The 99th Platoon – WWW's Dream: Uniting the Tediz

(A/N The big tamale. The final chapter. It's long but its well worth it. I'll talk to you guys after the credits roll…)

Chapter 16: The Grand Finale

-~-Meanwhile-~-
*thump thump*
*thump thump*
*thump thump*

Sarge could hear gunfire behind him but he pressed on. They had gotten out of tougher situations before. Besides, he had made his promise. He was looking for a clue, something, anything that could show him where the Sharkiz bastard had taken Pyst. A twinkling was evident, jabbed with startlingly accuracy to point upwards. Pyst's army knife. Sarge smiled. He had trained them well. He turned his gaze upwards. He released an air bubble of surprise.

A long, long shaft ran upwards to a little postage-stamp-sized square of light. And there hanging in the water, like some crude metallic mockery of a crucifixion, floated the Sharkiz. Sarge felt a cramping pain in his stomach. Air, air, that was it, get to the air.

*thump th-thump*
*thump th-thump*
*thump th-thump*

 Sarge's heart beat faster and faster. Panic! Panic surged through him. He would never make it. He would struggle upwards, against the feeling of his burning muscles, against his lungs screaming for air till he would open his mouth to try to breathe. Then he would guzzle the water and slip into unconsciousness, sinking slowly to a watery grave.

He cleared his head of the image. But it was so far away. He had rose too quickly. He knew it, felt it in the way that his head spun, his eyes were lolling around in his head. He knew it in the way that his lungs were in spasms, dieing to take that last gulp of air. He had made it to the neutralized Sharkiz.
"N-not now…so close," he pleaded his slowing limbs, "I…made a…promi-"

He stopped paddling completely. He was too far lost to feel sad. He was too far to feel regret. He didn't even feel the strong Tediz paws that hoisted him upwards…

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Black. That was the first thing he noticed. Pitch black. He tried to move his hands and found they were bound. He opened his eyes. Black.
"Who put out the lights?" he managed to gurgle. For the first time he became aware of the presences in the room. Someone was breathing through controlled sobs.
"Man, Sarge, he went in to get you but it was, it was too late. Man, pressure Sarge…you're…you're…" Pyst.
Sarge knew what was next. He snuffed a breath.

"Don't worry about it Pyst. I never thought it'd end like this. Sorry kiddo." Pyst ignored the last bit.
"O.K. Sarge. O.K."

"HoW vErY, tOuChInG. StOp PlEaSe, I'm GoInG tO bE sIcK."
"Who the hell are you?" demanded Sarge.
"I Am EvErYtHiNg, YeT i Am NoThInG. I, RiCo, Am ThE oNe WhO sHaLl BrInG yOuR dOoM. YoU aNd YoUr 99 BuFfOoNs."
"You're the head honcho."
"In LaYmAn TeRmS – YeS. CaN wE pLeAsE dRoP tHe PrEtEnCe?"
"We'll cut the bull if you do," retorted Pyst. A striking sound was heard.
"WeLl DoNe #987. YoU hAvE sErVeD yOuR MaStEr WeLl."
"Yes sir." WWW.

*beep-BEEP*
*beep-BEEP*
*beep-BEEP*

"What the?" asked WWW. Pyst laughed.
"Looks like it ain't all gonna be peaches and cream for you guys. Way to go Oreos!"
"A MiNoR sEtBaCk. ThE MaStEr SnYpA wIlL tAkE cArE oF aNy EsCaPeEs."

Then a second alarm rang, one hinting more danger.

"I'm AfRaId SeRgEaNt MaJoR RoDrIgUeZ aNd SeRgEaNt GoReS. I mUsT cUt oUr ViSiT sHoRt. #987, CoMe."

Sarge tensed up. He didn't hear the sound of Tediz feet scuffing the floor.

"#987! ThE eScApE pOdS! CoMe! ThE wAtEr PrEsSuRe WiLl DeStRoY tHe IsLaNd. We MuSt EsCaPe."
"WWW!" Pyst yelled out.
"#987!"
"Sergeant Thomas "WWW" Warclat! Hold your ground! That is a direct Order from your Commanding Officer!" Sarge barked.
"WaRcLaT iS dEaD. He Is An ImAgE tHaT mUsT bE fOrGoTtEn. CoMe WiTh Me #987, ToGeThEr, My LeAdErShIp AnD yOu UnDeR mY cOmMaNd – We CoUlD tAkE oVeR tHe WoRlD. JoIn Me."
"You wanna join this piece of shit!" Pyst roared. He flung his legs out and kicked a figure out of the shadows.

