//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Nothing is a cliché when it's happening to you. // Story: Another World: Tale of Chaotic Adventures // by Maniac //------------------------------// Inter-dimensional teleportation sucks. It feels like a large meat hook stuck in your gut, and said hook is pulling you forward, twisting your insides. You want to throw up, yet you cannot. It is painless, yet it feels like you will pass out from pain shock. You feel very exhausted, as if you just finished 10 km marathon sprinting all the way. It seems like hours yet in reality it only lasts half a second. And after all this you feel just fine. Part 1: Leap of Faith Jake felt strange. Like if whole world moved in slow-motion and only he moved at normal speed. His eyes and brain registered that horizon level and ground weren't even. It was, in fact, a really steep slope. And that they all are currently falling down to the ground that isn't a smooth surface but rather a steep slope. In that moment reality returned, crashing down, to normal speed. With action comes music... With a sudden strong gust of wind(and realization of his situation) Jake started shouting at the top of his lungs "WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!" Accompanied by Megumi's "ナニコレ、イヤアああああああああああ!"(What is this, noooooo!) For a few seconds he was in a shock state, driving only on instincts, dodging trees and stones until Megumi shouted some sense in him "ジェーク、ブレーキ 、 早く！ ブレーキ！！"(Jake, the breaks, hurry! THE BREAKS!) This helped Jake to snap out of it "Yeah, that's right, the brakes! Hang on Megumi!" Luckily, ATV's eight wheels provided enough traction for him to slow down and eventually stop. Just when he and Megumi took a deep breath to calm down, something flew by them. It was Vladimir's "Volk" with him screaming curses really fast in multiple languages while driving at high speed down the slope "Ах ты ж ёбаный ты нахуй, сука-pendejo-caralho-filho da puta! Fuckshit! Engelhuren! Shitty fuck! Putain merde! Fucking shit! Бляааааааааааааааааа!!"(It's essentially 'fucking shit' all over and over) After few seconds heavy truck with trailer joined them. "Dammit, we're too heavy to stop! Lieutenant Jake! Get your ATV up that hill and wait for us there, we'll be back shortly." Wulfin interrupted her husband: "Don't slow down or the trailer will spin us out of control." Truck increased it's speed. Obviously, Drakon was nervous enough to switch back to Russian "Товарищ капитан, не могу замедлить скорость, тачка слишком тяжелая! Спереди просто пиздец стена а не лес, мы расшибёмся к черту, что делать?!"(Comrade captain, I can't slow down, car is too heavy! Forest ahead is a fucking wall, we'll crash to hell, please advise?!) "Не ссы сынок. Выруливай вправо, я вижу там просеку."(Don't wet your pants sonny. Turn right, I see a clearing there.) It was not the Captain but his wife again, leaning out of the window with binoculars. "Зигги, давай тоже туда, потом разберёмся что тут и как."(Ziggy, let's also move there, we'll find out later what's what here.) "Так точно фрау обер-лейтенант! Герр гауптман, увидимся внизу!"(Roger that Frau oberleutnant! Herr hauptmann, see you at the bottom!) Even in extreme conditions Drakon didn't stop his barrage of flat jokes and witty remarks. On this Wulfin said only "Держи ровнее старшина, перевернёшься же!"(Hold it steady master sergeant, or you will flip upside down) They drove into the forest, first 'Volk' at a high speed, then Siegfried's steadily slowing down heavy command truck . Forest was pretty dense so Jake lost sight of both of them almost immediately --- "Давай тормози!"(C'mon, hit the breaks!) Even usually quiet and calm Nika was pretty panicked. "Да нихрена не получается, земля слишком скользкая!"(It's not fucking working, ground's too slippery!) Drakon was struggling to take back control of the vehicle but all was in vain. "Слушай, надо прыгать!"(Listen, we've gotta jump!) Dialog was getting more heated up. "Что? Ты с ума сошел?"(What? Are you nuts?) "А ты посмотри вперёд, видишь?! Там, бля, яма! И хер знаешь насколько глубокая!"(Just look ahead, see?! It's a bloody pit! And who knows how fucking deep it is!) And indeed there was a deep hole. With no means to stop their movement crash was inevitable. "Давай, ты первая. И не спорь! Я постараюсь хоть как-то выровнять движение а ты прыгай, понятно?"(C'mon, you first. And don't argue! I'll try to align car's movement and you jump, alright?" Nika's face was disapproving of the idea but after a moment of thought she reluctantly agreed "Так точно."(Roger that) Everything happened in a matter of seconds: Drakon straightened up his car, kicked Nika out of it and prepared to bail out himself. And then came the unexpected "Fuck! Ремень заело!"