***
--- Schwarz Forest, Roldom Valley, Mount Tube ---
February 9th, 2026
Rory sits up, feeling her strength slowly returns. "Maybe this wasn't the best of ideas… Everything hurts."
She then hears something in the distance. She looks up and sees someone coming. At first, she thought it was Giselle, but she would not be running. She is a Draconian, so she flies whenever she gets the chance. Flying to them is just as natural as walking for Humans.
She then smiles as she sees Sharpe running to her.
Sharpe slides down to her. "Rory…"
She looks up at him and sees him panicking. She has blood everywhere, cuts everywhere, and so on. If she were mortal, she would be dead. "Jackson, I am ok. Everything is fine. I just cannot move right now. She just cut my tendon. They will regenerate but it is taking longer than usual."
She knows what is going through his head. Last time he had seen someone like this was his last team where five people were cut up like her. He must be having flashbacks of his past again, this time it is her fault.
"Is that what you did to me?" He asked.
"Yes," She replies. "I did tell you I was going to protect you. Even from yourself. I lend you some of my regeneration ability so you wouldn't die."
"You bastards!" Giselle yells as she gets up.
She looks over to Giselle and she looks pissed. Her body is still forming as their holes all over the top of her body. She is using her Scythe to balance her, unable to stand under her own power.
Before she can say anything, she feels Sharpe picking her up in his arms.
She looks up at him surprised for some reason. She smiles anyway, glad that she is not alone anymore.
She did give him a Blood Pack when she bit his hand. It allows him to regenerate like her, but it does not seem to be perfect. She sees this cut in his cheek.
Sharpe looks down at her and smiles. "Stay still I got this."
"I can't move," She responds.
"I know," Sharpe replies. "This means this is the first time you listened to me."
She smirks and looks at Giselle. Giselle does look angry and confused, not knowing what just hit her.
"I cannot believe this," Giselle yells. "I will not be humiliated like this. Not by a mortal. Hardy does not accept failure. She wants Rory and I will not fail her."
"Is this what all this has been about?" Sharpe responds in his commanding tone. "Giselle is it? We have a saying on my planet. Go fuck yourself!"
Giselle gets angry hearing that and gets ready to attack.
"Andrew!" Sharpe said.
She looks at Sharpe and then at Giselle. This time she looks scared, looking around. She chuckles realizing that Giselle thinks Andrew’s sniper rifle is a magical spell. She hears this loud sound and sees Giselle dodges. But the massive bullet goes through her left wing.
Giselle looks at the hole in her wing and then back to Sharpe. "You all will pay for this. You think you can defy a god?"
"If this means losing Rory or anyone else then yes," Sharpe said. "You do not have the right to come here and target a member of my team. You Imperial Apostle!"
"Did you just call me an Imperial?" Giselle asked. "I do not work for the Empire or anyone but for my goddess!"
She can see that Sharpe is confused. She assumes that he thought that Giselle was working for the Empire. She understands that false conclusion, the last three Apostles have been working for the Empire in some manner.
"I will explain later, Sharpe," She said. "I promise but she is the Apostle to Hardy."
Sharpe looks down at her. "Wait. She works for the bitch who's been trying to force marry you?"
She nods her head agreeing with that he said. He already knows that Hardy wants to marry her into a forced lesbian relationship. Hardy terrifies her and has done everything she can to stay away from her domain.
Sharpe looks back to Giselle. "Giselle. The answer is no so go home. I will not give you Rory for your god."
"Goddess!" Giselle yells back.
"I don't give a damn!" Sharpe responds. "You clearly know nothing about me and my people. We do not trade our own. Ever."
"I question that," Giselle said. "This was a test. My goddess wanted me to test your people and see who you are. If you passed the test, then I have a message for you. One you will definitely want to hear. Hardy will… wait. If you are here, then what happened to my baby dragon?"
She looks at him with wide eyes. "You fought a baby Flame Dragon?"
"We didn't fight it," Sharpe responds. "We barbequed it. Going to have some dragon burgers after this."
Sharpe then speaks up. "We killed that bastard. It is in the cave lying dead. Now Giselle, back away now and end this."
