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Well here is the 2nd installation of The Spyro Wars. This time, I am fiddling with my writing style and testing some new ideas. I just came up with an idea that might just blow ya's minds! But, you guys won't learn of it until later... much later.

Part 1: Desmal

Chapter 2: A Lost Colony

UER Colony World Desmal

July 14, 2209

1434 Hours

Farm Field, 2 Miles from Jacksonberg, Tarlaman

Cpl. Shaun Miller sat in the grass, awaiting the target to get past them. His Sergeant shushed the other Marine as he moved a bit. The four Lakador soldiers walked past them and didn't even notice the humans lying in the grass. Once they walked down the dirt road to the old farm house down the road, the trio of Marines crossed the road and got into the corn stalks. The clouds obscured the sun and it looked like a storm was blowing in from the east. The bow of a Lakador ship was visible next to the clouds as it sat in high orbit above the nearby city of Jacksonberg.

The Marines went through the corn stalks until they came onto a large building in a small wooded area beyond the corn stalks. They entered and went into the basement. Once inside, they entered a small UER CP where Marines and Army GIs ran this way and that, passing on information.

"Sergeant, go and tell Major Easley that there are some Lakadors headed his way!" Miller's sergeant barked. The other Marine complied and ran into a hallway that ran underground to another basement underneath the farmhouse the Lakadors were headed to.

Miller sighed. The Humans and Lakadors had been at war for 5 years now. After Sirus fell, the UERAF was put on high alert and a fleet of 45 ships was sent to Sirus. They drove off the Lakadors, but they soon came again. After Sirus, they attacked Newfoundland and Cirmain. Newfoundland was lost, but the UERNF managed to drive off the Lakadors at Cirmain. After that, they launched a full scale assault on Desmal, the second largest UER Colony. The Humans drove them off, though a ship came in from an unknown system during the battle. It was the Heavy Destroyer Archilles. It was thought to have been lost at Sirus. The crew told a tale of magic and crap like that. Most thought they were nut jobs, but they got the attention of the UER Intelligence Agency and Energy Research Team. They gobbled them up and the crew was sent to Earth. It wasn't long after that that the Lakadors attacked another Colony. That's how things were for 5 years, defending Colonies. Many had fallen, but there were a lot that had been successfully defended. However, they came again for Desmal. The fleet tried to fight them off, but the Lakadors drove the UERNF out of the system. In a hasty retreat, many Marines, Army Infantrymen, and civilians were left on the planet. The Lakadors had been known to take some prisoners, but there were tales of mass executions, raping, and all sorts of horrible stories.

Now the remaining Marines and Army GIs in the area had rallied at Rally Point Delta. It was an underground network of tunnels and basements that ran though a 4 mile radius. Approximately 600 UER soldiers were populating the series of bunkers, basements, and other areas in Delta. They were only a few miles from the city of Jacksonberg.

Colonel Dolby wanted to know what the Lakadors were up to and he wanted to assault Marsha City, another city a few Miles to the south of Jacksonberg along the coast. Marsha city held in its depths the Desmal Defense Center, the nerve of the UERDF's defenses. If they retook the facility, they could use the defenses to drive away some of the Lakadors and spur on any other UER forces on the planet. It was a long shot, but it was better then waiting to become a prisoner. Plus a number of civilians were still in Marsha and needed to be evacuated.

Miller was brought to as the intercom sounded off.

"All United Armed Forces, this is Colonel Dolby. Arm yourselves and take to the surface. It's about time we launched our offensive on Marsha __City. We will move on foot and the Marines will link up with my Army GIs at the 77th Eastbound Causeway into Marsha. From there we will enter the city and take it. Dolby out."

"You heard the Colonel. Let's move out!" A Captain said. They all hustled to grab their gear and Miller joined his Sergeant outside as his squad was forming. They moved out of the house and into the corn stalks. As they went, the stalks swayed. They finally came to the dirt road where they met another group of Marines moving through the area. They linked up and moved father down the road.

They moved down the road until they reached another road made of concrete that ran along another corn field. They rallied with another contingent of Marines there. They moved up the road as much as they could and Miller looked up into the sky. He saw the bow of the Lakador Frigate again as it sat in high orbit. It looked menacing. The storm coming in looked even more fierce then before. The storm would be good and bad for them. Bad, because it may hamper their assault, and good, for it would screw with their detection gear and mask their approach.

They moved down the road until it met with the 77th Eastbound Causeway that went straight through the heart of Marsha city. The 407th had been sent into Marsha City to retake the defense facility during the initial battle with the Lakadors, but they were pushed back and now here they were again. They met up with Colonel Dolby's Army GIs as they moved in with a convoy of captured Lakador scout vehicles, tanks, Jaguar Tanks, Jeeps, and APCs.

