The Clock Tower

by Archive keeper

After a series of vivid visions of a world at war with itself, Elia and the rest of the 501st are transported to the MW universe where they have to fight to survive the invasion of America. They team up with Metal Team and the 141 in order to find a way home however nothing is as it seems as the fate of both worlds may be tied to the will of a single man re posted with permission

27. Chapter 27 Scorched Earth

Scorched Earth

On route to the IFN Yamato

Flight Lieutenant Junko Takei

09:45 local time

Junko was flying with the rest of the 504th to the Yamato. The warm breeze blew across her face as she flew through the air. Behind her flight was the H8K seaplane that Lilia was aboard. It was a shame that Junko had to feel so nervous about the American Marine; but General Krupke was a man not to be trifled with. The rumors that surrounded the Karlslander general were quite well known to the witches and the last thing Junko wanted was for her friend and guest Lilia to be harmed by that bastard or his men. Junko tapped her breast pocket where she kept the dog tags of the fallen American pilots. It had taken some serious effort but she managed to find all of the dog tags of the Americans; surprisingly the tags were still readable despite the crashes. Junko and the rest of the 504th encountered the Yamato and the allied Fusoan fleet five kilometers ahead.

"Wow that thing is huge." Patricia said to no one in particular. Nishiki was the next to speak.

"Yes it is currently the world's second largest battleship behind the five Liberion Montana class battleships." Nishiki informed the unit. Then Dominica spoke.

"That motherfucker has nine 46cm cannons; it will knock any Neuroi dumb enough to attack it right out of the park." Dominica claimed using her stereotypical baseball vernacular to drive the point home.

"To bad there are only two of these things." Angela said aloud. Then Federica spoke.

"Ok people enough chit chat get ready to land aboard the Yamato." Federica ordered the witches. Junko descended down and landed near the rear turret of the ship along with the other ten witches. Junko then watched as the H8K circled to commence its landing. Then from the seaplane hangar of the Yamato came a young Fusoan witch in a naval uniform. She had long black hair that she kept in a pony tail and a rather womanly figure. She saluted Junko and Federica before speaking.

"Good morning Ma'am. My name is Flight Sergeant Shizuka Hattori of the Imperial Fusoan Navy. I have been assigned as a reserve member of your squadron to fill in for Pilot Officer Amaki Suwa during her absences from your unit." Shizuka said with a salute. Junko returned the salute; then Jane spoke.

"Wait you said your last name was Hattori right?" Jane asked Shizuka who nodded her head while keeping her eyes locked forward in typical parade ground attention.

"That is correct Ma'am. I am Shizuka Hattori from one of the Thirteen Regent households of the Empire of Fuso. And I have a direct blood connection to the Imperial Shogunate." Shizuka informed them. It made sense to Junko. Not often would you see the blue colored Fusoan Navy uniform. That was unless that person was related to the nobility of Fuso. It just so happened that this young witch happened to be very high up on the nobility food chain. Dominica raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Wait if you are related to the Shogun then why are you in the Fusoan Navy instead of the Royal Guards?" The Liberion witch asked her. Shizuka looked to Dominica and spoke.

"It was because I wanted to see action on the frontlines Ma'am. I knew that if I went into one of the Royal Guards Regiments that I would be mostly stationed in Kyoto guarding the Empress; which is a fine and noble duty of a witch from a royal family… but I wanted to serve on the frontlines like the great Ayaka Kuroe of the Kuroe Samurai family." Shizuka explained to them. It made sense for Junko; even though the Fusoan nobility rarely wanted to let their young witches serve on the frontlines, Ayaka was a famous exception. A member of one of the smaller Samurai families she was sent to the frontlines after she graduated from the Royal Guards Academy. She quickly became an ace witch and gained a fearsome reputation for her skill in close combat gaining the nickname "Kuroe the Demon". Since then a small but sizable member of the Fusoan nobility had sent their young witches to the frontlines. Just then Lilia stepped aboard the Yamato from the latter at the side of the ship. Shizuka noticed this and briefly broke her attention as she eyed the beautiful American Marine, and her equally stunning companion. "Is that…?" Shizuka asked no one in particular then Junko spoke.

"Yes, Sergeant I would like you to meet Second Lieutenant Lilia Kjellberg of the United States Marine Corps's Black Knives Squadron." Junko pointed to Lilia as she spoke to Shizuka who saluted Lilia. Junko then pointed to Melvina. "And this is Petty Officer Melvina Vidya Advani of the United States Navy." Junko told Shizuka

"It is such an honor to meet you Lieutenant Kjellberg, and Petty Officer Advani! I read the reports about you and your fleet, and how you came from an alternate world, and how you held off the Neuroi for nearly three hours!" Shizuka said with an excited look on her face. Lilia and Melvina saluted back.

