Now, the story is coming to a close!

Thank you to everyone, all 23 people who favorited this story, and all 24 people who follow this story, for all your reviews and support!

Chapter 29 is NOT the end; the next chapter is.

How and why? Read the whole chapter. If you are the kind who likes spoilers, just skip down to the ending, but I recommend reading the whole chapter.

Anyway, this chapter is a nice touch to the epic finale, so here we go!


Girls Dead Rise

Chapter 29: Opening Final

Southern side of the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, CA, USA

6:45 AM; July 19, 20XX

"This is going to suck."

The words flew out of Miho's mouth, shocking her friends. They almost thought that she cussed; she did not, but the unusual language underscored that she was serious.

"We're just minutes into the battle!" Saori shouted, striking a zombie in the face with her fans. "And it's going to be this bad?!"

The zombie, despite getting only a few slashes on its face, screeched in pain, and melted as if it was critically struck into a cloud of red dust. Saori stared at it, amazed at how weak it was.

"Yes," Miho gasped, striking a gargantuan zombie, but missed by inches so that she landed only a scratch on it. Despite that, the scratch spread rapidly, causing the zombie to roar in pain, and melted like what happened to Saori's own target, except into a cloud of golden dust.

"But the zombies are weak!" Saori cried out, burning a few with her fans.

"Not the zombies," Miho said. "The...animals..."

A few stray dogs suddenly limped into view, as if trying to struggle with something inside. They cackled and screeched, as they suddenly grew and developed blackish skin.

Miho panted, trying to calm down.

"That Orb..." Hana whispered, summoning blue-bladed spikes, which sprouted from the ground like bamboo shoots, impaling a horde of both zombies and mutant animals. "Gives me...a bad feeling."

She shivered.

"You're not alone!" Yukari roared, punching a mutant animal in the face. It looked like a dog, but 20 ft long and with a twisted, tiger-like face. It winced, before falling down on the ground to twitch in pain. Yukari kicked it, causing it to moan before dissipating into a cloud of silver-white dust.

"Oh..." Mako shook, hiding behind her shield, as her urumi struck foe after foe like a snake. "This is really scary."

"You still scared?!" Saori groaned, jumping away from a pack of mutant dogs. "Ah! These are gross!"

"Mu-mutant dogs," Mako moaned, as she held her shield to block a bite from a twisted dog. "First, we had zombies, but now they're starting to..."

Miho struck a zombie. Despite only slicing its right arm, it screeched and liquefied into a fetid pool of disgusting ooze, although it soon turned into a cloud of golden dust.

"Get weaker," she confirmed. "Only for them to be replaced by..."

"Zombified animals or something?!" Saori screamed, shooting out fireballs into a mass of dying zombies. They easily melted away, then turned into clouds of red dust.

"No," Miho said, striking a mutilated beast. Despite being the size of a bear, Miho could tell that it was a former cat, twisted almost beyond recognition.

"They're twisted by the Orb," Miho uttered. "I think it's losing it."

Miho looked up. The Orb was still firing its purple beam, which at the end turned into a hand, pushing and wrestling against another hand, which was blue. Miho squinted her eyes, as they zoomed in focus.

She knew that the Orb was shooting out that purple laser, but the blue laser was...strange. It was coming from the sea, so she let her eyes zoom more, in order to find the source of it.

She gasped.

"The blue beam!" Miho shouted, striking a mutant dog down just in time before it bit her. "Is coming from a carrier!"

"What carrier?!" the others screamed, as they struggled to strike down a huge pack of mutant dogs. Varying from lion-sized to rhino-sized, the canine monsters charged towards the girls.

"Eat them!" one of them roared.

"Eek!" Hana and Saori both screeched, startled by the sudden voice of the dog.

"Jump up!" Miho commanded, as she and others jumped up to a cliff, climbing up. The dogs tried to climb, but their mutant paws could not climb. They growled and barked, roaring at their quarry. Suddenly, a group of humans rushed out of nowhere, trying to charge through a horde of monsters.

"Move it!" the leader of them, a soldier, barked orders.

"Is he nuts?!" Saori screamed, as the soldier shot at the dogs. They all turned around, and charged at the lone soldier.

"Augh!" he screamed, as the numerous bites shredded him into bits in a few seconds. Miho and her friends almost threw up, but leaped towards the survivors, dragging all five of them up on a lone cliff, just in time.

"Stay here!" Miho said. "And call for help!"

The five members-two men, two women, and a girl-nodded in gratitude, as the heroes jumped down to lure the monsters away.

"What's up with this apocalypse?!" Mako moaned. "One moment we were riding on our tanks..."

"...the next moment," Yukari barked, striking a mutant dog. "Zombies appeared."

"And then the Chosen Ones," Hana remarked, impaling a few dogs with spikes summoned from the ground.

"And then this PAMC and all kinds of crazy conspiracies!" Saori screeched. "I am sick and tired of all this! I want to go home!"

"We all want to," Miho declared, striking a zombie, which quickly vaporized. "But first, we need to defeat the Orb, then find a way to..."

Miho suddenly became silent, staring at her sword. The reflection on the blade showed her, looking normal except a little more mature. Despite being golden in color, the blade clearly showed some obvious changes in her, her light brown hair and eyes now of a brighter, more orangish tone, especially with golden...stripes lining her brown hair.

"...to become normal again," Miho finally said it.

All of her friends turned around, silenced by the revelation. Even the animals seemed to hesitate, then roared and charged at them. Miho stabbed the ground with her sword, causing a shockwave of golden energy to radiate out, killing all of the monsters in the vicinity of about 1,000 feet.

