After a quick boost through Research Base Amelia's warp-gate, we arrive at Washington, DC, at about four o'clock in the afternoon, local time. Regarding time zones, it's about seven hours ahead from the Remnants base. The weather looks gloomy, with dark gray clouds looming ahead, readying itself for scattered thunderstorms.

As I sit in the back seat of Samza's Dodge Challenger, I notice our Mathilde resting her head on my shoulder. She seems tired. I wonder if she woke up in the middle of the night yesterday. Could explain why she looks sleepy.

Glancing ahead, we're following behind Mr. Vahn'dien in his exotic sports car, the Ala~de~Edan Pantera Uncia. In front of him is Rowynn on her Ala~de~Edan Wild Kulan motorcycle.

Ala~de~Edan. That's Vahn'dien's exotic car company, which manufactures limited-run vehicles for the wealthy. While I could afford to buy one of their cars from the money I have earned as a WarGames player, it's really not my type of vehicle. I'd rather drive something sensible and utilitarian, like a Toyota Tundra or a Ford F-150. At least with a truck, I could always haul a bunch of stuff with me if I want to.

We arrive at the Pentagon, and the weather continues to worsen with a potential flood warning in effect. A female officer in green cammies escorts us from the parking lot and brings us inside in due haste. She introduces herself as Colonel Simone Smithsonian of the US Army.

Before entering the facility, a security guard confiscates my triggerblade. Then Colonel Smithsonian leads us to the central courtyard of The Pentagon where the waygate stands.

Mr. Vahn'dien says while scratching the stubble on his chin. "It seems you have moved the waygate from that secluded room to here in the courtyard. Why is that?"

Col. Smithsonian says while glancing at the waygate. "It's a precautionary measure. The intention is to move this gate to a more secluded area should there be something sinister spawning from it. An air transport unit was supposed to arrive to pick up the waygate, but it seems the weather has made that task prohibitive. For now, it sits here until weather permits."

Rowynn inspects the waygate, glancing at it from top to bottom. "And where exactly do you intend to take this gate, lass?"

"The Marine One Hangar at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. About four kilometers south-east of The Pentagon. From there, we'll have Army and Air Force officials keep close watch should something evil lurks from it."

"Understood." Rowynn nods.

"Though, Mr. Vahn'dien Meteora's correspondence said that your friend, Arizona Ylfing, can interact with these waygates. Is this person with you?"

I raise a hand. "That would be me."

"Then perhaps you can show me how it works as your friends investigate."

I scratch the back of my head, wondering if that's even possible. When I interacted with the waygates in Esthial, the feeling seems magical for the lack of a better word. All I did was touch them. This one is probably no different from the others. "I'm not sure if I can explain it, but I'll give it a go."

Mattie comes to my side and says, "I'll help, Arizona."

"Very well," Col. Smithsonian says. You two, do your thing. Everyone else, proceed with your investigations. If you need to visit the original room where this waygate stood, then you are free to do so."

Samza and Mezos pull out their tablets from their pockets and begin scanning the vicinity.

Meanwhile, Mattie and I prepare to attune to the waygate. Just like before, I place my palm on the stone podium next to it.

My sister does the same as well. She gasps. "Arizona, this feels warm."

"Yeah," I say, smiling at her. "Hold on, okay. It's going to take a minute."

Our hands feel a radiant warmth, and a swirling vortex materializes from the waygate.

"That's it?" Col. Smithsonian gasps as she gazes on to the waygate.

"Yeah," I say, shrugging.

"How's that possible? Our researchers were trying everything to make it work, but all you did was touch the podium."

I let out a chuckle. "I guess that makes us special."

Rowynn says, pointing at me but gazing at the Colonel, "Believe it or not, these two are not a human, but a special race of warriors known as the Valkyr. They originate from the world beyond that gate. Certain members of the Valkyr possess a natural talent, allowing them to interact with these things."

The Colonel scratches her chin. "That means President Stirling is not from this world, but from the world on the other side, yes?" She gasps, her ruby red eyes opening wide. "Ylfing? Wait a second. President Stirling went by another name. She revealed it to General Jansen. It was on the security footage."

Mr. Vahn'dien pulls out his tablet and swipes through some holographic screens. "I can play that footage for review, if you wish."

"Yes, please," The Colonel says, nodding.

The business man plays the footage of the conversation between President Lyss Zauss Stirling and General Aurelius Jansen. It's the same video he played during the meeting we had the other day. This time with the audio.

President Stirling says: "Truth be told, General, our war is not abroad. No. The war is already here, and our adversaries have been among us in this glorious great nation of the United States of America this whole time."

