Gunfire could be heard in the distance within a city block. Undead were swarming the area as a group of armed people dressed in military uniforms began gunning them down. Alongside the military personnel were two other individuals tearing down any undead that came close to them. These two were Ion and Jessica.
Jessica roasted any undead alive, and Ion smashed through them with pure strength alone. Every so often, a person in military uniform would try to gun down Ion and Jessica. Jessica took hold of Ion when they came under fire. When she did, a white light enveloped them before they vanished and appeared elsewhere, a short distance away.
"Fucking undead..." A booming voice grumbled.
Stern and vicious. It was the man Don encountered last night. "Sir, they just keep coming! As long as we continue to use our guns, the noise will continue to attract them. Even the bugs are starting to make their way over here. Spiders and Mosquitos are beginning to feast on the undead. There is even word that a worm has been spotted closing in our location!" A soldier shouted over the roaring gunfire. This drew the man's attention. The man appeared aged. He had a gray beard and short-kempt gray hair. He has a few wrinkles here and there and a couple of scars on his face. The man was well-built too.
"Worm? I guess all the commotion aboveground attracted it. Get me the RPG. I won't be leaving without taking out those two. The two most wanted criminals in this world are right in front of us." The man remarked sternly.
The soldier's brow rose. "RPG, Sir?" The soldier inquired since he didn't understand. "Did I stutter? I'll kill the damn worm as well." Again, the man remarked, and the soldier hurried off to get the RPG. The man turned back to look at Ion and Jessica, who was zipping around the field, killing both the undead and his men. The man crossed his arms behind his back; a vivid number of three-thousand, eight-hundred, and thirty-six was on his hand.
"You know Ion... We should've just let them find that guy." Jessica said as she tossed a fireball at an undead, setting it ablaze. A few seconds later, the undead fell over and burned to a crisp.
"You wanted to recruit him, right? We need someone to keep him from going on a killing spree." Ion replied as he crushed the head of the undead with pure force alone. "Well... you have a point. But this might be a bit much..." Jessica remarked as she kicked back an undead before burning it with a fireball. There was sweat running all along her body, and she started to feel fatigued. "Even still, Nat is with him. We can't let them find her or that guy." Ion remarked. He was also starting to feel tired. His movement was starting to grow sluggish.
"Sir!" The soldier returned with the RPG and gave the man the RPG. The man took the RPG and prepared to fire. He locked his sights on the two before him. His pupils gave off a vivid yellow. "Dodge this, punks." The man muttered as he pulled the trigger.
The RPG fired off the Grenade straight toward Ion and Jessica. Ion saw it coming in their direction mainly because he turned to look where the man was standing. "Fuck!" Ion shouted.
"Jessica, emergency teleport! Now!" Ion shouted as he moved to hold onto Jessica.
Jessica overhead Ion and instantly began the teleportation sequence. They disappeared within the white light and appeared elsewhere; however, Ion's eyes went wide. "What the fuck!?" Ion grumbled. "Did that thing just swerve towards us?!" Jessica exclaimed. She had seen the Grenade had turned mid-air to readjust its destination.
"You have to be fucking kidding me! It's that old man's power!" Ion shouted as he did his best to fend off the undead that was around them. "Where did he even get a fucking RPG!?" Jessica exclaimed rhetorically. "Jess, you are gonna have to take it down. I'll cover you!" Ion shouted, and Jessica nodded. Next, she would shift her focus from the undead toward the Grenade. She began firing several balls of fire upon it, and eventually, it exploded in mid-air.
"Fuck..." The man grumbled as he dropped the RPG. "Sir, the worm!" The soldier exclaimed while pointing at the oversized worm that had been in mid-air from their right flank. The man raised his hand towards the worm, and the worm stopped in mid-air. A soft blue aura was around his hand.
He slowly closed his fingers into a claw, and the imprints of fingers started to form along with the worm, which squirmed in pain. An ungodly screech could be heard from it. The more the man closed his hand, the more the imprint became visible until he closed his hand completely, and the worm exploded as if an invisible force had crushed it. A heavy sigh escaped the man's lips while his eyes kept on Ion and Jessica. "Prepare the atomic cannon. I'll just blow this entire fucking town away along with them. That girl can't teleport in rapid succession, and her teleportation distance is only a couple yards at best." The man remarked with a cold and stern tone of voice.
"Sir?" The soldier inquired since he felt he had misheard the man.
There was no correction.
The soldier tried to persuade the man. "Sir, if we do that, it could affect everything! Our entire mission would be jeopardized!" The soldier exclaimed. The man turned back to face the soldier. "Did I stutter? Prepare the cannon at once." The soldier gulped heavily. It was clear as day that the soldier didn't want to do it.
"That's enough, General. Return to base. Something more important needs your attention." A voice spoke up. It was a strong, feminine, and aged voice. The man and the soldier shifted their attention toward a black crow. "A bird?" The soldier inquired.
"Is that so, Commander... What of those two?" The man remarked as if referring to Ion and Jessica. "Those two are not as important at the moment. The Rosario group has made their move. Return to base and prepare to head out. We are sending you away. That is an order." The voice came from the black crow once again.
