V.I.R.A.L - Chapter 264

The welcome the remnants of Team Rhapsody received returning to their base was terrific. Friends reunited alongside new allies was something to behold. Monty was the first to show his face welcoming his ally’s home. Alton came face to face with his old rival as the two had a small stare off before Alton held his hand out. “Glad to see you fighting the good fight this time, Montague.”

Monty shook Alton’s hand, disagreeing. “It’s just Monty, I’m not worthy of my family’s name. I’m just here trying to make things right.”

“I see, that’s respectable. But you shouldn’t beat yourself over things from the past. It can consume you whole.” Alton warned, patting him on the shoulder. “Everything between us, let’s just leave it in the past, shall we?”

Alton walked past as Monty spoke back up. “Since I’m not a Montague anymore that makes Emil the head of the family. I just thought you should know that.” Iris ran past, jumping forward, latching onto Monty, holding him close. “I’m so relieved to find you safe, Iris…”

Alton stared on startled, whispering to Alice. “What’s going on?”

“Didn’t you hear? Monty and Iris have grown quite close over the past two years. After Mortem unleashed the crimson night on us all the two were forced to flee with Sam hiding out for a whole year. I guess spending time with anyone that long, fighting for your life will build a connection.”

“I suppose so. Never saw that coming.”

Florence walked in with Blossom and Goro smiling softly. “So, you are all alive? That puts some things at rest. We’ve never formally met now, have we, Alton? It’s good to match the face to the legend.”

Alton shook this off, not impressed. “Bah, I want to hear nothing of it. I’m just here for the fight; I’m no leader. That would belong to this little one.”

“Little one? My dude, don’t mock me! I haven’t had the chance to have a glass of milk in seven years.” Sam pouts before snickering.

Florence fumbled with her hands nodding. “I suppose we still have to thank our newest ally here. Sam not only did you save this base from the echo of Percy but you brought our allies home.”

“I’m just happy to be of service.”

“And it’s good to see you all alive and well also,” Alice commented towards Blossom and Goro. “Did you get out alright?”

“Barley, to be honest,” Goro muttered with a slight chuckle. “Luckily for us, Scarlett only seemed to have any gripe with you two. We managed to escape without much flair. Although we’ve been looking out for the Syndicate family and there hasn’t been a single peep since.”

“That is bizarre,” Alton whispered, conflicted. “We don’t have the time or manpower to begin a manhunt. Our focus should now be on Mortem.”

“You mean now?”

“Is everyone here?”

“We rounded up the main forces. We still have a couple out in the field. Streamers like Stag are keeping an eye in the wastelands for any Garden activity but that’s about it. I’m not sure if it’s enough.” Florence admitted. “Where’s Diego?”

“He. He didn’t make it.” This got quite a few people’s attention as Alton sighed. “But his death wasn’t in vain! He sacrificed himself not only to save us, but he stopped one of Mortem’s vessels Morto!”

This got more people talking as Alton turned to Sam for help. “What Alton is trying to say is we can still win this. Easily! This enemy caught us off guard and played us all. But that all changes here, if we work together. We’ve already proven that by taking one down.”

“But there’s just too many of them. They have control over the police, streamers and the public. If they call upon another crimson night, we’re finished!”

Florence gave a look of disappointment, nodding. “They’re right, Alton. We just don’t have the numbers…”

“Don’t have the numbers? What a poor excuse for streamers I’ve heard.” Vanguard boomed, walking in arms crossed. “When has that ever stopped you before? Wasn’t it you streamers who took down my crazed fan cult alongside Paradox? Wasn’t it you streamers who stopped the dark replicas and put an end to Frizzle Tooth? Wasn’t it you streamers who vanquished Syndicate? Every single time you were easily outnumbered, what difference does it make now?”

“No way it’s him… The former number one streamer Vanguard!”

“Has he come to help us?”

Vanguard turned to the freedom fighters scoffing. “Help you? Please, if you cannot even muster up the willpower to fight why the hell should I help you? Mortem is unlike anything you’ve faced and unless your fully committed to fight give up now.”

“This isn’t helping Marcus…” Iris grumbled.

“No. He’s absolutely right.” Jinx roared, jumping down flipping her guns around. “Anyone with cold feet should back out now. We don’t have time for nonbelievers. The reason you joined our movement was to fight back and take our homes from Mortem. If you’ve forgotten that, then please just give up and let Mortem kill you.”

This got more people talking as Alton placed his hand on the table. “Mortem is a fable foe; I’ve seen its power, and it is real. The lapdog to the Garden is powerful. More powerful than any one of us. But not all of us. I know how to defeat Mortem once and for all. Its power is to take over other people’s bodies and use them as vessels. These vessels all share a single mind and can communicate at will with each other. They can also share each other’s powers if the host had any. The problem lies with the system. If we kill one host, another one will take its place.”

