First Mission

Taking the first step is always the hardest part, but with that step taken, weights have been lifted from his shoulders. The problems won't disappear or be solved by admitting their mistakes and impulsiveness, but the wound won't fester nor get infected.

Not only that, K.J has to deal with another problem. Is Lily feeling okay? 'Who do I want to fool? She is not.' If the silent sob he heard is anything, she is not. Not only that, but an awkward silence lingers in the room.

"Well… I got something to do, we can talk about stuff later." Feeling the awkwardness of the situation, Spencer nods. Turning around, the young man takes a deep breath, time to check on how Lily is doing.

Stepping out of the room, he can hear silent sobs, of someone— a child trying to choke back tears. It doesn't take long to find her, sulking in a dark corner, crying for some reason. His heart sinks. What could've made her cry?

Doubt and fear filled his heart. What could he do to help her? Was it his fault, or something else? Hesitation is taking over. What should he do? Biting his lip, K.J sits beside Lily. She is not one of his friends or a young adult. He doesn't know what to do, but he would be there for her.

Until she stops crying, or he is forced to leave her. She continues to sob, hiding her face behind her hands. There is no way for him to know her thoughts, or what he should do to comfort her. 'What a catastrophe of an older brother I am.'

To not even know how to help a child with the age of his sister… The little girl takes her hands out of her face, noticing him. Wordlessly, she throws herself on him, lying her face on his chest, muffling her sobs as tears fall from her eyes, staining his shirt.

There is nothing he can do, besides staying there with her. Gently and slowly, Kyrie hugs Lily, trying his best to make her feel safe, to help with her hurting in some way, despite not knowing exactly what to do.

The two stay there, with Lily crying against him until the tears stop falling, and she starts to relax. "I miss mom and dad." No matter what words he thinks, they will never be enough to reach Lily.

His family is sound and safe, while hers are lost back in the city at best… at worst dead. "I miss them." Whispering, Lily holds him tight. Hurt and acceptance in her voice— she had come to the realization her parents were gone already…

"I'm sorry." He says, patting her head slowly, letting her vent all of her emotions in their hug. Silent, Lily loses her arms and falls asleep. Taking a deep breath, K.J holds Lily in his arms, Princess carrying her.

Getting up, he looks around. 'Where is her dorm?' This is something he didn't account for. "Damn it." Who knows where her dorm is? K.J walks back to the dorm he shares with his friends. 

At the room's door, a soldier is standing there. "Are you Kyrie Jensen?" The soldier asks. Why is a soldier there and inquiring about him…?

"Yes, I'm." The fact he is there, almost entering the room, is enough to answer that question. The soldier nods silently.

"Major Anthony inquired about your presence and that of Henderson Cain. He also requests for you to take your sword with you." He and Cain… why? It would only make sense if they needed them for something, or if monsters attacked… What one is it?

"I Understand, just let me put her on one of the empty beds, okay?" The soldier's lips twist, but he doesn't protest. Even if he did, it would be fun to see his attempts at stopping him from entering the dorm.

Entering the room, Cain is nowhere to be seen, as expected, while Spencer is playing cards with James. Where they got cards is a question. They see him carrying Lily but don't question or ask anything, being in total silence.

Lying her gently in Cain's empty bed, he covers Lily with the blanket. "I'll be back later." K.J knows she can't hear his words, but even if she is unconscious, he wants her to know he won't abandon her. He won't commit the same mistake he did at Holy Oak School.

Picking up the great sword, he exits the room. The soldier is still there waiting for him. "I'll guide you to where Major Anthony instructed." Nodding, the young man followed the soldier without questioning.

(...)

Right before a truck, Cain and Konrad stand across each other, trying their best to ignore the other. Before them stands a group of soldiers with Major "Tom" in the middle before them, a position to show leadership.

"You surely took your time, Kyrie." Once again, the Major speaks in a calm and relaxed tune, which pisses him off for some reason. 

"Since you weren't here for the start, let me summarize for you: We got some monsters scouting near the base. We want to test your bunch skills in dealing with them with our help. Think of it as a toned-down trial by fire."

He and James had dealt with more than a fair share of monsters back in Blue Evening. Cain appears to not be a slouch either. 'This leaves Konrad and the soldiers.' While Konrad has powers, what will the soldiers be doing? "I can get Konrad's participation, but what about the other soldiers?"

Not to disrespect them, but those monsters are hard to destroy in a good hour, and in need of butchery in a bad one. How could they help them in the fight if they lack powers? "This is simple, kid. While you guys lack tactical coordination and knowledge of formation, we can help with suppressive fire and guide your superpowered party." 

Fair… glancing at the soldiers, they didn't appear to take offense to his words, or at least, they didn't show it. "The monsters are close enough to the base to not be a problem for now, but they are close enough to become a problem in the near future. Our objective is to deal with them before they can become a nuisance."

Peace and quiet will become a rarity in his routine if the recent times are anything to go by… 'Who thought the apocalypse would be so bad? No, who would've thought the apocalypse would happen in their lifetime?'

