B4 — 55. Knights Templar

AuthorSME

PoV:

1. Rachel Park (Our Lunar Hell Hare!)

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Rachel’s legs gave way, Scarlet following as the horrific battle raging above them began, Revilla’s monstrosities filling the heavens; the barrier protected them, but that didn’t stop the terrifying visions of the hellish visages clashing above them.

Yseress was as overwhelmed as them, watching the amalgamation of the outerversal entity slaughter the hosts of Hell, every single denizen capable of utterly destroying Earth, yet their mind-numbing size or power was insignificant to Revilla.

All it showed Rachel was the gap she was trying to fill; these were beings not even on the scale of the higher deities of their universe, and someone as powerful as Hell Lords, Izanami, a Fallen Creation Deity, struggled to simply contain the creature that had invaded their reality.

She wasn’t sure if Izanami was dead or alive in the frenzied chaos that somehow compressed time itself; the battle lasted for an eternity and the blink of an eye, and once white flames lit the colossal plane of the Seventh Circle, it was clear who had won—Izanami’s rotted, naked corpse came into view in the disintegrating mass of horrors.

Lucifer’s divine blade had penetrated the woman’s throne to exit through her chest, Izanami’s trembling figure coming into focus, fingers gripping the sword’s edge; Revilla’s titanic presence receded in the blink of an eye, yet Rachel’s focus was swiftly drawn elsewhere as Adele screamed her horror at the sight.

“Mother…”  Yseress’ trembling hand reached up, fevered eyes drawing Rachel to a host of black-winged angels now filling the burning heavens, slaughtering what remained of Izanami’s armies.

Behind Lucifer’s lustrous beams of light floated a legion of four-winged fallen angels, and not too far to his left was one particular beautiful woman that had drawn the Nephilim’s interest.

Clothed in a war-like armored black dress, Yseress’ mother’s gaze was on them for a short time before spreading out to invoke Lucifer’s orders.

Amaymon appeared to be in retreat as Revilla’s threat passed for the Archangel to take its place.  Rachel’s ears twitched upon catching the Hell Lord’s scathing remarks toward Lucifer as bloody tears came to Yseress’ eyes.

Revilla escaped through a fissure in space to be sent tumbling across the ground by Adele, who rushed to her side in a panic, the entity’s throne sinking back into the earth.  However, the golden chains emerging from rippling space to drill into Izanami’s hands and feet caught Rachel’s attention.

“No…  Mistress…”  Yseress whimpered, sickly yellow skin taking on a worse shade as she tried to struggle to her feet, bloody membranes around her ruined wings practically non-existent on her back, showing her loss in strength.  “I can’t… let him take—”

Cracks spiderwebbed up the barriers’ sides, forcing everyone inside to shift their heads in a panic; yet, the fading sounds of Hell and new voices from outside the hangar caused Rachel’s mind to go on high alert for their safety.

Rapid Mental Acceleration activated.

From the center of the ritual outward, Rachel concluded Earth’s link to Hell was fracturing; the concrete that had fallen away returning in a fractured mess of decay, moving to the edges of the military hangar Adele had used for her ceremony.

Aleister’s shield lowered, growling, “We gotta be goin’ Adele—grab the…  Shite!”

The rip in space he created shattered, and just beyond the repairing shell, Rachel’s new universal translation ability interpreted French words.  A skin-tingling chant filled the room, causing holy light to brighten the dark area, and the connection to Hell was severed.

Yseress hissed as the brilliance and voices of four men near the hangar’s massive gates.

“Yseress, I order you back inside!”

The evident desire to resist came from the Nephilim as her pained crimson eyes watched the world above them vanish; chains came from Izanami’s collar to be gripped by Lucifer, a wide grin on his handsome face being the last thing they saw.

Unable to disobey, Yseress became a ruby mist that settled around Rachel.  “I must stop him!  You don’t understand what Lucifer will do to Lady Izanami!”

We have our own problems right now…

Three dozen well-armored men bearing red crosses on their white overgarments ran inside, French on their tongue.

“Do not resist!”

“By order of France and the Knights Templar, you are under arrest!”

Concern crossed Scarlet’s eyes as she turned to her.  “What do we do—are they enemies?”

Rachel struggled to her feet, Nia, the Rabbit Gang, and her friend doing the same.

The knights rushed in from every exit except the colossal aircraft doors they stood by, where three figures were trailed by four robed priests in song.

