The reptilians were nervous; they had never felt this sort of feeling before. Dread overcame them as the first explosion blew. At this moment, they had taken down two sections of Caldera, “The New Capital.” Then an assault was going to happen on Madam Bourget’s territory. Their armored trucks rolled underground, and silently, the wheel cracked over the rocks so as not to expose their location. Around five matte black trucks filled with the more experienced soldiers waited. Some in anticipation, some in denial, some angry, and some sad. A multitude of emotions fluxed through their bodies. At the front, Hailey, Boo, and Bam all sat. Their legs shook nervously as they heard a beeping noise, indicating only ten more minutes until they reached their destination.
"So, how do we think of the plan?" Boo inquired; everyone ignored him, but it didn't matter; it was only directed to his clone and Hailey.
"Not too sure; crushing Madam Bourget’s division and taking over Prime’s is nice; I don't understand why we are leaving Cold’s and Prime’s divisions alone.” Hailey wondered.
"Elites."Boo said as he leaned forward that he had grown much more mature in Joshua’s classes and wasn't much of a wrecking ball anymore. Bam was still very hot-headed yet he was battle-ready.
"What about them?" Hailey pushed the conversation forward, anything to keep her mind off the upcoming battle.
"Well, they don't care about Caldera; in fact, Pohl conquering the planet probably made them pissed off. I expect that it’ll be a sort of WyverFest situation.”
Wyverfest was an important battle the children learned about. Around a few millennia ago, Joshua explained that one kingdom destroyed another without shedding a single moment of blood, which made them flourish for ages. Using only manipulation tactics and paranoia to work on people's fears.
Everyone paused, not daring to say a word, waiting for the next beep to arrive.
"Where do you think Joshua is going right now?" Bam sombered.
"Probably leaving the planet; that was the plan all along; train us for war and leave us to go on our journey; he’s still on the run,” Hailey explained.
"I can’t believe that he would never leave us; hell, I don't even think he would destroy an entire planet, no matter how much power he holds.”
Nobody dared to speak another word between the three of them. The other soldiers spoke in small talk, replicating their attempts to try and take their minds off the upcoming battle.
"I have a wife and kid at home.” One soldier laughed, “If I don’t come back... I don't know what would happen to them.” He said, laughing.
The other soldiers looked in disgust as this soldier laughed about a bad experience.
"You're becoming too negative," another soldier told him. “We’ll make it out; my family is waiting back for me also; in fact, my wife is right next to me.”
The woman next to him smiled as the two held hands and leaned their heads against each other.
"Wow, lovebirds, huh?" Another soldier exclaimed.
"Hey, everyone knows love breaks through all barriers; I read it in a virtual novel once," the husband chuckled.
Everybody chuckled in the trucks. Some made faces, others made stupid noises.
"Man, I have no family; they were ripped out of their homes when I was young." A man with gray hair said that everyone’s eyes were hidden by their masks, but you could see their emotions through their mouths.
"Feel's nice tough; part of history, all of us.” The older man said.
"Yeah, but guess what?" another dude spoke up. “NOT YOU!” he laughed.
Everyone in the truck erupted into laughter. It was a bad joke, yet everyone found it hilarious. Nobody could contain their laughter as they rushed to their deaths.
The final beep came, and in an instant, everyone stood straight. Grabbing the blasters on the wall behind them, they inject matter into their suits. Some charged their guns, others changed the mags, and some started to even almost fire into the car. Hailey grabbed her weapon and powered up her gloves. Boo and Bam grabbed their daggers as they injected more matter into them. While it seemed like a long time the final beep sounded one minute until battle. The vehicle stopped, the doors automatically opened, and mass coughing ensued between everyone inside the vehicle. The ones behind them stopped at the same rate, with similar conditions falling upon them.
In front of them were Grand Commander Peeta and Commander Ideo, watching them pull into the road. They both did not smile; the mood became depressing as they looked up.
“Remember what we are doing, Ideo.” Peeta sadly said.
Ideo’s snake-like eyes released tears as he looked at the soldiers, excited for battle. Closing his eyes, tears released, and he turned around.
“Everybody, this is the entrance we will blow up; a few may die from it, but the lucky ones will be able to reign in their strength. Remember, this headquarters is our main goal. Group’s 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, will go to the headquarters, 2, 7, 9, and 10 will go on the streets and cause a ruckus, and so we will battle for our revolution.” Priem announced it tearfully, but his voice did not break.
Hailey, Boo, and Bam looked at each other; they were going to lead group one, but nobody would know what to expect for their future. Bam smiled gleefully, yet he was sad for what was to come.
The final beep went off, and every group looked at each other, closing their eyes before the explosion rang above them. Before long, everyone climbed quickly, some with expert abilities and some with none. Blood was splattered everywhere as people shrieked. Laser guns fired into the smoke from the bomb before another one erupted.
