Sarah flew her way over to her team and friends, reuniting with Naomi and Tasha. The sight brought a level of satisfaction and happiness to Mateo. "We did good boss." Ada said in a cheerful tone. Mateo silently agreed and they made their way out of the tank and over to the group of fighters. Everyone was huddled around the opening of an alleyway. He spotted his team, Storm One, next to two other Fencers, a middle aged man with short graying brown hair and armed with a shotgun, and a young woman with short dirty blonde hair with green highlights. She was armed with an assault rifle. There was a man next to her with a full, short black beard and short black hair, and tan skin. He was skinny, and wearing an armored units uniform. Storm Four made their way over to the group as well. As Mateo approached, One of the Fencers turned towards him. His armor was a deep black with dark blue accents. It was filthy with dirt, ash, and multicolored blood. "That was quite the entrance my friends." A deep, stern voice boomed from under his helmet. He looked to Mateo then towards the Divers. "The name is Leonard Mckay, leader of Storm Three." He gestured towards the fighters around him. "This is pretty much the extent of our squad, along with a few civilian fighters. From left to right we have Jensen, Buck, Holly, and Jai." He finished with the man in the tanker uniform. "You already know you're own team." He said as he gestured towards Storm One. They stepped forward and Mateo simply shook their hands and nodded. The ranger brought him in for a hug. Naomi stepped forwards and introduced her team. "My name is Naomi. This is Sarah and Tasha. We have Mateo to thank for saving Sarahs life." She looked in Mateos direction. "Our lives." Tasha corrected. Naomi nodded. Leonard replied, "And we have Sarah and Mateo to thank for showing up when they did." He looked at Naomi. "And Jai here has you two to thank for showing up when you did." He patted the skinny man on the shoulder. Jai looked up from the ground with a face smudged with black dirt, mud, and blood. He nodded at Naomi and Tasha. "Thank you." he said with an Indian accent. He looked back to the ground, his face void of emotion. "Great! Now that everyone is friendly and introductions are done, do we mind if we, you know, get back to hunting that big fuckin alien?" Ada said in a condescending tone. Mateo caught a glimpse of Naomi's face turning to disgust and anger at the mention of the alien leader. She slumped a bit, and Mateo shot Ada a glare. "What? Are we just gonna sit here and play house while there's still people dying out there?" Ada snapped at him. "The baseball is right." Said the young woman named Holly. "We need to be out there hunting that bastard down." She said as she hoisted her weapon. Mateo felt the cold rush of Ada's voice in his brain. "Why does everyone keep calling me baseball?" He grinned a bit at that. Leonards deep voice boomed through the space. "What we need is a plan. We can't just waltz around the city blindly looking for aliens." As if answering him, the radio in Mateos helmet crackled and an excited voice spoke quickly. "I can help with that! I can see everything from up here!" Shay's voice was excited and almost jolly. "I have a visual of a fireteam north of you pinned down by some alien foot soldiers. Sending coordinates. I also have visual confirmation of their leader. I've already sent requests for more support." Mateo looked at Leonard and he nodded. "Let's move people." He turned to the battered and beaten civilian fighters huddled in the alleyway. "I don't care what the EDF says. You people don't have to go with us. You've been through more than enough, and you've done more than your fair share for your planet." The civilians looked at each other, skeptical about what to do next. A middle-aged woman stepped forth from the crowd. "With all due respect sir, that's bullshit. We're coming with you." The others stepped up behind her. Leonard simply nodded, turned, and started towards the coordinates received by Shay. Storm One followed with Buck and Holly close behind. Mateo had gotten back in the tank with Jai. The young man silently took up residence at the gunner's position. "Hey look at that, maybe we will actually hit something now." Ada said, nudging Mateos shoulder with her orb. He smiled a little and caught a glimpse of Jai with a slight grin. Mateo fired the vehicle's engine to life, and chugged along behind the strike team.
It was difficult to traverse the heavy vehicle across the shredded landscape. The tank itself could crush most obstacles in the way such as cars, barriers, old piles of garbage and debris. But It was an agonizing pace. As the group made their way towards the coordinates, they were constantly hindered by the obstacles. Mateo heard the crackle of the tanks radio. "We hear gunshots on what sounds to be a few streets over. Sounds like their tank is still functional as well. We're heading down this alley and cutting our way through the buildings. Mateo bring your vehicle around the buildings and approach from the street perpendicular to the fighting. It won't fit through the alley." The deep and commanding voice said. Adas sassy voice came in as reply, "oh so you're saying we're too large to fit?" Mateo heard a soft chuckle slip from Jai's direction. "Affirmative" came the reply. That made Mateo almost chuckle. But now wasn't the time for jokes. "Ah come on boss we're all-" he turned and stared intently at her. "Ada please" She floated there for a moment, as if studying him. He saw Jai looking towards them as well. The smile on his face had disappeared and turned serious. Ada finally replied. "Okay Mateo. Lets move out." She floated lazily behind him to her docking port. He felt the click of her connecting to the port, and her light blue glow faded.
Leonard took their main force through the alleyway, while Mateo continued onwards to the next intersection. He stepped on it, wanting to get around the clump of structures as quickly as possible. The tank exploded through debris and rubble, crunching over cars as it cruised down the street. He rounded the corner at the intersection and sped towards the parallel road. The road was littered with dead monsters. Ants, spiders, alien soldiers, and hornets. There was an epic battle that happened here. Or was still happening. The tank crunched over the various corpses as it continued. Near halfway down the road, there was a massive pile of rubble about two stories tall across the road. Mateo spotted alien and monster limbs and chunks protruding from the pile. It almost looked like the building was toppled on purpose. The building had fallen and crumbled in such a way that he may be able to scale it with the tank. He glanced at Jai for an opinion. The young man shrugged in reply. It would take too long for them to go back and around the other side of the buildings. The Storm Teams were more than likely through the second alleyway by now. The second the thought crossed his mind, his helmet radio chirped to life. "Mateo we need you here. Now." Leonards usual booming and commanding voice was quiet. And almost a tad frantic.
