Operation: Home Front - ...to the Dark Side.
	Author: Centurion A. P. Selene, Doberman Empire.

	The first sponge minions appear, happily chanting their favorite
Luv song.  Selene sinks deeper into the trance and when the moment feels
right,  sends the message to her second.
	*Brackard, begin.*
	Reacting instantly, his hand shoves down the first lever.
Transparent,  pulsating walls suddenly glimmer in the air effectively
blocking off the hallway on either end.  Both the minions and the hidden
Jihaddi are trapped.  All other light vanishes, leaving the area shadowed
and dark.
	Nodding in satisfaction, Brackard activates the main phase of the
MetallicDT[tm] device.  Seconds later, the opening chords of Metallica's
"The God that Failed" thunder through the air filling it with a glorious
pounding beat.  Screaming in horror, the Sponge minions fall to the floor
and cover their ears with both hands.
	Utterly focused, Zaphyre begins to dig through their minds.
Careful to stay away from the 'zombies', she yanks out long- buried,
repressed memories with every pulse in the music.  The rest of the Jihaddi
slip out from their cover and move to encircle the minions, leaving Selene
in the center.  The Centurion's head abruptly snaps back.  Her eyes open.
These depthless, black pits stare off into the distance as the dragon
begins to send out images.

< Pride you Took/Pride you Feel/Pride that you Felt when you'd Kneel... >
*A group of sponge minions kneels before a smiling B'harnii,  luving and
praising him...*

< ... Not the Word/Not the Love/Not what you thought from Above... >
*... the mask gets torn off, exposing the tentacled slime of the Evil[tm]
in his TrueForm[tm]*

< ... It feeds/It grows/It clouds all that you know... >
	*B'harnii happily hugs one of his Followers.  A tentacle sneaks
out,  breaking the minion's neck...*

< ... Deceit/Deceive/Decide what you believe... >
*... Cackling evilly, the dinosaur cracks open the corpse's skull and
gleefully begins to dine.*

	Selene slowly glides to her feet.  Immersed in the music,  she
moves deliberately, almost floating around the circle.  Her talons slash
downward,  cutting through the air with menacing force.
	A few of the sponge minions stumble to their feet, clawing at their
heads as they try to get the images out of their minds.

< ... I see faith in your eyes... >
 SLASH!The talons slice through air.
 A minion falls.
 *A sponge minion's husband is seen pledging his life and luv to B'harnii...*

< ... Never you hear the discouraging lies... >
 SLASH! Another minion falls.

< ... I hear faith in your cries... >
*... B'harnii, giggling, cuts off his head...*
A sponged woman screams, "NO!!!!"

< ... Broken is the Promise, Betrayal... >
*... and tosses it to B'hii J'hay and B'haby B'hopp who happily throw it
back and forth.*

< ... The healing hand held back by the deepened nail...>
A minion charges at Selene.

< ... Follow the god that failed!>
	*Bullets are seen tearing into B'harnii's body.   FLASH!  Its limbs
are crudely torn off from Its torso.  FLASH!  Its severed head is seen
mounted on a pike.  FLASH!  A sword is seen protruding from B'harnii's
chest.*

	Selene twirls in time to the music and grips the minion's sword
between her talons.  SWIPE!  Her other hand yanks out his insides.  Tossing
his carcass aside, she continues with the dance.

< Find your Peace/Find your Say/Find the Smooth Road on your Way...>
*A happy family sits in front of the television set, singing along with the
bouncy, happy dinosaur...*

	The Centurion continues to glide to the music.  She blocks several
attacks by the minions, never hitting back.

< ... Trust you Gave/A Child to Save/Left you Cold and him in Grave... >
* ... B'harnii visits the family.  As B'harnii hugs the children, a
tentacle can be seen slipping into their brains.  FLASH!  An image of
graves appears...*
>From somewhere in the ranks, their mother screams.

