The rapid gunfire blended in with the storm with their cracking sound, and we all scattered like roaches exposed to light. The unfortunate ones were blazed down in a terrifying bullet storm. People dropped like flies as the Juggernaut slowly spun around in a full circle. Tannen and I were lucky enough to escape with our lives. Bullets narrowly missed us as they whiz by our heads. We were too caught up focusing on surviving the onslaught than to help others.
Not even a minute passed, and more than half of the group had fallen. Soon, the Juggernaut halted its fire, and an eerie silence filled the atmosphere. The turrets were scorching red, and smoke had risen from the barrels. All of us stood in place like a deer in the headlights as we stared at it in horror.
"Maybe it stopped working..." Tannen suggested.
Sergeant Orion stared below with a stern expression, "The real battle starts now."
Two large holes opened up on the Juggernaut's back and what seemed like nozzles protruded out. The Juggernaut actuated both nozzles in the shape of a cone with a small hole.
"Melee combat initiated," the Juggernaut spoke in an artificial and emotionless tone.
In mere seconds, large bursts of blue flames shot out and propelled it forward with incredible speed. My eyes widen with shock as the Juggernaut rushed towards us.
"Fuck!" I screamed.
The Juggernaut raised its fist and prepared for a full assault. It launched a devastating strike at us, but we narrowly dodged the fist by diving out of harm's way. The Juggernaut's fist crashed into the ground and produced a powerful shockwave that blew us away. A large cloud of dust expanded and shrouded its body.
A haunting, red light shined within the dust cloud similar to a lighthouse in the fog. A metallic arm suddenly extended from it and grabbed a man nearby before crushing him with immense pressure. I swallowed my saliva when the man was casually tossed away like a broken puppet. The dust cloud suddenly dispersed, and the Juggernaut flew high into the sky.
Its eye shined once more, "Missile System activated."
Its chest piece instantly opened that revealed columns of small missiles that were the size of a person's forearm. The missiles flew out unpredictably and left thick trails of smoke behind. They smashed through the ground and created intense explosions that rocked the surrounding area. Rocks and dirt flew everywhere and dirtied our bodies while torn limbs scattered across the floor in a grotesque fashion. We ran in a non-linear path to avoid being struck by these missiles. However, one exploded nearby, and we collapsed on the ground.
"How the hell do we stop this thing!" Tannen cried in a panic.
"You're asking me?!" I shouted at him.
A mysterious voice surprised us, and we immediately focused our attention on the direction of the voice before us.
"I suggest we work together to try to take it down," The mysterious voice muffled out.
The small mound of mud in front of us suddenly broke apart as a young teen sat up. Upon closer inspection, he had an ordinary facial appearance that can easily blend in with the crowd. His red, artificial eye was the only thing that stood out. The teen had dirty blonde hair that was plastered in mud. Just like us, he looked like a horror of flesh and metal mixed together. In his hand was a curved sword that lost its glimmering beauty from smeared mud.
"Who the fuck are you?" Tannen cried in shock.
"I'm not too sure either, but Indra appears to be my designated name," Indra responded.
I nodded my head, "I guess I'm Bion; This guy is Tannen."
Tannen gave Indra a salute with an oddly stern expression on his face. We turned our attention towards the Juggernaut which was causing a massive rampage. It was like a God of War easily slaying mortal warriors like they were nothing. Every strike broke limbs and sent men flying. Every shot ripped through flesh and metal.
"And what makes you think we can take it on?" I stared at him in doubt.
"We employ a distraction," Indra raised his index finger up to his face. "Then perhaps with enough time, I can find a weakness in its armor."
Indra continued to persuade us, "I noticed the Juggernaut has a flaw that voices a command before engaging in different modes - like a sort of delay. That's our perfect window of opportunity to strike."
I contemplated for a moment. It's either dead or alive; there's no place to escape to so I might as well try. I still shivered in fear with just one look at the Juggernaut.
Tannen hastily butted in, "We're talking about a giant, walking death machine!"
"We have to at least try," Indra shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah. Trying to commit suicide," Tannen crossed his arms. "No way in hell we're going, right Bion?"
I stared at the black sword in my hand and gripped it tightly. I can't die here; I still need to find the reason why I'm in this place. My mind was overwhelmed with a hurricane of thoughts. Both positive and negative emotions clashed with each other in a frenzied battle. My inner self pleaded to run away and hide, but I chose to seal it away and ignore it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm my wild nerves.
I gradually opened them again and nodded my head, "Alright, let's do it."
I used the sword as leverage to lift myself up from the ground. Indra followed behind, and we both faced towards the Juggernaut.
"You guys are seriously going?" Tannen's voice cracked.
Indra and I both ignored him, and we cautiously walked towards it.
Tannen gritted his teeth, "Dammit, fine!"
He grabbed his black sword and hurriedly followed behind us. As we moved closer, the Juggernaut turned to look at us with its soul-stirring eye. It launched straight for us like a bullet and lifted its leg. It was going to try to finish us with one move.
"Spread out!" I yelled instantly.
