The Utopia Project: Dawn of the Phantoms

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===[Chapter 25: No Greater Enemy]===

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The flight lasted no longer than a few minutes. Archer was fast, incredibly so for something of his size. With grace, like a oversized hawk soaring across open skies, he darted over the battle ravaged Raritan. The other dragons that were certain to be near the airspace hadn't noticed them, and the speed with which Archer mustered through made them too quick for any Imperials on the ground to shoot them down.

On the ground, the Warrior Elves mounted a stiff resistance. Every floor of every building had been occupied by the Home Guard, their red and green headbands identifying themselves from the rest of the civilian population. They fired old guns on the advancing River and Avonian forces that pushed their way through the streets of the capital city. Every inch of ground that the Avonians took was paid for with blood, even despite their advanced weapons. But from the skies, the elves were paying the greatest price. They were on the retreat as far as Eli could see. And the Imperials were all coalescing towards one location.

The Palace grew within sight of the quartet. Archer folded his wings back and cut even faster through the air in a dash towards the Palace roof. But to their horror, the Imperials had already pushed up to the Palace proper.

Eli was still occupied with trying not to fall off Archer, but he heard Otaes shout something over to him and Temetet. Though he could barely hear. It was about the Avonians though, as she pointed down at their forces mounting a final assault on the Palace. They had to get there. Eli could only hope that Misfit was safe where they were.

Archer descended over the roof of the palace with a less-than-graceful landing accompanying them. Otaes was the first to disembark, landing perfectly upright despite her speed. Temetet followed, not as sturdy on the dismount but in a passable fashion. And then there was Eli who was so far gone that he needed a good several moments just to get off of the griffon. He rolled off of Archer’s back, falling onto his feet – but his legs were too unsteady and instead of landing with any sort of dignity or grace, he crashed straight onto the floor. With the breath taken out of his lungs, the soul that he left back in the Eastern Quarter gradually flowed back into his body. Half of him was thankful that he hadn't fallen to his death, the other was still in complete disbelief.

“You and me both, friend,” Temetet sensed Eli's incredulity, helping the human back onto his feet. The wound was still there, but in a extreme twist of fortune - it hadn't been aggravated to the point of reopening with all the chaos from the past few moments. He still limped, but the pain had died down substantially. Either he was getting used to the feeling or he was still numb on some kind of excitement high that hadn't left his body yet. The latter was most likely. It had been an insane couple of hours, almost non-stop since they left the palace to go get Temetet in the first place. There was no point in celebrating though, the worst was far from over...

Otaes turned to Archer, speaking to the griffon as if he understood her perfectly, “We’re going to go downstairs. Go ahead and do what you do best. Defend.”

When she said the word ‘defend’, the Griffon immediately changed in demeanor. Archer had grown on Eli. He wasn't terrified of the creature anymore considering that he'd ridden the beast without dying. Now he seemed like a giant flying horse with a dog mixed in there somewhere. But the way his wings spread out, claws extended, and pupils narrowed – it was like the word 'defend' was his trigger. In a burst of air from flapping wings, Archer launched himself into the air. Up and over the wall of the Palace.

Eli sighed when he saw Otaes turn back around to lead them indoors, “I’m glad he’s on our side,” he panted out with his hands on his knees, fighting to catch his breath.

“Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you. Unless I ask him to, of course.”

“I find your sense of humor frightening. You know that?”

“I wasn’t joking.”

Eli grumbled as she walked past, “Of course not.”

They got off of the griffon landing pad and descended through a door, down a flight of stairs that took them inside. The first thing Eli noticed was how dark it had become in here. All of the magical lights and torches that illuminated the walls had gone dark. The second thing he noticed was the smell. Smoke, gunpowder, something burning from deep within. The crack of gunfire within and yelling confirmed the source, the defenders were putting up whatever resistance that they could mount against the Imperials. Warrior elves swarmed the interior of the palace, casting strange glances when they noticed Eli but moving on quickly to more pressing issues. It was like walking straight into a beehive. There were so many moving parts all around Eli that he almost lost track of Otaes and Temetet, finding himself lost in the crowd of colorful elves armed to the teeth.

"Eli! This way!" He followed Otaes' voice as they continued their way downstairs towards the throneroom.

