53 CH53: THE SUBURB WITH THE DEMON TIER BEAST.

[Friday, 6th January, 4045]

[Time: 4:30 am]

Under the chilling cold wind of the desert night sky, the Monroe and Zhao squads set out on foot from the last Gazanerrin camp towards a city in the east. With the belief that another terrorist raid was imminent, Captain Dheng Zhao Prince and Commander Carla Monroe aimed to intercept, disband, and capture the Gazanerrins before any harm could be done to the suburb. With only a few hours until daybreak, both squads decided to jog for the remainder of the trip.

"This is good exercise, isn't it Carla?" Zhao smiled, but Carla didn't respond. "This is good exercise. I can feel my leg muscles benefiting from this."

"You don't have leg muscles, dimwit," Carla hissed, but then rolled her eyes, realizing Zhao was attempting small talk.

"On a serious note," he added, "What's going to be our first move once we get there? With these bodies, people will know who we are, and that will definitely scare the terrorists."

"You do have a point," she replied. "Blending in with the people is a good idea. Perhaps when we arrive, we'll conceal ourselves in desert attire. I thought of this a while ago and gathered a few Gazanerrin clothes, roughed them up a bit, and informed both squads."

"Ah, thinking ahead, I see," he bluffed. "That's good, though. I do admire the fashion sense of the desert dwellers."

Dheng continued speaking, but Carla's thoughts were elsewhere. She was currently going through a large database of recorded, studied, and killed beasts. When she reached the demon tier section, there were only one hundred types of beasts, but only ten had been killed. This led her and millions of others to believe that there was still much to learn about demon-tiered creatures.

"So, what do you say?" Carla snapped out of her thoughts and noticed Dheng looking at her with gleeful eyes. "Is it a yes or no?"

"Err," knowing Dheng, it was most likely a playful joke, so Carla replied, "Yes."

"You've made me the happiest man on Earth, Carla Monroe. Or should I say Carla Prince?"

"Prince?" She marveled. "Oh no. Oh no no no no. You did not just trick me into marrying you."

Those nearby overheard Dheng and Carla's conversation and laughed while watching Carla's evident disgust.

"Calm down, wifey," Dheng laughed. "I knew you were zoned out. You always have a crazy look in your eyes, a blend of hungry, tired, and flustered. What's troubling you?"

"The Demon Tier beast," she replied. "Do you know there are only one hundred beasts ever recorded? And of that one hundred, ten have been killed..along with those who killed them. I mean, no one who has ever tried killing a demon tier has ever survived to tell the tale."

"Like I said, Carla," Dheng quickly interrupted, already knowing where she was heading with her conversation. "We're only going there to take care of the Gazanerrin. If those people know about their beast in their suburb and have ways of keeping peace with it, then we'll let them be. We just have to make sure the terrorists don't get their hands on it, otherwise. We don't know what they plan to do with it, other than kill it and use its crystal."

With that said, Carla, Dheng, and their squads picked up the pace and started running even faster until they could see the suburb on the horizon.

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[Same Day]

[Time: 11:00 am]

[Location: an eastern suburb.]

Ghost town. That's what one would say as soon as they entered the suburb. Unlike the city centers and outskirts with their fancy buildings consisting of wood, iron sheets and glass, this suburb's housing and other forms of buildings were made from cream-colored desert sandstone, giving it an ancient kingdom vibe. With wooden doors for windows, flat roofs, and little to no modern technology available, one would say that the people of this town refused to embrace modern technology.

"Good day, brother. The weather is wonderful today," one of the inhabitants greeted while approaching another who seemed to be unsettled.

"The weather is wonderful. Has the wind blown to the east?"

"It has, and more approaches by noon," the latter who was unsettled grew at ease and embraced the first one who approached him. "It is good to have another one fighting for our cause here with me."

"Yes, it is," the former replied. "Shall we go and have a drink? The locals have one that's sure to put hair on a man's chest."

"Yes, let's." With the desert attire resembling those from the sand benders in Avatar: The Last Airbender, no one would easily see the other's face, making it perfect for anyone looking to blend in easily.

As for the two men, they walked towards the center of the suburb, which had a large, square-shaped facility. In it was a western, cowboy-themed bar with a few waiters and bartenders serving drinks from barrels.

"Please sit, brother," the former urged with his heavy middle eastern accent. "Come drink with me."

"Do you know this place very well?" the latter questioned as his nerves started warning him to question this strange man.

"Not so, but I have visited before when looking for the godmother," the former said, and the latter felt at ease once more and felt like he had no more reason to worry. "Here, try this. The locals call this the Earth's nectar."

While the two drank and told each other stories, the waiters and bartenders started to over-focus on their conversation since the two men were the only customers they had. Once again, the latter grew uneasy and, from the corner of his eye, noticed a piece of silver shining from the slits of one waiter's sleeve.

"MALWARE!" he cried as he pulled down the hood from the former's head. "MALWARES!" The latter quickly pulled out a small communication device and prepared to send a warning. However, before he could even open his mouth, the one whom he thought was one of his comrades hit the communicator from his hand, pulled his arms back, and pinned him down to the dusty floor.

"Yeah, Carla," the former, Dheng Zhao Prince, spoke into his own communicator. "Our cover's been blown, but everything's under control. One of your squadrons didn't cover themselves properly." He said while the waiters took off their disguises.

"Sorry, Captain Dheng."

"How's everything on your side, Carla?"

"We've got activity," she replied, using her eyes to zoom in on a dust cloud that was speedily approaching them. "I see four trucks, about twenty riders, and three hover choppers heading this way. It seems the trucks are pulling something colossal."

"How big?"

"Quarter the size of Neveah."

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Four trucks, moving at maximum speed, approached the suburb with haste. On both sides were hover copters with Gazanerrin soldiers holding guns, ready to take down anything that tried to get in their way. Again, on the sides of the trucks were riders riding hover bikes with passengers carrying guns as well.

"We move now," Dheng ordered, and together with his squad and Carla's, they moved ahead at maximum speed, causing a dust cloud of their own.

[Full Energy Usage Mode.]

[Going all out, I see.] His AI system spoke to him after it scanned all the heat signatures.

"We can't take any chances."

"SQUADS." Carla prepared to command. "ASSERT YOUR POSITIONS, NOW." The squads separated into groups of half with Carla and Dheng already ahead of them. The two quickly sped for the trucks but were immediately met by blasts shot at them from the Gazanerrin in the copters.

"Dheng, we should take care of…"

"Already on it." Dheng took a long squat while his legs powered up with energy. Then, like a rocket, he shot up high in the sky with a trail of blue lightning behind him. At that speed, Dheng burst through one hover copter's thrusters and left it to crash onto the desert sand.

While still airborne, he used the thrusters on his back to push him to the copter on his left.

"wHAT'S UP, PEOPLE!!" He screamed after getting himself into the copter's interior. With one person flying and two armed with guns, Dheng made quick work of them by knocking them out. He then took control of the copter with his AI system and caused it to slam into the last one before he jumped out and landed on the colossal item being transported.

"Well that was easier than I…." The 'item' he was standing on top of started to growl and rumble. "What the….Oh no!!" Dheng's eyes dilated with fear as he tore a piece of the tarpaulin off. Underneath the tarpaulin were blue long hairs and upon touching them, Dheng felt how warm it was.

"Carla!!" He quickly cried out. "We have to stop this thing from moving, now. It's a beast. The Gazanerrin are going to confront the demon-tier beast with another one. STOP THE TRUCKS NOW."