A/N: This chapter dips into some heavy-ass topics, so if you are sensitive to the subject of SA, it might be best to not read this one. It was admittedly a bit hard to write, but I'm just a bit uncomfortable with the subject. All this to say, there's no shame in not reading this. Love y'all, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
"You just threw away your last chance at even a sliver of happiness, Krystof."
A rumbling woke me from the nap I didn't know I had. I looked over at He, seeing her peacefully sleeping. I had cooled off from the prior conversation, feeling a little bit guilty that I snapped at her. I pulled out my phone quickly, shooting a text to Tina.
Me: We need to talk when I get back.
It was left on delivered for a while, before a message popped up.
Tina: I'll be waiting.
I turned my phone off, before putting it in one of my pockets. I sat in silence, looking around the compartment. Before long, the lights flashed red, and, and Marius' voice came over the loudspeaker. I put my helmet on, fastening it to my suit.
"Alright boys and girls, get ready for some fun!" He said, as I chuckled, unbuckling my seat and walking over to He.
"Hey, wake up." I tapped her cheek, gently trying to wake her. It was successful, as she sat up very quickly. Unbuckling her seat, the ramp started to lower. I walked over, preparing my parachute.
"Optimal drop in 5.."
I looked at He, giving her a thumbs up.
"4.."
She returned the gesture, as I readied for the jump.
"3.."
I stepped to the edge, as He followed.
"2.."
I looked over, seeing a giant complex in the middle of a rainforest.
"1.."
A large explosion from the wing shook the entire plane. He fell out, as I was able to keep my footing steady, just barely. I looked down, seeing multiple streams of gunfire from AA turrets flying up at us. Great.
"We're hit guys! Bail now! I'll try to land this bird." That was the stupidest plan I've ever heard. I rushed up to the cockpit, seeing Marius struggling with the stick.
"Come on, Marius! Let it fall! Let's go." I grabbed him out of his seat, as he started to thrash around.
"I'd say leave the fool to his fate. Like you did to me."
"This is a thirty million dollar plane!" I dragged him to the open ramp, as I looked around for another parachute. Seeing none, I pulled him close to me and fastened him to me.
"Bill me." I walked to the edge, as he started to worry.
"Wait, what are you doing? Just wait a second, please!" I leapt out, putting my hands and feet out. Marius started to scream, before he passed out. If it wasn't a life or death situation where I had to dodge streams of flak cannon fire, I would've laughed at the irony of a pilot scared of heights.
Angling myself downwards, we started to pick up speed, narrowly missing an early death at the hands of WW2 era weaponry. When we were at the last altitude we could effectively use our parachute, I pulled the cord, as the tarp shot out, slowing our descent. However, just as things were looking up for us, a shot hit our chute, sending us towards an early grave.
"Scheiße!" I shouted, as we rapidly approached our deaths.
Lady Luck seemed to be on our side, however, since we were slowed down by a painful tumble through tree branches. Before we hit the ground, the chute got caught in a very sturdy branch, leaving us dangling a meter off the ground.
"This might hurt when you wake up, Jäger." I apologized, as I slipped out of the parachute, landing painfully on my leg. Now that we were safely on the ground, I unfastened Marius from myself, sitting him up against a tree. I pulled my VC1 up to my hands, as I readied for a search team.
A sharp breath distracted me, as Marius very worriedly looked around.
"Am I dead?" He asked, as I chuckled.
"Not yet, Streicher. Get up." I stuck my hand out, as he grabbed it, pulling himself up. He thanked me, as he pulled out a pistol from his thigh holster.
"Where's the new girl?" He asked, as I realized the scope of the situation. We were stuck behind enemy lines, separated from each other. A rustling in the bushes ahead alerted me to the aforementioned search party. A radio crackled, before Marius' question was answered.
"Kita ada pengkhianat. Kami akan berseronok sedikit sebelum kami membawanya masuk. (We have the traitor. We're gonna have a little fun before we bring her in)"
"Scheiße, that's not good." I whispered, before I crawled to behind the bush they were by.
"What did it say?"
"They have He, and they're gonna do things to her."
"That's bad. We gotta find her." I peeked through the bush, seeing two facing us and one with his back turned. I quickly grabbed the closest, the one facing his allies. He gasped, as I took his pistol and aimed it at his head.
"Bawa saya kepada pengkhianat, sekarang! (Take me to the traitor, now!)" I shouted in broken Malay, as the two men across from me looked at each other.