"Oh..." Saori said, realizing the ramifications of Miho's words.

"Until then," Hana remarked, holding out her naginata. "We have to..."

"Guess we have to think about that later," Yukari admitted, scratching her head. "Man, I got so much into fighting, I forgot about that!"

"Something we have to contemplate later," Mako said. "And-LOOK OUT!"

Mako's nonchalant face broke, showing shock as a purple ball of energy suddenly struck. Although it missed Miho, the shockwave blasted her away, smashing her into a nearby cliff.

"MIHO!" all of her friends screamed, charging through a horde of mutant animals, as they approached the seemingly limp body of their leader.

Shaking her head, she got up and charged at a particularly giant monster, which appeared to have been a former pitbull, now the size of a hippopotamus and with colossal jaws. She decapitated it with a clean slice to the head, turning it into a cloud of golden dust.

"Sorry about that," Miho said. "I am fine."

"Man!" Saori began. "You almost-wagh!"

She barely dodged a swipe from a bipedal monster.

"We-we-werewolves?!" she screamed, blasting it away with a fireball.

"No!" Miho gasped. "Dogs mutated to walk on legs like humans!"

"That still makes them werewolves!" Saori screamed again, rapidly firing balls of flames like a machine gun.

"N-no," Mako shivered, letting her urumi slice around, striking enemies left and right like a dancing snake. "Were-dogs a-are a better terminology for them."

"Stop correcting me!" Saori said, striking enemies left and right. "Just fight them!"

Miho swung her sword around like a samurai, cleaving monsters left and right. She silently prayed for the poor souls of the former animals, wishing them a happy afterlife.

"May you be free from suffering," Miho whispered, decapitating a former Labrador retriever, which now looked like a horrifically horned hellhound.

Saori wildly flew around, almost flying like a bird, as she rapidly fired blasts after blasts of red-hot flames at the hordes. Hana calmly impaled monsters after monsters with spikes that magically sprouted from the ground, while cleaving those that were near with her naginata. Yukari fought like a street fighter, smashing and throwing enemies with ease. Mako hid from behind her shield, while letting her urumi do the hard work of slicing enemies apart.


"How long is this battle going to last?!" Saori screamed. "I know that we're Chosen, but we may have to run away!"

Miho nodded in grim realization. They had been fighting for what felt like hours, but Miho checked her phone with her left hand, while parrying blows from monsters with her sword in her right hand.

"We fought for 35 minutes straight," Miho said seriously. "We better run now."

"But where to?" Yukari asked, as more hordes appeared. This time, even Miho gasped, as a new group of twisted animals rammed through a pack of mutant dogs, flinging them away like pieces of garbage.

"Oh no," Miho uttered. "Mutant pigs."

The monsters charged through the packs, catapulting most of the dogs away. The sickly faces of the former pigs were now masks of grotesque warts and tusks, looking more like an orc's shield than a true pig's head. One of them saw the girls, and gave out a hideous screech.

"Augh!" the girls winced, covering their ears in response. Miho, however, quickly saw the other animals charge at her team.

"Get ready!" she warned, raising her sword to create a pillar of light. The giant projection of light caused the dogs to panic, while the mutant feral pigs became even more enraged, and ran faster and faster. Miho then grunted, and smashed the pillar into the ground. Half of the pigs were obliterated, but the survivors then managed to charge.

"Look out!" Miho gasped, panting from using up her energy. "I-augh!"

One mutant boar managed to gore her, then catapulted her into the face of a cliff. Something cracked in her neck spine, and Miho groaned.

"Miho!" the others screamed, coming to her aid. Hana calmly but angrily impaled the boar, then swung her naginata and struck it like a a catapult, flinging it away.

"You OK?" Saori asked, checking her.

"I am fine," Miho said. "But I think my spine is cracked."

"Good thing you're Chosen!" Saori gasped. "Because that means you're paralyzed!"

"It should not take long," Mako shivered, as she and others went into defense mode. The hordes of monsters, canine and porcine alike, started to converge on the survivors. Even the feline monsters started to prowl on the flanks, trying to find a weak point in the defense.

"Another standoff again?!" Saori grunted.

"Stop complaining," Mako moaned nonchalantly. "And just be Chosen; we live together, and we fight together."

"Now you sound more mature, for crying out aloud!" Saori pouted, but smiled. "Let's finish this."

Saori struck up a crane-like pose, while Yukari raised her fists. Hana nailed the ground with her naginata, shooting out more spikes from the ground. This time, instead of green spikes, the spikes looked like blue blades, identical to the one on her naginata.

"Huh," Hana remarked. "New power?"

"EPIC PHOENIX CRASH!" Saori roared, throwing her fans into the air. They both fused together, and shot out flames, turning into a bird-like projection of flames that swooped down, and burned a huge area into flames. The fans then reappeared instantly in her hands.

"Man," Mako sighed. "You played too many video games, didn't you?"

Saori blushed in silence, while Mako merely let her urumi strike enemies here and there, causing confusion. Yukari grunted, and roared. She blinked, as her roar sounded more pantherine than human, as the roar caused the animals to fly away, as if a huge gust of wind had struck them.

"OK!" Saori said, checking Miho. "Your spine! It's still healing, but it will take a while-"

She suddenly collapsed, panting hard.

"Oh!" she grunted. "I used up a lot of energy!"

"Saori-san," Hana said, standing still. She suddenly limped, and knelt down, panting too.

"Oh!" Yukari also moaned, crashing down unto the floor on her butts, panting.

"Man," Mako groaned. "You all are tired already?"

"Mako!" Saori panted. "You-you...it's up to you now."

