--- Fort Alnus, Ranger Command Post ---
December 13th, 2025
First Lieutenant Sarah Rose is standing there looking at the main screen. The view is from Major Sharpe camera, looking directly at Taylin.
During the Raid on Sadera(1), the military hadn't yet set up the NETT Network, so she wasn't able to watch that raid live. But she and everyone else here heard everything.
This place is the place where the Ranger Logistical Officers can communicate with their teams and direct resources and new information. A Special Force unit is only effective if the information they have is up to date. The worst part is standing there watching your team right and there isn't anything you can do. As the old GI Joe shows that Sharpe watches says, knowing is half the battle.
Everyone here has the same fear, watching your unit get slaughtered because there is nothing you can do about it. That is why she works so hard to make sure her team has everything they need before going into battle.
She leans forward in her chair and holds her headset tight. "Major, you're kidding right?"
There is a short delay in his response. "Don't second guess."
"You can't…" She stops herself from speaking. The last thing he needs right now is her telling him that there is no hope or criticizing his decision. She might not agree, he always has a reason why he is doing it. "You said you had a plan?"
"Be my second pair of eyes. Stay focus on him and what can beat him." Sharpe says over the radio.
"Roger," She said. She knows she has no choice but to trust him.
She begins looking at a list of the gear he has and looks for anything that might help the situation. While he has all different kinds of grenades, a magazine of explosive .45 rounds and more gear. Nothing that jumps out at her.
"Only Rory can challenge him…. Wait." She mumbles and realizes what Sharpe was really saying. He cannot just say Rory's name because that would tip off Taylin.
"Standby," She says and mutes herself. She looks over to the desk behind her and sees her friend Lieutenant April Elliott. She is like her, Vanguard-5 Logistical Officer. She remembers Lelei giving her a report of the current situation and what Rory might be doing. "April, is Rory with your team?"
"Hold on Sarah, confirming," April said. "Confirmed. Captain Bailey said she arrived about three minutes ago."
She takes a breath of relief. "Ok, passing on coordinates. Tell her Major Sharpe needs her. I am passing a High Alert Note that Taylin has been spotted. I am requesting back up on that position."
Getting a confirmation on her HAN, she looks back at her screen and looks through Sharpe helmet camera.
She takes a deep breath and watches how things might unfold.
--- Fortress Legrath, Southern Wall ---
Princess Pina blocks this sword from one of Herm Royal Guards. She finds it strange, not the long ago these Royal Guards once had the duty to protect her. Now they are trying to kill her.
"Ahh!" She screams as she pushes forward against her opponent.
Her sword slides down and she brings her sword back and then rams her sword into his neck.
The Royal Guard falls as she pulls her sword out, falling dead.
She catches a breath and looks forward. The next two guards rush towards her but both of their heads explode from one of the Americans bullets.
Johnson ordered a two-line formation, Boxes, Grey and her upfront attacking anyone get close while Scoot, Frost, and Johnson are in the back picking off Herm Guard. While outnumbered, doing this is allowing them to chew through Herm defenders with much ease.
"Keep pushing forward!" She yells, feeling the adrenaline flow through her body.
She can see Herm right there, trying to figure out what to do. They are on the Southern Wall pushing against each other. While the wall isn't thin, it does limit the amount of Royal Guards that can attack once.
She looks to her right and sees Grey easily block this attack and cut down that man down. She watches and sees how easy it is for him in killing these Royal Guards. He has fought many wars for the Empire and won her many battles during her Rose training.
She moves forward, taking on this other guard.
To her left she sees Bozes take on another guard.
She looks back while they took out a few Herm guards, there is still a lot to go through.
"Princess, inbound," Grey yells.
She slashes her sword and looks past Herm and sees these soldiers rushing to defend their general.
At this rate, Herm will be able to escape just because they can get through his defenders. He is just tossing their lives away to save his own.
She turns around to face Johnson. "Lieutenant, we need to do something."
"Agreed, hold on," Johnson said.
She sees him getting on his radio, which allows him to use invisible waves in the air to talk to his friends. She has no idea how that is possible but accepts it.
Turning back around, she dodges out of the way and swings her sword down hard, cutting the man. She then looks back and charges her next target.
It was not long before she hears this waving sound. She heard it before in Italica, their attack helicopter.
She stops and looks out past the wall. Everyone around her stops fighting as there confused about what is happening. While her Knights and she are used to the sound and the presence, Herm and his people are not.
This helicopter that they call Apache hovers over to their position. She has learned some of the names of their equipment and weapons like the chain gun underneath the cockpit. She sees the two pilots inside, and the chain gun begins firing.
In front of her, she watches the Apache shreds Herm Royal Guard in just moments. She has seen many of their powerful weapons and still, she feels a combination of fear and disbelief.
She turns back around and sees Johnson talking on his radio, talking to the pilots. She looks back to the Apache as it flies around and then takes out the advancing force.
As she is about to cheer, she sees this spear from a defensive ballista just barely miss the flying machine. If the Apache was an animal, it acted like one now as he readjusts itself and flies around. It fires these strange flares, coming out the rear.
The Apache flies higher up and fires one of its missiles towards wherever that spear came from. After that it begins flying off, attacking new targets.
"Where is it going?" She asks.
"Their engaging new targets," Johnson said. "This side of the fortress is still heavily defended. Their job is to knock out their AA batteries(2)."
