All of a sudden, what I'm seeing slows. A string of images of the monster populates all around me. I remember that first fight with the templars in Tranquility's Harbor. Somehow. I could calculate the possible movements of this beast. My brain must be processing information through my left eye at an incredible rate, like a supercomputer calculating complex equations. I have to act decisively. A quick assessment of the probable outcomes pointed to jumping back to where we were. With all my strength, I yank the templar back the way we came. She stumbles onto me as we roll out of the way from the momentum. The creature lands with an enormous splash in the water. A wave of displaced water washes us farther up the stream.

"We gotta move!" I yelled.

The water slows the monstrosity just enough for us to return to the bank. Behind us, it burrows across the water. I pull the revolver and turn to shoot, pulling the trigger several times. The Anathema was compressed and decompressed as a barrage of compressed balls hit the target. It takes minor damage to its joint points and a few plate cracks, but nothing significant. 'If I could get off a precision shot between the joints in the legs, I could create a weak point, albeit a temporary one. From there, I can keep hitting it to the point it inside would be destroyed. Then, all I need to do is get a shot deep enough to implode or explode inside the creature.' This could work, but I need to put distance between us.

"We have to stay in the water! The sound is masking our movements!" I yelled.

My eye still shows the projected paths the Anathema would take. This might be the edge I need to set up my plan. Every time the beast jumped, we'd move to the location it just was. Keeping it confused all the while. It's fast, and even with this foresight, I can barely stay ahead of it with Riona. I can't let her die. Not just because she has the information I need but because I won't let another person become a victim of the breach. This is her world, and a handful of people are present to even begin to comprehend the dangers this world is in. Another aggressive jump is incoming. The two of us jump back, but I pull the templar back. To the shock of both of us, the monster changes directions midair, using this white substance that sprays out in a stringy line, causing it to pivot.

"Spider webs?" I yelped.

I correct for the change, but again it fixes and stays airborne before landing right on top of the two of us. We fell just as the creature brought two of its legs down at us. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we were falling. The templar held on tight. All I could see was a swirling vortex of colors. Indistinguishable from the next. 'What was this?' An opening drew farther away, like a train or car entering a tunnel. We were in it now and wherever this was. We are here for the ride. As quickly as it began, we hit something with a thud.

"What just happened?" Riona said.

"I don't know...," I whispered.

The ground was concrete. Familiar klaxons blurred, signaling wherever this was, is in the midst of an emergency. I gather myself and take stock of my bearings. Ignoring the shocking confusion of the prisoner with me. If she can be called that by this point. This place, we can't be here. It's not possible.

"This... this is... Sierra Nova Base. We evacuated it at the end of the war. How are we here?" I asked aloud.

"What are you talking about? We must defend ourselves," Riona said, pointing to the opposite end of the corridor.

Dozens of Anathema poured in from another section. "This is General Fist! All personnel evacuates to the projector within the next two hours. Our defense forces will hold the line until then!" the man said over the speakers.

'General Fist? He was just a colonel when this happened. What the hell is going on? This all happened years ago.' We sprint the opposite way from the incoming monsters. A group of soldiers fires around us as we run. I pull Riona close. The blast doors start to close.

"Stay in front of me, or you'll be shot!" I said

.

"Hit by what?" she exclaimed.

"Bullets!! Think of it as magic, alright!" I yelled.

We barely squeeze by before the doors close. Riona collapses to the ground. One of the soldiers steps up to me.

"Lieutenant Commander Thomas??? I thought you were dead," he said.

'Lieutenant Commander??? I wasn't in the Navy; I was a Marine. What's going on?'

"Oh my god, John, you made it!" someone said, running up to me in a hardsuit.

"We heard your Altas Strike Armor was destroyed. Are you alright?" another asked.

Both pull their helmets, revealing two identical black-haired girls. They were no older than seventeen. Even more shocking is they looked a lot like my mother.

"Ensigns!! Get to your battle suits asap! You're on the next wave going home," a man said.

It was Fist, and a group of soldiers accompanied him. He eyed me intensely for a moment. Then looks at Riona beside me, evaluating her armor for a moment. This causes the other soldiers to notice the difference between her attire and mine. Some of them shoulder their rifles. The two ensigns see the tension, despite the pounding from the door behind us.

"Wh-what... wait, General!" they said together, getting in front of me with arms wide.

"This is our brother! He's not the enemy or those monsters!" they shouted.

"Stand down, Ensigns. I'll handle this from here," he said.

"No, you can't!" one yelled.

"He's not a ghost!" the other shouted.

'These are my sisters? This, this is another world. Not the one I'm from. I don't have any siblings that I know of. Yet, they are willing to get in this man's way. I knew enough to know this would be a cause for a death sentence on the spot. This can't continue like this.'

"That's enough... As you can tell from my clothes, I'm not who you think I am. Although my name is John Thomas, I'm a Marine Lieutenant in the United Allied Forces. This woman is from a different world than me as well. For me, all this happened years ago," I said.

"And the A.D.I.O.S??" he said, pointing to my left hand.

"We called it an E.D.I.O.S system. I don't know, but I think I got mine at the Battle of Tokyo...," I said.

"Son, we lost that battle when Athena Hellesivg and her daughter Helena Hellesivg turned on us and sided with the Anointed," General Fist revealed. "That was a few days ago. They have utterly wiped most of our forces out. And you... you're dead. At least the version of you from here," he added.

"What? We just saw him a few hours ago!" the two girls said.

"Ensign Jane Thomas and Ensign Erica Thomas! I believe I gave you an order!" he snapped.

The two hesitated for a moment. I nod as the two women look back at me. Then, with a little more hesitation, they run down the corridor. Then the General I knew as a Colonel looked at Riona and me. He motions for us to come with him. We follow with the two dozen other soldiers. One sticks plastic explosives onto the blast door. When they break down the barricade. The bomb will buy us more time. He brought us to a room two floors down. Then I saw it. The center of the room was a vac or incubation chamber. Inside was the version of me from here or me. The left side of his body was covered in black plates, similar to my left.

"The A.D.I.O.S killed him, we think. The truth is, we don't know. However, Lieutenant Commander John Thomas has continued to fight since then. His family never knew about this. Yet the moment you show up, all activity inside his brain ceases. Then these marks show up on his body," the General said, pointing to his left wrist. "There's been more than one John Thomas since the Battle of Tokyo," he revealed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The Anointed are after you... John. That's why they invaded. Those like him were taken. So all these John Thomas's running around are one and the same...," he said.

I can't make out the symbols from here. The General allows me to move closer. He has two of the three I have. The Rune of Sovereignty, the Rune of Dominance, and... this is different. In the books I studied, this was the Rune of Legion. As if I met some restriction, the rune glows brightly. Then the alternate version of me glows a burning gold. My whole body burst into fiery pain. The mass of my other self turns to some energy, engulfing me. Nothing but the pain is left as my mind breaks down. I feel my sanity going as my consciousness slips into darkness.