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Will the Empire collapse? What are the War Lords? And can the Light Keepers defeat them? |
Chapter 6 The Light Keepers met with their advisor Erik in Lisbon over what he claimed was a very important find he had made. All around the city, every soldier the Republic could gather was pouring in. They would have only one chance to strike the Empire a fatal blow in the Americas, they couldnât let it slip away. But for now, all eyes were on Erik. âWhatâs up?â Rose asked him. âI believe I have solved the riddle Iâve been laboring over the past few years!â He said excitedly. He looked much better too, not as ragged as they had seen him in the past. âThe key is in New York City, well in the harbor.â Erik said. âWhat do you mean, in ze harbor?â Angela asked. âIt is in the Statue of Liberty!â He said triumphantly. âItâs hidden in her torch. Think about the clues, a âlady of libertyâ in the ânew worldâ obviously a reference to how the Europeans viewed the Americas as the new world. And lastly, âreach high and you will find me,â the torch is the highest point of the statue. I canât believe I didnât see it before!â âMakes sense to me.â Dart said, nodding. âMe too.â Terra agreed. âWell how do we get it?â Rose asked. âThat is the hard part, I am afraid.â Erik replied. âSo far, the plans you have made look good. One invasion force for Boston, one for Annapolis, another for Charleston, and the last one in Mexico. Past that, the Empireâs positions in West Africa prevent an attack on South America. Weâll just add one more attack to New York City. Iâll come with you, we have to find this key together.â They all agreed. The last things to do were set the plan in motion and pray for victory. Rose, Dart, and Angela looked over the side of the battleship they were on. Their ship along with hundreds, no thousands, of others was part of a fleet heading to invade the Americas and hopefully end the war. Terra and Erik were on a separate ship, they felt it was best to be apart in case something happened along the way. Imperial ships, planes, and other vessels still prowled these waters. âWell, weâve done all we can.â Rose said. âWe just have to see to it our people get past the Empireâs defenses and capture their targets.â âYeah, hopefully it will actually work out this time.â Dart said. âIndeed.â Angela chimed in. âIâm afraid resistance is going to be fiercer since these people joined the Empire at the beginning.â She said gloomily. âWe can only hope that isnât the case.â Rose said. âThis makes me uneasy. The Empire has cut off the Americas from the world. We donât know whatâs been going on there, there are still too many variables.â Dart said. âThereâs nothing we can do about that though.â Rose said, sadly. The ships lights flashed on as darkness set in. âWell its getting late, Iâm going back to my cabin.â Angela said. âWeâll be right behind you.â Dart said as she walked away. When they were alone he turned to Rose, she must have read his mind as she spoke first, âDart, about ParisâŚâ âI was just about to bring it up...â He waited for her to say more. âI really like you. Iâve known it for a long time, everyone has, and Iâve been stupid to not say anything sooner with the way things are. But I think we have to put that on hold until this is over. Victor is desperate and if he were to find out about our connection, it would just be another weapon for him.â âYouâre absolutely right.â Dart said. âI like you too, for the record.â He said smiling. âBut weâll figure that out after the War Lords are brought to justice.â She nodded and they looked out at the ocean a few more minutes before sighing again. âGoodnight, Dart.â She said. âGoodnight.â He replied. She started to walk away before turning around and giving him another kiss. Then she ran off without another word. He was dumbfounded and happy all at once and simply stood there. But what else could he do? He headed back several minutes later, after darkness had completely covered the fleet. However, other worldly forces were at work and the Light Keepersâ enemies were hard at work. A shadowy figure climbed up onto the ship. As he reached the top rail, a hand reached down and helped him up. The pair glided through the halls of the ship. âHere.â The assistant said, pointing out precisely where the agent was meant to perform his task. The agent got to work on the targeted doors. After that, they went back to the top deck. âHave the life vessels been taken care of?â He asked. âOf course.â The assistant replied. âGood. Iâll report that everything is in place. Good luck.â They parted ways and he silently exited the ship without being seen or heard. A small lifeboat came up to the agent who entered. An Imperial soldier named Christopher waited for him. âAll is well I take it?â âYes.â The agent answered. âExcellent.â Christopher replied, as they silently rowed back to a submarine waiting a half mile from the ship. Victor sat in the cramped submarine monitoring the flagship of the Republicâs fleet. Five other submarines were waiting in the area as well. They briefly surfaced to receive Christopher and the agent, then submerged again. âDid he carry out his mission?â Victor asked Christopher. âYes, my Lord, everything is as you requested.â Victor shook his head, satisfied. He had plotted out the time the large fleet would begin splitting up to head toward its targets, at that time the flagship would be defenseless for a short period of time. He would have one chance to sink it and kill the Light Keepers, foiling this pathetic invasion. âOn my mark.â He said to his men and the other submarines. âFire One! Fire Two! Fire Three!â He ordered. The torpedoes left their holds and sliced through the water without a sound. Victorâs men anxiously waited for what he had to say. âFive direct hits.