Alright guys... here's the final chapter. This is the longest one yet I believe, so buckle up, and get ready for the ride...


Chapter Fifty:

The Shattering, Part Two

Boston, Massachusetts

A feeling of betrayal, sharp as a knife, tore through Matt's insides. They had lived with Lucas- trusted him! Matt couldn't comprehend how he could do something like this. He looked over at Shade, who was growling fiercely at Lucas.

"Shut up, you overgrown lizard," said Lucas. He put down the gun and stepped in front of the group, next to the General. "Watch out, guys. The ghost is here." Some of the soldiers turned around and scanned the room nervously.

"So you're with them now?" Ben asked venomously. "You just sold us out?"

"No," Lucas replied. "I've always been with the army. I was a spy this entire time, dumbass."

No…

"So that story you fed us, about you being an assassin, was all lies?" asked Ben.

Lucas shrugged. "Well… yes and no. I was an assassin. But I worked for them. And that story never happened."

"Why?" Matt asked. "Why would you do this to us?"

"You sound accusing," said Lucas in confusion.

"You're right! We do sound accusing! Because you're a good-for-nothing bastard!"

"You guys don't understand. We're just trying to help you!"

"Sure you are," said Alena. "They always say that."

"Well we mean it," said the General. He stepped forward, in front of Lucas. "This whole ordeal has been a test. We've been putting you through trials, and watching every step of the way. And my friends… You've passed with flying colors."

"What about the convoy?" Matt asked. "Was killing them part of your test?"

"It was if it needed to be," the General replied. "Those men deserved to die. They were criminals, all of them. I made sure of it."

"What about Dr. Shaw?" asked Trent. "Is she on your side too?"

The General shook his head and waved a hand in dismissal. "No," he said. "No, she's still our prisoner. We just use her work to our advantage. She just doesn't understand what we're trying to accomplish."

"And what's that?" Ben asked skeptically.

"We're trying to rebuild!" The General exclaimed exuberantly. "We're trying to create a new world from the ashes of the old one! That's why the Pheonix Initiative is still around! That's what we have been working for these past months! That is why we want you to join us!"

They were speechless; at a complete loss for words. None of them had expected this.

"What?" asked Ben.

"You've passed the test. You made it all the way here. You've proven to be strong and smart, and we want you in the Initiative army. Or, if you'd prefer, you could join the science, or even the political division. You'd do well with us. You could be a part of the reformation of society. You could rise higher than you ever dreamed! And you," he pointed at Matt. "Can protect your dragon."

Matt wasn't buying it. "I heard about the sick shit you guys did to them before all this," he said. "How can you say this would be good for them?" He protectively inched closer to Shade.

"That was Corvus's doing," the General explained solemnly. "I can't defend some of the things that old bastard did, and I won't try. But our views have shifted. The dragons have earned their right to life, but there are some who don't see it that way. They've been trying to kill your friend, and the only reason they haven't already was because we interfered. But we can't help completely unless you join us.

Matt remembered the man who had tried to kill Ashmore on Bear Peak. It was tempting; protection for Shade. He'd do anything to keep the dragon safe.

But he wasn't sold. He looked at Shade, who met his gaze. The Night Fury's eyes were filled with distrust. And that was enough for him.

As if he was reading their minds, Trent spoke up. "I don't buy it," he said. "It may be the skeptic in me, but I don't believe a single ounce of the shit that's spewing from your mouth. I've seen countless so-called leaders say the same thing, only to have been lying. This is no different. Same shit, different day."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," said the General. "How about the rest of you? Surely there must be someone with sense here."

"No," said Matt. "I'm with Trent."

"So am I," said Ben.

"I'll stick with the people I trust, thank you very much," said Alena.

Shade snorted in agreement.

"Very well," said the General. "That's a shame. You had such potential."

From behind, Matt caught a glimpse of something that made him grin. It was Gengar, briefly revealing himself to them. He was next to the reception desk.

"Men, take their weapons," said the General. "Maybe some time in prison will help them reconsider."

"How the hell is this supposed to win us over?" asked Ben. "Seriously!"

Matt smiled. "I don't think that's gonna happen."

Lucas frowned, and then his face lit up in realization. "Shit!" he cursed. "The ghost!"

And suddenly, right next to him, a computer monitor slammed into a soldier at blinding speeds, sending him flying across the room.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise?" Maverick asked.

"Not really," said Joey, as a gun pointed at the back of his head.

"Hey!" Maverick yelled. "Did I say you could talk?"

"Well you asked a question…"

"Shut up!"

Maverick paced over to Sam. "You'll have to excuse my behavior. I was supposed to be nice. But considering our history, I don't think that's gonna happen."

He held his gun up to Sam. "Take your helmet off," he demanded. "Let's see the man behind the mask."

Sam hesitantly unclipped his helmet and lifted it from his head.

Maverick frowned. "Well, I've gotta say I'm disappointed. I was expecting… more." He cocked his gun. "Oh well. You'll be out of my hair soon. I was ordered to bring you in alive, but I'm sure we can get away with a little accident." He laughed. "Say hello to Carlton for me, will you?"

"No!"

Reuniclus's voice screamed in their heads, full of fury. But Maverick just laughed. He turned around and saw Reuniclus floating about twenty feet away from them.

"I… I can't control him!" Reuniclus said, panic lacing the edge of her words.

Sam stared in shock and helplessness as Maverick held his gun up to her. "Move and I'll shoot!" he yelled. Reuniclus ignored him and started to float away. He pulled the trigger.

A cry of pain filled their minds, and blood splattered. Her body fell through the air and hit the ground.

"No!" Sam yelled, tears forming at the edge of his vision.

Maverick directed two soldiers to guard her. As he stepped back over to Sam, he breathed a sigh of relief to see that the bullet had only hit her arm. Her membrane was already starting to reform around it. She was alive.

"Lucas told us all about her," Maverick announced. "We've made modifications to our equipment."

The words cut into Sam like a knife. "L… Lucas?" he asked.

"Kid, you can't trust anyone in this world," said Maverick. "It's about time you learned that."

"I knew something was wrong with him," said Samantha. "He was nothing but trouble from the start."

Maverick briefly glanced at her, and something caught his eye. "What the hell is that?" he asked.

He stepped over to Samantha. "Give me that!" he demanded. He grabbed the portal gun from her back and stepped away. "What the hell is this?" He looked at Samantha. "Well? What is it?"

"It's a portal gun," she replied.

Maverick laughed. "Sure it is, and I'm a dragon. Let's see what this does…"

Sam glanced over at Ashmore, who was looking at him. In his eyes, Sam saw that he was thinking the same thing as him. The Night Fury nodded consent.

Maverick turned away from them and aimed the gun. He pulled the trigger, and a blue ball shot out and hit the pavement, creating a large, blue oval. He aimed it closer and pulled the other trigger, creating another, orange, portal.

The soldiers gasped in amazement. Maverick laughed. "That's awesome."

They were now distracted. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw Ashmore's tail thump against the ground. Looking over, he saw the dragon looking at him.

It's time.

Sam nodded. As fast as he could, he elbowed the soldier guarding him in the stomach. The soldier doubled over slightly, and Sam whirled around, drew his katana, and brought it down as hard as he could onto the soldier's head. The blade didn't penetrate the armor, but the impact itself was enough to do damage. It was so jarring it knocked him out cold.

Next to him, Ashmore had swept his tail under two soldiers' legs, tripping them. In the confusion, he was able to bound over to the soldiers guarding Reuniclus and knock them both aside, freeing the Pokémon.

