Chapter 25: Aftermath
There was a distant thud, followed by three rapid cracking sounds. Four more thuds followed, and Spyro swore he could hear the sounds of a distant helicopter.
The dragon's eyes shot open again, and the dragon found his entire world dark. The dead Sentinel from before was still on top of him, and the dragon promptly shoved him away. There was something large above them… possibly a tank? It wasn't directly on top of them, rather it looked like it had driven over on top of them and he had somehow ended up… safety nestled underneath it. The size of the beast told him it was of Sentinel design, one of those… behemoth vehicles they had seen in the Citadel. There were no signs it was running, and the sounds of a small fire told him perhaps it was knocked out.
The sounds of wind slapping against it made him thankful the tank shielded them from the elements, as he had no idea how long he had been down there. He shifted and attempted to move from his spot, but felt a searing pain in his side. His left leg also refused to move, and he wondered if it was broken. He also felt an overbearing sense of fatigue, and he almost didn't have the strength to move at all. He did manage to slowly crawl from his spot, but then noticed somebody was underneath him. Was it another Sentinel?
Looking down, he saw it was another dragon.
"Asimov…?" Spyro recognized his scales, and was shocked to find him laying underneath Spyro. His arms were almost wrapped around the dragon, and judging from how he was, it looked as if the drake had caught Spyro and landed here after the explosion.
"Asimov… hey… Asimov…" Spyro shook him, hoping that he was still alive. Had he hit hard? Did he absorb the impact for him…? Was this why Spyro was still alive…?
The dragon below him groaned and reached up to grab his head, slowly shifting. Thank the ancestors, he wasn't dead.
"Asimov, are you ok? What happened, hey!"
"I can't feel my damn arm…" Asimov said, slowly moving his head.
"Can you move? Are you hurt?"
"I think I'm ok… It just hurts all over… You're heavier then you look, you know…"
"Sorry…"
"Don't apologize, I don't know how you did it but you blew that crystal sky high… I don't even know how I caught you afterwards but I couldn't stay afloat, I had to land. I think I passed out after you did…"
"Do you… know how long we've been out…?"
"I don't know, can you see anything out there?" Asimov pulled himself out of his hole, pushing aside other bodies that had accumulated around them. Spyro grunted and made his way towards the front of the tank, peering out at the world.
It was still daylight outside, and he could feel the warmth of the sun as its rays cast themselves down onto him. The powerful storm that had been raging earlier was now long gone. Instead, large thick clouds passed overhead, with the sun shining through them every now and again. The King Goliath stood where it was last, directly above them. It almost looked eerily calm as it stood above, silent and devoid of any life. Rays of light slowly raked their ways over its rocky surface, casting an aura of beauty to a creature born for killing.
Some sparks of life still made their way out of the shattered crystal laying in the heart of the goliath. There, in the massive wound carved by the HADES beam, the crystal's remains still gave a few last defiant sparks of life. Purple energy emanated from it, but it only served to give soft illuminations to the gaping hole.
Turning his gaze down, Spyro was met with a world much different then he remembered.
The lush and expansive evergreen forest that once spread itself in all directions was gone. The open and expansive fields sitting between the mighty goliaths were too, gone. Instead, in their place was a wasteland.
Bodies lay scattered on hills of what looked like sand or even ash. Sentinels and humans lay amongst each other, numbering in the dozens to hundreds. Up on the hill where Spyro had seen the humans earlier engaging the Sentinels, he saw one of their Osprey helicopters nestled along the top, half of it buried in this ash. A human tank that looked to have been fastened to the bottom of the craft lay next to it as well, overturned and laying on its side. Its weight pushed it down into the loose, coarse material. Two more tanks lay nearby too, one of them scarred black as its turret had been thrown clear of the vehicle. Spyro could see it laying several hundred feet away, as if a child had flung a toy he no longer had interest in. The second tank was barely recognizable as one. He only knew it was one because he could make out the remains of its suspension and part of the hull. It had been torn apart violently and suddenly, and he could make out bits of debris scattered all around.
Human soldiers were scattered everywhere, though to be honest the Sentinel bodies outnumbered them three to one. Crawling out from beneath the Sentinel tank, he saw that it too had met a similar fate as the human vehicles. The top of the mighty beast had been blown clear off, and two charred bodies lay near open hatches. Two solid holes had been bored through the armor on its side, and it looked like the shells had drilled their way through what looks like almost a yard of steel armor, then exploded inside.
Distant sounds of battle emanated across this vast almost desert-like environment now. He could hear explosions and gunfire, as well as the sounds of jet aircraft flying overhead. Clearly, this battle was long from over. Spyro's big question was, who was winning?
Another big question for Spyro was just how all this came to be. This coarse material that lay underneath Spyro's claws, it was far from being sand, or even ash. He could still see the remains of what he thought might be trees as some tree husks still remained standing defiantly out of this sand, tilted slightly at an angle. Following this, he could see it all originated from the point where the HADES laser had carved its energy into the ground.
Just as it had during the war, Aurora and HADES had the power to change the world. Yet this time, it was Spyro's energy, rather than the corrupted Light that fell upon these lands before. With all this destruction, all this… devastation, what difference did it make?
"Man… look at all this…" Asimov said, crawling out next to Spyro.
"It doesn't look like anyone is a winner here. Even if they did, does it matter…?" Spyro asked, staring out into the bleak expanse.
"I suppose it doesn't…" Asimov said, sighing himself. Spyro turned to him and frowned.
"Sorry… I forget that you're-"
"It's alright. A lot… of these guys I probably knew… Probably…" Asimov sighed again and shook his head, unwilling to go on about it. Spyro thought he shouldn't delve anymore on the subject.
Spyro heard the sounds of a helicopter again, and he looked up to see one flying off in the distance. It flew low to the ground, and was scanning the ground with a searchlight. It looked like an upgraded Osprey, but not like the ones the Sentinels used. Spyro caught the unmistakable emblem of the Americans on its tail, the same as their jets and on Jericho's dropship. Spyro thought about waving his arms, or even flying up but he just didn't have the strength in him to do that. He could barely stand as it were.
"Keep looking you bastards, give that bird no thought. He's here, I'm telling you!"
"How do you know that? We've searched for hours and found nothing!"
"They both fell down here after the crystal blew sky high, that's why."
"But the commander is dead, why do we still look for him?"
"You don't know that! He might still be here somewhere!"
"Quiet you fools. Even if the commander lives, the Master's orders are to find that purple dragon- alive." A small crowd of voices began approaching, and the two dragons slammed themselves onto the ground, scuttling back towards the tank. They peeked between the wheels in the tank's suspension, and saw a group of Sentinels walking their way.
"Crap… just what we needed…" Asimov said, gritting his teeth.
"I don't… I don't know if I have the strength to take them…"
"Neither do I… Let's hope they'll just pass us by."
The Sentinels spread out amongst the crowd of dead bodies, slowly moving and shifting each one to check under them. They were especially brutal to the human bodies, ensuring to stab each one of them with a sword or their claws to ensure they were all dead. Two distant explosions made them jump a bit, but they continued to search the bodies.
The human aircraft in the distance began to come back around for a circle pattern. The Sentinels were getting a little nervous as it did, and two kept their weapons trained up at it.
"Never mind the craft! Keep looking!" One Sentinel barked, grabbing one of their weapons and throwing it down. The other Sentinel snarled at him and pushed him back.
"Never mind it? If they swarm us we'll all be dead!"
"I'll kill you myself! Those pathetic humans are no match for US! Get back to work!" The Sentinel, a dragon, snarled at the subordinate. The other, a wolf anthro, gave a look of contempt before begrudgingly going over to pick up his weapon and return to searching.
In the distance the helicopter seemed to have spotted them as its searchlight fixated on them, but it didn't seem too interested as it kept its distance, performing another circle pattern.
