The 99th Platoon – The FlatFeet Saga
Act Three: Into the Lair

(A/N Ladies and gentlemen, for a once in a lifetime performance I give you…Dark! The sadistic Panther with an attitude! While the following scenes try and focus on Sarge and Deja, for some reason it appeared that the scene wouldn't be long enough without Dark getting one last gore-fest fistfight. So, without further delay, I warn you that this is one of the few chapters to contain a, wait for it: a complete and unedited Dark scene. Due to the nature of these graphic images I- You know what? Screw it. If you didn't want graphic images along with a fair amount of swearing, you wouldn't be here in the first place. Enjoy!)

Chapter 20: Insanity Prevails

"She…she's bleeding! Help!" his voice was trembling. His tail was twitching in the air. "Help…" he whispered… "I-I shot her…help! Medic!" Sarge looked around him.
The illusion was fading. The Omega symbols were becoming less and less obvious. But the one left by "Oreos" still burned intensely bright. Sarge scooped up the bleeding bundle of fur and dashed off down the road.
"Medic! MEDIC! Mon! MEDIC!"
Sarge had been walking around the twisted crevices and streets…he paused and looked at a distinct rock. It was shaped like a fist almost. He ran on.

"I…I'm sorry Mon…" Dark gasped, helping the Medic to his feet, "It - he, it's strong still…but we're winning…we're nearly done. Where are the others?"
Done? You call losing done?
Dark looked up at the eye hovering above him. He snarled.
"Who's losing you dumb ass?"
The eye thinned.
How about that Rodriguez?
"Sarge?"
The eye rolled up into nothingness as the Omega's sinister laughter could be heard.

Sarge paused again to get his bearings. He surveyed the landscape…the same grey streets, rust coloured sky and monolithic buildings…and that fist shaped roc-
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he screamed in frustration. He had been going round in circles. Deja's blood flowed and stained his hands.
Sarge closed his eyes, then opened them to find Dark and the now upright Mon. They both looked at Deja. Mon's eyes went wide.
"What happened?" Mon asked quickly running forward.
"I shot her…" came Sarge's reply.
Mon's blood ran cold in his veins.
"You…you what!"
"I shot her."
Dark roared.
"Get the hell away from her!" the Panther cried, snatching the limp body from Sarge's flailing grasp. "How the…Sarge! How could you!"
"What do you mean? I tried to kill Omega, so I shot-"
"Sarge! Listen to yourself! You've lost it!" Mon backed off, tapping Dark on the shoulder. Dark looked at Sarge with utter disgust.
"I…" Sarge's mind was reeling, "I mean, he…it's so confusing…in my brain…Oreos, Stealth, you, Dark, Deja….a shotgun…a choice…the song! The song! Time is on my side!" Sarge was gripping his head. He was babbling, speaking in a high-pitched tone.
Dark and Mon moved further and further away…
"Sarge," said Mon, "I promise we'll help you…but you're sick…you've gone very, very ill…just…just stay away…"
Sarge sank to his knees. His eyes had glazed over.
"Time! Time! No time! It's his! Time is his! Time Time Time!"
Dark and Mon ran, not looking back the entire way. Sarge made a movement as if to rise.
"NO! I'm not crazy! I shot her but I'm not crazy! No! NO! I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy!" he fell to his face. Sarge was trembling.
"I'm not crazy…I promise I'm not…"
He paused.
"Or am I?"

