Hi just to let you lot know this chapter has some violence now and some gore, I hope you're enjoying my story.
Chapter 7: My first battle
Note: Readers please start listening to Red Alert 2 Grinder while reading this bit
The 40mm grenades prove to be deadly against the Leanbox soldiers, as I see dozens of their bodies flying with their limbs all over the place. The shells themselves do even more damage inflicting hundreds of casualties against them.
I can even see bones sticking out as well as parts of the human skeleton. Though gore doesn't bother me in fact I must admit I am a bit blood thirsty, it does upset me to know that we're killing loads of them in quite a gruesome fashion all at once. This is because they're innocent enemy soldiers we're killing and I don't like this, whereas my thirst for blood is from video games or fictional violence. I much sooner be killing any of Neptune's goons that are dumb enough to support her by their own free will. I suppose at least we're not killing them from our own free will, I mean we're forced to do this because they're invading us and if we don't kill them, they'll kill us. As for the gruesome deaths at least they're dying quickly, and I suppose a quick painless death is better than a slow painful one. And yet my gut says they're not the real enemy, so why are we fighting them? It doesn't feel right. Like I said before I think there's more to this than just surviving against another nation.
I notice the Leanbox troops starting to run now, eager to get away from the carnage although a few have been killed, due to headshots by Uni. Meanwhile Noire is spinning up her mini gun, and she just keeps on firing mowing the enemy troops down even gibing them, as well sending their body parts all over the place. Even though they both try to conceal their emotions, I can sense the guilt on having gallons and gallons of blood on their hands, as numerous Leanbox troops are dying by their hands as well as hands that they command. Me and the rest of the troops then reload our grenade launchers so we can fire at the same time again. It's not long before we fire another barrage.
Like my amazing driving, I find my shooting to be second nature as I know how to reload the gun quickly, but that could be due to playing shoot em ups. It's become very noisy, but it doesn't bother me at all. If anything I'm bothered about the catastrophic losses, but all I can do is keep going because what choice do we have? Surrender and let our nation that Noire has worked so hard to build be destroyed or fight for our land? I am sure that Noire will find a way of bringing all of those unfortunate dead back to life, with her technology some day and I know she will want to do it.
Despite the fact that Noire's gun is ripping them apart, our grenades are blowing them away into pieces, not to mention Uni's 500% accuracy headshots (Uni manages to kill 5 enemies with 1 bullet), they still keep coming and there are still loads of them charging at us. It will only be a matter of time before we get in range of their rifles, and perhaps it will also only be a matter of time before we run out of our effective grenades and shells. With all this carnage I wish it would encourage them to retreat, but it just makes them more determined forcing us to kill more of them. It is a rather vicious cycle.
"Cover me I'm reloading!" Noire yells.
I guess it will take some time to load the gun, meaning we will be without tremendous fire power temporarily. Oh apparently not, just remove the magazine and put a new one in maybe it's specially made. How awesome, a mini gun that fires multiple bullets but with a super quick reload.
I feel like I'm constantly putting grenades in the launcher and firing them, as I watch the Leanbox soldiers falling over dying, with various limbs blown off. Yet despite the hundreds if not thousands we have killed, they are still coming and they are proving to be very persistent. Thing is I still have about 7 grenades left to launch.
When we have launched our grenades in unison, the Leanbox soldiers are now quite close to the wall. And now they all start shooting at the wall, because of the physics of this world it will only be a matter of time before that wall gets destroyed. This concerns me quite a bit.
"Switch to bullets, they're closing in!" I yell.
I switch to burst fire, so I'm more accurate while being able to take out multiple enemies. It's getting even noisier now but bearable, as odd as it is I like the sound of the bullets as it reminds me of various video games. Despite trying to shoot the front ones, so the bullets can go through taking out the ones behind, they're still coming. Worse the immense number of them firing at our wall means that our defence is losing health rapidly. Oddly enough none of the Leanbox soldiers are shooting at me, or any of us for that matter. I thought it's due to our shields, but they are not shooting at the shields. It must be due to them having to shoot the wall before they can kill the soldiers, who knows.
