Of Skin and Scales (PRIVATE)

[Dyste]

Royal Palace

Juvon narrowed his eyes; this was actually beginning to infuriate them. Surely they were not as close minded as he was thinking they were? "First off, how can they possibly be Satanists if we have not even heard of it before? Is this Satan a demon? We certainly do NOT worship those. So how were we supposed to know that tattoos and piercings are linked to them? Our people had been oppressed and shunned for centuries simply for looking frightening, which is why we tend to leave countries like yours alone. Dyste was made as a haven for those that would be shunned due to such superficial reasoning, and we built a society of acceptance of people, as long as they did not harm others for their beliefs. I would hope that you, in turn, can show us what kind of people you are, and if you are worthwhile to have contact with. Or you can just let them take me home, and you have the option to never hear from us again. Just do what you feel is right, Your Majesty, please."

National Guard truck, I95

Riley let out a sigh. "Whatever you are planning, I suggest you stop. Bringing more of your people makes no difference. The sole outcome that will result from this series of events is that we will arrive at the palace in order to rendezvous with our unfortunate countryman. The only thing that will change is my means of travel. So please, I recommend you trust in your king." He still hoped he could finish this without a confrontation, but he had enough of such shoddy treatment. His opinion of the nation was dropping rapidly, but maybe the king could make him see differently.

[New United States of Columbia]

Royal Palace
Foley was getting as irritated as Juvon was.
"You aren't doing a good job of explaining your kind's culture to me. And this is how you wish to repay me for giving you a fine room, luxurious food, and giving you semi autonomy in my home?"
As angry as he was he was sincerely hoping for Juvon to convince him that these two new arrivals meant no harm. He'd rather not risk war against his kind. But, if it had to be war, he would not hesitate to join his men and boys on the front.

[Dyste]

Royal Palace

Juvon actually backed up, showing more fear than he did at any point of this since his first few minutes in this foreign land, "W-well, see, we do grant a good amount of autonomy for our people, and we use our natural abilities to help ourselves and others... our ruler is a retired hero of our region, helping to save people from monsters in the past..."

At this point, Juvon felt tears going down his face. He had not cried in a long time, certainly not while in this land, but now, the stress was getting to him. He sat on the bed and wept for a few seconds before speaking once more.

"I am sorry, Your Majesty... I am no good at this, am I? I am no diplomat, I am just a student. I will not be an adult for a few more decades, and my parents... I just want to see them again, and... I know that you are trying to help me, but I... I am not sure what you want me to say." He wiped away the tears; Draconids hated showing weakness to other species, even if they were genuine. "I am not completely certain, but... I heard two people were arriving, right? A man and a woman? I cannot say with absolute certainty, but I believe that it is the king himself who has come to your lands. If His Majesty was not interested in a diplomatic resolution, would he really go personally for this? As strong as he is, he would have sent knights in his stead if he was looking for conflict. Please, Your Majesty, hear him out. He would be able to explain things better than I could. I... I just do not want us to become enemies." He seemed on the verge of crying again; as a pacifist, the last thing we wanted was to start a war over him.

[New United States of Columbia]

Royal Palace
Foley froze for a moment. Learning about Juvon's past and seeing him in such a state surprise him. He didn't wish to show weakness so he turned to one of the servants that had been tending to him and hissed that Juvon was to be taken to his quarters. The servant nodded and began to lead the Draconid to his room.
In the meantime Foley paced in his study. He went in circles as if he were a caged lion. His mind was in overtime as he tried to think of a clear solution. On the one hand Juvon appeared sincere and wouldn't have a reason to lie unless he intended to die. On the other hand his troops would never lie to him. He hated such situations like this. He turned to the Bible and read some of the Gospels to try and calm himself. After half an hour he headed to the radio room and gave the order.
"Stand down," he commanded "take them here. Do not harm them."

Guardsmen truck, I-95
"Of course, Your Majesty," the commander replied "they'll be there within the next few hours."

[Dyste]

Royal Palace

Juvon sat in his room. The fact that Foley did not send him to the dungeon meant that he most likely was not going to try and attack the Dystan delegation. Hopefully his king (or whomever they chose to send) would be able to make his case better than he could...

