I don't own Gears or anything, only my characters, blah blah blah. Hope you guys like this, it will undoubtedly be better than the first!

If you want to read Children of War I head check the second page of M fanfics (it wont let me post a link).

Gears of War:

Children of War II

The sounds of giggling and stifled laughter escaped the heavy blankets that covered the mattress on which two individuals were just waking from a nights rest.

The early morning sun streamed in through a window at the far end of the room from the bed. The window was set in a wall of stone and rock that had been laid centuries earlier and was part of a small fort used as a lookout by the small band of Stranded.

A door stood next to the window and suddenly it swung open and in walked a tall young man of about eighteen. He carried two bandoliers of longshot rounds draped over his right shoulder and a box of shotgun shells in his left hand.

The covers pulled back just enough for a head to appear and gaze at the newcomer to the room.

"Daze!" Clara yelled as she threw a pillow at him, "You can't just barge in here without knocking!"

"Hey, the early bird gets the worm!" Daze shot back with a playful smile on his face.

"So I'm guessing Holly 'got the worm' at some ungodly hour this morning?" Clara raised an eyebrow, then suddenly squealed and thrashed around under the covers, "Justin! Stop it! I'm trying to talk!"

Daze laughed. "Maybe, but that's beside the point."

"Well what is the point," Clara giggled as she fended off an unseen force beneath the blankets.

"Cather radioed in this morning," Daze's face and tone took on a note of seriousness, "The COG are beefing up security at Pomeroy Depot, but that means they are pulling troops from Jacinto Med. They needed someone to help look after the hospital so he volunteered us for service."

"So what does that have to do with you barging in here?"

"Chopper's already on it's way," Daze walked to Clara and Justin's makeshift closet and pulled out some clothes, "We need to be ready when it gets here."

"Well make sure we're ready then get the hel…" Clara squealed again in delight then dove under the covers.

Daze chuckled as he dropped a heavy hooded sweatshirt onto the ground along with Justin's shorts. He grabbed a gray, urban camouflaged cloak and dropped it onto Clara's black jeans and gray shirt, then made his way silently out of the room as the playful giggles and laughing shifted into the more serious sounds of lovemaking.

Daze stepped into the cool morning air and looked about him. The sun had just risen over the mountains and it bathed the world in a soft yellow glow. Daze stretched his arms toward the sky then adjusted his scarf as the bitter cold nipped at his nose. He exhaled into the air and watched as the condensation floated off and dissipated in front of him.

Daze turned left and walked passed a large broken pillar. He kept going and found the "door" he was looking for. There was a hole in the wall that served as the entrance and exit from the fort even though the large steel gates stood wide open most of the time.

Daze walked out onto the grass and took in the amazing view before him. Jacinto stood mighty and tall away off on the horizon, standing like a lone guard holding off the water and giving refuge to all who fled there.

Daze was broken from his musings by the sound of running feet. He turned around but saw no one in the opening of the wall. The running stopped. Daze shrugged to himself then started walking out into the field.

A grunt sounded from behind him then a scuffling noise. Daze started to turn but was bowled over by something at his feet. He went rolling into the grass along with the thing that had knocked him over until he ended up on his back looking up at the sky in a daze.

The head of a young woman thrust itself into his vision as he lay there and then Daze felt her straddled his body. She smiled at Daze, her golden locks falling about her face and shining in the warm light of the sun.

"Hey handsome!" Holly smiled as she leaned down and kissed him, "I missed you this morning, where were you?"

Daze returned the kiss and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I went running."

"Well I could've gotten more than your heart rate up!" Holly pressed herself in close as she kissed him again.

"And I thought Clara was horny!" Daze wrapped an arm around Holly's waist and pulled her down into him as she ground her hips against his.

"She just doesn't know how to hide it," Holly rubbed her face against Daze's cheek then rested her head on his shoulder, "So why don't we go back inside and have you warm me up?"

