40 minutes later
Flying overhead the skies of the city, Amira zips around at enough altitude to spot Logan and friends. She does this while trying to dodge the explosive blasts coming from the AA guns around the city and the air fighters dogfighting near the clear skies or the clouds, with their contrails drawing circles and zig-zags. Even near such a battlefield, she does not hold back in her search as she soars through the skies, not even the loud noises can stop her.
Logan...I lost his presence a while ago...just how did he manage to reach my mind?
Amira sees below to the city, one big place of chaos and destruction, as the sight of gunfire, fiery vehicles, a huge amount of destroyed buildings and corpses scattered around it. She tries to breathe heavily as she turns around on every side of the city to spot her friends while dodging planes that are shot down from each side. Nothing happens from it. Not one trace of them, not with such chaotic landscape.
She tries to fly lower to try again clearly, in spite of the danger of being near the firefight around the city. Even with the nearby blasts, her gaze solely focused on finding what's dear for her.
But as she descends a bit further, she turns her gaze to a particular scene near Charcot Avenue. Tiny dots of light appear from every part of it while some explosions are heard. Looking closely, she discovers what it is.
A battle, one in which Human soldiers are holding back from Zlocans while protecting rescued civilians.
***
Among the people being carried away from the blast are a mother and her daughter, who appears to be at least seven years old. Holding on to her mother's hand while being grazed by the fire, they try to reach safely to the Human frontline, to reach their newly founded freedom. But as they run, the daughter falls down near the ground. The impact almost severe enough to injure her left knee.
"Sarah!" the mother shouts as she tries to grab her back.
"Mommy!"
"Get to cover, now!" a fellow soldier shouts as he grabs the mother from trying to reach her daughter.
"No! My child is trapped in there! She'll get killed!"
"I said get to cover!"
She can't help but futilely reach out to her daughter as she's being dragged away and screaming for her by the soldier, who didn't look like one with the same kind of spirit.
"Mommy! Don't leave me! Mommy"
Amira shakes up briefly as she turns around on both sides while trying to breathe steadily.
Humans...they're in danger! But...what if they...could they be...Should I...
Her pause in trying to determine her actions makes it very clear at that point, what happened to her back in both Stanislaus and the training room is something she couldn't shake off, the first demonstration of human scapegoating and abuse for the sake of improving someone. What else will she risk when it comes to fearing anyone but her friends?
She continued to breathe heavily, still undetermined, and at the last moment, she closes her eyes breathing deeply.
Stop this, you say? How about if you stop your nonsense about her?!
I won't allow such tragedy to repeat among good friends today!
Are you really putting your life at hand with someone you've just met a few days ago?
I won't hesitate to do anything to defend you...that's my promise...
Do we really know if there's really something else than this Alien conflict?!
If necessary, try to strike back at the attacking Human, but later on, the chance to know the Human's goodness can still be there...
All her memories flying through her, waving across her head to give out a thought. A thought capable of changing many things. For the better, or the worse.
And with her thought, she may do something even more.
Abandon Humanity?
Or save them?
A mistake is a mistake, it's what she said. A universal thought of sorts. Yet, how easily can beings shake off a mistake?
Amira opens her eyes, still looking down with her nearly watery eyes as she makes up her decision.
***
The girl is whimpering on the ground, still injured and wincing from the pain. Hardly trying to crawl back to the Human post, the pain may be a bit much to bear as she cries out. Not helping matters is the dense smoke coming from the continuous fire around the area and to cover their tracks, something much more difficult in trying to rescue someone. And before she can know it, a pair of Zlocan Knights approach her amidst the smoke, looking down on her. The girl screams and continues to crawl to safety, but she's then grabbed in the collar by one of the Knights. She tries to fight them off by punching the hand to no avail, it barely hurts at all, making the Knights chuckle.
"What do we have here, a little warrior I presume?" one of the knights tauntingly asks, one with a middle-aged voice.
"Let me go! Let me go, ugly goblins!"
"Goblins? You call us Goblins? What's that kind of language towards your superior?" another one asks, a younger knight it seems.
"I believe she probably meant our looks."
