*Moon: Horizon Lunar Colony*
"We're halfway through" Sombra announced.
"Then this is a trap" Reaper growled, lowering his weapons.
They had now passed the Training Facility and cleared the ground & second floor of turrets, each of them more primitive than the last. In fact, soon after the first line of defence, the projectiles were laughably pathetic. Much of their militaristic ammunition had been changed into melted down metal balls.
Now in front of them were two paths towards the Observation Room. The left leads to a Common Room, the right does not seem to go anywhere, but it has an open floor above it. All they had to do was to pick a path, gather themselves in the Cafeteria, then force their way through the doors of the Observation Room, and shut the God Program down once and for all.
"It's wearing us down" Reinhardt said, turning off his barrier and rubbing his shoulder.
"Or… It lacked the resources to put up an actual defence" Moira countered, looking down at the very primitive machinery next to her feet.
"I agree. I believe we overprepared for our invasion. After all, if we think about it, this God Program is like a strategist. A brilliant strategist who ensures victory a thousand miles away… As evidenced by IT's sway over Earth's inhabitants, who were clueless of…" Sigma added, his speech slowly becoming a mumble as he spoke.
"Can you shut up, I'm trying to concentrate" Sombra moaned, frustrated as a missed keystroke locked her out of the base's mainframe again.
Calvin chittered loudly at Sigma as well, as he was helping her by scratching her hand gently whenever the next potential firewall might show up. Both of them have already deactivated many of the automated traps and am observing what's coming next.
Not wanting to waste time, Quillion crept ahead cautiously, hoping to spot the real threats that must be hidden in the corners. Admittedly, the attack on Talon was harder than this; the fight through the Enforcers and Heavy Assault Units was no small feat. Therefore, IT itself must have a trump card waiting for them, something that at least has the potential to overpower them.
"Alright, according to this, there shouldn't be anything new, just more turrets" Sombra said.
"And you honestly trust that?" Reaper shot back.
"But that sounds like good news!" Reinhardt said, leaning against his hammer.
"Nope"
"All of you are clearly overestimating the-"
"QUIET!" Sigma shouted, his eyes darting wildly around them.
"It's loud… Double… Triple… Quadruple… Check your math!" he demanded, looking at Sombra.
"What?"
"Quintuple… Sextuple… Septuple… Octuple… Sombra! Check your math!" he shouted again at her, the urgency in his voice building.
"Dios mio… Speak English! What do you mean?!" she snapped.
Without another word, Sigma darted towards the small room on the left, and hid behind the wall. Everyone stood and watched as he poked his head out, his face pale from fear, and looking at them as if they were mad to remain out in the open.
"What are you doing? Get back out here" Reaper ordered, but Sigma shook his head.
Sombra felt a nibble on her hand. Looking down, she saw that Calvin was aggressively pointing at something behind them, where she found herself face to face with a gorilla.
"Whoa!" she shouted, firing her weapon wildly.
Quillion dashed back the moment he heard the noise and was met with a sight so fictional that he thought he had walked into the movie set of Planet of the Apes. He counted around five of them, the two largest wrestling with Reinhardt, two on Reaper, and another attempting to grab Sombra, with Moira firmly secured under an arm.
What surprised him was how resilient they were, able to withstand point blank shots from Reaper's Hellfire Shotguns or a direct hit from Reinhardt's hammer with seemingly minimal pain. Charging his rifle, Quillion kneeled and took aim.
Roaring in pain, the gorilla dropped Moira and grabbed its shoulder, fighting to hold the pain at bay while gagging at the stench of burning fur. Letting the unconscious scientist fall to the floor, Quillion dashed forward and pulled Sombra away from the scene and back to the Hydroponic Lab next to the Potato Farm..
"Ok, that hurts" she complained, rubbing her arm and neck.
"I'll be sure to pull you away slower next time" he said sarcastically.
Looking around the corner to check if Reinhardt or Reaper needed any help and felt silly to even care. Though these apes were far larger and likely stronger than Winston, they were woefully unprepared for the battle-hardened Crusader and the savagery of Reaper, both of whom appeared to have some experience fighting apes.
With a smile on his face, Reinhardt wrestled with the apes, gripping his hammer tight with one hand, while wrapping his other arm around the throat of the other ape, showing an impressive display of strength and enthusiasm of a Crusader. Next to him, was a slithering body of shadows that slithered out of its space suit, frustrating the efforts of the apes as they tried to grab the gas-like substance, grunting in pain as shotguns would emerge randomly from the tentacles and shoot them from every angle.
