The five men around him stared at him in surprise as Vasilyev quickly explained.

“The ‘Net’ units that I have has detected another such series of ‘Net’ units in the area, approximately sixteen kilometers away. In thirty seconds, they will be in direct radio range, where I can try to get a signal through. For now, just wait.”

And wait they did. forty seconds later, Vasilyev noticed that they were finally in range. He issued a quick series of commands to patch him into the radio, broadcasting on all bands. Clearing his throat, he spoke up in Russian.

“Attention any nearby units. Please respond if you hear this.” Nothing. Trying again, he repeated it in English.

Moments later, a burst of static over the radio signaled that someone had joined.

“Who the hell is this? Identify yourselves!” A voice said in English.

“This is Lieutenant Vasilyev of the Russian Federation. With whom am I speaking?” He said in English, making sure to broadcast the conversation to the rest of his squad.

“This is First Sergeant James Anderson of the United States Marines. I don’t know how the hell you got here, but it was probably right after the Trinity blast, right?”

“Correct.” Vasilyev said. “We were flying towards the center of the city when it went off. Our Mi-24 crashed, and we awoke here. Do you know the current situation?”

“We sure as hell do!” The voice responded. “We’re in a land of colorful ponies and fucking magic. We’ve been observing them for a few days now, and we’re out on a recon flight.”

“Wait, recon flight? You have a helicopter?” Vasilyev asked in surprise, causing most of the squad to perk up.

“Fuck yeah, we do! MH-60M Blackhawk, armed and mostly fueled. Where are you located?”

Vasilyev motioned for Novikov, their electronics expert, to begin forming a patch. “We are attempting to connect our ‘Net’ units with yours. Stand by.”

Moments later, a blue box with a pair of reversed triangles appeared on their HUDs. The distance was at around ten kilometers away now, down the valley and away from the castle.

“Russian Lieutenant, we see you as being inside the castle. How copy?” The voice on the radio asked.

“Rodger, American Captain. If you could provide extraction in the gardens in back, that would be most helpful.” Vasilyev said.

“Can do. We’re banking now, ETA four minutes. Just find an open area.”

The squad formed up, and together they began their trip into the gardens, looking for a flat area. They had to move into the bushes several times to avoid guards, but two minutes later they finally found an area about eighty feet in diameter. Easily big enough for the helicopter.

They marked the spot on the ‘Net’ systems for the Americans. In the meantime, Vasilyev quickly explained the situation for those who did not understand English. One minute later, they heard a faint roar in the distance, as the blue dot that was the helicopter came closer.

Suddenly, it appeared over the wall of the castle, flying towards their clearing. It turned to fit in and rapidly lowered, loud shouts ringing out from the castle as they noticed the flying machine. They could see the pilot and co-pilot, as well and four other soldiers sitting in the back. They sprinted out from the cover and ran straight for the helicopter, racing away from the castle.

All six men quickly clambered on, Vasilyev giving a thumbs-up to who he assumed was the American Sergeant, who yelled to the pilots to take off. The helicopter slowly lifted off of the ground, its engines less efficient as this high altitude.

Vasilyev could see white dots swarming from the castle, some pausing for a few moments to look up at them. Several took towards the air as the helicopter banked away, rapidly flying over the garden wall and over the city. Vasilyev could see the few ponies in the street looking up at them, probably in fear. Several, like the guards, took to the air and began chasing them. It was not long before they had about two dozen ponies following their helicopter.

“Can you lose them?” Vasilyev asked the American Sergeant, who went up to the pilot.

“Ethan, get us the hell out of here! Accelerate to 150 knots, and lose them!” He shouted to the pilot, who nodded in return.

Sokolov looked around the helicopter at the Americans, who looked at them in return. As the helicopter increased in speed, rapidly leaving the ponies behind, all of the men in the helicopter exchanged looks. The American Sergeant closed the doors of the Blackhawk, shutting out most of the noise, reducing it to a barely-audible roar.

“So,” Sokolov said in English, catching their attention. “What do we do now?”

Author's Note

Hey everyone! To kick off Act II, I am releasing two chapters at once. I am open to suggestions as to the storyline, as I have no real plans.

The Americans, and what they have:

Pilot - Ethan Henderson - Magpul PDR with Reflex Sight
Copilot - Lucas Brown - MP7 with Reflex Sight and Extended Magazines

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First Sergeant - James Anderson - HK416 with CompM4 Red Dot Sight and Foregrip, HK45 pistol with Laser Sight
Lance Corporal - Ryan Davis - M1014 with Foregrip
Private First Class - Emma Martin - HK416 with CompM4 Red Dot Sight, carries a SMAW
Private - Richard Sherman - M27 IAR with ACOG

-=-=-

Ryan Davis also carries a prototype 'Dazzler' weapon, which temporarily blinds people with a powerful flash of light (actually a real thing, search it up (the concept, not the weapon))

The entire squad also had a MH-60M 'Blackhawk' with around 80% fuel left. Equipped with two M134 Miniguns on the doors.