chapter 16: acceptation

on the base:

Joaquin is smoking a cigar. someone knocks on the door. Joaquin goes out of the base. he looks at Cabra-Head. there are two guys at his side. Cabra-Head informs him about the next task. for chapter 16 they have to work with another guild.

Cabra-Head presents his two companions. Metal Head & Violet Guitar. the two man are survivors of the Halloween Event. they used to be part of a guild that was annihilated. Metal Head smiles at Joaquin. Violet Guitar is quiet, he frowns.

Joaquin welcomes them. they enter inside of the base. Dog-Boy & Cat-Girl welcomes the members of another Hero Guild. Joaquin sends Dog-Boy for two people. Dog-Boy leaves right away. Cabra-Head confirms that those two are his only companions.

Dog-Boy returns with Karl & Psychotic Twin. they are told about chapter 16 task. Cabra-Head looks at them with a sweet smile. he asks for cookies & horchata water. Joaquin goes to the kitchen for cookies & horchata water. Cabra-Head whispers something.

Metal Head & Violet Guitar leave the base. Dog-Boy asks if they are leaving. Cabra-Head explains by saying, "they went to the market."

Choco-Coco-Latte (Karl) is eating a wheat bar. Psychotic Twin looks at him. she knows that Karl lose someone important to him. she knows that he is having some struggle. so she is worry about his mental health. she is worry of what he can do.

Cat-Girl & Dog-Boy are talking to each other. they are so in love. Dog-Boy feels a bit of regret for looking at other ladies with lust. he promise to himself to be a better guy. Cat-Girl feels regret for doubting of her lover's loyalty. she promise to be a better girlfriend.

"is the upcoming mission going to be difficult? I mean, I am just curious to know. I have no problem dealing with a trouble or two. so I have no problem with taking part on it."

said Psychotic Twin.

Cabra-Head explains the mission. Psychotic Twin asks some questions. Cabra-Head answers all the questions. Choco-Coco-Latte leaves quietly. Psychotic Twin is concern for his well being. she follows him surreptitiously.

Karl feels so bad, he can't even notice he is being followed. Karl enters on the bathroom. he falls on the floor. he trembles. he screams with bated breath. he scratches the floor. he drags himself towards the washbasin. he stands up trembling.

Psychotic Twin puts a hand on her mouth. she avoids making any noise. she feels horrible to see his pain. she watches as he washes his head with cold water. Psychotic Twin enters on the bathroom. she asks him if he can actually be of any help.

"I had come alive from worst. why do you even care? we are complete strangers, no. even better, you wish to see me dying. take it or not, but on my worst or not I can fight. I can give a hell of a show. now if you excuse me, I need some privacy."

said Karl on an emotionless tone.

Psychotic Twin leaves. Karl cries while covering his face with his hands. he doesn't want to be seen on such a vulnerable state. Karl tries to stand up. he falls on the floor. Karl is looking at his gone lover. she is there smiling at him. her smile is so sweet & pure.

it doesn't matter how long has it been. every time he sees her, she looks the same. time never moves on her. is it because she is dead? he thinks that maybe he is being punish, by being reminded that she will never age. she will never be able to grow up.

outside of the base:

Metal Head is smoking a Cuban cigar. he asks Violet Guitar if he wants to smoke. Violet Guitar doesn't answer. he seems to be angry. Metal Head talks about how traumatizing was the Halloween Event. he remembers the chaos.

on that Special Event they saw their comrades dying. it was graphic and horrifying. there were three survivors. the other guy went to another guild. Violet Guitar & Metal Head only know each other. they have some trust on Cabra-Head.

Cabra-Head walks out of the base. he is follow by Joaquin, Psychotic Twin, Dog-Boy, Cat-Girl, and Karl. Bigotes also joins the action. Bigotes confirms that he is better. Joaquin asks him to talk in private with him.

Bigotes follows Joaquin far from the others. Joaquin asks him if he is sure. Joaquin is actually worry after losing two teammates. also it was until recently that he got better. Joaquin's genuine concern is justifiable. Bigotes only stands in there smiling.

after a long conversation they all leave together. Cabra-Head is strangely nice. everything seemed to be okay, but there was something they didn't saw coming. some old enemies are awaiting to meet them. two old enemies are waiting.

twenty minutes later:

they are on the road. they are moving on foot. Cabra-Head puts his arm around of Joaquin's shoulder. Cabra-Head calls him his buddy. Joaquin is two steps away of committing murder. he tries to ignore Cabra-Head.

Metal Head makes comments about his school life. he exclaims about his regrets, he adds details by saying that he was a book-nerd. he never had friends nor a life. he wishes to go back on time and do more. he wishes to be rebellious.

"how old were you before dying?"

asks Bigotes out of curiosity.

