Chapter 17: The Trap

Roan had had enough. Enough of the lies, enough of the side glances, enough of the whispered words, and enough of the obvious attempts to keep him from the truth. The staff and Kimberly were trying to keep him away from Gabby and Roan was tired of playing their game. And thanks to his training with Alice and the Shadows, he knew how to cheat at their game.

It took him a few days of snooping to fit the pieces together. A bit of eavesdropping here, quick glances at forms there, even a bit of idle chatter. All of it pointed to Gabby NOT being on the front lines, but right here in the hospital. Specifically, in the very ICU he had left after the Reaper raid.

Roan knew better to even try to force the issue with Kimberly. He had spent enough time with her to know she would never bend to any efforts he could muster to make her give in. If anything, she would only redouble her efforts to keep him in the dark. But the Roman doctor, Edmund... he was another story...

It wasn't hard to figure out a night where Edmund was on duty and Kimberly wasn't. After all, even she needed a night off. And the guards at the ICU wouldn't bat an eye at him heading in, he'd made sure to make visits there a common thing. All of which made it simple for him to head in and find the good Doctor busy filling out some paperwork. Thanks to the recent raid by Pyrrha and Sanders, the hospital, and the ICU by extension, had been rather slow.

"Roan, nice to see you. Looks like you are getting better at getting around," Edmund said, rolling his chair out from the desk to better greet Roan. The two shook hands as Roan rolled to a stop.

"Yeah, been making sure to wa- roll around the hospital at least twice a day. It's getting easier each time," Roan said, glad he had finally gotten the hang of turning the way he wanted. But he wasn't here for idle chit-chat.

"Pretty slow night again. It's nice not to see anyone wheeled in with missing limbs... horrid cuts... depression..." Roan made sure to look Edmund dead on as he said the last word. Edmund had been nodding in agreement up till the last word. He paused and looked at something only he could see before turning a wary eye toward Roan. Roan let his smile vanish as he stared at Edmund, letting the doctor realize what he was getting at.

Edmund sighed before he spoke,

"You know..." Roan nodded and Edmund let out another sigh before leaning back in his chair. He rubbed his hand over his head before pausing a moment.

"I can't let yo-

"You can. You WILL." Roan demanded, locking his wheels in place to show how serious he was. He wasn't leaving the ICU without seeing her. Not without having to be dragged out of here. At this point Kimberly would have done just that, but Edmund... he looked torn, and that was a God-send for Roan.

"Please, Doctor. I just want to see her. She's... she's the closest thing I have to family left now. Let me see her, let me TRY to help her. Don't make me have to live never knowing if I could have helped," Roan pleaded, his voice cracking a bit. He had planned to fake the crack and tears... but that turned out to be unnecessary... Saying it did the job on its own...

Edmund opened his mouth and closed it again as he turned away. He paused for a second before letting out a long breath.

"Alright... Kimberly is going to kill me for this, but alright. Follow me," Edmund said standing to lead the way. Roan got a big smile before unlocking his wheels and rolling after the Doctor. Finally he could see what was really going on with Gabby and, hopefully, help her. And, since he knew the truth, Kimberly was unlikely to bother trying to stop him anymore in case he needed to come back. Things were looking up!

The two headed to the back of the ICU and to a room that was a bit off the beaten path. A few medical supplies were outside the door along with some half-eaten leftovers. A pull back window allowed people to look in and Edmund opened it to allow Roan to see in. Roan was a bit... worried seeing all this, but pushed the fear aside as he moved to look.

The room was dark and it took a second for Roan's eyes to adjust. A few things were scattered about the floor, papers, random junk, along with a large sack of something. Both the bed and chair were empty and Roan started to wonder if Edmund had tricked him. And then the thing he thought a sack shifted. Roan squinted to try and see better and as he did the sack turned to look at him. It was a sack at all… it was Gabby! But...but it couldn’t be… the way she looked...

