Everyone appeared at the battlegrounds where everything was being stationed. Rosalinda looked a little ill and so did Bernado. Carmelo just blinked.

Layna sighed grabbing onto her stomach. “Warn a girl next time will ya? I’m carrying something delicate here and it does not like teleportation.”

Zen squealed. “I didn’t hurt it did I?”

“Just upset it.”

“It? What are you talking about,” asked Senka.

Layna sighed and looked at Zen who shrugged. “ Well cat’s out of the bag now,” she said smiling.

Layna glared and then turned to Senka. “Suffice to say little brother I went in inoculating Guerreros and came out pregnant.”

“Who’s the father,” Kiera asked curiously. She didn’t see Layna with anyone during those two months with the Guerreros.

“Hell if I know! It was a surprise pregnancy!”

“You slept with that many guys in two months?” Marek muttered.

Zen choked back a laugh and shook her head. “It’s part of my Galactical gift to move souls from one place to another. In this case, the real mother begged me to remove the child and I couldn’t kill it so I searched for a better mother. It led me to Layna and well I moved the baby from the mother to Layna.”

“Ok let me get this straight. You can see souls? That’s your Galactical gift? Am I right,” Senka said.

Zen nodded. “I can create them and destroy them as well as move and manipulate them. I haven’t found exactly what all I can do yet with my gift. My father must’ve seen me steal something’s soul when I was thirteen. That’s why he wanted me dead.”

“And mine is just dealing with poison,” muttered Isaias.

Zen turned to her brother and smiled. “Our gifts haven’t matured yet Isaias. Ishevara says you should be able to poison someone with a thought when we’re done maturing.”

“Heh cool.”

Marco rolled his eyes. “Only you would think that is cool Isaias. You do know if you lose control you could poison a whole bunch of innocent people.”

Isaias frowned. “Ok, not so cool after all.”

“You just have to deal with poisoning people, Isaias. I have to deal with destroying their souls if I get angry enough.”

“I’m sure you’ll both be fine. Ishevara won’t let her Guardian slip to the dark side and you won’t let Isaias slip to the dark side either,” said Senka as they began to walk downhill. They were currently standing on a hill that overlooked the whole countryside of Puerto Nuevo. What denizens lived there had been evacuated and the armies had set up base there. It was the largest open plane on Puerto Nuevo and the perfect battlefield.

Vasquez’s jaguars were trained to fight in large forested areas while the Pinguinos mainly fought on ice. Here they would be fighting in plain sight and in a fangero or mud hole. All that was needed was the rain to make the fields extra muddy. Carmelo would lead the Arachnids one way and Bernado would lead the Guerreros another giving the impression of miscommunication and discord between the two groups. But when the battle came they would unite.

Zen looked to where the snipers were setting up in strategic locations all around the plains. The army had but one way to come to them-parachuting down or landing big aircraft. The snipers could shoot them down when the time came for it and they could be rid of some bulk.

It was near midday when the first planes were spotted entering protected airspace. For Carmelo let them instead of shooting down the plane as that was customary war ethics for the Dons. As the planes got nearer Senka left to join the snipers but not before he kissed the living daylights out of Kiera surprising everyone but her.

“What?” she muttered walking over to the medical staff. She was chief of staff. Edline followed diligently. She had already argued with Marco about helping out. He said she could help out Kiera, so that’s what she was doing. She looked back at the group and prayed to the God of the Universe for their safety. Then she turned and followed Kiera to the medical tent.

At half past two, the planes were in view and the snipers got ready.

###

A soldier opened the locket and kissed the picture one more time before opening the airplane door and looking down. He didn’t want to die but his squad was handpicked by the Mistress herself to serve as a distraction for their plan to work. It had to be this way. Some had to sacrifice themselves for the whole.

He adjusted his parachute and when his Lieutenant gave the green signal, he jumped after his combat partner into the air. He floated for a few minutes before arrowing his body to the ground along with a hundred others. Just as his chute deployed he was shot down along with countless others. His cold body hit the ground.

###

Zen couldn’t make sense of this. Why are they still jumping from planes if they know they will be shot down? And it’s not the whole force either?

She didn’t understand it until the first battalion of Guerreros was taken out by an unseen force from behind. Soon more followed.

“Shit they’re under Cameo! We need a way to destroy their tech,” Isaias said to her and she nodded. Stephan raised his hands and collected the water in the atmosphere making a large tidal wave.

“Tell everyone to move,” he said.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Wait let me reset time so you can get the suckers before they attack our people,” she said.

Stephan shook his head. “We won’t know where they are then. We do now,” he relinquished the tidal wave and it crashed into the invisible force wetting the tech. Sparks lit up and then the army was visible. The Guerreros began their attack in earnest.

“Water and tech don’t go together,” he said grinning.

Zen took out her daggers. “Shall we join the fight?”

Stephan cocked one of his guns and nodded. They raced into the battle the others followed.

###

Val and Marek shot their way to a good point and Val got into a stance. Marek stood nearby shooting anyone that got too close then Val began to move and he got out of the way covering Val’s back. Val jabbed a Pinguino in the face, stepped back and thrust his metal staff into another’s ribcage, collapsing it. He swung his staff and collided with several more men before having to twirl the staff. Marek stepped into his space and began shooting the soldiers while their bullets were repelled. Then Val stopped twirling the staff and he stepped out shooting his blaster guns at more soldiers while Val systematically beat them up.