The man's eyes narrowed. "I see. Very well." The man turned from the bird, and the bird flew off without a word. "Attention! Everyone is to return to base! We are heading home! Kill anything that delays your return! That is an order!" The man shouted with a booming voice. He had picked up a microphone nearby and used it to project his voice outward. His men began to fall back while fending against bugs and undead alike.
"They are retreating?" Jessica inquired curiously as she took out a Spider by burning it to a crisp.
"That is worrisome, but for now, let's just call this our win." Ion remarked as he dispatched a couple of undead himself.
"Let's head back to base ourselves." Jessica stated.
"No, take us to where Nat is. I want her to know that we are fine." Ion remarked. Jessica took a moment to make sure Ion knew what he was saying. When she saw that he was speaking from a sane mind, she took hold of him, and white light would illuminate them. They appeared a couple of yards away from the action inside an empty building. Jessica took a moment to catch her barring then teleported again. She repeated this until they were right outside of John's place.
The sudden thud sound caused Rebecca's eyes to grow wide when she noticed both of them lying on the ground just outside the door. Rebecca aimed her shotgun at them with a narrowed glance. "Don't move!" Rebecca exclaimed.
Jessica was eyeing the woman with massive fatigue in her eyes. So, Ion put a hand up, "Don't shoot!" He tried to call in between breaths. Perhaps the continuous teleportation had taken its toll on him as well.
"Who are you? Why are you here? What do you want?" Rebecca remarked as she fingered the trigger of the shotgun. "Natalie..." Ion said raggedly.
Rebecca's eyes went wide once more out of surprise. 'They knew Natalie?' She spoke internally. She took a long moment to look over them before releasing a heavy breath. "I don't trust you two. You two give off terrible vibes, besides..." Rebecca pointed the barrel of the shot toward their hands. "You two have a pretty high number. There are only three-hundred and sixty-five days in a year. So something doesn't add up..." Rebecca stated sternly.
"We know... we just want to see our friend." Jessica spoke after catching her breath, although her voice was weak.
Rebecca took a moment to evaluate the situation. "Fine, but if you two try anything, I'll be sure to blow a hole into both of you. Now get up and get moving." Rebecca motioned towards the front door, which had no steel plating.
Both of them took a moment to get onto their feet before raising their hands in the air to show they weren't going to try anything. Then, they made their way toward the door. "Open it and go inside." Rebecca remarked while still holding the barrel upon both of them. After all, how could she trust two people that just came out of nowhere? Not to mention they knew Natalie.
Ion took the knob, turned it, and opened the door. He walked inside after Jessica did. Meanwhile, Rebecca followed behind.
"Vistors?" John's mother inquired when she saw two people enter. "Oh my..." Her expression turned to a frown when she saw that Rebecca had them at gunpoint. "Is something going on?" John's mother asked.
"Can you gather everyone into the living room? Natalie included." Rebecca asked, and John's mother nodded and then left to get everyone.
"You two have a seat on the sofa." Rebecca motioned with her head toward the couch in the living room, and both of them took a seat on the sofa. John's mother went around telling everyone that Rebecca was calling for a meeting in the living room and everyone joined up. She went to get Natalie last since she was in the master bedroom with Don and April.
"Say... can we put our hands down now?" Jessica asked since her arms were getting tired. "No. I want to know why the hell you are here, and who the hell you are?" Josh inquired with a glare.
Jessica sighed heavily. "Look, I was just testing you, alright. I had to make sure you three were good, and you three are. I wouldn't mind fighting again, but can you wait until I recover?" Jessica asked.
John shook his head with disagreement, and Jake sighed softly. "Yeah, right, tell me why we shouldn't gun you down now." Josh was agitated. It made sense, though, considering they nearly died, and April was put into a critical condition just yesterday.
"Look, man, I get why you are upset. But like I told her..." Ion made a notion towards Rebecca. "I just want to see my friend." Ion finished.
A few seconds later, Natalie called out to them, "Ion! Jessica!"
Natalie hurriedly made her way toward them. She had heard both of their voices and saw them as she left the master bedroom. She hugged both of them close. Everyone seemed dumbfounded in some way at the sudden embrace Natalie gave them. Rebecca lowered her gun since Natalie was in front of them now.
"Can you explain what is going on?" Rebecca asked, which drew Natalie's attention toward her.
It didn't take an expert to put two and two together. "Did they do something?" Natalie asked Rebecca. "Something... is a bit of an understatement." Josh remarked coldly. Natalie looked back at Ion and Jessica. The look in her eyes was that of someone asking for answers.
"All we wanted to do was test them." Ion remarked, which caused Natalie to sigh heavily.
"What did I tell you about testing people. You need to learn when to hold back..." Natalie scolded Ion.
