Authors note
I was hoping to avoid using one of these straight away, but this chapter is likely gonna take a lot longer because I had the set idea for this chapter, then the unfortunate events in Lebanon happened and I feel far from comfortable going forward with the idea I had for this chapter, admittedly it's not the biggest rewrite but it has caused me to rethink a lot.
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Episode 84: Last Man standing
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Even though it was late at night XANA's plans never seemed to be on hold, Adam stood in the freezing cold smoking away at his cigarette, hands in his pocket a bandage covering his damaged eye, his back was aching from his failure in the recent attack, thanks to XANAs presence in the internet a rundown warehouse had been acquired for its usage, Adam stood outside as a delivery lorry parked up, grinning Adam extinguished his cigarette, the driver jumped out looking at Adam,
"I assume you the buyer" he asked in a doubting tone, the driver was old and grouchy, he'd let himself go and was now just a truck driver who'd seek any lady of the night for company, Adam whilst having the physical appearance of a 16 year old was hoping to pass off as a lot older, "Yeah daddy bought me a car as a reward for passing" replied Adam sarcastically knowing the driver didn't care, opening the rear of the truck he proceeded to winch out a white Toyota Hilux, "here are the keys" he said not giving any care as he closed the back up and entered the cab, he noticed an envelope filled with money on the seat, "Never speak of this night okay" said Adam with a sarcastic grin, the Driver nodded as he closed the door and drove off, Adam moved to open the door of the warehouse, unlike the factory it had only a single floor, although an office presided over the floor, Adam smiled as he drove into the warehouse making sure to close the door behind him, from the outside it'd appear to be a regular disused warehouse, but on the inside it was much different, Adam flicked the light switch and with a brief flicker the lights the warehouse was illuminated, showing spare car parts for the Toyota, boxes full of scrap metal, and even more alarmingly two M134's and three M72 laws, Adam laughed as he walked over to welding equipment.
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Dallas's vision was constricted as was his breathing with a sack placed over his head he was using his other senses to try and work out what was happening or what was going on, he couldn't hear much all the voices were muffled beyond recognition and taste wasn't gonna help him, he flicked his fingers around but all he could feel was them colliding against each other and rope was tying his hands behind his back, he could feel his legs also tied up but they were tied to a chair, he didn't have any time to process the information as he felt a large dose of water thrown into his face, with a large grunt he started to try and break free, but instead he felt a smack to the face, it was too heavy and hard to be a fist,
"Uberi Eto Oleg" said a very smart very pristine English voice, suddenly the sack was pulled from Dallas's head the bright lights of the room effecting his vision as his eyes adjusted, he could see a few men all smartly dressed in suits with black shirts none of which were wearing ties, the first was definitely older than the others, his hair was a thick buzz cut, a scar adorned his left eye socket, the eye had clearly been replaced by a glass one, Dallas watched as he held the sack clearly identifying him as Oleg, the next man was who Dallas had last seen before he found a bag over his head, Now Dallas had a good look at him, a younger man with stunning features, the smart suit was a giveaway that he was in charge, his hair was black and slicked back, the third man was older than the boss and much large with a bold cut and looking like he was nothing but muscle, his round head was rough with a few indent scars and a wire in his ear suggesting security, he was also holding onto a stocked but yet short barrelled Remington 870, "Kto On" asked the boss to Oleg, but he shook his head "Ponyatiya ne imeyu, paren' vkhodit, tolstaya stopka deneg bez identifikatora" said Oleg his accent thick Russian, Dallas couldn't make out what they were saying, "Krome Etogo" added Oleg as he handed the boss the Photo Dallas had in his pocket, the days hadn't been kind as the photo was starting to fall apart, "THAT'S MINE" growled Dallas as he lunged forward, the Boss laughed and clapped "dovol'no rot na nem" he said laughing, the Boss looked at the photo before looking at the back of the Photo, "eygo imya?" asked the boss, but Oleg shrugged as did the third man, the boss kneelt down and looked at Dallas "Your name" he asked, Dallas looked at him but didn't speak the boss rubbed his chin, the third man was about to smack Dallas with the stock again but the boss raised his hand "Net, net" he said before putting the Photograph in Dallas's front pocket, "Now your name" he asked again, Dallas looked down before saying "Dallas" the boss smiled as he stood up saying "Dayte sobake ugoshcheniye, kotoromu ona podchinyayetsya" the two chuckled as the Boss knealt down again "Now we're getting somewhere" he said as he clicked his fingers, Oleg grabbed a chair for the boss who sat down making sure not to get his jacket dirty, "Dallas, What?" he asked, but Dallas didn't answer, the boss raised his eye brow "Dallas, What?" he repeated calmly but again Dallas didn't respond he looked confused, "Better do as he says, he doesn't like to…" started the third man his accent made it clear he was American "John, Pover' mne v etom" he said, John nodded the boss smiled "Dallas…" he started but before he could finish Dallas lunged forward again growling "I DON'T KNOW" this earned him a smack in the face from Johns shotgun, the chair was knocked over and Dallas's mouth started to bleed on the floor, the boss stood up looking at John, "Otlichno, Teper' Na moyem polu krov'" said the Boss before he clicked his fingers, John and Oleg grabbed Dallas and put the chair up right, "I don't expect you to know who I am, but I expect you to have heard of me" said the Boss as he sat down again, Dallas looked at him as he spat his blood on the floor, the Boss concluded by saying "Tonight you made an enemy, and the debt you now owe will either be repaid in cash" then he stood up "Or blood" he added before John Smacked Dallas again knocking him out.