One of the Sentinels, a large bull anthro, stepped towards their tank and began searching around it. Both Asimov and Spyro made themselves scarce, crawling back towards the center of the vehicle. They tried to press themselves against the bodies of the other Sentinels, and both held their breath when the bull knelt down to scan the underbelly. His eyes went upon every surface, before stopping where Spyro was. The dragon froze. Had he been spotted?
"Hey, what the?!" The bull growled and pushed hard on the tank, forcing the heavy husk to shift.
"Crap, ah crap!" Spyro said, pushing himself back. The other Sentinels moved over to where he was, and all started kneeling down to lift the tank.
"They're here, they're under here!" The bull yelled, trying to lift the heavy wreck. The group of about ten Sentinels all gathered around and together began lifting the heavy vehicle. Between them, they were able to start moving it back, slowly revealing the two dragons as they tried to crawl away. One of the smaller Sentinels, a fox anthro pulled his weapon out and began firing underneath the vehicle, striking Sentinel corpses.
"You idiot, don't kill the purple one!" The Sentinel commander roared, kicking the fox in the side.
"I just want to watch them bleed!" The fox said before throwing himself onto the ground to crawl under the vehicle and retrieve them. Asimov took a swipe at him, attempting to cover up Spyro. The fox easily grabbed his arm and pinned it to the ground, causing Asimov to yell out in pain. The fox snarled and pushed hard, almost snapping the bone in Asimov's arm.
"How's it feel, traitor?!" The fox yelled before pulling hard to try and force Asimov out from above Spyro.
"Never mind that brat, we'll kill him later, get the purple one!" The commander yelled from outside.
Spyro grunted and tried to help, but he simply had no strength!
"Commander! The humans!" One of the Sentinels raised his arm out, pointing at the human aircraft that had up until now kept its distance. The craft flew overhead, its chin mounted machine gun blaring down onto the Sentinels. Dirt sailed into the air as bullets slammed down hard, impacting one of the Sentinels through his chest. The heavy caliber rounds sliced through his crystal armor like butter, shattering it and sending shrapnel in all directions. The limp body fell right next to both Spyro and Flame as they continued their struggle against the fox anthro.
"Kill them! Take out those damned filthy humans! We can't let them claim this prize!" The Sentinel commander yelled. Out of the ten Sentinels present, six were winged beasts, ranging from two dragons, an eagle, hawk and two griffin/dragon hybrids. They took to the air to give chase to the human dropship, but it doubled back and returned fire as the anthro soldiers tried to close the gap. The Sentinel commander and the others remained on the ground, firing their large weapons up at the dropship too. Streaks of light flew from their weapons and cast themselves down range, impacting the distant helicopter as it came back for another pass.
Smoke began to trail from its hull but it didn't relent for a moment. Gunfire from both the chin gun and two side turrets killed another Sentinel, and kept the others at arm's length. After two more passes, the dropship rotated its two tilt rotors up to come in for a landing. Dirt was kicked up as it settled down, even as the winged anthros closed in. Two side doors flung open and human soldiers leapt out from the troop bay and immediately dropped themselves to the ground. From their prone positions they began to open fire, pelting the incoming Sentinels and keeping them away from the vulnerable VTOL.
"Keep on them, get those two out of here so we can leave! More of those humans will be here soon!" The commander shoved one of his soldiers into the tank, and they knelt onto the ground to crawl under to retrieve the dragons. Spyro and Asimov already had their hands full with the fox they were currently struggling with. The creature snapped his jaws at them, and Asimov did his best to pin him to the ground, even using his claws to keep the fox's muzzle shut. As the bull anthro knelt down to try and grab Asimov, the black dragon rolled over so the fox was instead facing the bull. He tried to position the fox in a way that he'd block his entrance, and keep them from shooting at the two dragons.
"Get out of the damned way!" The bull yelled, grabbing his companion and trying to throw him free, not even caring for his well-being.
Outside, the humans had deposited two squads of soldiers onto the field, all of whom fanned out around the helicopter as it took off again. The Sentinels who had elected to go airborne to attack the VTOL had now been driven to ground from the intense gunfire the VTOL could put out, as well as the mere fact it could simply outrun them.
They had instead formed a loose firing line at the top of the hill next to the tank. Firing from its reverse slope they were able to pin the Americans in since they had little cover. The human CO waved his arms, and they deployed a smoke charge, masking their position. Gunfire only continued to pour in from the Sentinels, as well as occasional elemental attacks from the dragon and dragon hybrids. Streaks of black fire, lightning and ice were hurled into the rising plume of smoke, striking whatever lay on the other side. Inside the smoke, the humans dashed from their prone positions to a more ideal firing position next to the pair of overturned tanks Spyro had seen earlier. From there, they took the Sentinels by surprise and fired into their flank with both bullets and rifle mounted grenades. One Sentinel took several hits to his side and fell over. Another yelled out as his armor was shattered and he had to pull back as two rounds entered his arm. The dragon took charge and rushed the humans down, firing blast after blast of ferocious fire. The black superheated flames coated the tank and engulfed it, forcing the humans to retreat from it.
Up above, the helicopter circled around, with some soldiers occupying its side gunner seats, and one sitting in the open troop bay door, holding a long sniper rifle mounted to the aircraft's hull. Flashes of white came from him every so often, and his accurate shots found their mark soon enough. Blue sparks popped off the top of the eagle, and he stumbled and rolled down the hill from his wounds.
"Hurry up you fool! Just kill him already!" The dragon grabbed the bull's arm and forcibly threw him down, demanding he crawl in there immediately.
The bull growled and grabbed the fox by the head and threw him against the nearby suspension. The large beast then crawled in, making his way to Asimov who immediately began to backpedal. Spyro groaned and grit his teeth as he attempted to move, but his body was reacting far slower than he would have liked.
"Oh come here… I just wanna talk…" The bull's grin grew to almost a psychotic one as he flexed his powerful claws in the coarse sand.
Spyro growled and as the bull made a move for his friend he used what strength he had to leap onto the bull's back to delay him. The bull just smirked up at him.
"Nice of you to come to me, it makes it so much easier!" He reached up and grabbed Spyro, trying to yank him off his back. Asimov came in now and leapt onto his side, reaching over with his muzzle and biting the bull in the neck. The bull let out a pained cry and instinctively tried to stand up but instead banged his head on the underside of the tank.
The fox rejoined the struggle as he grabbed Asimov and tried with all his might to yank the dragon free, but the dragon refused to let his teeth leave the bull's neck.
"God damn it! Shock trooper!" One of the human soldiers yelled out as they dashed from the tank, watching as the dragon anthro rushed them. The dragon's armor soaked up their bullets and repelled them with ease, just as they had with Jericho's ammunition back at the depot. Even the heavy caliber rounds from the circling VTOL had trouble punching through, only serving to crack it with each impacting shell. The other shock troopers in the group began to rush the human position now, abandoning their firing line at the hill. The humans backpedaled and returned fire, pelting the lead dragon with whatever they could.
The dragon reached the humans and knocked two into the air with his powerful arms. They screamed out in pain and landed hard several feet away. The dragon hybrids joined in now, attacking the others in the squad. Above, the VTOL converged its fire onto one of the hybrids, pelting him with high caliber automatic fire and accurate sniper fire from the marksman sitting in the troop bay. Eventually even the enchanted armor of the shock trooper couldn't take it, and he fell over as the armor exploded violently and failed.
Two new aircraft joined the fray, their black triangle shapes coming into view over the horizon. They flew in high and fast, and missiles dislodged themselves from sponsors on the wings and streaked down with great speed. The missiles knifed downwards and slammed near the dragon hybrid as he moved away from the human soldiers. The hybrid disappeared into a plume of smoke and fire, and his form could barely be seen going limp and flying several feet before coming to a rest in the sand. The other missiles went not for the other shock trooper but instead for the tank, and the remaining Sentinels swarming it.
