Of course if it's not allowed, then please delete this with extreme prejudice.
Okay time to clear some things out:
1) I'll be swinging my Artistic License - Military like a boss so don't be mad if there's any mistake with any military stuff. Of course it doesn't hurt to point out my mistakes in a nice, civilized way.
2) There is no over-arching plot in this story if you're wondering. It's just four idiots encountering stuff and making snarky comments about it.
World: MGU's Monster Compendium (visit monstergirlunlimited.net for more info)
With that, I hope you enjoy the story.
Sigma Squad's Appearance
Spoiler: show
From top-left clockwise: Frog, Shadow, L.T., Briggs. Let me know if the pic isn't showing.
Operation Cadillac
Spoiler: show
Among the gray clouds and the dark sky was a great bird-like object, gray in color and lights of varying colors flicking on and off every now and then. It was a cargo plane, transporting a large amount of military supplies. While it was only supposed to transport the load, only a very select few among the billions of people on Earth knows of the squad of soldiers also inside the plane.
“Hey guys I’m curious, what’re you’re thoughts on the mission?” A cheery and hearty voice asked.
“Easy.” A gritty, raspy voice replied. “I thought there were going to be a lot more hostiles. Disappointing.”
“Well I’m not.” A composed, calculating voice interjected. “Means shorter mission time and less valuable bullets shot.”
“Thanks guys.” The first voice said before turning to the last but certainly not the least member. “How about you Boss?”
“I’m just glad it went smoothly. Less accumulated stress.” A serious and commanding voice responded.
As the last word was let go, a voice filled with static filled the cargo bay where the four men sat along the tied down crates of weapons and ammo. “We’re running low on fuel so we’re passing over the Bermuda Triangle to get to Florida.”
“Wait, you mean we weren’t meant to pass through the triangle?” The calculating voice asked.
“Didn’t you know Frog? Things tend to disappear inside the Devil’s Triangle.” The hearty voice replied.
“Those incidents happened decades ago, Briggs.” Frog retorted. “And few and far between.”
“Can’t exactly blame the pilots for being extra careful.” The raspy voice said.
“I agree with Shadow though we can’t do much about it right now, can we?” Boss said.
“Like always, Lead’s right.” Briggs said as the squad dropped the topic and the rumbling sound of the plane remained as the only noise in among the four men.
-----------
Meanwhile in the cockpit, the two pilots only saw violent-looking clouds beyond the windows. “Looks like it’s gonna get bumpy.” One of the pilots commented to which his copilot nodded. He then pressed a button above him. “Fasten your seatbelts boys. Incoming turbulence.” He announced.
“Roger that.” The pilot heard a reply.
The military plane bravely entered the clouds and the pilots, as well as the passengers, immediately felt the plane shake. Brief flashes of lightning were seen in the distance as the dark clouds obstructed any sort of view the pilots had. “These are some thick clouds.” One of them commented.
“Nothing we can’t handle.” The other said confidently.
However, nothing could prepare the pilots for what they have seen in the clouds. After a flash of lightning, they caught a glimpse of a silhouette of something large flying in the distance. “You… you saw that right?” One of the pilots asked. He could swear it was not a bird. It was more like that of dragons he saw in movies. He knew they were not real but he knew what he saw was something big and he had not seen or heard of any flying creature on Earth of that size. He thought of dinosaurs but they were just as unbelievable as dragons.
“Yeah. Unfortunately.” The other pilot said grimly. He too was in disbelief after seeing the great silhouette. “Must be our imaginations.” He tried to deny.
“We aren’t that close, Jack.” The first pilot replied.
“We’re not like J.D. and Tu--” The first continued but was cut off when something enormous almost crashed into the plane. Both of the pilots saw reptilian scales meters away from the windshield, somewhat obscured by the thick clouds but they knew what they saw. “What the hell was that?!”
“Nothing good.” The second pilot replied before grabbing the radio. “Mayday! Mayday! This is Flight 1138! We have encountered an enormous unidentified flying object! We have almost crashed into it! Someone respond!” He waited for a response but the only thing that did was static. “Mayday! Mayday! This is Flight 1138! We have encountered an enormous unidentified flying object! We have almost crashed into it! Someone! Anyone! Respond!”
A great roar filled the ears of everyone aboard the plane. The cockpit speaker lit up. “What kind of music are you guys playing in there?!”
“That’s not music!” The second pilot quickly responded.
“I was afraid you’d say that!”
The two pilots kept quiet and stayed vigilant, their eyes trying to pierce through the obstructing clouds. But they were too thick for the naked eye to see through and thus it was almost too late for them to see a large, gaping mouth coming right at them. “OH SHI--” The two swerved the plane to the right at the last second but the plane was too large to completely avoid the mouth and thus the plane did not escape entirely. “We lost the left wing!” The plane had begun to descend.
“Tell the squad to make for the pods!” The second ordered.
“Sigma Squad! Get to the escape pods! The plane’s suffered terrible damage!” The first said after pushing a button above him. “I repeat: Get to your pods! The plane’s lost the left wing!” He then released it. “Jack, get to your pod. I’ll keep the plane steady.”
“You’re not gonna be the only hero in this story, Lloyd.” The second pilot replied. “Let’s both go in five.”
“Five minutes?!”
“Seconds dammit!”
---------
“I knew the Triangle’s bad news!” Briggs said as he and the squad navigated through the crates of supplies while also trying to stay on their feet. If the pilot’s announcement did not make it clear the plane was compromised, the sudden loss of balance did.
Most of the squad wanted to retort but the truth was on Briggs’ side. “Sigmas, have you prepared your loadouts?” Boss asked before recalling that he put a Spas-12 and an AK-47 into his loadout. His squadmates, both current and previous, said that AKs were for the poor, the terrorists and the poor terrorists. They also said he should get something more state of the art but Boss ignored them. The rifle got him through many a mission though he did admit the primary weapon needed help from the secondary and the sidearm from time to time. He then grasped his waist and felt his MP5 sidearm. His superiors often wondered why he was carrying a submachine gun for a sidearm but since it did not impede him in any way, they let him be.
“Yes sir!” Briggs was the first to reply to Boss’ inquiry. He was very much sure he has an M240 and an M4A1 in his loadout. He wanted to bring at least four C4 charges since they never know when to blow something up but the escape pod could only accommodate so much. So instead he armed his rifle with an M203 attachment to compensate for the lack of explosives in his arsenal. He also debated within whether to bring a machinegun or a rocket launcher for a secondary but fortunately Frog offered to bring a rocket launcher for him. Briggs was as happy as Shadow with multiple unaware targets ready to be shot. He also smiled at the fact that he did not have a sidearm, he had sidearms. He was sure his dual M9s would rock anybody’s boats.
“Aye aye!” Shadow replied next. He brought his trusty M14 EBR and an ACR with a Holographic Sight attachment for a secondary. He initially wanted a bolt-action sniper rifle but Boss convinced him that a bolt-action may not be the most appropriate weapon when fighting multiple opponents all by oneself. For a sidearm, Shadow was proud of his .44 Magnum that was sitting on his waist. It was not a secret that the sniper was a big fan of revolvers.
“Locked and loaded sir!” Frog was the last. He was completely okay with only a primary, a SCAR-H with a Red Dot Sight attached, so he offered his secondary slot to anyone who wanted to bring an extra weapon. As mentioned, Briggs took the slot and so Frog has an AT4 for a secondary. A Desert Eagle was Frog’s choice for a sidearm. For reasons unknown to him, Frog liked the gun.
Near the plane’s backside, there were six metallic, round lids separated by pairs. The commandos opened two of the lid pairs and dropped down on the hatches, Boss shared his pod with Briggs while Frog shared his with Shadow. Briggs was the last to drop down and he saw the two pilots emerge from the mass of crates. “Hurry up, you two!” The plane has almost reached a completely vertical position and thus the two pilots had to begin climbing towards the pods, using the crates and the ropes tying them down as support.
Then suddenly, Briggs saw something he would not forget anytime soon. Large spikes punched through the plane’s hull, coming from above and below. Briggs was filled with dread when it dawned on him that the spikes were not spikes but razor sharp teeth. “Oh my g--”
“BRIGGS! GET IN HERE!” The yell broke Briggs’ awe who then entered the escape pod hatch.
With Sigma Squad inside, the escape pods then disengaged from the falling plane and into the jungles of the Empire of Tales.
“Hey guys I’m curious, what’re you’re thoughts on the mission?” A cheery and hearty voice asked.
“Easy.” A gritty, raspy voice replied. “I thought there were going to be a lot more hostiles. Disappointing.”
“Well I’m not.” A composed, calculating voice interjected. “Means shorter mission time and less valuable bullets shot.”
“Thanks guys.” The first voice said before turning to the last but certainly not the least member. “How about you Boss?”
“I’m just glad it went smoothly. Less accumulated stress.” A serious and commanding voice responded.
As the last word was let go, a voice filled with static filled the cargo bay where the four men sat along the tied down crates of weapons and ammo. “We’re running low on fuel so we’re passing over the Bermuda Triangle to get to Florida.”
“Wait, you mean we weren’t meant to pass through the triangle?” The calculating voice asked.
“Didn’t you know Frog? Things tend to disappear inside the Devil’s Triangle.” The hearty voice replied.
“Those incidents happened decades ago, Briggs.” Frog retorted. “And few and far between.”
“Can’t exactly blame the pilots for being extra careful.” The raspy voice said.
“I agree with Shadow though we can’t do much about it right now, can we?” Boss said.
“Like always, Lead’s right.” Briggs said as the squad dropped the topic and the rumbling sound of the plane remained as the only noise in among the four men.
-----------
Meanwhile in the cockpit, the two pilots only saw violent-looking clouds beyond the windows. “Looks like it’s gonna get bumpy.” One of the pilots commented to which his copilot nodded. He then pressed a button above him. “Fasten your seatbelts boys. Incoming turbulence.” He announced.
“Roger that.” The pilot heard a reply.
The military plane bravely entered the clouds and the pilots, as well as the passengers, immediately felt the plane shake. Brief flashes of lightning were seen in the distance as the dark clouds obstructed any sort of view the pilots had. “These are some thick clouds.” One of them commented.
“Nothing we can’t handle.” The other said confidently.
However, nothing could prepare the pilots for what they have seen in the clouds. After a flash of lightning, they caught a glimpse of a silhouette of something large flying in the distance. “You… you saw that right?” One of the pilots asked. He could swear it was not a bird. It was more like that of dragons he saw in movies. He knew they were not real but he knew what he saw was something big and he had not seen or heard of any flying creature on Earth of that size. He thought of dinosaurs but they were just as unbelievable as dragons.
“Yeah. Unfortunately.” The other pilot said grimly. He too was in disbelief after seeing the great silhouette. “Must be our imaginations.” He tried to deny.
“We aren’t that close, Jack.” The first pilot replied.
“We’re not like J.D. and Tu--” The first continued but was cut off when something enormous almost crashed into the plane. Both of the pilots saw reptilian scales meters away from the windshield, somewhat obscured by the thick clouds but they knew what they saw. “What the hell was that?!”
“Nothing good.” The second pilot replied before grabbing the radio. “Mayday! Mayday! This is Flight 1138! We have encountered an enormous unidentified flying object! We have almost crashed into it! Someone respond!” He waited for a response but the only thing that did was static. “Mayday! Mayday! This is Flight 1138! We have encountered an enormous unidentified flying object! We have almost crashed into it! Someone! Anyone! Respond!”
A great roar filled the ears of everyone aboard the plane. The cockpit speaker lit up. “What kind of music are you guys playing in there?!”
“That’s not music!” The second pilot quickly responded.
“I was afraid you’d say that!”
The two pilots kept quiet and stayed vigilant, their eyes trying to pierce through the obstructing clouds. But they were too thick for the naked eye to see through and thus it was almost too late for them to see a large, gaping mouth coming right at them. “OH SHI--” The two swerved the plane to the right at the last second but the plane was too large to completely avoid the mouth and thus the plane did not escape entirely. “We lost the left wing!” The plane had begun to descend.
“Tell the squad to make for the pods!” The second ordered.
“Sigma Squad! Get to the escape pods! The plane’s suffered terrible damage!” The first said after pushing a button above him. “I repeat: Get to your pods! The plane’s lost the left wing!” He then released it. “Jack, get to your pod. I’ll keep the plane steady.”
“You’re not gonna be the only hero in this story, Lloyd.” The second pilot replied. “Let’s both go in five.”
“Five minutes?!”
“Seconds dammit!”
---------
“I knew the Triangle’s bad news!” Briggs said as he and the squad navigated through the crates of supplies while also trying to stay on their feet. If the pilot’s announcement did not make it clear the plane was compromised, the sudden loss of balance did.
