Sorry it's been awhile. I've been so busy with schoolwork that I haven't found much time, let alone had the energy, to pick up from where I left off, so that's what I'm planning to do! And besides, it's the 30th chapter of this series! Can you believe it? Thank you all for supporting this little venture of mine up till now and I hope you enjoy this latest installment!

Chapter 30: A Wave is Coming

As the party consisting of Gerald the White, Aonghus, Matthias, Gavin, King Terenti, and a few escorts drew closer to Hightower, the sky became increasingly dark even during the daytime. This in turn made King Terenti and his fellow Heavies nervous, but they marched on regardless. It had been the third day since they left DeGroot Keep in the hands of Ivan, who was ordered to help oversee the reconstruction of the Main Gate, the BLU fort, and the side-entrance door, while Ivana had been sent back to Rottenburg with the civilians and the rest of Terenti's army. Since then, the party had been traversing pine-forests, valleys, canyons, and were now in sight of the cliff-face where Hightower stood in a large niche near the top.

There, they decided to camp for the night. But as time wore on, nobody could sleep as menacing laughter pierced across the canyons. Gavin and Matthias were the most nervous, and decided to keep watch. As they sat together, looking at Hightower which was cast in an eerie glow, a chilly wind swept past them.

Gavin shivered a little bit and then he said, "So Matthias, I was thinking—

"What?" Matthias asked, as if he was thinking about something else before.

"Ah, it's nothing," Gavin replied. "I was just wondering if, after all this is over, if you'd like to come with me to DeGroot Keep. There was one point in the battle where I went into the dungeons to check on the women and children and wooee! The first thing I saw were piles and piles of old Sentries, Dispensers, and Teleporters. It was so beautiful I nearly cried."

"So you want to go to DeGroot Keep just to look at a bunch of junk?"

Gavin chuckled in response to Matthias' remark. "It may seem like junk to you, but it's not to me. This was the stuff my Class made centuries ago, right up till the Machine Wars, and now we hardly use any of it. But it's still a part of who I am as an Engineer, even though I don't build any of those things."

"Remember when I made fun of you back at Mountain Lab? Well now, I think I better understand where you're coming from, mate. I felt the same way when I held a Sniper Rifle for the first time, knowing that it was part of my heritage and yet Snipers these days never use them with the exception of the ones at Gullywash. So I'd be willing to go with you to DeGroot Keep to see the piles of Engineer crafts on the condition that you accompany me to Badlands. I want to show you to the impressive canyons in the Area, which this place reminds me of."

"Alrighty then!" Gavin nodded and shook Matthias' hand.

The next morning, the party made their way up a steep path along the cliff-face, and while it was exhausting, they managed to reach the BLU ramp by early afternoon, though they couldn't tell what time it was due to the dark sky overhead. There, they were surprised to find Mickey and Patten leaning against a green shed nearby and casually drinking Bonk! Sodas. When they spotted the party, Mickey and Patten ran over to greet them.

"Fellas!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Welcome to Hightower, former abode of the wizard Merasmus," Patten added.

In response, Gavin stormed up to the two Scouts and shouted, "You little jackrabbits! Have you any idea what Matthias, Aonghus, and I have been through to rescue your sorry a**es from the Zombies? We had to cover several miles from Hydro with hardly enough food and water to keep us going while you were busy hanging with axe-wielding Jack-O-Lanterns and pumping yourselves full of those Sodas you love so much! But I'll be darned! It's good to see you two alive and well!"

After that, Gavin patted the two Scouts on the back, and they in turn embraced him. This in turn inspired Aonghus and Matthias to join in, followed by Gerald, while King Terenti and the other Heavies stared at them with puzzlement.

"Gerald told us you were fine when we followed your trail to Mann Manor, but I didn't belief it myself till now," Aonghus remarked, staring down at Mickey and Patten.

"You have to tell us what happened, mates," Matthias added.

"We'll tell you on the way to the Central Tower where Silas is guarding Merasmus," Mickey said.

"But in exchange, you need to tell us what happened to you guys," said Patten. "We've been stuck with these pumpkin-heads for so long that we have no idea what's going on out in the world out there."

"Sounds fair enough," Gerald remarked. "But I think your story demands more of an explanation to the ones who worried about you constantly."

