by A. R. Crebs
One particular fighter stood out from the rest. It was a woman. She was handling the monsters two and sometimes three at a time. She was tiny in every sense of the word. With rapid movements, the woman darted right and left and flew through the air in ways that seemed unnatural. Her lithe body arched and twirled, her weapon guiding her among the mass. Leaping, she brought her double-sided spear through one of the Brutes, pulled out, and stabbed a second that was located behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she assessed her men with glaring brown and gold-specked eyes. Blowing her black hair out of her face, she shouted an order. The entire assembly simultaneously stepped away from their targets, regrouping as they slowly trudged backward toward the military line to join the others.
“Who is that woman?” Aria asked.
Yoshitaka smirked. “That is General Jiao.”
“General?” Aria asked, her voice rising in pitch. “I like her already.”
Jiao folded her spear in half, snapped it into a different shape, and then held the weapon over her head. The blades rotated like a fan, lifting the woman off the ground. She traversed above the battle to where Aria and Yoshitaka stood.
“Do it now!” she cried out.
Yoshitaka gave a quick nod. Holding his arm out toward the fight, he shouted an attack command. The warcry was ear-piercing as the Japanese troops took off to join in the chaos, Hattori leading the way. Yoshitaka then placed his hand on Aria’s shoulder, to which she finally threw down her fist, shouting her own orders. An earth-shattering rumble and boom followed as every tank and missile weaponry detonated one after the other down the line. It started as a couple of bursts that quickly fell into a crash so undecipherable that it became nothing but a hissing white noise. To Aria, it sounded like glory.
Enormous craters developed in the landscape. Rock, fire, sizzling blood, and messy particles of demonic flesh scattered among each impact. There was one aspect of Sapphire’s monsters that seemed to benefit the human army. As projectiles hit the Spewers, their bodies exploded outward, annihilating mass amounts of other demons. Within seconds, nearly all of Sapphire’s first wave was demolished. Aria held her fist in the air, screaming as the soldiers prepared for their second attack. A loud laugh brought her attention toward Kovacevic. He was shouting into his radio; every other word was a colorful obscenity as he spoke to the fringes of the army. From a distance, she saw a grouping of his drones and mobile tank mechs heading out to battle. Aria then looked to Feyette. He busied himself with orders to the rest of the Fountain militaries, sending out their various robots and unmanned war machines. Yoshitaka did not letup, calling out orders to a man named Saito.
“Saito! Unlock FIFI!” The Japanese man waved his hand in the air.
“Oh, this is gonna be SO good!” Troy rubbed his hands together.
With a cranking whine, FIFI’s eyes pulsated with light. The enormous tiger-mech stamped forward, roaring with ferocity. Each pounding step had a banging echo effect. The sound was like a warning, causing many to pause and watch. With one giant swipe of its clawed hands, FIFI took out nearly two hundred enemies. The oversized feline must’ve been enjoying itself as it gave another howl and pawed at the monsters. FIFI stomped the demons into the dust, sawed them in half with razor-sharp claws, and sent them soaring toward Sapphire’s tower with a slap of its tail. This boosted the human’s morale as the men began cheering and chanting their own war songs.
Aria locked gazes with the satanic child once again as half of one of her pets slapped against the side of her throne, hot blood splattering over her white dress.
“Having fun yet?” Aria arrogantly asked.
Sapphire slowly stood from her seat, her black eyes narrowing. Pressing a white shoe against the messy carcass, she kicked it over the side of her throne, the body tumbling past a flinching Ivory onto the sandy ground with a disgusting splat.
“THE FUN IS ONLY BEGINNING,” the eerie voice piped over the battle.
The little girl lifted a palm, releasing her second wave which contained the biomechanical androids. As she raised the other hand, a large crackling black hole burst open behind her once again. Aria frowned. She knew there was something Sapphire had been holding back, and she had a pretty good inclination as to what her next move was.
“Feyette!” Aria spun around. The man abruptly halted his communications. “Get the Hawks and whatever else we have on hand ready for the sky!”