Most of the squad wanted to retort but the truth was on Briggs’ side. “Sigmas, have you prepared your loadouts?” Boss asked before recalling that he put a Spas-12 and an AK-47 into his loadout. His squadmates, both current and previous, said that AKs were for the poor, the terrorists and the poor terrorists. They also said he should get something more state of the art but Boss ignored them. The rifle got him through many a mission though he did admit the primary weapon needed help from the secondary and the sidearm from time to time. He then grasped his waist and felt his MP5 sidearm. His superiors often wondered why he was carrying a submachine gun for a sidearm but since it did not impede him in any way, they let him be.
“Yes sir!” Briggs was the first to reply to Boss’ inquiry. He was very much sure he has an M240 and an M4A1 in his loadout. He wanted to bring at least four C4 charges since they never know when to blow something up but the escape pod could only accommodate so much. So instead he armed his rifle with an M203 attachment to compensate for the lack of explosives in his arsenal. He also debated within whether to bring a machinegun or a rocket launcher for a secondary but fortunately Frog offered to bring a rocket launcher for him. Briggs was as happy as Shadow with multiple unaware targets ready to be shot. He also smiled at the fact that he did not have a sidearm, he had sidearms. He was sure his dual M9s would rock anybody’s boats.
“Aye aye!” Shadow replied next. He brought his trusty M14 EBR and an ACR with a Holographic Sight attachment for a secondary. He initially wanted a bolt-action sniper rifle but Boss convinced him that a bolt-action may not be the most appropriate weapon when fighting multiple opponents all by oneself. For a sidearm, Shadow was proud of his .44 Magnum that was sitting on his waist. It was not a secret that the sniper was a big fan of revolvers.
“Locked and loaded sir!” Frog was the last. He was completely okay with only a primary, a SCAR-H with a Red Dot Sight attached, so he offered his secondary slot to anyone who wanted to bring an extra weapon. As mentioned, Briggs took the slot and so Frog has an AT4 for a secondary. A Desert Eagle was Frog’s choice for a sidearm. For reasons unknown to him, Frog liked the gun.
Near the plane’s backside, there were six metallic, round lids separated by pairs. The commandos opened two of the lid pairs and dropped down on the hatches, Boss shared his pod with Briggs while Frog shared his with Shadow. Briggs was the last to drop down and he saw the two pilots emerge from the mass of crates. “Hurry up, you two!” The plane has almost reached a completely vertical position and thus the two pilots had to begin climbing towards the pods, using the crates and the ropes tying them down as support.
Then suddenly, Briggs saw something he would not forget anytime soon. Large spikes punched through the plane’s hull, coming from above and below. Briggs was filled with dread when it dawned on him that the spikes were not spikes but razor sharp teeth. “Oh my g--”
“BRIGGS! GET IN HERE!” The yell broke Briggs’ awe who then entered the escape pod hatch.
With Sigma Squad inside, the escape pods then disengaged from the falling plane and into the jungles of the Empire of Tales.
"I don't think the laws of physics were properly explained to Eighty-Nine. No one that big could move that fast." ~UNCO-1192 "Briggs"
_______________
Problem Commandos Are Coming From Another World, Aren’t They?
Spoiler: show
The escape pod shook violently and L.T. could feel the intensity of the fall as if he was in an elevator falling down the shaft. However, the cramped pod and the restraints on him prevented him from going anywhere. He knew there were numerous safety features of the pods, obviously since it would not be much of an escape should the pod’s user die but the squad leader was still doubtful for Mother Nature was something not to be underestimated.
L.T. gripped the restraints holding him down as he hoped it would safely land or violently crash soon since the wait was killing him. He tried to shift his thoughts to where the pod was going to land but before he could do that he heard a flapping sound above him. The pod’s parachute has been deployed and L.T. noticed that the speed of the fall was slowly decreasing but he did not mind that. The fact that the parachute was out meant they were getting closer to the surface, be it ground or water. The ride was nearing its end.
The squad leader waited, looking around his compartment by a dim red light to ease his anxiety about the landing. Seconds after, his ears heard a loud boom as he felt a sharp land as if he was being driven into the ground. The ride was over and L.T. breathed a sigh of relief before pulling a handle on his right, twisting it and pushing it back. His restraints rose as he heard the sounds of metal suddenly disconnecting. The wall in front of him slowly fell down and L.T. was treated to the sight of trees and shrubbery all covered by darkness. He quickly exited the pod and aimed down his sidearm submachine gun, checking the environment for anything worth noticing.
He slowly made his towards the other side of the pod, still checking the environment. L.T. was careful not to be on the exit’s way and the familiar sounds of the pod exit opening filled his ears. L.T. did not watch the exit cover fall, his eyes still surveying the forest, but as soon as heard the thud, the squad leader turned. “Briggs?”
“I’m alright sir.” The gas-masked squad member muttered as he exited. “Is there anything out there?”
“No.” L.T. replied. “But let’s be careful anyway.”
“Go get your loadout, Briggs. I’ll cover you.” L.T. ordered.
“Yes sir.” Briggs went back into the pod and pressed a button. A click sound was heard and the two Sigmas made their way to the left side of the pod which they find its compartment, illuminated by a dim yellow light, already opened.
Right after Briggs has collected his loadout, L.T. issued a new but similar order. “Now cover me, Briggs.”
“Yes sir.”
It took only moments for the two Sigmas to fully arm up. “Let’s go rendezvous with Frog and Shad.” L.T. said to his only companion. “Frog, Shad. Do you read me?”
“Read you sir but it looks like we’re some distance away.” A static-filled voice responded.
“Is Shadow alright?” The squad leader asked.
“Fully enabled sir.” A different but still static-filled voice answered.
“Frog, what’s the midpoint between us?” L.T. inquired.
“Uhh… uhh…”
“Frog?” Worry filled L.T.’s heart as those mutters only meant something was wrong.
“The tablet’s not picking up your position sir… or ours…” Frog said, his last word trailing off as if there was more. “Uhh… judging from the positions of the pods, you should head east sir and we’ll move west. Hopefully we’ll meet up.”
“Hopefully?”
“There’s something wrong sir. I’ll explain when we’ve regrouped.” Frog said. “Keep your eyes on your HUD’s motion sensor and the radios should be much clearer if we’re closer.”
“Let’s head east then.” L.T. said to Briggs as he began to walk with his primary drawn.
“Hey Frog.” Briggs started another topic. “Where do you suppose we are?”
The radio was silent for a moment. “Well we were flying from Fort de France bound for Florida and flying over through the Bermuda Triangle so, theoretically speaking, we should be in one of the islands in the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
“Bahamas?” Briggs repeated. “Guys, can we just stay here? It’s not like the U.N.’s gonna miss us or anything.” His thoughts immediately wandered to the fine beaches the nation had.
“Hope you’re ready to throw away indoor plumbing.” Shadow replied.
“Oh come on Shad. Surely everyone by this point of time have great indoor plumbing.” Briggs responded. “Even the most impoverished of Africa.”
“Sounds like you two are hearing each other just fine.” L.T. commented at the two Sigmas’ short conversation which had an audible lack of static.
“Eighty-nine’s right. We must be getting close.” Frog noted.
L.T. and Briggs soon reached a small clearing with a noticeable rock in the middle of it. “What do you make of this Briggs?” The squad leader asked as the two commandos gazed at the stone protrusion better known as a monolith taking the shape of an uneven bar. What really caught the Sigmas’ attention were the various symbols inscribed into it. From what they could make out, there appeared to be a shadowy stick figure with a ‘\’ beside it on the right while at the close left, there was a ‘/’ beside a regular stick figure.
“Must be some tribal stuff, sir.” Briggs gave his thoughts about the rock.
“What’s up, boss?” Shadow asked over the radio.
“We’ve apparently encountered a monolith in a clearing.” An idea entered L.T.’s mind. “Frog, Shadow. What’s the outlook of your surroundings?”
“Forest, forest and more forest sir.” Shadow replied.
“I have an idea: Briggs and I will stay here. Our radios are much clearer now so we shouldn’t be too far away from each other.” L.T. began to relay his plan. “You guys try looking for a clearing with a noticeable monolith in it. That’s where we will be.”
“What’s a monolith?” Shadow asked.
“Sir I suggest we just keep moving so our motion sensors will detect us.” Frog replied. “There might be more clearings with monoliths in them for all we know.”
“What’s a monolith?” The sniper repeated his unanswered question.
L.T. thought about what Frog said and decided that the technician had a point. However, before he could tell Frog, Briggs took over the radio. “Hey Frog, just keep looking for that monolith will ya?” The demo expert’s voice was a little panicked. “For I am detecting movement coming here and I doubt it’s you guys.” The squad leader went up to Briggs and checked his HUD’s motion sensor. Indeed there was movement in the form of multiple dots all heading for the Sigmas’ position. Briggs and L.T. both aimed their weapons at the direction of the incoming entities.
“Seriously, what’s a monolith?”
///////////////
Today had been a bad day. A truly bad day. I should’ve just stayed in town for the night instead of trying to brave the darkness in order for me to reach the next city so I could immediately set up shop. Now I find myself running from a bandit cave which I had escaped from. Unfortunately, the bandits who captured me found out and had some Inumimis chase after me. Why are they with the human bandits? Don’t they hate humans? Maybe the bandit leader’s a dominating type. Oh come on me! Now’s not the time to be wondering! I’ve got to focus on getting away. The shrubbery in this forest were kind of impeding my sprint but I know the Inumimis may not have this problem so with their speed, it’s only a matter of time before they catch up to me. Maybe if I put up a brave face, they’d switch sides. I doubt that’ll happen. I should just continue running.
I could hear the Inumimis’ steps grow louder and closer and I could feel my feet about to give way. I need to hide. But where and even if I do hide, the Inumimis would probably smell me. I need a miracle. As I continued sprinting for my life, I see a clearing with a rock protrusion and what seemed to be two shadows in front of it. I had no time to think about my actions and so I entered the clearing and found myself in front of two… I did not know what they were. They looked humanoid but they were completely black from head to toe. On their hands were objects I have not seen in my life and it seemed they were pointed at me. I stood there frozen, not knowing what to do. Behind me were a pack of pursuers wanting to do who-knows-what to me and before me was a pair of aliens with who-knows-what intentions. I was sweating profusely from fatigue and nervousness.
The rustling of the forest behind me grew ever louder until it stopped. I took a look behind and there they were: Three female humanoids with ears, paws and legs of a wolf. One had gray fur, one had dark brown fur while the last had light brown. All of them had their sharp claws drawn to shed blood. Their mouths were opened to bear their canine-like teeth. I noticed their eyes weren’t looking at me and I figured they were looking at the two shadow men looming before me. The Inumimis behind me snarled at the two shadows that made nary a sound. I gulped for I knew the situation was going to take a turn for the violent any second now.
The moment of truth came when the dark brown Inumimi growled and lunged at the shadow men while I dropped to the ground, hoping the crossfire would fly harmlessly above me.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Briggs reacted to the lunge of the wolf girl with a burst fire from his rifle which was enough to drop her while the two other wolf girls lunged at the squad leader. L.T. managed to get two shots from his weapon which took down the light brown wolf girl but was thrown to the ground by the slightly larger gray wolf girl. The Inumimi tried to sink her fangs into L.T. but her fangs were repelled and she flinched when the squad leader glowed blue momentarily. The squad leader used the opening to reverse the positions and pressed his rifle on the wolf girl’s neck. “Sir we heard shots fired. What’s happening?” The Inumimi tried to get the object blocking the air from entering her neck but somehow the pitch black figure above her kept her pinned, albeit with great effort. Soon the wolf girl’s strength faded as her eyes rolled upward as her mouth stopped trying to gasp for air.
“Sir we’re heading to where the shots were fired. Are you in the same position?” Frog’s voice asked over the local radio.
“Yeah… yeah.” L.T. responded. Despite doing his job for over several years, what happened recently was all very surreal to him. “Briggs, did… we just kill a couple of cosplayers?” He asked while he made his way to the lone man who ducked for cover.
The demolitions expert shared his superior’s feeling, hovering over the body of the wolf girl he had just shot. “Maybe, if the Bahamas hosts really large roleplaying events.” Briggs crouched and pulled on the Inumimi’s ear. Part of him believed it would come off but he did not know what to feel when it did not. He pulled on it a couple more times but it was not coming off. “Maybe it’s glued on?”
“I doubt it, Briggs.” L.T., having realized something, hovered over the crouching man who was covering his ears. “A female cosplayer does not have that kind of strength.” He pulled the man up and put him against the monolith.
“Eight-Nine, what’s going on?” Frog asked over the comms.