"Ok," She replies and looks forward. There are only a few guards left, all scared to death. She sees Herm looking like he is freaking out. She remembers the feeling but that was against bandits, not her people.
"Herm!" She yells.
Herm looks to her and sees that he is about to get captured. "Get them, hurry!" As he orders that, he turns around and rushes down the wall, trying to head down below.
The last few guards charge them.
"Cover me!" She yells, seeing him trying to escape.
She has no intention of failing in capturing him. He knows too much about what her brother is planning. And she wants to know why her brother ordered her death.
She runs and then jumps down the inner ledge and lands hard on the other stairway. She takes a breath, realizing what she is doing and charges forward. She sees Herm down before and jumps, landing on top of him.
Both fall in the dirt and she rolls forward. She quickly gets up and barely dodges Herm attack.
She moves around and swings her sword, but he blocks her.
"You want to do this, fine. I been wanting to knock you down on your high horse and put you where you belong." Herm says in an angry voice.
She glances up and can see the battle still raging on up top of the wall. For now, she is alone. Looking back to Herm, she is determined not to lose. "You have this coming Herm. You call yourself a General. Your barley half a man compares to the ones you killed."
Herm smirks. "And yet their dead and I am alive." He then charges forward.
She blocks, impressed by his reach. She is forced to go backwards as Herm keeps attacking.
She is struggling to find a way to break, his arms are longer, and he swings with all his might.
That is when she notices that weakness she is looking for. Grey told her and her Knights that only an amateur uses their full strength in a swing.
"This is funny, you once were a Rose Knight and now you’re about to lose to one." She says as she focuses. "Maybe you should have focused on your training besides hitting on the ladies."
Herm blocks a jab from her and keeps pushing forward. "That parade show of yours? It was a joke then and it is a joke now. Deep down inside you know it."
She glares at him and charges forward. Both of their swords clash and both struggle against each other. He slowly pushes her back, using his weight against her.
She pushes him away, now able to get some distance.
"What is wrong?" Herm says, holding his hands out. "Scared already? You don't belong on the battlefield. You should go back to Sadera and do your job."
"That is?" She asks.
"Spreading your legs and making babies. Why else did you think your father put up with you?" Herm says with an arrogant tone smirk.
She knows that part is the truth. She wanted to control her own destiny but as long as her father ruled, she knew one day she would be married off to someone she wouldn't love. She never could accept that then and she won't now.
She holds her blade out, ready to attack. She then smirks. "And yet I still have a purpose. Why do you think Zorzal sent you over here? To win? Please. He sent you here to be his scapegoat when this place falls."
She sees that arrogant face turns into an angry face. "You know it’s true. You were given a command that was doomed to fail. You failed on Earth and you are going to fail here. At least I have achievements under my belt."
"Shut up you horses bitch!" Herm yells as he charges.
She gets her sword under his sword and glides it up above her. She then moves around to his side and brings her sword down, slashing the side of his armor, breaking it.
She spins around and looks back at him.
Herm slowly walks forward, holding his side.
"You're rusty. I remember you beating me in sword fights when we were kids." She thinks and then smiles. "What happened? Screwing the slave girls made you soft?"
Herm charges at her and begins to swing his sword.
She remembers Grey training. While she is still knowing to the world of war, she remembers all the drills Grey made her do. Him pushing her to her limits each time. While everything was handed to Herm, she chose this life and worked every day for it.
She dodges each attack and then blocks the last time. She pushes against him and forces him back.
"I remember I was pissed at you and Calasta for leaving the Rose Order when we were young. But I am glad now." She says as she swings her sword at him, making sure he cannot recover.
As a man, he might be stronger, but she can see the barley practice since he left the Rose Order. His skill and stance are like a peasant who never picked up a sword before.
"You only use people and that is what you have lost." She says and grabs her sword into him, breaking his arm and forcing him on his back. She pushed harder and pushes her blade deeper into him. She then stops her foot on his sword arm.
Seeing him below and in pain, she glares at him. "You want to know why you lost. You're not a man, barely a boy."
"Coming from someone who betrayed her people. You sided with the Other Worlders for what?" Herm said.
She takes a deep breath. "You don't get it and never will. I know the real reason why you killed Muilk and Krysist(3). Why you want to continue the war against the Other Worlders. They have something you never will have, and it scares you. Respect. You can't buy it, you can't steal it or demand it. You can only earn it Herm. And that is something you and Zorzal can never do. Now Heel you bastard."
She then tightens the sword to add more pain to him. He begins to whimper until he surrenders.
She then hears Grey walks yup to her.
"Good job Princess," Grey said.
--- Fortress Legrath, Internal Barracks ---
After leaving Sharpe, Lelei stops suddenly. "Wait!"
Everyone stops but Randy walks forward. "We can't keep stopping every five minutes. They need our help."
"But Sharpe…" She says.
"You heard him," Tuka says. "He ordered us to go help the others."
"In know, you don't like it Lelei," Randy responds. "I don't like it to but if we all stayed, he would be easily picked off being boxed in like that. If we all left, Taylin would have just chased off and the same thing."
Hearing that she waves it off. "Not what I mean. And he didn't order us to leave."
She sees this confused look on all of their faces.
"Lelei, what on earth are you saying?" Alicia asks.
"I have been thinking. What did he say before we left? What did he say to you Tuka?" She asks them.
