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Topic: Monsters exist! Manhattan at war!
In: Boards ► News ► Recent
Strange_Eons (Veteran Member) (Confirmed Cosmic God) (Confirmed Prankster God) (The Guy In The Know) (Confirmed Lovecraftian Abomination) (Confirmed Master Chef)
Posted on 11th October, 2008:
Right, so those of you wondering if Greene had any hidden tricks she had yet to reveal?
Turns out, the answer was yes!
See for yourselves:
[Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link]
As you can see, those giant worms popped out of the ground all over Manhattan, including right underneath that big military base down south at Battery Park.
Oh, and because a dozen or so giant worms isn't enough, they also proved to be troop transports, with them releasing hordes of monsters all over the island.
Again, pictures/videos for proof: [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link]
So yeah, the battle for Manhattan isn't quite over yet.
Now, that was the bad news…
So let's talk about the good (and weird) news!
For one, ISIS proceeded to once prove how gloriously crazy they are by revealing that their HQ possesses an actual, honest-to-Cosmos giant Plasma Cannon!
One capable of killing one of those worms in one shot!
Here's the proof: [Link] [Link] [Link]
So that was one worm which really didn't last long.
But the thing is, it wasn't the only one who died quickly…
Here's where things got weird: [Link] [Link] [Link]
No, you aren't going crazy, that's an infected man who killed a giant worm by himself.
In a few minutes.
No official info on who he is or what he wants yet, but let me just say that he's very much friendly… to humanity.
Unfortunately for Greene.
So yeah. Quite a lot happened in the closing hours of the 11th of October!
Here's to hoping the 12th will go well, yeah?
► Melodious (Occult Enthusiast)
Replied on 11th October, 2008:
*Stare at pictures/Videos.*
Holy shit, giant fucking worms… Capable of holding hordes of monsters…
Okay, yeah, that's fucking terrifying.
Also, I'm now wondering if those things were meant to appear in New York… if they could go under the river's waters, create tunnels and everything…
Well. I'm not sure why Greene decided to use them in Manhattan, rather than in New York, maybe they are a desperate attempt at taking back the surface, but either way I'm really glad that they didn't pop up in New York instead.
That would have been terrifying…
►Lurker9001
Replied On 11th October, 2008:
Oh, so now we have giant fucking worms to worry about… Just fucking great…
Also, Melodious? Thank you so much for pointing out that they could have popped up in New York instead. That isn't a terrifying thought at all…
But seriously, I'm not sure what to say about ISIS having a giant plasma cannon. Like, at this point I'm not even surprised, of course those madlads build a giant plasma cannon, why wouldn't they…
Though I imagine a lot of militaries around the world are crapping their pants right now. Or drooling in desire. I mean, plasma guns are one thing, but full blown plasma cannons? Oh boy…
And as for the infected guy killing a giant worm…
I mean, considering that OP claims he's friendly, I'm going with the theory that he somehow managed to break free of Greene's control and is now out for revenge.
Which, you know, seems fair enough if you suddenly woke up one day as a monster under the control of a madwoman trying to wipe out humanity.
I'd get pretty furious myself, to say the least.
►disgae96
Replied On 11th October, 2008:
So… Giant worms, horde of monsters running around Manhattan, giant Plasma cannon, and an infected guy who is apparently free of Greene's control going on a murderous rampage against those who presumably destroyed his life…
Fucking hell, but reality really is stranger than fiction nowadays!
It's like watching a movie, except it's right there, happening in front of our eyes.
I'm not sure how to feel about the fact we live in a world from which end-of-the-world movies should be made from…
►buryitnow
Replied On 11th October, 2008:
Right, today was all kinds of crazy, and I want off this crazy train…
Please? Can we stop with the insane revelations and terrifying discoveries for just one day?
Is that too much to ask of the universe?
► BlueHelix (Raccoon City Survivor)
Replied on 11th October, 2008:
Gotta admit, the giant plasma cannon is a new one.
As is the whole "infected man with a grudge."
Am I supposed to cheer for someone who is infected? Because it feels damn weird, but if he really is on our side and just wants revenge on Greene, well frankly I kind of feel for the poor bastard…
Well, if ISIS doesn't shoot at him, I guess we can consider the fact he might actually be friendly?
Hey OP, did your divine self have any intel to share which could make things clearer for us?
►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (Police Officer)
Replied On 11th October, 2008:
I support the above post. I've got nothing on my end of things, but you're the one often on top of things OP, so anything you can share would be appreciated, because a lot of us are wondering if the news of an infected that is that strong but apparently free of Greene's control is good news or not.
► Melodious (Occult Enthusiast)
Replied on 11th October, 2008:
Right, I think we'd all like to know. The giant worms potentially going into New York freaked me out more at first, but on second though,t a regular human infected that strong is rather terrifying in his own right.
Also, what the hell was he doing down south, anyway? So close to the military base that used to be at Battery Park?
… And by the way, am I the only one freaking out a bit over the fact one of the military bases in Manhattan is just plain gone?!
Because the repercussions of that are utterly terrifying in their own right! Think about how many soldiers, including high-ranked ones, material, ammo and more are just… no longer there!
The entire southern parts of Manhattan have to be in pretty serious danger right now…
►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (Police Officer)
Replied On 11th October, 2008:
Trust me Melodious, you are not the only one freaking out over an entire military base getting blown up.
As you said, the repercussions down south are going to be felt for a while.
The good news is that, as far as we know, many of the soldiers down south weren't at their HQ when it got destroyed. They were either underground fighting it out in there, or above, making sure that the hordes of Greene truly would stay purged.
The problem is that the Chain of Command must be in chaos right now, same with logistics, so any squads of soldiers requesting support or new orders or anything like that are essentially stuck by themselves until they deal with the situation.