“You guys ain’t gonna believe what me and Boss found here.” Briggs answered for the team leader as he got up after inspecting the fallen Inumimi’s tail. His tone had returned to its cheery default though he was still shaking from the surrealism of the situation.
///////////////
It was loud. Way loud. What in the world could have made those noises in rapid succession? I didn’t know. All I did was cover my ringing ears. Soon something pulled me up from my duck-and-cover position and I found myself facing one of the shadow men. I took a glance at the surroundings and noticed the bodies of the Inumimis. These men must be something to have taken down these tough Homimonstrums in such short time. “Look at me.” I immediately shift my gaze to the shadow man’s face. His eyes were triangular-shaped and were colored black but not as black as his overalls. Now that I look at it, it seemed he was wearing a helmet. I said ‘he’ since his voice was undoubtedly masculine. “What you say will dictate whether you live or die. Am I clear?” I could only nod. Was there any other correct answer?
“Word of advice: don’t lie.” The other shadow man told me. I noticed this one’s voice was more light-hearted and he looked smaller though he looked just as dark as the shadow man before me.
“First: Who are you?” The shadow man asked.
A fairly easy question. “Yoshihiro Godou.” The dark figure was silent. I get the feeling he was doubting me. Why? Didn’t he just made me swear not to tell a lie? Wait. That was just advice. This was not going to be an easy question after all. “P-please, I’m telling the truth.”
The shadow man before me took a glance at his fellow before returning to me. “Are you from Japan?”
Japan? “Uhh… no.” I bluntly answer. “I come from Wa of Shangri-La.” I added.
The shadow man took another glance to his ally. “Are you screwing with us?” I sensed rising anger from his voice.
“If you think this is still a roleplay well news flash kid…” The other shadow man said.
Apparently they think this is some kind of play. Aren’t plays performed in theatres? And not where potential dangers such as them lurk. “Please, I’m telling the truth. I have no idea what this ‘Japan’ or ‘roleplay’ is.”
The shadow man was still looking at me though I had a feeling he was not looking right at me. It’s as if things were starting to make sense to him. “These…” He used his weapon to point at the Inumimi corpses. “What the hell are these?”
I took a look at the fallen Homimonstrums. While it was necessary, I still felt bad about their deaths. I mean they’re cute! Deadly, but cute! However, what concerned me the most is the failure of the shadow man to recognize these common Homimonstrums. Could these shadow men be limited to this particular forest and had not seen the outside world? Of course I needed to answer right away. “Th-Those are Inumimis. Wolf Homimonstrum. I don’t know where they originated exactly but it seems my people gave its name. I think.”
The shadow man was silent for a bit before looking at something beyond me. This made my head turn as well and saw two more shadow men emerge from the forest and into the clearing where we are and the noticeable monolith. One thing I noticed that their heads, or rather headwear, all differed. “Looks like you had a close encounter with the locals.” One of the newcomers commented. His voice was deep and raspy.
“Well… you not wrong, Shad.” The light-voiced dark one responded.
The two newcomer shadow men took a better look at the scene and noticed the Inumimi corpses. They were silent, obviously having not seen an Inumimi in their entire lives. “They’re the real deal, Shad.”
“No way.” The shadow man crouched to a corpse and tried pulling its ears. I would have smiled had the large shadow man before me stopped threatening me. “Maybe it’s glued on?”
“Sir…” The second newcomer shadow man walked up to the one before me. “What happened?” His voice was the most normal among the four.
“We were attacked by these… ‘Inumimis’ as this guy called them.” He motioned his shoulder towards me.
“And he is?”
“His name’s Yoshihiro and he’s gonna tell us what’s up.” The large dark one returned his gaze onto me. “Next question: Where are we?”
“I-in the forest between Summer’s Glory and Crying Widows.” I honestly answered. However, that question meant they did not know where they are which threw away any notion that they’re native here. That changes everything. “I-in the Kingdom of Tales.” I added.
The shadow man took a glance at his comrades. “Are you sure you’re not screwing with us?”
Their endless doubt made me blurt out. “How many times do I have to tell you?! I’m NOT screwing with you! I’m telling the truth!” I immediately shut my mouth after realizing I kind of overstepped my boundaries. However, the shadow man looked lightened up as if I’m telling the truth. Finally, I can put my nerves to rest.
But apparently not the interrogation. “Why were you running? And why were these guys chasing you?” He asked though I noticed his voice became very melancholic as if he just experienced something tragic.
“I escaped from them… or more particularly, their masters.” I began. “I’m a merchant from Shangri-La and I got captured by a band of bandits not far from here.”
The shadow man was silent for a bit. “Don’t you dare go anywhere.” He said to me in a very serious tone. My nerves went back up as I nodded and the shadow man turned around but not before asking the last question. “Where’s this Shangri-La?”
“Very, very far away from here. Almost halfway across the world.” I answered.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Hearing the answer, L.T. turned his back and walked a couple of steps from Yoshihiro which prompted the other three to assemble with him. “Guys, I really don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” Briggs said.
“Don’t be absurd, Nine-Two.” Frog told off the demolitions expert before turning to the squad leader. “Sir, I think we’re just being tricked.”
“By who, Frog?” L.T. offered doubt. “Only a select few people know we exist and I don’t take them to be the pranking type. Especially not during this point of time.”
Frog wanted to retort but found that he could not. Shadow took the moment to ask. “Are we still in the Bahamas or the whatever islands?”
“You heard what he said, Shad.” Briggs responded. “No way could he travel halfway across the world without being found.”
“I mean come on guys.” Briggs continued. “These are wolf girls. That is a Japanese man talking about lands that we don’t know wearing ancient Japanese clothes. Who the heck wears a blue haori and a gray hakama in the remote parts of the Bahamas?”
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence. A really, really complex one.” Shadow said which earned an unamused look from Briggs.
“Well there’s only one way for us to find out if what Yoshi is telling us the truth.” L.T. said before turning to the Shangri-Lan once more.
///////////////
The large shadow man approached me again but this time less threateningly so. “If you say you’re running from bandits, take us to them.”
Normally I would say that’s crazy but since these men seem really dangerous, I see no reason not to. Especially if it would prove the truth of my words as well as liberate my stolen merchandise. “Okay. Follow me.” Truth be told, I really do not know where this was going or how it will end. On one hand, these men could dispatch the bandits as easily as they did with the Inumimis and I get to reunite with my inventory and wagon. On the other hand, the bandits actually win over the shadow men and I end up dead. Or maybe the shadow people do defeat the bandits but then kill me and take my stuff. I was only sure of one thing, if I didn’t take these men to the bandit cave, I was certainly dead.
-----\-----
The Shangri-Lan lead the displaced squad through the dim forest with only the moon as the source of light, the natural light of the forest insects being too weak for an alternative. Their pace was slow due to Yoshihiro being quite tired from his escape and the commandos being too alert and shocked from what the Shangri-Lan said. L.T. trailed off to Frog and started a quiet conversation. “What was wrong with the tablet, Frog?” The leader whispered an earlier promise by the technical expert.
“Ah, right.” Frog put away his weapon and brought the tablet up. “Here sir.” Frog pushed and slid his finger across the tablet a few times and soon only a sea of static could be seen from the tablet’s screen. “We’re not receiving any satellite data, sir. Which is impossible unless we’re underground. Deep underground.”
L.T. stared at the static screen for a few moments. “You still think we’re still on Earth, Frog?”
“Sir, come on. That idea is very… out there.” Frog continued his crumbling skepticism. “Maybe the satellites are just out of range at this time.” Though even the technical expert knew what he said was just as ‘out there’ as the previous statement.
There was silence for a moment before Frog mustered the courage to ask. “Do you believe that… we’re actually somewhere else, sir?”
L.T. continued being silent as he gathered his thoughts. “Honestly Twenty, I don’t want to… but I do.” The leader looked ahead where he could see Shadow and Briggs silently following the Shangri-Lan, obviously brooding. “That wolf girl. She was strong. I think she’d be able to throw you around, Frog.” Frog imagined what his superior said. He thought it was kind of farfetched of him being flung around like a ragdoll especially by something found inside Briggs’ USB. However, since L.T.’s voice was dead serious the technical expert found himself in conflict whether to trust the words or believe someone has gone bonkers.
And he really doubted the latter.
-----/-----
It was not long before we reached the hideout: A large clearing containing an entrance to a cave attached to the base a rocky cliff. We were still in the forest near the edge of the clearing and so still inside the cover of the vegetation and out of the bandit sentry’s sight. However, I was suddenly pulled down by the shadow man behind me, the one with the lighthearted voice. I looked at him to ask why and he pointed at something in the forest. I could not see what he was pointing at and only saw it when it emerged from the forest and into the clearing.
Several human bandits, carrying what seemed to be sacks of loot and… females. From what they were wearing, they look like a party of adventurers and have fallen victim to one of the worst kind of hazards in their profession. One was unconscious and slung over a brute’s shoulder. She had medium-length brown hair and was only wearing a white tunic, her equipment likely taken off and tossed to the sack of loot. On the brute’s other shoulder was another unconscious girl, this one had auburn hair tied to a ponytail and looked younger. She wore a hooded cloak and black overalls. The last one was, unlike the other two, very much conscious. She wore a ripped blue robe and she had long indigo hair. Her hands were bound by rope and connected to a leash which the bandits used to pull her along. All of them were light-skinned.
The bandits waved at the sentry and chatted, most likely boasting what they accomplished for the night and admiring their spoils. Something needed to be done. I looked upon my shadow companions who were just watching the bandits like a predator stalking its prey. I opened my mouth but stopped myself from talking when the shadow man brought his index finger in his face before returning his gaze on the hideout’s entrance. The group of bandits soon entered the cave and leaving the sentry who had a smile on his face. The shadow man motioned to me to follow him and so I did. We only moved away a couple of steps away and well away from earshot, these men certainly don’t take chances.
The dark one who interrogated me began. “Yoshihiro, was it? Looks like you’re speaking the truth. You’re free to go.” Wait. What? “Let’s move out, Sigma Squad.”
The four of them began to make their way away from the bandit hideout. “Never thought I’d see somebody in a leather outfit in my life.”
“Pretty sure we’ve seen fashion shows, Briggs.”
“Come on Shad, you know that’s not what I meant.”
No, no. They were supposed to get in there and start stirring up the hive. Why were they leaving? “H-hey! Where are you going?” I followed them.
“Keep your voice down. We don’t want to alert them.” The one who interrogated me said.
“Aren’t you going to go in there and rescue the adventurers?” I asked them.
“We have no obligation to do that.” He coldly replied. “And attention’s the last thing we want right now.”
I could not believe it. How could they just leave those helpless people when it’s clear they have the power to do something about it? I picked up my pace and block them from continuing. “I said you’re free to go, Yoshihiro.” The interrogator said, clearly not amused at what I’m doing.
I shook my head. “Please, you need to do something about the bandits.” The four simply stood there, not uttering a word. “Please, I beg you.”
The dark ones looked at one another before the interrogator nodded at the lighthearted one who then put away his weapon and pulled out a small object and attached something to it. I had a sinking feeling it was a smaller weapon since he then aimed it at me. “No hard feelings buddy.” Yep, it’s a weapon alright.
If I did not get out of the way, I will surely join my ancestors soon. But if I did I would be dooming those female adventurers to a fate equaling death. Maybe I should just do the latter. I mean it’s not like I know those women nor do I owe them anything. No! No! I shouldn’t think like that! Evil triumphs when good men fail to act and right now I need to act to get these men to act. I started thinking. Hey I’m a merchant so maybe I can strike a bargain but I don’t have anything with me right now. The only thing I do have is… “Listen…” I began. I was about to put down something big. At least big to certain people including me. “You guys don’t know your way around here and you’ve never seen an Inumimi. I have a feeling you’re not very familiar with the world.” I stated my thoughts so far and gulped. I don’t know if I got it right as their headwear prevented any expression from making its way to me.
They stayed silent, the weapon still directed at me, so I assumed I’m right and continued. “If you help those adventurers, I’ll… I’ll help you navigate the world and-and introduce you to anything you don’t recognize.”
Silence followed but then the interrogator spoke up. “Stand down, Briggs.”
“Yes sir.” The one called Briggs put away his mini weapon. I take a huge sigh of relief but that was only one obstacle down.
The interrogator approached me. “So you say if we save those girls, you’ll act as our guide for this world. Is that it?”
“Yes.” I bluntly replied.
The interrogator glanced at his comrades, one of which was shaking his head before looking at the night sky or rather the black canopy of leaves. “You do realize we’re gonna be owning you for the entire duration of our stay here, right?”
“I understand that.”
“And you do realize you’re literally betting your life for someone you don’t know at all.”
“I understand that too.”
