Written:4/15/21
Published: 4/22/21
Two demons at the capital watched as smoke rose into the air. "Look! What are those?"
"Something's happening!"
He was cut off. A girl with brown and pink hair jumped up in his view and slammed his face with her spiky bat. His eye was smashed. Dead. Barbara's hand rose to her ear. "East side here. We're also inside the castle. The lookouts are dead! Bashed their brains out. My pleasure!"
"We're also in control of their security lines." Vincent informed from over the radio. "So far so good. Everything went as expected. You can come in house of Gillian squad." Vincent watched on his screen as the clan entered the iron bar gate. "Locking all the gates."
That capital boasts an estimated 5000 soldiers. The boss has already maneuvered to reduce this count to a thousand. Right now, 700 solders are in the castle town and the other 300 inside. The lot in the town have their hands very busy right now, dealing with mass panic after the bridges blew up, trying to maintain order. Moreover, they're totally blocked from the castle. All gates are shut. And, with no bridges left, they're cut off from the outside, too. The 300 inside will face the Gillian soldiers around 50. That comes in handy. Cheers for the alliance. It all follows from the plans and information from Minerva. Our people are very good at improvisation and going with the flow. So they work well with these guides to the inner castle.
"Cisco. Barbara. That's enough. Retreat and leave the rest to them."
Norman, Zazie, and Gillian's army stood before the door. Behind it was the regent homes and queen. "A splendid performance 'William Minerva'." Gillian 'complimented.'
"Please enjoy your vengeance." Norman said.
The doors opened out of curiosity of the chaos. One of Gillian's soldiers took a knife and stabbed the door opener. The families shrieked in fright. "The... The bandits?!"
"The ones who destroyed the farms? But how did they..?"
"It's been a long time.." Gillian said. He unraveled his bandana around his head.
"No. This scoundrel is Gillian!"
~~~~~
"Only two left..." Cisco whispered.
"Amazing..." Vincent said in awe. "Their actions so far... the time it took... The difference in power... Every little detail... turned out exactly as the boss calculated."
"Now, move in." Norman ordered. "But don't attack them yet."
The royal family is at a wholly different level. Being strong, they could hunt the best meat. That made them even stronger, and smarter, too. After generations of this cycle, they became much more powerful than all others, and rose to rule them as royal. Let the Gillian forces have their fun with Queen Legravalima. Let them exhaust one another. Then we kill it!
~~Earlier and Somewhere~~
Y/n, Emma, and Ray were in big, baggy cloaks. They wore demon masks. Cheers and happiness roared throughout the streets of the colony. The trio crouched in an alleyway.
"The festival already started." Emma said.
"Yeah." Y/n agreed. "The timing was much more strict than we thought."
"I hope our friends on the way back are safe." Emma said.
"All we can do now is to believe in them." Y/n and Ray synchronized.
"Yeah."
"Norman's probably at the heart of the ceremonial grounds." Y/n deduced. "You know, inside the capital. So, we have to bury."
He wants to kill the queen, to exterminate all nobles and their families. We must stop him and explain the situation. We have to stop the attacks before it's too late.
BANG
The three in the alleyway were knocked backwards away from the street. Y/n fell on top of Ray. She apologized. Emma coughed as she retrieved her mask that had flown off..
"What was that?" Ray gasped.
They looked back into the street. They gasped. Smoke rose from the destroyed festival stands. The demons were screaming, crying, and yelling in horror and pain.
"It began." Y/n clicked her tongue in frustration. She lifted her mask, Ray imitating her actions. "We took too long. Norman started the attack."
"Y/n? Emma? Ray?"
The three looked back. Don, Gilda, and four other figures were behind them. "You guys..." Y/n muttered.
They smiled relievedly. The two younger tackled the three older kids with a hug. "So you made it back from that place! Oh, I'm so glad!"
Y/n spotted Hayato. "Oh, hey." She greeted. "You were traveling along, right?"
"Yep!" He told.
Gilda took another person's arm. It was a darker skinned girl. She had light blonde hair that covered her right eye similar to Ray. "Oh, and this is Aishe!" Gilda introduced. She held a finger up. "Oh! Also..."
Gilda took a step to the side to reveal two familiar people. Ray smiled. "Sung Joo! Musica!"
The friends exchanged short words. They quickly caught each other up on their lives. Y/n smiled. She hugged Musica.
"It'll be ok." Musica said.
"Thank you for doing this for us." Y/n said into Musica's cloak. "I'm relieved you're doing well."
"You, too, Y/n." Musica replied.
"We'll stop Norman whatever it takes!" Emma chimed.
