Chapter 39 - Never be afraid again...

Jarod’s agony was heard throughout the base once he found out his Vilani passed away… It was bone-chilling to hear, and I was shocked when I heard the news… I had no words for it… People were starting to panic… In just two days, there have been 6 murders throughout the base… People started to point fingers towards each other while the tensions kept rising… It seemed as if no one trusted each other anymore… And we were all scared… [br]
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Of course, it didn’t stay a secret for a long time… By the end of the day, everyone knew about the murders that have been committed… But no one knew why… No one knew who was responsible for it… I believed that whoever was behind it, was trying to cause chaos… But why…? [br]
[br]
At around 1:30 noon, we went to see the others. They sat down quietly and were not talking… To my surprise, that human who brought Blain in was there as well… [br]
[br]
Blain: How you guys feeling…? [br]
Tavish: *shrugs* [br]
Jones: *sighs* [br]
Mallow: What’s there to feel about…? It’s all fracking hopeless at this moment… [br]
Jones: Whoever is doing this… It’s obvious he wants to create chaos and confusion among us… [br]
[br]
Tavish: What makes you think he’s alone? [br]
Jones: What are you talking about? [br]
Tavish: There’s no fracking way he can take 4 armed spec ops trained by the highest military standards on his own… For all I know it might have been you with someone else… [br]
[br]
Jones: What?!! [br]
Tavish: Yeah!! Where the hell were you when it all happened?!! [br]
Jones: Is that an accusation? [br]
Tavish: It might be…[br]
Jones: Do I need to remind you that I’m on your side this whole time?!! [br]
Tavish: When? [br]
Jones: Tell me something, Tavish… What the hell would I possibly gain by doing this, like you said I did…? [br]
[br]
Tavish: I didn’t say you did it bu- [br]
Jones: No, no, no, don’t crawl out like that. What would I gain? I’m wanted by the GUN. They want me dead more then anything. [br]
[br]
Tavish was acting kinda strange. Why the hell would he accuse Jones for doing this? It was confirmed that Jones is indeed wanted by the GUN and they wanted him dead for some reason or another… [br]
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Tavish: … [br]
Jones: You got no answer to that, do you? [br]
Tavish: … Scyth…? [br]
Scyth: What…? [br]
Tavish: What about you…? [br]
Scyth: What about me? [br]
Tavish: What would you possibly gain by delivering us to the GUN…? [br]
Mallow: Tavish, shut the frack up already… [br]
Scyth: If it’s an accusation… I’ll have to say that you’re fracking mental… [br]
Tavish: Oh really…? And what makes you so fracking special that you couldn’t have done this…?[br]
[br]
Scyth: … It’s because… [br]
Tavish: See, choking down in his own words already. [br]
Scyth: … [br]
Nicole: … Tell them Blain…… [br]
Blain: … [br]
Scyth: *sighs and nods to Blain* [br]
Blain: It’s because Scyth is like me… [br]
Tavish: … What are you talking about? [br]
Blain: Scyth and I… We’re both lifeforms… GUN wants to get rid of the lifeforms… Scyth couldn’t have done this, because he simply wouldn’t gain anything from it… The GUN would’ve shot him to pieces if he made contact with them… If they find out I’m a lifeform too, I’ll be as good as dead out there as well… [br]
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Then they all looked at me baffled… [br]
[br]
Jones: … You’re a lifeform too…? [br]
Blain: *nods* [br]
Jones: What generation…? [br]
Blain: The Epsilon generation… Scyth is from the Sigma-Alpha generation… [br]
Jones: … I never heard of an Epsilon generation… [br]
Blain: That’s because it predates you… [br]
Jones: … Hm. [br]
Scyth: How come you never heard of the Epsilon generation…? [br]
Jones: *shrugs* [br]
Blain: It’s because all data about my generation is erased… Officially, I died many years ago… [br]
[br]
Jones: … Were there more generations before you…? [br]
Blain: Yeah… The Alpha, Beta, Gamma and the Delta generation… They were considered to be the “frack up’s” All of them died in early stages, and with each generation… They improved a bit… The Epsilon generation was the first stable generation to be deployed in the battlefield… [br]
[br]
Jones: I see… How many were there of the Epsilon generation…? [br]
Blain: Three in total, including me… Their all dead except for me… [br]
Jones: *nods* [br]
Blain: Why’d you ask…? [br]
Jones: Hm? [br]
Blain: Why’d you asked about the lifeform generations…? [br]
Jones: … It’s something I stumbled upon during the investigation… [br]
Mallow: What’s it about? [br]
[br]
Jones: An informant gave me information about a project the GUN was working on… It’s called the Blackbriar project… [br]
[br]
Blain: What’s it about…? [br]
Jones: I don’t know much about it… But… The Blackbriar project… They found out about the lifeforms… They want to clone the lifeforms to create an army… [br]
[br]
Scyth: Well that’s bullshoot if you asked me… I saw Zakhaev killed hundreds of lifeforms… And now the GUN wants to save them so that they can clone ‘em all? Bullshoot… [br]
[br]
Jones: … Zakhaev wasn’t with the GUN… He had his own army, and was supplied by the GUN… [br]
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Scyth: *shakes head* [br]
[br]
It stayed silent for a long time… [br]
[br]
Tavish: Hm… [br]
