PART SIXTEEN: OF LOVE AND WAR
Ada was astounded when she took stock of all the recent changes that had happened in her life. Although it had taken her a while to get used to being married to Charlie, she had eventually taken it in stride and had found herself falling deeper in love with her husband with each day. Her career path was brighter than ever following her most recent successful mission that she had received accolades for. Furthermore, Ada and Charlie had taken Director Port’s advice and entered the fostering system; adopting Empress Weylyn’s children.
At first, Ada had been apprehensive of the idea of fostering the two children, Edric and Aruna, worried that she did not have it within herself to become a mother but as had been the case with accepting her new role as Charlie’s wife, she had discovered her latent maternal instincts. Ada’s joy at having a complete family had been a key driving force for the grueling 6 months of training succeeding her latest mission.
On February, 3rd 2078, Ada reluctantly handed over her kids to her parents who agreed to babysit them while she was away for work. She quadruple-checked everything the kids would need was in her mother’s possession much to the amusement of her father, Emre and to the chagrin of her mother, Avery.
“Ada, honey, I love you but I am going to lose my flipping mind if you ask me whether Aruna has her special blanky for the nth time,” Avery stated through gritted teeth.
“I’m sorry, mom, I just want to make sure she has everything she needs,”
“You’re doing amazing, sweetie, really. How far along are you with the adoption process?”
“We’re close, mom. Just a few weeks and the papers will be in our inboxes,”
“That’s awesome. You and Charlie make great parents,”
“Thanks mom,” Ada said. She got down to her child’s level to address Edric to reassure him that he was in safe hands and she would return. Edric insisted that he should tag along to help his foster parents in their mission but Ada denied his request, thanked him for his bravery and reminded him that he was no longer allowed to put himself in mortal danger and he deserved to enjoy being a kid.
Edric struggled with the notion but ultimately agreed to stay behind because he knew his foster mother loved him and saw him as more than just a tool for war. He hugged her tightly and reluctantly said goodbye watching her walk out the door. Charlie also said his goodbyes to his foster kids and joined Ada on her way out the door. They then teleported to DoD HQ via a secure terminus and met up with Avery (D-3) and her brother, Dewey.
They exchanged pleasantries and teased Dewey following his latest revelation that he was finally dating a woman who was a lot smarter than him through a match-making site. The ingenious site, Dewey explained, used a numerology-based system to determine compatibility and used algorithms to determine how long a couple would last .
Outside of singing the praises of the dating site’s ingenuity, Dewey gushed about how perfect his new match, Dr. Chidinma Kanda, was and spoke of the future plans they had since the algorithm had determined that they were soulmates and could be together for an eternity if they so wished. Avery felt that her brother was moving too fast but it was not enough to dissuade her brother from enthusiastically talking about his future plans which included the possibility of elopement.
As their debate kicked up, they were interrupted by the intercom inviting all Protectors to Conference Hall “B” (which had the highest seating capacity) to attend the latest debriefing. Avery (D-3) was among a select few invited to be in attendance of the debriefing as an expert who would assist in the latest mission; the Battle of Avala. Director Port led the debriefing before guiding the DoD on the battle plans they had to secure victory at the Battle which would take place that very day in a different timeline (A-31).
Mission specifics, however, were purposefully excluded from the Director’s general debriefing strictly being on a need-to-know basis. After the debriefing, the Protectors going on the mission were given a brief recess session that allowed them time to make their goodbyes to their loved ones. Charlie and Ada video-called their foster kids and said their final goodbyes before embarking on the first leg of their journey.
Once recess was over, the Protectors and experts like Avery traveled to the land of Great in Timeline A-31, where they met up with the other armies and Protectors’ Agencies that would join the battle. Oracle Tabitha Tanner and her party, the joint armies from Timeline B-3 and Oracle Zuri and her party were among the invading forces participating in the Battle of Avala. They were informed that Dulcina and the rest of the Moon faeries would meet up with them at the next rendezvous point- the Kingdom of Atlantica.
The joint invading forces all traveled to the Undine Kingdom of Atlantica where the reigning Sprite Sage-Queen Ramla, welcomed them with open arms. They waited until twilight when the Moon faeries arrived via the Budding Lake that connected the Third Plane of Existence (where Wintria was located) to the Second Plane of Existence (where Atlantica was located). The Moon faeries’ presence was a great cause of awe as their unapparelled beauty and formidable aura was appraised by the rest of the invading forces present.
Ada involuntarily shuddered as she recalled how easily incapacitated she had become when Dulcina possessed her and she pitied the fools that would take the Lunar-Titania’s abilities lightly. Dulcina did not seem to even want to acknowledge Ada’s existence and mainly communicated with Oracle Tabitha and her party instead. The Lunar-Titania then reluctantly greeted Ada, Avery and Charlie whose primary mission objectives (as part of Alpha team) was to offer as much support as was required by the Maeve and to protect her at any cost.
At the appointed time, the invading forces all set out for the Island country of the Mystai, Avala, using a variety of Magical means in a Siege formation with the hopes that they could force a surrender from the Mystai forces. However, the very moment they entered the waters of Avala, they heard the deafening sounds of war horns and battle drums beating in the far distance. There was also the deafening sounds of enchanted metal hitting the ground and a chorus of battle cries from the soldiers of the Avalan army that echoed all across the land.
“Enemies of the Empress, beware! You have one last chance to turn back and leave with your lives!” a disembodied voice announced amidst the deafening sounds of war.
Dulcina hissed in anger and declared, “It is you who has one last chance to surrender Weylyn to us and stand down,” with her voice magically amplified and echoed over the land of Avala.
There was eerie quietude succeeding Dulcina’s declaration almost as if the Avalan army was earnestly considering a surrender to the invading forces. Several moments passed and the tension in the air became palpable. However, the silence was soon punctuated by the issuance of a barrage of long range attacks against the invading forces on all sides, which the invading forces managed to escape from by a hair’s breath.
The invading forces were then met with an invisible barrier barring their attempts to dock on Avalan soil. Dulcina soon shut her eyes in meditation and summoned the Grand Grimoire to many awed gasps aboard the war ship ferrying the Lunar-Titania. The pages of the Ancient tome flipped wildly in response to Dulcina’s mind before settling on a page and glowing with an ethereal glow. Dulcina soon began to murmur the spell on the page the Grand Grimoire had settled on which sent out a light past the Tome and into the night sky further than the naked eye could see.
Suddenly, the barrier lines preventing the invading forces from docking upon Avalan soil were illuminated and were revealed to be interlocked throughout the land forming a dome like structure. The pages of the Grimoire continued flipping wildly even as Dulcina began to chant which caused the lines to become taut and eventually shatter like glass. The Invading forces soon docked upon the enemy’s soil as the Battle of Avala began in earnest.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Shall the invading forces prove victorious in the Battle of Avala? Stay tuned to find out! The link to the previous part in the intriguing tale of Ada, the Traveler, is linked below. Enjoy!
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