Even from a distance Roan could see how... terrible she was. The larger than life woman was a shad- no worse than a shadow of herself. The fire was completely gone, the unyielding determination shattered, and that deep passion was all but spent. Her eyes looked glazed over, unfocused… unseeing. It was a look Roan had seen back in the camp, on the people who had given up and then… he didn’t want to think about the “and then”... She was broken... utterly... and Roan had to fight not to wheel away, to refuse to believe that was Gabby. But it was her... Oh God it was her...

"L...let me go in," Roan said knowing he had to help her, had to get the old Gabby back. Had to keep her from that horrid fate he had seen happen time and time again! HE WOULDN’T LET HER GO!

"I can't do that. She is suicid-

"LET ME IN!"

Edmund stared down at Roan before sighing. He unlocked the door and opened it to let Roan roll in. He left the door open, but moved away to give them some privacy. Gabby didn't so much as stir as Roan moved closer to her. He rolled to a stop a few feet from her before trying to speak. He failed at first, but managed to get the words out his second try.

"Gabby," Roan said rolling a bit closer to her. His voice caused her to twitch and her head rose a bit. Still she didn’t seem to see him.

"Gabriella, it's me, Roan," Roan continued as he got close enough to reach down to her. His touch sent her scrambling backwards and she whirled toward him. But not in an attempt to stop him, like he feared, but to shrink away. Her eyes meet his and, for a second, there was nothing but fear and denial. But that slowly melted as she stared at him. And then at the spot he had touched her, and then back to him.

"R-...R-Roan?" Gabby said as she moved back toward him.

"Yeah... its me. Gabby I wanted to see you sooner b-" was as far as he got before she moved back to him and started to rub her hands over his face, as if making she he was real. She stopped after a second as the last bit of fear faded from her eyes to be replaced with relief and joy.

"ROAN!" she cried out before hugging him so tightly that Roan had to fight just to gasp. Apparently her stay hadn't made her any less strong... lucky him. Roan tried to return the hug, but it turned into something closer to a begging tap for air. Gabby, thankfully, seemed to understand the tapping and loosened her grip to let him gasp for air.

"I...I didn't lose you... I didn't lose you too...Roan..." Gabby said as she cried into his shoulder and Roan found himself joining her tears, unable to say anything besides blubbers. He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but finally he pushed Gabby back and managed some actual words.

"I...I'm glad I...I found you... Come-Come on, let’s... let’s go. We...We got a lot of work to d-" he said turning to pull her out the door, but Gabby didn't move from her spot. He turned back and saw Gabby's eyes drifting toward his wheelchair... and the same miasma start to form over her eyes again.

"No...no I... no..." Gabby said turning away from Roan and pulling away. No, no, NO, he had been so close! He wasn't going to lose her again!

"Gabby, please! We need you, I need you! The fight is still going, we have to go help! Please com-" Roan stopped as Gabby pulled further away and started to go back to her huddled form. Dammit NO!

"Gabby please.... please don't leave me again. I...I don't...you're the only one here wh-..." Roan stopped as he heard Gabby stifled a sniffle and saw her starting to convulse.... She was crying...

Roan wanted her to come with him... he wanted her to come back... he wanted the old her, but…but he had seen this... seen it more than he cared  back in that camp. Seen people do terrible things to themselves to escape the horror. His dad... his dad had explained that they had just had enough. That at a point people just... broke. Trying to stop them at that point was just cruel, better to let them go, let them make the call. And maybe... maybe Gabby had reached it. He wanted her back so bad to keep her here with him, but… but he didn’t understand the pain she was in. Didn’t… didn’t deserve to tell her she had to stay.  It wasn't fair for him to force her to stay. She......... She could go.

"No, don't... don't worry about me. I'll... I'll be fine. Honest. Do... do what you want. I'll understand. I-In fact, here," Roan said as he pulled out a gun he keep hidden on himself. It had seemed a wise move after the fight here in the ICU.

