Ultima Ratio

Chapter 50: Royal Send-Off

Elodie balked as she stumbled backwards into Navin's awaiting arms. "Mother?"

The queen's frown deepened before glaring at each of them in turn. "Akira Dunn? Danya...of Concordia? Quyen Hale? Jivan Gupta? Navin Gupta? And..." Somehow, her face contorted even more. "Elodie Beringer?"

Elodie scrambled towards the barrier, only stopping a half-step away when Navin held her back. "Mother, please listen. It's not what you think!"

The queen sprung to her feet, her mantle dropping to a pile on the floor. "Don't mock me, child! You turned your back on this country years ago. And the only way I'll let you stay here is if you are in shackles for the rest of your life."

At that moment, the surrounding guards aimed their guns at them, waiting for their queen to pull the trigger.

The queen sneered. "I've heard your stories. From my 'evil' allies—Concordia. As soon as I notified them of your unexpected arrival, they told me everything I needed to know about your Aegis Squad, and all of the atrocities you have caused against them."

She scoffed. "I had hoped to give you a chance, to prove to me right here, right now, that this was all just a ploy to return home as you so claimed. But I see now that what I had was nothing but naive false hope. And Geneviève—no, Elodie Beringer—you are a traitor to the crown of Québécois."

With that declaration, the guards approached them as a unit, closing in on them step by step.

"This is unfortunate," Danya muttered as she and Akira turned to face the nearest guns.

"You know what?" Elodie said, her tone sounding as if she was scolding sailors in the mess rather than the queen of an entire country. "You're right, Your Majesty. I suppose I'm no longer Princess Geneviève, am I?"

She scoffed, sounding almost exactly like the queen. "No, I'm Corporal Elodie Beringer of the United Nations Army, born and raised in Ville de Québec. But the place I grew up in? The place I remember?"

At the familiar words, Akira dared to turn away from the guards. Elodie met her gaze with a wisp of nostalgia before facing forward once more.

"It disappeared the day I did."

The ensuing commotion was a quick but disorganized brawl. On the sides, Akira and Jivan deployed their shields, burning lines into the ornate carpet, while Quyen covered the back and Navin seized Elodie. Only Danya remained outside of their barrier, and while the squad's gunfire merely absorbed into the guards' high tech defenses, no gear could stop a punch from Danya.

"Stop them!" the queen screeched.

At the same time, Danya broke down the throne room door with a limp guard in each of her hands, shielding her and the others from the barrage of gunfire that met them just outside.

"Elodie!" Akira shouted through an explosion from Jivan.

"Right," Elodie stammered. "Follow me."

They went ahead of Danya to head off their next obstacle of hostiles: a group of eight that Jivan and Quyen took out with a tag team of grenades and knives. Before the smoke had a chance to disperse, they ran through it, Elodie leading the way.

She guided them through the ornate maze, the gaudy colors blending together in a dizzying blur. Akira didn't bother pulling up her map on her earpiece, and instead focused on Elodie's back. Danya joined them about a minute into their escape, falling in next to Akira with a wide, blood-splattered grin.

Eventually, they slipped into a large office, the blue and green decor much easier on their eyes than everything else they had seen. On the walls was an owl-shaped sconce between every other panel; Elodie pulled down one of them, revealing a hidden passage beside it.