In the slums of Lungmen as the sky spat out all the water it seemed to hold into the cold city night, a group of infected children ran through the desolate and ruined streets, zigzagging between the concrete blocks from the collapsing buildings around them. An entire section of the city, whose only purpose was to leave the city's infected to rot there until they died of their disease. The L.G.D. was doing a great job of making sure that no infected people got out... But it often happened that anti-infected rioters more or less voluntarily slipped through the net...
This gave rise to the present situation: a small group of infected children who were running away from a group of wild rioters whose only goal was to satisfy their violent impulses towards the oripathy patients, adults or not. Leading the group was a young ursus dressed in black, leading the younger children behind her. Her breath was heavy and her breathing was becoming more and more difficult and painful much too fast... But the reason for her lack of stamina was reminded every time she looked at her left leg or her torso where the originium crystals were blooming on her body like plants after winter.
Child: Misha! They're gaining on us!
Her eyes between ash gray and blue quickly turned to the rioters who were chasing them and realizing that the children were about to lose precious time the girl's brain started to accelerate at full speed until an idea came to her. Speeding up their race one last time the young ursus turned left into an alley with the other children following in her footsteps.
Misha: Hurry over here!
Rioter: There they are! Follow them! Let's see how long those filthy infected can run!
Looking quickly down the alley she could see a crack in one of the walls big enough to fit through. Misha led them through it one by one, leaving them to take shelter in the building's flaw.
Misha: Hurry! Hide!
Child: But Misha, where are you going to go?
Misha: I- I have to do something...
Seeming to look in her pockets for a second or two, the young ursin picked up a kind of small doll made of wood and cloth and handed it to the child who was closest.
Misha: Here. This is a protection charm. My mother taught me how to make them... This one I made, when you make these dolls by hand you can keep the ones you love safe... Take this one. It will keep you safe.
The child, though hesitant, took the gift from the young ursine and dyed it firmly in her hand.
Misha: Good luck.
She said with a smile before standing up.
Child: Big sister Misha wait!
The ursin did not listen to the children and instead pulled a dumpster with her ursus strength and camouflaged the crack in which the children had taken refuge, but no sooner had she finished her effort than she heard footsteps coming from behind her in the alley. She turned in that direction and with horror she noticed that the protesters had caught up with her, broken bottles, lead pipes and crowbars in their hands.
Rioter 1: There she is!
Rioter 2: Kick his ass!
As the rioter at the head of the group began to run towards her, raising his weapon, the young ursus panicked and without a moment's hesitation called upon the new power she had been holding for several weeks. Suddenly she felt the crystals on her body causing her immense pain and growing on her skin. Her pupils turned red and she felt her heart beat faster and faster as more blood and oxygen was delivered to her muscles. Taking a deep breath, the girl began to run at extreme speed straight towards the protester, passing under his sword arm as quickly as an arrow from a crossbow. The other rioters saw that the girl was trying to escape and tried to block her, but the girl bent her legs and jumped up to three meters high without any difficulty before landing behind the line of protesters before running back into the alley. Shocked by such a sight, the criminals didn't know what to do, but the one who seemed to be the leader, humiliated at having let a child escape from him, held out his weapon towards the street.
Rioter: What are you still doing here waiting?! Run after him!
The other rioters started to run after Misha, but the leader stayed in the alley, sensing that something was wrong. He looked around to see that there were marks on the ground, as if something had scratched against the concrete. He analyzed the marks a little more carefully and noticed that they stopped where the dumpster was. Connecting the pieces of information together, the rioter's mind lit up and with great physical effort he pushed the dumpster aside to immediately see the children behind it screaming in fear. The rioter grabbed one of them by the hand and lifted it high enough by his hand to prevent the boy from trying to walk or run, then pointed his gun at the rest of the children.
Rioter: Hey, I found them!
K*child: Bad! You are all bad!
Rioter: Stop fighting and tell me where she went!
Child: Misha! Misha big sister, help!
Rioter: Shut up!
Just as he was about to raise his hand to strike the child he heard another voice calling to him in the alley.
?: Hey you!
He looked up at the other end of the alley to see a young cautus with brown hair and azure blue eyes standing only a few feet away from him.
Amiya: Let go of that child!
When he looked at the girl as instinctively the armed man's eyes went to her wrists spotting the black crystallizations on her wrists and understanding that Amiya was also an infected. Then the man's mind filled with disgust and rage as the grip on his weapon tightened.
Rioter: Let's see what you're made of, you infected.
The villain threw the child he was holding to the ground as if he were little more than a sack of potatoes and began to approach the cautus with death in his eyes, the girl perfectly still. Then suddenly as he raised his weapon to shoot the girl, he felt a tap on his left shoulder. The startled man turned his head behind him to see a six-foot tall, intimidating man.
Rioter: But-!
Unfortunately for him the man was cut off by a punch to the face from the giant causing him to stagger forward a few steps and plunging him into confusion as he had his brain shaken inside his skull. Thus he could not counter or prevent the kick from the cautus on the side of his knee. So fast, that the attack seemed invisible to him and so strong that the bones connecting his knee broke in thousand pieces. The man tried to cry out in pain but was once again stopped by the giant who gave a blow with the side of his hand crushing the vocal cords of his enemy. Hardly did he receive the attack of the giant that Amiya gave an uppercut to the plexus of the rioter breaking him some ribs and making him lower his head.
A final mistake for him.
In perfect coordination the two leaders of Rhodes Island gave at the same time a back kick in the skull of the rioter fracturing both sides of the skull at the same time. Putting their foot down at the same time, the child molester collapsed on the cold and dirty concrete bleeding profusely from his eyes and nose.
This fight, if you can call it that, had not even lasted two seconds. The doctor looked up from the body on the ground to the cautus and raised his hand wide open to let Amiya slap him five times as if to congratulate each other on their coordinated action, a smile forming on the girl's lips. But hearing footsteps of people running towards them, the giant and the cautus turned to the street that had just served as an escape for the young ursus to see that the rest of the rioters were there.
Sebastian: They are getting closer, I have to stop.
Amiya: Hm. I have the situation under control.
Protester: What the hell are you doing here?!
Amiya: You should run away right now if you know what's good for you.
Protester: What the hell!
The cautus raised her hand towards the anti-infected and began to conjure her arts. Dark matter formed in her hand resembling a ball of amorphous black and red energy as if the matter absorbed all the surrounding light, then as the projectile finished charging a black diamond appeared on the back of the cautus as strands of energy ran down the cautus' arm.
At the sight of such a sight, the protesters across the street were paralyzed with fear at the arts. Even though Sebastian was familiar with the condition of the infected outside of Rhodes Island, he was still surprised that the arts were far less common in the outside world... Amiya fired the projectile at the lead pipe held by one of the rioters to see it reduced to black and red ash that also disappeared into thin air, then she loaded another projectile and aimed it at her enemies.
Manifestor 1: Arts! E-she uses arts!
The one who had just lost his weapon ran away in terror from the power of the cautus.
Protester 2: Aaaaargh! Don't come any closer!
Protester 3: You monster!
One by one the rioters ran away as Amiya calmed his arts before looking at his hand with a bitter smile on his face.
Amiya: A monster huh...
She was thrown out of her thoughts as she felt a familiar hand pass through her hair. Reassured and giving the man a smile, the girl turned to the child who had been hiding behind the dumpster with the others during the confrontation. She approached the children with both hands in front of her showing that she had no ill intentions.