“I’ll...I’ll understand,” Roan said, debating on saying more… but knowing all his words would be to beg her not to do it. So, instead, he turned away and rolled back to the door. He glanced back and say Gabby picking up the gun he had left. He gave her a smile, before closing the door. And silently said goodbye to his adapted older sister.

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It was another bitterly cold day and Sanders edged a bit closer to the welcome body warmth of Pyrrha. Despite the cold, the last few days had been a relief to both himself and the others on the Line. Their surprise attack had had the impact they had hoped for and the constant threat of attack had been lifted... so far. Thanks to that, the troops were not dead on their feet and neither was Sanders or Pyrrha. They'd even been able to sleep in a warm building last night!

Still, knowing what was only a few days away, knowing what he and the rest of these soldiers were being asked to pull off made the happiness fleeting. It didn't help that Sanders knew Darius and the rest of the commanders were right. They HAD to break out, had to get free from Rome as this siege only had one outcome. The Society had a nigh unlimited amount of soldiers and resources, they didn't... But knowing it was the ri- well only, call didn't make Sanders in less worried about it. There were so many ways this could all fa-

"Excuse me, Mr. Cutter?" a voice said from behind Sanders. Shaking his thoughts away, Sanders turned to see an elderly man bundled up in some very heavy winter gear standing behind him. The man seemed kinda familiar, but his voice and what little of his face was revealed didn't match anyone Sanders knew. Maybe he'd seen him during all the handshaking and hero worship...

"Yes, is there something I can do for you?" Sanders asked, grateful for a distraction from his thoughts and the cold.

"I believe so. I'd like to ask you something, but... well it's a bit personal and... umm," the old man looked around at the other soldiers huddled about the area. Sanders raised an eyebrow at the man and wondered what this was about. The more cautious types would refuse and keep close to the five hundred foot catgirl ready to crush anything that even looked at Sanders funny. But that very same catgirl looked completely fine with the old man and seemed more interesting in letting out another yawn. Sanders had learned to watch Pyrrha for signs of danger and she was showing the exact opposite.

"Alright, we can talk over there," Sanders said leading the way to a clearing a bit further off and out of earshot. The man gave a nod in thanks and followed behind. He gave a brief shiver as they arrived before pulling his fur scarf down to reveal more of hi-.... William...

"Sorry for the disguise, but it's best no one knows we talked. Or that I was here," William explained before lifting the scarf back up and hiding himself again. Sanders had almost forgotten how skilled William was at looking like someone else. The old man who had greeted him before turning into the real William had nearly vanished from Sanders memory, but had now reappeared in front of Sanders, only bundled up for the winter.

"What's wrong? Somethin-" Sanders started to ask, but William waved him off.

"No, no. Nothing like that. Everything is going very well, actually. No this is about some information you need to know. Information that cannot be repeated till the time is right. Not to ANYONE."

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The day had arrived. The sun was just barely starting to appear on the horizon, and yet everyone in the command room had been up for hours. Preparations needed to be overseen, last minute problems resolved, and confused lower officers needed to be assured their orders were correct. Today the Resistance would either break out of Rome.... or die.

Derek was still less than pleased they were back in the courthouse. The very building that had suffered a Reaper attack, the very same room in fact, was now where all of the senior staff was gathered. He had made his issues known to both Darius and Terence, but both had assured him it was necessary. This plan required coordination the Phoenixes HQ couldn't provide... and that was that.

Still, at least so far, things were going well. The representatives of the various buildings had all reported being on schedule with the evacuations. The civilians would all be gathering outside their homes, waiting for the vehicles that would bring them to safety. Poole had pulled a miracle out of his hat and made more than enough vehicles for their people and supplies, all of which were busy moving their troops to the Line. Samantha had reported that the Line had been quiet all night and her forces were ready to lead the charge. Pyrrha and her new backpack were fully operational and ready to engage.  Everything was set for the attack. Save for one thing...

