"Well, this may sound somewhat rude, but it's something you said to me once when you helped me out. 'When the world is shitting on you, you just need to say 'fuck it' and try to fuck the world over in your own way."
Angelus actually blinked a number of times at that, recalling the time he had helped Barka out when they were Candidates, but the trip down memory lane never got started.
"CODE BLACK! CODE BLACK! CODE BLACK! CODE BLACK!"
Angelus and Barka's eyes widened as the straightened at those words. Code black meant that the enemy had been spotted approaching from the sea.
The war was here.
"Oh no! oh no, oh no, oh no!" Barka was saying rapidly as he scrambled out of his chair to ready himself, as did Angelus.
"Barka, chill out! You're going to drive me fucking nuts!" Angelus shouted at Barka, his own nerves now shot, as he too raced to get ready.
Unlike in normal peace time, where Dragoons wore their traditional colored robes, the Dragoons wore a different uniform during battle since the robes were completely inadequate for combat.
That was the Dragoon battle dress.
It wasn't anything much, just a tight fitting durable two piece outfit meant to last through harsh fighting, though it offered nothing in the way of protection from weapons. Next was the belt, which came with two combat knives which were located at the sides of the waist, the sword strap and sheath for their issued swords, and tall combat boots. (When the Magi first marched into Xerxes, it was noted that the soldiers sent to meet them actually laughed loud enough for both sides to hear it. Few survived to tell the tale, however.)
Angelus, however, had difficulty putting on such a simple outfit. He fumbled around as he threw on his outfit as fast as he could, his hands shaking and his heart pounding as the announcement for code black as well as the rumblings in the sky continued.
"Motherfucker!" Angelus cursed at his belt as he missed loop number two completely, along with loop number five, his shaking hands unable to properly align the edge of the belt with the loop holes.
Next came the boots, which he slid on, and began to tie his knot.
"Fuck!" Angelus shouted as his shaking hands were just simply unable to try and doing something complicated like tying a simple knot.
"By the fucking Dragons!" Angelus shouted next as the knot he was trying to tie came undone once again. This time, Angelus forced himself to try and relax as he drew a big breath, looked to the ceiling, and breathed out slowly.
This time, Angelus found better success, and was able to tie the knots, though his hands could not stop shaking any more than his heart could stop racing. Fear like this, a fear of whether or not death could rush right around from the corner, this was a feeling Angelus had not felt in years.
Not since back in the old days, living on the streets, praying and scraping for food. Doing whatever they could to survive. Angelus thought that those days of fear were forever gone.
Not anymore.
Angelus despised it. It was a weakness, a weakness that could stop him from doing what he needed to do. To just simply live.
However, back then, even with his experience, Angelus was not fully aware of what the world was really like, still naive about the darkest natures of the world. Now, fully grown up, knowing what this war and his death would truly mean, that made his fear of death even worse.
Especially the idea of dying alone as he is.
It felt like he had neither a future, nor a past. Angelus had nothing, all he had was here and now, the war knocking on his door, a truly cold and dark feeling of emptiness, and no one to fight for. No one except himself, truly the pinnacle of his misery.
Even as he finally threw his sword belt over his right shoulder which crossed down on to his left waist, the buckle an easy snap on in the front of his chest, Angelus still managed to fumble the buckle once before getting it right.
And somehow, all of this managed to happen within minutes, and Angelus blinked at the clock when he saw it.
It was 3:22.
Angelus heard whimpers coming from Barka's direction, and turned to see Barka attempting to do his own shoe laces, and he too was shaking badly like Angelus had been. He, however, was visibly fighting his fear, for his entire body was shaking, and he was muttering very high pitch but almost silent whimpers.
Barka's whimpers were shooting straight through Angelus, and without a word, Angelus knelt down before Barka, brushed his hands away which were fumbling with the laces, and began doing the knot.
"You're a fucking mess." Angelus commented, though he himself was hardly in any position to say so. At the same time, Angelus knew that Barka had it far worse than Angelus probably did. In just his normal everyday life, he is a walking disaster. Now that he is here...his chances are even slimmer than Angelus' own.