Not a good thing, obviously.
At least the forces up north are doing okay. I suspect that ISIS HQ had something protecting it from such an attack, considering how close that one giant worm who got killed by a giant plasma beam to the face was to said HQ when it came out of the ground, it seems to me like it was forced to appear close to it rather than right on top of it.
Which leaves me with many questions, but for now I'll just be glad that both South and North HQs didn't get blown up at the same time. That might have been enough for Greene to make a push back topside, and no one wants that.
Strange_Eons (Veteran Member) (Confirmed Cosmic God) (Confirmed Prankster God) (The Guy In The Know) (Confirmed Lovecraftian Abomination) (Confirmed Master Chef)
Posted on 11th October, 2008:
I can say this much: ISIS will make an announcement soon on the matter of the infected man.
Which, considering how fast they are officially reacting to him, implies some things, doesn't it?
As for ISIS HQ not being blown up, and the worms not going to New York…
Well, that sounds suspiciously like something achieved by the same kind of tech, doesn't it?
And combined with the giant plasma cannon, it's almost like someone had to deal with giant enemies capable of traveling underground before…
►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (Police Officer)
Replied On 11th October, 2008:
… I'm now left with more questions than answers, and the feeling that yet again, there are a lot of things about this entire horrific mess that we really don't know about.
Even when we really, really should.
I'm really hoping that people like Lois Carol will try to get to the bottom of this, because winning this war isn't good enough. We really need to know how it came to be in the first place, and how to prevent it from happening again.
Because I have the growing suspicion that we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg here…
► Melodious (Occult Enthusiast)
Replied on 11th October, 2008:
I know what you mean, Bagrat.
And I don't like it either.
Still… If ISIS had dealt with things like this in the past… What does it say that they brought Lois Carol into Manhattan?
What does it say, that they are actively letting the entire world see everything?
Something tells me that getting Greene is not going to end things, it's just going to the beginning of something new, though what that is I have no idea…
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►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (Police Officer)
Replied On 12th October, 2008:
Right, so as OP told us, we actually have some information about Doctor Alexander Mercer, the infected man who killed the giant worm for all to see.
The man is a former high-ranking employee of Gentek, age 29, who was working on a classified project for the corporation before the outbreak began.
Yes, Gentek, the same building that Greene was seen coming out of, something that we still don't have an explanation for.
Needless to say, I smell something fishy on that one.
Especially since Information given to us by ISIS shows that Dr. Mercer was actually infected with a different strain of the virus compared to what had turned Manhattan into a battlefield, one which allowed him to remain sane and unlock extremely powerful mutagenic abilities, which he put to use in fighting back against the rapidly spreading Redlight outbreak.
The man apparently has a sister, one Dana Mercer, who also lived in Manhattan, though thankfully she's still confirmed as alive and uninfected, so I guess she made it out of there before things were too hot.
We've also learned that Dr. Mercer was sent during Operation Revolving Door to try and assassinate Elizabeth Greene, though sadly she was able to escape when a previously unknown infected lifeform codenamed "The Supreme Hunter" was used against him to allow Greene time to flee. While Dr. Mercer was able to win the fight against this new life form, Greene had by then successfully hidden herself into the depths of Manhattan.
So yes, that means that Operation Revolving Door, which was already considering a stunning show of modern day strategy against a mostly inhuman foe, had actually yet another layer to it which, if successful, could have essentially won the entire outbreak for Humanity right then and there.
Because again, why go for mere overachievement when you can go for full-blown perfect victory?
Or something, ISIS be fucking madlads, news at 11.
A number of videos showing Dr. Mercer fight against the infected hordes of Greene had been made public by ISIS, which also shows that yeah, Mercer is rather terrifyingly powerful, a force of nature on the battlefield, and it's a very good thing he's on our side because holy shit that guy could utterly wreck most of ISIS.
Let me repeat that for you: Mercer could wreck most of ISIS.
Here's the videos for proof: [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link] [Link]
A fact that yeah, even the soldiers of ISIS acknowledge, though they do say that they could give him a hell of a fight for a time, and even maybe force him to retreat if they had sufficient manpower for such a fight.
Though even that not without some pretty impressive casualties.
Fight between him and Hunter-class ISIS soldiers would apparently get really intense, and largely depend on the specific match-up and the number of Hunters involved.
Generally, ISIS thinks that no matter who the winner is, everyone and everything around the battlefield would definitely be the loser of that fight.
As for a one-on-one fight between Mercer and the leader of ISIS, the real question is just how much of Manhattan would be left by the end of it.
ISIS soldiers all believe that their leader would win, no ifs or buts about it, and well, considering some of what we've seen the guy do, that's a very likely outcome.
But all of that doesn't change the fact that fucking ISIS is actually acknowledging Alex Mercer as a threat requiring either several Hunters or their actual Boss to deal with, and that's rather mildly terrifying to consider.
Though if nothing else, it's good to know that Greene isn't, in fact, at Mercer's level of deadliness, since she apparently barely made it out of her encounter with Mercer with her life.
Oh, and speaking of deadliness and threat level, here's a few videos of the leader of ISIS going giant worm hunting.
It is, needless to say, just as insane as anything involving the man taking to the field, and most of those worms actually dying faster than what Mercer managed…
Here: [Link] [Link] [Link]
► Melodious (Occult Enthusiast)
Replied on 12th October, 2008:
Well, we got our answers…
I'm just not sure what to make of them, honestly.
I mean, it makes sense that someone who seems to be the equivalent of Greene, if focused on personal power, rather than horde creation and control, would be utterly terrifying in a fight.
Still, for ISIS themselves to acknowledge that yeah, only the best of their best have a chance against the guy, that really puts things in perspective.
Also, the VS thread is going to lose their minds over this. They've been bad enough trying to decide the strength level of every Hunter of ISIS, but with this thrown in…
Still, if their Boss is actually strong enough to win against Mercer, I guess that's good?
I mean, not that I have anything against the guy, by the sounds of it, he tried his best to do good despite the shock and horror he must have felt once he discovered he wasn't human anymore. I can very much respect that.
Also, he has a sister? Damn, I don't know if they talked since he got infected, but I hope that things didn't go badly for him if they did. I don't know how most people would react to learning their brother or family member in general had suddenly become something else than human, but he appears to want to try and do good, and that shows more humanity than many actual humans are capable of.
Overall, I'm just glad that someone touched by this madness seems to be doing alright. I do have questions, because Bagrat is right that something smell fishy about all of this, but as long as he's fighting on our side I suppose I can wait for the answers.
► BlueHelix (Raccoon City Survivor)
Replied on 12th October, 2008:
Well, the answers we requested, answers we were given…
Overall, I'm still confused about some things, the fact the guy is a former Gentek scientist does make my eyebrows rise not gonna lie, but if he's good enough for ISIS to be comfortable working with, then he can't be that bad.
I'm a bit concerned he's that strong, because anything that makes even ISIS sweat makes me want to hide under my bed and pray like never before in my life, but apparently the leader of ISIS isn't concerned about him being a threat, either out of desire or actual threat level, so… Well at least we've got someone ready to handle things in the worst case scenario.
I'm still going to cross my fingers and hope really hard he really is a good guy, because the thought otherwise is rather terrifying…
►buryitnow
Replied On 12th October, 2008:
Right, that is certainly… something.
I'm torn between feeling sympathetic for the guy, and feeling mildly terrified that someone like him even exists on Earth…
Space certainly sounds a pretty good place to be right about now…
► Bees (Verified Space enthusiast)
Replied on 12th October, 2008:
SSSSSSPPPPPAAAAAAACCCCEEEEE!
Is the only true answer, as I keep telling you all!
► Magic Arrow (Verified Former Zombie Movie Enjoyer)
Replied on 12th October, 2008:
So… Real question here:
Does he count as a zombie?
Strange_Eons (Veteran Member) (Confirmed Cosmic God) (Confirmed Prankster God) (The Guy In The Know) (Confirmed Lovecraftian Abomination) (Confirmed Master Chef)
Posted on 12th October, 2008:
First, Melodious I have it on good authority that yes, Alex Mercer and his sister have talked since his change and both are very much considering each other brother and sister, even now.
Secondly, Bagrat, Dana Mercer is a member of the press, and interestingly enough Alex called his sister for her professional help some time before the outbreak began.
And thirdly…
Well, Melodious, seems like Greene took your words to heart about her not being deadly enough…
Here: [Link]
► Melodious (Occult Enthusiast)
Replied on 12th October, 2008:
Strange_Eons, first that is good to know, and show off some impressive humanity on both sides. I'm glad to see he's still human where it matters most, then.
Second, that is… very interesting information you're dropping on us, though obviously I don't know what that fully implies.
And third… WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN MANHATTAN RIGHT NOW?!
►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (Police Officer)
Replied On 12th October, 2008:
I agree with Melodious about everything.
Like, seriously, what?!
Is that… Is that Greene?!
► BlueHelix (Raccoon City Survivor)
Replied on 12th October, 2008:
*Stare at picture.*
I have a mouth and very much am screaming.
===
12th October, 2008.
Time Square, Manhattan.
Lois Carol flinched as more explosions echoed in the air, her blue eyes bouncing between waves of monsters currently charging at a position she and a great number of soldiers were in.
There had been a great recall of ISIS soldiers topside, with only some remaining underground to hold the line down there, and the reason why was simple: ISIS and Blackwatch wanted Greene dead by the end of the day.
Lois had thus followed with the others to record what promised to be the climactic battle of Manhattan, and hopefully one that would finally mark Humanity's victory in this war.
So far, she was certainly getting her hope's worth when it came to things being incredibly tense and chaotic.
Tanks fired non-stop, helicopters and jets unleashed hell on the ground as fast as they could fire their missiles and laser cannons, ranks upon ranks of soldiers grimly held the line in the face of thousands of horrors coming out of the ground, and the greatest soldiers of all armies present, US Marines, Blackwatch and ISIS went around constantly slaughtering more enemies, even as the hordes seemed endless in numbers.
Greene was obviously throwing absolutely every last scrap of monsters she still had at every Bloodtox vehicle, and it showed.
There were a few others pumping the underground full of the poison across Manhattan, each of them defended by at least one Hunter of ISIS, but for the one at Times Square, where the greatest concentration of enemies kept crashing against the defenses, the various armies had sent their most elite soldiers they could send to hold the line.
To the North, the leader of ISIS was fighting like a force of nature unleashed against a major street's worth of foes, the dying screams of monsters only surpassed by the sounds of more roaring their warcry as they kept coming in seemingly never-ending hordes.
To the South, Alex Mercer was doing the same, body shifting and changing as he cut, crushed, and in general slaughtered his way through hordes of opponents without taking a scratch to show for it.
Not even the Blackwatch soldiers present tried their luck with him, and as far as Lois heard, the soldiers had received clear orders: Killing Greene was priority one, everything else was a distant second.
For once, the forces of humanity were united in their desire to end this once and for all, and nothing showed that better than the sight of Marines fighting side by side with ISIS and Blackwatch soldiers without anyone causing trouble.
All present knew it: The time had come to decide who would hold Manhattan, humanity or Greene, and one way or another, things would not be the same by the end of the day.
Lois glanced West, seeing both Summers hold the line against a vast hordes of monsters coming out of the ground, a number of Blackwatch supersoldiers serving as the second line of defense, the soldiers holding massive plasma guns that glowed like the sun every time they were fired.
