Story [Issue 14] The Revolution, Part 3 - The End

[Meliora 1,652]

 

Part 1

Part 2

 

“So, enemies, who will shoot first? Who will be to blame – in the afterlife?” Nick asks, while circling us. “Or should I pick? Wow… I’m spoilt for choice!”

“I will do it, you pompous lord…” Kerri steps up, then sighs. “It has to be one of us, so I shall.”

“Very well then,” Nick sighs, slightly disappointed. “You will shoot on 3… 2…”

I remember the words of those invigilators, and then take one last look at Kerri before we are destroyed.

“1…”

Darkness. 

 

 

 

 

A small light flickers in the distance. The light of heaven, I suppose?

 

“Darius!”

 

The shout slashes my hopes of finally having peace. I struggle to look around in the darkness. As my eyes adjust to the light, I begin to make out silhouettes of buildings around me – the destroyed buildings – of Düsseldorf.

 

“Darius!” The voice sounds firm and steady, much like –

 

“Kerri, is that you?” I ask. And then I remember I have a task to complete. Given to me by one of Kerri’s watchers just before the explosion – or whatever it was – I realise I am putting my trust in complete strangers. Their few words continue to bounce around in my mind, as if daring me to put my neck on the line: “Find Hector; find Kerri. Go to the pits. Take him with you.” But who on earth is Hector? I look around again, and notice that instead of the five other tanks there once were, there is just one silhouette – the Ricochet.

 

Where had Kerri gone? Where was Nick? Where were the watchers? Could this remaining tank be Hector? I think back to the third part of my instructions – “Go to the pits.” I drive over to the Ricochet, watching him closely. His head is bent down, although his eyes are frozen open – what happened just moments ago must have blasted him into unconsciousness.

“Hector!” I shout, watching for any movements. The Ricochet does nothing.

 

“HECTOR!” I yell again. This time, his eyes flicker and he looks up. He stares at me, his red eyes almost burning into my skin. I know that I can’t destroy him, but I can’t allow him to gain confidence.

 

But I don’t know what to do.

 

“What – the – blasters – do – you – think – you’re – doing?!” he roars, and moves away from me, shooting wildly, warning me. His lips curl slightly. “Tell me what is going on, or you will die,” he says. “And do not even think of lying.”

 

I freeze. A health pack had been the last thing on my mind, and my hp is 0. The determination on Hector’s face makes me realise that this was an empty threat. If he destroys me, he’d be alone. I try to think of a way to get him under my control again.

 

A light bulb lights up in my head, and I thank the angels for Kerri’s cleverness.

 

“You have made your choice then, Darius. You shall be destroyed,” Hector declares.

 

“No – wait! I will tell you,” I interject, “but it is very important. I hope I have your full attention.” Hector turns his turret to face me directly.

 

I shoot.

 

 

 

Kerri

 

I hear the faint sound of an explosion from far away. Darius. I look at my two companions, but they seem not to have heard. From the depths of the pit, Nick smiles, in hope that this explosion went in the way of his partner.

 

“Good luck, Hector,” I hear him whisper.

 

“Oh, he’ll be needing it,” I retort.

 

“Shut up,” Nick hisses, then smirks. “We know what you did, Kerri, and how you did it. Hector will have destroyed Darius by now. This explosion was our code for victory.”

 

I scowl at him, praying that he is lying, but my stomach churns with worry.

 

Where is Darius?

 

 

Darius

 

I smile, deciding I prefer the unconscious Hector better than the real one. At last I fully understand the clever mines Kerri’s invigilators had made. They had made one real mine and one fake, the real for me, and the fake for Kerri – of course, that is why she volunteered to shoot. The fake one was full of black powder, which would act as a confusion…

 

Hector was now lying motionlessly in his tank.

 

Now for ‘the pits’, I think, but where are they? I have no directions. I think back to my confrontation with Nick – from where did Kerri appear from? That must be where the pits are. My immediate instinct tells me she came from the left, but I hesitate for a moment too long, and suddenly heading right seems more likely. I think harder, of Kerri coming back. The dents on her tank, the cuts on her face – on the left side of her face. If I could only see the left side, she must have come from the right. 

 

I head east.

 

 

 

 

I reach a corner of Düsseldorf I have never seen before. There must be more to it than this… They wouldn’t have given me impossible instructions...

 

“Freeze.”