More silence followed as the interrogator thought about my bargain. “Sir, we can’t get involved. Especially not in this kind place.” The shadow man with the normal voice said. “We’re Sigma Squad sir, we can manage without a guide.” Why is there always the one who wants to dissuade the leader from making the right choice? However, I can only stay silent.
“Yes we can, Frog.” Oh no… “But this is a place we have zero idea of and we have some guy who’s offering his body and soul to remedy that problem.” Yes!
“Sir, you do realize he could be tricking us.” The one called Frog continued his attempt to dissuade.
“I am NOT! I’m being completely honest!” I blurted out. These guys have trust issues. Sure it’s not always a bad thing but their blatant show of distrust was getting on my nerves.
All four stared at me after I told the one called Frog off. Now my heart was beating fast. “Sigma Squad.” The interrogator began. “We’re conducting a little search and rescue.”
-----/-----
We returned to the clearing’s edge and observed what we had to deal with. Not much really, just the bandit sentry who looked like ready to call it a night.
It was there I saw something familiar. “My wagon…” There it was, in all its wooden glory. I know it’s my wagon. It was a lot cleaner and more refined than the decomposing one beside it. There’s also a few horses beside the stolen wagons. I took a look at the shadow men and saw the interrogator do a circling motion with his finger before making a slitting motion in front of his neck. As I wondered what that meant, the shadow man with the raspy voice began moving through the forest and out of sight.
“Well since we’re gonna be together for a while, why not introduce ourselves?” I already knew his name, Briggs, but proper introductions didn’t hurt. “I’m Briggs, that one’s Frog…” He pointed at the normal-voiced dark one whom I also already knew. “That’s L.T.” So that was his name. It’s likely a nickname. “And the one who just left is Shadow or Shad for short.” With that, I was formally introduced to my owners.
But the interrogator’s name piqued my curiosity. “Sooo… what does L.T. mean?”
“Oh, Lieutenant.” Briggs answered. “But he stopped being Lieutenant a long time ago. The name just stuck.”
“Thanks.” I return my gaze upon the cave with the sentry. “So what’s the plan?” I asked.
“This.” Briggs then pushed me into the clearing, making enough noise to alert the bandit sentry who immediately saw me.
“Hey! Who are you?!” I raise my hands instinctively. “Wait a second, I know you!” Oh, crap. Wait… “You got nerve coming back here.” I saw Shadow slowly creeping up towards the sentry, a knife in the ready. “Ah, I know. You came back for your stuff, ya greedy merch—hmmph!” The sentry did not manage to finish as a hand covered his mouth and a knife entered his back. Shadow gently placed the body upon the ground and the rest of the shadow men emerged from the forest.
“Nice plan ain’t it?” Briggs playfully asked.
“The nicest.” Sarcasm wasn’t really my style but it was needed.
The five of us then gazed upon the cave entrance, the pitch black darkness preventing me from seeing anything beyond. “Alright Yoshi, you stay here and…”
“No.” I interrupted L.T. “My merchandise is in there. I need to get them and--”
“You’re a guide now, Yoshi. Not a merchant.” Briggs interrupted and reminded me.
“Yes I know but if I am to properly show you the world, I need to keep my previous profession.” I retorted. “Besides, I can start my guiding job with this cave here.”
L.T. was silent for a moment before replying. “Just keep your head down, alright?” He likely realized I meant when I said I could guide them through the cave.
And with that, I headed into the cave once more but this time, with friends… okay more like allies.
The way was not huge but definitely not narrow as the large brute that is L.T. had enough space to walk beside me and more. A couple of steps into the cave and we were treated with torches which lit the dim place somewhat. We silently proceeded onward and soon we encounter a path that split off into two directions: One heading straight and one heading left. I was only familiar with the left one. “The left one leads to a couple cells where I escaped. I haven’t been to the straight one but I think it leads to the bandit leader’s place or something.”
“Alright.” L.T. began to relay his plan. “Briggs, Shadow. Take the straight route and eliminate all hostiles.”
“Yes sir.” “Aye aye.”
“Frog, you’re with me.”
“Affirmative.”
“How about you Yoshi?” L.T. then turned to me. I immediately began wondering where my stolen merchandise could be.
“Sir, I suggest he go with you.” Shadow said. “Our path may be more dangerous.”
That was a good idea actually. “Okay, I’ll go with L.T. and Frog then.” I said.
“Alright then. Sigma Squad, move out.”
-----\-----
Briggs and Shadow moved straight with the latter on point while the former stole glances at the dark surroundings. The way was lit by torches and sometimes candles. The end of their way was filled with bright light and so Shadow motioned to Briggs to crouch down as they approached the new area. With Shadow in front, he was the first one to see what was in the well-lit area: It was a chamber with a long wooden table filled with food and candles placed horizontally from Shadow’s perspective. Beyond the table was a set of wooden stairs that lead to a hole couple of meters above the ground. On the table’s east and west were more holes that likely lead to other areas. Soon Briggs joined Shadow’s recon and was marveled at what he saw. “I really feel like I’m in Skyrim.” He whispered in his quietest voice possible.
The two noticed at least six men dining on the table dressed in fur and leather, some they recognized as the ones from earlier. Briggs motioned to Shadow to toss a grenade into the hostile-laden chamber but the latter shook his head and instead attached a suppressor to his rifle. The demolitions expert sighed and did the same to his weapon. Aiming their weapons at the eating, drinking and chatting bandits, Briggs nodded to Shadow to make the first shot. The sniper did, firing a single shot and dropping a bandit from his chair. Before the remaining bandits reacted, Briggs fired next and dropping another. The bandits stood up from their chairs and another two of them dropped to the stony floor. The two remaining bandits drew their swords but in a blink of a moment, they joined their comrades.
Briggs immediately took aim at the left hole and approached it, taking glances at the hole above the ground. Shadow on the other hand, made his way towards the right hole and fired a shot at a bandit who heard the commotion and emerged from the hole. Another shot was fired at another bandit for the same pretenses. The sniper waited for someone or something else to emerge from the hole but moments pass but none did. Briggs’ hole on the other side had absolutely nothing emerge from it. The two commandos looked at each other and the demolitions expert motioned to the sniper to clear their respective holes. Shadow nodded and headed inside the cave while Briggs did the same.
Shadow’s hole lead the sniper to a chamber where he found several bedrolls with items like daggers and bottles beside them. Several candles and lanterns lit the place and he found there were four bedrolls on each side of the chamber. On the corner was a noticeable wooden chest which Shadow could not help but curiously inspect. The chest was conveniently not locked and the commando did not hesitate to take a peek inside. However, he was disappointed when he only found articles of clothing. He rummaged through the useless junk and found something he wanted to find but did not think to actually find it: A curved blade similar to a wakizashi. Shadow immediately took it and twirled, swinging it a few times.
Meanwhile, Briggs entered his hole cautiously since nothing came from it which could mean they were waiting for him inside. The commando soon lead to a chamber similar to that Shadow found except one side only had two large bedrolls. Briggs wondered who could be using them but then felt a presence watching him. The demolitions expert knew he had seen the entire chamber except for one place. He slowly glanced up and found himself facing a large humanoid somehow clinging to the rocky wall. It had black fur with red streaks and two noticeable wolf ears. Its eyes were blood red and his fangs were bared. Briggs felt he had found the ‘boss’ of the area and immediately pointed his rifle upwards only for the masculine-looking Inumimi to lunge at him.
-----/-----
L.T., Frog and I soon reached the hideout’s jail. Three cells lined each side and each one had black metal bars that prevented anyone from entering or leaving, unless of course if that anyone was strong enough to pry the bars off or could pick the lock like me. The area was lit by torches placed in-between the cells, providing light to the guards but not to the prisoners. There was a lone, bandit sentry wearing leather armor facing away from us and walking. He seemed to be patrolling the cells, walking back and forth from one point to another. L.T. pulled out a knife from his right boot and flipped it so he held the blade before taking aim at the bandit. As the sentry turned around, the shadow man threw the knife and hit the bandit in the neck. The sentry choked a bit, blood flowing from his mouth and neck, before falling to the ground dead. The sight was particularly gruesome but L.T.’s throwing was undoubtedly admirable and impeccable. Or maybe it just happened to hit the neck.
L.T. and Frog quickly made their way to the body and I quickly followed. Passing through the first set of cells, I only saw darkness. When I passed through the second set, I found the brown-haired girl in the white tunic along with the auburn-haired girl in the right cell. They were still unconscious. “T-the keys?” I ask my shadow allies.
“It’s not with him.” Frog responded after checking the body. “It’s probably in the other room.” Other room?
I look upon the end of the hall and now that I got a good look at it, it only looked like the end when gazed at a certain angle. The way actually split off into two that both lead to another room. “Yoshi, stay here and let us know if an enemy is coming. Otherwise, just keep an eye on those two.” L.T. ordered me to which I nodded. The two then made their way to the other room and left me with the unconscious women behind bars and a dead man.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Frog and L.T. equipped their suppressors, or switching to the MP5 before equipping in L.T.’s case, as they went into the other room. The two commandos split up in the splitting up, knowing full well they both lead to the same area. The two entered the next room simultaneously despite being separate. What they saw was a chamber half-filled with, in their own words, stuff. Weapons, jewelry, bottles and L.T. could swear he saw staves in there. However, what really caught the commandos’ eyes was the group of men sexually assaulting an indigo-haired woman on a wooden table facing them. Her chest was already exposed and held by a bandit’s hands which stopped when the bandits all looked up to see who the newcomers are. L.T. and Frog did not waste time in unloading bullets upon the bandits; carefully making sure the lady was not harmed. There were five bandits dead with one purposefully left alive by simply being shot at the shoulder.
L.T. approached and grabbed the injured bandit. “Where are the keys?” He coldly asked. The ruffian grabbed for something in his fur clothes and got out a set of six keys. The squad leader snatched them from the bandit’s hands and jerked his head towards the bandit’s, knocking the ruffian out.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” Frog helped up the indigo-haired woman who immediately covered her chest with what remained of her robes.
“Yes, I’m… fine.” The woman replied before looking at her rescuers. Her eyes instantly widened and she was taken aback by the stranger rescuers before her. They looked completely out of the world. Their overall appearance made them look like humanoid shadow creatures holding alien objects. “Y-You must be remarkable warriors to have gotten past the guardian Inumimi.” The woman remarked. It was the only words she could say that was not a question.
Frog and L.T. looked at each other. “Guardian what?” Frog asked.
////////////////
“GUYS!” I yelled. Before me was a particularly large female Inumimi who emerged from the cell opposite to that of the adventurers’. She had black fur with orange streaks and the usual Inumimi features except they looked more threatening because of the increased size. She looked at me like a dog spotting an intruder. “GUYS!” I yelled out once more as I slowly backed away towards the cell of the captured adventurers. The large Inumimi then diagonally swung her huge claws at me who only had moments to react.
And with only moments to react, I did what any other defenseless human would: Duck for cover. As I did so, I heard metal being cut and a sharp, burning pain in my back. My survival instincts failed me. The encroaching pain and my failing strength prevented my body from holding up and so I sank to the stony floor. I managed to roll to get a view of my cute doombringer as she raised her claws once more for another strike. It was then that my end would be postponed when the brown-haired adventurer tackled the Homimonstrum away from me. With my remaining strength, I raised my body to see what was going to happen next.
It was not pretty when I saw the Inumimi quickly rose back up and lunged at us with her claws ready to slash again. I look upon the semi-liberated warrior woman beside me who had a panicked look on her face. I gathered what honor I had and embraced the woman, covering her with my already damaged back. I held my breath for the incoming slash and the all the pain that came with it.
-----\-----
*SLASH*
Briggs glowed blue for a moment but was thrown to the other side of the chamber, losing his suppressed rifle from his grasp. He immediately pulled out a knife from his right boot as a weapon against the giant man-beast before him. While the commando knew close quarters combat, never in his life did he prefer that if there were other options. And to Briggs, the situation had multiple options for him even if some were ridiculous, dangerous or ridiculously dangerous. He opted for the last and with his free hand, pointed at something behind the Inumimi. “Holy jeez, what’s that?!” As the demo expert planned, the wolf man fell for it and Briggs dove and rolled forward to get his weapon and under the Inumimi’s clutches.
The wolf Homimonstrum reacted too slowly and failed to catch the commando when he rolled past him. Briggs wasted no time in getting out of the chamber and into the previous area where Shadow would hopefully be available to assist. With the wolf man in hot pursuit, Briggs emerged into the larger previous chamber where he spotted the sniper just on other side looking like he found nothing on his end. “Shad! Help!” He yelled.
