Why ?

The Deal

"Come now dear countess, we are not barbarians. We simply have to break her pride and teach her again where her place is. She will soon be grateful for what we will give her, I assure you." replied Maelstrom mischievously.

"So you don't see any opposition to taking on Lambkins education, Professor ?" Brunt ironically asks, emphasizing the word education.

"It would be my pleasure Coach. In the meantime, it would appear that our guests have arrived." He asserts, patting Carmen's head, who had begun to tremble at their words.

A little earlier

Shadowsan POV

I open Carmen's computer so Player can give the final pre-mission briefing, Zack, Ivy and Graham behind me.

"Okay everyone, you'll be arriving in Casablanca soon."

"Wait aren't we going to VILE Island?" Zack asks confused.

"No, the message said 'where it all began' and Carmen found out the truth about VILE when the Eye of Vischnu was stolen. That's when she decided to leave them."

"Shadowsan's right. From what I've been able to recover, VILE has an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. So there's a good chance that the Faculty is there with Carmen, so we'll have to be careful. Earlier, Spincick and Flytrap were seen on camera carrying a box inside. So Red is probably already being held there waiting for the professors to come."

"I don't remember these operators? Are they new?" Graham asks.

"The boy Spincick specialises in hand-to-hand combat particularly kicking. His teammate prefers to keep her distance and throw her traps to block an opponent. Together they can be strong but individually they are weaker." I inform him.

"The plan is simple, Shadowsan and Gray will sneak in via a back door while disabling the guards."

"With Red Drone, I'll warn them of any traps that might be waiting for them and locate Carm." Says Ivy confidently.

"They'll retrieve Carmen and I'll stand by to evacuate them quickly. But what if they already have..." Zack hesitates.

"No." Gray answers firmly getting surprised looks from the rest of the team. Indeed, he'd rarely spoken in the last two days, locking himself into intensive training until fatigue overtook him. "This is Carmen we're talking about, she will have survived."

He pulls away and looks out the window at the sunset. "Hold on Carmen. I'm coming." He whispers.

Back to the present

Gray POV

The plan was going according to schedule. According to Ivy, Carmen would be in the room at the end of the hallway due to the heavy presence of guards. Shadowsan and I were just getting there when Spincick and Flytrap came in from a side hallway and stood in front of the door. The agents do the last thing we expected, they open the door.

"The Faculty's waiting for you." The girl, Flytrap, tells us.

"What ? You really think we'd fall for such an obvious trap ?" I reply and Shadowsan crinkles his eyes in suspicion.

"You're a funny one Lover Boy. But anyway if you want to find your girlfriend, you'll have to go in." Sneers Spincick before waving to his partner and walking away. I turn to Shadowsan.

"What do we do ?"

"Let's go, but stay on guard."

We enter the room and see a giant screen in front of us. On the screen the Faculty are standing with Carmen kneeling in front of them and blindfolded. A scar runs from above her right eye and diagonally across her lower left face, as if someone had whipped her there. Her arms are twisted and purple from the bruises. Her torso is an unnatural colour for human skin due to broken ribs and bruises, as are her legs, which are covered in scratches. She is held down by a chain connected to a metal collar and handcuffs tie her hands in front of her. What worries me most is the black V-shaped wound just below her front left collarbone, as if her skin had been burned. Shadowsan is the first to speak.

"What did you do to her ?"

"To put it simply, let's just say that Black Sheep had to be disciplined into being a docile and obedient little girl." Maelstrom replies with a smirk.

"Stop bullshitting us. What the fuck do you want ?" I reply with hatred.

Countess Cleo presses a remote causing Carmen to spasm and scream in pain. As she collapses forward, I see her back which is almost completely raw with traces of dried blood. Given the shape of the wound, it could only have been caused by a whip.

"You'd better change your language Crackle, unless you want Black Sheep to suffer the consequences." Cleo chuckles with a hint of amusement in her eyes as Coach Brunt tugs on the collar to straighten Carmen out.

"To answer your question, we have a deal to offer you, to Shadowsan and the rest of your team. All in the interest of Lambkins of course." Brunt looks directly at Shadowsan.

"What is it ?" He replies, his gaze not letting go of Carmen.

"You must stop interfering with our operations immediately. As long as you stay back, Black Sheep will be safe in our custody." Bellum said.

"No ! Shadowsan don't give up !" Carmen shouts in our direction before receiving an electric shock from Dr. Bellum. Maelstrom waves off the camera and one of the Cleaners quickly arrives to gag her, leaving her muffled screams trying to warn us. A tear begins to run down her face.

"It looks like you didn't learn your last lesson very well, Black Sheep, besides, you're no longer of any use to us here. Cleaners, take her to the punishment room."

As I looked at Shadowsan, I saw him tense up slightly at the mention of this room. Vlad and Boris unlock the chain, each grabbing one of her arms and dragging her out of sight. Maesltrom looked ready to follow them.

"We're still missing their agreements Gunnar, you can go have fun with her afterwards. So do you accept ?" Cleo asks.

"Okay, we accept but how can we be sure she'll be okay ?" I ask while controlling myself, I can't cause her any more harm. The Faculty exchange looks and murmur amongst themselves.

"Once a month we'll send you news of her via the communicator in front of you. We'll see you soon," he said with a last smug smile before leaving. The screen went black as Shadowsan took the communicator.

Back on the plane

3rd POV

"Shadowsan, what was that strange necklace around Carmen's neck ?" Gray asked as he approached the trio. Shadowsan had spent the beginning of the flight explaining the situation to the siblings and Player.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's a submissive collar. Dr. Bellum created it in the first place to help Countess Cleo train her dogs. It's programmed to send an electric shock of varying intensity and duration. From what I've observed, it appears she adapted it so they could keep her under control with it."

The VILE communicator rings.

"It looks like VILE is sending us a little video. I'll put it on the PC for you." Player says to us as he starts typing on his keyboard.

As the team looks at the screen, they see the brutal beating that Coach gave Carmen as she begged for it to stop, and then Maelstrom whipping her. Just when they thought it was over, they see the entire faculty approaching Carmen, as a guard takes an iron bar with a V-shaped tip and presses it against her skin.

Zack and Ivy have tears in their eyes as they watch Carmen struggle. Shadowsan feels the murderous impulse towards his former colleagues as he watches his daughter lose consciousness. Player can't hold back his gasp as the lifeless body of his best friend falls before the feet of the Faculty once the handcuffs are released. Gray can't take her eyes off her as she is grabbed by guards and dragged from the room behind Dr. Bellum.

The video stops here and is accompanied by a single sentence.

"The only warning."

"What do we do now ?" Player asks holding back tears.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we're going to need some help on this one. We're going to need a bigger strike force." Gray concludes still staring at the spot where Carmen's image was.