"Twelve thousand forty-two bottles of beer on the wall...you take one down, you pass it around, twelve thousand forty-one bottles of beer on the wall." Samuel J. Stuhlinger thought to himself to pass the time. He was in a cryopod now.
"Samuel?" Said Edward Richtofen, confused and surprised.
"Wah! What the fudge?! Doctor Richtofen?" Stuhlinger said, surprised."Is that you?"
"This is a 115-based illusion. You are in cryo-stasis back in the lab. How could you...the lighthouse...it must have triggered a chain reaction in the Aether." Richtofen said.
"It is you!" Stuhlinger laughed."Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone! Do you mean to tell me I'm a voice inside your head now?! Ain't that a kick in the dick!"
"Ugh, I do not have time for this, nor the strength." Said Richtofen, groaning.
"Time for what, Doc?" Asked someone. Stuhlinger was able to see a man with brown hair and blue eyes."Who the hell's Samuel? Everything...okay?"
"Is your German brain still working?" Asked another man who had armor on his chest and pilot cap. He also had a Russian accent.
"What is happening, Richtofen?" Asked a Japanese man who had a katana."Are you feeling alright?"
"Oh no, not at all." Richtofen said to them.."In fact, things are much worse now."
Stuhlinger continued to talk to Richtofen as they fought the undead and the Warden. He also learned the names of his three friends: Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeo. Stuhlinger also heard Icarus talk to him.
Later, after escaping their cells, Richtofen laid on a black machine."Wait, wait, what?! Y-You can't mean-"
"Goodbye, Samuel." Richtofen said as needles went into his wrist.
Suddenly, Stuhlinger saw himself in the mechanism, the needles taking his blood.
He then saw them. Misty, Marlton, and Russman. All three were staring at him.
"Guys?" Stuhlinger said."Can you get me the hell out of here?" He was getting weaker.
"We know what you did, Stuhlinger." Said Marlton.
"You ate zombie flesh." Said Misty.
"I trusted you, Stu." Said Russman.
Stuhlinger's eyes widened in shock. They know! They know I was a part of the Flesh!
They then turned around and started walking away from him.
"No!" Stuhlinger yelled."No, you can help me! Wait! Don't you know who I am?" Stuhlinger clenched his bloodied hands, angry.
"I survived those rockets! I survived the undead!" He shouted. They just kept walking away."I did everything Richtofen asked! Everything!"
He could no longer see them.
Tears fell down his cheeks."You won't even remember me..." He cried as he slowly died alone.
Stuhlinger woke, his breathing fast. It was now morning.
"Stuhlinger?" Said a familiar face. He looked to see Luna."Are you alright?"
He quickly nodded."Yeah, yeah..." He said, not looking at her."I just had a bad dream, that's all."
"Do you want to talk about it?" She sat down."I'm very good with dreams."
Stuhlinger thought before he talked to her."I...I had a friend. He, uh died...I mean, one of him died..."
Luna raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Let's just say my friend had a lot of versions of himself," Stuhlinger said, remembering Nazi zombie Richtofen that chased him, Misty, Marlton, and Russman. He also remembered seeing two Richtofen's after they defeated the Warden."Anyway...he died slowly and his friends just...just left him..."
Stuhlinger closed his eyes, remembering Nikolai holding the Kronorium, Richtofen with a metal ball, and Dempsey and Takeo following them."And I'm afraid my...allies would leave me too."
"Are they truly your friends, Stu?" Luna asked.
Stuhlinger scoffed."I mean, Russman's alright but Marlton and Misty are so annoying...the only reason we ever work together though is to fight off the undead and get Richtofen some stuff..."
Luna was staring at him.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Stuhlinger said. He didn't blame her. Nobody ever believed him. Not about his theories about the government or alien lizards.
"What your saying is very...hard to understand," Luna said."But you are now with new friends. We won't leave you."
Stuhlinger smiled a little. But when Luna left, he frowned. You would leave me if you knew I ate zombie flesh. He thought.
Later that day, Stuhlinger decided to help Applejack and Whooves with building the raft."Shit!" He yelled as he failed to tie the strong rope together with the sticks.
