After half of Oxford was blown up to end an incursion in late 2023, the city underwent a rapid period of growth with the help of several local samurai, who caused the explosion, and massive corporate investment. Several nearby towns were almost completely emptied as their residents moved into the forming megacity, New Oxford.

Unfortunately, this mass migration led to a hive taking root in a nearby town and going unnoticed. It was only discovered after releasing a large wave of antithesis that almost toppled New Oxford again.

--An excerpt from the documentary: The Formation of the Three Southern Powers.

You can. But, while I would normally encourage protecting yourself, I question if armour’s the correct purchase to make right now. Do you know these pipes well?

‘Yes?’ I say, tilting my head, not sure where she’s going with this.

Would there happen to be a large chamber ahead of you?

‘Yeah, there’s a big junction of pipes another few minutes away, why? Do you think there will be a lot of plants in there?’

Yes, and though your choice of weapon seems to suit your preferred combat style, I doubt you will be able to handle a larger group with only some armour and your claws. Instead, could I suggest saving your points for now and approaching the junction? A few well-placed explosives can easily earn back the points you spend on them if you do run into a larger group.

‘Okay.’ I nod, calling my siblings over and continuing down the pipes.

I can hear faint shuffling sounds in the distance as we advance, so I keep myself low, prepared to spring back at a moment’s notice if we really do run into a large group of xenos. We pass another pipe that branches off towards a residential district and I glance down it, my eyes passing over several piles of junk that have built up over the years.

I’m about to keep walking, but I notice my siblings aren’t following me and have instead paused in front of that pipe.

What have they found? Is it shiny or alien?

The angry, warning growl from Chip tells me it’s probably the latter, so I look back in at the junk piles, narrowing my eyes and inspecting them. Most of them look completely normal, but after a few passes I spot two that are slightly too large and a touch too close to the slowly flowing water trailing along the bottom of the pipe.

Nines.

I slowly start walking into the pipe, gesturing silently for the others to wait back. I approach the first hidden beast without looking directly at it, watching it out of the corner of my eye. It doesn’t move until I step in line with it, just like the first one, and we both burst into motion at the same time.

The junk pile unfurls, leaping forward with short, slashing limbs outstretched, and I spin on my heels, facing it and swiping down in two wide, intersecting arcs that tear through its bladed limbs, gouging ten deep lines that ooze green. The second Nine immediately rises and shoots towards me as my back is turned, but I grab its friend and plant my feet in the sludge below, swinging the dying xeno around and slamming it into the outstretched arms of the other before slipping to the ground.

I scramble over to the unharmed, fallen Nine as quickly as I can, grabbing onto it with a clawed hand and pulling it closer to rip it to shreds. It slashes back, but its attacks don’t penetrate my gloves, and it soon goes limp as I tear away chunks of flesh.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Targets Eliminated!

Points increased to… 150

‘These things give a lot of points, don’t they?’ I questioned, sitting back and wiping the green blood from my face with my sleeve.

Model Nines are difficult to spot, and extraordinarily lethal at close quarters if you don’t. It’s only reasonable they would give more points than other low-level Antithesis.

The three energetic furballs run over as I’m sitting and regaining my breath. They all rip into the dead xenos and tear away a few more chunks of flesh, venting their anger for Chip’s earlier injuries.

I slip one of my gloves off and give them each a pat for their good work before pushing myself off the floor and leading them back towards our original path. The noises coming from up ahead quickly grow louder, so I crouch down as I arrive at the last turn before the junction, slowing my steps and approaching as quietly as possible to peek my head around.

The moment I do, I regret it, because I see veritable fuck-tonne of alien plant life. There’s a Four stuck to the roof at the mouth of the chamber ahead, along with two more Threes advancing up the pipe’s slope towards us. I can barely see the wide-open chamber behind them, but unfortunately the small bit that’s visible has several Antithesis clambering across a few maintenance walkways to reach the pipes connected to the walls.

I spot a few threes pushing a body out of a pipe as well, into what should be the pool of rancid waste below.

Unfortunately, it appears having a torch mounted to my head and staring down a dark pipe into the faces of multiple Threes is an easy way to get noticed. The two creepily quiet doggos dash towards me, and several of the strange monkey-like creatures scaling the walls and walkways behind them turn to face me too.

‘Shit! Cyon, I need explosives to deal whatever the fuck is in there. Now!’

I whistle a shrill, sharp tone, telling my siblings to run while staring down the charging Threes, ready to dispatch them quickly.

Class I Esoteric Single-Use Explosives Devices unlocked!

Points reduced to… 100

New Purchase: Mark I Needler Grenade

Points reduced to… 95

A fist-sized black orb appears in the air in front of me, so I reach out and catch it before it can roll away. It has a seam splitting it in half and tonnes of tiny holes dotting its surface.

Twist and drop, then take cover immediately.

Drop not throw? Okay!

I twist the two halves of the orb and gently roll it into the pipe in front of the Threes before diving back into the tunnel we came from. For a moment, nothing happens. Then, just as the first Three steps into my sight, a loud series of metallic pings echo through the pipe. I see a flood of needles rip through the back of the dog before me, splattering green blood and small impact holes across the pipe walls.

Targets Eliminated!

Points increase to… 165

New Purchase: Mark I Needler Grenade

Points reduced to… 160

New Purchase: Conflagration Charge

Points reduced to… 150

Another Needler spawns out of thin air, this time joined by a box at my feet.

Now that you have time to breathe, throw this Needler into the chamber to clear the way, then press the button to activate the charge and roll it in too. Afterwards, run.

I twist the needler and step around the corner again, hurling the grenade past the dead Four slowly sliding back to fall out of the pipe, and slipping back into cover. I crouch down and throw off the lid of the box, finding an ominous black and red orb with a big red button in the centre. I hit the button at the same time as I hear the Needler go off, then pick up the entire box and swing it forward, throwing the head-sized explosive out.

It hits the floor and starts hissing as it rolls away, so I turn and sprint after my siblings.

‘What’s that hissing?’

The Conflagration Charge is releasing its stores of a flammable gas mixture that will be ignited shortly.

‘How far will be safe?’ I ask as we pass the nines I killed earlier, spotting my siblings a dozen metres ahead of me.

You are past the safe distance already, but the coming heatwave will be uncomfortable, so you may want to continue moving until you reach your last battle site at least.

I nod and keep running, being careful not to slip. The moment I spot the brutalised Four ahead, I call for the others to stop and turn to watch where we came from.

I can hear the scraping of claws against metal as several plants chase us, but nothing comes into view as I scan the pipe.

‘When will it b-‘

Just as I start asking when the charge will go off, a low, rumbling pop echoes through the pipes, shaking my bones. Almost immediately afterwards, I feel a wave of hot air singe my face and I raise my arms to try to block it. My siblings all squeal in discomfort and tuck themselves behind my legs.

It takes a few seconds for the worst of the heat to fade, leaving me with a strange tingling sensation on my exposed skin.

Targets Eliminated!

Points increased to… 1415

Tokens increased to… 1