After Zaid recovered from his near-death collapse, the squad turned its attention to the next target: the Yellow Door.
In the previous battle a female alien called Arooka had shown up. Even so, her allies — Danielle and Rieo — failed to hold the field.
They could not capture Zaid and were driven back. Now the enemy was dug in near the Yellow Door, and Leader Boketo knew this mission would be far from easy.
"Gather every member," Boketo ordered. He stood tense in the center of the camp, face tight with the weight of command. "We go for the Yellow Door at dawn. The enemy is already there. Every step must be planned. No mistakes."
He turned to Lorya, the squad's researcher and weapons specialist. "Is the new device ready? Will it work against them?"
Lorya nodded. "It's finished, Captain — but we must test it first in the field. I need your order to try it on live targets."
"Do it," Boketo said without hesitation.
Two captured aliens were brought forward. Lorya explained as the team lined up. "This weapon is called the Spine Doume. It targets the parasite in their brain — the thing that eats away at their courage and thought.
When it hits, it severs their soul connection. The alien loses control and dies within seconds."
The squad fired. The two test subjects convulsed, lost coordination, and then fell still. A short cheer rose up — the Spine Doume worked.
"Good," Boketo said. "Now we finalize the plan."
He drew a simple map in the dust and laid out three options. "Plan A, B and C. We choose based on how the field looks the moment we arrive."
"Plan A," he said, "some of our squads will remain in reserve. If we need backup, we fire brown smoke — they come immediately."
"Plan B," he continued, "when we enter the Yellow Door area, watch for Ario and Danielle. Never take them lightly — every time we have underestimated them, we paid for it. Four patrol groups will sweep the perimeter; if anyone spots suspicious movement, fire red smoke to warn the whole force."
"Plan C," Boketo said, looking straight at Zaid, "Zaid, you move forward and close the door. If you see purple smoke, abort the operation immediately — pull back. Your protection detail — Ruka, Chucky, Bertyhood and Kuze — will keep you safe. Spine Doume will be your backup if any alien closes on you."
The soldiers cut their palms in the old oath — a ritual of blood and resolve — and shouted, "Yes, Captain! We are with you!"
"Tomorrow we march," Boketo said. "Tonight live your lives. Eat, laugh. Tomorrow we may not return."
That night, as the men ate and joked, tension surfaced. Bertyhood poked Zaid with a bitter grin. "You always make things worse. Every time Ruka has to save you."
Zaid snapped back, "Then you're my son, and Ruka is your mom."
A shove turned into a scuffle. Kuze hovered, tempted to break it up. Ruka watched, half amused, half worried. Chucky stormed in, scattering them with a well-placed kick. "Enough! Bedtime. Big fight tomorrow!"
At moonrise they rode. Lorya had warned that a moonlit raid was best — many aliens were weaker under that light. It was cold; Zaid felt it in his bones, and Ruka noticed his hands trembling.
The squad made a short camp close to the Yellow Door. Scouts slipped forward at dawn. Kuze fired a purple flare — the signal that something felt wrong: three glasses of black coffee left cooling near the wall, a strange sign of recent human presence. Boketo ordered Kuze to take fifteen men and sweep the nearby ruins. "Check everything," he said.
Kuze moved out. The team inspected the door wall and nearly missed it — until a crack revealed a face staring from the brickwork. Someone had been hiding inside the wall.
"Abort!" Boketo ordered, and flares rose into the cold air. But it was too late — a soldier fired red smoke and Rieo burst from the shadows, killing him in a single motion. Chucky sliced in, sword at Rieo's neck, but the thing changed — flesh shivered into alien carapace, and Rieo's form transformed into a full hostile.
Then the sky lit blue.
A giant shape loomed — the alien leader Boxery. He hurled bolts of soul-energy that detonated among the men. Panic spread like wildfire. The team fired Spine Doume at a nearby target — Ario — and Zaid, enraged, shifted into his partial-alien form to fight toe-to-toe. Together they drove Ario down, and for a moment it seemed they had the upper hand.
Then Boxery issued a simple signal. Kuze read it and his face went white. "Barthood," he whispered. "He's called Barthood."
A terrible truth rippled through the squad: Barthood, once one of them, now marched with Boxery. The battlefield twisted into betrayal.
Kuze tried to parley. He stepped forward, hands raised. "Barthood — we can talk. We can fix this. Arooka was blackmailed — we can—"
Barthood snarled, "If she dies, I don't care." The monster in him answered a different call. He lunged. Ruka intercepted, steel against claw. Barthood roared and began his terrible transformation — Makrupa — and an explosion of raw power ripped the ground. Several of Lorya's squad fell; screams filled the night.