Blain: What? [br]
Tavish: That sheds a whole new light on everything… What if the sergeant teamed up with his lifeform friend here to kill off the people who knew too much…? Heard them talk…? You always seem to hang around… Best buds right…? You had access to the sickbay, you knew how to get access… [br]
[br]
Blain: Tavish, you’re going out of line here, I warn you… [br]
Tavish: With all due respect, sergeant, but you can go frack yourself… You and all the other fracking lifeforms caused this shoot in the first place… [br]
[br]
Scyth: … [br]
[br]
At that point, Scyth went berserk… He jumped up the table to get to Tavish, but he got so startled by the sudden burst of anger Scyth displayed, that he fell down from his chair… Scyth jumped on him and started to punch Tavish in the face over and over again. Tavish kicked him off of him, and jumped on the table. As soon Scyth jumped on the table to get to the other end again, Tavish kicked the table over with a tremendous force so that Scyth fell down, And once Scyth fell down on the ground face first, Tavish jumped on top of him of and dealt some serious blows to Scyth’s head… Tavish used to be a boxer back at bootcamp, and whenever he was in a fight, you better get away from him when he’s pissed… Scyth threw his head back to give Tavish a head-butt, and right after that, he managed to turn around and punch him off of him… Then Scyth jumped on him again punched him in the face again while Tavish grabbed him by his leg… He quickly yanked out Scyth’s combat knife and stabbed him in his leg… Scyth yelled out in pain while Tavish yanked the knife out of Scyth’s leg and he stumbled backwards and fell down… Everything was happening in a blink of an eye… And it got out of hand… Jones, Di-Angelo and Saidah jumped on Tavish so that he couldn’t recover and continue the fight… In the mean time, Scyth got up with a lot of effort and was about to attack him again, but I held him back with Nicole and Mallow… Scyth and Tavish called each other names and it took us a lot of effort to keep the two separated… At some point, Mallow carried Scyth over to the sickbay to let his leg taken care off… After a while, Tavish seemed to calm down…[br]
[br]
Blain: The hell is wrong with you Tavish?!![br]
Tavish: Don’t… fracking tell me what to do… I’m not some kid… [br]
Jones: No you’re right… A kid would have more common sense then you… [br]
Tavish: Watch it, Jones… Of all the people here, I trust you the least… [br]
Jones: What’s the reason…? [br]
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At that point, Tavish grabbed him by his collar and pulled him down… [br]
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Tavish: I don’t need a reason… … From now on… If you look at me in a way I don’t like… I’ll put a bullet trough your head…[br]
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Jones: Careful… This uniform is more expensive then you’re mom… [br]
Tavish: … Watch you’re back from now on… [br]
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He looked at Jones for a while until he let go of him… Then he walked away in a corridor… We all stared at him and saw how he walked away… [br]
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Di-Angelo: That guy has issues… [br]
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And with that, we all went out separate way… [br]
[br]
That night, there was another bang on the door… Just like the night before… Fear struck me again to hear the news of whoever it was delivering it… Blain was asleep… He was exhausted… So I opened the door… And Rico stood there, looking all serious… [br]
[br]
Nicole: Hi Rico… [br]
Rico: Oh, hey… I wasn’t expecting you… I didn’t wake you did I? [br]
Nicole: No… What’s wrong…? [br]
Rico: They know who did it… They know who was behind the murders… And they found him… [br]
[br]
Nicole: … Who was it…? [br]
Rico: … It was Tavish… [br]
Nicole: … What? [br]
Rico: *nods* [br]
Nicole: Why…? Did he even had a motive…? [br]
Rico: *shakes no* Tavish committed suicide… We found things that connected him to the murders so… [br]
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Nicole: *gasps* [br]
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And so, I woke Blain up… Rico explained everything to him… They told me to stay while Blain went to the scene with Rico… [br]
[br]
The moment I arrived… Everyone was there… Tavish sat in a chair, with a massive bullet-hole to the right side of his head, holding on to a pistol… The wall was splattered with blood and it was a nasty sight to see… Especially when it’s someone you know… [br]
[br]
Blain: … *sighs* [br]
Rico: Look… We found this in his pockets… [br]
[br]
He handed me a note where something was scribbled on… Once I unfolded it, it said 310887016… [br]
[br]
Blain: … [br]
Rico: It’s the code of the secured monitored room… [br]
Blain: … Does anyone know what his motive could be…? [br]
Jones: *shrugs* You saw how he acted this afternoon… [br]
Mallow: And well… The deaths don’t really seem to be connected with each other… It was as if he just randomly picked someone… [br]
[br]
Blain: Yeah but why…? [br]
Jones: Well maybe… Maybe he went coconuts after experiencing and seeing everything… It’s not uncommon for that to happen… And… I actually saw it happening before… [br]
[br]
Blain: … Yeah… *sighs* [br]