He didn’t question her, but merely nodded, switching up his orders for half of the army. Within seconds, the thumping drone of the revving Hawks pounded in Aria’s ears, followed by the growing hum of the neighboring jets. Kovacevic followed with orders of his own, the second half of the line responding in the same manner.
In only a couple of seconds, the biomechanical androids were even with the remaining demons, filling the line. Aria and Feyette knew exactly how they would operate. As the droids communicated their calculations to one another, their various weapons dropped, slid out, and warped out of their bodies. They were an army of nightmares. Dislodged jaws revealed cannons; arms morphed into rifles; some folded in on themselves to create electrically-charged rail devices, and others had legs that morphed into treaded wheels that tore away at the rocky ground. Aria could barely get a word out before the androids released their arsenal upon the humans.
“Take cover!” she simultaneously mentally and verbally shouted.
Her words fell upon deaf ears as the excruciating, pulverizing, blare of the assorted weaponry drowned her out. Aria covered her head, twisting away from the blast into a crouching position, Troy doing the same by her side. The noise grinded into an electric hiss; the sound of crunching flooded from all directions. The horrendous noise had lasted a good thirty seconds before all androids halted either to cool their systems, reload, or recalibrate. The closest thing to silence on the battlefield followed next, but it could have been possible that the sound had blown Aria’s eardrums. Trying to regain her equilibrium, Aria craned her neck to check out the damage.
Of course, it was as devastating as she had imagined. Many of their war machines had been obliterated, split in half, crushed, overturned onto soldiers, and melted into a sizzling pile. As far as she could see to the left, a mound of bodies in all sorts of disfigurement littered the desert floor. It was horrifying, but a large portion still had survived thanks to their shields and for taking cover behind vehicles. The sudden calm wouldn’t last long, however. The androids only needed a few moments to ready a second attack.
“Give all you have! Fire when ready!” Aria commanded.
A horrid bellowing interrupted her; the call warped as it moved toward the humans. Aria slowly stood, her wide eyes locked upon the black swelling portal behind Sapphire’s tower. It was just as she had feared.
Out of the dark mass came a fluctuating silhouette. Massive, lumbering from side to side amongst a murky dark mist, it was the Colossus, the beast from the Amazonian Desert. As quickly as it stepped out of the black ring, the portal suctioned closed. Aria immediately noticed a pair of electric-blue eyes. Standing upon the monster’s shoulder was none other than Dovian; the sultry woman with long dark hair stood on the opposite side. Dovian was already watching Aria from the expanse of the battlefield. His face was pulled tight, revealing no emotion as the humans were dropping dead by the handfuls each second. As the Colossus worked its way around Sapphire’s tower, its feet crushing a few of its own kind, Dovian cocked his head to the side, finally giving some sort of response to Aria’s presence. That was when Aria realized Troy had been calling her name.
“Aria! Move!” Troy yelled, shoving the woman out of the way just as a Brute’s blast spiraled past them. The sickening plop of the poor soul behind them being torn to pieces sent chills down Aria’s spine.
“You alright?” she called out, helping Troy to his feet.
He pointed a finger toward the battle as he stood. Aria turned her attention to the monsters that were in the process of surrounding them. She waited no longer, lifting her r
ifle to join in on the violence. Grimacing, Aria sidestepped, moving further and further away as the demons forced the two apart. As she relentlessly fired into the creatures, her bullets ripping through their shields and flesh, she caught the sight of a Spewer heading directly for Troy.
“Watch out, Troy,” Aria spoke into his mind.
Troy rolled to the side just as a pile of magma sludge gushed toward him. He somersaulted backward over to his feet, firing at the Brawlers and Brutes that annoyed him more like bugs than anything. With one giant stride, the Spewer pulled back and swiped at Troy, knocking the man onto his back. Air rushed out of his lungs upon impact. Troy shook his head, trying to steady his spinning vision just as a large hand clamped around his rifle and pulled. Troy flew up and over and slammed onto the ground on the opposite side of the beast. He recoiled instantly and released the weapon. Holding his hip, Troy glared at the Spewer. Its golden eyes watched him. As the monster roared, it pulled on both sides of Troy’s gun, tearing it in half. Troy quickly pushed to his feet, taking a couple of staggering steps back.