At their center was a man in his early thirties, clothed in white robes, a closed Bible in his left hand and intricate staff in his right; a hum was in his throat, matching tune with the black-robed priests behind him.

A man roughly 190 cm tall stood to his right, wearing similar attire to the men currently surrounding Adele’s group, yet showing clear signs of higher leadership by the four-segmented coat of arms on his kite shield of a cross and diamonds of red and yellow.

To the man’s left was a female knight by the shape of her armor and height of about 160 cm; her thick braided blonde hair shimmered as it swayed with her movement, practically as long as Rachel’s.  In her right hand was a down-pointed spear, doubling as a banner by the waving flag of fine white linen, fringed with silk that she bore.

Drifting back in the breeze, the image displayed a white field, patterned with lilies, and at its center was the world, being either judged or supported by the shimmering heavens—Rachel couldn’t tell—and two glorious, armed angels were situated on opposite sides of the banner.

“We need to—”

“Rachel!”

Scarlet’s blood scythe whipped around as cries came from behind them; a hiss resonated from Revilla while the entity struggled to her feet, a tight smile on her lips as she looked right at the Vespertine Reaper.

Adele helped her up.  “What do we do, Lady Revilla?!”

“Aye, don’t be lookin’ at me, Love,” Aleister growled, glaring at the men pressed in on them from every angle.  “This hymn be blockin’ anythin’ occult-related—if I didn’t just feel those holy waves from that, eh-heh, Hell Lord—mmh… yeah, I’d say it were the strongest thing I’ve encountered…  No way I’m doin’ anything to these lot…”

“Useless…”  Lifen muttered in Chinese, patchy tail lighting with blue flames as she prepared for a fight.

They stiffened as Revilla's laughter caused the knights to slow and take a more cautious approach, shields raised while cutting off their exit.  “Hehe, be patient, Adele.  Our Holy One… Twilight… has simply put obstacles in our path to show us worthy.”

“O-Of course…”

Rachel could hear the entity almost want to gag, essentially calling Twilight her master, and it was then she noticed the symbol of a half black and white Shinto torii gate imprinted between her breasts, where the sword had struck; the wound was no longer there, and a shimmering collar of silver deistic script shone around her throat.

“Hmm-hmm… Do not think I am powerless because of these… paltry seals and chants…”

Fatigued muscles tightening, Rachel prepared for a fight, stumbling to the side a little to keep both parties in view as the closest group to them drew near at a gradual walk, assessing the situation, she guessed.

Knights Templar…  As in the Christian order that was said to be devil worshipers?  They certainly don’t look or feel like it… Yseress is practically clawing at her skin with the holy forces pressing down on us.  The question is… are we considered friend or foe?

“We’ll keep out of their way…”

Nia jumped behind her as the Rabbit Gang spread out to act as a buffer with their retreat, Scarlet keeping close to her side, yet the jittering instinctual feelings running through Rachel’s tight gut told her these Knights Templar were not weak in the least—from those surrounding Adele to the ones approaching them—these Frenchmen were powerful.

Her teeth locked as the knights surrounding Revilla held up their shields to form a bright shell around the group, trapping them and tightening the dome, yet her worry came from their commander.

The man’s shield vanished in shimmering light as he drew his longsword from his hip, gripping it in both hands, voice deep and low.  “Saint Jeanne, protect Saint Bernard… I will baptize the corruption that has taken this unhallowed ground.”

“May the Lord guide your sword, Sir Robert,” Bernard whispered, holding his staff against his body while making the cross sign.

Robert’s deep brown eyes glowed from within his helmet, holy rays brightening his countenance as the blade he now gripped with two hands shimmered.  “O’ Lord, I pray thy divine arm strengthen this weak vessel…”

Scarlet’s muscles tightened in their slow retreat as Revilla held her arm to the ceiling.  “Show me what else you have placed in my path, O’ Lady Twilight…”

Lifen, Aleister, Adele, and Fulgencio dropped to the ground as a wave of bone, blood, and guts jetted out, causing the knights to mutter prayers of their own; the ribs punctured sections of the shell, forcing several men to back away.

A giant demonic crow emerged from the bone to launch at a knight for two men nearby, not participating in the barrier, to jump forward to defend their comrade—bloody feathers penetrated their shields and armor—more shouts followed as four ran in to help.

The corpses of the fallen men bulged, flesh bubbling past their cracking armor for more amalgamations to emerge, making Revilla laugh at how pathetic their attempts were at stopping the spread.