Guardsmen truck, I-95

Riley nodded, in seeming contentment of the situation. While he was ready to defend himself if need be, he hated taking the lives of people. He would let them take him to the king and see about clearing up this misunderstanding. He took a nap, or at least as far as the guardsmen knew. Lisa, meanwhile, stayed up, making sure nobody came too close to him. She had a duty of her own to do, to protect her lord. They may be different species, but they are very close. She just hoped that humans were as willing as their kind were to know about other species.

[New United States of Columbia]

Royal Palace grounds
"Get ready. We're here." The leader of the guardsmen growled as the truck halted inside the palace grounds. A flurry of activity was happening with soldiers, servants, and reporters from all around the region coming to witness the event.
"Only authorized personnel," one of the hulking power armored guardsmen informed with radio static affecting his voice "are allowed inside the palace. It's supposed to be a private meeting with the Dystians."
"But," one of the Nazi Europa reporters shouted, " we're reporters! We HAVE to see this!"
The guardsman spun up his minigun.
"Authorized personel only." He repeated.

Royal Palace, throne room
Juvon the next morning was summoned to the throne room and ordered to stay by High King Foley's side. The throne room was packed with guardsmen and monarchs from across the enormous nation in their finest ceremonial outfits. Some of the guards carried their standard issue assault rifles while others carried ceremonial weapons like swords. Others simply carried a trumpet to announce when the representatives entered.
Foley was on his throne, looking down the steps, up the crimson red carpet, and anxiously waiting for when the massive doors would open. He did a good job of hiding his nerves though.
"Nervous?" He whispered to Juvon who was seated by his feet on a plush cushion (he WAS reported as being the Royal Family's "pet" after all. And it was the only way to make sure the Captain of the Guard wouldn't be more paranoid than he usually was.)

[Dyste]

Royal Palace grounds

'Riley' stretched, glad to finally be out of that truck; considering his natural size it made him feel a bit claustrophobic. 'Lisa', being the same size she always was, was still relieved to exit the vehicle.

It did not surprise either of them that there were reporters there; no matter where they went, news traveled fast, it seems. Riley considered giving them some quote, but the guardsmen seemed in no mood to deal with them, and he would rather not have them irritated further by his actions. Instead, he focused on the meeting ahead. Hopefully soon he could finally shed this disguise, it make him feel rather uncomfortable...

Royal Palace, throne room

Juvon, on the other hand, actually felt rather comfortable on the cushion, enough so that he was not even complaining about the fact he was being treated as a royal pet. Either way, he was still being treated well by the royal family in spite of the circumstances. He nodded to Foley, not willing to speak up in fear that the others were not aware of his capability of speech.

Either way, it seemed the meeting was a formal one, the troops something he was still a little uneasy about but he did understand the practical reasons for having them present. One thing he was rather nervous about was the fact that this would actually be his first time seeing his own king up-close; he had seen him from a distance, but directly interacting with him for the first time was something to remember. He just didn't wish it would be under these circumstances...

[New United States of Columbia]

Royal Palace, Riley
The two guests were taken to a large room. It was well decorated with fine oak chairs, silk curtains, and had lots of Windows allowing natural light in. Several guards followed them.
"Sit. You'll be tended to shortly." One of the guards ordered.
As the two Dystians sat the guards split up. Two guarded the door and the other two stayed in the room. After several minutes of waiting a servant entered wearing the finest clothes they could get. He looked them over then smiled.
"Ah! I see you're here to meet His Excellency, yes?"

Royal Palace, Juvon
Murmurs were spreading. Hushed whispers about Juvon and then about their guests. Foley began to slump on his throne and wondered what could possibly take them so long. He noticed Juvon didn't want to speak. He figured it was understandable. As he was beginning to wonder exactly what these two guests were going to look like the Captain walked up to him and whispered:
"One of the guardsmen has just informed me that there may be communists amongst us! We should cancel the meeting and get you and the family to somewhere safer!"
Foley glared at him.
"If these guests were willing to travel potentially millions of miles to see their subject and me I'm not going to cancel the meeting and potentially make them angry! Just double the patrols and call in other units from the East Coast!"
As the Captain nodded and proceeded to the Palace's radio room Foley muttered "I just hope those your (Juvon's King) hurry up if the Captain is telling the truth."

[Dyste]

Royal Palace, Riley
After all they had been through, Riley was happy to get a proper, comfy room. Even for a being like himself, he enjoyed the usual comforts of the nobles. He and Lisa waited patiently for someone to attend to them, just relaxing in the meantime.

