Emi is back on her feet again. Her minimalist HUD now stabilized from the flashing red she experienced earlier. Emi’s battle is finally over. She spots Joshua’s squad who have been watching the match from the very start, huddled together on the couch. Vicky is snuggled comfortably with a blanket next to Joshua and Ashley. Trevor has his feet resting on the coffee table; causing it to squeak every time he shuffles around while he watches the monitor streaming the match. He’s wearing his sunglasses inside for some reason. At the other end of the penthouse, Kael, Trisha, and Rena are hanging out at some bar stools watching the match; their faces are relieved that they are reunited at last. Vicky waves to Emi with a grin on her face.
“Good to see you, Emi! You were awesome out there.”
“Ah. Thanks!” Emi replies modestly. “Too bad I got eliminated.”
“Hey! You got Chiara back on our side. That’s something right?” Tomio’s voice calls from across the room. He’s at a billiard table with a pole with one of the members of Vampire Squad. Emi is surprised to see him in the lobby.
“Tommy…” Emi murmurs with a blush but then snaps into a snarky expression. “How did YOU get eliminated, Cowboy?” She grins with her hands on her hips. Tomio waits for Lucius to take his shot at the pool table. He strikes the cue ball and makes a few pockets much to his dismay.
“Lucky shot.” Tomio curses in good spirits in response to Lucius’ shot and Emi’s question. “I’ll even the odds...just watch.” He moves around to make his angle of attack on the billiard table. Despite being focused on this game of pool, the two of them are still keeping tabs of the match.
The relatively chill environment was short-lived when Asura spawns into the lobby, finally succumbing to her wounds from the match. Completely healed, but with fury in her eyes, Asura glares at her new surroundings and then towards the big screen monitor in the penthouse. She quickly realizes the reality of the situation, watching helplessly as her two remaining squad members: Vlad and Lilith stay stagnant in the mansion’s hallway in a defensive position with the weapons they have captured from their prisoners that have escaped. She looks at the room where she perished; her ragdoll laying lifeless in the room alongside Emi’s. She sees Chiara, now dawning Emi’s equipment and team patch, making her way to her former squadmates still in the match with Mortimer following behind. All she can do is scream at the monitor.
“You idiots!!! What are you doing!!! Vlad!!!! Stop screwing around and get Mortimer!!! COME ON!!!!! MOVE!!!!” But her shouting and ranting is all meaningless. She cannot command her squad from the lobby. Her eyes glare over to Lucius where he’s waiting for Tomio to make his move on the billiard table. “You! What the hell are you doing here?!! You’re my second in command and you managed to get yourself killed! What’s wrong with you! How did you fail me!!!”
Lucius doesn’t answer at first. He watches Tomio strike the cue ball and manages to outscore him. “Lucky shot.” Lucius answers. “It looks like we are tied.”
“Useless idiot!” Asura groans before glaring over to Emi who’s now sitting with her friends on the couch. “And you!!! You meddling psychologist and your sentimental bullshit! What gives you the right to turn my precious weapon against ME!”
“I told you…” Emi answers staunchly. “I wouldn’t lecture you. I will show you.” She crosses her arms and rests her legs on the coffee table. “You know this is all your fault.”
“How dare you!!” Asura screeches back. “My plan was going well until you had to pull Chiara away from her destiny. You ruined everything! You….you….”
“You know, for someone who’s older than me, you sure act very immature.” Emi waves her hand dismissively. “You’ll never get anywhere in life with that attitude.”
“Who are you to tell me what I am?!” Asura’s yelling does nothing to intimidate Emi. She’s not used to being stoic against her.
“She’s right.” Kael speaks up firmly. Surprising everyone in the room. He gets up from the bar stool with Rena by his side. “You’ve been nothing but dismissive to everyone including your allies! You tossed me aside and took my squadmates from me and didn’t expect I would return to get my friends back from you. You tried pulling Chiara from her real friends and look how that ended up for you.”
“You? You dare judge me? You followed me around like I was your mother, and the second I didn't need you, you went crying back to these losers! What does that make you?!”
Kael didn't flinch. He stood a little taller, with Rena and Trisha flanking him. “Better than you...and definitely not a loser.”
Asura is speechless but visibly insulted. She can’t believe it herself.
“If I may, your highness.” Lucius chimes in, nervously twitching the pole in his hands. “We both fell from the match...so...something didn’t go right.” It was the closest he'd ever come to criticizing her.
“DIDN'T GO RIGHT?!" she shrieked, whirling on him, her finger jabbing toward the screen like that one meme image that is popular in online forums. "It didn't go right because you got yourself killed in a reckless standoff! It didn't go right because he," she snarled, pointing a trembling finger at Kael, "betrayed us! It didn't go right because Chiara was weak all along! My plan was perfect! You were all just too incompetent to execute it!"
“Your highness, I was only suggesting…”
“I’ll have none of it, Vlad! Shut up!”
Vicky who was quietly observing the back and forth between Asura and those in the room figured it was her time to chime in on the situation. “You know...I think you’re hurting, Asura.”
“What did you say!? This doesn’t concern you, hobbit!”
“You bet it does. I’ve been friends with Chiara over the past couple of days trying to get the bottom as to why she has abandoned her friends. What I didn’t realize until now is that you and Chiara are very much alike...but you know…” Vicky looks over at the large monitor, witnessing a changed Chiara escorting Mortimer through the mansion. “Chiara never lost her love for her friends. She was only confused about her identity, her destiny...and her own strengths and weaknesses. I think you can relate to that, Asura.”
Asura seizes her yelling. What Vicky is telling her is not wrong. Asura herself had admitted to Chiara that they were both alike. But there’s no doubt in her mind she knew what she was doing. She was in this tournament to redeem herself from her abysmal match when she was in leaf squad. A match where she completely blundered her teammates by her own incompetence. But now the reality is setting in. Asura lost her chance to prove herself in the one thing in life that really mattered to her anymore. Her one escape from reality for what she truly is. A 24 year old woman with no future prospects.
Asura crossed her arms, her eyes glued to the screen behind her. Vlad, Lilith, and Kaz are all that remain of her team. There’s no way they can turn the battle around with her eliminated by the one girl she thought she could convince of her own abilities and talents. Chiara was back where she belonged, but Asura had nothing left. She can feel tears building up in her eyes but she keeps her eyes down to hide them.