Vanto walked over to them."Hey." He smiled.
"Hey." Applejack said.
"How's it coming?" The former Imperial asked.
"We should be done soon...hopefully." Applejack looked at the raft. She then looked back at him."Do we have anything that could get the attention of other ships out there?"
Vanto shrugged."I don't know. I'll ask Zuud but don't get your hopes up. We don't have a lot of technology to help us right now, even with the parts of the crashed ship."
"Didn't Zuud say that crazy french chick has batteries?" Stuhlinger asked.
"Absolutely not." Zuud said when Vanto and Stuhlinger asked her to take them to Rousseau.
"I'm not asking you to go. I'll do it." Vanto said.
"No, you won't." She said.
"Come on, dude. We're just trying to-"
"Do you really think she would give up something she needs for survival to a total stranger?" Zuud interrupted Stuhlinger.
"All I'm asking is for you to tell me how to find her. That's it." Vanto said.
"I was brought unconscious to her camp. When I escaped, I was disoriented. I don't know how to find her." Zuud told him.
"Don't know? Or don't want to know?" Stuhlinger asked.
"Zuud, look, you've got her maps and her papers. Now, you thought that they were pointing to something." Vanto said.
"Well, I was wrong." Said Zuud.
"Well, maybe they're pointing to her?" Vanto asked her.
"Look! I don't even know what these papers mean. For all I know, they could be the ravings of her disturbed mind." Zuud showed them some papers and a map."If this map is pointing to her, then you should know she resides here, in this area." She pointed to a spot on the map."She gave it a name: Dark Territory. Tucker was able to translate most of this."
Stuhlinger looked at the papers as they talked.
"So, you won't help?" Vanto asked.
"I didn't say that." Zuud said.
Stuhlinger's eyes widened when he saw the numbers.
115935.
"I'll build a distress beacon, but I suggest you find another power source." Said Zuud.
Flashback.
"Wow, It's a bit nippy, Richtofen!" Said Stuhlinger as he felt cold. He and the others were now in Siberia."Couldn't you have given us the head's up so we could dress a little more appropriately?!"
"Stop complaining, Sammy." Richtofen said to him."Surely your time in the cryopod toughened you up."
"Well, I for one am glad to not be wearing my old gear." Said Misty."I'd be a Misty-shaped popsicle by now." She shivered."You ever had ice in your belly-button?"
"Russman's just glad to be moving out and about in the world again!" Said Russman."Bein' cooped up in that freezer sure played havoc with the old joints."
Marlton Johnson looked at Stuhlinger."You said we were here to construct something called an "Agarthan Device"? Care to furnish us with any further details, Samuel?"
Stuhlinger sighed. He knew Russman probably forgot why they were here."I know everyone's memories get a little bit hazy, so let's recap. We are here to construct something called the 'Agarthan Device'."
"Stuh...I literally just said that. What I was asking for was some actual specifics, you know: Details." Marlton said.
"So, it's another game of go-fetch for your best bud, the German?" Misty asked him."Yeah, how do we know he won't just throw us right back on ice as soon as he gets whatever it is he wants this time?"
"This 'Agarthan Device': Do we know what it does? What it's used for? More importantly, do we know what your German pal wants with it?" Russman asked Stuhlinger.
"We're not just out to help Richtofen, okay?" Stuhlinger told them."We're helping out all his pals too! Oh, and the universe!"
"I sincerely hope that your 'friend' provides more regular and detailed updates than he has done in the past. We went on quite the journey procuring his book." Marlton remembered how they went on the journey to a Broken Arrow facility to another dimension to find the Kronorium.
"So, why here?" Misty questioned Stuhlinger."What is here in this frozen hell-scape that means so much to 'the universe'."
"Sounds like a noble cause and an ambitious one at that!" Russman said with a smile."Good thing Russman is ready for anything...what are we doing again?"
"Let's just turn on the power and check that lighthouse." Stuhlinger pointed at the red lighthouse.
"There might be something useful up there as well." Russman looked at a facility up there.
