It's a Kid's World
5.6: Back to normal?
The morning after the big battle, the returning members of the Loud family took the opportunity to find out more about what they had missed…
"And so, after rescuing Lisa, we and all the kids in town banded together to fight against the army of zombies and robots that you can see scattered all over the place this morning!" Lincoln explained to his parents.
"I dealt the killing blow, with my shiny diamond arrow." Lola proudly declared.
"Then Lisa finally finished her invention which produced a shockwave which cancelled out the machine at Viribus and David's lair and restored all the erased adults. Thanks to her, you're all back!" Lincoln finished.
"Wow, that was quite a story, son!" Lynn Sr said in shock, having heard Lincoln tell him everything that had happened from The Big Vanish all the way to The Human Harvest.
"Yeah, that's a lot to take in." Lori followed.
"All you need to know is that we made it, and that's because we had each other's backs." Luan said.
"Well, mostly. We got split up quite a few times!" Lola commented.
"But you came through for each other in the end. That's what matters." Luna congratulated her siblings.
"I still can't believe some madman was capable of doing all this!" Rita stated.
"I'm just sorry we couldn't be there to protect you kids!" Lynn Sr said with a guilty tone of voice.
"It wasn't your fault. That's exactly what Lord Viribus wanted. He knew that to have any chance of taking over the world, he needed to eliminate all the biggest threats! That meant getting rid of all adults!" Lincoln reassured his father.
"Too bad for him, we showed him that us kids have fight in us, too!" Lana bragged.
"I'm so proud of you kids! Being there for each other like that!" Lynn Sr said as he cried tears of joy, before hugging all of his children.
The siblings then embraced their father's affectionate hug for a few seconds, until it became a little awkward and they separated.
"Anyway, you never told us how on earth you survived when that tree fell on your head, Lola." Luan mentioned.
"Yeah, it's actually a pretty crazy story. Basically, when that tree fell on top of me, I had an incredible stroke of luck. That falling branch had a tree hollow, and it landed so that the hollow fell exactly where I was standing, so I managed to avoid getting crushed. I waited and hid inside the tree for hours until all those monsters went back to their lair before I made my escape. I wandered around the woods all night until I found my way out. Unfortunately, I didn't come out in the right direction. I mean, I didn't exactly know where I was going or anything! So, I continued to walk until I eventually found a small town, I think it might have been outside of Michigan. Anyway, after a lot of convincing and sweet talking, I managed to persuade the townsfolk to come back with me to Royal Woods and intervene in the battle." Lola explained.
"Wow, that IS a pretty crazy story!" Lana commented.
"Told you." Lola replied.
"To be fair, pretty much everything that's happened since the vanish has been crazy." Lincoln pointed out.
"Yeah, a lot has happened since then." Luan said.
"Well, whatever happened since we disappeared, I'm just glad you're all safe." said Lynn Sr compassionately.
"Yeah! I'd be so sad if I ever lost any of you!" Leni stressed.
"We're so proud of you all! I just hope we can get through whatever happens next. I mean, there's bound to be some repercussions from all this." Rita pointed out.
"We'll deal with all that when it comes. Right now, we're just happy we're still here." Lincoln said.
"So… maybe we should check on how Lisa and Lynn are doing?" Lori then suggested.
The family then went upstairs to Lisa's bedroom. Luna and Lincoln were the last to climb the stairs, and the former quickly took the chance to thank the latter as they did so.
"Hey, brah… I just wanted to say congrats. I left you in charge, and that's a lot of pressure to have, and you managed to pull them through a zombie apocalypse of all things! You really looked after your sisters." Luna complimented.
"It was nothing. I'd be glad to do it again." Lincoln modestly replied.
"You did me proud, dude." she replied as she gave him a thumbs up.
In Lisa's bedroom, Lynn had been treated overnight, and had now been placed in a wheelchair…
"There, that should suffice." Lisa said to her now disabled sister.
"Yeah, erm… thanks, Lis. But when are you guys going to take me to get my injury checked out properly at the hospital?" Lynn asked.
"There's no telling exactly when the power will be restored by the adults, or when business and services will resume their work as usual. You required immediate attention, so I'm afraid I'm the only doctor you have access to in the present." Lisa explained.
