Chapter 44: Ashes To Ashes, pt. 1

Excerpts from Brief History of Xoth:

Morality

Every person has an alignment in their Status. This status is divided by Good, Neutral and Evil. This stat is dependent on both the person's heart and their actions. A person who believes in virtues like selflessness, compassion and charity in their hearts are more likely to be given Good as their stat. Committing good and selfless acts increases the chances of the stat changing to Good. The vice versa is true for the Evil stat. The vast majority of people will spend their whole life with the Neutral stat.

The effect of the alignment stat has on a person is the presence they give off when they are around people or animals. Good people give off a positive aura and are more pleasant to be around. Evil people give off a negative aura and make people around them fearful and sick.

Spirit Temples

Spirit temples are an off-shoot of Kara temples. These temples specialize in communicating with spirits, purifying curses, and exorcisms, and are maintained by shamans and monks. These temples make most of their money through exorcisms.

Exorcisms can be done to objects, creatures or people that have been possessed by spirits. The danger of an exorcism ritual will vary depending on the level of the spirit and the level of the host or the grade of the item. It is because of these dangers why all members of spirit temples are split into two classes. There are the Spirit Monks/Maidens who are responsible for all spiritual tasks, and there are Guardians who are responsible for the safety of the monks and maidens.

Spirit Maidens and Monks

This is a unique class that only becomes available to those who are sensitive to spirits. Those who train to become Spirit Monks or Maidens but do not have access to this class usually become Guardians.

Excerpts from Thunder's Recommendations Report

->The GHS (Globally Harmonized System) needs to be updated to include magic

Reason: Currently the GHS covers only Earthly threats in the workplace. For the continued safety of workers in the future world, magical threats need to be taken in account. For example, the current GHS has ten hazard pictograms (eleven in countries like Canada). This includes explosive hazard, flame hazard, oxidizing hazard, gases under pressure, corrosive hazard, toxins that can cause death or toxicity in small amounts, hazards that may cause or is suspected of causing health effects, hazard may cause less serious health effects, substance may cause damage to the aquatic environment, and biohazard (biohazard pictogram as a category is exclusive to some countries).

New warning pictograms will need to be created to cover magical threats such as, but not limited to, explosive magics, mutagenic magic that immediately changes a person's form, curses, and magic that can harm a person's soul.

->High-security prisons should be created for the purpose of housing high-level criminals

Reason: No prison on Earth has the ability to hold someone over level five. A person's strength and even magical ability would be able to easily destroy concrete walls or bend steel bars. A new prison will need to be created that can house the most dangerous and powerful criminals. This prison will need to incorporate both our current technology and magical items that Xothicans use for their prisoners. These magical devices include magic-nullifying collars and gravity cuffs.

->People with the Peek skill to look into inventories for security

Reason: With the introduction of the Inventory system, regular methods for searching a person of any dangerous items will become antiquated. The only way for someone to see someone else's Inventory is through the usage of the Peek skill. Individuals with the Peek skill will be needed to help provide security at major travel destinations, airports, train stations, and to provide security to VIPs. If these individuals cannot be found, or not enough can be recruited, we need to have our own people taught this skill as soon as possible.

VVVVVV

WOMEN RIGHTS GROUPS' LEADERS EXPRESS ANGER AT WORLD LEADERS OVER LACK OF DISAPPROVAL OF THUNDER'S ACTIONS

"THE FIRST ALIEN RACE HUMANITY MAKES CONTACT WITH SHOULDN'T BE EXPOSED TO HUMANITY'S WORST ELEMENTS."

MARCUS REX UNDER FIRE FOR REMAINING OBJECTIVE ON THE SITUATION CONCERNING XOTHICANS

WORLDWIDE PETITION GETTING SIGNATURES TO HAVE XOTHICAN RESIDENTS REMOVED FROM THUNDER'S HOME

UNDF REFUSES INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE WELLBEING OF XOTHICANS

A video clip began to play of a commentator by the name of Tracy Gray. She was talking to several guests and had the title of "Thunder's Dark Secret" displayed at the bottom of the screen.

"I'm telling you, I wasn't surprised," Gray said in a slight southern twang. "You know what they say about how power corrupts."

"We still don't have the full picture," one of her guests tried to argue. "All the public has been given were a few pictures that could easily be taken out of context."

