A/N: Hello, fellow readers. I have returned once again and with a new chapter. I haven't been coming here much due to moving day, so now, I'm in New York (well, technically not in the city, but close to Canada). It took me a while to get used to Eastern Time Zone after being in Seattle for a long time, not to mention, I had to settle in at my new place. Now that I have, I can finally continue with the story. Grab some drinks and snacks, find a comfortable spot, and enjoy.
Disclaimer: "I do not own Killer Instinct nor Carrie."
The campaign to stop Gargos continued as missions poured through daily. Mimics wreaked havoc across the globe, with factions pledging allegiance to the Shadow Lord. At the Night Guard base, Jago pursued his training regime with Carrie, with Eagle and Glacius arriving at the rooftop to watch.
"You're concerned about her, are you?" Eagle said.
"I have questions for Carrie," Glacius said. "Her abilities are similar to mine but more advanced, which makes her dangerous."
"Orchid mentioned what happened when Ultratech launched an attack. You think something that horrific is enough to send ARIA a message. So, will Carrie's gift pose a problem on the decrees you uphold?"
"Hard to say."
Eagle patted the lump at the back of his head softly. He didn't mean to call Carrie a witch when she stopped him from attacking Pemba; it was out of reaction. Though fortunate not to receive a concussion, he reminded himself to tread gently with his words. Wincing from the lump, Eagle moved his hand away from it; another ice patch from Glacius should lessen the pain and reduce the swelling.
Jago and Carrie stopped for a break when they spotted the spectators. "How long had two been standing there?"
"A while, but worth watching. At least I'll know what to do in case I meet someone with abilities as hers," Eagle said.
"That's only half the battle."
"Hey!" Pemba arrived at the training site after a long climb on the stairs. "Orchid sent me to fetch you. ARIA has a mission for us."
At the dungeon, everyone gathered. A drone floated, projecting a holographic picture of ARIA. "Greetings. An urgent mission for the Alliance, should you accept it. The satellite had detected an unknown power source in Chamberlain, Maine."
Carrie's eyes bulged upon the location. No…why that town?
"Several reports are coming in, but evidence shows strong Mimic activity," ARIA continued. "The mission: investigate the energy source and destroy it. This mission requires a team of three. Good luck."
Once the holographic ARIA vanished, the drone flew out of the dungeon, cueing Carrie's departure.
"Where are you going, Care?" Kim inquired.
"To my quarters to meditate," she replied and resumed her trek.
"Chamberlain, Maine? Orchid, isn't that the town you told me about when we arrived here, the one where that…" Maya paused after a glance towards Jago, "terrible event happened?"
"Forgive me if I live under a rock, but what terrible event?" Eagle said.
Kim fidgeted her fingers. "I could tell you."
"Don't," Orchid warned.
"Wait, I need to hear this," Jago said.
Kim cleared her throat. "Well, a gas tank leaked under a school there and exploded, killing 440 people, and it happened during Prom Night. However, what made things scary was the fire spreading throughout the town. It was as though someone or something unleashed Hell on Earth."
Jago glanced at the open doorway, scratching his chin. Given Carrie's reaction, this incident has affected her. Still, why would that Ultratech soldier accuse her of destroying this town?
"I don't know why those Mimics are invading an abandoned town, but we can't let them spread the Gargos song to other neighboring towns," TJ said.
"Agreed. Since this one needs a squad of three, I'll volunteer. Who else wants to come?" Orchid prayed her brother does not join her on this task.
"I'll go," Eagle proposed. "I need to remove the rust since my confinement at Ultratech."
"If my brother's going, then I am too," Thunder added.
Chamberlain remained quiet as a shell of its former self until a portal emerged, spewing Orchid, Thunder, and Eagle. Streetlights showed the cracked roads and burned buildings while the suburban zone remained unscathed, with yard sale posts planted on the lawns.
"ARIA should've provided a better location to that strange power source." Orchid fiddled with the mini-computer on her right wrist.
"Allow me." Once Eagle instructed his weyekin in his native language, the metal bird flew to the sky. "Let's explore this place, have an idea what we're getting ourselves into."
