#who needs a gunblade when you can just kick your enemies in the face.

[raelly-writing]

Prompt 4: Clinch - FFXIV Write 2020

((If I had more than three hours and it wasn’t in the middle of the night, I could probably have fleshed out the combat bits, but three hours is what I have. More Thancred/WoL stuff.))

Clinch: to settle (a matter) decisively.

The hot Ala Mhigan midday sun glared down on them. Heat rose back up from dusty training grounds, making the air feel thick and hard to breathe in. The thick scent of salt from the flats below the city hardly helped in the matter.

Though neither of them seemed willing to show any signs of discomfort to the other - they were both fairly accustomed to the warmth of Thanalan after all - even after the lengthy time they’d been out in the unused courtyard Raubahn had directed them to.

Viana kept her eyes fixed on Thancred as they circled each other slowly, dulled sparring weapons in hand. His eye was cast in shadows by his bangs, his face entirely unreadable, not one twitch of a muscle to give away what he was planning.

Anticipation lay thick in the air. The meeting on how to answer the threat of the Garlean Empire was to be held later tonight, with little for them to do but wait for all the pomp and circumstances to begin.

Unfortunately, sitting on their hands was not something they did well.

Suddenly, Thancred darted at her, feinting to one side before going low with a strike of his dagger.

Twisting out of the way, Viana flicked up her katana to parry the follow up swipe of his sword, forcing his arm wide so she could quickly attempt a retaliatory blow of her own.

It was an easy, familiar dance, both of them pointedly poking and prodding the kinks in each other’s defenses, enough to make the other aware of them.

His blind spot was his most obvious one.

Taking advantage of it, she managed to trap his arm under hers, leaving her free to quickly wrench free his dagger. 

“Seven hells!” Thancred swore under his breath as it clattered to the sands some distance off.

Briefly, they disengaged, eyeing each other.

“Tired?” she asked with a quick smile.

“Hardly, my dear,” he retorted with a confident grin.

They clashed once more, the sound of metal against metal ringing out over the small courtyard, echoing off the carved stone pillars. Her body ached, sore in several spots where he’d landed one blow or another with his blunt weapon. But she relished in this. Their movements kicked up clouds of dust, blocking out the rest of the world. Her pulse raced in her ears, the thrill of sparring with him making her lose herself all the more in the moment.

Once, so long ago, she had feared that he was all talk and nothing to show for it, prayed that she would not have to play bodyguard to a loose-tongue bard while neck deep in Amal’ja that was hellbent on summoning their god.

No,Thancred was a good partner on the battlefield - quick and alert, someone she could fully trust to have her back when things got ugly, and as attentive to the security of their comrades as she were. She liked to think that they made a good team. That all of the Scions did.

Twelve know they’d need to, if the war looming ahead truly broke out.

When Thancred suddenly used the guard on his sword to lock her katana in place, she realised too late what he was planning. Had he had his dagger in hand, they’d probably have called it match over, when he pushed her blade aside and twisted it to the point where she had to let go or break her wrist. As it fell from her hand, Viana instinctively hooked one leg with his and tried to pull him off balance.

Instead, Thancred moved with her, and before she knew it his body pressed against hers. Who’s foot tripped the other, she did not know, but by then they were too tangled up with each other for it to matter. His sword clattered to the ground as she saw Thancred’s eye widen with realization. Just as they tipped off balance, he wound his arm around her waist, keeping her close as he twisted his body.

And then they hit the ground with a loud thud, sending a cloud of dust up around them.

Groaning, Viana took a moment to just gather her bearings. The scent of sweat, salt, dusty air and an unmistakably masculine cologne filled her nose, while all she could see was silver hair and a tattooed neck.

Instantly, she went deathly still. The heat that raced up the back of her neck had nothing to do with the warm sun, while her heart skipped far more beats than could be healthy. Thancred’s chest rose and fell under her with deep, laboured breaths, his arm still holding her securely around her waist while one of his legs was pushed up between hers. 

Ah, if only Halone could have struck her down right then and there. Clearing her throat from the dust, Viana willed her tone to be casual as she spoke, “Hope you don’t catch your enemies like this.” 