Suddenly, zombies came out of the ground and water. Stuhlinger noticed their uniforms."Hey, brain-buddy, any of these guys old friends of your?" Stuhlinger asked Richtofen.
"In all likelihood, yes. I used to work here, you know." Richtofen said.
As they fought the undead, Stuhlinger noticed the rocks near them."What's all this blue stuff around here?" Stuhlinger asked, looking at the blue rocks.
"That's raw element 115. The place is lousy with it." Said Richtofen.
"115...that's the stuff that caused all the zombies, right?"
"Ja. Me and Maxis were using a dead body to teleport using the MPD and...well...115 is pretty much what started this."
"So...that means those numbers are bad?" Stuhlinger asked him.
"Relax, Sammy. They're just numbers."
On the Island.
Zuud was trying to sleep when she saw Stuhlinger in the night. The man was looking at her."Hi." He said."Are you awake?"
"I was just wondering that myself." She said.
"So, that french lady, she wrote this stuff, right?"
"Stuh, it's the middle of the night. What do you want?"
He shrugged."Nothing. Couldn't sleep. Then I got curious. You and Tucker, you guys have been trying to figure out some stuff and I was wondering what you guys figured out about this stuff."
Zuud raised an eyebrow."What stuff?"
"The numbers on this paper." He showed her the paper."Got any idea what it means?"
"I thought at one time they might be coordinates of some kind," Zuud said.
"Coordinates...yeah. When you first found her, the french chick, you said you saw a wire or something on the beach? And you followed it and it led you to her?"
"No, it led me to a trap she set."
"Her place is probably close, right?" Stuhlinger asked.
"Why are you suddenly so interested in Rousseau?" Zuud questioned.
"I'm not. Just...goodnight, Zuud." He said, leaving.
Flashback.
When they went to a lighthouse, they met a weird man with a Spanish accent on the top. After they got a him a blue rock, they went over to the Russian ship to see if there was anything useful.
Marlton turned on the power and they heard a voice.
"At last, public address system is on. This is Nikolai Belinski of the Red Army." Said a familiar voice
Stuhlinger's eyes widened when he remembered who this was."Hey, that's my brain buddy's best friend!" Said Stuhlinger when he heard Nikolai's voice.
They listened to Nikolai's instructions but they had to do a few things. Marlton, after the hermit in the lighthouse fixed it, went to install a gearbox for the flingers at the boat. Russman went to cover him while Misty and Stuhlinger were at the beach.
"Hey, hey, Stuhlinger. You sure you can trust this Richtofen guy?" Misty asked. She had only met Richtofen once but still distrusted the man."I mean, why? How? What? Seriously, what is it that makes you think he's out looking out for us?"
"That's a really good question, Misty. I mean, all he's ever done is save our lives!" Stuhlinger yelled.
"Wow! If you think getting run around and tossed in an icebox counts as saving our lives, then you're even stupider than I thought!" She said to him.
"Oh, Misty, Misty, Misty. I know what you're talking about. In some ways, it felt like I was asleep for years, but in others it felt like I just blinked!" Stuhlinger told her."Look, I-I-I don't know how to explain it but I-I just like Richtofen! He's a good guy, with a good brain and most of all...a good heart."
"Really?" Misty laughed."You must have some pretty low standards, Stuh. Well either that or you're just desperate for attention. But what about his buddy? The Russian? He seems to be the one in charge now."
"From what I can understand, Nikolai read the Kronorium and got a whoooole different story than the one Richtofen saw." Said Stuhlinger.
"Hang on a second...didn't you read the book? I remember you saying it had lots of pretty pictures."
"To be honest, what I saw scared the pants off me." Stuhlinger said."I slammed that book shut so fast, you would have thought I was a ninja!"
Misty rolled her eyes."I still don't trust Richtofen-"
"Do remember when you helped Maxis, Misty?" Stuhlinger asked angrily."You, Marlton, and even Russman thought I was crazy. Well, I'm not crazy now, am I?! I didn't help Maxis so he could destroy the world! I said we should help Richtofen so he could save the world! But you're the one who followed Maxis plan-"
"You think I don't know that?!" Misty snapped."You don't think I don't regret listening to you?! About how I destroyed what was left of our world?!" Stuhlinger stared at her in shock as she saw tears in her eyes.