Amiya: It's okay. You can come out.
The children, reassured by the actions of the cautus, came out of their hiding place.
Amiya: It's dangerous here, you should hurry up and find a safe place.
Child 1: Thank you, ma'am!
Child 2: And be careful!
The group of children set off running through the streets under the benevolent eye of the doctor and Amiya. Then after a while the giant turned his head towards the young woman.
Sebastian: Madam?
Amiya: Are you surprised?
Sebastian: You don't seem to be much taller than them.
He said with a mocking smile on his lips that Amiya managed to see instinctively through the heavy helmet. Amiya didn't have time to prepare a good answer to the provocation of this dear doctor because she heard footsteps approaching them at a run. The two of them turned in the direction of the main street and they could see a red haired vulpo coming out of it, before putting her hands on her knees, sweating and breathing heavily the two other members of Rhodes Island recognized her easily.
She raised her head and shouted at the two Rhodes Island leaders.
Franka: How can you run so fast?
Amiya: I am a cautus.
Sebastian: I have long legs.
Franka: Doctor, we are supposed to escort you so why are you running so fast?
Amiya: It's not the doktah's fault. I saw that these children were in danger so I had to act, he just came to help me...
Franka: Mh... You were lucky that you only got one person and that Amiya can beat easily...
Sebastian: I know... 'I could kill ten thousand of them like that without a scratch...' Where is Liskarm?
As soon as he asked his question, he could see a smirk on Liskarm's lips.
Franka: She's just too small to be able to run as fast as me...
She said with a shrug.
?: Say that again and I'll cut off that filthy thing on your back that you dare to call a tail.
Another young woman came out of the alleyway, a vulture this time, making Franka jump with fear.
Liskarm: And no, I didn't come after you because I can't run fast enough but because YOU let me face the rioters alone...
Franka: What? Were you afraid that you couldn't do something so trivial as fighting?
Liskarm: Listen to me carefully, little me-
Sebastian: You girls can settle your childish quarrel later. We have a job to do.
The two members of Blacksteel came to their senses and stopped their staring contest and anger.
Liskarm: Sorry, doctor.
Sebastian: Have you seen a young ursus girl? Infected, probably unregistered.
Franka: Yes. She was going deeper into the slums.
Sebastian: Thank you Franka.
Franka: You're welcome~
Amiya: Doktah, gather the operators nearby.
The giant nodded and after a second of silence the three operators around him felt their communicators vibrate as they received a notification that had just been sent to the whole group.
Franka: But how do you do that...
Liskarm: Arts...?
Sebastian: I have a computer chip connected to my spine.
Suddenly, Liskarm's communication line went off and the vulture concentrated on her earpiece for a few seconds.
Liskarm: Doctor, the LGD on line 3.
The doctor used the neural chip he had attached to his neck to tap into the communications.
Sebastian: Madam Ch'en?
Ch'en: Doctor, I have new information about the target. We are looking for a young Ursus girl, white hair, five feet tall, infected. Named Misha.
Amiya's eyes widened as she heard the girl's description through her earpiece, as did the doctor's.
Amiya: This is...
Ch'en: You are to abandon all further research and go after this infected girl immediately and bring her back to the L.G.D. at the designated extraction point.
Amiya: Madam Ch'en can I have confirmation of this order?
Ch'en: The order is one hundred percent valid.
Amiya: Good...
Sebastian: We are pursuing the objective, over.
He switched the line of communication.
Sebastian: To all units, our target is a young infected ursus, with white hair, about one meter forty, and alive.
He said before cutting the communication line with the chip on his neck.
Sebastian: Well... On the way...
He says his tone of voice tired.
Amiya: Are you ok doktah?
Sebastian: I can't even drink coffee with this shit.
He finishes his sentence by flicking the metal. Hearing the good doctor complain Franka started to walk beside him with a smirk on her face and her arm moved to the doctor's helmet to caress the metal with her gloves.
Franka: Come on doctor... You can take it off... I wonder what beautiful face is hidden behind this bauble~
Behind their backs they didn't see Amiya's jealous face or even that of the vouivre who seemed slightly bitter...
The doctor sighed and moved his hand to pull Franka's arm away from him.
Sebastian: There's nothing very interesting to see down there.
He said, walking slowly to make sure the others followed him through the streets of the slum.
Amiya: 'Obviously he doesn't know that he won the contest of the most beautiful man of Rhodes Island...'
Franka: Heh? That's not what Vanilla and Jessica told us...
Suddenly the doctor remembered that former members of Blacksteel were on Rhodes Island, operators who had seen him fight and without his helmet, and then a drop of cold sweat ran down his neck.
Sebastian: O-oh you know them?
Liskarm: Yes. Jessica used to test a lot of our equipment at Blacksteel, and Vanilla was known for breeding originium slugs...
Sebastian: I'm surprised they mentioned me.
Liskarm: Vanilla was just telling me that things have improved a lot in RI since you were there, and that you were strangely amnesiac and rather handsome...
Amiya: 'Who does she think she is, I'm going to put a few more hours on her schedule at the factory...'
Sebastian: And Jessica?
Franka: That you scare her terribly...
Sebastian: What?
Liskarm: Franka!
Franka: What? I'm just being honest...
Sebastian: Am I that scary...?
Amiya: Doktah... Do you remember what happened last Friday with Aketon's delivery?
The doctor looked up trying to remember what happened that day.
As Jessica and Snowsant were talking in a dormitory, the front door burst open and the doctor was seen to be in a rage, his eyes turning blood red and lightning flashing through his body.
Sebastian: Who took care of the aketon delivery?! A crate was broken, do you know how long it takes me to get it? !
He yelled at the top of his lungs so loudly that the windows in the room shook. Jessica's eyes turned completely white and she fell to the floor screaming with foam coming out of her mouth.
Sebastian: I remember she had a heart attack that day and I did CPR on her...
Amiya: She was the one who took care of the delivery...
Sebastian: Oh dear... Now I understand better... But seriously, am I that scary?
Amiya: Pretty much yes...
The giant felt an arrow going through his heart and lowered his head in disappointment.
Sebastian: What a miserable life...
Amiya: Hey hey... Don't worry dokutah... You will never scare me no matter what happens... The more desperate he is the more I can comfort him...'
She said, rubbing her hand along the giant's back.
Sebastian: Thank you Amiya...
Liskarm: Mrs. Amiya... I was wondering, is Dr. Sebastian your father?
Upon hearing this the two leaders of Rhodes Island were startled and Amiya started to blush slightly.
Amiya: N-no, actually there is not much of an age difference between the two of us...
The four people finished crossing the alley and arrived in a wider street. The buildings were already in better condition, but they too were abandoned or so it seemed. But Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks, dragging the others with him. The street was deserted, and cars were parked by the curbs along the length of the street. The doctor looked carefully down the street. Then after a second he was startled and took his hands out of his pockets, turning his head quickly towards the cautus.
Sebastian: Amiya barrier!
The girl didn't hesitate for a second and within a tenth of a second the black energy barrier was erected in front of the group as all the cars in the street exploded one by one creating a huge ball of flame and shockwave that threatened to engulf the members of Rhodes Island as the cautus struggled to secure her barrier the effort costing her a lot of her energy... But when the ball of flame descended Amiya stopped her arts so soon and soon the four characters were preparing for battle when they saw that armed infected surrounded them and took over the streets around them.