They moved into the city from the Northwestern side of the city. The facility was underneath a government compound that was located in an uptown district of the coastal city.

Miller's squad moved along the underpass of the Causeway. They, along with the other Marines, were to protect the convoy from the ground. Miller and the rest of his squad moved down the road when he saw movement. A rocket sailed from a nearby building and nearly missed a Jaguar MBT. The Lakadors had made the first move.

The immediately hit the building with machine gun fire. Miller sought cover behind a parked car and unloaded his Carbine into the building. His .30 ammo punctured the building's walls and he hoped would kill the assailant and any of his friends. However, dark energy spheres came from an adjacent building and hit the Marines. A few Marines fell as the energy scorched their skin. The Marines returned fire, as did the Army GIs on the overpass above them. The Tanks rocked as they fired their 80mm guns and the captured tanks fired a deadly arch of dark energy which vaporized anything in its path, including the floor of an office building.

The convoy headed farther in and Miller's squad was sent into the buildings to clear them out. Miller took two Marines and entered a small restaurant along the side of the road. He kicked in the door and was met with a trio of Lakadors. They all moved their rifles into an attack position. Miller and another Marine cut them down immediately. The other Marine ran along the wall and chunked a grenade into an adjacent room. It went off and they heard a scream as a Lakador was killed in the blast. They moved in and secured the rest of the dinner. They left the building and found Marines securing the rest of the buildings down the road.

The convoy came to an intersection and came down to it and ran down 42nd street. The street went directly to the government compound and the defense facility. The vehicles started down the road and they found a large group of Lakadors that had erected a blockade. They fired from behind the blockade. The Lakadors even had a few tanks of their own. A few of the Marine's tanks exploded and the Army GIs engaged the Lakadors. The Marines, however, went along a flank and were tasked with detonating the blockade with rockets.

Miller's squad moved through an office building. The place was a mess. There was broken glass everywhere, fallen bricks, the works. They moved through and Miller hefted the M21MP Rocket Launcher. They moved until they were just above the blockade. It had started to rain by then and the street was blanketed in falling rain. The Lakador's silver armor shone as it was drenched. Miller hefted the rocket, took aim, and fired one rocket. It connected with an enemy tank. The tank's roof flew off the vehicle and a few Lakadors standing next to it were swept off their feet.

He fired another rocket and it connected with another tank. Like the first, it was blown apart. He retreated and reloaded the launcher. The other Marines poured fire onto the street below. A few Marines were hit by dark energy and they fell screaming. Once Miller finished reloading, he returned to find the Lakadors retreating. He aimed just in front of a cluster of the draconic lizards and pressed the trigger. It flew and detonated in the mass of creatures. He saw the silhouettes of some of them as they vanished in a ball of fire, smoke, and lethal shrapnel.

He fired his last rocket and watched as another group of Lakadors disappeared into a ball of fire. He watched as the Army Engineers below rigged the roadblock with C4. They ran off and the blockade exploded. The convoy soon drove through the smoke and onwards.

Miller's squad moved through the office building and through a hole that lead to another building. Soon, they were at the foot of the government compound. The tanks settled outside and the Army GIs stormed the building. The Marines hung outside the building. The rain was getting harder and Miller was thankful that he was inside a building.

By 5 in the afternoon, they had secured the compound and they were in the process of rebooting the defense center. Miller was in the fist floor of his building, waiting for the news of what would happen along with any other interesting thing. Behind him was the entrance to the basement, but he just sat on top of a table in front of the door. The rest of his squad was hanging around as well. Some were asleep while others played cards.

Miller sat and watched as they did so. He sighed. As a native of Earth, he really didn't feel at home here. He missed his quite home town back on Earth. He lived in a nice little town in Florida and it was a far cry the way he was living now to back then. Now he sort of regretted joining the Marines. He wanted a bit of action, but he had no idea that he would end up in this. In the 5 years, he only got to see home about once. His unit was supposed to be shipped back to Earth for leave, but then Desmal fell under attack and they were called to arms.

He sighed. Thunder boomed outside and rain fell in sheets and covered the streets. The water sipped from the roof and other the floor. The smell of rain came through the broken glass of the front wall and door and Miller smelled it. He felt a bit of the moisture come into the room and he felt it slap against his face.

There were faint sounds of gunfire in the distance, for there were still Lakadors in the city. It was a large city and the 600 man UERAF didn't really have enough troops to spread around the city. They were only spread around the compound and near the coastal areas.

Suddenly there was a loud CRACK that went over anything that the thunder was doing. That sound was followed by the sound of crumbling concrete and screams. Miller walked outside to find the Lakador Frigate that had been over Jacksonberg over Marsha City. The City's anti-ship defenses came online and missiles streaked up to the Frigate. The overwhelming amount of missiles disabled and craft and it plummeted into the ocean off the coast of the city.