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The next day at school was nothing out of the ordinary, Odd was sitting by himself as Ulrich was waiting for Carter still needing him to write for him, Jeremie and Aelita sat at the front as usual, now that he was Class rep Odd had a load more responsibility's and was completely exhausted from typing up everyone's needs
"Is this usually how you feel Einstein" asked Odd causing Jeremie to laugh and Aelita to chuckle, "Yeah except unlike you I'm used to typing constantly" said Jeremie, Aelita placed her hand on his shoulder causing him to turn bright red, "Speaking of which any luck Einstein" said Ulrich as he leaned over, Jeremie shook his head "None, I tried to cannibalise the code from the Virtualization program to use that to get you to sector 5, but turns out each sector has its own different code" he said woefully, but Aelita placed her hand on his shoulder again "I'm sure you'll work it out" said Aelita, Jeremie smiled at the thought then suddenly they all heard a tapping, Claudius stood at the front of the class tapping his cane as he placed his coat onto the coat stand, "Everyone quiet" he said striking fear into everyone, then he looked at Jeremie and pointed his cane at him, "Belpois" he said causing Jeremie to stand up "Outside" he added, Jeremie gulped and followed Claudius outside the class room, Carter passed them and moved to Ulrich "I thought he was meant to be a good smart kid" he asked confused, everyone was chattering about what Jeremie had done wrong, Outside Jeremie nervously asked "Any… Anything wrong sir" Claudius stroked his chin as he looked down at Jeremie "Your Roommate Dallas" he said, Jeremie's heart felt like it stopped or hit a brick wall, "What… What about him sir" asked Jeremie on the verge of having a panic attack, "He's been absent for three days now, I've checked and he's not ill nor has he even checked in for this year" said Claudius, he turned away "Where is he" he added bluntly, Jeremie began to panic, any other teacher might have been able to buy a lie, but Claudius was clearly someone who knew what he was doing, "I don't know I haven't seen him since the end of last year" Said Jeremie caving in scared at his chances of a successful bluff, "His residence is on Campus" said Claudius as he returned to the class room adding "I pray he's not in trouble" whilst looking annoyed, Jeremie could do nothing but look down at his feet as he walked back into the class room, he'd become so preoccupied with the super computer he'd forgotten to try and locate Dallas, he sat down "anything wrong" asked Aelita as she looked at him, but Jeremie remained silent.
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Over a mere two days Claudius had earned his reputation as a strict and scary teacher, and because he was currently teaching geography for one class, every other class be it the regular school or college program were happy at not having to be stuck in the same room with him for a lesson, Yumi and William had a cooking class which was being debuted at Kadic that year, William was excited for once, which was uncharacteristic of him or any of the warriors,
"William No, if you're starting to slip back into your crush on me it's a…" started Yumi as she mixed her bowl of cake mix, "No I promise it's not that" he said stopping her before it got embarrassing for him, "It's not a date, just a way to have a social life again" he added as he turned on his oven, "I mean since we've been busy with you know what, I thought at least try and do something fun" he added, Yumi shook her head putting down her bowl, "William with everything that's happened, I don't want to be in a club all night" she said, William felt bad suggesting the idea, "I just thought that…" he started but Yumi placed her hand on his shoulder "I understand it's a great idea, you should go have fun, take Odd with you" she said as she placed her bowl in the oven, Evelyn grinned from the other side of the room listening in, "there's a plan all ready and waiting" she said rubbing her chin, suddenly the fire alarm went off thanks to a student who'd managed to burn his cooking, everyone rushed out with Evelyn annoyed as she knew William and Yumi would forget his plan.
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After his first day with a broken hand Ulrich was already counting down the days, luckily though he was still able to eat unassisted much to Odd's annoyance as he wanted his friends food, as he was once again scoffing down his own,
"So Jeremie what did onion face want" asked Aelita, Jeremie looked at her as William looked around annoyed that Claudius didn't hear that one, "He was asking…" started Jeremie before he choked on his own words, "About Dallas" finished Jeremie, the 6 of them fell silent with Ulrich and Yumi's hearts stopping at the sound of that "What was he asking" asked Ulrich as he kept eating his food trying to not think about the issue, Jeremie looked away sad "come on don't leave us in suspense" said Odd as he finished his own food with William pushing what was left his to him, "Jeremie" said Yumi he tone of voice making it clear she was hurt and upset "He was asking where he is" replied Jeremie as he looked down, "I hate to say it but that's the least of our worries" said Yumi, the others looked at her shocked, "Yumi, he's…" started Aelita but she cut him off "He clearly doesn't want to be around us, and we have XANA to worry about" said Yumi trying to change the subject, whilst watching from another table Adam and Evelyn looked intrigued, "you think they're gonna waste their time" asked Evelyn as she ignored Sissi rambling on about the latest fashion wear, Adam shook his head "it's gonna break them, but I doubt they're gonna look just yet, besides XANA's next attack will push them to their limit" he said almost laughing, before standing up "And where are you going" asked Sissi looking at him, "well after you long rant about clothing which I couldn't give two shits about I thought I'd hang myself" he replied sarcastically before walking off.
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The first room Dallas had woken up in was nice and clean, the second was far from it looked like a cell but the floor was flooded was dirty water and his clothes were soaked, he looked around grunting and growling as he tried sitting up, but he still found his arms and legs bound, with a sudden and loud grunt he snapped his finger and tore himself free from his wrist bound ropes, he looked at his hand as he relocated it, reaching for his legs he grabbed the rope and tried to yank at it but it was too tight,
"now that shit is just freaky" said John as he looked down into the cell from above, "I always said to have this cell fixed but I can see why the boss left the flooded foundation" he added with a laugh, Dallas flipped onto his feet getting out of the water, he was ready to try and jumped to attack John, but then there was a loud noise as a door opened with the Boss, Oleg and a few other goons entering, "How is our guest this morning" asked the Boss as he looked down, Dallas looked as all the goons were armed, "Voz'mi yego na arenu" said the Boss, two of the goons pointed their M9 pistols at Dallas whilst Oleg and the third goon moved down a ladder and opened the cell Grabbing Dallas, "Time to repay me" said the Boss.
