Private Prague, U.N.P.K

Chapter 9

Gate of Phobos

Private Prague was in awe, a huge stone arch lay above an even more impressive stone causeway that had pillars that sustained it above a large field of lava. At the end of this path lay a large black stone that had lava pouring out of it.

"The Bleeding Heart." Private Prague put on his holodev, "And the Arch of Flames..." he muttered and saw that his device was beeping heavily.

"Prague!" voices yelled from the cave exit behind him, and his allies ran in.

"Private Prague-" Elma paused as she looked at the underground complex around her, "What is this..." she looked around.

"I'm getting a huge signature, Elma." Private Prague muttered, "A life sign this big must be the Lifehold." he informed.

"There's a huge hole..." Gwin informed as he saw a large break in the roofrock, allowing a vast amount of sunlight to pour inside.

"I think that's large enough for the Lifehold." Doug grinned, "Hey, I think we may have finally found it!" he exclaimed.

"Could it be covered by magma?" Irina asked as she saw the lake of the molten rock below them, "Maybe that's why we couldn't find it?"

"I don't think so." Elma got the same life reading, "But... this is very promising... I should contact-"

KLONK! A huge metallic bang was heard, and three Skells fell through the large hole, all exploding on contact with the lave lake.

"What in t-"

Another Skell, this one red in color, fell in pieces inside, landing on the causeway a tattered mess of scrap metal. The last Skell, this one piloted, flew in completely crippled and landed near our heroes.

"Agh..." Lin fell out, tattered and exhausted, then walked over to her allies, "It's... you won't believe it..." she muttered as the ground shook.

A huge darkness engulfed the hole that provided light, and the wind picked up inside, causing the lave lake to churn like murky butter. A huge screech was heard and was followed by it's creator, a large black and red dragon with large wings.

"What is that thing!?" Gwin yelled as the large dragon roared at them.

"It looks like that creature that one that saved us from the-" Elma stopped when the creature looked at them, "But this one is not here to rescue us..."

"Abatheus... the Scourge..." Lin muttered, "That's his name... I looked it up..." she pulled up its profile.

"That's stronger than the other..." Irina gulped, "There's no way we can beat this guy..." she muttered.

"RAAA!" Abatheus roared, then started to breathe in heavily.

"What's it doing..." Doug muttered, "Is it..."

"HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE!" Private Prague yelled when the creature shot out a blast of infernal fire, "Let's get out of here!" he started to run back into the cave.

"AH!" his allies also ran back, running into the cave and barely avoided the flames, which started to heat up the caverns like an oven.

The flames shot up into the cave, nearly engulfing our heroes as they barely escaped its wrath, the extent of it's path reached the mouth of the cave located at Blood Gulch.

"That thing... It could incinerate us if it wanted to..." Elma muttered as she looked into the sky for any sign of it, "I don't think we could..." she got a huge reading on her holodev now.

"To think that life signal was that monster." Private Prague sighed, "I failed the mission and are now endangering others." he muttered.

"It couldn't be that monster." Gwin informed, "Because the monster was away from the cave when we got there... right, Lin?" he asked the girl.

"Yeah, I was coming from Sylvalum when I was attacked in the middle of the ocean." Lin informed, "I had to bail out all your Skells here to at least outmaneuver him." she muttered.

"So you're still on to something, man." Doug patted Prague's back, "And it couldn't be another Tyrant because Abatheus would have eaten him..."

"So there is still a chance that is the Lifehold." Elma nodded, "But we're under siege from the strongest Tyrant Mira has ever seen." she grumbled, "And all our Skells are destroyed... if only he was here..." she sighed.

"There is still one more chance." Private Prague stood up, "Remeber that program I asked Nagi to approve?" he asked Elma.

"Yeah, did he?" Elma asked with curiosity.

"Yes." Private Prague nodded, "If only I could call it-"

"Stop playing the pronoun game." Irina grumbled, "That's a sin right there... What is it?"

