It was evident to everyone that this next week would be of the unusual variety, especially if you consider the events of the previous one. One thing was for certain, that with Douglas off the island, seemingly on an indefinite leave, the mornings of the occupants of Room 221 would be considerably less hectic.
This assumption was incorrect.
At 6 A.M. sharp, the grand battleship Esther, commanded by none other than Admiral Mason, arrived on the shores of Isle Monroe, blasting its foghorn in order to wake the entire island up.
"Jesus Christ!" Nikolaoff jumped out of bed, banging his head against the top bunk. Bryce fell off of his bunk, and while the other two weren't injured, they certainly weren't sleeping either.
"Rise and shine, kids! You got 15 minutes to get to the main stage fully dressed, because we got a surprise for you!" Said a voice from the ship's megaphone. A voice recognisable to many, as the man behind the entire Isle Monroe Operation, Prime Minister Leo.
"That can't be good." Bryce pointed out, after regaining his bearings.
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Upon hearing the Prime Minister's command, everyone rushed to get to the island stage as quickly as possible. Leo himself was there, of course, but alongside him was another man nobody recognised. He had black, scruffy hair, a clear stubble, was wearing several rings on his fingers and his uniform was a dark shade of blue, which didn't match with the Sowei Royal Guard's standard issue black uniform. He was also holding what appeared to be a candle.
After everyone had arrived, Leo cleared his throat and got straight to the point.
"Good morning, cadets! So, before we get to your surprise, some announcements. First and foremost, Nikolaoff and Gardner, go back to your initial groups. Who approved this!?"
"Damn. And I had just started to not hate you completely." Murmured Nikolaoff. "Welp, it's not been awful."
"See ya 'round, private bowling ball." Bryce nodded. Dex gave him a silent salute, and Jon waved him off as he headed off to rejoin Group B. As he was leaving, he overheard Dex complaining about how Thomas coming back wasn't ideal, and subsequently being chastised by the other two. When he arrived at his Group, Thomas was also bidding his own farewells.
"Don't forget what we discussed, Ross. We'll be in touch." He said, and without waiting for a response, turned around and left. Jason, who had completely zoned out by that point, muttered something incomprehensible akin to a goodbye, and went back to being silent.
This caught Nikolaoff's attention, so he turned and asked Vasquez, who was slouching somewhere nearby.
"What's up with Jason? Who the fuck cares! I'm just glad I'll be able to use my bed again..." He said, so Nikolaoff decided to leave it at that.
"Alright, getting back on track... I would like to introduce to you the new commander of Group 2, following Mr. Douglas' departure. Lieutenant Colonel Christian Lavender, of the Swiss Armed Forces." Leo continued when everyone got in their spots. Some mild applause followed.
"Have you any words, Christian?" Leo asked. Lavender said nothing, instead pulling out a match and lighting the candle he was holding. A pleasant aroma filled the stage, confusing Leo more than anything.
He tried to ask Lavender what he was doing, but quickly got shushed, leaving him bewildered.
"And so it is that a new journey has started for this humble servant of the Lord. Take this moment to absorb the beautiful scent of the -fittingly enough- Lavender with which the Lord has blessed us today. May this journey bring us the enlightenment every human being seeks in their short lives. Amen." Said Lavender, and then softly blew out the candle. Everyone, Leo included, was confused as to how this guy was a member of the military.
"Thank you, Christian, for whatever that was. I don't think I'll come to our neighbours to the west for help again any time soon." Leo said. "Anyways, onto the interesting part."
"I have the honour to proudly present to you lot the Special Science Week, which will showcase to you lucky 50 morons all the latest and greatest development in military engineering. This stuff is so hi-tech, you've literally never even imagined them before!" Leo began his presentation.
"Jetpacks!?" Asked Bryce, his eyes going wide. This is the moment he'd be waiting for.
"Yes Hansen, jetpacks. I'd like to give a big special thanks to George Renie from the Ministry of Science and Development, whose help was instrumental in making all this possible. He's not here right now, but you'll get to see him shortly." Leo said. Applause rang out for a few second.
