Written: 2/13/21
Published: 2/27/21
Y/n gave Ray, who was holding the pen, the cap she had recovered from Goldy Pond. Ray screwed the chip on and like it worked for Y/n and Lucas. The cap worked once more, revealing the different information tabs to the children.
"He really did exist." Nat said.
"Did Mr. Minerva die?" Alicia cried.
"There's a path..." Lannion said.
"An elevator in a pond..?" Thoma asked.
"So, there was a way out of Grace Field, right where we grew up!" Anna said.
"This is amazing..." Don said. He began reading the different tabs aloud. "'The king.' 'Supporters.' 'Plantation blueprints'. 'Lamba Project'. 'The 7 walls'. and..."
"Here..." Gilda said. "There's even a way to contact our 'allies.' Do you think we'll be able to cross over to the human world if we contact them?"
"So we contact our allies, and then... after we execute our plan to rescue Phil and everyone else at Grace Field, we'd be able to go from Grace Field to the human world..?" Don asked. "If we wanted to, could we enter the human world right now?"
"We can." Ray say. "But it would be dangerous." The others looked at him in confusion. "That Ratri guy." Ray reminded. "Mr. Minerva's clan... in return for peace in the human world... for generations, they've been feeding cattle children to demons. And of course, the 'traitor' who killed Minerva. That entire clan will never tolerate our freedom."
"That means..." Thoma started.
"Ratri was the 'traitor' who killed Mr. Minerva." Gilda concluded. "That means we're somehow interfering with their influence."
"We can't guarantee our safety." Ray said. "If we leave the situation as it is and flee to the human world... a plantation and its 'overseer' fall under the jurisdiction of the Ratri clan... We don't even know if the human world is aware of us in the first place. Even if we run away, them accepting us would be questionable. Breaking the promise and crossing over. It's likely that the demons would follow us. And... In the worst case scenario, we would start a war between the two worlds."
"Please no..." Rossi said.
"We can't secretly flee with such a large number of people." Emma explained. "Taking away such a valuable source of food is enough to start a war... I hate war. What we're aiming for is the liberation of Grace Field. Running away without anyone noticing would be impossible. I consider everyone from Goldy Pond as our family. I want to escape without losing a single person. But escaping is not enough. I want everyone to live with a smile. Also... I've been thinking since we got back from Goldy Pond. In the world, there are so many children with the same circumstances as us. And loads more that we don't know about. Just can't allow myself to leave themself alone."
"I agree." Y/n added. The future I want... "It's not just Grace Field. Mister and everyone from Glory Bell, Oliver and everyone from Grand Valley, everyone from Goodwill Ridge, too. The mass production farms Sung Joo told us about, and the new Lambda plantation that Adam came from. Everything! We should get rid of it all and create a world where children aren't eaten. After we create a world where we can't be chased, then we escape from the demon world."
"A world where we can't be chased?" Yvette reiterated.
"Yeah." Y/n clarified. "And to that end, I want to search for and discover the seven walls. Then forge a new promise with him."
"Seven walls..." Dominic muttered.
"Musica mentioned something like that..." Don said.
"Sister Krone also said something about that him on that night." Gilda said. Do you know about him?
"A new promise..." Ray said.
"He stands at the top of all demons." Lannion said. "At the seven walls. If we make a new promise with him, we can make a safe world to escape to..?"
"But Mr. Minerva never reached the seven walls." Nat said. "And he's never met him before either... And what 'promise' are we going to make? By what means? What I'm trying to say is... Will is be possible..? Don't demons want to eat us humans?"
"Well, he left us another hint." Y/n piped in. "Look here." She said as she pointed to a box.
"There was another 'promise'. Like that..." Ray said, shocked.
"What do you mean?" Alicia asked.
Ray explained it to everyone, making everyone yelp in shock as well.
Emma nodded. "This goes far back. It's not going to be easy, or simple in any way. But it's still the option that I want to choose. What does everyone think? Now you know the risks, will you come along?"
Everyone immediately smiled at her. She looked at them in confusion.
Lannion, Thoma, and Don put their fists up. "What are you talking about?" Don said. "Of course we're coming."
"Let's find the seven walls!" Gilda said, getting yells of agreement from the other kids.
Ray held a hand out. "Good! In that case, this plan has five stages. Contact our 'allies'. Find the seven walls. Meet him. Forge a new promise. And after returning to pick up Phil and everyone, cross over into the human world." He turned to Emma. "And you're planning to do this in no more than 2 years?"