"After...after what happened in Angola...after you and Russman split up...I could barely sleep knowing that our world would be destroyed soon." She looked away from him."Marlton felt terrible about that too."
Stuhlinger stared at her, not knowing what to say. He had no love for the girl but he felt pretty bad."Listen, Misty...I know Richtofen can be hard to trust. But this might be the only way to save the universe. And after that, we can...we can live normal lives. Richtofen is giving us this chance."
Misty was silent for a moment. Finally, she looked at him."I still don't like you Stu...but, I trust you."
Later, they used the zip line to get into the facility."What is place?" Stuhlinger asked.
"This is where Group 935 did some of it's experiments. Here, we created Deadshot Daquiri-"
"Wait, Group 935?" Stuhlinger asked."You worked for those guys. They're the ones that tried to make a zombie army, right?"
"I had no interest in a undead army. Maxis wanted that. Some members of Group 935, like Schuster and Groph, were loyal to me." He heard Richtofen sigh."I miss Schuster and Groph."
"Wait, Group 935...those numbers are bad..."
"Don't worry about the numbers, Sammy. Just go build that Agarthan Device."
On the Island.
"Good morning, Stuhlinger." Ocellus smiled at him.
He looked at her."Oh, uh, hi." He said as he packed some stuff into a backpack.
"Are you going somewhere?" The Changeling asked.
"No!" He said quickly."I just thought I...I go for walk...on the beach." He smiled nervously.
"Okay..." Ocellus said."Do you want me to come with you?"
"Thanks, but I'm good." He said, quickly leaving.
Later, Zuud walked over to Vanto."Where is it?" She asked.
"Where's what?" Vanto was confused.
"The map. I told you, it won't help you find her." She said.
"Whoa, slow down. I don't have the map." Vanto said.
"What makes this worse is that you don't even do your own dirty work. You get Stuhlinger to do it for you." Said Zuud.
"Wait a minute...Stuhlinger?"
"He was in my tent last night, quizzing me about Rousseau, about numbers she wrote, how I came to find her." Vanto shook his head, not knowing what she was talking about."You don't know anything about this, do you?"
Vanto looked at Ocellus."Hey, Ocellus, have you seen Stuhlinger?"
"A couple of hours ago, he said he was going for a walk." Ocellus said.
"He's going after her." Zuud realized.
Flashback.
Stuhlinger put a knife right through a zombie's skull. He and Marlton were looking around a part of the facility.
"So, brainbox," Stuhlinger said."Still all sweet under the collar for little-miss-bossy-boots?"
"I'm going to assume you're talking about Misty." Said Marlton."Although, in all reality, I view Russman as an equally valuable member of the team."
"Ohhh, so, sweet on Russman, are ya?" He teased."Ahh, I'm just joking around, Marly-boy. It takes all sorts to make a world, and you gotta go after love wherever you may find it."
Marlton stopped to think about what he said."Hm...we may be at cross purposes, Samuel, but I do not in any way disagree with anything you have said."
Stuhlinger turned to see a Group 935 flag."See, see, It's like I've always said: There's us and there's them. There's the powers that be, Broken Arrow, the entirety of the United States government, the whole dang cabal!"
Marlton stared at him before he started chuckling."Stuh..." He chuckled."I really...think you need to calm down. Can I ask you a simple question? When did you last see another actual, living human being?"
His eyes widened."Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on! I've never really thought about it before but..." Stuhlinger nervously chuckled."Is the world actually gone?! Like really gone?!"
"I'll tell you this, Stuhlinger, for a conspiracy theorist, you sure have missed." He whistled."It's...all...gone, Stuhlinger. Everything we ever had. Everything we ever loved." Marlton said sadly.
Stuhlinger stood there, shocked. He quickly shook his head."No, NO, that's not true! Richtofen's gonna make everything right! You'll see!" He walked angrily and saw some cells in one room.