"Ich habe den auf der linken Seite. (I got the one on the left)" Marius said, aiming through the bushes.
"Schießen. (Fire)" I said, as I aimed at the other one, taking him out simultaneously. We only needed one. Kicking the remaining Immortal, I aimed his pistol at his head while he was down.
"Alright, miststück, where is she? (Bitch)" I kneeled down to his level, my impatience growing with every passing second.
"Persetankan awak! (Fuck you)" I whipped his head with the barrel of his pistol. His head collided with the muddy ground, as he groaned.
"I don't have time for this. Awak akan bawa saya kepadanya. (You will take me to her)" My Malay was broken, but comprehensible enough for him to tell that I was pissed. He chuckled, spitting onto my visor.
"They're raping her while you're sitting and talking, you pathetic whelp."
I laughed sourly, before picking him up by the collar, putting him against a tree. I headbutt his skull into the bark, cracking it behind his head. He groaned, as his face betrayed him. He seemed ready to talk, but I never let him. I dropped him, before kicking his ribs in. My anger was peaking, as I stomped his head into the mud, until the dirty water turned a reddish brown.
"I'll find her myself." I put a knee on his spine, grabbing him by the forehead and chin, before just pulling up. I heard a snap, as I let go, the head falling limp with a small splash.
"Jesus, man." Marius said, a bit perturbed, as I stood up and shot him a glance.
"Your own teammate doesn't even trust you."
"Let's go." I ignored the incessantly bitchy voice in my head.
"Sure, yeah, I'll follow you." He replied, as I marched towards the 54i base with fiery intent. In a couple minutes, we reached the walled complex, as I looked around.
"You're taking too much time, Krystof!"
"Shut up, jackoff!" I shouted, the rage dictating my next moves at this point. I searched for any way over or through the wall. I didn't figure it out until it was staring me down, or more aptly, trying to run me down.
"You okay, Firebreak?"
A jeep was gunning towards Marius and I, and apparently he didn't notice. I pushed him out of the way, leaping along with him, before the jeep hit the wall and exploded into a fiery explosion that enveloped me. Marius was out of the blast zone, which was fortunate enough on its own, but was an added miracle because he whipped up and pinned an Immortal in the head with his pistol.
"Nice shot." I said, before I examined the wreckage. Before a blast of water shot the flaming jeep back, in a misguided attempt to put the fire out. I stepped back a little, before the breach was opened.
I silently stepped into the breach, as the water blasted me back into the flaming jeep. Coughing, I peeled myself off the burning hood that conformed to my body. Thanks to my armor, I shook off what would definitely have been multiple broken ribs.
"You okay, Firebreak?" Jäger asked, as he positioned himself in cover by the breach. I groaned, nodding. Fuck, that didn't feel good.
"Fine. He's at my 11, by the way." I replied, as he popped out of cover and shot once. The man behind the water cannon slumped, as I held my VC-1 tightly in my hands.
"And who says I need an ACOG?" He chuckled to himself, as I stepped through the breach again, without being blasted by a pressure washer this time.
"Go left, wait, right! No, take two steps forward and then spin around in a circle." The laughter was the worst part of the bad jokes. It was taunting me, laughing at my inability to help He, and my shame at that fact.
I hit my helmet a couple times, as I mumbled for the voice to shut up. I could feel Marius' concerned eyes on me.
"You need to get checked out, man."
"I'm fine." I snapped, as I positioned myself to breach a room. Checking my canister, I twisted it to make sure it was fully on. "That's not the priority here."
I burst through the door, seeing a room full of 54i, but no He. I squeezed the trigger, watching as the room erupted in flames. A haunting smile carved its way onto my face, as I chuckled.
"Burn."
I stepped in, my spray of flames reaching every previously untouched part of the room. On the ground, a squirming worm of a man tried to escape the flames. I rolled him onto his back, as I stood over him.
"Where is she? Where is the traitor?" I asked, my voice raising.
"In the holding rooms, please don't kill me." He begged in very broken English.
"What'll they think if you let a known associate of a terrorist organization live?"
"For once, I agree." I responded to the voice in my head. I reached down, picking him up by the throat, before lifting him into the air with both hands. He struggled and strained against my steel grip, kicking at me to get me to drop him. I tensed my gut muscles, as an added level of protection against his pathetic kicks.
