The reptiles were geared up for battle. After days of debate, the council decided only a few hours ago to inform the public of their situation. They had believed Pohl was bluffing and used every argument in the book to make sure a panic did not start. While many did panic, they were quickly shut down by their forces, who restrained people who showed signs of betrayal. Some reptiles were allowed to leave on their own free will. Most stayed, some left hesitantly, and none left out of impulse. For them, it was more dangerous out there than to stay in the city, especially with the wilderness coming off guards due to Madam Birch’s reach.
Very surprisingly to the council, an influx of civilians rushed to sign themselves up for the battle with little training experience. Some form of messed-up patriarchal love for their own people to die for them Joshua always thought, but he was just the same, for different reasons, of course.
He watched the crowds of people in lines, the crowds of people buying final resources, and some sneaking away. All from the top of the miniature base he was brought into. He breathed every few seconds into his mask and examined his air. He had around an hour to go.
"I finally found you.” Somebody said something behind him.
Joshua didn’t jump; he recognized this voice. He looked behind him and saw Hailey watching everything unfold with him.
"You're about to be in war soon; all our training from the past, well, six months, will come to fruition right now.” Joshua breathed in his mask. “You nervous?”
Hailey shook her head from side to side to her shoulders. “Not too sure; I'm confident, but if I die well,”
"Don't say you will die, just fight,” Joshua taught. “You have to rely on impulse in battle; if you think critically for one moment, you will die.”
Hailey looked confused at his statement before sitting down on the edge with him.
"What about all those moves? After learning about matter, I finally figured out how to sort of tap into my ability.”
"That's the reason I taught you those, so you can use those moves impulsively. You all are too young to even use your matter to its full use; you don't even know what ability you can grab for it. Only a few percent of people use matter innately.” Joshua explained that he had to tell her the harsh truth, or else she would die.
Hailey looked disappointed but accepted this shortcoming. She let her hand out and strained her whole body, trying to let at least a flicker come out, but nothing could.
Hailey sighed, “Guess I'm not in the percent; I'm just disappointed since I learned CC was.”
Joshua looked at her surprisingly and said, “Wait when?”
"Just when she pulled out of class four weeks ago, Croc wanted to teach her how to control it since it is in their lineage. It's not like a matter, to be fair; it’s like your ability.”
"Berzerker,"Joshua said
Hailey said “Huh” as Joshua was ready to explain.
"Berserker is a form of innate matter; it increases strength, speed, and durability, and can come with extra uses. The only downside is that you lose your state of mind and are unable to release matter until you control it; most cannot.”
"Well, Croc cannot, but you can?”
Joshua breathed in his mask again, then rubbed his hands on his pants to warm them up.
"Well, I can release matter, but my control varies because while my Berzerker is innate, my matter release is not; it comes from an item I hold.”
Hailey's words were about to come out of her mouth, but she stopped. Joshua looked at her and chuckled.
"Say it.” Joshua chuckled slightly.
"You hold a heavenly weapon, don't you?” Hailey asked curiously.
"Yeah, I do, but don't get it twisted; it’s like a curse." Memories flashed of when he used the dagger the last time, how many people around him were hurt, the rage, and the sadness he felt. He stuttered for a moment before continuing, “It blinds you with visions of a perfect future and also has a very daring side effect, one I cannot speak about.”
Hailey did not ask another question, and the two of them just watched the city from afar, up top, where nobody could see them.
"I told you about me; now tell me about you,” Joshua asked, smiling.
Hailey did not respond; she shuffled with her fingers and did not dare to look up at him. Only when she put his hand on her shoulder did she feel safe enough to talk to him.
"Mom and Dad died when I was young; I was raised by nobody and off to fend for myself in the streets, but Prime picked me up when I was around ten years old; he thought I had enough potential; he’s like a father to me,” Hailey explained her story; she coughed and wiped her nose. Her eyes got watery, and she wiped them also.
Joshua did not want to pry and just looked forward, not responding.
"I wasn't born to train, so I worked hard, and I ended up in a class filled with some of the strongest kids I know. While they may be stupid, they were stronger than them, and I am jealous of that, but now I no longer feel that way, and in fact, I am stronger; I know it.” She said confidently, her eyes beaming with happiness as she pushed for a new future.
Joshua smiled, and the two sat at the edge of the building, watching the city from below, keeping their minds off the war that would continue.
