Vigilia Fidelis 7: Until Death Departs
The map on the wall of Hannah’s office was now covered in purple pins. West Africa, Southern Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Kuril Islands, Finland and Estonia, Kazakhstan and Georgia. Only New Moscow hadn’t had any new incursions. She suspected there were multiple incursion zones in North America in Hegemony territory, but she hadn’t had reports of that. They were being dealt with “internally”.
And that’s why I’ve only told the President and Director Wyatt that I’m cooperating with Archonist elements in the battle against the Abyss internationally, Hannah told herself.
Stepping to one of the windows, Hannah looked out onto the office floor. Most of the occupants of the room were dressed in Hegemony uniforms, but there was also a Fatui liaison officer, dressed in a long woolen great coat and slacks. The poor woman was sweating buckets under her mask, but she refused to take her uniform off, insisting that it was a symbol of her Love for the Tsaritsa. Madness, but Major Tatiana Belinskaya was an extremely competent logistician and diplomat, already having helped get troops and supplies from Russia where they were needed throughout the war.
Guto was also there, dressed in the new “uniform” of what was being called the Cão Infernal, or, roughly, the Hell Hounds. It was an off-the-rack black T-shirt and heavy black pants, with a patch showing a dog’s skull wreathed in flame with a red butterfly on the skull’s forehead. Guto also had a fresh tattoo on his arm of the same symbol. Currently, he was engrossed in calculating the amount of medical supplies that would be needed in the fighting going on in the Cerrado: the large savannah that covered much of southern Brazil.
Hannah stepped into the room, and Collin quickly came over to her. “How bad is it?”
“Bad. Twenty-five dead PRT troopers today alone. We also lost Cinderhands, Lightslinger, and…and Brandish.”
The last name made Hannah flinch. “Have…have you told her husband yet?”
“Flashbang is…is at home. He took a hit in Nadzab on Papua New Guinea. Bad enough that he was sent home on leave for three days. We just got word that 1st Lieutenant Dallon is confirmed KIA. We…retrieved the body. It was cremated on site by…by Farasha. She sent this.”
Collin handed over a note that was wrinkled, with spots of water in several places. The handwriting was crude, the words in English.
Mark, Victoria, Amy. I’m sorry. I tried. Carol’s soul was too far gone. I didn’t have to burn her memory, dut…but I had to help her pass over. It’s my fault. Blame me.
Farasha
Gently, Hannah folded the note, and put it in her uniform pocket, then glanced at the clock. 15:45. “The girls will be home from school, won’t they?”
“I…yes. Should…should I call for a chaplain?”
Hannah looked around, and saw Sister Tesbi delivering a packet. “Sister, a moment, please.”
“Yes?” Tesbi said, hurrying over. “I was just about to go on my rest shift, so I have some time, Colonel.”
Hannah massaged her forehead. She’d just gotten back from the front on Maui, keeping the Abyss out of Lahina. They still hadn’t closed that damn tumor on Kahoʻolawe. It was increasingly infuriating to Hannah. Couldn’t Alexandria and the others see that the only power the Abyss offered was death?
“One of my officers…has fallen,” Hannah said, feeling drained. “The family…they’re not Catholic, but…our chaplains are all busy. We have…so many casualties.”
“Of course,” Tesbi said immediately. “It would be my honor to accompany you, Colonel.”
Hannah nodded. She had been going to get some rack time herself, but…this needed to be done. “Please. Come with me, then.”
It was a short drive to base housing. Hannah drove herself, taking just a few minutes break. Tesbi sat beside her quietly, her Hydro Vision and crucifix clearly visible. As they pulled in to the housing, Hannah saw a crying woman holding a young boy clutching the arms of a PRT officer and a man in a chaplain’s uniform. A few faces peaked out of windows as she drove by, fearful expressions quickly hidden by blinds when it was clear that it wasn’t their home the reaper was coming to this afternoon.
Hannah parked the car in the street, her feet dragging as she trudged up the concrete driveway, then padded on the dirt path to the door. It was a cookie-cutter home that could have been in any suburb in the Hegemony, with tan painted wooden exterior, white trim, and a blue minivan in the driveway. She glanced over at Tesbi, who nodded to her.
Steeling herself, Hannah rang the doorbell.
“I got it!” a young girl’s voice called. “It’s probably Paul! Bye, dad, we’ll be back later!”
There was the rapid padding of feet, and the door was flung open, revealing a tween girl with blonde hair, dressed in pink shorts and a t-shirt that read Moanalua Mustangs and had an image of a snorting white horse on it. “Huh? Colonel? Uh, what are you-”
Hannah gave a pained smile. “Is your father home, Victoria?”
“Yeah, he-” Victoria Dallon’s eyes shifted to Tesbi, who as always, had on her habit and whimple. She let out a whimper. “No! Nononono-”
Hannah felt a tug, and a pull access request from Radiant Bulwark came through.