Rico: … I guess that’s it then… [br]
Blain: Whadda ya mean…? [br]
Rico: There’s nothing else we could do… [br]
[br]
One by one, we left the room… I was staying… I kept looking at Tavish’s body and couldn’t believe that he was responsible for Vilani’s death and all the others… The moment I walked away, I felt that I stepped on something small and hard… I lifted up my foot and noticed a shell casing on the ground… I picked it up and looked at it for a moment… Then I placed it in my pocket, to walk out of the room and never to come back… [br]
[br]
And they were right… Tavish was behind the murders… As a few days passed by, nothing happened… The murdering stopped… As the days slowly passed by, I realized more and more that Tavish really did it… It was something hard to believe, but… Some people are just ticking time bombs waiting to explode… He was a guy I know for years, but I guess he just couldn’t handle it anymore… And truth be told… I often wondered when my time would come when I would do something like that… [br]
[br]
Now that the murder incident was somewhat solved, didn’t mean we could all go back to sleep… On the contrary… Without the tactical operations centre, shortage of ammo and supplies and with the knowledge the GUN was closing in on us, we were starting to get terrified. It wasn’t a matter of “if” anymore… But it became a matter of when… It was inevitable… They were coming for us… And there was no way we could be prepared for what was coming… [br]
[br]
I woke up one night while I heard people yelling… And it just didn’t stop… I heard a muffled explosion from above and saw dust of concrete falling down as the ground was shaking a bit… And I started to panic… I shook Blain awake and in our hurry, we got dressed very quickly… The moment I opened the door, I saw everyone running in different directions while they were in panic, not knowing what to do… And no matter who you asked what was going, they all replied the same… The GUN was here… I wasn’t surprised when I heard that… I was just scared… Blain told me to find the others and hide somewhere… After running around for a long time, I found Lattei and Mahabi… Axel was found not long after that… More and more people started to follow us to the far back of the base, looking for a spot where we could be safe while we saw more and more soldiers going into the opposite direction… [br]
[br]
I got back as fast as I could to get my rifle… But reloading a rifle isn’t easy with just one arm… Shooting one was difficult with just one arm… My left arm always supported the rifle, and seeing as it’s a bionic arm, I could hold it perfectly still, which probably explained why I’m an excellent marksman… But now, it was useless… Out of frustration, I threw my rifle against the wall and got out my sidearm… I would most likely get killed for trying but I had to do something… You don’t stand a chance against opponents with automatic assault rifles while you just wield a crummy pistol… But hell… It might as well be all over… [br]
[br]
I saw that Mallow was running towards the main gates so I followed him… Once we arrived, we noticed that a couple of hundred more were taking their positions at the massive doors… And the GUN was on the other side… The tension was unbearable as it stayed silent for an eerie while… I felt how nervous I became just by seeing everyone else being nervous as well… Not long after that, we heard the sounds of steal being deformed… You slowly saw the doors opening… I didn’t know how they managed to do that… Maybe they short-circuited it or something… As soon as we first saw the human postures on the other side of the door, all hell broke loose… Bullet were whizzing by on both sides and with every shot fired, there had to be someone unlucky enough to be hit… They’ve underestimated our firepower… They haven’t foreseen our resistance… Then they started to throw grenades while we did the same… You can imagine that it was an unfair fight… Lots of guys blew up… I saw how Mallow splattered apart… Di-Angelo was wounded… And I wasn’t really contributing to the fight… So I did something I never did in my entire life… And that was to retreat while I carried Di-Angelo… [br]
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[br]
Running through the corridors while I carried Di-Angelo wasn’t exactly an easy job… He was way taller then me and heavy, but I did my best to run as fast as I could… I tried to stop the bleeding by pressing my hand on his stomach and as I ran through the corridors, I heard him screaming in pain. It echoed throughout the dark corridors and it was bone chilling to hear… Going left… Another left… Take a right… Almost there… I kicked down the door that was in front as the others looked baffled at us… Then they saw I carried Di-Angelo… I placed him down as gentle as I could… Rico took over from me as we all stared at the golden yellow lion with light brown manes… Di-Angelo’s deep baritone scream once again echoed throughout the room as Rico tried to save his life…[br]
[br]