—
Peeta walked elegantly through the halls, humming a tune to himself while he entered the war room. Inside, he only saw Grand Commander Lios with his fingers stretching his forehead, tense under their new situation.
Peeta's boots echoed in the room, staying silent. After a minute of tension between the two Lios, they finally broke the silence.
"It was all a bluff, Peeta. Why are we going to war?" Lios sobered as he rubbed his face with his palms.
"Grand Commander, I believe it does not matter if Pohl’s warning was a bluff or not; we have to fight, or else our independence is at stake. We have already killed Commander Li, so it is too late to stop now.” Peeta explained, but yet he also felt indifferent.
"Yet I cannot blame Prime; I would have done the same in his situation.” Lips sighed.
"Do not worry, Grand Commander, we will win; this planet was our birthright, and we have been prophesied to win. Even if not now, our new generation will grant our people the freedom they deserve.” Peeta encouraged me.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The virtual clock beeped, and Peeta sat down, hearing footsteps walk loudly towards the war room doors.
"We can no longer turn back, Peeta; are you sure this is the path to go?" Lips said indifferently.
While Peeta felt like screaming and saying no, he did not cause any more bloodshed. The sadness on everyone’s faces: if he could just say no, he could prevent any war from happening, but yet he was too weak to do anything.
The door burst open, and every single general in the army came in. Grand Commander Croc, Commander Ideo, and Commander Prime. The five grabbed virtual pads and placed them out in the middle of the table, and an entire plan had formed from them.
"Everyone, I found the perfect places to strike,” Prime said immediately. There were X and circle marks across the map of Caldera, indicating danger and strike points.
"At this moment we have to attack singular bases, but not in the way they will expect; the first thing we have to do is cut off their mass communication.” A photo zoomed in of huge metal towers connecting the masses of the city. “These towers hold all the communication panels, but they are an easy fix. So IDEO focuses on breaking through this wall with the cyber specialist up top."
Prime pointed out the window to the entrance of the city, and at the top, the marble base shone over the city, where reptiles worked tirelessly in technological factors.
"That will give us only 35 minutes and 27 seconds until their communication comes back up, so if we strike at night, where we can only see maybe one commander, we can guarantee a base being captured with my base, and an entire section will be ours. Once the communication is cut off, they can't send me any supplies, and by the time they do, it’ll be too late, and we would have won.” Prime explained happily.
"Why not attack the others while communication is down?" Croc inquired.
"That's what I am getting into; we can't split up and send a few to Cold & Pohl’s sections of Caldera, but if we capture Madam Bourget’s tower, especially in her now weakened mental state, we can have essentially half of Caldera in our hands. Madam Birch will be unable to come due to a lack of communication, and essentially, we would be on the winning side of the war.” Prime said.
He pointed at the X’s on the map.
"These are all the base locations'; the ones highlighted in red are the ones we are attacking, but we also have to capture a split in between the two bases controlled by Cold.” Prime explained it longer.
"So it is a gamble,” Peeta said, and Prime nodded his head. “Meaning we have to capture that split between the two and hope Pohl would not make rounds or send extra soldiers over there.”
"Too late for that.” Idea beeped, and his robotic voice glitched for a moment: “He already sent around four platoons to defend that area, and they’re constructing a new base of operations there.”
Everyone thought for a moment, and Lios raised his hand to offer an idea.
"Create a distraction; cause an explosion underground in the center of the city; we would maybe sacrifice lives.”
"Nope."Prime shut down his idea immediately.
Lios immediately ran quietly. He looked angered at Prime, who seemed to have taken all the war efforts alone by himself. Why was everybody listening to him? he thought. He balled his fists and ground his teeth as Prime continued.
"We continue with my plans; if this is successful, we will have no casualties, and we can capture the city in only a few days. If we capture Caldera, it will be such an important capture, and I believe our goal will be successful.”
Everyone looked at Lios, but he did not respond. He glared at Prime, yet he knew he could not argue against this plan. He just stood up and walked out of the room.
"Prime watched and smirked when a hand was raised.
"Lios is weak-minded.” Croc scoffed. He looked at Prime and said, “You think like me yet smarter, so I respect you but not him; we cannot have him.”
"You must be quiet.” Peeta said angrily, “That is our leader; remember what he has done for us.”
Croc laughed as he stood.