"I can't believe I'm going to have to spend the rest of my life in this stupid wheelchair!" Lynn cried in frustration.
"I understand this must cause you immense distress… but what you did was heroic and noble. Even I, with my blatant disregard for human emotions at most times, cannot ignore the feelings of pride I have for you right now." Lisa praised, hoping to cheer up her literally broken sister.
"Yeah… you're right. I'm sorry for sounding so ungrateful, sis. You've done your best by me. I made my choice and now I have to live with it! At least I managed to keep Lincoln and you safe." Lynn responded.
The rest of the family then entered the room to see their sister and daughter inside the chair. Feelings of sadness and sorrow flooded the interior of the room.
Nobody knew exactly what to say to her. They knew just how crushing it must have been for her to have her back broken like that, considering her immense inclination towards the physical.
"Lynn, I…" Lincoln went to say, but he was stopped.
"It's okay, bro. I know what you're going to say. But there's no need to be sorry, because I was glad to do it! In fact, if I could, I'd do it again!" she told him.
"Sister… If I am able to make a breakthrough in my experiments that enables me to completely heal your injuries, rest assured I will do everything in my power to make that happen." Lisa then promised her.
"Thanks, that means a lot." Lynn said gratefully.
"Wow, you're taking this a lot more gracefully than I thought you would." Lori reflectively said.
"Yeah, I thought you'd be freaking out or something!" Leni said.
"Yeah, well… I had a lot of time to think about things when I was out of town on my own. I realise now that my obsession with winning and being the best at everything was getting out of hand. I was just using my passion for sports and competitions to fuel my anger against the world. But I think we've all seen just how bad that can be. I mean, look at that Viribus guy and what his anger caused! Anyway, maybe I just need to look at this as karma for all the horrible stuff I did." Lynn reflected.
"That's not true. You're not in a wheelchair because you're a bad person who deserves to be punished. You're a hero who stood in the way of evil! Don't forget that!" Lincoln told her.
"Thanks, bro." she said as she looked up towards him with tears in her eyes.
Lincoln then reached over and hugged his sister, reflecting how the two siblings had finally become a lot closer thanks to everything they had been through together. It just took a world threatening crisis for it to happen.
Luna then pulled Lisa to the side of the room and quietly asked her a question…
"*Psst* Do you really think you can heal her, dude?" the older sister asked.
"I cannot be certain at this stage. I will do what I can to rejuvenate our sister, but I cannot promise perfect results just yet. Besides, I will no doubt have a full plate in regards to my workload following all this eventfulness." Lisa stated.
Back while the worst was over for the Loud family, the Casagrande family still had a massive problem on its hands. While the adults and teenagers of the family had returned, they had spent the night searching around their neighbourhood for the likes of their children.
After having fought in Royal Woods the night before, Ronnie Anne returned to her home city, accompanied by her last remaining pet tiger, Maria.
Inside the Casagrande apartment, the anxious adults were discussing their next actions…
"I've looked all over the neighbourhood, but there's no sign of CJ, Carl, Carlito's or Ronnie Anne!" Rosa worryingly said.
"The problem is we have no idea how long we've been gone! They could have went anywhere by now!" Carlota stated.
*Knock knock*
Hector then rushed over to grab the door as the rest of the family looked on, hopeful that their children had just returned to them. He partially opened the door and saw who it was…
"Hey, it's me." Ronnie Anne said awkwardly as the family rushed over to hug her.
"RONNIE ANNE!" they all shouted ecstatically.
"Oh, Ronalda! I'm so glad you're safe!" Maria told her daughter.
"We were all so worried about you!" Rosa said.
"Thanks, you guys. That means a lot. But… you may want to save some of your hugs and kisses for the others." Ronnie then said.
"Huh?" the Casagrande adults replied in confusion.
Ronnie Anne then opened the door fully to reveal her cousins, CJ and Carlitos, standing behind her…
"CJ! CARLITOS!" Frida yelled in relief as she rushed over to embrace with her sons.
"Oh, you all came back! You have no idea how worried we were about you!" Rosa told the young ones.
"I ran into them on my way back from Royal Woods." Ronnie Anne mentioned.
"What? Royal Woods?" Bobby asked.
"But why were you there?" Maria questioned.