The tank lurched forwards towards the pile of rubble and hit the steep incline of concrete, mud, wood and glass. He had no time to waste. The vehicle slipped and slid but caught traction. The speed they were going up the incline made it a rough ride, and Mateo was worried they wouldn't make it the whole way up. It was almost at the top, and it slid back about ten feet. This happened twice more and Mateo was about to give up and walk. He gunned it a final time and the vehicle's tracks seemed to catch on something sturdy, and it shot upwards the final stretch. He brought the massive vehicle to a halt at the apex of the rubble pile. He opened the access hatch and peered downwards on the other side to make sure there was a decent enough path down. As he was studying the descent, he heard what sounded like a distant gunshot come from around the next corner and down the street. Then another. The sounds almost seemed to be traveling in slow motion. That was odd. Any sounds of fighting should be coming from a few streets up and there would be a lot of it. Probably deafening. Lost in thought, Mateos world came to a crawl as he witnessed the most unbelievable thing he'd ever seen.
A Blacker tank, the same model as the one he and Jai were in, came sailing through the air from around the corner where Mateo had heard the gunshots. It was flipping and spiraling as it flew over the intersection. It was about halfway over when it stopped, suspended in midair. It was upright but lazily spinning. The turret on the vehicle slowly rotated and pointed back down the street it came from and fired. Mateo saw the bright muzzle flash, and felt the slight vibration from the shockwave of the shot. But he heard nothing. An intense wave of confusion and awe took control of his mind. He was paralyzed. Before he could react or think, he saw the suspended tanks gun barrel start to bend upwards. The barrel folded like paper by an unseen force. The thick armor of the vehicles turret started to distort and crush inwards. It's tracks bent upwards and snapped in the middle. Mateo could see armor on the front and back of the tank start to crunch inwards. Another second passed and the heavily armored vehicle practically imploded, crushing flat like a soda can. The destroyed hunk of metal fell to the earth, not making a sound where it fell.
Mateo could only stare. He couldn't feel anything. He couldn't sense anything. He sat and stared for what felt like days. A familiar coldness touched his brain. It trickled down and spread through his mind. Ada's voice came like a distant echo, "...teo. Mat...ear me?" He couldn't make out the words. A hand grabbed his shoulder and he was forcefully spun around. He met a young man's face, dirty with grime and dried blood. Jai. He shook Mateo one more time and his senses came crashing back down all at once. Ada was still calling to him, and Jai was shouting for his attention. For a moment Mateo almost tried to speak a reply. Ada realized he had his focus back and stopped calling out to him. Jai took a step back. Ada attached to her docking port and rose over Mateos shoulder, perching next to his face. He looked at Jai. "We need to get down there and help." Adas' sphere flashed blue with every word he thought, speaking the words out loud. Jai looked at Ada at first, but then at Mateo. He nodded and started for the tank. Mateo followed close behind, his mind racing. What had happened? What could have done that to a tank? He stopped when he heard what sounded like a very distant tank cannon firing directly behind him. He turned around and saw the vehicle was still flattened on the ground. "Where did that sound..." his thoughts trailed off as he heard a faint metal clanking noise coming from the destroyed tank. That sound... he needed to get down there. He didn't understand what was happening but that wouldn't stop him from helping his team.
Mateo jumped up and into the tanks mounted machine gun on the turret. Jai hopped in the driver's seat. "Hold on sir." Jai said almost excitedly. The tank sprung forwards and down the steep slope of rubble. They almost went sideways, but Jai was able to keep control and straightened out. They slammed into flat earth, firing outwards towards where they saw the other tank come from. Jai practically drifted around the corner. The moment they rounded the corner, Mateos eardrums almost burst with the sudden change of sound. It was as if someone raised the volume from zero to a hundred in a second. Automatic gunfire, cannon shots, missles and rockets, screams of pain and fear, the sounds of battle enveloped him as a whole. Looking down the street, he saw what had to be the aliens leader. The being was floating about ten feet above the ground, holding a shimmering white blade of energy in his right hand. It didn't seem to connect to a hilt or shaft of any kind. There were alien foot soldiers and monsters below it. The foot soldiers fired their weapons towards unseen targets behind cars, rubble, and raised sections of earth. Giant black ants flowed outwards in the same direction. The faint sound of helicopter blades pulled Mateos attention past the floating monster and to the skyline behind it. A helicopter burst into view around the buildings and made a beeline straight for the beast. It's auto acquisition machine guns barked to life and let loose a hail of bullets. Monsters and aliens alike were shredded from the high caliber rounds as the weapon raked the battlefield. Rounds lanced into the floating alien, turning its left shoulder into shredded purple meat. Rockets flew from the chopper, one slamming into the back of the beasts head, and another hitting directly in the center of its back. It faltered in its floating stance and staggered. Its head whipped to the sky, its mouth twisted in an angry snarl. The helicopter roared over its head towards Mateo and Jai. Mateo was struck with sudden optimism seeing the beast being wounded. "The fucker can bleed." Ada said coldly and quietly. Mateo let himself fill with hope and confidence that they could win this fight. The tank suddenly skidded to a stop on the asphalt. The air directly in front and above them started to bend and distort. A line was seemingly traced in the very air, cutting through reality. It traced into an oval and imploded on itself. It exploded outward an instant later with a boom and filled with pinkish purple light. The helicopter that strafed the alien flew directly into the center of the shape. It disappeared as it flew through, and reappeared a moment later in front of the alien. It was still flying forwards at full speed as it re-entered reality, directly towards the aliens face. The being raised its blade to the sky as the chopper approached. It hit the blade, glass and metal being instantaneously turned to a soupy, orange molten liquid. The blade sliced through the length of the chopper, cutting it down the middle as it flew forwards. The remains of the helicopter flung past the beast on either side of it, the momentum of the pieces carrying them down the street and slamming to the earth. The pieces skidded and flipped down the road past Mateo and Jai. "What in the mother of fu-" Mateo pulled the trigger on the mounted machine gun, cutting Ada off. Rounds flew from the weapon as Mateo raked it up and down. Bullet holes appeared all over the beast's body, trickles of blood seeping out of them. The tank suddenly accelerated towards the monster, the main cannon raising towards its face. The cannon fired, belching out a massive round toward the side of the alien's head. The shell connected, blowing a chunk of its head off and into the side of a building. It turned towards them, half its blank face missing, and raised its hand without the sword towards the tank. Jai fired the cannon again. Its hand flicked to the side and the shell curved and slammed into the building next to it, sending splintered debris to the ground. It layed its hand out flat, palm up, and flicked its fingers up and towards itself. The tank lifted from the ground and catapulted towards the alien. It flipped as it flew and Mateo fell from the machine gun on the turret, hitting the ground and tumbling head over heels, slamming into the corpse of a dead alien foot soldier. Pain shot through his body as his spine connected with the deceased beast's armor. He sat there for a moment, dazed. He tried wiggling his toes, and felt the slight sensation. That was good. He could still feel everything. The feeling was accompanied by intense pain, but it was there. A thought struck Mateo like a bullet. "Jai. Where did Jai go?" He tried to stand but stumbled forwards and fell. He pushed himself up and peeked around the dead beast's legs. He saw the trail of destruction the tank wrought when it tumbled and careened through the city street. There was a massive hole in the side of a building next to the alien leader. It was kneeling down on the ground now, head hanging low. Its face where the tank shell struck was visually repairing. Wounds were closing and blood was seemingly sucked back into its body.