Stuhlinger looked at the writing on the walls of the first cell.
I wish I could understand what I have done. I wish I could restore honor to the Masaki name.
The Emperor knew...it was betrayal.
Perhaps time will show it is not I who failed the empire, but the Emperor himself.
I have brought great dishonor to my family.
Perhaps through this service, I can restore honor to the Masaki name.
I had no choice. I had to report to the Emperor what I saw at the facility.
It was a great evil that could not be allowed.
The Emperor was right to send me here.
This world has been corrupted by cruelty. There is no honor in this place.
But perhaps time will be kind. Maybe it will be a good teacher.
This serum, these experiments. Sometimes, I wake up and see a face I do not recognize.
The German. His experiments are cruel. He is a villain most foul.
Lies! The German is my friend! He is my ally!
We must trust the German, Takeo. He is our only friend.
There was more writing in the second cell.
Damn Asylum...
Who wrote all this on the walls?
You think this place will hold me?
I escaped Pelilu-I can escape here.
Sorry, Peter. We failed you.
If Doctor Saurerkraut thinks he can break me, he's got another thing coming-SEMPER FI!
He looked in the third cell and saw more writing.
Many wives! Many wives from many lives!
Sometimes short, sometimes tall, sometimes fat, sometimes FATTER!
I am sorry, my beloved. When bombs fell, I was too late. And brother and sister...all gone now.
My beloved...
NO, NIKOLAI! STOP THAT! MORE VODKA!
NO! You must forget! There is pain in remembering.
And very sad with no vodka.
But Nikolai is now VODKA-POWERED! NOTHING can kill Nikolai!
Did you know Stalin himself fears me? That is why he put me on front line. He thought he could kill Nikolai.
Would be better if I had Vodka bottle.
Vodka TONIIIIIIIIIGHT!
But where is vodka?
Where is Vodka? I thought I had an extra bottle.
Hooray! Vodka day!
Stuhlinger left and looked at the cells."This must be where they kept the poor schmucks they used as guinea pigs." He said.
"Yes, but the three that were kept in those cells became mein closest...schmucks." Richtofen said.
On the Island.
Stuhlinger walked down the beach and finally saw the cable. He followed it.
"Hey, french chick!" He yelled.
Flashback.
Stuhlinger kept shooting his pistol and saw that he was running out of bullets. "I'm going through ammunition like...like..."
"Like Doctor Maxis went through test subjects?" Richtofen laughed. He stopped when Stuhlinger was just confused by the joke. Stuhlinger knew who Maxis was but he didn't know much about his past or what he did."No? Never mind. You won't get that one."
Stuhlinger then noticed an MP40 that had been left when Group 935 abandoned the place. He quickly grabbed it.
"I got ya, Russman!" Stuhlinger said, shooting a zombie that nearly hit Russman.
"Thanks, Stuh." Russman said, grateful.
"Hey, Russ. Hey, I know you're the kind of guy who appreciates food, right? So, I was wonderin', do you have anything going spare? Some chips, peanuts, I dunno, ham?" He asked the old man.
"How on earth can a guy your size be starving, Stuh?" Russman asked him."What do you normally even eat for grub? Russman can't recall ever seeing you dig into a nice, cold can of expired beans like the rest of us."
Stuhlinger's eyes widened."What're you talking about, Russman?! How dare you accuse me of consuming the most unclean meat of all!"
"Whoa, Stuh! Everyone's got their own favorite fast-food chain. Ain't no reason to get your panties in a bunch." Russman said.
He realized what he was talking about."Oh-whoa, whoa, hang on, I misunderstood. I-I thought you were accusing me of being one of those fools who uh...you know, eh, actually consumed the flesh..."
"You talking about those crazy cultists that eat Z-Meat? I swear, if I ever met one of them face to face, I'd probably plug 'em between the eyes, just to put them out of their misery." Russman said.
"Aaaaaaanywhoooo," Stuhlinger chuckled nervously."Enough of all this silly food talk, right? H-how you doin', Russman, old buddy? Huh? Remembered any good movies lately?"
