"Vesa! Kiros!, where the bloody hell are you!!"
Private Neso had lost track of his two teammates in the thick of the battle, and at the worst of time's possible. They were nowhere to be found and he was now all alone in defending against the determined onslaught right below. Apart from his two assigned mechanical bodyguards that is. They would stand by their assigned master no matter what. And right now he could take all the help he could get. If his Jade Empire ancestors were alive today they would either be immensely proud for his courage and dedication, or utterly disgusted to see a tiger in monarchy colors. But as stated. He considered it all in the past. And he was willing to let buy gones be by gones for the sake of preserving what little sanctuary these lands still had from more outsiders who would do worse to it again. Much worse.
Neso continued swiveling the gun below. With each bolt discharging repeatedly downward in less than the blink of an eye, killing scores of insects in its wake. He could keep the greatly diminished swarm at bay for a bit longer until his allies return. But that certainly did not mean it was an easy feat to accomplish. Especially by himself. But even so..
What was taking them both so long?
Neso was starting to strongly regret saying that he would be just fine until the duo's return. He had nothing to worry about he had told to himself. Kiro's and Vesa would assist the lieutenant and then return to helping him finish the warriors off once they got back. Which should have been now.
"Well shit.." Neso grunted frustrated. "Guess its still just us for now lads!" Although he and his two O-eights were still barely holding the line, he was now down to his last magazine for the Gatling gun. And they still had at least forty five raiders to stop who still were not willing to give up in their desperate struggle to reach the top of the mound. But without their support from their hundreds of now dead sisters however, every warrior at the bottom thankfully now had to make the difficult climb slowly on her own.
Now they had a fighting chance. But still, he could do without his stoic guard's constant comments on their obviously precarious situation.
"Sir, I do not believe they are coming back." Spoke One of the O-eights calmly from it's clear dome head. The emotionless automaton then fired it's last rifle round's at the enemy below in perfect accuracy. "This, unit has run out of ammunition, what are your current directives for this unit?"
"Just shut up, and keep fighting with the bug's weapons!!! Neso shouted frantically to his fearless and stoic O-eight ordered to defend him. "We just need to finish off these last bugs at the bottom!" Despite the automaton's constant interruptions, their assistance was still greatly appreciated regardless of their battered status and irritatingly deadpan humor. The tiger gunner turned his attention back away and continued rotating the crank of the gun frantically towards the last of the enemy mob trapped below.
Suddenly The large gun suddenly stopped firing. Spent water began dripping and spraying from the edge of the elongated barrel but no harpoon bolts were being propelled outward to keep them safe.
The insects climbed faster sensing a fresh opportunity.
"Load the last mag!" Neso commanded to the O-eight on his right responsible for reloading the gun, to which it then did so without a moment of panic or error. The damaged automaton stood up, turned, and injected the last magazine swiftly atop the old battered gun which had served faithfully just like the machine loading it.
"Perfect timing!" Shouted Neso in an exclamation of relief. He raised the gun back up on its tripod and resumed firing at once. Taking out a dozen startled insects who thought the gun had malfunctioned. There were now less than thirty crawlies left to deal with. It would all be over soon...
The faint sound of screaming then emerged from the sky above. With desperate cries of pain and fear growing louder and louder throughout the air. Only it was not of the sound of Neso's dying allies which he had sadly grown accustomed to in the past weeks.
It was that of the elites.
One raider with its wings clipped fell hard, colliding violently with the edge of the mountains in the distance with a loud crack. Its battered lifeless body began tumbling down humorously alongside the sharp jagged rocks like a rolling fruit.
Then another. And another. Dozens were falling around Neso to his immense surprised joy. But to the flying warriors sisters however, they could not have been more enraged or troubled at the sight of their famed deadly brothers falling to their deaths all around them in droves. Further motivated, the exhausted sisters tried climbing even faster. Only to instead meet the barrel of Neso's gun much sooner than originally planned. That didn't bother him though. The blue colored tiger grinned eagerly in a bit of relief at being able to take advantage of their patriotic duty.
"Father Help us!!" Screamed a panicking warrior trapped at the bottom.
Neso turned and shot her dead. 'Sorry kid. Should have been concentrating.' He thought to himself. As the jungle native continued rotating the gun towards the swarm's remnants. A lone flyer then started to emerged from the stormy sky above. Only it still had its wings intact.
"Enemy flyer approaching." Alerted One of the O-eights. It raised its weapon to take down the approaching flyer. Neso wanted to keep looking at the amusing sight of raiders falling to their deaths, but had keep focus on defending the position with all his effort. He had seen enough of the fun and would trust the O-eights to watch his back.
The automaton fired from its salvaged shredder gun. The propelled shrapnel shard began speeding towards the sky toward the target.
"Hey!!!!!!!!! Its me you idiots!" A familiar voice exclaimed as it dodged the shard and continued its descent hastily. "Friendly fire!"