So as Mickey and Patten led the party up the ramp towards a balcony, they explained everything that happened from escaping the Zombies to aiding the Horsemenn during the siege of Hightower. In turn, Matthias, Gavin, and Aonghus described their trek from Hydro, reuniting with Gerald, and even the battle of DeGroot Keep. Gerald, meanwhile, repeated everything he said to the three Mercenaries regarding his coming back from the dead after falling into the gorge at Double Cross. Eventually, the party came to the back entrance of the Central Tower where Silas the Headless Horsemann stood menacingly with his axe at his side. He stared down at the party with slight interest, particularly at Gerald.

"How has the wizard been doing, Silas?" Gerald asked.

"Not very good, I'm afraid," Silas responded. "He's tried to teleport away numerous times, but the other Horsemenn always catch him and bring him back. We even gave him a roommate, but he doesn't like him."

"That must be Gaston," Aonghus said to Matthias.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if he came crying here after he was banished from Rottenburg," Matthias replied.

"I knew we should've killed that snake when we had the chance," Gavin growled, patting his Jag Wrench into his other hand.

"It doesn't matter now, Gavin. What's done is done," Gerald said, then he looked up at the Central Tower to the highest window and shouted, "Come out, Merasmus! We have much to discuss!"

In response, the shutters on the highest window broke as the Bombinomicon went flying out and fell towards Gerald. Fortunately, Gerald stepped back and the book landed with a loud thump between him and Silas. Back up at the window, Merasmus was pushing Gaston out of the window, chocking him with his stick.

"Ahh! Who told you to do that?" Merasmus roared angrily. "You threw away the one weapon we had against these miserable fools!"

"Preposterous! The Headless Horsemann can't die, you imbecile!" Gaston responded, then he looked over his shoulder at the party and frowned. "Ugh…merde (s**t), now we have the Medic and King Terenti to deal with. What a disaster!"

Merasmus then tossed Gaston back inside, and glared down at Gerald. "What do you want, Gerald? Came here to gloat upon my defeat?"

"I have come here to offer you a deal," replied Gerald in a steady but serious tone of voice. "If you are willing to help us, we might be willing to pardon your crimes and protect you from the wrath of Gray Mann, who has no doubt heard of your defeat at DeGroot Keep by now."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you will be left here to deal with Gray Mann on your own."

"Your words do not threaten me. I have lived longer than you have and my power is stronger than yours."

"You dug a grave for yourself the minute you joined Gray Mann, and you're no longer the one in power!" Gerald raised his Freedom Staff and pointed it at Merasmus' own staff. "Pactum diabolus!"

Merasmus' staff suddenly turned bright orange, forcing Merasmus to let go as it split into several splinters that scattered everywhere. Fortunately, Merasmus' robe absorbed most of the splinters, but some lodged into his hands and face. He briefly cried out in pain and tried to pick up all that remained of his staff fervently.

"I have just destroyed the source of your magic, and since I have the Bombinomicon as well, you will be powerless when Gray Mann's forces arrive," Gerald said, lowering his Freedom Staff. "Now I will ask you one more time: will you join us or die here?"

"Ach, no!" cried Merasmus angrily. "I'd rather die than join you fools in a losing battle!"

Then suddenly, Gaston appeared out of the shadows and was about to stab Merasmus in the back. Aonghus noticed and told Matthias to shoot Gaston with an arrow. But as soon as Matthias launched an arrow from his Hunter's Bow, which he had been saving despite using the Sniper Rifle, Gaston lodged the blade firmly into Merasmus back before the arrow went straight through his head and instantly killed him. As for Merasmus, he managed to stand up despite the agonizing pain and leaned out the window, staring at Gerald with glazed eyes.

"I die, I diieeeee…bye Gerald," Merasmus said, then he fell out of the window down towards the wooden platform that served as a bridge to the Central Tower from the backside.

Everyone including Gerald stepped back as the great wizard fell through the wooden platform, followed by a very loud thud as his body hit solid rock.

"I tried to convince him, but he wouldn't listen," Gerald said, staring at the gaping hole with a disappointed frown.

"Well what did you expect from a bloody wizard?" Aonghus said, staring down the hole as well and then back up at the window. "You said yourself that he dug his own grave the minute he joined Gray Mann."

"That may be true, but we still can't ignore the fact that we've lost the only wizard in the world."

"Not anymore, dummy," Gavin said. "You're the new wizard, Gerald!"

"Da, your magic is much stronger than the wizard's," King Terenti added. Then he sighed. "If only we had spared Gaston."

"Don't feel sorry for him, mate," Matthias said. "He was only interested in benefiting himself, which makes him no different than Merasmus."

"Even so, he was one of the best Spies I ever hired."