â He said at last, and his men broke out in cheers. Rose was asleep when explosions rocked the Republicâs flagship. She jumped out of bed and tried to get her door open but it was stuck! Thinking quickly she pulled out her sidearm and fired at the doorknob, the device holding it shut was destroyed and she got out as the ship began to lurch backwards. Dart had done the same in his room and was coming toward her. âThe ship is sinking, we have to get out of here!â He shouted. âWhere is Angela?â Rose asked, fearing the worst. They ran to her room but found it empty. âShe must be out. Donât worry, weâll find her.â Dart assured her. They grabbed their life jackets and headed up to the deck as water poured into the ship. When they got to the deck it was in chaos and everyone was shocked to find the lifeboats destroyed. Through the crush of people, Angela came up to them. âVat do ve do now?â She asked, her voice quaking. âLooks like we go down with the ship.â Dart said. âTry to stick together. Thatâs our best chance of surviving.â âHopefully an SOS got out. The fleet is huge, someone must know about this!â Rose said. Then water began to pour onto the deck and within seconds it was up to their ankles. People everywhere hissed in pain as the icy water rose higher and higher until the ship was completely gone. Water swirled violently and Angela was ripped away from Dart and Rose in the chaos. The survivors waited and prayed for a miracle. The Imperial submarines surfaced seconds later. Victor got out onto the deck with his aide and a few sailors. âWhat about the survivors, sir?â Christopher asked âThere are no survivors. The others will figure out what happened. If there are any survivors left and if the light lunatics somehow survived, when they find out what we did here they will be even more brutal in the Americas.â Victor answered. âSimply be sure to avoid hitting our mutual friend, of course.â âYes, sir.â Christopher said obediently. He nodded to the sailors manning the cannon and machine guns on the submarines and the guns began to fire into the wreckage. Dart and Rose screamed as bullets and shells landed all around them. They were helpless as the Empire slaughtered their sailors and did their best to finish them off before the icy waters of the Atlantic could. âThereâs gotta be a way to fight back!â Dart yelled. âThereâs nothing we can do!â Rose yelled back, as the water tossed all around her. âHere! Get behind this!â They swam over to a piece of wreckage from the boat and remained concealed behind it as best they could. One of the submarines moved right past them and through the still night air they heard a voice as icy as the water. âDo you see them anywhere, Captain?â âNo, my Lord.â âAnd what of our friend?â The first voice asked again. âThatâs in order, our source was completely fine.â âExcellent.â The War Lord replied. Rose nearly screamed as a hand fell on her shoulder, but it was only Angela. Her arm was bleeding badly as she struggled to stay afloat near them. Another shell landed in the water near the submarine, but it wasnât from one of the subsâ light guns. âDamn!â Someone yelled. âEnemy craft off starboard!â Another voice called out. âI think thatâs our cue.â They heard Victor say. Everyone filed into the submarine and moments later, it sunk beneath the waves, along with the rest of its squadron. âIs anyone alive out there?â They heard a familiar voice say over the shipâs loudspeaker. âTerra! Over here!â All three of them yelled as loudly as they could manage. Freezing and battered, but still not beaten, they were hauled out of the water. The invasion would not be stopped. Victor was back in America with urgent business to attend to. He looked out at an enormous number of soldiers in front of him. But there was something different about these soldiers. Something far different from what the Empire had been willing to resort to up until this point. He spoke into a microphone. âAs you all know, this is a very critical time for our Empire. We had hoped to allow our people the luxury of not being fully employed in this destructive war. That is no longer possible, and we realize how mistaken we were to deny service to so many. That is why I am announcing a major shift in Imperial policy. Soldiers of both genders will be allowed to serve in and will be recruited into the Imperial armed forces. I wish you all the best of luck and I want you to know I have the utmost confidence in you. The Empire will triumph!â He said as thousands of female Imperials cheered the speech. Chapter 7 Sally stood on the deck of a destroyer as the Republicâs fleet bombarded Boston. This was the first invasion point that would be struck. The attacks would then go in following a southern pattern with the attack in Mexico occurring last. Boston harbor was heavily mined at this point and shore guns were trained on the entrance. It would be suicidal to actually attack the harbor. So the Republicâs navy was attacking those defenses to conceal the real points of the landing. âAll first wave personnel, report to your craft now.â A voice said across the shipâs loudspeaker system. âEveryone here?â Sally asked when she found her unit. They sounded off one by one. âGood. Alright everyone, this is it. I know many of you, including myself, are returning to our homes for the first time in years. As for others, you are here to help protect your homes, which may themselves have just recently been freed, and to help us get ours back. This is the final battle. If we win, the Empire will collapse. If we lose, it will survive to spread its infection across the globe. We canât let that happen. So letâs move!