Chapter Ten - Revelation's In War Part Three
Skies Above The Dark Territory
A chill filled the semi dark air over the appropriately named Dark Territory as Tiese and Yumi flew high above the rebel controlled area at break neck speed on Tieses' Dragon Otes trying to get back to Kirito and Alice for help before their friends were overrun.
"I get why you guys call this the Dark Territory..." Yumi quipped trying to break the tension and awkwardness with her new... Yumi still was trying to get a feel for the inhabitants of this new virtual world but Yumi assumed it was safe to call the redhead knight in front of her; her new partner at least for this mission...
"Believe it or not Yumi the Dark Territory as a whole has made great progress since the War of Underworld sure there are tiny pockets of rebellion but overall it's like a whole new realm." Tiese explained to Yumi who was still trying to take this all in sure combat in a virtual world isn't new to her or her friends but compared to the "basic world of Lyoko underworld felt like hundreds of years of advancement despite being convinced only 20 years after her and the other Lyoko warriors shutdown the system for the last time.
As she pondered her thoughts for what seemed like hours she was snapped out of her thinking by the sound of Tiese's voice; "There it is ..." Tiese pointed to the castle just a few hundred feet in front of them as she pulled the reigns of her dragon to signal a descent. After the landing the two females slid off Otes back and went running inside throwing the thick front doors open and bolting inside, Hoping and praying they weren't too late...
Meanwhile with the other's:
Wave after wave of droids, monsters and, soldiers continued there assault on the grossly outnumbered Knights and their allies it seemed like for every one that they destroyed ten more take it's place. X.A.N.A. is certainly not pulling any punches is he? Fanatio questioned the pink haired knight to her left. Aelieta however was not about to question the being no the monster that is XANA knowing full well what it's capable of and all the while blaming herself for insisting her and the love of her life keep a copy of his source code for research purposes, perhaps if she weren't so persistent they wouldn't be in the mess...
"Yes he is if he wasn't he would be sicking King Kong on us by now..." The purple knight Odd quipped as he fires of another short burst of arrows...
"Why would you even joke about something like that dumb-ass?" Aelieta scolded her friend as she herself fired off another round of blasts towards the mass of soldiers charging at them...
"I swear to God Odd if he manages to bring the Kolosus to life here and sicks it on us I'm going to kick your ass into next year!" Ulrich threatened as he pulled his sword out of a mountain goblin who just got way too close to him for comfort.
"A little harsh don't you think?" Odd responded the sweat rolling down off his nervous face.
"Easy for you to say you weren't stomped to death by a literal mountain" Ulrich countered as everyone watched on...
"I don't understand what you're talking about?" Fanatio responded to the conversation confused as ever as she continued firing shards of light into the Sea of Krabs and Blocks in front of her.
To which William responded; "Don't ask believe me you don't want to know..."
"I'll take your word for it." Fanatio stated before returning to combat after a brief pause.
"I sure hope Tiese and Yumi get back soon we could use some backup." Eydis chimed in trying her best to change topics...
Meanwhile in the real world aboard Ocean Turtle:
"I wonder how it's going in there?" Higa asked staring at the giant monitor in front of himself Ryoken and Jeremy. If this were in the Human Empire they could easily observe but since the fighting appears to be confined to the Dark Territory they're flying blind or at least so the Rath scientist thought as Jeremy bowed his head and typed in a command;
"Open Commlink with ID Aelieta.." into the interface as a speaker Icon appeared which everyone anxiously watched;
"Aelieta are you there... Aelieta can you hear me?"
A few tense seconds pass before finally:
"I hear you dear and as happy I am to hear your voice we're a little busy at the moment, trying to keep from being overrun.."
"That bad huh?" Jeremy responded...
No response until finally; "I'll upload you a visual and you can tell me..." Aelieta answered as a video feed popped up.
The video looked like a scene straight out of hell and among the hellscape the trio were stunned to see a sea of bodies being hurled at their friends as dead ones piled up around them against the backdrop of a blood red sky...
Words simply couldn't describe the scene as no one expected it to be this bad so quick.
"Where's Kirito and Alice? How bad is the destruction? Higa questioned Aelieta who despite being in the middle of a fight responded; "Sent Yumi and a knight named Tiese to go fetch them they stayed behind because of Alice's HP status as for the scale of destruction it sounds like the locals are able to confirm they hadn't broken out of the rebel controlled zone of the Dark Territory however how many locals have fallen as a result of XANA'S interference is anyone's best guess."
"Thanks Honey just be careful and keep the video link open as long as you can we need to know what's happening while we handle things here." Jeremy responded to Aelieta who unknown to him was smiling sure she'd have to keep a lense over her right eye from her helmet to keep broadcasting thus limiting her line of sight but she'd figure it out after all it felt like his hand was holding hers encouraging her to stay strong despite the danger they'd find a way out of this they always do.
Meanwhile at Ishkans citadel Dark Territory:
After trying multiple doors but only finding empty rooms; Yumi and Tiese were growing more exhausted but just as the pair were about to give in to their exhaustion a blood curdling scream filled the air;
"AHHHHH..."
