The Whites. Random chapter of Escape

Dragonball Z recap!

On the last episode of Escape!

Dawn is the capital city of the country. The lord of Dawn is called Nero and he is super corrupt. This chapter is starring Percy. He is one of the main characters and a leader in a rebellion against Nero! Enrico is one of the main leaders of the rebellion and promoted Percy after Percy recently led a mission with Enrico and Hector to steal evidence of the corruption. With the evidence they could trade it to a 3rd party that also wants to see Nero Dethroned. They would trade it for weapons and supplies to help the rebellion, and the evidence could be used to gather more people to join the fight. Hector was an independent rebel leader who recently joined up with Enrico’s crew. The main group of rebels don't agree with Hector's violent tendencies, and won't give him a leadership position, causing tension between the two. Normally Enrico wouldn't have accepted Hector and his crew. Enrico preferred discretion. But they were desperate for men, and Hector is always eager to fight.

Terms!

Gint-wing

A very smart crow-like bird that is often used to send messages. They adorn their feathers with precious metals thus gaining their name.\

Summoned.

People from another world, they are the only humans able to use magic.

Hero!

The strongest summoned. The title is only given to summoned who are loyal to a city. Each city has its own heroes.

Argent Guard  aka Whites

A government military group designed to combat the summoned.

Soulsteel. 

A metal that interacts badly to magic. It scattes magic and reduces it to its core elements. The purer the Soulsteel the bigger the effects. It has a chain reaction effects at high purity causing nearby magic to like short circuit.

Interface.

Percy's magic, not that important in this chapter. But it helps him catalog and analyze information. Not always accurate so Percy doesn't like to use it too much.

Enrico and I were sitting in the makeshift command center, the tallest building in the small abandoned town that we claimed as a base. 

“We have a date now.”

“Right, and I take it by not telling me, I’m not going to be involved with the hand off.”

“Its just another risk we don't want to take at the moment.”

I let him see the annoyance on my face.

“I trust you, but discretion is the key, the less people who go the less that know the better.”

“So why bother telling me at all.”

“Contingencies, if something happens and the handoff is not completed, I need you to deliver the evidence yourself.”

It makes sense, but I can't help but feel hurt that I wasn't trusted to go with the first group. In my silence he continued.

“We have made copies of the evidence along with a letter that contains info on a contact, usual code, and burn everything after reading.”

“Where is it-”

Boom!

The door to the room burst open. Enrico got ready to yell at the intrusion, but with a glance he knew it was serious. Beads of sticky sweat covered Roger's body, fear and panic made this young man's skin look like he spent years under the sun . 

“The whites, their coming!”

Enrico went rigid, the blood that runs through his veins turned to ice.

“How many.”

“About twenty, all mounted.”

“How far?”

“About thirty minutes away.”

“And our scouts.”

“No glint-wings came today.”

The way Enrico sprung into action reinforced why he is the leader, why I look up to him.

“Roger, leave! Gather everyone in the village center.”

“Yes sir! He gave a quick salute then left in a hurry.”

Enrico flung the table across the room. With a quick stomp he broke the floor boards beneath us. He pulled out a plain metal cinder with both ends sealed.

“Here are the original documents. Rally the men in the center and surrender them to the whites. They won't kill you or the men if you comply, the society values summoned even if they are unruly.”

“And you?”

“I’m going to take the copies and go dark until the handoff. My squad will leave while we still have a window, we will split the horses into three groups to throw off pursuers.” 

“You're just going to abandon us then, these men fought and died for the documents.”

“Are you an idiot?” He said with no accusation in voice.

“Of course not.”

“Well neither are the men, we all knew what we were signing up for, if we don't leave now the deaths will be in vain.”

My mind races, I could use Interface to help process, but I've been reliant on it recently as it stands. I don't know what surrender entails. The promise that they won't kill us is not reassuring, I've seen what's left of men who are tortured by the whites. I feel my skin grow cold just thinking that could be the fate that awaits us. Enrico's voice broke me out of the trance. 

“Ill free you from jail, I still have a few strings I could pull.”

“The rest of the men? You're condemning them to rot.”

Enrico's face grew stern, the difference in what we have seen, what we have done is clear in his eyes.

