A Miracle for Love (Caesar Drisdall from The White Knights Chronicles)

Chapter 22

The ship flew towards the Garmatha as shots fired through the air all around it. The group held on tight as Osmund swerved and turned the ship upside down to evade the obstacles coming towards them. Then, the worst happened. The ship was hit in the left wing. The ship tilted as the wing fell off and Osmund yelled put, "Hold onto something. We are going in for a crash landing!" The ship landed between two pointed rocks on the edge of the floating fortress and everyone took a breath of relief as they realized they didn't die a burning and fiery death. As the group departed to look around, Leonard said, "Grazel is in here somewhere." "It's the final showdown. There is nowhere else to run," Caesar said. "Yeah," Katelyn agreed. She felt the need to vomit from the flips they had done in midair but was trying to hold her stomach. The smell of the fortress wasn't making things any better, because to her it smelled like death. Just then, a chirping came from Sapphire's Ark. She looked at it confused, shaking it a few times before a hologram of Framboise popped up in front of her. "Hey," the hologram crackled. "Can you hear me," Framboise asked. Sapphire said, "Yes. What's going on?" "I know you are heading into the Garmatha, so I took the opportunity to load your Incorruptus with some new weapons that are more powerful. Try them out and let me know how they work later." "Thank you, Framboise," Sapphire said with a nod. "Over and out," Framboise said as her hologram disappeared. The group began to spread out as skeletons, what appeared to be undead soldiers, and a Wyvern headed their way. Katelyn told Lena, "Stick close to me. I don't want anything to happen to you." Lena nodded and said, "I will. Let's go get them." Katelyn pulled out her sword and raised it, ready to strike the first skeleton running her way. She struck it, shattering the bones before casting the holy light spell she had been taught. She continued with Lena following her. Lena helped her to defeat the enemies as they made their way towards the Wyvern. Katelyn called on her transformation to attack the Wyvern as Caesar did the same. The two started to attack the Wyvern as the others finished off the smaller enemies. The Wyvern fell as Katelyn and Caesar dealt it deadly strikes. They both called off their transformations as the group gathered around them. They all started to walk towards the door that separated them from the heart of the Garmatha. Eldore asked, "Are you all prepared? This is the one fight that matters most." Yulie said, "I hope this is finally the end. I pray it is." "They won't escape us again. It ends here," Eldore replied. Cisna said, "Now is the time to protect the lands Archduke Dalam, Count Drisdall, and my father loved. One last battle and this war can end." "Everything we've fought for comes down to this," Leonard said. Yulie replied, "Yeah! If we don't stop them, no one will." Eldore said, "Ten thousand years' worth of struggle is now hinged upon one fight." Katelyn said, "Either we win it, or we die trying. But we will come out victorious." Sapphire said, "Works for me." Caesar replies, "Right. So... no pressure." Yulie said, "Balandor would have been destroyed if they Demithor hadn't shown up." Katelyn and Caesar both looked at each other as Caesar said, "Thank you Demithor! Just hold out a little longer." Before they went to open the door, Leonard took a last glance back at their ship and commented, "We have put the Shagna through a lot, huh?" Sapphire laughed and commented back sarcastically, "Oh yeah. Destroying it sure is a lot, isn't it?" Eldore opened the door and said, "Okay everyone. Everything rides on this battle! Gather all your wits!" Yulie walked through the open door and said, "This mobile fortress has to be their last stronghold." Cisna followed, commenting, "We'll topple the Yshrenian Empire together." "Come on, this is it," Leonard said as he walked through the door, motioning for the others to follow. "Grazel, I'm coming for you. I'll try to bring Setti home." "It's so hard to think that Setti is family, so he is our responsibility in a way," Caesar said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The rest of the group walked through the doors to find the Yshrenian's next surprise.

As they walked through the door, the group was faced with a Pyredaemos Rex a couple of meters ahead of them. It was much like the one that part of the group had encountered in Balandor on the night of the Princess' eighteenth birthday. Yulie and Sapphire called on their transformations to fight it, pulling on the power of ice to defeat it. After many minutes of fighting, an arrow of Yulie's hit the creature in the eye. The group continued to fight it until it collapsed onto its side and its turrets went out. That is when they knew it was dead. "What is with all these monsters," Lena asked. "I don't know. Let's hope that is the last of them," Katelyn replied. The group continued onwards through a tunnel, finding themselves at a magical transport pad. "Is this the way in," Katelyn asked. Scardigne kneeled on the pad and said, "I believe so, my lady." "Right. No stopping now. Not until we finish this," Caesar said as he pulled Katelyn and Lena onto the pad. "This war will rage on as long as Ledom draws breath," Cisna said, walking onto the platform. Sapphire walked onto the platform and said, "No hell is deep enough for Ledom." "Leonard, are you okay," Yulie asked, seeing that he was having a hard time even walking straight. He walked onto the pad and said, "Yeah... I'm in this till the end. I won't transform again after this, Cisna. I promise," Leonard said as he walked onto the pad. "I believe in you, Leonard," she told him. "Now, remember, we should not all transform into our Knights at the same time. It could have dire consequences," Katelyn said. Eldore stepped onto the pad and said, "Let's listen to Katelyn. We don't want Madoras to rise if we can help it." Scardigne activated the transport pad. The group disappeared from the pad and reappeared in the heart of the Garmatha. They looked up to see Grazel and Ledom standing above them. Grazel was sat on a throne with his elbow resting on the side. His chin was propped on his hand like he had been waiting a while. "You certainly took your time, friends," Grazel said as he looked down upon the group. Cisna stepped to the front of the group and told him, "Grazel. Your evil ambitions end here!" Ledom stepped up and outstretched his arms, saying, "My goodness, if it isn't Princess Cisna. Oh dear... now where are my manners?" He closed his hands together and said, "I suppose now we all ought to be calling you Queen Mureas?" Cisna then turned to Ledom to say, "And you! You were behind all of this, Ledom. You have been trying to revive the Yshrenian Empire all along." Ledom let out a laugh and said, "Of course. I am an Ancient. I crossed through time and waited for this moment. And now, my wait is nearly over." Eldore whispered, "A fellow traveler." Cisna said, "So where does this stop? How many more lives are you willing to throw away?" Ledom began to laugh and said, "Throw away? Any life ended in the name of my master is a life well spent." "So much for moral gray area," Caesar said. Ledom then turned to Grazel and asked, "Wouldn't you agree, Grazel?" "Indeed. Friends, you have my deepest thanks for bringing the Knights together. Truly. However, they belong to my empire. They always have. And you will give them back," Grazel said to the group. Leonard stepped in front of Cisna and said, "Please, Cisna, find some place safe." He then turned to face Grazel who still stood above the group and said, "Grazel! We didn't come here to talk politics with you. Let's just skip to the end. Your stupid war is over!" Grazel countered back, "The end, Leonard? Oh no. This is a new beginning. The sun has risen again on Yshrenian history!" He pulled out his Ark, placing the mask on his face as he said, "Verto!" He jumped down as the Sun King in front of the group. Then, Katelyn noticed she was not in control of her arms. She looked up to see Ledom chanting a spell and said, "He is forcing us to use our Knights. We have to fight him!" But, no matter how hard she tried, her arms felt like they were being controlled by someone pulling the strings. She then was forced to say her transformation phrase at the same time as Yulie, Leonard, and Caesar. They all cried out, "Verto!" The five Knights all were transformed at the same, which could only mean one thing, "We all lost. Madoras will rise." As she said the words, a shift happened in the air around them and Katelyn could feel a dark power awakening.