Abnormal Norman 45: The Winter War (Part One)

Abnormal Norman 45: The Winter War (Part One)

___________________________________________

 

Be Gilda

Nolan's mansion

 

>Nolan's at his favorite chair, drinking a pint of whiskey.

>"Ahh, nothing like sitting by the fire on a cold winter night." he comfortably says.

"It's not even snowing, sir."

>"Ehh..."

>You and Nolan laugh like chums.

>Nolan then stands up to look at the portrait of his father and mother.

"You know, if your parents were killed in an alley, would you still run your father's company, or will you go crazy like Norman and run around in a clown's suit?"

>"Heh. If only. My father did die of a gunshot wound by a rival gang. It's only fitting that I returned the favor before we all moved to this city."

"Feels like only yesterday when I joined your gang, Nolan. You treated me like family."

>"And you still are. You've done good in keeping an eye on Norman, and with your influence on him, I believe we'll have him loyal to our cause soon enough."

"Heh, I don't know about that, sir. Norman's a tough nut to crack, and sometimes, I'm still suspicious of him."

>"It's only natural. You're a criminal, he's...err...you know, morally ambiguous..."

>Nolan then walks to a small table.

>There, a picture of Amy and him stood. He took the photo and looked at it.

>"How is Amy, by the way? I know you've been helping her around the gang."

"She's getting used to it, though the boys have been talking behind her back, calling her a whore, your bitch, the works."

>"Luckily, you heard them. If I heard it, I would've had them hung by the neck until their eyes pop out."

"Amy really means the world to you, huh."

>"She had always been there for me, and I don't know what I would do without her."

"So Amy's working out late."

>"She can take care of herself. She has my trusted guards with her. As for you..."

>Nolan brings a bottle of wine and gives it to you.

>"You can sleep in the mansion for the night. Looks like you had a pretty rough time out."

"No shit. Took out the whole Diamond Dog gang in one night. Norman's plan worked out pretty well..."

>"Yeah...too well..."

"What are you saying?"

>"Him calling the cops on the whole place was pretty risky, for you and him."

"What's your point?"

>"If you watched the news, the police got an anonymous tip for EVERY Diamond Dog hideout."

"Oh? That's just Norman's thing. He found a map from some Dog junkie * ."

[spoiler]Lies by Norman, see Issue # 40 [/spoiler]

>"That's the thing. Norman finds a detailed map of every Diamond Dog hangout out of a junkie, and then gives it to the police..."

"What are you saying?"

>"It's healthy to be paranoid for a few times, but I think Norman may be plotting something."

"Welp, whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait in the morning." You say as you uncork the bottle of wine with your teeth."

>You took a large gulp and went up Nolan's guest room.

"See you in the morning, boss."

>"Yeah..."

>Nolan sits down by the fire.

>He thinks about Norman, and what the future will hold for him.

>Little did he know, that a plan was already set in motion.

 

THE NEXT DAY

 

>You woke up to the sun's annoying rays.

>Feeling better than yesterday, you took the empty bottle of wine and threw it out the window.

>You then went downstairs to go back to Derpy's house, when all of a sudden, someone runs inside the mansion.

*BAGH*

>"What the deuce?"

>A Saint's Bro grunt runs in, frightened.

"What's going on, soldier?"

>>"S-SIR! G-GILDA! WE HAVE SOME TROUBLE!"

>"Easy there, man. What do you ha-"

>>"ONE OF THE CONSTRUCTION SITES FOR YOUR BASE HAS BEEN ATTACKED BY VIRI!"

>"WHAT!?"

>>"T-Troops of lying bats and other human-sized animals came through and burned the whole place down!"

>"Which construction site did they attack?"

>The man gulps.

>>"All t-three!

>Nolan drops his glass.

>He knows that Amy is in one of those construction sites, overseeing the designs since last night.

>She hasn't called since.

>And now...

>>"A-and I'm gonna say it straight to you, boss. Amy's been kidnapped."

>Nolan's eyes twitched.

>He went mad, and screamed.

>"HUURRGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Nolan yells in the mansion.

"B-Boss, calm down! I'll grab Norman so we can go find Amy."