Dark looked down at Deja. He then looked back at Sarge. So many thoughts ravaged his mind. He couldn't decide if he should just leave his Captain…his friend. He didn't know.
Omega apparently decided to make the choice for him.
A much larger, stronger Dark jumped out from the shadows to his left. The Omega, tapping strength now from Sarge's mind, was trying one last move to regain control of the situation. He grinned at Dark. Omega eyed what the Panther held in his arms. He already knew about Deja. He also knew that Dark would sacrifice himself to protect her. A grin spread over Omega's face.
Dark stopped, looking over at Mon. He looked into the Medic's eyes. He then nodded to him and handed Deja to him. Mon nodded back to Dark, and turned, running, with Deja in his arms.
He knew now what he had to do. No matter what happened to Dark, he had to get Deja out. Once Mon and Deja were far enough away, Dark turned to Omega. He snarled, removing his trench coat. Veins in his arms pumped. His eyes were glowing a misty white. He meant business.
Omega was the first to attack. He swung at the Panther and obviously caught him off guard. His fist slammed into Dark's jaw, sending him back a few feet. Dark, however, managed to do a full back flip, landing on his feet. He wiped a little blood from his lip, and smirked. He then dashed at Omega, attempting a roundhouse. He didn't land it. The copy was too quick. It was much more enhanced than the others. It sidestepped the attack, and easily backhanded Dark into the side of one of the buildings. When the Panther hit the wall, his head jerked back violently. He was dazed. He had never been the under dog, but he was now.

Dark forced himself to stand up; his fangs shimmered in the dim light. He then began to circle Omega, holding his right hand on his own ribs.They had been injured when he was hurtled towards the nearby wall. A large portion of the wall was jutting out, and it had speared his rib cage. It hadn't gone through, but had broken at least two ribs. The pain was nothing the Panther couldn't handle, though. For some reason, he wasn't mad. He fought best when he was mad. His anger had diminished towards Omega. It was channelled more at Sarge now and what he had done to Deja. He couldn't change that, either. The situation was far too weird.
Dark was then jarred back to reality when Omega came flying at him. He ducked under the kick, which would've probably taken his head off, and jumped up behind his foe. He then delivered a blow to Omega's spine. The Panther had landed the first blow. Now, he had to connect with the rest of his attacks. He ducked yet another shot aimed at his head, and performed a sweep kick. Omega, however, saw this coming. It jumped into the air, kicking Dark in the head, and back flipping a few feet away. There was a huge grin on its face, now.

Dark looked at Omega. He saw Sarge still back there, sulking. The Panther's anger began to diminish towards Sarge. He then channelled it towards Omega. The one who had taken over Dark's friend's mind. The one who had tricked Sarge into shooting Deja. It wasn't Sarge's fault at all. It was all because of him.
Omega could see it in Dark's eyes that he was angered. He backed up a few steps, knowing if he made a wrong move, the Panther would unleash everything. He just had to keep cool.
Dark then grinned.
The Panther was beside Omega before the virus even knew it. He slammed his elbow into Omega's ribs, and jumped into the air, slamming his boot into the area where the nose would be on any other creature. Omega slammed into the hard ground, its head cracking off the concrete. A black liquid oozed from the open wound on the back of its cranium. It was being out-manoeuvred! Dark reached down, grabbing its fur. He pulled it to its feet and slammed his right fist into its jaw. It staggered back a few feet. The tide had turned.

The Panther then ducked a right hook from his foe, and came up with a fierce uppercut. The blow connected with Omega's jaw, sending him about five feet off the ground. Dark unsheathed his sword. He slashed at Omega, but suddenly, the blade turned white hot. The Panther dropped it. The sword shattered on the ground.
"What the hell!" Dark yelled. Omega stood up, laughing. Dark then spotted what he had to do. He smiled.
"What are you smiling about, weakling?" Omega roared. He then grabbed Dark by the collar of his shirt and lifted him into the air. The Panther just stared at him. It was a cold, dead stare. Then, a smirk began to break out on Dark's face. It was one of those, 'You just did me a favour,' smirks. Dark pulled up his knees, slamming them into Omega's face.
He was loose.
He dropped to the ground, landing on his feet. The Omega jumped into the air. Dark jumped up also, only higher than his opponent. He kicked Omega's foot down, and delivered another harsh kick to Omega's chest, this time, with both feet. He used all the strength in his legs, sending Omega back onto a sharp pole sticking out from one of the abandoned buildings. The same black liquid flowed from this wound, only a lot more. The viral being began to brighten. It exploded in a huge flash of light.
Dark fell to one knee, and then collapsed. He had exerted himself. He had nearly no strength left. His pulse had dropped. His eyes rolled into the back of his head. He lay there, beside the pieces of his shattered sword. If he was going to die, he had done it at the right time. For the right cause: To save a friend.

