Ghost Recon: The Gate

by Peacekeeper 37

Captain Scott Mitchell of the Ghost Recon Special Forces group has seen more than his fair share of war. But NO ONE could have seen this coming. A simple black ops mission in Japan to assassinate a Yakuza with plans for a dirty bomb after a few years of relative peace leads to a conflict with might and magic from a 'Gate.' A new chapter for Ghost Recon has been opened.

13. Going Back Home

Borat: I don't think so. Like the Greeks, the Ictuns are very conscious of independence. A federal gov sounds more like one big excuse to give power to fewer, like Athens did with their empire in the day. The polis is the most important thing to them. As national as it sounds, Ictun thoughts are always focused on the cities. The Greeks didn't regard where they lived as Greece, but as Hellas.

I have NO CLUE what Kobolds are, so that should give an answer. Bloody White Queen would be Tyuule.

There will be plenty of journal entries.

Mpowers: No nononono. Fraid not. If anything he's in the higher echelons of the Senate.

ChronoHyperion: … I'll let you see.

Junior VB: Well, read dis n find out.

BartGirl: Back in those days, superstition was part of life.

Gerome945: wait wha…?

Crazy-Man: Iz I strong in da Force?

AN: As some may have guessed, I've been doing a lot of Warhammer reading. Total War that is, so you can expect to see some familiar mentionings here. Like what I did from Skyrim. I won't specify. In addition, I'd like to give a shout to RabidArmenian, Borat, and other peeps here for past and present help on dis story. And I hope you're havin a happy new year so far! :D

Outside Fort Latium

Shrieks of women and roars of orcs filled the field as the undermanned Fort Latium's garrison took the role of spectator.

Despite its proximity to Warrior Bunny lands, the fortress was left without a proper garrison ever since Zorzal crushed the rabbit people in the war, taking their queen as his personal slave and leaving any others to their fate if not enslaved. Something even the peace loving Uzca approved of. General rule of Falmart is 'No one likes the Bunnies.'

Though this eventually turned into a problem as a new war huntress rose and rallied more of the despised beings under her banner. It seemed as though another Bloody Queen was about to rise. It wasn't long until she organized a warpath towards Orc lands by preparing right outside the fortress. Likely with the intention of starving the garrison and preventing reinforcement.

She needn't have bothered though, as the Uzca were well aware of her now. Latium was near their borders. And having so many bunnies there was very uncomfortable. This was currently being remedied in the battle.

Harlok the Kind-Fisted, Chieftain of Chieftains and elderly Orc led his fellow warriors to this battlefield. Donned in his fur pants, long fur coat and a bear's head upon his own with a great white beard that would impress a dwarf upon his face. His chest bearing only a harness keeping his weapon ready. Scars of many fights covered his overly muscular green body. Even in a peace-loving society, those who lead their people must be fierce and mighty! His weapon, a massive two-handed axe only an Orc of great strength could carry.

Orcs were naturally muscular and strong despite their shunning of aggression. So most weapons were those like spears and axes. Tools you'd find for work instead of war. Mind you these are not the hulking brutes of Warhammer, but those one could easily identify as being from the Elder Scrolls. Still taller than a normal man. The only alien part of them besides their skin and ears were their lower fangs. But do not mistake their tools as simple. They may only work from chieftains and tribes rather than a nation proper, but they have coinage, trade, and hierarchies dedicated to more than war. While not on par with say the Saderans, their metalwork is admirable. Their villages and towns are organized. Their culture is rich, and they have Gods of their own. Teachers of peace and harmony. Were it not for such ideals, perhaps the Orcs wouldn't have contact at all save for war.

If an Other-Worlder were to get a good grasp of them. They could be considered a mix of Gallic, Briton, Germanic, even Viking. At least in their fighting style. What they lack in military preparedness, they make up for with strength and intimidation, as well as great roars of defiance. And many will agree that few things are more concerning than a mass of Orcs charging with axes at the ready.

Orcs of various attire and weaponry, mostly axes were had charged the bunnies, the fortress on top of the steep hill right next to the battle. And near it were the banners of the Warrior Bunny force. The conniving creatures having gathered to a sizeable number as they stood now ready to face their Orcish enemies. They were more suited to cunning and speed in battle. And their bloodlust knew no bounds. Constantly hunting and killing, raiding for food, captives, and males to appease their Goddesses.

It was a polar opposite case, and now these opposites were again in battle. Both unleashed the hatred for each other in their strikes, be it the quick and precise stabs of a bunny or the slow and devastating blow of an Orc. Harlok unleashed an inhuman roar, covered in blood, scrapes, and with adrenaline surging through him as he swung his axe into a group of Bunnies, creating a splash of red as blood went everywhere. And then came him pounding a single warrior with a non-bladed side, sending a shockwave forth and knocking other bunnies down. He was of course not fighting alone as his army was engaging others, he had a collection of Berserkers. Orcs who train to be heavy troops should war come. In attire similar to their chieftain, they hacked with axes and stabbed with swords as the bunnies either danced to avoid attacks or were cut where they stood.

"KILL THEM ALL! KILL THESE VERMIN!" He roared, age having done nothing to his deep guttural voice as he addressed his warriors. "WE WON'T LET THESE HARLOTS STEAL OUR FAMILIES!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Came the cry of his warriors reenergized by his words. Here they could properly fight in their preferred individual style. Like the bunnies. The battle had as of now, been going on for an hour and a half. Bodies were littered all over the place. Orcs with their throats slit or their sides gouged, eyes punctured or backs stabbed while bunnies were in pieces, in half, or just brutally cut down. Heads were flying and blood was everywhere. And now the Uzca were winning the battle as the bunnies found themselves outmatched.

The leading warrior was on her last legs. Unprepared for this quick reaction of the Orcs. It seemed like only a moment ago that her horde was shrieking out in anticipation to spill blood and eat hearty. Then the battle began and both sides held firm. But that chieftain's continued fighting as opposed to her own was turning the tide. Now her horde was fast-dwindling to a group, and began to run for their lives. She herself refused this, and made a new goal.

Kill Harlok. If he died, the Uzca would be thrown into turmoil and the Queen would be avenged. One last cry of defiance from her as she charged the elderly Orc, taking notice immediately. At inhuman speed she ran and readied her daggers, that crazed face of a bloodthirsty woman plastered on her as she jumped high and poised to strike coming down on him.

Only for the axe he held to be swung straight at her and turn her into paste. Now she lay on the ground, her body cut nearly in two. The remaining warriors had begun running back to their grasslands. The Uzca had won. "VICTORY! They come to ravage us again! And they leave ravaged themselves!" Harlok shouted, holding his axe high in the air as his warriors let out their victory roars. They would go home, gather their dead, and eat hearty! The Bunnies were defeated again.

Sadera

"How goes the progress?"

Molt, along with his highest legates, had decided to investigate the progress the mages and sorcerers had done on countering the enemy from across the Gate. "I'm afraid it is mostly abysmal your majesty. These weapons are a frustrating task."

Around them at various tables with these weapons in what could only be described as various states of assembly. No one was sure if they were broken or not, let alone what these brass colored objects in the compartments underneath them were. During the battle at Alnus, soldiers were ordered to recover any enemy weaponry they could get their hands on in hopes of deciphering how they worked and were made. To say it was an organized and timely endeavor would be a lie. These mages were up for nights trying to figure these weapons out. All they knew was pulling these trigger mechanisms similar to their crossbows resulted in the thunderous noise and the expected destruction, but they found that repeated pulls it will soon the loud thunder and begin to make a clicking noise. Each pull resulted in a hot object being shot out the side, similar to the other brass objects, but without the point. They assume these objects were the ammunition, but that was all they could think. Anything else was a complete mystery to them. Frustration and anxiety was overcoming them now. Molt took notice at the notes of one of the mages, one piece of paper with a weapon disassembled, at least he thought so. Hard to tell. Labels and arrows pointing to parts, a hypothesis on the brass objects, and large words of 'No magic. No bolts. No strings. HOW DO THEY WORK?!' scribbled onto the side.

The larger beasts were unable to be taken because those hit were outright destroyed. If lucky that is.

"We have no way of truly understanding how these weapons work. We've detected no magic. So that's out of the question. Dismantling these weapons and putting them together is dependent on shape and size. Some are easier than others. But for all that, figuring out what is what is well… a mystery. We have too many pieces and not enough answers, and even if we do figure it out, I am unsure if we could replicate such equipment. I think we may very well be unable to adapt to this new way of warfare."

"What can you tell us about them so far?"

"Well, they are made of steel and iron. The hypothesis we have is that these… objects are similar to arrows and bolts. They are put in these containers of sorts, and put in the weapon, a pull of the mechanism sends the attack out. But that doesn't explain the hot objects they spit out. They appear to be the same objects without the point. But the exact means of how it's done is unknown. We just don't know."

"Hmm. As frustrating as it is. It's still fascinating." A legate said.

Molt frowned as well. Sadera's adaptation and learning tactics of their enemy was of course not something that didn't happen overnight. But they were famed for being quick learners. The problem though that strategy may have no chance. "What of what we DO have?"

"As per request, we are focusing more on production of enchanted bows and arrows while brainstorming of possible war machines we can create to better fight the enemy. In addition, the progress on our new Tallian Orbs is going well. As explained, if successful we will be able to do more with siege weaponry with less physical labor."

"Good. Good. Is there anything we can do to potentially improve the research on these weapons?" Molt asked.

"… potentially. Most of the ones we had are now, well… we couldn't put them back together so we just threw them away. If we had more, it could be a potential boon to our efforts. But it is not guaranteed if it will get results."

Molt sighed. "Or if it can be done. They've been sitting behind that fortress for days and my agents have said nothing. Only small scouting parties. What are they waiting for?"

