Heading down into the actual power control section of the plant with a few wolves I saw my ever faithful Steel Defender laying surrounded by bodies. Nests that were built down here having been destroyed by her doing her side of the task, the wolves dragging the bodies out of the place and outside into the grass somewhere. I got to work on fixing important sections and starting things up once more before actually bringing it all to life with a tug of the main switch. The plant humming to life the very next instance so I moved and got to work with making sure no one could fuck with it anymore starting with sealing off the main power control area underground. Soil and plant life shutting it off once me and my companion left, the wire fencing becoming covered with soil and plant life with a magical glow. My eyes glowing bright enough in the ensuing darkness that I saw it. A mix of emerald green and neon blue with hints of gold in the dark from my eyes alone.

Magic coursing through my veins like a second heartbeat, nature's voice echoing through my head along with every passing second. I moved with a purpose, ignoring Deacon and Boozer as I went around the plant to do what I needed to do. The wolves cowering slightly with every step I took, they knew instinctively that I was currently showing some of my fangs. The vehicles long abandoned here became massive Eldritch turrets that took up spots around certain sections of the plant before digging their spider legs in and becoming fixed in place. Gaps and open sections were closed off with the very soil itself moving to fulfill my requests without any sort of spell. Soon only the lake remained the only real way in, I even marked a few sections around the plant with runes for hostile intent. If some dumbass got bright ideas they'd eat a cannon shot to the face no questions asked. Just dead.

Deacon and Boozer were forced out of the plant during the entire thing, wolves herding them. If the boys got trigger happy or something a turret snapped to them loud enough to make them think otherwise. Plunging into the lake once more I set up a few more runes, and Awaken the dead and sunken log covered in moss and everything I moved earlier. Giving it only one request, to keep things clear from where it needed to go to produce power, otherwise it was free to do as it wished. WIth everything needed done I got back onto solid ground above the water, meeting the disturbed Deacon and Boozer who looked as if they'd seen ghosts.

"What?"

That came out gruffer than intended, but I didn't really care. I now needed to head home and turn my cabin grounds into a Grove slash temple slash forge sanctuary.

"What the hell just happened? None of that made any sense… fuck just the hell happened?!"

While Deacon was freaking out physically, Boozer was looking at me with freaked out curiosity. There was also hope within his eyes. Tilting my head I thought about things hard enough before pointing at Boozer, ignoring Deacon since I was still admittedly annoyed with his dumbass.

"William, I may just grant you a miracle for being the best fucking brother you can be for this dumbass. You deserve it after everything he's put you through, William. Afterall you deserve a chance to be able to put down roots someday and have a few brats to fuck with using your stories. So do you wish for me to do so? If you do and her corpse still exists… then bring it to me, if not I can do it right here right now."

William "Boozer" Gray, a man who grew up a farm boy then became a truck driver and eventually a MC's member, now an apocalyptic survivor. Was someone I had a soft spot for along with his wife Jonay Gray, the couple were one of the people that I could talk about a lot of things with when I was hitting a rough spot due to things. I knew they had plans for kids at one point as well but then Jonay died in a drunken motorcycle crash years back. So to repay him and give him things to look forward to aside from Deacon who owes him so much for everything he's done for him, I was willing to bring his wife back to life for the man using True Resurrection. My words seemed to spark something in him as the man looked at me intensely for a briefe second, disbelief in his eyes so I smirked under my helmet before throwing him a bone.

Reaching into a TRUE bag of holding I pulled out an old DND book and flipped it open to the spell he needed to see. The components were honestly easy for me to provide currently, yet I wouldn't provide anything but the holy water, I'd rather pay the blood price for the missing half instead.

[True Resurrection, 9th-level necromancy

Casting Time: 1 hour

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M (a sprinkle of holy water and diamonds worth at least 25,000 gp, which the spell consumes)

Duration: Instantaneous

You touch a creature that has been dead for no longer than 200 years and that died for any reason except old age. If the creature's soul is free and willing, the creature is restored to life with all its hit points.

