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Chapter XVIII

Retaliation

Jason:

Reinforcements didn't even seem to matter where we were now, seeing that the soldiers giving us trouble had been (literally) stabbed in the back.

The soldiers that promised us assistance earlier had just now arrived to lay their eyes on the scene that lay before them. A total of forty men on our side just looked over the large number of corpses that had mysteriously died, all of them just wondering who did this and how in the world they managed it. It wasn't because of Ryan, or Mia, or Mina, or Felix, that much was clear, so it had to have been someone else that wasn't even with us.

Who though? Who could do such a feat with such precision and deadly action that made us look like rookies? Obviously, whoever did this was clever with his talents, keeping them hidden until the use was needed. Whoever the man or woman was had to have been a stealthy one to stay out of the fight because there was no hiding anywhere in the middle of a fight.

Whatever the case was, one thing was for sure. It had saved our lives. If this person was found, they were sure going to get a hug and a thank-you from me and everyone else involved in the fight, possibly more. Grateful was I to the person who did this; actually, more than grateful--I was in their debt.

That may have been pushing it, but I didn't care. The soldiers had been dealt with and now we could move onto more pressing things, like trying to rally up with the remaining squad members so we can counterattack. That was a problem alone, seeing as how we had no clue where the rest of the squad members were.

And London wasn't getting any better either, just only getting worse and worse for wear. As the soldiers that joined us investigated the bodies that had been killed, a black jet flew dangerously close to the streets of the city, sending a missile directly into the side of a building which caused a massive explosion and half of the flat to collapse on two of our allies. Stragglers from the Shadow forces had found us and engaged themselves in a gunfight with us, obviously losing due to our numbers and power. Smoke continued to rise from various placed scattered throughout the large city while jets raced across the sky in a dangerous dance. More explosions and gunfire broke the sound barrier around us, even the cry of screams hitting our ear drums like the worst thing a person could stand to hear.

Sadly, we couldn't stay and give the fallen souls, both evil and good, a proper blessing, for we had to leave and move on to the more heated areas of conflict. I had muttered a very quiet "Rest in peace" in Italian for my blessing, completely unsure if Ryan had done the same. I only assumed so, due to his spirituality. Travis had regained consciousness enough to finally stand then gain control of his movements, half of the men joining us as we set out for the next hot spots in London.

At least we were allowed a quick bite of food before setting out, my stomach finally settling, giving me the energy to keep fighting on. Fighting on an empty stomach was bad enough, but losing a bit of blood was even worse, so I had no other choice but to eat. Ryan and the others were grateful for the food, cherishing it as they ate like ravenous beasts. I could understand Ryan though, being out of the action for two weeks without much real food to satisfy him.

Once we had finished our quick meal, a soldier ran up to me with a gun in his hands, saluting me before talking. "Sir, we have intelligence that the remaining members of Squad 14 are being pinned down two miles northwest of here. They're requesting immediate aid from any forces close by."

Ryan looked to me as I looked at him. We both nodded to each other before I turned to the soldier. "If you can reach them again, tell them we're on our way."

He nodded, saluting us before running towards the soldiers that allied with us. Forty men on our side. That was all we had to work with, and I could only hope that it would be enough, and if it wasn't then we were screwed. The soldiers looked fired up from where I was looking, many of them pounding their chests in anxiety, others stocking up on ammunition that they were going to need soon, and the rest doing some sort of physical activity to keep their bodies active.

They were pumped. Even after hours and hours of fighting the toughest battle they had probably seen, they were still pumped up with an even stronger drive to win. The G.M.A.F were proud, strong, and brave, willing to face any challenge that came their way and put their lives on the line if the time came. They had no fear. They weren't scared. They had the choice to flee or fight, and they chose to fight because of the world. Because of Earth. Their pride and honor didn't let them flee, lest they let the Shadows win the war and destroy everything they hoped and cherished.

It was so surprising to me. Sure, I had been here for over three months but their drive always seemed to amaze me, and maybe it was because Earth was the only thing they had to fight for, aside from their families and the innocent people. One man was looking at a picture, wiping his eyes as he made the sign of the cross over his body and small group had huddled together with silence all around them. They had still had hope to live for, a fire to keep their passion burning, and a duty to protect those who needed protecting.

It nearly made me cry.

