07 - Juntto

<< Subversive Giants

War of the Damned

Katie has a problem, and you spell it J.U.N.T.T.O. The team has to come to grips with a killer being allowed to live. The alien has to deal with the threat of Paperwork. Will this effort to allow Juntto to redeem himself work? Or will Katie need to figure out how to kill him for good, when even the angels from above could only place him on ice before? Juntto is used to getting his way, but has he met his match with Angie? He wants to be Emperor of his own country. How can she convince him being an Emperor isn’t all it is cracked up to be?? Pandora doesn’t play by the rules, nor will Katie. When Moloch attacks, the General asks Katie and Pandora to kick the gates of Hell in. Can they do it and live?

JUNTTOEVENTS – WOTD7 – DAMNED WOTD 07/1 Gertrude, in a bar, was watching the news videos of Pandora/Katie fighting Juntto, and saw the moment when her angel strength took over. Juntto lost, with his private parts shot to pieces.

Baal and Moloch, in Hell were also watching the videos, and are dismayed at seeing Juntto destroyed. They will find other Leviathans to fight for them, and will make fall-back plans, in case Pandora/Katie come to Hell for them. They were also planning further attacks on Earth, and on Pandora/Katie. “We will start our world tour here, in Uji, Japan.This is one of the tea lovers’ most-prized destinations. It is also home to a tourist favorite, the Byōdō-in, a beautiful temple the humans can’t get enough of. It should be amazingly bloody. Then, Muuido Island, South Korea. This beach town not only brings excessive tourism, but people actually do something called ‘camping.’ They will go up in flames in two seconds. We will end our Pacific tour in Mullumbimby, Australia, known to the locals as Mullum. It is overrun by those weird hippies with their art galleries and health food shops. Then the big one, in New York.”

Katie and Pandora are planning their future as well. New York in the winter, and Juntto? Pandora said, ” You’ve got him under your thumb for at least twenty years. Remember, we think long-term. As far as he is concerned, until he figures out a way to kill you, he has to honor the oath of fealty.” Juntto changed his appearance to what he thought Katie would like. Katie was dismayed. “I’ve got a shapeshifting action superhero on my damn team now. At least you’re good in a fight.” “And I’ve got dashing good looks.” “Oh, and humble.”

WOTD 07/2 Angie was seeing to the condos Brock’s team would use for the three days before they went back to Katie’s Base in Nevada. They have lots of food, beer, cable, and the clothes you said you wanted me to get for everyone. Everything is pressed and put away in the closet. The new SUVs for the team, should be there by the time the guys arrive.” Katie wanted other accommodations, as well, “A barbeque pit, the kind with a smoker attached, several more fridges and deep freezers so that we can buy food in bulk. I’m thinking we can build another kitchen. We’ll need doubles of all appliances. Then get with Korbin and figure out what combat stuff we need to include for the guys. I want the whole shebang.” US Government will pay for most, Katie will complete the budget, as needed.

Katie et al arrive in New York, at hotel, and Katie tells Juntto to not speak, touch, or do anything. Katie tells Brock and team,” I need you guys to give him a clean slate. Judge him by what he does in the present, not his past. Can we do that?” They will give him space to prove himself.

‘’’JUNTTO’’ Katie tells Juntto about Angie. “NOT A SERVANT. Respect her, or you’ll end up with another bullet in your dick. Get it?” Angie shows Juntto new quarters, his own condo, how to use the TV, a computer, where his clothes are, etc. Katie required him to use soap, as “He smells like a bear dipped in foot fungus.” She tells Juntto, “You are a vassal, not a slave. Pandora told me that I need to consider your type when I am deciding what to do with you. While you are here on Earth, we have Earth customs. I’m willing to give you a very restricted second chance and accept your fealty. If you fuck it up, I’ll cut your head off, and we’ll see if you can grow it back. You are exactly what we don’t want here: a bloodthirsty Leviathan with no conscience and a willingness to hurt anyone and everything you come across if it suits you. I accept your fealty, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be prepared for the worst. These people you see around me all the time? They aren’t slaves or servants, they are family. I will protect them and the other innocent humans with my life. You and Angie are going shopping tomorrow. Angie will pick you up. Your job is to get what she tells you that you need and make sure she is protected if she can’t handle a situation. She is not normally on the fighting side of the team. Most importantly, no killing unless they try to kill either of you. You will be walking through crowded city streets filled with innocent beings. Here in the big cities, if we find ourselves in the middle of an attack, we instantly try to steer it away from the people. You should keep that in mind.” “Right. Do what the Angie lady tells me, don’t kill, and protect her. Got it.” “On Earth, we try to kill as few as possible, and they set up a system of penance. A punishment, almost. If you kill outside of an assignment, no matter who is in danger, you are sentenced to the desk.”(Katie HATES paperwork!) “ No paperwork. Got it.” Katie tries to protect him (and her) while in NY. She and Pandora are anticipating a hard time doing so.

Katie goes to the precinct to update Travers and Schultz on what’s going on. “I have Juntto. He is in my custody, and is working for me. If anything happens, I will be responsible for putting him down.””

WOTD 07/3 ‘’’THE SHOPPING TRIP’’’ Angie tells Juntto about the women of today. We don’t cater to men’s needs anymore. They try to force us to, sure, but we refuse. Most of us, at least. Women have careers, families, and all the things men have. And the women don’t like to be talked down to.” She also tells him about clothing: Walmart, name brands, and fashion. He has no clue. And no conquering of banners. Katie said no fighting. Sports socks vs. dress socks, etc. He will be “the Viking with style” Juntto and Angie stop for lunch. No servants, no wine, and napkins go on one’s lap. Angie and Juntto talk a lot about people from his past time, and people of today, and bullying. Juntto wants to use his fingers to eat, and Angie stares him down, until he uses his fork. She has won this battle. The team was having lunch at the Hard Rock Café, and Brock decided to go back to the condo for some peace and quiet. Katie interrupted his plans, luring him into her condo.

WOTD 07/4 The phone rings, and Katie, in the middle of her “exercises” with Brock, answers. She is told that demons are coming out of a subway, so will give event to Juntto to handle, try him out. Katie calls Schultz, tells him, then goes back to her “exercising.” Angie gets the coordinates from Timothy, goes to subway with Juntto, is nervous. This is the first time she is out in the field, first time she would meet demons face to face. As Junto is taking care of the demons below, Angie is taking care of the police and the injured above, shooting one demon who got up the stairs. Katie is watching from atop an adjacent building, making sure that things will go right. Pandora is upset that Katie left Brock, and they have a slight quarrel about that. Angie has named Juntto “Claude”, for purposes of talking to the police. He did a good job, and they were pleased. He asked about his pay, for budgeting purposes, and they’ll talk to Katie about that.

WOTD 07/5 Angie and Juntto get back to his condo, and find all of his new clothing delivered. As he is changing, Angie has to teach him about underwear, boxers. He is never to go naked in front of humans. He finds his new computer, Windows Alienware 17—strongest gaming laptop under five grand on the market. Will allow him to conquer in his mind, and not in the world. (See Technology, Alienware 17, Gaming).

The team (Eddie, Sean, Turner) goes club-hopping, and toasts their efforts with . “To slaying demons, taking really hot steps through hell—” “To spraying bullets, dropping demons where they stand—“And to always walking out alive and ready for the next round of action.” “Life is one round on the course, and we make the very best of that shit.” At the new Nevada Base: Changed. Timothy was tasked with making sure the computer system for the new construction was done to his standards. Korbin and his team had given them a detailed plan; every aspect of the compound was to be built to their exact specifications. (See Locations Korbin’s Base (Compound)).

Calvin and Maria relax in San Diego, in more ways than one.

At the old base, a horde of small furry animals run sniffing across the ground. Demons had infected the wildlife and were now looking for any sign of Katie and her team. The demons were going to find Katie and the team for Moloch. It was their quest.

Korbin and the team talk about how things have changed. Now, we have to go to the incursions to wage war. Back in the old days, your job was to defend. Your castle was built, every place had an army, and you were equipped to defend your city to the death. Now, demons can walk right into any city they want. . Have we gotten anywhere with the thought of expanding our manufacturing to more locations? Now that we’re connected to the military, I would think it would be easier to figure it out.” “What if we didn’t do it on military installations? What if we did it through us and just placed them in different locations we felt comfortable with all over the country? We would run, manage, and secure them, and then we could exponentially up our production.” Joshua leaned forward and wiped his hands. “Right, but think about it this way: if we hadn’t been the ones defending the last attack on our base, what was the likelihood we would have been able to save the armory? I think that the more locations there are, the better the chances of the process and weapons dropping into the wrong hands. Can you imagine if the demons started using our weapons? Or if they got the ability to manufacture the bullets and use them against our side? Let’s hope we never have to face that,” Korbin said.

WOTD 07/6 The news had really started to sink in with people around the world as more and more attacks happened in random places. If an incursion happened where they lived, they wanted to have a fighting chance. All across the world, groups set up town meetings, all centered around the idea of bringing defense to the demons’ offense. As small villages all over the globe fell victim to these attacks, they found that the only way to truly drive home their serious nature was to allow the kids to view these terrible events. The world is no longer peaceful or serene. It is under attack by creatures that do not belong here. Families must be equipped with the means to fight back. Demonology was reviewed locally (speakers at meetings). Fighting back is a futile gesture, followed by a brutally quick and painful death. A system of shelters was suggested, to be prepared, readied, and manned twenty-four hours a day. There will also be Demon Sirens to warn of attacks. There is a system created by Katie’s Killers that detects openings between worlds, often five minutes or so before the demons arrive. This will allow alarms to be sounded, enabling people to make their way to the closest shelter. Obviously, this is quite risky, but people won’t survive in their homes, so we have to look for better ways. Then wait for assistance, or wait for the demons to go back through their portal. The shelters would be fortified and stocked, and weapons would be issued to those responsible for protecting them. This is a foreign enemy: creatures from a completely different world. People cannot stand in the streets with guns and expect to survive. Enough shelters will be created from existing structures to hold the entirety of the town. Once inside, there will be a check-in system to help figure out who didn’t make it. The shelters had to be completed and stocked before the next demon attack.

Katie awakes to a new day, the day they will move to the base in Colorado for a while. Angie seems to have tamed Juntto, so that he even greeted the team as they entered for breakfast. And they all sat down together, human, Damned, and frost giant, and ate breakfast. On the trip to the base, they watched a Terminator movie, and Juntto wanted to change to that character. Angie said no, and threatened him with Walmart rags if she had to purchase a whole new wardrobe for him. Junto showed her one of his talents. Juntto changed, making himself into an Arnold Schwarzenegger look-alike. However, instead of ripping his clothes to shreds in the process, he used magic to make them fit the new frame. Angie asked “So, wait, can you do that for other people? “I can use my magic for anything, really. I could do that for anyone. It’s kind of my specialty. I once created a full wardrobe for a giant. Not me, a different giant. And I changed a dress for a fairy so that she could walk tall around the others. It was pretty sweet.” Then Juntto shut up. The last thing he wanted was to become a clothing designer for women. Arriving at the Colorado base, to go to Hell again to gather more information. They again meet with Thorough, who showed them new equipment, drones, designed to specifically work in Hell, and also to be as inconspicuous as possible while sending data about the conditions back through the portal. Katie, Brock, his three teammates, and Juntto, six drones each, three locations. Should take no more than ten minutes to place them, then come back out. Pandora opened the first portal, and they all ran into hell as fast as they could.

Timothy’s clothes were delivered to the New Base in Nevada, and the guards were uncertain as to the contents of the boxes, so they called Brushwood, who warned them not to piss off Timothy.

Katie et al go into the third portal, begin setting the drones, and Katie feels another portal opening, with demons rushing at them. The team needs more time to set up the drones. Juntto says he’ll help take care of them, so Katie and he go out to fight.

WOTD 07/8 Katie and Juntto go for the demons, and Juntto starts to rush in. Katie and Pandora also go towards the demons, not to be outdone by Juntto. The demons started trying to run from Junto instead of to him to attack him, so he chased them down. Over and over, he chased the demons and used his fists like he was playing Whack-a-Mole. Katie ran forward, firing her gun into the crowd of demons. They went down all over the place, but finally, her guns clicked, no bullets left. Katie put her guns back in the holsters, then pulled two short swords from the sheaths on her back. She reared back and sliced through the air, spinning in a circle and coming to a stop back where she’d started. She looked around at the demons still standing, albeit with no heads. They needed to make enough time for the drones to be set up. Katie turned to Juntto. “We are almost there, but we have to push these bastards back, or we aren’t going to be able to get out.” Pandora cleared her throat. I think I can handle that. Let me out, and I’ll push them back with my magic as we get everyone out of here. Pandora stepped in front of the sea of approaching demons, and the fiends slowed when they saw her. She extended her arms out wide and began chanting in demon, “Ozz ya zokiy aem ya gont realm yaeza qae za ir yiz knaoq saeun. Xnirdh ya daelabbi aem lith oth thunder qae zes palms. Dul’t xoyt ya hordes charging yiz juaar aem sazz oth thrust yaz xoytlong iaiae ya knaoq abyss.” Sparks shot from Pandora’s palms. She turned her head toward Juntto and Katie. “Go! I’m right behind you.” The team was also fighting demons, and Turner took a claw to his neck, blood pouring out.

WOTD 07/9 Pandora ripped open a portal to Earth and leaped back into Katie’s body. As they re-entered, “We need help,” Brock yelled. Pandora talked to Turner’s demon threatening him with tortures in hell if Turner died, and the demon began to help. Brock complained that they needed better equipment to fight, and Juntto asked why they didn’t have weapons like there were in the games he played, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.” (See Technology, Alienware 17, Gaming, WOTD 07/9)

Baal and Moloch are again at a loss as to why the humans had returned to Hell, what they had done there, and who the new fighter was that they had with them. They determined to attack the humans with greater forces on Earth, and to learn who this new fighter was, so that they could kill him and bring him to Hell for retribution.

WOTD 07/10 Thorough and Alice are mapping the data the drones are giving them, looking for a line of defensive positions throughout the hellscape, such as areas backing up to a large mountain cliff and overlooking the entire valley. You could have a barrage of snipers perched on a ledge blasting demons with missiles and gunfire. If we can find fifteen places like that, all moving like steps down into the lower levels of hell, we could have an excellent line of defense. We want to make sure that they have cover on all sides. Really, we want to box them in. Normally that would be a terrible tactic, but we want to give them cover. Entry to escape won’t be a problem, because we have Pandora to open portals directly to these areas.”

Baal and Moloch decide to go and attack Lake Tahoe, and did so, attacking quickly, and going to another spot immediately. Lilith and Katie had undermined him at every single turn. When he looked at his plan as a whole, it was a disaster. Now they had another human running around smashing his dumb fists through hell’s army. He whistled for the troops, calling them back to the gate. They stepped through directly into another small town in western Alabama. It was a cozy little village tucked into a pine forest. Quaint. Destruction reigned. Moloch whistled again, calling the demons back to the gate. He stepped out onto a long beach studded with long rows of houses on stilts. The coast of North Carolina. People love the Outer Banks. This will definitely ruffle a few feathers. And look—seagulls. After they had destroyed that area, Moloch opened another gate. The demons all stepped through and out another portal into a small country town in France. The silence was broken by the blare of sirens blasting all around them. Moloch walked into the town. Barely anyone was on the streets. There was only a small group of humans behind a makeshift barricade, armed to the teeth. They were shooting at the demons as the fiends tried to take the town. The demons retreated into a portal to the other side of Australia, not too far from where they’d attacked just a few days before. There, too, were sirens blasting and armed militants in the street. The humans were beginning to fight back, and they killed Baal’s chef. Moloch felt sorry for him, and captured another one from a local restaurant, who screamed as he disappeared with Baal into hell. Brushwood was notified about the minor incursions, which were more destructive of property than of lives, and he knew the plans were changing. He knew that the demons were attacking them this way because they couldn’t beat Katie and her team. This was a good thing, but it didn’t stop hundreds from dying during incursions. Something was eventually going to have to be done, but when?

WOTD 07/11 Baal and Moloch have identified the new human, Arnold Schwartzenegger, and are determined to bring him back to Hell. Baal will take a few demons, and do it.

Katie and the team go back to NY, and Juntto begins to watch The Matrix on the way home. Juntto has decided to abandon his Arnold character, and had adapted to the form of Morpheus, the boots, the long trench, the samurai blades, the whole nine yards. Brock mentioned, “ I like the fact that we’re fighting with Morpheus. Makes us seem a lot more badass than before.” Juntto wants to control the world as Morpheus, and Katie puts an and to that. “First of all, you have Morpheus all wrong. He fights for the people, not to subjugate them. Secondly, you will never control more than your Xbox while I am around.

Baal came to California, and killed the real Arnold, not realizing that the Juntto Arnold was the one he wanted. Oh, well –

WOTD 07/12 Baal and Moloch play with Arnold’s body, and determine that it was the wrong Arnold, as this one went to Heaven. So who was the one who had come to Hell and fought the demons?

Juntto is beaten in a game by a twelve-year-old, and analyzes why. He wants a rematch.

Brushwood calls Katie, discusses Moloch’s tactics. A hissy-fit?  The only problem is, we cannot just sit here and let him attack our lands and our people without some sort of retaliation measures. We have to show him and the people of this country that we are doing something to combat this. What we need to do is regroup. We need to look through our ammo, our weapons, and use the best strategists that we have to come up with a plan.  I’m tired of losing good innocent American souls to these cowardly attacks. Collateral damage is one thing, and it always has been a tough one to swallow. But this isn’t that. This is just cold-blooded murder, with this Moloch fellow going after anything weaker than him or his demons. He wastes human life to laugh in our faces.” Pandora chimes in.  “Remember one thing, General. No life means anything to Moloch, except his own. Power and winning are the only things that mean a damn to him. He may get angry when demons die, but he doesn’t really give a fuck. He cares when he is deemed the loser. Katie and I make him a loser, but we can’t just stop trying to fuck his world up because he might attack. We have to stay the course.” Katie came back to the phone. “ What if we set a trap for Moloch and we get the whole thing on video? Look, let me talk to some people, get a plan together, and then I’ll put it up for your approval.” The General knew that one of these battles would be the last one, and he hoped that it ended well for the humans, and not for the demons.

WOTD 07/13 Katie checks in with Korbin. Is the armory up and running?” Orders backed up. Looks like civilians are starting to take matters of protection into their own hands.” “That’s good. If it means the citizens are arming themselves, that might mean one less casualty.” What about Timothy? Is he keeping his shit together over there?” Yes – stressed out, though. Katie wants to come to talk to him, personally. Will be there that day, later. As she is leaving, she hears Juntto screaming at the computer. Pandora scoffed. You turned the world’s most dangerous merc into a game junkie. They stood and watched as Juntto lost another game, even though Angie helped. Katie interrupted, as she was leaving and needed to talk to them. “Pandora and I have some instructions. I have to jet to the base for a bit to talk to Korbin about the next attack. You guys are going to stay here. I need you guys to be the main protectors of the city while I am gone. Angie has constant contact with Timothy, and I’ll put her in touch with Schultz and Travers too.” Pandora butted in. “And look, Juntto the magnificent. You better fucking keep your shit together, or I’ll come back here and wrap your entrails around the whole city.” “Okay, we got this. We have the special equipment stored up here, and we will keep our ears open to everything. If we need help, we’ll call you, but there shouldn’t be anything too dire. Juntto grumped, and Katie responded, “I know you’re doing the hard work, but that’s part of why you joined this team. Or, rather, were forced to join this team. You are a heavy—you can take demons out almost better than me.” Juntto noddedand said, “I plan to hire Angie part-time if it doesn’t affect her work with you. She will help me, and I will teach her a few things. I will turn her into a warrior.” Katie asked Angie if she could handle Juntto, and she replied, “He’s a moron, but I think I can handle him. You scared the shit out of him with paperwork; I think I can come up with a few of my own. By the time you come back, he’ll be scared of the laundry monster, the dish brigade, and the killer mop-man. It’ll be shiny as hell in there.” On the way to the airport, Katie flew around the city, to remind herself of why she was doing all of this.

Juntto goes to a gaming shop, and buys an Xbox, with all of the new games. (See Technology,Alienware 17, Games). He left the shop, walking back to the condo, bought a hot dog and ate it (Angie was right – delicious!), and was accosted by three men, who wanted to rob him. He set his bags on the ground in front of him. “Come take it, newbies.”

WOTD 07/14 The three attacked him, and, of course, came out on the bad end. “I am not supposed to kill unless it is absolutely necessary.” He brightened. “But I am free to cripple you.” As he continued fighting, one of them shot him three times, , but the bullets were just a pinpricks. He stood up straight and rolled his shoulders, twisting his back. Three bullets popped from the wounds in his back and clinked to the ground. They rolled along the alley, coming to a stop at the shooter’s feet. Junto picked up the gun, replaced it in the shooter’s hand, and his eyes became a hazy grey. The shooter pressed the barrel of the gun to his own temple, and pulled the trigger. Juntto was happy to have followed the rules (not killing anyone.). He would be glad once he was home playing his new games, with no paperwork to do.

Angie came home, arms full of bags. She had neglected many things while trying to take care of Juntto, so she figured it was time to take care of old business. As she approached the building, she saw the cops talking to the concierge in the entry. They were investigating an incident that had happened earlier. “There was a shooting earlier today on a side street not far from here. Actually, one of the guys involved in an attempted robbery came and turned himself in. Self -defense? They wanted to talk to Katie’s new guest. Angie agreed. “I’ll introduce you to him. He’s a bit shy and slightly occupied with video games, but he is always willing to help.” Angie was worried, as she couldn’t control Juntto if he was in jail. As they knocked, Juntto opened the door, and Angie saw the guy from the cover of Far Cry Four. His skin was pale white, and he had white hair, which hid the ever-present silver streak. He was wearing a pair of purple pants and a white shirt. Angie looked behind him and saw a matching sports coat folded on the countertop. Juntto had changed appearances, so the cops were not interested. Juntto explained it all to Angie, and told her about his use of his power of suggestion to make the guy kill himself, so that there would be no paperwork. Angie and he discuss gaming, she telling him of her gaming background, and they began to play.

WOTD 07/15 Korbin meets with Katie, at the new Base, showing her all of the new improvements, including her own quarters, planned for her by Stephanie and Timothy. Katie walked inside and looked around the room. It was painted a deep shade of purple, the bed had a black bedspread, and there was lacy Victorian-style décor all over. It had a walk-in closet and a bathroom attached. “They even built that closet special, although I don’t really understand all the hooks and hangers.” Katie was pleased. They went to the common area, (very family-friendly), the offices, the different IT spaces, and the training area stacked with workout equipment and a sparring area. “I liked the build of the last base, everything being underground, but this is just as good. We developed some serious defenses, so being here won’t be any less safe.” Korbin showed her the small garden he had built for Stephanie, for veggies in the spring. Korbin felt like this was really home for them. They went to the armory, to see Joshua, but before they did so, Katie/Pandora took Korbin on a short trip to Hell, as he was on the consulting team to help with defenses there. Korbin brought a rock back, and promised to have something of use for her in a day or two.

As Angie was making dinner, Timothy phoned, and warned her of a portal opening in NY. She said she’d “raise the wolf”, and head out. Juntto signed out of his games, and dressed for a fight. He wore his purple suit, including the jacket. He pulled out his pistols and holstered them. He stared at two daggers made of special metal, unsure where to put them. Finally, he grew a sheath on either hip and stuck the daggers in. A cop car came for them, and they got in.

Stephanie and Timothy watch movies that evening, (“P.S. I Love You, followed by The Holiday.”). They finished one movie and took a break to get some snacks, happy to be able to again enjoy the movies together.

