Suggested Sound:
4'18" 'Till the End by The Toxic Avenger
Acid Rain by Lorn
"Move! You fuck!" Kiroh shouted as he tackled a solider into a recently created crater. Chunks and particles of dirt hit him from nearby bombs hitting.
Upon landing on his stomach, he looks at the others with him. Three soldiers in total, each one looking more scared than the last. Each one of them are shaking and panting, obviously scared for their lives. He can't blame them for being scared though since he's practically shitting himself - in the metaphorical sense of course.
Taking his eyes off them, he looks at the top of the crater. With a feeling of great reluctance, Kiroh crawls close to the craters edge until he's just about to poke his head out. Breathing heavily, he tries to muster the courage to peek at the open battlefield.
Fortunately though, one of the other soldiers peek first. Almost expecting it to happen, Kiroh sees the soldier lose his entire head as fleshy chunks and red mist scatter everywhere. Some brain matter even lands on him but he quickly flicks it off.
The other two only freeze before they start panicking and freaking out from having their comrade's blood all over them. Kiroh grits his teeth as he starts to lose his temper from seeing their horrified expressions. Getting away from the craters edge, he grabs both soldiers by their shoulders.
"Quit fuckin' panicking! Stick to your training you idiots!" Kiroh's face remains unseen due to his balaclava, but his shouting still retains the intended effect.
He lets go of them and backs away, resting on the sides of the crater. Thinking of a current plan - since he barely even had one to begin with - he gets an idea. With a glare, he looks at the two surviving soldiers and studies their exposed faces.
Leaning forward again, he gestures for them to come closer to him. Once they do, he says, "We're gonna survive this, okay!" He shouted since the constant bombardment and gunfire proved to be a burden on the ears. "Stick with me and we'll get to the General where there's more support!"
First to respond is the shorter soldier, asking, "How!?"
"Our smoke grenades! We'll use the destroyed mechs and anything else to act as cover! Understand!?"
"Yes, sir!" The soldier gripped his rifle tighter. Despite saying that he understood, he asked "What if there's no cover!?"
Kiroh doesn't answer and begins his plan. The first step was to use the dead body as a quick cover, since the corpse could be shot to bits once it leaves the crater. But before it is, he would use his binoculars to figure out his path. Then he would make use of the smoke grenades as they run across the battlefield.
Grabbing the headless body, he drags it to the edge of the crater with some struggle. He looks at the two soldiers and orders, "Help me move this body!" They seem hesitant until he tells them, "It's for the plan! Do you want to live or die, goddamnit!?"
The two give in to the pressure and help him push the body out of the crater. And just as expected, several shots focus on them. The headless corpse takes the heat of it though, already being shot at causing several spurts of blood to come out.
Kiroh pokes his head out of the crater and stays behind the body as it's pelted with small arms fire. With binoculars in hand, he quickly surveys the area to the left. In a quick glance he spots a good path of coverage created from mech wrecks and burning vehicles.
Before he's able to get a more detailed view, he feels the body cover start to deteriorate after more shots land in it. Taking this as his cue he dips back into the crater as the body literally starts to fall apart from enemy fire.
He turns to the two soldiers and grabs their shoulders again to fully get their attention. "We're gonna go left, okay!?" The same soldier asks if he's sure about the route. Kiroh responds with, "The mechs! We'll use the mechs and the wreckages to our advantage. Just trust me! We'll be safer if we head towards the General!"
The two soldiers only look at each other before agreeing and deciding to follow Kiroh's plan. He pats their shoulders and tells them, "Your smoke grenades! Toss them so we can hightail it the fuck outta here!"
Following his orders they both toss two smoke grenades to the left. Kiroh tosses one overhead to obscure the craters view from Regime soldiers. After waiting a few seconds for the smoke to spread, large walls of grey come up, almost completely keeping them out of view.
Not wanting to waste any time, he quickly climbs the sides and out of the crater. He turns back and shouts to the two soldiers, "C'mon! Move it!" They scramble out of the crater and start to run towards him.