As we all began to load the trucks I tried to hold in my tears, fighting the entire time to stay strong for the troops. Each truck carried ten men in the back while one stayed up on the top platform keeping the trucks and everyone else safe. Ryan and I with the remaining Squad 14 members filed inside the lead truck, waiting for the vehicle to start moving so the action could start. Once everyone had made it inside, the trucks surged forward quickly, hitting many bumps in the road that I guessed were debris and other things. Minutes after, I could hear gunfire already start to go off on the platform above and around us, much of it coming from the streets and buildings as our defender started to return fire.

That sure didn't take long, I thought to myself. It was war, of course peace wasn't going to last for very long, and eventually someone was going to shatter it. We all ducked our heads as a flurry of bullets flew into our section in the back, making swizz cheese of the tarp covering us. Our defender howled out in pain as I looked up to see that he had been shot in the arm, fighting through the pain as he bled onto the floor. He used what movement of his art he had left and did his best to return the fire that wailed on us, which soon became his downfall as he was hit with a volley of bullets that caused him to fly back off of the truck.

The truck driver was trying his hardest to keep control, fighting through the bumpy terrain and flurry of bullets. The sound of shattered glass pierced my ears, my head swiveling to watch as millions of pieces of chattered glass flew out the back window, passing our heads, and then landing on the ground and floor. Our driver cried out in pain, frantically turning the wheel which caused the vehicle to start spinning around and around but stopped dead in the middle of the road only seconds later.

However, the gunfire around us didn't stop. More and more bullets made swizz cheese of the tarp around us which gave us away, having us to jump out of the truck and look for the nearest cover. Ryan grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the truck, dragging me towards the nearest mound of rubble that was in the middle of the road. The soldiers and he returned the fire with pistols and assault rifles, managing to kill three Shadow Grunts in the process before we all covered behind our scattered covers.

Ryan fired three more shots before taking his cover, killing to men running for us and another inside the building that was trying to snipe us down. He bought me time to ready my gun and get prepped before things kicked off, many soldiers from the opposing side starting to push forward against us. With Ryan right next to me, we let loose a torrent of bullets at the Shadows, the metal jackets flying through the air with deadly accuracy soon embedding themselves in half a dozen men's chests. There were still many more after them, a dozen or so more started to rain down gunfire on us, a few of the bullets they fired actually cut across my skin and tore parts of my robe, along with Ryan's.

We both ducked behind our mound of debris once more, Ryan reloading while I fired a few rounds at three Grunts sprinting right for us. Once he was ready, he took care of the other soldiers that were around us, getting cut up around his face and arms in the process. Just after he nearly taking a bullet in the head (which would've been very bad), he took cover, panting like a dog who had just run a marathon.

"I dunno....how much more....I can take, Jason..." he panted out, his voice hoarse and raspy, much of the moisture lost from his lips and mouth.

I took a few shots, killing one man in the process before taking cover myself. "You're not the only one." I grunted as an explosion close by went off, blowing dirt and rubble into my face which had me coughing. "Do you see the other squad members?" I asked him, covering my head as bullets flew right over me.

He gulped, looking up from the cover before looking over the mound and only seconds later did he kneel back down. "I only see our troops and the members that were already with us. The others must be further ahead." He said, using his forearm to cover his face as dirt blew over our cover.

I grunted, standing up from the cover to take a few shots, missing all my targets in the process, before sitting back down. A bullet grazed my arm just as I ducked down but there else major (lucky me I guess). He was right though, I could only spot our troops and the members of the squad we came with. The others had to be ways ahead of us, there was no doubting that, which gave us the only option we had left: push through the massive enemies bombarding us and regroup with them ahead.

Ryan and the others had to know this as well. There was no telling if the squad was still alive (I pray they're still fighting on) or dead as door nails. My partner just reloaded his gun and sighed, wiping the sweat off of his forehead before he aimed his gun and began to return fire.

_ Man, he's like a machine,_ I admired for a few brief moments. That was a lie however, Ryan was no machine since he was still a human and humans weren't some kind of factories that never ran out of juice. He had been shot and killed by a sniper, then brought back to life by me but that still didn't make him some sort of machine or something like that. Though, I did admire the fact that he was giving this all he had, and he wasn't holding back either.

Reloading my gun, I joined with him, shooting any moving targets heading for us. Three men advanced for us and our troops but were soon put to an end by the troops covering behind a building to our left; the others made short work of the enemies that were coming from the right, half a dozen from our side nailing a dozen of them in the sides then in the heads--killing them instantly.

