"Shu, it's getting away!" A girl with long blue pigtails tied off with bright green bows shouted as she watched a monstrous creature with six legs and eight glowing eyes race down the empty streets away from her. 

Had the short skirt wearing female not been currently trying to pick her battered and bruised body up from off of the bloodstained concrete she would have gone after the leader of the monsters that she and her partner had been fighting against for the past half hour, but as it was, she could barely summon up the strength to pull herself away from one of the lesser creatures that had attempted to assault her - thankfully, the said monster was quite dead now, compliments of a few blasts of electric based energy to the face and body from her standard issued pistol. 

Turning his head to gaze at the retreating form of the three hundred plus pound mass, the twenty-five year old man who had been assigned on today's mission smirked as he watched the beast; he was more than ready to go after the creature that had entered into the F-1-10 Hazard Zone, as fighting and killing its lesser clones had barely sated his appetite for battle today. Copper eyes narrowed as the special operative realized that he wouldn't be able to chase the six legged creature down using his enhanced agility, with this realization in mind, the six foot plus tall human tapped the soles of his sneakers against the worn ground underneath his feet. In a few moments holo-light wheels appeared underneath the metallic heels of the young man's shoes. Bending himself forward and then kicking against the street, Shu darted after the monster, completely unconcerned with the state of his still struggling partner.

Sensing that it was being chased, the eight eyed monster darted around several corners, it's long taloned claws cutting deep into the moss covered ground as it made hard rights and lefts, in an attempt to get away. None of the creature's tricks worked, as the black haired human dressed in a sleek blue and gold shirt and dark mesh pants, darted after him without pause. When the multilegged creature attempted to duck underneath a few low hanging pillars the special operative merely jumped over them, his weight seamlessly being hefted into the sky by his muscular legs. Shifting his weight from side to side as he had been taught during his numerous months of training, Shu slowly bridged the distance between him and the monster in question, despite having to jump over charred corpses that littered the ground and broken stone and glass debris which attempted to bar his path. Up above the crimson colored sky crackled with scarlet lightning, painting the world down below in a bloody hue, however, this failed to stop Shu from gaining distance on his quarry. 

A swift left found the black haired human and monster leader entering into a blocked off section of alleyway, the likes of which made the desperate creature hiss and scratch at the fallen building obstructing its path. Shu whistled at the beast. The monster shuddered and then slowly drew itself to the ground. Turning its massive gait around, the eight eyed monster hissed at its human pursuer. The sight of its sealed jaw opening to reveal several rows of serrated fangs which glistened with yellowish saliva, the likes of which dripped down onto the ground into a small puddle, barely fazed the young man as he clicked his heels against the ground, dispelling the holo-light wheels he had summoned. Standing with his legs spread slightly, Shu let his copper orbs scan over the uninjured monster for any signs of potential weakness in the other; finding none, the special operative raised his gloved hands in front of his face in preparedness of the battle ahead. 

The metallic finger guards sparked with a blue pulse of electricity which made the air around the black haired hunter smell of ozone and heat as the raven haired man flexed his fingers in just the right manner to activate the circuitry within; as if favoring the human in the fight to come, the sky above roared with crimson thunder once again, blanketing the world and silhouetting Shu's body in a crimson hue. A feral smirk crested over the special operative's face when he saw the beast draw itself away from him ever so slightly. 

A moment of silence followed seconds afterwards, as neither Shu, nor the beast, moved a single muscle while staring each other down. 

Time would never be able to tell who moved first when the pair did finally spring into action as the two combatants crashed into one another, with the six legged monster ripping deep into the human's sides with its claws, while Shu threw out a punch which connected with the beast's rounded face. Because his clothes were threaded with government issued microfibers the special operative's body completely withstood the brunt of the attack, though the biting kiss from the talons did make him internally hiss slightly. The black haired man didn't take too much time to concern himself with the touch of pain which raced up through his sides, instead he watched as the monster tumbled back away from him into the debris trapping the creature from escaping the fight in question. Seeing that the other stumbled to get up, a static snap circling its body from the effects of Shu's gloves, the human dove forward for the beast.

