First Contact - Kansas City

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 3

Prologue

Prologue
"The beginning is the most
important part of the work"
Plato

Planet - Earth
Location - Crowder College Neosho, Missouri

"Now as you can see the Greeks held a deep significance for mythology as they would portray their Gods over and over again believing that if they did this they would be given Divine assistance. They would also portray many different creatures such as the Minotaur and Griffins in their art. Now there are many other equally famous creatures but can anyone tell me what the Minotaur is so famous for in mythology........ Isaac can you please tell the class."

As the student stood up he recited what he remembered on the Minotaur. "If I remember correctly, the Minotaur is most known for it's appearance in the Cretan Labyrinth. In the Greek Mythological world, it is stated that the Cretan Labyrinth was where the Minotaur would devourer fourteen Athenians sent as tribute. It would eventually be killed by Theseus: Son of Poseidon."

"Correct as usual." Just then the bell signaled the end of the class "Alright; that's enough for the day. Be sure to read chapters 5 through 7 for Monday's test. I will not go easy on you!"

As the students packed up their bags and headed out the door, the Teacher noticed the Dean of the school standing by the door saying his usual "good days" to the students. Waiting until the room cleared, the teacher walked over and greeted the Dean with an outstretched hand and a warm smile.

"Hello Sir, how have you been?" the Teacher asked.

"Just fine, just fine; thank you." The Dean replied. "I couldn't help but notice the young man in the center row. He is very... knowledgeable."

"He is I wish I had more like him." The Teacher boasted. "Isaac is one of my best students and has a taste for history like you would not believe. Just sucks up the information like a vacuum."

"I did some snooping on him and I found that he is majoring in the Alternative Energy courses we have," the Dean explained. "This is just an open thought but... do you think he could be a History Major if he wanted to?"

"Yes; I think that boy could be a History Major if he wanted to." The teacher answered. "I even asked him about it once, but he told me that he wanted to give back to the world and help it. He thinks that taking the Alternative Energy course is the best way to do that."

"I see," the Dean mumbled. "I also noticed that he is taking the NROTC passing with excellent marks."

"Really?" The Teacher recited in a somewhat baffled manner. "I knew he was smart but I didn't know that. Sir that boy will help the world in someway. I just know it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Isaac walked down the halls of Crowder University, he thought about how his last year and how it would end. He thought about his friends at the school and his girlfriend. Fortunately most of his friends lived within a hundred mile radius of his home town so that would work out. He would try to work something out with his girlfriend and hope that she would be okay with the situation. He also wondered about his time in the NROTC at the University. Being that this was his last year at Crowder; he needed to ask his instructor if he needed to ship out instantly, or if he could spend some time at home first.

As he pondered these questions a pair of small, sleek, tender hands found their way around his neck, interlocking on contact.

"Hey you" Isaac said with a smile on his face.

"Hey yourself." The petite woman replied with a smile as Isaac turned to face her. "How was class?"

"Same as usual; fun and easy" he said with a smirk.

"You know I have trouble with history" the female said with a pout. "Can you come over to help me study? Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase."

"Anna, you know if I come over to your rental we'll study anatomy instead of History." He said with a smirk.

"You know I can't help myself" she said with a grin. "Look, why don't we study at the library, quiet, peaceful and full of people."

"Sounds good. Meet you at five?"

"Sure. See you then." Anna said as she kissed his cheek and walked away.

Anna Rosalind, one of the smartest girls Isaac ever met, was Majoring in Advanced Physics at Crowder and passing with flying colors. They met in their Sophomore year at Crowder during their Calculus class. It was nothing special. At first they started talking, and that was just it; talking. But talking lead to dating and dating lead to..... well, Isaac would like to believe that is was nothing out of the ordinary.

Anna started her studies into physics at the age of Fourteen. She remembered reading a book about the properties of particles and Matter. After she read about the theoretical uses of Particles and what they held she wondered if they could be put to use; like changing an object to another with equal Density, or changing the Density of steel to make it twice as strong.

Since then she devoted almost all of her time to the understanding of matter and anything related to Physics. Isaac didn't really understand the whole concept of Physics, but he understood enough of it to get by.

Both of Anna's parents held seats in the National Science and Technology Council. As a result, she had access to the best scientific materials growing up. After her graduation, a government job would be waiting for her in Washington DC; working alongside her parents.

Isaac's next class wasn't until three so he decided to talk to his NROTC instructor about his enlistment and where he should go after graduation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Knock knock*

"Enter." A voice replied

Isaac stepped into the office of the college's NROTC instructor, a one Major William Wellesley of the Marines. The Major served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Syria.

"Hello sir" Isaac said stepping in front of the Major's desk.

"Hello son." The Major stated in a warm voice. "Please sit." He instructed. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Sir, I've been meaning to ask you something. Do I have to head to the Basic School right out of college, or can I head home for a little while to say hi to the family?"

"Of course you can son. We're not at war right now and we're in no rush so every Midshipmen is getting a little leave to say hi to the family. Heck take two weeks off we'll call when its time."

"Thank you Sir. It's just that..... my mother thinks I'm joining the Navy. I haven't told her I joined the Corps. She wants me to be safe and far away from the front lines."

"Ah yes, I understand all too well. If I were in your shoes I'd figure out a way to tell her before graduation. Because if mother isn't happy, then no one's happy."

"I hear that. Thank you for your time Sir." Isaac said extending his hand to shake the Major's.

"Not at all son, not at all." The Major said shaking his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Planet - Terra
Location - Diamond Dog Caves outside of Ponyville

Deep within the abandoned caves a pony wearing the Canterlot Royal Guard armor with purple coloring and a star on his chest connecting the armor, walked past rows of poorly fed and dressed ponies, seeing the sadness and longing for the old days in their eyes.

"Captain Armor, I have news from Appaloosa and Dodge Junction," a Private announced as he galloped his way toward Shining armor. After giving the common salute, the Private returned to the news he was to bestow upon his commanding officer. "The Buffalo Tribes have taken in as many settlers as they can, but there are still many that couldn't make the run and had to be left behind."

"I see, Thank you for the report. You're dismissed." The guard saluted and trotted to find his platoon.

Shinning Armor felt as though the whole world of Terra had fallen against him and the ponies he had sworn to protect. Three months ago after his sister's coronation, four races banded together, surrounded and invaded Equestria under the pretense that the Ponies had to much power in world now and that they wanted the status quo to be returned. But that was a lie. What they really wanted was the resources that lay deep within the land; resources that could help them fuel their war machines for further goals. They were somehow able to use the crystals under and around Equestria to fuel their machines. After some sort of disaster located around the Everfree Forest, the Princesses decided to never excavate the crystals for fear that another Everfree would be born. Already signs of magical distortion started appearing in the mining zones, little blips that would appear and then disappear.

Within one month Equestria had fallen and their leaders were captured. In the following months, the population had been forced into slave labor in their own towns, forced to live on fixed rations, twenty-four hour shifts and forced to endure treatment unbefitting of a civilized species.

Shining Armor thought about these things and more as he walked towards the war room; which consisted of nothing more than a large table with a few scattered maps of Equestria on it.

"Captain, how goes the frontier?" Asked a Lunar Guard.

"The frontier is gone and under their control," Shining Armor replied. "The settlers have retreated with the Buffalo Tribe; those that couldn't make it are still trapped in Appaloosa and Dodge Junction."

"Damn."

"language Lieutenant."

"I'm sorry sir, it's just that with everything thats happened I thought that something could go right."

"Me to Lieutenant, me to."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Shining Armor walked away from the War Room a pony wearing a brown tattered robe approached him.

"Captain, how goes the resistance?"

"Poorly. Any news from the outside world?"

"The nations I visited feel that this is Equestria's problem and wish to stay out of it; even though I told them that their countries would be most likely to fall after us. Any news on your wife and the Princesses?"

"No, and our Changeling informants in the enemy's ranks have looked through every document they could get their hoof's on."

"And the same is to be said of the Elements?"

"Yes."

"As I thought." The pony said removing the hood and revealing her face. She had a sky blue mane hiding a horn, her fur was a lighter shade of blue with light magenta eyes that shined like an amethyst crystal.

"Trixie, what do you think of this whole situation. I mean us being taken over."

After a moment of pondering the question she replied. "As you know one year ago I took over the town of Ponyville and banished your sister from ever setting hoof in town again."

"I remember" Shining Armor said an irritable look on his face and in his voice.

"Well after Twilight tricked me into removing the Alicorn Amulet I realized the wrongs I committed. I vowed to never let anypony go through mistreatment like that ever again."

"Perfect. Now all we need is some help and we will be set."

"Help which may come soon my friends." Another voice behind them said.

Shining Armor and Trixie turned around finding a pony wearing a black body suit with grey outlines, pale blue eyes, a carmine red coat and a combed black mane with a horn sticking out.

Shining Armor and Trixe just stared at this pony that just appeared out of nowhere. He had a calm smile and his eyes were half lidded with an expression that just said 'gothca'. It took Shining Armor and Trixe a whole two minutes before readying their horns and leveling them at him.

"Who are you, where did you come from?" Ordered Shining taking a defense stance leveling his horn at the silent pony.

"Not important right now," the Stallion instructed." What is important is that I believe that I have found a way to save us all from this nightmare."

"Really and what is this way?" Trixie asked sarcastically holding her stance.

"I'll tell you, both of you, but not here. Is there a more private area we could talk?" the pony asked.

".........There is a cavern that cuts off a few meters down the way. Come with us," Shining armor said taking the lead as the trio of ponies made their way down the illuminated cave.

After about twenty meters and many twists and turns later the trio walked into a relatively small cavern compared to the rest of the cave. Crystals covered the walls and celling making the room shine like the Celestia's sun.

"Alright, now explain this 'way' to save us." Shining Armor demanded of the mysterious pony.

"First off, allow me to actually introduce myself, I am Crimson Lance pleased to make your acquaintance. Second, know that I have been traveling the whole of Equestria looking for some kind of magical device some sort of weapon that could defeat our enemies. I believe that I have found a pair of devices in old abandoned ruins that are just South from Appaloosa. They appear to be from a lost race of beings that could apparently travel the stars with them. The objects appear to be able to transport matter to another location, like a larger version of the teleportation spell. With this we could -in theory- move ponies with fighting experience into the enemies home countries and take out their leadership."

Shining Armor and Trixie just stood there with their mouths slightly ajar; looking at Crimson like he was a mad pony. If he was telling the truth it could mean victory to the resistance with few battles and little casualties.

It took Shining Armor a while to wake up out of his stupor to reply to the what Crimson suggested. "Alright, we'll send a small group of ponies with you to the devices' location to study it. Once they discern it's purpose and how long it can stay open, we'll send a small team lead by me to travel through."

"Hold on, give us a minute will you." Trixie said pulling Shining Armor to the side.

"Do you really believe this pony? His story sounds to good to be true, it sounds like a trap." She said barely above a whisper

"You think I don't know that?!?. Shining Armor said matching her voice's level. "His story may sound ridicules, but it might be our only way to end this nightmare."

".............Fine" she said with reluctance "just let it be known that I don't trust him."

"Agreed."

Shining Armor and Trixie walked over to Crimson Lance and agreed to the plan. The next day a group of ten ponies left with Lance to the abandoned ruins.

As the group left the safety of the caves, Shining Armor offered a silent prayer to the disappearing group. "Celestia, where ever you are, please keep them safe."

Two Months Later

"Captain, the team sent to the ruins has sent a report saying that they have finally reached the objective. They also say that they are ready to start tests on the device and will continue to report in to keep us updated on the tests."

"Thank you Lieutenant. That will be all." Shining Armor said.

The Lieutenant saluted and left the Captain to his mind

It had taken the research team two months by hoof to reach the ruins without being detected, an odious task just for ten ponies. The next step would be to see if the devices worked or not.

Shining Armor stood behind his desk looking at a map of Equestria that showed all of the occupations of soldiers in gray and freed areas in blue. There was a lot of gray. They occupied the towns, cities, the country side and the sky. The Only area that showed little change was the frontier, but not by much. There was nothing of military importance out there and very little crystals so guarding it apparently wasn't high on their list.

Now Shining Armor had to choose who to send through the portal to attack the enemy's leadership. Just reaching the ruins would take a considerable amount of time. If they wanted to strike now they would have to leave for the research team immediately to have enough time to prepare and plan.

"Let us hope that this will be enough" Shining Armor said as he headed out to choose the strike force.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Planet - Earth
Location - Crowder College Neosho, Missouri

Isaac Temple walked along the halls of the Science Department thinking about what to do after college and about his relationship with Anna and where to go with it. Graduation was still six months off so he could afford to think about that later, but there was still one crucial piece of information that he needed to fix.

RINGGGGG RINGGGGG RINGGGGG.

"Hello?" A female voice asked through the speaker.

"Hi Mom, I need to tell you something."

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"You cannot dream yourself into a character;
you must hammer and forge yourself one"
Henry David Thoreau

Planet - Terra
Location - Diamond Dog Caves outside of Ponyville

As Shining Armor walked in silence down one of the passage ways in the cave system; he thought about how the Diamond Dogs managed to traverse the tunnels without getting lost. "Seriously, how did those Dogs manage to not get lost? It took us a week to map most of this place out, and we're still finding tunnels." he said to himself looking up at the ceiling. The caves seemed to have been made with the thought of confusing intruders; a very impressive tactic for a species that only wanted to look for jewels.

The caves had been around long before the occupation, so the ponies didn't have to do any digging or excavation. Even though the caves had been abandoned long ago, traces of their previous occupants still remained. Like the armory and store room - both places empty of course - and even the dungeon that still had a few rotted wooden stools for prisoners to sit on. It seemed like the residents left in a hurry and didn't want to leave anything of value behind. What they were running from, Shining Armor had no idea, but he had more present matters to attend to.

It had been two months since the advanced survey team made it to the ruins and began their study into the artifacts there where he hoped they would work as Crimson Lance said they would. It took one month to reach and start the study into them, it took another month for all of the data to return to him.

Right now Shining Armor was heading to ready himself for the long journey to the ruins where the ponies would finally strike back at their enemy. He hoped that the ponies he had chosen would be able to handle the numerous enemy forces in the enemy homeland. This was easier said than done. Equestria was a relatively peaceful nation with the last major disturbance being Queen Chrysalis's attack on Canterlot. A shudder crawled along Shining Armor's spine as he recalled the hated memory, but thanks to Princess Cadence (now his wife) and himself, they were able to - literally - throw the Changelings out of Canterlot. The Changelings that weren't sent flying into the wild blue yonder explained to the Princesses that the only reason that they had attacked Canterlot was because their hive had grown to large and they were desperate for food. Initially attacking Canterlot was a last resort. But as the times grew harder and harder the attack became the only way they could sustain their growing numbers. Officially the Princesses still considered them a threat; unofficially they created what would become the Shadows of Equestria. A spy ring created to keep watch of potential threats to Equestria.

However, now that he thought about it, the only real military force Equestria had was the Wonderbolts, an air show group that only served as deterrent for a little while. However, after they failed miserably to stop a rampaging dragon in Ponyville, their facaded started to fall apart until they could no longer be counted as a military unit. They still put on air shows and the like, but their fighting prowess was no more. During the beginning of the war they had little victories and many of them very costly. Most of them had been killed or taken prisoner and were most likely in a Prisoner of War camp far away from Equestria at this point. The only real defense Equestria had was the Elements of Harmony, but after the users of the Elements were captured and sent to Celestia noes where they were all but useless. The last that anyone heard of them was that they were being transported around the country to keep them from being freed.

Even the Royal Guard, the ones tasked with protecting the monarchy, fared no better. They had fought bravely and were able to save some ponies. But in the end they fell, just like the Wonderbolts. Granted the Lunar Guards and Crystal Guards held their ground the longest since they were more combat intuitive than the Solar Guard, they lost many and had been forced into a corner with no other option but to surrender or die.

Just a month after Equestria fell, the Crystal Empire (now with no defense of it's own) fell and the civilian population was once again thrown into subjugation. Being a Puppet State of Equestria the Crystal Empire saw it's own share of destruction and imprisonment. But since the Empire held more magic crystals in the land than Equestria, they became a target for more excavation.

"I suppose I'll just have to wing it on this one and hope for the best." Shining Armor thought as he trotted slowly to the makeshift barracks, to prepare for the long trek ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Planet - Earth
Location - Unknown

"Tom, I need you to take Sergei and Hernandez on the right and keep these bastards from flanking us. Sergeant, you take Chris and Jung to the left! Smith, you stay with me." A male shouted as an explosion rocked the ground sending dirt everywhere and leaving a small crater. "Rodriguez hows that radio coming?" He shouted firing his rifle into the oncoming threat.

"Not good Lieutenant, the transmitter's fried. I'm not sure I can fix it." The female replied over the sounds of gunfire and explosions. "I could try and salvage some parts from the chinook, see if anything still works."

"Do it now." The Lieutenant shouted tossing a hand grenade over the low and the hastily constructed wall of cadavers from previous attempts at a charge.

The female jumped up and disappeared into the downed heavy lift helicopter. The situation was deteriorating faster than a crash at a NASCAR race. The Lieutenant didn't have time for a broken radio what with almost being surrounded and running out of ammunition. There just seemed no end to what was shooting at them. Silhouettes danced in the distance making it near impossible to score a killing blow. Most of them looked like they were flying over the trees making it even more impossible and annoying to shoot them.

"Damn it if we don't get some close air support on these guys we're all gonna die." The Lieutenant shouted taking cover behind the Chinook. "Doc hows my pilot?"

"Still unconscious sir."

"And our guest?"

"Still in a coma." The squad doctor said with a little sarcasm. "It's not gonna wake up the first time you asked me and it's not gonna wake up thirty minutes after you asked me sir." The doctor responded clearly tired of answering the same question over and over again.

"Just let me know when CRAZY is awake."

"Sir I think I have it." Yelled Rodriguez.

"Great. Plug it in and get us some hel-"

"ISAAC LOOK OUT!" Someone on the right yelled straining to be heard over the firefight.

Just as the words left the screamer's mouth an explosion threw the Lieutenant off his feet forcing him to the ground. Just before the world turned into white he could have sworn he saw the flutter of a large creature just before losing consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac Temple bolted upright in his bed, sweat rolling down his face and drenching his body making his shirt stick to the rapid rising and falling beat of his chest. The shaking human checked all over himself making sure that he wasn't dreaming anymore and to see if he was missing anything. Fortunately all body parts were accounted for and a cool breeze turned freezing thanks to his sweat soaked clothes made sure that he was awake.

"That was by far the weirdest dream I've had in a long time." Isaac thought out load, turning to look out the window at the College campus. "But if that was a dream; why did it feel so real?" The worried college student thought, thinking about the dream that refused to leave his mind.

Location - Crowder College, Neosho Missouri

Waking up early in the morning is almost impossible for some people, but staying up all night and having to sit in a large room that was meant for two hundred people makes you feel like there are two hundred jackhammers thumping away at your head. This is not the best way to start the day, but this was the situation Isaac now found himself in. Sitting in the cafeteria of the Midwestern College, with his head buried in his arms, trying not to jump up and shout at the bystanders around him to cease the incoherent flapping of their gums was quite possibly the hardest obstacle he ever faced. But this was not the only thought running through his head, the dream that forced him awake the night before still buzzed around in his mind. Thinking long and hard about the dream that seemed to want nothing more then to pester him until he could no longer keep operating at a reasonable capacity he finally decided to try and forget about it before his head found it's new home in his food.

The cafeteria itself was a different story. The people around him were lively, awake, and talking with their friends. They either stood or sat together talking about classes, other friends most likely still asleep, or the amazing sex they had the night before. Truthfully Isaac didn't care for the gossip of the regular student or the idiocy of the junkies taking out loud about the amazing high they had by taking so and so or the adventure with such and such. Isaac never really found himself interested in making friends with the internet stereotypes that walked the school grounds.

Ever since he could remember, people told him that he was to mature for his own age, staying out of the "dealings" that most other teenagers found themselves in and finding the adults more interesting. Though he would find himself making like minded friends in high school, most of them would leave for colleges out of state and would lose contact with him. To compensate for this, he would talk with the adults about their past, the adventures and experiences of the Greatest Generation and the rebellious hippies of the 60's and 70's. It was one thing to read the past from a book, but to actually hear it from the source was a different matter altogether.

Just as he was about to leave a lunch try slammed down next to him making Isaac jump a little before a hand slapped on his back forcing him to remain in his seat.

"So......... Thought that you could leave before I arrived, didn't ya?"

"Jacob, you know that I would never leave you on your own for fear of what would happen." Isaac replied with a half smile. "Who knows what would happen if your hyperactivness found other forms of entertainment." Isaac said looking at Jacob's plate of cereal, breakfast cakes, and milk.

"Hey at least I have fun and make people laugh."

"Yes. Still remember what happened last time you couldn't find something to do?" Isaac asked looking at Jacob with sleepy eyes.

"Yeah, that was the time when I turned all of those appliances around my dorm intofriendsandtalkedinallthosedifferentaccentsandI...."

"Oh boy, here he goes" Isaac thought tuning out Jacob so that he wouldn't turn insane from his incoherent ramblings. Whenever he started on one of these, he could go for minutes without stopping, sometimes hours. His lack of sleep must be affecting him more then he thought if he managed to allow Jacob to have a conversation with himself.

Jacob was one of the first people Isaac met at Crowder, if you could call saying hi then have someone gasp at you and runaway meeting someone. Even after that, they still became friends at the Freshman welcoming party where he challenged Isaac to a drinking contest. Long story short there was no winner, but a lot of puke. Isaac always thought that somewhere out in the universe there was someone just like him wondering if meeting and becoming friends with a hyperactive nut was the right decision.

If Isaac didn't stop him soon he would never get a word in and have an actual conversation with his hyperactive friend.

"AndthentherewasthattimeduringthathugestomthatIthoughtthatIcould..."

"Jacob."

"Huh?"

"Stop, please."

"Ok."

That was another ability of Jacob's, he either couldn't or wouldn't get angry no matter what happened. He was one of the oddest people Isaac would most likely ever meet.

"So anyway, why do you look like you went through the ringer? Fun night with Anna?" He asked nudging Isaac's shoulder with his elbow; a head splitting smile stuck on his face.

"Unfortunately no, and even if I did, I would never tell anyone for fear of what Anna might do," he said with a shudder. "That woman is as scary and crazy as they come, but damn if she isn't smart and sexy. That and she's devoted a lot of her time to studying for a huge test today so I can't see her. "

"Oh, so what did happen?"

"Weird dream," Isaac replied as if that explained everything.

"Come on man, you've got to give me more details then that. I need a story. A beginning, middle, and end." Jacob said emphasizing each word by chopping his hand on the table like he was cutting up bread.

"Fine. You know those dreams that you think is real and what ever you do in them it feels like you're awake?"

"Sure, precognition right? I've had those before." Jacob said leaning on his elbow, interested in what his friend had to say.

"Well.............. It was one of those, which is really weird, because I haven't had one in years." Isaac said staring out the window.

"Well, what was it about?" Jacob asked scrunching his eyebrows.

"A fight, a very dangerous one at that." Isaac said ominously. "But I'm not sure what about."

Even though he could still remember the dream Isaac couldn't figure out what it was about. Questions buzzed in his head like that one annoying fly in the room that just refused to leave out through the window it had flown in through. Such questions like, who were those people with him, who was he shooting at, and what was that thing that flew over his head?

"Did you see who you were fighting?" Jacob asked leaning in closer to his friend.

"No, I didn't. But whoever or whatever they were they put up one hell of a fight."

"Well I'm sure that whoever or whatever they were you could handle your self."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence man." Isaac said patting his friend on the back. "I just hope that the events leading up to it isn't as bad as the fight itself." He thought turning his vision back to the window as Jacob turned his attention to his sugary breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Isaac walked to the library to check out a book on precognitive dreams to help him understand just what his dream was telling him, he pulled his grandfathers wooden pipe out of his pocket and stuck the tip in his mouth. Isaac wasn't really a smoker, so all he did with the pipe was chew on the tip when he wanted to relax and think properly. Most of the time it would work and his teachers trusted him enough to not smoke in the classroom.

On his way to the library he stopped at his dorm to pick up his book bag witch held nothing more then a interactive tablet, some money, writing utensils, and paper. He was just about to leave when a knock on the door made him look up and turn around.

"Who could that be?" He thought as he took the pipe out of his mouth and walked towards the door.

Opening the door an empty hallway barren of any students or faculty welcomed him to it's confines. "I swear if this is a prank by another dumb ass freshman I'm going to kill someone." Isaac thought to himself, irritation clearly evident in his thoughts.

He was just about to close the door when he noticed a letter on the ground. "Hello, what's this?" Binding down to pick up a neatly sealed letter that had escaped his view when he opened the door. The envelope itself looked like a normal envelope, no writing, no marks, no nothing, there was nothing that said who it was from or where it came from. Curious he opened the envelope and read whatever the mystery sender wanted him to know.

Dear Isaac Temple

As you already know, the dream you experienced last night was indeed a precognitive dream that revels the future. What you may not know, is that a great cataclysm will befall your world. There will come a day that your species will cease their bickering of troubles past and join forces in a common goal. I cannot tell you when this will happen, or how it will happen. Just know that it will happen and that your country will feel their wrath first.

I wish you the best of luck.

"Well that isn't ominous." Isaac said; the sarcasm practically dripping from his mouth.

This was by far the oddest and most disturbing thing that had ever happened to Isaac this far in his life. Whoever sent this knew about the dream he had and what it was about. Unfortunately since the sender left out their name or any semblance of a name, he couldn't know who left the letter or if the even went to school here.

"This might be one of Jacob's prank's again." Isaac thought, since he was the only one that he told and Jacob was always pulling crap like this. But then he took another look at the letter and scratched that idea off. This didn't look like one of his pranks; this looked far to serious to be one of his. Besides, this was obviously a warning, but a warning for what.

"Well it's short, not very descriptive, and has a few odd moments in it so it's not very helpful." Isaac thought putting the letter into his book bag. "I'll have to take another look at you later, after I figure out what my dream was about." Isaac locked the door to his room and left for the library.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell do you mean?" Isaac said barely above a whisper while looking at a reference book on dreams.

Isaac sat in a corner of the library looking over a stack of books on everything from precognition to extrasensory perception, but none of the books had anything he was looking for. All of the books he had with him talked about the performance of dreams and how they were affected by everyday activities. But Isaac couldn't remember anything he did the day before that would affect on them.

"So what spawned you." He asked himself. Just as Isaac was about to give up and head to the internet, someone tapped him on the shoulder making him look up from his reading.

The woman that stood over Isaac wore a black skirt and suit. Her hair hung down her back and she held a tablet in her hands. He had never seen her before, but something about her gave off an air of authority.