"Get down! Get down!" The dragon commander yelled. Spyro and Asimov looked up just in time to hear the incoming threat and both threw themselves off the bull and pinned themselves against the sand. The bull and fox looked up, confused just as the missiles impacted onto the side of the tank. Their target, another Sentinel, quickly disappeared in the smoke and fire. The shrapnel and debris from the blast shot under the suspension and into the underbelly, peppering the bull with shards of metal and superhot gas. The bull screamed out and was shoved by the force of the blast up against the other side of the tank. The fox, who had been on the other side of the bull was crushed under his weight and his body was pinned under him and against the broken suspension of the tank. Sand blasted itself over the two dragons and Spyro grit his teeth as he could feel it scraping his scales.
The two aircraft swooped overhead, continuing on their way as they had done their damage. As the smoke cleared, only the two dragon Sentinels remained. The commander was laying on the top of the tank, blood pooling from wounds on his arm and side. He tumbled off the top of the vehicle and cried out as he tried to pick himself back up. The other shock trooper had broken off his charge of the humans and took cover behind one of the destroyed tanks as the two incoming jets made their strafing gun.
The remaining human soldiers fanned out and began to surround him from all directions, heavily outnumbering him. The armor, having taken several and numerous hits was close to failure. It was pulsating a deep blue as the hardening spell was weak and close to dispersing itself from his armor. He didn't give up, instead reaching for his weapon and firing erratically at the approaching humans, hitting two in his desperate sprays. As he got the opportunity, he sprinted down from atop the hill and joined his commander next to the tank.
"The dragons… we're here for the dragons… Get them and we need to get out of here!" The commander ordered.
"But commander, we'll never bring them out alive!"
"Then kill them! Blow them to hell! Don't let the humans leave with the prize!"
"As you wish…" The shock trooper reached for his side, pulling out a grenade and walking over to the tank.
"Spyro! Spyro, we've got to get the hell out of here!" Asimov yelled, hearing the conversation outside.
"Yeah… yeah I know…" Spyro muttered, trying his hardest to move. They tried to make their way to the other side of the tank and make for a quick escape, but the dragon saw this and made for the other side.
"Down there! There they are!" One of the humans outside yelled. Gunfire erupted again, making the dragon kneel down. He smiled as he pulled the pin from the grenade and prepared to slip it down under the tank when Asimov surprised him with a quick bolt of electricity. He had been saving whatever energy he had left for an emergency, and this was it! The arc of energy hit the Sentinel and made him drop the grenade prematurely. The grenade landed in the sand and rolled away from the tank, instead detonating a few feet away from the Sentinel and shattering his armor spell.
He roared out in pain and slammed himself into the tank from the force of the blast.
The VTOL from earlier circled above, and its side gunners began pelting the dragon. His armor began to crack and shatter, but the dragon grabbed the weapon from his fallen comrade and raised it up, firing up at the helicopter. He hit the side gunner, and the aircraft rolled left as smoke began to come from one of its engines. The VTOL backed off, instead coming in to land nearby.
Above, another human aircraft zoomed into the scene. This one came in low, and looked like a heavier and bulkier version of Jericho's VTOL. It didn't bother coming in to land, instead it almost did a touch and go nearby. Two soldiers dropped out the back, wearing what looked like a large mechanized suit over their bodies. Metal plating covered their bodies, as well as what looked like an exo-skeleton that engulfed their appendages. Between all the heavy plating and armor, they were almost easily double the mass of a regular human. Even so, they were able to move with the same agiligy and finesse as their regular human counter-parts, thanks to what looked like servos and powered joins connecting exoskeleton together. The two exo-soldiers sprinted from their landing zone and made a beat for the tank. The dragon commander saw them and opened fire, hitting one of the humans in the chest. His armor repelled the rounds, but it was enough to make him stop and raise his own weapon. The weapon was almost the same size and caliber as those touted by the Sentinels, being roughly the equivalent of a light machine gun or even heavy machine gun. Rounds danced downrange and struck the Sentinel commander, making him roar out in pain as his armor began to fail. The dragon tossed his weapon down and instead turned to his fire breath. The other dragon Sentinel too joined in, unleashing their black fire onto the two humans. They split up, using their arms to block the fire from their bodies, but it did begin to engulf them. One of the two decided to charge them, and leapt over at the dragon Sentinel.
"Come on! Come at me you worthless scum!" The dragon yelled, charging in too. The two creatures locked hands as they threw punches. The larger dragon was almost shocked as the armored human soldier managed to keep pace with him, even overpowering the weakened beast. The human pushed back with enough force to snap the bones in the dragon's arm, making him cry out in agony. The dragon fell to his knees before the human, who brought his fist back and smashed the Sentinel across the face, shattering his helmet armor. The creature fell onto his back, just in time for the human to pull out his weapon and execute the dragon.
The Sentinel commander saw this and began to panic, reaching for a grenade to try and throw desperately at the tank, but the other exo-armored human unleashed a volley of gunfire as he slowly walked towards the dragon. The gunfire ripped through his armor, then his vulnerable scales. After a sustained burst, the dragon went limp and fell over onto his back, dropping the unarmed grenade harmlessly into the sand nearby.
"Clear! All clear!" One of the humans yelled.
"All hostiles eliminated Captain!" Another yelled as he raced down towards the tank.
"Check that tank, they were awfully interested in it. Check for any more of those things."
"Yes Captain!"
Spyro and Asimov watched from below the tank, watching as they were slowly surrounded by the Americans.
"Sir, I got movement, two underneath the tank!"
"Hold you fire. You two! Get out here! Get out here now!"
Asimov moved first, slowly picking himself out from under the tank and into the sunlight for the first time. Shell shocked and fatigued from the long battle, he almost stumbled onto the ground. Two soldiers immediately dashed up and pointed their weapons at him, ready for a fight. Asimov instead fell over onto his side, raising his paws up to surrender.
Spyro came out second, though slower then Asimov. He had to crawl out, and couldn't even stand up after he had freed himself from under the tank. More soldiers surrounded him, but the Captain raised his arm, ordering them to lower their weapons.
"Is this him, sir?" One asked.
"That's him. Relay back to HQ, tell that Colonel we found his VIP."
/Transitioning…/
[Done]
"Did aero-2 make it to the objective?"
"Negative sir, aero-2 isn't responding to our hails. Aero-3 and 4 report hitting heavy resistance over the target area."
"Reroute all aero flights, I want that target secured, do you understand me?"
"Yes sir!"
Colonel Donnelly stopped and turned, facing the two darting officers who ran passed him. He had only arrived a few minutes ago, and the situation was… well, critical. The phone call came in about… maybe six hours ago, it was hard to remember now. Donnelly was still in New York, facing a very terse General Hayden. Hayden was very upset that Donnelly let Spyro go, but of course Donnelly just played the 'I don't know what you're talking about sir,' card. Fuller just watched in silence throughout the entire conversation. Donnelly figured Fuller knew, and found it interesting that Fuller didn't mention anything throughout the meeting. With the way Hayden spoke, he was certain Fuller hadn't even mentioned anything to him. It was hard to read Fuller, he was always scheming…
Admiral Kimmel phoned in not long after, demanding to speak to Donnelly. Needless to say… Donnelly was rather surprised. He knew that Kimmel was in charge of some fleet operation going beyond safe waters. The Navy was so damn secretive of anything beyond safe waters, not even Donnelly knew what they were up to. He was honestly expecting Jericho to send some data dump along the borders of controlled space, or try and send a message straight to Firebase Raven. Thankfully it didn't take long to corroborate Jericho's claims, and all of US North was put on alert. Within an hour soldiers and airmen were mobilizing to go south, and Donnelly wanted to be damn sure he was one of them.