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Adam virtualized on Lyoko in the ice sector and looked around as the Krabs walked near him, he grinned as he placed his hand on the tower and it activated as the blue hue faded into the red one XANA's attacks launched,
"Remember this is purely diversion, we Need them to search for Dallas" said Adam as he looked up into the sky, on earth a lumber yard was going through its daily operations, with its blue collar workers enjoying their job, simple and easy, the lumber yard sat near a log dam that had built up at the start of the winter, and were currently frozen together, as the foreman moved from his digger XANA's slime moved from a nearby generator and split off as it moved in different directions towards different equipment, "Okay boys" yelled the foreman, a man in his mid-50's although with the physical abilities of a man half that, his face was the give away a few wrinkles and bold, although he had white stubble for facial hair, something he'd grown attached to, the other works stopped and looked at him with admiration and respect "Lunch time" he said with a laugh earning a cheer from everyone under him, suddenly the digger behind him started moving with its engine roaring "What the" he said as he turned around and quickly hoped on, the digger slowly made its way towards the dam, "I CAN'T STOP IT" he shouted out, some of the workers quickly moved to try and stop it but there was no result, "WHAT THE HELL" he shouted over the engine he gripped the brake but it wouldn't budge, suddenly other diggers began to move as well and roar to life, "JESUS CHRIST" shouted another worker as the vehicles began to line up before moving towards the log dam, at Kadic in the middle of class with Hertz lecturing on constantly, Jeremie's laptop began to beep
"JEREMIE WILL YOU TURN THAT OFF" she yelled, Jeremie quickly reached into his bag, "Doing that now miss" he said nervously back but he was checking the scan as it detected the tower "XANA" he said as he closed the laptop and looked back not seeing Adam, "Damn it" said Jeremie, Aelita looked at him and whispered "Anything wrong", Jeremie nodded "MR BELPOIS" yelled Hertz at him, Jeremie stood up "I'm sorry Miss…" he started looking at Dallas's empty chair "I need to go" he said rushing out, Ulrich looked at Carter who in turn was baffled, "I think I need to" he started but Carter nodded and said "I'll cover for you", Ulrich stood up "I'll go after him miss" he said in response, Hertz was about to speak but Carter raised his arm "Let him" he said not wanting to argue, Hertz rolled her eyes, Ulrich and Jeremie stopped in the corridor, "What're you doing" asked Ulrich as he stretched his fingers, "Texting Yumi and William" he responded as he hit send on the text, it was a single word, Evelyn, in their class with Claudius Yumi felt her phone vibrate, William noticing raised his arm to attract the teachers attention, "Yes Dunbar" he asked seemingly annoyed by the impending question, Yumi looked around and saw Evelyn sitting down and promptly responded with a thumbs up, back in the hallway Jeremie looked at his phone, "Okay Evelyn isn't on Lyoko, it's just Adam" said Jeremie, then he looked at Ulrich, "We don't know how much time we have, we need Aelita" said Jeremie, Ulrich started to walk off "where are you going" he asked, Ulrich turned around "find out what XANA's up to and stop the attack, at the least buy us some time" said Ulrich as he extended his arms, then the bell rang, "ULRICH" shouted Jeremie, as Odd and Aelita stepped out of the classroom, Ulrich stopped "You're not indestructible" said Jeremie as the others walked up, "What's going on" asked Odd failing to follow what was happening, "Nothing" said Ulrich as he looked down at his arm, "To the factory" asked Aelita as they rushed off.
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Anyone would have started shivering or started to suffer from hypothermia, but with 4 guns pointed at him ready to shoot him at any second it was the last thing Dallas was thinking about, he looked around as the corridors were far from what he expected, wooden walls with a fancy design along with several rooms,
"This way" said one of the guards as they came to an intersection, it was like a maze suddenly the walls became padded with red velvet as the style changed more and more, "Oleg" said the Boss as he looked at him the group stopped, "yemu nuzhna sootvetstvuyushchaya odezhda" he added, Oleg rolled his eye and said "Da" before grinning at Dallas who was tempted to growl if it wasn't for the shot gun being held to the back of his head, the Boss smiled as John lowered the shot gun and opened the doors at the end of the corridor revealing a set of metal bars, that opened outwards revealing a large room with two floors a ground floor with numerous tables lacking chairs, a bar at one end of the room stocked with numerous pricy alcoholic beverages with a bar tender cleaning behind it, the second floor was several balconies of tables these had chairs and one booth which was being cleaned by a group of people, it contained several tables and chairs, it was obvious this was the nicest seat in the house, at the Centre of it all was a large ring, the floor was discolored having been stained with blood, Oleg returned and tossed a duffle bag at Dallas hitting him in the stomach and dropping to the ground "Oleg" said the Boss opening his arms "is that anyway to treat our guest" he asked, Oleg looked down slightly but was shocked as the Boss turned around and punched Dallas in the stomach as hard as he could causing him to hunch over, before he felt his hair being grabbed, "you're gonna fight in that ring" he said before letting go and wiping his knuckles, "What the fuck are you talking about" asked Dallas growling, John smacked the stock of the shot gun into the side of his face, it cut open his right eyebrow causing it to bleed, "John, bylo li eto neobkhodimo" he asked, John shrugged his shoulders and grabbed Dallas pulling him to his feet, "Last night you managed to hospitalize my prized fighters, now you're gonna take the place that one of them was gonna have today" said the Boss as he walked away "With money or blood" he added as Oleg followed after him, "Bastard" said Dallas as he growled, John grabbed his shoulder "Let's get that eye patched up" he said as he lead Dallas towards a room to get ready.
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Yumi and William had remained with their class to keep a watch on Evelyn, she was more danger on Lyoko than on Earth, and she was aware of their tactic but knew that she couldn't enter Lyoko in plain sight,
"You sure you don't want to head off" asked Yumi as she looked up at William as they peeked around the corner watching Evelyn, "You may need back up" said William as he pulled the Glock from his back pocket which Yumi snatched from him "are you mad" she asked as she tucked it into her trousers, Evelyn grinned as she started moving towards the classroom, "Come on" said Yumi as they moved out and began to casually follow after her, meanwhile the Others were rushing across the bridge, "We still have no idea what XANA's doing" said Ulrich as he quickly dashed avoiding having to using the rope, "Maybe it's just an activated tower" said Odd hopefully as he slid down, to meet Ulrich on the factory floor, "when has XANA ever been that kind" said Aelita she got off the rope, they knew that wasn't the answer, Jeremie hit the elevator button and the metal crate descended "the sooner we get this Tower deactivated the better" said Jeremie as he was starting to get stressed out, "Jeremie" asked Aelita as she put her hand forward but he ignored her as the door opened and he stepped into the computer room, "I'll try and work out what XANA's up to" said Jeremie as the door closed, Aelita looked down saddened by Jeremie's coldness, "He under a lot of stress, we all are" said Odd as he placed his hand on Aelita's shoulder, the door opened and they stepped into the scanner room, "Prepare to get colder guys" said Jeremie as he located the tower, "why couldn't it be somewhere warm" asked Ulrich sarcastically as he stepped into the scanner, "Scanner Ulrich, Scanner Aelita, Scanner Odd" said Jeremie as the scanners closed and the three began to spin "Transfer Ulrich, Transfer Aelita, Transfer Odd" added Jeremie then they felt the blast of air "Virtualization" he added and their blue squared outlines formed before gaining detail and dropping to the ground "I do hate the shitting winter" said Odd as he rubbed his hands together, "Okay guys the tower is due north" said Jeremie as he typed and spawned the Over-Bike and the Over-Board, "Come on the sooner we get this sorted the better" said Aelita as she stepped onto the Over-Board but in the leading position causing Ulrich to chuckle, "looks like the lady's taking the lead this time" he said laughing, Odd humped as he stood on the board behind Aelita, the two vehicles then shot off.
