NZ: Alternate chapt 8

Nazi Zombies: Alternate

Chapter 8

It was meant to be easy from here, opening the portal back to their reality; but now there were some... Complications. Five complications actually, if you count an unconscious marine a fifth complication.

"I see Space Mon-keys..." Dempsey mumbled in a sing-song tune.

And Dempsey was spouting nonsense in his sleep and was getting everyone annoyed.

Even the silent, emotionless and honourable Takeo Masaki was regretting his action of knocking his team-mate out. He wished that he had shot him instead.

"Ok I know zhat you do not trust ze four of us right now, but perhaps ve can come at a...compromise?" Everyone stared at Erika; three of them were for a different reason.

Nikolai's brows narrowed in suspicion; he may be a drunk but he wasn't THAT stupid as he made himself to be. He was experienced, deadly and serious when the situation called for it. And Tank, Takeo and even the insane Edward Richtofen had gained his respect. But these four' their betrayal had caught him by surprise as he had never suspected anything. So whatever trust he had in them before that, shattered.

Takeo was doing what he always did: Silently observing people. In this case those people were the girls. He never said anything, he just stared, patently watching their body and facial expression. And whenever he finds something about them that he deems to be useful, no matter how small it may be, he would lock it away in his memory. And bring it up when the situation calls for it.

Edward, well, no one was sure what he was thinking exactly, he looked like he was about to go off at any minute from the way his face looked. But the expression his body was giving off was telling them otherwise. Basically Richtofen was looking for an excuse to kill something, and since Nikolai and Takeo knew him better than anyone; they guessed his focus was most likely on the girls.

As for Erika's own side, they were silently pleading for her to be quiet. Since they knew that they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of them. Unfortunately, Erika didn't seem to notice nor care.

"And what compromise would that be, eh?" Nikolai half asked, half demanded them.

"Simple." Erika replied innocently, "Tank said zhat ze undead 'vanished' correct?"

The men nodded rather reluctantly none of them seem to where she was getting at. Until a few seconds later.

"You think that the demons wourd return." Takeo stated in a matter-of-fact tone. His brows arched slightly at the revelation.

Nikolai and Richtofen seemed rather alarmed by what Takeo had deduced; if the grip on their guns tightened was of any definition. Takeo was acting like this happened all the time, so he didn't seem to be as surprised as the other two.

Takeo thought that the mysterious disappearance of the undead was rather strange. And no one seemed to notice, it was as if something weird was going on and it was only brought to their attention because Erika brought it up. When Takeo heard Dempsey rambling on; he thought that the marine had lost his mind. Heck, with the way things were at the moment' Takeo was thinking somewhere along that. Only his open mindedness kept him from losing it.

"Ja." Erika said casually; giving the Imperial Officer a slightly crazed smile. "And you need to be prepared to combat zhem once zhey appear."

Nikolai narrowed his eyes at the woman, suspicion written all over his face. "And why exactly should we trust you, hmm? How do we know you won't stab us in the back; like before?" He half questioned' half demanded.

That had gotten a surprised reaction out of both Richtofen and Takeo. As far as they know, Nikolai had never ever asked a question that serious before. And he never slurred!

"Who are you and what have you done to Nikorai?" Takeo wasn't one for sarcasm or witty sayings, but he couldn't help himself.

The Soviet stared at Takeo for a few seconds, "He is fucking you're wife and sent me to take his place instead." He dead-panned, and upon seeing the glare from said Imperial; he added with an innocent tone, "I was joking; I was just trying to piss you off.... Did it work?"

Richtofen thought the whole exchange between the two men was just plain hilarious. Nikolai was insulting Takeo; and he was getting away with it. And he was having trouble holding in the laughter that was threatening to come out. It would be uncharacteristic of him to laugh in amusement; and that could not happen.

"Insurt me again Russian, and I wirr hurt you." Takeo deadpanned, making the drunk's left eye twitch in irritation.  

"Hey guys not to interrupt or anything, but does Tank look... Well... 'sane' to you?" Laura pointed out with concern. Everyone turned to the unconscious form of the United States marine; and were surprised that he was awake. And he was staring right at them with a murderous glare.

The tension in the room thickened considerably quickly. His eyes scanning the room for a few moments before they finally settled on Takeo.

Takeo didn't know why... But he felt an involuntary chill run down his spine when Tank's glaring eyes settled on him. It unsettled him greatly; and that was saying something.

"Takeo..." Dempsey said suddenly, the tone he spoke seemingly calm but with a hint of malice. "You got five seconds to run." The Imperial blinked in both surprise and confusion. What did he mean by that...?

His eyes widened in fear when he realised what Tank was about to do in about three and a half seconds from now. What happened seconds later was the comical scene of a furious Tank Dempsey chasing a panic-stricken Takeo Masaki with a steel pole. Something that everyone had found hilarious, until he took his attention on them. For an hour and a half' everyone was screaming in horror as they attempted to escape from a very pissed off Tank Dempsey, and some were unfortunate enough to meet the wrath of Dempsey's steel pole.

Although one good thing came out of this: Dempsey was back to his old self again.

----

"Alright ass-maggots, listen up!" Dempsey shouted, in a military like fashion, with his left hand he was twirling the steel pole while the other was behind his back.

He turned and glared down towards everyone else, who were funnily enough, covered in large bruises and bandages. The aftermath of the beating Dempsey gave them. The others seemed to shrink when they saw the evil glare that Tank gave them. But Takeo on the other hand was slightly more braver, although he was the one who had gotten the worst out of them all.

"I want that portal up and working ASAP! No. Questions. And. No. Complains! Understand?" He barked at them. His eyes narrowed dangerously when he never gotten a word out of them. And when they saw this they instantly spoke up.

A frightened choirs of 'Yes!' and 'Understood!' came from their lips, making Tank smile victoriously to himself. If he hadn't have had his memory wiped Tank would have remembered being like this to his own group of marines he led during the war, (except for the beating part of course). It's why he earned the nickname "The Tank" from his subordinates. A shame he might never remember...

He pushed his thoughts to the back of his head, and returned to glaring at them. "Well? What are you fuckers waiting for!? Get your asses moving!"

He frowned when only his team make a lame attempt at scrambling away from him. The other four just... sat there. Looking like they were too terrified to move. Although with the amount of bandages they had on their bodies; they had the right to be.

But he wasn't going to leave them alone.

"Well?" He asked. They looked up at him; surprise written on their faces. The curves of his lights twitched slightly at the looks; if they thought he was going to leave them be. They thought wrong! "I said: GET YOUR ASSES MOVING!!"

He laughed as he watched them make a painful attempt at running away from him. He was glad to know that they weren't stupid enough to indulge themselves with his infamous temper. It helped a bit that they didn't want to be the victim to meet the end of his pole, again.

"That man is insane!" Laura said faintly as soon she was out of hearing range from Dempsey. "He beat us up - with a pole - and now he DARES to make us work!"

Natasha who painfully held her wrist had to agree, "That man is a demon! He should be shot, like first husband." She all but growled with malice, and with the look her face was sporting – even the insane Richtofen would think twice going up against her. Although, with the bruises on her face it made her look even more frightening.

"Ja, he vounded my hip!" Erika whined, holding said hip' in an attempt to suppress the sharp pain that jolted throughout her body. "I vant his BLOOD!"

Aiko who was the calmest and the least wounded - physically of course – of the group silently nodded in agreement. If there was one thing that the group of girls agreed on, it's avoiding a pissed off Dempsey.

Meanwhile with the guys' Richtofen was working on getting the portal working again. While mumbling words of irritation,  "The little respect I have for Demphsey, is getting lower." Richtofen growled.

"Bah! The wounds we sustained from the American's wrath will be gone in about a chapter or two." Nikolai said sagely. Something that Nikolai had never done before. Nor did he realise what he said at the end.

Both Takeo and Richtofen let out an exaggerated sigh; it was only a matter of time before someone else went under what they've deemed "Tank's curse" Heck Takeo was so sure that everything was slightly different that the normal rules weren't normal.

Wait, where had that come from?

"I must be rosing my mind if I am thinking rike that." Takeo sighed in dismay.

"About vhat?" Apparently Richtofen had overheard him.

"That I am thinking that there is such a thing as 'The Fourth Wall' that Dempsey carrs it."

Richtofen stopped and went into a thinking pose, as he thought back when they arrived in this alternate reality, he realised that Tank wasn't being himself. Hell the beating he gave everyone proved that something was wrong; it was Takeo who knocked him out. So Tank supposedly should have taken out his anger on him.

...Then again... Tank's always in a bad mood; the frown-smile that he had on his face held a lot of pain. And anger. And a lot of devious thoughts that involved many different ways to violently kill a zombie.

"Hurry up! My hands are getting bored here!" Dempsey bellowed. "And their wanting some beating action!"

Everyone jumped and began working twice as hard than they normally would. They really don't want to face off against a highly pissed off marine; armed with a steel pole.

A few minutes later Tank was busy leaning against a wall in a badass style, his arms crossed over his chest, with the pole in between. His legs were crossed too, with one foot tapping impatiently against the floor while he looked at the ceiling with a bored expression. His shoulder jumped a few times as Tank chuckled quietly to himself. He was timing them, not for when they manage to get the portal working again; but for when they've realised that they have gun on their possession. While he only had a pole.

This had to be the funniest and the most stupid thing he had ever done. Still, it felt good and too him that is what counts.

"DEMPHSEY!"

Tank's knees buckled, and he fell on the ground face first. His face twisted into a grimace; there was only one person he knew that would shout like that.

"What is it Richtofen?" Tank shouted while he pushed himself to his feet.

And so Tank waited for a response. But he was met with awkward silence; still this was Richtofen since when is the mad doctor actually quiet...? Actually don't answer that.

"I think ze portal is verking." He blinked, good news for once?

"Really? Its about fricking time!" Tank shouted, with a large uncharacteristic grin plastered on his face. The grin was quickly replaced with a scowl the moment Tank had caught it. Thank god no one was around to see that. That would have been a major blow to his ego.

With that Dempsey entered the transportation room, or what he dubbed "The swirly room" with the pole twirling in his hands. He looked at his bandaged comrades, before looking up at the portal. It was there, but barely.

"I thought you said you got it working?" Dempsey growled out.

"I said I 'think' I got it verking." Richtofen scoffed, keeping his gaze on the highly advanced machine in front of him.

Tank blinked, "Oh right, yeah, I totally forgot about that."

Richtofen muttered some words to himself; but it was so barely audible that Dempsey had trouble understanding what he was saying. But he did understand one thing: It was in German. And most likely directed at him.

"Bah, in Mother Russia to make machines work; all you needed to do was press one button!" Nikolai complained in his own unique way. Kicking an imaginary stone Nikolai grimaced and rubbed his calf; completely forgetting that his entire body was in agony. "Ouch..."

Takeo scoffed at Nikolai's antics while his face held an impassive expression. But if you looked closely at his eyes, you could see the faint hint of humour in them. Takeo finding something humorous was a rare sight for anyone who knew him, merely because the Asian was all serious and less comedic. But he would often take the mickey out of all the bad things that happens to his Russian companion. Or as he would personally call it, "Witty comments" or something along those lines.

The girls, covered in bruises and bandages were limping their way to Tank's group. They glanced at each other, a hidden conversation in their eyes.

"We're coming with you." Laura eye seemed to say.

A menacing glare from Nikolai, "No you are not!" He growled mentally.

A piercing glare came from Erika, "Vould you vant to risk the angry American baring down on you, Nikolai?" She responded with a sly smile.

"....Ah, fuck you!"

Dempsey never noticed the silent conversation going on, because his eyes were focusing on the portal instead. Shame that it wasn't a Teleporter; or MDT as Richtofen calls it. It would have made things slightly more...interesting.

A cry of joy from Richtofen interrupted his thoughts; followed by the portal activating in all it's black swirling glory. "Ah-ha ha ha ha! I got it! Ze doctor is victorious!" Shouted Richtofen as he proudly punched the air.

"Yay... Lucky you..." Laura mumbled out with less enthusiasm. Now that they had the portal working, there was nothing stopping them from leaving them behind.

"What're you talking about?" Tank asked. Laura gave him a confused look, her brows arched and her head tilted slightly. Seeing this Dempsey explained to her, "You ain't staying here. That is out of the question, this world, your world is a lost cause."

She blinked and gave him a questioning look, Tank sighed this was far too troublesome for him...

"You're coming with us." He stated in a tone that held no arguments.

He turned and left a gob-smacked Laura to herself as she watched Dempsey walking away. He was allowing them to go with them. He wasn't going to leave them behind. He was allowing them to go to their reality! It almost seemed believable; hell it might BE believable, the fact remained: He was letting them come.

She smiled sincerely to herself; the girls had to know about this!

Nikolai and Takeo kept their eyes focusing on the black swirling portal. The two of them standing completely still as if they were in a trance. The drunk Soviet, heavily wasted as he was; was able to stand still like a sober person would. For a normal person, that would be next to impossible; but Nikolai was no ordinary man. Heck, he was technically a super soldier when Richtofen was finished experimenting on him when he was still in Der Riese.

Add the fact that he was immune to their bites and scratches, along with Richtofen, Takeo and Dempsey... You get the idea.

Nikolai burped, making Takeo jump in surprise and mutter some words to himself. "Sooooo.... Why are we not going through black circle like last time?" He asked, turning his head to Richtofen.

"Because my Cossack-friend, Dempsey must be here. And I must be here to make sure this portal does not collapse vhile you are within, understand?" Richtofen asked.  

"Da... I think..."

The three glanced at Tank when he spoke to them, "You guys do know that the girls are coming with us... Right?" He asked, giving them all dangerous glares; like he is daring them to speak against him. And with the pole in his hands, twirling all the while, they were wary of making him angry again.

Seeing the frightened looks in their eyes, and knowing that they were not going to speak out against his decision; Dempsey snorted and gave an interested glance at the portal. "So back to where we were huh?" He mused. Turning he barked, "Where's it lead too doc?"

"It should bring us back to 'The Theatre Of The Damned', Demphsey."

"Good. I'm getting sick of this place."

Tank looked halfway from his shoulder to see the women coming into the room. Strangely none of them had any bandages wrapped on their bodies, nor did they have any bruises. Tank figured it was something medical related in this reality; and shuddered at what Richtofen would do once he finds out.

"Probably cause them immense pain until they give up or something..." He shuddered at the thought. He coughed and looked at everyone with authority; and they gave him their full attention.

"Alright everyone this is it. Once we go through that portal there is no turning back. And since the zombies are still gone – which is good enough for me – we can have a breather once we get to the other side." He paused-taking a deep breath before continuing. "Richtofen, you stay here and make sure the portal is stable while everyone else goes through. The rest: Go in alone, or in pairs. Whatever floats you're boat."

Everyone gave a nod in agreement; and as he said they all went through the portal as a pair' or by their own. Until Laura, Dempsey and Richtofen were left.

"Well..." Laura began, getting Dempsey to look at her. "I would say I'd miss this place. But I'd be lying if I did. I wonder what your reality is like... And if it's different?"

"Hey. Our reality is similar to this. Only ours isn't this bad." Tank gave her a reassuring grin and a thumbs up. "Go on, I'll catch up."

Grinning Laura nodded, "Ok..." Inhaling Laura blinked before walking through the portal. Her entire body left like it was floating, as if there wasn't any gravity holding her down. This lasted for a few seconds however before her feet touched the ground. She looked around to see the others, including her own team sitting down on crates and broken seats that were lying around.

She smiled as her eyes took in her new surroundings. She was relieved that she wasn't in that place. But she couldn't help but feel saddened by the fact that she had left her home behind. Everyone she knew died, yes but it was still home. Still, at least she wasn't alone.

----

Richtofen stood beside Dempsey as the two prepared themselves to run into the portal. Richtofen deduced that the portal would be stable for a few minutes after they enter it. But he couldn't help but shake off the feeling that Tank was planning to hurt him in the most ridiculous way imaginable.

"Just so we're clear doc; if I ever find myself trapped in a closet that are completely full of zombies. I'm going to hurt you. Bad."

Richtofen looked at Dempsey as if he grew a second head, "Ha! As if zhat vill ever happen!"

Famous last words.