>"THOSE GODDAMN SONNOVA...SHIT!" Nolan says as he kicks the table down.

"Nolan, calm down!"

>"Screw it. Bring in all the guards here. We're going after Cherry."

"Boss, don't rush it in! There's a better way."

>"What's on your mind?" he angrily says.

"Look, I'll go get Noir-Man, you ward off all those eggheads out of the construction sites. Save as many men as you can. Norman and I will try to find Amy."

>Nolan calms down for a moment, but the anger is still seen on his face.

>He grabs his pistol and a few pouches.

>"Right...do what you must. We'll ward off the bastards."

"Won't let you down. Hope Norman's ready for a morning surprise."

 

Be Amy

???

 

>You're brought to an unknown facility.

>The looks on the walls and the floor feels like a medieval castle.

"Huh?"

>You're handcuffed. You're being brought to some room by four guys in suits.

>They're obviously Viri Scientia due to the amount of belt-bags they have.

>All those for the testubes they store in them. Bunch of egg-heads.

>The two guards talks to each other as the other two went in the restroom for a quick wee.

>"Man, this place is deserted as hell."

>>"Well duh. No one on this city knows that it's being inhabited by us. Hell, Cherry only has 20-28 men on this building to guard it. She's that paranoid about anyone finding out this place."

>"But didn't she allow that kid she kidnapped before to leave without getting shot at? * "

[spoiler] See Issue # 32 [/spoiler]

>>"That's a different thing. The kid's with us after that. I'm sure Cherry's made him eat a pill of nanobots. We all did."

>"Well, in a few days, we'd be leaving this  place now that the girl's seen where it's located." the guard says, referring to you.

>>"Such as a day in the life of our paranoid leader."

>"Perhaps it's for the best. Anyways, why didn't we bring her into her main facility anyway? Isn't it more secure there?"

>>"Called her. The police were inside the facility. They had some files leaked that had the police going in there and sniffing around the place."

>"A backstabber, eh? You think the kid was involved?"

>>"I don't know. Either way, let's set the girl up in the interrogation room and put all of Cherry's  files in the boxes."

>"Yeah."

>After the conversation, the two guards from the restroom came out and the four continued to escort you upstairs.

 

 

Be Derpy

Cherry Industries Interrogation Room

 

>You're sitting in a small dark room, with only a lightbulb to comfort you.

>The leather binds are too thick. You can't shake them off.

"Hurrgh..."

>You tried your hardest to at least escape from the chair.

"HUURGH...GRRR...AARRGH...ahh.."

>Nothing. Not even a budge.

>Still, the whole room's empty.

>No one's even guarding you.

>Guess they don't really see you much as a threat.

>Looking left and right, you find a small table with a tray on top.

>They seem to be medical equipments.

>Most of them are syringes. Most likely truth serums.

>In the background, barrels of truth serums is seen.

"Whoa."

>A date is stuck on them. It dates back two days ago.

>Another label is seen on those barrels. 'PROPERTY OF THE ARMY'.

"Hmm..."

>Remembering those files you grabbed from Nolan's office * , you remember Cherry Jubilee and some army guy named Igneous Rock being studied by the Saint's Bro.

[spoiler] See last issue. [/spoiler]

>Could Cherry be working with the army?

>You don't know much about the place, but judging from Norman's remarks from before, Viri Scientia's facilities are disguised with a more legal look.

>So it's possible that Cherry's working with higher people.

>But if Cherry has control of the army, then Norman will have one hell of a headache fighting those two.

*rassumfrassum*

"Huh?"

>You hear some talking from outside.

>Beyond the door, two scientists argue with each other.

>Two scientists that sounds a bit worried.

>>"OH MAN, THE COPS ARE HERE!"

>"Calm down, man. Don't go all spazzy, or our boss will kill us!"

>>"DUDE, WE KILLED HUMAN TEST SUBJECTS! I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE CHAIR!"

>"CALM YOURSELF. LOOK, I know Cherry's dealt with this situation lots of times. I'm sure she'll handle it."

>>"Y-You better be right about this..."

>They then walk away.

"The police are here?"