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Because of the rough cold ground the numerous workman vehicles were slowed down by the mud, all of the workers had jumped in and were trying to stop them,
"Come on you bastard" said the Foreman as he tried locking up the steering wheel, but it was no use no matter what he tried it wouldn't jam, "We can try puncturing the tires" yelled another of the workers as he tried to pull off the full tank catch, "That'll stop 3 or 4 of them at best" replied the foreman but he nodded and pointed at one "Do what you can" he added as he tried to gut the circuitry, meanwhile in a room that was considerably nicer than the cell he'd previously been held in Dallas opened the duffel bag he'd been given and pulled out a pair of black tracksuit bottoms along with a bunch of sports tape, someone had stitched up above his eye, but he found it to be stinging almost unbearably so, he stood up and looked around, the bed was hanging from the wall with no window other than the bars on the door, he shrugged as he unbuttoned his shirt pulling off, the past few months had been far from kind for Dallas, his back was now adorned with three large scars going down from top to bottom, they for some reason hadn't healed like they'd never existed, he pulled off his trousers and pulled on the tracksuit bottoms, "Jesus" said Oleg as he looked through the bars, "what're you some kind of creep" asked John as he sat on a chair guarding the cell, "this guy looks like he only consumes steroids" said Oleg as he started walking away, "The boss wants him ready" he added rolling his eye, back at Kadic Evelyn was starting to play William and Yumi like string in a cats paws, she knew the two wouldn't head to Lyoko without her being neutralized, and she knew that neither of them had the courage nor stomach to do it, once again their teacher was Claudius and William was slightly threatened by his presence , and it seemed that the teacher was still annoyed by the comment about his face evident by his tone every time he said Dunbar, Yumi however wasn't paying attention to the class and remained focused on Evelyn as she sat strangely fixated on the teacher, "It's said that History is written by the victor, but the future is often the result of one person's decision, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand plunged the world into a near century of struggles" said Claudius as he sat down a small grin crossed his face before he looked at his students and rubbed his sore leg with his gloved hand, "Interesting analysis sir" said Evelyn with an almost sinister grin, Yumi was confused the year she'd known the so called Daughter of XANA she'd never seen her interested in anything other than XANA's goals.
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The Ice sector was empty, it was almost like artic, there were no monsters in sight, Ulrich looked around expecting a Hornet or maybe a Manta to suddenly appear,
"Jeremie there has to be something nearby" asked Aelita as she looked around, Jeremie typed and looked at the radar, "Nothing, no monsters, no… oh bollocks" said Jeremie as his jaw nearly dropped, "We see it" said Odd, the Over-Board and the Over-Bike slowed down as Adam stood almost in the middle of nowhere waiting for them, he leant against his bike, he grinned almost sinisterly at them, "Odd" said Ulrich, Odd stepped and raised his arm ready to shoot an arrow, "You two may pass" said Adam laughing as he raised his arm and signalled for Odd and Aelita to go "What're you on about" asked Odd as he was about to fire, "I thought Ulrich here would want to settle a little fight, especially after his coward of a son has run off" said Adam, the tone almost fell silent then with a clanking noise Ulrich stepped off the Over-Bike, "You two go now" said Ulrich as he drew his Katanna, Adam grinned as he picked up his hat from his vehicle, "Ulrich" asked Odd but his friend remained silent, "lets go" said Aelita grabbing his shoulder, the Over-Board moved forward slowly before darting off, Adam extended his arms outwards, "Come on then" he said before grinning, "Do your worst" he added, but as Ulrich was about to charge and strike Adam threw his arms forward and a sudden storm comprising of snow and ice engulfed them, Odd and Aelita were thrown from the Overboard thanks to the sudden fast winds, "AELITA" Screamed Odd through the winds as he grabbed the board and slammed it into the ground to use as a shield against the blizzard, "Aelita get to Odd hurry" said Jeremie as the map and even the radar began to lose signal "Jeremie the storm, I can't see past my bloody nose" said Aelita although her voice was muffled and distorted, "AELITA FOLLOW MY VOICE" Shouted Odd as he sat behind the board, the storm raged around him, on Earth he felt as if he should have frozen to death, "I'm trying to track the tower, I can only remember its location" said Jeremie as he looked at its coordinates, "I can't pin your location" he added, Aelita looked up as she tried firing an energy sphere to make even the tiniest of clearings "so I can't guide you" he added wirily, Aelita raised her arm to cover her face from the snow storm.
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School ended, William and Yumi stood outside their classroom making sure to keep their heads down as best they could, Evelyn had remained in the class for reasons that the two had been unable to work out, they stood out due to being two social outcasts by appearance, although William was one of the more popular students, Yumi had tired listening into the class but it was too obvious as to what she was doing,
"Bye sir" said Evelyn with a smile and tone that suggested wrong doing, but not what either Yumi nor William expected, "What's wrong" asked Evelyn grinning as she walked away, the two followed after her, "she's…" started Yumi, William nodded as they rounded a corner, "We know XANA's agents have free will but… having an affair with a teacher that's…" started William feeling sick at his own words, "What about a teacher" said a voice that neither of the warriors was the most familiar with, they turned to see Carter standing with a duffle bag slinked over him, "just Mr Maxwell" said William pulling from thin air causing Yumi to chuckle knowing part of it was real, "I wouldn't let him hear you call him that remember" said Carter as he laughed, "stay out of trouble you two" said Carter as he moved off towards his car.
