Operation: Home Front, A Change of Plans

      by Trooper Cecrops, Doberman Empire

      [occurs at some point after Acceptance]

      The young man stepped off the bus. He knew that his routine of walking
 home from the bus stop would be different than normal for some reason which
 he had forgotten, but he had no idea how different it would turn out to be.

      It was raining lightly this afternoon, quite a change in the weather
 since a week and a half ago, when it was as hot as it would normally be in
 August. Cecrops enjoyed a light rain, as long as he didn't have to sleep in
 it.
      He began walking south, when he remembered what was different about
 today. It was near the end of the month, and he was supposed to go to the
 community center in Lucchesi Park to pick up bus passes for the new month.
 He turned around and began walking north, when he realized that there was
 something very wrong about. He stopped and began to think.

      Inside the community center, preparations were underway for a week-
 before-Thanksgiving party. Most of the city council, several local
 businessmen, and the county sheriff were invited. Unknown to them, the
 preparations were no longer being carried out by those to whom the task had
 been assigned. Instead, their unconscious bodies had been carried into a
 side room by a small group of Sponge Minions.
      Also inside the building was a Wyrm Minion. One who had willingly
 bowed to the evils of the purple demon, he had the power of reasonable
 thought and had used it to the delight of his Lyran masters; Masters who
 had rewarded him with enhanced physical and mystical powers; Masters who
 had given him the gift of a newborn Saethrian to raise and keep as
 bodyguard and companion; Masters who had mysteriously disappeared a couple
 of weeks ago, with no notice or explanation. He had new masters now,
 masters who were not known to him but whom were allies of his old Lyran
 masters and his Lord B'harnii. It was they that had sent him on this small
 operation.
      Outside of the building was an unearthly creature, looking at its
 reflection in the lake. It was attempting to ponder thoughts about its
 existence, most particularly if whatever was in the water was another
 creature or a reflection of itself. After several minutes of watching the
 other being mimic its movements, it concluded that the water creature was
 not such, but only a reflection of itself. It had already reached this
 conclusion fifteen minutes beforehand, but it had forgotten. The minds of
 its kind had been severely weakened by selective breeding by the Lyrans,
 and it was young, so its mind was quite weak even for its species.
      The creature was very confused. It believed the Wyrm Minion to be its
 mother, after all, its earliest memories were of the Minion. However, the
 image which it believed could be a reflection of itself was very different
 from the Minion. Its weak mind quickly tired of such thought, so it turned
 around to resume feeding on one of the several Earth waterfowl it had
 easily caught before its attention was diverted to the water.

      Cecrops walked towards the crosswalk opposite the park, and looked up
 at the Duck Crossing sign as he passed it. He chuckled as he wondered how
 long it had been since ducks had actually crossed this now busy
 thoroughfare. It was then that he noticed one of two things that he would
 soon realize were seriously wrong that day. He looked across the street to
 the park, and did not see a single duck. He wondered what had happened to
 them, whether they had flown south for the winter, or whether some predator
 had scared them off. He reasoned that the first was by far most likely, and
 wondered why he kept thinking pessimistic thoughts like the second. It was
 unlikely that there were any predators in the middle of town that would
 would attack a flock of about two hundred ducks and geese for food.
      Food... Now Cecrops realized the second thing that was wrong this day.
 He smelled the air, and knew that he was right about this. Normally, the
 air would be strong with the smell from the Burger King in the nearby
 Plaza. However, there was no smell of hamburger in the air, and he saw that
 nothing was coming out of the smokestack atop the structure. He walked
 closer to the building and looked in a window, to see a person dressed in
 lime and lavender colors, toting what appeared to be an automatic firearm.
 He ducked out from sight before the person saw him. Even though he did not
 see this person from the front, he instinctively knew that this person
 carried a large, stupid grin on his face. For it was obvious to him that
 this was one of the Sponge Minions which he had heard about, but never met
 face to face.
      He wondered then if the Sponge Minions had been responsible for
 scaring off the ducks at Lucchesi Park, and thought it to be within the
 realm of possibility. As inexperienced as he was, he knew that attempting
 to kick the spongies out of the Burger King would not be a good idea at
 this time. If they attacked the Burger King, they would likely be inside
 the McDonalds a short way to the south. If they were in all three places,
 and he attacked the one in the middle, he would be caught in a crossfire
 which he would stand little chance of surviving. Well, he would stand
 little chance of surviving any conflict with the forces of the Hell Wyrm,
 seeing as how he was alone and untrained in the art of war. His sense of
 duty overrode his fear of death, as he knew that he must intervene.
      Cecrops returned to the sidewalk and began walking south towards the
 McDonalds.

