"Huh?!"
Everyone except for Aya looked at me with wide eyes. Their reaction was expected. Alicia and Alexander were inside the military base no doubt, but rescuing them would take more than the two of us.
"As I said, we are planning to rescue both Alexander and Alicia that are being kept inside the military HQ. We will do just that after we are done helping the pro-Maltyie coup."
"Pro-Maltyie?" said Ava. She and Maltyie looked at each other.
"Maltyie . . . I want you to help the coup directly," I said. "Most of the coup around the globe have one objective, and that is to place you as the C.U's next ruler. I, for one, really want you to be the country's savior. Your direct involvement with them will clearly boost their morale. Please . . ."
Maltyie stared at me. I knew she was searching for my sincerity in asking her for help. After all, I never really asked her for anything.
She did spend time with my daughter, Elle, and helped me a couple times. But, that was a long time ago.
"I . . . Will have to discuss it with the rest," she finally said.
Aya moved over to my bed and looked at Maltyie. "Please understand that you can help unite the people of the entire world, Maltyie. Your voice alone can do that."
Maltyie nodded. "I will do my best. I'm sure the others will agree after I discuss with them."
Ava's crimson needle that had punctured my right arm started to disintegrate. After that, she shifted her attention to Aya and smiled. "It has been a while, isn't it, Aya?"
"Indeed. I thought you will stay back at Neo Africa, for that is better for your own well being honestly. But, I should have known it is like you to take actions on your own accord."
"Haha. Since Lutalo was properly established a year ago, we had helped quite a lot of people. So, I'm sure that my decision for not taking a back seat is right."
Aya giggled. "Yeah . . . I do wish to chat with you though after all this time. But, Derrick and I need to get moving tomorrow morning before they completely form a defensive line at Sweden's border."
"We can do that for the rest of the night. There's a lot . . . A lot of things that I want to share with you, Aya. You are my friend after all."
Ava didn't stop there. She quickly bowed in front of Aya and apologized a few times.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said.
Aya was startled by that and found herself waving at Ava frantically. "A-Ava, what are you apologizing for? I don't understand."
Ava looked up. "I . . . Didn't come to your aid when the military HQ was attacked by the Four Pillars. You are my friend, and yet I didn't rush to your side when that happened."
"Ava . . ."
Aya's smile reached her cheeks and after that, she laughed at Ava. Although she tried to restrain her laughter, it didn't work as she had expected.
"Ugh. What's so funny?" grumbled Ava.
"Hahaha. You! You are funny. There was no way you can get to Sweden when the Pillars attacked. Hahaha."
"Okay, okay . . . But I really felt that I could have helped you one way or another. It's just that . . . When I heard about what happened, I was worried whether you were safe or not after the incident."
Aya cleared her throat and looked at Ava. "You know . . . When I last saw you at Neo Africa, you have this immense hatred hovering around you. It was suffocating, and it didn't suit you at all. But now, you have changed so much. You are more open to the others compared to the Ava I know back then."
Ava blushed and fidgeted at her dark uniform. "Thank you."
"Haha. You're welcome," said Aya. "And since you have changed, I also want to show you how I have changed as well compared to last year. I will show you how much I have improved by saving Alexander and Mommy!"
Both Ava and Aya then laughed.
Even though it was a perfectly normal scene, it was kind of surreal for me. I had known both of them for quite some time, and their old selves were very different. Ava's hatred would threaten to drown me whenever I came into contact with her a year ago. As for Aya, she was attached to Alicia so much that she had difficulty in conversing with anyone other than her.
Their changes were refreshing, nonetheless.
,__.__,
,__.__,
The next morning came, and although I got only a couple hours of sleep, it was enough. The bombings had stopped at midnight.
"Hmm. Everything is here," I said.
Aya and I were outside of a Teria airship, where we had stayed for the night before. Both of us carried backpacks that were full of supplies.
"Don't worry about the civilians," said the old woman named Ulii. "As it stands right now, the C.U is building fortresses along the border of Sweden. So, their only method of attack was through air bombers. They are nowhere in sight right now."
"Yeah. It's best to leave this to Gheele Folami and the coup. They are working together in order to spearhead through Sweden. Our job here is done. After all, Maltyie is enough to help the coup," I said.
Surrounding Aya and I were Ulii and her fellow Mongolian students, namely Khenbish, Qara, and Odval. A few minutes later, Ava, Gray, and Maltyie rushed out of the Teria airship.
