ã€ŠThe Friendly Neighborhood Nightmare Callerã€‹


 Prologue

    My-Our name was Ai Nakamura. We were a Japanese girl, until recently. Confused? I can see why. After all, how can a single person be a "we"? The answer is simple: we **were** one person, now we are two.

    Still confused? Well, let''s start from the beginning then. Don''t worry we''ll be quick. Ai Nakamura, daughter of Kenji and Kazumi Nakamura; born in a small, peaceful village in the countryside. We were an only child. Mother died of an illness when we were seven years old; father started coming home drunk. **No**, he did not abuse us, didn''t really take care of us either. Although he *did* leave us money so we could take care of ourselves.

    Once we were old enough, Dad sent us to a pretty good middle school, in Tokyo. We didn''t have many friends, and our school life was rather uneventful. Honestly, the most eventful thing that happened, occurred in our first year of high school. The resident school bullies thought it was a good idea to harass us during club activities. Well, we were a member of the cooking club, and it was our turn to cook that day. Let''s just say the bullies didn''t appreciate the scalding hot cast iron pan-to-the-face. The school couldn''t really suspend us since we lived on campus, so we got detention for a month. Totally worth it, by the way.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Well, anyways a few months after graduation, some little girl came by and informed us of our father''s death to some monsters the government calls Fiends. The Fiends had first appeared somewhere towards the beginning of senior year and had been attacking humans since, although they tended to avoid large population centers. Well, this little girl told us that we had also been chosen to be a hero if we wanted to be one. I think the term she used was "Defender of Humanity" but we honestly weren''t listening to her speech. We were given a choice of races to be changed into and an extra perk, or "Tattoo" as she called it.

    We chose Kitsune and the "Split" tattoo. What? We always liked foxes and wanted a sister and best friend. Yes, we were lonely. So what if we are weaker than most of the other heroes? Now we go by Taiyo and Tsuki. I am Tsuki and I am a gray/black fox girl; my new sister Taiyo looks almost exactly like me except she has golden fur.

    Well, we''ve just arrived at Savior Central for our training and to find a proper team. Seriously, who named this place? Sure it''s catchy, but it''s so unimaginative! Oh well, time for Boot Camp!

 Chapter 1: An info dump by any other name is still an info dump.

    (Tsuki POV)

    Savior Central is a fortress city built atop an artificial island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It serves as a safe haven from the fiends, a military training facility for both us "Saviors" and the personnel that will be supporting us, as well as the HQ and R&D center of the Human Collective Government. I say that but really? Humanity only came together as a unified group just over a year ago, and that''s only thanks to the Fiends. Before the Fiends, several countries were at war with each other. *Sigh* Humanity is lame. At least I -"We"- are not human anymore.

    Anyways, Savior Central is likely the most secure population center in the world. It is divided into several sectors. From the outermost sector to the innermost one, in order, they are the Docks, Agricultural, the Training Grounds, Industrial, Recreational, Residential, Acidemic, Simulations, and finally the Headquarters and Research and Development sectors. This place is huge! And we thought Tokyo was big! Ah, back on topic. For us "Saviors" everything is provided for us by the HCG, we are even given a small allowance for things that aren''t covered. Probably because we will be on the frontlines soon enough.

    Ah, you may have noticed that I didn''t mention a medical sector, well apparently it''s a part of the residential sector. Speaking of the residential sector, our dorms are co-ed, but each person, or pair in the case of "Split Souls" like Taiyo and myself, have their own room. Each room is biometrically locked, thank whatever god is listening.

    First thing after orientation, we were taken to a room to choose our preferred choice of gear, we were also told to save some of our requisition points, they called them "Credits", for when the squads are made. The remaining points would be used for the stuff the squad''s base has, as well as hiring staff for the base. We chose identical equipment that consisted of a Vitals Chip implant, Arachne Silk Armor, and Magic Ammo Assault Rifles. Unfortunately, we had to go get the implant done that day so we would be good to go when classes started two days later.

    Combat classes were determined based on our chosen gear. Then, of course, we had the mandatory courses: Field Medicine, Fiend Knowledge, Field Basics 101, Survival Training, and Gear Maintenance. And that''s just the first half of our training, the second half would start after the squads were formed. Our combat classes were: Unarmed Combat and Assault Rifle Marksmanship.

    Field Medicine was, as you''d expect, an advanced First Aid course aimed at being done in the field during an operation. Fiend Knowlege was rather basic, but was a course that taught us the basic anatomy of the known types of fiends as well as their typical behavioral patterns. Not that too much was known and the anatomy could vary from one individual to another in the same category. Field Basics was a class centered around things like rappeling from buildings, climbing walls and cliffs, searching for survivors, and clearing buildings. The Survival Training and Gear Maintenance courses were exactly how they sound, learning tricks to surviving without support and cleaning and taking care of our personal gear, respectively.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (Taiyo POV)

    Since Tsuki is preoccupied at the moment, let me tell you about the known types of Fiends. First, we have the most common type: the Brute. Brutes are big and hulking humanoid beasts, they make up about ninety percent of the forces of the fiends. Their forms are as varying as they are numerous. They are incredibly strong and durable. It takes several magazines of ammunition to put one down, and they are strong enough to turn your ordinary true human into paste, that''s assuming the person is either dumb enough or slow enough to get hit with the full force of the blow.

    Then we have the Winged Devil, the aerial cousin of the Brute. These things are much faster than Brutes, but they sacrifice strength and durability, although they are still well above human limits.

    There are the Spine Walkers, who are like walking tanks. They aren''t that fast, although still faster than most humans, they are quite durable. A spine walker''s armor is so thick that they are impervious to small arms fire. You would need some serious firepower to take one down.

    The Crawling Chaos is a highly mobile ground creature with a powerful leap. They move around very quietly. They also seem to eerily crack countless joints just before striking their prey. They are much less active when exposed to lights, so it is highly recommended that we light them up, and keep them lit.

    Raiders are incredibly quick creatures that scuttle around. They are barely taller than humans and are incredibly hard to hit while moving. Once they''ve gotten a hold of a person they proceed to shred and eat them, with little concern to their surroundings. It''s a little morbid, but this is the best time to kill them.

    Plasma Casters are probably some of the most deadly kinds of fiends. As their name suggests, they are a ranged unit that throws plasma at things. It takes a few moments for them to charge up before they release powerful sprays of plasma that can melt through steel. This makes them extremely deadly. While they charge, however, they are completely defenseless.

    Potbellies, or portalbellies, are large demons that are basically a living portal. They are large, immobile fiends that are typically carried by other fiend types. They have no noteable attacks and only a moderate defense. The portal in their abdominal area, however, can release endless numbers of smaller fiends, like Brutes and Raiders. They should be priority targets in 90% of all situations. There are more fiend types that we know of, but these are the most common types that will be found in the field.

 Chapter 2: Meet the Cast

    The bell rings, class is out for the day and the students file out of the room. Some plan on milling around chatting, others head out to catch the train to other sectors. The Field Medicine teacher steps out of the room and calls out ¡°Miss Nakamura, I¡¯d like to talk to you about your missing homework.¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Taiyo and Tsuki respond in unison.

    ¡°You two are usually good about doing your work, ignoring how little you seem to care about the subject. So, why didn¡¯t you two turn in the work that was due today?¡±

    ¡°Well ma¡¯am, there was an incident last night, involving an incubus¡­¡± they respond fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable.

    ¡°Okay, and that has to do with your homework how?¡±

    ¡°He used his power, not sure if it was intentional. And it got unbearable, so we relieved ourselves, and passed out immediately afterward.¡± Taiyo and Tsuki respond, faces completely flushed and bright pink.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I understand. Do both sets of homework and turn them in tomorrow,¡± the Field Medicine teacher dismisses them.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±

    A few moments earlier, in the rafters,

    You know what sucks? Being told to do something you really don''t want to do. Hi, my name is Vera, I¡¯m a lamia, you know, a snake person. Right now I¡¯m lying across the rafters of the train station corridor, ditching my stealth training class. I know I was ecstatic to become a savior of the world and all, but, who would have thought it would be so much work. Oh well, I guess I''ll just sit up here till the day ends, God forbid the Sarge finds me up here, I''ll never hear the end of it. I open one of my eyes and scan the floor below me. You know what? Now that I look, there are quite a few cuties around here, maybe not all is as bad as I thought. I think with a rambunctious smile on my face. By the way, I¡¯m kinda gay, so girls are on my hunting list if you know what I mean. Suddenly, two kitsune girls catch my eye. They¡¯re saying farewell to a teacher, Wait, are those kitsune twins? I think rearing up excitedly. They are! OH! I want to squeeze them! I slurp up some drool and steady myself, No, Vera, now''s not the time for that, just go back to sleep. I peak at the kitsunes again. But they''re so cute, maybe just a little. I start crawling down the beams. The twins are caught by surprise as my huge snake body slides down from the rafters above onto the floor. From the coils, My human body rises off the ground slowly and I slither my way toward them. The kitsunes grab onto each other and close their eyes as if expecting to be eaten alive. What¡¯s got them so spooked?

    "Hey, I''m Vera." I greet them cheerfully. The kitsunes, still hugging each other, open their eyes and look up at my hand, outstretched to greet them.

    "Whew!" they breathe a sigh of relief. They release each other.

    "Why''d you have to go and scare us like that!" the twins yell in unison.

    "Woah now I just wanted to say hello," I say with my hands raised.

    "Well, if that''s the case, it''s nice to meet you." The twins reply "I''m Tsuki, and I''m Taiyo!" Tsuki bows as Taiyo does a small hop followed by a cute pose. I, no longer able to control myself, lunge forward and hug them, pressing them against my bosom.

    "You''re both so adorable!" I yell squeezing them tighter.

    "Hold on, a minute." The twins yelp, "Can''t, breathe!" They exclaim, struggling to break free.

    "Oh, sorry sometimes I forget my own strength" I state nervously, releasing them.

    Before the twins could speak, however, I zip behind them and places my arms over their shoulders.

    "Why don''t we hang out, I know a pretty chill spot over by the-" I¡¯m interrupted,

    "VERA!!!!" a loud, angry voice rattles the walls

    "Oh no..." I whisper fearfully under my breath.

    "Someone told me you were hanging on the ceiling again, is that why you skipped training today, HUH!?" The enraged voice yells. It''s Sergeant Guile!. I let off the kitsunes.

    "Tell you what..." I start saying, slithering away.

    "Get over here now young lady!" Sergeant Guile screams while running toward us.

    "I''ll catch you guys at later date, see ya!" I tell them as my slithering picks up the pace into what you could assume to be a full on sprint. Sergeant Guile charges past them he bellows out

    "When I catch you, you''ll regret all of your piss poor life decisions you mangy snake!" I slide around a corner thinking I lost the Sergeant, sucker! I think, reaching an intersecting hallway.

    *SLAM*

    Sergeant Guile tackles me from the left with enough force to knock the wind out of me.

    "H-how?" I ask, struggling to breathe.

    "You really aren''t that hard to read shit for brains, now get up, we''re heading back to stealth training" Guile states angrily. As I raise myself, a bell rings signifying the end of the day, I laugh ad begin to mock Guile.

    ¡°Looks like the day''s ended sarge, guess I''ll head home and... " Guiles elbow slams into my face knocking me down again and sending me into a haze

    "Well, that''s just too damn bad princess, guess you''ll have to pull an all-nighter, huh?" He drags me away by my arm,

    "Whyyyy?" I groan, tears running down my face as I imagine never seeing my warm bed tonight.

    Meanwhile, across the street,

    What a pissed off looking girl. That¡¯s what people say quietly as I pass them on the sidewalk. They rush to avoid me and immediately look away. I don¡¯t really give a shit. At least they know better than to piss me off. My name is Fane, a drake with a very, very short temper. I don¡¯t wear much for clothes, too much clothing pisses me off. But just because I¡¯m practically naked doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m eliciting sex, dickhead. With sharp, glaring eyes I look around. I notice people talking and laughing in a park as well as.. a lamia? Being pulled across the floor in the distance? This place is fucking annoying. Then out of nowhere a delinquent lookin¡¯ ass motherfucking oni bumps into me, shoving me aside. The fuck!? I spin around quickly.

