The battle was fierce. Mike was losing consciousness, and his blood was pooling beneath him. all around him were clashing blades as the orcs overwhelmed the tristanian and gallian knights. eventually, he was alone, surrounded by gleefully taunting goblins. "gotcha now human! gonna eatcha alive real slow! ehehehe" mike just grinned and pulled his hand from a satchel, holding a grenade. his other hand lifted a horn to his lips. and he blew. the germanian fleet, led by saito, louise, kirche, and henrietta burst forth from the clouds and began bombarding the foul creatures. at the same time a large germanian force opened ranks to let the tristanians and gallians through and then closed them, creating a shield of steel and fresh units closed in , forming a pinscher movement. the creatures were utterly surrounded. Mike took in the look of shock from the monsters around him "did'ya really think it'd be that easy? HA! you stupid bastards..." he pulled the pin of the grenade as he creatures turned back to him, their fury evident. "y'know...i really wish i'd gotten around...to getting a girlfriend...koff...shit...never thought it'd end this way. surreal. anywho, lets meet up in hell you green fucks!" he grinned, turning his green eyes at the sky as his fingers let go of the spoon. the grenade rolled from his hand. he clasped them together on his chest and arranged his thin frame comfortably. his helmet fell off revealing his brown hair to the elements. he sighed. "three...two...one" The explosion echoed as loudly as the screams of the orcs caught in the blast.

an hour later, the last of the creatures was felled. the area was combed and the bodies of the valiant fallen recovered and the wounded rushed to the nearest hospital tent. in one of these tents lay mike. the group gathered around was a somber one. there were bags under saito's eyes, and louise was barely supressing her tears. Tabitha was staring uncomprehendingly at the pale figure lying on the cot while sylphie held her shouldes. tiffania was openly weeping, as queen henrietta sat with a stone face. Kirche and montmorency were holding each other as guiche sat in a chair staring at the floor "so...who's gonna tell arrianna?" he asked, being met only with silence. a doctor came in, rubbing his bald head before adjusting his spectacles. All those present looked at him expectantly, some hopefully. saito spoke. "well? is he going to be OK or-" his voice broke before he could utter that terible phrase. the doctor looked at the faded figure on the bed. "he lost a lot of blood, and those barbaric creature's weapons often induce infection... As he is now...I honestly do not know." mike was conciouss,Unable to speak or move, but able to hear everything. as the darkness gathered he could only think of how all of this began...

It was hot, almost unbearably so for the infantrymen riding in the humvee. but it better than outside, where the desert sun beat down on you while the ground itself radiated heat. Private Mike Retter once again found himself adjusting his body armor and fiddling with his M4 to stave off the sleepiness that threatened to overwhelm him. "you alright new guy?" asked his large neighbor, a staff sergeant named Malloy. "i'm alrght sergeant, just a little tired is all." he rubbed his eyes to wake up. he adjusted his armor again, thinking annoyed that it didn't fit right. He reached up and took off his helmet, wiping the sweat from his hair. "PUT YOUR KEVLAR BACK ON DUMBASS! WE ARE ON A PATROL! INSURGENTS LOVE DUMB FUCKS LIKE YOU, EASIER TO SNIPE!" Corporal Kaplan, the source of the yelling, looked down from his gunner position at mike, his expression hidden by shadow. at that moment, a puff of smoke on a neaby ridge grabbed their attenion, "RPG!" the warhead slammed the humvee and triggered a buried series of ieds that immobilized the convoy. there was shouting and gunshots all around, mike groggily kicked open the door of his vehicle and staggered out, barely conscious. the corporal was dead. the vehicle had rolled, and kaplan had been ejected and crushed. he didn't know about the driver or his sergeant, or the other private who was in the passenger seat sleeping. he limped over and checked. the doors were open and everyone was gone, mike figured that they'd gone to help the main convoy drive off the attackers. "damn, my head...it hurts like hell..." Mike secured some extra ammunition the rest of his ear from the humvee and waited, eyes on the horizon. one of the rules of engagement was, never abandon usable equipment or weapons, and another was never leave a man behind, so mike guarded his companions posessions, and the unfortunate corporal. suddenly, there was a whistling sound in the air. mike dived as mortat shells hit his position, probably directed by a spotter. shrapnel tore into mike's legs and lower back. Ignoring the pain, he rolled into a prone firing position. and began plugging away at the near ridge, before finally being gratified with a yelp from the hidden spotter. at that moment several 7.62 mm rounds. slammed into the earth next to him. mike crawled into the nearest cover, which was his smoking humvee and tried to pick out the attackers. his next moment he was falling through the ground as a portal opened up beneath him "oh shi-" were the last things out of his mouth as he felt the sudden weightlessness.

