The Emblem

The sky was clearing. The pale disc of the moon was slowly fading as the sun was starting to show itself. Its rays still hidden under the horizon.

The sand was still. Golden and rough. A sea of silica.

Dunes were sluggishly crawling.

Suddenly a whiffle of increasing intensity started shaking it.

A buzzing mixed itself with the wind's song.

A light shadow appeared on the dust.

Then more followed.

Whirls formed in the desert.

The door was faltering.

Hummingbirds and Whiskers were standing there.

"Lady, I order you to go to a room and lock yourself in. Now"

"You didn't answer to my question" said her

The Whisker's captain looked toward her and smiled.

"Maybe they don't. What matters now is your safety"

"Come" said the younger one.

"What do you think about the stuff she talked about?" asked the Hummingbird's captain to the Whisker's one.

"Probably she's right"

The Hummingbird smiled.

"What?"

The door was cracking down.

"If we're going to survive that, I'm going to offer you a glass of the best water"

"That would be great," said the Whisker.

"Prepare yourself," said the Hummingbird.

"Together" added his ally.

The door was shattered and the Shaxes rushed in, one by one, as the entrance wasn't big enough.

"Come on" screamed Tithon

One of the monsters jumped on him but he disposed of it easily.

Gluskap and Malsumis were fighting side by side, shooting and brandishing their staffs toward the mutants.

Fanon was firing too but his hands were shaking. His aim wasn't good enough.

The other Whiskers were doing their best, but the opponent's strength was overwhelming.

Gehenna was standing there. Cold and quiet.

Shaxes were moving past her to jump on the other people in the room.

The attic was being filled with loads of Shaxes. Both Whiskers and Hummingbirds were struggling.

They were fighting together, merging their styles and experience. Supporting each other and keeping the abominations back.

The owners' room was being defended with everything they had.

The place was being thrashed.

The glass shattered.

Tithon's Whiskers were falling down the Tower while the rarefied air was getting into the room, while the tanks were being shattered and the bodies in it were washing away, down the tower.

He observed Gehenna and noticed that she was still untouched, still in the water. Watching her old friends perish, finally.

Then he looked at the others.

"Tell them to stop" said him to her, loudly

She shrugged.

"Please…my Lady, make them stop" implored a suffering Gluskap

Malsumis looked at her too.

The girl and the old woman were shaking.

The door in front of them was being hammered and it was quivering.

Behind them the impaired man was panting.

"What's happening to him?" asked the woman

The girl went beside his partner.

"Please, stop. Stop"

The door jolted again.

They looked at each other.

"Are we…are we going to die?" asked the young one

Her friend hugged her.

"Don't worry…they're going to protect us. They're…good men"

Both had teary eyes.

The people in the room were being pushed toward the shattered glass of the window.

Gehenna was still untouched.

Corpses of dead whiskers were laying on the ground. Only the Supreme Leader, his commander, the twins, and Gehenna were still alive.

"Sir…we…can't hold…any…longer" told Fanon to Tithon

His Leader didn't answer. He was too busy.

"Make them stop, we beg you" said Gluskap to his mistress.

"I can't…I don't have that kind of power anymore" said her

The group was inching toward the windows. After it there was nothing, just a void of death.

Tithon disposed of the Shaxes which were on him.

A bigger one, an Elder, was looking at him. Saliva and blood were dripping from his mouth.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" screamed him at the mutant which charged in his direction.

Gehenna turned her head.

Her eyes flickered.

She put the right hand on his forehead.

Fanon felt it.

The coldness of night was dissipating.

The shining of shattered glass attracted Gluskap and Malsumis attention.

Tithon saw his enraged and towering opponent losing his strength.

The abomination was looking to the horizon too.

It was afraid.

Their skin was starting to crumble. They were melting away.

Then he noticed that Gehenna was covering one of his forearms and was shaking. She was suffering.

The monsters were being annihilated by the rising sun. Running from it was impossible. Light was spreading like pure water through the city and the towering skyscraper.

The citizens were coming out of their repairs to appreciate the soothing sun.

The few Whiskers which survived the carnage on the walls were grouping around the cannons, to protect themselves from potential threats. The Hummingbirds left were scattered and far from each other. Alone.

Meanwhile in the attic, both sides were deeply shocked.

"It's over…Is it over?" asked one of them

The captains weren't answering.

One of them went to the bedroom and went through the battered door.

"They're gone" said the 'Birds captain

The young lady was crying.

The sun was getting into the room from a shattered window.

A revolting smell was getting into his nose.

Then he noticed a pile of dust on the bed. The woman's husband wasn't there.

