LETHAL BATS

(GEARS I, ACT II: Nightfall)

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

— Ephesians 4:32

A/N: We're skipping mos Act II: Nightfall and pressing it down into one chapter. I ren Sorry lads. Hopefully you can forgive me.

That also means that you will not see chapters Tick Tick Boom, Grist, Outpost, Lethal Dusk, Dark Labyrinth, Powder King, Burnt Rubber, and Last Stand from Gears of War Ultimate edition.

Also yes, that does mean we are going to miss much of the witty banter between Marcus and Baird. :( Although I might try to resupply some of it in Act III. ;)

Thanks for y'alls patience, and I love you.

[7,100]

(~~~~~~~~~~)

Control — 14 A.E. Jacinto, Ephyra

After the Colonel had seen the way that blonde haired brat had performed feats of impossibility, even by this hell of a world that he lived in, he made sure to keep a close eye on them. That Peverell kid was also cause for concern. The Colonel didn't know why, but he just had this feeling that the Private was gonna be important for this war. It was something about his aura, if the Colonel even believed in that shit. That's why he had recruited those two into the COG on the spot. It was unorthodox, that was for sure, but they already had the gear, the weapons and evidently the training. Plus, if they were travelling with Delta, then the Colonel would have an easy time keeping a close eye on them. Still, he could have never imagined this.

"Well I've never seen such crazy shit as this," he growled out. "How about you Lieutenant?"

"No sir." Anya's reply was short and clipped, her mind still processing what she had just seen. She and the Colonel were sitting back at command, at Jacinto that is, watching the tape that the JACK bot had recorded.

She had just witnessed a soldier, a gear, a human — well hopefully, with that Grindelwald kid, she wasn't sure anymore — defeat a full grown Berserker without a Scorcher or the Hammer of Dawn. Instead, the Peverell kid had conjured two balls of hot red fire and threw them, like he was pitching two baseballs around or something, and struck the Berserker, her life ending quicker than even what the Hammer could accomplish. Usually, it took several strikes from the Hammer just to defeat it, but none of that even seemed to matter to Harry. He performed it as though it was an everyday thing, simply pulling out a cigar and lighting. it

What kind of kid even smokes cigars? He's like what? Nineteen?

Then there was the blonde haired one, Private Gellert Grindelwald. She had watched from the JACK bot's camera as he transformed from the already hulking mass that he was into a hairy, ferocious, armoured half-wolf/half-man creature. She had watched the bones in his back shift, the way that his musculoskeletal structure, especially in his face, had changed. The sound of snapping and breaking was heard as his body seemingly rewrote itself. Once his transformation was complete, there stood a nearly twelve foot monster in its place, standing taller and even wider than the Berserker. Then she watched as the Berserker had charged towards the wolf-man, fireman duo. The now transformed Gellert had simply stepped into the path of its charge and batted away the Berserker as though it were a fly on the wall. And Anya knew well the power of Berserker, having watched from behind the controls as countless Gears gave their lives in offence or defence or even fleeing such a dangerous creature. They could smash through six feet of concrete without sustaining any damage. Fire from Centaur [fn1] tanks couldn't even take out most Berserkers. Thus, to say she was shocked at what she saw was an understatement.

Perhaps even afraid to. Marcus and Dom were travelling around with guys like that, and they had no idea who they were.

On the other hand, Harry had already protected Marcus from several harsh situations. He even volunteered to go in Marcus' stead against the Berserker.

All in all, she had no idea what to think of the new recruits. But she was a soldier of the COG first, so she knew what protocol dictated.

"Sir, would you like me to send a copy of this to the Chairman?"

Strangely enough, the COG had protocols for everything. Even for supersoldiers, should any be found. A hang up from the war with the U.I.R. [fn2] She had heard that there were several experiments going on regarding genetically modified humans and super soldiers. Plus, that Gellert had an accent that was remarkably close to several U.I.R. nations. In many ways, it seemed like a mix of several of them. Thus, protocol dictated that Anya report anything like this to the Higher Ups. These days that was pretty much the Chairman, humanity's last great leader.

After a few quiet moments, in which the Colonel watched the video play several times over, he then sighed and said, "No. I want it deleted."

"Sir?" she asked, the surprise obvious in her tone.