It took more courage than she would ever admit to to raise her head and look at him, desperately hoping that the burning sensation to her cheeks was not obvious at this close of a distance.

Thancred huffed out a weary laugh and gave her a lop-sided grin. Dust clung to his skin and messy hair and yet he looked as handsome as ever.  “Can’t have the Warrior of Light too banged up at the big meeting, can we? “ he drawled. “Where then would I be with half the world’s leaders upset with me?”

As he spoke, he loosened his grip on her, leaving her free to get up. Instantly, a dark little nugget of disappointment settled in her chest, one she adamantly did her best to disregard. Nothing lay down that road, she reminded herself. Nothing but the bitter taste of unrequited feelings.

Swallowing thickly, Viana pushed herself off him and stood up. “Think they’ve all seen me in worse conditions,” she retorted and held out a hand for him.

“Well, that’s unfortunately probably right,” Thancred hummed as he accepted it, clasping her forearm and letting her pull him back up on his feet. Twelve, why did the touch of his bare fingers against her arm send such tingling jolts over her skin? Perhaps she should have chosen to spar with her gunblade instead. At least then she would have had armour on.

“My thanks,” he added before letting go of her arm.

She gave him a small smile, despite the hollow yearning in her chest to feel his hand on her bare skin. Pathetic how touch starved she was that a mere touch like that was distracting. “Nothing to it.”

A small, dark little voice at the back of her mind reminded her that were she really so desperate for his touch, it was a fair chance he would not turn her away from his bed. A sour taste rose on her tongue as a dark, heavy feeling churned in her stomach. No, she would not do that, would not complicate matters any more than they already were, not when he was still mourning those that they had lost. It was best to just let matters be, to ignore how her chest felt warm in his presence, how his small, genuine smiles made her heart skip and the low rumble of his voice sent her stomach into pleasant knots.

How easy it was to just forget about the rest of the world and all the burdens on her shoulders when she was in his presence.

The sound of Thancred clearing his throat jolted her from her dark thoughts. He glanced up at the sky and scratched the side of his neck. “Well, neither of us managed to clinch a win, so perhaps we should call it a draw for today.” His gaze found hers, a eyebrow raised in question. “I for one could do with a drink, if you care to join me.”

Viana hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. “Sure, that sounds like a fine idea.”

A small smile that managed to reach his eye curled the corner of his mouth, and she felt herself smile in return. “Excellent choice, my friend.”

They gathered up their weapons and departed the courtyard, to find some other way to pass the time until the Alliance meeting.

No, it was best to just be his colleague and friend.

Uncomplicated. Simple.

[eddsworld-late]

The Box Part 2

Or maybe it’s how all of those Amazon and Fed-Ex packages keep getting messed up.

1132 words, 6507 characters.