Eli didn't have a great opportunity to observe the throneroom when he was first brought there, being detained with a sack around his head and interrogated before an audience sort of distracted him. So when he saw it again he was completely floored by the sheer size of it. Just as he remembered, the circular shape of the room was flanked on one side by a row of seats for an audience to gather. All of it faced the direction of the thrones mounted on the opposite end, with the circular sunroof dab-smack in he center casting sunlight to illuminate its entirety. But it was huge. The dome-like ceiling reached the top floor of the palace, and the palace must've been at least five floors high. And its circumference could easily fit thousands of people. Given the windows located around the walls, they weren't on the ground floor. Likely just the one above it.

The Warrior Elf defenders made quick use of the throneroom's size, the doors leading to its entrance had been barricaded and the windows were manned by more of those masked warriors. Fledgling guardsmen distributed those old guns from before, spears, knifves, machetes - anything that could be used to slow the Imperials. His eyes caught on a long metal tube that a few of the elves carried around. Given the size and the trigger located on it, it resembled a rocket launcher of some fashion. He thought of what they were using them for. Armored vehicles? The sentries?

“Eli!" Hearing his own name shouted through the fog-like chaos of the room got his attention. When he looked to see who'd called it, he found Badger flagging him down. Another wave of relief washed over him knowing that Misfit was safe, “You will not believe the day we've just had!”

“How long has it been?” Eli asked.

“About a half-hour after you guys left we found those Avonian guys tried to make their way inside the Palace. The Home Guard managed to barricade the lower floors, but we were scared we locked you guys out! Speaking of… how did you get back here?”

“I flew in on a Griffon.”

“A…A Griffon?" Badger raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t ask.”

Eli was overjoyed when he found all of Misfit gathered in the throneroom. They rushed up to greet him, seemingly equally relieved that he was alright. He did a headcount in his mind, Badger, Dutch, Rafael, Matteo, Omar, of course there was himself, “Where’s Cato?”

“Over here!” A hoarse voice called out. Cato's. He was sitting on the floor, his back against the foot of the audience seats on the first row. He looked surprisingly healthy. At least, he didn't appear any worse than when Eli last saw him. He was a lot more conscious than he was before, and he looked fine enough to walk around briefly.

Matteo gestured towards Cato, “We had to evacuate him from the infirmary, there were too many wounded and the Elves said they had to prioritize their own. So we brought him up here with us. Their magical healing was – well – magical. I’ve never seen someone make such a quick recovery. Not with normal medicine anyway.”

“Magic, elves, giant walking death machines, cyborg killer wolves, robot dragons, and now griffons. What's next?” Dutch rhetorically asked.

“We get our freedom?” Rafael boldly asked with a smirk.

“No. Be realistic.”

Interrupting the conversation between them, came Chief Ani herself. The Warrior Elf guards flanked her sides walking as a protection unit while she travelled through the room. Ani’s eyes locked with Otaes’ immediately, “Otaes! Finally, there you are! We were looking everywhere for you!”

“I apologize, mother. But I had to go find my brother-"

“That was a dangerous move, going out there alone,” Ani scorned her, “Most of the other Kitchi Warriors are either downstairs preventing the Avonians from coming through, or have been trapped behind their advancing army! You could’ve been killed! You should've remained where you were stationed here at the palace!”

“I understand, but I had to get Temetet! Besides, I wasn’t alone," Otaes glanced over at Eli's direction. He responded with a nod of recognition.

“It doesn’t matter now… thankfully these humans have proven invaluable to defending the Palace. You call yourselves, Misfit, correct?” Ani asked them.

“That’s right, Misfit,” Badger answered.

“They’ve fought as if they were defending their own home. For that you have my thanks. But it will all be for nothing if we don’t get help soon. Our defenders can slow them down, but they’ve learned since the last war. They’re pushing through, I tried to contact the rest of the Kiote Council but the situation is pretty much the same everywhere. The Ostralands are still too hesitant to intervene,” She sighed, “Misfit, please tell me you have a trick up your sleeve, now would be an excellent time.”

All eyes landed on Eli. His attention turned to his monitor. He requested support from Overwatch what felt like hours ago. His monitor told him nothing. Slowly he closed his eyes, disappointed that nothing further could be done, “We have to wait. That’s all we can do…”

“They’ll never show up. Overwatch isn’t wasting their precious fire support to save prisoners,” Rafael grumbled, “We have a better chance of seeing pigs fly.”

“We can’t give up hope. Not yet. We couldn’t have come so far just to give up in the end.”