"And you know what they say about pictures, Sebastian. You can make a reasoned judgment simply how those poor girls look in those photos. The UN has overlooked Thunder's secret life simply so they can get their weapon. I think they are more than willing to allow Thunder to take advantage of the girls so they can get a Stockholm situation going on."

"That's going too far."

"Is it? Well, the UN's silence on the situation is very telling. I'm a big supporter of Xothican rights and it breaks my heart to see these girls stuck in this situation. Of course this man who was given near unlimited power would treat these girls as objects and not people. I doubt it's coincidence that he also wears a white hood."

"Okay, okay, you can put the tablet away," Tom groaned.

Tom and the others sat at the kitchen island with Agent Moore on the other side who held a tablet with the internet browser open with multiple tabs loaded. Reia stood behind Tom with her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

"I'm only trying to let you know how serious this situation is," Moore said.

"And I have an internet connection. I'm well aware of these types of articles. Also, the media is reporting the most negative reactions to the leak."

"I've seen plenty of people who are still supportive of us," Vivian added.

"That's nice and all, but the average news outlet doesn't like to report anything positive," Moore said. "Negativity sells. And then there's the prominent independent blogs that are reporting on the situation. With less oversight and more bias, they are even more vicious. It's only a matter of time before we start to lose public support."

"Why not break the silence?" Tala suggested.

"Huh?"

"Many of these people are making their judgments based entirely off of what they think the situation is. Why don't we give an interview that clears the air?"

"That's a great idea, Tala," Sylmae said. "Agent Moore, is it possible to do that?"

Moore was taken aback by the sudden suggestion. He thought on it for a moment before he replied, "We avoided any interviews up to this point because an interview of this level would require a lot of time for preparation. Time we didn't have. The world needed you all to use that time to teach our soldiers and to defend our world. It seems like we have no choice now."

"Alright then," Vivian said while clapping her hands together. "So what do we need to do?"

Moore sighed. "A lot would need to be done. Firstly, we need an interviewer who is objective. We then would need to set-up a location and time for the interview. You all will need to be prepped for the interview as well."

"How so?" Sylmae asked. "Aren't we just answering questions that are asked of us?"

"Basically, but how you answer those questions will have an effect on public opinion of the UNDF and their perception of Tom. You all will need to be given practice interviews so we can get your responses right."

"So we do a bunch of practice interviews before we do the real one," Reia said. "Okay. Anything else?"

"Now that you mention it... It might be best if we set up separate interviews. One for you girls and one for Tom. On separate days."

"Why?"

"Well, the perception is that you are all slaves of Tom here," Moore explained. "Not everyone believes that, but it's out there. If Tom is spotted off stage while you are all giving interviews, some people may think he's there to make sure you all toe the line."

"That's ridiculous!" Sylmae exclaimed.

"He has a point," Tom admitted. "We need to be mindful of public opinion. This isn't about us. The UNDF is also under fire for 'covering for me'." Tom made finger quotes as he said the last few words. "We need to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you all have free will."

Tom's phone went off and he answered, "Hello?"

"Thomas Everett," a modulated voice greeted. "I need you to put me on speaker phone."

"Who is this?" Tom didn't know who was on the other end, but the fact that they were able to call him through the government issued phone, and knew his name, caused him to panic.

"Put me on speaker. Now!"

"We have a problem," Tom told everyone as he placed his cell phone on the kitchen island counter. "Now tell us who you are."

"I'm afraid I cannot reveal who I am. I can assure you that I am your ally. I'm calling you to warn you of a major Phoenix attack."

The tablet top of the kitchen island lit up with a map of Earth appearing. Everyone stood up from the counter in surprise.

"What?" Moore muttered.

"I'm taking control of your counter to provide you the Intel, and also to prove that I'm not some prank caller," the voice explained.

The map zoomed in over Ontario, Canada and an image appeared of an above view of Tom's house. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that it was a video of his house.

"What the fuck," Tom cursed. "Vi, can you step outside real quick?"

"Sure," Vivian said as she dashed off to the sliding door and went outside.

Seconds later, Vivian appeared on the video.

"Oh, shit..." Both Tom and Moore muttered.

"You can come back in," Tom said.

The map zoomed out and then back in on a location in the northern section of Russia. The image of a military complex appeared on the screen with six missile silos connected to it. "At this location, there exists a nuclear facility known as the Satan facility. It houses six prototype stealth nukes. Each of them have the destructive capability of the Tsar bomb."

