Author's Note: I decided to go for two plots for this story. One will be with Jash, Marcus, and Tyler while the other will be with Sirrush and Ellen Reese. I want Ellen to have a part in this roleplay and that's why there'll be chapters without certain characters.

I mention a few species from the Dragon Division which is ever expanding.


Elder Sirrush's Point of View

The nomads had come shortly after Mother had went to defend the cave entrance with Marcus and Tyler. I had wanted to be on that part of the mission since I figured that I would see the most action that way. I wanted to prove to myself that I could fight alongside Mother and not fail. And then she left me to guard the vehicle. I expected to get only a few shots at the enemy.

I was wrong.

For awhile there had been shooting at the front of the cave entrance and then things had grown quiet. I expected Mother to return shortly thereafter and bring an update. Then we would look for this rumored Xeno. I didn't know if it existed and didn't want it to. I wanted my creator to be something special.

After a short period of silence the nomads had returned. There was no sign of Mother or the two other Resistance fighters. After each shot I fired at a nomad, I thought of what might have happened to them. Either they were dead or captured. I didn't know which was the worse option.

I would have run off the first chance I could but I had a duty. I still had to protect both my Other and Ellen Reese. I would've run before now if that wasn't the case.

I aimed and shot at more nomads but there were more of them than us. Sparing a glance at the chopper I realized that I couldn't protect it. Even if I could, I would risk the lives of my Other and Ellen to do so. Two things that couldn't be replaced. That wasn't a risk a good soldier would take.

Not even Marcus would take that chance and he was the most insane man I knew.

I let out a roar only one of the Dragon Division could manage. It made a few of the nomads stop and take notice. I felt the roar was one of my weaker contributions, but it did the job and made me happy.

I did it not to spark fear into the nomads, though that was one of the benefits, but to tell Ellen that it was time to go and to give my Other extra incentive to leave.

Ellen was a good fighter and I wished her relationship with Mother was better. Mother should be able to say what she truly thought of the medic.

Right now Ellen continued to shoot at the nomads and paused for a moment to shake her head.

"There is nothing like fighting with people when we have bigger problems." Ellen said and I didn't know what she meant. What bigger problems? "Low on ammo. We have to get the hell out of here."

If only we were able to get to to the supplies in the chopper. We could risk a run into the chopper but then there'd only be one fighter to protect the other. My Other was a great fighter, no doubt about that, but she couldn't hold off people like either myself or Ellen could.

"Then retreat it is." I said and felt a sense of disappointment come over me in even greater force. I didn't want to run away from a fight, hopeless as it was, but I had to. For my Other and Ellen's sakes.

Through my psychic link with my Other I felt her need to protect Ellen. I knew her protection wouldn't be enough to save the human, but it would have to do. I also felt, though the connection, that my Other knew it wasn't enough but that she would die before she gave up.

As we rushed to get out I heard the nomads shooting at the chopper. Out of the three of us, only my Other was capable of flight and she wouldn't be able to carry either Ellen or myself to safety. Hopefully the nomads would only damage the vehicle so that I could repair it in a few hours.

As we exited the cave I felt heat at my back and heard an explosion. Dammit! Now the way back to base was gone. Unless a Presage, a dragon species from the Dragon Division, decided to pass by and allowed us to ride it. But that was less than likely to happen. I didn't have that kind of luck.

I could see that Ellen, being a human, twitched a little as the heat hit her. I could see why Mother admired this human as another member of Ellen's species wouldn't show such restraint to the pain.

As I started to wonder why the nomads would do such a suicidal move for nothing, as us three had escaped, I heard a bullet hit a boulder that was beside me. With a single glance from Ellen, all three of us changed our tactics to hiding behind boulders whenever possible. I knew I could take a few bullets before there was trouble for me, but the other two weren't as lucky.

