"Yo, Zander, what's with the projector? Are we going to watch Boss Baby 7?" Zoomer and some of the top employees of Kraken PMC are sitting in a tent just outside of their barracks. Zander is getting some assistance with the projector with the help of the Glam sisters who joined for the special event.
"No but you better have some popcorn ready. Armadillo and Longhorn Squad are going to play real soon. I gotta see if my investment is going to pay off."
"So who's made it through the bracket so far?"
"Huh? You haven't been keeping tabs Sung-min?" Zander scoffs. "Of course Raptor Squad made it with their special forces blokes from Lion Squad. Who could had seen that coming, eish?" Zander laughs half-heartily. "You can see them making the finals from a kilometer away. I almost want to believe this tournament is rigged from the start. Cheyenne, what's the status on Bayou and Meal Team Six?"
"They were completely annihilated by Bass and Charleston Squad." Cheyenne says while she looks at the scoreboard on her paper tablet."
"You what?"
"My sister isn't exaggerating."Bernadette adds." They all got wiped out by the end of the match."
"Fucking hell man." Zander throws his arms up in disbelief. "Out of all the teams to lose against, it's them? Bayou had ex-law enforcement! How'd they lose to a bunch of fedora tipping mafiosi and meth-heads with ghetto blasters? I don't know what they were thinking siding with those fat fucks from Meal Team Six. Elite Squad my ass. What a disgrace!"
"Bass Squad and Charleston are a new team, just like our friends from Armadillo and Longhorn Squad." Cheyenne adds after turning on the projector. "But they aren't a traditional military or PMC like what we're used to. Their teams operate unpredictably since they are criminal themed squads. Charleston has a few historical event players on their team. That's giving them some experience."
"Yeah but Charleston's equipment is all antiquated and Bass Squad isn't running around with top of the line gear. Bass Squad can't aim for shit with their Glocks or Darcos. There has to be more to them if they are moving this far up the branch."
"So now we have to see if Team Van Helsing will overcome Vampire Squad."
"Van Helsing?" "Say what again?"
"What." Zoomer answers.
"I wasn't talking to you, smart ass."
"Lonestar Team changed their name to Van Helsing for this match." Bernadette loosens her ponytail to feel more comfortable before they watch the match live. Emi told me they wanted to do some psychological warfare against them. Fighting fire with fire."
"They are going to need more than just fire to talk on Vampire Squad." Sung-Min pulls an empty chair to use as a footstool. "Asura is more experienced and wants to take on Raptor Squad. She wants to avenge her defeat against them from the last tournament. I think she'll do anything to make sure she gets her way. She'll go as far as to recruit members from her opposing team to serve on her team."
"I don't think Emi and Tomio are going to let that slide." Zander points out. "They are going all in, with my sponsorship of course. They want to take down that crazy goth bitch and what's left of that weeb's squad. It's gonna be a good fight I swear it.
"Zander, the match is about to begin." Cheyenne launches the live stream from her laptop connected to the projector"
Andjela says nothing but watches from her seat with her arms crossed.
"Come on, Armadillo and Longhorn. Slay me some fucking vampires." Zander sits down with his squad as the stream opens up with an overhead view of the battlefield where this match will be taking place.
"Goooooood afternoon! Mil-Simmers! Ladies and gentlemen, I am your host, the Armchair Mil-Simmer coming to you live for our final match for tonight. We had some very extraordinary match ups today but our last match of the day, we're going to what some are calling to be the most contested match in this branch. Here we are in the mountains of Europe overlooking a quiet village with one of the resident's richest, Mortimer, who is undergoing a heated custody battle with his wife Bella. Lucky for you Mil-simmers, we aren't here to listen to some boring legal battles in court but a battle with rifles, shotguns, grenades, and God knows what else we'll see in this match. Yes, folks, this divorce situation for our poor guy Mortimer is so ugly, his wife is using a military force to escort him out of the mansion so his wife Bella can take custody. Now that's a situation I don't want to be in. Good thing my wife loves me, am I right? Hey hun! Good to see you watching the stream. Of course, Mortimer isn't going to be dragged from his multi-generational home without a fight. He's employing Team Van-Helsing, formerly Team Lonestar who are led by some newcomers to the Mil-Sim scene. Callsign Trackstar; squad leader of Armadillo Squad. She is partnered with the squad leader of Longhorn Squad: Callsign Cowboy! These two have proven themselves against Glam Squad and Kraken PMC in the last bracket, shifting the tide of the battle in the end. Now, rumor has it, one of the former scouts of Armadillo Squad, Callsign Mouse, recently defected to Vampire Squad and is now serving as the replacement for the squad leader for JarPig Squad. Talk about some crazy drama going on with Armadillo Squad! So now we have Kael Valorheart fighting for Armadillo Squad! What’s going on here Mil-Simmers?! Let’s cut right to the chase Mil-Simmers, coming in live from our patented POV stream!”
