Chapter 8: Jungle (2) – Renegade
The Shinobi Unit remained concealed behind the thick bushes, in front of them stationed a small army of King Poseidons, powerful foes not to be taken lightly. Weapons gripped firmly while waiting for Zero's command, the zeroth unit braced themselves for a fierce fight ahead of them.
"Look carefully at our opponents, study them well." Zero whispered, each of them wore earpieces that came with miniature microphones, so he only needed to speak very softly and everyone, including Iris, could read him loud and clear. "Five are currently in sight from our location," he continued, "according to Iris, there are ten more to the right, where the solitary entrance to the fortress is situated. Another five more located left, also out of sight, they have the least priority to be taken down, but still, be wary of them for they will most definitely provide back up."
Ruby, Dia, Quartz and Lapis listened attentively to every single word of their commander. Their eyes contained utmost focus, knowing the dire importance of this mission. This was war, it had already begun, and there's no turning back for both sides, not even the fact that Web Spider was their previous comrade could change that.
"Ready?" Zero asked again.
"Yes sir." Came the reply unanimously from five voices, Iris included.
Zero had a smirk on his face, he gripped his Z-Saber hard, lifted his heels and dashed out at his swiftest at the five King Poseidons right in front of them. They were quick to anticipate and turned to face him, but not quick enough to save themselves from a great cleave of Zero's, coming in wide and horizontally in a flash, and took away two of them instantly.
The remaining Poseidons all gathered themselves for an ambush, but the collective effort from the Shinobi Unit was too much for them, as they stormed in with great discipline and teamwork, cutting a path for themselves, they made their way to the guarded door within mere seconds.
Zero was the first to reach the gate, planted a detonator and let it loose without a timer. It gave off a small yet powerful blast, yet all it could manage was denting the Adamantium-fortified gate, leaving also a black gunpowder mark.
"Quartz, Lapis, continue the assault on the door, Ruby and Dia will join me in defense." Zero blurted, stretching his Z-Saber out and returned into the frying pan. The green and blue Reploid quickly took over and continued administering explosives, mortars, even pummeling the gate with energy sabers, giving it their all in bring it down.
At this moment, all the remaining King Poseidons had rallied and gunned down on a fierce counterattack. Countless white projectiles were released, prompting Zero and his other 2 allies to parry them as much as they could, buying as much time as Quartz and Lapis needed to crack down the door.
"Status report on the gate!" Zero yelled out, asking a very vital question to Iris.
"43% durability remained! Keep up the effort!"
"You heard her!"
"Yes sir!"
It did came across Zero's mind to join in the onslaught on the door himself, it might as well hasten the process, but was it the better choice?
Not.
Defense was the top priority here.
He parried spear after spear as the King Poseidons ganged up on them, attempting to use their numbers to their advantage. They skillfully blocked away the rapid fire from Ruby's energy gun by spinning their spears, so fast that the spear seemed to have disappeared from the naked eye, ending with an unexpected counter-thrust that almost caught Dia off guard as he positioned himself too close. They were also quite sturdy, able to take up a few hits before eventually crumbled down.
"Obstacle removed! Path is now clear!" Out boomed a voice, causing everyone to turn their head. Quartz was the one who yelled out, already charged into what's behind the door, Lapis already went in as well.
"Excellent!" Zero needed not another word as Ruby and Dia already turned their heels and dashed towards the newly opened door. Zero was the last to follow, cutting down any King Poseidons that stood in their way, and left a detonator which sufficiently halted the enemies from following their trails.
Zero and co. had to keep moving, there's no telling when their pursuers will let up the pursuit. Inside the fortress, there's more forest, even thicker than what's outside. Most likely artificially erected to serve some purpose.
And that purpose was quickly evident to the zeroth unit, countless Obiirus, Mavericks modelled after a snake, were lurking inside the trees and came falling down, crashing into their opponents and struck them with a momentary paralysis.