"But if you three are here, then that means..." Don trailed off. "...That you made it?"
Y/n nodded. "Yeah. The promise is redone. We talked to him."
Those around her cheered. Musica smiled relievedly. Don and Gilda leaped in the air and clenched their fists. Emma laughed. Ray smirked. Hayato gaped in confusion. Sung Joo looked quite shocked.
"However, it's not in effect yet." Y/n told. "For now, it's on... hiatus."
"Right!" Gilda smiled. "Just like we planned!"
"What about Oliver's team?" Don asked. "They said they wanted to bring you guys on horseback. Did they go back already?"
"On our way here, we spotted an army." Y/n informed. "They were marching in the direction of our hideout. Nigel, Oliver, Gillian, and Zack headed back to prepare. We ran the rest of the way on foot. It would be much more perilous than the Ratri raid."
"That's why we only arrived right now." Emma finished. "Right now, we gotta hurry up!"
"But it was a good thing in the end." Ray added. "We got to find you. There's one more big problem to deal with." He held up a piece of paper.
"A note?" Gilda muttered. "What's... This is Norman's handwriting... Oh.""
"It's the formula to the poison that Norman had them develop." Ray told. "He must be planning to use it not only on the nobles, but on the whole population of the castle town. His first goal is to genocide the entire population of the royal capital. There's no sign of it yet... But I know him. Everything will already be in place. Should anything happen to the city before we come back, I would like to limit the damage as much as possible. All the more so with Musica here. It makes the prospects much more likely, I think."
"Our first priority is your safety." Emma assured. "If you catch even a hint of danger, run away, please."
"Y/n. Go make your move." Sung Joo said as he leaned down. He dropped something into her hands. It was metallic and fairly light. It was slightly smaller than her palm.
"Um..?"
"It's a communicator." Sung Joo informed. "We seized it from this fellow and his comrades." Sung Joo said as he pointed to Hayato. "Go infiltrate the castle. Should you be in the need of help, use this device to call. I will come to you at once."
Don held a similar one up. "When you press it, it makes a noise, and you can tell the current location."
"I see..." Ray muttered. "So if anything happens, tell us in morse."
"We'll take care of the city." Musica said.
"Still, if you face danger, call!" Sung Joo reminded.
"Thanks. We'll get going, now." Y/n said.
"Oh, wait!" Gilda halted. "One more thing!" The three halted for her to continue. "In Lambda, there were experiments taking place.. A certain test drug was found to be the origin. It causes lethal side effects and spasms." Y/n gaped.
"Okay." Emma said obliviously.
"Norman was from Lambda, remember?" Y/n reminded. So this is why you're rushing so many things! You're gonna die again, idiot! This time, it's for real!
Emma gasped in horror.
"But wait. The drug was administered to the test subjects at Lambda, and it caused spasms in supposedly all of them."
"But!" Don said. "What about..... Adam?"
"Oh..." Y/n muttered. "That's true. We've never seen him get any sort of injury, illness, or seizure."
"He's the breakthrough for saving everyone in Lambda!" Ray grinned.
"Yup!"
It must've been a few minutes now... Y/n deduced. We should get going. She began to step away. "Thank you so much for this new information!" She complimented. "This could change everything on Norman's mind!" She turned to the carrot top and jet black haired male. "Let's go." They nodded.
The three ran out form the alleyway. They sprinted past the injured and despairing. The demons had no time nor care at the time to stop them. Humans running towards the capital. The three ran up the long flight of stairs. No guards were anywhere in sight. The came across a large gate, similar to the one at Grace Field. They had to hurry and find Norman while there was still time. The three ended inside a circular room. Four sides were identical gates. The one behind them was still open. However, the others were not.
"Tch. Blocked again." Y/n scoffed.
"There must be another way." Ray encouraged. "Let's go back." he turned away. Y/n followed him. "Emma, come on!"
"Wait!" She cried, remaining still. She pointed up. "What about this?" She asked. There was a hole about a foot and a half above one of the gates. It was big enough for them to slip through. They could not see past it from their angle.
"Nice catch, Emma!" Y/n grinned.
"It'll work!" Ray said. He crouched at the foot. Emma swung her legs around his neck as he held her legs. Y/n then got on Emma's shoulders.
"Ray, are you sure you can get both of us like this?" Y/n asked concernedly. "It would be a crying shame if you broke something right here."
"I'll be fine." Ray said. "MMMMFH!" He groaned in strain. After a moment, he got his legs up.
Y/n reached for the ledge and grabbed. Pulling herself up, she immediately crawled 180 degrees. She took an unsuspecting Emma by the shoulders and yanked her up top.