Shadow raised a brow when he saw a panicked Briggs enter the large chamber but immediately raised his rifle when a much larger figure emerged after the demolitions specialist. The sniper took a few shots at the huge furry creature but despite being hit, it showed no signs of stopping and soon caught up to Briggs. The Inumimi swung its claws at the commando which flung him to the table of food, flipping it over. The Homimonstrum saw Shadow next who tried to open fire but the former lunged at the latter in blinking speed and sunk its canine teeth on the sniper.
However instead of tasting flesh, the Inumimi’s teeth seemed to be repelled and the Homimonstrum saw its prey glow blue for a moment. His teeth still had a grip on the commando though and so he used that to fling Shadow away who landed near Briggs behind the flipped table. “Now I know what Liam Neeson felt like…” The demolitions expert commented as he got up and took aim at the incoming large male Inumimi who swiped away the fallen dining table. Unfortunately for the Homimonstrum, the two commandos have fully recovered and have aimed their weapons at him.
The two Sigmas unloaded their magazines at the wolf man, punching many a hole in the Inumimi’s body. The large wolf man fell to the floor with a thud while Briggs and Shadow took a moment of inaction to recompose themselves. Two magazines fell to the floor as the commandos loaded another into their weapons. “That was harder and intenser than I thought.” Briggs told his sniper comrade.
“Those teeth were strong.” Shadow remarked. “Almost took down my shields.”
“Hey! What’s going on here?!” Both Briggs and Shadow looked at the source of the voice, at the top of the stairwell.
-----\-----
L.T. did not like what was happening. Their Shangri-Lan guide was down after receiving a nasty slash to the back, one of the prisoners was on the back of the large female Inumimi and the Homimonstrum was thrashing about trying to get the human off her back, prompting L.T. and Frog to roll, dive and dodge all over the place and preventing them from getting a clear shot. It was then when the squad leader realized the solution was very, very simple. “Frog, get ready!” He ordered Frog. The technician was not sure what to get ready for but he tried to get some distance between him and the rampaging wolf girl.
After getting some distance himself, L.T. aimed his rifle at the Inumimi. “Get off the wolf, miss!” The brown-haired heard woman heard L.T.’s order but before she could follow it, the large Homimonstrum she was riding on suddenly threw herself backwards, crushing her between the Inumimi and the metal bars. The adventurer let go of the large wolf girl and slid to the floor unconscious.
Both L.T. and Frog saw what happened. It did not go according to plan but it had to do. “Now Frog!” L.T. began firing his rifle and Frog followed suit. Loud gunshots filled the room for a few seconds before stopping and followed by a thud. The large Inumimi had multiple small holes in her body, all of which bleeding. L.T. went to the brown-haired woman sitting against the metal bars she was slammed into. “Frog, check Yoshi.”
“Yes sir.” Frog quickly made his way to the downed Shangri-Lan. The merchant was on his back which showed quite deep wounds. Frog put his fingers on Yoshihio’s neck and found that he was still alive. However, he was not sure how to treat deep claw wounds and he did not have any sort of first-aid with him. As he thought about how to help the merchant, he noticed someone beside him. It was the indigo-haired woman and she held her hands out towards Yoshihiro’s wounds. Frog’s eyes could only gawk when the woman’s hands began to glow green.
Meanwhile, L.T. put his fingers on the brown-haired woman’s neck and felt it beating. He was glad he did not need to do anything. “Sir!” He heard Frog call for him. The squad leader got up and faced the technician. “Sir…” He saw the glowing hands of the indigo-haired woman grow weaker. He had a feeling it was some sort of healing spell but it seemed the caster was about done and Yoshihiro’s wounds were still not sufficiently healed.
“Sir he’s still losing blood.”
“I know Frog. I’m thinking.”
-----\-----
Both Briggs and Shadow stared at the light brown-skinned figure at the top of the wooden stairs. He had steel armor on, a pair of studded fur pants and a noticeable silver circlet on his head which contained a ruby stone. He also held, what seemed to the commandos, a naked girl with cream white hair of medium-length and, surprisingly, pointed ears. “Is that what I think it is?” Briggs asked, still looking at the unconscious girl held by the hair.
“Who are you?” The semi-armored man proudly asked.
“We’re demons, come to take your soul.” Briggs answered as he and Shadow aimed their weapons at the bandit chief. They indeed looked like demons to the bandit leader and the bodies of his men and one of his best Inumimis prevented him from making a boastful reply. “Let the girl go and we’ll think about it.”
“Y-you think I fear you?” The bandit leader tried to make a brave reply.
“You should.” Shadow said as he fired a single shot aimed at the bandit chief’s head.
Shadow expected a fallen brigand but instead he got an enraged and nervous bandit leader who held the Elf girl in front of him and a knife on her neck. “Great job, Shad.” Briggs sarcastically said. The bullet missed its target and hit a barrier protecting the target, the ruby in the bandit’s circlet knocked from its position. The sniper could not believe it. He could swear his aim was on the area between the bandit’s eyes but somehow the bullet rose a few centimeters.
“You bastards! You think you’ll get away with that?!” The bandit chief angrily yelled at the commandos and as he sturdied his grip on the knife on the Elf’s neck. Briggs and Shadow still aimed their rifles, looking for a clear shot. “Here’s a deal, you leave those weapons of yours here and get the hell out. And maybe I don’ have to slit the neck of P--” The bandit leader did not finish when he heard what seemed to be continuous small explosions from the distance. Shadow saw an opening and let go of another bullet.
The bandit chief suddenly jerked his head, let go of the Elf girl and fell. “Great job, Shad.” Briggs sincerely said as he began to make his way to the top of the stairs. Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. However, the fact that he missed meant he was getting rusty and needed to practice. He wondered if it was something else but shrugged the notion off and followed Briggs.
-----/-----
“That should be it.” I loaded a couple of potions into my wagon. That was really a pinch back there. I was slashed not once, but twice by a particularly large Inumimi in the back. The mage woman did no have enough energy to heal me but fortunately L.T. found a healing staff among the pile of stuff the bandits had gathered. I also found my stolen merchandise there and with the shadow men’s help, loaded them into the wagon. The rescued adventurers were in an optimal condition despite half of them still unconscious. All in all, the rescue went quite well.
“Yoshi, this should be the last right?” L.T. asked as he loaded a sack into my wagon. The cave was also full of sellable loot and so, despite not being mine, loaded them into my wagon. “Are the horses ready?”
“They’re all ready.” I assured L.T. before we walked to the second wagon.
A second one was necessary since seven people weren’t going to fit in a wagon already filled with various items. Unlike my wagon which had a wooden cover, the second was covered by a white sheet and inside were three of four rescued women. Two of whom were adventurers and the third one was an Elf girl Briggs and Shadow found when they took down the bandits in their area. All of them still lied unconscious inside the wagon while me, the mage woman and all of the shadow men assembled.
“Where are we heading Yoshi?” L.T. bluntly asked.
“Well we’re heading for Crying Widows but…” I turned to the mage woman without saying anything.
The indigo-haired woman smiled. “We’ll be heading there as well.” She answered my unspoken question.
“Looks like we’re in agreement.” L.T. said before issuing his orders. “Briggs, you join Yoshi in his wagon.” Looks like I’ll be joining the lightest of the group, even if he almost killed me earlier.
“Yes sir.” Briggs responded before heading to my wagon.
“Frog, Shadow, you two drive the second wagon.”
“Gotcha Eighty-Nine.” Frog replied and Shadow nodded before climbing on said wagon’s driver seats.
“Where will you be?” I asked L.T. curiously.
“I’ll be watching over the injured.” I raised an eyebrow at that but he did not notice that as he boarded the second wagon.
“Come on, Yosh.” I heard Briggs call for me. I wonder how short my name was going to get when my time with them is over.
As I climbed into the driver seat, I saw Briggs staring at something in his palm. “What’s that, Briggs?”
“Oh, just a little souvenir.” He answered as he put away the unknown souvenir.
“What is it?” I continued.
“Just a ruby. Nothing big.” On the contrary, rubies are pretty big but I did not say anything.
By the time I’ve grabbed the reins, I saw the once dark, starry sky as a blue, still starry sky. Dawn had come. “Good morning.” Briggs was apparently watching the sky too when he said that.
But I agree, it was a good morning.
L.T. gripped the restraints holding him down as he hoped it would safely land or violently crash soon since the wait was killing him. He tried to shift his thoughts to where the pod was going to land but before he could do that he heard a flapping sound above him. The pod’s parachute has been deployed and L.T. noticed that the speed of the fall was slowly decreasing but he did not mind that. The fact that the parachute was out meant they were getting closer to the surface, be it ground or water. The ride was nearing its end.
The squad leader waited, looking around his compartment by a dim red light to ease his anxiety about the landing. Seconds after, his ears heard a loud boom as he felt a sharp land as if he was being driven into the ground. The ride was over and L.T. breathed a sigh of relief before pulling a handle on his right, twisting it and pushing it back. His restraints rose as he heard the sounds of metal suddenly disconnecting. The wall in front of him slowly fell down and L.T. was treated to the sight of trees and shrubbery all covered by darkness. He quickly exited the pod and aimed down his sidearm submachine gun, checking the environment for anything worth noticing.
He slowly made his towards the other side of the pod, still checking the environment. L.T. was careful not to be on the exit’s way and the familiar sounds of the pod exit opening filled his ears. L.T. did not watch the exit cover fall, his eyes still surveying the forest, but as soon as heard the thud, the squad leader turned. “Briggs?”
“I’m alright sir.” The gas-masked squad member muttered as he exited. “Is there anything out there?”
“No.” L.T. replied. “But let’s be careful anyway.”
“Go get your loadout, Briggs. I’ll cover you.” L.T. ordered.
“Yes sir.” Briggs went back into the pod and pressed a button. A click sound was heard and the two Sigmas made their way to the left side of the pod which they find its compartment, illuminated by a dim yellow light, already opened.
Right after Briggs has collected his loadout, L.T. issued a new but similar order. “Now cover me, Briggs.”
“Yes sir.”
It took only moments for the two Sigmas to fully arm up. “Let’s go rendezvous with Frog and Shad.” L.T. said to his only companion. “Frog, Shad. Do you read me?”
“Read you sir but it looks like we’re some distance away.” A static-filled voice responded.
“Is Shadow alright?” The squad leader asked.
“Fully enabled sir.” A different but still static-filled voice answered.
“Frog, what’s the midpoint between us?” L.T. inquired.
“Uhh… uhh…”
“Frog?” Worry filled L.T.’s heart as those mutters only meant something was wrong.
“The tablet’s not picking up your position sir… or ours…” Frog said, his last word trailing off as if there was more. “Uhh… judging from the positions of the pods, you should head east sir and we’ll move west. Hopefully we’ll meet up.”
“Hopefully?”
“There’s something wrong sir. I’ll explain when we’ve regrouped.” Frog said. “Keep your eyes on your HUD’s motion sensor and the radios should be much clearer if we’re closer.”
“Let’s head east then.” L.T. said to Briggs as he began to walk with his primary drawn.
“Hey Frog.” Briggs started another topic. “Where do you suppose we are?”
The radio was silent for a moment. “Well we were flying from Fort de France bound for Florida and flying over through the Bermuda Triangle so, theoretically speaking, we should be in one of the islands in the Bahamas or the Turks and Caicos Islands.”
“Bahamas?” Briggs repeated. “Guys, can we just stay here? It’s not like the U.N.’s gonna miss us or anything.” His thoughts immediately wandered to the fine beaches the nation had.
“Hope you’re ready to throw away indoor plumbing.” Shadow replied.
“Oh come on Shad. Surely everyone by this point of time have great indoor plumbing.” Briggs responded. “Even the most impoverished of Africa.”
“Sounds like you two are hearing each other just fine.” L.T. commented at the two Sigmas’ short conversation which had an audible lack of static.
“Eighty-nine’s right. We must be getting close.” Frog noted.
L.T. and Briggs soon reached a small clearing with a noticeable rock in the middle of it. “What do you make of this Briggs?” The squad leader asked as the two commandos gazed at the stone protrusion better known as a monolith taking the shape of an uneven bar. What really caught the Sigmas’ attention were the various symbols inscribed into it. From what they could make out, there appeared to be a shadowy stick figure with a ‘\’ beside it on the right while at the close left, there was a ‘/’ beside a regular stick figure.
“Must be some tribal stuff, sir.” Briggs gave his thoughts about the rock.
“What’s up, boss?” Shadow asked over the radio.
“We’ve apparently encountered a monolith in a clearing.” An idea entered L.T.’s mind. “Frog, Shadow. What’s the outlook of your surroundings?”
“Forest, forest and more forest sir.” Shadow replied.
“I have an idea: Briggs and I will stay here. Our radios are much clearer now so we shouldn’t be too far away from each other.” L.T. began to relay his plan. “You guys try looking for a clearing with a noticeable monolith in it. That’s where we will be.”