Gunfire still rained down on us, Ryan and me bolting from our cover to press on ahead towards where our truck had stopped. We covered behind the machine and fired dozens of rounds of bullets right at the men ahead of us, many of my bullets hitting there mark as three more men died on the spot.

Ryan was already covering behind the truck when I decided to take cover as well. There was something odd though; he was kneeling down holding his foot, grunting like he was in pain. That was when I saw what was wrong.

He had been shot.

Luckily, it wasn't fatal. He had only taken a bullet in the foot (better than the head or chest) which he soon started to recover from. The pain on his face was clearly visible, yet he was still fighting through it, the tears coming down his face while he didn't even sob. Trooper he was even as he let his crimson colored, fresh blood ooze from his shoes.

Nearby explosions had us both covering behind the truck, our back pressed against the warm metal like it was the safest thing on the planet. My heart was racing, beating as quick as a race horse's (maybe even faster) as more and more explosions went off close to the truck. Smoke and fire began to fill the air around us, entrenching us in a fog of gray smoke that had us coughing in only seconds.

_ Can't breathe,_ my mind told me frantically. As I covered my mouth, the sounds of boots beating against the pavement hit my ears. I jerked my head around (thankfully) then ducked with catlike reflexes as a fist nearly connected with my face. It was a human man in Shadow clothing, telling me he was the enemy. His gun was strapped to his back but his fists were covered with metal fisticuffs, already stained with dry blood. How I saw that through the smoke, I have no idea, but I was glad that my reflexes were starting to kick in after a while.

He swung again this time as I ducked once more; I then used my leg and spun myself on the ground, tripping him which caused him to fall on his back. He frantically tried to reach for his gun which was futile as I pulled out my pistol and gunned him down as quickly as I could. My heart pounded against my chest like it was about to beat out of my body (it didn't, thankfully) due to the anxiety and fear.

I turned around to see Ryan engaged in a firefight/fistfight with two other men. One man was out of the fight yet was shooting a pistol at Ryan, who dodged while fighting against the other man who was swarming against him. I aimed my pistol at the man firing and fired, sending a bullet right through his head which caused him to fall forward dead. Ryan took this opportunity to counter as the man wrapped his arms around the human's body; Ryan bent forward and tossed the man forward along with him. The teenager then summoned his hidden blade and embedded it into the man's neck.

I turned my head quick enough to see through the thick smoke that was starting to lift on us, the area still looked the same and our soldiers were still fighting against the enemy. The smoke tactic had to have been for Ryan and me, a sort of trick or coward method to kill us quickly. It failed in our favor which should put a dent in their egos.

At least, that was what I hoped for.

Ryan turned to look at me then shouted "Look out!" he pointed his finger and exclaimed, fear stricken across his face.

Things slowed down right then as I turned my head in what must've been quicksand, my eyes catching sight of the mountain of muscle that was running straight for me. He carried a huge ax that was pulled back behind his head and gave me the scariest, most blood wrenching look that made my body quiver with fear.

My hand went for my gun but as the man was only feet from me, a loud gunshot roared through the rest of the sound. It rang in my ears but I was still able to see and watch as the man stopped where he was. He dropped his ax, which made a _CLANG!_sound that made me shiver but soon fell forward himself right on his face.

I looked at the man puzzlingly, wondering who had shot him and how they had done it. Our other soldiers were still engaged against the other troops and there were no other allied forces close by that could give us a hand.

Then a voice all too familiar with me made itself clear.

"Why are we always the ones saving your asses?" Nick mocked with a chuckle as he walked out of the dark alleyway nearby with Piper and more troops.

Never in my life was I so happy to see that Gaomon. Piper stood behind him with an M14 already cocked and loaded with a dozen or more so troops behind her. They were all huddled together inside the alleyway, many of them covered in grime and sweat while others were torn up and tired.

I met Nick's eyes for the first time since yesterday. He squinted, looking at me dead in the face, before giving me a gentle smile. At least he was still himself. I returned the smile with my own, getting what I believe was a blush from the Gaomon. He had the cutest blush if I had ever seen one in my opinion though I'm one-hundred percent sure that Ryan would disagree.

Sadly, our reunion was cut short. A volley of bullets and explosions rattled the area around us, shaking the buildings and cracking the roads in the process. Shrapnel missed my face by a millimeter (way too close for my taste) and flew across the streets like bolts of lightning.