Samantha took her cue from them. She drew her sonic pulse gun and turned around sharply, breaking from the grip of the soldier guarding her. She pressed the gun against his chest and pulled the trigger. The resulting wave of sonic energy knocked him off of his feet and tossed him through the air. He smashed into the plane's hull and fell to the ground in a heap.

Samantha turned and shot the gun again, hitting both Brian and Joey's guards at the same time and knocking them away.

"Thanks," said Brian.

"Don't thank me, fight!" Samantha yelled.

By now, the other soldiers had overcome their surprise. The two Ashmore had knocked over had gotten back up, and the rest began firing.

"You wanna play?" Maverick yelled. "Alright then! Let's play!"

Ashmore had managed to rip the helmets off of the soldiers he had knocked over. With a swift wipe of his claws, he killed both of them. Then, he turned and pounced on another.

Behind Sam, Samantha had taken on the two soldiers that had gotten back up. Joey and Brian were locked in a gunfight with the rest of them. That left only Maverick.

Sam looked at his enemy, and was able to dodge a bullet just in time. He lunged for his helmet. In one swift move, he put it on and stood back up again.

He turned and ran to Maverick, drawing his other katana in the process. Once he reached the soldier, he swung both of them through the air, aiming for Maverick's head.

The man ducked just in time, causing Sam to fall forward. He caught the teen and tossed him over his shoulder. As Sam hit the ground, Maverick turned around and fired a bullet. Sam rolled over, just barely dodging it, and kicked out at Maverick's leg.

He stumbled, giving Sam a precious second. He got up and swung his katana again, putting all of his strength into it. The blow struck Maverick's shoulder, and it was so strong it jarred Sam's arm. But it hurt Maverick much more. He dropped his gun and stepped backward, yelling in pain.

Sam saw the orange portal directly behind him, and knew what he had to do. He lifted his leg and brought it forward, right into Maverick's chest. Maverick fell back into the portal and emerged from the other. He flew into the air, and landed on the ground on his stomach with a thud.

Sam looked to the others and saw that they had won. Every soldier lay either dead or unconscious. He ran over to Reuniclus, who was still missing a small chunk from her arm, but it looked as if the bullet had gone all the way through. All that needed to be done was wait for her to regenerate.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah… I think so… I've never been shot before. It hurts…"

Sam nodded. "I know. Now, we need to get you out of here. Can you float, or do you need me to carry you?"

"I should be able to float."

"Alright," said Sam. He turned around. "Guys, come on! The others are in trouble! Lucas is with them, and he's a traitor!"

They ran for the truck, Samantha grabbing the portal gun along the way. Joey, Brian and Samantha piled into the front, while Sam, Ashmore and Reuniclus got into the back.

As he went to close the back doors, he saw that Joey and Brian's gunfight had put holes in the gas tank of another plane. The fuel from the two punctured planes had begun to pool in the center. As their truck began driving away, Sam had an idea.

"Ashmore," he called.

The dragon came over and looked out at the mess. "Would you do the honors?" Sam asked.

Ashmore grinned, and shot a ball of fire at the fuel. The vapors caught and the ground erupted with flame. As Sam closed the back door, the flame reached the planes and a massive explosion rocked the ground.

The soldiers were marching them at gunpoint through the city.

Come on, Jack, Jean thought. Where are you? The Chandelure was their only hope. They were vastly outnumbered, and he knew that if they reached their destination, there would be no hope of escape. The alarm would be sounded, and the other groups wouldn't be able to get back into the city.

They had been so stupid. What were they thinking, parking in an alley where anyone who gave more than a passing glance could see them?

They turned a corner and beheld a large building covered in solar panels. That must be our target, he thought.

The procession continued down the street towards the building. When they were about halfway there, a rare moment came when their guards were the only soldiers in sight. That was when Jack made her move.

One second, everything was quiet. The next, a huge wall of fire surrounded them on all sides.

Soldiers started yelling. In their distraction, they were unable to contain their prisoners. Jean immediately took advantage of the moment and whirled around, grabbing the weapon of the soldier nearest him and ripping it out of his hands. He flipped it over and shot him in the head until the bullets breached the helmet.

Then, he turned back to the others, who were doing the same thing. The wall of fire shrunk, as it started to envelope the soldiers. Finally, as soon as it started, it stopped.

A battle had begun in the middle of the street. They pushed, shoved, and shot until finally they were able to slip out of the group of soldiers. The soldiers tried to follow, but a wall of fire appeared in front of them.

Thanks, Jack, Jean thought.

They kept running. "Get to the power building!" Dr. Shaw yelled. "There's a bunch of generators in there in case of emergencies. That means there's a lot of propane! We can still destroy it!"

Jean looked to Jeremy, who had stocked up on charges while they had been riding. They had found them among the other supplies. Jeremy saw his glance and nodded.

Good, Jean thought. He still has them.

From behind them, bullets whizzed by. As Jean turned around, he saw the soldiers emerging from the fire, shooting in their direction.

These suits must be fireproof, Jean thought. He turned around and fired a few shots of his own.

"Get to cover!" Alex yelled. They reached an alley and immediately ducked into it.

"Jack!" Kody yelled. "Do something!"

The Chandelure briefly appeared next to them. She nodded, and disappeared again. Moments later, another wall of fire appeared next to the alley.

They made another run for it. The fire cut off the soldiers' vision, but not their bullets. A few made it through. Most of their blind shots were way off, but some came close to hitting them.

They finally reached their destination. They approached the door, and just as they arrived, two more groups of soldiers appeared on either side of them. They lifted their guns to shoot.

Jean grabbed the door and yanked it open. As the bullets started to fly, they rushed into the building. He slammed the door shut behind them and locked it.

The monitor flung itself into the soldier, knocking him through the air and beating him to the ground.

Lucas immediately drew his gun. "Where are you, ghost?" he yelled.

On the other side of the room, a chair lifted itself into the air and threw itself across the room, smacking into another soldier and knocking him out. Lucas turned and shot three bullets in that direction.

The room descended into silence. "Come out and fight, you coward!" Lucas yelled.

For a few seconds nothing happened. Then, Gengar appeared behind a soldier.

"There!" someone yelled.

The soldier tried to turn around, but before he could, Gengar wrapped his hands around his neck and yanked sideways. The soldier's neck snapped and he crumpled to the floor.

The others aimed at him and fired, but he disappeared before the bullets could reach him.

Using the soldiers' distraction to his advantage, Ben decided to join Gengar in battle. He lunged towards the nearest soldier and brought his gun into the back of his head. He turned around and fired a whole clip into the soldier nearest Alena. At first, the bullets bounced off, but they eventually pierced the armor and killed him.

Alena drew her gun and started fighting as well. Matt and Trent were wrestling two other soldiers to the ground. Shade had tripped one up with his tail, and was working to get his armor off.

Ben shot at another soldier, but by that point, all guns had turned on them. He broke through their ranks, grabbed Alena, and made a run for the reception desk. A couple bullets pinged off his armor, delivering blows that felt like punches.

Finally, they reached the desk and jumped over the top, crouching behind it. Trent, who had followed them, was close behind.

Matt and Shade weren't.

Ben risked a glance over the desk, and saw that Matt was halfway there. He turned back to find Shade, and saw that the Night Fury was in peril. Gengar was throwing things again, distracting the soldiers, but one was still focused on Shade. In fact, his gun was lodged between his ear flaps.

Matt immediately lifted his gun. "Don't you lay a fucking hand on him!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger.

The soldier looked up as the bullets smashed into his armor. He raised his gun to shoot, but before he could, one of Matt's bullets tore through his armor and killed him.