When a servant met with them, Riley crossed his arm on his chest and bowed his head. "Indeed, my good man. We are the royal envoy from Dyste. I hope our arrival has not caused too much fuss. Before we meet with His Excellency, if there anything we need to go over?" He was used to meeting foreign monarchs, of course, but there were always different standards to each encounter.

Royal Palace, Juvon

Juvon tilted his head at the mention of communists. He had heard the term before - kobolds had mentioned them a few times - but he didn't know that these humans were as worried about them as the little reptilians were. But, he was glad that Foley considered the meeting more important. It seemed he had plenty of protection either way.

Noticing the king's concerns, he tried to reassure him, "It is alright, Your Majesty. I am certain that they shall be here soon." In reality, he already knew they were here, he could sense the king's aura. "It should not be long before you finally meet them."

[New United States of Columbia]

Royal Palace, Riley
"Oh it's just basic procedure that's all," The man began as he finished examining the guests "All you need to know is Captain Alexander of the Royal Guard will announce your entrance. You're to bow three times like so."
He made a grand sweeping gesture before bowing low. He then showed how Lisa was expected to curtsy.
"You do these three times. Once after you enter, once when you're halfway to His Majesty, and the last when you come before the Royal Presence."
He then stood up and smiled at them.
"Got it?"

Royal Palace, Juvon
"You'd better be right," Foley hissed, making sure he was quiet enough that the Aristocrats, Guards, and, unfortunately, reporters wouldn't notice "or we WILL have to evacuate. Those Reds want nothing but trouble. They seek to destroy the Old Order and replace it with something monstrous. I'd give you a history lesson but I'm sure you don't need one."
After finishing his short and silent tirade Foley resumed examining the entrance. He was wondering if the Captain was telling the truth. If so then where, in the Palace, were the Communists?

[Dyste]

Royal Palace, Riley

Riley and practiced the bow, and Lisa in turn with the curtsy. She still found it amusing how 'ladylike' she had to act in spite of the fact that she was larger and more muscular than any of the people they had encountered so far, soldier or not.

"It think we understand," Riley spoke to the servant. "If we are ready, I would not wish to keep His Majesty waiting any longer. If you please..."

Royal Palace, Juvon

Juvon was not as worried about these Communists personally, as he felt that he could probably defend himself if needed, but he did acknowledge that they may indeed to a destabilizing factor here. Perhaps his own people can help these humans with this issue?

Something clicked in his head when he thought about humans, "By the way... sorry if this sounds obvious, but my liege has probably come in the guise of a human; obviously he is not one. He is... the same species as I am, of course. He will not change into his true self unless you ask of it." He knew that his king did not want to cause any more of a scene than he himself has done, but people will have to accept his kind if there was to be any progress in fostering relations.

[New United States of Columbia]

Royal Palace
The servant began to lead them to the Throne Room. As they did so Lisa was attracting murmurs and hushed comments from the maids and female Aristocrats, namely noting her build and size. Many weren't flattering. Never mind most Columbian women had "meat" on their bodies if only due to schools and military families encouraging women to exercise so they could breed healthy children.

Inside the Throne Room the Captain approached the two large oak doors, opened it slightly to see who was outside, closed it and turned on the spot to face High King Foley.
"I present to you, Our Most Gracious Imperial Christian Soverign," the Captain announced, "the visitors from the faraway land called Dyste! Presenting . . . Lord Riley and Lady Lisa!"
The doors opened and the entrance bow was accompanied by trumpet blares. The closer they came to Foley the quitter the room became until finally, after the third bow, not even the faintest of whisper could be heard.

Outside the Servant waited. Another patrol of guards went past him. He reached form an old thick dictionary and opened it. He turned to what should've been the D section of words to find a small thick radio.
"Everything is in place. Alpha is in sight. Proceed with Guillotine?"
"Affirmative. The People will not be held in the gilded chains of the Ancient Regime anymore. Now is the time to eradicate the western symbol of the Bourgeoisie. Kill him and his bastards and it will all end with the revolution triumphant! For the workers!"

[Dyste]

Royal Palace

When Riley and Lisa entered, Juvon was at first confused, but then he remembered hearing the stories about the king; he had an alias he named after a knight he once knew. And a bodyguard named Lisa? That was a little on the muzzle for her, though thankfully her real last name wasn't used, that would cause many eyebrows to be raised.

