Chapter 49: The Great Battle Above
The cult’s and West Tribes’ convoy of vehicles was getting close to the main route back to the Downs Region. Orcilla could now see it in the distance. She could also see the Empire’s convoy of vehicles moving in to cut them off.
‘They’ve managed to get ahead of us,’ said Orcilla to both Flint and Demadrian.
‘Looks like we’re going to have to fight them in the open,’ sighed Flint.
‘It’s perfect!’ replied Demadrian. ‘We’re going to shred them apart.’
‘Their numbers are greatly reduced,’ said Orcilla. ‘They had to split their forces to get ahead of us. They also don’t have their heavy weapons. We have a chance.’
‘Reduced to what?’ asked Flint.
‘They have maybe twice our numbers,’ replied Orcilla. ‘Sorry, make that four times our numbers. More have come into sight.’
‘Great, we’ll win easily,’ said Demadrian as he smiled at Eduardo. ‘I was built for this.’
Tiberius had spotted the cult’s and the West Tribes’ convoy of vehicles. ‘How do I operate these guns?’ Tiberius asked the captain.
‘Aganon Jr. placed these four buttons on your dashboard, Your Imperial Majesty,’ replied the captain.
‘Who’s Aganon Jr.?’ demanded Tiberius. ‘And how do I aim?’
‘He’s the friendly technician who installed your weapons, and he’s an extremely talented banjo player,’ replied the captain. ‘The guns can’t be aimed independently. You’ll need to aim them by steering the flying vehicle.’
‘This is absolute crap,’ replied Tiberius angrily. ‘What about the missiles?’
‘You drop them out the door,’ replied the captain. ‘This flying vehicle wasn’t designed to launch them.’
‘Oh just shut up, you idiot,’ said Tiberius. ‘We’ll just hang back and watch. I’ll deal with Aganon Jr. when we get back.’
Tiberius radioed Miro. ‘Miro, they’re approaching. Get everyone ready to open fire. Our moment of glory is upon us.’
‘Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,’ said Miro. ‘Our forces are positioning themselves now.’
‘Let Cecil know it’s time for him to play his part,’ added Tiberius.
‘Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,’ replied Miro.
A few minutes later, Flint and the commander received a call from Shamia.
‘We are about to engage in battle,’ said Flint firmly to Shamia. ‘I’ll talk to you later.’
‘That’s not what you’re going to do,’ replied Shamia. ‘You’re going to head back to the city now.’
‘Oh just shut up!’ said Flint angrily.
‘I’m the leader of the West Tribes, not you,’ replied Shamia. ‘I’m doing this to save your life.’
‘You’re a damn traitor,’ said Flint.
‘I’m stopping you from becoming a traitor,’ said Shamia. ‘You’ll thank me one day.’
‘I’ll order our departure from the convoy,’ said the commander to Shamia.
‘It must be done immediately,’ instructed Shamia.
‘You choose to do this at the last moment to doom them all,’ said Flint.
‘Commander, cut all communication with the cult traitors,’ instructed Shamia.
‘Don’t listen to her,’ said Flint to the commander.
The commander ignored Flint. He radioed the other vehicles to drop out of the convoy.
Orcilla could see the West Tribes’ vehicles dropping out of the convoy. She tried to contact Flint but could not. She then contacted Demadrian.
‘The West Tribes’ vehicles are leaving the convoy; do you know what’s going on?’ asked Orcilla.
‘They’re a bunch of cowards,’ replied Demadrian. ‘I say let them taste a few missiles.’
‘This is not the time to fight among ourselves,’ shouted Orcilla. ‘Let them leave. We’ll deal with them later.’
‘At least you believe there will be a later,’ chuckled Demadrian. ‘Fine, we’ll play it your way.’
Tiberius could see the West Tribes’ vehicles leaving the convoy. He picked up the radio and said, ‘It worked a treat. This is going to be too easy.’
Meanwhile, in the West Tribes’ main underground city, Shamia had just ended her call to the convoy. Standing opposite her was Cecil. He was holding a gun to Frank’s head. Frank was whimpering in fear.
‘You showed great authority,’ praised Cecil. ‘I’m sure the Emperor will pardon you of your crimes.’
‘Please, you promised you’d let Frank go,’ pleaded Shamia.
‘Yeah, sure,’ replied Cecil. ‘This bastard has peed himself.’ Cecil shoved Frank down hard onto the ground.
‘Ah, argh, ah, argh, ah, argh!’ shrieked Frank.
Shamia rushed over to Frank. ‘Oh Frank,’ she said as she grabbed his shoulders. ‘I’m here for you always.’
Frank wailed loudly in distress.
‘Calm down, my sweet Frank,’ said Shamia as she stroked his bald head.
‘This is truly something else,’ chuckled Cecil. ‘I’ve got something else special for sweet Frank. See that smoke.’
Shamia quickly got up and ran over to the balcony. She could see the theatre engulfed in flames. ‘Oh no!’ she gasped. ‘You’ve destroyed the theatre.’
Frank began to flap around on the ground like a fish out of water. ‘My dreams!’ he screamed. ‘My dreams!’
‘Oh my gosh!’ shouted Shamia as she ran back over to Frank. ‘You’re going to give him a heart attack.’
‘We put an end to this vile propaganda,’ chuckled Cecil as he looked at Shamia, who was clutching Frank’s shaking body.
‘He was writing, producing, directing, and starring in a musical about love, peace, and hope across all the wonderful species in Sapey,’ said Shamia angrily as she stared up at Cecil. Frank was now foaming from the mouth.
‘Count yourself lucky I didn’t burn the whole place down and massacre the lot of you wierdos,’ said Cecil as he and his team turned to leave the building. ‘I need to get to the cult’s hellhole. I don’t want to miss out on all the fun.’
‘Please don’t hurt them!’ called out Shamia.
‘The pain will be brief,’ shouted Cecil as he left. ‘I promise.’
Meanwhile, on the surface, the two convoys of vehicles could see each other from the ground.
‘Prepare to launch the first round of missiles,’ said Miro into his radio.
‘Prepared,’ replied the captains in the vehicles.
‘Fire at will!’ shouted Miro.
The Empire’s convoy launched several dozen missiles at the cult’s convoy. A powerful shockwave caused some of the missiles to explode mid-air, and the others crashed straight to the ground.
‘Fire again!’ shouted Miro.
Another dozen missiles were fired. They were met with another powerful shockwave that stopped them reaching their target.
‘What the hell is going on?’ shouted Tiberius into his radio to Miro.
‘We’ll break through soon,’ replied Miro.
‘Then do it, damn it!’ shouted Tiberius.
‘Keeping firing!’ shouted Miro. ‘Hit them with everything.’
They fired wave after wave of missiles. Each time the missiles were destroyed by the shockwaves.
‘Go on, keep firing,’ shouted Miro.
‘We’re out,’ replied a captain. ‘We need to wait for reinforcements.’
‘Then prepare the machine guns!’ shouted Miro. ‘We must keep attacking them.’
‘They’ve paused their missile barrage,’ said Orcilla to Demadrian and Eduardo. ‘I want to attack them from above.’
‘No, I want to get closer so we can hit them hard with shockwaves,’ replied Demadrian. ‘I want you to finish them off from the air. Don’t touch Tiberius; he’s mine.’
‘Where are you?’ asked Miro as he spoke into his radio to the captain leading the slower convoy of vehicles.
‘We just passed the green silo,’ replied the captain.
‘Good, that makes you less than half an hour away,’ replied Miro. ‘You’re also about to enter a signal dead zone. I’ll contact you again in twenty minutes.’
‘Acknowledged, Grand Vizier,’ replied the captain.
Miro switched to talk to his own convoy captains. ‘Hurry up, they’re getting closer,’ he shouted. ‘Fire at will.’
The Empire’s convoy began firing their machine guns. The cult’s convoy fired their guns in response. The cult’s guns were far weaker and barely did any damage to the Empire’s convoy. The cult’s vehicles were becoming badly damaged. Many had caught fire and were forced to stop. Cult members had to jump clear of them.
‘Yes, that’s it!’ shouted Tiberius. ‘Finish them off!’
‘Move in for the final kill,’ ordered Miro.
The Empire’s convoy rapidly advanced while rapidly firing on the mostly stationary cult’s convoy. Orcilla, Razor, and the rest of the flying team had manoeuvred themselves behind the Empire’s convoy.
‘It’s time,’ said Demadrian to Eduardo.
Eduardo raised his eyebrows emphatically. The cult vehicles began firing shockwaves at the Empire’s convoy. The first dozen vehicles were flung violently in the air and came crashing down on the vehicles behind them. One of the destroyed vehicles landed in front of Miro’s vehicle. Miro shrieked in shock.
‘Drop back!’ shouted Miro into his radio as his vehicle spun around to retreat. ‘We need to hold them until reinforcements arrive.’
‘Keep at them!’ shouted Tiberius into the radio. ‘They can’t keep this up!’
The conflicting orders caused the enforcers to hesitate before retreating. This caused more of the vehicles in the Empire’s convoy to be destroyed.
‘Orcilla, hit them!’ shouted Demadrian into his radio.
Orcilla and the flying teams began firing their lasers at the convoy vehicles that were now heading their way.
‘Where are they shooting from?’ demanded Miro.
‘I told you to keep at them, you stupid bastard!’ shouted Tiberius.
Meanwhile, not too far away, the rest of the convoy was heading towards the battle. They were close enough to see the smoke in the distance.
‘Let’s hope they don’t finish them before we arrive,’ chuckled a captain.
Suddenly there was a loud roar. Hundreds of Sentray stormed through the trees to the south of them.
‘Turn your guns south now!’ shouted the captain in charge of this convoy.
The vehicles in the convoy slowed, and their guns turned towards the charging Sentray.
‘Fire at will!’ shouted the captain.
Their large powerful guns began to fire at the Sentray. Several dozen Sentray fell to the ground, but the rest kept charging. They slammed into the vehicles with great force, causing them to flip over. The intact vehicles kept firing on the charging Sentray. The intensity of the battle was extreme. Sentray were dropping all over the place. Hundreds of vehicles were overturned and destroyed in a matter of minutes.
Meanwhile, the front of the Empire’s convoy was taking an enormous amount of damage. They were unable to defend themselves from the lasers that appeared to be coming out of nowhere.
‘They’re in the air!’ shouted Tiberius. ‘Shoot them down.’
‘We’re trying, Your Imperial Majesty,’ replied Miro. ‘We keep missing.’
Tiberius began to shoot in the general direction of the laser fire.
‘Looks like we’ve run out of power to hit them with more shockwaves,’ said Demadrian to Orcilla.
‘It’s okay,’ replied Orcilla. ‘They have no response to our aerial attack.’
‘Any news from Octavius or Volo?’ asked Demadrian.
‘No, but there’s definitely action,’ replied Orcilla as she looked over at the smoke rising up in the distance.
‘I want in on the action,’ said Demadrian. He opened the door of his vehicle, became invisible, and jumped out.
He sprinted at top speed towards a vehicle. He leapt on top of it. He ripped the hatch off and pulled the enforcers out from inside it. From the perspective of everyone else, it appeared as if enforcers were just being flung from their vehicles.
‘That bastard Colin is here!’ shouted Tiberius. ‘Shoot at him!’
‘The invisible creature,’ said Miro into his radio. ‘Shot at his trail of destruction.’
Vehicles began shooting in Demadrian’s general direction. Some of the bullets hit Demadrian. This caused him to briefly become visible.
‘Demadrian, it’s you,’ chuckled Tiberius. He turned to the captain next to him. ‘Fly over him. I’m going to drop a missile on him.’
‘Aye, aye, Your Imperial Majesty,’ said the captain as he saluted him.
‘Get us nice and really high first,’ said Tiberius.
The flying vehicle ascended high above the action.
‘That’s it!’ said Tiberius as he lifted up a missile. ‘Keep us steady.’ He dropped the missile from directly above where he believed Demadrian was attacking a vehicle. The missile landed on the vehicle, blowing it to pieces. Demadrian had moved on by the time it had hit.
‘Your Imperial Majesty!’ shouted Miro into the radio. ‘Leave the fighting to us.’
‘I would if you were any good at it, you idiot!’ shouted Tiberius back at Miro.
A short distance away, the battle raged between the remainder of the convoy. Hundreds more Sentray led by Octavius and Ducky, had joined the battle. They were destroying vehicles at a rapid rate, but the sheer number of vehicles and their firepower had now resulted in the deaths and severe injuries of over two hundred Sentray. The chances of victory were starting to look slim.
Miro had noticed the smoke coming from the direction of his reinforcements. ‘Our reinforcements are in trouble!’ shouted Miro to Tiberius. ‘Why didn’t you tell me? You have a great view from up there.’
‘You do your job; I’ll do mine!’ shouted back Tiberius.
‘We’re taking too much damage,’ shouted Miro. ‘We must retreat to the Downs Region for help.’