"If we send this up to High Command, they'll have those kids pulled out of there in no time, probably send their damned Onyx Guard." The Colonel couldn't help the anger that crept into his tone. It didn't make sense to him that the Onyx Guard was supposed to be the elite soldiers of the COG, yet they always stayed behind to protect the Higher Ups, while the grunts were sent on the front lines. Seems like they ought to have their best in the front. Still, the Colonel was a soldier first, and a soldier knew obedience… in most situations. "Probably send them to some kind of research facility to perform all kinds of crazy experiments on. We can't have that, Lieutenant. I have this feeling, even if those kids have some kind of strange power that I can't comprehend… well it won't matter. Because I think a lot more Gears are gonna die if we pull those two out of this war then if we leave them in."

"But sir," Anya objected, "how do we know they can be trusted?"

"We don't. But just like that kid told Fenex, we might just have to put a little bit of faith in these kids. After all, can you imagine the damage they could do to the grubs? The people they could save?"

Anya didn't say much, her green eyes peering up at the Colonel in his full armour, she in her regular command clothes. After a moment, she sighed and said. "Alright, sir." Then, she typed a couple of things on her keyboard before a prompt came up.

CONFIRM ACTION?

Taking control of her mouse, she placed it over a big red button that said DELETE.

Then she pressed it.

(~~~~~~~~~~)

The Padfoot

Embry Square, Ephyra

It didn't take long to reach the APC. While we did run into some grubs, for the most part, it was a quick and easy tour back the way we came. By now, most of the grubs that had invaded — with RAAM. I tried not to let the rage takeover, but it was hard — were dispersed to some other part of Ephyra. Sometimes we had to find alternate routes after the battle had collapsed several sections of the House of Sovereigns. Still, we made it back through to Embry Square with ease.

"Man, can't believe we're back where we started," Dom said.

Along the way, they had also passed by the body of Carmine, and it seemed like those that knew had made a point to not remark about it. Only Baird was careless enough to do so. Even then, by the lack of response he received, he didn't bother to say anything else.

"I know what you mean," Marcus said back. "Alright Grindelwald, where's this vehicle of yours?"

"It iz not far from 'ere. All ve 'ave to do is make our vay back zourgh zat building."

"You mean the same one you jumped down three stories from?" Marcus asked with a raised eyebrow. Gellert didn't deign him any kind of nervous response, acting like it was perfectly normal.

"Dah!"

The building that Gellert had pointed out was the building that we had supported the Colonel and Delta Squad from. That was where Gellert had originally set up his Boltshot to lay into the grubs while the Colonel explained the mission objective to Kim. Dom and Marcus along with the other Gears had also helped to fight off that particular invasion. After that, like the fool that he was, Gellert jumped down from his position instead of simply making his way through the building.

It was strange how it wasn't that long ago that we had just joined up with Delta Squad, but it already feels like ages have gone by. I suppose those firefights feel longer than what they are.

Looking up, the sun was currently in its setting stage. We still had another hour, maybe more or less, before we were totally encased in darkness. Luckily for us, Gellert and I's APC was particularly modified to deal with any Kryll storms. APC was the perfect vehicle to begin with. Their strong armour made it difficult, though not impossible, to penetrate. However, our vehicle wasn't just for defence, it also could go on the offence.

"Let's get a move on then," Marcus commanded.

(~~~~~~~~~~)

It wasn't long after that Gellert led us to a garage that connected into one of the decaying buildings. The large metal door was shut, and a set of chains and a lock was wrapped around each of the garage handles, bolting it to the ground. One of Gellert's own private editions. Chains that connected to a steel rod embedded in the ground. Furthermore, the rod went ten feet deep, almost like a copper ground rod, except this one would hold for good.

I still never asked him how he even got it in the ground.

This was the only way in. The other entrances to the garage had been sealed off by Gellert, collapsed with rumble, rubbish and stacked with bodies, even the armour of dead Gears. Anything to make sure that people couldn't access our baby. Sure, Gellert had the keys, but she was our special ride. We weren't gonna let anyone take her. And let me be the first to tell you, stacking your fellow soldiers' dead bodies was never pleasant. No matter the circumstance.

Gellert moved to the metal chains and grabbed hold of them. Once again, I found myself internally slapping my hand against my forehead as I watched his Gryffindorish behaviour take over. He certainly had none of the subtlety that his Dark Lord grandfather did.

Gellert simply grabbed hold of the chains and tugged on them as hard as he could. Neither the garage titanium handles nor the steel rod embedded in the ground moved. However, when Gellert tight grip on the chains an extra layer of stress — and I really am downplaying just how tight that grip was, Gellert is a bloody super lycan after all — the chains snapped off.