"Boy, you guys really need catching up on what's been going on." Ronnie remarked.
"Well, that's just it! We don't have a clue! We were all just here in the apartment in the middle of the day… then suddenly it was night time and all you kids were missing. We have no idea what's happened at all!" Carlos Sr stated.
"You've all been gone for months! All the adults in the world disappeared and only the kids were left behind!" CJ explained.
"Yeah! Then after that, the power shut off, communications went down, and the city got took over by a mafia! CJ and Carlito's got captured but I escaped! I went all over Michigan searching around so I could raise an army to bring them down." Ronnie told her family.
"Wow, that's a lot to take in, Ronnie Anne!" a surprised Hector replied.
"Indeed. I don't mean to sound dismissive, but you must admit that story is a little hard to believe." Maria said.
"Yeah, I mean for a start, why would you go all around Michigan when we're not part of that state anymore?" Bobby asked.
"Really?! That's the part you're most sceptical of?!" Carlota responded.
"Well, that's how I got out of town. Sid and I escaped from Great Lakes City over the bridge that takes you back into Michigan. Once we were there, we went on foot all across the state and found people to help us! I preferred to go around Michigan since we only live just outside the state border and I sorta still see myself a Michigan girl." Ronnie explained.
"Oh, and I bet it has nothing to do with the fact that Lincoln was there." Carlota teasingly pointed out, making Ronnie blush a little.
"*Pfft* Hardly." Ronnie Anne denied.
"I'm still finding all this hard to believe, Ronalda! I hope you can forgive my disbelief, it's not that I don't trust you, but this is all such a shock!" Maria said.
"Mom, it's true! Go and ask Sid upstairs, or my friends, or any other kids in the city! They'll all tell you the same thing as me!" Ronnie insisted.
"To be fair, her story would explain a few things. Like why it was night all of a sudden from our perspective." Carlos Sr said.
"Or the fact that the power has not been on all night." Rosa noted.
"Okay, maybe all this is true… but what I want to know is where my other son is! Where is Carl?" Frida asked.
"Carl… erm…" Ronnie Anne struggled to say, knowing it was a rather sensitive subject.
"Mom… Carl is locked up." CJ finished for her.
"WHAT?!" a shocked and horrified Frida cried.
"Carl ended up getting lost not long after you all disappeared, and he got captured by the mafia. He worked his ways up their ranks overtime until he became the boss." Ronnie explained.
"My son, a mafia boss?" Carlos Sr asked in disbelief.
"Carl was a lot of things, but he would never do that!" Carlota denyingly put it.
"I know how ridiculous this sounds, but it's true!" Ronnie argued.
"Ronnie Anne… do you honestly expect us to believe your cousin is some crime lord?" Maria sceptically questioned.
"It's true! Carl became the boss. But he eventually realised he was doing the wrong thing. Then last night, he let us go and locked himself in his own dungeon." CJ stated.
"But not until after he sent all his goonies to help us fight against the dead. It's a good thing he came to his senses, too. We really needed help there!" Ronnie Anne then said.
"Wait… the dead?" Maria asked.
"Then I came back home this morning and that's when I ran into CJ and Carlito's, as well as Sid and my other friends, who were all lost and hiding out on the other side of the city after being let go by Carl." Ronnie concluded her explanation.
"Then we all came back here! Sid and Adelaide are upstairs reuniting with their parents, too." CJ followed.
"Hold on, back up a minute… what do you mean you fought against the dead?" Carlota requested to know, as the family was still curious for clarification on that.
"Look, I'll be happy to explain everything else later, but right now Carl is in danger!" Ronnie claimed.
"What? Why?!" a concerned Rosa then asked.
"Because all the adults just came back into the world last night! Every single one of them! Even the bad ones! Oh, and Carl is still inside the mafia HQ! And he just locked himself up in his own dungeon with no way out like an idiot!" she then told them.
After a very brief moment of thinking, the Casagrande adults figured out what she was trying to subtly indicate, and they all collectively gasped in fear as they realised why Carl was in danger.
"Oh, and since you're already a little startled, maybe now is a good time to mention something else, too…" Ronnie Anne then said as she chuckled awkwardly.
Her last remaining pet tiger then made its way into the apartment, causing everyone to gasp in horror once again…
"RONNIE ANNE! KEEP AWAY FROM THAT THING!" Rosa shouted in a panic.
