(Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:30AM)

  A reverb service bell aroused throughout his heart, piercing his soul as it caused the back ends of his hair to spike up.

  (Luke) Hope! Get down!

  Tackling her to the ground, both of his hands grabbed a hold of her waist and lower back, pinning her down to the ground with his body. Holding her tightly, he made sure his body was on top of hers, shielding her as the incoming shockwave…

  Rumbled the entire building.

  Feeling the entire building scream and shriek, many of the decoratives and figurines that he had in his drawer fell onto the wooden floor, some of the drawers falling. Combined with the lights shattering apart from the shock, as well as the windows barely enough to sustain the bst, those too let out shards upon shards of gss.

  Yet the building remained standing.

  Looking up, he noticed that the building didn’t crumble under the shock, but the many objects and drawers managed to crack the wooden tiles.

  Letting go of her body, he slowly stood up and dug his heels onto the slightly unstable wooden flooring, his eyes peering everywhere around the room. Looking toward Hope, he extended his hand as she slowly looked up toward him, her eyes widened with her hands trembling from the explosion.

  Grabbing his hand, Luke slowly pulled her up, his lungs letting out an exhale of breath from his hot and fresh mouth.

  (Hope) What is that…

  Luke looked toward the broken window that shattered, the same window that he pced his hand on six years ago when he had that slight mental breakdown.

  And.

  (Luke) Not again.

  Beyond the eastern edges of the city, on top of a hill.

  Was death in titan form.

  As the smoke and ash flew into the hills beyond the east, a giant figure slowly started to stand from the burning fmes, its embers seen with the naked eye.

  Slowly walking toward the window, Luke pced both of his hands onto the edge of the broken frame, the gss shards pelting his palms as they started to bleed. Without a care in the world, he saw the monster manage to stand up with all of its height, its devilish horns striking heaven above.

  (Luke) It’s the same … it’s the same … its—

  The monster had breasts upon its chest, followed by its thighs and curves being feminine, which meant…

  (Luke) It’s the same as six years ago…

  (Fred) Luke!

  Upon the wide open door, the lights from the hallway flickered violently, leading to four men facing the two adults in the room.

  Luke had his widened eyes staring into the tear-filled-eyed Fred, his cheeks being stained by the hot tears that rolled down his face.

  The three other faces darkened as they saw the hideous dispy from out the window, with Stan enclosing his hands to fists while Gary and Diego let their hands motionless to gravity.

  (Stan) I think hell just came toward us back again Luke…

  With the six adults looking toward the window, the female giant fiery monster had both of its elbows tucked into her armpits, her hands forming into death fists as she buckled her knees. Looking straight toward the city skyline, her legs spread apart the earth and nd that melted and burned away the grass, dirt, and soil.

  Opening its mouth, the vocals upon the fiery giant could be seen as its throat…

  Let out a roar of a thousand cries.

  Nothing like before, the monster’s cry was a death roar, a yell that sought revenge or hatred upon the buildings that stood in her way.

  Continuing its shrieking cry, the rest of the adults in the room moved their feet toward the hallway, their feet pushing off the wooden ground. Seeing that the monster isn’t going to just disappear, the six of them pced themselves in the middle of the flickering hall, the light going on and off.

  (Hope) What do we do?

  (Luke) We … I …

  The doors of the hallway swung open, with the rest of the Dark Angels storming out into the hallway. And since there were empty rooms that they had in spare, many soldiers rushed out too, with the three agents and one spartan leaving one room alone.

  All of them huddled in the center of the violently flickering hallway, all of them had no choice but to feel their heat against each other.

  Since they weren’t fully dressed, almost all of them had on their regur pajamas or sleeping clothes, with many of the other soldiers having simple tank tops or bras and underwear.

  (Stan) You’re call, Luke.

  (Luke) But … I don’t …

  The hallway lights that flickered violently ceased, leading to them being alone in the dark again.

  A rge roar of yelling spread across the unfiltered hallway, leading to many shouts coming from the small fry soldiers.

  (Diego) You can come up with anything, right Luke?

  (Luke) But…

  With Luke and the rest of The Dark Angels being right in the middle of it all, they could only hear the sounds of the soldiers panicking. Being tugged and pushed around, Luke turned his head toward the sounds of familiar voices near him, trying to extend his hand outward.

  (Gary) Luke!

  (Luke) Shut up, I’m trying to think—

  But then a whitish light appeared right in front of everyone.

  The yelling stopped for good, they all turned their heads towards a woman that glowed in the dark, their eyes sparkling at the freckled woman. Seeing that Gwen was also with four others, Luke and the rest of the gang widened their eyes as they had their mouths agape.

