Zataria's Last Light
Chapter 54: Sampostis on Lockdown

Chapter 54: Sampostis on Lockdown

Person 1: (Running) Help me! Help!

Person 2: (Running) Oh my God! It’s killing people!

As the crowd fled, Minus One swung its right hand, attacking a man with long claws. The strike severed him in half, leaving a pool of blood beneath his body.

Minus One: TRROOOOO!!

The chaos continued as Minus One rampaged through Sampostis, pursuing and killing individuals while leaping between buildings and destroying homes. Moments later, a helicopter landed, and Zorren and Dr. Grozo emerged.

Zorren: (Surprised) WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!?!?

A young girl spotted Zorren and rushed toward him, crying and screaming.

Girl: Zorren! Zorren! Help us!

Zorren: What’s happening?!?

Girl: I don’t know! This creature started killing people!

Dr. Grozo remained silent, his expression grim.

Zorren: What is this creature? Why is everything being destroyed?

Girl: (Crying) I don’t know! It killed my husband!

Zorren: What is it?

Just then, a loud roar echoed through the air.

Minus One: TROOOOO!!!

Zorren: What was that?

Girl: The creature that’s been killing people!

Zorren turned to Dr. Grozo.

Zorren: Dr. Grozo!

Dr. Grozo: Yes, President Zorren!

Zorren: Sound the alarm. I want every crew dispatched to stop this creature immediately.

Girl: (Crying) Zorren, why can’t you do it? You’re the highest-ranking official, right?

Zorren: Ugh... Yes, but this isn’t my district, so it’s reasonable for them to manage it. Dr. Grozo, sound the alarm!

Dr. Grozo: Yes, Mr. President!

Dr. Grozo glanced back at the helicopter pilot, who nodded in response. The pilot pressed a button, broadcasting an alarm throughout Sampostis, awakening everyone from their sleep.

Lith: Ah! What the hell!

Sai: It’s the emergency signal!

Yoshi: Is that what I think it is?

Becan: Huh? DUDE, IS THAT THE ALARM?

Flaming Grill 1: YEAH, DUDE!

Becan: WELL, LET’S CRANK UP THE HEAT!!!

Kora: Ugh! I can’t even get my beauty sleep!

Blue Trooper 1: Kora, it’s the emergency signal!

Kora: What? Seriously?

Blue Trooper 2: Yeah! I just looked outside, and there are a lot of people running and screaming!

Kora: Okay, girls, get ready! We need to go save them!

Koda: Huh? What is this?!

Hunsor 1: Koda, it’s the alarm!

Koda: That can only mean one thing! GET READY FOR A FIGHT, MY BROTHERS!

Lance: Sis, wake up!

Iris: What do you want, Lance? Wait, what’s that sound?

Lance: It’s the alarm!

Iris: Ugh! Why now? I’m exhausted!

Lance: Sis, we need to get moving!

Iris: Just give me five more minutes!

Lance: SIS!

Iris: OKAY!!! I’M GETTING UP!

Kono jumps out of bed and rushes out of her room to find Ohma at the front door, holding his nunchucks.

Kono: Ohma, what are you doing?

Ohma: I hear a sound!

Kono: Yes, that’s the emergency alarm.

Ohma: What does that mean?

Kono: It means something is wrong!

Gram emerges from his room.

Gram: (Scared) AHHHH! WHAT IS THAT SOUND?

Himitsu steps out of his room.

Himitsu: I was just about to say the same thing.

Kono: Wake up, Daru and Zodiac!

Daru and Zodiac exit their rooms simultaneously.

Daru: (Angry) CAN SOMEONE TURN THAT SOUND OFF?!

Zodiac: Can you not yell?

Daru: SHUT UP!

Kono: Everyone! Something’s wrong! The sound you hear is the alarm for Sampostis!

Zodiac: And?

Kono: That’s serious! It indicates something is wrong!

Gram: What? Are we supposed to do something about it?

Kono: Yes!

Zodiac: I’m going back to bed; have fun.

Kono:

Zodiac: Watch me.

Ohma: She’s right.

Everyone turns to Ohma, who has a serious expression.

Himitsu: Whoa, Ohma, you look serious.

Zodiac: What do you mean?

Ohma: You can’t go back to bed. There is something out there harming innocent people.

Daru: Please explain how you know this.

Ohma: Every Knight possesses a gift, and mine is the ability to sense danger.

Himitsu: I believe him.

Daru: Alright, everyone, get ready.

Gram: Ahhh! Why?!

Daru: Now!

Gram: (Walking into his room) This is stupid!