"Uh, a little help," Patten said, trying to pick up the Bombinomicon with both hands.

"I'll take that," Gerald said, waving his hand over the Bombinomicon, which caused it to shrink down to regular book-size. Once that was done, Gerald picked it up and stuffed it inside his inner-coat pocket. "While this book may no longer be in Merasmus' hands, it's still connected with Gray Mann's spirit, the Monoculus, so we must not tamper with it."

Patten looked disappointed, but then he quickly shrugged it off as he and Mickey followed the rest of the party as they prepared to leave Hightower for good. As for Silas, he watched the Scouts' backs, but didn't bother to say goodbye to them. Instead, he let out another cackling laughter, which caused all the other Horsemenn to come to him, and then from there they went to the end of the niche and began climbing the cliff-face there.

"Hey, Silas!" Mickey shouted, looking back as the Horsemenn scaled the cliff. "We'll be sure to look for your brother's ghost when we get back to Harvest!"

Silas heard Mickey and looked down on them. "If you see my brother, tell him that I will be waiting for him in the afterlife!"

"Gotcha!"

"So long, Silas!" Patten added.

"Good luck, Scouts, and farewell!"

Then with the Horsemenn vanishing from view once they finished scaling the cliff, the dark clouds cleared up revealing a brilliant sunset that lit up the canyon walls in brilliant splendor.

Back at Rottenburg, King Terenti decided to hold a proper celebration to commemorate the victory at the Battle of DeGroot Keep and the vanquishing of the Wizard Merasmus. In one of the larger houses, there was a roaring fire with a large table stacked with tons of Sandviches and Steaks along with bottles of vodka, beer, and Bonk! Sodas. While King Terenti and Gerald sat talking together, Mickey and Patten were busy doing a Congo Line with the other Heavies in the room and Matthias and Gavin were competing to see how much Jarate they could stomach before they got sick.

Once the party was over, though, almost everyone passed out in the room, forcing the servants to get blankets and pillows for everyone there. Once that was done, the lamps were blown out and the doors were shut. But while everyone was fast asleep, Patten was still wide awake. Ever since he tried to pick up the Bombinomicon, he couldn't get it out of his mind, and was filled with a strong desire to open the book for himself. So he crept out of the blankets and quietly walked over to where Gerald was sleeping, which was on a wooden bench near the back. There he found Gerald snoring with his hands raised leaving his coat exposed with the Bombinomicon popping out. Patten cautiously reached for it, but as soon as he touched the book, it flew out of Gerald's coat-pocket and grew back to its original size.

"Hey, guys! Beat that wizard, huh? Good stuff, good stuff, buddy," it said very loudly.

"Shh!" Patten said. "Keep it down, will you? Everyone's sleeping."

"Oh, I gotcha, I gotcha. I promise I'll be quiet, okay?" After Patten nodded, the Bombinomicon asked, "So you want to take a look inside me like last time?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Oh-ho, this is going to be good." The Bombinomicon opened obediently to a page depicting an eye.

Then to Patten's surprise, the eye suddenly became three-dimensional and emerged out of the page. It blinked once at Patten, and instead of an iris it had the face of a short man with gray hair and a menacing grin. Then the man suddenly started laughing, which woke everyone up including Gerald, who upon noticing the open Bombinomicon quickly took out his Freedom Staff and zapped it with a bolt of lightning-colored energy while crying, "Caputus crepitus!"

The spell caused the Bombinomicon to forcefully close and shrink down to book-size once more with brown leather strips binding it shut.

"Oi, what just happened?" Aonghus asked.

"Dummkopf (Idiot)!" Gerald shouted, walking over to Patten and smacking him across the face with his gloved hand. "I told you not to tamper with it, son of a Tyke!"

"I'm sorry! I regret everything I ever done!" Patten said, bowing before Gerald while covering his head under his arms. "Something made me open the book, and then when I opened it a giant friggin' eye popped out with a man's face inside."

"Did it say anything?"

"It just laughed at me, and then I heard a sinister voice in my head asking me questions."

"What did you say?"

"I tried to say nothing, but then I gave in and said I was a Scout from Harvest. Then you closed the book just as it was about to ask about the Bomb."

"Interesting," Gerald said, which surprised everyone. "Gray Mann thought you were Freddie, and that's why it asked about the Bomb, so our mission is still safe for the time being, but you Patten are now in great danger. We must leave at once!"

"For where? We just got to Rottenburg."

"We're going to Bigrock."

End of Chapter 30