All the while, Moira remained unconscious on the floor, and a distance away, Quillion thought he could see the pale face of Sigma hiding in the corner.
"Alright, we should be close to the end if IT had to send the apes" he said, looking back at Sombra.
"Is that right Calvin? Are there more waiting for us?" she asked Calvin, who nodded, not taking its eyes away from the fight.
"We don't have time to waste, we've only got… Well, it's already the midnight now, so we're late" Quillion said, looking at his watch.
Priming his rifle once more, he fired a few warning shots at the apes, aiming just close enough to singe their skin. This proved too much for the attackers, and they broke away in a hasty retreat.
"The meteor… Now the apes… Are you using Ana's Nano underneath that suit?" Reaper growled, looking at Reinhardt, who didn't answer.
"Tell me Reinhardt, are you abusing those Nano Boosts?!" he asked again, raising his voice.
"Maybe just a little dose" Reinhardt finally admitted.
"You fool! You know just as well as I do how dangerous it is to inject yourself with that much Nano! What are you trying to do? Kill yourself?!"
A loud grinding noise cut off the conversation, and they saw Sigma forcing a door open with his gravitational powers before darting in.
"What are you all doing? Run!" Sigma shouted, poking his head out.
"If you haven't noticed, we've already beaten the apes, so get out-" Reaper began but went silent.
"I heard it too" Reinhardt said, turning on his barrier, which flickered.
Quillion heard it too, raising his rifle towards the sound of what sounded like rain moving towards them. Motioning to Sombra, they positioned themselves behind Reinhardt, who had picked Moira up, themselves slowly moving towards Sigma, who had now fully disappeared into the room.
The noise grew steadily louder and they braced themselves for the attack.
Like a storm, hundreds of crab-like machines turned the corner and threw themselves towards the group. As if IT was taunting them, each of the robots bleeped with bright red blinks, childishly indicating their purpose.
"Sombra, an EMP would be good now" Reaper said.
"Buy me some time" she replied, rapidly flicking files around.
"You don't have it ready?"
"Hacking this much isn't really an energy saver alright?!"
"Calm everyone, now is not the time for squabbles!" Reinhardt shouted, heaving a Firestrike at the crowd of bots, causing them to explode in the process.
Combining their efforts, the three of them held the line, covering one another's weaknesses by self-delegating their roles. Quillion busied himself by thinning the horde the best he could, shifting in and out of his Battle Rage while Reaper ran towards them, fooling them into exploding whilst in his Wraith Form. Protecting Sombra, Reinhardt destroyed all the stragglers that gave the others the slip.
Despite their formidable efforts, the efforts eventually began to slacken. The constant adrenaline pumping through Quillion began to dizzy him, pushing him ever closer towards vertigo. The robots were also reprogrammed at a frightening rate to prevent them from prematurely detonating whenever one came close to them. Worst of all, Reinhardt was beginning to feel restless the more he watched them with envious eyes, and he began to distance himself from Sombra with each swing.
"Hey! Get back here!" she cried when he took another step away.
"How can I be here when the fight is there? A shield is useless if it does not face an enemy!"
"I just need another few minutes!"
"Then hurry up, we can't keep this up" Quillion gasped, forced to retreat as his body became numb from the strain.
"Just tell Reaper to use his Death Blossom or something!" Sombra shot back, watching her power, which was still at 60%.
"How could he? He'd be torn apart if he did that"
As if Reaper heard them, he removed himself from the Wraith and, to Quillion's shock, he did just as Sombra said. In a billow of shadow and smoke, pellets flew in all directions, forcing Reinhardt to put up a barrier just to protect them from the barrage and shrapnel that stormed at them. Once the dust settled and the light filled back into the room, they saw that none of the explosives remained intact, and Reaper stood in the middle of the carnage. As if to add insult to Quillion, Reaper even stretches out both arms as if showing everyone that he was uninjured.
However, this victory was short lived when they heard another wall of rattling that was coming their way. The next wave is coming.
"Sigma, we need you out here!" Sombra yelled.
"Nein! We must all hide before the threat comes!"
"IT knows where we are, we can only push forward!" Quillion shouted.
"Or at least stay out here and help us blow some of those things up!" Sombra said.
"It has not revealed itself yet!"
