”So you lost a match against Vampire Squad and JarPig Squad?” Tomio asks Chiara with a hint of concern and curiosity in his tone.
”Y...Yeah. We didn’t stand a chance.” Chiara quietly admits to Tomio with disappointment. He’s joined by Emi, who is perched on her bed with clutches and a cast foot. She has her hair tied into a bun and is wearing her usual gym clothes despite not being able to exercise for the time being. Tomio is dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. It’s a very casual hangout for the three of them in Emi’s dorm room.
”And you lead the squad all by yourself?” Emi asks Chiara, somewhat surprised to see her lead a squad all on her own.
”I wasn’t very good at it, Emi.” She slumps her shoulders with her eyes on the tiled birch wooden floors of Emi’s dorm room.
”That’s still very admirable of you.” Emi compliments her warmly. “Still, I didn’t think you would try to go up against our next opponents so early.”
”Emi’s right.” Tomio adds. “I would had figured you and Rami would had done squad drills or something like that while we were gone, but you both went head on into a match. Personally I wouldn’t have done it.”
”It’s kind of reckless for our squads but you got to see how our opponents fight. That’s something right?”
”I guess so, but they know about our inexperience too.” Chiara hesitantly mentions. “It was very clear that they trained more than either of our squads. They don’t hesitate when they fight, unlike us.”
”Think of this way.” Tomio leans forward to address Chiara. “They’ve seen us at our weakest. They have no idea what’s coming if step it up a notch.”
”Exactly.” Emi nodded. “If we’re ever going to have a chance of beating them, we’ll have to practice as much as we can. Maybe we can find another squad to help us out. Do you have any suggestions Tomio?”
”Not really, Emi.” Tomio sighs; rubbing his chin. “I mean, we could reach out to Glam or Kraken Squad to help us train.”
”But we defeated them in the last match.” Chiara pointed out.
”Hah! Barely.” Emi sets aside her clutches and lays the back of her head on her pillow as she relaxes. “They are still more experienced than the rest of us. It wouldn’t hurt to take some pointers. And besides, I’m a temporary cripple now. I’m going to have a lot of spare time with VR now that I’m unable to do track and field for now.” She chuckles sarcastically. “I’m honestly conflicted if my injury is a blessing, or a curse.”
”It’s too soon to make assumptions.” Tomio sits up from the bed side. “Perhaps I can try to get a hold of Bernadette and Zander. I can try make some arrangements to get our squads into shape. We’ll have to figure out a time and day to have this training. But we’re all going to have to do our part to get good on our own since our schedules clash.”
”How does that sound, Chiara?” Emi notices she had spaced out during the conversation. “Yo, Chiara. Are you alright?”
Chiara blinked; springing back to life after hearing her name. She’s been thinking about the odd friend request from the night before that she had yet to respond to. It’s been bugging along with her team’s defeat ever since. “Oh. Yeah, that’s fine by me. I could try and get some practice on my own whenever I’m not busy with school work. I was actually considering doing some training on my own today.”
”What about Hikari and Mai?” Emi asked.
”Hikari has to study tonight and Sunday, Mai’s rifle was damaged from the match yesterday and she’s been bummed out about it. She told me in a text that she wanted to take a short break from Mil-Sim Story before she can figure out what she can do with it.”
”Oof. That bad, huh?” Emi rolls on her side carefully as to not put pressure on her sprang foot. “Well, she was long past due for a new rifle anyways. Hikari and I will probably help her pick something out for her. She probably won’t make it easy for us. You know how stubborn she can be.”
”Yeah. I can’t imagine her using anything else.” Chiara chuckles with a sad sense of understanding.
”It never hurts to upgrade.” Tomio interjects while slipping on his tennis shoes by the doorway. “It’ll be one less handicap, as much as I hate to admit it. I know Kimberly isn’t too content with her MAT-49 Tokarev conversion. She’s planning to switch to something else too.”
Before heading out from Emi’s dorm, he looks back at Chiara. “I’m going to go get some lunch for Emi. Do you want something too?”
”Oh..no thanks, Tomio. I was going to head back to my dorm and eat something there.”
”That’s cool. I’m going to hang around with Emi for a while so if you need anything from me, I’ll be around campus for a bit before I drive back home.”
“Thanks, Tomio. I’m heading out now, though. I need to reflect on some things.”
”Aw...you’re not going to stick around for lunch?” Emi joked.