Inhuman roars echoed throughout the broken ruins of the old city of Temeraire as the raven haired human beat his fists into the slightly oily outer skin of the eight eyed monster, not that Shu cared about this. Left. Right. Left. Right. The black haired sent his two fists forward over and over again as he punched deep into the monster's sides, all the while the electrical charge from his gloves burnt away at the other's silvery skin revealing the rich yellowish interior which housed the other's vital organs. A flick of a massive tail struck him in the face, sending Shu sliding backwards. Shaking his head from the unexpected attack, the special opertative's crimson eyes widened just in time to see a face full of fangs looming towards him. 

Instinct made Shu duck down seconds before his head could be torn off. 

The raven haired man looked around just after a telltale crash resounded within his ears. Shu watched as the slightly dazed and bleeding monster attempted to stumble up off of the ground while shaking his head. Seeing an opening, the special operative moved forward, pulled his right fist back as far as he could take it, and then shot it forward right into the location where the beast's heart was positioned. 

The force of the attack, coupled with a strong burst of electricity, did the six legged creature in.

Shu pulled back just in time to watch the beast shudder, twitch, and then slump over. Walking forward so that he could look into its eight eyes, the young man watched as those bright yellow  orbs dulled and then turned black, signifying to him that the job he had done was complete. Taking two steps back, Shu raised his hands, closed his eyes, and then clapped them together; he then bowed slightly. No words were spoken as he let a silent prayer bubble up within his mind, to which he recited nonverbally, before he raised himself up. Opening his eyes, the raven haired youth turned around, tapped his soles against the ground to recall his holo-light rollerblades, and then took off out of the alleyway. Silence followed him as he made his way through the desolate metropolice back to his partner, who had long since picked her body up from off of the ground. 

Shu blinked his copper eyes in slight amusement when he finally noticed that the other was now speaking into her military issued holophone. 

Knowing better than to interrupt the conversation in question, as she was more than likely speaking to either their commander or someone else high up on the command chanin, Shu checked over the surrounding area for which he and his partner, Sue, had been dropped off into by the delivery team. A sigh of displeasure escaped from his thin lips as he gazed across the ruins of the once bustling cityscape which had been Temerarie. He knew that he shouldn't have been too choked up above what had happened here, as it had been almost a decade ago now, and he, himself, had not been there when the first Traverse Gate had opened within the center of the beautiful metropolis, something for which many within headquarters would openly sneer about behind his back whenever they thought he wasn't aware of their scornful whispers about a 'foreigner' like him. 

The day the gate had opened had been like any other, from what Shu had been told by those who had been there at the time and survived the initial incident, though for several hours beforehand people had complained on social media about hearing a strange 'buzzing' sound throughout the day, however, since everyone couldn't hear it most simply disregarded the various texts which popped up online about the unkind sound which raked across some people's hearing. This proved to be a fatal mistake, as the sound in question, which would later be known as the 'Gate Pulse', was a prelude to a form of recknowining, the likes of which would forever reshape the world. The sight of a silver expanse of metaphysical energy suddenly popping into existence in the middle of a busy street proved to be catastrophous for the citizens of Temeraire, as the initial burst of waveform resonance from the gateway decimated the surrounding buildings, cars, and other various pieces of infrastructure. The sight of towering skyscrapers caving in on themselves as though they were made out of putty, along with cars literally being flattened into the ground with people screaming inside of their interior, would have been bad enough, as most had been assuredly shell shocked from this happening, but that was only the start of the problems to come.

Soon enough a second waveform resonance created an electromagnetic pulse, the likes of which switched off almost all electronics within a one mile area. Panic quickly set in after this, as the people were unable to make calls to their loved ones or the police, so no one was able to fully settle their minds for what was about to happen next. Screams tore through the air as literal monsters manifested into existence all around the gateway, the creatures having been dumped into the world in a slightly confused state as they had accidently been swallowed up on the other side of the realm for which they lived by the connecting gate. Blood quickly filled the air and streets as claws and fangs rendered those who didn't move out of the way fast enough to avoid being ripped apart by disorientated beasts. Zoologists would later speculate that the reason behind this sudden undue attack was because most of the creatures were attempting to carve out a safe space for themselves and whatever young that they might have had, however, these learned individuals were mostly ignored in favor of the governor of the country calling out the national guard to try and contain the 'monster outbreak', as it would later be called. 