General Jansen gasps and says: "President Stirling. You're not one of—?"

Stirling says: "Not just a Nightmare, General Jansen. I am Gunhild Ylfing, leader of The Eyes of War."

Jansen says, sounding angry: "You were the one who summoned those monsters at Homey Airport thirteen years ago."

Stirling, now as Gunhild, says with a sinister chuckle: "So you remember me? That woman known as Lyss Zauss Stirling, who ruled this country for the past eight years? She actually perished long ago when she served as the Vice President. Like the former and late President Jack Cayle, Vice President Stirling also died during the hijacking of Air Force One almost a decade ago. At least until I took over her body and convinced the nation she survived the ordeal. An imposter ran this country, and no one knew any better. Not even her spouse, Memphis Jae Stirling."

Mr. Vahn'dien stops the video.

"Gunhild Ylfing." Colonel Smithsonian let out a breath. "That's why the name sounds familiar." She turns her gaze to me and asks, "I don't suppose you're related to her, Arizona?"

"She's my mother," I say, grumbling and gritting my teeth. It's a fact that still bugs the crap out of me to this day.

Rowynn nods. "All things considered, Ylfing is the name of her clan, not necessarily a small family. Many Valkyr have that name. Sort of like the Joneses, the Smiths, or the Williamses of your world."

"I see. Still, I suppose the relationship between Arizona and Gunhild is something worth knowing. At any rate, if we want to deal with this Gunhild person, someone will have to go through that gate."

Rowynn says, "Aye. We've passed through gates like these before, so we are well aware of the risks. Speaking of which, I believe Arizona and the two fae have an assignment."

"Very well," Colonel Smithsonian says. "I trust your instincts. Any preparatory measures to handle before you deploy your team into the waygate?"

"Ensure they have their weapons ready and their communication modules activated." Rowynn turns her head and meets my gaze. "Are you ready, Ari?"

"Just need to have the security guy at the front door give me back my triggerblade, and I'll be ready."

The Colonel nods. "Of course."

A few minutes later, a security guard arrives with my triggerblade. Nearby, Samza and Mezos prepare their summoner books.

"We're ready," Mezos says.

Rowynn says to us. "Good luck out there. If you need to stay there for long, then let us know using the aetheric communicator."

Mr. Vahn'dien asks, "What's the current plan?"

Mezos says while projecting a hologram of the map of The Imperial Lands from his tablet, "We when go through this gate, we'll end up at Laguna Waterscape, the rainforest north of Mount Tribulation." Red dashed lines appear from the mountain, through the rainforest, and to the the VIIIth Legion military base. "From there, we will make our way to Castrum Hortus Tempore, the duty station for the VIIIth Imperial Legion. Mathilde Wairen and Lyne Highwind should be there. Using Mathilde Wairen's connections with the Figarosa Army, we should be able to gain a means of transportation, allowing for expedited travel to Svyataya Reka, the capital city of Bektorias." Mezos uses his finger to draw a circle around the holy city's citadel northeast from the base.

Samza waves a hand. "Speaking of transport units, I don't suppose we can borrow an ATV? According to our maps of The Imperial Lands, it looks like a two-hour walk from the waygate to the VIIIth Legion duty station."

Col. Smithsonian smiles. "We can arrange that. Mr. Meteora told me in his email that you could use a simple form of transportation. So we prepared a vehicle you can use to travel with you. However, we're not familiar with the technology available in the world on the other side of the gate. If the battery dies, then you'll need to be creative in recharging it."

A uniformed soldier arrives, driving an ATV to the scene. Looks like it can carry four people.

Samza grins. "I think we'll figure it out. I can summon my homie, Ramuh, to denjin charge it back to life. It's all good."

Mezos shrugs. "That might be a wee bit too much charge, but I guess it could work when needed."

I gaze forward, setting my sights on the gate in front of us. "Well, I guess it's time we venture forth. We'll have to catch-up with those two soldiers and go from there." I turn my head to face my little sister before heading off. "You be good, Mattie. Don't worry! We'll be back soon."

"Take care, Arizona," she says with a faint smile.

Mezos, Samza, and I hitch a ride on the ATV with Samza at the wheel and we zoom right through the waygate.

—————

We arrive at the place where I left off — the lush tropical rainforest known as Laguna Waterscape. The area feels very humid, yet the skies look gloomy and gray. Plant-like creatures with sharp teeth and smelly breath roam the woods along with less frightening creatures.