Everyone starts to prepare as Daru looks at Zodiac.

Daru: Ohma’s right; I can sense it too, and if I can, I know you can as well.

Zodiac: Yeah, I did, but I don’t care enough.

Daru: I know you don’t, but I can’t allow innocent people to die, and you know that’s wrong too.

Zodiac: Whatever.

Zodiac walks into his room to get ready.

Daru: Gosh! He’s so annoying!

Everyone prepares to confront the Blue Trooper Crew, the Scarlet Crew, the Flaming Grills Crew, the Hunsor Crew, the Virgo Crew, and the Maivelance Crew.

Everyone: Let’s DO THIS!

As time passes, the Maivelance Crew runs through Hemdel, witnessing blood, destroyed houses and buildings, and people lying dead or crying on the ground. Kono spots a woman running toward her, screaming.

Girl: RUN!!!

Kono: Run?

Gram looks closer and sees a white, mummy-like creature behind her, attempting to attack.

Gram: What in the world is that?!

Daru: (Smiling) I don’t know, but I’m eager to see what it can do!

Zodiac: Don’t even think about it!

Daru: Too late.

Daru begins running toward the girl as she approaches him. As he gets close, he jumps over her, tackles Minus One, and throws it into a wall. The creature hits the wall and collapses to the ground.

Daru: (Scoffs) That was easy. (Smiling)

Daru looks at his crew and starts to speak.

Daru: Was that really what the alarm was for? That creature?

Himitsu notices Minus One getting back up.

Himitsu: Ugh!! Daru!

Daru: Like they really need us for this.

Gram: Daru.

Daru: Huh? I can’t hear you; speak up.

Ohma: SIR DARU, BEHIND YOU!!!

Daru: Huh?

Daru turns around and sees Minus One right in front of him.

Daru: What the—

Minus One smacks Daru, sending him flying into a building.

Zodiac: What!

Gram: WE’RE GOING TO DIE!!!

Himitsu: No way he just smacked Daru with no effort.

Ohma: We must kill it!

Lith: You can’t!

Kono and the others turn around to see Lith and her team.

Kono: Lith?

Lith: Reiji, Mako!

Reiji & Mako: RIGHT!

Mako and Reiji rush toward Minus One and engage in battle. Reiji punches Minus One in the stomach while Mako swings his sword at its head with the flat side of the blade. The creature is sent crashing into a wall but quickly recovers, attempting to bite Reiji’s head.

Reiji: AHHHH!!! GET OFF!

Mako: I’ve got you, Reiji!

Mako throws his sword, drawing Minus One’s attention. He then positions himself behind the creature and kicks its left side, causing it to topple over. Minus One quickly gets back up and begins to run at an incredible speed, leaving Mako and Reiji struggling to keep up.

Mako: What the hell! It’s moving too fast!

Reiji: Ahh! What are we going to do?

Lith: Keep it busy!

Mako & Reiji: YES, MA’AM!!

Lith: Junko!

Junko: On it!

Junko starts directing Mako and Reiji.

Junko: On your right, Mako.

Mako dodges left as Minus One attacks.

Junko: Reiji, on your left!

Reiji dodges right just as Minus One strikes from that side.

Junko: Mako, Reiji, attack together and strike right.

Mako: Let’s do it, Reiji!

Reiji: Right behind you!

Mako and Reiji deliver simultaneous punches, striking Minus One in the face, causing it to lose balance and fall.

Minus One: TROOOOOO!! TROOOO!!

Kono: Their teamwork is impressive.

Zodiac: Still sloppy.

Kono: Lith, you mentioned we couldn’t kill it.

Lith: Yes, that’s correct. We cannot kill it. President Zorren wants to trace its origin to prevent those who sent it from causing further harm.

Gram: (Crying) I don’t want to die!

Souta: Oh boy, here we go again.

Gram notices Souta and immediately ceases crying.

Gram: I mean, I don’t want anyone else to die. We better stop this thing before it gets worse.

Himitsu: Gram, what’s wrong with you?

Gram: What do you mean? I just believe we should stop this thing.

Kono slaps her forehead.

Ohma: That makes sense; we shouldn’t kill it. But how do we capture it?

Lith: Zorren mentioned there’s a metal container between Hemdel and Seroin. If we can get it in there, we can remove it from this location.

As Mako, Reiji, and Junko continue fighting, Daru emerges from the building and approaches Minus One.

Daru: Okay...

Mako, Reiji, and Junko: HUH?

Daru: Now that hurt!! (Laughs)

Gram: DARU!!