Pointing an accusatory finger at the creature, he spoke, “You, sir, are a dick!”
The Spewer eyed him carefully, circling slowly to the side. Troy swallowed thickly. Looking over his shoulder, he took in the sights of the war around him. Humans were being torn apart by demons and androids alike. Bullets whizzed by; some would’ve impacted his body if it weren’t for his own Faze Shield. The ninja and samurai were doing alright with the monks at their side. Their weapons were excellent for both long distance and close range. Troy watched General Jiao as she easily fought hand-to-hand against a Brawler, her small hands snapping the creature’s neck as if it were no effort at all.
“Okay,” Troy sniffed, shaking out his hands and rolling his shoulders. “Let’s do things the hard way. You and me. Mano a mano….Whatever the hell that means.”
The Spewer lurched forward, snarling. Troy quickly moved to the right with his fists held up before his face.
“Alright!” he cheered. ‘Just like the virtual simulators at the club…’ he thought.
Ducking, he avoided a collision with an oversized fist. Troy rotated to the side of the Spewer, punching one of the magma sacs on its back. He had to be quick, shaking off his fist before the liquid fire could melt through his armor.
“Whoo-hoo-hoo! Hot!” Troy hissed.
The Spewer twirled with its arms held out to the sides as it made a whirlwind attack, fire bursting from its mouth. Troy turned, continuing in a circle around the beast as it chased after him. He stood, leapt to the ground, and rolled between its legs. Hopping to his feet, Troy popped two more sacs along the creature’s back. He squinted, trying to formulate a way to burst the sac at the base of its skull. Eyeing his broken weapon, he dove for the scraps but was intercepted by the monster’s fist. Troy cried out as he slammed into the rock once again. He made an awful sound upon contact, his helmet cracking. The Spewer continued, throwing Troy onto the opposite side. The man groaned, reaching out for his shattered gun as the Spewer stood over him and readied to vomit liquid fire atop his body. Grabbing a fistful of ammunition, Troy mustered all his strength and threw the bullets directly into the monster’s mouth. The heat of its fire ignited the ammunition, causing the Spewer to draw back. As it turned away, Troy pushed to his feet and threw the remaining shells at the magma sac behind its head. The ammunition pierced through the bubbling welt, causing it to explode. The Spewer went wild, howling and clutching at its wounds. Troy backed up, trying to avoid the careening monster that was already beginning to expand.
“Incoming!” he shouted, running toward Aria, who was surrounded by monsters.
“Wha–?” Aria gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of Troy running toward her, a bloated Spewer ready to blow.
Tory grabbed her by the elbow and tugged her around to his side. She used her momentum, spinning, and pulled him in return to avoid the tumbling creature. Aria, however, was obscenely stronger than she used to be. The two soldiers crashed violently into an overturned tank.
“Holy shit!” Troy groaned. “What? You have superhuman strength now?”
As they gathered their footing, Aria and Troy dropped and crawled under the vehicle just as the Spewer exploded, taking out a massive ring of enemies.
“Hot damn!” Troy laughed.
“Are you finished with the one-liners?” Aria shouted. “You about killed us both.”
“Hey!” he whined, his visor sinking into the sides of his helmet. Blood dripped from his head, beading over his brow onto his cheekbone. “I helped you! Took out that group that was pinning you down.”
“I wasn’t getting pinned. I had it under control,” Aria replied, her hands instinctively reaching for his face.
“Uh huh,” he mumbled, letting her touch his skin. Continuing, he used a sad impression of Aria’s voice. “No, thank you, Troy. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have you around to save me all the time.”
Aria glared at him. “IVES!”
It was one word, and she said it loud and slow. It stung.
Troy moaned. “Okay! Let’s not bring that up ever again.”
“Are you two alive under there?” Kovacevic asked through their mental chips.