< ... It Feeds/It Grows/It Clouds all that you will know...>
* Lyrans can be seen closing a deal with B'harnii, a delivery of 'test'
subjects...*
More of the minions clamber to their feet;  their eyes emit an unholy
nagenta light.
Selene moves back into the center of the circle, letting the minions
approach.

< ... Deceit/Deceive/Decide just what you believe... >
 *... FLASH!In a Lyran laboratory, a minion is strapped to a table,
screaming in pain and horror as a scaled fist bursts from its chest.*
She stills, waiting for them to come closer.

< ... I see faith in your eyes... >
*An elderly man can be seen happily tossing a baseball to his grandkids...*
The Centurion's talons lash outwards, catching a minion off-guard.  Her
claws dig in and she begins her attack.

< ... Never you hear the discouraging lies ... >
*... the grandkid is seen later, happily hugging a B'harnii plushy...*
She moves outward, slashing and tearing skin with every pounding beat of
the music.  She becomes immersed in it; every movement instinctual as she
carries out the ritual slaughter.

< ... I hear faith in your cries ... >
*... a slimy tentacle slips out of the plushy, aiming for the boy's head...*
She ducks as a minion dives at her and, jamming talons from both hands into
his stomach, tosses him to the side.

< ... Broken is the promise/Betrayal... >
 *... The boy is seen later, now unable to catch the ball his
grandfather is throwing to him...*
Crushing his larynx beneath one heel, she continues to slash and tear,
becoming soaked in the blood of the fallen.

< ... Follow the god that failed! >
*... Hundreds of shelves of the plushies are seen... the tentacled
creatures hidden inside each one.*
Selene turns into a bloody whirlwind.  Moving faster than the eye can
follow,  she singles out the 'changed' minions, never touching the others.
Her soul takes in the darkness of the music and the memories.  She becomes
a machine of death; her reason  for existence is to eliminate the Evil[tm].

	They never touch her, falling left and right.  The other members of
the Jihad watch, expressions unchanging.  Every once in a while one moves,
to help a despongified minion escape from what has become a killing zone.

< I see faith in your eyes... >
*FLASH! the image of the man is seen, kneeling before his master.*
The talons slash and tear, drawing blood.  The bodies pile up.  A nagenta
glow suddenly covers the floor, and the dead begin to rise.

< ... Broken is the Promise/Betrayal... >
*FLASH!his severed head is seen again being tossed to B'hii J'hay and
B'haby B'hopp.*
She moves faster yet, spreading carnage with every touch.  Bodies begin to
fall anew.

< ... The healing hand held back by the deepened nail...>
*FLASH! the tentacled creatures are shown hiding inside the plushies.*
She ducks and turns caught up in the dance of death as she rakes her talons
through another victim, still unhurt, almost becoming death itself.

< ... Follow the god that failed! >
*FLASH! B'harnii is seen eating the brains of his followers.*
The bodies pile up, but still the talons slice through the air.

< Pride you Took/Pride you Feel/Pride that you Felt when you Kneel/Trust
you gave/A child to Save/Left you cold and him in Grave... >
Zaphyre changes tactics and begins to dig out the suppressed emotions from
each minion's mind.* <sadness> ...  <betrayal> ...  <loss> ...
<disappointment> ....*
	The emotions that the dragon is taking inside latch onto her.
Tears of blood begin to seep from her eyes as she continues the motion of
the dance;  her talons, now covered in blood, dig deeply into human flesh.
More bodies fall.

< ...I see faith in your eyes/Never you hear the discouraging lies/I hear
faith in your cries/Broken is the promise/Betrayal/The healing hand held
back by the deepened nail.../ Follow the god that failed!>
The dragon begins to heal the minds of the rescued minions.  Pulling out
the memories of the horrors that they've witnessed,  she replaces them with
recollections that will always remain foggy - things the human brain can
handle witnessing.

	The last 'changed' minion falls, but still the Centurion moves to
the music.  Caught up in the whirlwind, something inside forces her body to
continue the dance.