"They must be expecting us to attack again. But we're doing the same. We have fortresses near them reinforced. The only one that hasn't received that luxury is Fort Salamandra. Their dragons have been poised for deployment for a while now."

"Speaking of time, I have yet to hear from Pina. She usually sends a falcon by now. Arch mage, continue your work. If you have any problems or require anything, let me know. Time is of the essence." A bow and a vow, the mage returned to his duties while Molt made way back to his throne room with the Legates in tow.

"I have already spoken to my sons on the matter. I want their legions ready to deploy to the borders to continue our Dream." Much has happened in Sadera while the Other-Worlders building their fortress. The news of their arrival spread fast through the continent, and not just in the Empire. But to the lands outside their borders. Even those around the continent have heard of the arrival. The world was in danger of becoming greatly agitated from this new contender meddling in the balance, justified or otherwise. In the south, the Ictun City State civil war, already spanning 2 months, was heating up beyond hopes of peace, as the Thorcinians and their Beethan allies had defeated some of the Thanian allies and were in danger of cutting off some of the cities from one another. While the new union that Thanes led had managed to hold back a naval assault to their northern brethren.

To the east, the undermanned Fort Latium was in danger of being sieged. You could blame logistics and bad intelligence for that. Warrior Bunnies have been gathering within its shadow on another bloody path of war and slaughter. It hasn't been too long since their last rising under Tyuule, often known as the Bloody White Queen. Now she was Zorzal's personal slave, and for all she's done, that's a generosity. As far as he was concerned, these peoples can eat shit and die. And being that close to the Eastern Forests, the Orcish tribes were sure to meet them in battle. They hated each other more than the Empire. Quite an ironic representation the two, Orcs were often associated with violence while rabbits were seen as skittish and calm. Yet the personalities were reversed. Quite a fact, is it not?

To the west, a more precarious development. Hannibal has finally broken the treaty and attacked Taligula. War with Denzalcia was once again unavoidable. Surely at this point, one would fall. And like before it would be many battles with many losses. Would Sadera reign supreme, or would the third time be the charm?

As for what lay outside of the mainland, Molt had yet to know. There was the island nation of Miwa off the coast, but they mostly kept to themselves with only a few trade relations. The nations of Gryliah and Hafza across the ocean. Known well for their constant wars against one another over a great plateau on their borders, a landmark of great religious significance for both nations. So many damned wars even Sadera has seen more peace. What was it now, 547 wars? Just a constant change of back and forth ownership of the area. The nations of sentient equines and other mythical beings. They were scared of Sadera so there was a chance they won't be doing anything.

Those lands of the reptilian people? No chance of knowing. That damned barren land where verminous rodents spawn from is a mystery. And he didn't want to think of the beyond northern lands.

"We've moved four legions to monitor the area. In case they try anything. As for your sons, they're already ready to move. They should be on the march soon." Another general said.

"Word has reached the people, your Majesty. The villages and towns that may we are planning to burn if necessary are making preparations. Some of their folk have tossed aside their shovels for swords and are coming out of reserve. Legion 14 is going to be replenished in no time at this rate. We are distributing crossbows by the thousands to the legionaries."

"We have also created war plans. With the enemy holding up in their fortress save for their scouting parties, we are resorting to plans of ambushes and movement shadowing. They're undoubtedly getting a lay of the land before they make any more moves. If that's the case then we'll make it hell for them."

"Good, good." Molt said. "We need to predict what they might do. Daunting, I know. We know virtually little. There still has to be some kind of basis for us to go on."

"What of the Flame Dragon? Its wake is sure to bring even more panic among this already volatile situation. The Other-Worlders may have defeated it, but they didn't kill it. It is still out there."

"That's why I want Jarprax Kualthis to maintain a watch there. He's the best bet of keeping that damned monster away."

"As you wish your Majesty." Molt was about to issue another order when the same hawk came flying through the halls to him. Usually it would wait for him at his throne room, but now it sought him out actively.

"This must be important." He said to himself as he took the note from the bird, then opened it. reading the contents.

…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

…

"HAWX flight, you are cleared for takeoff." The tower cleared the group for departure as the additional flights formed up behind them. So far Brits and Russians. The rest were still scrambling. "Intercept the contacts and if necessary, shoot them down."

"50 contacts. Picked up a large formation. Confirmed." The radar station transmitted.

"Hey Crenshaw, you think it's more dragons?" Asked Casper.

"No reason to think otherwise." The Colonel answered.

"It's still crazy. Last time I fought them, I nearly went out of control after being hit by wind from one. It's crazy." The wingman said.

"You're lucky Casper, I had ice shards the size of my fist stuck in my wings." Talon said.

"Polaris Flight in position. Captain Colin Munro. Call em as we see em." A British pilot squawked. The Brits had taken use of Eurofighters.

"Captain Dmitri Sokov. Medved flight in position. Ready for battle." A Russian said. His flight used Su-47s.

"All flights change heading and intercept." Crenshaw ordered.

As the planes did so, familiar yellow diamonds filled the HAWXs' HUDs. Dragons undoubtedly. Care had to be taken, as only three types of offensive measures were demonstrated by dragons. Fire, wind, and ice. For all the pilots knew, more were available.

"Put more distance in between our flights. See if we can box them in." Crenshaw said. Let's hope those APCs on the ground aren't needed." Said APCs and tanks were mobilizing already, from motor pools and storage hangars. In relation to the dragons, it was decided that given the superior maneuverability of the dragons, it would be better to use dime a dozen ammunition of autocannons and gatling guns instead of precious SAM missiles as AA. Did missiles work? Yes. Did missiles hit? Yes. The issue was the hit/miss ratio was highly in favor of miss. Unlike jets, the dragons didn't always have a high temperature like jets from the friction of heat given their slower speeds. The missiles of dogfighting were close range, and relied on this heat. The fire ones were susceptible thanks to a high body temperature, but others were difficult. Other missiles like radar could be avoided too. These were then long range kinds that were launched, but they could easily be avoided by the extremely maneuverable wyverns. Dragons were living creatures and had minds of their own. Better able to see the damned thing flying at them and taking action to avoid them.

They were jets and helicopters rolled into one to be blunt. It's easier and cheaper to throw trails of tracer rounds anyway. This news of missiles being almost useless is quite a problem for modern pilots, so used to their missiles and having to rely on their cannons like their forefathers in the Second World War.

Meanwhile, soldiers rushed civilians into hardened bunkers, not willing to risk them getting caught in the attack. The bunkers all led to one area under the fort. All routes and areas were created with reinforced concrete. "Stay in here! Follow the Lieutenant to the center and until he says otherwise, do NOT come out!" The door strained to a close as the door shut and the locks come into place. The girls were stuck there now.

"Well this is no fun." Rory pouted.

"Demigoddess or not, I'd rather be in here." Leilei said, following the bunker soldiers.

Outside the bunker, the soldiers ran from place to place to ready anti air forces. "Poluchite Tunguskas!" A Russian shouted.

Back with the HAWX. The contacts grew closer.

The Americans took a straight shot, with the Russians at the left and the Brits at the right. "Got visual on the bogies. Jesus Christ there's dozens of them." Dragons were all over the air. It looked like something out of a movie.

"They're moving at a quick pace. Some big ones in the mix." Munro said.

"Copy that. Those are big guys. I mean big." The closer they got, the clearer it became that these were bigger and likely stronger dragons. You could probably say they were their bombers. The jets approached from the air, a clear advantage in dogfighting. Going down and gaining speed. "Air contacts are indeed dragons, Tower. Too many to be anything other than attack." David said.

"Understood. All flights you are weapons free." The tower said.

"Understood, moving in to-"

"Contact!" Talon shouted. His plane banked left as a dragon came screaming down with a blazing fire attack going at the jet. Missing. The HAWX divided and picked the new targets.

"Slaughter them like hens!" Sokov shouted.

Crenshaw banked right and made a sharp turn. Bringing his gun sight upon a dragon of a light bluish hue. It opens fire, ice particles narrowly avoiding the 22. Crenshaw unleashed the M61 Vulcan cannon. The high velocity rounds tore through the flying reptile and sent the creature falling. One down, plenty more to go.

"HEY! You know what I can't understand?!" Casper began.

"What is it?" Asked Talon.

"Like, we're at extremely high altitudes, right? 8,000 ft?"

"Yeah. So?" Talon said.

Casper replied with, "You need altitude masks like we have. Why don't they have any?" Casper while firing a missile at a fire dragon.

"Hey, he's right! I see something resembling a mask on their faces, but nothing like a mask you'd expect. Looks more like a mercenary's intimidation mask." Munro said.

"Sukin syn. You remember how they have magic at their disposal," Sokov began as he Immelmann maneuvered and brought a dragon down with his jet's guns, "I bet those masks are enchanted with air to breathe."

"Holy shit… I think Ivan's onto something." Casper replied.

"We should split up. Half go after the big ones, the other goes after the escorts." Crenshaw said.

An instant after, more dragons appeared as the groups split up. The difference between the dragons fighting them and the bigger ones, besides size, was the fact that these ones had a big triceratops-like disk on their heads. (Think the Blood Dragons from Skyrim)

"Watch out for those big ones. Guess they have the same mindset as World War 2 bombers. i.e. anti-fighter defenses!" A Russian shouted. Crenshaw saw as said pilot banked hard and avoided a soaring projectile from the dragons. They had archers on them in a kind of canopy similar to that of war elephants. There were some on the bottom too.

"Take them down now!" David flew directly under one and OFF'd under it, bringing his nose to bear and unleashing his cannon point-blank. Chunks blew everywhere and the dragon fell. But there were still at least dozens of them.