Out of nowhere, one of the soldiers throws a bag at him, while another two throw one at Konrad and Cain. "Those are military uniforms for you guys, they will be better than your casual wear for this situation."

A uniform. "I won't be using this," Cain says immediately, throwing the bag back. "Those uniforms are ugly as fuck." The major arches his eyebrow, a surprised expression on his face. Seeing his carefree facade broken, being worthy already.

"Boy… these uniforms are made for operations and for helping protect us against the environment and identification. You are saying you aren't going to wear it because they are ugly?"

"Yes. I am. I'm a super-powered killing machine, do you think the environment will be a problem? Besides, I'm quite easy to spot." Major "Tom" opens and closes his mouth. For good or for worse, Cain is right about his resistance.

"Okay, are you two going to use the uniform or not?" He held his temples, probably stressed. Sharing a look with Konrad, they think the same thing. Although ugly, it can have its uses. Better with than without…

Dropping the sword on the ground, K.J decides to wear it. "Okay, I am going to use it, is there somewhere for me to change clothes?" He never wore a uniform, much less a military one. For a moment, Major "Tom" puts his left hand over his mouth.

"You can put it over your casual clothes. No problem with that. Beware that putting it with the shoes on can be tricky." less bad than having to undress and put it on. Opening the bag, there is the uniform set and boots. 

'I won't wear boots.' This is where he draws his line. Taking out the uniform, K.J clumsily puts it on, as the Major said, it is tricky to put them with his shoes on, but who cares? The shoes stay.

The soldiers noticed this but decided to say nothing. Konrad, on the other hand, changed his shoes for the boots. "So, can we start?" Cain inquires, a little bored about the short wait. Smiling, the Major gives the order.

"Get on the truck, we will go monster hunting." Jumping inside the truck, Anthony goes first. Looking to the side, Konrad shrugs, following the suit of the soldiers getting inside it. Hope the truck has a spot for his sword.

Jumping on it, "Tom" throws a familiar bag to him. "You will have to carry it with you again." He has to be kidding. Breathing in, he takes the bag, putting the sword's blade in it. Sitting on the seat, he sighs.

The trouble with Spencer, Lily breaking down and now it… "Maybe Cain had a better day than mine." Unlikely, unrealistic even. By the look of things, the day would be even worse if the "monster hunting" was anything to go by.

One soldier passes something to him. "This is a radio. We will be using those to communicate." Just like in the movies, then. How do these things even work? Shaking his head, the soldier passes a thin book. "Read this, you will know how to use it."

'Less bad, then.' Picking the sword and resting it against his shoulder, K.J sits on the truck's bench, while Cain sits beside him, with Konrad sitting on a farther seat. 'Do you guys have to be so problematic?'

This may be a problem in the mission, but the Major must know what to do. After all, he is a major. The truck starts to move, to exit the base. "Hey, how heavy is that sword of yours?" A soldier beside him asks.

Despite the helmet and goggles hiding his eyes, where he was looking is clear. A true question… how heavy is that thing he swings around? 'This shit is not light, it can cut through the bigger monsters with ease.'

How heavy is another question? "Dunno, it is just… heavy. Like, I hadn't time to stop and see how heavy it is." The soldier just nods, a bit of disappointment showing on his lips. With a more attentive look, his face is more round than the other soldiers, as well as thinner.

'Maybe he is on the younger side?' Although strange, there are still people who would willingly join the army in this day and age. For someone around his age to join in too… he must be patriotic.

"Ok, okay. It must be heavy either way. It looks like a heap of metal." This much is true. That thing must weigh like crazy going by its appearance alone. "So, is it a family heirloom, or does it come with your powers?" 

Another question like this… "As far as I know, it did come with the powers for some reason." Skoll never had a sword, yet he got one. How do these powers work anyway? 'Why did a metal bat end up as a sword?'

"Cool, your power thing must be strong, huh? I got just an "elf" when I clicked on the notification." The soldier lets out a dry laugh. While elves are cool, what are elves when compared to mythological monsters and gods?

"I see, so you have good eyesight?" The soldier nods. With a gun, better eyesight and precision can make a difference. Being an elf and using a sword like his would be very detrimental… 

The soldier hums. An elf probably doesn't have a high star. Better eyesight, reflexes, and longevity? 'What good would longevity make in a world with monsters breathing on your neck and ready to chop your limbs?'

This soldier got the short end of the stick— even with the black flames being unstable, at least he is strong enough to just kill monsters with the sword. "Do you think monsters will stop appearing?"

K.J decides to continue to talk as the trucks continue onward, they won't have much to do either way, so why not chit-chat for a bit? "Maybe, maybe not, there is no way to know this type of thing, you know?"

The expected answer. "Yeah, I think we are not going to have peace in the future. Well… did we even have peace before?" The young man lets out a small laugh, with a soldier beside him smiling sadly.

Some things just are the way they are. Those monsters are no different. Their only option is to endure and see if they will one day stop appearing. 'I hope so… the world is nearing collapse and just one day has passed…'

The future looks bleak.