Arthur groaned, waking to an unusually cold morning. He opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he got out of the bed. Cold breath trailed his mouth as he entered the bathroom. Another five minutes passed before he exited the bathroom. Not having showered, he picked a cologne and sprayed it all over his body.
'I'm feeling lazy today…'
He opened his closet and picked out the official EOC uniform. He put it on and then, grabbed the katana from the wall. Sliding it into its sheath, he exited his room. The katana knocked against the door frame but he ignored it. He walked the long hallway and made it down to the living room. He took a good look around before turning around and opening the door. He passed the guards the followed the pavement to the gate. The guards opened it with utmost diligence.
Arthur paused, feeling a gaze. He turned around, seeing his brother watching him from the balcony. Chris's cold eyes never swayed even as his brother left. Arthur grinned slightly before stepping beyond the mansion's land. He treaded the sidewalk, hailing a taxi. Multiple cabs stopped for him. His eyes swept across the line as he chose the closest car to enter.
The driver turned around and asked in a polite voice.
"Sir Arthur…"
"To the AEOC's special ops HQ, quickly." Arthur replied before the driver could ask.
The man nodded and turned around. As the other vehicles left, he headed for the HQ. Arthur looked out of the window. The cold city of Ashland for which he had lived in for all his life felt so....distant now.
'Guess that's the feeling you get when you're going away for a while…'
Eventually, they reached the HQ. Arthur stepped out and pulled out his phone.
"Oh! No, need to pay, sir. I'm glad to drive to your destination without pay." The driver exclaimed.
Arthur blue eyes struck the driver, he felt as if they were looking into his very soul. With the most rational voice in the world, Arthur said.
"Either I pay or you'll be paying with your life. Who are you to tell me what to do?"
The driver nodded slowly and Arthur scanned the QR which was hanging on the driver's mirror. He completed the payment and the cab left in hurry. He sneered at the driver, jogging backwards. He turned around and saw several trucks and cars lined up in front of the HQ. They were reinforced with carbon fiber in the style of military camo. Although, it stood out in the city, it would perfectly blend into the forests of the forbidden continent.
He passed them and arrived before the entire AEOC and UEOC special ops first unit preparing for departure. He scanned his surroundings and headed towards his teammates.
"Hello, Arthur! You're weirdly late." Maple waved.
"I was…uh, unusually tired this morning." Arthur replied.
"It normal to be tired before an important day. Don't stress it." Harvey patted Arthur's back.
"Yeah…But what about your daughter? Who will be taking care of her?"
"Lilly? She's with my mother."
"Anyways, are you ready for the dangers that lie ahead?" Amelia jumped in.
"You talk as if I haven't been there before."
"Of course, you have but not all of us." Kay added.
Arthur smiled as his team chatted with them. Then, a loud noise drew their attention. Their eyes locked onto to the supreme commander of the UEOC – Nyx Armstrong. She parted her hands, bringing them down to rest. Then, taking a deep breath, she raised her arms once again.
"My men! Today is a day which will remembered as a moment in history! For the first time, humanity is taking its first steps beyond the known world and stepping into the unknown dangers that lurk beyond!"
The enforcers started to get excited, even Arthur blood was rushing.
"What are you waiting for? Let's cement ourselves into the shadow of history as the team who explored unknown and made it back alive! Let's do it!" Nyx shouted with all her might.
The enforcers shouted with excitement, rushing into the vehicles. The loaders quickly finished loading the research equipment into the trucks, including food supplies and other essentials. The doors of the vehicles slammed shut as the engines roared to life. Nyx grinned and entered the back seat of a car with David.
"Nice speech." He commented.
Nyx smiled. "Oh, it's nothing~ I just took a bit of inspiration from Dante's speeches. I'm always riled up when I hear him."
David chuckled with an old tone as their car started to move.
***
As Arthur's carrier was being loaded, he heard a whistle from behind. Kaiser stood atop the HQ, looking down at the departing enforcers.
"Do your damn best! You champions!" He shouted.
Arthur smirked. "I will you, commander"
He and his team jumped into the car, slamming the door shut. Kaiser watched as all the vehicles left his vision. After a while, he heaved a sigh.
"Good luck…you quite lucky to go on this expedition…but also quite unlucky at the same time. The forbidden continent isn't forbidden for no reason."
He then, stepped down and headed back inside.
***
As Arthur sat down, he felt it was too dark. He patted the wall, trying to find the light. He stood up, stumbling into the center of the compartment. He finally clutched a light bulb, twisting it. It instantly lit up the room, revealing the faces of all the enforcers. He sat back down and pulled out his katana, tucking it between his arms.
"Hey." A voice whispered into his ear.
Arthur flinched, then frowned. "How do scare me every time, Gillispie?"
Matthew raised a brow. "I'm not scaring you or anything."
"Forget it. What do you want?"
"I wanted to ask…isn't Rome also supposed to be coming with us?"
The room went silent and Arthur bit his lip.
"You really know how to ruin the mood…"
"Brother, just tell me. I don't follow the news. Social media is my news."
Arthur locked eyes with the other lieutenant general and said in a deep voice.
"…Fine. Basically, Rome invaded our airspace without permission and sent a jet with the first black ops with it. They also accidently caused a chaos fragment to occur while arresting the infamous drug lord of Kharagen and…
Arthur paused, lowering his head.
"…It cost me 10 men."
"Oh…" Matthew realized his mistake.
Arthur didn't reply and Matthew went quiet. Harvey tugged at his captain's shirt. Arthur looked at Harvey who had somber expression.
"It's okay, captain. It wasn't your fault…It happens to the best of us."
Arthur stared at Harvey for a while; his lips couldn't help but curl a little.
"Thanks, Harvey…"