Thanks to their fast response only about a thousand or so people lost their lives that day, as the troop's submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles were able to repel the monsters back into the gateway, and yet the fallout from what happened would live on forevermore. 

Bewilderment and suspicion over what happened was unable to be quelled by the government of the country, as there was no way to cover up the fact that a shimmering bundle of concentrated energy had formed in the middle of a populated area, unleashing from its luminescent womb a plethora of creatures which had indescrimentaly killed without question. Social media was unable to be suppressed, despite the best efforts, as hackers easily uploaded the images and videos from the incidents all over the internet. Questions immediately arose over what had just happened, how it could have come to pass, and who was responsible for such a catastrophe, not to mention where the people of the city would go, since many of them lived within the epicenter where the earth shattering event took place. Accusations were thrown at foreign governments over what had happened, but more rational heads easily discredited such notions, as such a blatant act of war would have been something no government on the planet would have ever admitted to, if only for fear of immediate annihilation from the rest of the world's people.

Some of the previously asked questions were answered quickly enough by eggheads which were brought in to inspect the strange bundle of shimmering energy, though the citizens of Temeraire were not exactly pleased by what they were forced to do next. The sudden evacuation of the city was something that brought about more than a few shouts and protests of anger, as the lives of the people were so intertwined within the metropolis that suddenly having to leave the area was almost unthinkable to many of them. These protestors were rapidly forced to relent their position on the matter because, one, the governing body of the country sent out the army to force people to leave at gunpoint, and second, more monsters appeared from out of the gateway several days later, prompting spectacular firefights between the trained servicemen and the monstrous creatures in question. The streets ran red with blood and organs from both sides of the conflict, so much so that a metallic border was erected around the area where the gateway had settled itself in order to protect the lives of those who put themselves on the lines for the nation. 

Weeks later saw scores of people being trained and then brought together to form task forces which would go into the walled off area to try and learn more about the gateway and the monsters that came from the realm beyond. It was while surveying the left behinds ruins that several important facts came to light for the public. 

The first thing was that the glowing bundles of energy acted as portals which would allow both entry and exit through to whatever world they were connected to, as could be seen by the A.I. drones which were sent on reconnaissance missions. The second thing was that the monsters in question were actually not within the area where the opposing gateway had birthed itself, but instead drawn by the pulses of energy which routinely emitted from the spheres of light. Following this revelation more and more drones were sent in to scan the area to find out what the world beyond was like. As it turned out, the land which was connected to the gateway was rather beautiful, given that it was much like their own world. The only subtle differences was that the planet contained higher concentrations of sulphuric oxide within the air, the sky being a darker greenish color, and monsters roaming all about the area, some which were  as tall as some buildings. The last fact was found when a drone stumbled into what looked to be a giant reptilian creature sleeping within the ruins of what looked like some kind of ancient civilization. 

Samples were brought back for study - once it was declared safe to do so by higher officials - and then sanitized before being studied. From what could be gleaned from the various items which were recovered from the otherside of the gateway, it seemed as though there had once been a people who had dominated the world that were similar to humans, and yet different. The people, whose name was lost to time, seemed to have abilities that far surpassed those which were known by the humans of the current era; magic would have been the best way to describe what they could do, however, there was a level of science behind their actions. Studying more and more about the ways of life for these lost people brought about information which was assimilated into the lives of those who protected the country, in the form of new weapons and armor for those who fought to defend the nation. 

The truth of what had happened to these people was eventually found, and yet kept away from the public eye, since the facts in question were not at all pleasant to learn. 

As it turns out, other gateways had opened within the world, admitting creatures from unknown worlds, who in turn ripped the civilization apart at the seams. The powers of the ancient race of people were able to help them fend off the creatures, however, they were eventually overcome by the precursor of the dinosaur-like creature which came out of a gateway that appeared within the heart of the fallen capital. The beast in question had been a great towering monster which blanketed the sky with its wings, and who had breathed death and decay all over the world, utterly wiping out millions in the span of days. Try as they might, the people of the other world couldn't resist the destructive rampage of the 'Wings of Malice' as it was eventually called, and so they had to relinquish their way of life in order to save what was left of their numbers. This led to a nomadic life for those who survived, transforming the once advanced people into wanderers who hid within the darkness of the forests and underground caverns.