The ground underneath our feet went downwards for a little while and then it flattened out. I wasn't naive enough to think this was a good thing. If this level piece of land went on long enough it would allow the nomads to catch up and then either kill or capture us. The same fate that Mother, Marcus, and Tyler had gotten.

Ellen and I ran, while my Other flew, until the ground became a cliff. Without having to look back I could tell that the nomads would soon catch up with us and so we didn't have enough time to come up with a good option.

Ellen looked down and I could tell she didn't want to do what she knew she had to. I looked down and the drop didn't look bad to me. However, Ellen was a human and didn't share my abilities.

"I do not think that you can fly and carry me down, huh?" She asked and I stayed silent. The slight twitching of my wings was answer enough for her. She sighed. "Yeah, I thought so. Well, the only way is down."

I didn't rush her even though I knew danger was close behind us. I did this not because I cared for her, but because I was nervous. I was sure the fall wouldn't kill me, but how soon I would recover afterwards was a different matter entirely.

While those thoughts were going through my head I heard Ellen flinch and then I heard a gunshot. I turned around and saw that the nomads were getting closer. Looking at them I realized that fighting was beyond useless for now. But I still wanted to avoid the option of jumping.

"Damn, I got a bad feeling about this." Ellen said and I turned as I heard her run towards the nomads. My unasked question was answered as she quickly changed course and ran off the cliff. "This was a bad idea. Damn!"

As the human jumped I realized that I would have to join her. I couldn't fight here, nor could I protect her from up here. I didn't give myself a running start, but just jumped and opened my wings. While my wings wouldn't allow me to fly, they would allow me to glide across short distances. I was now opening my wings to slow my fall.

The swooshing sound from my wings gave me a slight feel of exhilaration that made me smile.

My Other squawked and then dived after me. While Ellen and I had to deal with different levels of not being able to control our fall, my Other didn't have that problem. She dived like one of the birds of prey that Mother had talked about.

Luckily I had slowed down my fall enough and landed comfortably in the water. I turned to see Ellen get out of the water and onto the shore. I was surprised that she had recovered so well, but she was a Reese. She had the genes that had attracted Mother to John Connor.

"God, I will not repeat that again! I swear!" Ellen said and I truly hoped she didn't. Everything had turned out fine this time, but who could say what would happen if we repeated the action? Luckily the nomads had assumed we were dead or were looking for another way down.

She looked around and said, "We need to find some shelter. It will be dark soon."

As I started swimming towards the shore I looked to where the nomads could come from. There seemed to be only two places that would be any great advantage for them to try and enter from. Hopefully they would give us enough time to recover before we had to fight them.

When I was close to shore my Other landed on me and I sighed. I sometimes thought that my Other couldn't fully comprehend situations, but with the psychic link I knew this to be false. She was able to be optimistic while Skynet reigned and I was jealous of that ability.

I crawled onto the shore in an odd imitation of an Agnikinesis' walk. I then stood up, stretched, and my wings spread to their full extent. My Other stayed perched comfortably on my head.

When I had relaxed, I folded my wings back and walked so that I stood beside Ellen.

"I hope you won't repeat the action. Though Younger enjoyed it immensely." I said and stopped myself from rolling my eyes. That wouldn't be a fit action for a Resistance fighter. "Possibly we can find a tent or things to make one."

Looking around I didn't see the signs of anything that would make a tent. Not even one that would only fit Ellen.

The human had started to shiver in the cold and I felt sorry for her. Humans were so weak compared to dragons and Terminators, but could do so much in their frail bodies. I could understand why Mother sometimes regretted that she had never been one of them.

"Maybe we would to burn a small fire?" Ellen asked. "I have to warm up and dry."

"Wish either of us could breathe fire. But Jash didn't find that important enough." I said and regretted saying something negative about Mother. She didn't make a mistake and I admit my wanting to breathe fire was because it was what dragons were supposed to do. At least that's what my limited information on the subject had told me.

I sent my Other pictures of firewood and imparted the importance of getting the firewood quickly through our psychic link. She then prepared herself to take off.


Younger Sirrush's Point of View

I don't like conflict and prefer playing around. But I was on a mission and relaxing was not an option. I was shaken up by the nomad attack, but found resting on my Other's head gave me both comfort and courage.

I prepared to fly away to get firewood after my Other gave the order for me to do so.

As I took off I heard my Other tell the human, "She's going to look for some wood. Do you have anything to start a fire with?"

The first few seconds of searching for wood was unnerving. I would be without my Other if there was a fight and what if I couldn't find any firewood? The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint him.


Elder Sirrush's Point of View

As my Other went to look for firewood, Ellen looked at me. I admit it was unnerving and I didn't know what the proper reaction to it was. I decided to maintain a facade of not caring.

"You cannot? Well..you know..." Ellen said so nervously that she couldn't get her intended question out easily. If Mother were here she'd joke about sex. "Make a fire? No? Sorry."

I felt like laughing as asking if I could breathe fire wasn't taboo. If it were, the majority of us dragons wouldn't be able to think due to rage. People like Marcus would joke about us not being able to breathe fire and tensions between the Dragon Division and the rest of the Resistance would rise. Luckily enough, us dragons didn't put much thought into our lacking that ability.

"In moments like these, I regret that I do not smoke cigarettes." She said and started to search in her pockets. "Oh, I've got some! Try these!"

The human then handed me a pack of matches. I turned the box over in my hand and listened to the sound before opening it. While the matches appeared old, they would work. It was a good thing that Ellen had thought to bring them wit her.

"These will work nicely." I said as I closed the box. "And it'd be equally bad if you had cigarettes but no matches."


Younger Sirrush's Point of View

The search was short and I found some wood that would please my Other and Ellen Reese. I circled around it to make sure. I let the aroma from the wood go into my nostrils and looked at the wood closely. I didn't want to pick it up and be attacked. While I would be hard pressed to find a little creature that could match the power of a Ditto, I wasn't ruling out that possibility.

I flew down and ate the spider that had come out of its hiding place under the wood to defend itself. I crushed it in my mouth just enough so it would stop the majority of its squirming. Then I swallowed it and felt it try and resist going down.

I let out a sigh as the joyous feeling was replaced by guilt since my Other hadn't eaten. I'd make sure he'd eat a meal as soon as possible. Even if we were still on this mission.

I then got a good grasp on the wood and started to fly back to the others.


Elder Sirrush's Point of View

"Nice to know you have a sense of humor." Ellen said and I felt pride that my attempt hadn't gone unnoticed.

"I have a slight sense if it, yes." Was my simple reply.

I felt myself coming back towards me. Not myself, not exactly, but it sometimes felt like it. It was my Other.

For some reason I was getting a hint of both guilt and satisfaction from her. I didn't know why, but that didn't matter right now and I knew she would explain herself in due time.

My Other landed on Ellen's shoulder and made sure to compensate for Ellen being a human.

"Give it to me, sweetie." Ellen said softly and my Other let the human take the wood from her.

My Other then put her head down. Her eyes had a mischievous shine to them and I had to hold back a laugh. Ellen had not worked with my Other before and so didn't know some of her signals. I didn't need the psychic connection to know what my Other was thinking.

"She thinks she deserves a petting." I said and a slight smile crept onto my face. My Other kept me sane in situations such as Mother possibly being dead.

Ellen then stroked my Other's head for a little bit and said, "She is cute."

My Other shared her joy and the experience with me. I stood straight and pretended not to be affected by the link.

My Other flew onto my shoulder and Ellen kept hold of the wood while looking for a cave. I followed her while having my attention more focused on the appearance of the nomads. My Other helped me with this and so we were one mind in two bodies.

Finally Ellen found a small cave and we went in. It wasn't as big as the one the nomads attacked us in, but it was big enough.

I handed the matches to Ellen after she had set up the wood in a shallow hole that would serve as a fire pit. I was glad when the fire started and there was some warmth. I didn't need to dry out, as the cold hadn't affected me to any great degree, but I was happy for the heat anyways.

Ellen, on the other hand, needed the heat. Humans, strong as they can be, fail in so many ways. The need for warmth in these situations was almost embarrassing.

I could see her eyes on my Other and myself looking almost like she was jealous. I didn't blame her as humans had weaknesses that dragons didn't. And when you're in a situation and someone isn't suffering as much as you, there's jealousy. Only natural.

"I hope your Mother and everybody are fine. Heh, your mother." Ellen said and sat down by the small fire. "We cannot always find a common language. We are too similar. To be honest, I know only one other woman who is the same combination of stubborn and complicated as her."

I sat on the opposite side of the fire and faced the human. I knew her answer as it seemed like the logical reason why Mother would be attracted to her.

"You ask me who? It's simple, honey: it's me." Ellen answered. "Nah, don't look at me so surprised. Your mother is tough, but she learned to be tough. So did I. What do you mean how? Oh, sweetie. You didn't know my brothers."

I had heard stories of Derek Reese and some of Kyle Reese. But Mother's hatred for Derek seemed to go beyond reason. Of course the Derek Mother hated was not Ellen's Derek, it was a different Derek from a different timeline.

"You have no idea how hard it is to be a little baby sister who wants to 'play' in war and become a soldier. Are you surprised? You should be grateful that your brother understands you all the time, no matter what." Ellen continued and I realized she was talking to my Other. I felt a wave of pride for me come through the psychic link. "I had to fight for every word. It took me many years to show them that I'm a real soldier and deserved their respect."

My Other tensed on my shoulder and I knew she would be going to Ellen soon.

"You ask me are they proud of me now?" Ellen asked and let out a sigh. "I wish to believe they are...wherever they are now."

I could imagine Ellen's pain of not knowing where her brothers were by thinking what would happen if I didn't know where my Other was. Of course I'd always be able to tell, our psychic link was not bound by distance, but if I couldn't get to her I'd feel lost. I didn't know what would happen if she died.

My Other nodded her understanding and then went to rest on Ellen's shoulders. She rubbed against the human and then stopped after a few seconds. No matter what my Other did, she could not truly comfort Ellen on this matter.

"I don't know how Jash would feel about you comparing yourself to her." I finally said. While Mother was comparable to Ellen, and that was probably the reason why Mother was attracted to the human, Mother wouldn't like to let that secret out. "Seems like a lot of the time she pretends to be stronger than she is and doesn't like people being at the same level."

"And who likes to be compared to someone? Everyone wants to be unique, but the truth is people are all the same. Every where. Only some people are going their own way. Most just follow." Ellen said and then started laughing. I was confused. "Oh, sorry. I just became aware of something. Jash is your Mother and Martin is in some kind of father for you two, right? I'm his cousin. So you can call me Auntie!"

I didn't know about calling this human Auntie. I didn't feel that connected to anyone like family except for Mother and the other members of the Dragon Division. Even though Martin had provided me with some of his DNA, I didn't know about calling him father. I only did so because it was polite.

"I'd never have suspected it." Ellen said and then turned to look to the cave entrance.

I heard the sounds that were, for now, in the distance but could get closer at any given moment. We waited a few moments before calming down.

"I think we won't eat anything warm tonight since we have to extinguish the fire. They could see the light and know where we are." She said and then the nomads could be heard approaching. Their yelling and shouting was unmistakable.

"It's too late! They found us!" Ellen yells and we raced out of the cave to have more options. My Other took to the sky to provide me with an aerial view of the upcoming battle. "Take cover! They are coming!"

I looked for a boulder to hide behind and the human did the same.

"C'mon bastards!" I could hear her hiss under her breath and then added. "We have to get the hell out of here."