Family and Friends II

Present Time

Ethan and his friends were sneakily making their way towards the boss's room. All the way there, despite their caution, they didn't find a single soul.

"I think they have already departed towards the ruins," Sam said.

"No shit dude," Jeff said

"Let's make our way towards the exit. They must not have gone far" Sam said

As they were running, they saw a peculiar room with the door slightly open. Jeff went to see what was inside, as he was a little curious. What he saw and listened to, shocked him.

"Sis, so when are we getting out of this place?" asked a little kid.

"Soon, Jimmy, your sister has already handled everything. We will get out of here today," said Ariana.

"Thank God, I have already lived in this place for more than a year. I just want to go home now," said Jimmy.

"Of course, we will eat your favorite pizza today."

"Yay, sis, you are the best"

"I know," said Ariana, rubbing her nose.

This was all seen by Ethan and his friends. They sympathized with the girl, but there was nothing they could do. They again started their journey towards the exit.

"That's so sad; I didn't think she was doing all that for her brother," said Jeff.

"She is a good person," said Ethan.

"There is nothing we can do about it, and you all listened to her; she is being released today," said Sam.

Finally, they noticed the exit as they were speaking. Once they got outside, they noticed three individuals loading some cargo into a Jeep. Slipping by the guards, Ethan approached the rear of the Jeep in silence. 

"Have you packed all the goods?" asked the guard leader

"Yeah," said guard 1.

"Are the explosives in place?" asked the guard leader

"Yeah," said guard 2.

"Let's depart now; this place will explode in ten minutes," said the guard leader.

Immediately after hearing this, Ethan signaled Sam and Jeff to quickly come closer. He told them what had just transpired. They decided Sam and Ethan would knock out the guards and Jeff would cheer for them.

Ethan silently went behind the guard one and grabbed his neck from behind. He quickly twisted the neck just enough to not kill him. Meanwhile, Sam did the same. 

"What's taking you guys so long?" asked the guard leader, a little annoyed.

"Surprise Motherfucker," said Ethan like Samuel Jackson and punched his temple (the area on the side of a person's face, between the hairline and the eyebrows, at eye level).

After all that was done, they decided to leave the place quickly. Jeff started the car quickly, and Sam joined him in the front seat.

"Ethan, sit quickly," Jeff said.

"Guys, wait for me," Ethan said and quickly rushed towards the building.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sam asked loudly.

"Ethan, save them quickly," Jeff said. They already knew what type of person Ethan was.

Jimmy and Selena's room

"Guys, we don't have time. Come quickly" Ethan said to them

Selena was first surprised and quickly took a defensive pose.

"What are you doing here?"

"We don't have time for questions. This building is going to be blown into smithereens. Come with me quickly."

Selena hesitated for a bit, but she knew she couldn't risk her brother's life because of her reluctance. Even if he was lying, they would most likely be captured. There are fewer chances for death. After her internal struggle, she decided to go with him.

"Sis, I think this big brother is not lying. He looks too dumb to lie," Jimmy said. Selena nodded her head and decided to follow Ethan.

Ethan was happy that they followed him but decided to give the little kid his fist of love after they were out of danger.

One minute before the explosion

Ethan, Selena, and Jim quickly entered the backseat of the jeep. 

"Guys hold on tight" Jeff quickly started the jeep and went full throttle. There were two roads, one going left and the other right.

"Guys which one quickly" 

"Left one" Selena added

"Are the ruins on the left side?" Sam asked

"No"

After hearing this Jeff quickly took a right turn 

"Hey, my little brother is here; we can't go towards the place where those guys are," Selena said quickly

"Look, we know your brother is young and all, but our little brother is also in this mess because of you. We don't blame you for that, but you at least have to have a little human decency. My brother Ethan saved you even though all our lives were in danger," Sam said coldly to Selena. I was surprised as it was the first time I saw Sam talking rudely to a lady.

After hearing this, Selena burst into uncontrollable tears.

"I'm sorry," Selena said quietly. Jim quickly hugged her sister and looked angrily at Sam. Ethan put his hand on Selena's shoulder and said,

"Don't worry, everything will be okay because I'm here." These words strangely affected Selena, and she started crying more.

"Hey, don't mind Sam's words. He is just worried about Nathan. You and Jimmy can sit in the car when we are fetching Nathan" Jeff said while giving her a tissue box (which was already in the Jeep).

Just then a large explosion took place behind them. They were just outside the radius of the explosion.

"Wow" Ethan and Jimmy were admiring the explosion from the back window

"Sam can you get me some explosives from your mafia friends" Ethan asked

"Why do you need that" Sam asked

"To explode Khabib house"

"Sure"

"Big bro can I also come," Jim asked

"Sure," Ethan said while patting his head

This seemed to improve the atmosphere in the jeep. Then they all made they're towards the ruins. Selena guided them as she was the only one who knew the directions to that place.

At Ruins

POV-Nathan

"Nice job Nathan," said Khabib as they reached the last door of Ruins.