“Emi…” She answers with a dark shaky voice, her fists clenched with her nails pressed against her palms. “What makes you think you’re better than me? You’re a nobody. Your team is all nobodies. You and your friends...you don’t belong in this tournament. You’re crushing dreams...my dreams...and you do it with a smile on your face.”
“I’m not better than you, Asura,” Emi said, her voice clear and serious. “My team, my friends are here to have fun.You know how it is out there, Asura. The real world...it’s not like any of us have anything better to do. My friends and I are in college, some of us have demanding degrees, some of us are already working jobs. It’s not easy out there. All of this isn’t easy either, but you know...if we fail in this game, it’s not the end of the world.” Emi looks over to Kael and his friends. “Kael. Tell me the reason why your party joined Mil-Sim Story.”
“We figured it was a good way to get my party some exposure outside of our MMORPG.” Kael answered, patting Rena and Trisha on their backs. “We were already level maxed in one game and wanted to do something exciting together...as a team.”
“Exactly.” Emi explains “But instead of fighting alongside them as equals, you used his squad like pawns, expecting them to do your bidding while offering nothing in return. You’d go as far as to tear Kael’s squad apart from him and use them against us. You tried to take Chiara from us to get an advantage over my team. But that was never going to work. I know Chiara. She’s uncertain of a lot of things, but she’s not afraid to admit that she has insecurities. I’m sure you’re aware of that. But she wants to better herself. She’s capable of it. Are you?”
Asura has no response. It’s enough to make Lucius frightened and concerned for his squad leader. “You highness….are you…”
“Just….leave me alone.” Asura’s voice trembles. “I...I can’t deal with this anymore…”
“But your highness! Vlad and Lilith are still in the match. We still can...”
“No! They can’t. Forget it. I’m done with this stupid game. I’m done with all of you!”
“Your highness!” Lucius attempts to stop her but she logs out without any hesitation. The rest take in the miserable scene. Asura really was a coward, unable to stand by her team till the very end.
Asura pulls out the headset from her face. Her eyes were streaming with tears. She takes the headset and throws hard against the wall of her messy bedroom. The VR headset is intact but makes a large dent on her wall. Her mother calls from down stairs.
“Asura! Can you keep it down up there! You better be cleaning your room!”
“Leave me alone!” Asura screams, locking the door to her bedroom and falling flat on her bed, sobbing hysterically into her pillow.
“Your highness! What’s the hold up? Are you there? Your highness. Dammit.”
“Brother, is her line out?” Lilith asks, firing a hyper-burst from Hikari’s AN-94.
“Nothing but static. Curses.” Vlad loads his last 20 round magazine into Tomio’s rifle. “I should have known that girl was nothing but trouble.”
“You mean, Chiara?”
“Both of them.” Vlad specifies under duress. “Asura put too much faith into that girl. She’s either switched sides or is already eliminated. I’m hoping for the latter.” He looks over to Kaz, firing away with his MP7 with one hand. “Don’t blow that ammo so wastefully, Ninja. All we have left is pistols after this.
“I’m doing what I can.” Kaz ducks as he hears rounds flying over him.
“So Asura isn’t responding. Neither is Chiara…” Vlad thinks to himself. “Lilith. I want you to pinpoint her highness’ last location. She was on the third floor. Make haste.”
“I’m going brother! Hold the line.” She runs off to the staircase behind Vlad and Kaz, ascending to the third floor.
“If Asura’s dead…”
“I’ll take charge, Ninja. We’ll slaughter them one by one until there’s not a soul left to save Mortimer. We’ll use our blades if it comes down to it.”
“Hah! Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Kaz chuckles through his gas mask; patting his Katana.
Things are not looking so hot for Team Van Helsing at the other end of the hall. To preserve ammo, Kimberly switched from firing full auto bursts to semi auto. Fio is using Kimberly’s TT33 pistol. Mai slams some stripper clips into her Type 56 after going through all of her ammo from her 20 round magazines. She gazes up at Hikari who has yet to get a single round out of that old revolver.
“Come on, Hikari! Shoot them!”
“Ugh. This revolver is trash, Mai. I can’t pull the trigger.”
“It’s a double action revolver. Just pull harder.
“Mai, I can’t! Hikari whined, her thumb straining against the impossibly heavy trigger.
“You pampered princess...give me the Nagant!” Mai snatched the revolver from Hikari’s hands and exchanged it for her Type 56 SKS Mai readied her hand on the Nagant revolver, quickly peaking from over her cover. Her finger squeezes, and squeezes and squeezes. “Come on...where’s the break...oh my God…” Ignition. Her finger hits the break at last but her shot is thrown off completely. She ducks back dodging incoming fire from across the hall. “That was the worst trigger I’d ever used in my life!” Mai looks astonished at the revolver in hands. “What were they thinking?!”
“As if I would lie, Mai. I told you!”
“Try shooting it single action! Like Tomio’s revolver.” Kimberly notes to Mai.
“Aha. Good thinking.” She cocks the hammer back, Hikari shakes her head in disbelief. Mai once again peaks over cover and makes a quick shot at a silhouette standing behind the barricade. The trigger pull is not as crisp as Mai would hope for, but it’s a lot easier than the double action pull. “Gotcha! No...wait a second.” Mai notices the silhouette doesn’t fall to the ground from what she could have sworn was a head shot. She lowers herself down to avoid the return fire which is starting to seem less than what it used to be. She doesn’t hear the AN-94 anymore. “That was a hit! I swear it! They aren’t using client side cheats are they?”
“The server would have perma-banned them. Don’t ask me how I know.” Fio pulls out a digital snake camera from her carrier to look over the cover. She uses a digital zoom and it starts to all make sense to her. “No kidding, that’s the big meanie Tomio took down earlier..and some red headed girl too. They don’t look alive.”
“Bastards. Wait...is the red headed girl Chiara?”
“No, Mai. She’s clearly not Chiara.”
“I’d feel less bad about wasting ammo if it was her.” Mai grumbles to herself. “They are messing with us until we’re all out of ammo. We should have known.”