"Ughhh," I sighed as I watched him do that. I could see how the rest of Delta Squad's eyes widened at that particular display of strength. Only Marcus and Dom had been with us when Gellert had jumped from the third story building. Neither Cole nor Baird had known about that. Thus, they would have had no reason to be suspicious. But all that was out the window now.

Before anyone could comment on it, I went to one handle while Gellert to the other. Together, we squatted down and grabbed hold of the handles, lifting with our legs the heavy metal door.

"Tah dah!" Gellert said, flourishing his arms about.

"Oh great," Baird said, not at all impressed. "Your car's gone."

Turning back around, Gellert saw that indeed the garage was empty.

"Oh right," he said. "I forgot about zat." He snapped his finger in the direction of the empty garage, and like removing my father's cloak, the APC slowly came into view. Starting from the tires, and moving upwards, it slowly appeared in sight to the rest of them.

"Woah," Baird said, now sounding amazed and impressed. "I didn't even know cloaking technology had made its way to these things. I thought we could only do with Jack here."

Gellert just smiled smugly at him, but I knew better. Baird was right. There was no cloaking technology. This was just another one of the twins' expertise in combining muggle technology with magic. In this case, they had managed to find a way to cast a permanent disableable disillusionment charm on the APC. Ironically, it was powdered by a ward stone that was somehow connected into the engine. As the combustion chamber ignited the fuel within, part of the energy was funnelled into the ward stone, powering the charm. It was not a branch of magic that I understood, because to me magic was magic and gasoline/imulsion was its own brand of energy. Yet, to the twins, energy was energy. Whether it was magical or muggle mattered not to them, because it was simply another challenge to overcome. They had succeeded too. Not only did the magic not fry the APC's electrical systems, but they even managed to transform explosive kinetic energy into magical energy.

The only downside was that the charm couldn't be maintained in motion.

Still, those two sure are mad geniuses.

They were skilled artists too. As I gazed upon the APC, I took in its every feature. Though we had been in a warzone, it looked like it was freshly rolled off the lot of the factory. Not a dent or scratch was to be held. Part of that from the COG's armour tech and part of that from the twin's wizarding innovations. Self-repairing armour and ultra resistant. Furthermore, we'd never get a flat nor would the air ever leak out. We never even had to replace a part on it, another thing that the twins had somehow incorporated into the self repairing functions. Magic somehow made sure that the parts never wore out. The only thing that Gellert and I had to do was change the oil every once and while. But even then, we didn't even have to change the oil filter… errr… imulsion filter on it.

Perhaps though, my favourite part was its logo. On the front top section of every COG APC was the Gear logo. However, on this one was an elegant design of a black dog. It was a spray painted depiction of a Scottish Deerhound, only it was made to look meaner as though it were an omen of death.

From the grim himself, Harry smiled.

"Gentleman, allow me to introduce you to ze Padfoot. Zis lovely machine iz modified to suit our every need. It haz two turrets, two in front and two in back. A regular gatling gun and ze ozer is a UV turret in case ve come across any Kryll. 'Owever, I doubt zat vill be a problem as ve vill be long gone by ze time ze Kyrll show up. Afterall, zis one is faster zan your average APC."

Marcus was nodding in appreciation, while Baird just gave a jealous stink eye. Along the trip, he had antagonised Gellert on several occasions about him being full of it. 'You don't have an APC. You're making that shit up.' 'The hell am I doing, fighting next to a conscript.' 'What's up with that accent? You with the UIR?' Now the blondie had nothing to say, and for that Harry was very pleased.

"Nice job, Grindelwald," Marcus said. Turning towards his com, he said, "Control, this is Delta. We have procured transportation and are en route to the factory."

"Copy that, Jack should have the coordinates and route."

"Copy, thanks Anya. Delta, out."

With that, Gellert fished the keys out of his pocket and with a press of a button the APC opened up, the front shovel coming down to let us step in it. Meanwhile, Jack flew to the back to plug in. There he could get himself a nice charge along with uploading the coordinates to the vehicles' computer. Gellert settled into the driver seat, and I allowed Baird to go up there with him. The rest of us sat in the back. The seats didn't face forward like most cars. Instead, these ones faced each other, and they were one long row on each side instead of individual seats. Finding myself close to the front, I went and sat down. This way I could lean up against the wall in the corner.

As the APC roared to life and everybody else settled down, Cole and Dom engaged in some conversation with Marcus listening. Dom and I sat one side, while Cole and Marcus sat on the other. Up front Gellert showed Baird all the new advancements with this model of the car. Me? I simply buckled up and laid back. Like I was taking another ride on the Hogwarts Express, I simply fell asleep, drifting into the realm of dreams.