The stream’s feed fades from the overview of the Victorian style mansion overlooking a small village on a mountain top into the perspective of one of the squad members of Armadillo Squad. Emi stands around, taking in the scenery around her. It’s almost too nice to be an arena. Red velvet carpet muffles the footsteps of her squadmates. Fancy gold accents decorate portraits and electric lamps mounted on a dark red wallpaper of an exquisite design. Large glass windows overlook the courtyards in the front and back of this fancy fortress and a luxurious fireplace burns with a welcoming hue with some of her teammates huddled around, in awe of the pleasantries of this living room.
“This place is something else, Fio.” Hikari noted sitting comfortably on a velour armchair with her AN-94 resting by the side.
“Makes you feel like a Disney princess doesn’t it?” Kimberly joked while relaxing next to the fireplace.
“I’m already a princess.” Hikari brushed her hair aside with playful snobbery.
“Sure. Too bad you don’t have a prince.” Mai smirked while looking over the window towards the courtyard.
“I’m working on it, Mai.”
“I like my mansion better.” Fio is adjusting her P90’s red dot optic for the night vision setting as she brags about her wealth to the others. “My family’s place is so modern. We got these glass windows, smart devices, and a big swimming pool. This place reminds me of Luigi’s Mansion.”
“Heh. I haven’t emulated that in ages.” Ramirez loads some buckshot shells into his SPAS-12 which Vicky had lent him for the match. “Too bad I didn’t bring any dragon breath shells for the match. Could you imagine the kind of carnage I could do with semi-auto fire?”
“You’d burn the whole place down in a matter of seconds.” Tomio laughs while wielding a DSA FA58 OSW which is completely unknown to Mai.”
“Tomio, what happened to your FAL? Did it get circumcised or something?”
“I was going to ask about your SKS earlier too.” Tomio chuckles. “This is my secondary rifle. The FAL was going to be too long for close quarters so I had this other rifle for situations like this. Works just like my battle rifle but it’s compact with a folding PARA stock. I got it equipped with an Aimpoint Comp M4, a PEQ laser system, and a Surefire SOCOM suppressor to hide the flash. Emi helped me out with the accessories.”
“Don’t mention it, Tommy.” Emi smiled warmly at him.
“Tommy? How sweet.” Hikari says from her armchair. “That’s your new nickname, Tomio?”
“Emi...I thought I told you that was between us.” Tomio mumbles with embarrassment.
“Can I deploy my sensors and decoys now?”
“Oh...not yet, Fio.” Tomio looks over at the grandfather clock in the living room; constructed with ornate wood, brass, and engravings. “The match is just a few minutes away from starting. We haven’t made contact with our client yet.”
“True.” Kael ponders as he admires a jewel case by a wardrobe. “Aren’t you all supposed to be protecting him?”
“Ahem...pardon me. You must be the mercenaries I’ve hired.” A posh voice protrudes from across the living room. A man in a maroon bathrobe, velvet pajama pants, a black silk scarf, and bunny slippers approaches the team. He holds a glass chalice of wine. His short stubble of a mustache twitches as he sips for a drink. His black hair is combed over back with a widow’s peak. “Mortimer. At your service. Welcome to my chateau.”
“Ah. Mr Mortimer! It’s a pleasure to meet you sir.” Emi responds. “I understand that we’re here to protect you and your property.”