"I did! I wasn't even going to kill anyone." Ion replied hastily before receiving a karate chop on the dome from Natalie, which caused him to winch in pain and remark with an "Ouch!" Natalie did the same to Jessica, which caused her to remark with an "Owwie.." while rubbing her head. Finally, Natalie rose to her feet and turned towards Rebecca apologetically. "I am sorry for whatever trouble these two have caused. Please find it in your hearts to forgive them." Natalie spoke with an apologetic tone of voice.
Rebecca looked at both of them. They looked no older than April. Still rather young. She was usually a good judge of character, but something about these two didn't feel right with her. These two felt different, even if Natalie seemed genuinely good. Not necessarily evil, but just different.
"That isn't up to us to decide." Josh finally spoke up since it seemed like Rebecca couldn't say something.
Everyone looked towards Josh. "Look, I get you have a problem with me, but--" Jessica was in the middle of saying something when Josh shook his head with a "No." He said, then notion towards the master bedroom.
"That is up to April and Don. Sure, we had a few bruises, but what happened to Don is entirely different. I may not know the full story, but April nearly dying has affected Don tremendously. I doubt Don's state of mind will be the same when he wakes up. In fact, you better hope he doesn't kill you without a word." Josh stated firmly. This caused the tension in the atmosphere to grow heavy in silence. No one said a thing, but everyone did look at one another.
"Who is going to kill who now...?" A voice called from the door frame of the master bedroom, which drew their attention toward it. Don was standing against the frame, wearing nothing but black slacks. The various scars on his chiseled body were visible for everyone to see. His hair was messy, and his eyes looked half-open.
Susan, Alice, and Sarah seemed to blush faintly at the sight.
Dillian and Ryan had expressions of awe on their face.
Josh, John, and Jake sighed lightly since they knew what would happen soon.
As for Noah and Tyrone, they were a bit curious as to how Don got his scars. Catalina shielded Sofia's eyes from the sight. "Mommy! I can't see." Sofia remarked.
Juan seemed to pity Don. Judging from how his body was built and the scars along his body, it seemed he had been through much. Rebecca was more so surprised that Don was actually awake. "I told you to rest a bit more. Your body isn't ready to be up!" Natalie called from the sofa, which caused his attention to shift toward her.
There she saw Ion and Jessica. He hastily removed his 1911 Ruger that rested in his pants behind him. His finger itching to pull the trigger but stopped when Natalie got in the way.
"Move!" Don exclaimed as he held the gun with both hands to steady his aim.
"No! Don't shoot!" Natalie shouted, begging.
"If you don't move, I'll kill you as well!" Don shouted.
Natalie refused to move, and no one seemed to stop Don. After all, what Josh said was true. The judgment would lay with Don and April.
"Put the gun done, darling..." A gentle voice peered into Don's ear from behind.
A gentle touch caressed Don's hands. A warmth pressed firmly to his back. Slowly Don lowered the gun with aid, and his eyes softened. "It's okay, darling. Like I said, they surrendered, and I am alive. There is no reason to fight. No reason to kill, okay?" The gentle voice spoke cutely, which caused Don to close his eyes and release a soft, shaky breath, "Okay, April." He was slowly beginning to relax.
This was thanks to April.
Everyone was surprised to see April was up. Nevertheless, they held faces of relief and joy to see she was up. "Saved again by the girl..." Ion muttered, which drew Natalie's attention.
Jessica sighed softly. "Yup." She muttered.
At this point, everyone knew one thing. No matter what the case would be, no one but April would be able to stop Don. Even if they wanted to, they felt that they could not.
Don turned around and took hold of April with a loving embrace. April smiled softly and slid fingers through his hair softly. "I am here. I haven't gone anywhere. Everything will be okay." April spoke softly.
She knew what was going through Don's mind. She understood why he was on edge. So, she comforted him. They stayed standing there for a long moment before Don slowly released her so he could look down at her with a smile. "Good morning, darling~" April commented cutely, and Don chuckled lightly before giving her a gentle smile. The scene was beautiful and cute, except that April was only in panties, and most of her body was being covered by Don's frame as a whole.
When she realized this, she blushed softly. "Oh, umm... let's head back inside the room." April said softly, and Don nodded in agreement. He shielded her body from view while making his way back into the room with April, after which he would shut the door.
The heavy tension in the air was diminished now, thanks to April. Since they could freely talk, Natalie inquired about what Ion had meant earlier. "What did you mean saved again by the girl? Are you referring to April?" Natalie asked, and Ion nodded.
"Yeah. When our stupid team shot at April without my command, that guy completely shut down. No matter what we said to him, he pretty much blew it off. Only that girl's voice got to him, which is why we are even alive." Ion explained.
Jessica nodded. "Yeah, it was kind of scary. No matter what we did, he had us pinned. We pretty much figured it was the end." Jessica added, "But then that girl started talking. Saying things like that wasn't who he was, and he wasn't heartless or whatever. The guy pretty much came back to his senses and ran towards her. Ion healed me up, and they left us there. After that, we returned to base." Jessica finished.
"I see... Care to tell us in more detail? From start to finish." Rebeca asked, and Ion nodded. After that, everyone decided to stay in full and listen in on what happened between them, Don and April. There was even a bit more information thrown their way as well.