Saidah couldn’t take it… She couldn’t witness how her partner suffered like that… And truth be told, I couldn’t either… His whole stomach was torn open and… There wasn’t much that Rico could do. Everyone knew that he couldn’t do much. The only thing Rico could do was to ease his suffering by drugging him… Di-Angelo stopped screaming and was breathing heavily as he looked at everyone… Rico placed a blanket over him to keep him warm… Then Saidah kneeled next to Di-Angelo and talked to him… Kissing him on his forehead and kept assuring him everything was alright… It was so heartbreaking… We could see he was crying… She didn’t… She was strong for him as she whispered in his ear… And at some point, he passed away silently… Then she just broke out in tears and crying her eyes out as we all just looked at the two lions… And there wasn’t anything we could do… Everyone wished they could have done something, but all we felt was desolation and despair… I tried picking up Saidah and took her somewhere where we could be alone… She lay down on a bed as I sat on the edge of it, and she was crying her eyes out… I gave her a long firm hug, and although I knew words wouldn’t help, I stayed silent… She wanted to be alone… I scratched her behind her ear and left…[br]
[br]
As I went back to the others, I sat down in a corner… Blain sat next to me not long after that… I looked him in the eyes and knew he was thinking the same thing… It got us thinking of how things could turn out like this… Why we were being chased down and why there was so much hate… We just didn’t understand…[br]
[br]
And that’s what happened to Blain and me over the months… I took a good look at Blain and he had a serious determined expression on his face… At some point, he looked at me… [br]
[br]
Blain: Nic, listen up… [br]
Nicole: What is it…? [br]
Blain: One level below us, is a nuclear bunker… You know where it is right…? [br]
[br]
Nicole: *nods* [br]
Blain: It’s a hydraulic pressure system, which means you need an authorization access code to get in… The authorization code is 7,7,5,6,9,8,4,3,2,1,0,1. Once the code is used, it’ll stay open until you manually close it on the other side… Once it’s closed, it’ll go into quarantine mode, meaning you can only open the doors from the inside… Take Mahabi, Lattei and Axel with you to escort these people to the bunker… You’ll be safe there… Rico…? [br]
[br]
Rico: Sir…? [br]
Blain: Try to find as many as you can to save… [br]
Rico: *nods* [br]
[br]
And with that, Rico ran off… [br]
[br]
Blain: Repeat the authorization code… [br]
[br]
Nicole: 7,7,5,6,9,8,4,3,2,1,0,1…[br]
Blain: Alright… Go now… [br]
Mahabi: Alright!! Let’s go!! [br]
Lattei: Move it!! [br]
Mahabi: Nicole!! Come on!! [br]
[br]
Nicole: What about you…? [br]
Blain: I’ll be there in a sec… [br]
[br]
Blain could always lie without ever to flinch… It was his job to lie. He did it for so many years against others, but some reason, he can’t lie to me. His eyes gave that away… Just one small fragile thing in his eyes gave that away… [br]
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Nicole: N-No… You’re lying… You’re not coming back… [br]
Blain: … Go… [br]
Nicole: You promised… [br]
Blain: … [br]
Nicole: You promised…!! You promised we’d stick together!! [br]
Blain: Get her out of here!! [br]
[br]
Lattei and Mahabi got hold of me and carried me away… I saw Blain standing there as I saw the lights flickering every once in a while… I yelled at them to let me go… But they didn’t… And I saw that Blain kept looking at me… Once we got through the massive doors, some guy punched a button to close the massive hydraulic doors so that we could get access to the other side… I saw how the doors slowly closed as Blain was still looking at me… At that point, he ran off… Just like that… Once he turned around the corner, he was gone… So many promises were made but they were never to be realized… I didn’t know what I was thinking… The gap between the doors got smaller and smaller… I struggled to get free, and jumped through the small opening… I must be mad… But I did anyways… I landed on my stomach on the other side and as I looked behind, I saw the gap was too small for anyone else to follow… I saw how Lattei, Mahabi and Axel were staring at me in disbelieve, but they didn’t follow me… I kept looking at them until the door closed… Then I got up and ran away… I was scared… Of course I was scared… But I got even more scared when I thought I was being followed… [br]
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There wasn’t much I could do… I saw from a distance our guys in numbers that exceeded over two thousand desperately tried to fight a way outside… I felt so helpless that I couldn’t do anything… All I had was a pistol with a few rounds in it and a very poor aim… I closed my eyes and walked away from the scene… [br]
[br]
I walked in the room where Tavish committed suicide. I still saw the dried blood splattered wall and began to question things… Just what the hell was happening…? What went wrong so all of a sudden…? Why did Tavish committed suicide…? Why was Vilani murdered…? What was happening outside…? …How did the GUN found out about me and Scyth…? I sat down in a corner trying to make sense out of everything… Come on, Blain… Come on… Think… Think…… There’s gotta be some logic connection to everything… As soon as I sat down, I noticed something fell out of my pocket and it was that ejected shell I found on the scene when Tavish committed suicide… I picked it up and took a closer look at it… “.45 ACP ammo…” was encrypted on the side… And I stared at it for a while… [br]
[br]
Then it suddenly struck me… [br]