“For everyone's sake, I hope you’re right.”

But then something interrupted their brief moment of rest. The Elves all looked in unison towards the same direction. Their heads turned, ears twitching. Hearing something that Eli’s human ears couldn’t yet pick up, “What is it? What’s going on?” Dutch asked.

In response, Otaes only held up a finger to where her lips would be behind her mask. Everyone fell silent. The Home Guard clutched their weapons like something sacred. Something was coming. Ani turned to Misfit, her face twisted in a look of fear and bewilderment, “Sentry,” She whispered.

Then the building itself shook. Eli’s eyes turned to the walls and ceiling. It sounded like something mechanical was repeatedly smashing itself into the walls of the palace again and again. In a almost footstep like rhythm. Each thud vibrated the core of the building knocking loose debris from the structural supports above. “It’s climbing the building,” said Temetet.

There was a brief moment of silence. Nobody dared speak, nobody dared move. Sentries could climb buildings? Eli had only seen them once and they simply looked like a sized down version of the Behemoths. He didn't think it was possible for one of those machines to have that kind of mobility. Did it know that they were here?

From just outside came a roar. A foghorn-like growl, not to dissimilar to the one reminiscent of the Behemoths. Eli took a step back from the wall as he listened to the robotic growls of the monster lurking just outside. He suppressed images of the Behemoths, their red eyes casting all-seeing light upon a field of devastation. Their guns that could vaporize a person, disassembling them at the molecular level until all that was left of them was their clothes and a memory. Their size, towering above the battlefield - almost achieving invincibility, until they weren't. But even in their death throes, the behemoths were a force to be reckoned with. Collapsing onto the phantoms below, sending shockwaves through the ground, burying all unfortunate enough to be crushed under the titanic weight of steel, howling with their robotic groans as they fell.

Was the sentry going to be the same kind of monster? If it was, they were dead before the battle started. Nothing that the Coalition tried worked to bring down the Behemoth save for massive guns that the Coalition's tanks carried. Even those had to aim for the narrow legs in order to strike a hit that mattered. The shield was powerful enough to stop almost everything from hitting the most obvious target. If the sentry wasn't the same as a behemoth, or at the very least if there were better ways to take it down - they might stand some sort of chance.

“It’s coming over here! Get the guns out! Go! Everyone else, find somewhere to hide!” Ani ordered them all.

Misfit scattered around the large room. Finding anything – everything – sturdy enough to protect themselves with. Eli slid into cover behind a row of seats. Matteo to his left, kept a tight hold on his gun, while Omar shakily ran in to join Eli on his right, “Mister Freeman! What’s a Sentry?”

“Bad news. That’s what,” Said Eli, “They're like mini-behemoths!”

“Is there any way to take one down?” Matteo asked.

“Otaes told me that we’d need explosives! But even if we had them, I dunno where to put it to use!”

“Shit!”

The mechanical stomping of the sentry grew closer, and louder. Each step that it took sent a renewed wave of fear and anxiety down Eli’s spine. His body was still exhausted, and just thinking about the coming fight filled his chest with dread. But it didn’t stop there, of course. For again, he heard one of the Elves cry out, “There’s two! I hear two sentries!” Shouted a guard.

“More than that!”

“By the source! They’re everywhere!”

All went silent. The stomping died, the sound replaced by a distinct electric buzz. One that gave Eli goosebumps. Static filled the air. Eli braced himself, preparing for the worst.

And in the blink of an eye, there was an explosion!

The room filled with dust and debris, choking the occupants within as the wall crumbled on the far end. Pulling his hands away from his face when the dust settled. He looked up. Sunlight trickled in through a massive hole in the wall. But in the midst of the hole, looking down on the defenders below – was a singular massive red eye which cast an angry glare at those within the dark throneroom. Four long spider-like legs filled the crater in the roof, carrying a large metal body. The upper portion of the head was plated in grey metal – peppered with a layer of sharp spikes. Underneath, the metallic gears, pipes, and engine of the machine were held up by even more armored plating directly underneath it. Right underneath the eye was a large cannon flanked by a smaller gun sitting just next to it.

