When Cole opened his eyes he was surrounded by men in black suits. At first he was startled and wanted to promptly react, but Morgan’s voice rang out through the entire apartment.

[I’m sorry master Cole, but they have the codes for my core directives, there wasn’t much that I could do sir….. they brought M.O.M along.]

Cole sighed as he got up, only one group of people would have M.O.M with them. So there was no need to act like he was surprised or resist. They would break his legs and arms to carry him out of here if they had to. Of course he could take them, at least one and at most three. But there were seven of them, and all of them were people who had trained him…. They’ll kick his ass.

“Just let me pack my bags and uninstall Morgan from the housing Unit.” Cole said as he got up, surprised by how light he felt along with a buzz in the air that he just couldn’t explain.

“There’s no need for that Master Cole, the cleaners are waiting downstairs, and they will scrub the scene. Preparations have already been made for you back at home base. And as for Morgan, he can piggy back on M.O.M’s m.p.u”

There was no space for argument, Cole looked up at the man who had just finished talking. He looked a lot older, like he had aged a decade in the last 3 years. His full head of grey hair and the eye patch on his left eye, was nostalgic… but the last time Cole had seen him at least half his hair was still black.

“Kaito sensei….. It’s good to see you again.” Cole said to him as he made his way to the door. All of them flanking him as he said good bye to what had been his home for almost two years. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘭．𝑜𝘳𝘨

[Young Master Cole and Master Kaito… multiple hostiles coming up the east wing stairs, all are heavily armed and sporting some serious firepower…. Don’t die children.]

“Affirmative mother.” Master Kaito answered as he turned to Cole and pulled and gun out of his waist and handed it over to him/.

“I trust you still know how to use this sir?” Kaito asked as Cole looked at the gun, then raised his head to ask

“Military issue?” But Kaito shook his head as he said.

“Close. It’s the Corps standard firearms for special forces.” Cole furrowed his eyebrow and asked again just to be sure.

“Which corps?” the only response he got from Kaito was the older man looking up at the ceiling, as if to pierce through it to look at the sky beyond.

“Fuck!” Cole cursed as he looked at the gun in his hand with renewed respect. Normally it should have felt foreign if not alien I his hand given how long he had last touched a gun…. But he felt as if he had been holding a gun not less than ten minutes ago.

It was kind of creepy really, but then again, things with virtual reality was always like that. They stepped into the hallways with Cole placed right in the middle, obviously they were people coming up the stair well, so definitely other would probably be watching the elevators waiting for Cole to try to escape.

Except of course the elevator was now out of service, so they couldn’t use that, and they were on a straight collision course for the people coming up the stairs. The fact that M.O.M did not suggest an alternative route more than proved that whoever the attackers, were, they had all bases covered!

*ZING!*

Have you ever had a feeling of Déjà vu, like all of a sudden you realized you were somewhere you have been before, or you had one of those dreams that put you in a certain place at a certain time, and now reality seems to be mirroring it.

Cole saw or rather felt the bullet before it was even shot, hell he could even see the Trajectory it would take, first going through Master Kaito’s neck, before shredding into his chest and even taking out Rosaline behind him. There was no time to think, only react.

“Sniper!” Cole shouted as he rushed forwards and Dragged Kaito to the side, his body could not react fast enough to move him out of the way of the incoming bullet after getting Kaito out of the way, but instinct was all he had to rely on.

[Gravity]

The bullet, a 7 inch armor piercing round shot from a high caliber sniper rifle, cured around the circumference of Cole’s body, smashing into the concrete by his feet, and digging into it as Cole fired off a shot from his hand gun across a 50 meter distance to the other side of the apartment complex where the sniper had set up shop.

For those of them with a good enough eyesight, the splattering of blood and brains against the wall behind the sniper was proof that Cole had hit his target. But that was one move out of a series Cole was performing, as he was acting and his body reacting before he could even realize what was going on.

[Wild Charge]

Cole was out of the encirclement for his protection in a flash of movement as wind seemed to gather around his body, reducing air resistance as practically flashed forwards several meters to smash his shoulder into the body of an 8 foot tall man with an assault rifle.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

One in the knee. One in the gut just under his bulletproof vest, and the next one under his jaw, bringing his hulking body down and limp over Cole’s Six foot six lanky frame. It was just the shield that he need as a cacophony of bullet sounds ripped into the corpse from behind.

*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*

It was as if he had eyes that could see even through the body of man, as he fired off five shots, each for each skull he could see on the stairs below him. The ensuing thuds that was proof of kill was ignored as Cole thumbed the safety of the Hand Gun in his hand and placed it in his waistband, before grabbing the Assault rifle and throwing the bullet riddle body of the man on top of him down the stairs, with way more ease than he would have thought possible.

His body flew down and smashed into a trio of men coming up, these fools were foolish enough to be holding Photon swords…Cole was not in the business of showing mercy for people who were going after his life….or might be responsible for the death of his brothers.

*Ratata! Ratata! Ratata!* three bursts for three now very dead people. Cole leaned on the side of the wall besides the stair case and slid down it, his breathing hitched as his body became covered in sweat. He held the gun too tightly as Kaito and the rest caught up to him.

“What the hell was that?” Rosaline asked, as two of the body guards took positions at the top of the stairs, pointing their guns down and promptly letting loose a salvo of gunfire that took more lives.

“It’s the bleed over…. It has already begun.” Master Kaito said as he stood in front of Cole, snapping his fingers to get his attention as Cole broke into a cold of some sort.

“But that’s impossible, it shouldn’t be this way for at least another 3 months. Didn’t the information that came down the vines say it would take at least 3 months and by the point most players were already in the 8th or at least 5th floor for the event?”

“If it was impossible the first master and second master will still be alive. Besides you and I both know Young Master Cole has always been special. He’s in shock right now, we need to get him out of here, and his body will take time to get used to the changes.” Rosaline gave a stiff nod as they dragged Cole up and down the stairs having cleared it of any hostile enemy.

But that was when the grenade was now thrown up.