"I'll tell you something, Stuh, Russman thinks we, and maybe the whole planet are runnin' out of road. Real fast." He frowned.
"Ah, come on, Russman, It's not all that bad, honestly! Think about all the fun times we've had! That'll soon cheer you up!" Stuhlinger smiled at his friend.
Russman was still frowning."Even if Russman could think of the fun times...he'd only be reminded that they ain't ever comin' back."
On the Island.
Derpy watched Doctor Whooves help Applejack and Applebloom build the raft. She knew that he was just helping them...but she was also worried that he would go with them.
Stuhlinger kept following the cable. He then felt like he stepped on something like a trigger.
"Don't move!" Stuhlinger turned to see it was Zuud who had said that. He also saw Vanto and Ocellus.
"Hey, what are you guys-"
"I said do not move. You're standing on a pressure trigger. If you take your weight off it, it will release that." Zuud pointed above him.
Stuhlinger looked up to see a bundle of sharp sticks."Oh, shit..."
"We need to find something to replace his weight with the trigger." Zuud said.
Stuhlinger was thinking. Okay, I've done some crazy shit before like jumping to a building in China.
He quickly dived off the trigger and the sticks missed him."Are you okay?!" Ocellus asked him. He nodded.
"What are you doing out here, Stuh?" Vanto asked.
"I came to get a battery." He said.
"Seriously, what's going on?" Vanto asked him.
"Nothing. You guys coming?"
"You all want to go?" Said Zuud."Fine. But I'll take the lead."
Flashback.
Misty, Marlton, and Russman were at the facility while Stuhlinger was at the lighthouse.
"So, who exactly are you anyway?" Stuhlinger asked the hermit. He couldn't see him since the hermit was at the top.
"I am someone that wishes to leave this place. Since you are here, I will be able to leave soon." The hermit said.
Stuhlinger then thought about element 115 and Group 935."Are you alright, my friend?" The hermit asked.
"Yeah...I'm just thinking about some numbers and how they're bad luck...you probably think I'm crazy." Stuhlinger said.
There was silence for a moment."I do not think you are crazy, my friend. I have had dreams...many strange dreams about three-headed beasts. I have dreams that I was a knight and dreams of a German man that I must help. I believe you if you think those numbers are bad luck."
Stuhlinger was surprised by this. He smiled."Thanks...whoever you are."
On the Island.
They all followed the cable until they saw in the ground."It stops here. It goes into the ground." Said Zuud."This poses somewhat of a problem."
"Guys?" Ocellus said."You should see this." She pointed her hoof at an old bridge.
"Whoa." Stuhlinger looked at the gorge the bridge went across.
"You never mentioned anything about a bridge." Vanto looked at Zuud.
"I never saw this before," Zuud said.
"There's no way she could have built this all by herself." Said Vanto.
"No, but her team could have." Zuud said.
"Or Ethan's team." Ocellus added.
Stuhlinger then started to walk across the bridge. Their eyes widened."Stuhlinger, what are you doing?!" Vanto yelled.
"Relax...I got this..." Hopefully.
Stuhlinger made it to the other side of the gorge.
Ocellus started to also go across."I guess it's safe."
She was halfway across the bridge when it broke and they expected to see Ocellus fall to her doom...only to see her flying. They all stared at her. Ocellus still had her eyes closed but opened them soon."Wait...I can still fly?"
"You didn't know?" Vanto asked her.
"I just assumed I couldn't since Luna, Somnambula, and other pegasi couldn't use their wings to fly." Said Ocellus. The Changeling then flew over to Stuhlinger's side.
"Alright, you two stay put right there! We're going to find a way around and we'll meet you there!" Vanto yelled.
Stuhlinger shook his head."Screw that! I got to find Rousseau!" He yelled before he ran off into the jungle.
"Stuh! Wait!" Ocellus yelled. She then followed him.
Flashback.
"So, who is Doctor Minty? You said me and the others had to stop him." Stuhlinger asked Richtofen as the others dealt with the Apothicon Blood.
