FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 33: The Counter Offensive Dragon Realms, Uncharted System May 6, 2204 0845 Hours New Dragon Temple, Warfang

Nighthawks flew above the temple and towards the city, many buildings destroyed or damaged from the constant fighting. Distant fighting was even audible as Spyro sat on the balcony, taking in a deep breath. The soft wind blew across him as clouds passed overhead as well. They had returned to the temple just a few hours ago and he was reminded of how bad things were here compared to the shoreline where things were more peaceful- tranquil. They had dropped off Thomas at his village and had taken the Talisman to Terrador at the other Guardians as they placed it within the confines of the secure dragon temple.

Cynder walked up behind Spyro, sitting next to him as she smiled at him, he turning and returning the smile as so.

"Enjoying the sight?" She asked.

"What's left of it..." Spyro said, frowning a little. She frowned as well, looking out over the city.

"I wonder how long we'll be able to hold out against them. Can we even win still?" Cynder asked.

"We have to, we just have to." Spyro said, closing his eyes.

"But what if we're doomed to this, infinitely holding out against the Dark Master? What will we do then?"

"I don't know..."

She frowned again and looked at the ground.

"We just have to win Cynder, there is just so much riding on this. We'll find a way to turn the tide, and take the fight straight to the Dark Master himself."

"Just like old times?" She asked.

"Just like old times..." He said, smiling a bit at her. She smiled back at him and they both returned to looking out over the city.

At this time, Karson and Allison walked over towards them with Aaron who was scratching his side, just having arrived with the others. The sun broke through the clouds and shined on them as the light was still dim, creating a soothing feeling within the air.

"I love the mornings." Allison stated as she looked around.

"How was your patrol Spyro?" Karson asked.

"It was alright. The coastal areas are doing well, but I think the Apes are making a return."

"Apes?"

"They used to be the primary force of the Dark Master, until they betrayed him and he chose another set of races. Those are the ones we've been fighting this whole time." Cynder explained.

"I see." Karson said.

"Now they're making a return, I guess he's forgiven them." Spyro said.

"For now." Cynder added.

"Yeah, for now..." Spyro said with a bit of a smirk.

"So far we've kept both the Apes and the others creatures outside of our perimeter. We've managed to keep them back and now it's just a waiting game to see who makes the first move." Karson explained. Spyro nodded.

"Though apparently there are still very little enemy forces with the city. It hardly seems like they're preparing for a major strike anytime soon." Allison said.

"We should do a counter-attack while we can. We should retake the rest of Warfang." Aaron said.

"Dyke is considering it but those new guys- those drones- they're tank killers and they are guarding key areas. They seem to be the only coordinated enemies within the city. They're the only things keeping us from launching a full blown counter-attack." Karson explained.

"We could take them out!" Aaron said. Spyro looked at him, thinking for a bit. "We could go and take out those drone guards. Would that clear the way for the counter-attack?" Spyro asked, Cynder looking as well as the idea was sounding good.

"I suppose... I'd have to clear it with Dyke to see if he could organize the attack after you guys take out all the guards... Though it'll take some time to get all the forces organized." Karson said.

"Well as soon as you're ready, we'll fly in and take out all the guards we can." Spyro said.

"Right, I'll talk to Wagner about this." Karson said, ushering Allison to follow. They both walked back into the temple and Aaron walked to join Spyro and Cynder.

"If we can break through those drone guys, we can retake Warfang and take this fight to Malefor." Aaron said. Cynder turned to Spyro.

"This might be just what we need, a turn in the tide!" Cynder said.

"Yes... this might work..." Spyro said, looking back up.

"I'll go talk to Terrador about this. We will need all the help we can get in this counter-attack." Spyro said, rushing off to find the Earth Guardian.

0930 Hours Southern Approach to Mt. Boyzitbig

The waves crashed on the island of Boyzitbig. The sea air washed in as the clouds formed overhead, the morning sun slowly rising above the horizon. Smoke rose from the mountain as the dormant volcano sat in the center of the island, concealing the activity beneath.