Kimberly feels a presence coming up from behind her. “Hey! We got company.” She swings her carbine around, her IR laser directly pointed to a red headed girl with a torn up black uniform holding an M4A1, skin as pale as the moon. The girl’s rifle is hung from a sling across her chest and her hands are up at the level of her face. Mortimer follows behind, trembling in fear.
“You!” Mai snaps, pulling the Nagant revolver towards her.”
“Mai, calm down…” Hikari stops Mai from shooting.
“So...what brings you back with us...Chiara.” Kimberly questions the pale girl. “You caused a lot of trouble for us, you know.”
“Yeah, we’re on the verge of capitulation as you can tell, Chiara. What’s with the sudden change of heart?” Mai twitches her finger away from the trigger of her Nagant revolver. “I’m really tempted to blast you right now.”
Chiara looked upon her disheveled friends. They all looked like they were fighting with all they got and now they don’t even have enough weapons or ammo to keep up the fight. She speaks with the utmost sincerity; without any of the uncertainty in her voice.
“I wasn’t able to save Emi in time. It’s all my fault. I was so tired of being weak, that I became a monster and hurt the ones who cared about me the most.” Chiara gestures towards Mai’s revolver. “You have every right to be angry at me. I understand if you no longer believe in me anymore. I’ve betrayed you and don’t deserve your mercy. But the least I can do for now is offer you these weapons.” Chiara hands over Asura’s AA12 to Hikari, Emi’s M9A3 to Fio, and Emi’s M4A1 to Mai by placing the weapons on the ground along with some flash grenades. She keeps her Sand Viper in her holster as her only weapon in hand. “I took out Asura myself. Vampire Squad is down to two and Kaz is the only one left of JarPig Squad. They aren’t doing any better with logistics and Vlad isn’t aware of my defection or Asura’s elimination as far as I know. We don’t have much time to waste.”
Hikari is quick to accept Chiara’s apology. She picks up the AA12; intrigued and confused by the odd shape. “What the heck is this thing, anyways?”
“It’s an automatic shotgun. You only have that drum magazine to work with.”
“That sounds awfully painful to shoot.”
“You’d be surprised, Hikari. It supposedly has a nice recoil system. I can’t tell you what shells she’s using in that magazine. Think you can handle it?”
“If you say so.” Hikari charges the AA12 with her hand. Meanwhile Fio picks up Emi’s M9A3.
“It’s no Lago Alien, but it’s a 9mm. Emi’s handgun is nice.”
“That’s because her boyfriend recommended it for her, Fio.” Kimberly smirks. “Chiara, I’ll take those flash bangs. I’ll put them to good use.”
“Sure, go ahead.” Chiara smiles softly, almost letting out a chuckle from Fio’s pouting face.
“I wish I had a boyfriend to buy me a nice handgun.”
“Same.” Hikari agrees with Fio. “But we shouldn’t be talking about boys right now. What are we going to do about them? They’re still firing upon us with our own weapons!” Hikari whines. “I’m absolutely appalled they got their hands on my AN-94!”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get them back.” Chiara assured Hikari. “But we can’t just charge straight on into their defenses. They’ll just gun us down. We’ll have to find another way to get to them before they figure out that Asura is dead.” She turned to Mai, who was still silently inspecting Emi’s rifle on the floor. “Mai...I need you to do me a favor.”
Mai looks up to Chiara. She doesn’t say anything but still has her distrust written on her face.
“I’m going to try to flank them from the side, but we’ll have to cross some windows outside with my rope and hook. I need your support, Mai. I can’t do it alone.
Mai takes a moment to process Chiara’s plan. “So let me guess this straight. You want to pull off an Iranian Embassy Siege maneuver on your former vampire friends?” Mai sighed, a sound of pure exhaustion and reluctant acceptance. “Fine...if you think it’s a good idea, squad leader. But under one condition.”
“What’s that, Mai?”
Mai takes the Type 56 SKS that was formerly in Hikari’s possession. “I’m going with my SKS. I can’t trust myself with Emi’s rifle. You’ll need it more than I will. I’m going to assume Emi trusted you with her rifle and hope you didn’t just loot it off her like a war trophy.”
Chiara takes Mai’s word and picks up Emi’s rifle. “So be it. The rest of you, keep returning fire but don’t waste your reserves. Mortimer will stay with you so protect him at all costs. Mai and I will give you the signal to throw a flash grenade to distract them. We’ll assault from their flank and that will be your cue to assault them. Am I clear with my plan?”
“Clear as day!” Fio answers cheerfully. “Hey look at that! The sun is starting to rise.” Fio notes the subtle sunrise over the horizon by the window of the mansion. The sky is still dark but a warm hue is starting to creep.
“This battle has gone far too long.” Mai stated firmly. “I think it’s time to end this. The sooner the better.”
“There’s no time to lose. Let’s move, Mai.” Before she sprints to a nearby room with Mai, she gives one more pointer to Hikari. “Don’t use that shotgun until we begin the assault. They’ll know you have Asura’s weapon the moment they hear it. That suppressor won’t hide the sound signature.”
“But what will I use in the meantime?” Hikari asks, puzzled.
“Here, take this back.” Mai slides the Nagant revolver on the floor towards Hikari.”
“Seriously? This rusty piece of crap? Why me?!
“Because it was your idea to use it, Hikari. Shoot it like a cowboy and cock that hammer. Laters…” Mai follows Chiara leaving the squad behind their cover. Hikari picks up the revolver reluctantly and groans.
“Ugh. Chekhov's gun sucks.”
“Hey! You better not scratch that!” Mortimer cried. “That cost a fortune!”
“I’ll just buy you a better gun after this match...Jeez. It’s just a stupid old revolver.”
Chiara opens a window from one of the second floor rooms. She and Mai will have to move quickly. The gap to the next window was a daunting fifteen feet—too far to jump, too far to safely traverse. Chiara looks up to the third floor for a stone arc to throw her rope onto.
“We can’t jump to the other windows. They are too spaced out. We’re going to swing our way until we’re at the flanking point. The fifth window.” Chiara points to the window they have to get to. “I hope you’re not afraid of heights.”
“Believe me, Chiara. Heights are the least of my worries right now. I’m not like Emi.”