"Thank you it is nice to meet you too…" Lilia trailed off not knowing the name of this young Fusoan witch.

"Flight Sergeant Shizuka Hattori; of the Imperial Fusoan Navy." Shizuka once again introduced herself.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Sergeant. At ease, besides we are out of uniform." Lilia said to Shizuka who immediately went to an at ease stance. Then Lilia looked around for a minute. "Wow so this is the Yamato I thought I would never see one in person. This has to be even more impressive then the Iowa back in my world." Lilia said aloud. Then Nishiki spoke.

"Wait you have never seen the Yamato back in your world? What happened to them, were they never made?" Nishiki asked Lilia who shook her head.

"No they were sunk in my timeline during a series of airstrikes." Lilia explained. Junko thought for a moment. Strange with current technology it would be damn near impossible to sink the Yamato's with anything short of a battleship or a few battleships… maybe they were sunk in her timeline at some point in the sixties or seventies… either way before she was born so maybe no more than the nineties. But as of now it would be impossible to sink either the Yamato or Musashi with a conventional air attack.

"How peculiar; would you mind telling me about your world sometime Lieutenant?" Shizuka asked Lilia who nodded.

"Certainly I would love to tell you about it sometime." Lilia said to Shizuka who nodded before looking to Melvina.

"And given the opportunity I would like to speak to you too Petty Officer." Shizuka told the young girl.

"Of course I would be happy to talk to you." Melvina said with a smile before that smile faltered. "Just… please don't interrogate me like that general." Melvina said. Then Lilia spoke.

"She means General Krupke… that bastard treated her like she was a prisoner of war not a victim of the Neuroi." Lilia explained. Shizuka frowned and nodded.

"Ah I see… I am sorry that you had to deal with a bastard like General Krupke, please know that he doesn't represent all of us. Most of our commanders are much kinder and more competent then he is. But regardless you have my sincerest apology that you had to deal with him." Shizuka said as she bowed to Melvina.

"It's ok… I know that he is in the minority. Most of the people here in this world have treated me with a lot of kindness." Melvina said to Shizuka who nodded her head.

"Ah well I am glad to hear that then." Shizuka said to Melvina before turning to face Junko and the other witches. "Well I will let you all store your strikers and head to your quarters now I am sure you are exhausted." Shizuka said to them. Junko and the others saluted her as she left. Then Junko got out of her striker and walked over to Lilia.

"Lilia I did some searching and I found these for you." Junko said to Lilia as she handed her a set of dog tags. Lilia took them and smiled at Junko some tears forming in those enchanting greenish blue colored eyes.

"Thank you so much Junko this means a lot to both of us. I know we may never be able to recover the bodies but I really appreciate the ability to be able to at least return their dog tags to their loved ones someday." Lilia explained. Junko smiled and nodded back.

"It was the least I could do for you two." Junko explained. Then she thought for a moment. "Wait how do you know that you will get back to your world someday?" Junko asked her.

"I am not sure… I just don't want to give up hope that one day I will…" Lilia said to Junko. Junko felt her heart sink a little… Lilia wanted to get back to her world. That meant that she wanted to at some point leave Junko… did that mean that… "But I would only want to be able to go back to my world if I knew I could come back to be with you again. If I couldn't come back to this world or you couldn't come with me than I wouldn't want to go back again… I would stay here with you…" Lilia started to blush. "Only if you wanted me to stay with you that is." Lilia said nervously. Just then Melvina blushed and spoke to

"And I would do the same… I don't think I would want to leave knowing that I wouldn't be able to see any of you again especially after all that you have done for me." Melvina said to Junko who smiled and gave both of the Americans a hug and a kiss on her cheek. Lilia and Melvina looked at the Fusoan witch with a happily surprised look on her face.

"Perhaps that will suffice as my answer." Junko said with a warm smile. Something told Junko that her meeting Lilia and Melvina was destiny… that it was a sign of some sorts that she was destined to be with these women from another world. Junko then swore that she would fight to defend both Lilia and Melvina from the Neuroi or anyone else who would want to hurt her… and at some point she would confess these feelings that she had for these young American Marines to them.

San Diego USA

Logan Walker

9:00 local time

Logan and David sat down on a log across from their father. Elias Walker was a wise old man who had served his country in the United States Army for his entire adult life. Elias had seen combat on every continent and fought every type of enemy imaginable. He had taught Logan and David everything they knew. From how to hunt, to survive, to fight, and to shoot; he was their teacher, their drill sergeant, their chief. But more importantly he was their father. Elias sat down and began to speak.