      Back inside the park building stood the Wyrm Minion. He felt an odd
 sensation in his mind, and soon realised that what he was feeling was one
 of the powers given to him by his old Lyran masters. He was sensing danger,
 in the form of a Jihaddi. However, the danger passed quickly, as the
 Jihaddi was walking away from his position. It appeared that this operation
 would go off without a hitch.
      Cecrops walked up to the front of the McDonalds, and withdrew his
 pocketknife from his pocket. It was useless as a weapon, but when folded it
 could theoretically enhance a punch like a roll of pennies might. He walked
 up to the front door and tried to open it, but it was locked.
      A Sponge Minion jumped up to the door and aimed its weapon at him
 through the door. "Well, hi there! You can't come in here, we're closed for
 renne... re... umm, we're making the place look happier, and we're going to
 sell Hellthy Snacks[tm] instead of hamburgers! Isn't that Stuuuupendous?"
      Cecrops resisted the urge to say "Hell no", and instead started with
 what he had decided to say. He looked through the glass door and saw that
 the Sponge Minion had neglected to put a clip in his assault rifle. This
 was going to be easier than he thought.
      "I have a message for your lord B'harnii." He hated saying 'Lord
 B'harnii,' but it was too late to change his mind on this.
      "Oh, goodie, can I have it?" asked the clueless Sponge Minion.
      'He's gonna have it all right', Cecrops thought. "Sure, just open up
 the door so I can give it to you."
      "Uh, okey dokey," said the Sponge Minion as it unlocked the door while
 neglecting to notice that there was a mail slot in the door that a material
 message could be sent through. It also did not notice Cecrops drawing back
 his fist.
      The Sponge Minion received the message loud and clear. Cecrops dropped
 his pocketknife and cried out as his hand throbbed with pain. He looked at
 it and noticed that there was no damage, just a slight mark left by the
 pocketknife. The Sponge Minion took this time to aim its gun at Cecrops and
 pull the trigger, but was surprised when there was no 'bang'.
      Cecrops heard the empty gun click and realised that he had nearly lost
 his life save for the fact his enemy was a complete idiot. He grabbed the
 rifle by its barrel and pulled it away from the Sponge Minion, pushing his
 foot into his enemy's chest for leverage. Suddenly he noticed movement to
 his left, as another Sponge Minion raised a pistol at him. Cecrops ducked
 out of the doorway just before several bullets passed through it.

      The Wyrm Minion started as he thought he heard gunfire. It could have
 merely been his imagination, but he had not earned any respect by being
 careless. He walked to the front of the community center, opened the door,
 and began to listen.