â Everyone checked their weapons and packs one more time and they climbed over the side of the ship, down the netting, and into the waiting landing craft. Soon, the pilots got their signals and the dozens, no hundreds, of vessels lurched toward the shoreline. An imposing barrier of barbed wire and tank obstacles lined the beach. Defenses here were lighter than in the harbor, but the Empire was still prepared for the Republic to try this. Several shore guns began to fire. Shells splashed into the water all around them and then there was a crash as one shell slammed into a landing craft and left nothing but debris floating in the water. As they held their breath and neared the shore, the guns silenced. âWhat are they doing?â A girl behind Sally asked, her voice shaking wildly. âJust stay alert. Itâs not gonna be that easy.â Sally said. Suddenly, their transport bounced up as it scraped the beach. The gate in front of them slammed down and they ran out onto the beach, thousands of other soldiers imitated that action all around them. Then the Empire let loose. Its cannons had paused to redirect their aim onto the beach and opened fire with devastating results. Machine guns blazed from the gentle hills a few hundred yards in front of them. Sniper fire accompanied the machine guns from almost undetectable positions. Soldiers collapsed dead or wounded all over the beach. Sally made a mad dash for a tank obstacle and dove behind it as a machine gun swiveled toward her. She heard the loud pangs of the bullets as they slammed off of the metal X she was hiding behind. Then the gun moved on to easier targets. No one had succeeded in reaching the line of barbed wire beyond the tank obstacles that separated them from an empty stretch of beach that led to the guns firing on them. âWe need help.â Sally said to herself. She desperately scanned the area for someone with a radio. But someone else must have done what she was thinking already. Their shipsâ guns roared off in the distance and began to fall on the enemy guns. The cannons fell silent and the machine gun fire slackened off. âLetâs move people!â Sally and other officers yelled. They reached the barbed wire as quickly as they could. Several holes were already torn into it and they made short work of the rest of it. As they dashed over the open ground, the Imperials recovered. Soldiers began falling again as machine guns and snipers renewed their fire, but the Republicâs troops were close enough to shoot back and began doing so. Their second wave of troops arrived and they were soon on the hills driving the Imperials back. Tanks came in with the third wave, a path had already been cleared through the traps for them. Sally fired several shots at a stubborn machine gun nest on top of the hill her unit was supposed to take. It fired back and they all put their heads down. Then a tank rolled up behind them and fired. The machine gun fell silent once and for all. They dashed to the top of the hill and found a wounded Imperial boy lying next to the machine gun, which would never fire again. Another boy came out of his hiding place with his hands in the air, followed by several more Imperials, they were girls. âWhat are you doing here?â Sally demanded. âThe Empire doesnât let girls fight.â âWell it does now.â One of them snapped. Sally gave her a dirty look and motioned for some of her troops to take them away. Republic aircraft sailed by overhead, no doubt to fend off Imperial attackers. She turned around and looked back at the beach they had just gotten off of. It was covered in the bodies of her fellow comrades. But many more of the living were landing on it than lying on it. The landing was a success. Now, they had to take Boston and push inland. The Light Keepers looked out at the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, an intense, no, savage battle was developing all around the city. Their forces had landed on Long Island and were fighting it out with the Imperials on the beaches. Planes dueled in the air, occasionally swooping down to strafe or bomb the soldiers, tanks, and ships of their enemies. The Imperial navy also wasnât out of the fight and a number of cruisers and battleships had broken off from the main landing force to keep them from causing trouble. The roar of the ship to ship battle could be heard only faintly a few miles off shore. But in truth all of that was a diversion, the Light Keepers were silently making their way towards the Statue on a small vessel. No Imperials were anywhere in sight, they saw no value in defending the Statue and had no intentions of destroying it. âAlright, letâs find this key.â Erik said as they reached the islandâs small dock. It was eerily quiet here as the war raged everywhere else. The group of five reached the Statue, got into the elevator and road up to the crown. They exited a few minutes later and found it empty, just like the entire island. âJust up to the torch now. Right, Erik?â Terra asked. âYes.â He replied. âSo far so good.â Dart added. âLetâs just get this key and get out of here.â Rose said with a shiver, she had a queasy feeling in her stomach. They could all agree with that. Excitement slowly built with each step they took up towards the torch. Then, they entered the small room and found it empty as well, except for a figure in black looking out the window at the panoramic view of the battle below them. The group looked on in horror as Victor himself rounded on them. âVictor! What are you doing here?â Rose demanded. âWell, hello.â He said, grinning at them. âThere wonât be any need to search for that key. Itâs quite safe, far from here.â âHow did you know?â Dart said, drawing his sword, everyone else, except Erik, followed suit. âWell, there is a very simple answer to that question.â He replied. âThe traitor! We know you have a spy in the Republic high command, Victor. âWho is it?â Terra screamed at him. He smiled and nodded. They heard Erik groan as the flat end of a sword slammed into his head. He fell to the ground and the group rounded to see Angela blocking the door, cackling at them wickedly. âHow stupid could you people possibly be?