“We’re here,” Aria replied. She worked at healing Troy’s wounds. The man’s dilated pupils returned to normal. “You had a concussion,” she quickly muttered to her partner.
“Damn. You’re better than a pain pill. You’re still a pain, though.” He gave her a stupid grin.
Aria ignored him.
“Looks like your Roman soldier is here!” Kovacevic added.
Aria and Troy locked nervous gazes. There was an explosion, the shockwave of dust suctioning beneath the tank, covering them.
“Cherno has arrived,” Kovacevic laughed. His celebrations abruptly halted. “Wait a minute. We have a new report. Apparently the war has broken out across the world. City-states from all over are being attacked by those monsters. That little bitch is attacking everyone else while we’re busy with her army here.” The man no longer sounded amused.
“Troy,” Aria coughed, trying not to inhale the dirt. It was as she feared. Sapphire was taking the opportunity to destroy the other city-states while all the militaries were outside Fountains.
“I’d better hurry,” Troy blurted. “If I can get those portals closed, maybe we can keep her monsters from traveling to the other cities. If anything, they’ll lose contact with her.” He reached forward, beginning to pull himself out from beneath their shelter. Aria’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“Please,” she hesitated, “…be careful.”
He fed her one of his boyish grins. “Don’t worry about me. This will be fun. I’ve always wanted to be a kickass robot!”
Aria gave him a severe look.
Watching the Colossus, Troy’s face became stern. “I can imagine what your next action is,” he murmured.
Aria drifted her green-eyed stare toward Dovian, who was still riding upon the giant’s shoulder. The monstrous being was swiping at the aircraft. In one swoop, it took out three Hawks. Dovian waited patiently atop the creature, keeping his balance without much effort, his shields protecting him from projectiles. “I’ll figure out a way to deal with him,” Aria whispered.
Lowering his face shield, Troy looked back toward the woman. “You be careful. When I’m done, I’m heading directly back to you. In the meantime, you’ve got to survive. Dovian’s dangerous.”
Aria lowered her eyes to the dirt. “I’ll be on my toes, trust me.”
Troy patted her on the back, shaking her. “I always have.”
Aria waited, staring at the man. His face was unreadable behind the mask, but the tension overflowed from his being. He was struggling for words, but as he pulled himself out from beneath the tank, his mind swirled with a desperate need.
‘Not sure why I can’t just say it, but you know that I care about ya. A lot. Always have, always will,’ his mind whispered.
He stood outside the tank, Aria pulling herself out beside him. As she rose, she gave him an embarrassed smile. Troy lowered his head, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He figured Aria had just read his thoughts.
“You’re so good with words,” she mumbled, walking forward as she signaled to the Cherno troops hovering above them in their craft.
“Erm…I try my best,” he said, barely audible.
“Survive. Help me end this war, and then you can say them out loud to me. Besides, you owe me a drink from Chester’s.” Aria waved her hands, guiding the soldiers who were lowering the robotic Roman soldier.
“Can we go now?!” Aren’s shrill voice called out from behind.
Aria and Troy looked back at the pilot. He had nearly been crushed by a large piece of metal that appeared to have been a war machine of some sort at one time. He had his arms covering his head; Franklin was busy encasing their bodies with a large domed shield.
Seeing Aren’s desperation, Troy ran ahead and snagged the Roman soldier. Not far away, a biomechanical android had its sights locked upon the hovercraft.
“Go! Go!” Troy waved, severing the cord the Roman bot was strapped to.
Aria took careful aim and fired upon the biomechanical enemy, distracting it just enough for the Cherno soldiers to back away into the air. With a pulsing hum, the craft twisted, fired a missile that obliterated the android to nothing more than scrap metal, and then sped directly toward the Colossus.
“Get your ass to the mines! This war is getting out of control! We need those portals closed!” Aria shouted. Reaching into her belt, she pulled out a beacon and slapped it upon the Roman soldier. “I’ve got my eyes on you. All soldiers will see you marked as a friendly. They’ve already been briefed.”