Chapter 17
War Plans
"Our plan of attack will be broken up into two parts. Corey, Derek, and I will take the first team of one hundred of our best melee warriors through the front lines, while Ellen will lead our firearm fighters from the rear." Liz explained at the meeting of the top ranked officials in the Rebel Army.
Three more days had passed since Corey had finished his training. After some well deserved shut-eye, both he and Derek were back at top strength. During that time, Spirit World had managed to discover where Darkine's lair was: in the western hemisphere of the Demon World, exactly three hundred miles from the closest entrance to Spirit World.
A meeting had been called as soon as they got the exact location of Darkine. Corey, Derek, Liz, Kurama, Koenma, and four of the colonels were all in Koenma's throne room with maps and charts lying on a table in the center. All of them were circled around it, trying to find the best place to launch the attack. Unfortunately, Darkine's fortress was built on the ledge of a giant mountain range, with miles of more mountains behind it. The only way to get to it was at the front, and even that was going to be a challenge.
"So how do we plan on getting up the mountain, Liz?" Corey asked, arms across his chest.
"From the information that we've gathered, we know that the actual entrance to the fortress is at the bottom of the mountain. Darkine has actually fused his own fortress with the mountain itself, which means--"
"--Which means it's going to be one giant labyrinth of caves." Derek finished Liz's sentence. She nodded to him and looked back at the maps.
"We also know that most Darkine's remaining Captains are all stationed out front, except for one other Captain and the final Elite." Liz said grimly.
"Okay…so you, Derek, Kurama, and myself will fight off the Captains until we can get inside, right?" Corey said.
"It won't be that simple. I'm sorry, Corey, but we need you and Derek to conserve as much strength as you can. I know that a normal Captain is easily within both of your abilities, but this is Darkine we're talking about. You guys need to be as close to 100% as possible." said Liz.
"I've measured the demonic energy of the previous Captains you have all fought, and I have a strong feeling I won't have too much problem dealing with one." Kurama said reassuringly.
Corey grinned. "Excellent. How about you guys?" He looked at his colonels.
Evan Ray laughed, flexing his arm muscles. "No worries here, General. I'll be more than a match for any Captain that Darkine throws at me."
"You're right, Evan. I'm sure you'll make an excellent meat shield for me." Frank Jacobs said with a cocky tone.
"You idiots…" Ellen Claire sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Don't worry about us, Corey." Logan Fox said with a small smile. "We'll take care of ourselves."
"I'm counting on you." Corey said, holding up his thumb.
"I wish I could be joining you all in this battle, but unfortunately I have to stay here and watch over Spirit World." Koenma said disappointedly.
Derek smiled. "Don't worry, Kurama. Just make sure to have the victory party ready when we return."
"Yeah! If I don't have a cake waiting for me when I get back, I'm gonna be pissed at you." Corey said, laughing.
Liz nodded. "Alright then. Evan, I want you to make sure we have all the supplies we'll need. It's going to be a long trip. Frank, I need you to make sure that all the Mobile Fortress' are working at top capacity. We're only leaving one here for the non-fighters. Ellen, make sure we have plenty of ammunition for this. And Logan, send all the messengers we have to go and tell the colonies. Tell them to meet us all at this location," She handed him a slip of paper with the coordinates. "We head out in three days. Dismissed!"
The four colonels saluted and left the throne room, leaving Corey, Liz, Derek, Koenma, and Kurama.
"So we wait more. Yay." Corey said sarcastically.
"But just think; this is our last battle." Derek said smiling.
"For better or worse." Liz replied with a sigh.
"I believe in all of you." Koenma told them, and the other four nodded their thanks.
"By the way," Corey said, looking over at the others, "What about Dia?"
Derek frowned. "Dia will be fighting one way or another. I just hope he stays out of our soldier's ways."
"I agree, but remember Dia's motivation. He wants revenge for his parents' deaths." Kurama said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I can understand that." Corey said, cracking his knuckles.
"Okay. We still got a lot to do, everyone. Let's get ready to win us a war." Liz said, smiling.
******
If the excitement that was felt through the soldiers could be channeled to Corey in Spirit Energy, he was pretty sure he'd be able to beat Darkine with one blast. He couldn't help but smile as his soldiers prepared for the conclusive battle of this long war.