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Jeremie whilst trying to clear up the map and locate Aelita and Odd was also attempting to find out what XANA was doing with the activated tower, none of the news channels were reporting on anything abnormal,
"There has got to be something" said Jeremie as he began to sink into his chair, suddenly he looked at the CV radio and grabbed the tuning nob and began to switch frequency's, "bastard knew what he was doing" said Jeremie as he looked down then he heard something that made him stop "WE'VE ONLY STOPPED FOUR OF THESE FUCKING THINGS" shouted a voice, Jeremie looked at the frequency and typed it into the computer, "I think I've found something guys" said Jeremie as he began to locate where the chatter was coming from, the super computer began to cross reference the origin, then it taped into the nearest camera, and suddenly the commotion and panic was clear, "Oh shit" said Jeremie, at the lumber yard the first of the tractors had reached the log dam and was starting to ram into it, the foreman was pulling at the controls as hard as he could but it was no use, "Come on you bastard" he yelled but it was unresponsive, "sir we can't stop these things" shouted one of the workers as he tried in vain to smack a shovel and stop his bulldozer, Jeremie quickly typed, "What the hell would XANA want with a log dam" he said then the contract popped up, "Oh no" said Jeremie with horror, "I've found it guys, XANA's planning to try and smash a log dam" he said, Odd looked up from behind the board "So he's doing a company out of a job" he replied sarcastically, Aelita stumbled around "There's more too it isn't there" she asked waving her arms trying to clear her vision, "If XANA smashes through it all at once, the entire area will be flooded" said Jeremie as he watched the chaos starting to unfold.
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Ulrich and Adam had been at a standoff, the latter had both his hands behind his back calmly mocking the former who stood with both hands on his Katanna almost too angry to focus,
"Well" started Adam as he grinned "I'm waiting" he added, Ulrich suddenly charged, his visibility through the storm was heavily restricted but he kept his eyes on Adam and swung with his Katanna, the latter side stepped knowing that Ulrich was too angry to even plan a single move, "predictable" he said as he drew his own sword and held it forward pointing it at Ulrich, "Care to try again" he asked, Ulrich jumped swiping downwards but Adam jumped backwards swinging with his sword at the Katanna trying to knock it from Ulrich's hands but in his anger the aforementioned was gripping onto it too tightly to drop it and he swung back knocking Adam backwards slightly, "Impressive but do you really think you can replace him" asked Adam, Ulrich looked at him and adjusted his stance, "You can't even rival me" he added as Ulrich swiped towards him, Adam felt the air as the Katanna nearly struck him, "Do you even accept him for who he really is" asked Adam, Jeremie froze in his chair as he heard this, none of them had thought about how things were gonna be now, Ulrich didn't have time to react as he felt his rage take to control and he jumped swinging towards Adam who again jumped back and began to disappear in the storm, "Ulrich calm down" said Jeremie, Ulrich looked up and in this moment formed a plan.
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The chanting from the arena was almost deafening to those in it, whilst in his cell it was heavily muffled, with his hands clasped together and his head down Dallas was in a state of almost sheer blackout, he'd wrapped bandages around his hands and feet, although he wasn't gearing up to fight nor was he panicking,
"Da" he heard Oleg say followed by a taping on the bars on the door, "Its time" Added Oleg as he unlocked the door, Dallas ignored him and continued looking down at the floor, "are you deaf" asked Oleg, but growing impatient he stormed into the cell and grabbed Dallas practically dragging him from the cell, "Down the hall" said Oleg, Dallas looked at him ready to snarl but started walking away, the cheering and roaring got louder and louder almost deafening, exiting into the large room there was a loud cheer as he entered, the ring now had an occupant, and the tables and upper booths were packed with spectators, one of the spectators at the table with a small cup of whisky was Carter, Dallas glanced him a look before he was led up into the ring, Carter cheered along with everyone else, he'd changed into smart jacket and trousers, and being that he wasn't under the age of 18 no one glanced an eyebrow at him, Dallas stepped into the ring looking at the opposite corner that was at present vacant, in the main booth on the second floor the Boss sat in his chair with a women that was there merely for eye candy and pleasure, Oleg walked in, "Oleg have a drink" said the Boss with a laugh as he grabbed a bottle and poured a third cup of whiskey for him, Oleg looked at it before nervously sitting down, "Something troubling you my friend" asked the Boss enjoying himself almost a little too much, "The boy, can't be more than 16, and you expect him fight in that ring" asked Oleg as he started to get cold feet, "What suddenly going soft" asked the Boss with a chuckle, Oleg shook his head "We're criminals but we don't kill kids" he said getting angry, The Boss laughed as he smacked the arse of his lady friend causing her to move off of him, "With money or blood, I expect him to have his arse kicked in maybe a fractured skull, then I'll stop the fight lose a million or two, and it'll be even" said the Boss as he took another gulp of his drink, Oleg cautiously did so as well as the Boss leant forward and looked at Dallas who stood in the corner of the ring almost motionless as he waited, "Tell me when Erikson arrives" said the Boss as he poured himself another cup, Oleg nodded and stood up passing John, standing in another of the booths and out of Carters and Dallas's line of sight was Evelyn, she'd dressed to impress mainly as a way of sneaking in whilst being 17 officially, the dress was tight black and fitting almost impossibly, the cleavage section was split down the middle meaning the middle of her breasts we're visible, it caused many heads to turn, looking down at Dallas she grinned whilst being amazed at the scars on his back, the previous small one from his grandmother was now invisible as it was obscured by one of the larger scars, "Wonder how those happened" she asked to herself as she sat down.