    "HEY, ASSHOLE!" I yell, the Oni turns around. He has one stupid ass looking face. I won¡¯t describe it because it¡¯s so stupid.

    "You talkin'' to me?" He asks sharply. Who does he think he is? I charge up to him yelling.

    "Who the fuck else do you think I''m talking to, dickbreath!?" People start crowding the area like a bunch of nosey sheep, have they never seen a damn fight before? Like, fuck all you guys! The oni smirks at me.

    "Look, girl, just let it go." He says mockingly. My eye twitches with anger. He then slowly scans my body with his eyes

    ¡°Hey, I like tough girls like you. How¡¯s about me and you hang out? I promise you¡¯ll¡­ enjoy yourself¡± he says flirtatiously. Now I¡¯m really mad, do I look like a two-bit whore to you asshole!? Flames start bleeding from my mouth.

    "Don¡¯t fuck with me!" I yell, flames now pouring from my mouth with every word.

    "You mother-" I swing my fist at the Oni,

    "FUCKER!!!!" I yell as the oni lifts his hand to grab my fist Thinking his strength is far superior to mine. What a joke.

    *CRACK*

    The bones in his hand shattered. My fist, with his hand still on it, plows into his chest sending him flying back. He falls to the ground.

    "Th-the fuck?!" He screams. The pain from his pulverized hand starting to set in.

    "My hand! you bitch!" His anger is crushed when he looks up. My towering, darkened figure is now standing above him, fire leaking from either side of my face.

    *pop*

    *pop*

    I crack my knuckles.

    "I''m not done with you yet, fuckface," I growl.

    "W-wait!" He pleads.

    "I''m finished! You win, look, I''m not gonna fight back!" I glare at him.

    "Naw..." I hiss

    "We''ll be done here..." I snarl, grabbing the oni''s collar and raising my fist.

    "WHEN YOU''RE FUCKING DEAD!!!" I yell and starts to swing. The oni screams as my punch closes in.

    *PSHHHT*

    (Narrator chimes in)

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    Fane''s fist stops inches from the oni''s face, her eyes widen and her pupils dim. She falls face first onto the ground, the oni still paralyzed by fear looks at her now motionless body. Bystanders look to see a dart lodged in her neck. Footsteps can be heard closing in. Everyone looks to see Sgt. Guile, still dragging Vera, walk up and toss Fane''s body over his shoulder. He looks at the Oni

    "I''ll be taking her to the detention center, You should go to the medical bay and get your hand fixed..." He says calmly. Guile looks down a little

    "And a new pair of pants." He points down at the oni''s soaked trousers. Guile walks off, a spectacle to be held, with an unconscious Drake slumped over his shoulder and a crying Lamia being dragged behind him. The Oni stands up and walks awkwardly toward the medical bay. I''ll get back at that bitch, you''ll see! He thinks to himself. Meanwhile, Fane, mumbles about how cute lizards are happily in her sleep, a smile pasted nicely across her demonic little face.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Back at the training grounds,

    Sgt. Guile drags Vera to the stealth training field. The field is covered by sandbag barriers, fake bushes, concrete barricades, basically anything you can use to sneak around. There are even tunnels dug under the ground as alternate routes. Guile opens a duffle bag he''s been carrying.

    "Ok, Vera, take this knife and vest." Guile tosses what seems to be a plastic knife with a dull metal edge and neoprene shirt

    "You should know how this works, the vests have sensors in them..." Guile is cut off

    "And if we''re hit with the knife''s edge the vests will glow where the cut is, I know," Vera says annoyed as she puts on the vest. Guile walks toward the center of the field,

    "Remember, now''s not the time for slacking, dickhead!" Guile yells out into the darkness.

    "If you can strike me three times we can both go home." He turns to find Vera has already disappeared into the surroundings.

    "But don''t rush..." Guile starts, he hears a quiet sliding sound behind him.

    "Because if you do, you''ll never even touch me!" He yells turning around, blocking Vera''s knife hand and runs the knife across her stomach. Vera jumps back,

    "Damn!" She groans as she slithers back into the bushes.

    "To sneak up on your opponent is to hunt them..." Guile starts lecturing,

    "The only time they should know you''re attacking..." He sees Vera at the corner of his eye, he ducks under her swing and slides the knife across her right side.

    "Is when you''ve already secured the kill" He finishes. Vera slides back into the shadows.

    An eerie silence sets in, Guile has nothing more to say and Vera is stalking, waiting for her moment. One minute, two minutes, three painfully long minutes pass.

    *FWOOSH*

    Vera flies out from the shadows straight at Guile. The sergeant, however, turns immediately to counter. Vera quickly grips the sarge''s knife hand and moves it aside, she then strikes his chest with her knife and darts back into the shadows.

    "Good, but not good enough!" Guile starts again

    "let''s see if that works again!" Guile finishes and readies himself. Guile hears Vera''s slithering, but its location is strange, he looks down and realizes where he''s standing. Guile has positioned himself just over the entrance of a subterranean tunnel. He starts to move but it was too late, Vera jumps out and tags his leg at the achilles tendon. She dives back into the hole before Guile could react.

    "You know..." Guile says

    "We won''t see any damage unless you hit the vest¡­" He pauses.

    "But I''ll count it." He smiles and shifts away from the tunnel, now he''s ready for anything¡±

    *dink*

    *dink*

    *dink*

    The sound of Vera''s knife tapping on the concrete barricades. She''s masking her own sound with the echoes of her knife Guile thinks to himself.

    *dinK*

    *diNK*

    *dINK*

    The sound gets closer.

    *DINK*

    It stops. Guile listens closely. He hears the crunch of the sandbags next to him being grabbed. Suddenly, Vera flies out from behind the sandbags, but he is ready for her, Guile grabs her knife hand and she grabs his. Guile throws Vera down, gets on top of her, positions his knife over her chest and starts lowering it. Vera smirks.

    *poke*

    Guile stops, closes his eyes and smiles

    "Well, I''ll be damned." Guile says, finally realizing her knife hand is empty. Vera moves her tail away from his back, fused to the tip is her knife.

    "That makes three," She says smugly. Guile gets off of her,

    "You sneaky little snake." He states with a sigh.

    "That''s how you jumped out from behind sandbags." he says, thinking back.

    "The knife was on your tail behind the concrete barricade, that''s where the noise was coming from." He concludes, lying on the floor. Vera rises,

    "So I did it, right?" She asks, looking at him with tired eyes.

    "Yeah, you did good, just don''t skip class anymore you hear?" Guile says softly.

    "I don''t know..." Vera starts

    "you kinda kept me up late..." She stops when Guile rises.

    "VEEERRRAAAA..." He says menacingly. Vera raises her hands

    "Ok, ok I get it." She says nervously.

    "Anyway we should go ba-" Guile is cut off by a surge of pain,

    "GAH!" He falls to one knee.

    "Sarge!" Vera screams, darting to his aid. Guile is holding his chest tightly.

    "How long have you been out?" She asks

    "Sixteen hours, I got up at seven this morning." Guile answers. Vera helps him to his feet,

    "You shouldn''t push yourself," She says warmly and pulls his arm over her shoulder. Guile smirks,

    "Hey, you got better at stealth didn''t you?" Guile says and starts laughing. Vera looks at him unamused.

    "I''ll take you to the hospital, okay?" She says as they start walking off. Heh! that''s just like her, Guile thinks to himself, the hospital about a block away now, she acts lazy most of the time, even to the point of pissing me off. but when it counts she works harder than most people, He thinks looking over at Vera.

    "Aaaaaaaggggghhhh" Vera calls out

    "I''m starting to get tired, can''t I just drop you here and let you crawl to the hospital on your own?" She says in a whiny tone.

    "DON''T! YOU! DARE!" Guile snarls, gripping the back of her neck forcefully.

    "OW! OW! just kidding, just kidding, mercy! geez." She cries out. Ok, maybe I spoke a little too soon, Guile thinks to himself as they reach the hospital doors.

    The next day during Fiend Biology Class,

    Class, the most pointless part of the day. However, I¡¯ve found a way to get through it and make good use of it. You see, the best part of this school is the simulation, a perfect recreation of our world in virtual reality, able to transport you to a world where one can truly hone his skill, and I managed to download it to my helmet. You see, I am a dullahan, a headless human with a few added bonuses, among them the ability to see imminent death, and my favorite ability, Harbinger. Harbinger allows me to increase the power of my attacks by charging them up first. The longer I charge, the stronger the attack, though it¡¯s loud and obvious as all hell. So, to keep my detached head firmly where it is supposed to be normally, I have a helmet specially made to attach to my suit and keep it in place. This helmet also serves to let me use the simulation wherever I please, even in class. During the simulation, the helmet stops my ability to move in the real world and turns the impulses into movement in the sim, so people don¡¯t notice me acting crazy in class and call me out on it. However, this time, right as the simulation ended, something caught my eye which made me jerk, and due to it being right as the simulation ended, it affected the real world, and it was anything but subtle.

    ¡°Problem Cadet?¡± Staff Sergeant Guile bellows from the front of the room as I right myself.

    ¡°Uh, no sir.¡± I fumble to get the words out, still trying to get my senses together after that display. He sighs and looks the floor, the pointer he had in his hand slumping to his side in exasperation.

    ¡°Vaughn, you need to pay more attention in class, when we go out to the field today you¡¯ll be running an extra two miles and I exp-¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Bullshit!¡± I cut Guile off in the middle of his reprimand. ¡°Why should I be forced to sit here in class learning about pointless things like,¡± I gesture towards the board which has an image of the anatomy of a brute divided up into sections on it, ¡°the digestive system of a brute when I could find that out by practicing the sim, and improve my other skills at the same time!¡± I yell, indignant towards the instructor. I look out over the rest of my classmates, ¡°You¡¯ve all seen it for yourself, I¡¯m undefeated in the sim, nothing you¡¯ve taught them can make them best me.¡± People nod from all around the class slowly in recognition, me having beaten all of them at least once and my record perfectly clear of losses. ¡°I¡¯ve topped the leaderboards in every category and have set records, and you say that this knowledge here can make me better and is a better use of my time?¡± I state all of this totally indignant, gazing down at Guile, daring him with my eyes to challenge me.

    ¡°Fine, if you think that your sim is the ultimate in training, that nothing can beat you because of it, let''s put that to the test, shall we? Me versus you in the simulator. One match, you win, you get free access to anywhere on the campus until graduation. You don¡¯t have to attend even one more class, you could spend all of your time in the sim or at the shooting range if you wanted to, however, if I win, you come here and attend every class from now on, no more ignoring class to do simulations, you come here to learn properly, and you do five extra miles.¡± I grin, knowing that he¡¯s just challenged me to the one thing I know I can best Guile at.

    ¡°Alright, sounds good to me, let¡¯s do this thing shall we?¡± I look at him, I know I will win, and my face shows it.

    ¡°Come class, let me show you exactly what all this training you are doing can give back to you.¡± He says as he begins to stride in the direction of the simulator, everyone following behind him. People are excited now, it¡¯s the match of the century, after all, the undefeated king of the simulator versus Guile, the instructor always riding people about the importance of class. I¡¯m going to make you regret those words about letting me use the simulator whenever I want Guile, you¡¯ll see.

    (Guile''s POV)

    The round started, and the cityscape formed before my eyes. A familiar sight, I knew where I was going as I began to run. Armed with a pistol and my knife, I made my way to the large skyscraper that was close to Vaughn¡¯s started position. As a sniper, of course he would make his way there so he could have sight over everything around him. It was a huge map, intended to be able to accept any kind of playstyle and truly simulate a real battle within a city. I made it within two miles before his first shot rung out. Even trying to avoid his line of sight, Vaughn knew the locations people would use to get close to his position after so many rounds of the sim, so he managed to notice me even despite my best efforts. It being a round from a 20mm rifle, it made the world around me explode, concrete from the cover it shred flew everywhere like shrapnel and I was blown off my feet. The pistol was lost, being flung far away from me, and out into the open where Vaughn would make mincemeat of me if I decided to try and retrieve it. For a cadet, Vaughn both shot and acted like a trained professional. Thirteen or more hours a day of either simulation or the shooting range would do that to a person, give them long enough. Instead, I ran towards the tower, avoiding his line of sight and continuing to make my way there.

