Descension

CHAPTER 35

Zeline stands at the front of the coup, ready to march into the heart of Genesis. Dannika had opted to stay with Joaquin at the refinery to monitor him in the medbay, and search through the reconnaissance data from the hospital to find potential allied doctors. Although Zeline had tried time and time again to contact Ben via the comm she had given to him, there was no response. Half a dozen independent marches had already reached Genesis, but the one that Zeline is about to lead is ten-fold the amount of people in those marches combined, and this march was entirely up to her. She turns around to look back at the sea of people awaiting to follow her. They carry banners, torches, and flares stretching as far as the eye can see, and behind it all lies a rising dawn-red sun. Zeline's veins flood with adrenaline. She lifts her chin and turns around, balling her hands into fists before taking the first step. She feels the vibrations of the coup's footsteps resonating through the ground, the sensation urging newfound power into her steps.

She leads the coup from the edge of the Slavic ternary and through the NID, reaching the edge of Mizu by midday. Fueled by rebellion, the coup's energy remains steady despite the long trek, vitality now at its nexus in anticipation of reaching Genesis. The group marches on. Now deep within the labyrinth of Mizu, Zeline slows her pace. This isn't right. Where are the independent protesters? She traverses the ground carefully, her heart palpitating in unease. The coup creeps through Mizu, a light drizzle of rain freckling Zeline's face, the clouds casting dark enough shadows for her to sneak ahead and maintain cover. She peeks around the edge of a wall that opens into a large square, her heart falling to the pit of her stomach. The square is thickly bloodstained, the independent marches mowed down by Ordership soldiers. Bodies litter the ground, both cyborg and Ordership, piled into respective mounds of desiccated cadavers. Zeline unsheathes her sword and turns around to silently wave the coup forward. They draw their weapons before following Zeline further. Behind her, the sounds of gasps and cries echo out in reaction to the corpses. She cringes as her boot slips into a puddle of blood, swallowing down the bile rising in her throat. It'll all be worth it, she thinks, we'll end this and save billions of lives.

Holden stands frozen in shock, staring up at Tiberius appointed in the middle of the crescent table. Beside Tiberius stands Onyango on his left, and Liam on his right, two guards posted at every corner of the room.

Holden croaks out his words, "You've killed... millions of people." His eyes sting with tears as his gaze snaps to the ground, unable to continue looking at Tiberius, "You bombed Brasília... Athens... Los Angeles, Lagos, Delhi, Moscow! We're fucked!"

Liam gulps, his entire frame shaking. Onyango simply shakes his head.

Tiberius on the other hand stands tall and proud, a victorious smirk on his face, "I just saved us, Holden. Once we take care of the protests here, society will be pure again."

Holden shouts, "You have eliminated any hope of salvation! This could have been a chance to prove that we listen! That we are remorseful for our oversights!" He marches towards the table, screaming at the top of his lungs, "If it wasn't for you; you, who is so stubbornly insatiable in your need for control!"

Tiberius says nothing. Eyes blank, he maintains the same expression. Holden shakes his head, the light leaving his eyes as his shoulders slump.

"Liam," Holden murmurs, "Make up with your brother. And if you can get the message back to Zeline through him..." his lip quivers, tears spilling down his cheeks and dripping down onto the floor, the room so silent that the sound of the droplets resonates clearly, "...tell her I love her."

Zeline's breath is stolen from her lungs as she reaches Genesis, Capitol Hall shining as a gleaming gold fortress in the distance. Between her and the building, however, lay swaths of Ordership soldiers, all of them armed to the teeth and charging straight for her. Zeline inhales sharply as she sheathes her sword, instead reaching over her shoulder to grab the gun from her back.

She plants her feet firmly against the smooth pavement of Genesis' streets, then shouts as she aims her gun forward, "Charge!"

Thousands of war cries resound from behind her, the coup raging towards their adversaries. It's a blur of blood when their bullets collide, Zeline's armor smattered by plasma bolts that fizzle out over her chromium armor. She roars as she slams the butt of her gun into a soldier's visor, then flips it around to shoot him through the cracks. Two soldiers advance onto her at once, Zeline knocking them back with a twist of her body, smacking them with her gun. She tramples their bodies, the coup fighting strong behind her. She rushes forward, exhilarated again by her victory, mowing down hordes of Ordership soldiers.

She ejects her clip and reloads, slamming a fresh one into her gun. She takes down another throng of soldiers, marching through their disfigured corpses to charge forward, her heart thundering as she spots an opening. She rushes forwards, her throat raw from gasping for breath and eyes blown wide with adrenaline. The gap between soldiers begins to close and she careens forward even faster, gaining traction before her legs slip out from under her. She gasps as she falls, landing in a pool of blood, the sticky, warm ooze clinging to her armor. The soldiers charge forward to dogpile on top of her, Zeline only slipping further as she tries to right herself. She relinquishes, admits it's too late to continue putting up a fight, and gives in to whatever punishment the Ordership has in store for her. Then, a torrent of plasma tears through the soldiers advancing on her.

Zeline gasps as she looks up to her savior, "Ben!"

He clasps his hand with hers and pulls her up onto her feet, nodding to her as he turns away to blast through another swarm of guards.

He turns back to call to her over his shoulder, "Let's go!"

He mauls a line of guards, then charges through, emerging on the other side of the Ordership's guards. They breach the barrier, now unobstructed to rush Capitol Hall. The coup widens the bottleneck created by the soldiers, pouring out in droves past the guards. Ben shoots through the glass doors of Capitol hall, taking out the soldiers blocking the entrance from within.

He shouts to Zeline, "We'll split up inside, you lead the coup to overthrow Tiberius!"

"Copy!" Zeline calls back.

She turns around to make sure the coup enters safely, her head on a swivel and her gun trained forwards, ready to attack anyone in their way. Once enough of the group had made their way inside, Zeline releases a breath of relief, tears pricking at her eyes in the glow of victory. This is it. The end is kind after all. She turns back to face Capitol Hall once more, marveling at the structure, once a sanctum of prosperity and opportunity for her, now a great stronghold to conquer.

Then, a body plummets to the ground and splatters in front of her. Zeline gasps, paralyzed by shock. It twitches as if still alive. Mangled beyond comprehension, the face imploded and limbs disfigured, there are no discerning features of who this had been, except for two glimmers of gold shining behind a splatter of tissue, a pool of blood engulfing its surroundings: her grandfather's Ordership emblem.