(Belt's jammed!) After realization of the situation his face turned sad, almost comically sad "О бля..."(Oh crap...) With this his car crashed down into that pit. Tension filled the air. Meanwhile, Siegfried managed to stop his heavy truck, which was relatively easy because of the weight and traction provided by all-terrain heavy duty wheels. His relieved sigh was interrupted by his wife: "Смотри, это же Ника!"(Look, it's Nika!) And indeed it was her, lying on the ground. Both of them climbed out of the truck and hurried to the lying Nika. "Эй, ты в порядке?"(Hey, you alright?) Reacting to his voice Nika groaned in pain "Оооо блин, от этого точно синяки завтра будут... Слуш, Дракон, походу это тарщ капитан..."(Oooh man, this is definitely gonna leave a mark tomorrow... Lisn, Drakon, looks like it's c'mrad captain...) Wulfin and Captain came closer "Ника, а где старшина? Что вообще с машиной случилось?"(Nika, where's master sergeant? And what happened to the car?) Still groaning from the pain Nika sat down on the ground with lost expression on her face "Что? Всмысле?"(Huh? What?) After looking around for a bit her eyes slowly grew wide from shocking realization "Дракон? Ты где?"(Drakon? Where are you?) Suddenly she jumped to her feet and started running to the pit, screaming his name: "Вова?! Вова!!"(Vova?! VOVA!!) When she came closer to that hole she saw 'Volk' in a terrible shape. Hole was pretty deep but more narrow on the way down. 'Volk' was stuck in it. Due to tinted windows it was impossible to look inside, and besides, height was a little big for this too. "О нет... Держись, я сейчас!"(Oh no... Hang on, I'm coming!) Nika started climbing down the hole but was effectively stopped by Siegfried "Ты что творишь?! Совсем сдурела?! Отставить!"(What the hell are you doing?! Are you crazy?! Stand down!) She was desperately trying to wrestle free from the Captain but his grip didn't falter "Пустите! Вова там внизу, ему нужна помощь! Да пустите же!"(Lemme go! Vova is down there and he needs my help! Let go already!) "Да успокойся ты! Ты посмотри на себя, ты же ранена, а в таком состоянии ты точно ему не поможешь. Сядь и успокойся. Сейчас мы подгоним грузовик и вытащим этот джип. А ты пока займись собой."(Calm down! Just look at yourself, you're injured and in your condition you'll definitely will not help him. Sit down and calm yourself. We'll bring over the truck and pull out this jeep. And for now you should take care of your wounds.) Siegfried was talking calmly and gently but Nika felt steel hidden in that calm voice "Так точно, товарищ капитан."(Roger that, comrade captain.) She wasn't happy but she knew that Captain was right. "Хильда, спустись туда и прицепи тросы к кузову джипа. Заодно проверь что там с старшиной, если это возможно конечно. Страховку я уже привязал и проверил. Выполнять. Я пока подгоню грузовик."(Hilda, rappel down and attach tow-ropes to the car's body. While you at it check, if possible, how's master sergeant doing. Belay device is attached, ready and checked. Get to it. I'll drive the truck closer.) Siegfried finished with the instructions and went to the truck. Meanwhile, Wulfin was rappelling down the hole, attaching hooks. “Dammit, those bloody tinted windows... Can't even see if he's injured or not. Just hold on sonny, we'll get you out of there.” With Wulfin's 'OK' Siegfried activated truck's crane. Yeah, that truck was a mobile construction yard also. “Here we go” he thought to himself and started pulling unlucky 'Volk' out of the pit. Nika was busy bandaging her wounds. Well not wounds but mostly scratches and minor cuts she got from jumping out of moving car. Bruises also were present but they would heal by themselves. Truth be told, all this medical procedures were mostly to kill time, as she was very anxious about Drakon and his condition. When jeep was finally recovered she hurried to it. After a bit jeep's door was open. Surprisingly, Drakon almost wasn't injured. He was out cold, had a nosebleed and had a slight cut on a forehead but that was about it. But of course, a proper medical examination was in order to make sure he hadn't had any more injuries. Wulfine and Captain carefully took him out of the car and placed him on the make-shift stretchers. "Так, где моя аптечка? Ага, хорошо, ничего не разбилось... Нашатырь-нашатырь... Вот он. Ну давай, просыпайся!"(Okay, where's my first aid kit? Yep, good, nothing is broken inside... Ammonia-ammonia... Ah there is it. Come on, wake up!) Nika took up smelly bottle to Drakon's nose. As soon as his nostrils came in contact with that smell he opened his eyes and started gasping for air. "Тихо, успокойся. Лежи и не дёргайся, я должна обследовать тебя на предмет переломов и тому подобного."