      Cecrops heard the footsteps of the second Sponge Minion running
 towards the door, and then heard the second Sponge Minion collide with the
 first who had risen to his feet. Sponge Minion number one tumbled out the
 door, and Cecrops raised the rifle. Sponge Minion #2 stumbled out, and was
 met with a smashing blow from the butt of an assault rifle, enough to cause
 him to lose his grip on the pistol and fall back through the door.
      Quickly picking up the fallen pistol and putting it in his raincoat
 pocket, Cecrops stepped inside the building to face the second Minion. A
 scratching noise followed by a clattering and a thump behind him told him
 three things, first that the first Minion had tripped on his pocketknife
 and fallen down, second that he was quite inept at battle to have willingly
 moved into a position where he had an enemy in front of him and one behind,
 and third that his enemies were more inept than he was. He ducked back out
 of the building, and hit the fallen Sponge Minion with the rifle-butt. The
 second Minion was up and coming at him, but Cecrops noticed, and a sharp
 upward swing of the rifle-butt sent the Minion falling back through the
 doorway. Cecrops then picked up an ammunition clip for the assault rifle
 from the first Minion, and stepped back to load it. Within seconds he had
 figured out how to load the clip into the weapon and had done so, but the
 Sponge Minions were both on their !
      feet and advancing towards him. They might have been smiling, but they
 did not look happy.

      The Wyrm Minion was startled as he heard automatic weapon fire from
 the direction of the McDonalds. He rushed out towards the street to take a
 look at the situation.
      Drivers along the boulevard were surprised at the unusual sights on
 either side of the road. Those looking to their left saw a man running at a
 fast pace wearing the most hideous colored green and nagenta uniform. Those
 looking to their right saw a young man toting an assault rifle walking over
 a pair of bodies.
      The Wyrm Minion saw the young man who must have been the danger he had
 sensed earlier. Instead of leaving, as he thought had happened, the Jihaddi
 had discovered the Sponge Minions controlling the McDonalds and had slain
 two of his group of eight minions. This was not acceptable. He would use
 the magical powers given him by his previous masters in order to put a
 quick end to this menace.
      Cecrops saw a figure across the street that did not look friendly. He
 put down his rifle and drew the pistol, with which he would have better
 aim. This distance was near 200 yards, but he had never used an assault
 rifle before today. Pistols he was familiar with. The nagenta clad figure
 raised its arms, and energy gathered between his hands.
      One car driver, traveling at a speed approaching 50 miles per hour,
 began to slow down for the stoplight ahead. Then he saw the light turn
 green, and he began to speed up again. Then he saw a guy by the side of the
 road with an assault rifle and a pistol, and he floored it.
      The blast left the Minion's hands and bolted across the street, but
 collided with a car that had sped in between him and his target.
      Cecrops saw a car speed by his line of sight, and the opposite side of
 the car become engulfed by a bright flash, and then the car begin to tip
 before righting and slowing to a stop. As soon as the car passed through
 his line of sight, Cecrops adjusted his aim and fired twice.
      The Minion was surprised that his spell did not hit his intended
 target, but had no time to consider the matter further as a bullet pierced
 his skull and passed through his brain, killing him instantly.
      Behind the community center, a creature stopped feasting on a large
 mallard and balanced itself into an upright position, as it felt its mental
 link to its mother(?) suddenly snap.
      Cecrops watched the Minion fall, and then turned his attention to the
 car which had been hit by the spell. A spell that had been meant for him.
 The car pulled into the corner gasoline station, and he saw a man open up
 the passenger side door and crawl out, bleeding on his left side. There was
 no one else inside the car, so the driver's side door must have been fused
 shut. 'The car must have been going at least 70 MPH when it was hit!',
 thought Cecrops. He was dumbfounded at the thought that Petaluma's crazy
 drivers had saved his life instead of taken it as he had thought they would
 sometime do. The driver seemed like he would survive, so Cecrops turned his
 attention toward the Burger King, which he started towards. He realized now
 that he had been carrying his backpack during the whole battle.
      As Cecrops approached the Burger King, he began to take off his
 backpack, and then thought the better of it. The books and materiels inside
 the pack could offer a little protection for his back. He hefted it back on
 his shoulders and walked to the Burger King. If the Spongies were
 consistent, there would be two of them in this building as well.
      Cecrops saw a Sponge Minion through the window, and fired his assault
 rifle, dropping the SM to the floor. Another SM popped out from the kitchen
 and fell to a quick blast. This was almost too easy. Cecrops glanced behind
 himself, and then turned his attention back inside the building. After a
 half minute of silence, he was satisfied that he had killed the only two
 Sponge Minions in the building.
      As Cecrops walked across the crosswalk to Lucchesi Park, he noticed
 that the cars were giving him much more leeway than normal. In fact, they
 weren't even trying to run him over. 'Must be the assault rifle,' he
 thought.
      Cecrops slowed as he walked up the curved walkway towards the front of
 the community center. The spongies sure were being consistent, there would
 probably be two of them in here as well. He noticed a red spot on the
 ground where the ducks would normally sit... Blood? He made a mental note
 to check the outside of the building after he cleared out the inside.

