War Of The Four Worlds

by Michael Anderle

  The Purifier brought up his blades, and his shoulder appendages aimed at the airborne James. He fired off several quick blasts of energy. The first few exploded against the Forerunner’s armor, scoring deep holes, but the next few attacks only burned off surface layers.

  Adaptation in progress, Whispy declared.

  James ignored the pain from his wounds and continued charging, confidence flooding him at the realization that if he kept his distance, he could adapt to his enemy, but that also meant he would need to finish off the bastard before he could evolve to withstand James’ energy attacks. He fell toward the ground, burns over his body and his armor pitted and damaged, still pouring more energy into his building attack.

  The Vax continued to pelt him with energy attacks, a few piercing his armor and burning the flesh underneath. Whatever else the Purifier could accomplish, he was capable of a far higher firing rate than his opponent.

  James bellowed in rage as he fired his twin beams, and they blew through the Purifier. James tried to sweep to the side, but another attack from his opponent blinded him and he crashed into the ground, cracking the asphalt.

  The Purifier stumbled forward, additional tendrils filling in the huge holes in his chest and side. He ceased firing from his arms, which now swung limply at his sides, but his shoulder appendages continued to deliver a steady stream of energy blasts.

  The blasts that hit James seared off thin layers of armor, but several shots missed James and exploded against the white walls of the building behind him, leaving stray fires and half-collapsing roofs.

  James stood and growled. Anger and frustration leaked into his mind. He pushed his arms together to protect his body. Shot after shot from the enemy landed, each hurting slightly less, but James was still far from his normal adaptation speed. Even if the enemy wouldn’t win with the attacks, the bounty hunter wouldn’t have time to charge his beams again.

  The Purifier’s unsteady movements smoothed out and he crept toward James, still firing.

  James rushed toward the Vax, his arms still up, little of his armor left. He spread his arms out a few yards away, keeping them at head level. The maneuver opened his still-regenerating chest armor to the energy blasts and his body jerked with each hit, the scent of his burning flesh filling his nostrils.

  The Purifier roared and craned his neck as if daring James to cut it off.

  The Forerunner closed the last few feet and whipped his blades up, going not for the head but for the shoulder appendages. His first attack hit the base of one of the appendages and sliced halfway through. The Purifier howled and stabbed him, but James cleaved off the appendage with his second swing. He ignored the pain from a second thrust by the Purifier as he performed a second trimming. Both appendages fell to the ground, their twitching finally stopped.

  The Purifier smashed a shoulder into James, and the heavy blow staggered Earth’s champion. The roaring Purifier spun and backhanded him, the attack launching James toward a concrete wall.

  He smashed through the wall and several interior walls, satisfied with his earlier attack despite his injuries. The Purifier might be able to regenerate the appendages, but he wasn’t demonstrating much faster regeneration than his Forerunner opponent.

  James stood and shook his head. The room he had crashed into appeared to be some sort of chemistry lab. In it were two long dark lab benches covered with Bunsen burners and collections of flasks and beakers. His collision had collapsed a table, and shards of glasses mixed with differently colored liquids beneath him, noxious clouds spreading across the floor.

  Severe damage detected, Whispy reported. Regeneration in progress. Recommend Forerunner transformation.

  Huh. Because I’m doing what you want, you’re willing to go 100%? James asked.

  Increased symbiont-host integration makes additional transformations viable, Whispy responded.

  Fine, let’s do it.

  Insufficient power for Forerunner transformation. Seek out additional power sources.

  Thanks, asshole, James replied.

  He gritted his teeth at the pain. It’d been a long time since he’d had this kind of trouble fighting anyone, but he was keeping the damage far more under control than it had been before his arrival.

  The Purifier raised his arms, energy charging across his blades.

  Can we withstand that attack? James asked.

  Unknown, Whispy responded.