Both Moore and Tom stopped breathing upon hearing the description of the bombs' power. Blood drained from their faces.

"T-Tom..." Sylmae muttered. "What does that mean? The Tsar bomb?"

"Th-That is the most powerful nuke ever used," Tom said in fear. "The explosive shockwave is so powerful that when the only one tested went off, it broke windows close to a thousand kilometers away."

"Phoenix is desperate," the caller continued. "With all of their cells gone, this is their last attempt to achieve their group's final goal. A world reduced to ashes. They hope to destroy the capitals of every country that has nuclear weapons in hope of killing their leadership and throw their countries into a panic."

"Then these countries would lash out at anyone they believe attacked them," Tom concluded.

"Likely with their nuclear arms," the voice concluded.

"It'd be the goddamn nuclear apocalypse," Moore muttered.

"That's their plan. Phoenix is already on their way to the facility. You have less than twenty minutes before the assault begins." Another video appeared on the screen that showed Phoenix soldiers coming out of the back of a military cargo truck.

"Where the hell are you getting that information?" Moore demanded.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that at this point in time," the voice replied. "You have your Intel and very little time. Goodbye."

Quest:Save The World

DifficultySGiverUnknown

Time Limitapprox. 30 minutes

Phoenix is planning to launch nuclear missiles at capital cities around the world to instigate the end of the world. Stop them!

Reward

25000 EXP

35000 fame

Consequence For Failure

The world will end

The kitchen island screen went black and the phone hung itself up.

"He's not kidding," Tom said. "I just got the quest notification. Moore, I need you to warn whoever you can. We'll head to the UNDF headquarter."

Moore quickly nodded and dashed out of Tom's house while taking his cell phone out.

"Everyone-" Tom turned to see the girls had already armed themselves.

"Way ahead of you," Reia said.

VVVVVV

Pyre glanced at her watch as she waited next to her friends. Her cat tail flicked in multiple directions from anxiety. The UNDF soldiers were quickly arming themselves with their newest body armour. The armour they wore was a mass-produced form of the Wyvern armour that Thunder wore.

"We don't have much time before Phoenix attacks," Pyre reminded everyone. "Less than ten minutes."

"We need to be prepared this time," Aurora said. "Last time Thunder and I faced Phoenix, it didn't end too well."

"We were also ambushed by a secondary wave," Thunder added. "We're not taking any chances this time. We're wiping them out this time."

"Thunder!" the UNDF Quartermaster called out. A six-wheeled wagon drone followed behind him. On the wagon was four sets of armour similar to Thunder's Wyvern armour. "I have the items you requested for this mission. We also have the new armour ready to go. Now, Aurora can resize it, right?"

"Yup," she replied. "Everyone take your armour."

Aurora, Pyre, Tempest and Terra picked up their armour and held it in their arms.

BC550 Wyvern Armour

RankSDurability650/650

Damage Resistance+15%Element Resistance+12% all

Effects+6 to Strength, +6 to Agility

Designed in secret in a DARPA facility, this armour's prototype was tested in a variety of scenarios which the creators used to make some adjustments to create this mass-produced version. While not as resistant to damage and the elements as the prototype version, this body cover has improved maneuverability and durability. The armour makes use of carbon nanotubes, synthetic spider webbing and non-Newtonian fluid to create the ultimate body armour.

"Clothing Reform," Aurora chanted. The armour she held glowed with a faint light as it changed shape. "Okay, mine's complete." Aurora tossed the armour into her Inventory and said, "Equip Wyvern armour." Light surrounded Aurora's body for a few seconds and then disappeared to reveal her new armour. She immediate spun a little in each direction to check her armour. "I'm liking this. I am liking this."

"Um, Aurora?" Tempest muttered.

"Ah?"

"Mind helping us with our armour?" Terra asked with a cocked eye.

"Ah! Right!"

While they equipped their armour, the QM pulled out several boxes for Thunder.

"Everything I requested?" he asked.

"Everything," the Quartermaster replied. "The M32A1 40mm grenade launcher with flare rounds. Is that all you want for ammunition? The other have high-explosive rounds."

"It's all I need. I also don't want to set off explosives inside a nuclear facility." Thunder shoved the grenade launcher into his Inventory. "It's going to be night when we get there. I need to make sure to remove any advantage of Rika."