"I will gather my platoon and the fall of Caldera will be recorded in the history books.” He said this, licking his teeth, and his long mouth grinned.
Prime only watched him grab the cube and get ready to walk out.
"Forces should be ready in about a week; in the meantime, I will weaken my forces. Trust me, this plan will go great.” Prime said, before coughing and walking away.
–
Prime walked inside his own office, building, whatever it was. He opened messages and contacts from other cities on the planet. Pohl had a way with words, as Caldera was the strongest city. Caldera had its kingdom now, and Prime held much territory in his hands. For the first time, he felt powerful—too powerful. Only a few other cities remained that still opposed the Caldera rule, but now Caldera is a city-planet. Controlling all the resources. If he wanted to, he could be the most powerful person on this planet. Though he pledged his allegiance long ago, His plans have been in motion for years, and now, under an insecure ruler and advisors who know nothing of diplomacy, he could finally enact his plans. The clock struck, and then he heard a commotion outside. An explosion ruptured and blew up streets. He sighed, and he rested, waiting for the battle to come to him.
Reptiles barged into the facility with all the high-tech materials Prime offered. His troops, most of whom had been sent away for this moment, were safe at home. Now Prime could relish. The ones who unfortunately had to stay were gunned down quickly. The moment the reptiles flashed their bullets, striking the hearts of the men, he knew there was no turning back. Humanity would have a reason to hate the reptiles, but that never made up for the hundreds of years of abuse they suffered.
Prime walked out of his office, the door opening automatically as he stepped to the railing. His men called for him, screaming his name, yet he smiled, seeing the shocked looks on their faces as they rested to their deaths.
"Commander Prime," the reptile told him as they cleaned up the bodies. “We have now taken over the outpost; what should we do now?"
"Don't worry, I will contain it; it's been time for me to reveal my true intentions.” Prime smiled. “For now, use all the reserves to take control over the surrounding neighborhoods; we will make sure they know who their eventual rulers are.”
Prime was given control over many important districts; the Electronics and Red-Light districts were now his, so he could contain both neighborhoods easily. Making the reptiles have easier access to technology was the plan the entire time. Yet he sombered, looking at the bodies of his old comrades. They went out together and trusted each other, but now they have died. He would no longer be able to speak to all the friends he had made, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
He stepped over the bodies of his comrades and went out to the porch of his building. He watched the giant blue-gas planet stretch across the dark horizon. Painting it a shade of blue as stars shone in the sky. He looked down to see people dragged out of their homes, to see loot being raided, and to see more bombs being imploded. He wondered how the rest were doing. Good, bad, or fine, it didn't matter. He got what he wanted, and that was all that was needed.
Memories flashed as he saw a woman with long, sleek black hair and red lipstick. He paid no attention, but it kept pulling toward him. All he could think about was “not yet.”.
Children screeched across the boulevard, and as more soldiers appeared, they were gunned down from the sky or mauled to the floor by the sharp teeth of their warriors. Prime told himself they started this; it was not his fault, but he could not contain his agony.
He walked down the stairs and into the streets. A few people called him to come back into the base, but he waved them off. He walked to a child who resisted the control of a reptile. The soldier saw him and stood straight.
"Sorry, sir, this child is being a nuisance.” The soldier said.
Prime waved him off, and the soldier nodded, walking away. The child only cried, but Prime could sense his anger as he saw his face.
"Mommy said you were.” The boy sniffled, “Our protector.” His cries grew louder.
Prime did not say a word as he kneeled on his left.
"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE US!” He screamed at him, trying to use his arms to grab Prime, but they were slapped away in an instant. Prime kneeled on his other knee.
"YOU KILLED MY MOM AND DAD!” The child cried, screeching; he must have been only 12, like in the past. ”SO TELL ME WHY!”
Prime grabbed the kid's arms in a hurry, and the kid stopped. Not daring to move, but then Prime’s head moved up and tears fell down his face.
"I'm so sorry for what's to come.” The tears continued down his face aggressively. “PLEASE FORGIVE ME!” he cried aloud, but through the destruction, the bombing, and the guns firing over them, Only the two could hear.
The gunshot hit through the boy's shoulder, a random shot from another side as it aimed towards Prime. The man grunted as he reloaded his snipe, but Prime did not move. Only his tears, which only fell silently.
Then a gunshot rang in the air.