Chapter 15 - United We Fall

Momodore Island, little west of California within the Pacific Ocean, was one of the islands within the pacific islands. Not entirely an island, merely a mass a land that was home to Vault for nearly a decade, a secret organization until K.I.’s reign that attempted to support global help to the world by means of small, petty tasks to huge threats. Their actions were simple and swift, yet their intentions were always far from crystal clear. Now today, IMO intended to wipe Vault off of the map in a similar fashion. They never existed.

The Subsido fired a barrage of missiles for the island border, crashing and crumbling through the island’s land in a fiery blaze. The smoke pierced through the heavens. Vault were prepared for any foreseen attack in the future, but on such a mass scale, even Sabre never imagined this foregone annihilation so swiftly. It all appeared too late, too fast. The Subsido was performing its task down to the last gruesome detail, no longer caring about the initial plan to take out the ice that was long gone. Now the objective was to sink the island by any means necessary. So far it was working.

“Guh… the operation is finalizing.” BigFoot said, glaring up ahead at the hillside, where a lone figure stood atop of the rocks. His partner and companion, Erasus, was using his shoulder as a leverage for BigFoot’s face, despite being nearly three feet taller than him by a long margin.

“Thank you, BigFoot, I needed that,” Erasus replied quite despicability. He cupped his hands slowly over his eyes, and nodded in confirmation. Erasus took the gesture as a silent indication, leaping over the hilltop, landing behind the Lieutenant General of IMO; her fuchsia hair fraying elegantly through the blustery air. She folded her arms within her coat, unbuttoned at the collar revealing a small portion of her upper chest. She merely grinned at the beautiful sight of Vault from above. At first, she took no notice of the new underlings behind her, yet she recognized them from the mile away at first.

“Lieutenant General Velvetti,” Erasus said with a bow of respect. Velvetti looked back, cutting her crimson cherry eyes back to his. Her petrifying look, so innocent, yet always punctured through his spirit. She had a disturbing concoction of innocence and violence about her, never sitting well with neither of the two. Their commander, Axill, was just violent, only one end of the spectrum. “Everything is going exactly as according to the plan.”

Velvetti smiled ahead, gazing blankly next to the two, as if clearly taking no interest in them or what they were saying. “Adequate job, boys. And of Axill?”

“Ah yeah, he stayed behind us to deal with a troubling member of the Vault scum,” Erasus replied.

“Very well,” Velvetti adjusted her IMO coat, buttoning it back up to the collar. “We will be on our way, then.”

Erasus and BigFoot immediately plastered with a look of alarm. It wasn’t so much for the both of them that Velvetti was willing to abandon the mission at the end phase, it was that she had personally asked for Axill, yet intended on leaving him on the island. At least, that’s the way they both took it together. Mostly everything they did was together, including their admiration for their commander and comrade.

“Lieutenant General Velvetti, with all due respect—“ Erasus began, BigFoot finished.

“We can’t leave our commander and comrade on the island! It’s about to collapse!”

Both Erasus and BigFoot were imprisoned by a petrifying glare from the Lieutenant General of IMO. A glare that easily cleansed away any retaliation and/or rebellious thoughts they had planned. Their hearts both skipped a beat as Velvetti stepped forward, a slight twirl to her steps as if she were a ballerina by heart.

“Right,” Velvetti smiled innocently with a twinkle in her eyes. She walked toward Erasus, caressing his face with her delicate, smooth hands, captivating him in her touch. What other woman was able to frighten her comrades, then entice them the next second? “You still have your sentimental feelings for Axill.” She said with a slight sarcastic edge, which neither Erasus nor BigFoot found humorous. She smiled playfully, and began talking as if what she was saying was no big deal at all, yet the words were heavier than spoken.

“Abandon them, if you want to live. Or you can choose to die with him. Your choice.”

 Erasus clenched his fist, BigFoot growled, yet they both understood what she really meant. The island was going to collapse long before they found him, and they would probably sink within the deep blue along with him. It was a simple matter of the question; rescue your comrade or save your own hide?

They cowardly accepted her offer, which made Velvetti grin. Not a satisfied grin, however, just a grin out of expectedness. Exactly what she predicted the cowards to do, most likely.

“Alright,” Erasus said. “We will go.”