"Then it's time to teach them manners."
He soon raises the child up in the air with one hand as she continues to hit him. Even with the smoke, their silhouettes can be seen near the Human frontline.
"Look up, fellow Humans! You've committed enough troubles for us today, but this little creature of yours just made the worst of it!"
"Just stand down if you want to get back your girl!" the other knight replies.
"Never!" one of the Human soldiers shouts as he aims his rifle towards the Knights. "We have taken enough threats from you and this won't be a repeat of it!"
"Do you think I'll just keep her in my hand?" The Knight then pulls the gun from his holster and aims near the girl's temple, causing to scream and cry from the sight of it.
"ARE YOU ASKING US TO BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT?!" the soldier shouts as the rest start to aim their rifles at the Knights as well. This only makes the Knights laugh even more from what they heard.
"You Humans are really so melodramatic. Nice theatrics of showing your deepest passions for everything that you cherish the most. And that's it! Pure theatrics that doesn't really matter at all!"
"And not to mention, if you dare to pull one of those triggers our army behind us will take care of what's left."
"And thus, we give you this final warning: Surrender or the girl will die!"
"Mommy!"
"Now, make your choice, foolish Humans!" the knight keeps his grip on the pistol very tight, still aiming at her temple as she cries strongly while the soldiers look on while keeping their rifles aimed at them, most with their gritted teeth and locked expressions on the knights themselves.
One single mistake and it all goes to hell, it's the warning stuck in their heads.
"Don't you dare to commit suicide just now!" another Human soldier says.
"This is your last warning," the knight says as he presses the gun even further on the girl, causing to scream even more.
"And this will be your last sight in your whole damn life!"
"Dear Cosmos, just put that noise away already!" the other knight says.
"So it's decided then..."
But just before he pulls the trigger, a figure from above on the right drops by in a kicking stance, delivering a quick kick which plows on the Knight's face. The force of the kick causes the Knight's neck to make a quick 180 degrees turn and being pummeled away towards the other as they're hurled to an abandoned house, impacting it.
The girl drops, but not before she's picked out of the air by the arms of the figure who holds her while kneeling down from the impact. She steadily rises up, slowly getting the clear view of the battlefield. The smoke still clouds the whole area, with the rest of the soldiers looking at the figure. One that has wings. The figure starts glowing green around the eyes.
Solidarity Marchioness
The Knights from afar see what's going on, as they decide to open fire on the figure. The figure, however, extends its hand which suddenly makes the laser bolts to stop in mid-air. This causes the Knights to pause for a second, not believing for one second in what they're seeing.
The figure pushes its hand away, causing the hundreds of laser bolts to fly back at high speed towards the Zlocan group, killing most of them and heavily damaging the accompanying Walker besides them which explodes violently.
Right after the action, the figure's eyes stop glowing green and pulls the hand back to her while still holding the girl.
The soldiers look in awe at what they just saw. Of all encounters they faced, never has any of them prepared for such kind of miracle.
"Did an Angel just came by?" a soldier asks.
"Impossible...they're just mystical things," another one replies.
"But what if this one is actually..." a female one asks.
"An Alien? If that's the case then ready your weapons," the soldiers then aim their guns at her, only for the main commanding officer to raise his arm in the air, which makes the other soldiers slightly lower the weapons.
"Hold your fire! We don't know if it's a foe yet."
The mother looks as she breathes steadily while clutching to her chest, still wondering if her daughter is safe yet.
The daughter tries to clear her eyes given the sudden impact of the kick just to regain her vision.
"Please...don't hurt me...don't hurt me..." the girl asks as she trembles and sheds some tears from the unknown sight in front of her.
The smoke is clearing out steadily, revealing the face of the one who saved her.
"Don't worry...I'm a friend from another place...dear Human."
The words from Amira herself makes the girl slowly keep her composure well, as her strained face starts to straight and the tears stop falling over.
"Are you a fairy?"
"A fairy...? No...just someone from outer space."
"But my mother always told me they were most beautiful things in the Universe, almost like the stars in the night, with their wings further proof of how unique they are. Don't fool me now...you're a fairy, right?"