"Oh, and I'd like to give a hand to our sponsors, Angelo Baitanez, Tony Tucscan, Richard Mann- okay I'm not reading all this. There's too many of them. Can we just tell them I read it?" Leo complained, scratching his head.
"That can't be right, sir! They gave us their money, after all." Liam interjected.
"Who cares? I wouldn't read allat either. Besides, they ain't here." Larry added, while munching on a chip.
"Fat Mason, you're getting one fat raise after this. Anyway, go get breakfast, and you'll know when we get started, capische?"
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In the dining hall, everyone had taken their seats, and had begun eating breakfast, which was milk with minimal cereal.
"I was peckish last night. Sue me." Explained Larry while munching on some cereal.
The original tenants of room 221, finally reunited, had begun a new conversation.
"Good to have you back again, man." Jon told Thomas. "How was Group B?"
"Uneventful." Thomas said, adjusting his glasses.
"Are you kidding me!? You scaled up a MOUNTAIN, and then your drill sergeant got ARRESTED! That's anything but uneventful." Bryce pointed out.
"What were you doing while that was happening, Tommy?" Dex asked.
"I was nowhere near. Surely you don't think I had anything to do with it?" Thomas brushed him off. Dex grimaced, and turned his focus back to the cereal.
"Anyway, all we really did was visit the National Museum of Soweiland. Nikolaoff really wanted to learn Sowei history..." Jon said.
"What history? Soweiland hasn't even existed for half a decade..." Thomas commented, and the conversation kept on going.
In the meantime, over at the table where the tenants of room 279 were sitting, things were rather quiet.
"So, what happened while I was away?" Nikolaoff tried to start a conversation. Jason was absorbed in thought, so he didn't answer. Jet sighed.
"Douglas lost his shit because the glasses kid from Group A kept rage-baiting him, and he made us climb a mountain." He murmured. Nikolaoff stared at him as if he was expecting more.
"..."
"..."
"That's it?" He finally asked. "Then why's he looking like he saw a ghost?" He followed up, referring to Jason.
"How should I know? He was around with Thomas the entire time." Jet shrugged, poking around at his bowl of milk.
"So, he spends an entire week with that kid, comes out emotionally stunted, and that raises no eyebrows?" Nikolaoff asked again.
"What is it with you and all the sudden concern? Yeah, it was curious, but who cares? It's Jason, for Pete's sake." Jet exclaimed, and went back to his 'meal'. Nikolaoff sighed, and also continued eating.
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Shortly after breakfast, the entire campus had gathered back around the stage. George Renie from the ministry was standing on it, in all his lab coated, glasses wearing, ginger-haired glory, and two objects covered by tarps were to his right and left. Another lady, also from the ministry, was sitting on a lawn chair near the back of the stage, seemingly asleep.
"Welcome to the first part of the special science week, gentlemen! For our first exhibit, we are going to take to the skies!" George swiftly removed the tarps from the object to his sides, revealing two jetpacks!
"Yooooo!!! Finally, man!" Exclaimed Bryce, as applause ensued.
"Okay as you can see, we have these here self-propulsed backpack weaponry systems, otherwise known as jetpacks. They are supplied by an experimental biofuel..." George kept going on, explaining the intricacies of the jetpack with various scientific terminologies nobody really understood.
"Jesus Christ, do you EVER stop talking, idiota?!" Vasquez yelled out from the crowd after a couple minutes of this.
"Yeah, I agree. When do we get to go ON the jetpacks?" Nikolaoff added.
"Well, it's experimental technology, I don't know if you should-" George tried to say, but then Bryce climbed up on the stage, and pushed him aside.
"You spoke enough, bro. Now strap me in!" Bryce extended his arms out like the statue of Jesus Christ in Rio De Janeiro, expecting George to dress him up like he's some prince. George couldn't be bothered enough to say no, so he just did it.
"Okay, so in order to start the engine you press the-" Before any instructions could be given, Bryce pressed a random black button from the handle, that made one of the weapons on the back of the pack to fire on the crowd, thankfully not hitting anyone.
"Huh, it must start with the red button, then." Bryce thought out loud, and then pressed the red button, which was indeed the one that starts the engine.