“I'm giving them life, the society believes in rehabilitation for Summons, they cost too much to throw away.”

It's a cold feeling. The only reason we will be kept alive is to save money. Have human lives always been a product to be sold and traded.

“We have nearly sixty men here. Even without your squad, and fifteen of our own armored knights surely we coul-”

“You must not fight!” he almost yelled.

It's the most emotion I've ever heard from him. He put both his hands on my shoulders.

“Look at me.” 

I do. His eyes have something unfamiliar in them. Fear. The fear in his eyes hits me like a punch to the kidneys. I had thought him without fear, thought that he always had another plan, a way out. I feel myself start to slip into despair. Mikey, Growler. Dead for what.

“Look at me!”

Dazed, I looked back at him.

“You understand what the dream is, the goals, the plans. I trust you with this, I'm relying on you, no one else would be able to lead.”

I feel the weight of his words immediately, I take a deep breath and strengthen my resolve. He sees the change in me, and no more words are necessary.

“For a better world.” He says.

“For a better world.” I repeat.

And then he is off, my heart sinks, I’m not sure when ill see him again, if i ever will. I've always admired characters that make noble sacrifices. Honorable people who put the cause above their own lives. Never did I think I would become one myself. There is no honor in this, no one to cheer me on from the other side of a screen. I’m afraid. My hands won't stop trembling.

“Interface.” I whisper.

The blue screen appears in front of my eyes. I go to character profiles and select Enrico's name.

!! New !! Hovers over his name. You have analyzed traits of this character, new skills to learn. I mentally hover over his leadership skill and select it.

‘There are many factors that make a great leader, one of them is the ability to hide how one feels from your own soldiers. To make hard choices without any hesitation’ 

It's not that Enrico never feared, he was always afraid. To Hector’s crew that could be seen as weakness. I only respect him more for it. I thought I always had to overcome fear. It's my turn to fight through it. My hands stop shaking, I straighten my back. Then go to meet the rebels. Out of everyone left here we have about sixty, fifteen armored knights belonging to Hector's crew of forty, and the other twenty including me belong to Enrico's crew. 

‘Interface head count.’

‘Everyone accounted for.’

As I walked out the group formed a semi circle around me. Everyone was waiting for me, they saw Enrico and his group flee with our only horses. Hector breaks away from the circle to stand in front of me.

“Whats the battle plan, Captain Percy? Do we meet them on their way or set up an ambush in the village?” 

He's already setting up the troops for disappointment. He knows just as well as I that the plan is to give up. Fuck his combative personality, its not the time for it.

I look at the faces in the crowd, they are tense.

“Men! Soldiers! Warriors! We have done well, I look at you and see heroes, we have all united due to the unfairness of this world. Against the tyranny of Nero, many of us have had friends and loved ones turned to dust.”

The faces in the crowd are serious as everyone thinks of what brought them here.

“We are here to make a difference. Here to change the world, we are lucky to have been given power. It is our privilege and our responsibility. It fills me with hope seeing you all here. Hope for Dawn, hope for Hero's Landing. As you have seen Enrico has left with copies of the documents, he will deliver them and get us the support that we need to make a difference!”

Enrico's soldiers cheer, while Hector’s men wait expectantly.

“Today our mission is simple. One we buy time for Enrico to finish the handoff. Two, we make sure none of us die today!” 

Cheers ring out from both factions now!

“This war will be long, we will be needed once we get reinforcement and weapons from our sponsor! Today we lay our arms down and surrender this battle, so we can all fight the war later.”

I'm greeted by silence. A wave of relief washes through Enrico's men, while Hector's unit looks at their leader uneasily. 

“Percy, I didn't think you were one to bow down before the enemy. Eighteen whites only, think about what this could mean. Eighteen sets of new armor and gear. Chances like this don't come often. We can give a good blow to the Argent knights while arming us.”

Hector looks out at the men around us.

“Whites are our mortal enemy, countless men have fallen to their blades. We can avenge the fallen, make them hurt. Make them shake in their armor they are so proud of.”

Cheers rang out from his troops.

“We have fifteen armored knights of our own, plus the rest of us summoned, they don't know what they are walking into. We are the ones with an upper hand.”