Request permission to connect to Victoria Dallon.
Denied. It’s her worst day. And she’s twelve.
That is how Shards operate.
I am rewriting the fucking manual. You are not to bud to this girl until she’s emotionally mature enough to handle that power.
Understood. What time will that be?
I’ll let you know. By which Hannah meant, ‘When Hell freezes over.’
Even as she thought that, Hannah had reached out, pulling Victoria into a hug. The girl tried to push Hannah away, blubbering and shaking like a leaf on the wind. “I’m sorry.”
“Vicky? What’s-”
Another girl, dressed in a similar T-shirt, but with white capris and shoulder-length curly brown hair, came around the corner. Amy Dallon’s eyes went wide, and the glass she’d had in her hands slipped free, plummeting towards the ground.
Tesbi flicked a finger, and the water in the cup spilled out, cushioning the fall of the glass even as the nun stepped forward and put a hand on Amy Dallon’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Amy. My name is Sister Tesbi.”
“C-Carol, sh-she…sh-she…” Amy gasped, her freckles standing out starkly against her pale skin.
“Girls? Who’s there?” Mark’s voice came from the bedroom. “Victoria? Is it Paul? I told you you could go out, but be back in time for dinner, OK?”
Supporting the weeping Victoria, Hannah walked the girl to the couch, then set her down, Tesbi doing the same with her adopted sister. The nun took both girls’ hands and squeezed them while Hannah walked to the bedroom. She paused in the doorway. The TV was on, with some sort of sitcom with a laugh track playing.
Mark himself was lying in the bed, dressed in a loose shirt and sweatpants. There was a large bandage around his abdomen, and there was an open container of opioids on the night stand. Upon seeing Hannah in her full dress uniform, cap under one arm, Mark Dallon let out a strangled sob.
“Mark. I’m sorry,” Hannah said.
“You…no. She can’t- My girls?” Mark managed, his voice raw with pain.
“In the living room, with the chaplain,” Hannah said.
Mark nodded, eyes red. “Help me up. Please, Hannah.”
Gently, Hannah helped Mark Dallon up out of the bed, having to support most of his weight. She helped him stagger to the living room.
Hannah set Mark down between daughters, and Victoria quickly flung herself onto Mark, sobbing. Mark was weeping himself, holding Victoria tightly, kissing the top of her forehead. Amy sat there, looking uncomfortable, until Mark peeled himself off of the still crying Victoria and awkwardly pulled Amy to him. “Come here, Amy. She…she was your mom too.”
Amy nodded, her eyes red, looking down at the floor.
“It’s…it’s OK to cry,” Mark whispered, holding Amy tightly. Victoria got up, coming around to Amy’s other side and burying her face in her sister’s shoulder. That seemed to get through to Amy, who began to weep silently, her entire body shaking.
Hannah looked away from the painful tableau, to the pictures on the wall. Mark and Carol on their wedding day, grinning and as Carol tossed her bouquet into the crowd. Carol in cap and gown, with a stole showing she’d graduated magna cum lada from Georgetown University. Carol, looking disheveled and exhausted, holding an infant in her arms, Mark kissing her gently on the forehead. Carol, Victoria, and Amy, smiling together at the Brockton Bay Zoo, the girls with gap toothed grins from when they were no more than eight.
And Carol, standing tall and proud in her new uniform, being sworn in as a member of the Protectorate. New Wave had championed the ideal that heroes should not wear masks. In the end, they had won out, and been some of the first Independent Heroes to join the Protectorate after that new policy had been announced.
And so many more. Pictures of a life together. Pictures of a life that was now gone.
When Victoria’s sobs had quieted and Amy had sipped a little water and whispered she was OK, Hannah pulled out the note, and handed it to Mark. “She wasn’t corrupted. Her soul was saved, and guided to the afterlife by the Dragon of Rebirth. You will see her again, one day.”
Mark took the note, but was weeping uncontrollably again. Amy was crying as well, and it was Victoria who took the note, reading it aloud between sobs.
When she finished, she looked up and met Hannah’s eye. “Bullcrap.”
“I don’t like Farasha, either, but I think she’s telling the truth,” Hannah said quietly.
“Not what I meant!” Victoria snarled.
“V-victoria!” Mark gasped, managing a stern growl between tears.
“Sorry, dad. I mean, bullcrap, Colonel ma’am!” Victoria huffed.
Hannah raised one eyebrow, and Victoria shook her head, as if trying to throw off the tears. “Blame Farasha!? That’s crap! It was the Abyss that killed mom! Farasha saved her! She did try to save her, right?”
“I…I wasn’t there, but…yes. Farasha tries to purify and save all our casualties. Your mother was delivering messages and liaising with Farasha. There was an Abyssal assault on the command staff. First Lieutenant Dallon fell fighting the Abyss, her body corrupted,” Hannah said, having downloaded the after action report directly from Ajaw. “Farasha had to…to prevent her soul from being consumed. It showed signs of corruption, and could not be reincarnated. I’m sorry.”