Sebastian: The meeting...
said the doctor through gritted teeth as the others prepared their attacks with tension.
Liskarm: Are you sure, doctor? They don't wear the uniform.
Sebastian: Casters... The same weapons, the same tactics and the same explosives... It's them. Prepare for battle. Watch out sniper on top of the building at the end of the street.
Amiya: Back off doktah. We're on it.
Sebastian: All units, proceed to the scene of the explosion, immediate backup needed.
He says through the radio before taking a few steps back to disappear into the shadows, becoming completely invisible as if he wasn't there at all.
Amiya: But we still have to kill more of the infected...
As an enemy soldier ran at full speed towards her Amiya dodged the move in a flash by ducking down and firing her art projectile at point blank range from the torso of the infected, exploding his entire torso and killing him instantly. The cautus took a deep breath and charged towards the soldiers of the meeting running faster than a crossbow bolt. Art and other physical projectiles flew at her but she dodged them all with reflexes and agility that commanded respect.
R.M: Kill her!
When she spotted what appeared to be the captain of the troops, she didn't need to think about it, she redirected her course towards him, who was on top of a wrecked car. A logger seemed to emerge from where he was hidden to stand right in front of Amiya before bringing his axe down on her. But unfortunately for Amiya's enemy, he launched his attack too early and the axe stuck in the ground right in front of the cautus without even touching it, breaking the concrete on the ground. The girl did not stop her run and used the weapon planted in the ground as a platform, she walked along the weapon and used the skull of the logger as a springboard to jump, fracturing the helmet of the soldier of the meeting and killing him on the spot because of his impressive strength. She jumped on several meters in height as in length avoiding the projectiles in the air, at the moment when Amiya was in range of attack of the enemy captain she gave a blow of turned over feet in full air, her foot landing on the side of the skull of the soldier of the meeting killing this last one on the spot because of the attack. Taking advantage of the momentum she had lost with her kick she landed back on the ground with ease before looking around to see that the other members of the meeting were beginning to surround her. Just as she thought she was stuck she saw a construction crane that was standing in the street fall towards her. The horizontal part of the crane crashed to the ground as if it had been ripped off the other part, raising a cloud of dust and strangely providing access to the you for the cautus. Amiya far from being stupid, understood well that this was far from being a chance and that her guardian angel was watching over her. Taking advantage of its speed well beyond the common of the former she climbed on the crane which had crashed to run all along and to find itself on the roof. Almost as soon as she got behind her where all the meeting troops were gathered, a red barrel fell in the middle of the meeting troops and then a shot rang out as the barrel exploded taking out dozens of enemies in the fireball. When Amiya reached the end of the crane she turned around to see that the groups of infected continued to chase her like endless hordes of zombies, they too were gradually climbing the crane to chase her but understanding that she just had a corridor to shoot them down without difficulty Amiya began to hum a particular song to her heart and she felt her arts increase in power due to the effect of the song. She concentrated one of her black arts projectiles which took much less time to charge and fired in the direction of the meeting troops. They fell one by one like flies. But their numbers didn't seem to end, soon the effect of her chant faded and her attacks became slower and slower, and as she saw the casters below starting to prepare their attacks on her, she started to run on the roofs of the buildings to avoid the shots that started to rain down on her. Then suddenly after jumping from one roof to another she saw members of the meeting with automatic crossbows who also noticed her. There was a blank second, and then the cautus became frightened knowing how deadly the weapons in front of her were. She jumped to the side and threw herself behind a thick ventilation duct for cover. Dozens and dozens of arrows shot into the steel of the ventilation duct in Amiya's back, she even felt one graze one of her cautus ears that was already lying on top of her head. Then as Amiya was thinking she heard something split the air. Her eyes were automatically drawn to where the noise was coming from and she could see a metal cable moving at high speed right above her. Surprised, she lowered her head a little more, and the wire passed over her and crashed into the snipers in the meeting, slicing them in half. Like a hot wire cutting through butter she turned in the direction of the cable only to see a tall figure disappear into the shadows. But Amiya didn't have time to think any further when she saw an enemy leap over the building she was in and land on the edge of the roof right in front of her.
R.M.: There she is!
He didn't have time to finish his sentence when he received two crossbow bolts in succession in the chest before falling to his death below. Amiya got up and turned to see Kroos and Adnachiel on the roof a little further away. She noticed that they began to move in an orderly and confident manner, signaling that the doctor was giving them commands through the PRTS radio. Thinking of the wolf, she heard her radio connect and heard the doctor's voice through the device.
Sebastian: Come down from the roofs. We need you down there.
Amiya: Copy that.
The cautus ran to the ledge and jumped off the roof, landing about ten meters below, shattering the concrete all around her.
Dobermann: Get out of my way!
At the last moment the cautus bent down sensing the danger and narrowly dodged the whip of the perro that crashed into a troop of the meeting sending them flying away. Amiya got up and looked at the instructor in a panic, the perro giving her the same kind of look, noticing that she had almost attacked her boss. When the cautus felt the wind through her hair she jumped forward to dodge a machete blow she was about to receive in the back. But immediately Yato stood right in front of Amiya, blocking another attack from the meeting soldier before she herself attacked him with her katana, her speed allowing her to slit his throat so quickly that the poor infected had no time to react.
Amiya looked around to see that the reinforcements had arrived. Her blood froze even as a series of explosions rang out over the soldiers of the W's signature explosive meeting in which Lappland threw himself into the flames without a moment's hesitation to begin hacking away at his enemies. Literally... Legs, arms, heads and everything else that was too complicated to identify flew in all directions, one head even falling at Amiya's feet as the lupo laughed in his madness. Little by little the troops of the meeting began to reduce in number to finally put themselves in an obvious position of defeat... When a wave of defenders tried to approach Rhodes Island the alleys collapsed on the soldiers of the meeting mysteriously, when troops of dogs approached through screens of smoke, the vanguards had already received the order to position themselves in front of their lances in lines to stop the packs, when casters or snipers fired from the roofs they started to disappear one by one.
Sebastian had adopted the strategy of launching a large-scale confrontation from the beginning against the meeting to avoid having to confront them every 15 meters in the slums and to be able to destabilize them before he invested too much presence. Even though he was an expert in guerrilla warfare, he unfortunately knew too little about the terrain to use these tactics here, so he thought that fighting the meeting in a more armed vs. armed way was the most intelligent thing to do in this case.
And so, after a long confrontation Exusiai fired the last shot and the whole battlefield fell into silence except for the heavy breathing of the operators who were more exhausted than ever. Amiya looked around, ignoring the slight cut on the side of her head, to realize that there was not a single enemy left. And just as soon, through everyone's radios, the doctor's voice rang out again.
Sebastian: Confrontation over, well done everyone.
Laughter of relief, smiles and sighs went through everyone as the wounds were tended by the medics. The troops gathered around waiting for the doctor to return and chatting. except for one lupo who didn't seem to be mixing with the group and seemed to have noticed something in the fight, she looked left and right before grunting and stamping her foot in impatience, her wounds still there, having refused the help of a medic several times. The exhausted W sat down on a piece of concrete and let out a slight laugh of fatigue, Andreanna doing the same next to her while checking the state of her sniper. She put her grenade launcher down behind her and ran a hand through her hair as she was distracted by a lupo from Penguin Logistics sitting next to her, the lupo pulled a box out of one of her pockets and tapped the cardboard to slip a long, thin object into her mouth.
Texas: Do you want some?