      The spongies inside the building were doubletiming their preparations
 for the thanksgiving party, as per what turned out to be their final orders
 from their commander. They were decorating the main hall now, after they
 had installed the devices which would tell the partygoers how
 stuuuuuuuupendous Lord B'harnii was. Two of them were carrying a large
 plastic turkey when a hail of gunfire cut them down.

      Cecrops shouldered the rifle. 'Damn, I'm good', he thought. He sure
 was fighting a lot better than he was at the McDonalds. Then again, he had
 a machine gun now.
      The Sponge Minions had been carrying an incredibly large, incredibly
 tacky turkey into the main hall of the center. Curious, Cecrops walked in.
      It seemed as if the room was being set up for a standard Thanksgiving
 party, except for it was a week before Thanksgiving, and there was a
 strange looking device in one corner. Cecrops started walking towards it,
 but when he reached the center of the room he heard the door he had walked
 through slam shut.
      Cecrops turned towards the door, startled. 'A trap!' he thought. His
 thoughts were soon confirmed as a dorky voice boomed over the speakers,
 "Well, hi there! You must be here for the party!"
      Cecrops turned around, looking for the source of the voice, but seeing
 nothing. "Actually, I'm a Jihaddi, and I'm here to kill you. Come out and
 fight."
      "Oh, goodie, a Jihaddi! I'm going to make a Jihaddi see how
 stuuuuuupendous it is to serve Lord B'harnii!"
      "Don't make me laugh."
      There was no reply for several seconds. Then the Hell Wyrm's Song
 began playing over the speakers, and purple smoke began spouting from the
 machine in the corner. Cecrops looked around and saw more smoke coming from
 behind decorations around the room, and he figured there must be similar
 machines behind the decorations.
      "What do you spongies think you are trying to do?" Cecrops half
 wondered, half challenged. There was no response, and the room began
 filling with the smoke. Cecrops felt he must have inhaled some of the smoke
 by now, but he felt alright, if he did have a bit of a headache from
 listening to the Hell Wyrm's Chant for a minute and a half. Cecrops spoke
 again.
      "The soundtrack is horrible, and the special effects suck."
      There was no response for another half minute, and then the machines
 stopped discharging their purple smoke, and the so-called 'song' stopped
 playing over the speakers. Then the voice of a Sponge Minion:
      "You see how much B'harnii *luvs* you? >giggle<"
      Cecrops felt no such thing, in fact quite the opposite, and he let the
 Sponge Minions know this in less than pristine language. The Minion's
 astonished reply:
      "Oooooooooh, you said 'Fuuuuuuuuuuuck'....."
      "Um, hate to tell you fella, but you just said 'fuck' yourself."
 'Heh', he thought, 'fuck yourself'.
      "Did not! You liar!"
      Cecrops sighed, he had not heard anyone talk like this since about
 fifth grade. He stepped towards the second door to the room, which had been
 closed the whole time he had been in the building. It was unlocked. Purple
 gas escaped from the mail hall as he pushed open the door and looked to his
 right. He saw a Sponge Minion guarding the other door, with his back to
 him. A quick burst from the machine gun, and Cecrops has one less Sponge
 Minion to worry about.
      He did not know exactly how many he still had to deal with, though. He
 had expected two Sponge Minions inside the community center, and that was
 the third he had gunned down. He also wondered what that smoke was supposed
 to do to him. His thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of a gun at his
 back.
      Cecrops reluctantly raised his hands, and the machine gun, above his
 head. The same voice that had come over the speaker system was talking to
 him now.
      "Ooh ooh, I got you now you meany Jihaddi!"
      Cecrops rolled his eyes. He did not want it to end like this. Then he
 spoke. "Okay, it looks like you got me. May I at least have the honour of
 knowing who killed me?"
      The Sponge Minion slowly replied, "Uhhhhh, okay, I guess."
      Cecrops began to turn around, until he heard the SM shout, "Hey, umm,
 don't move, or something!"
      Cecrops pointed out, "Hey, how am I supposed to know who you are if I
 cannot get a look at your face?"
      "Uhh, okay, I guess."
      Cecrops turned around, and what he saw made him laugh out loud. The SM
 was noticeably distressed. "Hey, uh, stop laughing, what's so funny?"
      Cecrops calmed himself, and then informed the clueless Minion, "Hey
 man, I hate to tell you this, but your safety's on."
      The SM looked cluelessly at him, "Huh, what?", and then at the gun.
 Cecrops lowered his weapon and fired. "Any more Sponge Minions in here?" he
 yelled. After there was no response(he half expected a minion to pop up and
 raise its hand) for about a minute, he looked at the weapons of the minions
 he had downed here. They all had either a machine gun or a pistol like the
 ones he had taken off the SMs at the McDonalds. He lifted the ammo clips
 from the Minions' bodies, they would not be needing them any more, and the
 way things were going, he would. He also took the fourth Sponge Minion's
 pistol, wouldn't hurt to have two of them. Then he walked back out the
 front door of the Community Center.
      He looked at the spot of red in the grass. Definately blood, most
 likely duck(or goose) blood. There were feathers strewn about, which sort
 of confirmed this. Why he did not notice the feathers before, he didn't
 know. He walked over to the lake. There were feathers here and there
 coating the surface of the lake. He stood staring at its waters for a few
 seconds, until he heard something that sounded like the beating of wings...

