Charlie: At the time of starting this chapter, I have no idea if I would be done before or after March the 12th, also known as SAT day, Monte Carlo night for SMHS or Audrey's birthday (Yes, the Audrey in my fic is a real person, as with a lot of other characters because I lack in imagination). But anyways, I'm starting it. Process is slow because of my crapload of work, but I'll see what I can do for you guys.


The Khathlati Strain

Chapter 6: Carved in Memory

Tania, the last frontier on the Eastern border. The city was the main producer of gunpowder and explosive arms. Because of the destructive nature of these products, Tania is the most well guarded city in the country as well as the biggest training center for up and coming soldiers converting from melee weapons to gunpowder firearms. The entire city was surrounded by a 3 feet thick brick wall guarded by musketeers. All persons desiring entrance must present special passes at the main gate. And with recent events, it was near impossible to gain entrance into Tania.

Heath soared through the Lycian air. In one hand, he bore the Lycian flag, in the other, Matthew's report. Flying at an altitude of over 2500 meters, Heath passed by without arousing much attention.

His flight from Bern brought him close to Tania. Then, he thought, it won't be long until the war would be over.

Just as he passed over Tania, he noticed that Hyperion, his wyvern, began to shake. The giant beast suddenly thrashed about, nearly tossing Heath off his mount. As Heath struggled to regain control of the beast, he felt the wyvern's body shiver, as if something was under its skin.

Moments later, Hyperion became noticeably thinner. The beast's eyes bulged out from sunken sockets. His wing muscles diminished until no longer can the giant wyvern stay in the air.

Heath panicked as he felt himself falling towards the ground, his wyvern no longer strong enough to support his weight.. Just as he reached around for anything that could've saved his life, he felt his own body shiver. It was a queer sensation, as if something was separating his skin from his muscles. Then, as sudden as it had happened to his wyvern, Heath's body began to wither away. Pain flared from all over his body as Heath screamed out in agony.

Moments later Heath and Hyperion hit the ground, and Heath's near dissolved body rolled off the giant beast's back. Seconds later, Hyperion opened his eyes. It was stained completely red with blood. The wyvern took a few weakening steps towards his master and without even flinching, tore his master's decomposed meat off his bones.

Just two miles away, Tanian soldiers watched as what they perceived to be an enemy spy fall out of the sky.

...by the time they find Heath, it would be too late.


Many people gathered on the streets of Ostia for the funeral of the Marquess and Marchioness of Khathelet. Because of the bacterial scourge, the bodies of the two were disinfected and carried to Ostia for the funeral.

Princess Kathryn Sith and her little sister Princess Hitomi watched tearfully as the funeral passed by. The two were the princesses of Khathelet, and Kate was the heir to the throne. Yet now, with their home ravaged by the scourge of Khathlati, they could do nothing but watch as the two caskets were carried down. They knew that their parents were in them. As tears rolled down her flushed cheeks, Kate turned towards her little sister and embraced her. The two sisters stood together as their parents passed them, heading towards their final fate in life.

On the other side, Hector watched the two sisters grieve. He felt a pang in his heart and he looked over to his own daughter, Lilina. Lilina was in her late teens. Her delicate frame and soft features resembled that of her mother's, yet her hair was a deep blue. Hector wondered if Lilina would one day have to see her one or both of her parents go down that street in a casket. Hector found it to horrifying to imagine so he wrenched his gaze from his daughter back towards the processions. By his side, he felt his wife's grip on his arm tighten slightly.


When Tanian soldiers finally found Heath, they were shocked to discover that something had half eaten him. The body lacked a head, two limbs and was disembowled. Many soldiers puked on the spot.

The group was sent out nearly two days after the reported sighting of a downed enemy wyvern. Led by a burly captain, the group had scoured the area for half the day before one man tripped over what seemed to be a very soft buried branch. Upon close inspection, the man discovered the gruesome truth, that the branch he had tripped over was really the leg of a dead man.