 

I swivel around to see Hector, standing away from his tank. I smile, and slowly step out of my tank too. He has no idea of my strength. “Freeze,” Hector repeats. He steps forward. I see his arm rise into the air.

 

The next thing I know, I am lying helplessly on the ground, my head aching like hell. Hector is looking down on me, waiting for my attempt to get up.

 

That attempt never came. I grab at his ankles, bringing him to the ground. “Tell me the location of the pits,” I order. Hector shoots me a defiant look, and I run out of patience. I grab hold of his head and force it backwards onto his back, and try to block the snap from my ears. “Where are the pits?” I demand again.

 

“J–just leave me alone…” he whimpers, evidently in pain. I glare at him. “OK, OK! Th–the p-pits are through a small hole in this wall – th-that’s it…”

 

I turn to look into Hector’s eyes, disgusted. I press down on his head as a last warning and push him away. I inspect the walls around me. Every inch of them looks completely intact, I can’t see where they’d break. Unwilling to go back to Hector for help, I walk over to the walls and feel them with my bare hands. After feeling across the wall, my fingers touch an area of wall less sturdy than the rest. I thump it with both fists, and –

 

“Aaaargh!”

 

“Darius!”

 

My head shoots up involuntarily at the sound of Kerri’s voice. I look around. I had fallen hard onto the ground – I realise I have scratches and bruises all over my arms, but that is irrelevant – I’ve finally found Kerri.

 

“Darius! Where is Hector?” she asks, driving over towards me by the hole. I motion towards Hector’s tank, beside which he was lying. “And where’s Nick?” I reply.

 

“In a pit. I brought him here immediately after the first explosion.”

 

Kerri’s abrupt answer frightens me a little as I direct my gaze towards three deep pits. In the one closest to me I recognise the Thunder and Viking, coated with the Revolution paint. Nick himself’s face shows defeat. I turn back to Kerri. “I believe it’s time we deal with these two.”

 

“Of course.”

 

I breathe in slowly and look towards Hector, but there is no one there. He never stops trying, I think. From the corner of my eye I see a tank accelerating rapidly towards us. I dash towards my tank and hurl myself in. I lift my head to see an orange plasma ball hurtling in my direction.

 

I bend down and cover my head for the blinding light that follows.

 

 

I open my eyes a few seconds later to see Kerri, aiming at Hector. “KERRI, NO!” I yell. But it is too late. Kerri fires, and I can but watch as Hector’s tank rusts and flies into the air. Kerri turns to me. “He was a threat, Darius. He wanted to destroy you,” she said, without a hint of remorse. “And look at what he has done to Düsseldorf!”

 

“Then let’s do the same to Nick,” I respond.

 

“Oh, no, I have plans for that pompous man.” An all-knowing smile creeps across Kerri's face.

 

 

I look down into the pit – Nick’s face stares up at me in fear. “You will destroy me too, won’t you? But first, please allow me to ask Kerri a single question. That is all I want.”

 

“And what is this question?” Kerri’s piercing voice demands.

 

“How did you do this? How did you turn your invigilators against me?”

 

Kerri nodded. “That Wasp-Smoky wanted to take the glory of my capture for himself, and left to find you – but as you know, he never came. My two invigilators turned away from me, and I knew they were about to destroy the Wasp. I took this advantage – I froze the Wasp to death, damaging my invigilators in the process. Before they could face me again, I offered them a choice – help me defeat you, or die. You know what they chose.

"Ah yes, do note, the powder for the fake bomb was the remains from the Wasp – the real mine was one that failed to launch with the banner.”

 

“You’ve always been clever, Kerri…” Nick whispers. “Please, Kerri, make it quick. Not like Hector.”

 

“You won’t die, Nick.”

 

“What?”

 

Kerri grinned, and peered through the gap in the wall. “As you can see,” she laughed, “our city is in tatters. All you have to do, my dear Nick, is clear everything up, and restore Düsseldorf.”

 

 

 

That's this series finished, hope you enjoyed the ending :).

[hogree 4,179]

Generally, an enjoyable series. Good job Selena. :)

[VectorSV50 0]

So beautiful but sad that it is the end  :(

[abraarkhan786 15]

Aww

Great, keep it up.

Edited August 3, 2013 by abraarkhan786

[MisterGeneral 692]

Great grammar, just great! :)

[jazz20 1,181]

Nice :)