“I really want to think things over,” Chiara admitted. “Especially since… I feel like I failed you all yesterday.”
”Oh cut it out, Chiara. You did just fine.” Emi firmly says to Chiara. “You didn’t fail anyone. You didn’t give up and that’s all that matters.”
”We’re going to make sure that we’ll kick their asses next time, Chiara.” Tomio says with certain confidence. “We’re all in this together, remember? And we’re doing this to have fun at the end of the day. But we’ll give it our all when that day comes when we’ll go up against them. They’ll be shocked when they see you fighting better than before.”
”You two...you both are the best friends anyone could ask for.” Chiara murmurs almost emotionally. “Thank you.”
”Don’t mention it.” Emi grins. “We’re both here for you. I’m here for you Chiara.”
”But you’re injured, Emi.”
”I don’t need my foot to give you some advice and prep talk. It’s not going to stop me from playing Mil-Sim Story or getting good grades in my classes.” Emi winks and smiles. “And even if we lose this tournament, that’s not going to stop us from all hanging out and having fun right?”
”Of course!” Chiara nods cheerfully.
Tomio and Chiara awkwardly tried to leave at the same time, bumping into each other at the door. Emi burst out laughing at the sight. “Uh...you can go first, Chiara. I’m in no rush.”
”Oh no, you should go first. You’re getting lunch for Emi.”
”Hah...well...she’s not exactly starving. It’s still early.”
”What was that, Tomio?” Emi snapped teasingly.
”Ah...I wasn’t commenting on your weight! I swear!”
”I’m just joking with you Tomio.” Emi grins playfully. “But you did remind me that I’m going to be inactive for a while. I do need to be careful not to eat more than what I can burn off right now.”
”You can always share fries with me anyways.”
”Oh Tomio, I guess my injury is a blessing to you after all.”
”Are you implying I’m some sort of glutton?” The two of them argue and banter lightheartedly while Chiara just stands there awkwardly while listening. “Well excuse me for being not letting food go to waste. Do you know how much my heart breaks when I see customers throwing away a perfectly good pizza in the bin at my family restaurant? Just think of all the orphans you can save by not letting food go to waste.”
”You’re not an orphan, Tomio.” Emi rolls her eyes.
”Yeah but…”
Tomio is then interrupted by Chiara who is being shy as usual and just wants to go back to her dorm. ”Um….I’m going to head out now...I don’t want to get involved in all this.”
”Heh. I don’t blame you. Take it easy Chiara.” Emi waves to Chiara along with Tomio who steps aside to let Chiara go.
”I’ll see you two later.” Chiara opens the door in Emi’s room and heads out of Emi’s dorm to walk to her own dormitory. Her thoughts linger as she is determined to get back into Mil-Sim story and figure out what the deal is with that friend request.
Chiara sits on her desk, cautiously removing her contacts. It’s a bit silly for Chiara to even wear contacts today just to go see Emi after Tomio had brought her back from the hospital. She’s glad Emi in good spirits, even after bringing the news of her squads defeat to her. Chiara can’t help feel envious for how her good friend can manage to stay in good spirits after all that. Confidence is not something Chiara had really had growing up. She wished she knew how Emi got hers. Maybe she should start doing cardio in the morning like Emi. But in her mind, it’s not like she has to lose weight or anything like that. She’s just tired of being so weak compared to her friends. Chiara closes her contacts after adding some solution before putting on her glasses. Her vision becomes crystal clear again and she’s now set on getting back into Mil-Sim Story to figure out what that friend request was all about. She’s going to face her opponent personally. “It’s all in VR anyways. Why am I even scared?” Chiara thought to herself.
She boots up her laptop and connects her headset by the bedside. She ties her hair into a ponytail and sets the VR set and sensors on her head as she lays on her bed, as if she’s going to fall asleep. Within a few seconds, she’s boots into the Steam UI and launches Mil-Sim Story. After a few loading sequences, she spawns into her team’s home base. Two banners featuring the logos of Armadillo Squad and Longhorn Squad now hang proudly in the base’s hanger. She appears to be alone in the base at the moment as none of her teammates are around. Perhaps Markus, her team manager and sponsor is in his office. She figures she might go and visit him first to talk about the events from yesterday’s match. But that friend request is still bothering her. She can clearly see her inbox in her HUD is still showing a notification which she had yet to accept. She looks at the invite and ponders between the two choices: “Accept” and “Decline.” Without giving it much thought, she accepts the invite. For a while, nothing really happens. But sure enough, she gets another message in her inbox. “Took you long enough. We have something important to discuss. Accept this invite to my squad’s base of operations. You will have to inform my bodyguards that you are going in on my accord. Show them the QR code in this message and they’ll let you go. One of my minions will show you to my quarters.”