Without a second thought, Mateo drew his laser targeting gun and aimed at the alien. He heard an excited voice on the receiver of his helmet radio. "There it is!" Shay squealed with delight. The clouds above seemed to part as a gigantic laser pierced the heavens, coming down like a holy bolt of lightning squarely on the back of the beasts neck and upper back. It's face was shoved into the ground as the beam pounded him from above. It tried to push itself up but the laser pulverized its spine downwards, keeping it pinned and searing through its skin and armor. The beast raised its fists and slammed the ground with enough force that Mateo had to catch his balance from the shockwave. An explosion of immense pinkish light erupted from the two golden rings floating just above it. The laser that held him down suddenly curved, and shot outwards over Mateos head. The blade in its right hand winked out as it rose to its feet. The beings face was fully healed and the wounds throughout its body were closed. Mateo caught a glimpse of its spine through charred and incinerated flesh. The gaping hole closed quickly. A soft pink glow emanated from the golden rings above its back now. The alien slowly raised both of its hands out in front of it, palms up. A dot of pure white energy appeared between them. It shot out in either direction, stretching out past its hands, and just floated for a moment. It looked like a staff. Suddenly, a small piece of the outer ring above the aliens head ripped from the main structure and clamped around the line of energy with a clank. More pieces followed, clicking into position and forming around the energy. The outer golden ring was completely dismantled. The monster turned, revealing a massive, ornate golden warhammer in its grip. Short blades of energy protruded out of the flat surfaces of the weapons head, looking like spikes. It raised the weapon above its head and brought it to the ground with the force of a freight train. It hit the earth with an ear shattering clang. A sphere of plasma erupted around where it impacted, scorching the surroundings, melting metal and concrete alike.
"What the fuck can this guy NOT do!?" Ada asked with an angry tone. Mateo ignored her and made his way down the street, staying close to the buildings for cover. He had to make it to Jai. He crept along the sidewalk as the alien leader went into a rage, smashing its weapon into some of his foot soldiers behind cover. Their armor did nothing to protect against the hulking mass of death. They practically exploded, their remains splattering on their nearby comrades. The leader roared and pointed the warhammer towards where Leonard and the team probably were. The lesser beings stumbled over each other and out of cover. A quick and jittery voice came over the radio. "Mateo, I've been talking Command into sending reinforcements to your position-" the radio cut out and a laser speared from the sky into the ground out of Mateos sight. Shay continued as if nothing happned. "I couldn't get much but I think you'll like what I got!" She said excitedly. A large shadow was cast over the battlefield. The sudden sound of a squad of transport helicopters resonated across the warzone. Surprised, Mateo looked upwards. "Couldn't get much eh Shay?" Ada said in awe.
Above them, lowering to the earth, was a gigantic, building sized, humanoid mech. The cables tethered to the helicopters detached and the beast of a machine fell the final twenty feet to the ground. The impact sent out a shockwave, knocking Mateo to the ground and stumbling the alien leader. It slowly turned around as the mech raised both of its arms with spiked ball fists and brought them together with a loud clang. It was a War Barga. Practically a walking fortress, it stood about one hundred and fifty feet tall and was wider than the street. It had a sleek black finish with yellow trim and seemed to gleam on the battlefield. A glint of light reflected off the mechs 'head' or cockpit. Painted on the middle of the towering mechs chassis was a stylized cartoon of the same mech in a boxing ring, standing with a foot on top of a prone Archelus and its spiked fists raised in the air. Underneath the painting, written in cursive, were the words 'Sting Like a Bee'. A deep voice with a heavy Russian accent boomed from a loudspeaker, "I am Ryzhanov Valeryevich-" It's right fist raised and pounded its chest, then pointed at the alien leader. "-and I am going to fuck your shit up."
The alien shot forwards like a rocket, bringing its massive hammer down over its head, aiming for the cockpit. The mech swung the arm it used to point outwards, parrying the blow. The hammer deflected off of the arm and slammed the ground. It brought its left fist up and into the beasts stomach, making an audible smack. Purple blood burst from the impact. Not missing a beat, its right fist came back across in a right hook, crushing against the side of the monsters face with a loud crack. Blood and chunks of meat flew as the spiked fist ripped flesh and shattered bone. The alien staggered backwards, almost tripping over a mound of raised earth. The mech raised both fists above its head and smashed the alien downwards, and at the same moment bringing its armored right knee upwards and into the monsters stomach. There was a resounding crack as the beast was crushed. The mech took a step backwards, and the entire top half of its chassis started to rotate. It stepped towards the beast as the chassis spun faster with the help of enormous thrusters on its back. It held out a spiked fist as it spun a final time, and Mateo could feel the reverberation in his bones as steel connected to flesh. It struck the monster in the side of its midsection, blood and gore exploding outwards. The force of the blow sent it crashing through a building and out of sight. The loudspeaker sounded again, "BWAHAHAHAHA!" Came a deep and maniacal laugh. The giant mech wasted no time in following, stepping straight through the hole the alien made.