I just hope we win it. He thought to himself as he walked through the camp.
It was the night before they left Spirit World to move into the Demon World, and the last minute preparations were being dealt with. Evan, Frank, and Ellen had all completed the tasks that were given to them, so all Corey had to do was wait for word from Logan.
Corey had never seen all of the Rebel Soldiers come together before in one battle, but then again, as Liz had said two days ago, this was Darkine.
This was the man who taunted him before the Demon World Tournament.
The man who sent the assassin to kill Jade.
The man who was the cause of everyone's heartbreak and hardship these last ten years.
"And he's going down." Corey said aloud, slamming his fist into his open palm.
"General Kartana!"
Corey turned around to see a young soldier run up to him, holding a piece of paper in his hand.
"What's up?" Corey asked.
The soldier saluted. "Sir! A message from Colonel Fox, sir." He handed Corey the paper. Quickly scanning it, a large grin appeared on Corey's face.
"Excellent! He finished his mission." He looked up at the soldier. "Go tell Colonel Jacobs that Colonel Fox completed his mission. He'll know what to do next."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted again and took off.
Corey smiled and stuck the letter into his back pocket, then started heading back to the palace to tell Derek and the others the news.
******
"Hey guys." Corey said, walking into Liz's room. She and Derek were sitting in their, with little Cory in Derek's arms. The boy was already three years old, and both Derek and Corey felt like they miss a lot of his childhood.
"Hey, bro. What's the word?" Derek asked quietly, not wanting to wake his son.
"Logan finished his mission. Everyone is good to go for tomorrow." Corey announced, smiling and handing the letter to Liz.
"Great." She said, smiling, looking over the paper before pocketing it. Corey took a seat across from the two, crossing his leg over his knee.
"So…this is it. Our last battle." Corey said with a small smile on his lips.
"Yeah…we'll finally get to finish this once and for all." Derek said, getting up and placing his son in his bed, tucking him in. With a gentle kiss on the forehead, Derek turned around and sat back down.
"It's been awhile." Liz said with a distant look in her eyes.
"What's that, Liz?" Corey asked.
"Since the three of us sat down like this. I think the last time we actually got to do this was when Corey first returned." She replied.
"God…that was almost three years ago." Corey said, and then began to laugh. "Holy shit I'm old!" He looked at his two friends, who were glaring at him, and started laughing even harder. "That's right…you two are in your forties now!"
Liz gave Corey an even darker glare. "I'm thirty-six, Corey Kartana."
Derek began to laugh now. "Damn, Corey, I could be your father!"
Corey looked at Derek, giving him a rather creeped out look. "Dude. Don't even joke."
And then, Liz started laughing, followed shortly after by Corey. The three laughed for a good minute, until a small whine interrupted them. They all looked over to see the three year old, standing right by them, staring.
"Why awe you all laughing?" the young Cory Maison asked.
Derek grinned and lifted up his son. "Because we're all very silly old people."
Corey scoffed. "Speak for yourself, gramps. Like you just said, I'm young enough to be your son. That makes me and the little guy brothers."
Cory grinned and started clapping. "Yay! Me and Uncle Cowey awe brothahs!"
Corey and Liz started to laugh again, but Derek had a scowl on his face, but only for a moment.
"Did we wake you up, kiddo?" Derek asked his son. Cory nodded. "Sorry, buddy. I guess we're all a little anxious about tomorrow."
"You awe gonna beat up the bad guy, wight daddy?" Cory asked. Corey, Derek and Liz looked at each other, then Derek looked back down at Cory, but the young boy started to get tears in his eyes.
"Pwomise you won't get huwt, daddy…" The boy said, sniffling back tears. None of them knew that Cory was so aware about what was happening.
For a moment, Derek looked a little shook up, but swallowed hard and smiled at his son, "Have I ever told you how your Uncle Corey, Aunty Liz and I beat a bad guy named Shura?"
Cory shook his head, wiping a little snot from his nose. "No."
Derek smiled and picked up his son, carrying him over to his bed. "Well…a long time ago, there was a very bad man who tried to take over the world…" and Derek started in on the story of his, Corey and Liz's first case as Spirit Detectives. As Derek told the story, Corey and Liz watched and reminisced about that time, giving all of them confidence for the battle that was soon to come.
******
"Are we all set?" Corey asked, glancing over at Derek.