It was wrapped in a black cloak, and wore black gloves. The right paw lacked two fingers. The left arm was exposed to the light – wrinkled, dead in appearance. His once beady black eyes were now a clear white. His face, if you could call it a face, was mutilated beyond recognition.  But at once everyone knew. The Commander drew his cloak over himself.

"YeS #987, yOu DiDn'T dO a VeRy GoOd JoB oF kIlLiNg Me."
"You!" Pyst accused, "You! Behind it all! How long has he been under your control?"
"SiNcE tHe BeGiNnInG. AnOmAlIeS dOn'T aPpEaR tHaT oFtEn BuT wHeN tHeY dO tHeY aRe MoNiToReD. We JuSt DiDn'T gEt ReAdInGs TiLl #987 tApPeD iNtO hIs MeMoRy BaNk AnD tHe ChIp LoCaTeD tHaT oNe MeMoRy, OnE tIeD In wItH uS."
"A chip driven by guilt."
"We'Re SmArTeR tHaN wE lOoK."
"Thank the Lord for that."
"PlAy TiMe Is OvEr #987 wE mUsT lEaVe NoW."

But WWW was remembering something…something that happened quite some time ago.

*FLASH*

He was carrying Oreos down the beach, on another island far, far, away from this one. And there it had been where for a few seconds he was the machine. But Oreos was alive. He had told him…

"WWW, you are one of a kind. You are neither Tediz; nor Squirrel you are… you are Private Thomas "WWW" Warclat of the 99th Platoon, fellow patriot, soldier and friend."

Another one; Sarge limping through the old Komiz base…

"Long time so see…soldier."

He heard voices: they were all mixed in his head, Pyst, Sarge, The Commander. Spinning, spinning…

Heinrich slashing madly at WWW and FlatFeet throwing himself into harms way.
He saw himself standing at Flatfeet and Cherry's wedding, all dressed up in a tux. Sarge had just forgotten the words. They were laughing.

Pyst was laughing hard with Squeaky and CuMiT. The eternal drunken frat buddies.

Dark, all alone with no one in the world but The Platoon, smiling for the first time in a long time.

Deja and Ricy trading insults with each other, Mon sighing hard in the background.

ILZ and Chael shooting bottles in mid-air at Stealth's house after The Heist. Stealth shaking his head and mumbling something about the mess.

RedStorm and CoolGuy playing a game of cards with WWW.

Snickers and Twisted passing out on Anthrax's floor, Anthrax dumping ice all over them.

Ajax leaping at Tediz throats with paws alone when the Tediz Attacked.

All the others from the first mission, way back when: Percival, Michael, Cartman, Viper, Gamer and Ender. They were soldiers; they were brothers; they were friends.

*FLASH*

WWW felt something trickling out of his ear. The chip had liquefied.
"I'm back."
Sarge smiled.
"About time."
"ThEn I mUsT lEaVe."

*fw-tseew*

WWW untied Pyst and Sarge.
"He's gone Sarge. Sorry…"
"Save that for later, we need a way outta here fast! WWW! Get in the water, then Pyst pull out…"

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

The Master Sniper took aim at ILZ's exposed head. Quick, clean shot. Then the rumbling started. Sniper looked all around him…but down. The sound was enough to rival a supersonic boom. A column of water burst out from beneath The Master's feet. It was over for him before it had begun.

Pillars of water were erupting all over the island. Column after column began to dot the terrain. The Platoon had come round and ran to their concealed vessel. But Sarge and the others were nowhere to be found.

"DEJA! GET IN THE DAMN BOAT NOW! THAT IS AN ORDER SOLDIER!" Oreos screamed over the sound of Niagara Falls falling upwards then raining down.

Deja was staring panic stricken at the erupting landscape. They were nowhere in sight. She bit her lip hard. Stealth touched her on the shoulder.
"Get. Off. Me," she growled. Stealth gripped her tighter. Deja exploded.
"GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! HE PROMISED!" she choked on rage and sadness. Stealth gulped.