(~~~~~~~~~~)

Backdrop — [fn4] Primis June 19th 1996 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

I wasn't quite sure why this particular dream had popped up. I saw myself and Dumbledore staring at one another. I wasn't all that much younger, physically anyways. I was sixteen at the time, currently my body was that of a twenty year old. This would have been two years before the Horcrux hunt began. Dumbleodre had me sat down in his office, and he stared at me with such compassion, love, anger, disappointment and so many other things. Perhaps relief chiefest of them all.

"You could have been killed, Harry."

"Could have? Yes. But I wasn't sir." My younger self was meeting Dumbledore's fierce gaze with just as much intensity. "This is what you trained me for."

"No. I trained you to defend yourself, not to engage in a war."

"With all due respect, I became involved in this war the day that he killed my parents."

Like an exhausted parent, Dumbledore ran his hands down his face and said, "Harry, Tom has over 50 years more magical experience than you. Don't you understand that? No matter how much training you receive, it won't be enough."

"Respectfully, I disagree."

"What do you think you can do Harry that Voldemort can't?"

Harry reached across the table and gripped Dumbledore's arm that was resting on the able. "Sir, it's not about what I can or can't do. I have something that Tom never had." Levelling his stare at the Headmaster, he said, "I have you." For a moment, silence reigned as the emerald green eyes of the young boy that he had trained since his first year of schooling stared him down, challenging him otherwise. Dumbledore knew that his own eyes were wide, like a deer caught in headlights. "Voldemort never had you. He never had Joseph. He never had parents that were like Uncle and Auntie. He never even had friends, not like Gellert and I, and certainly not like the rest of Gryffindor. He never had McGonagall or Professor Flitck or even Moody or Snape! All he has ever had is slaves and servants, pawns that were a means to an end." Harry's free hand, the one that wasn't gripping Dumbledore's arm, pounded on the desk. "Sir, tonight we won because I have those things. I have friends who would risk everything — their lives, their health, their wealth, their families, their everything — for me. They proved that tonight. Each and every one of them. I never asked them, but there they were. Angelina. Katie. Alicia. The twins. Ron. Luna. Cho. Hermione. Neville. All of them! Of course Grindelwald more than any of them. They knew what they were getting into, and they came anyway."

Dumbledore retched his arm back and stood up from the throne-like seat that was the Headmasters. He moved off to one of the windows and spoke softly, his back to Harry. "Did you consider those things, my boy? Their families. I cannot deny their bravery, but you even admit that they were there at the D.O.M. for you." Dumbledore sighed and there were tears in his eyes when looked back at Harry. "Can you imagine what Molly would have felt if she had found out that she had lost another child?"

Harry flinched back at the reminder of his greatest failure.

It was a harsh fate that had befallen the Weasley's. Not long after Ginny was born, Arthur had mysteriously died. It was attributed to heart failure, but a lot of people hated Mr. Weasley, and Molly was not convinced of what the Healers told her. Harry had never met the man, but he knew that the woman had taken it hard.

Then… came Harry's greatest failure. That night in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry had slain the basilisk and delayed Tom from returning that night. However, he had done so too late. Too much of Ginny's life force had been sucked from her body. That night, Harry returned only a body to a grieving mother. An empty vessel to a sorrowing soul. Indeed she was Harry's greatest failure.

Ginny had been the pride and gem of the Weasley family. The first daughter born in seven generations. Taken away in her first year at Hogwart. From that point on, it was like the defining of the Weasley family was lost. They stopped standing for the so-called Light, and they started standing for their own. Molly had instructed all her sons in the ways of questionable arts, she no longer allowed Ron to slack off and the twins were forbidden from using their talents for pranking. It wasn't like they wanted to anyways.

They all knew the truth after all. It was only right given what had transpired. Voldemort would return. Knowing that, the Weasleys had vowed to be prepared. The twins devoted all their energy to wizarding innovations — all with an aim for war — while Ron had begun applying himself. These days, he was ranked amongst the best of the school, and there was no doubt in Harry's mind that he was one of the best members of the D.A. Only falling behind himself, Gellert and Neville. None of the other forty or fifty could even dare touch him though.

Even Percy, a guy that really irked Harry in many ways, had applied himself to working his ways within the ministry, a man on the inside when all went to hell. Bill and Charlie were also another set. Both had returned to Britain. Bill had forsaken any relationships with women and instead sought to lead his house with pride and honour and fierceness. He continued his work at Gringotts, and became an active member in the Wizengamot. Likewise, Charlie had become his right hand man. When Bill wasn't curse breaking and Charlie wasn't dragon taming, they were fighting against the Dark families.

