Instead of getting glitter all over the O’dea family’s house, Thomas instead made a bee-line for one of the backdoors he had seen earlier, hoping to clean himself outside. Ignoring Javqua’s mother furiously roaring at Ora, he hastily exited the house. The last thing he heard was Mr. O’dea trying in vain to calm down his wife.

As he stepped out onto thick grass, Thomas shook himself around. His head and upper body was utterly coated with the obtrusive substance, and he watched as the stuff cascaded from him.

As Thomas began clawing glitter off of himself, he heard Javqua behind him, apologizing.

“I’m so sorry about this! Ora’s such a...brat...she’s always been like this - rude, and spoiled...” Javqua spat a curse in her native language - Thomas didn’t understand, but it sounded harsh.

“It’s fine,” he said quietly, but Javqua shook her head. “No, it’s not fine. This was supposed to be a...a peaceful getaway from school, and this...child had to mess it up.” She hissed.

“It’s okay, really. I'm not mad. I’m already pretty much over it.” Thomas smiled tiredly, and so did Javqua.

“Can you get my back?” Thomas asked, and Javqua nodded. He turned around, scraping glitter off his face, as Javqua’s claws scratched glitter off the back of his head and neck.

He was now facing a dense forest in the distance; and he admired the view - tall, lush trees, and wild, unkempt ferns and grass. It was clear that the flora he had seen integrated with the city was at least somewhat trimmed and managed, but the same couldn’t be said for the dark woodlands ahead of him.

“It’s a nice view,” he said conversationally, and Javqua grunted. She still seemed angry about Ora's actions, and Thomas decided to speak up.

“I don’t know much about younger siblings, but...family is family. You should be as close to them as you can,” he murmured, and Javqua snorted.

“That’s easy to say,” she breathed.

“I wish I had gotten closer to my older brother,” Thomas admitted. “I can’t, anymore.” He whispered.

“Oh, you never mentioned him - he’s…?” Javqua trailed off, and Thomas suddenly felt a deep pang of sadness.

Shit, why now? And in front of Javqua? Breathe. B-breathe, Thomas thought as he felt tears forming in the corner of his eyes, and he tensed.

He remembered the years following Alex’s death, as he was struck with wave after wave of misery, then sadness, then apathy, then...emptiness. So many hours spent crying alone, knowing that his older brother was...gone. Stop thinking about it! He clenched his jaw, tense.

A single tear rolled down his cheek, as he desperately tried to hold back the floodgates of emotion.

“Thomas?” He heard Javqua’s voice behind him, and he let out a shaky breath.

Then she was suddenly in front of him, wrapping her arms around him.

He hugged back, resting his head against her scaly shoulder, and cried quietly.

Bloody hell, I'm emotional today, Thomas thought, grateful to have such a great friend.

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Alex stared at his new arm.

It was designed for military use - strong and efficient, with no artificial nerves, unlike traditional civilian replacements.

It was the only thing he could focus on, to keep his mind away from - he clenched his jaw, trembling.

He had to stay strong, for the empire - his fellow marines, and...most importantly for him, his family.

He was going to purge as many of those...those...those things as he could.

Now shaking with rage instead of pain, he began thinking back to when it all went to shit.

Only a decade or so ago, the emperor of New Britannia revealed that their best scientists had established communications with ‘the others’ - the other human nations.

Alex had learnt of them in history classes, but didn’t think too much of them - as far as he was concerned, they were...irrelevant - hundreds of light-years away, or maybe even dead.

But, as it turned out, they had survived their long journeys to their new planets as well - creating new prosperous nations, each with their own unique cultural identity.

As the news spread, billions of New Britannians rejoiced, excited at what this meant. But only a few weeks later, rumours began spreading. Through hushed whispers, uneasy tales were spread - tales of war, against an unknown enemy, spanning dozens of planets and affecting tens of billions of lives.

Eventually, it was confirmed; many of the new nations were fighting...insurgents. Insurgents...from “Old Earth”.

As it turned out, the impoverished masses left behind on Earth attempted to rise up against the elite, and so, to keep their power, the elite blamed the ones that left Earth - claiming that they took all the best people and resources, leaving them behind to die. Which, to be fair, wasn’t that far off.

After only a few generations, the populace was radicalized - and, with the power of sheer spite, they...they saved Earth.

With geo-engineering, they cooled the Earth to sustainable levels - they made massive changes to their political and social systems - and most of all, they feverishly reached for the stars.