"Check me out, mom! I'm sky-high! Woop!" Bryce cheered, soaring through the skies. Some people got jealous of him having all the fun, and they started rushing towards the stage.
"One at a time, please!!" George tried to contain the crowd, but his pleas went unnoticed, as the men started climbing up. Only after Jet punched someone in the face did things calm down.
"My name literally Jet, bro. I was built for this! Up, up and away!" Vasquez pressed the right button, making him rise in altitude rapidly. "Race me to the top of the building, clown boy!" He yelled at Bryce, and the both of them started blasting around from building to building. Eventually, the lady from the lawn chair woke up.
"Hey, morons! Stop hogging the pack! You know how hard I work to turn parsley and olive oil into working fuel!? Let someone else have a turn!" She yelled, Bryce and Jet quickly got down, and until the end of the day, the rest of the island got to give the jetpacks a spin too, with the two scientists explaining that when more would be produced, they'd be available for training on the Island.
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When the next day came about, things seemed eerily quiet. The prime minister and the people from the ministry were nowhere to be seen, and only Starman and Lavender were present on the stage when they were called for at the morning.
"Good morning, cadets!" Greeted Starman, as if nothing was off.
"We hope you had a blessed rest at night, for it is now time to continue your training." Lavender added.
"I don't get it, where are the feds?" Dex asked. Bryce shrugged.
"Now, I'm sure you had a lot of fun with the ministry's McGuffins yesterday, but let us not forget what we're here for." Starman continued, and then gave a signal to the backstage with his hand. As soon as that happened, loud noise echoed through the island, like a latch being opened and air being let free, and suddenly the entire centre of the island started moving downwards, into the ground.
Safe to say this was an unexpected turn of events for our cadets.
"What the shit? What's this now?" Vasquez looked around, panicked.
"A lift of some kind. How did we not notice it before?" Thomas questioned.
"Well, there's a back door to where we're going over in the staff building, so we never had to use it before. " The General explained. "Now, please be cautious, there may be some blowback as we hit the ground."
Shortly after, a bright wish light started coming from underneath the lift. They had reached their destination, a large laboratory underneath the island, covered with wires, lights, and people in lab coats. The two from the ministry from yesterday were there as well. Lining the walls were various machines and shelves that held engineering equipment. On the far side was a large class cabinet, housing what appeared to be a large, black and blue set of Armor.
"This has been here the entire time?" Jon asked. Bryce could hardly hide his excitement at witnessing all the advanced technology in display. Dex was in stunned silence, having dropped his cigarette holder on the ground. Thomas was gazing at the scientists, not particularly amused. The giant Armor did catch his attention, though.
"Welcome to the Isle Monroe laboratory, kids. This is where all your equipment is being thought up and manufactured. Please, don't touch anything, and follow me." Starman said, and waved at the group to come with him.
"Where were these guys the whole time? How come I've never seen them before?" Thomas questioned, still not fully grasping the extent of the situation.
"They only came here for the week; the lab isn't fully operational yet. But soon enough, the ministry will start moving in here, to conduct their experiments in a larger scale." The General explained. "Now, for today's main event, we have this thing."
Starman had led the Groups to a large sub-room of the lab, where 50 machines all plugged to the walls were.
"These are a very advanced exercise machine called 'treadmills'. Some British bozo thought 'em up a couple years ago, but our very own Royal Scientists managed to mechanise and mass produce them. What they do is that they make you run, in place! With an adjustable speed, too." He explained. But not very well since someone raised their hand to ask a question.
"I don't get it." Some rando from the back said.
"You will soon. Everyone, get on a treadmill." And so it was Group A got on the treadmills to the right, and Group B to the left. Everyone was left wondering if something was supposed to be happening. Then Starman clicked a remote button he was hiding in his jacket, and a bunch of ill-prepared men fell on their faces.
"Best start running, folks. We're doing cardio today. We control the speed of these things, and I'll keep raising it until my McDaniel's gets here." Starman said.
"This humble servant will also keep raising the speed until his food gets here." Lavender added, and immediately pressed his button as well, starting Group B's treadmills, at a rather fast pace.