"Oh I'm pretty sure you can come out and see" Reinhardt said, joining the coms and sweeping away some of the scrap with his feet.
"You think those are the threats?! You fools! Run while you still can!" Sigma yelled, finally showing his pale face momentarily before disappearing back into the room.
"He's scared. Should we listen to him?" Quillion said.
"Then we'd only be pinned down. We move forward" Reaper countered.
"Come my friends! We'll come back for the bookworms later!" Reinhardt chuckled and turned off his barrier.
Then it happened.
First it came as a loud whirring sound and loud clangs coming from around them. From the Training Facility behind them, and from the overhead railings from both sides above them, turrets flipped out from the ground and pointed at them.
"They're here! It is too late!" Sigma cried.
Not wanting to give those turrets a chance to shoot, Quillion and Reinhardt attacked first, expecting them to shatter like before, only to watch helplessly when their attacks merely bounced and passed through the turret, leaving it undamaged.
It all happened so fast that even Quillion didn't know what happened, despite being in his Battle Rage. The turrets were not only armored, but their ammunition had changed completely.
Reinhardt barely had time to raise his barrier when a combined torrent of explosive rounds and lasers crashed into him, immediately shattering the barrier and the Lion's Crest, forcing him to duck his head under his arm, while the other shielded the others from the turrets firing from the back.
Recognizing the danger, Reaper Shadow Stepped out of his suit and reappeared on the platform above. Rushing to the nearest turret, he shot at it with his Hellfire Launchers but it barely scratched the surface. Growling, he shoved the Launcher into an opening and grunted in pain as the explosion finally disabled the turret. Quillion saw and attempted to contribute to the fight, but though he could dodge the bullets and explosive rounds, the lasers far exceeded his own speed, forcing him to stay low.
After Reaper destroyed a second one, the turrets began focusing their attention on Reaper, which in turn, gave Reinhardt the space he needed to move.
"Forward!" he shouted, his rocket boosters roaring to life, ripping apart his already torn suit.
Seeing this, Quillion quickly assessed the situation and saw that Reinhardt was either being too reckless, desperate, or had misread the situation. They were still under too much fire.
"Sigma! We need more cover here!" Quillion shouted.
"The barrier no longer exists!" Sigma shouted from inside the room.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"My barrier is destroyed!"
"When-? Reinhardt, you can't go through that! We need to-" Quillion yelled, but Reinhardt shot forward.
Gritting his teeth, Reinhardt grunted and gasped through the firestorm of ordnance, making sure both Sombra and Moira were safe as he Charged forward and crashed into the room where Sigma was hiding.
"I'll feel that in the morning…" he groaned.
"What… What happened?" Moira moaned, rubbing her head.
"Seriously? Only now you wake up?" Sombra said, looking around them and picking up a rubber toy.
"This was one of the gorilla's rooms, that is one of their entertainment" Sigma explained.
"Where is Quallion?" Reinhardt asked when he realised that he was not there, and he attempted to stand but fell back to the floor.
"Stay down big guy, he can take care of himself" Sombra groaned as she stood on wobbly legs.
"I need healing" Reaper demanded, materialising next to Moira, who was still dazed.
"Have you seen Quallion?" Reinhardt asked him as he forced Moira to her feet.
"No"
"Then we must go find him! Common everyone!" Reinhardt shouted and tried to get back on his feet again, but he could not gather the strength to.
"Stay down, you're a liability now" Reaper said.
"Fine, you go get him"
"No, he is not worth our time"
"Not worth our time? How could you say that?" Reinhardt asked, taking off his helmet and looking at Reaper with angered eyes.
"He is obviously our weakest fighter, and he knew the risks. We can afford to lose him"
"You are many things, Gabriel, but to leave a man to die willingly? You would never do that"
"That was a long time ago, and never call me that again" Reaper growled, but Reinhardt ignored him.
"Gabriel, you were a hero once, be a hero again"
No one expected Reaper to entertain the Crusader, but to their surprise, Reinhardt's comment hit a nerve.
"And for what? To be betrayed by the ones closest to you? Be pushed to the side as all your work be handed over to an undeserving whelp on a silver platter? Sacrifice everything so that some desk jockey will reap all the benefits?" Reaper spat.
"And here I thought you were a man, but now I see you're still too young to be one"
Explosions from outside rocked the room, but everyone stood still, too scared to move as shadows poured out of the Reaper, and with it, the familiar chill of a murderer.