"Have we heard from Captain Freeman yet?" Derek asked as the others continued to finalize a few details. Dixie turned from the radio and shook her head.

"Not yet. He is, probably, still finishing up moving his people to the Line," she said going back to whatever she was doing. Derek nodded and looked back down at the map. Everything was going fine.... yet something didn't sit right with him. He turned a quick glance to Darius, but the Commander was as unreadable as always. He seemed calm and confident… not a hint of worry or trepidation. Yet Derek couldn’t shake this damn feeling. It was like he was missing something… and he needed to figure it out before it cost them everything.

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Victor let a yawn escape as he watched the first rays of morning appear. It had been a long, dull night of watching the near pitch black bank of the river for any sign of trouble. But, like the rest of the nights since the raid, there had been no real activity from the Society. Nothing but the occasional  patrolling catmonster or fairy.

At least the watch was almost over. He would give it a few more minutes of watching the blown bridge, the very bridge the Phoenixes had used to enter Rome, and its banks before giving the order to evacuate. Then his squad and the rest of the garrison stationed in the two buildings would load up and head for the Line... and for the real battle... Victor still hadn't briefed his people on what they were about to try, orders to keep it quiet had been absolute, but soon that wou-

Victor's thoughts were put on hold as his eyes caught something. He looked up and out to the other side of the river, but didn't see what had got his attention. Had he imagined it? Deciding to be cautious, Victor took out his spyglass and had a closer look. He scanned the various abandoned buildings, wrecked cars, and other bits of ruins, but couldn't see anything that looked out of place. Yet som- THERE!

Snapping to an alley between two buildings, Victor got just a brief glance at something moving along the road behind them. It was too quick for him to tell what it was, but it was definitely a vehicle of some kind. The problem was it didn't look like the jeeps the Society usually used...

Moving his glass to look at the next alleyway, Victor got a better, but still obscured look. It was definitely NOT a jeep, but the narrow view he was getting made it impossible to tell what it was. Yet the fact he hadn't seen this before was causing Victor to worry… Of all the days for the Society to bring out something new...

"Chandler, CHANDLER!" Victor yelled, waking his second from his quick nap, "Start waking everyone up. Get Morris to have the guns ready an-..." Victor's words stopped dead as the vehicle, finally, rolled into view. It turned to come down the street leading to the bridge... and revealed the massive metal bridge it was carrying.

Victor had seen enough military shows to know a mobile bridge when he saw one. How the Society had got one was beyond him, but that didn't matter. What mattered was it rolling up toward them... and ten giantesses were walking beside it, all fully armoured in riot gear.

"Sweet Jesus..." Chandler said as he moved closer and caught sight of the approaching doom. Victor stared for a second longer before he snapped out of his horror. He had to warn HQ, had to get the guns ready, had to-

"Get everyone up, now... NOW! AND GET ME A DAMN RADIO! WAKE UP DAMMIT!" Victor yelled as he rushed down back into the building, Chandler behind him.

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“-yone is ready to move on your orders, ma’am,” Charles reported as he and Graves finished their last reports before the attack. Samantha looked over the rough map and went over the reports mentally before nodding in satisfaction. They had done all they could to prepare for this. Now, it was up to the soldiers to make it happen.

“Good. I think we’ve done all we can to prepare for today. Both of you try to catch a quick nap before we get ordered to move, dismissed,” Samantha said and both men saluted. Charles headed off without another word, but Graves paused a moment.

“Me and the rest will sleep better if you catch some sleep too. Just saying, Captain,” Graves suggested. Samantha rolled her eyes and shooed him off with a wave of her hand. He was right, though, she could use a nap before the potential hor- no, the battle started. She couldn’t think of it as a disaster already, or it might well become that.

Still, sleepy though she was, Samantha knew she wouldn’t be able to. There was too much worry, stress, and anxiety all built up in her to ever allow sleep. No, she needed to get rid of some of it before she even thought of that. And she knew two people who could help.