Amira gently smiles from her words while chuckling from a bit. The girl then reaches for her hand to touch Amira's cheek. She reaches for the cheek, gently caressing it as much as she likes.
"Even almost Human! I would really love to meet more beautiful fairies as you."
Amira sheds a tear while she slowly embraces the girl, holding right on her arms as she wraps her with her tender arms, which even as it feels cold for her, the sense of love can still be felt.
She starts to approach the group of soldiers, all still slightly aiming their guns at her. The sight of the girl smiling with Amira, however, causes most of them to completely lower them as the other civilians simply stare at what they're seeing. And probably a new lesson for them in extraterrestrial encounters.
The mother goes near the line of blocks that were protecting them from the attack, ready to receiver her daughter back.
Nearly approaching the line, Amira gently gives the daughter back to her mother who quickly snatched it out of her and deeply hugs her while shedding some tears.
"I thought I would lose you, my sweet Sarah..."
"It's alright mommy. Thank the fairy for it."
The mother then looks at Amira with a tight expression on her face while still breathing slowly.
"I don't know if you would understand...but thank you so much for saving us."
"I do, dear Human."
The voice makes some people gasp while turning to each other over what they just heard. A common tongue it seems.
"You...you can speak our language too?!" a soldier asks as he approaches her.
"I do so, yes."
"So, from what I've seen today...this woman is not our enemy after all. And there's seemingly more than just the Zlocans. I don't know where you came from and I really don't care where, but still, thank you for saving this precious pack in time."
"I...was actually trying to look for some friends, Human ones actually. When I saw you, I even felt afraid of how will you react...but I guess my friend's words are true after all."
"That's pretty nice. But would you like if you can help us regroup with the other troops as well?" the soldier asks.
"No...I think I've done one good deed already. My friends still need me...I bid you farewell."
"Wait! Before you leave...can you tell us your name, if you have one at least?"
Amira pauses for a moment, unsure if it will be a necessary question to answer.
"Amira Dhorian...one of the last survivors of my planet, Sorania."
With her words, she starts flapping her wings to fly back into the sky, flying as high as she can to find her friends once more.
"Hope you can find them, dear Amira!"
1 hour later
On the still standing De Anza Hotel, Sylvester and his troops are holding the line against the Zlocan forces with Jackson, Lucy, Malak, Eddie and Andrei assisting them. They're using all of their combined arms and tactics to ensure that the lives of many will survive for another day.
No matter their age or experience, they'll do anything to fight on.
"Just like in Miami, eh Sly?!"
"It's not 'just', it's 'always'!"
"Got that right!"
Jackson and the others are shooting like crazy against Zlocan targets, reaching victory in their hands. Especially Sylvester, who is shooting without aiming down his sights with his M24 rifle and Jackson with his M4 rifle.
With such force, victory is surely to be in sight.
***
Looking from afar inside a building lies Kedris inside a room, filled with evacuating troops, picking as many supplies as they can. Kedris, on the other hand, seems unfazed by it, simply looking at the apocalyptic landscape with his arms behind his back.
A beeping can be heard, coming from Kedris' left wrist, in a stripe attached to it. He lifts up and presses the button near the stripe. From it, a hologram of Raven is revealed.
"Is everything going smooth, general?"
"Humans, they're tougher than we could have possibly imagined. Their forces are driving us out from the city, so much that right now the command posts are ordering a retreat from all forces to fight for another day. We can't risk losing more of our manpower in North America."
"Tell me, General. Have you forgotten what the great power can hold for you and the other Zlocans? Do you know how much we should value this power?"
"What about our men's lives? Or the lives of other brave Humans?"
"Do you really think you will let Humans off the hook that easily even if it's just one battle? Are you trying to put the Humans above all Zlocans, or maybe both? Then you better use that tactic of yours."
"There's been enough death already-"
"You're pretty much aware of the consequences that many Zlocans face if they don't accomplish something. And you know how much we value the position of this city."
Kedris is silent from Raven's words. Even if he really wants to, the consequence of letting the Humans gain a great victory from the battle will put a lot of scrutiny on him. And he knows it.