Mateo turned his attention back to the ground and to where he believed Jai to be. He could still hear gunfire and fighting coming from where the leader had been. He sprinted down the street now towards the fighting and where their tank had careened through a building. He approached the tank sized hole and peered through. The vehicle was leaning against a wall horizontally with its tracks against the wall, and it's turret had disconnected and tumbled a bit further into the structure. There was a body slumped halfway out of the opening where the turret had been disconnected. Mateo ran for the limp body, stumbling over debris and old garbage strewn across the floor. He made it to Jai and reached up, grabbing him. His eyes shot open and darted around, his arms and legs started flailing. He fell out of the tank and hit the ground with a thud, still flailing. "Whoa there buddy calm down!" Ada said as Mateo tried to restrain his limbs. He finally calmed, and his eyes focused on Mateo, wide with fear. He choked out a few mumbled words. "I'm n-never getting into a t-tank again." Mateo couldn't help but smile under his helmet. He had heard what happened earlier to Jai's crew. The fact that he was even still fighting was a miracle. Now he was making a joke after yet another near death experience. The guy was resilient. Mateo helped Jai up and he turned back to the vehicle. He reached up and in, retrieving his assault rifle. The two of them jogged back to the hole in the wall.
The fight was still raging outside. Luckily, after the leader lost it and smashed a few of its own soldiers, the rest of them seemed to kick in gear, trying to push up the street. The immediate exit from the building was clear. The duo hung a right and started at a brisk pace down the street. The sections of raised earth and piles of debris made it difficult to see too far ahead. They just followed the gunshots. Mateo heard the occasional clang of metal on metal as the War Barga and alien leader fought out of sight. He was optimistic about the battle, but deep down he feared the Barga was little more than an annoyance for the beast. From what Mateo had seen, this monster was borderline all powerful. He shoved the pessimistic thoughts away and continued on. The fighting sounded like it was directly in front of them now. Jai and Mateo started up a mound of raised earth, probably where some of the giant ants emerged from. They climbed up the mound as quickly as they could, wanting to help their team as soon as possible. They slipped and stumbled their way up the incline, Ada being a smart-ass the whole way up. The mound started to flatten out and they paused at the top. Below them was an absolute warzone. Mateo could see the alleyway that Leonard and the rest of the group came through. Aliens and monsters had apparently pushed them back into the alley. He could see small arms fire coming from it. Giant black ants were trying to shove their way into the opening, getting shredded in the process. Some of them shot acid from their abdomens at the walls, attempting to open the entrance wider. Many of the alien foot soldiers had found cover behind raised dirt and inside buildings across the street.
Mateo hefted out the launcher he had used to fire a net and save Storm Four not that long ago whilst also recalling Ada to her docking port. He unloaded the magazine holding the shells that fired nets, and loaded in a new one. "A little surprise for our friends" Mateo thought. "Oh hell yeah." Ada said excitedly. Mateo reached to his backpack underneath where Ada was docked, and uncoiled a small, short cable and plugged it in to the launchers stock. She turned her orb towards Jai and said, "be ready to cover." And with that her orb slunk back to her docking port and her blue light went off. A slight blue glow suddenly emitted from the launcher. Mateo, or Ada really, aimed at the opening of the alley his team was in and fired three times. He then turned and fired three more times directly across on the other side of the road. Small, white, circular devices fired from the launcher and sailed through the air. The devices he fired towards the alley hit the inner wall and stuck, lining the building vertically. The other three hit a building across the road in the same formation. "Right where I needed them. good shot Ada." Mateo thought. "Better shot than you boss!" Ada replied. A black gooey substance started to seep from the devices and started to fling outwards and inwards and sideways in a chaotic mass. It started to solidify around the device, and formed upwards from the base. Within seconds, there were six automatic turrets clinging to the walls of buildings on both sides of the street. The auto acquisition weapons found targets immediately, and opened fire. The rapid fire weapons belted out bullets like they were going out of style. Rounds tore into the mass of ants at the mouth of the alley. The exoskeletons of the creatures were no match for the constant barrage of lead. Legs were sliced off and heads seemingly detonated into fountains of greenish brown blood. Mateo saw one of the beasts abdomens explode as it was firing a volley of acid. Acid splashed onto its nearby allies and painted the ground. Many of the monsters were melted or melting, still trying to drag themselves towards the humans. Mateo turned to see the turrets on the other side of the street popping off shots. These turrets were able to pepper the aliens behind cover, causing them to relocate, and damaging their armor. Mateo once more raised his laser targeting gun and got to work. He pointed at one alien making a beeline for the entrance of the alley. A laser smacked it out of mid air as it vaulted a box truck, disintegrating a cylindrical chunk out of its head and face, and part of its upper chest. It tumbled forwards, dead. Mateo turned and aimed at another, springing from its cover and blasting a volley towards the alley. A laser rained down in front of it, slicing through its arms. The beast reared back and screeched from the pain of its upper forearms still melting. Mateo could have sworn he heard Shay's voice. "Whoops" another laser smacked into its head and cut downwards, ending it's existence. Mateo aimed at one more that had taken cover inside the ground floor of a tall building. The beast looked to be trying to figure out what was happening. A laser pierced the sky and smacked the top of the building, instantly melting a hole in the structures roof. The multiple floors of the structure seemed to slow the laser down just enough. The beast looked upwards and dove. The laser cut its hand off, but it recovered quickly, finding more cover. Laughter came over his helmet radio, and Shay managed to say "my girls gotta cool down. Give us a moment!"