Three aircraft flew over the waters that crashed on the island as the sun broke through the clouds. Two Sparrowhawk helicopters and a single Nighthawk flew beneath the clouds, flying lower and almost silently as the Nighthawk was painted black- the signature sign of a Special Operations bird.

Housed inside the troop bay sat several soldiers clad in black armor- the HACOs. In the back of the troop bay sat another figure, a cheetah. He sat with his bow and arrows, a stark difference from the soldiers and their advanced ballistic weapons.

"30 seconds to dust off, prepare to hit the dirt." The radio squawked, alerting the soldiers as they sat up, preparing themselves to hit the dirt.

Anderson sat next to the Cheetah, holding his weapon close. Just another strike he told himself. Intel from the purple dragon and from recon scouts pointed to this being a prominent munitions factory for the Dark Master's forces. Dyke tagged it as a priority 1 target.

The cheetah, Hunter of Avalar, cleaned his bow as Anderson sat next to Doslan and Jenkins from their previous mission. Lieutenant Shaun sat in the front of the aircraft as the Nighthawk flew towards the large island, waves crashing along the shores. Anderson held his M74C close, clutching the new grenade launcher attachment and silencer he had placed along with the red dot precision sight on the weapon. They were to infiltrate the volcano weapons facility and use C4 to destroy their operations. The Sparrowhawk to the left carried some Lakador special forces, though he doubted they needed their help. The HACOs were more than enough on this mission.

"Beaches look clear, prepare to set down." The pilot said. The drop ships slowly descended onto the beaches as the HACOs and Lakadors stepped off the crafts, Hunter following as he knew the island well and could lead them into the depths of the volcano.

"Move up the beach!" Shaun said. The HACO squad moved forward, second quad from the other Sparrowhawk moving up the left side of the beach as the Lakador Squad also moved up. The Lakadors in the squad weren't all Special Forces. The ones who were wore special armor that looked heavily reinforced though there were at least 3-4 regular Lakador soldiers among them. He also noticed that all the Special Operations Lakadors had tails as well, an attribute that he only noted on Lakador Officers. The lack of Spec Ops soldiers there obviously showed that they were lacking in numbers, as were the Marines. They didn't exactly have as many forces as they had started out with and according to Dyke, the Lakadors took a pounding at some city to the north.

"No contacts, beach clear." One HACO said, Anderson checking a GPS map of the beach, courtesy of the TAC SAT Typhus ejected into orbit before entering the atmosphere. The TAC SAT orbited the world and was providing tactical information on their surroundings as well as weather patterns and even full maps of the world as it continued to orbit.

"Just keep heading up the beach, there should be an opening into the rocks that head into the mountain." Hunter said, taking point.

"You sure this volcano won't blow its top while we're down there?" Shaun asked.

"It shouldn't, as long as we don't detonate any of your explosions near the main chambers or cause a massive destabilization."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Shaun said. The C4 they were going to use wasn't completely High Explosive. It'd be enough to destroy whatever munitions equipment was down there.

They moved up the beach towards the rocky slopes of the volcano. There was a hole in the wall, heading down into the depths of the mountain. They entered, Shaun's squad heading in first with second squad falling in behind and the Lakador squad coming in last.

They moved down the cave, the Lakadors moving faster then their human counterparts as the HACOs moved in a tactical formation, though the Lakadors seeming to take a more swift and stealthy approach to special operations combat. The HACOs moved still, their rifles leveled as they went deeper into the caves, so far coming into contact with no hostiles. Hunter paused a bit, crouching, as did the HACOs as their CO raised his fist to halt the soldiers. The Lakadors kept on moving through, only stopping along the entrance to a new chamber up ahead, the HACOs scowling.

"We are nearing one of the mines, I can smell the remaining Manweresmalls still within these caves. The natives here are being used as slaves to mine ore for the foundries. We need to free them." Shaun turned to his soldiers uploading data to their HUD as the TAC SAT above them performed a sonar scan of the caves within the volcano, showing the insides of the area ahead including thermal signatures the satellite picked up.

