April 18, 2056

I narrowly avoid the flames and hit the ground as the excessive heat passes over me. Ahead of me, the sentinels disperse in various directions and begin to engage with the Pyromancer.

"There's our chance! Head for the exit!" Macy orders as we get to our feet and sprint towards the door.

We're halfway there when the Pyromancer tilts his head towards us. He stops shooting and grabs one of his grenades from his waists and tosses it towards the exit. The first five Shards make it out with Shaun just in time, however, the rest of us are too late and the grenade explodes into fiery flames. Frost, Macy, and I now retreat back inside as the Pyro continues to shout and march forward.

The Divinity in the air collides with mine as I peer around the corner and watch as he shoots erratically. He's completely different from our first encounter. He's still got that silver ray emitting through his lenses only this time it's more intense.

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"We're cut off! That damn Pyro showed up again!" Macy yells into her radio.

>

"No! Start making your way to the exfil point. We'll make it out on our own."

<>

"This is an order. Follow it."

<<...Yes Ma'am. See you on the other side.>>

Right after his transmission, an explosion rocks the ground beneath as a helicopter begins to hover above us. A couple seconds later the side gunners open up on the Pyromancer, unleashing a hail of bullets on his body. Their attack is short-lived however when a pillar of flames melts through the tail of Heli, causing it to spiral out of control before crashing into a barracks where it bursts into a ball of fire.

A little later, I spot Nik's group advancing to engage him, completely unfazed by the events that just happened.

"They got his attention, start backtracking. There has to be other doors that lead out," Macy says as she starts pushing the two of us to move.

"Are they going to be alright?" I ask whilst looking back at the sentinels.

I know it's been only a short amount of time that we worked together but a part of me worries about their wellbeing. I still remember the time he withstood that attack from Nora, and that was from a Victorian Guard. Would a sentinel even come close to that amount of power?

"Worry about yourself first," Frost pulls me out of my thoughts, "Remember the mission."

I hesitate before nodding at him. He's right. We have our objective and they have theirs. I just hope they come out of it alive. It'd be a shame if we lost a good ally like them to a situation like this.

With that behind me, we continue to follow the wall, but we're forced to hide in the shadows again as lights from Helis continue to fly in. The Rams are hitting this place hard and with a show of force.

A little late to take initiative don't you think? The Feds would've never gotten as far as they did if this was the opposition they faced on day one.

"There's no end to them," Frost says, "We'll get caught up in this mess if we don't get out of here soon."

"Should we blow a hole in the wall with an Enhancement?" I suggest.

"That'll only draw attention to us. And there's no telling if a cast from us would be strong enough to break the concrete," Macy states before contemplating to herself what to do. It takes her a few moments of pondering before eventually looking up with an idea etched on her face.

"I got it. Follow me," Is all she says before motioning us to follow her further inside the base.

With no other choice, we do so and after a while of traversing through thick smoke we finally arrive at what I would guess would be a hanger. After checking the area for any lingering Feds, Macy guides us in where we come across a vast number of vehicles sitting idly.

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"You're not the only one with a keen eye." she nudges Frost's side, "I remembered us passing this area earlier and took note of what was inside. Thankfully it looks like there's still some options left for us."

"And I don't suppose you have the codes for any of these do you?"

His question is soon answered with a swift motion of her hands towards the wall behind him with a box displaying several tags with numbers on them. With a roll of his eyes, he snatches all the tags into his hand as we start moving towards the vehicles. There are around five or seven options, ranging from a T-72, multiple variants of the BTR, and a Typhoon MRAP.

In the end, we pick the MRAP and hop in as Macy gets in the driver's seat and takes a moment to adjust to the new environment in front of her.

"Don't say anything," Macy cuts off Frost before he can speak as she starts pushing buttons and flicking switches at random. Eventually, I help her with some of the words and after going through the multiple codes she finds the right one as the display comes to life. A minute later the engine ignites with a roar along with its headlights that now illuminate the hanger.

"You two might want to buckle up. Atlis won't care if I put a scratch on this thing."