"It is a Rule. What is the difference?" Tuka asks.
"I… I… don't get it," Andrew says, thinking he got it at first.
She sees Hamilton pat him on the shoulder, but she seems just as clueless. She closes her eyes, shocked they don't understand the context.
"Are you sure Lelei?" Randy askes, crossing his arms.
She opens her eyes and looks up at him. "Yes. Major Sharpe is incredibly careful. Everything he says and everything he does has a purpose. It might sound like a joke might there usually a hidden message in it."
"Wait… the whole lying honestly is an actual thing?" Alicia asks, baffled.
"Correct," She responds. "You are right Sergeant Major. Both of those choices would result in our deaths. But he created a third option, we go back. He couldn't just tell us that because that would tip off Taylin."
"That is a stretch Lelei." Andrew Said.
"It makes sense though," Tuka said. "You should see yourself through an elf viewpoint. Humans act very strangely at times."
"Still, he said rule besides order. Big deal." Alicia counters.
"What is rule number one Alicia?" She asks.
Alicia was about to resound but stops herself, seeing her viewpoint. Rule number one has been a joke that means many things. But it is a joke none the less. She is convinced that he switched the words to mislead Taylin.
"I agree with your Lelei. We must remember he is ex-Delta. That is his world." Randy said. "But we have our orders from Command. Head to the crash site. That is where we are heading."
She holds up a finger, wanting to challenge Randy.
"If you want to Lelei, you can go back. I think that the element of surprise might turn the tide for him." Randy says.
"I will go for her," Tuka says.
She smiles, glad to see that Randy has trust in her. A long time ago she notices that Sharpe has a hidden code. Sometimes she thinks it's just natural for him to relieve stress, that he might even know he does it. But it help in situations like this, everything has a purpose.
She looks to Tuka, "We better hurry."
--- Fortress Legrath, Chinook Crash Site ---
Rory walks forward after slaying eight Imperialist swordsmen. She looks around and sees what remains of the Empire forces leaving the plaza.
"Bailey. Your wounded are safe." She says.
After saying that she looks around again. Since she arrived, more NATO forces came to help. Two more Vanguard teams plus Seal Team-3. Bailey was not kidding when he said he needed help. She is impressed with how well he holds off against an overwhelming force.
Now she wishes what happen to her team. She regrets running off like that now but maybe helping Vanguard-5 could justify that.
Still, she wonders what happen to Taylin. Maybe he had enough after that attack and she overreacted. Taylin is many things but he is not stupid. He knows when he had enough.
"Thank you. If you don't mind, we have a battalion strength force coming up the main stairway." Bailey said.
"I am coming, hold on." She said and rushes to his position. She heard this nervous tone in his voice which puzzles her. There winning and have enough troops to push back against anything the Empire throws up that. On top of that, she can hear the French forces battling as they get closer.
When she gets, she sees why Bailey was a bit nervous. Five trolls charging forward and probably eight hundred soldiers behind them. This is probably their last push with their remaining force, but an impressive one.
"Ok," Rory mumbles as she swings her Halbert around. "Got to do this the hard way."
Before she charges, she feels this gust moving around. It quickly picks up and a strong wing flowing around, forcing her to hold down her skirt. "Maybe Sharpe right about the skirt." She mumbles to herself in an embarrassed tone.
The gust gets extraordinarily strong, even stopping the trolls. She realizes that this isn't natural but magic. It is like her friend Myuute wing magic.
Since Myuute isn't her that means there is another Siren around and that has to mean it works for the Empire.
She looks around and sees this Pink Siren standing on the second-floor balcony. "You!"
Before she jumps up to kill the Siren, she hears this loud noise coming from her left. She looks to this stairway that leads into the hill. She sees all these Imperialist soldiers rushing out the door. She wonders where the hell did, they come from.
What confuses her the most is seeing a few Rose Knights with them. She then sees some of her friends from Vanguard-7 right behind them. But she doesn't see Sharpe, Lelei, or Tuka though.
She was about to rush over to Randy and ask questions but hears the Trolls yell as they approach.
Seeing the Siren wind magic now focusing more on the Trolls and not on the Rangers. She is going on a limb and say that the Siren is also helping out. She charges forward and slashes a Trolls down.
Gunfire behind her picks them down and once the trolls are taken care of, she sees many of the Imperialists with the Rose Knights. They move out and attack the advancing Empire troops as the NATO soldiers fire at them.
She decides to rush over to Sergeant Major Randy to get some answers. "What is going on?"
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She hears two more soldiers rushing up, Lieutenant Commander Daniel and Captain Bailey.
"What is going on here?" Daniel demands.
"Sir. We ran into a small rebellion." Randy says.
Randy then explains what has happened, them running into the soldiers who switch sides. That Johnson and Pina are chasing down General Herm. Then he gets to the point where they ran into Taylin and Sharpe stayed behind.
"That fucking asshole," Daniel says out loud. "He is doing it again."
She looks at Daniel and holds up her Halbert to him. "Don't start."
She knows he and Sharpe have a mixed history and right now she doesn't care about their egos. "Where is he?"
She looks back to Randy, but Bailey responds.
"I recently got information from April that she got from Sarah. Take my helmet and April will help guide you back to him." Bailey said.