"It was a different time, a different enemy. Sixty operators from Tier One units gathered to face off against a force of five hundred Al-Qaeda fighters. Their objective: to force the enemy back from a civilian hospital, and keep its occupants alive." Elias paused for a few seconds taking a sip on his canteen. "For three days they held their ground, but the enemy's numbers were too great. The sixty were cut down to fifteen. They wouldn't last another night and the enemy knew it. Under the cover of darkness, they evacuated the hospital, sending only one of their own to lead the way. The rest returned to the line, and took up positions beneath the bodies of their fallen brothers. As they lay in wait the blood from the dead poured over them. The sand stuck to their skin like a shroud. Changing them; anointing them. When the enemy drew near, the remaining fourteen rose out of the desert sand. They were like hunters who couldn't be seen; using stealth the enemy couldn't defend against. When the men ran dry of ammunition; they switched to their blades. When the blades ran dull they used their hands. When the dust and sand had settled only one Al-Qaeda fighter had survived. He was picked up in the desert wandering aimlessly, traumatized. He expressed warnings to the others of a force so great and unbeatable they could only be supernatural. He called them Ghosts." Elias told his sons. Then David scoffed.

"So this really happened?" David asked Elias who shrugged.

"So the legend goes." He simply replied to his eldest son. David rolled his eyes.

"You can't really believe this do you?" David asked his dad who smirked.

"As a matter of fact I do." He replied then he stood up. "Ok boys lets head home we have some deer meat we need to eat up; come on." Elias said as he stood up. David looked to Logan and spoke.

"Logan you don't believe this crap do you?" David inquired of his brother who shrugged.

"I don't know. Either way it is a pretty badass war story." Logan said to David who chuckled. David patted Logan on the back.

"Hey do you mind if you do the cooking today?" David requested.

"Sure why do you have something you need to do?" Logan asked his older brother who gave him a sly grin.

"Oh not something… more like someone." David replied.

"Oh don't tell me you are going to see that Cynthia girl again." Logan told his brother who nodded.

"Yup it's her." He simply stated.

"Well you are heading for boot in two days; don't you think it's a bad idea to go and see a girl before you head off?" Logan asked his brother who shook his head.

"Nah how bad can it be? Remember dad met mom before his first deployment." David told his brother. Logan frowned. She had been dead for ten years now. An early life set of bone cancer that killed her in a few months. David seemed to notice what his brother was thinking and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Hey I miss her to little brother." David told Logan who nodded his head.

"Yeah…" Logan simply stated. Then Elias looked back at them.

"Come on boys shake a leg that deer won't cook itself." He told them. Logan smirked and headed after his father and older brother.

Berlin Germany

Flying Officer Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen

10:15 local time

Eila sat on the bench on the side of one of the several MH-6 helicopters that they were riding in on. Flanking either side of the formation of helicopters was a flight of three AH-64E Super Apaches. The city was in flames and Russian troops were everywhere.

"Damn it! Why does this world's Berlin have to burn too? I won't let these Russian bastards have Berlin!" Gertrude growled over the radio. Then Minna spoke.

"Just concentrate on getting Alena. Once we get our hands on her we will be one step closer to getting Makarov." Minna said to Gertrude. This was it; it was time to do our die. Midnight was just around the corner and if she didn't stop Makarov now who knew what would happen next. Just then down the street a flight of two Russian gunships rounded the corner of one of the destroyed buildings. Just before they could fire a missile hit each one of the Russian helicopters and a hundred meters above Eila a dark purple painted delta winged jet with a rose emblem on the nose flew by. Strange Eila had never seen a custom painted military aircraft in this world before. Frost then spoke.

"It is the Tigress of Tripoli… The French Navy's top ace pilot Bernadette Le Tigre De La Riviere. Shit I never thought I would see her in person." He said aloud. Sanya then spoke over the radio.

"Do you know of this woman then?" She asked him.

"Yeah I heard about her when she was deployed as part of an operation to destroy the Libyan Air Force. She scored eight kills in a week; and got another four before the war was over. She is one of the most feared and respected pilots in the world. Hell I think the only few people who come close to her in kills would be Colonel Alfred Walken of the USAF or perhaps Colonel William Bishop both of them are our aces." Frost explained to her. Then Sandman spoke.

"We are coming up on the hotel now. Prep your weapons." Sandman said to them. "Granit will storm the Hotel that Alena is in while we will provide fire support." He said to them. Just then an RPG struck a nearby MH-6. "Shit we're taking fire; all units engage!" Sandman shouted. Eila aimed down the EOtech sight on her UMP and lined up a Russian soldier on the roof of the target building. She squeezed the trigger and sent three rounds into the man. Blood fanned out from behind the man as he fell to the ground. The other members of Task Force 141 opened fire dropping a handful of Russians on the roof. The helicopters hovered over the roof and Eila hopped off onto the roof and swept her gun side to side. Sanya hopped down next to her with her Uzi drawn. They moved forward as a handful of Russians came down the stairs towards them with SMGs in hand. They fired at the two of them sending a blizzard of pistol rounds smacking into their shields. Eila and Sanya fired full auto into the Russian soldiers, the bullets from their SMGs tearing into the Russians. Minna then spoke.