"I said his name is Doctor Monty. And Doctor Monty is...well...it's a very long story."
"What exactly is element 115? And Group 935? You gotta tell me at least some of this stuff, man." Stuhlinger said.
Richtofen sighed."Element 115 is a source for technology. With this technology, we made the Wunderwaffe DG-2, the Ray Gun, teleporters, a base on the moon, all that fun stuff. Maxis found 115 but 115 was almost everywhere. Japan, America, Siberia, even that jungle with the temple. Group 935 used 115 to make all of that stuff."
"And...they're all evil, right?" Stuhlinger asked.
"The numbers aren't evil, Sammy."
Stuhlinger still wasn't sure."Richtofen?"
"Ja?"
"Do think I'm...crazy?"
"Well, your not as crazy as I am." Richtofen laughed.
On the Island.
"Do you know what's wrong with Stuhlinger?" Zuud asked Vanto as they walked through the jungle.
"A lot's wrong with him," Vanto said. He noticed Zuud stop moving."What?"
"This is area is familiar. We're close." The Imperial Officer said.
"How do you know? I thought she lived underground?" Vanto asked as he started to walk. He then hit a tripwire.
"Vanto!" Zuud yelled before a loud explosion came. She quickly took cover.
After nearly a minute, Zuud and Vanto finally got up to see the wreckage of Danielle's place.
"Hell of a security system." Said Vanto."Somebody trips a wire and the whole place blows up?"
Zuud was checking the wreckage."There's nothing here."
"Batteries?" Vanto asked.
"Nothing."
"I don't get it," Vanto said.
"She knew," Zuud said."She knew that one day I'd come back and bring others. So she abandoned this place, booby-trapped it, and moved on."
"Moved on where?"
Stuhlinger and Ocellus walked through the jungle."Stuhlinger, why do you want to find Rousseau?" Ocellus asked him.
The man stopped and sighed."Listen, I think she might know something about-"
They then heard the sound of a gunshot."Oh shit!" Stuhlinger yelled, panicking. The two ran off in different directions when they heard another gunshot. Stuhlinger ran as fast as he could.
I wish I had Stamin-Up. He thought.
Stuhlinger then tripped and fell. Groaning, he got back up...only to see a woman pointing a rifle at him.
"You must be the french chick." He said.
"Who are you?" The woman asked.
"Stuhlinger. Zuud, that girl you tortured, he-"
"You woke up on the Island." Rousseau said.
"Look, I came here to find-" Stuhlinger put his hand in his pocket to get the paper but Rousseau looked like she was about to pull the trigger."Oh, easy, easy, easy. I'm just getting your notes. Please, tell me why you wrote this. What do these numbers mean? Please." He showed her the paper with numbers.
Rousseau stared at the papers for a moment."I don't know." She said.
Stuhlinger stood there, not knowing what to say. Finally, he was able to speak.
"Lady, you do not know what I have been through. One day, I'm just in my apartment, drinking a beer, when some missiles come hit Earth and almost everyone turns into zombies. Then I spend years killing zombies, join a cult that eats zombies and I eat them as well, then I hear a German voice in my head, then everyone in that cult dies and I meet an old guy who barely remembers anything, and this stupid robot that drives a bus. After I meet them, I meet this stupid bitch and nerd and they decided to help another German guy named Maxis. We then get teleported to China and have to help him again and then we walk all the way over to Angola and kill zombies in a western town. Maxis then tries to destroy Earth so we go through a portal the voice in my head made and we do this crazy shit for him and then we get thrown into a cryopod and wake up and go to Siberia to build an Agarthan Device for Richtofen and his pals so they could stop some guy named Doctor Minty or Monty or whatever his name is. But then I wake up on an Island full of talking ponies, polar bears, and a weird monster in the jungle. But I just go along with it because that's what I do. All I'm asking is that you answer what the fuck these numbers mean?!"
Rousseau looked at him, her eyes wide in surprise. And I thought I was going crazy. Rousseau thought.
