One of the main dangers with the antithesis is that it costs an exorbitant amount of resources to make sure they are actually gone after an incursion. The first wave is usually dealt with by samurai coming in and killing all of the big plants, but what about afterwards? When clean-up starts, it is generally by burning all the bodies, making sure nothing remains depending on the area of the incursion. Such things are possible, but in some areas, the blood of the Xenos will seep into the ground, fertilising and implanting it with the seed of the antithesis, slowly growing a new hive underground that can burst at any moment. Cleaning up that kind of antithesis is almost impossible.
--web lecture on the value of different types of lands
I lay in bed, thinking back on the events of today, with a happy feeling in my stomach. Melody was something else, that I knew for damn sure: she was both weirdly funny in that crazy kind of way, and extremely aggressive and excited during sex. As I lay there ,still thinking about the woman, I am reminded of the other thing she did. She had walked into the living room naked to collect her clothes, and probably spotted one or both of the twins and in her haste, she had turned her bracelet into a mask and put it on, making a purple hoody with paint stains and a weird logo on the back appear around her covering her up.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t know all that much about technology and how far it has come in recent years, but still, that felt too advanced. This nagging feeling of doubt started to set in as I remember a report of some of the military guys that went on expeditions. They had picked up a woman who had two super advanced tech swords, so advanced even that they still had not fully figured out how to operate them. The woman had long blond hair and a golden eye. I pause. Melody has golden eyes, but she does not have blond hair, and I don’t think her hair is all that long, either.
I mean, eye colour changes are rare but not that strange, and colour contacts exist, too. However, something about Melody's eyes was different. They looked real, unaltered, like you can always tell that hair is painted even if it is done well. It is the same with eyes, and with that, I had to admit something to myself.
Melody was a Samurai, a fact that usually would not be that upsetting. I mean, as an ex-joy-toy, I know how much people enjoy just the idea of sleeping with a Samurai, let alone sleeping with an actual one. No, that was not the problem. No, the problem was that Melody had not told me that she was a Samurai, even though I had told her that I was one, even if it was rather obvious.
“Freayer, do you know if Melody is a samurai?” I ask my AI companion.
Staying in line with the privacy rules, I can not tell you whether she is a Samurai or not.
“Well, that is not helpful at all.”
Why don’t you just ask?
“I don’t know. I feel like that is something you should just tell your partner… if that is what we are? Are we partners?”
That I can’t answer, but Melody seems rather busy with her own mental problems, and it might have just slipped her mind.
I sigh, considering the point. “You are right. I guess we just have to sit down and talk properly next time we meet,” I say already getting a bit giddy at the thought.
The other Melody had said that she would come back, but she wanted to make sure the kids were okay first. She had said that she would come back once she was sure there were no problems there, so all I could really do was wait.
“Ugh, I hate how much I like her already. It is unfair. How can someone be that good-looking and that good in bed? It is like the ultimate combo,” I complain to the ceiling
The ceiling, as unhelpful as ever, does not reply back. My AI does, however.
I would like to advise caution not to get too attached to her face. She has already been seen throwing up holograms, and the chance that she is hiding behind another is not unlikely.
I consider it for a second. I guess that does make sense. Then again, Melody had also admitted to having the same face as her at some point. Even though some of the comparisons might be gone now, some of the basics still remained, so it was hard to say. Something else I have to ask. Let's hope she does not feel like this will become too much of an interrogation next time we meet.
A sudden loud alarm brings me out of my musings, and I curse. I quickly open up the local network to investigate. There is a wall breach on the east side. The side I was supposed to guard this morning before I got distracted. Fuck, this is bad! I quickly put on my pilot suit before I run out of my room. The twins are already running around, preparing several drones, as they make themselves ready.
I quickly run to the hangar where my mech is, or at least part of it. My actual mech is way too big to bring inside of the city proper, so I opted for a detachable cockpit that serves as a smaller mech that I could use for some fast mobility inside the city.
I quickly strap in, doing a quick check that everything is full and loaded before I activate the jump boosters and jump down from the hangar and onto the streets, quickly running east as I remotely prepare my big mech for war.
The hammering in my heart gets less angry the closer I get to the wall. Sure, people are still running away, but as far as I can see, there are no Xenos in the streets giving chase, meaning that the breach is a problem, but only a minor one. Once I exit the inner ring of buildings entering the military barracks that are built all along the wall, I let out a sigh. There are no plants still, which is good.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
I quickly run to the hangar that holds the rest of my mech. Lucky for me, the outbreak was in the east, and my mech was already here. I quickly attach the cockpit to the rest of my mech, a massive thing with eight arms carrying a variety of arms, including melee guns and a rocket launcher, all on top of a gleaming snake body. My treasure and namesake. The big pink and orange snake mech slowly hums to life as the last couplings are connected, and I can slither off.
Once I am out, I check my map overlay to see where the breach is and start heading in that direction. Once I reach the indicated spot, I shiver. Okay, that is a big one. The best way of describing it would be a big sauropod, with massive spikes and stuff on its back, glowing in an ominous blue colour as some kind of liquid washes off from it. Its head is all kinds of wrong. Instead of one, it has seven, all with incredibly large necks that snap out and try to bite at the people running around on the ground.
