Author’s Note: Sorry I haven’t been on for a long time. I was in Norway and then my computer broke back in the States, so I am totally out of luck (I’m at my friend’s house right now. Anyways, I hope you guys still remember me!

Chapter 38: A Change of Heart

Date: November 22, 3007
Time: 03:00
Location: El Nath Region

Zanna Harding’s DR-14 Dark Ritual Flamethrower burst through the raging snow in a stream of white hot plasma. Through the terrible wails of the thrashing plesiosaur, the light of her fire suddenly revealed a cold grey metal plating. Her heart beating up her throat, she released the palm triggers and sprinted towards the metal hull. In her mind, she could not, would not believe it, but alas, their savior had come.

The SS Isis stood still in the frozen sea like an unmoving guard of the deep. Zanna dived forwards just in time as the plesiosaur’s tail swung overhead, missing her head by mere centimeters. She spun onto her back and slid across the snow the rest of the way to the ship. Squeezing the palm triggers, she unleashed a stream of flames again into the prodigious monster. The coldness of its wail made Zanna’s bones rattle.

But then another sound met her ears. There was a faint pop, as if a gun had went off a hundred miles away. However, the flash above her head told her otherwise. There was a fraction of a second where Zanna thought she could see something whiz through the air before an enormous explosion engulfed the plesiosaur’s lower neck. Blinking a few times in shock, she looked up towards the deck of the ship.

Directly above Zanna’s head, three massive turrets were turned towards the plesiosaur, one with smoke rushing furiously out of the barrel. As her mouth gaped, two more flashes illuminated the dark air for a brief second before two more fireballs hit the monster. Shrieks filled the air as the gigantic shells of the SS Isis tore through the creature’s carapace like a hot knife through butter.

Suddenly, she felt herself lurch downwards. At the same time, a sharp crack rang through the air. Whipping her wrist mounted flashlights back towards the plesiosaur, she saw the ice starting to crack, its scars shooting directly towards her.

Immediately, she started to sprint towards the stern of the ship. Raising her left wrist up right next to her mouth, she pressed the communicator channel and screamed, “GET US OUT OF HERE DAMMIT!” Static filled her earpiece, any voices inside entirely indistinguishable. Zanna didn’t know if they heard her or not, but a ladder was suddenly thrown down from the deck above.

Shining her light ahead, she saw someone already scaling the rope ladder. As Zanna reached it, she grabbed on with both hands and forced her muscles to pull her and her heavy suit up the last few meters to safety. Sweat poured down her face despite the extremely negative temperature. Then, just as Zanna’s muscles started to spasm, she landed on the deck in a heap of exhaustion.

Struggling up, she held on to the guard rails and looked out into the black distance. The ship’s cannons were still firing away, no doubt obliterating the massive monster of the abyss. But on the snow covered ice field, there were still a few bursts of light every now and then: her platoon.

A duo burst of fire to Zanna’s right told her where her captain was. Felix’s Dual R-13 Redemption Sub-machine guns were unmistakable. Zanna’s eyes followed the light from his muzzle flash as they made their way towards the ladder. But then, her eye caught something else. Something long and grey was sailing through the air, baring directly down at her.

Then, several things happened at once. Acting upon instinct, Zanna rolled to the left. She heard a tremendous burst of fire and a hairsplitting shriek. Zanna braced for the impact but it never came. Opening her eyes, she looked up and saw a faint trail of smoke arc its way across the deck a few meters above her head. To her right, one of the deck guns was smoking, its barrel grinning in victory. At its controls stood Annikabelle, a triumphant smile spread across her face.

“Bloody monster. Blew its tail clean off,” Annikabelle smiled as she helped Zanna up. It seemed like just an hour ago when her sister died, but Annikabelle’s face looked as if it was back to her normal random self. Looking out into the frozen waters, Zanna saw a long snake-like anomaly lying splayed on the snow. Bursts of dark blood were streaming out and freezing around the severed end in a black pool.

At last, the shrieks of the plesiosaur seemed to be fading away. The wind came back as the dominant voice in El Nath’s choir. As Zanna and Annikabelle made their way back to the railing to search for the rest of their platoon, one last shell from the ship screamed across the ocean into a black lump out into the distance. The metal case drove itself into the thick carapace, but did not explode. But just as Zanna began to question in her mind, there was a rush of wind and an enormous explosion. Right before her eyes, the body of the plesiosaur was disintegrated by the molecular bomb. The ice around the body flash-melted and opened up, swallowing the remains of the monster, returning it into its watery grave.

A heavy footstep made Zanna turn around. Felix had finally climbed up onto the deck. His dual submachine guns were smoking in the wind, and for the first time, he had an exhausted look on his face. He gave Zanna a slight nod before turning away from her and helping the rest of the platoon onto the deck.

“Hell of a night, eh Zanna?” Annikabelle sighed as she sat down on the deck with her back propped up against the railings. But just as she started to relax, a figure approached from within the shadows of the ship.

“Welcome back,” it said in a low voice. Zanna’s hairs raised on end as she snapped up into attention with a salute. That voice was as scary as hell, and pissing General Fenris off after so much was the last thing she wanted to do.

“At ease,” Fenris responded and the platoon relaxed. Zanna watched as Felix strode towards the general and reached inside his uniform. It suddenly hit her that they had actually completed their mission. The black sphere was theirs. They had done it, the unthinkable, the impossible. Only five of the original twelve had made it back. Seven lives for one black ball. Seemed to Zanna like the most abysmal, f***ed up mission ever.