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Jones: Oh! Yeah, their not… Their hollow pointed .45 ACP rounds… Doesn’t inflict much damage as full cased ones… Their still deadly if you hit someone in the head though…[br]
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???: I’ve been trying to find you for a while now… [br]
[br]
As soon as turned around, I aimed my gun at a human posture who stood in the doorway. By the sounds of her voice, she was a female. Once she got closer, I saw she had short hair, and that was wounded… And then she sat down while she stared at me… I’ve never seen her before… [br]
[br]
???: Lower you’re gun… [br]
Blain: … Who the hell are you…? [br]
???: Does the name Zakhaev ring any bells…? [br]
Blain: … No… [br]
[br]
I lied to her. I didn’t know whether I could trust her or not… Her sleeve had a logo of the GUN… [br]
[br]
???: Oh…? That surprises me… You’re the one who killed him after all… [br]
Blain: Who are you…? I’m not asking again…[br]
???: I’m Tanya… One of Zakhaev’s… [br]
Blain: What are you doing here…? Shouldn’t you be fighting us outside…? [br]
Tanya: *shakes head* No… I said I’m with Zakhaev, not with the GUN… [br]
Blain: … Cut the fracking bullshoot and get to the point… *aims pistol at Tanya* [br]
[br]
She sighed and looked at me for a moment… [br]
[br]
Tanya: Haven’t you ever wondered why Scyth was there in Robotropolis the night you met him…? [br]
[br]
Blain: … Why? [br]
Tanya: … When you had your finger on the trigger… And looked through the scope and saw Zakhaev… Haven’t you ever wondered why his contact was a furrie in the first place…? [br]
[br]
“Fox: You just made the biggest mistake of your life…[br]
Blain: And why is that…? You deny us our freedom and rights…? GUN wiped out the whole fracking MNAF and what we’re trying to do, is to protect our way of living…[br]
[br]
Fox: And what might that be, sergeant…? What is OUR way of living…? Hm…? Are we so different from the humans…?[br]
[br]
Blain: No… But they took everything from us… And you’re helping them… That’s a fact… So… Why…?[br]
[br]
The fox looked around… Scyth had his eyes focused on that fox as that fox looked at Scyth for a short time… But he never answered the question…[br]
[br]
Fox: I’m not a traitor… Feel free to call me one, because it reminds me that I have nothing in common with you… All of you … If only you knew…[br]
[br]
Blain: … The hell is that supposed to mean…?[br]
Fox: …[br]
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Scyth: Enough of this shoot… *cocks pistol and aims at the head of the fox*[br]
[br]
At that point, he shot the traitorous fox in the head, just like that…”[br]
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… At that point, I lowered my gun… [br]
[br]
Blain: What are you trying to say…? [br]
Tanya: Scyth is a lifeform… Just like you… You have a lot in common… Except there’s one thing you don’t know about him… [br]
[br]
Blain: … Which is…? [br]
Tanya: I don’t have much time… I had to sneak in… If they find out I made contact with you, they’ll kill me for sure… And all would be lost… [br]
[br]
Blain: Just… Get to the point of what you’re trying to say… [br]
Tanya: … Scyth played you all for fools… [br]
Blain: What…?[br]
Tanya: *nods slowly* He’s been with the ICA all this time…[br]
Blain: But why…? [br]
Tanya: Scyth was a prisoner a while back… He mentioned your name… I did my research on you but found very little information… Scyth on the other hand… Was with the ICA… It was a mistake to kill Zakhaev… [br]
[br]
Blain: Yeah but why?! [br]
[br]
Tanya: Zakhaev wasn’t after Scyth because he’s just a lifeform… Zakhaev uncovered the conspiracies Scyth was plotting against the GUN as ordered by the ICA, and for that reason, he chased him down! It was a mistake to kill Zakhaev! Zakhaev was the only one who knew what it was all about, and he was THIS close to end the war and set everything straight!! He was the only one that knew of the political situations and the ones responsible for it!! All he had to do, was to get as close as possible since they all trusted him!! [br]
[br]
Blain: What about this Miller guy…? [br]
[br]
Tanya: Miller was in it as well… That’s why Zakhaev agreed to the deal with Scyth to take Miller out… As soon as Zakhaev was commander of the GUN legions, he had the power to turn the events of the war and bring back peace… But since there is so much corruption, it was kept silent until the time was right…! He didn’t know who to trust… There is no doubt that Scyth had a contract to take Miller out, and Zakhaev wanted to find out who it was that sent Scyth… And once we knew who sent Scyth, there was no stopping us to take out those who were responsible inside the ICA… If Zakhaev would still be alive, then we would have had peace by now… [br]
[br]
Blain: … fracking hell… [br]
Tanya: Zakhaev was our last hope for peace… And now, there is no stopping from GUN advancing in on us, and take us all out… This is just one big frack up, and because of that, a massive war broke out and Scyth was responsible for it as well… [br]
[br]
Blain: … How many people are we talking about that are in the conspiracy…? [br]
Tanya: More then fifty politicians and bureaucrats… Probably more… [br]
Blain: How many did Zakhaev managed to take out…? [br]
Tanya: Thirty-six… Zakhaev had no choice but to eliminate them… It was too dangerous to keep them alive… [br]
[br]
