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[CENTER][COLOR=#FF7514][sup]________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/COLOR]
[url=https://open.spotify.com/track/46IwawpHVB7462bMZ10Wzf][img]https://i.imgur.com/zHjMnmt.jpeg[/img]
[/url][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=#FF7514][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Southern Plateau[/I] - [I]Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=#ff7514][b]Hope In Hell #2.0034:[/b][/COLOR] [I]The Path To Ruin[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=#FF7514][SUP][sub]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][INDENT][sub][color=#ff7514][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]N/A[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=#FF7514][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [color=gray][I]At Doom's Gate[/I][/color][/right][/SUP]
[INDENT]
[center][color=red][b]CONTENT WARNING: EXCESSIVE VIOLENCE[/b][/color][/center]

A sound suddenly reached her ears. It was a dog, a big one at that, barking angrily. 

Katja opened her eyes again and where she expected to see that raging inferno and a torrent of blood, she was actually met by pristine white walls filled with family pictures and paintings. A pleasant ray of African sun was shining through the windows, reflecting off of the neatly waxed hardwood floor. She looked around, perplexed at what she saw. This was her home. The home she’d grown up in with her family. And not only did her surroundings offer a sense of warmth and familiarity, it also all seemed so… [i]big[/i].

She looked over her shoulder to see a mirror in the hallway. What she saw reflected in it shocked her to her very core.

Where she had expected to see the big, strong and resilient Katja that she had built herself to be over the past decade, she was instead met by that small girl she had been 12 years before. 

Casting a quick glance down, Katja saw that she wasn’t wearing her A.R. suit anymore, but instead wore regular clothes. Her arms seemed frail and weak. In fact, she felt weak everywhere. Trying to conjure up her HZEs, nothing seemed to come up. As if something was blocking her from accessing them.

She had no time to linger too long on what she saw, however, as the moment was interrupted by a brick flying through one of the living room windows. 

	[color=orange]“[i]Verdomp[/i], they’ve broken through the front gate!”[/color] A large man wearing briefs and a combat vest yelled out as he ran back from the front door, carrying his trusty service pistol in his right hand as he effortlessly scooped Katja up with his left. [color=orange]“We have to get to the safe room! Floor, is Johanna with you? And where is Faf?!”[/color]

	[color=orange]“We’re here Paul![/color] A woman who appeared huge to Katja said as she dragged another tall girl along with her. [color=orange]“Faf’s outside, I saw him maul a Poes who tried to break in through the back door. He’s buying us valuable time.”[/color]

Gunshots could be heard outside, followed by a dog’s whimper and cheers from an outraged crowd. A look of horror could be seen on the faces of the two adults as the realization set in of what had happened to Faf, the family dog.

But there was no time to mourn his loss, as the front door was kicked off its hinges mere seconds later by a massive brute of a man. He held a large pipe in his hand, while pointing up at the Kruger family with his free hand. [color=black]“Kill the Hypies!”[/color] He bellowed out. Almost instantly a tidal wave of bloodcrazed protesters rushed inside the home from either side of him, echoing his warcry.

[color=black][b]“Kill the Hypies! Kill the Hypies! Kill the Hypies!”[/b][/color]

Paul Kruger, still carrying Katja in his left arm, turned around to unload several rounds into the oncoming rush of humanity. But while every carefully placed shot took one down, the flood would not stop as two more would take the place of the fallen. 

They ran as fast as they could to the back of the house. That was where the safe room was located. It had been built with this eventuality in mind. The walls were made out of reinforced concrete, not even a bulldozer would be able to effortlessly flatten it. And the large automatically sealing steel door, which could be shut from both directions, could only be opened from the inside. Once it was set in motion to close, nothing would be able to stop it.

But then they were cut off, right as safety appeared to be in sight. Another large figure to Katja had crawled through the kitchen window and took aim at the family with a pump action firearm. Paul Kruger turned right in time to shield Katja from its fury, as the slug simply bounced off her father. He groaned slightly, as while his powers allowed him to harden his skin into a form of armor, that didn’t mean he didn’t feel the pain. 

