Chapter Fifty Two - Decision

Chapter Song Suggestion "Echo Generation by Pusher"

*note : all dialogues like so {example} are spoken from the predator's perspective

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THE PAST | Veres

Where and when did it all go so wrong?

He started out his devotion as a scientist for the greater good, possibly to find a cure for the Cell outbreak. But everything spiraled lawlessness when other people became involved. The lines of science and politics blurred into one, and he lost sight of what he was fighting for. Things became worse after Venetia's untimely death. It was then he understood the unfairness of life, and that the good guys never won, and his entire life's work was pointless.

Sitting beside his wife's unanimated corpse, he stroke a loving thumb across her serene face. "I'm sorry, I failed you, Venetia. I promise I'll make it right. I'll change this world and purge it from evil. If darkness prevails, then no one deserves to win. I'll destroy everything and give humanity a clean slate to start over. Scientists were the ones who created this chaos, and so I'll be the one to end it."

"Even if no one stands by me or if I have to die trying, at least I know I have done something. If I have to be the antagonist to start the era of change, then I am willing to sacrifice my life." He grabbed her hand. "You know, after everything that has happened, I can't say I'm proud of my accomplishments but, there is one person I am proud of. He's not our son but, I like to believe he is what our child would have been. If I die, at least I know that I have done one thing good in my lifetime. His name is Regis, just like you wanted for our son. He's the only precious being in my life, and I want him to live a long, and fruitful life free from predation..."

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PRESENT DAY

The fire threatened to consume him from within, his back bowed from the intense pain. It crippled him; this endless agony that commanded his injuries to mend and heal. When he thought he would die, a balm of heat swaddled him, offering an undeniable sense of comfort — almost like love. Was this what it meant to be touched by an angel?

He heard a woman crying, her arms were around his limp body. "Open your eyes, Regis. I need to know that you're alright."

He couldn't help but obey her command, noticing a circle of unknown faces staring down at him. Were these people her comrades? And why was she crying for him?

"Eira, he's alive, you can release him now." A displeased voice grunted in the background.

She shifted, drawing back with a teary grin. "How do you feel?"

Regis swept his hands over his injuries, his eyes rounding in apparent surprise. It couldn't be! They were all healed! "How is this…possible?"

She didn't have the chance to respond when a looming shadow of a serpent's tail rose above their heads, determined to end their lives.

"Watch out!" Lars shielded them, unable to deny the galloping fear in his heart. He doubted he could withhold the Thrydran's absurd strength with his reaper.

The tail smashed into an invisible force field a few inches above them, surprising everyone.

"I can't hold it for long!" Kaiser declared, flinching from the devastating impact. It was he who saved their lives. "Hurry! Go!"

Lars hauled Eira into his arms while Florian picked Regis and they fled to safety. Koga paved the way for them, relentlessly cutting down any attacking predators.

"I don't understand," Florian panted harshly. "Why is the Thrydran still alive?"

"You can only kill a Thrydran by destroying its heart," Regis coughed out. He told himself he was only repaying Eira's kindness. Telling this much shouldn't be a betrayal to father. "It can hide its heart in any of its three bodies every time it merges back into one."

That explained why their earlier attacks had been futile but, Lars was certain he had wounded its heart. As if reading his mind, Regis said, "The heart must be fully destroyed. Even if it bleeds, there's a chance for it to revive."

"It's the most annoying predator I've ever encountered," Florian muttered.

"Captain!" Anaelle shouted through the earpiece. "You need to get out of there right now! I've detected two fast-approaching projectiles locked onto your premise. You have less than three minutes!"

"We need to take cover, Captain." Primal panic whipped through Florian, chilling him from the inside out. "We won't survive the blast."

"Everyone, get to the battle tank!" Kaiser exclaimed, reuniting with them. "I have an idea!" He reactivated his reaper, creating a protective shield just as the warheads crashed into the Thrydran's main torso. An explosive wave of bright light, heat and debris washed over them, unseen radiation causing Kaiser's reaper to pulse an on and off blue.

Eira hoped Xue Long and Aeolus were safe. Her heart was a frantic beating as they waited for the smoke to clear.

"Someone's coming," Koga remarked, preparing to attack. Through the veil of grey, they saw blurry, dark figures approaching.

"Stand down, Captain Verhelst." A mechanical voice instructed. "I am agent Hiram. We are here by order of First Lieutenant Strauss to offer our assistance."

Lars covered a hand over Kaiser's shoulder. "It's alright. I know them."