Miller looked harder and saw an ominous silhouette in the clouds. It looked like another ship. A beam of purple spout from the tip of the figure and connected with the ground. A large piece of the city was almost vaporized on impact.

Miller fell to his feet. He paid no attention to the wet ground as he realized what he was looking at. He had heard of these Leviathan Class Dreadnaughts before. These were Lakador ships of terrible power that could gut any UERNF ship. The only ship able to fight them was the legendary UERNF Capital Class Cruiser Spyridon, but it was never around to fight them. These ships had powers of legendary proportions though. They could obliterate entire cities and entire points on a planet. He had heard stories of the devastation caused by these monstrosities at the Battle of New Athena. The colony was almost pulverized by the ships. If it hadn't been for the Spyridon, there wouldn't have been a colony left to defend.

Now there one was, sitting in high orbit, obliterating the city. More explosions rocked the area and he ran into the building he had been in. He returned to his spot and looked back. The other Marines were trying to seek cover but a purple explosion appeared in front of building in the street. The Marines in front of him vanished in the purple light and he felt himself being pushed back. He fell into the open basement door and felt the blackness consume him. He passed out.

Several Hours later...

Miller came to, sitting in the damp basement of the building he had once been. The entrance had caved in, but there was an air duct that lead out of the basement. He walked over, crawled inside and felt cold air flow all over him. He had lost most of his gear in the blast, but he still had his Carbine assault weapon. He slowly moved until he reached the end of the duct. There was a panel in his way, but one kick fixed that. He crawled out and found himself inside a subway tunnel. Parts of it had collapsed, but it was better then a damp basement. He walked around a bit and sat on a bench.

He wondered if anyone top side had survived. Usually when a Leviathan Dreadnaught is called in, there are no survivors. He was amazed that even he was alive. He sighed and stood up. He walked down the rails of the subway and went to the nearest terminal. He climbed the steps and came into a subway station. It was battered and destroyed. He came to the entrance and found large parts of Marsha City on fire. There was also a massive storm dropping massive amounts of rain on the city. Most of the buildings in the city had either fallen or were vaporized.

The Dreadnaught had done its work and Miller noticed that it had moved from its orbit. He did see MYTHIS Lakador light drop ships coming into the area. He cursed and ran behind a pile of fallen ruble. A MYTHIS came down and dropped of Lakadors. He heard them snarling in their own language and they went around. Their armor sparkled as the rain hit it and they looked all the more evil. Their reptilian skin reminded Miller of dragons, though dragons were just a myth. These creatures were real and were a real threat.

He picked up his Carbine and felt the water drip all over his face. He wished he had his helmet; it had fallen off during the blast. He kept in the shadows until they went and entered other buildings. He noted one Lakador with a tail, very unusual for Lakadors. He must have been their leader or something. He got up and ran off into an apartment building across from him. Upon entering, he had to move slowly as the building had partially caved in and made it difficult to proceed. He managed to traverse it to other side and came into a kitchen. It was small and there was a window. He officially declared this kitchen his new home, at least until they either killed him or he managed to find a better one.

He sighed and sat down. He was drenched from the rain and just needed a minute to think. The entire operation had been a failure. They didn't anticipate a dreadnaught to come and attack. The defenses could protect from anything but a Dreadnaught. Now the only hope for Desmal was crushed and it looked like Miller was stuck here. There was no way to call for help, no way to get off this world, and no way to possibly last any longer then a few hours without supplies or good shelter.

He grabbed his Carbine and walked to the small entrance. He squeezed out and ran to the wall that ran parallel to the street. He peered outside. Nobody. He darted out to a building right next to his and checked his back. Nobody saw him. He slowly walked through the halls. They were empty. He heard footsteps nearby and jumped behind a fallen piece of wall. He molded his body to where he could swiftly move into a position to fire his rifle if need be. He heard the all too familiar metal clicks that resonated from a Lakador's boot. The creature sniffed the air and walked along. Miller sat where he was, hoping the creature just passed without noticing him.

Once the halls were quite again Miller slowly left his cover. He felt the sweat all over his face, mainly from the muggy hallways and the encounter with the Lakador. He moved slowly and came to a hall where the lights were all out and it was pitch black. He walked slowly, clicking on the flashlight that was attached to his weapon. The light flickered, but a quick hit with his fist got the light working again. The hallway looked like it was about to fall apart. The wood was rotted, water was leaking through it and onto the floor. There were pieces of fallen wood and broken plaster that littered the floor.

As he walked his light gave out again. He cursed, hit the light a second time and was rewarded with its reactivation. However, this time there was a Lakador standing in the hallway.