She looks to Giselle wondering what her plan is. She knows there is no way this is the full extent of her plan.
Giselle looks angry as she adjusts herself with the news of her baby dragon’s death. She then lets out a loud dragon roar.
"I think she is angry," She said.
"I think you are right," Sharpe replies. "Sarah was right. I need to work on my diplomacy." He then looks to Rory. "Don't tell her I said that."
Around Mount Tube she sees these two small Flame Dragons, one being black and the other being red color. They fly past them quickly pas them and go around.
She watches them both come back and hovers in the air, at opposite ends of each other. Then they both start to flap their wings rapidly. This large gust of wind starts to be formed, creating what looks like a windshield of the battle area.
She then sees this missile coming from the village. She assumes it is one of the American Stinger missiles. She is barely able to keep up with it as the missiles fly fast.
The missile heads to the black dragon but when it gets close the missile swings away and loses its target. After losing its target the missile explodes.
"Damn," Sharpe mumbles.
She looks at him and sees him a bit worried. Their missiles are powerful enough to kill one of these dragons but if they cannot hit the target, they are worthless.
She looks back at the two baby dragons and now understands what they are doing. One of their missiles blew off their mother's arms so now they know the missiles are a threat. The windshield is creating too much turbulence for the missiles to get through.
Then she hears the loud roar and knows where that came from. The Legendary Flame Dragon herself.
The Flame Dragon flies down and lands right behind Giselle. When it lands the ground shakes, which forces Sharpe to fall on his rear.
She looks at him and then at the mighty beast. The dragon is standing there, missing that one arm but more importantly, the dragon looks pissed. She also sees this plane in the dragon mouth. It is the drone that was helping them communicate with Alnus Command.
Both ends of the MQ-9 Reaper break apart from the crunch of the dragon mouth. Both ends fall and crash to the ground exploding.
Giselle stands there laughing. "Where is your confidence now mortal? I knew Rory gave you her regeneration abilities but with the Queen of Dragons behind me, you won't survive her fire breath. It is magical and powerful. No force on Falmart can withstand it."
She feels Sharpe stand back up, still holding her in his arms. "I am sorry Jackson. This is my fault. If I just went in there, to begin with then maybe things would be different. She begins to cry not knowing what to do, feeling so hopeless.
"Rory," Sharpe said as he looks at the Flame Dragon. "Never question my orders again."
"Wha-?" She mumbles and looks back at him.
"I gave you an order to stay by the vehicles. If you weren't there, then dragon lady here would have destroyed our vehicles. The decision was mine and mine alone so stop worrying yourself. You were following my orders and that's it." Sharpe said and looks down at her. "It is my responsibility; I made the call. Everything is on my shoulders, not yours." He then gives her a wink and looks back to Giselle.
"Besides," Sharpe continues. "I am a soldier of the United States Army. We prepare for everything."
She looks at him and smiles. As an Apostle of Emroy, she collects the souls of warriors. As they pass through her body it releases a strong orgasmic feeling. The more warriors, the stronger the feeling. However, as she looks at him, she feels happy, stronger, a sense of belonging, and someone she has chosen to follow. That feeling has become the most important feeling for her. "I trust you."
She then looks at the dragons. Dust is flowing everywhere from the wind. She feels her tore up lolita clothes waving with the wind.
She looks up at him and can see he is working on a plan. She has learned that he always has a plan, a good one, or a bad one but he always has a plan. It is one of the reasons they always came out on top.
As she hears Giselle bragging about something, she suddenly feels something strange. She glances down and sees Sharpe’s hand on her breast again(3).
She blinks and blushes, remembering this happened before in Italica. She knows it is not intentional but finds the situation hysterical and in a twisted romantic way.
Last time she was in his arms in a desperate situation this happened and now it has happened again. Last time she did not understand but this time she knows and now she has his soul, she is confident they will get out of this somehow.
---
Hearing Rory said that she trusts him was a major energy boost. He does not understand why but he knew she was in trouble and how he can feel her confidence, which he needs.