As instructed, Riley bowed and Lisa curtsied, three times each. Lisa's mind was on the comments she overheard; she was expecting them, but they did hurt a bit. Her species was naturally larger and more muscular than humans were on average, and while she was large and strong even for her kind, she still could pass for human with only a few minor modifications, unlike her king. She wouldn't wish to change what she was for anything, but it would've been nice to fit in.

Riley was the one who spoke on their behalf. "Your Majesty, I am grateful for your audience here on this day." Once he got close, he noticed Foley's apprehension, though it didn't seem directed at him. When have was closed, he lowered his voice, so not everyone could hear him, "Your Majesty, pardon me, but you look a bit worried. Did young Juvon tell you who I am? ... or is something else causing you concern?" If there was some threat, he was willing to help protect the people if needed, though he hoped things could be resolved peacefully.

[New United States of Columbia]

Royal Palace
Foley was about to speak. The room was hushed with anticipation. The Captain noticed something as he returned to his post close to King Foley's throne.
Three shots were heard.
Foley lurched forward in pain. He coughed up a small amount of blood, his breathing becoming labored and harsh, and he clutched his hand tightly to his stomach as a dark stain rapidly grew and crimson blood seeped between his fingers. A shout was heard before more rapid gunshots followed:
"FOR THE REVOLUTUTION!"
The Captain rushed to His King's side.
"GET HIM TO THE BUNKER! NOW!" He barked to the other Royal Guards.
A squad of guardsmen rushed to the throne, some assisting the King to his feet. Others aimed at the rest of the of the room, in case anyone else was part of the Communists.
"What . . . Happened!?" Foley coughed out, clutching his chest in pain.

[Dyste]

Royal Palace

For all the power he had, Riley could not block something that he couldn't see coming. However, what he could do was help minimize damage. Muttering something underneath his breath, he used a healing spell on Foley; it could not fully do the job (the bullet would have to be extracted first), but he should be in no danger of dying to the wound any time soon.

"I believe these people made a big mistake in trying to attack while we are around," Riley said. "Lissah," the name, while similar to 'Lisa', was pronounced differently, mainly the 'i' sound being closer to 'is'. "Can you tell if anyone here is evil?"

Lisa (or was it Lissah?) put her hands together, "Hm, its hard to determine so many people at once, and even then, we can't say for certain that they are working for them, Your Majesty."

Riley frowned; he just hoped healing the king would be able to help him. Either way, he was ready to fight if need be. He just hoped Juvon was holding up; the Fire Draconid had his hands covering his eyes, clearly frightened. The poor child had never seen someone get shot before, it was hardly his fault that he was frightened.

[New United States of Columbia]

Royal Palace
Both Captain Alexander Gladium and High King Foley gave Riley a glare.
"I don't care what you two fools are thinking of doing by 'looking for someone evil' shtick," Gladium growled "it's not earning you seats in the bunker!"
The guardsmen then gathered Juvon, High Queen Adina Foley, and their children before rushing them to the bunker deep underneath the Palace. While that was happening Gladium gave simple instructions over the radio: If anyone tried to enter or leave the Palace they were to be shot on sight. The shot, of course, was to be a kill shot.
The servant that was tending to Tyroth and Lissah earlier, laid dead in the middle of the throne room, a pistol clutched in his hand, after the guardsmen emptied their rifles into him.

[Dyste]

Royal Palace

Riley sighed; he really had enough of this charade. "Lissah, armor up. I will deal with this." He used a teleportation spell to move a distance ahead of the group heading for the bunker. Lissah, in the meantime, tapped on her stomach, where she was hiding a belt. Golden pieces of armor started appearing on her, starting with the chest and moving to the arms and legs. The armor was not in the same style as the power armor, looking far older, yet somehow just as sturdy, if not more so.

Riley, meanwhile, scanned the area ahead with his own abilities; his eyes glowed for a while. It seemed the way was clear. He than worked on setting up a protection spell; it would not guard against everything, but it would certainly slow down anything with ill intent towards them. While his physical body was weaker in this form, he still had access to all his magic.

[New United States of Columbia]

Gladium led the way, laser rifle raised ready to shoot any red in sight, with another Guardsman and then Foley following, then the Imperial Family, then Juvon, and finally more Guardsmen. They stopped when they found Riley setting up some magical shield. Gladium shook his head at him.
"If you think-"
BOOM!
The right wall blew up sending debris and dust everywhere.
Gladium got up after the shockwave floored him, checked on the Family and Juvon, before he peered outside. His pupils shrunk.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!? WHEN DID THE REDS GET A TANK!"
Twin barrels looked up at him.