Blain: … Damn…[br]
[br]
Tanya: You think Miller did this all by himself…? Scyth only wanted to take out the biggest threat towards HIMSELF, and not to bring back peace… And now there’s no stopping them from closing in on us and take out everyone… They will kill you… And ME…!! And they know you’re a lifeform…[br]
[br]
Blain: … Did Zakhaev had any proof…? [br]
Tanya: Plenty… But… Scyth managed to steal everything after Zakhaev’s death except for this… *gets out flashcard and gives it to Blain* [br]
[br]
Blain: *takes flashcard* [br]
[br]
“I noticed Scyth isolated himself with the briefcase Zakhaev was carrying…[br]
[br]
Blain: How you holding up…?[br]
[br]
As soon as he heard my voice, he immediately closed the briefcase and looked at me…” [br]
[br]
“Blain: What’s with the briefcase…?[br]
Scyth: Oh… Eh… It’s just some… Data about lifeforms… Including me… It should be destroyed…”[br]
[br]
Blain: … What’s this…? [br]
[br]
Tanya: This is the only thing that’s left of Zakhaev’s research of the conspiracies and corruption… Take good care of it… It contains names, dates, places, everything… And even though this will never end in a good way for us, I do hope you can end it all so that everyone else can live and grow old in peace… Cloning must be outlawed if we want to survive the future… If there’s some… Clone army dictatorship, we’re all bound to it … I doubt to survive much longer myself…[br]
[br]
Blain: … I’m sorry to hear that…[br]
Tanya: I wish you the best of luck, Blain… Hopefully, it’ll end soon for us… Good luck… [br]
[br]
Blain: *nods* Thanks, Tanya… Take care… [br]
[br]
Tanya: *nods* [br]
[br]
I walked out of the door, thinking about everything she said… As soon as I gently closed the door, I heard a muffled pistol shot… I went back to see what happened, even though I already knew… Tanya shot herself in the head as she was holding on to a necklace in her left hand… Then I ran away… I saw that Rico was standing there not too far away… [br]
[br]
Rico: I heard everything sarge…… So…… It’s all over……? We’ve lost……? [br]
Blain: *shakes no* [br]
Rico: Huh…? [br]
Blain: Follow me, quickly, before it’s too late. [br]
Rico: … What? [br]
Blain: Hurry up!! [br]
[br]
The two of us ran towards a computer room while I clenched my hand around the flashcard, making sure I wouldn’t lose it. On the way, we saw Jarod too and I told him to come along… Once we arrived in the computer room, I told them to look for other flashcards, and after totally turned the place upside down, we found a few more flashcards. But we were running out of time… I handed the flashcard I was holding to Rico, and he inserts the flashcard, and made 2 more copies for himself and Jarod… [br]
[br]
Blain: You have to take these copies, and get as far away from here as possible! If you run into GUN troops, surrender immediately, and let them take you as a POW! Don’t say anything, just hand over the flashcard when you’re interrogated![br]
[br]
Jarod: Sarge…? [br]
Blain: Do it, Jarod, that’s an order!![br]
Jarod: I-I can’t l-leave… Not after s-so many- [br]
Blain: Do it!! [br]
Jarod/Rico: … [br]
Blain: You have to split up in different directions! I wish you guys the best of luck… And I hope that it’ll all be over soon… [br]
[br]
Rico: What are these things…? [br]
Blain: The truth…[br]
[br]
Jarod: … But… What about you, sarge…? [br]
Blain: … We got 3 copies now… Hopefully, that’ll be enough… [br]
Rico: But… Wh-What if we don’t make it…? [br]
Blain: Rico… No one is supposed to be honored for what is expected from them… And people expect us to end the war… You’re not the new guy anymore, and you know that… [br]
[br]
Rico: *nods quickly* [br]
Blain: Now go… [br]
Jarod: Take care sarge… [br]
Blain: Go…[br]
[br]
And with that, they both looked at me for a short moment… Then they ran off… That was the last time I saw Rico and Jarod… [br]
[br]
I scrolled through the data to get a clue of what was happening… I wanted to see if Tanya was right about Zakhaev… And Scyth… The moment I opened the files, I saw immediately what it was all about… It was crystal clear all of a sudden and things made sense… [br]
[br]
Lifeforms… Everything that is happening outside, this whole deal revolved around lifeforms… Six hundred and seventy eight lifeforms, ranging from size, strength, and species… Robotnik had them scattered all over the planet in his cryochamber laboratories… The ICA took over the lifeforms after the first war ended… That’s where Robotnik and Zakhaev came in… Robotnik knew the lifeforms posed a threat once it was known they were on the loose… Robotnik wanted to destroy his own creations… Why, no one will ever know. Maybe he wanted to destroy them because he knew the ICA got their hands on his creations and that they may pose a threat to his new empire… Whatever it was, Robotnik sent Zakhaev and his mercenaries in to take out the lifeforms, knowing how dangerous Robotnik’s creations are… Then Robotnik got assassinated by Scyth… Robotnik got replaced by Miller as Zakhaev continued his mission… Over the years, Zakhaev managed to take out five hundred and sixty four lifeforms, but that wasn’t enough… One hundred and fourteen lifeforms are still alive to this day, including Scyth and the rest of the Sigma-Alpha generation… The ICA however, wanted to clone those remaining lifeforms and create a whole army to take over… And it all happened in secrecy, until Scyth assassinated Robotnik… “Project Blackbriar”… [br]