"Not now," Daze said as he pushed Holly up. He got up after her then pulled her close and hugged her, "Carl is coming to pick us up, we need to be ready in about twenty minutes."

"Aww, I was looking forward to a nice quiet day!" Holly stuck out her lower lip and looked at Daze with wide, pouting eyes.

Daze laughed as he pulled her up and swung her around. "I love you so much!"

"Yeah yeah!" Holly's face relaxed into a warm smile as Daze set her down, "But we can't stop inside for even a minute?"

"Only if you don't want breakfast, and I'm pretty hungry! Besides, what could you do in a minute?"

"You'd be surprised," Holly winked seductively as she turned and walked to the wall, "But let's get some food. I'm hungry!"

"As you command, my queen!" Daze bowed low then jogged up and accompanied her to the blockhouse to eat.

Holly and Daze entered the one room building that served as the meeting place for the teens. They walked up to a long, rectangular table and sat down just as Susan and Jordan were pouring reconstituted milk on their cereal.

"You guys ready to go?" Daze asked as he grabbed the bag and poured the cereal into a faded white bowl. He slid the bowl to Holly then poured some for himself

"Yep," Susan replied through a mouthful of cereal and milk. She smiled as she chewed then jerked a thumb towards the door.

Daze looked over and saw a pack of useful supplies. Susan herself was wearing a black windbreaker made of a light material. Over it she wore her usual combat vest. Her legs were covered by baggy gray snow pants, and strapped to these were two snub pistols, each in a holster.

"You're always thinking…"

"Ahead, I know!" Susan cut him off smiling.

"Why do you think I married her?" Jordan smiled as her pulled her next to him.

"Because she's hot?" Daze laughed.

"I meant besides that!" Jordan leaned over and gave Susan a kiss. "I love you so much baby!"

"Wow," Daze laughed as the two kissed again. "It's been six months we can still stand each other!"

"I'm not so sure about that!" Clara said as she walked in the door. "You can be a real handful sometimes!"

Holly stifled a laugh and shot an amused look towards Daze who simply smiled and shook his head.

"So are you two ready?" Daze asked as Clara sat down and quickly fixed a bowl for her self.

"Just about." Clara smiled as she stuffed a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"So where's Justin at?"

"He's up in the tower." Clara took another bite and continued, "I think he's taking care of the radio and any other electronics."

"He's ready to go right?" Daze asked.

"Yep!" Clara wiped the reconstituted milk from her chin, "He'll be down as soon as he hears the rotors!"

* * * *

It was an odd time to be thinking about mortality, at least it was odd to start thinking about it now.

Justin sat in the tower looking out over the valley. He could just see the buildings of Jacinto rising from the surrounding sea.

Justin snapped the cap on his pen and tucked the little folded piece of paper away in his pocket. He hoped Clara would never find it, would never need to find it, but it made him feel better all the same. He wondered how many of his friends had done the same. Did they feel the foreboding that tugged at his throat. It tightened his chest and gripped him with fear, albeit only for a moment, and then the feeling would pass and he was sure that this little expedition would go smoothly.

But he was never completely sure.

Justin saw a small twinkle on the horizon. A King Raven. Justin pulled an old longshot scope out of his pack and eyed the approaching Raven. It differed from the KR's in a few ways, which cemented it as the stranded's one and only known piece of air support, and they all loved it.

There had been a crash outside Jacinto a couple months ago. Out in Swamp Cypress. It wasn't anything spectacular, the Gears survived and radioed for help. The stranded, specifically Daze, had intercepted that call. He headed out with a group of stranded, and an old helicopter pilot named Carl to see if they could fix it up and use it as their own. The damage was minimal and the stranded had it fixed up and ready to go in no time. That was a happy day for everyone. Carl felt like things had at least some semblance of normal, and Daze and the teens had a way to move from place to place quickly.

