.hackBARON
Warning: Graphic Content
The dew on the grass glittered as the soldiers marched across the field. The sun was barely coming up over the horizon. The mages were ones who were set up in the front of the militia. They would set the initial attack and the soldiers were simply there for back up. A cloud passed by above the flock of soldiers, leaving a shadow caressing their figures.
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Inside the small cottage Ace lied peacefully on the cot, watching the girls walk about the room. They were messing with pots on the stove. Apparently they were cooking. The cottage was more like a studio. It only had one large room where the sink, the stove, a table and the cot be. Rose sat in a chair next to the bed as Rydia washed up some dishes and Celestial Being boiled brown rice. She had various vegetables frying in a pan next to the pot which the rice cooked.
He reached into his sachel and took out a rice patty his wife had made for him prior to the mission. Taking a bite out of it, he marched among several other soldiers. Toward their destination they went.
When they reached the entrance of the forest they decided to surround it. Entering from all directions they'd have a chance of capturing the beast. Whatever it may be. They all stood still, awaiting commands.
"...and that's what I suspect is going on." Rose sighed, sounding disappointed. "But I have no proof. And Cecil would probably flip. Me accusing his brother of such a thing."
"I knew it would be sooner or later when that bastard would crack." Ace commented, a hand over the bandaged wound. He tried sitting up, only managing to groan in pain. Rose helped him lie back down on his back as Celes came over with a cup of soup.
"Here, drink up."
"If she mixed it up, it must do damn well." Rose said.
"Well, at least with the pain." Celes admitted shyly.
.m.a.s.s.a.c.r.e.
Outside the forest it was quiet. The birds still chirped and the crickets sang. This wasn't surprising because it was still early morning. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon behind the soldiers. Each shadow deep within the crevaces of the tree began to show colour. The light escaped through the branches and into the forest.
A man lifted his head to the sky, his helmet falling back over his hair. He pushed it back up and tightened the buckle under his chin. A bird flew overhead. He watched it fly into the horizon. Its wings flickered dew down onto the soldiers. The soldier wasn't sure whether to take this as a sign of good luck or not, so he just appreciated the beauty for the moment.
Another soldier next to him chugged down what was left of his liquor. Finding himself thirsty as well, he took the cork out of his flask and took a short drink. The militia wasn't moving until orders were recieved. Staring down at his flask, he felt a drop of water hit his nose. His eyes darted up, seeing another bird flying overhead. Then another one flew past just as quickly. Pretty soon there were at least hundreds of ravens escaping the forest. The sound of their flapping wings had a haunting ring in their ears.
He looked toward the forest finding a mage inside the entrance. Apparently the mage was speaking with someone. For all the soldier knew, he could be negotiating with whom, or whatever was inside the forest. It looked like things weren't going so well, because the mage stepped back in terror.
An arm came out from the darkness and snatched the mage into the shadows. On the ground there was a red film running out into the light from the shadows. With a shakey hand, the soldier dropped his flask, realizing that what he had seen was blood. With what injury could that much blood escape?
For a moment there was nothing. No response from anything inside the forest. The clouds froze above them and the wind died. There wasn't any noise from the birds. There wasn't any noise at all. Utter silence there was. The only thing the soldier could hear was the deep, fast beating of his heart and the ragged, sharp breaths from his lips.
The last thing he remembered was the taste of blood in his mouth. It dripped down his lips. He coughed up even more, a silky crimson stream running down his chin. His gag reflexes came into effect and vomit made its way out of his mouth, mixing with the blood dripping on his armour and onto the large tentacle that made its way through his back.
Above them a giant wave of flesh came crashing down into the earth. The soldier leaned back, his eyes wide open as the blue sky became black. His comrades ran wildly trying to escape the wrath of the monster. A giant orb seemingly made out of skin and blood emerged from the forest. It made its way above the tree-tops. It was bumpy and the veins that were wrapped around and within it pulsed violently.
Men screamed as they ran around wildly. With the men in front distracted, out from the monster giant tentacles flew everywhere. From ground level, all the extensions formed an umbrella shape over the forest. Some soldiers fought back, though fear had been written all over their faces. These low level mages were no match for the monster. They were either simply thrown to the side or absorbed into the flesh as were the soldiers that were killed.
One man of the militia lied on his front, unable to move from his spot. His legs were both injured and he'd lost a lot of blood. Lifting his head slowly, he let out a groan as another person ran past him, trying to get away. A tentacle simply snatched him up rather quickly as a giant mass of blood poured onto the ground next to the injured. The splattering soaked him in it. He looked away, seeing a young soldier lying dead. He had rice and dried blood smeared on his face and armour.
The soldier's eyes ran over the boy's armour, then to his face. He wanted to know if he recognized him. There was a giant horizontal slit in his face. A deep scar it was. He jerked a little, seeing the torn flesh twitch. Then it began to move and expand, ripping the skin all the way down to his collar bone. The eyes began to bulge as it sat up. It took hold of its ponytail and pulled the scalp off its head.
Several tentacles rained down over the living man, smashing against him. It turned into pudding and lifted him up into the air. He screamed as blood gurgled out of his mouth. He felt blood dripping from his tear ducts and nose as he met his end.
Seeing the monster's new meal, the undead soldier stood up. Behind him, several other corpses ripped from their own former flesh and took up their feet.
Celestial Being sat in her chair quietly and sipped her coffee. Turning her head from the others she gazed out the window. The breeze gently blue her hair around her face. Ace slept as Rydia sat down next to Rose.
"Ya know," Celes started, "something doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?" Ryda lifted her head.
"What I mean is that something's wrong. Why didn't Golbez let us go with them? After all we're experienced in fighting this thing. He didn't even bother telling us anything about the battle strategy." Celes sat her cup down and turned to them, "Doesn't it seem a little strange that there were mostly trainees in those troops? I mean, Baron has a whole army of high skilled soldiers.. Why the trainees?"
"Maybe he felt it wasn't all that important of a mission." Rose replied, "You know, I made the report with Rydia as my witness."
"With Rydia?" Celes asked, sounding surprised. "No wonder he didn't take you seriously!"
"But we had the discussion with the King." Rydia said pointedly.
"Yeah," Celes raised a finger, "But he always discusses stuff like this with Golbez since he has control of the militia."
"Yeah, well I still think it's a conspiracy." Rose lifted her cup to her lips.