  (Gwen) Hey, ya’ll! I think we should pn this out no?!

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Libertatem 1, 59 / 3:45AM)

  (Agent Briggs) So what’s the pn, freckled woman?

  (Gwen) Honestly, I don’t know. I’m just a commander.

  (Agent Briggs) Commanders are supposed to make the pns, dumbass.

  In front of the Dark Angels building, the squad of agents, Dark Angels, and many ptoons of soldiers stood in front of a military truck.

  (Boris) Attention!

  With almost everyone turning their gnces towards the fiery breast reaching the outskirts of the industrial district of the city, they all huddled up in the cold summer night to think of a pn. As all the soldiers, agents, and Dark Angels hurdled up in the middle, there were four men and one woman standing on top of a truck.

  (Boris) At ease!

  The bowl-cut man on top of the truck spoke in a commanding manner, his posture straight with his hands being cusped into his lower back. Noticing that many of the soldiers managed to listen to his head of words, he turned his gaze toward the blonde-haired man with a fedora.

  (Boris) Take it away, Briggs.

  Having his hands in his bck suit pockets, the agent gave a little nod toward Boris, casually making his way toward the back end as he straightened his back. Moving his head so that strands of hair wouldn’t get inside his eye, he cleared his throat as he coldly gred at the rest of the soldiers.

  (Agent Briggs) You’re all going to fight that thing whether you like it or not! Just because it’s powerful doesn’t mean it can’t be destroyed!

  (Boris) Your agent is right!

  Boris felt his lungs starting to crack as he continued to push his chest and vocals to his very limits, his feet barely digging into the metallic roof. Slightly wobbling with his legs almost failing him, he cleared his throat as he rubbed his throat with his fingers.

  Despite his throat becoming more raspy, he continued to stare at every single soldier at the bottom of the trucks.

  (Boris) We don’t have a pn, but what we do have is hope and faith! Unless you want this city—no, this country to be toppled by that monster, then we all are going to pull our weight!

  All of the soldiers even The Dark Angels started to let darkened faces cloud their eyes and eyelids, as some soldiers nudged their feet back. With many of them gncing at the fiery monster walking closer and closer toward the outskirts of the city, their palms started to be coated with hot and sticky sweat.

  One soldier, or one young man in particur, raised his hand, a side bang on his hair covering his right eye.

  (Luke) With all due respect sir, but what do you propose we should do?

  All the rest of the soldiers turned their attention toward the young man, their bodies letting out shivers upon their lower and upper backs.

  Hearing this, Boris put his hands into his pockets, his gaze turning toward Luke as he pushed down his eyes and slightly opened his chubby mouth.

  (Boris) It’s quite simple, we're going to fight against that monster, and we’re using this chance to finally kill it.

  Gasps and murmurs surrounded the entirety of the area between the two trucks, as many soldiers opened their mouths wide as they sucked in the area around them.

  Meanwhile, Luke put his head down as he looked over to his two holstered weapons to his sides, seeing his weapon choices. Holding in the air in his lungs, he swiped his forehead with his right sleeve, despite his forehead not having any sweat to wipe away.

  (Luke) But sir, how are we going to kill it?

  (Gwen) That’s where you come along. You were there on that day, so did you or Fred, Gary, and Stan see anything out of the ordinary?

  As Stan, Fred, and Gary were to the right of him, followed by Diego and Hope to the left, Luke turned his head toward the three of them. Seeing that they were putting their hands into their pockets, their breathing started to skyrocket as their lungs went up and down erratically.

  Having his arms to his thighs, he straightened his back and face, despite his body trembling.

  (Luke) During that hellish day … did you guys see anything that might be of use …

  (Stan) … I uh, I can’t recall …

  (Fred) Me neither … everything was just so quick, so fast …

  (Gary) This is a long shot but … I guess I have a theory.

  Not just his friends, but most of the soldiers and even Boris and Briggs perked their ears up at the sound of Gary’s statement.

  Noticing that Gary had the floor, he panned toward the five figures that were on top of the truck, his eyes gncing back and forth between them and his friends. Caressing his chubby yet slightly muscur chest with his right hand, he gulped down as a bead of sweat went inside his lips.

  (Boris) Go ahead, Gary.

  (Gary) During the escape from the city, and when we were on the lifeboats, I managed to catch a glimpse of when it st disappeared or rather exploded.

  (Boris) And where was that?

  (Gary) … It exploded at the Cstine water facility.

  Boris rubbed his double chin with his fingernails as he felt the ck of facial hair. Nodding up and down, Boris pushed down his eyes more as he stared at the chubby tanned man, seeing Gary’s legs barely able to hold him up.