     Meanwhile, back at the Red Army base, Red Leader shot at a target a few times at the shooting range. “What do you want me to tell you?” his A.I assistant, Cindy, retorted, “Your aim is perfect.” “I’m bored,” he sighed, “I just want something to do!” “You could go help retrieve your box,” she suggested, “That could be fun.” He reloaded several of the guns and sighed. “You’re right. Let’s go to Bosnia and hopefully not get shot out of the sky!”      He ran out to the other plane, punched in the coordinates and set it to autopilot. He reclined the seat and kicked his feet up on the control panel with a yawn. “Wake me up when we get there or if I need to take control, Cindy,” he said, closing his eyes. When Cindy finally did wake him up, it was because they were headed directly towards a mountain. Tord yelped and quickly took control of the plane so he could avoid the mountain, looking down in time to see the Blue Army base… And a zombie tyrannosaurus rex. He grinned in anticipation as he landed near it. He watched it for a few minutes as it attacked the outside of the base. “So that’s where all of those zombie dinosaurs from that island went...” he mumbled to himself as he began sneaking towards it.      Soon enough, he was on it and riding it inside the building and into the chamber with the other zombie tyrannosaurus rex. He felt like James Bond. Suave, intelligent, breaking all the typical codes of conduct, storming enemy lines on a sweet ride... “HEY!” he yelled, “OVER HERE, BIG ROTTING UGLY!” The other dinosaur whipped around to look at him, its massive tail throwing Patryck against the far wall. Tord smirked. “YOU!” Blue Leader yelled, pointing at him from behind the glass. “You bet!” he replied, “Don’t tell me you seriously didn’t think I wouldn’t show up! And in the flesh, which is more than can be said for you and your robot selves!” She scowled and ran off. Tord turned back to the problem in front of him – that is to say, the zombie T-Rex that he wasn’t riding – with a smirk across his face. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” he said, charging his own massive dinosaur at it. Of course, zombies don’t mess with other zombies. It was a flaw that became more evident after he realized that the dinosaur he was on was actually going for his men. He quickly slid down its back and ran to the now wide open giant door. “Guys!” he called, “This way!” And once he was sure his men were following, he ran off.      “Where’s the plane?” he asked. “It’s just down there!” Yuu said, pointing at the landing strip ahead of them. Patryck looked back. “I didn’t know this before,” he began, “But as it turns out, Tyrannosaurs can really haul a-” He was cut off by gunfire from ahead. “Oh come ON!” Yanov cried, sliding under the hail of bullets and firing back at the previously hidden guards with his own two pistols, “Can’t you give us a break?!” Paul pulled out some throwing knives and threw them at the opposing forces as he ran for the plane while Patryck and Yuu ran in different directions to cause a distraction.      Tord stopped midstep and just grinned at a thought that occurred to him, that clearly hadn’t occurred to anyone in the Blue Army. There were more zombie dinosaurs. Zombies are never sufficiently contained either. He turned back around and calmly walked between the legs of the enormous undead T-Rexes and followed the trail of blaring red hazard lights down to the rest of the zombies. With a grin, he slammed his hand on the button to let them all out. Then, much like the Tyrannosaurs, he hauled a-      When Paul got to the cockpit, he glared ahead at Blue Leader, who was calmly sitting on the control panel with a devious smirk. Yanov quickly joined him. “Can we just call it a day?” Paul asked, “This is encroaching on my smoke break.” Yanov stared at him. “THAT’S what you’re worried about?!” he exclaimed. “So says the guy who took a flamethrower to some guards over the fate of his portable gaming console,” Paul replied dryly. Blue Leader rolled her eyes. “Here you two are arguing when I’m the one holding all the cards,” she said, “And by “cards,” I mean-” “ZOMBIE DINOSAUR STAMPEDE!” Tord laughed from outside the plane, “GET THE PLANE GOING GUYS! I DON’T WANT US TO DIE HERE!”      Yuu and Patryck quickly ran into the cockpit. “Four against one,” Yuu said, “I think I like our odds.” “You four just lost against me less than an hour ago,” Blue Leader said. “You had guards!” Patryck said. “And you can make it five!” Tord grinned, carrying in the gunblade, “Now you can either get out of here and deal with the problem in your base, or I can figure out how to use this thing.” “My guards here are expendable,” she said, “I don’t care about them. I don’t care about this base. I don’t even care about Bosnia. I’d rather see you go down.” “I guess it’s time for an epic gunblade fight!” Tord grinned, “Cindy! Play my boss fight theme for me!” On cue, a sick beat and thumping rhythm took over the speakers as the weapon charged up a blast.      Paul, Patryck, Yuu and Yanov watched as the robotic body for Blue Leader exploded into smithereens from one blast of the gunblade. “Really?” Tord said, half disappointed and half intrigued, “I was hoping for more of a fight. But I really do appreciate decent firepower.” Patryck took off, shooting the plane into the sky. Once they were safe, he punched the coordinates for the Red Army base and sighed, flopping into one of the seats and promptly sliding out of it. “So what’s in the box anyway?” Yanov asked curiously. “Oh, you know...” Tord said. Unfortunately, Cindy turned his epic boss theme up too loud, effectively covering up his explanation of what was in the box. Everyone was more or less annoyed about that, but they gave in, exhausted from everything that just happened. “I’m glad all of that is over,” Patryck groaned. “Me too,” Yuu agreed.      When the five returned to the base, they made a group effort to carry the precious cargo to Tord’s quarters. Tord pried the lid off and they all peered inside. A grin spread across Tord’s face. “At last!” he said reaching in, “It’s finally here!” “That’s what we went through all of that for?” Paul grumbled. “I think it was worth it!” Yanov grinned, “It’s amazing!” “Definitely,” Yuu replied. Patryck just laid on the floor, asleep at this point. “Let’s go try it out!” Tord said. “Let’s not,” Paul replied, “It’s been a long day.” “Whatever, Paul!” Yanov said, opening the door, “I’m off to the training area with Tord!” “Me too!” Yuu agreed.