"Whoop!" Emma exclaimed in shock.
Ray was then alone. Y/n lowered down onto her stomach as she reached her hand downwards. "I won't be able to jump that high!" He tells.
"Oh shut up and try it!" Y/n scolded.
"We don't have time for this!" Ray argued.
"You're right, we don't! So come on!"
Y/n smirked at Ray who chuckled in return. He jumped up and took her hand. A smack was heard as the two palms met each other. Their fingers tightly wrapped around each other as they tugged on both hands. Ray was being pulled up by Y/n alone. I really can't win against her anymore.
The three got running. They were in some sort of vent. Their steps were loud no matter how skilled they were at concealing it. Ray, while running, nudged Y/n.
"You're quite the stubborn midget." Ray laughed.
Y/n threateningly raised a brow. "Huh?" She muttered ominously. "Just because you're 15 and slightly taller does not mean I'm a midget." Ray gave her an unconvinced look. "You wanna go? Maybe we should give you the poison Norman concocted."
"I'd like to avoid that."
"I bet you do." Y/n replied curtly. "And what in the actual heck was that half-hearted jump? You were like, 'UUHHMF.'" Y/n described while flapping her hands childishly. "I did most of the work."
Ray gave her a close-eyed smile and nodded. "You're right. You did do a lot of it. Quite impressive."
Y/n gaped. She cleared her throat as she turned her attention forward. "Yeah, cool, right..? Now let's keep going..."
Ray inwardly triumphantly laughed. She can go from so prideful to the most humble thing ever so quickly. It's hilarious. I'm still nervous on what she payed for the new promise. I'll have to get her to tell me before this ends.
Y/n ran into Emma. Ray ran into Y/n. The three fell into the iron wall. It gave from their weight, sending them to the floor. The smell around them reeked of iron. Y/n scrunched her nose. As the three got to their feet and sprinted again, Y/n looked in all directions. There were several murdered guards. The blood seeped from puncture points and stained both the wall and floor.
"There!" Ray yelled as he pointed to a door. They approached it and immediately had their hands on it. It's alright, Norman. You don't have to fight anymore...
"Norman!" Y/n and Emma yelled.
The three gasped. The ground was blood-ridden. Dozens of bloody bodies lay on the floor. All seemed to have been brutally stabbed, bitten, and more. Not a single demon remain standing. It was clear even Girian and his soldiers were dead. A single figure who's cloak remained white as snow stood amongst all the death. His subordinates were behind him, extremely wounded. Zazie and Barbara looked the worst.
"I'm sorry." Norman said. "It's too late now. You didn't make it."
"All of them..." Ray uttered.
"Have been killed." Norman finished. "They killed each other. They're all dead now. The queen, the nobles, the Grin clan. All of them."
"Norman." Y/n spoke. "Everybody can escape to the human world." The others were silent. "You guys don't need to fight anymore and risk your. lives. Starting now, how about we end the extinction?"
"It's already too late." Norman told. "It's impossible, now. The monarchy has collapsed. A monarchy that lasted for thousands of years. Iverk was the last one, and I killed him myself." Y/n flinched. He was a duke just like Lewis. That meant his strength was quite strong. "We've put a lethal fissure in the demon society of this world. A fissure that they can't come back from. The only thing left to do now is to shatter it. All of the demons will die out. There's just one more push left until their extinction. We can't go back now. We have no choice to wipe them out. Don't get in the way."
"No way!" Emma argued.
"Huh?!" Cisco exclaimed.
"I don't get the point of war and slaughter!" Emma announced. "I don't want to wipe them out... There's no way I'm going to let you be even more of a murderer!"
"Emma..."
"We'll find a way." The carrot top assured while spreading her hands. "It'll be tough, but let's think it through. No matter how hard it gets, we can't give up. It's never too late!"
"Emma..." Norman reiterated, looking quite distressed.
"I've decided. I won't let you sacrifice yourself again. I won't let you go at things alone."
Norman's subordinates looked confused. "What are you talking about?" Norman questioned. "Didn't I tell you that I'm not going anywhere?"
Y/n scoffed, bringing the attention to her. "Can you guys believe this liar? Could you trust someone with that kind of face?" Cisco and Vincent gaped. Such audacity! "You can't fool us again. We're not idiots. Well, maybe Emma is. But don't underestimate us! The people you grew up with since you were born. We see through your tricks, idiot."
"You never replied back then." Emma said. What about you, Norman? Doesn't it hurt? "It must be so painful."
Y/n casually strolled towards him. "Because you're so smart, you chose the reliable, logical path. Because you're so kind, you shoulder the burden for everyone. I don't think you want to wipe them out nor truly slaughter them. Don't lie to yourself. Let's talk it all out."
