Folly & Agendas & Talulah

"Sasha, Do You Remember?"

Previously, on "Folly & Agendas & Talulah":
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Lungmen is on the brink of collapse; it cannot take another battle. And yet the forces of the Reunion continue to rampage through city streets, crushing anyone who stands in their way. Reunion leaders, Faust and Mephisto draw their first attacks hours earlier than expected.  Special Inspector Ch'en leads her Guards into battle and is followed by Rhodes Island soon after –or at least they were supposed to.

Inside Rhodes Island HQ, Kaiser Rye and Elite Operator Moonlight spar in the arena, creating quite a show with their physical prowess and tactical acumen. The battle resulted in a victory for Elite Operator Moonlight, leaving Kaiser Rye curious about the operator's abilities. Then they set forth for Lungmen to commence the operation.

In the streets of Chernobog, Misha, who was presumed dead, was saved by an angel lost in time. The angel turned out to be Haley, a former friend of Talulah and Kaiser Rye. She takes the broken Ursus into an underground clinic to wait out the battle only to be caught defenseless by Talulah herself.

Now, Kaiser Rye enters with incredible force. The light from a faraway city knocks everything off course. And once again, Faust shows up to confront his former leader.

What will become of Faust and Kaiser Rye?

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With all their sights aimed at the Draco, Faust delivers a few words before the onslaught.

"Kaiser Rye, what truly happened to you?" Each word flowing as coarse as smoke. "What happened to the man everyone knew? Much of my Phantoms have forgotten you; and if they still do, they remember you as a traitor. Eno has already given up on you."

Kaiser Rye stared at his former ally, full of regret. "I've made a mistake. And then the whole world came crumbling down," He said. His hands were drenched in blood from the enemies he killed moments prior. "Whatever happened then, Sasha, is done. The past is in the past, and I can't turn back."

"But you kept on moving forward, Kaiser Rye. You've taught us that much."

"I have, because I have no options left. I'm stuck in-between three armies, and I'm the fourth. I'll ask you to back away, Sasha, but that won't happen."

"Sadly, this war is all we Infected have left. Our last hope."

"The last..."

"Is there anything you have to say, Kaiser Rye?"

The Draco sighed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, the dirty yellow orbs seemed to revert back into the pure gold of his younger years; it was if his eyes returned to their former luster. 

"Sasha, do you remember the first time I met you?"

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He remembers so vividly the day he was saved. He remembers how starved he was, of an emotion he had never experienced. He never felt so safe in his entire life. From the moment he started walking on two legs, all he knew was the cruelty and the hatred of the world; the contempt that burrowed its way into their hearts. The scars that kept on building up, growing thick like carapace, crawling inside his skin like the disease that ran through his veins.

It was a dark, snowy day in the southern plains of Ursus. It was a location that he never dreamt of reaching. More people resided here than the harsh, cold tundra, but life was no less unforgiving. On his back was little Eno, his one and only friend, being carried under the dark of night. Sasha's ankles twisted and bent, but he didn't complain, no matter how sore or raw his wounds were.