"Yeah. We are." His best friend replied, touching the hilt of his katana.
The two turned around. Behind them were the four mobile fortresses, eight hundred soldiers who all were carrying guns, blades, and other various weapons. Each was dressed for combat.
Corey was wearing his usual clothes; a pair of blue jeans, a brown t-shirt and his specially tailored black leather jacket. A pair of fingerless leather gloves were on each hand, and a pair of tennis shoes strapped to his feet. The Ragnarok was sheathed around his shoulder.
Derek had on his black karate pants and shirt, with a pair of combat boots and black leather gloves on each hand. His katana was sheathed at his side.
After a few moments, Liz and Kurama appeared from the ranks. Liz wore a pair of camouflage pants and a white t-shirt, with combat boots similar to Derek on her feet. Her throwing knives and daggers were strapped to her waist and legs.
Kurama had on a red silk jacket and pants, with a pouch around his white belt, probably filled with various seeds and other plants. His signature red rose was in his right hand.
"We're all set back here, guys." Liz informed them.
"Good." Derek said, and then turned to Corey, "I think you should say something, bud."
Corey blinked. "Me? Why me?"
Liz smiled. "You've grown into a true leader, Corey. We'd all be honored if you said something."
Kurama smiled. "It's your army, Corey Kartana."
Corey sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Fine, fine. Sheesh…" Corey took a few steps forward, and without warning a large green leaf lifted him up so that the entire army could see him.
"Thanks, Kurama…" Corey mumbled, having been caught unaware.
He looked at the Rebel Army and grinned. "Everyone! This is it! This is the day we've all waited for!" A loud cheer was heard throughout the ranks. "Darkine has haunted us for over a decade! He has taken from us our homes and loved ones, but that stops today!" Another cheer. "Now, I'm not great with speeches. In fact, I suck at them. All I can say is that I'm proud to lead this army into battle to face this evil. This is our last battle, guys! There is no time for mistakes! We're gonna kick Darkine's ass so hard, we'll send his dead corpse into the future!" An even louder cheer erupted.
Corey looked down at his friends, who were smiling at him, then back to the army.
"Let's do this!!"
******
It was five hours into their march to Darkine's Fortress when Logan Fox and the other Rebel Fighters from all the colonies were spotted. Derek, who had been scouting ahead, saw them first. Two thousand men and women were waiting for them only twenty miles ahead, which made their total forces a little under three thousand.
Darkine had nearly 15,000.
It didn't matter to Corey. They were going to win, no matter what.
After another couple hours, they rendezvoused with Logan, who greeted them with a smile.
"Anyone else ready to win a war?" He asked, leaning casually against his spear.
Corey laughed. "Ready and waiting, pal."
It took only twenty minutes to reassemble the leading commanders in the main Mobile Fortresses conference room. Once again, Corey, Derek, Liz, Kurama, and the four colonels were around a table, getting ready to go over the final calculations of their game plan.
"We're outnumbered 5-1 here, people," Liz explained, rubbing her temple, "But our plan hasn't changed. Corey. Derek. You two know what to do,"
Corey smirked and flicked the tip of his nose with his thumb. "Go in. Kill bad guys. Kick Darkine's ass. Come back. Eat cake."
Derek rolled his eyes. "We've done all we can for calculations. Knowing Darkine, I'm sure he has a good idea that we're coming. Honestly, I'm surprised he doesn't have a bigger army set up out front."
"Agreed, but like you just said: this is Darkine. I'm sure he's still just as cocky as he has been, and I really doubt he knows that you have completely mastered the Black Dragon, and that I have a new technique with his name on it." Corey said.
"True enough." Derek replied.
"Okay. Corey, Derek, Evan, Frank, Logan, and ninety-seven of our other best fighters will take the front, followed by the rest of our melee, then our gunners, who will be lead by Ellen." Liz ordered.
"What about you, Liz?" Corey asked.
"I'll be with the second brigade, leading from the front. I'll catch up to you guys, don't worry." She said with a smile.
"Alright. Guys, I can't tell you how important it is that Derek and I get to the front gate. Once there, we'll handle things," said Corey, "If there does happen to be more enemies inside, we'll contact Liz and have her bring troops in to help us out. We have to get to Darkine. This war ends today, so let's make sure we're on the winning side!"