"Yes!" She replied.
"First though, we should decide if we want to contact our allies." Ray said.
"Hold up." Y/n said. "I want to talk to Yuugo and everyone else and ask them what they want to do." She said as she began walking out the door.
"Hey, Y/n!" Gilda called.
Too late. Y/n ran into Yuugo, letting out a grunt. He had some strange berries slung over his shoulder. "There's no need." Yuugo said. He smiled at her. "Sounds great, right? A world without cattle children. Let's give it a try." He walked through the doorway, allowing the others to enter.
"I'm in!" Nigel smiled.
"Me, as well." Violet said.
"Me too." Theo added.
Yuugo handed Y/n the berries. "Here."
"Did you go outside?" Chris asked Violet.
"We brought fruit from the forest." Violet answered.
Y/n examined the fruit. She then turned to the adult. "Then...it's okay? Yuugo, Lucas and all the other farm children, you don't want to escape to the human world first?"
Yuugo put his hands on his hips as he looked up. "That'd be tough." He said lazily. "And it'd put a life or two at risk, right?"
"I agree!" Theo said. "Running away first is not what I want to do."
"Sorry to disappoint." Nigel chirped.
"This time, let's get stronger together." Violet said.
"You said you'd take me with you to the human world, right?" Yuugo smiled at her. Come with us. To the human world.
"Oh yeah, I did say that..." Y/n said.
Lucas pointed a finger. "I'll follow Y/n and Emma anywhere. That's what everyone is thinking."
The Goldy Pond children were smiling at Y/n. Oliver took Y/n's hands in his. "We're with you!"
Gillian smirked at Yuugo. "So? Did you four listen in on purpose?" She asked.
"No..!" Yuugo yelled. "It was a coincidence!" Y/n smiled at them.
Phil. Wait for us. Musica, wish us luck.
~~~~~
A man with long hair and a white suit stood in front of several jars of humans. He was on the phone. "We've finally recovered Lord Bayon's remains." The phone said.
"You weren't able to locate the bodies of his servants? Where are they?" The person asked.
"Yes, they are sunken deep underwater."
"And?"
"We haven't located any corpses of any cattle children either."
The human frowned. "How strange. Bayon should've hunted them. Good work. Now no one else can sprout up from Goldy Pond. You take command. Search the surrounding area." They then hung up. The self destruct device at Goldy Pond went off. Only a half a month after the escape from Grace Field. Was it a coincidence, brother? Whatever you do. You can't get away. You cattle children are a necessity for this world.
~~~~~
"Good morning!!!!" Chris yelled, banging pots together at six. "Is anyone going to be late for breakfast?"
"Heya." Pepe greeted his new family.
"Chris, you seem energetic today." Rossi said as he yawned.
They all made breakfast and they prayed before digging in. They'd been living there for a month and a half. Their family recently has 63 members. All of different ages, personalities, and farms. Despite that, everyone gets along fantastically. Cooking, cleaning, gathering food, and plenty more. Everyone has a task. Gillian sometimes added new badges and cute things to the shirts. Pepe and Mark would often help cook. Lannion, Thoma, and Rossi would often times clean. Oliver, Dominic, Yuugo, and Y/n would often hunt. Zack and a few others helped Paula get healthier every day. Nigel would mend broken things around the shelter. The list could go on forever. It was more cramped in the house, often times two kids to a bed. They also had less food. However, they all kept smiling. There was always something to work on. To improve. They were all happy with life.
Chris was playing with Adam. "Thanks Adam."
"18194. 18194. 18194." The large boy repeated.
"He's repeating Y/n's number again." A Goldy Pond child laughed.
Huh? Violet thought. That was the number...? Well, it shouldn't matter. "Where's Y/n?"
"If she's together with Ray, she should be... in the secret room."
Ray, Lucas, and Y/n were in the secret room of the shelter. They had found it recently. It had a payphone inside and an emergency exit. That was it. "Did ya hear from our allies?"
"No, still no news." Ray said.
"Did I hear a 'ya'?" Lucas laughed. "Did Yuugo rub off on you?"
Y/n looked away embarrassedly. "No..!"
<-- Little Flashback -->
"First we must contact allies."
"Yes." Yuugo confirmed. "But we need to ensure that it's still possible."