This spell closes all wounds, neutralizes any poison, cures all diseases, and lifts any curses affecting the creature when it died. The spell replaces damaged or missing organs or limbs. If the creature was undead, it is restored to its non-undead form.

The spell can even provide a new body if the original no longer exists, in which case you must speak the creature's name. The creature then appears in an unoccupied space you choose within 10 feet of you.]

It was no secret between us that I said I was a walking DND character, just no one liked to believe me at all. However, with what just happened I essentially just shut down any doubts because you can't do what I just did in this world without tech that's HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS YEARS into the future. Boozer stared at the spell for a long time before he grabbed Deacon and started dragging him to the bike they rode in on due to Boozer's arm. With a chuckle I radioed them just to let them know where I would be, Boozer would know the place well.

"I'm going home, I want to begin turning it into truly my own little haven among this hell. Just don't come storming in, there are non-infected animal colonies living around it that I would rather keep alive. Especially since some of them room zoo's that went dark, so you be respectful while bringing her and they'll let you through right to my door steps William."

{I… I hear you brother… I hear you… I… thanks… I owe you….}

With those words I, Suko, and the wolves that came with us left for home. Fixing broken Transformers and downed lines along the way as we went. I was thinking about some, there should be hordes in the thousands if not hundreds here still untouched so I would clear them out to try and level up some more. This time into Ranger and possibly take the Drakewarden path, as the extra firepower would be helpful. I was close to leveling Paladin to level eighteen, however, that level would go into Ranger unlocking the path and allowing it to level up relatively easily since I learned something. After I reached level three in Artificer and Paladin years ago each class leveled up separately with its own experience requirements. It was strange… Yet something deep within me knew the cause likely and that cause made me chuckle in amusement when I even tried thinking of it.

I just knew it had something to do with why I wanted Drakewarden, why I was so tempted to take the summon drake spell. With a sigh and shake of my head, I impaled a Newt with my Naginati and flung its lifeless body off into the distance without a care for collecting its ears. We were almost home so we rushed the home stretch, once we finally reached it after almost an entire day the wolves broke off to their section of the woods. Suko and I went towards my cabin where I without rest for a single second began to literally create my own literal haven. Turning everything in a two-hundred seventy feet into a literal grove by casting Druid Grove as a 9th level spell instead of 6th, following it up with Modenkainen's Private Sanctum at 9th level as well. The extra five hundred feet provided by the sanctum expanding the grove spell, the two spells under my class influences blending together.

I wasn't going to wait for an entire year to solidify them both though as I partitioned a section of my mind to design and improve sections of the 500x500x500 area. That includes five hundred feet underground as well, now under my direct control. Using Ritual Caster and my abilities as an Archivist and Artificer to their limits. I bound the reality that was now all around me into becoming a permanent thing by using my magic and own life as means to anchor it all together in reality. I felt extremely weak by the end, weak enough that I ate a hearty lunch then took a very long rest after admiring the surroundings. Cackling with mad glee at the sight, the weakness being worth it.

"It still tickles my artificing brain and soul to see what can be done within the bounds of reality, while also keeping within predetermined boundaries. Because using just some creativity you really can use spells to do more. Just now I regret having waited to try doing something on this scale! Now… I just need to learn Dimension Door and I can possibly kick it up a notch…"

Just to enjoy the new surroundings I long rested out by the one large tree that's always been near my cabin. Just laying against the tree and closing my eyes to appear sleeping. My blind sight kicked in due to my fighting style, yet I didn't mind it much. I just laid in place regardless of time. The world may be ending, but as long as my cherished ones were fine then I didn't care. I'd lay here until needed or until I got the urge to do something.

