Book Capture and Recovery, Chapter 7: When the Bell Tolls

I know. I know. Way overdue. Crucify me, I'm sorry. I'm feeling the stress of school and work, and to tell you the truth, I became a little OCD with this last chapter and wanted to make it something special; perfect actually. I've thought long and hard about how this should end, and I've changed my mind about 7 different times now. However, I feel like I've truly connected with the community and I really really hope I've done ctf justice with this chapter. I love you all so much! Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are right there. Please forgive this long awaited final chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

[P.O.V. Socool]
After the battle​

It had been a tough battle, but when the enemy's soldier had run out from the main tent calling for a retreat I was​

both thankful and concerned that all the fighting had been in vain. We let them leave peacefully. Our new recruits were exhausted and CAP was busy doing damage control. I myself was helping Black up on the roof near where their assassin had attacked. Thankfully he had been unable to get his assassinate off in time.

"Man Socool. That sucked. Let's not do that again." He complained next to me. I laughed, trying to lighten the mood​

and get his mind off the pain.

"What? Don't enjoy near death experiences? No appreciation, I swear." He chuckled, then winced. We kept walking,​

with me supporting his left side. By the time we got back it was dark outside. We went to the medic tent and I left him with a randy medic.

"Where the heck is Daniel? Shouldn't he be doing his job?" I heard Black ask his nurse. I glanced back when I heard​

her crying, then shrugged and kept walking. Medics were too soft for this stuff. That's why I liked Daniel. I wandered around until I found some CAPers grouping near the mess hall. I could just barely make out Lionaa standing on a table in front of them. She looked barely scratched in comparison to the rest of us and I walked over in sheer curiosity. I was over 10 feet away when I heard her blubbering and sniffing. Rolling my eyes, I trotted up behind James.

"Hey, man. What's Lionaa going on about this time?" He turned and there were tears in his eyes. I was slightly taken​

aback by that. Normally James kept a cool head. What had happened? He motioned to the front of the crowd. Through the people I could see what appeared to be plaques. I pushed through to the front and stared down at 2 slabs; one with 'Unifier' written on it, and one with 'Daniel'. I stared for a while, not wanting to believe it.

"Oh." I said absentmindedly, "So that's where he was." I looked around at my fellow comrades to see how they were​

holding up. Most were crying at this point. Adam was crouched away from the group with his back to us and his face to the dark sky above. I began walking over, but Pookey grabbed my shoulder, stopping me.

"Let him rest. He's suffered the most out of all of us, I'm sure." I nodded, realizing that if Pookey was being serious,​

it was worth listening to.

"How did they..." I struggled to find the right words to ask. Pookey raised up a hand.
"That can wait. It won't bring back the dead." Personally I thought we should've grieved the dead like Adam did.​

Instead, we pushed those emotions down. Lionaa stopped crying after a time and cleared her throat.

"We're moving out to ClockTower. James sent toby over there already to set up his army. Blue team knows, so we​

need to go now. We'll come back and mourn Unifier and Daniel after this is over." My ears perked up. Did I hear a soft chuckle from her? CAP began preparing, but as I was getting ready I noticed we were the only ones. Cyber was walking past me and I grabbed her arm. She looked over, startled.

Why is it only us getting ready?" I asked, shocked. She shrugged and kept moving on. I stood there alone now. Why​

were only CAP going? I didn't understand. Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by a slight knock on my head. I looked up into the sky and was greeted by a raindrop falling on my nose. Wonderful.... I continued packing. It was going to be a long and gloomy trek.

[P.O.V. Stlast]
On the way to Clocktower​

A rain had picked up and now it was drizzling. We were soaked through even before we were halfway through our​

journey and morale was quite low among my teammates. None of us had spoken yet. We were all lost in our thoughts.

"Hey Nuclean." I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.
"Yea?" Came the defeated answer.
"Are you doin ok, man?" The rain was getting stronger and it echoed off the leaves around us.
"Yea. I'm just... you know... I should've been there, ya know? I could've done something." I shook my head​

empathetically.