[mimiplaysgames]

Strength to Protect the Things That Matter (Ch. 4)

Fanfiction: Kingdom Hearts III Rating: T Pairing: Terra/Aqua (eventually) Other characters: Squall (Leon), Lightning, Sora, Donald, Goofy Word Count: 1,601 In-progress

Terra has prayed for years. He wanted relief from having no one to talk to in the dark,  except with the monster of a man who stole his life. He gets his chance - a week - to set things right before he loses everything again.

Read Chapter One here. Read Chapter Two here. Read Chapter Three here.

Questions

Terra cannot conjure his Keyblade. Why?

This is a question that he cannot waste time answering. The Heartless are squirming everywhere. The shadows use their malleable bodies as an advantage to sneak up on unsuspecting victims before attacking. They are climbing the walls and squeezing through cracks in order to escape any harm done to them. The larger Heartless are brute and destructive, and have no apprehension in devastating the architecture.

It seems like everything has gotten worse since the last time I was awake.  What has Xehanort been doing?

A larger shadow lunges itself at Terra, who blocks the attack with a nearby pole. But all this does is startle the Heartless. I can’t do anything with this.

“You fight?”

Terra looks over his shoulder to see Leon talking to him.

“Here! Use this!”

Leon throws him a sword from a nearby display of weapons, which has been infused with some magical properties.

Without hesitation, Terra uses this sword to swing attacks at the Heartless around him, albeit sluggishly. The attacks come naturally, proof of the years that Terra has labored and educated himself in the academy training with Aqua.

Still, he can only barely manage. Leon keeps a close distance to Terra, using his thuggish and power-busting techniques as an advantage, so that he can later sneak up and strike them down.

In the distance, Lightning is soaring in the air. Her tactics are to be wild, throwing herself and jumping around to confuse the enemy and to engage them in tiring cardio workouts. Close the distance in between to strike them, then jump backwards as she shoots them with her gunblade.

Maybe he is too tired and sore to keep up. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have experience in dealing with such a new threat. Terra slips and nearly succumbs to a brutal attack by a Heartless.

At the last minute, he is saved by a fierce woman with long black hair, using only her fists and kicks to ward off even the largest Heartless in the area.

If she can use nothing but her hands, then I shouldn’t be flat on the ground right now. Master Eraqus would sentence me to washing dishes for a week if he saw this kind of weakness from me.

Terra finds trouble getting up, exhausted from the battle lasting too long. Before, I could have easily vanquished these beings of darkness with my Keyblade. Now, when I have no power, I can’t really put a dent on them. How am I supposed to be of help when I’m so weak?

Weak. Stupid.

A bright light beams into the middle of the battlefield, sending off sharp rays of lightning that strike a large group of Heartless. A duck wielding magic, a dog (man?) with a shield, and a boy with spiky hair and a Keyblade enter the foray.

A Keyblade wielder? I don’t recognize him from the academy...

The boy uses the magic entrusted to him as a Keybearer to deal devastating blows to the Heartless. All of the efforts that the other fighters have spent in fighting look futile in comparison to how easily this boy tackles each shadow. The boy’s improvisational approach give him the clear upper edge. Any moment he stumbles, he quickly recovers due to how closely he works with his teammates. He effortlessly finishes the battle in moments, and runs off into the distance, beyond the city wall, to face the coming Heartless that are still approaching the city.

Calm has finally reached the city, but the boy with the Keyblade has not come back, yet. Terra is helping the other workers clear the mess. Aerith stops by and tends to Terra’s wounds with her healing magic, while also giving him an earful about how he didn’t listen to her, how worried she got when she found that he was gone, and how rude it was for him to just ditch her like that.

After her lecture, Terra takes the sword given to him by Leon, and puts it away along with the collection of other shared weapons.