"Squad 1 prepare to move out we-" Shaun was cut off as the Lakadors moved into the cave chamber without warning, rushing three guards that stood over four small moles who were digging along the wall. The three central Spec ops did a barrel roll before firing their dark energy rifles, downing two of the guards immediately as the third rolled behind cover, picking up a stick of dynamite. He lit the stick and chunked it from behind a stack of rocks, the three Spec Ops Lakadors leaping out of the way as they fired short but highly accurate bursts, hitting the ape as he was slightly exposed to throw the stick. He screamed as he was killed instantly. The stick detonated harmlessly to the side as they moved in to the next chamber, the regular Lakadors moving in behind them.

"Damn it..." Anderson said softly as he knew their cover was probably blown by now.

"Move up HACOs, free those captives." Shaun said as he moved into the chamber as the HACOs moved and started to cut the chains on the manweresmalls. Hunter frowned at the Lakadors and their rash approach as he moved with them. Anderson moved in behind Doslan and Jenkins as they moved behind the Lakadors, moving to the next chamber.

The next chamber was larger then the pervious one, holding a small river of lava that ran through the middle as several ape guards moved back and forth, a few manweresmalls digging ore nearby as there were also some Ape grunts digging to increase production. Their munitions factory was deeper inside but this was where they were gathering the ore. They would have to move in past these guys first.

Shaun opened his Com link to all the forces in the area, including the Lakadors.

"Alright, we've got 7 main tangos, plus several smaller unarmed targets, move to the eastern side of the cave wall to provide-"

Once again he was cut off as the Lakadors immediately dashed towards the Apes. The normal Lakador soldiers took cover along some piles of weapons and rocks, firing their rifles. The Spec Ops Lakadors did their signature barrel roll to close the distance, one even rolling and leaping from the momentum gained from the roll to go over the lava river, landing on the other side with a skid as he fired his rifle with acute accuracy as he ran to cover, downing two Apes immediately.

Hunter wasted no time in leaping behind an overturned wheel barrel, firing two arrows in quick succession towards a group of apes, hitting his targets and downing two apes. The HACOs moved along the cave wall, firing their silenced weapons at the apes as they rushed the Lakadors. Two apes leaped over the lava river, rushing a group of HACOs. The HACOs quickly put them down in accurate shots, the others retreating deeper into the caves, only to be consumed by a blast of blue energy as a Lakador chunked an ice grenade, freezing them solid.

A short burst from a squad of HACOs shattered the frozen apes, ending any chance of them reporting the HACOs or the Lakadors. Shaun approached the Lakador leader there, he going by the name of Alandrous.

"What the hell, you're going to threaten our operation by giving away our position!" He said.

"You have no idea how to conduct warfare. The only way to defeat your opponent is to rush them and use divide and conquer to break their moral. It is the best way to vanquish your foes."

"We can achieve this mission with stealth and special tactics, rushing the enemy would alert this entire base. We don't have the manpower to defeat all those hostiles!" "Maybe you can't, but we can."

Shaun growled lowly as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't believe Dyke allowed these guys to tag along, they were going to jeopardize this entire operation.

"The Human is right for now, we would better achieve our mission if we use stealth to penetrate their defenses silently." Hunter said as he walked up. Alandrous scoffed lowly as he walked off with the others as they moved to the end of the chamber.

"Fine then, lead the way Human." He said. Shaun motioned his hand to get the others to follow.

"Gladly." He said, opening the tactical map from the TAC SAT. The TAC SAT showed a tunnel that ran along the side of the western volcano wall. This pathway lead to a larger chamber deeper within the volcano, one of their first targets.

"Alright, our first target is right ahead, move up." Shaun moved his hand and the HACOs started down towards the path after freeing the Manweresmalls that were there. Anderson moved with the rest, keeping his M74C raised. He didn't trust these Lakadors at all. Dyke might trust them now but he didn't, that was for damn sure. They moved along the path until the path came outside again, the waves from the ocean crashing along the side of the mountain as the sun had risen a bit more into the sky, clouds passing overhead as they moved towards the path back into the volcano.