"Ah shit..." Miller muttered. This Lakador didn't carry a rifle. Instead on its side sat a sheath. It reached for it and grasped onto a solid metal sword. It roared it its language and charged him. Miller brought his Carbine to bear and squeezed the trigger. Instead of hearing the loud TAT, TAT, TAT, of the rifle's report, he heard the constant CLACK from the guns port. It was jammed. He looked franticly at the gun, smacked it, but to no avail. The Lakador swung the blade, and Miller managed to leap to the side.

It slashed to the side and Miller used the gun to deflect the sword. The creature staggered but came again. Miller grasped his gun to where he could deflect blows and managed to block another strike. The Lakador, however, hit his gun with enough force to throw Miller off. The creature slashed at him and cut his thigh. Though it was a slash essentially, it still hurt like hell. Miller screamed in pain and the Lakador brought its boot to bare and kicked Miller onto the floor. The Marine struggled to his feet only to get the butt of the sword's handle to his face.

He grunted and managed to roll out of the way. He had just avoided a lethal thrust. He picked up a brick and flung it at the creature. It caught it in the face and the creature staggered back and dropped the sword. Miller took this chance and dashed at the blade. The Lakador did the same and they were both locked in a brutal fight over it. Miller was unfortunate to grasp the sharp end of the blade, but his gloved hands caught the sharp edge. However, he still let go of it and instead kicked the creature to the floor. Miller then reached for his combat knife that was strapped to his left leg and thrust it into the creature's arm. It screamed and he pulled it out. He couldn't stab it in the chest, not with its armor. But, there was one target he could still get. He hit the creature with the butt of the knife's handle and then drove it's blade into the Lakador's neck. It screamed and blue blood ran from the wound.

He retrieved the knife and collapsed onto the floor. He was in a sitting position and he tried to regain his breathe. That thing almost got him. It was a good thing there weren't more of them, or he would be finished. He reached for his Carbine and found that a bullet had gotten stuck in the ejection port. He must have not noticed it before. He pulled the empty cartridge from the port and pulled its lever back. It loaded a fresh cartridge into place and he shouldered the gun. The weapon's flashlight had been helpful. It had reflected off of the creature's armor and managed to help him see. Now he had to get out of here. He slowly went back only to hear foot steps behind him. It sounded like Lakador language. They were probably looking for their buddy. He had to get out of there, now.

He sprinted out of the hallway and back into the building's front lobby. He ducked behind a trash can when a squad of Lakadors ran down the street. He poked his head out to ensure they were gone and quickly went to the building that he had been in before. He went through the caved in hallway and came back into his kitchen. He sighed and sat down on a fallen piece of wood.

He looked up. On the other side of the kitchen there was a window. He got up and walked over to it. He peered outside. The rain was falling hard now and a few streams were falling from the roof and onto the ground. There was an alley outside that window with a few gardens and other things. On the opposite side there was another apartment complex. Inside he saw something. It was food. Perfect.

He smashed the window with his Carbine and rolled out into the rain. He dashed over to the other apartments and did the same and entered. He came inside and found a few cold plates of spaghetti. There was a microwave nearby and a quick check ensured that it was plugged in and was receiving power. He placed the plates of food in there, shut the door and started to heat them up. He walked over to the refrigerator nearby and opened it. To his delight there were some bottled water, Coke Cola, and a few cans of Diet Root Beer. He grabbed a can of Coke and walked over to the table. He grabbed the spaghetti out of the microwave and sat down and took a bite. It tasted marvelous.

He kept eating the food, slurping down the noodles and meat. He had been eating military field rations for the past few days so an actual hot meal was very welcomed. He warmed up another plate and finished off that as well. After finishing another can of soda, he sat in the chair, patted his belly and sighed. That was the best damn meal he had had, ever.

He stood up, retrieved his Carbine, and walked out of the room. He walked through the apartment and was surprised with the lack of damage. Sure, there were cracks here and there, broken plaster and fallen boards, but other then that, the apartment was in perfect condition. He walked around cautiously though, you could never tell what was around the corner.

He slowly swept each of the rooms of the apartment until he was in the bed room. He looked out the window and into the rain. The other half of the city had almost been vaporized by the orbital bombardment. Much of the other half was severally damaged. Some buildings, like this one, were almost untouched. Others, like the one he had been in earlier, were a wreck.

He sighed and sat down on the bed. He was still a bit wet from his run in the rain, but he was drying off now. He stood up walked through the rooms one more time and locked the main entrance to the apartment. This would make a much better area to operate from. Well, as long as the Lakadors didn't vaporize the whole city.