>Perfect! They can rescue you!

>However, Cherry's most likely stalling them.

>You look back at the table from before.

>A tray on top holds some scalpels, syringes and a bonesaw.

"Better make this work." you tell yourself.

>You stretched your leg to the side, desperately trying to grab hold of the table.

"Hnngg...urgh..."

>Almost there...

>Almost...

"GYAH!"

>You accidentally stubbed your toe on a syringe. You don't even know what's inside those.

"No...no..."

>Fear's slowing you down, but you were so close.

>Using all the leg training you got from varsity, you reached for the scalpel.

"C-COME ON...GRR!"

>You grabbed the scalpel with your toes.

"YES!"

>You then strained your whole leg, trying desperately to bring the scalpel to your mouth.

"HmmpPPhh...URRGH!"

>You sprained your foot in the process, but you managed to grab the scalpel with your teeth.

"MPPH!"

>Breathing heavily, you looked at the leather belts that chained you to the chair.

>This is going to be a dizzy work out, moving your head up and down.

>But all this in bringing down the gangs of the city.

>Here goes nothing.

"HUURRGH!"

 

Be Norman

Rooftops

 

>Out for a morning workout on the rooftops.

>An explosion is seen from the building you're on.

"What in the..."

>The explosion seems to have come near your area.

>Looking closer, you see flying monsters circling the smokey location.

"Goddamn bastard hybrids..."

>You decide to skip class. You put on your Noir-Man suit and ran along the building.

"What's going on here?"

>"GROOOOOOWWWLL!"

>The area's infested with animals.

>Bats, cheetahs, minotaurs, satyrs...

>And around the area, Saint's Bro guards desperately shooting at the monstrosities.

"No...no...no..."

>This is too early! Derpy hasn't returned with the information you need.

>She's supposed to give you the files, and THEN Cherry launches an attack!

>If this is a secret Saint's Bro base, then Cherry got ahead of me.

"Goddammit!"

>>"NOORMAN!"

>You looked down. Gilda arrives with a van of Saint's Bro grunts.

>You jumped down and kicked three Viri Scientia apes in the process.

*BLASH!*

>>>>"OHHHPHH!"

>The apes fell on the ground. Gilda gives you a thumbs up.

>>"Nice moves."

"Gilda, what's going on?"

>>"Viri just launched an attack on all three of our bases!"

"They must've planned this."

>>"No shit. The only thing that bothers me, is that neither of these bases are even fully constructed yet."

"And yet, they're launching a full-on attack. Why?"

>>"That's why I'm here. I need your help in finding Amy. Viri just took her."

"WHAT? How's Nolan taking it?"

>>"He just called his workers at the factory to ready the torture chamber."

"..."

>"I'm not joking about that. He's really pissed."

"Shit..."

>"What's wrong? You seem more pissed than usual."

"It's nothing...I just...bah..."

>You kicked a car towards some rhino-lion hybrids nearby.

*BLOOCSHH!*

>>>>>"AAHHH!" yelled the lion hybrids

"Right. Where do we find Amy?"

>>"Knowing Cherry, I bet Amy's at the facility right now."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

>"What? Why?"

"Viri Scientia's being investigated by the police as we speak."

>"Holy shit, really?"

"Yeah, which leaves us to one place I know Cherry would bring prisoners to."

>"Where?"

"That old abandoned factory that's medieval-themed from the inside out.*."

[spoiler] See Issue # 31-32 [/spoiler]

>"What? How do you even know that Viri has a base set up there?"

"It's a long story."

>"No, you better explain to me now. First the map you found at the junkie, the fact that the police showed up right after we defeated those dogs..."

"Gilda, please. I know I've been acting suspicious over the past few days, but let me get something straight. We save Nolan's girlfriend first, and THEN I'll explain everything to you."

>Gilda has no choice. She's on the clock here.

>"You better."

"And bring the rocket launchers."

 

VIRI SCIENTIA HIDEOUT

 

>You arrive with Gilda and her small team of Saints.

>Armed with rocket launchers, you look at the base from a rooftop.

>Loads of guards flocking the main gate. Inconspicuously, of course.