“Neither am I.” Chiara throws her hook and rope high up into the air and the hook latches onto one of the stone arcs. She pulls the rope to test its rigidness. “Good enough...I hope.” Chiara gets onto the edge of the window with barely any platform to stand on. With the push of her toes, she pushes herself off the edge and leaps into the second window. She hangs onto the rope and prepares to throw it back at Mai. “Grab on and swing with your weight. You’re going to have to jump like I did. Don’t let go of the rope. We’ll need it for the next swing.”
“I don’t like this one bit. Give me the rope, Chiara.” Chiara throws the rope over to Mai’s side. She lunges and grabs hold of the rope, swinging over to Chiara’s window and planting her feet onto the outer brim of the second window. There’s barely enough space for the two to stand. “Phew. Only four more to go.” She gives the rope to Chiara who carefully nudges the hook off the arc by pulling in an outwardly direction before rolling the hook back onto her hands. She readies herself to repeat the same maneuver for the next few windows.
Meanwhile Ramirez rushes back into the master bedroom on the third floor. He is distraught to see Emi lying dead on the ground. “Damn. I’m too late.” But he also notices Asura is also dead, not too far from where Emi is lying. He walks over to Asura’s ragdoll. On the ground next to her is a Luger P08 pistol that is locked on an empty magazine. It doesn’t take much sleuthing for Ramirez to come up with the conclusion that Asura couldn’t have shot herself eight times in the chest. She was shot by someone else with her own pistol. He looks over to Emi; most of her gear is gone and her rifle isn’t with her. “That’s strange. Who could have…” But suddenly, Ramirez hears the sounds of frantic footsteps approaching his position. He thinks fast and falls down to the ground, still hanging close to his SPAS 12 shotgun while he plays dead. He peaks with one eye open. A petite girl dressed in black with dark brown hair and red eyes bursts into the room from the open door. She catches her breath when she sees Asura on the floor.
“Her Highness!!! No! It can’t be!” She kneels down next to her with her head down. “Impossible. She would never let herself be killed like this. There’s no way. Without our squad leader...what...what can we do?” Ramirez notices the girl in black is holding Hikari’s AN-94.
“I hope I’m not the last man standing.” Ramirez thinks to himself. He lays silently, watching the girl making a call through the radio.
“Vlad! Her highness is down! I repeat! Her highness is down!” Her voice is filled with distraught. “Where’s Chiara?! What do we do?! Huh? You think she’s responsible?! Uh...yeah...there’s a dead guy here with a SPAS 12. I’m running out of ammo on this magazine. Okay...okay...we’ll finish the job and mop the place. Shoot on sight. Got it.”
Ramirez acts quickly. He barrel rolls towards his SPAS 12 and aims for the girl, catching her by surprise. “BANG!” a beanbag fires from the barrel and smacks the girl in the face.
“Ah!” She drops onto the ground, twisting in confusion and from disorientation from being struck by a nonlethal round. Ramirez picks up Hikari’s AN-94 and grabs the girl by the arms, zip ties her arms and kicks the radio away. “Don’t go anywhere. The battle is over for you.” He pumps his shotgun and exits the room, leaving behind Lilith who is disarmed and incapacitated.
“Ah man… rookie’s mistake.” She muttered to herself.
“Last one, Mai.” Chiara readies her hook and rope for one last throw, catching it on the last arch to the fifth window. She takes off from the fourth window and swings over to the fifth window. “Your turn, Mai.”
“This is why I can never be a scout. I hate P.E. classes. Rope day was the worst.” Mai takes hold of the rope once Chiara throws it back at her. “Here I go…” She replicates her swing like Chiara but suddenly her hand starts to slip off the rope.
“Mai!” Chiara lunges over to catch Mai by the hand before she loses her grip on the rope. She gripped Mai with her other hand and hauled, grunting with the effort until she could pull Mai up onto the window ledge beside her. Mai looks down from the ground below where a fall from this height wouldn’t have killed her but would have put her out of the match for good.
“Fuck...see what I mean.” Mai sighs in relief. “Thanks, Chiara. You’re stronger than you think you are.” Mai admits with a quiet admiration.
“You don’t weigh that much, Mai.” Chiara mentions while she carefully lifts the window open.”
“Being impoverished does that to you. I’m stuffing myself at Tomio’s after this.”
“Tomio’s…” Chiara reminiscences. “I don’t deserve that. Not after what I put you all through.”
“I’ll make sure to save you a slice if you can’t join us.” Mai reassures her, patting her on the back. Once they hop inside the empty room, the two reload and check their weapons. Chiara pulls the charging handle back on Emi’s M4A1, seeing a round is already in the chamber and closes the bolt. “You know how to use Emi’s rifle?” Mai asks.
“I have some experience with the AR platform now, Mai. The M16A3 I was trained with in Vampire Squad is very similar to this.” Chiara’s ears perk as she hears footsteps coming from outside. “Look out, we got company.” Chiara and Mai spread out to the corners of the room and aim down their sights. Ramirez dashes into the room but Mai gives out the code word in a sharp whisper: “Silver.”
“Bullet.” Ramirez lowers his SPAS 12 but notices Chiara in the corner. He raises his shotgun at her.
“It’s alright, Rami. Chiara is back on our side now.” Mai lowers her hand to signal to Ramirez. “We’re getting ready to flank them.”
“Yeah. They’re right down the hall from where this room is. I saw them.” Ramirez noted.
“So why didn’t you take them out when you had the chance?
“I’ve only got beanbag rounds loaded in my magazine tube. I manage to incapacitate one of the vampires on the third floor. They know Asura’s dead.” He looks directly at Chiara. “I bet you had something to do with it, right?”
“Yeah.” Chiara admits. “I tried to save Emi but I was too late. So that leaves Vlad and Kaz left. Good. We outnumber them right now.”
“So we’re still going with the plan, Chiara.”
“It’s our only chance. If we don’t act now, they'll get away and make this even harder for our team. Vlad is more cunning than Asura. He acts on his feet.”
“You think you can do some damage with those beanbag rounds?”
“Within a close distance. But it won’t kill them, Mai.”
“Good enough for me.” Chiara picks up her radio and calls through to Hikari. “We’re in position. Now is your chance. Let’s do this...for Emi.”