W: Gladly thank you...
Without looking the sarkaz took one of the objects of the box before slipping it in her mouth, laughing slightly and she took out a lighter of one of her pockets to approach it of her mouth and took out the flame. Opening her eyes and noticing the looks of the Aegir and the lupo who looked at her as if she had just bitten into an originium slug. The sarkaz looked at her mouth to notice that it was not a cigarette she was trying to light in her mouth, but a chocolate cookie.
Texas: I'm trying to quit...
W: Huh... this will do the trick too...
Andreanna: Pfff... Pwahahahahahah!
W: Stop laughing at me old octopus!
Said she as she punched the aegir who was sitting on the floor.
Andreanna: What? Are you still pissed that the doc banned you from smoking? You know it's not good in combination with your oripathy.
W: Seriously you're not going to start, I don't have a single second of respite with him!
She said while screaming remembering how her addiction had disappeared...
W: Really? No one else was available?
She said as she pulled her sweater over her body, sitting on the medical bed and visibly upset, a vein on her forehead. She looked at the doctor in front of her to direct her eyes to Sebastian... The latter wearing a white coat with his usual clothes and holding a notepad in his hand.
Sebastian: Would you have preferred Shining?
W: Another sarkaz? No way.
Sebastian: Sussuro?
W: She fainted when she tried to do it last time.
Sebastian: Gavial ?
W: We had a knife fight two weeks ago.
Sebastian: Hibiscus, Ansel?
W: They can barely do a stitch.
Sebastian: Myrrh ?
W: Who?
Sebastian: Kal ?
W: You're a comedian... She's been trying to kill me ever since I told her I was glad you two weren't together...
Sebastian: Well, there you go. You're a fucking pest, so don't complain about being fired by the medics. But I reassure you, I'm not happy to take care of you either...
W: I don't even need these exams anyway... And I don't even know what you risk to do to me with your old pervert hands...
Sebastian: You're even less healthy than I was when I came out of the freezer. And believe me, I prefer to keep my hands to myself than to put them on that...
He says while pointing his notepad towards the young woman.
W: So Mr. "DoCtEuR" Sebastian, what do we do about my condition.
Sebastian: I'm a doctor, you two-bit cockroach, and you want to be healthier? That's easy. Stop smoking, stop eating shit, stop drinking so much alcohol and most of all take your fucking oripathy treatment, it's not for mutts.
W: Is that it? Because I'm telling you straight up I don't give a shit.
Sebastian: I'm saying that but mostly for the smoke. You've already got your right lung almost completely crystallized so let's not make it worse, shall we?
W: I really want to smoke one right now...
The doctor sighed, the air getting harder to breathe and hotter in the room indicating his growing irritation.
Sebastian: I'm warning you right now W, if you try to play dumb with me you will lose.
The young woman laughed slightly and took out a pack of cigarette of her pocket, which disappeared as soon as she had taken it out. Stressed, she looked at the doctor's hand to see that he was holding the pack, then the man channeled his energy into the palm of his hand, and the object was reduced to ashes there.
Sebastian: Good. It starts from now on. You can't smoke anymore.
And from this moment on... Everywhere...
In operation in the desert.
The young woman sat down on a ratchet after facing a wave of enemies and put a cigarette in her mouth, but the object was snatched away by the doctor's hand before being reduced to ashes.
On purchase...
A red-horned sarkaz placed a wad of LMD on a counter and the vampiric sarkaz in front of her, smiling with the lure of money, placed a packet of the precious tobacco in front of the other sarkaz. But soon that smile broke down and was replaced by fright as she looked at something behind W. The mercenary turned to see that the doctor was standing behind her with his arms crossed. Closure put the wad of cash back on the counter and picked up the pack of cigarettes to put them away with a false smile on her lips.
Or even in the most private of settings...
The sarkaz went back to her quarters, her most precious object on her, looking left and right, she locked the front door. Then she walked to her bathroom and checking once again that no one was there she entered the room and locked the door. She stood on the sink and unhooked the smoke detector, then sat down on the toilet and took out her precious merchandise to put a cigarette in her mouth with a sigh of relief. But when she opened her eyes again to light it. She met emerald eyes looking directly into hers. There it was... Hanging upside down and having gone through a slab in the ceiling. The sarkaz sighed and held out the object of her addiction.
W: It is good you won...
Andreanna: You know considering how much he cares for you, maybe he does have a crush on you W...
W: Stop. Those kind of jokes work on you or Exia. But not on me. I hate him and he just hates me. The only reason he doesn't kill me is because it's in his contract to take care of the operators. So there will never be anything between us.
Andreanna: Never say never. You say there will never be anything with him and unknowingly next month you'll say you want a bunch of demon babies with him while he'll be thrilled to have you around...
W: Tch. He could never handle children.
Andreanna: See? That means you've already thought about it.
W: Keep your fantasies to yourself, Andie.
Andreanna: Okay okay...
Suddenly the white lupo exploded with impatience and turned to Exusiai who had just joined the group.
Lappland: Exia where is he?
Exusiai: E-eh?! Who are you talking about?
Lappland: The doctor! He's the only one who didn't fight!
Said the lupo screaming with anger. Of course, she had not seen the guardian angel who was watching from the shadows, giving little helpings here and there unlike the others.
Liskarm: But of course he didn't fight, he is not supposed to be a fighter...
RI Operators: 'But of course...'
They all thought at the same time.
Franka: Where did he go? I haven't seen him since the fight started.
Sebastian: Here.
All the operators were surprised by the doctor's hoarse voice coming from a dead-end alley, but there was nothing there. Then the streetlight that illuminated this alley began to flicker hieratically and when the alley was plunged into total darkness, Sebastian appeared when the light came back on and everyone was shocked to see him. Not because of his appearance, which was almost like magic, but because of his appearance as such. Every square inch of his coat was covered with a crimson liquid, and when the smell of iron reached the operators, they all realized that it wasn't gooseberry juice he was covered with, but fresh blood. Liskarm felt sick to his stomach at the sight, but the other Rhodes Island operators were used to this kind of sight, because they knew better than anyone that the doctor was far from being kind to the soldiers of the meeting.
Franka: What the hell happened to you doc?
Sebastian: I fell into a pool of blood while hiding.
Franka: Really?
The doctor turned his head towards her and immediately she understood that it was much better for her not to ask any questions.
Franka: Okay...
Sebastian: You wanted to see me, Lapp?
He said as only about ten centimeters separated them now, all the senses of the lupo being corrupted because of all the blood.
Lappland: Where have you been?! Did we fight while you stayed in the shelter?
The doctor was starting to grow quite annoyed with the lupo. Picking on his donkey had already earned him his hatred, but the combination of not being able to fight openly alongside his soldiers and the lupo's disrespect was enough to make the doctor want to shove his thumbs in his eyes and crush them.
But once again he had to restrain his most animal and destructive desires, which reminded him when he felt that his canines had lengthened to be ready to tear the flesh of his enemies.
Sebastian: If you're not happy with the way things are here, get out or shut up.
It was getting later and later in the night and the doctor's politeness was starting to be lacking, which shocked the usual Rhodes Island operators who were only too used to the doctor's vile personality.
The lupo had a smile on her lips inspiring defiance. She looked at the giant and her right hand brushed the pommel of one of his swords.
Lappand: Do you want to deal with this problem now?
Sebastian: No... Fight me, damn it! Rip his fucking head off and beat him to death with his own spine before removing every bone in his body with your hands!
