November 19, 2056
7:14 A.M.
Vicerole, Location Unknown
Renee Luna
The sun had just barely peeked over the mountains, but we'd been traveling for about an hour and two now. The sky is as clear as it could get, with light rays making their way through the leaves of trees around us. The adrenaline seems to have worn off from yesterday as the company is at least able to appreciate the environment. It makes one wonder what this place used to look like before the incident.
"How's the situation over at Crimson, Flash?" Macy asks, looking back at the column.
"They're still on schedule with no contact yet. We should meet up with them within an hour or so."
"Good. That doesn't mean we should start relaxing, however. This is still enemy territory, so keep those heads on a swivel," she then yells back to make sure we all hear.
With a quick acknowledgment, we proceed further without issue until stopping to rest at a stream we came upon. We refill our canteens and I immediately guzzle mine down. The water is so cool and refreshing that I momentarily let myself forget about the situation I'm in. I never knew water could taste this good. I finish the canteen and refill it again just as Frost comes up behind me.
"Luna, you got a second?" He asks as I stand up to face him, sealing the lid on my canteen.
"What is it?" I ask.
"I just wanted to check up on you, see how you were holding up," he says while kicking the snow beneath him.
"I'm fine. How's Macy?"
"So, you've noticed too huh?"
"Pretty sure everyone has..."
"Figures..." he rubs the back of his neck, "She's just stressed about our situation. We've already lost too many people and the safety of the rest of us lies on her now."
"I hope she knows that she doesn't have to bear all that weight on her shoulders alone."
"That's what I keep telling her, but you know how she is." The two of us stay quiet for a bit before he speaks again, "The two of us have known each other for years and I can tell whenever she puts on a brave face in front of the others. I just want her to know that I'm right there next to her if ever she needs anything."
"I'm sure she does, Frost." I walk up to him and rest my hand on his shoulder. "You're the most caring person I know, so I think you simply being at her side is enough for her to realize she's not alone in this."
"Yeah... you're right. Thanks," he says with a little smile.
Seeing him this up close, I too can tell whenever he's putting on a brave face as well. The anxiety behind the smile reveals it all to me. The deaths of numerous shards in our company must be taking a toll on him just as much as it's taking a toll on Macy. I hate seeing him like this. It reminds me of the time when I first met him, and when he disliked me. I wish I could do more for the two of them... I'm not great with words nor can I provide comfort for those in need. All I can do is fight... I guess in the end that's all I'm good for.
All of a sudden, a piercing screech cuts through the air and into my ears. Frost and I bring our hands up to our ears as the sound vibrates up and down my body. After a couple of seconds, it stops but my ears are still ringing, and the tips of my fingers are tingly. Around me, dazed shards look around in an attempt to find the origin of whatever that was.
"What the hell was that?"
"Did anyone get a bearing on that noise?" Frost calls out to everyone.
"Negative! I've never heard something like that before."
"Shards fall in! Regroup!"
The rest of the company forms up as we huddle in a large circle, guns raised in every direction, some visibly shaking from fear.
"Anyone got any readings on their sensors?" Macy yells out as she makes her way to us.
A few flip open their tablets but come up with nothing. "Nothing ma'am. I can't pick up anything in this dense forest."
I hold my gun higher as my eyes dart in every direction. Another screech, not as piercing as before, cuts through us again. This time, everyone turns to where it came from.
"Shit! What the fuck is that!"
"It came from the south!"
"Hold on! I'm picking up irregular movement on my scanner! East!" Flash suddenly gets up and points in the corresponding direction.
"Flash, can you tell what it is?" Frost asks.
"No, but whatever it is, it's big. It could be a vehicle of sorts, but I'm just guessing. It's also getting closer."
"Let's not stick around and find out. If it's armor, I want it out in the open where we can take it out. On the double, let's move it!" Macy barks and we take off as fast as we can while still moving the injured.
I continue to take glances behind me but see and hear nothing. Was that sound really from a vehicle? Even then, how can any vehicle traverse in this environment? There are dead trees and piles of deep snow everywhere.
"Crimson, do you copy?" I hear Macy up ahead talking into her radio.
<
"We're double-timing it to you! We expect there's an enemy-" Macy is cut off from her transmission when a lump of snow in front of us explodes with a large object emerging out of it.
It leaps towards the two shards that were in the front and smashes into them, causing blood to splatter into the air and onto its body. We halt in our tracks to the screams of them being torn to pieces and stand there in horror as the machine-like monster begins stabbing into their bodies with its front sharp legs.
