The light dissipated as the world around them became clear. They were no longer in the Basilicom. It looked like a hellish junkyard. There was junk everywhere and the sky was dark, almost as if a rainless thunderstorm was as far as the eye can see. The place was void of life.

"Holy shit," Chris said with his eyes widened with shock. "This looks like the Capital Wasteland, just less radiation. How in the hell are we going to find them?"

"All we have to do is go to the second floor, then use the sharisite on the CPUs. Let's not waste any time." IF said "I'll take point. Compa, get behind me and Chris watch the rear. But if you even try to-"

"Calm down, I wouldn't even think it. I may be a guy but I'm not an asshole, most of the time." He said, muttering the last part.

Chris drew his revolver and started walking backwards, looking for any trouble. He heard his teammates footsteps behind him, or would it be in front of him, as they continued.

After a few minutes of walking and no enemies, Chris received a message on his Pip-Boy. It's from Histoire, saying that they are close to losing contact with her and to be wary of enemies, who will become more common and more deadly.

"We're on our own, be careful," Chris said, turning around. The two females nodded as he walked ahead of them. He stopped, hearing a low growl. He held up his hand to stop the two, and put a finger to his lips.

"What is it?" IF asked from behind him.

"I heard a growl, I wanna make sure my mind isn't playing tricks on me. Watch your back." He responded.

"Are you sure? We don't have time to waste." IF continued.

"I know, that's why I want to make sure. If we get jumped, then we'll waste even more time." He responded.

"Who even put you in charge?"

"IF, not now," he whispered, swearing to hear another growl.

"Look, you don't even know much about this world, how do you," a dark figure jumped behind IF, "know what you're doin-"

"IF! Get down!" Chris yelled, cutting her off.

"Huh, what do you- AHH" IF said before Chris cut her off by grabbing her shoulders and pushing onto her knees. The figure pounced, missing IF but not Chris.

The dark figure hit like a truck, knocking Chris to the ground. It didn't stop there, as it started biting for the area between the neck and shoulder. Chris managed to put his hands up to stop it, but it was persistent, fighting Chris so that it can kill him.

"GET IT OFF!" Chris yelled at his teammates while struggling to fight it off. He got a grip and pushed it away. He went to push it some more but it had changed targets, going for the nearest piece of flesh that was there, his right wrist. It chomped down, causing blood to come out. "AHHHH! KILL IT! KILL ITTTT!" He screamed as he tried to get it to release him. "IF! HELP ME!" He pleaded as his teammate stood there, in a stunned state. However, she broke out of it and saw what was going on. He struggled some more and managed to break free. He pushed it away with all his strength and then kicked it. He drew his revolver and fired two frantic shots, ending it. It was unknown which shot killed it, or if the kick broke its neck somehow.

He finally got a good look at it. It looked like a cybernetic wolf of some kind. It looked to be about 4 feet long from its nose to the beginning of its tail. The metal plating along with its fur was a dark grey. The cybernetics seemed to be pumping something into it, but it had stopped when it was killed. The teeth were about three inches in length, with its canine teeth being four.

He extended his left hand and IF picked him up. "IF, what happened?" He asked, looking at his wrist that put his right hand out of commission.

"I,I don't know. I just froze. That thing could've gotten me, and killed me. Or Compa. Thank yo-" She was saying before Chris stopped her.

"Hold on, that's a wolf right? Or something similar? Don't wolves usually travel in," Chris said before eight more wolves like the one he killed showed up, "packs?" They all looked around each other, realizing they were surrounded. "IF, you got a plan?" Chris asked, holding is revolver in his left hand only.

"Umm, Chris you got something?" She asked back.

"Yeah, but do you mind giving us some cover?" He asked as he had an idea.

"Yeah, I think I can."

"Okay, thanks. Compa come here."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not a master with my swords so I need two hands to wield them properly. Same with my gun. Yeah I can shoot my gun and swing my swords with one hand but only if the situation requires it. Just cover us." He said as he let Compa do her work.

IF pulled out her qatar and began to attack the cyberwolves. After about a minute, Compa patched up his wrist so he can rejoin the fight.

"That'll hold me for a bit." He muttered while he felt it for a second. He saw one try to flank IF but Chris took it down with a single shot from his .44 magnum.