The captain was disappointed; not only were there no documents found, but the soldier was bearing the flag of Lycia. He knew that the Lycian council would not be happy about this apparent friendly fire incident. Just as he was about the throw in the towel, one of his men saved his rank. In the man's remaining hand was a rolled piece of paper. The captain ordered the men to bring him the paper, hoping for something that would save him from a demotion.

When he got the paper, the captain dusted it of lightly and unrolled it. As he read, his men could see his eyes widen. The minute he finished, he turned to his men with a shocked expression.

"We have to get back and tell command!" He exclaimed almost maniacally.

Wondering if it was a real emergency or if their captain was just going insane, the men fought to keep up with their captain's horse. Nobody noticed in their haste that the ground upon which they rode was littered with decomposed bodies of forest animals.


Kiyoko and Audrey wormed their way through the slums of Ryerde. Though the two assassins were pretty confident that their target was lurking somewhere within the vicinity, they had something else to do. The two needed to find their partner, and fast. Their secret employer, unhappy with recent failed attempts, wanted to see the three in person. According to his letter, Kiyoko and Audrey had three hours to find their worthless partner and haul their asses to the designated rendezvous location.

Fortunately for them, they knew exactly where Christine would be. The three snaked their way to a seedy inn. After consulting with the innkeeper, the two women approached a room and knocked lightly on the door.

Moments later, the door opened, and a young woman wearing a bath robe peeked out. She gasped when she found her partners.

"Kiyo! Audrey! What are you two doing here?" She asked in surprised, making sure that her partners didn't see what was inside her room.

Kiyoko sighed. "Our employer isn't happy. He wants to see us now." She said to the woman.

Christine looked behind her. "Now? As in this moment?"

Audrey exploded. "Yes you slut! Now put on some clothes and get your ass out of there before I slit your throat myself!"

Kiyoko put a restraining arm on Audrey to prevent the explosive woman from doing anything brash. Christine blushed upon Audrey's words. She gave a curt nod and retreated into the room momentarily. After a brief period of time, Christine emerged, dressed as her partners were: plain traveling clothes and a long dark cloak to hide her daggers. The trio departed and headed out of the slums.

It was almost sunset when they found the location: a dank warehouse that looked abandoned. Cautiously, Kiyoko led her partners into the warehouse, keeping her eyes peeled for traps.

The warehouse was indeed abandoned. Nothing was there except for a pile of boxes in a corner. The three assassins fanned out in the warehouse, looking for their employer. Minutes later, the three gathered in the middle, unable to find anything.

Audrey groaned. "Why'd that guy threaten us if he was gonna be late himself?"

"Maybe he was sidetracked..." Kiyoko muttered.

"Well, he still should be here!" Audrey grumbled.

Just then, an eerie voice pierced the air.

"I am here fools. You three just didn't look hard enough."

The girls jumped and looked around for the source. Moments later, Audrey pointed to a human figure jumping down from a stack of crates.

"Wh-who are you!" Christine asked in a shaky voice. She and her companions were clustered in a tight ball, relying on each other for the support that their own shaky knees couldn't provide.

"Me? Why of course." The same eerie voice rang out. It was cold, raspy, almost inhuman. "My name is Charlie Wu. I am what you would call a geneticist and a biochemist. I work towards finding new advances into these two blooming fields."

As the man stepped forward, Kiyoko took a look at their mysterious employer. As the man walked into the light, Kiyoko found herself staring at his face. The scientist looked young, not much older than 30, but his hair had gray streaks running through it, his eyes were extremely bloodshot, and his overall expression was quite, interesting to say the least. If the man wasn't standing in front of her, Kiyoko would've sworn he was a monster from a horror novel.

"Well, enough about me. We need to discuss your assignment. It has come to my attention that Dr. Liang is once again free."

Kiyoko, Audrey and Christine nodded in unison, all three finding their throats too dry to talk.