He walked back into the bedroom and watched as the rain fell and large puddles formed in the alleyways and streets. Night was beginning to fall and thunder continued to boom throughout the remnants of Marsha. He lay down in the bed and closed his eyes. He had survived the first day after the abandonment of Desmal. Could he survive the next day? What about the next week? Next month? How long would it be before any help came? Would there even be help? All these questions filtered through his head and finally after an hour of lying in the bed Miller fell asleep.

Miller opened his eyes. More thunder boomed in the city, which woke him up. He sat up in the bed, yawned and stretched. His mouth felt a bit dry and he was still racking his mind to search for the dream he had had last night. It had been a weird one. There were symbols of leaves, weird creatures, almost like dragons, and Lakadors. Except these Lakadors weren't out to kill him. True, there were rumors of friendly Lakadors helping the UER; they weren't really seen in the public eye if at all.

The leaf struck him as odd though. He passed it off as a reference to the corn stalks they had been walking through yesterday and walked off. He went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. It still worked. There was still running water. There was also electricity too. He wondered how long both would last though, after a power plant is abandoned, its computers can keep the system going, but without human controllers, the plants would shut down in a few hours to days. Some of the hydroelectric plants were exceptions, allowing power to course through the grids for years without human controllers. However, the plant supplying Marsha city with energy was a nuclear one which would shut down soon. He would have to make the best of the remaining electricity.

He took a hot shower and washed his uniform. He also made some breakfast and watched as it sprinkled outside. He finished and counted the amount of ammo and supplies he had. He had to brush up on water and supplies before the power and water went out. He had to go and visit the other apartments in the building to gather up supplies.

He only had his Carbine and his combat knife. He only had 4 clips of .30 ammunition for the Carbine left. That came out to around 160 rounds of ammunition. That wouldn't last him very long if he ran into heavy opposition. He would have to find ammo from anywhere he could get it from. He also wanted to find a pistol to replace the one he lost in the blast. He grabbed his Carbine, checked that the flashlight worked in case he needed it, and walked out of the apartment and down the hall.

He went to the first apartment down the hall and walked inside. It was a bit messier then the one he had been in, though it wasn't a complete wreck. He walked through, his Carbine at the ready to strike if needed. There were no contacts in the apartment. He moved to the kitchen and found a cabinet full of canned goods. He grabbed a backpack from the closet and put them in there. He also got lots of ice from the freezer and put it into a small cooler. He put some more ice into the backpack and put some meat in there.

He walked with the cooler back to his own apartment but walked with the backpack to the next one. The next one he did the same, grabbed canned goods, put meat into the ice, and grabbed water, chips, and any other drinks that were left. He went back to his apartment, deposited what he found, and grabbed a new backpack. He walked up a staircase and to the next floor. He walked into the first door on the right and scanned the area with his Carbine. Satisfied that it was clear, he walked to the kitchen.

He set his pack down and saw a TV nearby. It was a flat screen and a shiny black box sat next to it. He chuckled. It was an ancient Playstation 3. It was a popular gaming system made by Sony 200 years ago. It was also the last console Sony made before it and its rival company, Microsoft, merged into Microson. It was also the last system they made that could play their original Playstation 1 games. That's what made it a nice collectable to have. In fact, he saw a few old Playstation 1 games sitting next to the console. There was a copy of Crash Bandicoot, as well as a few others. He pondered playing some of the old stuff but he decided that time was of the essence.

As he filled his pack, he heard sounds coming from nearby. He raised his Carbine and walked carefully to the sounds. They sounded like muffled crying. They went silent as his boots hit the floor hard on accident. He moved to a doorway where it was coming from and slowly peered inside.

He saw two bodies lying on the floor. They were both humans, civilians. One was male while the other was female. The woman was lying face down while the male was sitting slumped against the wall. There were dark energy burns on them which meant Lakadors had killed them both. He sighed and walked into the room, still scanning as he went. Blood stained the floor and it looked as if they were trying to run away from the Lakadors. He heard more crying sounds and he looked around. He walked over to the closet and opened it up. In it there was a small girl, curled up into a ball. There was a puddle of water next to her, probably from crying. When she heard him open the door she screamed and backed up to the end of the closet.

He was surprised that there were any civilian survivors in Marsha at all. There were a lot of civilians on the planet since the evacuation hadn't been complete, but he would have thought any still here in Marsha would have been killed for sure.

The little girl whimpered. She was a bit frightened of him. He hadn't really ever been around younger kids and sort of saw them as an annoyance. He sighed. He reached into his pack and retrieved a small candy bar. He offered it to her and she looked it over before reached out with a small hand to accept it. He turned around and started to leave when he heard the small pitter patter of feet behind him. He turned around to see the little girl walk up to him and she tugged on his pant leg.

"Mr.? What's your name?" She asked in a small voice.

"Uh... it's Shaun Miller." He said back to her.

