Hey everyone it's LLL again. I apologize in advance for the swears in this chapter, I'm trying a different style of writing, or perhaps it's the same as before, and I didn't notice. Thank you for all who have reviewed, and for those who view this story, you let me know that my writing aren't some words in cyberspace, but viewed words in cyberspace. Thank you again, and have a great day!- LongLoreLover
Mouse was having the worse day: He'd gained a tan in the few short hours he'd been fighting, he smelled more of sweat than of his pungent Axe Body Odor, his whole body hurt, doing the strenuous activity of war, and most of all, he felt as if something was wrong the whole time. For every man he shot, they never stopped returning fire. Mouse called in a fighter to stealth-bomb a platoon of soldiers, and watched as a whole platoon was obliterated from a plasma burst before the fighter was shot by a rocket-launcher, and crashed into a small congealment of houses. Buindundilo's men didn't even get the chance to yell, but others fought all the harder, ready to die as long as they took some of DragonDen with them. A heavily fortified group behind a much sun-hardened patch of sand shot down a few Shadows whose armor had been heavily worn by the constant warfare. Mouse watched as the people he had fought with for months, going on a full year, fell, never to get up. The battle raged around him, but aside from Drake's brother, which was heavily traumatic, Mouse had never seen anyone die, except for his sister, which was why he joined DragonDen in the first place, to find the man who raped, tortured, and then murdered her. Mouse didn't have a name, just a symbol, which showed a setting sun over the horizon.
A sonic pulse blasted behind as Drizzle launched the Sonic Shadow Cannon they had. The weapon compressed the sound in air that it emitted through speakers, and fired it like a motar at a targeted object. Looking to his side, he saw several tanks riding over a creston the horizon, blasting their mortars off . Plumes of sand and debris shot up into the air where the shells struck, sending Shadows forward, backwards, upwards, or in all three of those directions. Mouse was frozen, sound dragging out as he saw Drizzle screaming intangibly, face streaked with dirt, and the blood of stabbing people with her axe. Mouse stared at the grove of Buindundilo's men who were still firing indiscriminately, while contingents of reinforcementswho seemed to walk out of a central tunnel that Buindundilo's soldiers had held, and move into the town where the remaining Shadows fought them off. Mouse needed a plan, he had never been in such a situation alone, and never with a battle this chaotic.
"We were too cocky."he realized. Months of relatively easy ops had lulled himself, and he was positive most of the Shadows, into feeling invincible. Mouse turned, still numbed, but watched Drizzle's fist slam the red button of the Sonic Shadow, and a high pulse mortar bounded into the air before a tank exploded. Chunks of it went flying in all directions, the Novas inside quickly ejected from their wrecked vehicle. Mouse suddenly regained focus, and grabbed Drizzle. "Come on! We got to go meet up with Shadow 3!"
Drizzle casted one look at the tens of other tanks coming on the horizon, as well as the squads of ten Novas that marched towards them, with hundreds of squads. "Since when did the Novas have that many men?"
Mouse turned, and his mouth moved, but nothing came out. "Come on!" He finally managed to say, and he grabbed Drizzle's arm before their feeble cover exploded all around them. The force sent them sliding across the desert, Mouse gripping Drizzle so he could afford her all the protection he could provide. Sand clung to Mouse's wet flesh, was in crevices he never knew he had. It was just sand, sand sand! He suddenly felt sick of all of it; Mouse wanted to turn the Earth Upside down and watch the sand fall off into space. He'd like that. It was gritty, and he spat out a mouth full before he was suddenly back the time, everything felt like a dream again. Sluggishly rising to his feet, Mouse limped over to Drizzle, and started help her up when Drizzle screamed. A quick jolt of foreboding, he looked down to see her leg not only broken, but cut up with numerous spikes that left it bloodier than a raw leg of meat. "Damn Alcatri and his Needle Nives." he cursed, and grabbed Drizzle's arrow, firing a smoke arrow to provide some cover. While they were covered, Mouse fumbled for his portable radio, and tapped in to the leader of Shadow 3. "Oblivion, what is your status with evacuating the town? We can't hold the ridge position anymore, and I have no idea if Shadow 2 is still in action." There was no answer, except for yelling and a bone breaking. Quick breathing got louder. "This is Persephone of Shadow 3 to Mouse, Oblivion is dead, killed by a rocket launcher." The girl seemed close to tears, her voice cracked at dead, and launcher. Her voice quivered, and while Mouse could hear her trying to be strong, she was shaken as Mouse. The soldier regained his mind as he continued running.