He is staring at an Apostle and the Flame Dragon. During his first exploration mission on this planet, he ran into this beast. The dragon got the drop on him because he did not know how to properly handle the situation. This time he does not feel alone which is ironic because he is standing there alone with Rory in his arms.
He hears Giselle laughing as she finishes regenerating. She starts giving them another speech, a type of speech which he has heard a million times by bad guys in cartoons, comics, and manga. That it is over and there is no hope.
He looks at Giselle annoyed and yells. "Shut up!"
He has not heard Sarah speak for a while. He thought he would be able to communicate with Sarah once he left Mount Tube but that did not happen. The drone is destroyed but he knows she has been working behind the scenes, so he wonders if his radio is broken and that when Andrew fired was more luck than following orders.
He then looks directly to the Flame Dragon, showing no fear. "I remember you. Do you think you scare me?"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Giselle yells.
He looks back at her and tells her to shut up. He then looks back to the Flame Dragon. "My name is Major Sharpe of the United States Army, 75th Rangers. I remember you. You stand there thinking you are all that, but I am a warrior from Earth."
He solidifies his stands to show he will not back down. "On Earth, we have stories about monsters like you. The Leviathan, Laestrygonians, the Krakens, Loch Ness Monster, Roc, Dragons, Leshy, and many more. Today they are all just legends and you want to know why!"
He can see he got the dragon interest otherwise she would have attacked by now. He can see on his HUD that his feed is being watched by Vanguard and Talas Command. Vanguard Command is located at Fort Minick up north while Talas is located to the west.
"They are all dead," He says. "You know why? Because people like me killed them all! We are mortals and Earth belongs to Mankind, not to beasts like you! And now that we are here it's you or us. Do you think you can win? You have no idea the wrath you have unleashed!"
There is a short silence after he said that. Then Giselle breaks the silence by laughing.
"You are kidding me?" Giselle says. "You can't go anywhere. You already lost. Burn him!"
He sees this fireball forming in the Flame Dragon mouth. He has seen it before in their last battle and he knows it is ready to be released.
However, all he can think about is this one theory he has. During his time on Falmart he has faced many opponents, more then he likes to count. He has noticed one major difference between the people of this world and his.
Krysist, Taylin, Jasis, the Flame Dragon, and now Giselle. They and others keep fighting alone.
He knows he is good at his job, one of the best in the Army. He has been in the Army for a long time and led the best men he has ever met. He trains, educates himself, prepares for any situation, being ready for anything but he knows one simple truth that many people he has faced, he is not alone and is part of a team.
He knows he is the best because he works with the best. Everyone doing their part, working together, pulling all their strengths to overcome every challenge. He knows these people still do not get why the US keeps winning, why Vanguard-7 keeps winning, why he keeps winning. It is because they all have each other’s backs, one soldier, or the full strength of the American military.
The Flame Dragon releases its fire breath but then this hypersonic energy projectile hits it. The fire breath explodes in front of the dragon making it scream.
He knows who fired it, Lelei La Lalena. Her hypersonic spell destroyed the fire breath before it got close. Then he sees two more energy projectiles hit the beast.
Seeing his opportunity to escape he takes it. He starts running back to where his JLTVs are.
He looks at Rory as he runs as fast as he can.
Rory looks past his arm, looking to the dragon as it screams in pain. She then looks back at him. "Jackson. Sometimes, Lelei scares me."
He could not help himself but chuckle after hearing that. "Sometimes she scares me too."
He hears Andrew fire another .50 caliber round, probably trying to cover him by keeping Giselle pinned down. The last thing they need is Giselle dropping into this ditch because with Rory to wounded to fight, they would be sitting ducks and slaughtered.
He then sees the vehicles. The Dark Elves are taking cover behind the JLTVs while his Rangers are taking cover in a small ditch. He sees Andrew there with his M107, Alicia on the radio, and Lelei standing thereafter just finishing her last attack.
He slides into the ditch and takes cover. "Thanks for the cover fire."
"We thought you two were dead," Frost said.
"Holy shit! Rory!" Alicia said in shock.
He sees everyone looking at her, none of them used to seeing Rory wounded like this. "Tuka and Yao, take Rory and start patching her up."
Both elves move over and take Rory. She lets out a weak cry as she feels the pain being moved.
