Edit: Readded second chapter because it didn't "update".
Mission Briefing
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The video shows a US Ranger sitting in the back of a Humvee. The camera, which is a phone, is somewhat shaky, because he's holding it in his hand, combined with the fact that the vehicle is in motion.
"So...where do I begin? Uh, my name is Jack, and I'm a Ranger."
"No shit, sherlock!" Another Ranger told him.
"Fuck you, Mike! Anyways, allow me to state the obvious. We're stuck in another world— Mike, don't you dare. – and we're without backup. So, allow me to recount what has happened..."
Several hours earlier...
Jack could still hear the ringing in his ears as he kicked open the jammed door of the Humvee he had been riding in, which had been flipped upside down by the Gate's destruction.
Goddamn bulletproof glass, why are you fucking invincible against everything BUT bullets? Damn snipers.
Crawling out, he could see the land around him. It was actually pretty nice, apart from the fact that they're stuck here now. Looking upwards, he could see a Spy Drone flying into the distance, before one of his fellow Rangers stood over him.
"Rise and shine, honey!"
"Fuck you, Mike." Jack retorted, half-smiling at Mike's antics, pushing himself up off the ground and dusting himself off.
Mike and Jack were best friends since their high-school years, where they forged the fires of friendship with video games, having met when Jack was only a freshman and Mike a junior. Mike, having graduated earlier, kept in touch with his friend, even after he joined the US military after parents kicked him out of the house.
By the time Jack had signed up, Mike had already become a field officer, and by pulling some strings, Jack was able to reunite with him.
Nearby, several other Rangers are busy, taking inventory and making sure that everyone whom needs medical attention gets directed right to the nearest Ambulance. (Not to be confused with the vehicle used by hospitals.)
Luckily, they only had minor injuries, nothing life threatening.
Beta Squad
X3 Technicals
X3 Humvees
X2 Avengers
X2 Quad Cannons
X2 Crusader tanks
X10 US Rangers
X3 Missile Defenderut
X5 GLA Rebels
X2 Microwave Tanks
X1 Tomahawk Missile Launcher
X5 Combat Cycles
X1 Marauder Tank
X3 Ambulance
X1 Comanche Attack Helicopter
X5 Sentry Drones w/ Machine Guns
X2 Rocket Buggies
X2 GLA Radar Trucks
X1 GLA Battle Bus
Jarman Kell
Colonel Burton
X2 Pathfinders
X1 GLA Worker
X1 USA Bulldozer
"Hold up. What was a Dozer doing on the front lines?"
"Mines."
"...That...actually makes sense. Also, why do we have enough vehicles to create an armored division?" Mike looked up from his clipboard and shrugged. "Dunno. So anyways, we have a bit of a problem. We can't exactly build a base. We don't have jack shit in resources, and we only have enough to set up a simple camp."
"Now, we do have...potential solutions. Our drone found a few towns out there. Now, we can't exactly go all nilly willy like the GLA likes to do it, going in when us big boys have their backs turned, plundering the supplies right after the UN Forces drop them off. Nope. None of that. At all."
"So why are you telling us this in the first place?"
"Well, y'know, we do have GLA forces on our side. They simply want to get rid of Doctor Thrax. If they wanted us dead, then they might as well do it now. But since they're actually pretty willing to help out, we'll lend 'em all the firepower they need. And you know how great these guys are at ambushes. How the hell do you think these guys were able to sneak into our bases?"
"You have a very good point there."
"Anyways, we might as well clean up the mess they made."
Just then, one of the Rangers, one whom had been operating a spy drone from earlier, called out to them.
"Yo, we've got contacts! Few miles to the Northwest. Looks like some of Thrax's forces. Say, how about we show 'em the good ole' shock and awe!"
"Oorah!"
As Jack got into the Humvee, he looked over at one of the other Rangers.
"Hey, what are you doin'?"
"I'm leaving a message in the bottle. If another one of those portal things open, then they'll know our callsigns."