"Hi Shaun! Mine's Hanna!" She said excitedly towards him. He groaned internally. She finished with candy bar and smiled up at Miller. He smiled sheepishly back.

"Well, I'd better go." Miller said silently.

"Mr. Shaun? Can I come with you?" She asked. He sighed, but looking at her dead parents slowly agreed.

"Sure, follow me." He hesitantly replied.

"Yay!" She ran around him in circles.

"Shaun, can we go get Mr. Nunu?"

"Nunu?" Miller asked, a bit dumbfounded.

"Yeah! He's over here!" She ran out of the room and past the bodies of her parents. She eyed them as she left and Miller slowly followed her out of the room. He followed her into another room. This one had pink wallpaper with a bed with flowers and unicorns on it. It was her bedroom. She grabbed a small teddy bear off the bed and ran over to Miller.

"Mr. Nunu! Nunu say hi to the nice man." She said.

"It's nice to meet you... Nunu." He said sheepishly as he playfully shook the bear's hand. She giggled and ran around him in circles. He smiled. He led her out of the room and she continued to circle him and hold the teddy bear above her head and made a sound with her lips. It was supposed to be an airplane, but had that child-like sound to it. She stopped when she saw her parents lying on the ground again.

"Shaun? What's wrong with them? They haven't gotten up and I'm hungry. Daddy put me in the closet without giving me any food... Those monsters did something to them didn't they?"

"Well... your parents... just ran out of batteries... yeah that's it. Those 'monsters' took the power right out of them. They are bad things." He said back to her. He didn't know if she understood the concept of death, but he had to tell her something.

"Maybe we can find some new batteries for them!" She said. She ran over to a drawer and pulled out some double a batteries. She presented them to Miller.

He grasped the hand that the batteries were in and knelt down to where his face was level with hers.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy." She looked at him confused.

"You can't just put in new batteries like your toys. Once you run out, you run out."

"So I won't ever see them again?" She asked, a tear forming in her eyes.

"I'm afraid not...' She started to cry and he cringed.

"Oh geez... stop crying, please." He had never dealt with children before, so this was going to be difficult. He sighed and brought her close. She kept crying until she started to fall asleep. When she did, he hoisted her onto his shoulder and grabbed Mr. Nunu and went into her room and grabbed her blanket and a few other things. He also went and grabbed some more food from the cabinet and shouldered his M78C Carbine.

He returned to the apartment that he had been in and set his equipment down. He sighed as he placed her on another bed that was in the apartment. He put her blanket on her and put her teddy close. He walked back to his own bed and looked out of the window. The electricity was mercilessly still on and there was still water pumping through the pipes. Water still fell from the sky and it was dark with clouds. Thunder boomed and Miller frowned. Now he had to take care of this little girl. Worse, there was an army of creatures that wanted them dead.

He sat down in his own bed and closed his eyes. This was going to be a touch one for him. Even so, at least they were still alive. He slowly fell asleep.

Miller awoke to the soft sounds of breathing and of rain hitting against the window. He turned to see Hanna sleeping right next to him, Mr. Nunu in her hands. He grumbled as he got up and walked over to check if the power was still on. It was. He walked into the shower and washed his uniform again as he got cleaned up. As he was brushing his teeth and checking the gas, Hanna walked into the kitchen.

"Shaun, why do you mumble in your sleep?" She asked.

"I don't know... why were you in the bed with me?" He was a bit irritated; he never had much patience with younger ones.

"I was scared... the thunder was scary..." He made a snap at her in his mind and put a plate of eggs on the table. He sat down and started to eat his eggs. She looked at her eggs.

"Mom always puts ketchup on my eggs..." She said in a disappointed tone. Getting frustrated, Miller grabbed a bottle of ketchup and put it in front of her. She looked at him with a sad look but he paid her no mind and ate his food. She slowly ate her breakfast, playing with it a bit as she went.

Miller finished and took a final sip of his water. He walked off and put the plate in the sink. Hanna watched him the whole time as he left the kitchen. She picked up Mr. Nunu and pressed him against her chest.

"Nunu, why is he so upset?" She asked in a sad tone.

Miller walked through the halls and sat on the bed. He had to find more supplies before anything happened. Hanna walked over into the bedroom and sat on the bed. Miller was in such deep thought that be didn't even notice her.

"Mr.? What are you mean?" She asked. He looked at her but didn't answer her question. He pulled out some candy.

"Here, go and eat it over there, I'm trying to think." She pushed the candy down.

"No candy, why are you mean!" She said.

"Mean, what do you me-"

"Why are you so unhappy?"

"I guess it's cause of what's going on. You wouldn't understand." He finally said.

"Tell me Mr."