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Aelita was close to falling over as the storm continued to rage her vision was barely past her nose at this point, Odd looked around huddling up unable to see anything, he placed his hands around his mouth and shouted
"AELITA" in hopes of getting any response, she faintly heard the yells but couldn't move towards them as the storm was too blinding, further down the sector Adam was now using the cover of the snow to his advantage, Ulrich was standing with his hands on his Katanna looking around trying to spot him, "How basic" said Adam as he drew his sword from his hilt and then his musket aiming it at Ulrich's head, but with a laugh he aimed lower and pulled the trigger with the loud bang that broke even the deafening noise of the storm Ulrich was knocked over as his legs were thrown out from underneath him and he landed on the floor letting out a cry, Adam laughed as he strolled towards him kneeling down to face him, "you're no replacement are you" said Adam as he laughed and reloaded his musket, Ulrich looked up at him wincing in pain from his leg, "Tr…" he started but Adam laughed as he finished reloading, "Try you? Okay then" he answered as he pointed the musket at Ulrich's head ready to devirtulize him, Ulrich moved his arm and tried grabbing the musket but Adam used his sword to hold it down, "is that the best you've got" asked Adam, Ulrich grinned as Adam began to squeeze the trigger "I said" started Ulrich, and then as Adam was about to finish squeezing he suddenly felt it jerk upwards and as it fired it was under his chin and the virtual pellet erupted through his head and he collapsed devirtulizing, as Ulrich finished saying "Triplicate" with a laughter, the storm then died down with Adam's body finishing its devirtulizing process and it became clear his two doubles had snuck up behind Adam using the storm to his advantage, the two clones smiled as they merged with Ulrich again, "Okay guys I've got a clearer reading on you all" said Jeremie as he clicked his fingers "We're back in action" he said hopeful that they might be able to stop XANA, Aelita looked up seeing Odd in the distance, The Latter grabbed the board from the pile of snow and mounted it shooting off, "Ulrich are you okay" asked Jeremie, Ulrich cracked a small smile but a tear rolled down his face as he sheathed his Katanna, "Yeah I'm fine" he replied as he turned around and started running towards Aelita and Odd in the distance.
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Yumi and William appeared out of a large puff of his super smoke, William hunched over and vomited for what he felt like was the 6th time within 10 minutes,
"Someone is gonna think I'm bloody anaemic" Said William as he wiped his face with Yumi patting him on the back, "are we here yet" she asked, William stood up feeling weaker than he'd ever felt, "you tell me" he said as he hunched over again feeling like he was gonna, "This is the address I overheard" she said William looked at her, "I think" she added wirily causing him to role his eyes, "Is that Carters Car" she asked William poked his head out of the alleyway "Red Evo, horrible paint detail" he said looking at it as it sat parked outside a skyscraper, "Yep it's his" he added as he collapsed against the wall, "You want to remain here" asked Yumi as she looked at him, "no… No point, I know that place, sort of" said William as he looked at Yumi, she looked at the building as the two bouncers were turning some people away whilst letting very few in, "It's a massive night club, very few are ever granted access" said William as he stood up stumbling a bit, "You seem street smart" she responded as she helped him "Nah my uncle tried getting in, they turned him away, blue collar and wasn't their type" said William as they moved from the alley "Sounds like a nasty place" said Yumi, William nodded in agreement, "Why would Evelyn come to a place like this" asked Yumi, William would have shrugged his shoulders if he could feel them, "no idea" he replied, across the city the thoughts were the same as the Log dam was beginning to buckle and water was spilling out "Come on" said the Foreman as he managed to finally stop one of the vehicles as he smashed the engine with a spanner breaking it out, "Boss we need to move" said one of the workers as many of them ran for their safety, the Foreman couldn't blame them, the freezing water began to seep through, "I'M STAYING" he shouted as he rushed to the next one, and began to smack the engine trying to disable it but with more than two dozen vehicles it was a lost cause, but he wouldn't give up regardless, more water began to pour out of the cracks, "COME ON" shouted one of the workers as he rushed out of the river bed.
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The man known as Erikson looked like he was 20 years and a thousand miles out of place, wearing a summer suit and a straw hat he stood out in a crowd especially during the winter season, he walked into the main booth The Boss turned and looked at him standing up and extending his arm,
"Glad you could make it" said The boss as he gave a fake smile, "I'm surprised you invited me, given your recent unfortunate turn of luck" said Erikson his voice a smooth Spanish accent, one of his bodyguards a similarly dressed man except for the noticeable bullet proof vest and the exceptionally noticeable AK74 stood behind him "Now either you arranged it, or like me you have someone on the inside" said the Boss with a laugh, Erikson laughed in response, "you're a smart man Hardy" he said as he grabbed a cup of Whiskey, "I'm amazed I haven't received his pieces in a body bag" he added to which Hardy laughed and said "the post office wouldn't deliver for me", Erikson put down his cup before looking down in the ring, "What're the odds on your boy then" he asked, Hardy stood up and looked down at Dallas who darted a glance straight into his eyes "20 to 1, I'm only putting 2 million on him personally" he said before sitting down on the edge of his seat, "Well looks like my boy is the inside chance 3 to 1" said Erikson, "I've put 6 million on him" he added with a shit eating grin, Hardy didn't matter he was just waiting for the sport to start, Erikson's body guard moved towards the railing and looked down at Dallas before his eyes darted open and he stepped back "Something wrong Michael" asked Erickson, Michael shook his head cautiously and said "Bit young" before stepping away grabbing his phone, down in the ring Dallas stood growing impatient, either the show was going to start or it wasn't, then the music in the room stopped and the cheering became louder as a man in a tacky red suit stepped into the arena with a microphone, "Ladies and Gentlemen tonight's event is about to begin" he said to the cheer of the audience, Evelyn however didn't cheer as she remained fixated on Dallas both as XANA's watcher and slightly fascinated, "In this Corner tonight's newcomer in his first fight in the ring" started the announcer before moving to Dallas and covering the mike he asked "What do I call you" but Dallas's only response was a simple growl, "THE SAVAGE DOG" shouted the Announcer into the microphone which earned a mixture of cheer and laughter, "And in this corner so far undefeated for his previous 6 fights, GREEN STREET" added the announcer to a round of cheer as they turned as the man known as Green Street entered the ring, he was standing tall at 6'7 covered in Muscle's, his chest was adorned with a large Shamrock Tattoo, his hair dyed green and his mouth a gold tooth in the top right of the front eight, Green street stepped into the ring and raised his arms in a cheer for the audience, "The fight shall begin shortly" added the announcer as Green Street continued to rile up the audience.