A weapon of war. This was not what I was trained to do. Using tools for the purpose of killing, for the purpose of fighting. A Keyblade bearer is supposed to keep the peace, to keep the balance intact... 

Her voice comes to his mind... The last words she said to him before he completely lost everything to Xehanort.

Tell me... how does this honor our Master’s memory, Terra?

It doesn’t. This doesn’t honor him at all, Aqua. If you saw me now, you would probably continue to be disappointed in me. I can’t stand this. I wish you were here. All I have done so far since waking up is fail to do my duties. I can’t even call for my Keyblade...

Terra looks at his right hand, and attempts to call for it again. Nothing. I wonder...

He touches his left shoulder in the hopes that he can conjure his armor, entrusted to him by his Master to travel in between worlds with the privilege to investigate the state of affairs of each. But nothing comes to him. I guess it’s not like I deserve it anymore, anyway.

Leon and Lightning pass by him. “You did well for someone who fought so rusty,” Leon says to him.

Terra must have had a confused look on his face, because Lightning actually chuckled out loud.

“You obviously know how to fight. But it looked like you’ve been slacking off in your practice,” she says.

Terra let out a small laugh. “Yeah, that’s probably not too far off from the truth. That kid with the Keyblade, you know him?”

“Of course we know the legendary Keyblade wielder. Is this your first time seeing a Keyblade?” Leon says.

Terra looks away while he laughs, careful not to give away any telling signs. “No, I’m actually looking for two others. Do you know anyone by the names of Aqua or Ventus?”

“Never heard of them,” Leon says, while Lightning gently shakes her head. “We do need more of them, though. When you find them, please tell them to stop by.”

“Enough chit chat,” says Lightning, antsy and sifting her eyes through her injured soldiers. “You know the next step. We are going to have to go through the entire city reporting people who are now missing.”

The sun is setting. Terra decides to linger around the area longer, lending his strength to repairing some of the damage and helping the weak stand up. Leon and Lightning have left long ago to count the missing people. But in honestly, Terra is trying to buy himself time waiting for the Keyblade wielder to re-appear.

“It’s you! You’re okay!”

Terra looks behind him to see the boy. Not a moment too soon. The boy runs up to him with a huge, magnetic smile on his face, his two friends coming up along behind him.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake! How are you feeling? We were worried when we first found you.”

“So you were the one to find me. Thank you so much.”

The boy looks genuinely happy to hear the thanks. “My name’s Sora. These are my friends, Donald and Goofy. What’s your name? Are you a time traveler? Are you immortal? You’re a Keyblade bearer, right? Is that really true? Where do you come from?”

Donald is annoyed. “Sora, quit that!” His voice is the raspiest, most aggressive voice that Terra has ever heard. “Sorry. He’s normally like that. Don’t mind him,” he says to Terra.

“What does that mean?” Sora does not hesitate one second to confront Donald when asking this question.

“It means you get so carried away that you became preoccupied with the attack in Traverse Town and made us get here late.” There is such a clear scolding to his voice and Sora is ready to pounce him.

Goofy lets out a big, warm laugh. It is the kind of laugh that would make anyone feel safe. “Well, we got here anyway and threw off the Heartless attacking the city. It’s nice to meet you, er...”

“Terra. But, how do you know I am a Keyblade wielder?”

Sora suddenly forgets he is in an argument with Donald. “My friend Riku told me. He was the one who suggested to bring you here.”

I don’t know a Riku... at least I don’t think so.

“Well, do you know any wielders named Aqua or Ventus?” Terra asks.

Sora’s expression morphs into something that resembles surprise. “Aqua? It’s funny, I did manage to remember her not too long ago.”

Terra’s stomach twists into knots of both excitement and frightened anticipation, eagerly awaiting the answers to all of his questions. Finally, someone who knows her. Maybe he knows where she is right now!

“I met Aqua a long time ago, when I was a little kid,” Sora says.

The knots in Terra’s stomach sink. It feels almost heartbreaking, but Terra denies this. “What do you mean? How long ago was this?”

Sora thinks for a bit. “It must have been around eleven, maybe twelve years ago?”

There is pain around his heart, and his face gets cold. The churning in his stomach moves upward, making him nauseous. TWELVE YEARS?! This can’t be.

