[Hogun Pov]
I looked down at the last of the zombies—dead by my blade—then at the blood and bananas that littered the ground. With a heavy exhale, I collapsed onto the rubble. That was exhausting. Honestly, instead of killing all of them, I could've just disabled Zombie Mode… but hey, it's done now.
I pulled up the server's player menu, expecting the usual mess of usernames. What I saw surprised me:
[Players Online]
[Red Khan / Online]
[Hast / Online]
[GeneralHogun / Online]
[Pirate Queen / Online]
[Light Angel Mechanical / Online]
Huh? These names are actually good. It is way better than the random Steam handles from before. Wait—these are my friends. Their names must've changed from their Steam names to their in-game RP names, just like mine did. "ToiletSniper22" was long gone. Now, I was General Hogun—tactician and battlefield mastermind.
But Light…? Light Angel Mechanical was online? He hadn't logged in for over a month. Said he was obsessed with another game. And yet, here he was.
Good. I'm glad they're here.
Red Khan, our resident history nerd, is deadly with facts and firearms.
Hast, the mad genius of science, half insane and twice as brilliant.
I, General Hogun, am the master of tactical warfare.
Pirate Queen, our cunning merchant queen—she'll always get what she wants, one way or another.
Light Angel Mechanical, the silent powerhouse, rarely speaks, but always delivers.
Yeah… this is gonna be fun.
Or at least, it should be.
I stared at the player list again. They were all online. Every one of them.
Red Khan. Hast. Pirate Queen. Light Angel Mechanical.
They should've spawned in the same place they logged out from, right? That's how the server works. Always has.
But they weren't here.
Red Khan and Pirate Queen's avatars should've appeared right by the marketplace where we last ran a trade mission. But they weren't there.
I even checked the logs. Nothing. Not a trace.
It was like they'd logged in… but never loaded in.
Hast? I checked the lab. Nothing but flickering terminals and a broken robot muttering something about entropy and "reversible explosions." Definitely Hast's mess—but he wasn't there.
That left Light.
Sky City.
And then, just as I was thinking that—
[James]: General, problem. The Light Mechanical Angels from Sky City are here. They're… looking for their king. Light Angel Mechanical.
Well. That answered some questions.
Either Light logged in from a different zone, or something went sideways with the spawn protocols. Either way, I had to move.
I turned to James, eyes sharp, voice calm.
[Hogun]: James. Pull up profile images of my companions. I'm going to meet the Dark Angel Prince, and we're heading out soon.
James nodded.
[Hogun]: Also, connect me with the Rhodes Island escort team—we left them in charge of our backup evac route. I want updates.
Then I paused.
[Hogun]: …And bring me five cakes. Strawberry. I'm carving—craving a strawberry cake.
Silence.
I sighed, correcting myself with a glare.
[Hogun]: Craving. I meant craving. …Damn it.
James, professional as ever, didn't even blink. But I knew he was judging me internally. Whatever.
Some people crave vengeance. I crave cake.
Let's go find our crew.
[After cakes 🍰]
After I told the Angels I had no idea where Light was, they gave me a look that could slice steel.
Then they nodded.
"We'll leave the Dark Angel Prince with you," one said.
Just like that.
No explanation. No demands. Just handed over a celestial prince like he was a parcel in the mail.
Great. One more mystery added to the pile.
I turned away and checked the profile photos of my companions—all of them. It'd been a while since I'd actually looked.
Damn. I'd almost forgotten how distinct they all were.
Hast: White-haired, rabbit-eared loli with piercing blue eyes. Lab coat permanently fused to her shoulders, probably by science. Always carried that eerie calm like she just detonated something you haven't discovered yet.
Red Khan: Towering, with bull horns and flaming red hair. Golden eyes that held the weight of five empires. His Eastern armor shimmered with enchantments and battlefield memories. If history had a bouncer, it'd look like him.