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Ulrich caught up with Odd and Aelita as they looked around, the landscape had changed thanks to the snow storm and the storm had left a fog effect,
"Jeremie can you see anything" asked Odd, Jeremie began typing "The tower is due north from your position" he said before the alarm began to sound "And heavily guarded" he added dismally as he monitored 3 of the silver warriors and a Krab guarding the tower, "Isn't it always" said Ulrich as he rode the Over-Bike over the rough terrain "XANA must keep up appearances" said Aelita doing a terrible posh voice which caused Jeremie to chuckle, but the laughs were stopped as the Krab fired a laser causing the two vehicles to split and move at opposite directions towards the Tower, "I see them" said Ulrich as he sped up as quickly as he could towards the Krab, two of the warriors turned and drew their swords, Ulrich grinned as he began to stand up before jumping off the Over-Bike, it carried on moving an wobbled heavily as it smashed into one of the Warriors it knocked it backwards into the tower where the two exploded, the second warrior turned briefly but not long enough for Ulrich to strike it directly as it turned and blocked his sword swing, Odd and Aelita swerved the Over-Board as quickly as they could to avoid the Krabs lasers, "XANA really wants to stop us this time" said Aelita as she fired an energy sphere which hit the third warrior on the chest, but it wasn't enough to destroy it, "Damn it" said Odd as he raised his arm and shouted "LASER ARROW" as he swerved the board violently, the arrow hit the warrior but again it wasn't enough to destroy it, "Come on" said Odd as he raised the board and began to circle around, Jeremie was starting to panic as he looked at the security feed, "Guys hurry the Damn is gonna give way and minute now" he said typing whilst at the lumber yard the Foreman still refused to give up, but the Dam itself was looking like it was close itself, the water was starting to seep through, another machine was stopped, "Come on nearly there" he said but there was still a dozen machines to stop, Back on Lyoko Ulrich jumped and raised his leg kicking the Warrior back before he lunged with his Katanna slicing downwards into the chest of the warrior, it stumbled as the light shined from its chest, Ulrich then lunged the sword forward and stabbed clean into slice and then it exploded in front of Ulrich as he sheathed his blade calmly, "Good job just two left" said Jeremie but he didn't want to panic the others, then the phone window opened "Yumi where are you guys" asked Jeremie starting to worry, Yumi looked at William, "we're taking a bus back, I don't think Williams has the stomach to make any more jumps" she replied, Jeremie wondered what she meant but then heard a muffled William say "More like the lack of contents in that stomach", Yumi chuckled and responded "We'll be at the Factory soon" before hanging up, Odd and Aelita circled around above the tower, "We need to hurry" said Aelita, Odd looked down and cocked his arm, "I've a very reckless Idea" he said with a cheeky grin, "What do…" started Aelita but odd looked back and said "ever seen a flying cat" before he dived from the board and spread his arms and leg as he fell towards the Krab, the creature aimed up and fired, Odd lowered his arm and fired a laser arrow, the firing managed to knock Odd backwards and was slowing his decent, The Krab fired again missing but Odd fired again slowing him down before he fired one final shot that struck the Krab dead centre and caused it to explode, "Great shot Odd" said Jeremie with a smile, "Yeah but how do I stooooop" screamed Odd as he smacked into the wall of the tower and devirtulized Aelita winced at the sight before moving the Over-Board towards the tower, "Ulrich keep it distracted" she said, Ulrich nodded and charged at the Silver warrior but instead of drawing his Katanna as the warrior did his own blade Ulrich jumped and two foot lunged into the warrior knocking it back before falling onto the ground "GO" he shouted as Aelita swooped in low and hopped off the board rushing towards the tower, Ulrich smiled as the Warrior slammed its sword down through Ulrich devirtulizing him, Aelita stepped into the tower and began floating upwards, "Nearly there" said the foreman as he continued smashing the machine as best he could, Landing on the platform it illuminated beneath her, she placed her hand on the screen the word AELITA typed out followed by CODE LYOKO "Tower deactivated" she said, Jeremie sank back into his chair "Thank god" he said whilst at the lumberyard the machines that were still operating stopped and we're immobilized, the foreman sank into the ground "Thank Christ" he said as he stood up and looked at the workers on the bank, "THEY'VE STOPPED WE'RE ALL…" but it was too late the dam burst behind him the flooding water engulfed him, the machinery and any small logs that couldn't float, it wasn't certain if it was the sudden rush of the water, the extremely cold temperature or the blunt force of the logs but the Foreman had been killed trying to avert disaster, "NOOOOOOO" screamed out one of the workers, "DUNBAR" he yelled out again.
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Jeremie hadn't seen the chaos having switched off the feed as soon as the tower was deactivated, Yumi and William had arrived back in the lab with the latter laying close to the point of unconsciousness on the floor,
"Nice and cool" he muttered as the elevator opened the others walked in "It would have been impressive Odd had you not immediately devirtulized yourself" said Ulrich laughing, Odd sulked as Aelita patted him on the back but was laughing herself, "Another job finished" said Jeremie as he folded his arms, then they heard a phone ringing, Yumi nudged William with her foot "Your phone" she said, Aelita looked down at him "Is he okay" she asked as William grabbed his phone, "Hello" he said answering it, suddenly everything went cold and silent for him, "What… What do you mean" he asked as he sat up despite feeling ill, "you… you're joking" he asked hoping that the other person was lying, "okay… I'll…" but the phone hung up before he could finish, "Jeremie turn on the feed again" he asked standing up, Jeremie was confused but turned back to the screen "Is something wrong" asked Yumi, but William remained silent then it became clear as the Jeremie re-established the feed showing the now flooded riverbed, "OH NO" said Jeremie, everyone fell silent, "My uncle… he was…" started William but he couldn't finish his sentence, "Why would XANA want to…" started Jeremie but he decided not to finish.