It then abruptly stops and slowly, rotates its body, the size of a bear, to face us. Its body is dark metallic with a set of eight small domes, that must be its eyes, that produce a yellow hue. In between them another eye, only bigger and emitting a stronger light. The body is also thick and diamond-shaped with six sharp legs protruding from beneath it. Blood and pieces of flesh drip from its body as it produces a low hum and hunches over, its backside erected up.
We stand there, frozen, for a moment before it takes a step forward. A shard panics from this and fires off a round. It ricochets off its left plate, causing it to lunge forward.
"Kill it!"
A hail of bullets soon impacts its body as it smashes between us, taking two more soldiers to the ground. I stagger back and look back up to see it raise its legs to impale a downed shard through their chest. More bullets hit it as it turns to slash at another soldier, completely tearing apart the flesh off their body. The machine now barrels towards Flash but a shot from his shotgun manages to drill a hole through the center eye. He narrowly avoids it as it crashes into the snow.
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Macy, thinking quickly, unsheathes her blade before jumping on its back and plunging her sword into the deep opening, finally causing the machine to seize up before collapsing on its side.
I don't have time to register what has even happened as I turn behind me to see another one pounce from the snow and onto another shard. Before I can react, yet another emerges from beneath and snatches one of the injured shards before carrying them away, with their screams echoing through the forest. We try our best but any attempt to protect the injured resulted in the same fate... they never stood a chance.
"Bullets don't work against these things!"
"Black Shard move! Move!"
I stop engaging and trip over myself as I begin to run with everyone else. The clanking of metal behind me only makes me run faster and faster, each step making me gasp for air.
<
"Cruz... W-we're under attack! Get to the field!" Macy is able to transmit while gasping for air.
We continue to run at full speed as more screeches erupt behind us. I can hear them closing the distance on us, so I and a few others pull out our grenades and toss them over our shoulders where they shortly explode. Judging from the screeches and the sounds of metal plates breaking I'm guessing we hit a couple of them and bought us some time.
A little later we reach the open field as the feet of snow begin to disappear and are replaced by dead grass. Up ahead, Crimson Shard has already reached the middle of the field and stops in their tracks when they see us. We practically slam into them because of how fast we were running. There's confusion as we struggle to catch our breath and explain what's happening. This is shortly resolved as the first machines finally emerge from the wood line.
"What the hell is that!" A Crimson member shouts.
"Just shoot it!"
We reenactment our first encounter and spray round after round into the machine as it roars and turns away to meet up with more machines that have caught up to it. That's when another screech makes most of us turn to the other end of our field where a dozen others emerge. It doesn't take long until we have machines pouring from every direction, surrounding us.
"Shards circle up! Back-to-back!" Cruz suddenly orders.
Soon after, a two-layer circle is hastily formed as I watch the machines turn away from our position and begin to encircle us. More and more join their stampede until it seems like we have hundreds surrounding us.
"What the fuck! What the fuck!"
"We're going to die... we're going to die!"
"No, we aren't! Not today," Macy says to the frightened shard before addressing everyone, "Shards, Shiltron Formation!"
As one, the Shield Bearers remember their roles and space themselves out in a circle around us. They reach for the folded shield on their backs before implanting it to the ground and extending its wings and providing us solid cover in all directions. After this, Carl, Carel, and Zoe position themselves in the middle of our circle where they begin to cast along with the Shield Bearers.
"O, banners of Divinity, bestow your strength and protection upon us! Mighty Shields, invoke your power to deflect harm and absorb the blows of adversity.
Flags, flutter and shield, stand firm!
Envelop us with your Divine embrace so we may stand with courage!
Divine Shiltron!"
The trio then plant their banners down, releasing a surge of energy that courses through me and the others.
The Shiltron Formation was never a good formation, and it was impractical. It was a formation that once saw use in the Age of Faith but as technology outpaced Divinity, it soon died out. But now... it's our best shot at survival. Our situation is perfect for this formation seeing that we're not going anywhere anytime soon.
"Only fire when they approach! Conserve ammo!" Cruz barks and as if on cue, one separates from the pack and rushes towards the circle.
It's met by bullets that are enhanced with Divinity which do a better job of getting through its armor causing it to fall within seconds. This triggers more to rush our position which leads to bullets flying in every which direction. Two more are brought down as the others turn back before reaching our shields.
Some time passes but there's no end to them. Enhancements are being cast left and right, but they do little to thin the crowd as two more take the spot of a fallen machine.
"Hey! Stop using Enhancements! You're just going to exhaust yourself!" I shout while I crouch down to reload and that's when I spot an unusual machine within the herd.