Amiya: Doktah...
He was stopped in his violent thoughts by the hand of the cautus pulling on the fabric of his coat.
Amiya: Don't do that...
He blinked, his pupils turning green again without him realizing it, he lowered his shoulders, calming himself with a sigh and looked at the girl.
Sebastian: Thank you Amiya. Hibiscus, take care of the street dog! Come on everyone, pack up your things, I know where the target is! The dawn is still far!
He said as he walked through the operators, the rain slowly washing the blood off the doctor's coat.
Lappland: I'm the street bitch?
The lupo was surprised at the lack of respect as she felt a soothing green aura run down her body as her wounds closed and her oripathy crystals stopped hurting in an instant. The operators took up their weapons and moved from their watch positions, following the doctor as he walked through the streets without saying a word.
Sebastian: Madam Ch'en, this is the doctor, we have found the target. She has taken refuge in a disused warehouse in sector L10. Meeting forces are standing guard.
Ch'en: Copy that, doctor. Rendezvous point with L.G.D. at the intersection of Cho Chan Street and Sixteenth Avenue.
Sebastian: Copy that.
Swire: Hey Hoshi, what do you bet on?
Hoshiguma: Ten on ten.
Swire: Really?
Hoshiguma: Yeah. You don't know what's behind that coat, but I bet we'll be pleasantly surprised.
Swire: Come on, he's a lab tech, he's a four by ten, don't make me think he's got an ass like a god-
Ch'en: Swire, Hoshiguma, avoid using the L.G.D. public frequency
Swire: Wait what?!
Sebastian: Correction Ms. Ch'en, this is the public frequency all the way.
There was a silence through the Rhodes Island operators, some holding back laughter, others shocked to hear these things coming out of the L.G.D.'s mouths, and the silence was even more aplomb through the radio.
Hoshiguma: S-sorry...
The doctor sighed more tired than ever and continued his walk with Amiya at his side.
Amiya: I had a better picture of the L.G.D...
Sebastian: Me too...
Exusiai: I would have said eleven...
2:00 AM
W: How much further is it ?
Exusiai: It's just around the corner here if I remember correctly...
Sebastian: Stop complaining, unless you want me to carry you?
W: Tch.
Sebastian: Well...
Dobermann: Doctor, is the L.G.D. at the meeting point?
The doctor paused for a second and seemed to concentrate before giving his answer.
Sebastian: Hm. Only Swire is missing. But I think she is approaching further.
Dobermann: Anything more?
Sebastian: You're asking too much, Dobbe... It's like trying to spot a particular bee in the middle of a hive. By hearing.
Dobermann: D-doctor! I told you not to call me that around others...
She said, trying to hide her embarrassment and when she turned to the operators she usually trained, they were laughing, but they were afraid if she saw them.
Sebastian: I like it, I think it's cute...
Amiya: 'way too many...'
Dobermann: I like it, but not when the others are near...
She said in a low voice so that only the doctor could hear her and turned her face in a direction where nobody could see how red her cheeks were. Although the fact that her dog ears were wagging energetically gave a good indication of her current state attracting a few jealous glances here and there... Not missing to make Texas and Lappland react.
Texas/Lappland: 'But how does he have so much effect on the others?
As if endowed with a super-power, it was true that Sebastian had an irresistible charm... plot
And after turning into one of the streets with the ruined buildings, the group of Rhodes Island found themselves born with the L.G.D. whose team of Swire had just arrived.
Ch'en: Finally. Madame Amiya, Doctor.
The two leaders of Rhodes Island nodded to the lung in greeting.
Sebastian: Mrs. Ch'en, Mrs. Hoshiguma...
Hoshiguma: You can drop the madam doc...
Said the oni with a laugh that did not fail to make the doctor smile under his mask.
Sebastian: And Mrs... Swirler?
Swire: SWIRE!
Sebastian: Meh.
Ch'en: Are you sure the target is in there?
The lung said as she stepped aside to let the warehouse be seen in the distance, in front of which was an endless pack of meeting troops...
Sebastian: I saw the lens go in when I was in a high position... And even though it's a lot of people to guard an old warehouse that is useless.
Ch'en: I see... The question is, how do we get in?
Hoshiguma: There are still members of the meeting in the city...
Sebastian: Of course there are...
Hoshiguma: I don't know, with all the noise on the other side of the slums you'd think you killed half of them...
All the L.G.D. troops turned to the Rhodes Island troops.
Sebastian: At least we didn't run into any the rest of the way...
Ch'en: That was quite a fight, are you sure you're okay on your side?
Sebastian: Everyone's in one piece. So we're fine. The troops from the meeting are still in the area with the commotion we had. If we attack now it would be a while before they could bring in reinforcements.
Ch'en: My question remains the same.
Ch'en crossed his arms and turned in the direction of the warehouse, looking at the meeting forces in the distance. Perhaps they could have arrived earlier if Sebastian had not decided to launch a full-scale confrontation. But what was done was done. Amiya, Hoshiguma, Swire and Dobermann all did the same.
Amiya: Going in by force doesn't seem like a good idea...
Hoshiguma: Who knows. Putting the defenders on the front line with the medics, all the casters and snipers on the rooftops as support and the rest through the alleys to catch the meeting forces at the back will work.
Dobermann: They have mortars... We were able to get rid of them on our side by taking cover and sending our vanguards to deal with them.
Sebastian walked away.
Swire: So we send our vanguards?
Ch'en: Even if we join Rhodes and the L.G.D. they'll be cut to pieces by the drones.
Amiya: Then the only option left is finesse.
Hoshiguma: I'll leave it there. The best I can offer is a good diversion.
Swire: It's true that finesse is not your best.
Dobermann: What are the entry points?
Ch'en: We could have our diversion and rappel up through the roof.
Dobermann: So an elite commando to go up to the assault and the rest on the diversion.
Amiya: That would be ideal. Now the question is, who stays?
Swire: I can stay here with mint leaf, like the rest of the L.G.D. troops.
Amiya: It would also be wiser for the Rhodes teams to stay here. There are too many of us to be effective in infiltration. But I'll go too.
Hoshiguma: I should stay too, I'd be a great help here.
Ch'en: I'll go. The Penguin Logistics people should come too.
Dobermann: Exusiai would be more useful for the front assault team.
Amiya: Then the four of us.
Dobermann: Mmh.
Swire: That's fine with me.
Hoshiguma: It's a perfect plan.
Ch'en: What do you think, doctor?
Everyone turned to where the doctor was, only to find that he had disappeared.
Amiya: Dokutah?!
The rabbit, with her keen sense of hearing, heard something in the distance that she couldn't quite make out. She turned her head in the direction of the noise and she could see a tanker truck, speeding towards where they all were. The truck honked its horn repeatedly, causing all the operators to turn in its direction, and they could see that behind the wheel of the tanker was none other than the good doctor Sebastian.
Move aside!
Those who were in the middle of the road approached the sidewalks in panic as the truck continued on its way, honking the driver's side door and the doctor jumped up and landed on the ground with a roll as the truck continued on its way. The meeting forces in front of the warehouse were surprised by such a sight, went on alert, but too late, the truck crashed into a wall and exploded, indicating that it was filled with liquefied originium and with an explosion so powerful that it sent some members of the L.G.D. who were about a hundred meters away falling to the ground, the meeting troops dying from the flames or the explosion.
Sebastian turned to the rest of the troops to see them stunned by his action.
