• tab Pyra stepped back with a look of surprise, “Wow, he passed out. I didn't even use that strong of a healing...” Her com unit fizzed into life. “Pyra speaking...” Gren’s familiar heavily accented voice answered her. “Hello comrade, it's Gren.”
    tab “Ah, hey Gren. Why the call?”
    tab “Blue dragon army HQ just went code red again.”
    tab “Again? Jeez... Can't the blues take care of their own problems?”
    Gren chuckled, “I guess not. Wait... Hang on a sec.” Various clicking and beeping noises replaced his voice.
    tab “Damn blue drags... Always complaining at the smallest problem...” Pyra thought. Gren’s voice sounded again. “I’m back.”
    tab “So was that an update?”
    tab “Ah, yes. According to them, a violent, misshapen, beast entered the canyon and engaged guards on sight. Hold on…” More clicking sounded over the com. “And it’s just gotten past the final gate.”
    tab “You're kidding.”
    tab “I’m not, but the blues might be.”
    tab “You think the blues might be pulling our wings here?”
    tab “Or it’s a new faction in the war that we all know is going to happen.”
    tab “That’s a worst-case scenario. If it is real, then hopefully it’s just a stray golem left over from the civil war.”
    tab “That's what it probably is. Are you going?”
    tab “Why not? I’ve been looking for something fun to fight for a while now.”
    Gren laughed again, “Don’t have too much fun, comrade”
    tab Pyra grimaced and absently rubbed a scar on her shoulder, remembering another time when Gren had said those words. She had foolishly challenged her teacher, Bast, to a duel in her Warrior years, and almost died when he “accidentally” cut her in half. Luckily the medics were able to save her. She looked down at the unconscious hatchling near her. tab “Speaking of blues, I recovered the hatchling.”
    tab “It's a Blue?”
    tab “Yeah.”
    tab “Damn. I lost the bet...”
    Pyra laughed. “You have the worst luck with hatchlings, Gren.”
    tab “That’s the truth, comrade.”
    tab “So what did you bet on? How much did you lose?”
    tab “Ah… 20,000 bronze on white.”
    tab “White?! You know that the chances of a hatchling being white are less than one in a thousand. At least you didn’t lose too much.”
    She laughed as she heard him sighing on the other end of the com unit.
    tab “Just wait. One day, I will win a hatchling bet, comrade.” He said.
    tab “Only in your dreams, Gren. Only in your dreams.”
    tab “So, do you want me to send a retrieval team?”
    tab “No, I’m just going to do a drop-off. Tell the medics to get the fall breakers ready.”
    tab “Okay! I will send a message to the Academy. Oh and, end your side trip quickly, comrade. The Headmaster sent a few scouting teams to the Gates, and as you know your current mission doesn’t concern them. I’ll try to get you in on a mission before someone finds you.”
    tab “Thanks Gren. I’ll try to not be caught until then.”
    tab “If you are, then you’ll probably be slammed into confinement for a while, comrade.”
    Pyra rolled her eyes. “Confinement? That place is a joke. I almost wish I was caught just to go there.”
    Gren laughed, “Keep speaking like that and the Council will change it.”


    Falling.

    Wind rushing past its wings,
    It looked up as it fell.
    The Red One had dropped it,
    It didn't know why.

    Was it being betrayed again?
    The look in the Red One's eyes,
    Told it that the Red One would return.
    It looked down, and saw more winged ones.
    They were standing around a dark red circle.
    It was falling towards that circle.

    Pain!


    tab As it hit the first barrier, an explosion of dark-red glass shards flew in every direction. In flight, the shards melted into red droplets, slowing the Hatchling's rapid descent with every barrier it broke. After the thousandth barrier, the Hatchling was sinking in a column of red water.
    tab The Hatchling then realized that it had been looking at a tall glass tower, not a circle. As it reached the ground, with no more than a few cuts, the other winged-ones made gestures and sounds, their actions seemed to make the water evaporate. The tallest winged-one walked up to the Hatchling, its snow-white scales glistening in dark light of the pre-dawn. It spoke. "Sorry about the rough landing, the barriers are usually softer than that. Anyways, welcome to the Dragon Academy."

    Confusion.