"What is your status on the town!?" Mouse yelled over the bullets whizzing past him. One struck him in his shoulder, causing him to scream and breath through his teeth, but he would not fall. Drizzle, and his life depended on it. The calming sea of black actually shined before Mouse, vbut he dug in the heels deeper than his physically self allowed, and pulled himself back to life. It left the fire in his arm dead without pain, his fatigue without importance.
"We have them out, but we're outflanked by the tanks, Buindunidlo is here. and the enemy seems to be working with Alcatri's men!"Persephone's voice suddenly crackled over the radio.
"What the fuc-"Mouse started to yell
A tank strike near Mouse knocked him off his feet, throwing his body like a ragdoll as he crashed into the dirt. For a moment, Alamo didn't know if he broke something or if something broke him, the world just seemed to shake and recede. Drizzle lay a few meters from him, stirring ever so slightly. He crawled to her, every drag paining his body, which he was sure his armor didn't protect any more. The bullet that struck his shoulder made moving all the more painful, but he had to get to Aresole, assuming the sniper was still alive. He hoped that Aresole was alive, he had be alive. Mouse needed someone to help him, DragonDen emphasized teamwork, being alone was nothing he ever prepared for. Big Daddy and Drake were still MIA, yet their target was here; Mouse was sure that's why Ignition had a separate mission for them; To assassinate Buindundilo. So if he was here, then his friends must've failed.
Mouse shivered, and went over to Drizzle, who could barely keep her eyes open. "Drizzle...Drizzle look at me." he said, swallowing. Drizzle's hazelnut brown eyes focused weakly on him, and she smiled weakly. "Mouse." she breathed, bring her hand to his face. It was bloody.
"No, Drizzle, you- You got to hang on here, it's going to be like old times, you know when I'd flirt with you and then you'd reject me. Only now you got to reject death okay? Drizzle, Drizzle!"
Drizzle's eyes opened, but only so it looked like she was squinting. "I'm so tired Mouse. I just want to sleep. To see my dog Monique, to be with God, ask him if we ever were doing the right thing ever. If he'll forgive me. I'm ready to go. "
"You can't go! I need you here! I-I can't do this alone..." Mouse started sobbing. Drizzle smiled. "You're never alone Mouse, but for now, you'll have to..." Her hand dropped from his face, and Mouse shook his head in denial. "Drizzle! DRIZZLE! NO!" he shook his head and started crying, burying his face on her chest. Everything truly receded this time, so it was only Mouse and Drizzle, frozen forever.
His pain would last him that long.
A hand grabbed his shoulder. "Oh shit." Aresole breathed as he saw Drizzle,, and then shook his head. "Mouse, we have to go. Alcatri's men will be here in a moment." We have to meet up with Shadow 3, if they're still alive even."
Mouse didn't look at Aresole, or acknowledge that he heard him. Unbeknownst to Aresole, he grabbed Drizzle's axe. "Mouse, come on! We have to go." Aresole repeated, shifting his weight. "Die!" Mouse screamed, slashing downward at Aresole. Aresole grabbed Mouse's arm with both his hands as he fell down into the sand, and strained to keep it from coming any closer than the three inches it already was from his face. "Mouse!" Aresole struggled, "Cut it out!" Mouse showed no inclination of stopping, just grunting as he pushed harder against Aresole. The soldier finally had enough. "Mouse!" and he kicked the man off him. Mouse landed on his back, and went for the axe he'd lost his grip on, when Aresole tackled him. Mouse struggled, even after Aresole got a good punch in once he was on top. Mouse punched Aresole in the stomach, breaking the soldier's position over him, and allowing Mouse to throw him off. Aresole grunted and crawled away as Mouse advanced on him with the axe. Thinking fast, Aresole threw a handful of sand in Mouse's eyes, causing the grief-ridden man to claw at his eyes. "You motherfuc-" Areosole back leg tripped Mouse, threw the axe away, and then punched Mouse in the head twice before wringing his hand in discomfort. Mouse coughed, and blood trickled out his mouth as he rolled over and spat out a tooth. "Damn, you should have boxed." he commemorated before rolling on his back. Aresole sat down, flexing his fingers. "Mouse, we really do need to go."