"What are you hiding?" Emma asked, walking by Y/n's side.
"What are you so afraid of?" Y/n asked.
"Afraid?" Norman questioned with a smug smile. It was instantly off, though. "The Norman in front of me now... looks like a scared, trembling child."
Y/n flinched.
I'm scared? It's true. I've always been scared. Strange drugs. Experiments. Never knowing when I'd be shipped and die. All alone. But... I'll keep living and leave this place. So I can see Emma, Ray, Y/n, and everyone else again. Because I had that hope with me... I couldn't afford to choose what measures I took. I couldn't afford to stop. I am strong. It's okay. It's okay. You can fight. You can win. Only a little more.
Norman raised his hand. "Don't come any closer." The pair was a yard or two away from the albino. "I've come this far. I have no intention of turning turning back now."
"No way!" Emma yelled.
"You think we're gonna let you go this time?" Y/n smirked.
Ah, I'm scared. Norman quickly realized as Emma and Y/n began dashing towards him. I'm scared of demons. I'm scared of the unknown human world. I'm scared that Emma, Ray, Y/n, and everyone else is going to die because of my mistakes. I'm scared. I see now. Because I'm scared, I chose the reliable and logical path. Y/n and Emma each took a hand. Because I'm scared, I've been doing this all on my own.
"You're stronger and more kind than anyone else." Emma told. "But you're just as cowardly and arrogant.You're not alone anymore. Don't be afraid to believe in us. Let us share the tough things, the painful things, and the scary things."
"Let us carry em' with ya!" Y/n added.
Ray put a hand on Y/n and Norman's shoulder. "yeah, stop trying to show off by shouldering it yourself."
"Ah. Do you want all the glory?" Y/n jokingly asked.
"Spill it all!" Emma begged.
"You don't need to protect us." Y/n assured. "We just want to walk alongside you."
"Your siblings and family are your friends. Don't be so reserved." Ray said. "We don't want a future where you end up suffering. No matter what that results in."
"And you?" Y/n spoke. "What do you want? What do you want to do, Norman?"
Silence. There was no peep in the room. Norman looked quite shocked from the three's words. However, he was still unreadable to Y/n. She hoped he would agree to be with them.
Norman yanked his hands away. "It's no good..." He shakily said. "you're already too late... I'm at a place where I just can't go back. You can't walk alongside me." These three don't know just what I've gone through to get this far. Emma and Ray sadly frowned.
I know what he's talking about. "We know." Y/n said. "About the poison that you used outside the castle. Also about what you planned on doing to Musica and Sung Joo. We also know about the 'experiment' in the basement."
"We're not too late..." Emma smiled again. "Let's all figure this out together!! It's okay to be weak. If you're the real Norman... Then let's lose our way together. Let's struggle together. Let's laugh together."
The three reached their hands in front of him. "Let's live on together, Norman!" They synchronized. "This time!"
Norman's face broke. He sobbed as he wrapped his arms around the three. Ah... I want to live. I want to live. I want to live. together with Emma, Ray, and Y/n. "But... It really is pointless." He muttered. "We don't have much longer left to live. We can't live on. Me... Help me. Y/n... Emma... Ray." Tears flooded down his cheeks as sobs and cries echoed through the room. He dropped to his knees.
Y/n took his head and put it on her shoulder. She gently rubbed his back and ran her fingers through his hair.
"Norman..." Emma muttered.
"'We'?" Vincent questioned. "What? Boss... What are you saying..."
"He's right." Cisco nodded. "You should be fine... You're a perfect simply from Grace Field... You were... The lone exception. A 'control specimen.'"
"That was a lie." Norman admitted. They were shocked. "It is true that I was by myself, quarantined in that house... But I'm the same as you guys... I also underwent the drug testing experiments. My spasms have already progressed to level 4..."
"No way!!" Cisco muttered, eyes wide.
"How could you lie to us like that..?" Vincent asked.
Norman clenched his fists in shame. His head was still resting on Y/n's shoulder. "I just wanted to be a leader you could put your faith in. I didn't want to trouble you all and have to make you worry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry everyone."
"So is that everything?" Ray asked.
"Yeah."
"I'm going to ask again. What is it that you truly want to do?"
"I have no regrets about killing the queen or the nobles. But if there's no need for any more killing, then that's what I'd like. I want to stop the extinction. The poison deployed outside of the castle... I want to deal with the damage that's already happened. Also, I don't want to have to lose everyone from Lambda."
"Noted." Y/n said. "Leave it to us. We'll help ya out."