They soon reached the next chamber, which was much larger and was two stories tall. On the upper level, there were several ape guards and it consisted of two areas on either side of the cave walls, connected by a narrow land bridge as another lava river passed underneath it. On the opposite side there appeared to be a turret of some sort that an Ape operated. On the lower level, there appeared to be several furnaces drawing power from the lava which was where several workers forged swords, spears, shields and other weapons of war. Crystals lined the walls as they also seemed to be embedding pieces of crystals and or gemstones into the swords. Anderson didn't quite understand why they were doing this, as crystal or gemstone would be inferior to metal in puncturing power but he was sure that there was some reason for it.

The HACOs slowly moved onto the second level on the platform opposite from the one carrying the turret. Shaun remained in the shadows as he moved a hand, telling the HACOs to go prone as they crawled on their stomachs to the edge of the platform. The only guards on this level were three large apes, whom were all on the opposite side save for one approaching their platform over the land bridge. He however wasn't paying attention to the black clad soldiers slowly taking up position ahead of him.

When they finally got into position Shaun gave the order and two HACOs positioned along the side of the platform took two shots, taking out the guards on the opposite platform, taking them out so that nobody noticed. The third guard and turret operator continued their work without disturbance until another pair fired, taking out the operator with a single silenced shot as well as the guard on the land bridge. Nobody noticed as the guard fell into the lava stream and smoke rose from where the body had plunged.

The remaining workers and guards on the lower level were too constrained with their work as the HACOs sent a pair of snipers across the bridge to the opposite platform where they took up position. When they reached their spots, they fired two single silenced shots at two guards near the lava stream. They timed their shots so none of the other apes would notice as the two headshots took them out instantly, causing them to also fall into the lava stream.

Now that their numbers were diminished to just enough hostiles to be taken out in a single volley, Shaun began marking targets for his HACOs, each appearing on their HUD. When all targets were marked, the order was given and they all fired in unison, downing all the apes in a single volley of silenced fire.

With the chamber now clear, they descended from the platforms via ropes and moved quickly to the opposite side to destroy the forging materials. Four HACOs moved to dump the bodies in the lava and another squad moved to get the weapons and cart them to the lava as well, dumping them into the super hot material. The Lakadors watched and waited for their moment as the HACOs finished their operation in little time.

Their task completed Shaun updated their TAC SAT as they knew this was just a small foundry. The larger one was deeper within, in the main chamber. This would be harder to take down with simple stealth. Once they stirred the pot there, they'd have to make a quick escape.

Hunter walked over to Shaun.

"Come, I know the quickest way into the main chamber but we must be careful, it is near the heart of the volcano." Hunter said and the HACO nodded. Hunter lead the way as the HACOs followed as well as the Lakadors. They moved past more rocks and molten rivers until they reached an area that was elevated above another very large room. The room was exposed to the outside, and was heavily gated. Within the chamber there were several machines that carried the lava to an area where they heated the metal and created swords and other weapons.

One ape lifted a newly finished sword, some red gemstones embedded in the sword as he slashed it in the air, fire coming off of the sword and a red mist created around it.

"Seems like they're outfitting the weapons to utilize elemental energy." One HACO noted on his com. The others nodded.

The area was heavily guarded, with turrets and large apes covering the area. There was also a large winged beast near the center that seemed unoccupied at the moment. Intel listed the creature as a "dark wing."

"Alright, we're going to have to take out those larger guards, let's move second squad down to where they can take position near those overturned wheel barrels." Shaun said as the HACOs nodded and leapt down, slowly moving to their position.

"Then where do we fit in this plan of yours?" Alandrous asked the Human commander as he looked up at him.

"You and your Lakadors can assist by taking position with some of my HACOs by that furnace." Shaun said. The Lakador huffed before ordering his men down towards the furnace. They moved quickly with the HACOs but didn't seem to mind if they were dashing out in the open instead of running in intervals like the HACOs were, waiting for the best moment.

It wasn't long before one of the larger guards spotted the Lakadors and roared out. "We've been compromised, open fire!" Shaun said over his com as he fired his silenced M74D assault rifle. The other HACOs already in position behind the wheel barrels fired their weapons, and the Lakadors broke from their position, performing their signature rushing tactics. They were actually pretty effective as they advanced yet used cover to move swiftly and into the enemy's face before they realized it. However Shaun didn't agree completely with these tactics...