Ryan pulled me back as more shrapnel and debris flew by, saving me from a major concussion. I failed to notice Nick springing forward, evading an onslaught of bullets and rubble being shot across the street, to meet up with me. The soldiers that followed him and Piper shot forward (no pun intended) and began to fire back at the enemy lines. A sense of relief washed over me. Reinforcements had arrived to save our butts once again by dumb luck.

Just an average day when you're Ryan and me.

With Nick and Piper, who had joined up with us, by our side, we started to quickly cut through the enemy defenses ahead of us. The Grunts barricading the streets far ahead of us seemed to be fewer in number than I saw them last time. That was when I found out that they were falling back, running up the street with quick speed, and evading our shots. Half a dozen men fell before the majority of them were out of range for our guns.

"Something's not right," Nick stated, taking this moment of reprieve to reload his gun. He wiped the sweat from his temples and lips before looking at me. "Shadow Grunts don't retreat."

"You're right," I agreed, nodding my head in approval. "Something doesn't feel right to me."

I heard Ryan gasp, quickly turning my head to see him groan. "Guys, they're going for the rest of the Squad! They're up ahead, remember?" He explained putting it as bluntly as he possibly could.

That much made sense now. For what we (Ryan and I) were taught, the Shadow Empire has never retreated as far as we know. Their honor and pride are too strong for them to give up so easily with such little fight, so of course they were just pulling back to hammer the remaining squad members with all they had.

They were going to literally choke our squad out.

The troops behind us were already prepped and ready to go on, in which Ryan, Nick, Piper, and I beckoned them forward and started sprinting in the Shadow's direction. They had already gotten a head-start on us but the massive firefight wasn't that far ahead, and if I had to make a guess it had to be little over half a mile ahead of us. (Don't ask me to use "clicks" because I hate having to say that in the army. Blegh.)

While we ran through piles of rubble and jumped over giant holes in the road, it surprised me that we received little to no fire along the way. It was...odd, to say the least. We were shot at from the tops of buildings by snipers, losing half a dozen men in the process, but with our own large numbers we only retaliated for a few short minutes before moving on. Losing only half a dozen--which was still bad--was better than losing more than half of what we had.

Losing the life of a trooper that was on our side was never an easy task for me, especially not for the troops, and it was something I was never going to get over. This war had revolved so much around death, destruction, and total obliteration of entire cities and countries, and I was getting sick of it. The death of one man was devastating but then you think of the deaths of millions more and you're lucky that it wasn't, or isn't, you.

Yet, they say that if the death of one man can save the lives of millions more, then it's a price to pay. But would you die to save millions or would you let millions die to save one? Or, what if that one man could save millions? Ah, now you're starting to understand it. See, this where a great deal of many things come into play but it really doesn't matter how you look at it.

In the end, it all matters who's standing at the end of the day. Either it's you or it's the guy you were shoulder to shoulder with when the battle first began. If not him, you repeat until someone is alive.

A sad way to put it.

Even as I ran for my life, through volleys of bullets and powerful enough explosions to throw me off my feet, my will drove me forward. Ryan picked me up as we ran for the squad, tugging me along as I regained my balance to start running once more. We stopped a few times to catch our breath but our energy was fueled by the thought of our Squad and her members. Each and every one of us were panting like dogs in the one-hundred degree sun (and the sun was blocked out by the black clouds of smoke!). Sweat dropped off my body like I was a fountain, our troops were losing energy very quickly, and fatigue was settling in.

_ We just need to hold out,_ I thought to myself in my mind. Even I was burning up, sweat, blood, and dirt coated my body, and I was sure I had lost too much weight during this entire battle. My robe was soaked, along with Ryan's, and I had to wipe my face every few seconds. But we ran. That was the best we could do, just run and catch up with our squad.

Our group rounded the corner of one of the businesses in the city (now just a pile of rubble and smoke) and finally reunited with the squad, though I wish the conditions were better. The gunfire was massive and hard, causing the troops and our own portion of the squad to take cover near walls of sandbags that had been put up. We had all been split into five clusters of men and women, most of us far away from each other and too pinned down by the gunfire to make a move. The space over us was a massive, what I thought, was some kind of shopping square with a majority of the shopping centers destroyed. The ground had been torn into and had left many craters in the street and road. There was a large fountain in the center of the square, the top of which was now in bits and pieces all over the ground. Smoke and fire ruled over some of the remaining buildings, water from the fountain had been splashed everywhere, bricks and stones had been scattered all over the place, and the roofs and insides of the now hollow buildings were littered with Shadow soldiers.

