Watson gasped as his ran, his breath dry and ragged.

He heard the footsteps behind, the ground shaking with each step. Underneath the gas mask, his face was sweaty, and the eyepieces grew foggy. Watson felt the tears welling up. His knees wanted to give up. He wanted to just stop, lie down, and surrender.

But he kept on keeping on. One step at a time, one foot after another.

People were relying on him. He wasn’t used to that; the last few weeks were full of firsts.

Ahead of him, the corridor sloped into a staircase. To the left was a room. He could hear the sounds of chatter ahead of him. They were headed his way and growing closer. The footsteps behind him never ceased.

Watson gulped and stopped for a moment. He didn’t know what to do. He’d been feeling lost for a while now. But this wasn’t the time to hesitate; he needed to do something. Hoping that nobody would be there, Watson quickly jolted to the door, stepping inside.

The room was breakroom. It was built for a large amount of personnel, and it was empty. Tables and couches were strewn about, and machines big and small populated the corners. Making a quick decision, Watson reached for two lighter-looking tables, and knocked them in front of the door.

The footsteps grew near. Kicking a couch over, Watson hid. Fumbling for his belt, he clasped his mace grenade. When the first shadows neared the open door, he flung the metal tube.

Watson shrieked instinctively as the Lizards fired a couple rounds, but they all missed. They backed down as the grenade began leaking the gas, the mace causing them to cough and stumble. But this was no time to celebrate. The ventilation was turned on.

Frantically looking around, Watson looked for a solution. He needed to distract them. If Jones- no, when Jones got into the command center, he could be saved.

Watson found his answer on a nearby counter. On it, a bottle of Vodka. Watson reached for it. He’d packed a lighter for Jones. Nearby was a stack of tissues. He didn’t know how it was exactly supposed to work, but he stuffed the paper inside, lit it, and threw the grenade at the dissipating smoke.

----------------------------------------

Jones ran and ran. He encountered little resistance. Only a single guard tried to stop him, and he got a bullet to the head for the trouble.

Ahead was a commotion. Somehow, he knew that was where he’d find his friend. What he didn’t expect was the welcome smell of arson. As he peeked the corner, he saw a myriad of figures. Two giant creatures ignored the flames and stumbled into the room. Standing nearby was a group of Skinks, waiting patiently for the fire to subside. There was a bang.

Jones didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the frag grenade and unpinned it with his mouth. After judging the distance, he threw the grenade. It landed on a guard’s foot, who jumped in surprise. The grenade exploded into bits like a fountain; the flames scattered and vanished.

He didn’t have time to behold his handiwork. Jones ran, grabbing two P90’s off the ground. He ducked next to the doorframe and checked inside.

The room was full of gas, and he saw two giant shadows standing inside. Jones clutched the triggers on both guns, the sights aimed at the giants.

----------------------------------------

Watson shivered. He felt fear from toe to head, and he dared not peek. Moment after moment, steps closed in, and the earth shook around him.

Bollocks. That’s what this was. What could he do?

He gripped his pistol tight and brought it up. He stilled his shaking and glanced at the craftsmanship. This was it, he supposed. Watson fumbled for the magazine release.

But the magazine was empty. He’d forgotten to load it beforehand. He felt his blood run cold, and he really wanted to cry. But before he could give up, before the pistol was dropped, he realized that the lever was just slightly tilted.

Curiously, he checked the chamber. A single bullet was loaded. It had been for a while.

His hand stilled. He felt a silent courage welling up inside him, unyielding to the situation. The sounds grew closer, overpowering the crackling of the flames. Quickly, Watson unholstered his final flashbang, and threw it over his head. Hearing the deafening roar, he rolled for another couch, and unleashed his final mace grenade.

Watson didn’t expect to do much. This would buy him a minute or two or best. During his roll, he got a glimpse of his enemies. Two giant Lizards, their chrome scales glimmering in the fire. But to his surprise, he heard a loud bang, followed by constant gunfire.

One giant fell right beside him, dozens of little needle-like holes riddling his body. Watson nearly gasped and revealed his position. Somebody was here- somebody was helping him.

Watson peeked out, only to find the Lizard aiming his sights at Jones, who was retreating into cover. Without even thinking, he raised his pistol, jumped from his cover, and let the bullet loose.

A single piece of lead lodged itself into the giant’s eye.

----------------------------------------

Jones heard a furious roar. He turned to find the second Lizard’s claws swiping for Watson.

Jones grinned. He unholstered his pistol and let the savagery loose. He made sure to make each bullet count; one in the crotch, two in the chest, and another two in the head. Were it any other pistol, it wouldn’t have done much. But it was his Desert Eagle.

The second Lizard slumped. It went for a final swipe, and then meekly fell to the floor.