â She said, her German accent faded away and was replaced by a light American southern one. She pulled a contact out of each eye and the color went from brown to a blue so dark it was almost black. âAngela?â Dart said breathlessly. âHow? Why?â He asked desperately. She laughed again, the sharpness of her voice now grated on their ears. âIâve always served Lord Voktor. Seems as though you people are a little too trusting.â âBut thatâs impossible! The Cupitor said you were one of us!â Rose protested. âIs that lousy thing God Almighty Himself?â Victor spat from behind them. âYouâre even dumber than I thought if you believe in lousy magic like that.â He said scornfully. âI think thatâs enough talking for now. Time to put an end to the trouble all of you have caused me.â He pulled out a radio and spoke again. âChristopher, we have them. Order the rest of the troops into the fight.â âYes, my Lord.â The reply came back. âOh, you didnât think âAngelaâ failed to reveal your plans to me?â Victor said, smiling. âThis invasion was over before it began!â With that he lashed at Dart. Angela, or whoever she was, struck at Terra. Rose stood between them torn for a moment before helping Dart. Victor had to be more dangerous than her anyway. Victorâs movements seemed sluggish and he panted as he fought but he was still deadly. He nicked Dartâs shin and Dart fell to ground as blood poured from the wound. Victorâs knee connected with Dartâs jaw. Dart flew backward and blood came out of his mouth as well. Before Victor could do any more damage Rose was at him again. She fought him back until he neared the roomâs wall and she slammed into him, crushing him against it. Victor winced and dodged the blow that followed. Across the room Terra tried to hold off Angela. But she was extremely fast. Terra blocked several rapid slashes and got in one of her own. But Angela dodged and gracefully shot out a leg knocking Terra off her feet. Rose gasped, that was Victorâs fighting style. Heâd been training her! Then she gasped again as Angela swung her sword down on Terra who was completely exposed. But Angela only yelped as Dart tackled her. She clawed at his face and her nails left bloody streaks on his left cheek. Dart leapt off of her and the Light Keepers recovered, finding themselves in control of the door. Dart grabbed Erik and threw him over his shoulders, wincing at the additional weight. Victor and Angela closed on them like wolves coming in for the kill. âRun!â Rose yelled. They pounded down the steps, their pursuers seconds behind them. A hectic, exhausting pursuit and an elevator ride later, they all found themselves at the base of the statue of liberty. The Light Keepersâ ship was still there and so were several other vessels. Their troops and the Imperials were fighting over the harbor now. All around them the battle seemed to be going badly. The Empireâs ships had pressed their fleet into the harbor where it was a sitting target for the swarms of planes that poured down from the sky now. Their infantry was being pummeled on the shore and in the city too. A pounding like this couldnât be held off for long. They needed a miracle and they werenât going to get it here. Some of the Imperials on the island began targeting their group. Their fire slackened off when their own troops returned fire. Victor and Angela pounded out of the Statue behind them and raced after them as well. Victor began firing rounds from his pistol while Angela produced a pair of automatic handguns and sprayed even more lead at them. Dart laid Erik down on their ship and Rose and Terra followed close behind him. A gunner on their boat opened fire as soon as they got on and forced the War Lord and his apprentice to take cover. âAll infantry will secure their positions and await reinforcements. Everyone else get out now! Itâs a trap!â Rose immediately yelled into the nearest radio. âWhat now, my Lord?â Angela asked Victor. âNow, my dear, you will disappear.â He answered. She started to protest but he cut her off. âYou are too valuable to lose in the coming struggle. The Supreme Leader and I will finish them ourselves. They have to forget about you.â She nodded and joined him in coldly looking out at the devastation all over New York. Alvin looked out of his binoculars at the sea. The vision slit of his bunker at Annapolis, Maryland was narrow, but just wide enough to let him see and let them shoot out of it if they had to. And they would almost certainly have to. Right now, there was nothing, but he knew the Republic was out there. They were already inside Boston and were raising Hell in New York too. Annapolis was the key to moving inland and taking Baltimore and the Imperial capital, Washington D.C. If they wanted either city, they needed Annapolis. âReport to central command that nothing is out there at the moment.â Alvin ordered. âYes, sir.â One of his men saluted and obeyed the command. William and Matthew had been separated from him when they got back to America. Alvin was needed to command a shore position while they were in the armored reserves in the rear. Alvin was still trying to get to know these new troops. He believed the boy on the phone was named Phillip. Everyone milled about in the bunker, checking weapons and maps, or trying to sleep or eat. Alvin knew they were on edge, the entire Empire was on edge. Theyâd stripped the entire heartland of the Empire bare to put up these defenses. There were stretches of the heartland where one could go for miles without seeing a single Imperial official because everyone was here. Alvin couldnât stand it any longer. âIâm going to look again.