"General Jones?!" said one of the soldiers. "And General of The Army, Maltyie Holm!"
The soldiers lowered their rifles, confused about what to do at that point. It was understandable since our betrayal wasn't leaked out or anything to the military. No one knew what we were doing behind the scenes.
"Arrgh." I gritted my teeth as Maltyie's friend swiftly bandaged my arm. It seemed like he was an experienced medical staff, judging from how he kept his calm while treating me. Still, the burning sensation on my right arm almost made me unconscious. The fact that I could still maintain my sanity was no less than remarkable.
"Derrick!"
Aya appeared from where the civilians came from. With one swipe of her giant claw, she shredded the C.U's soldiers into pieces.
"Maltyie?! And . . . Whoever that guy is next to you," said Aya.
"I'm Gray! Gray Ludwig." He looked over my bandaged right arm. "We need to get back to the Teria airship quick. Let's go."
Maltyie and Aya nodded. Even though Aya and I were clueless about a lot of things, Maltyie was still our trusted friend, so there was no need to doubt her. Gray carried me on his back as the four of us made our way out of that alley.
"What about the civilians? They--"
"Ava found them. Don't worry," interjected Aya.
We popped into the street and went to the left side.
"Get behind me," said Aya as she propped up the massive blood-red shield from before.
More enemy jets appeared from the dark sky. After a minute or so, they had their missiles aimed at us.
"That's--"
Two projectiles from out of nowhere crashed into those aircraft. The damaged fighter jets fell down to Earth a few blocks from our spot and exploded.
"Rocket launchers?" I mumbled. "Ack!"
A numbing sense of pain shot throughout my right arm. I could barely move it. Even though the bullets went through clean, it still hurt so much.
"Good thing we found you guys here," said a teenage boy holding a slim rocket launcher in his hands. A girl with sunflower dress appeared with him and another boy; where they had popped out from the rubble in front of us. Then, an old woman with a red shawl over her head approached from behind Gray and Maltyie. She had a wooden cane in her right hand, but it didn't seem like she needed it.
"Ulii," said the boy holding the rocket launcher.
"Qara . . . Khenbish and Odval. You three are not supposed to get out of the Teria airship," said the old woman, Ulli. "Honestly, chasing you all the way here is not good for my aging body."
Qara chuckled. The girl called Odval frowned at him. "I tried to stop him, Ulii . . ."
Maltyie coughed. "Anyway, we need to get back to the airship quick. This man right here needs proper medical attention," she said as she gestured at me. "The military coup and The People's Light are retreating to the outskirts of Oulu. No one dares to go inside this city until this bombings stop."
I didn't think that The People's Light had acted so quickly. After all, they just occupied Moscow a few days ago. Not to mention that they were also fighting back against the remaining forces in Russia.
"Amathelia . . ." I said.
Everyone looked at me.
"Derrick, you look pale. Don't speak," said Maltyie softly.
I shook my head. "Amathelia is planning to turn entire Finland into a battlefield. She probably wants to establish a base or two at the edge of Sweden, inevitably blocking anyone from here to go there, including the civilians."
My head was dizzy. I couldn't think straight after that, and I groaned from a sudden headache.
"Oh no . . . Get him back to the airship now!" said Maltyie to Gray.
Before I knew it, my mind took a plunge into darkness.
,__.__,
,__.__,
I didn't know how much time had passed. When I woke up, I found myself on a bed, with a large crimson needle poking out of my right arm. My clothing had changed into plain white.
"Ugh . . ."
The room was small, so I assumed it was the infirmary area. Though, when I finally saw the people that were there, I jerked my head.
"Ava . . . And also Maltyie and Gray," I said.
Maltyie had taken a seat at the side of my bed, and so did Ava. The crimson needle was, in fact, coming from Ava's palm; and I assumed she was healing me using her Aegis.
"Don't worry, Derrick. I'm healing you with my Aegis," said Ava with a worried expression.
Gray was standing at the infirmary's metal door. "You have been unconscious for an hour. After Ava brought the civilians you rescued back to this airship, she immediately treated you."
"Yup!"
It had been more than a year since I last saw her. Back then, she had a murderous aura emanating from her body. But as she was healing me, that aura of hers was no longer there.
"Thanks, Ava," I said.
She was wearing a dark uniform that had her own name. Even though I never met a Lutalo member before, everyone in the military knew about the famous Grim Reaper. I noticed that her hair was shoulder-length, with her eyes gleaming in red and blue.
'Her second Aegis has integrated itself fully,' I thought.
Maltyie suddenly had tears streaming down her cheeks. "You had me worried, Derrick."
I nodded slightly in her direction. "I'm sorry."
Maltyie wiped her tears and stared at me. "Um, as you can see, I was with Neo Africa for the past year, and still am. Though, I'm sure Eugene has told you about me when I contacted him."
"Yeah . . . He did."
I didn't know why, but my chest felt warm when I saw her. It thumped faster and faster until I had to shift my attention elsewhere. It was weird of me to feel that way about her. No matter how I looked at it, Maltyie seemed different.
Perhaps I missed her.
"Derrick? Your face is red," she asked.
"I-I'm fine, really. It's just that it has been quite a while since I last met you . . . After all, you look different. In a good way of course. Haha . . ."
Maltyie's cheeks flushed and she twirled a strand of her silver hair. "T-Thank you."
"Welcome. A-Anyway . . . Um, thank you, Ava, Maltyie, and Gray for saving me and the civilians," I said.
"You're welcome," said Ava and Gray.
Maltyie mumbled under her breath, so I couldn't really hear what she just said.
"Wait. Where is Aya?" I asked Ava.
"Oh, she will be here shortly."
A minute later, Aya walked into the infirmary and prompted about my condition. It was silent after that, so I took the chance to say what I was planning from there onward.
"I have a plan--"
"Derrick," said Ava.
"Yes?"
She looked at Maltyie for a moment and then back at me. "Your younger sister . . . Jennifer . . ."
I put my left hand on top of her head. "I know. I know about her death."
"Eh?"
"She contacted me when you all were about to invade Moscow. She didn't tell me much, except for that she wouldn't come back."
Ava stared into my eyes. "She . . . Knew that she was going to . . ."
"Maybe not. Perhaps she had this feeling for a while about her end. She felt strongly about it, and it turned out to be . . . True."
Maltyie patted my shoulder and I smiled at her. "It's fine. She made the choice. She must have really loved that Hope guy, huh. After all, when she was captured by Gheele after the failed negotiation three years ago, she was forced to serve at his palace. She did contact me all those times she was there. Did you know that she talked about Hope every time she contacted me a year ago? Haha. It was . . . It was . . ."
Tears fell out of my eyes and I hastily rubbed it off.
"Derrick . . ." said Maltyie as she forced a smile. "What did you want to say just now?"
". . . Aya and I have a plan for when we are done with helping the military coup in Oulu. It seems like the time is near, so I might as well tell you all about it."
They listened intently.
"We want to rescue Alexander and Alicia after this. Going back to Sweden, we would immediately go to the military HQ and save them," I said firmly.