The attack did not end there, various Spider Cores suddenly spawned out from the tree trunks, most likely implanted as a small purple chip on the numerous tree trunks around, so indiscernible and the perfect ambush for the unnoticed ones. When the time was right, it would release static electricity around it, forming what it looked to be an octagonal spider web, and a large yellow spider would materialize from the core, tossing out a small, silvery ball which pulled some electricity from the web with it, laying out a straight path for the spider to traverse back and forth, giving it extra mobility and ability to close in to its opponents, firing energy spheres to provide additional damage to its hapless foes.
"Guerilla tactics… as expected from Web Spider." Zero chuckled, knowing very well how his old friend would deploy his attacks. They worked together, after all. Web Spider was a very prolific leader, leading his own units in deploying guerilla tactics, harassing the opponents with ambushes and surprise attacks, utilizing hit-and-run strategies to utmost effectiveness in weakening the enemy, and always get the job done.
Shrugging off the paralysis and dodged the energy projectiles from the Spider Core, Zero swiftly removed the Obiirus from attacking his comrades, they were numerous, but their attacks were hardly devastating aside from the paralyzing effect.
"Ruby! Fire!"
"You got it!"
Just after the paralysis effected waned, Ruby pulled out her flamethrower and scorched the jungle in flames.
"Ah man, what a way to destroy nature." Lapis mocked sarcastically.
"Get a grip, they are all artificial." Dia pointed out.
"Aren't natural reserves supposed to be, artificial as well? Humans got their hands all over it."
Dia palmed his face as he shook his head. Lapis laughed triumphantly at his nonsensical rumbling. Quartz looked on as Ruby gleefully burned the surrounding into crisp.
"No time to waste, let's advance." Zero disregarded his members' idle chatter, and urged them to proceed towards the cannon in which they had come to destroy. Lapis and Dia shrugged their shoulders and sprinted off, following their already ahead commander. Quartz promptly tailed from behind, Ruby was the last to catch up after satisfying herself with carnage.
Burning the forest was quite an effective countermeasure, for any Obiirus lurking on top of the trees were quickly disposed of, and any Spider Cores plastered at the tree trunks were also bought down with the blaze.
However, the inside of the fortress was too vast and they could not afford to burn everything down. All they could manage was take the shortest route to Web Spider, with Iris directing them the right path. No King Poseidons were spotted inside the fortress, but Blast Rasters still remain, perfectly well suited for guerilla warfare, hiding among the bushes and trunks and firing energy projectiles that proved very troublesome to Zero and co., with Ruby suffering some damage from them.
They could not halt their advance, prompting Ruby to leave the jungle via an emergency teleportation, leaving the zeroth unit with only four members. Not having much time to regret the loss of their comrade, the rest of the Shinobi Unit pressed on.
The deeper they went into the fortress, they began to encounter familiar foes, former Maverick Hunters who now turned their backs against their former employers, now loyal to the Repliforce and being led by Web Spider as part of the Repliforce Guerilla Unit of the Jungle.
"Lazuli!" Lapis cried out as he faced his twin brother in combat. Both were identical Reploids sharing the same blueprint in terms of appearance and internal circuits. "Why did you join the coup?"
Lazuli, also tinted in blue just like his brother standing on the opposite side, did not say much other than resuming his assault onto the Shinobi Unit.
"Answer me!" Lapis pressed harder.
"I have no words for you, brother."
"!"
The two fought on, but they weren't alone. Dia and Quartz were also cornered by their former allies, feelings of confusion and anger filled up their thought circuits, unable to accept the fact that they had to fight against their former friends, former comrades in arms. This was essentially a skirmish between the old and new members of the zeroth unit of the Maverick Hunters.
"How much further from the cannon?" Zero asked on his communicator, the cannon was well on sight, but he could not decipher a direct path leading to it.
"Turn right at the end of this path and you will see the entrance!" Iris quickly translated into words from what she read on her radar.
