~A/N~ Shooort chapter. But I actually cried in this one xD Writer's side-effects. If you don't get the feels, you're a cold-hearted person. Jk. Enjoy the chapter~
~X~
Chapter 10
The rebels made it back to the base inside the castle universe. They were trapped inside the parallel dimension, and The General and the Mind Worm were wreaking havoc on Earth even as they spoke. There was no escape.
The best thing they could do was go back to The General's base hidden inside the castle universe. Luckily, it was only several miles away from the castle, and they hadn't seen it before due to the thick fog hanging in the air.
The portal was closed, much to the dismay of the Elite Rebels.
Beecher drove his boot against the portal's slab in his anger, but nothing happened.
Boomer snickered, but there was a lack of humor behind it.
Footsteps resounded overhead.
Nox tensed, but Romanov peered over a building. Something unfathomable stirred in his eyes behind his glasses.
Nox's shoulder slackened in relief. "Good to see you're not dead."
"You'll think of it as a blessing later on," Romanov walked towards them. "The General thought it better to have me trapped here, where I won't be able to do anything to stop him. Little did he know… Here, I have something for you."
"Why don't you show us, 'O Wrinkled One?" Beecher snarled sarcastically.
Nox noticed the sarcastic tone in Beecher's voice. He was becoming more like Etrius in his absence.
Romanov reached into his pocket and produced something he held in a clenched fist. He unclosed his hand, revealing a shard of KrSAPPHIRE.
Nox's jaw fell open. "Where did you get that?"
"The General left it here so it couldn't get in his way on Earth. Little did he know that we could use it to return to Earth."
At first, Nox had gone numb. Then, her heart hammered against her chest. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's do this."
Romanov held the shard by a chain it was attached to and made his way to the portal. He embedded the shard into the portal's system situated by the left slab. His fingers flew across the keyboard, inputting codes and numbers.
Nox frowned, something bothering her in the back of her mind. "Why haven't you done this before?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've been here for hours. Why didn't you just leave, if you had the shard with you the whole time?"
Romanov harrumphed. "I was waiting for you and the team to show up. I knew you'd come back, and mankind rests on your shoulders. You cannot remain trapped here." Lights flickered across the keyboard.
That was enough to convince Nox that Romanov was on their side. He was willing to stand against The General and save mankind, even if it cost his life.
An electrical sound of white noise buzzed around them. The air in between the portal's slabs began to bend and twist, flexing and crackling with unearthly energy. Blue light filtered in through the two slabs, joining in the center, and the portal was open.
The portal flickered.
"Go!" Romanov kept his hands on the control. "Hurry! I can't keep the gates open for long!"
Boomer and Ivan were the first ones through. Their bodies vanished into the sea of light, like they were running into an abyss of electrical blue light. After a moment, Beecher ran through next.
Nox and Lloyd prepared themselves. Nox turned to face Romanov, and waved at him to get to the portal. "Come on!"
Romanov shook his head, his gray hair falling over his eyes. "Just go."
"What?"
"I can't let go of this computer, or else the portal will close forever. Leave me and get to Earth. Stop the Mind Worm."
"You can't do this!" Nox whirled around to run towards him, but Lloyd grabbed her shoulder.
"We've wasted enough time here already. We need to leave!"
"We can't just leave him here!" But Lloyd had already pulled her into the portal's light. Over Nox's shoulder, she faintly saw Romanov raise his hand in a good-bye wave through the cobalt blue light.
They pulled through the portal, falling to their knees as the light flickered out behind them, like a snuffed candle.
"What happened?" Beecher pressed as Lloyd rose to his feet, brushing gray dust off his armor. "Where's Romanov?"
Lloyd's eyes failed to meet anyone's, as did Nox's.
"Well?" Ivan inquired, deciding not to read anyone's mind anymore.
"H—He…" Nox stumbled on her own words. "He let himself fall behind."
"What?"
"He couldn't keep the Portal open unless he stayed by the computer. He sacrificed himself so we could escape."
Boomer frowned. "We're talking about the same crackpot, right?"
Beecher scanned his surroundings with keen eyes like a wolf. They were in some sort of underground base, with abandoned parked Humvees lining the dirt walls. A broken glass walkway was situated near the ceiling, but nobody was walking within it. The place was abandoned, quiet. Heavy silence hung in the air like a thick cloud.
"We can't wait around any longer. Worry about Romanov later. The General and the Mind Worm are out there, probably causing any last bit of destruction on Earth, even as we speak."
Nox gazed at the empty portal, wishing she could just walk back through it again and drag that crackpot with them. Such a simple, thin fabric of time to get through, and now it was locked forever. Her heart hung by a thread. She curled her fingers around her sapphire sword, as if afraid it would slip through her fingers. Like sand.
As the team turned away to leave, they gave one last glance at the portal before Boomer was sent to create wreckage. They had to make sure nothing else dark came through that portal.
They emerged from the building and watched from a distance as the portal was obliterated into a million pieces. Nox's fear had been confirmed: Romanov wasn't coming back.