Wcience

Breaking Point

In the same lemon-scented room, Harth stood catching his breath. Dore continued wiping the table as if the world hadn't just been upside down moments ago. Harth leaned against the wall, wiping sweat from his brow, still not over the fight from earlier.

Dore glanced at him, calm as ever. "There's something I didn't tell you," he began, not looking up from his task.

Harth's head jerked in his direction. "What now?"

Dore sighed, putting down the rag. "I used to be one of them. A commander for the EALA."

Harth's eyes widened. "You were part of them? After everything they've done?"

"I left when the new leadership took over," Dore said quietly. "The old EALA had principles. Then they got corrupted. I studied their weaknesses for years. That's how I knew how to stay ahead of them."

Before Harth could respond, the door slammed open.

Harth, startled, immediately grabbed his gun. Standing in the doorway was a tall man with wild eyes.

Harth assumed the worst. "EAFA scum!" he shouted, rushing toward the intruder.

The man barely had time to react before Harth's fists were flying. One punch, then another, and another.

"Harth!" Dore shouted, grabbing his arm, pulling him back. "That's not a soldier!"

The man groaned, holding his face. "Damn! You've got a hell of a punch."

Harth blinked in confusion, lowering his gun. "Who the hell are you?"

"Qwerty," the man spat out, dabbing at his bleeding lip. "Not one of your enemies, but might be after this!"

Dore sighed again. "He's an old acquaintance. Not exactly a friend." He glanced at Qwerty. "What are you doing here?"

Qwerty grinned through his split lip. "I came to help, you idiot. Thought you'd need an extra hand, and turns out, I was right." He walked over to a wall and tapped it lightly. "Also, got a little surprise."

With a hidden switch, a drawer slid out, revealing an arsenal of guns and explosives. "Built this from a kids' tutorial on Censortube," he smirked. "Figured we might need it."

Dore stared at the stash, surprised. "You've been busy."

Before they could start arming themselves, the door crashed open again—this time with force. A large, imposing figure filled the frame, his armor gleaming. He stepped inside, unfazed by the lemon scent that confused other soldiers.

"The Lemon-Resistant Commander," Dore muttered, narrowing his eyes.

The commander stepped forward. "You won't get away this time." His eyes darted to the weapons in their hands. "But you forgot something. I don't need my soldiers to deal with you."

The fight was on.

Harth ducked a swing from the commander, while Dore and Qwerty rushed in, attacking with everything they had. The commander was tough, throwing them back with sheer strength. Harth, unable to outmatch him physically, turned to his only other skill—his computer. He grabbed his portable device and quickly initiated a DDOS attack on the EALA website.

"Let's see how you like being cut off," Harth muttered, tapping furiously at the screen.

Suddenly, the commander froze. His communicator beeped with an alert about the system failure. He glanced at Harth with an amused look. "You really think this is over?" He raised two fingers in a peace sign, smirked, and faded out of the room like a mirage.

The three men stood still for a moment, catching their breath. Dore slumped into a chair, exhausted. Qwerty was the first to speak.

"Well, that was fun," he laughed, picking up a half-finished glass of lemonade from the table. "Who's ready for round two?"

Harth, shaken, wiped his hands on his pants, unable to shake the guilt that had settled deep in his chest. "I don't know if we should keep killing them. They're still people."

Qwerty scoffed, leaning back with a grin. "Don't be a crybaby, Harth. They'd kill you without a second thought." He stood up, rolling his eyes. "In fact, let's prove a point."

Before either Dore or Harth could stop him, Qwerty grabbed a gas canister from the hidden drawer, stepped out, and set fire to a nearby office, trapping three hostages and several wood soldiers inside. The flames quickly consumed the area as screams echoed down the hall.

Qwerty returned, snapping a photo of the fire with his communicator, posting it on Censortube with a smirk. "Let's see the EALA come after us now."

Harth stared at the flames in shock. Dore stood silently, watching the fire burn, his face unreadable.