"Make your choice. Either give them a warning...or we'll give you one. Like we will give to those in Mexico."
Raven's hologram then vanishes. Kedris, still silent from the implications of Raven's words as the others continue to pack up their things to retreat from the building.
Kedris lifts his right hand, which contains a circular pattern of buttons, four of which are colored in red, black, white and purple.
"General! You'd better use that tactic of yours to teach the Humans the price of rebelling against us!" a Knight says as he packs up some of the things as he leaves the button.
Kedris sighs from the knight's words. After a brief moment of hesitation as he eventually pushes all four buttons, which activates a robotic voice saying the following.
"PHANTOM PROTOCOL: ACTIVATED"
"May a miracle try to save them..." Kedris whispers.
***
Back at Sylvester's position, the coast seems to be clear as most Zlocan Knights have been wiped out and see some of the transport ships leaving the battlefield. The sight makes the soldiers cheers for another great momentum for themselves in the liberation of the USA. Sylvester then contacts one of the soldiers with an earplug.
"Sergeant Chung, is everything fine out there?"
"Yes colonel, these machines are really the shit! We never thought that in a war like this, someone would give this to us a bunch of presents, it's like an early Christmas! Now when this is over maybe we can... Hold on a sec, someone killed one of our, huh?! Now they killed another soldier and another one! What the hell is goin-" the soldier makes a faint scream as it distorts into static on John's earplug.
"Sergeant Chung? Chung?! Do you copy?! What the hell just happened?!"
"What in the world is happe-" Lucy says before she sees what caused the attack, leaving her mouth wide open from what she's seeing.
To the group's horror, they see what killed Sergeant Chung's battalion, it's none other than a huge swarm of robotic aerial soldiers.
Kedris' phantom tactic seems to be taking effect.
"ENEMY LOCATED NEAR THE HOTEL; COMMENCE TERMINATION," one of the robotic soldiers says as they spot Sylvester's position, swarming in at full speed.
"Do these robots belong to-" Jackson says before being shoved by Sylvester and immediately grabbed by Lucy.
"EVERYONE INSIDE THE HOTEL!!!" Sylvester yells as the rest complies with his orders while the swarm of robotic soldiers rushes towards them.
10 minutes earlier.
Meanwhile, at a nearby street, Logan and his friends are fighting off a garrison made by the Zlocan occupants while liberating civilians imprisoned by the invaders.
Logan slashes some of the Knights apart while Seiner uses his new rifle to fight off the others, while Tany goes off as usual in throwing the rocks at them.
"Take that, meanies!" she yells.
"I must say...I feel I'm learning new things every day," Seiner says.
Logan continues to fight off with some of the Zlocan Knights holding the civilians hostage. Even if there's five of them, Logan swiftly dodges every attack on them while continuing to strike with his sword at every chance he gets.
But as he swings his sword, a flying figure is rushing from above, with a red looking gleam next to it.
Arriving near them, the figure cuts down the five Zlocans near their heads, causing them to fall down from the attack.
Logan, Seiner, and Tany are taken aback by what they just saw, not expecting that something could come down so quickly to save them, even if they have the advantage.
Logan, however, immediately gets paralyzed by the figure that just landed near them, one he never expected to see in a time like this. Seiner also gasps at the sight of it while Tany smiles brightly as what she's seeing is something that may please her. The civilians as well look on a bit nervous, stepping back from the figure as they try to figure out what happens next.
Amira Dhorian has finally found them.
She turns around to see Logan, still shocked at what he's seeing, shaking at every part of his body.
"Logan..."
"Amira...?"
"Ami~!" Tany says as she rushes forward and leaps in front of Amira, glomping her as much as she can while nearly falling off to the ground.
"I missed you too, Tany."
The civilians, initially looking with concern, slightly approach her as they realize the being they're seeing is one that already attracted Human beings. Logan in particular sheds some tears from what he's seeing, as she approaches him and hugs him in return while wiping the tears away from his eyes.
"Amira...you came back...but how?"
"I sensed your strong emotions, Logan. Ones of fear and anger, ones which convinced me that you really needed help. Hence why I escaped from their custody."