Alandrous rolled from behind a furnace and fired his rifle with one hand, hitting an ape across the chest and causing him to fall. Two apes nearby yelled out as they leaped to the side, grabbing some weapons. Three apes rushed the Lakador commander and one got close enough to swing a blade with yellow gems embedded in it. Electricity arced from the sword and hit the Commander, sending him back into the ground. Alandrous moved his arms so he landed on his palms and feet, pushing himself up and doing a back flip to regain his bearings. He fired his weapon on the move as he jumped over a table, hitting the ape that had attacked him while grabbing the table and kicking it into the other two, knocking them over. He grabbed a sword from a pile and tossed it, impaling another that ran by before firing his weapon once more, rolling to new cover.

The squad of HACOs that were inbound to the furnace earlier were now weaving their way between furnaces. Anderson was among those HACOs as he did his own barrel roll to take cover behind a small workbench. He crouched and raised his rifle up, acquiring three targets, all dashing to get weapons from a pile. He tapped the trigger, firing single shots off as they hit their mark, he snapping to each new target as he tagged a larger ape that lumbered through a gap in furnaces, the target now on the rest of his squad's HUDs.

"These damn Lakadors are going to get us killed!" Doslan said as he moved next to Anderson, firing a burst from his silenced rifle. The burst downed an ape attacking and caught the attention of the bigger one. Anderson and Doslan both pointed their weapons at him, firing bursts now, the ape roaring in pain as he still tried to rush them. Finally after a few more bursts the ape fell lifeless.

Jenkins joined them along with another HACO tagged as Pfc. Bradley. Bradley moved with them as the squad moved up, advancing towards a large furnace near the middle of the chamber. This furnace seemed to draw lava directly from a source below and fed it to all the smaller furnaces scattered throughout the room.

There was a screech as the dark wing hovered above, charging down towards the squad positioned near the wheel barrel and smashing through the cover. The HACOs were thrown from their spots and landed nearby, they slowly getting up.

"That's one angry bat." Bradley commented. Anderson immediately began to fire on the creature as it screeched, noticing them now.

The HACOs backpedaled, firing their weapons, Anderson firing his 40mm grenade attachment, the grenade hitting armor on the Darkwing which sent it back, the blast absorbed by the armor but throwing off the ape rider as it screeched then came at them again.

"Those damn Lakadors are going to get us all killed!" Jenkins said as he prepared his own 40mm grenade launcher. Before he could fire his though, a Lakador leapt from the side and onto the back of the Darkwing, his claws digging into the creature's back as the Lakador fired bolts of dark energy into the creature's head. The Darkwing screeched before it fell to the ground, dead.

The Lakador leapt down and walked towards the HACOs. It was Alandrous. The HACOs watched him approach and many of them scowled behind their blue visors as the Lakador smiled a bit, walking towards them.

The ground shook as a large ape leapt behind Alandrous, hitting him and sending his weapon flying. Alandrous did a flip to get on his feet but the ape drew his sword at him, trusting it. Alandrous groaned as he tried to leap away but the ape stopped as a loud THUMP went off.

Alandrous turned and saw Jenkins with his rifle, he having fired a 40mm round at the ape and hitting it in the head. The grenade's contact fuse hadn't gone off yet so the round had punctured the ape's skull undetonated and the creature fell to the floor lifeless. Now it was the HACO's turn to smile as Alandrous huffed a bit. This huff though was a little out of respect.

They continued to fight until the last of the Apes had been killed. Shaun and the other HACOs came over and prepared to set C4 on the furnaces as the Lakadors regrouped as well.

The HACOs placed the C4 inside of the furnaces so that the explosions wouldn't disrupt the rock below and open up any lava chambers. They obviously didn't want to do that while they were here. They retreated to a safe enough distance before detonating the C4, getting a series of THUDS as the C4 destroyed the equipment and rendered the furnaces and work spaces inoperable.