"Should be easy enough."

>"Was that sarcasm?"

"Shh, I'm looking for someone."

>You took out the binoculars Nolan gave you and looked for Amy through the windows.

"Found her."

>You point at the third window at the fourth floor.

>Amy's tied up and is being brought to a room.

>"So, hero. What's the plan?"

"You distract those guys, and I'll come in from above to grab Amy from the window."

>"Are you crazy? We barely have enough missiles for this, and once more, the reload time is second to a snail!"

"Well then, you better make this minute count."

>"Ugh, fine."

>You lumbered up and stretched your legs. You then crouched down and readied yourself to jump.

"You guys ready?"

>"Wait. Take this."

>Gilda hands you her pistol. It's a desert eagle.

"What's this for?"

>"When you don't feel like growing into a monster."

"..."

>"You know what I mean. Last night...*" Gilda says, concerned.

[spoiler] See Issue # 41-42[/spoiler]

"Yeah...I know."

>You jumped off the rooftop and directed your body to go straight to the window, like an arrow.

>>"HUAH? INTRUDER!" Yelled a guard at the gates.

>"Saints, ready your launchers."

>Gilda orders her group to aim at the gates.

>"FIIRE!"

*PSSHHEEEWWW!*

 

*KABLOOOOSHH!*

>>"AAAAHHH!"

>The guards below are distracted by the smoke and explosions.

>You then crashed through the window, surprising the guards and Amy inside.

>>>"NORMAN!" Amy says.

>>"It's Noir-Man! Get him!"

>The guards drank a test tube and transformed into large wolves.

>>"GROOOOORRR!"

"I hate dogs!"

>The wolves launch themselves at you, trying to bite you.

"ENGH!"

>You easily countered by choking the first wolf and slamming him to the wall.

*BASH!*

>The second guard came in and bit your leg.

"AAAHHH!"

>The third and fourth guard goes to pin you down.

"ACK, FAUST!"

>The pistol you had slid through the floor.

>Amy grabs the pistol and fires at one of the guards.

*BANG!*

>>>"AROOOOOOO!" Yelled the wolf guard.

>The other guards took notice and pounced at Amy.

"AMY!"

>>"GYAAHH!"

>The wolves bites Amy at her stomach and arm.

>You took the last wolf holding you down and tore off its tail

"GAAAAAAAHH!"

>>>"AROROOOO!" The wolf cried.

>You then kicked the wolf off of you and used the tail as a whip.

*WHAPAK!*

>>>>"AROO!" Yelled the wolf as it lets go of Amy's stomach.

>You then grabbed the wolf and threw him to the wall..

>The other wolf is locked on to Amy's arm.

>With nothing to lose, you try to suffocate the wolf with the tail non-lethally.

"LET GO OF HER!"

>You strangled the wolf, basically suffocating him until he lets go of Amy's hand.

>>>"Hnngg...ngg...AAHH!"

>The wolf lets go and gives in to your oxygen-depriving lock.

>You then threw the wolf to the window, cracking it.

>Taking the pistol off the floor, you asked Amy if she was alright.

"Amy. Are you..."

>"I'm fine. Where's Nolan?"

"He's busy fighting off hybrid animals off one of your bases."

>"Ack!" Amy says as she holds her arm and stomach.

"Whoa, whoa. Easy, Amy. You're bleeding."

>You took some bandages from your backpack and covered her wounds.

"Easy..."

>"Ahh...Agh.."

>Covering her wounds, Amy asks if Nolan's alright."

>"Norman, is Nolan okay?

"He's fine. I think. I mean, he did mention a torture chamber...

>"I mean, mentally, because he gets really crazy and hotheaded when his family's threatened."

"Isn't he always threatened?"

>"Norman...I-"

 

*KABLOOSH!*

 

>Gilda's rocket launcher attacks startles Amy.

>"What was that?"

"Gilda's distracting them."

 

*BOOOOOOM!* *BLOOOSH!*

 

>>>"W-What!? N-no, they can't use rocket launchers here!" one of the wolf guards say.

"What? Why?"

 

*KABOOOOOOOMM*

 

>The building shook as Amy leans on the walls.