(Relax, don't squirm. Lie down and don't move, I have to check you for fractures and stuff.) Nika was busy doing her check ups. "Хм, похоже переломов нет. А теперь скажи, от чего ты отрубился когда машина упала вниз, может ты ударился или ещё что-нибудь?"(Hm, no fractures it seems. And now tell me, what caused your knock out, did you hit your head or something?) Drakon thought for a moment "Эээ, да я это, головой о торпеду ударился. Было больно. Черт, да до сих пор больно!"(Uhhh, I, you know, banged my head against dashboard. It hurt. Damn, it still hurts!) "Да хватит тебе, что ты как маленький? Так, давай-ка сядь, надо проверить голову."(Oh come on, what are you, little kid? Now, sit. Time to check your head.) "Так, похоже с тобой всё в порядке. Да ты гад в рубашке родился, у тебя даже сотрясения нет. Считай, отделался легким ушибом и правую руку потянул. Царапины я обработаю, а на растяжение положим проверенное средство — эластичный бинт. Уже через день будешь как новенький." (Huh, seems you are alright. Looks like you, scoundrel, was born with silver spoon in your mouth, you don't even have a concussion. Like, all you got is light bruise and strained right hand. I'll take care of your scratches and as for strain, we'll use trusted remedy - elastic bandage. Tomorrow you'll be good as new.) "Но ты гад меня напугал! 'Прыгай первая', говорит. А сам что? А что если бы с тобой что-нибудь случилось бы? Как бы я потом в глаза твоей маме смотрела бы?"(But you really got me scared you asshole! 'You first' he says. And what about you? What if something happened to you? How I am was supposed to look your mother in the eyes if that happened?) Drakon looked somewhat guilty "Эммм. Спасибо."(Ummm. Thanks.) Nika stopped her rambling and turned to her usual quiet self "Я серьёзно. Обещай мне что не будешь больше так рисковать. Я не хочу тебя потерять."(I'm serious. Promise me that you will not risk like that anymore. I don't want to lose you.) Drakon's face suddenly turned into goofy grin "Ну ещё бы! Уж я точно не позволю тебе нести домой радостные вести о том что главная неудача семьи Еремеевых наконец-то покинула этот мир. Ха-ха-ха!"(Well of course! I'm definitely not gonna let you carry home good news about that greatest failure of Yeremeyevs Family finally departed from this world. Ha-ha-ha!) Her face turned red "Ах ты!.. Я о тебе беспокоюсь а ты!.. Дурак!"(Why, you!.. Here I am, worried about you and you!.. Stupid!) She angrily turned on her heels and walked away. Drakon stood up and ran after her "Эй! Да подожди, я же пошутил!"(Hey! Wait up, I was only joking!) Witnessing all this Siegfried only placed his palm on the face with a sigh. Shortly thereafter Hilda joined him with a slight hug “Что, опять милые бранятся?”(What, another lovers quarrel?) He turned to her with a smile and hugged her back “И не говори. Хорошо что у нас с тобой не так, да?”(You don't say. Good thing that it's not like that with you and me, yeah?) She also smiled in return. Their lighthearted laugh lightened up gathering gloomy atmosphere. Part 2. Multiple contacts! Jake was anxious. Radio was silent for a while now and he feared the worst. But his fears were dispersed when Captain came in contact “Hey, Lt! You alive up there?” With a sigh of relief he answered “Affirmative sir, alive and kicking. What's your status? Everything OK?” “Yeah,we're all okay, but jeep is totaled. We're gonna tow it with truck to your position. By the way, do you see any way up to this hill we could use?” Jake looked around “Yeah, found a decent way up here but you'll have to circle around back for it. How copy?” “Solid copy. We're coming. ETA 30 minutes, over and out.” But then came another transmission “Hey Jake, you guys are all alone there right?” It was Vladimir “Drakon is that you? You okay?” response came quickly “Got beat up a little but that is beside the point. I said, are you two alone up there?” After looking around (Megumi was sitting in ATV, writing something down in her notepad) he said “Y-yeah. What about it?” He heard annoyed sigh in response “Ugh! You dumbass, it's your chance! Go for it man! Our trip is gonna take awhile, so do it! Drakon, over and out.” This made Jake's face go red. But he steeled himself and went to Megumi. “Um, h-how are you doing?” She was startled “Ah! God, Jake you scared me!” “Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to!” in response he received a charming smile “Umm, it's okay. By the way, I haven't thanked you yet properly.” surprise spread across