"Mr. Temple?"

"Yes?"

"The Major would like to see you."

"Ok." He said putting the book down and stood up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Isaac stood outside the door to the Major's office he noticed two things. One, there was more security in the room than usual. Two, they were all armed. The soon-to-be Marine to be stood outside the door, eying the new guards and waiting to be called into the room.

"Ok, one of two things is on the other side of that door. One, my mom told the Major to not let me join and the guards are there incase I don't cooperate. Two, they think I'm some kind of terrorist plotting to destroy the military from the inside and they're going to arrest me when I walk through the door. I really hope it's neither." He thought letting his imagination get the better of him.

Just as he was about to imagine another situation the woman from before waved him in. "Well, better find out what they want."

As he walked into the Major's office, he noticed a new development. A man of about fifty or sixty sitting to the side of the Major's desk wearing a blue button down shirt with a navy blue tie and black dress slacks with a balding head of hair. He had an air about him as though he commanded respect and attention.

As Isaac walked up to the Major, he saluted he as the balding man turned to face him, eying him as though he was looking over a new car.

"Sir, I heard that you wanted to see me." Isaac said looking at the wall behind the Major.

"Yes that's right son. Except I'm not the one that wanted to see you," the Major said motioning to the man in the chair. "He is."

"Hello son." The man said standing up from the chair. "I'm Major General Joe Holiday, I command the 1st Marine Division. I'm here to see the college's MARET program to see if it would be helpful to the Corps. I stopped by the Major's to say hello and he wanted me to meet you, so he showed me your grades and scores and after careful consideration we think that you are more than qualified to be with the First."

"Sir, thank you, but could you elaborate" Isaac said facing the General and saluting.

"Of course but you can skip the formalities. Right now I'm here to see you and ask you a question."

"Yes sir, what would you like to ask me?"

"First off, your grades in the NROTC are the highest in the whole class and thats saying a lot. Second your grandfather and I served in Vietnam where we became best friends and almost like brothers. He saved my ass more times than I care to count and if you are anything like you grandfather then I think you would be perfect for the First."

Isaac looked down at his figure, at the jeans, shirt and shoes that did not fit the scene at all. "........ I am really underdressed.

The Major and General shared a chuckle at Isaac's expense and just waved off the matter. "Son, if I worried about what my personal wore instead of what they did, I would never get anything done." The General said dispelling Isaac's fear.

"Thank you sir, that's far more reassuring. Anyway my grandfather talked about you greatly sir. It's nice to finally meet you; I just wish I had my uniform on." Isaac said extending his hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you too son and as I said don't worry about the uniform." The General shaking his hand. "Now I have to ask you, would you like to become a Lieutenant for the 1st Marines?" He asked emphasizing his point by pointing Isaac in the chest making him sway back a little.

Isaac's mouth and brain thought that right now would be the perfect time to fail him; so the only thing he could do was to move his mouth without making the necessary sounds to answer the General. After several seconds of looking like a complete fool, his brain restarted and he could finally respond to the General's question.

"Sir, I would love to." Isaac said barely containing his giddiness.

"Of course you'll have to wait until you complete Basic School, but after that I can place you in the 1st with a little string pulling." The General said pinching his middle fingers with his thumbs and pulling them apart like he was adding torque to a string.

"That's fine sir, whatever it takes. I'm a patient man." Isaac said extending his hand, a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Well alright son, see you after Basic." The general said taking Isaac's hand and shaking it vigorously.

With that the General said goodbye to the Major and walked out the door motioning the guards and the woman to follow. Isaac couldn't move for the next several seconds taking the time to process what just happened to him. He would be joining the 1st, the oldest of the Marine devisions and arguably the most famous of all the divisions. He would be joining them! This was enough to kick the dream he had the previous night and the letter he received this morning out of his mind.

"Well sir, thank you for calling me in." Isaac said turning to the Major.

"You are more then welcome son." The Major said as Isaac walked out the door, a small spring in his step.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Isaac left the Major's office he headed to his next classes which lasted until 7:00 at night, so all he had left to do was to check up on Anna to make sure she was feeling all right after that huge test she took today. As he walked to her room, a chill crawled up his spine, never a good sign.

As he reached Anna's door, he noticed a distinct late of anyone walking in the hallway, when it would normally be full of people talking, smoking, and/or sharing bodily fluids through their mouths. He also noticed a smell emanating from her door.

"What could that god awful smell be? I hope she didn't kill someone in there." Isaac thought as he reached for the door knob. "Maybe this is a sign to not open the door." He thought stoping his hand inches from the handle.

"Aw fuck it." He said grabbing the handle and opening the door. As soon as the he did the smell of coffee grinds, rotten food, sweat, and many other smells that he couldn't classify came wafting out of the room. "She must have locked herself in here until the test." Isaac thought pulling his shirt over his nose to try and keep the smell of week old pizza and banana peels out of it.

As the intrepid young man stepped into the odious dumping ground that had become Anna's room, he turned on the light revealing the room for what had become of it. Clothes, food, trash, and other objects littered the room turning the once livable area into a toxic quagmire of litter and rotten food.

"I think I liked it better with the lights off." he thought cringing his face at the smell of what could only be described as death.

Desperately searching for a window to release the smell that was threatening to choke him out, Isaac needed to walk around a mound of dirty clothes, dishes, and trash that had somehow pilled up to reach the other side of the room where the window lay with fresh air beyond it. When he made his way around the wasteland of trash and other articles of refuse that hindered his progress, he threw open the window in an attempt to fumigate the room.

"Jesus. Anna, are you in here!" Isaac shouted hoping that she wasn't buried under the mound of garbage in her room.

"Anna, are you in here?" He shouted again hoping to hear a response.

"Over here." A feminine voice replied from the bedroom. "I'm just sleeping."

"You scared the crap out of me," Isaac said walking over to the bedroom which was in far better condition than the rest of the room. "You could have left the window open to keep the smell out."

"Mmphh," she said with her head buried into a pillow.

As Isaac walked into her bedroom he noticed that the floor was clean, there was no grim on the walls or ceiling, the lamp on her desk side bed was on, and there were scented candles on almost every surface giving off the aroma of pine, berries, sandalwood, and a kaleidoscope of other smells giving the room the feeling of being in a candle shop.

"You know you could try and keep your room clean when you do a lock-in." Isaac said sitting down next to Anna.

"And you should stop being good at history, but that's not going to happen." She retorted lifting her head out of the pillow.

"....Soooo, how did the test go?" He asked looking down at Anna.

"Mmphh"

"That bad huh?"

"No, the test went really well, I'm just tired." She said turning her head to speak.

"Well you did lock yourself in your room for a whole week to study; and only that." Isaac said looking out into the main room.

"Anna, look.......... school is letting out in a few months and I was wondering if you'd like to come up and meet my parents?" He asked her rubbing her back to relieve some of her stress.

"But I've already meet your parents." She said starting to sit up.

"You've met them on Skype, that's not the same. I mean actually meet them in person." He said turning to look at her. "Why don't you come up to Kansas City, stay a few days and meet them, they're very nice people."

"You know I'd like to, but I'm heading out to D.C. after graduation." She said to her dejected looking boyfriend.

"Hey, you have two weeks off before you head out to Basic School right? Well why don't I come up the last two days before you leave and I can meet them then, ok?" She said grabbing his arm to pull herself in closer.

"....Fine, but you are going to meet them; no two ways about it." He said emphasizing his point by looking her in the eyes.

"Deal. Now, since it's Friday maybe we should clean my room," she said standing up and walking over to the door.

"Yeah maybe we should." He said looking past her and moving to the front edge of the bed.

"Or since I've locked myself in here for seven days to study; we could do something else." She said moving her hand towards the door knob.

"Oh? Well what did you have in mi," but before he could finish his sentence Anna had closed the door turned off the light switch and jumped him causing them both to fall on to the bed.

"I've been locked in this room for seven days what do you think." She whispered in his ear.

"Well, what did you have in mind?" Isaac said looking at her through bedroom eyes.

"Well I was thinking that we would try the usual. you know keep it nice and sweet." She said taking off her top shirt revealing her perfectly smooth, tender, blemish free body that looked to hold no flaws.

"Right, nice and sweet," Isaac said flicking the lamp off, throwing them into total darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Planet - Terra
Location - Diamond Dog caves outside of Ponyville

Deep underground within the abandoned caves of the Diamond Dogs, twenty ponies; a mix of Earth, Pegasi, and Unicorns from the Solar, Lunar, and Crystal guards, checked weapons and packed saddle bags for the march to the ruins.

"Trixie, we talked about this, you need to stay here and make sure nothing happens to our command post." Shining Armor said while he loaded his saddle bag with food, water, and other such things needed for the desert march.

"Shining Armor you know that I am one of the best fighters in the resistance and I have survival training from the Buffalo tribes from where you are going; you need me." Trixie said stamping her hoof down for exclamation.

As Shining Armor trotted to his armor, the persistent mare followed him, intent on making him see reason. "Yes, I know that, just as I know how you got over talking about yourself in third person." he said inspecting a sword before attaching it to his back. "I also want you here in case something happens to me and I can't make it back. The resistance still needs a leader and you are the only one capable enough to fill that role."

"It's been two months and the research team still hasn't figured out how the artifacts operate. I just think we're betting too much on something that might not even work." Trixie said as she followed him trying to persuade him to not go on a one in a million chance.

"Tirxie, look.......... This is possibly the only chance we are going to have at striking a fatal blow at them. We can't keep fighting like this. The ponies here have never seen combat and seventy percent of the guards here haven't seen actual combat either." Shining Armor said as he walked to the door the lead to the outside.

Trixie looked at Shining Armor for a full three minutes before sighing and dipping her head below her shoulders in defeat. "I suppose you were never really going to change your mind about this," she said looking back up at the armored stallion." You're just as stubborn as your sister."

"Trust me, you've seen nothing yet." The older colt said before walking out the door followed by a mix of twenty armored ponies.

As Trixie stood still staring out the only door that lead to the secret exit to the surface, she continued to worry if this was the right option; if sending over half of their combat effective ponies and capable leader to what might be a death trap would be the right idea.

"I hope you're right." She said before closing the door with her magic and walking away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five Months Later

Planet - Earth
Location - Crowder College

"Graduation, a time when you think your learning curve is over. When you think you know every thing you could possibly know and that you will never learn anything ever again. Well, I'm afraid that you; are wrong. Life is a learning experience; there will never be a point in which you will know everything. You think you know everything in the subject that you studied, that you have mastered a working craft that will last you throughout the rest of your life. But let me tell you that you will never fully understand it. For there are new discoveries being made every day which you did not know existed until they stare at you, and you will think "how did I never know this was here?" Well, life is like a granite slab, you have to keep chipping away at parts until you reach your sculpture. But even then you will find little notches, little errors and discrepancies in your statue that you will have to chip away and remove until you think everything is perfect. For you see you will continue to discover new theories, new ideas and new opportunities that will show you more than you ever knew existed and you will meet them head on and continue to master them and shape your own way in the world."

As the Dean of the college finished his little speech and walked off the to join the other staff members, the students began to line up at the end of the stage to receive their diplomas; their keys to the world. The graduates all wore ecstatic looking faces with black robes that hung low to the ground covering their feet and their mortarboard caps sitting squarely on their heads. All of them ready to take on the world and whatever it decided to throw at them.

Near the right edge of the stage, Isaac stood with a line of other graduates ready to receive his diploma and ready to go out in to the world and make it a better place for his children and his children's children, ready to throw his all into the storm and change the world. But even for this Twenty-Six year old, he had no idea how much the world was going to change in the coming weeks. For he would be right in the thick of some of the worst fighting the United States has seen in the last decade and one of the ultimate questions that has puzzled man since he first set foot on the moon will be answered. Are we alone in the universe?

Chapter 2

Chapter 2
"In every conceivable manner,
the family is link to our past, bridge to our future."
Alex Haley

Planet - Earth
Location - Joplin Missouri
Time - 12:00 AM

Now driving at night is truthfully a bad idea and driving with no destination in mind is even worse. But, if you have a rough idea of where you are going, you can map out a route to take. This was the unfortunate position that Isaac now found himself in. Leaving just after the graduation party, he decided to make up for lost time and just drive till he reached Kansas City. Now -as with any ill thought idea- this was a bad idea for the soul reason that it would take three-and-a-half hours to reach his home. So for the sake of everyone's sanity, and sleep, he decided to head to Joplin Missouri where he could find a hotel, sleep and head out in the morning.

As the now Second Lieutenant drove along the highway he thought about stopping at his grandparents house before finding a hotel for the night. "I'll stop for a minute, say hello and find a hotel."

With that he drove into the small Midwestern town to say hello to old relatives and to find a hotel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Isaac pulled into his grandparent's driveway he could tell that nothing had changed since the last time he came to visit. The house itself was a two story Virginia style house. Completely made of brick and mortar, a koi pond made it's home in the front yard, surrounded by cat tails and was covered with lily pads and lotus flowers floating along the surface of the water.

As he stepped out of the car he was greeted before he could even reach the door. "Howdy Isaac, what took you so long?" Asked the sturdy old man.

"Grandpa? How did you know is was coming? I didn't even call you." The baffled Marine said to the elderly man standing in the doorway.

"Simple," the gruff man replied. "Your graduation was today and as always there's a party. You stayed until you thought necessary and you left at around eleven. You thought that you could make a drive home at night, but then you thought that your parents would be asleep when you arrived home so you decided to come here say hello, but since your too humble to stay the night you thought you'd find a hotel so you wouldn't bother us."

When he had finished, all Isaac could do was stand there, mouth open, and gawk at how his thought process had been so meticulously described in great detail on what he was planing to do.

"How? How in the wide world of god did you figure all of that out?" The perplexed Marine asked.

"Son, I know you remember you spent more time here than you did in the town." The old man stated with mock pride. "Besides, you know we aren't going to let you stay at a hotel so I don't know why you thought to look for one."

"I'm humble, remember." He said in a halfhearted tone. "So can I come in?"

"Of course, just leave your stuff in your car and come on in." He said waving Isaac inside the cozy confines of the elderly man's home.

As Isaac locked the doors of the car he walked into the olden couple's home where he was welcomed with the smell of Lilac, Orchids and apples. As he stepped into the foyer he noticed the pictures lining the walls; pictures from when his Grandfather served in Vietnam, his mother as a child playing with her brother, pictures of him being born, and the most recent when he Graduated with his NROTC class at Crowder.

"Isaac, It's so good to see you." An elderly woman said walking up and kissing him on the cheek.

"It's good to see you to Grandma. I thought you'd be in bed by now?" He asked.

"Ohhh, well we figured you would come by so I stayed up to say hello. I'll have a nice breakfast for you in the morning." She said as she walked away to bed.

"Right, thanks. Good night Grandma." Isaac yelled after her.

"Good night honey." She responded.

"Anyway, I see you've added some new pictures to the wall." Isaac said turning and pointing to the framed photo of his relatives in South Korea. They were standing in front of the War Memorial of Korea with the museum in the background and the Statue of Brothers to the left of them. "I didn't know you went to South Korea. When did you go?"

"Oh, that was last year when we went. Since I joined the Marine's I thought it would be nice to pay my respects." The elderly man said, his eyes looking at something Isaac couldn't see.

"Did you see it? The DMZ I mean." Isaac asked his elder that was looking beyond the picture and it's reflective frame.

"Huh. Oh yeah we saw it. Despite what you hear it's actually pretty peaceful. Played the golf course there." He said with a smirk.

"Really. How was it?"

"Lets just say you don't want to retrieve your balls." His Grandfather said, chuckling as he walked into the kitchen. "Well, you can stay in the guest room for the night then you can eat and leave when you want."

"Right, see you in the morning." Isaac said closing the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Aviation Weather Center, Kansas City

"Sir, it's happening again." A weather Monitor said waving his overseer over to him.

A man standing on a raised platform turned his attention to the operator's station and started walking down to the man. "What?!? Is this the third time this week?"

"Actually, the forth time sir, and it's always in the same place; it never changes in size or density, it just hangs there." The operator said circling the area of distortion with his index finger. "There appears to be some electromagnetic disturbances around the anomaly thats interfering with my instruments so I can't get a good lock on it. I'll try to filter out the disturbances to grab a positive i.d. but no promises."

As the Weather Monitor tuned his instruments to remove the disturbance surrounding the anomaly, his screen went blank and then the whole room went dark save for a few emergency lights and the exit signs.

The Overseer grabbed a flashlight from one of the emergency compartments in the wall and flicked it on. "Is everyone all right?" He asked moving the flashlight around the room making sure no one was hurt.

Fortunately no one seemed to be hurt and the only damages were to the computer monitors.

"Did we do that?" Someone near the back asked.

"I don't think so. If we did someone's going to have to tell us how we did it."

Another Monitor walked over to the windows to let in fresh air since the air conditioner went out. "Uh Sir, I don't think we caused that."

"What makes you say that?"

The Monitor just pointed out the window in the the pitch black of the night as the Overseer walked over to him.

"What the hell?" The Overseer was looking out into the expanse of darkness that covered Kansas City and the surrounding area. The entire city was pitch black, not just the station. No light could be seen from a stop light or a window or a large building in the city. The only sources of light came from the automobiles that drove up and down the highway. The scene looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse.

"Jesus, what did all this?" The Overseer asked looking at the morbid scene in front of him.

"I don't know I just hope th-" before the operator could finish his sentence the light in the city came back on and in a crescendo effect the light to the surrounding area returned.

"Well, at least we won't be in the dark."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Morning

Planet - Terra
Location - Diamond Dog caves, War Room

As two lone ponies stood around the only table in the War Room of the resistance, the silence between the two could only be disturbed by a pin dropping. Before the silence could take hold of the Lieutenant, he decided to confront the only remaining superior in the resistance.

"Mam, it's been five months and we still haven't heard anything from either the research team or the incursion team. We have to assume the worst, even if we don't like it."

"You think I do not know that Lieutenant!" Trixie snapped at him. "Do you think I wanted to become leader like this, to take power because the only pony that could lead us is now Celestia knows where along with most of our best fighters?"

"No Mam, it's just that we can't let ourselves be overcome with self-pity. Captain Armor would want us to fight on, to never give up even if things went to Tartarus." The Lieutenant said standing up straight.

"What would you have me do? Would you like for me to transfer command to the pony that's seen the most combat, or would you like to take charge?" Trixie asked him apprehension tugging at her mind.

This set the Lieutenant off. He trotted up to within an inch Trixie's face with the most insufferable look on his face she had ever seen. "Mam, stow that talk right now! Your stallions are awaiting orders. Now you can go left or you can go right, I don't give a damn, just make a decision."

Not wanting to look him in the eyes Trixie turned her head to the round table in the center of the room. A map rested on the center showing the positions of enemy soldiers in Equestria and the supply routes on them that allowed them to stay.

"Mam?"

After a brief minute of contemplating his words Trixie turned to face the Lieutenant, renewed vigor dominating her facial expressions. "Lieutenant, you are right. I can't just sit here and wonder what might have been; what's done is done and nothing can change that. So, as my first order, I need you to collect any-and-all ponies willing to fight and any that have survival experience to help train any new recruits. We cannot face the enemy with only a hoof-full of ponies. Also, have the Shadows gather as much information as they can, I want to know where the Elements, Shining Armor, and the Princesses are, now. For now, we will wait and bide our time, no need to throw are selves into the dragon's mouth."

As Trixie finished giving him his orders, the Lieutenant he couldn't help but smile at how a mare on the verge of collapse suddenly overcame her fear and started to take command.

"Lieutenant, wipe that smile off your face, we have work to do." Trixie said as she walked out of the war room to converse with the other officers.

"Yes Mam!" He said as he trotted off to fill her no doubt tall order.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Planet - Earth
Location - 20 miles out of Kansas City

Aa Isaac drove up I-49 he tuned the radio to the city's Classic Rock channel in hopes of listening to music from his parent's age. The music drowned out any-and-all thoughts from his head leaving only the thoughts of the road and breathing in his head. But there was one thought that refused to leave him alone and the cause was sitting in the passenger seat next to him. His Grandfather, had deemed it necessary to give him his .32 caliber revolver; the one that he had carried with him in Vietnam.

The conversation still stood in his mind, refusing to give in to the music.

Flashback

"Grandpa, you've had this pistol since Nam, why would you give something so memorable to me?" Isaac asked his grandfather through his car's open window.

"Because, through our family tree, it's customary that 'if a grandson or daughter goes into the service, the elders should leave a piece of themselves to the grandchild to keep watch over them and to guild them.' This pistol was given to me by my father when I joined the Marines and now I want you to have it. I've already filled out the paper work to file it under your name so all you have to do is take it." Isaac's Grandfather said handing him the gun case through the car window.

With much hesitation and reluctance Isaac reached out and took the case with him. "Well, I guess tradition dictates my course of action." He said putting the case in the passenger side seat.

End Flashback

Turning his attention back to the highway he noticed that Kansas City South was coming into view.

Kansas City, Missouri had a long history in the United States from being a major transportation hub during the First World War to being a huge contributor to the jazz and Blues age. The food is nothing to laugh at ether, the city is famous for it's barbecue; known to be the best in the country by some. And with museums like the Nelson Atkins Art Museum, they weren't lacking in culture either. Being a major contributor during the Great War, the World War One memorial is located right across from the train station. being placed right, smack-dab in the center of the country, the only amazingly bad things that happened out here would be a major football team losing to the Kansas City Chiefs (believe me, it's happened and when it did the ground froze over, most likely from something else from freezing over) and that's only second to the Royals.

Seeing as how he only had two weeks to relax before being sent out to Basic School, Isaac wanted to see everything again. He wanted to visit the Museums and the Stadiums and the memorials all over again before heading out. He also thought about stopping by Truman's Library in Independence seeing as how he hadn't been there in almost sixteen years. His memories on the place seemed a bit fuzzy; but first, a quick jaunt over to his parents' house.

Being a native born Missourian and raised in the city, the graduate (even after being gone for almost six years) had no trouble finding his way around the city and back to his parents' house. Their home was located just on the outskirts of the city, a twenty minute drive past North Kansas City.

"Lets see, if they haven't moved in the last few years they should beeee...... here" Isaac said. His parents made a promise to themselves after their first move in 20XX. After all the hassle of boxing up, they said that they would never wait Sixteen years to move again. Fortunately, they hadn't and he pulled into the driveway. Isaac walked up to the front door where he didn't even have the chance to knock before it opened.

"Isaac, so good to see you" Said the woman.

"Hi mom" he replied.

"How have you been? Was the trip long? Did you get enough to eat?" As the woman continued to pelt Isaac with question after question he couldn't help but to reminisce in the memories of her always worrying about him and her always doing the best she could do as a mother.

"Yes Mom everything is fine with me and no the trip wasn't long at all. I actually need to talk with you and dad about something. Speaking of which where is he?" Isaac asked, but before he could receive an answer the sounds of metalwork flowed in through the door to the garage. "Never mind."

As Isaac walked to the door leading to the garage, the sound of metal being cut in two gradually increased until he could no longer hear his own thoughts. When he entered the dimly lit room he noticed metal chips and shavings littering the floor and power tools laying in every direction imaginable. Fortunately a path had been carved through the 'leftovers' so it was easy to traverse the minefield of tools. Just as Isaac was about to tap his father on the shoulder he turned around and instead of receiving a tap on the shoulder he instead received a finger to his nose.

"Oh Jesus Christ, what the hell. Why would you go and poke me on the nose?" The old man said rubbing the soreness out of his nose.

"Sorry. I was trying to tap your shoulder, but then you turned around so don't blame me. Its not my fault that you have shit depth perception." Isaac said chastising the man standing in front of him, not an easy task seeing as how Isaac was dwarfed him by a good six inches, which is saying a lot seeing as how he stood at around six-feet, one inch.

"Oh so now you're trying to blame me is that it you little shit!?" The older man retorted poking a finger in Isaac's chest.

"NOOOOOOOooo, I'm just saying that if you'd pay more attention to your surroundings instead of fornicating with those tools of yours then maybe you wouldn't be slamming that oversized ego of yours into things all the fucking time!" Isaac replied raising his voice into a mocking tone that only furthered the rage on the older man's face.

"Well, at least my ego doesn't make me want to go and get myself killed.

"Oh don't even fucking star-"

"And another thing, when was the last time you were able to catch yourself any tail. Maybe if you didn't find the need to sneak up on people all the time then maybe you'd be able to actually grow a pair and get somewhere!!" The older man replied raising his voice to match Isaac's almost to a pitch.

"Well maybe if you didn't spend all of your time locked the God damned garage then maybe you could find some decent work where you could learn a thing or two about respect and spending time with your fucking family!!" Isaac said flailing his arms around to indicate the garage that was half a metalworking shop.

"And maybe if you'd bothered to show up more often then maybe I would find a decent job and spend more time with my family you little shit!!" The older man replied jabbing his finger into Isaac's chest making him sway back a little.

...

"Phhft, hehe, hehe, hehe... Ha ha aha ahahahahahahah."

".......... HAHAHAHHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAH."

After the briefest of moments in the heated and stupid argument that had started with a simple poke on the nose to an argument about sexual relations, and then careers, the two men, both father and son, began to laugh themselves silly until their legs could no longer support them and they fell to the floor in a heap of body parts, clutched stomaches, and uncontrollable laughter.

"Must the both of you really do this every time you meet." Isaac's mother said from the doorway, standing there through the entire scene. Seeing as this was the normal operation that happened every time Isaac and his father meet, one became accustomed to such goings-on in the family. "Really, it was bad enough when we meet for dinner after his graduation."

The moment she was talking about could only be described as 'the meeting,' arguing about each other's clothes and choice food before they started laughing and falling out of their seats gaining the attention of the entire restaurant and nearly caused them to be thrown out.

As she talked, Isaac and his father filled out of the garage and into the kitchen to cool off after the little comedic spat the both of them had. Taking a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water, Isaac slammed down the drink until only the bottom of the glass could be seen.

"So, how long will you want to stay?" His father asked leaning on the counter to rest his arms.

"Hold on, before we go into that, theres something I want to tell the both of you and you have have to keep it a secret no matter what. You promise?" Isaac asked his parents, eying the both of them, his amber eyes darting back and forth.

"Well, I don't know about your mother but I stay silent." His father said leaning back into a chair folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh hush you; I can keep a secret better than you." His mother said punching the elder gentlemen in the arm causing him to fake pain.

"Alright, if the both of you are done messing with each other." Isaac said staling for dramatic effect. "Then let me ask you this, how do you feel about adding another member to the family." Isaac said resting his head on top of his hand eyeing the shocked expressions on his parents faces.