"W-WHAT THE?"

>>>>"NO! THE WHOLE PLACE IS GONNA EXPLODE!"

"WHAT!?"

>>>>"THE BASMENT IS AN UNDERGROUND BOMB STORAGE FOR OUR- ACK!"

 

*BOOOOOOM!*

 

"GYAAAH!"

>You and Amy fell through the floor as part of the factory collapses from Gilda's team firing blindly at the building.

"H-HANG ON, AMY!" You say as you grabbed her midair amidst the smoke and fire, falling four stories high."

>>"What the...NORMAN!" Gilda yelled.

 

*BLOOSH, KABLOOOM!*

 

>You and Amy fell through the hole in the ground.

"OOF!"

*CRACK* *SCROORCKH*

>Landing on the ground, you and Amy roll towards a wall in a haze of dizziness.

>The fire inside the underground bomb storage fills the place with smoke.

>"*cough* N-Norman? AIIE!"

"AMY?"

>A large rubble of rocks falls from the building to the hole leading outside.

>The debris clogs up the only exit outside.

>"NORMAN!?"

"AM-*cough cough COUGH*...AMY!?"

>The thick smoke makes it harder for you to see.

>Even with your hightened abilities, the smoke's clogging up your lungs. It's like smoking a large box of tobacos all at once.

"AHECH, *cough*"

>You kneeled on the ground, too weak and too blind to walk.

>You tried desperately to find something to cling on, to help you find Amy.

>Her voice tells you she's near, but with the smoke all around, she feels so far away.

>Amy, feeling scared, tries to search for you amidst the smoke and fire.

>You grabbed on to a spherical object with a handle.

"HURGH, *COUGH!*"

>Standing up with the help of the handle, you tried to look for Amy.

>Amy emerges from the smokey fog. You wave to her.

"AMY!"

>Amy smiles as he sees you, but the smile slowly disappears as she looks at the handle you're holding.

>Her eyes looked with horror.

>"NORMAN, LET GO!"

"Wha..."

>The handle you were holding was an activation lever for a small-radius bomb. The bomb has a red blinking light, indicating its activation.

"SHIT!" You say as you tackle Amy to the ground.

>Covering her with your body, the beeping on the bomb intensifies.

 

"HANG O-"

 

*KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSHHHH!*

 

Be Derpy

Cherry Industries Interrogation Room

 

"Hnnggg..."

>Your head is dizzy from moving it up and down, cutting the leather manually using your mouth to move the scalpel.

>Carefully cutting it, your chest is free from the binds.

"GYAH!"

>The leather binds break off at the same time your tired mouth lets go of the scalpel.

>You then pulled your arm off from under the second leather bind and manually unlocked it.

"AHH!"

*pomph*

>You fell on the ground as you freed yourself.

>Your leg still feels sore from the cramp you gave yourself minutes ago.

>It's then amplified by the accidental injection you gave yourself.

"Ahh...psssspht...."

>You tried to ease the pain by limping slowly.

>You went outside the  door and hid by the halls.

>Cherry's already in a moment of panic.

>What's going on?"

>Suddenly, footsteps are heard, coming from behind.

>You hid by the sidelines as you watched on.

>The scientists went down to the ground floor. The floor's is filled with police officers, just as Cherry was told about on her phone before.

>You looked closer before making a scene.

>The scientists takes Cherry away from one of the police officers and talks to her in private.

 

>>"Ma'm. We just got word from one of our men in the main base. The Saints have attacked the base directly."

>>>"WHAT!? How could they've possibly known that that's our base?"

>>"Ma'm, I..."

*KABLOOOSH!*

>An explosion was heard from far away.

>The police and Cherry went outside to see what the fuss was all about.

>>>"Dear Neptune..." Cherry utters.

>Cherry looks at the smoke and fire from the distance.

>She may not see the building directly, but she knows that that's the main base, and it's blowing up.

>Cherry's startled. Her face turns blue. All her research...burned, gone...

>>>"N-No....No..."

>One of the officers starts to call the policemen inside the building to go outside.

>>"Ms. Jubilee, I'm afraid we're going to have to delay this little visit of ours." The police man said.