"Good work, let's return to the LZ for extraction." Shaun said, pulling up the TAC SAT.

"Sir, I am picking up heightened thermal signatures and motion sensors are picking up blips." A HACO said. Shaun looked at the TAC SAT map as it performed a sonar scan. The scan showed several contacts approaching them from within the mountain.

"We've got contacts HACOs, prepare to engage!" Shaun said as he grabbed his rifle. The soldiers climbed back up to the path leading back where they came but upon looking at the map again, he saw that they were charging through that tunnel. The squad up on the path aimed their rifle and were confronted by several apes that rushed their position, swords drawn as well as axes, swords, spears and other weapons. A larger ape swung his sword, a wave of energy knocking the soldiers out of the tunnel as their armor was singed, one HACO trying to put out a fire on his uniform as it was caught ablaze.

"Open fire!" Shaun said as he backpedaled, firing his silenced rifle at a group of apes, using short bursts as the bullets struck the apes and caused them to fall over, dead. Apes began to now pour from other tunnel openings, they rushing them from all angles. A group of apes moved in from behind them, positioning a canon and firing it at them. The round landed nearby, missing a HACO by mere inches as it collided in the wall behind them.

"Break up, form fire teams of two and move towards the edges of the cave walls!" Shaun ordered. They did so, not clustering together as more cannons fired and dark wings flew through the large opening in the mountain, firing at them with spheres of energy, colliding into the ground. One HACO was hit with a canon and flew into the ground, his chest armor having shattered from the trauma.

"Man down!" His partner grabbed him and set him aside as he fired his silenced rifle.

Anderson moved with Doslan as they took cover behind a destroyed furnace, firing their silenced rifle in short bursts that downed several apes. Doslan used a semi-automatic rifle, firing single but highly accurate shots as an ape dropped from each of his shots.

"Contact moving towards you." The radio pinged, it was Jenkins. Jenkins tagged an ape trying to flank them, Anderson turning and firing a short two round burst, downing him immediately. Anderson moved to the side as an arrow landed near his head, he ducking a bit and looking, but Doslan downed the target immediately. An explosion rocked the area as a Lakador thrown grenade detonated amongst the crowd gathering behind them.

Anderson turned and saw the Lakadors rushing from the right flank, along the exposed cave wall though taking cover from the dark wings under a small rock barrier. The Spec Ops Lakadors immediately clashed with the apes, Alandrous firing his dark energy rifle as he kicked an Ape down, shooting others.

The other Spec Ops Lakadors charged the Apes, pushing them back as they barrel rolled from cover to cover, punching through them.

Anderson watched them, motioning to Doslan as they both advanced to cover ahead of them, firing at the Apes and downing them. Anderson fired a short burst from his rifle before dropping his magazine, slipping a new one in, and pulling on the charging pin on his rifle. He aimed once more and shot an Ape in the chest with a single shot, downing him. Their armor wasn't very effective against their 5.56 and 6.5mm ammo. It sliced through whatever they wore with ease. The dark energy did the same damage, burning and scorching their fur while punching through their light armor and shields, and boiling at the skin.

Anderson reached for his M203, firing a grenade at a cluster of Apes ahead, blowing them apart as two HACOs moved into that area, using silenced SMGs to take down targets at close range. Another HACO pair moved in with shotguns. The rest of the team was making their way to that side of the tunnel, Shaun having placed a waypoint back there.

They finally reached the other side of the chamber, the HACOs firing at the targets to their rear to cover them as the Spec Ops Lakadors moved up, pushing through the Apes with brute yet effective force as the HACOs brought up the rear, placing highly accurate shots at the Apes in the tunnels.

As they went they felt the ground move and shake as well as a bit of lava seep from some holes.

"What's going on?" Shaun asked.

"Seems like the battle is starting to shake up the lava chamber below..." Hunter said as he knelt down, feeling the ground.

"Sir, we should evacuate the area immediately or else this place might blow." A HACO said as he walked over.

"Agreed, let's call in our evac birds to get us out of here." Shaun said.

"We'd need a place where they could land safely, where would that be?" Doslan asked.