Velvetti nodded forward, and began walking back, an innocent smile plastered upon her face the entire time. Erasus and BigFoot, ever so shamely, followed…

---

Willy stood tall, staring up blankly at the island ahead. As much as he cared for the island, this wasn’t the time to grieve. The lives of his teammates, along with the life of his fellow Vault members were top priority. He began walking away, until he felt a clutch at his leg, nearly breaking this his skin with such a firm grip. Willy grimaced as he looked down.

Dew glared up at Willy, his head drenched in blood, dripping down his body. He clutched at Willy’s leg, attempting to drag Willy down with him. “Don’t think for a second this is over… my man Willy…”

Willy narrowed his eyes as he looked down with a slight sense of pity. Despite his upbringing with Dew, the two were practically brothers. Dew was always the older of the old Ballpark Trio.

“Dew…” Willy said slowly. Dew glared up.

Willy kicked Dew across the head with his free leg. Dew’s head jerked back, his eyes widened, as he was downed instantly by Willy’s ‘actual’ final attack.

“I wouldn’t ask for anything more, Dew.” Willy said with a strange smile and a tilt of his head. Yuki observed Willy and Dew’s moments with a nonchalant gaze.

Willy began walking forward. Yuki followed behind.

“Willy,” Yuki began. Keeping his walk up, Willy cut his eyes back to Yuki curiously, gesturing her she had his attention.

“Dew will die if he remains on this island. You know that,” Yuki said with a to-the-point mindset. “Are you really okay with that?”

Willy smiled, looking ahead toward the sun, as it finally had fully set. It was as if a powerful symphony was settling, waiting to be reborn another day.

“If he really means it, he’ll come find me.” Willy said with a confident smirk. He knew Dew more than most. “He’ll survive, and he’ll come to me. When that day comes, I’ll be right here, ready for round two.”

Trav groaned, rubbing the back of his head, sitting up from his short nap. He gritted his teeth in pain. “Damn, who hit me in the head with a 5 ton zucchini?”

Willy looked back and grinned. He walked toward Trav, holding out his hand for Trav to take. Trav looked up and grinned. “Willy-man. You’re alright.”

“That’s my line,” Willy said.

Yuki smiled at Willy’s comment, and kept moving with him. They picked up their pace with a fairly sized sprint, realizing time was not on their side.

---

Rubie clutched her stomach, wiping off the blood coming from her mouth with her other hand. She placed her hand on the ground, on her knees, panting heavily, her breathing becoming more rigid. The stab wound she received from Axill was settling in. She was rarely ever injured much physically, so she wasn’t used to this kind of pain. Her hand was drenched in a layer of her own blood. Ten, as a head, watched Rubie with wandering, yet sensitive eyes.

“Please, Rubie, don’t push yourself,” Ten’s monotone robotic voice spoke up. His eyes dimmed lightly. “Your body can’t handle it. You’ve already pushed yourself too hard by using the Devil Mimicry.”

“Don’t worry… Ten,” Rubie said in between gasps of breath. It pained Ten seeing Rubie under so much pain. She always appeared headstrong and daring, ready to take on anything and everything, spilling everyone’s shit just because they looked at her and her team the wrong way. Rubie forced an open smile. “I’m gonna… get you out of here.” Rubie coughed up a new batch of blood. She clutched her stomach once again, falling upon the ground. The pool of blood beneath her began to grow into a bigger pond of sanguine.

“You should tend to your own wounds first, Rubie. You can’t go on like this…” Ten said. Rubie clenched her fists, attempting once again to force herself up. She didn’t notice at first, the shadow looming above her. Rubie turned her head to her right, turning her eyes to look at the figure standing above her. Her vision was beginning to distort, so she couldn’t tell at first who it actually was.

Willy crouched down, applying his first aid kit immediately. He flipped her body around without her consent or not. Willy acted briskly, removing Rubie’s red cape and violet shirt. Her cherry/black bra was all that adorned her upper body. Marked all around her torso were a set of tribal-style tattoos. Many undecipherable markings appeared. Willy didn't seem phased, he had already seen it before, yet he never knew what they were. Rubie never cared to talk much about it. Still this wasn't the time for that query.

“This is gonna sting a bit. Bare with it.” Willy said. Rubie nodded. He immediately applied a moist medicine over Rubie’s wound, an antibiotic. As he rubbed it over her skin, she moaned lightly, her body jerked where she tried holding her place. Willy applied a clean dressing over Rubie’s wound in order to stop the bleeding. “You’ve done well, Rubie. All of you have.”

Rubie finally relaxed, taking deep breaths. Trav stood back, watching the scene unfold. Yuki stepped up next to the two. Willy looked to his left, noticing Ten with his severed head. Willy looked on in shock.