Shade sprung to his feet and bounded over. "Go!" Matt yelled. "I'll cover you!" He turned to the soldiers, who were still dodging furniture thrown by Gengar. Some of them had noticed their flight. He shot at them and they shot back. Shade jumped over the desk and crouched, just barely hiding himself.

"You hurt?" Ben asked him.

The dragon shook his head.

"Good."

Moments later, Matt joined them. "Shade," he said. "Are you alright?"

Shade nodded again.

"How 'bout you?" Ben asked Matt.

"As much as I could be at a time like this," Matt replied.

"Good enough."

"Lucas…" said Trent. "That lying, cheating, two-faced prick! I trusted him! We trusted him!"

"He'll get his," said Alena coldly. "Even if we die here, I'll make sure he goes with us."

"Hey!" Ben exclaimed. "Nobody's gonna die! None of us are, any way! So stop talking about it!"

Suddenly, a string of bullets broke through the desk, just barely missing Shade.

"Come on!" They heard Lucas yell. "Come on out and play with the big boys!"

"You were saying?" asked Alena.

"There's a hallway right there," Trent said, pointing to an exit twenty feet away. "We can make it. Move!"

They instantly started running. Shade bounded ahead of them and shot a fire ball at the soldiers. It hit the ground in front of them and knocked most of them off of their feet. The rest were highly disoriented. Taking advantage of the moment, they ran into the hallway and turned a corner into another one.

Now that they were out of harm's way, they allowed themselves to take a breath.

"That was close," said Matt. "Thanks, Shade."

Shade warbled in response.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

"We wait," said Trent.

"For what?"

"For Gengar to pick them off."

As soon as he said that, they heard the footsteps of the soldiers running down the hallway towards them.

"Oh come on!" Ben exclaimed.

"Okay, forget that!" said Trent. "Run!"

"Come on, hurry!" Dr. Shaw yelled. "That lock won't hold them back for long!"

"What about Jack?" asked Nick.

"She's a ghost, she'll be fine!"

Behind them, the doorknob started turning. "Come on!" Dr. Shaw yelled. "This way!" She ran down the hallway they were in and stopped at a door. The rest followed her, just as a jarring pounding permeated the structure.

When they reached the door, Dr. Shaw opened it and revealed a staircase leading down into darkness. She flipped a switch on the wall and the staircase was illuminated. They ran down and shut the door behind them, just as the front door crashed open.

At the bottom of the staircase was another hallway. The white, tiled floor ran past the grey walls, and led to two doors. One of them was marked, "Storage" and the other, "Authorized Personnel Only." They were each on one side of the hallway. Dr. Shaw ran to the one on the right, the "Storage" room, and opened it.

"The propane's in here!" she announced. They entered the room, turned on the lights, and shut the door behind them.

"Whoa," said Jeremy.

The storage room was huge. It stretched back for what must have been a hundred feet, and was twenty feet wide. It ended in a large garage door, and was filled with propane tanks.

"Jeremy, do you still have those charges?" asked Nick.

"You bet I do," said Jeremy. "I've got four."

"That should be enough," said Dr. Shaw. "Put one on each corner. Hurry!"

Jeremy ran to the nearest propane tank and pulled a packet of C4 from a pack on his back. He attached it to the propane, but just as he finished, the door burst open.

"Put your hands up!" a soldier yelled.

Jeremy immediately turned around and shot at him, knocking him backwards before finally killing him.

More soldiers entered the room, and bullets started to fly. Jeremy flipped himself around the propane tank and crouched down. Bullets hit the tank, and propane flowed from the holes onto the floor.

Around him, his friends were doing the same thing. More soldiers entered the room, and one came into his view. Jeremy immediately shot him.

This just got a lot more complicated, he thought.

Trent led the way as they ran through the hallways of the building. They could constantly hear the pounding of the soldiers' feet behind them as they gave pursuit. Every once in a while, they would stray into their line of fire, and some bullets would be fired; however, none of them were ever hit.

Finally, they reached a staircase. "Let's go up!" said Matt. "We'll see if we can find a window and get out of here!"

They ran up the stairs and opened the door on the second floor. Below them, the soldiers reached the staircase and started firing up at them.

"Go!" Matt, who was in back, yelled. They ran through the doorway, Shade barely squeezing through it in time, and continued their flight.

They emerged in another hallway, ran down it, turned a corner, and found another staircase. They ran up it again. This continued until they finally reached the seventh floor. This time, when they emerged from the staircase, they were in a large office building with a wall of windows on the other side.

"Let's go," said Ben. "They'll be here soon."

They ran into the maze of cubicles, getting out of sight of the door. Just as they did, the soldiers entered the room.

"Oh just come out and fight like real men!" Lucas yelled, giving a few shots.

They ran along a row of cubicles. Behind them, a soldier turned the corner and aimed at them. As the first few bullets flew, Trent turned around and shot back as he ducked into another passageway. The others followed him. They now had a direct route to the window. They ran as fast as they could down it and pressed against another cubicle to hide from the soldiers.

"Alright, who wants to go first?" Matt asked.

"Take Alena," Ben pleaded.

"What?" Alena protested. "No! I'm staying here!"

Shade stood up and shot at the window, shattering it. He then knelt down and let Matt get on his back. "Come on, Alena!" he exclaimed. Behind them, soldiers were starting to shoot, trying to hit them through the cubicle walls.

"No! I already told you-"

She was cut off as Shade gripped her shirt with his teeth and flung her over his head onto his back. Matt caught her and helped steady her as Shade charged at the window. Once she was steady, she gripped his neck as tightly as she could.

They strayed into the soldiers' line of fire. They started to shoot, but Shade was too fast. He jumped out and spread his wings, giving a few flaps but otherwise letting himself glide to the ground. When he got there, he allowed Matt and Alena to get off, before he took off to get Trent and Ben. "Be careful!" Matt yelled as he left.

Meanwhile, back in the building, Trent and Ben were being pinned down. The one good thing about their situation was that the soldiers couldn't hit them. Every once in a while, one of them would lean out and shoot at them, but other than that they weren't in the line of fire.

But that soon changed.

A small, roundish object suddenly sailed over the wall of the cubicle and landed in front of them. A grenade.

"Run!" Trent yelled. They lunged over it and ran back into the alley, just as a small explosion desolated the cubicle. They ran as fast as they could, for they were now exposed. Soldiers ran into the alley and started shooting, and they ducked into another one.

Ben looked over the cubicle walls and scanned for a soldier's head. He found one and shot at it, and it disappeared. Just then, glass shattered as Shade burst into the room a few cubicles down. Trent and Ben saw him, and started to make their way to him. They finally reached the dragon as two more soldiers appeared in front of them. Trent shot a few rounds as Ben got onto Shade's back, and then he himself mounted the dragon. Finally, Shade leapt from the window once more, and they were free.

Once Shade reached the ground, Ben and Trent jumped off of his back. "Oh God," Ben breathed. "That was close."

"Get to the car!" Trent yelled.

"What about the building?" Matt asked.

"What about it?"

"We can still do some damage!"

"Screw that, we don't have time!" Trent yelled.

"See that?" Ben asked, pointing to a spot on the horizon. A column of smoke was rising above the buildings. "That means the others have already done their job! We can leave now!"

Just then, gunshots sounded from above them. The soldiers had reached the broken windows they had left behind, and were now shooting at them.

"Quick, behind the car!" Alena yelled. They all ducked behind the armored truck and crouched, taking advantage of its protection.

"Alright, Matt," said Trent. "Wait for a gap in their fire, and then open the trunk. We'll get Shade in the back and get the hell out of here!"

"Alright," said Matt.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, and the gunfire stopped. Matt risked a glance behind them, and saw a soldier falling to his death. The other soldiers seemed to be looking for something.