Which… brought him here, to the cafeteria of an old abandoned high school overgrown with trees, plants and tall grass. It had been hastily converted to a command center, which was the equivalent of saying they gathered all the tables up and surrounded them with officers. The large cafeteria doubled as the entrance to the school, and was very dimly lit. Four skylights rested in the center of the room, and were providing enough decent ambient light so they could work. Some small lights had been set up, but as of now it looked like the engineers were having trouble getting them to work properly. Snow and water dripped down from the broken skylights, and some plants were poking their way through the cracked concrete, making for a very dirty and grungy command post.
Charts and maps were spread out on what tables were still usable, and portable laptops and computers lined the walls, manned by battalion HQ officers who tried to organize the army they had dropped in here. They were all members of the 91st Airborne Division, one of the primary rapid deployment regiments. It was all part of the so called "Trident Assault Plan." This was a drill the Army had theorized and war gamed for years and years, in the event they'd ever have to deploy soldiers to the mainland again. With an airborne unit boots on the ground, the next step was to secure a passage to shore, a large airfield or a large enough open space to start landing in reinforcements and equipment. Without a large airfield or railway, heavy equipment was impossible to move their way.
The Trident Plan was still all theory, but they had built up enough equipment and war plans that Donnelly was hopeful it could work. It was all about rapidly inserting an army into a heavily forested or ruined area lacking airfields or ways of highway transportation. You know, all the traditional means of ferrying an army in. The third fleet had thankfully began sending what Marines they had aboard to shore, putting their few but effective amphibious assault carriers close enough to ferry more tanks and supplies onto land. Fleet assaults were a very important part of this plan too, but unfortunately, the Third Fleet was NOT in a positon to use the plan effectively. They lacked a significant contingent of Marines. It was time to see if it would all work out…
For now, the 91st had been inserted three hours after first contact, and had secured this school as a base of operations along the flank of the projected Goliath route. Now came the fun part, resisting and repelling the enemy. That was easier said than done.
For all General Hayden's boasting about the strength of his new army, this rematch as it were was a testament to how much they had both gained and lost. They weren't the same military they used to be almost sixty years ago. While they had more manpower than ever before, and probably more lethal tech, they lacked the infrastructure, the sophisticated logistics and the overall maneuverability that the old military enjoyed. What skirmishes did occur and direct battles ended in almost stalemates or defeats for the Sentinels. Even leaderless, their tenacity and overall strength was not to be underestimated. That's why they took no chances, and were pounding them into submission with everything in their inventory. From long range cruise missiles and rail gun barrages from the third fleet to constant and never ending sorties they would not give them an inch of breathing room.
The Colonel took in a deep breath, and walked towards the center of the room. In the heart of all this chaos, there was a single man stood near one of the tables, bearing over one of the maps. His arms were crossed behind his back, and Donnelly recognized that freshly shaved face. It was General Haber, commander of the 91st Airborne division. Donnelly was surprised that the 5th Infantry Division's commander wasn't here too, since he could see their unmistakable uniforms wandering around the school as well. Well, it didn't surprise him now that he thought about it. Generals liked to be in their offices, they knew nothing of real war.
General Haber wasn't one of them. Donnelly knew a bit about Haber, but enough to know that he wouldn't put his men where he wouldn't go himself. The Colonel smirked somewhat, knowing that Haber was probably like a kid in a candy shop out here in the field. It was probably some wet dream of his to finally be out here. He'd also heard a rumor that he was quite testy… and had an unhealthy fascination with General Patton.
"Colonel, so nice of you to join us." Haber said, noticing the Colonel. Donnelly gave a slight smirk and made a brisk pace up to the edge of the table, saluting him. Haber gave him a nod, not one for formalities. A jet flew overhead, drawing their attention for a brief moment before Haber rubbed his chin and looked back down at the map.
"Has there been… any word on our VIP?" Donnelly asked, taking off his cap and setting it down in front of him.
"None that I've heard of so far. I still don't think it's such a wise idea devoting recourses to recovering this… VIP of yours Donnelly. To be frank, I only agreed to this because Fuller was so insistent. If it were up to me, we'd spend no such time on the likes of a dragon."
"With all respect sir, that dragon just took down the commander of the Sentinel's army and stopped that King Goliath cold in its tracks."
"I'd like to think the deployment of HADES was enough to do the latter, but I'll concede the former."
"That… dragon also helped power up the HADES for that single use. We owe a lot to him. I think the least we can do is make sure the Sentinels don't capture him."
Haber gave a low grunt, unwilling to concede all his points to Donnelly. The Colonel just took that as a small sign of victory.
"Sentinel forces are still strong to the north, and the area around the King Goliath is still highly unstable. I'll keep a few squads on patrol but I insist I keep most of my men in place to contain the Sentinels before they break out."
"A few squads is all I'll need."
A low thud resonated in the building, making some of the men stop in their place.
"What the hell's that? There should be no Sentinels this close to the base." Haber turned to one of the officers nearby, and the soldier frantically began scanning comm traffic.
"Sir, the Jr High DZ reports an explosion near their depot. Minimal casualties."
"Well, what caused it?"
"They're still figuring it out sir."
"Get that sorted out, I don't want any surprises this close to the HQ."
"Yes General."
"You should go Colonel. I'll let you know if there are any more… developments." Haber said, turning to Donnelly. The Colonel would have preferred to stay in the command center to stay current in case Spyro was found. However… he couldn't argue with a general. Reluctantly, he nodded and turned to leave.
Sunlight coated the officer's face and he gave a soft grumble as his vision was greeted with the old high school campus. Tents and ammo crates were scattered about as the Army was slowly overtaking it faster than nature had. Looking around, there were probably more soldiers and officers here then there had been students before the war!
Stopping and turning to the distance, clouds hovered over where the battle was still raging. Even now, hours after Spyro successfully destroyed the crystal and halted the King Goliath the battle continued. The distant sound of gunfire and smoke only told him that this battle was far from over.
Two tilt-rotor aircraft flew overhead, drawing the Colonel's attention. The two aircraft came in low before rotating their wing mounted turbines vertically, putting them into a stable descent. They landed nearby, in one of the parking lots to the old school. It was a makeshift landing site, but the Colonel knew they could do better. The ramps came down from the craft, and more soldiers crowded onto the lot. Two officers came out from the school itself and began giving them instructions, where to offload the cargo, where to deploy and where to get further instructions.
The aircraft spun their rotors up and took off quickly, not wanting to take too much time on the only landing spots they had. As the two tilt-rotors pulled away from the landing site, Donnelly caught sight of a banged up dropship resting near the corner of the parking lot beside two large cargo crates. It was Jericho's craft, and the Colonel spotted both he and his new ally Hunter standing beside the damaged craft. Two technicians were talking to them as they looked the bird over, and Donnelly could see Jericho's frustration.
"Sir, you're lucky this thing even landed in the condition it's in. It won't take back off again under its own power, I can tell you that."
"That's bull crap, this bird landed fine under its own power, and it can take off again just fine!" Jericho said, crossing his arms at the first technician. The second one turned to Jericho and gave him a grimace.
"Well for one you're not even military and I'm not sure you're checked out to even fly this bird. You're lucky we don't report you for theft of military property."
"This WAS a sanctioned flight, and I was checked out to fly this. If it weren't for me, you guys wouldn't have even known about this invasion!" Jericho threw his hands in the air, visibly frustrated.
"Is there a problem here?" Donnelly decided he should step in before Jericho got too punchy, and placed himself between him and the technicians.
"No… Colonel. We were just explaining that this bird isn't going to fly again without repairs. He insists he take it back up to look for… that dragon thing."
"Dragon thing? He saved your asses! I'd show him some respect! We need to find him!"
"We are… finding him Jericho. That'll be all." Donnelly waved the two technicians off before turning back to Jericho.
"Donnelly, I didn't expect to see you here, or in… combat fatigues." Jericho commented, seeing the Colonel dressed in full field combat dress. Donnelly gave a smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Donnelly asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing, nothing at all. You're killing me though Colonel, I can't stand just waiting around here. Spyro's out there, somewhere."