  James ran for a window as the Purifier launched an explosive energy blast. The attack hit one of the lab benches, and the entire room exploded. Secondary explosions from gas lines followed, and the chain reaction incinerated the entire side of the building. James flew through the air, injured, but his symbiont protected him from the bulk of the thermal and concussive damage.

  Burning debris rained down around James after he crashed face-first into a tennis court, the poor court taking the worst of it. Flames licked the sky from the damaged building behind him, the inferno threatening to consume the whole thing. It had escaped the Purifier’s initial rampage, only to suffer these mortal wounds.

  A dark shadow covered James, and he raised his head. The Purifier was dropping straight toward him, blades pointed down.

  Shit. Is that what it looks like when I do shit like that? It’s pretty fucking awesome.

  James rolled out of the way with a grunt and the Purifier’s blades sank deep into the ground.

  It’s now or never.

  James growled and speared the Purifier’s chest with one blade. The off-balance Vax could do little as the silver-green arm blade cut through his armor and chest and burst out through the back. James’ free blade came for the Purifier’s head next with a fierce series of stabs.

  Blow after blow ripped through the armor and dug into the Purifier’s head. Each time James pulled back, more blood coated his weapon. He roared now and continued his attack, speeding up with each blow.

  Kill the enemy, Whispy chanted. Kill the enemy.

  “Is that all you’ve got, you sonofabitch?” James yelled. “You can’t do shit without weird-ass bullshit hanging off your shoulders?”

  The Purifier jerked with each blow and tried to pull himself off James’ first blade, but the bounty hunter growled and shoved it back in.

  “You come down to Oriceran and kill a bunch of people, then dare to come to my fucking town and start blowing shit up. I don’t even care that it’s USC, motherfucker. That’s my wife’s thing, but I owe you assholes for killing my parents.” James continued using the Purifier’s head as a pincushion. “Now fucking die already, so I can go back to planning my motherfucking restaurant! I want to cook barbeque, not fight a bunch of fucking assholes from outer damned space.”

  The Purifier’s blades retracted and he desperately clawed at James’ arm, gouging into the armor and ripping chunks from the flesh below.

  “Die, motherfucker. Die!”

  Blood coated James upper chest and helmet, and there were more holes than armor or flesh remaining in the Purifier’s head.

  James yanked his blade out of the chest and swung it toward the Purifier’s neck. The first hit cut into the armor, and the second made it to the skin. The third made it into the muscle, and the fourth and final hit removed the head entirely. He threw his head back and let out a roar of triumph.

  The Purifier’s body twitched for a moment, then stood, without the head. Tendrils shot from the neck and formed the base of a new head.

  “For fuck’s sake,” James yelled.

  How is this fucker still moving?

  Symbiont backup neural interface likely active, Whispy reported.

  I can take his fucking head off, and he can keep going?

  Yes. Fundamental matrix compatibility more important than maintenance of existing biological neural network.

  James grunted.

  Does that shit work for me?

  Host-symbiont neural link interface different. Estimate high probability of symbiont cascade failure with loss of primary matrix neural network.
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br />   James snorted.

  So if I die, you die? At least it means we both have a reason to give a shit in a fight.

  The headless Purifier stumbled toward James. The armor covering the missing body part melted into a writhing mass of tendrils that scurried toward the main body, leaving a scarlet-skinned, yellow-eyed decapitated head on the ground.

  Do I just keep beating this fucker down, chopping him up until there aren’t any pieces left? James asked.

  Severe damage has likely created hostile override potential, Whispy explained. Active symbiont-to-symbiont disruption through close body contact and forced adaptation capture. Warning, risk of counter-override.

  James stomped to the body and sliced off an arm. He hissed, each blow sending impact shocks to his own wounds. His regeneration continued, and the worst burns and cuts were at least sealed, but a lot of tissue damage remained.

  Fuck it. We can do this shit. You’re not some dumb-ass symbiont. You’ve had all these years on Earth to learn how to adapt and overcome. Let’s override the fucker.

  James retracted his blades and grabbed the headless Purifier in a bear hug.