“What happened to you…?” Willy asked, walking closer. Ten looked up at Willy with a simple stare.

“Long story. I’ll explain later.”

“Allow me to take it from here, Willy. I was built as a support model. I will handle her treatment now,” Yuki said. “Go and find the others.”

“Right, but you two head for the southern docks first. We need to get off of the island before anything else,” Willy said, turning back to Trav, who remained silent during the scene. “Go with Yuki and Rubie, Trav,” Willy leaped forward with what little strength he had left. Yuki picked Rubie up with both arms and went on her way.

---

Willy dashed across the suburbs of Momodore Island, checking for any survivors on the scene. There was no one there; almost every platoon of the Vault had been completely purged, most probably done by the damned 1^st squadron of IMO. A few instances of IMO remained, which Willy handled like a champ. Willy was on his vitality’s limit, he knew he couldn’t go on much longer, his fight with Dew had drained way too much out of him. With the island tumbling over and collapsing by the second, the island began to level. Willy, along with Team Willy and the remains of the Vault, realized that this was it. Momodore Island was no more; there was no possible way it could be saved now.

The lives of his comrades were far more important, though. Willy understood and accepted the consequences; this was the harsh reality that was befalling upon him, and upon his family. At the very least now, he wouldn’t allow them to fall with him, if it came to that. Willy wouldn’t allow anyone to die on his watch, if they could still be saved.

Along the center of the island, buried beneath a crevice in the earth, probably newly formed from the island’s demise, was Kaidoh. Kaidoh was knocked out, with three gaping holes across his torso at different angles. He didn’t appear critically injured however, and his wounds were sealed up, mysteriously, as well. Only further led Willy to believe it must have been a plasma/laser type of technique. Willy carried Kaidoh across his left shoulder as he continued his journey. Since Kaidoh’s wounds were already sealed, there was nothing more Willy could have done that first aid couldn’t cover.

Willy stopped mid-stride, as a sense of insecurity began to plague him, a rather unusual feeling for him. Willy’s eyes plastered around the island… he glared ahead, and kept moving, thinking nothing else of it. Must have been a looming revelation he couldn’t quite catch.

As Willy made a leap, he very faintly saw a glimmer of light approach him, it appeared to wrap around his body like a blanket. The light swirled and made clear, heavenly wisps around him. Willy’s body lit up, his eyes glimmered within the light. He closed his eyes and nearly tripped over his own foot. Willy caught his fall, yet lost Kaidoh mid-fall. Kaidoh’s body swung down a hill. Willy looked down and clenched his fists, gritting his teeth and cursing under his breath. Still confused though, he didn’t care about the light or whatever it just was at the moment.

“Kaidoh!” Willy made a break for the hill, until he stopped… Kaidoh’s body suddenly vanished as quickly as it had come into Willy’s sight. Willy’s eyes widened, a sudden jolt of shock overcoming him as he felt a light thud behind him, along with a new thud accompanying it. Kaidoh’s body sprawled next to Willy, physically scratched from the bruises and cuts he received from the rocky downhill.

Willy looked back; a glowing body appeared behind him, nearly entrapping him in a tunnel of never-ending light. If Willy didn’t know better, he could swear there was an angel on his shoulder. The woman smiled, revealing her IMO coat, her pink strands of hair tied in a red butterfly piece, pink lips carving into a smile, and her… emerald green eyes staring down at him. As Willy stood up, he looked at her, only slightly taller than her. She cupped her hands into a net, continuing to smile, as if greeting an old friend.

Willy recognized her, he knew her from somewhere, and he felt he had just recently met her too. When she greeted him, it instantly came to him.

“Arabella?!” Willy looked up in a slight shock, not expecting to find a clutz like her here of all places, especially adorning a… IMO uniform? Not only that, the Lieutenant General of IMO? The girl who clumsily lost her purse on the roof on a random rooftop only a day ago?

“Ah… you remembered me, Willy! I’m so happy,” ‘Velvetti’ said enthusiastically with a large smile, cupping her hands now on her cheeks, blushing gently from Willy’s mention of her name. “Who would know that fate would beckon its doors upon us once more? After so many days and months of…”

“We only just met yesterday,” Willy said, narrowing his eyes, clearly not sharing her feelings of ecstasy. In fact, he was kind of peeved by this revelation. “What are you doing working for IMO? You’re a high ranking officer as well…” Willy said slowly, interrogating her as if his life depended on it. As far as he was concerned, it may have. Far more could have been at stake for what it was worth… especially with the island’s impending doom.

