Chapter 25: Play of the Game

"There are only two types of aircraft — fighters and targets."

Doyle 'Wahoo' Nicholson, USMC

Sometime before the events of the Jade Palace meeting...

1000 HOURS, AIR SPACE ABOVE THE BORDER OF ELBE, FALMART

Shiki's Album of Awesome

Track 32: Bob Dylan "Like a Rolling Stone"

Play?

For Myuute Luna Sires, it felt like only yesterday that her quality of life took a complete turn for the better. She had gone from living a life as an orphan and forced into banditry to being a part of something greater.

No longer did she live life on the run and in the worst of conditions. Instead, she had a warm bed to go back to and living conditions the likes of which she had never experienced before. No longer was she looked down upon for being non-human, instead she was respected and highly sought after as a source of knowledge and a great many curious questions. No longer were her abilities used for ill. Instead, they were used to enforce order and to protect those in need. No longer did she feel alone. Now, she had a new sense of belonging, something she considered the closest thing to family she could ever have.

No longer would she ever have to dream of flying, for now she was experiencing it and in the same "hel-a-cop-ters" that had once threatened her life outside of Italica that fateful attack.

And all of this was thanks to the Coalition.

Myuute couldn't help but smile as she thought about all this, her eyes glancing at the new custom uniform she wore before looking out at the passing landscape. Like many other members of her species, flying was all but a distant dream. Sure, sirens had the look of avian creatures, but their wings and feathers were all very much useless in aiding in flight. This didn't stop them from practicing wind magic, however, the end state being something that could aid them in reaching their goal. Only a select few could refine the magic in such a way to be able to achieve flight and Myuute certainly wasn't one of them. This was fine by her. Her species could never hope to come close to the level of flight the coalition had mastered and this new method of flying certainly felt superior to her.

It also came with plenty of protection too: thick metal, speed, and roaring thunder.

"How you feeling back there, Myuute!?"

Myuute's train of thought was interrupted as the familiar voice of the helicopter's pilot Captain Shiki called out through the strange headpiece she wore. When Myuute had made her dream of flying known to the coalition, Shiki had been one of the pilots to step forward and respond to the request. This was, of course, met with rolled eyes and protocol being brought up multiple times. A civilian couldn't just go on joyrides whenever they wanted. Ultimately, it was a Colonel Kane and General Hazama who had personally okay'd Myuute's request, stating that for all the assistance she had given to the mission, it would be criminal to rob her of something they believed she earned. She did serve as one of Alnus's chief local MPs and translators.

On two conditions, however. First and most importantly, Myuute was not to use magic at all during her flights. The last thing the chain of command wanted was losing track of their helicopters while they were off conducting missions. Second, she was not to accompany the helicopters during any missions in which they were being spun up for offensive action, she would only be allowed to accompany them on simple reconnaissance missions.

Such as the one she was on now, her fifth flight total between riding on American and Japanese helicopters and her third one with Shiki. For this mission, they were to scout ahead near the border of Elbe, one of the Empire's vassal states. The good word was that the Coalition had someone in its custody who could potentially sway the Kingdom to its cause, a future political ally and area to further spread the coalition's reach. No matter how advanced it was, the coalition simply didn't have the time to effectively monitor every nook and cranny of Falmart. While the FOBs had been effective in setting up an efficient sphere of influence, that sphere was limited to the area between the Capital and Alnus, or the "Corridor" as it was better known. Maintaining this corridor was no easy task, even with the technology the coalition had. Besides suppressing banditry, imperial insurrectionists, and hostile fauna, it also had a deep game of hearts and minds to play. Working with the UN peacekeepers to establish safe trade routes, the creation of medical centers and schools, and even working with Falmartian politics. The Coalition simply had its hands tied, hands it wanted to keep tied down in an easily manageable manner. Having to devote man power to effectively push out further would just complicate things. This wasn't like Operation Enduring Freedom, a war in which just about every NATO country was chipping in towards the goal of bringing stability to Afghanistan. No, "Operation New Dawn" consisted of a Marine expeditionary brigade, a slowly de-escalating JSDF strike force and enough UN peacekeepers to help maintain the humanitarian aspect of the mission.

All of which had the outside world breathing down their necks, denying them the opportunity to bring in anything more than what they had, some of which may or may not had been kept classified from everyone barring the highest echelons of Japanese and U.S. leadership.