What exactly happened to the monster in question seemed to have been up for debate, as there were several missing pieces of information that hadn't been recovered from the ruins of the fallen capital. With this in mind, the government decided to send out those that they thought were appropriate to try and ascertain what information they could from those that remained within the world in question. Everything seemed to be going well enough, as those people who were found proved to be friendly enough, though they had developed habits, the likes of which put several of the soldiers and researchers slightly off balance, however, suddenly the situation in question changed when, without warning, the two gateways suddenly dispersed. The stranded individuals who had been sent out immediately tried to contact those in authority for orders, but since they were no longer in range of any communication towers all of their signals went ignored. 

Panic erupted amongst various top official offices once they realized that the teams who had been sent out now were suddenly cut off from them, and, if that wasn't already terrible enough, a familiar warbling sound was heard resounding in several areas within the world. The various governments had just enough time to call for evacuations in said areas before chaos erupted throughout the world. 

Shu thought about how he, an orphan, had been brought in by the government to be trained as a special operative in order to handle the creatures in question as he looked around Temeraire. The raven haired man didn't like to talk about his life before his world had been upended, mostly because he preferred to keep to himself in order to protect his tattered emotions, and mostly because everyone had a similar sob story, and so very few could feel empathetic to him at the time. The only person who did, his former commanding officer/teacher, had sadly passed away from an attack after leading a team to another continent to try and stem the tide of creatures which had been brought into the world from another gateway. Shu shuddered as he thought about the scarred eye man that acted as a surrogate father, however before he could fall too deep into remembrance of the times he had shared with the other, he was jolted out of his thoughts by a familiar looking hand waving up and down in front of his face. Blinking, the copper eyed special operative turned to stare at his younger partner in slight confusion, as could be seen by how he lifted one of his eyebrows in askance of why she was doing such a thing to him. 

"The other team was able to find the gate." Sue chirped in her normally bubbly tone which always slightly confused the black haired youth. 

One would think that the girl, who had seen so much death and shed so much blood, would be just as traumatized by everything as he and the others in their field of expertise were, however, for whatever reason, Sue never was bothered by most things. Shu had never asked her why this was, because in all honesty, he really didn't care about his current partner. It might have been rather heartless to say, but after having gone through several different companions within the past three years, the raven haired man didn't easily allow himself to get attached to others. Sure, he cared about her well being, in so far as she was functional for their mission, but other than that, the taller human didn't bother summoning up too much concern for the girl. Pulling away from the other, Shu tipped his head to the side in his telltale manner to ask her the unspoken question.

Sue nodded. "Yeah, they were able to seal it, so it's closed now." 

Shu let out a small sigh upon hearing this. 

After the other gateways had unexpectedly appeared within the various regions within the world the governments had come together to try and find a way to contend with them. No longer were men in expensive uniforms asking questions about what existed on the other side of their depths, the loss of the first exploration team had settled the notion that the portal-like spheres were too dangerous to play with, instead, efforts were swiftly put into place to destroy the dangerous objects. There were some within the scientific fields that complained over this, as they suggested that the knowledge which could be ascertained would lead to great benefits for the world over time. They were rapidly silenced by those in charge with early dismissals from their positions of work. 

Most types of weapons and chemical agents had no effects on the gateways, as they either absorbed or neutralized upon getting close to the spherical bundles of energy, and, to make matters even more complicated, there was also the situation of the monsters that dwelled around the portals in question. Bombing an evacuated city had been done once before in the past in an attempt to destroy one gateway, and while it cleared a several mile wide path, it had done nothing in the end, as more bestial creatures eventually appeared hours later. 