"I know, but that area's still too dangerous and your bird is out of commission. Like they said, you're lucky it even landed at all." Donnelly craned his head over to look at the damaged craft. He had heard Jericho's initial report, but after seeing the BEATING this dropship had taken, he could hardly believe it. Somehow, Jericho had taken this thing through multiple aerial dogfights and even a boarding by two Sentinels. Bullet holes and pock marks riddled the hull, and the back cargo ramp had been ripped clean off. It looked like on its way out, the ramp smashed itself into the tail of the craft, denting the structure somewhat and almost shearing one of the rudders off. The wings had dents and deformities where one of the Sentinels had boarded, and a large piece of the right wing looked to have been damaged in an impact. Blood was smeared on it, along with a few pieces of Sentinel armor. Jericho… did mention that the second Sentinel, a dragon, disappeared after an aileron roll maneuver. Donnelly only had to put two and two together.
"I'm sure Spyro will turn up. He's a fighter, after all." Hunter, who had remained out of this conversation up until now, finally chimed in. Jericho let out a sigh and crossed his arms. Donnelly turned over to Hunter curiously, having never seen him before. He gave Jericho an inquisitive look while crossing his arms. Jericho suddenly realized why Donnelly gave him that look and quickly took a step back, introducing his friend.
"This is Hunter of Avalar Colonel. He's one of the mainland anthros who's helped Spyro and me get to New York. He also helped us raid the Citadel."
"I heard. You're going to have to give me a full description of that, I'm dying to hear more about that place."
"More then the intel I stashed here at the school?"
"Yes, more then that. You did secure it, right? I'd hate for that precious information to get lost."
"Yeah, yeah of course! I put it all in a crate and stashed it with Cynder at the Junior high!"
Donnelly gave Jericho another confused look.
"She… she's the dragon we went to rescue from the Citadel. She's… Spyro's friend. A close friend."
"Right… We'll have to retrieve that then. Now, you're name's Hunter? Hunter of Avalar? I take it then you're a member of The Order…"
"Yes, I am. We have pledged ourselves to contest and repel the Sentinels, at any cost." Hunter said, standing proudly and triumphantly as he gave a low bow. Donnelly smiled and returned the gesture in kind while extending his arm.
"My name is Colonel Donnelly, I'm with US Army Intelligence. I've heard quite a bit of your group. You've made quite a name for yourselves."
"We protect our own, and our order is still a small one."
"Still, we've heard your names come up more than once. It's enough to put you on our radar. It'll be interesting to hear more about your group from a member themselves."
"As long as we can count on your kind to be an ally in this fight." Hunter said midway through the handshake. Donnelly gave a chuckle, sensing his resignations. Withdrawing his hand, Donnelly patted his sides and gave him a reassuring smile.
"We have no quarrel with your Order, and I can assure you we are of the same mind on the Sentinels… as you can clearly see." Donnelly gave a glance around the camp, letting the sight of soldiers and armor moving against the Dark Master and his armies speak to his intentions. Hunter replied with his own glance and smile, though his resignations didn't evaporate.
"Most of the world believes humanity to be dead. Your sudden appearance on the world stage I feel may shake the balance of power, perhaps not in the best of ways."
"We've made painful strides to hide our presence. It appears that the Dark Master has forced us to play our hands, and it… will be difficult to see how things will move in the coming days. I would hope that we can all work together to resist the Dark Master… but the powers that be will do what it takes to achieve victory."
"That's what worries me."
"It's what worries us all. I do look forward to working with your Order however. You would make an excellent ally in this world, and I'm certain your small group could use a strong backing."
"Of course. It would be an honor, Colonel." Hunter finally smiled, letting some reassurance slip in. Donnelly turned to Jericho who shrugged, hoping to stay out of political affairs.
"By the way Jericho, are they any more… allies that I should know about?"
"Uh, just one more."
/Transitioning…/
[Done]
They just kept… staring at him.
Asimov sat near the back of the crowded troop bay, surrounded by human soldiers in full combat gear. The same people he had been taught all his life to hate, to despise… they were sitting mere few feet away from him. It was… a surreal feeling to say the least. Next to Asimov lay a silent and resting Spyro. He had passed out a few minutes ago after they had placed him onto the VTOL, and his breathing was slowing so they placed a small breathing mask on him. It was… surprising he was still alive after that ordeal. He had been through so much… yet he had prevailed somehow.
It was quite astonishing…
He, was quite astonishing.
Now he knew why the Dark Master feared him so much. He… had the power, and the potential to be so much more.
For the moment though, he lay unresponsive on a small stretcher placed on the floor. Soldiers surrounded them near the back, their weapons not quite pointed at them, but they were… pointing in his general direction. He could tell they didn't have much faith in him or Spyro, and he could understand it. He imagined their heads were probably filled with the same propaganda his own head had been crammed with. Hatred and distrust, it knew no species.
The commanding officer of these soldiers, a Captain, sat nearby with his arms crossed. He had largely ignored Asimov, and instead was staring at Spyro. They had spoke little to one another before boarding the craft to their HQ, but Asimov could already tell the Captain was very… skeptical about Spyro. Spyro was the last one to receive medical treatment over his men, whom had received wounds from that brief firefight. Two had even been killed, which didn't sit well with the Captain.
"We're coming in to the LZ, thirty seconds! They'll have a medical unit standing by to receive our wounded!" One of the pilots called out from the front, turning for a brief moment before going back to his controls. Good, this flight was almost over, the tension was killing Asimov, even if it had been a short flight.
He felt the craft begin to decelerate, and then eventually begin to descend. The soldiers all stood up and crowded the center of the troop bay, readying to depart. There was a short jolt as the craft touched down, and the whirling of the engines began to die down as well. The two side doors opened up, and the soldiers began to file out. Daylight flooded the room, and two nearby humans stood up to grab ahold of Spyro's stretcher. They lifted him up and took him out last, after all the other wounded had disembarked from the craft.
Asimov watched them depart, and was about to follow before seeing the Captain standing in the doorway, watching Spyro get taken out. He shot Asimov a look before jumping down himself. The black dragon stood for a moment before taking in a deep breath, and climbing out himself.
Outside was a scene that was… familiar yet different to the dragon. The humans had taken over this old school and converted it quickly into a bustling staging ground. It came with all the bells and whistles, much like the Citadel had. They almost looked one and the same, just replacing the Sentinels with humans. There was some irony there that Asimov pondered over, but he dismissed it.
"Asimov!" The dragon heard a voice, and turned to see Jericho and Hunter standing nearby, blocked off by two men acting as security. Asimov gave them a smile, happy to see some familiar faces, even if… it was a human and member of an Order sworn to kill dragons like himself. Irony, such irony.
There was another human standing with them, a Colonel by the looks of his rank. The commanding officer if the squadron that picked them up walked over to him, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement.
"You the Colonel looking for this dragon?" He asked.
"That'd be me." Responded the Colonel.
Medics from a nearby series of field hospital tents ran over and began moving the wounded men back to the tents. The ones who were dead were placed on gunnies and carted away to a separate part of the large spacious parking lot. Another pair of medics walked over and transferred Spyro from the stretcher to a gurney of his own. The Captain gave another look of disapproval.
"I hope this… dragon… is worth the men I lost finding him. He was being attacked by several shock troopers. Those are tough bastards to kill."
"I'm sorry for your loss Captain, however this dragon will be far more pivotal to this operation and the defeat of the Dark Master then any battalion of men."
"He'd better." The Captain walked away from the Colonel without as much as a salute as he joined the remainder of his men who could walk and escorted them to the field hospital.
"You must be… the other dragon Jericho was telling me about. Asimov, is that right?"
"Yeah… yeah that's me." Asimov said, smirking up towards the human.
"I'm Colonel Donnelly… erm… US Army Intelligence. You're a… former Sentinel, no?"
