Returning to No Applause, Only More of the Same

The next day, as per their agreement, Sam handed the letter to Sergeant Krupke, making sure to tell him, as formally as she possibly could, that they would love to meet him as soon as possible. He gave a nod in turn, and tucked the letter into a locked drawer in his desk.

Two weeks later, after Sam and George had already started considering that it might have been a shared hallucination, they were met with another letter, which stated in formal words how they wouldn’t be able to meet Kreig just yet. Signed by a Dr Darius Falk. Again, George concluded that this was not a good sign. When Sam handed the letter to Sergeant Krupke, she made sure to hammer it in that they would love to meet Kreig as soon as possible. Another week, and another letter. Again, she restated her position.

Two weeks, two letters, until, finally, the fifth week after receiving the first letter…

Dear Samantha and George Wiedemann,

I am delighted to inform you that permission has been given for an official visit. You will be picked up at Gate 5 of the Guramn Airport this evening at 18:00. You will be escorted by armed guards and Fighters. Please do not be alarmed by this, it is merely security.

I cannot imagine the joy you must feel in this moment, but I assure you, when Kreig Wiedemann meets you, he will surely be even more delighted.

After all, I should know.

//Dr Darius Falk.

They got this letter at 17:21, and Guramn Airport was forty minutes away by car. Suffice it to say, police officer she may be, but that evening even she did her share of speeding. George couldn’t object, he was far from sinless himself, though of a less physical sort.

Either way, when they got to the bustling crowded airport, they did so with their breaths caught in their throats.

“Shit shit shit, we’re gonna be late! Do you think they’ll take off without us if we’re late??” Sam asked as she jogged in place, George finally catching up to her. His forehead glistened with sweat, his eyes hazy and distant. “They won’t, right? But even then, we’ve gotta keep running! This is authority people, we can’t know what they’re thinking!”

George leaned down, resting his hands on his knees, taking a moment to just breathe. “Haah, haah… Sam, I swear, you will be the death of me,” he said. “The chances that they would leave without us is extremely low.”

Despite all the evidence against her, Sam insisted that they continue running. They got to Gate 3 four minutes past 18.

“You two must be Kreig’s family, huh?” The first thing that met them at Gate 3 was a young man carrying a spear, surrounded by various Fighters and military personnel. He seemed young, bright-eyed and confident. “...Wait, it’s only two of you? Ma and-, no, you’re really young, so… Wait, wait. Hold on. Is-, did… Oh. Ohhhh, okay, okay. Now I get why it’s taken this long. Alright, just follow me, kiddos, I’ll take you to the helicopter.”

Human, Lv.344-

Not introducing oneself while meeting another person for the first time was something George considered to be very rude, but there was no space to complain, as the man didn’t even hesitate to turn around and head out of the gate. Sam and George both followed.

“Hey, miss sis. You a fighter or something?” he asked.

“Yeah, what about it?”

The Fighter grinned. “Well well well. I’m sure you know who I am, then? After all, you’ve seen my level. My very high, very impressive level that lets me bend steel with my bare hands!”

Sam stared at him for a moment, trying to place his face. “-I haven’t the slightest clue, dude.”

The man froze mid-way through a pose that oozed pride. “You-, um. You really don’t know? I’m Craig? Craig the Thunder Spear? One of twenty level 300+ Fighters? Geez, sis, that’s-, wow. You hurtin’ my feelings here!”

In that moment, George decided not to disclose the fact that he did actually know who this man was. Craig. A prodigy of sorts, one of the youngest high-level Fighters in the world as a pretty direct result of his competitive and risky nature when it came to fighting. One of the few people in the world who would gladly hurl themselves at a monster with a level twice as high as theirs. In a way, his accomplishments were admirable.

But in person… Craig really just wasn’t anybody George wanted to get to know. He seemed like a very loud and arrogant man, just the kind of person George couldn’t stand.

As it turned out, the helicopter they would be riding in wasn’t any ordinary helicopter. This was a deeply militaristic aircraft, designed not only for high speeds and high altitudes, but also long times in the air. For the IOCRO, such aircrafts were mainly used for transportations of high-level Fighters to different parts of the world or for long-distance sniping (whereby ranger- or magician-type Fighters would remain in the aircraft while close-ranged Fighters went on the ground).

This model was a Black Tiger T-6, one of the best long-distance high-speed helicopters out there. George’s heart practically jumped out of his chest.

While stepping into the aircraft beside his sister and the Fighter (and all the other security), he had to consciously keep his mouth shut, lest he went on a long-winded tangent about why this particular model was superior in all forms as compared to such aircrafts like YOL-P 77 or Halvan Helan(A-26). Meanwhile, he could only somewhat understand that Craig, the Fighter, was really trying to pester Sam into admiring him, which wouldn’t work in the least. Sam didn’t admire anyone. Trying to force her to think highly of him would just make her think less of him than she already did.

...Though, the presence of Craig did present them with a bit of a question. How in the world could Kreig’s return require the presence of such a high-levelled Fighter? Usually, Fighters above level 300 were reserved to fight the strongest monsters and the strongest portals. A few even had the distinct (dis)pleasure of being deported inside the portals and into the Otherworld in order to assist the two military bases placed there.

...The return of a missing person should not require the presence of such a person. The return of his little brother should not have been this big of a deal.

Unless something was seriously off.