"Did you hear that?" Tiese questioned her new partner to which Yumi nodded before responding; "I did it sounds like it came from back there let's go" as she took off bolting down the corridor full speed with Tiese right behind her unsure of just what they'd find as this place appeared to be a ghost town. Eventually the duo came to a set of heavy oak double doors with a red cross etched into them and without hesitation the pair threw the doors to the infirmary open but as the pairs eyes adjusted to the light they certainly were not expecting what they saw next...
Inside the infirmary was Alice lying on one of the beds with her knees raised Kirito next to her while Mylee was at the foot of the bed.
"Alright Lady Alice; One last push!" Mylee encouraged the blonde as Alice screamed out in pain one last time as a child's cry began to fill the air...
"Waaaah...waah... Waah..."
"Congratulations Lady Alice it's a beautiful healthy baby boy..." Mylee encouraged the blonde who had quickly recovered from her pain but now had tears of Joy running down her face. Mylee then quickly cleaned the child and wrapped him in a swaddle before handing the bundle to Alice. With all this happening the trio didn't even notice Tiese and Yumi standing at the doorway.
"Wow did not expect this." Yumi proclaimed her face going from a light smile to agape and back again. With Tieses' pretty much matching; "me either but we have big problems going on." The redhead reminded her partner as the pair of young women entered and walked up to Kirito and Alice...
Tiese has so many questions about what she and Yumi just witnessed but there would be time for that later right now all the redhead could do is focus on her mission as she finally approached the Star King and performed the customary salute of taking her left fist and placing it over her heart; Finally breaking his attention from the blonde lying next to him Kirito turned to Tiese as she began to speak;
"Star King Kirito I have been dispatched along with deputized Knight Yumi Stern by Lady Fanatio to inform you that rebel forces have encircled our expedition force and are in extreme danger of being overrun they need you and Lady Alice to report to the front immediately..."
Tiese felt guilty about including Lady Alice given what they had just seen transpire but she was just following orders...
Kirito was stunned that the best fighters currently in Underworld could not handle the situation but none the less he had to do something. He had to protect not just his friends and comrades who honestly would die for him if they had to but Kirito was not about to let that happen however he felt conflicted also knowing Alice had just given birth to their child but that part was not said out loud the hero of five worlds nodded as he turned to Alice who gazed up at him also feeling conflicted about just what to next she truly wanted to protect her friends but she also needed to protect her new family...
Silent mere moments passed before finally Kirito spoke; "Got it I'll accompany you two back to the front and Alice you stay here."
Alice was stunned by what Kirito just said as from the sounds of it their friends needed all the help they could get; "No Kirito I'm coming too they..." But before Alice could finish Kirito cut her off in a demanding almost yelling voice...
"NO ALICE YOU'RE STAYING HERE"
Alice was taken aback she knew that Kirito was just trying to protect her but she had only ever been yelled at once by him before when she was acting like a "idiot" while they dangled off the cathedral walls.
After the tense atmosphere broke Kirito calmed down; "you stay here Alice and protect your baby if it's truly Vecta he'll no doubt be after him I promise I'll put an end to him once and for all protect everyone and make sure the dark gods ass is kicked so thoroughly he'll never revive again and then I'll come back to you."
Alice was brought to tears this is the Kirito that she had grown to love a strong warrior with a heart of gold. It made the blondes heart flutter just thinking about it as a slight blush creeped over Alice's face as she felt it's warmth before nodding in understanding.
Kirito smiles at this before turning to Mylee; "keep them safe until the army arrives I'll send the order out to have them assemble here if Vecta gets past us you'll be the last line of defense as I can guarantee he'll come after Alice and the baby." Mylee nodded with a confident smile; "Don't worry Kirito I may not look like it but I'm a very skilled dueler." Mylee assured Kirito who smiled before turning to Tiese and Yumi.
"Let's get back to the others!" Kirito ordered as the two nodded following Kirito out the infirmary and outside to the waiting dragon of Tiese's to rush back to the fight...
As Alice said a prayer that Kirito would come back to her and to their son unharmed... They truly needed him but right now they would have to share him...
As The trio flew back to the battle full speed the cold air hitting their faces as they flew against the wind atop the dragon Otes it's silhouette cutting a swath across the blood red sky of the dark Territory no words were spoken between them however there was one glaring thought in at least one of their heads and that of course was Yumi who unlike her old teenage self back at Kadic some twenty years ago now; who would say everything she thought out loud now kept most of her thinking to herself...
"So this is the legendary Black Swordsman hero of Aincraid! I know he's barely considered an adult but he truly has instincts and wisdom above his years we may be older than him but I feel like we can follow his lead without question; reading about his exploits are one thing but I wonder how his fears will mesh with ours the Black Swordsman of Aincraid and The Lyoko Warriors working together we'll stop this once and for all." Yumi assured herself as she Tiese and Kirito readied themselves for the fight as they flew closer and closer to the battlefield where right now their friends were struggling to hold the line...
To Be Continued: