Chapter 28: Plan Omega

The golden-winged hawk stared at me long and hard. I could only guess what was going through the mind of a being of insurmountable power as I waited apprehensively. Then the hawk finally spoke, his tone much friendlier than before. “You know, this is not my first encounter with your people. In fact, I had a hand in the creation of your world. I didn’t create your species, but I left my mark on Earth nonetheless. I breathed life into the core of the planet and set the first spark that would eventually become your sun.

“I even made many of the stars that dot the Milky Way. I remember the primitive beginnings of your civilization, as I do many others. On several occasions, I traveled to Earth and interacted with your kind while taking on various forms and guises. I admit that I found your people most intriguing ... if a bit arrogant. And out of all these centuries of watching humanity, do you know how many men have ever apologized to me for anything?”

Not exactly sure where the hawk spirit was going with this, I just shook my head no.

“Not one ... until today. And you did it while I was on the verge of destroying your family.” The hawk then appeared to chuckle slightly, almost sadly. It was not an unpleasant sound. “I think I can now see, if just a little, what my daughter saw when she glimpsed your hearts down here on our planet. If I cease my assault, will you convince the other humans to release my daughter?”

Silvia heard what her father had said, but she could scarcely believe it. The Galzar she knew would’ve just let Gregory have his way with her as a punishment. The Galzar she knew wouldn’t lift a finger to help the daughter that he had rejected. It made Silvia wonder if she was hallucinating from the pain. But that theory became moot as Galzar scooped her up in his arms and held her tenderly to his chest. Galzar showed her his first sign of affection in ten years.

“You protected me from him this time, didn’t you?”

“I did,” admitted Galzar quietly.

A silence ensued between them for a few seconds. It took Silvia some time to process it all, especially through the pain. “How did you survive the micro detonators that he embedded in your brain?”

“I found the detonators a long time ago. I had them moved to a less vital area in my body so that he would not notice that their signals were gone. I also lowered the detonation yield slightly so that the damage would be superficial and not life-threatening. However, that being said, the small explosion within my internal organs combined with my previously sustained injuries...” Galzar grimaced in pain. “I admit that I do not have much strength left.”

“Well,” said Silvia weakly. “At least one good thing came out of being an assassin. It has taught you to be cautious.”

“But not enough,” said Galzar as his chest clenched tightly. “Not enough to save you.”

“So, what now, father?” asked Silvia, joyful beyond words to hear Galzar speak to her so kindly.

“Now, with what strength that my pathetic life has left, and the Caretaker willing, I will get you out of the blast zone of the nuke and find you a physician before it is too late.”

A single tear traced down Silvia’s cheek. “Even if we do make it out of the blast zone, you know that it’s too late for me. You’re an assassin. You’ve seen people die for years, and you know full well that it’s too late for me ... daddy.”

“I know,” said Galzar, his jaw clenched in agony. “But I’ve got to try. My God, this time I will try!”

And so, they trudged through the glittering snow down the empty streets of Tarrus. Galzar’s breathing became heavy. Silvia slowly began to lose consciousness. Then, after almost an hour of walking, Galzar Slithe collapsed in the snow with his daughter in his arms. Silvia’s eyes had just begun to dim as three figures approached them from behind.

“So, Ryan,” said Éclair as she jogged with the others, still a little dizzy from her blackout. “Tell me again how you got that scar on your chest?”

“Well,” said Ryan, scratching his face embarrassingly. “I kind of tripped and fell on a jagged piece of glass while I was saving you and Grafael. Luckily, Leon got me fixed up with an emergency med kit, so I’m good to go.”

There was something strange about the way Ryan spoke. He didn’t look Éclair in the eye as he normally would. It didn’t take much guesswork to know that he held something back.

“Leon, is that what really happened?”

Leon glanced between Ryan and Éclair before responding. “It would seem so. I certainly was not there to say otherwise.”

Éclair turned back to Ryan suspiciously. “Ryan, what are you not telling us?”

Ryan seemed pained as he turned away from Éclair while they ran. “You mean, you honestly don’t remember anything?”

“I just remember fighting with Silvia and then passing out moments after. Then we woke up amidst the corpses of those mercenaries you said were helping us, only neither of you seem to remember how they died. What did I miss before that?”

Instead of answering, Ryan stopped in his tracks and pointed to something ahead of them. “Holy cow turds! What is that?!”

Just up ahead, the streets of Tarrus were covered in white snow as tiny snowflakes floated all around them.

“Why, it’s snow,” gushed Éclair mirthfully. She had seen snow only a few times, though never naturally occurring on Tarrus. “The atmospheric converters must be on the fritz because of the evacuation of this area. No one’s around to maintain the weather control,” she said breathlessly.