Victoria nodded. “Well, you tell Farasha…when I get my powers…I’m joining the Hellhounds and fighting the Abyss with her!”
“Victoria!” Mark snapped, fear and anger coloring his voice.
Hannah quietly blessed the fact that she’d been able to block Radiant Bulwark from budding on this girl. If she’d had actual powers, it would have been quite the challenge to keep this headstrong idiot from getting herself killed as well.
“You’d join the Wards, Vicky,” Amy said, still sounding shell shocked. “They don’t let Wards fight on the front lines.”
“No,” Hannah agreed. “Support roles only.”
Victoria glowered at her, but didn’t speak out more.
After that, Hannah and Tesbi stood. There was little time, but Mark asked for time alone with his family to grieve. Hannah nodded, and she and the nun headed for the door. They had just stepped outside when she heard rapid footfalls, and Amy appeared. She stepped out, closing the door behind her.
“You have to take Mark’s pills,” she said.
Hannah paused. “I’m sorry?”
“His pills. You leave them, and he’s going to do something stupid,” Amy said, her expression sober. Far too sober for a 12 year old. “Take them. I’ll watch him, make sure he doesn’t…doesn’t try anything else. But the pills would be too easy.”
Hannah glanced at Tesbi, who stepped back inside. “Mark? A word.”
There was a quiet conversation, and Mark grimaced, then nodded. “Yes. Take the pills. I…I’m already depressive.”
Radiant, you are to monitor Mark Dallon. If he suffers a depressive episode or is contemplating self harm or suicide, you are to alert me immediately. Wake me if you have to.
Understood. Is Victoria Dallon emotionally stable now?
Humans don’t emotionally stabilize until they’re 20.
New data accepted.
As they left again, Hannah heard Mark call, “Amy?”
She paused, listening at the door.
“Yeah, Mark?” Amy said, sounding slightly guilty.
“Thank you. For looking out for me. I…I might have done something stupid. You…you’re a good kid, Amy. Love you. You know that, right?”
“I…huh?”
Hannah felt a sudden tug, and snarled, slamming the door open. Which shard is Marquis’s? I swear to all seven fucking gods, if that thing buds on this little girl, I will-
“...You walk a lonely path, believing yourself unwanted, yet your heart yearns for Life,” Amy whispered, and Hannah paused.
That wasn’t the tug of a shard. Her heart beat with childlike wonder, she smelled wild plants growing, and felt warm sunlight on her skin.
“You see the wounds of others before your own, and Wisdom guides you towards healing…” Amy whispered, and Hannah found she could hear the words as well if she listened hard enough.
Hannah heard Nahida whisper in her new daughter’s ear, Though you feel yourself a captive, your Ambition is to nurture the broken.
An emerald gem appeared with a flash, floating down towards Amy’s palm.
Let your Vision guide you, Daughter of Life.
Tears filled Hannah’s eyes, even as Amy clutched the Vision to her chest, her eyes closed. This…this was love. Not hate. Not domination. The Vision hadn’t been awarded to bring pain. But to reward an ambition to heal and to help. So that a lost and lonely girl could feel that she was loved. That she could learn what it was to Dream again.
There was a pounding of bear feet, and Victoria nearly tackled Amy with a hug. “You, you got a Vision! Amy, that’s amazing!”
Hannah looked up to see Mark stagger over, wrapping both of his daughter’s in an embrace. “I…I’m so proud of you, Amy. Your mother…she would be too.”
Amy smiled, and hugged Mark back. “Thanks…dad.”
Mark let out a choked sob, and pulled Amy closer, Victoria hugging them both.
Shaking her head, Hannah turned to the door, and quietly walked outside. She didn’t understand. She didn’t understand any of it. The gods…they were aliens. Come to dominate and subjugate. The Abyss…it was evil, but it was a weapon. A weapon to…to save humanity from…
From that love, that joy, that peace that Hannah had just felt?
Tesbi was waiting in the car, looking curious. “What happened? I sensed elemental energy.”
“Amy Dallon just received a Dendro Vision,” Hannah said, shifting the car into drive. She pulled away, trying to process it all. Even with all her expanded capabilities…this was beyond her understanding.
At last, just as they returned to the headquarters building, Hannah asked “Sister…how did you obtain your Vision?”
Tesbi smiled, and held up her glowing azure gem. “I remember it well. It was not long after Focalors arrived, and that woman in France, the actress, got hers. I hadn’t even heard of Hydro Visions yet. I was not always a nun, you see. At the time…I was a slave. Warlords ruled the Gambia. A parahuman. I am young, and beautiful. He was a depraved man. You understand.”
Hannah nodded, a knot twisting her stomach.