"You won't understand what's going on." He said to her, standing up off the bed. Hanna backed up a step or two and brought Mr. Nunu to her face. She imitated what would have been the bear's voice if it could talk.

"Mr. Shaun is just a meany! He can't tell me what it is cause he's a big dodo head!" Miller got mad at this.

"You want to know? You really want to know? It's because of this whole damn war! Everybody dying and it's us getting our asses handed to us! You know those monsters out there? The ones that drain your batteries? They are trying to kill us! Everyone else is dead Hanna!" He put his finger up to her chest for emphasis.

"All. Dead." He walked over to the window with Hanna still standing behind him.

"Everybody on this damn world is dead, and there's nothing I can do but wait until those bastards come here and kill us. I'm so fucking useless!" He sat down on the bed and Hanna scooted up to him.

"Well we aren't dead yet Shaun. Can't we enjoy our time? If everybody is dead from the monsters, then how come you found me? Maybe everybody isn't dead... maybe there's more of us." Miller sighed. He patted the little girl's head and offered her the candy again.

"Thanks kid." She smiled, bit the candy, and nuzzled against him. He started to rub her back and for once didn't feel fear, helplessness, or anger. He felt like he was doing something for once. Something with meaning. He was giving this kid another father.

"So you wanna play a game?" He asked.

"Sure Mr.!"

"Ok, well we can play this game I found. Have you ever played go fish?"

"Yeah, my parents played that with me before! I love that game!" She squealed in delight. He grabbed a deck of cards and started to distribute the cards accordingly. They started their little game and he rigged it to where she would win and he lost all the time. They laughed and they enjoyed it until they heard sounds coming from the front door. Hanna let out a small whimper of fear and Miller held out his hand to be quiet. He grabbed his Carbine and slowly walked over to the door, gun at the ready.

He heard the all too familiar click of Lakador boots and heard them talking in their language. He cursed and slowly went behind a wall that ran parallel to the entrance. He waited until they made the first move.

The door swung open and three Lakadors entered in a triangle formation. The lead carried a sharp sword while the two to his sides carried energy rifles at the ready. Miller counted to three and moved from his cover. He exposed his side as he swung out and fired an un-aimed burst. It caught the left Lakador and it fell over. The other fired at him and Miller retreated into cover. He ducked as the dark energy heated the wall. He moved his gun and fired a long 'blind' fired burst. He heard a cry of pain and a roar of anger. He dared a look and saw The Lakador carrying the rifle lying on the ground, a wound in its leg. The one with the sword charged him. He tried to bring his rifle to bear, but it was too fast. He had to back up and use his rifle to deflect the blow.

He caught the sword and blocked it with his Carbine. He applied strength and moved the Lakador off of him. The Lakador staggered back and snarled as it prepared to strike again. Miller moved his gun into position and squeezed off a burst. It missed horribly and the Lakador slashed at him. Miller didn't get a chance to prepare and was hit by the blade. His standard Marine armor consisted of a metal breast plate which caught the blade and saved him from essentially being chopped in half. He was still knocked back and off his feet. As he moved his head he saw Hanna on all fours on the floor. She was keeping low and Miller had to protect her. He struggled to get back up, but the Lakador put its boot on him. The Lakador kicked the Carbine across the room and it skidded to a halt near Hanna.

The Lakador moved the blade right over Miller's throat. He grabbed the creature's arms and tried to keep it at bay. However, it was stronger them him so it slowly got the better of him. He felt something wash over him though. It was a duty to protect Hanna. She had already lost her parents and was alone in this world. He wouldn't let this thing end her as well. He felt renewed strength wash over him, but it wasn't enough. He had to protect her though. He had to. Suddenly he felt something inside of him open up and he felt his hands explode with energy.

Suddenly a shotgun like blast of green erupted from his hands. The Lakador's armor was cracked by the tremendous amount of force unleashed in the blast. It flew up and hit the ceiling of the apartment. It came crashing down to the ground and it slowly started to stand up.

Miller stared at his hands in disbelief. What the hell had he just done? Before he could react, the creature drew a side arm and fired at Miller. He screamed as a sphere of dark energy collided with his side. The clothing vaporized and his skin heated up to a super high temperature. He fell onto the floor and the Lakador retrieved its blade. It approached Miller and prepared a strike, but never finished it.

A loud TAT, TAT, TAT, of an M78C Carbine exploded in the room. The Lakador caught the blunt of the heavy .30 Armor Piercing ammunition and it easily sliced through its already abused armor. The collapsed onto the floor, dead.