"Relax, she won't anyone. She's as loving and loyal as they come." Ronnie then said as she stroked the feline.
"I've got to be honest; this is all so crazy!" Bobby pointed out.
"I'll say!" Hector added.
"What's her name?" Maria asked.
"Oh, well I actually named her after you, mom. In fact, I had two other tigers until recently. I named them after Frida and Carlota. What can I say? I missed you guys." the little tomboy answered.
"Wow, you actually named a tiger after me… I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess I should find it heart-warming that you missed me enough to name your new pet after me." Maria said, a little weirded out but trying to show appreciation for the sentiment behind it.
"So, on top of all that other stuff, we've now got a pet tiger living with us, too? I've gotta say, you know how to drop a bombshell, sis." Bobby commented.
"Yeah, this is all quite a shock! But right now, we need to think of a way to rescue Carl from the mob!" Carlos Sr said.
"Well, we can't do anything by ourselves! Those guys have guns and a big building that's hard to get into! Believe me, I tried it myself! I think we're going to need to wait." Ronnie Anne stated.
"Wait? For what?" Maria asked.
"For certain services to come back." her daughter then answered.
Clyde was also taking the chance to catch up with his parents, who were a little shook up by everything he told them. Even so, they were all just glad to be together as a family again…
"I still can't believe we were gone for so long, leaving you all on your own like that!" Howard cried apologetically towards his son.
"Don't worry about it! Like I said, it wasn't your fault. All the world's population of 16 or over was erased by this madman called Lord Viribus! But we managed to beat him!" Clyde said.
"Still, we're so proud of you for being able to take care of yourself like that for so long!" Harold complimented.
"Thanks, dads. Still, I can't lie. I was terrified the whole time without you two there to support me." Clyde shamelessly admitted.
"It must have been so scary having to fight all those monsters out there last night!" Howard sympathetically said.
"It was, but I had my friends with me every step of the way. They helped me get through the worst." Clyde reassured his worried and guilt-struck parents.
"And what about your friends? Are they still alive?" Howard asked.
"Yeah, I saw them after the fight was over. Liam, Zach, Stella and Rusty all went off to find their parents after the adults reappeared. Rusty also accompanied his brother back home. Hopefully, they're not too scarred from all this recent bloodshed." Clyde said.
"Well, for now, we're just happy you're safe. Still, I can't imagine what effect this whole thing is going to have on the world going forward." Harold speculated.
"You're right! The economy, society, crime rates, food… not to mention there's still no electricity or communications! The whole world is a mess right now! I mean, how long will it be before basic services like the police are running again?!" a worried and stressed Howard began to ask.
"Howie, don't panic! I'm sure things will work out. Besides, essential services like police and medical care are bound to be on people's priorities to restore as soon as possible. As for the power, well… I bet it will come back on anytime now." Harold said, trying to calm his partner down.
"Still, he has got a point. After all that fighting we did, and all the damage those monsters caused to Royal Woods, what state is that going to leave our town in going forward?" Clyde asked.
"Oh, not you too, Clyde. Look, the best thing we can do is stay positive at a time like this. Like I said, certain things are bound to be restored anytime. As for our hometown, well… surely someone will be willing to pay up to repair all the damage, since it was the kids of this town who fought to save the whole planet!" Harold reassuringly stated.
"I hope you're right." a slightly sceptical Clyde responded, not fully convinced by his father's optimistic predictions.
As Ronnie Anne waited at home for something to happen, she suddenly heard her phone ringing. She saw who it was and immediately answered.
"Lincoln?" she said.
"Ronnie Anne!" he shouted happily as the two children were glad to hear from each other again.
"So, you made it then?" she asked him.
"Yeah. I'm glad you made it, too. I was worried about you." Lincoln replied.
"Hey, don't worry about me. I can handle myself; you know that." she light-heartedly bragged.
"Well, I was so close to being a goner, but my sister Lola came through for me at the last second!" Lincoln said.
"Living life on a tight rope as usual, huh?" she joked.
"Yeah. Anyway, how's your family doing? Mine's still in shock about everything that's happened." the boy said.