"You have no idea what they did to me" he growled.
"And there it is. Complain, complain, complain. What are you going to do now? Make the room so dark that you can cry alone?" Reinhardt replied, unafraid.
Reaper is shaking now, shotguns slowly forming in his hands as he stared. In response to this, everyone slowly positioned themselves behind Sigma, whose hand is outstretched in an almost comical gesture in front of him, projecting to everyone that he is about to activate his Kinetic Grasp.
"I'm a boy you say?" Reaper spoke after a pause.
"And you can become a man again, Gabriel. Stop your childish feud with Jack and go out there to be a hero again"
"And if I don't?"
"Then I'll smack you like the child you are"
*Russia: Volskaya Industries*
Sipping on a cup of black tea in her office, Katya sat and observed the events that were playing out before her. On her left is King's Row from both the news and the people that she sent over earlier, and on her right, the Moon, from the secret cameras that she had installed in the space suits (as expected, Sombra's feed has been switched off).
Tonight was full of surprises and pleasure. She had seen the God Programs on Earth do things that were thought impossible, but to reveal that Mondatta, a forefront member of the cultic Shambali, was IT's puppet? How deep does this corruption go? Was the Shambali faith an instrument of the God Program since the very beginning?
In addition to gathering specific details on how the God Program would defend itself, it would seem that her most dangerous threats are struggling greatly on the Moon. Reaper's suit had been torn apart in the most recent skirmish, and Sombra could barely hack through the many firewalls that were being updated rapidly as they progressed. Everyone else up there had also suffered damage, but the only one she cared about was Quillion's.
As long as he is safe, then her insurance against Sombra will be secure, even if the chances of her surviving, let alone returning from the Moon, are slim.
There was even a hamster that writes. Cute.
Knock knock knock
"Enter"
"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate your security system?" Zarya said, now back on her wheelchair.
"Why are you not using the support we've built for you?" Katya asked.
"And I already told you, I will not start the process of becoming a machine"
"It's only your legs…" Katya replied, offering her tea, to which she declined.
"How are things going on?"
"I won't say everything is going according to plan, but so far so good… Did you have any problems stationing our Response Teams?"
"Nothing your name couldn't handle"
"Good. And they are all equipped with our latest technology, yes?"
"If by some miracle Sombra comes back, she won't escape us this time" was the confident reply.
Nodding, Katya pushed the screen around so that Zarya could watch the events with her.
"There's no feed from our spies in Overwatch HQ?"
"No, their last footage was of them partying in the Mess Hall, so I don't expect to hear from them until the next morning"
And what exactly is that floating man doing? Is he… Scared?" Zarya asked, checking his heart monitor on screen.
"It appears so, but he is mad, so this is probably one of his phases"
They watched as Reinhardt, Reaper, and Quillion held off a wave of cheap explosives, both taking this extremely rare opportunity to study their fighting abilities from the safety of the screen, both forced to privately and grudgingly admitting to themselves that Reaper clearly outclassed everyone Katya had hired as protection from him, including Zarya, whose last victory over him was beginning to look like a fluke.
Then the turrets appeared.
They watched when Reinhardt's shield was immediately destroyed, and everyone dodged and weaved around the onslaught, desperately and narrowly avoiding instant death. They did not realise that they were holding their breaths until Reinhardt made the desperate charge into the room.
"Well, I guess you don't have to worry about them coming back," Zarya cleared her throat.
"How do you mean?"
"Look, all their suits are torn. Only that mop of a woman and the floating man still have their suits intact, and the others don't look like the types that'll just let them go"
"Speaking of which, it would seem that we lost our insurance" Katya said, noticing that Quillion's cam froze. The last image was of a turret staring at him.
"I didn't think he'd survive up there anyway. The boy was weak"
"And here we thought he'd have a chance by giving him one of our weapons" she sighed.
"I suppose you have already calculated if its value has been spent or not?" Zarya replied, to which Katya chuckled.
"Am I that obvious?"
The screen flashed white, and both of them looked at it for a moment, wondering what it was, but the feed from King's Row had also turned black. However, the microphone must still be working since they could still hear audio coming from the screen, though faint.
"What was that?"
"Don't know… The God Program must've done something to the system" Katya said, trying but unable to retrieve the last footage.
After several tries, all they could do is enhance the volume, which seemed to be growing steadily louder, and to their surprise, gunfire could be heard not long after.