  (Boris) So you’re saying that the monster’s weakness might be water?

  (Gary) Maybe, but we won’t know till we try.

  (Agent Briggs) How didn’t you go blind? Reports say that anyone who saw the explosion of the dissipating monster immediately lost their ability to see.

  (Gary) My friends and I were long gone, and I used high-lensed binocurs to see the creature emitting a bright light. Thank God that I pulled away as soon as the monster exploded.

  (Agent Briggs) How far were you from the monster? Give me an estimate.

  (Gary) Probably 30 to 40 miles…

  Briggs took off his fedora that he wore on top of his straight blond hair, using his right hand to hold the top of the hat. With his left hand, he swiped away a good strand of his side bang that started to cover his left eye.

  Spanning his head right at Boris, he lifted his head as he tightened the grip on his fedora, his fingertips feeling the bck fabric and cloth.

  (Agent Briggs) Given the speed at which the monster is going, she’s surprisingly taking her sweet time. Where is the Lagefor Water pump facility located?

  (Boris) That will be downtown, on the northern side of the district.

  Everyone turned toward the skyline to the north, seeing the pitch-bck high-rising buildings shrouded in imminent darkness.

  Pcing his right hand onto the holster of his gun, Luke used his fingertips to caress the grip as he eyed one particur building, a building that was the highest one in the city.

  (Luke’s thoughts) So we’re all going to be going back there huh…

  His left hand trembled as he id it ft onto his thigh, his throat quivering as he slowly puckered his lips into his mouth. Followed by the unnatural rising and heaving of his chest, he looked up toward the dimming cloudy sky that was being repced with a reddish color.

  (Luke’s thoughts) But compared to six years ago, we have a fighting chance.

  Smacking his face with both of his hands, his cheeks reddened again at the same spot that Hope smacked her hands with. The stinging pain caused him to twitch his nose, he swayed his head back and forth, his fingers digging into his cheekbones as he dented his skin.

  (Luke’s thoughts) We’re strong. All we need to do is spread out and take on certain tasks.

  Raising his hand high, his smooth yet rough palm was shown again, leaving every soldier to turn their head toward him. Getting the attention of both Boris and Briggs, Boris gave him a simple nod while Briggs folded his arms and gred at him with sharpened eyes.

  Having the floor to him again, Luke straightened his back and cleared his throat, pounding the right side of his chest with his right hand as he looked upward at the two.

  (Luke) I think … I think I might be able to tend to all of our strengths.

  (Boris) Speak away.

  Putting his hand down, he used the same hand he used to get everyone’s attention to stick out his thumb, pointing it toward himself as he sharpened his eyes.

  (Luke) With all due respect, I think all four of us, from agents to soldiers, and elite soldiers alike should work together to do four separate tasks to take out or at least loosen the death count amongst the civilians that are still here.

  Everyone's eyes widened at the same time, as some soldiers put their hands toward their mouths.

  The five figures that were on top of the truck looked at one another, peering into one another’s eyes. With the five of them turning their attention back toward the man with light brown hair, four of them looked at the woman at the back of them.

  Moving their head to where the boy was, the freckled woman started walking toward the back of the truck, her body being seen by everyone, including Luke who widened his eyes.

  (Gwen’s thoughts) So he finally came up with something good for him.

  Folding her arms, she looked toward the soldiers that were in front of her, seeing that there was a clogged mess of men and women hurdled up like sardines. Standing up straight, she cleared her throat as she used her vocals to the extent of her ability.

  (Gwen) Bring that young man toward the top of the truck! Clear the way for him!

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  All of the soldiers that were in his way slowly took many steps back, creating a small empty line for Luke to traverse.

  His eyes peering into the many soldiers, he saw them all having their faces looking down to the ground, beads of sweat pouring onto the cement and asphalt. His hands slowly and surely rexed, his feet and legs were in a state of rexation, his chest heaving up and down in a normal manner.

  And with a simple lunge with his right foot, he slowly walked through the line of many soldiers, seeing the five figures from on top.

  Making his way on top of the truck, he slowly put his feet on the roof of the green metal, digging his feet deep onto it casually as he had a simir experience in being on top of automobiles. Passing through the Lieutenant and Sergeant, as well as passing through Briggs and Boris, he made his way toward the freckled woman.

  (Luke) What do you want me to do?

  (Gwen) Tell them what to do Luke. I know you have good ideas, but use that voice of yours.

  Putting her right hand onto his left shoulder, Gwen looked right into his red eyes, his eyes having a grayish red.

  Letting out a cheerful smile, as well as closing her eyes, she tilted her head to the left.

  (Gwen) Because that voice is going to lead to great things.

