Inside the Village
Inside one of the houses, Simon, Hana, and Boris are gathered, going about their daily routines—
until a knock hits the door.
Boris was stuffing clothes into a bag in the living room when the sound caught his attention.
"I'll get it!" he shouted.
He walked to the door and opened it—
Ethan and Connor were standing outside.
Boris's face changed instantly. A wide grin spread across it.
"Connor!"
Then he looked at Ethan. "Where was he hiding?" he said, teasing Connor.
Ethan chuckled softly.
Connor replied dryly, "I was invited to a wedding. Underground. Hosted by rats."
Boris burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! You're funny as ever, Connor. Come in, both of you!"
The three of them walked into the living room. Boris raised his voice, calling out,
"Guys! … Come see who's here!"
Connor threw himself onto the couch, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV.
"Ah… this is comfy," he said. "Whose place is this?"
Ethan stood nearby, watching Connor flip through channels.
"It's their house," Boris answered. "Simon and Hana's."
Boris smirked.
"So! How was the wedding?" he joked.
"We almost ended up fighting rats down there because of Khaled's extreme intelligence," Connor said sarcastically.
"Hahaha! Why did Khaled ruin the wedding? Was his ex there?" Boris laughed loudly, completely unserious.
"I don't know. Maybe because they only gave him a tiny piece of cake," Connor replied, mocking.
At that moment, Simon and his sister Hana came down from the upper floor.
"Look who's here!" Simon said, addressing Ethan and Connor.
They greeted each other.
Simon smiled at Connor.
"Like the couch?"
"Yeah. It's super comfortable. I'll take it," Connor joked.
"We'll sell it to you!" Hana laughed.
"I don't have money, but I'll trade you Mousta's dog for it," Connor said.
"Hahaha! Good thing Mousta isn't here to hear that!" Boris laughed loudly.
Everyone laughed.
"I bet Connor doesn't even know the dog's name," Ethan teased.
"I do know it! … It's Chris? … No, wait—Rex? Yeah. Rex," Connor said, confused.
"If Chris heard you, he'd bury himself alive," Eitha laughed.
Hana paused, catching on.
"You're talking about the Chris Khaled told us about, right?"
"Yeah. He came today with Connor and Khaled. Chris was injured, so Khaled took him to Daisy for treatment," Ethan explained.
"That werewolf… I like him," Connor said. "He fights like me. But unfortunately, he got poisoned by a vampire strike during our clash."
"Now I get your wedding-and-rats joke," Boris laughed.
Hana: "So… you saw the vampires?! And fought them?!"
Connor: "Yeah."
Connor suddenly remembered something and got excited.
"Oh! I just remembered. Dido told me you brought me a surprise."
"Who's Dido?" Hana asked quietly, glancing at her brother.
"He means Maru," Ethan laughed. "That's his nickname for him."
"Ohhh, the new mutant who was appointed captain of the guards?" Hana said.
"Yeah. I'm talking about the Ice Man," Connor replied.
"Haha. Actually, we didn't say we brought a surprise," Simon said. "We said we have a surprise for you."
"Dido said Boris has a surprise for me. Whatever—what is it?" Connor asked, curious.
"I think a member of your family is a friend of Simon's," Boris said. "And I didn't even know that until I met him myself."
"Really? … What's his full name?" Connor asked.
Boris and Simon exchanged a look.
Silence fell for a few seconds.
"His name is… Zak Silva," Simon said.
Connor froze. His eyes widened. He stood up from the couch and stared at Boris.
"That's my cousin!!!"
Silence again.
Connor spoke softly.
"I haven't heard that name in a long time."
Suddenly—
All their phones rang at once.
"Who's calling?"
"It's Almy!" Ethan said, checking his phone and looking around.
They all checked. Same caller.
"Yeah. It's her," Simon said.
"It must be important," Hana said, answering.
"Hello, Almy."
Almy's voice came sharp and urgent.
"I need all of you at the operations headquarters. Now."
"I smell another wedding," Boris laughed, looking at Connor.
"Enough," Connor growled. "Your jokes are getting annoying."
---
Inside the Operations Headquarters
Almy used her powers to project images and data onto a massive screen.
Khaled sat at the round table, his hand on his cheek, eyes fixed on the display.
The team entered—Connor, Ethan, Boris, Simon, and Hana.
"Hey, everyone," Simon said with a gentle smile.
"Sit down," Khaled said seriously.
They all took their seats.
"I feel a huge amount of energy inside me," Boris whispered excitedly to Simon.
"We're back to the good old days," Simon replied.
Khaled spoke.
"Alright, everyone. It's good we're all here.
We have a mission. Almy detected major activity happening inside this country—completely underground."
Almy began projecting footage.
Brutal fights to the death.
Mutants. Vampires. Werewolves. Even criminals.
All slaughtering each other inside pits and arenas.
Crowds screaming in madness.
"What the hell is this?" Hana whispered.
"These are matches called 'Until Death,'" Almy explained.
"They're run by a major mafia boss.
He organizes them for rich lunatics who place massive bets on the fighters.
From what I found, he gathers runaway mutants, captures vampires and werewolves—with heavy government involvement.
He has deep ties with politicians and generals.
I hacked a surveillance camera and saw him negotiating prices with politicians.
He buys mutants from the government and dangerous criminals from prisons—
then forces them to fight to the death.
He also has a long history of corruption.
The largest drug and human trafficking network in North Africa."
"What's his name?" Simon asked.
"Victor Morelli," Almy said.
"His men call him The White Father."
She played a clip.
A bald man with pale skin.
A heavy, cruel face.
Small, dark eyes.
Clapping with a smile as blood spilled.
He wore an expensive white suit.
A cigarette between his fingers.
The scene took place in a massive Olympic swimming pool, surrounded by bloodthirsty spectators.
Inside the pool—
One mutant versus three dangerous criminals.
The criminals wielded weapons.
A sword.
A double-headed axe.
A massive hammer.
They attacked wildly and brutally.
But the mutant moved with speed and precision.
It was clear—he knew martial arts.
Then he struck.
Precise blows.
Charged with electricity.
The clip ended.
"Wow… that's a strong mutant," Boris said.
"I can't wait," Connor grinned. "I want in on these matches."
"What are those on their necks?" Khaled asked, noticing something.
"Control devices," Almy answered.
"If anyone tries to escape or resist."
Khaled stood up, placing his hands on the table.
"Alright. Gear up. We move fast and free the prisoners from his grip."
"Aren't we killing him?" Connor asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We don't kill here, buddy," Boris laughed.
Hana turned to Khaled.
"Will this mission take days?"
"Probably not. Why?" Khaled asked.
"Because the three of us only have two days before we go back to university." Hana
"It won't take that long," Khaled said, lifting his axe from the table.
"What about calling it the Axe of Doom?" Connor joked.
Khaled looked at the axe.
"I like that name…"
"It fits. That thing almost killed us in the mine," Connor laughed.
"Oh, now I get where the name came from," Khaled said.
"But it's good. Alright, team—let's move."
They all stood and headed off to prepare.
"We need a team name," Simon said, thinking.
"You're right," Hana agreed.
Boris thought for a moment.
"What about… The nucleus Alliance?"
"Where did you get that? Sounds stupid," Connor said.
"No, it's good," Boris replied.
"It fits. We're victims of a nuclear bomb—don't forget that."
"…Yeah," Khaled said slowly. "I like it.
From now on, our name is The nucleus Alliance."
Connor muttered under his breath, annoyed,
"That name is stupid…"
Boris laughed right in his face.