Kiroh sees them stumble and shouts again, "Spread out! Don't bunch up!" He doesn't wait for them to do so, only turning and running while the smoke walls still provide cover for him.
Running as fast as he can, Kiroh finds a downed mech and immediately gets behind it. Unfortunately, the smoke doesn't cover him anymore as it is behind him now. He looks back at where the crater was and tries to find the two that were with him. They're nowhere to be found. Probably dead, he thinks.
With a tisk and a click of the tongue, he looks to his left while staying behind cover. Apart from the constant gunfire and heavy bombardment, he can hear several shots make contact with the mech's metal. Clearly, soldiers of the Regime had seen him move.
Now that he was spotted, the most he could do in this situation was to stay behind cover until their attention diverted elsewhere. But in the meantime, he checks his equipment to look over all of his current resources at hand. Three more smoke grenades go across his chest, attached to a sash that also held two more frag grenades.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to complete his objective if Kiroh were to make it to the General. And speaking of his objective, opportunity has arisen for him. Turning his head, he sees dozens of blue-uniformed soldiers charging towards his position. Although some were dropping from machine gun fire and others were sent flying from artillery, they seemed to be making good progress.
As he see them, his eyes widen as he makes a quick choice. Using the soldiers as a short distraction, he gets up quickly and rushes from cover to cover. Narrowly avoiding a few bullets and receiving a few - luckily only in the armor plates - he successfully makes it much farther. He crouches behind a destroyed truck and rests on it.
Looking back with his binoculars, Kiroh sees the dozens of soldiers turning into a small squad as more get shredded by enemy firepower. They scramble for cover, taking refuge behind the same mech as he did. Turning to his left, he sees a plethora of opportune objects that could act as very good bullet sponges. From big natural rocks to large mechs still burning on the dying grassy ground.
Still panting from running previously, he wipes away some sweat around his eyes using the back of his wrist. Gathering the courage to move, he takes a few deep breaths before running to the next cover while avoiding bullets and whatever else. As he does this, he starts to realize that he'll have to keep moving from cover to cover for a while. Until he finally makes it to the General, he'll have to repeat the process for now.
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"Placement neutralized!" The crewman said. He looks through at an electrical panel glowing green and showing many numbers.
"Loading shell!" Another crewmate spoke, she picks up a large projectile and forces it into a chamber. A light above it glows red before switching to green. "Ready!"
"Target spotted... locked on!" The man typed into the panel rapidly.
A third voice responds, "Firing!" The tank, which is already shaking from the constant movement, shook some more as the round was discharged.
Getting the attention of the most important person on board, one of the crewmates spoke, "Ma'am!" The General turns to face the man. "The mechs on our right side are dropping like flies!"
Her eyes narrow as she asks calmly, "Anti-armor weapons?" The man only nods urgently. "How are the riders doing, then?"
"They're about to wipe out one of the other enemy placements ahead of us."
"Good, then send more mechs in to act as a distraction while the riders finish up. Once they do, redirect them to the enemy anti-armor unit. Understood?" Her expression is unchanging, remaining calm and professional the entire time.
The soldier only nods and says, "Yes, ma'am!" He turns back to a radio and resumes speaking into it.
Sighing quietly, the General goes back to monitoring a small table containing a holographic image of the battlefield. Thanks to several drones that haven't been shot down yet, she can get a good look on her outside surroundings. What she sees are dozens of bodies - some missing a few limbs - and wreckages of mechs and vehicles.
Although bothered by the sight of her deceased comrades, she pushes the discomfort away and focuses on the holographic image. Just as she's about to switch perspectives to another drone, she spots a rider driving across the battlefield. The soldier barely avoids artillery hits and swerves around downed mechs and vehicles.
Raising an eyebrow, she asks the soldier from earlier, "All the riders are busy in combat, yes?" To which the man confirms. "I see, continue your tasks then."
Looking back at the drone's view, she loses sight of the rider. After searching for a bit she spots the soldier again, but this time, it's much clearer to see their face—or mask, actually. She thinks it's weird, barely any of the Golden Fist soldiers wear masks since it's usually a pride thing. However, as she zooms in, she realizes just who it is. It is PFC Luzat, but what the hell is he doing here?
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"C'mon!" Kiroh shouted as he drove past several burning mechs. His bloodshot eyes are wide and some of his clothes are burned or torn. Wounds are apparent on his body but they don't seem fatal.
Thinking of his luck so far, the guy managed to snatch a motorcycle from one of those dying riders. Or... that's one way to interpret the situation, in reality, he found a wounded rider and shot him in the head. After that, he took the motorcycle and drove off with it. It was honestly a miracle how he wasn't gunned down yet as well, but hey, no need to look a gift horse in the mouth.
And by yet another stroke of luck, he managed to also snag a couple grenades from a few bodies while he was driving. Instead of three smoke grenades and two frags, he now has four smoke grenades and five frags. A say of thanks to all who died, he jokingly thought.
But as of now, his only goal is in sight. The General's tank. But besides the many obstacles - wreckages, boulders, bodies, other soldiers - the main barrier that surrounds the tank is its company. Five other large, heavily armored tanks surround his target. A truly formidable challenge that he could probably never dream to overcome.
However, at this point, giving a shit is the least of his worries. Ignoring everything else, he heads straight to his objective with a fierce determination. Flooding his mind are images full of ecstasy; family members hugging and cheering him, people praising him, a statue built in his name, history teaching about him, and money flying all around him. Needless to say, Kiroh was already thinking ahead, stupidly assuming that he'd successfully kill the General.
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"Uhh-General! We've got a rider coming up on our right." A crewman reported.
She turns to the man and replies, "Yes, I saw. Get one of our units to divert their attention to him." Her tone is still calm and controlled.
"Yes, ma'am." He spoke into a communications device before looking back at the General. "Raider unit is focusing on the soldier, ma'am."
"Excellent." She turns around to the holographic table. "Make sure they-" An explosion occurs, shaking the entire vehicle. "What the hell was that!?" Her expression turns from calm to angry in a matter of seconds.
"Damage on the tracks! Several main components are broken!" A voice from deeper in the tank shouted.
Before she's able to do anything else, another explosion could be heard outside, shaking the interior. Then, there was the sound a hatch opening and automatic fire going off. The loud sounds bounce around the tank, causing her hears to hurt and making her groan lowly.
Other crewmen share the same experience. They cover their exposed ears while showing expressions of extreme discomfort. Luckily for them - in a morbid sense - they get to be relieved of that very soon.
Gunning the crew down like rats in front of her, Kiroh appears in the General's view. He spots the high-ranking woman and tries to aim at her but she beats him to it. The Grand General pulls out her pistol and shoots Kiroh in the exposed gut.
The traitor screamed as he fell on his butt, dropping his rifle on the way down. He tries to get up but she stops him by kicking him in the face. He hits the metal floor once more but this doesn't make him give up at all. But he's forced to stop once he feels a gun placed against his head.
And just like that, only the sounds of panting could be heard. They look at each other, Kiroh's exposed brown eyes looking up and the General's grey ones looking down. She is the first to start talking.
"I fucking knew it." Her voice is full of venom, threatening to poison the wounded man below her. She doesn't say anything else, letting the silence carry her anger. After a few seconds, she asks, "Why?" The gun is still pressed to Kiroh's head.
He doesn't say anything for some moments before answering. "Revenge, you fuckin'-" The General doesn't let him finish his sentence, putting a bullet inside his head instead. Splattering his brain matter all over the floor.
As she's about to go to the comms device, she picks up the sound of something rolling. Looking at the floor, she sees an unpinned frag grenade rolling around her feet. She glances at Kiroh's corpse and curses, "You fucking-" The grenade explodes, engulfing both bodies in the flames of the explosion.
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Was... this it? Is this the afterlife? Wait... does that mean that the afterlife is actually real!? Also, why the hell is it just an endless void.
These were all questions that Kiroh asked himself when he first arrived. He looked around but all he could see was an endless abyss. More appropriately, a black void of nothingness.
Recalling his final moments, he remembers that the General shot him in the head. Luckily, he left her a primed grenade as a response. So the only thing he can hope is that the Grand Bitch is dead.
Whispering to himself, he says, "Well... at least I get my revenge." He has a genuine smile cross his face as he thinks of his past.
His childhood when he was being raised along with his two other older siblings. School where he was taught subjects like math, science, and other things he forgot about. College when he was studying to be a mechanical engineer. His job as a white-collared machine regulator for six years. The... death of his family and his enlistment in the People's United Regime or PUR. And finally, his time in the Golden Fist and now, his death.
Sighing, he wonders if he would be stuck here for eternity. Just floating around and shit. He really hopes he doesn't. Otherwise he'd probably go insane from the constant void and lack of human interaction.
Kiroh looks down curiously, wondering what he's wearing, the result widens his eyes in happiness.
Checking himself out, he sees his standard issue battledress for all PUR soldiers. A combat vest leaving some of his abdomen exposed, shoulder and forearm pads, thigh guards and knee pads, and black boots. For a headpiece, he has on a specialized helmet with a glass visor probably meant for all environments. Under all that grey armor is a dark green two-piece uniform, only covered in light padding on the shins and elbows.
Wrapped around his hips is a tactical belt carrying several pouches and a single holster. The larger pouches are on the back while the smaller and more accessible ones are on the front and sides.
He continues to go over himself but he's soon interrupted by the sound of some sort of high-pitched snap. Looking up, he sees two more items appear in front of him. They are his service rifle and pistol, respectively, the SCR-Mk2 and the Bolter.45, he grabs both and holsters his pistol while carrying the rifle. The rifle is a mostly beige colored weapon with sections of black. As for the pistol, it's a small black colored firearm not really boasting any designs.
Although he has several questions as to how the he's receiving these things, he decides to just not think about it. He's already dead, so right now's either a permanent afterlife or a shitty - but rewarding - purgatory. Either one, he just doesn't want to wrap his brain around it at the moment.
"Kiroh....." A whisper came out out nowhere.
"The fuck?" He said, whipping his head around while trying to find the source of the whisper. "I ain't imagining this shit, I heard you!"
"Luzat..." The whisper came again, but much closer.
His eyes widen and his posture stiffens. "Fucker! I heard you! Don't mess with me, bitch-boy! I'll blast your ass back into hell ya little shit!" Looking around as fast as he can since he's still floating, all he sees is just more of the void.
"Kiroh... Luzat..." It sounded like a woman whispering.
"Bitch! Stay back!" Kiroh waves his gun around, trying to appear intimidating.
"Kiroh." The voice was right in his ear.
"FUCK!" Using the butt of his gun, he hit the area to his right. He looks but there's nothing there. Just more void.
As he's about to curse at the ghost-bitch some more, a light suddenly appears and blinds him. Grunting, he tries to block the light from his view but he's unsuccessful. Soon after, he feels a burning sensation all over his chest and goosebumps forming all over his body. He wanted to scratch at his chest but the armor prevented him.
"Kiroh." It's not a whisper anymore, holy shit.
He freaks out now, panicking even more and completely losing his tough-guy act. Tears start to gather in his eyes as he hyperventilates. His breathing becomes rapidly, making him feel like his oxygen is going away.
"Kiroh!" They're yelling now. The disembodied voice is yelling now.
Tears come out of his eyes quickly as starts to bawl for no reason, confusing him as he does it. Other than babbling incoherently, he attempts to curse at the voice again but it doesn't work. Coming out of his mouth are just more incoherent cries and panicked shoutings.
"ATONE!" The voice screamed. Kiroh only screamed in return before the light consumes his vision.