Jake's face ”Thanked me? What for?” Megumi gave a small giggle “For saving my life today, you forgot already? How do you Americans say it, 'I guess I owe you one'?” “Ah, t-that one? Uhhh-heh-heh, ummm, you're welcome, I guess?” Awkward silence filled the air. Minute by minute, one awkward reply after another, half an hour flied by like a couple of seconds. "Um, skies sure are pretty here." But before Megumi could answer she was interrupted by loud engine noises. Wolf pack finally reassembled. "Heeeeeeeeere's Vladdymireeeeee!" Drakon made his entrance to the hilltop, jumping out of the truck and was immediately berated by Nika "Don't jump around so much, I told you that you've gotta lie down for a few hours." Truck made half a circle turn and stopped. Jake stood up and came closer "Hey Vlad, what's up with her? She seems angry at you. Well, more than usual." "First of all, DON'T call me 'Vlad'. It's an entirely different name that comes from Vladislav. You didn't see me calling you Jak, eh Jake? For all I know I can call you Jack. Or Jackson." Jake scratched his nose "Okay, sorry, Vladimir. Didn't know you were so touchy about names, sheesh. But back to the topic, you didn't answer my question." Drakon frowned "Eh, just told her a bad joke at a bad time... Wait. Oh shit..." Jake raised his eyebrow "What?" "I totaled our jeep! The communicator! Oh shit, oooooooh shiiiiiit, we're so screwed." "Don't worry, comms are fine. Car may be dead but everything in it is pretty much in one piece." Out of nowhere, Captain intervened in their dialogue. "And besides, we have backup plans is something goes wrong. We, and I mean me and Hilda, went through all kinds of possible situations for this mission so everything is under control." Hilda showed up and waved to Siegfried "Hey Ziggy, commander is on the line, he wants your report!" "Okay, I'm on my way! You two, go help girls with unpacking. This hill is a nice vantage point, our temporary base will be here for now." Drakon sighed and said "This is gonna be a long day." Later that day "Those binoculars suck! Can't see anything. Ugh." Lack of decent magnification irritated Drakon who was busy doing visual reconnaissance from the top of the hill together with Jake "So, what's up with that castle? Can't see really well from here but I think I see a... Uhh, some kind of... pinkly-purple forcefield? Huh. This is not so medieval as I imagined it." Drakon pointed at moving objects which, from this distance, looked like a small dots "Look, I think it's a train! Woah, I see a lot of movement on the perimeter. Security maybe? Looks like something important is going down today in that castle. By the way, Jake, see that town? From where train departed." "Yeah, what about it?" "Architecture is fucked up and irresponsible. Like it's somehow violates physics. Same goes for that castle. On a mother-fuckin' cliff." Jake scratched his head "Well, I dunno, maybe gravity here is lower or something." Drakon jumped up for a few times "No, it seems the same as back home. Well, nevermind. I spot a few key structures, namely a hospital and, I think, a town hall." Jake turned his binoculars as well "Yep, I see it too. Hospital is the one with large cross on it? Hold on, I think I see some AVs taking off... We won't be spotted, are we?" Drakon waves him off "Nah. We already masked our vehicles with camo nets and all. Huuuuuh... I don't like that massive cloud there, See? It's up there, in the distance." It took awhile for Jake to find it "Uh-huh, looks like a storm cloud maybe... Wait. Is that cloud... Leaking rainbows? What the fuck?" Drakon turn to be surprised "What, you high or something? Hold on, let me see... Waaaaaait, if I'm not crazy I think I see buildings up there too. This world is nuts!" Captain joined them at their lookout post "Any luck with finding info on locals?" Drakon turned to him and reported "Negative. We've seen a lot of dots but from this distance it's impossible to identify anyone. I suggest we go for a closer look, maybe to this town down there." Captain nodded to him "Roger. We'll get to it, maybe tomorrow. For now we need to settle in and rest a little. And Master, can you look on 'Volk', see if you can repair it?" Jake cheerfully saluted "Can do, sir. I'll come by in 10 minutes." "Good. Well, carry on." 'Volk' was badly damaged, but repairable. Jake needed to make some new engine parts and some other small stuff. This would take time. Overall, it could be fixed in 3-5 days. Rest of the day passed. "It's almost midnight. Everyone, you can go to sleep now. I'll stand watch. Wulfin, I'll wake you up when it's your turn. Everyone, good night." Siegfried was sitting in his camping chair, watching his surroundings. Nature was quiet, which was unusual. No animals, save for some birds. Skies also were crystal clear, with bright stars and large moon on it. That moon got Siegfried's attention, something was wrong with it. Seemingly, craters on moon's surface formed a head of a unicorn, a mythical beast. 