Thunder looked over to his companions and saw them equipped with their new armour. Despite the new armour, they still wore some of their accessories, such as Tempest with her Occuloraptor vest and Aurora with her scarf. In the case of Pyre, she wore her mage robe over her armour which only added to her stats.

By the time they all equipped their armour, the UNDF soldiers were armed and ready for their newest mission. They gathered in front of Thunder and his group. Thunder checked the time of the wall and saw they had less than five minutes. Garza walked up to him and muttered, "I'll keep it brief."

Garza turned to the soldiers and said, "We don't have much time so I'll get straight to the point. Those who have access to the SYSTEM have already received the mission notification. Due to Intel we received from an anonymous source, we found out that the remnant of the Phoenix organization are initiating an attack on a Russian nuclear facility with the hopes of launching its missiles on major capital cities around the world. The Russians have been warned, but they won't have enough time to act. We fail here and we are looking at a possible nuclear apocalypse. Fight with everything you got!"

The soldiers roared in cheer.

"Everyone ready yourselves," Thunder told the room. "We are going straight into the fight!"

Thunder used Fast Travel and teleported everyone outside of the nuclear facility. The location they landed at was by a rock cropping. The sound of gunfire rang through the air.

Thunder looked over the rocks and saw some Phoenix soldiers gunning down the Russian soldiers that guarded the building. He saw Rika enter the building alone and left her followers outside to patrol the perimeter. Thunder quickly used Identify to check the stats of the soldiers.

"Shit," he mumbled as he got behind cover again. "It seems like Rika used more Spirit Axes on her soldiers. They're all SEVI."

"What levels?" Chris asked.

"Several of them are twenty-six. The rest are level one. Rika probably making sure no one can go after her in the facility."

"There's no way we can handle the level twenty-sixes," David said.

"You'd get slaughtered," Tom said in agreement. "We're going to need to split up. I'm going to have to go after Rika alone."

"Are you insane?" Aurora yelled in a whisper.

"We can't get bogged down in combat with high-level Phoenix soldiers inside the facility," Thunder explained. "We need to keep them outside. Garza's squad doesn't have the strength to take on level twenty-sixes but you all do. I'm the highest level here so it makes sense that I would be the one to go after Darma. You have all been training for this kind of situation. I know you all can handle it."

"You damn well better not die or else we're dragging your ass back from the afterlife," Terra warned.

"We'll come for you as soon as we're done here," Tempest said.

"I'm counting on it," Thunder said. "Pyre, can you turn me invisible?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Good, good." Thunder turned to Garza and said, "I'm going after Darma. My companions will remain here to help you all here. Keep these Phoenix soldiers outside."

"We'll keep them busy," Garza said. "Stop Darma!"

"Do it, Pyre," Thunder ordered.

Pyre held up her staff and whispered under her breath. Thunder faded away from sight and said, "I love you all."

Thunder teleported into the doorway of the facility and went inside without any of the Phoenix soldiers noticing his presence.

"Terra, can you create some cover for us without notifying Phoenix?" Garza asked.

Terra cracked her knuckles. "With the night this dark? No problem."

Terra peeked out of cover to quickly check on the Phoenix soldiers. The building lacked any outside lights to keep it discreet from the public. This enhanced the darkness of the night. Each of the Phoenix soldiers were armed with AK-103 rifles with flashlights attached underneath them to help them see in the darkness.

Terra stepped out from the rocky cropping and raised her hands. Even being a couple hundred meters away, the darkness was enough to hide her. She concentrated on the area before her and soon the ground bulged upwards and formed into several rows of dirt.

Garza signalled everyone to move forward behind the cover that Terra created.

"I want grenades launched at them to soften them up," Garza said to the other. "Pyre, can you give them a boost?"

Several soldiers and Sam went up to the front and took out their grenade launchers and held them below cover. Pyre aimed her palm at each of them and they briefly glowed with a dim red light.

"We're good to go," Sam said.

The soldiers took aim at the largest clusters of Phoenix soldiers. Garza waved her hand forward and the soldiers fired their grenades. The launchers made popping noises as the grenades left the weapon and soared quietly through the air.

By the time the Phoenix soldiers realized they were under attack, the explosives went off. Large balls of fire engulfed the front side of the building. The UNDF soldiers saw small experience windows appear in front of their eyes to confirm their kills.