"......Son, you didn't get a girl pregnant, did you?" As his father asked this Isaac slid (more like fell) down to the floor catching himself on the countertop making him look like a complete idiot in the process.

"WHAT? No, I mean, how did you come up with that?" Isaac asked pulling himself back up.

"Oh you did, didn't you." His mother chimed in causing him to fall back to meet his new friend, the floor.

"NO I DIDN'T GET SOME GIRL PREGNANT." Isaac said hauling himself back to his feet for hopefully the last time. "I mean how do you feel about me asking Anna to marry me?" He said, the shocked looks returning to his parents' faces, but with a new found twinkle added to their eyes.

"OH Isaac yesyesyesyes." HIs mother said running over to his side with a little spring to her step and hugging him to the point that he couldn't breathe.

"Isaac that sounds like a perfect idea, just make sure you give her a ring to remember." His father said a warm smile on his face and a lightheartedness shining from him.

"Oh now that you mention it; Isaac stay here." His mother said releasing him from the life ending hug and running to the back of the house.

She returned a few minutes later with a small black box in her hands. After she reached him she held out the box motioning for him to take it. Wondering what his mother was thinking now, he took the box from her small hands and opened the lid revealing the contents. Inside the box sat a platinum ring resting ever so carefully in the center of the box. Atop the shining metal a lone jewel perched, held in place by four metal lines that formed a semi-circle around the jewel. The jewel itself radiated with the colors of a rainbow whose brilliance was matched only by its perfect spherical shape. Suddenly, as if on cue, the sun started to dip down and a beam of light caught the ring and a collage of colors from blue to red and every color in-between danced around the room until Isaac's mother rapped her hands around the lid and closed the container, cutting the light show away from its power source.

Mouth hanging low, too stunned to move or even say anything, Isaac could only put the box back into his mothers hands and folded her fingers around it. "Mother." Isaac said looking her in the eyes locking his amber with her green. "I cannot in good conscience take this from you."

The ring in question was a Temple family heirloom and quite possibly the only one of it's kind. The ring was found in 1832, two years before Isaac's ancestors immigrated to America. The gem was found when his great great great great grandfather was working in a excavation job; apparently his pick hit solid rock and broke in two. But before he could retrieve another pick to continue, the rock split in-two revealing a rainbow covered gem the size of a small child's fist. Acting on instinct, he grabbed the gem, retrieved a new pickaxe, and returned to work.

Well to make a very long story very short, the gem was split in two and rounded out to make a ring and a necklace. However, as all families do, the family fell on hard times and in desperate need of money they sold the necklace. Having sold the necklace, they used a small portion of the money for passage to America and a new life, but the ring was kept in safe keeping and was only brought out for special occasions.

Isaac had never really seen the ring in person, but the stories told him enough of its beauty, but seeing it in person crushed all of the stories into nothing. The real deal beat an image every time.

"Isaac, use this to propose to her, back at the graduation dinner you said she was coming up the day before you deployed and if the stories you've told us are true then she will wait for you." She said flipping the box over into Isaac's hand and closing his fingers.

"I don't even know if she'll say yes yet." He said looking to the ground worry evidently showing on his face.

"Son, I remember feeling the same way when I was going to ask your mother to marry me, and I can tell you now that every male from the dawn of man till the end of time will feel the same way." Isaac's father had moved over to his opposite side and placed his hand on his shoulder giving him a knowing smile in the process. This helped to alleviate some of the pressure on Isaac.

"Thanks, both of you." Isaac said pulling the both of them in for a family hug. "For now I suppose we should leave the ring in the back and worry about that when the time comes." Isaac said looking at the box in his hands.

"Don't worry Isaac, everything will be fine." His mother said pulling him in once again for a hug now joined by his father.

...

"So. You did or did not get her pregnant?" His father asked innocently.

"OH FOR CHRIST SAKE."

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"A bend in the road is not the end
of the road... unless you fail to
make the turn"
Unknown

Planet - Earth
Location - Fort Leavenworth
Time - 10:30 PM

CRACK... As Isaac's weapon discharged the slug, leaving the muzzle at speeds fast enough to create a miniature sonic boom. Traveling faster than the speed of sound, the unfortunate Griffon caught in its path couldn't even react as it penetrated its skull leaving through the other side and spraying his compatriot in blood, bone, and brain matter. As the soaked Zebra looked at his fallen comrade wide eyed and mouth open, he didn't notice a flash of light from a second story window before he fell to the same fate.

Isaac could only guess which targets presented the bigger threat to the S.W.A.T. team on the other side of the shootout. He decided to start at his end of the line and work up through the line of Griffons and Zebras.

Two more Zebras dropped before one of the Griffons drew a blade from its belt and pole-vaulted itself over the vehicle; using the wings on its back to propel itself forward. Acting on instinct, Isaac blindly aimed for the center mass of the charging bird, firing a three round burst hitting what looked like the stomach and the left wing causing the Griffon to tumble into a nearby tree with a sickening crunch.

"He's not getting up from that." Isaac thought looking at the disheveled pile of bones and feathers. Unfortunately a Minotaur caught sight of where the shot came from and started pointing and yelling in some unintelligible language in Isaac's direction. Five rounds found a new home in its chest cavity before it dropped, to little to late though as six weapons instantly trained on Isaac's position; forcing him to take cover from the blue energy they shot.

"CHRIST," Isaac yelled ducking down and crawling away from the window. Dragging his belly along the cold tile floor, he made it to another window in the blacked-out room. "Well, stealth portion of this mission is gone." He called to Adam, switching the weapon to fully-automatic getting ready to jump up and fire until he heard the sound of doors being kicked in below him. "Oh crap," he said in a whisper moving from the window to the door. Hiding in the darkness, he motioned for Adam to stay hidden and silent until the sound of hoofs on tile reached his ears.

The sound of hoofs grew louder until they could be heard right outside the room the friends were hiding in. As the door burst open, three figures ran in, completely forgetting to check the corners of the room, a mistake that would cost them dearly. Two of the three that charged in were Zebras while the third was a Minotaur. Each one sported a metallic rifle with a darkish-green hue to them; the Zebras' weapons were strapped onto their backs with reins in their mouth and blades on the left side of their bodies balancing out the weight, while the Minotaur sported what looked more like a slender version of the Zebras'. A set of darker armor matched its fur coat to perfection while giving off a faint glow to it.

As they entered the room, the Zebras started to sniff around, walking closer to the windows as the Minotaur reached into a pocket and pulled out a flashlight from somewhere on its person.

"Time to capitalize on their mistake." Isaac thought rising to his feet. As he approached the Minotaur he stayed as close to the shadows as possible the balls of his feet touched the ground with minimal sound; his knees bent to further reduce the sound he would make. Sweat rolled off him like water the closer he crept to the towering monster. Heart pounding in his chest threatened to burst out with an unholy shriek; half sure his heart would give him away.

Practically standing on top of the Minotaur at this point, one of the Zebras chose this time to turn around, spit out its rein, and yell what could only have been a warning making the Minotaur spin around. Caught completely off guard, Isaac grabbed the stock of his weapon and slammed the butt of his rifle into the behemoth's face, forcing it to drop his flashlight clutching his face in pain. Isaac promptly brought his rifle down on the Minotaur's head, knocking the monster out cold.

Before Isaac could finish it off the other Zebra charged him, the blade on the side of its weapon ready to gut him.

Grabbing his own weapon's grip, Isaac calmly walked to meet the charging opponent with his weapon raised. Slowing down only slightly wondering what the creature in front of it was thinking; it resumed the charge ready to filet Isaac like a fish.

As the two neared each other Isaac, parried the Zebra's blade to the left of him with the barrel of his rifle. Feeling the air part for the sharp instrument, Isaac slammed the heel of his right foot into its snout; throwing it back and sending it to the ground long enough for a new round to find a home in its cranium.

While this was happening, the other Zebra finished putting the reins back into its mouth, ready to finish off what its partner started. As Isaac rushed to meet it, he slammed his weapon's stock into the Zebra's head and threw the back of his fist into the Zebra face; disorientating it long enough to get behind it, hook his right arm under its neck and hook his left arm under the left fore-leg. Hooking his right hand to his left arm, Isaac stood to his full hight and started choking the Zebra with its own weight. Struggling, the Zebra bite down on the reins in a desperate attempt to save itself caused the weapon to fire dangerously close to Isaac's head. Rounds of blue energy flew past him; the heat emanating from them singing some of his hair.

The rounds began to pepper the ceiling with holes in a haphazardly manner, threatening to bring the ceiling down on the Human and Zebra. Isaac increased the pressure to the chokehold, cutting off the blood supply to the Zebra's head. Feeling its body go limp, Isaac unceremoniously dropped it on to the floor, gripped the rifle and planted a round into its head making sure it stayed down for good.

With both Zebras down Isaac turned to finish off the Minotaur, as he did three things made themselves known. One, the Minotaur was awake. Two, his weapon was charged, and three It. Was. Pissed.

"Oh crap." Isaac stated his shoulders sagging a little.

Intending to take revenge for the death of its associates, the Minotaur aimed the rifle and placed his finger on the trigger. Before it could fire, however, Adam appeared out of nowhere with a chair in hand and brought the folded metal object down onto its back. Turning around the Minotaur backhanded Adam with enough force to demolish a brick wall. Seizing the moment, Isaac started a sprit into the adjacent room hoping to take cover behind the walls.

The Universe had other ideas though as the Minotaur brought its weapon to bear a second time. Isaac made it to the next room only to have blue energy fly at him through the walls, forcing him to the ground to keep from being roasted. Firing his own weapon, he emptied the magazine in the hope of hitting his pursuer. Unfortunately when an audible "click" went off energy was still flying through the wall, his efforts agitating the monster even more.

Ejecting the spent magazine from the weapon, Isaac attempted to reload another when the Minotaur forgo using the door and burst through the hole riddled wall, causing Isaac to cover his face from the flying pieces of wood raining down on him. Grabbing him by the collar, Isaac was thrown across the room; dropping his rifle in the process. Slamming into a table causing on the opposite side of the room, wearily standing on one knee; he took in his surroundings, stars flying past his eyes. Noticing the lights had been blown-out; he decided to wait for an opportune moment to strike the Minotaur.

Sinking into the shadows, Isaac followed the Minotaur with his eyes until it passed his hiding place. Taking the chance; Isaac started walking on the balls of his heels over to where his rifle lay.

Picking up the weapon he started creeping towards the Minotaur. Nothing but silence followed him as he raised to his full hight, pointed the barrel at the back of the Minotaur's head, and pulled the trigger.

"Click."

It was at this point the Minotaur decided to turn around, finding a stunned human standing still, its weapon pointed at it was the last thing it would expect.

Isaac began to fidget with the rifle, as the Minotaur looked on comically, when he looked at where a magazine would be. Finding none; he had stupidly forgotten to reload the weapon when he picked it up, a mistake that was now taunting him evilly. As he looked at the empty space a low laugh started off, crescendoing into a loud booming laugh. The Minotaur was laughing its head off at Isaac's failed attempt to fire the weapon.

Forgoing conventional means of killing the Minotaur Isaac jabbed the barrel into the laughing behemoth's, face throwing it off balance long enough for Isaac to -with much effort- tackle it to the ground. Stunned, the Minotaur tried to raise its weapon; unfortunately for it Isaac slammed his fist into the weapon knocking it away while he preceded to throw the back of his fist into the Minotaur's face causing stars to swim in its eyes and causing his own hand to scream out in pain as it hit the rock hard surface.

Adrenaline coursing through his body, killing of all signs of pain Isaac reached for the Glock, switched off the safety, aimed, and fired at point-blank range into the Minotaur's face causing a small splatter of blood and the stench of burnt hair to fly onto his face.

Rolling off the Minotaur's chest, his heart attempting to free itself of his chest, Adam called to him from the other room. "Isaac, you still alive?"

"Yeah. I'm still here." Isaac replied sitting up, wiping the blood off with his sleeve smearing it even further. "Hows your face?" He asked getting to his feet and walking over to where the rifle lay.

"This is positively going to leave a bruise, and I think some of my teeth are loose too." He complained as Isaac walked back into the room a noticeable limp accompanying him.

"Good to know." He said half sarcastic and half serious. Walking over to the window he noticed that the fighting had finally turned into an even brawl. The S.W.A.T. troopers and Police officers holding their ground while the Griffons and Zebras held theirs.

Just as events started looking up, a large bellowing roar let off by an all to familiar creature pierced the night air bringing the gun fight to a dead stop. Looking up Isaac noticed that the same Dragon they ran into back at the Fed Arm descended into the field hovering just above the the Griffon's side.

With one more terrible roar the large cylinders on its sides opened fire on the Humans.

Anyone standing on the other side of the concrete wall might-as-well have been standing out in the open as the six-inch concrete wall found itself riddled with holes after a few seconds of continues fire.

Looked on with terrible awe as the Dragon made short work of the wall and anyone foolish enough to stand behind it, Isaac, filled with the desperate need to save his friends, fired his rifle at full-automatic, hoping to draw the creature away from the cornered humans.

Just as the last round in his weapon fired an explosion slammed into the dragon's side causing it to give a pained roar while another hit its head sending it careening into the ground ending the murderous fire. As the Dragon ceased moving a wave of gunfire erupted from the forest that cut through the Griffon and Zebra ranks without mercy.

The fight was over as quickly as it began, Zebra and Griffon bodies littering the ground small puddles of crimson beginning to pool around them. "We're coming out!" Someone shouted as US Army and Marine soldiers ran out of the woods checking the S.W.A.T. troopers and the Griffons as they went.

Deciding now would be a good time to leave, Isaac grabbed the duffel bags and lifted Adam to his feet to walk slowly out to the parking lot.

"FREEZE MOTHER FUCKERS, HANDS IN THE AIR"

"Jesus Christ, don't shoot I've been shot at enough today." Adam yelled putting his free hand in the air.

"Hold your fire." Alton yelled. "Isaac? Damn, you two look like hell." He said walking up to Isaac and Adam.

"Yeah, had to engage three of them in hand-to-hoof?. And Adam here took a fist to his arrogant face, it was not pretty." Isaac said a slight pain in his voice as the adrenaline started to wear off. Adam forgo reprimanding Isaac about the comment on his face opting to tend to the wounded instead.

"Yeah well it wasn't pretty down here either, thanks for the help by the way." Alton said looking towards the window Isaac had fired from.

"No problem. We lose anyone?" Isaac asked walking to Alton side, staring at the crumbling wall.

"Yeah, five Police officers and three S.W.A.T. troopers, one from 1910 and two from 1920." Alton said his tone turning melancholic.

"I'm sorry." Isaac said placing his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Yeah well, we can grieve when we get the bodies buried. We have to get out of here before more of 'them' show up." He said with a low growl. "Might I ask, what's in the bags?" He said looking at the camouflaged bags.

"A little going away present." Isaac teased turning to look at the over stuffed bags. "We happened to stumble across a Fed Arm on the way over here, thought we should pick some up as a party favor." He said leaving out the part about hiding from the Dragon thinking Alton would be mad to know they survived and some of his friends didn't.

"Well, we'll have to go back before we head out don't you think?"

'fraid not son." An elderly Army soldier said walking up to the two. "Just got orders to move out. Bring only what you can carry and nothing else, and grab anything off of your dead, we'll need it for later."

"Wait, you mean I can't even take them with us? What am I supposed to do if their bodies aren't here when we come back?" Alton said confusion and irritation moving along his words.

"Orders are orders. Right now we got bigger problems then burying the dead. Just grab their gear, say a few words, and move out." With that the soldier walked off to join his squad.

"Great, just great. First we leave people back on the Highway and now this. I can't even tell their families about it. Just our luck." Alton said running a hand down his face clearly disapproving of the decision to leave his friends behind.

"Remember them for who they were and they will never die, forget them and we lose them forever." Isaac said a ghost of a smile on his face. "Just remember them and keep moving so others can remember them with you."

"... Right, just remember them. That was nice by the way, who said that?" He asked looking at Isaac.

"I did, just now." He replied, a hit of a smile painting his face. "Though cheesy, it gets the message across. I can say a few words if you'd like." Isaac offered looking over at Alton.

"No, I'll say some words and be done with it." He said, his voice displaying his sadness. "You go over and see where we're going next. Come find me later and we'll have a nice little chat about the Team's names." He said with a sad smile as he walked off to 'bury' his friends.

"You'd better keep your word on that." Isaac called after him as he walked off to find whoever was in-charge at the moment.

Walking for a few minutes Isaac noticed a group of soldiers fidgeting with a radio, most likely trying to raise someone in another squad. As he walked up to them they turned to face him, instantly cutting off their conversation. Isaac noticed that one of them was Corporal in the Army, while the other two were a Private and a Lance Corporal with the Marine Corps.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me who's in command?" Isaac asked the Marine and Army personal.

"Who want's to know?" The Corporal asked; his question sounding more like an order than an actual question.

"Second Lieutenant Isaac Temple, United States Marine Corps." He replied looking the soldier who was currently giving him the stink eye.

"Uh huh, do you have an I.D. on you to prove that, sir?" The Marine Lance Corporal asked eyeing Isaac dubiously.

Now Isaac was a patient man, but getting shot at, fighting in hand-to-hoof combat and now this started to wear on him. Annoyed and already in a hurry, he whipped out his wallet and showed them his Common Access Card, proving he was a Second Lieutenant in the Corps surprising and stunning them for a moment.

"Uh y-yes sir, the uh the Captain is this way, let me take you to him." One of the Marines said stuttering his words a little at his superior Officer.

"Thank you, oh and before I go let me give you some advice." Isaac said putting his card back into his wallet. "You don't call Mid-Westerners liars." With that Isaac followed the Marine over to a group huddled around a man who appeared to be in his early thirties.

The man was wearing an Army Combat Uniform and giving orders to those around him. He was sporting an M4 Carbine with a telescopic sight, an M9 handgun, and a handful of grenades.

Isaac dismissed the Marine and walked over to the Captain who had just sent the people around him to gather their men to head out.

"Sir, Second Lieutenant Isaac Temple reporting in." He said as the Captain turned around to acknowledge his presence.

"Hello son, welcome to the fight." He replied looking Isaac up and down. "I'm Captain Bellman, Commander of this little cavalcade of men. I assume you want to hook up with some men under you, but right now I don't have any open spots. You'll be first on my list when there are any."

"Thank you sir, um quick question. You wouldn't happen to know how this happened, would you sir?" Isaac asked motioning to the purple dome over head.

"Well, your guess is as good as my." He replied looking up at the dome. "One minute I'm in a recruiting station, the next I'm charging through some trees shooting Griffons and Zebras. Listen, I'm sure you have plenty of questions and the like, but right now we have a problem."

"What is it sir?"

"You know that radio transmission we sent out from here right? The one telling all off duty personal to meet in Fort Leavenworth."

"Yeah, that's why we came." Isaac said nodding his head toward the S.W.A.T. troopers.

"Well, to put it bluntly, we lost control of the station where the signal is being broadcasted. Unfortunately we couldn't shut off the signal so the message is still being sent out. Now if we don't retake the station and change the signal, more people are going to come here and encounter the same results that nearly killed you and your friends over there."

"I get the picture. Where is the station exactly?" Isaac asked.

"Its near the outskirts of the town, about three klicks out. It'll take us a few minutes to get the Bradley's and IFV's ready, but after that we should be good to go." The Captain said reaching for his radio. "We also have some spare gear that you could try on, its up by the main force."

"Great, thank you sir." Bellman nodded and started to speak into his radio signaling the others to move back into the tree line.

"OKAY PEOPLE WE ARE OSCER MIKE, LETS GO." The Captain shouted over the commotion of voices and people running around. As soon as the words left his mouth everyone instantly started to run to the woods; bringing along the S.W.A.T. troopers, Police officers, and Isaac. Adam had decided to stay a little longer with the medics and see if he could help out more with the heavily wounded.

When the Humans had left the only evidence that showed they where there were the dead and the spent casings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Human Main Force
Location - Unknown
Time - 2400

When they reached the Main Force Isaac was fairly impressed by the sheer size of Military and Law Enforcement personal in front of him.

"There's more people than I thought." Isaac said looking at the spread of personal in front of him, his mouth hanging a little. "How many people made it?"

"Not many. We don't have an exact count, but right now its between three-fifty and four hundred." Bellman said walking past Isaac. "Now we don't have the full picture yet so some information may be lacking, but I'll give you what we know so far. At 1800 hours a portal of some kind was opened in Kansas City, at 1820 hours they killed our electronics and set up that thing above our heads." He said pointing to the sky.

"After that; all military personal fell back to Leavenworth, we repurposed the radio station to send out a summoning message for everyone to meet at the Fort. Everything was going smoothly, we had people coming in by the truck full, IFV's and Bradley's trickled in every now-and-again. We thought that we would have enough to retake the city in a few hours, that is until we were completely trashed."

"Explain."

"Well at first it was just a scouting party, I think they were more surprised at our numbers than anything else. We took care of them pretty easily, but after about half an hour... Lets just say you've never seen someone die until they've been liquified by a Dragon." A solemn look on his face as he recalled the harrowing experience.

"Oh... Well uh, can you tell me anything their gear?"

"Yeah, seems my Sergeant is about to give a report to the other Officers on these guys. Keep in mind that these are just preliminary reports, once we get ourselves situated we'll delve into what makes these guys tick." Bellman said a malicious smile threatening to tear his face in-two.

As the two men walked up to what appeared to be the Command tent, a flurry of noise assaulted Isaac as they stepped through the flaps. Granted the tent was pretty big, however that size was outmatched by the amount of people running around with papers and handheld radios trying to find units and enemy positions.

As Isaac and Bellman walked to the back of the tent the noise somehow lessened in sound until Isaac could hear his own thoughts again. When the two of them finally reached the back of the tent four men sat at a table surrounded by Officers from different branches. Each one of the men, a Major from the four main services, motioned for everyone to find a seat either standing or kneeling. After everyone got themselves situated a Sergeant in the Army wheeled in a white board, signaling the meeting to begin.

"Sergeant, I believe everyone is here, you may begin." The Major from the Navy said motioning to the man standing by the white board.

"Yes sir." The Sergeant said placing a handful of pictures on the board. "Now as you can see there are four different types of races in their ranks. As of now we don't know if these are the only ones or if there are more we haven't seen yet." He said pointing to each blurry picture as he went down the line. "Now there are three that are recognizable to us, the Zebras, Griffons, and the Minotaurs; as for the lizards... The jury is out on that one." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"Sergeant, I think it would be best to skip the known and move right on to the unknown." Bellman said looking over at some of the disinterested men half falling asleep.

"Rigghht. Well, skipping to the interesting parts, their weapons are one of them. They seem to use a high concentration of energy to inflict severe burns either resulting in the target's death or greatly maiming them. Their weapons' focus seems to use fire or plasma in inflicting burns or to a greater degree, melt the target completely. They seem to either have the effect of torturing an individual or outright killing them. "

The Sergeant moved to the other side of the board and pick up a small crystalline object. "Their armor uses these to power a mini 'Force Field' that covers the armor in a gel like layer." He said lifting up the crystal for all to see. "It will repel smaller calibers, like handgun ammunition; to a degree, but anything larger than a Fifty will still go through them. Anything in-between will take a random amount of shots to puncture it, like say a 5.56 or a 7.62." He placed the crystal back on the board and faced the group. "Be reminded, these are just preliminary reports so we don't have the full picture yet, once we ground our roots our first priority should be to figure out how them really work and what they are doing here."

"Thank you Sergeant," the Major for the Marine's said. Nodding the Sergeant turned and walked to the side of Bellman as the Major for the Air Force walked over to the board, removing the photos he addressed the men and women gathered.

"Now, I don't have to tell you how deep we are right now. First off, we need to find a new base to rest our heads. An area has already been chosen, but as most of you know we need to shut off the broadcast coming out of the radio station. With that in mind Captain Bellman will be leading the charge. You'll have Alpha Company at your disposal Captain, choose your Officers and get them ready. We'll also leave a handful of LAV's for you to use, just bring them back in one piece."

"Yes Sir, I'll take McKenzie, Perez, and Temple." The aforementioned three stood up, singling them out from the rest of the group.

"Alright, you have ten minutes to ready your men. Good luck, Dismissed!" With that the Officers filed out of the back entrance to the tent. Bellman walked over to his Sergeant to gather everyone needed as Isaac and the other chosen officers made their way to the makeshift armory to ready themselves for the long night ahead of them.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"The Suck, Welcome to it."

Main Human Force
Location - Unknown
Time - 0010

Changing out of his civilian clothes so it took Isaac longer than he would have liked, the other Officers that walked in with him were already standing by Bellman. After changing he donned a Marine Combat Uniform and Modular Tactical Vest, he replaced his M16A3 for the standard A4 with a telescopic sight and forward grip. Grabbing 8 magazines worth of ammunition, two frag grenades, two smoke grenades, and a pair of night vision goggles he rushed out of the tent as it was being emptied and broken down for transport. He didn't expect to stay long, just long enough to retake the radio station, change the broadcast, and leave before enemy reinforcements arrived. Easy right.

As Isaac hurried to the gathering everyone around him started to dismantle the hastily constructed tents and pack them into the growing line of vehicles. Most of them were armed a fifty caliber heavy weapon while others were armed with a Mark-19 grenade launcher. Making his way through the shrinking camp he approached Captain Bellman and the other selected Officers.

"All right, listen up." Bellman shouted to the Officers and NCO's gathered around him. "As most of you know, we have been tasked with retaking the radio station in order to change the broadcast coming out of it. Now, we will be driving near the end of the convoy with the LAV's that have been provided to us. Once we reach the turnoff." He said pointing to a location on the map. "We leave the convoy and head off on our own. Once we reach the station the LAV's will park at this embankment and provide support-by-fire. McKenzie, I need you to take First Platoon to the extreme left flank and make sure none of these guys try to escape to warn their buddies."

"Yes sir."

"Perez, I need you to take Second and a machine gun team to the right and coordinate with the LAV's."

"On it."

"Temple, I need you to cut right down the middle with Third. Once the front door has been softened, you're going to kick it in."

"Aye aye, Sir."

"Good, any questions?"

"Sir, what are the rules for engagement? Are there any civilians trapped inside?" Someone near the back asked.

"As far as we know; all civilians were evacuated when we borrowed it. As for engagement, you're clear on anything that shoots at you. We are weapons free when we reach the A.O. Until then weapons tight, clear?"

"Clear Sir!"

"All right, let's go show them what happens when you piss off Americans."

A resounding collection of oorah's and hooah's responded to him as the Officers and NCO's made their way to their vehicle. As the Company climbed into their respective vehicles Isaac was directed to a HMMWV near the back of the column. Climbing into the passenger seat, the other occupants, a man and woman, responded with a quick nod before returning to staring out the open windows.