    The next two miles were hell to get through, constantly under fire no matter the route I took, only narrowly avoiding each of his shots as he put round after round in my direction. However, once I got close enough to his tower, he stopped firing, I was too close for his rifle to get an angle on me. I began cautiously ascending the stairs, making my way towards the room I knew he was in from taking note of the flash of every shot. As I approached the room, I was careful to take note of everything in my surroundings. I knew Vaughn had access to claymores, so it was fairly obvious he¡¯d have one guarding his back. Low and behold, I found the mine¡¯s tripwire on the threshold of the doorway that held Vaughn. After swiftly disarming it, I readied the knife I had with me. I¡¯d end this with one swift blow to the back of his head, Vaughn¡¯s tough for a dullahan, but even he can¡¯t survive a knife blow to the skull. I closed the distance and made my move, pouncing towards him, bringing the knife down to strike the blow. However, as my knife sunk through the helmet, I realized my mistake. My one error was believing Vaughn needed his head to fight. He must have known I had gotten too close to his position to keep firing, but instead of moving set up a trap and left his head in a hiding place, of course, he wouldn¡¯t stay in a position he knew was compromised without a good plan. Dullahan¡¯s bodies can sense things and fight very well even without a head to see, they can even ¡°hear¡± without their ears.

    So as I came down with my knife, he twisted upwards with his. I barely avoided it in time, rolling out of the way just as it came up. We both rolled into fighting positions and he was the first to make a move, drawing his pistol. I moved quickly to dodge his first three round burst, getting in close to try and get the gun from him. The knife came up and I blocked his arm, pushing it to the side, as I held the gun back just in time to avoid his second three round burst of fire. I knocked it out of his hand just as he came back down with his knife, recovering from the block and I backed up to get out of the way. He slashed again and this time I successfully disarmed him, knocking the knife away. However, Vaughn is stubborn enough to carry a second knife, always refusing to be disarmed and out of options. He stabbed it towards me and I barely made it out of the way in time, but I got the opportunity, and so I stripped him of his final weapon. Now it was my turf, hand to hand combat was my specialty, so I launched a punch into his chest, expecting him to panic, and falter.

    I was wrong, instead, he gave me a punch to the stomach in return. He stumbled back a bit and so did I. Right. He didn¡¯t have his head here, so taking him down and finishing this fight would be a pain with fists and he might even best me. So instead I came at him, acting like I was going for another punch and sure enough he swung at me, eager to trade blows. But my attack was just a feint and I rolled for the pistol he had been disarmed of earlier. I grabbed it and put one shot into his shoulder, the blow causing him to leave his back open to me. I put the last two rounds in the gun directly into his back, on a path to his heart. However, as I said earlier, Vaughn isn¡¯t known for being one who gives up easily. Despite his wounds, his body looked at me with what could only be described as a look that said: ¡°You¡¯ve done it now.¡± However, as he strode towards me, determined to win, I grabbed one of his fallen knives and charged into him, sliding into under his solar plexus and right up into him. His body finally failing, just before he went down he put up his hands and put them to my neck, trying in a last desperate attempt to choke me, and win the simulation. But it was to no avail, his wounds took him and the simulation ended, Vaughn¡¯s win streak came to a close.

 Not A Chapter: Character Gallery

    Spoiler: Taiyo (Gold) & Tsuki (Silver/Black)<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">

    Spoiler: Vera<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">

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    Spoiler: Fane<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">

    Spoiler: Vaughn<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">

 Chapter 3: The team comes together.

    (Staff Sgt Guile''s POV)

    The new squads have been determined based on skill and chosen roles and weapons for each individual so that each team is fairly balanced and can react to all sorts of situations. Personally, I think it''s a vast improvement over the old "choose your own teams" system, that one had a rather high mortality rate due to the lack of flexibility most teams had. Right now I''m reading the dossiers of the members of each of the teams.

    One team, in particular, has caught my attention: Squad 108-F. I''m still wondering why this group was put together. Its a fricken group of very skilled misfits! Every bloody one of them is a troublemaker! First off, there is Fane, a ball of rage incarnate. She''s always angry about something, and quite often gets into fights. When she became a savior she chose to be a Drake, human-sized dragons quite well known for their temper and aggression. She''s basically a berserker in combat, wielding some combination of spear, knives, and hand cannons she calls pistols. Custom 14mm magic ammo revolvers with 8-round cylinders, these massive "pistols" are her chosen guns, and honestly, I''m surprised she hasn''t broken bones firing them one-handed.

    Then there is the Split-Soul Kitsunes, Taiyo and Tsuki. They are master illusionists and pranksters. It''s not that their illusions are better than other kitsunes that specialize the same way, no they are in fact slightly worse, but the creative ways in which they utilize them. I''ve seen them prank people by making walls look like corridors and vice versa. They are always paying attention, although they are rarely serious. Unfortunately, they are loners, despite their friendly and outgoing personalities. It''s almost like they don''t really understand people and are closing off their hearts to others. These two fulfill the role of a mid ranged fire-support and scout type. They prefer magic ammo assault rifles and arachne silk armor, allowing them to not have to carry much gear around. While physically weaker than most other saviors, they make up for it with their perfect teamwork and ability to create kill-zones with overlapping fields of fire.

    The third member of the group is Vaughn, the solo combat tactical genius. He prefers combat experience over academic knowledge, although since he lost to me in the sim he has been quite studious. He use to be rather stuck up and always looked down on others, he''s gotten better since the loss. He has a strange attachment to big and unwieldy weapons, like his 20mm magic ammo cannon that he uses as a sniper rifle. He always carries a claymore mine, a backup sidearm, and two combat knives. He specializes in long-range fire-support with an emphasis on firepower, combined with his Harbinger ability he is more than capable of obliterating foes, given enough time. He''s probably the least troublesome of this team.

    Then there is Vera, the lazy lamia. Judging by her sexual preference, I''m pretty damn certain she''s going to be busy trying to get in the kitsunes'' pants. She''s a good kid, but far too lazy. I''ve personally been training her in the arts of stealth combat, she''s exceptionally good at it. Within this group she would be the designated scout and assassin, striking without warning and without being noticed. I heard she ordered a bunch of razor blades. Since her tattoo allows her to fuse weapons with her body, that might be the reason for such an odd request. Her venom power also adds to the potential of a body covered in blades, I always said she was too smart for her own good. With all this at her disposal, she''d be more suited outflanking enemy units, hiding where they might try to sneak. I just hope her overwhelming laziness doesn''t get in the way of her job.

    (Vaughn¡¯s POV)

    I stride into the auditorium, taking in my surroundings. Everyone was given a location inside the auditorium to meet up with their team, so we can get organized and see for ourselves who we¡¯ll be working with from now on. I make my way to the meeting place and I can see that I¡¯m not the first one there. I see three faces I¡¯ve seen before in various places around the campus during my time here. I don¡¯t know many of the people on campus very well, or really anybody on the campus except Guile. This is because of how often I¡¯m either in the simulation or at the shooting range, I¡¯m not one for the whole R&R thing, so I¡¯ve only seen them in passing really. On the right-hand side of the group are the pair of kitsunes that I¡¯ve seen around the halls and in a few of my classes. They never really leave each other''s side from what I¡¯ve seen of them, and they use assault rifles mainly if memory serves. Past that, I don¡¯t really know much about them other than the fact that they are pranksters, apparently. I¡¯ve seen them screw with Guile and other students a number of times with the illusions kitsunes are able to use. Nothing major really, just some harmless fun. On the left-hand side of the group of three, I see a very familiar face though I haven¡¯t actually spoken to her before. Fane, the drake girl who¡¯s constantly getting into fights. There¡¯s a reason Guile keeps a dart gun on him, and it¡¯s pretty much exclusively for Fane. It seems like every day she blows up at someone and gets into a fight. The people she fights never looks good afterward. Great, a drake with anger problems, and a pair of pranksters, how could this get any more difficult to deal with? As I approach the group and get ready to introduce myself, I hear a shout from behind me.

    ¡°LUCKYYY!!!¡± Comes a voice I recognize, oh god no. Please, no why? It¡¯s the resident lazy lamia, Vera. While, again, I haven¡¯t personally spoken to her much, she¡¯s VERY well known for the ability to slack off. While I can top the leaderboards of the sim, her powers to disappear for entire days at a time to avoid doing work outdoes everything I have learned in my entire time using the sim. I don¡¯t know how she¡¯s managed to avoid Guile¡¯s wrath for as long as she has at any given time. Though he always finds her and has gotten better at finding her hiding places, it''s still very impressive. Why, world, why me? Why did you have to stick me with a team of misfits such as these? I sigh and continue towards the group, let''s get this over with shall we? The auditorium goes dark and a light shines on the stage. A decrepit old man stands at the podium.

    ¡°It seems the president is running a bit late, so I will be-¡± He is cut off by a couple of tough-looking guys in suits. They pull him away and whisper into his ear.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± the man says, the mic barely picking up his voice. He leans in toward the mic again.

    ¡°Well, it seems the president has just arrived.¡± He starts.

    ¡°So I may now introduce, our president, Gio Bowie!¡± From the darkness came the leader of Savior Central, the president for all intents and purposes, it¡¯s complicated. This guy, he isn¡¯t what you¡¯d expect. He¡¯s tall with a huge musculature and golden hair. Seriously this guy looks less like a president and more like a super soldier, and I hear he¡¯s completely human.

    ¡°Hello cadets!¡± He yells confidently.

    ¡°We at Savior Central, strive to create the greatest warriors to face the fiend threat! All of you standing here have been chosen to become the best of the best at driving out this mysterious enemy.¡± His voice doesn¡¯t waver, he¡¯s truly confident in what he says.

    ¡°Moments ago you all received your squad numbers and the profiles of your teammates. The defense committee and I, GIO! Have personally picked your teams based on your skillsets!¡± Yup, that¡¯s the president alright.

    (Fane¡¯s POV)

    Well, this shit sucks. For one, I don¡¯t see the reason I need to be part of a team, to begin with, and two, why¡¯d it have to be these assholes? The only one here I can call acceptable is the headless because he¡¯ll stay out of my way. The others, however, can just leave for all I care.

    ¡°Now calling squad 108-F to staging room 6.¡± The intercom calls out. Looking at my PDA I see I¡¯m- I mean, we are squad 108-F. Me and the deadweights enter room 6, I¡¯m very agitated now. A creepy, emotionless, stinky, OLD AS FUCK! A woman sits at a desk before us.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Good evening, Squad 108-F,¡± She says in an annoyingly deadpan voice. Fuck this bitch, man!

    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± The two puffballs say hello back and bow like a couple of kiss asses.

    ¡°Hellooooo.¡± The snake says lazily. She, by her very nature, pisses me off.

    ¡°I¡¯m g-glad to be here¡­¡± Helmet head says, unsure of his team. FUCK YOU ASSHOLE I¡¯M GREAT! Now it¡¯s my turn I guess. Do I really have to greet this dried up bitch? Fine, I look her right in the eyes an say

    ¡°Fuck off.¡± She doesn¡¯t even look surprised. That pisses me off. The hag fiddles with her PDA for a bit.

    ¡°I see you collectively have one hundred and sixty-eight credits for your base of operations.¡± She says looking at the screen.

    ¡°What would you like to add to the base? Here is a list of the-¡± I cut her off

    ¡°TURRETS!, tons of turrets.¡± The other four look at me with a stupid look in their eyes.

    ¡°Oh, come on it would be totally metal!¡± I say in my defense. The kitsunes start giggling.