WOTD 07/16 A portal had opened at the corner of New York Avenue and Kingston in Brooklyn. Demons were pouring out, grabbing and tearing at anything they could get their claws on. A group of people had started a small resistance, but others panicked and ran for it. Most of them didn’t make it. The cops didn’t make it, either, as the portal blew open only seconds after the cops got there. The demons just plowed into their cars, jumping on top of them and ripping the lights off. Among the demons pouring out of the portal were infected men and women who had heard the call. They had come to help their demon counterparts. There were red eyes everywhere. Angie panicked, and Juntto told her, “Don’t think, just shoot. Pretend you have my strength and Katie’s balls. You will be unstoppable.” Juntto and Angie fought, she reminding herself of Juntto’s admonition constantly, when her courage failed her. They managed to fend off or kill all of the demons, and the portal closed.

WOTD 07/17 Angie calls Katie, tells her of the portal, the incursion, and the battle. Brushwood calls, tells her the same thing, and is pleased with how Juntto is working out. Katie tells him, “It’s not a sure thing yet, be careful with that trust. Everything is fine until he goes ape-shit and kills everyone in a bar. Let’s not forget that.”

Angie and Juntto talk, Angie in pain. As she is not infected, she has no demon to help her heal. “Here is your mission: choose a restaurant for us. I’m not cooking.” Juntto smiled. “I want to go to the Infirmary NYC on Second Street. When they arrived, Juntto looked around in amazement at the wooden tables, Louisiana news clippings on the wall, and the general ambiance. He loved it, right down to the jazz playing on the speakers over their heads. Angie looked at the menu. “Bill’s on you, so eat however much you want.” It was all new food to Juntto, so he ordered half the menu, and seemed to enjoy the food. He waved his hands at the remains of what had once been dinner. “I have confirmed that I love spicy food.” When they got back to the condos, it wasn’t too long before Juntto came in, with the spices literally burning his stomach, so that the flames were coming out of his ass. Angie gave him some Tums, hoping they would help him.

Korbin comes to Katie with a plan for the destruction of Hell. The most important of the drop, the big deal, is going to be a large bomb with as much special metal packed in it as we can manage. When it goes off, the ball bearings will rip through all of the demons nearby, killing them instantly. It’s like a really big fucking grenade with a kick.” We don’t want the teams in there then, at all, if we can help it. And we will make sure that the bomb is detonated remotely, so we can be positive that everyone is out before that happens. Hopefully, we catch Moloch standing next to the bomb. You said there are drones in there, right? See if we can use one for this mission. We will be able to see who is around the bomb when we blow it. That way, we have the ability to be choosy when we press the button. We can have maximum effect with minimal hazard to the rest of the team.” Pandora liked the idea. Katie looked at Korbin. “How do we keep everyone safe on Earth while we lure these demons to the trap?” “ I covered that too. We spread out a whole bunch of claymores below whatever portal we have. That will take care of the demons that escape. As far as luring, I thought maybe we could play a tape of Pandora egging on the demons like she is in hell.” No tapes. Demons need to sense the live entity. Korbin rubbed his chin. “How about a small portal? They will be able to sense you and the portal, and when they are getting close, you drop back through. The detonation of the claymores can be your cue. You drop out and close the portal, they are sealed inside, and you are safe.” “We will make sure the timing is right. You just need to make sure you’re out of there when it blows. Otherwise, you’ll be a goner.” They discuss the absolute need for Pandora to come back in one piece, and all agree on the plan.

WOTD 07/18 Katie and Pandora, picked up Calvin. They wanted to enjoy some good food, starting with Gjusta restaurant and bakery, then the Scratch Bar and Kitchen, for a six-course dinner. After dinner, they decide to go to NY, to pick up Juntto. They did, and stopped at the Krispy Kreme donut place, and the pizza parlor right next door. Travers and Schultz found them there, asked about Juntto, but assuring her that he had nothing to do with the weird incident in the alley.

Moloch and Baal plan their next incursions, many smaller portals, USA only, cut down on response time. They won’t be able to respond to every single attack. It will make them scatter, which will make them less useful. Or, better yet, they could all respond to one attack, making it easier to kill them, and easier for us to cause some serious destruction in other parts of the country. We will use heavy manpower all along the West Coast. Then, at the same time, we drop several hordes right into the middle of the Midwest. Burn the cornfields, burn the farms, burn the factories. While those are simmering, we launch a wide-scale attack on all of the major East Coast cities. New York, Washington, Philadelphia, and Boston. The US not only holds our major hitters, but it is also an Earthly superpower. If it falls, it’s only a matter of time until the rest of the world does too.” “I want a mad-dash scenario. A shock-and-awe and all-you-can-eat effort.” Baal nodded. “Fresh food gets the boys riled up every time. Will we drop them all at once?” “We will start with Massachusetts (Cohasset -Fewest guns per capita.), then let everything else loose like falling dominos. I will command from Massachusetts. If all goes well, I will tip the scale with the other attacks.”

WOTD 07/19 Cohasset, the first Fall Festival of the season. Amongst the hugs and the exchanges of kind words, they didn’t even see the attack coming. The sound of small portals tearing open in the distance didn’t register to anyone. The demons crept slowly to the edge of a hill that gave them a perfect view of the town. A woman walked up the hill, enjoying the fall breeze. She was calling her little girl’s name. As she reached the crest of the hill, she let out a loud shriek. The woman choked on her words for several moments. She had seen her daughter’s pink lace dress torn to ribbons on the ground, covered in blood.

“Demons!” Timothy called Katie. “Incursion, several portals in Cohasset, MA. Because of how small they are the estimate is six minutes, and there are at least five portals.” Katie ran across the hall and burst in on Juntto, who was playing video games. “Suit up. We have a big one.” She grabbed her phone and dialed Korbin. “Hey, get with Timothy and get Brock’s team on a plane now. I need them in Cohasset. You, Stephanie, Timothy, and Joshua, stay there and protect the base. We don’t want to get ambushed.” Katie expected the worst by the time they got to Cohasset.  TV reporting- “Information is coming in now that there were a massive number of people already there for the festivities. The five portal locations are the following: Cohasset Central Cemetery, South Shore Art Center, the yacht club, the historical society, and one right in the center of town on Main Street. The small portals shimmered and stretched as more small demons poured out onto the grass. As soon as their feet hit the ground, they began sniffing out their first meal of the day. They rummaged tables, destroyed buildings, and pulled citizens screaming and kicking from their homes. While small demons continued jumping out of the smaller portals, , a larger portal began to tear open over the town. . Slowly, large demons began to grip the edges of the portal and pull themselves through into the cool air of Earth. They ravaged the town, destruction being the first order of business. The whole town was in chaos, large demons smashing and small demons feasting. There would be no festival that day, or any day for a very long time.

Angie, Juntto, Calvin and Katie got to the airport, and took off immediately. When they landed, Brock and his team were already there. They got into the copters, surveyed the town, landed, and jumped into the cop cars, Katie taking off, flying in on her own.

WOTD 07/20 Each team member took off for a different portal, killing demons as they went. The teams battled through the incursion, trying to take down the maximum number of demons in their initial sweeps. But the portals were still open. More beasts took the place of those the mercs slaughtered. Katie crept through the streets. She had prepared herself for Incursion Day, but what she was finding was ten times worse. The angel in her was begging to come out, so she allowed it to, and was then dressed in her angel armor. There was too much destruction for the angel to be silent. Katie rescued a mother, two sons and their dog, then went back into battle. Juntto saw a dead child, similar to a young Viking, and lost his demeanor, vowing . “Every last one of you will meet Juntto’s wrath.”

Calvin saved people, and killed demons at the Art Center. Juntto rushed past Angie, who was reloading. She had heard the reverberating sound of his bellow, and could now see the anger flowing through him. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but he was apparently on a mission to take down everything in his path. Angie held a dying priest in her arms, and felt that God had abandoned the world.

Brock’s team finished off their group, and met with Katie. Katie looked at all of them. “One last push. You guys finish up the demons out here, and I’m going to close the portals. You ready?”

WOTD 07/21 Katie pulled angel energy, and shut the portals. The last of the demons were being killed, and there was no more screaming. The town began to revive, to come out and scan the damage. Katie rescued a four-year-old, took her to the shelter center, and gave her to Calvin to care for her. On the way, she and the child talked. On the ground, the child helped her to release all of the anguish and terror of that day. As Katie wept, the angel in her was free to mourn. Her great angel wings wrapped around her and Calvin as the reality of it all beat into her heart. A crack in the clouds sent a ray of light cascading over them, and for just a moment every foot and every voice froze in remembrance. Katie and her teams helped clean up the town. They felt somewhat responsible for the damage. Katie flew, and surveyed the town, apologizing to Pandora for breaking down. Pandora commented that it was the angel in her, and it happened because angels cared for humans as much as God did. But Pandora was still a demon.

Katie’s phone rang, and Brushwood spoke to her, stating that they had to retaliate, and show the demons that they could nor break America. Katie agreed, so Brushwood asked her what she needed, to do so. “Give me twenty troops to start with, then I need a shipment of RPG-7s with PG-7VL ammunition, and an RPG-18, although I know it’s hard to find. I will also need a shit-ton of frag grenades, obviously using our metal if we have them. Also stick grenades, and whatever we have left of the special metal smoke grenades. Make sure we get our usual barrage of automatic rifles, shotguns, and submachine guns. Those will be put to use by the troops I am taking with me.” “Good thinking. Now, what about the major explosive?” “Joshua has that under control. My main concern is detonating that thing after we get our infected troops out. Oh, and I want drones that can shoot video and send it across a portal. Those demons will learn that they can’t play with Earth!”

Katie was going to go into Hell again, and she needed to talk to Juntto, to see if he was ready to go with her. “It’s not because you can’t fight or that you aren’t an asset. It will hurt me not to take you in. I’m just not sure you will break off when I tell you to. I need to bring everyone back, and that includes you. We don’t leave our men behind, but at the same time, if you take matters into your own hands and run off chasing demons, I can’t afford to sacrifice others’ lives to find you.” “On those fields today, I saw a young man who reminded me very much of me, except he was dead and no longer able to be a Viking hero. That was why I lost it. I believe in what we are doing, and if I can have one more swing at those bastards for what they did to this town, I want it. My honor should not be questioned.” “Okay. You can go. Not because I’m telling you to, but because you want to.” Juntto smiled and pulled Katie into an awkward hug. “You won’t regret it. I’m going to fuck them up like a twelve-year-old playing Fortnite.”

WOTD 07/22 Katie et al went back to the Colorado Base, from which the portal would be opened. As they walked to the Base, she called, “Get a good night’s sleep. You’re going to need it.” She awoke with Calvin and Brock standing with their guns out. She had been dreaming, and screaming. She got up, dressed, and went out to the field, where everyone was loading up, and getting ready. She spoke to them. “Yesterday we walked through the final resting place of two thousand, three hundred and eleven souls. We battled their attackers, but we were too late for them. Today we are going to Hell itself and we’re going to give those motherfuckers the payback they deserve.” And she read the Elegy she had written years ago. “Usually, we would mourn our friends or our loved ones who had passed. Now, though, we are going to go to hell and deliver our reply.” As they were preparing, Katie waved in the Captain, Calvin, Brock, and Juntto. Pandora took over, telling them where they were going, and what they would be doing. (See Locations, Rector’s Castle, for the location and the plan of attack. ) The troops lined up in ranks across the hangar bay. They were outfitted in their new atmospheric suits and bore custom rifles made to withstand the heat of Hell. The equipment teams had their carts of supplies and explosives. In front of the ranks stood Calvin, Juntto, Brock, Turner, Eddie, and Sean. They had their helmets in their hands, ready to begin the mission. The hangar was as quiet as a mouse, and Katie knew they needed something special to knock the nerves out of them. She came to the front of the crowd. Pandora, I need you to take this one. Give them a speech that will send them running into Hell. These boys need to be powered and amped. (See Locations, Rector’s Castle, for Pandora’s quote of Hannibal’s speech.) Katie asked, “Are we ready?” “Hell, yeah!” everyone yelled. Pandora closed her eyes, and her hands morphed into demonic claws. She slashed the air, creating a large portal in the middle of the floor. The guys held onto each other as a strong, hot wind blew through the hangar. They all had their suits on, but they could see the metal around them shimmering as the room heated excessively. They stepped through, into Hell.

Almost immediately, shots began to ring out. The battle had started as soon as the first soldier stepped through the portal. The demons scattered, not expecting the intrusion. Some fought back while others ran for cover, dodging the special metal bullets they had come to fear. Katie directed the equipment teams as the weapons and ammunition were carried across the castle floor and mounted on the walls. Hundreds of demons milled about the inner circle below. Lava boiled through molten rivers. Thunderous explosions from the volcanos shook the rocks beneath their feet. They were deeper in Hell than they had ever been, and they had a job to do. Calvin began pulling out the drones and switching them on. He set them free one at a time until they had enough out flying to capture a full view of the battle. Katie pulled her gun and put out her arm, stopping Calvin as he was about to grab another drone. She pulled the trigger and a bullet whizzed past him, striking a charging demon between the eyes. Juntto put his hand on Katie’s shoulder. “We fight until they no longer stand, but we retreat when we hear your call.” “Protect everyone, Juntto. You are the powerhouse here. Together we can do this; make them pay for the pool full of bodies you stumbled upon. No one fucks with us.” Juntto slammed his fists on his chest and roared, “No one fucks with us! No one fucks with the humans or Juntto!” He grabbed a demon and ripped it in half, slamming it to the ground. Katie raised her guns and began firing. There was no denying it. The fight had begun.

WOTD 07/23 They took the castle, and Juntto helped set up three men with missile launchers to protect them from outside attacks. In the castle, Katie walked up to an overlook. There are a lot of fucking demons down here. And the people on Earth watched on their TVs as the group attacked Hell. The newscaster watched the footage in awe, along with the audience. “Now remember, folks, if you are sensitive, you might want to look away. This footage is being streamed live with no edits.” They cheered the efforts and the successes as they saw them.

Moloch and Baal were feasting and celebrating their recent successful incursions, when their feast was interrupted by the live newscast from Hell. They hadn’t even know that Hell was being attacked! The screen flipped, and Baal and Moloch both sat there with their mouths open, watching the troops fighting on the terrace of the old castle. Moloch’s entire body clenched and he marched to the closet, swinging open the door. He pulled his armor out and gripped his great spiked club tightly in one hand. Baal wanted to go with him. Moloch waved him off. “You are too old for battle, Baal. Sit here and keep an eye on things. If anything happens to me, though, you better come out there and save my ass.” Moloch stomped out of the room, leaving Baal perplexed and nervous. He turned back to the television and slumped down in his chair, watching intently as the war waged on the screen in front of him. Demons were being blasted in all directions. Baal had been around long enough to know that even if Moloch survived, he was going to have to answer to Lucifer. There was no way the king would let this intrusion slide.

Katie started to set the main trap, the explosion that would destroy Moloch and damage Hell, ordering cover for the men doing that. Brock asked, “You want the men back through the portal when they’re done?” “Yes. 

We want to have to evacuate as few men as possible when it comes time. Once all the traps are set, we will start relieving the front riflemen and missile launchers.” Katie grabbed Calvin as he ran past. “I want you to start evacuating all nonessential personnel through the portal. We are setting up the bombs below. When they are in place, we have to get the hell out of here.” They will leave all of their equipment, as it will be blown to bits in the explosion. Pandora senses something BIG coming, and recommended they get the trap set RIGHT NOW!

WOTD 07/24 The demons suddenly stopped fighting, looking off into the distance, and Pandora groaned. This cannot be good. Moloch was rushing toward them in spiked iron armor, carrying a huge spiked club in one gnarled hand. Behind him were legions upon legions of large demons, all carrying some sort of crude weapon. Katie took a deep breath, readying her nerves. This was exactly what they had planned on ! She ordered the soldiers to fire on him, which they did, one of their missiles hitting him in the knees, so that he fell and rolled down the mountain, cursing all of the way. The large idiot demons behind him figured that was what they were supposed to do, so one by one they stopped on the hill, scratched their heads, and then leaped forward, tumbling down the scorched incline. The ground started to rumble, and a horrible sound filled the air—the shrieking of tens of thousands of demons as they came rolling over the hills from all directions. The sounds of horns blowing could be heard all across Hell. Every able demon was answering the call. The army was massive. It was nothing Katie or even Juntto could handle. Katie ran towards the soldiers. “Retreat! Fucking run!” Calvin was mesmerized by the sight of the demons. It was like a scene from a movie. They reminded him of giant ferocious ants, but ants that had the ability to rip him to shreds, so he commented, “I think we pissed off the ants!” Katie and her army ran. The demons started to gain on them. Katie stopped, summoning her angel energies, and screamed as she pushed the energy from her chest, exploding a ring of pure power outward. It slammed into the first ten rows of demons and sent them flying backward, toppling others like dominos. Katie and Juntto held off the hordes as the soldiers escaped back to Earth through the portal. Katie had sent the message that no one was going to mess with her people and get away with it. Calvin, the last soldier to leave, was captured, and Katie and Juntto came to his rescue. “Time to get the fuck out of here,” Juntto whispered, grabbing Calvin by the waist and throwing him toward the portal. “Thaaaanks, asshoolllle,” Calvin yelled as he soared through the portal and out of sight. Katie mouthed thanks to Juntto, as Moloch reached out to him, grabbing him by the waist. He lifted the frost giant to his face, taunting him. Moloch tilted his large head back and laughed loudly, squeezing Juntto even tighter to keep him from growing. Katie couldn’t just let Juntto die like that. Pandora, are all the rest out? They were, so Katie slammed the portal shut, leaving her (and Pandora) alone in Hell. She wounded Moloch, and said to him, as he again clutched Juntto, . “I won’t let you hurt any more humans or their allies, you big ugly bastard.” Then Katie’s knees began to buckle as the pressure of Hell, and her angel powers wore her down. Fuck, I don’t have enough, Pandora. I just don’t. Pandora pulled her strength inward. Don’t worry, sweetie. Momma’s got this one on lockdown. Pandora leaped from Katie’s chest, immediately growing as tall as Moloch, who turned toward her in surprise. In her true form, Pandora was beautiful and nightmarish at the same time. She reared back, slapping him hard across the face. “That’s for calling me a bitch, you fucking dickwad.” She instructed Juntto to take Katie to Earth, that she would be up soon, as soon as she had settled her score with Moloch. Juntto started to do that, then stopped with his back to the wall of the castle, covering Katie’s head with his arms to protect her. He had waited a very long time to see what he was about to see, and it wasn’t only because Pandora was about to fight Moloch butt-ass naked. She did so, beating him down and insulting him, then ran to Juntto and Katie, opened a small portal, pulling him and Katie through and slamming it shut behind them. Calvin handed her the switch. She pressed the button, and the claymores began exploding all around the castle. The explosions came closer. Moloch tried to leap away, but an explosion caught him in mid-air. The bombs blew like fireworks, shaking and rattling the drones in the sky. Only one continued operating. There was fire and smoke, then nothing. After a moment, a large chunk of meat came out of the smoke and stopped right in front of the drone. It was Moloch’s giant fucking right arm. The surviving demons retreated as fast as they could. They didn’t know if Moloch was dead, but not a single one of them waited to find out. If he wasn’t dead, he was going to take it out on anything he could find.