"Where is him?"

"Please, leave us alone," said the old woman.

He nodded and left them.

Outside, under the sunrays, 'Birds and Hummingbirds were celebrating together. They were laughing and hugging each other.

"What happened?" asked the Whiskers captain

"Not to everybody is allowed to rejoice in the sun"

"It's…it's over…" said Fanon while getting up

Gehenna was caressing the dust on the floor with tears in her eyes.

"Is it really over?" asked her Gluskap

She wasn't answering.

"Tell us the truth" exhorted her Malsumis

She nodded.

"Are we sure about it?" insisted him

Tithon was shut.

His suit was full of scratches and wounds.

His face was a mess.

Unlike his eyes, which were flaming.

He stepped toward the desk and took the Shax's statuette.

"What are you doing?" asked Gluskap

He was threading slowly to Gehenna.

She looked at him.

She felt his eyes on her.

Gluskap tried to move but Malsumis stopped him.

"What now? Are you really going to do it, Supreme Leader?" asked Gehenna

The stone piece went up.

"Don't" shouted Fanon

His arm fell, carrying the weapon with it.

He hit her.

Blood stained her veil and her dark skin, which was now visible, started to sizzle.

"Should we stop him, sir?" asked one of the soldiers in front of the monitor to Commander Amin.

He had a grin on his face and his pupils were dilated.

"Sir, he is going to kill her" asked him again

"I don't think he will"

The soldiers couldn't understand their superior. They looked each other, staring in the same eyes and same face.

Timur's sight moved toward the main monitor. A blinking point was moving toward the city. It wasn't far from it.

"We…we're receiving a signal, sir"

"Where does it come from?"

"The asset, sir"

Timur tilted his head while one of the technicians appeared beside him.

He had a pad which indicated a number which was going down and a live image of the wall's cannons.

The commander shook his head.

Tithon was violently stoning Gehenna while he was grinning.

"Stop, please" asked him Gluskap who was trying to free himself of his brother's grip

The blood stain under her was growing.

"She…You're going to kill her" screamed him while getting rid of his brother.

He jumped on him.

The Supreme Leader didn't move.

He was like a strong and sturdy ivory tower.

Gluskap was thrown away by him easily, who gave him a feral look.

Then Tithon threw the statuette away and ripped her veil apart.

Her hoar skin was now fully exposed to the sun and burning.

She was grunting in pain.

Finally, her face showed itself.

Half abomination, half human.

Fanon was scared.

Malsumis was shocked.

"You're so repugnant" stated Tithon

Then he noticed that her face had some characteristic similar, almost identical, to her past love.

"She was your clone" added him

Gehenna crawled with hardship toward the shadows.

Gluskap went beside her. She was trying to help.

"Don't" said her

"Was it worth it?" asked Malsumis

"I didn't…have a choice. Time was my enemy but…I've lost more than you imagine to keep this planet alive for so long"

"How long?"

"Millennia…too long to remember"

"How many time did you reboot us?" asked Tithon

"A hundred times…I believe"

"You're a liar. You don't deserve to…" said Tithon while taking a gun from one of the Whiskers on the ground and aiming it at her.

A transceiver buzzed.

"What is it?" asked the Supreme Leader extremely bothered.

Fanon took it and pushed the button.

"Sir…We have…"

The muting roar of engines reached their ears.

Malsumis looked outside the window.

The other did it too.

When the message ended, Fanon went toward his master.

"I know, I see them too" said him

Kurban was seeing it finally. The city, his city was closer.

Under him, the desert of Drekavac was being battered by the strong wind produced by the Dragonflies engines.

Only eight of all the aircrafts of Rocabarra were in the air.

"Kurban…they are not answering" said to him one of the citizens through the mask.

One of the few which agreed to join him in his way back

"Keep trying"

"What if they're not going to receive our message? What will happen then?" aske the one who was driving the Dragon

"Then only hope will be left"

All the people beside him didn't say any word.

"We have come so far. There is no time to go back" told them while his eyes moved to the sky.

It was like he was scanning it for something.

Beyond the clouds and the atmosphere.

The engines buzzing was the only sound which was in the air.

Quivering bones and running hearts were hidden by it.

"Are those with you?" asked Tithon to Gluskap

The Supreme Leader looked at Gehenna who shook her head.

"I'm not sure. Why should I trust you?"

"The 'Birds never had Dragonflies"

"Like you never allied with the monsters? Huh?"

"I don't know…"

"Why should we jump to conclusions?" asked Fanon

"Because…it's not over" remarked Malsumis

The aircrafts were getting closer.