As they strolled through Chamberlain, the damage remained as a festering wound. Turning in the right corner, Orchid spotted something that disgusted her; Thunder and Eagle had the same reaction. Hung on each telephone pole were Carrie posters smeared with the words, "BURNS IN HELL."
"She's doing that now with her mom," a voice said. They shifted their attention to a small boy on his bike; a group of friends was with him. Perhaps the town wasn't as abandoned as they thought.
"You can't be serious." Orchid kept her anger in check. "You and your friends should learn to respect the dead."
"Whatever. Let's go, guys."
As the kids rode away on their bikes, Orchid tore the poster off the pole and crumbled it into a ball. She wanted to throw it to the kids, but she resigned herself to the temptation. They resumed their walk, removing the posters and throwing them to the nearest dumpster. A shrill cry filled the sky as Eagle's weyekin returned.
"Did you find anything?" Eagle asked. The metal bird pointed its wing ahead. "Lead the way." They followed the bird until they found a church with charred marks painting the bricks. A faint light gleamed from inside the building, shining the shattered paint glass.
"Something evil reeks in that building. It must be where that unknown energy source is emitting. We must destroy it," Thunder said.
"Hold on a second. We must use caution. Who knows what's inside those walls?" Orchid sensed something coming towards them and beckoned the brothers to hide. They jogged toward another building, observing two hooded figures approach the chapel. One of them knocked on the door, which opened to a crack.
"Praise Lord Gargos!" the hooded figure announced. The door opened wider, allowing them access.
"Gargos's cult," Orchid whispered. "What are they doing?"
"Nothing good, I'm sure," Thunder muttered.
"Any ideas?" Eagle suggested.
"Those cloaks, we can use them to sneak inside and discover the nature of their plan. Now, we need three people to 'volunteer.'" Much to Orchid's delight, three hooded figures stepped outside for a smoke break.
Orchid, Thunder, and Eagle snuck into the undergrowth, waiting for the cultists to move closer. They snatched their victims and knocked them out. They stole the robes to wear them and hid the cult members in the brushes.
"I look silly in this," Thunder commented.
"You and me both," Eagle noted.
Orchid had finished adjusting her new cloak. "Eagle, keep your companion hidden. If those cultists spot him, we could be in trouble."
Eagle spoke to his weyekin in Nez Perce, "Go have fun. I'll call you when the time comes." The metallic bird chirped and flew once again, waiting for the signal.
They pulled the hoods over their heads and approached the church. Orchid knocked on the door three times.
The door opened, and a guard peeked. "State your business."
"We've arrived in the name of Lord Gargos," Thunder addressed.
The guard studied them until he widened the door. "You may enter. The ritual will begin soon."
Orchid, Thunder, and Eagle stepped inside as candles lit the hall, guiding them until a blood-red light emitted in one room. Upon their arrival, hooded figures gathered at the altar, where a portal spun on the wall. On the platform were three Mimics resembling ARIA, Glacius, and Kim Wu and a masked figure wielding a serrated blade.
With their cloaks concealing them, they blended with the crowd, moving closer to the altar. The masked figure spoke to the cultists in an archaic language until she pointed the blade towards Orchid. The former agent approached the altar.
"Through your sacrifice, Gargos will arrive and cleanse this planet." The woman swung the blade, but Orchid sidestepped and pushed her to the portal. Everyone, except Thunder and Eagle, stared in horror as Orchid removed her hood.
"Party's over," she declared.
"The Alliance! Run!" a cultist clamored, and the entire group stampeded towards the exit. The Mimic Kim Wu fled by jumping into the portal, closing it, while the other two stayed back.
Orchid threw her cloak and brought out her weapons. "Eagle, you and Thunder face the ARIA imposter. That Glacius is mine."
"I look forward to sending you and your friends to the Abyss." The Mimic's hands gleamed as spiky ice balls formed above and hurled them at Orchid. The agent slid under them, her combat boots nicking the alien's ankle.