  Initiating override, Whispy reported.

  Hundreds of tiny tendrils shot from James’ armor and stabbed into the Purifier. A green glow surrounded them both.

  Yesssss, Whispy hissed. Override in progress.

  The Purifier jerked in James’ grasp, the armor melting away and flowing into Whispy’s tendrils as if the symbiont were drinking in the other.

  Enhanced regeneration engaged.

  The slow pace of James’ regeneration ended, with many deep wounds filling in seconds. His armor closed, only a few hints of scorching left.

  Closer to achievement of primary directive, Whispy declared. Vax symbiont overwritten and assimilated. All adaptation potential transferred. Power transferred.

  James dropped the naked red body to the ground. His pain was gone, and his body thrummed with energy. He stared down at the body.

  “I’ve fought tougher guys, asshole. Say hello to the Devil for me.”

  Hyperspatial disruption detected near initial conflict site.

  A few quick jumps returned James to the front of the ravaged lab building. Four dark, opaque portals crackling with green energy had appeared there.

  “Oh, yeah, the fucker called for help.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  An armored Vax strode out of each portal. These were even larger than the Purifier, eight feet tall and broader across the chest. They lacked the shoulder appendages of the Purifier and his blades, but their hands ended in claws.

  A long, thin tube rested on each of their right shoulders. It was covered with the same whorled silver-black pattern as all Vax armor, but it didn’t look flexible or move like the Purifier’s appendages. James didn’t need to be an expert in xenobiology and xenoengineering to recognize a gun.

  These must be the Destroyers Corey was whining to Senator Johnston about.

  Yes, Whispy responded. Assimilated Purifier symbiont information confirms that supposition.

  How the fuck are they different than what I just fought?

  Destroyer standard primary directive is as follows: “Complete and utter destruction of ecosphere in addition to complete and utter destruction of all advanced sapient life.”

  The Destroyers all took a ponderous step forward, producing a loud threatening thud.

  Fucking wonderful, James responded. In other words, they are planet-killers.

  Yes. Limited background information suggests Destroyers only deployed for high-risk populations in cases when planet might possess unusual attributes that contribute to a possible future risk to Vax population. Extreme resource requirements have led to limited Destroyer production.

  James shook his head.

  Are you telling me that if I don’t finish these guys quickly, Earth is fucking toast?

  No, Whispy responded. Native defenses must be cleared. Ecosphere and tectonic disruption require stable and sustained energy channeling that takes significant amounts of time.

  The Destroyers took another step forward, then spread out.

  James grunted.

  Okay, so they can blow up the city, but they can’t kill the Earth as long as someone’s around to distract them. Fine. I can work with that shit. Can their energy weapons hurt me? You ate that Purifier symbiont, right? Does that help?

  Unknown.

  James frowned. The Purifier showed up and opened fire right away, but the Destroyers were standing there like they were tourists on the Vegas Strip overwhelmed by all the glitz and glamour.

  Why aren’t they attacking? James asked.

  Establishing local tactical and strategic situation is necessary before following primary Destroyer directives.

  High-pitched whines sounded from their armor.

  James sighed and shook their head. “This shit again?”

  Can you stall them? James asked. Pretend you’re going to give them what they want?

  James’ armor emitted a similar whine.

  I get it, James suggested. They’re confused. They probably showed up expecting to find the Purifier standing over my dead-ass body or me on Team Vax. Instead, all they see is me. Their symbionts have got to be going crazy right now.

  Destroyer symbionts likely functioning under normal parameters, Whispy responded. Unusual behavioral activity unlikely.

  James chuckled at the symbiont. Despite the destruction behind him and the four walking WMDs in front, Whispy still wanted to defend the honor of symbionts from the cruel assumptions of a mere meat puppet.

  Can you override these symbionts too? James asked.

  Matrix incompatibility highly likely.

  Do Vax symbionts usually eat other symbionts? James asked.