The remaining Squad was only backed with only about twenty men, half of which were Digimon I might add. I actually caught sight of John (yes, Flamedramon, buff, strong, John that had been wounded in the last invasion of London) who was with Emily and Victoria and a few troops that were covering from an alleyway. The remaining squad members were spread out along our side of the fountain, most of them with their troops were unable to make a sudden move lest they take a bullet to the head.

Ryan and I grunted as a couple bullets embedded themselves into our wall of sand, many more started to fly past our heads at breakneck speed. Once it had died down, Ryan was the first to kneel up and take a few shots himself, ducking for cover only seconds later. I took up his position and fired my own rounds, zeroing in on two troops on the rooftops before taking a dozen shots with my pistol then my rifle with my other hand. (I almost felt like Rambo in a way!) By the time I had used up both cartridges, I had killed only three men (due to my horrible aim when using two guns at the same time) with a few bullets from the other side scraping at my robe and skin.

Almost taking a bullet to my arm, I finally ducked for cover. Ryan turned to me, covering his head as three explosions went off, sending rubble and debris flying over our heads. He was covered in dirt and grime anyway so the extra didn't seem to make a difference.

_ "Questo è pazzo!"_ I exclaimed in Italian, grunting as the ground shook violently under us like some sort of earthquake. (This is insane!)

Ryan grunted back as he and I felt the wave of heat hit us. "Yeah..." he primed his gun. "...tell me something I don't know." He responded, taking a few shots before he ducked once more. "Stronzi!" He exclaimed back in Italian. (Assholes!) "Only got two that time." He hissed. "One skidded across my arm." He showed me the large cut across his bicep, the blood starting to ooze out.

"We'll get it checked out later, right now we have bigger problems," I replied, bolting from my cover as I ran a few yards ahead, taking cover behind an old style Jeep that was charred. Ryan continued to fire along with me, sending out large amounts of bullets at the enemy while they returned fire at us. Their aim seemed to be way off, many of the bullets missing us by feet rather than inches.

I ducked for a few seconds as a few shots passed by my head then proceeded to fire, killing two men, then three, then two more in under a few minutes. Their numbers were starting to go down, hence why the sound of massive gunfire started to die down little by little every five to ten minutes or so. I coughed as an explosion from a frag went off close by, sending dirt and smoke my way. Luckily, the enemy was dazed as well and I fired more shots over the battlefield, I believe killing another man.

Ryan ran forward, firing his weapon while moving through the dark smoke that clouded around us. He disappeared for a few seconds before the smoke lifted and revealed him tangoing with two soldiers, already mopping the floor with them. He hit the first with the butt of his rifle, fired his pistol with his free hand at the other, then dropped his rifle and used his hidden blade and stabbed the second man twice in the chest.

Man, he had turned into a beast.

There was no time to stop and stare, for he dodged a few bullets flying at him then rolled forward, evading the attack while ducking behind a mound of sandbags. He reached for his gun which he dropped after rolling forward into the sandbags, yet was met with a volley of bullets that cut up his hand a lot. I could hear him hiss and groan out in pain, clutching his hand as tight as he could while staying behind the cover. Blood dripped from his palms as he wrapped his robe around the wounds, keeping the seal as tight as he could to slow or stop the bleeding.

Shame he still had no clue how to heal himself.

Still, no time was wasted. More enemy forces started to show themselves and hammered down on us with brutal force, sending large waves of gunfire and explosives to keep us down. As more and more bullets pierced my sandbags, they soon started to lose their "blocking" ability and were letting dozens through. Luckily (yeah, surprised I have luck?) none of them managed to hit me again which gave me the opportunity to bolt from my cover then stand with my back against the wall in a nearby alleyway. A few bullets cut through my robe but nothing major.

I turned to see that battle at hand. Ryan was joined by Michael, Joshua, Leo, Tony and half a dozen G.M.A.F soldiers crouched at the fountain. The group of them were taking long, slow shots at the men in the taller parts of the open mall who were on the rooftops, raining down gunfire. Mia, Mina, Emily, and Victoria were on the westernmost side of the mall open entrance, taking heavy fire from the men inside the stores and on the rooftops. Emily and Victoria used what little RPG's they had and fired their rockets inside the buildings and on the roofs, managing to have one entire section of the mall cave in on itself.