"Good! Dia, Quartz, Lapis! I am going on ahead! Keep them busy, and… return to HQ afterwards." There was a slight pause before Zero ending his final sentence. It was a relatively difficult decision to make, him going alone into the center of the fortress while leaving his members stranded to fend off the attacks from his former allies. But if he knew Web Spider well enough, then this decision would eventually pay itself off.
Web Spider would be waiting for him alone.
It would only be appropriate to come face to face, with all the respect he had with Zero. As much as a guerilla fighter he was, Spider was very prideful especially towards a strong opponent, preferring to take him down with his own abilities. Only against a large amount of enemies that Spider would opt for the guerilla tactics.
"I am coming… Spider." Zero whispered to himself. His communication systems all still intact, so did his comrades. Despite being separated, they were still connected in some way or another.
Zero dashed following Iris's directions, finally making his way to the cannon, with the doors all opened, waiting for his arrival. Zero grinned, he read Spider well, and he was right about his former friend.
Once inside, the cannon was well situated at the center, half completed. The center of the fortress still contained trees around, most notably at the top of the ceiling, covering it fully.
"Ah... Zero. I've been expecting you." Came a raspy voice from above.
"Come on out, Spider, you don't need to hide from me." Zero replied, searching the ceiling for the whereabouts of his opponent.
Web Spider came dropping down from the trees above, clinging on to a thread on his rear, exactly like a spider. He was a large Reploid, almost twice as big as Zero, modelled exactly like an arachnid. His entire body was mechanical, faint surges of electricity emanating from his torso, hinting to his opponent his preferred method of attack.
"It's not too late, Spider, call off the coup, and return to the HQ with me." Zero sheathed his Z-Saber and tried to reason.
"No, Zero, everyone who followed me here knew what is best for ourselves. The Repliforce are able to give us hope, allowing us to dream, of a utopia only for Reploids. We have had enough with the humans." Spider replied, without hesitating.
"So that is why you took half of my team away with you?"
"I am not the only one who led a renegade unit against the Maverick Hunters. There are many within who shared the same thoughts as mine. The human masters were too oppressive, too selfish for their own good."
Zero gritted his teeth, there were no doubts to where his loyalties lie, but he could also sympathized with Spider and the former zeroth unit members. They hardly receive praise when they succeeded a mission, and harsh criticisms kept coming from the slightest of mistakes they made. "You are only a bunch of machines!" This was something very commonly heard from their human masters.
Yet Zero could not turn his back against the oath he had held for the Maverick Hunters. To serve the human masters, to preserve peace, to protect the world against all odds. Now, the Repliforce had betrayed their human masters, and threatened peace. Without a doubt, the Repliforce were the Mavericks, and it was up to him, a Maverick Hunter, to stop them.
"There's no use talking me out of this, Zero, give it up." Spider broke the silence after they stared at each other for a short while.
"It is sad to have things end up this way."
"Don't pull any punches, Zero, my new superiors will be delighted to know that you are dead." Spider taunted, stretched his fists apart before pulling himself back up, barely dodging the Z-Saber of a surging Zero.
Spider climbed all over the top of the trees, away from the sight of Zero, who could only attempt to locate him from the leaves falling every time Spider crossing over them.
Spider's attack pattern was quite varied, but still had a definite pattern. He would drop down onto Zero from above, surprising him with a close-ranged attack, hoping to deal massive damage with his rock-hard spiky armor fortified with Adamantium.
Once descended, he would either fire off a lightning web projectile, causing serious repercussions should one be trapped by it. The web would release a high voltage electric jolt, which was very harmful to androids like Zero. However, firing one of these would require some charging, and he could only perform the charging when he descended to face Zero, and not above the trees. If Zero managed to cut himself very close to Spider, he would instead opt to not fire anything and immediately return to the trees, circling around the stage to perform the next attack.
Zero had to be fully alert, listening to the sound Spider made while traversing the trees above, as well as the falling leaves which might give hints to Spider's location. Burning the trees weren't an option, he ran out of burning weaponry. He had no choice but to be patient, waiting for Spider to descend, and close in as swift as he could to put a dent onto Spider's tough armor with his Z-Saber.