Justin gazed at the tan and gray KR as it flew toward them. They had painted the underside a strange mixture of cloud gray and sky blue, just to make it harder for the locust to spot them. They had painted the outside a checkering of grays, black, and tan colors to make it less noticeable from the air. Sure the COG didn't try and shoot it down, but they never forgave the stranded for 'stealing' it.

Justin grabbed his pack then turned and rushed into the control room as the sound of the chopper reached him. He started unplugging radios, generator lines, an old seismograph, and even the crappy radar dish they had salvaged from an airport. He ran down the stairs and tightened the valves on the imulsion tanks then threw some tarps on them and ran out the door.

He pulled up his hood and dropped his gnasher into the special holster on his back that he had made for it. Justin wasn't wearing his old chest armor and neither did the other guys. The amount of protection it offered was relatively small, and the extra weight when combined with their winter clothes kept the benefits from outweighing the costs.

Justin shouldered his backpack, adjusting the shotgun to sit comfortably, then walked out to meet Carl who was just setting down outside the fort.

* * * *

"Hey there kids!" Carl greeted Daze and the others enthusiastically as they entered the King Raven, "Gonna be a good day for flying! How are you all doing?"

"We're doing good, how about you?"

"We'll I got to see my family the other day when I made like I was gonna join up," Carl started checking instruments and flicking switches, readying the chopper for takeoff, "I got Jet to sneak in there and tell her I'd be at the barracks to 'consider' the COG proposition. I got to see her and my three boys."

"Bet that was nice," Daze said as he slipped in behind the fifty-cal.

"It sure was! Man, my boys are getting big. You know, I'm gonna have to quite flying this bird and actually join up one of these days." Carl handed a headset to Holly who had just slid into the co-pilot seat next to him, "Momma wants me to stay out of the COG and safe, at least until her baby's are old enough to fight, then she wants me leading them."

"Doesn't sound too bad for when the time comes," Daze remarked.

"Not too bad indeed, I'm looking forward to it." Carl looked back at the teens who were getting buckled in, "You guys and gals ready to go? Got enough food and all?"

Daze nodded, "We have enough nuts and deer jerky to last us for quite a while. We're ready to go."

"All right!" Carl whooped as he lifted the helicopter off the ground and set off toward Jacinto.

Daze looked over at Justin. Custom paint wasn't the only thing the stranded had done to customize their bird. Justin sat with his legs hanging over the edge of the King Raven. He was held inside by a harness, but the object of interest was the troika turret that he controlled on a mechanical boom. The recoil was so much that whoever fired it had to tell Carl beforehand so he could compensate for it.

That baby shredded locust. After the light-mass bomb, the COG had started working with pockets of stranded survivors to eradicate the remaining locust. Daze and the teens had proven quite useful on a few occasions and the COG seemed to take notice. There had been a few modest rewards as well. Food, some clothing, guns and ammo. It was all welcomed. Now they were being called in to reinforce the meager COG forces that were defending Jacinto Med.

Daze looked out over the land underneath him as it went flying by and hoped for the best. The locust weren't nearly as dangerous as before the Light-mas bomb but they were never pushovers, and every time they joined with the COG on one of these eradication missions there was always the chance that something would go wrong.

Daze hoped and prayed this wasn't the time.

* * * *

"Jack! Jack Jack Jack, they're here!" Jet had come flying up the steps all the way to the top of the orphanage where Jack was fixing some shingles, just to tell him something that was readily obvious from the highest point around.

"Thanks for bringing me such entirely unexpected news!" Jack shouted with mock enthusiasm, "I'll run down right now and say hi!"

Jet shrugged off Jack's sarcasm and went flying off down the stairs.

Jack finish pounding in a nail and then grabbed his rifle and headed calmly for the stairs.

As soon as he reached the bottom he was nearly tackled off his feet by Holly.

"How you doing?" She squealed enthusiastically as she hugged him, "You guys been having a fun time fixing this place up?"

