The Paragons

Chapter 45: Unity

—Three Days Later—

Duncan's eyes started to flutter open as he lay flat on his back, on a medical cot within the GDC facility. Still, his vision was fuzzy and unclear, and he could barely hear faint voices from the people around him.

"I think the boss is coming to!" The Crawler said, relieved.

Coldsnap nodded. "Yep, looks like it. It's about time.....he's missed out on quite a bit."

Upon seeing that the doctor was about to fully wake up, Powerhouse also gathered Nightclaw, Walter, and Clara to his side, and all four of them joined The Crawler and Coldsnap by Duncan's cot.

Nightclaw, now knowing that the doctor was okay, felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders; she could finally forget about all the worry and anxiety that had plagued her recently. She transformed back into Carla and gave Duncan a tight hug, elated that he was okay.

As he reciprocated her gesture, the metal-armed boy was the first to speak once Duncan had adequately regained consciousness. "Hey, my guy.....how are you feeling? You took quite a nasty fall back there....."

Duncan parted his embrace with Carla—who proceeded to turn back into Nightclaw—then groaned and rubbed his head. "Ugnnnhhhh......Powerhouse.....? Crawler......? Everyone.....? What.....happened.....? How long have I been out for.....?"

"Three days."

"Three days?!" the doctor exclaimed as his eyes jolted fully open. "Did someone knock me out or something?"

"No, you just fainted all by yourself. It was right around the time when we discovered that The Viper's body was.....missing....." The Crawler reported, realizing his words only after they had escaped his mouth. "Darn it....."

"The Viper's gone?!"

"Yes, boss."

In that moment, Duncan was about ready to faint yet again at the revelation, but Coldsnap quickly stepped up and sold him a slap across the face to help him maintain his awareness, the impact strong enough to cause his cheek to temporarily go numb from frostbite. "Get a hold of yourself, dude," she reprimanded. "We spent three days doing pretty much nothing while waiting for you to wake up. I'm not about to make that three more days."

"Well, did any of you ever find out where her body went in the meantime?" the doctor asked urgently, hoping to find some answers on her whereabouts.

"Carlisle told us everything," Walter revealed. "But.....I don't think you're going to like it."

Clara sniffled. "I still can't believe they did that to her.....after everything she's done for them....."

Duncan's worry had returned to him all over again, although now he refused to faint a second time. "What.....? What happened? Where's Carlisle?! I want to talk to him!"

"I'm right here, Duncan," the council head said softly as he entered the room, his voice filled with remorse. "Good to see you up and about.....you really had us worried for these past three days."

"What did you do with The Viper's body?!"

"Calm down.....I will explain everything to you, like I've done for the others. Everyone, follow me to the briefing room."

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"Start talking," Duncan ordered once everyone was seated around the long, rectangular table. "Because the way things look right now.....you just deprived us of a chance to revive our greatest ally."