>Cherry doesn't react. Her heart beats with rage and fear.

>>"Ms. Jubilee, are you alright?"

>>>"I'm...I'm..."

>You limped for a better look, but you tripped over your own foot.

"Oops! AAAHHHH!"

>You then tripped over the stairs.

"AAAAHHHHHH...OOF, OGH, ACK, UNF!"

>You land at the ground floor, bruised and bloodied.

>The policemen took notice. Cherry looks at shock. You escaped her room.

>You then looked at the police with pleading eyes.

"Ahhh..."

>The policemen are confused and shocked.

>Cherry is paralyzed with fear. With more than fifty witnesses, Cherry can't get herself out of this one.

"S-She's...Viri Scientia" You say in pain.

>The policemen looks at Cherry with intrigue.

"H-Help me..."

>The other policemen comes to you and tries to help you up.

>>"No...No...no no no..." Cherry says in fear.

>Her base is up in flames, and she's in deep shit with the authorities.

>The policeman named 'Normal' puts his hand on her shoulder.

>>>>"Ma'm, I'm going to have to bring you in for questioning."

>The scientists around the second and first floor looks with fear and curiosity.

>Cherry looks at them, then looks back at the police men.

Twenty awkward seconds of silence.

>Cherry breaks.

>She laughs.

>>"Ha...Hah.....HAHhahahahahHAHAHahHAHAahahhaha..."

>She gives a chilling laugh that's heard even up to the sixth floor of the building.

>>>>"Cherry...you have the right to remain silent." Office Normal says.

>>"No, Officer. You all are the ones who will remain...SILENT!"

>Cherry pulls a small switch from her sleeve and activates it.

>The whole building is then put on lockdown.

>The doors and the windows are completely shut in with titanium steel.

>>>>"WHAT THE?"

>The officers are frightened. They don't know what will happen next.

>>>>"So this is your plan, Jubilee? Locking you here with us?"

>>"No, Mr. Normal. You're all locked in here with US!"

>Cherry activates the lever once more. Hovering parasite mechs burst through the false doors and walls and attacks everyone without a labcoat.

>>>>"AHHHHH!"

"AHH!"

>The hovering parasite mechs attacks everyone by planting themselves on their heads.

>>>>"HURRGH...NO...AAAAACCCHH!"

>>"Today is a perfect day for a test run of these...prototypes...hehehehhhHAHAHAHAHHAHAAH!"

"N-NOO!"

>The hovering parasite mech attatches itself on your head.

"AAAAAHH!!"

>The mechs plugs itself through your skin.

>The police officers have lost their will to move on their own.

>They're under the control of the hovering parasite mechs, which are all under Cherry's command.

>Cherry's assistant, Dry Wheat came out of hiding and went towards Cherry.

>>>"Mistress, what does this mean?"

>>"Those Saint's Bro bastards took down the base. MY base. MY LIFE'S WORK, and I'm going to make them pay with their lives."

>>>"But these hovering parasite mechs have yet to reach the alpha stage! They could kill these guys!"

>>"Let them suffer. They all know too much anyway..." Cherry said without a spark of emotion.

>Cherry activated these mechs at a streak of paranoia and panic.

>Along with her rage for Saint's Bro, she decides that now would be a perfect time for vengeance.

>>"DRY WHEAT. CALL ALL OF OUR FOLLOWERS. VIRI SCIENTIA WILL DESTROY THOSE ACCURSED SAINT'S BRO ONCE AND FO-"

*thud**thud**thud**thud**thud**thud**thud**thud**thud**thud**thud**thud*

>Everyone with a mech parasite attached to their heads collapses to the ground.

>The mechs short circuited after a short period of time.

>>"Dammit!"

>The scientist was right. It wasn't even on alpha stage yet.

>>>>"N-Now what?" Dry Wheat asks

>>"Do as you're told and gather all of our soldiers. Tell them to stop attacking those construction sites and  that they willcome back to this building."

>>>>"But what about these guys?"

>>"Tell our top mechanical engineers to work on ten stable parasite mechs, tripletime. Lock up everyone in the testing chamber. Their time comes later."

