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I will show her the sea.
The promise arced through my body like electricity, jumpstarting my neural circuits. I jerked up, only to collapse right back down. That's right. My leg... it was riddled with shrapnel in the final charge. It could no longer support my full weight.
Looking around, I found myself surrounded by metallic carnage. Ameise, Grauwolf, Dinosauria, and even Phönix. Their charred, bullet-riddled frames littered the cratered landscape before me. Wisps of smoke drifted from explosive residue. Far off in the distance, the sporadic roar of cannon fire echoed.
I tried to hail Command for orders. However, as I watched shafts of sunlight slowly pierce through the disintegrating Eintagsfliege clouds, I was met with only silence.
But then, a cascade of signals, no longer jammed by the metal butterflies, poured through. Joy. Elation. Relief. In every language, from every remaining country.
"Early this morning, Coalition forces..."
"The skies over the Kingdom of Roa are clear for the first time in years..."
"Legion command signals are confirmed to be offline..."
"...scattered skirmishes as local forces hunt down the remaining Legion..."
"The Federation President's press conference tonight is expected to officially declare the end..."
The war against the Legion was over. But I still had one more thing to do.
I will show her the sea.
Carefully picking myself up, I stood, balancing on my damaged legs. The reconnaissance map showed the sea approximately 30 klicks west of the AO. With my destination set, I trudged forward.
My legs creaked and groaned with each step, threatening to collapse from the strain. But I pushed forward regardless. The ground beneath me slowly changed. From the hard, cold soil of the battlefield, to muddy wetlands, before finally becoming dry, unstable grains of sand.
Not long after, I was able to pick up the sound of crashing waves. Upon cresting a string of sand dunes, I saw it. The golden sand beach folding into the sky-blue waters. The endless expanse vanishing into the horizon. In contrast to the dark, cold waters of the Regicide Fleet countries, these waters were breathing with warmth and life.
I will show her the sea .
As I stepped forward, the loose sand crumbled from my weight. The misstep sent me tumbling down the dune, ending up mere meters from the water. A gouge in the sand marked the path of my fall. This time, however, as I tried to stand back up, my left legs refused to respond. I remained in my crater of sand, watching the white, foam-crested waves crash onto the beach. Listening to the constant drone of the tumbling currents.
I was there for two hours and seven minutes before they arrived. I detected the soft whirl of mechanical servos and the thumps of Feldreẞ steps. Using my remaining good leg, I pivoted my body towards the dunes, just in time to see an orange M101 Barrett support unit appear. But what drew my eyes was not the unit itself, but its cargo. On its back, in place of the usual ammo magazines, sat two girls.
The younger and more impatient of the two was a Pyrope and Onyx mix. Her crimson eyes twinkled with tears upon seeing me. Her raven black hair and Federacy military overcoat billowed out behind her as she jumped off the support unit. But before she could get too far, the second girl, a pureblood Celena, caught her by the arm. Her silver-blue eyes watched me with calculating caution.
I will show her the sea .
Adjusting her military cap on her crown of of silver-white hair, the Celena, with a firm grip on the younger girl, made her way down the dunes. As they approached, however, the Celena's free hand went to her hip.
A familiar, worn 9mm pistol, a Republican model, left her holster. With a flick of her thumb, the Celena disengaged the safety.
Even as I heard the cheers through my ears and across the Para-RAID connection, I was frozen in front of the tactical map. Only when Frederica tackled me with a tearstained hug did I unclench my fists and release the breath I had been holding. As I wrapped my arms around her shaking form, the thought finally entered my mind.
The war is over .
But just before I could join the celebration, Frederica caught my attention from within my embrace. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she whispered, "Vladilena... I just saw one more."
The smile that was forming vanished. My fingers went numb. My heart rate quickened. "But... but you confirmed they were all gone," I insisted.
"I don't know how." Her hair swayed with the shake of her head. "But I can see one more. And he's badly damaged."
Her eyes pleaded for permission. I was hesitant to give it. We may have cut the head off the snake, but even Ameise would be deadly in a careless engagement. The remnants of the Legion needed to be eliminated, for our sake and theirs. But...
"What model?"
"A Phönix."
My brow furrowed.
"But his blades are destroyed! He's barely standing!" Breaking away, she drew a line on the map in front of us. "And right now, he's heading west! We can easily catch up!"
"Please, Vladilena..." Frederica's eyes threatened to resurge with tears.
I looked away with a frustrated click of my tongue. Reaching back to my nape, I reactivate my Para-RAID.
"Raiden, Anju, Kurena, do you read?"