“Thank goodness. It seems my ex-wife has escalated our social contract. She’s hiring some goons to raid my family’s establishment and seize control of my property. All because she had to cheat on my neighbor while I was too busy reading philosophical books in the library room! She starts berating me for being lackluster in bed and being a lousy husband! What the devil is she on about? She already took custody of the children and now she wants to take everything from me!”
“Hey hey...I think we got the memo.” Emi cuts into Mortimer’s long rant. “I know that feeling all too well. Don’t worry. Team Van-Helsing is here to help."
“Hey, Mortimer. Why couldn’t you defend yourself from your wife’s contractors with this?” Kael points to the 1895 Nagant Revolver which is stored inside the jeweled case he was looking at earlier.”
“My boy, that Revolver is from none other than the famous Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov. I won it at an auction years ago. It’s in pristine condition. There’s no way I’d want to ruin its value. I don’t even know how to use a firearm. Unlike my harlot of a wife, I’m a man of civilized means!”
“That’s what we’re here for, Kael.” Tomio noted. “We secure the mansion, protect Mr. Mortimer, and he won’t have to get his hands bloody with lawsuits or extra paperwork.” He sees the hand on the clock ticking closer to midnight. The match is about to begin soon.
“Everyone. You all know what we have to do.” Emi pulls the charging handle on her M4 and puts on her helmet with her night vision equipment. Mai and Kael. You got the first floor. Kimberly and Fio, you take the third floor. The rest of us will guard the second floor and Mortimer. Any objections. Emi waits as her team puts on their carriers, vests, and helmets.
“What if we run into Chiara?” Mai asks, inspecting her magazine fitment on her SKS before loading her two stripper clips into the receiver.”
“Call in “Pest Control”. Rami will come to your aid.”
Ramirez opens his specialty shell pouch and pulls out some beanbag shells. “Vicky instructed me to use these on Chiara if we confronted her. They won’t kill her but they’ll put her out of the fight.” He places the shell back into the pouch.
“And if any of you on the first or third floor manage to get injured, I’ll rush to your aid if you ask for “Answered Prayers.” Hikari suggests. “Vicky told me to use that codeword.”
“Sounds pretty vague to me.” Kael noted. “I just hope we can remember them.”
“You have to.” Mai interjects. “We know your crazy oneitis was listening in our chatter the last time. We’re not going to make that easy for them this time...right?”
“I hope...no….I know we’ll do our very best.” Emi nods her head and smiles at her teammates. “I believe in you all. Remember what we’re fighting for. That’s all I ask of you all.”
“You got it, Emi!” The team answered with enthusiasm.”
“Team Van-Helsing. Let’s do this! We’re not letting Mortimer lose his house tonight!”
“And try not to damage any of my valuables while you are at it!” Mortimer shouted as the team started to split up. “You hear me?!”
“Hey Morty, what’s your most valuable possession in this room?” Fio asks, looking around in urgency.”
“Why it’s that vase over there from Nepal? Why?”
“Perfect!” Fio motions Kimberly to help her lift it out of the room.
“Hey! Wait! What are you doing?!! That vase costs a fortune the likes of which none of you will ever see in your lifetime!”
“Don’t worry, Mortimer.” Kimberly winks back at him as she helps Fio carry it to the third floor. “You’re entitled to complete compensation from whatever team damages it.”
“Mai, you’re ready to go?” Kael takes out some claymores from his backpack.
“Oh...yeah. Just like we planned. We need to fortify the catacombs. You said they would try to come from the attic. We better get moving.” Mai and Kael hurry off from the living room through the second floor hallways before descending down some narrow staircase.”
“I’ll keep on lookout by the window.” Tomio takes his rifle and takes his position by the windows overlooking the front courtyard.”
“Watch the skies, Tomio. If what Kael says is true, Asura’s team could descend from a helicopter.”
“Hm...I don’t know about that, Emi.” Tomio's tone seems cautious. “A helicopter would be too noisy to deploy with. We’d hear them coming from a mile away.”
“How else would they get through the mansion besides the catacombs?” Emi’s question lingers in Tomio’s mind as he stands guard by the window.”