Molly had encouraged all of this. No more would the Weasley family allow themselves to be taken advantage of. The Weasley motto of 'it's better to be taken advantage of than to take advantage of someone else' seemed to have fallen by the wayside.

Perhaps the strangest thing had been the way that Molly had encouraged Ron. Several times, she had instructed him to follow after Harry. She, perhaps like others in the Order, believed that Harry would be their general. Last night, she had been proven right.

"I think that Molly would have been very proud of what Ronald did," Harry told Dumbledore.

After another moment of long silence, Dumbledore spoke again. "I never wanted this for you, Harry. I had hoped to give you a life free of this for as long as I could. I-"

Before the Headmaster could finish though, Harry had interrupted him.

"But you have! Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley have been the best family that I could have ever had. So we had a hiccup in third year with Sister Barebones. She's gone now, in prison or dead. Joseph rescued me from her. You and McGonagall and Flitwick, and even Professor Snape took me under your wing. All of you trained me, loved me, and cared for me. You've done all those things, sir! You took in Gellert too! A man that most of the world despised just because of his ancestor, name, and face. And that means more to me than anything else, because you gave me a brother! One that was just as passionate about magic as I. One who backed me up everywhere! You did that for me, sir! You! You! You!" By now, Harry was practically roaring at the Headmaster, like trying to pound into concrete, convincing him that he had made the right choices. " Sirius died tonight! But he knew the cost. Because of his sacrifice, the whole world knows that the Dark Lord is back. Madam Bones is already springing into action. His sacrifice is not in vain! There is a time for peace and a time for war, grandpa Alby. That time is now!"

For a moment, silence once more reigned. Until Dumbledore sighed and spoke softly. "I suppose you are right Harry, but just as you call me 'grandpa', I too think of you as my beloved grandchild, and no grandparent would want to see their child engaged in the horrors of war."

Coming close to him, Harry draped an arm around the Headmaster's shoulder, his tall frame forcing the Headmaster to look up at him. It was a kind but stern embrace. One of love.

Before Harry could speak any words of comfort or encouragement though, the Headmaster kept talking. "But there is still so much that you don't know."

The sorrow in his mentor's voice was clear. So all Harry could offer was a soft voice, one that turns away wrath and uplifts sorrow. "Then, why not tell me?"

(~~~~~~~~~~)

Lethal Bats — 14 A.E. The Highways of Ephyra

"We've got Kryll!" came the roaring voice of Gellert, jolting me out from my dream. Or perhaps memory.

Springing into action, I called out, "Marcus! You get on the front UV turret. I've got the rear!"

While the Padfoot could certainly endure a Kryll storm, it was better safe than sorry. Besides, we might be enemy number one now.

As we drove through downtown Ephyra, the only thing we had to illuminate our path was the light of the Padfoot and the fires in the burning buildings. There was the occasional street lamp, but there were so few that we could hardly make out anything. The Kyrll storm had blocked any kind of light radiation from lighting our path. Even the moonlight was obscured by the storm. In essence, it was as dark as the deepest pits of hell.

I pressed my finger against my ear.

"Control, this is Private Peverell! It's too dark out here! Our vision's blocked! We can only see about 20 feet ahead of us! Grindelwald is gonna need your assistance getting in and out of the city, over!"

"Copy that, Peverell. Private Grindelwald, you're currently travelling on T-55 Westbound. You're gonna wanna stay on route for another twenty miles. After that, your exit is Loomis Boulevard, over."

"I read you loud and clear, zanks Control. But you must let me know ven I am coming close to ze exit. I von't be able to see in time at ze speed ve are travelling."

"Copy that, Private."

"We've got Kryll!" Baird roared. They were on our six. I could see them filing out of some kind of clock tower. Like a militaristic replica of Big Ben.

Manoeuvring the turret up and over, I grabbed down on the side mounted bars. It was a double action turret. The UV ray was powerful enough to etch a hole straight through concrete, so the twins had built in some double safety measures. First I squeezed my fingers down on each side, then my thumb came over and pressed the button.

The sound of the photon cannon firing up rang in my ears with its whirling, electrical sound. The front of the gun began to emit a blue aura.

"They're getting closer!" came Baird's voice again.

Shrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggg

The beam fired off with a heavy kick back, the turret slamming against my chest. I ground my legs as the bright blue ray of UV death fried the Kryll.

