Amara begrudgingly pulled on her skin-tight catsuit. It was the only fight-worthy outfit she had. Joslyn had replaced all of The Daughters of Athena crests with Sacred Scales crests. She had already disliked the suit but the new crests made her hate it. Everyone was outside waiting for her, but she was procrastinating because she did not want to go. She could hear the engines of the SUVs outside, presumably commandeered during the first attack. It was clear to her that sneaking in was not the plan. 

She sauntered outside and acted as if she were not late. Joslyn glared at her but went back to watching the group load up. She would not be joining them on the mission because she was not that kind of fighter. Emery smiled and waved at her as he stood next to a black SUV, holding the door open. Amara ignored Joslyn and headed in his direction. They nodded at each other and climbed into the vehicle. She did not know the driver or the person in the passenger seat but was not given much time to meet people in New Chicago. The drive was a quiet one and she appreciated the silence. The mental preparedness she needed to fight her own kind was more than she was capable of finding. Maiyara flew above the caravan. The city’s dragon defense systems had been destroyed in the first attack, so she was safe to join them. 

As they reached the edge of Athena, Amara’s eyes were glued to the window. Most of the buildings were still standing but the streets were desolate. It seemed people were afraid to leave their homes, or had fled altogether. Amara hoped most were in their dragon bunkers since the attack, waiting for the all clear from Headquarters; knowing it may never come. Bunkers had become common in Athena, built in case the dragons ever got past the city's defenses. Citizens relied so heavily on the government for safety, they would never leave the bunker until they were told to do so. Food and water stores within those bunkers would eventually run out and while some might brave leaving to find sustenance, most would not. It pained Amara to realize that those people might die in a place they believed they were safe. Those who could afford bunkers were the lucky ones. Others would not be safe from further attacks as they were forced to remain in what was left of their homes. As they drove further into Athena, it looked much worse. Based on what she had seen of the attack on Headquarters, she had thought the rest of the city had been spared–now she could see her assumption had been wrong. Bodies were strewn across the streets and sidewalks, most of them charred beyond recognition. Countless buildings were now rubble due to the explosions. The sight took Amara’s breath away. Innocent people were dead because of the Sacred Scales and now she was helping them.

When the road became too blocked for the vehicles to continue, they all got out and continued on foot. All had guns in hand, except Amara. She hung behind the group with Emery as two rather large men took point in the front. They moved as a unit, each covering the other in case of ambush. It was eerily silent aside from the sound of Maiyara’s wings as she flew above them. Boots crunched on gravel and debris as they continued on. Amara looked around to see some people watching from their windows. Most closed their curtains when they saw that she spotted them. Headquarters slowly came into view, at least what was left of it. One of the men in front of the group signaled for all of them to stop. The other man moved ahead to check for traps while the group waited. When the all-clear signal was given, they started moving again. Since most of the Headquarters building had collapsed there was no way to enter it. Amara knew the basement-level had also been destroyed. 

“There is nothing left of this building, so I’m not sure what we are looking for.” Amara whispered to Emery.

Emery kept walking, murmuring, “There is a secret underground bunker. One that even you don't have access to.” 

He left it at that and continued on his way. Maiyara swooped down and picked up large chunks of fragmented rock. She repeated this process until just bare ground remained. Two women from the group took this as their cue and ran to the middle of the now excavated area. They removed their backpacks, which contained very powerful looking explosives. Amara watched as they stuck them to the ground in a uniformed fashion, set the charges, and then ran back to join the group. 

“Cover!” One of them yelled.

Everyone crouched down and covered their ears. The ground rumbled from the blast, debris and dirt filled the air. Amara coughed and stood, a large hole replaced the solid ground that once existed. Without asking, she jogged up to the hole to see what might be inside it. A large metal dome sat within it, unfazed by the explosives used to move the concrete. 

“Well I’ll be damned,” she said to no one in particular. 

Emery put his thumb and forefinger flat between his lips, letting out a very loud whistle. Maiyara swooped down, landing on the opposite side of the pit. Emery put his arm in front of Amara and had her back up with him and the rest of the group. She could sense what was about to happen and braced herself. Maiyara reared back and her snout glowed orange. When her mouth opened, flames hotter and purer than any Amara had ever encountered flowed from her mouth. It obscured the metal dome so no one could see if what Maiyara was doing would work. Even though she had moved quite a ways back, the heat was almost unbearable. Amara covered her eyes and waited for it to be over. 

She felt cool air and breathed a sigh of relief. Maiyara stayed on the ground instead of taking off, seemingly waiting for the group to do something. They moved back up to the pit to find the metal dome now had a hole they could fit through. Once they allowed it to cool, their work began. A shorter male in the group pulled a rope ladder from his bag, spiked one end to the ground, and threw the other end down into the bunker. Amara watched as the first half of them slowly made their way down the tenuous threads of rope. 

“Are you ready?” Emery asked her as he readied himself to descend. 

She nodded but did not move towards the ladder. Amara took one last glance at Maiyara and then jumped.