WWW, FlatFeet and Blaze stood looking at the fading city of Omega. With a wave of his paw FlatFeet brought up the screens Omega had used to spy on them. Only Sarge's remained active. The rest had succeeded in defeating the virus.
"Omega is weak, you know," FlatFeet said.
"How weak?" WWW asked.
"Almost gone. Only Sarge lost to him."
"So how do we beat Omega?" Blaze asked.
"Sarge has to fight and win. Otherwise Omega will never fully release his hold."
"From the looks of things, Sarge is just about crazy, you know. That's gonna be a problem."
"No Blaze, that's our solution,"
"You're not making very much sense, FlatFeet," WWW sighed.
"Sarge has to win?" Blaze repeated. "But…I mean…" WWW finished it.
"He's gone insane."
"Check this out." FlatFeet pointed at the Omega signs, at the maze-like city. Everything was fading. Collapsing. Save for the one bloodstained hill where the Omega fortified itself. From their vantage point the three men could see the other 99ers reappearing through out the collapsing city.
"As long as Sarge can't defeat the Omega's presence I'm afraid it will always have a grip somewhere." FlatFeet looked out towards the lost, stumbling, babbling Squirrel. "He has to win. Whatever the cost…"

Rico…
Mocking…taunting.
"Go away…" Sarge mumbled.
Why Rico? I'm your friend remember
"GO AWAY!"
Stupid Rico…Stupid, stupid Rico! Stupid Squirrel! Can't tell one from Another
"I-I didn't have time…" he stammered.
A thoughtful "hmmm"
That's right I suppose…I had it all
Omega placed a hand on Sarge's shoulder.
Let me join you…I have it…I have it all…We could have it, together
Sarge's thoughts were elsewhere.
He was remembering.

In a drawer in his untidy little room Sarge keeps a photo. It's black and white and starting to deteriorate around the edges. It shows a young Squirrel lad holding a tiny bundle of fur in his arms.
Rico – Dana.
"Meet your cousin," they had said as they placed her in his arms. "Meet Dana."

The next twenty years flooded Sarge's subconscious. It all came back to him.
He knew.
Something had made him snap. And it was the same thing that made his hand lash out and grab the Omega by its neck.
Omega reacted violently and instantly, kicking Sarge against a crumbling wall. Sarge slumped to the ground. Omega, laughing wildly, sat on Sarge's chest, pinning his arms to the ground
Sarge roared in anger as the Omega drew Sarge's own combat knife from its sheath. As he went to bring it down and slice through Sarge's chest Sarge acted on an impulse.
He leaned forward and clamped down with his teeth.
The Omega gurgled as Sarge tore at its jugular like a dog. Blood streamed down Sarge's face, staining his fur a green-black. The Omega still sat on Sarge, writhing in pain and agony as it felt its life flooding away. Sarge could taste the vile, choler like, blood. He let the Omega go.
His left eye was twitching. The Omega teetered on Sarge, looking into his eyes.

"Never…mess…with an insane…Squirrel…" Sarge spat, blood running through his teeth.
The Omega tried to mumble something… It looked to its crimson sky. Everything was dissolving…melting away like a bad dream.
We're not that different you and I Rico…
The dissolving started at Omega's feet and worked its way up.
Destructive when necessary, when necessary to survive…
Sarge said nothing. The Omega was breaking away into little fragments that burned up in the air.
True, I am a virus, but we work the same way.
It was nearly over.
Rico…it was an interesting day…pleasure to meet you.
A single mouth suspended in mid air.
Au revoir Rico Rodriguez.
"I don't think so…"
It was gon-