It may seem girlie to get excited about snow, but I am still a girl after all.

“Snow,” repeated Ryan in wonder. “I’ve only heard stories about this stuff. It never snowed in Toramirese or Fernady City. Not ever!”

Éclair giggled a little. “You mean you’ve never seen snow before. You really are a sheltered boy, Ryan.”

Ryan opened his mouth and caught a single snowflake on his tongue. Éclair remembered when she used to do that.

“It’s so pretty and fluffy. I feel all fuzzy inside. I wonder if this is how girls feel. So this is why girls are so touchy, feely all the time. It must be so confusing not being able to think rationally.”

Ryan’s comment earned him a slap on the head from Éclair. “Excuse me, Mr. Insensitive Jerk! But I’m a girl, and I’m certainly more rational than you’ll ever be!”

As Ryan nursed his head, Leon suddenly cried out in alarm and pointed, accidentally nailing Ryan in the nose with his wrist (though Éclair wondered if it was truly accidental). As dreamy as he was, Leon could be prone to immature behavior himself, especially when Ryan was involved. “Hang on! There’s someone over there!”

While Ryan whined about his injuries to the nose and the head, Éclair focused her psions into her eyes to let her see more clearly. Being a sensory type, Éclair had the ability to enhance all five senses. One day, she might be able to sense objects and lifeforms around her without using her senses at all like the truly masterful sensory types could.

The images appeared as tiny specs of dark against the white snow. As Éclair focused in on them, she realized that there were two people lying face down in the snow, people with green skin.

“It’s Galzar and Silvia,” said Éclair in shock and surprise. “They’ve collapsed.”

Ryan suddenly pushed past Éclair and ran ahead.

“Ryan, stop!” cried out Éclair in vain. “Does he ever listen?”

“Not to me,” replied Leon, the sane man of the pair. “Let’s go back him up before he does something stupid.”

“Too late for that,” said Éclair as she broke into a full sprint.

Running at top speed hurt a lot more than Éclair thought it would, and Leon had to offer his hand to help her. Éclair felt mixed feelings of embarrassment and joy at the sensation of Leon’s skin touching her own. They soon caught up to Ryan who stood over the two Goblins, shivering and panting in the cold air as his breath came out as fog.

“Ryan!” exclaimed Éclair in alarm. “Get away from them! It could be a trap!”

“No, it’s not,” said Ryan quietly. “Not this time.” He seemed genuinely pained to see the two Goblins like this.

Éclair took a moment to observe Galzar and Silvia with her enhanced senses. She heard their slow, fading heartbeats. She smelled the scent of blood leaking from their wounds. She could even feel their very lifeforces failing.

“He’s right,” said Éclair with a surprising amount of sympathy. “They’re dying.”

Leon paused in quiet contemplation before turning to Éclair, and saying, “We have to move on.”

“No,” stated Ryan angrily. “I’m going to save them.”

Leon and Ryan had a silent standoff for a few moments. Then Leon finally sighed, and said, “I’m not going to be able to change your mind, am I?”

Ryan shook his head. “Nope.”

Leon then gave a sidelong glance at Éclair, expecting her opinion.

“I ... I agree with Ryan,” admitted Éclair reluctantly. “Silvia at least deserves a chance to live. It was her father that brought her to this fate. She never made the choice herself.”

Leon shook his head helplessly. “Well, come on then. Pick them up and let’s get out of here before that bomb goes off.”

In a far corner of the universe, he waited. He watched. He was always watching. Since the bumbling Gregory began enacting his plans, he had been observing the struggles of the young Elementals with mild amusement. The time that he had awaited for so long was drawing close.

True, there were still many, many steps to see to before the ever-so-satisfying conclusion, but he could relish in the fact that this most recent move had begun the process. As much as he had enjoyed this longstanding chess match with his old rival, their cosmic duel was about to enter its final stages.

Soon, there would be no more need for subtle manipulations and cold war tactics. Soon, the real war would commence. But before that could happen, he needed to see the value of the current pieces on the board.

Galzar had done his work well. He even managed to gain access to Gregory’s security codes that activated the Omega Missile. True, he could’ve detonated the missile anytime of his choosing and devastated the world of Tarrus, but what was a single planet in the face of the entire universe?

Besides, his rival would’ve sensed the interference and acted accordingly. Zanderius was always watching too, hence their need to act indirectly against one another. But since the missile had already been activated, not even Zand could complain if the process was slightly sped up.

Saria sat in the control room in the ice fortress created by the Water Elementals. Lights and images flew all around her as a labyrinth of endless holograms came in and out of focus. Philips worked tirelessly at one holographic screen that showed the entire planet.

