Chapter 27 – Battle at Bufohelm: Part 4

There weren’t many ways the conversation between JD and Kuno could go. It was a first for JD, since the only other human he knew well enough to converse with was Alcott. But when they met, he was already determined to spill every necessary drop of blood.

JD began walking, with Kuno quickly closing the distance to walk beside him. ‘Do you have to kill them?’ he asked – unaware of what was going on in Bufohelm, and therefore the silliness of his question.

‘Absolutely,’ JD said, his face sterned. ‘JD wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if they’d survive.’

History has taught painful lessons. One of them being that although having mercy on one’s enemies is noble, it’s often much more safe and reliable to tie a knot in that relationship. People learn, people grow, people can forgive, but who’s to know? Today’s noob could be tomorrow’s pro.

Kuno sighed. ‘What am I supposed to do when I leave this place…?’ he asked. ‘How can I keep fighting Soji after all we’ve been through?’ He knew things could still go south. Maybe he wouldn’t even leave this forest alive. That being said, he still had to prepare for the future.

JD took his time to answer, letting a silence fall in the conversation – filled by the sound of the leaves getting crushed under their feet. He smacked his beak like he’d just eaten a peanut butter sandwich. ‘Hmm…’ he said. ‘What’s your goal, boy? What do you want to achieve in Terra Two?’

It was a question that had been floating in the background of his mind. He had formed an answer the moment he came here, but the recent events have been sprinkling some doubt on it. Nevertheless, he said: ‘I want to end this war and go home…’

‘QUAHAHA!’ JD laughed. ‘Second question; who do you think you are?’

‘E-Excuse me?’ Kuno asked, turning to JD – who still looked straight ahead.

‘Do you think you can end this war, this war we’ve been fighting for years, without dirtying your skinny fingers?’ he said. ‘Do you think so little of everyone who has participated in this hell? Quahaha, I suppose even you have the humans’ hubris!’

Kuno stopped walking. ‘That’s not what I think!’ he said, throwing his arms out. ‘I just – I just don’t want to kill anyone… I don’t want to hurt anyone… I want everyone to be free from this circle of violence – and I want to go home, hehe. And for the second part – I don’t think I’m above any other person… that being said, the one who will finish this shit is me, and I just happen to be human!’

His words were mostly baseless, but Kuno believed them, and that was enough for JD.

‘QUAHAHA, then you’re gonna have to leave a trail of blood, little human!’ JD said.

‘I… I don’t know if I can follow that path…’ Kuno said. ‘Like you said – Who do I think I am… to kill another person. To do the unforgiveable.’

JD smiled. Kuno was indeed as young as he appeared. His purity stained these muddy waters. ‘Don’t worry, they’ll forgive you,’ he said, causing Kuno to look him in the eye. ‘As long as you succeed – they’d be honored to die by your hand, all of us would, Shitman.’

Cara took enough steps to meet her allies halfway, carrying the struggling six soldiers high and tightly above her head. A plan should be dynamic, and their plan surely was. Xiuying and Sarah stepped out of the bushes and forest shadows – multiplying the troubles of Bufohelm. Ozzy had mostly been looking down since the defeat of their peers outside, only occasionally glancing in their direction to see the piercing gaze they gave him and the others.

Xiuying stepped in front of Cara, taking a deep breath through her nose, calmly scanning what lay before her – a fortress on display, its inhabitants like toy soldiers.

After the fight against Cara, a couple of soldiers inside could finally manage to take their eyes off of their enemy – two of them running to Mr. Toad, who had stayed in his room for the entirety of this attack. His building had always carried a certain serenity to it. His age, rank, and power made sure no one dared to disturb him. With all the others at the gate, now, it was especially silent as the two soldiers made their way to the leader.