A breakthrough came through in the form of one scientist named Kisoski realizing that the gates seemed to not have much activity during nights when the moon was darkest. Various tests were performed on one gate and eventually a discovery was made, whereupon dropping containers made from silicon aerogel over the gates would eventually cause them to dematerialize over the span of several hours. This victory was one that came with a very big problem though, as the containers in question needed to be placed rather precisely over the gateway in order to make sure that it had the intended effect; a failure at containing another gate which had appeared within Temeraire - no one bothered trying to figure out if the reconnaissance team could be recovered by this point in time due to slightly undeserved fear and unrepentant paranoia - resulted in a backlash of energy being released from the gateway, which, in turn, had transformed the ruins of the cityscape into the crimson hell that it was now. 

With that in mind, the alternative branches of the military enlisted and then trained people like Shu and Sue to protect those who would deploy the silicon aerogel containers, as continuously bombing the cities of the world was deeply frowned upon by those within ethic's committees - the question over sacrificing the lives of others for such missions was never truly addressed by those in charge. 

The bruised and battered girl opened her mouth to say something to her stoic partner, but before she could get a word in edgewise a helicopter quickly drifted overhead. Lifting his head to look up at their ride, a small smile crept over Shu's face as he noticed that the evac team was right on schedule, though he was slightly surprised that they had chosen to come out with a plasma storm raging above the sky. He didn't question the pilot's decision though, as he was just glad to be getting away from this nightmarish place...and whatever Sue was about to say to him. 

Pick up happened rather swiftly after the vehicle touched down onto the ground - the gate destroying team was already safely onboard - and so after Shu and Sue strapped themselves into position into their respective seats everyone was swiftly carried away back to the base. Despite her efforts to try and chat up everyone no one really had the energy to converse with the blue haired girl, and so she was left pouting slightly as she crossed her arms and then settled herself back into her plush seat. Shu let out a mocking snort but said nothing as he turned away from his partner to look out of the window on his right side. The sight of the world around him shifted as the minutes passed from a ruinous landscape, to an empty plain filled with rows of wheat, until the scene below finally transformed into the walled off city of Neo Hampshire for which he and the other military personnel lived. 

Once the chopper touched down into the loading dock everyone tiredly got up from their seats to head off to the decontamination unit, everyone except Sue that was. Shu looked over to the sleeping girl who was opening drooling on the side of her seat and had a split second impulse to leave her there on the helicopter, however, he decided not to entertain this idea for very long. Curling his index finger and thumb together, the raven haired man popped his partner across the side of her head, instantly causing her to spring wake up with a yelp. He didn't stick around to hear her complain, instead, Shu chuckled as he stuck his hands into his pockets while walking off from the aircraft. 

Getting sprayed down with the white aerosol spray in order to sanitize his body from any pathogens that he might have picked up from his time outside the sheltered city was never fun for anyone, but Shu grit his teeth and bore the annoyance, as it was part of regulations. After moving past this part of the re-entry protocol, the special operative went to his office, dropped down into his rolling chair, and then began filling out his report for the day. Unlike so many others who performed in his line of work, Shu didn't have anyone that he wanted to go and see or speak with, and so he was left alone to write down his thoughts before they became muddled by fatigue and forgetfulness. Sue knew better than to bother him right now, as he had barked at her rather viciously the first time he had done such a thing, making the other break down into tears and then storm away from where his office was located. Finishing up with his written account of what he had observed today, Shu quickly sent his report into the brass via fax and then picked himself up to head out to the research and development department. 

As he walked down the cold and sterile hallway the raven man didn't think about those who he passed by, even as a few hiked a thumb in his direction while sneering at him. Some of the others who had been around longer than him nodded to him as he passed, to which Shu returned the quiet greeting before moving along. This was the only sign of sociability that was left in the young man who had seen so much death, and who had felt a level of mental distress hidden within the confines of his head, the likes of which his specially trained psychiatrist had written up several reports in warning about. Because of his capabilities Shu wasn't kicked out of the military, though he was given several medications to take for whenever his very rare panic attacks flared up within his mind. He normally resisted taking them in favor of forcibly powering through the attacks, as he reasoned that he would be left helpless in the event of him ever losing his medicine while out on the job, something he had both seen and dealt with from others in the past.