It’s no use…  It didn’t matter if the knights were strong; Revilla was a literal deity beyond their own multiverse.  Her pulsing amalgamations ripped through two more men, only adding to her power as their holy blades hacked at the mass.  If she targets…

As she feared, a line of tentacles reached for them the moment an opening came—Scarlet vanished in shadows the millisecond Revilla targeted them—the writhing chaos froze as the Vespertine Reaper’s fangs sank into her neck.

“Ugh…”

The horrific being stiffened, utterly paralyzed as Scarlet’s throat moved, gulping down gallons of blood; whatever the Vespertine Reaper used, Revilla couldn’t blink.  However, Rachel’s concern had now flipped to the other side as Nia cried out.

“... Though I am but your unworthy servant, allow me the privilege of cleansing these unsanctified grounds with thy merciful waters, O’ Lord…   Amen.”

Liquid flowed across Robert’s naked blade to spread over the blistered concrete, and at speeds Rachel would find impressive, even when not utterly fatigued—he dashed right for her, and with Scarlet totally focused on keeping Revilla locked in place—she was on her own.

Trying to jump away as Nia lurched forward to tackle Robert, Rachel’s feet barely touched the ground, and he easily avoided the rabbit girl’s lunge for his shimmering sword to pass through both of their bellies.

Warmth flooded her instead of pain, a hot wave of holy water crashing over her in his passing as Robert’s sword split Revilla’s tentacles; surging rush overtaking them, Rachel lost track of the battle—her little Hell Hare and outfit dissolved in the blessed liquid—combat outfit destroyed and needing to be repaired, ironically, her bathing suit took its place.

Tumbling over the cracked floor as the waters dissipated, Rachel’s spinning vision centered on Revilla; the barrier was down, knights picking themselves off the ground while the influx washed everything to the sides.

Rachel’s eyebrow lifted upon seeing Scarlet’s frantic body in the surf, trying to stay afloat with the rest of Adele’s gang.

All of Revilla’s horrors melted away; the sealed deity gnashed her teeth, figure steaming as she appeared to be countering the holy water, and her semi-disintegrated skin showed a squirming glob of feathers, scales, claws, and ribs inside, clumps of thick blood falling out to dissolve in the settling holy pools.

“You… worthless…”

Jeanne spun her spear in a sharp circle, banner wrapping around its shaft.  “Bless my aim, O’ Lord, and strike this foul creature with your heavenly arm!”

Five fleshy claws erupted from Revilla’s melting back to pierce Robert as Jeanne pulled back her arm and hurled her projectile with such might, it caused a short concussion of wind and sound, penetrating Revilla’s breast for the banner to unfurl and release holy chains to latch onto the deity.

Unable to scream, her throat caught as the flaming banner waved to the side; the only sound following was the priests' gentle chants, the robed figures now entering the devastated hangar.

A stillness followed, and Rachel picked herself off the ground to see Nia nearby, coughing and crying as she ran to latch onto her chest.  “I—I thought you were dead!  He… hicc… he just cut us… hicc… in half!”

A frown touched Rachel while rubbing her back in comfort while glaring at Jeanne.  It was the right call to have Yseress return to safety; if she had been hit by those kinds of attacks, and while in such a drained and damaged state, she very well might have died.

“I… did, too…  Bernard and Jeanne, was it…  What do you plan to do with us?”

Scarlet jumped out of the shadows, scythe in place as she got between them.  “S-Sorry, Rachel… I’m just… feeling a little light-headed…”

“S-Scarlet—he tried to kill us!”

“Huh?!”

Bernard gave them a small smile while gesturing to Jeanne to meet her and moved onward to Revilla, a somber atmosphere returning as his priests’ chants continued to fill the air.

The woman removed her helmet to show bright blue eyes and glimmering hair, highlighting her shining face; she was beautiful yet had a fierce demeanor, and her voice soft while speaking fluent English in a light French accent.  “Excuse our abrupt actions, but we must be sure the corruption has been dealt with…  Erm…  Might you have anything… else to wear?”

Nia crossly folded her arms under her bust.  “Humph—you tried to kill us, destroyed one of my precious outfits, and now, you’re all about how my bathing suit looks!”  She shouted, pointing at Rachel.

“Hmm?  Your… bathing suit?”

“Rachel…” Scarlet hissed, raising her scythe threateningly for the woman to hold up her hands in a forced smile of peace.  “Did she try to kill you?”

