Kino Der Toten

Could this really be the end of the great Takeo ?

He was down and surrounded with his spare pistol finally empty. As the zombie horde closed in eager to feast upon his flesh he took a moment to reflect on his life up to this point. He fought the good fight and perhaps because of his involvement his companions might find some way to put an end to the undead scourge that plagued the Earth. Was his death honorable?

Yes. Yes it was.

He could accept that.

"HANG IN THERE TAK'!" Dempsey roared, his Commando blazing with deadly precision and tearing the former Nazis to ribbons.

"DIE FREAKBAGS!"

Takeo watched in half-amazement as the American hungrily ripped into his many foes. One by one they fell, each shrieking in false pain. Heads exploded in gory fashion after every shot that rang out, and the single grenade saw to it that both blood and limbs rained down upon the checkered floor.

After planting the final bullet courtesy of his trusty M1911 into the last remaining zombie, Dempsey looked down at Takeo bearing an odd and seemingly out of place look of worry for his Japanese ally.

"Ey Tak', you alright man? Thought you were a goner for a moment there." Despite the usual gruffness of his voice, the concern Dempsey felt was audible. After wiping his bloody hand off on his uniform he offered it to the downed Asian.

Takeo glared and reluctantly took the offered hand.

"I did not need or even request your help."

"Ha! Yeah I'm sure ya didn't but the Doc' wanted you over at the tele-mortar-thing. It's about time we got the hell out of here."

"Very well. Let us go."

"Yeah you go on ahead. Nikolai got scared and drained the system last round and Richtofen said I oughtta link up the pad. I'll be over there in five."

Takeo merely nodded in response and walked away from his comrade. Lucky for him he was downed only a few rooms away from the theatre and made a quick stop to buy himself a bottle of that oh-so-delightful beverage known as Juggernog. He casually walked away from the machine, taking a few drinks before tossing it away and proceeded at a comfortable pace towards the teleporter.

While he didn't care much for the American he couldn't ignore how helpful Dempsey was. It wasn't often, but nearly every time he found himself in a tight spot Dempsey was there in a matter of moments to bail him out of it. Was it possible that the marine thought of Takeo as a friend? The thought was absurd, but it explained why he was showered by so much unnecessary -but well deserved- praise.

Dempsey was a good soldier and a fine teammate (to him, anyways) and had made the occasional one-liner that Takeo himself couldn't deny was rather amusing. He would never voice such thoughts, however, lest the fool think he wasn't entirely hopeless…

…But then maybe he wasn't.

Takeo shook off his thoughts, already disgusted with himself for thinking that any one of his "allies" could even bear some semblance of honor. While he was no drunk Russian, Dempsey's constant boasts were annoying after hearing them a dozen or so times. Takeo did not appreciate big talk that was not one-hundred percent true. One would be wise to not even mention the Doctor. For all the hate he felt towards Nikolai, Edward was something truly loathsome.

Takeo stepped into the teleported when he arrived, seeing that Richtofan and the stumbling Russian were already inside waiting.

"Greetings, Doctor." Takeo said while deliberately paying Nikolai no mind.

"Oh, hello Takeo. Has Dempshey linked up ze pad?"

"He requested we give him five mintues."

"Hmm… Fine."

They waited and waited, but had seen no signs whatsoever of Dempsey. The teleport had long since green-lighted their escape as well, so where was he? A dreadful feeling overcame Takeo when he realized that not only was Tank missing,

The zombies were too.

"Oh vell, it seems he is dead. So sad. Time to depart yes?" Richtofen chirped, all too happy to have a chance to finally leave his hated comrade behind. He began to prepare the large machine, punching in coordinates for their destination. The American was surely overwhelmed and likely required assistance. Takeo growled, his course of action painfully obvious. He had one perk and only a single mag for his FN FAL.

Maybe his head was just as empty as Dempsey's.

"I will go find him Edward, so do not move!" Takeo shouted, already making his way down the aisle and to the pad where Dempsey was likely fighting for his life. He loaded his gun with a fresh magazine as he rushed along the path to the ever increasing sound of gunfire.

As he suspected, there the marine was, backed into a corner near the Quick Revive by a rapidly advancing pack of zombies. Someone really should have boarded up the windows.

"Eat shit and die gutterslugs!" Dempsey bellowed.

Defiant to the end. An admirable trait.

Takeo charged at the horde without hesitation and fired a few carefully placed rounds to draw their attention.

"Over here foul beasts!" Takeo waved, firing his FN FAL and scoring some headshots. Just as he had hoped the zombies lost interest in the Yank and found Takeo to be a much more suitable snack for their insatiable hunger. He dashed up the lobby stairs and called down to a stunned Dempsey.

"To the machine! I shall soon follow!"

Without wasting a moment the marine nodded and ran off, leaving Takeo alone to deal with the monsters now chasing him.

His mission accomplished, Takeo made his way through the cluttered cinema, easily keeping ahead of his starving pursuers. The lone warrior was more agile than he looked and was swiftly moving through the rooms and jumping down stairs to increase both his momentum and distance. The dressing room blurred at his speed, and the wide open theater was a welcome sight.

Takeo slowed to a jog and nonchalantly stepped into the giant contraption with the rest of his team.

Richtofen scowled at him as he passed and through gritted teeth asked, "Ready?"

"Yes, let us depart."

"Hey Takeo."

"Hm?"

"Thanks."