No Nuclean. You couldn't have. You didn't know. It wasn't your fault. It was nobody's fault." I couldn't tell if it was​

the rain or tears that fell from his face, and I didn't comment on it. This was something he needed to think about. And what about me? Images of Sporty on the ground, of an enemy heavy ready to strike him down, of Deplicasus giving his life away to save him; all these came back to me so vividly that I wasn't prepared for them. I coughed back a cry and kept walking, keeping my head bowed both against the rain and my teammates' stares. I bumped into someone, causing me to stumble. A hand grabbed my arm and steadied me, and I glanced up into Birdgirl's sympathetic gaze.

"Oh. Hi." I mumbled, trying to hide my face.
"Hi Stlast." She answered back quietly, "You should probably look where you're going. It works better."​

I flushed and stood up straight.

"S-sorry." I apologized quickly. My face was burning up from embarrassment. Thankfully Birdgirl was nice​

enough to not comment on it.

"It's fine. I've been through this before. I understand." She appeared to think of something, "Just remember. No​

matter how much you think you know someone, that person could be someone completely different. We all have our hidden sides, but that doesn't mean they always remain hidden." I stared, remembering back to the fight earlier today; remembering how I had heard Ducksfan yelling for a retreat just a couple minutes after Deplicasus had died. All that anger, both at Ducksfan and me for being too late and at the enemy for their actions, was released by my lightning strike going straight through a group of enemy recruits. I remember the flash and the screams. No one stopped me. I then grabbed Nuke and Sporty and we took Deplicasus out of the camp. My eyes started to water. It was too painful! Birdgirl patted my shoulder as we walked. She didn't say anything; just stayed by my side for support. I was thankful. Suddenly she stopped me. I looked up into the shadow of a giant clock tower.

"Make your way to the corridor!" Came the quiet call from Chao- I mean Ducksfan. He stood there stock still and it​

took everyone a little while to start moving. Birdgirl smiled at me, then walked over to Ducksfan's side. She said some things to him and he nodded before wall climbing to the very top of the clock. He stood there for a while, then jumped down, landing in a glowing pool of light when he reached the group; protection from the fall damage. Without another word, he walked with the group into the corridor. Birdgirl appeared to choke back a sob before following suite. I stared quizzically. This was unlike Ducksfan. He was normally so friendly and full of life. Sighing, I walked up the steps and into the long, empty hallway. He'd probably give us our mission there.

[P.O.V. Adam]
At ClockTower​

"Ada... Adam... Adam!" I was woken up by my comrade, Toby. I stared around me, not quite sure of where I was.​

The space was dark and I was on the cold floor instead of my warm, comfy cot. Toby shook me slightly.

"Snap out of it, man. Everyone is gone. It's just us two left now." I was awake in a second, springing to my feet and​

stumbling from the lightheaded feeling that came from my fast actions. I looked around frantically for anyone.

"Hey! Shut up Toby. You're going to give the kid a heart attack!" I heard someone shout from down the hall.​

Looking over, I saw everyone still here, sitting around a small fire. I sighed thankfully, then punched him in the arm. He winced and apologized, saying he was only joking. I nodded, remembering how Daniel and I had always joked around. Now my memories were starting to come crashing back though. I gasped for breath, overcome with grief. Toby noticed and came over to me.

"You ok, man? You look like you've seen a ghost." I was reminded of when I had gotten sick and Daniel had​

healed me. He used to say the same thing; 'You look like you've seen a ghost.' I stumbled, then fell backwards, crying. Daniel reached for my hand to try to catch me, but he wasn't close enough. I fell against the wall and slid down, unable to contain my tears. I shook my head violently to try to clear Daniel from my memory. He can't be real. He can't be real! I kept telling myself this over and over again, but when I looked up I still saw his smiling face. I blinked several times.

"Adam..." He sounded so far away, yet that didn't sound like Daniel's voice. A couple of times I saw Toby's face​

appear instead of Daniel's but it was gone as soon as it came. My vision swam and I thinly felt myself being lowered onto my side. Daniel always took care of me like this, too. My tears didn't stop, so I closed my eyes and rolled onto my side, shoving my face into the ground and pounding the floor with my fist. It wasn't fair! It should've been me! Daniel's body, broken, and with an arrow sticking out of his head, appeared back into my mind and I clawed at it figuratively, trying to push it back down. Faintly I heard voices and I focused on those instead, feeling relieved as the image faded from my mind.