She paled, and turned around. The animals were now starting to approach even closer, growling and baring hideously blackish teeth.

"Oh..." she moaned, realizing the magnitude of her situation. "Mi-Miho..."

"Hang on!" Miho said, trying to get up. However, the paralysis still had not healed, so Miho could barely move her hands.

Saori and Hana both got up, trying to make a last stand, but collapsed again.

Miho sweated a little, but this time, she decided to just lower her head calmly, and...

"Somebody..." Miho prayed in a low voice. "Help us."

GGGRRRRAAAWWWWWRRRRRR!

An inhuman roar echoed from behind a cliff, causing everybody, including the animals, to turn in that direction. A colossal silhouette of something bipedal and scaly, its skin glistening a little in the sunlight, thundered into view.

All of the animals, even the boar that knocked down Miho, flinched and screeched in terror. A few of the werewolf-like monsters, including the boar, rose up on their feet in an effort to fight against the new nemesis.

Miho and her friends looked up, and gasped.

"Are you kidding me..."

"No way..."

"What the?!"

"Am I dreaming?!"

"No," Miho blinked, surprised. "It looks like pictures from the books I saw back as a kid."


Southern side of the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, CA, USA

7:30 AM; July 19, 20XX

The mutant boars and dogs rose up on their legs, so that they looked like ten-feet monstrosities. However, the animal continued to charge, kicking the monsters with its feet, the three giant claws on each foot knocking away the monsters like pins from a bowling ball. The bipedal monsters charged, trying to bite it. However, its scales were surprisingly strong, and the bites did not even make a dent. The animal only grunted, spinning around to throw away the animals. The largest of the mutant animals, an elephant-sized monstrosity of a former feral pig, rose up and roared, appearing more like an orc than an animal.

The new animal just grunted, and roared. Its huge mouth, lined with giant, blackish teeth, glistened in the sunlight. The orc-like pig flinched, before trying to ram into it.

Crunch!

The bipedal animal casually bit the pig's head in its mouth, and let it fall down to the ground, liquefying into a pool of black, fetid ooze. The animal, victorious, spat to remove the fetid blood from its mouth.

Miho barely lifted up her sword, and the pillar of light appeared, before she slammed it down, scaring the animals. Taking advantage, the animal then spun around, knocking away monsters with its giant tail, while smashing them into bits with its jaw and its colossal legs.

One mutant dog leaped for its tiny arms, each with two claws on it.

Rip!

Without a second thought, the animal swiped the dog with its claws, instantly killing it. The other animals panicked, and screamed away in terror.

Miho panted, keeping her sword raised, albeit shaking a little. The girls all then got up, quickly recovered from their fatigue. However, they were shocked at what was before them...

Then, the animal turned around to look at the five girls standing before it.

The girls stared at it for a while, both mesmerized and horrified.

It was on its two, colossal legs that looked like that of a dragon.

Its tail swayed like a tree branch, as if a gust of wind was blowing through it.

Its gargantuan, grotesquely teethed mouth panted in the sunlight, as its teeth glistened with the fresh blood from its previous victims.

The sunlight poured from above, shining upon its strange, armor-like scales, which glittered with a blackish-green color.

It slowly walked up towards the girls, eyeing the girls with its oddly...blue eyes. They did not look like that of a reptile; it looked rather...friendly for a-

"Hmm," the animal mumbled. "I finally appear at last."

"Yes," Miho sighed in relief. "You did."

"Long time no see," the animal said. "I...I wanted to fight you, but things happened."

"Understandable," Miho said, her spine finally healing. She got up, but remained seated on the floor.

"You OK?" the animal asked, squatting down a little on its legs. Its huge, fleshy tail even wagged back and forth a little.

Miho giggled.

"You look like a dog with your tail wagging like that," she remarked innocently.

The animal frowned.

"I am a dinosaur," it groaned. "Not a mere lowly mongrel."

Everybody stared up at it. The dinosaur frowned visibly.

"You never heard of a talking animal?" it growled. "No, you have never seen a living dinosaur, either. Huh, you humans are funny-wait, you girls are Chosen. Hmm, well."

It stretched out its body, wagging its tail and waving its legs around. Its tiny arms wiggled around, almost like worms.

Miho giggled.

"What's so funny?" the dinosaur asked.

"Your arms are cute," Miho remarked. "Tyrannosaurus rex, I suppose?"

The dinosaur gawked, then growled.

"Well," it grunted. "I know that many of the...human hunters wanted to capture me and all. I don't know why..."

The other girls stared at each other. Of course, they KNEW why humans would want to capture it...

"You know," Miho said. "You are the most famous of all dinosaurs alive."

"Eh?" it asked, blinking its huge, blue eyes. "Tyrannosaurus rex...A strangely long name. I knew it as soon as I arose, but did not know why it's such a famous name."

"Did you..." Saori asked, but shook. She held unto Mako, who held her back. Yukari stared up at her, almost like a scared cat. Hana gulped audibly, and chastised herself silently for her unladylike manner.

"So," Miho asked, finally getting up and grabbing her sword. "You...got revived?"

"I guess," the dinosaur admitted. "My memory is fuzzy. All I know was that I was in a weird...white cave or something. But with weird lights and all. Next to me was something...called a table or something you humans call? On top of it was a piece of bone with marrow inside of it."

"Eh?" the girls asked. Mako, however, frowned a little, trying to think.

"In some kind of a laboratory?" asked Miho. "Like in movies?"

The dinosaur frowned.

"Guess so," it uttered. "But like I said, my memory is vague; something about being 'made from a piece of tissue' or something."

Suddenly, Mako gasped.