"To start, we'll need to fix any broken circuitry." Nigel said. "And after that..."
"But..." Sonya spoke. "Is it really okay to contact them?" People looked at her as if she was crazy. "If some of our allies have already been captured, don't you think there's a chance our enemies would come after us? Disguised as our 'allies'... If we restore the connection, this place might be located."
"Minvera did, indeed, tell us about that risk." Lucas said.
"We made sure not to leave traces on the way back to the shelter." Ray said. "And we're careful when entering and exiting. We made it to B 06-32 as fast as possible. The circuitry of this shelter was made hidden from outside detection."
"And I believe a couple of dummy shelters were set up." Gilda added. This put a surprised face on both Sonya and Zack. Wait...Zack, too?!
"We've taken a lot of safety measures." Y/ said. "Naturally, risk still remains. However, we should make sure. We need to know if we have allies or not. If not, we'll just make other plans. We need to save them in time."
"So what can I do if I want to get a hold of you?" Gillian asked.
"Well..." Y/n led them to the monitor room. She opened the pen and pushed a button, which revealed an opening in the wall. They all squeezed through and found the secret room.
Chris, who was on Yuugo's shoulders, looked around. "Did you know this was here?" He asked.
"No, not at all." Yuugo answered. "To think there was a place like this underneath us..."
"A telephone..." Oliver said.
"To be able to contact our allies, from this phone, we need to put in the designated numbers. Then say that you will come back in 24 hours. I'll go ahead." She punched in some numbers, and that was the start of their daily checking in.
<-- End of Little Flashback -->
"After seven days, there's still no news." Ray says. "It has been 15 years since Minerva left that recording. It's likely that our 'allies' no longer exist." We know the line isn't broken. Whatever the info the enemy has, they haven't found us yet.
Suddenly, the phone began ringing. Y/n swiped it up. It was just beeping. "MORSE!" She screamed, handing it to Ray. He was faster at it than her.
He took it. I'm sorry, but I can't meet with you right now. Next time, I will be the one to contact you first. Be careful. Peter Ratri is the enemy. Minerva's younger brother and the head of the Ratri clan.
"Wait!" Ray said. "What about the lock?!" It kept going. No way..?! Stay where you are. I will definitely come to see you. The transmission then ended. "It cut off." Our allies do exist... that wasn't a recording.... but why did he communicate through the receiver like...
Stay alive. Boys and girls. I miss you. (Uwahah I'm excited.)
"That was an ally?!" Rossi asked. "Was that the real thing?"
"Yeah." Ray smiled at him. "An enemy would try to find our location or lure us out of hiding. My guess is he'll call again. However, I'm still doubtful. The possibility of it being an enemy still exists. Still... I think it's real."
"That's awesome." Y/n said. "With this, we've successfully contacted our allies."
"Someone willing to help us!" Rossi smiled.
"We don't know that quite yet." Y/n said, Rossi frowning. "I think the 'supporters' will want to have us all flee in secret. They don't know we plan on finding the seven walls and saving all kids being eaten. Minerva might have expected that someone would pick this option, but..."
"We'll have to let them know somehow." Y/n said.
"They're definitely on our side." Lucas said, making Rossi smile again. "Even so... I was starting to feel pretty desperate. The conversation was extremely short, and they said they'd call within 24 hours, but it took them one week. And also the 'I can't meet right now'..."
"I'd guess they''re close to the enemy." Y/n said.
"Well, we can't know that for sure." Ray said. "'I will contact you directly', 'I will definitely come to see you'. That's what our allies told us. We need to prepare for the moment this 'ally' contacts us. Let's have people alternate being in charge of the phone."
"It might be good to teach everyone morse code." Y/n said.
"Yeah." Ray said. "After that, until 'contact' happens, I want to proceed somehow, towards finding the seven walls."
"Yeah."
They walked upstairs to see Thoma and Lannion staring angrily at a message the pen was projecting. With the eye of the Khavitidala dragon, search for the day and night. First, 10 kilometers north, and then 10km south, then 10km towards the west, then 10km to the sky, and 10km towards the underground. When the arrows between the sand cease, and the sun sets in the east, the earth will cry, and the wall will appear. That is the division between him and us, the seven walls.
"That's super obscure." Lannion said.
"Yeah, no matter how you look it." Thoma commented. "This is totally unintelligible. For example, telling us to go north then south, if they're all the same distance, we'll just end up at square one."