Or someone.

Gengar.

"Shade, now!" Matt exclaimed. He started to move. Before he could, however, they heard the sound of another engine. They looked down the street and saw another armored truck approaching.

"Oh God," said Ben. "Hurry!"

Matt lunged into the open and ripped open the doors. As Shade jumped in, he was about to follow when the truck arrived. It stopped right behind their truck, and the window rolled down.

"You guys need a hand?" asked Brian.

Alena sighed in relief. "Thank God," she said. "We thought you were some of their men."

"Nope," said Brian. "Now, what do you say we destroy this building?"

"How do you propose we do that?" asked Alena. "In case you didn't notice, we're kind of pinned down."

The gunfire had started up again. Bullets pinged against the other side of their truck. As this was happening, Gengar appeared next to them.

"Hey," said Matt. "How are you holding up?"

Gengar nodded, signaling that he was okay.

Brian reached into his pocket and pulled out his walkie. "Hey, Sam, you and Ashmore get out here," he said into it.

The back door of their truck opened, and Sam jumped out and ran as fast as he could, jumping behind the other truck. Following him was another salvo of gunfire. Once it had cleared up, Ashmore followed, and Sam slammed the door.

"Hey Ash!" Shade greeted. "How'd things go with you?"

"Hey," Ashmore said. "Not well, unfortunately. We were attacked, and barely got the job done."

"Are you okay?" Shade asked in concern.

"Yeah," Ashmore replied. "Reuniclus was shot, but she's okay now." He turned to Gengar. "How have you been? Wreaking enough havoc?"

Gengar grinned. "Oh, you bet," he said.

Meanwhile, the others were making plans. Now that they had enough force, they could take out the building after all. "Me, Matt, and the dragons will shoot the building," Sam volunteered. "We need you guys to cover us."

"We can do that," said Brian.

"Good," said Sam. He turned to Gengar. "I need you to cause as much chaos as you possibly can."

Gengar smiled. "That's my specialty," he declared.

"There's one other thing," said Trent. "Lucas is up there. He's on their side."

Sam nodded. "We know," he said. "Let's go."

"Good luck," Shade said to Gengar.

"You too," the ghost replied. He disappeared.

Matt and Sam approached Shade and Ashmore. As they knelt down to let their humans mount them, Shade looked at his friend.

"Come back down safely," he said.

"Same to you," Ashmore returned. Once the humans were settled, they took off.

As soon as they stepped into the open, the gunfire from the soldiers resumed. Brian pulled his truck away and drove around to the front of the building, attempting to divert the soldiers' attention. Both Trent and Alena ran from the cover of the truck, seeking other forms of cover. Trent knelt behind a trash bin, and Alena behind a wall. Gengar, meanwhile, began throwing things at the soldiers again.

Shade and Ashmore easily avoided being shot, and looped around the building. "Guys, shoot at the building!" Matt yelled. "I don't care how, just do it!"

Shade and Ashmore slowed down to match each other's speed. "I say we focus all of our attention on this side," Ashmore suggested. "If we focus all of our fire there, we'll have a better chance at starting a fire."

"Okay," Shade agreed, as he flapped his wings twice to hold his speed and altitude. "I say we shoot about halfway up. That way the fire will spread more easily.

"Alright," said Ashmore. "You first."

Shade turned back and scanned the building. From the bottom, he counted six floors, and swooped in. When he got close enough, he prepared a fire ball in the back of his throat. He felt the familiar heat, and the familiar prickling from his old burns. Finally, he shot it from his mouth and banked away. Glass shattered as an explosion ripped into the building.

Almost immediately, Ashmore replaced him and shot another ball. Three times they repeated this, with one immediately replacing the other every time. Finally, Shade reached his last shot.

"Let's make this count!" Matt yelled from his back.

Yes, Shade thought. Let's.

He swept in and took one last shot. The building shuddered, and a massive cloud of black smoke was oozing from the crater they had put in it. Finally, Ashmore swept in and took one last shot.

The building was still intact, but there was a massive hole in the side of it; one that was rapidly filling with smoke and fire.

Ashmore flew to him. "We tried our best," he said. "Let's get out of here."

They flew back around the building to find the situation more or less the same as when they had left. The only difference was that there were fewer soldiers. Gengar had been slowly picking them off.

As he saw Ashmore come in, Brian slowed to a halt. The dragon landed behind the truck, and Sam jumped off of him and opened the back door. He and Ashmore jumped in and slammed the door behind them.

Shade and Matt landed next to Ben. "How's it going?" Matt asked.

"Shitty!" Ben replied. "You?"

"Alright, considering. You ready to go?"

"Hell yes I am!"

Just then, Trent arrived at the truck, clutching his arm. "Let's get the fuck out of here," he said. "I've been hit."

"Shit," said Ben. "Where's Alena?"

"Over there," Trent pointed. They looked over and saw her getting into the other truck. "She's with them now."

"Alright. Let's go."

Ben got in the driver's seat, and Trent in the passenger's seat. Matt ran around to the back door, opened it, and jumped in. Shade followed him, and he slammed the door behind him.

Ben started the engine and floored it, driving as fast as he could away from the building. The pings of bullets followed them. When they finally disappeared, Ben slowed down slightly.

Matt took a deep breath and removed his helmet. As it dropped to the floor, he sat up and leaned against Shade's belly. The dragon was curled around him, his legs and tail stretched out. He was looking at Matt, a mix of concern and triumph displayed in his eyes.

Matt pulled out his walkie and held it up to his face. "Is everyone accounted for?" he asked.

There was a pause for a minute. Then, finally, Alena's voice responded. "Yep," she said.

"Even Gengar?" Matt asked.

"Yes," Sam replied. "He's with me."

Matt sighed in relief. "Good," he said. He dropped the walkie and lay back against Shade, his arms lying around the dragon's neck. "We made it, Shade," he said.

Shade warbled in response, and Matt scratched underneath his chin.

Suddenly, the walkie sprung back to life. Sounds of yelling and gunfire crackled through.

"Hello?" Alex's voice called.

Matt shot up.

"Hello? Please, for the love of all that's good, pick up!"

"Yeah?" Joey answered. "What's wrong?"

"We're in the power building and we're pinned down! We need reinfocements!"

"Alright," said Trent. "We'll be right there."

Matt sighed, and laid back again. "And the fun never stops," he said.

For minutes, they had been pinned down. Jeremy had managed to cross to the other side of the aisle. There, he had planted his second charge. But more soldiers had entered the room, and he knew he wouldn't be able to reach the other end of the room.

"Did you make the call?" he asked Alex.

"Yeah," Alex replied.

"Good. They're our only way out of this, unless Jack actually decides to show her face. And even if she does, I don't know how she's going to deal with this with all the propane on the floor."

They wouldn't be able to proceed until the soldiers were dead. And if that didn't happen soon, they were done for.

Jeremy leaned out of his cover and shot at the soldiers again. He managed to score a killing blow on a soldier whose armor had been weakened by bullets, but before he had gotten a chance to hit anyone else, another volley of enemy fire came.

Jeremy ducked back behind his tank, only to have a bullet fly through it and exit inches from his face. A stream of propane trickled after it.

"Shit," he said. "Jack, where the hell are you?"

"Alright, we need a new plan," Alex stated. "I'm gonna make a run for it."

"Alex, no! There's another way!"

"No there isn't!" Alex snapped.

Then, without waiting for a reply, he got ready to make a run for it. But, just as he was about to begin, a shrill scream rang through the room, followed by several gunshots from the soldiers. But they weren't aimed at them.