Pirate Queen: Cat girl with jet-black hair and crimson eyes that glittered with deals yet to be struck. Red captain's coat whipping behind her, pirate uniform sharp and clean. If charisma were a blade, hers was always drawn.
Light Angel Mechanical: Ethereal. A young man with stark white hair, sky-blue eyes, and radiant wings. Wore a pristine white robe with silver-lined armor pieces. He looked like prophecy wrapped in silk and steel.
You'd never mistake this group. Not in a million players.
[James]: General, we've connected with the squad at Rhodes Island.
[Hogun]: Good. Tell them to inform the Doctor I'm en route. I've got something important to discuss.
I packed the photos. Slid three syringes of the cure into my belt pouch. Tightened the straps on my gear. My katana rested easily at my side, humming with quiet violence.
This next hour? It could change everything.
Let's hope I'm still standing by the end of it.
[Hogun]: …Why are you with us, Miss Frost?
[Frostnova]: Didn't James tell you?
She yawned, stretching her arms. "
[Frostnova]: I'm your secretary now. And your bodyguard."
I blinked.
[Hogun]: …Since when do I get a secretary?
[Frostnova]: Since you started making dramatic speeches, carrying classified cures, and attracting divine sky royalty.
She shrugged.
[Frostnova]: Also, I'm bored. And you owe me cake.
I sighed, pinched the bridge of my nose, and mumbled.
[Hogun]: At this rate, I'll need to start handing out pastries like medals…
She smirked.
[Hogun]: I accept payment in strawberry shortcake and market Credits.
[Frostnova]: …In that order?
I glanced sideways, but she didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she leaned back in her seat, eyes closed, a faint hum on her lips—half lullaby, half threat.
[James]: We've arrived at Rhodes Island Landship, General. Beginning descent now.
The intercom crackled, cutting through the drone of the engines. Out the window, the massive floating fortress came into view, its steel towers cutting into the sky like broken fangs. Rhodes Island. A symbol of salvation... and secrets.
The plane shuddered slightly as the landing gear deployed. Soldiers below scrambled into formation. A medical team waited near the landing pad—alongside them, a few familiar silhouettes, one of which I recognized even from here.
The Doctor.
I checked my gear one last time—photos, syringes, katana. I had one shot to explain everything before politics, panic, or worse got in the way.
"Showtime," I muttered.
The hatch opened.
Wind howled in.
And I stepped out.
[Hogun]: Good to see you, Doctor. And you, too, Donkey Amiya.
A sharp phhh sound cut the tension.
Frostnova was covering her mouth, shoulders trembling from holding back laughter.
[Doctor]: You too, General. Let's head in. The meeting room is ready.
I gave a small nod and followed, Frostnova beside me, still grinning like a fox in a henhouse. The halls of Rhodes Island hadn't changed much—sterile lights, quiet footsteps, whispers behind glass. But this time felt different.
Tense.
After ten minutes of tight corridors and way too many checkpoint scans, we stepped into the room.
People were already seated, their eyes shifting as we entered. Operators, medics, command staff… all alert, all watching.
At the center table sat a woman you couldn't miss—white hair, cold golden eyes, and a stare sharp enough to gut a man.
Kal'tsit.
Rhodes Island's surgical strike in a lab coat.
[Hogun]: Second-in-command Kal'tsit… always a pleasure.
She said nothing for a moment, simply flicking her gaze between me, the Doctor, and Frostnova, who had stopped smirking the second their eyes met.
[Kal'tsit]: "Let's skip the pleasantries. You asked for this meeting, General. Speak."
Well, here goes nothing.
I stepped forward, dropped the three syringes onto the table, and laid the photos beside them.
[Hogun]: We have a situation. Possibly involving four of the most dangerous people in the world.
I let the words settle in the room like fog.
[Hogun]: And all of them might be missing in action.
Kal'tsit's gaze shifted to the table—first to the syringes, then to the photos. Her golden eyes narrowed.