    ¡°The fuck are you laughing at small fries?¡± I snarl.

    ¡°A bunch of turrets would LITERALLY be metal.¡± They say and start laughing loudly. Fuck my life.

    ¡°So, are you all in agreement over the turre-¡± The hag is cut off.

    ¡°NO!¡± Vaughn yells, geez, he didn¡¯t need to be so loud, what an asshole.

    ¡°We need to look this over Fane! Think about this tactically.¡± He pleads with me. I roll my eyes.

    ¡°All we have to do is kill a bunch of fiends, right? They¡¯re mindless drones, right? So why can¡¯t we just mindlessly slaughter them all?¡± I state. Vaughn¡¯s hand twitches, he wants to hit me, alright, let¡¯s fucking go! As I¡¯m about to ready myself.

    ¡°OI!¡± a voice calls out from the side of the room, Vera made her way on top of some lockers and is lying down.

    ¡°All this arguing is making me tired,¡± She says. Bitch! You just started talking.

    ¡°Why not just let Vaughn deal with the base stuff, just relax, Fane¡± I really want to punch her. But thinking about what Vaughn said, maybe it would be better to let a tactical genius deal with the base, not that I¡¯ll ever say that aloud.

    ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t wanna deal with this bullshit anyway,¡± I say walking toward the back of the room.

    ¡°Hey, Vaughn can we have hoverbikes, please! Please! Pleeeeease!!!!¡± the kitsunes start hopping up and down next to Vaughn.

    ¡°No! We need a Helicopter, think about Vera!¡± He looks over at the now drowsing snake.

    ¡°THINK about her, don¡¯t actually look¡­¡± They start to argue over what should be installed in our base. I sit down in a chair close to the wall.

    ¡°You look stressed, you need to relax a little¡± a voice hisses behind me as hands grab my shoulders and start messaging. I jump up and turn to see Vera had snuck up on me.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± I ask her suspiciously.

    ¡°I felt we should discuss our squad name.¡± she says innocently.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really care what it is as long as it has FIRE in the name or FLAME or INFERNO!¡± I state proudly. At the same time, the kitsunes¡¯ ears twitch toward our conversation.

    ¡°We wanna join in on the naming too!¡± They run over. I dread to think what kind of sissy ass name these two dust bunnies come up with.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave then,¡± Vera says slithering back toward the lockers.

    ¡°Where the hell are you going?¡± I ask.

    ¡°You have the Kitsunes to help you now, three brains are better than two I¡¯d say.¡± she retorts. WHAT ABOUT FOUR BRAINS YOU NUMBSKULL!?!?!? I think, but let it go.

    ¡°We have the perfect name, and it includes fire!¡± The fuzzballs say excitedly. This catches my interest, no name with the word fire could possibly suck, right?

    ¡°What you got?¡± I ask.

    ¡°FIREFOXES!¡± They say cheerily. I regret everything!

    ¡°Wait, that doesn¡¯t work, Vaughn is a guy.¡± They say defeated. I honestly don¡¯t think Vaughn¡¯s gender has anything to do with what¡¯s wrong with that name.

    ¡°Listen fleabags, come up with something that makes sense or I¡¯ll sear the fur right off your little tails,¡± I tell them sharply. They look at me thinking. They suddenly get an idea, but before they could say anything I remind them.

    ¡°And nothing involving foxes!¡± They smile.

    ¡°We got something better,¡± they say creepily in unison. What have I done?

    (Vaughn¡¯s POV)

    I can hear the kitsunes, Vera, and Fane going back and forth while I try and make my decisions on what the base actually needs, God can they be more loud and annoying? Fane insists on yelling, which is aggravating the headache that she¡¯s given me since I met her. Right now, they are trying to decide on the name, but at this point, my attention is drawn back to the choices, right, what do we need. First of all, a power generator, nothing''s gonna work if we can¡¯t power it, that¡¯s what it all comes back to. An alarm system will be necessary, if we get caught by surprise, that¡¯d be it, all it¡¯d take is a few crawling chaos¡¯s and we¡¯d all be dead. Speaking of which, a light generator is going to be necessary, less because we need to see that much outside the base, after all, night vision exists, but a few fiends are weaker in the light, so it¡¯s a good idea to make use of them. A neo medical bay will be necessary for attending to the teams wounds, a limb missing is no laughing matter, not everyone can get back up after that. A support drone will help for base maintenance, not only are actual personnel for that task too expensive, but they¡¯d attract fiends like moths to a flame.

    We¡¯ll need a helicopter to get to our missions, since Vera requires extra effort in the transportation department. Now onto defenses, I can agree, turrets will be necessary. I¡¯ll get two of those so we can have some semblance of a defense for the base, considering it¡¯s an old abandoned fort, the lack of entrances should allow them to shred anything that comes to assault us. However, we can make it better. We have just enough points for something that caught my eye since the beginning, an AI. This should help us out immensely, the ability to gain such a tactical advantage as this is astounding. Not only will the AI be able to perform its normal duties and aid the turrets, with the Aimbot upgrade for the AI itself, we can turn it into a weapon truly fit to defend our base. This should do just fine, a base that we can call home, and can keep us safe when we are outside of missions. I nod, the list complete, now back to reality to find out what the others are screaming about now. I turn to see the kitsunes back to back in what can be only described as a ridiculous pose.

    ¡°Squad name!¡± They say dramatically.

    ¡°FIRE WITH FIRE!!!¡± They yell as a plume of flame explodes behind them, Fane, rises from the inferno screaming ¡°URA¡± repeatedly like an idiot.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you came up with? And what¡¯s with the poses?¡± I ask confused.

    ¡°It¡¯s a stand thing¡­¡± they state as if it¡¯s obvious.

    ¡°A what?¡± I ask, not knowing what the hell is going on. They walk up to me, Fane still posing. They put their hands on my shoulders, reassuringly.

    ¡°We¡¯re so sorry for you.¡± They say in unison. At this point, I really don¡¯t care anymore.

    ¡°Have you all agreed on your name being Fire with Fire?¡± Mrs. Abernathy asks. I look at Vera who already has her thumb up in approval and I already know Fane and the kitsunes¡¯ stance on it. I sigh.

    ¡°Yes. We are all in approval of-¡± I stop to really get a feel for this, uh, flattering name?

    ¡°Fire with¡­ Fire.¡± I say with a droning tone. It¡¯ll grow on me with time, I guess.

    ¡°Well if we¡¯re all done here¡­¡± Mrs. Abernathy takes a deep breath.

    ¡°Get the hell out of my office.¡± She says coldly. As if without missing a beat I hear a thud behind me. I turn to see Vera constricting Fane who has been unsurprisingly triggered by what was just said to her. She starts up a storm, flames shooting out of her mouth.

    ¡°LET ME AT THAT BITCH!!! I¡¯LL ROAST HER SAGGY ASS TITS INTO FUCKING ASHES NOT THAT I NEED TO, THEY''RE PROBABLY ALREADY DUST AS IT IS!!! THAT DRIED UP SLUT COULDN¡¯T FIND HER HUSBAND IF SHE SEARCHED EVERY FUCKING CEMETARY IN THE STATE BECAUSE HE¡¯S STILL TRAPPED IN HER RUBBERY AS FUCK CUNT!!! I¡¯LL RIp her¡­ fucking head off her¡­ shoulders and¡­ shit... down her¡­ fucking... throooat...¡± Fane finally passes out from oxygen deprivation. You know what, I¡¯ll give it to her for being dedicated enough to say all that with limited air, damn. I turn to see Mrs. Abernathy noticeably peeved. And that scares even me.

    ¡°W-We¡¯ll be taking our leave now,¡± I assure her as I drag Vera out, Fane still unconscious in her coils. The kitsunes follow suit. Two kids, a lazy snake, a raging drake and me. These are the cards that I¡¯ve been dealt, this is squad 108-F, also known as Fire with Fire.

 Chapter 4: Too much training can be hazardous to your health.

    (Narrator POV)

    A new day begins for our newly founded heroes. Taiyo and Tsuki charge from their empty and all around boring room, excitedly, and head towards the base. There, they are directed to room 108, the squad¡¯s meeting location. They enter the room, no one¡¯s here yet. They sit down and wait¡­ nobody shows up. They are early so it¡¯s only natural no one else is around, right? They start playing patty cake for ten minutes (can you feel the boredom yet?). After five more minutes, they come to the shocking realization that their team is not going to assemble.

    ¡°M-maybe they¡¯re just running late,¡± Taiyo says hopefully to Tsuki.

    ¡°Y-yeah,¡± Tsuki responds unsure.

    They bow their head in thought. Then, suddenly, they look up at one another and nod their heads. They storm out of the base and head back toward the residential district, toward their dormitory. Luckily, the day before, everybody received the profiles of the other members and on them was their room numbers, it was just a matter of getting them out. First, was Vaughn. He was in room 207.

    *knock* *knock*

    The kitsunes knock on his door. No answer.

    *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

    Many of the neighboring room doors open. The kitsunes¡¯ loud knocking had caught the attention some of the neighbors, now peering out from inside their rooms.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Vaughn¡¯s distant voice can be heard as the door swings open. He¡¯s wearing casual clothes on his body, That is, what answered the door was only his body. The eerie smoke that pours from neck scans around before noticing the short fox-girls.

    ¡°Oh! Hey guys!¡± Vaughn yells, his voice echoing from within the room. They peak around his body and see that his head, wearing his helmet, is on a coffee table in his living room. Many pictures and replicas of old guns from different eras can be seen hung neatly on the walls. The kitsunes look up at the smokey head of Vaughn, teary eyed.

    ¡°Eh- EH?! Calm down, what¡¯s wrong? Did something happen? Um¡­ eh¡­ I¡¯m sorry?¡± Vaughn says nervously, unsure of what¡¯s going on.

    ¡°Hey, did he just make those girls cry?¡± Someone questions.

    ¡°Yeah, what a douche bag,¡± another one answers.

    ¡°SHUT THE HELL UP!¡± Vaughn screams in his¡­ defense?

    ¡°W-we were supposed t-to meet up at th-the training h-hall.¡± They hiccup as they wipe tears from their faces.

    ¡°What?¡± Vaughn asks confused.

    ¡°What time is it?¡± He looks at the clock on the wall.

    ¡°WOAH! I got caught up in my simulations and lost track of time, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He apologizes.

    ¡°I am the only one that¡¯s late, right?¡± He asks. The kitsunes look at him, tears start pouring even more from their eyes. He walks away, gets his head, puts on his (totally radical) biker outfit, walks out of his room and closes the door.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get em!¡± he says reassuringly. Next, is Vera in room 215, just down the hall from Vaughn. The kitsunes knock lightly on her door.

    ¡°Whaaaaat¡­¡± Vera groans from inside.

    ¡°Open up!¡± Vaughn says assertively.

    ¡°Five more minutes¡­¡± Her voice is slightly muffled, her head probably buried in her pillow. Vaughn starts to get upset when the kitsunes chime in.

    ¡°Vera, you promised you¡¯d show up for the meeting today.¡± They start, their voices sounding overly sad. ¡°We waited and waited, but you never showed up.¡± They say with an obviously manipulative sad tone, that nobody would ever fall for. Vera¡¯s door swings open violently.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, my lovelies!!!¡± She yells. Vaughn facepalms at the fact she fell for that obvious trick. Vera is looking pretty slovenly right now. Wearing nothing more than a tank top with the left strap hanging loosely from her shoulder. The kitsune peer into Vera¡¯s room and are horrified at what they see.

    ¡°Your room is a mess!¡± They yell at her. Vera turns to look at her room, piles of clothes, papers and¡­ used¡­ tissues. In the pile of¡­ stuff, there is a thin snake-like path leading from the door to the bed.

    ¡°Yeah, about that. Cleaning is a real pain and I really don¡¯t feel like-¡± she is cut off by the fact the kitsunes walked in behind her rolled up her lower half, shoved her her outside her doorway.

    ¡°HEY!¡± She screams charging at them, they slam the door shut causing her to slam face-first into it.