"This is the place where the artifact is located, now tell your men to take me to my brother"

"Sure, a deal is a deal, you just need to follow me until I find the treasure"

"Alright"

As they entered the last door, they saw a big fountain, still functioning from God knows when. On top of the fountain was a gold wheel, or, in other words, a Sudarshan Chakra. They finally found the artifact. Khabib ordered his men to retrieve the artifact. Meanwhile, my eyes were on the left side of the wall. There was a small button placed on the wall and a cross on the block below it. I knew these were secret escape paths made by ancient Hindus. Due to old age, the location of the button was already revealed.

"Yeah, give me that," Khabib said greedily to the guard who brought the wheel

"Hey, check if this is authentic" Khabib urgently asked Nathan. 

"Let me see, the metal looks like gold, that's a good sign as it is not rusting. Well, the shape and size are good too. I think it's authentic" I revealed calmly even though I was jumping in joy in my mind. Which treasure hunter won't be after finding a treasure?

"Yeah" Khabib roared like he won his biggest match yet

"What's written on this" Khabib knowing that I'm the last person alive, who knows this language.

"It's written {Template} here, I don't know what that means" I replied honestly.

"Well Nathan, you have made my day, what do you want" Khabib asked

"Just take me to my brother and friends" 

"Well, that was part of the deal. I will personally take you to them." Khabib motioned for a guard, exchanging the artifact with the gun. He raised his gun to my face level.

"Khabib, what's the meaning of this?" I asked, a little agitated.

"You asked me to let you meet them; I'm just fulfilling your wish."

I immediately understood the underlying meaning behind his words. But I just couldn't believe him. My only family and friends, who were as close to family as me, were no more. No, that can't be. He is lying. I angrily made my way his way in front of him and asked

"You are lying" 

"Want to make sure, we can go there right now. Maybe you can get their ashes," said Khabib

I won't believe him even if he takes me there. At that moment I made a critical decision. I slowly approached the guard (who had the artifact) backward. It looked like I was in denial or scared. Or at least I tried to make it look like it. Khabib noticed this and started shooting towards me but I was already in front of the guard. I quickly hid behind him, using him like a human shield. I quickly snatched the artifact and made my way towards the secret exit even though there was a rainfall of bullets pressing on me. I pressed the secret button which opened up a secret tunnel right below me. Before I knew it, I was already riding the tunnel.

Meanwhile in the Artifact Room

"Fuck, how can he get with so many people firing. Are we living in his world, is he the main character" Khabib shouted angrily. He quickly rushed towards the tunnel but it was already closed and even after pressing the button it didn't open.

"Quickly stop him," Khabib said as he and his men were rushing towards the exit.

By the time they reached the exit, they saw a Jeep with Nathan and his friends in it.

"Are you kidding me? How did they survive? Quickly get me a car" Khabib shouted angrily.

"You fucking piece of shit. I will leak all your secrets to the world, I already got the recordings" Selena shouted angrily from the car.

POV-Jeff

"Hey looks like we reached the place," I told everyone

"Ok. Selena, Jim, and Jeff will stay in this car. Jeff keeps the car ready. We may have to run after coming out. Me and Sam are going in the ruins" Ethan said. Jeff nodded his head.

"Hey, can I come too? I want to repay you guys" Selena said

"Not right now, anything can happen and I think this little brat needs you more than us," Ethan said

"Hey I don't think there is a need for such planning," Sam said while looking toward the ruin's entry point

"Why" Ethan asked and also looked outwards

"Nathan" Ethan got out of the car and started running towards Nathan while his eyes were overflowing with tears (imagine a toon power with crying effects). He thought they were gonna have a brotherly moment and hug but Nathan just ran past him while running like a madman. Then he saw a mirage of bullets coming towards them

"Aah" Ethan also started running toward the car

They immediately sat in the car and I immediately took off. I removed my imaginary sweat and started cursing Ethan

"Hey why did you run, when he was coming," I asked with fake anger (Jeff's POV)

"I thought we were gonna have one of those moments," Ethan said while hitting Nathan on his head

"Why are you hitting me? I also just escaped" Nathan asked angrily

"Oh right" while hitting Ethan again

"Ahh, why are you hitting me" 

"Because you talked back to your big brother," Ethan said as a matter of fact

"Ha Ha, you guys are funny," Jimmy said

Ethan and Nathan both looked at each other and nodded. They both raised their fists and hit Jimmy this time.

"Aah, you both are animals" 

Everybody started laughing forgetting about the tense atmosphere a few minutes ago

As they were traveling down the mountain road, they heard a familiar voice. Khabib was chasing them with his minions. He raised a microphone and spoke

"Stop right now, Motherfuckers"

"Like we are going to stop," Sam said

"Can you believe this guy?" Selena said

"Looks like you are not going to stop, fire" Khabib ordered his men to shoot at us.

"Hey, there is no need to be so angry," I shouted as I maneuvered the car like a pro, which I was. I was so good that I was drifting with a jeep (I don't even know if it's possible).