Staring warily at the equipped soldiers, Kaiser released his shield and took a step back.

"The apex has been eliminated, Captain," the soldier reported.

He was right. The Thrydran was completely blown to pieces, its flesh and blood covering the grounds and nearby buildings. When Lars had caught up with Eira, Falconer had already destroyed half of Ataxia. The death toll was high and increasing as the kill hunter units dealt with rampant predators.

Was there no other way to end this?

"Captain, you're going to want to see this," Florian nodded towards something in the distance, his face turning ashen. It was unlike him to be this shaken.

Everyone turned to see a tall figure rising from the remnants of the Thrydran's flesh. Whole and unscathed, Veres Falconer was a grisly nightmare covered in gore and wisps of smoke and very much alive.

"It would take more than this to kill me," Veres stated insidiously, indignation carved into the lines of his face. "It's as if you are all taunting me to kill you where you stand."

"Take the hit," Agent Hiram bluntly ordered his men.

A barrage of firearms besieged Veres, the hits bouncing off an invisible barrier protecting him, almost like —

"Isn't that Kaiser's ultimate defense?" Koga blurted in open surprise.

Kaiser was speechless. When he first developed his reaper, it was with the help of his mentor. At the time, Veres Falconer still resided in Ataxia. Could it be that the Commander-in-Chief had stolen his research? At this point anything related to the man was possible.

Veres threw his head back with undisguised laughter, finding their attempts to kill him extremely ludicrous. "There's no use. You cannot stop me."

"Regis, isn't there a way to stop him?" Eira grabbed him by the lapels.

Unease was a crack in his unflappable calm, though it was soon replaced by resoluteness. "I will not betray father. That being said, I'm afraid even I don't know how to stop him. Father has dedicated his entire life to becoming an invincible being and creating an ideal world of predators."

"I don't believe you," she insisted fiercely. "Every living thing in this world has a weakness."

Regis levered to his feet, showing no signs that he had been mortally wounded. "I cannot allow you to kill him."

Eira was taken aback when air bullets knocked him flat on his back and he was dead to the world — unconscious, not dead.

"That's enough," Lars said, half-annoyed. "Agent Hiram, take this man away and lock him up. He's only going to be a liability."

"Please, don't hurt him," Eira said to the uniformed soldiers who came to drag Regis away.

"He'll be fine," Lars fixed an impatient look. "I don't know why you saved him but, he's obviously not on our side. We need to kill Falconer before he wipes us all out."

He was right. She shouldn't allow herself to be side-tracked.

"If Falconer's own ally doesn't know his weakness, then does that make him a monster?" Koga's question was unbearably defeated.

The wheels in Eira's mind started turning, sorting through everything she learnt about Veres. Venetia's video logs could no longer persuade him to stop this madness, not when this wasn't about revenge anymore. How could she not have seen this coming? Why did Veres want to destroy humanity?

It seemed only she could wring out the answer – personally – from him. Mind made up, she whistled for Xue Long, observing the skies for her dearest companion. As soon as the dragon landed, she turned to Lars. "Can you put Anaelle on speaker for me?"

"What do you need, Eira?" Anaelle asked.

"Is clawtail with you?"

"Yes, among other things."

"Good. How long will it take for you to get here?"

"Possibly ten minutes." Suspicion crept into the blonde's voice. "Why?"

"That's more than enough time," Eira spoke mainly to herself. "Make sure to bring clawtail with you. I'll see you in ten minutes." She glanced at Kaiser. "Do you have the cold thermal replicator?"

Kaiser's gaze stirred with awareness. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded. "Yes." He was the only one who knew about Xue Long's new ability. After she had proposed her theory to him about replicating cold fire and the conditions required, he suggested using the cold thermal replicator – a cooling device that could trick the dragon's body into believing it was in a cold climate.

While Kaiser hurriedly secured the replicator to Xue Long's chest area, Lars demanded briskly. "What exactly is your plan, Eira?"

"Apart from Regis, Veres won't kill is me," she said confidently. "I'm the only one who can get close enough to kill him."

Lars's jaw flexed with objection. "And how are you going to do that?"

She mounted Xue Long's back in a single leap. "Not too long ago, Xue Long and I discovered that she has another hidden ability." It wasn't perfect yet but, Lars didn't need to know that. "I'm going to use it."

"And the clawtail?" Lars's eyes narrowed. He knew her well enough to know she wasn't being honest. Shifting closer, he stood at her eye-level when she was seated on Xue Long's back. His voice was quiet but strong. "The Captain in me has the utmost confidence in your abilities but" — his hands squeezed her waist – "as your lover, I am most reluctant to let you risk your life. You don't know the restrain I'm exerting right now not to forbid you from going."