'How strange' he thought to himself. He also spot some glister on top of the tallest castle tower. 'A watch post perhaps?' There also was some weird noise in the distance, resembling something like a swarm of insects. Aside from that, first night was quite uneventful. Next day. "Nice weather here, temperate climate, just as I like it." Again it was Drakon and Master on the lookout "By the way, I grabbed 2 cold ones from fridge, want one?" Jake immediately livened up "Beer? Hell yeah!" "Not beer, cola! I don't drink, you know." Jake was disappointed "You don't call cola 'cold one'. Urgh, I guess cola is fine too." Drakon passed him his can. "Whatever, in Russian everything can be a 'cold one', even OJ." "For your good health! Cheers!" *psst* *ka-chik* *gulp* *gulp* "Ahhh, refreshing! Maybe this is indeed a paid vacation, eh Chief?" Jake only nodded and drinked his coke in silence. "By the way, my codename is Master, not Chief." "You can say it's a Russian tradition of calling other people 'Chief'. Well anyway, why the long face?" Jake looked away "It's nothing." "Let me guess, it's Hayakawa, right?" Vladimir hit bullseye. "Hey, it's not!.. Ahhh, fuck it. Yeah it's about her. I just don't know how to talk to her, you know? She must think that I'm a retard, always stuttering near her." Jake was looking at soda can in his hand, thinking about something. "Don't sweat it man, you already got bonus points for saving her on that slope, remember? Just don't do mayor fuck ups and you'll be fine." In return, Jake turned even more gloomier "Again, says the guy with no girlfriend." "And again, that's beside the point. After all, I'm not the one who's all depressed because of his inability to get the girl." "Screw you." Once again, laughter filled the air. --- Several hours have passed. In that time Jake and Vladimir upgraded their lookout post with a makeshift couches and mini-fridge filled with snacks and drinks. "What are they doing in there? Is it a wedding or something?" Drakon scratched his head "Beats me." Their leisure time was interrupted by something unexpected. Drakon's lollipop fell down from his mouth. "Woah... Holy shit." Jake used his radio "Captain, sir. I think you better get here, quick. We've got a situation." Captain showed up shortly, along with Wulfin "What's the 411?" Jake replied with "Well... Just look for yourself." and handed Captain and Wulfin binoculars. A black swarm appeared seemingly out of nowhere and laid siege on the castle. After a while forcefield cracked and shattered, and the swarm forced their way in. Explosion-like puffs could be seen in the distance. This was definitely not good. "Uh, comrade captain? Any orders? Personally, I don't want to fight in not our war." Drakon was getting tense "Hide all this and continue with surveillance for now. I'll contact HQ. Stay alert." Captain rushed away "So, comrade senior lieutenant, what's your take on all this? What will we do?" Hilda lowered her binoculars "In this situation most likely we will retreat back to base. Let's wait for HQ's orders first." After several minutes Siegfried came back "Okay, pack your things. HQ wants to play it safe. We leave in 10." --- "Hurry it up, dammit! Nika, where are ya? Help me with... The hell?" Drakon stopped in the middle of the sentence, looking at something in the distance. Nika ran up to him "What are you looking at? ..Oh. My. God." Something inside that castle made an impulse, an enormous spheric wave of energy. That swarm Wolf pack saw earlier were sent packing through the air by it, and this wave was closing fast. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Captain's voice was loud and clear even in the middle of this racket. It felt like a strong gust of wind, but aside from that nothing happened. Surprised by this Drakon asked rhetorical question in a mocking manner "И что, это всё?"