Demon of the Skies [Book 1]

Valley of Kings

Chapter Quote:
"I thought I knew the world. I thought I knew myself. I thought I knew my dearest friend. But I knew nothing at all."
~Estrella DeMadrigal
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Chapter 20: Valley of Kings

Cipher

"You can't end it there!" Elizabeth said. "We still have Avalon and V2 to hear about!"

I laughed as I got up. "I need the bathroom, and I know you won't let me go once we get to the last battle. You two can wait for a few."

My niece and nephew groaned but didn't argue further. To be honest, besides genuinely needing to the bathroom, I also needed to steel myself for the upcoming missions. Knowing what happens, it got to me in a bad way, especially because I'd pushed these memories as far down as they could go. Not the healthiest coping mechanism, but it worked for me. It was the only thing that saved me from losing it. To say I went to a dark place after the war would be an understatement...

When I entered the living room, Elizabeth and Genette had stocked up on drinks and snacks and were waiting impatiently for me to begin. Because I'm a horrible person, I took my own sweet time getting settled into my chair before diving into the mission.

The two of them leaned forward expectantly, eyes alight with curiosity. I may not have been looking forward to dredging up these memories, but the looks on my niece's and nephew's faces made it all worth it.
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PJ and I landed at a makeshift base on the way to Mund, restocking our supplies. I switched our weapons to ones specialized for ground targets, instinct telling me that was the way to go. If and when I faced Pixy, because I knew I would, I could fight him with regular missiles. I believed in my abilities to do so.

We took back off the moment we were cleared and rushed to Avalon Dam. On the way, Hammerhead came on to brief us for this particular mission. "I'll transmit the latest data we've received from the Allied Forces. "According to this, the dam is protected by an intensive anti-aircraft defense network. To deal with this, the Allied squadron will draw anti-aircraft fire to itself in the skies. Meanwhile, Galm Team will join the Allied squad's Avalon Dam strike team and approach the target at low-altitude through the canyon. That's the only way we stand a chance at succeeding. If you destroy the V2 launch control facility, you should be able to stop the weapon from being fired. The V2 will probably be equipped with a nuclear warhead. The destruction caused by its single warhead will most likely dwarf the damage inflicted by that tactical nuclear attack before. All the Allied Forces will be mobilized for this full-scale operation. It seems this war doesn't want to come to an end. We must stop the V2 launch! Hurry!"

Operation: Point Blank

Location: Avalon Dam

Date: 1995/12/31