EPT
A Blog Novel Series by Seeker
Graphics by shiroiusagi
Table of Contents
Other
The Delay (read after Ch. 11)The Comeback (read after The Delay)
Special New Year Chapter
Chapter 16
The Liquipedia Operations Command Center was nearly empty except for one man who was furiously working away at the system computers. Unfortunately for salle, he was so busy focusing at the task at hand that he failed to realize the alert notice that came up that was trying to notify him of two people that had entered the room.
LICHTER: Okay, well, here we are. Are you ready?
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Ummm… I-I guess?
LICHTER: Trust me, you’re going to be fine. Just do as I instructed and it will all be over before you know it.
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Err… I’m still not sure if I want to do this though…
LICHTER: Well… As I told you before, this man is our enemy. He is working for the other side. He is a traitor and he must be stopped! You don’t want the bad guys to win do you?
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Ummm… No… I do not want the bad guys to win…
LICHTER: Excellent. So let’s go on with this then, shall we? We can’t afford to waste any more time.
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Uhhh… Alright…
LICHTER: Just go down this hallway and it will be the last door on your right. Knock on the door, wait for salle to answer, tell him that you have some confidential information to share with him, wait for your opportunity, and then you know what to do.
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: …Okay...
After reassuring Chapa that he was going to be fine, lichter firmly grippeed his shoulder, placed the dagger in Chapa’s hand and pointed him down the hallway.
LICHTER: One swift cut across the neck, that’s all it will take to kill him. It will be real quick and easy. I’m going to be monitoring everything from my end so you have nothing to worry about.
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: (nodding his head) Alright… You sure this is going to work?
LICHTER: Absolutely! I’ll be able to hear everything going on through the wire under your shirt, and I’ll be able to see everything from the camera on your horse lapel.
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: I see… Well, I guess I’ll just go ahead and do the… the thing…
LICHTER: Listen, you’ll be fine. Just hand him these documents and while he’s distracted from reading them, just do the deed.
Slowly, Chapa began walking down the hallway until he reached the doorway. After taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door three times.
SALLE: (alert) Who’s there?!
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: ...Umm… Hey s-salle, it’s uh… it’s me… Chapat-…ChapatoocakePTSD
SALLE: …Who?!
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Uhh… You know… It’s me, Chapa.
SALLE: Oh. Chapa! (opening the door) Where the hell have you been?!
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Huh? Oh… Umm… I was… Eating lunch…
SALLE: Eating lunch?! What the fuck?! You do realize what’s been going on right?!
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Err… I came across confidential information as I was eating lunch.
SALLE: You what? How did you… Chapa, you’re not making any sense here…
Right outside the hallway, lichter was watching everything from his phone and listening to everything through his earphones. As the conversation between Chapa and salle unfolded, he began getting more and more frustrated.
LICHTER: You’ve got to be shitting me… He’s turned into a complete dumbass… Maybe I injected him with too much of the stuff…
There was a sinking feeling inside lichter that Chapa was about to blow this whole operation. However, right as he started walking down the hall to enter the room himself, Chapa suddenly managed to salvage the situation.
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: (coughs) Uhh… So… I know that what I’m saying doesn’t make any sense, but… You absolutely need to hear me out right now. I picked up on some confidential information that could… Uhh… Really determine the outcome of our current situation right now.
SALLE: Really?
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Yeah… It’s… Important stuff…
SALLE: Alright. Let me hear it then. What you got?
Right outside the door as he kept his hand on the doorknob, lichter let out a sigh of relief.
LICHTER: (under his breath) Better, much better. Now keep it up Chapa…
As salle was busy reading the documents, Chapa slowly reached into his back pocket and began to pull out the dagger as he began to approach salle from behind while trying to be as silent as possible. When salle was right in front of him, he reached over and positioned himself to slit his throat. However, without any warning, salle swiftly turned around with haste and precision and stabbed Chapa right in the gut.
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: Wha… You… I…
SALLE: You’re not Chapa, are you? The real Chapa would never try to kill me like this.
CHAPATIYAQPTSM: I… I-I am the real… Ch-Chapa…
SALLE: (pushing the dagger in harder) If that’s true then this is an even bigger betrayal than I initially thought.