Jeremy risked a glance back and saw Jack behind one of the soldiers. Her "arms" were penetrating his armor, and he was screaming in agony. The other soldiers were shooting at her, but the bullets merely sailed through her body.

She finished with that soldier and moved on to the next one. He tried to run, but Jack was faster, and as she penetrated his armor, he stood still and doubled over in pain. The soldiers continued trying to shoot her, but some were giving up and fleeing.

Jeremy stepped out of his cover and shot at the now-distracted soldiers. His friends, one by one, followed suit. It took a while, but between them and Jack, they overcame their adversaries.

When the last of them had either died or fled, Kody marched over to the door and slammed it shut.

"Holy shit…" he said in disbelief. "Holy shit! We just killed people!"

Jeremy trudged through the mix of blood and propane covering the floor and arrived at the far left corner.

"Hurry," said Dr. Shaw. "They won't be gone forever."

Jeremy attached the charge and then moved to the last corner. He wanted to be as quick as possible; the fumes from the propane were making him feel light-headed. He finally attached the final charge, and they were ready to leave.

"Let's get out of here," he said. They opened the door and closed it again behind them. They ran up the stairs and out the front door.

"Four blocks should be enough distance," said Alex. "Run!"

They sprinted down the street as fast as they could. For the first two blocks, they were met with no opposition. After that, it was a different story.

A bullet whizzed by Jeremy, and he turned back to see that a group of soldiers had arrived at the building. They were now giving them chase.

"Run faster!" Jeremy yelled. Bullets continued to fly, and one struck his back. It felt like a giant metal fist, and he stumbled whilst crying out in pain. He gritted his teeth and pressed forward, turning around and shooting back.

Finally, they reached the end of the four blocks. Jeremy turned around and looked at the building. In the skyline beyond, the John Hancock building stood, smoke billowing from it. He smiled at the sight.

He glanced at the power building, and saw a group of soldiers entering through the front door.

"Jeremy, what are you waiting for?" Dr. Shaw yelled. "Blow it-"

Her words were cut off as another bullet whizzed by. There was a squelch, followed by a huge splatter of blood. He turned to see Dr. Shaw lying on the ground, her head a mangled, broken, bloody mess.

"Get to cover!" he yelled. He jumped behind a building, and the others followed him. He looked at Dr. Shaw's body, and a sense of disbelief filled him. She couldn't be dead… could she? Then, the truth sunk in, and the disbelief was replaced with rage and shame poured through him. She was dead. Dead. Because of them. They had come to get her out, and they had failed. Now, because of their failure, their only hope was lost.

"No…" he said. "No!" He pulled out the C4 detonation remote, and before anyone could stop him, he ran out into the street.

"Go to Hell!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger.

There was a split second of nothing. Then, the building ripped itself apart.

A massive explosion deafened him, but at that moment, Jeremy savored it more than any other sound. Orange blossoms of fire erupted from the building's lower half. The blast grew until it encompassed the entire building within its flame. The walls caved in, and the roof collapsed. Flowers of fire bloomed from the cracks in the structure, and the solar panels were destroyed in its wake

The soldiers looked back at the building in shock. Jeremy looked down at Dr. Shaw's corpse, hands shaking.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. Jeremy lost his balance and stumbled backward. Buildings shuddered, and dust was kicked up.

All around him, he saw his other friends either on the ground or trying to pull themselves up. The rumbling was deafening and intense all around them, and Jeremy could barely figure out which way was up.

But all of that was minute compared to the loud combination of moaning and snapping that soon cut through the air. It was faint, but definitely audible, and it was coming from the John Hancock tower.

Jeremy looked up at it and saw it teetering; about to fall. The foundation groaned as it was finally pushed over the edge. More than half of the building leaned backwards before finally falling to the ground.

It fell slowly, but when it did, a massive dust cloud was kicked up around it. The dust gusted in every direction, and a deafening crashing sound echoed with it.

The earthquake stopped, and the noise of the wreckage cleared away. There was a moment of silence.

And then a deafening noise roared from beneath them.

It was heavily muffled, and seemed far away. But to Jeremy, it sounded like some kind of roar.

Then, the earthquake started again. Only this time it was much more powerful. Jeremy fell over in his shock.

"Well!" Evan yelled. "That escalated quickly!"

"Is everyone okay?" asked Brian.

The earthquake had just ended. They had stopped in the middle of the street until it had ceased. Then, they had heard the building fall, and then felt the earthquake stop.

"Yeah," said Alena.

"Apart from the shit in my pants? Yeah," said Joey.

Suddenly, another sound boomed beneath them. Brian couldn't tell what it was, but it didn't sound good at all.

"What was that?" asked Samantha.

Brian opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, the ground started to shake again. Only this time, it was many times stronger.

"Hold on tight!" Alena yelled.

They gripped the handholds on the walls and roof of the truck, holding on as tightly as they could. However, as the earthquake progressed, it became steadily stronger, and they found it harder and harder to hold on. And, as time passed, they began to hear sounds of destruction coming from outside of the truck.

Finally, after a few minutes of this, Brian heard and saw that the building next to them was falling over- and they were directly in its path.

Brian hastily gripped the wheel and shifted it into drive. He pressed his foot into the gas and the truck shot forward.

As they cleared the blast zone, the building smashed into the ground, sending dust and rubble flying everywhere.

"Where are the others?" Brian yelled. He couldn't see them anywhere. "Where are they?"

They were nowhere in sight.

Brian wanted to turn back and find them, but just as he had decided to, the next building started to fall. In fact, every building on the street was falling.

They wouldn't be able to make it. But as he looked, he saw a turn ahead. They just might be able to reach it in time.

He sped up to the truck's full speed, and prayed. The building closed in above them, and for a moment it looked as if they were going to be crushed. But Brian wasn't willing to give up that easily. He reached the turn and took it, shooting out of the building's range just as it crashed down behind them.

There was destruction all around them. Buildings were falling into other buildings, knocking some over or just causing heavy damage, and sending debris crumbling around them. Dust and debris were raining onto them, and the destruction seemed to follow their every move. And just when they seemed to be out of its path, the ground behind it rose up like a wave.

"What the fuck?" Joey yelled. "What is this?"

Brian continued to drive forward as the wave of ground seemed to follow them. Buildings flipped over and sections of pavement flew into the air. Brian could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Finally, it all stopped.

Brian slowed the truck down to a halt. He shifted it into park and took a deep breath.

"Could somebody please explain to me what just happened?" Alena asked.

Samantha shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "But it's over now."

Suddenly, something caught Brian's eye. "What the…?" he asked.

A giant, purplish, rock-like structure was rising out of the ground. It looked as if it were connected to something underground. Three large, jagged chunks of blue, crystalline substance stuck out of the structure, one on top and two on the bottom. The structure as a whole was about ten stories tall.

"What the fuck is that?" he asked nervously.

As the others turned to look at the structure, it thumped to the ground, sending vibrations through the earth below them. Slowly, another structure began to rise from the earth.

"I… I know what that is," said Samantha, her voice cracking with shock.

"What is it?" asked Brian. It looked vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"It's a Gigalith," Samantha replied. "A giant, shiny Gigalith.

"What the fuck is that?" Lucas yelled.

They had been pursuing the prisoners in another group of trucks, when the earthquake had struck. They had been just out of the danger zone when the worst of it had hit, but they were in a great place to watch. The destruction had shocked them, but also baffled them. It didn't feel like the other earthquakes that had been hitting them. Over time, it had seemed to get stronger, and more precise.

And then, the rocky monoliths had appeared.

Lucas turned around to Maynard. "Will you tell me what is going on?"

Maynard shook his head. "I… I have no idea," he said.