"Hold your fire! Its one of ours!" Neso exclaimed aloud; panicking as he gestured for the O-eight to stand down by gripping the barrel of its weapon away toward the ground. The exhausted flying fish glided down in a circular motion. Descending and colliding against the ground with a loud thud right beside the tiger soldier. His landing was rougher than usual, It was lacking the spirited energy and grace normally associated with this particular flyer.
"Sorry Fereen!, These constructs ain't too bright! Neso exclaimed apologetically to at his friend's close call with death. Which was hardly the first, nor would it be the last.
"Where's Shena and the others?" Fereen said aloud concerned. He then raised his pistol to fight along side his ally against the enemy below that was out for both of their blood now.
"Vesa and Kiro's went to help her out. We spotted the ant's diving for her and I think she got hit pretty hard, but I haven't heard anything back from them yet."
Fereen turned his head slightly, deeply worried by the response.
"Are they alright? Is Shena badly injured?" he muttered fearfully.
"I think they saved her!" Neso replied reassuringly, hoping to put his troubled ally at ease. "I heard the sound of Kiros cannon, and then a loud crash afterwards followed by a long silence. I think they are fixing up Shena and finishing off the elites and should be back any minute now. Neso swiveled his gun quickly to the right. Three more ants were killed and fell down to be added to the massive pile that had formed below.
"We just have to hold out for a bit until they finish taking their sweet time!" Neso exclaimed aloud at their current shitty predicament. His orange eye's then noticed the large cut on Fereen's arm as it trickling blood down his cut sleeve.
"Have Vesa take a look at that when she gets back! Could be serious mate!"
Fereen smirked. "I've had worse! Plus at this point I have much worse things to complain about all around me. You included." He fired his pistol killing two raiders right beneath him. As the battle began to calm in severity slightly. Neso started to make quick glances toward the dead elites missing their wings. "Your handy work I take it?" He said cheerily at his friend's success.
Fereen smirked and continued firing his gun.
"You could say that."
"Shena told us the new plan after you left, And I have to say, not something I would have recommended! But then again you're the one with wings, not me, so what do I know when it comes to aerial combat? Neso said aloud cheerily before killing another insect below him.
"All I will say is that once again you've outdone yourself mate...."
Suddenly the Gatling gun fired its last shot. It was completely empty. Now it was nothing more than a large useless device in their way of the enemy.
"Well its a good thing you got here when you did! Neso released his tight grip of the large gun and swiped the clunky obstacle out the way quickly with his tail to make way. The young private then quickly pulled out his machine pistol and started firing it in bursts alongside his desperate comrades behind the barricade for the remainder of the fight.
The enemy warriors were now almost all dead. Those that weren't, were covered in mud and scrambling upward in a suicidal poorly planned charge. But despite their obvious disadvantage their sisterhood would never yield, so long as one of them was left standing.
I'll says this for the crawlies, they are a persistent bunch of bastards! Screamed Neso in frustration at their stubbornness.
"Or just plain stupid. Fereen grinned under his helmet. But still gotta hand it to that dad of theirs and his methods. "Alright kid's here's the plan. Charge straight down the middle. Try not to die. Sound good?!" The two friends started grinning and laughing slightly as they started to finish off the last of the remaining idiot sisters trapped in the ditch at the bottom.
Fereen didn't feel like telling his friend though that he secretly used the term seriously, because he knew only an idiot didn't fear combat.
Fear had kept him alive. Fear had kept him on edge and careful. These bug's had none of that. Without fear, they didn't know what they were so carelessly giving up without a second thought by marching right to their deaths. At least it made it quicker he tried to reassure himself from seeing the rather unpleasant and pathetic sight unfolding below. He had never seen a more determined enemy. Or one so foolish. He didn't know if he should feel pity. Or gratitude. Whatever his thought's. He just wanted the battle to be over.
'Soon' he tried to remind himself. 'Soon.'
The sound of loud humming and a series of heavy footsteps quickly approaching behind the four defenders only a short distance away caught their ears. The time for joking had passed.
"O-eights cover!" Neso quickly commanded while still focusing on the battle in front.
The two automatons immediately turned and knelt aside one another in an identical programmed defensive stance ready to fire at anything that was their assigned enemy. Both constructs aimed their weapons at the corner of the trench entrance leading to the camp interior.
No... If the bugs are coming out from that way, then that means....
No.....,they are alright, They have to be. Fereen thought, greatly troubled by the sudden realization.
You'll take them down, and check, they probably are just...
Fereen turned on his sensor and closed his eyes, blocking out all distractions from his mind. He had to focus, he would get to Shena and the others in a second.... and see.
He sensed four targets approaching through the rain behind the walls. One of them, massive leading the others.
"I count four bugs approaching!" Fereen exclaimed.