"That's...not a bad idea, actually."
"Gah! You are a horrible driver!" Thrax complained, yelling at the driver of the Technical he rode in, whom apparently seemed to go out of his way to hit every bump in the dirt roads.
"Why don't you try driving it yourself?!" The driver yelled back.
"Screw you!" The toxin general sighed, leaning back in his seat and looking out the window.
'Such a pure landscape...I think it could use more Anthrax, though! Hahaha!'
Thrax was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw a familiar shape in the sky flying alongside them. A Comanche Attack Helicopter.
"Oh shit! It's the Americans! Fucking drive!" And so, the driver put the pedal to the medal as he attempts to outrun the approaching USA forces.
The four Technicals leading Thrax's convoy split away, in an attempt to divert their pursuers.
Unfortunately, it didn't work. The Comache pilot had already identified the vehicle Thrax was in, and opened fire with a rocket barrage, forcing the driver of the Technical to swerve wildly, whilst the Scorpion Tanks had no chance to dodge, both of which were heavily damaged and eventually exploded as their ammo racks ignited. Once the rockets stopped, the Comache pulled back as the Humvees sped up, now close on Thrax's tail.
"Open fire!"
An intense firefight ensued, as the Technical's gunner exchanged gunfire with the Humvees and those inside, who returned fire with their mounted machine guns and firing through the several gun ports mounted on the doors.
"Come on! We've got the vaccine, Thrax!"
"Wow dude, that was really cheesy."
"Shut the fuck up, Mike!"
Some distance away, a lone wagon, one that resembled those used on the Prairie trails, trudged along on the dirt road. A woman with five large fox-like tails and four tail-like tendrils protruding from her head, mixing in with her fluffy Vanilla-colored hair, all of which had a brightly colored orb at the tips, sat at the front, holding the reigns of the horses that pulled her wagon. She wore what appeared to resemble a traditional Japanese Kimono.
"Myyyuuuun~"
Curled up in her lap is what essentially equates to a chibi-fied version of the woman. Her clothes were simply a bit too big, meaning that the sleeves completely covered the little girl's hands.
-ratatatata-
-boomboomboom-
She pulled on the reigns, signaling the horses to stop, darting her head around, her fox ears twitching, trying to pinpoint the source of the strange noises. It was as if they were getting closer...
A large metal carriage suddenly zoomed by, barely missing her own carriage, startling the horses. A small, pineapple-shaped object flew outwards, right into the back of her wagon.
She peered over her shoulder, trying to get a good look at the mysterious object while keeping her child in her lap.
This, combined with a lack of information about modern weaponry, that would cost her greatly.
The grenade exploded, detonating the woman's cargo.
Oh, right. I forgot to mention that she had been carrying several jars filled with a gray powdery substance that many called "Blast Dust" because of its explosive properties. Also known as to us as gunpowder.
-BOOM!-
Jack was nearly thrown forwards when the Humvee he rode in suddenly slammed the breaks upon seeing Thrax's attempt at a distraction.
Thrax may have been a huge threat, but after witnessing that explosion, they couldn't just sit around and let the bystanders perish...if they were still alive, that is.
"Abort the pursuit, focus on the civilians! Get the Ambulance units up here!"
Jack and the other Rangers bailed out, guns at the ready, just in case, as an Ambulance, a gun-less Humvee that sacrificed carrying capacity to make room for compacted medical equipment, pulled up next to the site of the blast, which had kicked up a lot of dust off of the dirt road.
The bloodied fox(?)-woman came crawling out of the blast, trying to cradle her crying child whilst dragging herself across the ground with one arm. The backside of her once-beautiful dress was now blood-soaked, ripped into shreds by shrapnel, several pieces of which were present in the form of glass, wood splinters, and bits of metal from the grenade.
Some time later...
"Her condition's stable for now, we managed to extract the more worrisome shrapnel pieces. She's really lucky that she didn't get hit in the heart or brain. She's even luckier to even be in one piece considering she was at point-blank. Problem is, her spine has taken serious damage. I doubt she'll be able to walk on her own again."