Arianna Duval was sixteen and very pretty. among those in tristain's magical academy she was considered a beauty. she was tall, with bright blonde hair, full red lips, and eyes a deep doe brown. her figure was petite and dainty. her loud and tomboyish personality caused most of the other students to stay a safe distance. she had many close friends though, and was a decent, if not powerful magic user. She was prepared for her first summoning, and excited to see what kind of familiar she would get. however, her excitement turned to suprise and confusion as a dusty figure landed heavily in front of her. suprise turned to shock as she noticed the blood staining the legs and back of the arrival. the teacher was startled "finish the contract while I go get a healer! keep him conscious, oh founder that is a lot of blood!"

Mike was weak, the adrenaline had worn off and his vision was tunneling. his legs and back were on fire. he looked up at the muffled sound of voices in a language he could'nt understand. he found himself staring ino the worried face of a young girl. "wha?" he couldn't say more as she had kissed him. his eyes widened, his body began to feel unnaturally hot, and finally his hand began to burn. "GYAH!" he cried as the burn turned into a short lived searing. his concentration broke and finally, the darkness closed in.

4 years after the defeat of the ancient dragon, Saito Hiraga was Stuck in his office, with his maid and self proclaimed lover siesta. he was giving his every effort to ignore her barely concealed advances while he did his boring daily routine of running his estate. there was a rash of petty thievery in the nearby village, and many businesses had sent for construction permits, not to mention petetions for him to make public appearances so people could see the hero of tristania. in the hall he could hear the approach of his beloved louise, marked by her imperiously ignoring his servant's attempts to stop her. he momentarily smiled but this was short lived as siesta tripped and knocked saito from his chair before landing in a decidedly erotic position on top of him, just as louise burst in. louise's face went from a smile to pure fury in a split second "saito...YOU DOG!" she raised her wand and cast. an elderly man in the nearby village noted the smoke and the tremors before chuckling. "ah, young love"

hours pass, as saito and his servants repair and reorganize the office. a messenger rides in, with both man and horse breahing heavily. saito notices the visitor from his window and descends to meet him on the first floor. the messenger hands saito the letter before dashing off

"saito

man with strange weapon and clothing was summoned as a familiar, he is badly hurt, and does not seem to understand halkeginian. requesting your assistance, believe he is another resident of earth.

osmond"

saito folded the letter and requested his cariage be ready. the servant nodded and took off. Louise saw the grave look on saito's face and automatically knew something was wrong. a look of concern came over her features. "saito, what happened?" He looked at her and simply said "we are going to the academy, they've summoned another person from my world there. please get siesta." he hugged her then and took off to grab delflinger. within a day, the group was on the way..

mike woke up to the sound of hushed voices. jagged pieces of metal and bloody tools lined a nearby table. mikes vision swam as he moved his head. he was on a very soft bed, and the voices were just outside of a sturdy door at the end of the room. he could not find the energy to raise his head further. a heaviness on his right arm caused him to look over, and he found himself staring into the face of the young girl from earlier. she had fallen asleep, and was resting on his arm. the door opened and mike's head turned to observe the intruder. it was an elderly man, dressed in a simple brown robe carrying a staff. He spoke and started swinging a wand around. "this guy is fuckin' nuts" thought mike. the old man suddenly pointed the wand at mike, who suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy. "whoa...wha...huh? m-my head..." the old man began to speak again " -o you un-rstan- -ow? hello? can you understand me?" mike shook his head to clear it and looked at the man in shock "wh-what the hell did you do to me?" mike was startled by his sentence, both because it was no longer in english, and because he understood it. It took several hours, but the situation was explained. Mike lay back as the old man, osmond, removed the stil-sleeping girl from the chamber.

Mike was sitting up and eating when the group walked in his mouth still full he spoke "oh...hewwo" mike swallowed and sighed. "much better than an MRE, god i've missed real food. "saito took in the dog tags, the jacket crumpled on the floor, and the equipment in a corner of the room. "An american?" mike looked over " yeah, you seem to be the only one who knows what that is around here. why?" saito cleared his throat "four years ago I was transported here from japan. we're in a different world now. But we can send you home soon enough. Louise, open the world door please." She nodded, pink hair bobbing as she cast. the portal opened and everyone turned to the newcomer. to their suprise, his only reaction was cocking an eybrow. "I land in a fantasy realm, with dragons, magic, and real food...and you expect me to leave? i'm interested, and there's nothing for me to go back to. the last member of my family died several years ago. we never mmet, and My service was almost up. besides, there is no way I could explain ending up in japan without causing an interntional incident." needless to say, those gathered were shocked at his indifference to his situation, and even more so at his clear-headed approach to it.

