The Esoteric Design: Disbanding Hope

by A. R. Crebs

  Dovian scowled. “We’re wasting time, Petey. Don’t get so upset. You knew this day would come.”

  Petey snorted, ramming his forehead against Dovian’s shoulder. Slowly, Dovian pressed his forehead against Petey’s and lifted Hector higher into his arms, hugging the animal. These creatures were all Dovian had known for thousands of years. These were his children, family, and friends.

  “Go you blasted scaly fiends…before you make me cry,” Dovian muttered lowly.

  He pulled away from Petey and gently set Hector onto the ground. Clearing his throat, he straightened his robes.

  “Go! You must leave now. Gather as many of the others as you can and take a little vacation in paradise. Really, Petey, the desert? There are much better places for your kind on this island. Why not go exploring! Have some fun! Play your…lizard games and swim for a while.” Dovian grinned, waving his hands. This gesture and the tone of his voice got Petey excited, the lizard flinging his tail back and forth. Hector eyed Dovian; he wasn’t as easy to fool. “Go my sweet boy. You worked hard at helping our friends. You deserve some time out and about with your own kind. Go have fun. We shall see each other another day.” Petey was running in circles now, honking in excitement. “Well, what are you waiting for?! Onward!” Dovian lifted his fist into the air.

  Petey gave a war cry of sorts–a shrill, oscillating noise that echoed over the lands. Around them, the grass moved. Lizards from all places waddled from their hiding spots. Ives was alive with the reptiles. Soon, Petey was rushing through the pasture, all the others following behind. Hector made it a few meters before he stopped and looked back. His tongue poked the air.

  Dovian raised his hand and spoke to Hector, his dialect falling to Legacy.

  “Гööδæ'ē, μ' фrℓēњδ.”

  “Goodbye, my friend.”

  “Saying Goodbye”

  Chapter 20

  Morning came entirely too fast. A hint of sunlight crested over the barrier of the lower floor of the city, spewing an incandescent pinkish-orange hue that bounced from the glass of each building, beaming upwards into Aria’s apartment. Staring out into the city, the woman gave a shiver. There was no movement, no cars, no sound. All was in a still silence as the civilians stayed inside their homes. Everyone knew what was about to happen. Fountains was a city of sitting ducks. There was no refuge. At any minute, the metropolis could become nothing more than a giant tomb.

  Aria lowered her head, her armored hands running over the faux stone countertop. The sunlight glinted across the silver crucifix that lay between her hands. Her eyes locked firmly onto the item. She tensed. Finally, her nerves were getting to her though she wasn’t worried about herself as much as she was worried about everyone else. For a while now she had come to terms that she could die, would die, in battle. Even so, she never dealt well with people she knew meeting their demise in such cold and abrupt ways. Most of all, she feared for Troy. Nothing she could say would change his mind. He was as bull-headed as she was, and he was going through with his plan. She could only pray it would work in his favor.

  Turning her head to the side, Aria eyed the two pink boxes sitting on the counter beside her–the containers that held the chocolates from Saray. A sudden flash of memories played through the woman’s mind as vividly as they had occurred. One box was shared between her, Troy, Dovian, and Ivory. Dovian had teased Aria about tossing it into the trash, but it turned out he had actually transported it to her apartment as she had asked. The second was the container at her hospital bedside after Dovian and Ivory had become stranded on Ives. No doubt about it, the Sorcēarian had given her those chocolates. But why? Why would he bother with something like that when he was so eager to kill her and Troy? It remained a mystery to her, and it plagued her for some reason.

  Aria sighed, her fingers trailing over the note atop her “get-well” present. The tiny smiley face drawn in the corner of the parchment sent a tinge of sadness through her chest. In the end, Dovian had failed at destroying her and Troy. Was it deliberate or just some unforeseen accident–a miracle? She wasn’t sure. Dovian’s motives had always been somewhat unclear to her. As far as Aria could tell, Dovian was always a conflicted man. It was foolish, but she hoped he would somehow stay away from the conflict. Not for his sake but humanity’s. She had seen more than enough of what Dovian was capable of. He could’ve destroyed the world countless times with nothing more than a flap of his wings. And that’s what confused her the most. If he was as monstrous as he liked to perceive himself, why wouldn’t he just finish things quickly? Unless he was as sick and twisted as Sapphire, then that would mean he enjoyed playing with her emotions. Was he any better than Euclid at this point?

