Witchers of Nifelheim

A Sinner wrote:She looks across the beds, "Goddamn right we were worried... listen as much of a hard time im giving you. Im happy your all ok." She looks away a moment, "I haven't been in my best of mindsets lately." She sighs, "Thing are... Intresting to say the least" she clears her throat, "God Kaylee... im sorry what happened to the equestrian fleet, im sure its scary knowing you could have beem there. Im sure you have your regrets." She slowly moves up to the woman, leaning down and placing a hand on her arm, "Hay, look at these." She smiles carefully drawing a finger across one of her cuts being careful not to hurt her, "These... these make you a warrior, these heal and make you stronger you learn from these." She looks up at her, the faint glow in her eyes looking into the girl, "These witchers are feirce... your an exeptional soldier Kaylee, Never forget that." She chuckles, "You should have seen me back in my years. I'd take my shirt off and there would just be this giant scratch along my stomach." She draws a line across the girls belly, "People in bars would whistle and flirt but then they'ed notice the scratch and be like "Oh my god... what happened?! Thats a wicked scar, I bet it hurt." She chuckles, "then i'd lean in and say, "No shit shirlock, its not like i got it relaxing in a goddamn spa." She laughs.

"The Six Million Dollar Woman is right, you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. If you had tagged along with us, there would have been nothing you could have done to change what had happened, you would have just been caught up in it to" Rogue says to Kaylee "And in relation to that, I would like to take full responsibility for our little aerial acrobatics display, it was my plan and I persuaded everyone to go along."

Kaylee weakly lifted her head and blinked, the tears from her eyes falling down on her cheeks:

"...but it is my fault." she quietly whispered. She looked devastated and crushed, her eyes fell on your wounds:


"...everything that happened to you, was because of me. The 9th pillar disaster was my fault" She closed her eyes shut, quietly sobbing:

"I was on a mission... it had everything to do with the pillars... and I botched it. I failed it at the last minute.
There's nothing exceptional about me. I'm a fuck up.

Because of me-" her voice broke, she began quietly sobbing.




"K-Kaylee... slow down.." Tom quietly called: "What are you talking about?"




Kaylee closed her eyes shut, trying to slow down her breathing, then quietly spoke:

"...when the top of the pillar exploded, it released a terrible lightning storm across the Equestrian region.
Anyone who was hit by the lightning, vanished, from the face of the earth.

A lot of people disappeared..." Kaylee quietly spoke, her voice colorless:


"...among them... your children" She couldn't make eye contact with you, as tears continued to fall from her eyes:

"I'm sorry"

"You WHAT?!" Rain sits up quickly but grips her stomach the color fading from her face, she lurches over the the side of the bed vomiting across the floor, she grips the bed and trys her best to steady her breathing, a dry heave hitting her every few seconds.

Fire simply looks at Kaylee, you could almost hear the thoughts rolling through her head as her mechanical eyes move from side to side across Kaylees face. She snaps her fingers, "So you caused the pillar in my city..." she says exeptionally calmly... no rage.

Mercer has heard that voice before however, Fire was a hothead and everyone knew it, her eyes held no signs of anger or discontent. Fires talent was about to shine in its worst way possible.

"So..." she clears her throat, "Up here darling." She places a finger on kaylees chin bringing her head up, her amber glowing eyes locking with Kaylees, "Tell me honey... These witchers enter our world, they begin killing things..." she tilts her head, closing the distance between them placing a hand on her shoulder and slowly resting her fingers on the back of her neck, "The pillar in my city, if it is somehow revolved around you, Tell me what you saw darling." She tilts her head never taking her eyes away from the girl. There was a gentle kindness in her words no matter what they were, "you dont need to worry about anything Kaylee." Her words come out soft and covered in sugar, "Just tell me what happened and I can garentee your protection, you dont ever have to leave paldenias or my arms." Her simulated breathing is slow, calm, suductive one might say.

"Fireee..." Rain says quitely, "...stop."

"I'm here within your best intrests Kaylee. The world right now is in shambles and you know more then anyone else in here." She leans in more not looming over her but drawing her closer, "Your scared..." her touch is warm, loving, "I know you are..." she whispers, "...you dont need to be, I'm Here. I want to work with you in protecting everybody, side by side... together." She places a finger on kaylees lips, "Dont say no Kaylee... You'll break my heart." She blinks only once. She waits for her response, her eyes convaying love and care to the girl before her, each breath leaving her gently caresses kaylees cheeks.

Twilight was about to thank for the situation and leave, until a few words reach her ears, causing a wave of shock to wash over her face.

Kaylee Brown wrote:
"...among them... your children"

"I'm sorry"

She sat the in silence, looking stunned. Slowly, her face turned to a snarl. In the time she was known, she never looked this positively pissed. She slowly turned her head to Kaylee, an immense hate apparent on her visage. Slowly, with palpable underlying anger, she spoke to the broken woman.

"You're... Sorry."

She was quiet for a few seconds, then continued.