In history, they often had to blindly trust Mr. Toad – who rarely had the chance to explain his thoughts to his underlings during invasions, just like today. They had grown used to him, enabling themselves to commit to whatever Mr. Toad said. The Empire had smart men and women, some smarter than Mr. Toad. But Mr. Toad had one thing over all of them – a homegrown spec that forced even the Emperor to ask for his opinion from time to time. Mr. Toad is a wise toadman – wise and willing to do what he needs to do.

When they reached the door, they saw a red and yellow hue coming from the crevices of the entrance. They gave a quick: ‘Mr. Toad!’ before barging in. Their brains had prepared their sentences, but their voices cut the moment they saw Mr. Toad, sitting on his chair like he’d never done before. On the ceiling flew a paper bird, an ability the soldiers were familiar with.

Mr. Toad, however, was far from recognizable. He sat in a cross-legged position, eyes closed, palms against each other in front of his sternum – his magical aura flowing out of him, spiking every hair on the soldiers’ bodies. ‘M-Mr. Toad?’ one asked, unsure of what to say anymore.

‘Tell them I’m sorry,’ Mr. Toad said, his voice soft and filled with regret – although his face couldn’t be more neutral as he kept his focus on his magic. ‘I have failed them, but I won’t fail the remaining.’

‘Mr. Toad…’ the soldiers said. ‘The gate’s about to open…’

Mr. Toad exhaled. ‘Good.’

‘We need you out there. We’re about to fight the Earthlings – the soldiers need you for the morale!’

Mr. Toad took another breath. ‘The gate was not meant for you, my children,’ he said. ‘I’ll deal with everything from here on out. Inform the others the following,’ he said as he began giving the two soldiers the orders.

Meanwhile, Xiuying had taken in the scene of Bufohelm’s enraged soldiers – finally deciding to speak. She couldn’t hear anything of Bufohelm back in the bushes, guessing the barrier dome to be soundproof. But now that she had come closer, could softly hear the ambient sounds of their enemies’ shuffling feet and cursing voices.

‘People of Bufohelm,’ she said, raising her voice. ‘We’ve been instructed to slay you.’

Nothing could be more obvious, but the stating of the fact still affected the men. They had the numbers advantage, but Xiuying still spoke with confidence, making Ozzy think: ‘There’s no way they can take all of us… But if they think they can… We will still lose a lot of men.’

He bit his lip, pushing the dagger down, about to finish. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if Regnum send them to their deaths… The Earthlings are disposable assets to them, after all. Almost makes me want to pity them.’

‘But,’ she said, this single word prickling their ears more than they thought was possible. ‘But if you agree to our one demand. We will leave without harming another soul.’

A faint darkness shrouded Xiuying’s eyes. The shadow of her hair, due to her slightly forward tilted face. The soldiers patiently waited for her to inform them - skeptical, but curious.

‘Bring us your leader,’ she said, lowering the brows of all who heard her. She noticed the switch in their expression, something she’d dreaded. ‘Complete disinterest…’ she thought, thinking back on her days in the field on Earth, and her days here when she just arrived. Loyalty, a doubled-edged sword the wisest don’t know what to think of.

‘We won’t harm him,’ she said, trying to persuade them. Not underestimating their intelligence, she continued. ‘His skills are of great value to the Empire. Our goal is to make Soji lose him by any means necessary. He’ll be comfortable in Regnum.’

This wasn’t the first time Xiuying had done this, so her facial mimics, vocal control, body language, all were exceptional. Unfortunately, the soldiers weren’t having any of it.

She sighed, gesturing Cara to lower the six soldiers on their feet. She did, keeping them within her grasp still, facing them towards Bufohelm. ‘It’s either that, or death,’ Xiuying said with a firm look of frustration in her eyes. She had wished it wouldn’t have to come to this, but deep down knew she had to go the full mile. Another addition to the memories haunting her, the collection seems to grow rather fast here on Terra Two.

The two soldiers sprinted towards the crowd, returning from Mr. Toad to inform them of his orders. ‘Guys – Guys, listen up--,’ one of them said, panting. ‘Ozzy, everyone, Mr. Toad just told us that.’