"You escaped? But they..."
"I will never turn a blind eye on those whose really need help. You showed me that when you defended me...I'll be willing to do the same for you all. That's the reason why I took so long in looking for you."
"Wait, so you mean...?"
"Yes. Humanity is indeed something worth fighting for, Logan."
Logan smiles highly from the implications of Amira. At first, he thought that she wasn't ready yet to face the rest of the world, not knowing how much she would be able to take it.
And it seems right now that she has passed it.
Seiner removes his glass from his eyes as he tries to maintain eye contact with Amira, yet he looks down as she looks at him. For all what he did, there seems to be a sense of melancholy from Seiner's behavior, something that he could try better. Yet the war had taken a toll in experiencing new living beings a bit better, and it led to the mess Amira got stuck in.
Seiner now feels there's so much more to be done for her.
"Amira...all I can say is..."
"I know, you're sorry for it. And it's fine."
"You...you think?"
"Why do you think I'm happy to see you?"
Tany chuckles in response from behind her as Logan smiles. Seiner, after some moment of hesitation and awkwardness, chuckles slightly while putting back his glasses.
"I guess, you're even with us now. Yet I'm afraid that if Sylvester catches you..."
"I know. But probably he'll be grateful for what I did today and may rethink his stance later. I'll be sure of it."
"And if he doesn't?"
"Then we'll be willing to step in her place like a goodie friend!" Tany replies as she taps on Amira's shoulder.
"And know there will be always people on their side," Logan replies as well.
The civilians behind start cheering from their words. Even if they don't know, they know well enough how their bonds are well-tight together and that it's something worth seeing. The best of a living being after all.
"Whew, quite a lot of heroism today, right Seiny boy?"
"Eh, you can say that again Tany. And Logan, I guess I owe you an apology for what happened that day in the woods."
"Really? Well, that makes me happy to hear it, Seiner, well in any case-" Logan then hears something vibrating near his pocket, which he then picks up to find out it's a walkie-talkie given to him.
"Wait, hold on, I'm getting something. Logan speaking."
"Logan! You there?!" Sylvester asks.
"Sylvester? What's going?"
"We're under attack by a bunch of advanced robots stranded on the De Anza Hotel and we need back up! HURRY, WE CAN'T WITHSTAND IT ANY LONGER!!"
"Oh dear..."
"What's wrong Logan?" Amira asks.
"Walker, he's under attack by remaining Zlocan forces! And they're robots who are doing it!"
"Robots, in the air? Who could have done this?"
"Must be that Kedris guy..." Seiner says.
"Impossible, it cannot be..." Logan says in disbelief as well.
"No way way way! That is the worst cheating I've seen in my whole life! It's not like they were using a hack to make them super strong!"
"But right now, we have to find the hotel, where is it?!" Seiner says as he grabs his pistol again.
"Hang on, De Anza Hotel is right over there but there are too many robots for us to handle, we have to do something!"
For a moment, the group is feeling hopeless about the situation, not knowing if any of their equipment will be enough to shot down all robots attacking their allies.
That is until Amira raises her head.
"Logan! Remember what you said on that day in the rain where the wind still continued even after Tany put a stop to it?" Amira asks.
"Yeah?"
"Well, you later said to Malak that the Wind is like a strong group of people working together you know, that their rain was the primary workforce and that the wind is the second solution for an obstacle, even if Tany stopped the rain. It is perfect when we can use these unique powers to help them out!
"Sounds pretty great Amira, but how are we gonna create our own wind?" Seiner asks.
"Maybe we can do it if we can sufficiently believe in ourselves and use whatever we have, this is the time to show a test of teamwork!" Logan says.
"If you say so, then let's bring it, mate!" Seiner says.
Seiner summons his jetpack while Amira grabs Logan and Tany and jumps into the air, heading towards the direction of the hotel. Seiner grabs most of his cubes and throws in the direction of the sun. Logan points the Coraggio sword toward the objects, signaling Amira's time to throw Logan to the direction of the objects and then using her telekinesis to grab them.
"Now let's show them why we came here!"