"Come on we need to get a move on to secure the LZ for Granit." Minna said to the group as she fired her MK18 into another Russian inside. Shirley fired her M27 IAR full auto into the upper level of the building where some Russian soldiers were trying to get a firing position on them.

"Go I will cover you!" Shirley said as she reloaded and started to fire more rounds into the enemy soldiers. Eila moved up into the building with Sanya behind her. She then went up a flight of stairs where a handful of enemy soldiers were waiting for them. Bullets whizzed past her head as she dove behind some cubical in the office complex they were in. Eila pulled an M67 off her vest and pulled the pin. She waited half a second then tossed it in the general direction of the Russians. Eila heard a few curses and then a thunderous explosion as a handful of the Russians were killed in the blast. Frost and Grinch fired into the remaining Russians dropping them to the ground. Eila got up and checked her ammo. She moved down the other side of the office complex were a ramp of debris led up to the second floor. Eila swept her gun side to side and spotted a Russian aiming his assault rifle at her. She fired at him sending two 45cal rounds into his forehead blowing the back of his skull out. Two more Russians stood up from cover and opened fire on her. Bullets impacted her shield as she picked her second target a Russian soldier with a blue beret. She fired three rounds into him dropping him. She was about to fire on the remaining Russian when Sanya fired a long burst from her Uzi killing him. Eila turned to her girlfriend and spoke.

"Nice shot." She simply stated. Sanya nodded and moved forward. They headed towards the stairs and checked up. The way was clear for them to move. Eila and Sanya moved to the top of the stairs and checked for any enemies. None could be seen. Eila then went onto the roof where more gunfire struck at them. Eila and Sanya fired in the direction of the gunfire causing someone to drop to the ground. Eila and Sanya advanced to see it was a Russian soldier. Then the others came and Sandman spoke.

"Alright get ready to snipe people we need to clear the rooftop for Granit team to land." Sandman told them. Frost and Grinch took out their sniper rifles and aimed down towards the building.

Berlin Germany

Staff Sergeant Derek Westbrook "Frost"

10:23 local time

Frost aimed down the sights of his MK14 DMR and spotted a target. A Russian with a PKM was scanning the skies waiting for anyone to try and land on the rooftops. Frost put the man's head in his sights and pulled the trigger sending a high caliber round through the man's forehead. Grinch fired an instant later and killed a man with an RPG. Frost then switched to another man who spotted them and was raising his AK-12 to fire at them. Frost saw muzzle flashes and heard bullets impacting blow them as the bullets didn't have the range to hit them. Frost fired at the man in his sights bisecting him. Grinch killed another Russian soldier with a single shot. Frost then spotted a man running back into the hotel. Frost lined up his shot and fired a single round hitting him in the back. Then Sandman spoke over the radio.

"Granit team the LZ is clear; I repeat the LZ is clear." He said to the other Delta unit.

"Roger that Metal 0-1 we read you loud and clear." The leader of Granit replied as they landed the chopper on top of hotel that Alena was in and the Delta team started to pile off and sweep out trying to find cover. Then from the Hotel a half dozen Russians started to pour out from the mouth of the hotel. Frost and Grinch fired into the group of Russians dropping three of them in the first two rounds. They fired again killing another two of the Russians. Frost then lined the remaining Russian in his sights and fired, blowing the top of his head off. Suddenly the hotel shook as a 125mm tank shell fired from a T-90 smacked into it.

"Helios this is Metal 0-1 the building is taking fire from enemy tanks requesting a fire mission over." Sandman said over the radio to Isabella who took a second to reply.

"Roger that Metal 0-1 we are patching you through to a flight of A-10s." Isabella replied.

"This is Valkyrie 2-6 we have a clear flight path to your location; laze targets for us and we will take them out." The A-10 pilot said over the radio.

"Copy that Valkyrie 2-6 we will laze the targets now." Sandman said to the A-10 pilot. He then turned to Frost and spoke. "Frost, use the laser designator and light up those tanks below us." He said to Frost.

"Roger that!" Frost shouted. Frost spotted the T-90 coming down the street and put the laser designator on the target. The A-10 pilot confirmed the target and flew towards the enemy tank with her 30mm cannon blazing. DPU shells smacked into the enemy tank and shredded the vehicle and all of the Russian soldiers nearby it. Then a second set of Russian tanks approached the building firing their cannons as they went. Frost put them in the laser sight and the A-10 turned around and fired two Maverick missiles into the tanks destroying both of them in a series of cataclysmic explosions.