[br]
Scyth: I never wanted things to turn out like this…[br]
[br]
I turned around and noticed Scyth had Nicole in a headlock, using her as a shield and he aimed a pistol at me… [br]
[br]
Blain: Let her go!! [br]
Scyth: Not after you heard me out… [br]
Blain: … Then why’d you do it…? [br]
[br]
He slowly got closer to me as his eyes coldly fixated on mine… I saw Nicole crying quietly as tears were running down her face…[br]
[br]
Scyth: You’re asking ME why…? [br]
Blain: … Yeah. [br]
Scyth: You know the answer yourself all too well… You’ve been there… [br]
Blain: … The hell you talking about…? [br]
[br]
Scyth: You’re a lifeform too, Blain… You experienced everything… You got hunted down as well… But you managed to escape from it and find peace… That was something all the other generations never had… Including me… Zakhaev hunted us down with the intention to wipe us all out… So we had no choice but to turn to the ICA for protection from the GUN… And we got caught up in a circuit of conspiracies and corruption… But we did everything to be protected from the GUN… The ICA had a plan to legalize cloning… To create a clone army of lifeforms… And with the current government, that wasn’t gonna happen… The first task… Was to eliminate those who could stop us… Then a clone army of lifeforms would see the day of light… I never could do anything about it… I’m against it, just as much as you… But I had no choice… I was the one who released that virus in Robotropolis a long time ago… It was a last desperate attempt to get rid of our oppressors, but to no avail… Then all hell broke loose… *sighs* [br]
[br]
Blain: *shakes head* [br]
Scyth: You would have done the same in my situation… I know you would’ve… [br]
Blain: You’re saying that this was inevitable to happen…? [br]
Scyth: Yeah… I’m truly sorry, Blain… [br]
Blain: So everything was a lie then…? [br]
Scyth: *shakes no* No… Not everything… [br]
Blain: … What wasn’t a lie then…? [br]
Scyth: Vanessa… The young human girl I found and took care of her ‘till she died… And… Considering you as an older brother… That wasn’t a lie… You saved my life once… And I’m truly grateful to that… We can still set this right… We’re lifeforms… And together with the surviving lifeforms, we can still win… We can overthrow the ICA and end it all… We-[br]
[br]
All of a sudden, I felt as if I could explode in anger… Memories were rushing by of the people I loved who passed away in this world because of a lie… My “family”, friends… My guys… I noticed my right hand was starting to shake severely as I clenched my teeth… Then all of a sudden, I pulled out my gun and aimed it at Scyth… [br]
[br]
Blain: WE are NOTHING but creations of a mad man who enjoyed playing with genetic toys!!! It’s wrong, and you fracking know it!! [br]
[br]
Scyth: But… The ICA can still- [br]
[br]
Blain: frack the ICA!!! They took away everything from me I ever cared for!!! Everything I build up over the years!!!! Everything that took so much effort to get!!! EVERYTHING!!! I don’t give a shoot whether or not you care about me!!! You were part of the ICA who took away everything from everyone!!! From Nicole and ME!!! You killed Vilani!!! She was pregnant for fracks sake!!! [br]
[br]
Scyth: I didn’t kill Vilani… That wasn’t me… Please… You can blame me a lot, but not for her death… I cared as much for her as you did…[br]
[br]
Blain: Yet you helped Jones to take her life… [br]
Scyth: … So you know then… [br]
Blain: … Yeah… I know it all too well now…[br]
Scyth: *sighs* … Just… Give me the flashcard and I’ll let you and Nicole go… I don’t wanna kill you, Blain… Please…[br]
[br]
Blain: I’ll put a bullet between your eyes, you sick frack… [br]
Scyth: I beg you, Blain… Please… [br]
Blain: frack… Off… [br]
Scyth: So it’s like that…? You’re turning you’re back on me now……? [br]
Blain: Lifeforms like you don’t deserve to live… [br]
Scyth: *sighs* Alright… Time for plan B then… Let’s just kill each other… [br]
[br]
He pushed Nicole aside as he opened fire… I got down as quickly as I could… I tried to get my aim, but it was so difficult… I tried to shoot him, but I kept missing him, and I realized I couldn’t waste anymore shots, seeing as I was low on ammo… I looked up and noticed that there was a glass roof where Scyth was hiding… I fired two shots at the glass roof and it shattered to pieces, and all the pieces landed on Scyth… I heard him yell and curse, and he got out from where he was hiding. I saw he had cuts all over his body and was bleeding severely in his face… As soon as I saw that, I got down as low as possible and tried to shoot him… I hit him in the leg where Tavish stabbed him… I hid immediately again after I shot him, and crawled away to the other side… Once I peeked around the corner, I had a clear shot on his head… I took a deep breath… Aligned the sight with his head… I held my breath while my finger was gently clenched around the trigger… “Pull it slowly”… Then I heard a click… Scyth looked up surprised… I firmly closed my eyes… [br]
[br]
Scyth: Mwuaha… You sneaky little bugger… You cheeky fracker… You almost blew my head off… What’s wrong, Blain…? Hm…? You’re panting and sweating, and huffing and puffing… Face it, you’re getting old… [br]
[br]
Blain: F-frack you… [br]