Heading up to the roof, Samantha found Jessica and Sanders keeping watch on the wall. Jessica turned and gave Samantha a big smile before Sanders gave her a short wave. She nodded to them both before heading over and catched a quick ride up to Jessica’s head.

“Can’t sleep?” Sanders asked as he helped her up onto the platform.

“No. I know I should, but… well.”

“Yeah…” Sanders nodded in understanding as they moved to separate ears to get a bit of warmth from Jessica.

“A few more hours and this place will be a warzone… That no-man’s land will have to become our base… that wall a fallback point…” Samantha shook her head as all the possible problems, disasters, deaths ran through her mind. This was pure madness, and yet… and yet it was the only sane thing to do.

“We-... yeah. Yeah it will…” Sanders said as he looked out, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

“Maybe… maybe seeing it from higher up will help,” he suddenly suggested.Samantha looked at him in confusion and watched as he moved back onto the platform proper.

“Yeah, I bit when you see it from up high, see all you did to help make this possible, you’ll feel much better. Come on,” Sanders said, motioned for her to get on the platform. Samantha had no idea what this was about, but decided to go with it. She climbed on and took Taylor’s usual spot and hooked herself in.

“Pyrrha, mind standing up?” Sanders asked.

“Nope, hold on,” Jessica said as she, slowly, began to stand on her two legs. Normally, she keep down on all fours to keep her immense size a bit less terrifying. But it seemed Sanders was dead set on letting her see the battleground from on high. She wasn’t quite sure why, but wasn’t going to question it. Maybe he was right and there was something to thi-...

Her thoughts drifted away as she began to see something. Looking past the wall was, usually, impossible, it was too high, but as Jessica rose higher and higher Samantha started to see over the wall. And as she did, her jaw dropped lower and lower.

Samantha could only stare in horror and loss as she looked at what was behind the wall. She didn't know if the Society done this just tonight, or managed to throw it up little by little in secret... it didn't matter either way. What did matter was that two more walls of debris, plywood, and bits of cardboard, had been put behind the first wall of cars... And that catmonsters, fairies, Reapers, and even some giantesses were hunkered down behind them, ready for their assault.

Samantha hadn't been a commander long, but anyone with any semblance of tactics could tell the assault was suicide now. Surprise had been their biggest ally.... and it was gone. In fact, if Sanders hadn’t suggested this, it would have been THEIR doom. But seeing what was waiting for them didn’t change the fact the attack was no suicide. There was no hope of breaching three walls, all guarded by Society forces. The attack was dead before it had begun.

And as Taylor's radio began to speak up with reports of what was coming at the bridge, Samantha realized that the assault wasn't the only thing dead. They all were...

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It was falling apart... everything they had worked for was crumbling around them. Derek understood his trepidation all too well now as report after report sealed the lid of their coffin tighter. But the worst part... the worst part was knowing there was nothing any of them could do. The trap had been sprung, and they had fallen right in...

An entire new force of Society was advancing on the bridge with a mobile bridge-maker in tow, the forces at the Line had been reinforced and dug in to make any assault impossible, the trucks that were supposed to transport the civilians were failing one after another to sabotage, and scattered reports of unknown Reaper forces keep popping up. The Society had countered their plan at every turn... and there was only one way they could know how to do that...

"We need to get out there, try to rally some kind of defense an-" Derek started to say as he moved to grab his rifle. Darius stopped him, however, with an extended hand.

"That won't be necessary, Derek. The trap is already sprung, we're just waiting for the last act before its closing," Darius said in his damnable unreadable tone. Even now, as everything was falling apart, he looked completely unconcerned and calm. It was a visage, of course, but it was still vexing how well Darius wore it.