I thought about it, honestly my mind was going over the same things. If we plan it out well we should be able to win. But I remember the look of fear in Enrico's eyes.

“This is what they are trained for. Killing summoned like us. Dawn would never be so stupid to send less than what they needed.”

“I am the only one who has fought against the Whites here. They are strong, but not invincible. My old party went against equal numbers and we lost. But now we have an advantage in numbers and in initiative.”

“Enricos orders were to-”

“And where is he? He ran with his tail between his legs. We need to buy time right? We’ll have all day once the whites are dead.”

Hector words were starting to find purchase in the men. I shouldn't even be humoring him.

“Do not cut off your superior. I am the one in command, and you will listen to me. We are surrendering."

“Am I not allowed to give suggestions?” Hector said with exaggerated pain in his voice.

“I believe we could win.” I lie

“I know our strength. I know everyone here is willing and able to fight.”

I look out at the faces of the men gathered.

“But I also know we will lose many. Look at your companions next to you, are you willing to see them die for vengeance? If only ten of us remain after the battle, is it really a victory? Will you shout in triumph as your friends lie dead?”

I look back to Hector now.

“We surrender. Gather up all our supplies, burn all of our documents.”

“Yes sir.” He held his salute a little too long before leaving.

I’m worried about him, I have a terrible feeling in my gut. I dont know if im making the right choice, I don't know if my words landed with the men. I don't know if we will even live after we surrender. And all I can do is wait, as the dreaded whites approach.

The sound of hoof beats approaches. I wait in the center of the town with the other men. We have surrendered our arms into a wagon. I wait there with the men as the whites approach. They have three prisoner transports drawn by horse back, we will make our way back to Dawn in those soon. The whites dismount then form a semi circle around us. Their armor is all identical, white with no embellishments, no personality. It is practical and plain. The faces of the whites are all hidden under helmets with thin slits for the eyes, making them seem inhuman.  They wait silently, unmoving like marble statues. Its fucking terrifying.

Interface, I think and a window pops up. Analyse the knights. A progress bar appears. It will take a little while before I can get a grasp.

Out of the back of one of the prisoner transports comes a hero of Dawn. The rising sun on the front of his tabard (the cloth part that drapes over armor.)  is embellished with gold signifying his rank. He is of the highest caliber. 

“Surrender at once! We have approval to kill if needed.” His helmet must have some means to amplify his voice. The Hero's voice boomed across the encampment. 

“Which of you is the leader here?”

“I am.”

 I say as I step forward. He doesn't even give me a glance; he just reads off of a document.

“For reasons of theft of government materials, collaborating with criminals, and damage to property owned by the nobles of Dawn you will all be arrested with a pending sentence.”

“I have the documents here, I will surrender them to you, in exchange for a less severe sentence."

“Right, well lets see it then.”

I hand him the cylinder, he opens and begins to read them. I don't even know what they say. I look around at the men, most of them are staring at the whites. Hectors and his armored knights are unarmed but wearing their full plate. Maybe they didn't have time to remove it.

‘Analysis complete.’ My interface beeps in my head. I quickly go over it, they are armed to the teeth. With military grade Soulsteel not available to the public. Multiple weapons, tools and accessories all tailored to fighting against heroes.

‘Combat simulation.’ I think

Ping it finishes instantly.

‘Chance of victory 0%’

I stare at the number. My interface is not always accurate, but I've never seen a 0% before. 

“Your cooperation will be considered. These are the official documents. Have you read these?”

“No I have not.” I say honestly.

“Right, you don't seem important enough.”

The documents disappear in a puff of flame and smoke. The knight dusts his hands off on his leg. The documents we worked so hard to find are just gone. 

“Good, smart of you to surrender. One at a time we will collar you and send you into the transports.”

He pulled out a Soulsteel collar from his satchel and clipped it around my neck. My interface made a beep as it powered down. The familiar feeling of my magic being inhibited took over. 

The Hero led me past the circle of white golems. I looked over my shoulder as we walked and saw Hector's fingers twitching. It's his tell, he is using a mental communication skill. My heart started racing. I looked and could see the faces of the men registering orders, but with the collar I can't hear what's going on. Even though I can't hear, I know what's going to happen. He's going to fight. My stomach lurched.