Sam and the others quickly opened their grenade launchers' cylinders and emptied them of the spent shells.

"Reload," they all said.

New grenades appeared in the cylinder and the soldiers turned the cylinder counter-clockwise and snapped it back into place. This was a trick that Sam discovered when she experimented with the usage of the SYSTEM.

The surviving Phoenix soldiers recovered their footing and dashed away to the closest cover they could find; rocks, crates or military trucks. One of the trucks blew up from the second grenade volley.

"Keep moving forward!" one of the Phoenix soldiers yelled. "Use your magic!"

The Phoenix soldiers unleashed Fireballs towards the UNDF's firing line.

"Take cover!" Garza roared.

The UNDF ducked behind their cover and avoided the magic. They still felt the intense heat from the attacks and the wall in front of them was partially on fire.

"Return fire!"

They all popped up from cover and fired their weapons and launched their magics. The Xothicans joined in their counter-attack and used their own magic. There were still dozens of Phoenix soldiers closing in on their position, but for every step forward they took, they lost several of their own.

The Phoenix soldiers accepted these deaths as necessary sacrifices. This mission of theirs was all or nothing. Their only goal was to delay anyone who could stop the launch. They expected to die.

As the bullets from the Phoenix soldiers became more accurate, Pyre placed a shield over a large portion of her fellow soldiers. Eventually the Phoenix soldiers got within fifty meters of the UNDF and the majority of the soldiers ceased their advance. Three of them still continued forward with reckless abandon.

The Xothicans scanned those three and saw that each of their levels was twenty-six.

"Garza, leave those three to us," Tempest told her. "They are too high of level for any of you to handle."

"Then leave the small fries with us," she said back.

Aurora, Tempest, Pyre and Terra moved to the other side of a large story-tall rock that stood near the UNDF's position. As they moved, they saw the charging Phoenix members change their movement. As Tempest expected, the three were targeting them.

With the rock in the way, the seven of them could fight without interference. The three Phoenix solders pulled out their blade weapons. One was armed with two hook swords, another with a machete, and another with a classic two-sided sword. The three Phoenix soldiers raised their hands during their charge and yelled, "Fireball!"

Pyre raised her staff and an invisible energy caused the attacks to vanish. The three Phoenix soldiers stopped in their tracks and a dumb-founded look came across their faces. They didn't understand that Pyre used Dispel.

The Xothicans raised their hands and immediately launched their counter attack magic. The Phoenix soldiers barely dashed out of the way of the magic.

"Your magic isn't nearly as powerful as Thunder's!" Terra yelled. She launched her hand upwards.

The ground beneath Phoenixes' feet shot upwards. Tempest aimed with her bow and let loose arrow after arrow at them. Several of the arrows met their mark in their chests before they were able to swing their weapons to deflect the rest of the arrows.

The Phoenix soldiers regained their footing quickly when they fell to the ground. They used Fireball attacks to give themselves cover while they tried to get in close to attack.

The soldier with hook swords raised his weapons to attack Pyre but she blocked with her staff. The soldier yanked on his swords and pulled her staff from her hands. The machete soldier ran in close to follow up with a slashing attack. Tala raised her hands and fired two Fireballs from them. The two Fireballs combined together to create a larger Fireball that caught the machete soldier off guard. The attack sent him back, granting her space.

Terra went in and slammed her hammer into the hook swords soldier and lifted him off of the ground by several feet. He doubled over and dry-heaved. Terra looked up from the soldier and saw the sword soldier strike down with his sword. Aurora blocked the attack with her spear and pushed it upwards to push him back.

"Pyre, stay back with Tempest and provide long-range support," Terra ordered. "Aurora and I will take the vanguard."

By this time, the machete soldier got back on his feet and quickly double-backed to his comrades. Terra quickly raised her hands and erected a tall wall of earth behind them.

"You bastards aren't escaping this time," Aurora growled.

Tempest and Pyre unleashed a barrage of arrows and magic attacks. The hook swords soldier and the machete soldier managed to dodge most of the attacks, but the sword soldier took a dozen arrows including one that went through his right eye. In each location of arrow impact, ice erupted from the wound. With ice coming out of his eye, the soldier screamed a high-pitched scream and fell to his knees.