Air raid sirens blared as the dogfight came into view. "We need some fire in the sky NOW!" A Canadian captain yelled. "Get some men in those AA weapons and take down those dragons!"

Kozak took the initiative and mounted up on a nearby AA vehicle who was one man short. An M163 VADS. Vulcan Air Defense System. Essentially an AA APC fielded by America once upon a time. These were pulled out of storage. These vehicles were better found used by countries like Israel. In fact, this one had Israeli markings. The Gate was scaring everyone. Countries that tended to keep to themselves opened up and said 'Let us help.' Because let's be honest, they definitely aren't gonna send a whole branch, but if something like that happened to one person, with the possibility of it happening elsewhere, wouldn't YOU do something about it?

Israel did, so did Portugal, Chile, even Switzerland. Although not without an earth-shattering debate on Switzerland's side. It was a world news thing that made people wonder if they'd ever get done. So many insults and arguments.

AA vehicles were racing out while those without such luxuries were racing for cover. "How many of zem are zere?!" A rushing Frenchman yelled.

"Radio says they're a heading for the Armory District!" An Italian yelled.

"Take them out before they wipe out our weapons!" Yelled a Greek.

The APC moved towards the supply area. The fort was one huge rectangular area with six districts. Encompassing the entire inner perimeter, up to the walls and back a small ways, was the Defense District. The walls and defenses in and on them. If you were to look at the fort from in front of it, behind the wall to the right front was the Armory District. Where the weapons were kept. The more volatile, the more protected. There were various armories, along with other locations like barracks and command staff around the base, but the mother loads were concentrated.

To the left was the Motor Pool District. The nations had smaller independent areas for their own vehicles, but for the most part, they all were collected here. Tanks, jeeps, Humvees, APCs, you name it.

Behind that was the Intelligence District. Where the scientists and historians worked. Unlike the others, this was the one dedicated area for any of that. It just doesn't get evident until you get to the main structure. Much of the district is living quarters for the personnel involved.

To the right of that and behind the main armory, was the living quarters for the soldiers, the Residential District. Divided by country with some space left over. Those with minor forces were allocated to one of the main buildings.

And finally to the complete right was an airfield. In the center of all this was the Command District. The nerve center.

"Air flights just sent word of massive dragons being accompanied by smaller ones heading right for the fort, the remaining ones are engaging the jets." The driver said.

The procedure was planned. Stick to a set route, alternate as the situation demands, and take down as many as possible. It was a bit disorienting as the ride was taken directly under sirens as they blared, with soldiers running and shouting. "UP THERE! 11 o'clock!" Kozak didn't think, he just turned and aimed. Soon thanking himself for pulling the trigger as the body of a dragon fell upon a structure, the rider dying on impact. It became apparent just how close the fight was. Although you could only make out specks, you could see them soaring around. With bigger more distinguishable specks among them.

"Holy Mary- it's a whole goddamn bombing run." Kozak said.

"Kozak, it's Ferguson, where the hell are you?!" His radio came to life as his squad leader spoke.

"I'm on an Israeli APC, shooting down dragons sir! Tell Scott he'll have to go and hide without me!" Ghosts were elite soldiers, but unless they, like Kozak, had an AA gun they were useless against air put that thought to the side as he opened fire with the minigun, waiting until an opportune moment to use the launcher.

"FOX 2!" Munro shot down another dragon, a missile this time. "That reminds me! Use your guns if you can!"

"But sir!" A fellow pilot shouted. "What about the Liam Devices? We can fire missiles all day! Though it's still pretty mind-blowing."

In the coming peace times after the Blacklist, military aviation was trying to come up with way to improve aerial warfare. i.e. the missiles and bombs. Only two or four and you're done. Guns all the way.

A genius by the name of Charles Liam changed all this. A Canadian scientist, he created the 'Liam Device.' From a young age, he became infatuated with sci-fi, and pursued a degree in the robotics field. After college, university, and becoming a full-time scientist, he actually created nano-bots. Unlike sci-fi culture, in which they were used for building or enhancing a human body, he used this fantasy turned reality to solve an issue with another field he loved: Jets.

With this device, jets could now fly for extended periods without touching down to rearm. Fire, and after a few minutes, the weapon would regenerate. It had dozens of bumps and setbacks in it's development for sure.

It was a small cube-shaped object placed in the jet in a location, as of yet, classified.

"And let you go crazy? Remember what happened to the pilots over Afghanistan who used their Liam devices up?!" Casper said.

The device was not perfect however. It was only good for a number of uses. An example being your main missiles, Joint Strike Missiles were good for 30 uses, then it ran dry. And once used, the bots could not be refigured to change and replenish the supply of another weapon. Meaning you couldn't change the amount of multi-lock missiles for your main missiles. Also, it only rearmed the weapons you had. For example. Let's say you were flying an F-18 Super Hornet with the classic Joint Strike Missiles, All Aspect Missiles, and Rocket Pods. If you wanted to trade the rocket pods for cluster bombs, or your aspects for multi target AA missiles, you had to go back to base altogether.

Two American pilots learned that the hard way after using all their missiles against insurgent pilots. If it wasn't for the Ghosts, they wouldn't be alive today.

"Besides. Why use your missiles when you can take these suckers out with your guns?" Talon added.

"Because these bastards are rather fond of hovering in place while you chase the- OH THAT BRAGGART!" The pilot replied as the dragon he chased stopped and let him pass.

"Calm down comrade! Watch their movements and intercept as needed." Sokov squawked.

"Easy for you to say!"

"Easy you two. We got fast movers heading to the base ahead of the bomber dragons. We need to intercept now." Crenshaw said. Performing a split s upon seeing the opportunity and placing another pursuer in front of him. Then unleashing the cannon.

"See you in hell svoloch!" A Russian said downing another. Back on the ground, the Ghosts were directing any remaining noncombat personnel to bunker entrances while taking part in the fight however they could. Kozak being the most involved.

"They're everywhere! Just focus on the smaller ones! The big guys will be hit by the big guns!" Kozak yelled. Dragons fell, with some debris from structures they attacked. No jets had been hit, yet.

"I just got word from the Residential District!" A Brit yelled. "Things are heating up over there!" He finished with shooting a SAM launcher.

"Please tell me the majority of the civilians are safe." Kozak mumbled to himself. He used his own launcher, and actually managed to get two dragons at once. One was hit and slammed into another. A jet flew over him and struck another dragon.

"They're heading for the fuel tanks! Over in the Motor District!" An African yelled on the radio. The fuel, in regards to the type used by certain vehicles, were kept separate from one another, most being in huge tanks. One goes, chances of a chain reaction were high. Kozak opened fire on two more while an avenger launcher volley went into the air.

"Thank god I'm not the only one doing this." He mumbled. The sky was starting to fill with smoke by now. It was bound to get worse if the defenses fell. A large dragon got close to the ground, and began skimming over a road as AA fire went its way, it took a breath and unleashed a massive cone of fire that destroyed whatever it touched, pavement bubbling and metal tured to slag. And more were doing the same around the fort.

"ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ENEMY FORCES HAVE LANDED AT THE ARMORY DISTRICT! REPEAT! LANDING AT THE ARMORY! ALL AVAILABLE FORCES TO THE ARMORY DISTRICT!" The loudspeaker was answered with a massive dragon corpse falling in front of one of the armories.

"Someone get to the Residential District! THERE'S BODIES ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE! WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO SEND THE WOUNDED?!"

Down in the bunker, the tension was high.

The center of the bunker complex was located under the Command Center. With halls and tunnels leading to different sections and areas. A sort of underground 'Fort Gate' to be used if things went south.

In one section of the Command Area, many decided to utilize the numerous 'tv screens' as the Coalition called them. They broadcasted what was happening on the surface via 'helmet cameras' and other cameras. The high ranking individuals were in the VIP section where the other command staff were and directed the defense.

"There are so many…" Tuka said, referring to the Saderan attack force.

"It's been centuries since I've seen something on this scale." Rory said. They looked to Sam, who joined them along with the civilians, whose face was a mix of grimace and confidence.

"What do we do Mr. Fisher?" Tuka asked.

"We wait. We wait for them to break the attack." He replied.

"It is not every day that we use our large dragons. A single breath from them can level almost anything." Piña said.

"Are these like the Flame Dragon I've been hearing about?" Sam asked.

"No. The Flame Dragon is slightly bigger, and more powerful." Was the reply. The princess hung her head. "The chances for a peace talk now are slim, aren't they?"

"That's for our leaders to decide. There's only one reason these guys could be attacking now." Sam said knowing the answer. The group turned to the princess, realizing what he meant. They were here for the princess. The fate of Italica was definitely heard of by now, and it was only natural to act after hearing about the fate of your princess being captured.

The screens were getting very graphic as missiles were flying into the air, the jets and dragons dancing in the sky like birds. Some soldiers shot in the air while others dove for cover as another dragon came and belched fire.

"Update on the armory situation! They're raiding us!" The videos didn't lie. During the chaos of the initial attack, some dragons landed within the area, near the small arms storage. The doors had already been broken in and legionaries were running like men possessed in and out carrying guns.

"WHAT?! How are- how do they kn- forget it! Get every available squad over there now!"

Itami found himself among those moving to secure the area. The corner to the armory district was right there, along with a few squads of friendlies firing around said corners. Some hit and wounded around. "HOLD ON!" One cried as he ran past. He turned the corner and the first thing he saw among this particular collection of smaller armories was a dragon perched on the roof of one, unleashing a breath at him. Just in time he backtracked into his following team as the inferno engulfed the spot where he was and slagged the pavement. He took a peek, and the beast was still there, kept relatively safe from the fighters by other dragons flying around. Some approaches were cut off by the bigger dragons, so only two were usable. While some legionaries made their rounds stealing whatever weapons they could and bringing them to a large dragon with a large wooden container strapped to its chest, others kept the line behind the cover of destroyed armored cars and fired their crossbows at the approaching defenders.