  No. Active sharing occurs. Purposeful override is associated with symbiont corruption of primary directive. Warning: failure of delay tactics imminent.

  The four Destroyers’ armor stopped making noise. Whispy ended his attempts a few seconds later.

  James took a few steps back as he surveyed the four behemoths. Being outnumbered four to one by other Vax wasn’t the kind of odds he would take at a casino, but his heart didn’t pound in fear. He wasn’t even that angry, just resigned to the necessity of kicking their Vax asses all the way back to their planet. The Purifier had underestimated him and died, and now it was the Destroyers’ turn.

  If cannibal symbionts aren’t normally a thing, James suggested, then let’s see if we can work on their nerves. Once we’ve got them distracted, we’ll waste their asses. Shay would like this plan.

  Human female approval unnecessary.

  Yeah, tell that to her.

  “Hey, assholes,” James shouted.

  The Destroyers stopped moving and turned, their cannons pointed right at him.

  James tried to flip them off, but it was hard to accomplish with his armored and clawed hand.

  “Yeah, that’s right. What’s the point of even coming here? Earth didn’t come and fuck with you assholes, and I’ve been minding my own fucking business, too. I didn’t even know about the Vax, but you had to come here and cause shit, just like the fucking Alliance.” James pointed a claw behind him at the smoking ruin of the lab building. “Your Purifier thought he was big shit, and he’s fucking dead now. My Forerunner ass chopped him into pieces and wasted his symbiont. I know symbionts have emotions because Whispy won’t stop throwing his at me half the time, so I’m sitting here thinking about what the symbionts calling the shots over there think about the fact that a Forerunner just beat down a Purifier.”

  He slapped a hand over his armored chest. “And that my symbiont fucking ate his.” He growled. “Four Destroyer symbionts sound pretty fucking tasty about now, and my symbiont really wants to be the only one left.”

  A bright light flashed again in the distance. James had no idea of the source but assumed it was some desperate backup plan by the government, probably a group of magicals ready to try something st
upid. He wasn’t sure if the Destroyers would be able to disrupt a portal attempt to the World in Between like the Purifier had, but he wouldn’t be surprised.

  The government could have a nuke sitting over there, for all James knew. It wasn’t like the bastards were ever completely honest. They had come to him because of his power, not because he was renowned for his close working relationship with them.

  James’ plan, in contrast, remained simple. If he killed every last Vax and let Whispy go all cannibal, there would be no need for whatever arrogant overkill the government had in mind. He was all the arrogant overkill they needed.

  The Destroyers turned their heads in the direction of the light and didn’t turn back toward James. If their vision was anything like his was in Extended Advance mode, they would still easily be able to see him.

  Looks like they don’t rattle easily, James thought, and burst into a sprint, circling the Vax at high speed. Time to talk to them the best way I know how.

  James threw up an arm and began charging a beam.

  Bright green flashes marked the firing of the Destroyer shoulder cannons. Two of the shots, blinding green orbs the size of golf balls, screamed past James. One struck the ground behind him, blowing a huge cloud of concrete and dirt into the air and leaving a crater. Another exploded against the trunk of a nearby tree, reducing it to a cloud of burning ash. The two remaining shots nailed James.

  He crashed through weakened and burning walls and a fence he’d avoided by coming in from above the last time. James continued flying backward, smashing through another fence until he hit a baseball field like a cannon, his momentum helping his armored form tear a furrow in the ground.

  Moderate damage sustained. Regeneration in progress.

  James groaned and sat up. Half the armor was burned off his abdomen and upper chest, but despite the concussive force, the attack hadn’t penetrated.

  “I’m so fucking tired of the Vax.” James stood as Whispy filled the holes in his armor. It was faster than before the assimilation of the Purifier but not as fast as he would need if he wanted to take down the Destroyers.

  Green flashed in the distance through the smoke, and the remains of the lab building went up in a massive explosion that left a deep crater near the center of the building. Another volley followed and annihilated the stadium seats behind the field.