Down the muddy dirt road is Vienne's Pass. Samza slams her foot down the accelerator. The vehicle's electric motors let out a high-pitched whine, allowing us to zip through the path at record-breaking speeds, splashing mud and dirt off to the sides as we blaze on by.

Instead of the estimated time of two hours of walking, we spot the entrance to the VIIIth Legion base, Castrum Hortus Tempore, in less than five minutes.

There's one problem: it seems we're not the only ones looking to visit the VIIIth Legion. Sirens blare from the base as Nightmares begin their pursuit towards the vicinity.

Mezos taps his glasses and gazes ahead. "There is something interesting about those Nightmares. It seems these creatures have clones resembling Mathilde. Yet they're all wearing the colors of the Lexia Army."

A thought comes to me. When Prince Dione captured Mathilde, he mentioned that his sister, Princess Clarice, acquired genetic samples of her. I guess this is the outcome — clones of Mathilde roaming the battlefield alongside the Nightmares. This implies someone from the Lexia Army is around. Maybe that stupid Princeling.

Samza pulls out a summoner's tome from a side pocket and flips it open, revealing a page full of glyphs and strange geometric drawings. "You ready, bro?" she asks as flames kindle from the pages.

Mezos opens his tome and a small rift forms from its pages. He dunks his hand in the rift and pulls out a blue-winged staff. A sudden frosty chill emanates from the artifact. "Mateus's Ice Staff is ready."

Samza throws her book and pages flips like a gust of wind blasting through it. A swirling portal forms and some fast bursts from the rift, leaving a trail of fire around it.

The tall, lean-built creature presents itself in front of Samza, resembling a horned demon with reddish brown skin and sharp talons. The humanoid demon-beast is wearing black jagged armor around its legs and arms, and red torn cloth loosely resembling a karate gi. It lets out a deep roar and speaks with a scratchy, snarling male voice. "I am Ifrit, the Ravager Prince of Flames. Art thou the one who hast summoned me, fae child?" Ifrit stares down at the grinning Samza.

"I have," Samza says, her chest forward, staring upward, sizing up to the fiery eikon. "It is I, Samza, who will command thy flames to vanquish our foes."

"Very well," the demonic eikon says with a bow. "Thy every command is mine to obey."

The battle commences, and we charge into the fray.

Samza commands Ifrit to attack. The eikon blazes forward and delivers a lashing jump kick at the small platoon of Mathilde's clones, knocking them out with a flaming streak. The rabbit-fae yells, "That's right! It's all about that Dragonlash Kick."

Mezos twirling his icy staff. With a heavy swing, an icy burst of snow freezes the Nightmares in place. The goat-fae then rushes in and twirls the staff like a skilled bojutsu practitioner. Each strike making contact, shattering the Nightmares into shards of ice.

Meanwhile, I prime my triggerblade and begin my assault, unleashing a relentless fury of explosive slashes. Nightmares stagger and Mathilde's clones fall. As they fall, the clones puff and fade into an explosive burst of aether, the same way how Nightmares die.

"Arizona!" A familiar female soldier yells from behind me.

I turn around and spot Mathilde Wairen, Lyne Highwind, and a uniformed man holding an energy rifle. Librascope-AI identifies the man as Cidolfus olm Meteora, the VIIIth Legion's head mechanic. They charge into battle, the two female soldiers fighting at the front lines while the male officer takes the rearguard and covers our back, firing at Nightmares and clones with aetheric blasts.

More soldiers pour out from the base's gates and fight off the onslaught of Nightmares using rifles, spells, and blades.

Then a familiar Princeling makes his way to the scene, his white armor glinting and blue and gold cape flowing with the breeze. The young royal claps slowly. "What a surprise. I didn't anticipate the recruitment of fae summoners to the field, but if you want to gift me your powers, then all the better."

Samza raises a brow. "Gift? Oh, I got a gift for you." She pats her pants pockets and then raises a fist. Then another fist. One hand performs a cranking motion while the other hand slowly erects a middle finger. Samza places her cranking hand on her chest and smiles back at the Princeling.

Mezos laughs. "I didn't know you knew about that Pre-game Cage Tech."

Samza laughs back. "I don't take that game too seriously. I just play it for the memes."

"Prince Dione!" Lyne says, her teeth gritting with fury. "I should have known you would make an appearance."

"Ah, dear sister. I thought the absence of the VIIIth Legion legatus would make for an easy acquisition. Turns out I'm wrong, but I'm always up for the challenge."

Mathilde lets out a furious war-cry and charges forward at Prince Dione, zipping through the field with a piercing arrow kick, twirling herself like a human sniper bullet.