"They just swarmed in! Took us completely off guard!"

"Reinforcements are being diverted from the Residential district, but it's nightmare over there!" The soldier was cut off by a jet soaring low over their heads. "They're holding tight! Choppers can't get close to get rid of that dragon!"

"Hey, Wataru! Get that launcher ready! And look behind you this time! Cover him!" The team took the place of the local squad as they caught their breath, Mari taking a look at the 6 wounded. 4 had burns, and she wanted to look away. It wasn't their whole bodies, but those afflicted were… likely not going to fight again. Those she focused on were inflicted with a bolt wound.

"Oh God… FUCK this hurts!"

'Ok. Ok. Calm down, Mari.' She thought. This was in the thick of a fight, and so she was a bit shaky. All her previous works were before or between fights. So she was able to better keep the sights out of her mind. But now with all the noise and chaos around it was more difficult. 'Ok. Ok. This was a crossbow bolt. So that means it was a matter of pulling it out, provided it wasn't too deep, and cleaning what she could before wrapping it.

Wataru rounded the corner with his Panzerfaust, aimed, and let loose, then hiding. A boom was heard. He peeked around to see the results. Direct hit! "Whoo! I got it! And I only had one rocket too! HAH!"

"Ok. Let's move up. Carefully. We got vehicles to use so just stay with cover. I'll go first, follow my lead." Itami said, peeking around. He rushed forward after firing a few shots, hugging the grill of a Humvee as bolts came at him. Kurata and Kuwahara followed as the rest of the team covered them. "We gotta hit them. Keep them from stealing any more of our weapons!"

"How they hell do they know where to look?" Kurata cried.

"Doesn't matter, what matters is we stop them from grabbing more!" Kuwahara said. He leaned out and let out some shots. Itami didn't want to risk a grenade, lest he sends a reaction of exploding ammo.

"No grenades! Rifles only!" Shino let out a groan as she put a grenade back. Bolts flew towars them as they moved closer through cover to get bearings. Taking shots at those running and gathering their weapons. "We gotta stall them! Shoot that other dragon with whatever you have! We may be able to annoy it to the point of it running off!" So began the firefight in earnest as Third Recon was fully in cover, save for Kurokawa still back with the wounded. Itami let out a blind fire shot, then took the opportunity of suppression to make a better shot at one of the legionaries, before falling to avoid another bolt. Then peek out for another shot. He aimed for the big dragon this time, it was hunkered while still leaving a gap for soldiers to run into to load their plunder.

More followed his example as they gathered to shoot the dragon. For some reason, it didn't attack them. Just sat there and shrugged it off, with some annoyance. The amount of legionaries there to hold off the soldiers was dwindling as more and more came. Any other dragons coming in were hindered by the Vulcan fire that came their way when they came down for a strike.

The last of the defenders fell, and anyone not armed ran for the dragon and into the container, bringing up the door as gunfire rippled it. "Wataru-san! Hit that thing!"

"I only had one rocket, lieutenant!" He answered. Despite opening any weapon fire they had, this dragon flapped its wings and took off at low altitude to avoid whatever enemy fire it could.

"Well shit!" Itami swore. "Forget it, secure the area, find any stragglers! Nothing we can do except defend against any more that show up!"

Crenshaw watched as his latest kill fell to the ground. More AA guns were up and running, but the big dragons were already in bound. They flew lower and began their breath attacks. Tracer fire was filling the air, and the missiles were pulled out of the storage too. "Look at all this! This ain't no amateur attack!" Casper said.

"Got that right! This is the red zone!" Talon said.

Crenshaw barrel rolled (not that Star Fox shit) as a contact drew closer and brought his guns to bear. The cannon shredded another dragon.

"Polaris 5 is hit, he's going down!" Munro said. That was the 15th plane so far. Others had taken flight to join by the time the dragons got to the base.

"I see a chute. Good cells. Keep those dragons away from him!"

Crenshaw 180'd and fired an all aspect, which turned and slammed into a rear coming dragon. The enemy assault was starting to come to a standstill now, but the remainders were fighting like animals.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, the final dragon fell.

"This is the tower, the remaining dragons are pulling out! We've won!"

"We did? HAH! Look at them run. Looks like they've had enough!" Casper said.

"Jesus…" Talon's comment was directed to the fort. It seemed like half of it was on fire, smoke filling the air like Pearl Harbor. There was no telling how many dead littered the streets right now.

"How's it looking down there?"

"Too soon to tell. My best guess is it's bad. This wasn't a hit and run. This was total annihilation."

"That was intense dogfight... Tower, are we clear to land?" Sokov asked.

"Affirmative, make ready to- hold on…"

"What is it?" Crenshaw asked. More blips appeared on his radar, and five more dragons flew in from around the mountain at a very quick pace.

They flew in low and he found several men falling from them. "The hell?" The men landed like they intended to fall. Armor all over their bodies. Looking something like beefed up Praetorian soldiers of Rome. But unlike the other Saderan soldiers, the armor was also similar to a knight's. The arms and legs clad in armor The bristles on the helmet, as well as the cape and other visible fabrics seemed to glow. Upon their faces were masks. Masks that bore an unmistakable resemblance to ancient statues of Greece and Rome. Featureless, emotionless.

Coalition forces opened fire at the soldiers, but nothing happened. Hell they didn't even lift their shields. "What the fuck?!" Ramirez cried. A faint shimmer of blue was around the soldiers as they were hit. The rounds became pellets as they fell as if they hit Superman. One lifted his sword and pointed it in their direction with a swift slash, and a glowing bolt of energy came forth. The two Ghosts and other soldiers ducked and watched as the bolt hit an S-300, resulting in a massive explosion.

"Take them down!" Scott ordered. The hostiles grouped together and marched forward with shields raised. "Command, this is Ghost Lead! Those dragons dropped off soldiers! They're bulletproof! Literally bulletproof!" Another bolt slammed nearby, with a less intense explosion. "Who the fuck are these guys!?"

In the bunker, the attention was fixed on the spectacle. Everyone thought it was safe to leave the bunker until these Saderans fell into the field.

"Jesus Christ." A commander remarked on how they just ignored bullet fire without shields. "Who the hell are these guys?"

Keating and Valentine came into the area. "Our feeds were dead, we need to see this here an- dear god." Was all the Brit said.

They watched the Saderan soldiers march towards a bunker entrance while being shot at, but not killed. "What the-"

"Excelsiors." Piña whispered.

"What was that?" Asked Keating.

"Excelsiors. The elite of all Saderan ground troops. Forged in the very fires of war itself. Volunteers wishing to adhere to the strictest of Emloy's laws. They are the pinnacle of our ranks. Their armor forged to withstand the mightiest blows, their strength of a thousand. They desire only the heat of battle and the chaos of conflict. I dare say you are doomed if they reach their goal, which I may say, is here."

"They're not stopping! Nothing is working! How do you stop them!?"

…

Machine guns rattled, but the Saderan soldiers marched on. Unconcerned with the opposition while sending bolts at whatever they deemed a nuisance. Usually a tank.

"NOTHING CAN STOP THESE GUYS!" A Mexican shouted. Miniguns didn't do shit, grenades were pathetic, any snipers in the area only watched as their shots pinged off the helmets. And the few tanks that were still out were being destroyed as they showed up. Scott was thinking in overdrive on what could kill these guys. Then it hit him.

"All aircraft. All aircraft. Sync up and perform a strafing run! I am designating the target!" Scott used his Cross Com to do so. "I hope to God this works."

"You crazy?! Half the damn base is there!" Sokov shouted. "And what about the fact that there's a nearby fuel tank there?!"

Of course there's a complication. "I'm designating the target. Line up and you'll be fine."

"Mess up and we're all fried." Munro said.

"Just shut up and do your job!" Scott yelled.

"All aircraft line up!" Crenshaw ordered. The planes prepared by approaching via a vector set by Crenshaw, and followed the Colonel to the target. "Wait for a clear lock, then fire." The jets came in low and fast, ready to bring their missiles to bear.

The diamond turned red.

And a torrent of missiles and cannon fire went straight to the soldiers.

Coalition forces ducked for cover as the Saderans were overwhelmed by the fighter assault. Deafening boom after deafening boom. When it ended, and the dust settled. To their shock, but relief, the Saderans were still in one piece… but dead. "This is Ghost Lead… hostiles down."

"Understood Ghost Lead. Looks like they're retreating for real this time. All contacts are heading out."

Cheers emanated throughout the base as soldiers let the excitement flow. Celebrations would be held for sure…

… after the inevitable sorrow was shared for the fallen.

Starting with a particular demigoddess.

She saw the strike on the screens, and felt the pressure they had to endure from this onslaught. When it ended, she no longer felt their force. They were dead… dead. Never in all her years has she seen Excelsiors killed so quickly at once.

While the cheers within the bunker sounded, she was silent. Just staring at the screen showing the dead soldiers until it changed. When the bunker opened, she walked at a brisk pace to the location. She ignored the stares given to her as she went. Her only concern was the dead Excelsiors.

When she reached the location, there were a few soldiers there mingling about. She moved around to get to the bodies. "Hey hold on, Rory, we need-" The soldier was cut off as she grabbed his arm and threw him aside, not looking at him at all. He hit a lamppost as his comrades ran to make sure he was ok. No one else made a move. She reached the bodies. Looking down on one of them at her knees with a darkened look on her face. Her axe fell as she got to her knees and took one into her arms like a lover or a caretaker. Anything that was going on around her was shut out as she focused on the fallen soldier. If it seems like she was taking this to heart, well she was. Excelsiors were those who spent the most time within her presence other than the priests of Emroy. She addressed them when they applied, observed them when they trained, and congratulated them when they graduated. So one can imagine how it was affecting her.