  Something else left a sinking in Aria’s stomach. During the last world transmission, she had not seen any evidence of Dovian. Were he and Ivory even alive? Were they safe? Aria wasn’t positive of the child’s abilities, but she imagined Sapphire could have easily destroyed Dovian and Ivory for their transgressions and failures at complying with her requests. In fact, Dovian was no better off than Euclid. That fact alone made Aria fill a bit more optimistic. Perhaps he had a plan. She just hoped it was a plan beneficial to humanity.

  The ideas flip-flopped in her brain–Dovian good, Dovian bad. Just as she was about to go crazy over the thoughts, there was a gentle knock at the door before it slid open. Aria spun, leaning back against the bar. Troy slipped in, shutting the door behind him. Tall, masculine, and covered in shining body armor, he looked ominous and powerful. He stood before the entry, staring at her from behind his helmet. Aria fed him a twisted smirk, her helmet not yet in place.

  “How’s it feel?” she quietly asked. Even though she had been awake for nearly an hour, the sound of her voice seemed terribly loud, and she was afraid she would wake up the entire city.

  He nodded, looking down at himself. “New modifications seem pretty grand. Can’t wait to try it out. You ready?”

  She twisted and snatched up the silver crucifix. “Almost,” she mumbled. Diligently, she fiddled with a thin cord, pushing one end through a tiny hole at the top of the cross. Next, she tied the two ends around her neck, fashioning the item into a necklace. The silver clanked against her armor.

  Troy stared at her chest, silent. It made her slightly uncomfortable, reminding her of the argument she had with him in the Underbelly.

  “The man who told me to take this…he said that they were afraid of it. If so, then I’m going to wear it. I’ll be their symbol of fear,” she spoke slowly, running her fingers over the decorative grooves.

  Troy stepped past the woman, casually opening and closing the drawers in her kitchen. Aria peered at him curiously. After the fourth drawer, he pulled out a large roll of colored tape. Giving a small grunt of victory, he pulled off a long strip and stuck it to the front of his armor over the company and city-state insignia.

  “What in the hell are you doing?” Aria asked, giving a small laugh.

  Pulling a second strip, he said, “This isn’t a battle for Bio-Tech, isn’t a battle for Fountains. It’s a battle for humanity, a battle for us, for Dovian and Ivory.”

  Aria hesitated. “I dunno. Maybe you were right about Dovian. What if he does plan on destroying us?”

  Troy shook his head. “I don’t think so. I mean, think about all he’s lost. After all this time, why change now? I get why he is doing what he is doing. He’s doing it for some chick, right?”

  “I’Lanthe,” Aria corrected.

  “Right. If it were me,” he slapped the second strip across his chest, making a cross, “and it meant that I could have you back after losing you…then yeah…I’d do it, too. I don’t know what his final plan is, but this war is about him just as much as it is about us. Dovian may be a bit messed up in the head, but he isn’t evil. He’s not like that. If he were, we wouldn’t be here. I believe there’s something else going on.”

  “You think there’s still a chance we can end this war and have Dovian and Ivory back?” She eagerly
awaited Troy’s answer.

  “…I think so. I guess it all starts with having….” He looked back down at his chest.

  “Hope?” Aria asked.

  Troy rapped his knuckles against his makeshift cross. “Faith. We just got to have a little faith…in all of us.”

  Aria gave a weak smile before nodding. Timidly she grabbed her helmet. “This is going to be one hell of a war.” She slipped the armor over her head.

  “Damn right it is. And no matter what happens, Aria, I’m glad I’m fighting alongside you.” He walked up to her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

  She grabbed his shoulder, giving him a rough shake. “Let’s kick some ass!” she snarled.

  “Fuck yeah!” Troy cheered, shaking her in return.

  They gathered their gear and left Aria’s apartment, the woman giving one last long look at her home before closing the door, and rushed to the elevator. The ride seemed to last an eternity as it silently crawled down the floors of Bio-Tech. As the elevator chimed and the doors slid open, she and Troy hurried and hopped aboard a hovering humvee. Once on the ground level, a few kilometers away from the city, Aria became pumped on adrenaline. As far as she could see, her military stretched along the horizon.