“What’s a monolith?” Shadow asked.
“Sir I suggest we just keep moving so our motion sensors will detect us.” Frog replied. “There might be more clearings with monoliths in them for all we know.”
“What’s a monolith?” The sniper repeated his unanswered question.
L.T. thought about what Frog said and decided that the technician had a point. However, before he could tell Frog, Briggs took over the radio. “Hey Frog, just keep looking for that monolith will ya?” The demo expert’s voice was a little panicked. “For I am detecting movement coming here and I doubt it’s you guys.” The squad leader went up to Briggs and checked his HUD’s motion sensor. Indeed there was movement in the form of multiple dots all heading for the Sigmas’ position. Briggs and L.T. both aimed their weapons at the direction of the incoming entities.
“Seriously, what’s a monolith?”
///////////////
Today had been a bad day. A truly bad day. I should’ve just stayed in town for the night instead of trying to brave the darkness in order for me to reach the next city so I could immediately set up shop. Now I find myself running from a bandit cave which I had escaped from. Unfortunately, the bandits who captured me found out and had some Inumimis chase after me. Why are they with the human bandits? Don’t they hate humans? Maybe the bandit leader’s a dominating type. Oh come on me! Now’s not the time to be wondering! I’ve got to focus on getting away. The shrubbery in this forest were kind of impeding my sprint but I know the Inumimis may not have this problem so with their speed, it’s only a matter of time before they catch up to me. Maybe if I put up a brave face, they’d switch sides. I doubt that’ll happen. I should just continue running.
I could hear the Inumimis’ steps grow louder and closer and I could feel my feet about to give way. I need to hide. But where and even if I do hide, the Inumimis would probably smell me. I need a miracle. As I continued sprinting for my life, I see a clearing with a rock protrusion and what seemed to be two shadows in front of it. I had no time to think about my actions and so I entered the clearing and found myself in front of two… I did not know what they were. They looked humanoid but they were completely black from head to toe. On their hands were objects I have not seen in my life and it seemed they were pointed at me. I stood there frozen, not knowing what to do. Behind me were a pack of pursuers wanting to do who-knows-what to me and before me was a pair of aliens with who-knows-what intentions. I was sweating profusely from fatigue and nervousness.
The rustling of the forest behind me grew ever louder until it stopped. I took a look behind and there they were: Three female humanoids with ears, paws and legs of a wolf. One had gray fur, one had dark brown fur while the last had light brown. All of them had their sharp claws drawn to shed blood. Their mouths were opened to bear their canine-like teeth. I noticed their eyes weren’t looking at me and I figured they were looking at the two shadow men looming before me. The Inumimis behind me snarled at the two shadows that made nary a sound. I gulped for I knew the situation was going to take a turn for the violent any second now.
The moment of truth came when the dark brown Inumimi growled and lunged at the shadow men while I dropped to the ground, hoping the crossfire would fly harmlessly above me.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Briggs reacted to the lunge of the wolf girl with a burst fire from his rifle which was enough to drop her while the two other wolf girls lunged at the squad leader. L.T. managed to get two shots from his weapon which took down the light brown wolf girl but was thrown to the ground by the slightly larger gray wolf girl. The Inumimi tried to sink her fangs into L.T. but her fangs were repelled and she flinched when the squad leader glowed blue momentarily. The squad leader used the opening to reverse the positions and pressed his rifle on the wolf girl’s neck. “Sir we heard shots fired. What’s happening?” The Inumimi tried to get the object blocking the air from entering her neck but somehow the pitch black figure above her kept her pinned, albeit with great effort. Soon the wolf girl’s strength faded as her eyes rolled upward as her mouth stopped trying to gasp for air.
“Sir we’re heading to where the shots were fired. Are you in the same position?” Frog’s voice asked over the local radio.
“Yeah… yeah.” L.T. responded. Despite doing his job for over several years, what happened recently was all very surreal to him. “Briggs, did… we just kill a couple of cosplayers?” He asked while he made his way to the lone man who ducked for cover.
The demolitions expert shared his superior’s feeling, hovering over the body of the wolf girl he had just shot. “Maybe, if the Bahamas hosts really large roleplaying events.” Briggs crouched and pulled on the Inumimi’s ear. Part of him believed it would come off but he did not know what to feel when it did not. He pulled on it a couple more times but it was not coming off. “Maybe it’s glued on?”
“I doubt it, Briggs.” L.T., having realized something, hovered over the crouching man who was covering his ears. “A female cosplayer does not have that kind of strength.” He pulled the man up and put him against the monolith.
“Eight-Nine, what’s going on?” Frog asked over the comms.
“You guys ain’t gonna believe what me and Boss found here.” Briggs answered for the team leader as he got up after inspecting the fallen Inumimi’s tail. His tone had returned to its cheery default though he was still shaking from the surrealism of the situation.
///////////////
It was loud. Way loud. What in the world could have made those noises in rapid succession? I didn’t know. All I did was cover my ringing ears. Soon something pulled me up from my duck-and-cover position and I found myself facing one of the shadow men. I took a glance at the surroundings and noticed the bodies of the Inumimis. These men must be something to have taken down these tough Homimonstrums in such short time. “Look at me.” I immediately shift my gaze to the shadow man’s face. His eyes were triangular-shaped and were colored black but not as black as his overalls. Now that I look at it, it seemed he was wearing a helmet. I said ‘he’ since his voice was undoubtedly masculine. “What you say will dictate whether you live or die. Am I clear?” I could only nod. Was there any other correct answer?
“Word of advice: don’t lie.” The other shadow man told me. I noticed this one’s voice was more light-hearted and he looked smaller though he looked just as dark as the shadow man before me.
“First: Who are you?” The shadow man asked.
A fairly easy question. “Yoshihiro Godou.” The dark figure was silent. I get the feeling he was doubting me. Why? Didn’t he just made me swear not to tell a lie? Wait. That was just advice. This was not going to be an easy question after all. “P-please, I’m telling the truth.”
The shadow man before me took a glance at his fellow before returning to me. “Are you from Japan?”
Japan? “Uhh… no.” I bluntly answer. “I come from Wa of Shangri-La.” I added.
The shadow man took another glance to his ally. “Are you screwing with us?” I sensed rising anger from his voice.
“If you think this is still a roleplay well news flash kid…” The other shadow man said.
Apparently they think this is some kind of play. Aren’t plays performed in theatres? And not where potential dangers such as them lurk. “Please, I’m telling the truth. I have no idea what this ‘Japan’ or ‘roleplay’ is.”
The shadow man was still looking at me though I had a feeling he was not looking right at me. It’s as if things were starting to make sense to him. “These…” He used his weapon to point at the Inumimi corpses. “What the hell are these?”
I took a look at the fallen Homimonstrums. While it was necessary, I still felt bad about their deaths. I mean they’re cute! Deadly, but cute! However, what concerned me the most is the failure of the shadow man to recognize these common Homimonstrums. Could these shadow men be limited to this particular forest and had not seen the outside world? Of course I needed to answer right away. “Th-Those are Inumimis. Wolf Homimonstrum. I don’t know where they originated exactly but it seems my people gave its name. I think.”
The shadow man was silent for a bit before looking at something beyond me. This made my head turn as well and saw two more shadow men emerge from the forest and into the clearing where we are and the noticeable monolith. One thing I noticed that their heads, or rather headwear, all differed. “Looks like you had a close encounter with the locals.” One of the newcomers commented. His voice was deep and raspy.
“Well… you not wrong, Shad.” The light-voiced dark one responded.
The two newcomer shadow men took a better look at the scene and noticed the Inumimi corpses. They were silent, obviously having not seen an Inumimi in their entire lives. “They’re the real deal, Shad.”
“No way.” The shadow man crouched to a corpse and tried pulling its ears. I would have smiled had the large shadow man before me stopped threatening me. “Maybe it’s glued on?”
“Sir…” The second newcomer shadow man walked up to the one before me. “What happened?” His voice was the most normal among the four.
“We were attacked by these… ‘Inumimis’ as this guy called them.” He motioned his shoulder towards me.
“And he is?”
“His name’s Yoshihiro and he’s gonna tell us what’s up.” The large dark one returned his gaze onto me. “Next question: Where are we?”
“I-in the forest between Summer’s Glory and Crying Widows.” I honestly answered. However, that question meant they did not know where they are which threw away any notion that they’re native here. That changes everything. “I-in the Kingdom of Tales.” I added.
The shadow man took a glance at his comrades. “Are you sure you’re not screwing with us?”
Their endless doubt made me blurt out. “How many times do I have to tell you?! I’m NOT screwing with you! I’m telling the truth!” I immediately shut my mouth after realizing I kind of overstepped my boundaries. However, the shadow man looked lightened up as if I’m telling the truth. Finally, I can put my nerves to rest.
But apparently not the interrogation. “Why were you running? And why were these guys chasing you?” He asked though I noticed his voice became very melancholic as if he just experienced something tragic.
“I escaped from them… or more particularly, their masters.” I began. “I’m a merchant from Shangri-La and I got captured by a band of bandits not far from here.”
The shadow man was silent for a bit. “Don’t you dare go anywhere.” He said to me in a very serious tone. My nerves went back up as I nodded and the shadow man turned around but not before asking the last question. “Where’s this Shangri-La?”
“Very, very far away from here. Almost halfway across the world.” I answered.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Hearing the answer, L.T. turned his back and walked a couple of steps from Yoshihiro which prompted the other three to assemble with him. “Guys, I really don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” Briggs said.
“Don’t be absurd, Nine-Two.” Frog told off the demolitions expert before turning to the squad leader. “Sir, I think we’re just being tricked.”
“By who, Frog?” L.T. offered doubt. “Only a select few people know we exist and I don’t take them to be the pranking type. Especially not during this point of time.”
Frog wanted to retort but found that he could not. Shadow took the moment to ask. “Are we still in the Bahamas or the whatever islands?”
“You heard what he said, Shad.” Briggs responded. “No way could he travel halfway across the world without being found.”
“I mean come on guys.” Briggs continued. “These are wolf girls. That is a Japanese man talking about lands that we don’t know wearing ancient Japanese clothes. Who the heck wears a blue haori and a gray hakama in the remote parts of the Bahamas?”
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence. A really, really complex one.” Shadow said which earned an unamused look from Briggs.
“Well there’s only one way for us to find out if what Yoshi is telling us the truth.” L.T. said before turning to the Shangri-Lan once more.
///////////////
The large shadow man approached me again but this time less threateningly so. “If you say you’re running from bandits, take us to them.”
Normally I would say that’s crazy but since these men seem really dangerous, I see no reason not to. Especially if it would prove the truth of my words as well as liberate my stolen merchandise. “Okay. Follow me.” Truth be told, I really do not know where this was going or how it will end. On one hand, these men could dispatch the bandits as easily as they did with the Inumimis and I get to reunite with my inventory and wagon. On the other hand, the bandits actually win over the shadow men and I end up dead. Or maybe the shadow people do defeat the bandits but then kill me and take my stuff. I was only sure of one thing, if I didn’t take these men to the bandit cave, I was certainly dead.
-----\-----
The Shangri-Lan lead the displaced squad through the dim forest with only the moon as the source of light, the natural light of the forest insects being too weak for an alternative. Their pace was slow due to Yoshihiro being quite tired from his escape and the commandos being too alert and shocked from what the Shangri-Lan said. L.T. trailed off to Frog and started a quiet conversation. “What was wrong with the tablet, Frog?” The leader whispered an earlier promise by the technical expert.
“Ah, right.” Frog put away his weapon and brought the tablet up. “Here sir.” Frog pushed and slid his finger across the tablet a few times and soon only a sea of static could be seen from the tablet’s screen. “We’re not receiving any satellite data, sir. Which is impossible unless we’re underground. Deep underground.”
L.T. stared at the static screen for a few moments. “You still think we’re still on Earth, Frog?”
“Sir, come on. That idea is very… out there.” Frog continued his crumbling skepticism. “Maybe the satellites are just out of range at this time.” Though even the technical expert knew what he said was just as ‘out there’ as the previous statement.
There was silence for a moment before Frog mustered the courage to ask. “Do you believe that… we’re actually somewhere else, sir?”
L.T. continued being silent as he gathered his thoughts. “Honestly Twenty, I don’t want to… but I do.” The leader looked ahead where he could see Shadow and Briggs silently following the Shangri-Lan, obviously brooding. “That wolf girl. She was strong. I think she’d be able to throw you around, Frog.” Frog imagined what his superior said. He thought it was kind of farfetched of him being flung around like a ragdoll especially by something found inside Briggs’ USB. However, since L.T.’s voice was dead serious the technical expert found himself in conflict whether to trust the words or believe someone has gone bonkers.