Escaping from the smoke, Hailey grunted. Following her were the entire squadron. She immediately noticed some were missing limbs, but still, in a state of shock, they carried their weapons.
“Alpha Group headquarters is 112 North East; follow out of smoke.” She said, leading with her gun, that more followed behind her. Some with already very prominent injuries and others unscathed.
Hailey gulped before closing her eyes.
–
Madam Bourget watched the explosion from her window. On top of her new headquarters indifferently. There was nobody in her room to bark at her. She had never even met her past assistants in a while. She had forgotten about their names. She never did.
A beeping noise rang from her desk. She pressed a green button, and a voice rang out.
"MADAM, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK; THEY HAVE ABOUT MORE THAN 1000 REPTILLIANS ATTACKING THE HEADQUARTERS; THEY ARE GOING UP THE FLOORS AS I SPEAK, SO PLEASE ESCAPE WHILE YOU CAN.” A man screamed; she did not know who it was as a gunshot rang, and his message went silent.
She did not move and only stood, watching the destruction unfold in front of her. She wondered why she held no hate in her heart at this moment. They almost killed Lieutenant C, and maybe, well, she did not even know how she felt about him. She shook her glass, seeing her soldiers struggling below, fighting the reptiles.
What could she do? she thought to herself. Maybe the reptiles would be better leaders than humans; humans always destroyed and ripped apart what was dear to them. Maybe she did not deserve to be a leader. A figure to look up to no, she thought that she was nothing.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Many more beeps echoed across the room, and tears fell on her cheeks. She rubbed them off as more and more beeps hurt her eyes. She started to cry more, and her eyes started to become bloodshot red. She rubbed them frequently, but instead, her eyes only became dry, and she looked at her surroundings only to see black everywhere. She looked surprised around her, and panic started to settle in. Then, appearing in front of her, was another man. At a similar height to Commander Pohl, his beard was even longer, and a nasty scar appeared over his face.
"What are you doing?" He snarled, his feet stomping as he walked slowly to her. Madam Bourget could not respond as his presence overshadowed all of her power.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He screamed even louder, and Madame Bourget backed away slowly.
"I.." Madam Bourget stuttered, “I don't know.”
"YOU DO KNOW!” He screamed louder, and Madam Bourget winced as he kept stomping to her, “YOU’VE ALWAYS KNOWN, SO TELL ME WHAT ARE YOU DOING.”
"HIDING!"She screamed back, sobbing.
The man looked even more enraged; he kneeled in front of her, and his eyes stared deep into her soul, a fiery passion erupting through those lifeless eyes.
"Are you my daughter?" He chuckled. “My daughter is a warrior, a fighter.”
"Maybe I am not Dad; I don't even know who I am," she whispered, muttering to her father.
Her father's fiery eyes stayed, but his rage had left, and he looked at her smiling, and a vision appeared before her of the past. Before the implants, before the battle, before the training.
She ran across the garden, where the marble tree lay in the middle. Her father chased her across the garden while her mother sat by smiling. She went back to read her novel as her father growled at her. Madam Bourget smiled as her child self dodged and jumped away from his grabs.
"Dear, please do not become aggressive with her. She is only a maiden after all.” The mother laughed.
"Not.” Their father smiled and said, “She is a warrior like me; woman or not, she is our future; does my pookie bear want to become a warrior?" He smiled.
"Yes, Daddy.” She responded quickly, smiling brightly.
Madam Bourget’s tears escaped from her eyes as her eyeliner escaped from her teary face. Her eyes cracked red before turning into anger at seeing the people entering the garden.
She remembered her father’s face as they came, and immediately he became serious. Commander Pohl, Commander Cold, and Miss Zulu had just entered his garden unexpectedly, and they went into the meeting room to discuss something.
Madam Bourget self-listened in as the adult version of her could only watch. They whispered the words of a new project, one that could counteract the rest of the galaxy. A true-bred warrior. Maybe in the moment, her childhood self felt jealous of whoever this was, but her future self lived in regret as the door slid open. Cold stood over her; average in stature, he crouched to her level and talked.
"How do you wish to become a warrior?" He smiled gleefully.
She forgot what happened next; it did not even matter. Her life had changed from that moment, and now what was she—a maiden, a warrior, a civil servant, an officer? She looked at her father, who looked sadly at the past along with her.
"Who are you?” he asked. Madam Bourget could not respond, but this time he did not scream, and he repeated his sentence slowly. “Who are you?”
"I."Madam Bourget stuttered, “I do not know, Dad; you always knew, so please tell me.”
The man's full face showed, and he was scarred everywhere, on his bare chest and face, with his long beard reaching the floor as it was untangled, and he walked like a corpse.
"That is for you to decide.” He said it again.
"I cannot decide!" She screamed at him.