This technique worked quite well, as the red Maverick Hunter managed to land a few hits against Spider during the early stages of the battle, while the newly promoted Repliforce commander could not return a single blow. Zero was faster and sharper, using all his opportunities well at striking his foe. If it's not for Spider's fortified armor, he would already been long defeated.
Spider retreated above the trees, zipped around as fast as he could, as Zero waited patiently, keeping on the move so Spider would not be able to pinpoint his location and drop right above his head. Spider was left with not much choice but to gamble the next location of where Zero could be, it was one leap of faith, or in Spider's context, a plunge of faith.
He finally had his chance. Trying his best to read his opponent's next movement, Spider calculated and took the risk to drop down as fast as he could, finally making his first contact with Zero, ramming him hard with his spiky armor, pushing Zero away and flinching him.
This gave him ample time to charge his web attack and launched it at Zero, who was flinched just enough to get hit by the attack.
"Arghhhhh!" Zero struggled in agony as the lightning surges zapped his body, causing damage to his internal circuits. Spider could not directly approach Zero while dangling down the tree, so with his swiftest, he climbed back up, made his way just above Zero, and plunged down on the still trapped Zero, hoping for a chain attack.
But Zero was faster, the web dissolved after a few seconds where its electricity was fully discharged, after breaking free, he dashed as low as he could, Spider just missing him by a hairline. Zero quickly pulled himself back up and jumped to cut off the thin lightning thread supporting Spider, causing him to come crashing down and helpless. Zero proceeded to hack him a few times, but was unable to continue his assault when Spider discharged a large amount of electricity around him, sending his opponent jumping back to avoid damage.
Spider then created a new thread from his rear and got back up to the trees. However, this time he descended right at the middle of the battlefield. Creating a force field that prevented Zero from harming him as he prepared what it seemed to be an elaborate attack. After a few seconds of preparation, he released four huge, diamond shaped, blue lightning webs, forming a network which discharged weak electricity so they would hold themselves in place for a sustained period of time, the small current was not sufficient to cause damage to Zero, as he could walk past them without much trouble.
But the webs' role was not to cause damage, but to provide extra mobility for Web Spider. The webs were his domain, his network, as he was able to maneuver around the webs with utmost swiftness. Occasionally he would also release tiny spider bots which homed around the battleground, electrifying Zero whenever he touched them. Spider would also release his lightning web attacks whenever given the chance.
This was what the former Shinobi Unit captain was capable of. Under the optimal environment, Spider was a force to reckon with. Zero had to avoid Spider from ramming him, the spiders crawling around him, and the lightning web attack that Spider might deploy every now and then.
However, the usual attack pattern of Spider still stood, he would still be forced to stop when releasing spider bots and lightning webs, and his positioning was limited to the range of the web network. So Zero would still be able to close down on him, get a few hits in, before backing out to avoid Spider's rushing around.
Against Zero's vast experience and brilliant skills, the difference between them gradually began to show itself, and Web Spider found himself tattered and battered, laying down on the ground unmoving and in Zero's mercy.
"I am sorry it had to come to this, my friend." Zero slowly walked towards Spider, his Z-Saber still unsheathed. The red Maverick Hunter suffered damages, but was still able to fight at full capacity.
"I… had envisioned this day to come. Finish it, quickly." Spider replied slowly, sustaining heavy damage. Jolts of remaining electricity were slowly discharged from his body.
"Farewell, Spider." Zero pulled a quick one, beheading Spider to end his suffering in the quickest manner. His body ceased to move, and a small yellow chip fell off his corpse.
Zero picked the chip up, believing it to be of use to his future endeavors in this war, grabbed it tightly.
"All members, retreat!" Zero issued the command, and taken flight without waiting for his members, believing that all of them would still be alive, and will join him in HQ.
Spider lied motionless at the center of the jungle, not able to witness the large cannon come crashing down and Repliforce suffered their first defeat.