Just I wonder what will the boys think when they come up here? I would know when they got here with Jonay's remains if there is any still left. Out of the two William knew I didn't care for lying, in fact he had asked for honestly I would've Zone of Truth in that instant. Because he deserved the truth even with all of his fuck ups given he was a good friend to me for so long. Deacon is just a man without a purpose when he's not truly involved with something, and that makes me dislike him. Because even while I assume everyone is trying to cheat me for my work, and only care for those I cherish to the point of zealotry. I at least cared to respond if responsibility and the world came knocking.

Not him. No Deacon I can tell has been running from everything for almost three years now. Eventually he would leave even Boozer, dropping all of his responsibilities and others for a pointless life to live. So if he couldn't get his head out of his ass I would MAKE him before he crossed the final hurdle. That's why I'm dangling information on Sarah like I am, Boozer didn't even try stopping me. Because he was both caught up on other things and knew I was trying to teach Deacon something.

I was both a soldier and an advanced engineering and mechanics college professor before all this. The Mongrels even gave Deacon my less complicated mechanical course materials. Courtesy of Jack and William paying the standard tuition fee for just my most bland mechanic course study materials. Hell Sarah, Deacon's wife, paid me to make a custom gas tank for Deacon after William gave her my number. After a very long time I heard the subdued rumbling of engines approaching. Getting up slowly to give the critters that perched on me a chance to get off, I popped my neck once full up. Boozer led Deacon in as they had a coffin between their bikes.

Once they parked I walked over while they got to getting the coffin down from between their bikes. William treated it as if it was the very world, Deacon doing things with care out of respect for his brother. Once they set her down I opened her coffin, and inside sat a still relatively preserved Jonay almost as if time had refused to touch her. Touching over her heart I did as I said I would for William.

"True Resurrection."

I felt the ping for her soul, I felt her appear to see what was going on, I felt the grief and longing. Jonay didn't understand what was going on, but she KNEW what was being offered to her. She took it and clung to it like a Koala Bear, bright gold and emerald fire filling the area soon with a silent explosion. Before it simply vanished as it had never happened, Jonay groaned with life within her coffin. Walking away I waved towards my tree, while heading into my cabin and locking the door since I knew Deacon saw me wave. Once the door closed I collapsed against it with barely a sound, grasping my chest because that honestly took more than it should've with Blood Price. A usually inactive rune nearby lights up meaning there was something bad enough moving near my home to trigger it. Sighing I just sat there before getting off the ground and going out my back door where Suko was already waiting.

With a whistle I mounted the Steel Defender and we took off around the house towards the others then to the outside. We would be dealing with more than hundreds of thousands of Freaks moving through the mountain side very likely so weren't going to delay this. Summoning an Avenger Celestial along the way the large angelic construct that fits my style appears in a flash of molten golden fire. Wings beating with its bow drawn for combat at any moment.

"It is good to serve alongside you once more, Lord of the Crown."

"Oh? So it's you again this time Dunsire? Well good to have you. We need to find possibly a horde of Freaks, not the size of the ones out towards New York but it also isn't an impossibility. If it's not Freaks then it's something just as bad as a horde to set off my runes."

The large Celestial nods their helmeted head before rocketing into the sky with a flap of their wings sending molten gold embers trailing after them. We spent hours looking until the booming sound of a Celestial arrow rings out with an impact, whistling loudly Suko banks hard right towards the sound. When we arrived on the scene literal tides of Freaks and infected animals were rushing the Celestial. With a grunt of effort I launched myself from my Defender and towards the oncoming tide with my naginata drawn, layering every smite I can while Cloud Kill swirls around my weapon. When my blade pierced a Brute through the chest an explosion of burning electrical smoke exploded forward with a deafening bang for two hundred feet in all directions. The Brute was vaporized with the freaks around us and behind it following suit due to the extremely overpowered Cloud Kill filling the area directly towards the horde. Golden arrows of light whizzing past my head to find their marks as Freaks fell with radiant energy burning them up. My Defender joined the mayhem, two flamethrower turrets made of flesh and stone joining the fight with mechanical ruthlessness.