The whole hangar erupted in cheers and Calvin hugged Pandora tightly, lifting her into the air. Slowly he pulled back and put his hands up, signaling that he hadn’t touched anything he shouldn’t have. He had forgotten she was completely naked. Calvin narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? You know, keeping someone alive?” Pandora followed his eyes to Katie. “Oh, shit, yeah. Bitch can’t survive without me…what can I say? I guess I can’t really survive without her, either, so I think we’re square.” She ran across, all the guys watching her, her body bouncing like a porn version of Baywatch. As she dove back into Katie’s body, she flashed a smile to the guys and blew them a kiss. Katie was breathing but unconscious. Juntto stood over them looking worried. Calvin had seen it before. “Pandora has to heal her. Give her a minute. She will come back to us. You okay?” Juntto said he was fine. 

WOTD 07/25 The base was absolutely silent. The halls were still. The soldiers, freshly returned from Hell, did not joke or brag. The computers sat unused. Brock crossed his arms nervously on his chest and stood over Juntto. Katie’s body lay in Juntto’s lap, her eyes still closed. No one could fathom the idea of Katie not waking up. All anyone could do at that moment was wait. Even Pandora didn’t make a sound or try to move. Inside Katie, she used all her powers to bring Katie back to a conscious state. She began to move slightly, then a small smile moved across her lips. Calvin grinned. Katie asked if they had gotten him (Moloch), and Pandora said she hoped so, but that no one had seen his body. Katie shifted towards Juntto, and they checked with each other. All OK. He whispered to her, “Don’t think I don’t know you could have left me. And don’t think you will be getting rid of me now.” He cleared his throat and raised a fist. “Not when I still need to learn how to kick ten-year-old asses on Xbox.” “Good. Oh, and I think Angie is starting to miss you being there. She told me that while you were gone, she was going to get your Halo character a higher ranking so you would enjoy the game more when you got back.” Calvin saw that Juntto was still bleeding, so wanted to get him to medical. Juntto shook his head. “I heal fast. I’ll be fine. Take care of Katie first. All these people depend on her. They need her to save the humans, right?” Calvin gave instructions to the medics to get her whatever she wanted, when she wanted it, FAST!. Especially the donuts! Her demon was healing her, so she would be OK in a couple of hours. Juntto began to fade, and Calvin became concerned. He went into a coma, and his body changed into its original twelve-foot blue scaly form. They made him comfortable, with pillows and blankets, and Calvin stood, looking around. . “I will say this one time, and one time only. This was a brave man. He saved my life tonight. He saved Katie’s life tonight. And he damn sure saved yours, even if you don’t know it. If I see one video of him making the rounds on the internet, letting the world know he is alive, I will make it my life’s work to hunt down whoever took it. Let him rest and try to get through this in peace.”

One week later, the country mourned the twelve who had passed in the fight. From small town to big city, valleys to mountaintops, and coasts to islands, the entire nation stopped to remember who and what they had lost, and why it was so important. People sat together regardless of creed, nationality, sexual orientation, or any other triviality. They put aside their differences, put aside their red hats and blue hats, set down their protest signs, stilled their hateful chants, and just sat side by side, thinking about what was and what would come to be. There was a stillness in the realization that humanity was all one race, all one species, and all one kind, and the country saw peace for one shining moment. Angie arrived at the ceremony, at Madison Square Gardens. Katie stood at the podium and silently nodded as they entered. Sitting on the top of each of the twelve caskets was a picture of that fallen soldier. Most of the pictures were of them in uniform, but a couple were images from their everyday lives. The casket on the end had a strange picture. It was not a man in uniform, but it wasn’t exactly of a man at home and at ease either. The picture made Angie chuckle through her tears. On top of the last casket was the insert from the Far Cry Four video game case. It was Juntto’s last disguise. Angie whispered to the picture, “Goodbye, asshole. I’ll be beating your scores on Halo.”

In Hell. Baal sat, enjoying peace for a while. The he heard Moloch roar, and went in to help him. He was quite damaged, and was roaring revenge on Lilith. Then, a messenger came from Lucifer, asking for his presence immediately. Moloch’s face twitched slightly, and he let out a growl. “Great, I’ll just hop my way down to the deepest level of Hell so I can be tortured for eternity. I’m going to get that bitch if it’s the very last thing that I do. Mark my words. I will do it.”

On Earth, Thorough and Katie stood, looking down at Juntto’s frozen body. “I don’t know,” admitted the scientist, looking at the strange-looking alien. He turned to the woman next to him. “You’ve got connections. Why don’t you ask someone from up above?” he asked as he pointed a finger toward the ceiling. The woman nodded. “That asshole Gabriel owes me a few answers for all the shit I’ve been through. I’ll see if he knows anything we can do to save him. It’s the least I can do.” She walked out, and the scientist sighed. He was itching to dissect the alien, but he knew that if he so much as cut one hair off the great blue body without her permission, he might find his dick cut off and rammed up his ass without lube or pain medication. And that was just what her demon had threatened to do. He closed the special vault and checked the settings. He would stay frozen. The body would be kept safe.