Using a keyboard made of green light, Philips was inputting the coordinates and signature of the nuclear missile before it came down from the atmosphere. Several technicians worked alongside him to get the sensor grid back up, either typing at their own holocomputers, or using their wrist communicators.

Suddenly Philips stopped. “Uh, oh.”

“Uh, oh,” repeated Rachel, standing next to Saria with her arms crossed in agitation. “What does ‘uh, oh,’ mean?”

“It means that the countdown has been accelerated,” replied Philips in sheer terror. “I don’t know how or why, but the missile is no longer in the satellite. It’s past the atmospheric shields and will make contact at Gregory Industries in less than 20 minutes! We don’t have time to shoot it down! The missile is cloaked, and they still haven’t gotten the sensor grid up and running again! It’s over! We’re all screwed!”

“No,” whispered Rachel softly. “That can’t be ... that can’t be true. This can’t be happening.”

I was afraid it would come to this, thought Saria as she lowered her head. Now I’m left with little choice.

Saria turned to Philips, and said, “The missile will make its landing at Gregory Industries. You are certain of this, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am,” replied the mercenary. “The coordinates are indisputable. The missile will detonate a mile within the ruins of Gregory Tower, and then the shockwave will obliterate everything within a 1000-mile radius. Though the warhead was based off of old-fashioned nukes designed to destroy cities, this one was made to destroy entire continents. But the radiation cloud will be even more widespread, covering at least half of District 8 and 9. The effects of the radiation alone will put casualties in the millions ... maybe even billions.”

“So, it would seem that we cannot prevent the bomb from detonating,” said Saria as she summoned her war gauntlets, each one powered with the orange light of her psions, each one a treasure beyond compare to the Fire Ministry. “However, we can still contain the damage.”

Sorric regarded Saria cryptically with his sharp, old eyes. “What are you getting at, Kaves?”

“We have several short-range Gateways installed in that area. I intend to transport myself as close to the bomb’s detonation point as I can and then use my considerable prowess as the Minister of Fire to contain the explosion and minimalize the fallout as much as humanly possible.”

Silence. Not even Dutch could think of something to say, a miracle in it of itself.

“Humanly possible?” repeated Sorric quietly. “This feat may not be Elementally possible, not even for a Vessel!”

“You forget that the powers of the Celestial Beasts that we Ministers have been charged with protecting are said to be greater than any weapons forged by man.”

“That may be. However, that doesn’t change the fact that you are human, and you have limitations.”

“Perhaps,” said Saria as she pounded her knuckles together, sending sparks of fire and electricity zipping in the air from the impact. “But has it not been human ambition that has allowed us to overcome every preconceived limitation that has stood in our path ... allowed us to venture across the stars and find worlds beyond all previous knowledge? Despite my looks, my years are many, but my ambition is still as strong as ever. Can you say the same, Sorric?”

After a long silence, Sorric chuckled. “I’ll be damned before I let myself get outclassed by an upstart from a rival Ministry. Very well. I’ll use my powers to supply you with a steady stream of psions so you won’t kill yourself. However, when this is over, I intend to settle our other business.”

“I look forward to that,” said Saria with a cold edge.

“Wait just a minute!” cried out Rachel suddenly. “Ryan, Éclair, and Leon ... they’re all still back there within ground zero of the point of impact! Even if you contain the explosion, they still won’t make it out in time!”

Saria bit down on her lip so hard that it bled. “The communication system is still haywire in that area because of the explosion of Gregory Industries. We’ve already been trying for hours to raise them, but the District is still too charged with psions from the previous battles.”

“Then we should send a team to go find them.”

“With the detonation only minutes away, any team we send now would only be going to their deaths. In hard times, you must learn to be harder in order to survive.”

“That doesn’t mean to abandon your friends!” screamed Rachel. She had indeed changed. Rachel usually behaved more rationally than Saria herself. Saria wondered if Ryan had affected more people than Eramar.

“That’s enough, Second,” said Saria firmly.

Rachel flinched back, both hurt and intimidated by Saria’s rising presence.

“You have not seen war. You have not seen carnage. But I have, and the sad reality is that people you love are going to die. And when they do, if you break down and go half-crazy with remorse every time, what good will you be for preserving their legacy?”

Rachel’s face became wet. Saria struggled to hold her own tears back. Saria knew that she was breaking her granddaughter’s heart; in fact, Saria’s own heart broke to speak so harshly. But Rachel still needed to hear this. Saria experienced some of the same feelings when Zanderius gave her a similar speech.

“We do the best we can, but we are not gods ... we cannot go through life without losing. It is the nature of balance. Our only choice is to move on and do what we can with what little time we are given.” The room fell silent. Tears still slid quietly down Rachel’s cheeks, but she wasn’t sobbing.