There are still guards on the wall, not shooting at the creature, but rather the stuff still beyond it, and if I had to guess, that was the only reason why this place was not overrun with more antithesis. Good, so only the big fucker to deal with, then.
Once I made sure that no one was in my direct line of fire I unleashed the mech, firing both my Gatling gun and my lasers as I slowly move closer. The bullets seem to do some damage, but not a lot, which is always a shame. Recently, the Xenos had gotten more armour, and it pisses me off to no end. I really have to upgrade my weapons at some point. Then again, keeping the walls stocked with weapons and ammo costs me most of my points already, and the return on them is less than ideal.
The creature, now seeing me as the biggest threat of this conflict, starts to come at me slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed as it charges at me, pulverising anything that steps in its way. My mech is technically taller than this creature, but it is a lot less bulky, so I do not really trust it in a direct engagement. So instead of that, I wait for the right moment to doge, using my mechs snake-like body to wrap around the beast, trying my best to keep it in place.
Warnings pop up, informing me that the spikes on its back have pierced my mech's armour plating. Even as I slash down both of my melee weapons, the plasma edge cuts in deep. Fuck, that is going to be expensive to fix. Especially since that did not kill it. Some of its heads snapped back at me and locked several of my arms in place as they crunched down.
With a loud groan of metal, 3 of the limbs got severely damaged, reducing me to 5 remaining, which was not great since the constant lack of points meant that I did not have enough points yet to equip all the arms, leaving two empty. In short, the current weapons I still have left are my laser gun, a rocket launcher, and a flamethrower. The latter of which I aim at the back side and turn on full blast.
Sadly, it does not slow the creature down as more of its heads snap back, hounding me from every side, quickly overwhelming my defences. I sigh. I did not want to use this at all, especially not inside the city. I quickly aim my rocket launcher, pointing it at the base of the creature's necks far enough away to not deal as much splash damage to my mech.
I fire. The shock of the blast shakes my mech as even more warning signs pop up in my vision, telling me that some systems have taken some serious damage. On the more positive end of the spectrum, the alien finally took some meaningful damage, if the cracked armour dripping the green blood substance is any indication, at least.
I aim the flame thrower at the exposed weak spot, and the creature starts to writhe even more. I quickly load in a new rocket and shoot at the same spot. Pieces of burning plant flesh fly everywhere as the creature bucks and slumps down. I keep dousing it with flames, making sure it is truly dead before I detach my cockpit to assess the damage.
I groan, looking at the state of my mech. It’s broken beyond belief, with most of the parts likely needing to be replaced instead of repaired.
“Freayer, what am I in for?” I ask, honestly not wanting to know the answer.
Most of the internals could be fixed. All the damaged armour plating has to be replaced, but I would recommend upgrading all the armour now that the antithesis has found a way through. Then, the servos in the torn-off arm need to be replaced so that they can be reattached, and it will be as good as new.
“How much would it cost me to upgrade it and put it back in working order?”
5320 points total.
I am about to tell him to do it when I get a call from the twins. I open the call, and Justin's face pops into view while I see Jojo in the background, still working on the computer. Both of them have panicked looks about them.
“What is up?” I ask, my concern growing.
“We have some trouble looking over the wall!” Justin says, using his “I am trying my best not to freak out” voice.
I do my best to stay composed. Most likely, a lot of antithesis are gathering in front of the breach, and the guards need some help. Too bad my mech is wrecked. “I will take a look.” I say, sending the small cockpit scuttling up the wall.
As soon as I reach the top I pale, as it becomes hard to breathe. Five, there are five more of the fuckers that totalled my mech. Fuck, we need to do something. Maybe I could install some cannon on the wall quickly or something.
My thought process is suddenly interrupted by loud manic laughter. I look around, getting ready to tell off one of the guards next to me, but they also seem to be confused.
A figure dashes past me, cackling even louder as it jumps past the wall into the swarm of Xenos. Purple hoody and a white mask. I feel my blood run cold. No, not her. I like her. Sure, our relationship is not really confirmed, but still, I don’t want her to die. Why is she jumping in anyway?
As Melody gets closer to the ground, something weird happens to her hands; they distort for a second before a long halberd appears in her hands, and she uses it to slash down one of the big plants below. She cuts clean through, cutting the creature in half. The pieces of the creature melt away as they hit the ground, the other plants actually backing up a bit.
You have an incoming message from Vanguard Maniac. Freayer says, taking me out of my staring.
“What does it say?” I ask, smiling at myself and at her name.
I will handle the big ones and make sure none of the smaller ones make it through the hole.
I blink a few times in incomprehension: she wants to fight all five of them alone. As if she could feel my worry, Maniac uses one of the antitheses to jump into the air, pulling her arm back as a silver spear appears in it. She throws it at one of them as sparks of electricity turn the spear into a massive fireball that pummels into the big alien, pushing it over.
“Freayer, tell her that she is hot… FUCK! No, I mean, tell her that we are on it.”