Entering the room, it emitted a deafening roar as it searched for targets. The red light destroyed the dark shadows within, revealing all like a giant red torch illuminating the room. A few brave elves stood to open fire on it with their guns, but the bullets ricocheted off the armor of the sentry harmlessly. The eye twisted towards them, red light surrounded the brave – though foolish – elves who had opened fire. A red energy shield materialized in front of the sentry to absorb the gunfire, though it was likely unnecessary. The larger cannon charged itself, summoning even more red ekron energy, before it unleashed the destructive ball of energy at the elves. Another explosion vaporized them after bathing them in red ekron light - just as the behemoth's disintegrator had! All the while the second weapon - a machine gun – opened fire on the defenders below! The bullets tore through wood, armor, people. Mowing them down and forcing the defenders out of their hiding spots. Eli stood up to shoot back at it, but even the bullets of his Pulser did nothing to even phase the sentry – though the bullets of the pulser phased clean through the shield. Yet it wouldn’t help him to penetrate the armor of the beast.

"Shit!" Eli cursed, ducking further behind his cover in a desperate bid to not be hit, but he kept an eye on the monstrosity. While charging the main cannon, the shield flickered until it was turned off completely. The disintegrator must've required so much energy to use that the shield couldn't remain on while the gun was firing! An opportunity. One that Otaes was quick to exploit.

She had taken cover on the far side of the room, scarily close to the machine though in relative safety to facing its side. While the machine gun was pre-occupied shooting at whatever was in front of it and while the main cannon was charging again, she stood up, raising her bow with a red-tipped arrow loaded into it.

The arrow flew, embedding itself in the sentry’s face. The resulting explosion was powerful enough to knock the sentry off balance! From its siren came a painful cry, or as painful as a robot could get. By the way it moved and sounded, it almost felt organic. Almost. Red electrical sparks frayed the surface of the sentry, though it was still up and running. The arrow hardly injured it, but it managed to inflict some good damage. The main gun had been destroyed, some strange combination of Otaes' explosive arrow must've interfered with the charging process, sending the gun into overdrive and destroying it entirely. Again, it wasn't a killing blow - but it was certainly the best damage they were able to inflict on it. As the sentry fought to regain balance it took panicked steps across the room. The spindly legs ended with a sharp metal blade that stabbed into whatever material it walked on – flanked by steel supports that kept the legs stabilized. As it walked across the room, it destroyed the cover scattered around with ease, ripping through the seats, cutting through tables and the podium, turned into a walking wrecking ball. Unlucky guards caught in the chaos would stumble over, only to be impaled by the sharp legs – with their corpses turned into ragdolls that the sentry shook off.

Otaes tried again with another explosive arrow, but the shield was up. The explosive glanced off inflicting no further damage. More warriors flooded the room, bringing out those rocket launchers Eli had seen earlier. One of them took a knee to aim the tube at the sentry's exposed rear. With the pull of a trigger, a ball of fire blew from the opening of the tube and connected with the sentry’s rear end! The explosion was far more powerful than the arrow, and it was strong enough to blow punch a crater through its armor. When the smoke cleared, Eli made out a leak from the compartment that the rocket hit. Hot black fluid poured out of the sentry's rear compartment, unleashed foul smelling smoke that swamped the room in noxious gas. Eli's throat closed up as he got a nose full of the pungent smoke. Whatever that black fluid was, it certainly wasn't oil. Or at least, not any oil Eli's seen before.

Even despite the grievous hit to the engine compartment, the sentry continued to move above, whirling its front around to point the shield at the direction that the rockets had come from. The machine gun unleashed a storm of bullets Eli's direction, and a elf standing close to him who was preparing for a follow up shot with another rocket launcher, was brought down by a bullet piercing his throat! The defenders had to scramble back into cover, unable to shoot at the sentry while the machine gun kept them suppressed. The sentry kept moving, keep its eye pointed towards whichever direction the rockets were located. The red light bathed Eli, Matteo, and Omar one moment while they kept their heads low - until it moved on. It wasn't looking their direction anymore, rather somewhere else.

With the dead elf's rocket launcher only a few meters away, he realized that there was another opportunity. While the sentry was distracted, it was possible to get a shot either in its side or rear from where he was! Such a opportunity couldn’t be wasted!

Eli sighed, knowing what he had to do. It would be a short sprint to get to the launcher and his leg might give him trouble, but there was so much adrenaline flowing through his bloodstream at the moment he couldn't feel much of anything at all. He nudged Matteo, “I’m gonna grab those rocket launchers!”

“What? You don't know how to use them!”

“I’ll figure it out! Just keep me covered!”

