Fighting For The Wretched And Divine

The Final Victory Call

It's been a week since the war ended, and we're only just starting to recover. Every stage of the war had been documented for future generations to know our true history, warts and all. Now the baton has been handed to me to tell how it finished. It wasn't pretty. There were severe losses on both sides. Friends became enemies, enemies became friends, rebels sacrificed themselves for their comrades... One sacrifice was bigger than the others. It tears me apart having to write this, but if I must write the truth I can't leave out the biggest detail. This is the story of how the Deviant fell.

*** One week ago ***

The Deviant , myself and Emily head into the tunnels, fully aware that this could be the last time the three of us can be together. He turns to us both.

"Laura, I want to take a detour. I need to go to that cavern you discovered. I think Emily has a right to see what our mother was really like, wouldn't you agree?" I nod in agreement.

"Em, there's a cavern down here where the Overlord's kept all the official records about Mysteria. There's nothing bad there, the opposite actually. I got curious and read all the notes. I won't ruin it for you both, but suffice it to say she'd be proud of the pair of you." We reach the cavern and I hang back. "I know this is going to be personal for you two. Take as long as you need." The Deviant smiles and takes Emily's hand, leading her into the cavern. After ten minutes they both return, and I notice that the Deviant's eyes are a little red but I don't comment. He looks up at me.

"Ready?" I nod, unable to speak. I see his face shift slightly, as he rebuilds the wall between his emotions and himself. The face of a soldier. We march silently back through the tunnels until we reach the exit that emerges directly outside the Sanctuary. The Deviant turns back to me.

"Right, thanks for the company, I can take it from here." I flinch, stung by the harshness of his words.

"What do you mean?"

"It'll be between me and the Overlord now. Nobody else. I'm not letting anyone else die for me. My father died to protect my mother and me. My mother sacrificed herself so that the Overlord would leave me alone. I can't let them have died for nothing. Now, I need you to go back to the hideout, and be brave." Immediately Emily nods and I realise that must've been a code between them. He hands me an envelope. "Don't open it until the right moment. You'll know when it's time." He looks at Emily and kisses her forehead softly. "Laura's going to take you back to our compartment, you need to stay there. Got it?" She nods obediently and I wonder why she isn't refusing. Finally the Deviant makes eye-contact with me and I see his wall crumble.

"How do you feel, honestly?" I whisper. He hesitates.

"Terrified. But I know I need to do this. For Emily. Look what I forced her into. She's eight years of age and already a soldier. She needs a chance at childhood." I look into his eyes.

"I understand. But, before you go, I need to do something. It's an old good-luck ritual I was brought up with." I lean up and press my lips to his. He kisses me back softly, and when I pull away I see that he's blushing.

"Y-yeah, I'd heard of that ritual too... Right, I've got a war to end." With that he jumps and climbs out of the hole.

When I reach the hideout I send Emily to her compartment. I see a large group of rebels gathered around the television screen and I walk over to see what the commotion is. I gasp as I see the Overlord's office again. At first I think they're just re-watching the footage from the fake peace treaty, but then I see the Deviant confidently stride out, blood-soaked sword drawn. They talk, then fight, then talk some more. Suddenly the Deviant manages to get the Overlord to ground and point his sword at his throat. I burst forward and turn the volume up so I can hear.

 "I don't fear you. You're just the monster from under my bed, the nightmare of my childhood. And if my nightmare can come back to haunt me, then so can yours. She might not be here in body, but the spirit of Mysteria lives on in me. You recognised it from the first day we met. I didn't notice it at first, what with the circumstances, but even now I can see something in your eyes. Fear. So this is your final warning, Overlord. I will either leave here with your blood on my hands, or a bullet in my head. The choice is yours." The Overlord sighs.

"You're so much like your mother. I'm an old man, Deviant. My days on this world are numbered. This mask keeps me alive, but now it's starting to feel like more of a curse. The mask stops my facial wounds getting infected, but it doesn't heal my body. I'd rather let the infection take me than old age. I at least want to die on my terms, at the hand of as worthy an adversary as the son of Mysteria." With that he reaches behind his head and unclasps his mask, letting it shatter noisily on the cold hard ground. There is a unanimous gasp amongst the rebels, as for the first time since Mysteria's death the Overlord shows his true face.

His face shows very few signs of humanity. The only recognisable features are his piercing blue eyes; the rest have melted into the mess of blackened, wrinkled skin. Suddenly one wrinkle curls upwards into a smile as the Overlord's leg swings sharply up, shifting the sword and catching the Deviant square in the jaw. He slumps to the floor, and the Overlord wearily gets up and stands over him, speaking in a raspy voice.

"You really thought I'd let you win that easily? I knew I wouldn't win this fight, but I'd be perfectly happy with a tie. If I'm going to die here, then I'm taking you out with me." He pulls out his revolver and points it at the Deviant's head. The rebels gasp again and the Overlord invests his final breaths in a triumphant laugh. He pulls the trigger, and as his laugh wheezes into the choking of the dying, the Deviant's eyes close, never to reopen.

I stand paralysed with shock, unable to fully process what's just happened. Suddenly it all makes sense. Why he'd ordered Emily to stay in the compartment and she'd obeyed without question. Why he'd put his emotional walls up so soon. Why he'd been crying when reading about his mother. He'd known all along he wasn't going to win that fight. He'd told Emily what was going to happen and didn't want her to watch. He didn't want to show any emotion and break my heart. He knew he was going to die in the same way his mother had. I suddenly remember the envelope. This must've been the time he'd mentioned. I open up the envelope to study the Deviant's last wishes.