"Th-thanks." Barka whispered.
"I keep telling you, you gotta stop panicking so much-fuck!" Angelus blurted as his own hands fumbled with the second knot.
"Look, just relax, everything's gonna be fine. It'll be just fine." Angelus said as he finished Barka's laces, with Barka respecting that Angelus was talking to both Barka along with himself.
"There, good to go." Angelus said with a pat on Barka's arm as both of them stood.
Angelus saw nothing but plain fear in Barka's face as the code black announcement continued to echo, though it was dying out. The undying rumbles in the sky, however, continued to haunt the darkness outside.
Angelus had no idea what he was doing as he planted both of his hands on Barka's shoulders. He didn't feel like himself, nor did he sound like himself when he spoke, something he had just started noticing.
"Listen. It's gonna be alright. Just do what you're told, and don't be a hero, okay? This isn't a game, or a book. No miracle is going to save you, and there is no one that is going to write a happy ending for you. This shit is real, it's all real. The only thing you can do is to try stay one step ahead. Obey the orders, and stay alive, that's all you need to do. You got me?" Angelus said, his own voice shaking as he had spoken as his breathing had somehow gotten heavy without him realizing it.
Barka nodded several times, but with pure fear still written on his face.
"C'mon then. Let's go." Angelus said, disgusting himself as he grasped Barka's hand and led him into the door. Both of their hands were sweating badly, Angelus could feel, and he felt beyond weird and awkward holding Barka's hand. Yet, he did not let go, even as he opened the door to the darkness outside.
Angelus stepped into the darkness, and turned to Barka, who was still in shock over the whole situation.
"Just get to where you gotta go, while I do the same. Catch you later." Angelus said as he released Barka's hand and dashed towards the direction of the distant beach further north.
"Bleh." Angelus uttered as he wiped his hand on his outfit, freaked out at how he had held Barka's hand the way he had did. Yet for some reason, he also felt good about it. Barka probably needed the support, and Angelus, in his own way, needed Barka's support as well, who did little more than just simply be there.
Angelus' restless heart increased even more as he saw the rest of the forward strike teams, scattered along the northern end of the barrier, gathering mere feet from it, and probably were waiting for remaining stragglers such as himself before they opened the barrier.
The overall plan for NorthRend as a whole was actually rather simple. They were not expected to hold NorthRend in the face of an enemy invasion, and were only expected to hit and run, and would ultimately make their stand at Pirus, near the World Gate so that they can more easily be reinforced since the priority was the defense of Nekropolis.
They, however, were going to strike first.
The first thing one would notice on these strike teams is that, aside from Angelus himself, along with Aegis and Azreal who were also present, there was not a single Graduate, Adepts or even Juniors. Only Seniors, with a handful of scattered Veterans, would be carrying out the initial strike. The rest were to remain in NorthRend and maintain the barrier until further notice.
This team, which only number around twenty to twenty five, were to spread themselves out along the north end of NorthRend's barrier, and once the barrier opened, were to dash to the ocean as quickly as they could before the enemy reached land, and launch a huge tidal wave to force their ships to capsize and throw their landing forces overboard and into the ocean, disrupting their invasion plans. This, however, would only be done once, and were to return to NorthRend once the tidal wave was launched.
Upon arrival, Angelus did not spot either Azreal nor Aegis thanks in part to the night which still reigned supreme and the fact that they are probably spread out, but Angelus did spot his immediate commander, Veteran Phobos, who was currently speaking with a handful of Seniors.
Angelus next turned his attention to the distant ocean, which he could see from his current vantage point, and the lighted dots that were scattered along the surface of the ocean which were coming towards the shore. There had to be twenty, thirty, no, fifty, something like that. Even worse, Angelus had no idea what they were, how many enemies there might be, nothing. Only the ominous lights which were approaching the shoreline.
"LISTEN UP!!" Veteran Brandall shouted, with several echoing his statement. (The same Veteran Brandall who got mixed up in the incident with Zaeco right before the Graduate Tournament. The world was a really small place sometimes, Angelus had remarked to himself when he found out that Veteran Brandall was the chief commander of the initial strike force.)