â He declared. He stood next to the machine guns lined up at the end of the bunker, picked up his glasses and began to scan the area. His sight started with the beach, the area was covered in small rises that made attacks difficult. There were several rows of barbed wire, a cleverly hidden minefield in between one of those rows, then there were the familiar tank traps near the waterâs edge. Still nothing as he scanned the water off the beach. Then his sight met the horizon andâŚstill nothing. He began lowering the binoculars when he thought he saw something. They flew back to his eyes and sure enough a ship was appearing out of the distance. Then another, and another, and a dozen more and a hundred more than that in the space of a few seconds. âMy God.â Alvin said almost at a whisper. âWhat is it, sir?â Someone said behind him. All eyes were on him now. âItâs the invasion! We have to alert everyone!â Alvin said throwing down the binoculars. Phillip or whoever he was got back on the phone and began yelling at headquarters. Everyone else dropped what they were doing, grabbed helmets, grenades, weapons, and ammunition and either ran out of the bunker or manned its machine guns. Alvin used his key to open the alarm and smashed the button. A siren began blaring across the beach. Cannons began to roar as they fired at the oncoming ships. The ships in turn unleashed a horrific bombardment. Alvin and the men in the bunker winced more than once when the roof shook after a few close calls. Then enemy planes roared in, Alvin assumed Imperial planes would meet them but he couldnât be sure of that at all. Then, the landing craft began to approach the beach, wave after wave after wave of them. âThis is it everyone! Wait until you have good targets then let loose on them.â He ordered, just a bit more waiting, and the fight would begin. After what seemed like an eternity but was no more than several minutes, the enemy forces touched ground. Alvinâs guns began chattering away as soon as they came out of the transports. They were being chewed up badly and the fight had just started. Eventually, there were so many enemy troops that they managed to advance and take cover behind the tank traps. They stopped there and couldnât advance any farther. Then, a second wave of transports came in. The enemy began to bombard the Imperialsâ defenses again and with the reinforcements they began making good progress. That was when they hit the minefield. Alvin laughed. âTry getting past that so easily.â He sneered. His gunners opened fire again and inflicted more damage on the Republicâs infantry. They simply couldnât get through the minefield. Still, a third wave of troops landed and tanks came with them. The tanks had been cleared a narrow path to come through. Imperial artillerists had a field day with that and blasted most of the tanks to rubble. However, several did survive and blasted their way through the minefield before the last one was put out of action. The surviving enemy troops stormed across the minefield and the last of the rises and began to break into their defenses. âDrop the machine guns. Itâs time to get out of here!â Alvin ordered. His troops grabbed whatever other weapons they had and filed out of the bunker behind him. A trench system connected them to the rear of their lines. That was where they were to go to regroup when the enemy breached the first line. They made their way through the series of mazes and almost fired on some of their own men. Then they did encounter an enemy squad. Both sides fired at point blank range. Alvin felt a bullet graze his left arm but kept on firing. Someone in his squad threw a grenade and several enemy soldiers screamed as it exploded. Several of Alvinâs men charged forward and within seconds the fight was over. Soon after that, they reached the rally point. A low ranking general was there giving orders. âListen! Listen!â He roared with a megaphone at the boys and girls in the area. At last he got something near quiet. âYou all have done an excellent job defending this sector. I have, however, been informed that our orders are to retreat to Baltimore.â He fought down protests of fury before going on, âI will be in charge of getting our army back to Baltimore where we shall continue operations. That is all.â âI wonder what this retreat is all about. It would be much easier to just counter attack now and drive the Republic back into the sea.â Someone near Alvin said. âThe War Lords must have something else in store for them then.â Alvin said. Several people shrugged, regardless, they had to follow the order. Within the hour, the rallying point was empty, long before the Republic got to it. Alexander sweated like crazy. He struggled to look over the side of landing craft he was on as it pressed toward the beach. His attack was going in at Charleston, South Carolina. It was extremely hot, not like anything he was used to. And the day was extremely clear. It seemed like the worst possible day to attack from out in the open. Imperial shore guns began to roar. Several transports would never make it to the shore, the rest pressed on. Then, something unthinkable happened. A few dozen feet from the shore, the Empire had laid down a wave of sea mines. Transports began blowing up or crashing by the dozens. Pilots began halting their crafts and throwing open the doors. âWhat the Hell are you doing?â Alex roared at their pilot. âThe invasion has to go in and we canât get any closer! Youâll just have to go from here.â She shot back. âThatâs insane, weâll all drown or be cut to pieces!â Another soldier yelled. âI donât know what to tell you!â Reluctantly, they jumped off the landing craft and began wading towards the shore. They were only a few yards from the beach when the Imperial machine gunners opened fire. Everyone who had made it this far dove for cover or died. As Alex hid behind a small rise in the beach with several other soldiers, he made a nasty revelation. The transports couldnât get to shore, that meant no tanks and no new supplies other than what people could carry in themselves. âHow are we supposed to do this?