And he really doubted the latter.
-----/-----
It was not long before we reached the hideout: A large clearing containing an entrance to a cave attached to the base a rocky cliff. We were still in the forest near the edge of the clearing and so still inside the cover of the vegetation and out of the bandit sentry’s sight. However, I was suddenly pulled down by the shadow man behind me, the one with the lighthearted voice. I looked at him to ask why and he pointed at something in the forest. I could not see what he was pointing at and only saw it when it emerged from the forest and into the clearing.
Several human bandits, carrying what seemed to be sacks of loot and… females. From what they were wearing, they look like a party of adventurers and have fallen victim to one of the worst kind of hazards in their profession. One was unconscious and slung over a brute’s shoulder. She had medium-length brown hair and was only wearing a white tunic, her equipment likely taken off and tossed to the sack of loot. On the brute’s other shoulder was another unconscious girl, this one had auburn hair tied to a ponytail and looked younger. She wore a hooded cloak and black overalls. The last one was, unlike the other two, very much conscious. She wore a ripped blue robe and she had long indigo hair. Her hands were bound by rope and connected to a leash which the bandits used to pull her along. All of them were light-skinned.
The bandits waved at the sentry and chatted, most likely boasting what they accomplished for the night and admiring their spoils. Something needed to be done. I looked upon my shadow companions who were just watching the bandits like a predator stalking its prey. I opened my mouth but stopped myself from talking when the shadow man brought his index finger in his face before returning his gaze on the hideout’s entrance. The group of bandits soon entered the cave and leaving the sentry who had a smile on his face. The shadow man motioned to me to follow him and so I did. We only moved away a couple of steps away and well away from earshot, these men certainly don’t take chances.
The dark one who interrogated me began. “Yoshihiro, was it? Looks like you’re speaking the truth. You’re free to go.” Wait. What? “Let’s move out, Sigma Squad.”
The four of them began to make their way away from the bandit hideout. “Never thought I’d see somebody in a leather outfit in my life.”
“Pretty sure we’ve seen fashion shows, Briggs.”
“Come on Shad, you know that’s not what I meant.”
No, no. They were supposed to get in there and start stirring up the hive. Why were they leaving? “H-hey! Where are you going?” I followed them.
“Keep your voice down. We don’t want to alert them.” The one who interrogated me said.
“Aren’t you going to go in there and rescue the adventurers?” I asked them.
“We have no obligation to do that.” He coldly replied. “And attention’s the last thing we want right now.”
I could not believe it. How could they just leave those helpless people when it’s clear they have the power to do something about it? I picked up my pace and block them from continuing. “I said you’re free to go, Yoshihiro.” The interrogator said, clearly not amused at what I’m doing.
I shook my head. “Please, you need to do something about the bandits.” The four simply stood there, not uttering a word. “Please, I beg you.”
The dark ones looked at one another before the interrogator nodded at the lighthearted one who then put away his weapon and pulled out a small object and attached something to it. I had a sinking feeling it was a smaller weapon since he then aimed it at me. “No hard feelings buddy.” Yep, it’s a weapon alright.
If I did not get out of the way, I will surely join my ancestors soon. But if I did I would be dooming those female adventurers to a fate equaling death. Maybe I should just do the latter. I mean it’s not like I know those women nor do I owe them anything. No! No! I shouldn’t think like that! Evil triumphs when good men fail to act and right now I need to act to get these men to act. I started thinking. Hey I’m a merchant so maybe I can strike a bargain but I don’t have anything with me right now. The only thing I do have is… “Listen…” I began. I was about to put down something big. At least big to certain people including me. “You guys don’t know your way around here and you’ve never seen an Inumimi. I have a feeling you’re not very familiar with the world.” I stated my thoughts so far and gulped. I don’t know if I got it right as their headwear prevented any expression from making its way to me.
They stayed silent, the weapon still directed at me, so I assumed I’m right and continued. “If you help those adventurers, I’ll… I’ll help you navigate the world and-and introduce you to anything you don’t recognize.”
Silence followed but then the interrogator spoke up. “Stand down, Briggs.”
“Yes sir.” The one called Briggs put away his mini weapon. I take a huge sigh of relief but that was only one obstacle down.
The interrogator approached me. “So you say if we save those girls, you’ll act as our guide for this world. Is that it?”
“Yes.” I bluntly replied.
The interrogator glanced at his comrades, one of which was shaking his head before looking at the night sky or rather the black canopy of leaves. “You do realize we’re gonna be owning you for the entire duration of our stay here, right?”
“I understand that.”
“And you do realize you’re literally betting your life for someone you don’t know at all.”
“I understand that too.”
More silence followed as the interrogator thought about my bargain. “Sir, we can’t get involved. Especially not in this kind place.” The shadow man with the normal voice said. “We’re Sigma Squad sir, we can manage without a guide.” Why is there always the one who wants to dissuade the leader from making the right choice? However, I can only stay silent.
“Yes we can, Frog.” Oh no… “But this is a place we have zero idea of and we have some guy who’s offering his body and soul to remedy that problem.” Yes!
“Sir, you do realize he could be tricking us.” The one called Frog continued his attempt to dissuade.
“I am NOT! I’m being completely honest!” I blurted out. These guys have trust issues. Sure it’s not always a bad thing but their blatant show of distrust was getting on my nerves.
All four stared at me after I told the one called Frog off. Now my heart was beating fast. “Sigma Squad.” The interrogator began. “We’re conducting a little search and rescue.”
-----/-----
We returned to the clearing’s edge and observed what we had to deal with. Not much really, just the bandit sentry who looked like ready to call it a night.
It was there I saw something familiar. “My wagon…” There it was, in all its wooden glory. I know it’s my wagon. It was a lot cleaner and more refined than the decomposing one beside it. There’s also a few horses beside the stolen wagons. I took a look at the shadow men and saw the interrogator do a circling motion with his finger before making a slitting motion in front of his neck. As I wondered what that meant, the shadow man with the raspy voice began moving through the forest and out of sight.
“Well since we’re gonna be together for a while, why not introduce ourselves?” I already knew his name, Briggs, but proper introductions didn’t hurt. “I’m Briggs, that one’s Frog…” He pointed at the normal-voiced dark one whom I also already knew. “That’s L.T.” So that was his name. It’s likely a nickname. “And the one who just left is Shadow or Shad for short.” With that, I was formally introduced to my owners.
But the interrogator’s name piqued my curiosity. “Sooo… what does L.T. mean?”
“Oh, Lieutenant.” Briggs answered. “But he stopped being Lieutenant a long time ago. The name just stuck.”
“Thanks.” I return my gaze upon the cave with the sentry. “So what’s the plan?” I asked.
“This.” Briggs then pushed me into the clearing, making enough noise to alert the bandit sentry who immediately saw me.
“Hey! Who are you?!” I raise my hands instinctively. “Wait a second, I know you!” Oh, crap. Wait… “You got nerve coming back here.” I saw Shadow slowly creeping up towards the sentry, a knife in the ready. “Ah, I know. You came back for your stuff, ya greedy merch—hmmph!” The sentry did not manage to finish as a hand covered his mouth and a knife entered his back. Shadow gently placed the body upon the ground and the rest of the shadow men emerged from the forest.
“Nice plan ain’t it?” Briggs playfully asked.
“The nicest.” Sarcasm wasn’t really my style but it was needed.
The five of us then gazed upon the cave entrance, the pitch black darkness preventing me from seeing anything beyond. “Alright Yoshi, you stay here and…”
“No.” I interrupted L.T. “My merchandise is in there. I need to get them and--”
“You’re a guide now, Yoshi. Not a merchant.” Briggs interrupted and reminded me.
“Yes I know but if I am to properly show you the world, I need to keep my previous profession.” I retorted. “Besides, I can start my guiding job with this cave here.”
L.T. was silent for a moment before replying. “Just keep your head down, alright?” He likely realized I meant when I said I could guide them through the cave.
And with that, I headed into the cave once more but this time, with friends… okay more like allies.
The way was not huge but definitely not narrow as the large brute that is L.T. had enough space to walk beside me and more. A couple of steps into the cave and we were treated with torches which lit the dim place somewhat. We silently proceeded onward and soon we encounter a path that split off into two directions: One heading straight and one heading left. I was only familiar with the left one. “The left one leads to a couple cells where I escaped. I haven’t been to the straight one but I think it leads to the bandit leader’s place or something.”
“Alright.” L.T. began to relay his plan. “Briggs, Shadow. Take the straight route and eliminate all hostiles.”
“Yes sir.” “Aye aye.”
“Frog, you’re with me.”
“Affirmative.”
“How about you Yoshi?” L.T. then turned to me. I immediately began wondering where my stolen merchandise could be.
“Sir, I suggest he go with you.” Shadow said. “Our path may be more dangerous.”
That was a good idea actually. “Okay, I’ll go with L.T. and Frog then.” I said.
“Alright then. Sigma Squad, move out.”
-----\-----
Briggs and Shadow moved straight with the latter on point while the former stole glances at the dark surroundings. The way was lit by torches and sometimes candles. The end of their way was filled with bright light and so Shadow motioned to Briggs to crouch down as they approached the new area. With Shadow in front, he was the first one to see what was in the well-lit area: It was a chamber with a long wooden table filled with food and candles placed horizontally from Shadow’s perspective. Beyond the table was a set of wooden stairs that lead to a hole couple of meters above the ground. On the table’s east and west were more holes that likely lead to other areas. Soon Briggs joined Shadow’s recon and was marveled at what he saw. “I really feel like I’m in Skyrim.” He whispered in his quietest voice possible.
The two noticed at least six men dining on the table dressed in fur and leather, some they recognized as the ones from earlier. Briggs motioned to Shadow to toss a grenade into the hostile-laden chamber but the latter shook his head and instead attached a suppressor to his rifle. The demolitions expert sighed and did the same to his weapon. Aiming their weapons at the eating, drinking and chatting bandits, Briggs nodded to Shadow to make the first shot. The sniper did, firing a single shot and dropping a bandit from his chair. Before the remaining bandits reacted, Briggs fired next and dropping another. The bandits stood up from their chairs and another two of them dropped to the stony floor. The two remaining bandits drew their swords but in a blink of a moment, they joined their comrades.
Briggs immediately took aim at the left hole and approached it, taking glances at the hole above the ground. Shadow on the other hand, made his way towards the right hole and fired a shot at a bandit who heard the commotion and emerged from the hole. Another shot was fired at another bandit for the same pretenses. The sniper waited for someone or something else to emerge from the hole but moments pass but none did. Briggs’ hole on the other side had absolutely nothing emerge from it. The two commandos looked at each other and the demolitions expert motioned to the sniper to clear their respective holes. Shadow nodded and headed inside the cave while Briggs did the same.
Shadow’s hole lead the sniper to a chamber where he found several bedrolls with items like daggers and bottles beside them. Several candles and lanterns lit the place and he found there were four bedrolls on each side of the chamber. On the corner was a noticeable wooden chest which Shadow could not help but curiously inspect. The chest was conveniently not locked and the commando did not hesitate to take a peek inside. However, he was disappointed when he only found articles of clothing. He rummaged through the useless junk and found something he wanted to find but did not think to actually find it: A curved blade similar to a wakizashi. Shadow immediately took it and twirled, swinging it a few times.
Meanwhile, Briggs entered his hole cautiously since nothing came from it which could mean they were waiting for him inside. The commando soon lead to a chamber similar to that Shadow found except one side only had two large bedrolls. Briggs wondered who could be using them but then felt a presence watching him. The demolitions expert knew he had seen the entire chamber except for one place. He slowly glanced up and found himself facing a large humanoid somehow clinging to the rocky wall. It had black fur with red streaks and two noticeable wolf ears. Its eyes were blood red and his fangs were bared. Briggs felt he had found the ‘boss’ of the area and immediately pointed his rifle upwards only for the masculine-looking Inumimi to lunge at him.
-----/-----
L.T., Frog and I soon reached the hideout’s jail. Three cells lined each side and each one had black metal bars that prevented anyone from entering or leaving, unless of course if that anyone was strong enough to pry the bars off or could pick the lock like me. The area was lit by torches placed in-between the cells, providing light to the guards but not to the prisoners. There was a lone, bandit sentry wearing leather armor facing away from us and walking. He seemed to be patrolling the cells, walking back and forth from one point to another. L.T. pulled out a knife from his right boot and flipped it so he held the blade before taking aim at the bandit. As the sentry turned around, the shadow man threw the knife and hit the bandit in the neck. The sentry choked a bit, blood flowing from his mouth and neck, before falling to the ground dead. The sight was particularly gruesome but L.T.’s throwing was undoubtedly admirable and impeccable. Or maybe it just happened to hit the neck.