Matteo nodded, “Keep you covered? What the fuck am I supposed to do that thing?"

"Distract it!"

Matteo rolled his eyes, "Madonne - fine! Go!" Unexpectedly, Matteo stood up from behind cover. Shouting to the entire squad within range, “Misfit! Misfit! Cover Freeman! Distract the sentry!”

Misfit opened fire with their guns, unable to damage it, but hopefully being able to get its attention. Sucking a sharp breath of air in, Eli prepared for the sprint of his life.

And then like an arrow being released from the band of his bow, he charged forward. Running behind cover, away from the bullets of the sentry’s machine gun that followed him close. His heart raced like a caged animal – fighting for space in the cramped tightness of his chest. If he slowed down, even a little – he would surely die.

He saw the rocket launchers closer than they ever were, only motivating him to run faster. To push himself to a limit he didn’t even know he ever had before…

In the faint distance, he saw it. Not the rocket launchers, not the sentry, none of that.

He saw something odd. A figure watching him. Staring, perfectly still and composed in the dark recesses of the throneroom.

Eli couldn't believe it. His eyes widened. Everything around him slowed to a crawl in that moment. Somewhere, a dove flew through the crater in the wall and circled around his head.

Glassface was right there.

In his moment of distraction, Eli tripped over something on the ground, and he was sent careening on the floor. His tumble may have saved him, as bullets from the Sentry's machine gun narrowly missed his head. He scrambled behind cover, ducking from the fire of the bullets as they punched holes through the wooden rows of seats that Eli depended on for his life. He regained focus, crawling the final few feet towards the nearest launcher. Blinking his eyes hard, he looked back to the spot where he saw it. Predictably, it was not there. An illusion. He pushed Glassface out his mind. What he saw wasn't real. A mirage. It was just a figment of his tired mind’s imagination. Surely. It had to be...

Through gritted teeth clenched, he grabbed hold of the rocket launcher and pulled it into his arms. A brief inspection of the weapon gave him clues as to which way he was supposed to point it, not too dissimilar from the ones back on Earth. He fired one before, this had to be at least somewhat similar. He was unsure of how exactly he was supposed to use it, but it had a trigger, and it had iron sights. If it was loaded that should've been more than enough. He popped over his cover, but was forced to duck back down as the sentry opened fire on him. He couldn’t shoot with it’s attention brought to him. No matter how much Misfit tried to open fire on the sentry, the bullets did nothing and the sentry knew that Eli was its primary threat. The red eye of the sentry beamed down directly on him. Flooding the area he hid in with red light.

Until Otaes ran out into the open, behind the creature. She released yet another explosive arrow and it detonated on impact. The sentry gave a pissed-off growl, its red eye peeled off of Eli and followed Otaes. She ran between its legs, weaving between them with a speed that seemed almost unreal. The distraction was effective, as the sentry chased her. Too close for its machine gun to get a good enough angle on her, it tried to kill her with its sharpened legs. Stabbing at the ground to impale her with. But she was too fast.

Eli scrambled up to his feet. The vulnerable rear of the machine wasn’t yet exposed. It’s front facing shield was still deployed. He needed to wait or it would’ve all been for nothing. But he could only hope that Otaes could keep her gambit up.

He saw Misfit join the fray alongside Otaes, shooting at the sentry and bringing its attention to face them. It was a dangerous play, but it would pay off. Eli’s hands were shaking as its rear became visible. If he missed, it would’ve been over. He had to do it. He had to take the shot. His shaky hands be damned!

He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes. He saw the smoking hole in the armor of the sentry. A small fire had already broken out inside of the engine. He focused his attention on it. Breathing in, steadying his breath. The lives of his squad on the line…

And he pulled the trigger.

The kick of the launcher sent Eli flying back with a force he wasn’t fully prepared for. Landing on his ass, he could only see as the rocket travelled through the air like a shooting star. Leaving fire and smoke in its trail across the room. Within a half-second, it landed smack inside of the engine compartment!

From within, the engine burst into a bright ball of orange fire and black smoke. The foghorn screamed, wailing as the engine spit out hot orange flames. The red eye flickered as the body convulsed. It stumbled, tripping over itself and the cluttered throne room. Now dangerous as a giant ball of destruction tearing a path straight towards Eli's direction. The elves and Misfit had to duck out of the way for fear of being knocked around by its flailing legs.