She takes the helmet and puts it on and looks at the NETT HUB. She has been willing to accept a radio to stay in communication. She didn't want to accept too much of their technology, not liking how they can track her so easily and is somewhat still scared of it.
"Alright. Once the French arrive, I am taking GROM and we will go reinforce Sharpe and Pina's position. Bailey and Randy maintain your position here. Sergeant Major, you are in charge of your new friends. I don't trust them so keep them in line. When the French arrived, I want both of your teams to move out to our position and well begin looking for them." Daniel says as he points to everyone.
"Sir," Bailey said.
"Alright, I am ready. Bye." She says and then rushes back inside.
--- Fortress Legrath, Inner Barracks ---
Sharpe stands there looking at Taylin. He is a little confused about why Taylin hasn't attacked yet. Feeling comfortable that his people got far enough away, he begins starts moving to the side, looking for a more open room.
"What do you want?" He asks.
Taylin walks forward. "I want you to release Rory."
He frowns with confusion. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"Do not push me," Taylin said in a cold voice. "You know my meaning."
He keeps his hand on the trigger of his rifle, ready to raise it. He sees to this large barracks room to his left and starts heading towards it.
"I am not pushing. I have no idea what you are talking about. Rory is free to stay and go as she pleases." He said.
"I don't believe you," Taylin responds. "There is no way she would follow you."
"I figured not. Still, you really think I could control Rory. She is a Demi-Goddess after all." He responds as he heads into the large room. He sees Taylin enter the room from the other side, matching his pacing.
He quickly glances around and sees this room full of bunks with clothes and gear all around. It is like the soldiers here were in a rush to their stations. He sees other doors that lead into other rooms which probably leads into other rooms since this fortress has to hold tens of thousands of soldiers, they need a lot of space to house them.
"Why do you even care? She is free to do what she wants. You of all people should know no one can control her." He asks. "Don't tell me you are this angry ex-boyfriend who still holding a grudge."
Taylin pauses before he responds. "I refuse to believe she would willingly side with people as destructive as yours. She might be the Apostle of War, Instability, and Chaos but this she never would allow for pointless death and destruction. Your presence is tearing apart this world." He states, ignoring his comment.
He thinks about what he just said. None of that made sense to him. Before he can respond Taylin continues.
"You are seducing Rory somehow and I am going to kill you to break that spell. She talks about you and follows you everywhere. You have to be the source. Out of respect for her, I gave you the chance to do it peacefully." Taylin said.
What Taylin said just baffled him. He even stops walking just to look at him. He even pointed to himself. "Me, seduce her? You're kidding, right? I only had one girlfriend in my life and she cheated on me. Trust me, I can't seduce a paper bag."
He hears over the radio. "Sharpe, we can all hear you," Sarah said in an embarrassed soft tone. He just turns off his radio, not needing to hear that right now.
"Look, I know you are very protective of the Empire but were not going to stop. They attacked us remember. We were happy on our little rock minding our own business." He says.
Taylin stops and points his Battle Ax at him. "That is the problem with you. You have no idea of the damage going on. The Dark Races are regaining power because of his weak the Empire is getting. Villages are falling victims of attacks and you don't even understand that. The Empire has brought order to these lands for hundreds of years and your undoing everything."
Before he responds he sees Taylin jump forward, starting his attack. He seems slower for an Apostle; it could be from being hit by that MGM-140 missile. That is only a guess though.
He dodges out of the way, but he feels Taylin grabbing his vest. He gets tossed around and tossed through the wall and into the next room.
He falls and rolls around on the ground. He uses the rolling to roll onto his knees. He takes a quick look around and sees another barracks room. He gets up and jumps into the room right as Taylin breaks into that room.
"I am going to kill you! Where are you?" Taylin says.
When he gets into the other barracks, he reaches down and grabs an M18 smoke grenade. He pulls the pin and places one on one mattress and then he quickly moves to the other side and does the same. Quickly the room fills up with white.
He starts to move around the room quickly in the crotch position and hears Taylin enter the room. He raises his M4A1 and fires five rounds in rapid-fire and displaces from his spot.
As he moves, Taylin lands right where he was at and swing his Battle Ax right there. As he walks away, he takes out another M18 smoke grenade and tosses it into the other room, this time being a green color.
He aims his rifle, looking for Taylin. On his HUB, he sees a blinker telling him there is a message from Command. He turns back on his radio and aims his rifle.
"Sharpe, this is Sarah. He is right there. Six feet away but facing to your right. He doesn't know your right there yet." Sarah said.
He gives a thumbs up at the camera, not wanting to speak and make a noise. Besides the smoke grenades and the sound of battle in the distance, it is dead quiet.
He lowers himself again and grabs this cup that is on the ground. He then tosses it to the corner.
He sees Taylin move to where the cup landed, and he unloads half a clip into him. He then rushes away as Taylin attacks the stop he was just at.
"Stand and fight you, coward!" Taylin says with frustration.
Noticing the smoke disappearing, he moves into the next room with the green smoke. He moves towards the back of the room and aims to the direction he just came from.
"I don't see him, Sharpe," Sarah said.
He ignores her and keeps aiming. Slowly he reaches to his vest and pulls out a tear gas grenade. He knew he was storming a fortress that had Taylin in it and decided to bring anything that might give him an advantage. He pulls the aim and waits.
Right then Taylin appears charging right at him. His eyes widen as he drops the tear gas grenade and he rolls forward., just missing the ax.