"In ten minutes, we're opening the barrier and going out there, whether everyone is present or not. Just remember while you're out there, spread out and keep moving. Never stand still, or try to bunch up if it can be avoided. You will only turn yourselves into targets, understood?" The Veteran asked.
"Yes Veteran!" All that were present responded in unison.
Veteran Brandall nodded. "Good. Remember, the most important objective for us all here in this upcoming battle is to survive. We will not fight to the end here, save that will to fight if the enemy reaches Pirus, got it?"
"Yes Veteran!"
Veteran Brandall nodded again. "Ten minutes. Smoke, take a shit, jerk off, I don't care what you do, just make sure you're ready for when we open the barrier. Dismissed."
Although no one was paying attention, one would have noted that not one single individual who had been listening to Veteran Brandall laughed at his blunt statement, and not because it wasn't funny, but because no one had the power to laugh. Even Angelus, who is one of the worst when it came to something like this, couldn't find the energy to laugh, and barely had managed to note what Veteran Brandall had been saying.
The most important message was ten minutes.
In ten minutes, they were going out there, where all of those lights were watching the shore, the flyers in the dark sky still masquerading their presence, and who knows what else laying in the deeper darkness of the night. And in ten minutes, Angelus would be going out there into the darkness.
No, it felt more like he would be heading out into enemy territory.
The sun still showed no signs of rising, not a single ray of light, which Angelus felt was a bad omen for himself, and Angelus didn't even believe in shit like that in the first place. What the hell was he doing?
He was shaking, badly, that's what he was doing. His hands still have not stopped shaking, and even though he tried to keep his normal bravado alive, that somehow had completely vanished in the face of the enemy.
Suddenly, just like that, Angelus was asking himself, would he dash into the night and join the fight against the enemy? Or would he pussy out, play the coward, and run in the face of the enemy? Angelus has never ran from anyone in his life in fear, with only one sole exception years and years ago. But now, that seemed a very viable option, and one that Angelus felt himself wanting to do.
Yet, if he did, Angelus knew that he would never be able to live with himself. He, Angelus, nothing but a coward in the end. That perhaps could be the worst thing he could ever do to himself.
"FIVE MINUTES!" The message echoed into Angelus' ears, who wondered where the hell time was going. Couldn't he have just a little more time? Another five minutes or something?
Angelus began shaking more. The moment of truth was quickly approaching, and now Angelus was scared not only of the enemy, but himself. He could become his own worst enemy, someone who would deserve to die at the hands of the approaching enemy that waited out there in the darkness with their lights, flyers, and all of the other things that Angelus has heard of. Tanks, guns, grenades, art....art, art-something. Something that had to do with art. (The correct word that Angelus is looking for is 'artillery'.)
They were all out there, somewhere, and now, Angelus was realizing that he had no clue as to what he was up against. How many were there out there? How many of those things were out there, waiting to kill the first person that they see? And how easily could they target and kill Angelus? Just what exactly was he about to face?
"TWO MINUTES!" What the fuck!? Two minutes!? Where the fuck is the time going!? Just a little more time, just a little more time...
"ONE MINUTE!"
"Listen up!" Angelus could hear Veteran Brandall as he began to speak.
"Remember, the water here in the north is very cold. Don't waste your time slowly entering the water. Remember this as well, we have to get out of the enemy's line of fire as soon as we launch the tidal wave, got it?"
"Yes Veteran!"
"THIRTY SECONDS!"
Veteran Brandall closed his eyes, and began praying to himself which no one could hear.
"TEN SECONDS!"
"Here we go." Veteran Brandall whispered to himself as he lit a fireball in his hand, the signal which will open the barrier.
Angelus' breathing had picked up drastically, finding it almost painful to stare out at the dark ocean, all of those lights slowly getting bigger, and knowing that the flyers were still in the sky watching all of their movements. Just what was going to happen once that barrier opened?