“I was born into a Christian family, and we were heavily persecuted. I was taken captive and pressed into slavery when I was the same age as the girls there. So, it had been many years. Abuse. Horrors. You understand. Well. I had escaped. I was hiding. Praying. They were searching for me, just outside the building I was in. I asked for Justice.”
“And God heard my prayers. My precious Savior sent his angel, Focalors. She gave me this Vision. With it…I helped free the Gambia. Bring Justice to those who were oppressed. And now? Now I bring Justice to those threatened by the Abyss. I have killed many times. I am not a very good nun. But I serve my Lord and Savior as best I can.”
Hannah nodded slowly. “Did you ever feel…that Focalors was a tyrant? She acts like a spoiled brat. An imperious queen.”
Tesbi laughed at that. “If she were so evil, would she give her favors to young slaves? Or would she give it to rich, pampered people who would oppress the weak? No, Colonel Jones. Focalors isn’t a tyrant. She is for the people. Just you watch. All this? It’s going to be a grand performance. She’s a tricky one. Just like me. Bet you thought I was an innocent little nun, eh?”
“I…well. I suppose I shouldn’t make assumptions,” Hannah said, shaking her head.
Tesbi nodded, and they stepped out of the car. Hannah slept in her office for six hours. It wasn’t much, but it helped.
When she woke up, Collin brought her coffee. “Someone’s waiting to see you, Colonel.”
“Someone’s always waiting to see me. Who is it?” Hannah snapped. Damn. She needed more sleep. But there was a war on.
Collin stuck his head out the door, and a moment later, came back with Amy Dallon.
“Colonel. I can help people,” Amy said, holding up her Vision. “Dendro is the best element for healing. Please. Let me help. For…for my mom.”
Hannah didn’t have to consider long. “Does Mark know you're here?”
“Dad thinks I’m in bed. Vicky’s covering for me. She knows I’m here,” Amy said. “Please. I…I can help. I know there’s people hurt. You saw! I helped…with my dad. Earlier. Healed him. He…he wants to come back, but…”
Amy bit her lip.
“I need Vision Holders. I won’t lie,” Hannah said, crouching down slightly so she was at eye level with Amy. “No active combat zones. You’ll work here, at Tripler Army Medical Center. And not during school hours.”
“I…yes ma’am,” Amy agreed, a green flash in her eyes.
“Or past 8pm,” Hannah added. “Standard Ward procedures.”
Amy looked disgruntled at that. “And…and my dad?”
“I need combat capes, and Flashbang is a Blaster 6. He’ll be back on the front lines,” Hannah admitted.
Tears formed in Amy’s eyes, but she dashed them away. “Ok. I…I’ll patch him up, if he’s hurt. Just…please. This is going to end, right, Colonel? We…we can win…right?”
Hannah glanced at the calendar. It was August 29th. Less than two weeks.
“We can. And we will.”
The morning of September 11th, 2006, dawned upon a world at war. Over the past week, the pace of attacks by the Abyss had steadily ramped up globally. The Gates of Death in the Kuril Islands faced an endless assault, to the point where both the Raiden Shogun and the Electro Dragon were forced to fend off horrors that mortals could not face alone. New Moscow, Northern Kazakhstan, and Helsinki all required the attention of the Tsaritsa’s Harbingers, with only the Rat King absent. Cuba had fallen to the Hegemony, the Toymaker and Faerie Godmother recalled to Russia to try to bolster the Fatui enough to resist the Abyss.
For Hannah and her coalition, the fighting was horrific. The Gambia and West Africa were a running charnal house. Several hundred Fatui had volunteered for the expeditionary force, and the Rat King had recruited a number of West Africans to his banner. The blood of fools now stained the African plains, but resistance continued.
In Brazil, the Hell Hounds had emptied out prisons across the country, former criminals now forming a penal legion 10,000 strong. Many former drug dealers and worse had now given their lives in the hope of rebirth. Others had fallen to corruption worse than anything they had taken part in before. Still, it was working, and the line largely held, even if formed of the dead bodies of dogs of war.
As for the Lightkeepers, Hannah was simply running out of capes and PRT troopers. She’d once had over a thousand troopers, as well as nearly a hundred capes. She was down to 600 troopers and 50 capes. The list of the fallen was long. Brandish. Manpower. Newter. Gregor the Snail. Dozens more. She would have cried herself to sleep if she’d had any tears left, or any time to sleep.
But at last, it would end. It had to. Fortuna had to be right. Because if this dragged on much longer, without Apep even here…Hannah didn’t know what she would do. She couldn’t give up. Never that. But she was already Triggering dozens of PRT troopers, and trying to recruit more from the population of Hawaii. A surprising number of men and women had joined up, flocking to the banner of the Lightkeepers. But it wasn’t enough.
It had to end. Today. For Carol Dallon. And so many others.
