Chapter Three
The Once-ler and 38 appear in a deep rainforest. Monkies swing from branches and chitter in the trees. The sound of a river isn't too far off, and the air smells clean and innocent.
"Well, let's get to work." 38 pats Once-ler on the back. Hard.
"What are we doing?"
"There's a drug cartel lord and we're gonna kill him."
"Kill?"
"I didn't bring him a damn cake, Once-ler, what do you think we're supposed to do with him? Now, get your axe ready. Now's as good a time as any to tell you: you can be shot all day-"
"SHOT!?"
"Did you think they were going to play a game of cards with you for this? Hell no. They're going to shoot at you. They're going to try to kill you. But we know something they don't. They can't kill you. Not without removing your heart first, but shut up. We have to take care of this and we've already lollygagged around enough."
After a bit of walking and Once-ler slicing through vines with his axe, they reach a sprawling compound nestled in the rainforest. Just as 38 predicted, they were met with a hail-fire of bullets. Once-ler screams and darts behind a tree while 38 laughs, draws a long-barreled gun with a wooden handle under the barrel and begins firing back, not caring as their stream of bullets hit her. Black blood flies everywhere and shell casings hit the ground. After a few minutes, 38 has shot down the front guards. She goes to the tree and pulls Once-ler out by his collar. She slaps him.
"Don't hide like that, again. You're immortal, remember?" He nods, his hand on his cheek. "You have an axe. Chop them up like a fuckin' barbarian, Once-ler!" The two of them progress into the villa and are beset upon by more guards. 38 begins firing and, with trembling hands, Once-ler takes his axe from his back and begins swinging wildly at the shooters. Then it hits him. A stray bullet. He feels it burn its way through his body and out his back, leaving a large exit-wound. Pain radiates through him and he drops to his knees. 38 grabs him by the shoulder. "Stand up! Keep fighting!" Once-ler feels a strange tingling in his back and chest and, can see through the hole it blew in his green tuxedo that his wounds are healing rapidly.
"She was telling the truth. That hurt like hell, but I'm alive." Filled with a new confidence, Once-ler begins swinging wide, taking out more and more guards, ignoring the pain and blood-loss he was suffering and, secretly, enjoying the tingling feeling of his body regenerating. Finally, they reach the master of the drug cartel's house. He looks to the two of them and fires. 38 takes the shot and keeps walking to him.
"Stay back. I want this one." She chuckles. He fires again. And again. He fires until the gun simply clicks. "Aww. Are we out of ammunition?" He puts the gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger. "That's not going to work. Now, go to Hell like the scum you are." She draws her large gun and fires, striking him in the head and turning it into a pink mist. His headless body falls to the ground and blood drenches the yellow marble on the floor of his office. In the background, Once-ler leans against the wall, vomiting. The whole thing had been too much on his stomach.
"Come on, Once-ler. Let's go." He nods and the two of them Blink back to head quarters.
After they arrive, 38 turns to Once-ler. "I have one more thing to show you. Come on." He follows her down a blinding white hallway identicle to the one that 86 and Sylvester walked down until she stops at a strange-looking door. It reads: "E-6, THE ONCE-LER" on a brass plate. "These," she says, "are your personal quarters. The inside is whatever you want it to be. You can sleep, bathe, do whatever. Just don't try to eat or drink. You can't do that any more."
"So, I have my own room here?"
"All of us do. You-and by you, I mean all Endret Operators like you-have a bed and a bathroom to wash up. Since my clothes are part of me and I don't sleep, mine's just...well, let's say I don't have a bed or a bathroom."