>>>"So...you had a remote that could lockdown the whole facility and you didn't use it when Adam was being taken from us?"

>>"Two reasons. First one was that I underestimated them. They were kids VS my army of large guards. Second, look at the doors and tell me what you see."

>Dry Wheat looks.

>>>>"T-They're destroyed! The glass panes are..."

>>"Lockdown was the last ditch effort incase of situations like this..."

>Cherry has a plan in motion.

>No one in the city could've known about the secret base.

>No one but Norman, and Cherry intends on making sure that Norman's head will end up on a platter for his double-cross betrayal.

>Cherry assures herself of that.

 

Be Norman

Trapped underground, Viri Scientia Bomb Storage Basement

 

>The explosions from the bombs underground causes a large disturbance in the neighborhood.

>You laid above Amy's body. The explosion you protected her from causes a short deafness with you and Amy.

"AHH...SHHH...JZZ.."

>Amy pushes you off and stood up immediately.

>"*cough* W-We need to...*cough*

"C-Come on...ack!"

>You escorted Amy deeper into the underground.

>There, you grabbed a small wooden branch and lit it up to light the way.

>"Oh god...so...dizzy..."

"Hey, at least we're not dead yet..."

>You put her down in a small sewer-like cave, further down the basement.

>There, you cough up some blood.

"AHECK, AHAGH *cough*"

>"Y-You got some red on you."

"Agh...dammit...this...this wasn't supposed to happen yet..."

>"What?"

"Huh?"

>"What did you say?"

"N-nothing...I'm just so...dizzy..."

>Amy looked around and checked for any nearby bombs.

>Fortunately, the hole they were in was bomb-free.

>"We can stay here until you get your strength up again."

>Amy scratches her head as you breathed heavily.

>"Man, if Nolan ever finds us both here, he'd probably get the wrong message..."

"You think this is a good time to joke about our situation?"

>"No...but thinking about my boyfriend keeps my spirits up in these dire situations..."

"..."

>"You really don't believe this is the first time I was kidnapped for being connected to Nolan, eh?"

"Amy..."

>"Well, since we're waiting for your lungs to clear up, I guess we can chat up a bit."

"N-No, we need to get...*gasp**wheeze*"

>"Don't push yourself. You're more use alive than dead."

"Grr..."

>"Ahh, that temper. Just like Nolan."

"You two...you guys are really in love with each other, huh?"

>"We've been together for so very long. Even when so many things changed, nothing went wrong with us."

"Huh."

>"Yeah. Nolan may be a bit of a hothead when his friends and family's threatened, but deep down, he's a sweet guy who wants nothing more than to see this city prosper."

"See this city PROSPER?!? *cough* Nolan wants to rule this city with a tyrant's fist!"

>"No, Norman. I've known Nolan for a long time, and believe me, he wants to put this city above its own country."

"Or maybe those love-tinted glasses of yours are dulling your perception of good and evil."

>You then got up and started blowing the fire away with your enhanced lungs.

"PHOOOOOOOOOBTTTT...*gasp*"

>"Norman, I told you to save your breath for later."

"I don't want to hear another goddamn excuse as to why this land deserves to be ruled by some druglord like Nolan."

>"Nolan doesn't even want to sell drugs! He's just-"

"NO! Not another goddamn excuse! For the last few weeks, I have been  beaten up, harassed and threatened by Nolan and Cherry! Both of them with their goddamn views on the city! They tell stories of how they plan on changing the city once they're in control, but if they really cared from the start, none of this would've ever happened!"

>"Norman..."

"I don't care if Nolan wants to rule this city for what he thinks is for the good of the city. That man has killed people, smuggled narcotics and sold weapons. He's a criminal like Cherry AND the other gangs!"

>"Y-You're wrong! Nolan will save this city, I just know it! He shared with me his plans, his blueprints, his dreams! He sacrificed his dream to become an actor * just to live up to his father's dream!"

"And for what? To kill as he attended school? To watch the city's junkies multiply? Nolan's not so different with the leader of the goddamn Viri Scientia. They both have their plans, and worked on their illegal doings, justifying them all week long, but nothing that they say will make me change my mind about working with CRIMINALS!"