"Uh… yeah. Former trainee. I never got the full rank."
"Still, you have very… valuable insight that would be of great interest to me."
Asimov sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He knew where this was going. Was he going to be arrested as a POW? Interrogated? He was already a "traitor" for helping to stop Vivex and his perverted plans but… well…
He just wasn't so sure about what he should do, and who he should commit to anymore. He was an ally of Cynder. The humans…? Well, that wasn't a step Asimov was quite ready to take…
"I guess so. I uh… I suppose you'll want me to do some… sort of interrogation thing, right?"
"At some other time perhaps. From what I understand your loyalties are… not so clear. Whatever help you can give us to resist the Sentinels, would be invaluable."
"I'm here to help him. I want to help his fight. His, and Cynder's. I'm not so… fond of helping your kind just yet."
Donnelly smiled and gave a laugh, backing off for the moment.
"I understand. It seems Spyro's gotten himself a unique band of helpers." Donnelly commented, turning over to the purple dragon.
"How is he, Asimov?" Hunter asked, turning to the black dragon.
"Pretty… banged up. That fight must have sucked whatever strength he had left. He… passed out on the flight over here. He's in no condition to fight anymore. He needs rest." Asimov said, rubbing his own wounds.
"What about you? You don't look so hot either?" Jericho asked, seeing them too.
"I'll live. There're nothing compared to what he's been through."
"I'll say! You guys blew that damn crystal sky high! It almost rivaled that HADES strike!" Jericho said with excitement.
"A full debrief can wait, we should really attend to Spyro's wounds and recover that intelligence, Jericho."
"Right, and I want to check up on Cynder." Jericho replied.
"Cynder? Is she alright? Where is she?" Asimov's eyes suddenly filled with energy, and his head darted around, looking for her.
"Relax there, we left her over at a nearby school. She's at the Junior High, down the road. We thought she'd appreciate a quieter place to rest. I just hope Sparx has kept her good company…" Jericho said with a slight shrug.
"Can we go there? Check on her?" Asimov asked quickly.
"Yes, of course. I'll get a jeep for us. As soon as we recover that intel and get everything situated we can move Spyro to a better place. This… field hospital isn't a place for him. If shock troopers were after him, that Dark Master will keep sending more while he's out here in the field." The Colonel waved his arms, and ushered the medics to take Spyro forward towards the field hospital. They all followed, walking behind.
"My thoughts exactly." Hunter replied.
"What about Spyro? He can't exactly go somewhere like this." Jericho brought up a good point, as the dragon seemed to be incapacitated for the moment.
"He can stay here. It should be a brief trip over to the junior high." Replied Donnelly. As they reached the tents with all the wounded, Donnelly moved off to secure their vehicle. The others remained with Spyro, enjoying the brief moment of calm even as fully armed soldiers moved all around them.
"The Colonel just loves you, Asimov." Jericho remarked, looking at him. Asimov gave a low groan.
"Look, this is all just…" Asimov sighed, unable to find the right words.
"You're torn between your allegiances." Hunter said, placing it right on the money.
"I've been taught all my life to hate you and your kind Jericho. That it was you, and you alone who destroyed this once beautiful world. That… that it was our destiny and our DUTY to cleanse this world and unite its forlorn peoples. After what the Dark Master and Vivex did to me… the way they danced in my head like that… I just don't know. There's just so much of it that seems wrong. Yet I'm betraying who I am… I already betrayed my people by helping Spyro stop Vivex. Now to… help your people? I just… I don't know."
"You lack a purpose Asimov." Hunter clarified.
"I just… I'm here to help Cynder. If she wants to fight by Spyro's side then so be it. If Spyro choses to help you and your people… then… so be it."
"Your eyes." Jericho made a short comment, one that made Asimov look at him with an inquisitive look.
"What?" He asked.
"Your eyes, they're… still those slits like the Sentinels have." Jericho said. Asimov turned, looking over at a nearby discarded mirror from the field hospital. A quick glance showed him that his eyes were indeed different. Sentinels, when they received the final kiss from the Dark Master and truly became warriors for his cause, one of the many transformations was their eyes. They became more naturalized, more feral in a way. Gone were the round irises, instead replaced with the more narrow slits. As a natural born dragon, his eyes were of that kind, the normal rounded irises. Now they were like Sentinel eyes.
They looked almost like Vivex's eyes. It made Asimov shudder a bit. He must have received them as part of the corruption that Vivex bestowed upon him. While his mind was now free from the tethers of the Dark Master… not all of it was gone it would seem.
"I guess I still have it. He's gone from my head now… the Dark Master. I guess this scar will remain with me." Asimov rubbed his face somewhat, a glint of worry passing through his head. If this change truly remained, was his mind truly free too?
"I just hope you're right. That… the Dark Master's gone from there." Jericho said, crossing his arms.
"My mind's clear again. I can think for myself… thanks to him. I owe a lot to him." Asimov said as he turned towards Spyro.
"I think we all do." Hunter replied. They all turned to Spyro, all silently acknowledging that it was indeed true.
/Transitioning…/
[Done]
The convoy of three armored trucks bumped along the road, pulling away from the high school that served as the command center of the US Army's counter-invasion. Down the road on another block sat the junior high, where Jericho and Hunter had originally dropped Cynder off. It was also where the paratroopers originally landed and used as a rally point in the early hours of the battle.
While Donnelly had originally just asked for a single vehicle to move to the junior high, he eventually just settled on piggy backing with a supply convoy already heading that way. Now that the junior high was a rally point for air dropped equipment and vehicles, they'd first go there before offloading their cargo. Then it would all get shipped up the road to the high school.
The convoy rolled through the empty streets of the town, rolling over the cracked and shattered asphalt, meant to lay inbetween a calm suburban town that no longer existed. Where the houses once stood there were only shells and husks. Trees sprouted from the decaying wood, and in some cases the ground had opened up and swallowed the buildings whole, leaving a sinkhole filled with a viscous yellow sludge that emitted streams of probably toxic gas into the air. The soldiers who were riding security gripped their weapons tightly as they continued to bumble their way down the cracked road. While this area was supposed to be under their control now, the terrain definitely did not let you put your guard down.
They rounded the last street corner and were at last at the elusive middle school. A small checkpoint had been set up at the main gate, which lead into a spacious parking lot flanked on all sides by the junior high itself. The buildings formed a U shape, with the parking lot going in towards the open end of the buildings. In the back there was a second floor, with more buildings to the school laying beyond.
A trio of Marines stood at their barricade, and saluted the vehicles as they passed into the parking lot. The area was full of life as soldiers walked around the open parking lot, carrying crates of ammo and supplies as four supply trucks rested against one of the walls. Alongside the opposite wall, rested four M58 Pathfinder tanks, a trimmed down and lighter version of the M58A3 MBT the Army used for airdropped operations. It had lighter armor, but meant it was smaller, and able to be airdropped out the back of a cargo aircraft and parachuted down for rapid deployment.
The trucks came to a stop, and their crew disembarked. Jericho and Asimov hopped out from their door, and Donnelly stepped off from his passenger seat. Marines from the 7th Division walked all around, going about their way. As Donnelly passed the soldiers up, they smirked at the Army Colonel. There were only three companies of Marines here, all deployed from the US Third Fleet. It was a small detachment, yes, but they provided the necessary security of the occupied junior high and surrounding neighborhood. Donnelly also had some respect for the Devil Dogs, he just hoped their old reputation still held up in this new age of warfare.
"It's over this way, we left Cynder and the Intel in the main building." Jericho said as he shifted his weight so the heavy rifle against his back fell into place better. Donnelly gave him a quick nod, and offered for him to take the lead. Jericho returned the nod and began walking towards the front door at the end of the parking lot. Asimov hesitated for a moment, his mind too busy scanning the opening FILLED with human combatants. There must have been a hundred, maybe two hundred of them milling about. This was… This was just so much for him to take in. A low grumble escaped him and he quickly trotted over to join Jericho and his comrade further ahead. He could see as all the nearby humans eyed him up. They were watching him, with either interest or distrust. Honestly, Asimov figured it was all the latter.