Lucas turned back, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Well that's perfect!" he exclaimed.

As they watched, a third monolith began to rise from the ground, but this one was different. It was more of a sphere than a tower, and it was attached to a much bigger structure.

As it rose from the depths of the earth, Lucas felt a sense of horror creep over him as he realized that it almost looked like a head with two legs.

"Maynard," he said. "I don't think this is some wacked-out rock formation. I think it's a living creature."

"Bullshit," said Maynard. But Lucas could tell he was just trying to convince himself.

"Trust me, I've been seeing crazy like this for the past month," Lucas replied. "And I know this kind of thing when I see it."

The creature's body rose completely from the ground, and Lucas saw that the two monoliths were indeed attached to it. They were legs. As this happened, two more legs rose from the ground and thudded to the earth behind the first two.

It drew back its head and let out an earsplitting roar.

Lucas clutched his ears, trying to muffle the sound. When it was over, the creature began to walk forward.

"Do you believe me now?" Lucas asked.

Maynard nodded. He activated the radio in his armor. "Is anyone seeing this?" he yelled.

A soldier replied, "Sir! I see it! What should we do?"

"Fire the missiles!" Maynard replied.

"Negative, sir!" the soldier replied. "The power's out!"

"What?" Maynard screamed. "How?"

"Hostiles in the city destroyed the power building!"

"Son of a bitch! Soldier, I'm going to want the name of whoever's responsible for this!"

Suddenly, a glowing orange light emanated from the other side of the creature. A beam shot from it and crashed into a nearby skyscraper, slicing the top clean off and leaving behind a roaring fire.

"Holy shit!" Lucas yelled.

"Listen to me!" Maynard yelled into the radio. "We don't have the firepower to take this thing out! We need to evacuate immediately! Tell everyone!"

"Yes sir!"

Maynard closed the radio link and turned to Lucas. "We're leaving!" he said.

"But what about Trent and his pack?" asked Lucas.

"Screw them," Maynard replied. "This is more important. If they survive, we'll go after them then."

Andrew stared in shock as the leviathan destroyed the Prudential building.

"Holy shit!" Nick yelled in a panic. "Oh fuck!"

The soldiers had left, possibly receiving orders to evacuate. They were alone.

The giant monster slowly began to turn and face them. They saw its eyes for the first time; two deep, reddish-gold holes in its face. It slowly turned to face them and fired its beam again; they saw that it was coming from its mouth.

Several buildings in front of it burst into flame. The beam faded out, and the leviathan began to move towards them. It lifted one of its legs and brought it down onto a building, crushing a hole clean through it.

"Let's get out of here," Andrew suggested.

"Please!" Kody replied.

As they turned to go, Andrew noticed Jack floating in the middle of the street, staring at the massive creature. Andrew ran over to her.

"Come on!" he exclaimed. "We have to go!"

Jack didn't move. Instead, a wave of emotions radiated from her. Fear, extreme shock, and… guilt.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Jack sent him a memory. Or, rather, a flash of memories. A white lab… Sam, Ashmore, and the Pokémon… Some sort of experiment… And finally, one word:

Gigalith.

Andrew looked up at the creature- or, rather, the Gigalith. "That's one of you, isn't it? Sam created it?"

Jack nodded.

"Andrew! Jack! What are you doing?" Jeremy yelled. "We need to go!"

Andrew looked at the Chandelure. "Come on, let's go," he said. "You and Sam can explain later."

They ran over to the others. The ground boomed and vibrated as Gigalith came closer. "That thing," Andrew began. "Is one of Sam's creations."

"What?" asked Alex. "That son of a bitch!"

"We can't worry about that now, though," said Andrew. "I just thought you should know." Then, he had an idea. "Let's get back to the truck!"

"Yeah!" Kody agreed. "It's right near here! Let's go!"

The truck was, unfortunately, in the direction of Gigalith. But while the giant had already gotten almost halfway to them, it was still far enough away. They could make it if they ran. They ran back out into the street. They ran a block as fast as they could before taking a left.

But when they arrived at the alley they had left their truck in, they found it missing.

"What…?" Nick asked. "Where is it?"

"It's gone!" Kody replied.

"No, really?" asked Jeremy sarcastically. "I had no idea!"

While Nick let out a string of randomly-selected profanity, Andrew turned back to see that Gigalith was almost upon them. "Guys," he said. "What's plan B?"

"Run!" Alex yelled. Without waiting for anyone else, he bolted out of the alley and down the street. The others ran after him, and they began a race.

When they reached the end, Andrew turned to see Gigalith reach their road. It opened its mouth, and an orange glow emanated from it.

"Guys!" he yelled. "Look out!"

A large beam of light struck the street. They ducked out of the way, and the beam carved its way across the road and into one of the buildings. Then, it looped back around and crossed the road again. Finally, it disappeared.

The beam had left a trail of white-hot fiery devastation behind it, creating a u-shape around them. Andrew tried to step over one of them, but found it to be incredibly hot; hotter than any fire he had ever encountered by far. So hot, in fact, that it burned him through his armor.

The only way out would be to run back towards Gigalith. But that was incredibly dangerous. However, not as dangerous as staying there. They would have to go for it.

Unless…

The building behind them had been struck by the beam. But it was at least five stories tall; surely the damage couldn't have reached the ground in the short time Gigalith's beam had landed on it.

"Guys!" he yelled. "Get into the building! We can cut through the ground floor!"

They ran up to the door of the building and kicked it open. But what they saw made their hearts sink.

The ceiling had collapsed from the earthquakes. There was no way forward. A hole in the ceiling gave them entrance to the floor above, but they didn't want to risk going any higher.

"Alright, never mind!" Jean yelled. "We'll have to take our chances!"

They turned back to the front door, only to be greeted by another blast from Gigalith's beam. They were missed, but the beam started a fire just outside their door, preventing them from leaving. They had nowhere to go but up.

They began their scramble up the mound of wreckage. As Gigalith moved closer, its footsteps caused huge vibrations, sending bits and pieces of rubble tumbling down the mound. They almost fell a few times, but quickly made it to the top.

On the second floor, there was still no way out except up. The ceiling had broken here as well, providing them with another escape. They kept climbing.

Andrew hated it. The higher they got, the more danger they were in. But there was no other way out; at least, not anymore.

Finally, when they reached the top, they saw a set of stairs.

"Oh thank God," said Jean. "Stairs."

It still wasn't a very good escape, but it was better than the climbing. They took it. They ran into the stairwell and sprinted up the stairs. Finally, they were almost at the top. And this room wasn't covered in rubble, either. There was nothing standing between them and the doorway on the other side of the room.

The bad news was that Gigalith was almost there.

"Hurry!" Alex yelled. They started to run, but before they got far, the windows shattered. Andrew instinctively threw himself to the ground, and the others did as well.

Gigalith's beam pulsed directly over their bodies. Fortunately, it was over quickly. But now, the wall in front of them was on fire. In fact, the whole room was on fire, but still they had to push on.

Andrew ran out of the room into the hallway beyond. His heart lifted a little bit as he saw that a massive hole had been blasted in the wall ahead, revealing what looked like part of a fire escape. The problem was, the entire area around it was on fire.

But it didn't matter. It was an escape.

Andrew reached the ladder and grabbed it, pulling himself out over the road below. Directly underneath him was another fire escape. He climbed down the ladder and jumped off onto the next platform, looping back around until he reached the next ladder.

When he finally reached the ground, he looked up to see the others following him. When they all reached the bottom, they started to run. Behind them, Gigalith reached the building that they had been in, and brought its foot down on the far side, crushing it like an ant. Wood cracked and splintered as Gigalith lifted itself onto it to stomp again.