Which was where Shiki's recon mission came in. A small rotary reconnaissance outing using assets not absolutely vital to the mission to make sure the Empire wasn't trying to move personnel from elsewhere. The coalition would deal with Elbe in due time. Fine by Shiki's team and Myuute. They just wanted to get out of Alnus for a while despite with all the luxuries it provided.

Myuute adjusted her headpiece before talking into it. "No matter how many times I've done this, it never gets old. I love flying!"

The Japanese pilot looked back over his shoulder at the siren, his usual cheerful face partially hidden by his black sunglasses and helmet. "That's the spirit! I feel the same way every time I do this too! I love my job!"

One of the men manning the helicopter's weapons next to Myuute laughed. "I think you're just excited because they don't send us out that much anymore!"

Shiki didn't look back as he slowly raised a middle finger, a gesture from his world that Myuute had learned literally meant "Fuck off." "Shut up Tomo, you know damn well you're excited too! They always send the Americans out for just about everything! That's just a load of crap, if you ask me! Too much time at base dulls the skills!"

"Hey, that's fine by me! Less maintenance I gotta do on this old bird! Besides, they got the better helicopters. If command wants them to do the heavy lifting, that's okay by me! Hell, let the Americans plow right through to the capital for all I care! I would like to not have to constantly hear their music however!"

Shiki promptly smacked the instrument panel in front of him before turning around and pointing an accusatory finger at his door gunner. "Hey, you watch your mouth! This is a damn good helicopter! Who cares if she doesn't have the latest in avionics or engine! You best show some respect; she can hear you you know! And don't you dare bad mouth Bob Dylan! I happen to like American music among other things, so you can take that opinion of yours and shove it! This is my bird and don't you forget it!"

Myuute smiled as the crew continued their banter. It was always like this on both the American and the Japanese helicopters. After a few hours of flight, the men would start saying all sorts of things to pass the time: jokes, stories, some would even talk to Myuute about their lives back home and what their world was like. On lucky days like today, they'd even play music through the headpieces or even on big loudspeakers, but that usually happened more on two American helicopters that went by the name of "Wagoner" and "Bay-Toe-Van."

The siren watched as Shiki's "wingman" zipped by, their helicopter designed purely for light scouting and small fights if the situation arose. So far, Myuute learned that helicopters like Shiki's were known as "Hueys" and they were meant to transport troops. Then, there were other ones known as "Cobras." Their job was to literally lay waste to any enemy forces with a multitude of different weapons. There were other bigger helicopters such as the "Shin-Hook" and "Super-Stallion" that could even transport more troops than the Hueys but Myuute had never been able to ride in them.

She could never figure out why the helicopters were given such strange names however and when asked about this, the pilots and other troops merely shrugged in response. What she did figure out though was that the Americans had superior versions of the helicopters the Japanese flew. Evidently, they had a great deal more money devoted to the the pursuit of warfare and always ensured their weapons were at the top. In fact, much of the equipment the Japanese used were apparently older versions of what the Americans currently used.

The reason of which was a lot deeper than Myuute had expected when she asked: old enemies becoming new friends. It made sense. Myuute was their enemy once and now here she was flying with them.

Now, the familiar forests of the mainland had started to be replaced by the jagged rocks and open arid terrain that defined Elbe. As Myuute lost herself back in her thoughts while enjoying the view, she hardly paid any attention to the series of events that had started to transpire.

"Alnus Main, this is Shogun. Be advised, we've hit the border near Elbe. Things are looking pretty clear. No sign of Imperial forces or otherwise. Shogun Two should be relaying feeds back to you now. We good to turn around?"

Silence for a few moments followed by loud static.

"Alnus Main, this is Shogun. Radio check, over."

More static.

"Myuute! You're not doing anything back there are you!?"

Upon hearing Shiki call her name, Myuute snapped back to reality before fidgeting with her headpiece. "No, I remember the rules, Captain. I'm not casting anything."

There was more silence before Shiki's wingman came over the net. "One, this is Two, we can hear you just fine. We might be outside of radio range. That, or our long range comms are on the fritz. Blame the tech boys, not Myuute."

"See, I told you our gear needs fine tuning."

"Shut up Tomo!" Shiki sighed before shaking his head. "Right, well, looks like we'll just have to get back in range and let Alnus know how it went when we RTB. Two, we're done here, let's not overextend our welcome."

"Copy that."

Myuute braced herself as she felt the helicopter bank around hard before leveling itself out as the flight proceeded as normal. Or, something close to normal as no sooner had the helicopter leveled out the sun's bright shine had been replaced by a slowly growing shadow.