"Well..." Charlie said. "You see, that is a problem. Dr. Liang is an evil man, a bane to humanity, a curse on the scientific world! He is destroying humanity and must be stopped."

The three nodded once again.

As Charlie advanced further, his bloodshot eyes pierced the three as he continued to talk. "I must say, I am highly disappointed by your efforts."

Kiyoko gulped.

"However, I am giving you more chance." Charlie said. "Onelast chance; fail me again and you will face the consequences."

The three assassins nodded.

"Good." Charlie smiled a wicked smile with yellow teeth. "I have business in Ostia that I must take care of. It would take me three days at most. I want Dr. Liang's head in here on a platter when I return exactly three days from now, or else..." The man drew a dagger. "I may have to find a replacement."

That night, all three assassins had the worst nightmares of their life.


Ostian streets crowded once again as another funeral is held. This time, the deceased were not rulers, but the scientists that the Ostian had grown to hate. The scientists who created themurderousbacterial strain known by the place of its birth...the Khathlati Strain.

But everyone was paying their respects.

Florina stood among the crowd with her daughter and the princesses of Khathelet as two caskets were carried down the street. One is of Dr. Jessica Nam who was found dead in her house a while ago. The other is of Dr. Patric Pan who was recently determined missing and presumed dead. Both were scientist that worked at the KBI.

Yet both were innocent. Florina recalled when Oswin brought her the report. Hector had gone to Etruria to ask for help from the retired Mage General Pent, so Florina took over his duties somewhat. Dr. Patric Pan's house was found empty with a window smashed, and blood was found in the kitchen floor. The Khathelet Militia, or whatever was left of it, presumed a murder and filed a report. The next day, a letter to the man from his colleague Dr. Liang was found.

According to the report, Dr. Liang suspect himself of being infected, so he burned his house and fled so he wouldn't infect others. His last wish was for Patric to warn the public that Khathlati may be evolving to kill quicker and faster.

Dr. Pan went missing before he got his chance.

Upon receiving the report, Florina ordered the manhunt on Dr. Liang to be called off, and memorials to be erected in honor of the two deceased scientists.

Two days later, Dr. Christopher Liang was pardoned and given a full apology along with a post at the Ryerde Medical Research Laboratory.

However, many still doubted Dr. Liang's innocence. Medical researcher Dr. May Fryst was one of them.


Sacae and Etruria, two continents on the mainland of Elibe that weren't affected by the disease. The two nations turned a cold shoulder to the blasphemous on goings between Bern and Lycia. The leaders of the respective nations felt that Lycia brought the scourge onto itself with its sacrilegious ways.

However, the sentiments of thegovernment were not shared by the sentiments of the people. In Sacae, three plainsmen set out for Lycia to assist their old comrades. All three had fought in the war against Nergal, and their principles dictated that they help their friends in need.

In Etruria however, many people shared in the government's belief. Only a few desired to help the ailing nations of Lycia and Bern.

Among that few, only two did anything to help.

Bidding farewell to their home, a prominent Mage in Etruria set out with his wife to Lycia, knowing full well that one or both of them could die.


In Ostia, refugee KBI scientist, Dr. Brian Wu, sat to dinner with his wife and two children. As they said their prayers and began to eat, the man heard an unusually loud rustling in his back yard. Deciding that it was just the neighbor's big dog, the family continued to eat.

Next door, the neighbors of the former Khathlati Scientist lay dead in their own blood. Their dog laying right beside his masters.


Charlie: Well, I did much better than I thought I would do on my model tests, so I won't be doing the massive "OMG I'M GONNA DIE! MUST FREAK OUT AND CRAM!" Thing I was planning, so I got this done before Saturday...go me! Well anyways...first a kitty, now a doggie, how low can I go? Obviously, since I'm a maniacal writer, you've just seen me portray myself as a maniacal villain. Fitting isn't it? Well, please review! Hope you're enjoying this.