Slowly, Chapa backed away from salle, lost his balance, and fell over backwards as he knocked off all kinds of contents from the desk behind him. On the other side of the door, a stunned licther was watching and listening to everything going on.
LICHTER: …Wha…. Did he just… Well fuck… That did not go as planned.
Realizing that it was time for plan B, lichter pulled out his gun, opened the door and headed inside; only to be greeted by salle’s own gun right with the barrel pointed right at lichter’s face.
SALLE: Hello A2. I’ve been expecting you.
LICHTER: What… What did you just call me?
SALLE: Did I stutter?
LICHTER: ….How much do you know?
SALLE: Haven’t you noticed that I’ve been MIA for quite some time now? What do you think I’ve been up to?
LICHTER: Hmm… Well… This just got very interesting.
SALLE: Oh? And why is that?
LICHTER: To be honest, I really hated my role in this whole plot since it seemed like I wasn’t going to get any action in… But now… (smiles)
SALLE: Wha… Why are you smiling?!
Before salle could react, lichter quickly fell to the ground in one quick motion and then reached up and kicked salle full force into his stomach. As salle fell over backwards from the impact, lichter quickly rolled over to where Chapa was and checked on his condition.
LICHTER: Damn. He’s lost a lot of blood already. Stay here Chaps, I’m going to take care of salle real quick and then I’ll come take care of you.
And with that, lichter stood up, cocked his gun back and positioned himself behind a nearby desk. With a quick glance he could tell that salle had recovered from the impact and was now positioned somewhere within the room.
LICHTER: Well, well… Looks like it’s show time.
Over in the medical facility, Smix was rapidly working on computing through all the data again. She realized that this was no time to reminisce and be gloom. She furiously told herself that TL was in danger and that she had to get a grip on herself. As she was about to reach over and take a drink from her glass of water, she suddenly heard a noise behind her. Alert and ready, Smix quickly opened the nearest drawer, pulled out a small pistol, and turned around as she aimed in the direction from where the noise had come from.
????: WAIT! Don’t shoot!
SMIX: Who’s there? Show yourself! Hands where I can see ‘em!
The figure in the shadows slowly began to walk out forward. Smix had no idea who this person was however because she did not recognize his face. She did not let her guard down and kept the gun pointed at him.
SMIX: Who are you and what are you doing here?
????: Please put the gun down Smix. I am unarmed and I mean you no harm.
SMIX: State your name and your business right now.
????: My name is of no importance, but my business is to help you out.
SMIX: What? What… What do you mean? How?
????: I know you’ve been trying to compile all the data you’ve gathered so far by using TL’s systems. It hasn’t generated any results yet though correct?
SMIX: …How would you know that?
????: Please relax. I am not an enemy. I just wanted to give you this. (slowly reaches backwards)
SMIX: Don’t move!
????: Like I said, I have no weapon on me, please trust me, I only want to help.
Making sure to keep his eyes focused on Smix and moving slowly to show that he wasn’t dangerous, the figure slowly reached backwards, grabbed a file, and then showed it to Smix.
SMIX: What is that?
????: It’s the data that you’ve been trying to decipher. I brought the missing pieces. Once you read this, it should all make sense.
SMIX: …
????: I know I seem suspicious but you have to trust me on this one. Please… Just take a look at it and you will see that I am telling the truth. Here, I’ll put this right here on the counter, and I’ll back away so you can look at it yourself.
SMIX: …Okay, fine, go slowly though. If I suspect anything, I won’t hesitate to put a bullet through your skull.
????: (quiet laughter) You always were spunky and courageous. I love that you haven’t changed at all.
Slowly and carefully, he walked over to the counter, put the file down, and then backed away with his hands in the air. Smix then walked over and while keeping the gun continuously pointed at him with her left hand, she reached for the file with the right, opened it up, and began reading it. After about two minutes, Smix suddenly had a horrified look on her face, and then looked up at the mysterious person.
SMIX: How… How in the world did you get this kind of information?
????: I could tell you everything right now but it would take up too much time, because you need to act fast. Now that you know what you know, do you really have time to be interrogating me?
Smix was still suspicious of this character, but he was right when he said that she needed to act fast based on the information that she had just received. Still stunned and shocked at what she just found out, Smix gripped the file, and steadily stepped backwards back towards her desk. The man followed her but made sure to keep his distance so as to not antagonize Smix.