“How are we meant to defeat someone like that? They cannot die!”

“You’re wrong,” Alton shouted, looking around. “We’ve done it before. 400 years ago, the legendary heroes of old defeated Mortem together. The Phantom, Geostruction, The Timekeeper and the Gatekeeper all banded together and stopped the plague defeating their main force for good. It’s taken them 400 years since then to rebuild. If they can do it, why not us?”

“Those were legendary heroes. We’re just streamers.”

“Just streamers, you say? No. You are all so much more than that. You’re the reason people can smile, the reason people get out of bed when it seems impossible. Our silly little streams brought happiness to people and for that short moment made them forget about their shitty day.” Alton declared, jumping on the table. “Where would we be if we weren’t streamers? Goro?!”

Goro flinched, giving it a little thought. “I suppose I would have been a martial arts teacher?”

“Jinx?”

“Huh? Oh well, I’m not sure? I did work at a hair salon moping up hair for a short while.”

Alton turned, pointing to Florence. “What about you?”

“Me? Before streaming, I was a waitress at a small café.”

“Don’t you see?” Alton says, sitting down. “We’re all the same. Before streaming, I worked as a store clerk at my local gas station and a care home cleaner. We’re not heroes; we’re not some mighty warriors who fight evil and save our nation. We are like anyone else, just normal people living our lives. But we stepped up and entertained a nation whose lives were a little bit less shitty because of it. If we gave up now, what sort of people would we be? People rely on us to get them through their day. That’s who we are; we are the people who inspire the nation to take a stand. We cannot win alone, but together we can do just about anything.”

This got the crowd into a giant roar of excitement as they all began cheering, ready for the fight. Alton turned to Sam as she smirked, rolling her eyes. “Who’s the leader now?”

“What do we do, leader?” One asked.

“What umm, well?” Alton muttered, calming himself, nodding. “Our main priority is Mortem and her vessels. The public is unaware of the truth, so none of this is their fault. If we take down the main vessels of Mortem, we win. That’s it. There are three to worry about. Kurt Hatching, he’s the former legendary hero, the Phantom. If we manage to free him, that could be a key asset to our victory. There’s my formal ally Emil Montague, our team will do our best rescue him no matter the cost. The last vessel is the leader of V.I.R.A.L Vitae. Takedown, her vessels and she, will have nowhere to go. The rest will be history. I don’t expect you to be fighting the vessels. Your job is to rally the masses against Mortem. If we are to fail somehow, you will be plan B. If enough people rally to our cause, they won’t have any choice but be forced to flee. We’ll split into groups and spread out to cause the most Mayhem.”

Alice nodded, standing next to him, working off his plan. “We’ll separate you all into large groups. Strength in numbers will be our tool here. Make ten men feel like one hundred for the main crew. Iris, you Monty, Jinx and Florence will take the city square. Make the most noise and flush out any potential vessels. We still have characters like the other Montagues and powerful figureheads who could replace Vitae if we aren’t careful.”

“Blossom, you and Goro will handle the police. Keep them at bay but don’t hurt anyone. We want them to see our reasoning and help us if can be.”

Blossom clapped her hands together, nodding. “That can be arranged.”

Alton looked to Vanguard with a smug look. “How powerful do you feel right now?”

“Enough to take you down.”

Alton jumped down, looking at his former enemy with a plan. “Mortem isn’t working alone. There’s a third party assisting her. You’ll be in charge of taking them down.”

“And who are they?”

“The police commissioner Charmeine. I don’t know the full story about her, but she seems very close to Mortem and could make an ideal vessel if it came down to it. If Mortem trusts her, then I have no reason to believe she isn’t strong. Plus, that and I sense a familiar force from her.”

“Always leaving the scraps to me, aren’t you? Very well, you all aided me to the very end. I shall do the same. I’ll be the Vanguard who pushes on until it’s done.”

Alton shook his hand, turning to the others. “And that just leaves you two. Alice and Sam, you’re with me. We are going to get Emil back and take the fight right to Vitae herself. We’ll show the world what the combined force of Team Rhapsody and Hero’s Might can do.”

“That’s everything? How do you want to do this? We need the masses to support us. Attacking out of the blue won’t work.” Alice stated.

“Hey, Florence? You can manipulate the reality of technology, right? And Blossom, you can still hack into anything, correct?” Alton questioned. Both streamers looked at each other, nodding. “Perfect. Sam, it’s time for operation world stopper.”

Sam’s face lit up as she began freaking out. “No way? We’re doing that?! Like for real, my dude?!”

“Like for real we are.” Alton declared, stabbing a knife into the map of Rhinefield directly on V.I.R.A.L HQ. Who would we be if we didn’t announce our intentions to the world? The stream to end all streams. We’re going to declare it to their very faces. The streamers are taking over the world. Get everything ready; we’re about to go viral.”