"You must be my new LT." A gruff voice said from the driver's seat. The man seemed to be in his late twenties early thirties, but it was hard to tell with the 9 o'clock shadow covering his face.

"Staff Sergeant Arthur Fernando." He greeted, extending his hand.

"Second Lieutenant Isaac Temple, nice to meet you." he said shaking the hand. Turning his head he noticed something that turned him speechless. "...Why are there two civvies in the back of my ride?" He asked turning to face the Sergeant.

"As you can guess we're kinda short on man power; so we're taking anyone that volunteers. Alpha got most of them." There was a slight distaste in the Sergeant's voice as he talked. Isaac only caught it for a moment before his face returned to a neutral, bored expression.

"So, that out of the way, who are you two?" Isaac said turning to face the occupants in the back.

"Audrey Rodriguez." The woman on the left said. She had the shorter version of the M16 family, an M4 with a forward grip and a Holographic sight on the optics rail. Strangely there seemed to be a full-auto choice on the select fire, not unusual for someone in the Midwest, but still an odd choice.

"Tony Hernandez." The one on the right said. His weapon of choice seemed to be a bolt-action Springfield rifle with just the Iron Sights.

"Nice to meet you." Isaac said ignoring the odd weapon choices for the both of them. "Is there anyone else I should know about Sergeant?" He asked turning to the Staff Sergeant.

Before Fernando could answer him the radio in the HMMWV crackled to life with Bellman's voice being the next sound they heard over the instrument. "Alpha Company we're moving out. Get ready for a fight."

"I'll fill you in on the trip down to the A.O. Sir." The Sergeant said turning the key, starting the four-wheeled machine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon enough the column of Light Armor was rolling down the pitch black road at a reasonable pace. A sever lack of Night Vision Goggles forced the HMMWV's to follow close behind the LAV's and Bradley's which turned their pace into a slow, painful, crawl. Isaac had given his pair to Fernando so he wouldn't ram the vehicle in front of them.

"Man, how much longer till we reach the radio station?" Hernandez complained from the back seat. The wait starting to take its toll on the group.

"I don't know, maybe if you stopped asking every Fifteen Goddamn minutes we would get there faster!" Fernando said, the irritation raising in his voice. "Just watch your sectors of fire and don't shoot anything without calling it."

"My sectors of what?" Hernandez asked generally confused.

"Just watch your fucking window for anything hostile!"

The brief conversation ended; silence continued until the radio returned to life.

"Alright, we're reaching the turnoff for the station. Weapons free everyone." Bellman's voice ordered over the radio.

"About God-damn time." Rodriguez said from the back, ready to be rid of the cramped vehicle.

The turnoff itself was hidden in a thick cover of trees and other assortments of foliage. The entrance was barely large enough for the LAV's to pass through forcing the column to continue in a straight line.

As they entered the dense forest the darkness consumed them, completely drowning out all visibility. There was no moon to illuminate the road, visibility dropped to zero as the convoy was forced to close the gap to where they were bumper to bumper, not an ideal condition to be in. Without NVG's the darkness spawned the Company's worst nightmares in its depths conjuring images of creatures not of this world.

"Sergeant, you got anything?" Isaac asked in a hushed voice to man on his left.

"Can't see shit Sir." Ferrando whispered back trying to keep his eyes on the vehicle in front of them.

"Why are you guys whispering?" Hernandez asked briefly taking his eyes away from his window.

"Because we don't want something to crawl up our ass and bite it. And keep your eyes back on our window I don't want to have to tell you again." The Sergeant said his irritation making a triumphant return.

"Hey, you can't give me orders, i'm not in the Army." Hernandez retorted to the now fuming Sergeant.

"Okay, first off I'm not Army I'm a Marine. Second, you ever make that mistake again I will beat the ever living crap out-of-you. And thirdly, if you die because you don't follow my orders or the LT's, make sure that Heaven has an area for us when you get there."

"Man, you got a beef with me or something?" Hernandez asked, lowering his rifle in trying to facing the Sergeant.

"Yeah I do; I got a "Problem" with untrained civvies riding around in a tin plated HMMWV wielding a high powered rifle meant for targets farther than a five hundred meters!" Ferrando accused, his irritation raising to shouting levels.

"ENOUGH," Isaac shouted to the arguing individuals. "Once we deal with the station we won't have to suffer each other anymore, so suck it up Hernandez. Same for you Sergeant."

"Yes Sir."

"Ci Sir."

"Lieutenant, who much longer till we reach the radio station?" Rodriguez asked.

"Don't know. Since we took the turnoff five minutes ago I'd assume we have around twenty more to go." Isaac replied looking off in to the darkness surrounding them. "Why?"

"It just seems odd that they didn't have the turnoff guarded is all."

"..."

"Crap." Isaac said pursing his lips.

"What's up?" Hernandez asked raising a bushy eyebrow.

"First rule of an attack, 'If your attack is going to well, it's probably a ambush'." The Sergeant said reaching for the radio.

"So, what? Just because there weren't any guards at the turnoff you think this is a trap?" He asked unbelievingly.

"Can't be to careful." Isaac replied as the Sergeant handed him the radio. "Uh, Alpha Actual this is Alpha Three Actual, how copy over."

"Go for Three Actual, over." Bellmen's voice came from over the radio.

"Just wanted to know what kind of resistance we're expecting, over."

"Nothing big, probably a hand full of Griffons and Zebras, maybe a Minotaur or two. Most likely with heavy weapons, over."

"Roger, thank you Sir, Three Actual out." Isaac placed the radio back on the receiver and relayed the information to the other passengers.

"Great, so we're just going to charge straight into a gunfight with no idea as to what we are fighting." Hernandez stated, shaking in either anger or fear, Isaac couldn't tell.

"We are soldiers, we go where we're told and hope that the Officers don't give a call that's completely FUBAR." The Sergeant said, his voice far more level than Hernandez.

"How can you just accept that? I mean, I just don't get it."

"We accept it because we can." Isaac replied, keeping a watchful eye on the woods. "We accept it because we have been trained to siege the pits of hell itself and come out with minimal burns and a few missing limbs." Isaac said half serious and half joking.

"Well thats very nice and all, but after everything thats happened today with us being shot at."

"Don't say it." Fernando said from behind the wheel.

"Run off."

"Dooonnn't say it."

"Burnt to a crisp."

"Hernandez, I swear to god, if you finish that statement I will pull this jeep over and beat the shit out of you!" Fernando threatened slowing the HMMWV down a little.

"I mean what else could go wrong? Huh?"

"You said it," Instantly Fernando started to slow the vehicle down and pull off to the side until Isaac grabbed the steering wheel to get them back on the road.

"Hernandez, stop tempting the fates." Isaac said returning his attention to his window.

"Look just because I said a phrase thats supposed to bring 'unfortunate' accidents to people, doesn't mean something will happen to u-."

before the word had even left his mouth the rear vehicle in the column exploded in a deadly ball of blue and orange fire engulfing their only exit route.

"Why do people keep doing this." Isaac complained as arcs of blue fire engulfed the convoy from both sides.

"All Alpha personal, stay in your vehicles and engage!" Bellmen's hurried voice came in over the radio before being drowned out by the automatic fire of the LAV's and the M2's opening fire.

"This is way more than just a handful!" Hernandez shouted, his Springfield firing in to the darkness.

"Lieutenant, I can't see shit!" Audrey shouted from the back, firing her M4 all the while.

"Watch for muzzle flashes and fire in their general direction!" Isaac replied firing in short bursts. "Sergeant, can you grab our Fifty!?"

"Negative Sir, kinda busy." Fernando replied forgoing his rifle in favor of his M9.

"Fine, I'll grab it." Isaac shouted placing his rifle to the side and climbing to the turret.

"Lieutenant, wait oh, GOD DAMN IT."

As Isaac climbed to the Fifty caliber rotating turret he noticed that most of the blue energy was flying off in random directions sometimes completely missing the vehicles. Some lucky shots made contact every other time, but most were missing their mark by feet.

"At least something good came out of this darkness; that or they just suck." Isaac thought, chuckling to himself a little.

Grabbing the handles of the Fifty, he pulled the slide back loading a fresh round into the chamber, as the shield on the turret began to give off the smell of burning paint.

Taking aim at the nearest flashes Isaac fired in shot controlled bursts, taking down flash after flash. Continuing to fire in to the blackness; Isaac noticed the gunners were favoring one side to fire at while completely ignoring the other, making the line uneven.

"Third Platoon, this is Three Actual." Isaac shouted into his radio. "Interchange your turrets starting with the lead, we are facing three o'clock!" Taking the time to change their firing positions the gunners of Third Platoon changed their field of fire with some facing three o'clock and others facing nine o'clock.

As the battle continued the amount of energy being hurtled at the column began to decrease in number. Still, a large amount of the deadly superheated energy remained constant, the smell of ozone beginning to fill the air.

"Sir, the Second are firing off flares!" Fernando shouted from the deck of the HMMWV.

"What?! Tell them to hold that flare, do not let them get that round off!" Isaac shouted as blue energy flew around his head.

"Why stop them? We'll finally be able to see." Hernandez asked from the backseat.

"If they fire off that flare, yes we will be able to see, but so will the guys shooting at us." Fernando answered as he tried to raise Second Platoon.

Too little, too late though as an instant later a bright red ball went into the air only to explode a second later giving off an intense red glare, illuminating the entire area. Everything went dead still, the fifties silenced themselves, the LAV's stopped firing, even the blue energy stopped going over their heads for the briefest of moments. The good thing about an all-encompassing darkness is that both sides can't see the other, the exception being the LAV's with their thermals. Now that someone had decided to fire off a flare, both sides had equal hunting grounds. Unfortunately, the Universe decided in that moment to support the Zebras and Minotaurs in the forest which had a clear target, and nothing messing with their line-of-sight.

Blue fiery Hell was unleashed on the Humans as superheated energy met with tin plates and bullets met with soft flesh and trees. Vehicle after vehicle soon fell to the continuous hail of energy, while tree after tree started to collapse from the amount of lead being shot down range.

As the last of the flares finally died out the firefight finally started to settle down as the LAV's and those with night vision mopped up the last of the stragglers.

Surveying the damage from the turret Isaac called Bellman from his radio. "Captain, this is Alpha Three Actual, the rear is secure. beginning head count of wounded, over." His only response was silence.

"Captain Bellman, I say again we are beginning a head count, over." Still nothing.

"Well crap, Sergeant I need a head count." Isaac ordered from the mount, his sight readjusting to the darkness.

"Aye Sir."

"Rodriguez, watch my ride, I'm going to check on the Captain. Hernandez, you come with me."

"Aye Sir."

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming."

Walking up the line of vehicles; other NCO's began to check on their wounded as the call for corpsmen and medics began to ring out. As they continued bodies were being covered with tarps while the wounded were pulled to the side to receive add. Isaac could not catch a good look at the ones being covered with the tarps, but the ones he did spy had burns running down their bodies with some missing parts of their face.

Suddenly Isaac's radio crackled to life, the sound of a heavy Northern drawl coming out of the receiving end. "This is Alpha One-One, situation is as follows. Second Lieutenant Perez is dead, also First Lieutenant Makenzie is unconscious along with Captain Bellman. Is the Officer of Third still up?"

Isaac didn't respond immediately, he could not believe his ears. All Officers were down but him? how could that be possible. Sure it was to be expected that someone would be hit in that hail storm of fire, but all Officers? Something like that doesn't happen everyday.

"Sir! your radio." Hernandez said shaking Isaac from his thoughts.

"Thank you, Hernandez." Isaac said with a dull monotone voice as he reached for his radio.

Coughing once to clear his throat Isaac signaled that he was still up and for any commanding NCO's to meet him at the lead HWMMV for an action report. When he and Hernandez finally reached the lead vehicle about ten NCO's were gathered together around the hood of the armored car. "Officer on deck!" someone called and they all snapped to attention.

"At ease good sirs, I'm afraid we don't have the time for pleasantries." Isaac said as he walked up to the older men, almost immediately they relaxed and gather around Isaac for orders.

"First off, I'm I really the only Officer left in the Company?"

"Sir there is you and the commander of our LAV's Second Lieutenant Wilcot. Technically, he should be in command, but Bellmen gave me specific orders to leave you in command. Apparently, he doesn't like the idea of a leader taking cover behind a wall of steel.

"Uh-huh. And you know this because?"

"I was Bellmen's NCO Sir, Gunnery Sergeant Burns. And before you ask, yes Wilcot already knows everything, Sir."

"Alright, well, I know things look bad, but I need all of you; the backbone of the military, to help me make sure no-one else dies tonight. We good?"

"Yes Sir!!"

"Good. Now before we get started, I need to know how many people we still have combat ready."

"Sir, Alpha One has twenty men."

"Alpha Two has thirteen Sir."

"Good, Fernando this is Three Actual, how many guys do we still have." Isaac asked through his radio.

"Sir, we have about ten combat ready. The rest are either dead or wounded, over."

"God Damn it, alright thanks, Three Actual out."

As Isaac counted the total number of combat ready personal he had on him he realized that there was no possible way they could assault the radio station and hold it for an undefined amount of time.

"We can't attack with our current numbers, we'd be slaughtered, but we can't abandon the mission either. I guess we only have one option left to us."

"Sergeant Burns." Isaac said motioning the man next to him. "I need a map of the area and two Humvees stripped of all ammunition and radio equipment."

"Sir!!"

"Fernando, this is the Lieutenant, I want you to grab Rodriguez and two other capable fighters and bring them to the front of the column. Tell them to grab as much ammunition as they can carry." Isaac said as one of the NCO's laid a map down the the hood of a HWMMV.

"On the way Sir."

"Someone grab Wilcot for me." Isaac asked, a tall slender man with a short blond hair walked to the front of the group. He carried his combat vehicle helmet in his arms as he walked forward and holstered a 9mm on his side.

"Sir, Second Lieutenant Wilcot." The man said extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

"Likewise." Isaac replied shaking Wilcot's hand. "Lieutenant, I have a problem. With our forces effectively cut-in-half, I've come to the decision that there is no possible way for us to retake the radio station. However, that being said, we can't up and just abandon the mission. So, here is what I need you to do."

Isaac turned to the map laid-out on the HWMMV and pointed to a position on marked with a red "x." "I need you to take your armor up to that hill and provide suppressive fire on the station. Now I know that the cover up there is limited, hell, there is no cover, but it will provide you a clear line of sight to the front of the building where you will then fire every round of ammunition from your main gun until the movement in the area is either dead or dying. Afterwards you are to leave with all-possible-speed to the new location up in the north."

WIlcot could not believe what was being asked of him. No cover from trees and standing out with a silhouette, this rookie was asking him to put his men in front of the firing squad.

"Sir? If you want us to attack the station wouldn't a concealed position be better? I can't put my men in the line of fire just for a better position. Granted from there we could level the front of the building, but we would be to exposed to enemy air. I sorry Sir, but I don't understand what you are thinking."

"My plan is to have a six man team, myself included, to storm the building, make our way to the broadcasting room, deactivate and replace the signal that is calling all forces to Leavenworth. I can't ask everyone here to take on a mission that could end up with all of us dying, but I can't abandon the mission, too many lives are counting on us to make it to the station and warn them. I know that I am asking you to go against your better judgment and I know that I am putting you and your men in harms way. But please do this, if not for me then for the other people still on their way here."

The two men stared at each other for what seemed like hours, nether wanting to back down. Eventually Wilcot conceded to Isaac and returned to the LAV's to ready them up. As he did Fernando walked up to the Lieutenant with Rodriguez and two other men. The man on the left had short cut hair and amber skin that made him stand out from the other more paler man. His slanted eyes showed a slightly older man than what he seemed to be as the night made his eyes seem pitch black. He shouldered a Mossberg shotgun with a black finish, heat guard, and shells attached to the side. Two hand grenades banged against each other from a clasp on his chest and a knife rested itself on his thigh.

The other man was quite possibly the largest human Isaac had ever seen. He easily towered over everyone else in the area, standing easily over 7 feet. He had a buzz cut head that showed very little of his hair with his grey piercing eyes showing little mercy in their gaze as Isaac tried to take the rest of him in. He carried an M240 Bravo with a laser sight attached to the side.

"Nice to meet you gentlemen." Isaac said eying the both of them. "Can you give me your names so we can get started?"

"Sergei Vavilov." The man on the left said, his thick Russian accent only adding to his towering stature.

"Lee Jung Rang." The man on the right said with a Korean accent hiding in his speech.

"Wonderful to have you both here." Isaac said shaking their hands. "Now, it's time to fill you in on what's going to happen."

As Isaac lined out his plan two HWMMV's pulled up to the group stripped of their weapons and radio gear. When he finished open mouths and wide eyes were all that greeted him.

"Sir, all respect implied, but that is the worst plan I have ever heard." Fernando said trying to persuade the Lieutenant from following through on his suicide mission.

"Da." Sergei chimed in with his own disapproval. "All of us against who knows how many of sem. Not se best of odds."

"Now I know the odds are well against us, and that this will be extremely dangerous. But each of you has show you have what it takes to survive, I have complete faith in your ability to followthrough on this mission. I just need you to come with me." Isaac said as he turned and walked over to the HWMMV's. "Oh that reminds me. Everyone, welcome to the suck." Isaac said a grin plastered on his face.

Weighing their options the four men and woman walked towards the stripped HWMMV's and mounted the thin vehicles. As Isaac moved to enter his ride Wilcot walked over to Isaac's window and tapped his helmet. Holding up three fingers, Isaac changed his radio's channel to speak privately to the Lieutenant.

"Sir, you do realize that once you go in there you're on your own, right?"

"We'll manage. I have faith that you can soften them up for us. Just make sure that when we go in you and your people get the hell out of dodge, we can't afford to lose your armor."

"Don't worry, once you go in we are not looking back. Oh, and before I forget, everyone is meeting in Atchison Kansas, there's an underground shelter there that can fit the whole force. I'm sure there will be some sentries posted around the city so keep an eye out for them."

"Thanks. All right, let's make them holler."

As two HWMMV's and five LAV's broke-off of the assault force the remainder of the battered humans turned back towards the main road and drove on to Atchison.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Planet - Terra
Location - Diamond Dog Caves

As Trixie sat at the desk she inherited from Shining Armor, she looked over a report that detailed all of the actions the Shadows had been up to in the last month, give or take a week. Apparently the Federation, the Resistance had taken to calling them that since their real name was near impossible to pronounce, had taken control of the portal and any other item or pony of importance at the site, including Shining Armor.

"At least he is still alive." Trixie said to herself as she continued to peruse the documents in front of her. Apparently the Federation had activated the Devices and were now in the process of using them for some purpose still unknown to the Ponies.

"Well, at least their attention is not focused on us anymore. Though I can't help but feel sorry for the poor souls that have it now."

Finished with the documents she placed them in the secure vault in the floor of the office. As she did a knock at the door drew her attention away from the safe. "Enter."

"Mam, it is time for the next raid." A Solar Guard said as he walked in to the room.

"Right, ready the volunteers and I will be there in a minute."

"Yes Mam."

As the Solar Guard left the room Trixie took one last look at the safe in the floor boards before resealing the boards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Planet - Terra
Location - Unknown

Somewhere in the mountains of another country on Terra; four creatures sat around a large table, with only candlelight illuminating their presence to each other.

"Are you sure the Ponies won't interfere with the operation? What if they mount a rescue." A monotone voice sounded from the far left, the room bouncing the sound around making it impossible to tell who was speaking directly.

"Quite sure, the Ponies don't have the resources necessary to mount an attack on our inner Fortresses. They would need the power of the Creator to even attack a small Garrison." A deep gruff voice sounded from the right.

"Enough of those arrogant horses, we have bigger worries." A raspy voice sounded from the center of the table. "Now that this other world is in our reach we still have to crush them to show that nothing can stop us."

"I still think we should have reburied the devices instead of drawing in another species in to our conflict. The reports I am receiving are troublesome." A calm controlled voice responded from the far right.

"You worry to much Gallious, I have seen the same reports you have and all they say is that there is no significant military force on that world. The only military they did have fell as soon as the barrier was constructed. If anything they are weaker than the Ponies, al least they put up a fight." The gruff voice said in a condescending tone that irritated Gallious.

"Then you have not yet seen the reports of their weapons I presume. No? Well, they tell of weapons that are of equal power to our own if not more. And the ones that do fight have cut down two Griffons for every one of theirs."

"That is only because you Griffons refuse to wear heavier armor, because you say it interferes with your flying."

"Damn you you bullheaded fool!" Gallious said slamming his talons down on the table. "Can't you see that we have made a grave mistake involving this other world in our affair, if the barrier had not been erected when it was what would have stopped other military forces from coming to their add?"

"...Never call me bullheaded ever again." The giant Minotaur rose from his seat growling. Towering over the Griffon that only came to his waist the two of creatures looked ready to cross weapons at the slightest noise.

"ENOUGH, both of you." The voice from the far left said trying to calm the two combatants. "You both need to calm yourself's, the last thing we need is to have two council members fighting each other." The Zebra turned to face Gallious to remind him of their vote. "Remember Gallious we agreed to send in intelligence officers to figure out what they can about this new world, to see if they could be useful. reports have been varied, but if they are so advanced as you say, why have they not broken through the barrier yet? Surely they could have broken through our lines if they were so mighty. Remember you are not the only one to lose soldiers, my Zebras have also suffered losses, but nothing worth getting carried away over."

Staring at the Minotaur for a minute longer Gallious finally retook his seat, his eyes never leaving the Minotaur's. "Fine Brutus, I still believe we have made a great mistake."

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Invincibility lies in the defense;
the possibility of victory in the attack.”
Sun Tzu

Location - Radio station outside Leavenworth
Time - 0158

As a lone Griffon watched from his perch on the building of concrete, steel, and wood his teal eyes wandered over the courtyard filled with his brethren. He noted that the Minotaurs were having another sparring match, most likely to see who could take the most hits without succumbing to unconsciousness. A useless endeavor; as the creatures of this world could not even offer a real fight, if anything they would make for great target practice. Shifting his view he noticed the Zebras tinkering with one of the metallic contraptions the hairless apes had abandoned in their frantic attempt to escape. Why they found the need to fiddle with the machine he could not fathom, they could easily leave the technical duties to the Zenocoras, they often found pleasure in dismantling new and old technology, after all if not for them this new world would have been left to their own devices and if the Ponies were so desperate as to look for help on other planets then that meant they were close to collapse, and if the counsel was correct in saying that the ponies already began dealings with these creatures; then all the more reason to put them in their place. Continuing to survey the land, the sound of beating wings and rushing air alerted him to his replacement for guard duty of the abandoned building.

“Hail Adelardus.”

“Hail Zephyr, come to relieve me of the this foreign night?”

“Indeed, I have come to take part in watching the sport that is the Minotaur’s pleasure.” The small Griffon joked as he sat himself next to Adelardus and pulled out a stick of dried meat.

Examining his replacement, he noticed how different their features were from each other. Adelardus’ plumage was light brown with hints of speckled red in the tips, while his fur was a heavy grey, common with Griffons from the frozen north of the Kingdom. Zephyr’s plumage was of a red coating with orange tips, most likely dyed, while his fur was a light brown common with Griffons from the blistering heat of the south.

“So.” Zephyr began between bits of the dried meat. “Did you hear the fireworks Fourth Echelon was giving off earlier?”

“How could I miss it. The weapons these creatures use give off more noise than a Hydra in mating season. I fail to understand why the Ponies would try to enlist the help of these creatures, they are not very capable at fighting and their weapons don’t even leave any damage to a target. All they do is release a small projectile that goes through the target and out the other end. I fail to see the practical use of such a weapon.”

“Hmm, yes I to have seen fallen weapons of these Ape-like creatures, even witnessed a Minotaur fire one at a tree, no destruction to the tree at-all, only a small hole appeared where he fired. Still I wonder what could be taking the Fourth so long to return? I know they like to collect their trinkets, but still, they need to act more civilized than those flea ridden Diamond Dogs.”

“Oh let them collect their spoils, it gives use more time to relax before they return.”

“Yes, and when they return all they will prattle on about how many heads they claimed.”

Falling further in to the conversation, the two Griffon warriors began discussing matters home. As time began to drag on Adelardus finally succumbed to the sweet embrace of sleep, allowing his mind to wonder into the dream world. In his dream he was surrounded by members of his Echelon in what appeared to be a tavern in the new world. His friends drinking to the sound of music from the home land, he began to notice that some of the faces in the tavern were obscured from his view, like they were covered in a think fog that refused to show him who they were.

Walking over to the counter where a Minotaur was pouring drinks he felt something heavy land on his back, turning to face the offending object he was met with another clouded face and a drunken voice.

“wHaT’s tHISss?” He said through a slurred tongue.

“ITS A $#@$# DEFENSIVE GEAR.” The voice said through a murky face. “IT’S MUCH ETTER AT STOPPING #@$#$ WEAPONSSS THAN OURSSS."

Properly lacing the protective device on himself, Adelardus felt the full weight of the heavy gear. Naturally it was to small for him; only covering his upper chest, constricting his wings to his side.

“I tHInKssSS I’ll kEEp My oOLd arMoR thAnNkK yOOOOOOu.” He said as he tried to remove the offending piece of gear. Spinning around in place thanks to the massive amount of sprits he consumed before finally falling back in to a bar stool where he made to order another of the alcoholic beverage.

Grabbing the largest glass he had ever seen, Adelardus started to pour a “healthy” amount into his mouth when a towering roar filled with unimaginable rage shook the tavern. “TO!!!!!!!!! FIRE!!!!!!!!!!”

No sooner had the words reached his ears the air around Adelardus began to fill with the thunderous sounds of explosions and the screams of his Echelon as they were ripped apart by unseen forces. Bodies were thrown against one another other like rag dolls, the life leaving their eyes as they fell to the floor.

Soon, blood and bodies littered the floor, while screams and profanity filled the air as Adelardus could only watch with wide eyes and unspeaking horror as those around him fell. Then, out of nowhere, he felt a sharp pain in his lower chest, and then another and then another. Counting up to five sharp kicks, one finally landed right on the heavy vest knocking the wind out of his lungs and throwing him to the floor to rest in the growing puddle of blood.

Finally, the screaming ended and the continuous cry of explosions stopped, the front entrance of the tavern collapsed from the destructive abuse. Light flooded into the room, bathing the wounded Griffon in its warn rays forcing Adelardus to cringe as the light and the taste of blood became to much for him to bear.