"Kaylee, you better start speaking, NOW. This event took the only thing that kept me moderately grounded from me. If I don't get them back, I do not know what will happen. I can imagine things, but they could be less, they could be worse..." She narrowed her gaze at her. "And who knows who it might affect."

She grabbed the side of the bed, trying to get up despite the pain. "So pull yourself together to inform us. Because I doubt anyone wants to take that risk here."

Fire snaps her fingers, "Silence yourself purple..." she says gently, "There is no need to yell at her." She doesn't take her eyes away, "No tears my love..." she says with a breath, "Tell us everything darling... word for word... moment by moment... the start, The middle, and the end."

"Step away from her, Firewing. We don't want things to get more messy then they are."

The tone that it was said was still monotone, but it made very clear that the mechanized body was not something that scared her one bit.

"I am not challanging your athority Princess Twilight. Just as you aren't afraid of me im not afraid of you." She doesn't looks away, "You and your word holds no authority over me, I urge you to listen to what kaylee has to say... If she is hyperventalating from your anger... too in tears to even speak... You will never get your answers." She says slowly.

"I just want the information, I don't care for the source." She says coldly as she gets out of the bed with some trouble. "I'm going for a walk, I'm far too angry to even look at her." She says as she walks to the door.

"Who knows more about the current happenings of your family then the source itself." She smiles, "The story could be told and you wont be here to find out where your beloved family went Purple Smarts." She tilts her head, "Then again it doesn't matter to me if your here or not. Your letting your anger take over your logical reasoning." She clears her throat, "I think you forget that I pretty much have a computer for a brain sometimes. Not that it makes me any smarter mind you but that doesn't mean im always wrong." She raises her brow her faint glowing eyes turning to the purple mare, "I think we can both agree that you need this just as much as I do." She smiles with a devilish grin, "That has a double meaning if you wish to take me up on it." She taunts.

"Fire," Radiance calls to her with a stern tone "I suggest stopping before you piss off Twilight any further. This path you're on is not going to end well for either of you. Let the woman have her space for now. She'll come around, she always does."

Her ears perk at radiences tone, she simply smiles at Twilight.

Kaylee Brown wrote:Kaylee weakly lifted her head and blinked, the tears from her eyes falling down on her cheeks:

"...but it is my fault." she quietly whispered. She looked devastated and crushed, her eyes fell on your wounds:


"...everything that happened to you, was because of me. The 9th pillar disaster was my fault" She closed her eyes shut, quietly sobbing:

"I was on a mission... it had everything to do with the pillars... and I botched it. I failed it at the last minute.
There's nothing exceptional about me. I'm a fuck up.

Because of me-" her voice broke, she began quietly sobbing.




"K-Kaylee... slow down.." Tom quietly called: "What are you talking about?"




Kaylee closed her eyes shut, trying to slow down her breathing, then quietly spoke:

"...when the top of the pillar exploded, it released a terrible lightning storm across the Equestrian region.
Anyone who was hit by the lightning, vanished, from the face of the earth.

A lot of people disappeared..." Kaylee quietly spoke, her voice colorless:


"...among them... your children" She couldn't make eye contact with you, as tears continued to fall from her eyes:

"I'm sorry"

"Woah guys, Woah" Rogue waves his arms around, "Whatever Kaylee did, the loss of your kids wasn't her fault, it was an Equestrian artillery shell that cracked the pillar and triggered that lightning storm." He then turns to Kaylee, "You have nothing to apologise for."

Disgruntled purple wrote:Twilight was about to thank for the situation and leave, until a few words reach her ears, causing a wave of shock to wash over her face.

Kaylee Brown wrote:
"...among them... your children"

"I'm sorry"

She sat the in silence, looking stunned. Slowly, her face turned to a snarl. In the time she was known, she never looked this positively pissed. She slowly turned her head to Kaylee, an immense hate apparent on her visage. Slowly, with palpable underlying anger, she spoke to the broken woman.

"You're... Sorry."

She was quiet for a few seconds, then continued.

"Kaylee, you better start speaking, NOW. This event took the only thing that kept me moderately grounded from me. If I don't get them back, I do not know what will happen. I can imagine things, but they could be less, they could be worse..." She narrowed her gaze at her. "And who knows who it might affect."

She grabbed the side of the bed, trying to get up despite the pain. "So pull yourself together to inform us. Because I doubt anyone wants to take that risk here."

"Well princess, it looks like you'll be tagging along with us after all, 'cause the educated money is on all those that got zapped being dragged into the Witcher's world, if they survived the atmospheric and pressure differences, that is; those fish that came through with the Witchers couldn't cope with ours, so we might not be able to deal with theirs..." Rogue sits up in his bed, shuffles back a bit so his back is supported by the pillow, and crosses his arms.

"And on the subject of that, does anyone who hasn't just woken up know how we all fell into a coma, we were all awake and moving after the crash, did we get hit by a stray shell, or one of the Witchers? And what about the pilot, I was about to cut him out of there, did he make it?"