  Patting Luke’s left shoulder with her right hand, she moved past him as she made her way toward the other end of the truck. Looking ahead toward the crowd of soldiers perking their ears up, Luke tapped his heel two times until he urged his legs to move forward.

  Walking toward the back of the truck, the five of them saw the young man pce his feet on the edge, his toes leaving them hanging as his heels did most of the lifting.

  Having all of the eyes set on him, Luke’s body trembled under the weight of all the attention. Fiddling his fingers with one another, he turned his head toward Gwen, his eyes asking for a plea for help as water started to form.

  But Gwen just gave him a thumbs up and a big smile.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I guess I have to pull my weight…

  Standing up straight, he y both of his hands motionless to gravity, his palms facing the crowd as the moon managed to slightly pierce through the clouds. The dim moonlight rained down onto the crowd of soldiers, they had their feet digging into the cement and asphalt of the street they stood on.

  As for Luke, his face started to turn pale, yet his chest puffed out.

  (Luke) I may be just an ordinary soldier, but there is a way to win this!

  The rest of the soldiers blinked blindly, with half of them squinting their eyes at the young man. Feeling as if he was out of the loop, Luke tilted his head up, closing his eyes as his body continued to shake more.

  (Luke) I suggest we make four teams. One of them leads toward the water pump facility, and the other team tries to hold back the monster. Two other teams will be in charge of evacuating any civilians, as well as exterminating any possible zompires.

  Everyone nodded their heads toward the different tasks that were dawned on the list, with many of the soldier’s breathing slowing down as their hands slowly dimmed with calmness.

  Gwen turned her head toward Boris and Briggs, her smile not leaving her face as she had her thumb pointed to herself. With her left hand on her hip, her eyes snted upward as she parted her feet a couple of inches away from each other.

  (Gwen) I raised that boy!

  Continuing along with the pn…

  (Luke) For the water pump facility located on the northern side of the city, I and a handful of elite soldiers will enter, so no military personnel will be needed.

  Extending his right hand upward, he stook out his thumb as it pointed right towards himself. Looking toward the crowd, he scoured many of his friends and comrades, his eyes peering into any one of them with a worried look.

  Fortunately for him, a blonde-haired girl raised her hand high, followed by a red-haired man with well-kept hair.

  (Hope) I’ll be accompanying him!

  (Jack’s thoughts) I hope this is the easiest job…

  Another hand shook up from near Hope, the hand being smooth as many of the soldiers turned toward a man with weird hair. Widening his eyes, Luke let a bead of sweat roll down both his temples, clearly not ready for the man who wanted to accompany him…

  (Fred) I’m going too!

  And another surprising hand joined into the mix, a soldier with long blonde hair as he had his hair wrapped in a ponytail. Taking out his helmet with his other hand, he showcased his youthful face as he cleared his throat.

  (???) My name’s Johnny Zirardge, and I’m part of the reserves despite my position as the son of Doug Zirardge. I am willing to accompany you, Luke Fenix.

  Giving a simple and shy nod toward the soldier, Luke scratched his cheek as he stared into the abyss, his eyes pinned toward the many random soldiers from below.

  The rest of the soldiers abroad were also taken back.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I mean … I guess I’ll allow it.

  Keeping that thought to him, Luke panned his attention back toward the other soldiers. His face started to let out droplets of sweat from his cheeks, his heels started lifting him repeatedly to the edge of the roof of the truck.

  (Luke) As for battling the monster, a few elite soldiers will be needed, but if it’s all right, 50% of the military will be needed.

  Looking through the crowd of soldiers again, he noticed a couple of Dark Angels raising their hands high.

  One of the soldiers was a tanned woman with elegant beauty, and the other a dark complected man with a strong body. Seeing the woman, many of the male soldiers gawked and nodded their heads slowly, taking in Luna as she folded her arms, rolling her eyes as she tilted her head.

  (Luna) If it’s Luke’s request, then by all means.

  (Miles) I’m going to have to put my shielding to the test then.

  Three other hands raised from the crowd…

  Stan, Gary, and Diego straightened their eyes right at Luke, their palms in the sky as their faces darkened, their eyelids being shaded in a dark bck.

  (Stan) We’ll pn on dealing with the monster on a smaller scale. Me and Gary have a couple of gadgets that could work on that beast. I mean, we’ve been pnning something like this ever since we first got in.

  (Diego) And I know all the shortcuts and streets here in Lagefor, so I’ll lead the military and ptoons to ambush it whenever they can.

  His hands trembling at the sound of Diego’s words, he looked to the right where the monster continued to make its way toward the city, the fiery smoke now reaching the outer yers of the industrial center.