"Oh wow," she replied. "You were revived from a piece of flesh."

"Huh?!" the dinosaur and the other girls asked, surprised.

"What do you mean?" Saori asked. "There is no way for any dinosaur remain to still have fresh flesh after 65 million years!"

"66 million years," Mako corrected. "And yes, some scientists, to their shock and disbelief, discovered a few dinosaur remains, especially from that of Tyrannosaurus rex, a few marrow remains with some flesh and even blood still...remaining."

Silence filled the air, as both dinosaur and Chosen contemplated on the revelation.

"Well," the dinosaur said. "I guess...we dinosaurs died out a lot...later than expected?"

"That aside," Mako said, shrugging but shivering. "But...why help us?"

The dinosaur growled.

"I did not want to," it hissed. "Since you all are Chosen and all, but you all look quite tired. Plus, that golden girl has a...kind of charisma that made me feel like a mother protecting her baby and all."

The girls looked at Miho.

"And you're a girl, right?" Miho asked.

The others blinked.

"Yes," she grunted. "But Tyrannosaurus rex sounds a little too...long for me to remember."

"Why not call you Tyra?" Miho suggested.

"Tyra?" Saori gasped, giggling a little. "That sounds lame! Just a shortened version of 'Tyrannosaurus'!"

"Tyra..." the dinosaur grunted, a smile visibly forming on its colossal jaw. "I like it."

Saori and the others gawked, while Miho smiled and stretched herself.

"You OK there?" Tyra asked. "Last time I saw you, you were so fragile and human. Now, you are strong and Chosen."

"Yeah," Miho admitted. "But we intend to return back to normal, once this apocalypse is over."

"Normal..." Tyra growled. "What's even normal, that the Orb is around, that a dinosaur like I is alive, and California is in a strange crisis right now?"

The others all looked up. The Orb was still firing its beam, with the carrier doing the same.

"What are they really doing?" Yukari blurted out. "They seem to be trying to kill each other!"

"I observed them for a while," Tyra admitted. "From what my small brain can tell, there is that Orb, which is the source of everything here-the undead, the Chosen, and even the mutant animals you see now-fighting to maintain control. Then, there is that...thing in the sea."

The dinosaur and the team looked. In the sea, they barely saw a ship, larger than anything they had ever seen, firing a blue beam of powerful energy.

"I wonder what that...thing is?" Tyra wondered audibly.

Suddenly, something bleeped from inside of Miho's bag.

"The tablet!" Miho suddenly gasped, taking it out.

"Oh yeah!" the others uttered, realizing that they forgot about the strange tablet.

Miho turned it on, waiting a little impatiently for the screen to appear.

"Hello again, Miho."


"Miho," Shiho's face and voice resonated from out of the screen.

"Oba-Shiho," Miho uttered in a low voice.

The two were silent for a while, but only for a few seconds before Shiho finally spoke.

"You..." Shiho's serious face suddenly broke, staring at Miho. Miho realized that her mother already could tell, and shrugged and smiled in response.

"I am Chosen, mother," Miho admitted.

"Yes, you are," Shiho said, her face strangely out-of-place. Even Miho was surprised at her mother's suddenly...motherly expression.

Suddenly, she remembered.

"Shiho!" Miho blurted out.

"Yes?"

"Are you..." Miho began. "Still trapped onboard?"

Shiho sighed.

"I am," she admitted. "They don't call it...'imprisoned,' but I feel like a prisoner here. The other members of the JSF and MEXT are all here now. We heard that there is a new development going on..."

Shiho's face visibly sweated, and the others waited.

"Um," Miho began. "What do you-"

"Is she here?" a voice suddenly voiced, and Shiho put down the tablet, so that the screen was black.

"I am having a private conversation," Shiho said in a stern, ominous voice. "Leave."

The source of the voice audibly gulped, and left and closed the door behind.

"My apology about that," said Shiho, in a lower voice this time as she lifted up the tablet. "A soldier came in. It appears...that they're searching for you all."

The girls were silent. Shiho's sharp eyes then noticed all others, and she nodded grimly.

"I see," she said. "You all are now Chosen. We can still communicate, but from now on, you must NEVER contact me, because...you know what will happen. Only I will contact you, and you must wait for me."

The girls all nodded, as Miho sniffed a little.

It was so close. Miho felt that she was...distant again from her own mother.

She suddenly blinked, noticing her mother's face paling a little.

"Oh," Miho blurted out, giggling a little. "Tyra, this is my mother, Shiho."

Tyra craned her neck, as the others were watching the tablet. She got curious, and was trying to look. However, Yukari's mass of fluffy hair got in the way, angering her in the process. On impulse, she carefully reached out her right arm, using its tiny claws to grab Yukari and throw her out of the way. Yukari was so focused that she did not realize that something sharp had caught her hair, and flung her almost like a doll.

"Uf!" she grunted, shaking her head with her hands. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Your hair is too fluffy," Tyra grunted. "So, this is your mother?"

Shiho gawked, her normally serious eyes open wide in shock.

"Shiho," Miho said, giggling nervously. "This is my..."

She trailed off, wondering how to introduce a dinosaur to someone who had NEVER seen one alive. Plus, Miho knew that her mother would be taught that all dinosaurs died out at least 65 million years ago, not to mention that the dinosaur could talk.

"Don't worry," Tyra grunted. "I know that humans believe that all dinosaurs died out millions of years ago."

Shiho stared, gawking at the animal. The other girls also sweated and giggled nervously; they never thought of how to introduce Tyra to someone like Shiho.

"Who or what...is this?" Shiho finally stammered.