Derek turned to get allies to continue this fight, but Terence and even the Mayor, Cortez, looking as equally at peace with what was happening. Dixie was the only person, besides Derek, who seemed concerned, but was busy listening to the various reports over the radio. Maybe if Freeman were he-....  No....

Realization came too late as a cry of alarm was cut short as an arrow punched through the wall of the small office. Darius simply closed his eyes as the door burst open and three Reapers stormed into the small space, bows and weapons drawn. Derek swore and looked to his rifle, but an arrow directed toward his head killed that notion as quickly as the arrow could kill him. All he could do was raise his hands along with everyone else...

Outside, a trail of bodies, their throats either slit or punctured, lined the path the Reapers had took here. And following that trail was Captain Freeman, the real traitor, looking very pleased with himself.

"Excellent work, boys. Extra rations for all of you on our return," Freeman said as he strode into the room. He looked between them all with a smug smile and let a chuckle escape his lips.

"And excellent work to all of you as well. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome then this. Rome destroyed, the escaped prisoner dead, and Manchent's annoying truth erased.... forever. All done before lunch... excellent," Freeman bragged pacing around the room. Derek was tempted to try and reach the bastard as he came closer, but while he was bragging away his Reapers keep their enhanced gaze on all of them. He'd be dead before he even turned to face the fucking traitor...

"What did they promise you, Freeman? A spot in the city? Survival? Some sw-" Terence started to ask but had to stop as Freeman began to laugh.

"Hahah, oh no, nothing like that. I am very, VERY well aware of how...one-sided agreements like that are. And how unlikely they are to be fulfilled. No, that was more what I promised those that worked under me, and all of you, to get them to turn. It's surprisingly easy to find that coward desperate to survive or the selfish monster fully willing to sell his friends for his own benefit once you get good at spotting them. And I've had a LOT of practice. No, I'm a bit... higher up the chain than those types," Freeman said with a smirk.

The traitor grabbed a device off the belt of one of the Reapers and had it extend a long needle. Rather than turning it on one of them, however, Freeman slid it into his own neck and winced before letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Ahhh, it will be so good to be back to normal and actually stay that way," Freeman said, his voice shifting in octave as he spoke. And it wasn’t the only thing that changed as his hair seemed to extend further down his head. His torso shifted and contorted as it looked to narrow while his hips did the opposite. Freeman gasped as his face softened and his hands shrank. Derek swore as he realized what was happening as Freemen shifted from a he into a she.

With a final groan and gasp, Freeman's change finished and the traitorous bitch tossed back her black hair. She smirked at all of them as they all stared in shock and surprise before letting out a giggle.

"That's right, I've been a part of the Society since I... removed the original Freeman. It wasn't very hard to replace him since he always keep to himself. At least till..." she turned a smile toward Terence as his eyes narrowed in rage.

"Till the Marauder attack... and he suddenly wanted to join and help defend the city," Terence finished for her, his fist clenching as they stayed in the air. Dixie looked as equally furious as she glared at the woman, but Cortez seemed lost in thought. And then he looked up at the woman with a shocked expression.

"You...it was you. You were the one that threatened me that day! You were the one who took me hostage!" the Mayor said, looking shocked and dismayed. Free- or whoever she was, laughed at his realization.

"That's right. It was hilarious watching you invite every woman you could find into your office, hoping you might be able to match my voice. Though I suppose it is comforting to know you never could have succeeded in finding me. Hard to match a woman's voice when it turns into a man's. Hmhmhm," the woman said before stopping her pacing. This had gone long enough...

"If you are going to kill us, get it over with," Derek said, having heard enough of her bragging. The woman turned to him and chuckled before shaking her head.

"Who said I was going to kill you? No, I think taking you prisoner and having a few... special pets when I get back to normal size would be the perfect reward for this long, tiring mission," she said with a smirk. Derek was about to tell her it was going to happen, but was stopped as she spoke over him,

"And no. Your opinion in the matter is not important. Take them, alive. But if you have to break a few limbs... well broken toys will do."