Date: October 31, 2998
Time: 18:00
Location: Henesys

Zanna walked down the festively lit up street. Orange and red lights hung overhead, reflecting the eyes of eager children dashing around for their annual Halloween candy. A chilly breeze ran through the road, blowing wisps of autumn colored leaves across the way. The temperature was dropping, but Zanna didn’t care.

Wrapping her scarf tight across her face, Zanna sauntered down the main street. Local shops lit up with the joyous cries and laughter of trick-o-treaters as they frolicked in the heavily decorated town of Henesys. But Zanna didn’t care. In fact, Halloween seemed like the perfect day for her.

“Why is this happening…” Zanna whispered to herself as her eyes followed a pair of siblings run past her, laughing jubilantly at a trick they had just pulled off. Her mind seemed to not comprehend her emotions mixed with the festivities. She needed to be alone, where no one could find her.

Picking up her pace, she turned off of main street into a dark, unlit avenue. Not caring where she went, she suddenly bumped into a tall man. Brushing past, Zanna continued to walk, not even bothering to say “sorry.”

Then, without warning, Zanna felt a cold vice-like grip around her wrist. Whipping around, she pulled down her scarf and yelled out in anger, “Look I’m sorry, alright!”

In the shadows, Zanna could not see the man’s face, but there was something about him that sent a chill down her spine. He seemed to be studying her, but then snapped her around and covered her mouth with his hand. Zanna felt herself be pulled back into the shadows of a black, unknown alley, but she didn’t care.

Eons ago, she would have fought hell to break free, but now it didn’t seem to matter anymore. He was gone. His love was gone from her, from this world. Now an unknown assailant was about to take her, use her for his own enjoyment. But it didn’t matter anymore. Her live was already so f***ed up it didn’t even matter anymore.

Date: November 22, 3007
Time: 03:30
Location: SS Isis, Sea of El Nath

Warmth, something Zanna felt she would never feel again. But it wasn’t cold anymore. The blustery wind had been shut out as soon as the hatch closed, sealing them inside of the ship’s spacious briefing room. Now, she was sitting at a long oak table, a glass of water, her debriefing folder lying closed, and a shiny badge in front of her.

“Who are you?” General Fenris’ voice suddenly filled the room. Zanna whipped around and realized that Rey had joined them.

“He’s my brother sir, we found him in the caves, or rather, he found us,” Niel replied. Zanna noticed Rey never looked up nor acknowledged the general’s question.

“First of all,” General Fenris started, apparently ignoring Niel’s response, “I would like to be the first to congratulate all of you on a job well done. You have all received the Nexon Medal of Valor for your outstanding services.” Zanna took a disgusted look at the star shaped medal in front of her. She didn’t deserve it. Not one soul in the room deserved this piece of metal. It was the men and women, her friends, her brothers and sisters that died out on the battlefield that deserved to be recognized. They were the true heroes.

“That aside,” Fenris continued, “I would like to say just how odd you all actually survived.” Zanna frowned in confusion. The general seemed to be choosing her words very carefully.

“What do you mean?” Felix asked unexpectedly. Zanna’s eyes darted from Zanna to Fenris in anticipation for the general’s response to this rude interruption.

“What I mean, Captain,” Fenris replied in a surprisingly eased tone, “is that you and your platoon overcame insurmountable odds to make it all the way back here with the black sphere. It seems like a miracle you all survived.”

“So what does that imply?” Felix spat, “that we were supposed to die? Is that it sir?”

In her head, Zanna knew something was wrong. There was something fishy about the entire mission right from the start. But now, all of her fears had come true. Fighting through hell just to die at home seemed like such a waste. Zanna silently powered up the remainder of her plasma tank.

“Of course not,” the general replied in a casual tone. But Zanna saw the glint in his eyes. Fenris didn’t want them to live at all. He had sent them on a mission with a 150% chance of dieing. He wanted them to die, to be wiped off the face of the planet. The black sphere was never meant anything. Thousands of thoughts flew through Zanna’s head.

But before she could do anything else, the general had sprung up. In the blink of an eye, Dual S-32 Sai Automatic pistols were pointed in their direction.

“What the f*** are you doing?” Felix shouted in fury as he backed away.

“You have become a good platoon over the years. Too damn good. With skills come smarts too. I cannot risk you finding out. You will be terminated,” the general replied with a screwed up smile. “Get into the corner.”

Zanna felt Annikabelle nudge her and soon found herself with the rest of her platoon in the back corner of the room. Fenris had gotten to the front of the briefing room where the double doors were. He gave a smile, “This is such a tragedy. One of the finest platoons in the Nexon Dominion dies defending the flag ship from a rogue plesiosaur. But don’t worry; you won’t survive in another miracle. The ship has been wired with C-4 explosives. I wouldn’t try to escape if I were you, for you will be locked in.” Fenris pressed a button underneath the table and metal plates suddenly enveloped the room like an exoskeleton on the inside. “Well, so long my friends.”

The general whipped around and closed the metal doors behind him; the click of a lock drove the stake in. Felix rushed towards the double doors and rammed into them at full speed. There was a terrible cry of agony as he fell back, clutching his shoulder in frustration and pain. Swearing loudly, he turned back to the platoon, “Well isn’t this just fine and dandy? Isn’t this just fine and f***ing dandy.”