"I am Tyra," the animal grunted. "You humans call me...Tyrannosaurus rex."

Shiho continued to gawk. Miho giggled, finding her mother's expression irresistibly...cute.

"Your face is cute," Tyra remarked.

Shiho blinked, then blushed a bright red color.

"Nishizumi Miho!" Shiho growled sternly. "Did you tell this...dinosaur?!"

"It was my choice," Tyra grunted. "And Shiho, you know Regina, right?"

Everybody around the dinosaur blinked.

"Regina?" everybody asked.

"Regina?" Miho asked at Tyra. "Who's Regina?"

"Ah," Tyra grunted, lifting her head up to stare in the distance. The Orb was getting brighter and brighter, yet its interior was...darkening with each passing minute.

"I believe I have told you something a little too...premature," Tyra grunted. "But yes, all I can say is this: Go and defeat the Orb. I alone cannot, but will help you."

She then strolled away, grunting as a mutant boar squealed nearby. Tyra casually caught the monster, crushed it in her jaws before spitting it. She then walked away, roaring in the distance.

"Miho!" she roared. "I will come, when you need help! For now, you are not ready yet. But let me tell you; find the Regina, and then I will tell you more of what I know."

"Ready for what?" Yukari asked the obvious question.

Tyra's sudden appearance, her strange words, and her suddenly walking away all left the girls bewildered.

"Regina..." Miho mumbled. She turned to face her mother.

"Shiho," she said. "Do you know someone named...Regina?"

Shiho blinked, then silently shook her head.

"All I know," she whispered. "Is that the name 'Regina' is Latin for 'queen.' But I have no recollection of meeting any royal member in Japan."

"Then," Yukari said what everyone else was thinking. "Who's Regina?"

"No matter," Shiho said, but trailed off.

Everybody was feeling very confused, so much so that nobody realized that time seemed to fly by...


Southern side of the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, CA, USA

7:45 AM; July 19, 20XX

"OK," Mako was the first to break the silence. "I am confused."

The girls took a while to process what had transpired. Everything-the Orb, the strange battle of beams, the dying zombies, the mutant animals, and now...a dinosaur that talked seeming nonsense.

It was all...beyond comprehension.

"Miho..." Shiho barely gave a voice. "What...just happened?"

"Let's just...say," Miho cleared her throat. "That this Orb is doing some crazy things."

"Ah!" Shiho uttered, her face returning back to its usual stern appearance. Miho silently sighed in relief; seeing her mother looking visibly shocked disturbed her.

"Girls," Shiho said, leaning closer to the screen. In response, all five girls craned in to look.

"You all need to listen," she whispered. "The US military has some kind of a secret weapon. I managed to overhear the conversations around here; they call it the Nephilim-class carrier."

"Ooh," Yukari uttered. "That sounds cool."

"It is," Shiho bluntly said, taking Yukari off-guard. "Named after a mythical half-human, half-angel of sort from the Bible, the Nephilim-class carrier is actually the fusion of two existing carriers. If you saw it, it looks like as if somebody had connected two Ford-class carriers together."

"How does that appear?" Hana interjected. "I cannot imagine."

"Imagine an anatomical picture of the human lungs," Shiho said.

"Ah!" Hana replied, nodding her head.

"The 'lungs' are the former carriers," Shiho continued. "But somehow, the military used...something to fuse them together. Now the carrier has one tower-like bridge in the middle, connecting the two like a trachea. The 'trachea' is the main bridge body, and in front of it..."

Shiho stared very closely at the screen, unnerving Saori and Mako.

"...is some kind of am empty barrel-like body," Shiho whispered. "It looks like a cannon to fire some kind of a blue laser."

Everybody gasped.

"So the battle..." Saori trailed off, as Shiho nodded.

"Yes," Shiho said. "The Nephilim-class carrier has appeared, but the US military is desperate to try and win the battle. If they keep the battle going, then the news reporters will start taking notice, and the whole world will know about the secret carrier. If they lose it, well, goodbye to California."

Miho looked up. The battle was raging on, as the two hand-like projections grappled against each other, trying to overwhelm each other like arms in a wrestling match. The Orb was getting more unstable by the minute, twisting untold numbers of animals all around. Even the waters below shook, trembling underneath the Orb's mysterious energy.

"My dear Chosen," Tyra grunted, reappearing back.

"Huh?" Miho gasped, shocked by the dinosaur's appearance. The others reacted with a start, too. Shiho cleared her throat, in order to maintain her composure.

"We have to go now," she hissed. "The Orb is going mad. It's killing others of my kind, including yours."

Miho blinked, then nodded in grim realization.

"Shiho," Miho said. "We have to go. Pray for us, wish us the best."

"I..." Shiho began, but sniffed. A single tear fell from her right eye visibly. Miho dropped her jaw.

"Have you...seen Maho?" she asked.

Miho opened her jaw, but could not bear to tell her...that Maho was somehow controlled by someone else.

"I understand," Shiho said, tears flooding out of both of her eyes. "If you find her, bring her back. If not..."

She wiped away her tears, and Miho stared at her mother. For the first time ever in a while, Miho saw her mother's...kinder face, as Shiho smiled on.

It was the first genuine smile that Miho had ever seen since entering high school.

"Do not die on me," was all Shiho finally said, before turning the screen off. Miho stared at the black, blank screen.

"Oh wow," Mako remarked. "That was quite...unexpected."

However, another ball of energy landed nearby, snapping Miho back into reality. She got up and summoned her sword. She held the tablet with her left hand, holding it to her heart before putting it carefully back into her bag.

"Girls," Miho said. "Leave all of your belongings on that cliff."