within a day, mike was standing again. he was moving about rather recklessly, to the chagrin of the healer. Arianna, however, found it entirely endearing. She would often challenge him to races; which, considering his profession were usually her loss. "*gasp* how...*gasp* do you...get so...fast?" mike grinned, sweat dripping from his brow. "running...keeps you...alive...so you...run faster...to keep others alive..." within a week, mike was training with a sword and armor.
one morning while mike was sparring with the son of a knight, arianna came down with news. "they have found my void power, I can control the ebb and flow of time. it is only for short periods, but I think its really amazing! I Can Make myself really fast by slowing time down! I'll never lose another race! mike's face grew concerned. "using magic for the benefit of yourself is alright, but isn't that cheating?" he blocked a strike from the already tired young noble and easily sidestepped another. "if i could use magic, i'd use it for the benefit of others." Arianna puffed her cheeks and walked up to mike before suckerpunching him in the kidney. "oof...Gah!...ow!..." caught off guard, mike lowered his sword and his opponent's sword knocked him on the head "dammit!OWOWOWOWOW!" mike dropped and lay flat, his eyes swirling. "why'dya hit me?" the young noble looked scared "it was an accident! Im sorry!" the kid looked close to tears. "not you. i know it was an accident. it was her" mike pointed at the grinning arianna who stood over mike with her arms crossed. "i don't need magic to help others. an besides, didn't anyone tell you not to beat up kids?" mike sighed. "he was actually teaching me. he's actually good, but small so the swords are heavy." mike's vision finally focused and he blushed. arianna looked confused for a moment until she realized why. "ASSHOLE PERVERT!" arianna kicked mike in the face before stalking off "ow..." mike said, his voice hoarse. after awhile, he decided to head to his quarters. It was a servant's room, with a simple bed, small closet, and a washbasin. he fell heavily onto his bead, still dealing with his headache. he was rubbing his temples when a soft knock at the door drew his attention. "Michael? are you there?" mike walked to the door and opened it, to reveal arianna, an apologetic look on her face. "i'm, i'm sorry about earlier. i was the one who stood in the wrong position." mike smiled, " no problem, 'to err is human' as the old saying goes" she brightened. "okay, see you tomorrow then." she strode off towards her dorm. mike sighed and strode over to his bed, lying down and falling asleep instantly.

meanwhile, saito was brooding. siesta noticed and asked "i-is everything ok?" saito sighed and smiled tiredly at her. "truth be told, i'm worried about that new familiar, or rather, his weapon. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could upset the balance of power on the whole continent. just studying it would mean better and more dangerous guns. i'm glad that osmond locked it away, but has that really stopped anyone in he past?" siesta looked thoughtful "is the new man a good person?" saito nodded the affirmative "he didn't seem like a bad sort, kind of goofy, but a good guy." siesta smiled "then it shouldn't be a problem. now, would you like some tea?" siesta bent over, dangling her extensive bosom in front of saito as she laid down the tray. saito went bright red "erm...yeah...that's great...thanks." siesta left, satisfied with herself.

far in the east, the sound of fire and ringing metal cut through the night. goblins hammered out crude blades and created ugly black armor by the hundreds as more and more of their bretheren joined them. hobgoblins, tall and strong, from the northern mountains, marshland orcs, stunted and grotesque from the swamps and waterways of the south, trolls from the plains, and gremlins from the forests. in a great log bastion in the midst of this camp sat temull djinn, king of the taigun, a powerful eastern raider lord and master of dark, forbidden magic. around him sat hundreds of his clan, arranged by importance. the nervous whinny of the steppe horses outside, and the ring of forges were the only sounds that were heard. he was in his forties, with his long black hair turning grey, and his hard features weathered by sun and scarred by campaigns. he wore many rings in his hair, of iron and steel. he spoke, with his gravelly voice reaching to the ends of the room no matter how low he said it. "the time has come, my warriors, to avenge the defeat of ages past. The western heathens will no longer be able to mock the taigun people, or call us barbarians. Many years ago, my father led his horde to the west, in order to feed our people in the long winter,he requested assistance, and he was refused. he began raiding the countryside, determined to take what was needed while punishing the arrogant 'lords' who lived there. a great army came together and cornered my father, and slaughtered him and his men. not even a horse made it back. I know many died that winter, including my brothers. I will not forgive, and I would never forget. So soon, we show the western pigs and their whore mothers WHO THEY SHOULD TRULY FEAR!" the cheers of the clan echoed into the night, drowning out even the sound of ringing hammers.