"O-eights cover with Fereen!" Neso ordered. "I'll hold the last few bugs at the base of the mound at bay!"
"Affirmative", both automatons replied in unison. The two machines and Fereen raised their pistols to defend Neso's back, who now was holding the enemy in front back all by himself desperately. The sound of footstep's in the rain echoing throughout the dark wooden maze of hallways right in front of Fereen and his two metal soldiers. No one moved or took their eye's off the dirty mud filled entrance. And sure enough...
The enemy emerged, the largest insect in front leading the smaller bugs as they turned the corner and sprinted at full speed toward the defenders. They were the last of this swarm's elite warrior's by the looks of it. And they looked pissed. Understandably so. Fereen grinned slightly. They were about to be more so.
"Fire!" Fereen ordered to his newly assigned mechanical guards. All three unleashed their barrage upon the four elites, only for the harpoons to stop dead in their tracks and bounce off to the ground. The bolts stopped dead in their tracks and deflected off the largest ant's solar shields providing cover for the smaller warriors behind him. The united brotherhood continued sprinting at full speed toward the Fereen and his allies unaffected. Letting out a blood curdling war cry as they raised their weapons sharpened and emboldened from staring toward the meager defenders on their last legs ripe for the taking.
"The big one's got gauntlet shields!!!"Fereen alerted. He continued firing. But still it did nothing. The flying soldier had now officially lost his sense of humor at seeing their now one sided situation start to turn against their favor. As evident with his wings slowly beginning to raise instinctively in terror to take flight and escape. The ants were coming right for him. But he would not leave.
"Run sir!" Said one of the construct defenders. Sensing their new master was in danger. The two O-eights drew their own glowing water blades from their arms and charged immediately, not caring for their safety in the slightest like the raiders. And just like their insect adversaries. Both were ready to defend their leaders at any cost. Fereen hesitated for a just a moment, before finally turning around to hastily fight along side Neso while the two automatons were being torn to shreds in his place. Their complex metal cogs and limbs being smashed to pieces to then fall into the mud as they valiantly fought and lost against the stronger enemy.
Neso! Behind us!!! Fereen yelled frantically as he rushed toward his friend desperately trying to keep up with the ten approaching ant warriors below him. Get my back! I'll try to....
A loud shot discharged from below.
The proud tiger dressed in blue dropped his weapon. Clutching his clawed fist tightly against his stomach in shock. A large pool of blood slowly began to stain his uniform from a shrapnel shard impaled into his stomach. A single ant slowly crept up and grabbed tightly onto the stunned tigers legs with all of its arms and begun to drag him down off the mound into their vengeful clutches. But Despite the horrible pain. Neso began to claw and fight as best he could manage even as he was beginning to be dragged off the edge into certain death below.
"Neso!!" Fereen started to run faster toward his wounded reptilian friend. He fired his weapon into the ant's head killing it instantly as it's body collapsed at the top of the mound. Neso knelt down at the edge of the mound, unable to keep himself standing any longer. His rounded ears sinking in sorrow for what he had failed to do. Defend his nation from any harm.
"Neso! we have to fall back to the others now! Grab onto my hand, I'll carry you to ves...!" Suddenly the flying fish heard a sound he was all to familiar with yet again. Only this time, it was right above his head. Two of the flying elites after finishing off the automatons, ignored and flew right past him towards Neso vulnerable on the ground.
Fereen raised his gun to shoot them down before being stopped in his tracks by a painful tug latching on to one of his thin wings from behind. The largest of the four elite's grasped its hand tightly onto the tip of his wing and proceeded to swing Fereen's entire body bluntly into the trench wall behind them all in a circular swift motion. Mud and water splashed down on top of his Ferren's helmet as his back violently collided against the wooden wall, losing his pistol from his grip in the process as well as his breath. His, bones, muscles, and spine ached as he tried to lift his heavy helmet back up in order to defend and see Neso.
The two massive flying ants were pulling the wounded tiger collapsed at the edge of the mound up painfully by his wrists high into the air, before tossing him like a slab of meat into the vengeful grasp of their remaining sisters below.
NOOOOOO!!!! Screamed Fereen. He began to spread his wings wide apart, desperate to try and take off toward his friend in order to catch him in time. Neso knew there was no time to reach him. He uttered one final word to his winged comrade as his fearful eyes started to vanish from his friend's gaze slowly.
"Get the shield to the others!!!!!" Neso Yelled painfully before falling out of view to his due demise below. Save yourselves!!! Save my home!!
All Fereen could hear, were the bellowing roars of agony of his old friend, being torn limb from limb by the vengeful warriors pouncing on top of him from every angle. They had finally succeeded in reaching the overconfident obnoxious gunner after all this time. And they would enjoy every brief second they had of ripping this stubborn creature apart for all their sisters he had slaughtered. There truly was justice in this world after all.