"C'mon Deja…"
"HE WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU GUYS! WHAT ABOUT PYST?! WWW?! HE PROMISED! HE'D COME BACK TO ME…they…they…"

Ricy drew breath. They all did. Deja never cried. If Deja broke down… Squeaky stared hard into her eyes.
"Keep it together…" he willed, "Keep it together Deja…"

Deja made a sound like some sort of injured animal. She stumbled out towards the base. Stealth walked up behind her.
"Forgive me." He punched her hard in the back of the head. Deja fell to her knees.
"He promised me…" she whispered. Stealth sniffed hard and rubbed his eyes on the back of his paw. He picked up the limp Squirrel and ran to the boat. FlatFeet was already manning the helm. He swallowed hard and looked at Oreos.
Oreos nodded.

The engine roared into life and the speedboat leapt through the choppy waves. Then it happened.
The whole island just imploded. It caved in upon itself sucking down gallons of water with it. Chael looked on in awe. Then he stopped.

"Newton's Third Law. Action-Reaction." His eyes snapped open, "FASTER!"
"What?"
"TSUNAMI!"

It rose out of the sinkhole – a gigantic walking wall of water. It towered over them. The boat suddenly seemed very, very small.
"FASTER!"
"IT'S GETTING CLOSER!"
"MOVE IT!"
"AHHHHHHHH!"
"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" FlatFeet screamed.
"DUDE! TWO MORE SECONDS AND WE'LL ALL BE SHUT UP FOR GOOD!"

It was true, the distance between the boat and the wave was closing significantly. FlatFeet looked around frantically for an answer. He smiled. Then he pressed the Little Red Button.

*buh-WHOOOOSSSSSSHHH*

Giant engines flipped out of the sides of the boat and fired liquid nitrogen mixed with oxygen (two parts petrol). The boat sped away from the wave. They couldn't even hear the Beach Boys blaring above them.

Sarge, Pyst and WWW straddled the Sharkiz. Unfortunately when WWW hotwired it there was a side effect.
"This is the third time it's playing Surfing U.S.A. can't you get it to shut up?" asked Sarge.They were surfing the Surfer's dream. The Sharkiz proved to be a useful "surf board".
"It's the only way out Sarge, hop off if you don't like it."

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The boat had travelled far, leaving the wave behind it to die out. Fatigue, hunger or some mix of both had taken its toll. Everyone was asleep.

*Everybody go surfing…surfing U.S.A.*

"I think we're interrupting something…" someone mumbled. Another voice laughed.
"What is it?" a third asked.
"They're asleep."
Deja's eyes snapped open.

"GUYS!" She threw her arms around the three of them. Others started waking up. Oreos stared at them in disbelief. He walked towards them.
"Sarge…I left you…I shouldn't…"
"Don't worry about it. It was the right thing to do at the time. You did okay Oreos. And that's what matters…"
"Okay." He paused "Sarge?"
"Yeah."
"Your eyes…"

Mon sidled up. He twisted open a cap with his teeth. The bottle was labelled "Eye Drops" He dropped six drops in each eye.

"There. You can thank me later." Every one gazed directly into their Sergeant's eyes.
He blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.

A tear formed in his eye. He saw them. He saw them. Tediz, Squirrel and Panther. They were all there. They were all in a way…it was corny but he had to say it…

"Isaste oli palikaria mou."
"You speak Greek?!" Sarge laughed.
"There are a lot of things about me you don't know…but lets save that for another time…Let's go home shall we?"


-=***=-

*Panoramic view as the boat starts up and roars off towards the shore. Then in close ups: Sarge gives his cousin a fatherly hug. Cherry kisses FlatFeet on the cheek. Pyst and Oreos shake hands. Dark nods at Stealth, Stealth nods back. Ricy and Mon sit back relaxing, along with RedStorm and CoolGuy while Twisted and Squeaky laugh at the whole situation. Chael pats Ricy on the shoulder. ILZ offers Snickers a cigarette. Snickers laughs and gratefully accepts it. WWW steers the ship and smiles. Then he sighs*

"What a wonderful world…"


Fade to black