Tell me... how does this honor our Master’s memory, Terra?

Has she been viewing me with such disdain for so many years, now?

Memories of her sitting by the green cliffs overlooking the clouds of their homeworld flood his mind, and he remembers his desires that she would see him more, or better, than he really is. For her to smile at him a certain way. Terra tries to stop tears from welling in his face, although he isn’t strong enough to do so. Sora is visually upset at the sight, speechless at how his words could have affected this strongly.

Where is she, now?

Continue to Chapter Five.

[eddsworld-late]

The Box Part 1

The Red Army learns where those missing Amazon packages go.

1515 words, 8566 characters.

     Yuu lead the way for Yanov, Patryck and Paul as he left the base, gun cocked and loaded, head held high, ammo and wasp bombs in his backpack and a first aid kit tucked under his arm. These four were on a mission. “What are we doing again?” Yanov asked, tilting his head slightly as he spoke. “We’re off to get a box,” Yuu replied, marching to the plane with dread in his heart at the thought of Paul and Patryck flying, “He said it was just a basic supply run, but he’s keeping it too hush-hush for that.” Yanov nodded quietly as he climbed in and took a seat. Patryck took the wheel and Paul sat beside him. Yuu took the seat next to Yanov and away they went, soaring across the sky in search of this box.

    Patryck set the plane to autopilot and kicked his feet up on the control panel. “I love flying,” he said quietly. Paul just stared at him blankly. “You don’t even do anything,” he replied, “All you do is put it on autopilot and sit back.” “And all you do is talk on the radio and push buttons,” Patryck sighed, “Namely mine.”

   Yanov pulled out his joycon and played some Pokemon while Yuu watched and cheered him on. It went on like this for some hours until Patryck landed the plane and they all got out.

    Yanov stared at the place, looking up from his Switch. It was a wide open military base. “Where are we?” he asked quietly. “It’s a military base,” Paul replied blankly, “Probably one of our enemies.” “That all makes sense!” Yuu exclaimed, “Tord ordered something and one of our rivals took it for themselves! Where are we?” “Bosnia,” Patryck said, “That place Tord is banned from.” And with that, they walked in.

    The four snuck around, avoiding any guards they saw, making sure not to be seen. However, despite their best efforts, Yanov took too long to duck behind a box and was seen. The guards rushed them immediately and the four fled the gunfire. Unfortunately, they were split up, each going down their own paths.

    Yanov bolted down the path he was on, eager to make to to the box, which he could clearly see from where he was. He drew his gun and aimed at the knees of his pursuers. He typically didn’t shoot at anything other than zombies, but kneecaps weren’t a moral qualm of his. Being something of a crackshot, he hit his mark nearly every time, ducking behind the box to avoid returned gunfire. He peeked out before picking it up and running for it, only to be tripped, sending the box and his Switch across the floor. The box stopped first. The Switch only stopped when another soldier – Blue Leader herself – walked over, stepping on it and crushing it with her foot. Wordlessly, she picked the box up and carried it off. Yanov stared in shock before running back to the plane. His Switch was just destroyed! AND she stole the box! This meant war!

    Yuu dashed into a room and hid. The guards eventually got off his tail, but stayed in the room he was in, so he decided a stealthy explosion would work. With a sly grin, he pulled the silencer off his pistol, pulled a grenade out of his ammunition pouch and used an extra shoelace he had to tie the silencer to the grenade. He quietly yawned off the lack of sleep he’d been suffering from for a few days, pulled the pin and threw it into the room, quickly ducking back behind the barricade.

   Patryck lead the guards all over their base, bringing the total of guards still following him to just one. At that point, he grabbed a handful of glitter from his pocket and threw it in his face, yelling “SMOKESCREEN!” before he ran back to the plane.