Any monsters that made it to their line were promptly crushed and beaten to death by inhumanly strong soldiers who made it very clear that just because they held big guns didn't mean they weren't just as capable in CQC.
And behind them stood the unit of ISIS soldiers commanded by Major Rose, who made sure to provide more fire support for the twin Rose Huntresses as they cut and blasted their way through more and more monsters.
To the East, Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield were on the frontline, both soldiers fighting together so seamlessly that it spoke of years of shared battles. Behind them were more Blackwatch supersoldiers, and behind them were lines of soldiers from ISIS, Blackwatch, and Marines providing their own fire support, though behind all of that stood a super-heavy tank of ISIS.
A monster of steel and fiery death, armed with so many guns it seemed easier to spot where there weren't guns, a technological bringer of death and destruction firing constantly on all cylinders, the heat of its plasma guns seemingly not a concern as periodically the main gun proceeded to carve a path through at least a hundred or two monsters in an instant, the bright blue beam of death leaving only melted remains behind for all of a few seconds before more monsters took their place, bringing forth a constant cycle of death, horrors and burning heat.
At the center of it all stood the Bloodtox dispersion machine, guarded by even more soldiers, tanks, helicopters, everything.
It was there that she and her cameraman had been put in, in the middle of this hell on Earth, where the heat of battle was so great that Lois could feel herself sweat heavily from the residual heat of lasers and plasma guns, or of the great flame-throwers constantly trying to burn hundreds of charging monsters, or even the cooked remains of said monsters when they inevitably died in the face of the accumulated fire-power against them.
The air rang with explosions, gunshots and cannon fire, the screams of the dying and wounded on both sides, and more as the battle seemingly only intensified over time.
From regular Walkers to Hunters and their leaders to Goliaths and Juggernauts to Hydras and the hordes of mutated insects, more and more monsters arrived.
Giant spiders came from the ground but took position on the buildings to spit acid or webbing at the defenders, the second of which was so strong that Lois saw one catch a tank of the US Marines, and casually drag it in the air before releasing it to crash on the ground upside-down, where it promptly exploded.
Hordes of mutated ants served as shock-troops, taking damage only for other creatures behind them to jump over their corpses and keep charging the lines.
Only the mass use of Fire Dust crystals, flame-throwers, and plasma cannons had ensured that the growing number of corpses wouldn't offer a wall of flesh and chitin to hide behind for the other creatures, which would have allowed them to far more easily reach the defense lines.
Not that the enemies of humanity needed to reach CQC distances to kill. Hordes of insects creatures continually spat acid strong enough to melt the hulls of tanks at the defenders, and Lois had been told that only those in full-body armor could even stay at the frontline from the way entire lakes of acid were slowly growing and filling the air with chemicals capable of melting the flesh of anyone inhaling them.
A number of flying creatures had even come from the ground, some of them dive-bombing the defenders only to explode in great waves of acid at the contact of the ground or an unfortunate soldier who didn't dodge fast enough, easily killing unprotected soldiers instantly and rapidly melting the armor of anything short of a super-soldiers in less than a minute.
The rest instead tried to cause chaos behind the lines, picking up soldiers and letting them fall to their deaths on the cold ground, or even fall on other soldiers instead.
Meanwhile, Hydras used their tentacles to grab vehicles or, failing that, the corpses of other monsters to throw at the defensive lines, sometimes even the still very much alive Goliaths or Juggernauts ended up flying through the air and crashing down on tanks, trenches, or bunkers.
Everywhere that Lois turned to, all she could see was waves after waves of charging monsters coming out from the ground, stepping over their own dead in the clear desire to slaughter every defender they could get their claws and teeth on.
It was chaos, it was madness, it was hell on Earth.
And she was right in the middle of it all, filming everything for the world.
Lois began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, she was just as insane as every ISIS soldier in her own way.
-
"Keep an eye in the sky!"
"Aaaaaargh!"
"Someone kill that Goliath!"
"Hydra! Kill it! Kill it now!"
"Be careful of the acid damn it!"
"Watch your surroundings!"
"Incoming flyer swarm at 3 O'clock!"
"Keep firing! No matter what, keep firing!"
Sergeant Ryan gritted his teeth, finger pressing the trigger of his lasgun like never before as each and every shot kept hitting something trying to kill everyone in Times Square even if he hadn't bothered aiming for weak-points in the incoming swarms of freakish abominations of nature.
He felt sweat falling down his face and back as every soldier around him did the same, all of them fighting for their lives in this horrific hell on earth made of heat, acid, blood, and death as far as the eye could see.
He'd lost count of how many kills he had made since the battle began, too busy simply pressing the trigger and killing more, as hordes upon hordes of monsters came out of the ground in swarms that seemingly refused to end, and if anything just kept on growing, even as by now the monsters had to step on hills of their own dead to even come close to the defenders.
*WOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHHHH!*
The world turned blue for a moment, though Ryan had quickly closed his eyes a second before the main gun of the glorious monster of death and steel behind him fired its main gun.
Not that he stopped firing of course. There was no need to aim when everything in front of you, as far as he could see, was made of monsters seeking to eat his flesh.
Then he opened his eyes once the bright blue beam of death ended, and instantly aimed once more towards the weak-point of yet another monster already charging through the steaming melted remains of a hundred dead monsters.
At first he had grinned in satisfaction every time the God of Death behind him did its work, but as the swarm kept coming and the hordes of monsters refused to slow down, he simply couldn't muster the joy he previously felt and now only took a slight satisfaction at the hundred melted monsters before him.
It was his first time fighting with ISIS as back up, and so far he was certainly enjoying the experience, even if the enemy stubbornly refused to give up.