    So many Winged-Ones,
    All in one place.
    What was going on?
    Where was it?
    Brain overload....


    tab Red looked down at the collapsed hatchling with mild interest. He bent down and lifted an eyelid. “Oh, looks like he passed out. Hmm, better get 'im to the medical room...” He looked over his shoulder at a young woman standing nearby. “Saber!” He called. She walked over to him with a mild expression of puzzlement. “Sir?”
    tab “Call a stretcher over here. This guy's all worn out.”
    tab “Yes sir.”


    tab Lieutenant Arvode stared impassively at the crater that was once a village, in all the years of his military service, he had never seen destruction like this; the fact that there were no scars on his lightly tanned skin was a testament to his inexperience. He signaled to his men, who were searching the empty crater at a feverish pace. “Give it up boys, we missed the b*****d. Let’s head back to base. We’ll get them next time.” He said. The soldiers reluctantly stopped searching and headed towards the rim of the crater. Arvode gazed at the destruction one last time, and then followed them into the forest.
    tab Hallsoor Arc Twin Blade was bored; he hadn’t seen head or tails of the Imperial Army since they crossed the border into dragon territory. He sighed and continued to walk on his patrol route. “Why do I always get stuck with patrolling…? Damn you Karin, pulling rank like that… Wait a second, what’s that over there…?”
    He thought as he crouched behind some bushes and looked through the foliage. “Well, well, well… Look what we have here! Seven little Imp pigs grunting around in the forest. Methinks I should give them a little greeting!”
    tab He spoke softly into the com unit, “Hey guys, guess what I found!” A young woman’s voice answered him, also speaking softly. “Seven Imperial Army soldiers?” Hallsoor paused, his moment ruined. “You’re watching them too huh, Sasha?” A light laugh was all the answer he got. He scowled at the com unit, “Ok, are we going to hit them hard and fast? Or are we going to tease them a bit first?”
    Sasha replied, “Let’s tease them a bit. I haven’t had any fun since that border crossing.” Hallsoor grinned in anticipation.
    tab Lieutenant Arvode longed for the comforts of his base camp; he disliked being in dragon territory, even if it was only a few miles away from the border. Stepping into a rocky clearing, he turned to his six men intending to call a rest, when with a high pitched whistle, something dropped from an overhanging tree bough, landing on Private Stevens’ head. Stevens never even had a chance to scream as his body exploded in a cloud of fine mist, coloring the nearest soldiers’ body armor a crimson color. Arvode stared in shock for a second, not fully comprehending what had just happened. A few heartbeats passed, and he yelled, “Ambush! Take cover in the rocks!” The five remaining soldiers dashed towards the rocks, taking up positions behind boulders and in cracks in the ground, wildly pointing their shock rifles at the forest.
    tab Sasha grinned with satisfaction as she watched the soldiers scramble into the rocks, thinking: “Yeah, that’s right little piggies, run! Make my day that much more fun!” She yelled into the com unit, “Hey Hallsoor, you’d better be thankful I let you draw first blood. Now the game is on!” Hallsoor was hanging by his feet from a tree limb, partially hidden among the think foliage. He grinned at Sasha’s voice, and at the soldiers cowering in the rocks. He yelled back into the com, “Well then, I’d better kill a few before you steal them all!” He pointed one of his blaster blades at the rocks, and a light flashed form the tip of the blade, searing a hole through a soldier’s arm. Hallsoor chuckled slightly and dropped to the ground.
    tab The shot come from the tops of the trees. It was just a flash of light, faster than the eye could follow. The light stopped when it hit Private Jenkins’ shoulder, then it burned through, severing the limb from body. Jenkins fell to the ground with a cry of pain as Arvode ducked reflexively; the light passing over his head. “The enemy is in the trees, open fire!” His men needed no urging, they gladly began to pepper the tops of the trees with bursts of energy. Arvode looked at the forest floor, scanning the available enemy cover, and dropped flat yelling, “Grenade!” as a small dark object hurled from behind a boulder. His men dropped flat as the explosion rocked the clearing. An arm fell in front of Arvode’s face; a tattoo on the wrist identified the now deceased owner as Private Jenkins.
    tab Sasha smiled with pleasure as she lobbed a second grenade, talking into the com, “They punch you full of holes, Hallsoor?” Hallsoor laughed and replied, “In your dreams, Sasha. They may be good, but they don’t stand a chance against us double digits! By the way, I call next kill.” Sasha laughed with glee, “Only if you can get it!” Under the cover of smoke from the second grenade, Hallsoor rushed the boulders where the soldiers were hiding. “Let’s see their faces when I do this…!” He leaped above the boulders, landing on a stone platform above the soldiers’ makeshift bunker. He grinned mischievously as he drew his blaster blade again.
    tab A second explosion rocked the mound of stones; Arvode called out, “Who’s not dead?” Four voices confirmed what he already knew. “Get back into defensive positions, the enemy will probably be trying to sneak up on us under the grenade cover!” He pointed his gun in the direction the grenades came from, and fired a salvo of energy bursts, his men did the same. “Lay down suppressive fire, keep them pinned!” He motioned towards the nearest soldier, “Colonel Boolar, drop a frag on that boulder!” Boolar answered, “With pleasure sir!” as he threw a grenade into the air. The grenade landed on the boulder, the resulting explosion sending shards of stone everywhere. Boolar announced, “Direct hit sir!” Arvode turned to Boolar, and watched as a beam of light stopped, then burned through the top of the Colonel’s head, exiting through his groin. Boolar was dead where he stood.
    tab Hallsoor crouched atop the rock for a second, savoring the stunned look on the squad leader’s face, before turning around and falling quietly to the ground. “Heh, direct hit my a**! Knowing her, Sasha probably lobbed the ‘nade while she was changing cover…” A quick look to his left soon proved him to be correct; Sasha was crouched right next to him. She grinned at Hallsoor and whispered, “My turn.”
    tab Arvode was getting tired of the enemy playing with his squad. He called out to the rest of his men, “Get ready boys, we’re gonna make a break for those trees to our right!” The remaining three men, who were crouched behind a small outcropping of moss covered stone, shouted their agreement. Arvode motioned for them to start running on three, as he slowly rose from his crouched position. The soldiers started to rise from their positions as well; one of them, Private Greel, visibly swallowed. They had never faced an enemy like this before.
    tab Kyle Arc Twin Blade stood in deep shadows on the edge of the clearing, watching as the four Imperial Army soldiers scurried from their hiding spot, their eyes darting left and right, expecting an attack from everywhere. Kyle looked over at Sasha on top of the rock platform, one of his subordinates, as she primed a small incendiary grenade. His gaze returned to the fleeing soldiers, “At least they’ll die together.” He said.
    tab Arvode ran with his men, gaining a little hope with every step that they would reach the relative safety of the forest. He heard a whistling noise. His eye’s widened in fear. His final thoughts were that he never got to see his enemy.
    tab Sasha watched in smug satisfaction as the four soldiers turned into red mist, coloring the ground and rocks with blood. She called over her shoulder to where Hallsoor was perched atop a boulder, “Five kills to Two. I win!” Hallsoor looked away and made rude gestures in her general direction before hopping off the boulder and jogging into the forest. Sasha laughed and started walking after him when Kyle stepped into the clearing.
    tab Kyle looked at his charge, Sasha the kill-happy, and wondered again why his unit was chosen as the emissary to the Dragons. He walked up to Sasha with a slight frown on his face. “Sasha, what did I tell you about unnecessary killing?” She answered back with a grin, “Well, Hallsoor started it…” Kyle sighed, “I don’t want to hear your excuses, Sasha. Go find Hallsoor and get back to camp; we still have a long way to go before we reach our destination.”
    tab “Okay, I’ll get on that!”
    tab “By the way, tell Hallsoor that the last one back gets first watch.”
    Sasha grinned wider and sprinted after Hallsoor. Kyle looked around at the bloody clearing; “I should stop those two from wasting the screamers, that HK unit was only strong enough to fight on equal ground with 4-digit soldiers...” He turned and walked back the way he came as a tinge of light entered the pre-dawn sky.