Her heart skipped a beat. In other words, he wasn't saying no. He trusted her and this was his way of showing it. No one, except her dead parents had shown her this much faith and trust. Her throat tightened up.

Surprising him, Eira stole an off-centre kiss from his lips. "Thank you for believing in me."

Lars looked mentally resigned but not in the least regretful. If she had a plan to end this devastation, then he had no right to stand in her way. "I know I can't stop you, so I might as well do my best to support and protect you." He gripped her nape in fair warning. "But if you do anything reckless, you better prepared for it later. Don't make me repeat myself. Be careful."

She met those beautiful, golden eyes, seeing nothing but trust, love and also anguish – for her. Another kiss for good measure. "I will. I love you, Lars."

"I love you, too." He watched her take off into the air, forcing his fists to unclench. If Eira personally requested for the clawtail pup to be brought in, then she was expecting to get hurt. As much as he hated the idea, he would see her through to the end. Tapping the earpiece, he said. "Anaelle, you have less than five minutes to get here."

"Alright, Xue Long. Do you remember what we practiced with this device around your neck?" Eira sank her fingers into the dragon's feathered neck, soothing its nerves.

{Yes. Cold fire attack.}

"That's right. We're going to use it on Veres."

{He hurt master and endanger baby.}

Xue Long's sensitivity to her pregnancy amazed and touched her deeply. She was grateful for the dragon's protection, giving her the additional boost of courage. "Yes, that's right. I want you to land me near Veres and when I give you the signal, you mustn't hesitate to attack him with your cold fire."

{Master won't get hurt?}

She sensed the predator's deep-seated reluctance. "I'll be fine," she lied. "That's all you have to do. Promise me, Xue Long."

A moment's hesitation. {Xue Long promise.}

"Good. Then let's get this over with."

Eira would be lying to say she wasn't afraid or nervous. Her fearlessness of confronting Veres came from the fact that he wanted her alive, and she had his dead wife's video logs.

"Veres, we need to talk!" she called out, landing before him.

"Eira, you've made it clear where you stand." Blue eyes tracked her distrustfully. "Where is Regis?"

"He's preoccupied," she answered vaguely, circling him. "I don't understand, Veres. I thought you only wanted revenge against Levente? Why are you destroying Ataxia?"

"You're asking me why?" Quiet words. Furious words. "Ataxia is the root of Levente's crimes, and I have no choice but to purge the entire place. As for the rest of the world, predators will rule this earth better than mankind does. Beasts are transparent creatures who live each day without asking for more than they are blessed with. Humans, on the other hand are rife with evil and greed. They end up taking, manipulating, and destroying everything that is good."

"And what gives you the right to play God? You are what you despise."

"The very power flowing through our veins" – he spread his arms – "this ability to control and command the beasts is our right. Not everyone has to die, Eira. People like you and I; we'll build a new utopia of peace and free of corruption."

Eira frowned. Could he not see that he was contradicting himself? Corruption was inevitable if he persisted to impose his will upon others, like a dictator. His oppressive ways would give rise to a new tide of rebellions. It would be an infinite cycle and Veres was too deep in power to ever give up his throne – one invisible to the naked eye.

"Before your wife died, she recorded a video for you," Eira told him, gauging his reaction. "She had hoped that it would reach you but unfortunately, it never did." Retrieving her communicator device, she tapped open the video log. "In light of her love for you, I thought you should know that Venetia wouldn't have wanted you to do this."

The hologram screen flickered to life, and a brown-haired woman with dove grey eyes appeared with a bold smile. "Testing, testing, is this thing recording?" Her strong but melodious crackled. Dressed in a soft, lilac shirt and fawn pants, she looked feminine and gentle, the air around her vibrating with vitality.

"Hello, Veres," she said shyly, clearing her throat. "This is my first time recording a video, and I wanted to show you the progress of our expedition. I know you weren't as excited as you tried to be but, I'm happy to be here, Veres. The things that we've uncovered and seen…," she sighed dreamily. "It's beyond words! I have no regrets about coming here, and I hope that this video will help to put you at ease, even if just a little."

Eira saw the swift change in Veres's countenance. As if a switch inside of him had been turned off, the bloodthirsty aura emanating from him disappeared, leaving a shell of man confronted by his past.

"Venetia…," he whispered, almost heartbroken.