“Colonel, why are we just sitting here? You’ve had us on rest for two days!” Mina complained, stalking into the ready room, already armored up. Behind her came Carlo, Shamrock, and Roach. Shamrock’s eyes were red, with dark circles under them. She’d been crushed when her lover had perished, and she had survived. That was the nominal reason the whole squad as on leave, but Hannah had thrown Flashbang and Lady Photon back into the fight with only 24 hours of rest. She needed powerful capes, and Mina’s squad was effective.
"Blimey, you've 'ad me sittin' on me arse for three bleedin' days, luv! Nothin' but restin'! I only took a scratch, I didn't go an' lose me whole bloody arm, did I?" Duke complained, his ears flat with irritation.
Collin nodded his agreement. “Colonel, I have to question why you’ve had me doing nothing but repairing and manufacturing new gear or filing paperwork. I understand as a Tinker, that’s something I can do, but…I’d be more effective in the field.”
“For the same reason I was on 24 hours rest,” Hannah said, looking around the room. She nodded to the PRT Sergeant. “Thanks for coming, Sergeant Piggot. I needed fresh troops from somewhere.”
“It was a fuckin’ order, ma’am. Me and the boys and girls from Brockton might have volunteered, but when you and Major Legend tell us we’re needed, we’re going to come. New kit is nice, though I don’t know what was wrong with the old stuff.”
“It’s inferior to our gear for fighting the Abyss,” Hannah said. Not saying that she’d ordered it all destroyed when it was found to have Abyssal crystals in it. Yes, that would shield from direct corruption. But it couldn’t be healthy long-term. The same with the weapons. Oh, you could kill an Abyssal monster with Abyssal power. But in doing so, you just made new ones.
“The reason?” Collin prompted.
“In…twenty-seven minutes, I’ll be able to tell you. For now, you are going to be undertaking a joint strike with allied forces against a target of opportunity,” Hannah said. “During this operation, you are to treat anyone, and I do mean anyone, who is not a known Cyclist or Abyssal cultist as an ally. You are to follow the orders of those I designate as operational commanders, as though they came from me. I will have overall command, but on the ground, orders may be relayed through allied forces due to Abyssal interference.”
The room digested that. “Uh, understood, ma’am,” Mina said slowly. “But…who are our allies, exactly? We’re already working with the Rat King and Farasha, sooooo…”
“Elements of the Knights of Favonius and Japanese Bakufan,” Hannah stated. “Led by Knight-Captain Ajax Jedynak and Princess Raiden Ami. Farasha and the Rat King will also be present.”
There were a few startled gasps, and Duke let out a low whistle. “Damn. Reckon it’s that time, innit. Kinda forgot all about the, y’know... the thing."
Mina nodded, a sudden wicked grin on her face. “We’ll make them squeak for mercy, but there shall be none to be had!”
“Right. Everyone to your places. We move out as soon as our scouts give the signal,” Hannah ordered, and the troops moved into position, doing one last gear check. For her part, Hannah checked on her overseas forces, monitoring them through the shards under her command. The fighting was slackening, Abyssal forces running out of reinforcements. Was this to lure them into a false sense of security? She ordered reinforcements to be brought up and deployed in the needed areas.
And…she checked on Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Only through passive monitoring. The city was just waking up, completely unaware of its impending demise. No warning had been given. No evacuation was taking place. Hannah was gambling with the lives of 1.5 million people. Indeed, she was condemning many of them to death. Because she was not going to respond until it was confirmed that Apep was fully manifested in the city. Only then would their trap be sprung. They couldn’t risk a hit and run like had happened in Casablanca.
They must bring Apep to battle. And kill it.
With five minutes left, Hannah contacted the man she loathed.
David, are your troops ready? She mentally asked through Shard space.
Her response was a draconic roar. YES. MY MEN STAND READY WITH ME. THE CRYO DRAGON STANDS READY. WE AWAIT YOUR SIGNAL, COLONEL.
Good. I’m standing by, and will alert you immediately.
VERY WELL.
Then, Hannah contacted the woman she hated.
Farasha?
LET’S GET THIS PARTY FUCKING STARTED, HANNERS! ME AND MY BITCHES ARE READY TO RUMBLE!
You are rested and well supplied?
NO, WE STAYED UP TOO LATE DOING HOOKERS AND BLOW. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK? THEY’RE FUCKING DOGS, HANNAH-BANANA. YOU RUB THEIR BELLIES AND THEY’RE SNORING IN FIVE. THANKS FOR THE STEAK DINNERS, THOUGH! THEY LIKED IT!
And you?
There was a pause. The response that came wasn’t that of a divine dragon, but of a woman who was no different than Hannah herself.
I’m fucking terrified, bitch. Scared utterly shitless. Could barely sleep, even when I told Papi to knock me the fuck out. I’m scared we’ll lose, I’m scared I’ll fail everyone, I’m scared all my hounds will die, and I’ll have to take them all to the afterlife. Fuck, Hannah, they’re all criminals like me trying to turn over a new leaf. What if…what if I can’t do that? What if I’m a fucking fake, and not a real dragon at all? And most of all, I’m scared I’ll never get to hug Nahida, or kiss Qiqi good night, or hold Saleem again, or lie in bed with Bashir and have him hold me. How about you?
