Emerald Fire

After hearing Sunder's terrifying report of Senri's secrets, she received an urgent message from the rebellion's air force. They've located Dessix and laid siege upon the closed armored dome that hid the boys from knowing about the war. However, the air force requested urgent help as a half-machine and half-demon dragon protected Dessix. It was capable of summoning onyx lightning against the rebels.

Valiesha ordered her squad to mobilize. As they packed up, the girls thanked the mothers and children for their hospitality.

"Thank you for taking care of us, Serenity," Valiesha packed the extra EMPs Firaga gave her. "We're going to stop Senri once and for all. I promise."

"Have safe travels, Valiesha," Serenity hugged her. "The Lord be with you. And I'm sure you'll see Chirus again."

As Serenity walked Valiesha outside the neighborhood, the teenage girls dared Firaga to chug another bottle of wine.

"Oh, no! Don't encourage her!" Valiesha yanked Firaga by ear. "No more liquor for you!"

"Yo, chill, girl! Hehehe," Firaga leaned on her.

After slapping Firaga in the face, Valiesha noticed Shyrin walking around the neighborhood aimlessly.

Looking for someone?

Where's Frion? Shyrin signed. I wanted to say goodbye to him.

"Oh, Frion and a few boys went to pick flowers for all of you before leaving," Serenity told them.

***

"Hooray!" Frion and the young boys jumped across the courtyard filled with sunflowers, daffodils, roses, and violets. "This garden still survived!"

Although the park was no longer the lively, bright park he remembered, Frion never forgot the place where he would give flowers to his mom since he was little. The boys carefully picked out flowers for the girls they liked.

"Shyrin will be so happy!" Frion sniffed the lilies.

As he knelt beside a tree to teach a fellow friend how to wrap a bouquet, they felt something breathing on them from above.

"Yuck!" Frion noticed saliva dropping from above.

When he and the other boy looked up, they found a four-eyed serpent with dragon whiskers staring at them. The two screamed and ran, but Salamandra opened its elongated mouth and lunged at Frion's friend.

Salamandra flattened its toothless jaw onto him like a leech. Frion could see Salamandra's throat bulge down its body as the poor boy's remains were digested. Frion and the boys desperately ran as Salamandra gulped down more boys.

Frion tripped and dropped his bouquet. When Salamandra opened wide and lunged at him, Shyrin shot its eyes off. It squealed and coiled in pain as the Shima Enaga birds rolled out alongside the rebel spider tanks to spit blue fireballs at the serpent. The rebels took the remaining boys away as Shyrin and Frion hugged. Valiesha drew her pistols while Firaga blasted the snake with her shotgun.

Smoke filled the park as Serenity took Frion away. When the smoke cleared, Salamandra wasn't hurt at all. It whipped its tail at the poor Shima Enagas, sending them flying onto the spider tanks.

"What the heck is that thing?" Firaga fired at the creature.

"It must be one of the monsters Sunder mentioned!" Valiesha reloaded her pistols.

Although it was blind, Salamandra sniffed Valiesha's scent in the air. Salamandra opened its mouth to breathe emerald fire in Valiesha's direction. The Commander rolled away from the green fire, throwing an EMP at Salamandra. The electricity slowed the serpent briefly, but it wasn't enough. When she threw a grenade at it, the snake whipped its tail to deflect it back at her.

"Shoot!" Valiesha jumped from the grenade explosion.

Salamandra lunged its tail through the smoke, wrapping around Valiesha in a tight coil. Shyrin, Firaga, and the rebels fired everything at Salamandra, but its segmented armor resisted everything. Valiesha struggled as Salamandra tightened its coil to crush her.

Suddenly, a figure jumped onto Salamandra's neck, piercing a katana into an armor gap. The serpent screamed, letting Valiesha go as it thrashed in a frenzy to shake the person off.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Sunder used her red goggles to analyze the creature.

"Sunder!" Valiesha, Shyrin, and Firaga hugged her.

"So, Senri decided to reveal one of her man-eating pets to society."

"None of our weapons can scratch that thing!" Firaga exclaimed.

The rebels dodged another emerald fire breath from Salamandra.

"My goggles analyzed the monster. The creature's armor has thin gaps between segments," Sunder threw shurikens at the beast. "But it'll be a hassle to jump on the creature with swords."

"I know a better way!" Valiesha whistled to call the Shima Enagas back into action. "Sunder! Smoke it! I got a plan!"

While Sunder used smoke bombs to confuse Salamandra, Valiesha told the fluffy birds her plan. The Shima Enagas puffed their feathers in acknowledgment before Valiesha distracted Salamandra's attention, knowing it was after her.

The serpent chased Valiesha and breathed emerald fire, unaware of the flock of birds that landed on top of it. The Shima Enagas pecked within the gaps as Salamandra rolled and thrashed, trying to shake the swarm off. No matter how many it shook off, the birds would hop back onto it.

The birds pecked within the fleshy gaps until a segmented plate loosened. A Shima Enaga tilted its head in curiosity, using its beak to peel the plate off. The serpent wallowed in extreme pain as the other birds did the same. What was underneath the armor was an absolute horror to the girls.

The bleeding musculature had many IV lines connected to dangling undead men. Their eyes were wide open, suffering and unable to die.

"What the absolute frick?" Valiesha gasped as the birds pecked on the wires to free the undead.

Shyrin drew knives from underneath her skirt, throwing them to sever the IV lines with accuracy. Salamandra shrieked and bled as Sunder's katana and shurikens slashed the wires down. When all men were free, Salamandra's body shriveled into dark necrotic tissue. The serpent's rotting body reeked and rapidly decomposed into ash.

The rebels checked on the men, who gasped their final breath. The undead men weakly raised their hands, which the Enaga girls held to give them peace. Valiesha held a man's hand.

"T-thank you," The man told her. "G-God bless you."

When the mothers and children gathered to see what happened, Serenity recognized the man in Valiesha's arms.

"Truman? Is that you?" Serenity ran to her lost husband with Frion in tears.

"B-baby?" The undead husband stroked Serenity's face. "Y-you look good."

Truman then held Frion's hand. "I-I'm glad you're safe...m-my last son, n-now... I'm w-whole... G-God's taking me home..."

"Dad? Dad! Don't go!" Frion wailed when Truman made his last smile before dying.

Serenity and Frion cried on Truman's body as Valiesha closed his eyes and gently laid him down. Shyrin comforted Frion as the girls helped the mothers bury the lost dead husbands and fathers.

"Senri! No monsters you send our way can stop us!" Valiesha yelled into the air in tears. "We'll defeat you, and I'll win Chirus back! You'll pay for all the people you've hurt, the men you've abused, and the dead you've disrespected. Your sick game ends tonight! We're coming for you, Senri!"