[Kal'tsit]: Explain. What is this?
She tapped one syringe lightly, then flicked her finger toward the photos.
[Hogun]: This is the cure.
I gestured to Frostnova beside me.
[Hogun]: And if you think I'm bluffing, run a scan on her. She was infected.
Kal'tsit said nothing, but her hand moved fast. A silent signal. Two medics entered and escorted Frostnova out. She didn't resist. She didn't need to.
Minutes passed in heavy silence.
Then the doors burst open again. Medics stumbled in, wide-eyed, breathless.
[Medic]: "She's clean. No traces of Oripathy. None. It's… It's impossible—her crystal growth is gone, there's nothing left!"
Gasps filled the room.
Kal'tsit didn't gasp.
She glared.
[Kal'tsit]: You hold something that will change the world... and you came here with three. Three.
Her voice was ice, words like surgical blades.
[Kal'tsit]: You sat on this. Like it was yours to hoard. Yours to measure out in drops. You think we're fools?
[Hogun]: We have ten. That's all.
Her mouth opened—but I cut her off.
[Hogun]: We can't make more. Not without the one who created it.
I tapped the photo of Hast with two fingers.
A white-haired girl. Rabbit ears. A wild grin frozen in time.
[Hogun]: She's missing. Like the others. She's the genius behind the formula, and without her, these syringes are the last hope anyone's going to see.
A silence fell, not heavy this time, sharp. Like the breath before battle.
[Kal'tsit]: …And you believe someone took them?
[Hogun]: No.
I looked her dead in the eyes.
[Hogun]: I believe they vanished on purpose.
The Doctor shifted beside her. Kal'tsit leaned back slightly, folding her arms.
[Kal'tsit]: Then we don't just have a cure. We have a deeper game unfolding.
[Hogun]: That's why I'm here. I need your operators. A squad. Your best. We're going to find them. And if someone's pulling strings—
My fingers closed around the hilt of my katana.
[Hogun]: I'll cut the puppet master's hands off myself.
Frostnova returned then, calm as ever. She gave me a look. A quiet nod.
[Frostnova]: Guess they believe you now.
[Hogun]: Belief's the easy part. Now we need action.
After a long, tense meeting, I wandered through the metallic halls of the landship, letting the quiet hum of Rhodes Island calm my thoughts.
That was, until something slammed into my leg like a tiny, angry comet.
Blond hair. Twin horns. Fire in her eyes.
I blinked. "Oh... I know who this is."
[Ifrit]: Who dares block my way?!
She puffed up like a cornered kitten—furious and one twitch away from tears.
I knelt down slowly, keeping my voice even.
[Hogun]: "Sorry, little one. Didn't see you there."
Her scowl deepened.
Maybe… just maybe, a gentle headpat might—
A gust of air passed my face.
A fist had swung where my head had been a second earlier.
Standing over Ifrit, tall and furious, was a woman with steel in her eyes and command in her posture.
Saria.
Of course.
Damn it, why did it have to be her? The woman I had a one-sided crush on ever since I first saw her, and it got deeper when I read her file.
James was already aiming his rifle, and Frostnova's fingers glimmered with ice.
[Hogun]: Stand down. Both of you. There's a child here.
I reached into my pouch and pulled out a small wrapped slice.
[Hogun]: Little one… sorry for scaring you. Here. Cake.
Ifrit's eyes locked onto it like a starved dragon on treasure. She grabbed it with both hands and devoured it like war never existed.
As I gently patted her head, she made a happy little sound.
[Ifrit]: Mmh… good cake…
I looked up. Saria was speaking to James, her voice calm but tight. I couldn't blame her—Ifrit meant everything to her. I'd do the same if someone made James cry.
[Hogun]: James. No need to lecture her. She was just protecting someone she cares about.
I turned my eyes to Saria. Held them there.
[Hogun]: Miss Saria, was it? Would you care to join me for tea and cake? I'd be honored to share it with a woman as formidable and beautiful as yourself.
