章 8: Squad Story: Desmond Crocker
"Those who eat up just about anything the newspapers and radios throw at them are nothing more than pathetic dogs that are easily fooled by the swing of a treat. The people behind these things lie and they lie pretty convincingly"
-Desmond Crocker, 1940
The world isn't as simple as we all are led to believe. A lot of news agencies like to present the world, especially politics, as simply being black and white; a constant battle of good and evil. But after all that had happened, I realized just how naïve so many of us are. The world is much more colorful than what many of us believe and I think many of us know this.
And yet, we choose to look at the world in greyscale… Why?
Arlem Region
1917:
"Desmond. Desmond" A middle-aged woman said softly to a young boy "Wake up"
Half-awake, the boy replied "Mama…?"
"Shhh" the mother said as she helps the young boy up "Listen to me carefully. Take your sister and hide in the cellar. Whatever happens, don't make any noise or come out until it's safe. Do you understand?"
Confused, the young Desmond could only say "What? What's going on, Mama?"
"There's no time. Please. Take your sister and hide!"
"A-Alright…"
The boy followed his mother's orders and took his little sister to the cellar door, hidden under the staircase.
"What's going on?" the little sister asked
"I don't know…" Desmond responded "I'll take a look but mama told us to keep quiet so you know what you should do right?"
"Yes! I'll keep quiet"
"Good… I'll go see what's going on"
Desmond quietly went for the cellar door and slowly opened it.
He only saw parts of the living room as his father comes bursting through the door.
"Filbert!" his mother said rushing to her husband "Your arm!"
"I'm ok" his father replied "Just a 9mm to my arm. Nothing serious"
"So they are here"
"Unfortunately… I'm sorry this happened, Lourdes… I didn't know that the conspiracy reached as high as the nobility… Did you hide the kids?"
"Yes. They're hidden. And it's not your fault, Filbert. It's not"
Desmond was only a little kid back then. He wanted to burst through that door and run to his father's side but a part of him knew that he had to stay hidden.
Before he could do anything, several armed men burst through the same door, among them was a tall man with an unusual haircut.
"Maurits von Borg…" Desmond's father said
"Well. Well" the man said brandishing a pistol "Had you only just kept quiet and not meddled in the business of other people, you and your family would have lived but unfortunately, you did the opposite"
"Fuck you! The Duke won't let this treachery go lightly!"
"The Duke? You mean that fool who's trying to release this country from the Empire and leave it to be crushed between two giants?"
"Better that than be lapdogs!"
"Haha! You are a funny man, Mr. Crocker. I would love to hear more of these but I have a strict schedule. The Empire is mobilizing and they'll be occupying this area very soon and I do not want to be seen with Imperial troops"
Borg then shot Desmond's father and Mother.
They were still alive and the man took some time to torture them.
"Desmond?" the little sister said "What's going on?"
"Kiara" Desmond whispered "Be quiet. There are monsters outside. They'll eat us if we make a sound"
"O-Ok!"
With Desmond's sister going to back of the room, the young boy turns around and continues to watch in horror as Borg reloads his pistol.
Seconds later, two more shots are heard and Desmond's parents fall silent.
"Search the house" Borg commanded "They have two children, a boy and girl. Reunite them with their parents, will you?"
Borg's men then search the house as Desmond closes the cellar door.
From what I heard, Desmond wept silently but his sadness was quickly replaced by anger.
An anger that would fuel his hatred for all nobles.
Minutes pass and Desmond has yet to be sure that it was safe enough to get out of the cellar.
Suddenly, Borg's men began shouting, their voices echoing around the cellar walls.
Desmond slowly opens the cellar door, making sure he would not be noticed.
"The Imperials are here!" one of Borg's men shouted
"Already?!" Borg responded "Faster than I thought… Did any of you find the children?"
"No, sir" another one of his men responded
"… No matter. We cannot afford to be seen with the Imperials. Those children will be killed in the crossfire between the two armies. Let's go!"
Borg's men quickly leaves the house as the Gallians and Imperials began their skirmish.
Thinking that the area is clear, Desmond slowly opened the door and slowly walked to his parents, both lying in a combined pool of their own blood.