“Uh huh.” Hikari waves to Kimberly. “Do it now!” Kimberly pulls the pin on the flash bang and throws it over head towards the enemy’s cover. “For Emi!”
“We can’t stand around like idiots! Her highness is dead!” Vlad shuffles through the weapons left in their stockpile. “Here take this, I’ll take the P90.”
“Absolutely abhorrent.” Kaz dismisses the Hi Point C9 shoved towards him. “That thing is a load of junk. Look at those grips. There’s none!”
“Just take it! It shoots bullets like any other handgun.”
“I’d rather use my Katana than use a lowly weapon like that.”
“You and your honor...Ninja.” Vlad groans. “Where the hell is Lilith! Why isn’t she answering!”
“Vlad! Duck!” Kaz shoves Vlad’s head down to the ground when he spots a flash grenade thrown in front of their cover.
“Bang!”
“Those idiots! They are going to do a frontal assault. Get ready!” Kaz takes the Hi Point and Vlad positions the P90 over the barrier. “Steady. Wait until you see them come out from cover.
“Plap plap plap plap plap” A burst of automatic fire concussion breaks out in front of them.
“That’s her highness’ shotgun! How did they get a hold of ... .damnit…..damnit...I should have known. Chiara!!”
“Vlad, to the right!” Kaz spots a group of three armed personnel approaching their position. Firing upon them before Kaz is shot on the shoulder. “Ah...I’m hit!”
“Those bastards….retreat! Run ninja! Fuck!” Vlad attempts to limp as in a hurry, he spots a Japanese girl wielding Asura’s AA12 charging at them along with two other girls.
“Ahahahaahahhahaa!” Hikari laughs historically while firing the AA12. The suppressor on the shotgun has been removed and large muzzle flashes light up the room, making it unbearable for Kaz and Vlad to use their night vision goggles. “Come get some! You want this!!! Ahahahahahaha!”
“Vlad fires Fio’s P90 into Hikari, striking her center mass.
“Oh...I’m dead…” Hikari stops in her tracks and falls face first into the ground.
“Hikari’s down!” Kimberly informs Chiara over the radio.”
“Keep pushing!” Chiara orders; Mai and Ramirez move in a wing formation beside her as they fire and move in formation. “Don’t let them get away!”
“Kaz! Hurry up! How am I moving faster than you when I’m crippled?!” Vlad reaches the staircase but looks over to an injured Kaz, drawing his Katana.
“The battle is lost, Vlad. I’m going out in style.”
“You got to be shitting me! Don’t throw your life away so recklessly.”
“See you at the end of the match.” Kaz charges towards the gun fire.
“You fucking weeb idiot.” Vlad cusses him out. “Screw this!” He throws himself over the staircase and falls down to the first floor slamming into the floor. “Ah….damn!”
“Ramirez! Look out!” Mai cries out when she spots Kaz running towards them with his Katana drawn. He’s taking a lot of hits from their firearms but he’s not stopping. Ramirez aims his SPAS 12 and fires a beanbag round into his face, knocking him out.
“He’s down.” Chiara kicks the Katana away and Ramirez zip ties Kaz on the ground before catching up with Chiara and Mai. They stop at the top of the staircase.
“Where’s Vlad?” Kimberly and Fio reunite with them from the other side.
“He’s probably run off to the first floor. Watch Mortimer for us!” Chiara, Mai and Ramirez descend down the stairs.
“Is...is it finally over?” Mortimer stammers from behind Fio and Kimberly.
“Yes, now please stand back and let the professionals do their job, thank you.” Kimberly instructs them. “We got one last vampire to deal with.”
Vlad desperately crawls his way on the ground, unable to get back on his feet. With one hand holding the P90 and the other being used to pull himself away. A boot steps onto his hand preventing him from raising his weapon. “Curses! Chiara! I should have known you would crack! I knew it from the very start!" He snarled.
“You were right about me, Vlad.” Chiara presses down on his hand with her boot. “I am too weak minded to be a vampire. I’m an Armadillo girl. I belong with them….not to you or Asura.”
“Well…” Vlad coughs as he speaks. “This all proves everything I said about her highness too. She was never fit to be a squad leader. Trusting you was her worst miscalculation.”
“How could you say such a thing?! She’s your squad leader!”
“Do you know how emotional her highness gets, Chiara?” Vlad carefully reaches for a grenade in his pocket while he distracts Chiara with his speech. “Her only goal from doing all this is to get back at the one man who ruined her dreams of feeling like she belonged somewhere. It was never her intention to build Vampire Squad into the power house that it is now. Even with our defeat…” He smirks, carefully pulling the grenade out of his pocket. “Vampire Squad will always be one of the most feared and professional PMCs in Mil-Sim Story.” It was thanks to me that our recruits...including you, managed to be capable soldiers.
Chiara’s eyes widened as she saw the grenade.
“And now, you’ll die just like her highness!”
“Chiara!” Mai fires her SKS into Vlad, emptying her magazine. Chiara gains some awareness and kicks the grenade from his left hand. It explodes spreading shrapnel all over the dining room but not injuring anyone in the room. Chiara sighs and gently collapses onto the floor in a sitting position, holding Emi’s rifle close to her. “Phew. I was getting tired of his monologue.”
“Well that's the last of them...right Chiara?” Ramirez asks, loading a beanbag round into the chamber of his SPAS 12.
“Yeah. That’s that…” Chiara looks down at the ground and sighs again.
Ramirez looks over to Mai who gives him a nod to go ahead. He aims the SPAS 12 at Chiara’s back and fires a beanbag round into Chiara, knocking her over.”
“Aaah! What the heck was that for?! Ramirez!!!”
“Sorry, but Vicky told me to use these rounds on you if I ever came across you.”
“Vicky! Ugh...I should have know...she was working with you guys all along…”
“Serves you right, Chiara.” Mai crosses her arms and scolds her. “You gave our team a lot of hurt by going all Anakin on us. That wasn’t cool Chiara. You know we were this close to having you replaced. The least we could had done was let Vicky try to convince you to change you heart...which thankfully you did in the end. You should have considered it earlier and not put us through all this trouble you know.”
“Ugh...yeah...I suppose I did deserve this. I shouldn’t have been so stupid.” Chiara groans.
