Scaling the heights of discovery, where ethics falter, and ambition knows no bounds.
- Pinnacle: Redefining the limits of life itself.
Incursion Detected!
The blaring of the incursion alarms did not help my fading headache, but it didn’t matter right now as I could hear the scuffling of claws on concrete. Peaking over the railing, I could make out a model three ascending the stairwell, two flights of stairs down, “Amanyta, what can I get that will infect the antithesis?”
You’ve got a few options, but I recommend a few magazines of special fungal spore syringes for your Auto-Injector and spore bombs for large groups.
“Sounds good. How much for each.”
Each round for the Auto-Injector costs two points for a total of twenty points per magazine. The spore bombs cost the same at fifteen points per Bomb.
“Those are pricey. Is there any particular reason why?” A magazine of Blightmare rounds only costs five points, so the sudden hike in the point price must have meant a significant increase in utility.
The large point of the difference is to balance out the nature of the fungus. You will be unable to at this moment as the Master Strain hasn't spliced itself to the whole of your brain, limiting your control over the infected antithesis. However, as it splices more to your brain, your control over the infected will increase, allowing you to command hordes of antithesis.
“Wait, so I don't have Total control right now!?” That was worrying.
The control is a lot more subconscious than you think, but yes. The fungus will follow simple commands like attack, follow, and go there at the moment, but as more of your brain is spliced, your control over larger groups and what sort of commands they follow will increase.
The scraping of claws on concrete had gotten closer, and looking over the railing, the antithesis was only a flight of stairs below me. “Alright, get me three magazines and two bombs.”
Current Points 510
3 x Fungal Usurping Necrotising Growth Infection magazines - 60 points
2 x Fungal Usurping Necrotising Growth Infection spore bombs - 30 points
Total left 420 points
A familiar engraved box appeared at my feet. Sighing at Amanyta’s naming sense and how little it made sense, I opened the box, revealing the three magazines and two gross, flesh-like balls that pulsed as I picked them up. I felt connected to them, almost like they were an extension of myself.
“I was expecting a more traditional grenade. These bombs are kind of gross.” I wasn’t going to mention what she had named them; it would only encourage her.
The bombs are made of fungus flesh. Once they burst they explode into a cloud of spores, quickly infecting any antithesis caught in the cloud. The spores are designed to infect antithesis quickly. Within seconds it will take control of the antithesis “nervous system.” The rapid growth leaches a lot of energy out of the antithesis.
The first of the Model Threes peaked over the stairs, quickly spotting me and charging. Without blinking, I silently let out a small prayer and threw the bomb in my hand. It arced over the first antithesis, hitting the second antithesis squarely in the face, bursting into a cloud of slightly yellow spores. The antithesis continued to charge me, with another six coming over the top of the stairs.
Before they even reached me, the antithesis collapsed, writhing on the floor as the colour drained from them going from shades of green and brown to a pale white with a green hue. After another few seconds, the first of the antithesis began to stand. They stood in place instead of continuing to charge me, almost waiting. “That is kinda creepy.”
The spores have taken control of the Model Threes. Within minutes, the fungus will grow enough to burst through the skin and begin growing into fungal plates. The plates will help protect the antithesis, stopping some small arms fire.
“Neat” I walked through the eight infected antitheses. I was tense, ready for one to leap at me but instead, they just stood still. With a thought, they all turned and began following me down the stairs.
As I descended the stairs, I came across another two groups of antitheses, increasing the number of infected antitheses to twenty-one model threes and two model fours. The first group of infected had progressed far enough that fungal plates had started to burst from their skin, creating plates along their head and neck. “I was expecting more resistance.”
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Something or someone must be drawing them away.
Stepping out onto the second floor of the entrance, I’m met by the smell of smoke and the sounds of gunfire. The entrance to Pinnacle’s skyscraper has always been a little awe-inspiring. Made of white marble and glass, it always gives off a clean and scientific feeling.
Looking out over the railing down onto the ground floor, I first notice the swarm of antithesis. Whilst it is mainly made up of model threes with a few model fives, what draws my attention are the two colossal antitheses in the centre of the horde. The first looked like a skinned bear the size of a mini-van with six legs it stood between the entrance and the second new model, a car-sized monstrosity it sported six legs that supported its swollen body that carried dull green sacks on its sides, its face was a little two humanoid for my liking.