"Well, they were really worried, but I think they've calmed down a little bit now that me, CJ and Carlitos are back." she explained.
"Wait, CJ and Carlitos are home? Does that mean…?!" he asked before he was cut off.
"Yeah, it looks like Carl had a change of heart. All his mafia cronies came in the nick of time to save our butts in the battle last night! It looks like he let all his prisoners go, too." Ronnie said.
"Really? Well where's he now?" Lincoln asked curiously.
"By the sounds of it, he locked himself in his own dungeon to punish himself. It was a pretty stupid move, too, since I don't have an army anymore so I can't go and save him!" she responded.
"We don't have much of an army left after last night's battle either, but I'll live up to my promise and get whoever I can on board to try and take down the mafia if that's what you want." Lincoln promised her.
"Thanks, but no thanks. Now that the adults are back, the whole game has changed! Now that you've just rang me, I know that the phone lines are running again! Now I can call the police and get them to take action against the mafia! In fact, that's what I'm going to do right now!" a determined Ronnie Anne declared.
"Ronnie Anne, listen to m-" Lincoln tried to say, but it was too late as the Santiago girl ended the conversation.
After ceasing her call with Lincoln, Ronnie sat on her bed by herself and thought about what she was about to do. She recollected Lincoln talking to her about not being ruthless anymore once the adults returned, and being able to restore their child-like innocence. Not to mention, his argument that the police by themselves would be more than enough to handle what remained of the mafia.
This thought process made her hesitate for a moment, but then another dominant notion took over her mind…
She remembered everything the mafia had done to her and everyone she cared about. All the child slavery, all the time her cousins and friends were locked in the dungeon, all the despicable things they had done to her home city. As far as she was concerned, prison was not a sufficient enough punishment for these scumbags.
"They locked up my friends… they forced children into slavery… they don't deserve mercy!" she told herself as she tried to rationalise the decision she was about to make.
Acting on vengeful impulse, Ronnie Anne immediately dialled 9-1-1 as she was sure in her mind what she had to do next.
The adults returning was a massive blessing for many of the lost and struggling children of the world as their parents and elders came back into their lives. However, there are two sides to every coin.
All the adults came back into the world, regardless of their moral content of character. With all the good that Lisa and the other children had done by restoring the world's adult populace, this process also inevitably brought back the bad guys, too.
One of those bad guys was none other than Danny Morito, the father of the Great Lakes mafia. He and his suited minions reappeared the night before and were catching themselves up on what had happened while they were gone. They were more than a little surprised to see that their headquarters was filled with child servants and even some child guards; at least those that remained behind after the rest were sent off to fight the dead.
After having caught himself up on recent events, the fearsome mafia crime lord walked to the dungeon to see Carl, who was now sitting by himself in his cell…
"So, you're the runt who swiped my family's criminal kingdom for yourself?" Danny asked rhetorically, faking a sense of calm respectfulness with obvious undertones of anger within his voice.
"Yeah, that's me." the boy softly and indifferently replied.
"I hear my oldest son Don, after taking over leadership of the mafia during my and the other adult's absence, was killed by a rival gang? Apparently you were there, boy! Would you care to tell me exactly what happened?" Danny then intimidatingly asked him, to which he did not respond.
"Also, my younger son Dickie is nowhere to be found. Would I be right in assuming he's locked up in here with you?" Danny questioned him again.
"No." Carl simply responded.
"Oh, he does speak!" Danny joked to his guards.
"I originally had him thrown in this cell, but I had a change of heart and released him. I told him to get out of here and save himself." Carl explained.
"Save himself? From what?! The only one who needs saving is you! After what you did to my son, because I know it was you who killed him and stole his power… I'm going to make you suffer for it!" Danny threatened.
So utterly disgusted in himself and mentally defeated from the whole experience he endured with the mob, Carl just sat there and accepted the threats and abuse hurled at him from the enraged adult.
"I mean it, boy! This vendetta will be nice and slow… I'm going to enjoy slowly torturing you to death." Danny took great pleasure in telling the boy, who could only continue to ignore him.
"SIR!" one of Danny's guards shouted as he entered the dungeon.
"What is it?!" the boss questioned.
"Our hideout is under attack! It's the cops! And the military!" the guard warned him.
"WHAT?!" Danny shouted out of shock.