He assumed so because that was what filled his mind as he looked at all these armed creatures who he had been raised to hate. He doubted their upbringing was any different…
They entered the junior high quickly, and Jericho lead them through the hallways with a brisk pace. They passed many other Marines as they walked, and noticed as many of the old classrooms had been changed into a small little command post for the Marines here. It wasn't nearly as expansive as what was at the high school, but then again all they had were a few radios and papers set up on desks surrounded by officers. It was hardly formal.
A Marine Captain bumped into them as he walked down a flight of stairs, almost surprised to see them there. He did recognize Jericho, as he was the one who Jericho had original dropped Cynder off with.
"Oh, it's you." He said, adjusting a set of glasses that rested on his face.
"Yeah, told you we'd be back. Is she still up there?" Jericho asked, smirking at him.
"She should be in the same place you left her. It's been all quiet here since you left. I suppose… he's here for the intel then?" He turned to Donnelly, who gave a slight nod.
"He's Army intel, and well… yeah. HJe'd like to see that intel."
"I uh… I wasn't expecting another one." The Captain motioned to Asimov who gave somewhat of a blank response.
"He's one of her friends. We'll be out of your hair quick, I promise." Jericho said. The Marine chuckled while rubbing his head.
"Good, good. The others were a little jumpy with a uh… with one of them nearby. It's not usual, you know?" The Marine turned and started walking back up the stairs, with the others following behind.
Asimov was the last to follow, but something was off to him. He couldn't quite shake a strange feeling he had… As they ascended the stairs, the thought never left his mind. He had to keep it back as they reached the landing for the second floor. Cynder was here, and she was safe. He just needed to relax already. Perhaps it was just… the overabundance of armed humans around him. Yeah, that was it.
"Corperal, our friends are back to retrieve their patient. You can stop guarding that door now Corporal!" The Marine Captain called out as he grabbed the handle to the doorway leading into the second floor. He pulled, but it didn't budge.
"What the hell…?" He asked before giving it another tug.
"Is there a problem Captain?" Donnelly asked, crossing his arms.
"I hope not, or we ARE going to have a problem… God damn Marine, he locked the door! Corporal you get over here and unlock this door THIS instant!" He pulled harder on the door, but it wouldn't budge.
"Captain? Should we be aware of something?" Donnelly was getting more angry with each word, as was Jericho as he immediately grabbed his rifle.
"God damn it! Corporal Jennings was a little distrustful of your friend! So he wanted to guard the damn door in case she woke up! Now it appears he's locked the damn door!" The Marine pulled again on the door, even kicking it but it did not move.
"If she's been harmed by one of your soldiers…" Asimov bore his teeth, anger seething in his eyes.
"If something's happened to her, I'll shoot the bastard myself."
"Now hold on there you scavenger! He is MY Marine and you won't lay a damned finger on him!" The Captain turned to Jericho, who didn't hesitate to put his rifle barrel against his chest.
"I do wonder if it was YOUR Marine who did this…" Donnelly walked to the door, peering through the small window on the door and seeing that the release handle had been bent and contorted from the other side.
"What the…?" The Captain saw this too, and stood in disbelief.
"That means… SHIT, get out of the way you fools!" Asimov charged the door, and quickly enveloped his body in energy. He slammed hard into the metal door, sending out a resounding THUD as the door blasted itself from the hinges and landed in the hallway beyond. Asimov groaned as he rolled to a stop on top of it, on the other side.
"Go, go, quickly!" Donnelly commanded, storming through the opening. Jericho dashed over and grabbed Asimov's arm, lifting him up.
"Get up! Come on we can't stop here!" He said, pulling the bewildered dragon up. Asimov nodded and shook his head, not willing to stop there. The Captain drew his own rifle and dashed over them, running into the hallway.
"You left her down this way, come on!" He said, dashing forward. Donnelly drew a side arm and followed close behind, followed by Jericho and Asimov.
"I hope you can use that thing old man!" Jericho said, seeing the weapon.
"Just shut up and use your weapon. Don't worry about me I can fight."
"Damn it… damn it I knew it! I could feel it!"
"Feel what? Feel what God damn it?!" Jericho yelled, running behind the Marine Captain.
Asimov blared ahead of them before rounding a corner, just in time to see the body of a dead human Marine laying sprawled acorss the floor, with a large amored figure standing over him. An anthro hyena stood above him, with a black dagger hanging from his hand. He gave them a crazed look as blood still dripped from the blade.
"Well so delightful of you all to show up. We do have to thank you for leading us right to her. I do hope you can… assist us again in the future…" The Sentinel gave another wicked smile before quickly thrusting the blade forward, throwing it right at Asimov. The dragon grunted and kicked himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the flying blade. It streaked passed them and hit a wall in the back, exploding out with a great force as the blade had been energized with a powerful spell!
"Crap! It's an assassin! They're here for her Jericho! You have to STOP them!"
"Don't tell me shit I ALREADY know!" Jericho slammed hard on his trigger, letting his rifle blare out a volley of rounds at the assassin. The bullets pinged off his armor, making him back up. The Sentinel quickly grabbed his own side arm and returned fire as he retreated down the hall. He rounded another corner, but kept firing back at them the whole time. One of the bullets hit the Marine Captain in the leg, knocking him onto the ground.
"Gah! Damn it!" He yelled, gripping his wound.
"Call for reinforcements Marine! This is a special shock trooper, we can't let him get away!" Donnelly ordered before following behind Jericho and Asimov as they gave chase.
"Right! Got it! This is Marine Captain Piper in the junior high, second floor! We have a breach! Sentinel breach! Get us back up here!" The Captain grabbed his radio, and started yelling into it even as his leg continued to bleed.
Down the hall, Asimov and the others chased the Sentinel, keeping on him the whole time. Windows overlooking the parking lot began to shatter as soldiers outside pelted them with gunfire. Their bullets pinged harmlessly off the Senitnel, who only gave another smile to them.
"That's right, send your best! Send your pathetic best!" He fired his rather large handgun out the window, hitting two Marines in the parking lot and dropping them from the heavy caliber rounds.
"Not today you bastard!" Jericho rounded the corner, and began firing again, drawing his attention. The assassin grunted and quickly swung around, firing at Jericho now. The human had to take cover, slamming himself against thje corner as the massive rounds blasted away at the old concrete. Donnelly waited until he heard the Sentinel reload, and he swung his own pistol around and began firing. Blue sparks flew out from his pistol, and Jericho watched as the Sentinel's armor cracked and sparked in return from Donnelly's fire.
The assassin let out a cry of pain, and Jericho could see blood seeping from his chest. The Sentinel grew alarmed, and his eyes went wide before he gripped his wounds with one hand, and fired back with the other. Donnelly had to retreat, almost throwing himself to the ground as large chunks of the wall were blasted to pieces.
"Holy crap! Why didn't you tell me you had more gem head ammo?!" Jericho yelled at the Colonel.
"I only brought enough for me!"
"How considerate!" Jericho grunted, blind firing his weapon around the corner as more and more of the concrete was blasted away. Occassionally Asimov tossed an elemental attack down the hall but he just didn't have the strength. As the Sentinel stood at the end of the hall, charging him directly would not work either.
"Anybody got any bright ideas?!" Jericho yelled, dumping an empty magazine and loading another in its place.
"Yeah, don't get shot!" Donnelly retorted.
"I'm already doing that, how about something else?"