Sebastian: Let's get moving! They're about to sound the alarm!
The Rhodes Island troops, the ones most used to this kind of crap from the giant, set off, not giving up their surprise...
Hoshiguma: I like it... Let's show the meeting the ferocity of Lungmen!
Said the oni before running towards the battle, her squads of L.G.D. members shouting as they joined her.
Ch'en: Why did we hire these guys?!
Swire: Uwahh! I didn't wear my boots to run!
Ch'en: Shut up alley cat and use your little paws to fight!
It didn't take long for the L.G.D. troops to join the fray and start fighting with the meeting troops. The surprising attack had a wonderful effect to weaken the enemy forces... Ch'en after having given a heel blow to the skull of a soldier which killed him on the spot, made a jump back to avoid an axe which fell on her coming from a butcher. She readied her two swords, and again dodging one of his attacks, delivered a blow with her Raythean that sliced through the enemy's armor but failed to reach the skin, but a well-placed blow with her Chi Xiao sliced cleanly through skin, muscle, and bone. Then noticing the butcher's corpse falling toward her, Ch'en kicked the soldier's skull with her backhand, causing him to fall backwards. But quickly she noticed that a crowd of crossbowmen were hidden behind. All of them raised their weapons towards the lung and began firing one after the other with a frantic rate of fire. The L.G.D. superintendent prepared her two swords and parried the arrows one after another. Then suddenly in the middle of her parries, a feline with purple hair advanced under the fire of the crossbowmen, parrying some shots and avoiding others to finally arrive near the soldiers of the meeting and attack them one after the other, these enemies being no longer a real danger once at point blank range.
Ch'en was surprised to see that the feline who didn't even look like a real adult had so many fighting skills but she was surprised when a machete fell on her. The lung parried the attack with Raythean and kicked with her heel, but unfortunately it didn't have that much effect, because her heel hit some armor plates. Ch'en could see her enemy and that he was a soldier equipped with a shield on which was a red border, showing his position as a leader. So she threw herself forward and shot Chi Xiao at the meeting soldier from above, which was dodged by the meeting soldier. But Ch'en smiled, he had fallen into the trap, just before her sword touched the ground, she turned the blade so that the point was upwards and she attacked with all her strength cutting the meeting soldier from the pelvis to the chin, killing him instantly... An attack and a technique that did not fail to be noticed by the feline with purple hair ...
Then the lung found herself side by side with the sergeant instructor perro who had just given a whip breaking the helmet of a soldier.
Ch'en: Dobermann, where is the doctor?!
Dobermann: In the building, with Amiya Franka and Liskarm!
Ch'en: What are they thinking?!
Liskarm: Doctor...
Sebastian: Just a moment...
Franka: Come on doctor.
Sebastian: Just a second...
Amiya: You are taking a long time doktah...
The giant sighed and raised his head towards the cautus without getting up while he had one knee on the ground. The four of them were waiting in front of a door, which was locked and it was the doctor who had offered to pick it... Five minutes ago...
Sebastian: Hey, the lock is completely rusted... So just give me one more second.
The cautus sighed and kicked back at the lock of the door, more exactly, right above the lock, breaking the lock and opening the door a lot while Sebastian still had his hands near the lock. He looked at the cautus who had her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips.
Amiya: After you dokutah... Ah sorry I think the lock was rusty and not very solid.
Sebastian: You counterfeit donkey...
Amiya: Doktah with the lack!
Sebastian: You're just a rotten Caster!
Amiya: Unworthy leader!
Liskarm: Hmm. Doctor, Amiya...
The two leaders who were in their little affectionate nickname contest turned to Liskarm and Franka, the vulture pointing to the opening in the building to reveal meeting soldiers looking on in silence. A final second of silence passed, and the reunion soldiers raised their weapons and threw themselves at the Rhodes Island troops. The doctor, still in his non-combatant persona, threw himself back from the fray, but Franka and Liskarm got ready to fight. Liskarm, who was in the lead, began with his special attack, his shield began to be charged with electricity as did his heart, his horns being crossed by electric arcs. Then suddenly like an explosion, a flash of light sounded and lightning bolts ran through the room shocking the soldiers of the meeting and blinding them.
R.M 1: Aahhh! My eyes!
R.M 2: I can't see anything !
Then suddenly Liskarm who was however ready to fight, fell on the ground disoriented and almost unconscious.
Franka: Liskarm, you lizard, did you have to pass out this time?
The vulpo seemed to be annoyed although she was used to what had just happened, her rapier began to heat up and using her speed she threw herself into the fray piercing the hearts of the soldiers of the meeting one after the other and they began to burn their clothes catching fire because of the heat with cries of pain echoing in the room. Amiya also entered the room, and Liskarm came out of his confusion and staggered to his feet... The three young women scanned the room making sure no one was left and the cautus sighed with relief and turned to the shadows.
Amiya: It's ok doktah you can come out-
*door opens*
The three turned to a door that had just opened in the warehouse, to see a gigantic man enter the room, he was imposing because of the gargantuan coal-black armor he wore and the riot shield almost as big as him. His visor and a diamond pattern on his shield were bright red. He wore the colors of the veterans of the reunion but his equipment seemed far beyond in quality that the veterans usually wore. Whatever he was among the reunion members, the young women already knew that they were going to have great difficulty beating this man.
Misha's warehouse
The young ursus ran and slid to a wall against which was placed a metal plate, she crawled and hid behind this metal plate. Finally hidden in the shadows her breathing was painful, heavy and fast, because of all the stress she was accumulating in this small body mixed with her bad health. But thinking she heard something she forced herself to calm her breathing by placing her hand in front of her mouth.
Misha: 'Please I didn't do anything but who are these people... What do they want from me?
The footsteps became more and more distinct, the footsteps were heavy, giving a good indication of the weight of whoever was walking. Misha held her breath, not making a sound to prevent being spotted.
You can breathe. I already know you're there, kid.
In fear and surprise she couldn't help but let out a slight scream that she immediately tried to restrain.
?: I don't want to hurt you. I promise. I just want to talk to you.
The girl calmed down and began to think about what option would be best for her.
Misha: Throw your weapons where I can see them.
A knife with its sheath fell near the rubble into the young ursus' view.
?: This is all I have.
Misha: Are you with them?
?: With whom?
Misha: Those soldiers... Who were fighting the other infected... Dressed in white...
?: No. I don't work with those people.
Misha: Are you afraid of the infected?
The girl's voice was even more serious than before.
?: No. My job is to treat oripathy.
Misha: I know very well that there is no cure for this disease, you liar.
?: There is no cure. But it can be treated.
Misha: Right?
She heard a sigh and then someone sitting on the concrete.
?: Basically it means you can calm the symptoms with medication but you'll have it for life...
Misha: A-ah I see... Sorry I haven't been to school in years...
?: That's okay. Tell me. What's your name kid?
Misha: Misha... How about you?
?: Sebastian. Doctor Sebastian.
Misha: Your name is doctor?
Sebastian: N-no, of course not, it's a title...
Misha: Are you a real doctor? Who heals people?
Sebastian: Yes. 'I treat them yes... Sometimes...'
Misha: Wow... And you can cure my disease...? The one with the black crystals... The oripatruc...
Sebastian: Yes, I can if I have the necessary medicine.
The girl thought about it and finally decided to try everything. She had nowhere else to go.
Misha: Please don't hurt me...