Carl smiled as he realised this meant his relatives were still alive and kicking, as they were were no doubt the ones responsible for this.
"I'll be back for you later, runt!" Danny promised before leaving to see to the matter at hand.
Mr Morito was right to check on the oncoming problem, as it was one that demanded his undivided attention. The mafia headquarters was being broken into by the very people Ronnie Anne contacted. The police were accompanied by a team of special operatives on this mission to bring down the mafia.
While Danny's henchmen were able to keep the cops at bay with their firearms, the operatives had more brutal and effective, if underhanded and reckless, tactics in mind.
One of the soldiers threw a grenade at the front door of the building before signalling his men to retreat to a safe distance. After a few seconds…
*BOOM*
The door was blasted open with a massive explosion of fire and force.
"MOVE OUT!" the commanding officer ordered as his soldiers charged their way inside the building.
The Special Ops team served as the decisive factor in how this battle was going to play out. The police were very cautious in their efforts as their first priority was to keep the members of the public safe from harm. Their methods would also be very restrictive and careful in regards to any casualties that got caught in the crossfire.
The soldiers had no such qualms. Their objective was to bring down the mob; plain and simple. They were prepared to leap into action, all guns blazing, with a severe lack of restraint.
Then again, this did prove to be effective in the battle against Danny Morito's forces. One by one, his henchmen were being shot down in a ruthlessly lethal fashion by the likes of these trained killers. Danny and his last few loyal minions hid and waited in the throne room nervously as they could hear the repetitive sounds of gunshots and explosions. These noises gradually became louder as they realised the enemies were getting closer, penetrating their way through the entire mob…
Arms, the last remaining child member of the mafia, who refused to aid Carl with his order the previous night, proposed a simple request to his boss.
"Erm, sir… I think we should get out of here."
"Are you kidding?! To flee and abandon my base? To wind up with nothing left?! I'd rather go down in a blaze of glory!" Danny Morito proudly declared.
Danny then pointed at the door and instructed Arms to go outside and defend him with his life.
Knowing what he was being forced to do, Arms pulled out his gun and fired it at his own leader…
*BANG*
And with that, the great crime lord Danny Morito was killed… and by one of his own men, no less. The Morito family had been completely wiped out, and the last remnants of their empire were about to follow.
Arms was panicking, and for good reason, as the ops were on their way to the throne room. The suited criminals were no match for the advanced weaponry and intense formal training of these elite soldiers. Guns were fired, grenades were thrown and fists were launched at the remaining mob members as they were brought down one by one, as nothing was going to stop these men from doing their jobs.
Unfortunately, this approach was not without its share of casualties. There were many child servants working in the building who got caught in the crossfire of the one-sided battle between the mob and the operatives. Many young souls who were cleaning or cooking, who were forced to do so against their own will by the mob, were not being spared in this brutal onslaught. This is because the military had been informed the mafia posed such a great threat that they had to go in without any restraints and neutralise the enemy at all costs.
Arms ran and hid behind the giant throne chair with his gun in hand as he heard the soldiers getting closer and closer. He began to sweat and breath heavily in fear as he knew there was no way out.
This display of absolute destruction by the hands of the military against what was previously considered to be an unstoppable empire only served to provide justification over why Lord Viribus did what he did; why he felt it was so necessary to eliminate the world's adults. Because he knew his plan would never succeed without removing them from the equation. Because it was possible that even his mighty army may have been vulnerable to an attack of this magnitude, especially if the attack occurred before he could fully strengthen his army.
In the world without adults, collectives like the mafia or the zombie army seemed unstoppable to the likes of mere children. But to highly trained elite soldiers like these, they were just another threat to be stomped out, and that was exactly what was happening to Danny Morito's criminal organisation. What once seemed like an unbeatable threat was now being taken down so quickly it seemed unreal.
*BOOM*
Suddenly, the door to the throne room was blasted down and the soldiers came storming in. Arms prepared his pistol and got ready to defend himself. However…
…as he looked behind his back, he could see a soldier pointing a gun at his head.
"*Gulp*"
Some time later, the police and the soldiers retreated from the building. The cops escorted out the surviving servants who were lucky enough to not have been caught in the crossfire.