"It's a jet fighter." Private Prague, "You know, like the ones back on Earth?" he asked, only to get blank faces from them.

"A jet fighter?" Doug rubbed the back of his head, "Come again?"

"It's like a ship... but can launch missiles and stuff." Private Prague explained, "I think it was much better than a Mobile Suit." he muttered then typed in his holodev, "I can call it to my location."

"I don't know how that-"

"RAHHHHH!" Abatheus's roar deafened Doug's question, and the flap of his wings stirred up the sand, causing a miniature sandstorm in the canyon valley.

"I don't think we're going to live through this..." Irina muttered as they hid under a little outcropping, "Once he finds us, we'll be roasted fo-"

POMP! The ground shook when Abatheus landed near them, walking on four scaly legs over the soft desert sand.

"Don't see us..." Gwin shook his head as the dragon looked around, "Don't see us..."

"Oh..." Lin held on to Elma tight, "Elma.. I don't wish to die here..."

"We're not..." Private Prague stood up, "Let me handle this!" he yelled and ran to the dragon.

"HRRR?" Abatheus turned to the tiny running man, "GRRRRR..." it growled lowly, baring its dagger like fangs.

"Grenade Parade!" Private Prague yelled and activated his amazing art that allowed him to spam more grenades than ever, "Die! DIE!"

The grenades exploded, making the dragon step back from each explosion with great caution. "GRAHH!" the dragon hissed as one of the grenades struck him in the front right leg's knee.

"Fire!" Private Prague fired his rifle, although it caused minimal damage to the drake's reptilian armor, "HRAH!" he launched a grenade from his little launcher, only causing minor annoyance to his foe.

"He's going to get eaten alive!" Gwin yelled, "I'm going to help him!" he yelled and jumped into the fray, "FLAME GRENADE!" he launched his art.

"BRAH!" Abatheus merely flinched, then ate Doug's Beam Barrage and any other following big hits from Lin, Elma, and Irina. "RAAAAA!" it bellowed and breathed in to blow fire.

"This is it!" Lin cried, "We can't run fast enough!"

"Damn... I wanted to wreck his life!" Irina growled and continued firing her rifle in vain, "Die!"

"I'm sorry, Irina!" Gwin turned to his allies, then used an art that caused a hit from the butt of his rifle to amplify into a shockwave, knocking all his friends back into the cave.

"BRAAAAAA!" Abatheus breathed his flames, and engulfed Gwin whole.

"GWIN!" Irina, peering safely from the cave mouth, cried as she saw Gwin's dark silhouette wave from inside the core of the inferno, only to be completely overwhelmed seconds after.

"Irina!" Doug dragged her back inside, "He's gone! There's nothing we can do!"

"Gwin..." Lin muttered, then turned to Elma with a saddened face.

"There's n-"

A laser shot out from the sky and struck the dragon in the right flank, and seconds after a Skell descended and struck the fiend with a large javelin.

"Lao!" Lin exclaimed as she recognized the markings on the Skell, "He's come to help us!"

"This is Lao." Lao spoke into Private Prague's holodev, "I took the liberty to escort your flying machine, and it seems with good reason too.." he grunted as he struck Abatheus once more, "It's settling down at the opposite end of the gulch, get to it and help me!" he cried as he was pushed back by the Tyrant.

"Got it!" Private Prague responded, then stepped out of the cave, "Come! We only have this one chance!" he called out to his allies, then sprinted off.

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"HRRUH?" Abatheus took note of the running humans, then started to lock on to them, "GRR- AHH!" it snarled when Lao punched him with his Skell.

"This fight is between you and me, serpent!" Lao growled as he blasted Abatheus with rockets, some missing and one striking the dragon's wing.

"GRRRR..." Abatheus growled and pushed the Skell back with a gust of his wings, then showed his large fangs to it.

"What did I get into..." Lao sighed and shook his head as he once again got into fighter position.

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"Ready to rock..." Private Prague grinned as he fired up his jet, "Beautiful... I'm coming, Lao!" he took off vertically and swooped down to help in the fight...