The Prince parries the kick with an aetheric force field and counters with a heavy back-handed swipe from his metal gauntlet. Mathilde blocks the strike that would otherwise connect with her face. Then, with his other hand, he unleashes an electrified palm strike, striking Mathilde's midsection.

Mathilde skids backward while her feet remain stable. She lets out a sinister grin. "You still strike like a bitch."

"Just as reckless as ever, despite your ascension. How the prophesies determined that you should be the Warrior of Light is a mystery to me. Regardless, your efforts mean nothing. The power of Adrammelech courses through my veins."

"Adrammelech," Mezos says with a sigh. "That would be the winged goat-like eikon from Archaean folklore. He channels the power of lightning, similar to the great sage, Ramuh, of imperial legend."

"Eikon," Dione says, scoffing to the side. "I believe the proper term is Esper."

Samza shrugs. "Who gives a shit?"

Dione swipes his hand. "Enough banter. It's time you witness my power." His palm crackles with electricity. A spark flies and shocks Mathilde, stunning her in place.

Samza shifts books.

Ifrit returns to his realm and, taking his place, is a stout rock giant about four times as tall as me. With a furious yell, the boulder-sized eikon says, "Overdweller, I am Titan! What is thy command, fae summoner?"

Samza says with great enthusiasm while raising her index finger up high, "Dosukoi!"

"It shalt be done." Titan charges forward towards Prince Dione and ground the prince's lightning attacks. Then he counters with a flurry of slapping strikes, shattering the aetheric shield, and follows through with a flying headbutt.

Prince Dione evades the flying rock giant, jumps high, aims at Samza with an electrifying dive kick.

Mezos raises his staff and defends Samza with an icy blast from it, sending the prince tumbling wayward. Dione rolls back and recovers with quick reflexes.

Dione fires another electric burst. This time, Lyne chucks her spear on to the dirt and redirects the blast on to the ground. Then Lyne disappears in a puff of smoke and reappears behind Dione to deliver a few swift kicks and palm strikes, knocking him forward.

The Prince smiles with an arrogant grin as he recovers. "Ah, the way of the shinobi. It seems you've been learning from the eastern fae monks."

Lyne says, "I figured I'd pick up a new trick should someone break my spear, you twit."

"Interesting. Well, enough games." Prince Dione forms a whip of electricity and lassos it around Mathilde's leg, dragging her close. Then a field of lightning forms around him, enclosing him and the assassin. "You have run away for too long, assassin. You're coming with me."

Mathilde struggles and wriggles around. "What the hells?"

The Prince chuckles. "Did anyone ever tell you that you look marvelous when you're angry?"

"Fuck you, Princeling!" Mathilde says, snarling with fury.

From a distance, a towering, purple blade-like object drops from the sky near Prince Dione. Neon blue lights glow from its accents and smoke puffs from the exhaust pipes.

Mezos points at the blade. "I know that gunblade. That belongs to the Legatus of the VIIIth Legion, Rin von Hanji."

The gunblade makes a loud whirring sound and Prince Dione's lightning shield fizzles.

A female voice from the base's loudspeaker speaks, her voice drawling, "Hey Prince Dione. You picked the wrong legion to mess with, bucko."

The Prince panics, his body staggering, his head shifting about. "How can that be? You were just at the Imperial Palace. How did you return here so fast?"

In a fizzle, a tall fae woman phases on to the battlefield. She presents herself in heavy red mech armor. Purple tiger stripes decorate her pale cheeks. Her feline eyes are yellow like a tiger's eye. Her silky black hair forms long protruding horns on her head with gold rings decorating them.

The tiger-fae raises a hand and purple energy glows from her palm. "I'll have you know, Princeling, that time is always on my side." The soldier phases out, teleporting away, and appears right in front of Prince Dione. Then she delivers one devastating uppercut, striking home right to the prince's chin.

The price flies high up, up, up! Then crashes right back down, head first.

Before the prince makes contact to the ground, the fae warrior phases to her gunblade, picks it up, then teleports back to her original position. With expert precision, she takes one mean whack with her oversized gunblade. "Time to get lost, punk, and take your cheap chickadee copies with you to whatever hell you came from." Making impact, she strikes a home run, sending the prince far, far away.

Prince Dione yells as he flies off into the distance, "Damn you, Rin!"

The fae warrior turns to face us with a wide grin on her face. She plants her blade on to the ground, pounds one fist on to her palm, and cracks the joints on her neck. "Welcome to the VIIIth Legion. I am Rin von Hanji. Come on in, partners. Make yourself at home." She motions a hand, allowing us to enter the base without question or doubt.