Ozzy turned to him, waiting to finish the gate – wanting to hear them out first.

‘Mr. Toad said,’ he said, stopping, and looking at all the faces turned to him. ‘Mr. Toad said we weren’t allowed to fight them. He said that… He was going to take care of everything. Ozzy just has to open the door and wait.’

Bufohelm broke out in a cluster of voices, a burst of questions and comments. ‘What about the ones outside!?’ one shouted through them all.

‘He…’ he said, hesitant to answer, but knowing he must. ‘He’s sorry. The ones outside cannot be saved anymore… Mr. Toad said that fighting the enemy as a whole would cause only meaningless deaths… He orders all of Bufohelm to wait for him on standby. No one is allowed to leave the dome.’

The ones outside didn’t get any of this, since the news was voiced from the back of the horde. They did hear the commotion, though, and so did the Earthlings – glad to see their enemy in disarray.

They had listened to every one of Mr. Toad’s orders to date – and were always glad they did. But this one was tough, and the soldiers were questioning their leader’s judgement, and perhaps even his sanity. A discussion broke out. One part wanted to follow Mr. Toad, the other couldn’t accept leaving their friends to die.

In these times, a leader has great use in a right-hand man. One respected by his subjects. Ozzy, holding the dagger in position, spoke to silence the others. ‘We’ll follow Mr. Toad,’ he said, shifting the entirety of Bufohelm’s attention to him.

‘I don’t think it’s the right choice – He’s not even stepped out of his chamber! – This is ridiculous!’ some voices shouted, but Ozzy continued.

‘What do you know!?’ he shouted. ‘What do any of you know!?’ The people had no idea what to say.

‘We’re but pawns in this horrid game! Do you think you know better than the old man!? He who could’ve retired years ago, but chose to be here today for our sake!?’

They clenched their jaws, unable to fight him on this.

‘I’m willing to die. But I can only rest in peace following Mr. Toad to the grave,’ Ozzy said. ‘I’m opening the gate as ordered, but we’re all staying here – anyone who tries to go outside will have to go through me first!’

The tough spot Xiuying had put her opponents in was doing wonders. But she wasn’t going to sit around and wait. She snapped her fingers, and Sarah walked up to her. Xiuying got close to her ear, whispering something that made Sarah think Christmas had arrived in Terra Two.

As she did, Ozzy pushed the dagger down, finishing the gate, and pushed the separated barrier forward. The glass-like barrier-plane fell on the ground, with Ozzy standing in the middle of the gate, giving his enemies the meanest eye he could.

A second later, a light shone from Mr. Toad’s balcony. A paper bird fluttered its wings like a butterfly and flew over the soldiers - through the gate. Ozzy knew what it was. The Earthlings didn’t. The bird flew directly up after passing the gate. ‘So that’s why he wanted me to open it…’ Ozzy thought, seeing it fly away.

Xiuying closed one eye and aimed her index –and middle finger at it like a pistol, but the moment she did, as if the bird felt it was about to die – boosted itself skyward and flew away at a great speed.

Xiuying lowered her fingers with a frown. She had no idea what it could mean, but since it came from inside Bufohelm, it was likely trouble. When she turned to Ozzy, he immediately slammed his foot on the ground, saying: ‘Stone Wall.’

A cobblestone wall covered the gate. ‘It’s no barrier, but this will buy us some time if they try to enter.’ The soldiers all adjusted their position to keep their eyes on the enemy.

They saw Sarah hop, skip, and jumping around the captured soldiers, stopping next to the far left one – an iguanaman whose eyes opened wide the moment Sarah entered his personal space, coming close to his cheeks as she said:

‘Boss just gave me wonderful news.’ He could feel her breath on his scales. She chuckled, giving the iguanaman even more anxiety.

‘I get to play with you guys – and just a heads up, my toys never last that long,’ she said, finishing her sentence with a wet, open mouth lick from his jaw to his temple.