As he was chasing us, due to the excess number of minions sometimes one of the cars or bikes would bypass me and try to shoot. But at the crucial time, Sam suddenly fired at them.

"Why didn't you shoot if you had a gun" I asked angrily

"Oh, this I forgot, I got this from one of the guards we knocked out," Sam said casually

"If only this pig had a brain"

"Who are you calling pig you short arms (imagine a T-rec)"

"Guys this isn't the time to fight," Nathan said

"Yeah Yeah," they said looking away from each other

Suddenly one of the cars shot a hole in the tire. Which made the already difficult driving take another leap in difficulty. Other cars also started to come near us. I started to get nervous again. I again started to have thoughts about the crash. When suddenly a hand pressed on my shoulder

"Jeff we all believe in you and even if you crash the car right now, nobody is going to blame you. So have some confidence, okay" Ethan said to Jeff. I started to get myself back together. 

"Thanks, Ethan, this won't happen again, I promise," he said with a newfound vigor

"That's my bro"

As we were getting near the base again. We saw the blasted buildings and the debris remains

"So, what he was saying was real," Nathan said to himself

"Who said what Nathan" Ethan asked

"Khabib said you all were killed," said his words laced with anger

"That fucker is going to die," Nathan said

"Hey forget about all that, first let's get out and then we can start our revenge arc," Ethan said trying to assure him

I quickly made our way around the base towards the exit road. What we all failed to notice was some cars that were following us were missing

As we made our way towards the exit, we noticed that the cars were not following us anymore

"Nice man, we can finally relax," Ethan said

"I got a bad feeling about this" Just when I said this a bunch of cars were blocking our way

"Fuck" I immediately braked. A few cars also surrounded us from behind blocking our way. They were hiding at the side of the road. They must have known some kind of shortcut. 

"Ahem, I think you already know what's best for you. We all made our choices in the past. I will give you one last option; give me the artifact and I will let you leave" Khalid said while getting out of his car. He looked like he had already won

"I will give you my shit instead" Ethan shouted

"Know your place" he made a hand sign to shoot. I immediately turned the car around and went offroad. It was the only viable option left. But in the mirage of bullets, one hit me on my shoulder. Due to the sudden pain that engulfed me, my hand slipped and the car moved towards a cliff.

"Oh shit," I said just before we were flying in the air

POV-Ethan

I knew it was going to be tough to come out alive. But man does it suck to die just before the exit. I looked at all my friends - Sam, Jeff, my brother – Nathan, Selena, and Jim—and said,

"I'm sorry, Selena and little Brat; I should have left you guys somewhere safe. If only we didn't take you with us," I said with a guilty face. After a few seconds, I looked at all of them. Selena and Jimmy were hugging each other while crying, Sam looked calm even at this moment as he let out a sign as if he knew this day would come, Jeff was scared and had tears flowing through them and Nathan was also drowning in tears of self-guilt, (only if he didn't find the treasure, maybe his brother would the new lightweight champion and his friends would all be living their lives happily).

"I know I may sound like a jerk right now, but I am happy that I at least get to die with you guys. If we all get reincarnated, I would like you all to be my family and friends again" I finally laughed as I said my last words in this life.

"Ha ha, like I would become a friend with this idiot," Sam said

"Well, you can be my brother in the next life if you want," Nathan said embarrassingly

"I hope we all can become real friends next time and Jim be my brother again," Selena said

"I want you as my big sis, again sis," Jimmy said

"I hope Sam will have some brain in his next life," Jeff said while making one last joke

"You" 

"Ha ha" I laughed and then

*BOOM*

The car crashed in what looked like a rainforest area. I had very little consciousness left in me. I saw that everyone except me was dead. I finally started to cry as my earlier demeanor faltered. 

"If there is a second chance, I don't want revenge. I just want to live happily with my family and friends." As he said this, he lost consciousness and died.

What he didn't notice was the golden glow coming out of the disk artifact. It shined above all the dead present there and finally vanished.

POV-Khalid

"Where the fuck is that disk," I asked while looking at the dead.

"Sir we can't find it here, it may have fallen somewhere in the jungle during their fall" a minion reported.

"Then search the whole jungle" 

"And throw them somewhere on the mountain" I ordered

"Ok sir," minions said

Three months later

"Khalid my boy, you used so much of my money and resources. But you still can't find me a damn gold disk. What use do I have left of you? Tell me" A man asked Khalid with a calm demeanour

"Sir, just give me some more time and I will present you the artifact myself," I said sacredly

"Time is given to only those with value and you have already lost yours," the man said

"Sir Aladin, the grand dictator, just give me one more chance. I will never ask for more"

"You want a chance; I will give you one," said Aladin while patting my shoulder. While Aladin was walking away, he waved his hand around his neck. A few seconds later a few men came and forcefully took me. I already knew what was going to happen.

"Noooooo" My scream echoed in the castle halls.

POV-Narrator

That's how the life of Ethan and his friends ended on this Earth friends

Will they get to reincarnate?

Will they get power?

Will they get to fulfill their dreams?

We will get you that in the next chapters of Template World