They set up lunar bases; then went to Mars. From there, they expanded; building outposts, colonies, and eventually, cities.

Over the century, their hatred for the traitors that abandoned them grew tenfold, and as their stories grew more exaggerated, so did their need for vengeance.

Their society became heavily militaristic; every man and woman trained from youth to become a soldier… a weapon to be used.

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Enormous machines blasted propaganda, reminding citizens to work hard for their ‘righteous’ cause, and finally, they developed FTL.

“Sir!” Someone snapped, and Alex turned.

“We’re going to depart for Olford at 0500 hours.” A young marine - Alex recognized him - Ambrose, said curtly, and Alex noticed him taking a glance at his new arm.

He simply nodded, and Ambrose coughed. “Me and the others are going to the range to compete. Do you want to join us?” He asked, and Alex silently shook his head.

The man left, leaving him alone once again with his thoughts. Thinking ahead, Alex decided to armour up and prepare for his assignment.

Some called him crazy for it, but… he felt a strange sense of comfort sleeping fully suited up. It made him feel… secure, safe.

Walking to the ship’s armoury, he soon entered the fortified room, stripped down and began the familiar process of sliding his body into a skin-tight undersuit. When he first wore it, the first thing that had come to mind was how disgusting it was. It had a ‘gel’ that stopped discomfort and chafing during long missions and combat, and even a built-in urination system.

Unlike most of the other undersuits, this one was missing its right arm. Just like me. Alex thought grimly. Once he was fully inside, he then began putting on his outer armour - the ‘actual’ armour. Alex quickly finished putting on the heavy protective gear and began to lock the pressure seals. It’d allow the suit to pressurize… once he put on his helmet.

Speaking of his helmet, he grabbed and stared into the endless void that was the visor; unable to see past the dark, polarized glass. This is what his enemy saw before they died. Null; void, nothing.

Breaking out of his reverie, he turned the helmet around and pushed it over his head; creating a hiss as it pressurized with the undersuit.

Alex waited as the armour’s magnetic clamps shut, each one creating a loud click. Finally done, he decided to retire to his cot, hoping to get at least a modicum of sleep before tomorrow.

----------------------------------------

Each pop from his joints sent surges of fleeting bliss into his tired mind, as he prepared for yet another drop. He watched as other knights filed into the room and began preparations before seating themselves in their pods.

Of course Alex had arrived early as per usual and was already set up long before the others had arrived.

The drop pod’s doors all shut in unison, and there was a loud hiss as they all pressurized. Then, the comms console turned on.

“Your objective is to reach an insurgent stronghold and gather critical intel on the ‘Death Crawlers’. Your main objective is gathering the intel and inflicting heavy damage to the insurgents, but if you come across any Death Crawlers, they are to be killed on sight.” The familiar synthetic voice said.

“You will be dropped in five seconds - good luck marines, and don’t die.” Alex smirked. Thanks for the advice.

----------------------------------------

Alex once again found himself speeding down towards a planet at terminal velocity, wisps of fire dancing on the outer hull of his pod. The loud creaks and groans of the metal box he was in were the only thing he could hear, as the buildings below grew larger by the second.

He was pressed back into his seat from inertia, as his pod’s brake thrusters began to slow his descent down to a survivable speed. Finally, there was a jolt - as he finally landed on the ground.

Stepping out of his pod and onto the shattered pavement, he looked over to find his fellow marines doing the same, weapons drawn, ready for anything.

They immediately began to take formation; some watching the buildings that towered above them, while others kept their eyes focused on the branching roads ahead of them.

Once they were formed up, the marines began to move to their objective. It wasn't long before they started to encounter Death Crawlers - the creatures lurking in alleyways or leaping down onto them from buildings. Sadly for the abominations, the marines were ready for them each time; pulverizing them with a hail of laser fire.

It wasn't long before the squad arrived at their destination, made obvious by loud shouting and firing from the insurgents. Lasers ripped through the roadblocks and buildings Alex and his fellow marines were using as cover, and they began to fire back.

Firing shot after shot, it wasn't long before they had pushed up to the entrance of the compound; charred bodies of insurgents littering the floor. There was no blood, just clean, cauterized holes, and faces twisted into expressions of agony.

Alex covered another marine placing an ion charge on the building’s barricaded doors, preparing to rush in with the others.

BOOM!

Alex hurled a flashbang into the compound’s lobby; waiting for the flash before charging in with his fellow marines. He quickly gunned down a combatant, his marines getting the rest.