One solider walked over to the police and informed them of the overall outcome of the mission…
"The enemy has been neutralised. The servants have been freed. The entire mafia has been eliminated, with 23 known casualties."
"Thank you, sir." the police officer replied.
Ronnie Anne was standing from afar, witnessing the downfall of her enemies beside her returned family. She, CJ and Carlito's were all looking on with mixed feelings. On one hand, the threat that caused them so much grief and suffering was no more. But on the other, the way it was done involved arguably excessive levels of lethality and mercilessness.
"So… the mob's gone?" CJ said.
"Um… yeah." Ronnie Anne replied.
"This is good, right? So, why don't I feel good about it?" CJ asked aloud.
Ronnie Anne did her best to fight off feelings of guilt as she saw the police officers walking out of the building, with very appalled and saddened expressions on their faces after seeing such a vicious slaughter.
But they couldn't even blame the soldiers for their actions, as they called them to help out with the situation in the first place, thanks to a recommendation that was made by the young Hispanic girl who phoned them.
"I still don't see why all those military guys needed to get involved. Surely the police could have handled it themselves." Carlota questioned.
"Maybe… but it would have taken way longer. Plus, those sneaky mob jerks might have outwitted them. I think the cops needed this help." Ronnie Anne argued.
Some more police officers then came out with another small group of young survivors. Among them was none other than Carl Casagrande himself. He was hanging his head down with immense feelings of shame and disgust in himself.
"CARL!" CJ shouted excitedly as he saw his brother was safe and sound.
However, the police then separated Carl from the other survivors and took him to their car, surprising his brothers…
"Hey, where are you taking him?!" CJ called out as he ran over to his brother.
"This boy has admitted to taking control of this criminal organisation during the absence of us adults to practice the likes of child slavery and drug dealing, among other offences. He will be taken back to the station and charged for his crimes." the police officer informed CJ.
"It's okay, bro. This is what I deserve." Carl sadly stated as he stepped into the back of the vehicle.
CJ eventually walked back to his family after Carl was taken away, unable to stop his brother from being arrested.
"I can't believe Carl did all those things?! I thought I knew my brother." Carlota said.
"This can't be right! My son is not a criminal!" an outraged Frida insisted.
"The police must have made a mistake!" Rosa argued.
"No, it's true. Carl did a lot of awful things while you were gone… but he was still my brother!" CJ sadly revealed.
"Surely they can't keep a six year old locked up for long?! He's literally just a child, they'll have to let him out sooner or later, or at least give him a really light sentence." Maria argued.
"I just want my baby boy back!" Frida cried as her family tried to comfort her during her time of loss.
Ronnie Anne, meanwhile, continued to debate inside her mind whether or not she did the right thing. Certainly, the mafia needed bringing down, but did she really need to get an advanced military unit involved? Did she really have to insist to the police that they would need that kind of back-up?
Unfortunately for the young girl, she turned around to walk home now that the situation had reached its conclusion, but she turned to see her long-time friend, accompanied by his blonde haired older sister, standing from a distance.
"Lincoln?" she asked herself.
But the familiar white-haired boy sported an unwelcoming, angry look on his face. The two had spoken about this very action the day before, prior to the overnight battle.
But she had ignored everything he said to her.
Without saying a word, Lincoln dealt Ronnie Anne the ultimate rejection by simply turning around and walking away, clearly angered and disappointed by her actions.
She attempted to run after him, but stopped herself after a few steps. She knew he was too angry and disgusted for any efforts of hers to calm him down to work at that moment. She knew she had to pick the right time to reconcile with her friend.
As the day came to an end, the restoration of adults allowed for something else significant to happen…
…the power turned back on. Appliances and communications around the world had been restored.
Phones, televisions, the internet, and so on… the modern world was back.
The world was bathed in artificial light for the first time in months, providing everyone with a visually striking experience.
The children and adults of Royal Woods stood and marvelled in the experience of the town lighting up just as the dark night sky emerged. For the adults, they had spent a day without electricity, but for the children… this was a massive step back to normality.
But would the world ever truly be 'normal' again? Or would the aftermath of the vanish linger over the world forever?
Author's Footnote:
Just one more chapter to go. There's not much to say here, really. I'll say my piece tomorrow when I upload the final chapter. Be ready for it all to end tomorrow!