Crawling on his back, he saw as one of its sharp legs raised right above him. He tried to squirm out of the way. But he couldn’t move. Immobilized with fear. He raised his arms and legs into a ball to cover his face. Closing his eyes shut. Shaking with terror as the spike came crashing down over him. The leg jutted down, trying to stabilize the sentry. The sharp iron tore through the air and impaled itself in the floor only an inch away from Eli’s head. The other legs failed to catch the sentry, and it continued to tumble backwards. It tore an even larger hole through the ceiling, and Eli was buried in debris. He could hear the sentry struggle, before it gave out one final death cry…

And then it collapsed, the steel body plowed into the platform that the thrones sat on, crushing or tossing them aside like they were paperweights. Smoldering, the beast was dead.

He was out of breath. Panting. Mouth open wide gasping for air.

But as the dust settled, he could hear cheering. The shuffling of boots ran over towards him, and before he knew it, he was surrounded by Misfit. Their faces had smiles all over. They pumped their fists, and surrounded Eli. Dutch grabbed his hand to pull him out from the pile of debris, "Hell yeah man, that's the type of shit I'm talking about!" Dutch exclaimed, pulling Eli up to a stand. When Eli was brought back to Misfit he could feel pats on the shoulder for striking the killing blow. Eli smiled, exhausted, but happy. Until he saw Matteo on the floor, hunched over somebody. He was shaking his head.

"Matteo? What's wrong?" Asked Eli as he drew near. The rest of Misfit stopped cheering.

Eli took another step closer to Matteo, and it was only then that he could see Cato. Lying on the floor, soaked in his own blood. He was still, eye frozen open, staring perpetually at the roof. His blonde hair was stained a dirty red, and his pasty skin was grey. Drained.

Matteo grimaced, swiping at his neck as he solemnly shook his head, "He's dead."

It confirmed what Eli already knew just from one quick glance at his state. Sent from an emotional high careening back to another low. When was he killed? It looked like the sentry had shot him in the chest. The elves could heal him, right? But... no. They couldn't. The suppression field. And he was already dead. They couldn't bring him back from the dead, he was willing to give magic a lot of credit but he absolutely refused to believe that. No...

"Cato..." Eli said his name as if the man could still hear. It was only a few hours ago and Cato was right there, talking to him. It felt like for the first time ever, the ice that separated the two was beginning to melt...

And then he was dead. Just like that. Misfit had gone from seven living members, to six. The others around him were equally stunned, staring around Cato's body as if it were a sight of horror - a diseased thing to stay away from. Badger was the first to get closer, and she kneeled down next to Matteo over the body. Her hand reached out to touch the vein on his neck, and he frown confirmed it once more.

"He was right here. We could've saved him," Dutch muttered.

"How could we be so careless? We should've protected him when we had the chance!" Rafael shouted, "Aren't we a squad? Don't we look after each other-"

"Enough, Rafael! He's dead! You're just yelling into the wind," Matteo snapped.

"I don't want to hear that from you, old man. You never cared about anybody else. You only care about yourself!" Rafael shouted back. He looked as if he was going to continue on with his accusation but he stopped, knowing that now was a horrible time to start arguing. As for Eli, he didn't know what to feel. His brain was so... scattered. A million different thoughts with a million different voices were swarming through his mind. How could he have been so careless? What could he do? What should he have done? Why didn't anybody else try to save him? Why didn't he even think to save him? Would've... could've... but it didn't matter in the end. Cato was dead, and there was nothing they could do to change that. No matter how much Eli wished that weren't true.

More shaking interrupted the squad from their mourning. The other sentries were closing in. The ceiling of the throne room had basically collapsed in on itself. The outside sky – almost foggy with the smoke of fire – hung above them. Shadows moved in the distance, flying above them. Their terrible shrieks, their roars. Dragons.

One of the dragons swooped down, threatening to enter into the building. It’s claws and metal teeth bared, and its jaw open to reveal that it was building an inferno to cook them all inside. Misfit and the Elves scrambled for shelter. Right as the dragon was about to go for a kill, Archer intercepted it. Swooping in from somewhere out of sight, the griffon slammed into the dragon mid-air. His talons dug into the throat of the dragon, pinning it down onto the ground like a eagle to its lizard prey. The dragon shrieked and squirmed hard as Archer slammed the reptilian’s head into the ground, knocking aside rows of shelves and interior furniture as they crash-landed. In one strike, Archer reached his head down and delivered a fatal-kill to the dragon, tearing its throat out with a slash from his beak.