"Mama… Papa…" he muttered as he grabs his father's M1917 revolver "I'll find a safe place for Kiara… And I'll avenge you… I swear it"
The young boy's attention was then turned to one of Borg's men, who was left behind.
"Hey!" the man said as Desmond quickly pulls the trigger of the revolver
"What?!" the boy uttered as the revolver did not fire a bullet
The man quickly fires a burst from his Mags submachinegun.
Desmond quickly jumps to the wall and goes to the kitchen, with the man in hot pursuit.
The man quickly closes the distance between him and the boy.
Desperate, Desmond grabs a kitchen knife and stabs the man in the leg.
The man recoils but manages to punch Desmond to the ground.
"Playtime's over kid…" The man said cocking his gun "Don't worry. You'll see your parents again… real soon"
Having nothing to lose, Desmond turns around and quickly pulls the trigger of the revolver.
This time, a bullet comes out and drills through the man's chest, killing him instantly.
Desmond sat there, stunned and hyperventilating for a moment as the reality of him killing someone began to sink in.
But the sound of more gunfire and mortars brought the young boy back to reality.
Finally composing himself, Desmond quickly made his way to his parents' room and finds ammunition for his father's gun.
He reloads the revolver and quickly packs his and his sister's things and some supplies.
Desmond quickly came back to his sister in the cellar
"Is it over?" his sister asked
"Yeah" Desmond answered while still shaking a bit
"Where are mama and papa?"
"They're…uh… I don't know… But we have to go"
"Why?"
"Because… Mama told me to keep you safe and it's not safe anymore"
"Ok…"
Desmond and his sister escaped the house through the back door while Desmond made sure that his sister did not see the bodies of their parents.
They soon found themselves, literally, in the middle of the battle.
Desmond grabs his sister's hand and races through the battlefield, going towards the Gallian side as many civilians are being evacuated by the Gallian Army, killing a few Imperial soldiers along the way.
Minutes later, they were safely evacuated by the army and taken to a refugee camp in Yuell.
Inside the truck, Desmond hugs his little sister as tears begin to run down his face
"Desmond?" his sister asked "Why are you crying? Where's mama and papa?"
"Kiara…" Desmond said "… Mama and Papa will be gone for a while… In the meantime, I'll take care of you. Right now, we're going to the city where it's safe"
"Oh ok… I hope we can see mama and papa soon"
Desmond wipes the tears from his face and tries to smile. "Me too, Kiara… Me too…"
One year later, the First Europan War ended with Gallia managing to secede from the Empire.
Young Desmond and his little sister were then taken to an orphanage in Riverwood.
Outskirts of Riverwood
1922:
For the next few years, Desmond lived a normal carefree life with his little sister and their newfound friends; Croix, Paul, Cooper, Morris, Rupert, and Aster.
From what I was told, they were very close and were a troublesome bunch back in the day but they were nice children all in all and Desmond actually forgot the promise he made to his parents. The promise to avenge their deaths…
Unfortunately for him, destiny would remind him of this promise…
Desmond, Kiara, Croix, and the others were doing their usual antics by the river.
"Desmond! Guys!" Kiara said as she wades by the water "Come on! The water's great!"
"Your sister's really energetic…" Croix said as he ran to Kiara "Race you guys there!"
"Hey!" Aster said as he began to run "No fair! You had a head start!"
"Typical Croix" Paul remarked as he chuckled and ran
"You're not gonna race too, Desmond?" Rupert asked
"Nah… I'm fine" Desmond replied
"Oh… Say. Uh… Desmond… How old is your sister, again?"
"10 years old. Why?"
"Well… Uh… I was just wondering if… You know… if…"
"Wait. Do you have a crush on her?"
"Wh-What?! Well… I…"
"You do have a crush, don't you?"
"Alright… Yeah… I confess... But we hardly talk and stuff, you know. So…"
"Hahaha… Now I see why everyone else calls you 'flunky'. Just talk to her. She won't bite"
"Yeah but…"
"No buts! You'll do fine. She's friendly as she is. I mean look at her!"
"Ok… If you say so…"
The two eventually reached the rest of the gang.
"You're both slow!" Croix playfully said "Come on! The sun's not gonna stay up forever!"
"Yeah. Yeah" Desmond replied "But we gotta make sure we get back before 5pm. We don't want to be scolded… again…"
As the children played around the river, several men in trench coats arrive.