  Aria had all of Bio-Tech adorned in full armor and state of the art EMP weaponry, the best pilots in the world operating the Hawks and fighter jets, robotic tanks, and missile-loaded mechs. She had gained the support of the other corporate militaries of Fountains. Saray took to the fringes of the Bio-Tech line, equipped with a multitude of mini-drones and a variety of mechs and armored vehicles. In the back of the line was an assortment of rogue soldiers from the surrounding city-states of the United Americas. Their fleet was small, but they were a much-welcomed addition to the family. Mingled among the rest was an unexpected sight. Britainia had even joined in on the fight. Though the entire military seemed vast and powerful–more than she had ever seen gathered in one place–Aria feared it wasn’t enough. She looked toward the center of it all where a large convoy surrounded Feyette, Kovacevic, Team Phoenix, and President Clarke with Grayson.

  “James?!” Aria shouted, running toward the older man. “What are you doing?” she panted, looking at Grayson. “You let him come out here?”

  Grayson cleared his throat, staring at the dusty ground.

  “This is my fight, too. I’m not going to sit in the city while you and my entire military take on Sapphire’s army,” James protested, rolling his shoulders inside his armor.

  “He wouldn’t have it any other way,” Grayson said.

  Aria folded her arms, glaring at James as she wondered where his blasted helmet was. “Just…just keep an eye on him, alright?” She pointed accusingly at Grayson. “If the enemy draws too close, get him the hell out of here.”

  “Let the man have some fun,” Kovacevic barked. He sat atop a nearby tank, chewing on his unlit cigar.

  “This isn’t fun,” Aria growled.

  “Eh. To each his own, I s’ppose,” the rough man grumbled.

  “And what about Lebedev?” she questioned.

  “His soldiers will be a bit late. They had to make a pit stop in Roma to retrieve that prototype android you were needin’,” he ground out.

  “ETA?” she asked.

  “Beats the hell out of me. I reckon any minute now. That is if they haven’t run into any trouble. Communication with the team went out nearly thirty minutes ago.” He looked at the sky. “‘Round the time of sunrise, actually.”

  Aria peered over at Troy. Perhaps the solar flares were already kicking up. He matched her stare.

  “Everybody got their static protection activated?” she asked. An outbreak of nodding commenced amongst the warriors.

  Feyette stood on the ground, eyeing the empty desert before them. “I’ve not seen anything out there. Not even a gust of wind.”

  Aria approached the man’s side; her sight dropped to Feyette's mechanical leg. She had nearly forgotten that Ivory almost killed Feyette during the scuffle below the city. If he had been killed, how differently would events have played out? Aria didn’t know, but for the time being, she was glad that the man was finally on her side once again.

  She brought her attention to the same location Feyette’s was directed. With her jaw clenched tight, she grinded her teeth and looked toward the sun. Though it was still morning, it wouldn’t take long for the sun to begin to bake them all inside their suits despite their cooling systems. She was starting to think her plan was asinine. All Sapphire would have to do was keep them waiting all day as the radiation slowly beat against their shields.

  “Interesting choice of jewelry,” Feyette coolly stated. He glimpsed the woman out of the corner of his eye.

  “I’ve heard the demons fear it,” Aria replied.

  This brought the attention of the neighboring soldiers. In a flurry, each man slowly moved to whisper to their comrades. The sea of soldiers momentarily waved, and one by one each man down the line began creating crosses of their own over their chests, helmets, and forearms. They used paint, their own blood, tape, and whatever else they could get their hands on. The sight was nothing short of amazing, if not humorous. Feyette grinned and reached inside his armor to pull out his own cross that he had been wearing around his neck.

  “Only thing I have left of my former life,” he quietly said. “Was my mother’s. Only thing she left me.”

  Aria smirked behind her helmet. There was an assortment of snickers and giggles behind her. Looking over her shoulder, Aria resisted the urge to slap her palm against her forehead. Kovacevic had fastened together two cigars in the shape of a cross and pinned it to his shirt with the assistance of a small staple gun that he found in the toolbox at the back of his transporter.