Chiara pats her chest carrier, feeling the heavy plates given to her before she spawned into the match. She’s accompanied by Kaz, the scout of the squad with his MP-7 PDW, H&K USP and a Katana that he insisted on bringing with him. Trisha, the squad gunner who has converted her Howa Type 89 into a squad support weapon with a deployable bipod and a Beta C-Mag with a capacity of 100 rounds of 5.56. Then there’s Rena, the squad medic wielding a Daewoo K2 assault rifle and is tasked with holding the rest of the team's ammo including ammo for Asura’s Vampire Squad who will be deploying from a helicopter and rendezvous with Chiara’s team.
“You really think going into these sewers will lead us to the mansion?” Trisha asks, attempting to pry open a manhole with Kaz’s help. The manhole pops right off with the wedge of a crowbar and is shoved aside, revealing a dark and murky passageway under the village.
”Asura told me we had to go through this way. It’s our best chance of getting to the mansion’s catacombs without being detected.” Chiara eyes narrow at her teammates? “You think this way is too good for you?”
“As a Ninja, I was expecting a more scenic route.” Kaz scoffed. “But this is stealthy enough for me.”
“Try not to lag behind, Rena. We can’t afford to lose our team’s lifeline.”
“Yes...Chi..I mean...you’re highness.” Rena stammers with her words. The weight of the ammunition in her backpack is putting a strain on her.”
“We have no time to lose. Get in.” Chiara lowers her night vision goggles and dives right into the sewers, followed by her teammates all dressed in Vampire Squad’s black attire.
A black helicopter with the emblem of Asura’s Squad flies discretely by the mountain side. Asura can spot the village lights from their point of view but has no sight of the mansion. She’s only vaguely aware of the place by Vlad’s calculations. Anything beyond the village is shrouded in complete darkness in the night. Vlad meanwhile keeps tabs on his rugged Garmin smart watch, waiting for the clock to reach midnight, the perfect time for the match to begin.
“You better be right about this, Vlad.” Asura sneered trying to look for the mansion. “We can’t see the landing zone from out here.”
“That’s good, Your highness.” Vlad maps out his route on his smart watch, showing a route to which to follow when they make their glide jump. “It means the enemy can’t see us either. We’ll need the element of surprise and the shadows are doing us a favor.”
“If you insist…” Asura then addresses her two other squadmates, Lucius and Lilith. “We only have one chance of pulling this off. You all better trained your butts because we’re making the jump the moment Chiara makes contact with the enemy. The rest will be stupid easy from here. Remember. We clear the third floor, regroup with Chiara’s squad and clear the mansion for Mortimer. We’ll have to extort him to a getaway van waiting for us by the front gate or we’ll have to eliminate all the defenders.” She lifts up a balaclava over her face and puts on her lightweight polymer helmet with her night vision equipment. “Team Van-Helsing...what a stupid name.” She mutters to herself. “Who do they think they are? I’ll have them all on my heel by the end of this.”
Kael and Mai spot a hatch which happens to lead down to the old catacombs built below the mansion grounds. Kael looks back at the claymores placed by the entrance of the hatch, should anything try to come through. If they both have to make a retreat back to the first level, they’ll have to remember to avoid tripping the wire.
“You said these catacombs lead from the village?” Mai lowers her night vision goggles over her eyes; illuminating the darkness in the passageway in a bright green hue. The walls are constructed of heavy stones and the concrete walkway is complemented by a thin stream of running water flowing by the side. Every footstep they make echoes through the catacombs. There are detours that lead nowhere other than to dead ends where skeletons lay rest in their forgotten tombs. A place this ancient, it makes one wonder who these skeletons really belong to.
“The village sewer lines have an intersection with a passage leading up to this mansion.” Kael points out to Mai. He’s not as well equipped as Mai; wearing the bare essentials for night fighting. He has his own pair of night vision goggles but they are strapped to a beanie on his head. Instead of a carrier vest, he carries his Type 56 AK Mags in his trench coat’s pockets along with a collection of grenades which are tied together with bandoleer clips on a sling which he carries over his shoulder. His rifle has no laser sighting device to speak of so he’s entirely dependent on using irons and his factory flash hider attached to his rifle. “I know this because I planned this route while I was still in JarPig Squad.”