Ohma: (Happy) Sir Daru is okay!

Mako: What happened to you?

Daru charges toward Minus One, punches it in the face, and kicks it in the stomach, forcing it against the wall. He unleashes a rapid series of punches into its chest as Minus One begins to spit out blood.

Daru: HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS?!

Yoshi: Holy crap, he’s strong.

Ohma: That’s Sir Daru for you.

Daru ceases punching as Minus One collapses to the ground. He steps back.

Daru: Now stay down.

Reiji: That was great, Daru!

Junko and Mako hit Reiji on the head.

Reiji: OWUCH! OWUCH!

Mako: It was okay. I could do better, though.

Daru: Oh, could you? Then why didn’t you? Are you too weak or something?

Mako: What did you say?!

Souta: (to herself) That was so hot, Daru! My strong boy!

While Mako and Daru argue, Minus One glances beside it, sees a body, and starts to crawl toward it.

Zodiac: Hey, idiots!

Daru and Mako turn to Zodiac.

Daru & Mako: What?

Zodiac: It’s moving again.

Daru: What?

He looks back at Minus One as it begins to consume a dead body.

Gram: Eww!

Lith: I think I’m going to throw up!

Minus One rises and stares intently at the group.

Minus One: TROOOOO!!!!! TROOOO!!!!!

Sai: What’s happening now?!

Minus One shakes violently as it begins to duplicate itself.

Zodiac: What the hell?

Ohma: IT CAN DUPLICATE ITSELF!

Gram: It’s fine; let’s just stop it.

Himitsu: Gram, shut up!

Reiji: This is not good!

Minus One: TROOO!!!

Minus One 2: TROOOO!!

Minus One 3: TROOOO!!!

Lith: Great, now this is going to be a bigger pain to deal with.

Kono: If it can duplicate itself, we have to hurry and take it down!

As Kono speaks, Minus One and its two clones start to flee in different directions.

Mako: They’re getting away!

Junko: We need to stop them!

Himitsu: But they’ve all gone in different directions! What should we do?

Suddenly, they receive an alert on their Jump Watches. They look down to see a FaceTime call from Zorren.

Daru: Who is this?

Gram: I don’t recall adding anyone to my Jump Watch.

Kono: Wait, it’s Zorren!

Zorren: (clears throat) Attention all citizens and crews, this is Zorren speaking. I am here to inform you of a dangerous suspect on the loose. As you know, Sampostis is on lockdown due to an unidentified creature causing chaos and taking innocent lives. Given the extreme danger posed by this creature, we are deploying rank 1 and rank 2 personnel to address the situation. To prevent the suspect from escaping further, we have established a special barrier around the Hemdel and Seroin districts to contain its damage throughout the city. Crews assigned to this operation, your objective is to stop the creature while evacuating civilians to safety until the threat is neutralized. Public security will also assist and do their utmost. Do not fail in this operation! Order of Triumph—we cannot afford to fail.

Zorren concludes the FaceTime call as everyone exchanges concerned glances.

Yoshi: That was a lot of information to process.

Zodiac: I don’t understand. If this Zorren guy is the highest rank in the Order, why can’t he handle it himself?

Daru: That’s a valid point.

Sai: I don’t know; something feels off about this situation.

Ohma: Either way, we can’t just sit here and let more people die while that thing is out there!

Mako: So, what’s the plan?

Ohma: Since we are all here, let’s form smaller teams and split up. We can save more lives by stopping the creature.

Lith: Huh!? No way! First, we had to sit at the same table at the restaurant, and now this!?

Souta: There’s no way I’m working with you idiots! (Except for Daru, of course.)

Gram: (Speaking to himself) If I can work with Souta, that would be amazing!

Daru: No way. I can’t work with them, especially him. (Looks at Mako.)

Mako: You know I really don’t like you.

Daru: The feeling is mutual.

Kono: Ohma, I don’t think this is going to work out. Let’s just go with our own crew.

Ohma’s expression turns serious.

Ohma: If we don’t work together right now, more people will die! We either collaborate now or risk failing this operation!

Everyone, including the Scarlet Crew, is taken aback by Ohma’s seriousness.

Reiji: Wow...

Junko: I thought he was just an idiot...

Himitsu: Ohma is correct; we cannot argue while lives are at stake.

Zodiac shakes his head.

Zodiac: (To himself) This is so annoying.

Lith looks at Ohma.

Lith: So, Mister Serious Idiot, how do you plan to divide the teams?

Ohma thinks for a moment and then proposes a plan.