"Granit the enemy is falling back the way is clear for your team to move up." Sandman said to the other Delta unit.

"Roger that we are moving to the target area now." Granit leader said over the radio. The American commando unit moved into the building a few flashes of gunfire could be heard then Granit lead's voice screamed over the radio. "OH SHIT LEFT SI…." He shouted before a tremendous detonation sent fire spewing out from the entrance of the building.

"Oh shit they just killed Granit team." Grinch said to the members of the Task Force.

"I know that just means that we are going to have to go and rescue the girl ourselves. Come on let's get a move on." Sandman said as he started to head over to the railing on the right side of the building. Frost followed after him and spoke over the radio. "Helios, Granit team is down. We are moving in to rescue the package ourselves." Sandman said to Isabella as he got his rope ready to repel from the side of the building.

"Roger that, you are to link up with a European Union tank unit located across the river from your location. They will provide cover for you as you move towards the target location. But be advised they are currently taking enemy fire from your side of the river. You will have to take out the enemy tank that is holding them up." Isabella told them as they started to repel off the side of the building. Just then an A-10 flew overhead with its cannon blazing, destroying a Russian Hind that was heading towards their location.

"Understood Helios we will take out the enemy tank." Sandman said as they landed on the ground. Frost readied his ACR and started to move forward spotting a downed MH-6 in front of them.

"Shit sir we have a downed bird. And it looks like we have a few causalities." Frost said to Sandman who nodded.

"Ok take their patches and tags." Sandman said to Frost who went over to the corpses and pulled off their tags and unit patch. They were from Grizzly, the same guys that they met in New York. Frost sighed and shook his head.

"It is a bad day to be a Delta." Grinch simply stated. Frost nodded, he was just glad that Hunter 2-1 was still back stateside training new recruits. Otherwise Jake and the others would be in this meat grinder right now. Last thing Frost needed was to lose more friends to this war.

"Helios we have a downed Delta team we are marking the bodies on tacmap for retrieval now." Sandman said to Isabella.

"Roger that." She simply stated. Sandman then looked to Frost and nodded.

"Let's go." He simply stated. Frost nodded. They moved forward towards the river when they heard a voice over their radios.

"American Commandos this is Stomper 1 of the German Army, currently attached to the European Union Combined Army. We are located across the river from you but are taking heavy fire from an enemy T-90. We need you to destroy it before we can pass over!" The German tank commander said to them. Frost and the others headed into a building near the river and stopped. Frost leaned his head out from cover to see a Russian T-90 parked behind some debris near the river in a hull down position. A squad of Russian soldiers was with it.

"Copy that Stomper 1 we will take out the enemy tank for you." Sandman spoke to the German tank commander.

"Ja, just hurry ok." He state to them. Sandman gestured for Frost to move up and use his knife on a Russian soldier with an RPG-29 nearest to them. Frost took out his knife and moved up closer to the Russian who was trying to reload. Frost quickly went up behind him and slit his throat. Frost then picked up the RPG and loaded the shell, and aimed it at the enemy tank's exposed rear. Right before Frost fired the Russian tank commander looked back to Frost shouting something to the dead RPG gunner. The tank commander's eyes went wide and Frost pulled the trigger sending the anti-tank rocket into the rear of the enemy vehicle. The shaped charge tandem warhead smacked into the vulnerable rear of the tank destroying the engine and igniting the fuel. The explosion sent fire into the crew compartment which in an instant detonated the ammo onboard causing a cataclysmic explosion that sent the turret of the tank flying through the air.

"Stomper 1 you are clear to move up. I say again the enemy tank is destroyed and the bridge is clear." Sandman said to the German tank.

"Ja thank you Americans we will move up now." The tank commander replied. Just then two Leopard 2A7+ tanks moved forward followed by a handful of German troops wearing EU uniforms. The powerful 120mm cannons on the tanks fired sending two HEAT shells into the retreating Russian soldiers.

"Ok people we will use the tanks for cover as we advance towards the hotel." Sandman said as he headed after the EU tanks and soldiers as they advanced towards the hotel.

Berlin Germany

Flight Lieutenant Gertrude Barkhorn

10:31 local time

Gertrude and Shirley followed after the two German tanks as they cut a bloody swath through the German lines. Gertrude spotted an enemy soldier with an RPG lining up a shot. She put him in the sights of her G36C and fired a three round burst into him killing him. Then her weapon clicked empty. Gertrude reloaded her gun and looked to her left to see an EU soldier with a handheld version of the MG42 in his hand. She went over to the soldier and spoke.