Without a second thought, all of them left the bags on top of a high cliff, checking to make sure that they were all safely located. Once done, they wielded their weapons, getting ready for another battle.

"Ready?"

They all nodded, and all of them charged down the cliff towards the shores of the Bay, raising their weapons against the monsters below and around them.


At the southern entrance of the Bridge

San Francisco, CA, USA

8:00 AM; July 19, 20XX

"Here we are."

Miho and her friends all stared at the entrance. The towering, gate-like projections of the Golden Gate Bridge loomed before them. Behind them, fetid pools of sickly liquid oozed out, then disappeared into various clouds of golden, vermilion-red, azure-blue, silver-white, and bluish-black dust.

A few particles of light magenta colors also floated with the clouds.

Miho breathed, then stared at the road ahead.

Numerous cars dotted the road, marring what was was once a busy, even lively, road. Miho and her friends stared, as the remaining zombies started to melt, as if dying en masse.

"Indeed," Mako noted. "They are."

"One enemy down," Yukari remarked. "New ones to go."

All others nodded, as they sighted more...mutant beasts. Former stray dogs, cats, even rats and pigs, all turned into monstrosities that barely resembled their former selves. Squads of soldiers fired, as they fought against them.

"Augh!" one of them roared, as three of the canine monsters already were shredding him into pieces.

Miho sighed.

"There are those who learn and live," Hana contemplated, as she and others looked on.

One of the soldiers, in a moment of desperation, took out a pistol and put its barrel to his head.

Boom!

"And those who despair and die," Miho finished her sentence. "Girls, we are going to choose to learn and live; let us go and end this..."

She raised out her right hand, which glowed a golden hue. Saori put her hand on Miho's hand, which glowed a faint vermilion tinge. Hana's was slightly azure, while Yukari's was shining a little with silver-white. Finally, Mako slowly but deliberately put her hand together with her friends' in a hand stack, her hand shining a blackish tinge, as if her hand had some metal covering it.

"We are all in this," Miho said, as she sighted a few of the monsters glaring at them. "We will do what we can; first, we cross this bridge, while we check the battle above us. Then, we enter the city of San Francisco, the northern part. Then, we watch from there, and see what to do."

They all nodded, and all of them were ready.

"Panzer vor!" Miho made the call, as five girls charged up through the bridge.

A horde of mutant beasts roared at Miho, as she caught their attention the most. Her huge pillar of light, now rising higher than ever, resembled a pillar of fire, brightening much of the Bridge. Mutant animals, attracted by the light, turned their attention and charged en masse towards Miho.


"What?" one of the soldiers gasped, staring at the pillar of light. "The Chosen Ones!"

"Don't stop there!" a large, hulking man roared, kicking the younger guy. "Shoot down the mutants, both Chosen and monster alike!"

"Wait!" another soldier uttered. "They're helping us-"

"F**** you!" the same brawny man roared, shooting the soldier dead with his bullets. "Soldiers, keep firing!"

Gritting their teeth, the other soldiers reluctantly obeyed, as they shot down the seemingly endless streams of mutant animals, which were now focused on attacking the Chosen Ones at the southern side of the bridge. The pillar of light grew taller and taller, until it appeared to be as tall as the Bridge's towers themselves.

Without making a single sound, Miho nodded and slammed down her pillar. The pillar turned into a huge wave of light, devastating everything in its path. On the ground, the pillar turned into a golden fissure, vaporizing the mutant animals in its path with ease. Those on the fringes winced, as some of their limbs got obliterated, forcing them to limp away in agony. The soldiers merely shot down the surviving animals, and a few of the soldiers readied their sniper rifles, aiming at the girls...


"Stay away from the soldiers!" Miho called out. "Some of them are trying to snipe us!"

"Can't we shoot at them from a distance?" Mako groaned, raising her shield in defense.

Bullets suddenly flew past the girls, and a few managed to strike Yukari and Miho. However, due to their Chosen status, the girls shrugged off the bullets, even plucking them out like spines from a porcupine.

"Ouch!" Yukari groaned, throwing away the round ball away. "Man, that shot would have killed me in one go, but now it just hurts."

"What are we, armored?" Saori asked, aghast. She frantically checked her skin, sighing in relief that her skin was as soft as ever.

"Maybe we have an invisible layer of armor," Hana pondered, as she blocked a volley of bullets with her naginata. "I mean-oh!"

She suddenly winced in pain. One of the bullets, a uniquely red-tinged one, struck Hana in the right leg. Unlike other bullets, this one actually incapacitated her, causing her to hold her leg and fall down.

"Hana-chan!" Miho cried out, rushing to her to check upon her. All of the girls then hid behind various vehicles, while Mako yawned behind the protection of her shield, although her face betrayed her concern.

"Ouch," Hana groaned, checking her skin. Miho carefully plucked out the bullet, and Hana's would rapidly healed, while Mako dashed to her side, blocking another bullet.

"Hmm," Miho noted, checking the bullet. "Girls, watch the bullets carefully. The ones with the red tinge are dangerous. Also, check for any strangely colored bullets; they could be dangerous as well."

The others nodded, as Yukari and Saori both rushed out of hiding, getting behind cars after cars as the volley of bullets continued to rage on.


"Fire ***** it!" the commander roared, as he growled at the Chosen girls.

Ten soldiers armed to the teeth fired a variety of firearms; while some of them looked modern, others looked unusual.

"Chris!" the commander roared at the only sniper in the team. "Save your ammo! Shoot only when you need to!"