”I guess this is it. No turning back now.” Chiara thinks to herself before accepting the next invite. The scene changes abruptly. Chiara finds herself standing on a gravel road that winds through a dense forest of towering conifers. The air feels damp and heavy, the sky above a dull, overcast gray. Ahead of her looms an imposing 19th-century stone fortress shaped like a star, its sharp angles and tall, weathered walls exuding a cold, austere authority. At the base of the fortress, an iron gate stands sealed, with a small checkpoint outpost just in front of it. Chiara walks towards the checkpoint in front of the iron gate of the fortress. A single guard, dressed in all black fatigues and a black beanie stands on point, sitting by the lever gate blocking the path to the iron bar gate of the fortress. He’s not armored nor heavily armored, wielding nothing but a Walther PPK in a shoulder holster. He’s certainly not one of the squad members she went up against yesterday. The name “John Smith” is embedded on his name tag on his fatigues. Even Chiara feels that name isn’t even legit considering he appears to be of Japanese decent. He sits at the outpost, slouched on a chair as if caught between boredom and exhaustion until he hears Chiara approaching to which he nearly jolts off his chair in a panic. When he realizes Chiara is a guest, he sighs in relief and sits back up on his chair, trying to maintain his professionalism as the base’s guard.
“Right, state your business.” he mutters, his voice straight forward but not unfriendly. Chiara nods and opens her HUD to display the QR code from the message. The guard leans forward, scanning it with a handheld device. A small beep confirms its authenticity. “Approved by Asura.” Seeing her name on his scanner almost makes him recoil in fear.
”You have been summoned by Asura. You are free to proceed...and uh….good luck.” He chuckles nervously as he opens the barrier and presses a button which lifts the iron gate leading into the fortress. Chiara nods and walks into the base. Once she makes is past the iron gates, they close automatically. What she sees around her honestly impressed her. The base is incredibly bustling with activity and players. She spots a small hanger where there are some people working on some armored APC, painted in black with that infamous Vampire Squad logo painted on the side. There’s a group of armed soldiers, dressed in simple black fatigues, shouldering their rifles and doing laps around the base grounds in formation. A helicopter is being loaded with crates of supplies, possibly munitions and ammo. On the other side of the fortress, there’s an obstacle course and firing range that’s far more sophisticated and elaborate than the basic training course her team had been to. Several recruits in black fatigues crawl, vault, and climb over obstacles before laying prone and laying fire with basic AR-15 style rifles at cardboard targets before getting up and running past them to throw practice non-functional grenades into a makeshift two story structure. The recruits follow that up by throwing a grappling hook onto the window and climbing into the structure. There’s also a couple of recruits going around and decorating the place with Jack-o'-lanterns, fake spider webs, and an inflatable cheesy looking vampire that lights up with a voice box laughs in that classic Dracula laugh. Chiara isn’t sure if she should laugh or feel more unsettled. Then again, Halloween is just around the corner. The week after their upcoming match against Vampire and JarPig Squad.
This base makes Longhorn and Armadillo’s Squads hanger base look like a bum house. It wouldn’t even be accurate to call them Vampire Squad. It’s an entire military complex. As she wanders through the main courtyard of the base, she sees a familiar figure approaching. It’s one of Asura’s squad members. He’s has a black plate carrier, wears a red respirator mask, and a black cape on his black fatigues. Black plated gloves with sharp looking finger tips, and a black battle belt which holsters a Walther PDP compact pistol. He’s not wearing his black PASGT helmet so his short black hair is visible this time around. He approaches Chiara and speaks to her in a raspy voice.
”We meet again at last, Chiara. Asura has been expecting you.”
”How do you know who I am?” Chiara asks nervously
”Asura told me about you. You clearly stick out on this base compared to the other members around here. She has some important matters to discuss as you probably know. I’ll take you to her sanctuary. Follow me.”