There weren't any clouds out.

Myuute's blood froze in her veins as her eyes went wide, there was only one thing that could blot out the sun's light. One thing that everyone had almost completely stopped talking about after it had been driven from the skies it had called home above the mainland.

The Fire Dragon.

It had flown above them in order to drop down for an ambush. It knew it couldn't match the faster aircraft the Coalition had or the heavier ground weapons they possessed, but strange slower aircraft that lacked the characteristics of the meaner ones might work if it played its card rights.

Which it had just done. Nobody ever pegged the beast as being stupid. It had been playing hide and seek with a growing level of cunning.

"Shogun One, hard right, now!"

Myuute had barely been able to utter the first letter of the beast's name over the headpiece before her world began to flip upside down as the helicopter took evasive maneuvers, a large winged shape just barely missing it as the airframe shook. Thankfully, neither Myuute nor Tomo were at risk of falling out, their harnesses keeping them firmly secured but no less shaken up as a frantic chase began.

"One, full throttle! He's right behind you!"

"Everyone hang on!"

Myuute felt a pit in her stomach grow as the helicopter began to twist and turn every which way as it tried to dart around hills, trees, anything to keep the beast off their tail. Meanwhile, Tomo, the other gunner, and Shogun Two began angling their weapons onto the dragon. The chattering fire was audible over the rushing wind and chopper blades as they fired back at a large red mass rapidly closing the gap.

That wouldn't work and Myuute knew it. She had heard the stories, what it took to wound the dragon. Neither Shiki nor his wingman's helicopter had the firepower, armor, or speed necessary to be a match for the beast in this situation. Shiki knew that too, the Japanese pilot frantically working with his copilot as they tried to maintain control over their aircraft.

"Alnus Main, Alnus Main! This is Shogun! Be advised: we are being pursued by Big Red! We need immediate air support!"

No response.

"Any station this net, any station this net, be advised: we are being pursued by Big Red and we need support now!"

Still no response.

Shiki had just started swearing in Japanese over the net as Myuute spoke. "Captain! Perhaps I could be of assistance!? If I use my magic, perhaps i can propel us forward fast enough to kee—"

"No! We need to keep the nets free and clear. We gotta keep pushing forward and break out of this dead zone!"

"But Captain, time isn't something we have! If I can jus—"

"I said no! Myuute, just hang on. We have to do things our way!"

As Myuute tried to voice her complaints once more she saw a dull orange light slowly growing in brightness.

The dragon was going to live up to its name once more, using its trademark method of fiery destruction.

Tomo yelled over the sound of his weapon as he continued trying to drive the beast off. "Boss, its now or never! That thing's about to cook our asses! Let Myuute do her thing!"

As Shiki's, Myuute's and Tomo's words filled the net with inaudible chatter, a number of things happened. First, the helicopter did vastly increase speed as it was enveloped in a small green light, Myuute had evidently decided to act on her better judgement. Second, the dragon did get a small burst of fire out of its mouth before an explosion slammed into the side of it. This had actually aided in not only throwing off its aim, but also stunning the beast just long enough for the two helicopters to continue to speed off.

Third, a new voice had came over the net using a call sign nobody had ever heard before.

"Shogun, this is Lightning. We have you and Big Red on our scope. We'll take care of things from here."

Fate or dumb luck had worked in Shogun's favor that day. Unbeknownst to both them and anyone else that wasn't on the need to know basis, two aircraft had been off conducting fire and maneuver exercises not very far away from the helicopters.

F-35 Lightning IIs, the B variant operated by the Marines and one of the Coalition's best kept secrets.

XXXXXXX

When Willhelm had been present at the battle of Ginza in his Harrier, he had felt nothing short of extreme satisfaction knocking targets that couldn't fight back out of the sky. When he was later told he would be deploying beyond the gate in support of combat operations he was absolutely ecstatic. Knocking out ground targets with impunity was an important and thrilling task in previous deployments, and doing it in another world only amplified that feeling ten fold.

When he was told he'd be deploying in one of the world's most advanced upcoming fighters, one his love for aviation and solid career had netted him a job helping test in the first place, he felt absolutely honored. He personally saw the tarp covered pieces of the aircraft get trucked in through the gate, the coalition was doing its absolute best to keep the existence of the aircraft in Falmart a secret. This was one move the media wouldn't get to scrutinize.

This came at further price, however.