"...Let him rest." A voice, Pookey's, said urgently.
"We can't just leave him alone. They're coming." The voice of Brandino said.
"We'll let him sleep for a little bit, then wake him up." Lionaa's unmistakable voice said. I let their voices, so familiar​

to me, wrap around me like a blanket. Smiling, I let myself drift off. Daniel and I were busy having an eating contest on a warm summer day...

...​

I awoke to yet more darkness. The sound of my stomach growling, however, reminded me that I hadn't eaten all day​

long. I got up groggily and made my way over to the campfire. There was a small pot over the coals and I opened it to rice and chicken. I wasn't sure if it was mine, though, so I let it be. My head was throbbing slightly, so I grabbed some water. Sitting down next to the warmth, I sipped my drink. Daniel was still firmly planted in my mind, but I was too hurt to cry right now. Instead I stared off into the distance. I heard footsteps and turned to see James. He stopped when he saw me, as if unsure of what to do. I waved slightly and he quietly made his way to sit next to me. Take the pot off the fire, he handed me a bowl and poured some in, which I dug into right away. I noticed some redstone powder on his clothes and tilted my head to one side.

"Just some recon. They're at the other end of the village." I nodded, not really understanding. Finishing up my​

dinner, I got up to go into the next room where I could hear my teammates. I was stopped by the ninja.

"You're under strict orders not to fight. You're in no shape to." I glared at him, beginning to realize where this was​

going.

"Go on. Say it." I dared. My voice was raspy from not talking much, but I think he got my message loud and clear.​

James sighed.

"Your instructions are to be defense. Should anyone get into the room, let someone else handle them. Stay by the​

flag no matter what." I growled under my breath. I wanted revenge on Chaos! Suddenly I remembered Brandino's arrow finding its mark and taking down the enemy archer. I slouched over, defeated. I had no revenge. I had no one to go after. James put a hand on my shoulder.

"We need you to defend the flag, Adam." I nodded sadly. As we were heading to the next room we were suddenly​

startled by what sounded like bullets and the next thing I knew I was waking up in the infirmary back at camp.

"Whew. Thank goodness you're alive! We thought we'd lost you too." James said quietly, kneeling next to my bed.
"Lost me too? What do you-" I was struck with memories of Daniel and bit down on my thumb to avoid crying. No,​

there was no time for that right now. I glanced up into CAP's worried faces.

"Wha-what happened?"

[P.O.V. Ducksfan]
Before ClockTower​

Being the new leader stunk. A lot. I wasn't cut out for this whole leadership thing. I was the chill VP that when​

stuff went wrong said, 'wasn't my problem.' Now it was my problem. When I had found out about Chaos I had cried all night. Birdgirl had heard me and stayed with me, but sometime during my grief I had shut down. I was no longer Ducksfan; I could feel it. I wanted to joke around like old time, but I didn't have it in me. I needed to be like Chaos and continue his legacy, I thought to myself, even though my team needed me to be me. We had headed out a couple of hours after retreating. Red team knew we would come for the flag. We weren't going to win that race, so instead we took the time to heal and grieve. I needed to appoint a new co-captain, so during lunch I called everyone together and made my decision; Birdgirl would be my co-captain. No one cheered. A few congratulated her personally, but most just sat there lost in their thoughts. I sighed. This was going to end tonight. After waiting, we moved out. It had begun raining and I noticed that no one spoke. I wasn't being a very good leader. My head screamed at me. Do something! I didn't, though. I wasn't cut out for this. After hours of walking we finally made it to the center of ClockTower. The bells stood silent. There was no wind, just rain. I turned to my troop.

"Make your way to the corridor!" I commanded quietly. Once again, it took them a little while to register that​

I was talking to them. Birdgirl came walking up to me.