###

Marco used his wind element and teleportation to get behind other soldiers and slash their jugulars like usual except every once in a while he would have to back down and shoot his way through the throng of fighting men and women. A little farther away Isaias was slamming the butt of his gun in a soldier’s face while kicking another in the knee. He twisted and shot both dead before shooting another in the leg. Another Guerrero would get that one. He took out his whip and snapped back his wrist before letting it go. The whip had wicked scythe blades at the end and they tore through two Pinguinos. He smirked. He had to thank Carmelo for the gift.

Senka was patient as he shot another Jaguar down from the shadows. Beside him was Alejandro who was just as concentrated and quiet. Some of the others were noisier but he had trained this boy in the two months he was stationed at the Guerrero compound and he was a diligent student. He leaned into his shot and shot a Jaguar. The difference was in the uniforms. The Pinguinos wore an ice blue uniform and the Jaguars a light brown. Both were easy to spot on this plain. The key was not to hit their forces as well. He looked into the scope and spotted an enemy soldier sneaking into the medical area. No way Jose! He shot the man dead where he stood and looked for more threats, finding none. Sighing he moved on, his eagle eyes checking for usurpers in the intelligence and the Don areas. Finding none he went back to the battlefield.

###

Stephan shot some soldiers dead while choking another few with their internals. Zen slashed her knives at jugulars, shadow-warping behind soldiers and taking them out before they could turn around. She was fast and efficient, with no necessary loss of blood. Stephan shot some men around her as she danced around slicing. She spun and kicked a soldier into another before they were shot dead.

“Hey those were mine,” she said, slicing a soldier’s jugular while punching another. When the soldiers shot at her the bullets stopped in mid-air still spinning. She smiled and twisted her hand twisting the bullets to face them and let time go. The bullets arrowed back at them, taking them out of the equation. Stephan shot them in the head for good measure.

“Keep up,” he told her, grinning and shooting down another soldier while trapping a few in his water shield and leaving them there.

“Yes, my little mermaid.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” she said grinning as she took down another soldier.

Layna crept into the enemy camp wearing an icy blue uniform and skin the color of a light tan. Her eyes were a dark brown and her hair was a chestnut brown and wavy. She walked by the enemy with nary a glance. She was at just a high enough rank to get her into intelligence. There she would copy the plans and get the hell out of there before anyone noticed her. She walked with a nonchalant gate making sure to seem as if she belonged there.

Already several soldiers had nodded to her and she had nodded back. She had made sure to study intel so that she didn’t have to ask for directions to the intelligence tent. She waltzed right in and the men and women looked her over before bending over a map. She activated the record and gazed at the map.

To her knowledge, no one had used the recording device like this, only her which was a shame because it was so invaluable. Now she had to keep the red from being noticeable in her eyes.

Bernado shook the blood off his cleavers and looked over to where Rosalinda was running a man through with her sword. She wore a cameo to distract the shooters but she was just as good moving through the shadows. A silent wraith. On the other end, Carmelo shot another soldier dead while evading a gunshot and slamming into another soldier from behind stealing his gun and shooting him.

Edline watched in fascinated horror as the wounded began pouring in. Kiera ran a tight ship and she commanded the nurses to attend the worst first. She hid behind a counter and watched as they stemmed the blood flow of a Guerrero who had his leg blown off from the knee down by a Blaster gun. She whimpered and sat down not wanting to be on the battlefield any longer. Were her brothers ok? Was Zen? Isaias? Senka Marek and Val? She didn’t know and that frightened her more than watching this horror show.

###

Dark eyes took in the battlefield as his partner smiled.

“Todo está cayendo en plan,” (Everything is falling to plan.) she said overlooking the battlefield. She held the best in reserve. It was not yet time for the Lieutenants to go in. Let the squabble fight first then when they were worn send in the best.

“Manda los Tanques ya!” (Send the tanks!)

“De acuerdo.” (Very well) said D’Angelo

The ground began to rumble and Senka was almost swatted off his branch. He picked up his assassin rifle and jumped branches just as a large Roller came barging through. He looked over to Alejandro and saw that the young man had also had to move. He hoisted his gun on his back and began to climb the tree. When he got to the top he whistled. They were surrounded by monster tanks. Not good. Those things have machine guns as I recall. He commed Bernado.

“We have a huge problem. Rollers, at least twenty of them heading your way fast. What do you want us to do?” He listened and smiled. “Roger that. Team alpha will do it sir.”

He climbed down and met Alejandro explaining to him the plan. Alejandro nodded and sighed comming the rest of the team and letting them know their new orders.

“Take out the drivers. All of them.”

Marek and Val were moving like ants through the throng of men when they heard cheering and the ground began to shake. Two large Rollers came into eyesight and Val shrugged lifting his hand and stalling the big metal tanks. The tanks began shooting their machine guns but all the bullets stopped and floated in the air. Val huffed and swung his hand making two Rollers collide with each other side to side crushing the drivers. The bullets collapsed to the ground harmless and there was no more cheering, just an eerie quiet. Val got into his stance and Marek reloaded his pistol while they waited for the men to attack.

Marek sighed. “Oh come on! That couldn’t have scared you off so much! We’re even playing fair! No metal abilities except what the staff can do!”

“He took two Rollers on his own! Like toys! I’m outta here!”

“Right behind you!”

“Me too!”

Val looked at the rest of the men. “Well?”

They resumed attacking.

“Good to know there are many morons still,” Marek muttered as he cocked his gun and shot a soldier. And the dance began again.