Norman backed away and looked at her confusedly. "There's no way you could-"
"It's okay!" Emma said, putting her hands on his shoulders. "We'll figure it out together. We'll figure everything out somehow, as long as we're together!"
"Stop messing around." A voice called. They turned to see Vincent. "At this stage, what can we do..?! I'm- All of us are fine with our lives ending here! The demons being wiped out is our salvation. If that happens, we will have helped create a new world!!! Didn't you say we can't back down now?! But now... YOu're not just going back on it... You're preventing us from carrying it out! That's just... I will never stop!" He was shaking with anger and betrayal. "Even if you do. Even if you try to stop me, I'll-"
"It's okay, Vincent." Cisco interrupted. The said male whipped around to glare at the earring male. "Do whatever it is that you want, Boss. If that means stopping the extinction, then let's stop it. The things we've done up until now will be enough. I really do hate them. They make me sick and they'er unforgivable. I want to take revenge." He then gave a kind smile. "But you're more important to me than revenge. I'll follow you wherever you go, Boss!"
"Yeah." Barbara agreed.
"Awahhh...." Zazie maybe agreed. He readjusted his bag as he confirmed it while nodding.
Vincent growled frustratedly as his brows furrowed.
"Norman." Y/n spoke. "So first, the matter of the Lambda spasms. We heard about them from Don and Gilda."
"'It happened to children experimented on in Lambda 7214.'" Ray quoted. "'A certain test drug was found to be the origin. It causes lethal side effects and spasms."
"How did..." He muttered.
"However, they noticed something." Emma said. "Adam!"
"Huh?"
"Adam doesn't get the spasms!" Emma told. "Even though Adam must have underwent the same experiments as everyone else. Gilda also said that he hasn't had any of those symptoms at all in these two years since he's left Lambda."
Norman's eyes widened.
"You know what that means." Y/n smirked.
"No, wait..." Cisco argued. "That's just... Because his spasms haven't started yet... And there are differences between us... It could be that it just hasn't happened yet for him."
Vincent put a thoughtful hand to his chin. "But you said not even once..? He hasn't shown any symptoms at all since leaving Lambda?"
Norman sat up straight. "If that's really true and Adam is the only one to undergo those experiments without suffering any side effects or symptoms, that means..."
Y/n nodded. "He's the breakthrough to saving everyone from Lambda." The fighters were frozen with awe. "Unfortunately, we still can't take it easy. The royal army is searching for the hideout."
Norman turned his head in alarm. "The royal army is..?" Cisco muttered.
"Yeah." Ray agreed. "They were heading straight towards there from here. We saw them two days ago. they're most likely the troops you diverted away."
"Olivier, Zack, Nigel, and Gillian should be dealing with it. They went back to the hideout to make contact, but... If that giant army finds them, there'll be nothing they can do. You should leave the capital and head back to the hideout."
"We can deal with the chaos outside the castle." Emma informed.
Vincent grabbed his sleeve and pulled it up. There was a watch holding on to his wrist. "Ha... And how will you do that? The people in the capital will have most likely already been poisoned at this point. The royalty, Grin clan, and regent houses were all killed by it. We're using that same poison out there. They won't stand a chance."
"That's fine!" Emma assured. "Right now, Don and Gilda are working with Musica and Sung Joo to reduce the damage to the capital as much as possible."
"That's what they've been tasked with." Ray added.
"Don and Gilda?!" Norman exclaimed.
"So that means they really found the cursed blood?!" Cisco yelled in amazement.
"Let's split into two groups." Y/n said, refocusing the task at hand. "Ray, Emma, and I will deal with the situation here in the royal capital. Norman and you guys will head back to protect the hideout."
Norman quickly glanced at his subordinates. He then nodded. "Got it!"
Cisco went to Barbara. "Can you get up?"
"Yeah, it hurts a ton, though." The dual-haired girl told. Y/n realized her stomach was bandages as blood stained the material. Y/n gave a worried look. She laughed. "Don't underestimate our fighting spirit. I ain't dying that easily."
Norman stood. "Cisco, go on ahead and get the horses."
"Roger."
"Just bare with it a little longer, Barbara."
"Hehe... I'll be okay."
"Can I leave securing our escape route to you, Vincent?"
"Roger."
"But how did the royal army find us?" Barbara asked.d
"That would most likely be..."
A figure suddenly appeared behind Norman. It was maybe three feet taller then him and skinny like a worm. It's fingers were much sharper than an average demon. It wore a long, sinister dress. It opened its jaws about to eat the albino in front of it.
Vincent dove towards Norman. "BOSS!"