SMIX: You stay there so I can read this again…
????: You read everything correctly the first time. There is no need to read it again. You know what’s going on here Smix… You need to act now…
SMIX: (rereading the file) …I cannot believe this… Is this… For real…?
???: I’m afraid it is. Please act fast Smix. There is no more time left.
Smix realized that the information provided by this stranger was about to change everything. She was still suspicious of him, but realized that she did indeed owe him a debt of gratitude, for there was no way she would have been able to find this out on her own.
SMIX: Oh my gosh... This can't be right... I have to tell Nazgul this right away...
????: You better hurry. Before it's too late.
SMIX: I can't believe this... This was never supposed to have happened... This changes everything... Now we have absolutely no idea if our allies really are our allies.
????: Go now. You don't have a single second to waste. Plexa, Nazgul, R1CH, and especially Heyoka, they're all in danger.
SMIX: Thank you so much. (quickly begins to run out but then turns around) Please tell me though... Who are you?
????: Everything will be explained in due time. For now let's just say... I'm a man who came back from the dead because TL needed me.
S: A1... Come here for a second.
A1: Yes general S, what is it sir?
S: So I've been observing both Nazgul and R1CH's office for quite some time now... Hmm....
A1: Is there a problem sir? There shouldn't be any problems with the cameras and listening devices A2 installed. If there are any issues I could go ahead and check on-
S: No. There are no issues with the feed and sound.
A1: Well, then, what seems to be bugging you?
S: Hmm... Why is Plexa fighting Nazgul and why is A0 fighting R1CH?
A1: Sir? They're fighting because Plexa is enraged at Nazgul's betrayal, and A0 is trying to kill R1CH just like you planned sir.
S: Incorrect A1. I did not order A0 to kill R1CH. I ordered him to override R1CH's control over TL's systems. Not once did I instruct him to kill R1CH... Why would I in the first place? I still need R1CH for now.
A1: I see... Well, if you'd like I can go ahead and contact A0 and-
S: As for Plexa fighting Nazgul... Something seems... Off...
A1: What do you mean?
S: It seems almost... Staged... As if they're not actually trying to kill each other.
A1: Are you sure sir? From where I'm standing it sure looks like they're trying to kill each other.
S: Hmm... I don't feel that way. I am perfectly aware of both Plexa and Nazgul's fighting capabilities. This clearly looks like they're both holding back on purpose.
A1: Well they are very good friends sir and they're both admins. It is only natural that they would hold back sir. Imagine the emotions they're both going through right now given their circumstance. They probably don't want to do this but have no choice but to-
S: FFS, do you think I don't know that? Stop talking to me as if I was a child A1! When I say something is wrong, then I mean SOMETHING IS WRONG!
A1: I... I apologize sir. I meant no disrespect.
S got up from his chair and began to pace around the room. He continued to do this for a prolonged period. Every so often, he would stop, take a sip of wine from his glass, then pace again. Then, all of a sudden, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.
S: Is it possible that they're... No... It couldn't be...
A1: ...Sir?
S: Leave the room A1.
A1: Huh...? You want me to leave-
S: Leave now! I wish to be alone.
A1: Yes sir! Right away sir!
A1 quickly left S' room in haste. However, right after he closed the door behind him, he turned back around right away and opened the door again. It was only a little bit just so he could hear what S was doing. If S wanted him out of the room, it could only mean that S was up to something that he didn't want A1 to know about.
S: ...It is I. I have decided to speed up the process of phase four... Do not question me A5! I have suspicions that something is going on right now and I do not want to waste anymore time... Good, report back to me once you've finished... (chuckles) Excellent. I sure hope you don't mess up A5 because I can order you to be killed at any time... Then it's settled. Get going, now!
As soon as he hung up, A1 heard S put the phone down, walk back over to his desk, sit down in his chair, and begin to pour wine into his glass again. While doing so, S began to laugh out loud like a maniac.
S: Very clever Nazgul... Very clever indeed... I almost fell for it too...
A1 heard everything he needed. He carefully began to close the door so that it wouldn't make a sound when it closed. As soon as he was in the clear, A1 sprinted down the hallway and began climbing down the staircase as headed towards the basement. In the process, he whipped out his phone and began typing a message as fast as he could.
He knows. Kill Nazgul now.
End of Chapter