Miller turned his head and saw Hanna, sitting against the wall, the Carbine gripped tightly in her small arms. She had saved him. He walked slowly and then felt something hot and painful in his back. He screamed in pain as he turned just in time to see a Lakador standing there, energy rifle in hand. It was the one that Miller injured but never finished off. Miller felt his back go cold and his nerves shut down as the energy penetrated his armor and had burned his back. He fell to the floor and Hanna screamed as she fired the Carbine again. The Lakador flipped onto its back and died just like that. Hanna dropped the Carbine and crawled over to Miller.

"Oh you're hurt! I'll go get help!" She said as she ran out of the room. Miller used the last of his strength to reach out to her... to tell her not to go out by herself. However, he started to loose his vision and he passed out.

Hanna ran as fast as her little legs would allot her to. She ran through the apartment halls clinging onto Mr. Nunu and dragging the M78C Carbine behind her. The gun was heavy, about 12 pounds which wasn't easy for her to hold. She dragged it behind her and continued through the halls. She came out to a pathway that was covered by roofing that lead out onto the rain covered parking lot for the apartment complex. She ran through the pathway and to the opposite building. She went through the back and let the gun clatter to the ground. She sat next to a collapsed wall. Water came through the holes in the structure and she felt a rain drop hit her shoulder.

She sighed.

"Mr. Nunu... where am I going to find help for nice Shaun?" She asked the partially wet teddy bear that she was holding. A tear fell from her eye and she looked out to the street right across from her. She saw a small shimmer and she got closer to the collapsed wall. Suddenly a portal snapped open and two figures shot out onto the ground.

The two figures looked like monsters, though they didn't wear any armor. One was purple while the other was black. One stood up on all four of its legs, unlike the monsters. It also spoke clear English. She listened in to what it said. It was a male voice.

"Ah... what the hell... Volteer, what... happened?" The purple figure asked. Hanna watched closely. She slowly walked back to the Carbine and dragged it to the broken concrete. She moved it to where the barrel was pointing out. She managed to get it to fire before, now she just had to do it again. She put it against her shoulder and placed the grip of the weapon on the concrete so the concrete took most of the weight. As she did, a rock tumbled and hit the ground nearby. Both creatures looked right where she was. She got scared. She had to act, and fast! She put her finger in the trigger and tried to pull it. Both creatures came at her and she pushed down harder. The gun erupted as it fired a small burst of 3 rounds.

The recoil knocked her back and one of the creatures was hit in the foot. It screamed in pain and the other speed at her. The black one came at her and came through the debris and pinned her against a wall. Suddenly the black one called of its attack and let her go. Hanna sat petrified as she watched the black creature look her over. The black one looked over to the purple one who was licking the wound Hanna gave him.

"Spyro... come over here would you and look at this!" The black one said. It was a feminine voice. Why did the name 'Spyro' sound so familiar? She had heard it before and then it hit her. Her father had bought an ancient Playstation 3 and a few old games. One of them was a game called 'Spyro the Dragon'. It was an ancient game from the 1990s, but it was still fun to play. He looked just like the dragon from the game except he looked different. A few features looked different but she swore he looked just like him.

"Mr. Nunu look! It's Spyro the Dragon!" She said, raising her bear to her chest. The black dragon looked at the girl.

"How do you know my name?" Spyro asked. He didn't think any human would know of him... but it had been 5 years.

"You from a video game!" She said.

"What's a video game?" Cynder asked, the black dragoness looking confused.

"It's fun! I will show you-" Hanna's thoughts then changed to Miller who sat bleeding in the apartment.

"Oh Mr. Spyro! I need your help! Bad monsters have hurt my friend! Come quick!" Spyro and Cynder watched as Hanna grabbed Mr. Nunu and tried to carry the heavy Carbine. Spyro grabbed the weapon in his muzzle and flinched as the pain from his wound throbbed. He ignored it and nodded to Hanna who smiled and ran through the path which she had come.

They went through the apartments and into the one where there were bodies of Lakadors. They went into the room where Miller was.

"A Marine?" Cynder asked. They both rushed to his side as he lay still. Blood oozed from his wound where the energy had hit him. They removed his back metal plate and his Kevlar bullet-proof vest. They saw the burns, they looked ugly. The skin was scorched and blood came from the wounds. Spyro breathed a bit of ice, cooling the heated skin. Cynder grabbed some cloth and tore it apart with her maw. She used her front leg to place the cloth on the wound and she pressed down to stop the blood. Spyro tried to wake up Miller, but he only moaned in response.

"Damn, how longs he been bleeding?" Cynder asked as more blood came out.

"A few minutes..." Hanna said hesitantly. She was a bit scared from the sight of so much blood.

"Damn... he won't wake up!" Spyro said. He shook the Marine again and they heard heavy footfalls behind them.

"Step away from the girl and the Marine you piece of shit!"

End of Chapter 2

Damn, they just got there and they are already in trouble. Can Miller be another chosen one? Find out in chapter 3! As soon as I type it...