She placed a hand upon the steel mask concealing the face, gently caressing a hand across it as a tear fell. Had it not been for the law of being not allowed to interfere, she could've very well joined them in their battle. But such ability was beyond her. So instead, she had to settle for simply giving their final rites.

"Rest now. May Emroy grant you entry to his fortress. May your enemies taste defeat in the end, and your empire continue forward and gain victory. May your scattered body go beyond the limits of the mind. Beyond the limits of our world. To the places your father spoke of and your forefathers fought for. Find comfort in Emroy's embrace." She let the man's body rest, then moved to the next one. As she did so, the blessed soldier began to burn in a magical manner, the armor and body, flaking off and evaporating in air, forming a single misty glow and into the sky. When it was over, only the mask remained. The process was repeated until no bodies remained. Rory, still shutting out the crowd of spectators who gathered to watch the spectacle, gathered the masks one by one.

"I'm leaving the fortress. These need to be returned to the Hall of Excellence." She simply said.

9:40 P.M.

The attack was a quick matter in comparison to other battles. It left 271 dead and 3,543 injured.

In the Command Center, the Princess and Bozes were talking one last time before they fell asleep. "Your highness. This is sure to escalate this conflict. Do you think that you may have made the wrong choice agreeing to this?" Asked Bozes. "They defeated Excelsiors."

"No," Piña said, "but the soldiers surely wouldn't let you take them in. Besides, if anything they'd use the attack as an excuse… though, they are treating us rather nicely and letting us stay here… I don't know." She looked outside at the moon. "Our cultures are so different. And add the fact that this Coalition is really many nations, meaning many cultures… I can't even imagine what only one would fight for. And to find out…"

"Princess, you're sure that you-"

"I have to go."

2 hours before this however, Mitchell was deployed on a covert op to prepare for a retaliatory strike. With the Blackbirds still under construction, and night descending. They had to rely on the often munched upon Predators. Thankfully flights of dragons were rare at night, so there was less of a chance of the bird being taken down.

They were already out in the field, near their target. Underneath an aqueduct leading to their destination. It was a fortress in an oval configuration with structures of concrete and marble. Not tents. You could almost call this fort a large military town. 4 massive dome structures stood in the center. All connected by smaller tube sections. Their upper middle sections lined with columns. The predator saw dragons within. The aqueduct let to the top of a ridge where the walls were built into as a natural defense. It was very steep. The rest of the fortress was of barracks, armories, and 2 structures that resembled horreums. Horreums were public warehouses in Rome, commonly used to store food, mostly grain. No reason to think these were any different. There was no civilian population nearby. So that meant they were a primary objective. Another, designating the dome structures for a strike. Surely the dragons would have to leave without proper shelter. Secondary objectives? At this point it was up to their own discretion. The only important thing was getting rid of those domes.

It was located in the middle of a forests, with only a couple of roads leading to it. Said roads were deserted. No patrols in sight. And the forest canopy would go to some lengths of keeping them concealed until they used their cloaks. But they couldn't really at this time, and not because they weren't working. But because Itami was in their midst. And he didn't have access to this new gear. No one but the Ghosts did. Still too experimental.

"What you got Kozak?" Mitchell asked laying against his tree.

"Same thing the Predator picked up, loads of hostiles. If we're gonna take any down we have to be quick. The smallest groups are ranging up to 8 men each. It'll only take one scream." Came the reply.

"Ok. Last minute gear check. Take one last look over your stuff and we're out." Kozak already did so a few seconds ago. He along with the other recruits were here to further prove themselves as Ghosts. Though Mitchell didn't seem worried about that. So far they've held themselves up rather well, but those were pitched battles. Anyone could excel at those. This would be a true test of their capabilities. Cedric had slapped a magazine back into his Vector after checking it. Pepper was done counting the mags he had, and 30K gave an A-OK.

But it wasn't them he was worried about. He had a fifth squadmate to look after this time. And he was over at a tree with a helmet slumped over his eyes and hands rested on his chest as he comfortable napped. "Itami." He didn't stir. "Itami!" Nothing. Mitchell gave him some nudged with his boot, and the Japanese man stirred.

"Naniii? Na… oh. Hello cap." Came a sleepy answer as he lifted his helmet.

"I told you to get some sleep. I knew we were gonna be out here after that attack."

"I DID sleep. Just not long enough." Came a simple reply. Mitchell sighed and shook his head.

"Did you check your gear one last time?"

"Yep."

"… you're sure."

"Yep."

"Positive?"

"I looked. I'm good."

"Then where's your incendiary grenades I said to make sure you had?" Itami just put a calm hand on the right hip, then patted. Nothing was there, so he checked his left. Nothing. He jolted a bit and looked all over his belt. He didn't have the grenades.

"Forget it. We'll improvise." Mitchell said with irritation in his voice. This wasn't a learning environment like before, so his annoyance was justified. Why was he bringing Itami along you ask? Tell you the truth, he wasn't sure himself this time. He figured it would be a good time to get more experience into this guy. It would also be a good way to see Itami's expertise in his special forces training. But he wasn't expecting much. Was it stupidity for doing this? Madness? A big risk for sure. But it was also the best way to further determine the man's capabilities besides a controlled, educational environment.

Instead of trying to go back to sleep, he brought his NVG down and cracked open that journal he carried around and began writing again. Not a day of being back from Italica after that bandit situation, and we get attacked by a dragon strike. And it was all for some of our weapons. I understand the mentality. Knowing your enemy includes their hardware as much as their psychology. But… it's kind of a lost cause if you ask me. I mean, great in magic or not, they don't have the capabilities to properly study them, and even if they do, what do they plan to do after? Make them? We all know that's not gonna happen.

But I'll be damned if that attack wasn't bad. Casualties were light in comparison to the other battles. As far as dead goes anyway. But the devastation? THAT'S a different story. Particularly in the armory. Smaller structures were destroyed completely, bigger ones had holes in the walls. It was a bit of a wakeup call to us. A while after the battle, one more dragon showed up, but it was way up in the sky, and dropped loads of papers on us. Leaflets. It had a picture of our fortress in the background with loads of legions in the foreground. It said uh… let's see… the text was Memento: Tu es cincta. The linguists say it means 'Remember: You are surrounded.' Ain't that the truth? I guess that's why we're hitting this fort. I just recall Mitchell-dono talking about some kind of occupation here proposed by the generals. Do some damage and the main force would come in and take it. Not sure why he brought me along though.

By the time Itami finished this entry, it was time to move. He was feeling pretty insignificant right now. He had special forces training, but it's been years since he's gone to any of the exercises. He used his leave days to go to conventions or skip the major things. It was only for a short while since the Gate opened that he trained under Scott's rigorous plan. And here was 4 other Ghosts who despite being recruits are more in tune than he.

"Ok. Itami, you stay close to me. Pepper, you'll stay up high and provide overwatch. Cedric, you'll take 30K and Kozak to the domes and plant the beacons around the area, then move back to extraction. Itami and I will head to the horraeums and destroy whatever we find."

"Got it sir."

"Uhhh… Mitchell-dono? How do we get inside the fort in the first place? All the entrances are locked and under guard." Itami stated flatly.

"Not all of them." Mitchell said, taking a rope hook that he kept by the tree and loaded it into his MC-R's launcher. "When in the field. Think outside the box." The hook was sent soaring over the water carrying structure onto the other side. The hook catching. Mitchell gave a few tugs before a slow ascent. "Ok, we're good. Follow me." One by one they went up, with Itami going last. He ended up nearly slipping a few times, but managed to reach the top. The sounds of running water was now clear and loud as he saw it flowing down towards the fortress. "Follow the stream."

"Maaaaan, why can't we be able to just ride it like a water slide?"

"Cut the chatter." Mitchell ordered. He wasn't one for small talk on missions. Particularly when he could say so. "When we get within visual range, stay hunkered down until we reach the end. If I recall right, this should lead to a reservoir. We'll have to climb down from it and make way through the fort to our objectives."

"Kyaputen… uh… I only have like one block of C4. How are we gonna get rid of the food and all that?"

"M14 TH3." The captain responded.

"… huh?"

"Incendiary grenades, you know, the things you forgot to bring? Set them off with the C4 and the food will burn. Be ready to use them when I say so." The end was reached in time. It led to a semi-circle court yard with a lot of space. They waited a moment and waited. Looking around. No patrols or guards were coming near. They had a window of opportunity. Pepper would stay where he was. "Heh, aqueducts are lifelines, and here I am ready to use one to take lives." He joked.

They slowly descended via rope, and as soon as Itami reached the bottom, they took off.

(Cue Stealth Music-Wetworks by Avery Alexander on YouTube)

"Hey, wait!" Itami called quietly as he ran after Mitchell. They ran in between to structures resembling quarters for the soldiers, and waited. "Don't take off without me, sir, I can't read yo-"

"Keep up then." Mitchell interrupted before making another run. Itami followed with haste as he tried to run without getting up. Keep your profile low so you can better remain unseen. Itami's heart was racing now. This was like that challenge in the forest. But this time he wasn't fighting Ghosts in a friendly setting, he was with a Ghost in a hostile fort with dragons. He felt himself panting lightly, but he kept a lid on it for the moment as they moved from one of the alleys they moved into towards another. They'd try to move along the road, but the patrols were scattered. They had to keep on their toes.

"Cap, got 5 coming up." Pepper's update caused Mitchell to turn into another alley. There they came being followed by a floating bright white light. The illumination was enough to make it look like daytime.