(What, that all?) As if to answer his question something bad happened. Sharp head pain struck everyone. "Ugh, my head is killing me!" Drakon fell to his knees accompanied by Nika. Captain and Wulfin, while wincing from the pain, somehow still remained on their legs, but somehow it looked that their headache was way worse. "W-what's going on, everyone?!" for everyone's surprise Megumi and Jake were unaffected. Severely coughing, Drakon answered "How am I supposed to know?! Aaaaaagrh, it feels like my head gonna explode!" Jake and Megumi simply did not know what to do. Pain started to worsen, now even 'Alpha pair' were brought to their knees by it. And as if headache wasn't enough... "Argh, what the fuck is this?! My insides are on fire!" Vladimir dropped to all fours, tears dripping, and started to vomit. "*Bleugh* Ughhhh, the fuck!.. Jake! Fuck.. *cough* Jake dammit!!" He ran up to him "Yeah, I'm here, what is it? You ok?" with much effort Drakon managed to reply "DO I-*bleugh*-FUCKING LOOK OK?! *cough* Aghh-khaa-haa *cough* fucking shit... Go.. check on Nika." "Don't worry, Megumi is on it." Jake stayed near Drakon to make sure he doesn't choke on vomit. "Ugrh... *cough* Well. That sucked. A lot." Drakon was sitting on the grass, cleaning his teeth "Everyone, you all right?" Nika waved away "I guess so. I felt like I had an epileptic seizure, with froth and convulsions and stuff. Don't want to experience that again." Captain and Wulfin were pale but overall looked better than those two "Yep, we're good. Head still hurts a little but it's nothing compared to before." Wulfin spat on the ground "But what exactly happened? Last thing I remember this... Purpleish sphere of some sorts. And then that headache came." "Yeah, no shit. Those 10 minutes of hell felt like 10 hours. Look, my hands are still shaking!" Drakon brought forward his hands, and indeed they were trembling. "But hey, how come you and Hayakawa weren't affected?" Everyone exchanged glances. All Jake and Megumi could do is shrug. "Well, right now our priority is to get back to base. There we can do proper check-ups and all." Siegfried stood up "Let's hurry it up and get out of here. Double time!" But you know what, if bad luck started having her way with you, it will crank her stuff up to eleven. "Uhh, captain? Sir, we've got a slight... well, um... maybe not slight..." Jake had something to say to the Captain "What is it? Stop mumbling and say it loud and clear." Jake straightened himself and blurted shocking words "Our comms and portal are busted, sir!" Everyone's reactions were quite unique. Drakon dropped box on his foot, Nika stumbled into him and both of them fell down. Megumi even sat down in surprise. Drakon crawled out from under Nika who fell down on him "Whaddaya mean, 'busted'? You sayin' we're stuck in here?!" Captain asked Jake "Can you fix this?" Jake gulped down "I'm afraid not, sir. Everything's fried. Even the extras have bought the farm. That energy impulse must've done them in." Drakon's face darkened "Perfect, just perfect. We got EMPed in the middle of nowhere and because of it we're basically fucked. Fucking great." Jake shook his head "No-no-no, this wasn't EMP. All other..*cough* sorry, other equipment is fine, somehow it's just those two." Drakon only rolled his eyes "Yeah, like that changes anything" "I think it's possible to create one from scratch if we had some instructions and materials..." But Jake thoughts were interrupted by Siegfried "None of this will be necessary. As I told you all before, HQ planned for literary EVERYTHING. Current state of events is unfavorable, yes, but it's nothing we can't handle. Standard operating procedures for this kind of situation is..." --- Vladimir was listening with dumb expression on his face, mouth half-open. "Uhhhh, comrade captain? Mind explaining this once more?" Siegfried only gave a sigh "Nika, you got all this, right? Fill him in please." Nika rubbed her forehead "We. Wait a week here. Rescue team after 8 days." "Oh, so that's it! Uh-huh." This earned him a strange look from Nika "What's up with you, you feelin' ok? Usually you're not this dumb. Something's the matter?" "No... I'm just dead tired. Kinda hard to think straight... *yawn*... I just want to.. you know, get some sleep." Drakon wasn't looking good, with bags under eyes and all. Nika also yawned "Come to think of it, I feel sleepy myself too. That energy wave effect maybe?" Their dialog was cut short by Megumi's voice "Hey Jake, you've got a nosebleed." "H-huh? Uh, yeah, I'll wipe it off." Jake was busy with his handkerchief "Strange, huh? Never had a nosebleed before. W-wha? Heh-heh, it's not stopping. Is this normal?" He was trying to smile but then Megumi saw something else "Hey, your ears are bleeding!" "What? Why would my.. Oh shit! What the fuck?" Jake touched his ear and saw his blood on his hand "H-hey, it's not funny. I feel fine, why would my ears bleed?" "Jake, it's not just your ears!" said Drakon, who was now wide awake "Your eyes too!" This got Jake to panic "What the fuck's happening to me?!" "Hey, stay calm! We'll patch you up, alright? Bleeding isn't that bad." Megumi