Boketo climbed down from the wall, watching the destruction. "We need backup!" he shouted. He fired pink smoke, calling reinforcements. They never arrived — Boxery struck the incoming squad down before they could reach the field.
Chaos ruled. Zaid charged for Barthood, but was kicked high and hurled against the Yellow Door's wall. Chucky roared and handed command to Kuze, who denied it. "I can't lead." He shoved the duty to Euka. "Do it with Spine Doume — blind him first. Two shots to his eyes, then strike five times at his limbs."
The squad obeyed. They fired and charged. For a breathless moment, hope flared — then the plan failed. Barthood's new form shrugged off the shots like rain. He advanced, roaring with the hunger of an enemy no longer human.
The battle became a desperate scramble for survival. The Yellow Door war had become something darker than any of them expected.The battlefield was silent, only the sound of heavy breathing echoed. Leader Boketo turned to Chucky, his eyes sharp yet filled with sorrow.
"Chucky," he said, "you must kill this alien, Boxery. We will distract him, and you will strike when the chance comes."
Chucky shook his head. "Captain, that's impossible. He sits in an open wasteland. There are no trees, no shadows to hide me."
Boketo's voice trembled. "Then use the bodies of the fallen aliens to cover yourself… Do whatever it takes."
But suddenly, Boketo's shoulders slumped. Tears filled his eyes.
"I only wanted to know the secret of this world… but I was never successful as a leader."
Chucky gritted his teeth. "Captain, you must choose death if you truly seek the answer. Stop crying. Soldiers need your courage."
The squad straightened as Boketo raised his voice once again. "My soldiers, this is our last mission. Do not fear death. Death will come for us all one day. When it does, may it bring you peace. Now, mount your horses! Ride with me!"
He fired the red smoke into the sky. One by one, his squad followed.
Boxery roared, releasing spheres of soul energy. Explosions shook the earth. Soldiers screamed, falling one after another. Yet even in death, they fired signal smokes, painting the sky with their sacrifice.
Through the chaos, Chucky charged. His blade cut through Boxery's arm, blood spraying as he ripped it away. "A moment ago you were laughing… Now, tell me, Boxery—how does defeat taste?"
But before Chucky could finish him, one of Boxery's alien allies appeared and dragged him back. "Go, my lord. Leave this monster to us."
The word cut through the battlefield like thunder. Monster. That was what the people had always called Chucky. And now, it felt true.
Chucky looked down at his trembling hands. Am I truly the monster they say I am?
Shaking his head, he made his decision. "No. I must save our leader."
He rushed toward the dying Boketo, clutching a vial—the alien transformation juice. "Captain, drink this. With it, you can control their power and live!"
But Zaid stepped forward. "No! That juice must go to Kuze, not the captain!"
Before he could stop him, Chucky kicked Zaid aside. Ruka drew her sword and intercepted him. Sparks flew as steel clashed in the smoke-filled battlefield.
The fate of the squad… now hung by a single thread. Ruka spoke with a heavy voice, "The leader is gone… he will never return. Chucky, you must give this transformation juice to Kuze. His mind is strong enough to handle it."
Chucky nodded. "Alright. Give it to him."
He then stood tall and addressed the soldiers:
"From this
moment onward, we must search for survivors and regroup the camp. I am now the leader of this special squad. Do you all agree—yes or no?
"
The soldiers raised their voices together:
"Yes, sir! We are always with you!"
To honor him, each soldier cut his cheek, marking their loyalty.
Not long after, a soldier rushed in and cried, "Captain! We've found Lorya! She is alive—but badly injured."
"Where is she? Take me to her!" the captain barked. "And call the horse cart immediately. Hurry, fools! She must not die. If she does, we lose far too much—because after Boketo, she alone can lead this squad."
Meanwhile, Zaid pressed the juice to Kuze's lips. As he drank, Kuze's body twisted and transformed into an alien form. With terrifying strength, he devoured Barthoud, and then slowly returned to his original human form.
The captain's face hardened. "This battle is lost. We must retreat to camp. Gather the fallen soldiers and bring Leader Boketo's body as well."
Chucky turned to Ruka and ordered, "Release the return smoke."
The survivors raised the red signal, and the broken squad marched back to their camp.
The people trembled when they saw the soldiers' ruined state.
Fear spread through the camp. That night, all the bodies of the fallen—together with Boketo—were given back to the soil, burned into ashes.