Cursed Yoshi
Chapter 110 = End In Sight
Disclaimer: All characters here are of my own
invention, but the original idea of Yoshies, Birdos,
etcetera, are copyright of Nintendo, and I make no money from writing this.
17th of Jallora, CD 2156; Yoshian camp near
Telkyte
“It is time, everyone. The
final battle is almost here.”
Darkmark was holding another
strategy meeting with his ‘advisors’ – the Baron’s previous advisors, for their
experience, and his friends for their insight. Even Mikhail was present at meetings
now, the anthro Yoshi having changed dramatically
since his recapturing in Londimay. He and Salína were almost inseparable, and he had become a lot
more ambient, answering the questions of Darkmark and the others, though he
became very bitter when questioned about his past with the humans.
The painful times of harsh
training and isolation were behind him now, and he had begun to show feelings,
to smile, to laugh, and let the emotional wall between him and the world
crumble. Deemed trustworthy, he had been allowed to keep his equipment, even
the sword he had become so accustomed to.
Tap, tap, tap… tap,
tap…
Mikhail’s drastic
transformation left questions flowing through everyone’s mind. He had been
hatched and raised among the humans, yet he was not truly evil; was this the same for so many others? Darkmark’s
brief encounters as Marcus with Visali’s human friend
back in Corvan reminded Darkmark that it was still
possible for a friendship to exist between the two races. While somewhat
comforting, it made the prospect of a final battle all the more daunting.
For this reason, the Yoshian army had bypassed attempting to capture the city of
No matter how we
attack, we have to go through a residential area, and that means civilian
casualties… innocents who just want to get on with their lives. The rulers
start wars, but the people fight them, and pay with their lives…
Darkmark snapped out of his
momentary daze, the others in the crowded tent awaiting his speech.
“We face a number of problems
in this final assault. Firstly, the majority of the remaining human army is
still resident in the city, standing by to attack. They outnumber us badly and
are better trained, even with their elite forces eliminated in Sansata. Secondly, any attack we make will take us through
the residential area, and even without siege weapons civilian casualties are
likely.”
Tap, tap…
tap, tap, tap, tap…
Salína nodded, speaking
up. “None of these people are evil… most of them are fighting because they
believe they can protect their families, or they have been misguided by those
in power.”
“Yes, those
in power.” Élloré repeated, twirling his flute
in his fingers absently as he thought. “If we can eliminate the commanders,
would the others surrender?”
“We lost our leader,” Skafria reminded them, “but we continued on. However, our
circumstances were different.”
“The commanders in this case
are the king and his council.” Darkmark stated. “They are ultimately
responsible for all of this, and if anyone is deserving
a death sentence today, it is them. Unfortunately, therein lies the problem…
they are most likely in the castle, in the very center of the city.”
“This may come as no
surprise, but I suggest something less than an attack with the army.” Tsi-Lau said. Skafria was beside
her, and he was holding their egg, which was moving a bit in his arms as he
tried to hold it steady. “I regret not having any assassins under my command,
as they are still neutral, but I think our best option is a stealthy assault on
the castle with just a few people.”
“An assassination
attempt?” Vachez inquired.
“Exactly.” She replied,
looking around the room. “It makes the most sense. For one thing, we’re
outnumbered and they have walls and no doubt other defences. Avoiding combat,
we can prevent civilian casualties. We can go straight for the castle, get
inside, assassinate the leaders, and get out. If they launch an attack, pretty
much everyone else will still be at this camp on guard.”
Tap, tap, tap…
“Would that work, though?”
Darkmark asked.
“It did a thousand years ago
when Karlo-Shin did it to the Koopas.”
Vachez interjected. Tamaroro
was sleeping on the priest’s saddle, thoroughly bored by the serious talk.
On cue, the voice of the master
psion spoke in Darkmark’s
head. And it could work again. You could even do it yourself.
“I’m not going alone!”
Darkmark replied, unaware he was speaking aloud.
“Nobody said you were.” One
of the baron’s advisors mumbled, looking at Darkmark curiously.
“Uh… sorry. Then, who will
go?”
“I will, of course.” Tsi-Lau said. “This is what I’ve been trained for.”
“I’m going too.” Skafria added hurriedly, having trouble keeping hold of the
egg. “With our shielding we can run without fear of being shot from behind or
anything. And I haven’t fought with you in too long…”
“I’m staying here.” Said Élloré.
Vachez nodded in
agreement. “I will too. I’m not a fighter like you are.”
“I’ll go.” Salína spoke in a quiet voice. “I can fly,
I should be able to help…”
“If you’re going, I am too.”
Mikhail cut in quickly, looking at her. “I’ll protect you no matter what. Plus
I know my way around the castle.”
Tap… tap, tap…
“Then it’s dec-…” Darkmark fell silent, looking around the room.
“Where is that incessant tapping noise coming from?”
The others also held their
tongues, silence falling over the tent. Looking around, the sound was quickly
pinpointed, as a crack formed in the spotted eggshell in Skafria’s
arms. Hurriedly he knelt and placed it on the floor, all eyes fixed upon it in
awe and expectation, the parents moving close to it.
Bouncing a little as the
creature inside struggled at the shell, the crack widened, others forming,
little pieces of the pinky-purple spotted shell
breaking off here and there. The noise even woke Tamaroro,
who joined in watching it curiously, the egg’s movements getting more violent,
the shell becoming more fragile, until a tiny hand broke out of the shell, the
same colouring as the shell spots. Clumsily smacking at the hole and making it
bigger, the hatchling broke the shell into two, the remnants tipping over and
sending the baby tumbling out onto the floor.
Skafria was the first to
bend down and pick it up, cradling it in his arms for a moment with a wide
smile on his face. After a few moments, he gently held it in one arm, running
his fingers over its lower belly firmly to determine its gender, holding it out
to his partner afterwards. “It’s a female.” He said proudly, as she took it
from him.
“Then it’s called Siniera… hello, Siniera~.” Tsi-Lau crooned, unable to stop herself from smiling, the
two vampires close to one another, the others crowding in to get a look at the
newly-hatched child. It looked like a normal Yoshi hatchling, except that it,
too, was clearly a vampire: she possessed fangs the same size as those of her
parents’, and the fins on the back of her head were dark red-black from the Volzia inside of her. Her wide eyes looked around the room
curiously, squinting as she tried to focus the untrained eyes on things around
it, keeping close to her mother.
“Today’s meeting is
adjourned.” Darkmark said, as the others became progressively more distracted.
“Congratulations, Skafria… I guess you won’t join me,
then?”
The blue vampire looked up at
the sound of his name, shaking his head, still smiling wide. “No, I’m
definitely going with you now. And I’m going to return, too. I’ve got my
daughter to fight for… I need to do whatever I can to make sure the world she
grows up in is peaceful.”
“I never want her to have to
fight.” Tsi-Lau said loudly, hugging her child
tightly. “Siniera… I’ll stain my hands one final time
so that you never have to.”
As Élloré
began to play an uplifting melody on his flute, Vachez
carefully reached over and placed a hand on the hatchling’s bulbous nose. “May
the gods smile upon this newly hatched child, and give it their blessings for
as long as it shall live…”
As the others fawned over the
child, Darkmark became lost in his thoughts once more. Not just for Siniera… for all those who lost their lives, for all the
lives not yet lost, for those not even born, I will fight… for everyone Marcus
lost… for Skafria, Siniera,
Tsi-Lau, and all those around me… for Setskitina… and for the children I have not yet had…
tonight, I’ll fight to protect you all, I’ll meet my destiny, I’ll become the
Saviour people have prayed for.
Tonight, everything
will come to a close.
To be continued…