“Let’s hope Emi isn’t sending me to my death with a traitor.” Mai sighs quietly. She does her best to soften her footsteps with Kael as they traverse the catacombs. “It’s one thing to die without making a difference in this match. I wouldn’t want my resting place to be a place like this. It’s too creepy, Kael.”
“You know none of this is real, Mai.”
“Yeah, I know that but I’d like to think our actions have consequences in this game. They kind of do considering how this tournament has changed Chiara. I just want her to snap out of it. I couldn't give a rat’s ass if we lose this match if it means having Chiara back.”
“Same here, Mai.” Kael starts to reminisce about his old team. “My friends from JarPig and I are used to environments like this. We are always doing quests and dungeon crawling in places like this?”
“In your MMO huh?” Mai humors him. “You must be in your zone right now.”
“Consider yourself lucky this is a Mil-Sim game, and not a RPG. Those skeletons will be swarming over us right now.”
“I’d think it would be cool to shoot some skeletons.” Mai smirks to herself. “Think about Kael. Do you want to see what 7.62 would do to a bunch of boney dudes.”
“Meh. You should see what a fireball does instead.” Kael shrugs. “Or maybe...some explosion spells.”
Suddenly the two hear some light splashing from across the halls of the catacomb. “Hold up...what was that?”
“Mai...stay behind. I’m going to have a look.”
“Kael wait!” Mai attempts to stop him from scouting ahead but stops in her tracks. She readies her SKS rifle and presses herself next to the stone walls to make herself a smaller target. Kael meanwhile paces himself up ahead, seeing a cross section up ahead. It’s a large roomy area with pillars and tombs embedded into the walls. He takes cover behind one of the pillars in the room, carefully listening for those splashes on the moist floor. When he hears them again, he quickly pulls himself from behind cover and aims his AK at the source of the noise. A couple of rats come swarming from across the room and he lowers his rifle, sighing in relief. “It’s nothing.” He thinks to himself before his train of thought is completely cut off by a burst of fire coming from the other side of the catacomb. “Oh crap!” A round whizzes by him, nicking a chunk of his Type 56’s hand guard. He dives for cover by the pillar and uses a pocket mirror to peek behind cover. It’s none other than his former squad mate, Trisha, positioned behind a makeshift cover with crates with her Type 89. Rena lays beside her providing additional fire with her K2. But where’s Kaz...and?
“Traitor!” A female voice cuts from the other side of the room followed by the suppressive fire of Chiara’s MP5SD. His other flank is being assaulted by Kaz who is firing upon him with his MP7. “You’re surrounded. Drop your weapon or I’ll have you torn to shreds!”
“Mai! Can you give me a hand over here!” Kael calls out from behind him! “We have contact! It’s Chiara! She’s…” His communications were interrupted with the sound of an EMP grenade plopping next to his feet. He quickly grabs the grenade and throws it away from him before it could detonate and ruin his equipment. He spots Mai running towards him, taking cover at a nearby pillar in the room and providing suppressive fire from her SKS. “Chiara! You better quit this bullshit! It ends today!”
”Don’t try it on me, Mai!” Chiara shouts, tossing another grenade at Kael. He quickly swats the grenade away from him before it explodes. He gets a bit of shrapnel on his arm but is not hindered.
”She’s not holding back!” Kael yells to Mai; blind firing his AK from the corner. We need to call Ramirez! Right now!”
“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Mai frantically tunes her radio frequency on her radio but to no avail. “You got to be kidding me! We can’t get reception down here!”
“Mai, they have a jammer with them!”
“A what?! I can’t hear you!” Mai yells from her cover as a hail of bullets rain upon them from Trisha’s Type 89. Each three round burst striking inches from the cover they are hiding behind.
“Radio Jammer! They are blocking our frequency! We have to take it out!
“Where is it!?”
“I don’t know! But we have to take out Trisha! She’s got us pinned down!”
The burst fire doesn’t appear to be halting. Mai and Kael are unable to move from their cover. “Kael, how many rounds does her Type 89 hold again?”
“Thirty!”
“Bullshit! That’s more than thirty rounds already!”