â He muttered. The first wave of troops had gone nowhere, so half an hour later a second wave came in. They were just as waterlogged and beaten as the first wave by the time they got to shore and took cover as well. The dead and wounded began to pile up everywhere as the Empire found the battle was more like shooting fish in a barrel than an actual fight. The Republic tried bombarding the Empireâs positions again and sent in a wave of bombers. Imperial fire slackened after that. âAlright, letâs try this.â Alex said. He got up and ran deeper inland. Other units made a surge as well and they were able to reach a barbed wire barrier that separated them from open ground and the Empireâs defenses. By then, the Imperials were back on their game and the fire became too intense for them to go any farther. Their third and final wave of reinforcements came ashore behind them and a girl ran up to Alex with a squad of troops. âWhatâs up?â She asked. âWe need to get through that barbed wire!â He said. âDo you know anyone with explosives?â He asked in desperation. âI saw an engineer unit when I came ashore. Iâll see if I can find them. By the way, Iâm Brittany.â âAlex.â He replied. âWeâll be here, we have nowhere else to go, obviously.â He said, laughing a bit. Brittany ran off and fifteen minutes later came back with the engineers. âIâm Rick.â One of them said, introducing himself and shaking Alexâs hand. âGive us a few minutes here and weâll be able to set up a Bangalore.â âA what?â Alex said, perplexed. âItâs a long tube that you fire a small torpedo down and it blows up. We can use it to blow a hole in the barbed wire.â Rick replied. âAlright, just do it!â Alex said as an artillery shell landed near them. Several minutes later, Rick came back. âAlright weâre ready!â Alex and Brittany ordered their squads to take cover. Seconds later there was an enormous boom and when the smoke cleared there was a hole in the barbed wire. Up and down the line, engineers began doing the same thing. âGood work!â Alex said. âForward!â An officer down the line yelled. Everyone surged ahead again over the barbed wire. Everyone sprinted across the open ground as the Empire inflicted even more damage on them. At last, Alex, Brittany, Rick, and their troops reached the base of one of the Empireâs bunkers. âBrittany, if you can get your men around one side, Iâll get mine around the other and weâll take the bunker from both ends.â Alex suggested. âWe can do it.â She assured him. âWhat about us?â Rick asked. âWeâll need your men to cover us while we go around.â Alex replied. Rick nodded. âEveryone ready?â Alex asked. There were no complaints. âMove!â He yelled. His troops bolted around the side of the bunker and up the hill towards the back of the bunker. A machine gun swung on them and opened fire. But it only got a few shots off before a hail of bullets riddled the boys manning it. As they reached the top of the hill Alex turned around and waved thanks to Rick and his men. They hopped down into the concrete trench system behind the bunker. Brittany and her soldiers met up with them at the door. Several of their troops tossed grenades into the doorway. After the explosions subsided, they charged in. They fired as fast and as much as they could before they noticed they were the only ones shooting. When the smoke cleared, there wasnât a soul in the bunker. âWhere the Hell are they?â Alex demanded. âThey must already have left.â Brittany answered. âBut why? Itâs too easy.â Alex said. âI donât like it.â Seconds later, Rick and his men ran in, weapons at the ready. They explained what had happened to him. âThatâs beyond weird.â Rick said. Perplexed, the group did the only thing they could, and advanced deeper into the Empireâs defenses. Chapter 8 The Light Keepers had repositioned themselves after the disaster at New York City. Their attacks had successfully landed everywhere, but they had stalled everywhere as well. Except, that is for the central attack at Annapolis. It seemed like the Empire had been caught by surprise here. Their troops had taken the city, and pressed all the way inland to Baltimore, taking that city as well with little resistance. Now, it was time for what they felt was the final battle. The group was traveling towards the Imperial capital, Washington D.C. Take it and beat the War Lords, and the war was over, no matter what else happened. âI know there is something weâre missing. How could the Cupitor have been fooled?â Erik mused. This must have been the thousandth time heâd said this on the way to Washington. âWe just donât know, Erik.â Rose said. âPlease, just let it go.â âBut itâs important.â He insisted. âYouâve been over it a thousand times.â Dart said. âYou put Hankâs old sword with the onyx in it into theâŚâ Erik cut him off. âMy God. Thatâs it!â He said in horror. âHankâs sword didnât have an onyx! It was a spinel! Rose! You were the only one there. You told me Victor was interested in the swords. He meddled with the gem so he could put a traitor in our midst!â Roseâs hands jumped to her mouth in surprise. âYouâre right! But why would he do that? He had us where he wanted us then.â She asked in confusion. âHe knows more than we do.â Dart said simply. âHe already knew about the key, the book, the Cupitor, everything. He wanted us to escape and take the sword so he could infiltrate us.â âBut how? How could he know all of that that far ahead of all this?â Terra added in. âI donât know.â Erik said. âThis is very troubling.â âErik, can we beat him?â Rose asked, fear welling up inside her. âWe have to.â Dart said, taking her hand. âWe canât let him win and we wonât.â He said determinedly. âLetâs not forget the Supreme Leader, either.