The Flames of Despair

In his dream, Edward was huddled behind a barrier with Tom and Fran. Gunshots rang out from several directions, and there were sharp pings as a few bullets bounced off the stone wall and chipped it.

Edward shifted up to quickly take aim and shoot with his rifle, but missed as his masked target ducked behind a barrier. Another terrorist, who wore a scarf, pointed their pistol at him, but he managed to move down in time to avoid the bullet.

With heavy breaths, he checked his stock, then groaned with frustration and anxiety as he saw how little ammo he had left.

“I’m almost out.” He muttered to his friends. “Dammit, we’re done for at this rate…”

Fran sighed in a weary manner. “If we could only call for help…but communications are down. And even if the top brass notices, it’ll still be too long before backup arrives.”

After a moment of tense silence, Tom put on a determined frown and spoke to them in an urgent manner.

“We’ll have to put our teamwork to the test. Last I saw, the bus was still intact. Fran, you regroup with Kilo and take it with him. Request for help from the Kenyan base he came from, and get in contact with any other US bases in the area.”

Fran nodded, but looked worried. “But what about you two?”

“Ed and I will cover you, and act as distractions so you can get out of here. So are you ready, my friend?”

When Edward saw his best friend’s expectant eyes, he froze as panic spiked through his heart.

‘No…not again…’ He thought with a shake of his head. ‘Stop…stop…I can’t…’

“Ed!”

He gasped and flinched as Tom grabbed one of his shoulders and squeezed it.

“This is our moment!” He declared. “Let’s be heroes, together! We can’t do this without you!”

“He’s right, Eddy!” Fran chimed in with a firm expression. “We’ll beat the odds together, just like always!”

Images from Edward’s childhood flashed through his mind. All the precious moments with his friends, from fighting the neighborhood dogs with toy swords, to protecting each other from bullies in middle school. Then finally, the group hug they had when they graduated from high school.

‘Right, it was always the three of us…’ He thought solemnly. ‘That’s why, despite all my misgivings...’

“...Let’s do this.” He said quietly, with a resolute gaze.

The three of them shared a nod, then braced themselves for a few seconds before Tom barked out the order.

“Go!”

He and Ed got up and dashed out first, and they were almost immediately fired upon. As the bullets narrowly whizzed past, they briefly fired back and kept running. They circled around to reach the opposing force’s flank, and charged straight into it.

The terrorists froze as they were briefly surprised by this bold move, which left them open to a few shots from the duo.

As Edward saw them collapse in lifelessness, a shadow fell over his eyes.

‘At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing.’ He murmured in his mind. ‘No…all I did was kill people.’

He and Tom went deeper into the enemy line. By now, the terrorists had recovered from their shock, and some turned to take aim at them.

The duo dove and rolled to avoid the gunfire, and got into kneeling positions as they fired back. Their comrades, having noticed them on the other side, surged forward with yells of renewed vigor.

Left and right, masked and scarved soldiers went down. Some green-clad Americans and red-dressed Kenyans fell as well, but they kept going and pushed the enemy back.

For a minute, Edward felt elated with his heart filled with hope and courage. He lost sight of Tom amidst the battle, but was still going strong by himself, shooting these terrorists left and right. Then, as he pulled the trigger at a masked terrorist who had fallen on the ground…it only clicked.

He dropped his rifle as his eyes widened in fear. For a few seconds, they stared at each other…then the terrorist scrambled to his feet and drew a knife from his pocket.

With a desperate yell, the terrorist charged and swung at him. On instinct, Edward grabbed his wrist and jerked the knife out of his hand. Then, with a shout of effort, he drove the man’s own blade into his chest.

That was the first time…Edward felt the warmth of blood on his hand.

The attacker went limp in his arms, and he fell with him to the ground. He grunted as he extricated himself from the dead man, then as he was about to get up…he stopped as a rifle was pressed against his forehead.

Above him, a scarf-wearing terrorist looked down with rage in his eyes. He muttered some kind of foreign curse Edward couldn’t understand, and his eyes went bloodshot in fear.

Then Tom’s voice echoed from behind him.

“ED!”

He looked to see his best friend taking aim at the terrorist, who hastily responded in kind. Two gunshots rang out at the same time…and both shooters fell to the ground.

Edward’s blood ran cold as he processed what happened. This moment he wanted to forget, that had been burned into his mind forever…once again happened before his eyes.

He slowly got up and stumbled toward his friend, then dropped to his knees beside him. The bullet had gone through his chest, and blood was dripping from his mouth.

“Tom…” Edward whispered.

Tom coughed and smiled weakly. “Ed…I’m glad…”

“Don’t say that…you’re dying.”

“I saved you…I think that’s worth…my own life.”

Tom reached up with a shaking hand, and Edward immediately grabbed it in desperation.

“Don’t say that!” He begged with watery eyes. “Just a little longer, and we’ll have help! Just stay strong!”

Tom coughed and chuckled. “When…did you become such a crybaby? Where’s that…hero who got me to believe in that dream of his?”

He let out a sigh, then closed his eyes as he said his final words.

“You…were always my hero, Ed. So…stay alive. You have to…for Fran, and everyone else. And tell her…I’m sorry…”

As his best friend’s hand fell lifelessly from his own, Edward hunched over his body and let countless tears fall.

‘I’m not a hero…’ The dark-haired man thought as he sobbed. ‘That’s nothing more than a naive dream of a child. I killed people…and you died for me. And the worst part is…this is normal for our world. We’re all human and yet…we kill each other for reasons that don’t make sense to me anymore.’

His dream shifted, becoming that sea of fire and ash. His tears stopped flowing as he became despondent, his eyes now dull with no glimmer of hope.

Black armored boots stepped into his vision, and he looked up to see the Champion of Nocturne, who was staring back with his glowing ruby eyes.

“Such is the suffering of the world, and others created by the gods.” He said in a vengeful tone. “If such strife has no end…then I will be the one to bring it. The destruction of everything is my mercy to the universe.”

He held out a hand to Edward, and spoke in a softer manner.

“So I ask you…to offer your life, and become one with me. Share thy wrath, and become the end of it all.”

For a long moment, Edward stared at the black knight as he thought about his offer.

'Maybe he's right...Why must we continue to suffer like this? If we could just...end it all, that would be true peace, wouldn't it?'

Slowly, he brought up a hand...but stopped halfway as he faintly heard that soft voice again, this time from the sky above.

"Sir Edward!"

Then from behind him, a different girl spoke in a very haughty tone.

"Don't give in to that bastard!"

Nocturne's Champion growled and stepped back. "Star Maiden..."

A golden glow filled Edward's vision as a familiar girl came around. His eyes widened in surprise as he recognized her, with her short form and ginger twintails.

Princess Jenette de Leone now stood between him and the Champion.