For just a second, she looked caught off guard. But the moment passed, and she pushed me aside with a sigh—stoic as ever.
Ifrit suddenly burst into motion, running down the hallway, yelling:
[Ifrit]: Silence! Saria's being taken away! She's being wooed by the cake man!
James stood paralyzed.
Frostnova casually drew a smiley face on the front of his gas mask, suppressing a giggle.
He muttered under his breath.
[James]: The General… actually asked a woman out…
I pretended not to hear him as I adjusted my collar, suppressing a grin.
That went… surprisingly well.
The tea room wasn't much—just a repurposed meeting nook on the upper deck—but it was quiet, and the light from the overhead panels had a soft warmth to it. I poured the tea with practiced care, keeping my hands steady despite the weight of the moment.
Saria sat across from me, her posture straight, her expression unreadable.
[Hogun]: I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that punch earlier. You've got good form.
She raised a brow, accepting the porcelain cup without comment.
[Saria]: You were reaching for Ifrit's head. She's… volatile.
[Hogun]: So am I. But she responded to kindness.
I shrugged, offering a slight smile.
[Hogun]: Maybe she just likes cake.
There was a pause. Then, barely audible over the clink of her cup being set down—
[Saria]: ...She does.
We sat in that silence for a bit longer than was comfortable. Not hostile, just… heavy with everything neither of us was used to saying.
[Hogun]: You know,
I said, trying to break the weight,
[Hogun]: I've fought on five continents. Survived an orbital drop. Walked into a burning tower full of black plague demons with only a sword.
I looked at her.
[Hogun]: But this tea moment might be the most nerve-racking thing I've done.
Saria blinked. Then… just faintly, the corner of her mouth tugged upward.
That was when the door burst open.
[Ifrit]: There you are!
[Silence]: Saria, we've got the test results. I need your help.
Ifrit pointed at me dramatically, crumbs still on her cheek.
[Ifrit]: He was trying to charm her with pastries!
[Saria]: 'sigh' I'll… return later.
She stood, nodded politely to me, and followed the two troublemakers out.
I exhaled into my cup.
So close.
[Frostnova and James]
Outside the tea room, James leaned against the corridor wall, arms folded. Frostnova was leaning toward him, poking at the big black smiley face she'd drawn on his gas mask.
She was laughing. Quietly, but uncontrollably.
[Frostnova]: He really did it. He actually tried flirting. With Saria.
[James]: It's not funny.
[Frostnova]: It's very funny.
James crossed his arms tightly.
[James]: You know, for years we thought he didn't care. Not about romance. Not about anyone. We figured the General didn't even notice people like that. Never once asked anyone out, man or woman.
He stared into the middle distance, as if reliving a hundred awkward near-misses.
[James]: We were convinced he was some battle-obsessed monk who fed on war and silence.
Frostnova's laughter slowed, becoming soft and genuine.
[Frostnova]: And now he's feeding people cake and asking out soldiers?
[James]: And Saria, of all people. Only for Silence and a goblin child to drag her away…
He muttered something in his gas mask, probably unrepeatable.
Frostnova gave his arm a little playful shove.
[Frostnova]: Maybe next time he'll try with someone less... protected by a walking nuke.
James groaned, finally cracking a smile under that doodled mask.
[Extra: Reunion new jobs]
A quiet breeze brushed through the open windows of the café patio, the clinking of coffee cups and laughter blending in with the mellow hum of city life.
Around the largest table sat what could only be described as a surreal scene: the former leaders and commanders of Reunion, now scattered across peacetime occupations.
Talulah, Alina, and Mudrock were in matching maid uniforms—each with a very different level of enthusiasm. Mudrock still wore her helmet and partial armor underneath, which creaked ominously every time she tried to carry a tray.
Faust, Mephisto, W, and Skullshatterer wore polished soldier uniforms—official, clean, and sharp. Only W had hers tailored with an excessive number of hidden knife pockets and explosives "for fashion."