Clicking my heels together with a drop kick, Thunderclap going off with a thunderous roar that shocked Freaks and infected animals to death while sending them flying. Grabbing the paw of Rager I spun the infected bear slightly with great effort to just throw it, golden arrows puncturing through it and into other Freaks. There were far too many of the very much still alive but also dead infected creatures rushing us from somewhere.

"TO THE SKY! FIND THEIR ORIGIN AND BURN IT!"

The summoned Celestial takes to the skies once more with their bow overcharging in radiant energy. Flinging a naturally born and raised Newt into the maw of a Runner, I overcharged several offensive spells before casting them all at once. An explosion of multiple damage types and effects erupt all around me with swords of golden light and emerald green engraving shred approaching Freaks. That's when I saw it, a blinding streak of light racing across the sky before an explosion worse than Thunderous Smite rang out. The Celestial in the sky fading away, golden blood dripping down from the sky before a Celestial Defender took their place beside me. My druid animal companion appears with them as the ghostly looking tiger mauls and claws at the tide still incoming. However, I could tell they were also lessening now with each death not having another new Freak joining the fray. By the time the fighting was over the Celestial was dead, my Wild Companion was dead, and my body HURT on a mild annoyance level compared to fighting off Freaks pouring out of cities the size of New York. My armor was fixing and regenerating itself almost as if it was a living entity, given everything I've done to it though it may as well be one.

Something grabbed my ankle so I didn't even look down at it, I just drew my side arm and shot it in the head. I was too busy hurting and sorting through new class information to care about a dying sack of shit. Luckily I could pull up just the new classes information while thinking about it. Just damn how big was this horde?

[Ranger LV 6

Favored Enemy (Humanoids:Gnolls): Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them.

When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all. You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventures.

Natural Explorer (Forest): At 1st level, you are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. When you make an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to your favored terrain, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are using a skill that you're proficient in.

While traveling for an hour or more in your favored terrain, you gain the following benefits:

-Difficult terrain doesn't slow your group's travel.

-Your group can't become lost except by magical means.

-Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.

-If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.

-When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.

-While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

You choose additional favored terrain types at 6th and 10th level.

Fighting Style (Archery): You gain a 2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Archetype: Drakewarden

Feat: Fighting Initiate (Two Weapon Fighting): When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Extra Attack

Natural Explorer Improvement(Mountains): You can swim and climb at your normal pace and your swim speed improves by 5ft.

Favored Enemy Improvement: Beast

0: Thaumaturgy

1: Detect Magic, Hunter's Mark, Sudden Awakening, Absorb Elements

2: Silence, Summon Beast

Drakwarden

-Orgin: You had a vivid dream of a mysterious figure accompanied by seven yellow canaries, who warned you of impending doom. When you awoke, your drake was there, watching you.

-Draconic Gift

-You learn the Thaumaturgy cantrip, which is a ranger spell for you.

-Tongue of Dragons: You learn to speak, read, and write Draconic or one language of your choice. (Grung)

-Drake Companion: At 3rd level, as an action, you can magically summon the drake that is bound to you. It appears in an unoccupied space of your choice within 30 feet of you.

The drake is friendly to you and your companions, and it obeys your commands. See its game statistics in the accompanying Drake Companion stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. Whenever you summon the drake, choose a damage type listed in its Draconic Essence trait. You can determine the cosmetic characteristics of the drake, such as its color, its scale texture, or any visible effect of its Draconic Essence; your choice has no effect on its game statistics.

In combat, the drake shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It can move and use its reaction on its own, but the only action it takes on its turn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus action on your turn to command it to take another action. That action can be one in its stat block or some other action. If you are incapacitated, the drake can take any action of its choice, not just Dodge.

The drake remains until it is reduced to 0 hit points, until you use this feature to summon the drake again, or until you die. Anything the drake was wearing or carrying is left behind when the drake vanishes. Once you summon the drake, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher to summon it.]

I was building into summoning an army at command, because fuck half the shit I know could potentially show up at any time! Just neat I know Gnoll and Grung now… I NOW SPEAK HYENA AND FROG! That'll be hilarious if I just suddenly start cursing someone in frog because no one will honestly expect it. Just where I was currently I could see people that were playing at being an army coming, so I just leaned against my Naginata and watched them come. Suko sitting at my side like the ever present companion she was, but just having her out and about wasn't fair so I resummoned my Wild Companion as a Pitbull, summoned my Drake as a Red Drake since people like playing with fire, I even let my spores become dense enough to form a cloud that swirled around me. My Drake was looking around with curiosity since it was honestly a baby still, a deadly baby but still a baby since it was just given life through the new class.

When the first of the ones playing military reached me and tried to circle me with their bike, my drake apparently didn't like that as they nearly melted the front wheel with their breath. It did however startle the one who tried bad enough to crash with their bike in some nearby snow, making me chuckle and the little one to preen with smugness. This was going to be an interesting meeting, I just wondered… How many will I have to kill if any?

\\/ Sarah POV /\\

"Matt, are you sure it wise to go where we saw all those explosions?"

{Lieutenant Whitaker, I am sure because that wasn't normal by any standards. If marauders have explosives that are that strong, or worse then its best we cleanse them and requisition their explosives. It will serve us better in our God given mission to retake the world from the Freaks than in the hands of them.}

SIghing I honestly couldn't help questioning most of what Matt said, however, he had a point. It's not a good thing if marauders have explosives or something worse that strong so nearby us or the FOB Camps. Just when we got nearer and I saw the carnage, I could barely breathe from fear because this was just a slaughter unlike any we've seen in the last two years. One of the larger and more packed mass graves off in the distances was a smoldering mess as well, as if something decided to say fuck that spot in particular. The next thing I noticed was the armored figure standing amidst bodies leaning on a naginata. A hauntingly familiar robot next to them, along with two other odd and unbelievable sites while a spore cloud as thick as Kouri's arm when he works out.

"Matt… Don't let anyone do anything… I think I know who that is and if it's really him then everyone here, except for me likely, are already in danger of dying without a chance to do anything if we make him hostile…."

{Someone you know… Who is the man standing there Lieutenant Whitaker?}

"That Kouri would be Dakota Lockhart… someone well known for his engineering and personality before the world ended. He…. He could care less about the Freaks roaming the world, as long as they don't bother him or those he likes then he'll turn a blind eye even if someone dying in front of him were to beg for help. Just because he doesn't know nor care for the person, a person only matters if he likes them or he has an interest in them for some reason."

{Sounds like a fitting friend for the Witch of our little island. Aaaand that dumbass trying to pull something just ate snow. Just did anyone else see the reptile breathe fire towards the bike?}

Sighing I knew Weaver was just being an ass to be an ass, just he was right the reptile next to Dakota just breathed fire at the unlucky private that tried to circle them. We stopped a few feet away from him, when he saw me he just waved lazily while talking in a bored tone.

"Hello Sarah, your husband is still alive and kicking though I see his ring is on another's finger. Not my place to ask nor care if you've moved on, just you won't be seeing Deacon until he gets his head out of his ass with my little lesson plan. Before you make demands or beg, NO, he needs to learn some life lessons about being a person again and not a lone wolf."

Deacon was alive…. That's good to know, just while I was pissed at being told I couldn't see him just yet I unfortunately knew that Dakota did things like so if it was important. So I couldn't actually do anything but wait, if I tried to rush things it would end poorly like it did when he did this before. There was also the bit where the man fought almost the entire Farewell Horde by himself when things were just starting, and he clearly won that so that certainly helps in making me reluctant in pushing. Noticing no one else was speaking up just yet, I decided to try leading the conversation since I knew the man personally.

"Thanks for telling me about Deacon, Dakota… that honestly does put some old fears and worries to bed for me. Just… can I ask why you're out here and if you did all of this?"

He leans off his naginata with a chuckle before resting the polearm on one of his shoulders.

"Did you forget I lived out this way? This is my turf and these fucking things were moving through my home area hunting for the animals I'm keeping alive very likely… So why wouldn't I come out here and kill every last one of them?"

"Right… right. You mentioned animals you're taking care of, do you mean wolves? Because there's been a lot of those in the past two years. Also how the hell did you kill THIS many? This shouldn't be possible without some heavy firepower."

Shaking his head I could tell he looked at me with pity under his helmet.

"You think it's just wolves? My cabin has become a safe haven for wolves, stray dogs, stray cats, rabbits, squirrels, birds, mountain lions, cougars, lynxs, escaped zoo animals, and whatever else found it and didn't disturb things like a small group of six bears. I'm actually quite amused that half the shit around my cabin is even living together with how many are primarily top dog types. As for how I did all this? Why Sarah… I've told you once before I was magical, you just never believed it."

"This fool actually thinks magic exis-"

Whatever insult Weaver was going to say was cut off when before our eyes Dakota turned into a bear then back. When he was human once more he threw a knife of ice that materialized in his hand at a Rager corpse that was half melted and the corpse froze solid once the knife hit it.

"How the fuck?!"

"Magic mother fucker!"

Dakota I could tell was amused with screwing with Weaver due to the man's reactions. I and the others on the other hand were trying to process what just happened because that made no sense. He literally just did magic… magic was real…. He just did magic…. He caused this all with magic….

"You… you're an affront to God's plans with your magic, but we could definitely use your skills to take back the world."

"Yeeeeeah no. The world can go fuck itself, your little military can't make me do shit. As for God? Fuck the white god, I follow Hestia and one other for my sole two tenants in life. Before any of you make the argument that Hestia would want me to help the families still alive, she wouldn't mind if I did but she understands if I prioritize my own first. My other patron, Null the Dragon god of Death, Judgement, and the Undead has yet to fault me for I am keeping a balance and granting those that deserve death that death…. Hm?"

Something stirred among the mountain and trail of bodies, a Freak that was torn in half with half its head erased crawled out from the dead and towards Dakota. The man watched it curiously until it was just a few feet from him, the two stared at each other for a few seconds then the corpse that was moving became lifeless once more. Dakota strapped his polearm to his back before starting to wander off with a crack of his neck. A shot went off, we all looked towards who shot and saw it was a sergeant who raised their weapon and fired at Dakota. The round bounced off his armor, he stopped and turned back to look at the sergeant.

"Where do you think you're going, you freak?! We're not-"

Then they were gone a beam of intense heat on par with the fucking sun just vaporized them, Dakota stretching a hand outwards them before lowering it and walking once more. Disappearing not long after when the weather suddenly turned into a blizzard very briefly.

"Well… that could've gone worse than losing one trigger happy dumbass."

"I'm going to have to agree with you Lieutenant Weaver, that could've gone horribly wrong if he really did all this."

"God be with you brother who are now in heaven…."

"Bueno, joder, al menos fue rápido. Matt, maybe we should tell people to not shoot the man next time if he's not doing anything. Certainly would prefer to work with the hombre if he has magia curativa or could make something containing magia curativa so that we don't have use most of nuestros suministros médicos"

Shaking my head I cursed under my breath because this was a fucking mess. Getting on my bike I started the engine while shouting over all of the talking going on.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to talk with him! I know where his cabin is so I should be able to find him relatively easily. If I can work something out with him we could get his assistance with some things around the camp or field!"

Kouri was the first to snap out of it before he mounted his bike and followed after me when I started driving off into the wooded mountain side covered in snow. We didn't wait for anyone else. We were already weaving through trees before they could follow us since Matt couldn't have a group that big follow us. Not when it could be mistaken as an act of aggression against someone that could potentially drop a fucking meteor on our heads.