"Must be serious, since they started firing at their own people" Zarya commented.
Katya doubted that. She had her share of political discussions with the people in the West and shooting civilians would be the very last result. Then came a hurried knock on the door.
"Mdm Volskaya! We need to go!" someone shouted from the door.
"Nikolai? What's wrong?" Zarya called, recognising his voice.
"The whole factory has gone crazy! The workers are turning their weapons against us! We need to get all of you out of here!"
"Who instigated the violence?" Katya demanded.
"Makarov is looking into it now. Please Mdm, we need to go!"
To escort them, Nikolai had also brought Yuri and Dmitri, both clad in heavy, black armor and heavily armed with shotguns. Their presence was comforting, but was quickly dashed away when Katya heard the familiar cannons of her Mechs firing at something in the distance. It is far past the hours of any weapon testing and if they were forced to use it as a response to this insurrection... Or worse if any other pilots had also switched sides...
Moving quickly into the elevator, they grab the controls and make their way to the Underground Parking Lot, where they would take a car and relocate them to a safehouse.
"How did these terrorists slip by our systems?" Katya asked.
"Nothing slipped through, our people rebelled the moment that statue's ball became light" Yuri answered.
"What statue?" Zarya asked, stretching her arms.
"Mondatta. And it's not just here. We are receiving reports from other parts of the country that people are taking up arms randomly when that Orb lit up"
"My daughter, have you sent someone to collect her?" Katya asked.
"We've sent Andrei. Your daughter will meet us at the rendezvous" Dmitri said, checking his rifle.
Zooming through the building, they saw a few other tubes that were rushing towards where the fighting was, but some were riddled with infighting, the guards having turned on one another, which resulted in some crashing into a fiery rubble.
"Tell me the truth. Have any of the Svyatogors turned?" Katya asked.
"Not that we know of" Nikolai responded.
"How would you know if there are?"
"Makarov would warn us"
"Excuse us, Mdm Volskaya," Yuri said, pushing himself to the front, Dmitri next to Nikolai, weapons drawn.
"Makarov, are you in position?"
"Yes"
"Alright, we are moving out"
The doors hissed open, and a black Aurus Senat was waiting in front of them. As they approached, Makarov climbed out of the driver's seat, clearly injured.
"Are you hurt? Where is the rest of your team?" Yuri asked and attempted to tend to his injuries, but Makarov pushed him away.
"I'll live… Can't say the same for my men… We were ambushed by the Mechs not too long ago, and they're coming" Makarov grunted, his breathing ragged.
"Then we don't have time to lose, I'll drive" Nikolai said.
Just when Dmitri was securing Zarya's wheelchair into the booth, three Mechs came around the corner.
"Give us Mdm Volskaya and no one would have to get hurt" the leader said, pointing his weapons threateningly at them.
"That's them, drive!" Makarov shouted, throwing Katya into the car before jumping in himself.
"Dmitri common!" Yuri ordered.
The Mechs opened fire, hitting the car with so many bullets that it began skidding through the floor. Seeing the danger of being pinned to the wall, Nikolai slammed his foot down on the pedal.
"Wait, he is still out there!" Katya said, trying to look through the cracked windows.
"Dmitri will understand" Yuri said.
It was a lie, as he, Nikolai, and Makarov could hear Dmitri cursing them in their helmets as he fought the Mechs. Their only consolation was that he had given his life bravely, and they will do everything they can to not have his sacrifice be in vain. Crushing through the barriers, they braved multiple roadblocks that were set up to stop them.
The factory is in flames, illuminating the still-dark skies and making the Moon seem even redder than usual. Even after they left the premises, the entire city was in disarray, and there were radio reports that a military curfew was in effect immediately, and the National Guard had been mobilized.
"We're being followed" Yuri said, checking the rear-view camera.
"Not surprising, our whole side is shot to hell" Zarya said.
"I'll take care of them" Makarov said.
"No! We do not discharge our weapons in public!" Katya shouted.
"Well they have already shot at us first, so stay down!" he ordered, pushing her aside and climbing out the window.
"Wait! I didn't hear any shots!" she yelled, but her voice was drowned out by his firing back.
However, despite an aggressive show of defiance, their pursuer comes ever closer. He was also shooting back at them, and was even able to disable Makarov's weapon with a well aimed shot.
"Why are we still being followed?" Nikolai shouted.