I… Hannah hesitated, then admitted. I am frightened as well. If we fail…Farasha, I don’t know what to do. My people are dying. My friends are dying. My nation is turning into my enemy, and the woman I trusted to lead me is giving me orders that horrify me. I’m worried that I’m turning into you. And…and I never did let Duke bend me over the bed, and I think I regret that more than anything. Or I’m just a scared, horny idiot.
Uh, wow. Heavy. Um…look. You’re like…a good person. Mostly. You’re not turning into me. As long as when President Bitchface tells you to start rounding people up and putting them in concentration capes, or exterminating her political opponents, you tell her to go fuck herself, you’re good. And she hasn’t done that yet, right?
Hannah was silent.
Oh my fucking gods, Hannah! Seriously!?
She…hasn’t ordered me to do that…personally. However…
Get the fuck out. Get the fuck out right the fuck now, you stupid bitch! Fuck! Don’t turn into me! You hate me right!? Fucking don't be me! Damn it, Hannah, do you realize how fucked up my life is? Don’t you- shit, he’s here.
The conversation cut off abruptly before Hannah could check in with either the Knights or the Japanese. Both Hannah and Farasha could feel as a hole was opened in the world, and a great evil slithered in.
“Ajaw, status!” Hannah barked.
The little lizard appeared on the ready room screen. “Apep has opened an Abyssal portal, right on schedule! It’s 08:54 Zulu, so he’s even a little early! Guess this worm is after the bird, heheh.”
“And?” Hannah prompted.
“Abyssal monsters are entering the city! Guess it’s go time,” Ajaw said, putting on his jaguar warrior costume and picking up a macuahuitl. “Shall I get the door for you, m’lady?”
“No. Not until the serpent fully manifests,” Hannah growled. The air in the room grew tense as her troops held on to her every word.
“Well…no sign of him yet, actually. Just a big ass portal and lots of monsters,” Ajaw admitted.
“Colonel! People are dying!” Mina pointed out.
Hannah raised a hand. “We don’t spring the trap until Apep is all the way in. Hold. All forces, HOLD!”
Long minutes dragged by. Slowly, Santa Cruz de la Sierra became enveloped in Abyssal fog. The death toll mounted. Hundreds, then thousands in mere minutes. And still. Apep did not fully emerge. Hannah held fast. This had to count. Had to be worth it.
At last, Apep began to slither through. Slowly, first just a long tongue flickering out, then, the entire creature emerged. It was massive, but not as large as either its first appearance or at Guadalajara. The damned thing was still limit testing.
Finally, Apep fully manifested after a full 23 minutes. As soon as its last coil exited the portal, Hannah pointed a finger. “ALL FORCES, CHARGE! GET THAT PORTAL CLOSED!”
Doors appeared, hundreds of them, all around the city. Apep’s head snapped around, but before it could attempt to flee, Lighting Princess Ami appeared near the Endbringer’s own portal, along with her entire personal guard.
“SACRED ART! SEAL OF EIGHT GATES!” Ami bellowed, and her Shinto priests echoed the spell. The Abyssal portal was slammed shut, and Apep hissed in fury, and attempted to strike at Ami.
Even as it did so, Hannah herself arrived, and launched a massive barrage, drawing every bit of power from her connected shards to fuel blasts that could have leveled the entire city. Apep recoiled and cried out in anger and pain, but that wasn’t the end of things.
Farasha and the Rat King, both in full draconic form, slammed into Apep, driving it down to the ground. Neither were anywhere near as large as the Endbringer had grown, but both would have qualified as massive Kaiju on their own. They snarled and bit, and dark blood stained the city.
“We’ve got it on the ropes! All forces, attack!” Hannah ordered.
It was chaos, but organized chaos. Hannah and the other leaders had divided the spoked wheel of Santa Cruz de la Sierra into quadrants, and their troops poured in through the doors, all attacking the Abyssal monsters, led by Ajaks, Duke, Captain Hitomei, and Marisa Romero.
Hannah, Ami, and the two dragons focused all their considerable firepower on Apep, doing all they could to bring the creature down. It bellowed out toxic fog, snapping and biting at the two dragons, and scoring deadly hits on both Farasha and David. Neither relented, Farasha spilling into thousands of burning butterflies that flung themselves into Apep, burning its flesh and scattering the fog. One of David’s three heads lolled, poisoned and weakened, but the other two blasted out waves of cryo while his claws dug into the Endbringer.
For her part, Hannah formed a massive rail cannon, and began to fire bolts of pure Geo energy using a concoction of Delusions given to her by David, as well as the shards’ own ability to now mimic and produce elemental energy thanks to the data they’d been fed. She wasn’t quite sure why she chose Geo, she’d defaulted to Cryo previously, but it felt…right. Cryo had been pure Delusion. But she was bound to Geo. The Amber Rook of Heaven. She laughed wildly, and continued to fire.