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"Fight" said the Announcer as he climbed out of ring, Dallas and Green street started moving towards each other, Dallas cracked his neck before raising his arms, Green street kicked outwards high enough to hit Dallas's head but he turned and kicked the leg away before jumping with a superman punch and striking green street in the face, in response the giant charged grabbing Dallas by the throat and slamming him down into the floor of the arena before stomping on Dallas's stomach, he raised his arms causing the audience to cheer, but as Dallas's mouth erupted with blood he shook his head spitting it out and standing up, Green street turned and threw a punch like a missile but Dallas side stepped and turned underneath the arm and punched upwards into green streets jaw, before grabbing his arm and slamming it as hard as he could onto his shoulder, with a grunt from Green Street he pulled away before kicking Dallas as hard as he could in the stomach knocking him back into the ring corner before punching him in the face knocking Dallas down onto the floor, again Green Street turned and cheered but then he felt something hit his back, the audience fell silent as Green street turned around to see Dallas back on his feet spitting his blood at him, before he wiped his mouth, "You don't learn do you" said Green Street as he charged, But Dallas ducked and spun out his leg knocking Green streets leg forcing him forward into the ring side face first, the impact broke his nose and cause it to bleed profusely, he stood up despite the massive bleeding but he was met with a Gyver kick from Dallas the foot connected smoothly causing Green street to spit out his mouth guard and his gold tooth, Dallas stood over him as he tried getting up but Dallas stomped down on the back of the giants head before kicking him over and kneeling on his neck and punching him violently in the face causing more and more blood to erupt from his eyes, nose and mouth, then there was a bell ring, Dallas stood up looking at the stunned audience but they slowly broke into a cheer, there satisfaction from the fight filled, Hardy leant forward whilst slightly intoxicated and clapped loudly laughing, whilst Erikson sat mouth open in utter shock, Oleg and John were in awe at what they saw, Evelyn smiled looking at him, "He carries on being violent like that I may not be able to restrain myself" she said with a hint of attraction, Dallas exited the ring with Oleg, John and one of the guards standing there making it obvious they had their pistols tucked in their trousers, "No, no, this man is the hero of the night" said Hardy smiling half drunkenly, as he hugged Dallas despite being covered in blood, "Boss, your…" started Oleg, but Hardy flapped his arm, "I'll have it cleaned" he said laughing before clicking his fingers, "you bring this man a cup… no a bottle of whiskey" said Hardy as he laughed, Dallas remained silent and looked at him as a young girl no older than Dallas walked over holding a bottle on a tray for him, she was partly Chinese but probably no more than a quarter in decent, her hair was cut short and parted mostly to a single side, dyed jet black, her outfit was skimpy but not as bad as the others, "Come sit down" said Hardy as he led Dallas to the booth, "She comes" said Dallas looking at the servant girl identifying her situation, "Whatever the champion wants" said Hardy laughing and clapping, "John prepare his room" he added, John raised an eyebrow "What put a mattress in his cell" he asked confused looking at Oleg, "Cell, no, no, no, give this man a room high above the city" said Hardy as he stumbled into his seat, Dallas sat down looking at the bottle in front of him as the servant sat next to him, "Thank…" she started, Dallas turned his eyes to her "Thank you" she said scared of Dallas, Hardy clapped his hands as Erikson walked out of the room shocked at the loss of money, "60 Million euros from a 2 Million bet" he said, before patting Dallas on the back "You've made me a lot of money" he said as he poured himself a cup of water, "I think this partnership of ours will be highly lucrative" he added as he took a gulp.
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The mountains of the Philippines were jungle covered, with very few villages and fewer tourist spots one village in particular was popular with young people on their gap years, although the locals we're peaceful and welcoming, they were often harassed by the tourists for a number of reasons, the biggest of which came down to an misunderstanding that there were plenty of drug dealers in the area, the village being as small as it was never had any issue with people beyond alcohol fuelled fights, which the authorities often just kept the participants overnight, when the locals weren't working in the farms they were at the local bar which its standout attraction was that it had a waterfall running through the middle, and that one of its workers wasn't a local, Lucas Stanton stood out like a sore thumb, he was from a European country and had been living in the Village for the past 30 years, by which time the others had come to accept him as one of their own, he was 6'0 and well-built something he needed for his job as a bouncer, his hair was blonde slicked back on the top and shaved down to a buzz cut on the sides, his skin was tanned from the constant sun, having lived in the jungle he was familiar with current technology but wasn't fond of it, wearing tan trousers and a blue polo shirt he sat at a bench drinking a cup of water,
"another quiet night" he said to himself as he took a gulp of water, then he felt a tapping on his shoulder, "Yeah boss" he said happily having struck up a good rapport over the past 3 decades "I think we have an issue with the gentleman at table 4" he said scared, Lucas looked over and at first thought that the three men were smoking cigarettes but then it occurred to him and he stood up walking over to them, the three men were out of Towner's, "Excuse me" said Lucas as he stood over them the strong smell of weed was almost vomit inducing "Yeah can I help you" said one of them laughing as he took another puff, Lucas and the bar had a clear no drugs rule so he took matters into his own hands as he grabbed the blunt and dunked it into his cup of water "Hey man what the fuck do you think you're doing" said the second Tourist as he stood up "Consider that you're only warning" said Lucas as he poured the ruined joint in the bin and walking over to the bar and raising his arm, "Thank you the smell was unbearable" said the bartender as he poured another cup for Lucas, as he turned he saw the third tourist charge at him with a small knife, Lucas quickly grabbed his arm and squeezed it causing the man to drop it in pain, "Let go you… ah fuck stop that hurts" said the tourist, Lucas did so and the man grabbed his arm, "You fucker you've broken my arm" he said in pain, Lucas rolled his eyes picking up the knife and putting it behind the bar, "I didn't squeeze hard enough to do that even for a weakling like you" said Lucas as he pointed at the door, "Now get out" said Lucas, the third tourist rushed out scared as he held his hurting arm, the other two followed after him a little scared, "how did you know that'd work" asked the Bartender with a laugh, Lucas took a gulp of his drink "Because of Military training" said Winter as he watched from the other end of the bar, Lucas choked on his drink as he looked at winter, "Corporal Stanton, it's a pleasure to meet you" added Winter leaving Lucas stunned and scared himself.
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Authors note:
Okay so defiantly a different chapter than is the norm I did of course have to change a lot but like I said the Lebanon tragedy took place so I had to change it, although it was only the attack, the rest was planned for a while, and I did in fact break what was an established rule for the first time since chapter 56, and I have to say I'm happy with the outcome, as it's the first time I've had to do something I wasn't comfortable doing but I knew would be great for the story, where ever that's going.
Also I have finished this like 6 days before its going up, I have no internet at the time of writing.