She is a much stronger person than I was.

“I know what you and your teammates have sacrificed for the Ministry of Fire. No words can relay how proud I am of each and every one of you ... how thankful I am to have had a small hand in raising such fine students of Elemency. But the Elementals were commissioned for the purpose of protecting the people of Tarrus.

“It’s not just our duty, it’s our honor! Our code, our edict, our sacred calling, and our responsibility as the guardians of the human race. Squad 99 knew this responsibility well, and that is why they risked everything for that calling.

“But right now, there is nothing we can do for them. They must survive on their own strength while we focus our resources into containing that explosion. This is not a debate ... it is simply the way things must be.”

Rachel lowered her head in defeat and nodded.

“Excuse me,” said a familiar voice with an impeccable British accent. “But if I may be so bold, that is not entirely accurate.”

Tork stood beside Rachel in bandages with Grafael supporting his weight under his shoulder. Saria hadn’t even noticed the Saurian leave the room to retrieve his cousin. Amazing how someone so large could move so innocuously.

“I understand that there is nothing that we can do personally for Ryan and the others. A rescue team would only put more lives in danger. That’s why I would recommend a more indirect course of action.”

“And that would be?”

Ryan panted in the cold night air as he held Silvia in his arm. She was shivering, so he used one hand as a makeshift fire, holding it out in front of them. He kept his fire at a low level so that it wouldn’t burn her, but even then, she still shivered against his chest.

He had to stop several times to change her bandages, but the wound on her back never stopped bleeding. He could feel her body’s temperature dropping rapidly, and her blood soaked into his own clothes, staining them dark scarlet.

Éclair had done what she could with what little healing power she had left, but she explained that with her psions so low, she could only perform rudimentary first aid treatment. Judging from their wounds, she explained that they would need extensive medical care from higher-level Healers if they were to have a hope for survival.

And though he tried not to dwell on it, she also said that even with advanced medical equipment and Medical Elementals to heal them, that might not be enough, at least for Silvia. Her wound was ... strange to Éclair. She explained that there was some kind of internal bleeding the likes of which she had never seen before.

“It must be due to some kind of weapon specifically designed to combat Elemental healing. Only the most powerful Healers among us would have any chance of countering whatever this is,” Éclair had admitted with her head hung low in regret and shame.

Though he had no way of knowing for sure, Ryan wondered if Lord Gregory had been involved. He wouldn’t put it past the guy given his clear hatred of nonhumans. Silvia even admitted that he mistreated her regularly.

Could he have found out that she helped me? Is it my fault that she ended up like this? No! I can’t think about that right now! All that matters is getting her to safety!

“You guys doing okay back there?” asked Ryan as Éclair and Leon carried Galzar’s limp body in between them.

“If by ‘okay’,” started Éclair sarcastically. “You mean ‘steadily growing exhausted as we trudge through the snow carrying a half-naked, psychotic assassin between us’ ... then we’re doing far better than ‘okay’. We’re just peachy!”

“I was just asking,” muttered Ryan. Still, I have to say, it’s good to have Éclair back, sarcasm and all.

As they trotted through the snow, Leon suddenly cried out in pain and put a hand to his head. Everyone stopped in their tracks. Éclair nearly lost her grip on Galzar as they came to a halt.

“Leon! What is it? What’s wrong?”

Leon’s breathing relaxed a little, but the pain still seemed evident. In a shaky voice, he said, “It’s ... it’s Tork. He’s using the bond we made earlier to communicate telepathically. It wasn’t meant to be used over this long of a distance. It’s a little difficult to make out his thoughts.” Leon closed his eyes in concentration. “He ... he says that the missile is going to detonate in less than ten minutes.”

“DID YOU FREAKIN’ SAY TEN MINUTES!” said Ryan much louder than he had intended. Silvia stirred slightly in his arms, and he instinctively patted her head.

“Tork,” stated Leon as his brow knitted together painfully. “He says that the Ministry has opened up several short-range Gateways within the area. They should take us out of the blast radius. I see one ... the closest one is about fifty clicks northwest of us.”

“We’ll never make it in time,” gasped Éclair.

“Not while carrying this baggage,” said Leon coldly.

“I’m not leaving them,” asserted Ryan, genuinely angry at Leon’s apathy for Silvia.

“Ryan,” said Leon, adjusting his glasses and speaking in a lecturing tone. “Idealism may seem noble, but in the face of death, it’s a small comfort. I already told you that we’re not heroes ... we are Elementals. We do what must be done, not what we want to do, and definitely not what seems heroic. To think otherwise is just being childish. I know that you’re only fifteen, but now is not the time to be a child.”