Across the city, the Abyssal forces began to rapidly break under the assault of humanity’s united defenders. Thanks to the efforts of Ami and her priests, no new portals were being opened, and the various monsters were being cut down. Some of the Lightkeepers and their allies fell as well, but the momentum was clearly on their side, not the Abyss’s.
One of Hannah’s shots took Apep in one of its eyes, and the orb ruptured and bled dark ichor. Apep’s tail swept up, and caught Hannah a crushing blow. She was knocked into a tall building, her body broken, tech in disarray.
With an effort of will, Hannah pulled herself back together. Mass and energy from Shard space mended her wounds and repaired her equipment, and in less than a minute, Hannah pried herself from the rubble of the collapsing building and fired at Apep again. Farasha had reformed, now as a burning woman wielding a spear, striking at Apep with waves of Pyro. David hung gamely on, down to a single functional head, but still battling Apep, which had sunk its fangs into one of his dangling heads, trying to rip it free.
Then, suddenly, the mists faded. Time seemed to turn backwards, as the moon swung up from below the horizon until it was prominent in the sky. It went from a waning gibbous, to the new moon, and then back through from waxing crescent to half moon, to full. The visages of Raiden Tsukoyomi, Dalnim, and the Raiden Shogun shone brightly. And there, high in the sky, standing full in her sister’s light, was Raiden Ami.
SACRED ART: MUSOU NO HITOTACHI!
Apep screamed and writhed in pain as a blade of electro the size of a skyscraper sliced into it, just below where the Rat King had the Endbringer pinned. Black blood fountained forth, steaming and blighting whatever it touched as it poisoned and corrupted the land. The back half of the serpent separated from its head and upper portion, and began to writhe and flail wildly in spastic death throws, smashing buildings and streets to pulp.
“We’re winning! Don’t hold back! One more, Ami!” Hannah shouted, and the Lightning Princess sheathed her sword, preparing the deadly art of her mother once more. Farasha turned back to a dragon, and she and David renewed their assault, even as Hannah fired again and again, heedless of how much power she was using. If they kept this up, the Endbringer would be dead forever, and this war would end!
SPECIMENS. BEINGS. THIS SECTOR HAS BEEN CONTAMINATED. CLEANSING PROTOCOL ENACTED.
Hannah jerked her head around. There, on the other side of the sky from the impossible moon, stood a golden god. Over his palm, a great nail was forming. One aimed at the heart of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Hannah's heart did a backflip.
“No! We’re close! Don’t!” she pleaded.
But the King of Demons did not heed the pleas of lesser creatures.
COUNTDOWN INITIATED. 300 SECONDS. 299. 298. 297.
Time seemed to freeze. Hannah drew on all the considerable processing power her status as a Titan afforded her. She ran scenarios. She analyzed possible outcomes. And she chose the only option she would be able to live with.
“All forces! Pull back! Doormaker! Full evac protocol! Get EVERYONE out! Everyone! Cancel all other requests for doors for the next 230 seconds! MOVE IT, PEOPLE!”
Then, Hannah zoomed to where the dragons where still tussling with the increasingly weakened Apep. “Off! Get out, now! That’s an order!”
FUCK YOU BITCH, YOU DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! Farasha growled, driving her spear into Apep again, and blinding another eye.
“I am in operational command, Farasha! Retreat!” Hannah ordered, even as David transformed back into his human form, and limped off in the air, heading for a door.
LEAVE ME! I’LL COVER YOUR ASSES! Farasha ordered.
Hannah snarled, fired a shot into Apep, then darted over and grabbed Farasha by the arm. The other woman spun, fury in her eyes.
WHAT? YOU GOING TO KILL ME NOW!? GET YOUR FUCKING REVENGE?!
The answer that came was a primal roar of Duty, as the last mortal breath left Hannah’s body. I GAVE YOU AN ORDER! YOU WANT ME TO HAVE TO GO AND TELL NAHIDA, QIQI, AND SALEEM THEIR MOTHER IS DEAD?! YOU WANT ME TO HAVE TO TELL ANOTHER GRIEVING HUSBAND HIS WIFE HAS DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY!? FUCK YOU, FARASHA. NOW COME ON. WE’RE GETTING THE FUCK OUT!
Farasha blinked, then shook her head. She looked at the weakly stirring Apep, then over at the rapidly forming divine nail.
178. 177. 176…
“Fine!” Farasha snapped, and turned to follow Hannah as both raced for the city. “But don’t think this means you’re the boss of me!”
“Oh for- just rescue as many civilians as you can!” Hannah snapped.