     Paul hid behind some boxes until the guards following him left, then he snuck out and found his way around the base. He silently followed after one of the guards headed towards Blue Leader’s quarters. “Do you have the box contained, Blue Leader?” the guard asked as Paul ducked behind a corner. “Yes,” she replied sternly, “I do. Did you take care of Red Leader’s men?” “They ran off screaming.”      Suddenly, before she could reply, an alarm went off. Blue Leader and the guard whipped around to look at a screen popping out of the wall. “And he’s back with a flamethrower,” she growled, “See, this is why I told you I want them DEAD. Dead, you hear me! DEAD!” Paul actually cracked a slight smile. He didn’t know what those Blue Army soldiers did to Yanov, but they certainly pushed the wrong buttons. In the distance, gunfire and screaming could be heard. “GO!” Blue Leader yelled, shoving the guard towards the room of screaming, “I won’t have this freak in a fursuit burning my men alive!”      Yuu jumped awake at the sounds of gunfire and screaming. He tiredly rubbed his eyes and stood up. The room was empty… Except for one thing. The box! He quickly ran to it and began pushing it towards the plane. He wasn’t met with much resistance until he got there. Several guards charged him, but he toppled them like dominoes with a spinning sweep kick. His robotic legs may have been an issue for speed, but when it came to kick strength, he was unmatched. He smirked and the guards attempted to get up from their pile while he pushed the box onto the plane. As he stood up, he head the click of a gun behind his head.      Patryck got up as soon as he heard the scraping against the floor of the plane. Gun at the ready, he made his way to the cargo bay and found none other than Blue Leader herself holding Yuu at gunpoint. Without hesitation, she aimed a second gun at him. “Don’t move Patryck,” she scowled, “I won’t let you take that box back. Some guards walked Paul into the cargo bay, also at gunpoint. “What is so important that’s in that box?!” Yuu asked. “That’s classified,” she replied coldly, “Now all we need is your furry friend and we can get going.” “Going?” Patryck asked, “Where are you taking us?” “The Bermuda Triangle!” she laughed, “You and your leader’s precious little box will go missing forever!” The remaining guards dragged Yanov in without his flamethrower. “Unhand me!” he cried, “I’m not finished with you! You stole the box! You broke my Switch! You stole my flamethrower!” “Those are your problems,” Blue Leader replied, “Now say goodnight, Gracie.”      “Goodnight Gracie,” Paul said calmly, stabbing a butterfly knife into the shoulders of one of the guards holding him. He flipped the knife around a few times with a grin and lunged at Blue Leader. In a flash – quite literally – she slammed her guns together and they fused, creating her own actual gunblade. At the push of a button, it grew much larger than the size of either gun. Paul ducked as she fired, swinging his blade through the air. The bullet hit one of her guards and Paul’s knife lodged itself into the back of her cybernetic thigh. She grunted and shot a glare at the Dutchman, who simply grinned back. “Why you little...” she growled, whipping the gunblade around to hit Yuu, only to be grabbed from behind by Patryck. “I’ll take that!” Yuu smiled as he yanked the gunblade away, “I’m sure Red Leader will love this. You know how much he loves anime.”      “You may have taken my gun,” she grinned, “But you know my legs are still killer!” And with that, she flipped backwards, kicking Patryck in the face before she landed on her feet, freed from his hold on her. She pulled a third gun out of her jacket and aimed it at Yuu. “I have a new plan,” she said calmly, “Guards, take these four idiots to the testing chamber. I want them to meet Sally.”      And so, they were dragged off and shoved in a sterile lab-like arena-esque chamber with a high ceiling and a giant door at the other end. “Sally was an experiment of mine a few years ago,” Blue Leader smirked, “An experiment in… Reanimating the dead. And she sure is hungry.” The boys looked at each other. “A zombie?” Yanov asked. “Yes!” she replied, “Smart points go to the furry for once in his tragically short life! Au revoir!” “I’m not a furry!” he protested, “I’m a scalie! There’s a difference!” Paul actually laughed. “We’ve dealt with zombies before!” he said, “Try us!” Blue Leader simply grinned as a distant rumbling drew nearer. The large door opened and for a moment, the four saw nothing. Then, a zombie tyrannosaurus rex entered the room. They stared in shock. “Don’t move a muscle...” Paul whispered, “She can’t see us if we don’t move.” “Paul?” Yuu replied, “You do realize that that series got a lot wrong, right? Including that whole thing about staying still?” “What he’s trying to say is that we should run like crazy and try to think of a way out of here,” Patryck said, trembling. And they did. While screaming and flailing. END PART 1