Kryll already burned up in natural sunlight, but this canon was just decimating their opposition. You could see the way their little wings lit on fire, before the rest followed suit. It was like a set of firecrackers going off with the sparks all falling to the ground.

"Zey are in front of us, Marcus!"

"I see 'em."

I heard the sound of another UV turret rearing up as Marcus began frying the bastards as well.

Thus began the next twenty minutes of our life. It was a mix of Baird and Dom calling out the rear, while Cole called out the front. Occasionally Gellert would chip in, but he seemed to be focussed on driving.

There were several times when Marcus and I were almost knocked off the turrets with the way Gellert was barreling through demolition cars on the road.

"Ahh shit, Grindelwald. Are we fucking riding a roller coaster here?"

"Dah, I am zorry Marcus, but zere are too many fucking cars on ze road."

"Just ease up on the rode would yah, or Peverell and I are gonna be flying out of this thing."

"Copy zat."

It was a testament to the engineering of the twins that the Padfood endured every car we rammed into, and I knew that the self-repairing was already enabling itself as we drove.

It was hard to tell if this was the ride of our life or something straight out of a horror film. Watching the burning buildings pass by and the destroyed arches of T-55 with the various wires and signs hanging off of it was nothing if not ominous. Still, there was a certain level of excitement present. It was like being back on a firebolt. The wind racing through our hair, and the UV turret putting off so much heat only to be cooled off by the passing breeze. Hearing the shrill shrieks of the dying Kryll, and even the roaring of the Padfoot's imulsion powered engine, it was hard not to crack a smile.

There were even a couple of times when Baird asked for a turn.

"C'mon Peverell! Let me have a shot at it."

Of course I just chose to pretend like I couldn't hear him.

It wasn't much longer before Anya's voice came back on the com.

"Grindelwald, your mark is coming up fast. Get into the far right lane. It'll shoot you south bound."

"Copy zat, Control." He moved over into the furthest lane. The exit was soon to come up so he shouted, "'old on tight. Zis ride iz about to get extra bumpy."

Cole, Baird and Dom quickly moved back inside the APC, while I grabbed hold of the turret as tight as I could and grounded my legs. I had no doubt in my mind that Marcus was doing the same.

Gellert spun the wheel hard as we came across a roundabout. The force of the spin almost threw me off my feet and I grabbed hold of the gun as tight as the muscles in my hand strained. There was about a fifteen second time period where all the natural forces of the universe were trying to throw me out of the APC.

I twisted my head the best that I could and looked behind me to see that Marcus was having an even tougher time holding on. Since I couldn't let go of my own gun, instead I stared at him with as much intensity as I had.

The Sticking Charm didn't actually work on living creatures, so I had to focus my energy on Marcus' clothes. His gloves in particular.

Stick!

Stick!

Stick!

After a moment, his gloves glowed green as the charm took effect, binding his gloves to the turret.

"Kryll!" Gellert roared.

Turning around, I could see that the bats were trying to side-swipe us on the roundabout. It would have been easy too. Even a light horde would have pushed the thing over the edge of the road with how fast we were taking the turn.

My muscles became taunt, and they strained as I manoeuvred the gun sideways. I slammed my thumbs down on the buttons, and the gun reared itself up, burning bat after bat. Several tried to escape, but they're forward momentum carried them right into my UV laser canon.

"Zat's ze way 'Arry," Gellert hollered as they were burned to crisp and the Padfoot came around the corner to Loomis Boulevard. Soon, we were crossing the threshold of the city, and Gellert's voice came over the coms.

"You should be good to come back in. Ze Kryll aren't likely to go beyond ze city limits. It should be a… 'ow do you say? A smooz ride to ze factory."

"Copy that, Gellert. We'll be down."

With a subtle flick of my wrist, I undid the sticking charm on Marcus' gloves. Then, I pressed my finger up to the coms.

"Control, this is Private Peverell. Thanks for all the help."

"Copy that, Delta Squad. The JACK bot should be able to get you the rest of the way there, over."

""Copy that, Anya. On route to the Lima Imulsion Factory, over and out."

As I settled back into my seat, I heard Dom say, "Man, this is one sick ride you got here, Grindelwald."

"And don't you forget it."

As things settled down, and the guys began to strike up their conversation, I found myself closing my eyes again, in hopes of returning to my dream. Besides, if there's anything I've learned since I arrived on this planet, every opportunity to rest ought to be taken.

Every time.