We all ran in separate directions to avoid its attack. The Juggernaut stomped towards the ground with searing strength and formed a deep crater underneath its feet. The powerful collision created an intense shockwave that nearly knocked me down. The Juggernaut locked on to Tannen and immediately gave chase after him. He shrieked as it followed closely behind him.
"Why me!" Tannen complained.
"Good job, Tannen!" I rose my fist high in the air and praised. "Keep distracting it!"
As the Juggernaut continued to chase him, Indra's expression suddenly brightened up.
"There's an opening behind the knee and shoulders!" Indra excitedly yelled. "Bion, see if you can lodge your sword through it. I'll help Tannen distract the robot."
Indra ran towards Tannen while I bided my time to strike at the right moment. Both of them struggled to evade the Juggernaut's strikes as they hastily ran from it. They were like mice being chased by a large cat.
After a while, Tannen and Indra slowed down as their chests heaved for air, and the Juggernaut threw a devastating punch at Tannen. He tried to minimize the hard impact by raising his sword and angling his body away. Sparks flew as the fist collided with both Tannen's shoulder and sword. The sword couldn't withstand the overwhelming force and snapped in half. His whole arm instantly ripped apart, and his body spun like a dreidel.
I shouted in alarm, "Dammit, no!"
Tannen screamed in violent pain as black blood gushed out from his hideous wound. The Juggernaut steadily walked towards him with thundering footsteps. It resembled an executioner merely playing with people's lives in his hands. Tannen groaned in agony as he dragged himself across the muddy ground. His black blood streaked behind him like a sharp calligraphy stroke. He stared at the Juggernaut in fear as he waited for his death to come. As the Juggernaut got closer, a curved sword flew erratically and struck the side of its head, producing a loud clang.
Indra waved his arms, "Over here you pile of scrap metal!"
"Long-range attack detected," The Juggernaut aimed its turrets at him. "Engaging enemy with rapid fire."
Indra squeezed his eyes shut in fear. "Hurry, Bion!"
At that same moment, I shoved my sword through the opening behind its knees with every ounce of strength I had. A crystalline substance instantly leaked out as I impaled my sword deeper inside. The Juggernaut's bulky leg trembled uncontrollably before giving out, and the robot fell on one knee.
"I think you manage to rupture its hydraulic wires!" Indra gleefully said.
The Juggernaut spun its head 180 degrees before grabbing me by the legs. It swung its arm in a parabolic motion and slammed me hard into the ground near Tannen. Indra rushed forward and attacked, but the Juggernaut smashed him away with its forearm. He repeatedly rolled backward from the sheer power of the strike. Pieces of his flesh mixed with mud as he slid through the ground. Indra clutched his stomach as he howled in pain.
"Motherfucker," I angrily stared and wiped the blood from my mouth.
The Juggernaut dragged itself towards me with one leg remaining functional. I jammed my hand through the ground and grasped a clump of mud. I instinctively threw the mud at the Juggernaut as it got near me. The mud plastered its eye, and the Juggernaut halted in place.
"Error. Error. Target Unidentified," The Juggernaut spoke.
I immediately took this chance to rush up to it. The Juggernaut aimlessly fired a storm of bullets as if it had gone berserk. I bent forward to reduce the chances of being shot at before biting onto my sword and climbed its arm. Somehow, it had sensed me on itself and wildly swung its arm. Its arm crashed into the ground like a falling meteorite, but it did not deter me one bit as I firmly held on like glue.
Slowly, I climbed and made my way to the top of its shoulders. I spit out the sword and raised it high above my head before jamming it through the opening in quick succession. The same crystalline substance gushed out like a fountain, and its whole arm slumped down from being paralyzed. Down below, Tannen ran towards the Juggernaut with a ferocious war cry.
"Just die, you bitch!" Tannen cried as he jammed his sword into its other knee.
Its leg instantly buckled, and the Juggernaut fell backward. A loud boom echoed as it hit the ground and dust quickly spread. I slowly walked towards its head with heavy breaths and stabbed its eye with the last remaining strength that I had. The red light flickered before slowly fading away, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. A small crowd of the remaining survivors gathered around in shock.
"Holy crap! They actually took it down!"
"I thought we were all going to die..."
"Sergeant Orion really wanted us dead."
Cheers erupted amongst them as the crisis was gone. Everyone ran towards the Juggernaut and stomped on its metallic body with fervor. I felt an amazing sense of accomplishment while a tingling sensation spread throughout my body. I gave a thumbs up towards Tannen and smiled at him.
"Th-Thanks," Tannen struggled to breathe before collapsing.
I felt a soft pat on my aching shoulders, and I turned to look at Indra who struggled to smile. His black blood dripped down on me but I didn't mind it. A large laceration appeared near his ribcage that was healing at a visible rate.
"You did a great job," He said before coughing.
I chuckled, "I...I think I'm going to pass out now."
My vision began to blur, and I instantly felt dizzy. I could feel my consciousness slipping away at any moment now. Through my hazy vision, a towering figure appeared and slowly walked towards me. Before I knew it, my vision turned black, and I collapsed.