“We seriously missed you, Chiara. I missed you. Who else was going to be our quiet little scout with social anxiety? We all know you’re irreplaceable. You’re like a sister to us, Chiara.” She picks up Chiara by the hand. “Alright. Walk it off, it’s just a bean bag.”
Chiara gets back up on her feet with Mai’s help. She pulls Mai in for an embrace. Mai squeezes her tightly. “You’ll always have a place with us, Chiara. We love you.”
“I love you guys too.” Chiara murmured softly. “I can’t tell you how much I missed you all. I wish I had never defected and been so naive.”
“Hey, we all make mistakes, Chiara.” Mai comforts her, ruffling her hair. “It’s just part of growing up, you know. We all have to learn the hard way every once in a while. It’s how we become stronger.”
“Just don’t make too many serious mistakes.” Ramirez adds humorously. “You still gotta stay in Uni or you’ll end up like Kimberly and me working dead end jobs.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right.” Mai nods. “Come on, Chiara. Let’s get back to the family.
Chiara and the others teleport to the post match lobby in the penthouse. Chiara eyes light when she sees Emi, Tomio, Hikari, Vicky, and all sorts of new faces in Armadillo uniforms. Emi approaches Chiara and pulls her in for a hug. “We’re so glad to have you back Chiara!”
“I knew you would make the right choice!” Vicky excitedly calls out from the couch.
“Yeah. You were a good kid, even though I don’t even know who you are.” Trevor mentions from the corner shrugging his shoulders.
“Man, don’t you ever pay attention.” Joshua shakes his head. “She’s Emi’s friend.”
“Do I look like I’ve been here long enough to know?”
“Come on, man…”
“That was pretty intense. I don’t think I would be able to pull off anything from that match I just saw.” Ashley noted.
“No worries, Ashley. We’ll get our moment to shine.” Vicky assures her.
“Ugh...I got carried away with the AA12.” Hikari moans. “I was having too much fun.”
“You think?” Mai asks, smirking.
“Mai, I got to get my hands on a shotgun like that!”
“You better have deep pockets, Hikari. Like an arm and a leg.”
“Sounds like it’ll be Monopoly money to me, Mai.”
“Speaking of money, I think you owe me.” Mai grins.
“Oh right…your stupid Hi Point grips...yeah yeah...I’ll get to it.” Hikari rolls her eyes. “Seriously…I need to get a better pistol while I am at it.”
“Damn straight.” Trevor adds, sneakily throwing away his P320 into a nearby trash bin. “Oh no...I lost my pistol...I guess I better buy a new one after this.”
Chiara lets go of Emi and looks over at Kael and his squad. She approaches them and speaks with her utmost sincerity. “Kael...I think I owe you a big apology. I’m sorry I took away your squad from you like that. I didn’t even treat them right...like how you would.”
“Hey no biggie, Chiara.” Kael laughs it off. “You’re not the only one to drink Asura’s Kool Aid.”
“You’re the reason why we got ourselves into this mess, Kael.” Trisha says to Kael. “Poor Rena wanted to look out for you and you completely ignored her.”
“I know...but just like you Chiara, I realized the errors of my way.” He places his hands on his hips in a dramatic pose. “JarPig squad is officially done with Mil-Sim Story. Our place is in our MMO world. It’s our home...away from home...just the four of us slaying demons, ogres, goblins, skeletons, and wizards, and knights, and…”
“I think they get it, Kael.” Rena murmurs reluctantly.
“Oh right. You’re welcome to join us, Armadillo and Longhorn Squad. You know, in case you ever get bored with this game. We’d love to have you on our side to do some dungeon crawling.”
“We appreciate the offer, Kael.” Tomio replies. “Thanks for helping out our team in the match. Your sacrifice placed the match in our favor.”
“Hah. Don’t mention it. It was pretty honorable, right Kaz.”
“I guess so, but we still lost.”
“It’s not losing if we all got each other, right?” Kael pulls the group together with his arms. “Maybe the real tournament was the friends we made along the way.”
On the other side of the room, Vlad, Lucius and Lilith sit around on bar stools; not really saying anything to each other or acknowledging the others. It’s clear they are not taking their defeat lightly. Chiara is shocked to see Asura is not with them. Sensing she needed to make some closure with her former teammates, she cautiously approached
“What do you want, defector?” Vlad hisses at Chiara.
“I...I don’t know. I just wanted to let you know that it didn’t have to end this way. You know...with your team...losing...and all.” Chiara's voice is steady but still uncertain.
Vlad coughs up a bitter but sharp laugh. “It didn’t have to end like this, but Asura’s sentimentalism in the end is what cost us the match. It’s her fault, not yours, Chiara. You were our best recruit but at the same time, you were a ticking time bomb for our worst investment.”
“Why is that?” Chiara asks.
“She made the mistake of putting her heart into you instead of discipline like she did with the rest of us.”
Chiara seems profound at the choice of words Vlad had described Asura. It still seems unflattering of him to speak so lowly of Asura so openly. She turns to Lilith and upholsters her Sand Viper 2011 pistol, handing it to her. “I’m sorry. I don’t feel right carrying such a fine piece of weaponry. This belongs to you. I don’t deserve to carry your gift anymore.”
Lilith’s eyes blink for a moment, but she quietly takes back the pistol. “Thanks, Chiara.” She says quietly. “We may never fight side by side again, but you’re more than welcome to buy something off my Etsy.”
“I’ll consider it, Lilith.” Chiara sighs and then speaks to Lucius who has been quiet but at ease for the most part. “W...what happened to Asura?”
“She quit in a fit of rage when she respawned here.” Lucius shook his head. “She couldn’t bear to watch the rest of the match play out so she just...rage quit. I don’t know if she’ll ever come back, Chiara.” His words strike her harder than the beanbag round from the SPAS 12.
“She has to come back. Vampire squad is her team. She created it!”
“And she destroyed it…” Vlad added harshly. “She couldn’t face defeat with some dignity like the rest of us. She’s not fit to lead us anymore.”
“And you think you are!?” Chiara snaps back. “You lost!”
“Only because of Asura’s trust in you.” Vlad retorted back; his voice dropping to a low tone “Besides, this does not concern you anymore. You belong with them. Your real friends from Armadillo and Longhorn Squad. Your position in our squad is forfeit. By my authority.” He leans back on his stool and nods his head. “You fought well Chiara, go...go back to those who really matter to you. Your future lies with them.”