      Slowly turning his head, Cecrops saw a creature that was quite
 apparently not of this Earth. It was about 3* feet in height from head to
 tip of tail, and the tip of tail in question looked like the stinger of a
 scorpion. It had a wormlike shape and a purplish colour with tinges of
 green, and a pair of small wings sprouting from its back. Four long
 tendrils poked out of its torso, appearing to act as arms, with claws at
 their ends. And it was coming right at him.
      Cecrops whirled around and let fly a spray of poorly aimed bullets
 from his machine gun, missing the beast by a margin. The beast was quite
 close now, he whirled his gun around, faked a run to the right, and jumped
 to his left, swinging right, and the flying beast fell for the fake.
      The gun-butt and the creature connected with enough force to knock the
 rifle out of Cecrops's hands. The creature swung its tail around and struck
 at Cecrops in the back, putting a large hole in his backpack. Cecrops began
 running, and then turned around. He fumbled in his raincoat for the pistol,
 dropping it in his nervousness. He then dropped himself flat to the ground
 as the flying whatzit buzzed over him, its tail missing by inches.
      Cecrops wondered now what he could use to possibly harm this thing.
 Forgetting about the pistol he just dropped, he took off his backpack as it
 turned around, and threw it at the beast, then turning around to run in the
 direction of the machine gun.
      The pack connected with the flying creature, doing little more than
 slowing it down. Cecrops slipped in the wet grass and fell to the ground.
 He found himself face to face with the mangled remains of a muscovy duck,
 its species identifiable only by the feathers that were everywhere. The
 beast was coming at him fast, and all he could do was pray. He raised his
 left arm in a futile attempt at defense, and closed his eyes, waiting to
 die...

      (To be continued in Awakening)