Waiting in the pool of blood; a shadow finally moved in front of the Sun’s warm view, sealing off the light and replacing it with a towering monster. Forcing his eyes open nine figures walked amongst the dead, kicking away weapons and stripping others of knifes and swords. One brave Griffon struggled to reach a Energy Caster in front of him until one of the shadows placed a massive foot on the Griffon’s talon keeping the weapon from him. Looking up with a gargled breath the figure drew a sidearm from its leg and ended the Griffon’s torment, letting his head land beak first into the pool of blood.

Another figure walked up to where a Minotaur had miraculously landed to where he was sitting on the edge of a table with his head hanging low and his arms limp at the side. Grabbing the Minotaur by the shoulder, the figure pulled him down to the waiting pond of blood and body parts, making sure he was dead before moving on.

Wading over to the barely breathing Griffon another figure, much smaller than the others, rolled Adelardus onto his back, causing him to cough up an unhealthy amount of blood. Bending down the figure put its sidearm between his eyes. Barely able to hold his eyes open Adelardus finally closed them for the last time.

“Wait.” One of the figures said, his voice breaking through the fog beginning to cloud Adelardus. Forcing his eyes open once more the bleeding Griffon looked up to find his own reflection staring back at him through the tinted glasses of one of the figures, most likely the one who spared him. Standing up the figure gave an unseen order and two of the other figures began to wade over to him. Grabbing the wounded Griffon by the front and back legs they began to lift Adelardus out of the pool of red and into the now harsh bright light of day, all the while screaming out of intense pain.

Adelardus awoke to a stinging sensation across his face as Zephyr stared down at him with a concerned look and a raised talon.

“Finally, I was worried you would never awake. What was so terrible that you would scream into the night?” Zephyr asked as Adelardus moved to stand.

“I am not sure of what I have just witnessed. Perhaps it was something I ingested earlier?” Adelardus answered wiping away a generous amount of sweat from his forehead.

“Whatever the cause may be I think it would be best if you returned to the main barracks for a proper rest. Sleeping on this roof is like sleeping on hardened rock.”

“That I shall, I thank you for keeping me company through the night. Have a peaceful watch.” With that the Northern Griffon flew off into the night sky completely unaware that he was being watched by the very creatures that plagued his dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Hilltop overlooking the Radio Station
Time - 0230

As Isaac watched the lone Griffon fly off into the night sky he counted his blessings that he only had to deal with a single Griffon. He didn’t want to imagine what it would be like trying to hit multiply flying targets.

Shifting his vision down to the courtyard he noticed that the Minotaurs had finally settled down and fallen asleep while the Zebras had finished taking the Ford Escape apart and laid the pieces down in a nice, neat, row.

“Sir, Wilcot is almost in position.” Fernando said from behind, handing Isaac his A4.

“Right, time to go to work.” Isaac said grabbing the M16 from the Sergeant.

Isaac and his two stripped down HWMMV’s where parked on the top of the hill leading down to the radio station, the area surrounding the station was clear of trees and any heavy foliage in a two hundred yard spread, allowing the humans a clear picture of the area. The area around the station though was covered with plant life so think the Amazon would be jealous. Isaac and his men though had a clear view of the station and were now waiting for 25mm hail to fall on the station.

Suddenly Isaac’s radio sparked to life, Wilcot’s voice coming in over the light static. “Alpha Actual, this is RAINMAKER. We are beginning our assault. Over.”

“Understood RAINMAKER, make ‘em holler.”

“Roger, brace for the fireworks. Out”

Minutes later Isaac could hear the unmistakable sound of a Bushmaster chain gun being fired. Soon enough Isaac could make out the sight of cars exploding, bodies being thrown through the air like kites without a controller, and pieces of the building falling from the 25mm High Explosive rounds. The bodies that were tossed through the air were landing in every position imaginable while body parts were removed completely and burned in the ensuing Hell fire. Isaac watched one Minotaur get hit dead center with an H.E. round, causing the upper portion of its body to disappear in a cloud of red mist.

Within fifteen minutes the only structure was the station itself and the gate leading into the courtyard, the landscape dotted with burning car parts and broken bodies.

“Looks clear.” Fernando said turning to walk back to the HWMMV’s. “The gate is still intact though, so we’re gonna to have to ram it.”

“Fine by me.” Isaac said walking over to the HWMMV’s “Get Wilcot on the phone and tell him he can stop shooting now.”

Stepping into the HWMMV; Isaac pulled the charging handle on his rifle, loading a fresh round into the chamber. Rodriguez and Lee readied their weapons as well.

“OH shit! I completely forgot that.” Isaac shouted causing his two passengers to jump out of their seats.

“What, what did you forget Sir?” Rodriguez asked straightening her vest from the scare.

“Uh. You wouldn’t happen to know how to shut off the signal would you?”

Isaac had completely and entirely forgot to ask for someone who could handle the radio equipment in the station, he certainly could’t do it and he was not sure if Fernando could either.

“Oh. Is that all? Well, I have some experience with radios and I would be willing to try. Sir.” Rodriguez said more calmly than necessary.

“Really? Ooookay? That worked itself out. Let’s go.” Isaac said grabbing the wheel. “That is far to convenient to be a coincidence. She’s hiding something.”

Rolling down the road Fernando picked up speed, bursting through the front gate sending the offending metal constructs flying with one slamming in to the front of the building and the other in to a burning wreck that was once a red Buick.

As the two vehicles slide to a stop the six person team dismounted, making sure to secure the parking lot for extraction. “Good luck to you Temple, just make sure you come back in one piece.” Wilcot’s voice came in over the radio.

“Same to you, out.” Isaac replied. “Alright! Secure the front and move in!”

As the group moved they cleared the courtyard and made their way into the reception room. The area was a total mess with papers strewn about, broken chairs, and barricaded doors.

“Okay, the broadcasting room is on the second floor, Sergei, Hernandez keep this area locked down until we return.” Isaac said tossing a radio to Hernandez. “Call if anything happens. Lee, Rodriguez, you take point.”

Moving ahead Lee and Rodriguez checked corner after corner to clear the path ahead. The immediate peace they had could change at any moment with the sound of automatic fire and plasma rounds impacting around them.

Coming to the stairs; Lee bounded up them two at a time completely ignoring the shadow looming over him. Reaching the top; the face of a Zebra greeted him instantly firing its shoulder-fire weapon right in to his face. Falling backwards Lee narrowly missed the deadly energy as it flew over his head. Pointing his Mossberg in the four-legged creature’s general direction, he pulled the trigger as the Zebra tried in vain to move out of the way of the deadly buckshot. The force of the blast sent the small Asian man flying back, Fernando barely having enough time to stop him from tumbling down the stairs. The Zebra however was less fortunate, as the back of its head had been completely blown out leaving a gapping hole and a caved in face.

The Zebra’s body went rolling down the stairs, landing on the first floor with a sicking thud, Fernando set Lee down so he could review his carnage. “Yeah, Rodriguez you’ve got point now.” Isaac said turning his vision away from the dead body as blood began to pool around it. Continuing through the building the four made it to the control room with no more surprises jumping out at them.

“Okay the broadcasting room should be here.” Isaac said stopping at a door in the middle of the hall. Grabbing the handle, Fernando tried in vain to open the door, finding out that it was locked. Nodding to Lee, he handed the Sergeant his shotgun while he took the larger man’s M16. Placing the muzzle on the doorknob Isaac and Audrey stacked themselves on opposite sides of the door, ready to breach the room. Bracing himself Fernando let loose with a round of 12 gauge into the locked frame causing the knob to collapse in on itself, sending the offending piece of metal in to the room. Kicking the wooden entryway in, Isaac and Rodriguez stormed the room, making sure it was clear before letting the others inside.

“Okay I found what we’re looking for.” Isaac said motioning to a computer terminal. “Rodriguez, get to work.”

“On it.”

Just then a large explosion caused the building to tremble as the sound of gunfire and animalistic roars filled the air. Through the sound of explosions Isaac could make out the sound of an M240 and the occasional crack of a slow firing rifle.

“Sir?” Hernandez’s hurried voice came in over the radio. “We got a little problem down here.”

“What’s going on?” Isaac could hear Sergei’s M240 in the back ground and a continuous string of Russian, most likely very colorful profanity.

“Do you want the good news first or the bad news?”

“Surprise me.”

“Well bad news is that our little plan has drawn the attention of the locals. Good news is that our rides are still intact.” Two explosions soon followed with a new string of Spanish swearing along with Russian swearing. “Uh, forget what I said about our rides.”

“Shit. Tell Sergei to save his ammo and get both your asses up here, we got work to do.”

“On it, see you top side.”

“Rodriguez, how much time do you need?” Isaac asked looking over at the short brunette.

“About ten minutes give or take. This tech is older than me, though that’s not saying much.”

“Make it seven and you got a deal. Sergeant, the way I’m looking at it; we have two entrance points.” Isaac said motioning with his hands down both halls. “Take two grenades, some wire, and electric tape and place a tripwire at the corner of the hall to our six. I’ll head down the hall to our twelve and do the same.”

“Sir.” Fernando saluted and ran down the hall to set the trap.

Running down the hall; Isaac noticed a floor plan of the entire building. There appeared to be a parking garage under the first floor. Filing that information away for later, he turned the corner just as Sergei and Hernandez shot up the last stairs.

“Ve have about ninety seconds before they crawl over us.” Sergei Said as he sprinted past Isaac.

“Perfect, take up positions by Lee and wait for my instructions.” Isaac said pointing down the hall. Sergei and Hernandez ran to the center of the hall where Lee was crouching and set up their weapons for maximum effect.

Bending down Isaac unrolled an length of tape and attached the grenades to the wall, making sure they would stay in place. Next he threaded a thin wire through both pins and tied the knot making sure not to pull the pins out by accident. Lastly he tied off the line to the railing on the opposite wall, leaving just enough slack to make it unnoticeable.

Hearing the sounds of the alien tongue; Isaac hurried back to the others and ordered Fernando to kill the lights, the only light source was from the corner halls that the enemy were rushing through. With Isaac, Hernandez, and Fernando laying on flat their stomachs facing the hall to the right of the door, Lee and Sergei both stood in the dark facing the left hall. With any luck the Minotaurs and Zebras would pass up their shapes for furniture being left out of the rooms.

Lee and Sergei’s hall suddenly filled with the sounds of screams and a miniature explosion as the Minotaur’s entourage fell face first into the limb breaking trap. Seconds later, the trap at down Isaac’s hall went off and more screams filled the air along with the sicking crunch of something hitting the ground. Peeking its head around Lee and Sergei’s corner a Zebra motioned its compatriots as a Minotaur peeked its head around Isaac’s corner.

Amazingly, both groups didn’t notice anything odd with the hall so both signaled for their teams to move in, unknowingly stepping into the line of fire. Waiting for the right moment; Isaac and his team held their fire for as long as possible as the hallway continued to fill with Minotaurs and Zebras. Checking the rooms to make sure the area was clear; the alien fire teams moved closer to the human’s position, some keeping their eyes on the ground, most likely looking for more booby traps.

When the search party of mythological creatures were only twenty feet away, Isaac fired a shot into the head of an unprotected Zebra killing it instantly. Before its body even hit the floor the hall exploded with the sound of automatic fire, Minotaurs shouting orders, and bodies hitting the floor. The death toll quickly began to rise as the human firing squad had to change to a crouching position to get a shot off. The miniature battle raged on around the humans with scorching plasma impacted the walls, lead rounds connected to soft flesh through armor, and the hall continued to fill with the dead as the seconds continued to tick away.

“RELOADING.” Sergei shouted as he detached the empty magazine box, giving the Zebras a chance to move up to cover. Changing positions Isaac began to cover for the hole Sergei left in the line quickly racking up kills.

Falling back, the Minotaurs and Zebras began to favor the better cover of the corner as more began to fall. “MOVE UP.” Isaac shouted as he ejected an empty magazine and popped in a fresh one. Moving up in a defensive style Isaac covered for Fernando and Hernandez, then Fernando would cover for Isaac and Hernandez and then Hernandez would cover for them, rinse and repeat. Lee and Sergei each covered for the other as they moved up. This continued until both teams occupied the corners of the hall, effectively trapping the ancient myths on the lower and upper halls.

“Sir! I got it!” Rodriguez yelled as she ran out of the room, making a mad dash for Isaac.

“All right, we need an exit. Fernando, Hernandez, clear the hole.” Isaac Yelled as Sergei and Lee came running down hall, superheated energy flying past them. remembering the building map Isaac decided to take the chance and ordered everyone to head down the stairs and make a sprint to the garage. Tossing a smoke grenade to cover their rear, the team of mismatched humans sprinted down the stairs surprising the defenders at the bottom, allowing the Isaac, Fernando, and Lee precious seconds to get the first shot off, killing everyone at the bottom.

Reaching the garage a lone white van greeted the retreating humans as they blocked off the doors with anything they could.

“That’s not going to buy us much time.” Fernando said as the door began to shake from the impact of Minotaurs and Zebras. “Quick, does anyone know how to hot wire a car?”

“I do Sir.” Rodriguez motioned to his side, frantically waving her arms around. Moving over to the van, Sergei and Hernandez began to haphazardly toss out the radio equipment, giving the others more space to pile in, while Fernando and Lee moved to the controls to the massive door blocking their escape.

Backtracking to Rodriguez Isaac kept a watchful eye on the door as it began to splinter, the creatures on the other side must have thought they were trapped, that would explain why they weren't shooting the door down.

“Okay time to come clean.” Isaac said to Rodriguez, keeping his eyes on the doors all the while.

“Sir I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. I’m just an average Missourian from an average small town.” She answered with a response that sound like it had been read from a script.

“Yeah, bullshit. There is no way you are just a civvy, not with the weapons training, knowledge of radio equipment, and now hot wiring a car. Just who are you?”

“Sir I promise once we get out of here I will explain everything, but for now we need to leave.” She replied a little exasperated as the engine sounded with a roar.

“Fine, but I’m not dropping this.” Isaac replied stepping into the back as Lee and Fernando came running up to them as the garage door slowly opened.

Shouting for Fernando to take the wheel, the humans shot through the garage just as the door to the building burst open with a Minotaur landing on his face while the rest poured in, firing at the paper thin van as the humans speed away.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"The purpose of drills and exercises is less to
strengthen the back then it is to toughen the mind.”
Spartan saying

Location - On Route 73 Outside Atchison Kansas
Time - 0320

As the Radio van speed down the abandoned road, the small crew of humans on board tried catching their breath, their close encounter with the mythological creatures leaving them all winded. The white van traveled down until they reached the outskirts of the Atchison Kansas, a small town, peaceful and quiet. Small plumes of smoke were rising around the area as well as fires flowing down the residential areas.

“So much for a safe area.” Hernandez said staring out the windshield. In the back, Sergei opened the door allowing the rest of the team to disembark.

“All right.” Isaac said climbing out of the passenger’s side. “We’ll leave the van here and continue on foot. There should be a lookouts somewhere in that mess keeping a look out for hostiles, we just need to find them.”

As the small party of humans walked down the road, not wanting to catch the attention of anything non-human, they keep to the shadows hoping that nothing would turn around and jump out at them. After their little raid on the radio station and the subsequent fight before that, they were desperately low on ammunition, not the best situation when your enemy could literally be all around you.

After a couple of minutes the group reached the border of the small Midwestern town. The scene was the same one back in Leavenworth, burning cars, destroyed buildings, and the occasional crater dotted the landscape. All in all, not the most uplifting sight.

Walking up to Isaac, Fernando spoke his next question so only they could hear it. “Think we’ll find anyone in there?”

“Hopefully yes, I don’t want to get caught with our pants down, but unfortunately we have no choice.” Isaac whispered back, his voice matching his Sergeant’s. “We’re going in, make sure you top your weapons off and conserve ammo. Keep your eyes down range, your fingers on your triggers, and we all go home in one piece. Move out!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Radio Station, Leavenworth
Time - 0320

As Aderladus looked down at the destruction and the carnage, he unconsciously counted the piles of corpses that lined the walls. When he was finished almost all of the entire echelon was stacked under white sheets. The attack had taken everyone by surprise, so much so that help could only arrive when the creatures had entered the building and set traps that paranoid any others that followed them. And when they finally found the creatures, a slaughter had taken place, those that had not taken the liberty of wearing protective gear had been cut down instantly, those that had were sparred that fate, if only for a moment.

“Field Assistant Aderladus?” So entrenched in thought Aderladus didn’t even notice the lone Griffon landing next to him. The Griffon was dressed in the Grand Teacher’s robes, gold trimmings, dark blue coloring and dark red outlines adorned his armor and robe. A Gem infused helmet rested in his talons while a razor sharp sword rested against his flank.

“Grand Teacher, forgive me for I did not hear you approach.” The stunned Griffon said as he thumped his fist against his chest in the standard salute to his superior.

“Calm yourself young fledgling, the Grand Charioteer wishes to speak with thee. Follow me.”

The older Griffon took to the air as Aderladus soon followed after him. “Oh joyous day.”

Location - Atchison Kansas
Time - 0350

“Sir, we’ve been looking for signs of life for the past half hour, there’s on one here.” Hernandez stated with an exasperated sigh.

“Yes I know that Hernandez, but this is the only location we know that could have military personal. So if we can’t find them here, than we are royally screwed.” Isaac said as they walked down the war battered street.

“When I moved to American, I thought that I would be as far away from conflict as possible. Shows what I know.” Lee said looking into a blown out shop window.

“Da, my thoughtz exactly.” Sergei said walking over a fallen street light.

“Alright, as soon as we reach a safe zone, we are having a school circle. No more secrets.” Isaac said stopping in the middle of the street and turning around. “If we are going to work together I need to know your past. Now let’s see if we can’t find anything in the Police Station.”

“Sir! Got movement to our twelve o’clock.” Audrey yelled breaking eye contact with Isaac.

“How far?”

“Hundred meters, closing in fast.”

“Move to cover now!”

As Isaac’s crew took shelter behind burned out cars, collapsed walls, and empty shops, he could make out faint movements in the distance, but identifying them through the smoke was near impossible. Daring a look through the destroyed car Isaac took shelter behind, he could make out the shape of the figures in the smoke. There were three of them, each one walking on two legs.

“Minotaurs, Great. As if one wasn’t bad enough.” Hernandez hissed, taking aim at the closest one.

“Wait, hold your fire.” Fernando said waving off Hernandez. “Sir, friendlies.” True to his word three human figures came running out of the smoke, crouching at the corner.

“Alright bring ‘em in.”

Fernando whistled catching their attention then waved them over to cover. Running through smoke and over debris, they moved making as little noise as possible. When they reached the group they identified themselves as the 138th Missouri national guard from Kansas City. After a meaningful discussion on the values of calling ahead to let the guard know that they were coming, the group of humans were escorted to the Southern edge of Town.

The Safe zone that had been promised did not disappoint, the area they were using was an old underground bunker that used to be a storage facility by the US Army. Back in 2013 the area had been converted to an underground shelter for an end of the world scenario, there was enough room for all of the LAV’s, Bradley’s, and HWMMV’s with room to spare. There was even ample room to train new volunteers and even a command and control center for the higher ups.

Inside the bunker everyone around moved with a task to complete, each one either trying to bring the lights on in areas, setting up tents, or moving supplies for the troops. It looked like an ant colony had taken over as no one seemed to stop for anything. As Isaac watched the flurry of activity Wilcot approached the group.

“Isaac. Damn, I was sure I would never see you again.”

“Yeah well, I’m kinda hard to kill.” He joked at his own expense. “Is Bellman okay?”

“Yeah he’ll be fine. The man is tougher than nails right? Just worry about your own hide.”

“Thanks. Is there anything I need to know before I can take a nap?” Isaac asked wiping some sleep from his eyes.

“Yeah actually, word got out about what you did and the Majors want you down in their office, I’ll take you there.” Wilcot said pointing to an elevator behind him.

“Alright, Sergeant you and the others try to find us a place to crash and I’ll join you momentarily.”

Fernando saluted and Isaac’s little gang of miscreants went to find a place to lay their heads, with that Isaac and Wilcot went to find the Majors’ office.

“So tell me, what are the head honchos like?” Isaac asked when they reached the elevator. Wilcot pressed a lower level button and they descended lower into the caves.

“Well for starters they are not happy about you calling off the main attack on the station, they would rather a larger force reclaim the station and hold it then let a smaller force do a surgical strike and run away.”

“That makes no sense, do they know that we didn’t even have half of the men up? There was no possible way we could have reclaimed the station and held our position.” Isaac asked looking up at Wilcot with a questionable look.

“Hey, don’t shot the messenger, I think you made the right call. There was no way we could have held that position, they,” he said with a finger jab towards the ground, “are too used to winning all the time.”

“Well. I’m sure they will be more than reasonable after they hear my side of the story.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF SWEET BABY JESUS WERE YOU THINKING TEMPLE?”

“Or maybe not.”

If Isaac had been close to sleep before, he certainly wasn’t now. The moment he had stepped through the door his report sounded more like an interrogation than a questioning. After he had given his report the questions pilled on fast. Questions like, why didn’t you take more men? Why didn’t you try to hold the station? And why did you send back the LAV’s the second you got through? It was never ending, even after he explained himself he could barely keep Major Arthur from throttling him.

“Calm down Arthur, I’m sure he sounds like he was in the right mind set when he gave the order.” The Major for the Marines said, who Isaac learned was named Jonathan.

Major Arthur, who called the Army his branch, with one last killing look begrudgingly took his seat next to the Air Force Major, who was Major Stark.

“Well we can’t really blame him, it is his first mission as a Lieutenant.” Major Benson, the Navy Lieutenant Commander, said with a disinterested look. “Besides, he is not the biggest fish we have to fry right now.”

“Fine. You are dismissed Lieutenant.” Arthur said with a wave of his hand.

That was all the initiative Isaac needed, saluting he turned around and walked very calmly back to the reception area, trying very hard not to bolt for the door. Once through, Wilcot leaned on the wall opposite wall, a smug look playing on his face.

“You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?” Isaac said trying very hard not to slam his fist in to Wilcot’s now laughing head.

“Sorry, just had to let you have the experience of being integrated. You really needed.” The taller man said after he finally got control of his laughter.

“Well, what happens now?” Isaac asked as they made their way to the elevator.

“For starters we go out and collect every piece of ammunition and spare weapon we can get our hands on. Also, some of the older hands volunteered to train the civvies, so theres that going for us. Apparently they are going to make the training two weeks long.”

“What could they possibly accomplish in two weeks?” Isaac asked as the both of them stepped back into the elevator.

“Beats me, probably just basic physicalness, weapons training, and communications. Oh, and when I say basic, I mean Stone Age Basic.”

Isaac pressed the button for the sleeping quarters and the elevator began to rise. “Well looks like we’re going to be busy for the next couple of weeks.”

Reaching his floor Isaac stepped off, waved goodbye to Wilcot, and made his way to Fernando Standing over by a rather large tent. Stepping inside he found the team seated around a makeshift stove, a fresh pot of coffee resting on the burner. Closing the flap to the tent, Isaac pulled up the closest chair the the group and sat down. “Now. I believe some of you own me a life story.”

Author's Note

Well I have to apologize, I did not want to make this a shot chapter but I did, so there. As for why it is a short chapter, I will be leaving for 13 weeks starting Monday. That's right I leave for the United States Marine Corps. I should be back sometime around October, but that will be for only ten days. Again sorry for leaving you like this but duty calls and I hope to bring back good experience for all.

Heh heh duty.

Chapter 8

Time - 1700
Location - Atchison, Kansas

Listening to the conversations from recruits that completed their meager two weeks of training the day before, Isaac finally wandered out of the makeshift chow hall, which was nothing more then a long tent in the living quarters of the underground base. Making his way through the rows of tents and support beams he wondered to himself if the Council had made up its mind on what to do.

The Council was made up of the three Majors and the Lieutenant Commander Isaac had met, each one having the same amount of power and decision making abilities. Though he was not against having someone to manage their little resistance, he was against not having a set leader to say ‘yes’ or ‘on’ to suggestions.

“Two weeks. That’s how long we’ve been stuck down here waiting for orders to do something other than stand by.” He thought lifting the flap on his tent, looking around at the mess before him. Since his squad was the last to arrive they had been given the only remaining sleeping area in the base, the supply tent.

Hernandez sat in the corner cleaning his newest weapon, an M39 EMR. “I don’t suppose we could scam a better area from someone?” He asked looking up from the disassembled weapon.

“Not likely. Everyone’s pretty much settled in at this point, all we can do is make the best of it.” Fernando answered from the back trying to carve out a livable space in the clutter. “Any word on when we head out next Sir?”

“No, the ‘Council’ hasn’t given any sign on agreeing on what we should do first. But they have it down to either getting supplies or attacking outposts.” Isaac answered throwing himself on to his makeshift cot made of blankets and cardboard.

“I know the feeling Sir, I hate waiting with nothing to do. The best we can do is wait for orders and be ready for when they do come.” The Staff Sergeant said as he dragged a large pile of trash to the open flap.

Suddenly a loud speaker came to life, a metallic voice filling the living space. “ATTENTION, ALL OFFICERS AND SQUAD LEADERS, REPORT TO LEVEL EIGHT FOR MISSION BRIEFING. I REPEAT ALL OFFICERS AND SQUAD LEADERS TO LEVEL EIGHT.”

“About fucking time.” Isaac thought standing up from his less then comfortable “bed,” popping his back in the process. “Lets go see what needs doing Staff Sergeant.”

“On you six, Sir.” Fernando answered tossing out old moth eaten blankets.

Walking out of the tent the two Marines noticed the people, or lack there of in this case. It seemed that everyone had left in a hurry for the meeting. Not wanting to keep their new bosses waiting, Isaac and Fernando left for the elevator at the back of the “housing district” as the old hands started calling it. The living quarters had sub levels that housed other soldiers all the way to new recruits that were still going through training. Each sub-level had a system that could tell you which category you belonged to, the highest levels meant that you were combat ready and needed immediate access to the armory, the lower levels belonged to recruit training and those recovering from injuries.

Walking by rows of tents Isaac kept count of how many there actually were, if only to keep his mind off of the chewing out they would undoubtedly receive if they were late… again. The cave they were in now was actually quite spacious, each row housed four tents with each tent holding up to ten men. When they reached the elevator Isaac had counted a total of five rows meaning there was a total of two hundred men in this area alone. If he wanted to he could add up the other areas that cut off from the one they were on but decided against it if only to save himself from a headache.

Pushing the button two men quickly descended into the darkness below, the only light source being the small light fixture hanging above them. Passing by other levels Isaac again took in how big their new home actually was. There were only eight levels to the bunker, but they were so large and so spaced out that there was more then enough room for a battalion sized force and heavy armor if needed, but Isaac wasn’t betting on them finding any tanks anytime soon.