“No,” Nia growled, pointing at Robert as he directed his knights to take Adele’s recovering group into custody, returning to Bernard’s side to meet the trapped deity.  “He did!”

“Nia,” Rachel sighed, mentally swapping to her casual wear, “Let’s be honest…  I was wearing Demon hide, and if they didn’t act as fast as they did, Revilla might have gotten away with the others.”

Jeanne flashed her bright teeth, holding her hands behind her back as she kept her distance.  “Sorry, Nia.  Oh, and that new one is an adorable outfit, Rachel!  What an impressive ability to swap clothes so fast; quite convenient.  Uh-heh, the other one was… mmgm.”

“I.  Am.  Beautiful!”  Nia shouted.  “Humph.”

“Mmh-huh?”

Scarlet swallowed, glancing at Revilla as Bernard and Robert reached her trembling frame; the creature’s single remaining eye could kill.  “W-What are you going to do?”

Sober tone returning, she turned to glare at Revilla.  “Mmh…  I’ve never sensed a devil so powerful…  I can feel her influence ripping my binding, attempting to tear it apart… even after Sir Robert weakened her…  Mmh, before anything, we need to understand more about the situation.  When Saint Bernard completely subdues her, we will ask for your cooperation in explaining the Devils’ presence in Cuba.”

Lips pulling in to show her fangs, Scarlet cleared her throat.  “You don’t think… I’m a Devil?”

Jeanne’s bright sapphire irises flashed with a thoughtful and reserved look upon turning to Rachel.  “Mmh…  You, no… we have been briefed on those working with the U.S. government, and Mythic has become quite popular online.  Although… I am a tad surprised at… some things since meeting you in person…  There are certainly things I would like answers to.”

Knowing this group was with France and was aware of their connection to the U.S. made it an easy choice for Rachel.  “Heh, I would be happy to sit down with you to chat…  I question if you can completely seal Revilla, though.  I’m sure my account will be hard to believe—she puts fear in gods and Hell Lords—she is basically above anything you can conceive in terms of power…  A lot was sacrificed just to weaken her this much.”

“Hmm…”  Jeanne’s blonde eyebrows came together, shifting to observe the pair confronting the infuriated outerversal being.  “If Saint Bernard cannot do it… we are all in trouble.”

The four black-robed monks slowly spread out to form a square around Revilla, her nose twitching and locked jaw revealing her teeth as the white chains Jeanne bound her with started to fracture, yet Bernard didn’t appear worried.

The man continued his hum, holding out his staff for the holy liquid to spontaneously start dripping down its head; he traced a cross on the center of her half-rotted forehead to create a black mark, then made a floating circle of the liquid over her head, and opened his scriptures.

Revilla’s strained voice bubbled with laughter.  “How… pathetic.  You… all… are… to rely on such… beings.”

“Exodus 39:30…  And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold… and wrote unto it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet…  HOLINESS TO THE LORD.”

Golden flames erupted in the shape of a crown of thorns from the holy water, the mark on her forehead illuminating with similar divine light.

“Ack… grrghhg…” Tiny droplets of liquid gold glittered in the glorious rays that filled the space as they fell atop her head.  “I… will take pleasure in consuming your… entire Order!  Your niece… Natalie, hehe…”

Closing his bible to hand it to a priest with his staff.  “O’ Lord…” Giving his staff to one of the priests, Saint Bernard’s fingers lightly touched the shimmering crown to lower it onto her brow.  “May thy light forever punish the wicked…”

“AHHHH!”

Revilla’s eye bulged, chains shaking with her writhing internal mass as the thorns were pushed into place, and after a few seconds, her vision faded out.

Breathing a long, slow stream of air, Bernard bowed his head, closed his eyes, and made the cross symbol with the other knights.  Rachel saw Adele collapse to the side, fainting on the spot at hearing Revilla’s screams.

Bernard accepted his staff and bible from the nearby priest, still in chant, and turned to Robert, head still lowered in prayer.  “The brothers will renew the sealing prayer every hour now that it is in place, and ceremonial cleansing will be required of all places she is taken; be vigilant, Sir Robert…  I place her in your change.”

“I will not fail in this calling, Saint Bernard,” Robert reverently whispered, rising to take command of her transport.

The Saint turned to them, a peaceful smile touching his lips as he walked their way; the chanting priests remained with Revilla.

Once nearing, Bernard greeted them with a short bow.  “Word has reached us of your accomplishments in the hellish scenes of Camagüey, Rachel of Mythic.  Please, shall we find an acceptable room to further discuss what is to come?”