Meanwhile the front of the palace was being converted into a fortress with sandbags, razor wire, Guardsmen, and Heavy Machine Guns being set up to repel the expected Red assault.

[Dyste]

Royal Palace

The debris from the wall never hit anyone behind Riley, as the shield he had set up caused all of it to fall to the ground as it made contact. The force of the shockwave did make some people fall over, but at least they were not bludgeoned by the rubble. But then they saw what had made the blast... a tank. Riley was familiar with them. His shield would hold against a few rounds, but it was not a permanent solution. Frankly, there was nothing much he could do like this. Enough was enough. In order to help protect these people, he would need to truly be himself.

"Gladium, correct? My apologies for intruding in your battle, but one of my countrymen is in danger, and I cannot allow this to go any further." With a flash of light, Riley was gone, replaced with a black-scaled Draconid, having similar features to Juvon but different in many ways. He stood over eleven feet tall, his physique burly and muscular. He too wore a cloak, but his was a black one with a gold hem with pauldrons over the shoulders, and wielded a scepter with a dragon's head on the top.

"Lord Tyroth..." Juvon seemed a bit more hopeful now that his king had properly revealed himself.

"I shall stop this," The Draconid's voice was booming and authoritative, one used to giving commands. When the tank tried to fire on him, he moved with surprising haste and pressed something on his scepter. The staff turned into a flaming sword, and he used it to cut the barrels of the tank. "I suggest you surrender," he spoke to the people inside the tank. "There is nothing you can do to defeat me."

Lissah, meanwhile, made her way to the front to help defend against the assault. She wielded a great battleaxe, with runes inscribed onto it. She had not been questioned on her appearance so far, likely due to being close enough to a suit of power armor that she looked like a special variant of it. Her body was completely covered, as was fortunate, as nobody was able to noticed her change of skin colour from when she was 'Lisa'.

[New United States of Columbia]

Gladium, Foley, Adina, and the Guardsmen looked at Tyroth in shock.
"Can this day get any weirder?" Gladium muttered to himself.
As if to answer it he watched Tyroth turn his staff into a huge flaming sword and, somehow, slice twin tank barrels in half.
Unfortunately Tyroth's heroism failed to account for one important thing: Columbian tanks NEVER work alone!
On cue several Power Armor troops, wielding rocket launchers, miniguns, gauss rifles, and large shock hammers, converged on his position.
"SURRENDER," One of the large troopers shouted at the Draconid "AND YOU WILL BE SPARED FROM THE COUP!"
Gladium carefully hid behind one of the shattered marble walls as the Imperial Family and guards, plus Juvon, ran to The Bunker.

"Oh, joy, only ONE power armor trooper!" One of the guardsmen called out as he finished stacking ammo crates "and not even with a rocket launcher!"
He sighed bitterly as he stood up, grabbed his Plasma Sniper Rifle, and retreated further back toward the Palace doors which were shut and sealed.
"Better one more ally than one more enemy at least . . . Hey, what's with the armor? And what's with the axe?"

"This is Able 1-1 Actual, heading to Palace Entrance to begin assault. Be advised it appears some creature is aiding the HVT, over."
"This is Gold Eagle, proceed with the assault. We have ways to prevent them from helping. Make sure the big guns have the . . . Special shells loaded, out."

[Dyste]

Tyroth sighed in exasperation, "Really?! For the love of Bahamut..." as powerful as he was, he was outnumbered and didn't have a good sense of the abilities of these armors. That said, he did believe they would be able to be disabled by a good hit on them; the problem with these sorts of machines is that they needed large chunks to be capable of working in order to work as a whole. "I thank you kindly for your offer, really, I do. But I am afraid I cannot accept your proposal. On the other hand, I will offer YOU a chance to surrender to me. See, if you do not..."

The Draconid king used a teleportation spell to move behind one of the armors and heck at its arms, cutting them off, and then doing the same to another's legs. "I do think that you should consider-" he was unable to continue, as one of the other ones hit him with the hammer, knocking him back a few feet. Another tried the same, though he braced this time. He couldn't retaliate with this many attacking him at once; as strong as he was, he was more used to fighting as part of a group. If only he could get their attention away for a moment, he could disable them...