"That's because it's Viktor!"
Hearing this, Yuri handed Markarov his pistol and joined the fight, firing at Viktor so fiercely until he slowed down far enough that they lost him after a few corners.
"Finally…" Makarov sighed.
"Why did you do that? Viktor would never turn on us!" Zarya said, shaking with fury.
"Like I said, he shot at us first" was the only reply.
*Moon: Horizon Lunar Colony*
"What do you mean you can't find him?" Reinhardt asked.
"Like I said, I can't find him anywhere" Reaper grunted, collapsing to the floor; the Wraith Form had sapped too much energy.
Reinhardt began to worry. It had been a minute since the turrets had gone silent, which could indicate that Quallion had either hid or been knocked unconscious. Either way, he needs their help, and a shield should always be there to protect those in need.
"Well, we can't stay here, common, let's go and find him" he said, forcing himself back up to his feet.
"I said wait, I'm still generating some Biotic Energy" Moira said.
"I don't need any more of your healing juices. We need to go find Quallion"
But to his frustration, every time he tried to expose himself to the open, the turrets would fire a relentless amount of firepower at him, forcing him back into cover. Looking around the room, Reinhardt picked up the bed alongside his hammer and tried again.
"Or you can just give me just a bit more time" Sombra said, showing him the 92% on her wrist.
"You're still relying on that? Pick up your gun and let's go" he said before creaking the door open "Quallion? Quallion can you hear us?"
"Alright, I'm going to have to put a stop to that right now. You do know his name is pronounced as-" Sombra began when a hairy, reddish leg kicked Reinhardt from the door, sending him flying into her.
"Wha-?"
It was another gorilla, but this one was far larger than any of the other apes that just attacked them, being a head taller than Reinhardt. Letting out a loud roar, it sent Sigma into a muttering mess as he retreated back to the corner of the room, hands over his ears. Reaper saw the attack coming but was too slow to evade it, and being too weak to fade back into a Wraith, he took the full brunt of the attack that sent him across the room unconscious, his mask clattering away.
Grabbing his hammer, Reinhardt jumped to his feet and swung at the beast, hitting it square in the chest. It stood still, looking at him as if asking him to hit it again. So he obliged, but this time he struck it at its neck, hoping it would be a vulnerable target, but this only earned him what sounded like a chuckle.
Seeing that it has become overconfident, Reinhardt heaved his hammer high above his head, ready to bring the hammer crashing down onto its face. It must have thought it was a game because it did the same. Reinhardt made the first move, confident that he would hit it first and win this exchange, when a noticeable crack came from his back, slackening his grip.
"You won't be so lucky next time" was all he could groan before a giant palm grabbed his head and sent him crashing down onto the metal floor.
A whimper came from the side, and the ape saw Moira standing at the side, still like a prey. Stretching its mouth to a wide grin, it was about to kill her when it was stopped by a series of clicks that came from the speakers.
"That sounds like… Morse code?" Moira thought.
But before she could decipher anything, the ape grabbed her and threw her across the room like a ragdoll, also knocking her out in the process.
"Weak. All of them are so weak. How are the others so pathetic against this batch of weaklings?" Simon said, dusting his hands.
Dyson said nothing, knowing full well that Simon would merely brush off the fact that he merely won through the battle of attrition. That being said, he was glad that it was over, but why did Mother command him to leave them alive? All they had to do now was to throw the humans out of the base, and Mother would be safe and they could return to their normal lives, so Her order was puzzling to him.
"Dyson, please prepare the Chamber" the God Program said suddenly.
"Mother… May I ask why?" Dyson asked, bowing deeply onto the ground.
"They can be powerful assets for Me, we must persuade them to submit"
"As you wish, Mother"
"Clean this up, I'm going to sleep" Simon yawned.
Author Note:
Phew... Man time is going by faster and life just keeps eating up more time, but anyways, just wanna stop by and warn ya that...
Character Death(s) will begin next chapter and probably will continue until the last chapter (hopefully ending at Chapter 30).
I might also want to add that things will be fast paced now for the next few chapters till the end, but I'm definitely avoiding Game of Thrones style speed that just ends things without making any sense. I have always hated that so I will not have that in my own work, so the next few chapters may take longer to write as well... Sorry XD
But I aim to finish this story by May. Fingers crossed.
So once again I thank you all for sticking by and I'll see you all hopefully soon.
Stay healthy and safe all :D