She lowered her rifle."Our ship picked up a transmission-a voice repeating those numbers. We changed course to investigate. After we shipwrecked, my team continued to search for the transmission source. It was weeks before we found the radio tower."
"There's a radio tower on this Island?" Stuhlinger asked.
"Yes, up by the Black Rock. Some of us continued to search for the meaning of those numbers while we waited for rescue. But then the sickness came. When my team was gone, I went back up to the tower and changed the transmission." She said.
"The distress signal we heard?"
She nodded."Yes."
"But the numbers...do you anything about the rocks that made the zombies or Group 935?"
"What?" Rousseau asked, confused.
"Wait...you don't know Richtofen?"
"Who?"
...
Stuhlinger suddenly laughed."This entire time...I thought maybe...just maybe you were connected to all this..."
Rousseau looked at him with pity.
"We need to find Stuhlinger and Ocellus and get out of this jungle," Vanto said to Zuud."I just hate that we're going home empty-handed."
Suddenly, Ocellus ran into them."Ocellus? Where's Stuhlinger?" Zuud asked her.
"I-I don't know! There were these sounds...uh...I think it's called shooting, right?" Ocellus asked. The only time she ever heard a gunshot was when Valance shot Soap in the tent.
"Rousseau." Zuud said."I'll go and find him."
"We'll go all go." Vanto said.
"Go where?" Said a voice. They all turned to see Stuhlinger with a battery. He gave the battery to Zuud."She says hi."
Flashback.
"Talk to me, Agarthan Device! Or Apothicon Blood! Or even DJ Nikolai!" Stuhlinger said once he took the Agarthan Device out of the machine.
"What am I? Chopped Liver?" Richtofen asked.
They then took the Agarthan Device to the golden Pack-a-Punch machine. After collecting the souls, the Agarthan Device went out of the machine.
The Agarthan Device then floated above them...and everything then became red. They saw that the water was now lava.
"I know what is happening!" Nikolai said."Device is...evolving. Affecting all Element 115 in area!"
Stuhlinger, Misty, Marlton, and Russman followed the device and killed the zombies, getting Max Ammos and Carpenters. They finally made it to the facility.
They were in the human infusion room where the device stopped. The four zombies slayers used their guns and kept shooting the zombies. They noticed that the circle around them was closing in.
"Die, zombie!" Russman yelled, grabbing his knife and sticking it right through the zombie's left eye.
"Richtofen, if this is it..."
"I know, Sammy. I found you mildly amusing."
Stuhlinger closed his eyes as the circle got even smaller. Suddenly, there was a bright light.
Every zombie then died. The crew looked at the Agarthan Device."We did it...we actually did it..." Marlton smiled.
"Yeah, but now what?" Misty asked."What do we do with it?"
"Maybe the guy in the lighthouse knows what do." Stuhlinger said. The four then went over to the lighthouse, hoping this would soon be over.
On the Island.
Stuhlinger was at the beach, looking at the night sky, holding a radio in his hand. Rousseau had also given him a radio but she said it didn't work. Stuhlinger looked at the radio and pressed the button and talked.
"Hello? Is this thing on? Richtofen? Hey Richtofen! You've been gone from my head for a really long time. I gotta be honest, I'm freaking out a bit, man. It's... it's so quiet. I can actually hear myself think, you know what that's like? It's not nice at all. So, listen, buddy, oh pal, we gotta talk. Did you send me here? Why? Why the hell would you send me to an Island that has polar bears, monsters, and other crazy people? And what about the people that woke up here as well? The talking ponies and all that? Wait. Shoot! Am I even talking to the right Richtofen? Oh, it could be the other one, right? Or you're the other other one. Yeah, you know what just, just go talk to your Richtofen pals at the hoity-toity Ricky gang clubhouse and find out what the fuck I'm supposed to be doing!" He said.
In anger, he threw the radio at a tree. The radio was then smashed to bits.
Stuhlinger then looked at the ocean as he remembered what Marlton had said.
"It's...all...gone, Stuhlinger. Everything we ever had. Everything we ever loved."
"But...Richtofen was supposed to make everything right." Stuhlinger said to himself.