"Hand me your weapon soldier." She growled to him as rage coursed through her body. These Russian bastards dared to defile her beloved home city. She was going to make them pay for what they had done. The soldier looked at the fire in her eyes and nodded his head and handed her his weapon. Gertrude tossed the soldier her G36 and charged out with her shield raised. She fired a long burst into a knot of three Russians who were using a destroyed car for cover. Bullets punched through the gaps in the vehicles armor and tore each of the three enemy soldiers to shreds. She continued to move up and shot another group of Russians who were moving from cover to cover. A stream of 7.62mm rounds cut the soldiers down where they stood blowing one in half and shredding the other two beyond recognition. Gertrude then moved forward spotting a Russian using a LMG to attack the German soldiers supporting the tanks. She summoned her familiar and jumped towards the Russian kicking him in the head with her enhanced strength turning the man's head into mush. She landed on the ground with a thud and pivoted to the left to see another Russian who had witnessed this sight staring at her in utter fear. She fired into him with her MG42 killing him in a hailstorm of lead. Shirley then jump down next to her.

"Hey are you alright." She asked Gertrude who nodded her head.

"I will be when I kill all of these Russian bastards for what they have done." She told her girlfriend who nodded her head. Gertrude moved forward after the others Minna fired her carbine pointblank into a Russian soldier who attacked her with his E-tool. Frau tossed a frag grenade at some of the Russians using some rubble for cover killing both of them; While Eila and Sanya followed the tanks after Frost, Sandman and Grinch. Gertrude followed them firing her MG42 at any Russians dumb enough to show their faces to her. Then Sandman spoke over the radio.

"Their just up ahead is the target building we don't have much farther people until we get there." Sandman said to the group. Gertrude followed after them when an explosion shook the ground and the building in front of them began to collapse smashing the tanks and sending debris everywhere. Gertrude was knocked to the ground and dazed by the power of the explosion and fallen building.

Berlin Germany

Flying Officer Erica Hartmann

10:38 local time

Erica's head pounded as she stood up. They dropped a fucking building on her head… a fucking building!? How desperate were they to stop them. It didn't matter now though it happened and that was that. She looked around to see that all of the other members of Task Force 141 were still alive. Then a mortar round struck the ground a few dozen meters away.

"Shit mortars we have to move people!" Sandman said to the group. Everyone followed after him as mortars started to land nearby. Erica checked her weapon and made sure it was at the ready. "Helios the Russians blew up a building when our tanks got to close we are proceeding without support to the target location over!" Sandman said to Isabella who took a second to reply.

"Roger that Metal 0-1, proceed to target area over." She calmly replied.

"Man this is so much bullshit." Grinch stated. Then Minna spoke.

"As soon as we get to Alena, the sooner we can call for evac; let's just get this over with ok people." Minna said to everyone who nodded. Erica followed after Sandman and went through the debris. She spotted two Russians who were in front of them trying to set up a machine gun to block their advance. Erica aimed her MTAR-21 at them and fired three round bursts into each of them. They continued to move forward entering a lobby of a hotel. A handful of Russian soldier were waiting for them. Erica fired her carbine at them killing one of them. The others emptied their weapons into the Russians dropping them to the floor. They continued to advance into the building. Erica swept left to right scanning for targets. Sandman then pointed towards the stairs and gestured for them to go into them. Just then Isabella spoke over the radio.

"Metal 0-1; be advised that the enemy is extracting Alena now you don't have a lot of time before they manage to escape with her. You need to double time it to her location." Isabella said to them.

"Roger that we are reaching the floor that she is on now. Our ETA is about thirty seconds." Sandman replied to Isabella. They reached the floor that Alena was on and Sandman kicked the door down. Down the hallway they heard Alena screaming as the Russian soldiers dragged her off. "Shit they got a hold of her. Erica, Frost take point and move forward." Sandman ordered them.

"Roger that." Erica stated as she moved down the hallway with her weapon ready. The sound of a helicopters rotors could be heard as they moved closer to the end of the hallway.

"She is on the other side of the door prepare to breach and clear." Sandman stated as Erica and Frost stacked up on the door. Frost looked to Erica and spoke.

"Are you ready?" He asked her. Erica nodded her head and Frost grabbed the door handle. Just then a small explosion blew apart the door and tossed Frost back smacking into Erica. Erica was dazed but she saw two Russian heading towards them readying their weapons. Erica quickly pulled Frost's sidearm from his holster and fired at both of the Russians killing them. On the roof a Russian helicopter prepared to take off with Alena restrained by a Russian soldier. The helicopter took off and Grinch ran into the open with his rifle raised but before he could take a shot Sandman smacked the rifle down.