Despite our best efforts, I notice the health of the wall is not looking good as it's less than 100,000hp out of a million, and there is still a significant number of them. I guess we have to go to our next stage of our plan. Even if I'm not sure my plan is working at least there is more to it.
"OK Guys! Pull back retreat back to Sunny and Nameco top floor, if you see any mounted guns there use them! Uni, Noire cover their retreat with me! Crash escort them now! Don't worry guys we're doing well keep it going!" I order while trying to keep the morale going.
"No problem." Noire replies only to then get on her radio.
"Ben, where the hell are her Egrets?" She yells on the radio.
I don't know why but I found that quite funny, maybe it's because while she does want Egrets, I believe she said it in a more amusing manner for the purpose of making us laugh. Maybe it's a reference to something.
Our troops slide down the ladders, as Uni gets out her mini Uzi and riot shield. Due to there being loads of ladders for our troops and how highly trained they seem to be, they are able to get down from the ladders very quickly. Although the Leanbox soldiers right now are dying a lot less quickly than before, due to us retreating. As I reload I look behind me to see our troops rushing towards the skyscrapers.
Note: Readers please start listening to Skullgirls Pedestrian Crossing while reading this bit.
I see some soldiers there's about 500 of them, which if I remember correctly look like GSG9 soldiers. I say this because they resemble the ones from counter strike. They wear what I think is an electric blue jumper and trousers with black knee pads, black boots, black fingerless gloves and black bullet proof vests with pockets, including a holder that has a radio inside. They also wear black balaclavas and woodland camouflage helmets. They're armed with MP5 sub machine guns, UMP45 sub machine guns and AUG assault rifles as well as riot shields. I guess they're the Black Egrets from Skullgirls, but they look different to how I remember them from the game.
I also see an attractive red haired young female standing next to them. Her hair covers one of her eyes, the eye that the hair covers switches depending on where you look at her, her hair is also so long that it covers her back. For her clothing she wears a long black jumper that covers her large womanhood, a black mini skirt which shows off her long thin legs that make her almost 6 feet, and she wears black high heels. She also wears make up consisting of red nail varnish and red lip stick, as well as a necklace which is of an upside down cross. In her right hand is a Glock 18 pistol, and in her left hand is a large black umbrella with a spike on the end. The umbrella is full of yellow circles and it is closed.
I'm guessing she must be Parasoul the leader of the Black Egrets. From what I remember, I knew her to be a character I really liked from the game. I can also feel sorry for her for how she has a lot on her plate, with running a nation and looking after her younger sister. Then there is also the ordeal of having to fight and defeat her own mother, only to then be forced to train her younger sister so she can defeat Parasoul. It is really tragic.
I also see a young female standing next to Parasoul. Well I say female, but she appears to be part robot as well. She has short ginger hair and metallic teeth, her arms appear mechanical and appear to have what looks like 3 eyes on her arms, and on her hands are white gloves like that of olden day cartoons. For her clothing she wears a burgundy petticoat with a red bow on the collar, and short purple shoes. She also wears a top burgundy hat with red bolts on it. In her hands is a large Magnum44 and a futuristic Thompson with a round drum magazine. From her appearance I remember her being Peacock, another character from the game, but here she wears black sunglasses though she definitely resembles a cartoon character from the past. Yes I happen to really like Peacock as well, she too has had an ordeal as she was once mutilated very badly even having her eyes gouged out. It's fortunate that she was repaired with mechanics and had a vast arsenal of weaponry, but sadly nothing could be done about her mind that had to endure terrible violence against her. But none the less I admire her for not harming the innocent, and standing up for her friends as well as for going after those responsible for what they did to her.
At this point me, Noire and Uni climb down the ladder quickly to greet them.