"Damn, she got really fucked up back there." John muttered, holding the woman's child, thankfully now asleep, in his arms, as it snuggled up against him. It had been nothing short of a miracle that the young girl had remained unscathed, mainly in part thanks to her mother's unwitting sacrifice.
"To address a problem that has already been previously discussed; We need to set up a base. We might have state of the art suspensions systems on our Ambulances but we don't know what the hell is out there other than Thrax's GLA forces. A moving vehicle won't always be that safe."
"Then where the hell do we get the materials to build a base, let alone some Barracks?" It was then when the GLA Defector's Worker ran up to them.
"W-Wait! I have an idea!" All present turned their heads at the half naked boy, a GLA Worker, who was only wearing some partially torn pants and a pair of leather shoes.
"Go on..."
"S-So...if there's p-people like the fox lady...t-then there's probably a town or c-city, right?"
All the Rangers looked at each other, whispering amongst themselves, occasionally nodding their heads.
"He's got a good point."
"Now that's a smart kiddo!"
"Alright then, then it's settled! We'll search for a town or city and try to see if we can find a place for the fox lady, and maybe see if we can get ourselves some resources!"
"Oorah!"
Jack sat in the back of the Humvee, watching as the little fox(?) girl pressed her face against the window, amazed at how fast the scenery seemed to fly by.
A-fucking-dorable.
"Myuuunn!"
It was even more endearing to Jack when he reached over and began to stroke her head between the ears, causing her to purr loudly. Like a cat. Jack honestly didn't know if foxes could purr, but it didn't matter to him.
Then, he had a brilliant idea. He reached down under the seat, feeling around, until his hand grasped a small white box, which he pulled out and opened, revealing a stash of chocolate bars.
Usually, these were saved for victory snacks, but he figured that maybe he could spare one or two. Besides, he could always stock up more from their MREs.
He pulled one out, squeezing it a little to see if it had melted. It was a warm and felt a little malleable but at least it wasn't completely liquified. He slowly peeled the wrapper off until half of it was uncovered.
A soft whistle grabbed the little girl's attention as Jack held out the candy bar to her. She tilted her head, and after a few moments, leaned over and began gnawing on it.
The cute levels just went through the roof!
The sun would be setting soon, and they needed to find a place to establish their base. When Mike questioned Jack about why they didn't just set up camp, he went on a big half-lecture.
"Maybe it is, but I really don't wanna take a chance with any bandits. As any RPG fan knows, bandits are pretty ballsy. The level 3 bandit will always try to kill the legendary hero and his party of waifus when they have the most powerful gear with the most powerful modifications applied to them."
"...Okay then...but how does this factor in?"
"Well, the GLA have proven to be very good bandits. How else were they able to fend off the Chinese and their nuclear powered Overlord Tanks?"
"…I think I understand now."
Jack leaned back in his seat, his hand softly scratching the young girl between the ears as she slept, purring contently.
He began to wonder to himself about the events that transpired.
So we just entered some kind of fairy tale, and Thrax is gonna turn it into a fucked up fairy tale.
Wait. Shit. What are they gonna tell our families?
[{COMMS: Chins up, boys! Spotted a small village, has a really nice field we can build on, about two clicks away!}]
With a sunset far off in the horizon, the landscape around them dimming, Beta Squad pulled up to the village's edge. It was a fairly large village, The helicopter stayed up in the air, shining a spotlight down at the empty dirt pathways. Not a single person was seen.
"Doesn't look like anyone's home. You'd think that the sound of our Comanche would wake 'em up or drag 'em out, but that doesn't appear to be the case." Jack mused. Mike honked the horn several times, but nothing happened. Mike sighed,
He pulls up the radio, but before he can say anything...
[{COMMS: Holy shit, there's something big moving around in there!}]
"Alright, everyone, pull back. I want two Missile Defenders in the front, and I want Jarmen on watch! We're going in!"