It looks no different from the rest other than another plate sitting on top of its body, with two barrels pointing directly at us.
"Get dow-" I'm too late.
One of its barrels fires and out flies out a spear that hits its mark with on an unexpected shard. It goes through him with such force that it exits out the other side of his chest, leaving behind a gaping hole. He staggers for a second before finally dropping dead. Another shard goes down next to me as spears start whizzing between our shields.
"Prioritize those machines first!" Frost ducks as another shot barely misses his head.
We're starting to take casualties when the first machine breaks through the outer circle, flattening the Shield Bearer that was once positioned there before barreling towards me. I don't flinch and draw my sword and sidestep as it almost tramples me. I slice down its side, leaving an opening in its armor where I then pull out my pistol and unload my mag into its exposed inners. Sparks erupt inside and it slides to a halt where it now lays motionless.
"They're breaking through!" Someone yells as another section of shields goes down.
To my right, a Crimson Shard sprints towards the opening where they cast an Enhancement.
"Divine Inferno!" They shout and a whirl of flames spew out of their palm and onto the machine as it screeches and tramples away.
A Pyromancer? Now that I notice it, he does have an unreasonably large backpack on him. It must hold his canister. Although, I don't think his presence is going to save our lives. Another spear flies past him before slicing across Carl's leg. He grunts and falls onto one knee as the Divinity through me begins to fade and I begin to feel the fatigue.
"Carl!" Carel screams and rushes to her brother's side, leaving her Banner behind to fall which finally proves too much for Zoe to handle on her own as she collapses. The Divinity aura soon breaks as I witness some of the shards drop due to exhaustion.
"Carl! Are you okay?" Carl tries getting up once more but fails and stays on the ground while groaning in pain.
I hear him continuously curse as blood pours through his hands from the wound. While all this is happening, a white flash causes me to hold my head and lose the strength in my legs. The pain pulsates through my head and into my body as I hear the screams of more Shards being killed all around me. Before I know it, a surge of Divinity erupts from within me as my vision goes dark.
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"Get back! Get back!"
"I'm out of ammo!"
"They're all rushing at once!"
"No! Please GOD no!"
.
.
.
A god must always answer when called upon.
A sudden surge of energy fills this body of mine and I stand up immediately to face the stampede heading straight for the shards. They fling themselves forward as the soldiers around me close their eyes and prepare themselves for the encroaching death.
Unsightly horrors... do you not recognize me?
"UnHoly Implosion"
With just a glare from my eyes, a surge of gravity collapses around me before violently exploding outward. In the blink of an eye, the machines nearest to me crumble under the immense pressure, their metallic forms crushing into oblivion, while those further away are forcefully propelled in all directions.
It doesn't take long for the few that remain to begin backing away before eventually turning to retreat into their forest in a full sprint. They don't dare look back.
That'll buy you some time, Luna.
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When I come back to reality, I'm standing up above everyone else. There are countless machine corpses scattered around us, each one with their metal plates caved in.
I don't what happened, but I finally drop back down to my knees where I throw up everything in my stomach. My vision is blurry, and I can't control my breathing. I can't think. I can't breathe. I feel as if I'm on the verge of passing out.
"Luna! Luna, are you alright?" I hear Frost's voice as he kneels next to me.
"I- I don't remember what... happened. I- blacked out and that's when-" He stops me from talking any further and just comforts me in his arms.
"What... was that? What happened?" Zoe asks, still panting.
"I don't understand. I thought we were dead..."
"UnHoly... It was an UnHoly Enhancement!"
"What? What are you saying?"
"Her eyes... They were Silver! I heard the cast too!"
What are they talking about? Are... are they talking about me?
"You're lying."
"I saw it too!"
"Everyone shut up!" Macy's voice suddenly silences everyone else's. "UnHoly or not, it saved our lives! I'm just as confused as the rest of you but right now we need to move before those things come back for us," she states which draws everyone's attention away from me.
I'm so tired all of a sudden. I can't even feel the warmth of Frost's body as he clutches me tighter. What happening to me...?
"Cruz! Get in contact with the fleet. They'll need to know our current situat-" Before Macy can finish her sentence, the ground beneath us begins to rumble before eventually collapsing around us.
Screams and yells echo around me once more as I'm sent downwards into the dark abyss until I finally make an impact onto the hard surface along with everyone else. With what remaining strength I have left, I crawl aimlessly in the dimly lit cavern until I eventually find Frost where he lays unconscious face-first on the ground.
"F-Frost..." Is the last thing I'm able to mutter before also going unconscious with my hand in his.