After handing Rory to the two Elves, he looks to Andrew. “Good shoot.”
“Thanks sir,” Andrew said. “I kept asking you if I could, but you didn’t respond. It’s starting to look bad, so Lieutenant Rose gave the order.”
He looks to Andrew confused. “You didn’t hear my order to shoot?”
“No sir,” Alicia said. “We been trying to contact you sense we left the mountain and never got an answer. We assumed your radio was busted.”
He looks back at Andrew and nods. He realizes in his absence she took control of the situation and used his and Andrew feed from their helmet cameras to coordinate a sniper attack. “I need to get her flowers.” He mumbles.
He looks around. "Everyone stays focused. We have a dragon to kill." He then looks at Alicia. "Is that Sarah?"
"Yes sir," Alicia replies. "She is on the horn with Talas Command. Two F-22, one F-35A, and B-1B bomber inbound. ETA five minutes."
"Not soon enough," He said. He then takes the radio and rolls over, so he is on his stomach. He looks out and sees the Flame Dragon revolves from Lelei’s attack. "Nice shot Lelei."
"You seem to piss it off," Frost said.
"I was trying to kill it, but I already used too much of my mana," Lelei said.
"All good," He replies and speaks through the radio. "Vanguard Command, this is Vanguard-7 Lead.
"Roger that Vanguard-Lead. I am glad you are alive," Sarah replies.
"Tell Colonel Yang and Talas Command and I am authorizing Tango 38 protocol and requesting assistance." He replies. "Please tell me the bomber has the weapon?"
Before he left on this mission, he and Yang had a private meeting. Both felt like something was off on this mission, given their track record. While they both believed the odds were low that they will encounter any Flame Dragons, there was still a chance. So, they created an insurance policy just in case. The Army always prepares.
"Roger that," Sarah responds. "Talas was already warned of the possible situation. The B-1B is armed with a pair of AGM-183A ARRW. Both are on standby and waiting for orders."
"Roger that," He responds. He looks over to Frost and Alicia to get the targeting laser. "We will be lazing the bastard up.”
He waits a moment and then speaks softly. “Thank you, Sarah.”
“Doing my job Major. And besides, I wasn’t going to let that bitch beat my man up,” Sarah said.
He hears some snickering to his left and sees Alicia and Frost trying not to laugh. He then hears Rory laugh.
“That’s what she said,” Alicia laughs, unable to contain herself.
“Not how I meant it,” Sarah said over the radio in an embarrassed tone but then switched back to a professional tone. “Standby for AGM-183 assault."
The AGM-183A ARRW or known as the Arrow is the next generation hypersonic missile. While most of the details are classified the missile is known to hit speeds up to Mach 20 and it hits like a son of a bitch. To his knowledge, this will be the first time this weapon has been used in an act of aggression.
Alicia and Frost get beside him and get the target laser in position. They lock-on the Flame Dragon.
"Target lock sir!" Alicia says. "Ready to go. Let us bring this son of a bitch down."
"American style!" Frost yells in excitement.
He looks over glad that they are pumped up. He looks back to the Flame Dragon, ready for this nightmare to be over. "Fire."
"Roger that Major," Sarah said. "Vanguard-Command to Golden Eagle. You have permission to fire AGM-183A. Target is locked on."
While the aircraft is far away, this hypersonic weapon will be here in seconds because of how fast it can travel.
He sees the Flame Dragon trying to take off, but the wings are wounded from Lelei’s attack. It starts to form another fire breath but out of nowhere, the AGM-183A hits the dragon.
The Flame Dragon explodes in front of everyone's eyes. A combination of the kinetic energy from the missile and the explosion from its own fire breath, creating a chain effect. The blast is so massive both baby dragons were forced to stop with its windshield to getaway.
A large shock wave hit him and his Ranger but did not do any damage. He can feel the heat from the explosion. He looks up from his cover. "This is Vanguard-lead. Flame Dragon is neutralized."
---
"Damn we saw the explosion from way out here," Raptor-3 said.
"I know," Captain Amanda Smith responds. "That was a pretty explosion."