â Erik said. âI feel he is the true power behind Victor. We beat them both and itâs definitely over.â Everyone nodded. Beat the War Lords. It wouldnât be easy, but they were the only ones who could do it. Victor coughed and spat black phlegm inside Washington D.C. The defenses the Empire had built here were stronger than anywhere else in the world. Still, the Republic was determined to take the city at any cost. Which was exactly what he wanted. He felt sicker than ever but now that the Light Keepers and their army were here, he felt he could deal with them as he saw fit. Then alarms sounded up and down the line. The enemy was coming at them again. They had charged the defenses time and again and not broken through. Victor didnât know what made them believe this time would matter, or what made them keep coming. There must have been hundreds of thousands wounded or killed before they had even been able to carve out a small hold in the cityâs outskirts. They picked their way through the rubble once more and crept toward his positions. Victor knew they would spill even more blood as they tried to advance through the city toward the Capitol Building that the Empire ruled from and the complex they had built around it. Victor watched calmly as his men opened fire. Artillery pounded rubble into dust, and machine gunners and snipers cut down troops who dared expose themselves even partway. Several troops tried advancing on a machine gun nest after throwing a grenade at it. That idiotic assault ended seconds later when another gun further down the line opened fire and saw to it those soldiers would never move again. Enemy artillery and aircraft tried to answer his men, but Victor had their positions too well covered. All they did was create more rubble and make it harder for their own troops. If he lost any soldiers it was only because of dumb luck. As he watched the assault crawl to a halt, slowly and painfully, his aide came up to him. âYes, Captain?â He said, setting off another round of coughing and more black bile. "Are you sure youâre alright, sir?â He asked. âYes, yes! It will be alright soon enough, I assure you!â He hissed. âWhat do you have for me?â He asked impatiently. âMy Lord, the enemy have gathered all their armor, they intend to swing around the city, cross the Potomac River, and surround us.â âWell we canât let them do that, can we?â Victor asked rhetorically. âAssemble our armored reserves. It is time we start setting off our traps.â Christopher saluted him and departed. All they had to do was hold the Republic here and they would crush the invasion. All the other attacks had stalled and the Republic was gambling on taking D.C. Victor smiled. The Light Keepers were about to summon up powers they could not possibly comprehend. The group of Light Keepers advanced at the head of their armor. âHopefully, our attacks on the city distracted him long enough to buy us time to do this.â Rose said. The rest of the group nodded. Several minutes later, as they crossed the Potomac on their way to complete the maneuver, they got their answer. Imperial tanks swarmed forth by the hundreds. Within seconds, the largest armored battle of the entire war ensued. Across the battlefield, Victor looked out the sight of his tank. âLoad armor piercing round now.â He ordered. âRange, one hundred yardsâŚFire!â Victor smiled as an enemy tank brewed up. He directed his men to another target and soon another tank was nothing more than smoldering rubble. But for every tank he destroyed two more took its place. After fighting for nearly half an hour his tanks began to fall back, there were simply too many Republic tanks for his forces to hold off. They were overrunning his tanks. Cries of alarm and terror went out over the radio frequencies from every unit. But he had one trump card left to play. Getting out of the tank he drew his sword and walked out into the middle of the battlefield. He stood in place calmly as the world seemed to fall apart around him. His stand had the desired effect. The Light Keepers appeared. âItâs time to finish this, Victor.â Dart said. The three of them drew their swords and closed in on him. Victor coughed sporadically and nearly doubled over, spitting black yet again. âYouâre in no condition to fight. Surrender now and save your troops too, Victor.â Rose said sternly. He merely laughed at her savagely, sickeningly. âYouâre right. Iâm too weak like this. But you canât even begin to imagine how powerful I really am!â He roared, his voice dropping to a demonic tone. With that, he began to undergo a sickening transformation. His body twisted and bulged as his eyes turned red, his nails became claws, his teeth sharpened and two large wings resembling those of a bat sprouted from his back. Then his body snapped back to its normal size while retaining its new form and the horrific metamorphosis was complete. âDid you really imagine, for even an instant, that you could beat me?â He hissed from his new voice as the Light Keepers stared in horror. âNo. It canât be! Those stories are only myths!â Erik exclaimed, backing away in horror. Victor laughed again. âNo, I assure you I am very real, and you and your kind donât know the first thing about me. I have walked this Earth far longer than you can possibly imagine.â âThen why the ruse? Why go to all this trouble just to trick us?â Erik demanded of the War Lord. âThatâs just it. We took these forms to fool you into thinking we were ordinary foes. We did not believe the world was ready for our return. However, Iâd forget the petty knowledge of your so called wise elders, if I were you.â Victor shot back. âThe only truth you know is that my name is Voktor.â âWhy didnât you just use this form to kill us before?