"Yeah, fun." Jack shot her a dirty look, "Let's just say I've had about all the fun I can handle for one lifetime."

"Oh it wasn't that bad!" Holly smiled as she let go of him and started for the orphanage.

"Speak for yourself," Jack smiled mischievously, "But we weren't the ones who were hunting deer and making love all day!"

"Well," Holly shrugged, "At least you got to do something."

* * * *

"So," Daze looked around the 'refurbished' living room as they sat waiting for Cather to arrive, "You guys know anything about this 'mission' they have for us"?

"They say it'll be an easy babysitting job," Jack took a drink from a water bottle then used it to fill up a canteen," Cather's a little less optimistic though, says the brass is bringing us in as reinforcements, cannon fodder."

"Ha!" Daze laughed, "I doubt they'd start using us as cannon fodder now, heck, we got more experience than any of their rooks."

"But if they're using the term cannon fodder it might mean we're not just gonna be guarding the henhouse," Susan looked up from where she was disassembling and cleaning her pistols, "We'll need to be careful either way."

"Amen to that," Daze said as he thumbed cartridges into a magazine for his carbine, then slipped it into his ammo belt. "How about you Jet? You got any ammo left for that death trap?"

Jet was pacing back and forth by the wall like a hyperactive child. He wore blue work pants made from some sturdy material. He was wearing some black Stretch-Tite underneath his beat up and sleeveless brown hoodie. He wore a black beanie that covered his ears, yet the top was cut out, allowing his short blonde hair to poke out the top while his dark black googles rested on his forehead.

Jet looked up at Daze's words, "Yeah I got some, they're sitting over there by my scorcher." Jet pointed affectionately. He pulled the pistol from it's holster on his leg and popped out the magazine. He looked at the bullets then slipped it back in with a satisfying clack. He turned his head suddenly as the sound of an engine reached their ears.

"Cather's back." Jack said quietly as he got up and grabbed his hammerburst II assault rifle.

They had started running across the new hammerburst a couple months after the Light-Mass-Bombing of the horde's tunnels. Luckily they still used the same ammo and clip as the first one so he and Jordan could easily swap mags whenever they needed to.

Jack picked up his ammo belt and clipped it on his waist as he started for the door. The others were strapping weapons on and gathering last minute supplies.

Daze hopped up and helped Holly to her feet. She gave him a kiss before picking up her lancer and walking to the door. Daze followed her, stopping at the box of grenades that Susan had set out. He picked out two frags and one smoke then walked out into the sunlight.

Daze looked around the bright and cool morning. Carl was fiddling around with the king raven while Cather was unloading some supplies from the junker.

"How's it going Cather?" Daze asked as he reached out and shook his friend's hand, "We going to have a good day today?"

"I don't know, I think there's more then they're telling us." Cather muttered with a grim look in his eye. The ex-cog had somehow managed to stay in the loop with command, even though he had been labeled a deserter by some of the more self-righteous cogs. Bucking all previous trends, his old squad mate Damon Baird had been one of his staunchest supporters, which had undoubtedly led to his most recent demotion. Even so, Baird would supply Cather with information whenever it was convenient, and he put in a word or two with the brass when extra soldiers were needed.

"Any news from Baird?" Daze asked, grabbing a box and carrying it into the house with Cather.

"None, except some vague hints that something big is happening." Cather set his box down in a closet and moved out of the way while Daze set his on top of it. "We'll need to be careful, otherwise we might get sucked into something that you don't want to be a part of."

Daze shot a questioning look at Cather, but he declined to elaborate, he just walked out the door and headed for the chopper where the others were just getting loaded up.

The enormous Gear stepped up into the King Raven and grabbed onto the handle, then extended a hand and pulled Daze up with him.

"We all here?" Carl asked as the rotors began to spin. Daze looked around at his friends, then hopped into the co pilot's seat as the bird gently lifted off the ground.