Mateo studied the battlefield. There were more alien drop ships landing further down the road. They would have more company soon. The alien that had its hand cut off hadn't made a reappearance. There were two more moving from cover towards the alley. Mateo looked to the alley. The automatic turrets had stopped firing, out of ammunition. The horde of ants had seemed to thin. A wave of asphalt, dead ants, and dirt suddenly erupted from the mouth of the alley. Debris and shrapnel was sent forwards like buckshot, slicing and chopping through five of the remaining ants. Their blood joined the growing pool on the ground. Like a bullet out of a gun, a figure fired from the alley boasting massive twin hammers. If he remembered right, this was a Fencer named Jensen. The man brought one hammer down on a creature's head as he shot forward, the weapon biting through the beast and into the bloody ground. There was a splash of gore as the Fencer activated his thrusters and spun around using the hammer in the ground as an anchor. He held the other outwards as he spun, smashing through the beasts surrounding him. He disappeared behind a cloud of greenish brown mist. Two more Fencers followed behind, gatling guns firing to either side. Two Wing Divers flew over the trio from the alley, towards one of the advancing aliens. One of them broke off, cutting upwards and into the sky. The beast raised its weapon towards the Diver, but before it could fire, a thin green beam lanced into its weapon and sliced it in half. The alien staggered backwards, surprised. The Diver still careening towards the alien drew her lance and let loose a beam of energy into its head. Its helmet shattered like glass, exposing the beast's gray, slimy features. The Diver shot past, and the beast turned trying to swat her out of the air. An instant later, the Diver that had risen to the sky came down like a meteor, driving her paired axes into the back of the monster's skull. It fell to its knees, then on its face.
Mateo's attention was pulled away at a nudge on his arm. Jai was looking at him. "Sir we need to get down there and help." Mateo agreed and nodded. They slid down the mound and caught the ground running. From behind them, on the mound they were just on top of, the earth bulged and spindly legs and antennae penetrated through dirt. The creatures pulled themselves from the earth and skittered after Mateo and Jai. Jai tried to fire and run but the bullets flew wildly to the sky. They were sprinting towards the team at the alleyway as claws and pincers closed in behind them. Just as they approached the alley, a man stepped out around the corner of the building, raising a shotgun in their direction with one hand, the other waving downwards. "GET DOWN" he roared. Mateo tackled Jai and they tumbled. The man fired just as they fell, and Mateo could feel a beast's head explode directly behind him, blood painting the back of his head. The shotgun boomed over and over, loosing a constant hail of buckshot. A young woman with green hair appeared behind the man holding grenades in both of her hands. She lobbed one over their heads and into the center of the advancing creatures. Blood and chunks flew as the grenade detonated, leaving no more alive. A few more monsters had crawled from the earth behind them. Civilian fighters flooded from the alley forming a wall next to the man and woman. They opened fire into the approaching monsters and they were shredded from a hail of lead. The green haired woman let the other grenade fly, obliterating the final few. The last alien seemed to turn tail and run at the sight of the slaughter. It didn't make it far. A hole appeared in the back of its head and it fell forwards, skidding across the ground. A glance over showed the Ranger standing over them, rifle scope to his eye, barrel smoking.
A hand reached out to help him up. It was the guy with the shotgun. Buck, Mateo realized. He accepted the help up to his feet. Holly was helping Jai stand, and helping him keep steady. "Leonard was right." Buck said as Mateo stood. "One hell of an entrance." Adas orb flicked on once more and she rose over his head. "Yeah that's kind of our thing." The banter was cut short from a booming voice reverberating through the street. "People we have more incoming! Load up and find cover!" Leonard shouted. Every fighter scrambled behind cars, rubble, and dirt. The Divers took to the sky, and the Fencers stood at the front, weapons raised. There was silence for a moment, other than the distant clang from the Barga and Leader fighting, as everyone prepared for the next wave of enemies. The ground started to shake slightly. Mateo had thought it was his imagination at first, but the feeling grew more intense. The earth started to rumble violently, knocking Mateo and many of the other fighters to the ground. A single, gigantic black insect leg penetrated the asphalt from below, spearing towards the sky, another following soon after. The legs were long enough to rise over the buildings lining the road. They came down and stabbed into the ground, sinking into the earth. The street bulged upwards as whatever it was pushed itself out of the ground. Asphalt cracked and crumbled as the earth rose upwards. Chunks of mud and dirt slopped off of a massive black exoskeleton raising towards the sky. It was a Queen. It raised its head and let out an ear splitting screech to the sky. Mateo had fought these monsters before, if they didn't do something quick, they'd all be melted in a tsunami of acid. The queens head looked down, antennae searching. There was no way it couldn't sense the fireteam. As if an answer from the heavens, the sweet sound of Shay's slightly maniacal voice came through his helmet radio. "Ready to fire!" Without a second's hesitation, Mateo drew his laser targeting gun. He saw the thin pink beam make contact with the monster as it reared, preparing to unleash its caustic payload. There was a sudden shaking in the earth and Mateo stumbled, losing grip of the targeting gun. It clattered away. A sudden eruption of debris and concrete exploded from the building behind the Queen. The War Barga from earlier came crashing through the building, falling backwards directly on top of the monster. The Queens legs couldn't hold the weight of the massive mech, and it fell to the earth. The massive creature was squished like the bug it was. Greenish brown blood flowed out and down the road like a tidal wave, painting the fireteam and knocking everyone to the ground. The mech was attempting to right itself, but couldn't seem to raise itself from the carcass it sunk into. Chunks of its armor were missing and huge gouges were carved throughout its chassis. There was a hole in the cockpit and one of its spiked ball fists was partially melted. Mateo glimpsed a figure of a large man in the cockpit. The alien leader stepped out from the swirling smoke and gaping hole from the building it crashed through. It looked to have received little to no damage. It slowly strode above the mech, still struggling to rise, and readied its warhammer. The beast swung the weapon like a golf club, bringing the hammer around towards the left side of the mech's 'face'. It's left arm raised to block the blow, causing a loud clang as the weapon connected. The mech was struggling to keep the hammer back as it inched towards its face. The slivers of energy shooting from the weapons head made contact, and almost instantly melted through the mechs heavy armor. A roar of pain and anger flowed from the mechs loudspeaker. A glance into the hole in the cockpit showed the space