"There's a trick." Itami whispered.

"SHH!" The patrol passed unaware of the soldiers. "Don't talk unless necessary. Anything could give us away."

'Ok, Mr. Paranoid.' Came the thought from Itami. In his head of course as he followed the Ghost. He found himself looking over his shoulder. Fifth time now. Nothing, but it still felt like there were eyes on him at all times. Nothing was there. But it was one of those things. There's nothing there, you know there's nothing there, but you can't help but feel like there is. He's already had a taste of the standard soldier's experience, and it was still a nightmare inducing experience. But this? This was a whole new level. This was nothing like those scenarios in Ranger and SFG training. They give a rundown, tell you what to expect, and you went in and did it. Here it was the exact same thing… only real. His eyes were wide, and only his willpower kept him from breathing heavily. It's one thing to be in a battle and face your enemies. But it's another to be in their midst in their territory without them knowing you're there. Yet he kept his mouth shut. Don't bother the cap now.

Mitchell held a fist up, an order to hold. They were now in a darkened position. Another small alleyway. A longer one on the other side. But there were more soldiers here. Two marched by with crossbows in hand. Perfect synchronization in their step. More on the other side in the same manner in the opposite direction. Itami didn't dare move. Hell he didn't dare breathe.

"Cap, it's Pepper. You're clear." Immediately he moved, and Itami had to follow. Up against the wall in the shadows, and slowly moving.

"So far so good. Cedric what's your status?" Scott whispered into his mic.

"Making way to the first dome. Gotta find an entrance. May need to drop a few."

"Do what you have to do, but don't get seen."

"Yeah. Don't want the dragons out here." Itami whispered quieter to himself.

"Did you say something, Itami?" Mitchell asked, a surprised Itami shook his head at the question, and for now, Mitchell bought it. They continued as they made way through the alleys. A peek showed they weren't off limits a legionary was walking through them. With more of thosemagic balls of light following them as they held their crossbows. The one they were watching went out. The soldier took his left hand and formed an aura of matching color in it, then cast another light. It took only about 5 seconds. Way better than a torch or flashlight for sure. They crossed before he could get within range, and kept going till they reached their desired location to reach the horraeum.

"Hold up!" Mitchell ordered, causing Itami's breath to hitch. A legionary was right there in front of them. Back turned. He was RIGHT THERE. So close you could smell him… exaggerated of course. It's a wonder he didn't hear the hushed order. Mitchell moved to level with the man as his arms stretched out. Not with the blinding speed of a bullet, but carefully. Like a slowly grasping hand. Then blink of an eye, a hand around the mouth, a tug into the dark, and a twist to the head, the man was killed. Quick and painless.

"Let's go." Itami was motionless as he stared at the lifeless corpse taken in the darkness through his NVGs. It's one thing to shoot your enemy at a distance, or up close. But that was. But this was up close and personal. Like see the freckles and wrinkles personal. A blank look on the guard's face was all there was.

Is this what he was really expected to do as a member of Special Forces? He wasn't naïve. He's seen movies and games and what not. But now that this happened, he didn't know what to expect.

"Itami!" The hushed voice caught his attention. He looked up to see Mitchell on the other side. "Come on!" He shook himself and made ready to run over, but to late did he see Mitchell usher him to wait. Another legionary came at him. It seemed luck was somewhat on his side as Itami pulled back in time. But I say 'somewhat' because the soldier caught a small glimpse. Rather than call out or charge. He thought he was seeing things. He slowly approached, gladius at the ready in case his crossbow proved inadequate. He rounded the corner with candlelight.

Nothing.

"Probabiliter iustus animus." He said, and continued moving on. Itami was around a different corner with the body. He moved after the soldier left, then snuck across.

"Get your fucking head in the game, son, this isn't a simulation!" Mitchell nearly spat.

"G- gomen'nasai! Gomen'nasai." Mitchell turned and led on.

"Pepper, how we looking?"

"Good sir. Patrols are none the wiser. Cedric just entered a dome."

"It's pretty vacant in here sir," the mentioned man said, "most personnel must be asleep. Beacons set up in the second dome. Moving to the next location."

"Understood, keep it up."

"How's the slacker doing?" Kozak asked.

"… he's managing." Mitchell said. Itami felt a drop of sweat fall. A moment later, they were at the horraeums. Only a couple of guards. This fortress must be pretty secure, which it was. To normal people that is. Mitchell handed Itami a couple of the grenades, only after a moment of confusion did he realize and take them.

"You go into one and plant the C4 in an area. I gave you two detonators. Use some of it to set off the two grenades I gave you in separate areas. Hopefully no one hears us when we light the food and make them some toast." Itami only laughed a little, then went back to his fake demeanor. The fear was still gripping at him. They'd been lucky, so far. But he nearly blew it! "But we wait for Cedric to plant his beacons first. When that's done, we make a run for it as quick as we can without compromising ourselves. Got it?"

"H-h-hai, Mitchell-dono." He said.

"What did I just say?"

"Stick some C4 on the grenades, stick the grenades in separate areas, and hope no one hears when we blow their food."

"Good."

'Easy, Itami. Easy.' He thought. 'You'll be back reading your manga before you know it.' He waited for the captain's go ahead. And what do people when they have nothing to do when waiting? Daydreaming. Of being back in Japan reading his manga, going to the doujinshi events, of the cosplayers and their outfits, and of- WAIT… why was he thinking of Kuribayahsi's tits at a moment like this?! Well sure they-

"ITAMI!" 'Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.' He thought. The captain told him aim for the guy on the right, he'd take the left. "Same time."

1…

2…

3.

Two silenced shots, two dead. They ran forward and grabbed them before the bleeding took hold and dragged them off into their respective horreum. "Ok Itami," he said over the radio, "when Cedric informs, we're gonna take our C4-covered grenades and throw them across the horreums, spreading the fire and destroying the food. And by the time the enemy realizes. Hopefully it'll be too late. As soon as we set them off, we have to RUN and I mean RUN to the extraction point in the confusion and avoid what we can. We get out of the fort the same way we came in. So be quick and do what I say. And for the love of God, don't trip."

"Uhh… sir!" Itami said looking at the inventory in here. There were pits and open containers everywhere. Most of it grain, but some of it wasn't. You had apples, oranges, tomatoes, carrots, holy- were those pineapples? Sadera must indeed be big and well-connected to get something like that. It almost made him feel sorry for burning all this food. After he put the grenades in spots he was sure would work, he took this moment to look back at another manga he had. Hey, if he had to sit and wait, why just sit and wait? So began his reading… and helping himself to the supply. It was gonna burn anyway, right?

…

…

…

His train of concentration was shattered by Mitchell's voice in his ear piece. "We're good son. Hit the trigger."

"Hai." He said, swallowing the bite of apple he took. He ran out of that building, and made sure no hostiles were out there first of course. None safe for a few in the roads further away. The sound of a click was heard as he hit the detonators. And thumps were heard inside the building. No time to look at the results, he had to follow Mitchell back to the reservoir.

"Good work. Back to the extract." Itami felt himself calming down for real now. The mission was good and they were leaving. About time, now he didn't have to-

"Terror! Terror! Est possessor agelli obsidionem!"

"… oh shit." He said.

"Nam praesidio e mortuus est! Find qui fecit hæc!"

"Looks like they found the body." Mitchell said. "Just move fast and stay close. Be selective in your shots if they need to be made." Basically, if you shoot, make sure it won't alert anyone else. They retraced their steps on their way back, avoiding now alerted patrols. It was proof of how unpredictable things can be and how nothing ever survives first contact.

Luck seemed to stay on their side in a limited way as no one saw them the rest of the way. The reservoir was reached and the ascent began. "Beacons in place?" Mitchell asked.

"Yes sir. Now it's just a matter of getting out of here."

"Assuming they didn't decide to spread out all their forces. I see a bunch of legionaries marching out of their quarters. Guys are like robots, they move so efficiently." Pepper said looking through his scope. Itami was halfway up the tall structure when he mistepped and nearly fell. His manga he tucked into his pocket ended up falling out and onto the ground.

"AH!" He yelped, reaching only too late to grab it. "Dammit! That's a new issue!"

"Don't worry about it, get up here!" Mitchell said, but Itami instead went back down to get it. "Itami! Itami, get up here! Leave the damn book!" Itami only hastened his descent. "ITAMI! Belay the book!" No heeding of the order. "Itami, I am giving you a direct order! LEAVE THE BOOK!" Itami had already made it by then, sticking it into a deeper, more secure pocket and moving back up the rope. "Itami, I'm getting sick of your little obsession here. Therapy or not, you're putting us all at risk for a damned book!"

"Hey hey hey, I'm coming up aren't I? I mean come on, wer're practically alone here. They're all over where the fire is by now and we're-" The sound of a whiz becoming chunks of concrete being fractured and into his face occurred. A bolt lodged into the reservoir.

"Alius Or-!" The legionary who shouted was quickly silenced by a shot from Pepper's M110. They hoped it wasn't heard.

Their hopes were dashed as the blow of a horn was heard. Torches were lit around the fortress like the lights of a stadium, and it became clear that man wasn't alone as more came from his position and fired their own crossbows. "SUPPRESS!" Mitchell shouted. The Ghosts opened fire on the legionaries as they began swarming into the area. It would only be a matter of time until they began coming from another area. "COME ON ITAMI! GO GO GO!"

'Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.' Was his only thought as more bolts came flying at him. Spent shell casings fell on his face as he looked up.

By the time he finally reached the top, Mitchell grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him up and on his feet. At that moment, they began to run back along the aqueduct to the extraction point. "Nomad 61! This is Ghost Lead, objective complete! Ready for EVAC! Be advised we are compromised and running along an aqueduct. EVAC will be hot!"