He rolls back to his feet and turns around, letting loose with his rifle as he backs up.
The grenade explodes and Taylin is consumed by the Tear Gas.
"What is this?" Taylin yells in pain. He takes his ax and spins it around very quickly.
He sees the green smoke clearing up faster than he planned. He rushed out of the room and looks for a new hiding place.
---
Taylin rubs his eyes, his face feels this strange pain. He realizes he has underestimated this man and sees why Zorzal is afraid of him. He fights like he is the Grimm Reaper. Maybe there is the reason why Rory likes him, more then he wants to admit.
Noticing Sharpe is gone he burst into the next room. "I will admit, you are fighting well. But it is only a matter of time before I find you and kill you."
"Get in line," Sharpe says.
He looks over to the right, thinking he picked up where that sound came from.
"You do not understand Sharpe. This must be done. This world will fall if the order is not reestablished." He explains as he slowly walks around. "Stability is the key to peace and tranquility. Otherwise its rape and murder. Is that what you want? Rory wouldn't even support that."
"You know, my people actually agree with what you said. The first part." Sharpe says.
He looks and sees where Sharpe's voice is coming from. It is coming from behind that shelving unit. "I do not believe you."
"I mean it," Sharpe responds. "My country is the world sole power. Like it or hate it, it is the most basic foreign policy of the United States. We want stability around the world because that means there isn't genocide and wars. It means the trade of goods and ideas pass freely. We side with some evil countries because that's better than global anarchy."
As get gets ready to attack Sharpe's position, he cannot help to under what he said. It does seem like his people might understand Idos a might more then he thought. "I see but one problem."
"What is?" Sharpe asks.
"I do not care about your world!" He says and charges forward. He flies forward and slashes the large shelve unit. His ax goes right through and cuts anything that is behind it.
As the shelf falls over, he notices nothing was on the other side, which confuses him. Then he hears this laugh coming from below.
He then sees this small black box with a pointy end.
"Oldest trick in the book," Sharpe says from the talking backbox.
Then he sees this other black twig looking object and then it bursts. This burning chemical explodes all over him. His skin feels like it is burning apart. He couldn't help himself but scream from the burns.
Suddenly he feels Sharpe's bullets going through his body. Not like the smaller ones but the thicker ones. These thicker bullets seem to have the same effect as the burning chemicals. Ever short just increase the burning effect.
He can tell the direction from the bullets and he takes his ax and throws it in the direction.
The bullets stop hitting him and he moves for cover and sits down.
That strange ballista shot hurt him far more than he liked to admit. Their weapons are far more powerful than he expected. Getting his by those shells in Sadera, he thought that was the best they had. Effective but it didn't take him long to recover.
It took longer to regenerate from that missile attack. Now he is covered in burns and it hurts to move. He has suffered worse before and knows these burns will heal in moments, skills.
He notices how quiet it is and that means two things. The first means that he killed Sharpe but the other means he is lurking around.
He is starting to see this as embarrassing. A mere mortal is putting up a fight. Is this why Rory bent the knee to him? Is she afraid of him?
"No…" He mumbles. He knows Rory isn't afraid of him because he isn't. This is just delaying his death. No more games. He gets up as he feels his strength returning and head to his ax.
---
Sarah sits in her chair as she watches. She isn't alone as nine other women from other Ranger teams and other support stands are around her, all watching her screen.
She sees Sharpe laying on the ground, looking up at Taylin ax that is sticking into the wall, just missing him.
She watches him pull out his knife and hit his pawn.
"What is he doing?" April asks, her eyes glued to the screen.
She watches as Sharpe bleeds his pawn and wipe his blood onto the wall, directing the blood to this other room.
"He is trying to set up another trap. Making it look like he is wounded."
"Holy shit Sarah, you know how to pick them." Sandy from Vanguard-8 points out.
She usually gets embarrassed and sky hearing those jokes from them. Right now, she cannot think about anything else. Her heart is pounding as she watches her man fight an Apostle alone.
"Yeah but everything he does seems to do nothing. How do you win?" April asks.
"Can you please direct Rory to his position?" She asks, eyes still looking at the screen. Seeing him plant his last two M18 smoke grenades into this room.
On his camera, she can see Taylin through the thermal setting grab his Battle Ax and entering the room.
Taylin begins to swing around, cutting everything in his path.
Sharpe begins firing his rifle at the boy, shooting three times before stopping. He then moves out of the was as Taylin reacts to being shot.
She watches as Sharpe pulls out his knife again and gets around Taylin and starts cutting the parts that make the body move. He gets the arms and the Achilles tendon.
She cannot believe how efficient he is, getting an insight into his past life. What he was forced out. He might act as an adorable idiot but inside that is a perfect killer.
As she watches, she sees Taylin grabs his arm and tosses him into the wall.
Her eyes widen as she watches him fly and rolls onto some beds. He gets up, moving slower and rushes away. She then watches him being pulled back. He looks back and sees that Taylin grab his leg.
He grabs his vest and pulls out a flash grenade. It goes off, blind her from the camera viewpoint.
"Jackson!" She yells through the radio but regrets it. Struggling to try and be useful but not wanting to distract him at the same time. "Where is Rory April!?"
---
As the flashbang goes off, get up and grabs his M67 grenade and toss it to the side. He runs as fast as he can and jump through the open hole in the room. He flies through as the grenade explodes in the room.