< Follow the god that failed! >
Zaphyre heals their hurt pride.
SLASH! Her talons slice through the empty air.
< Broken is the Promise >
She gives them back their ability to grieve.
SLASH! Again.
< Betrayal! >
The dragon pulls the terrors, the horrors, the Evil[tm] into her own Self[tm].
SLASH! She cuts at her own skin.
< Betrayal! >
Zaphyre releases their minds, with one instruction.
*Heal, but always remember the pain.*

	The music dims and Selene falls to the floor spent.  She covers her
head with her arms curling up into a ball.  Brackard,  abandoning his post,
rushes over to see if she's all right.
	Placing a hand gently on her shoulder, he speaks.
	"Selene?  Are you...?"
	Her voice is muffled when she replies, "I'm still me.  Go get Will
and the others.  I need a moment to myself."
	He nods and signals to the other Jihaddi, leaving the Centurion
alone.

...

	Selene began to sob quietly, letting the emotions flow over her.
She lifted her head to look at the carnage surrounding her.
	*Oh, Grimace...* The words passed through her mind.  Quickly
leaning to one side, she emptied her stomach.  The Centurion slowly sat up
and started to rock slowly back and forth, sobs wracking her body.
	"Selene!"Will's voice invaded her privacy.  Skidding to a halt, he
looked, appalled, at the piles of blood and gore that covered the small
length of the corridor."Wh-where are you?"
	She couldn't answer, as the tears continued to stream from her
eyes.  Eventually, he'd find her.  He'd have to.
	His eyes scanned through the carnage, finally spotting her slowly
rocking body.  Approaching carefully, he gently placed a hand on her
shoulder."What happened?"
	Selene shook her head, unable to stop the soothing motion.  *Back
and forth... back and forth...*
	"Are you all right?"
	She shook her head again, not able to lie to him.
	"I can tell you what happened,"Will whirled at the sound of another
voice.  Brackard continued, his tone disgusted.  "She took it too far.
Instead of just ending it with their despongification, she tried to heal
them."His eyes softened as he turned his attention to his CO, "She took all
of their pain,  all of their suffering into herself - hoping it would be
enough, hoping they'd be able to go back to their old lives again."  He
shook his head ruefully, "She has the biggest heart sometimes... but does
the dumbest things.  Look, the others will be here in a few minutes...See
if you can do something for her, she won't even talk to me when she gets
like that.  Maybe you'll have better luck."  He turned on his heel and went
to repack the equipment.
	Will slowly kneeled down next to Selene.  He pulled her into his
arms,  saying with his body what he couldn't with words.
	The Centurion turned into his shoulder, his simple presence easing
some of her pain.  He rubbed her back soothingly, saying nothing.
Eventually her sobs ceased, and she raised her head.
	Looking deeply into his eyes, she spoke.  "I did all that."
	Will nodded somberly.
	"All those lives wasted, dreams ruined... I - I saved those I
could, but it's not enough.  It's never enough.  It always has more willing
to serve, willing to die.  More who have been forever changed.  It isn't
enough."
	"You're right.  One person will never be able to free the helpless
from It[tm]s clutches.  But every person that you saved here today is one
more person to fight for the Cause[tm].  You have shown them the error they
were trapped into.  They now know what It[tm] really wants, what It[tm] is
inside.  They won't be such easy prey next time.  Through their deeds,
their actions, the word will be spread.  Eventually, we /will/ win.  We
have to."
	Selene nodded slowly."I get so tired of fighting,  though.  So
tired of the blood... the death..."
	"We all do."  His arms wrapped tightly around her.  They sat there
silently until the sounds of approaching footsteps caused them to look up.
	"It's time to move.  The others are coming."It was Brackard.
	Nodding, Will helped Selene to her feet.  She looked down  at her
jumpsuit, covered in blood.  Shuddering inside, she excused herself and
pulled another suit out of her ever-present  satchel.
	Seconds later, she returned, freshly attired, to wait with the two
men for the rest of the team to arrive.  The group then continued on its
way.

To be continued...