Both Willhelm and his wingman had their own hangar and were typically only able to fly at odd hours of the day or night. They couldn't even talk about what they flew and those who did any mock engagements were under extreme threat of punishment should word trickle back to the outside over their presence.

So when Willhelm heard the slightly distorted distress call over his radio and heard that the fire dragon was nearby, both him and his wingman were nothing short of chomping at the bit to finally be the first ones to fire the aircraft's weapons in anger and save friendly forces in doing so.

Notionally killing F/A-18s and F-4s at did get old after awhile, the angry American and Japanese pilots trying to figure out why they were getting pinged from miles away by aircraft they couldn't see in mock engagements.

Willhelm watched from his helmet's display as his AIM-120 collided with the dragon, a shot he had taken from miles out just as the distress call came over the net. The beast had simply never seen it coming, thou in its defense, there weren't many modern aircraft that probably would have either. Hell, his wingman probably wouldn't have been able to verify the shot as easily had it not been for the advanced HMDS GEN III they both wore.

A helmet that allowed them see everywhere around the aircraft in crystal clear high definition.

"That's a hit, One. He took a beating from that. Be advised, he's still moving though. Probably trying to figure out where that shot came from."

Willhelm shook his head before looking at his aircraft's displays, his eyes darting over each individual weapon readout. "Yeah, I didn't think he'd lie down so easily. How're you looking on ordinance?"

There was a slight pause as the other pilot gave his readouts a quick look before responding.

"Got some long range and short range missiles."

"Mavericks? We're trying to kill the damn thing, not play patsy with it."

"Yeah, I still have one. You wanna guide it in for me?"

"Yeah sure, I'll be your Huckleberry."

Willhelm smiled as he saw the two helicopters continue to gain distance from the dazed dragon. They were safe now. This meant the beast was Lightning's to play with. The captain watched as the dragon then proceeded to get up from the hill it had slammed into before starting to fly erratically in the opposite direction.

It was running away, not on Lightning's watch. Willhelm promptly radioed back to Alnus's CP.

"Alnus Main this is Lightning One. Be advised, Shogun is out of the killbox. You want us to continue engaging Big Red?"

"You are cleared to continue, Lightning, but do not pursue. Fire off your remaining ordinance and escort Shogun back to base."

"Copy that." Willhelm then switched back to a closed channel between him and his wingman. "Well, you heard 'em, let the bastard have it."

As Willhelm got another clear lock onto the dragon he paused for a moment. Here in this world, this beast had probably laid waste to countless villages and heroes. An unstoppable force of nature. Who knew how many stories were made or how many generations of individuals had tried to contain it.

And here the coalition was smacking it around like a mere child's plaything.

Welcome to the modern era, bitch. Man rules himself. Not you or anything else.

"Two, I got him painted. Go ahead and fire."

"Solid. Rifle, rifle."

Willhelm continued to designate the target as his wingman fired, a flawless transfer of control to the captain in mere seconds. It was a long shot, but one easily made using the F35's targeting suite.

No sooner had the had missile hit and knocked the dragon down to the earth in a ball of fire, both jets opened their internal weapons bays once more as they locked the beast with their missiles.

"Fox Three."

"Fox Three."

Both jets proceeded to fire missile after missile into the cloud of smoke, still nowhere near close to the beast as they continued their long range onslaught. The dragon had just gotten its first real taste of BVR, Beyond Visual Range, the concept of being destroyed in the air miles away by an unseen foe. It was the way the modern world fought in the skies, impersonal and with long range precision.

Willhelm couldn't help but whistle at the large cloud of smoke, a nearby pillar of stone having been knocked down and onto the beast.

"Think we got 'em?"

"Uh, yeah I'm pretty damn sure, Two. We launched what, three AAMRAMs and a Maverick into him? He's dead, or damn near close to it. There's no way in hell that big red son of a bitch is getting back up."

"Well, I dunno man. He did take a couple 120s from a goddamn Abrams. Least, that's what I heard."

"He'll learn to stay the fuck away from our guys, that's for sure. Shame the Hogs won't get a piece of em."

"Yeah well, the goddamn Hogs can go cry about it. They took their sweet time getting here. Plenty of other shit for them to kill."

"If you say so. Too bad we didn't get to use the gun pods. Would've been fun to play tag with the bastard."

"Oh no. Two. We're flying turkeys. Pierre Sprey says we can't play games with the other jets."

"Who the fuck's Pierre Sprey?"

"Nevermind, just some dumbass old fucker messing with civilians' heads."