A nurse ran in, startled by the ruckus and quickly approached Rain, tending to her and checking her bandages.


Kaylee's expression completely lost color. She was sitting in bed, staring off into space with a completely blank expression.
She briefly smiled to Rogue, then looked away, ashamed or afraid to maintain eye contact.

When she spoke, her voice was void of all emotion:



"...nine months ago, the port city of Ragnveig vanished. Its entire population, over a million people, faded from the face of the earth, leaving behind their belongings.


In response, a special task force was formed.
Councilor Mercer took the lead. I was her executive officer.
Our objective - discover the fate of Ragnveig"



Kaylee spoke quietly, blankly staring off into space. She looked like she shed too many tears and was now too exhausted to cry:


"...months after the fact, we barely found anything. No explanation. No probable cause.
Ragnveig's population just vanished, abruptly and unexpectedly...
They didn't plan to disappear, you know... Nine months ago, the Ragnveig's port authorities spoke to us until the last minute, while we sailed towards them on Hyuuga. They were planning to receive our ship back then... Then they vanished"



She quietly sighed:

"...one of the diver teams, searching the ocean floor near Ragnveig, found something.

They claimed they found.. skid marks.. on the ocean floor, just on the edge of the Marinah Trench. As if a large object or a building once stood there, on the ocean floor, before it fell into the Trench for some reason.

Marina Trench is the deepest place in the earths ocean floor. Its crushing depths prevented us from learning whats down there, or what might have fallen in.




But, if a building once stood on its edge, then someone had to build it. Poured resources and money into it. There would be a money trail. So we searched for that.

Bizarre money transactions, strange shipments, to and from the Ragnveig region. The international Union police became involved and our entire operation was mandatorily classified.
If there was even the slightest chance that the disappearance of Ragnveig was man made, we couldn't afford any leaks.

We couldn't afford to tip off our adversaries. So we went dark. Me, Mercer and our whole task force.


I couldn't tell anyone where I am, or what I was doing. I couldn't even call my parents, to let them know I'm okay. We had to preserve the mission.
Over a million people vanished without a trace, we had to know why. We had to know who's responsible, if anyone was responsible at all"




Kaylee looked away at a nearby wall, studying a crack in the paint with a detached, empty expression:


"We followed the money trail for a while and began to find something odd, but by then, the mental breakdowns started and everything turned into chaos.
Suicides, murders, violent outbursts.

Our leads vanished one after another and it became impossible to tell if it was an accident or not.

We were about to hit a brick wall.




Then last week, we heard chatter that someone was moving military assets, somewhere in Verria. It set off every red flag we could think of, and it had the same 'finger print' as the money trail out Ragnveig.

The two events were connected and we had to figure out how."



Kaylee quietly blinked, before going on:




"Our recon teams found some kind of military installation, planted on Verrian soil and seemingly unaffiliated with any government or organization.
We had no idea who was in there, or what they were doing. But we believed they were connected to Ragnveig's disappearance, so an executive decision was made.


Our task force, 20 operatives, under my command, would infiltrate this facility and discover what's happening inside.

It was supposed to be a stealth operation. No one could know we were coming, or know that we were ever inside. If we were discovered at any point, our adversaries would scramble their tracks behind them, and we would be back to square one. Another nine months of searching, without finding a thing.


The stealth operation had to be perfect.
We scouted the facility from afar, studied the guard patrol routes, their numbers, their weapons, their vehicles. Even decrypted their radio frequency.



Once we were ready, a 20 men team set off into the snow. Under the cover of night, they would infiltrate the facility, extract any data inside and pull out, same way they came.

I was to fly in a spy plane, close to the area of operations and command the mission from the air.
In case something went sideways, we agreed that I'd utilize the spy plane for emergency extraction.
For that scenario, I had a small team of commandos flying with me. We would quickly fly in, make a vertical landing and extract the infiltration team, then fly off, before the enemy reaches us.


That was the plan we agreed on...  the plan I... agreed on.

I assured them I had their back. I told them how much their lives mattered to me.
They were my men. Under my command. They trusted me and I was responsible for their safety"




Kaylee slowly hid her face behind her knees, staying like that for a very long time, before she continued. Her voice started to shake:



"...I... always put my mission first. Always.

Because I knew, that my mission served mankind as a whole. My mission would protect the innocent, the civilians, the ones who cannot protect themselves.

And even when my mission demanded me to make a personal sacrifice... I would still do it. No matter how much of myself I had to sacrifice...
That's what it means to be a Union soldier"




She slightly looked up, revealing her bloodshot eyes:

"...once... long ago... I was forced to sink an Equestrian battleship. I murdered 134 of my own citizens.

In the grand scheme of things, my ship was Equestrian and their ship was Equestrian. They had 134 sailors aboard, I only had 74.
Because of a zealous disagreement, their captain ordered fire on my ship and refused to negotiate.