"We could make our way to the center chamber and up around the mouth of the volcano. It should be high enough for your airships to pick us up." Hunter suggested. Shaun nodded.

"Take us there."

"Right, follow me!"

They made their way through several tunnels, downing Apes and other guards along the way until they were at the top of the mountain, along the opening and able to peer down below to the vast pool of lava.

As Shaun looked down to the vast pools below, he could see some structures down below, as well as large tunnels that seemed to run throughout the mountain. He wondered if they even ran to the outsides of the mountain as well. He keyed his mic to call in the drop ships.

"This is Shaun, we're clear for extraction at the top of the volcano, over." Shaun said. There was a bit of silence before he got a reply and he nodded.

"Alright, birds on the way!" The group got a minute or two to relax before the drop ships sailed over the side of the mountain and lowered themselves to the small rocky area they were perched on. Squad after squad mounted their drop ships before they slowly lifted up, Shaun sitting along the troop bay of the Nighthawk looking down below.

"Alright pilot, get us out of here." He said.

"Roger that sir." The pilot said back, engaging the throttles and moving the ships away from the opening.

"Sir, incoming contacts!" One pilot said. They looked out of their troop bay to see several dark wings and wyverns sailing towards their aircraft.

"Sir, we won't be able to pull out with those things engaging us!"

Shaun looked down towards the volcano mountainside, confirming his earlier assessment. Indeed it appeared those tunnels ran throughout the mountain and towards the outside.

"Pilot! Take us down into the mountain, we can escape through some tunnels!" Shaun said, pointing down into the lava chamber.

The pilots were silent for a bit before tilting the aircraft.

"Yes sir." One said nervously before the aircraft all sailed back into the mountain, the dark wings and wyverns giving chase. The drop ships returned fire with their mounted turrets and the other Nighthawk fired a volley of missiles at the targets before beginning its descent.

"Watch those rocks, pitch the nose!" The co-pilot of their aircraft said as the drop ship moved back and forth to avoid the rocky pillars jutting up from the volcano below. They streaked through the large tunnels as they flew down, moving into the mountains as the wyverns and dark wings gave chase.

The Nighthawks continued to fly through, pillars falling all around them as the dark wings shot bombs at them and dark beams streaked past the metallic aircraft.

"Watch it!" One pilot said over the radio as a beam hit the rear of his craft, causing it to spin a bit before he regained composure and flew in with the rest of them. They continued until they reached a new, larger chamber within the mountain.

Anderson looked outside and his eyes widened at the sight. There, in the chamber, was a massive foundry and weapon munitions depot. The one they took out was small, this was massive. This depot encompassed several levels of rock platforms that were jutting up from the lava or were suspended in between the platforms or above the lava. It was a huge network of platforms that connected several tunnels leading out and hundreds of forge machines brought lava up from the core to mold weapons by the thousands.

"There's our target, right there!" Shaun yelled as they strafed the depot, a few HACOs firing at them.

"Sir, how do we destroy this thing, those Wyverns and Dark Wings'll be back to engage us!" A HACO said.

"Pilot, fire the missiles, knock those platforms into the lava!" Shaun yelled.

"Yes sir, firing!"

Missiles streaked out from their trays, hitting the base of the rock platforms and blew them apart. Large spire-like platforms shuddered before dumping their workers and machines into the lava, collapsing into the molten mess. The Wyverns and Dark Wings entered the chambers at this time, the Sparrowhawk breaking off to harass them with machine gun fire as the two Nighthawks fired their last missiles into the last few platforms, knocking them into one another and causing them to collapse into the lava. Thousands of Apes were dumped into the molten lake as the platforms continued to topple over, the HACOs and Lakadors watching the destruction.

"That's all our missiles sir." The pilot reported.

"That's enough, take us back to base."

"Yes sir." The lead pilot flipped a few switches before reorienting the craft to fly back to another tunnel, the other two following. They finally emerged into the sunlight and flying off as more explosions sounded off from the rocks collapsing into the lava. They had destroyed their forging facilities and had accomplished their mission with minimal casualties. Time to go back to base.

End of Chapter 33