Jones dashed ahead, his lips still curled. “Jesus, Watson.” He said. “Good job.”

Watson leaned against the wall. The gas was gone, and he’d undone his mask. He drew uneven breaths. “Th- thank god you’re- here, Jones.” He slid onto the ground. “B- but, the command center?”

Jones spat on the floor. “I heard you yelp like a baby,” he said, “couldn’t leave ya behind.”

Watson looked puzzled, but eventually just sighed. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Jones said. He reached a hand out, helping Watson up. “Come on. We’ve gotta get going.”

“Just give me a second.” Watson took deep breaths. ”I- I think I’m ready. Let’s go before it’s too late.”

Suddenly, the lights dimmed. Replacing it was the cacophony of sirens and flashing red lights.

“I think we may be a little late.” Jones said.

“Oh no…” Watson moaned. “What do we do?”

Jones stepped around. He bent over and reached for the dead body. ”We fight, obviously.” He grabbed the oversized rifle. “You go get that SMG over there.”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

The intercoms flicked on with a sizzle. The two tensed up, preparing for the worst.

But what came through was a familiar voice. ”This is Ben Dover, the commanding officer of the Insurgents.” Jones coughed. ”We have control of the command center. This is a warning to all defenders- that is, the Lizardmen agents. Stand down.”

“That motherfucker.” Jones said, pointing his middle finger.

Watson weakly smiled. “We won, didn’t we?”

----------------------------------------

The following hours were hectic. Mass arrests, confiscation of weapons, all the ‘boring crap’, as Jones lovingly called it. Thankfully, that duty was taken over by the snipers and scientists, and the insurgents got a good night’s sleep.

When Jones stumbled out of his cot, he found Watson already sipping on a cup of tea. They’d snuggled up in a campsite outside. The cots were shit, and the blankets were thin, but it was better than nothing.

Jones joined Watson. He was staring forlornly at the stars.

“What’s up?” Jones said, sitting himself down. “You’re lookin’ down.”

Watson smiled. ”Nothing.” He said. “I’ve just been pondering how fast this is going.”

“You tell me.” Jones laughed. He reached for a pocket and pulled out a flask. “I ain’t been here for more than, what, five weeks? Six?”

Watson contemplated for a moment. ”I didn’t keep count, honestly.” He said. “But this is all new to me, too. You don’t seem nearly that overwhelmed.”

“Maybe I don’t.” Jones said. He took a sip and stared out into the stars.

Watson stared at him. “You know.” He gulped. ”I’m just curious sometimes.”

“‘Bout what?” Jones took another sip.

“Why you… Well, turned out that way.” Watson said. “I mean, you tell me about your world, and… It doesn’t sound that bad, honestly. No giant Lizards, I mean.”

Jones laughed. “That’s what you’re wonderin’ about?”

Watson looked away. “I don’t know. I figured I’d fit right in.”

“You would.” Jones chuckled. “Average middle class white kid. Sure would fit right in”.

“I see.”

“But I didn’t.” Jones said. “What more can I tell you?”

Watson shifted around uncomfortably. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sure you know.” Jones smiled. “We ain’t got huge lizards, but it’s still the same. The big, powerful, popular kids on the playground... And us, the rest.”

“Guess it’s childish of me, but I ain’t gonna stick for a system like that.” Jones put down his flask. ”That’s what I always thought.”

The two sat in silence for a while. As Watson’s tea grew cold and untouched, Lisa stepped in.

“Good evening, gents.” She said. “Or morning? It’s sunrise soon. What’re you two up to?”

Jones turned to look at her. “Just tellin’ Watson here some more Earth stories.” He tapped Watson’s shoulder. ”Well, my Earth.”

“That’s perfect, then.” Lisa’s lips curled into a smile. “I was here because of that, actually.”

“About… What?” Watson asked.

“Let me explain.” Another figure emerged behind her. “This is Dr. Steiner.”

Steiner bowed. He was an elderly man with germanic features. “Greetings.”

“He was the leading scientist behind the development of the Gate.” Lisa pointed at him. “And he has an explanation regarding your appearance, Jones.”

Jones blinked. ”Seriously?”

“Yes.” Steiner said. “You claim to be from a parallel world?”

“Well, yeah.” Jones said.

“And you came about six weeks ago?”

“Yes.”

Steiner smiled. ”That’s it, then.” He coughed. “You’re the result of the first successful activation of the Gate MK2.”

“Gate… MK2?” Watson said. He spat his tea out, realizing how cold it is.

“Yes. It’s an invention of mine.” Steiner smiled. “We’d finally tested it six weeks ago.”

“What does it do?” Jones stood up.

Steiner cleared his throat. ”It’s a long story, but to put it simply- unlike the last one, which is simply an anchor, this one... Serves as a magnet. It pulls objects from parallel worlds.”

