"Fynn? Fynn are you awake?"
The voice called out to him as if coming from a great distance.
"We know you're not asleep. Why won't you talk to us."
It sounded so familiar. Yet he couldn't quite grasp the name of its source.
"You're trying so hard to forget us. We keep calling out to you yet you've shut yourself away."
His eyes wouldn't open. Not completely anyway. Where was he?
"We've been fighting so hard to keep you with us. To keep you in the present. If we just talked about it, we could be happy again. You could be happy again."
He couldn't move. Something was holding him in place.
"We feel so far away from you…"
This wasn't what he wanted.
"You're drifting away…"
Kiba gasped awake and his eyes began to adjust to his surroundings. He was laying on something cold and hard. Most likely made of metal. An overhead ceiling fan provided the only noise he could hear aside from his own racing heart and quick shallow breathing. After taking a moment to calm down, he tried to sit up only to find his ankles and wrists had been strapped down.
He was laying on an operating table.
"Where am I?"
Kiba was in some sort of bunker. At least...it looked like a bunker. Surgical equipment and large machines had been set up around the room.
"This place...it's…"
He couldn't find the word for it. Kiba knew this place from somewhere but it was like the word had been ripped from his mind. Why couldn't he remember?
The Knight struggled in his bonds, the harder he pulled, the looser the straps came undone. Until at last he was able to wrench his left hand free and unstrap his right. He then unstrapped both his ankles and slid off the operation table.
Kiba took a moment to look around the room more thoroughly. He appeared to be the only one there. Looking down at his clothes, he saw he was wearing some sort of green jumpsuit. It looked like something you'd see in a prison. On the top of his left hand there was a barcode and the label Prisoner Zero tattooed into his skin.
"Hello?" He called out to whoever may be listening. Only his echo responded. "Hello!" He called more insistently. "Where am I? Where is…"
He couldn't remember. Why couldn't he remember? He could see her face, picture the color of her hair in his mind, everything. But he couldn't remember the name.
"What have you done to me?" He asked nervously. "Why can't I remember? Why can't I remember my President's name?!"
A door at the far end of the room opened up. He instinctively backed away, wary of whatever might have been awaiting him on the other side. Kiba tried to summon his Holy Eraser only to find much to his dismay he couldn't. Not only that, his movements felt sluggish. Like he was weighed down by his own legs.
His own 'human' legs. Kiba's Devil powers were gone.
"What the hell is going on?" He looked down at his trembling hands, fear welling up in his being.
"Another soul lost to the void. Same as me."
Kiba nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing a small voice speak up. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"
"Down here."
He looked down at the ground and saw, much to his confusion, a small furry animal staring back up at him.
"A mouse?"
"Hello." The small mouse spoke up nervously. "Don't suppose you happen to know how you got here, do you?"
Kiba shook his head, still getting over the fact that a mouse was talking to him. Maybe he was just going crazy.
"I'm afraid not." He replied hesitantly. "Truthfully I don't remember much of anything at the moment."
The mouse scratched behind its ear with its front paw. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've been wandering the darkness for so long, I just hoped maybe you might know something I don't."
"Sorry…"
"It's okay." He assured in a friendly tone. "Honestly, it's just nice meeting someone who didn't immediately try to squash me."
"I'm sure." Kiba spoke plainly.
"Allow me to introduce myself, friend." The little rodent stood on it's back legs. "You may call me...Mouse."
He smirked. "Not your real name, I take it?"
"I'm like you. I don't remember much since getting here."
"Is there anything at all you can tell me about this place?"
Mouse seemed to think for a moment, his nose nervously twitching as he looked around. "It's somewhere...not of the Earth. I can tell you that much. But beyond that, I don't know."
"How long have you been trapped in here?"
"Long enough to lose track." He replied glumly. "I do remember some things...I think...I think I was a man once. Yes. And...I remember...a battle. But beyond that, I can't recall. Everything else has been lost to me."
Kiba nodded in understanding. "It's the same for me, too. I remember my name. I remember I was a Devil. I remember the faces of my Peerage. But that's about it."
"Peerage…" Mouse seemed to ponder on that word for a moment. "Something about that word resonates with me. It's...familiar. I believe I used to have one of those as well…" He stood up on his hind legs and peered up at Kiba. "Is it possible we're from the same Peerage?"
The Knight shrugged. "I suppose. Though I couldn't say for certain."
"Listen...would you mind...taking me with you?" Mouse requested imploringly. "You're the first thing I've found that's managed to jog my memory. Perhaps if we travel together, more of our memories will come back."
Kiba was weary at first. But considering he had no powers, no memory, and no Earthly idea where he was, it would be foolish not to turn away a potential ally.
"Okay. We'll travel together for now."
"Great!" Mouse exclaimed happily. "I've been alone for so long. It'll be nice to have some company."
Kiba lowered his hand and Mouse jumped up into his palm. He then placed his new companion on his shoulder and stood up facing the door.
"Right then. Shall we, Friend?" Mouse offered, his eyes on the doorway.
He nodded. "Let's go."
They walked to the door and entered the darkness. Along with all the mysteries that it contained.
When Sona and Riser returned to the War Room, they informed everyone of what Rias and Jon were doing. None of them looked terribly thrilled by the news. Least of all being the Gremory Peerage and Ravel.
"So Rias is finally doing it, huh?" Akeno spoke up nervously. "She's finally going to try to tap into her full power." She clutched at the collar around her neck. "Oh Master...please be careful."
"I don't understand." Asia sounded even more worried than Akeno. "What is it she's trying to do exactly?"
"She's trying to fully synchronize with the powers she inherited from the Baal Clan." Koneko spoke up, a nervous tremor in her words. "It could destroy both of them if she fails."
Ravel gasped, the color immediately draining from her face. "B...but is there not anything we can do to help?"
"No." Akeno shook her head solemnly. "There isn't. This is something only Jon and Rias can accomplish on their own. All we would succeed in doing is getting in the way."
She bit her lip nervously. Ravel didn't like this one bit. The idea that Jon was attempting something so dangerous and there was nothing she could do to help out didn't sit well with her. Then again, it didn't seem to sit well with any of them.
"You guys don't give Hyodo nearly enough credit." Sammy leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. "Sure the guy can be a bit of a tool sometimes, but he's bar none the most powerful Devil here sans our two guests we got down in the basement. And Rias is no pushover either."
Sona smiled at Sammy approvingly. "On this I happily agree with my Pawn. Rias and Jon are both going to be fine. Not only will Rias have access to the full brunt of her latent potential, this trial will no doubt make Jon more powerful as well."
Riser grumbled at Sammy's statement. "Though I might contend the notion of Jon being the strongest Devil here, I do agree that we have more pressing issues to concern ourselves over." He took a seat at the war table next to his Queen. "So let us attend to the current situation. What do we know of the enemy's forces?"
Akeno began manipulating the hologram on the table. "The city of Kuoh has a gross estimated population of around two hundred and thirty thousand. It is believed that no less than eighty five percent of this two hundred and thirty thousand has been converted into walking undead by the virus." As she spoke, several red zones appeared throughout the city. "The bulk of the infected are located in these hot zones. It would seem that at the moment their only concern is spreading the infection."
"What of the other fifteen percent?" Sona asked curiously. "The ones who aren't infected."