Outside, more Marines had organized themselves into a firing line, pelting the Sentinel inside with heavy sustained gunfire. It was doing little, as the Sentinel's armor was more then enough to shrug off the small caliber rounds from their rifles. One of the Pathfinder tanks rumbled to life as its crew hopped into the tank, and its turret slowly began to turn. The barrel lifted itself up, and soon was aligned with the second floor, right onto the Sentinel himself. The creature fired off a few more rounds at Jericho and the others down the hall before turning to the new motion outside. He caught side of the tank's barrel just before a might CRACK resonated through the junior high. A heavy 125mm round propelled itself into the building, blasting the wall clear off. Smoke and debris flooded the hallway, almost knocking the group off their feet as they felt the powerful shockwave wash over them.
"Holy shit! Did they just fire a damn tank at him?!" Jericho exclaimed, covering himself as the building rocked.
"I think they did! Holy shit they just did!" Donnelly coughed from the smoke now filling the hallway, but quickly got to his feet again. Asimov poked his head around the corner slowly, seeing a gaping hole where the Sentinel once stood.
The tank's gun had sheered a large part of the building away, easily penetrating through the building. Pieces of armor and blood were splattered on the ground where the Sentinel once stood. Jericho walked forward slowly, his rifle raised as he quickly peered over a broken section of wall, catching a brief sight of a mangled corpse pinned against rubble in a nearby classroom.
"Yeah… yeah I think they got him…" Jericho muttered.
"I hope that shell didn't bury that intel, or that other dragon…" Donnelly said, seeing the destruction.
"No, she's down this way, come on!" Jericho quickly snapped back to it, and he raced across the destroyed hallway, reaching its end and turning once again.
There, at the end of the hall, one of the doors lay bended and contorted on the floor. It was from room 228, where they had hidden Cynder and the satchel with Donnelly's intel.
"Damn it!" Jericho yelled, seeing this. They all raced to the door, and were met with the side of another assassin, an anthro dragon this time, clenching the limp form of Cynder high into the air.
"So you killed my partner? No matter, I found her which is all we needed…"
"Let her go you oversized shit bag!" Jericho yelled, raising his weapon up.
"What're you going to do? Shoot me with your pop gun? Don't make me laugh… No, I have orders from My Master. Since your little purple friend seemed so fit to ruin all His plans, he's decided to instead take a little consolation prize…" He gripped tighter on Cynder's neck and raised her up to the ceiling.
"Let her go right now! You hear me?! Right now!" Asimov yelled, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Hold your tongue. You'll wait right where you are, or she dies. I assure you, I'll kill her faster then you could ever hope to kill me. I bare a message for her…" The Sentinel reached over to his side, and retrieved a purple crystal from a pouch before lifting it up to Cynder. She gave a low groan, clearly passing in and out of consciousness. As the crystal sat only inches from her face, it began to hum softly.
"Mmmm yes you feel that Cynder? The Master has a message for you. Yes, oh he's been holding onto this one for a long time, but now you can have it." The crystal began to glow brighter, resonating softly in the room. The collar Cynder wore began to hum softly in accordance too, the two gemstones looking remarkably similar to one another. She began to cry and gasp out, as if in great pain.
"Cynder! Don't listen to him!" Asimov cried out, wanting so bad to help her but feeling so helpless.
"She can't hear you. She won't hear you. She's ours now." The assassin smiled to them before leaping forward and breaking through the back wall of the classroom. The wall collapsed out, giving way to a grassy field beyond. The dragon soared down to the grass, still clutching onto Cynder as he began to race out away from the school.
"He's not getting away from me that easy!" Jericho ran out and jumped onto a nearby crate, leaping from surface to surface until he was in the grassy field too.
"Jericho! Wait!" Donnely called out. Asimov flew passed the human Colonel, streaking in the air as he blasted his way towards the assassin.
The Sentinel carried Cynder tightly in his arms as he continued to race outwards, making his way to a tree line just beyond the school.
"He can't get away Jericho! We can't lose Cynder!" Asimov said as he passed the human by.
"You think I'll just let him do that? You CLEARLY don't know how many times I've saved her ass!" Jericho fired his rifle while on the move, grunting in frustration as the bullets just pinged off his armor.
Asimov came in from above, firing off what little elemental attacks he could. Streaks of lightning flew down and struck the Sentinel's armor, but they too were negated by his enchanted shell. The Sentinel only gave him a smirk as he flapped his mighty wings and came up into the air. He flew right up to Asimov and struck him hard against his jaw, knocking him right out of the sky.
He landed hard onto the grass below, letting out a sick grunt as he struggled to pick himself back up.
"Stay down!" Jericho yelled as he ran up to him, firing off the remaining ammo in his magazine. The rounds just bounced off, they were worthless…
The Sentinel laughed, looking down at them as he clutched onto Cynder still.
"Face it, you're going to lose her! She will be ours and soon you will know The Master's vengeance!"
Cynder groaned softly, stirring in his arms. Her vision was… blurry, very distorted. She could feel this anger.. this deep anger. It was so powerful, so overbearing. She clenched her eyes as she began to just take in all her surroundings…
"Cynder no! I won't let him take you! Cynder!" Asimov called up to her, seeing her eyes flutter somewhat.
"Asimov…?" Cynder asked, hearing his voice.
"Quiet down… I have many things to show you." The Sentinel shook her before turning to make his escape.
She clenched her eyes and grabbed onto the Sentinel's arms. Tears formed in her eyes as so much information began to flood her mind. Information and memories from what happened began to flood her senses, memories of what happened, and now what she had just learned… She went into a blind rage.
"No… no! NOOOOO!" She bit onto the Sentinel's arm, getting little more then an annoyed huff as he paid her little mind.
"Let me go… LET ME GO!" Her eyes began to glow a deep purple, just as the crystal had before. Her entire body began to glow with the color, and it was enough to alarm the Sentinel.
"What…? What're you…? No! NO!" The Sentinel tried to shake her off, but it was too late. A powerful pulse came off of her, and it blasted the two apart. Cynder fell down onto the grass below, and the dragon twirled end over end until he slammed into the ground several feet away. Smoke rose from his body, and small sparks of purple energy arced from his armor.
Jericho slammed a new clip of ammunition into his weapon, knowing what that meant.
"You little bitch… I should have just killed you! I don't know why The Master wanted you alive… I don't know what he sees in you! He's obsessed with you, obsessed with that freak purple dragon! He…!" The Sentinel picked his head up, and saw Jericho walking up to him. Jericho didn't say a word as he raised the rifle up to him.
"You think you can kill me? You think you can-" The Sentinel's eyes widened with acute realization. His armor, it had-
The retort from Jericho's rifle echoed across the field as he pulled furiously on the trigger, dumping his entire magazine into the creature's chest. The bullets impacted hard onto the creature's armor, making it crack at first, then chip, then shatter. As his precious crystal armor shattered and exposed his chest, the remainder of Jericho's ammunition found its mark, burying itself deep into the dragon's vulnerable scales and flesh. His head jolted as each new bullet passed through his body, striking vital organs. As the last of the bullets emptied themselves from the weapon, the Sentinel's body went limp, and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. The mighty creature fell backwards onto the grass, and the field was silent again.
"Cynder… Cynder!" Asimov picked himself up and stumbled over to the dragoness laying nearby. She groaned softly, feeling familiar claws picking her up. Her eyes opened softly and she gave a soft smile as Asimov lifted her up.
"Cynder… you're alive…"
"Asimov… he's… he's still alive…"
"What? Who's still alive? Who are you talking about?"
"He's alive, I saw him. It's Orrick… The Dark Master has him…"
End of Chapter 25
/UPDATE/
Sorry guys it looks like I wrote the character's name as "Ulric" and not "Orrick" It's been corrected now.
Author's Note: Alas, another chapter! Sorry I always put like five months inbetween these things but this shit takes tiem! We're finally getting to the end here, and I REALLY love all your feedback! I read every review and love them to death, I just wish I was less of a slob and actually replied to your stuff. I might try to do that in the future XD God I'm awful at communicating with you guys.
Anyway, it's almost over, but I'm a firm believer in epilogues, so we ain't over yet! Not by a longshot…