    ¡°Geez, are they really gonna clean my room?¡± she looks over at Vaughn who is just staring at her.

    ¡°What are you loo-¡± She is about to ask before looking at herself. Vera has a habit of never sleeping with a skirt on and seeing as she rushed to the door¡­

    ¡°AAAAAHHHH! PERVERT!!!!!!¡± She screams covering up her lower bit with her hands. Vaughn jumps in shock. Vera¡¯s neighbors all look out from their rooms.

    ¡°What are you so worked up about?¡± He asks.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just look at me without my skirt, dude!¡± She snaps at him. She looks around at all the people now looking into the hallway, her face turns red. With one hand over her naked part, she knocks on the door lightly.

    ¡°Hey, girls, let me in. pleeeaaase?¡± Vera asks. The twins open up the door wearing dust masks. They shake their heads and slam the door.

    ¡°At least give me a skirt!¡± She pleads. The door swings open and one of Vera¡¯s skirts fly out and impact with her face. She hurriedly puts it on.

    ¡°That¡¯s better!¡± She seems relieved now. Vaughn sighs.

    ¡°Why do you even wear a skirt?¡± He asks. Turns out, when becoming a lamia, Vera¡¯s genitalia were¡­ moved¡­ Let¡¯s just say. she¡¯s more snake in that department.

    ¡°It just makes me feel more comfortable. I guess I¡¯m still used to feeling human is all,¡± she says, her face still bright red.

    ¡°Yeah? But you can¡¯t wear underwear right? What happens if someone looks underneath?¡± He asks curiously.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s anything down there for them to see.¡± She states proudly. Vaughn, at this point, is stunned with the sheer illogic laid out before him. Then it hits him.

    ¡°You never wear anything over the base of your tail, in that area, right? Does that mean it¡¯s always hanging out?¡± He asks concerned. Vera looks at him with a serious look in her eye.

    ¡°I¡¯ll break you.¡± She hisses. He puts up his hands and backs away slowly.

    ¡°Ok, ok I get it. We don¡¯t talk about that. Please don¡¯t do anything rash, they haven¡¯t cloned my body yet.¡± He says nervously.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± she asks confused.

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later.¡± He states. Vera¡¯s door swings open. The twins have finished clearing out the septic warzone that was Vera¡¯s room. They drag twenty-three trash bags out into the hall.

    ¡°Finished!¡± They exclaim proudly. Vera looks into her room. Everything was clean, the bed was neat, everything was sparkling.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Vera says astounded.

    ¡°Now we can get Fane.¡± The twins say walking toward the elevator at the end of the hall. Vera and Vaughn look at each other.

    ¡°Are we even ready for this?¡± Vera asks.

    ¡°More so, are we equipped for it¡­¡± Vaughn states dreading over the uphill battle ahead of them. They move up one floor and head toward room 313. As they walked down the hall they can feel a menacing, fiery aura emanating from Fane¡¯s room. They reach the door, faint heavy metal music can be heard just behind it.

    ¡°So¡­ who¡¯s gonna knock?¡± Vera asks.

    ¡°Well, she seems to hate me the most, so, I¡¯m not doing it.¡± Vaughn states.

    ¡°Vera, you know how to subdue her, right? You do it!¡± The kitsunes say, laying it all on Vera.

    ¡°But, what if she comes out breathing fire and kills me on the spot?¡± She says staring fearfully at the door.

    ¡°Pleeeease?¡± The kitsunes plead giving Vera the ultimate puppy-dog eyes.

    *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

    Vera slams her fist against the door. Vaughn, currently facepalming, again. Fane¡¯s door opens slightly, her music, blaring from her room. She peeks her head out from inside her room and sees the twins fall to the floor holding their ears.

    ¡°Turn it off! Turn it off!¡± They yell. Fane looks back up at Vera giving absolutely no fucks.

    ¡°The hell do you guys want?!¡± Fane asks yelling over her own music. Suddenly, her music shuts off, Vera¡¯s tail had snuck in the crack of the door and hit the radio¡¯s power button. Even though Vera couldn¡¯t see inside she was able to follow the vibrations to their source. The kitsunes stop rolling around in pain.

    ¡°You bitch.¡± Fane snarls.

    ¡°The music was hurting the kitsunes.¡± Vera hisses back. The air thickens with the tension caused by these two reptiles.

    ¡°I thought pets weren¡¯t allowed in the building, Vera,¡± Fane says smugly.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°We¡¯re not pets!¡± The twins yell.

    ¡°Ok, Fane, cool it, it¡¯s time to go train¡± Vaughn remarks sharply. Fane stares at him.

    ¡°Now look here dickhead who the hell do you think you are ordering me arou-¡± she¡¯s cut off.

    ¡°The guy that¡¯s beaten you 13 times in the simulation arena¡± Vaughn retorts, you can feel the smile plastered on his face.

    ¡°Fucker, I¡¯ll kill you¡­¡± She stops herself from moving forward. ¡°What do you guys want anyway?¡± She asks aggressively.

    ¡°I JUST TOLD YOU!¡± Vaughn yells. Fane, unhappy with Vaughn¡¯s lour response, moves to say something accidentally causing her door to swing open, revealing her room to everyone. It can be only described as, uh, gothic? Punkish? Heavy soundproof padding can be seen coating the walls and door and on top of the padding, posters of heavy metal bands, spiked accessories, gore movies and other¡­ gothic punky things. But off against the back wall, out of place, is a table with cute lizard plushes neatly laid out, side by side. Fane walks out of her room, closes her door lightly behind her, blushing.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get the fuck outta here.¡± She says walking toward the elevator. They head to base quietly, together this time, and enter room 108.

    ¡°So¡­ What¡¯s the plan?¡± Vaughn asks as he proceeds to sit in a chair.

    ¡°Well, we could try explaining to each other what we have power-wise,¡± Fane suggests. Everyone looks at her in surprise.

    ¡°What?¡± she asks confused.

    ¡°Did you just say something substantial?¡± Vaughn asks. Fane snorts out a small plume of fire.

    ¡°Oi! I¡¯m just sayin¡¯... You know what? Fuck it! Do whatever you guys want.¡± She says peeved.

    ¡°No, no, that was a pretty good idea. Let¡¯s do that. Our profiles don¡¯t have our abilities on them so, at least this way, we¡¯ll have a better understanding of what we¡¯re working with.¡± Vaughn reassures her. For once, they agree on something.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the Kitsunes. What do you two have for powers?¡± Vaughn asks.

    ¡°We make people see things!¡± They say cheerfully. Vaughn sighs.

    ¡°And? What about your specialization and tattoo?¡± Vaughn asks clearly annoyed at their answer.

    ¡°Ooooh! We have the Reactive specialization and the Split tattoo. Our illusions are automatic and almost completely realistic. The tattoo we chose made us, well, us.¡±

    ¡°I see, so you two are the same pers-¡± Vaughn is interrupted.

    ¡°Wait! So¡­ they¡¯re not twins?¡± Vera asks, feeling betrayed. She falls to the floor about to start sobbing before coming to a realization.

    ¡°But if they¡¯re not twins, and they¡¯re the same person then...¡± Her eyes light up and she turns to them menacingly, ¡°I don¡¯t have to choose!¡± She lunges at them but gets clotheslined by Fane.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re so eager to run your mouth, why don¡¯t you go next?¡± Fane snarls.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go next!¡± Vera says recovering from the blow.

    ¡°My name is Vera, I¡¯m twenty-one years old an-¡± She¡¯s cut off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t start there! We already know your name and we have your profile right here!¡± Vaughn stops her. Vera sighs.

    ¡°Fine! My specialization is womanizing and my tattoo is messing up that sweet pu-¡± She¡¯s cut off once again.

    ¡°Vera, be serious!¡± Vaughn yells clearly agitated.

    ¡°Ok, geez. My specialization is Venom. I¡¯m not all too sure what it does, I mean, I haven¡¯t bitten anyone, yet. Oh! I can spit my venom, so, there¡¯s that. My tattoo is the, uh, what did she say it was? The National Weapon!¡± Before she can continue Vaughn interjects.

    ¡°You mean, Natural Weapon.¡± He corrects her.

    ¡°Yeah, that one! I can fuse anything to myself. Weapons, armor, clothing, medical equipment, pretty much anything I can get my hands on as long as it can fit inside me. Heh! Just realized there was a joke there, anyone else get it?¡± She pervs out while staring at Fane¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Yes, we get it, and stop looking at my tits, fish breath!¡± Fane snaps. Vera clears her throat.

    ¡°Well anyway, yeah, I can move pretty much anything throughout my body, root it firmly onto me or, as I will soon do with my stealth armor, integrate it directly with my body. Basically making my skin as tough as the armor and allowing me to go invisible. That¡¯s why I chose to buy a ton of razor blades, so I can line my body with them. That and I can spread my venom on anything currently fused to me as well. It was a win-win. I can also regenerate ammunition apparently, still wondering how I do that and yet not be able to just magic up some razor blades, or a knife.¡± She finishes on a serious note probably due to her being far too tired to keep up the witty comments.

    ¡°Thank you, Vera, and Fane, what have you got?¡± Vaughn moves the subject onto Fane.

    ¡°Well, I chose Rage as my specialization...¡± she starts

    ¡°No shit¡­¡± Vaughn grumbles under his breath.

    ¡°What?¡± Fane looks at him fiercely.

    ¡°Oh, nothing. Please, do continue.¡± He assures her. Fane releases a stream of smoke from her nose and mouth before continuing.

    ¡°So, Rage increases my strength and speed. The madder I get, the greater the effect. While enraged my body also gains near instant regeneration. For my tattoo I chose boost, I figured it¡¯d be some kind of percentage growth. Turns out it''s literally just a small boost, the same boost for everyone. It increases shit like strength, speed, stamina and what not but by a pathetically small amount.¡± She states oddly calm about that fact.

    ¡°And you just so happen to be strong enough to break an oni¡¯s hand? They¡¯re pretty damn durable you know.¡± Vera asks suspiciously.

    ¡°You saw that?¡± Fane asks curiously.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t unconscious, just defeated,¡± Vera replies.

    ¡°I see. Well anyway, yeah, I don¡¯t really get what¡¯s going on, but that frail little bitch that gave me these powers said that my disposition fucked with the Boost somehow. My Rage is mysteriously connected to my tattoo. With that in mind, my Rage, as it grows, increases the effects of my Boost.¡± She scoffs ¡°That means despite the fact my Rage ability drains my stamina faster, my Boost, which is connected to my Rage, keeps replenishing it. That and I gain enough strength to tear apart goddamn golems and speed so fast I outpace fucking harpies. Hell, if I¡¯m mad enough, really only a jet can pass me by, granted, I can¡¯t hear shit while flying at those speeds, can¡¯t see much either. Also, she said something stupid like it was too powerful or some shit like that. How can something be too powerful when you¡¯re supposed to save the world, right? So I punched her in the head before she could fix the issue.¡± Fane finishes.

    ¡°Y-you punched her? Is she still alive?¡± Vaughn asks flabbergasted.

    ¡°I dunno, there was blood and I think chunks of... stuff all over the snowy floor though. All I know is I couldn¡¯t care less and just left her there. My memory is a bit fuzzy since my body was just changed, y¡¯know.¡± Fane answers calmly. She killed the girl, The entire team thinks in unison completely shocked by what they just heard.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s me, so what about you?¡± Fane points to Vaughn. He clears his throat and shakes off the thought of Fane beating a little girl¡¯s brains out with a single hit.

    ¡°Well, my specialization is Harbinger. It allows me to charge up my weapons, or any of my appendages. That¡¯s why I chose to receive the Anzio 20mm rifle, maximum damage.¡± He states proudly.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what¡¯s been killing me in those simulation battles we did last night?¡± Fane asks clearly vexed by the thought.

    ¡°Yes, that is exactly the thing.¡± he declares. Fane starts to get frustrated but calms down.

    ¡°What? Nothing to say?¡± Vaughn asks smugly.