(~~~~~~~~~~)

Backdrop — Primis June 19th 1996 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

By now, Harry and Dumbledore were e seated close to the Headmaster's fireplace. The Headmaster had a bottle of firewhisky in hand, and he had given the same to Harry. At this point, the man figured that if Harry was old enough for battle, he was old enough to drink. The fire was the medicine show of the hour as they nursed their drinks. Harry stayed silent this whole time as he watched his great mentor collect his thoughts.

About twenty minutes went by before the Headmaster spoke again.

"You will have to forgive me Harry. There are so many things that I kept hidden from you, so many things that I didn't want to hold over your shoulders. One of which is what I will share with you tonight." Harry said nothing, simply allowing his mentor to speak. However, he would take a swig once and a while, the resulting flames bubbling up.

"Perhaps the most important thing you should know is that presently, Tom cannot be killed." The younger Harry tried not to let the surprise show, but this was certainly news to him. "Tell me, Harry. Have you ever heard of Horcruxes?"

"No sir," he said.

Dumbledore let out a light chuckle. "Well that's a relief to this old man's heart. There are very few things in this world that are so black and white. At times killing may be necessary like when battling the followers of Tom, and at other times, a simple stunner will do. Wizards base their morality off their own beliefs, and that in turn affects their idea of right and wrong. However, there are some things in this world that are clearly present evils." The Headmaster took a breath and said, "One of those things is Horcruxes."

"And what are these Horcruxes?"

"They are one of the vilest forms of magic in the world. In essence, they allow someone to tie their soul to the earth. That in and of itself, while clearly in contradiction to the ways of nature, would not be so evil. However, in order to make one of these, the blood of the innocent must be shed in a ritual."

Harry knew all about rituals, having done several of them himself. It's why he was so tall instead of the tiny fishbone that he used to be. None of those had ever involved shedding innocent blood though.

"You're talking about murder." Harry breathed out.

"Aye, one of the gravest evils."

"And these Horcruxes, they can make it so that someone can't die?"

"Yes."

"And Voldemort has made some of them."

"Six to be exact."

Harry's eyes widened at that.

"I cannot tell you how exactly I came to know this, mostly for the sake of time… although really, I came to know about these things by reviewing the memories of Tom, Horace and several others. It took me a very long time, but nevertheless, I know of which he has created and I know what items he used. With all six of these items, he has essentially made himself immortal."

"Is there no way to destroy them?" Harry asked.

"Ahh, but that is where you may be familiar with, my boy." From seemingly out of nowhere, Dumbledore reached down beside his chair and brought out an old black book. The Diary from the Chamber of Secrets, Harry realised.

"That soul remnant that I met down in the Chamber, that was a piece of Voldemort's soul housed in this book?"

"That's right, Harry," Dumbledore nodded. "Tom intended to return that night by syphoning off the life energy of Mrs. Weasley. However, you were able to stop it by simply destroying the diary."

Harry's eyes widened with realisation. "With the Basilisk fang!"

"25 points for Gryndor," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"Do you know where these Horcruxes are, sir?"

"That… is a more complicated matter. In a manner, I know where they are. At least three of them, I could tell you their exact location. The first is this Diary which we have you to thank for destroying. Without your work that night, I would have never known how to destroy one. The second I believe is Tom' snake."

"Nagini? You can make Horcruxes out of living things?"

"Indeed, Harry. I knew Nagini for a long time." At this a sad look came upon the Headmaster's face, though Harry did not know why. "It is only recently that she has begun to shift to be so big and powerful. Have you ever noticed that she is far from the average snake?"

"I have. Certainly none of the ones in America or Scotland look like her. Although, I've never been to Florida or the Amazons, so I guess there might be some out there."

"Perhap," the Headmaster said. "But you see my point?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, we do not have to concern ourselves with that one, because my son is currently on the hunt for it.

"Alby?"

"My one and only." Dumbledore said it with such a fondness that it brought a smile even to Harry's face. Albus Dumbledore the Second, or simply Alby, was a mirror image of his father. Perhaps the only difference was all the features of Dumbledore in his youth had been exemplified in Alby. Glowing amethyst eyes. Fiery red hair, far deeper than Dumbledore's original auburn. The man was 25 years-old and was already a well established magician in the way of transfiguration. If anybody could find the snake, it would be him. "Now the final one that I know… well its exact location is the most difficult. That would be the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff. See Harry, Tom likes to collect things. One of which is that he tried to collect something from each of the houses of Hogwarts. Although he never got anything from Gryffindor, he did manage to find the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff. After which I have it on good authority that the last place the Cup was seen was with Bellatrix Lestrange as she was walking into Gringotts."