But there were more. No sooner had one dragon been killed, another already took its place – taking Archer’s attention away, “Help him!” Eli ordered Misfit. They fired their guns at the swarm of dragons flying overhead. But the bullets only infuriated the swarm.

Elves fired their weapons into the skies, and they grabbed the few remaining rocket launchers up to shoot at the sentries advancing up the road. One rocket fired, hitting a sentry in its side, and causing it to stumble in damage, but it failed to kill. The other rocket missed entirely. Their situation grew worst by the second. With the seemingly infinite armor of the Avonians pressing against them, they were unable to keep up. But all Eli could do was return fire, in the hopes that Overwatch had indeed answered his call. In the hopes that anyone could help them. It was all they could hope to do…

When he heard the faint crack of a gun fire in the distance. It was as if time had stood still in that moment. He saw bullets pierce through the armor of the dragons, blood spilling. Archer just barely escaped from the chaos in the skies, landing back on the ground in shock. Something had shot the dragons down. Something powerful.

Flying just overhead was a machine. Not the machines that the Avonians fielded, but one that Eli was familiar with.

A helicopter.

It was painted in a dull grey coat. An Osprey. Two massive blades on either side sliced through the air generating a powerful whir as the osprey drew nearer. It's grey coat bore markings that Eli remembered from Earth. The sentries fired their guns into the skies, arching themselves to follow the path of the jet, but the osprey was too fast and maneuverable for them. The chain gun mounted on the helicopter opened fire on the sentry below, tearing through its shield and the armor with a dazzling show of force! Flanking the osprey was another helicopter that flew overhead, shooting at the Imperials flooding the streets below. It was clear what was going on. Misfit didn't even need to say it. Overwatch had received Eli's transmission afterall.

Eli closed his eyes as the explosive fireball threatened to consume them. But it subsided. When he opened his eyes again, there was an osprey lowering itself down. The twin blades of the osprey cut through the air, chopping so fast that Eli could feel their impact from where he stood. It hovered briefly overhead, captivating the awe and attention of both Misfit and the Elves inside the Palace. It was going for a landing in front. The gunner on the back of the osprey opened fire on the soldiers that swarmed the Palace exterior. Cutting them down one by one, their shields deployed but quickly evaporated as the volume of fire was too great for the energy to handle. The osprey lowered itself down slowly.

The Elves were excited, cheering for the destruction of the Avonians and River soldiers below. But Misfit was far more apprehensive. They knew what the Coalition’s arrival had meant. They may have been saved from destruction via the military might of the Avonians, but they would face a new threat altogether. One far more dangerous, at least to Misfit. They looked at each other fearfully, hoping to find some reassurance that everything would be alright. But they knew what was to happen.

Eli was helped up by Dutch. They looked over to Cato's direction knowing that he wasn't around to see their 'saviors'. Eli heard the cheers of the elves, and it tore him apart on the inside. Otaes and Temetet both were absolutely ecstatic, and they ran up to Misfit, “You did it!” Otaes cried out, “You got them here! I didn’t think it would happen but, it did! You’ve saved our home!”

Eli forced a smile in reciprocation, but he couldn't hide his anxiety. And judging by the way the others were acting, neither could the rest of the squad. Temetet tilted his head in confusion, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you guys happy to see them?”

“We’re happy to have been saved… but we’ll never be happy to see the Coalition. We’re still their prisoners,” Eli muttered.

Otaes and Temetet both looked at each other as Misfit turned away to their fate. They watched them leave, just before Ani arrived to talk to them…

Coalition Headhunters and Primary Combat Teams flooded the Palace, holding up the Elves, looking for the ones they called “Misfit”. Eventually one of the Headhunters spotted them as they were walking down. Coalition soldiers swarmed them, asking for names and identification. When they were satisfied they led them out towards the osprey waiting to take them away.

Captain Juma was standing outside, talking amidst a group of soldiers, when her eyes landed on Misfit being brought out to them. She seemed surprised, “Misfit, I can't believe you prisoners are still alive! How about that?”

The squad was detained by the Headhunters. Their wrists shackled, their monitors re-programmed, and like slaves they were led into the back of the osprey. Carried away to a fate inside of their cells. Just as the osprey doors closed, Eli glanced back at Juma to see her talking with the Warrior Elves. Ani, Otaes and Temetet had gathered in front of the palace. Ani was pleading with Juma for something he couldn’t quite make out. Otaes kept her eyes on him. He held the stare back, until the doors blocked their sight.

The ride back to the nexus was silent, save for the sounds of engines whirring outside. Headhunters stood at guard with their weapons brandished, ready to kill if even the smallest transgression occurred. Eli wanted to tell Misfit that it would be alright. That they’d make it safe. But, he didn’t want to lie to them. The silence said enough.

Inside, he tried to piece together how they ended up here. A series of events that just spiraled further and further until now. He glanced over at Cato’s body. The betrayal that he felt over his desertion had subsided completely. There was no use holding a grudge against a dead man. But he still wondered if the words he spoke in the Nexus before they left remained true. Was it truly better to fight back? Badger seemed to think so. Rafael – revolutionary that he was – had endlessly fought to encourage Eli to rebel against the Coalition. But what other option was there?

Eli had ventured out here to save the rest of the squad. Was it really worth it just to save two of them? He'd failed, somewhat, in bringing them all back here alive. No, of course it was worth it. Rafael and Badger's lives were valuable just as much as anyone elses. But it didn't change the fact that Cato's death had almost soured the entire point of this entire expedition into the unknown. His sentence had already been extended a year by The Coalition for the desertion. What'll it be now? Five more years? Ten? Life? Would they be kicked out of the Penal Unit and sent to rot in a prison back on Earth? Likely not, Overwatch wouldn't grant them the luxury of returning home. They'd be held here to rot away for the rest of their lives, never to see Earth, never to see anything once cherished.

Cato would've been happy. He was vindicated, proven right all along. He said it, and now everybody knew it for a fact. There were only two fates for those trapped within the Penal Unit.

Dead or a slave.

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==The Revolutionary Department Of Intelligence==

==[WEAPONS OF THE COLD WAR]==

Name: T1-75MM "Mighty Mouse"

Type: Man-Portable Recoilless Anti-Vehicle Rocket Launcher

Country of Origin: The Ostraland Commonwealth

Information: The T1-75 Millimeter rocket launcher, dubbed "The Mighty Mouse" because of its 75 Millimeter caliber, is a recoilless anti-vehicle rocket launcher used primarily by Commonwealth Armed Forces belonging to The Ostralands and Oceania - while also being distributed widely across The Belford Alliance and nations aligned with The Free World. The Mighty Mouse is among the first generation of anti-armor weapons to not only be developed but also widely used by any major armed force. Designed during the opening stages of The Sacred War as a way for Commonwealth soldiers to destroy or disable Oranian and Valdacian armored war machines (With some use to kill massive wingless dragons often employed by the Heavenly Army), it became a mainstay for Commonwealth infantry-based vehicle destroyer tactics up until the proliferation of Commonwealth tanks like the T17 "Rolling Giant" Heavy Tank rendered the role more suitable for mobile tank destroyers.

The Mighty Mouse would be widely accepted into service as a way for Commonwealth infantry to match war machines that would often overpower them in the past. They were employed across all fronts in The Sacred War, from the defense of Norfvamark, to the liberation of Farewind, The North Gelandian Campaign, Oceania's Western Front against the Dragon Isles, and finally up until Operation: ENDGAME that saw Coalition forces make landfall during the invasion of The Heavenly Dragon Empire. Highly effective, these weapons could make even the smallest of infantry units a lethal threat to any armored formation.

Despite being outdated and used primarily as an cheap export model for Ostralandian allies, the Mighty Mouse continues to be a powerful balancer in the face of a new Cold War. Routinely employed by infantry in proxy conflicts like The Kiote War, The Oran Crisis, or even the Fluerisian Emergency, the Mighty Mouse would assist Commonwealth forces in destroying targets like sentries or heavily armored dragons. However, as it was developed during The Sacred War, the High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead struggles against the magical shield technology that is now commonly employed by most heavily armored Imperial troops. While the HEAT warhead fired by the Mighty Mouse can still tackle most armor configurations found on a sentry, they need to be fired from the flank in order to skirt past the shield and make contact with the armor. A difficult order, given that newer models of the sentry are becoming increasingly alert and maneuverable. Even still, The Mighty Mouse finds a role on the battlefield in the hands of the allied freedom fighters of the world resisting Imperial aggression and absolutist tyranny.

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