And I had to choose... do I let him kill me and my crew... or do I kill him and his.


We were all Equestrians... all soldiers... and in the grand scheme of things... it would be better to let him sink my ship, because that way, less lives would be lost...

But I was on a mission!" Kaylee gritted her teeth:


"...I had to survive and keep going, and I had a responsibility to my crew... so I did... blow up that battleship... killing everyone inside.


...I hated him for it... for forcing me to do this... but I did... uphold my mission... no matter how much I hated myself for it..."




She looked away:


"...when the cult of Uroburos stole a weapon of mass destruction, boarded a plane and took off, some months back, I had to make another decision.

I was on a warship, I had anti air missiles, I could've shot them down... but... Twilight and my own mother, were aboard that plane as well.

The plane was flying fast and would leave my ships missile range within minutes. The opportunity to shoot it down was closing, and if the plane slipped away, the cult of Uroburos would have leveled a city, somewhere... killing hundreds of thousands.



Twilight... pleaded... to give her some time, to stop the plane from within. She had.. 5 minutes.. maybe, before the plane would leave my ships range and my missiles would be ineffective.

And... I gave her those five minutes... and... I told her... if she failed to take over the plane in that time... I'd shoot it down... because I couldn't risk thousands of lives"



Kaylee looked at you with a pale, haunted expression:

"...I told her I would shoot down the plane, killing my own mother and one of my closest friends in the process... to ensure that thousands of innocent people won't die..."


Her voice turned into a whisper, it was hard looking at her. Kaylee's voice seemed broken:


"...and I would have... shot down that plane...

If she failed, at that moment... I would have.



Because I am a Union soldier, and I must protect the innocent.



That, is the kind of sacrifice that's expected of me. The kind of sacrifice I carried with me, until this very moment.


And when I set off... into that classified mission in Verria... I... just couldn't do it anymore.


I couldn't uphold my mission...
I sacrificed too much... cut out too many parts out of my self, until there was nothing left... and I couldn't... I couldn't sacrifice... this one.. more.. thing..


So I failed my mission. I abandoned it.
That's why... the 9th pillar disaster came to pass" she looked away, avoiding eye contact.





"Kaylee..." Tomas quietly called: "...what happened on that mission?
What happened in Verria?"


"I'm sorry, I just need a moment" Kaylee quietly whimpered, covering her eyes with her palm. Tears began streaming down her cheeks again.

Rogue Fire wrote:"And on the subject of that, does anyone who hasn't just woken up know how we all fell into a coma, we were all awake and moving after the crash, did we get hit by a stray shell, or one of the Witchers? And what about the pilot, I was about to cut him out of there, did he make it?"

"We were hit by a shock wave, after the top of the pillar exploded" Harlequin quietly said: "It knocked out almost everyone.

When the search and rescue teams showed up, they tried their best to pull our bodies out of the wreckage but... we lost 6 men in the VTOL... Nyx soldiers.
The pilot made it" she looked down.

Kaylee Brown wrote:

Rogue Fire wrote:"And on the subject of that, does anyone who hasn't just woken up know how we all fell into a coma, we were all awake and moving after the crash, did we get hit by a stray shell, or one of the Witchers? And what about the pilot, I was about to cut him out of there, did he make it?"

"We were hit by a shock wave, after the top of the pillar exploded" Harlequin quietly said: "It knocked out almost everyone.

When the search and rescue teams showed up, they tried their best to pull our bodies out of the wreckage but... we lost 6 men in the VTOL... Nyx soldiers.
The pilot made it" she looked down.

"I see" Rogue nods "Like I said, their lives are all on me."

She didn't bother to listen anymore. While Firewing was talking, she had already walked out of the room. Ignoring everything around her in her fury.

As the story was wrapping up, Angelo came in, carrying a now unconsious Twilight over his shoulder. He looked around the room, then let out a sigh.

"I'm sure there's mostly bad news, but is there at least some good news? Because I'm scared she's going to make plans to cause a witcher genocide."

Kaylee Brown wrote:A nurse ran in, startled by the ruckus and quickly approached Rain, tending to her and checking her bandages.


Kaylee's expression completely lost color. She was sitting in bed, staring off into space with a completely blank expression.
She briefly smiled to Rogue, then looked away, ashamed or afraid to maintain eye contact.

When she spoke, her voice was void of all emotion:



"...nine months ago, the port city of Ragnveig vanished. Its entire population, over a million people, faded from the face of the earth, leaving behind their belongings.


In response, a special task force was formed.
Councilor Mercer took the lead. I was her executive officer.
Our objective - discover the fate of Ragnveig"



Kaylee spoke quietly, blankly staring off into space. She looked like she shed too many tears and was now too exhausted to cry:


"...months after the fact, we barely found anything. No explanation. No probable cause.
Ragnveig's population just vanished, abruptly and unexpectedly...
They didn't plan to disappear, you know... Nine months ago, the Ragnveig's port authorities spoke to us until the last minute, while we sailed towards them on Hyuuga. They were planning to receive our ship back then... Then they vanished"



She quietly sighed:

"...one of the diver teams, searching the ocean floor near Ragnveig, found something.

They claimed they found.. skid marks.. on the ocean floor, just on the edge of the Marinah Trench. As if a large object or a building once stood there, on the ocean floor, before it fell into the Trench for some reason.

Marina Trench is the deepest place in the earths ocean floor. Its crushing depths prevented us from learning whats down there, or what might have fallen in.




But, if a building once stood on its edge, then someone had to build it. Poured resources and money into it. There would be a money trail. So we searched for that.

Bizarre money transactions, strange shipments, to and from the Ragnveig region. The international Union police became involved and our entire operation was mandatorily classified.
If there was even the slightest chance that the disappearance of Ragnveig was man made, we couldn't afford any leaks.

We couldn't afford to tip off our adversaries. So we went dark. Me, Mercer and our whole task force.


I couldn't tell anyone where I am, or what I was doing. I couldn't even call my parents, to let them know I'm okay. We had to preserve the mission.
Over a million people vanished without a trace, we had to know why. We had to know who's responsible, if anyone was responsible at all"




Kaylee looked away at a nearby wall, studying a crack in the paint with a detached, empty expression:


"We followed the money trail for a while and began to find something odd, but by then, the mental breakdowns started and everything turned into chaos.
Suicides, murders, violent outbursts.

Our leads vanished one after another and it became impossible to tell if it was an accident or not.

We were about to hit a brick wall.




Then last week, we heard chatter that someone was moving military assets, somewhere in Verria. It set off every red flag we could think of, and it had the same 'finger print' as the money trail out Ragnveig.

The two events were connected and we had to figure out how."



Kaylee quietly blinked, before going on:




"Our recon teams found some kind of military installation, planted on Verrian soil and seemingly unaffiliated with any government or organization.
We had no idea who was in there, or what they were doing. But we believed they were connected to Ragnveig's disappearance, so an executive decision was made.


Our task force, 20 operatives, under my command, would infiltrate this facility and discover what's happening inside.

It was supposed to be a stealth operation. No one could know we were coming, or know that we were ever inside. If we were discovered at any point, our adversaries would scramble their tracks behind them, and we would be back to square one. Another nine months of searching, without finding a thing.


The stealth operation had to be perfect.
We scouted the facility from afar, studied the guard patrol routes, their numbers, their weapons, their vehicles. Even decrypted their radio frequency.



Once we were ready, a 20 men team set off into the snow. Under the cover of night, they would infiltrate the facility, extract any data inside and pull out, same way they came.

I was to fly in a spy plane, close to the area of operations and command the mission from the air.
In case something went sideways, we agreed that I'd utilize the spy plane for emergency extraction.
For that scenario, I had a small team of commandos flying with me. We would quickly fly in, make a vertical landing and extract the infiltration team, then fly off, before the enemy reaches us.


That was the plan we agreed on...  the plan I... agreed on.

I assured them I had their back. I told them how much their lives mattered to me.
They were my men. Under my command. They trusted me and I was responsible for their safety"




Kaylee slowly hid her face behind her knees, staying like that for a very long time, before she continued. Her voice started to shake:



"...I... always put my mission first. Always.

Because I knew, that my mission served mankind as a whole. My mission would protect the innocent, the civilians, the ones who cannot protect themselves.

And even when my mission demanded me to make a personal sacrifice... I would still do it. No matter how much of myself I had to sacrifice...
That's what it means to be a Union soldier"




She slightly looked up, revealing her bloodshot eyes:

"...once... long ago... I was forced to sink an Equestrian battleship. I murdered 134 of my own citizens.

In the grand scheme of things, my ship was Equestrian and their ship was Equestrian. They had 134 sailors aboard, I only had 74.
Because of a zealous disagreement, their captain ordered fire on my ship and refused to negotiate.


And I had to choose... do I let him kill me and my crew... or do I kill him and his.


We were all Equestrians... all soldiers... and in the grand scheme of things... it would be better to let him sink my ship, because that way, less lives would be lost...

But I was on a mission!" Kaylee gritted her teeth:


"...I had to survive and keep going, and I had a responsibility to my crew... so I did... blow up that battleship... killing everyone inside.


...I hated him for it... for forcing me to do this... but I did... uphold my mission... no matter how much I hated myself for it..."




She looked away:


"...when the cult of Uroburos stole a weapon of mass destruction, boarded a plane and took off, some months back, I had to make another decision.

I was on a warship, I had anti air missiles, I could've shot them down... but... Twilight and my own mother, were aboard that plane as well.

The plane was flying fast and would leave my ships missile range within minutes. The opportunity to shoot it down was closing, and if the plane slipped away, the cult of Uroburos would have leveled a city, somewhere... killing hundreds of thousands.



Twilight... pleaded... to give her some time, to stop the plane from within. She had.. 5 minutes.. maybe, before the plane would leave my ships range and my missiles would be ineffective.

And... I gave her those five minutes... and... I told her... if she failed to take over the plane in that time... I'd shoot it down... because I couldn't risk thousands of lives"



Kaylee looked at you with a pale, haunted expression:

"...I told her I would shoot down the plane, killing my own mother and one of my closest friends in the process... to ensure that thousands of innocent people won't die..."


Her voice turned into a whisper, it was hard looking at her. Kaylee's voice seemed broken:


"...and I would have... shot down that plane...

If she failed, at that moment... I would have.



Because I am a Union soldier, and I must protect the innocent.



That, is the kind of sacrifice that's expected of me. The kind of sacrifice I carried with me, until this very moment.


And when I set off... into that classified mission in Verria... I... just couldn't do it anymore.


I couldn't uphold my mission...
I sacrificed too much... cut out too many parts out of my self, until there was nothing left... and I couldn't... I couldn't sacrifice... this one.. more.. thing..


So I failed my mission. I abandoned it.
That's why... the 9th pillar disaster came to pass" she looked away, avoiding eye contact.





"Kaylee..." Tomas quietly called: "...what happened on that mission?
What happened in Verria?"


"I'm sorry, I just need a moment" Kaylee quietly whimpered, covering her eyes with her palm. Tears began streaming down her cheeks again.

"The 9th pillar disaster came to pass because an Equestrain admiral went crazy, any other admiral had been in charge, things might not've gone down like they did" Rogue shrugs, "Even though he wasn't the best man for the job, he was, technically speaking, Councillor Mercer's legitimate next in command under martial law, nothing that could've been done about that under the circumstances and within the time we had."

Disgruntled purple wrote:She didn't bother to listen anymore. While Firewing was talking, she had already walked out of the room. Ignoring everything around her in her fury.

As the story was wrapping up, Angelo came in, carrying a now unconsious Twilight over his shoulder. He looked around the room, then let out a sigh.

"I'm sure there's mostly bad news, but is there at least some good news? Because I'm scared she's going to make plans to cause a witcher genocide."

"Well, I feel that crusade would be misplaced, seeing as it wasn't actually the Witcher's fault that her kids got spirited away, again she can thank her admiral friend for that" Rogue says "Where actually is he anyway, did he crawl through?"

Rogue Fire wrote:"I see" Rogue nods "Like I said, their lives are all on me."

"N-no, I was the one who-.." Harlequin quietly spoke, then looked down:
"...its.. war... Its just war... its ugly and terrifying... and... sometimes.. people die for no reason"

Angelo wrote:"I'm sure there's mostly bad news, but is there at least some good news? Because I'm scared she's going to make plans to cause a witcher genocide."

"There's no good news... there's not always a happy ending" Harlequin quietly said, looking away.

Rogue Fire wrote:"Well, I feel that crusade would be misplaced, seeing as it wasn't actually the Witcher's fault that her kids got spirited away, again she can thank her admiral friend for that" Rogue says "Where actually is he anyway, did he crawl through?

"..it seems someone pulled him out of the wreckage" Harlequin quietly said: "He's expected to stand before a court martial... if he ever wakes up that is..."

Rogue Fire wrote:"The 9th pillar disaster came to pass because an Equestrain admiral went crazy, any other admiral had been in charge, things might not've gone down like they did" Rogue shrugs, "Even though he wasn't the best man for the job, he was, technically speaking, Councillor Mercer's legitimate next in command under martial law, nothing that could've been done about that under the circumstances and within the time we had."

"...that's... what's killing me the most..." Kaylee loudly sighed, trying to suppress a sob:
"Maybe if he had better intel... this wouldn't-..." she shook her head.




"...the mission in Verria was supposed to go quiet. A stealth operation." Kaylee continued, wiping her eyes with the bandages that hung on her wrists:

"Something went wrong. They were compromised and I lost contact with the infiltration team almost immediately.

I kept circling in the spy plane, around the designated waiting area for 30 minutes, waiting for some kind of response. Then, finally, one of the team members broke through the static.


...-I learned everything! I know the purpose of the Pillars!... I have it on flash drive! Requesting extraction-...


Those were his exact words. The only thing he managed to say, before his transmission broke off again.


I was about to order the plane to proceed with the extraction, as planned, when I heard a civilian radio transmission, over an open channel" Kaylee looked down.





"...there was a... Verrian coastal village... not far from where I was flying. A tiny community, fishermen mostly, barely 150 people lived there in total.
They were broadcasting an S.O.S. on an open channel. Said the local mages suffered a horrific mental breakdown and were now walking through the village streets, slaughtering everyone in sight, setting the wooden houses on fire.

Women, children, the elderly, they were slaughtering everyone"


Kaylee looked at you helplessly: "This village was so small, it had no protection to speak of. No military garrison, no local police, no militia. They had no defenses against something like this.
There was one sheriff and he died, in the first minutes of the attack."


Kaylee bitterly swallowed: "I checked the planes radar... there were no Union forces next to the village... no one that could've made it in time.

Just me... and my little plane, with 5 soldiers in it.

There was no one else"



Her eyes began filling with tears again: "-And the reason I know so much about that village, was because they told me its name...
and I realized it was the village where Zoy Belkin lives with her dad.

That sweet 6 year old girl we met during the concert on Hyuuga. It was her home village. And I knew she lives there, because Johan told me... because he was planning to visit that village, as part of his small concert tour, with a small band of musicians"




Kaylee released a sad, broken smile, as tears fell from her eyes:

"...This village... these poor people were being slaughtered. I heard them, over the radio. Their horrified screams as they died.
And they begged me to come.

They had no one else.



And I had to choose, do I abandon my mission and divert my plane to the village? Try and save these poor people... Zoy... her dad... Johan, and sacrifice my infiltration team, leaving them to die in that base... abandoning their intel.


Or do I ignore the distress call of this village and press on with my mission. Extract my infiltration team, no matter what, to learn the purpose of the pillars.
While sacrificing 150 innocent lives.

Do I sacrifice Zoy, her father and Johan...


And I... I couldn't do it" Kaylee looked right at you and sobbed:





"I couldn't do it anymore. I sacrificed so much of myself, carved out so much of my soul that there was nothing left. And I couldn't do it.
I couldn't sacrifice Zoy for my mission"



She clutched her head between her hands:

"I abandoned my mission! I left my men to die!
I sacrificed the people who trusted me and abandoned them at the last moment!

I heard their dying screams as I flew to the village! I killed them! I never got their intel!


If I had, maybe that horrible battle you went through, would've went differently!" Kaylee covered her face with both hands, breaking into an uncontrollable sob.

Kaylee Brown wrote:

Rogue Fire wrote:"I see" Rogue nods "Like I said, their lives are all on me."

"N-no, I was the one who-.." Harlequin quietly spoke, then looked down:
"...its.. war... Its just war... its ugly and terrifying... and... sometimes.. people die for no reason"

Angelo wrote:"I'm sure there's mostly bad news, but is there at least some good news? Because I'm scared she's going to make plans to cause a witcher genocide."

"There's no good news... there's not always a happy ending" Harlequin quietly said, looking away.

Rogue Fire wrote:"Well, I feel that crusade would be misplaced, seeing as it wasn't actually the Witcher's fault that her kids got spirited away, again she can thank her admiral friend for that" Rogue says "Where actually is he anyway, did he crawl through?

"..it seems someone pulled him out of the wreckage" Harlequin quietly said: "He's expected to stand before a court martial... if he ever wakes up that is..."

Rogue Fire wrote:"The 9th pillar disaster came to pass because an Equestrain admiral went crazy, any other admiral had been in charge, things might not've gone down like they did" Rogue shrugs, "Even though he wasn't the best man for the job, he was, technically speaking, Councillor Mercer's legitimate next in command under martial law, nothing that could've been done about that under the circumstances and within the time we had."

"...that's... what's killing me the most..." Kaylee loudly sighed, trying to suppress a sob:
"Maybe if he had better intel... this wouldn't-..." she shook her head.




"...the mission in Verria was supposed to go quiet. A stealth operation." Kaylee continued, wiping her eyes with the bandages that hung on her wrists:

"Something went wrong. They were compromised and I lost contact with the infiltration team almost immediately.

I kept circling in the spy plane, around the designated waiting area for 30 minutes, waiting for some kind of response. Then, finally, one of the team members broke through the static.


...-I learned everything! I know the purpose of the Pillars!... I have it on flash drive! Requesting extraction-...


Those were his exact words. The only thing he managed to say, before his transmission broke off again.


I was about to order the plane to proceed with the extraction, as planned, when I heard a civilian radio transmission, over an open channel" Kaylee looked down.





"...there was a... Verrian coastal village... not far from where I was flying. A tiny community, fishermen mostly, barely 150 people lived there in total.
They were broadcasting an S.O.S. on an open channel. Said the local mages suffered a horrific mental breakdown and were now walking through the village streets, slaughtering everyone in sight, setting the wooden houses on fire.

Women, children, the elderly, they were slaughtering everyone"


Kaylee looked at you helplessly: "This village was so small, it had no protection to speak of. No military garrison, no local police, no militia. They had no defenses against something like this.
There was one sheriff and he died, in the first minutes of the attack."


Kaylee bitterly swallowed: "I checked the planes radar... there were no Union forces next to the village... no one that could've made it in time.

Just me... and my little plane, with 5 soldiers in it.

There was no one else"



Her eyes began filling with tears again: "-And the reason I know so much about that village, was because they told me its name...
and I realized it was the village where Zoy Belkin lives with her dad.

That sweet 6 year old girl we met during the concert on Hyuuga. It was her home village. And I knew she lives there, because Johan told me... because he planning to visit that village, as a part of his small concert tour, with a small band of musicians"




Kaylee released a sad, broken smile, as tears fell from her eyes:

"...This village... these poor people were being slaughtered. I heard them, over the radio. Their horrified screams as they died.
And they begged me to come.