Lissah would've normally by her king's side, but the lack of strong allies in this fight meant they needed to split their efforts. She went to the front to aid there, though it seemed her unique appearance caused some notice. "This is... special equipment," she said, her voice being somewhat muffled behind her helmet. Pointing her axe forward, she caused a beam of light to fire from it, as if it was a laser. "Of course, it works as an axe proper as well, but do not let its aged look fool you; it is quite the weapon."

Meanwhile, in the bunker, Juvon was still a bit shaken, but he noticed Foley looking that way moreso. "Are you alright, Your Majesty?" he tried to converse with him. "Is it this attack or my king's appearance that shocks you more? I did tell you that human appearance was a disguise, after all." He wished that Foley had gotten the hint earlier about that and told him to reveal himself, but that was neither here nor there at this point.

[New United States of Columbia]

Gladium took aim. He was surprised at how excellent a fighter Tyroth was. And how brutal he could be too, what with lopping off human arms and all.
One of the power armor troops swung at Tyroth with his shock hammer. Perfect.
A red laser cut into one of the breathing hoses near the helmet. For a second the other troops looked around wondering where the shot came from. Gladium was already screaming at Tyroth:
"COME ON YOU IDIOT, DO YOU WANNA LIVE FOREVER!? THEN RUN YOU DUMB SONOFABITCH! RUN!"
He resumed firing, most of his shots bouncing off the reflective armor. And also missing since he was now hugging the wall to avoid all the shots coming at him.
"Don't let the Captain live! He can call reinforcements if he does!" One of the minigun troopers shouted to his comrades.
A shock hammer soldier lept high into the air, activated his jump pack, and soared up to Gladiumi's position.
"Oh fuck me!" Gladium cussed as he started to dodge the attempted blows from the trooper.

Large IFVs tore through the gate, firing their laser cannons at the guardsmen and Lissah.
"LOYALTY UNTIL DEATH!" One of them called out as he fired his .50 cal machine gun at the disembarking power armor troops.
The other guardsmen followed his example and also proceeded to fire at the troopers. Most attempted to "concentrate" it on one or two troopers at a time. Unfortunately they didn't have the luxury of only dealing with a handful and not around a hundred.

Meanwhile inside The Bunker, Foley sighed trying to stay calm.
"Well I'm right now more worried about my family and my life considering they almost killed me twice!"
It had been several hours since they entered the bunker. Small rumbles of the fierce fighting above shook the whole complex though, thankfully, it wasn't much. Guardsmen, support personel, and several loyal military officers staffed and resided in the complex, along with some of their friends and family.
Foley had changed. His regalia was being washed and repaired (though futilely as blood stains are almost impossible to get removed). Instead he wore a tailored suit. Black dress shoes clicked on the polished floor as he tapped his feet absentmindedly. He played with his red tie a bit as he waited to be summoned to the meeting room where his military leaders were coming up with a plan to retake the city. He was lucky that, whoever was attacking, hadn't discovered the Bunker's unique telegraph line and radio frequency. It meant they could broadcast a distress signal to their most loyal ally The Grand Duchy of Nova Capile and their fellow members of the Region.

[The Grand Duchy Of Nova Capile]

Royal Palace

---

Ambassador Anton Quisling, the senior ambassador to Columbia, had been invited to the event which would be held in the Royal Palace. He was highly skeptically. Like the majority of Capileans, he was a devout Christian; how could aliens fit into God's word? It had to be a trick of some sort. Quisling's faith would be tested today.

The ambassador climbed out of the black limousine he had ridden in and stroked back his shock of sandy hair. A few reporters swarmed him, but they seemed to be concentrating on the delegation of "aliens" who'd just arrived. Quisling tried to catch a glimpse of them, to no avail. Frowning, he flashed his authorized personnel badge at a group of overly-zealous guards and continued through the compound and into the building.

Quisling took up a position near the throne, taking note of Foley's distressed expression, and his eyes where instantly drawn to a mysterious being in the room. His eyes bugged out of his head, and his heart skipped a beat. What was this? It must be a trick! Anton dipped his head for a quick, silent prayer. The next few minutes rolled by too quickly.