"You should take a look around and make sure we aren't being watched." She whispered to me. I nodded and​

launched myself up the side of the clock tower. At the top I could see for miles in all directions and I took a moment to clear my head. I needed to do something for my teammates. They deserved better than this. The rain fell silently around me and I let it engulf me. Suddenly I had a moment of truth. I knew what I had to do. I landed on the ground and made my way inside. After giving my instructions on our plan of attack, I wandered around like old times, chatting with friends and checking up on everyone. Most looked at me dead-eyed, but a few perked up and I sighed thankfully. I walked over to Tele and sat down next to him. He looked over slightly, then down at his food. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"There wasn't anything you could've done. I'm glad that you're ok, now let's show those stupid flag stealers who​

they're messing with! We could scare em away with your thunderbolts like we used to do with Gala!" I said casually.

"Hey! I heard that, you know!" Gala yelled from across the room. A couple of people chuckled and I was relieved​

to see the light coming back into people's eyes.

"Oh come on. Let's be honest, Gala. You were scared of your own shadow when you first showed up!" I joked​

again. There were a few more laughs at that and a couple of nods. Gala gawked, then flushed red. "Aw I'm just kidding. You handled it better than Birdgirl!" We messed around for a while and I noticed Birdgirl nodding in approval. She knew what I was doing. Maybe I was doing this right after all...

...​

It was a little while before we were ready to head out. The group was assembled and I look at their grim faces.​

We were ready for this.

"Tonight, we're getting our flag back." I began. There were some quiet cheers. "Tonight, we avenge those that​

we lost, and take back what was stolen from us!" The intensity was rising in the hall now. People were getting fired up for battle. I took a deep breath and raised my sword into the air, which was followed by other's doing the same. "Let's go in there and show them that we don't mess around! We'll make them pay for everything! Let's go!" My speech was returned with loud cheers now and we charged down the hall. I looked over to my side and nodded at Nucleon, who nodded back and sprinted ahead of us. His turret, already set up, sprang to life and immediately began shooting. Nucleon cranked up the shot speed and the sound of arrows filled the air. That should get their attention. As we ran, Birdgirl kept pace with me. We were the front line. We reached the flag room in a couple of seconds and were met with a rain of arrows from Brandino. Thankfully we were close range, so they bounced harmlessly off my iron armor. I felt a rush of air and turned to see a ninja right behind me. He raised his dagger to strike, but was shoved out of the way by Birdgirl. I smiled and we continued on. The plan was to not kill anyone. Our only objective was the flag. Behind me I could hear the heat of battle. They were keeping them off us, which was according to plan. We reached the flag post and I laid eyes on our beloved trophy draped across for all to see. An assassin stood in between us, but a web net caught his feet before he could even move. I reached for the flag, holding my breath. All was going according to plan.

"Stop!" Came the loud call. I instinctively stopped and turned around. A mage stood there with a lightning spell​

raised. Everyone had stopped fighting. Even the zombies had ceased their attack. All eyes were on her and I. "If you want that flag, you're going to have to go through each and every one of us. We're laying our lives on the line right here and right now, so you better be sure of your decision." I thought about it, but my response was quick.

"There's no way you'd put your teammates lives at risk." She scoffed.
"Do you think I really care? I killed two of my teammates already; a soldier and a pyro. Everyone here knows​

the risk of war. Do you?" I heard Birdgirl gasp next to me and noticed some shuffling in the ranks of the enemy team. Birdgirl took a threatening step towards her.

"You killed Unifier?! Did you take him into the woods just to kill him? Did you?! You did didn't you?! We will​

never surrender to the likes of you. Unifier was nothing but loyal and you killed him!" She was shouting now and I could see others were beginning to become uneasy, both from my team and her's. The mage just laughed.

"Oh sorry. Did I kill your little friend? He was a nuisance. You should be thanking me." Birdgirl flinched as​

if physically hit, but suddenly she launched herself at the enemy, who dodged to the side. That seemed to break a seal and I heard fighting erupt around me. As I stood amongst the chaos I was reminded of the stupidity of war. My thoughts were shattered with the feel of a strike on my armor. I turned to see the assassin taking a battle stance. I shrugged and unsheathed my sword. We ran at each other, meeting in a tangle of metal and clangs of sword on dagger. He was skilled and fast, and I was completely on the defensive, blocking each strike skillfully. My blood boiled and my heartbeat raced. This was a good fight! We fought in the middle of all the other fighting, but we were suddenly interrupted with a scream. I stopped and noticed the assassin did the same. The fighting died down as all eyes turned to the very center of the room, where the mage stood with a golden sword through the heart. She looked down at it and back up slowly towards Birdgirl, who was gasping and crying.