He falls and rolls around. Once he stops, he aims his Colt 1917 in the room, waiting for a moment.
Seeing nothing is coming, he gets up and starts limping to the next room.
"Let me help you," Taylin says in an angry voice.
He feels him grab his jacket and gets lifted. He then finds himself flying into the room he wanted to go and starts rolling on the ground.
He starts slowly getting up but hears Taylin walking into the room.
"Will you release Rory?" Taylin demands.
He gets onto one knee and holds up his hand, telling him to wait a moment. He is still trying to catch his breath. "You don't get it at all do you."
He takes a long breath and looks to her. "She isn't property. I never asked her to join me. It is her and every else choice."
"I don't believe…," Taylin said before being interrupted.
"Ah shut up." He says in an annoyed voice. "Look. We fucked up but we try. Look where you are at. You attacked and killed the people who serve you. Your leaders hide in their fortress while others fight. I am here, Krysist was here. Who is really fighting for a better world because from my point of view and more importantly, Rory? You are just afraid to admit you screwed up."
Taylin walks up to him and grabs him, lifting to his knees so their eye level. "Maybe. But you won't be alive to see that."
He looks and then smirks. "If I had a dollar every time, I heard that. Now you might kill me but remember one important thing Taylin." He says with a cough.
Taylin looks at him.
He looks past him and sees Tuka readying her bow. He looks back to Taylin with a smirk. "You might kill me but always remember this. Whatever happens to me, you will always know that Epstein didn't kill himself." He says in a smart-ass tone and then gives him a 'fuck-you' wink.
Right in front of him, this arrow goes right through Taylin head. His head burst into flames.
Taylin lets go as he tries to pull the arrow out of his head.
He moves to the side and sees Tuka standing as she reloads another arrow.
"Tuka! Fire best effect." He tells her as he looks for his pistol.
"Don't worry Major. I got your back." Tuka says in an angry voice. She begins chanting and her arrow tip burst into flames.
Taylin pulls out the arrow and looks at Tuka as another arrow his him in the chest. Fire engulfs his chest, but it doesn't stop him.
Taylin moves to Tuka and starts swinging his ax. Tuka, being an elf has better reflexes and vision, able to predict his moves.
She takes her bow, grabs it around his arm and uses his own momentum against him, leading to run into a wall.
Seeing that he is stuck for the moment, she rushes to Sharpe. "Are you ok?"
He picks up his Colt and looks around. He is about to reply with a smart-ass comment but no longer in the mood. "Let's go…. Oh, shirt."
He grabs Tuka and both jump away as this massive chest flies through the wall and goes past them.
He rolls off her and moves away. "Spread out. Do not bunch together."
"Sharpe, this is Sarah."
"This better be good." He replies as he fires his last magazine for his Colt.
"You are having some effect. He is limping too, showing signs of wounds. He might be able to heal but you are beating him down too. All you must do is keep moving and he won't be able to keep up. For now, at least."
"What do you mean too?" He asks, confused.
"You are limping too." Sarah points out.
He stops and looks down and just notices. "Ahh…"
He looks up and moves around the corner. He sees Tuka to his left, arrow ready.
"Also, Rory inbound, sixty seconds," Sarah says in a stressed-out tone.
He is slightly annoyed by her being stressed out. She isn't the one getting her ass kicked but it must be frustrating just watching. More he thinks about it, it must be killing her. It was only recently the two of them had a fun time back on Earth. The Christmas dinner and what she called a bar date on New Year’s Eve.
The more he thinks about it the more he understands that stressed-out tone. When Krysist and Frayen took her(4), he felt helpless and it tore him apart.
He waves to Tuka to make a distraction and she nods back.
"Command, everything is ok. Just trying to get that physic bonus. Nothing more." He says over the radio, trying to calm her down.
He sees Taylin rush forward, heading to Tuka. He smirks and jumps at his back, grabbing him. "Now!"
Tuka fires her arrow but Taylin spins and kicks it away, shocking Tuka. He can grab him and toss him at Tuka, knocking her down with him.
Taylin grabs his ax, angry on how the fight went down. He walks over to them and gets halfway there.
---
Taylin walks over, finally seeing the fight was over. He has been in tough fights before. All the times he fought Rory in battle throughout the centuries. Fighting other Apostles and legendary monsters. He even had some interesting fights against mortals but never to this level.
He takes a heavy breath as he gets halfway there. He is done and plans on killing them now.
"Hey!"
He stops hearing something from his left. He looks over and sees the wall tearing apart.
Once the walls around tear apart, they hover in the air and flying around this girl.
He quickly notices it is that blue hair girl. He cannot believe that he has forgotten about her. He was even worried about her strange speed spell that defeated him in Sadera. His eyes widen as he sees all this material flying around her, all glowing blue from her telekinesis.
He tries to say something but knows what is about o happen. He stops himself and faces her, getting his Battle Ax ready to deflect anything that comes for him.
"You hurt my friend," Lelei says and she raises her staff towards him.
He looks at her eyes and sees this sadistic angry look. This deep fury from within.
"Die," Lelei states.
Right when she said they he sees hundreds of objects coming right at him with such intense speed.
He swings his ax blocking as much as he can. His defense is working as the objects are not as strong, just being the items nearby. But he has learned from these people that there is always a hidden attack waiting.