Foley and the "aliens", who looked like overgrown humanoids, snapped at each other for a while, and then three gunshots rang out. Quisling started, and looking over at the King, saw a bloody hole in his stomach. The ambassador's eyes grew to saucers, and for a moment he stood completely still. Next everyone was screaming, mini-guns were roaring, and soldiers where hurrying towards a bunker.

Quisling pivoted around and sprinted after the King, not looking back.

[Dyste]

Gladium's firing gave Tyroth not only the chance he needed, but the realization of a potential weak point of these armors. With a flick of a button, the sword turned into a battle axe, as he hacked at some of the breathing hoses of the nearby soldiers. He was about to continue when he noticed one of them running for the captain. He stopped his assault and broke out his wings, flying towards the soldier. With the cloak in the way his flight was hampered, but no matter, he only needed a short distance. Turning his axe into a spear, he impaled it into the trooper's jump pack.

Breathing a bit, the Draconid held his hand to his chest, and a green glow emitted. "Thank you for that." In spite of Tyroth looking no worse for wear, it was evident to him his side was outnumbered. They were needing some extra help, badly. While the Royal Knights would be too far away to make a difference, there was always his other bodyguard. Touching his hand to around his neck, Gladium could notice a golden amulet around there, just underneath his cloak. "Bucky? I need you. Come to me." He knew Bucky alone couldn't make or break the tide of battle, but at least they could get an extra set of hands.

Lissah had to keep her distance, since she knew in spite of her armor's power she couldn't fight this many all at once. Firing the beams of light at the troopers, it was as effective as any of the guns the soldiers wielded. When one got close, she went into close combat, pitting her old axe against the armored soldier's hammer. At one point, her helmet was knocked off, showing this trooper her actual face; while her short black hair remained unchanged, her skin was a green tone, her eyes red, and her mouth had two small tusks on the lower jaw. After knocking the trooper back, she put her helmet back on, though it seemed the guardsmen were too focused on the defense to notice.

In the bunker, Juvon sighed; he had not wished to annoy Foley. "I apologize, your family is indeed important, as is your life. Hopefully the healing my king did was enough to help out, though I recommend removing the bullet for maximum effect." In spite of all this, he had noticed another person looking oddly at him throughout the time here. This man, who someone referred to as Quisling, was apparently some big-name ambassador. It appeared that even he was unaware of his kind's true nature.

[New United States of Columbia]

Gladium had been thrown against the wall when Tyroth came to the rescue. He felt weak as he could barely feel anything, he attempted to stand but promptly fell face first. He then heard Tyroth calling for someone named "Bucky".
"Listen!" Gladium yelled, thankful he could still speak "just calling in one guy ain't gonna do shit! Clearly these guys, in numbers, are more than a match for you! Let alone a squad or platoon of our guardsmen! We need to get to the Bunker NOW!"
As he shouts this the Power Armor troops started firing at them, intending to "suppress" or "pin them down".

The Sniper noticed Lissah's looks. He didn't care though. If only because he was trying to avoid stray rockets, laser bolts, explosive 5mm minigun rounds, or plasma bolts. He took aim and fired, knocking the helmet off one of the troopers and then watching his head explode when he was shot by one of the remaining HMG crews. However the battle wasn't going well. Even with Lissah's assistance and their numbers the Power Armor troops had better weapons and armor. Plus Mechanized help from the IFVs.
"Whatever the hell your name is!" The sniper shouted to Lissah "can you focus on those IFVs! Taking them out may turn the battle in our favor!"

Foley gave Juvon a surprised look. He then remembered how he didn't feel as much pain or blood coming from the wounds. He also remembered staff insisting on removing the bullets from his wound but him insisting he felt nothing.His appearance softened slightly after he finished recollecting his thoughts.
"I . . . I am sorry if I mistreated you or your King, Juvon."
As he was about to continue he heard a soft cough.
"Oh! Ambassador, apologies for not introducing you to my . . . Companion . . . Mr. Quisling this is Juvon Inferno. Juvon this is Quisling an ambassador or representative from our staunch ally Nova Capile."

"Gold Eagle, this is Able 1-1 Actual! Assault is stalled. Odd creature assisting HVT is keeping us from advancing. Request permission to use 'Special Shells', over."
"Able 1-1 actual, use of Special Shells is authorized. Send fire coordinates to Artillery Company Fox, out"

Several miles from the city several large artillery batteries were being loaded with yellow shells with the biological warning symbol. After all the guns were loaded their crews were waiting for the signal.