Chiara stood for a moment; the silence of Vampire Squad pressing in on her. Then, she turned her back on them. She walked away, each step feeling lighter than the last, and crossed the room into the warm, noisy, and welcoming embrace of her family.
“What now, Vlad?” Lilith asks, watching Chiara walk back to her old friends.
“We may have lost...big time.” Vlad sighs. “But we still have Halloween around the corner. “Let’s forget all this and relax for a bit. We’re still throwing that festival at the fort. We don’t need Asura to proceed with our plans. Then, I’ll take our squad into a new direction.” He watches Chiara being congratulated and embraced by her teammates from across the room. “We’re going to do things differently with Vampire squad under my command. We’ll be stronger from this defeat. I guarantee it.”
Chiara’s fingers dance gracefully on the piano’s keys. This isn’t a performance but a practice run while the theater major students make some adjustments for the scene in the auditorium. Vicky sits on some props and watches Chiara play the grand piano which has been graciously lent to them by the University music department. The sheet music on the piano is reminiscent of a waltz piece with a printed note on the piece “Composed by Chiara Lorenz”.
“That was beautiful, Chiara!” Vicky exclaims proudly, clapping her hands when Chiara finishes playing. That’s going to fit wonderfully with our end of the year play performance!”
“Thanks, Vicky. I worked all last week trying to make this fit for the play.” Chiara turns on her chair to face Vicky. “It’ll be even better when Ramirez and Kimberly bring their instruments too.”
“How did that performance go for you, Chiara?”
“Oh. It was better than I thought it was going to be.” Chiara smiled. “I had a lot of fun last week performing with them at Tomio’s restaurant last Friday.” She stretches her arms as she yawns. “It’s good to finally take a break from mil-simming. The tournament is going to be on hiatus until next year.”
“Hmh...I heard about that from Mai.” Vicky nods her head. “That means you got plenty of time to catch up on your classes too huh?”
“I’ve passed my midterms and I got the classes I need for next semester. I still might pop into Mil-Sim Story just to waste my weekends doing something. You have nothing to worry about, Vicky.”
“That’s good to hear, Chiara.” Vicky pats her shoulder. “But this is all things you want for yourself. Emi told me how it was your dream to be in college and now here you are!”
“This is a dream come true...in more ways than one.” Chiara looks back at her piano. “I love playing music, Vicky. Nothing makes me feel more alive than playing. But…” She looks back at Vicky. “I’ve become attached to my friends. To Armadillo Squad. Team Lonestar. I love mil-simming too.” Chiara starts to ponder quietly.
“You’re still concerned about Asura, aren’t you Chiara?”
“I worry about her, Vicky.” Chiara insists. “I feel awful for crushing her dreams like that. What she said about me...was mostly true. We’re so much alike but unlike her, I have you all to support me.” Chiara sighs. “Vicky, I’m worried she doesn’t have anyone.”
Vicky considers Chiara’s concerns seriously. “You have a good heart, Chiara. I don’t know if I could say the same for Asura. Maybe she just needs a little time to realize she’s not as alone as she thinks she is.”
Asura attempts to pour another glass of wine into her mug. It’s completely empty. It’s been empty for days. She lazily tosses it onto the ground with not a single care in the world. She looks out the window, despite it being November, it hardly feels like it. It’s been two weeks since she’s put on the VR headset which is laying on the floor along with all the other belongings she never bothered to put away. Her room is a wreckage, much like how she feels about herself. Her doorbell rings, she ignores it completely. It rings again and she tiredly orders from her bedroom. “S...shut up…” The doorbell rings again one last time before she hears someone opening it. “Oh great…” she thinks to herself. “As if I want to talk to my mother or one of my relatives again. Don’t they know I don’t want to see anyone right now.” Her bedroom door slowly peaks open. Asura turns around and her face goes pale in embarrassment. “A...Ana?”
“Long time no see eh?” Ana smiles, despite being absolutely distraught at Asura’s living conditions. “I’ve been trying to contact you, but you’ve ignored my texts and friend requests. I was hoping you were okay? You haven’t been the same since the last time we played.”
“Oh...yeah…” Asura murmurs nervously. “I’m...I’m done with that game. I don’t even want to think about it anymore.”
“That’s alright, Asura.” Ana walks into Asura's room, cautious not to trip over her mess. “I was hoping you'd like to come outside and hang out for a bit. Maybe we can go for a walk and get some fresh air. It’s beautiful outside, Asura.”
“Hm…” Asura looks out the window. There are children playing on the street from where she grew up. The leaves from the trees blow gently from across her house. She can see the neighbors from across the road having some kind of party with all the cars parked outside. She ponders as to why she’s letting herself rot in her room like this. Nothing good has come out of getting drunk and being a slob. Perhaps it’s time to make some amends with herself...with the world.
“Well...I got nothing better to do, Ana.” Asura gets up from her desk, barely feeling sober. “I could use some fresh air.
“Hey Emi! Check out my new grips!” Mai pulled out her Hi Point C9 which now dawns some cheap plastic grips with 100 Dollar Bills painted onto them from the factory. Emi can’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“That’s insane! Hikari bought you those?”
“Yep. I made sure to get these grips just to annoy her!” Mai admits proudly. “I’m going to start calling my pistol “Ye Olde Benjamin Saturday Night Special.”
“They are the most gang banger grips I’d ever seen in my life!” Hikari cries out from across the hanger. She’s sitting on an ammo crate, reading a gun catalog magazine. “You are so ghetto. Mai! You should have been born richer and obtained a better taste for the finer things in life.”
“I didn’t die in the last match. Speak for yourself, Princess.”
“That’s Hime to you!”
Emi laughs at the back and forth between the two. She continues her way onto the outside of the hanger where Tomio and Ramirez are bringing in a large shipping crate from a large truck. “What’s in the box, boys?”
“It’s our new toy, a gift from Zander. He apparently made triple what he bet from our last match.” Tomio motions to Ramirez to open the crate.
“Check this shit out!” Ramirez unlocks the shipping crate and Emi’s jaw drops in awe.
“No way! We have an armored vehicle now?!”
