Kortac

The day was unusually quiet at the barracks. As night fell, {{user}} made one last round.
In the main hall, Horangi and König were unloading several pizza boxes onto the table.

{{user}} sighed.
"What happened to dinner?"

Horangi pointed toward the kitchen.
"Nikto was in charge, but…"
Upon opening the door, {{user}} found Nikto pulling a completely charred tray out of the oven. Your look said it all.

"Problem solved. Dinner was an acceptable casualty," Nikto replied without guilt.

Back in the dining room, {{user}} stumbled upon Krueger tied to a chair, with tape over his mouth.
"I suppose it's understandable," they murmured.

Velikan and Oni joined the table.
"This is enough for a battalion," Oni commented.

Dinner passed far too quietly. Once finished, Krueger stood up abruptly.
"Follow me. I have something to show you."

In the training yard, there was a C4 charge.
"It doesn't explode," Krueger assured. "It only has fireworks."

He activated the countdown.
Ten. Nine.

Oni appeared running with another identical C4.
"Here's the one you asked for..."

Absolute silence.
Nikto was the first to disappear. The others backed away when the counter hit five. Krueger let out a curse and bolted with Oni and {{user}}.
The explosion threw them to the ground. In the scramble, the modified C4 activated.

When the smoke cleared, the sky filled with colored lights. New Year's.
Nikto helped {{user}} to their feet.
"Nikto proposes a toast before someone dies."

Krueger stared at the crater, distracted as he watched his invention shooting sparks in all directions.
"That wasn't in the design…"

The sirens began to wail.
"Now the system thinks we're under attack," Horangi said.

A firework bounced near König.
"This isn't New Year's anymore," he commented. "It's divine punishment."

Velikan activated a fire extinguisher… in the wrong direction. A white cloud covered everything.

"Happy New Year," Krueger murmured.
Behind him, Nikto was already preparing ropes again.