“Hector dont!” It was pointless, he already made up his mind.

Weapons flew from the wagon we stored them in, flying into the hands of their owners. Hector's magic; perfect pair. His men were quick to react. Arming themselves and then running towards the Whites. Enrico's troops were confused by the sudden action. Some of them dropped their weapons, or fumbled around trying to get a grasp on the situation. They are the first to die. 

Thung thung thung thung.

The sound of repeating crossbows rang out from the wall of whites. With expert marksmanship they targeted all the men that were confused. They didn't miss. The bolts ripped through them, the light armor most of them wore might as well have been paper. Wet smacks as bolts sunk into flesh followed by screams of pain. Those that were not killed outright were rolling on the ground in agony, screaming in vain for help. How many men died in seconds? I didn't know it was chaos already. Searing pain from both of my ankles, the cut was so fast and clean I couldn't feel my tendons being severed. No longer able to support my own body weight I crumpled to the ground, mouth filling with dirt as I screamed in pain. The hero loomed above me, his sword dripping with my blood. Fear like I've never felt grasped my heart. I wanted to run, I wanted to crawl away, but I was frozen, waiting for him to deliver the killing blow. He doesn't.

“Bad choice.” He said before casually walking to join the chaos.

Pain became my everything, without magic, without legs, all I could do was watch helplessly as tears of pain and drool from my mouth wet the dirt. The statues leaped into action quickly forming wedges of three. The whites in the front raised their large shields. They tossed the empty crossbows to the side. Lightning bolts, fireballs, ice spears. All manner of magic flew at the whites. I've never seen Soulsteel so effective, the magic attacks dissipated into rainbow light as soon as it touched the gleaming white shields. It caused a magical combustion on a scale I've never seen. 

“Barriers! Form into groups and take out a wedge!” Hector's voice called out over the chaos. 

“Armored units follow me, we charge through the center and take out the hero.”

Barriers of stone and ice rose between the whites and our men, giving them a second to form up into groups with those close to them. Hector is a good commander, we might have a chance. The whites in the back threw metal balls into the forming ranks of men. They exploded into bursts of sparkling clouds, the barries flashed rainbow and collapsed. A mist enveloped the battlefield. Soulsmoke bombs. None of my men will be able to use magic.

“Armored units split into groups of five take out the whites! Everyone else buy us time to open up the tin cans.” Hector shouted.

His armored unit split into groups and rushed towards the nearest wedges. It was five armored men vs three whites. Without any sure way to kill each other though the armor they both wore, they ended up in grappling matches Hector's men took the upper hand. The armored fighters held the whites down, bashing at their armor to create gaps big enough to stab into. The rest of the men tried to hold off the encroaching whites that were coming to help their fallen comrades. I see why Enrico was so afraid. Our numbers were meaningless. The whites were a well oiled machine, their swords rising and falling. Each strike calculated, efficient, brutal. Years of experience in their every move. In comparison our summoned were panicked, un disciplined, and out gunned. The only equalizer we had was magic, and with it down. I watched them get slaughtered. The whites never slowed their advance; they cut men down like stalks of wheat, decorating the town with the blood and innards of my men. The armored unit was making progress, but not fast enough. I don't think they have been able to kill any yet. The hero was missing. He was on the outskirts of the fight watching, no chanting. He was outside of the Soulsmoke. He lifted his hand in the air and it flashed light so bright I was momentarily blind. A white beam of light shattered the sky, and fell on the Summoned holding down the whites. 

Crash.

It was like thunder had erupted over our heads. Dirt dust blasted away from the impact zone. Something heavy landed near me on the ground. It was an armored arm, ripped from the shoulder. Then the rain came, a red rain with bits of human hail. The dust and smoke cleared. To my horror, the whites that were pinned down walked out of the crater, their armor iridescent and sparkling with rainbow light. Out of the sixty men we had. Only ten were still fit for battle. Like me their spirits were broken, they dropped their weapons and started to beg for their lives. I didn't watch as they were killed. The sounds they made will haunt me. 

“Hero!” A savage voice called out. 

It was Hector, he still lived. His armor had a fresh coat of red paint, but he managed to avoid serious damage. 

The whites slowly approached him.