"But I've seen this Khavitidala before." Lannion beamed.
"So have I."
Ray, Y/n, and Emma walked into the dining room. Almost all of Goldy Pond and Grace Field was in the room, surrounding the table. Several books were stacked where Gilda stood.
"Are these the decryptions I asked for?" Ray asked.
"'Decryptions'?" Yuugo said, picking up a book. He covered his mouth. "This really was a book in the archives."
"I deciphered it because Ray asked me to." Gilda smiled.
"It's not just that the language is old." Yuugo said. "This is written with a unique handwriting on rag-like paper. Do you even know what language it is?"
"It's mirrored latin." Don informed.
"Latin? Mirrored writing"?
"It was a language common in the ancient Roman Empire. Mirrored writing is when you write letters in reverse. (Fun fact, Leonardo Da Vinci used this.)"
"Oh, I just noticed that." Violet said.
"Rome?" Gillian asked.
"I noticed the latin dictionary sitting on the other shelf." Ray said. "But I didn't have time before going to Goldy Pond, so I asked these guys to decipher it."
"When I read it, it was as Ray suspected." Don said. "This book is the copy of a manuscript written by a couple people."
"They were from different times and places." Anna added. "The latin parts seem to be the oldest of all."
"Then maybe that clan who made the promise..." Nat spoke. "Maybe it was a hand-written account... from 100 years ago."
"After finding words and making them more readable, I made a guess." Don told. "I'm not sure about the exact contents, but... That's where it came from. 'Khavitidala'."
"Is that a place? Otherwise..."
"It most likely is." Gilda said. "I brought a map." She pointed. "Right here."
"Those are the new coordinates...." Someone muttered.
"Are these the same coordinates as the pen?"
"'With the eye of the Khavitidala dragon, search for day and night'." Y/n read aloud. "There aren't any other hints."
"Yeah, first we'll have to go there." Ray said. "D 528-143."
"That's so far from here..." Alicia said.
"Who's going?" Yuugo asked.
"Our allies told us to stay in B 06-32." Y/n said. "For the most part, we should stay as well. Only take a few with us. Too many of us will get us noticed."
Don looked in disappointment. An elite force... Emma, Y/n, Ray, Yuugo... I probably won't come...
'First me, Emma, Ray, then..." Y/n paused to smile. "Don and Gilda." They looked at her in shock.
'Hey, are the small kids going to be okay with that?" Yuugo asked, his hands outstretched. "There're gonna be a lot of demons, of course. And you won't have a guide in this situation. We're headed into unknown territory here."
"Yeah, it's dangerous." Y/n said. "And if you came along, we would be much stronger. When our ally contacted us, I understood. The enemy is definitely searching for us. They're looking for this shelter. I don't think we should spread thin. This is the base of the cattle children, where we live. Yuugo. I want you to keep the shelter hidden and protect everyone."
Yuugo pouted.
"Besides." Y/n continued. "We have our reliable younger siblings, Don and Gilda. They showed us that during the prison break." Don and Gilda broke into tears.
"Well, if you don't want to..." Ray said.
Don threw his hands in the air. "Of course I want to!"
"I'm so happy...." Gilda said. "Because I thought I was just a caretaker... having to just wait around was to painful... I'm so happy I can stand alongside you!"
Don smiled as he put a hand on her shoulder. "We're gonna try our best, won't we, Gilda?"
"Yeah!" The glasses girl answered.
"Sorry to be a wet blanket, but if possible, you should bring these two along." Yuugo said, presenting Zack and Violet. He had a face on the almost made Y/n burst out laughing.
"They should be okay." Yuugo continued. "It's hard to keep watch with less than five people. With these two, you can split it."
"Yuugo's worried, I see." Gillian ratted him out.
"Would you two be alright with coming along?" Y/n asked the pair.
"With pleasure." They answered.
For the next few days, those in the shelter were helping prepare for their departure. They selected their weapons, prepared food, and researched their route.
Yuugo sat cross-legged on a stool in the secret phone room. "They'll be okay if Violet and Zack tag along..." he muttered.
Lucas inwardly laughed at his friend. Was he always this protective...? He wondered. It was amusing.
The squad said their goodbyes to those in the shelter. They then began walking off to their destination. Yuugo stood outside the shelter and watched them until they were out of sight.