A Model Six and Twenty-Two are not good. This means this has been going on for far longer than we thought. The Model Six is the tank and ‘commander’ of the early numbers. While the antithesis aren’t intelligent, they have command units that can organise and direct units, and it should be your priority. Now, the Twenty-Two is a mobile hive, and they are usually hidden during incursions, constantly spewing out lower models to bolster the incursion. Seeing one here means this has been going on for a long time. A hive won't prioritise creating the higher models early on, it will prioritise getting biomatter and protecting itself.
Following the stream of antithesis, I saw what they were attacking. Standing at the entrance behind a wall of dead, burning antithesis stood a woman carrying a large rifle. Floating around her were four drones, each carrying a weapon on their underside.
She was clearly struggling with the amount of antithesis. Commanding the infected antithesis, they quickly ran off towards the escalators. Loading a magazine of the F.U.N.G.I rounds, I took aim at the Model Six. The first two rounds missed, and one hit a plate and broke, but I managed to score three rounds into its side.
It snapped its head towards me, and a part of the swarm changed targets and started running towards the escalators. Only to be met by my infected antithesis, who quickly started tearing into them, the armoured plates that had started to grow out of my Model Threes prevented a lot of the damage the antithesis could do to them.
Letting out a small prayer, I started lobbing the spore bombs into the swarm in the open space. The bombs didn’t spread as much, but I managed to infect a model five, which, once the fungus had taken control, began tearing apart the model threes that surrounded it.
The woman didn’t just stand around, her drones continued their constant fire, ripping apart and burning antithesis with continuous fire. The woman was focused on the larger models, using her rifle to pick off a few of the model fives whilst taking potshots at the model twenty-two. Still, she couldn't do anything meaningful as the model six kept getting in the way, shrugging off most of the damage she could do.
Within a minute, the tide had turned. The Model twenty-two couldn't spew out enough model threes and fours to keep up with the amount I had subsumed with my fungus or the woman and her drones were taking out. A lucky shot with what had to have been special ammo blew a hole through the model six before exploding in front of the Twenty-Two, blasting a large chunk of it.
The Model Six shrugged off the huge hole that had just been blown through it, although it didn't last long as it began to slow before it started jerking. The last of the antithesis went into a frenzy as the Model Six stopped moving and began to pale.
By the end of the fight, I had managed to double the size of my horde of infected antitheses, which consisted mostly of Model Threes, five Model Fours, and a single Model Five and Six.
The woman was clearly tense as I descended the escalator. Her grip on her weapon tightened when she first saw me but relaxed slightly when she realised I must have been a Samurai. “I didn't know antithesis could be controlled,” she said in a calm and even-toned voice.
Finally, getting a good look at the woman, the first thing I noticed was her cold blue eyes, which I could tell were judging how easily she could kill me. She had long dark hair that was slightly messed up from the fighting. Her cold judgement unnerved me slightly, but I didn't falter in my stride.
“I don't; I use a fungus that infects the antithesis.” With a wave of my hand, I sent out a few groups of Model Threes to search the rest of the first and second floors for any remaining antithesis.
Turning back to the woman, “I'm Gideon Mori, a new Samurai” The woman nodded at my introduction.
“And I am Mockingbird, I've been a Samurai for the last few months”, she said as she finally looked away from me and towards my Model Six. “How well do you control them?”
“At the moment, they follow simple orders, but that should improve over time. Without orders from me, I've noticed they just stand still.” Mockingbird was clearly tense with infected antithesis, but my comment seemed to relax her slightly more.
Mockingbird seemed to just eye me for a few seconds before saying, “Fine, my AI seems to think that the incursion came from this building but aside from the Twenty-Two, I haven’t seen much evidence of an incursion.”
“Ah, that would probably because I’m fairly certain that rather than an actual incursion, whatever Pinnacle have been fucking with escaped.” this seemed to surprise Mockingbird as she tensed and began looking about.
“Amanyta, my AI, got ahold of the plans for the building and noted a reinforced secure door in the basement that is meant just to be guarding a store room, so my guess is there is a hidden lab under the building.”
“Alright, lead the way,” was all she said before motioning for me to begin walking. I walked through the entrance and deep into the first floor of the building. The map Amanyta had sent me through my Augs led us to a maintenance entrance. It was clear something had burst out of the door, as it had been dented and swung open with such force that the door handle had shattered the wall.
Looking down the dark stairway, I took a deep breath and sighed. “Alright, down we go.”