Chris panted, as wiped away his mass of dirty blond hair, his shiny blue eyes burning in the sunlight. He held out his rifle, a secret type of Mile Marker rifle, which managed to hit one of the girls. However, that shot made him almost panic; although he had a clear shot, the girl whom he hit looked a little too...good-natured. In a split second, instead of getting a headshot, he deliberately missed, hitting her leg.

"Chris!" the commander barked orders. "Ready your Angel Marker, and make sure you shoot them in the heads!"

"R-roger that," he stammered, aiming his rifle. Through the telescopic lens, he saw the tall, elegant girl with flowing black hair wincing in pain, as the...brown-haired girl was tending to her. The way she was helping her friend...reminded him of how his own mother took care of him when he was younger.

"The Angel Marker," he said to himself, trying to distract his mind from the scene of the girls tending to their wounded. "Is an advanced type of rifle based on the Mile Marker, a smart rifle that uses a computer system to increase accuracy in shooting; now, I am using it to...shoot the Chosen Ones, whose only crime is being Chosen."

He shook, struggling to maintain control. Sensing the shaking, the rifle's computer system blared warnings inside of his goggles, which were connected to his rifle.

"WARNING," the words appeared on his screen. "YOU ARE SHAKING BADLY. PLEASE BE CALM, AND FOCUS FIRE."

"Focus fire my butt," he mumbled, as he watched the girls. The black-haired girl quickly got back to her feet, as two of the Chosen girls dashed in and out of the cars, hiding behind them as his comrades fired upon them.

"I give you full permission," his commander roared. "To use the anti-Chosen rifles. Now go!"

All ten of them took out their special rifles, but half of them continued to use their normal ones, in order to distract the Chosen Ones. Chris decided to re-focus, and saw the girls.

"Five girls," he mumbled. "The one I shot was black-haired with a bluish...tone in her hair? And there is a red-headed one and a fluffy-haired one with...weird white stripes on her hair? Hmm, am I seeing things? And there is a girl behind her black shield...and the leader."

He gulped, instantly recognizing her.

"That Michelle-girl," he mumbled. "From that base back in Los Santos. Man, she is very different now. I remember when they reported us from there, we were told to watch for them..."

He aimed for her head, although she noticed him. The two stared at each other, pondering the next move.

Suddenly, he fired, and his shot zoomed past Miho's head, and struck a mutant dog in the forehead. It fell down, instantly dead. Miho turned around, then turned back to give him a nod.

He smiled.

"Chris!" his commander screamed. "Two of them are exposed; shoot them!"

He aimed, but hesitated.

"Shoot!"

He grunted, and fired.

Another shot, this time at a mutant cat that was prowling from behind a car. It was about to strike Yukari, but he shot it before it could react.

"What are you waiting for?" his commander barked, angrier than ever. "Shoo-wah!"

A pack of mutant dogs suddenly appeared from behind the team. Apparently, the team thought that they had neutralized that whole area, unaware that a pack of them was still alive and hiding. Once their backs were exposed, the monsters took the advantage, and ambushed them.

Panic spread out, as the soldiers tried to shoot at the beasts. Chris, however, immediately got up from his position, took up his rifle, and ran towards the girls.

"Chris!" his commander roared. "What are you-ah!"

A dog bit him in the neck, wrangling him and bringing him down. A lone dog then saw Chris, and charged after him.

Boom!

A ball of golden energy struck the beast, instantly vaporizing it. Chris stopped, and smiled as the five girls all got out of their hiding.

"Thanks for the backup," Chris said.

"You defect already?!" Saori gasped, as she struck down a dog in the neck, slicing it into pieces.

"Hey," Chris admitted, setting up his sniper rifle. "At least I did not shoot you in the heads."

Saori shivered, but the others concentrated on taking down the horde of monsters. In a few minutes, the girls made short work of the monsters, and now...all was still.

Panting, the girls then checked their weapons, and then the sniper.

"I am...Special Private Chris," Chris introduced himself, shaking hands with the girls. "Sorry about that from moments ago. I did not really like my team, and I was not sure about you Chosen Ones being bad and all...and now, I can tell that you are indeed heroes.

Miho and Saori both blushed, while Yukari jumped up and down. Mako and Hana both watched him, puzzlement on their faces.

"Well," Chris said, taking up his belongings. "Girls, why are you all crossing this bridge? There is a whole base of hostile troopers over there in the north."

"We're trying to find a way to defeat the Orb," said Miho. "From our map, we believe that there is a point in the northern part of San Francisco, where we could at least get close enough to...deal with it."

He nodded grimly.

"I see," he mumbled. "Well then, let's go."


At the southern entrance of the Bridge

San Francisco, CA, USA

8:30 AM; July 19, 20XX

"Thanks for your help," Chris said, as they all managed to cross the bridge, albeit with some difficulty.

The girls continued to strike down monsters after monsters, mostly fighting melee but firing some blasts of energy here and there. Mako, however, helped to carry the rifle, allowing Chris to shoot and provide support fire, without having to set up the whole firearm.

"Aren't you feeling heavy?" Chris asked the girl, blinking as he was still unnerved by the girls' unusual size. Mako, however, appeared the most normal, a little shorter than he was.

"Nah," she curtly replied, as Chris continued to shoot, striking three dogs in the head dead-on. "It's just that...I see fewer zombies and more mutant...monsters."

Chris nodded grimly.

"Yes," he admitted. "My team and I were among the few out of the base, just to clean up the areas. Then, things changed so fast."

Mako nodded grimly.

"Yeah," Chris began. "I need to tell your leader about this, once she-wow!"

Miho instantly appeared to his left, carrying her sword, which whirled and buzzed.

"You know what's going on?" she asked. "The zombies and the monsters?"