  “Glad everyone’s marking themselves. Would be nice to have a symbol to distinguish who’s a friendly and who isn’t,” Michelle spoke up. “With these numbers, things are bound to get messy out there.”

  She and Team Phoenix rested against one of the tanks. Nerd and Aren were busy working with various electronics, their spherical drones dancing around them in a failed attempt to provide some help in their project. Kaino, Zombie, and Monkey were busy calibrating their shields and discussing battle tactics. Waiting was the worst part of missions. The longer things were quiet, the more anxious the men grew.

  Without warning, a loud thumping came from behind them. Aria spun on her heel, fearing the worst, but was captivated by the sight of a line of soldiers heading their way. Ornamented with crosses and massive battle rifles, a faction of nearly 4,000 Soldiers of God stomped toward the line in a serious fashion.

  “We saw the news feed and decided that it was time we lend a helpin’ hand,” a large man spoke–most likely the leader of the group. His voice was intimidating and deep and contained a southern drawl.

  “We’ll take all the help we can get! I’d be more than grateful to have you and your men fighting by our side, sir.” Aria shook the soldier’s hand.

  “After what happened in the Underbelly, we realized our purpose was more than protectin’ the churches. There’s a greater battle being fought today, and our sole purpose in life is servin’ our Lord,” the man said. “What better way to serve Him than to fight against mankind’s worst enemy?” Looking back toward his men, he gave a bellowing shout. The other militants twisted and marched in timely beats to their places along the line. “We’ve got the best riflemen. All are class A-5 sharpshooters. Our weapons are fully auto and also have sniping capabilities. We will have one eye in the foreground and the second in the back.”

  Aria nodded. “I appreciate you coming out here. You’re a valuable asset to our line.”

  Giving a quick nod, he turned about-face and walked a couple steps into his place before turning back around and taking a readied position. The sight of the enormous men made the woman feel a bit more at ease. Humanity was pulling together on this.

  A slight quake shook beneath Aria’s feet. It lasted only a millisecond. Giving an un
sure look toward Feyette, she pressed a couple buttons on the side of her helmet, trying to gain some readings. The man stared down at his own two feet. He lifted his robotic leg and stamped it back down in response to the tremor. A loud beep alerted Aria toward Team Phoenix’s position.

  “Picking up some readings, ma’am,” Aren spoke up. Poking at the armband of his armor, he looked into his DNAIS, his brow wrinkling. “Tremors are from the west headin’ our way.”

  “What the hell is it?” Aria impatiently asked.

  “Erm…hold on, gathering data.” Aren fingered his DNAIS as another quake shook the desert floor. “Seems mechanical, ma’am!”

  “Mechanical?” Aria turned toward Troy.

  “The Roma fleet?” he suggested.

  “Multiple bogies.” Aren shook his head in disbelief. “One is enormous!”

  “Everybody on the ready!!” Aria shouted.

  Was Sapphire’s army simply going to burst out of the ground from beneath their feet?

  “Hold it,” Clarke mumbled. “At ease.”

  “At ease?!” Aria looked at the older man. His face was hard, revealing nothing. “Did you forget to tell me something, sir?”

  “I wasn’t sure if they would make it,” Clarke replied.

  “They? Who in the hell are they?” Aria asked.

  The ground shuddered; an earsplitting roar followed, growing louder and louder each second. Aria felt the worst of the vibration travel from behind her to the front of her, a deep crack bursting and shooting at a high speed away toward the empty desert. In an explosion of noise, the earth split open, rock and dust spreading across the land. Aria gaped in awe as an enormous mechanical drill spiraled up and out of the hole in the ground. The machine churned into the air, twisting and giving an ominous alarm of warning. Jolting from the sides of the mechanism was a pair of legs that crunched into the floor. Cranking, the middle cylinder spun up and out, another pair of arms breaking away as a large piece lifted further, topping the machine with what looked like a head. As the giant mech morphed–rising higher and higher–the eyes lit up with a ring. A loud roar followed. It stood well over thirty meters, towering over the military like a menacing statue. A siren blared, and the mech growled again, stomping forward with large animalistic feet, its tail whipping to the side.