"Then I cannot help, so go fight; become a warrior.” He said, Madam Bourget sighed in reassurance. Whatever her father said was what she wanted.
"But is that what you truly want?” He said before the light started to come back and Madam Bourget appeared back in her room, now battle-ready suddenly. Her arm became a sword, and she walked outside her room, ready to face any battle, but still, the talk lingered inside her. Maybe she was wrong. They killed Miss Zulu, Lieutenant C was critically injured, and Cold and Pohl were still alive. She had not accomplished anything great. She needed to enact her revenge, and deep down she was happy enough that it now came to her.
–
Joshua carried on inside his automatic driving vehicle. He looked at the explosions at sunset from a distance. Leaving the city, he wondered about Hailey, CC, Boo & Bam, Mal & Man. He wishes he had taught them more. They could have a chance to live longer, but he believed in them. He’d be gone for a long time. He was still on his journey.
He still wondered about Miss Zulu and the rampant use of cloning technology on this planet, like the tubes he saw when he first landed. That's what they must’ve been, he thought to himself. He could never have imagined himself being cloned, especially.
Joshua made sure he did not think about him. His brother is a twin. No matter how hard the memory was pushed down his brain, it always popped back up again. Regretful moments in another person’s POV. What was he?
Then he appeared on the road, inside the rooms, outside of houses. A certain ringing noise would hit his ear, and maybe by coincidence or by the great fables, he would see him. Watching. Full of life, smiling at him. Not in a creepy way, but in the warning about-danger type of way. His watch beeped as he saw that the danger chasing him was far away. His tracking was consistent; the URPCC was not. He was winning.
From the very beginning, he was playing a game with the planet. Not about the politics he cared about. Not about the people, not about the culture, not about the conflicts. So why was he scared for the people he trusted?
"You care," his brother said. He had the same brown hair, but he was younger. He was a twin, so he was imagined as basically himself.
"Why should I?" Joshua winced, “I killed too much. My true name is associated with death, and I am a murderer. I killed you.” He looked at him after avoiding his gaze.
The boy just looked at him regretfully. He held his hand and just smiled.
"It wasn’t.”
"Don't say it.” Joshua denied it ragefully.
The boy did not utter another word as he let go of him and just sat back in his seat. He let out a ginormous sigh, and he faded away from Joshua’s vision sadly. He did not say another word.
Joshua laid back as he looked at the road in front of him. He saw slight cracks and potholes, but he had not paid attention. He believed it to be smooth sailing until he got to the next city. There he would meet with allies and be taken on a ship out of this forsaken solar system. Being part of a civil war was not on his agenda, and he was not going to get involved in this.
Another explosion—maybe the loudest one yet—erupted across the vicinity. The final one. The dust raced to Joshua's capsule. Joshua quickly slammed the button to close the windows, but it was too late.
The air from the booms released dust that blew his floating capsule to the side for only a moment. Dust entered the car through the open window as he started to cough up the dirty air that had just entered the capsule.
Pounding his chest, he moaned to the vehicle, “Stop on the side, please," and it followed his directions. The door automatically opened as he hucked out even more dust. In the distance, he saw the final explosion. Bigger than the rest, well, it had to be since the radius reached to him. He swiped at his clothes, and brown dirt fell on the road and blew to the east, but the wind was coming from the east also, seemingly resisting the natural wind.
Joshua paused as he saw more of the dust slightly grace over the dust. The particles floated in the air as they started to form a shape. Joshua grabbed a pill from his pocket and opened his mouth, ready to pop one just in case. The particles started to take on a tornado-like shape. The figure was forming into some sort of statue that became hardened by the minute, and quickly Joshua pulled a small pen from his pocket and threw it full force towards the statue. Pausing its transformation.
A child squeaked as he grabbed his eye; floating in the air, blood came from the eye he covered. He winced before smiling and laughing, revealing his eyes were never injured.
"Who are you?” Joshua asked.
The boy only laughed as he floated in circles. Joshua was going to strike again before a shadow overshadowed his body. He looked up, and his eyes widened in fear. A dust meteor shadowed him and was striking down pinpointed right on him, with no way to escape.
Joshua popped a pill and turned behind him as quickly as possible. His legs charged up, running at full speed, leaving fire behind his feet. His body now only looked like lightning on the floor, but the cold and his dust were right behind him, awaiting him.
Joshua turned his hand behind him, blasting a shot at him. The child just dodged sideways as he rushed to him. His smile was still as gleeful as before. The dust attacked Joshua’s leg, tripping him. His hands powered up quicker than his feet and flipped him back in place.
He got ready to move before the dust got his leg stuck in place. Joshua looked up at the statue being rebuilt, and he felt his power being sucked in. The child looked down at him pitifully, and Joshua bit his lip while looking up at him. Then a sniper shot in the air and struck Joshua right in the heart.