"Which way do we go first?" Sarah asked as I touched down.

"We're running this way," I told them all as I began to sprint away as soon as my legs were steady.

"Why?" Bunny asked.

"Some Harpies saw me and they're leading the flock this way," I told her.

"How far are we going?" Carrie asked.

"Ten miles at minimum," I answered. "We're splitting into pairs after a bit so make sure that you keep close to your buddy. Sarah, you're with me. Bunny, Carrie, look out for one another. Cai's sending rendevous coordinates to your Cybers."

"See anything?" I asked Sarah as she peered through her mag-rifle's scope.

"Nothing," she said. "It's like all the Scourge signs we've seen are decoys. Harpies and Vultures are the worst we've seen so far."

"How's things going for you two?" Carrie's question came through the comm line.

"Still nothing," I told her. "You two? Any luck?"

"Confirmed that the Bombadiers haven't moved yet," she answered. "Why do you think the Fireflys moved? It's not like we were going to try to take them out immediately."

"They don't know that," I said. "All they know is that, as Fireflys, they're extremely vulnerable when they're keeping lookout for anything unexpected. Probably move around to keep anything that does show itself from getting the drop on them."

"I've got movement," Sarah interrupted my conversation with her sister. "Looks like a Guardian. Cerberous. I think that's- It is. Queen sighted. Orders?"

"Can you guarentee the shot?" I asked.

"No. Too much movement and the Queen has at least one Rampager and Revenant following close behind it," she said. "Looks like they're acting as bodyguards."

"This is weird movement for them," I muttered. "Queens don't use the Guardians to literally guard them; they send them out to act as officers in the army that is the Horde. Can you see if the Queen's pregnant?"

"It's not," Sarah told me after a moment. "I can also see that there's no little Princess following after her."

"Tell me about the armor shell," I demanded.

"It's there," she said. "Looks kinda dull and has a few nicks in it. Think she's about to get rid of it?"

"No," I answered. "This is strange. Queens keep their shell in good condition and they're constantly removing it if there's even a hint of dull coloring or scratches and nicks. Describe the Queen to me in more detail."

"What are you looking for?" Sarah asked in answer.

"The eyes," I said. "Are they dull? Differently colored? Maybe they have rings under them?"

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"No on all counts," she said. "They're the same eyes I've seen on all the Queens I've seen before this. There's no wrinkles anywhere on her and if I'm seeing it all right, there's maybe a missing claw."

"Cai, any idea what's going on?" I fell back on my trusty Cyber.

"None," he said.

"Shit. Carrie, we're going to track this Queen back to her nest or whatever," I spoke over the comm line. "You and Bunny make your way toward us and we'll look into taking care of her when you're back with us."

"Roger," Carrie answered before cutting the line.

"Keep my eye on the Queen?" Sarah asked, her eye still peering through the scope.

"It's like you can read my mind," I told her as I began to look in our immediate area for any Scourge that might be trying to sneak up on us.

"We're here," Carrie whispered over the comm line. "What's the plan?"

I took another look around the clearing with a pile of rocks at the center and a tree knocked onto its side to form a crude leanto that the Queen used to escape the glaring white sun overhead. There were five Guardians in the area; a Rampager, a Revenant, two Cerberouses, and one Tyrant to round out the lineup against us.

"That Rampager and Tyrant together are going to be difficult," I said. "Bunny, Sarah, can you two guarentee kill-shots?"

"On the Rampager, maybe," Bunny said. "The Tyrant's got a thick bone plate on the skull and that's going to be hard to get through."

"Can't go through the eye?" Carrie asked.

"Tyrants don't have eyes," Sarah told her. "That's the second biggest way they differ from Raptors."

"The first being the size of course," Carrie said.

"Of course," Bunny agreed.

"So we can get rid of one but not both," I sighed. "What about the Revenant or the Cerberouses?"

"I can get one Cerberous," Bunny said. "It'll be easy to add the Rampager to that as long as Sarah syncs her shot with me and goes for the other Cerberous and maybe the Revenant."

"I can do that," Sarah promised. "I'm not going to guarentee the Revenant's death, but I can definitely get that Cerberous."

"Are we doing this?" Carrie asked me raising her shield into position.

"Yeah," I said drawing my sword. "We go on five. Sarah, Bunny, shoot on three."

"Roger," the answered and I began to count.

"One. Two. Thr-"

"Rickshaw I am detecting an unknown Scourge," Cai interrupted me. "It appears to match the Queen in appearance but it does not possess the female anatomy the Queen does."

"What do you mean it doesn't have the female anatomy?" Carrie demanded. Guess Cai had broadcast to everyone this time.

"It will come into view from the right side," he told us. "I truly have no knowledge or speculation of what sort of Scourge this is."

"Well, we're about to find out," I said as we all turned our gazes to the right side of the clearing. Whatever this was, we needed to see it and make a plan of action before we charged blindly toward it.

A minute passed with nothing walking into view and just when I was getting restless enough to call a false alarm, we saw it. Just as Cai had said, the Scourge that walked into view was extremely similar in appearance to the Queen and at passing glance would be labelled as one. Over seven feet tall, winged, bird-footed, and sharp talons and claws with an armor shell to round out the appearance. There is where things became very different. This Scourge had a tail, thin and fliexible like a cat's, flicking back and forth as though to show off the single spike on the tip that turned the two foot long appendage into a weapon. The shell, rather than being several pieces with the chest and back fused into one piece and limiting mobility and flexibility, was segmented into multiple overlapping pieces that reminded me of the armor that the Nephilim wore. The segmented nature of this armor made me wonder if this Scourge had the ability to remove the chest pieces the same way a Queen did. The final difference between this one and a Queen was the head. Most Queen's had a shell that acted like a helmet piece and with the mouth and eyes exposed. This Scourge had only the mouth exposed and the eyes were covered. Rising above the head, where the eyes would have been were two horns that pointed straight into the air and added another three inches in height before branching outward into demented antlers with sharp points. Perfect for gouging someone's stomach out I could already tell.

"What the hell is that?" Sarah asked in a breathless whisper.

"I don't know," I answered her. "But I just found my first target in this fight. Stick to the plan; you two take out the Cerberouses and the Rampager, the Revenant too if you can. Then the three of you will focus on removing what's left and keeping the Queen here. Go in five."