At a small table beside them, Patriot and Hateful Avenger sat in perfectly pressed suits. Patriot's hands dwarfed the porcelain cup of black coffee he sipped. Avenger was quietly flipping through a thick philosophy book titled "On War and Peace: A Reunion Within."
[W]: So, Talulah, how's the maid café coming along? I assume no buildings have burned down?
Talulah offered a serene smile, unusually relaxed.
[Talulah]: It was difficult at first… especially with Mudrock refusing to remove her armor.
Mudrock made a low grunt of protest. Her teacup cracked in her grip again.
[Talulah]: But now it's fun. The customers are polite. Some even ask for autographs. Alina made a cake shaped like Ursus last week. It exploded.
Alina giggled shyly behind her teacup.
[Talulah]: And you, Patriot? I heard you became a teacher?
Patriot set his cup down and nodded slowly.
[Patriot]: The children are… eager to learn. Many ask to duel me or Avenger.
[Avenger]: I let one win. He cried tears of joy. Then he threw up. I gave him a medal.
[Patriot]: It is a good life. Quiet. The young ones ask about the old war, but they do not carry its weight.
W leaned back in her chair with a grin.
[W]: Hah, and here I thought you'd break after two weeks of not yelling orders.
[Patriot]: I yell. At the morning bell.
Laughter rumbled around the table.
[Talulah]: And what about you, W? You joined the military again?
[W]: Yep. Explosives expert. Pay's good. They actually let me blow things up—legally this time.
[Mephisto]: She brings fireworks to morning drills.
[Skullshatterer]: One time she strapped a roman candle to a training dummy and called it 'a motivational tool.'
[W]: And morale has never been higher.
Faust, sitting quietly with a sniper's grace, raised his cup.
[Faust]: We should be proud. We survived the war. And now we serve peace.
For a moment, a thoughtful quiet settled.
Then Mephisto kicked back his chair.
[Mephisto]: I'm gonna open a musical café next. Singing medics! Healing and harmony!
Everyone groaned simultaneously.
[W]: Gods help us all… This whole peacetime thing's turning us soft. Speaking of surprises—heard Frostnova became the General's secretary. So tell me, Patriot… how's it feel knowing your icy little daughter is now running military paperwork and stealing the spotlight?
She smirked, sipping her espresso like she just dropped a live grenade into the conversation.
Patriot paused mid-sip, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly behind his calm demeanor. The table quieted.
[Patriot]: She is… efficient. Precise. Fiercely loyal.
He took another long sip of his coffee.
[Patriot]: Also, she threatened to freeze one of her coworkers for speaking to her 'in a tone.' That brought a tear to my eye.
[Alina]: Awww… she's really grown up.
[Skullshatterer]: Is growing up supposed to involve threatening people with sub-zero temperatures?
[Mephisto]: Depends on the profession. I think it's adorable.
[Mudrock]: At least she found purpose. Many of us wandered before the ceasefire.
W twirled a spoon in her fingers, eyeing Patriot.
[W]: You're dodging the real question. How do you feel about her working so closely with that General? Hogun, right? The guy who carries a katana and flirts like it's a national sport.
Patriot didn't move.
[Patriot]: If he ever breaks her heart… I will send a strongly worded letter. Then tear him in half.
Everyone froze.
[Faust]: Noted.
Avenger, still reading "Addendum'' continued.
[Avenger]: Then bury the pieces on two different continents.
Laughter broke out again, even W cracking a grin as she raised her cup toward the towering man.
[W]: Cheers to fatherly love, the apocalypse narrowly avoided, and Frostnova—queen of frostbite HR!
[All]: Cheers!
As mugs clinked and the sun dipped lower outside, it felt, for the first time in a long while, like peace had a real chance.
Even if that peace wore a maid outfit, carried explosives, or threatened frostbite for incorrect paperwork.
[Chapter end]