"We can't risk killing Alena." He simply stated to Grinch as the helicopter flew off. "Helios be advised we have lost the package. I repeat the Russians have Alena." Sandman told Isabella.

"Then our mission is a complete and utter failure." Isabella replied. Something about the way Isabella worded that sent a sickening feeling in Erica's gut. Something told her that there was more to Alena's capture then Isabella was telling us.

Unknown

Alex Mason (deceased)

Unknown

"Well we are fucked." Alex said with a sigh. Reznov nodded his head and replied.

"Yes I believe that is the appropriate term to describe the situation." He simply stated. He walked over to the device and put his hand on it. "We have failed our mission; and more importantly we have failed all of mankind. I wished we didn't have to do this but now we don't have a choice. Eila has failed so we have to move on to plan B." Reznov explained to Alex who nodded his head.

"Right so what exactly is this device going to do again Viktor?" Alex asked his friend who nodded his head.

"Right this device when activated will allow a series of portals to open up in the witch's world. It should allow people, vehicles and even buildings from their world to enter our old world. Even though all of the witches in our world will be awakened soon; they will still be untested and underequipped. Mankind's best chance for survival will be if the witches from the other world join forces with the ones in our world to face off against the Neuroi. I have set the device to try and transport as many people to the North American continent as possible; however I still have no way to predict exactly where everyone will land." Reznov explained to Alex who nodded his head.

"Right and let's just hope we don't teleport an entire division of soldiers or an entire city to the bottom of the ocean." Alex stated to Reznov who nodded his head.

"Indeed but I don't think we will have to worry too much about that happening. However the down side of this is that when we activate this device the backlash of supernatural energy that it unleashes will not only destroy the device but this entire pocket dimension we have been hiding in… and it will destroy us on a spiritual level. The two of us will cease to exist." Reznov further explained to Alex who nodded his head.

"You know that I love you Viktor…" Alex said causing Reznov to roll his eyes. "Like a brother damn it!" Alex amended eliciting a small chuckle from Reznov. "But this is something we have to do for the rest of Mankind. We will have to make this sacrifice for everyone else. So in other words I am ready as soon as you are." Alex said to Reznov who nodded his head.

"Alright then; let's get ready." Reznov said as he grabbed the key to the device and got ready. Alex headed over to his side and grabbed his key. "Have any regrets Alex?" Viktor asked his long time friend.

"Yeah… I will never get a chance to tell my son how proud of him I am… that is my one regret." Alex explained to Reznov who nodded his head.

"Alright then… we turn the key on three…1…2…3!" Reznov shouted as he and Alex turned the keys at the same time. The magical device powered on and then there was a blinding white flash of light and then there was nothing.

The Neuroi's home dimension

"The Controller"

N/A

"Warriors of the Empire!" The Architect shouted to its minions. Across the marshalling field billions of Neuroi combat forms mustered for the invasion of Earth. It was time; finally after years of waiting the Great Harvest of Humanity could begin. The Controller flourished its tentacles in anticipation for combat and conquest. "The Next Great Harvest is upon us!" The Architect shouted to the Neuroi warriors below. "We are about to face our greatest enemy yet in glorious combat. We will smite mankind and harvest them for our own gains!" It shouted again. The Controller looked to the other Neuroi Generals who stood near the Architect and the three of the four Ancient Ones. With The Controller was The Inferno and The Wolf who stood over two meters tall apiece. The Wolf growled in anger as it waited for the time to kill. It had both of its long swords drawn and its fangs out. The Wolf was a very unsubtle general who preferred to use direct assaults to close in and kill its enemies in melee combat. The Controller knew that The Wolf's style of combat had its place in the Neuroi Empire but The Controller preferred to out think its opponents whenever possible. "Go fourth my warriors and kill the humans! Burn their homes!" It shouted eliciting a cheer from the assembled Neuroi. "Make the streets in their cities run red with rivers of blood!" It shouted eliciting another cheer from them. "Devour their mind, bodies and souls!" The Architect shouted again to more cheering. "Torture the humans and make them suffer as you see fit!" The Architect commanded its minions. If The Controller could smile it would at that comment. The Controller always enjoyed playing with its victims when it was given the chance. Other than just simply using them for combat The Controller's tentacles had another purpose. The Controller remembered fondly an olive skinned white haired witch that it had captured once… she had such a beautiful body and The Controller had enjoyed tormenting her immensely. Perhaps when it reached earth The Controller could take more human females as slaves for its own amusement; after all a human woman was really only useful for one thing. "Now go my warriors and strip Earth of anything of value!" The Architect shouted once more as it drew its broadsword Soul Drinker and held it in the air for all to see. The Neuroi below began to chant "Kill the Humans!" as portals began to open up and the invasion began. The Architect then turned to The Controller and spoke. "I want you three to be the ones to lead the forces at the hive that will appear over the human city of Miami. From there we will attack both north and south and destroy humanity on that hemisphere." The Architect explained to them. Even though the Architect stood at over five meters tall it was still dwarfed by the Controller who stood at over ten meters eight meters tall and had fourteen extendable six meter long tentacles, four of which were bladed and the other were used for various purposes. That being said The Controller was under no delusion that it was no match for The Architect in a direct fight, The Architect was an Outer God after all.

