Guardian(Part IV): Revelation

Chapter 35: The Fox

I rushed to the Mayfly as fast as I could and slammed the pommel of my sword into the back of her head before she could kill Master Avanka. She was unconscious instantly, and I caught her as she was about to collapse before gently setting her down.

"Master," I gasped, kneeling beside Master Avanka.

"A...lear," Master Avanka rasped. She could barely speak without coughing up blood, but she spoke clearly enough to cast a portal right beside her, and Captain Ruth Hemsworth stepped through it. Her eyes widened with dread when she saw the state Master Avanka was in.

"Avanka!" she screamed. She quickly knelt beside her, laying healing hands on the stab wound in her stomach. The blood spilled from Master Avanka's stomach returned to the wound, which eventually sealed. Both Ruth and myself sighed with relief as Avanka took in a giant breath of air. When she sat up, Ruth threw her arms around her, squeezing her as hard as she could.

"What happened?" she wondered.

"I will explain everything once we return to Safe Haven," Master Avanka promised. "Fox, was Wilson able to lock onto the signal controlling the Mayfly?"

"Yes," I answered. "You'll never believe where she's being controlled from. It's Watervalley!"

"What?" Master Avanka whispered, as Ruth lifted her to her feet. "It ends where it begins, then. Alear."

Another portal opened in the place of the one Ruth came through.

"That's as close as I can get you without raising suspicions," Master Avanka promised. "But remember, Fox, your first priority is releasing the Mayfly. Kill Tereza, only if you get the chance. I'll get the Mayfly to Safe Haven."

"Yes, Master," I acknowledged.

"Good luck," Master Avanka wished.

I nodded my head, then stepped through her portal. Already, I could feel an aura of darkness in front of me. I was at the top of the cliff that overlooked Watervalley. The place where the Mayfly was being controlled from was down there somewhere, marked with my APID from where Wilson had traced the signal. It was near the center of the base, but judging by the darkness hanging over it, I knew what else was here. Tereza. Until I released the Mayfly, I would avoid her as best I could, but I would kill her.

"Fox?" Wilson blurted, through my APID's radio. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Wilson," I promised. "I'll be fine."

"Alright," said Wilson. "Be careful down there."

I slid down the cliff, then turned the color of my cuirass white to match the snow as I climbed to Watervalley. I scanned everything I could with my APID. There were Chardanish quadrupedal tanks stomping around the base's perimeter, and a gunship with a beam turret under its nose was hovering around in order to spot and kill potential intruders. Me, in this case. I would have to stay out of sight as much as possible, which wouldn't be a problem for me. I moved in. I kept out of sight of the tanks, even as I had to go right behind the vehicles to advance. Once I was to the walls of the base, I warped to the other side, then crept further forward, past the Turned. Much of Watervalley was still destroyed after the battle for it, so I still had to hide from the gunship hovering just overhead. When it passed over me, I went prone and covered my red hair with my hands to hide it against the snow. I hoped it was enough to hide myself. It must have been, since I heard the aircraft flying away from me, and it wasn't firing its beam cannon. I moved closer to the objective, where the defenses between me and it only became more intense. I had to have been close to the center of Watervalley by now. The objective marker led me to the base of a small communications antenna, with a large, dark cylinder next to it that had a red, blinking light near the top. It was an AI pod, which was capable of thinking and making decisions based on situations completely on its own. It could be inserted into any kind of electronic system with a processor, such as a War Machine or a controlling antenna. That's what was controlling the Mayfly this whole time. I destroy it, and she would be free. I didn't see any Turned standing guard around it. It was there for me to destroy. I warped in front of it and cut it to pieces.

"That was it," said Wilson. "I'll start on removing the software that Tereza planted in the Mayfly's head so she won't be able to take control of her again."

"I'm not done here," I reminded.

"No, you're not," Tereza's voice suddenly said. I raised my sword and turned around to see her standing behind me, with a team of ECHOs armed with spear-shaped dark aura blades at either side of her.

"I know what you truly came here for, Fox," she said. "Answers."

"No," I denied. "I'm here to kill you."

"Fox, wait," Master Avanka suddenly blurted. "Not now. Get her talking."

"Whatever the epsilon told you," Tereza said, stepping forward. "She is wrong."

"How?" I demanded.

Tereza smiled at me, then laughed. She knew something I didn't.

"Follow me, Fox," she offered.

"We need to find out exactly what her plan is, Fox," said Master Avanka. "For now, go with her."

As much as I wanted to take Tereza's head off right here, Master Avanka was right. She knew something that I needed to know, and it seemed as though she would be more than open with me. I sheathed my sword, and followed Tereza as she led me to Watervalley's landing pad.

"For whatever reason," she began, as we climbed onto one of her dropships. "The Desolation is seen as the end of the world as we know it. I, and many others, disagree."

The dropship began to lift into the air, with four gunships flying in front of and behind it to act as its escorts.

"We view it as Zenartha's rebirth," Tereza continued, as the aircraft began to fly forward. "A world moving on from the old, and pushing forward into the new. You've seen it. Chardan, the country you've fought for, and the country you would die for, is at war with itself. Its people are tearing each other to pieces for the foolish idea of freedom and control. Whatever excuse they can find to shed blood. I find it sickening. I find it repulsive, and I find it a problem, for which there is only one solution. From the moment the Giantess Zenartha became our world, the desire to kill had festered in the hearts and minds of every living thing that's ever existed. People, however, are the worst. Diomeus and Vanessa created humanity and the epsilon as warriors. Machines of war. Further proof that the only way to bring an end to war, is to do away with those who would wage it. I may be a Tuatha, but I prefer peaceful solutions to violent ones. As does the one I take orders from. Baroz taught me how to think, how to plan, and how to execute. With those three skills, I have come up with a solution. No one has done more damage to Zenartha's people, than more of Zenartha's people. They will unleash that truth unto each other, until it kills them. The War Machines they command, the weapons they fight with, and the dragons they ride, will be the means to that end. The LWM-1000 will be the ultimate instrument of destruction, to end the Desolation, and bring about the Restoration. Facts are what can be proven, Fox, and I intend to prove mine to you. Whether you choose to accept that is your decision, but nevertheless, no matter what you still choose to believe, you will hear it!"