She just saw for the first time the next-generation hypersonic missile, the AGM-183A ARRW used in war. The missile is so large it must be carried by a bomber, in this case the B1-B Lancer bomber. Only a few seconds ago it fired the missile, and it was the fastest object she has ever seen.
She looks out her cockpit and uses her Helmet-Mounted Display System or HMD. Besides for the F-35 Lightning II and has been adapted for the F-22 Raptor and F-15X Super Eagle. The helmet replaces the need for a HUD in the cockpit, putting everything right into the helmet. It streamlines the process and simplifies everything for the pilot so they can focus on engaging the enemy.
"Looks like we have two bandits," The F-35A pilot said. "Transmitting data now."
She sees the image from the F-35. The F-35 has the most advanced Sensor fusion on two worlds. It has the most advanced situational awareness and commands and control capabilities than any other aircraft. The fighter is becoming more of a flying command center than a fighter, able to talk to friendly aircraft and drones, and relay data to the needed fighter.
She sees two dragons appear on her cue. "Roger that. They look smaller than the main one."
"They look confused," The F-35 pilot said.
"Let's show them who are the true kings of the sky," She said with a smirk.
She signals her wingman, and both hit the afterburners.
"This is Vanguard Command, we have units down below that have been engaged by the dragons," Sarah said. "They need assistance."
"Roger that Vanguard Command," She replies. "We will give them a show. Burn it."
Both F-22s fly right past both dragons, getting their attention.
She looks back and her HMD allows her to see behind her. She sees both dragons starting to chase them. "Crisscross. You bank left, I bank right and then engage."
"Roger," Rapier-3 said.
She moves right and both fighters pass each other. She can see this confused both dragons and then they both start to follow her wingman.
She moves around and locks on with her HUD. She lines up, following behind them. "Target lock, FOX-2."
She fires an AIM-9 Sidewinder, an air-to-air missile. It has been the backbone of the US military since 1956 and it has yet to fall out of favor.
She watches her sidewinder fly away and hit the red dragon. The target explodes and the dragon starts to fall to the ground in pieces.
"Nice hit," The F-35 pilot said. "The last target moved away and now is trying to flank you."
"Where? Oh, there." She replies.
She sees the black dragon flying right to her. It breathes fire as it tries to hit her, but she dodges easily.
She moves out of the way and sees the dragon trying to catch up to her. "Poor kid. We call these babies Raptors for a reason."
"I have the target in sight," Raptor-3 said. "I am coming right in front of you."
"Roger," She replies. Banking right… now."
She banks right and floors it. She levels off and looks down in her cockpit. Her HMD allows her to see past her cockpit because of the sensors around the aircraft. She sees the black dragon trying to catch up to her.
"This is Raptor-3, FOX-2."
She sees this AIM-9 Sidewinder coming from her wingman. The missile moves through the air and punches through a cloud. Seconds later the missile hits the dragon.
She sees the dragon burst into flames and begins falling to the ground, splitting into three different pieces.
"Talas Command all air targets have been cleared" She said. "You are clear to bring in-ground assets to secure the area."
---
Giselle stands there as she watches the black dragon fall to the ground. She cannot believe what just happened, all three Flame Dragons died in moments of each other without a challenge. Four if you include the one dead inside Mount Tube.
She looks up and sees both of those strange-looking dragons fly pass. They do not look like dragons, but they are faster than any creature she has ever seen. She wonders what kind of animal they are.
She looks to her left at what remains of the mother Flame Dragon. She is still trying to figure out how it died. One moment it was about to breathe fire and spray the whole area, turning it to glass. Then it explodes.
Her Apostle eye senses thought she saw something in the sky and then the Flame Dragon exploded. It happened so fast she cannot be certain if she even saw anything.
She looks back to the Other Worlder position. She can see the soldiers taking cover in a ditch and Dark Elves hiding behind their strange wagons. The fact they have the elves she imprisoned proves that they killed her other dragon.
She hears those strange flying machines again as they go by. She starts to laugh finding all this humorous. "I can't believe it. Hardy was correct about these people. She made a wise choice."
She starts to walk towards the Other Worlders position. "Hey. Lets…. Talk…. What is this?"