Shu put that thought out of his mind as he got to where he needed to be. Knocking on the door found the metal barrier admitting him into a frigid room that was being swarmed with numerous people dressed in all manner of white coats and metallic armor. Passing through into the area in question, the special operative went over to a white haired man sitting behind a desk who was looking at him with a slightly perverted stare that never failed to make the copper eyed man pause slightly.

"Well, well, well," The other said as he slowly rose up from out of his seat to greet the special operative. "Nice to see that you came back to us safe and sound, Shuy." Leon purred as he leaned over to press his face into the other male's displeased face. 

Shu never understood why the other attempted to flirt with him so much, as he never once returned Leon's advances. The fact the other continued to do slightly made him uncomfortable, but not in a way that made him want to write the other up, nor punch the white haired man in the face. Instead, Shu would often find himself rolling his eyes in barely restrained annoyance as the blue eyed researcher breathed his hot, sweet breath across his face. When Leon began to nuzzle against him slightly Shu pulled himself back with a slight growl. 

"You didn't get hurt, did you?" Bright blue eyes looked down over the other human's face to try and spot any signs of damage on the other, all the while completely ignoring the warning sound that rumbled out from the more muscular man's throat. 

Shu didn't answer the other, he simply pulled off his electromagnetic gloves and then tossed them down onto the recently polished table in front of him.

"Awww, so mean." Leon chuckled while sweeping the gloves off out of sight. "Here I am being all concerned about you, and this is how you treat me." The slightly shorter researcher finished with a mocking tone coloring his voice. Once more, Shu said nothing, however, he did turn on his heel to begin leaving out of the room. He was stopped from going too far by a pair of deceptively strong arms reaching out around his waist to hold him tightly. 

Shu immediately froze upon this happening: a flash of memory entered into his mind of him being held in a similar manner by a shadowy figure. Breathless whispers filled his ears as his copper eyes bled red as a well of emotions filled up his thoughts. When a ground growl resounded inside of his head the special operative found his legs trembling as his knees threatened to buckle underneath his weight. He was kept from crashing to the cold tile floor by the arms which squeezed him tightly. When Leon leaned forward to place his lips along the edge of his left ear it took everything in Shu not to let out a needy moan; down in between his legs the raven haired man felt his cock, which normally didn't get aroused for much of anything, growing firm with the heat of his blood rushing down into his groin.

"Nice to see that even if you try and deny it, your body knows what it wants, Shuy." The white haired man chuckled as he reached a hand down to caress the growing bulge which plumed forward rather impressively. 

Shu opened his mouth to squeak out a couple of crass words, but his brain refused to allow him to do so, the fact that no one else walking about the department said anything after looking at this display was something that always confused the raven haired man, but before he could fully contemplate the matter Leon spoke again.

"Someone from the department has a special assignment for you, if you want to make some extra credits." The white haired research whispered right before bumping the nipping his teeth along the shell of his captive's ear.

The proposition of money pushed aside the raven haired youth's rising lust in favor of turning as best he could to lay one of his blood red iris onto Leon's face. Seeing the look on the taller man's face Leon answered the question that refused to form on the special operative's lips, though only after sinking his teeth deep into Shu's pale throat hard enough to leave a crimson mark. 

Several hours later found Shu riding out on a chopper once again, though this time he wasn't doing so under the sanction of the governing body of the military, but instead by those who wanted to try and learn what they could from they could from another gate that had opened up not that far from the city of Neo Hampshire. Unlike the one that Shu and the team he had been assigned to deal with today, this one was much smaller, and wasn't constantly spewing out bestial creatures which sought blood and territory. That was why those in question of monitoring the spherical portal didn't see any point in raising the alarm, or rather, that's how the people in question paying Shu to look into the matter justified it. In truth, the raven haired special operative couldn't really care about the reasoning behind what he was being asked to do, so much that he was being paid a very tidy sum for what he was about to do next. 