To his right he sees Sharpe and that elf women get up and move to the safety of the mage.
"No!" He yells as he sees his objective getting away.
He sees this strange glow coming from the mage and is hit by this large energy blast. When the energy blasts hit him, he feels this intense electric charge, like he was hit by lightning itself. He flies back, hitting a pill and crashing right through it.
---
Sharpe walks over as he holds up Tuka.
He sees Lelei powering down.
Lelei looks over to him. "Are you ok?"
He smiles and gives her a thumbs up. "Nice job."
Lelei powers down and falls to her knees, sweating and breathing heavily.
He looks down at her and understands what happened. Tuka helped by time so Lelei could summon as much energy as she could. "Thank you. Both of you. Even you." He says, talking through the radio.
Tuka walks away and sits down on the bench. "Wow… you people know how to pick fights."
"Maybe…" He says as he feels this pain on his back. "But I'm more worried about the fight I am going to get back at base."
All three of them look at each other and start laughing.
But then they hear noise from the rubble.
He blinks and looks over in disbelief. "Oh, for fuck sakes."
He watches Taylin gets out of the rubble. He sees his arm that is halfway disconnected with him and starts to heal. He sees his Battle Ax and one side of the blade is black and destroyed while the other is still fine.
Seeing that he believed at the last second Taylin blocked Lelei attack with his ax, cutting the blast in half. Clever bastard he is.
Taylin walks forward however unbalanced. It seems he is also tired and Lelei's attack did do some damage. But it is only a matter of time he will recover.
He glares at all three of them and gets ready to attack with the good side of his ax.
He takes one breath, trying to think of anything.
"Sharpe does not move. Keep looking at him. Just trust me." Sarah says over the radio, more confident this time.
Not knowing why, he just stares right at Taylin, stating right in the eye with an undefeated stare.
As Taylin begins to charge forward, the wall burst to his right and Rory comes right through it. She is screaming with all her might and furry.
She hits Taylin hard and starts bashing him hard.
He kneels for cover and hears Sarah smirking on the other end.
"Never mess with a female furry," Sarah mumbles.
"Noted." He replies and watches.
Rory swings her Halbert and hits Taylin hard. He flies over and breaks through another wall.
---
Rory grabs him again and swings him around a few times. She finally lets go and tosses him hard into the wall.
She looks to her friends and sees them beaten up and tired. She is proud of them for how long the lasted but now this has become personal. Taylin with all his faults crossed a line now.
"You guys stay in safety. He is mine." She says with a divinity tone.
She charges right at him before he recovers. She grabs him by the head and rams him into the wall, breaking the outer wall until she can see daylight.
She then grabs him and backs away. With all her might she swings him around and at the small hole, she made with his head.
Taylin flies through the hole and flies outside. He falls below and hits the ground hard.
She was about to rush after him but looks at her friends. This place is becoming safe as most of the fortress has been taken. But if there are any Imperialists stragglers, they are vulnerable. Even Sharpe looks like he has had it.
She walks over to them. "Get on me, were jumping down."
"Rory, we are fine." Sharpe begins to explain.
"No. I can't fight Taylin down there and watch you. Not leaving you here in enemy territory."
She is glad that Sharpe just agreed to her. Probably because he is tried and has no energy to argue.
She grabs them and jumps down from the hill, landing on another level of the fortress. She is making sure she doesn't do anything crazy as she carried all three of them. She just jumps a few levels at a time.
As she flies down, she spots Johnson and Pina on the Southern wall. They can watch them while she puts down Taylin.
She lands and hopes over to one section of the south wall and lets them get off of her.
"Wow…. Your all heavy." She says with a giggle.
"Hey! What are you applying to?" Lelei asks her, placing her hands on her hips.
"Yell at me later." She says.
"Hey!" Pina yells as she runs over. "We have a problem."
She sees Pina and the other Rangers and Knights coming. She can see they are dragging someone with them. They're job as to capture the leader of this fortress and it looks like they succeeded.
She waves to them but right between them Taylin jumps up and lands on the wall.
She sees when he lands, he fumbles a bit, struggling to regain his balance.
She gets in a defensive stance and is about to charge. She then feels a hand on her should and looks back, seeing Sharpe there.
"Wait a moment Rory," Sharpe says and begins walking forward. "Follow me."
She looks at him confused but follows.
She doesn't understand why he stops her. After everything he did today, killing all those soldiers and fighting him. It is a clear shot, and she knows she can bring him down right now.
As she walks by Sharpe side, ready to respond to anything, she sees Taylin finally get his balance and faces both of them.
"Sharpe, please let me go after him." She says, struggling to herself back.
"In a minute," Sharpe said and looks to him, forcing himself to stand tall. "Taylin, you hear me?"
Taylin stands there, facing them.
"I will take that as a yes," Sharpe continues. "I want to let you know that Rory is free to do as she wishes."
She stands fully up and looks up at Sharpe. Everything he said makes no sense to her. She always thought that already was an option. "Jackson?"
He holds out a figure, telling her to wait.
She looks to Taylin and sees him slowly looking to her.
"Wait… Do you think he tricked me to be with him? Men…" She faces palms herself. "Taylin. Just like with you, I am free to come and go as I please. I choose to stay around them because I believe in their mission. Their purpose and goals. It is my choice and my destiny, no one else's."