"Ah," he sighed. "We've been getting used to containing the zombies at our bases. Just as we were ready, the Orb suddenly...changed. It then caused the zombies to weaken, and even melt into strange pools. Now, the animals are starting to go berserk, and many have turned...into those."

Another pack of dogs appeared; this time, their jaws opened 90 degrees wide, more like that of a hippo than that of a dog. Then, the dogs stood on their hind lets, and their paws developed massive claws like that of tigers. The girls shivered, as Chris sweated, focusing his fire.

Boom!

A shot struck the largest of the dogs, causing them to rage but also become disoriented.

"Now!" he barked orders, and the girls all charged in, striking down dogs here and there.

"So many poor dogs!" Saori groaned, striking down a former pitbull. "That Orb thing will pay for what it did!"

Hana said nothing, but after killing a whole pack, she bowed down in respect.

"Hey," Chris grunted, shooting a dog in the head. "You're not alone."

"What's next?" Yukari asked, punching a few dogs away. "We're now out of the bridge and..."

Yukari stopped, as she and others sighted a group of combat jeeps coming their way.

"Uh oh," Saori gasped.

"We better go," Miho began.

"Wait!" Chris called out.

The others turned to look at him.

"Pretend that you all were attacking me," Chris said. "Here, take my rifle. You will need it; you already know how to use it, right?"

"Right," said Hana, who already watched him load and maintain the rifle.

"Good," he said, sitting down. "Can you...injure me a little? That way, they won't suspect that I was helping you."

"Umm..." the girls hesitated.

Miho then approached him, and stopped her blade. She then light tapped on him multiple times. Although weak, they were strong enough to leave bruises and cuts on his skin.

"Good," he winced. "Man, that was some injuries. OK, go! Thank you for your help!"

"And thank you!" they all cried out, jumping away. Miho, however, stayed behind.

"You sure about this?" she asked.

He nodded.

"You saved my life," he said. "And I already told you where to go to find the best location possible to...hopefully stop the Orb. Now, go before you get into trouble!"

She nodded, saluting him before leaping away, just as the jeeps appeared.

"Soldier!" one of the commanders roared, coming out. "You OK?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," he groaned, pretending to be in great pain. "I guess...it was not easy to defeat the Chosen Ones or the mutant beasts either."

"Take him away for treatment!" the commander barked orders. "Man, Private Chris, sorry that you had to go through that! My friend Custer is not one of the nicest generals, but I am glad you're fine!"

"No worries," he groaned, as the men brought him on a stretcher. "I am glad to be alive, and...I think this war will end soon."

"Huh?" the commander asked.

"Commander Raynor," he said, smiling. "The girls will defeat the Orb."

He blinked, confused as his friend was taken away.

"The girls..." he pondered. "The Chosen Ones? No way..."


Five miles away from the northern entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, CA, USA

8:45 AM; July 19, 20XX


"There it is," Miho said.

The Orb was finally within reach, its sickly purple light glowing on top of the surging waters below. The reflection on the clear bay was cloudy, as if the Orb was otherworldly. It continued to fire its strange beam against the carrier's own beam, wrestling against each other.

The girls stared at it. Chris had already told them a point, where they were only a few miles away from the Orb. They looked on...

The waters below the Orb were churning very violently, turning from clear blue to blood-red and even sickly purple like the Orb. Birds flew wildly around, falling down as if shot in mid-air. Clouds of a sickly rosy-pink color covered the sky around the Orb and almost the whole Bay; Miho and Mako both barely noticed a single pillar of light from what little crack the Sun could go through.

"What are we going to do?" Hana asked the obvious.

All five of them stood still, watching the whole chaos.

Buildings burned and exploded...

Zombies melted and disappeared...

Mutant animals roared and stampeded around...

Humans struggled to survive...

Then, there were the Chosen Ones.

"What are we going to do?" Miho asked rhetorically. "You know, I am thinking..."

She then knelt down with her right knee, with her left arm in a thinking pose.

"What to do..."

"Miho," Mako said nonchalantly. "We have a zombie that is trying to get us."

Miho and the others looked around. A giant, armored zombie about the size of a two-story house limped towards them, trying to deal a last-minute blow. It was rapidly melting away.

"Get ready," Miho began. "Let's..."

She gawked, staring at the zombie. Something gave out from it, as if dropping like garbage. However, Miho dropped both her jaw, and her weapon. It clanked on the ground, as it stopped roaring.

She was not the only one to notice.

"Is that..." Saori stammered.

"No way..." Hana gasped, covering her mouth.

Yukari stared, then hurriedly checked and dropped the armored skirts. They clanked on the ground.

"OK," Mako broke the silence. "We have gone through crazy things in life. We have the Parade, then the zombies, then the crazy conspiracies and whatnot. I don't know about you, but I feel that this is..."

She stopped, as Miho nodded in affirmation.

The zombie moaned, then collapsed, as its remains dissipated from something...inside of it.

As the pool slowly vaporized into a cloud of brownish dust, the girls saw it.

It was a familiar, reddish-brown silhouette an armored vehicle.

The tracks.

The body.

Even the turret and the cannon.

Except for the missing skirts, which Yukari dropped, it was as good as new.

"Welcome back," Miho said, smiling as if talking to a long-lost friend. She and her friends felt tears running down their faces.

"It's back," Miho said again. "Our tank."


Well, I hope that this was not too rushed.

But yeah, the finale is coming, and the chapter 30 (except for the epilogue) is my LAST chapter!

Hooray!

Thank you so much for your support, and I am still willing to revise and edit this chapter further.

Get ready for the finale, and let's go!