â Dart asked as he began to recover his composure as well. âIt was believed you could all be destroyed by conventional means but you have proved too pesky for that. Enough questions, nothing I say matters to any of you anymore. Youâre all walking corpses. Resume your attack!â He roared at his soldiers as he lifted his hand. An orb of dark energy formed and he blasted it towards the stunned Light Keepers. They ran for cover just as it slammed into the ground. Victorâs forces still hesitated to obey, then Alvin Smithers, back with his old crew and loyal to Victor to the end, spoke up. âYou heard the General! Obey!â He roared across the intercom, opening fire. An Imperial counterattack rapidly gained momentum after that. The Light Keepers continued fleeing as the fight resumed. Victor then turned his attention to the Republicâs army. His energy bolts ripped through tanks like paper and left them burning hulks. Then he landed and began to advance on foot. His sword ripped through helpless enemy infantry and his energy bolts performed even worse horrors upon them. A few hundred feet away Dart turned to Rose. âHeâs massacring our troops out there. We have to fight him!â âCan we beat him?â Rose asked. âHeâs just too powerful.â Terra added. âWe have to try dammit!â Dart insisted. âIâm coming with you.â Erik said. âNo. We canât let you get hurt!â Terra said. âSheâs right.â Dart seconded. âPlus, youâre the only one who even knows a little about whatâs going on right now!â Rose insisted. Erik gave in and remained in his place. The three Light Keepers got up from behind the boulders they were using for cover near the bank of the river. The War Lord turned his attention to Dart and Rose who had now emerged. Terra dashed off to rally their cracking forces. Victor threw a single energy bolt their way which tore a gash into the ground and slammed into a tank behind them. They couldnât resist turning their heads to watch it before wrenching them back to focus on the War Lord. Victor attacked Rose first, but she soon discovered he was far stronger now than he was in human form. After several slashes their swords locked and he drove hers to the right then used his free hand to punch her in the face. She reeled backwards with blood pouring from her nose. Dart roared and slashed at him several times. When their blades locked, Victor pressed his forward and sent Dart flying back several feet. Then shells began to land near him as the Republicâs tanks tried to help their leaders. Victor fired several blasts, spun around to avoid one particularly close shell, and leaned down toward the ground to present less of a target as he returned fire. Shells continued to land all around him as he dodged to his left, jumped, and spun through midair still sending a hail of energy blasts towards the tanks. When he had dealt them enough punishment to get them to back off he turned back to the Light Keepers who were on their feet again. âYou canât beat me. I told you that before.â He said calmly, staring them down. âWe can and we will.â Dart answered him. Rose tossed her hair and spat blood in defiance. Then they attacked again. Victor fought both of them for several minutes before kneeing Rose in the stomach and kicking her so hard that she flew several yards and slammed into the ground gasping for air. Another few seconds of fighting sent Dart crashing to Earth next to her. Victor smiled evilly and lifted his hand. The crippled Light Keepers braced themselves for the final blow. But it never came, Terra attacked Victor from behind and he had to scramble to avoid being cut in half. The enraged War Lord fired several energy bolts at her which she dodged, continuing to press him back towards the river. At last she had forced him to the waterâs edge. Realizing what she was doing Dart managed to cry out first. âTerra! Donât try it!â But it was too late. Victor knocked her sword aside and fired an energy bolt directly at her as she dove at him. But out of nowhere Erik intervened. He pulled Terra out of the way and then slashed wildly at Victor. The War Lord fired a blast at him in surprise, but to Victorâs horror, when it hit the sword it flew back at him and grazed his side. His bellow of pain rocked the entire battlefield. Terra slammed into him and he went flying into the Potomac River. His wings dragged him down and he screamed in fury and pain as the tide swept him downstream. The group ran for their lives, the desperate move had given the army the time it needed to retreat. They made their escape as the Empireâs counterattack broke down in confusion. âWhat do we do now?â Rose asked in desperation. âI donât even know what just happened! How do we beat something like that?â She was clearly shaken by the event, worse than the others. âI realize things appear bleak.â Erik said soothingly. âBut this is still possible. You saw how the sword protected me! They will do the same thing for all of you.â âYou guys will call me crazy, but I say heâs right.â Dart said. âWe should attack the War Lords right now at Capitol Hill. The last thing they will be prepared for now is an attack. They think they have us on the run.â He argued. âItâs too risky, Dart!â Terra protested. âAnd donât forget the Supreme Leader! Heâs probably even worse than Victor!â âTerra, you werenât there the day I tried stealing Victorâs sword, you were Rose, do you remember it?â She nodded. âWhat I saw that day, I am convinced those images were Victor himself, not a flashback. You all heard him say he is very old. Heâs been causing suffering for who knows how long now. We have a chance to stop him now, and I wonât be able to live with myself if we let him go.â Dart finished. Everyone sat in silence for a moment. âAlright.â Rose said at a whisper. âWeâve got to try.â A minute later, Terraâs shoulders slumped and she gave in as well. âThen itâs settled. We go after the War Lords.â Erik said. It wasnât over yet. |