As she was waving her hand, she saw this strange looking green dot. She tried grabbing it, but it moved to her chest. She pats herself as she tries to get the green dot. She realizes that it isn't real but she doesn't understand how she can see it.
She then looks back to the Other Worlders and then looks to the left hearing something else. "Oh…"
---
Sharpe is laying in the ditch, looking out the top. Alicia and Frost are beside him as they use the target designator.
He orders both to target Giselle with the laser and paints her position for the B1-B Lancer. He intends to drop
"This is Vanguard-7 Lead to Golden Eagle, requesting a bombing mission on priority target. Target is an Apostle," He says over the radio.
"This is Golden Eagle we copy you. En-route for a bombing mission. I have four JDAMs(1) ready. This will be close." Golden Eagle said.
He looks up and sees the B1-B Lancer coming from the west. It is moving at high speeds until it flies right past the valley.
He then sees these four guidance bombs falling in the air. Seconds later all four JDAMs hit around Giselle's position. Four large explosions appear right where Giselle was at. The explosions engulf the surrounding area and smoke starts to spread.
"Golden Eagle, this is Vanguard-7 Lead, good hit." He said. "Going to confirm the target is down over."
"Roger that," Golden Eagle replies. "Setting up for a second bombing run. Call if you need it. Out."
He puts down the radio and looks out. He sees the smoke and dusk slowly starting to vanish. He knows how resilient these Apostles can be but even they cannot withstand heavy ordinance. While it cannot kill them, it is not an experience they like to go through again.
"Everyone stays here," He orders as he gets up. "Andrew, cover me."
He starts walking to Giselle's last known position. He pulls out his Colt M1911 sidearm and loads it with a new magazine that has .45 explosive rounds. While not perfect, he has found them to be the most effective.
He then hears some footsteps coming from behind him. He turns around and sees Lelei catching up. "Lelei, head back. This is extremely dangerous."
"With all due respect Major. I don't have to listen to you. I am a civilian." Lelei states and continues to walk. She was not being serious, just making a point, using his own logic against him.
He looks at her and laughs, enjoying how she is using his logic against him. "Follow my lead."
They walk through the smoke, heading deeper into the battlefield. They see body parts everywhere from the big Flame Dragon. Pools of blood and small fires everywhere.
"Major," Lelei said. "I noticed you like to use that Colt. I also have noticed everyone else using the same sidearm, you even trained us to use the M17, but you don't. Why?"
"The Colt M1911 was once the standard sidearm for the US military. It has its limits, that is why it was replaced but it is a personal favorite with me and many in the SF community." He said. "This one though, it has been passed down for three generations. Delta’s leader to Delta leader. It was given to me when I took command of our platoon."
He then holds up his pistol. He can see on his HUD that others are watching and listening. He does not mind nor cares anymore. "This pistol has gotten me out of so many scraps. Once the .45 round hits, you go down for good."
"I understand," Lelei replies. "I feel the same with my staff. I could have gotten a better one, but it means a lot to me."
He looks at her and nods. He hears someone coughing within the smoke. "Lelei. If she makes any move, do not hold back."
"I understand," Lelei said.
He looks back. "Good."
---
Giselle is laying there; her body is all over the place after those explosions.
"What were those… who are these people?" She asked while in pain.
She looks around and sees that her head is still connected to the right part of her body. Her right arm is still connected however, her hand is gone. The rest of her body is scattered all around.
She can feel all her body parts. Being an Apostle, she has regeneration powers so that she does not die. All she must do is get them close to her body and then reattaches. She does not have to worry about blood and smaller parts of her body as they will grow back, she just can't grow full body parts.
However, she is not fully confident about that ability right now because she has never experienced anything close to something like this. The closest thing she can compare to is when an Apostle falls into an active volcano.
There is this story about an Apostle who lost against another Apostle thousands of years ago. The Apostle tossed the other one into the active volcano. Because of how hot magma is, the regeneration ability was not able to keep up with the magma heat so the Apostle in a sense died.
Some Apostles think that the one who was tossed into the volcano just was stuck deep within it, burning and regeneration until his or her thousand years were up.