"According to reports from our Scouts. The vast majority of those not infected appear to be congregating to this location." A small green zone appeared near the borders of the city.
Asia gasped. "That's the old Church! The one Raynare used as her base of operations."
Akeno nodded. "It would seem that a band of survivors are trying to fortify it in hopes of holding the infected at bay. From the reports we're receiving, a woman in a skin tight battle suit and wielding a Katana is the one leading them."
Sammy immediately perked up. "Irina?"
"Who else could it be?" Koneko replied.
"We certainly can't rule it out as a possibility. But until we know more we best focus on the primary objective." Sona insisted.
"Agreed." Riser spoke up next. "Tell us more about Kokabiel's other forces."
Akeno continued. "We've been receiving reports from the Scouts that they've encountered hostile civilians armed with military grade armaments. We believe them to be the remaining Fallen Forces who did not evacuate after the death of Raynare."
"So the regular who's who gallery then." Sammy surmised. "Vampires, werewolves, that sort of thing."
She nodded in confirmation. "While there aren't many of them left, they still maintain a startling presence within the city. And they're very well armed."
"Those weapons Jon and I found in the bunker…" Koneko concluded. "...those must have been for them."
"Moving on, we have also been receiving reports of specialized undead. Mutants, as they are known colloquially. As of now, they've mostly restricted their activity to the underground sections of the city. However, they've begun taking steps towards advancing upon the surface as well."
"It's likely they've been down there for weeks already." Tsubaki surmised. "No doubt keeping any prying eyes from wandering too close to the Nexus."
"Which brings me to the next issue." Akeno manipulated the hologram further and a massive system of underground hives connected by tramway tunnels appeared below the city. "Thanks to information we received from their underground Lab, we have a full layout of the Nexus that has been built below the city. As you can see, their constructions are vast."
"I still can't believe we let this go unnoticed for so long." Sona shook her head in quiet disbelief.
"There's no sense dwelling on it now, Boss." Sammy insisted encouragingly. "We should just focus on what we're going to do about it."
Akeno nodded in agreement. "We have yet to see any of the Special Forces mentioned in the data cache received from the Nexus servers. But it's suspected they're waiting on standby until the next stage of Kokabiel's attack plan."
"I'm interested in what we know about these creatures." Riser scratched his chin ponderously. "You mentioned in your report that they were husks with some sort of cybernetic augmentations?"
Akeno nodded. "Koneko and Sammy could give you more details than I can. They've been in direct confrontation with them.'
Sammy shrugged his shoulders. "Ain't much I can tell ya beyond they've got really heavy duty armor. Standard firearms won't even put a dent in that shit."
"Their weapons are also particularly nasty." Koneko added. "Some sort of plasma thrower. Definitely not something you'd expect to find in this century."
"From what we've seen, it would appear that Kokabiel and his allies have been combining alchemy and advanced magic with scientific research to create technologies that far exceed anything that can be conceived of by human minds alone." Tsubaki deduced.
"This is all fine and well." Riser spoke up again. "But what is Kokabiel's ultimate objective? No doubt he wishes to bring Lord Lucifer's barrier down and spread this disease of his. But surely he must realize that attacking Kuoh would be suicide. Even with as many forces as they've got."
Akeno's expression turned grim. "We know exactly what Kokabiel is planning to do. This army he's created is not an infiltration force. It's a diversion."
A new image appeared on the screen. In the very center of the city, at the heart of the Nexus, a large missile silo lay in waiting directly beneath the surface.
"What...is that?" Ravel asked nervously.
"This is Kokabiel's true objective." Akeno replied cryptically. "The enemy appears to have developed a prototype W.M.D. If the schematics that were pulled from their databanks are any indication, it appears to be equipped with a massive concentration of the very same pathogen found in the labs. Not only that, this missile appears to be powerful enough to puncture the barrier surrounding the city."
A chill ran down their spines. This was harrowing news indeed.
"So...he intends to launch a missile with the virus on board?" Riser guessed. "What will this achieve beyond another infected city?"
Sona shook her head, her expression grave. "Not a city. The atmosphere. All the tests we've run suggest that this compound the virus is being sustained in reacts to water. It's how they got the virus into the city. Steam vents dispersed the pathogen into the air ensuring even those locked indoors could become infected."
"Here is what we've deduced to be Kokabiels ultimate plan." Akeno declared. "He intends to launch this missile into a low orbit and detonate it."
The hologram began to move, depicting a missile launching from the silo, through the barrier into the clouds above.
"Once it has reached a sufficient altitude, it will detonate."
The missile soared into the air and the view from the hologram switched to one of the Earth. As the missile exploded the Earth became enveloped in a red mist.
"Ensuring complete...global...saturation."
All were silent in the War Room. The scope of this attack was beyond anything they had conceived possible by a madman like Kokabiel. He possessed a weapon capable of annihilating the human race.
An army of 7.8 billion zombies at Kokabiel's command. If he managed to pull this off, not only would the Great War reignite in full, but Kokabiel would effectively control the bridge between the three Factions.
Earth would belong to him.
"So why hasn't he launched it?" Riser swallowed back his reservations as he spoke. "If it's already good to go, then doesn't he just have to press a button and finish the job?"
"We suspect the missile will only be effective if there is sufficient cloud coverage over Kuoh." Sona explained. "As luck would have it...a storm front is coming in."
"Which means we're on a deadline." Riser spoke glumly while rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "This needs to be stopped, no matter what."
Akeno nodded in agreement. "With the information we've garnered, it won't be long before our Assault Tribes begin their operation. We still have several days before the storm front hits. In the meantime, we're going to secure our entry points into the Nexus, and take out the missile from within."
"If worst comes to worst, one of us can be waiting outside the silo to destroy it in orbit." Sammy offered.
"I'm certain Kokabiel will be anticipating that." Sona commented. "In fact, I'd be willing to bet he'll be guarding the Silo personally to ensure that doesn't happen."
Riser gulped, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. "So then...all of this hangs on whether or not Rias can acquire the power to confront him directly."
"Not necessarily." Sona smirked.
All eyes turned to the President of the Honor's Committee.
"We may yet have one other trump card on our side. As we speak, a group of humans are on their way here with something that might prove valuable to us."
"You mean the Holy Swords?" Akeno asked curiously.
Riser lurched up in his seat at the mention of the Vatican's most powerful relics.
Sona nodded. "Lord Lucifer has authorized a detachment of Scouts to meet them in the field. With a little luck, and some influence on our end, they should be here within the next few hours." She adjusted her glasses before speaking again.
"And that's not all these humans have to offer…"
Matsuda awoke the next morning with a still sleeping Rei on his chest. She looked gorgeous laying there in bed, lightly snoring with her cheek and hand pressed up to his peck. After they had sex on the couch last night, Matsuda carried her up to the other bedroom and the two continued exploring each others bodies. It was a clumsy, awkward, unfamiliar affair by two virgins who had never done this sort of thing before. But to both of them it was a night they would never soon forget.
God how he wished he could just stay like this. Watching her sleep while stroking her soft luscious hair. But time was not something they had an abundance of. They needed to get moving before the horde threatened to discover them.
Matsuda gently roused her from her slumber. "Rei...hey Rei, it's time to get up."
"Mmmm." She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him before yawning and stretching arching her back in a stretch that almost looked catlike.
"Morning you." Rei purred at him, a loving look in her sleepy eyes. "What time is it?"
"A little past 11:30." He replied. "We need to get moving, I'm worried we might have overslept."
She nodded in understanding before kissing him softly on the lips. They shared a tender moment together before Matsuda finally pulled away.
"Rei...Rei!" He chuckled at her. "Come on, we seriously do need to get moving."
"Sorry." She rested her head against her knuckles with her elbow on his chest, her eyelashes fluttering at him and her face flushed with affection. "I just REALLY like kissing you for some reason."
Matsuda was still not quite used to hearing that. Honestly, he may never be used to it.
"Listen." She sat up and placed a hand against his cheek. "All joking aside, last night was really special for me. I know we were both a little drunk…"
"Some of us more so than others." He teased.
She swatted him on the chest playfully before continuing. "...but, it really was special to me. I've been going through a lot since losing my Grandfather and last night…" Rei sighed contently and wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace. "...last night you really were there for me when I needed it. Thank you so much, Matsuda."
He chuckled awkwardly before responding in a joking manner. "Hey, you don't have to thank me. I should be the one thanking you for not pointing and laughing."
Rei's smile turned mischievous as she suddenly perked her lips up to his ear and whispered sultrily.
"Trust me...there was nothing to laugh about." She giggled into his ear, the subtlest hint of arousal in her voice.
Hearing that sent shivers down his spine. Morning wood didn't quite do what was happening to him right now justice.
"Oh...looks like he's awake." Rei added, her slender hand rubbing his bulge through the cotton underwear he had on. "Are you sure we don't have a few minutes to spare?"
"I really don't think we have time to have sex again." He groaned in pleasure. Matsuda genuinely could not believe the words coming out of his mouth, yet they were true all the same.
That sultry look returned to her eyes. "Actually...I had something else in mind."
Before he could ask Rei had already sunk down into the covers while simultaneously flinging them over her head. What followed next was a sensation that made Matsuda damn near go cross eyed. Hands feverishly pulling his member from its confines, one slender delicate hand gripping his shaft while a swift darting tongue coated it in something wet and vaguely sticky. This was followed by the sensation of two soft lifts enveloping the head of his cock before slowly sinking down along his length, along with the vibrations of a female voice moaning and occasionally gagged along his length in arousal.
Matsuda's toes curled and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. It didn't take long. And as he came, a completely new sensation flooded his senses. One of being sucked on in the midst of an orgasm. It felt strange at first, but by no means unpleasant.
Then it hit him. She wasn't just giving him head for the first time. Rei was swallowing!
Finally spent, he felt her pull away with a satisfying pop before poking her head back out of the covers and grinning at him.
"I've gotta say, it doesn't taste quite like how I imagined." She spoke while wiping the corner of her mouth. "Very salty and a little unpleasant. Did it feel good at least?"
"Huhhh…" No one was home.
She giggled at the silly face he was making. "I'll take that as a yes." Rei then patted his thigh encouragingly and stood up from the bed. "Come on, let's go see if the others are awake."
A high pitched scream made them both jump.
"It's coming from the other bedroom!" Matsuda declared before grabbing his bat and running outside. Rei grabbed a blanket to cover herself with and quickly joined him.
They both turned the corner in time to see Motohama being forcefully ejected from the other room, an irate Saya repeatedly knocking him over the head with a pillow.
"Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" She yelled while continuing to wail on him.
"Okay okay! I'm out!" Motohama insisted while covering himself from the blows. "Just stop hitting me."
She finally stopped long enough to fume at him, breathing like an enraged bull with her teeth bared and her face dark red. For a moment, Matsuda could have sworn he saw her nostrils flare.
"L..listen!" Motohama backed up into the railing in utter terror of the extremely pissed off girl with bubble gum pink hair glaring down at him. "This is all a big misunderstanding!"
"You mean I DIDN'T just wake up next to you trying to cop a feel?!" She railed at him. "How long were you laying their touching me, Pervert?!"
"You've got it all wrong!" Motohama covered his head in anticipation of more pillow shots. "I was only there because you asked me to stay!"
"Liar!" She raised the pillow above her head.
In the midst of all this commotion, Aika slowly lumbered out of the room, still half asleep, heavy bags under her eyes.
"It is way too early for this shit." She grumbled sleepily while rubbing her eye.
"It's almost noon." Rei pointed out in bewilderment.
"Like I said...too early." Aika muttered. Clearly, she was not a morning person.
"This idiot is trying to say I asked him to sleep next to me!" Saya spoke, still severely pissed off.
"Huh?" Aika blinked several times at Saya, still not quite fully awake yet. "Yeah...you totally did."
At that, Saya's body went rigid and she dropped the pillow.
"You were too plastered to remember it but you basically asked him if he wanted to kiss you then fell asleep on his chest." She yawned through her next words. "I heard the whole thing."
She turned white as a ghost and her eyebrow twitched. "W...we...we...k...k...kissed?"
Aika shook her head. Her face was still droopy though otherwise she was now fully awake. "Nope. He played the perfect gentleman and politely said no to your drunk ass. Despite you asking MULTIPLE times."
Her words jabbed into Saya's neck like a spear and her mind cracked. It looked as if her ghost was threatening to float away from her body for how mortified she was.
"After he said no, you basically begged him to cuddle with you for the night. So that's what he did. That's ALL he did. Meanwhile, you were moaning his name in your sleep. Pretty sure that was a wet dream by the way."
And that was it. She was gone. Bye bye, Saya. We will see you next time.
Motohama frowned and cast his gaze away. "I didn't want you to think I was taking advantage of you. I mean...that could have been your first kiss for all I knew. I didn't want to take that away when you were too drunk to even remember."
At his words, she finally snapped out of the mortified stupor she was in and stared down at him with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Her heart began to beat rapidly out of her chest and her whole body turned red albeit for entirely different reasons this time.
"Y...you…" She shut her eyes tight and clenched her fists as her whole body began to quiver.
"Saya?" He asked worriedly.
"You big...stupid...IDIOT!"
Saya ran back into the room and slammed the door while hiding her face from everyone.
"I don't believe this..." Aika looked pissed. "That bitch drank more than all three of us combined. Why am I the one with a hangover?"
"Great." Motohama hung his head dejectedly. "Now she hates me."
Rei chuckled sweetly at him. "Oh Sweety, no no. Trust me, that was not hate I just saw on her face a second ago."
He looked up at her hopefully. "It wasn't?"
She shook her head assuredly, a bright smile on her face. "I'd know that look anywhere. As a fellow girl, I can assure you that that was the look of someone who is still coming to terms with her feelings for a certain boy she really really likes."
He smiled ecstatically at her. "Really?!"
"Oh trust me, she's crushing on you. Big time." Aika spoke up, adjusting her spectacles before grinning wickedly at Rei and Matsuda. "Speaking of which...how was YOUR evening, you two?"
Matsuda and Rei both turned their heads away and coughed awkwardly, their faces breaking out red in embarrassment.
"That good huh?" Aika snickered devilishly at them both. "You two make a cute couple, I'll give ya that much."
"Good, you're all finally awake."
They turned to see Xenovia at the bottom of the stairs, already dressed in her battlesuit and ready to go.
"Listen, I've got all the weapons loaded up in the Humvee as well as breakfast prepared for everyone...although at this point I guess it's more like lunch." She spoke taciturnly before beckoning for them to follow. "Get dressed and come downstairs, we're way behind schedule."
Aika frowned at her sourly. "How is she already so on the ball?"
Matsuda snickered at Aika. "Probably because unlike you, she actually has discipline about her sleep cycle."
"Nothing good happens before 1:00 PM!" Aika insisted.
At that moment they heard gunfire. The group immediately went straight back into survival mode as they listened for the direction, and tried to gauge how far away it was.
Saya opened the door, having only gotten half dressed in the time it took for her to slam the door and get over her flustered embarrassment. "Guys! Do you hear that? It doesn't sound very far away."
"It isn't." Motohama observed cautiously.
They immediately sprung into action. Rei, Saya, and Aika went to go finish getting dressed while the boys went to go scope out what they were hearing from the balcony. Motohama grabbed the binoculars and began surveying the scene.
"What do you see?" Matsuda asked.
"Bad news…" He warned severely before offering him the binocs.
Matsuda grabbed them and took a look at what he was seeing. The sight made his stomach lurch. A group of survivors way off in the distance were being chased by another group on motorcycles. One by one, the biker gang proceeded to smash in the fleeing survivor's heads with lead pipes, or blast them in the back with buckshot. He turned his gaze away from the grisly scene, swearing silently under his breath.
"What do you suppose that's all about?" Motohama wondered aloud.
"It means that Kokabiel is preparing to launch the next stage of his invasion."
Both boys turned to see Xenovia standing behind them. Matsuda offered the binoculars to her which she used to inspect the damage.
"It's worse than I feared." She spoke glumly. "He's sending agents of the Fallen to kill off survivors. It won't be long now before his advanced forces show up."
"Agents of the fallen?" Motohama asked curiously.
"Those people on the bikes are not human." She explained. "They're creatures in service to the Fallen Angels."
"Dammit." Matsuda cursed angrily while gripping his bat firmly in his right hand. "We need to do something."
"What exactly is there to be done?" Xenovia asked coldly. "If we start a fight with them we will lose. Those people are as good as dead."
"Fuck that!" Matsuda insisted angrily. "Look, if there's a chance we can help them then we should at least-"
"Fighting a creature of the Underworld is NOTHING like fighting a zombie." Xenovia insisted while handing the binoculars back to Motohama and making her way inside. "The two of you may have unique powers but none of you are trained Hunters. You've never faced a foe like this before, and if you try to engage them, they WILL kill you."
Matsuda clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "There has to be something we can do."
"Don't forget, the undead are attracted to sound." Xenovia warned. "It's likely the ones on those bikes are purposefully creating noise to attract more hordes of zombies to them. If we start a firefight out in the open, they'll be drawn to us like Moths to a flame."
"But-"
She raised a hand up to cut him off. "I'm afraid your newfound manly bravado can't help you here, Matsuda. Sometimes, in situations like this one, you have to make the tough call others won't."
He lowered his head, remaining silent.
"The right decision isn't always the popular one." Xenovia continued. "That's one of the first things they teach you as a Hunter."
His body began to quiver in rage. "Well...as someone who's made nothing but wrong decisions his whole life…" He glared up at her angrily. "...if making the right decision means leaving innocent people to die, then I'll gladly keep making those wrong decisions for as long as I live!"
For a moment she seemed genuinely stunned, when at last she smiled at him respectfully. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like this any more than you do." She then turned and headed for the door, but not before casting her gaze back to him one last time. "And for what it's worth, I do admire your courage. Rei should consider herself lucky."
Her words hit him to the core. That may very well have been one of the nicest things anyone had ever said about him before. Matsuda turned completely red as he struggled to think of a response. Finding none, Xenovia proceeded to turn around and shut the door behind her.
Matsuda returned back to the balcony and took the binocs from Motohama.
"Try to keep it down, Man." His buddy insisted. "I get that you're pissed, but she's right. There's literally nothing we can do."
"Dammit." He seethed. "It's all gone to hell…"
Off in the distance, on the other side of one of the cities many artificial river systems, a man who appeared to be in his late thirties ran down the street, a monkey wrench in one hand, and his daughter's hand in the other. Things were going fine until now. They'd met with a group of survivors who generously took them both in. The infected were numerous but nothing his monkey wrench couldn't handle. It was horrible but they were at least surviving.
That was until the psychos on motorbikes showed up and started gunning them all down. With the rest of their group dead, it was just them now. And soon, those crazy men on the bikes would catch up to them too.
"Daddy wait!" The little girl clinging to his hand was struggling to keep up. "You're going too fast."
"Try to keep up, Honey!" He called back to her. Despite the situation, he was trying to be as calm about this as possible. If for no one else's sake than hers.
A horrid knot formed in his stomach as he heard the sound of bike engines behind him. The man gripped his daughter's hand firmly and pulled her into a nearby alleyway. "This way!"
They ran down the alley until he was certain he'd lost the bikers. Only then did he allow them to stop and catch their breath.
"Don't get comfortable yet, Sweety." He spoke between labored breaths. "We need to keep moving."
"Daddy, what's going on? Where's Mommy?" The little girl asked, a pitiful look in her eyes.
Pain stabbed his heart. He couldn't break down now, not while they were still in danger. "We'll meet up with Mommy real soon, okay? Right now we just need to keep moving."
"They went down here!"
Fear swarmed his senses as he heard the unmistakable sound of one of the bikers shouting from the entrance to the alleyway. He picked up his daughter and ran. No thought behind his movements, just adrenaline and a direction.
Upon rounding the corner however, his heart stopped dead in his chest. A dead end. They were completely trapped.
Upon turning around, the Father of the young girl was greeted to the sight of seven men in biker gear. They were armed with lead pipes, shotguns, and uzis. Each of them bore a look of absolute bloodlust in their eyes that was almost inhuman.
"Well, well, well, end of the line it seems." One of them taunted before slowly beginning to approach, lead pipe in hand.
"Please…" The Father begged while holding his little girl tightly to his chest. "...please just leave us alone. We don't have anything of value, I swear."
The biker with the lead pipe gave him a curious look before rearing back and laughing hysterically. "Man...you really don't get it do you? You think we'd bother chasing you all this way for some measily fucking scraps?" He continued to chuckle while shaking his head. "Hate to break it to ya Pops, but the only thing we want is your life."
"Why?!" He asked desperately. "Why do this?! We're just trying to survive, same as you! What did we do wrong?!"
A psychotic grin formed on his face. "But see...that's the whole problem. No one is supposed to survive the outbreak. We've got orders from on high saying any human who refuses to quietly turn is better off dead."
The Father reeled in horror, those fangs...those eyes. Whatever this...thing...was standing in front of him, it wasn't human.
"Ahhh, NOW you're starting to get it." The inhuman creature snickered with sardonic glee before readying his pipe. "Now then, I highly recommend pissing yourself followed by praying to your impotent God. If that's too much, then just sit still while we bash your fucking brains in!"
"Daddy, what's going on?" His daughter clung tightly to his chest while trembling violently.
He slowly put her down much to the little girl's confusion and dismay. "Daddy? What are you doing?"
"It's going to be okay…" There were tears in his eyes. "No matter what Daddy promises it's going to be okay, Alice."
"Daddy? Daddy!" The little girl named Alice tugged on her Father's sleeve.
"I love you, Sweety." He stood in front of her and gripped his monkey wrench with both hands. "Daddy loves you more than anything in this whole wide world."
The biker's lips curled into a twisted grin once more. "Well well. Looks like this one's got some fight left in him boys!"
The Father readied his weapon and glared angrily back at the approaching monsters. "Don't you come near her! Any of you so much as think of laying a hand on her and I swear to God I'll-"
"Oh give me a break." One of the other bikers casually pulled out his shotgun and fired.
Alice watched in numb silence as a blast of buckshot went straight through her Father's chest and he fell directly beside her. His body convulsed a few times as he coughed up blood and his white office shirt became stained the color red.
"Daddy? Daddy?!" Alice grabbed her Father's hand and squeezed tight, her terrified eyes unable to fully understand what it was she was seeing.
He smiled up at his daughter and placed a hand against her cheek. "Daddy's fine….I'm...I'm alright."
Tears rolled down her cheeks freely as she gripped his hand tighter. Her voice caught and her whole body began to tremble.
"I'm going to go see Mommy, Sweetheart." The color was rapidly draining from his face as his words became softer and softer. "We're all gonna be...together...again...soon…"
She felt his hand fall still in her grasp as his eyes shut for good. Alice dropped it and quietly broke down. She latched on to her dead Father's neck and wailed.
"I want to go with you, Daddy! I want to see Mommy too! I want us to be together forever!" She violently sob while hugging him tightly to her trembling frame.
"Don't worry...you will."
She gasped in fear and slowly turned her head up to see those monstrous figures looming over her. Alice screamed and ran away, but of course there was nowhere to go. The alley lead to nothing but a concrete wall.
The monster with the lead pipe chuckled in amusement. "Sheesh, you'd think they'd learn by now."
"Come on, Man. Let's just shoot the brat and get back with the rest of the group." The one with the shotgun insisted.
That maniacal look shown in his eyes again. "Not yet…" He licked his lips, his mouth beginning to water. "The little ones always have the tastiest flesh." A row of massive canines formed along his gum lines as he approached.
Alice backed into the very corner of the alley and covered herself with her hands and knees, trembling violently, her small voice quivering in fear of the inhuman creatures approaching her.
"Please God, please help me." The little girl begged pitifully.
The monster reared back and cackled with delight. "Oh that's just cute! Any other imaginary friends you wanna ask to come save you kid?"
A revolver cocked behind them. The seven creatures turned just in time to see a woman wearing a skin tight battle suit fire a single revolver round straight through the skull of the biker furthest at the back. The ones with guns proceeded to unload their weapons upon her, upon which she calmly raised a hand into the air, channeling her psionic energy and bringing each bullet that flew at her to a dead stop in midair. The bullets fell harmlessly to the ground and the six remaining creatures took a healthy step back. The woman then proceeded to fire off five more shots back to back, hitting three in the head, and two in the heart. They all fell, leaving only the one at the front holding the lead pipe left standing.
"Oh fuck you, Bitch!" He roared angrily before charging.
She calmly holstered her revolver and dashed forward. With lightning quick agility she slid under his legs and drew a whip of light from her belt. The whip wrapped itself around his right bicep and squeezed, severing the arm with the lead pipe from the body and causing the creature it was attached to to scream in agony.
Running on wild instinct now, the monster grabbed a nearby uzi with his remaining hand and aimed, only for it too to be severed off, same as the other.
"W...wait!" He backed away. The woman's whip wrapped itself around his right leg and severed it at the thigh. This was quickly followed by his left.
As the limbless torso fell, the woman retracted her whip of light and drew her revolver. Calmly reloading the weapon before sliding the cylinder back into placed and approaching her downed prey. She placed a foot securely down on his torso and aimed before cocking back the hammer.
"No! NO PLEASE!" He begged in terror.
She smirked. "I recommend pissing yourself. Followed by praying to your impotent God."
Her revolver cracked off and his brains coated the pavement.
With all the creatures down, the woman twirled her revolver on her hand and holstered it before turning and walking up to the terrified girl. She was so worked up she didn't even realize all the creatures were dead.
"Go away! GO AWAY!" Her voice cracked as she sobbed and screamed all at once. "Mommy! Daddy! I just wanna go home! Please come get me!"
She knelt down on one knee and placed a tender hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Nooo!" She screamed in fear. When it slowly dawned on Alice that she wasn't being attacked, she finally stopped crying and cautiously opened her eyes. Peering up at the stranger curiously.
She was greeted to a warm smile and two beautiful violet eyes gazing back at her like a mother gazing at her child.
"What's your name, Sweety?" The stranger spoke in a compassionate tone.
Her voice was shaky as she responded. "M...my name is...A...Alice."
"Alice huh? That's such a pretty name. How old are you, Alice?"
"I'm…" She sniffed while rubbing her hand against her tear stained cheek. "I'm...seven."
"Well it's very nice to meet you Alice. My name is Irina." She introduced herself. Irina then turned her head back to the man laying on the ground. "Is that your Dad?"
The pain returned and her eyes welled up. Small short sobs heaved from her chest as she tried to compose herself and nod.
Irina's expression darkened and she cast two compassionate eyes back to Alice. "He was a very brave man. Your father protected you until the very end. That means he's gone to be with your Mom again. They're smiling at you right now. They'll always be smiling at you. Even if you can't see them anymore."
Despite having never met Irina before in her life, the seven year old Alice latched onto her tightly and broke down. This wasn't the fearful crying she was doing a moment ago. This was all just pain at having lost her parents. Irina wrapped her arms around the small girl and held her firmly to her chest while stroking her hair reassuringly.
"It's okay...I've got you. It's okay." She fought back the emotions welling up within her. "You know...when I was younger...something really sad happened to my Dad too." Irina took a breath to compose herself and smiled. "But then...this really brave man came and hugged me just like this and told me everything would be okay. And even though I was crying...at that moment, I felt like nothing in the world could touch me."
Alice seemed to calm down, at least partially. It was then the sound of footsteps running down the alleyway could be heard. Five men armed with shotguns and rifles ran up to the scene of the massacre and looked around.
"What the hell?" One of them commented in both shock and disgust. "These things aren't corpses."
"Not the moving kind anyway…" The man in front observed. "Irina, what happened here?"
She turned and pressed a finger up to her lip to silence them before pointing at the body of the deceased Father laying on the ground.
He looked down at the body blasted with buckshot and quickly put two and two together. "Dear God…" He turned away in pain and shook his head.
"So you wanna fill us in, Aldin?" One of the other men spoke up.
Officer Saito pointed to the small kid and then to the body laying on the ground.
"Jesus Christ…" One of the men turned his head away, looking like he might be sick.
"I'll meet you all back at the bus." Irina spoke quietly. "Just grab all the supplies we can carry and get ready to move out."
"Understood." Saito turned towards the men and shouted. "You heard the lady! Move out!"
The men all left. Irina, meanwhile, slowly picked up Alice and carried her in her arms. The frightened girl maintained a death grip on her neck. As if letting go meant her savior would go flying away at any moment.
"I understand you're scared, Sweety." Irina continued to stroke the girl's hair as she carried her back to the bus. "But I promise you everything is going to be okay."
"That brave man you mentioned…" Little Alice spoke quietly, having finally stopped crying. "...did he save you like this too?"
She smiled.
"As a matter of fact...he did."
Matsuda and Motohama continued to help Xenovia load up the Humvee. Having successfully gotten dressed the boys were busying themselves packing away supplies, ammo, and the guns.
"Even with a full blown zombie apocalypse going on the girls still manage to take forever getting dressed." Matsuda griped while hauling another heavy load into the back of the Humvee.
"Hey, I was ready before any of you." Xenovia commented.
"Yeah, but you don't count." Motohama insisted.
She quirked a perturbed brow at him. "And just what the hell is THAT supposed to mean?"
He quickly backpedaled and raised his hands up fearfully. "Nothing! Nothing!"
Xenovia glared at him for a moment longer before shrugging indifferently and returning to her packing. Matsuda and Motohama both sighed in relief.
"Man...sometimes I forget just how scary she can be."
"This sure is a lot of shit we're packing." Matsuda shifted gears. "You sure we're gonna need all this?"
"Better safe than sorry." Motohama insisted. "Besides, even if WE don't end up using it all, maybe Kuoh can find some use for it."
"What are you idiots griping about now?" A familiarly persnickety voice spoke up.
Matsuda sighed wearily. "Morning Saya. You mind keeping it down to a dull roar we're kinda trying to be-" He froze upon turning and looking in the direction of the voice that spoke.
"Huh? What are you-Yaiieee!" Motohama froze in place as well, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head at the sight in front of him.
The girls were all dressed in, what could tastefully be described as, battle lingerie. Starting with Rei, who was in knee high commando boots, black stockings, a miniskirt and and black button up blouse that exposed most of her cleavage. Aika was in a pair of leggings and cut off jeans and black undershirt which she paired with a white lab coat. And Saya was sporting a pair of combat boots, tan booty shorts, and a camo tank top with the word 'BRAT' written in bold black lettering on the front.
"What? Got a problem?" Saya asked angrily, her breasts bouncing as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at them both angrily.
"Uh uh…" Matsuda assured, still gawking at their choice of outfit.
"The only options for clothes we had on our route were a costume store, a lingerie store, and a military surplus store." Aika explained.
"We had to kind of mix and match." Rei added with a giggle.
"Do you hear us complaining?" Motohama stated flatly.
Saya rolled her eyes and grabbed the keys for the humvee. "Whatever, roll your tongues back into your heads and let's get moving."
Rei turned and smiled at the flat they were leaving. "If it wasn't for our mission, I'd be half tempted to say let's just hold up here. It sure is a nice place."
"Yeah well, because of all that damn racket outside it's not like we could stay here anyway. Those morons on the other side of the river must have alerted every zombie in a three mile radius with their antics." She unlocked the right side door and hopped in, only to stare in confusion at the glove box. Her gaze then shifted to the left side where the driver's seat was located. "Oh what the hell?! The steering wheel is on the wrong side!"
Motohama chuckled in amusement before helping himself to a spot in the very back seat. "Sorry, but this bad boy was made by the U.S Military."
"I'll drive." Xenovia calmly spoke up before hopping into the driver's seat.
Saya scoffed in annoyance before dropping the keys in her hands. "Whatever."
Aika took a seat next to Motohama in the back while Rei and Matsuda helped themselves to the middle row. Rei immediately scooted up next to Matsuda and wrapped both her hands around his. She nestled up to him and sighed contently.
"I'm still a little sleepy. I hope you don't mind if I use your shoulder as a pillow."
Matsuda blushed fiercely. "Of course not…"
Saya groaned obtusely at the display and leaned against the door, staring out the window. "Can we just go? Please?"
Xenovia revved up the engine and hit the garage door opener. The gate leading out to the street opened as well. She placed the humvee into drive and hit the gas, tearing out of the garage and down the street as they left the flat for good.
Irina and her group of survivors made their way up the river on the amphibious bus they had commandeered. Now loaded down with supplies and another survivor in the seven year old Alice, the group was heading towards the church to deliver the goods to those who needed them most.
The surviving population of Kuoh.
In total, there weren't that many left. A couple thousand in comparison to the vast hordes of undead that now roamed the streets. But still, given what little time and options she had on her hand, it felt like she had done the best she could do. Especially given she was now partnerless.
Alice was hanging off the front of the bus, singing row row row your boat while swinging her legs joyfully. She was in good spirits considering her father had been killed in front of her not but a few hours ago. Then again, when Irina showed her their vehicle. She commented that she'd never ridden on a bus that could also float on the water before. Though the weight of her parent's deaths could still be seen in her eyes, Alice was at least able to find her smile again.
"She's strong for her age. I'm certain she will survive this."
Irina turned and smiled at the man who spoke to her. She had run into Aldin Zefford shortly after parting ways with Xenovia. The self proclaimed Billionaire had been desperately trying to fend off a zombie horde from overtaking the very bus they were now riding on while it had almost a hundred survivors in tow. They'd been working together ever since to save as many people as they could and get them to a safe place.
For Irina, that meant the Church. It was the only place that made sense in her mind. It was remote, it could be easily fortified, and she was already familiar with the surrounding terrain.
"I just wish I could have gotten there sooner." She spoke painfully. "If at least her father was still alive…"
"Be thankful we managed to save just her." Aldin replied. "Things were bad enough without strange men attacking us with guns."
"I keep telling you Mr. Zefford, those weren't men." Irina insisted.
He nodded, a slick smirk covering his face. "I still have a hard time believing that, if I'm being honest."
"Then at least believe me when I tell you that those men are NOTHING compared to what's about to come next." She sighed woefully. "As much as it pains me to say it, this will have to be our last trip. We can't afford to get caught in the city when the ones responsible for this make their next move."
"Don't get me wrong, I trust you implicitly." Aldin assured. "So many more would have died had you not been there to intervene. Myself included."
"I just hope that what we've found is enough…" She leaned against the railing of the bus, lost in thought.
"You wish your old partner were still here, don't you?" He guessed for her.
She frowned softly and lowered her head. "There are a lot of things that have happened that I wish hadn't come to pass." Irina clutched at her mother's cross as she spoke. "But...we must hold strong to our faith in this time of crisis. When all else falls, it will be the only thing we have left."
As they spoke, Alice continued to sing her song. At the conclusion of what had to be her hundredth time singing it through, one of the men spoke up.
"Alright! Now for my version!" He took a breath to start singing when Irina cut him off.
"Hey! Keep it clean! No bastardizing Mother Goose while there's a kid present." She lectured sternly.
"S...Sorry Miss Irina."
Off in the distance, a horde of zombies were shambling towards the city. Irina narrowed her eyes at them...something was off.
"What is it?"
"They're not acting right…" She observed. "Normally they're just wandering around aimlessly looking for another victim, those are all clearly heading towards something."
Or rather...it was as if they were being summoned.
It didn't take long for Xenovia's group to get across the river and continue the drive towards Kuoh. They eventually stopped at a parking lot that was for the most part deserted so they could take inventory of everything they had.
And take a moment to familiarize themselves with their new weapons. Xenovia lectured the girls on proper firearm use while Motohama went over the shotgun with Matsuda.
"The shells are basically a casing filled with little pellets." Motohama continued his lecture on the use of the shotgun. "All you have to do is adjust the sight, find your target, and pull the trigger. My uncle has the thing set up to where a cataract patient old could still hit their target with it." He then showed him how to open the gate and load the shells. "With this gun you can hold four shells as well as one in the firing chamber. That's your limit. Just keep that in mind."
"Okay...I think I'm following." Matsuda nodded.
"One last thing. The recoil on this weapon is pretty strong. This baby bucks." He warned. "Just be aware of the kickback when you aim."
"Got it."
"Hey boys!"
Both men turned and stared in dumbstruck awe of what they were seeing. They thought there was no way that the girl's outfits could get any sexier but they were oh so very wrong. Now they were packing heat!
Rei had chosen the rifle with the attached bayonet as her weapon of choice. The extra ammo was strapped across her shoulder and waist like a sash as well as an extra belt strapped to her thigh. Aika was holding the crossbow and had a quiver of fresh arrows strapped to her back. In addition, she also had the revolver they found on the dead police officer as a side arm on her waist. Saya was wielding the SMG and had the Luger strapped to her thigh as her personal sidearm. Which left Motohama with the sniper rifle.
"Well, what do you think?" Rei gave Matsuda a devilish grin.
"Hoooot." Motohama blurted out.
"You look good with it." Matsuda admitted. "But...do you really know how to shoot that thing?"
She slung the rifle over her shoulder and stated pridefully. "Xenovia's been showing us the basics. Worst comes to worst I'll just hit them with this bayonet at the end."
"Anyone else having trouble getting their release catch to work?" Saya huffed in frustration as she struggled with the weapon. "I swear this thing just hates me."
"Why'd you pick the crossbow, Aika?" Matsuda asked.
She smiled while shouldering the weapon. "Actually, this is the only weapon I recognize. My dad used to be a hunter. Errr...by that I mean the normal deer hunting kind. Not the crazy monster killing kind."
Xenovia chuckled lightly. "Regardless, our best option will be to avoid conflict as opposed to actively go searching for it. Hopefully we won't need to use these before reaching Kuoh."
"Hopefully we won't need to use them at all." Rei added optimistically. "It would be nice if things calmed down after reaching the school."
The Holy Swordswoman's expression suddenly turned grave. "There's one last thing that's very important. In the event that we encounter any of those creatures killing survivors. You do not try to engage them. Let me handle it."
The group collectively frowned and shared worried looks with one another before nodding in understanding.
"We won't let you down." Matsuda assured.
She smiled approvingly. "Good. In that case, I suggest we keep moving."
They returned to the humvee and continued the drive. Matsuda and Rei elected to sit on the top of the hummer and watch the city roll by as well as give themselves some privacy.
"Something the matter?" Rei asked after noticing Matsuda was being considerably quiet.
"I don't see any choppers today." He observed. "But yesterday there were loads of them."
She interlaced her hand with his and rested her head against his shoulder. "Look on the bright side."
"What bright side?" He asked curiously.
"You mean you haven't noticed?" We haven't seen a single zombie since this morning."
Matsuda narrowed his eyes at the road suspiciously. Truth be told, he HAD noticed that. But it just made him more suspicious than anything. These streets were covered in zombies yesterday. Yet now they looked completely empty.
It just begged the question, where did they all go?
"Hey...do you hear that?"
Matsuda was torn from his thoughts by Rei's question. After perking his ears up he listened in for what she could be referring to. Sure enough, he heard what sounded vaguely like an engine running.
"Is that another vehicle?" He pondered aloud.
She shook her head. "Actually...it sounds more like MULTIPLE vehicles."
The noise got progressively louder and louder. Until at last three trucks and a plethora of bikes rounded the curve of the street behind them and gunned it. On a direct course for the humvee.
"Oh shit…" Matsuda scooted back on the roof. "Oh shit!" He quickly slammed on the metal cab. "Guys! Guys! Something's coming our way!"
Motohama popped the hatch on the top of the humvee and peered through his binoculars at the approaching vehicles. He blanched upon seeing that they were all armed and looked quite bloodthirsty.
"That's not good…"
"Xenovia, gun it!" Saya shouted.
The humvee took off and the vehicles behind them gave chase. Rei and Matsuda quickly popped the hatch and got back below lest they fall off the roof.
"Friends of yours?!" Matsuda asked Xenovia frantically.
"We've crossed paths on more than one occasion!" She called back after taking a sharp turn to the right. "They're none too pleased we still have what's in that case back there!"
Several of the creatures on motorcycles drew sawed offs and fired. The pellets hit the armor plating but otherwise didn't pierce the hull.
"Really?! I couldn't tell!" Saya commented sarcastically.
Two of the motorcycles gunned their engines and attempted to get on the drivers side of the vehicle.
"Saya, I need you to hold the steering wheel for me!" Xenovia ordered.
"Wh...what?!"
"Just hold it straight!" Xenovia grabbed her hand and put it on the wheel, showing her where to grip it. She then pulled out her SMG and hooked her heel under the throttle. She opened the driver side door and leaned her body out. Using the door handle for support while firing her SMG. She gunned down both motorcyclists who fell off their bikes and crashed into the pavement.
"You drive!" Xenovia ordered before making her way to the roof of the humvee.
"But-" Saya was about to protest when Xenovia leapt up onto the roof. "Shiiiiiiit." She griped while sliding over to the driver's seat and taking the wheel.
Xenovia stood on the roof of the humvee and fired on the motorcycles. Motohama, meanwhile, popped the hatch and took aim with his sniper rifle between her legs.
"Hope you fuckers are hungry, because high velocity rounds are on the menu!" He took aim with his scope and put a round straight through one of the biker's chest.
He proceeded to fire on any motorcyclist who got too close while Xenovia reloaded her weapon. One of the trucks sped up and threatened to ram them from behind. The Holy Swordswoman knelt down into a runners stance and leapt from the vehicle, using her psionic power to jump onto the hood of the truck before smashing in the front windshield as well as the driver's face. She then pulled hard on the wheel making it veer off to the right only to hit the second truck. Both trucks collided into the guard rail as she leapt onto the third truck's passenger side door. She pried the door off the truck and then tossed the occupant out. With him gone, Xenovia gripped the roof of the cabin and swung her feet forward, knocking the driver out of the vehicle before taking a seat at the wheel.
"Jesus." Motohama marveled from the view of his sniper. "You guys seeing this shit?"
"I cannot reiterate this enough." Matsuda insisted. "I am REALLY glad she's on our side."
"Guys! Focus!" Aika insisted from the back seat of the humvee. "We've got two more bikes on our tail!"
Just as she said, two bikes drove up alongside their vehicle one on each side. They pulled uzis from their satchels and fired. The bullets peppered the windows but otherwise didn't break them.
Matsuda grinned. "Bullet proof glass! Nice!"
"The middle latch on the window comes off!" Motohama explained after cracking off another round. "You can fit your gun through it without risking your skin!"
"Motohama, I have never met your uncle before but he is officially my hero!" Rei called up to him before unlatching her window and pushing her assault rifle through. Remembering her crash course lesson on the rifle's use she fired on the biker to their left. Meanwhile Matsuda aimed his shotgun at the biker on the right.
"Adjust the sight...pick your target…" He recited to himself while aiming his weapon. "...and fire!"
He fired his shotgun at the creature. The buckshot hit its target and dislodged the uzi from the creatures hand but otherwise failed to kill it.
If anything, now it just looked pissed.
"What the hell?!" Matsuda reeled back in shock.