"As you wish my lord." The Controller said with a bow of its mighty form.

"As long as I get to kill and eat humans I care not where I am sent." The Wolf said to The Architect who nodded its head.

"That is a good attitude to take my warrior I am sure that you will kill many humans when you arrive on that disgusting little planet." The Architect said to The Wolf who nodded its head.

"I shall marshal my forces right away." The Inferno said to its God King.

"Good, now go fourth and kill." The Architect commanded. The Controller smiled inwardly this invasion; this Great Harvest will be far more enjoyable then the hundreds of thousands it had fought in before. Yes now after years of waiting the harvest of humanity could finally begin.

Berlin Germany

Flying Officer Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen

18:56 local time

It had been some time since they arrived back at the FOB waiting for orders. Command had lost track of the helicopter that Alena was on. Now they just say back at base waiting for their next orders. Eila had seen Isabella when they arrived and for once the young woman had a look of fear in her eyes. That couldn't be good. Then Eila felt the cards in her pocket start to rattle indicating that another important vision was about to begin. Perhaps it would be a clue as to where Alena was being held. Eila pulled out her cards and to her horror she saw a card with a full moon facing down. The Card was titled "Midnight". Then Eila's consciousness was ripped from her body.

Unknown

Flying Officer Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen

Unknown

Eila saw the Clock Tower. It was covered in blood and the hour hand was stuck at eleven o'clock. Then Eila saw Makarov in a dark room. With him was the bloody and beaten form of Alena with her father.

"Ok I will give you the launch codes just please don't hurt my daughter!" The Russian President pleaded. Eila heard in the room a series of chanting in a language that she had never heard before, but for some reason it just sounded plain evil to Eila even without knowing what the words meant. Makarov laughed and looked to the Russian President.

"You fool I no longer need the Launch codes to complete my goals." Makarov said as he pulled out his knife. "I have everything I need here." Makarov stated with a grin on his face.

"Father…" Alena weakly stated.

"Why should I be content with the control of a single country or even continent when I can have the power of a god?" Makarov stated to the Russian President.

"What are you talking about you madman!? You Satanist?" The Russian President demanded. Makarov laughed and looked to Vorshevsky.

"You still believe in those silly little fairy tales? I worship the one true god of the universe. The mightiest of the Outer Gods; The Architect God King of the Neuroi Empire." Makarov said. Then a series of gunshots rang out and the chanting stopped. Just then in the corners of the room a set of black candles lit with purple flames. "It is time." Makarov stated as he went to Alena and stabbed her with his knife cutting a hole in her chest. He then reached in and pulled out Alena's still beating heart. He held up the heart and spoke. "Witness my ascension!" He shouted with what seemed to be a voice other than his own. He stabbed the heart and began to levitate a few centimeters off the ground laughing madly then he seemed to fall apart and his body dissolved into a puddle of blood. All was quiet for a moment then from the puddle of blood a clawed metallic hand emerged and started to pull itself out of the blood. Then Eila saw the Clock Tower she was nearly drowning in blood now and it rained from the skies. The hand struck midnight and the bells chimed. Eila then heard a voice. "Let the world burn." It said. Eila then awoke.

Berlin Germany

Flying Officer Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen

19:00 local time

Eila heard the sounds of a dozen voices speaking in startled surprise coming from outside of her tent. Eila left the tent and saw everyone staring at Isabella who was staring up at the sky. But they weren't just gawking at her beauty they were staring at her golden colored eyes, and the wings of an owl that were on her head and the tail feathers popping out of her skirt.

"Isabella you are a witch!?" Eila shouted to her. Isabella just kept looking up at the sky.

"My mission was a complete and utter failure." She said as a tear rolled down her face. Then a drop of liquid hit Eila's face. She rubbed her cheek to see that it was blood… human blood. Then more blood began to rain from the sky.

"No; fuck no!" Eila shouted then a tearing sound filled the sky and a blood red tear in reality formed above the city of Berlin. And from that tear a giant black wing fifty meters across came fourth. Across the body of the wing were a series of red hexagons. Then Eila heard an unmistakable screech. "Neuroi… Neuroi are here in this world!" Eila shouted.

That day is when it began. Mankind's endless nightmare; the day humanity truly began to walk the path towards extinction. The day the Neuroi War began.