No one has ever tried to test that story because both options are bad and there seems to be no way to tell others the truth.
The only reason she thought about that story was because of what just happened. She does not understand what just happened and is worried about what that could mean on her body.
She coughs and keeps looking around. "There is my leg. I can sense it. And…"
She then sees two shadowy figures coming towards her. The smoke is blocking her vision so she cannot see who it is.
Until right then she sees that soldier she fought. And then she sees a blue hair mage woman walking beside him. She must have been the one who used that strange magic against the Flame Dragon fire breath, allowing him to escape.
She watches them walk up. The woman's eyes and staff glow as she points the staff to her head. The man called Sharpe stands there and she sees the barrel of his weapon. She remembers that weapon, every time he fired it hurt a lot and tore a part of her body away.
She glances around and decides she was defeated. "Hi."
She waits for a response and then gets nervous that he did not respond. "Sorry about all this but I was telling the truth. This was a test and you passed. Now take me to your leader please. My Goddess Hardy has a message for your people."
"Oh," Sharpe said in a cold tone. "You will be meeting with my leaders after this mess. I promise you that."
She blinks after hearing that. She starts to believe that maybe this test was not the best of ideas.
Based on their fight she knows he cannot do any real harm to her. He is just fast and well-coordinated for a warrior. However, that tone is what scared her the most. "Ok…"
***
--- Schwarz Forest, Roldom Valley ---
February 9th, 2026
Rory is sitting in the back of the JLTV. The team medic Specialist Jerry Willian bandaged her up so she can heal faster. She looks like one of those Mummies from the Mummy movies.
But that is not what she is focused on. Right in front of her is Sharpe. For the past ten or fifteen minutes he has been yelling at her for what she did. He figured out that she transferred some of her regeneration abilities to him when she bit him.
She knew he would get pissed but this caught her off guard. She and the other Girls have found that he is a bit overprotective so when he saw her banged up like that it must have pushed him over the edge. He is clearly not happy that she did this.
She sits there, eyes wide open feeling a bit nervous. This is not the first time he has yelled at her like this, but this time seems different. "OK… but I just didn't want you to die."
Sharpe places his hand on the hood and leans in. "I don't care. You had no right to put yourself in danger like that. Just look at what happened."
"But…" She said softly.
Sharpe holds up a figure. "Rory! Your tendon was cut in half. You only just regain the ability to move your foot. This is not acceptable."
She takes a sad breath and tears up. "I am sorry."
"Damnit…" Sharpe said and places his hand on his head. He then looks at her. "I know you wanted to protect me, but my life is expendable. This is what I am, a trigger on a rifle. You can't put yourself in a situation like that."
"But I can't die," She responds. "I will be ok."
"No, you won't," Sharpe replies. "This was about getting you. You have a target on your back, and it is my job to prevent that. I cannot do that if you keep doing these little games. What if I did not decide to break off from the group. Giselle would have taken you before any of us would know about it."
She tilts her head confused. "What?"
"No," He said. "No more games."
Sharpe then holds out his right hand.
She looks at his hand, confused about what is going on.
"Get rid of it. Now." Sharpe said in his command tone.
She looks at his hand and then at his face. He has this determined look. She looks back at his hand and takes a sad breath as she tears up a little.
The truth is she does not want to remove it, that she has his soul and keeps it warm inside her. She made a choice, but it seems that she has overstepped, seeing that maybe this was more of a one-way relationship. She can change the Blood Pack to where he cannot regenerate like her, just protecting his soul but does not want to do it.
But she does not want to displease him anymore and doesn't have the energy to fight. She closes her eyes. "I don't have to bite you. Give me a moment."
She thinks about how she wants to arrange this. She opens her eyes once she changes the Pack. "It is done."
She then watches him pull out his knife and cut his hand. Blood comes out of his hand and drips down on the ground.
She can see he did not trust him, so he had to cut himself. She closes her eyes as she tears up. "I see."
She then feels his hand on the back of her head and her head moves forward. She realizes that he moved her head to his chest as he leaned closer. She opens her eyes and looks up at him. His eyes are close and have this worried look, the same look he had when Selina was found after the Wood Elves kidnapping(2).