Fereen Collapsed down onto his knees soaked and bruised. The heavy rain pounded against his old muddy helmet. The sound of footsteps crept toward the hopeless royalist all alone in the mud. He turned his helmet up slightly. Seeing the lower half of a massive insect's leg's standing right in front of his spirit depleted body.
He looked down towards the ground and started to reach for his dropped sidearm, hoping the insect wouldn't notice. Unfortunately he always did. The ant crept closer, and stepped on top of the pistol in the mud. Crushing it under its heavy foot and kicking Fereen across the side of his helmet. Fereen hit the back of the wall once again with a loud thud and collapsed face forward back in the dirt. His ears ringing.
The imposing insect stood right in front of the stunned aquatic kneeling on the ground at his feet. The elderly gladiator's cape fluttering in the intense storm as he reached for his saber from his off his belt. Fereen slowly turned his blurred gaze uninterested away from the sword and saw the other three elites grabbing onto each of their exhausted sister's arms to help them climb over the top of their now claimed territory one at a time. A few were wearing pieces of Neso's uniform as a trophy. A few. His bloodied stripped pelt.
Fereen grimaced from the sight of his friend having been skinned alive.
The general slowly drew his saber from its hilt and lifted the elongated sword above his massive head, the blade glowing from the intense heat resembled the color of the sun. Fereen slowly shifted his head upward to survey the menacing group and then to the right, being greeted with battered fountain shield knocked down forgotten in the mud.
He counted ten in total, including the general.
Only ten.
They had been so close...
He kept his gaze on the cannister as the general thrust his blade right for his head.
'Not finished yet bug., you want my death you gotta work for it.' The flying fish folded his wings in and rolled out of the way at the very last second straight towards the shield generator. The general's sun-charged blade barley grazed the tip of the flying fish's transparent wing's as they tucked in, burning their serrated crimson edges. Fereen ground his teeth from the sudden intense pain, smelling fresh smoke spreading throughout the air but he continued in his desperate evasion unfazed.
The general's weapon missed it's death mark and slashed violently against the wooden barricade. Sizzling and burning right through the thick wooden planks like a hot knife cutting straight through butter.
"Finish him now!!!!" The infuriated general commanded to his remaining children rushing to aid their father. Fereen, stopped in his roll right atop the shield generator and clutch it tightly in one hand before Suddenly spreading his wings fully and taking off with as much energy as he could muster into the air. Swiftly heading straight towards the other survivors at the camp interior. He heard the sound of gunshots being fired into the sky towards him, as well as the three winged elites beginning to give chase right behind screaming in rage. He ignored them all and continued flying as always. He had to. There was only one thing he had to focus on. And that was reaching Vesa, Kiro's and....
Fereen's eyes widened in terror as he looked down at the ground below him. She wasn't moving, neither was Kiro's or Vesa. Fereen frantically looked around the blood-soaked battlefield and observed closer. He now could see that Kiro's head was missing. He was gone.
But he couldn't make out what had become of Shena and Vesa. He had to get closer.
Right now.
Fereen tucked his wings in behind him and dived down. Strenuously holding the heavy generator from slipping from his hands and letting it's weight carry him down faster right toward the ground like a meteor. The three raiders still right behind him were starting to catch up thanks to the added weight in Fereen's grip. Swinging their blade's just mere feet behind his. Fereen spread his wings abruptly wide apart to stop his descent. He was coming in too fast. He didn't care.
He landed hard on his knees, as his entire body shook from the sudden collision with the solid ground. His bones and joint's ached. He ground his teeth from the sudden pain as he raised his arms and slammed the shield generator upright hard in front of him on the ground in between Shena and Vesa....
And activated the shield.
Suddenly a massive transparent dome of water sprout upwards from the battered device instantly to surround all three of the last survivors of their platoon.
A flying ant in front of the trio screamed in pain, as it collapsed to the side. One of his arm's which had tried to grab the royalist with in the air had been severed from the sudden shield emerging. The cut hand was now trapped inside the bubble shield, still grabbing onto Fereen's ankle. The two other flying ants swung their hammer and axes at the dome furiously to no affect as the youngest of the trio tossed and turned on the ground in pain clutching his stump of an arm.
Fereen pulled the severed hand off from his leg and scrambled hastily in the mud towards his leader sitting on her back motionless. He started desperately shaking his friend's shoulders frantically for any sign's of life to emerge.
"Shena?!!!, can you hear me?!!, Gods what did they do to you?' He said horrified by the sight of her mangled face. There was blood everywhere.
"PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!!!!" He said with tears starting to pour on the inside's of his helmet.
"Wh....." Shena muttered as she weakly started to raise her hand.
"Yes ma'am?!!" Fereen leaned in closer in order to hear her better. His heart racing with mounting hope out of his friend's feeble response.
"Wh..."
"What took you so long?"