"Thank you, I didn't see that one." She said.

"No problem," he looked around, seeing all the wolves. "How many are there?"

"They keep coming, no matter how many I kill." IF informed him.

"Okay, just keep fighting. I don't think we can outrun these things." He looked to Compa. "You heard that Compa?" She nodded. Chris questioned her weapon though.

'A giant syringe, why?' He thought, but considering what's been happening the last two days, he has gotten used to it.

He attacked the wolves, using his Shocksword's ability to to chain attacks to defeat them quicker, as long as he hit the parts unprotected by metal. He soon realyzed what IF meant, seeing as these things came out of the woodwork. They continued fighting, seeing no end to them.

"We can't fight these things off, we need to get out of here!" He said, trying to make an opening in the direction they were heading.

He switched to his magnum and fired the three last shots, with pinpoint accuracy. He emptied the cylinder and inserting each round one at a time, keeping his head down. He put the last bullet in, closed the cylinder, and brought the hammer down. He started firing again. More and more showed up. One of them pinned IF and another did the same to Compa.

"Dammit, VATS!" He said, stopping time and allowing him to shoot both wolves in the head. After killing them, he ran to IF, who was closer, and helped her up. "I got Compa, get out of here!" He yelled, before running. There were three wolves in his way, and he only had one bullet left. He ran and dove over them face first, with his gun in front of him. He landed with a grunt and picked himself up. Compa was right there and he bolted for her. He slid past some more wolves and got to Compa. He tackled a wolf and hit it with the handle of his gun. One more jumped for Compa and he shot it. "Get out of here. Run for IF!" He told her. She took off past him, while he was surrounded by 5 cyberwolves. "Five wolves, one Chris. Yeah, that seems about fair."

He drew his Shishkabob and charged, slashing the first two and blocking a hit from a third. He struck it with his blade and followed it up with two more strikes, ending it. He saw the opening and made a run for it. He saw IF and Compa taking shelter behind a car, or what looked to be one anyway. He took a quick turn away from the shelter to buy them some time. He could hear the cyberwolves gaining on him so he decided to make a last stand. He jumped onto a rusted car and reloaded the revolver as quickly as humanly possible. One wolf had made it to the car only to receive a bullet for its troubles. Chris changed targets and fired a second round. He did this until there were none after him. He jumped down and ran to the two females.

"You guys alright?" He asked as he arrived on scene.

"I-Yeah, we're okay." IF replied, sitting with her back to the car.

"Thats a relief." Chris said, sitting opposite of the two.

"You think we fought them off?"

"I don-," he stopped himself, "I hope so." He looked down, not knowing what to say. "So, how far do we have?" Chris said after a few seconds of silence.

"I don't know, but if I had a map I could find out." IF said, looking down. "Why didn't I grab one?"

"Here." He tossed his Pip-Boy 3000 to her. She caught it and held it in her hands, confused as to what to do. "Press the Data Button, then use the knob to turn it to the second one. It should show a local map. It will be zoomed out so you should see the entirety of it." He told her as she followed his commands.

"Okay, alright. We are halfway there, about 1 kilometer away from the second floor." IF said, examining the device.

"Yeah, I have a question about that anyway. This place doesn't look like it has a second floor, or even a roof. So how is there a second floor?"

"Well, it isn't technically a second floor. It's just another area within that larger place. Have you ever played one of those old retro games?" She has asked, looking for an easier way to explain it.

"Yeah, it's been a while but I remember what it's like." He said, remembering back to when he played the first Legend of Zelda.

"Okay, so think of each area as dungeons and each floor as a different room. The enemies can't follow you and each time you go into a different room, you get farther away from the exit." IF finished.

"Okay, I think I get it." He said before getting up. "We better get moving. If we stay here too long, they can get us again." started looking to the way they must go. "Hopefully, we won't lose one of us in the process." He muttered to himself.

"Alright, let's get the hell out of her-" IF was stating before getting cut off by a scream.

"Compa!" The two said, realizing that the girl was nowhere near them. They followed the scream until they came upon Compa.

"Compa, are you alright? What happened?" Chris asked, his hand shaking to touch her shoulder. She turned around, shock clearly seen on her face. She was shaking, almost as if the entire world had turned to ice. "Compa, what happened?" He asked again.

"Compa, we won't know what happened until you tell us. Please, tell us." IF asked her close friend. Compa grabbed IF and pulled her into a comforting embrace. This let Chris see what she had screamed about. While he didn't scream, it did make him put his hand to his mouth in shock.

"Holy," Chris whispered, not being able to finish the statement.

In front of him were two corpses, two human corpses. The first looked like it had been burned to death, while the other had been frozen solid. They both appeared to be male, with each seeming to be wearing light armor. He took a shaking hand near the first corpse and felt. He seems to have been burnt for a few weeks now. He had placed his hand around the neck and chest area. He found a metal piece. He gave it a tug and it popped off. It felt to be dog tags. He had looked at it. They seemed to be spared of the burning. He looked at them. The first one reading 'Planeptune Recon Team Alpha 1' with a N symbol on it. The second read 'Mason, Edward' and showed the same symbol. Chris closed his eyes for a few seconds.

He looked to the other body. Their expression showed that they were conscious through it all. He pulled out his Shishkabob and used its heat to melt some of the body, specifically the same area the dog tags were. He finished melting and grabbed the tags. The first showed 'Planeptune Recon Team Alpha 2' and showed the same N symbol however, the second tag showed the name 'Taylor, Andrew.' He showed the same respect to this man as he did with the other. He then noticed a small SD-like card in his pocket. He grabbed it and pocketed it, saving it for when, or if, he gets out of there.

"What happened?" Chris asked after IF finishing comforting Compa.

"Holy crap, what did this?" IF asked barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes for each of them as well. "They look familiar, but I'm not sure from where." She brought up in her normal voice.

"I, uh, managed to get these off of them." He handed her the two dog tags, not telling her about the card.

"Oh man." She read them. Her eyes widened. "Andrew, Edward. This is what happened."

"You know them?"

"They were on the Recon team."

"I know but, what Recon team?"

"Oh right. The Recon team was sent in a few months ago. They were tasked with finding the CPUs and coming back with the information. A team of six were sent in. Only one made it back, and almost died doing so. He received a severe wound to the front area of the head."

"Why didn't you send a team after them? There could've been a chance of finding some of them alive."

"If we did, we would've put more lives on the line. We're stretched thin as it is." IF said, making Chris realize what mission they are on now.

It was a suicide mission.

He finally got it. A team of six professionals went in and got slaughtered, with the exception of one. Now, they have less men, less weaponry, and, at least for Chris, less experience on the battlefield. He looked at the two and decided not to tell them yet. But another question came up.

"If these guys were killed," Chris started, getting his handgun out, "then who's the killer?" The two girls realized their predicament and looked around. "Yeah, let's go. Now."

The group started heading in the direction they were directed to go, with a quickened pace, until they heard a loud, inhuman roar. The group looked around until a shadow passed over them. They looked to where the shadow went and saw something they never thought they would see. A literal dragon. It landed on the ground, making the ground shake. The shape reminded Chris of a dragon from Skyrim, with a large, slender body and huge wings. It seemed to be similar to the wolves they killed earlier, with cybernetic upgrades being prominent all over its body. It had two large glass or plastic containers on each side of its mouth. One was filled with a light bluish liquid, and the other, which seemed to be connected moreso to its actual mouth, contained a dark reddish liquid. Its scales were a bronze color, indicating it was powerful in Skyrim terms, but he wasn't sure what it meant in this world. Its metal plates seemed to be reinforced around certain parts, like the midsection. Chris thought of this as a weak point if he had to fight it to the death.

"So, is this one of those 'Ancient Dragons' you were talking about, IF?" Chris said, slowly stepping back.

"No, this is definitely new." IF said, following Chris' idea.

"Well, I'm no betting man, but I'm willing to bet that this thing took down those two soldiers. I'm pretty sure fighting it is out the window." Chris informed the two.

"Got any ideas?" IF asked, looking for an out. Chris thought about it for a bit.

"Dammit! I got nothing," Chris said to the brunette. He looked at his gun, then at the dragon. "Okay I got it."

"What is it?"

He started turning around quickly. As he was turning, he raised his gun and fired at the dragon. "RUN LIKE HELL!" He yelled as he took off like a bullet train. The other two and the dragon didn't expect this move as they responded accordingly. IF and Compa followed Chris quickly while the dragon roared and flew into the air, making the ground shake due to its wings. IF caught up to Chris.

"Chris, what the hell were you thinking?!" She asked.

"What part of 'Run like hell' do you not understand?" Chris asked with sarcasm.

"Idiot, why didn't you say that this was part of your plan?" She said, wanting to smack Chris upside the head.

"I'll explain that when and if we get out of-" Chris stopped and pushed IF away.

"Hey, what are you-?" Her question was answered by the dragon that breathed fire where the two were running earlier. IF turned around and saw Compa dodge it as well.

"Don't stop running! If we can make it to the second floor, then we'll lose that thing!" She heard Chris say from across the crackling fire. She looked behind her and saw Compa was on her side. The two ran until they could be reunited and continued. They heard the dragon behind them and Chris looked behind himself. "Shit! RUN!" The two heard as Chris turned around and ran to the dragon. Speaking of which, the dragon was now gliding over the ground with its mouth open. Chris fired at the open mouth and saw it did some work, since the dragon closed its mouth and changed its course so it would fly up instead of towards the shooter. He stopped and took a moment to catch his breath.

'I hope that this thing can take the hint,' Chris thought, 'I'm not sure if I'm up to fighting this ugly mother-' He realysed that he was being left behind as he ran to his comrades, the dragon stalking him from above.


Chris managed to catch up with his allies and they decided it was best if they took a break to regain their composure.

"Do you have any idea as to what the that hell thing was? It looked like something out of an anime or some shit like that." Chris said.

"I haven't seen any of those before, same with those wolves. ASIC must be modifying normal monsters to make them more powerful." IF commented.

"..." Chris didn't say a word,he was thinking back to his previous thought.

'Was it really a suicide mission, or was this world making him go crazy? We might end up like those soldiers who were killed, but there is a chance.' Chris thought about their advantages and disadvantages. 'They didn't know where to go, we do. They have strength in numbers, we can be more stealthy. But then there's-'

"Hey, you there?" IF asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face a few times.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He said, breaking out of his thoughts.

'I'll finish this later.' He thought.

"Anyway, I just wanted to thank you. We'd probably be dead right now if you weren't here." IF said.

"No problem, although you do owe me something."

"What?" If it's what I think it is then you will wish that-" He pointed to his left forearm, where his Pip-Boy was. "Oh right, that." She handed him it back, embarrassed.

"Did you honestly think I would ask for sexual favors? I'm not losing it until I'm older." He told her bluntly.

"What is 'it'? Compa asked, confused.

"..." Both Chris and IF stayed silent, but they seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes.

'Well, there's only one way for this to go; you do it.' He told IF through his glare.

'No way, you tell her.' She responded with her eyes.

'Fuck that shit, you do it! You've been her friend for a long ass time!' He told her through his look.

'You're the one who brought it up.'

'Fine, why don't say it at the exact same time.' His eyes said, coming up with a compromise.

'Okay.'

'Ready? 3.'

'2'

'1'

"You'll learn when you're older." They both said at the same time.

"Aww, you're both talking in sync" Compa said, making the two widen their eyes.

"What are you talking about? We only did that because we couldn't decide who would-" The two said in sync again, but they stopped when they realised they were about to remind Compa about 'it'. "Nevermind that. I think it's best if we started to head out. I mean, Gamindustri isn't going to save itself. So let's move." They both said, slightly blushing.

"Aww, that's cute, you two are blushing." She said again, making them turn a darker red. "Now I know why Iffy was acting so tsundere."

IF's face became as red as an apple. "I-I-I-I-Idiot! I don't even like him and besides," IF began to talk nonsense, getting faster with each passing second. Chris sighed and looked at Compa.

"Compa, I think it's best we start heading out. I don't think Nep-Nep, Ge-Ge and the rest of them are wanting to stay here." He told her in a stern voice.

"Okay, but what about Iffy?" She asked, looking to her childhood friend. She was still talking about how she didn't like Chris.

He facepalmed. "Don't worry, I'll get her." He walked over to her. Now, he had two ways of doing this. He could either shake her back to reality, or slap the sense back into her. He decided to go with the former, but use the latter if it wasn't working. He grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her back and forth. "Get a grip of yourself, woman!" He told her as he continued shaking her. She snapped back into reality after two seconds.

"What are you doing?!" She asked as she broke free from him.

"Good to see that your back." He said, holding back a laugh.

"What'd you mean?"

"I think it's best if I tell you later. Right now, we gotta go." He told her, avoiding the answer. "Come on, Compa's waiting on us." He said, walking to the other girl. IF got up and walked to the two and they started their trek.

Two minutes of walking later, the trio saw what looked to be the entrance to the second floor. In-between that, though, was a large open area. On the side that they were on was a large pile of junk standing up straight and off the path to the right. There was a similar pile on the other side's exit but to the left.

'This looks like a boss arena if I've ever seen one.' Chris thought, looking at the path. 'What happened to that dragon, though? Is it-' It hit him. 'Oh shit.'

"Come on, the second floor is this way." IF said, before running there. Chris and Compa both headed after her, with Chris covering the rear. They heard a familiar roar. The Cyberdragon came down from the sky and landed, separating IF from the group. The landing caused the pile near the entrance to topple over, blocking off that path.

"I knew it." He muttered, drawing his Shishkabob. "IF, get out of here!" He shouted before blocking a bite from the dragon with his blade. Chris waved for Compa to go on ahead. She ran past it while Chris striked its head, dealing little damage.

It responded by opening its mouth and Chris heard metallic parts moving. A split second later, fire came out of its mouth, catching Chris off guard. His first response was to try to block it with his blade. Surprisingly, it worked. He felt the licks of the embers on him, but nothing that would kill him. IF and Compa watched with their mouths open. Chris ducked away from the two causing the dragon to turn as well, as it was determined to kill him. He saw that the opening was there, so he took it and ran. They saw what he was pulling and went with it, running before he could catch up. The Cyberdragon took off and started gliding across the ground, similar to when they were running away earlier.

Chris had a sense of deja vu, and pulled out his .44 and fired at the dragon's mouth. Unfortunately, the dragon learned and closed its mouth and looked down, causing the bullet to have no effect. It received a boost in speed as it rammed Chris and sent him flying away to the right, left if your looking from the exit. He hit the wall and landed on the ground with a loud thud and felt his vision grow slightly dim.

IF and Compa saw what happened to Chris and IF knew they were next. "Compa, run for the second floor! I'll buy some time!" She ordered as she faced the dragon.

She tried hitting the dragon in the head with her Qatar, with no effect. It went to bite her, but she rolled out of the way. It breathed more fire at her and she couldn't dodge it all, making her fall and obtain the burn effect. She patted out some of the fire, which caused her health to decrease slower.

A notification occurred on Chris' Pip-Boy. He managed to turn it to Stats and then Team, which replaced the Perks subgroup. It showed his vitals along with IF and Compa. Compa's info was unavailable, since she was on a different floor, and IF's health was still decreasing.

It was when her HP reached yellow when she responded. She looked at Chris, then at the exit, then back. He nodded for her to go, and she did. As she was heading there, the dragon followed her and was gaining ground. Chris pulled out his magnum and aimed down the iron sights at the situation. He saw a way for IF to get out, but not him. He hoped they could make it and back before he died. He fired at the junk pile, causing it to fall down. IF was on the other side when it fell and the dragon was pushed away from IF and into the arena.

"IF get out of here! I'll buy y'all some time!" He shouted.

"What about you?! You're going to die!" She shouted back. She had a point, but he knew what was best.

"Rescuing the CPUs is our primary cause! We have to get them out of here at all costs!" He shouted back. "Just go!"

He heard her leave the floor as he faced his foe. He drew his Cryoblade and faced the beast. He dug his feet into the ground and took a defencive stance. It roared and flew into the air, out of his reach. He decided to not use his .44 as it didn't effect it earlier. It swooped over his head and breathed its fire. He used his left hand to get his Shishkabob and block it. It landed and Chris took no time to start his attack. He used his left handed weapon to slice its body and his right handed weapon as a follow up. He rinsed and repeat until it hit him with its skull.

He got back up and charged again, this time moving around it as well. He went for the neck, jumping onto it and going for a downward stab. It didn't react in time to shake him off and Chris managed to do a good bit of damage. He saw a dark blue liquid come out of it, presumably from the upgrades. It shaked him off and he landed with a roll. It took flight and started going with a style similar to carpet bombing, burning when it got close to the ground. Chris was unaffected as he could block, but it did get annoying. He thought of a way to bring it down and then it hit him.

He ducked behind some cover and checked his weapons. In place of a weapon's durability bar, was a bar that said 'Power' and had about four levels. His Cryoblade was at the halfway point between two and three. His Shocksword was at the third and his Shishkabob was a fourth between two and three. He thought back to his abilities and remembered one called Ice Raid. He got out of cover and faced the dragon. He held out his Cryoblade (His Shishkabob was sheathed) and he closed his eyes.

"Ice Raid!" He said, as an energy took. His body seemed to move on its own as he struck the air. The first two were diagonal strikes, with his third being an upward strike while backflipping. He landed and he threw the blade while in mid strike. He landed and regained control of his body. Each strike sent out an energy wave of ice that homed in on the dragon. The blade did so as well. He saw it fall down to the ground, its wings frozen.

Chris drew his Shocksword and dashed for the head of it. It moved and went to bite him, with no effect. He slashed the head, and it seemed to cause it to be stunned. Chris climbed onto its back and went to the highly reinforced portion of the dragon's back. He stabbed his blade into it and started cutting it. He managed to cut a good sized square as the dragon began to recover. He removed the metal as the dragon turned to him and roar. His first response was to throw it at the head, which he did. It did finch as it hit its face, but it did nothing. It then looked back at him more annoyed than pissed. Chris went to stab the weak point, only for him to see more metal. He didn't get all the way through.

The Cyberdragon took no time to waste as it grabbed Chris by his left arm with its teeth. It looked to its left, and Chris was flung in that direction, but was still at the beast's mercy. It then quickly looked to the right, opening its mouth about three fourths of the way. Chris was sent flying in that direction, his arm bleeding as he saw his destination. He held out his hands to try to reduce the force he would face. He hit the ground and he lost consciousness. After a second, he regained his composure and looked at the wound.

It was bad. His arm was definitely out of commission and he didn't have a way to get it back in the fight. He received another notification, this time for his own status. He used his right arm to check it. His health was defiantly low and his left arm was shown as crippled, making it useless. He thought back to the potion he received from that guy.

'No, that's a last resort. I can still hold my own for a bit longer. I just need some health.' He thought, moving to a standard healing potion. He selected two of them and drank the first. He looked up and saw the dragon making its way closer. 'Give me a break, for the love of all that is holy!' He thought, opening the second bottle and holding his left arm out. He took a deep breath and bit his tongue. He poured the contents onto the damaged limb, including the open wound. It burned like alcohol touching a recent wound, and he bit down more to keep himself from screaming and attracting more monsters. After the contents were dumped, he checked his status. His left arm, while still damaged, could reenter the fight. Chris looked at the Cyberdragon and drew his Shishkabob. He held it out and ran to the beast. He wasted no time before using his ability.

"Ember Blade!" He felt a larger sword of fire envelop the smaller blade. He saw himself dash at his foe, then turning back towards it and dashing again. He did it again and again, gaining speed with each hit. He dashed for the last time, jumping and twisting the blade and his body so he could slam into the ground. When he got into the right position, he slammed down on the dragon with all of his energy. It caused a small explosion, which didn't affect Chris, who was already standing up.

He managed to catch his breath. "That shut you up?!" He asked, leaning on the sword for support. Through the smoke and flame, Chris heard something. Then, a blast of ice came out from it, knocking him back. He tried blocking it, but it was ineffective. He felt his skin grow colder by the second. He started crawling away, towards his Cryoblade. "Come on! You're not dead yet!" He told himself as he felt his body start freezing up. The ice seemed to stop, and he heard the dragon. He felt a gust of wind on his back before he felt something cut into his back. He looked up and saw the dragon flying and fly up and and back towards him. It straightened itself and flew back to its original position. Chris braced as more ice came hitting him. He saw that the blade was in his reach so he started reaching fr it frantically, failing each time. He reached one more time, feeling his hand on the grip of the sword. He held it tightly and turned around, using the blade as his last hope. The Ice stopped, and he was still breathing. The dragon was confused, thinking that he would be dead, but he wasn't. "Didn't expect that move did ya, you dumb son of a bitch!?" He asked, getting up and using the heat from his other sword to melt the ice. He saw now that the blue pipe is more connected than the red pipe.

'Just have to keep my eyes on the pipes, and respond accordingly.' He looked at his enemy, thinking of weak points. 'There isn't any way I'll be able to kill this thing solo. But, there isn't a way in or out. What do I do?' He looked on at the standstill going on between him and the dragon. 'The only thing that comes to mind,' he got into an offensive stance, 'is to hit it until it dies!' He charged at it, sidestepping at random to keep it from getting a lock on him. He felt a boost of adrenaline that helped him fight through the pain.

The dragon breathed a tower of ice and flew to the top of it. Chris stabbed the pillar with his Shishkabob and ran over to receive his Shocksword. He picked it up and saw that the tower was starting to fall. He ran, grabbing his blade in the process and he concentrated on the dragon. It had to leave the pillar, which fell onto the junk pile blocking the exit, creating a one-way bridge. Chris started climbing it until he looked to his left and dodged the dragon trying to hit him. He felt his grip slip as he started to fall of the side. The dragon hit him with its head, knocking him to the wall again. He hit it and fell onto the ground face first. He looked up and saw the dragon had trapped him with ice, making a one-way hallway of sorts. It started gliding over the ground, its head down so it could crush him inbetween it and the wall. He drew his only hope, the .44, and aimed down the sights.

"Four shots left, gotta make them count." He told himself, putting his feet in a position as to where they would help absorb the recoil. "VATS!" He said, activating the mode. He selected the head four times, he breathed in and out. His life depended on these four shots. They couldn't fail him now. "Fire." He said. The first shot was fired, and did nothing. Same with the second, and the third. Chris asked for whoever was in charge upstairs to bless this bullet. He fired the last one, and it did something. He saw blood come out of the eye of the dragon, meaning he got a hit!

But the dragon didn't stop. It still flew at him.

'Everyone, I'm sorry. I hope my death wasn't in vain.' He thought as death came in slow motion, due to VATS. Wait. 'VATS is still on? Why?' He thought, until he heard something.

An acoustic guitar.

He heard a string, then another. Then four more. He felt his eyes blink for a millisecond, and in front of him was a man. He had on a detective's trenchcoat, with a matching fedora. He saw burgundy pants, but couldn't see what type of shoes and shirt he was wearing. He saw the man pull out a magnum from his side, a .44 to be exact. He saw him hold it with one hand, shooting from the the hip, and fired. The first shot sent the dragon to the other side of the hallway, with a large hole where some of the metal used to be. He pulled the trigger again, and again, and again, and again. Each shot did more and more damage to the dragon. Finally, he aimed down the iron sights and fired. This shot hit the dragon's head, turning it into a pile of raw meat, scrap metal, and disappointment. Chris heard the guitar again as he was forced to blink again. The man was gone, leaving as quickly as he came.

"What the hell?" He whispered, looking at were the man was. There was nothing. He then turned his head to the used to be Cyberdragon. The adrenaline that fought off the pain ran out and he felt a sharp pain on his back. He drank a potion that healed him and he checked his stats. His level went from a ten to a fifteen, and his weapons all ranked up. His Shocksword hit rank ten and he received a new skill called 'Thunder'. He sat down. "That was the Mysterious Stranger, no doubt. But, why is he here? He doesn't exist in this world, at least I don't think he does. I'm wasting time, I need to catch back up with my team." He thought as he felt blood seep through his multiple wounds. "I better hurry."

Luckily, the bridge was still there, so he made his way up it and he looked down. It was a hell of a drop. He saw some junk that might help him climb down. He jumped to it and grabbed the surprisingly secure rubble. He landed and looked to his left. There was a path that seemed to lead to the beginning.

'That'll be handy later.' He thought as he saw the way to the second floor. He stepped onto it and felt light envelop him.

Boom! And that is Chapter II, done. I am so glad to have gotten this thing done. Classes changed soon after I finished Chapter I so I had to get used to it. That and I decided to change what was going to happen about ½ way through writing. So I had to do that as well. I was going to have all of Gamindustri Graveyard be in Chapter II, but I didn't want to delay the post any further. Anyway, let me get to working on Chapter III. Have a good day, and peace out.