She then looks away and closes her eyes. She can feel his heart pounding, going far faster than it should. Based on the sound of his heart she can tell how worried he was. Suddenly everything feels warm as she listens to his heart.
"Look Rory," Sharpe said. "I am sorry about that. I just can't accept it."
She opens her eyes and looks back at him. She can see that the cold side of him is gone and that he is trying to fight back emotions and failing.
Sharpe leans back and looks at her. "Fuck… Rory. Look. You are all important to me. Lelei, she makes me feel important again. Like I am doing something that is worthwhile like I am giving something back after taking so much. Selina, she makes me feel pure and that everything I do has some stakes. Besides doing this for a country I am doing for a future for her. Tuka. Besides all the drama with the Edras crap, she always sees the joy in the world, and I like that."
Sharpe then leans down, so he is looking directly at her. "But then there is you. When we first met you made it your personal mission to fix me. You brought back something I thought I never would see again. You brought back my Humanity."
She looks at him and smiles. She wipes the tears from her eyes. "I know. It wasn't hard. It was in the glovebox."
Sharpe smirks from that, enjoying her being a smartass. "Look. I made a promise I wasn't going to let anything happen to any of you. I cannot let what happened to happen again. Period."
"You see Rory," He said. "I can't do this without you. I cannot be a leader, a father, or more without you being there, by my side. I don't know if any of that made sense."
"It's the only thing you said that has ever-made sense," She replies and smiles. She doesn't know what to say but her heart is telling her that being by his side is her place. While he never likes to admit it, being too macho man but everything he does, the good and the bad is motivated by love. And that is what separates him by Taylin and Hardy. "I understand."
Sharpe nods his head as he tries to collect his thoughts. "You are my best friend, and I can't imagine or accept if anything happens to you Rory."
She thinks about what he said and smiles. "Let's say there is this psychopath goddess who is trying to kidnap you."
"Rory…" He said. "You should know what we say by now."
"One in the head and two in the chest," Rory said with a devilish smirk.
Sharpe nods in agreement. "And this is something you need to learn. We do not leave our people behind. People from Earth or people from here. We are all in this together."
She smiles hearing that. She reaches down into her Gothic Lolita clothes and pulls out the Optimus Prime toy and holds it out to him. "I am sorry. I was talking to it when you guys were gone. We had an interesting conversation. I see why you like him."
Sharpe looks at her hand and is surprised to see his favorite little toy in her hand. He places his hand over hers and pushes it back. "Keep him for now. I have to get back to work."
She cries some of it is from the pain while the other side is that she is simply happy she does not have to worry so much about Hardy anymore.
Sharpe walks away and heads to the other Rangers. "Ranger's, we are rolling out in ten-minutes."
She shakes her head and looks down at Optimus Prime. It still bothers her who was comforting her before Giselle attacked. She assumes her mind was telling her what she wanted to her.
In the distance she can see and hear helicopters flying over to Mount Tube. The massive Chinooks carrying soldiers, scientists and engineers to study and secure the Flame Dragons remains.
She then notices Tuka and Lelei appear.
"Tell me," Tuka asked. "How does it feel being carried by him?"
"I was wondering myself," Lelei asked to.
She giggles and smirks. "It felt amazing. It felt empowering and safe at the same time, snuggled into those big arms." She added that last part to tease Lelei.
She holds up her finger. "Oh yeah. There is one thing. If you end up being carried by him watch out. While it was unintentional, his hands like to grab where the breasts are so be warned. He is a grabber."
"Is that all?" Tuka responded.
"Pervert..." Lelei mumbles.
She laughs as both of them begin a short debate on the matter. "Hi, guys. Lelei, Nice job with your magic."
"Now can you attract a boy with it," Tuka said with a giggle.
Lelei looks at them. confused. "I don't understand. Why would I do that?"
She rolls her eyes hearing that. She loves how clueless Lelei is even though she is a bookworm.
Reference:
------------------------------------------------
(1) JDAMs = Joint Direct Attack Munition
(2) Chapter 117
(3) Chapter 19
Discord:
