During the star lit night, the Crusher goes at full speed towards the mainland. Everyone prepares for their arrival, with Dylon going over the plan. He and those who want to fight stand around a table with a light hovering over it. "Okay," Dylon starts, making scratch marks onto the table. "This is the mainland, we're here, and Apocalypse is somewhere here. If he's still in the water, we'll need to be as far from him as possible before we leave in the lifeboats. If he's somehow on land, we'll get closer. Group one, Leon, Chris, Helena, Piers, and Ustonia, you'll be heading into the interior of the city to try and help any civilians. Group two, Scott and Hunter, you two will locate Agent and Ryan, along with Ada. Group three, Ruven and the Ganados will be helping out any B.S.A.A. soldiers. As for me and Jacob, we'll try and find a weakness on Apocalypse."
Everyone give a nod of agreement. "You scratched up my table," Jacob points out.
"Hm, you pick your moments," Dylon Replies.
"Indeed I do."
The teams split up between ten lifeboats, Group 1 with one, group 2 with another, and group 3, along with Jacob and Dylon, with the rest. They await their arrival, which comes sooner than expected. They are shocked at what became of their destination. Smoke clouds, radiating from destroyed buildings, sounds of cannons and gunfire going off, nothing but destruction. Suddenly, fighter jets come from behind the ship, passing over them to the destruction. Out of nowhere, one of them gets taken down by a familiar tentacle. They look at what became of Apocalypse, its new form. Its body is far more powerful, armor like that of crustaceans covers every inch of it, eight giant spider-like legs managing to support it over all the destruction, a collection of tentacles and claws on the top of its body, and under it all, its head, morphing into that of three large segments, like a claw.
"Jesus Christ," Jacob says under his breath. "How… is he standing. He weighs like the same as ten whales."
"Jacob," Dylon says, "now is not the time for joking."
"Sorry."
They judge they're close enough to deploy. They enter the lifeboats, given an added engine for speed, and prepare for the fight of a lifetime. As Piers enters his life boat, he turns to see Lisa running towards him and wrapping her arms around him. He sees how worried she looks, thinking this might be their last moments. "Don't worry," Piers says, putting her mind at ease. "I'll be back." He gives a quick kiss on her forehead before the boat begins to lower itself.
Dylon and Jacob are lowered down with Ruven. As they are, Deborah, Sen, and Alex look down upon them. Deborah extends her hand to Dylon, who grabs it for a few moments before being too low to hold on. "Please… be safe." Sen says to Jacob.
"I will," he replies.
When they finally reach the water, Jacob turns to Dylon. "If I don't make it, keep my kids the hell away from Ruven."
"Of course," he replies.
"Right here you know," Ruven adds.
"I know, making sure you know."
"... You have a good point."
As they hit the water, Dylon begins to feel an ache in his chest. He places his hand over the area and tries to ease it. "Hey," Jacob asks, "you look a little woozy."
"It's nothing," Dylon replies, "I'm… fine."
The boat speeds off towards the destruction, leaving the safety of the Crusher, praying they somehow succeed.
Death and destruction comes to all in this land. The creatures continue to spread, nearing the borders of the city, following Apocalypse's orders. Who ever they see, whether soldiers or civilians, no one is safe. B.S.A.A. soldiers line up around the city limits, acting as a barrier to stop the advancing creatures. They use anything they can. Turrets, barricades, anything they have at the moment. But the creatures continue to attack, showing no mercy, taking a soldier every minute. Some simply die, but a few meet a worse fate, becoming one of them, whether from a sting or bite that didn't kill them.
The soldiers are whittled down to a mere three dozen in one part of the barrier, it pales in comparison to the staggering number of monsters. Some even run out of bullets and are resorting to throwing their guns at the creatures. They are brought to their knees, forced to simply wait and die. However, out of nowhere, an RPG is fired off, bringing down the nearby structures, crushing the creatures as they come. The soldiers look to see Ruven and his group of Ganados, armed with shields, morning stars, stun rods, the works.
At first, a few feel they only came to kill them, but most know any help would be a blessing. The Ganados charge in screaming as they confront the creatures. With their inhuman strength and endurance, they prove far greater in close up fighting. The remaining soldiers suddenly see a familiar figure accompanying Ruven, Chris. They rush to his side in relief and confusion. "Captain Chris… it's… it's… I feel like I'm in a dream," one of them says.
"Unfortunately, this isn't a dream," Chris replies, "I can't go into detail right now, just know they're on our side."
"Yes sir," they say in unison.
"Now, take any wounded men out of the fighting. Regroup in the nearby base camps, and be ready, the fight has just begun."
They do so, relieved, but still confused, that they now have a fighting chance.
The Ganados fight on, even after losing their heads. The parasites continue to fight until they die or lose their host's body, some even after losing it. More and more soldiers reenter the fight, supporting the Ganados. A soldier in knocked down by a nearby creature. It hits the gun out of his hand and prepares to bite his head off. Suddenly, a Ganado tackles it out of the way and charges his stun rod. He hits the creature as electricity runs through it. It pulls away and attacks. The soldier grabs his gun and shoots. The Ganado looks to him for a moment. The soldier's instincts tell him to shoot, but orders were to help. The Ganado says "Gracias" and continues the charge.
Ruven charges pass them all and throws his calm attitude out the window, along with a creature into one. He hacks and slashes with both a machete and an axe, leaving each one he encounters in pieces. He soon leaves the Soldiers and Ganados in the dust, actually being too good, forcing the creatures back on his own. The Ganados cheer their General on, the soldiers… still confused as hell, but grateful.
Throughout the city, the others of group one fend off the creatures and help any remaining citizens. Leon and Helena find themselves in the industrial district, surrounded by unfinished buildings and towers. With them, a group of Ganados to assist them if they come across any survivors. Leon, given a Blacktail handgun on the Crusher, Helena, having her Hydra shotgun, primed and ready. She turns to the Ganados with them, then back to Leon. "Leon, do you think we can trust them?"
He does the same as Helena did. "Just be ready if they turn on us…," he stops at the sounds of screams. They look out into the distance to see a woman and a child in her arms, running from a goliath creature. It runs on all fours with a bulky body and a snake-like head, while accompanied by two smaller creatures, both like man flies in the air.
"Hey!" Leon shouts. "Over here!"
The woman turns and starts running towards them, along with the creatures. They begin to catch up with her. One of the flying ones dives down and tries to grab her. Leon reacts, aiming his gun and shoots instantly, hitting the creature in the head. It falls to the ground, still moving though. He aims to the large creature and fires at the legs. It stumbles for a moment, giving Helena the chance to get the woman and her child. She runs for them, getting them out of the way. As the creature comes down onto her, she aims her Hydra into its mouth and fires, forcing it back.
It gives a hideous screech before falling. One of the Ganados holds a crossbow and aims at the remaining flying creature. It flies right to him, only a few feet away before he shoots and ducks down. The creature goes tumbling onto the ground, landing into a ditch. The other Ganados come down to kill it. The woman begins to hug Helena, saying "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Don't worry," she replies, "you're safe. "
A few of the Ganados come over with Leon who sees if she's alright. Afterwards, he looks to the Ganados.
He says "Llevala a un lugar seguro."
"Si" one of the Ganados reply.
She follows them, hesitantly, but thankful to be safe. Helena and Leon continue to search for survivors, anyone in danger.
Somewhere else in the city, Piers and Chris continue to fight the creatures. Each one more dangerous than the last. They, along with a mix of soldiers and Ganados, come upon a devastated section of the city. The ground upturned and cracks leading down to the sewers raised up into the air. "Stay on guard," Chris says. "Something could be hiding out here."
He and Piers tread cautiously over the giant cracks, awaiting an ambush each minute. It was as quiet as a battlefield could be. Suddenly ,the sound of rocks moving causes everyone to aim at the direction they heard it. They see it only to be one of the soldiers having tripped and chipped the edge of the cracks off. "Stay focused, we don't know when…," Piers starts, only to be jumped by a claw from the ground.
It shoots up and knocks him and Chris back. The soldiers take aim and shoot at the creature's claw. It comes back and snatches Piers by the leg, starting to swing him around. "DON'T SHOOT!" screams Chris, "YOU MIGHT HIT PIERS."
He jumps for him and grabs him by the hands, trying to get him free from the creature's grasp. They are swung side to side, until Chris falls towards the ground. Some of the soldiers manage to catch him in time, softening the impact. Piers, on the other hand, is dragged down into the tunnel below them. He hits the ground with a thud. He looks up to see a blob-like creature, clinging to the walls with its small, spider-like legs. Its mouth is ringed with rows of thorn-like teeth. It begins to drag Piers closer and closer. In desperation, Piers lets out his hand, mutating into its trident-like form, and shoots out a stream of electricity. The creature screams in pain, flinging Piers out farther into the tunnel.
The impact knocks him out, allowing the creature to get close. It begins to crawl awkwardly towards him, extending its arm to try and grab him. Suddenly, someone jumps in between them and manages to grab Piers and jump out of the tunnel. As Piers begins to awaken, he hears Chris shouting "FIRE!", followed by gunshots. He looks up to see Lisa, having saved him again. "Lisa," he says with a groan, "I thought I told you to stay on the ship."
"Piers in trouble… I help… like always."
"It's funny, I always thought you would need the saving from time to time. But that went out the window."
She gives him a kiss on the cheek and giggles. Chris comes to their side. "Piers, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But what about Lisa?"
He looks to her for a moment. "I'm not sure how you got here, but thanks. Think you could help find survivors?"
She gives an excited nod. "Alright," he turns to Piers. "Piers, you, Lisa, and some of the men, go out and find any survivors."
Piers stands back up. Chris hands him his gun. "Yes sir."
It's been over an hour. But in a fight like this, it feels like an eternity. No sign of either side gaining the advantage. Apocalypse continues to stare down, watching over everything that's happening. This brings the thought, if they somehow stop all the creatures, how will they stop it in the end?