Time somehow slowed drastically as Angelus caught the fireball as it was launched into the sky. It was slowly creeping upward into the night sky by itself, one inch at a time. And yet, despite how slow the moment felt, it was over instantly.
The fireball exploded once it reached a good height, high enough for the barrier teams to see, and they begin to withdraw a small amount of power from the barrier, allowing the base where the Dragoons were gathered to lift and allow them to enter the outside.
This turned out to be yet another eternally long moment which was over instantly as Angelus turned to the barrier as it began lifting itself from the ground, opening it's pathway into the darkness. First, it was just above his feet, then it was at his knees, then his chest, and then it rose past his eyes and head, leaving nothing between him and the enemy which awaited them in the darkness of the night.
Angelus froze. This was it, the moment of truth, what he had been training for. Everything; life, death, war, terror, glory...
"GO!!!!" The command echoed loud and clear for all to hear, and Angelus, on command without realizing it, joined all of the Dragoons present and dashed into the open, now outside of NorthRend's barrier.
Angelus couldn't even believe it as he regained his thoughts while on the outside, his feet continuing to move almost completely on their own, following the commands of another rather than his own. Now, however, Angelus had to drop everything and focus on one thing at a time. Keep moving, don't stand still. Rush to the ocean and jump as far in as he could since the water was going to be way beyond just plain fucking freezing.
Angelus' run was suddenly interrupted as he trip over a rock and barely caught himself with his arms before falling flat on his face.
"Son of a bitch!" Angelus shouted, but instead of it being a voice of anger like the normal Angelus voice, instead it was a voice more in tune with panic and fear, and Angelus' mind began to race as he slowly pushed himself off of the ground.
Angelus then felt a hand grasp under his left armpit and lift him up to his feet.
"C'mon Graduate, you're fine. Just keep moving and watch your footing. Let's go." A Senior whom Angelus did not know appeared at Angelus' side without realizing it.
Angelus nodded. "Yes Senior." He said as the Senior lead the way with Angelus following behind, his legs and mind now focused once more.
The Senior gave a glance back to Angelus. "Good, split up and get to the ocean. Just keep a clean head, keep moving, and you'll do fine."
"Yes Senior!" Angelus called out as the Senior broke away.
Because of their ability with magic, Magi were also able to run at much quicker speeds than normal humans, although this took quite some time for Magi to learn properly. The Dragoons, however, well trained in this fashion, were easily able to maintain a 20 to 30 mile an hour pace, and Angelus was beginning to see that they would reach the shore before the lights did, which was a good thing.
But, what about the flyers? Why haven't-
Angelus shook his head, breaking his thoughts. All he needed to do was keep moving, and before long, he would reach the shore, which he and the Dragoons successfully did with no harassment after another extended run, this time without incident.
As instructed, once Angelus got to the beach, he didn't bother stopping or stepping into the water, but jumped over the water and as far into the ocean as he could, bracing himself for the coming pain.
Angelus had managed to jump out far enough that the water reached his chest before he touched the ground, and the shit was fucking freezing!!!!!
It felt like he was being stabbed everywhere by everything, and Angelus couldn't feel anything except pain and cold as he cried out, the freezing water continuing it's merciless torture as Angelus began to shake once again for a very different reason than before.
Angelus' eyes and head dashed left and right, waiting to see where everyone else was at. He hadn't used Lightning Steps in order to keep pace with the others so that he wouldn't be waiting in the water too long for everyone else to arrive, an instruction which Angelus had found annoying at first, but now was beyond thankful that he had did as he was told. (A true rarity in the life of Angelus.) Any longer in what felt like a pure block of ice, and Angelus would probably freeze to death.
But that wasn't the case, as Angelus saw others were either just arriving or waiting, a few of them getting started, and Angelus joined them.
Angelus lowered both of his hands into the ice block which was somehow water, the sharp stings of the cold continuing to stab Angelus up and down his body, and worked with his magic in cohesion with those around him to draw all of the water past him that led to the shore to form a giant wall of water, which also can be known as a tidal wave, and thrust it at the approaching enemy.
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