‘You’ll stay and fight, and die if you must!’ shouted Tiberius as he slammed his fist on his dashboard.
‘Fuck you!’ shouted Miro. ‘Retreat!’ he commanded the remainder of the convoy.
Miro’s vehicle turned and headed towards the Downs Region. The remaining vehicles began to follow him despite Tiberius ranting like a maniac into his radio.
‘Do not pursue them!’ said Orcilla into her radio. ‘Our lasers will not last much longer.’
Tiberius leaned forward on the dashboard, exhausted from his tantrum. He turned to the captain next to him and said, ‘This treason will not go unpunished. Take me to the Downs Region now.’
‘I don’t think so,’ said the captain in a serious tone. Then he became invisible.
‘You’re completely mad,’ gasped Tiberius.
Suddenly the flying vehicle went into a nosedive. Tiberius was flung from his seat and slammed into the roof of the rapidly descending flying vehicle. Just before hitting the ground, the vehicle pulled up slightly but not sufficiently to avoid heavy impact with the ground. Tiberius was slammed into the dashboard, and then he bounced outside the flying vehicle onto the ground.
He was dazed and disoriented. He could see dozens of children approaching him from all directions.
‘Get away from me!’ he shouted at them in a panicked tone as he tried but failed to stand.
The Hat Lady appeared from behind. She walked slowly towards Tiberius.
‘Revenge in the afterlife,’ sneered Tiberius.
‘We’ll not meet in my afterlife, you demented monster,’ said the Hat Lady calmly as she grabbed him by the hair. Tiberius’ skin dropped away from his body, exposing his raw flesh.
‘Come on, do what you must!’ shrieked Tiberius.
‘No!’ shouted Demadrian. ‘He is mine. I’m going to kill him slowly.’
‘Stop!’ shouted Orcilla as she landed next to the Hat Lady. ‘He will not die here on the battlefield just to be proclaimed some kind of hero. He will be exposed for every crime he has ever committed and will die in disgrace.’
‘You have no business making that decision!’ shouted Demadrian aggressively.
‘Neither do you,’ said the Hat Lady as she grabbed Demadrian and shapeshifted him into a small child.
Demadrian tried to break free from her grip, but all his strength had vanished. The Hat Lady gently placed her hand over his mouth to silence him.
There was a loud roar. ‘Octavius is on his way,’ said Razor. ‘He must have won his battle too.’
Two followers approached Tiberius. They placed him in chains. They escorted him to one of the few remaining vehicles that still functioned. The Hat Lady released Demadrian, allowing him to shapeshift back into himself.
Octavius dismounted Ducky and approached Orcilla, the Hat Lady, and Demadrian.
‘Well done,’ said Orcilla. ‘We’re so…’
‘I’m in no mood for congratulations or celebration,’ interrupted Octavius angrily. ‘So many lives have been needlessly lost.’
‘What happened?’ demanded Demadrian.
‘I attacked the convoy with around eight hundred Sentray,’ said Octavius. ‘I lost over six hundred, and another hundred are badly hurt. Their firepower was too much.’
‘You made it,’ said Demadrian, sounding surprised.
‘We took out the front of the convoy, killing their most senior enforcers,’ replied Octavius. ‘The remaining enforcers could have beaten us, but the carnage was too much for them to stomach, so they fled.’
‘Then you should have pursued them and finished the job!’ shouted Demadrian.
‘They were young technicians forced by the Empire to become enforcers!’ shouted Octavius. ‘They’re no threat to us now.’
Demadrian shapeshifted into a Sentray and roared ferociously at Octavius. Octavius roared back with equal ferocity.
‘No more fighting,’ said Orcilla. She looked around at the dead and the many injured followers who were lying on the grass. ‘There has already been too much violence, suffering, and loss for one day.’
‘Agreed,’ sighed Octavius. ‘My Sentray will carry anyone who needs help.’
Octavius instructed the Sentray to drop to their knees. The followers helped the injured up onto the backs of the Sentray.
‘Next, we head to the West Camp,’ instructed Orcilla as she watched them. ‘We need to make sure the Downs workers and the technicians are safe.’
Orcilla turned to look at the Hat Lady. ‘How are you even here?’ she asked. ‘What about the others?’
‘We’re all fine,’ replied the Hat Lady, smiling slightly. ‘Your sisters, your husband, and your friends are safe.’
Orcilla wrapped her arms around the Hat Lady, hugging her tight.
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my 