Tany summons lightning from her staff and launches it at Logan's Coraggio, in time when the sun started to shine and hit the tip of it. The combined force of the sunlight alongside the lightning create multiple lightning rays, multiplied more with Seiner's boxes. Amira then used her strength to move the direction of the rays.
"Union rays!"
The lightning rays then start hitting Kedris's robots, disabling them all and managing to save Walker's group and the other Earth Warriors stranded in the hotel.
The ones stuck inside hear the explosions, as Andrei leans out of the window to see what's going on.
"The blasts, they've stopped...Who could have stopped them?" one of the soldiers asks.
"I dunno but let's check outside, I'm having enough dirt I tell ya!" Eddie says.
One of the blasts from the robots, however, nearly knocks the team out and they fall toward the ground, Amira manages to pick them with her telekinesis, but they only manage to make a landing that's a bit rough, slightly injuring them.
"Did... we stop them...?" Logan asks.
"I think so Logan, But, I'm feeling...we need help..." Amira replies
Suddenly, five Zlocan knights appear in front of them, taking advantage of the chaos Kedris created.
"Well well, we have easy preys right now."
"I heard that you caused a lot of trouble for our forces as of recently, now is time to pay up for your trouble upon us! Goodbye, weaklings."
And just about as they were going to fire, two of the knights are shot by Jackson and Eddie, one is sliced in half by Malak, one is stabbed in the back by Lucy and finally, one has his neck snapped by Andrei. They later start comforting the exhausted warriors, helping them to get up back on their feet while they regain their composure from the landing.
Like with Logan, Seiner, and Tany, the other Warriors stand in shock when they see Amira with them, not expecting her to her with them as such state.
"I know you never expected me like this...but you know that true friends never abandon each other, never will..." Amira says.
"Amira? What are you doing here, dear alien?" Andrei asks.
"To save you of course..."
"But ye were supposed to be in custody! Are you trying to make the high command angry?" Lucy asks.
"There is no need to, Luce...all that matter is that it's the right thing done right, that's all..."
"Hmm...I guess I should be more...eh, better save it for later."
"Logan, you OK man?" Jackson asks.
"Yes...I think so, did we...stop them?"
"Well hell yes! That was the' most incredible move the world and I have ever known, newsletters are going to make a great fortune with this!" Lucy says.
"My arms... why am I so very tired now? I want some fun!" Tany says.
"Hehe, you will girl, in celebration of the liberation of our city!"
***
Kedris looks at them, his eyes wide enough to show the whites and standing paralyzed in what he just saw while the room is now empty, maybe the rest are waiting for him. Shaking for a bit yet calmly breathing, he'll soon be aware of what the future holds for them.
However, he takes a special glance at Logan while seeing from the building.
"That boy... is that Logan? Henry's son? I cannot believe it...he grew far greater than I could possibly imagine...but I hope once he meets me...he'll understand why it happened. We'll meet again, son of Henry," he soon starts leaving the room, now ready to move away with the retreating troops.
The other UEF soldiers in the city started to gather around the hotel to see what happened, they couldn't see a lot because of the smoke.
"Hmm, a lot of broken machinery I see today...hey! Is there anybody who knows who caused the destruction of the railguns and these robots?" a Japanese soldier says.
"We are!" nine voices reply.
"Who said that?"
The smoke then started to settle down revealing the nine Earth Warriors. No matter how they look and how they endured, they have done what they thought would never come.
A victory for them. And a spark of hope for all the Universe.
"Who the hell are you guys?" a soldier asks.
"We're the Earth warriors, the...greatest hope.....you can have," Logan says.
After a period of silence, the lieutenant then starts to applaud, which is then followed by the other soldiers doing the same, making a huge standing ovation upon the Earth Warriors.
Sylvester in particular looks around at them, all with a slight frown on his face he spots Amira among them.
However, as much as he wants to try to discipline her, the victory celebration is something that he can't totally ignore. After all, the victory is now in their hands.
"Earth! Warriors!" The soldiers start to chant to the brave heroes who saved the day, the ones who are now worthy of the UEF, the ones who will save the universe from us all.