With that glorious hunk of death and metal behind them, a whole lot of ISIS soldiers backing him up and the surreal sight of the two Hunters of ISIS casually slaughtering their way through loads of monsters in front of him, the result was that casualties for his side were shockingly light.
Compared to the days where a 50% loss of life was a good day, today was so far proving downright miraculous!
He had only lost Jack to a stray blast of acid to the face, after all!
One dead soldier! Hell, if it kept like that he might try to somehow buy a ticket for the lottery, because it truly would be his lucky day!
Well, everyone's lucky day, if they managed to finally kill that bitch Greene.
He could only hope and pray. He might, just might, make it out of this damn war after all, and while he would probably bankrupt himself paying for psychologists after this, it was still better than ending up as monster chow.
So Sergeant Ryan kept his finger on the trigger, kept firing like a madman at the charging hordes of bloodthirsty beasts, and tried his best to keep an ear out for incoming acid projectiles or exploding flyers.
He was going to live, get himself fucking drunk, go to every bar he could find in the damn state, and then retire to write a book or some shit.
Either way, he was fucking done with being a soldier!
Literally, because he really didn't think he'd pass psychological testing after all of this.
Then again, he wasn't sure any of them would, at this point…
-
"Keep firing you maggots! We're surrounded on all sides! You know what that means, Marines?! It means you don't have to worry about the fact your grandma shoots better than you, you'll still hit something! So go make your grandma proud by firing at all times! It's so dead easy even you morons can do it! Isn't that right, Marines?!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Great! Then keep firing harder, if you're still hearing me scream at you then obviously you aren't filling the air with enough las-shots!"
Sergeant Major Avery Johnson grinned widely around his cigar as he did just as he shouted to his men, firing his gun so fast he was almost worried the damn thing would explode, but no his trusty Hellgun, a stronger variant of a Lasgun, kept on firing like a true champ.
Insight Corp tech! Powerful and reliable, if we have to face Armageddon then at least it's not our equipment that will fail us! He thought with approval.
It also is damn good as a makeshift club as he'd found out on the head of a particularly insistent Walker who refused to take no for an answer.
Figures the company working with ISIS would make sure their guns were so tough it could handle cracking the skulls of a monster on its barrel.
And speaking of ISIS…
Avery took a split-second to appreciate the sheer, utter carnage being unleashed by the leader of ISIS on the hordes of bloodthirsty freaks coming their way, before focusing once more on popping heads with his trusty Hellgun.
A rather appropriate name for a gun being used in this battle, he would admit. He was damn glad that he took ISIS's offer of a more powerful weapon in view of his good work in the outbreak so far, because damn if that so-called Hellgun didn't pack a punch.
Sure, it wasn't a full-blown plasma gun, but it was just one step away from it.
Either way, he was certainly enjoying putting it to good use as he kept killing more and more freaks coming their way.
A message made him pause, just as the leader of ISIS suddenly fell back.
"Get down! Incoming air support!"
He and his troops lowered their heads and put their hands on their ears a second before the planes sped overhead, launching a number of missiles across the entire street and killing hundreds of monsters.
Avery looked back up, before grinning at the devastation unleashed on their position.
"Alright Marines, the fly-boys cleared the street for us for a minute, so check your gear, reload if needed, take a quick breath and then we'll get back to it!"
"Sir, yes sir!"
Avery did as he himself commanded, before looking back at the leader of ISIS.
The man nodded at him, before looking at a spot on the wrecked street.
Five seconds later, a Hydra popped out of the ground right where the leader of ISIS was looking.
It didn't last a single second more, though the many, many monsters which followed did much better through sheer accumulated weight of numbers.
Avery grinned. "Like shooting fish in a barrel." he said with clear satisfaction.
-
Summer Rose, Huntress extraordinaire, flew through the air like a whirlwind of death.
Everywhere she looked, there were more enemies, more beasts to slay.
It was like back in Operation Revolving Door, except this time she had back-up.
She tried her best to ensure as few of the soldiers behind her died, but the hordes of monsters were just so many that even with her twin's help, they couldn't easily kill everything coming their way.
Some made it through, some spat death from a distance, etc.
Still, Summer was a huntress, and she'd do her job to the best of her ability. If losses were unavoidable, then she could still try to reduce their numbers as much as possible.
So she stabbed with her halberd, cut or fired the gun part of it and in general, unleashed death on anything coming close to her.
The end of this horrific outbreak was in sight. She, just like everyone else gathered here today, was here to finally put an end to Elizabeth Greene.
And right now, that means holding the line. Killing as many monsters as she could.
It was really annoying that she couldn't use the power of her eyes in this war, but there simply was no way to explain it properly.
Sure, they could have simply said it was classified, but even so the questions would have never stopped.
And besides, using her eyes did take quite a bit out of her. Normally not a problem, but when you're fighting a war, and every day that passes you're meant to go back to the frontline, a quick way to destroy more enemies was not worth the cost in endurance.
So instead she had to use other ways to fight. Necessity was the mother of invention, and in this case that meant that she began using Dust far more in her fighting style.
Blasts of fire, cutting winds, gravity Dust crushing hordes to death and more.
She had essentially all the high-grade Dust she could dream of thanks to Aeon, with the clear order to go wild on the battlefield.
So that's what she did. The street she was fighting in lit up in countless colors as she used more and more of her Dust, each use seeing to the death of dozens, perhaps more monsters even.
If she had been back in Remnant, the sheer cost of using so much high-quality Dust would be horrifying.
Here and now? She held nothing back, and the world seemingly trembled as a result of the sheer destruction she unleashed.
A Grimm Tide was usually in the hundreds of Grimm, sometimes thousands.
What she was fighting against right now would make anything short of the greatest Grimm Tides from the dark days of the Great War of Remnant pale in comparison.
Which was something of a theme for this world. More humans, yes, but also more monsters, more horrors, and in general more wars more terrifying than anything Remnant had ever seen.