"Oh shit!" I cursed, ducking while a rocket flew past my head, exploding into the wall behind me. The blast sent large chunks of rocks and stone flying everywhere while the heat and smoke blew in every corner where our soldiers were.

After wiping the dirt from my face, I stood up and bolted forward form my cover, shooting everything with black on. My shots were met with return fire sooner than I expected, many of the bullets tearing my robe apart as I ducked under a metal table with a few dents in the head. As the bullets simmered down on me, I quickly knelt up and fired my own warning shots at half a dozen men shooting at Ryan and his group at the fountain. The soldiers hammering down on them quickly turned to me and started firing, their shots denting my table badly while also making me shake in my shoes.

I fired from the side of my cover, missing the man I was shooting for but killed two more close to him. I finally killed him also after wasting a cartridge, finding that I was starting to run dry of ammo. There still seemed to be tons left, which made me groan on the inside. It was like no matter what we did, if we killed one then two more would just take their place then keep doubling as we went on.

Just then, the communicator strapped to my left ear buzzed. I quickly clicked the incoming message and waited. "Jason! Jason, do you read? This is Emily!"

"I'm here!" I yelled over the sound of the gunfire and explosions, covering my face from the smoke that blew my way. "Go ahead, Emily!"

Static was all I heard from her end before she cut in. "We're recalling all the troops in our kill-zone to back away! That includes you!"

"Why?" I asked just as a few bullets bashed their way through my metal table, leaving half a dozen holes close to my body.

_ "We have a plan but first we need to get out of the kill-zone! Trust me!"_ she shouted on her end, grunting as more static filled the ear piece.

I looked over the side of my table, seeing dozens of troops hammer down on the forces in the middle of the shopping center. Half of our soldiers fell in under five minutes trying to provide covering fire for the remaining troops who were retreating back down the street corner from where we came from. Ryan was also with them, along with the rest of the squad and our troops.

I turned back to the communicator. "I'm on my way!" I responded.

_ "Better double time that! You're cutting it close! Emily out!"_ she shouted just before static, once again, blared over her end. It was static for a few moments before the line cut off, leaving me alone.

Only a few of the soldiers from our side remained on the field with me, all of which, including me, were being hammered. Bullets beat against my table like a snare drum while more embedded themselves into the pavement. The bullets died down just enough for me to bolt from my table, running straight for the street corner. I could hear the cried of laughter from the Shadow troops on and in the buildings, mocking us, calling us out, and continuing to fire straight for us.

I turned my back and returned fire best I could, keeping an unsteady aim with one arm while gripping my side with the other. My searing pain was starting to come back, much of the air from my lungs leaving my body quicker than I needed them to. Blood wasn't leaking from the wound (thankfully) but each step I took did send ripples of pain shooting through my body like lightning. Even as I killed one man (purely by blind luck) it didn't help my condition, but it did aid one wounded man to safety.

Just as I was about to fire another few rounds, someone grabbed my arm and jerked me to the side. I punched the figure dead center in the chest as hard as I could, which made the...guy howl out in major pain. He dropped me then crumpled to his knees as well.

I heard him hiss. _"Dio maledetto, Jason!" _ (God damn, Jason!) Ryan cursed me in Italian, making me blush just as red as his sash.

Hissing, I rubbed my side, which was starting to burn, while covering my face with my hood in shame. "S-sorry, Ryan." I choked out, trying to catch my breath. "Didn't realize it was you." I honestly replied.

He rubbed his chest while hissing like a snake, grunting as he helped me onto my feet. "Come on, you bastardo." He joked, picking me up bridal style. "We need to catch up to the others."

I slightly winced but was secretly grateful that he was carrying me. Honestly, my legs didn't have it in them to walk any more. "Thanks." I thanked him as he carefully jogged back down the street where we came. "Do you know what's going on?" I asked him, finding that we were growing closer to the rest of the group.

Ryan only shook his head in response. "I don't have a clue. All I know is it's gonna be a 'spectacle' apparently."

"A spectacle?" I asked him, tilting my head in confusion.

"Mmm-hm," he replied, finally reaching the group which ran for a few more yards before stopping behind one of the taller (still intact) skyscrapers. The rest of the members of the squad where they were catching their breath, along with the three dozen troops who looked exhausted.