"Yeah."
"Yes, I hear you."
"...What's wrong, Lena? You never address us by our real names during operations."
Raiden, ever so observant. Gathering my breathe, I informed them of Frederica's discovery and the Phönix's current heading.
"From what I see, I think we can catch up to him," I concluded. "What do you think?"
To my surprise however, the news was met with silence. A few moments later, Anju softly asked, "How? Frederica's never been wrong before."
"I don't know. The Legion are machines after all. Maybe one managed to restart after taking severe damage?" I theorized.
"What does it matter?" Kurena snapped. "What did you hope to gain from telling us this?"
Her accusatory tone caught me off guard. "Gain? You're his closest friends! You of all people deserve to know!"
Kurena let out a frustrated sigh, but before she could retort, Anju interjected. "Thank you, Lena, for telling us. But what Kurena meant, and what we all thought, was 'why do you sound like you're asking us for permission?'"
I blinked in bewilderment. "Permission? I... I wasn't..."
"We may have known Shin for longer, and we are undoubtedly his best and closest friends," Raiden followed up, "but you, Lena, were closer to him than any of us."
Kurena huffed in agreement. "And here I thought you were past your self-deprecating, guilty-conscious phase."
At their reasoning and Kurena's teasing insult, I released a tired laugh. "Then let me rephrase myself." I cleared my throat. "We found Shin again. Would you like to come with me to see him off?"
"Thanks, but no thanks."
Before I could properly express my confusion, Raiden spoke. "We met Shin on the battlefield all those years ago. It felt poetic that we parted ways on the battlefield as well."
"We've already said our goodbyes, Lena," Anju added. "Now, it's your turn."
I left Marcus and Vika in charge of hunting down the remaining Legion. Marcus seemed to want to say something when I informed them of my intentions but ultimately remained silent. Meanwhile, Vika merely nodded.
"I understand." His amethyst eyes softened as he met my gaze. "Do what you must. I wish you the best."
To avoid hampering the cleanup efforts, Frederica and I borrowed Fido as our steed. We marched northwestward, with Frederica as our compass. Before long, I could smell the salt in the air, carried by a gentle breeze. Not long after, the sound of crashing waves reached my ears. Upon cresting a string of sand dunes, I saw it. The expanse of sparkling, blue waters surging and receding against the golden shore. The sight was familiar, yet vastly different from the coast of the Regicide Fleet countries.
And at the edge of the waters was a damaged Phönix. A gouge in the sand showed its path down to the beach. Shards of its metal body stuck out from the sand. Its chain blades were completely gone, leaving only broken metal stubs in their place. Similarly, its front right leg was missing, while those on its left side were bent out of shape. It had used its remaining good leg to turn its body to look at us.
"Come on, Vladilena! He's right there!"
"Hold it!" I caught Frederica before she could roll down the dunes. "Safety first. You promised."
Hand in hand, the impatient girl and I slid our way down to the beach. And as we approached the damaged Legion, I drew my pistol. The Phönix's armor was all but stripped, leaving only a dark, metallic skeleton. Its "head" suffered a direct hit from either shell or shrapnel which took half of its optical sensors with it. I could see its exposed central processor through the hole; it was a miracle that it was still operational. But even with all its damage, it wouldn't be the first time the Legion feigned weakness as a lure. However, this Phönix remained in place as we paced back and forth in front of it. Only its head pivoted slightly to track us.
"Vladilena." Frederica tugged against my sleeve. "It's Shinei. I promise. The Legion are gone. He won't hurt us."
And with a final tug, she broke free from my grip and ran towards the damaged Phönix. My heart stopped for a moment as she entered the reach of its limbs. But true to her word, it didn't react. Frederica collided with the metallic faceplate of the Phönix with a hollow thunk. Her arms were stretched out as far as she could, barely able to complete her hug.
"Shinei. Shinei. Shinei... I'm so sorry, Shinei!" The last syllable broke into a guttural sob. I turned my eyes skyward and took a few steps back to give her some space to empty her sorrow. Her tiny form was shaking from her sobs. Her tears stained no only her cheeks but the metal surface of the Phönix as well.
"It wasn't your fault, Frederica. No one blames you," I reassured.
"I know," she sniffled, finally pushing off the Phönix and stepping back. "I'm not so arrogant as to believe I alone was the cause of his death. Shinei did what he had to protect us. All of us."
Frederica wiped away her tears on her sleeve and lifted her head to meet the Phönix's robotic gaze. "I'll fulfill my promise, Shinei! I'll give Raiden, Anju, Kurena, Theo, and all the other 86 everything the Republic took from them! I swear in the name of Augusta Frederica Adel-Adler! So rest easy, Shinei, and leave it to me!"