But in the end, this war was familiar to Summer. Monsters on one side, Humans on the other.
The nature of those monsters was a whole new level of horror, but in the end they still needed to be fought.
Killed.
Exterminated.
And that was what Hunters were for.
That was what she was for.
And so, that was what she would do.
Now… and perhaps, forevermore, depending on how things turn out with Aeon, and what awaited her back on Remnant.
But that was a thought for another time. For now…
She had monsters to slay. Beasts to Hunt.
Innocents to protect.
All in a day's work for a Hunter like her.
-
Chris Redfield killed and killed, blood and gore covering his armor from head to toe.
No matter how many B.O.W's he killed, more kept coming, eager for bloodshed.
It was like he was trying to hold back the sea with nothing but his own strength, his own skill and power.
Of course, that wasn't true. He was far from alone, and even now his old partner Jill Valentine was her own storm of death and destruction upon the countless B.O.W's charging at them.
And behind him, others fought as well. Brave soldiers, he could admit that much even for those damn Blackwatch bastards.
Say what you will about them, but they knew how to hold a line when the time came to make a stand.
Of course, they weren't a concern. Not one of them had even tried to shoot him or Jill in the back so far, so they most likely wouldn't do so at all… Hopefully.
Not that it would work, but now really wasn't the time for that kind of stupidity.
No, the real concern was the swarm of B.O.W's who just kept on coming.
Seriously, you would think that by now Greene would be lacking in manpower… Monsterpower? Whatever. Point was, she really shouldn't have these numbers still on her side…
Too bad someone apparently forgot to tell her that, because here they were and very much trying to kill him and everyone here.
He could almost hear Aeon grumble at him about never underestimating an enemy, especially a desperate one.
So far, he'd be right to, at that.
Say what you will about how paranoid the guy often was, no one could argue he made some pretty crazy good battle plans.
Considering some of the back-up plans that Chris was aware of, he could also freely admit that Greene better go and die today, because otherwise Aeon would really get serious about wiping her off the face of the Earth.
Some of those battle plans had collateral damage among the levels of "YES" after all.
Like, the one calling for Aeon to flood the undergrounds of Manhattan with White Phosphorus was just one of the more crazy potential plans he heard about.
Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Sure, it wasn't outright nuking the place, but still…
As he cut the head off yet another Leader Hunter (he'd lost count of how many of those he killed just today, at this point) with his sword Chris mused on how different the world was than 10 years ago.
He, Chris Redfield, a man who had spent his youth trying to find somewhere to fit in, and foolishly thought he'd found it with the S.T.A.R.S., had changed greatly since then.
And not just because he killed that bastard Wesker, either, no matter how satisfying that thought would always be.
He had a place now. A solid army and organization at his back, one who he trusted and who trusted him.
He had friends and allies, who joined him in his desire to see the world saved from those monsters who threatened everything, whether they were monsters in truth or in human skin.
Hell, he was now an immortal monster-slaying, divinely-empowered Hunter!
His younger self would have laughed himself silly if anyone had told him that this was his future.
But the future was rarely what you expected it to be, and that was alright.
The world was changing. Changing fast, at that. 10 years ago, after the events of the Mansion, after… everything that he had learned from Aeon… the world seemed a dark place, full of dark secrets, hidden conspiracies and worse.
And now here they were. Umbrella was gone. Wesker was gone. Many of the groups or individuals that threatened the world were dead or their power broken.
Chris… Chris could actually see the end of the tunnel. Ironic, with him standing on top of a hill of corpses of B.O.W's, but perhaps that made it even more fitting.
Aeon had assured him, assured them all that after this outbreak, Blackwatch and Gentek would be finished. Chris believed him. He wasn't quite sure of everything the man had planned, he always had countless plans going on at any time, but he knew him. If Aeon said something, it would be the truth. The man was very much capable of lying, lying well even, but he seemed to find lying to be almost beneath him, preferring to use truth like either a scalpel or a blunt hammer to get things done.
Either way, the implications were obvious. Once Gentek, Greene, and Blackwatch were gone… Only a few groups would remain to threaten the world. There was Simmons, the Head of the Family, there was the company that Wesker once worked with before Chris killed him, a few other groups or individuals here or there…
But their numbers were thinning. Chris, after ten long years of fighting for the world, could see the beginning of the end of his long war.
He knew he would not retire, knew that he would keep fighting to make sure that no one else could become a threat.
But… Maybe, just maybe, there could be peace. Maybe one day he'd go to sleep without worrying about the world ending the next day. Maybe the only monsters left would be those within his dreams, in the end.
Hell, maybe he'd get himself a girlfriend! Wouldn't that be something?
He smiled at the thought, even as he disemboweled a Goliath. Claire had found love with Aeon, and for years now, those two had been happy together.
Yes, it was strange that she was with a man with multiple girlfriends and a wife… But Chris remembered her college days.
Honestly, he half suspected that Aeon being with other women was a massive bonus in her view, rather than the opposite.
A part of him was looking forward to seeing what kids those two would one day have. They'd be glorious trouble-makers and heartbreakers, he just knew it.
He was a bit more surprised that Jill went with it… She used to be a lot more focused on her job at the exclusion of everything else back in the day… Not cold, never cold, but certainly focused.
He preferred the Jill of today, though. She looked happier, more at peace with herself too.
As for Rebecca… Oh, he had underestimated that slip of a girl, that was for sure.
In more ways than one, if some of the jokes he'd overheard about her sex life with Aeon and his girls was anything to go by.
But even without that, he sure as hell wasn't going to forget the first days she put her newly acquired knowledge of poison magic to good use against Beasts and B.O.W's.
The grin she had on those days had been damn unsettling, and that was all he would ever say on the matter.