    ¡°The past is the past right, no reason to get mad over it.¡± She says contently, resting her head on her hand before whispering under her breath.

    ¡°Just because you were too much of a pussy to fight me face to face, goddamn fun nazi.¡±

    ¡°I heard that!¡± Vaughn retorts, apparently irked by what she just said. He sighs and continues.

    ¡°Anyway, it takes quite a bit of time to charge up my shot, usually a decent charge takes up to a minute and a half. Not to mention how obvious I become. From the small vortex of shadows and bright purple flames to making the earth itself literally shake beneath my feet, it¡¯s not exactly subtle. My tattoo, on the other hand, is a trade secret.¡± Everyone stares at him intensely. He attempts to ignore it, but, resistance is futile. He gives in.

    ¡°Fine, if you really must know, it¡¯s Revival. Upon death, I can place my soul inside of another soulless living body.¡± He informs (There is an opening for a ginger joke.).

    ¡°But there aren¡¯t exactly a bunch of soulless fucking bodies out there that I would call living, you know,¡± Fane says noticing the clear flaw in such a power (Still... resisting... ginger jokes!).

    ¡°Wait, is that what you meant by clone, back when the twins were cleaning my room?¡± Vera asks.

    ¡°But of course, the government will provide soulless clones of myself for me to inhabit after death. Due to the reliance on technology, this tattoo was only just recently added to the list of choices.¡± He states (Ginger... clones... no, I am a classy narrator, I will never stoop to such lows... NEVER!!!). Vaughn feels a tug on his shirt. Looking down he sees it¡¯s the kitsunes.

    ¡°Yes?¡± He asks

    ¡°Fane brought up something interesting earlier, you spend a lot of time in the sim, right?¡± They ask him impatiently.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± He confirms.

    ¡°And you never leave your room?¡± They dig deeper.

    ¡°Not really, where is this going?!¡± Vaughn demands answers about their sudden meddling.

    ¡°What do you eat?¡± They get to the point.

    ¡°MREs, I usually stock up on them so I don¡¯t have to go out often.¡± He informs them.

    ¡°WHAT?! That¡¯s it?!¡± They ask surprised.

    ¡°Well, sometimes I go crazy and eat something other than standard MREs.¡± He assures them.

    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± They ask anxiously.

    ¡°Sometimes I buy some pita bread and refried beans... I put the beans, on the bread and proceed to gorge myself on that heavenly combo.¡± Vaughn seems pleased with himself. He then notices the kitsunes looking at him with disgust, no, not just the kitsunes, everyone is looking at him this way, aside from Fane.

    ¡°What?¡± He asks surprised.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know what I eat is healthy and very much delicious.¡± He eagerly informs them.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to the cafeteria, Vaughn.¡± The girls say in unison, once again, aside from Fane.

    ¡°Um¡­ ok.¡± Vaughn follows them confused, Fane trailing just in front of him.

    ¡°So, why don¡¯t you join them in teasing me? It seems like you missed an opening.¡± Vaughn says to Fane. She turns her head, she has a dejected expression.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t feel like it, is all.¡± She answers and leaves it there. The team walks into to the cafeteria.

    ¡°Sit down here and wait for us.¡± The kitsunes happily state while pointing at a free table.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Vaughn and Vera say as they take a seat next to one another. Fane inaudibly cursing under her breath sits down opposite of Vera. Vaughn and Vera look over at the kitchen in amazement as the kitsunes, working in perfect unison, preparing a meal. They are quick and precise. After about fifteen minutes of waiting the kitsunes walk out with an amazing looking meal consisting of many different things (Use your imagination!).

    ¡°Wow! This looks so good!¡± Vera shouts in awe. She throws a bit of everything on her plate and starts eating. Vaughn puts some on his plate.

    *GROOOOWL*

    The sound of someone''s stomach growling. Vaughn, Vera, and the kitsunes all look at Fane, her face a glowing bright red. Vaughn has a realization.

    ¡°Wait, the reason you weren¡¯t joining in the joke about my eating habits is because you didn¡¯t want to talk about foo-¡± He is cut off.

    ¡°Shut the hell up dickweed! I¡¯m... just a little hungry is all.¡± She says bashfully.

    ¡°Did you eat at all before we entered the sim?¡± He asks. She shakes her head angrily.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten since lunch yesterday.¡± She states. The kitsunes slowly push a plate of food toward her, hoping she wouldn¡¯t take it as a sign of disrespect. Fane¡¯s head snaps in their direction, smoke jets from her nostrils. They recoil, Taiyo bumping her back into Tsuki. Fane stares at them for a couple of seconds. She pulls the plate of food to herself.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± She says quietly and starts eating.

    ¡°Hey, this is pretty good.¡± she compliments them, still quiet, eerily quiet for Fane. The twins smile and nod with an excited ¡°Hmph!¡± as if to say ¡°you¡¯re welcome.¡± Finally, Vaughn takes off his helmet, and goes to take a bite of what¡¯s laid out before him, thinking it can¡¯t be that much better than pita bread and beans, the ultimate combo, the pinnacle of food! THE VERY LIFE GIVING SUSTENANCE OF THE UNIV-

    ¡°THIS IS DELICIOUS!!!¡± Vaughn yells out in amazement catching everyone off guard (He even cut me off, and I¡¯m the narrator!).

    ¡°Where did you guys learn to do this?¡± Vera asks politely.

    ¡°We used to work for a restaurant for a while. We even took classes in highschool.¡± They say proudly. At this point, the only thought going through Vera¡¯s head is Marry me! Vaughn is still stuffing his face with, what would probably be the best thing he¡¯s eaten in a long while. Even still, his loud munching is rather distracting.

    ¡°Hey, throat fucker! Keep it down will you?! I¡¯m trying to eat!¡± Fane screams at Vaughn.

    ¡°Shusht uup nnd injy yurrr-¡± Vaughn tries to speak with his mouth full but is cut off by Fane.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to cus me out, swallow your damn food first, dipshit!¡± Vaughn gulps violently.

    ¡°You know what? I¡¯m really starting to miss that quiet side of yours, that was goddamn tolerable!¡± He screams at Fane.

    ¡°Hey, guys let¡¯s just enjoy the meal¡­¡± The kitsune try to calm them down but they aren¡¯t listening and where else would Vera be, but sleeping on a beam above them on the ceiling. So ends the first day for Squad 108-F, aka Fire with Fire.

 Chapter 5: Simulation: Misfits Save the City

    (Narrator POV)

    After three months of working together, it¡¯s time for the cadets to graduate and become real anti-fiend soldiers. Today, all Savior Cadets will be taking their ¡°final exam¡±. This ¡°exam¡± is done with one¡¯s squad and grades the cadets on several things, the greatest of which are teamwork and on-the-fly decision making. The cadets are told that it is a tournament and that the last ten teams will be held back, of course, this is a lie. The only squads that are held back, are the ones who fail to understand what the word teamwork means, or the ones who clearly have no idea what they are doing. These squads are given more intense training and fewer privileges, regardless of how good an individual in the group is.

    (Taiyo¡¯s POV)

    ¡°Next up: Squad 108-F,¡± says the announcer, calling for the next team to step up and show their skill in the Simulations. Looks like it¡¯s our turn to show our skills. The simulated missions seem to be truly random; so far we¡¯ve seen missions ranging from escort types to city-defence-and-evac types, with difficulties ranging from a handful of fiends to rogue paramilitary ops, to hordes of fiends. Not to mention weather conditions ranging from clear skies to blizzards. So far there has been nothing too ridiculous, yet. These simulations are of course done in a Virtual Reality environment and are highly realistic, as expected of a military grade simulation program.

    The team currently in first place is Squad 86-F, who successfully evacuated an entire city from a horde of fiends with no friendly casualties. Unfortunately, they lost the city, since they had no way to kill the behemoth. This event is a tournament in a way, each team gets a simulated mission and are scored on how well they did. The scoring is done on a percentile basis, and ranked on a difficulty system, as well, the completion of an objective will give a certain percent based on how well it was completed. For example, Squad 86-F scored a 75% on a very hard mission, broken down their score looks like this: All Squad Members Alive: +20/20, Perfect Completion of Primary objectives: +55/55, Failure to Complete Secondary Objectives: +0/25.

    Well, it¡¯s time to begin, Tsuki and I step into the VR Pods, that we prefer, while Vera, Fane, and Vaughn put on the VR Headsets. The headsets are the more popular VR device due to their portable nature, they have internal batteries and can receive power either wirelessly through energy transmitters or with a hardwire connection to a power outlet. VR Pods, on the other hand, are stationary and hard to move around and install, they are however far more comfortable than a bed, assuming you don¡¯t get claustrophobic.

    As the simulation begins and we connect, our squad appears in a large yet plain white room. This is the ¡°Ready Room¡± where we gear up, learn our mission objectives, and the approximate difficulty level of our mission. The spectators can¡¯t see us in this room, so we have some privacy to change into our gear, and prep for the mission. After we all change into our gear, I look around. The first person I see is, of course, my other half, Tsuki, who is equipped the same way I am. We are wearing form-fitting arachne silk body armor underneath our casual clothes, while we are each holding a magic ammo version of the AAC Honey Badger PDW with its integral sound suppressor. Our gear is designed to be lightweight and allow the full range of motions while offering a pretty solid defense.

    The second person that comes into my line of sight is Vaughn, who stands at 180 centimeters tall. He is wearing a stealth suit designed to looks like a motorcycle rider¡¯s outfit and is carrying his 2-meter-long, magic ammo Anzio 20mm anti-tank cannon. On his side is a small pack filled with Claymore Anti-Personnel Mines, in a holster on his left hip is his Remington XD(M) .45 and sheathed on his chest and the small of his back are his pair of KA-BAR combat knives. Next is Vera, who looks¡­ well¡­ normal and unarmed. I suppose that is to be expected when she can assimilate her gear into her serpentine body.

    And lastly is our drake, Fane, surprisingly enough she looks the most well armored of us. Standing at 175 centimeters tall with a wingspan of 2.5 meters, she is wearing a full suit of weightless, self-repairing, light power armor. On each hip she has a holster with a magic ammo 14mm hand cannon, which she insists are just pistols, in her hand is a spear, and on her thighs are her ¡°fangs¡± in their sheaths. Off to the side of the room is our helicopter, a modified attack chopper with a cabin and a 30mm autocannon, which will be piloted by our personal AI, Magmus.

    Let¡¯s see here, what is our mission? A nigh-impossible city evacuation. WHAT THE FUCK! Mission objectives: Evacuate the Civilians and Eliminate all Fiends attacking the city. Well, at least we should have some backup from the city¡¯s garrison, and hopefully some air support. Shall we check? Hm¡­ So we¡¯ve got a squadron of fighters at our disposal, callsign Viper, a few hundred troops split between special ops and ordinary riflemen, a few tanks, and a decent number of transport copters, going to assume those are for the evacuation of the civilians. With all this at our disposal, it¡¯s still labeled nigh-impossible? What the hell are we up against? Seeing as all of us are ready, we climb into our helicopter to start the mission, all of us dead serious. Which, as far as the rest of Central is concerned, has never happened before.

    (Narrator POV)

    It should be noted that the audience can see and hear everything that occurs around the members of the squad, exactly as if they were watching a movie. And the entire audience, instructors included, is shocked. Why? Well because ¡°the Misfit Squad¡± is dead serious and have been since their mission started, even the ¡°twins¡± notorious for joking, pulling pranks, and generally taking nothing seriously. Vaughn can be heard, barking clear and concise orders over the coms to allied forces, directing them to efficiently evacuate the city¡¯s civilian population as quickly as possible. He¡¯s been doing this for a couple minutes and he hasn¡¯t seen the entire battlefield, merely listened to the comms channels. He¡¯s given a weapons-free order to their close air support with a standing order to prioritize air targets and outright ignore any behemoths that may show up.

    He tells the team¡¯s drake, Fane, to run wild with the sole limitation that she can¡¯t harm ¡°friendly¡± forces. Moments later, Vaughn fast ropes down to the roof of a large skyscraper and heads inside to set up, while Fane jumps out and flies off to find the nearest group of prey. The helo flies off with the rest of squad, heading towards a stranded group of civilians and the soldiers escorting them.

