Ferdinand's Folly
The people of Mactan island were panicking, but they had nowhere left to go. Some people went in advance to knock on the doors of Ferdinand's gates, only to be denied entry on his orders. Despite the constant urging of his men, he still refused them.
"Sir, with all due respect, these are human beings. Our people!" A higher ranking soldier protested.
"Do you see any rats, soldier?! Rat tide my ass! If those people end up being spies, will you take responsibility?! Even if there are, so what? Let those goons Cilapu and Carlos hold it back! That way they're easy pickings for us. Don't question my decision ever again!"
Miguel was sitting on one side contemplating the situation. "It is a bit suspicious, but a rat tide? Can someone actually make that up? Even if it was made up, those people who came to our walls can't possibly be actors, right? Because their pleas seemed so genuine."
"Not as genuine as the knife they're going to be stabbing your back with!" Ferdinand was absolutely against letting the people of Mactan island through. Anytime someone even tried to bring up the possibility of letting them through, even if it was Miguel, he would only get more furious.
Suddenly, a scantily clad woman came in, bringing a report from one of their sentries. The soldier that Ferdinand was talking to, left the room right away.
This woman was Ferdinand's personal assistant, and everybody knew what they did behind closed doors. There were even rumors that he intentionally got his wife killed by zombies just so he could keep his image of being a loyal husband to the end. This did end up working out for him in the short-run as seeing him "get up and lead the people even after a huge loss" was a good slogan.
"Sir, we received reports of a Dragon flying over our base. We're not sure why, but mutant beasts suddenly appeared and have since then started attacking our Eastern walls."
Unfortunately for them, the lingering aura from the
***
Mactan island.
"Cilapu, we can hold off for about another 30 minutes or so, if Lord Luna doesn't arrive so--"
Just as they were starting to worry, a Dragon's roar could be heard from above. Even the Rat tide was stunned for a moment, which caused them to stumble on each other, slowing them down a bit more.
As Angry Bakunawa landed, the people were deathly scared, especially when he opened his mouth. It was only until Luna stepped out with Sura and explained that they have a choice of joining him if they'd like.
Cilapu and Carlos arrived soon after they burned everything on their way here. Hoping that all the fire and the walls in between them and the rats would be enough to stop them for a bit longer.
"Lord Luna, I formally dissolve and hereby merge our
"He actually dissolved it right away. A decisive man. I think we'll get along quite nicely." Luna thought to himself before speaking. "Everyone, welcome to the
Everyone was scared at first, but Cilapu ran towards the gate "You either get in, or you get nibbled on by rats and die a slow and painful death!" as if they received the "GO" signal everyone started moving.
Even if this thing ate them, it was still more honorable to get eaten by a Dragon than get munched on by rats. Much to their relief, the inside was just like another world. As if it was it's own island.
They hesitated again when they saw the Tarsiers in one corner. Cilapu looked at everyone and said. "How many times in a day are you going to get scared? Pick a damn place and sit down! Anywhere except Lady Maxene's place." he pointed to the little setup Maxene had, indicating that it was off-limits.
As soon as the rat tide overcame the final wall, they launched. Luna made sure they got a view of all of this by switching to the 360-degree view of their surroundings. It was a psychological move. You could save people, but most would tend to forget eventually. It was human nature. But when they saw the stunning visual of the rat tide from up above, and their homes burning to the ground, it was all burned into their memories.
Cilapu walked up to Luna. "Lord Luna, are we heading back to the
"No. We're about to watch a good show. One that you'll probably enjoy. Angry Bakunawa, head East, back to that base we saw earlier."
As they were flying, the bird-type mutant beasts that were close to or lower than Angry Bakunawa in levels steered clear of him.
On the way, Luna asked Cilapu about Ferdinand.
"He was someone of ill-gotten wealth from his parents who use to be career politicians. He himself was always recognized by the people since he would always be there during his campaigns. He also had a stint as an actor, thanks to his wealth, which added a bit to his fame. But he had always been vain, something his fans would passionately defend, saying he deserved it because it's his money. If only they knew." Cilapu laughed weakly. "Maybe they did. People can be as blind as they want to be when they're obsessed with someone."
"I see. If he was a good man, I would have considered leaving him alone. But this makes it much easier." Luna smiled.
Angry Bakunawa stopped suddenly. "It seems we're here." Luna said.
Everyone looked down. It seemed a bit unclear at first, since the structures below looked so small from up high. Luna had to make sure that they were semi-hidden in the clouds. Just enough to be able to see, but just enough so that the obstruction and the height made it impossible for those below to even spot them.
"What are you planning to do, Lord Luna?" Cilapu asked.
"Showing the people that Ferdinand is not fit to lead." Luna replied. He then walked towards the front and opened the spatial gate, exposing the
"Lord Luna, what if the innocent die!" Cilapu cried out.
Luna looked back at Cilapu and grinned. "'O ye, of little faith."
Right after he brought the
"Land on the South wall. Prepare to have people evacuate." The Dragon nodded and obeyed the command.
When they landed, the guards on the South wall were so scared that they couldn't even move. They were already afraid of the incoming mutant beasts and this Dragon was definitely something they couldn't fend off with their current numbers, or maybe even with more people they still couldn't.
Luna stepped out and looked at one of them who was dressed more formally than the rest. "Are you the Commanding Officer?"
"Y-yes sir."
"Good. Your base is about to be overwhelmed, where is your leader?"
"I'm trying to contact him right now, sir, but he's not taking in any messages."
"Give out the command for everyone to evacuate to this area. I will take them to safety."
***
Meanwhile, outside Ferdinand's room, soldiers were banging on the door to no avail. Besides the room from earlier, he had actually made a hole onto the room next door which he only covered up. It was like a bootleg version of a secret room. If anyone was in the regular room, they would hear the loud moans from this room for sure. This was obviously where he and the lady from before would mess around all the time. A quick transition from room to room. Currently, Himself and Miguel were taking their turns on the woman. There were no doors except for the hole they made as it had been sealed beforehand and then surrounded with modified metal walls.
She was originally one of the previous pageant winners from Bohol, someone that Ferdinand and Miguel had a huge crush on for many years. She rejected them every time. Not only because she wasn't interested, but it would ruin her image if she was caught with married men. Unfortunately for her, these men had only grown more and more despotic the further they were into the new world.
"Damn it. Where are they?! We're under siege! They're not accepting any messages either!" The soldiers were still panicking.
"Just break down the door!" Another one urged.
"Why don't you try breaking down this metal door! I'd like to see you break your foot trying, only to get beheaded by Mr. Ferdinand! Idiot!" They were truly panicking. They had no protocol for an invasion this large.
***
Meanwhile, the people who were being shepherded into evacuation were still confused. They still listened nonetheless. When people have no idea what to do during a calamity, the word "evacuation" was a sure way of getting them to move where you want them to.
They didn't even question the Dragon staying completely still. They just saw the spatial door, and people going inside and figured it was much better than waiting to be ripped to shreds by the beasts.