Willhelm shook his head before switching channels. "Alnus Main, this is Lightning One. Big Red's down. Sure you don't want us to verify the kill?"

"That's a negative Lightning. You've already overstayed your welcome out there. Keep an eye on Shogun and bring 'em back to base. After that, you're clear to land back at the hangar."

And be bored out of our minds while we sit around with our thumbs up our asses.

The captain made sure not to key out as he sighed before looking around his aircraft and spotting the two wayward helicopters.

"Solid, Lightning out." Willhelm paused before directing his wingman to follow him towards the choppers, gently gliding through the air as he switched direction. "Oh and tell Lockheed the jets work damn well. Thanks for letting us out to play today main."

The female voice on the other end of the line chuckled. "Solid, Lightning. We'll be sure to do so."

With that, the two fifth generation stealth fighters screeched through the air as they made their way back towards the helicopters.

I fucking love this thing.

XXXXXXX

Shiki let out a long sigh as the helicopter began to slow down back to its normal speed. "Everyone good?"

A series of thumbs up and rogers came over the net before the captain called back to Myuute, his voice filled with exhaustion as the adrenaline began to wear off. "Myuute, good looking back there. I'm sorry for shooting down your idea like that—"

"No offense taken, captain. Your decision wasn't uncalled for. I'd be lying to you if I didn't admit that even my own faith in my abilities isn't concrete. I still have much to learn."

"Ah, don't worry about it!" Tomo gave Myuute's shoulder a reassuring pat before lighting up a cigarette, making sure Shiki couldn't see him. "You pulled us out of a tight spot."

Shiki gave a thumbs up in response before looking around his cockpit. "What I want to know is who the hell Lightning is. They're not on any of the damn list—"

"One, this is Two. We got friendlies at our three and nine o' clock. I think they wanna say hi."

Myuute quickly joined the rest of the crew is looking out at the side of the helicopter as two sleek aircraft with short wings began to fly in line with them, the Japanese pilots merely shaking their heads as they waved.

"Shogun, this is Lightning. You boys good?"

"Yeah, good looking. Thanks for the assist, Lightning. Say, uh... You wouldn't mind telling us where you got those nice digs?"

One of the pilots laughed. "Bring it up with Lockheed. You'll be getting yours soon. Anyways, we'll be escorting you back to base. Say, you mind doing us a favor?"

"Sure."

"You didn't see us, check?"

"Didn't see what?"

"Exactly."

"I don't think stealth works like that though."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. We'll be keeping an eye on you. Just wanted to let you know we're here."

With that the aircraft began to gain altitude before picking up speed and screeching off, leaving the Japanese and Myuute to ponder on the event.

"One, what the hell were those?"

"F35s, new American jets. They're not even officially in service yet."

"F35s?"

"New stealth aircraft. Top of the line stuff according to what's known about 'em. Apparently our government's set to buy em too."

Shogun Two's pilot laughed. "Goddamn Americans always bringing the biggest boom to the smallest fights, huh?"

As the pilots exchanged banter Myuute watched as the aircraft flew off.

"I want to fly in one of those next."

Following Shogun's return to base a long period of silence regarding the dragon would follow. No coalition forces were to leave the sphere of influence without heavy escort and firepower.

Nobody had bothered to check on its death either, the focus of the operation too stuck on what was going on in mainland Falmart. The beast was interfering with operations and as far the coalition was concerned, the beast was dead if not completely incapacitated.

Until someone reminded them of unfinished work that is and set off a series of events that would play out in a way noone had expected.

Present day..

1800 HOURS FORMAL ESTATE MEETING ROOM, FOB ITALICA

Joyce rubbed his exhausted eyes in irritation. "So let me see if I get this straight. You're telling me it's still alive?"

Yao nodded her head fidgeting in her chair as she dropped the unpleasant news. "Yes and although it's been robbed of its ability to fly it's still no less dangerous. It now preys upon my people and anyone else at night with great vengeance when it ventures forth from its den in a mountain." The dark elf pointed at a map she had brought with her. "Right here."

The Marine major promptly took a sip from his coffee mug, setting it back down before folding his arms. "And you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that it's there?"

"Yes, some of our best trackers died bringing us this information."