Reaching the lowest level, they stepped off and made their way through the brightly lit and surprisingly clean hallways until they reached the briefing room. Walking in Isaac noticed that they were the last to arrive, cursing under his breath he noticed that the Council hadn’t arrived yet. “Spared an ass chewing.” He thought as he and Fernando took their seats. After a few minutes someone called attention and everyone in the room jumped to their feet as Major Arthur and Major Stark walked in.

“Be seated.” Major Stark called letting everybody sit back down as he and Major Arthur started to pin up pictures of pharmacies, gun stores, and super markets.

“Now, I know it has been a hard and uneasy two weeks. No orders coming down and no idea what to do.” Major Arthur said putting his hands on his hips and pausing far longer than necessary most likely for dramatic effect. “The Council has decided to send out scavenger parties to collect medicine, weapons, and food. We have, unfortunately, decided that given our current numbers we can not successfully engage the enemy without suffering extreme losses, so we are going to go out and recruit as many people that are willing to fight and get ourselves ready.”

Major Stark was the next to talk, pointing out each area of importance and suspected enemy positions. Platoon sized elements would be split up in to different tasks ranging from collecting volunteers to gathering medicine, weapons, and food, their area of operations extended from Cameron, Missouri all the way to the small border towns of Kansas and Missouri.

“Lieutenant Temple.” Hearing his name, Isaac stood up from his seated position, his knees popping in the process. “Since you have experience in Leavenworth, we’re sending you to collect weapons and ammunition from the surrounding area.”

“Yes Sir.” Isaac said before retaking his seat his thought process already working on which gear his crew would need and how many trucks he should take.

“All right, you all have your orders. Complete them and get back here, we don’t need any heroes, especially dead ones. The mission starts at 2100, good luck.” With that Major Arthur dismissed the room so the officers and squad leaders could prep their teams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time - 2200
Location - Hilltop overlooking Leavenworth

Looking over the town Isaac had to appreciate the fact that the target area was no longer on fire; or the fact that he could not see any enemy forces in the surrounding area. Stepping back from his concealed position he took in his forces and their wheels. One platoon sized element with HWMMV’s to carry them and five 7-ton trucks to haul their spoils out. Each vehicle equipped with a .50 cal for defense and bullet proof glass that Isaac hopped would stop an energy blast.

Suddenly, Isaac’s radio came to life with a burst of static before a voice cut it off. “Sir, this is Recon One, no sign of any Mythos in the area but i’m not sure how long that will last. Recommend making this quick, over.” The voice on the other end reported.

Mythos, the new name that had been given to the alien invaders seeing how they were pretty much mythological creatures from history. Isaac still couldn’t believe that ancient creatures from his history books were attacking them.

“Copy, we’ve got nothing on our end either. Keep me posted if the weather changes. Out.” Isaac replied placing his radio back into his pouch he made out of a spare magazine pouch.

“Alright here is how we’re going to do this.” Isaac said walking over to one of the HWMMVs laying out a map of the area on the hood. “Three of the 7 Tons will make their way to the Base and pick up any leftovers that we may have missed from our first run through. The other two will ride through the town and stop by any pharmacy and gun store they can find. First and Second squad, you go with the three trucks to the base while Third squad goes with me to the town, any questions?”

The group remained silent as Isaac folded the up map and placed it in his pocket. “No? Good, lets get to work.”

Jumping in his HWMMV, Isaac loaded a magazine in to his A4 rifle. He had removed the RCO and opted for the iron sights, but he had outfitted his rifle for night time instead of the day time. He had placed a laser sight on the front rail and a mounted night vision device on his Kevlar to see, even though the AN/PVS 14’s were crap, they were all they had at the moment.

Riding into the town three 7 Tons broke off and started heading to the base while the other two continued through the town; stopping only to gather supplies and weapons. Riding in the HWMMV Isaac took stock of the burned town one more time, since the last time he had been through the street lights had either died or been toppled down leaving the street pitch black with the only illumination being the moon and embers from recent fires.

“Make a right turn here.” Isaac said to Fernando as the two trucks followed them through the street. They were trying to find the abandoned gun store Isaac and Adam had found their first night on the run.

Making one more left turn they finally found the store, it had been difficult, they had almost missed it completely. Some of the letters on the sign had been blown or burned off, Isaac couldn't tell which. Along with the store there was a Pharmacy, and a Grocery store on the block as well that they could raid.

Dismounting, Third squad started to brake off in to Fire Teams to search each building, First would take the gun store, Second would take the Pharmacy, and Third the Grocery store. “Lieutenant, it looks like there has been some activity in the area recently” Hernandez said kicking over some rubble.

“Right lets make this quick then. Tag and bag anything and everything useful.” Isaac said moving to the store, his team right on his heels.

The store had obviously seen better days most of the guns and ammo had been taken in the week since they had been there. Empty gun racks lined the walls, ammo crates littered the floor, and the display cases were smashed open, outlines in the dust showing the items that had once rested there. Fortunately the lights still worked in the abandoned shop allowing them to move about without running in to each other or tripping over the occasional crate.

Picking their way through the trash and discarded boxes Isaac moved to the back of the store where he found a living room and dinning room. Looking at the photos lining the wall he wondered if life would ever go back to normal after this, if this whole mess would be over in the next few weeks. He knew it was a pipe dream, but he still granted himself the hope that it would. “Lieutenant, Recon One here. We keep seeing signs of enemy air patrols in the area. They might be looking for us, over.”

“Copy, we’ll hurry up here. Let me know if the sky starts getting to cluttered up there, over.”

“Roger, we’ll keep you posted. Recon One out.” Putting his radio back Isaac started to leave the room when he heard a loud banging sound coming from the store.

“SIR, WE FOUND SOMETHING.” Moving back in to the store Isaac returned to find that the carpet had been ripped up showing floor boards and a small metallic hatch in the floor.

“How did you find this?” Isaac asked moving to the metallic door in the ground.

“Ve Vere moving out some of the ammo crates vhen the straps broke letting zhe can hit the ground vith a ‘clang’ ve ripped out the carpet and found zis.” Sergei said crouching by the door.

“How do we open it?” Hernandez asked as Rodriguez moved to a kneeling position examining the lock on the hatch.

“It’s a dead lock, it could take us weeks to cut through this thing and even than I don’t know if there’s another locked door behind this one. We could be try blowing our way in, get a couple of Assault Men here with some C4, maybe try - whoa!!!” Rodriguez didn’t even notice the door open before the rest of the floor opened up with it.

“EVERYONE BACK UP.” Fernando yelled as more of the floor gave way to the darkness before stopping at the front counter and the middle of the shop. Looking around Isaac spotted Lee behind the counter and a hidden lever in one of the cupboards along the wall. Peering into the black hole that had opened up Isaac flicked on his flashlight shining the intense light down the hole.

“So. Who wants to go down the rabbit hole first?” He asked as the others shone their lights down the hole.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moving through the darkness, his Night Vision turning the surroundings into an ugly shade of green, Isaac could make out little details in the pitch black room like the door in the back of the pit. Moving to the opening, Fernando and Rodriguez both took up positions on opposite sides of the door waiting for Isaac to kick the door in. Aiming his rifle at the lock he was just about to blow the door off its hinges when said door flew open catching Fernando off guard and slamming in to Rodriguez knocking her to the ground, while Isaac was met with a 12 gauge pointed right at his face.

“Yea git one chance to ‘xplain yerself bafore I blast ya to smithereens.” The old man on the other end of the boom stick said cocking the weapon with a menacing k-chuck.

Looking down the barrel of death, Isaac explained to the old man that his team had been sent in to gather weapons and supplies for the new resistance to fight off the invasion and defend themselves, he also explained that the man would be compensated once this whole mess blew over and they made contact with the outside world, he really wasn’t sure if he would be compensated, but right now he was hoping the old man would buy the half-truth. After several minutes of an intense stare down the old man finally lowered his weapon and let the group inside the bunker.

“Ya’ll shouda just came down here in the first place. The store was ransacked a couple a days ago. Since it was just me down here I didn’t want to cause any trouble and since this is a gevernment owned shop I still get compsated for my loses anyway.” The old man said leading Isaac and his team into the hidden shop below the store.

“I keep all of my big guns down here.” He said flicking on the lights illuminating the long passageway as row upon row of weapons were illuminated. A computer terminal that looked like something from NORAD sat in the corner.

“Damn, you have every gun under the sun down here. Fifties, Oerlikon 20mm’s, and an Anzio anti material rifle!? You really do have all the good stuff down here.” Fernando said getting a little to excited about the find.

“Take what’cha need, I git paid all the same.” The old man said as he unlocked the cages each one flying open revealing the ammunition for the weapon and spare parts to boot.

“Staff Sergeant, call back the other trucks, we’re going to need some help getting this stuff out.” Isaac said looking down the long row of weapons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Standing to the side, Isaac watched as each truck was filled with ammunition and heavy weapons of all shape and size. The underground armory had been larger than they thought forcing to load medical and food supplies on the HWMMV’s to make room for more weapons. Staff Sergeant Fernando stood to the side with a clip board keeping track of the amount of ammo and weapons being brought on board.

Walking up to Isaac the old man from the shop carried a small brief case in one arm and a cane in the other. “You know for an old man you are surprisingly tough.” Isaac said as the last of the weapons were loaded and locked down. “You should come with us, at the very least you would be safe.”

“No I ain’t meant for the fightin' role anymore, an old coot like me wouldn’t last two days with you big strong kids. Besides, from here I can tap in to the surveillance cameras around the area, keep an eye on things so to speak, keep y'all informed.”

“Well if you ever change you mind, you are more than welcome to come with us.” Isaac said extending his hand towards the old man. Setting the case down he grabbed the outstretched hand and with the grip of a strongman nearly broke Isaac’s fingers. Keeping his groans to a minimum Isaac vigorously returned the man’s gesture.

“Oh right I almost forgot, this’ for you son.” he said releasing Isaac and picking up the brief case. “Wante’d ya to have something to keep yea safe and this should have ‘nough kick to knock out those furry bastards.”

Taking the brief case and looking at it through inquisitive eyes he shot a questioning look at the old man who returned the look with a warm smile. Before he could ask what was in the case Fernando reported that all the weapons were loaded and the rest of the platoon was up and ready to move.

Running up to the last HWMMV, Isaac jumped into the passenger seat and shut the door telling the driver to move out. Roaring to life the armored car started to slowly inch away from the shop. Isaac suddenly realized that he had gotten so caught up in the massive find that he had forgotten to ask the old man for his name. Jumping up the gunner’s turret he yelled back to the old man, asking him his name over the noise. “Its Conway,” he shouted “John Conway.” With that the small convoy of trucks moved out and away from the quiet town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Going down the road at the fastest speed possible without flipping the trucks over, Isaac’s platoon was moved in the direction of the rendezvous point with the rest of the Company. Looking down at the case Conway had given him, Isaac unlocked the latches and opened the lid to find an M1911 handgun resting on the black foam.

“How about that.” He thought to himself. Suddenly his radio came to life with the sound of static again. Closing the case he picked up the handheld and listened.

“Lieutenant, this is Recon One. We’ve got hostile air coming in low and fast from the south.”

“Damn so close.” Isaac said slamming the radio on the deck. “All trucks brake off and find a way back to base, everyone else open fire with the Fifties.”

Following Isaac’s orders the 7 Ton trucks broke off from the main group while the HWMMV’s started prepping the weapons. Just as Isaac’s HWMMV was about to brake-off bolts of energy impacted around them forcing the trucks to take a different path.

“It’s going after the truck, don’t let it get a shot off.”

Isaac’s vehicle was a flurry of noise as the gunner attempted to get a bead on the flying lizard. Just then Isaac heard the sound of thunk and the gunner collapsed to the cab floor, his face partially removed. Moving to take over the Fifty Isaac noticed the Anzio 20mm rifle had been placed in the HWMMV instead of a truck. Thoughts raced through his head as a crazy idea drilled its way to the top.

Grabbing the anti material rifle and three rounds he climbed to the gunners position, pulling the 20mm up behind him. “This has got to be the craziest idea i’ve ever had.” He thought as he loaded the rifle and tried to take aim.

Pulling the trigger, the kick from the rifle threw him to the other side of the turret, knocking any breath he had been holding out of him. Had he not been wearing his flak they would be gluing his spine back together at the shelter. Reloading and sighting in again he threw all his weight into the rifle as more energy bolts flew past him; threatening to ignite the ammunition in the trucks.

Firing again the 20mm round flew past the Dragon’s head and into its tail leaving a bloody stump in its wake, which only served to enrage the dragon even further. Going in to a fit of rage the Dragon started breathing fire around the convoy, threatening to prematurely ignite the ammunition in the trucks. Loading the last round Isaac held his breath and waited for the flying beast to stop swaying left and right. Lining up for another run on the trucks, Isaac aimed dead center on the Dragon’s forehead and fired. Time seemed to slow as the round entered the heavily armored skull and exited out the other end, tumbling through the canopy along with the pilot’s skull.

Releasing a long drown out breath, Isaac pulled 20mm back down into the cab and placed it back in the trunk, all the while thinking how he had just killed a dragon and the pilot at the same time, an impossible shot, but maybe someone was looking out for him. Whatever the reason the rest of the journey back to base was thankfully smooth and quiet. Isaac would later learn that they had brought back thirteen Fifties, twenty mortar systems, ten Oerliken 20mm cannons, and enough ammo to sink an aircraft carrier. After giving his report to the Council he wandered back to his tent and began inspecting his new 1911 pistol.

Author's Note

Howdy, sorry it took so long, training and writers block and all that, but the important thing is that I'm back and I plan to start writing during the college season so yay. If you notice anything wrong feel free to point it out.

Semper Fi

P.S. BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!!

Chapter 9

Anything that can go wrong,
will go wrong.
Murphy’s Law

Planet - Earth
Location - Washington D.C.
Time - 1500

“Tom, I’m standing outside the military blockade where we have been told this is the closest we can get the Barrier.” The female reporter said as the cameraman panned the shot revealing military vehicles. “If you look in the background you can see the glow of the Barrier contrasting against the sky, it is surely a alien sight during the night, as it gives off a purple glow that can be seen all the way in Saint Louis.” The reporter exaggerated as the camera zoomed in on the violet Barrier.

“Now Sarah I’m looking and I think I can see specks moving in the distance can you tell us what those are.” The other anchor asked using his pen to point out the tiny moving dots in the sky.

“Yes, Tom those are Military surveillance drones making passes around the edge of the interference zone so the Government can try to figure out what is actually happening to their electronics.” She replied as a tiny explosion of one of the drones appeared on screen.

“Alright we will be taking a brake from the alien barrier but will be back some time later this evening. Thank you Sarah.”

“Of course, Tom.”

“Coming up we take a look at the World’s reaction to the incursion on U.S. soil, and its implications to U.S. foreign policy.”

Sitting inside the Situation room the President and her Chiefs of Staff watched the multiple screens showing multiple News channels in the U.S. and the world all at once; many of them asking the same thing, “what would America do now?”

“Ma’am,” the Secretary of Defense said hoping to catch the President’s attention, his only sign of a response being a subtle “hm,” that was his sign to tread lightly. “Ma’am, as hard as it is for me to say this, we can’t keep obsessing over this ‘problem’ that’s landed in our backyard. Russia is massing troops along its Western border and Crimea, and North Korea is doing the same along the Demilitarized Zone. WE CAN NOT, let this one attack cost us so much in the world.”

“I know Hardaway, I know… Besides the countries that hate us, what is the rest of the world thinking?” The President asked leaning back into her chair.

The Secretary of Defense pulled out a stack of paper and started reading off the notes. “So far NATO has been put on high alert, watching their own borders and looking for any sign of a dome appearing in their territory. Our Asian allies have their militaries preparing to attack at a moments notice if either China or North Korea attempt something, and the Middle East has been sent in to a frenzy of terrorist activities and so forth, nothing strange there. Basically, the world is going down hill, fast.”

The President sat quietly listening to her advisors hoping to finally hear some good news for once in this constant sea of excrement she found herself in. Pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes, she asked a question she already knew the answer to. “Right, so where do we stand on getting inside that annoying purple zit.”

“Ma’am, the Air force has been running sorties around the barrier all to varying degrees of success; for now our options stand at dropping enough ordinance that would leave a crater in its wake, or tunneling underneath it.” The Chairman said handing over two files for her to read. “For the drop, we would have to fly high enough for our bombers to not be effected by the electronic interference while remaining low enough so they hit their target, also any electronics in a bomb or missiles would malfunction and cause the ordinance to fall off target so they would have to be low, very low. Tunneling under the barrier would allow us to move troops in more quickly though we have no idea what kind of environment is inside there or how deep the interference goes. There could be some kind of hostile organism growing inside there that we don’t know about.”

Holding her position through the list of options, adding to the ever growing wrinkles and grey hair she had, the President wanted nothing more than for this little problem to go away, to just leave her be and go bother someone else; that being said, she couldn’t just up and leave, and the world needed an answer before the literal thread it was hanging by snapped.

“Hardaway, get me a line to our NATO and Asian allies and another line to Russia, China and Iran. After that, grab me a bottle of something for this headache, and a cup of coffee, black, and sugar, lots of sugar. This is going to be another long week.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Kansas City, MO,
Time - 1500

The Council was never good at thinking actions through; especially on matters that involved invading an Alien planet. Aderladus had perched himself on a building’s roof overlooking the landscape of the Alien world, the foreign wind blowing through his feathers while his talons gripped the edge of the cold stone that towered above the land. His first impressions of this world were surprise, surprise that such weak bodied creatures could ever create these magnificent structures that rivaled any Equestrian city. His next impression would be of beautiful horror as he would watch the remains of so many Alliance members be wrapped in red sheets. Never had he seen such destruction from so small a group before, even the Equestrians could not conceive such power.

As he continued his survey of the land, wasting time until his next mission, a gentle gust of wind gave away a visitor. “Hail Aderladus,” Zephyr called, limping his way forward

“Hail Zephyr,” Aderladus replied, cheer escaping his static expression.

Watching his friend slowly limp towards him, Aderladus could only imagine the luck that Zephyr possessed to have survived the attack on the station. The Third Echelon had been completely destroyed while the Forth had barely survived, Zephyr only managing to survive because the creatures had passed over him, most likely thinking he was dead. Not to say he didn’t retain some injuries, both of his wings were broken and had to be fixed with magical surgery, and his right talon had been shattered; even the surgery couldn’t fully fix something that broken. But what truly surprised him was how the creatures, possessing the sheer destructive power they had at their call, passed right over Zephyr; still shocked and amazed him too no end.

“I see your flight has returned,” Aderladus stated looking over at the now fully red feathers that Zephyr had, his orange tips wiped clean. “Tell me how fares your talon?”

“My Talon, though fixed with the best medical marvels our great Council provided us, has seen better days. I doubt that I will properly walk on it again. Fortune smiled on me though, as I was born left taloned.” Zephyr’s bleak humor did not go unnoticed as did the remark about the less-than adequate equipment they were provided.

“I will admit, the supplies we were given could have been better. Does the Council truly think that we could have taken this city and the surrounding area without casualties? If the Council knew that these creatures were in league with the ponies should we not have better weapons and war machines?” Aderladus questioned looking to his Southern friend with worry.

Zephyr thought on the string of questions looking for some kind of answer. “Perhaps they believed that these creatures were as weak as the Ponies; we received little to no fatalities during the initial assault on Equestria and the following months, perhaps the Council believes that this world would share a similar fate. Though, I will concede that you have a point, we need better equipment.”

Aderladus thought on his friend’s answer while observing the landscape, his thoughts drifting to home and the events happening there. Since coming through, the Zenocoras that arrived with them worked tirelessly trying to create a similar doorway like the one they came through back on Terra. The materials arriving one piece at a time, slowing the progress down considerably; adding to the fact that day and night seemed to operate on a different schedule on this planet, the pieces would arrive in the early hours of the day, causing the workers loss of sleep and with that, safety. Already there had been four deaths just trying to retrieve the pieces and fit them properly.

Returning to his consciousness, Aderladus closed his mind to the ever growing possibility that he may be called to help with the building. Noticing the time, he found that his liberty hours’ were almost over and decided to return to the barracks to prepare for his next assignment, a group of meddlers were making themselves known through the Northern and Western portions of their new territory. Someone needed to remind them who they belonged too. Bidding a final farewell to Zephyr, Aderladus leaped from the building and flew to the South. Gaining altitude he flew past the building where the portal was being constructed and where the shield was being produced, sparing a parting glance at the portal frame he smiled inwardly, grateful when the day would come when he could return home to his family. Resuming his normal speed, Aderladus flew away from the city center and a partially completed portal frame.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Near Smithville, Missouri
Time - 1600

Sitting in an open top HWMMV would not be Isaac’s ideal choice of vehicle, especially against an enemy whose weapons could shoot through unarmored doors; or lack of doors in this case. Fortunately, he had been given an Up Armored truck sporting a Fifty, a few boxes of ammunition, and an AT4 rocket launcher, so not a total disappointment. The only downside would be the Missouri heat, which appeared to be out in full swing today. If you have ever been to Missouri, you would know that the heat is not a dry heat like in California, but a humid kind of heat, the kind where your skin stays sticky no matter what you do and you can’t seem to dry yourself off, the kind where you think that Hell moved to Earth because they needed more room. That kind of humidity.

Leaning back into his seat, Isaac remembered why him and his team were out driving through the sweaty Missouri country side. They had received word that a shipment of Myth supplies were being convoyed out of the Kansas City area, and into an outpost near the border of the barrier. Isaac and his team were to retrieve them for the good of the base and its current occupants; after all what’s yours is mine.

Guess old Conway came through on this one. Supplies had been rough, especially after the barrier dropped, every store they came across was ransacked and empty. MRE’s could only go so far after three weeks, and real food was starting to sound good right about now. Conway could have given them more of a warning though, as they were barely able to grab their gear before they had to go LARPing. How he managed to find out this little piece of information Isaac would probably never know, but it was good to still be in the game. Isaac’s team was to have eyes on the convoy, and report their numbers and weapons back to the Underground as people had started calling the fallout shelter.

What Isaac couldn’t live with was the complete breakdown of leadership back at the Underground. Every Major had an idea on what to do with the convoy and how to handle the supplies but no one wanted to follow the others’ idea. The Majors all acted like old married couples that couldn’t agree on what to eat much less to do. They all wanted to be the big Hero you see in one of those old WWII movies, though that task itself seemed impossible as each one of them wanted to be the leader instead of the follower. What they needed was a outside source of leadership, someone that wasn’t in command at the time the Barrier fell. But finding someone like that would that an amazing amount of luck, or bad luck depending on the situation.

Arriving near the observation site, Isaac had to appreciate the setting; Smithville, Missouri, had one driven around long enough they would find themselves in nothing but farmland, strange as it seems but that was probably one of the few redeeming qualities this far Northwest in the barrier, fewer people to worry about in a gunfight. Thinking on that Isaac only just noticed the distinct lack of said people, despite the town being fairly proportionate in size.

Looking around at the empty stores and houses Isaac couldn’t help the feeling that something bad happened here. “Well. This can’t be a good sign.”

Hoping they would find the inhabitants later, Isaac’s team arrived at the ambush site fully prepared to deal with what ever the furry monsters threw at them, but you’d be surprise how often the Universe throws a curveball.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Atchison, Kansas the Underground
Time - 1800

Patience is a virtue. Whoever said that obviously hadn’t met Layla, and would be glad they never did. Patience was not Layla’s strongest trait; nor was it her favorite. She would rather be flying high, where wind whipped through her hair, the sun kissed her cheek, and the speed made her heart beat out through her chest. She lived for the thrill of flight and the danger of pulling off a high stakes mission. That was probably why she joined the 160th Airborne, the danger of the mission, the thrill of striking a target, it was euphoric heaven for her.

Layla had flown Helicopters for the Army years before joining the Night Stalkers, almost shot down in Syria a couple of times, many of those times she was extracting troops under heavy fire, finally got unlucky and took a round in the leg ending that deployment. After her leg was healed Layla was approached by a recruiter for the 160th looking for new meat, she had accepted, and never looked back.

After the training Layla had been anticipating a mission the 160th was known for, something that could really test her skills, something that would put her new knowledge to use; sadly, nothing would show up for her and all of that time was spent running drills and preparing for the next big thing. After a routine training mission in Fort Riley, Layla and her wingman had stopped in Kansas City to refuel when Griffons, Minotaurs, Zebras and Dragons started raining from the sky. Losing her wingman in the following escape from the city Layla had landed in Leavenworth when she was advised to head to Atchison to standby for her next assignment.

Closing her eyes and tipping her cover she expected another long, boring, hot, day of nothing. Half asleep she was kicked from her position when a runner had rounded a corner and tripped over her outstretched legs. “Sorry,” the teenager shouted before jumping to her feet and resuming her hurried run.

“Freakin kid needs to watch where she’s going.” It was at this point she noticed that several people were running around carrying ammunition, gas, and other equipment to trucks to get them ready for something. “What the Hell?”

“Layla,” a voice shouted for her attention. It was her Copilot Carl Peterson, running at her like the Devil himself was chasing after him. “Layla, did you hear? Somethings happened in Simthville.”

“I don’t know where Smithville is and I sure as hell don’t know what’s going on.” She replied angry that something happened and she didn’t know about it.

“Well Smithville is a town located about 47 minutes from where we are right now by car but if you-.” The excited Copilot explained before having Layla’s hand around his mouth.

Taking a breath so as to not smack Carl upside the head… Again, Layla calmly asked what was going on. “Carl, stop. Tell me what happened and why is everyone so panicked.”

After releasing his lips Carl, explained to Layla that a recon team had come under heavy fire in Smithville from enemy air and ground forces. There was also talk of hostile heavy armor in the area as well, but that was an unconfirmed rumor for now. Taking in the situation in silence for a minute or two, Layla ran for the Underground with Carl following behind her shouting questions.

Taking the elevator down, Layla and Carl tried to make themselves as presentable as they could in their flight uniforms, not everyday you meet the people in-charge of a resistance. Reaching their desired level the pair of pilots stepped off and made their way through the narrow hallway towards the Operations Center. If the ground pounders are the blood of the military than Operations was the brain; everything needed to control the resistance was being coordinated through this one room, troop locations, enemy location, near real time data everything screamed control. After passing security, the duo stepped inside the large cavernous room, the walls had been lined with monitors and fluorescent lights while computer stations circled the room. A large table had been placed in the center of the room with a layout of the Area of Operations, or basically the entire Kansas City Area and its surroundings.

One of the monitors on the wall showed what appeared to be seven blue triangles moving away in a tactical position from what looked like a sea of red, Layla could barely make out the individual hostile units’. It appeared to be a viewing of a civilian Drone but of what Layla could only guess. Moving to speak with the Commanding Officers she offered every military custom she had when speaking to the Majors, bring her request to take her Bird, her baby, out to rescue the trapped Recon team.