The squad split up into three groups; one going down one hallway, a second down another, and a third checking nooks, crannies and closets for hiding insurgents. Each room was quickly and methodically cleared by the team as they moved further in, constantly on the lookout for the intel. Just as Alex was about to enter a room with a couple other marines, he heard his comms activating.

“I found it!” A marine yelled excitedly. The group began to backtrack to the entrance room, all the while keeping their guns focused on the unchecked doors.

“I have it right here!” A tall man said triumphantly, holding a data drive tightly in his armoured hand.

“Finally, we can get the fuck out of here!” Another marine grunted. Alex, however, felt as though something was...off.

The mission was over? Just like that? That easily? No, there has to be something else...

Seconds after the soldier had spoken, a wall opened up. A heavy sentinel droid left its charging port, raised its arm, and fired an enormous laser at the marines.

The marines closest to it never stood a chance, their armour and flesh melting to reveal charred bone.

Scrambling to cover, Alex and the other knights opened fire on the behemoth, their guns melting its armour plates - but not doing any real damage to the machine.

Another shot left its weapon. The powerful blast went straight through a metal desk a marine was using as cover, vaporizing their entire upper body.

Realizing the futility of cover, one knight stood up and threw an ion charge at the defence bot. As he was about to activate the explosive, the machine locked onto him and fired. Releasing his mistake, the soldier used his final moment of life to throw the detonator towards the nearest marine - Alex.

Alex caught the detonator as his heroic comrade was hit head-on, everything from his waist up ceasing to exist. Without hesitation, Alex pressed the detonator, setting off the explosive and turning the sentinel into a pile of melted and deformed metal.

With his ears ringing, it took Alex a while to be able to start hearing again.

“Fuck! How many did we lose?” A muffled voice yelled.

“Too many! Did the intel survive the blast?” Another voice, female, cried out.

“Oh, son of a b-! Wait, it’s intact!” A marine held the data drive in the air, and Alex’s hearing recovered enough to hear the other marines sigh in relief.

“Let’s head back before more fucking robots pop out,” A marine suggested, and the others agreed.

“What about the bodies?” Someone said, gesturing towards the decimated corpses of their fellow marines.

“Just grab their ID chips and helmet recordings,” An older female marine said defeatedly. Alex had a feeling that she too had once asked the same question.

While some of the remaining marines began gathering the ID chips and helmet recordings of the dead, Alex noticed a marine guarding the entrance freeze.

“Does...does anybody else hear that?” The man said, and the rest of the marines tensed.

There was silence for a few moments as the rest of the marines strained their ears, and then, they heard it too. Hundreds of heavy footsteps, deep bellows and screeches, and the sound of glass and concrete getting smashed.

“The explosion! The - the Death Crawlers! They’ve been drawn to the sound!” A marine gasped, and Alex felt his heart starting to race. This wasn’t like the lone Death Crawlers that they had picked off earlier - this was...a horde, a tidal wave of chitin and claws scrambling over each other, all to taste succulent human flesh.

A horde...like the one that killed Charlie, only...only bigger...a wave of darkness with teeth and eyes and claws -

“Hey man, snap out of it!” Alex felt himself being shaken, and he turned to see a gruff-looking marine to his left shaking his shoulder, pulling him out of his daze.

Alex knew that this was going to be his last stand - and if he was to go down, he was gonna kill as many of those things as he could… he only hoped Thomas would forgive him for breaking his promise.

As the sounds of the Death Crawlers got closer and closer, Alex peered outside and saw what he could only describe as a literal nightmare. A literal wall of moving creatures seemed to splash against the buildings like waves, their banshee-like shrieks intensifying along with the sound of their scraping claws and pounding feet.

“ERIC, RUN WITH THE INTEL! THE REST, OPEN FIRE!” A marine bellowed. All at once, the soldiers flipped their laser rifles into fully automatic and unleashed hell upon the monsters.

Firing his rifle in his bionic right hand, Alex pulled out his sidearm in his left, firing both weapons wildly. He didn’t need to aim - he just had to shoot into the sea of Death Crawlers.

Death Crawler after Death Crawler toppled over, burning holes in their grotesque forms, but as soon as one died, it was simply replaced - by one, two, five, ten.

It was futile, and he knew it… but he didn't care.

As the wave finally crashed over them, Alex dropped his guns and began using his fists. His left did next to nothing… but his right… his right ripped straight through the bastards - and as he went down...as his organs were torn out of his body, as his limbs were pulled from their sockets - he went down laughing.

Sorry, Thomas - I lied.