Orchid struck the Mimic until it countered her with an uppercut. The Mimic tackled her, its jagged crystals leaving cuts on her skin until she drove her knee where the chin should be. It flipped back, blocking Orchid's attacks until it produced ice armor. The Mimic shot another icy blast, pinning her against the wall. She struggled to free herself as the hazy alien approached her.
"Now die." The Mimic formed a giant icicle with its arm. Eagle's weyekin attacked the alien before it landed the blow, raking its sharp claws against its face.
"Stand still!" Eagle fired a flaming arrow, shattering the ice and freeing Orchid. "Are you okay?"
"Other than I'm shivering, peachy. Help your brother." With the metal bird distracting the Mimic Glacius, Orchid assaulted her opponent until she launched it with her weapons.
Thunder and Eagle hurled the ARIA Mimic after a constant struggle. Thunder summoned lightning bolts as they surrounded the Mimics, leaving them contorting. Eagle shot three arrows from his bow, their tips blazing with heat. An explosion erupted, shaking the church.
The Mimics fell as their bodies dissolved, with the Astral Gems emerging in their place. A loud commotion from outside grabbed their attention, and they raced out of the building. Armored trucks parked in front of the church as soldiers detained any cultists.
"You three must be from the Alliance." A man approached them. Stubs of hair sprouted from his near-bald head, with a cap embellishing a star. His firm face comprised thin eyebrows, large brown eyes, a crooked nose, and full lips. "General Elliot Wilson of the Global Corruption Force: a specialized group designed to dismantle those pledging to this Gargos."
"So what brings you here?" Orchid asked.
"We had a call on strange activity, but I didn't expect it'd be here."
"Please, let us go!" a cultist yelled as two soldiers herded him and his friends to their trucks until he spotted Orchid. "You there! We'll tell you of a weapon if you release us."
Orchid mused on the cultist's offer until she reminded herself of their intentions, especially for Carrie. "Tempting, but we'll handle Gargos on our terms."
With a hand wave from General Wilson, his soldiers dragged the cultists to their vehicles. "Once my men detain the cultists, they'll sweep the place for anything unusual. Then, we're destroying it to lower the corruption. You're welcome to join us if you wish."
While Orchid, Thunder, and Eagle helped the Global Corruption Force with the church's sweeping, Eagle's weyekin sensed something unusual and flew from its partner's shoulder. The archer noted his guardian's behavior and followed until he found the bird.
"What's wrong?" Eagle spoke in Nez Perce. His guardian pointed its wing at the door. He opened it, revealing a set of wooden stairs leading to the unknown. He switched on a flashlight and descended the stairs, creaking beneath him. Once he reached the bottom, Eagle waved his light at the empty vault.
The metallic bird floated towards a double door. Eagle moved closer, only to retreat from a lingering foul odor. Once he collected himself, he turned the knob and opened the door. Eagle's eyes widened while uttering in his native language. Bodies wrapped in dried-blood blankets littered the floor with candles surrounding them, and blood-red crosses painted the walls.
Eagle explored the room when he shined his light on a closet door. He peeked inside, discovering three bodies, but bounded and gagged until one of them moved. Eagle approached the shifting body, revealing a woman with a gaunt frame. He nudged her slightly. The woman opened her eyes, showing a sea-green brilliance, and once she saw Eagle, she squirmed.
"Easy, now. I'm not here to hurt you," Eagle assured. "Will you allow me to take that tape off you?"
The woman nodded, though subtle. Eagle searched for the end piece of tape until he found it and peeled it off her lips. The woman spat out a piece of cloth stuffed in her mouth. "Who…who are you?"
"I'm Eagle, and you are?"
"Rita…Desjardin. Is George…and Sariel okay?"
Eagle nudged the two bodies, which moved. Like Rita, their frames showed nothing but skin and bones. They, too, freaked out once they saw Eagle until the archer convinced them he came to help. He sent his weyekin to fetch Orchid and the others while peeling the tapes off their mouths and cutting off the binds with a knife.
"Eagle, where are you?" Thunder called when the metal bird returned.
"Here!" he said as Orchid, Thunder, and a small group of soldiers arrived.
"I figured the Cult of Gargos were evil bastards, but this is absurd," a sergeant said while his comrades carried the victims out of the closet.