Still, it gave enough time for Floor Kruger to close the distance as she approached from the man’s blindspot. She effortlessly tore the weapon out of his hand, the metal bending under her incredible grip, before giving him a strong right hook that visibly caved in his skull. The family had no time to celebrate this small victory however, as the crowd was hot on their heels.

They were almost there, just a few more meters before they were safe.

A loud crack suddenly filled the air. It was the sound of a high caliber rifle being shot in an enclosed area. It hit her father in the thigh. While his hardening was effective against most ordinary weapons and many small arms, a rifle was just too much. Screaming out in pain, Paul dropped to the floor, shifting his weight around mid-fall to shield Katja from the solid hardwood surface. 

Katja tumbled over the ground, coming to a stop right next to the steel sliding door of the safe room. Struggling to get to her feet, she was met by the big red emergency release button. When pressed the door would close and lock itself, only able to be unsealed from the inside.

More attackers flooded into the room at that moment and it became clear to the two Hypes that they would not be able to stop them, but only delay them for just long enough so as to keep their children safe.

	[color=orange]“Press it!”[/color] Floor yelled out as she sent another assailant flying while trying to get closer to Paul. [color=orange]“Press it Katja![/color]

But Katja couldn’t. She was completely paralyzed. Not by fear, but by a refusal to part with her family. She couldn’t abandon them, she [i]wouldn’t[/i] abandon them. Not again. 

The door’s safety locks suddenly unsealed themselves, and Katja looked up to see that Johanna had pressed the button in her stead. She then shoved Katja inside before the little girl could even react to what was happening. [color=orange]“Well done Johanna, make sure to take care of your little sister!”[/color] Floor said as she barreled through another pair of attackers.

With the locks disabled, the door started closing rapidly. The heavy steel object picking up momentum with every mini-second that passed. Johanna was about to run in when she tripped over one of the attackers their mother had incapacitated. The door came closer at an alarming rate. Reaching for her sister, Katja pulled as hard as she could, attempting to drag her inside the safe room with every iota of strength she possessed. 

Just as they were almost safe Katja could hear a loud thunk, followed by a desperate cry from her father. She looked up just in time to see Floor Kruger, her mother, collapse on the floor, a large pipe buried in the back of her skull. The sight of that froze her for just a moment. Just a fraction of a second.

Then the door slammed shut, accompanied by the loud clang of heavy metal banging against heavy metal. And the crunch of bones accompanied by an anguished scream.

Katja looked on in horror as she saw how Johanna’s legs ended at her knees. Anything below that had been turned to a meaty red paste by the door that was meant to protect them.

The small girl stumbled backwards. It was her fault. If only she had been stronger. Then Johanna could still walk. If only her Hypegene had awakened earlier, then she could have saved her mother and her…

A scream emanated from behind Katja. She snapped around, startled eyes wide in as she looked over to the security panel. It had a single small screen in the center, displaying the video feed of the security camera that hung outside the door. And even in this grainy footage she could make out that there was one figure on the ground, writhing in pain as he was set alight by a jubilant crowd that surrounded him.

Katja couldn’t tear her eyes away. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and yet she absolutely could not look away. The lighting in the room seemed to dim as she kept looking at the footage. The horrible things they did to her loving father, the unspeakable things they did to the corpse of her mother. Eventually the only light left was that of the small screen, showing what was happening outside.

Suddenly a new screen flickered to life that hadn’t been there a second ago. Right next to the original one, this new screen seemed to have a far higher definition as it showed the gruesome acts happening outside, but from a different angle. Another screen appeared, much like the previous one, this one however showed a close up of her father’s writhing in pain. Another screen appeared, this time showing looping footage of the death of her mother. Again another flickered to life, displaying slow motion footage of Johanna’s legs being crushed.

More screens kept appearing, each adding another detail to the calamity that transpired around Katja. Wherever she looked she saw more TVs, all with their own unique angle.

It was too much for a little teenage girl to witness something like this. She could feel something snap, just like it had all those years ago. She was overcome by emotions. By the agony of what she was witnessing. The grief of whom she had lost. The anger at her weakness. The rage at those who were responsible. And countless more that would take ages to list.