He turned to level a slight frown at Revilla.  “However, before we go, Saint Jeanne, might you remove your own seal so I may determine the effectiveness of her bonds?”

She instantly responded by holding out her hand for the spear to shimmer and return to it in a flash of radiant light.

“Mmh…  It holds.  Sir Robert will be sure to bring her to the prison I have prepared in advance in France.”

“France…”  Scarlet’s vision defocused for a moment before drifting to her fallen mother.  “What about… my mom?”

Drawing in a deep breath, Bernard’s sad gaze followed the woman held in a young knight’s arms as Aleister, Lifen, and Fulgencio were bound by what appeared to be blessed handcuffs.  “We may discuss such topics…  Please, follow me.”

Rachel nodded at Scarlet; honestly, this was probably the best option, seeing as these Knights Templar appeared to be experts in handling fiends of Hell.

Entering a nearby building, they couldn’t help but notice the hundreds of spiritless bodies used in the ritual littering the military base.  Jeanne and Bernard said a few words of prayer as they passed in an apology for arriving too late to save them.

Once situated in a room without corpses, Bernard took the seat across from them, Nia still antsy and the Rabbit Gang pissed their sister was destroyed; of course, Rachel could summon her tomorrow.

On her way here, Nia explained to her surprise, the combat outfit wasn’t ‘destroyed,’ per se; well, it was, but given enough moonlight, it would be repaired.  The issue came with the Hell Moon involved; regular moonlight would be far slower since the clothing was connected to corrupting energy.

It would require a two-month recovery; still better than never being able to re-access it.

“My mom?”  Scarlet asked, playing with her feet a little and looking sullen.

A sympathetic tone was in Jeanne's accented voice.  “To help you understand, allow me to explain how we have come to be here…  Archangel Raphael appeared to me in a vision on the same night he visited Saint Bernard.

“A great calamity will befall humanity as the great Devil—Abraxas—will be unleashed upon our world…  A madman in heated pursuit to surpass God reigns unchecked, and an evil unimaginable shall make her appearance.

“To our dismay, Archangel Raphael instructed us to make haste in gaining approval from our government to engage not Abraxas… but this entity we just met in combat.  We were told to bring our best, and prepare for the worst…  Honestly, most of us expected to die on this trip…  I am grateful for the lives you have managed to save Rachel, Scarlet…  Ahem, allow me to introduce myself,” she said with a beaming smile.

“My name was originally Esme, yet upon becoming the Legend of Jeanne d'Arc, I have taken up the name as a mantle to shine hope for France.  As for my presence, I have been sent as an advisor on request of the Prime Minister to watch and support the Knights Templar.”

Scarlet’s gaze drifted to her hair.  “Umm… you look exactly like I thought you would from all the fictional stuff I’ve seen with Joan of Arc…  You look so beautiful.  No, eh-heh, sorry… it throws me off a little with you looking so much like an anime character come to life.”

“Mmhm-hmm-hmm…  Yes, I have gotten that many times in the month past, but the true Jeanne d'Arc had more auburn or brunette hair, so far as historians are aware, showing we are somewhat of an amalgamation of the true myth and pop-culture.

“Eh-hehe…  It has its ups and down sides, I assure you.  Such images that are generally a play on fiction rather than reality can be…  disconcerting to me, personally, when people have certain… expectations, I suppose.  Not to say I do enjoy these lovely blue spheres and gorgeous golden locks I now have...”

Scarlet winced.  “Oof…  Yeah, I know a thing or two about misconceptions people might have.”

A low hum rumbled in Rachel’s throat; she’d thought pop-culture had less of an impact than the historical accounts, yet it seemed to be on a spectrum.  Apparently, Jeanne d’Arc had a very popular following to the point it had changed the balance.

“Indeed,” Bernard smiled.  “Returning to the topic at hand, Saint Jeanne…  Chronicles 13:1… In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.  We were warned of great evil awakening across the European Union and Cuba, and Prime Minister Ives Salmon obtained approval from the Senate and National Assembly to officially induct the Knights Templar into its military.”

“I see…”  Rachel sighed.  “So, you’re officially here as a military presence on behalf of France, and by extension, the E.U.  Is this considered a Holy War of sorts…  Is Adele being treated as a prisoner of war?  Can’t she be extradited to the U.S. since she is a citizen?”