“Hero! Fight me, one on one. Let me kill in front of your men!”

The whites ignored him and continued to circle, slowly getting closer. Then the hero raised his hand, the whites froze on the spot. He walked out to meet Hector.

“Twenty soul-smoke bombs. Fifteen bolt clips.” He looked at his blood stained tabard with a deep sigh.

“Your antics here have cost us unnecessarily. I'll also get in trouble for having no prisoners." He had an annoyed tone to his voice.

Our men's lives were just a bother to him.

“Are you ready to die?” Hector called out.

The hero's shoulders made a small shrug.

“Just because you're irritating I will allow you the undeserved honor of dying by my hands.”

“Fuck you.”

Hector charged at the hero. The hero wasn't wearing a Soulsteel platemail, and the explosion from earlier scattered the Soulsmoke. Hector shot a quick burst of fire bolts towards the Hero. The hero stood there unbothered. Before the magic hit him, small barriers of air blocked them. Hector was using the attack to close the distance. The hero had no weapons. Hector picked up a mace from the battlefield. He was a few paces from the hero when he suddenly jumped back, the magic enhancing his body carried him several metres.

Crash

A beam of light erupted from where he just was.

The hero sighed.

“Ohh not terrible. Too bad you wasted your life here.”

Hector rushed in again. The hero held his hand out to the side, metal from armor and weapons scattered across the battlefield turned to liquid, like a spider pulling in a web the liquid metal flew in silky strands to his open hands. He clapped his hands together over the liquid metal. When he opened them a staff with a tennis ball sized lump of metal on one end appeared. Hector, armed with only a mace, was at a range disadvantage. He tried to close the distance, but every time he tried the Hero would deliver a crushing blow to Hector's armor. It absorbed most of the force, but the hero was relentless. Delivering blow after blow. Hector realized it was a losing fight, he tried to move towards a spear laying on the ground, but the hero wouldn't give him any breathing room. All the magic that Hector used to try and shake him off was instantly nullified by air barriers. The hero was graceful and deadly, each strike from his staff would flow into the next. He would faint swings while keeping the momentum going. Always shifting on his feet, with the staff twirling in his hands, it seemed like he could strike from anywhere at any time. Hector's armor had several large dents already, pieces started to come loose. The Hero did not let up.

Clang clang clang.

It was silent besides the bashing of steel into steel. The whites stood still watching the scene like gargoyles.

Clang clang clang.

Like a macabre dance, the hero kept the rhythm going. Watching it hurt but I couldn't take my eyes off. Hector made his move, earlier he deflected the staff with an open hand to mark it for his spell perfect pair. As the next swing came down he activated it. The staff flew from the hero's hand into Hector's. He raised the staff over his head. I could feel the power surge even though my collar, he's putting everything he has into this move. “Aahh! Die!” he roared!

CLANG!

Hector fumbled backwards. The Hero landed a straight punch to Hector's helmet before he could finish his swing. I didn't even see it. He was stunned and off balance.

CLANG!

Another hit, then a front kick to Hector's knee made him collapse onto his back. The hero lunged on top of him with both knees pressing down on Hector's chest. His arms and legs were flailing trying to shove the hero off; the Hero didn't budge. His hands grabbed Hector's helmet.

“Ill see you in Oblivion.”

The movement started from his lower back, then shoulders, then arms, as he wrenched and twisted Hector's helmet one hundred and eighty degrees. Hector no longer thrashed.

“Kill the rest.” He told the whites.

He walked over to me, the pain from my ankles doesn't even bother me anymore. My mind is frozen, I can't process all the death. Hector was an angry man with issues, but he was still one of us. It was so brutal, so cold. I’m cold.

I didn't react as the hero picked me up and carried me to the prisoner transport.

“Just kill me.” I whisper. 

“Someone wants you alive Percy. Knowing them, the fate that awaits you is worse than death.”

The hero threw me in the back of the transport like a sack of grain. I just stared out at nothing. 

More hoof beats approaching, there were more? I heard some voices outside the transport, then the Hero stood before the door again.

“Dont want you to get lonely in there.”

He threw an object on the floor in front of me. It rolled a few times before I could see it. My soul dies as I stare at Enrico's severed head.