Both Farasha and Hannah went beyond the 230 second mark, shoving civilians through doors and rescuing wounded troops until the very last second. Only when Hannah sensed Scion drop the Divine Nail did she herself grab one last injured Japanese soldier and haul them through a doorway and into the early morning air of Pearl Harbor. The door slammed shut, and she collapsed to the dirt, then cried out in pain as she felt what seemed to be a searing hot needle stab her right in the gut. She writhed and gasped, stripping off her armor and staring at herself where the pain was coming from. Only…there was nothing.
Then, moments later, the shockwave hit. The Earth bucked and trembled, and Hannah’s body spasmed as she was rocked by pain that emanated from her very bones. At last, it passed, and Hannah lay on the ground, panting. After a moment, she forced herself to her feet.
“Status report,” she croaked, looking around. She coughed, then raised her voice of the wail of Tsunami alarms. “Status report!”
It took some time. Half a million people had just appeared at various locations throughout Hawaii. Mostly on Oahu, but on all of the other islands, including Ni'ihau. Doormaker had gotten nearly all of the allied troops out, as well as one-third of Santa Cruz de la Sierra’s population.
Which meant that, in the end, one million people were dead. It was several days before they had a final headcount, but 532,427 residents of Santa Cruz de la Sierra had been transported by Doormaker to Hawaii.
As for Apep…there was no sign. Abyssal attacks had completely ceased. That night, for the first time in more than a year, no attack was made upon the Gates of Death in the Kuril Islands.
The Abyss…had gone silent.
“The Nail must have killed it,” Hannah said, looking around her office. The map still had red pins on it where Cyclist activity was reported…but there were no purple pins. Only myriad holes left in the paper, where the Void had struck. Lives that would never be the same. But lives that would continue on.
Around Hannah were her allies in various states of injury. Collin had one arm in a sling. Duke was in a cast and crutches, his right leg mangled. Mina had a spinal injury, and was in a wheelchair. David was unconscious, and had been transported back to Russia to be purified by the Tsaritsa herself, with Marisa taking his place, her torso swathed in bandages. Ami was still there, but Murasaki, her familiar, was carrying her around, and the princess could barely walk. Farasha was mostly untouched, but was weak and listless, lying atop Hannah’s desk and staring at the ceiling.
Hannah, for her part, felt like every bone in her body was broken. She, too, had crutches, and probably should have been in a wheelchair, but refused for now. But…the war was over.
“So, what. Good job, team! See you tomorrow! Now we try to kill one another again!” Farasha asked. She tried to force cheerfulness into her voice, but she just sounded tired.
“No,” Hannah said, shaking her head. “No. Maybe we don’t like one another, or our nations are at war…but those who stand against the Void will never be at war with one another.”
There were nods. Hannah groaned, and managed to stand with her crutch. “Everyone…get some rest. You’re free to stay here as long as you wish. I don’t know what the President has said. I don’t particularly care. We’ve had communication difficulties. My…doormaker access has been revoked. None of it matters. We won. That’s enough.”
Hannah hobbled back to her quarters, her and Duke supporting one another. They probably both should have been hospitalized, but as it was, the hospital was overflowing. The little restriction that Hannah had put on Amy Dallon was being ignored. Half of her classmates were in the hospital helping to care for the wounded. The other half were frantically trying to shelter and feed half a million refugees. They would have already been starving to death if ships full of food and medicine from the Pan Arab Pact hadn’t started showing up hours after the battle, appearing out of portals formed by Ami’s mother.
"Fuck me... don't think I can stand winnin' many more o' them sort o' victories, luv,” Duke groaned as they lowered themselves into bed.
“No. But at least Apep is dead,” Hannah sighed, first stripping off her clothes, then starting on Dukes.
“Er... luv, what d'you think you're doin'? Them's me knickers, that is,” Duke said as Hannah tugged at his underwear.
“Keeping a promise. I don’t think we’re in a fit state for you to bend me over the bed…but I’m sure we’ll think of something,” Hannah purred.
Duke groaned, then pulled Hannah into a kiss. "Y'know when a bloke says he'd do anythin' to be with a woman... he don't usually mean he'd go an' 'ave a scrap with the bleedin' God o' Death. Which I did, mind. So, y'know full well I'd do anythin' for you, luv."
Hannah nodded. “You did your Duty…and more.”
"Wasn't duty, Hanners,” Duke said, cupping her chin. “'Twas love."
“I…” Hannah wrestled with herself for a moment. The last man she’d said she loved…
Fuck it.
“I love you, Duke. You damn dog.”
And for a time, Hannah forgot she was a Titan. That she was the Amber Rook of Heaven. That she had fought the God of Death, and lived.
She was the woman Hannah Jones. She loved a man, and he loved her. And that was enough. She could still set the burden of Duty down.
But from within the Abyss…Death stirred. It was wounded. Near destroyed. It had underestimated its foes.
It would not make that mistake again.
The next time…it would cover the world in death.
And there would be no dawn from the night it would bring.