“Hang on, Mai! Let me try this!” Kael grabs a flash bang from his sling. Cover your eyes!” He pulls the pin and holds it for a few seconds before throwing it out from cover. He hears the grenade ignite and hears the immediate reaction from the aftermath. “AHHH MY EYES! I’M BLIND!”
“Yes!” Come on Mai!” He peaks over from his cover but is struck down by Chiara’s MP5 into the chest. “Ah! I’m hit!”
“Kael!!!” Mai can hear Chiara laughing across the room.
“Hah… I lied.” She starts to approach Kael’s position from the flank and orders her squad to move forward.
“M...Mai! You have to retreat! Run!”
“I’m not leaving you behind, Kael! Not like this!”
“Agh….I…” He is shot several more times from Chiara’s sub machine gun but it does not kill him. “Mai...please...you have to run…” He grabs a smoke grenade from his sling and pulls the pin. “Go...while you still can…..run!” The grenade pops, emitting a slow cloud of smoke before Chiara and her squad can reach him. His body disappears from the smoke before Mai.
“Kael…” Mai whimpers one last time before getting back on her feet and using the smoke as her cue to run back to the first floor. She doesn’t look back but holds back her tears as she disgracefully leaves her partner behind. “I have to warn Emi!” She races back to the mansion, jumping over the tripwires Kael left behind in her path.
Asura hears a brief burst of static from her radio before finally hearing Chiara’s voice coming through. “The Catacombs are ours. We captured the traitor, Kael!”
“I knew she’d pull through.” Asura gleams with a hearty chuckle. “That’s my girl.” She turns to face her squadmates who are all ready with their weapons tied to their glide suits. “It’s time, my vampires. We closed off one gap, now we’re going to suffocate them!”
“Just like we trained everyone.” Vlad calls out to the squad. I’ll jump first. The rest of you follow my lead. Maintain altitude, follow my orders, and deploy your parachute once we’re above the mansion’s roof. Don’t embarrass yourselves with a crash landing. We’re being watched by the live streamers.” He steps over to the sliding door of the helicopter. He fixes his balaclava over his face, lowers his night vision goggles. He takes a deep breath before taking the jump off the copter. He feels the rush of gravity pulling down on him from his jump before stretching his arms out with his wing suit. He shifts his body up until he is stable and now in a state of gliding. He hears peaks over his head to see his squadmates and Asura now gliding behind him in their glide suits. The initial jump went smoothly. “Everyone, stay on course. Maintain altitude.” He retains the memory of the flight path on his smart watch and he uses the environment as his markers to lead the way towards the mansion. They glide quietly over the village, sparking some curious onlookers from the ground.
”What the devil is that?! I’d never seen bats that large before?” “Are those gargoyles?” Oh my god, what on earth are those things!" The villagers hanging around at midnight are stunned in fear and amazement of Asura’s squad gliding over the village at incredible heights.
“So much for our stealthy incursion.” Lilith comments over her coms. She’s the last one following behind Lucius and Asura.
“They are just villagers. This does not concern them or our client.” Get ready to make a left turn. On me.” Vlad tilts his body left at an angle and feels the shift of the wind moving against him. He glides carefully through the mountain peaks, making his turns to avoid crashing into them. He can start to see the top of the mansion coming into his view through the fog. “Target in sight. Get ready to deploy your chutes. Follow my lead. “He makes a careful dive towards the roof of the mansion until he can assume his calculation is on point before deploying his chute which jolts his body but slows him down in his descent. He makes his landing flawless, making his running stop and dropping his parachute on his roof. He looks up and waves at his squadmates who deploy their parachutes and land near him on the roof. Lilith however seems to be struggling with her parachute cord. She maintains her calm as she struggles to pull her chute before it finally deploys but she’s flown over the landing zone. Vlad sees she’s in trouble and takes his crossbow, aiming it at Lilith. He fires a bolt tied to a length of rope, allowing Lilith to catch in the air. The three pull Lilith with the rope onto the roof where she makes her landing without any other issues.
”That could’ve ended badly. Thanks.” Lilith removes her parachute harness and un-clips her MP45 from her bandoleer. Asura wields her AA12 in her hands, anxiously wanting to use her new toy on her adversaries sooner rather than later. Lucius takes his tactical folding ax tool and pry some shingles off the roof before getting a glimpse of the attic.