Lisa stood between the two. “This is also where the problem comes in.”

“What do you mean?” Jones said. “We got the facility.”

“Well…” Steiner paused. “We transferred the MK2 to Washington last week.”

----------------------------------------

“What do you mean, we have to act immediately?” Ben punched a nearby wall. “We just captured this damn fortress!”

“Like I explained,” Lisa said, word-by-word, “we have a huge problem.”

Ben gnashed his teeth. “I’d say you’re the one with a problem.” He said. “Our boys are tired. We just used all our reserves, and we’ve got a dozen heavily wounded.”

Jones cleared his throat. “We’ve got more supplies now. Better ones, even. I checked the arsenal myself.” He said. “I don’t even know what half this shit is, but it’s lookin’ good.”

“It’s not just about that.” Ben said. “This mission right here was rash. But what you’re proposing is absolutely fucking insane.”

Watson clasped Ben’s shoulder. “Calm down.” He said, gulping. “Could you at least listen?”

Ben shook his hand away. “Don’t you start too, Watson.”

“Ben, you’re being irrational.” Lisa said.

“You’re the one being irrational here!” Ben lunged forward. “We just completed the most dangerous mission in the history of the resistance- and now, you want us to capture the White House?”

“Actually, we’re planning to capture four different locations. Including the White House.” Jones said.

Ben glared at him. “Not better.”

“It’s not as impossible as it sounds.” Lisa sighed. “We wouldn’t just go without a good reason.”

“It is impossible, is what I’m telling you.”

“We told you- like five fucking times now- that we have a goddamn plan, Ben.” Jones slammed his fist against the table.

Ben shoved him. “What’s your genius fucking plan? Getting us killed?”

“No.” Jones said. “Something far better. Steiner clued us into this one.”

“Well, must be a good idea, then, huh?” Ben snorted. “Well, why don’t you enlighten me?”

Jones paused. “We get Russia involved.”

Ben looked stupefied. “...What? How?”

“Steiner has contact with a battalion of Russian vessels right outside the Canadian border.” He said. “Years of contact, just in case something goes uncontrollably bad.”

“You… You…”

“They can be mobilized within three hours of contact, and they’ll be on American shore within twelve.” Jones said. “We checked the base, by the way. Seems like we can stir up lots of trouble from here too. We ain’t got missiles, but for some reason, there’s a direct line from here to a couple nearby nuclear plants.”

“Let me get this straight.” Ben stabilized himself using a table. “You want to- what, start a fucking war between Russia and America?”

“And use that timing to capture four strategically important targets, yes.” Lisa said. “That’s the plan we came up with.”

Ben glanced around. “You’re all crazy.”

“It’s what we have to do.” Lisa said. “We have a huge problem.”

“Just what is this problem?” Ben said. “This better be something do-or-die, because I’m seriously thinking about starting a coup right about now.”

“Um, I don’t think you should admit that.” Watson said.

“Steiner explained stuff to us.” Jones said. “Basically, we’ve got about a week left before shit hits the fan pretty bad.”

“Exactly what?”

“The MK2 Gate.” Jones said. “It’s going to be activation-ready again in one week from now. If they calibrate it right this time, they can use that to pull in more resources than ever.”

“Besides that…” Lisa said, interjecting. “He told us a lot about their command structure. We always knew the females were the ones in charge, but we didn’t get exactly how that worked.”

“The female to male ratio is insanely small. It’s about one female to every ten thousand males.” She said. “They’re larger, more powerful, and live far longer than the males. It’s a matriarchal oligarchy, essentially.”

“From what we gather, there are four Lizard females right now.” Lisa paused. “We need to capture all four of them simultaneously. If one of them runs away, and we can’t find them... We may reclaim America, but we could be facing a nasty surprise some time from now.”

“What do you mean?” Ben asked.

“Basically, they could be breeding underground, and we could get fucked a hundred years down the line.” Jones said. “So we gotta root em’ all out at once. We capture the MK2, let’s say- but we let one slip? It’s going to stay hidden and plot revenge.”

Ben sat himself down. ”You’re all insane.”

“It’s not impossible.” Lisa said. “I’m not happy with how it’s going, either, but we have a chance.”

Ben looked up. “A chance.”

“Steiner’s been plotting for years now.” She said. “He helped us contact other rebel factions. They’ve agreed to help. Honestly, this may be the best shot we’ll ever have.”

“Let me ask you, then.” Ben stood up, and laid both hands upon her shoulders. “Do you really believe, from the bottom of your heart, that this is going to work?”

Lisa gulped, then stared him right in his eyes. ”Yes.”

Ben sighed, and gave the wall a solid kick. “Ah, shit.” He said. “Fuck it. Let’s do it.”