Pyre raised her hands over her hand and two flames emerged from her hands. The two flames combined together and grew into a ball larger than the previous one. She swung her arms forward and launched the three meter tall Fireball at the screaming soldier. The Fireball created a trail of fire as it crossed the ground. The ball impacted the screaming soldier and exploded.

The soldier was turned into a charred corpse and the experience window popped up in front the the Xothicans' eyes to notify them of his death.

"You bitch!" the hook swords soldier yelled.

Aurora picked up Pyre's staff and tossed it over to her. She twirled her spear and slashed downwards against the machete soldier. The machete soldier deflected the attack and followed up with a Fireball. Aurora used her wings to quickly dash out of the way.

Terra exchanged blows with the hook swords soldier. Despite the heavy weight of the hammer, Terra was able to swing it effortlessly. The soldier had difficulty keeping up with her attacks. A glimmer appeared in her eye and while swinging her hammer with her right hand, she extended the shaft which extended right into the soldier's stomach.

With her other hand, Terra stretched it outwards and launched a rock ball that impacted the soldier's stomach right after the hammer attack. The soldier grunted from the attack and blood leaked through the front of his shirt.

The hook swords soldier fell to his knees and planted his hands on the ground. His breathing was laboured. He whispered under his breath. The vegetation around his hands began to wither and die.

"Heads up!" Terra yelled.

The soldier looked up to see a hammer come down. Terra's hammer went down with such force that it instantly turned the soldier's head to mush.

"You think I wouldn't recognize a Life Drain spell?" Terra scoffed.

Across from Terra, Aurora continued her fight with the machete soldier. The man was more skilled than his two comrades. The man was able to not only keep up with Aurora's attacks, but also dodge Pyre's and Tempest's attacks.

Aurora swung her spear horizontally and the machete soldier flipped backwards to dodge the attack and kick Aurora in the face. She stumbled backwards a few steps.

"This bastard is slippery," Aurora yelled to her companions.

At this point, all of them were speaking in Xothican Common to avoid letting the soldiers know what they were talking about. They reasoned that it was unlikely that these soldiers had Language Comprehension since it required specific conditions to gain.

"We need to keep him in place," Aurora said. "He's too fast."

"I can help with that," Terra said as she joined the fight. She snapped her hammer back into one-handed form. Between swings of her hammer, Terra tried to quickly use Earth Manipulation to change the ground the machete soldier moved over.

"You're slowing him!" Tempest said.

The machete soldier launched a Fireball at Aurora and Terra who blocked the attack but took some damage. The soldier then jumped a large distance to gain some room to give him time to recover.

Tempest saw the machete soldier jump and, as he did, she used Focus to slow down time to give her time to aim. She waited until the man was about to land on his feet before she let loose an arrow. The arrow flew forward and went through the soldier's leg. Ice surrounded his leg and planted it on the ground.

"Got him!" Tempest yelled.

Following her example, Pyre fired two Ice Spikes at the soldier's other leg and ice surrounded it as well. The machete soldier screamed bloody murder and tried to forcefully free his legs from the ground.

"There's the set-up!" Terra said as she charged forward. She extended her hammer and swung it as she approached the Phoenix soldier. Her hammer shattered the man's left leg. He screeched from the attack but was somehow able to keep standing on his remaining leg.

Aurora stabbed forward with her spear and impaled the man's stomach. She lifted him off of the ground and his other leg snapped off. Several arrows impacted his chest and then Pyre finished the man off with a Wind Blade that decapitated him. Aurora quickly tossed his body to the ground to avoid having his blood spill on her.

The four of them were barely able to stand up right as this was one of their toughest fights yet. The coordination and tactics they practiced with Thunder in the previous weeks had paid off as they were able to fight by each other with little communication. They all knew how each other fought so when it came to a real fight, it was all second nature.

"That- haw- was one hell of a- haw- fight," Terra said in between laboured breaths.

"Haw- Yeah," Aurora said.

"We- Haw- should check in with Garza real quick before we- Haw- go after Thunder," Tempest said. "Let her know."

"We'll need to make it quick," Pyre added.

The four of them hurried back over to the UNDF soldiers who were still in battle against the other Phoenix soldiers. They hunkered down next to Garza who quickly looked over before she returned her focus back on firing her rifle.

"They dead?" Garza asked.

"Yeah," Aurora replied.

"Then what the hell are you four doing here? Get in here and help Thunder!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Terra said.

An alarm sounded off from the facility and the silo doors began to open.