L.T. and Frog quickly made their way to the body and I quickly followed. Passing through the first set of cells, I only saw darkness. When I passed through the second set, I found the brown-haired girl in the white tunic along with the auburn-haired girl in the right cell. They were still unconscious. “T-the keys?” I ask my shadow allies.
“It’s not with him.” Frog responded after checking the body. “It’s probably in the other room.” Other room?
I look upon the end of the hall and now that I got a good look at it, it only looked like the end when gazed at a certain angle. The way actually split off into two that both lead to another room. “Yoshi, stay here and let us know if an enemy is coming. Otherwise, just keep an eye on those two.” L.T. ordered me to which I nodded. The two then made their way to the other room and left me with the unconscious women behind bars and a dead man.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Frog and L.T. equipped their suppressors, or switching to the MP5 before equipping in L.T.’s case, as they went into the other room. The two commandos split up in the splitting up, knowing full well they both lead to the same area. The two entered the next room simultaneously despite being separate. What they saw was a chamber half-filled with, in their own words, stuff. Weapons, jewelry, bottles and L.T. could swear he saw staves in there. However, what really caught the commandos’ eyes was the group of men sexually assaulting an indigo-haired woman on a wooden table facing them. Her chest was already exposed and held by a bandit’s hands which stopped when the bandits all looked up to see who the newcomers are. L.T. and Frog did not waste time in unloading bullets upon the bandits; carefully making sure the lady was not harmed. There were five bandits dead with one purposefully left alive by simply being shot at the shoulder.
L.T. approached and grabbed the injured bandit. “Where are the keys?” He coldly asked. The ruffian grabbed for something in his fur clothes and got out a set of six keys. The squad leader snatched them from the bandit’s hands and jerked his head towards the bandit’s, knocking the ruffian out.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” Frog helped up the indigo-haired woman who immediately covered her chest with what remained of her robes.
“Yes, I’m… fine.” The woman replied before looking at her rescuers. Her eyes instantly widened and she was taken aback by the stranger rescuers before her. They looked completely out of the world. Their overall appearance made them look like humanoid shadow creatures holding alien objects. “Y-You must be remarkable warriors to have gotten past the guardian Inumimi.” The woman remarked. It was the only words she could say that was not a question.
Frog and L.T. looked at each other. “Guardian what?” Frog asked.
////////////////
“GUYS!” I yelled. Before me was a particularly large female Inumimi who emerged from the cell opposite to that of the adventurers’. She had black fur with orange streaks and the usual Inumimi features except they looked more threatening because of the increased size. She looked at me like a dog spotting an intruder. “GUYS!” I yelled out once more as I slowly backed away towards the cell of the captured adventurers. The large Inumimi then diagonally swung her huge claws at me who only had moments to react.
And with only moments to react, I did what any other defenseless human would: Duck for cover. As I did so, I heard metal being cut and a sharp, burning pain in my back. My survival instincts failed me. The encroaching pain and my failing strength prevented my body from holding up and so I sank to the stony floor. I managed to roll to get a view of my cute doombringer as she raised her claws once more for another strike. It was then that my end would be postponed when the brown-haired adventurer tackled the Homimonstrum away from me. With my remaining strength, I raised my body to see what was going to happen next.
It was not pretty when I saw the Inumimi quickly rose back up and lunged at us with her claws ready to slash again. I look upon the semi-liberated warrior woman beside me who had a panicked look on her face. I gathered what honor I had and embraced the woman, covering her with my already damaged back. I held my breath for the incoming slash and the all the pain that came with it.
-----\-----
*SLASH*
Briggs glowed blue for a moment but was thrown to the other side of the chamber, losing his suppressed rifle from his grasp. He immediately pulled out a knife from his right boot as a weapon against the giant man-beast before him. While the commando knew close quarters combat, never in his life did he prefer that if there were other options. And to Briggs, the situation had multiple options for him even if some were ridiculous, dangerous or ridiculously dangerous. He opted for the last and with his free hand, pointed at something behind the Inumimi. “Holy jeez, what’s that?!” As the demo expert planned, the wolf man fell for it and Briggs dove and rolled forward to get his weapon and under the Inumimi’s clutches.
The wolf Homimonstrum reacted too slowly and failed to catch the commando when he rolled past him. Briggs wasted no time in getting out of the chamber and into the previous area where Shadow would hopefully be available to assist. With the wolf man in hot pursuit, Briggs emerged into the larger previous chamber where he spotted the sniper just on other side looking like he found nothing on his end. “Shad! Help!” He yelled.
Shadow raised a brow when he saw a panicked Briggs enter the large chamber but immediately raised his rifle when a much larger figure emerged after the demolitions specialist. The sniper took a few shots at the huge furry creature but despite being hit, it showed no signs of stopping and soon caught up to Briggs. The Inumimi swung its claws at the commando which flung him to the table of food, flipping it over. The Homimonstrum saw Shadow next who tried to open fire but the former lunged at the latter in blinking speed and sunk its canine teeth on the sniper.
However instead of tasting flesh, the Inumimi’s teeth seemed to be repelled and the Homimonstrum saw its prey glow blue for a moment. His teeth still had a grip on the commando though and so he used that to fling Shadow away who landed near Briggs behind the flipped table. “Now I know what Liam Neeson felt like…” The demolitions expert commented as he got up and took aim at the incoming large male Inumimi who swiped away the fallen dining table. Unfortunately for the Homimonstrum, the two commandos have fully recovered and have aimed their weapons at him.
The two Sigmas unloaded their magazines at the wolf man, punching many a hole in the Inumimi’s body. The large wolf man fell to the floor with a thud while Briggs and Shadow took a moment of inaction to recompose themselves. Two magazines fell to the floor as the commandos loaded another into their weapons. “That was harder and intenser than I thought.” Briggs told his sniper comrade.
“Those teeth were strong.” Shadow remarked. “Almost took down my shields.”
“Hey! What’s going on here?!” Both Briggs and Shadow looked at the source of the voice, at the top of the stairwell.
-----\-----
L.T. did not like what was happening. Their Shangri-Lan guide was down after receiving a nasty slash to the back, one of the prisoners was on the back of the large female Inumimi and the Homimonstrum was thrashing about trying to get the human off her back, prompting L.T. and Frog to roll, dive and dodge all over the place and preventing them from getting a clear shot. It was then when the squad leader realized the solution was very, very simple. “Frog, get ready!” He ordered Frog. The technician was not sure what to get ready for but he tried to get some distance between him and the rampaging wolf girl.
After getting some distance himself, L.T. aimed his rifle at the Inumimi. “Get off the wolf, miss!” The brown-haired heard woman heard L.T.’s order but before she could follow it, the large Homimonstrum she was riding on suddenly threw herself backwards, crushing her between the Inumimi and the metal bars. The adventurer let go of the large wolf girl and slid to the floor unconscious.
Both L.T. and Frog saw what happened. It did not go according to plan but it had to do. “Now Frog!” L.T. began firing his rifle and Frog followed suit. Loud gunshots filled the room for a few seconds before stopping and followed by a thud. The large Inumimi had multiple small holes in her body, all of which bleeding. L.T. went to the brown-haired woman sitting against the metal bars she was slammed into. “Frog, check Yoshi.”
“Yes sir.” Frog quickly made his way to the downed Shangri-Lan. The merchant was on his back which showed quite deep wounds. Frog put his fingers on Yoshihio’s neck and found that he was still alive. However, he was not sure how to treat deep claw wounds and he did not have any sort of first-aid with him. As he thought about how to help the merchant, he noticed someone beside him. It was the indigo-haired woman and she held her hands out towards Yoshihiro’s wounds. Frog’s eyes could only gawk when the woman’s hands began to glow green.
Meanwhile, L.T. put his fingers on the brown-haired woman’s neck and felt it beating. He was glad he did not need to do anything. “Sir!” He heard Frog call for him. The squad leader got up and faced the technician. “Sir…” He saw the glowing hands of the indigo-haired woman grow weaker. He had a feeling it was some sort of healing spell but it seemed the caster was about done and Yoshihiro’s wounds were still not sufficiently healed.
“Sir he’s still losing blood.”
“I know Frog. I’m thinking.”
-----\-----
Both Briggs and Shadow stared at the light brown-skinned figure at the top of the wooden stairs. He had steel armor on, a pair of studded fur pants and a noticeable silver circlet on his head which contained a ruby stone. He also held, what seemed to the commandos, a naked girl with cream white hair of medium-length and, surprisingly, pointed ears. “Is that what I think it is?” Briggs asked, still looking at the unconscious girl held by the hair.
“Who are you?” The semi-armored man proudly asked.
“We’re demons, come to take your soul.” Briggs answered as he and Shadow aimed their weapons at the bandit chief. They indeed looked like demons to the bandit leader and the bodies of his men and one of his best Inumimis prevented him from making a boastful reply. “Let the girl go and we’ll think about it.”
“Y-you think I fear you?” The bandit leader tried to make a brave reply.
“You should.” Shadow said as he fired a single shot aimed at the bandit chief’s head.
Shadow expected a fallen brigand but instead he got an enraged and nervous bandit leader who held the Elf girl in front of him and a knife on her neck. “Great job, Shad.” Briggs sarcastically said. The bullet missed its target and hit a barrier protecting the target, the ruby in the bandit’s circlet knocked from its position. The sniper could not believe it. He could swear his aim was on the area between the bandit’s eyes but somehow the bullet rose a few centimeters.
“You bastards! You think you’ll get away with that?!” The bandit chief angrily yelled at the commandos and as he sturdied his grip on the knife on the Elf’s neck. Briggs and Shadow still aimed their rifles, looking for a clear shot. “Here’s a deal, you leave those weapons of yours here and get the hell out. And maybe I don’ have to slit the neck of P--” The bandit leader did not finish when he heard what seemed to be continuous small explosions from the distance. Shadow saw an opening and let go of another bullet.
The bandit chief suddenly jerked his head, let go of the Elf girl and fell. “Great job, Shad.” Briggs sincerely said as he began to make his way to the top of the stairs. Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. However, the fact that he missed meant he was getting rusty and needed to practice. He wondered if it was something else but shrugged the notion off and followed Briggs.
-----/-----
“That should be it.” I loaded a couple of potions into my wagon. That was really a pinch back there. I was slashed not once, but twice by a particularly large Inumimi in the back. The mage woman did no have enough energy to heal me but fortunately L.T. found a healing staff among the pile of stuff the bandits had gathered. I also found my stolen merchandise there and with the shadow men’s help, loaded them into the wagon. The rescued adventurers were in an optimal condition despite half of them still unconscious. All in all, the rescue went quite well.
“Yoshi, this should be the last right?” L.T. asked as he loaded a sack into my wagon. The cave was also full of sellable loot and so, despite not being mine, loaded them into my wagon. “Are the horses ready?”
“They’re all ready.” I assured L.T. before we walked to the second wagon.
A second one was necessary since seven people weren’t going to fit in a wagon already filled with various items. Unlike my wagon which had a wooden cover, the second was covered by a white sheet and inside were three of four rescued women. Two of whom were adventurers and the third one was an Elf girl Briggs and Shadow found when they took down the bandits in their area. All of them still lied unconscious inside the wagon while me, the mage woman and all of the shadow men assembled.
“Where are we heading Yoshi?” L.T. bluntly asked.
“Well we’re heading for Crying Widows but…” I turned to the mage woman without saying anything.
The indigo-haired woman smiled. “We’ll be heading there as well.” She answered my unspoken question.
“Looks like we’re in agreement.” L.T. said before issuing his orders. “Briggs, you join Yoshi in his wagon.” Looks like I’ll be joining the lightest of the group, even if he almost killed me earlier.
“Yes sir.” Briggs responded before heading to my wagon.
“Frog, Shadow, you two drive the second wagon.”
“Gotcha Eighty-Nine.” Frog replied and Shadow nodded before climbing on said wagon’s driver seats.
“Where will you be?” I asked L.T. curiously.
“I’ll be watching over the injured.” I raised an eyebrow at that but he did not notice that as he boarded the second wagon.
“Come on, Yosh.” I heard Briggs call for me. I wonder how short my name was going to get when my time with them is over.
As I climbed into the driver seat, I saw Briggs staring at something in his palm. “What’s that, Briggs?”
“Oh, just a little souvenir.” He answered as he put away the unknown souvenir.
“What is it?” I continued.
“Just a ruby. Nothing big.” On the contrary, rubies are pretty big but I did not say anything.
By the time I’ve grabbed the reins, I saw the once dark, starry sky as a blue, still starry sky. Dawn had come. “Good morning.” Briggs was apparently watching the sky too when he said that.
But I agree, it was a good morning.
.............
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