"… repeat that, it sounded like you said aqueduct." The Blackhawk pilot said.

"I did! Get over here! Command, Ghost Lead! Mission complete, we are exfilling, the targets are all yours!"

"Good work, Mitchell. Pilots are moving in as you speak. Just get out of there, you got hostiles on horses coming after you!"

"Understood! Keep moving people!"

"This is 07 at 12 miles now bearing 270, angels 3, we are go for bomb drop." The radio chatter was followed by the swift passing of 5 Hornet jets racing by, and dropping bombs upon the domes. Following that, was a run of 2 A-10s and 5 F-4 Phantoms in Japanese colors came by unleashing more firepower upon the domes. It was safe to say the effect was desired as the domes were either blown apart or left with big gaping holes.

"DAMN! This is what I signed up for!" 30K cried.

"Maybe you should've joined the Air Force!" Kozak answered.

"Nah, I don't fly."

They kept running and running. They weren't gonna take a chance to see if horses or dragons were after them, and the sound of rotor blades hit their ears as Nomad 61 came into view. The craft pulled up to the aqueduct, allowing the soldiers to get inside. Mitchell went to the M134 and made ready for any contacts. None. "Extract complete, let's get outta here. Man, on an aqueduct. The boys back home will never believe this!"

Itami was sitting in his own chair with wide eyes. He almost died! An inch closer and that bolt would've hit his head!

"What's wrong with you Itami, you out of your damned mind?!" Mitchell barked, looking towards the recruit. "You risked the mission, our lives for a damned book! I know it helps you sleep at night but what you did out there was just reckless!" Itami said nothing as he looked at the now furious American's face through the goggles he wore. That Cross Com glowing did add to the intimidation. But instead of carrying on, Mitchell just shook his head and closed the Blackhawk door. "You gotta get over this obsession, Lieutenant, I'm not kidding around! We'll talk about this later! You at least did good up until then, but next time, tell me you feel queasy about these ops before we get to the target area" He said sitting down.

Damn… he knew? Itami knew Mitchel was good, but damn. He decided to just rest this stress and adrenaline off. It's easier. He calmed down, and felt around himself just to make sure his arms and legs were all in one piece. He reached his upper left arm and felt something wet. Confusion set upon him as he brought it back to see. In this light, it was dark, and… was that red? He looked back to his arm, concern in his face. "Oh shit."

"What?"

Itami just exposed his arm, and in it was crossbow bolt with blood oozing down it.

10:43

Hospital.

The hospital was left unscathed in the battle, thank God.

Nolan left a room with bloodied gloves being removed. "Nolan you've done it again." He proclaimed. He was assisting in the treatment of those injured by the attack.

He wasn't gonna lie. Some were bad. Third degree burns, bolts and arrows, and very few stabs from those gladii. He wasn't sure what was worse. But the survivors of the swords lost a lot of blood. No fancy sword tricks, no swings or swipes. All you needed to do with one of them was STAB, preferably in the chest, and you got em.

Although new to him still, these injuries were becoming familiar to him very quickly. And he wasn't fazed by what he saw. For now anyway. No telling what other tricks Sadera had up its sleeve. He made way to the bottom floor to leave. He did what he could for today. They were going to head back across the head tomorrow and he had to be rested. 'I guess Kurokawa gets extra credit for helping out.' He joked with himself. "Hey… where is she anyway?" He hadn't seen her since he left her with one patient to help another in more critical condition. She's been working on at least a dozen. Nolan only knew her for a while and he already liked her. She listened to him and was genuine in her efforts.

"Hey." He asked a nurse. "Kurokawa? You seen her?"

"Ie, gomen'nasai."

… "Hey, where's Kurokawa?"

"Beats me, sorry."

… "Have you seen Kurokawa anywhere?"

"Nyet."

He asked 12 people, no one has seen her. "The hell is she?" He went around, deciding to ask someone one last time. "Hey. I'm looking for Kurokawa. You see her anywhere?"

"… OH, you mean the pretty Japanese medic? Yeah. I saw her leave the building 15 minutes ago."

"She left? Why?"

"Don't know, but she didn't look so good. Like she saw that Grudge Girl… whatever it was." Nolan immediately set to looking for her. If something was wrong he had to know about it. Outside the hospital? Must've tried to go somewhere to be alone. He exited the building, and looked around. The only place nearby he could think she would go is behind the structure. In the alley. So he went that way, and there she was.

She was on her rear with knees up. Arms across providing a support for her head. She was in a stance one in a depressed state would. Her hands still had the gloves. They were bloody beyond doubt. In fact there was barely a single clean spot on them. Her mask also had some blood on it. Hell, some was on her uniform. She was staring at the opposite wall. Eyes wide and emotionless. He approached slowly, thinking of how he should approach this.

"Kurokawa?"

She responded looking at him. Then back to the wall. "Nolan-sensei." She began in a quiet voice.

"… are… you ok?" He asked, and felt stupid for doing so. He knew something was wrong. And what it was. Kurokawa said nothing, just looked at her hands. Nolan moved to her and took a seat next to her. She didn't react to it, she just stared.

"… it won't come off. The blood won't come off. No matter what I do it just stays there." She rubbed them together, then looked again. "See? Never gonna go away. No matter how many times I rush or scrub it's gonna stay there."

"Kurokawa… you're still wearing your gloves. Your hands are ok."

"… oh…" She properly removed them, and cast them aside. Then looked at her hands again. Clean, prim, and proper. "… It's still there. I can't stop seeing it. I… where do they come from? What do they expect me to do?" Her voice was cracking, and she was tearing up.

The job was getting to her. There's nothing more to be explained. She was going through the stress of war's effects on the soldiers. Mentally as well as physically. He could see some traces of it during her volunteer work with the casualties from the battle against the army. But she managed to keep it together. Looks like she reached her limit.

"What happened in there?" He asked softly. "What made you snap?"

"… I… I couldn't save him. The 13th man… he… I couldn't save him. There was so much blood after we got the arrows out. It just wouldn't stop no matter what I did. I…" She began crying, and her face went into her hands. This was the first time Nolan was put into this kind of situation. But he already knew what to do. He carefully put a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention.

"You can't save them all, Kurokawa. That's just a cold fact. Believe me I know. You and I are lucky though, we learned this lesson in a controlled environment. Some aren't so lucky. Like a buddy from the Rangers I know… took him weeks to put the hat back on. He had to leave a comrade behind. There may come a time where you have to say no. Where you leave a fellow man to die to ensure the others live. I know you're not naïve, Kurokawa. But it's a lesson to know all the same. I was in your shoes. Hell I couldn't look at a casualty the same way for a while. But one day, I sucked it up and took the bandages back into my hand and got back to my duty."

"… that's one reason we admire you, Nolan-sensei… but I… I can't… I can't."

"Yes you can." He replied.

"No I can't! I've been having nightmares ever since day 1! I can't' bear with it any longer! I've seen some of the most outlandish injuries that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! Why do you think I can do it?" She demanded getting up and looking down at him. "WHY?"

He slowly got up and pushed his glasses back against his face. Then hugged her, taking her byu surprise. "Because you became a medic." She didn't budge. "No one becomes a medic and has no idea whatsoever of what a medic does. Be it movies, games or stories, we're all aware of the nightmarish things we end up seeing. Hell I should know, and this war has introduced us to new images that'll haunt us. But what did you do when you first saw it?"

"…"

"You stuck around. Sure you're reaching your limits, but the fact you endured the first wounded shows you CAN do this. You're my best student. You CAN do this. And as tragic as your loss was, you saved 12 others. You CAN do this, because I said so." He let her go, and that look of pain and trauma was gone. "You need anything just give me a holler ok? In fact… I think I'll talk to Hazama, see if I can't drag you along with us back across the Gate for this diet. You could use a break with all you've been through." He finished with a smile. "And don't cry, messy makeup looks good on no one."

A joke. And Kurokawa began to find herself laughing. Nolan just snickered and turned, likely heading to his quarters. Kurokawa began to stop her fit and watched as Nolan left. She suddenly felt so much better for some reason. In fact, she felt a bit… fuzzy. "Thank you."

July 19th 9:00 PM

In the morning.

The soldiers were in their uniforms and ready to go. Itami's injury wasn't critical. Crenshaw was coming to report the dragon dogfights, Keating as the overall commander. "Everyone ready? We're mounting up in this bus and moving through the Gate. From there, we move to the airport and head to the Diet." Keating said.

"Where is this taking place?" Piña asked.

"Well, considering the fact that the risk is too great of someone trying to sneak in and maybe kill one of you, even though you're going in secret, they'll eventually find out and tensions will break" Piña nodded and looked to the ground. It wouldn't be the first time it happened.

"We're heading to the Atlantic Ocean to report to the USS Gerald R. Ford. An aircraft carrier." Keating added

"What's an aircraft carrier?" Asked Lelei.

Keating smirked. "You'll see."

In the next moment, the Gate doors opened and revealed the abysmal blackness. "The world Itami and the Coalition came from." Tuka said, taking it in.

"I can't wait!" Rory said, a wide smile on her face.

"We aren't going to have fun." Leilei reminded Rory.

"I know I know." Rory said. After moments of anticipation, the bus went through, with the locals conveying differing levels of anticipation and excitement. When they came through, they found something that would stick with them forever.

"The bus is here! Ready the chambers!" The driver yelled. The bus was immediately led into a structure with signs and symbols unfamiliar to the Falmart people, but to the Ghosts and compatriots, was very familiar. Hazardous materials. It was a decon tent.