But hey, at least said mad scientist was on his side. And doing good work, rather than damning the world.
Good enough.
Speaking of which, he really should focus back on the battle at hand. Yes, these monsters were damn weak and slow compared to a half-serious Aeon, but underestimating them definitely would get the man on his ass.
And his fellow Hunters too, for that matter. Better not risk it.
Ah well. At least killing B.O.W's was always very cathartic, and he might as well enjoy it since he fully hoped to turn their kind into an extinct species left only in the history books.
-
"Hey, Parker!"
"What is it, Jess?"
"If I ever time travel, remind me to smack my past self in the face!"
"Why?"
"Because I was stupid enough to think the first days of the outbreak were bad! I take it back! I take every single one of my life choices back!"
BSAA Agent Parker laughed, even as he felt sweat dripping from his brow, and down his back, and…
Well, most of his body was drenched in sweat actually.
Of course, he wasn't the only one, considering the sheer heat on the battlefield.
As he kept firing his gun, Parker grinned.
"I remember! You thought the first battle we saw with ISIS was insane! And look at you now!"
"You thought the exact same thing, Parker!" Jessica screamed, shooting down a Flyer which came a bit too close for comfort.
"I know! We were so innocent back then! So convinced we knew how bad things could get!" he laughed harder, though he obviously didn't stop shooting.
"You never stopped shooting in Manhattan. You shot in the morning. You shot in the afternoon. You shot in the evening. You shot in the night."
"You shot even in your dreams, because God knows that nowadays they were just as full of horrors as reality itself was!"
"And look! Now we know that things could always get worse! First it was Goliaths and Juggernauts, then it was goddamn spiders, rats, and insects everywhere, and then there were giant worms, and then, then it just kept coming! They always keep coming!"
Jessica threw herself to the side, narrowly avoiding a spit of acid from melting her body into a steaming puddle, before shooting back at where the acid came from.
Parker took one of his grenades and threw it straight at a roaring Goliath, the grenade going into its mouth only to detonate a moment later.
"We're not paid enough for this!" Shouted Jessica.
"I don't think anyone is!" he replied.
"After this, I don't give a shit if I bankrupt myself, I'm going to fucking Haiti or some shit to tan in the sun!" Jessica growled. "Only the sun, a warm beach, clear water as far as I can see, and absolutely, utterly no giant monsters straight out of my worst nightmares trying to eat my face!"
"It's a very pretty face!" he joked.
"Then I never thought I'd say that, but I want to be ugly!"
"Ugly like what we're fighting against?"
"... On second thought, fuck ugliness, nothing in the world is worth that!"
"Well either way I'm sure that O'Brian will understand our need for time out after this mess, because God knows that I could use a Goddamn vacation myself-"
*CRRRRRAAAASSSSSHHHH!*
"-OH SHIT SPIDER!"
Jessica and him turned, trying to point their guns towards the giant spider right in front of them, but Parker knew damn well they were screwed. The horrific monster was staring straight at them, looking ready to lunge and kill them in an instant, and Parker took a moment to mourn his lost vacation and pray that whoever would get his computer would be nice enough to quickly delete the porn there without fuss-
And then an unnaturally long, mutated arm cut the damn giant spider in two.
Parker and Jessica stared at the now separated corpse of the spider fell on the ground, before they turned their heads towards where Alex Mercer was currently beating a Goliath to death with another Goliath.
"... I owe the sentient B.O.W. a beer. Or several."
He paused. "Never thought I'd say words like those in my life."
"Yeah, no kidding." muttered Jessica, still sending a rather wide-eyed look at the spider which almost killed them. "Though even then, I'm not quite sure I'd go for dinner and a date as thanks. Nothing against the guy, but I'm really not in the mood for mutated boyfriends at the moment."
"Well-"
*RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*
Both BSAA agents along with many other humans flinched across all of Times Square when the ground close to the Bloodtox machine suddenly convulsed and then exploded outwards, before countless eyes turned to look at the newly arrived monster.
There was a pause.
"Is that Greene?!" screamed Jessica, pointing at the gigantic thing currently surveying the battlefield, the shape of a human woman barely visible in the middle of the monster's form before she disappeared under its flesh.
"-What about a mutated girlfriend?" he joked weakly.
Jessica didn't even turn to glare at him, too busy staring at the giant monster.
To be fair, the sudden appearance of what looks like acid missiles coming out of the giant monster, capable of changing course mid-air to keep hunting their prey when they tried dodging was kinda hard to not stare at…
-
I grinned fiercely as Elizabeth Greene, Kaiju version, finally arrived on the battlefield.
Quickly giving a slew of new orders, I left the frontline to go straight towards Greene. The soldiers were going to need to hold on their own, at least for a while, because eliminating Greene was far more important right now.
I saw Alex Mercer do the same, leaving the frontline to go straight at Greene, my enhanced vision easily allowing me to see the wide smirk on his face.
For once, I intended to play support, since this was Mercer's victory to claim. No need for me to take the credit for killing Greene, in fact it was better that Mercer did the deed instead.
Of course, that would be easier said than done. The giant thing that was now Greene quickly proved to have some interesting tricks to defend itself with, as acid missiles coming out of it quickly showed themselves capable of changing direction mid-air.
Acid missiles with homing capabilities. Let it not be said that Redlight could really get crazy sometimes.
Not as crazy as what else the new and improved Greene could do though, as after unleashing a swarm of acid missiles she let out a piercing shriek and red-black shockwave of energy came out of her body, utterly annihilating everything around her.
Seriously, what?
Was I fighting Elizabeth Greene, or Sirzech Lucifer from Highschool DxD?
I swear, I just had to grumble that things were a bit too easy…
So, Acid Missiles with tracking abilities for long range attacks and a shockwave of energy capable of acting like the Power of Destruction for close to mid-range.