filled with a bright white glow. The monster pulled back on the weapon, cocking it for another swing. Suddenly, like a divine pillar of light, a laser pierced the clouds and hit the top of the monsters head, staggering it. Mateo looked over to see Jai holding the targeting gun that he had dropped. The mech didn't waste the opportunity. It brought its left fist down to the ground, bracing itself, while it's right fist came up and smacked the beasts legs, knocking it over. The mechs massive thrusters activated, scorching and charring the dead creature underneath it, and started raising to its feet. A gunshot sounded behind Mateo and he whirled around to see his teammate, a Ranger, popping off shots down the street towards the approaching aliens dropped by a landing ship. The massive rounds from the sniper rifle punched into armor, cracking and shattering three of the beasts armored suits, and dropping a fourth dead on approach. Naomi, Sarah, and Mateo's Diver teammate fired forwards in formation towards the approaching aliens, and Tasha flew upwards to a rooftop. A green laser fired out a second later from her position. Jensen followed, making a beeline for the advancing aliens on the ground. Buck looked in the direction of the approaching aliens, then turned his gaze to the alien leader, then looked to the ground, his shoulders slightly slumped. It lasted for a second, then his gaze shot upwards to meet Mateo's eyes. He nodded and looked to Holly. She nodded. They both turned and made for cover towards the advancing aliens. Mateo glimpsed Holly hold Jai's gaze for a moment before she turned away. "Sir" he said without looking at Mateo, "I need to get into this fight." Mateo put hand on his shoulder and gave him a slight shove. He ran after Buck and Holly. Leonard and the other Fencer on the team turned their weapons towards the leader, now standing, and opened fire. Purple dots appeared on its body as minigun rounds peppered the surface of the beasts skin. Cannon shots and artillery shells found their target and ripped into flesh. The wounds were closing as fast as they could inflict damage. It was little more than a nuisance for the monster. It turned its attention to the mech. The mech jabbed with its left fist, and the alien leaned out of the way. It swung its other fist in a right hook, and the alien smashed it with its hammer, deflecting and obliterateing it. It swung the hammer sideways, aiming for the left side of the mechs midsection. The mech attempted to parry but missed, and the weapon crunched into the side of the massive machine. The mech staggered sideways as the alien switched its grip and spun around, keeping the hammer low and bringing it up at the end of its spin. The hammer slammed into the joint that connected the right arm to the torso. Chunks of armor and shrapnel splintered upwards as the arm disconnected and flung down the street. The alien followed the momentum of the blow, spinning with the weight of the weapon, and bringing it up into the mechs other arm joint, chopping it off. Finally the beast swung the hammer back into the mechs midsection where it's first blow connected, and the hammer smashed through the remaining armor. The mech was cleaved in half. The alien spun one more time and stopped, facing the mech. It brought the pommel of its warhammer to the ground with a crunch and raised its other hand towards the mech. Gently, it waved its hand to the side, and the top half fell to the earth.
The ground shook violently as half the mech hit the ground. Mateo was stunned with surprise, his attention coming back with the shockwave. A wall of smoke and dust billowed outwards from the impact, shrouding the battlefield. As the dust cleared, Mateo spotted the head of the mech, now disconnected from the body. The cockpit was face down, the hole in the side of it spilling smoke and facing him. He sprinted towards it, not even realizing he was doing it. As he approached the head, he heard coughing through the smoke. A deep, rumbling cough. The largest man Mateo had ever seen crouched and dipped through the opening. He stood almost seven feet tall, had tree trunk arms and legs, and a barrel chest that looked carved from stone. Thin, greasy black strands of hair hung down passed his shoulders. The left side of his face and head had fresh, severe burns. It looked as if his left eye had popped in its socket. Mateo immediately took out one of his healing devices and approached the mountain of a man. The guy slapped it away and said, "get that shit away from me." He walked out towards the alien that felled his mech. He stood on the hood of an abandoned car and drew a revolver from his hip that looked big even for him. He aimed it at the alien and shouted, "YOU FUCK" And fired the hand cannon. The leader paid the shots no mind, and lazily floated upwards, directly above the mech it had destroyed. Mateo looked over to see that his comrades had triumphed over the squad of aliens that had been dropped, and were now making their way towards him. Leonard and the Fencers posted up in front of Mateo and the huge Russian guy on top of the car. Naomi and the rest of the Divers floated above, preparing to strike. Buck, Holly, Jai, and the remaining civilian fighters found cover behind the group. All weapons were aimed at the floating being. Leonard barked the order, "FIRE" The sounds of automatic gunfire, artillery fire, cannon shots, and lasers never came. All around him Mateo heard the click of jammed or empty weapons. The Wing diver's plasma cores sputtered and they glided back to the ground. His targeting gun wasn't working either, he realized. Ada was offline too. He looked at the monster in the sky. Its featureless face was smiling and shaking its head. It floated upwards slightly more, then raised its warhammer out flat in front of it at eye level. The weapon levitated for a moment, then ascended to the sky. At the same moment, the remaining golden ring floating above its back flew upwards, and suspended above its head. The hammer was seemingly placed horizontally in the center of the ring. The being raised its hands above its head, and the construction started to rotate, slowly at first, then instantly faster than the eye could follow. The mass started to glow a brilliant pink, and then the color of molten metal. The alien lowered its hands in front of itself, and with a ripping motion, it flung them to either side. The mass above its head exploded outwards into hundreds of golden chunks of metal that floated and swirled around the monster. It closed its fists and the chunks shot inwards and clamped around its body. The beast was covered from head to toe in brilliantly ornate golden armor. The only bit of skin showing was its still grinning mouth.
Mateo felt a freezing trickle in his mind and his attention was pulled downwards. His targeting gun was active. "Thanks Ada" Mateo thought. He raised and pointed it at the alien. The clouds glowed brightly, and a blue laser speared downwards. The alien looked up at the same moment and held its hands up. The being caught the laser in its hands. It lowered the mass of energy as it violently swirled between its hands. It stared for a moment, then shoved its hands back towards the sky. The laser fired upwards, in the exact direction it came from. "No…" Mateo thought. His world came to a stop as he watched the laser disappear through the clouds. He could barely hear Ada's muffled voice, "Shay you need to move!" The words came like a slow motion echo. Shay's sweet and beautiful voice penetrated the silence "Move? Why do I need-" The line went silent.