They had no one else.



And I had to choose, do I abandon my mission and divert my plane to the village? Try and save these poor people... Zoy... her dad... Johan, and sacrifice my infiltration team, leaving them to die in that base... abandoning their intel.


Or do I ignore the distress call of this village and press on with my mission. Extract my infiltration team, no matter what, to learn the purpose of the pillars.
While sacrificing 150 innocent lives.

Do I sacrifice Zoy, her father and Johan...


And I... I couldn't do it" Kaylee looked right at you and sobbed:





"I couldn't do it anymore. I sacrificed so much of myself, carved out so much of my souls that there was nothing left. And I couldn't do it.
I couldn't sacrifice Zoy for my mission"



She clutched her hand between her hands:

"I abandoned my mission! I left my team mates to die!
I sacrificed the people who trusted me and abandoned them at the last moment!

I heard their dying screams as I flew to the village! I killed them! I never got their intel!


If I had, maybe that horrible battle you went through, would've went differently!" Kaylee covered her face with both hands, breaking into an uncontrollable sob.

"Kaylee, you didn't hear him whist he was knitting his flag" Rogue assures her, "trust me, no matter what was on that usb stick, it wouldn't've changed his mind in the slightest.

So, did you manage to save the villagers?"

"It's a heavy choice you made..." Angelo sighs, lacking his usual strange presence. "Hope that intel was secured though. If not, that detour may have costed more lives then it saved." He looks around. "Even if you can't truely put a number on the life of a human, especially when it comes to a human who you know by face. That makes it incredibly difficult to truely put into words."

He lays Twilight in her hospital bed, whose eyes look like they're stained with tears. On her neck was a fresh, small bruise. The rest of her body seemed to be no worse then before.

"I can't say if you made the right choice, Kaylee. I'm just saying I understand it. I might have made the same decision too. I know there are people who, to a specific person, can be worth more then the world itself."

Fires ears perk and her head turns to tomas, "It appears my cybernetic truck is here. If you would like to join me we can get those replaced with paldenian cybernetics. Stronger, more heavy weight, more carrying capacity and your eyes wont shatter in shockwaves."

Rain frowns apon listening to kaylee. She sighs slowly getting up, she casually walks up to the girl and holds her arms out as if asking for a hug, "Come here..." she nods.

Kaylee weakly leaned closer and let her head fall onto Rains shoulder, quietly sobbing:

"...I never got the intel about the pillars. Its gone. My infiltration team died, all of them. This was the price of my decision." She hugged Rain, crying into her shoulder:

"There was no right choice... Both choices were wrong... what was I supposed to do?...
How do you choose something like this?... I didn't want to hurt anyone" she was quietly crying, suffocating on her tears:


".........in the end, I couldn't even save Zoy...





By the time we reached the village, half of it was already on fire. Landing would've taken too long, my men and I jumped out of the moving plane, glided and dived toward the surface below.
Once we hit the ground, we were enveloped in chaos.

Everyone was screaming, running.. blood and fire covered every inch of the square, where we landed. At first, we couldn't make out the victims from the assailants. It was chaos.

Our plane began circling around, trying to make an approach for a landing, while we tried to gather the survivors close to the shore, erect a defensible position.
I remember fighting desperately, with every fiber of my being. When my sword was knocked out of my hand, I drew my knife. When my knife went dull, I grabbed a burning stick. At some point, I charged at the assailants barehanded.


It didn't make much difference, in the end" she quietly looked at her bandaged hands, riddled with sword wounds:
"...people were dying all around us... we didn't have enough men to be effective... no matter how hard we fought, how much we bled, we couldn't save everyone.


Zoy's father was cut down, right in front of her. She watched him die. I couldn't stop it.


Our position was overwhelmed, the number of the mental breakdown victims seemed grow with each passing minute. The moment the plane landed, close to the shore, I just grabbed Zoy and ran inside.  My men held off the attackers, as Johan and the survivors boarded.


When we took off, a crowd of assailants remained on the shore. They continued chasing our plane, even after we took off. They ran into the water and drowned themselves, trying to reach us... while the village burned behind them.

I've never seen something so horrifying.



In the end, out of the 150 people who lived in the village, we only managed to save 20" Kaylee stiffly said, starring off into space:

"...our plane was making its way to Equestria. I was holding Zoy tight in my arms, when the thunder storm from the pillar, hit our plane"

Kaylee shook her head, closing her eyes:

"...Zoy vanished right out of my arms. I couldn't save her, in the end"


Kaylee looked away, tightly hugging Rain.

Tom turned his head in Firewings direction and feebly nodded:
"Y-yes... thank you. In a little bit.. I.. wanted to stay here with everyone, a bit longer" he quietly said.

Amy's grasp on his palm tightened slightly. She was looking at him and her expression was filled with pain.