Joyce sighed before looking over at Myui, the countess having long cut her hair short in an attempt to emulate the female Marine and Japanese soldiers. She looked up to them as a symbol of strength, many of them did command troops after all. She was no longer a skittish young girl, but a developing leader and it showed in the stern face she now wore. She was just as important to this meeting as any high ranking coalition officer

"Major, though this is an issue that does not plague our territory it is still no less important. If we are to sway the Kingdom of Elbe to our side we must rid them of this problem. King Duran is a wise and rational man, if we can aid him in returning to the throne and slaying this beast once and for all it will greatly aid us not only militarily but in trade. Elbe is in control of great mineral deposits and precious metals among other things."

Joyce nodded in agreement. "That's a outstanding course of action if I ever heard one Countess, no doubt my superiors will agree." He then looked at Major Kiba, the liaison to the Japanese presence that helped the Marines run Italica. "Your thoughts major?"

The elderly Japanese officer fixed his glasses before glancing once more at the map with a finger under his chin. "I agree wholeheartedly Joyce, no doubt my superiors will think the same. Hopefully General Hazama can convince the politicians back home to stop holding us back and allow us to help aid in a joint operation."

Joyce nodded at the Japanese officer before smiling at the countess. "Well there you have it, good looking countess."

Myui couldn't help but smile. The past few months the Marine Major had become a fatherly figure to her as he helped guide her along the path to leadership even helping her pass various new bills and laws. Indeed Joyce had remarked she often reminded him of his own daughter he had back home, something that always brought a smile to the countess's face whenever she thought about it.

Yao's ears perked up as she heard this news. "So can you help me? Will you marshal your forces? Will you send the dragon fighters?"

"Yes, if there's one things Marines can't stand it's leaving jobs half finished." Joyce leaned in to further emphasize his next point. "But you'll need to give us some time to work through this. Running our operations here has been trial and error thus far, what you see now is the culmination of months of hard work and a great deal of learning. We can't just send a strike team without first looking at the big picture and ensuring the least amount of risk for our forces."

The dark elf's face stayed as stoic as possible. "Time may not be something my people have Major, but an answer is better than no answer. I will try to ride out in a day or so's time to inform them of the plan. We are a hardy people and have faced many adversities, we also honor our debts. Should this quest of yours succeed we pledge our loyalty to both you."

She paused knowing the biggest key to her people's salvation was right outside the estate, some of the men engaged in talks within the mansion. "And the dragon fighters."

Myui smiled. "Please stay as long as necessary, we have food drink and board here. This is place is second in safety and security only to Alnus itself."

"Even safer than the capital?"

Joyce nodded. "Quite, there's not many places in mainland Falmart we don't have some sort of presence in Miss Ha Dushi. You can rest easy."

Yao sighed in relief. "This is great news and I am thankful for your hospitality. If it's fine with you I'd like to spend some time with the 'Horsemen', there's a great deal I wish to talk to them about."

"Very well. Captain Aldritch is an outstanding warrior as are his men. Do be sure to talk to Captain Itami as well, for it was he who greatly aided in their endeavors both against the dragon and helping set the foundation for what you see Italica as today."

Yao nodded before slowly standing up. "Majors Joyce and Kiba, Countess Myui." She bowed. "Both my people and I thank you for your assistance during these troubled times."

Both of the majors promptly stood up and exchanged handshakes with her. "The coalition is here to help bring stability to this world and help bridge both it and ours together. We are not conquerors here but liberators. It was the Empire that brought us here and it is the Empire who left a mess behind for us to clean up. It is a task we take to with great pleasure as well."

With that the dark elf left the room, meeting up with Captain Aldritch in the hallway and following him out of earshot.

"To see a dark elf with my own eyes, I never thought I'd see the day." Myui joined the majors in glancing at the map once more. "She wasn't like the legends."

"Legends have a habit of doing that countess." Joyce pointed at the photo of the dragon next to the map. "Like the dragon ruling the skies and being unkillable."

"Yes, but it looks like we have a great deal of work ahead of us." Kiba nodded in approval.

"And a great deal of stress too."

Short Chapter after a long period of absence, believe me I know. This was the ONLY way to effectively set up the dragon arc without drowning all of you in a ocean of 10k+ words. Truth be told, I uh kinda haven't had the brain capacity for writing that many words in one chapter lately.

I won't sit here and drown you all with veteran's shit, just know I wasn't "Quite there" these past couples weeks. So much so I came dangerously close to abandoning writing for a while. But Marines don't give up and we sure as hell don't quit. I'm back on my shit and we're back at it.

I wanted to once again say thank you to all of you for being here from the beginning and also welcome to some of my new readers. So as ever, I'll see you guys in the reviews.