Chapter 36

The King stepped in front of his own people protectively. Milo joined him but despite his obviously intimidating outward appearance, he was not being menacing. He held up his one hand in a gesture of friendliness. Rowan ignored him though. His left mechpak opened and nanos shot out. They shaped themselves into a blaster that he leveled at one of the Terras.

Quint saw Milo and twisted hate warped his features. His mechpaks opened and a blaster formed in his outstretched hand. He pointed it at Milo.

"Sire, get away from that thing," Quint said. "It's a killer."

"Quint, stand down. And move away from the savages," King Rowan yelled. "That's an order."

"What are you talking about?" Quint asked, genuinely confused. "That monster attacked us. He would've killed us all if I hadn't supplied the holographic decoy sim. It was a last second plan and a lot of people still lost their lives but the rest of us survived. Now you want me to just let it into our ranks?"

"You do not question my orders, Captain, you simply follow them. Now do as instructed," Rowan replied, his tone low and forceful. "All others that are my subjects shall obey that directive as well. Get away from the Terras."

There were looks of uncertainty on many of Quint's people. They hesitated at first but then they slowly stepped forward.

Quint threw out his arm, however, and they stopped.

"No," Quint said.

"What?" King Rowan bellowed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Disobedience of the rightful monarch is punishable by banishment."

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, we don't have time for this," Milo said. "We are out in the open in a hostile environment. We barely survived what the Blak Army just threw at us. Do not be foolish as to waste our lives on your petty bigotry."

Rowan slowly turned his head to look at Milo.

"You speak more eloquently now than when I last met you, monster, but that doesn't change the fact that you're a murderer," Quint snarled.

"I wasn't in control then. I am now, Quint," Milo replied.

Quint watched the Behemoth for a second, his posture wary and cautious. Then his eyes widened as he realized who the monster really was. He finally recognized the man beneath the twisted features.

"Milo?" Quint asked. "What happened to you?"

"We can discuss my story at a later date. Right now, we need to leave. Wilhelm won't let this set back stop him. His soldiers will be back and I'm sure they'll bring more of those spiders with them." Milo started walking toward Quint.

The Captain took a step back in pure reflex but he stopped himself.

Milo held out his good hand and Quint shook it.

"Thanks for saving us," he said.

"Where are we heading?" Quint asked.

"The fight in the Javardi is still raging. We need to go there. We need to help." A Terra walked forward. He made his way to the front of the line. He was a short, older man with light brown eyes and iron grey hair.

"This is Beltar," Quint said. "He was part of a Terra cavalry regiment that was nearly wiped out fighting these Blak Soldiers."

"They are the enemy, Captain," Rowan hissed, his narrowed eyes practically spewed daggers at the Terras.

"With all due respect, Sire, they were our enemy. We face a new threat now. We understood the need to set aside our differences and work together," Quint replied. "It's the only reason we were able to make it this far."

"Can I speak with you privately, Sire," Milo requested.

King Rowan glared at the Terras as a flash of memory hit him. It was an image of his father as he was killed by a Terraquois. That was followed quickly by the memory of an empty cell that once housed a Terra named Cyrus. The empty cell was followed by the realization that his wife and queen was gone too. She had run off with him, never to be seen again. He'd tried to spare his son the pain of knowing his mother abandoned him by saying the Terras murdered her. In reality, however, he was embarrassed by her and what she did.

"Fine," Rowan growled. He stepped to the side with Milo. "What is it?"

"This is what I've been trying to tell you. We should fight with the Terras. Joining them is the last thing Wilhelm would expect. We need to make this play now," Milo explained.

The memories of his father's death and his wife's betrayal still flew through his mind. He gritted his teeth and walked away from Milo. Part of him knew his old friend was right but he couldn't get past his own hatred.

"We make for Binsuil now. Relay my orders to the others," Rowan said. "Have the doctors see to anyone that needs medical attention." He turned and stared directly at the Terras. "Do to the help you have given us, I shall pardon you and your people. Leave now before I change my mind."

Beltar stood there for a second, watching the King and wondering how the man could be such an insufferable, stubborn jackass. With the world at war and on the verge of destruction, how could the Rook King not understand that old hatreds had to be buried? That the anger he had towards the Terraquois had to be set aside? After all, the man's own son knew and understood that.

"I appreciate that kindness," Beltar replied with more than a hint of sarcasm. "We will go and join the fight. I understand if you cannot muster the courage to do so as well. At least I know that your son shows his bravery and chooses to fight alongside us."

Rowan was walking away, about to gather up his people for the hike to Binsuil. He stopped suddenly and turned around. His heart was hammering in his chest. It pounced against his ribcage and made him feel slightly dizzy.

"What did you say?" Rowan asked. His eye widened and flared with something almost like hope.

"Your son fights with us, King of the Rooks. I have seen him and the power he wields. He is a great warrior. You should feel pride in the considerable character you imbued him with. You've done very well," Beltar turned to his people. "Let's go. We march. We give our lives if necessary so that others may survive. This is our duty. Our right!"

The Terras all yelled and cheered loudly. Then they started walking away from the Rooks.

"Wait!" Quint yelled. He ran to Beltar. "I am coming with you. The Blak Army needs to be stopped. I want to help."

Beltar didn't even question Quint's decision. Instead, he smiled and clapped Quint on the back. He welcomed him gladly into his ranks.

"Captain, this is treason," Rowan warned.

"Only if I survive, Sire," Quint replied. "All others who want to join us and help stop this threat, do so now."

There was a moment of silence as dozens of people awkwardly joined Quint.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rowan asked.

"Don't make the same mistake you made with Rone, Sire," Fiona said. "Let's go with them. We can stop Wilhelm. We can help save this world." She kept her voice low. "We can save Darvian."

"This is the best plan," Milo said. "We take the fight to Wilhelm. We stop running. We stop just surviving and we take the offensive. We need to do this."

"I understand my opinion might be unwanted but I believe Lord Rosburg and Fiona are right. We have to stop running," Pillar said.

Rowan's first inclination was to have all of them arrested. Then he realized there was no one left to arrest them and also that they were right. Ever since this rebellion started, he'd been reduced to hiding. Wilhelm has been two steps ahead of him from the beginning.

He had to do something drastic and joining the Terras was about as drastic as they came.

"Ok," King Rowan said. "We head to the Qandari and fight with the Terras." He looked at Beltar. "You're sure my son is there?"

"He is," Beltar replied.

Rowan nodded and walked away. He started barking orders at people to pack up and get all gear stowed.

"He'll be ok," Milo said to Fiona, who was staring at the King as he commanded his people. "He's had a rough few months and that's coming from a man that's been genetically turned into a monster."

"Can we win this?" Fiona asked. She looked away from Rowan and stared into the jungle, wondering where Darvian was. She knew he was out there. His body wasn't among the dead Blak Soldiers that had been burnt in the nano-fire attack Captain Tims unleashed. DNA scans confirmed the identity of all the charred human remains.

Darvian hadn't been among them.

"I don't know, baby girl," Milo returned. "But I'll die trying if need be."