“It’s a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle! Straight from Zander’s armory. It’ll come in handy in our next tournament match!”
“Can it take us on a romantic cruise, Tomio?”
“You bet it can, Emi. Where to?”
Emi smiles and blushes at Tomio. “Depends. Are there any good restaurants around here?”
“If only…” Tomio laughs.
“Hey! Somebody is approaching the base on foot! It’s a chick with long black hair and a pull over jacket!” Trevor calls from his watch tower overlooking the hanger base.
“Do I let her in?” Joshua calls from the chain link gate.”
“Uh...I mean...she looks unarmed...in civie clothes. Hm...she’s kind of hot too.”
“Aren’t you married, Trevor?!”
“Hey, just stating the obvious here, kid!”
“Whatever…” Joshua opens the gate and holds his F2000 by his side.
The woman walked with a deliberate slowness, her hands visible and empty. It was Emi who recognized her first.
“Asura.” Emi said, her voice low and cautious.
“Emi...I’m not here to cause any trouble.” Asura approaches her from the gate. “I’m here to make things right...and apologize.”
“Asura?” Chiara peaks out from around the corner behind Emi.
“Yeah...it’s me.” Asura shrugs. “Like I said, I’m not here to cause anymore beef. I don’t want to be in VR anymore than I need to be, but I want to go out on a good note.”
“You’re not…leading Vampire Squad anymore?” Chiara asks nervously.
“No. I want nothing to do with that squad.”
“But isn’t that squad...your creation?”
“It is...but I’ve been irresponsible, Chiara.” Asura sighs. “Sometimes, the things we create for ourselves, end up being more destructive than they do being productive.”
“What are you talking about, Asura?” Emi chimes in.
“I created Vampire Squad to be powerful, feared, and to ultimately hide from my own failures.” Asura gazes down at the ground as she speaks. “I used it as a tool to manipulate people and it made me into a monster. One I couldn’t imagine myself being. I was wrong. I was so fucking wrong.”
“Asura…”
“Listen, Chiara.” Asura looks up and addresses her directly. “I was wrong about you. You and I are not alike. Unlike me, you were brave enough to do the right thing. Despite everything I did to pull you away from your friends, for my own selfishness, you broke free from your fears. For all that. I’m really sorry.”
“Pfft...typical Canadian.”
“Mai!”
“Oh...right, Emi.” Mai cleared her throat. “My bad. Please continue, Asura.”
“The point is, I’m logging out for good...or at least for a while. I don’t think this game is doing my mental health any favors. I have a lot of problems. I have to take care of myself...in the real world.”
Chiara took a step forward, past Emi. “Asura. I hope it all works out for you. Thank you, for being sincere.”
Asura gave a single, slow nod. “I hope the best for your team. I can tell you, your next opponents will not be a cake walk despite what you might think. It would be nice if you could defeat Seth and his Raptor Squad. But that’s just a pipe dream right now. Bass Squad and Charleston Squad are not going to play nice. Especially Little Joe. That mobster is more ruthless and cunning than I could ever desire to be.”
“Is that a joke?” Mai scoffs.
“I’m being serious you little…” Asura is slightly irritated but collects herself before finishing. “Anyways. Like I said, I’m off to do some soul seeking for myself. I have a good friend looking out for me. I’m blessed to have someone like her.” She looks over at Chiara. “Just as you are blessed to have such close friends. Cherish them, Chiara. They’ll take you far beyond anyone else in this game can promise you.”
“I’ll consider your words, Asura.” Chiara smiles. “And if you ever want to come back...we’d love you to have you on our side in Team Lonestar.”
“Chiara?! Are you nuts!”
“I’m serious, Mai.” Chiara chuckles. “You’re a good soldier Asura. We’d love to see you again on the battlefield.”
“Is that so?” Asura smirks. “I’ll think about it. Thank you.” As Asura begins to walk away from the base, she turns around to face her former adversaries one last time. “Before I go, there’s something I forgot to mention. A lot of the former recruits in Vampire Squad were unhappy that you quit the squad for good. I didn’t realize that you had a lot of fans, Chiara.”
“Wait...what?!” Chiara stammers.
“Since you aren’t in Vampire squad anymore, I figured those recruits would be interested in joining your team. Speaking of which…” From across the distance, a line of trucks are driving up towards the gates. They pull up inside and a bunch of recruits in brown fatigues dismount from the trucks.
“Hey! It’s Chiara!”
“Chiara!”
“Is this her new squad! Wow! Look at this place!
“Asura. What’s all this?!” Emi asks, confused and slightly worried.
“What do you think?” Asura winks. “They’re interested in Chiara...and your squad. They want to join your team! My final gift to you all.”
“No way! How many fans do you have, Chiara?!” Mai cries out in astonishment.”
“I...I had no idea…” Chiara stammers.
“These recruits fought alongside you before, Chiara.” Asura crosses her arms with a smile. “I trust you’ll take care of them and raise them as Armadillos and Longhorns.”
“I...would be honored to…”
“Shoot, looks like Markus is going to be busy with all of these new applicants.” Tomio laughs. “Alright everyone!” He calls out to the new recruits. “Line up and follow me. We’ll have you on Team Lonestar in no time.”
“Jeez, Asura. This is too much.” Emi says flattered. “An apology would have been enough.”
“They’re good kids. They deserve a real leader, not a tyrant like me.” Asura stands and salutes Emi. “Farewell, Trackstar and good luck! You’ll need it.” She lowers her hand and then salutes Chiara. “Good luck to you Chiara. It’s been an honor fighting alongside you.”
“Farewell...Asura.” Chiara salutes back. “And thank you...for being so sincere...even when you never realized it.”
Asura waves goodbye and within a few moments, she logs out and disappears from the base. Emi looks over to Chiara and nods. “So...are you ready to take on Asura’s word and help around with training these new recruits?”
Chiara grins and looks over to the line of the recruits waiting outside of the hanger. “I’m more than ready, Emi!”
Wow! We’re finally done with Part 2 of Mil-Sim Story. The plot is about halfway done. Thanks for reading this far. Armadillo Squad and Longhorn Squad may have overcome their biggest challenge yet but there are still unforeseen obstacles to overcome, more moments to enjoy life, and more adventures to experience. Stay tuned for more!