Suddenly, as they reached a corner, they ran into a another threat. A zombie turned around a corner to meet them. Following it were countless more; a horde.

"Oh shit!" Nick yelled. They turned around to try and escape the other way, but another horde had cut them off from behind. They were trapped.

"Looks like this is it," said Alex. "Fuck."

"No! We can fight them!" Kody yelled.

"We don't have enough time," Alex replied. "I'm sorry, but… we're done."

Andrew refused to accept this. He lifted his gun and shot at the zombies, downing them left and right. He emptied his clip into them and paused to reload. And as he did, he heard a noise. It sounded like a type of humming. He focused, and tried to hear it better…

And was caught by surprise as an armored truck broke through the zombies' ranks, sending blood and zombie corpses flying. The truck made a U-turn and stopped. The window rolled down, and Brian stuck his head out of the window, shooting a zombie that had strayed too close as he did so.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked his dumbfounded friends. "Get in the back!"

Andrew ran to the back door of the truck and opened it. Inside, Sam, Ashmore and Reuniclus were waiting.

Andrew jumped in and sat in one of the seats on the wall. The others hopped in after them. They slammed the door and Brian pulled forward, just as Gigalith's foot crashed down where they had been seconds before.

As they drove through the desolated streets, Sam felt the stares of the others on him.

"What?" he asked.

"What the hell was that?" asked Andrew. "I know you know what it was. Now tell us."

Sam sighed, and was silent for a minute as he tried to think of what to say. Finally, he said, "Her name was Gigalith. She was the only one of my creations that didn't make it. Or so I thought."

"Why the hell would you want to make something like that in the first place?" asked Jeremy.

"She wasn't supposed to be like that," Sam replied. "I mean, I wanted her to be big, but I was thinking more like Ashmore's size, not skyscraper size."

"So how did she get that big?" asked Kody.

"I have no idea!" Sam exclaimed. "I thought she was born dead! I checked for vitals and everything!"

"Uh… dude? She's a rock," Alex explained.

"I know…" Sam said. "But it doesn't make sense. She was still a living creature, and even if that did explain it, how did she get out of Aperture? How did she get all the way here? And how did she get so big?" As he thought more, some form of explanation became apparent to him.

"GLaDOS," he said. "She had something to do with this. I know it."

Minutes passed again, and then Sam remembered Lucas, and realized that his friends probably didn't know about him.

"Hey, there's something you should know," he said to them gravely.

"What?" asked Jeremy.

"Lucas is a traitor. He's been feeding them information this entire time, and he led us into this trap."

They were silent; completely dumbfounded by the news. Finally, Alex turned around and punched a wall. "That goddamn asshole! He did this to us!"

They kept driving for several more minutes, until finally they pulled to a stop. Brian shut off the engine and everyone in the front exited the cabin. They walked around back and opened the doors, letting them out. Sam stepped out first, and saw that they were back on the interstate. The city was a ruin. Buildings had collapsed, and the once-great skyline was now a bonfire. Gigalith continued her rampage, but her actions seemed less deliberate now. She was calming down.

"We should be doing something," Brian said. "Why are we just sitting around?"

"We're waiting," Samantha replied. "Matt, Shade, Ben and Tim are still in the city, but we've been communicating with them. They're okay; they're on their way to meet us here."

Sam sighed in relief. "Good," he said.

"Guys… Where's Dr. Shaw?" asked Joey.

Sam cursed himself mentally. How could he have forgotten her? He realized that she wasn't with them, and dread crept up his spine.

"She died," said Andrew. "She was killed by the soldiers. We ran into a bit of trouble."

Sam looked at the ground as sadness, regret, and anger caused havoc within him.

"God damn it!" Joey yelled. "Fuck!"

Suddenly, their walkies started going off. Trent's voice came through them.

"Uhh… This might take a little longer than we thought…"

They were driving through the streets of the city, getting nowhere. They had no idea where they were or where to go. The buildings around them were broken and covered in flame, creating a blinding orange light all around them. The black smoke from the inferno floated into the sky, giving the illusion of night. To make matters worse, zombies had gotten into the city, and were starting to swarm the streets.

"Let's try this left up here," Trent suggested. Ben took it, and they were faced with more of the same, with the added bonus of a massive horde gathered in the middle of the street.

"Cross your fingers," said Ben. "I'm ramming through them."

Trent braced himself, and at the same time pulled out his walkie. "I'm gonna ask for directions," he said. He pushed the button and spoke into it. "Uhh… This might take a little longer than we thought… We're lost."

"What?" Joey asked them. "Come on!"

"I'm sorry!" Trent exclaimed. "We're in the middle of a collapsing city! That's on fire! It's a bit hard to navigate!"

Just then, Ben rammed into the zombie horde. Trent held on tightly as they ran over the corpses, their ride turning incredibly bumpy. As he tried to keep himself from hitting the ceiling, he spoke into the walkie. "Hold on just a second."

They were about halfway through the horde, when suddenly the truck jerked to the side. The ride suddenly got bumpier than before, and the truck drove at a more uneven rate. A loud ka-chunk echoed through the walls of the truck repeatedly. After another minute, the truck jerked to the other side, and they slowed down almost to a stopping point.

"What's going on?" asked Trent.

"I don't know!" Ben exclaimed, as he tried to accelerate, only to have the engine strain. "I think we popped our tires!"

Trent sighed in exasperation. "Shit!" he yelled. "We're screwed!"

The zombies outside were at the window now, and were trying to pound their way through it. They weren't getting anywhere at the moment, but it was only a matter of time before they got in. They wouldn't be able to fight them all off either; they'd run out of ammo, and then they'd be zombie food.

There was only one way out of this that Ben could see.

"Alright," said Ben. "To the roof."

"What the hell?" Trent asked. "What good is that going to do?"

"Just trust me," said Ben. "We have to get to the roof." He rolled down his window and started to shoot at the zombies. Once those nearest him were cleared off, he climbed out of it, shooting all the while, and gripped the top of the car. Pushing, he heaved himself up onto the roof, leaving the window free for Trent.

More zombies replaced the ones Ben had killed. Together, the two of them fought them off. Ben also had to help Trent up, as his wounded arm couldn't support his weight. Finally Trent was able to get onto the roof.

Ben then crawled on top of the back of the truck. He pulled out his walkie and pounded on the roof beneath him.

"Yo, Matt and Shade," he said into the walkie. "Get your asses out here."

Moments later, the back doors shoved themselves open, and gunfire spewed out of it. The zombies nearest the door fell to the ground dead, and once an opening had been cleared, Shade jumped out of the truck, slashing and hacking at the undead. Once he had cleared enough away, he leapt up onto the truck, then held his foreleg down for Matt. The boy grabbed the dragon's paw, and was lifted up. When he was high enough, he gripped the roof and heaved himself up.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked.

"We've popped our tires," Trent explained. "We need you and Shade to get us out of here."

Matt's face fell. "I don't know…" he said. "There's a problem there. Shade can't fly us all at once."

"Shit…" said Trent. "That's right. Damn it!"

"One of us is going to have to stay behind and wait," said Matt. "I don't want to do it, but that's the only way."

"No," said Ben. "Absolutely not. How do you know Shade can't carry that much? Have you ever tried it before?"

"No, but-"

"Then how do you know?"

"We tried to carry a lot of weight before. About equal to the weight of three humans. He couldn't do it; he flew about a hundred feet before crashing."

"Well I don't see any other option," said Ben. "Do you think you could do it, Shade?"

Shade considered the proposal, and then nodded. He gestured to his back.

"Are you sure?" Matt asked.

The black dragon nodded.