tried to calm him down while Nika gathered necessary items from medical bags. Suddenly Jake started to cough violently until he started coughing blood "Oh god, it hurts! *cough* *cough* Shit! Urrrgh, it hurts!" Now Jake was literally bleeding all over the place and started gurgling because of the blood in his throat. After brief examination Nika came up to the Captain "Comrade captain, this is very bad. We can't do surgery here to treat that kind of internal bleeding." Drakon broke into the conversation "Hey, there's a hospital in that town down there. How about it?" Siegfried took a second to think "Alright, Hilda, cover everything with camo net, I'll come to help you shortly. Drakon, prep the ATV, unload everything unnecessary and attach stretchers to it. Nika, get everything you might need for the op. Megumi, make sure he doesn't choke on his blood. Hurry it up!" He then muttered something to himself "It may be against protocol but I'm not gonna let my teammates die." ATV was prepped, Jake was carefully placed on stretchers and engine warmed up. Megumi threw a nervous look at Jake "Captain, he's losing way too much blood. At this rate our time limit for getting there is 30 minutes tops." He gave her a reassuring smile "Then all we need is throttle to the max, right?" "Alright, saddle up! Hilda, you ride shotgun and spot any obstacles that I may miss. Megumi, you watch Jake's condition. Nika and Drakon, help her. Everyone ready?" Everyone gave a 'thumbs up' "Then let's roll!" Engine made a loud roar. --- Driving downhill, ATV reached it's top speed very quickly. Road was bumpy but nothing Captain couldn't handle. They only needed to cross the forest in time. Difficult, but not impossible. "Shit! He's coughing up his blood all over the place!" Drakon was busy holding Jake in place so that he wouldn't fall out of the car. ATV was flying at top speed, barely dodging various obstacles that were keep popping up in front of it. For average person it would be impossible to drive at this speed without crashing but luckily for Jake, and everyone else, Captain was far beyond 'good'. -Watch the trees! -I see them... -Careful, there's lot of rocks here! -I got it, don't worry. Speed was unbelievable. Captain really squeezed every km/h out of ATV. Destination wasn't that far ahead anymore. "We almost there, I can see some buildings up ahead!" Hilda was busy coordinating movement trajectory "Turn right, there's a, uh, kind of entrance to the city, by that apple orchard!" Drakon added his line from backseat "Comrade captain! I think it's a good idea to use the horn so we won't ram any civvies by accident!" Siegfried smiled "Good thinking master sergeant! And look at the time, we're almost 10 minutes ahead of schedule!" Horn roared as they advanced to their mark - local hospital. Drakon registered some movement in the alleys, windows and doors slapping shut with the edge of his eye. Ears could also hear some terrified screams. "Not really good for first impression... Ah, to hell with it, we've got more important things to do!" He quickly discarded any irrelevant thoughts. "There! Large building with red crosses! I think that's it!" Hilda pointed at the said building "Nika and Drakon, once we stop bail out and grab some gurney or something so we can transport Jake to the ICU!" Once ATV stopped they jumped out and proceeded to the doors. But they were locked. "Shit! It's locked! What do we do?" asked Nika "Just kick the damn thing down! Stand aside!" He kicked it with all his strength but doors didn't move one bit. "What the..? That is one sturdy door!" After few tries and attempted shoulder ramming he gave up "What it's made of?! Fuck it, I've got an idea." He pulled his sidearm, an old trusty Vector pistol. Nika objected to this idea "Hey-hey-hey, hotshot! Did you think about possible shrapnel? And is it powerful enough to actually shoot out the padlock?" Drakon turned to her "Do you have a breaching shotgun or a battering ram maybe? If you have better ideas I'm all ears." But then they were interrupted by sudden shout out and closing engine roar. "Both of you, get out of the way!" It was captain Siegfried on ATV "I'll simply ram it open, it'll save us a lot of time!" "Oh shit! Nika, watch out!" Drakon grabbed her and jumped out of the way. Entrance was now completely trashed. Captain pulled back a little and parked ATV near it. Drakon slowly got up and asked "How about you warn us nex-" and got interrupted by Captain "There's no time, grab a trolley and help Megumi load Jake on it. Move it!" Finally they placed Jake, who, with every muffled cough, spilled some blood on the floor, leaving lots of blood traces, on the