"This guy really wants us to meet God." Nikolaoff commented, as he started running.
The time slowly passed, and while Starman was consistently raising the speed for Group A, Lavender seemed to have completely forgotten about it, as their speed was stable since the beginning.
"What is going on!? Why aren't they struggling?" Dex commented, already looking like he had just run a marathon.
"I think Lavender is meditating. He's crossed his legs and everything." Jon pointed out.
"He seems to be inside a ring of scented candles." Thomas added, pointing at the Swiss man, who was doing exactly that.
"I have an idea. Get me a distraction." Bryce said. Dex nodded, took out a cigarette holder from his pocket, and chucked it with all his might at Group B, hitting the dude closest to Lavender, making him wipe out on the treadmill and land right in front of him, finally waking him up from his trance.
"Oh dear. You seem to have messed up my candles with your injury. Hopefully they are okay." Lavender remarked. Starman sighed in disappointment.
"Stand this idiot up while I run to get the first aid kit. And the rest of you don't stop running!" He exclaimed, and he walked out of the room.
Right after that, with Lavender distracted and Starman gone, Bryce proceeded to stop running, and booked it for the circle of candles, where Lavender had left his control button.
"Hey, B-wads! Hope you know how to run!" He exclaimed, and pressed the button for max speed, that swiftly knocked about half of Group B off their treadmills, while the rest were left holding on to dear life.
"You dick! I thought you didn't hate me anymore!" Nikolaoff yelled, as he barely held on the treadmill.
"Would you look at that. It appears my food has arrived." Starman declared the moment he got back in the room to witness the chaos, and pressed the button stopping Group A's treadmills in their tracks.
Obviously, everyone was flung right off the machines, and one of them tackled Hansen to the ground, making him drop the remote on floor.
"Oh, shit!" He muttered.
"This simply will not do. I want to see you in my office, Mr. Cowboy." Lavender stated.
"You too, Tuscan! We know it was you that threw this cigarette stick. Nobody else's daddy would buy this garbage for them." Starman added.
"Can Jon come too, at least?" Bryce asked. Jon made a very bewildered face, and pointed at himself.
"Well for you to say so, he must have something to offer to the discussion, so yes!" Lavender replied. Jon mouthed 'what the fuck, bro' to Bryce, and after that Starman sent them all on their way, so he could enjoy his McDaniel's double bacon cheeseburger extra pickles lunch.
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After everyone had their lunch, Jon, Bryce and Dex made their way to Lavender's office and he had definitely made himself comfortable. Rows of candles lines the walls, and a strong scent was covering the entire room. His curtains and tablecloths were coloured violet, and his desk had nothing on it, but a burning candle where the scent was emanating from.
"So, what exactly are we here for-" Bryce tried to ask, but Lavender shushed him.
"Smell the air. An idyllic atmosphere is it not? So tranquil. So demure. The scent of vanilla." Lavender said, confusing the three men. "This one has witnessed your acts of violence with his very eyes. Not appropriate, quite not."
'What the fuck?' Thought all three of them.
"Please, take a seat, and join me in the esoteric calming of our collective souls. This experience should quench your thirst for violence." Lavender pointed to a stylised rug where he sat, followed by the three of them.
He sat there in silence for 5 minutes, meditating.
"Is he dead?" Bryce whispered to Dex.
"No, but I sure wish I was." He replied.
After the 5 minutes were up, Lavender stood up, and handed each of them a scented candle. "Now with your minds at peace, I must bid you farewell, brothers. Amen." Lavender stated, and all three of them quickly got out of his office.
"What the fuck was that!?" Bryce thought aloud.
"More importantly, what did I do to deserve this?" Jon followed up.
"You think I can smoke this?" Dex stared at the candle. With that experience done, the three of them headed back outside, towards the dormitory. Ad they headed out of the staff building though, a hand reached out and grabbed Dex by the sleeve, pulling him aside from the others.
"What in the-- Nikolai!? The hell do you want?" Dex exclaimed upon witnessing who had pulled him aside.
"So, I heard you had some suspicions about that Gardner kid?"