"Firebreak, stop, man. He's complying!" Marius said, as he put his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off, as my gaze remained on the life escaping the Immortal.
"Let go, man! He could tell us more!" He tried to shake my grasp free, but I turned to him and headbutted him into the ground.
"Stay out of this, Streicher!" I turned back to the man who was barely conscious, walking a few steps forward.
"As for you. Before you die, I want you to know. I will burn this place to the ground, and torch the ashes before I even think about showing any of you scum mercy. Nothing will survive, especially not you." I tightened my grip one last time, hearing an audible crunch. He went limp in my hands, as I dropped the body.
"This is the Firebreak I know, hell yeah!"
I stared down Marius, as he held his head tenderly. Even with his headgear, I could sense his emotional disposition.
"Jesus, Krystof. We're on the same side."
I brushed past him, kicking down the other door weakened by the growing flame. Wordlessly, I stepped out, only to be met with a small armada of 54i foot soldiers. I tried to move, but I was met with waves of gunfire, knocking me to the ground. I laid motionless for a few seconds, reeling from the kick of dozens of bullets hitting me. Slowly getting up, I turned my back to them, replacing my canister.
I whipped around, a barrage of fire following me. It sent the ones not immediately immolated running and ducking for cover, as I steadied myself.
"I'm digging this ruthlessness that you suddenly developed. You finally regrow your balls?"
"Funny, asshole." I said, as I walked towards a piece of cover and torched it and its surroundings. A man ran out screaming, as he tried to put out the fire. I was shot from behind, so I turned around and sprayed fire in that direction, enveloping everything. A 54i dove out of the burning cover, as I hit him with a direct impact.
I looked around, searching for more enemies, but found none. Marius stepped out, checking his corners, as I sighed.
"I could've used some help a minute ago." I sassed, as I walked towards the holding rooms adjacent to the building I previously inhabited.
"Well, I didn't know if you were going to light me on fire." I grunted in anger, as I reloaded the canister.
"Let's go." I didn't want to waste anymore time getting to He. I couldn't.
•••
It was a bit of a walk to the holding cells, and everything was pissing me off. The crunch of the gravel underneath our feet, the incessant screeching of the animals, the seemingly never ending stream of 54 Immortals. It was all just infuriating, and I couldn't calm down until I knew the fate of He.
"She's been used up, a bullet in her head, probably."
Oh, and he wouldn't shut the fuck up. It was the worst part. He made sure to remind me constantly that He wouldn't be in very good health, to put it mildly. Whatever I did, he wouldn't shut up.
Finally, we reached the building, an abandoned bunker of some sorts. It seemed derelict, but some unknown noises from inside proved otherwise. I reached the door, before stopping.
"Listen, Krystof. I get it."
"No."
"Hm?"
"No. You don't. You don't know what it's like to have a voice in your head that tells you your ex is being raped and tortured for the past hour."
"I-I'm sorry."
I sighed.
"It's fine. Let's just get this out of the way."
"Whenever you're ready." I kicked the door down, my Incinerator ready to purify the degenerates. However, I was met with a different sight.
He was knelt over an unconscious man, hitting his face against the concrete floor. Around the room were many more 54i bodies. She saw us, and lit up with a smile.
"I was wondering when you guys would show up." She chuckled, as she stood up and walked over to us.
"He.. you're okay." A light mist coated my eyes, as I hugged her tightly. She apparently didn't expect that, as she reacted surprised.
"Uh, yeah. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's just.. the voice told me bad things were happening to you."
"The voice?" She shot a questioning glance at Marius, who was out of my peripherals. "You need to see a doctor about that."
"Go ahead, try whatever. I'm here to stay."
"I can't exactly consult my physician out here in the middle of nowhere."
"Go see Doc when we get back."
"Speaking of, how are we going to get back?" Marius raised a valid question.
"You mean you didn't radio for assistance?"
"No, we were too busy trying to get to you."
She sighed, as I grunted, before I kicked a dead Immortal.
"Whatever, we'll just do that and then go kill the robot." I said, as He nodded.
"Robot? What?" Marius asked, as I remembered he wasn't briefed for the mission like we were. He wasn't even supposed to be here.
"We have to capture or kill a robot. Long story."
"It's better if you don't ask."
"Uh.. okay."
With the useless conversation finished, we walked out of the bunker. We had a robot to kill, and we weren't going to fail.