{Hi, I’m a shouty rac! I’m here today to show you guys the brand-new White Dream Super, the latest product from CleanDreams!}
{Isn’t that the same as White Dream Original?}
{Shut up Louie! This is the new White Dream Super, a vastly improved blend guaranteed to leave your trash heaps full of only the best, strongest bacteria!}
{Didn’t you say that abo-}
{White Dream! Wake up, and the plants are gone!}
--Popular Ad running on the Prolotor Active Wavecast, channel #82.
We scramble down the street, passing the bacteria canister that Spot placed before we finally reach bare stone foundations without plant corpses again.
A few moments later, Stripe races over to join us before we turn the corner, and I pause to look back at the silent battlefield behind me.
“When will th-“ two clouds of white mist burst into the air, cutting me off.
She definitely did that on purpose.
The clouds spread out, covering the scattered plant matter. It looks a bit like morning dew settling on a field, but when I focus my super eyes on one of the closest Threes, I can see its skin slowly dissolving.
{Let’s go!} Stripe squeaks impatiently, tapping her paw against my leg and pointing down the street at a small flock of ones approaching in the distance.
{Okay,} I chirp back tilting my head and frowning at the birds. {I don’t really have much range…}
My gaze drifts down to Chip as he pulls a grenade from his bag and places it on the ground before reaching back and this time pulling out the knife he stole. He lifts the grenade under one arm and takes the knife in his other hand before shuffling up to me and spinning it around to offer me the handle.
{Awww,} I coo, reaching down and picking him up with one arm while taking the knife with the other. {You just gave me a great idea. Do you wanna learn to fly?}
Chip’s eyes light up, and he eagerly nods his head without saying anything. I flick the knife out, lodging it in the head of one of the Ones approaching and parting the flock as I wind my arm back with Chip held firmly in my grip.
My arm snaps forward a moment later, catapulting Chip through the air towards the birds as he lets out a squeal of joy.
I immediately break into a sprint, passing under the flock as Chip tosses out his grenade. Stripe and Spot duck into cover, and the grenade detonates in a burst of needles as I drop into a slide and catch Chip in my arms, turning my back to the explosion.
I feel a few dull impacts on my back, but no pain, and when I look back a moment later, I see all of the Ones dropping to the ground, covered in holes that are slowly growing as the flesh around them melts.
¯¯¯¯¯
Targets Eliminated!
Model One x 15 – 15 points
Points Total: 74
_____
“That was awesome!” I cheer happily, scratching Chip behind the ears.
{Again!} he squeaks, making me chuckle.
While your Symbiote-
“Sim.”
Yes, while Sim is capable of defending against your needler grenades, do you not think you should have checked that before using yourself as a shield like that?
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Why is that what you have a problem with?”
SMAF is a recognised military tactic in Prolotor warfare, so I see no issues with anything else you did.
“SMAF?”
Small Mammal Assault Flights.
“I see… Is there a catalogue I can buy with these military tactics?”
Yes.
“Add it to the list.”
We continue down the familiar streets, following the path Cyon delivers straight to my eyes in the form of large blinking arrows at each street corner. After a few minutes of disquieting solitude, I spot a small group of Threes slinking towards us.
I flex my fingers and the bracelets on my wrists dissolve, flowing up to cover my hands and growing the deadly bladed claws. The doggos break into a wild sprint the moment they spot us, but as I take a deep breath and focus on them, it feels like they’re approaching at a slow walk.
I count eight of the canid plants and roll my shoulders.
[{Wait here,}] I alert my siblings before letting out my breath.
Time to see how this body moves.
I relax and lean forward, dropping to plant my hands in the solid stone… concrete? Actually, I don’t have a clue what this stuff is, I think it’s Samurai tech? Anyway, my claws slide through it like butter still, and my legs coil below me in anticipation.
Sim curls up and around my head, and I release all of the tension in my body at once, rocketing forward and closing the distance with the xenos in the blink of an eye.
I slam into one of them, shoulder to shoulder, knocking it back and slamming into one of its brethren, sending us all tumbling. I lash out, slashing both of them, opening one from the side of the jaw down to its hind leg and slicing the leg off of the other with ease.
Rolling around to get my legs below myself, I dig one of my hands into the ground again, carving a short line and stopping my momentum just behind the group of plants. They grind their claws into the ground and scramble to turn around to meet me, but a small flex of my legs and my arm sends me straight into another one before it can even defend itself, and my hand plunges straight into its flank.
I rip my claws out and blink in surprise when I notice the edges of the wound turn an unhealthy purple shade and bubble, festering and rotting before my eyes.
‘Damn, this DogEater’s some strong stuff. I should have looked at those Ones closer. I thought it just dissolved them slowly like that mist.’
My surprise doesn’t stop me as I dodge a snapping jaw and rend two legs from my attacker in return.
DogEater is a combat strain designed to have an immediate effect on a single target, it would be disappointing if it was as slow as a cleaning product.
I choose to ignore that as I rip the head off the last Three, dropping it next to its rapidly deteriorating body. A quick glance at the backs of my hands shows that one of the three vials on each has drained by a little over half.
¯¯¯¯¯
Targets Eliminated!
Model Three x 8 – 80 points
Points Total: 154
_____
“Do I need to clean these corpses as well?” I ask, kicking one of the bubbling dead plants.
No. You supplied a dose of DogEater to each of them, so they will only act as poison if the Antithesis try to retrieve them now.
“Neat.”
The blades on my nano claws retract, leaving only the gloves in place, and I notice the lack of green blood clinging to them and my clothes.
“What happened to the blood?”
Sim will break down any foreign contaminants in contact with their surface to remain clean and help recover nutrients.
“So, you ate the dirt for me?” I ask, looking down at my chest.
The fabric against the back of my neck wiggles, tickling slightly, so I pat my stomach in praise and rejoin my siblings to continue towards the plant activity.
We run into a few more small groups of Threes, and I face them head on, enjoying the freedom of movement my new body provides. We also slip into a few alleys between streets as we weave through the disquietingly barren undercity, where we meet another Four clinging to the walls and lying in ambush.
Luckily, Spot sees it and flings a grenade at it before it even gets a chance to attack us, dropping the predator to the ground in a bubbling mess.
¯¯¯¯¯
Targets Eliminated!
Model Four – 13 points
Points Total: 347
_____
{Thanks buddy,} I squeak, bending down to give him some scritches in reward.
We continue through and step out of the alley and my ears twitch towards the left, beside Spot.
My head snaps over and my hand slips into my pocket, closing around one of my throwing knives. A dustbin sitting right beside us quivers slightly, and my arm whips over, flicking the knife out in a silver blur.
The model Nine is knocked back, breaking its disguise and revealing the wriggling, bladed limbs beneath the façade of a bin. I step towards it and slash out in a wide arc before it can recover, cleaving the creature in two.
¯¯¯¯¯
Targets Eliminated!
Model Nine – 25 points
Points Total: 372
_____
A shiver runs down my spine at just how creepily quiet these stupid plants can be, even with my super hearing, and I glance down at Spot who’s standing between my legs, looking up at me with watering eyes while wiping the green alien blood from his fur.
{Yours was cleaner…} I mumble, crouching down and pulling him into a hug.
I rub my cheek against Spots while Sim cleans him, enjoying the fluff and ignoring the small crowd of doggos gathering on the street around us as if they were called.
Elise, I would su-
“Shhhhh.” I hush her out loud, shutting my eyes and letting a small, rumbling purr build in my chest. “Fluff time.”