  Noticing that his right hand was twitching erratically, he pced his left hand onto his right wrist, taking in an exhale of air as it pushed into his lungs.

  (Luke’s thoughts) I just hope those three make it out okay. Out of all of us, those three don’t have blessings. Then again, Fred also doesn’t have a blessing.

  Patting the right side of his chest two times, he warmed up his vocals as he hummed for a quick second. Lifting his face upward again, his eyes gnced up toward the sky, his nervousness coming back to him again as his heels started to tremble despite hovering over the edge.

  (Luke) For the two teams that will be evacuating and exterminating zompires, the rest of the elite soldiers will be used, as well as 25% of the military needed for each team. I also want two agents on each team.

  Benn, Loraine, and David raised their hands high, causing many murmurs and gasps to circute the entire area as they saw those three hands.

  For one, they all noticed that Benn had a bluish hand, as they saw his beast-human skin that resembled a shark-human. Second, they noticed that a fourteen-year-old girl was secretly hidden underneath the number of men, her head popping out like a sore thumb as her pigtails swayed. And third, they took in the middle-aged man, with some of them noticing that particur face and body as if they were seeing a celebrity.

  (David) Me, Loraine, and Benn are willing to exterminate and rescue any civilians if needed. I trust that Benn will be watching under Loraine, and I’ll go in alone.

  (Agent Eren) I’ll go with the girl and shark-human.

  (Agent Ada) Me too. Who knows what that sharky will do?

  Clenching his hands tightly into fists, Benn looked down onto the ground as he received cold gres from the rest of the soldiers around him. Feeling their icy stares digging into the depths of his soul, Benn’s legs started to shake as his face slowly darkened evermore.

  Until …

  (Johnny) Leave that man alone, would he do something hideous at this hour?

  Everyone had their eyes on the tall blonde-haired soldier who wore no helmet.

  Half of the soldiers either gred at him or looked down at the ground, a common reaction to those who are either in the wrong or believe they’re in the right.

  Eren looked down to the ground, his boots feeling the bck asphalt as cracks upon the pavement were shown. As for Ada, she only gred at the tall man, folding her arms as she squinted under her oval-shaped gsses.

  To break the silence…

  (Jenny) I’m coming too!

  Running along the pavement, a woman with gsses and monolid eyes ran through the busying crowd of soldiers, making her way toward David. With everyone seeing the woman push her legs off the asphalt, they noticed that the woman scratched her stomach with her right hand.

  The only thing that David did was muster his eyes wide open, his face beading with sweat as he swayed his head no. Upon reaching right toward him, Jenny pulled back her hand as she looked up to see an exhausted face.

  (David) You’re recovering. You should rest—

  (Jenny) I want to fight.

  (David) You need—

  (Jenny) I want to fight!

  Both of her hands curled up into fists, she pounded them once amongst his chest, her face sharpened as her eyes gred at the nonchant man. Seeing that she’s not backing down, followed by the way she acts simir to a brat he takes care of, David lets out an exhale of air from his lungs.

  (David) Ok … but you’re staying behind me.

  Her hands were high in the air, she let out a jump of relief, a smile dawning upon her face.

  Despite her body fully healed thanks to Hope’s overnight work, Jenny continued to scratch her stomach, her fingernails tracing the healed wounds that still pinched inside of her abdomen.

  (Luke) Alright. I think that’s—

  (Agent Briggs) I’ll be going along with the man with the cowboy hat.

  (Spartan Alexandra) And I’ll follow along with Briggs here~

  (Agent Briggs) Just don’t get in my way, please…

  Putting his hands inside his suit jacket, he moved his body away as Alexandra started to moisten her lips toward the pale-skinned man. Seeing that Briggs didn’t want any physical contact from the lustful Alexandra, she wrapped her arms around the below-average height man.

  (Agent Briggs) God, you’re so annoying…

  (Luke) Before I pn on each particur task for each team, I wanted to give you guys the biggest thanks I could give you.

  Putting both of his feet together, Luke’s back remained straight as he tilted his face upward to the sky. The moon light now shining down right toward him, as if it were a spotlight, Luke had his right fist curled up like a ball.

  And then he pounded his left chest twice and glided it to where it stopped at the right chest.

  The rest of The Dark Angels followed suit, doing the same salute that Luke had given to them.

  As the rest of the soldiers saw this weird dispy for an elite squad, their heads tilted either left or right as their faces began to push down. Even though it made them more confused than they should’ve been, their bodies began to rex as soon as the elite soldiers…

  We’re about to set things straight, once and for all.

  (Luke) Now let’s get down to the details of every team thereafter…