mother would rip my head off if anything was to happen to you guys." Father replied and I nodded.
"Remember Alpharia, the town can be rebuilt again, but a lost life is lost forever, keep that in mind when you defend these people." He stated with serious eyes and I saluted with equal seriousness, I had learned my lesson and I did well not to ever forget it again.
"I will be on my Way." I stated and they nodded.
"Be careful sis, I would hate it to lose you." Betakin stated and I blushed deep red.
"I will be, i´m long not done with bossing your sorry ass around." I joked and he smiled with an awry smile.
"Alpha, be careful we don´t know what else these people have in store." Cetala stated and I nodded taking her in my arms, cuddling her.
"I will be back in no time, I swear, you guys keep yourself out of harm too, understood, once I have pulled the shield back, its up to your own forces to keep yourself safe for the time being, until I return to support you." I replied and she nodded.
"You guys support them until I come back, got it?" I stated, directed towards Yin and Yang.
"Of course, you can count on us, we still owe you guys a lot and we would hate to disappoint all the expectations of our comrades and friends." Yin stated while Yang nodded, before both saluted.
"Well then, I am on my way, be careful, all of you!" I stated looking at each one of them, even the Mecha whose pilots I still don´t know.
"She sure has grown in the last few hour…, but so have I." I heard Betakin stating as I led the men and the little girl away.
I smiled a little about it, before I felt how my hand was squeezed a little tighter.
"No fear, I swear to bring you in a safe place, just believe in me." I stated towards the little girl at my side, who looked up to me in fear, but also in hope, the fear was not directed to me, but I guess it was the overall situation which frightened her, who wouldn´t be.
"I do, I believe in you big Sis!" She stated with a nod and I somehow warmed my heart to witness this, to have such a tiny little girl depending on me without reluctance in her voice nor her eyes, her tiny hand clasping mine.
It was just like back then after Cetala was born, as I grabbed her hand for the first time in my life, feeling the vulnerability of this tiny little life, a life I had and wanted to protect.
Betakin was right, I have changed, I do not know this girl, but I swore to myself to at the very least save this girl, the one for whom my brother almost risked his life.
A little girl who showed no fear nor any reluctance while being in my company, a soul definitely worth to be saved, this girl had a future…, and by my blood, by my honor as a member of the Million clan, I will protect this future.
"May you help me with all your might, to make this desire come true." I thought as I felt the weight of the Shield in my hand.
To be continued….