“They call me Lieutenant General Velvetti in the IMO HQ,” Arabella spoke softly, looking up into Willy’s eyes. “Although, it isn’t exactly what it looks like… if you let me explain—“

“Actually, I don’t really care,” Willy said blankly, turning his back on Arabella, which nearly broke her heart. She clutched her chest as so. “I just need to get off of this island.”

Arabella smiled. “I see,” she said, her voice carrying the soft remedy that could easily be mistaken for an angel. “Then, I will take you to them.”

Willy looked up, clearly confused. He had no idea what was going on. This woman was really confusing to him. “Uh…” he began. Arabella cut him off by placing her delicate finger between his mouth.

“I can take you to your friends,” Arabella began. “All you have to do is promise me something.”

Willy perked up with an inquisitive stance.

“Meet me once again. I’ll be waiting for you,” Arabella said. Willy perked up a brow.

“I see,” he said simply. “Why would I want to meet you again?”

“When you meet me again…” she said, putting much emphasis on me. “You will be standing at the top of the world.”

Willy remained silent. Right now, he didn’t have much time to really ponder what she was saying. With the island now at the verge of splitting apart and sinking remnant at a time, he simply nodded, as in a ‘yeah, okay, whatever,’ sort of way. Arabella smiled delightfully… and traced her hands in an elegant trace, revealing her majestic crystal orb that reflected the shining illumination of the stars…

---

The ocean completely froze over, encasing the Subsido in a frozen prison. Jesse sat atop of the frozen ocean like a boss, his legs crossed casually, resting his right arm over his right knee. He blew a cloud of chilled air from his mouth, his body temperature beginning to return back to normal. His flesh appeared fleshy again. He took a deep breath, looking over the horizon of the island, he noticed a small group appear at the border. Jesse closed his eyes, looked down, and smiled.

“Humph,” Jesse stood up, walking among the ice. He reached the border of the island, where he met Yuki, a head trauma’d Trav, a wounded yet recovering Rubie, and the severed head of a kind android. “You guys look like shit.”

“Shut up, dumbass,” Rubie said; her breathing now more fluid and controlled. She sat up with her shirt off, only revealing her stripped cherry/black bra and a large bandage wrapped around her stomach. “What took you so long?” she asked, clearly mocking him. Jesse smiled emptily.

“What ruby-hard girl takes a sword wound to the stomach?” Jesse asked, folding his arms nonchalantly.

“What ice-man nearly drowns in water?”

Jesse smiled. "I'm glad you're alright."

“By the way…” Ten chimed in. Jesse and Rubie turned to his head. “Is this really all that’s left of us? Even Willy…?”

Jesse and Rubie looked at each other somewhat awkwardly. Jesse looked back to Ten.

“What happened to the rest of you?”

“It’s a long story. Painful one, too,” Ten said. Rubie looked down. Jesse appeared at unease. He sighed and turned back.

“Aaaah!!”

They heard the familiar voice behind them. Everyone turned (except Ten), and saw Willy and Kaidoh roll down the hill, landing next to the rest of the crew, just like that. Rubie smiled happily, Jesse smiled while folding his arms, as if expecting nothing less. Willy sat up, coughing. He looked up at the rest of his crew looking down at him (and Kaidoh). Trav looked down at Kaidoh, and gasped.

“My God! Is he dead?! We need a doctor! Guys!!” Trav freaked out, pumping on Kaidoh’s chest like a retard. Rubie slowly moved toward Trav, punched him in the head (causing more head trauma), and growled down at him.

“Idiot! He is the doctor!” Rubie exclaimed.

“We need a doctor for the doctor!!” Trav crawled back toward Kaidoh. Yuki walked forward, picked up Kaidoh, and walked toward the frozen ocean Jesse had carved. Jesse turned back, placed his hand on the frozen ocean. The ice began traveling along the ocean, carving and making its path all the way to the land of California… a day’s walk from where they were. He created an ice road, just like that. Jesse began panting.

They all understood just of the severity of the situation. Picking on each other, just trying to have a light hearted conversation somewhat helped them grieve. When it would finally sink in...

“Let’s go, guys…” Willy said, looking up with a hint of disappointment yet remained strong. “We may have won the battle… but…” everyone looked back with Willy, unifying them as one team. All that remained of the Vault… was right there, traveling on the icy road.

“We lost the war, this time. We fall in unity.”