“The hard part is over friends. Now it’s time to put these amateurs where they belong. Kael thought he could thwart my plans. What a total buffoon.”
Kael is dragged back all the way to where Rena and Trisha are positioned. Kael is critically wounded and can feel his energy depleting from slowly bleeding out. It’s the same feeling he felt when he lost his duel against Chiara. He has a detonator hiding in the sleeves of his trench coat. He can’t believe they wouldn’t search him for the grenades he’s holding inside his coat. An amateur mistake even for the likes of Chiara. So much for being trained by Asura’s finest.
”Kael…” Rena looks down with dread upon her former squad leader, now in total shambles.
“Rena….guys…..it’s good to see you again...I missed you all…”
“Shut it, dork!” Chiara kicks him in the rib. “You thought you were going to interrupt her highness’ plans. You really thought siding with the enemy was a good idea, you loser?!”
“Did you?” Kael coughs as he attempts to speak.
“You….you….ugh…” Chiara scoffs and adjusts her earpiece to call in Asura. “Asura, are you in the mansion already? What do we do with Kael?….oh….well...he’s...fine….if you say so.” She looks down on Kael. “Looks like her highness wants to have her way with you before you expire. I don’t think you’re going to have a good time when she sees you again.” Chiara motions her squadmates to lift him off the ground and carry him.
“What about the jammer?”
“We don’t need it anymore, Trisha. Leave that useless weight behind.”
“Whatever you say, your highness.” She says the last word with a hint of resentment. “Come along Kael. It’s not like we have a choice.” Kael and Kaz attempt to pick up Kael from the ground but he does not have the strength to stand up on his feet. He falls hard onto the ground and groans.
“Kael!….” Rena comes over to help him.
“Rena. Don’t bother trying to patch him up. He’s going to be a dead man real soon.” Chiara snaps at her.
“Kael...where does it hurt...is it your chest...your arm?” She frantically tries to pat her hands over him to find the wounds. Not realizing what’s hiding in his sleeves.
“Rena...please….don’t…..not there.” When she pats his arms, an audible click is heard which echoes in the hollow catacombs. Trisha knows what’s about to go off and pushes Chiara and Kaz away with her.
“Rena! You fucking moron! BACK AWAY FROM KA...”
The explosion could be heard from above the catacombs. Emi and the others feel the ground shake before them. “What was that?!” Hikari calls from across the room. “Was that the catacombs!”
“Mai! Are you there?! What’s going on?!! Mai!” Emi doesn’t wait long before Mai finally answers back.
“Emi. We lost the catacombs….They got Kael….I think….he’s gone… The catacombs collapsed right as I made my escape. Kael ignited all the claymores when he...” Mai’s somber tone pauses.
“And Chiara? Was she there?”
”I….I don’t know...she'’s wasn't the Chiara I used to know.”
Kael feels a sense of relief now that his health has been restored. He’s standing in what appears to be a skyline penthouse floor with a widescreen television showing the battle he was just partaking in. He spots Vicky, Ashley, and Trevor sitting over at a couch; huddled together comfortably. “Heya Kael! Looks like you had one heck of an explosive outro! Bravo!” Vicky claps her hands. “Hey come chill with us Tell your girlfriend she's invited too.”
“My...girlfriend.” Kael asks, confused , before he catches wind of Rena standing behind him. She stands around as if she’s guilty.
“I’m sorry, Kael...I didn’t know you were…”
“Yeah…I was kind of saving those for Asura." Kael says disappointedly. "...but it’s okay now, Rena.” He comes over to give Rena a hug. “It’s over now. JarPig Squad is done for...we can all move on from all this and go back to the way things were supposed to be. He caresses Rena’s head and looks around but doesn’t see Kaz, Trisha, or even Chiara in this penthouse. Uh...Rena. Where's the rest of JarPig Squad? I’d thought they would…”
“Were they eliminated too?” Rena looks up at Kael…
“I don’t see them around here.” Ashley mentions looking around the penthouse with her eyes. “That must mean…”
“Yo! They survived that shit?!!” Trevor shouts as if he’s watching a sports match with his eyes glued to the screen. “Ah hell naaaaaawww!”