He wondered what was going on when he heard something move behind the metal plate. The ursus girl crawled out of her shelter and crouched against the wall and looked at the doctor. The two had a silent staring contest, analyzing the other.
First Misha analyzed the giant in front of her. Although he was sitting on the floor and despite the long coat he was wearing she could see that he was twice as tall and twice as wide as her. At first she was almost threatened by his appearance, and even more so when she saw that the doctor's head was hidden by that scary helmet.
And Sebastian, on seeing the girl, had only one thought running through his mind.
Sebastian: 'Aaaahhh damn she is adorable!'
Misha: Mr. Sebastian... Why are you wearing that helmet?
The giant laughed slightly as he prepared his answer.
Sebastian: It's because I'm too ugly so I wear a helmet.
The girl laughed slightly at the doctor's 'lame but still a joke'.
Sebastian: 'Oh my God my heart! How is it possible to be so adorable!'
The doctor turned his head suddenly in the direction of the wall to his left and barely a second later the wall exploded, the force of the impact throwing the doctor through several concrete walls onto the right wall which led to other parts of the warehouse away from the scene and throwing rubble and splinters everywhere. It was not because of an explosive that the incident had taken place, but it was because of someone who had just broken through the concrete wall. The colossus equipped with an armor that was thrown through the wall by Amiya who was bleeding from the confrontation. The reunion soldier pulled himself together and gave a shield blow to the cautus, who used her agility to go over the shield with a salto before charging an art projectile in her hand that exploded to crash into the reunion soldier's helmet. She landed in the soldier's back but immediately took a blow from the soldier's shield that was far too fast for her to dodge. The force was so great that she was thrown against a wall that fractured from the impact, the cautus felt several of her bones break, and she coughed up blood from the pain before falling heavily to the ground.
Liskarm: Get over here you jerk!
The reunion soldier turned through the opening he had just created to face Liskarm, who once again used his electricity to create a flash of light that dazzled the giant for a couple of seconds and electrocuted him. Franka went on the attack as well, taking advantage of the flash of light to attack the colossus, she charged her sword to the maximum in terms of heat that she could and tried to plant her rapier in the visor of the colossus. But her sword did not melt the protection and only bounced off it. With his gloved hand he grabbed the vulpo and gave him a blow of shield in the skull knocking him out and causing him several damages to the brain. The vulture who saw what had just happened to the vulpo was filled with an immense rage and more and more electricity.
Liskarm: I'm going to make you regret touching her!
The incomparable rage that filled her finally exploded as did the electricity she contained, and with a war cry the room exploded with lightning and the soldier of the meeting began to scream in pain for several seconds. But after this unleashing of the arts of the vulture, she fell knees on the ground but she noticed that after a little time the soldier began to move sign that he was not dead. And then Liskarm filled with despair as the soldier of the meeting began to raise his fist to the face of the defender to kill her. The vulture raised her arms to defend herself weakly thinking that on a miracle she would survive. But behind the enemy, the cautus got up and started to scream with rage a piece of metal bar in her hand as she jumped on the man in armor and planted the object with all her strength in the neck of the soldier between two armor plates. The colossus screamed in pain as a trickle of blood spurted from the wound, he jerked around trying to knock the cautus off but to no avail, Amiya lashing out at his enemy with the sole purpose of killing him. But when a plate of armor fell, the soldier had the mobility to grab the cautus by the shoulder with all his strength, breaking the collarbone before sending it to the ground with such power that the shock wave broke the few bones that Amiya thought he had kept intact. The pain was so intense that his mind began to darken and the light faded.
The defender of the meeting looked around to see that the lupo, vouivre and cautus were at death's door. He looked to one wall of the room to see the young ursus unconscious and wounded. He pressed a button on his helmet and turned on the radio.
?: This is Big Chris. Adam, Bob, tell Patriot, Crownslayer and Skullshatterer that I have the target in front of me. Mm-hmm. The warehouse, yes. Hm? No, just a cautus, a vulpo and a vouivre. Small fry. Why? A raceless ? No I don't think so... Affirmative, I'm going to the rendezvous point.
The armored soldier lowered his hand cutting off his radio and grabbed a knife from his armor and approached the cautus on the ground. He kicked her lightly making sure she was unconscious, which was confirmed by all the blood flowing from her and the fact that her wide open eyes were unresponsive, as was her mouth which was wide open.
B.C: Slut...
*clunck*
Hearing a sound of metal just falling on the concrete at the other end of the warehouse.
B.C: Who's there?!
The meeting soldier turned in the direction of a broken window, and through the darkness he thought he saw a shape moving. But more importantly, he began to hear heavy footsteps on the concrete. But not seeing enough, the third brother turned on the flashlight on his helmet and could see in the darkness in front of him.
B.C: Holy crap...
There was an indistinct shape in the darkness, like an animal, standing on four legs, like a dog, but ten times bigger... While he barely spotted the shape he noticed that it started to move at the other end of the warehouse that suddenly faced the soldier of the meeting. It was not some infected animal that was in front of her but a real monster, imposing in size as in width he spotted two red orbs looking directly towards him like two red flames burning fiercely like two crimson Olympic torches. But the most frightening thing was those white teeth reflecting the light of the flashlight mixed with the black demonic horns.
B.C: What the hell!
The monster began to roar with such force that the armored colossus felt his armor plates and internal organs vibrate from the sound, but it was so frightening to him, that he felt his very soul being crushed. He fell to his knees, terrified.
B.C: D-don't come any closer!
Shouted the soldier when he realized that the beast started to run towards him looking closer and closer, bigger and bigger and more and more terrifying...
Guard L.G.D: Miss Ch'en! We will not hold very long!
Ch'en: Courage! The undercover squad should be back any second! Has anyone heard from them?!
Exusiai: I don't know we got a weird warning over the radio!
The reunion troops were still as numerous as ever, the surprise effect was gone, and especially due to the glaring lack of effective command, Rhodes Island's ability to fight had greatly diminished and they seemed to be struggling to annihilate the reunion forces as before. This lack of clarity in tactics had Rhodes Island and L.G.D. forces surrounded against a warehouse wall giving their all to fight the reunion forces despite this notorious disadvantage.
Then suddenly, in the midst of all the allied troops, something fell from the roof of the warehouse and crashed to the ground with a loud crash. The Rhodes Island troops stepped back and looked at what had just fallen, and gradually the battle came to a complete stop. It was a corpse that had just fallen from the roof, but a corpse that made the soldiers of the meeting as well as those of the L.G.D. cringe.
Black armor plates and flesh and bones, the whole thing was an amorphous mass but one could recognize a mask... But what made the thing so foul. It was that the soldier seemed to have been devoured. The torso had been opened in two the plates that could have resisted meteors crushed and marked by claws and fangs. The intestines spread all over and some limbs torn off and missing, and the skull... part of the skull had been crushed and some parts were missing a strange mucus looking like saliva beading on some parts. The air was unbreathable and so hot that it stuck to the skin. The rain was gone, vaporized by the heat, and the sky above had much darker clouds than before and was shot through with red lightning.
But what really confirmed the meeting leader's dying manner was a demonic roar that echoed through the night. The windows of the buildings shook and some members of the meeting dropped their weapons, fear showing on their faces as they saw the corpse mixed with the roar.
R.M 1: A monster run away!
R.M 2: He killed Big Chris!