"Lionaa!" The enemy ninja shouted, getting to her and catching her just as she fell. He cradled her head in his​

arms and she looked up at him, the light ebbing from her eyes.

"Be... a good... leader." Were the last words she said. Her head drooped and she was gone from this world.​

There was not a sound to be heard and a couple of people from CAP bowed their heads in respect. I did the same. Birdgirl stood there in the middle. She didn't move and she didn't speak. She walked over to Lionaa and pulled the sword out from her before sheathing it. She walked towards the hallway and everyone parted before her silently. She walked out and we were all left there. I hesitated, then walked up to the ninja, who was crying over Lionaa. He looked up when I approached and reached for his dagger. Then he appeared to think twice and dropped it.

"Just take it. Nothing is worth all this bloodshed." He mumbled. I nodded and went to the flag post. Grabbing​

the flag, I walked out after Birdgirl, looking behind me to see my teammates following. Not a word was said. Through the rain pounding on the roof I could hear the bells tolling away. They sounded so sad.

...​

Back at base, we all took a moment to give our last goodbyes to our fallen teammates before we laid them to​

rest. Birdgirl hadn't spoken since returning and she had shut herself away in her room. After many failed attempts to get her to answer, I had left some food outside the door and retreated to my quarters as well. I sat there contemplating all that had happened. It was over. I laid down in bed and a couple hours later there was a soft knock at my door. Thinking it was Birdgirl I quickly got up to answer it. I was greeted by Bawss. I staggered, caught off guard.

"Hello Ducksfan. May I enter?" He asked coolly. I nodded and he walked in, taking a seat at my coffee table.​

I sat down across from him and he folded his hands on the table.

"Good work Ducksfan. The mission was a success. You've returned the flag to us. I'm proud of you all." I sat​

there in silence. All the battles, all the bloodshed, and all the heartache came rushing back to me and I looked up into the face of my director. I was the leader now and I knew what had to be asked.

"The mission was a success, but at what cost?"​

Thanks guys! Sadly this is the end. I hope you enjoyed the read. It wasn't as happy of an ending as what I had originally wanted it to be, but then again, life isn't always a happy ending. My final tags are here.

Blue Team:

• Heavy (@Deplicasus) Deceased
• Soldier (@Ducksfan101)
• Medic (@Birdgirl)
• Archer (@LordCh4os) Deceased
• Assassin (@K_O_100) Deceased
• Engineer (@Nucleon_ )
• Ninja (@TimelessTele)
• Necro (closed group)
• Elf (@GalaThundR)
• Mage (@stlast)
• Chemist (@sportyman56)
• Pyro (@TheNukerator)

Red Team:

• Heavy (@8BitCyber)
• Soldier (@SoCool21)
• Medic (@Daniellll) Deceased
• Archer (@BrandinoB)
• Assassin (@AdamLovesBarca)
• Engineer (closed group)
• Ninja (@YouAreBestBae)
• Necro (@Dankmastr_Memesn)
• Elf (@pookeythekid)
• Mage (@lionafp) Deceased
• Chemist (@blackfurrykitty)
• Pyro (@Unifier) deceased

@TheMaelstromsEye @BAWSS5​

 

:'( you didn't die. Adam was the assassin. Adamlovesbarca and they didn't die either. xD

 

lol sequel? I was thinking of doing a raid one now.

AdamlovesBarca's name was adam. You're toby, remember? Adam doesn't die anyway, but neither do you. Trust me, I would've had a death scene if someone had died.

 

Oh. That's a thing. Hold on, I'll do it when I get to school.

 

Awww you guys flatter me! :3 thanks for liking the story, although personally I think I could've done better