Mateo was paralyzed. Shock took hold of his body and the targeting gun fell from his hands. The shock burned and boiled into rage, and he fell to his knees. How did this monster… how did… is Shay… a guttural scream formed in his throat and he let out an inhuman roar. The sound was promptly drowned as the fighters realized their weapons worked again. The street erupted in gunfire. Bullets and cannon shells alike pinged off of the aliens' new armor. It lowered to the ground and brought its hands to either side of it, palms open and facing up. A green shimmer appeared in the palm of each of its hands, and the glow intensified immensely. Streaks of pure energy fired from the green masses and homed in on the fireteam. Mateo saw a woman turn to dodge as a beam slammed into the side of her face, spinning her around and dropping her dead on the ground. He saw bits of bone and teeth clatter across the asphalt. A man across the street successfully side stepped a beam coming at him. The beam whipped around in an instant and pierced through the center of his back, putting a neat hole the size of a grapefruit clean through him. He slumped where he stood. Mateo spotted a beam coming from above towards him. No, not towards him. He looked in the direction it was flying. It was barreling straight down towards Jai. And he didn't even realize it. The beam was too quick, Mateo could only watch. The beam came down fast, directly at Jai's skull. He suddenly jerked to the side, knocked away and down by an unseen force. The beam hit the earth sending up small bits of smoldering debris, dust, and smoke. Mateo was relieved. The relief was fleeting as the smoke and dust cleared. Through the smoke stood Holly, left arm by her side, the other, missing at the shoulder. She looked down at the missing limb, looked back up, closed her eyes, and fell backwards.
Buck caught her as she fell, lowering her to the ground. He was screaming, Mateo could tell, but couldn't hear through the cries of pain and gunfire. Mateo sprung to action and sprinted over. Jai was scrambling over on all fours towards Holly. As Mateo approached he heard Buck, "-olly? Holly, can you hear me? Come on, please wake up." he saw a tear running down the man's face. Mateo brought out a nanomachine healing device, and crouched next to the young woman. He placed it in just under her collarbone and activated it. The green light shined bright then disappeared. "This won't grow her a new one but it will save her life." Ada said. Jai was crouched over her now, tears flowing.
"Why?" Mateo thought over and over, his anger rising. Why did this monster kill and hurt indiscriminately? What was there to gain from so much death? How could this be justified… he heard the faint sound of a woman's voice in his head. That was odd. It wasn't accompanied by the cold trickle through his brain. The voice came again, louder, "Mateo can you hear me? I need you to listen to me." His heart skipped at the sound of Shay's voice. "I don't have much time, Spritefall is going down. But I need you to do something for me." There was a short pause. "Anything doctor." Ada said. Shay continued in a calm and serious tone. "I need you to target that monster with your targeting gun, and not point it away. I can lock on to it with the satellites emergency landing protocols. I can crush the bastard." Mateo recoiled at the plan. "I don't-" he started to think. "We'll do it doctor." Ada said. "Thank you. And Mateo," his heart skipped again. "I want you to know, I really would have loved to meet you." The line went quiet.
Mateo stared at the targeting gun laying on the ground in front of him. He then looked upwards, past the fighting and death, and spotted what looked like a tiny fireball. "Shay," he thought. "Dammit Jaminez quit your gawking and get to it!" Ada's shrewd voice sprang him to action. No time to grieve. He picked up the targeting gun and pointed at the alien above him. It wasn't even bothering with blocking or dodging. He saw who could only be Naomi charging at the alien's face with her paired axes. The beast simply tilted its head to the side, and she was tossed sideways into a building. She hit and fell, but was able to recover, retreating back. Some of the bullets and ordinance being launched at the being almost seemed to just curve around it.
A faint red glow started to coat the battlefield as the satellite approached. Not just from the satellite itself. A bright red beam of energy shot from the fireball that was Spritefall. The alien looked up just as the laser connected, its face taking the full brunt of the laser. It was pushed downwards towards the earth and hit the ground with a sickening smack. It raised its hands as another laser came down. It deflected the second but a third came, and fourth immediately after. Spritefall was firing on maximum. The beast was pinned once more by the lasers, unable to raise itself or teleport. Each laser that connected slammed its head into the ground, creating a crater and filling with purple blood. Between the quickening laser bolts, Mateo could start to make out the monster's exposed skull. "Everyone get the hell back!" Leonard roared. Everyone turned and ran. The big Russian man stopped and looked at Holly on the ground. He looked at Buck and he nodded. He crouched and picked her up, onto his shoulder as carefully as he could, and made after the team. Buck and Jai followed behind. Mateo jogged backwards, still aiming at the beast being drilled into the ground. The beams stopped firing as Spritefall rapidly approached. The beast managed to get upright, the front half of its face gone. It turned where its face should be upwards and raised its hands. Too late. Mateo stepped into an alley as the satellite crashed into the earth where the alien leader stood. Dust and fire exploded outwards down the street. The sound of the impact was deafening. The earth rumbled violently and Mateo could hear distant buildings crumbling.
The second silence fell over the land, Mateo was back on the street and sprinting towards the crash site. Maybe Shay was still alive. Maybe he could save her. Spritefall had speared into the ground where the alien stood, losing most of its structural integrity. Twisted metal and shrapnel hung from the destroyed shell, and was spread across the impact site. Mateo spotted what looked to be the control center for the satellite. Shattered windows surrounded the circular bridge. Mateo started climbing the heap of annihilated metal towards a shattered window that looked wide enough to crawl through. Ada shot from her docking port as they approached, and flew through the window. Mateo made it the last few feet and peered through the opening. Electrical sparks were raining from the ceiling from wires and cables now exposed and hanging down. In the center of the of the space was a circular assortment of display monitors. Most of their blank black screens were shattered and cracked. There was a tipped over office chair in the center of the ring. Mateo made his way in, and around the monitors. He spotted one cracked monitor flashing an image through static. Mateo approached and squinted. It was a picture of a park. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Lush green grassy fields, Tall flourishing trees with massive branches creating a beautiful canopy. A small pond sat underneath with colorful flowers lining its edges. Mateo heard a soft whimper behind the screen. He cocked his head and saw a slumped body in a lab coat huddled on the floor behind the monitor. Mateo practically jumped over the screen and stumbled towards the figure, already reaching for another nanomachine healing device. Shay was face down as he approached. Ada was already there, nudging her orb into her shoulder. "Come on Shay, not like this." She was saying. Mateo made it over and carefully flipped Shay on her back. Her shoulder length pure white hair was frazzled and messy. The glasses on her face were crooked, cracked and shattered. Mateo could see blood streaming from a long wound from her forehead to her cheek, over her left eye. Her right one slightly opened revealing a deep, mesmerizingly purple eye. She looked up at Mateo and raised a hand toward his face. He removed his helmet and sat it on the floor. Her lips curled Into a smile. Her eye closed once more and her hand lowered. She was still breathing. Mateo placed the healing device, and turned back towards the opening he crawled through. A thought crossed his mind. "Ada radio some assistance. We need to get her out of here." Ada wasted no time.