"Sergeant, this is Specialist Rainer, over," a transmitter spoke through the radio comm.
"Go ahead, over."
"My battle and I found a woman nailed at the far end. We're not sure if she's alive. You should come here, but I should warn you: words cannot describe how graphic this is."
"Copy that, Rainer. You and your battle stay at your position. We're on the way. Over."
They raced towards the far end of the room. Once there, everyone's eyes widened with some drawing crosses on themselves.
Nailed to a wooden cross was a woman, her body whipped and bleeding; only two strips of cloth covered her. Though her body shriveled, an unusual bump lingered around her stomach. A crown of thorns snugged on the girl's head, blood painting her hair. Blood oozed from a deep gash on her right side. Above her was a plaque written in a strange language.
"Sweet mother of Jesus…" the sergeant uttered.
Orchid flashed the light at the bloodied body and approached it. Believing that rescue came too late, she stretched her hand towards the woman's face until she gasped. Orchid stepped back. She's still alive! "Hello? Can you hear me?"
The woman opened her puffy eyes as Orchid's voice echoed. Her mouth moved, but no words emerged.
Orchid listened hard to make out the words: help me. She glanced at the nails lodged in the woman's hands and feet. "Do any of you have hammers with claw ends? We need to pry these nails off her."
"We don't carry hammers, but we have these." Rainer removed a vice-grip tool with metal tips from his gear pouch.
"They'll do." Orchid motioned Rainer and his partner on the platform.
Thunder removed his cloak and handed it to Orchid. "Here, have the poor girl covered."
While Orchid wrapped the cloak around the woman's body, Rainer and his friend clamped the nails with their tools.
"You're ready?" Rainer said as his partner gave a raised thumb. "On three, one…two…three!"
The soldiers gripped their tools and pulled, but the stubborn nails remained. Rainer and his companion repeated the method until the pegs showed signs of movement with blood leaking from the entry wound. Too weak to scream, the pain spread around the woman's hands. They removed the tacks with one more pull, allowing the woman's arms to drop and for Orchid to catch her.
The men worked on removing the nails from the woman's feet. Once they did, Orchid lay the girl on the floor. She pulled the thorny crown from the woman's head gently and tossed it away.
"Thunder, did you bring any Scrolls of Restore?" Orchid asked.
Nodding, Thunder extracted two rolled parchments from his bag and handed one to Eagle. As the brothers spoke the chants, the scrolls produced an energy cloak.
The woman became alert, if slightly, while the aura ate most of her injuries. "Where…where am I? Who…are you?"
"Shh, it'll be okay. We're getting you out of here," Orchid said. "Can you tell us your name?"
"S-Sue…Sue S-Snell…"
"What?" I don't believe it! Sue, as in one of the Black Prom survivors? "Hey, sergeant, had those explosives been planted already?"
"They should be. Why?"
"Once we leave, burn this place into the depths of Hell."
Orchid, Thunder, and Eagle sat in a break room inside the Global Corruption Force base, waiting on the results of the victims found at the church. The door opened as a nurse arrived.
"Ms. Desjardin, Mr. Dawson, and Mr. Brooks respond well with treatment and should be fine. As for Ms. Snell, she's fighting an uphill battle. Although those scrolls helped her, she's still critical, so she'll need intensive care, and there is something else. One of my colleagues did an ultrasound on her to check for internal damage and made a shocking discovery." The doctor handed Orchid an ultrasound picture.
The agent examined the image until a small gasp escaped her.
"Orchid?" Thunder said, but the agent stayed silent. He and Eagle glanced at the picture, their faces twisting to the same expression.
Orchid regained her senses after a paused trance. "How far along is Sue?"
"I'm guessing five-six months," the doctor stated. "The baby may not survive because of the trauma Ms. Snell endured, but we'll observe them."
"Okay. Well, we'll be heading to the Night Guard base. Is it okay if I keep the picture?"
"Sure. I'll keep you posted for any updates."
A/N: Quite the mission they participated but had the rescue come too late for Sue and her unborn child? Well, time for my brain to rest, so I'll see you later.