He stopped and set me down on an ammunition crate. I hissed softly, gripping my side in pain, feeling jolts of pain shoot through my body again. I thought things had settled down with that wound but apparently I was wrong (clearly) and it was only growing worse by the second.

"Don't worry, Jason," I heard Piper's voice this time. "We'll get you a medic." She assured me. I found that she was covered in dirt, grime, sweat, and dry blood. Her uniform was torn and scratches were found all over her body.

"Thank you, Piper," I stifled a groan of agony, showing her a slight smile. "So, what's going on? Why did we retreat?" I asked her, rubbing my side.

She turned her head, following it I found she looked at Emily and Victoria, then turned back to me. "Those two always have such insane plans, but they do work. Trust me, they know what they're doing so don't worry about it. We just need to take cover...like now."

Before I could even say anything, she gave me that look. It was the look that told me you-just-need-to-shut-up-and-do-what-I-say. I knew better than to question the look, even if I had no clue what was going on.

I covered my head with my hands just as the sound of propellers hit my ears. They sounded close by, but actually they were very high in the air (don't ask me how high, just picture it pretty high). Looking up, I saw that the sound was coming from a plane, but not an ordinary one--this one was one of our assault planes that dropped bombs, rained down hundreds of bullets in seconds, and could carry up to a hundred and fifty men at a time. It looked like a small bird in the sky, slowly flying through the sun's glare which cut off my sight for a time.

Just as I lost sight of the darn thing, loud--and I mean loud--shots of gunfire and bombs were shot from the sky and onto the ground. Each warhead hit the ground in a thunderous, destructive, violent applause that made me shudder. There were dozens of shots following the previous ones, each one landing right at the area where we once were so precise that you could hit a pin. That all shook the ground like the most violent of earthquakes, sending heat and tremors our way, as well as the excess force blown our way.

We all must've grunted but I knew we all were covering our faces with our arms. It was almost like fireworks, but more destructive and messy. Rubble and debris, even from that far away, flew over our heads while white flashes flashed across our covered eyes. Large chunks of buildings close to the blast radius were being torn off in seconds, blowing rooftops and stone walls everywhere. Dust and dirt began to cloud the air close to the explosions, even where we were and the only sign it was dying down was the fact that the shots were moving away from the area and heading to an entirely new one.

The thunderous explosions still filled the air but were quickly moving towards a different area, raining down destructive power with each thud. Once the explosions were far enough away, the soldiers, Squad, and I finally stood up and freed ourselves from our cover. A light fog of dirt laid over us but was nothing major, unlike the area that was once the shopping mall I guessed.

Things had settled down enough to the point where the rest of our group could catch their breath and rest up, since more was soon to come no doubt. I had taken the torso part of my robe off while a medic was wrapping bandages around my stomach area--after being sprayed with a very painful medicine that was supposed to help numb my wound and quicken the healing process. It sure burned, but I could only hope that it did its job. While I was being treated, as were other soldiers and members of the Squad. Travis was getting treated for a concussion, Mia and Mina were getting bandaged up around their arms, and dozen other soldiers were taking medicine while few of them were having their sockets popped back in place. Ryan was having his foot treated which was his luck since he wasn't going to lose any toes today.

Our recovery was stopped abruptly once Piper came up to us. "Guys, I have good news and bad news. Which do you wanna hear first?" She asked us, crossing her arms in a sigh.

Ryan and I looked to one another then sighed ourselves. I spoke first. "Good news, please."

She nodded. "Alright. The good news is we've seemed to have pushed the Shadow advancement back close to the outskirts of the city where we have a large army waiting for them. They literally have nowhere to hide and we outnumber them ten to one, good thing since those plans you returned to us have given us an edge in the war. If not for those plans, the new bomber plane you just saw wouldn't have done its job as efficiently. Kudos." She gave each of us a smile, which made me blush and smile in return. (I sure knew Ryan was trying hard not to turn as red as a tomato).

"That sounds good," Ryan said in reply, sitting up to hear the rest of what she had to say. "So then, what's the bad news?" He asked, cocking his eye.

Piper's smile quickly faded. "The bad news is, is that the Shadow forces have managed to infiltrate the G.M.A.F Headquarters top floors." The expression on her face was grim, but I knew she wasn't done yet.

"There's more though, isn't there?" Ryan asked, leaning forward.

She nodded. "Rodrigo and the Admiral are still inside."