They round up the children and held them at gunpoint
"Who are you?!" Croix asked defiantly
"My. My" the shortest of the men said "Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?!"
The man then slaps Croix
"Croix!" Aster said as he tries to go to Croix's side but stops when one of the men points his gun at him.
"Bastards!" Desmond shouted
"Ah there you two are" the short man said "I never thought, I'd be lucky to find you two here"
"What?!"
"Borg's been very worried for the past few years… The two children of the Crockers still lives and may damage our plans. Pah! What can two kids even do? I say he's just too worried"
"Borg?!"
Before anyone else can say anything, the short man ordered his men to forcibly separate Desmond and Kiara from the others. He then forces them to walk towards a nearby river.
In the bridge, the man forces Croix and the others to stand at the edge, below them is the deepest part of the flowing river.
The river was known for its rapid currents and swimming in them is highly discouraged as you can easily be swept up by the river… In other words, it's the perfect place to dump a body…
"NO!" Desmond shouted "You're not gonna kill another innocent soul!"
"Oh?" the short man replied "Who's gonna stop us? You?"
"No!" Kiara said "Please, don't kill them!"
"Don't worry. Your turn will come next after these brats. I'll make sure to reunite you with them and your parents"
"Our parents?"
"Yes. You didn't know? Your parents are dead!"
Kiara's eyes widen. "No… That's not true…"
Meanwhile, Croix looks at Paul and nods.
Paul looks at the armed men and nods as well.
In that instant, Croix quickly lifts his shirt and grabs a pistol from his pants and fires several shots at the armed men.
The chaos allowed Desmond to break free as he punches his captor in between the legs and steals his Mags submachinegun.
Without hesitation, Desmond and Croix shoot several armed men in the chest.
"You BRATS!" the short man shouted as Desmond and Croix aim their guns at him "Drop your weapons or I drop this girl into the river!"
"Desmond!" Kiara said as the short man takes her hostage
"Bastard!" Desmond shouted "Let her go!"
"Not until you drop your gun!"
"What do we do, Croix?" Desmond asked
"We have no choice…" Croix replied, dropping his gun "He cheated"
Having no choice, Desmond reluctantly drops his gun.
"You're all idiots" the short man said as he fires his pistol at Kiara's left shoulders and drops her to the river
"KIARA!" Desmond shouts as he quickly picks up his gun and opens fire on the man
The man quickly jumps down and lands on the side of the river. Desmond attempts to fire again but the magazine was out of ammo.
Dropping the gun, Desmond tries to jump into the river to rescue his sister but Paul quickly grabs the young boy.
"Let me go!" Desmond shouted as he struggles to break free
"It's no use, Desmond!" Paul replied "The river's too deep and the current is too strong for us to handle!"
"NO! I can save her! Just let me go!"
"Desmond!" Croix said slapping the boy "Get a grip… Look. There are town watchmen coming this way. Let's tell them what happened. They'll find Kiara"
Even with the town watchmen and the nearby towns alerted on the incident, the river proved to be too strong for anyone to swim on.
And no one knew who that man in the trench coat was…
Weeks pass and nothing…
In the end, Kiara was never found…
Desmond was utterly devastated as he lost the last member of his family…
Riverwood Orphanage
2:30am:
Desmond, with a small backpack, slowly makes his way to the front door.
Before he could open it, someone calls him.
"Desmond?"
The young boy looks behind him and sees Croix, Aster, Rupert, Cooper, Morris, and Paul.
"Where are you going?" Rupert asked
"I'm leaving Riverwood" Desmond replied
"Where will you go?" Morris asked
"Randgriz"
"Randgriz?" Cooper responded "What do you plan to do there?"
"I'll avenge my family"
"Avenge?" Paul responded "Desmond. I know losing your Mom, Dad, and Sister hurts but-"
"They're all gone, Paul… Kiara's gone… They were all killed by these… these corrupt nobles!"
"Think this through, Desmond" Aster said "We all lost family too but… How are you going to make it on your own?"
"I'll wing it. My father taught me how to be resourceful"
"Yeah but-"
Before Aster could continue, Croix stops him.
"Croix?" Aster uttered
Croix walks closer to Desmond and rests his right hand on Desmond's left shoulder. "You made up your mind?"
"I did"
"There are no take backs. Are you sure?"
"Yes"
"Then we'll escort you out of town"
"What?!" Paul said "Croix, what the hell?"
"Nothing we say will stop him…" Croix replied "... So we might as well make it easier for him to at least leave town..."
In the end, Croix and the others escorted Desmond out of town using the underground tunnels.
Before departing, Desmond had one last conversation with his close friends.
"Thanks guys…" Desmond said "For everything… You're all family to me and I won't forget that"
"Yeah…" Croix replied "… You're family too. If anything happens, know that you can always come back to Riverwood. We'll be waiting"
"Thanks… Take care guys and stay alive until we meet again…"
"Yeah… Take care of yourself out there… Until we meet again, Desmond"
Desmond nods as he exits the tunnels and leaves town…
… According to Desmond, that was the last time he ever talked to Croix, Paul, Cooper, Morris, and Rupert as these 5 died during the 1935 invasion…
After leaving the orphanage, Desmond joined the criminal underworld of Gallia in order to survive and escape from the watchful eyes of the corrupt nobles that killed his family…
Driven by revenge, the young Desmond quickly rose through the criminal underworld, eventually joining a gang called The Rooks.
His resourcefulness and eventual ruthless behavior made him an important asset of the gang and he eventually became the new leader after the old one was killed in a turf war on January 4, 1927.
The gang was later renamed and Desmond quickly gained notoriety, causing several nobles to become quite anxious with Borg being the most anxious of them all.
Castle Randgriz
October 16, 1935:
With the Gallian Army and Militia coming to Randgriz to liberate their capital, the Imperials were preparing to install the stolen Valkyrian weapon on the Marmota.
In one of the gardens, Maurits von Borg was being escorted by Imperial soldiers as minutes before, Imperial Prince Maximilian had sentenced Borg to death by firing squad.
The former Prime Minister grunts as the Imperial soldiers push him into one of the walls.
"Wait. Wait" Borg said as the Imperials aim their rifles "Please don't!"
Before the firing squad could execute the Prime Minister, Aria jumps from above and kills 2 soldiers with her knife while Rain uses her suppressed Mags to gun down a few Imperials with deadly accuracy and Drifa fires her pistol on the remaining soldiers.
Borg sits down and looks at the trio
"You saved me" he said "Thank you. Thank you"
"Don't thank us just yet" Drifa said as Desmond emerges behind the trio
"Maurits von Borg…" Desmond said as he brings out his father's M1917 revolver "Remember me?"
"You…!" Borg said as his eyes widen
Desmond smiles. "You tried to have me killed several times… All failed…"
"P-Please… Sp-Spare me…"
"Oh. Now you're the one begging for his life…"
Desmond laughs for a bit before hitting the Prime Minister's face with his revolver.
"How the tables have turned" Desmond said as he points the barrel of the revolver under Borg's chin "I wonder if you still remember how you killed my parents 18 years ago…"
"P-Please… Desmond" Borg said with his voice and body shaking "I-I'm sorry"
"Sorry? You know that doesn't exactly sound sincere to me"
"I-I'm sorry, Desmond… I'm sorry that your parents were killed… I-I will leave you alone. I will disappear. Just let me go…"
"You know… I thought you'd do exactly that when me and my sister disappeared but no… You just had to give the order to either capture or kill both me and my sister. Guess what? You succeeded in killing my little sister"
Borg soon begins to panic as he continues to beg for his life
"If only you didn't do that…" Desmond said as he fires his revolver, hitting Borg's right knee "… I wouldn't have to do this. Now, you will experience the pain and suffering that you inflicted to my family"
Desmond fires another shot on Borg's left knee.
The Prime Minister screams in pain.
"You're a traitor to Gallia and one of the lowest living beings in this world"
Desmond fires another shot on Borg's right shoulder.
"You singlehandedly caused the deaths of hundreds of Gallians in less than 20 years…"
Desmond fires again, hitting Borg's left shoulder.
"Power hungry pigs… A lot of you nobles are like that…"
Desmond fires another shot, punching a hole Borg's right palm.
"You certainly won't be the last greedy politician that I'll kill… So I swear to you, Mr. von Borg, that I will not rest until you and your fellow greedy pigs are rotting together in hell…"
Desmond fires the 6th shot on Borg's left palm, creating another hole.
"You don't know how long I've waited for this moment… How I watched in horror from the hidden cellar in our home as you slowly killed my parents… Karma is on my side, Prime Minister and I'm about to deliver it… Any last words?"
Borg could not speak due to the immense pain that he was feeling. As tears begin to run down his cheeks, Desmond laughs as he aims his revolver at Borg's head.
Desmond pulls the trigger but the weapon did not fire.
"You think I'd end your pain that quickly?" Desmond said as he holsters his revolver "No. You'll die slowly and painfully. Aria, if you will"
Aria then hands over her knife to Desmond, who proceeded to non-lethally stab Borg several times in the stomach.
Eventually, Desmond decides to end it all by slitting Borg's throat, slowly.
Within minutes, the former Prime Minister was dead…
"Mama… Papa… Kiara" Desmond muttered "You have been avenged…"
Just then, the Marmota had begun to move and leave the city.
"Looks like Maximilian's endgame is near" Rain said
"What do we do now, Desmond?" Aria asked
"Well…" Desmond replied "Our main objective is done. Borg is dead. So we do the next logical thing… Defend our homeland"
"So Desmond" Drifa said "Your revenge is complete now, right?"
"No" Desmond answered "I still have to slaughter a few more greedy pigs still lurking in this country"
"Desmond…"
"Don't try to stop me. I got my justice but it's not over. I don't care if the entire world would remember me as a murderer… So long as I cleanse this world of filth like Borg, I'm happy with that…"
After escaping Castle Randgriz, they regrouped with their respective gangs and began to fight the Imperial troops left in the city.
Randgriz, Gallia
October 25, 1940:
"She's heavily injured" a doctor said as he examines Archduchess Cordelia "But she's alive and stable"
Minutes after the public executions, Desmond, Edna, Drifa, and several Gallian officials gather in Archduchess' room.
"I don't understand…" Edna said "I saw you kill the Archduchess. How is she alive?"
"Just proves my point how gullible you all are" Desmond responded "The one I killed was a body double, impersonating the Archduchess"
"Impersonating?"
"A couple of nobles have been conspiring to sell this country to the Empire for several decades now…"
"What do you mean?"
"You'd be surprised how deep this Imperial conspiracy goes… And I've been cleansing this country of ours of this filth for decades"
"Still… That doesn't change the fact that you killed innocent people!"
"I won't deny that I dirtied my hands to clean this country up but every kill, every death that I caused and will cause is simply a necessary sacrifice for the greater good"
"Greater good? Greater good?!" Edna said as she becomes emotional "You killed my parents! You killed them even though they weren't even involved in any of this! Are they collateral too? Are Darcsens disposable to you too?!"
Desmond did not respond. Drifa notices that Desmond maintained an emotionless demeanor.
The room was silent for a time before a Gallian soldier bursts in.
"General Barredo! General Barredo!" the Gallian soldier said frantically
"What's going on?" the general replied
"General! Imperial forces have launched an offensive on several border towns!"
"What?!"
"It's all part of their plan" Desmond interrupted "Those nobles were distracting all of us while the Empire slowly moved their forces for another invasion"
"Shit… Mobilize the army!" the general said "I don't want another repeat in history!"
"Don't worry, General" Desmond said "That won't happen"
"What makes you say that, convict?"
"The town watchmen of every one of those towns was already warned beforehand"
"What?! How did you-"
"I have my ways" Desmond interrupted "Oh and by the way, you may want to meet up with the Federation soldiers that I requested"
"Federation soldiers? Requested? What?"
"I can see that everyone in this room seems to be skeptical of me so I will leave you all the means and methods but it is up to all of you if you will use it"
Desmond then leaves the room.
"Hey!" Edna said running after the gang leader "Where do you think you're going?"
"To war, my dear" Desmond replied "Like it or not, Gallia will go to war"
Desmond then walks away as Edna stands there, perplexed.
By the end of October 1940, the Empire had resumed their invasion of Gallia and in turn, Gallia, once again, declares war on the Empire and to the surprise of many, including me, it was Archduchess Cordelia who announced the declaration of war.
And if that's not surprising enough, Gallia became an official ally of the Federation and formally joins the Second Europan War on October 28, 1940.
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