And Now We Relax...

The Ballada were resting for the 8th day in a row. After eliminating the last Anti-Human, the crew earned all the rights to relax. A bonus was also being discussed by the directors. After all this was not the normal type of hardship usually seen in the Wetlands. They woke up, one after the other, in different days. Thankfully, no one suffered a great injury this time around. The boy Imperium was the last to return to the waking world, still feeling mauled by his condition.

With a pained yawn, he glanced around the place and saw himself in a personalized room. A hospital bedroom that seemed partially like a living room, with couches and a television on the wall. Most of the team was up and about, but they would only be discharged once all of them healed completely. The reason for that, is that only after the fourth Anti-Human, the medics wondered if some kind of exposure had taken place. If some new bacteria or virus came from these Anti-Humans, the Ballada was not allowed to go anywhere. Quarantined until further notice.

— Look who’s finally up. — Said a husky Juice. Also hospitalized.

— You don’t look so good either…

— I am in great pain. — He smiled.

— Wait! — Imperium said. — What happened?!

— IMPERIUM!!! — Evangelist runs over the couch.

— I’M ON THE FUCKING PHONE!! — Ragnarok yelled. — Sorry dad, go on.

Video chatting with her family, Ragnarok explains that she almost lost her life but not really and that everything was fine. Causing a lot of unintentional stress. Meanwhile Imperium tried to free himself from Evangelist’s sisterly clutch.

— We did it Imperium!

— Really?! We won?

— Yeah, we did!

— Stop yelling… — Said Franchise as he was lying down, abused by a headache.

— I don’t remember it…

The only exception to this quarantined vacation was their captain. The woman had to report to the sages first and assured them of Ejo’s elimination. She too, had not been severely injured like the others, so it was easier to let her go and wander the Lapse. The doors, right of Imperium slide open and Killerkill herself, enters the room.

— Well… Now that you’re all awake I can explain.

— Finally. — Franchise sits up, to pay attention.

— Sorry for making you wait, Franchise. — Killerkill said.

— Sorry dad, I gotta go. My boss is calling me. Love you, bye!!

— Wait-

Hanging up, Ragnarok sighs, in a different type of tired. It’s like her brain didn’t want to absorb any information for the next thirty days. Ragnarok was the type of person that although open with her feelings, had an unreasonably hard time being vulnerable. Telling her father certain things that clouded her mind was akin to slowing down. Of stepping down from her position of pillar to her family. And God knows that she would hate that.

Even so, Ragnarok rolled around the couch to face her captain and listen closely to what she had to say. Killer sat on the arm rest of Franchise’s couch, while Imperium and Juice were in their beds. Evangelist was next to the boy.

— I’ll keep it simple for now and we can talk more about it as time goes on. But… we didn’t kill Ejo. Instead, he decided to die.

Disbelief spreads across the team, yet no one interrupts her. It was odd that nobody, but Killer was there to witness it, but at the same time, is not like anyone remembers how it ended. Only Evangelist had some clue but would rather have Kiki lay out the whole story for the team and not say anything.

— You were all out by the end, and I saw him break down. He was on his knees crying. I saw that an old memory came to rescue him. And he accepted his death. He just… turned to dust.

Franchise looks down. Ragnarok and Imperium had similar glooms take over their expression. Accepting that they did not defeat their opponent. That in a way, they failed their squadron and their mission. Had Ejo not been the person he was, the world could have been doomed. Yet, they were grateful for their luck, and accepted fate as was. This memory must have been a powerful one to make Ejo accept the great beyond.

— That monster…

With those words, Franchise makes the others recall Ejo’s strength. Untapped powers that they had yet to see. After having his requests denied, his family butchered, his heart ripped out and his head removed… he still fought against six enemies on his lonesome. He had defeat all who challenged him. And if the Lapse had intervened, they would have probably lost too. The Anti-Human of Sadness was superior, in more ways than one.

— He just turned to dust?

— Yeah.

Killerkill shrugged, mildly defeated like everyone else. She too could not understand the entire situation. Forced to accept the outcome. Franchise himself can’t help but smirk and laugh at the irony of it all.

— Unluckiest Searcher my ass.

Evangelist beams on the inside. That statement made her want to jump of happiness, but she decides to keep her massive grin on the inside, and comments as blandly as she could.

— Wow, Franchise I didn’t think your curse would have gone away like that.

— Curse? — Imperium asked.

— So, we won for free. — Ragnarok says. — Good job team!

In retrospective, it was quite easy to accept Ejo’s death. It’s just that everyone’s ego got in the way some. On one hand, a mostly invincible enemy gave up and ended the battle before any major tragedies. And on the other, wanting Ejo to return was simultaneously stupid and evil. He was gone, vanished on his on terms and that was it. Everyone relaxed.

Juice lied back. And Imperium inhaled deeply.

— I promise I’ll do better next time.

— You and me both kid… — Franchise nods to him.

— We’re counting on you. — Killerkill smiled.

— And you can count on us. — Evangelist said. — Don’t forget it.

The door opens again, and a person-sized disaster walks in.

Killerkill didn’t have time to tell anyone of the good news. Some have already paid them a visit while they were unconscious. This was just another occasion. Obviously, they weren’t the only Searchers in the facility. But there are two types of squadrons formally recognized by the organization. Searchers & Destroyers.

Once the Lapse established a good relationship with the world governments, they realized a better tactic to explore the Wetlands was in need. The initial VSS doses weren’t balanced in a power-health relation. Hyuga, the monster that teleports others was always a good example. Some were better at traversing the land and collecting the relics. While other’s were designed to clear the area of any creatures or danger.

As the generations went on the VSS were finetuned and this team terminology was dropped. After all, a good Searcher was capable of both, regardless of their abilities. The Blight, The Acids, The Clouds, to name a few squads that made The Lapse work the way it does. And The Draught, which was once recognized as a Destroyer group.

A big, nasty, and infamous squadron amongst Searchers. Known to be a final solution card, for every problem. After approving the Ballada to fight Ejo, the directors of The Lapse quickly placed the Draught on alert. Summoning them, just in case something did not go as planned.

The Draught, or at least the elite members of that squadron entered the room, to pay a fellow squad a visit. Killerkill’s Ballada was particularly small, with only 6 members. Most squadron had at least ten. The Draught had twenty-three. But the top seven were so dissimilar, they were unofficially recognized as their own team. And those seven were the best and most effective Squadron in all of The Lapse’s history.

With a success rate of 100% since their conception.