Chiara doesn’t question the order and follows this guy towards a stone structure inside the fortress. It’s a simple two story building, made of of the same stone the walls of the fortress are constructed of. Vampire’s Squad’s banner hangs on the left side followed by a black and white flag of Canada on the other. The iron door leading up to this building is engraved with “Vampire Squad HQ”. For some reason, Chiara was expecting a more sinister name for the structure.
”Are you one of Asura’s elite or something?” Chiara asks as they approach the door to the HQ.
”I am Lucius. Asura’s second in command and the squad breacher. I also manage the squad’s PR and logistics for our operations.”
”Sounds like you do quite a lot. You don’t have your own dedicated team advisor or manager?”
”Her majesty Asura sees no desire to use bureaucratic leeches. She prefers those who would fight alongside her with the upmost loyalty. Everyone here has a part to serve Asura’s ambitions. regardless if they are participating the tournament or not.”
”What’s with all the recruits?”
”We aren’t just a single squad as you can tell. You can think of us as a brand. We form smaller squads that go fight in battles outside of the tournament matches to rank in credits and infamy. Sometimes we’ll even offer private military services to other squads. But my squad, lead by her highness Asura, is the elite of our group. We represent what everyone else on this base strives to be.”
The interior of the HQ wasn’t devoid of any activity either. There are various Halloween decorations already set up in this industrial style interior with steel desks, manned by a couple of players, dressed in black fatigues behind gaming computers which glow red with RGB lights. That section of the lobby is walled off like an office space with a sign which notes “Social Media Management”. The center of the lobby has a receptionist desk, and behind the desk is a digital screen that shows the various servers of operations that members are deployed at the moment with a scoreboard indicating kills and loses. Underneath that screen is another display showing a basic calendar of upcoming deployments for the various squads on base, the main tournament event which is two weeks away, and a Halloween ball which is being held the day before. The receptionist, a girl in a black gothic maid dress, dark brown hair, and thick frame glasses, sits behind the counter as Lucius and Chiara approach her.
”Is her highness present at the moment?” Lucius asks directly. “We have the visitor she requested.”
”Shes in her personal quarters.” The receptionist then looks at Chiara. “Takes the stairs and follow the hall to your right. Her door is at the very end of the hallway. Lucius will escort you there. You will be checked for contraband, weapons, or recording devices before you can proceed down the hall.”
Before walking up the stairs, Lucius hands over his Walther PDP to the receptionist. She places his sidearm in a locker under her desk. Chiara shakes her head and lifts her hands out of her pocket, indicating that she has nothing on her. They both cross into electronics scanner right at the entrance of the stairway which doesn’t sound any alarms when they walk by it. “We’re clear. Proceed.” Lucius instructs Chiara, allowing her to go after him. They descend a spiral staircase, made with stone up to the second floor where there is a single hallway, similar to something like an office building or a school hallway. It’s not particularly elegant and other than the various 19th century paintings hanging the wall and the foreboding door at the end of the hall which is clearly marked as “Her Highness’ Quarters”, the hallways is surprisingly unassuming. Lucius leads Chiara down the hall until they are right outside of Asura’s room. “Her highness is waiting for you now. The subject matter she has to discuss with you are for your ears only. I will make my leave now.” He leaves Chiara by herself at the door and departs back towards the staircase. Chiara takes a good view of the door. She can easily turn the knob and walk in but she doesn’t want to create any issues so she carefully knocks on the door.
”Um….hello?” She calls in a nervous and timid voice. She waits for a little while before she hears a familiar, low and soothing voice respond from across the door.
“You can come in, Chiara.” Chiara turns the knob on the door and opens it, slowly entering the room before carefully closing the door behind her. The room is rather posh with a red carpet floor, more suited to a mansion than a military base. The walls are decorated with a paper wallpaper stripped in various shades of red and black. The room has a very Victorian aesthetic with wooden bookshelves, a brick fireplace, a red velvet love seat and ornate coffee table, brass colored light stands which glow in a comforting yellow hue, a desk with a little gray gargoyles on the edges. The shelf behind her has various other books, a music box, and what appears to be a cute plushie beaver sitting on the shelf. Asura is sitting behind a laptop at this desk and looks over to see Chiara in the room. Her lips form into a slight grin before she speaks. “So you finally showed up at last. It took you long enough but you’re already exceeding my expectations.” She gets up from her desk and motions her palms towards the couch in the center of the room. “Take a seat, Chiara. We have something to discuss.”