“Absolutely not,” barked the Army Major almost sending Layla reeling back. “Your aircraft is to valuable to lose on a lost cause. There is hostile air in the area that would burn your little carrier to slag. We can not risk the only mode of ariel transportation.”

Layla had to resist the increasing urge to smack this guy for even suggesting that they even leave them behind. Sure she might lose her Bird in the process, but what rescue mission isn’t complete without a little danger and a crashed helicopter. Understanding that trying to persuade the higher up’s would never work or even agree to this mission she took her leave and headed back towards the surface.

“Are we really going to leave them out there?” Carl asked as he had been quite as a church mouse through the whole ordeal.

“No,” Layla said stopping the elevator at the armory. “Pull out a 240 and as much ammunition as you can while I begin preflight checks.” Practically shoving Carl out the door Layla continued the ascent to the surface. Her preflight checks had been rushed and she was running low on fuel, both bad ways to start a mission, but time was of the essence. Helping Carl secure the 240B she had him run and fetch as much ammunition his tiny body could carry.

Practically engrossed in her preflight high she didn’t notice a group of armed men approaching from behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Smithville, Missouri
Time - 1740

As the Sun began its slow decent over the horizon Isaac looked up to the sky again, hoping to find some trace of blueish hue among the clouds; the only colors he was greeted with were white and purple, the colors he had grown accustomed to. The calm scenery of the town only broken by the occasional animal scurrying across the street into an abandoned alley or a piece of trash floating along the wind.

Isaac and his team had taken up positions along the main road that lead into and out of town. Isaac, Lee, and Rodriguez had taken residence in the second floor an abandoned coffee shop while Fernando, Sergei, and Hernandez had taken positions in a post office at an intersection in the road. Waiting, constantly hoping to leave the sweat inducing buildings before all that would be left of them was a puddle of salty water and gear.

Sounds of gunfire in the distance reminded them just where they where and the situation they were in. Completely surrounded, all access to the outside world cut off, and the constant fear that their base would be discovered and sieged refused to leave them. It was Rodriguez that decided to finally brake the silence that hovered over them like a foul stench, which was exactly what they all smell like right about now.

“Sir, shouldn’t the convoy have come through by now?” She asked making Isaac look up from his RCO sight, but not taking his eyes off of the street.

“Yes, but remember these guys probably don’t operate on the same time schedule we do. Who’s to say they don’t have a completely different time table from wherever they came from; I don’t know.” Isaac responded still scanning the area.

“Maybe they don’t even have a concept of time where they come from.” Lee offered from his position his iconic shotgun slung across his back and a pair of binoculars pressed against his face.

“Maybe, but I doubt it. They seem to advanced to NOT have a concept of time.” Rodriguez replied holding her position at the door incase anything tried to sneak up on them.

“Than maybe they are just lazy… or don’t care how long we wait out in this God forsaken heat.” Lee joked, a smile crossing his face.

“Look, I don’t like being out in this heat anymore than the next guy,” Isaac said wiping his face with the sleeve of his desert blouse. “But lets hope that whoever is in charge of their military rots in hell for making us wait this long.” He added before putting his RCO to his eye checking the street again.

They were almost ready to call it a day when Lee caught something out of the corner of his eye. There was a boy running out of an alleyway with nothing but tattered shorts covering himself. The boy looked like he was in his late teens, possibly early twenties, his olive tanned skin and bald head slightly burned.

Just as Isaac’s group was about to go and see what was wrong three Zebras stormed out of the same alleyway trying to catch the boy. He had a fair lead on his pursuers and looked like he would escape by ducking into another alley. Fate, and her cruel sense of humor, had other plans. A Griffon, from out of nowhere, slammed into the boy causing them to slid across the pavement, leaving a small trail of blood from where the Griffon tackled the boy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aharon, was not having the best of days at the moment. You could say it had been like that for the past few weeks. After being captured and sent off to God knows where, he had managed to escape; even after weeks of physical testing, chemical testing, and another kinds of testing he couldn't even begin to describe and frankly, didn’t want to.

The important thing was that he escaped, after what felt like months, but was probably only weeks. He had escaped that hospital of the damned and that was all that mattered. Actually, partially escaped sounded better, as he had yet to evade his tormenters. Two days. That’s how long he had been running and hiding; somethings never change.

This was it though. He was going to be taken back to that place, or be shot here in the street. Both bad options, but if given the choice, he would take the street. Two Griffons held him in place while three Zebras moved to restrain him further by placing medieval style cuffs on his hands and feet. Hospital it is then. He didn’t make it easy for them, two days with little to no food or water took its toll, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

It was no use though as the cuffs went around his hands and talons dug into his back. In a desperate final act he did the one thing any idiot in a bad situation would do… He screamed for help. “Please, someone, anyone, help.” Even as the words left his mouth what happened next still took him by surprise. A single gunshot sounded off in the distance and both Griffons dropped dead partially covering Aharon as three more gunshots sounded off and the shocked still Zebras fell to the pavement dead thanks to the new opening in their skulls.

It was a good five minutes before the first humans figures Aharon had seen in days appeared. “Good shooting Rodriguez,” “thank you Sir.” “Hey, kid, are you alright? Hey, Kid.” Those were the last words Aharon heard before fatigue, malnutrition, dehydration, and the lack adrenaline finally caused him to fall asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Looks like he blacked out, Sir.” Lee stated looking the boy over for any wounds, the only ones being the nasty abrasion from his impact with the Griffon and some minor cuts and bruises. The real problem was the obvious malnourishment he had. It looked like he hadn’t had proper food in weeks. The important thing was he was breathing and not being taken off to God knows where.

Isaac radioed Fernando about what had happened and decided to call off everything and take the boy back to the Underground. If the convoy was in the area they were now on alerted to their presence and if they weren’t in the area Isaac now had an apparent torture victim on his hands. Major Arthur wouldn’t like it, but that man had it out for Isaac since day one and was possibly looking for any reason to relieve him of his command. “To Hell with him,” Isaac thought having Lee pick up the boy to take him back to the Underground.

Making their way back to the vics a sound could be heard coming down the road, one that Isaac hadn’t heard in a long time. It started out as a low rumbling that could have been mistake for marching but as time went on that marching turned into an Earth shaking and windows rattling rumble. Taking cover in an alleyway Isaac carefully peered out into the street to see something he never would have thought he would see. A small voice in the back of his head saying one phrase. “Oh shit.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After receiving the Lieutenant’s orders to pack up, Fernando had his group move to the trucks to start them up. Hernandez had been less of a pain in the ass today so Fernando was in a fairly good mood. That wasn’t to say he didn’t like the kid, he just had a lot to learn about keeping his mouth shut. The Lieutenant thought that so long as he could shoot, he didn’t care what he said. This was one of the lieutenant’s quirks that Fernando didn’t really like, not to say he was a bad leader, he just still had a lot to learn. And being thrown right into the shit not even before he could be sent off to The Basic School, he had done alright. Fernando had taken it upon himself to educate Hernandez in the basics of being a Marine, that old Drill Instructor vibe never really leaves you. A low rumbling sounded off in the distance but he didn’t really pay any mind to it. He was just about to call the Lieutenant on the radio when an explosion kicked up dirt and trash from the direction the Lieutenant had been.

Staring out in the direction of the explosion Fernando could barely comprehend what just happened. That was not a rocket and it sure as hell wasn’t a grenade. It was something much worse.

Having Sergei grab the AT4 the and Hernandez man the fifty, Fernando was hoping his hunch was wrong for once, but everything about the situation was screaming the worst possible scenario.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac was trying to keep calm in this situation, but having a literal HEAT round explode just a few feet away from him was making that hard. He could barely believe what was happening; okay, he could believe that ancient Greek Myths were attacking, while riding dragons and shooting high energy based weapons, but he was having trouble believing that a Tank had come out of seemingly nowhere and started shooting at them. That was when another shell landed in the building next to Isaac’s team taking out the ground floor and washing them in a heat that was worse than the Missouri weather, if that was possible. Chancing a glance Isaac looked inside the recently demolished building noticing that almost everything had been melted to a slag form and burned the walls threatening to start a fire.

Looking at the tank now Isaac noticed that it lacked a rotating turret and was smaller than an ABRAMs tank, it reminded him of an old German WWII Stug, but covered in scales and had a much bigger gun. It also looked bigger than what he remembered but was probably wrong. The black scales, possibly Dragon in origin, which most likely served as Composite Armor for the chassis of the actual tank covered every visible portion of the metal monster. Isaac was out of options the alleyway was a dead end and they didn’t have anything that could puncture the armor on that thing.

Suddenly two trucks tore the around the corner one dropping off their resident Russian bear while the other, with Hernandez and Fernando inside, opened up with the fifty Hernandez sporting the most terrified look on his face Isaac had ever seen. His grouping was awful but it served its purpose and grabbed the tanks attention just enough for Isaac’s group to make a run for the next piece of available cover which was right next to Sergei. the tank opened fire on the truck barely missing and causing Isaac to go deaf for a minute. Hernandez wasn’t even looking any more and firing off at random missing the tank horribly.

“Sir,” Sergei called out to Isaac. “Clear da back blast.” He shouted taking aim with the AT4.

Dragging Lee and Rodriguez to the ground Sergei fired their only shoot at the treads of the tank trying to immobilize the metal monster. True to his aim the 84mm rocket destroyed a section of the treads causing the tank to list to the right bringing its main gun out of action and away from the team.

Deciding now would be a good time to “beat feet” Isaac rounded up the squad loading the injured Middle Eastern boy in the truck and made for the other vic. Before he turned the corner, however; the unarmored vic exploded in a bright blue ball of fire as a Dragon flew over head banking so it could make another pass. Once again that little voice in the back of Isaac’s head could be heard uttering that same phrase but just a little bit louder, “oh shit.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac could officially say that they were in trouble. After that Dragon had up and destroyed the unarmored truck it made a second pass at the armored truck. Isaac could say with confidence that Hernandez tried to stop the oversized flying lizard, key word tried, but the scales on it were so thick the rounds just bounced off harmlessly serving only to antagonize the creature. Diving closer and closer the Dragon unleashed fresh hot energy over the truck sending it flying into the air while throwing Hernandez off into a ditch ten feet away. Isaac now had three unconscious people as well as an approaching hoard of Zebras and Griffons to deal with.

“Lee grab the boy, Sergei grab Fernando, I’ll grab Hernandez.” Isaac ordered reaching to pull the unconscious marksman from the ditch he had been thrown into. Picking up Hernandez into a fireman’s carry Isaac’s team made for the nearest hill while Audrey called in for support.

Energy blasts rained down on Isaac’s team as they ran for the nearest hill trying to gain the upper hand on their pursuers. But trying to get up a hill with a one hundred and fifty pound person on your back plus gear, all while being shot at is not the easiest thing the world plus the Missouri heat was still in effect so they could also curse the weather man when they had the chance. The only cover allowed to the humans were abandoned cars left by some unfortunate souls. They would have tried commandeering a truck but any vic would have taken to long to wire and make them a bigger target; besides, everything was either dead or too worn out for use. They would have to climb the hill hard way.

“Rodriguez, what’s the word on reinforcements?” Isaac called out hoping there would be some answer.

“Not good Sir,” Audrey replied firing her rifle into the crowd of fur and armor. “Any help we could receive would take forty minutes to reach us, and I don’t think we can last that long.”

She was right and Isaac knew it, they had to make it to the top of the hill and hold out for as long as they could. Not much of a plan but it was all they had at the moment. Plus, Sergei wasn’t showing it but his 240 was barely holding on at this point; the sling might as well have broken off.

Reaching the top of the hill the only buildings that marked the area were a bank some fast food buildings and a farming equipment store. Deciding that the fast food buildings were to cliché he ordered his squad to take up residence in the bank hoping it could provide cover. To his surprise the vault was open, not to his surprise the contents were gone; it seems some people thought it would be a good idea to stock up on their accounts instead of their fridge. placing the unknown boy and his unconscious team members in the vault, Isaac and the rest of the team took up positions covering the front of the bank. Tired though they were, Isaac and his fireteam resolved to hold the position until help arrived.

The first shots of energy destroyed the windows of the car Isaac had been taking cover behind, glass and slag covered him while the smell of burning hair filled his nose. “Time to nut up or shut up.” He thought moving from cover to fire at whoever thought it would be a good idea to shoot at a Marine. Isaac’s only result was a flicker of light as the shields of a Griffon came to life. Forced to return to cover Isaac cursed whatever nameless deity gave these invaders their shield tech.

Shifting his fire to the unarmored Zebras, black and white striped bodies started to fill the road as the Griffons continued to press their luck. Lee continued to fire his shotgun trying to dispel the enemies shields so others could make the killing blow. Sergei was shouting something in Russian and firing bursts from the shoulder at anything that moved scoring a killing blow on Griffons multiple Griffons thanks to their depleted shields.

Isaac heard a groan beside him as Fernando fell to his side, still clearly feeling the aftereffects of being flipped through the air like a football. Closely behind him Hernandez was trying to his hardest to not fall to the ground and evict the contents of his stomach.

“Sir,” Fernando said finally having his senses come back to him. “It seems we work up the neighborhood.” He barely managed through his dizziness. “Any word on when backup will hake it?”

“Not for another twenty-two minutes,” Isaac said looking at his watch ignoring the blue energy fly over his head. “How’s the boy doing?”

“Still unconscious, Sir. What do you want to do?” Fernando asked as Hernandez opened fire behind them clearly not happy about being thrown through the air.

Checking his ammo Isaac was running dangerously low and would have to resort to his sidearm which would effectively render him useless. Assuming the others were close to their limit as well he had to make the call.

“Rodriguez, radio,” Isaac called out firing the last of his current magazine as his radio operator sprinted over to them. Handing him the radio Isaac called in asking when assistance would make it to their position. He received the same answer saying that help would arrive in the next twenty minutes. Stressing the situation to the operator on the other end of the line Isaac received the same answer again.

Close to losing his mind and breathing hard Isaac swore he would shoot whoever he had to just to make sure his people got out alive. Calming down Isaac looked around the area again noticing just how much closer the Zebras and Griffons had advanced in the relatively shot time he had been talking.

“Command,” Isaac said putting the radio to his ear. “We will hold for the next five minutes, but if help isn’t hear by then bon’t bother sending anyone at all. Out.” Handing the Radio back to Rodriguez Isaac gave the order to fall back if reinforcements didn’t arrive in the next five minutes. Uneasy calls of affirmation were his only response. Reduced to two magazines for his rifle Isaac pushed the release for his current magazine clearing the weapon before slamming his second to last into the mag well.

“Someone better get here soon or we’ll be leaving on our backs and not our boots. Wait? Is that a guitar? IS THAT SINGING?”

“I’m gonna take you down - yeah, down, down, down

So don’t you fool around”

“No way, there’s no way.” Needless to say Hernandez was in shock.

“I’m gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger”

The whole team was in shock, speechless even. Even the Griffons and Zebras couldn’t believe what they were seeing. A giant gray helicopter coming over the crest of a hill with speakers blaring music would shock anyone, as no sane person would even consider this.

Seriously who expects to be saved by someone playing AC/DC?

”Shoot to thrill, play to kill

Too many women with too many pills

Shoot to thrill, play to kill

I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will.”

That was when the Chinook decided now would be appropriate to open fire with its door gun. 7.62 ammo fell on the shocked creatures who were still trying to figure out what was happening, the surprise didn’t last long as energy started flying towards the heavy-lift helicopter providing the humans on the ground the opportunity they needed to return fire and kill the shielded targets. Caught between a flying adversary and ground targets, the Griffons and Zebras fell back to regroup at the crest of the lower hill before taking on the giant flying metal bird.

“Cause I shoot to thrill, and I’m ready to kill

I can’t get enough, I can’t get the thrill

I shoot to thrill, play to kill

Yeah, pull the trigger

Pull it.”

“Lee grab the boy, Rodriguez pop smoke on a clearing, everyone else get ready to move.” Isaac shouted over the sounds of gun fire and guitar solos. Finding a landing zone was easy, the road was separated in to four lanes and a sidewalk. More than enough room especially since there were fewer cars here than coming up the hill.

Landing on the road its blades kicking up dust and any loose pieces of trash left behind, the Chinook landed with a thud as a S.W.A.T. team formed a perimeter around the open hatch allowing Isaac and his team to enter uninhibited. Lee placed the still unconscious boy in a seat and buckled him in for the long flight back. Making sure he was the last of his team to board the helicopter, Isaac finally stepped inside as energy rounds started flying past them. After the S.W.A.T. team boarded the pilot increased the power to the thrust and lifted off as the door gunner opened fire on the shrinking targets.

Electing to stand rather than sit Isaac wandered up to the pilot’s chambers where he was greeted by a relatively small female pilot. He assumed she was female as her voice was the only indicator of her gender. She was flat as hell.

“If you don’t mind me asking Lieutenant, could you please return to your seat. We have to take the long way home to avoid any followers.”

“I just wanted to say thanks, me and my people wouldn’t have made it with out you.” Isaac said making sure to stay out of the pilots’ way. “I didn’t think command would lift the grounding order for this bird though. To be honest I didn't think they cared.”

“You’re welcome, and they didn’t and they don’t.” Isaac looked at her like she had a horn growing out of her head. From what he had been told this was the only real military aircraft the Underground had and the orders were to leave it grounded unless an emergency appeared, but it was that last part that truly caught him off guard.

“You alright Lieutenant? You’re looking at me like I have a dick growing out of my forehead?” Apparently, not only was she a skilled pilot, but also a mind reader… All be it a very bad one.

“Yeah I’m fine,” Isaac lied. “Just thinking of the ass chewing you all are going to go through later.” At this the S.W.A.T. leader stepped forward revealing himself to be Alton. “Saved by 1910 again huh? Add them to the list of people I owe.”

After pleasantries were exchanged and greetings were made Alton explained how 1910 and the 160th planned the rescue. “We heard over radio chatter that your team had been in heavy contact and sustained wounded. We didn’t know if it was life threatening or not so we decided to ‘borrow’ a vic and try and rescue you. Before we could though we noticed our mutual friends here” he said jabbing his thumb in the direction of the cockpit, “were planing something along the same line so we decided to join them and save your sorry asses.”

“He forgot to mention the fact that the pilots they nearly died of shock when we walked up to them.” Thomas added, a malicious aura flowing from the cockpit as he spoke. “I swear, the copilot nearly passed out on the spot.”

“People passing out aside,” Alton said before walking up to Isaac and pulling him in close so only he could hear him. “Somethings happening back at the Underground. People are talking about throwing out the Majors. While I would agree with that there are other people that would side with them and we can’t afford any internal struggles right now. Bellman’s figured something out but he needs to speak with you the moment you can.” Pushing Isaac had to appreciate the neutral face Alton could put up, but one could tell that the atmosphere in their little world had just thickened. All the while that little voice continued to say those two words that made up his new life. “Oh shit.”

Author's Note

how you guys put up with me is going to be a mystery until the day I die isn't it. Any way, see you next time.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Humans value freedom more than life itself,
but whether it be morals or blood
there is always a price to pay for it.

Planet - Earth
Location - Kansas City, Missouri
Time - 5:30 PM

"Hello listeners, the time is 5:30 PM and today is looking like a gorgeous summer day with the weather at a cool 72 degrees, clear skies, and a slight breeze coming in from the West. And as a bonus we have a pollen count of 0.7 and thats a record low for this time of year; good news for you hay fever and asthma sufferers. All in all it looks like another gorgeous day in Kansas City."

"Today was looking like a gorgeous day" Isaac thought as he drove down 18th and Vine, away from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Two weeks seem to go by in a hurry; in that small amount of time Isaac had revisited almost every building of importance and every museum in twelve days, a new record for him. But through the car ride he couldn't help but think of how he was going to propose to Anna when she came to visit. Would he pop the question at dinner or when she showed up, this and other thoughts ran unchecked through his mind occupying all of the time it took for him to reach his parents house.

"Good evening Kansas City the time is 6:00 in the afternoon and the day looks like it's going to carry over tomorrow with clear skies, cool weather, and no wind, so have a nice tomorrow and enjoy. Coming up next we delve into the mysterious and constant power outages that continue to plague the city and after that we......."

Isaac's mother had the awful habit of leaving the T.V. on whenever she finished watching it leaving it on for hours before someone turned it off. Seeing as how nothing seemed to be happening over the next couple of days, he decided to just relax and catch up on his sleep, something he missed a lot in college and NROTC. He had almost fallen asleep when he heard the sound of a large explosion in the distance; well not so much of an explosion it was more like a loud "boom."

"What the hell was that?" He thought as he stood up and stepped outside. When he did Isaac noticed that he wasn't the only one that had heard a noise, the entire neighborhood was out looking. He didn't notice anything too out of the ordinary, until someone pointed to the sky and shouted "what's that!" Looking up a large violet... something was crawling across the sky at an alarming pace. He watched it until it moved out of his field of view moving outwards.

"There's something you don't see everyday" Isaac thought as he chuckled to himself, he'd always wanted to use that phrase. As he looked around everyone was either murmuring to one another saying things like "what was that thing?", "was it alien?", "should we call the police?", and "what do we do now?" Many people just shrugged their shoulders and returned to their homes while others decided to get on their knees and, pray? Isaac ignored that and went back into the house to phone some old friends.

"Adam, hey it's Isaac.... Yes it has been a long time..... No just got back into town - hey did you see a large purple thing fly across the sky down in your place? Really?....... Here to!....... Okay thanks, talk to you later. Goodbye." After he hung up the phone he decided to call the others and they all said the same thing, that a "large purple thing sailed across the sky." However the last person that he tried to call didn't answer. Instead all he got was a disconnected signal, which was hard to believe because he talked to that friend two days ago on the same number. Thinking the worst he grabbed he keys and jacket and was out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - I-35
Time - 6:45

"Look, could he have just changed numbers, I mean it is possible" Adam said as they both drove down the highway.

"No it's not possible I just talked to him two days ago so he couldn't have changed his number that fast" Isaac replied, irritated that his friend wanted to come along for a joy ride.

"All I'm saying is that I think you're over reacting"

"Dude, why did you want to come along if all you are going to do is whine?" Isaac asked rather annoyed.

"Becaussseee, I was bored and I thought that this would be fun. Besides I am not whining I am complaining, do you want to hear whining?" Adam asked with a fake 'high and mighty' voice.

"No please don't I'd rather like to get through this drive with my hearing intact." Isaac said

Adam Rukin, the man had a reputation of being a very good whiner. When he didn't want to do something he made it known, he would go on and on about how "this was to heavy" or how "this was to dirty," it really made Isaac wonder how he lived in a farming community for most of his childhood. It's not that he was a bad person, he'd probably give you the shirt off his back if you asked.

Adam was one of the only friends Isaac had that didn't move after high school. They met each other in middle school and had become fast friends. Adam grew up in a farming community just outside the city limits, but despite growing up in a business where you get dirty no matter what; he had a high distaste to dirt and grim of any kind. So when he moved out he decided to go work in the cleanness place he could think of... a hospital. He didn't really have to look far, the Kansas City area alone had over twenty hospitals with who knows how many in the surrounding area.

Apparently Adam had taken the day off (something about to many vacation days saved up?) Anyway, he decided to join Isaac in the odiously long car ride only to annoy Isaac through the trip.

Isaac just wanted to keep his sanity intact because they were driving out to Cameron, Missouri (or 'the sticks' if you'd like) which was almost fifty-two miles out of Kansas City. Truthfully his friend lived further than Cameron, five miles out so the trip would be even longer than normal. The drive to Cameron took about forty-five minutes depending if the traffic was nice. However, before they even reached his friends' house the violet energy started to dip down and hit the ground thirty yards ahead of them. Stopping the car about twenty yards away from the violet energy Isaac looked at the rubble surrounding the end of the road.

"Okay, do we just drive through it?" Adam asked leaning out the car window.

"If theres one thing I've learned from watching Sci-fi movies it's that you never drive into purple energy that's hitting the ground with rubble where the road was." Isaac said as he stepped out of his car and walked towards the edge.

"I thought you said not to go near it!" Adam called out.

"No, I said not to drive through it. This is different." He replied

As Isaac walked closer to the edge he noticed that he couldn't see through it and that it gave off a low humming sound. "Hmm odd." He also noticed that his phone was giving off small amounts of static the closer he got to it. "Curiouser and curiouser" he said.

Isaac picked up a rock that was laying on the side of the road and chucked it at the energy. The rock shattered into nothing, with a small explosion forcing him to cover his face. "What the hell was that!?" he thought... After he returned to the car he realized that he hadn't turned the radio on the whole trip. "Why didn't I turn this on sooner? Well now would be the perfect time so I don't have to listen to Adam complain on the way back" he thought.

He turned on the radio and was blasted with sounds of police radio chatter, broadcasters shouting for help, and the occasional truck driver shouting something to distorted to make out. Adam looked at him with a confused expression mouthing "what the fuck?" It went on like this until the emergency broadcast system overtook the chatter and started playing a recorded voice in the background.

"This is the Emergency Alert System of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. We have repurposed the system to broadcast the alert that unknown forces have taken over central Kansas City and are spreading into the surrounding area. As of this time all citizens are advised to stay in their homes and lock their doors and windows, all law enforcement and off duty military personal are to report to Fort Leavenworth immediately for combat orders. I say again all citi......"

"Well this can't be good" Isaac said matter-of-factly as he turned off the radio

"No it can't" Adam replied.

"We need to get home fast" Isaac said turning the car around and punching the acceleration pedal till it hit the floor rocketing them down the highway.

"Is this really happening, I mean are we really being attacked? Who in their right mind would want to attack us I mean we're in the center of the country?" Adam asked the worry obvious in his voice.

"I don't know, but I have to get you home then head to Leavenworth. I'm a Marine now so I have to go. But we may be in more trouble then we know." He said cryptically avoiding a car as he speed down the road.

"Whys that?"

"Because they've trapped us in here with nowhere to run. Anything that tries to pass through that energy will most likely be destroyed." Isaac replied as he moved out of the way of other cars trying to rush home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac and Adam reached Liberty a good twenty-two minutes out from Kansas City when two Chinook helicopters flew overhead flying away from the city, when out of nowhere the helicopter on the left exploded in a large blue fire ball and crashed into the ground.

"What was that!" Adam yelled before the car roof was peppered with fire.

Slamming on the brakes Isaac reached down to grab the .32 caliber revolver, his grandfather gave him, only to find air. Forgetting that he left it at his parents house he pushed Adam out his door and jumped out of his.