>Amy is at the verge of tears as you argued with her about Nolan.

"GRAAH!"

*BAGH*

>You started punching a hole out of the underground bomb storage.

"HURGH!"

*BROGH!*

>You punched and you punched out of the annoyance of talking to Nolan's girlfriend.

>But with the words you told her, something just made her realize something.

>"Wait a minute...Cherry?"

"Huh?"

*BAGH!*

>Amy remembers what the guards were talking about when she was captured.

>How no one knows that the base was a Viri Scientia base. How the base was completely secured to the point where they had twenty trusted men guarding the base.

>If no one else knew about it, then how did Norman know?

>"You...you knew where this place was...you...you said you talked with Cherry..."

*BAGH!*

>The walls cracked. It's crumbling down with your strong punches.

>"Oh my god...You're working with Viri Scientia!"

"GRAHH...W-WHAT?"

*BLOOOSH*

>The walls were destroyed by your punches.

>Amy throws some dust onto your eyes.

"ACK, SHIT..."

>"S-STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"AMY...YOU'RE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE!"

>Amy's assumption has little to no basis.

>But in the middle of a gangwar with Viri Scientia, anything that leads you back to Viri will have Nolan order an attack on you and everyone you love.

"AMY!"

 

>The smoke along the streets were thick.

>Multiple silhouettes of people were seen, but their affiliations are masked by the smoke.

"AMY!"

>"NOOOOLAAAN!" Amy yelled out for.

>You walked through the smoke, searching for Amy.

"OOF!"

>You bumped onto a Viri Scientia guard. The guard tries to shoot you with his carbine.

>>"H-HEY!"

*RATATATTATATATATATATTATATAT*

"ACH!"

>You back flipped out of there and headed to the right.

>The Viri Scientia guard shoots blindly, trying to find you.

>>"WHERE ARE YOU, YOU COWARD!"

>You rushed through the smoke.

>Your lungs are too weak to blow the smoke away.

"*COUGH*"

>>"H-HEY! NOIR-MAN'S THIS WAY!"

"Crap..."

*RAATTATATATATATATTATATATATATATATATATATATA*

>There's blind fire everywhere.

>At this point, they're wasting ammo, and they could hurt a civilian.

>But at this point, your mind only has one thing in mind: Finding Amy.

>Amy's the living ticking timebomb that will kill you once she reaches Nolan.

>At the small distance, you see the guards' silhouettes, and a small red barrel.

>If videogames taught you anything, shooting red barrels can be a great distraction.

>You took out Gilda's Desert Eagle and aimed at the red barrel.

"Steady..."

 

*BANG*

 

>>"H-Hey! Did you g-"

 

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

 

>The red barrel explodes.

>The men fires blindly again in fear.

>Their movement's blowing away most of the smoke.

>You hid by the sidelines, avoiding their gunfire.

>The smoke's slowly clearing up.

>You're able to see more clearly.

>Amy's looking for familiar faces.

>Her leg's been shot at by the previous blind fire.

>Limping ahead, a man from the distance runs towards her.

>It's Nolan.

>"NOLAN!"

>>"AMY!"

>Nolan hurries to help Amy from the smokey fog.

>Gilda and her group of Saint's Bro guards went down out of the building to secure Amy.

>Amy limps faster, trying to reach her beloved.

>She cries tears of joy as she's only a few meters away to embracing her love.

>>"Amy..."

 

[spoiler]*BANG*[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler]

>Everything moves in slow motion. For Nolan at least.

>Amy stops moving as she falls to her knees.

>Nolan's eyes widened.

>Gilda's mouth opened.

>Amy falls to Nolan's arms, blood coming out of her mouth.

>Her chest bled throughout her body.

>Nolan's almost crying.

>>"A-AMY!?"

>Amy puts her hand on Nolan's cheek, but it slowly withers lifelessly in a moment's notice.

>Her eyes looks up to the heavens as she exhales her last breath.[/spoiler]

 

[spoiler]>Amy is dead.[/spoiler]

 

End of Chapter 45.