    (Tsuki¡¯s POV)

    Our heli is rapidly approaching our drop point, the heavy rain reducing visibility. We can hear and feel the sheer power of the heli¡¯s 30mm autocannon firing, as the copter slows and comes to a stop in a hover. Magmus is thinning the Fiends around our rescue targets. ¡°Drop point clear. Deploy!¡± Magmus states over comms. Our hands reach towards the fast ropes and we drop. Taiyo¡¯s and my guns making no audible noise in this downpour, as we open fire into the horde, as we drop. Vera drops after us, after safely reaching the ground, we signal Magmus with a single click of our throat mic and he flies off to help protect the evac point.

    Vera moves off cloaking herself, and generally being her sneaky snek self. Heh. Ok, back to being serious. We move inside to meet our rescue targets, climbing over the corpses of fiends and humans alike. Coming from outside, we hear several thunderous roars. Great! Just Great! Dragons! From the sound of it, quite a few too. Vaughn is gonna be busy.

    ¡°Friendlies coming in!¡± Taiyo calls out, into the building.

    ¡°Over here.¡± A man¡¯s voice calls out to us. He steps out into the open and gestures for us to follow him. Following the soldier, we are led to a large room with only one entrance. Inside are about 7 soldiers and 13 civilians, most of which appear to be children. This could be a problem.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°We¡¯ve cleared the entrance of brutes, we should get moving before more show up,¡± I say to the corporal who led us here. ¡°Think you can get everyone ready in a couple minutes?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± He comes back about a minute later, everyone ready to go.

    ¡°Alright, we are going to be moving quickly and quietly. Everyone ready?¡±

    I get nods in return, so I gesture forward and move towards the entrance, with Taiyo a half step behind. The soldiers take up a formation around the civs, and we all move as quietly as possible. Taiyo and I have to slow down for them to keep up with us, but at least they are moving decently fast.

    (Vera POV)

    I sneak through the rubble of the ruined city, scouting for enemy flankers, what I can see is terrifying. Brutes, maybe seven or eight of them going around the city block next to me. Behind them are five raiders, a plasma cutter and two vile surgeons They¡¯re out of Vaughn¡¯s line of sight and are headed toward Taiyo and Tsuki¡¯s position. I can take them, right? I think to myself. I just need to get close and get them with my blades or point blank them with my gun. I was able to kill them that way in the simulations beforehand, but, can I get away with that now? Clearly, there are more of them here than in those simulations, they¡¯re also higher leveled. Hell, they¡¯re flanking of their own accord, that¡¯s not even normal behavior! If I attacked them now, would I get caught? I could die in this glitched, fucking simulation and fail the test.

    As these thoughts raced through my mind, I remembered what my father once told me. We were bear hunting in the forests of Russia, my legs were sore from the hours of walking. We finally found a bear, however, this was a huge bear. I froze. What if I couldn¡¯t kill the bear? What if it attacked us? I was trembling. My father put his hand on my shoulder to calm me.

    ¡°Vera,¡± he said

    ¡°Do not let fear take hold of you, you are the hunter right now. Be brave and think only of the kill.¡±

    At that moment, the bear spotted us. It rose onto its hind legs, it must have been four or five meters tall and roared. I freaked out. It¡¯s over I thought, we¡¯re going to die here. The bear sprinted in our direction, my father, however, was not scared. He just calmly said

    ¡°Think of the kill.¡±

    *SNAP*

    Suddenly, I stopped shaking, my eyes focused on the target, I thought only of killing the bear. The pain in my legs was completely numbed and I was even unable to feel the bitter cold of the snow. In a matter of fact, I couldn¡¯t even feel fear. As the bear closed in, a single word echoed in my head ¡°KILL¡°. The bear was two meters from us, now. I took the shot. The memory fades along with my fear. My eyes widen, my pupils sharpen and a quiet echo in my head grows louder.

    KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL!

    (Taiyo POV)

    As we near the entrance, Tsuki and I hear a distinctive cracking sound, our ears twitch as we snap our guns up toward the sound and open fire into the source, a pouncing Crawling Chaos. Even though it is dead, its momentum carries it into Tsuki, knocking her to the ground. Our combined strength is enough to get it off of her, and I noticed her uniform is slightly torn from the fiend¡¯s sharp claws, but otherwise she is unharmed. Damaged clothes are the least of our worries, and we set off again. A few moments later, we reach the corpses at the entrance and climb back over, followed closely by the group of soldiers and civs. Heading down towards the predetermined escape route, we come face-to-face with a group of fiends of various types. We raise our weapons to open fire and before we can pull the trigger, the fiends collapse to the ground, melting alive. A wavy form in the rain stands off to the side, it¡¯s almost like the figure is watching the fiends die in agony. A shiver runs down my spine. Holy shit is that creepy! Now that I look closer, is that a lamia? Vera? The figure slithers off, presumably to find more prey. Carefully stepping around the obviously toxic goo, we continue forward.

    (Narrator POV)

    As the kitsunes and the group of survivors make their way toward the extraction point, they run into ambush after ambush, losing a couple of survivors and suffering some light wounds themselves. The previously ridiculous horde thinning out as they make their way across the city. Meanwhile, Viper squadron and Vaughn have been constantly fighting a flight of dragons. Over the course of around two hours, the near endless horde has been reduced to a trickling stream, the 20 some odd dragons reduced to corpses, two of the fighters destroyed, and their pilots dead. Bullet casings and corpses line the streets and tanks lie dented and ripped apart, as a behemoth slowly approaches the city. The civilians, wounded soldiers, and remaining members of Viper have long since evacuated. Surprisingly enough, only about 20% of the population was lost.

    As the behemoth nears the outskirts of the city, it collapses and stops moving. Moments later, the stream of fiends stops. The soldiers cheer, before moving in squads to mop up the remainder of the fiends¡¯ forces. Minutes later, Fane can be seen trudging towards her squadmates rather badly wounded. Her power armor is covered in scorch marks. Scratches and dents can be seen slowly repairing while in some places the armor is sheared completely off, permanently damaged. Her right arm missing from just above the elbow down. From the wound one can see a tangled mess of sparking wires and hanging flesh, blood oozing to the ground. Her left wing completely mangled, mostly just twisted around with the bones poking out. She must have taken this damage just as she was calming down, since rage should have healed her. No weapons can be seen on her person, they must have been destroyed and discarded during her battles. After a long pause and stare down.

    ¡°I fucked them up!¡± She says smiling, her left hand giving a thumbs up.

    ¡°What happened to you?!¡± Vera screams surprised after appearing from around a corner, covered in blood marks. Fane, without saying a word points at the colossal, mountain-sized body of the behemoth.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Vera says wide-eyed. Fane, still smiling, then flips Vera the bird for no real reason, her eyes close and she falls unconscious, her power suit keeping her standing and holding her finger straight up. Vera looks at the scene confused with nothing to say. Eventually, however, Fane tilts over and falls flat on her back, still asleep and now flipping off the sky. A savage to the very end. The simulation is over, after just over two hours. Squad 108-F has obtained the spot of number one team, on the leaderboards, with a score of 89% completion of a nigh-impossible tier mission! A mission tier never before seen.

    (Vaughn¡¯s POV)

    Well holy shit, I can¡¯t believe it. We beat the god damn simulation, that I wasn¡¯t even sure we¡¯d make it five minutes in. In all my time in the simulation, the thousands of hours I¡¯ve put in, I¡¯ve never seen anything like that. By the time it was done, I think the brass casings from the rounds I fired alone could have filled up a dump truck bottom to top, that is of course if a magic ammo gun had any to eject. At this point I¡¯m still in shock, even with the congratulations and cheers of those who were watching, I just stand there, motionless, trying to process what even just happened. Every person on the team was working like a well-oiled machine, in all the time of practice that we¡¯ve had, I¡¯ve never seen them work nearly that hard, especially not Vera. The kitsunes lead a successful evacuation of civilians through a horde of fiends so vast, I was sure nothing could escape. Vera actually followed the orders I gave her to take out some key targets, and executed those orders with perfection totally uncommon for her, though I don¡¯t think I ever want to see the aftermath of her fights again, when I took a peek at her handiwork, what I saw was¡­ a bit extreme to say the least. Last we have Fane, who did what I thought was going to be nigh if not impossible to do, take out a behemoth, and she did it single-handedly.

    The sounds of celebration are filling the air around me, but I pay little attention, I simply look at each of my team members, speechless. Fane appears to be being Fane, disrespecting people''s comfort zones, though happier and less violent than usual. Guile is still keeping an eye on her with his dart gun just in case. The kitsunes are excited, practically bouncing off the wall at this point, and Vera is just generally celebrating, happy to finally be done with all that work, I assume. My brain is too fried from trying to organize strategies and trying to calculate things like the wind in regards to bullet ballistics. So, I do something that I haven¡¯t done since before the fiends appeared, I sit down at the bar, and get drunk on Heinweiser. At that point, I kind of lost track of what happened. I made it to my bed, I think, somehow. I found myself there at least the next day. Well, we won, we beat every other team. Now, it¡¯s onto the real thing, fighting actual fiends, no more training. I just hope we are ready.

 Chapter 6: Home Sweet Home

    (Narrator POV)

    The day after the finals, the team take a plane headed for London. On the plane, the team can be seen recovering from a night of celebration. After their victory in the final simulation Staff Sgt. Guile brought the team out for some drinks, they immediately turned it into a party. Vera looks fine, she really only drank enough to get tipsy, though to be fair was quite a bit. Vaughn is completely knocked out. He got (forgive my crudeness) shit-faced drunk and is sleeping off the hangover. Fane also looks normal, strange since she was partying like mad. By that I mean she sent at least seven people to the hospital (bar fights you know?). And finally the kitsunes, they didn¡¯t drink much, so they¡¯re fine. Vera notices Fane teetering back and forth a bit in her seat.

    ¡°You know, I was wondering if you actually could handle all that alcohol. You okay?¡± Vera teases.

    ¡°I¡­ Can handle anything. We drakes have the¡­ Greatest metabolism of anything on the plane- BLAAARRGGGHH¡± Fane pukes into a vomit bag.

    ¡°So you say,¡± Vera smirks wiley at Fane.

    ¡°I just have airsickness!¡± Fane defends herself.

    ¡°But you fly? That shouldn¡¯t be a thi-¡± Vera is cut off by Fane puking again. The kitsunes laugh at the drake¡¯s misfortune. Fane looks at them small flames can be seen pittering from her lips, only pittering, probably due to her hangover.

    ¡°If you keep laughing like that I¡¯m gonna tear your stupid little tails out through your belly buttons and shove them down your thro- mmmpph!¡± Fane holds back another emesis.

    ¡°Anyway, how long is this going to take?¡± Vera wonders to herself.

    ¡°We should be almost there, now,¡± Vaughn grumbles from his seat.

    ¡°I thought you were sleeping?¡± Fane asks still leaning over the vomit bag.

    ¡°Kinda hard with all the noise! You sound like a broken water pipe,¡± Vaughn says, unmoving. Fane stares at him angrily but says nothing, due to her not wanting to trigger another puke-attack. The plane arrives at London City Airport, now fortified into a military checkpoint, and they get off the plane. While at the airport they get onto the helicopter that was purchased by Vaughn while the supply copters are being filled with their equipment. When they lift off the supply copters lead them to No Man¡¯s Fort, their new home. While the team lands their helicopter on the helipad, the supply copters are forced to land on the grass, one at a time. The team hustles to unload the cargo until the third and largest of the supply copters lands. A man in a gaudy suit jumps out of the supply copter with a clipboard and starts checking things off a list. While he¡¯s doing this Vaughn and Fane take the cloning equipment down to the infirmary. All of the equipment is in a single crate that¡¯s huge and very heavy, luckily Fane is demonically strong for a drake. Suddenly Vaughn notices the box they¡¯re carrying getting heavier, Vera has slithered on top of the box and began sleeping.