The bus drove in and watched as the tent closed behind them. Leilei watched as strange beings entered the bus and approached them, they had heads like Humans behind a glass like wall with rubber looking clothes. Some were yellow, some white, others a brilliant cyan. "Welcome back you guys!" It said. "Gonna need you to step out for the scanners."

"Out of the bus everyone!" Said Keating. The passengers stepped out, while the Falmarts were a bit wary, as they all came out with the doors still open. Decontaminates made their presence known as they hissed all around.

"What is this?!" Piña panicked as Countess Myui ran and hugged the princess's legs.

"A decontamination tent. We use it to kill pathogens and other possible diseases that may have been brought back. No sense in risking the health of our people." Keating said.

"Diseases? But why? Surely a people like yourself has cures." Rory said indifferently.

"Yeah, but throughout history it's done AFTER the epidemics. And we take a lesson to heart. Prevention is the best cure." Scott said.

The shock was soon replaced with a sense of non-argument. "Who's to say that you may have a disease we don't have a cure for?" Crenshaw added. A few moments later, the procedure was finished.

"OK! It's safe to go back in the bus! Have a good time!"

"First Lieutenant Itami." A voice said. Everyone turned to the speaker, a rather suspicious looking man in a trenchcoat was there with two others at his side. "I am Komakado, from Intel HQ. I've been instructed to stick with you until further notice."

"You with Public Safety?" Asked Itami.

"You can tell? That's a hero's sixth sense for you." Komakado said, seemingly amused.

"It was just a random guess. You do have a different air about yhou. If someone could become like you just by being in the army, there's no info lea" Itami said.

"A random guess huh? I looked into you." Komakado pulled out a little black book. "You had the second-lowest grades in your class during officer training, and only avoided last place because another trainee got injured. After graduation and assignment, 'you rated just barely passing.' Your CO got pissed off and threw you into Ranger Officer School, which you finished, somehow. For some reason, you were transferred to Narashino after that. Poor personal evaluations kept you at second Lieutenant, but after the incident in Ginza, you were promoted to First Lieutenant, I'm told."

Itami had his eyes closed as Komakado closed his book. "You sure did your homework."

The man chuckled. "Slacker. Otaku. Your reputation on post is horrible. The only thing commendable about you is how you uphold the SDF's anti-war policy. So how the hell did you end up an S?"

As soon as that sentence was finished, Shino was having yet another panic attack. While Itami just sighed. "You really did your homework. Did you know? If a colony of ants gets rid of the laziest one, another one will just start being lazy instead?"

"So lazy people are necessary?" The Intel man asked.

"I don't know." Itami said. "But when my CO was yelling at me, I told him about that, and…"

"You were transferred to the Special Forces Group." Scott finished for him.

"I was just arguing for the hell of it though." Itami said. Komakado chuckled while Scott just glared.

"Well if people like you are taking it easy, that might mean everything works better… of course it would be true if Captain Mitchell wasn't training you." Komakado said.

"You REALLY did your homework." Itami said.

Shino was on the verge of lunacy now. "DON'T TELL ME! IT CAN'T BE TRUE! Somebody like him's a Ranger and Special Forces! WHILE being trained by GHOSTS?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"I'm recording this." Kozak simply said.

"IEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Shino pleaded.

"Well, excuse me." Itami said with a frown.

Komakado laughed fairly heartily "You really are something special. I've got a lot of respect for someone who can play the slacker among a bunch of worker ants." Komakado then saluted.

"He won't be a lazy ant for long." Scott said getting back into the bus.

"Oh yes! There is one more thing! We went the extra mile and got you the best protection this side of the Gate." Komakado said. He motioned towards the door he came from. From it came five men in gear similar to the soldiers, but the uniforms were a pale blue. Scott looked outside and saw this, immediately opening the door and going out.

"Well I'll be damned." He said.

"How ya doing Mitchell? Itami? Good to see you again." Said the lead figure. The man took a look at the foreign company they had. "So, you're the HVTs huh?" He said.

"Who are you?" Leilei asked. Scott spoke.

"Everyone. This is Robert Terrance. But you can call him Bishop. He's a captain, like me. In a special multinational counter-terrorist force called Rainbow Six."

"Rainbow Six…" Leilei echoed.

"They had an episode on Modern Heroes too." Shino began. "They're cut from the same cloth as the Ghosts. But more oriented towards counter-terrorism." And the bus continued on its way. The tents opened up to a sight that the Falmarts would not soon forget. They saw buildings that reached the sky, and around them, soldiers with people in various clothing around.

"What in the name of…are… those walls?" Bozes asked looking outside the window.

"No. Those are buildings." Itami said.

"There are people inside! I can't count them all!" Myui cried.

"Limited space being put to good use." Leilei said.

"Does this mean Itami's country is tiny?" Asked Rory.

"Or it is very populated." Leilei said.

"Both of you are right," Itami began, "we have millions of people living here, and compared to other countries, Japan is pretty small." There were strangely clothed people everywhere mixed among the soldiers.

"Awwww, look at that picture up there!" Myui said pointing at a billboard with Hello Kitty on it. "It's so cute!"

"Yeah, we got plenty of that stuff around here. That's for sure. JUST be careful where you look. It's uh… kinda important that you do."

"We can't stick around. The sooner we get to the diet, the sooner we can get back." Keating said.

"That's right. That takes priority, so just take in the sights while you can, we need to- oh shit…" Sam's sudden change in words led to everyone looking at where he was and any Japanese on the bus were immediately upset. There, escorted by multiple American and Russian soldiers in a Humvee, were two Chinese commanders.

"Those motherfucking…" Shino began.

"Looks like China finally solved its argument and decided to see first." Bishop said.

"China… isn't that the country that Japan-" Lelei began.

"Yes." Sam said, answering Leilei. The bus continued on, the Japanese on the bus were really upset, though Itami seemed to simmer down.

"Look at all the people." Leilei said.

"Is this a market?" Asked Rory.

"A festival?" Asked Tuka.

"My money's on everyday life." Cato said.

"In a way you're all right." Itami explained to them this was Tokyo, and this section was the Ginza district, and that this city was one of the largest on the planet. It wasn't long when the convoy passed a particular area with police everywhere. Holding back people with signs and yelling out hateful things.

"Jesus… it was only a matter of time." Bishop said.

"What's going on?" Persia asked. Backing away from the window when a rock slammed into it.

"These are people who are… not happy with you. It's complicated, but to them, you're all the same. They lost loved ones when the Saderan expedition came through and their directing their anger at you."

"B-but we-" Mamina, the bunny maid began, before she stopped, putting two and two together. Like how people hate all bunnies the same way

"On the bright side, not everyone's against you." Sam said.

A while later, they reached the airport. And were the countess and her friends shocked when they saw the 'passenger airliners' go to and from here. They were HUGE! Big as a Flame Dragon. They passed by many of them as they drove on the paved road, with a big crowd following and hoping to get pictures. The passengers disembarked, and upon the sight of Rainbow Six operatives ready for war, the 'paparazzi' backed off. They made their way to a lone plane, pretty small compared to the big ones.

"What is this for?" Piña asked.

"We're gonna fly in this all the way to the other side of the world." Said Keating. The reactions were mixed and varied, Myui gave a big giggle at hearing this, suddenly realizing her childish behavior and recomposed herself. "S-sorry." She said.

"What's to be sorry about? You're gonna be one of the first of your people to ride in a private jet. And a kid at that. Go ahead and let your emotions go wild." Keating said. The HAWX pilots made their way from the craft to elsewhere.

"You're not coming with us?" Bozes asked.

"Oh we are, but in our own rides. We're gonna be your escorts." Crenshaw said, gesturing at three planes they called 'F-22 Raptors' Each with an emblem of a hawk.

To say the Falmart people were amazed was a monumental understatement. The seats were comfy, the air was cool, and the refreshments being served before takeoff were divine. Myui and Tuka were bouncing in their chairs. Persia trying to curl up, unaware she was going up right next to a flustered beyond belief Kurata.

"Ok kiddies. Buckle up, we're gonna take off." Keating said, then reclining and falling asleep.

"Ladies and gents, this is your captain speaking. I just wanna say welcome to Japan, what little time there is anyway, and I would like you to listen to the attendants should anything happen." The pilot said over the speakers.

As the plane began to move a while after, and began to climb, the VIPs felt a force push down on them. "G forces." Scott simply said. When inquired, Nolan explained.

"Hey… since we're altogether… could we ask about the countries here?" Leilei asked.

The Americans looked at one another, and Sam opened his mouth. "Ok… listen up. This oughta pass the time."

Meanwhile.

In the alleyways of Ginza. A suspicious cloaked man was running, before hiding behind a dumpster. He took a phone out and dialed.

"Hello?" A voice said.

"Akmal. It's me."

"Adi? Is that you?"

"Yes! Listen! I have news about the infidels! They are leaving Japan via airport and are heading to the Atlantic to-"

"Wait a minute! Where are you?!"

"… Japan"

"YOU IMBECILE! I TOLD YOU IT WAS TOO DANGEROUS!"

"I-I saw the other side of the-"

"YOU WHAT?! OH ALLAH HELP US! Did you not remember what happened?! I told you that it was too dangerous to-"

"I KNOW WHERE THE INFIDELS HAVE VIPS FROM THE OTHER SIDE!"

The declaration was met with silence… then.

"What?"

"Yes. To an aircraft carrier for uh… uh a Diet…"

"… now?"

"NOW!"

"… This… this just might work… an aircraft carrier huh? What kind?"

"Ummmm… Gerald… uh… something Ford. USS Gerald R. Ford."

"Oh… ok… get back home… we were in talks with a new possible ally not too long ago… and I think they can help us with this."

AN: WHOO. BOY OH BOY. 16,000 words! It's a new record for me peeps! Dat's it, dat's all u get! CYA next time! :D