Not many knew it, but Shu had a habit, one in which he was rather embarrassed to admit to, but which kept him from having a psychological breakdown. Paying for it was something that he did, but only after getting the money he needed in a special account for which couldn't be so easily traced. He had set it up with his first partner's help, as the older special operative had wanted him to be able to have a way to take care of himself, should the time ever come when the government decided to replace him with someone new - a thing that happened more often than not thanks to the advancements in technology constantly being studied throughout the various R&D departments coordinating themselves together around the world. With this in mind, Shu had been asked to make unofficial runs for those people in positions far above his own; whether it was finding some remains of a piece of used technology, or surveying a dead monster corpse, Shu never questioned what he was being asked to do, so long as the credits were high enough. He never told anyone about where he was going, choosing instead to use his accumulated personal time to go off, something for which he had gained a lot of due to the warning signs his psychiatrist had pointed out to those who stood over his position. 

Looking at the pilot who maneuvered the helicopter through the night sky, the raven haired man said nothing to the other human. Instead, he silently wondered how much the pilot was being paid to potentially lose his job for the gig they were out on. Shu quickly chastised himself for caring about such a thing, as it didn't matter if the other was fired or court marshalled or whatever, so long as he got him to where they needed to be and then back, he would be satisfied. Turning his head forward to look at the overly fluffy clouds passing them by, Shu realized that it would probably rain before long. Grunting at the thought of being soaked, the special operative settled down into his seat and then closed his eyes. 

Shu didn't know how long they traveled, however, when the aircraft touched down on the ground he slid his copper eyes open, the sight of a small gateway settled within the shallows of a clump of mountains brought a curious noise from out of the young man's lips. The pilot turned to look curiously at him, but Shu was in motion, unbuckling himself from his seat, before the other could get a word in. Heading out the side door of the helicopter, Shu let his feet drop onto the dry ground and then turned around to grab the satchel he had been given. Filled with the various research equipment that he would need for this operation, the raven haired boy slung the heavy pack onto his backside and then prepared to step away, he was halted by a voice calling out to him before he could get too far.

"You've got one hour." The pilot's rough voice shattered the nearly silent landscape. Shu merely turned back to look at the other instead of saying anything. "If you're not back by then, I'm taking off without you." 

Shu swiftly moved down the side of the mountain the helicopter was parked over upon hearing this, as he did not want to be trapped out there alone in the middle of the night. Thankfully there was a ledge large enough to carry him down to where he needed to be, though even with this natural aid underneath his feet he still had to climb down several feet to get to the gateway. Once he found himself standing in front of the shimmering white portal radiating with green circular luminesce, Shu got several feet away from the area, searched around for anything that might be hostile to his person, and then dropped the backpack he was carrying behind him. Turning to unzip the mesh satchel, the raven haired man meticulously pulled out several pieces of electronic equipment, being especially careful with the more delicate pieces, given that he had his electromagnetic gloves on his hands once again. 

Setting up the equipment took several minutes, much to Shu's annoyance, but once he had done as such he quickly went about using the various devices to record the information for which he had been asked to mentally and physically document. It was fifteen minutes later when the gate began to behave strangely, or rather, what would have been considered strange to anyone who didn't know what exactly they were looking at. For Shu, his copper eyes flew wide as the vortex began to spiral and then warble, as though it were a living thing. The young man had just enough time to turn on his heel before everything went to pot. 

A screeching whine resounded throughout the air, like a cat yelling out in pain from having its tail stepped on, right before the surrounding air began to pull backwards. Shu cursed as he dropped down onto the ground and then dug his thin fingers into the hard dirt as best he could. Seconds later the air began to suck everything around it into the vortex; the equipment, despite being held down as best as it could have been, were immediately pulled forward into the unknown. Shu had just enough time to groan in frustration at the loss of the money he was supposed to get for his current job before he gasped in stunned surprise. 

The feeling of his fingers scraping into the ground was a painful one, but the hurt was pushed aside in favor of his lower half being dragged up into the air as though he were a living kite. Shu grit his teeth hard enough to make them hurt as he tried to crawl his way forward in an effort to stop himself from being pulled into the womb of the gate. His effort ultimately proved useless when the sucking sensation began a physical pull, the likes of which seemed almost like an unseen hand grabbing him around the waist and then yanking him backwards. 

Shu let out a yelp as white light engulfed his entire being, the gateway curled into nothingness seconds later. Up above the helicopter that he had traveled aboard quickly rose up into the air in order to swiftly return back to base.