"They're dead Aresole. It's just us two..."Mouse said darkly. He got up and cracked his knuckles.
"You don't know that." Aresole countered. Mouse spun on him. "Don't I?! Look around. Take a good fucking look! Everyone is dead, we're screwed. There is nothing left. Drizzle is dead! Do you understand me? Nothing can survive if she's dead! Drake, Big Daddy, Alamo, they're all probably dead too! The best are gone, and we're just two, against 1000. We have no chance..."
Aresole was silently crying. He hurt just as Mouse hurt, but he said, "Actually, Alamo is still alive. But we have to move fast to get to him." Mouse turned slowly. "Why the hell didn't you just say so from the beginning you clueless ass!" The two didn't run more than 10 meters when they heard a thunderclap blast through the air, with the force of an entire ocean crashing back into its container after being dropped from space. The sky glowed red, and Mouse sighed. "Can we have a break, seriously!" Aresole froze. "Th-tha-tha-that's Al-Alcatri's satelite cannon..."he stuttered, trembling. Mouse nodded gravely. "Tis it is. Come on. If I'm going out, it's going to be with Alamo." They took off with knowledge that the sky was ready to kill them at any moment.
Mouse and Aresole ran, killing anything that fired at them, and running if the enemy was too far away. Mouse was glad he was in shape, this battle was pushing his limit, demanding everything out of him. When he ran out of ammo, he hacked with Drizzle's battle axe, thrusting his splintered soul fragments into them. When he lost that in the armor of one Nova who clutched the weapon as he died, he just ran. Aresole used his two sickles to kill anything at close range, and sniped any foe who was needed to be dispatched. The scene brought a Transformers film to mind, debris raining down as frequent as rain, dust swirling through the duo's path as they, clothing bloodied, ripped, gone. Mouse gulped air as he started to right when Aresole grabbed him towards the cover of a wall. "Up there!" Aresole yelled over the booms and pows. Mouse wiped blood from the side of his face and squinted to see Alamo getting up in front of a window. Suddenly the air sizzled, and a part of the roof caved in.
"That was an EMP-grenade." Mouse and Aresole reported simultaneously. Mouse faced Aresole. "Aresole you cover me while I break for the building. Once I'm in, stay hidden here. I'll make it back to you once I have Alamo."
Aresole handed Mouse one of his sickles, and took Mouse's grenade launcher before filling it with a silver canister and firing. Ping! It sliced through the air before exploding into a cloud of fog. "Go!Go!Go!" Aresole ordered, and Mouse sprinted, making track teachers everywhere proud. A soldier of Buindundilo who was unfortunate to be the area as the smoke cloud went up, suddenly started firing at random. A bullet caught Mouse in the right knee, causing him to fall and scream. He blew air out of his mouth quickly, cramming his teeth together as fire bled through his veins. The bullet was heated, so the wound cauterized, but it was absolutely agonizing. The soldier ran out of ammo, but his firing escapade gave away his position. Mouse rolled, and threw the sickle. It sliced right into the spine of his target, and he smiled as he fell. Rallying what adrenaline he had left, he got up, and limped towards the door, which swung open. The house was dark, and populated with only a table and straw cabinets. Upstairs, Mouse could hear a strangled "No!"
Careful not to alert anything that he was in the house, literally, Mouse crept up the stairs. He found the sight of Alamo's back to him, struggling against a decapitated Nova shell that was still smoking slightly. "And the Mouse is caught by the cat..." a voice rang. Mouse instantly recognized it as Crislin's. Taking massive strides, Mouse drew his laser knife, and sliced the arm that was holding Alamo. The soldier fell with a pained sigh while Mouse pushed the machine through the decayed wall. Following right after it, he pinned it to the ground, and gripped its chest chassis.
Mouse could tell Dunnovoocha's eyes were on him. "When I find you, I'm going to kick your ass." Then he stabbed once, and stabbed twice, and stabbed again.