    ¡°Vera, goddamn it! Get off!¡± Vaughn yells, his arms beginning to go numb.

    ¡°Huh? The fuck¡¯s up with you?¡± Asks Fane, surprised by Vaughns sudden outburst.

    ¡°Vera¡¯s on top of the box¡­ wait¡­ you didn¡¯t notice?¡± Vaughn asks.

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± Fane says innocently. Fane looks up, sees Vera and signals Vaughn to put down his side of the crate. They drop the box, Vera still snoozing like a villain.

    ¡°Hey! Dicktits, get off the fucking box!¡± Fane yells up at Vera.

    ¡°Mmmph, oh yeah¡­¡± Vera grumbles in her sleep, Fane and Vaughn mildly uncomfortable with her reaction.

    ¡°What do you think she¡¯s dreaming about?¡± Asks Vaughn already having an idea of what it might be.

    ¡°Probably fucking a chick with her tail, fucking lesbo freak,¡± Fane announces bluntly.

    ¡°Yeah, Fane, scream louder for me¡­¡± Vera grumbles some more. Vaughn¡¯s eyes widen, afraid to look in the direction of the glowing to his right. Fane is outraged.

    ¡°You motherfucking snake!¡± Fane screams, grabbing Vera by her hanging tail and throws her across the room. Vera slams into the far wall.

    ¡°Wh-what the hell?!¡± Vera finally wakes up. She looks up at Fane¡¯s darkened figure standing before her, knuckles cracking, flames pouring from her mouth.

    ¡°Uh, Fane? What¡¯s wrong¡­ w-we can talk about this!¡± Fane lifts her fist. Vera coils defensively and braces herself.

    ¡°Fane! I can¡¯t move this thing without you, stop messing around and help me!¡± Vaughn yells, next to the crate. Fane turns.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you when I¡¯m done killing this cunt sucking piece of shi-¡± Fane turns back to find Vera had run off while she was yelling at Vaughn.

    ¡°Look, she got away, you cool?¡± Vaughn asks, kind of annoyed.

    ¡°Yeah, she got away, whatever I don¡¯t care anymore¡­ though the next time I see her I¡¯m gonna cut her down the length of her snake body and tear out her organs li-¡± Vaughn cuts Fane off.

    ¡°Ok, ok cool, now help me¡­ please.¡± Vaughn asks sternly. Fane, not saying a word snorts smoke from her nose and lifts up her side and they carry on toward the infirmary. Vera slithers outside and is looking out to the ocean.

    (Vera POV)

    Geez did she have to get so mad at me? I think to myself as I sit outside on the base¡¯s roof, next to the diving board into the ocean. What did I even do? She did grab my tail though, heh, so¡­ that¡¯s a plus. I scan the area around me. Looking at it, though, this place is pretty small. I hear it goes down quite a ways so I guess it¡¯s fine. Anyway, I should look around, get accustomed to the base. The outside area¡¯s pretty nice with a grassy patch, currently getting crushed by helicopter wheels. There are two jacuzzis and a firepit on the grass; and a bar building just off the grass patch. And since this used to be a luxury home there¡¯s a giant skylight in the center. Vaughn and Fane should have moved on so I¡¯ll head inside. I slide into the lighthouse building and take the stairs down to what would be ground floor. Huh, This place is gorgeous. They left the top floor pretty much intact, with the skylight, the plants, the indoor swimming pool room and of course the snooker room, maybe Vaughn would be willing to play some billiards later. Not to mention most of this place is the atrium. One of the few differences, however, is the gift shop has been turned into a mini-armory, some of our spare weaponry is in there. I look over from the armory at the nearly caved in wall. And there¡¯s the indent Fane made using me¡­ that really hurt. Also, there are a bunch of door with numbers on them, these are our bedrooms. I slither up to the presidential suite. I couldn¡¯t believe it at first but this is my room. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    I got the presidential suite because it¡¯s the largest room in the fort, save for the ward room, and so, can house a bath big enough to fit my entire body without eating up all the room¡¯s space. Never in my life have I imagined living in a place as expensive as this, the presidential suite. I almost feel dirty living in such luxury during war times. Well, let¡¯s go down a floor. I leave my room and take the elevator, to my right, down. This is where things start getting interesting. This place was renovated into a military base for the most part. I walk out of the elevator. Hmm, the second floor is a lot nicer than I thought. It¡¯s not as dull as I figured it¡¯d be. For the mean time, let¡¯s start with the infirmary. Upon entering the sounds of a power drill can be heard from the back of the room. We have a Neo-Medical Bay installed, so it looks pretty futuristic, four healing pods, many recovery beds and of course the cloning equipment being set up by a maintenance worker while Vaughn and Fane watch closely, that¡¯s where all the noise is coming from.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Fane looks over at my direction. Damn it! I dive behind a hospital bed. Ok, I don¡¯t think Fane saw me, I¡¯ll just creep around these two and move to the next room.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Vaughn asks.

    ¡°I thought I sensed a punching bag walk in,¡± Fane states, I know damn well what she¡¯s getting at.

    ¡°What does that even¡­ *sigh* let¡¯s just get back to work.¡± Vaughn sighs and the worker continues his lesson on setting up the cloning pod. I silently slither out the door. Well now that I¡¯m out of there, I¡¯ll just stroll into the Storage room. In this room, we have ammunition, food rations and spare gear stocked up down here. I look toward the far side of the room, at the stacks of crates, like a literal wall of crates, with the letters M.R.E. written on the side. That has to be Vaughn, I¡¯m almost positive of that. What does he even see in that crap? Whatever, moving on let''s get to main attraction down here. I move down the corridor to a brightly lit room. The one place that hasn¡¯t changed is the spa. Some of us are excited by the fact we have an entire spa to ourselves, and me? Oh, I¡¯m very excited. I imagine bathing with and getting very intimate with the twins. I can¡¯t wait! Suddenly I hear a voice behind me.

    ¡°Well ain¡¯t this just fucking convenient!?¡± I turn to see Fane behind me cracking her knuckles.

    ¡°Guess you get to tell the big guy upstairs you got the luxury to drown in a spa, That¡¯d be great, wouldn¡¯t you agree!?¡± She starts stomping toward me menacingly.

    ¡°Now just stay still you sneaky little bi-¡± Before she finishes I take evasive maneuvers. I charge out through the east changing room and down the hall.

    ¡°Where the hell do you think you¡¯re going!?¡± I hear behind me, geez, she doesn¡¯t let anything go, does she? I enter the mess hall. The room is pretty big for a mere four people, though to be fair it wasn¡¯t modified and we are to hire personnel in the future, so I guess it works.

    ¡°Vera! I saw your scaley little ass slither into that fucking cafeteria¡± Fane¡¯s voice shakes me a bit. I look around frantically. Do I hide in the kitchen? No, she¡¯ll definitely look there, Fane is just easily ticked off not stupid. I spot a mini-bar in the room and dive behind the counter. I hear the mess hall door open.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t know you preferred dying in an eatery.¡± I hear Fane say as she walks into the kitchen. I hear her voice faintly now.

    ¡°Y¡¯know, I¡¯ve only eaten snake once before at a county fair in California, can¡¯t say it tasted bad. So I wouldn¡¯t mind fucking eating it again when I find you!¡± A cold chill goes down my spine. Is she serious? Well, I don¡¯t plan to find out. She walks out of the kitchen though I couldn''t see it, I felt her scanning the room.

    ¡°Damn, where¡¯d she go?¡± Fane''s voice sounds defeated.

    ¡°I was only using those threats as a reason to catch her, and.. um.. tell how much I¡­ uh... like her¡­ er¡­ as a woman¡­yeah.¡± She states half-heartedly. LIES! She just trying to draw me out, what do you take me for you crazy wyrm!?

    *tsk*

    ¡°Damn it, guess she isn¡¯t actually in this room. Knowing her, that would have drawn her out. Guess I¡¯ll just forget about it till she gives me another reason to kill her later.¡± That monster WAS just trying to draw me out for the slaughter. I hear Fane leave the Mess Hall, I leave a couple of minutes after her. Taking the elevator back up I walk up to the roof and head into the bar. I see the kitsunes cleaning the counter.

    ¡°So, you girls are the bartenders now?¡± I ask, leaning on the bar counter.

    ¡°No, we¡¯re just cleaning the place up,¡± Tsuki says firmly.

    ¡°But, I can get you a drink!¡± Taiyo says happily.

    ¡°You¡¯re a doll,¡± I say slyly. I order an entire bottle of vodka. Taiyo passes me the bottle and shot glass. I start pouring and drinking, eventually downing the whole bottle, save for one more shot. Before downing it, I notice the twins looking at the clock constantly.

    ¡°Why¡¯re you guys staring down the clock like that?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Oh, we asked everyone to meet here at ten.¡± They say casually. I look at the clock, it reads ten o¡¯two.

    ¡°You said, everyone¡­ right?¡± I ask nervously. Before the kitsunes can answer, the bar doors swing open behind me. I turn to see the silhouette of Fane walking in, Vaughn trailing behind her tiredly. She walks up to me.

    ¡°Sup!¡± she greets me, then notices me shaking.

    ¡°The fucks up with you? Wait, what did you do this time!?¡± Before she could do anything I raise the shot glass to her face, a peace offering. Fane groans and accepts it. I stare intently at her drinking the shot, she notices.

    ¡°What¡¯re you staring at?¡± She glares back at me.

    ¡°I was using that glass earlier,¡± I say smugly.

    ¡°So?¡± she asks confused.

    ¡°Indirect ki-¡± I¡¯m cut off by Fane creating a fireball in the shot glass using the alcohol as fuel.

    ¡°You motherfu-¡± She¡¯s cut off by Vaughn.

    ¡°So why were we all called in here at this hour?¡± He asks politely.

    ¡°Yeah, I was wondering that too¡± Fane states completely, forgetting about me.

    ¡°We have a surprise for everyone!¡± The twins say in unison as they walk around the counter toward the bar exit. Vera just looks confused.

    ¡°This better not be a waste of my time,¡± Fane says annoyed.

    ¡°I agree, we are still putting things together,¡± Vaughn states. The twins skip outside, while the others follow behind.

    ¡°We appropriated some fireworks before we left,¡± they say proudly.

    ¡°Y-You stole fireworks!¡± Vaughn yells aghast. Behind him, Fane stands there giving a thumbs up.

    ¡°Noooooo, we didn¡¯t steal them,¡± Taiyo says averting her eyes.

    ¡°We appropriated them,¡± Tsuki says mockingly, their faces reflect this and a slight ¡°teehee~¡± can be heard under their breath.

    ¡°I swear to all that is holy, you two will pay for this.¡± Vaughn seems peeved off.

    ¡°Well, what¡¯re we gonna do about it now?¡± I say shrugging my shoulders.

    ¡°Where¡¯d you guys set them up?¡± I ask.

    ¡°Over here, I found them!¡± Fane yells from the helipad. She seems excited, in a good way, for once. We set up some chairs and let Fane set off the fireworks, no need for a lighter. The light show was nice, but why couldn¡¯t I shake the feeling this night would be the last peaceful night we¡¯ll see in a long time?

 News

    We apologize for the late chapter. Unfortunately, I was busy for the past week dealing with people working on my home and my internet was out part of the week. Another member of the team was busy moving, and the other two were doing stuff. Hopefully, we''ll have the chapter out soon for your viewing pleasure.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

 More News

    Unfortunately we have some bad news: We are stuck. No, we do know where we are going with the story, in fact we have the next few chapters planned out. The problem we are having is that we are having issues being creative enough to put the scenes together so they don''t sound like a bullet point list. While I don''t want to call this a hiatus, it may very well end up becoming one. Sorry about that. I don''t know how long it''ll take us to get back in the groove, but hopefully it''ll be soon. But don''t get your hopes up. This story probably won''t be dropped, but it may take a while for more chapters, or it could be tomorrow, who knows? I must thank those of you who are patient, and willing to wait.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.