    tab Pyra entered the canyon containing the nine gates protecting the Blue Dragon territory. She flew low, skimming over the ruins. “What in the...? There's nothing left of the first Gate...! Only part of the Second Gate is standing… Third looks a little torched, but still mostly standing… Hold on… There’s a transponder reading coming from the Second…” Pyra doubled back and attempted to locate the source of the signal. “This is Red Dragon Pyra Faolan checking in with Blue Dragon Gate Two, do you read me Gate Two?” Hissing static almost drowned out the message coming from the second gatehouse. “Q… End help… One alive… Not anything… Before… Emon…” The message cut off abruptly. Pyra attempted to raise them again. “Gate Two? Do you read, Gate Two? Gate Two, respond!” Only silence answered.
    tab She quickly put in a call to the Southern Control Tower. “This is Pyra to Control Tower. Tell HQ to send in a Rescue & Research crew to the Blue Dragon Walls, Second Gate, something strange is going on. I’ll relay the message I just got.” A male human’s voice she didn’t recognize answered her. “Slow down a sec ma’am, I’m new here. Ok. Rescue & Research crew to the Seventh Gate you said?”
    tab “Someone I don’t know. This is good, I’ll be able to fool them into thinking I’m a part of the crews already down here If I have to…” Pyra thought.
    tab “Second Gate. It’s kind of urgent.” She said.
    tab “I got it… Second Gate… And there’s a transmission?”
    tab “I already sent it.”
    tab “I’ll get right on it, then.”
    tab “Who is this guy?” Pyra thought.
    tab “Who the hell are you?” She said out loud.
    tab “Major General Snow Arc Hammer at your service ma’am.”
    Pyra sighed, “That explains so much…” She thought.
    tab “Why in the three rings of hell were you allowed into the Control Tower?”
    tab “My commanding officer, General Angel Arc Hammer, is in a meeting with the Dragon Council at this moment. I’m acting honor guard, ma’am.”
    tab “Great, have fun. Faolan out.”
    tab Pyra shook her head as she cut off the communication. “General Angel Arc Hammer... That’s a new name. I’ll save that question for the return trip. For now, it’s time to check out the Second Gate…”