As if all hope had been taken away from the soldiers at the meeting they began to run away one by one leaving their weapons behind and screaming as if they had just seen the most terrifying thing in their lives. Soon, all the troops on Rhodes Island and at the meeting were safe and sound, their enemies far away from them now. Everyone took the time to analyze the corpse, trying to calm down.
W: Just like at Chernobog...
Exusiai: Huh?
Ch'en: Doctor, Amiya, do you read me?
Asked the young woman through her radio.
W: They won't answer you for a while...
The lung turned to the sarkaz who was looking at the corpse but seemed perfectly calm.
W: Bob and Adam are going to be pissed...
Ch'en: What do you know?
W: Hey lizard, you see those clouds above? As long as the lightning is there the radios and phones don't work. And there's little chance that the answer...
Exusiai: W... Has this ever happened before...? I mean, before the doc disappeared?
W: Yes... I think this must be the eighth time this has happened... or maybe the ninth...
Exusiai: Is he okay?
W: He's not going to be in the mood that's for sure...
Andreanna: Come on Exia, this is the doc we're talking about... Not even a mountain can stop him.
The sanktah laughed slightly at the smile and the sentence of her friend. Of course the news that the doctor had sliced a mountain in half with one punch had spread like wildfire... Some had believed it. Others didn't... and thought it was just a catastrophe.
Exusiai: It's true Andie...
Ch'en: 'He puts his hands in his pockets so hard that he can cross a mountain?
Andreanna: But we have to worry about Amiya, Franka and Liskarm... I'm not sure they're like the doc...
PRTS: Dr. Sebastian's mental health is back above zero. Communications can be restored.
When the Rhodes Island operators heard the A.I. over the radio, they instinctively looked up to see that the clouds had cleared in the night and the lightning had disappeared. And surprisingly it was Dobermann who was the first to activate her radio.
Dobermann: Doctor, Amiya do you read me?
A silence...
Dobermann: Doctor, Amiya, do you copy?
Sebastian: Loud and clear, Dobermann.
The doctor's voice echoed through the radio, relieving some of the Rhodes Islanders.
Dobermann: Doctor, are you all right? Something strange happened here and we lost contact.
Sebastian: We were attacked. Me, Amiya, Liskarm and Franka lost consciousness. I'm the only one awake.
Hoshiguma: Hey need any assistance?
Some people were surprised that Oni offered to help over the radio, and so was the doctor, judging by the slight sound of astonishment he let out through his microphone.
Sebastian: No, it's okay. I've already applied some treatments. But you'd all better get back to the warehouse and take cover. The east side gate was not barricaded from the inside.
Ch'en: Doctor, any news on the target?
Sebastian: She's in front of me, unconscious. Confirmation of identity, Name Misha, race ursus, age between twelve and thirteen years, height one meter forty-four, pale blue eyes, short ash-gray hair same coat for the animal parts.
The lung took out a folder from her jacket and opened it to look at some pictures and data, Hoshiguma coming next to her to confirm it too, the two young women looked each other in the eyes, surprised to see that the doctor had just given them accurate information.
Ch'en: Originium crystals on the left ankle?
Sebastian: Affirmative.
Ch'en: Identity confirmed doctor.
Sebastian: Good. I'm waiting for you.
The lung turned off his radio and sheathed his two swords, putting the file in his jacket.
Ch'en: Come on L.G.D. let's go!
Dobermann: Rhodes, the doc is waiting for us!
After only a few seconds the Rhodes Island operators had treated their wounded and were already leaving in a well organized manner... except for Lappland and W who were the disruptive elements of the group and who could be seen making a few deviations here and there...
Much less organized than the L.G.D. but still much more effective, as the three important members of the L.G.D. noticed.
Hoshiguma: They really look like mercs...
Ch'en: Like those Columbian PMCs we were working with when we raided the illegal originium mine?
Hoshiguma: Nah. The real mercs. The sarkaz kind, not the old half-drunk army guys who think they're veterans after spending two weeks in the field during the war against Bolivàr.
Ch'en: I don't know, I never worked with me.
Swire: Were there any in your gang?
Said the feline while leaning against the same car as Hoshiguma and Ch'en.
Hoshiguma: Nah, it was just a job we did with a group of sarkaz mercenaries. They knew what they were doing, they were real pros. And these RI guys, they remind me of them.
Swire: And by the way, that sarkaz with the grenade launcher is a sarkaz, isn't she?
Hoshiguma: A merc?
Swire: Yeah.
Hoshiguma: Yes, but she's a joke compared to them.
Said the oni as the two watched the cockroach juggling contraband grenades with a big smile on her face.
L.G.D. Guard: Madame Ch'en! We're ready to go!
Ch'en: Let's go now!
The L.G.D. troops started to leave in the direction of the other side of the warehouse, the three staying next to each other.
Ch'en: Hey reassure me. I'm not the only one who thinks she looks like that meeting leader we heard about during the briefing...
Swire: I was thinking exactly the same thing...
Hoshiguma: There are three of us then...
Ch'en: They are really recruiting ex-meeting leaders then...
Hoshiguma: And former leaders at that...
Swire: But she seemed to get along well with the doctor...
Ch'en: He's also not clean. He is accused of war crimes in Kazdel but those who could prove it have mysteriously disappeared. And besides... I think I saw him kicking Lappland's ass...
The other two members of the L.G.D. turned to the third one who was shocked to hear this.
Hoshiguma: Are you sure? I saw him crush a guy in half with a manhole cover!
Ch'en: I-I'm not sure... It all happened so fast... I barely saw him... But he easily broke concrete... Anyway... If you ever find yourself in front of him, please don't confront him...
The lung asked as she turned to the oni, her eyes softening.
Hoshiguma: I'll remember...
Replied the tall green-haired woman, a comforting smile on her lips.
Swire: And I smell like oil?
Ch'en: Yes.
Hoshiguma: 'psst
Hearing the slight noise the lung turned to the oni who nodded her head downwards, allowing the lung to notice with dread that her draconic tail had wrapped itself around Hoshiguma's thigh. The lizard hurriedly removed the appendage before anyone saw it to keep it firmly in her hand.
Swire: Wait a minute, missing people like that? Like those Columbian reporters on the Bolivian war?
Ch'en: No, more like that guy who was spreading rumors that Wei was cheating on his wife and was found hanging in his cell.
Hoshiguma: Oh, I see... But then the whole company is shady. Look at Dobermann, she's ex-army, you can tell, just like the doc. Not to mention their CEO who is what, fourteen? Or even the others... Look at the feline with the sword and the purple hair. She's in the front line too and I'm not even sure she's sixteen.
Swire: Ch'en do you know her?
Ch'en: No...
Hoshiguma: Why do you ask about Beatrix?
Ch'en: She also noticed. That kid bets arrows just like me...
Hoshiguma: Wait, you learned that from him...
The lung nodded, understanding perfectly who the oni was talking about. The three L.G.D. agents arrived in front of a large metal gate that opened onto the factory, but which was unfortunately welded in place.
Ch'en: Oh, shit...
Dobermann: What would he do in my situation...
The perro who was now in charge of the Rhodes Island troops murmured before snapping her fingers to show the enlightenment she had just had.
Dobermann: Lappland! Open the door!
The lupo that was circling Texas for a change... Looked towards the exasperated and almost angry instructor for receiving an order, before turning to the icy lupo who nodded. The white demon sighed and walked towards the door, before stepping back to better gain momentum and throw a punch that ripped the door off the concrete.
Lappland: After you...