Mateo looked out of the satellites window and down at the street. The surviving soldiers and fighters were lined up on the street staring up at him. He spotted Buck and Jai crouched over Holly a bit further down the road. Naomi, Sarah, and Tasha flew upwards and landed in the satellite, making their way over to Shay's limp body. They each grabbed a hold of her, and gently floated out of the satellite and to the ground close to where Buck, Jai, and Holly were. Mateo followed, slipping and sliding down the incline of shrapnel and steel. He hit the ground running, practically sliding to Shay's side. The Divers stepped away, flying back towards Leonard and Jensen. The giant Russian man made his way over to where Mateo was hunched over Shay. He stopped, looming over them. He stared down with the eye he still had. "Is the little woman okay?" He spoke. Mateo was caught off guard with the softness of the man's voice. He nodded quickly up at the giant. "Good." Was all he said. He then turned his back to them, facing the satellite and resting his hand on the grip of the revolver on his hip. Mateo heard scattered chatter around him. "Is it dead?" One of the civilian fighters asked. "Doubt it." Another replied.
"We have the rest of our surviving forces converging on our position!" Leonards voice boomed across the street, addressing everyone. "Everyone post up, find cover, and train your weapons on that wrecked satellite!" Jensen and Storm Ones Fencer approached the wreckage, one armed with hammers, the other with swords. Leonard took two steps back and hefted his miniguns. Naomi, Sarah, and Tasha floated above him, their weapons trained on the heap. Naomi floated with her axes in both hands by her side. Storm Ones Diver flew forwards and perched on a balcony of a building closer to the wrecked satellite. Their Ranger posted up between where Mateo and Shay were, and where Buck Jai, and Holly were. He rested his sniper rifle on the hood of a crooked car, aiming towards the satellite. Then, there was silence. A slight breeze whipped up a plume of dust as everyone waited for what came next. Silence became deafening in an instant as the sudden sound of helicopter blades filled the battlefield. The sound of tracks on asphalt reverberated behind the fireteam. A glance backwards showed six Blacker Tanks rounding the corner, and two attack helicopters flying above them. Soldiers and fighters strode alongside the armored vehicles. There were even some Fencers scattered in the force, and a few Wing Divers flew above. Wait a minute. They would have heard such a large force way before they rounded that corner. A glance around showed everyone else was equally confused.
Pink pillars of light suddenly exploded out from under the crashed satellite. The heap of wreckage started to slowly rise to the sky, letting more of the pink light seep out of the cracks and crevices. The floating ball rose higher, now completely shrouded by the bright pink light. The mass was launched into the sky and out of sight. The pink light blindingly shot upwards in a cone, originating from the crater where the satellite fell. A massive silhouette stood from behind the wall of light. The silhouette pointed its hand outwards. A golden armored hand penetrated the barrier, its palm open and up. It curled upwards as the being lazily floated out. Movement caught Mateo's attention in the corner of his eye, and he looked downwards. His teammate, the Fencer, was levitating just off the ground. The being closed its fist. The Fencer's thick armor crunched inwards with a resounding crack, and he was pulled directly into the beasts hand. The hand clamped around the Fencer and squeezed. He roared in agony and swung his swords wildly at the monsters wrists. The blows pinged and deflected off of its armor. It squeezed one more time, and fully closed its fist. The Fencer was crushed like a can. The alien's hand opened and the crumpled figure fell to the earth. Blood dripped from its hand as it slowly turned its gaze back towards the survivors. A scream came from the sky as the Diver that was perched on a balcony fired towards the being at full speed. The monster flicked downwards. The Diver was forced down by an invisible force, and smashed the pavement head first at full speed. The sound of the impact was louder than a gunshot. Her body crumpled flat. Her mangled corpse was unrecognizable. Massive sniper rounds pinged off of the aliens armor as the Ranger opened fire. The aliens blank face seemed to snap directly towards him, and it tilted its head. The Ranger's head was forced sideways, snapping his neck. He fell to the ground dead.
In a matter of seconds, Mateo's entire team was killed. He was still trying to register what was happening when missiles flew over his head and slammed into the beast. A second later and the two helicopters shot overhead. The alien gently waved his hand one way, then the other. The helicopters careened into buildings on either side of it, exploding and raining shrapnel down to the ground. Cannon fire from the tanks that arrived erupted an instant later, the shells pinging off of golden armor. Every weapon seemed to open fire simultaneously. The alien just floated lazily forwards, not even glancing downwards. Then it's gaze found where Leonard and Storm Four were attacking from. Mateo watched in horror at the scene in front of him. An oval traced in thin air above the four of them. The Divers' cores sputtered and failed again, forcing them down by Leonard. The oval imploded, and expanded outwards an instant later. The portal opened and this time, it moved. It flew downwards and enveloped Leonard and Storm Four. The portal winked out, and they were gone. Jensen was retreating back from his position and witnessed his friend disappear. "NO!" He roared. He fell to his knees in front of Mateo. Pink light appeared behind them. They looked back to see portals opening and swallowing soldiers and armored vehicles alike. Mateo looked back frantically and caught Bucks eye across the street. They made eye contact for a second, then he, Jai, and Holly were gone, swallowed by a portal. A boom sounded directly above. Mateo looked upwards at the mesmerizing swirls of pink light coming down towards them. He grabbed onto Shay and braced. The portal closed around the group. Mateo's world went dark as his consciousness faded.