The biker proceeded to leap from his bike and latch onto the side of the humvee. With what seemed like little effort he shattered the bullet proof glass and grabbed Matsuda by the throat.
"Matsuda!" Rei called back in horror.
With all the strength he could muster, Matsuda cold cocked the biker with a stiff straight punch. The force behind his superhuman punch startled the completely unprepared creature nearly sending it flying into the road. As it was, it managed to hold onto the door by one hand. Matsuda acted quick and unlatched the side door before delivering a sharp kick. Knocking the creature against the side of the vehicle. It angrily pried the broken door completely off its hinges and righted itself before lunging at Matsuda as he attempted to Prime and aim his shotgun. They struggled for control of the weapon while Rei was still trying to kill the target on their left.
"Rei! Aim for the gas tank!" Saya instructed.
With her next shot, Rei took aim and fired, igniting the gas in the bike and bursting it along with its rider into flames. She then turned around and plunged her bayonet into the eye socket of the creature fighting with Matsuda. With a pull of the trigger she sent her final round through its skull.
"Three more bikes heading towards us!" Motohama declared.
"On it!" Aika opened the back window and aimed her loaded crossbow. She charged magical energy into the arrow which became enveloped in an aura of blue light. With a swift pull of the trigger she let loose the bolt which detonated upon impact with the middle rider, creating a blast that knocked the adjacent two bikers into the road as well.
"Sweet! Triple kill!" Motohama cheered. He could see Xenovia struggling to shake off a pack of bikers from her truck several yards back and aimed his sniper to assist her. When suddenly Saya veered to the right, sending his shot wide.
"Hey, would you drive straight?!" He insisted angrily.
"I AM driving straight! You shoot straight!" She responded just as angrily.
"This is what happens when you let the spoiled Daddy's girl drive!" He attempted to line up another shot.
"Ohhhh!" She shook her head while laughing in a livid manner. "That is fucking adorable coming from the ASIAN!"
He ducked his head back inside and scowled at her nastily. "You know, I'm getting really sick and tired of your attitude!"
"And I'm getting sick and tired of you trying to boss me around!"
"Racist snob!"
"Sexist pig!"
"Guys, is now REALLY the time to be doing this?!" Aika asked frantically.
"Why I waste my time on a self absorbed brat like you is beyond me!" Motohama declared, having finally had enough. "You have done nothing but belittle my intelligence and insult me this whole time!"
"Yeah?! Well maybe I'm NOT trying to insult you! Ever think about that?!" She retorted while driving like a maniac. "Maybe I ACTUALLY think you're really fucking smart! Maybe I'm just in denial over the fact that I have a crush on the school pervert!"
"Oh yeah?! Well maybe I've got a massive crush on you too! What do you think of that?!" He shot back at her as if they were still arguing.
"I think that makes us boyfriend and girlfriend!" She responded, again, as if they were still arguing. "So just deal with it!"
"Fine, I will! But on one condition!" He replied while pointing to himself. "I get to be the boyfriend!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"I'm glad!"
"I'm happy you're glad!"
"I'm happy too, asshole!"
"The fuck am I watching here?" Matsuda asked, genuinely unable to comprehend what these two were doing.
"I think they're...confessing?" Rei guessed, though she really wasn't sure. "Either that or they've finally both completely lost their minds."
"Knowing those two, it could honestly be both." Aika commented bluntly.
"Oh shit! Zombies!"
Their humvee was hit by a horde of the undead while they rounded another turn. Corpses went flying over and around the massive vehicle in addition to being crushed beneath its tires.
"There's too many! We're gonna flip!" Saya insisted.
"If we stop now they'll overwhelm us!" Matsuda responded urgently. "Full throttle! Keep going!"
Off in the distance, Motohama spotted something that made his blood run cold.
"Oh no...stop the car. Stop the car!"
"What?" Saya glared at him then back at the road. Her eyes went wide as she spotted it too. "Shit! Wire! Everyone hang on!" She turned the steering wheel sharply to the left, causing the humvee to drift to its side before smashing into the steel wire perimeter.
Matsuda grabbed Rei just before the two went flying out the open back seat.
"Matsuda!" Motohama called to his buddy as he was thrown from the vehicle.
They were lucky in that they missed hitting the wire as they were thrown, however that didn't save them from hitting the hard asphalt and tumbling end over end. By the time they finally rolled to a stop, Matsuda's head was swimming.
Meanwhile, back in the humvee, the remaining passengers were jostled by hundreds of groping clawing hands shaking the hopelessly stuck vehicle.
"Everyone out!" Aika shouted before motioning for them to leave through the same opening that Rei and Matsuda were thrown from.
They all scrambled to get out with whatever firearms and supplies they could carry. Successfully evacuating just in time for the zombies to flip the humvee completely over.
Whereupon they began crawling over the car to get to the other side.
"Motohama!" Saya tossed him the SMG before pulling out her Luger. They began firing on anything that tried to crawl over the car while Aika readied another bolt.
Matsuda finally managed to recover and check on Rei. She was alive and for the most part intact sans a few scrapes and bumps. But she could hardly move, leading him to believe that at some point she must have landed on her back. Hard.
As she stared in terror at the approaching zombies, Matsuda immediately sprang into action. He shouldered his weapon, cocked it, and fired. Blasting the head of an approaching zombie.
"Reload your weapon!" He called to Rei before blasting another zombie's head off. She struggled to release her spent magazine and reload a fresh one but managed to do so right as Matsuda ran out of shells. He grabbed a handful from his pocket only to drop them all and swear loudly.
"Matsuda! Move it like you've got a fucking purpose!" Aika insisted before firing another magic bolt at the encroaching zombie horde.
Acting fast, he attempted to grab Rei's weapon only to find it was still strapped to her body. With no other options available he rolled behind her and took aim. She squeaked in surprise upon him bracing against her chest with the rifle in hand.
"What are you doing?!"
"Just trust me!"
He began firing off rounds from her rifle, hitting each zombie in the head as it approached. With each pull she yelped and her breasts bounced along with the recoil. Matsuda fired until the gun was spent before scooping Rei up into his arms and running for it.
"Let's go!" Saya waved for the group to follow while Aika fired another magic arrow to break up the swarm.
They ran for a couple yards before reloading and turning back around. As Aika prepared another bolt, she felt something warm dribble down her nose and her head began to swim.
"Guys! I'm using too much magic!" She called to them before wiping the blood under her nose.
"This is bad!" Motohama declared while firing his SMG. "There are too many of them! We're going to get overrun!"
The group braced for the worst...when a sniper rifle sounded off behind them. Delivering a round straight through the head of one of the approaching zombies. They all collectively turned to see a man laying prone on the nearby rooftops, smoking rifle in hand.
"What the…"
Another sniper went off. This one from a fire escape on the other side of the road.
Combat boots thudded behind them as over a dozen soldiers in black tactical armor took up positions at their fronts and unloaded their arsenal on the encroaching horde. Slowly they began driving the creatures back.
"Who are these guys?" Motohama pondered before feeling a strong hand grip his shoulder.
"Heya kiddo. It's been a long time."
He turned around and gasped at the forty something year old male with jet black hair and a matching beard, his eyes going wide with surprise.
"Uncle?!"
His Uncle nodded. "Yep! It's good to see ya again." His eyes narrowed sharply. "That being said...that better not be MY Humvee I see upside down on the street there."