Sharpe raises his arms out a little, singling to him 'what else does he want?'. "As I said, I do not control Rory and I don't wish to. She is an equal as with the rest of my team. Can I say that to your side? Where are your friends?"
She looks up at Sharpe and smiles, even getting a little tear in her eyes. She always knew that was the truth, but it felt great hearing it. Since the day they first met, her love and respect have only continued to grow. She doesn't have to follow him she chooses to follow and believe in him.
She then looks over to Taylin and shots him a glare. "Are we done? Can we end the battle?"
Taylin looks at both of them and turns around to see General Herm handcuffed. He then looks back at her.
Sharpe made a great point, he was defeated because they all came together because of their friends, because of their family. Taylin always fights alone and look where that came to.
Taylin then walks over to the edge of the wall and jumps away.
Seeing him flee, she starts to run after him but hears Sharpe tell her to stop. She turns around and sees him shake his head no.
"We all had enough Rory. You did well. Everyone." Sharpe said.
She smiles and they give him a huge, glade he is alive.
---
Sharpe takes the hug, feeling in pain now.
He looks around and sees Johnson walk up with half of his unit. "Johnson, contact command and..."
As he was speaking, he hears this loud horn blows. He looks out into the distance. There are these eight kilometers of just dirt openness. After that is a thick tree line.
"What is going on?" Johnson asks as he looks out to the tree line.
Everyone around him walks over to the edge of the southern wall, out to that direction.
"By the gods, it's the Horde," Pina says as she leans forward.
"Can you move your forces here to defend?" Bozes ask.
"No, everyone is busy securing the fortress. Were out of position." Johnson responds.
"Johnson, get the rest of the team up here ASAP."
"Actually, I have a message. Lieutenant Commander Daniel said he is on his way with your team. Sorry, I forgot to say that." Rory said, looking like a small kid who just got caught stealing some cookies.
"All good Rory," He says and looks back to Johnson. "Do it."
It took some time for Johnson to communicate and get everyone to his position. Within ten minutes, his team, GROM, the Seals, Bailey Rangers and the rest of the Knights started arriving. Even Pinkie and the Terminator people, coming to help fight off the new attackers.
As everyone starts to arrive, he looks back out at the advancing horde. There are too many to count but he had to guess about fifteen thousand soldiers coming. He sees Trolls, Goblins, five Giants, Ogres, everything bad guy race you have ever seen marching.
The funny thing so far, he hasn't seen races like those bats that Frost helped a while back. Just a guess but maybe they are not as unified as NATO command thought.
He heard Herm laughing as he looks out at this advancing army.
"You are all going to pay. It took thirty years for the Empire to oppress them. You might have the strength, but you don't have the numbers to face all of them." Herm gloats.
"Shut up!" Bozes demands as she kicks him.
As Alicia walks up, he looks over to Herm. "You are correct General. That is way too many to deal with. That is why we attacked when we did."
Herm looks at him, a little confused. "I do not understand."
"You will soon enough." He replies and looks back to the incoming horde.
"What are you planning? We need more troops on the wall." Pina says.
Beluutie walks up to his side, nervous. "If they break the wall, it will be impossible to clear them out. They will dig and breed."
"Thank you for the warning Beluutie." He says and looks to Rory. "Rory, mind helping me?"
Rory walks over to him, nervous herself. She helps him stand up firmly.
"Sir?" Alicia asks, handing him her radio. "Command is on the line."
He takes the handle and before he speaks into it, he looks to Herm again. "Before this, I do need to say thank you, General Herm."
Everyone looks at him confused.
"I finally get to check this off my bucket list." He says with a chuckle and looks out.
He takes the radio handle and holds it up to his ear. He looks out ad the massive horde as the bulk of them are entering the field.
Artillery could do some damage but there are too many. They would be able to kill enough before then storm the walls. Using AOE missiles form the HIMARs and MLRS will do a lot of damage but there still a lot of them out there.
Luckily, the Air Force spotted them two days ago and we made preparations.
"Central Command, this is Vanguard-7 Lead. Requesting a preapproved bombing run." He said.
"This is Central Command, B-52 Stratofortress is on standby, requests coordinates."
"Roger that, passing coordinates now." He says and then hands the handle back to Alicia so she can relay the proper coordinates, so the bombing run is the most effective.
"What is this Stratofortress you speak of?" Pina asks as she walks up.
"You have your own fortress? How will that help us?" Beluutie asks.
"Just watch." He says.
Moments later, he and everyone see one, then five, then ten and dozens more of bombs raining from the sky. Each one hitting a major part of the Horde army. With every bomb creates a massive explosion. A large carpet bombardment rains down over the army, stretching many kilometers.
Large bursts of flames engulf the large formations, burning everything alive. It almost looks like a massive wall of fire being created. Most bombing runs happen in moments but the B-52 has such a massive carrying load, it looks like bombs are falling from the sky, lasting what seems forever.
He looks around, Knights and even his people-watching in a gaze. It is such an impressive sight that most never get to see.
He looks back and watches as the Horde army was defeated in moments, with one carpet run.
"Radio." He asks.
Alicia hands him the radio again. "Central Command, this is Vanguard-7 Leader. Please redirect me to Direct Lead."
He hears the radio being switch. "This is Major General Stanford, report."
"General, this is Major Sharpe. Fortress Legrath is secured."