She crossed her arms and straightened her back as she made her declaration. A smile erupted from between her tearstained cheeks. Determination shone from her reddened eyes.
As the ocean breeze carried her promise away, Frederica turned to me and nodded towards the Phönix. With a wry smile, I approached the wounded Legion. It trained its remaining eyes on me. I was close enough to see the red-tinted lenses moving to adjust their foci.
I opened my mouth, but no words came. I stared into the empty, mechanical eyes of the Legion, trying to pull some form of eulogy together. But except for the color of its eyes, it was nothing like Shin.
"Shin," I whispered with a clenched fist against my heart. "Are you in there?"
The red optical sensors stared back without answering.
His eyes were full of emotion that his face refused to wear. They way they would soften when he was relaxed and comfortable. The way they would twitched when he was embarrassed or irritated. The way they would narrow when he was concentrating. It had taken months before I could properly read him. But I could find none of his tells on the Phönix. If I had Shin's ability, or Frederica's sight...
Piiiizikchi-zzzzizzww! The stumps of what remained of the Phönix's high frequency chain blades sudden began to vibrate. The blades, when functioning properly, could cut through Feldreẞ armor like a heated knife through butter. But instead of the steady, high-pitched whine, it sputtered and stalled. It dropped to a deep, mechanical hum, struggling to climb back to its standard operating frequency.
I took a step back and raised my pistol. The Legion Command was in tatters, but their operational principles must still be functioning. It must have recognized Frederica as the Empress, but I was still an enemy.
With a deep breath, I steadied my hand and took aim at the exposed processor on the Phönix's head. I lined up the silvery brain of the Legion with the sights of the pistol. My finger curled around the rigger. I slowly squeezed, bringing it up to the wall.
"Wait!" Frederica's jostle threw off my aim.
"Frederica!" I admonished, quickly moving my finger off the trigger.
"Shush, Vladilena. Listen." Her eyes stared intently at the damaged Legion. I followed her gaze, confused. I heard nothing except for the hum of the damaged chain blades, punctuated by brief pauses.
Pauses that were too well timed and consistent to be the result of damaged circuitry. The hums, too, had their own rhythm of long and short notes.
.. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / ... .... --- .-- / .... . .-. / - .... . / ... . .-
My eyes widened in realization. "Morse..."
"Right?" Frederica beamed at me. "Shin's trying to talk to us! Ah, but I don't know Morse code! If I'd known this would happen, I would have paid more attention in class!"
And as Frederica tore at her hair in frustration, I closed my eyes and listened. The archaic telecommunications code had fallen out of use with the invention of the radio. It had been briefly brought back during the initial stages of the war when it was discovered that the Legion could jam radio signals but fell back into disuse with the invention of Para-RAID. But there could have been a plethora of situations where I'd have to communicate without Para-RAID. There was no harm in learning it as-.
.. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / ... .... --- .-- / .... . .-. / - .... . / ... . .-
A gasp escaped my lips as I deciphered Shin's repeating message. As if a valve finally loosened, tears trickled down my cheeks. To walk over thirty kilometers on broken legs for the sake of a rhetorical promise.
"You dumb fool," I whispered as I pressed my brow against his. "Frederica would have found you regardless. You didn't have to drag yourself all the way out here. It would have been the same if you stayed where you were."
.. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / ... .... --- .-- / .... . .-. / - .... . / ... . .-
Shin repeated his message again, as if to refute my words. As if to say it was not an obligation but his choice to come and meet us here. His characteristic stubbornness, while frustrating at times, was charming, nonetheless.
"You're always leaving me behind," I lamented with a sigh. "Ever since your recon mission back in the Republic. And every time I think I've caught up with you, you push even further forward."
I gently traced the contour of his face while staring into his crimson eyes. With a deep breath, I slowly brought the barrel of my pistol against his exposed central processor.
.. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / ... .... --- .-- / .... . .-. / - .... . / ... . .-
"Thank you, Shin. Thank you for showing me the sea. Thank you for bringing me to a world beyond the battlefield. Give me some time to explore it, alright? I'll tell you all about it the next time we meet."
My tears escaped through the corners of my eyes and freely streamed down my face. Yet my hand was steady. Shin had fought long and so terribly hard. And now, after reaching his final destination, he deserved to rest.
"Shin... I'm going on ahead, Shin."
The roar of the gunshot was swallowed by the tumbling ocean waves.