She couldn’t take it anymore. The small girl began tearing her hair out before eventually clawing at herself. She wanted it to stop, digging her nails deep into her skin so as to feel something, anything else than that internal torment. She screamed in the hopes of drowning out all the noise of the butchery that was going on in the other room. She tried to close her eyes but she couldn’t. Something was forcing her to watch, as if invisible fingers held her eyes open.

Katja couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted to take her own eyes out so she didn’t have to keep bearing witness to the horrors that transpired.

But as her nails were less than an inch away from her eyes, she felt a hand fall on her shoulder.

Instantly, all the screens went blank, all the noise was deafened. Even Johanna’s pained sobs were gone. It felt like Katja had entered a void that only consisted of her.

Her, and that hand which rested on her shoulder.

	[color=white]“Do you know why I called you in to see you, Katja?”[/color]

She snapped around instantly, but where she had expected to meet the man who uttered that phrase, she was met by a ray of light emanating from the open safe room doorway.

Katja was scared at first, thinking the door had failed and that she was about to be swarmed by the angry crowd outside. To be subjected to whatever cruelty they had inflicted upon her parents. Or worse.

But then Katja noticed something was different. The opening appeared to be [i]smaller[/i] than it was before. In fact, she figured she’d have to bend through her knees in order to fit through it.

She took a step towards the doorway. She halted immediately when a slight quake was felt when her foot touched the floor again and looked down at herself. The distinct material of the A.R. Suit clad her powerful frame once again, and Katja could sense the HZEs coursing through her veins.

She raised her right hand, staring at it as she flexed her fingers. Katja enjoyed this brief moment where she had regained her strength, only for those thoughts to be drowned out by jubilant cries coming from the open door. 

It instinctively forced her fingers to close into a tight fist. Her jaw was clenched shut by the fury that overcame her as she realized that they were still there. The corpses of her parents were still there.

That voice from earlier suddenly spoke again.

	[color=white]“Show them who you truly are.”[/color]

Katja didn’t look around this time to see where it came from. It didn’t matter to her.

At this point there was only one thing on her mind. She could feel it stir within her. That dark sensation that she'd kept hidden for so long. It crawled up her spine again. But this time she wouldn't stop it. This time she gave in to its desires.

Shaking the ground with each imposing step she took, Katja set foot out of the doorway and into that accursed room of her nightmares. She recognized the figures that stood before her, who had been hooting and cheering mere seconds ago before the first tremor could be felt. They were all just as she remembered them from her dreams. Except they were smaller.

No, not smaller. They were normal sized.

Which, to Katja, meant that they seemed puny.

The crowd of murderers seemed stunned at the sight of the colossal woman that had just appeared before them. Mouths agape and fear written on their faces. It was clear that their brains were in the process of choosing between fight or flight.

One man’s brain seemed to run a little faster than the others’, as he dashed forward towards the corpse of her mother. Reaching for the pipe that was still embedded in her skull. Raising his newfound weapon with glee, he swung straight for Katja’s jaw. It impacted with such a great force that the snapping of bones could be heard throughout the entire chamber.

Katja hadn’t budged though. She hadn’t even flinched. 

Her attacker exclaimed a pained yell as his hand lost grip of the pipe. His wrist had been fractured by the great force that had been exerted on it. He had basically just hit a solid wall with all his strength, and he paid the price for it.

Katja looked down at the man. If he had been real, the sight he was met with would have frozen his blood. As before him stood a towering behemoth. Her eyes filled with hatred, her body twitching with barely contained rage.

But her lips, through which a low rumbling growl could be heard, were curled into a cruel smile.
	
	[color=white]“Show them our wrath.”[/color]

One backhand was all it took to send the man careening into a wall and remove whatever face he had. All that was left of it was a bloody mush of wet meat and broken bones. Katja tracked her victim with morbid curiosity. Pleased with the results, she exhaled with what almost sounded as a chuckle before she turned her gaze over to the rest of the group who seemed to be gearing up to fight her. 

All Katja could do at the sight of them was grin while she almost gleefully whispered to herself.
	
	[color=#FF7514]“Rip. And. Tear.”[/color]



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