AN:
Hallo!
Doge, it's an Upotte Story, and yet it's not Street View?
Yes. Let me explain.
I had an idea a while ago about an Upotte themed MMO. I didn't have the stuff yet to do it, so I tested it with a friend to try and expand the world. I did some good work with the buddy- best buddy! X3- but I still didn't have the stuff to do it.
So then I thought about it some more, then gave up.
Only recently did I come back to it, and I have something for you. This will be Chapter 0, or my teaser for what I have in store concerning this. I'm putting my other work on hold, as this will be something that requires the most attention that I can give it.
This will just go up to test peoples' interest in this. While that won't keep me from actually posting it, I want to know if this has people interested in my idea.
Anyway, without further ado. Enjoy your read.
I don't own Upotte, nor do I own anything from HK, the name "Las Vegas" or... well. All copyrights are to their respective owners. I own nothing in this except the un-named characters, please don't sue me.
Oh? You want to learn about this world? You're so young, and yet… well. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you why everything's so scary. Come here, by the fire. While your mother's asleep, I'll share a story with you.
Yes, about this world.
The boy jumped awake at the sound of gunfire, hitting his head against the roof of a ruined car that he'd somehow found himself in. With a groan, he clutched his throbbing head, ignoring the harsh rapport of rifles nearby in favor of humoring his wound. He pressed a hand to the point of impact, pulling it away once he figured that it hadn't cut him open. That was good. He opened his eyes with that, staring at a shockingly sapphire clear sky.
He distinctly remembered just going to bed in his home.
The gunfire started up once more, and he looked over his shoulder, his messy hair flying to one side as he searched for the source of the disturbance.
It used to be that everything was fine. We squabbled over minor things. Sometimes, while the rest of the world burned, we discussed issues that concerned only us. Not the rest of the world. We were part of it, but we didn't seem to care. That wasn't right, but that's how it was. That's how we liked it.
It all changed once the world was torn apart.
He ducked behind the ruined car that had provided him his shelter, glad for its sturdiness as the gunfire echoed off into silence. Whatever they had been shooting at had either fled or fallen. Either or. He didn't care. The sharp crack was scary, and it only added to his confusion. While it was quiet, he took inventory of his situation.
From what he could tell, he was on a bridge. Or an overpass. The fire had to have been coming from below. The car that he had been so generously placed inside of was apparently a rarity, as only a few other abandoned vehicles were spotted along the road, on either side of him. They looked like hell had come over them, and none of them would ever be likely to drive.
At all. He cursed quietly and looked over the car, spotting three figures down on the road. Humans, if their gait was anything to go by. He stood up a bit over the wall of the overpass, ready to call for help.
We were attacked. An enemy we couldn't identify. They swooped in and took people in the night. Some were so brazen, they'd do it in broad daylight. It was a long time before we could fight them. They weren't immortal. They died just like anything else. We had to develop new technology, together. The monsters wouldn't wait for us, nor did they pick and choose who died. They killed indiscriminately.
But they met their match once we started using other avenues of attack. They didn't like UV rays, for instance. So they put UV flashlights on guns, and on helmets, and in other things. If the monsters dared, they would meet with their end to light and gunfire. Likewise, trapping them worked just as well. Using people as bait. Leading them into rooms filled with UV lights.
We thought we won, but then more came. They looked like us, and talked like us. They said they wanted to ally with us.
Few believed them.
The cry died in his throat. Down below, he saw bodies behind the men. Bodies of people. They had bloody patches in their hair, and he could vaguely recognize odd ears on top of the female's head. One of them. One of fifteen. Some of them couldn't be seen, but he was sure there were fifteen. He stared blankly at the corpses as the men turned back, glancing up at the overpass to see the onlooker.
They raised their guns and started firing.
Humanity was split. Some left the cities that had been set up to keep both them and the new monsters safe. They moved out into the wild to take their chances with the demons that remained, as they could move from their realm to ours willingly, though the return to their realm is difficult.
Oh? Yes, your mother is one of those that came from that realm. She is very sweet. Don't let the beasts make you think otherwise, okay?
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. The humans that had ran formed their own groups, and some began killing those like your mother. All of those monsters were bad, they cried, and shot them without giving them a chance. The people in the cities had to start taking them seriously, and they formed groups made to fight them and defend those that couldn't do it themselves.
He cowered behind the concrete barrier as the bullets cracked against it, never allowing one through as the misses whizzed above him. He started to crawl along it to get away, adrenaline coursing through his body faster than he could think. He was being shot at. People were shooting at him. As those thoughts shot through his mind, the sound of gunfire died once more, and he started running as the men below him began to reload.
They were done faster than he thought possible, and a bullet tore through his leg as they readjusted their aim. He collapsed to the ground as he got off of the road, just in front of what looked to be some kind of van. He started crawling towards it, only to be grabbed by his shirt collar by some unknown entity, who dragged him around and out of sight of the gunmen.
The person felt his leg gingerly, then turned his head to look at her. As it was a her.
The world has been in an unstable state ever since. As night falls, the UV lights turn on. Just in case. The monsters roam the land anyway, having learned not to come close the cities. They attack travelers like us, who don't have that much UV light defense. Anyone they find that they can kill, they kill. Even those who used to be their brothers and sister.
Especially them.
Some brave people had come before, to fight both the monsters and the humans back, and make us safe. But they disappeared. No one knows why. No one knows who they were, exactly. The Cities aren't sure. Their soldiers have no memory of them.
… Do I think they'll come back? I can only hope so. We need something here, something to tell us that we'll survive this.
He stared at her in fear as she quickly shushed him, placing a hand over his mouth before he had the chance to scream. With her off hand, she began bandaging his leg, though how, he couldn't see. The pain of her work was showing on his face, and she gave him an apologetic grimace.
He calmed down a bit and started looking back at her, cracking one eye open to try and get a look at his savior, proper. Though she was grimacing, she was very pretty. She had her dark hair tied up in an odd ponytail, and very straight-cut bangs framing her pretty face. Was that a mole under her eye…? He couldn't tell. But he had no time to guess. The sound of rushed footsteps was starting to become a bit too loud, and the girl looked around the van before ducking behind again, helping the boy to his feet.
What she said next confused him.
"I need you to hold me. Now!"
He spluttered in confusion, but he had little choice in the matter. So he did. He found himself holding a rifle, staring at the black gun in surprise before turning to the sound of approaching danger.
Those people that came. Legends say they were incredible. That they were immortal. That they could do things any normal human would consider impossible. That they were brave, kind, powerful. They looked different from the soldiers that say that they want to help us. They didn't look like the traitorous humans that you see sometimes, that shoot at us. Some hid their faces, but they all were there to help.
… of course. They were paid for it, yes.
Will you be one?
He flicked the safety off of the rifle and shoulder it, blinking as he found the motion to be natural. The sights were a little odd. A drum with a V cut, and a front sight with a circle and a center post. He didn't know. He didn't care. A brief thought cut through his mind.
HK33E Rifle. 5.56 caliber. 30-round magazine currently inside of her.
He shook it off and got up to a kneeling position, watching the side of the van he heard the footsteps.
His sights were on the space just beside it.
He could see the sky through the sights. How pretty.
He saw the barrel of a rifle first around the van. Then the arm carrying it. The gunman turned the corner and came face-to-face with the boy he shot at, the expression on his face turning from confidence to surprise.
He raised his rifle.
The boy squeezed the trigger first.
I don't know. Maybe you will. For now, let us go to bed. I'll tell you more if we make it to Vegas.