Disclaimer: Sorry if there are gramatical errors. Its in first-person so its bound to have its share. Review please thx.

Disclaimer: This shows the aftermath of KZ2.

Through the Madness

Traumatic war

The trauma that a veteran could take may be the lengthy hood of the battlefield; the shame, the wretched feeling of what could have salvaged was lost, and the knowledge that the dead no longer could return to their loved ones. All that and a hella lot of more crap exploded in a matter of seconds. In a word, the sight that beheld my comrades and I was stunning.

Mission abort, those were the only words I heard before all hell broke loose. Before that, we stared at the dead body of Visari. All of the sorrow that was the war and went with it lay with the old man's dead body. I never thought this day would've come, however something was odd. Alpha squad looked dismayed, distant, as if the world was rejecting them. From what? I had thought.

Of course it was obvious what the failure was. Capture Visari alive. And there he was, dead, helpless, and rather pitiful. All of these years of war, all started by one goal, one man, and now he was dead; like the other thousands of men who served and died fighting him. Now that I think about it, its sad.

I stared at the sky in wonderment and remorse. Its over! We won!

That wasn't the case. The Helghast are more fueled to achieve domination more than ever now. With or without Visari, he had already done his work. He fueled the dream of the Helghan as the great empire ,and what was up in the sky just proved it. Thousands of Helghan aircrafts arrived on the scene; thousands of infantry ready and armed.

And then I heard it. Three words that signaled the failure of humanity, and of the failure of all of our efforts to take our vengeance. Three words signaled all of that.

"The madness begins."

Those were the final words of Scolar Visari, one of the greatest dictators of the universe. The man who led to the uprising of the Helghan Empire letting thousands die in its waking.

"Oh shit!"

Returning back to my senses, I readied my weapon, aimed, and took cover with my squad.

"Damn higs! Shouldn't they've surrendered? Visari's dead anyway," Corporal Bosat roared.

My attention darted from moving figure to figure as I pulled the trigger, aiming precisely, and attentively. A sudden red flash flew into the area, beeping wildly.

"Grenade!"

Too late, I thought as a mass of bodies flew into the expanse. Suddenly shadows bounced off walls; my thoughts flying everywhere as everything started to sink in.

Twelve troopers? No too large, but… dammnit!

"Arc Troopers! Twelve of them," I hollered.

It was useless. By the time anyone got a grip on my message, they were surrounded.

"Someone get on a MG!"

"Dammnit! What the hell can we do?"

"Listen! All of you! Macko, Jargose," Bosat yelled, referring to me, " I want you to to place a D Charge on that door over there. Once in, go up, kill everyone and take those MGs over there. Got it?"

"Yes sir!"

"The rest of you, your with me."

"Cmon Jar, its this way," Macko laughed.

Macko began placing the D Charge on the door, after finishing planting the charge; Macko fell, his hand pushing the button, and exploded with the door.

"Macko!" I cried.

Yet I knew there was nothing to do for him except accept the fact that he died and continue the mission. Oddly enough, there was no resistance on the way to the turrets. It was as if they had retreated from the building.

I hurried to the top of the building, mounting myself on the turret; I took down the Arc Troopers with ease the next thing I knew, I was knocked out, awakened in an old factory.

The whole building was a mess full of trash and rubble. I tried to move but pain writhed. Then I began to remember things.

"Damn it Macko!"

He and my squad are as good as dead. Where I was? I had no clue. I knew who I was and knew one thing. I needed to get out. I tried to move my leg again and pain, more annoying than frustrating, but still pain. I moved inch by inch, reaching with my hand for balance. I made it toward the doorway, pulled the handle, and heard voices.

Ready for death. That is what makes you strong. Ready for death, I thought.

I held the handle of the door and fumbled into the light. Air. Fresh air.