Hard Truth

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong…

Katarina was quickly taken to the hospital in Taiwan, but Lei Wulong knew Kat could not stay there since they just broke into the headquarters of G Corporation. Lucky for him, he had friends in high places here at Taipei. A special chopper was called for Kat. Once her wounds were treated she was brought back to Hong Kong with Eddy and Christie following. Lei decided to stay in Taiwan a while little longer because during his search, he found another address which housed Martelo and the other captives who were kidnapped by G Corp's special forces.

After being admitted in another medical facility in Hong Kong, Katarina was placed in ICU, but visitors were permitted to visit her. Katarina woke up the next day incredibly sore from the fight. Christie was in the room with her watching stream videos on Eddy's cell phone. Once again, Eddy was out getting some lunch for the two women. When Katarina woke up, Christie stopped what she was doing.

Christie: "Katarina? Hey! Welcome back! Are you feeling better?"

Kat (Grimacing): "Wh…where am I?"

Christie: "In a hospital, back in Hong Kong. I was nervous for you because of your condition against that Gigas thing."

Katarina: "I lost didn't I? I…didn't learn a thing about where my father went."

Christie: "Well…I got just got a call form Lei. He is on his way here to tell you about Martelo."

Katarina: "He is? Agh!" (Chest pain)

Christie: "If you are still hurting then I will stay quiet. I don't wanna make you uncomfortable."

Katarina: "No…I will get through this. I won't let G Corp get away with it!" (Hurting again)

Katarina tries to rise up from the bed, but the pain was too much. She drops back on the mattress. Christie could only look her not knowing what else to say. A knock on the door was heard. Christie let Eddy in with their lunch. Yet when Christie offered Kat lunch, she didn't want any of it. Katarina was hurting too bad and later she drifted back to sleep. Then, Kat started to dream.

Voice: "Hey! Hey! Wake up Katarina!"

Katarina opened her eyes. It looked like she was sleeping on a hammock, near a beach. And she felt a lot smaller for some reason. The shadowy figure that appeared before Katarina was none other than her foster father, Martelo. He had a frown on his face look down on his foster daughter.

Martelo: "If you were going to sleep on the hammock, you could have told me."

Katarina: "Huh?"

Martelo: "Don't huh me! C'mon get up! We are going to miss the festival!"

Katarina (In her head): "Festival? What the…?" (Looks down at her tiny feet) "Why am I small like this, and my voice? Wait? This looks so familiar. Is this the…Bertioga Carnaval Festival? How long has it been? But…wait papai!"

Katarina dreamt of the past. Martelo went on a vacation to get away from his deadly occupation as a bounty hunter. He took the young 11 year old Katarina to vacation spot in Sao Paulo state, just the two of them. It was definitely of one the more enjoyable times in her life. When it was nightfall, they simply went back to the rental home Martelo took and watched the fireworks go off at the beach harbor. Then he spoke to Katarina about how she felt that day.

Martelo: "What do you think Kat? How do you feel at this moment?"

Katarina: "I feel…happy. Happy that I got to see this! I will remember this for the rest of my life!"

Marterlo: "That is good Kat. Now you must make me a promise."

Katarina: "A promise?"

Martelo: "I brought you out here because I have a big mission to complete next week. This could be the toughest job I have ever done. If I don't make it back, I want to you to live with my sister."

Katarina: "You will make it papai! You can't die on me!"

Martelo: "Promise me this Kat. Even if I die, I don't want you to mourn me. You must keep a smile of your face and continue to live. Think about this night and my words. Remember it well."

Katarina: "Papai…I."

Martelo: "I know it's hard, but you must remain strong. I know this is a world filled with people who cannot be trusted, but I never want to find out if you are sad or remain lonely if I don't come back. Just be free and happy. Promise?"

Katarina (Crying): "Promise." (Hugs him)

Martelo (Sighs): "Kat. What did I tell you about crying over me?"

Back to the present…

Katarina (Waking up): "Hmmm…mmmm."

Sitting over the chair to her left was Lei Wulong who continued reading a book of sorts. Then he heard Katarina waking up.

Lei: "Katarina?"

Katarina (Looks at Lei): "Lei? Where is Christie?"

Lei: "I told them they could go back to the hotel after I arrived. I've only been here for about 90 minutes."

Katarina: "Where were you since then?"

Lei: "I went to a warehouse G Corp owns off the port of Taoyuan. This is where they experimented on the people who were part of the Gigas. I found your father Katarina. He is Gigas and he is not Gigas."

Katarina: "Que? Papai? What are you saying Lei?"

Lei: "I found his body in that warehouse along with many others. It was one of the most gruesome crimes scenes I've ever encountered. Your father's head was left cut open along with his heart taken out of his chest. I later found out that the brain inside Gigas' head belongs to your father. That's what I mean when I say Gigas is your father."

Katarina (Shakes her head in disbelief): "This…this has to be a dream. Tell me I'm dreaming this!"

Lei: "I'm sorry Kat. This is hard to process, but…"

Katarina: "That…thing! Is my father! Then why? Why did he run away after he knew who I was?" (Crying)

Lei: "Huh?"

Katarina starts crying, still in disbelief…

Lei (consoles her): "It hurts. I know Kat. You don't have to say anything else right now."

Lei was not sure what Katarina meant by saying that Gigas spoke to her. So despite being an augmentation, Gigas had developed the ability of speech? Was it possible that there is still some way Martelo lived within Gigas? Lei stayed with Katarina until he himself was getting hungry. He made sure to get warmer food for Katarina and this time around she did eat. Lei never said anything to her because she knew Katarina was not in the mood to speak. She still could not process what the cop told her about Martelo. All Katarina could do at this point was rest her injured body. Once she would be medically cleared to leave the hospital, Katarina planned to find out the truth for herself.