"How long till they reach us?"

"Ten…fifteen minutes top"

"What do we have left to counterattack them?" asked Tithon to Fanon

"The cannons. There's only your Dragon left"

The transceiver buzzed.

"We…are…"

Gehenna's eyes brightened up.

Fanon sharpened his ears, trying to understand who was on the other side of the transceiver.

"Are we able to contact them?" asked Gluskap

"Don't" said Tithon

"Why?"

"They will know that we're alive. It's better to wait."

"Wait for what?"

"If we don't engage them, they won't attack us" stated Malsumis

"What the hell? On which side are you now?"

"I just want to stop, Tithon. I agreed with you but now, look around…"

"Come…Roca…"

Gehenna tried to say something.

"Truth…Aga…"

"What should we do, sir?" asked Fanon

"I want eyes on them. And prepare the cannons, just in case…"

"Are you mad?" asked Malsumis

"Wait, the message could become clearer. It's still a bit disturbed"

"Don't…don't…he…is"

"Kur…here…remaining"

Tithon took the transceiver from Fanon's hands.

"What the hell? You're crazy. I should've never joined you. This is madness" stated Malsumis

"I don't care. I just care about this city. Every invader should be annihilated. This is my city"

"It's…ours" said Gehenna

Tithon changed the line and looked for one which was still open, one which had a Whisker alive on the other side.

"Sir…orders" stated the one he found

"Don't do it" said Gluskap

"Anything?" asked Kurban

The man with the transceiver shook his head.

"Should we arm the weapons?"

Tithon wasn't sure. He wanted to know, to see what was going on in the city.

As they flied closer, the smoke became visible.

"It doesn't look good, Kurban" stated one of the youngest man on the aircraft

"Whatever they did while I was away…I didn't know about it"

"I think…I think that we should go back" said another, much older

Kurban turned to him and smiled.

"I understand your reasoning but we came too far"

"Yes, but…I don't want to…die"

"You knew the risk. I'll do my best to keep you alive"

"Maybe the Chief was right"

"Something is moving" told the co-pilot which was watching the city with binoculars.

"Show me, please"

He gave him the object and he gazed in it.

Long parallelepipeds were being turned toward them.

"What are those?" asked the co-pilot

"Prepare the weapons" stated Kurban

"But…weren't we supposed to come in peace?"

"They are being cautious"

"What are they moving?" insisted the co-pilot

Kurban didn't care about his question and took the transceiver.

"Break the line and arm the guns"

"Are you sure about that?" asked one of the people on the other Dragonflies

"Trust me"

The Whisker's captain was waiting Tithon's orders.

The Hummingbirds looked at him.

"They're not with us" said their Leader

"You can still refuse to do what he is going to tell you" said the youngest soldier among them.

"Captain, give me eyes on them" ordered Tithon on the transceiver.

The Whisker looked at one of his subordinates which took a weirdly shaped binoculars and looked toward the direction indicated by his superior.

He started gazing in it.

"Is there any symbol on the hull?" asked the Captain

The one with the binoculars nodded.

"What is it?"

"It looks like….like…you must look at it, I'm not sure"

The captain took the object and observed the target.

After a while he put it down.

"Come here, please" asked to the Hummingbirds highest ranking officer.

"What the hell is it?"

He looked through it. Then averted his sight.

"None of us knew about it"

"These are yours. You always had a plan B" accused him

"No. We've never been informed about it. Please, trust me"

The old woman came out of the room and wiped off her tears.

"What is going on?" asked then

The transceiver buzzed.

"What's the emblem on the aircrafts?" asked Tithon

She looked at the Whisker and shook her head.

"I'm sorry my lady. You wanted us to reconcile but they've been playing with our emotions this whole time"

"This is not true" said a Hummingbird

"What have you seen?"

"The emblem, captain…" insisted the Supreme Leader

He looked at his men then at her.

"Don't…I beg you" said the elder with a muted voice

He pushed the button on the transceiver and moved his mouth toward it.

"A bird"

Tithon grinned.

Gluskap shivered.

Malsumis gazed at him with disappointment.

Fanon was confused.

"What…now…Supreme…Leader?" asked Gehenna

He stood tall and brought the transceiver closer.

The sky outside glitched again.

Only Gehenna was phased by it.

"Fire"

"Sir, only a few cannons are available. Most operators were killed during the battle"

"I don't care, use all of them. Bring down all the Hummingbirds in the sky"

The captain didn't answer.

"Captain?"

The transceiver buzzed.

"As you order, Supreme Leader"