With a slight smile, she slams her foot on the gas pedal as we surge forward. Looking over, I see her grit her teeth and aim straight for the massive metal hangar doors. With a final burst of speed, she slams into the doors, sending them crashing into what is now an inferno outside.

"Woah!"

I'm thrown in my seat as the car swerves to avoid a burning helicopter as bullets ricochet off the exterior armor. It is pure chaos. Fires rage all around us as we barrel through the base while avoiding groups of soldiers and explosions. So far, Macy is managing to steer this thing fairly well as she maneuvers the car with precision, weaving through the mayhem, but walls of fire keep forcing her to change course.

A couple of turns later and we still haven't found a way out. The situation gets worse when a Heli spots us with its searchlights and begins to chase us while firing its guns. With every turn Macy makes its rounds get closer to hitting the MRAP as she suddenly now takes a sharp turn where the front entrance finally comes into view. Unfortunately for us, the path is blocked with Rams firing upon us.

"Jacana which button deploys smoke?!"

"Try that one!" I point towards the button just as a middle explodes just a few feet in front of us.

She presses it and a second later we hear the smoke grenades launch outside as thick white smoke leaves a trail behind. They continue to launch as Macy increases her speed which subsequently forces the troops to scatter and allows her to plow through the remaining fallen debris and onto the dirt road.

Behind us, I watch as the Heli breaks off from their pursuit and bear witness to the fully engulfed Federation HQ that brightens the entire area. Even after driving for another ten minutes, I can still make out the glow of the raging fires as we ditch the car and regroup with Flash's team.

"You guys alright?" He asks straightaway.

"We're good. That damn Pyro has gone mad. He was setting fires left and right without discretion," Macy states.

"Well at least he's not our problem anymore. Hopefully our Sentinel friends can take care of him for us."

"I'm sure they will. Let's get a move on now. I don't want any more surprises from here on-"

She's interrupted when an intense bright light causes all of us to look in the direction of the Fed's base. For a few seconds it fully illuminates our surroundings and even makes it seem as if morning has come.

That however is not the case as a few moments later we're hit with a shattering eruption that makes the ground shake and my ears ring. The next thing we see is an enormous mushroom cloud of fire that stretches for who knows how high into the air with rays of silver flickering within.

"What the fuck was that..."

"That wasn't caused from that Pyro, right?"

"I don't know, but I don't like this. Let's go!" Macy shouts as we begin moving away from the looming cloud. I sure hope Josh's team weren't caught up in that explosion.

The next few hours pass by with us navigating through the forest while occasionally taking cover whenever helicopters flew overhead. At one point even hearing the hum of vehicles travelling in the distance. Luckily the rest of the way goes without a hitch as we reach the small town that's been abandoned due to the invading Tyranians.

Up ahead, I can see the apartment complex where our exfil team will be waiting for us. Finally, I can start easing up as this mission comes to a close. Other than our encounter with the Sentinels and the Pyromancer, we managed to pull this off and secure Shuan. Yet I can't help to question if any of this would put to stop to what is already in motion. Sure, we have the Fed's leader but what good does that do now? I guess only with time shall we know the answer.

We reach the complex and after a couple of minutes of scanning the area, we find no sign of the other operatives.

"Let's check around back," Macy says and after some more time we spot the SUVs parked on the other end of the lot.

Approaching, she takes the lead and knocks on the window.

No answer.

She knocks again and when nothing happens, she takes the initiative and, with her gun ready, opens the door to reveal two agents laying back in the seats motionless.

"Are they-"

"Wake up you Nighthawks!" Macy shakes the driver violently as he awakens with a surprised yelp.

"Fuck sakes..." he moans, "You Shards ever heard of knocking?"

"Shards...?" Shuan's voice sends a slight shiver up my back. He's quickly silenced and hauled away to be placed inside one of the other SUVs. Leave it at the end for our cover to be exposed... And not by any one of us.

"You stupid blue..." Macy groans at the man before walking away to talk to the other cars' drivers.

Before long, we each enter into separate vehicles and drive to our final destination where the night ends with absolutely no more hiccups.