The two friends hit the ground running after that making their way to a overturned civic. To the left of them police officers and S.W.A.T. troopers opened fire onto targets the two of them couldn't see while blue and red energy flew by their cover. Just then a blue energy splashed next to their cover as more riddled the officer's cover hitting a few sending them to the ground. As the scene unfolded in front of them a S.W.A.T. trooper landed next to them, he had on standard S.W.A.T. gear along with two flash bangs, a Glock, and shouldered a M4 carbine. "What are you two doing here!?" the officer shouted.

"Trying to get home" Isaac replied over the gunfire, "but it seems that that won't be possible"

"You're damn right that won't be possible, they've spread this far out of the city and keep spreading. We were on our way to Fort Leavenworth when this happened."

"So what are we dealing with? Some sort of invasion?" Adam asked.

"Most likely. They easily took over the city and overran the station there. They were able to take out our electronics with some sort of EMP. They overran us with total ease, we barley made it out ourselves. We were thinking if we could make it to Leavenworth we could take it back, but that doesn't look like its going to be happening anytime soon."

"So what now, just wait for help to arrive?"

"No that won't be happening" Isaac said complete calmness flooding his voice.

"Why's that?" Adam asked

"Because if this is happening here think about whats happening over the whole area. There would be no way to get help out to anyone. Our only chance right now is to make it to Leavenworth."

"Yeah we tried that and we've been cut off from help completely, I don't suppose either of you know of a way to make it there?" The officer asked hope and sarcasm mixed together.

"You don't get out much do you?" Isaac said looking at the officer giving him a dead stare. "We need to drive up into Kearney then we take the 92 West to Platte City and keep following the road, that should take us to Leavenworth." Isaac said covering his face as an explosion shook the ground.

"...Worth a try, better then getting our asses shot off here," the officer said irritation present in his voice at being told-off. Reaching for his radio to signal the other members of his team Isaac grabbed his wrist before he could call them up.

"One more thing, give me a weapon" Isaac asked in a calm voice like he was asking for a glass of water.

"Why should I give you a weapon" the officer asked disbelief evident that this complete stranger would ask for a weapon.

"Dowereallyhavetimetoarguethis" Isaac said with a hit of anger in his voice.

Another explosion much closer than the last one shook the ground and sent up dirt and dust. "Fine" the officer said pulling out his handgun and giving it to Isaac along with a few other magazines.

"Those are Hollow Point rounds in there." The officer said pointing to the handgun as Isaac checked the clip and cocked the handle make sure it worked. "Most of them seem to have some type of body armor so it might not work very well." Isaac checked the clip and pulled the slide back to chamber a round completely ignoring what the officer was saying.

"They still bleed, right?" Isaac asked looking at the handgun determination written across his face.

"Yes but..."

"Well if they bleed we can kill them." Isaac said turning to the officer. Before he could tell the officer to radio the others Adam grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face him.

"Dude what are you thinking, if we go with them we could get are selves killed. What about our families stuck on the other side of this" Adam asked worry taking hold.

"If we try to make our way through this we'd have a new religion and if we do make it through there's no guaranty that we would make it to them. Right now this is our best bet at getting back to them." Isaac said checking the weapon one final time before being satisfied with it.

"Fine, Just let it be known that I don't like this"

"Agreed, now do we have means of transportation" Isaac said turning back to the officer.

"Yeah, two vans and five cars. Not much but that's all we were able to grab."

"That should do. Now what do we do about getting to them."

"Team Two will provide cover fire while we make our way to the vehicles, after that we will cover them as they make their way to the us."

"Right okay on three.... one..... two...... THREE" Isaac shouted throwing his hand around the overturned car firing randomly hopping to hit something.

The officer and Adam along with what appeared to be Team One ran to the vehicles, starting the engines. Isaac was just about to make his way when he did a double take at the approaching enemy. "What the fu.... Griffons?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6:00 PM
Planet - Earth
Location - Washington D.C. USA
Oval Office

Being the President of the United States one can expect more than your fair share of headaches to come with the territory. One of those headaches stared back at the President, North Korea was beginning its bellicose ranting again just as it had every year. The rhetoric went the same as well with 'American aggression will lead us to take action and drown America in a sea of divine fire' and 'if the American devil lovers wish to be destroyed by the great Kim Jung Un they need not ask,' just the same old saber rattling they always tried. As the President read off the list her office door flew open as the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff walked in.

"Madam President we have a situation" the Chairman said reaching the desk, the president still looking at the paper.

"What happened this time Chairman, is North Korea finally acting on its threats?" She said her eyes scanning the rows of tiny words.

"If only mam, but the problem is more... domestic than foreign." The Secretary of Defense said trying to form the right words to explain the situation to her.

The President finally looked up from the list, removed her glasses, and looked to the two of them and said, "explain."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6:15
The Situation Room
below the West Wing

"Now explain to me again, how an energy field can encompass an entire city in the span of a few short minutes and us not know about it" the President said rubbing her temples trying to comprehend the situation at hand.

"Mam," the Secretary of Defense started off, leaning forward. "The dome appeared before we could receive any warnings about it. It seems to have some sort of... disruption field to it, thats why we weren't able to see it on any of the satellites. The only reason we know about it is thanks to the local law enforcement."

"And we still have no idea what it is or where it came from?" The president asked.

"No Mam, we're still looking into it, but we do know that it appeared over central Kansas City." An advisor said looking at a sheet of paper.

"So what is the status on containment. Is it expanding?" The President asked looking at monitors as different angles of the dome flashed by.

"No Mam, the dome is holding it's position of fifty miles around the city center. As for containment we've sealed off the area to civilians within a three mile radius. We've also sent in the 184th Intel Wing from Kansas to see if they can spot something. We should have a report within the hour."

"That means all we can do is wait and hope this thing doesn't grow." The President said leaning back in her chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Madam President, this is Colonel Clarkson of the 184th reporting in" the pilot said through a video monitor.

"We read you loud and clear Colonel, whats the situation over Kansas City" the President asked leaning forward.

"Well, as the initial reports suggest it appears to be an energy field that gives off some kind of distortion that not only jams our radios but also interferes with our Heads Up Display. It defies everything I know about jamming fields, I've never seen any thing like it."

"So what you're telling us is that we can't see inside and we can't get radio signals into it?" She repeated looking at the nodding Colonel.

"Thats right Mam, I'm assuming thats the same for anyone trapped on the inside."

"...Thank you Colonel that will be all."

The Colonel saluted and the feed was cut off. The room was deathly silent no one dared say anything, the situation setting in on them. Not since September Eleventh in 2001 had there been an attack on the States and not since the war of 1812 had there been a substantial occupying force on US soil and certainly not as deep as the heartland. But if this was the precursor to an invasion they needed to take action before it escalated.

"General, I want this contained, I want infantry units, tank units, and air power in the area 24/7. I don't care if you have to move heaven and earth, just do it." She said emphasizing her point by jabbing her finger into the table.

"The 1st infantry division for the Army is stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas, I can have them in the area within the hour." The Chief of Staff for the Army said turning to face the President. "And if the Commandant and the Navy don't mind I can also have the 1st Marine Division brought over from California within a few days."

"Perfect, and contact Whitman; see if they can spare any people to keep an eye on this thing."

"Yes Mam" the CSA replied

"Mam if I may, the 10th intel squadron in Langley is trying out some new sensors on their aircraft, maybe they can see something the 184th can't" the CSAF suggested

"Agreed. Okay people I want to know more about this.. thing at the end of the week, but for now I have to let the world know that we've been invaded."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:30 PM

"Eddy I'm standing on the I-70 highway outside of Kansas City, Missouri where as you can see military officials have closed off the area to the public and are turning away any vehicles trying to gain access to the area. Now off in the distance there is a large violet dome covering the city and the surrounding area. Panic is working it's way among the people that have come to watch and rumors of some kind of foreign attack on the city are springing up. On if you look off in the distance you can see military aircraft flying overhead heading towards the city most likely trying to asses the situation. Until more is known about what is going on here I'm afraid there's not much we can do, back to you Eddy."

"Thank you Paula, now just a few minutes ago the President issued a statement saying that and I quote "for now we do not know where this dome comes from or how it is jamming our radio transmissions, but we are coming at this from every possible angle and we will free those trapped inside." The President has also issued a state of emergency moving other military forces into the surrounding area should the situation can for an armed intervention. For now we can only wait and keep those trapped, in our thoughts and prayers. This is Eddy Mulligan ACN News."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Twenty miles outside the portal
Time - 8:00

As Anna drove down the freeway that lead to Kansas City she thought about Isaac's parents and what they would think of her in person. True she had meet them before but that was just over Skype, not a real face-to-face. Honestly, she was afraid that they wouldn't approve of her, Isaac's parents had insisted on meeting her in person after the Skype call. Isaac didn't really seem to be worried about them, but that did little to expel her fears. She loved him but sometimes he could be a real dense to other peoples fears.

However, meeting Isaac's parents wasn't the least of her worries. She had yet to introduce him to her parents, which were highly adamant on meeting him. She'd told them about Isaac and what he was like, Her mother was overjoyed at her finding someone. Her father on the other hand was very stubborn and insisted on meeting him before he would fully accept him.

"One problem at a time." She thought.

As she drove the rest of the way in silence the amount of cars on the road began to pile on until traffic stopped altogether.

"What? There shouldn't be this much traffic this time of night?" She said to herself trying to look over the SUV "moving" in front of her.

As she was unable to look past the monster car (seriously, why would you need a car that large?) Anna noticed military style helicopters flying parallel to the highway toward Kansas City.

"Oh this can't be good."

And she was right, the longer she stayed in traffic the more military aircraft flew-by until ground vehicles started to pass the stalled traffic going through the median. But her worries only increased to the point her knuckles turned white from gripping the steering wheel with a life ending grip when she saw tanks passing through the median; that's when she knew she needed to see what was happening.

It was at this time most people started to exit their cars to see what was happening overhead, she chose that moment to jerk the steering wheel hard right and drive her car along the shoulder barely missing drivers that decided to stand on the side. As she speed along the divide most cars were starting to turn around and head in the other direction, fortunately they were driving along the other side of the road so there was no threat of a collision with another car, however pedestrians decided to stand along the shoulder to see what was happening. At this she blared her horn to warn them before they were turned into paste; thankfully they got the message and moved before being run over.

As Anna speed along the shoulder a large violet dome came into view with military aircraft flying all over it trying to do... something. Before she could get a better vantage point of the dome HUMVEES blocked her path forcing her to come to a stop.

A soldier walked up to her car and tapped on her window. "Mam, I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and head back the way you came." The soldier said pointing to the line of cars trying to turn around.

"Right, you wouldn't happen to know what's going on; would you?" Anna said looking the soldier in the eye.

"With absolute certainty no, we have no idea." The he said looking back at the other soldiers. "All we can tell is that something major has happened in Kansas City and we are to keep all civilians away from that.. Thing." He said pointing to the violet dome covering the area. "I have heard however that the President will be giving an address on it soon, so you might want to tune in for that."

"Right, thank you." Anna said before turning her car into the leaving traffic.

"I need to get back to Washington." Anna thought as she left the the line of cars. "I just hope Isaac's okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - I-35
Time - 7:50

"WHY ARE GRIFFONS SHOOTING AT US?" Isaac yelled looking at what was the impossible.

''I DON'T KNOW" the officer replied shouting over the gunfire coming from the S.W.A.T. vans as Police officers boarded their vehicles. "JUST GET OVER HERE."

"I can wonder about this later, right now we have to clear out or be turned too paste" Isaac thought as more of the Griffon's sprayed the area hitting two more police officers.

"Ok Team Two move for the vans!" the Leader of Team Two shouted as another explosion shook the ground.

Team Two started to fall back when three small explosions took out a S.W.A.T. trooper and a officer throwing them back ten feet. "Christ, what the hell was that!" someone yelled. Just then a large bellowing roar sounded off marking the appearance of a new monster.

Isaac poked his head out of his cover looking a creature standing on two hoofs with horns on it's head (or what looked like a helmet with horns), some kind of reflective armor covering it's torso and waist, with metal leggings. It carried what looked like a grenade launcher with a curved blade on the underside and a small axe rested on it's back.

"Is that a Minotaur" Isaac asked a quizzical look displayed on his face. "What are we under attack from, Ancient Greece!?"

"Hell if I know just get over here" the Leader of Team One said firing off at the new challenger his rounds making the creature stagger from the contact.

Isaac sprinted to the vans and jumped in just as the Minotaur fired another salvo of rounds from its weapon hitting the cover he was standing behind making it tumble after him. He hit the van's floor hard, as he did the driver punched the accelerator and the van took off narrowly missing the civic. The other van and squad cars followed shortly after racing away from the scene with unmatched speed.

"Now that, was close" Adam said bending over trying to catch his breath.

"To cliché man" Isaac said clutching his side. "To cliché."

Back at the scene

"Leader the apes have escaped, should we pursue?" One of the Griffons asked landing next to the Minotaur.

"No. They will learn that there is no escape from the barrier and soon we will hunt. For now secure our dead and wounded, see what you can find from the dead creatures." The Minotaur ordered "no prisoners." It added a ghost of a smirk on its face.

"As you command."

As the Griffons set about their task the Minotaur watched the small convoy speed away towards the North and to relative safety. "Soon, very soon" it said, the sound of fire and screams dancing in the background.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Ten minutes out of Leavenworth, Kansas
Time - 8:30

"So kid, you never told me where you learned to handle a gun" the S.W.A.T. trooper said sitting down on the bench.

"I learned in college, they had weapon safety courses going on the weekends and I thought 'what the hell'. That and the NROTC class I was in kind-of taught me everything I would need to know about firearms." Isaac said the sarcasm falling from his mouth while he rubbed his shoulders from the less-than-graceful landing earlier. "Anyway we never formally introduced each other, I'm Isaac Temple and the guy with the overly obnoxious hair is Adam Rukin,"

"A pleasure." Adam said taking a small bow.

"Howdy, Alton Pierson, but my friends call me Al" he replied. "The one driving the van is Thomas Heavy and the others, well they're the back up" he joked. "Not funny sir" a trooper near the back said "it was pretty funny" Thomas responded from the driver's seat.

"Welcome to the 1910 Squad" Alton said removing his helmet.

"1910? Why do you call yourselves that?" Adam asked.

"Truthfully, I don't know; it was like that when I took charge. The same goes for 1920, their boss has no idea either. After we make it to Leavenworth I'll introduce you guys to him."

"Prefect. So, you know what was with the helicopters that passed overhead?"

"I heard that those were two Chinooks that stopped at the Charles Wheeler airport to refuel. From what I could make out they're US Army choppers headed to Fort Campbell in Kentucky."

"Yeah, that makes since." Isaac said leaning his head against the wall of the van.

"Why's that?" Adam asked.

"Because the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is stationed there."

Adam just sat there with a confused look on his face.

"The 160th. You know, the Night Stalkers."

He still sat there looking like he just ate something sour. Isaac could have sworn that he saw smoke coming out of his ears. "Better tell him in Layman's Terms before he hurts himself." Isaac thought as Adam still tried to think of who it the 160th was.

"They are a special operations group that provides support to special forces and also delivers them to the fight."

"Ohhh, why didn't you say so, that makes... some since now."

"Oh boy"

After around twenty minutes passed the van started to slow down before coming to a complete stop on the road. Alton turned his head to look out the front view mirror. When he got a good look out the window his face turned ghost white. "Jesus Christ."

Isaac couldn't tell what was happening but he knew it could not be good. With that he decided to dismount the vehicle to have a look for himself. He would wish that he hadn't. There was Leavenworth looking worse for wear. The fort was nearly destroyed with what looked like the remains of whatever military forces that decided to gathered there.

"Well, there goes the neighborhood" Thomas said sticking his head out the driver's side window. "Al we can't stay here for long. Who knows if whatever caused this decided to stick around."

"Right we'll park the cars here. Look for supplies and anything that can be used and see if theres anyone still alive. We'll meet up at the edge of the fort in two hours." Jonathan said

With that the two teams and police officers split up walking towards the still smoldering town.

"perhaps we should grab what we can" Adam said walking up to Isaac

"Yeah, lets."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what are we looking for exactly" Adam asked as they passed a burning building, the flames licking at the brick and mortar.

"Food, medical supplies, guns, ammo, that sort of thing" Isaac said stepping over a fallen stop light.

"How do we know if it's safe to be walking the streets? I mean what if something were to attack us right now?" Adam asked watching the rooftops, switching his view between the different sides of the street.

"We don't. But seeing as how we been walking for a good forty minutes I'd say it's safe" Isaac said the sarcasm practically dripping from his mouth.

"Har har. Anyway How much longer till we head to the fort? My feet are starting to hurt." Adam complained, as he started to walk slower every minute.

"About an hour. Though we'll have to head there early to make it though, maybe another forty minutes." Isaac answered.

"Smashing."

The two friends walked until they came to the end of the street. Pockets empty and heavy hearts they decided to start walking back to the remainders of the fort to see if there might be weapons in the armory.

"You know now that I think about it, I haven't noticed any dead bodies laying around." Adam said as they passed another burning building that looked like the remainders of a café.

"Now that I look at it, you're right, there are no bodies... anywhere." Isaac said waving his arms around in a spreading motion. "I mean theres no human bodies and no Griffon or Minotaur bodies that I can see."

"So that has to be a good sign right? maybe whoever was stationed here took them out before they could-"

Before Adam could finish his sentence the friends began to hear the sound of a large wings above their heads. Looking up they decided that was the worst decision anyone would ever make for above them the belly of a abnormally large creature descended at an alarming rate.

"Into the shop, now!" Isaac hissed pulling the shocked-still Adam into the closest store available . As they ducked behind the counter the creature touched down on a car's roof crushing it until it gave way completely. Isaac and Adam took cover behind the register counter of the shop while the beast continued to flap its wings causing more dust and dirt to fly into the air. Finally the wing beats died down and Isaac dared to look at the new monstrosity that presented itself to them. Fortunately the creature's attention was elsewhere allowing Isaac to get a good look at the behemoth .

"Is that a dragon?" Isaac said in a voice that only a bat would hear.

"How should I know?" Adam replied looking at the winged monster that just crushed a car.

The red monster stood roughly 25 feet tall with wings like a bat similar to a European dragon, but something was... off. For starters there were small cylinder looking devices on the sides of the body and a wooden hatch jutting out at the center of the beast's back. The "cockpit" came out of the Dragon's back at a 25 degree angle then flattening out at the roof. It looked curved to allow aerodynamics but he couldn't tell. Also there were black marks that painted the dragon's underside and small holes from gunfire dotted its belly, obvious signs of a heavy fight.

Just then a hatch opened up on the top of the cockpit and a small reptile popped it's head out. It wore a face mask and a pair of tinted goggles. The smaller reptile seemed to be looking for something but appeared to be having some difficulties in finding it.

Just then five Griffons touched down next to the dragon and its rider, each carrying some kind of rifle and wearing golden armor with holes and plates missing in some areas. They seamed to be discussing something as the gryphons pointed in several different directions. Just then six small horses with black and white stripes along their bodies came out of an alley next to the shop they were hiding in.

"Great now theres Zebras, at least that I can make some since of that" Isaac thought the sarcasm in his own head lost to him. "What are they doing?" Then it hit him, they were looking for survivors, anyone that could or might cause trouble for them. That would explain the battle marks. "At least whoever was here didn't go down without a fight."

After five or so minutes the dragon and its rider flew off sending dust and small debris in all directions shortly followed by the Griffons with the Zebras running down the street Isaac and Alex came from. After waiting five or so minutes the both of them let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.

"Great, first Griffons and Minotaurs now Dragons, Zebras and some kind of small lizard, whats the world coming to." Adam said hysterically throwing his arms in the air.

Isaac stood up from behind the counter when he realized his hand was shaking, "been awhile since I've felt this" he thought gripping his hand with the other so the gun would not go off.

"That's great, that's just marvelous." Adam stated quite shakily. "How are we supposed to fight off that? If it was just the Minotaurs and Griffons we might have stood a chance, but now?"

"I don't know" Isaac said turning around. "But you can get on your knees and kiss God's ass, because we just died and went to heaven."

Behind the two friends, lines upon lines of gun racks stood with ammunition near the back of the store. As fortune would have it the store Isaac had dragged Adam into was a gun store, but not just any gun store, it was a new federal weapon store. After newer gun laws had been passed in 2015 making it harder for civilians to purchase a weapon, the federal government opened up their own little armory of gun stores, Fed Arm as it was so aptly dubbed. The new law made it so the government would leave privately owned business alone while they would open their own stores, in their stores you would have to wait longer to purchase a weapon what with increased background checks and all, but that was offset by the plethora of weapons and ammunition you could purchase there. They had everything from civilian to some military weapons there ranging from a .22 rifle to automatic rifles. Of course you still needed the license to purchase one, but people were more than willing to go through a three month waiting period to own one.

"Adam grab a duffel bag and fill it with as much ammunition and magazines as you can carry, I'm going to fill my with whatever weapons I can carry." Isaac said throwing Adam a duffle bag from the wall. "Just try and make sure you grab 5.56 and above, I have a feeling we're going to need those the most."

"Right, 5.56 and above, got it." Adam repeated and ran off to fill his bag.

"Hey Adam, you ever see the Matrix?" Isaac asked as he walked over to a large gun rack filled with the M16 family.

"Yeah, who hasn't. Why?" Adam replied from across the store.

"Don't these racks kind of remind you of the stock room?" Isaac asked looking back at his friend.

".... Now that I look at it, yeah they do don't they."

And with that the two friends shared a quick laugh and returned to the task of collecting weapons. With their "shopping" bags full to bursting with their new collection of "home defense" weapons they started to walk towards the remains of the fort where the rest of the S.W.A.T. and police officers would be meeting.

"Hey, we left a lot of stuff back there. Remind me to come back for a second trip." Isaac said his duffel bag riding high on his shoulders.

"Don't worry I have a feeling we are coming back." Adam said his bag nearly dragging along the ground. "I just hope nothing happens before we make it to the for..." An explosion sounded off in the distance before Adam could finish his sentence alerting the friends to the sound of gunfire.

"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Isaac said before putting his bag on the ground and pulling out an older version of the M16 rifle and waved Adam over to set his bag on the ground as well. He and Adam started to load the magazines until they had about seven fully loaded and ready to fire.

"You might want to set yourself up with a weapon." Isaac said loading the M16 and pulling back the charging handle readying the weapon. "An A3 model, nice." He said under his breath looking the weapon over.

"I'm not really the shooting type. I'll just load when you run out." Adam said zipping up the bag and lifting it onto his shoulders.

"Suit yourself, just find cover and stay out of the line of fire." Isaac said stuffing the magazines into his pants pockets and lifting the hefty bag onto his shoulder. "Time to run."

With that they followed the sounds of battle until they reached the fort. On their approach the charred wrecks of Bradley fighting vehicles and HMMWVs littered the area all sporting the same charred looks. Fifty caliber rounds and disintegrating links surrounded the HMMWVs showing signs of a heavy firefight.

"At least we're in the right area." Isaac said under his breath walking over to a HMMWV and looking inside.

A winded Adam walked up beside him and surveyed the damage. "There's signs of fighting all over the area, but why are there no bodies, or blood?" He asked as Isaac leaned his rifle against the jeep and started to rummage through the back seat of the burnt transport vehicle.

"Those are very good questions and ones that will most likely have answers soon, but for now..." He pulled out and pair of vests and handed one to Adam who looked at it with confusion. "We put these on and join the fight." The battle was just on the other side of the fort and the fighting sounded like it was just getting heavier and heavier.

The vests that Isaac pulled out of the HMMWV were the standard issue for the US Army. "This should keep you safe from the shooting for a while. Still the best way to keep yourself safe is to not get shot in the first place." Isaac said helping Adam don the vest. The vest itself covered his torso and crotch with a protective plating making him look like a football player.

"It's a little heavy, there's not a lighter one in there is there?" Adam asked rolling his shoulders to shift some of the weight.

"Sorry there's only two and you are getting the better one." He was right, Isaac's vest was burned in multiple places and looked like it would fall apart at any moment. "I just need you to suck it up for a little while longer, just until the fight is over." Isaac said securing the last strap. Picking up his rifle he took the magazines out of his pockets and started to fill the pouches with them.

"Fine, just for a while longer though." Adam said reluctantly.

With the body armor in place the two friends made their way through the fort to cut time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sounds of gunfire and explosions were still raging on showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. They made their way through the building and stopped at the doors. Looking through the windows Isaac noticed that on one side the S.W.A.T. and police officers took shelter behind a small structure from the blue energy being hurtled at them from while the Griffons and Zebras from earlier now joined by two Minotaurs fired from behind the wreckage of civilian vehicles in the opposite parking lot. Every now-and-again the human side would take pot shots only to be suppressed before any real damage could be done.

"They're sitting ducks out there." Isaac said slinging his rifle to the front. "Lets head to the second story to get a better view."

Isaac ran through the halls and bounded up the stairs two at a time before he noticed Adam was lagging behind him. "Come on man I thought you grew up on a farm?" He teased from the top of the stairs.

"Raised yes, however I did not train to be a Marine." Adam retorted as he reached the top of the staircase taking in ragged breaths.

Running into a darkened room facing the fight he reached the windows he let his bag drop to the ground with a resounding thud; he swung the rifle to his front, took up a shooting stance, and aimed the sights over the nearest griffon he could see.

"Wait." He thought as time froze, the rifle sights aimed over the griffon's head. "Do I really have what it takes to kill something? Can I really kill another living, thinking, breathing, creature? I mean, I never really thought about it. I just assumed I'd be ready for it when the time came. What if it has family, what if it has children?" These thoughts ran through his mind forcing him to hesitate as the gunfight raged on in the yard below.

"I always thought when the time can I could pull the trigger, but now... No. I can't think that now, there are people dying here, I don't have time to worry about my conscience. The best I can do is stow my humanity in a safe place and pull it back out when the time comes.

As Isaac turned his back to the window the firefight below raged on, but it seemed that the creatures gained some allies and ground as the S.W.A.T. and police officers now took cover behind a cement wall. In the short amount of time it took Isaac to pull his head around the Griffons had moved up to the structure just below his window, the line-of-sight couldn't have been more perfect. As he switched the safety to selective he lined the first target with the sights, a lone griffon with a black coat, white tipped wings, and grey hair. He was shooting a reflective rifle that fired small blue projectiles; though no shell casings were being ejected from anywhere Isaac could see. Reasoning that he would have the time to look at the weapon later he placed his finger on the trigger, held his breath for two seconds, released, and fired.

Author's Note

Wow, that took way longer than I thought, sorry. Anyway happy New Year, have a wonderful time and I resolve to write chapters faster then last year.