"Oh dammit," Harry cursed. "You mean to tell me that the cup is in Bellatrix's vault."

"That is… exactly what I am saying, Harry."

For a while, Harry appeared stressed, tense, and unsure. His eyes wandered the room looking at various things as he tried to figure out what to say.

Eventually, he just settled on, "So what do we do?"

A wild look came upon Dumbledore's eyes, one that still demonstrated the spark of youth. "There seems to be two options before us, Harry. On the one hand, perhaps we could convince Mrs. Lestrange to fetch the cup for us." Harry knew that would never happen, if the small smirk on Dumbledore's face was any indicator. In fact, he could feel his eyes widen as he knew what Dumbledore would say next. "But I find it more likely that we'll have to go get the Cup ourselves."

"But sir, the damage that would cause. The treatise with the goblins… it would bring war… an attack on their hoard… it will lead to war lasting generations."

"Aye, Harry. But we're already there," Dumbledore said soberly.

Harry sighed and collected himself.

"Oh… okay, sir… putting that aside… once we get the Cup, then what?"

"That is where matters become a little more difficult", and Harry could feel his stomach drop at that statement. "What do you know of the multiverse, Harry?"

Harry cocked his head to the side like a staring dog trying to understand its owner.
"Not a thing, sir."

Dumbledore stood up from behind his desk and came over to the large globe which was illuminated with blue and red dots, each one demarcating strongholds of Voldemort and members of the Order in their place. He stared at the globe intently.

"Long ago, there was a story about a wizard who said he'd travelled through space. Most assumed that he meant time… but his writings suggest moving forward or backward, but to a new world and a new dimension."

Harry listened in rapt attention. After all, he himself had studied other dimensions, but he never knew it was like this. Since he had learned that Tom had summoned so-called "demons" in the last war, Harry wanted to be ready for anything.

"He wrote about coming to a world that was so like ours, yet so unlike. It was a world where left might mean right and right might mean left. Where his father had married some other woman and a world where his mother was in fact 'some other person'. This man lived at the time of the war between Merlin and Morgana Le Fay. However, he described that there was no Merlin and that Morgana simply rolled over their world and conquered."

Dumbledore didn't speak for long, so Harry asked.

"Was any of it true?"

Dumbledore billowed out a sigh before turning to Harry with a Grindelwaldian grin upon his face. "I think every part of it was true." Those twinkling amethyst seemed to glow purple in the dark chamber of the Headmaster's office, only illuminated by the moon. "You see Harry, I have come to believe that our old friend, Tom Riddle, has in fact discovered how this man came to this alternate world. I believe that he has actually made three more Horcruxes, and I believe that he has scattered them across a multitude of alternate dimensions. And we must find them!"

(~~~~~~~~~~)

fn1: Centaurs are the tanks of the Gears of War universe. They operate similarly to modern tanks except that they have high suspensions and actually have four wheels instead of tracks. In my mind, they are inferior to modern tanks simply because they have wheels, as tracks are what made the original tanks design so OP. However, Centaurs can travel a lot faster than a normal tank can, one of the advantages of having wheels.

fn2: U.I.R. stands for Union of Independent Republics. They are the people that the COG was originally battling for Imulsion prior to E-Day. A lot of that is covered in the intro though.

fn3: APC stands for Armoured Personnel Carrier, also known as Armadillos. It is a six-wheeled, tall but low to the ground, transport vehicle. They can be entered from the front, where the hatch pops open and the front ramming bar/shovel can turn into a step to allow people to get in. Different vehicles are equipped with different tools. Most were equipped in the front and rear with the same COG turrets that were attached to King Ravens. However, in Gears of War 1, a strip down version was used which had a UV Turret mounted on it (this APC was called Laverne or the Junker). In the game, all of the outer armour hull was removed. However, proper APC's are supposed to encase the passengers safely in in heavy armour. Furthermore, APC's had two side saddle carriers on each side that enabled it to carry the gear of soldiers or civilians without cramping the inside. Finally, the APC has a rear hatch that allows for JACK bots to be able to settle into.

fn4: If you are unclear about what the term "Primis" means, then I advise you to consult my profile page. This story is only one of five or six planned stories. Remember that the Horcruxes have been scattered into the multiverse. Sera is only one of three places that Harry and Gellert will visit in this series. Meanwhile, Primis is the term that I use to refer to the original Harry Potter world.