Maids VS Apocalypse

"And that’s twenty-five."

Mark heaved a long sigh as he watched the drones return to their case. Only twelve Dimensional Rifts remained, but as he put away the drone case he couldn’t help but frown.

"This is... a pain..."

Not only was the task boring, it was made much worse by the Sergeant forcing him to pedal from one Rift to the other. The fault is shared with the red hoods as well. Mark believed he would’ve been done by now if it wasn’t for those two problems.

’Come to think of it, no one said anything about that bitch...’

Though it should’ve been an important matter to discuss, no one took the initiative to mention it the previous night. The whole thing had escaped his mind after meeting the members of Squad Four and with everything that occurred with Lara he never thought to bring it up.

As he stood there in silence, a long shadow suddenly fell on him. The sight of the setting sun met him when he turned to look at its source. It slowly sank behind the majestic black mountain that had taken over the western side of the city.

Three days ago, the human world was almost swallowed by the Underworld. By the time the Peace Keepers closed most of the major Dimensional Rifts, a part of Stonegate City had already merged with the Dark Mountain, Malarak’s territory on the other side.

The obsidian peaks that rose through the city’s western side were remnants of that merger.

The sight was odd yet hauntingly beautiful, Like an illustration from a fictional world that was hit with some kind of fantastical disaster, leaving behind visible scars in the form of a dark material that spread like an infestation.

Mark found it a little odd that such a landscape was so silent. He had been expecting to run into something along the way but not once did they encounter a monster that had crossed over to their world.

For a city that’s still connected to a place called the Underworld, the desolate city was far too peaceful.

"What’s on your mind?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Mark saw Franco walking over.

"Was just wondering where all the monsters went," Mark said, his gaze wandering back to the black peaks.

"Oh, we killed most of them a couple of days ago." The Italian man said nonchalantly. "We had to evacuate the civilians so we cleaned the whole place."

Mark opened his mouth but found no words to say. Only last night did he hear that the members of Squad Four were mainly responsible for pest extermination so he didn’t know why he was so surprised to learn they swept the city clean.

"Then why aren’t new ones coming through the rifts?"

"A coincidence, nothing more."

The events from the other day had given Mark the impression that his world was going to be flooded with Fallen abominations. That was how things usually went in the setting he believed he was in. At the very least, he never expected to have a peaceful bicycle ride after everything he went through the last time he was in the city.

’Don’t tell me this is some calm before-the-storm bullshit.’ The thought alone gave him the shivers.

Ramsay’s conspiracy theory flashed in his mind and made it all worse. Seeing that he passed out a second time with Lara being the cause, the idea that he might be living through a cycle of similar events became more believable.

"Disappointed?" Franco asked.

"Kinda." Mark shrugged.

"Don’t worry," and speaking of the devil. "You’ll get plenty of monsters to fight soon enough."

Ramsay decided to barge in on their conversation. He brought a cigarette to his mouth as he walked over, taking a puff then blowing the smoke in the air.

"Is that Golden Dune I’m smelling?" Franco asked.

"I’m down to my last pack," Ramsay replied with a frown. "Let me enjoy it in peace."

"C’mon! Just one cig!"

"In your dreams."

The conversation abruptly shifted in an entirely different direction with the two Peace Keepers bickering over cigarettes of all things. After some intense negotiations, Ramsay gave up what was left of his Golden Dune in exchange for two sealed packs of Georno, both brands Mark was unfamiliar with.

"You two sure take your smokes seriously."

"No shit," Franco said, puffing a cloud while looking like he had just experienced nirvana. "This is the good stuff. People bid on these in auctions."

Mark stared at him for a second, waiting for the punchline.

"You serious?"

"The brand came from a dead world." Said Ramsay. "With the multiverse being endless you would think such things would never run out, but..."

"Turns out the good stuff is still rare, even if you have countless worlds to look through." Franco sighed wistfully.

"Anyway." Done with his smoke, Ramsay threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it. "We were talking about monsters, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I have just the right thing for you."

~[ ]~

After riding that bicycle around since noon, Mark was looking forward to a nice bath and a long night of sleep. He has been awake for almost an entire day, as well. A good rest was something he desperately needed.

Unfortunately for him, Ramsay seemed to have other plans. After sending Lara and the others back, he dragged him to a seemingly random neighborhood. Mark was in a foul mood already, and with the Sergeant refusing to say anything about where they were going, it only kept getting worse.

"Don’t you think it’s about time you tell me what we’re doing here?" Mark’s irritation was clear in his voice.

"Zip it," Ramsay replied nonchalantly. "We’re already here."

Seeing him stop, Mark did the same and began checking their surroundings. Besides the buildings being relatively intact compared to other places, he failed to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Just when he was about to ask, he noticed that the Sergeant was making his way to one of the nearby stores. The sign barely hanging above the closed entrance gave Mark a hint, but it didn’t answer his questions.

Ramsay leaned down and grabbed the closed shutter, and without caring for the locks keeping it in place, he pulled it up, bending the whole thing like it was a sheet of paper.

"Good." He said after turning the lights on. "This place still has electricity."

Mark followed him inside. The interior felt a little cramped due to the counter being so close to the entrance. Display cases lined the walls, each containing several types of the same kind of item. More were mounted on the wall behind the counter.

Guns, guns, and more guns. Rifles, revolvers, shotguns. There were even some rocket launchers collecting dust on the top shelves.

"Don’t tell me we came all the way here to get guns," Mark said, holding back a few less polite words.

America might have been known for its obsession with guns, but ever since the Great World War, the sentiment against the great equalizer has changed. Nowadays, gun owners are few, and gun shops are even fewer. not that it mattered with the world ending.

Ramsay ignored his question and jumped over the counter. After fiddling around for a while, he grabbed a few things and lined them in front of Mark.

"Listen well, kid." He said, his expression serious. "Since you weren’t listening the first time I did it, I’m once again going to teach you one of the most important lessons when it comes to being an Awakened."