"Derrick!" said Maltyie.
"I'm here, I'm here."
She approached me and halted about six feet away. "Um . . . I actually want to come with you and Aya."
"Eh? No, we are fine by ourselves. We will reach the military HQ. It will take some time with all this security that the C.U have increased, but we will be fine. Thanks," I said with a smile.
"Oh . . . Well . . ."
Behind her, Odval was whispering to both Qara and Ava. They both nodded at her after that and bit their lip. It was as if they were told to stay quiet for some reason.
Aya nudged my shoulder and I frowned at her. She, too, stayed silent after that.
"Is there anything else, Maltyie?" I asked.
"I'm afraid . . . That I will never be able to see you again," she said with a pained expression.
"Ah, don't worry. We--"
Slowly, tears fell out of her eyes. She tried to say something time after time, but no words came out. I stood there, frozen. It was not like I didn't know how close we were, but for the first time ever did I saw her in such state. The Maltyie I knew, in every circumstance, had braced through everything life threw at her with a firm expression.
But right then, it was as if her shell was broken. She seemed fragile.
"Maltyie?"
"I . . . I love you, Derrick. I love you."
It felt like my whole world was about to turn upside down when she confessed to me. Ava and Qara had their jaw dropped, while the others were calm as if they knew about Maltyie's feelings the whole time.
She then wiped her tears. "Since we met at the military school ten years ago, I can't shake this feeling I have towards you. It's . . . It's painful, Derrick. I always failed to confess my love to you. Again and again, I avoided you because it is a first for me to feel this way towards a guy. For the longest time, I . . . I regretted it so much when you got married back then. I regretted not confessing to you."
When she paused, I wanted to say something to her. However, for some unknown reason, I swallowed back my words and chose to just listen.
She continued, "Then when you two got divorced after Elle was born, I felt relieved. See? I am despicable for feeling that way towards a divorce. But, but I just want you to know that I love you, Derrick . . . I love you."
"Maltyie . . . I--"
She shook her head and smiled. "You don't have to give me your answer right now. I just had this dreadful feeling that I will never see you again, so I gathered my courage . . . And confessed."
Aya pulled at my winter jacket and I looked at her. She gestured at Maltyie with her chin. I knew she wanted me to give my answer at that very moment, but, it was a bit too much for me to take in.
At the very least, I wanted to give her my honest answer after everything was over.
"Maltyie . . . Can you promise me one thing?" I said.
She nodded.
"Promise me, that no matter what, you will become the C.U's ruler."
Without hesitation, she nodded in agreement. I smiled from that. Still, it didn't seem like I was the right person for her.
I needed time to think about it.
"I will give my answer when we meet again, Maltyie. You did great, gathering up your courage to confess to me," I said.
"Thank you, Derrick . . . And be careful you two."
"Alright," Aya and I said at the same time.
We waved our goodbyes to everyone there and set off to the northern border of Finland.
,__.__,
,__.__,
By noon, we took shelter at an abandoned three-story building. It was pale grey in color. Inside of what seemed to be an office, countless sheets of white paper filled one corner of the room.
The two of us proceeded to sit on the floor and ran a thorough check of our backpacks' contents.
"Derrick," called Aya as she shoved her hands into her backpack.
"Yes?"
"I am certain now that you are a dense person."
My head almost hit the wooden desk a few feet away from me after she said that.
It was true, honestly. Everyone knew about Maltyie's feelings for me, but I didn't notice it. I didn't have the slightest clue about the whole thing.
All in all, she was a really respected person among our colleagues and everybody else around her. I felt the same way as them not too long ago.
"To think that Maltyie . . . Feels that way about me," I mumbled.
"Yeah. She likes you for who you are," said Aya.
"Oh . . ."
My mind kept replaying that scene with Maltyie over and over. Even at that moment, it hadn't really hit me yet. The words she uttered, and how she genuinely expressed herself were like a dream, really.
"Found you," said a female voice.
Aya and I turned around to our rear; where a familiar woman in dark clothing had somehow snuck behind us. She had a pair of gleaming, violet eyes and her dark hair was a simple short bob. I found myself shaking my head a few times.
"Miranda?!" said Aya next to me.
"It has been a while, ain't it you two?" said Miranda. "Though, I am not here for chit-chat. Your plan. I want to rescue Alicia and Alexander too."
Aya and I looked at each other.