"I Parasoul, Peacock and your Black Egrets have arrived. Is there anything specific you want us to do, apart from defending PS3 City?" The human Jessica rabbit Parasoul asks us.
"Yeah I want you and Peacock to cover the Black Egrets retreat to Sunny and Nameco! I want the Black Egrets at the top floor of both skyscrapers! I want every available soldier to either be at the top floor or man the guns there!" I order calmly.
With that order the Black Egrets rush towards the Sunny and Nameco skyscrapers that overlook the wall. Meanwhile me, Uni and Noire stand facing the gate, which by now is nearly destroyed. It's sad to know that the health is only in the quadruple figures. Peacock and Parasoul get out their shields too and stand next to us. In fact we all stand together in a formation, facing the gate with our shields that form a wall. I notice Uni equipping one of her Uzis, while Parasoul equips her umbrella which is actually a parasol. What surprises me is that I notice Parasoul sticking an RPG rocket to the end of her parasol, which I now remember to be called Krieg.
We all stare at the gate watching the destruction, knowing that it's only a matter of time before it falls.
"Lady Black Heart every mounted mini gun and anti-tank launcher is manned now, what's the rules of engagement?" One of our soldiers ask Noire via radio.
"Attack them when they get past the gate, but only when I give the word." Noire commands.
"OK sure no problem." The soldier on the radio responds.
We all watch the health of the gate gradually dropping to 0hp. I take a brief look back to see the Black Egrets rushing towards Sunny and Nameco. Parasoul then gets on her radio:
"Egrets inform me when you reach the skyscrapers, OK?" Parasoul asks.
"Sure no problem." One of the Black Egrets reply via radio.
Note: Readers please start listening to Krazy Ivan Quirke while reading this bit.
The gate is now destroyed and I see a lot of Leanbox foot soldiers storming the place, with ourselves opening fire on them trying to take them down. After about a few seconds I hear:
"OK Guys take the shot!" Noire commands on her radio.
After which I hear the sound of lots of mini guns spinning up, as well as anti-tank guns being fired. Normally I would have been concerned about danger close, but due to the physics of friendly fire in this place I am not.
This doesn't prevent the carnage that we are forced to cause, as I see Leanbox soldiers being gibed some more, as I see their various body parts being launched in the air like small fireworks. The shells must be taking out what hundreds of them maybe thousands of them? There's just blood and gore all over the gate. And yet despite the constant bombardment and the amount of kills we have inflicted upon them, they are still coming, why? Why not retreat? Either they want Black Heart or PS3 City or both, or maybe it could be something to do with a puppeteer whoever the puppeteer is. I think it's the latter though if I'm honest.
Despite the fact that I can see their bodies all over the place, it doesn't stop me from continuing the fight. Though I'm not sure if they are our true enemy, they still must be defeated. One thing I do notice is that I expected the smell of corpses to be horrific, and yet I can't smell anything right now and I don't really understand why…
"Good news Mam. All the Black Egrets are at the top floor in Sunny and Nameco." One of the Black Egrets say on the radio.
"OK Good work." Parasoul replies.
Unfortunately though I don't hear as many shells falling right now, probably due to them needing to reload their rifles. I make a decision:
"OK me, Noire and Uni will go to Sunny. Parasoul and Peacock I want you to go to Nameco! Keep us updated! Avoid casualties where possible and try to engage the troops yourselves if you can, you two have a lot of health, good luck!" I suggest to them only for Parasoul and Peacock to nod, before we all head to the respective skyscrapers.
Noire quickly gets on the radio:
"Ben do you know if they have called in any tanks, or aircraft or anything like that?" She asks Ben while running very fast with her minigun.
"Negative there's just about 20,000 foot soldiers now." Ben replies.
"Excellent, keep me updated, Black Heart out!" Noire says.
20,000 foot soldiers, that's not as bad as 100,000 but to have killed 80,000 enemy troops in one day. Although it is impressive from the perspective of battle, from the loss of human life it is rather catastrophic.