"I was in high school, so was Violet Guitar and most of the members of Hardcore-Rock-Bitches. we didn't knew each other on real life. but we used to play a lot together. we learned a lot about each other before coming here. like this guy next to me, he used to be 'the Gentle Bully.' can you believe it, a bully who was loved by his victims."

said Metal Head with a huge nerdy smile.

"pardon my friend, he can be a parrot at times. if you'all excuse me, I prefer to not talk about private matters. our lives, or pasts are trifling. too little to be relevant, too big to be a stranger's concern."

said Violet Guitar frowning.

"he is like that because he was rejected by his crush, before dying and coming to this world. can you believe it? he was so heart broken he was even listening to old depressing music. I mean, he is the type of guy who hates slow music. he loves electronic music and he haven't heard any since he was rejected. wow what a story."

said Metal Head with an innocent smile.

Violet Guitar was two steps away from strangling his friend, for obvious reasons. everyone else agreed on something. to never, never ever revealed anything personal to Metal Head. he is a danger to secrets. to all secrets.

everyone started to make jokes. they all laugh. at first they all felt too aware of the strangers walking next to them. now they laugh and talk like old friends. they are too relax for a risky mission. is that going to be a problem? or not, only time knows.

their mission is simple, they have to rescue some NPCs on a bunker. they are being surrounded by zombies. there is a limit time to the rescue. they also have a limit of resources, like for example no cars. they have to arrive on foot.

Joaquin takes out of his inventory holy bullets. he asks Metal Head for information. Metal Head explains to him. whoever is shot with those bullets, becomes the target for the zombies. Joaquin feels regret for not using those bullets before.

Joaquin takes all his holy bullets out. he distributes equal proportions to everyone. Violet Guitar smiles a bit. he is glad to know that they are working with normal people. Joaquin takes his machete out. he shows off by cutting a car on half.

"I was thinking that it is appropriate to make alliances with the right people. there are some guilds on good terms with us. so I wanted to propose more than a temporal partnership. what about a strong alliance. if you are okay with it, we only have a condition for it to happen. we exchange members. in that way your people can see if we are trust worthy or we see if you are trust worthy."

said Cabra-Head on an emotionless tone.

"sounds like a good idea. I offer myself to be the man walking on your guild. nothing wrong with this guild, on your side I may be able to do more than just being standing. I am a tough guy, so I don't get scared easily. nor am easy to bend."

said Bigotes self-confident.

Cabra-Head smiles glad for the answer. he nods at Violet Guitar & Metal Head. it seems like Cabra-Head came with them expecting that answer. he came ready. like it was said before Cabra-Head is terrifyingly smart, even when he pretends to be stupid.

Joaquin has problems trusting Cabra-Head. the man is a hard person to read. he is a wild person. his motivations are also unknown. he will never know if Cabra-Head is a good person, or a bad person pretending to be good.

Cat-G & Dog-B are talking to each other. they don't have much time to do couple's stuff. so a mission together seems perfect for them. Cat-G is the most happy of the two. she isn't aware of Dog-B's offer by the executioner. he wants to keep it like that, a secret.

Dog-B feels guilt. he wants to confess about his stupid deal. if he doesn't say anything, is because he knows there must be a traitor. there must be someone watching him. if he crosses the line he will die or worst, she will die.

Cat-G has notices that something is wrong with him. she has tried to ask him. he keeps avoiding her questions. he keeps stepping back. she is sincerely worry for him. Dog-B looks at Joaquin. maybe this mission is his opportunity to come clean.

Psychotic Twin looks at Karl. she is afraid of him going crazy on a crucial moment. she came just to make sure he is capable of taking tasks. she is also preoccupied. what if he behaves crazy in front of others? what if he is criticized by others?

Karl can't care less about what others think. Karl is only here to overcome trauma. the trauma of the past. he looks at the road. there she is walking in front of him. she is in there like the guard of a prison, Karl is a prisoner of past mistakes.

Joaquin looks at his comrades. some of them look like shit & others look weak. Joaquin puts a cigar on his mouth. he isn't smoking. he is just biting it. he wants to stop drinking or smoking since now. he wants to be a better person.

Cabra-Head takes some candy from his pockets. he eats the candy. he looks at everyone else. he takes a bottle of eggnog from his inventory. he starts to drink. the others are looking at him. Cabra-Head offers some to everyone else.

Cabra-Head admits he does well drunk or sober. he is well known for being a drunk. no one has ever question him, because he always does his job great. Cabra-Head is so charismatic towards everyone, so no one dares to judge him.

there are some zombies coming towards them. Joaquin uses a holy bullet. he looks at the other zombies attacking one. Joaquin shoots at other zombies. he grins at the zombies committing cannibalism. they keep walking.

"the mission seems to be too simple. I am sure there will be some struggle. so we all need to put attention to everything around of us."

said Joaquin on a serious tone.

none of them knew the whole mission. it is needed of two Hero Guilds to protect, because there is a Fallen Hero Guild to attack. the winner saves or kills the NPCs first. they are not only on a battle against time, but against old enemies too.