“It isn’t so simple,” Jeanne returned, seeing the hope in Scarlet’s eyes fall.  “From the intelligence recently shared by the United States, we are to believe the women known as Adele and Relica have orchestrated crimes against humanity… leading to not only the deaths… but the corruption of over a million souls…”

Pain touched the woman’s face.  “We cannot be certain about the precise numbers, yet it is assumed thus far to reach millions…  I can understand your desire to—”

“She doesn’t know what she’s doing!”  Scarlet interjected, desperation in her voice.  “Tell her, Rachel!  My mom was tricked—Revilla—it’s all her fault!  My mom’s trying to save everyone, but… but Revilla has been sending her visions and stuff since she was younger than me!  She’s confused…”

“Scarlet…”  Rachel scooted in to hold her friend as she cried.

“She’s not evil…  Relica’s evil…  My mom’s trying her best—it’s Revilla’s fault…”

Bernard scooted forward to place a hand on Scarlet’s trembling knee.  “Scarlet…  I want to know the whole story, so I may be able to present all the facts before the U.N. and the ICC when she is brought on trial…

“Please, help Saint Jeanne and I see what you have so that we may offer all the details so each nation’s representative and the justices of the International Criminal Court can deliberate and make an appropriate decision.”

“Rachel…”  Fear touched Scarlet’s voice as the reality of the situation began to set in.

Closing her eyes and sitting to the side, Rachel rubbed her friends back, pondering the situation; Yseress was crying somewhere in her soul for her imprisoned former mistress, and the topics this involved could branch into many top-secret areas, yet at the same time, she had to offer enough details to allow Adele a shot at not appearing crazy.

In addition, she couldn’t implicate Scarlet in any of this by exposing Twilight’s existence; it was a challenging task to explore without there being many holes in the story, yet she had to do her best for Scarlet.

Coming to a conclusion on what to explain, Rachel started with Relica’s path to paint the woman with the means and connections to make Adele’s beliefs a reality.

The topic of the Devil with her came up and Izanami’s involvement since there was no other way to explain the threat of Yseress without mentioning the Fallen Creation Deity.  To her surprise, Jeanne and Bernard weren’t too shocked by the news and took it at face value.

They weren’t happy about her involvement with the infernal realms but could understand why she’d taken the deal and recognized their efforts would have been impossible without the Hell Lord’s intervention—to learn that Izanami was about as much of an enemy of Lucifer as you could get also went a long way with the two.

Learning that the Fallen Deity had been taken prisoner after the battle left them saddened, especially considering Bernard did confirm the existence of divine forces beyond his understanding, already holding the horrific entity in unimaginable chains of hollowed power.

Wolfgang was a point of great interest to them, primarily for Jeanne, which was noteworthy; the Beast of Gévaudan, the Mythickin from her own country, seemed far less important compared to the German, causing even Saint Bernard a little bewilderment.

After obtaining all the information they could on the now internationally-hunted Legendkin of the Angel of Death, including his part in Revilla’s downfall, Bernard was of a mixed opinion, while Jeanne held barely constrained contempt, especially given his methods to achieve his goals.

In the discussion, they learned that the Legendkin had taken the names of their representatives to bring order, hope, and security to their motherland after the chaos The Oscillation brought; they were symbols the people could look to for support.

Hours went by with many questions, and when Cahira arrived with her colossal Dragon Turtle, they parted ways; not to Rachel’s surprise, Revilla and her cult had already left with the Knights Templar, returning to France.

Something was nagging in Rachel’s mind until seeing the happy Pirate Queen, enthusiastically exclaiming she had racked up so much riches on this venture; Rachel’s thoughts were back on one particular golden lion—she still had that promising challenge to fulfill—although, she had to wonder what he would do when she inevitably won.

Then again, she didn’t have her battle outfit now—thanks to Sir Robert—so if she wanted to battle him, it would be without Nia’s attributes since she definitely wasn’t going to do it in a skirt or bikini.  She did have a lot more points she could use, though; the issue was how to use them.

Tom wasn’t happy the French had swooped in to steal their prize, but considering they had warning and he’d only recently filled them in on the current operation details when they entered the airspace, had to admit they’d pulled one over on him.  Not long after hearing her account, he was on the phone with the President, giving his report.

Scarlet had hope for her mother to receive a fair trial…  Rachel wasn’t so sure, but that might be the pessimist in her.  They’d won, but at what cost…  Cuba was in utter ruin, millions dead, and their result…  Relica’s death, Adele’s capture, and preventing the end of the world by binding an ungodly entity…  Someone always had to pay the price.

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