nearby trolley and hurried inside in search of the ICU. Loud footsteps, enhanced by heavy soldier boots echoed through hospital hallways as Wolf pack stormed down them in search of needed room. Different door frames flickered with windows and various medical equipment as Drakon was frantically looking around and thinking aloud. "ICU ICU ICU-... I see you! There!" Team dashed into room he pointed at. Finally gurney stopped and Megumi, joined by Nika, began their preparations for the operation "Okay, clear this up. Get his upper clothes off him! And barricade the door, I don't want to be interrupted. Nika, you ready?" Nika simply nodded "Then let's begin the operation!" Few minutes later... “Shit! DO SOMETHING! HE'S GONNA DIE!” Drakon started to lose it when he saw a fountain of blood, after they cut Jake chest open. Must've been a damaged artery or something. Both Megumi and Nika were struggling to stop it just didn't want to stop, no matter what they did. “I can't! Oh god, I CAN'T DO ANYTHING! I CAN'T STOP THE BLEEDING!” Megumi was in panic, close to hysteria. “Calm yourself! You're not helping with your shouting.” Siegfried tried to step in and calm everyone down. At this Drakon, who was drenched in Jake's blood, simply exploded “Calm down?! How am I can calm down, captain?!” Things weren't looking pretty. Even though somehow they managed to stop that fountain of blood Jake started to twitch and cough even more blood. But just when they almost gave in to despair... Suddenly, a mint-colored beam shot out of the open windon and enveloped the injured Jake's body, quickly closing his wounds, which in turn stopped the bleeding. Everything then went dead silent. All of them stood in bewilderment, and with them all smeared with blood, they looked very sinister, to say the least. Drakon couldn't believe his eyes. In the open window there was... Bright mint-colored little horsie? With horn? A unicorn? And did it save his team-mate just now? With some kind of magic beam? Really? And then, IT TALKED. "Um, hi? I used a healing spell on your friend, so I think he'll be okay..." In perfect English, with female voice. Mint-colored, small little horsie. Or maybe a small unicorn. Talking small unicorn. His mind went completely blank. All he could say then was... “Какого хрена это было?”(The fuck was that?) And the adventure continues! HELL YEAH! Chapter 1 is finally up! Now you all can kick me to your hearts content, after all I promised this chapter to come out 2 weeks ago. And I'm very sorry. First my PC broke down, then inspiration left me and... Wait, I'm just making excuses am I? Doesn't matter what happened, you were expecting next chapter and I let you guys down, all of you who liked this story. I sure hope that this kind of screw ups won't happen again. Because I am myself well know how frustrating it is when you find an interesting story and then continuation never come. Those kind of things suck. But putting this all aside... When I was finishing this chapter my Opera browser glitched and crashed and I almost said "FUCK IT, I'LL FINISH IT TOMORROW" because ending disappeared. Almost another 1k of words. But then I steeled myself and did it again. Saving regularly. And I'd also like to list stories that inspired me to finally write mine: Griffin the Griffin - amazing stuff, well written with loads of action and interesting characters, all while not feeling like Mary Sue story even with all powerful protagonist. Rorschach in Equestria Article 2 - maybe one of my favorites Equestria: Global Offensive - interesting take on HiE kind of story. And bloody hilarious too. Name's Ellis - WHY WON'T YOU UPDATE?! :(( And finally, From the Shoulders of Giants - it made me to finally lift my ass and start writing this damn story I was harboring for so long, about half a year or so. For this, Za Rappini, all I can say is: Stay Classy. As a bonus for waiting so long is this weapon art, courtesy of my good friend Syzygy. Some of the weapons Wolf pack uses Double-barreled grenade launcher. РГС-ДС-050 (RGS-DS-050) Which stands for "Special Hand-held Grenade launcher - Double Barreled" (Ruchnoi Granatomet Specialnii - DvuStvolnii) PDW example: This would be a pain in the ass to reload though. And this will be featured later: a nail gun As Syzygy himself said "a tool-like kinetic shit used for extreme body modifications lol" PDWs aren't named yet, so name suggestions for them are quite welcome. BTW, only 3rd one is western-made, so if you suggest something keep this in mind. And that is all for today! I know there's a ton of mistakes, typos and writing itself isn't perfect but please, enjoy this story. Stay tuned! Maniac, signing off.