Scyth: We still have a lot in common you know… You, me… You know what it’s like… I would have pulled the trigger by now... All it takes is one bad day and you’d be just like me…[br]
[br]
Blain: … No… Th-that’s not it, Scyth… All it takes is a bit more combat experience and… Two big @$$ scars… And be a little modest every now and then… And you’d be just like me…[br]
[br]
Scyth: *shakes no* Sorry Blain, I’m an ambitious guy and you… [br]
[br]
All of a sudden, he took his aim again… And he fired at me… It just happened so fast… I felt how the bullet penetrated my chest… And it all comes back now… The feeling that you get when you’re dieing… What’s worse was… I realized I was dieing… I felt my hand reaching to my chest where I felt the impact… And as I looked down, I noticed dark red blood on my hand… And Nicole was witnessing everything… I heard her yelling… I tried to get up and run away but… I couldn’t… As soon as I wanted to make the first step, I fell down on my stomach… In that sudden burst of panic I felt, I wanted to get away… Either by crawling or… I didn’t know… I couldn’t think. All I could think off was that I had to get away somehow, even though I knew this was the end of the line for me… [br]
[br]
Scyth: You’re just a dead weight to my ambitious plans… [br]
[br]
He aimed his gun at me again. At that point, Nicole jumped on him and started punching him… Scyth pushed Nicole back, and aimed his gun at her and pulled the trigger… To my relief, I heard a “click”, meaning he was out of bullets… Then Nicole punched him in the face again, but Scyth pistol-whipped her and she fell down on the floor… Scyth felt his cheek and glared at Nicole and me… He yanked the flashcard out of the PDA… Then he walked off, disappearing like a shadow, as if he never existed… [br]
[br]
Nicole couldn’t talk… Neither could I… All I could do was gasping for air as I slowly felt weaker and weaker… All Nicole did was holding my hand… She wasn’t crying… She held me close as she whispered in my air of how much she loved me… I wish she didn’t… It just made everything more painful to accept… [br]
[br]
Many hours later…[br]
[br]
Scyth: That’s it. [br]
???: You got everything…? [br]
Scyth: *nods and shows flashcard* [br]
???: Good, hand it over… [br]
Scyth: You got my hit-fee…? [br]
???: Plenty… [br]
Scyth: It better be worth it… After all the things I sacrificed to ensure our survival… I never wanted this……[br]
[br]
???: What’s done is done… There’ll be peace soon…[br]
Scyth: *sighs* We have to mobilize the other lifeforms and take things in our own hands now… The Blackbriar project should be ready in a couple of weeks… I hope you got what you wanted…… [br]
[br]
???: *nods*… [br]
Scyth: Alright… *sighs* Place me into cryogenic state and… Hopefully one day I’ll wake up and there will be peace… [br]
[br]
???: *nods slowly*[br]
[br]
As Scyth grabbed his briefcase, he opened it up and checked if everything was there… [br]
[br]
???: Satisfied…? [br]
Scyth: *nods* [br]
[br]
Then Scyth walked away with the briefcase… [br]
[br]
???: Scyth…? [br]
Scyth: What…? [br]
???: I can not help but to wonder… [br]
Scyth: What? [br]
[br]
Then the person walks up to him and took off his glasses… [br]
[br]
???: You’d said you were against the Blackbriar project… And yet you want to participate… Why…? [br]
[br]
Scyth: … Everything for the survival of our species… Semper Fi… [br]
???: Haven’t they told you…? [br]
Scyth: Told me what…? [br]
???: You’ve been excluded from the project… [br]
[br]
Then the person grabbed a pistol and firmly pressed it against Scyth’s forehead… [br]
[br]
???: Because after all…[br]
Scyth: … Oh you gotta be fracking kidding m-[br]
[br]
At that point, the person pulled the trigger… Scyth drops dead in front of the human… [br]
[br]
???: You’re still just a furry who knows too much…[br]
[br]
The human looked at Scyth for a short moment and wiped his glasses clean… [br]
Then he picks up the briefcase and walks away into the cold night… [br]
[br]
So that’s it… No dieing monologue… No dramatic scenes you always see in movies… I just died after being alive for more then 40 years in a row… Betrayed by the one I trusted the most… Maybe it was for the better… The story ends for me, but Nicole had to bare every consequences of it… And I could see everything from where I am now… I couldn’t witness what happened to her, but I couldn’t do anything… All I could do was to wait until her time came… Maybe one day, it’ll all be back like it used to be… [br]
[br]
Maybe one day I will wake up and realize it was all a dream… Or that it is a vision of what the future might hold in store for me. Maybe one day someone will find out about my memoirs, and share it to whoever wants to listen. Maybe one day I will look back at my life and realize that fighting wars for others was the only decent thing I did on this forsaken planet… Regrets…? None… Because it shaped me into the person I am today… It’s because it brought Nicole to me… She knows all to well I loved her deeply, even though I rarely showed it… Which is why it was so painful to leave her… I didn’t want her to experience what was gonna happen to her… Because I know what was gonna happen… But she experienced it anyway and there was nothing I could do to change it… Hopefully, one day, she’ll find peace, like I do now… [br]
[br]

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