"Okay." Matt climbed onto his back, and helped the others up as well. Once they were all on, the Night Fury took off.

Matt knew immediately it wasn't going to work out. Shade was flapping his wings as hard as he could, but he still was only barely making it off of the ground. Even worse, the dragon started to sink right into the horde of zombies.

"Turn around, Shade!" Matt yelled.

The dragon growled, and desperately banked, aiming back for the truck. For a moment, it looked as if they were going to land in the ravenous flood of undead. But Shade gripped the truck with his claws just in time, crawling back onto the truck and slumping onto his belly, letting the humans climb off.

"Damn it!" Ben cursed. "What now?"

"I already told you. Two of us will have to go first, then Shade can come back for the next." Then, Matt had an idea. "Look, the first two don't have to go all the way to the interstate. They'll just have to get to a safe place. Then, Shade can go back for the third. We can do it like that all the way out of the city. How about that?"

Nobody disagreed. "Who's going first?" asked Ben.

"You two go," said Trent. "I'll wait."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. If anyone's going to place themselves in danger, it's going to be me. I got us into this mess."

"No you didn't," said Matt. "Don't blame yourself."

"Hey, shut up Matt," said Ben. "Hell yeah it's your fault. But we'll all yell at you for it later. Right now, we need to get going."

Back on the interstate, the others were waiting for word from those in the city.

Sam, filled with guilt, was watching Gigalith destroy the city. He had created Gigalith, and he felt responsible for the danger she had put them all in. He wouldn't be surprised if the others blamed him as well.

His friends were trapped in that vortex of fire and death, it was his fault, and he had no way of helping them.

As he continued to study his creation, something strange became apparent to him. Gigalith's rampage had been steadily slowing down for a while, but now she was standing entirely still.

What is she…

As he was forming that thought, a white glow began emanating from her body. Something big was about to happen, and Sam knew it.

"Oh God…" he said. "Oh no!"

He hastily grabbed his walkie and pressed the button. "Guys!" he yelled. "You need to get out of the city now! Gigalith is about to self-destruct! If you don't move, you'll be in the blast radius! Nothing will be able to withstand it!"

"Guys! You need to get out of the city now! Gigalith is about to self-destruct! If you don't move, you'll be in the blast radius! Nothing will be able to withstand it!"

The four of them looked up at each other as they heard Sam's transmission. They then looked up at Gigalith, who was starting to glow with a white light.

"We need to get out of here!" Matt repeated.

"Go," said Trent. He knew what this meant for them. One of them had to stay behind, and he wasn't about to let his friends die. "You three need to leave, now!"

"No!" Matt exclaimed.

"Uh-uh," said Ben. "No fucking way in hell that we're leaving you here."

"Yes, you have to! Shade can only carry the two of you! Remember, or did you already forget?"

"We can try again!" Matt suggested.

"No, we can't," said Trent. "If we fail, we'll all die. What good is that?" He sighed. "You guys deserved better than this. This whole thing was my fault. I should have listened to you, Ben, and I'm sorry."

"No..." said Matt. But he knew there was no persuading Trent otherwise.

"What about your family?" Ben asked. "What about avenging them?"

"That's up to you now," said Trent. "As my new family, it's up to you to avenge my old one. And me."

A single tear fell from Ben's eyes. He tried to say something, but couldn't. Instead, he nodded.

Trent reached into his pocket, and took out both his flash drive and the one Dr. Shaw had given to him. "Take these," he said, handing them to Ben. "You'll need them."

Ben took them and put them into his pocket. Trent then turned to Matt. "You find these scientists and kick their asses for me, okay?" he requested. "The dragons deserve their revenge. And you're going to give it to them."

Matt nodded, and without warning he hugged Trent and let out a sob. "Goodbye, Trent," he said.

Trent hugged him back and sniffed. Ben joined the hug, and then it was quickly broken.

Trent then turned to Shade. "I don't want you to blame yourself for this," he said. "Understand? It's not your fault you can't carry me."

Shade nodded, and a tear dropped from his eye as well. He warbled mournfully.

"You know, at first I was a little frightened of you," Trent admitted. "But I came to realize you're alright. Hell, you're more than alright." With that, he stepped forward and embraced the dragon as well. Shade wrapped his forelegs around the man, returning the hug.

Trent broke the embrace and stepped back. "What are you waiting for?" he asked. "Go!"

Matt and Ben hesitated, but then they jumped on Shade. "Goodbye," Matt said softly. Then, Shade took off.

Trent watched them go. "Goodbye," he said.

Now it was just him.

He sighed, and walked back to the front of the truck. The door was still open. He shot a few zombies that were trying to get up at him, and then jumped down into it, slamming the door behind him. He sat there, waiting to die.

In his pocket was a picture of his family. He always carried it with him; had been since the day of their death. He had never taken it out except for when he was changing clothes. He couldn't bare the sight of it before; it brought so much unbearable pain. But he had always held onto it.

He reached into his pocket and took it out, unfolding it before him. It was a picture of his wife and daughter.

He remembered the day they had died. He had come back from the awful events of the concert, only to find the front door open. There was blood on the floor, and as he rushed in, he saw a zombie eating his wife's corpse. His daughter was dead on the other side of the room. In a fit of rage, he had grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed the zombie multiple times in the face, and even more after it was finally dead. Then, he had dropped the knife to the ground and knelt over his dead wife's body.

"No…" had all he had been able to get out before his words were replaced by incomprehensible wails.

I've never truly been able to get over that, he thought. This whole quest was ruled by it. Ben saw this coming. I should have listened to him. But I was too blind.

A single tear fell from his eyes and landed on the picture.

No matter, he thought. I'm coming home now.

Behind him, the white light emanating from Gigalith's body reached a blinding peak of brightness, before it exploded outward. A wave of blinding energy moved in all directions, incinerating everything in its path. It wasn't long before it reached the truck. Trent's death was painless and instantaneous. But despite all of the bleak surroundings- the zombies swarming his truck, the burning inferno around him- he was smiling.

Shade flew away from the white light as fast as he could. When he finally made it out of the city, he kept flying anyway. He wouldn't stop until the explosion reached its end

On his back, Matt and Ben silently watched as the broken city was swallowed by a blinding white light. The explosion lasted for a whole two minutes, before it finally gave way to an immense cloud of ash. The ash was so thick; they could see nothing of the once-great city that had stood in its place.

"It's over, Shade," Matt said. "Take us to the interstate."

The dragon turned and found the interstate from the air. He flew towards it, and in no time they had landed next to the truck.

The others there were ecstatic to see them. "We thought you had died!" Brian exclaimed. "Wait… Where's Trent?"

Ben shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. He slipped off of Shade's back and went over to Alena. "Oh my god…" she said. She pulled him into an embrace. "I'm so sorry," she said.

Matt went up to Shade and hugged him tightly, as did Sam to Ashmore. The rest of them stood around, tears wetting their faces.

Finally, when they were done with their moment of grief, they got back into the trucks. Ben hotwired a car and some of those in the back of the truck got in with him. Matt and Sam rode on the dragons.

Before they left, Ben took one look at the city and said, "I'll make them pay for what they've done." He turned to look Alena in the eye. His girlfriend met his gaze, and saw a frightening intensity in it that she had never seen in him before. "I'm going to burn them down. Every last one of them. I swear it."

Alena didn't know what to say. She just nodded. And then they drove away.

End of Part Two


So, now that that's over... I'll let you digest that for a bit.

I'm going to take a couple more weeks off, to catch up on college work and get Part Three ready. Then, I'll return, and we'll finish Book One.

And then... we go forward.

Until then, however... Goodbye.