Ohma: Alright, how about Himitsu, Junko, and Yoshi together? Zodiac, Sai, and Mako can form another team. Daru, Reiji, and Souta can team up, while I’ll work with Lith, Kono, and Gram. Sound good?

Everyone stares blankly at him.

Sai: I have to work with this loser! (Glances at Zodiac.)

Zodiac: (Sighs) I’m done with today...

Lith: Of course, I have to work with Kono. Thrilled. (Sarcastically.)

Kono: You don’t have to pretend, Lith.

Gram kneels down and begins to cry.

Gram: Noooo! I wanted to be with her!

Daru: Fantastic, now I’m stuck with you two.

Souta blushes and jumps up and down.

Souta: (To himself) Yes, yes, YES! I get to be with you!

Himitsu: It seems I’ll be working with you all. (Extends his hand toward Yoshi.)

Yoshi slaps Himitsu’s hand away.

Yoshi: You’d better not slow me down, kid.

Junko: Well, let’s do our best!

Ohma: Perfect! Now, since we’re focusing on evacuating people to the shelter, does anyone know where it is?

Lith: Are you dumb? I’m pretty sure they gave you a watch for a reason.

Everyone else pulls up their Jump Watches and checks the map for the shelter.

Mako: It appears to be only a few minutes from here.

Yoshi: Okay then. After we save most of the civilians—

Ohma gives Yoshi a stern look.

Yoshi: Why are you looking at me like that?

Ohma: All of the civilians.

Yoshi: Okay, okay, chill. After we save all the civilians, we’ll go after that creature.

Ohma: Then let’s move!

The teams begin to split up and head in different directions, while Gram remains behind, visibly upset.

Gram: (complaining) This isn’t fair!

Kono, Lith, and Ohma glance back at Gram’s complaints.

Lith: If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to treat you like I do Reiji!

Gram: Alright, I’m coming!

Gram catches up with them as they run off in a different direction. Meanwhile, a helicopter lands on the roof of Zorren’s building, near the Order of Triumph Association. The helicopter door opens, and Zorren and Dr. Grozo step out to observe the chaos.

Zorren: Now we get to witness what Minus One is truly capable of!

Dr. Grozo: But what about the civilians, sir? Don’t you think this is excessive?

Zorren: Are you questioning my judgment, Dr. Grozo? I am the President of this city, so I do what I want!

Dr. Grozo: I apologize, sir! I won’t question you again.

Zorren: Good. Besides, we have the rank ones and twos on the operation. It’s their job to keep the people safe, after all. (laughs)

Dr. Grozo: (muttering to himself) Well, that’s not the issue here.

Time passes, and we see the real Minus One rampaging through the streets, attacking anyone it encounters as people flee in terror.

Person 1: Get away from me!

The individual trips and falls just as Minus One notices them.

Minus One: TRRROOOO!

Minus One charges at the person, claws bared.

Person 1: Somebody help me!

As Minus One closes in, a rocket flies past and strikes it, resulting in a massive explosion.

Person 1: W-what the!?

The individual looks back to see public security lined up with firearms and rocket launchers.

Security Guard 1: The target has been hit. I repeat, the target has been hit!

Security Guard 2: Everyone, maintain your positions! Citizens, please move toward us!

Person 1: O-okay!

The individual scrambles to their feet and begins to run, but Minus One’s hand emerges from the smoke, grasping their throat and crushing it. It releases the lifeless body.

Security Guard 3: He’s killed him!

Security Guard 1: The target is now visible. Everyone, open fire!

All the security guards initiate fire with their plasma rifles directed at Minus One; however, he appears impervious to their attacks, advancing relentlessly through their onslaught.

Security Guard 2: Our weapons are ineffective! Fall back!

The guards turn to retreat as Minus One vaults over them, landing squarely in their path.

Security Guard 3: What the hell!?

Minus One unsheathes his claws and delivers a lethal strike to the guard, cleaving him in half.

Security Guard 1: That monster just killed him!

Minus One approaches the lifeless body and begins to consume it, causing it to shudder once more.

Minus One: TRROOOO, TRROOOO, TRROOOO!

Two additional duplicates materialize from Minus One, dispatching themselves after the remaining security guards.

Security Guard 2: Stay away from me!

The guard discharges his weapon, but it is too late; one of the duplicates seizes his head and bites down, consuming his brain. Following the demise of the last guard at the hands of another duplicate, the original Minus One feasts upon the bodies of the final two guards, generating four more duplicates. They gather together and unleash a thunderous roar.

Minus One & Clones: TRRRROOOOOOOOO!!!