Just great.
At least using the second seemed to leave her vulnerable for a few seconds, so that was good.
Both Mercer and I arrived around the same time, and I was now holding a grav-gun I had quickly requisitioned along the way for this fight.
Regular plasma guns weren't going to cut it for this fight.
Mercer and I shared a quick look, before we both turned towards the giant monster which came out of the ground, ready and eager for a fight that would finally help us remove the leader of the infected from this war.
"You take the lead, I'll cover you." I declared.
"Much appreciated." replied Mercer with a cold smirk.
*RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!*
The giant B.O.W. roared again, and this time I could feel the malice of that roar as Greene stared at both Mercer and I with rage.
Yeah, at this point we probably both made her really pissed at us by consistently wrecking her hordes and trying our best to kill her.
The whole "Stab her with a parasite." probably made things even worse for Mercer, too.
Either way it didn't matter, because she was not going to live to see the end of the day.
A number of additional acid missiles came out of her, and now that I was looking for it I could feel the build up of energy within her to unleash her close-range shockwave.
I grinned.
Now this was more like my kind of fight!
At the same time as she sent her first wave of acid missiles, Mercer and I moved.
Time to end this!
-
Captain John Black of the US Marines clenched his hands behind his back harder, the tension that had been building up for a while growing even further.
"Confirm the target, soldier. Are we absolutely sure that it's her?"
The soldier operating the radio nodded a few seconds later.
"Yes, sir. Sighting confirmed, Priority target Elizabeth Greene is at Times Square. Currently engaged by Alexander Mercer and the leader of ISIS. The overall situation over there is escalating, but under control. Losses are mounting, but the lines are holding for now, and with Greene finally on the field, it is expected that one way or another, the battle at Times Square won't last for more than an hour or two more."
Captain Black considered that for a moment.
"Status of the other areas?" he questioned to another soldier looking over the map of Manhattan.
"Some areas are under greater pressure than others, though so far we are holding. We might have to send reinforcements to Chelsea, and there some strongpoints underground buckling under the waves of monsters trying to make it topside, but overall the situation is under control, sir."
"I see."
So. This is almost it, then. All we need is for Greene to die, and then…
He let out a breath.
His memories flashed to the corpses of far too many innocent people, gunned down simply because they might have been infected. Or simply because it was more convenient.
Or because they felt like it.
No more, he swore.
"Soldier." he whispered to the man operating the radio.
The man glanced at him, but otherwise didn't show any signs he heard anything. Good.
"At my order, I want you to inform Captain Anderson that 'The time for Freedom is nigh.' Can you do that, son?"
The soldier paused.
A dark look of anticipation shone in his eyes.
"It would be my pleasure, sir." he whispered back, a fierce grin on his face.
Captain Black nodded slightly. "For the oaths we swore." he whispered.
"For the people dead or alive in need of justice." quietly said the soldier.
"Let history be our judge… The time of reckoning has come."
Let Blackwatch burn in the fires of the war they caused, he thought darkly, remembering the data he was secretly given by Lois Carol, who got it from ISIS.
Soon. Soon, the murderous bastards at the source of all of this madness would die.
All they needed was the greenlight from the confirmation that Elizabeth Greene was dead.
The moment they had that, the Marine contingent of Manhattan, especially those who fought in the South, would finally be free to fight the human monsters of this damned war.
No matter what happened next… They would not let Blackwatch simply fade back in anonymity. They would release every bit of data they received from Lois Carol to the entire world, and kill or capture every last Blackwatch bastard and their allies as they could.
Even if every Marine in Manhattan died doing their duty, the truth would be out for the world to see.
Humanity would win this war, not the monsters it fought.
And not one of the damn monsters in human skin pretending to be loyal soldiers of the USA would be spared.
Because when even the damn sentient B.O.W. that was Alex Mercer was more loyal to humanity than the actual humans, you knew that they deserved their fates.
Captain Black stood waiting, listening to status reports from Times Square.
Soon now, very soon, he would finally give the orders that they had all been waiting for. Every dead civilian, "regrettable" loss of US Marines that just happened to be shot by a Blackwatch soldier or killed while Blackwatch reinforcements arrived too late would have justice.
They just needed a little more time…
And then Reckoning would finally be theirs.
-
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we continue the events of Prototype.
We start with a bit more PHO-like stuff, though there won't be any next chapter most likely, as we still need to wait for the battle with Greene to happen before the rest of the world can react to it and its aftermath.
Then we have the Battle of Times Square in all of its terrifying glory. Lots of POV's, all of them reacting to the great finale that is happening in front of their eyes.
I also took the opportunity to add a Chris POV, since it's been a long time since we really saw much of the guy. Turns out, he's actually pretty happy with life. He's actually seeing the end of his long war coming, he's got friends and an organization at his back, literal gods supporting him, and his sister is in a stable long-time relationship. The Redfield Bloodline will endure!
And who knows, maybe he might also do his part in that?
Also, those poor BSAA agents, who basically passed the entire outbreak freaking out about the fact that they are squishy humans caught in a war between monsters and heroes… Well, at least O'Brian is a good boss, I'm sure he'll give them vacations next!
Also, Greene is here! Personally, I find the design of her Boss appearance a bit silly, but oh well… At least it has guided acid missiles! And red-black shockwaves of energy strong enough to throw cars flying into the air! Though in this case I went for a discount power of Destruction equivalent, because why not? It's the same color and is an energy blast capable of killing anything short of Alex, so it's got to be powerful stuff.
At least, it makes Aeon marginally interested in fighting her… which is admittedly not good news for everybody else.
Also, we get closer to the great US Armed Forces Civil War of Manhattan! So very, very close now…
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, things escalate harder, as victory might not be what anyone expected, and peace might not be so easily achieved…