The minigun does not seem to weigh anything to her, and her running speed is unbelievably impressive. I must admit I now remember how the CPUs could fly and teleport in the original series. With that memory I find myself wondering and I'm sure you do too, as to why they don't use those abilities? But I then vaguely remember that in the series they're never instructed by the player to teleport or fly. I am convinced that perhaps our abilities, are what we have done in video games like driving cars, shooting etc. That probably explains why I'm a good soldier and driver.
After that thought it is now we have entered the Sunny skyscraper, in which the ground floor is actually a car park. The floor is quite big and though it's appearance is similar to Noire's and it looks impressive, I believe Noire's to be loads better as hers is larger and more grand. I let Noire lead the way, since she knows the terrain very well. After seeing all sorts of Lastation sports cars that are well customised, she then takes us to a lift. It's a large lift, though this one is passenger only. It is then I notice that Noire presses the 100th floor which is the highest floor.
I look at the view from the lift, and I find the remaining troops rushing towards both skyscrapers, but from up above I start to get a feel for the destruction of life that we were forced to do. The immense area that is full of dead bodies, gallons of blood and limbs from our weapons, especially around the gate that is now destroyed. But I can't let that bother me now.
I find the lift to be very quick, and before I know it we're at the top floor. The area we're at appears to be open plan with a nice modern interior, full of blacks and whites that go well together as well as posters of different products. I notice numerous doors leading to various guest rooms, along with chairs and tables. I see a lot of soldiers gathered here too, that appear determined and willing to fight even if it's to the death.
I recall Noire saying there are civilians on this floor, but I notice all the people here appear to be well armed, a lot more so than I thought. In fact they look like the same soldiers that fought on the wall with us.
When they all see us they cheer briefly, but then they stop as they recognise we may have something to say, and we do.
"Well done guys we have not had a single Lastation casualty in this battle so far, and yet the enemy army is now a fifth of its size. I know this battle has caused a lot of destruction, but hopefully this battle can be won now..." They cheer briefly as Noire tried to smile a bit after saying that. Though her body language indicates the toll this battle has taken on our conscience.
"…The thing is we are still out-numbered, so I want you lot to stay here and guard this floor, they're going to attempt to use the lifts, I'm sure of it." Noire orders calmly.
I remember how Noire was able to switch the power off at the snap of her fingers. If the Leanbox army is going to use the lift in order to attack, maybe Noire could use the same technique on these lifts.
"Guys do any of you lot live in one of these rooms?" Uni asks smiling.
One of the soldiers raise their hand.
"I do." He says politely while smiling.
"OK would you mind if I use your room? I'll play your favourite PSP game with you when this is done." Uni asks with quite an alluring smile on her face.
"Sure no problem. I'll take you there now." The soldier replies appreciating the Candidate's offer. I follow the soldier along with Noire and Uni, as well as a few other soldiers to the room.
The room we enter looks similar to Noire's room with regards facilities and appearance, but the bed is a king-sized double and the room isn't as big. Not to mention the TV is about 50 inches, but it's nice that the room is very personal to the person, considering the posters, pictures and other items he has.
"Thanks a lot, it's much appreciated." Uni says still having her smile on her face showing how grateful she is.
The Lastation Candidate gets out her PSP and a connector, she connects her PSP to the TV and switches it on.
"OK we should have footage of Sunny and Nameco, n….now." She says as she watches the screen.
It's not long before the TV shows footage of various cameras that are up to date. Thing is though, by now on one of the screens we see a lot of Leanbox soldiers. They're all in the car park, ground floor. They're all moving cautiously, many of them are crouched as they try and use the cars and pillars for cover.
Although they have a lot less troops now, something tells me that the fighting will be more difficult, though I suppose it's down to having to do a lot of rapid movement and using the lifts to flank them. But this does not deter any of us as we enter the next phase of this battle.