Chapter 6. 9237 words. Uploaded 3/17/24 on FF, AO3, and one other site I'm not sure I can link here.
Just this morning she never could have imagined that her life would change this much, she was exhilerated. Sat next to her was an amazing human who had very quickly stolen her heart, and she seemed to have done the same to him.
They were quietly eating their food now, just enjoying the silence and closeness. the Hybrid was glad to have some food in her, eagerly wolfing down the rations, a content sigh escaping her as she relaxed, leaning some of her weight on the human next to her.
The human had offered her some of his rations, the Hybrid finding the crackers not very appetizing. He had also offered her half of the little fudge meal he had, the Hybrid finding that much more appealing.
It was just then that footsteps could be heard coming closer. The human looked up, glancing at the Hybrid, but she made no motion to move, instead moving her arm across his hip, forcing him to stay seated.
She could tell by the sound of the footsteps that it was a Hybrid approaching, their metal shoes announcing their presence as they rounded the corner, the human and Hybrid seeing that it was the Hardfang.
They stared at each other for several seconds, the Hardfang looking between the two of them before speaking. "Am I interrupting something?"
She spoke in their Chimeran language, the Hardfang not skilled enough at human speech to hold any real conversations, the human sat next to the Type-2 only hearing one side of the conversation.
"If you had come by a few minutes earlier you would have." She watched the Hardfang move forward, standing off to the opposite wall, leaning her side on it.
"Took you long enough to finally make your move. I hope you two are done eating, the human's commander wanted to see him."
The Type-2 relayed this information to the human, the soldier quickly picking himself up, putting everything back on, the Type-2 doing the same, the Hardfang staring eagerly at the Type-2, the Hybrid already knowing what was going to come.
She had been around the Hardfang long enough to know how uninhibited she was, and worse, she seemed to relish it too, taking great enjoyment in trying to make those around her squirm.
"It's a shame I didn't come by a few minutes earlier, wouldn't have minded seeing what you two were up to." She was looking the human over like he was a dinner plate, the Hybrid seeing her eyes settle on his neck, noticing the indents where her teeth had been planted.
The human noticed her staring, bringing up his hand to feel along his neck, running his thumb across the indents.
"Hmm, he's lucky." They had finished donning their gear so the Hardfang turned around, leading them back over to where his squad was.
They hadn't been gone for awhile, but a lot of stuff had already been done. There was now a communications line lying on the ground, a station set up near the tanks, several officers and radiomen standing near it.
One of X-Ray 4s squadmates spotted him, running over to him. "Good, you're back. We got communications up all around the tower. We got word from the other companies, they've been scattered all around the tower, and they've all been beat to hell, we're looking at 50% casualties right now, probably more. We're still trying to get the numbers, some companies are completely gone though."
X-Ray 4s eyes went wide. "Jesus christ."
"Ya, it's bad. We were able to get in contact with Command too, they're working out some plans right now, so far they've ordered us to stay put. They had some orders for you too, X-Ray 1 is off over at the radio station."
X-Ray 4 nodded to him, and he split off, the man watching him walk off to one of the tanks as he and the two Hybrids next to him made their way to the officers.
X-Ray 6 was stood next to X-Ray 1, and 6 noticed X-Ray 4 first, getting his commander's attention.
"Ah, good, you're here. It's a shitshow, command has no idea what to do, and they've decided that you're to stay with the Hybrid there until directed otherwise. X-Ray 6." The soldier came over, and X-Ray 4 watched as X-Ray 1 took his radio from him, handing it to X-Ray 4.
"Command wants to find out more about what's going on, and they want you to find out. You're probably gonna be on your own, get this radio on, and go find out if the Chimera have any idea about what to do about this massive horde that's about to knock down the doors."
He took the radio from him, attaching it to his vest, linking everything together. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Scouts outside report that Stalkers have made their way into the streets. The Goliaths can't get close, thankfully, but those Stalkers are gonna start breaching the doors soon, Command is trying to gather reinforcements together, but for now we're on our own."
He turned away, resuming a conversation with some of the officers, and X-Ray 4 turned to the Type-2. "Well, I've been handed off to you now. I hope that Angel is listening, and I hope she's got a plan, because it looks like we've got jackshit here."
She looked around, taking in the scene. The Sabertooth tanks had been moved into flanking positions, covering the entrance in the massive hanger. Several machine gun nests had been set up too, the Hybrid seeing that human and Chimeran machine guns were mixed in with each other, and there had been several deployable cover sets tossed down all around the area.
"She wants to see you." The Hybrid looked around, staring at the groups of Rangers walking around, before she spotted the one she was looking for. "The Queen wants to see that one too."
He followed where she was looking, seeing it was Sergeant Hale. He was staring at them, and when X-Ray 4 looked over at him, he took that as an invitation, making his way over to them.
He could see the Ranger looking at the three of them with suspicion, but he seemed to be able to set that aside enough to do his job.
"The Hybrid says the Queen wants to meet us, we're gonna see if she's got some plan to get us out of this situation." He looked to the Type-2 and she started walking forward, the Hardfang gesturing for them to follow.
The Type-2 took them down several hallways, the small group passing increasing amounts of Advanced Hybrids and machine gun turrets.
Sergeant Hale spoke up. "Where are we going?"
"To the heart of the tower. It's the most important part of this place, it's why there are so many defenses around."
X-Ray 4 could not see what the Sergeant was thinking, but he could tell that his interest had piqued as soon as he heard that.
The Ranger's absence was soon noticed, and X-Ray 4 heard 1 call him on the radio.
"X-Ray 4, is Sergeant Hale with you?"
The Hybrids turned to stare at him, along with Sergeant Hale, the man's eyes narrowing as he stared at the special ops soldier.
"Yes, sir, the Hybrids are taking us to the Angel. They said the Angel wants to meet both me and the Sergeant." X-Ray 1 did not like the sound of that, and his response had the Hardfang and Type-2 glancing at each other nervously.
"Negative! Negative! Sergeant Hale is not to be allowed anywhere close to an Angel, he is too vulnerable to get close to another one again!"
As X-Ray 4 looked at the Ranger, he could tell that he did not like being told what he could and couldn't do.
There was a group of Advanced Hybrids standing nearby too, and whether the Angel had directed them he did not know, but soon after hearing that they walked over, silently boxing them in, urging them forward.
"I don't think we have a choice in the matter, sir. We're being pushed along by more Hybrids, and Sergeant Hale doesn't trust us." The heat of the tower was slowly increasing, still very cold, but he could notice the subtle increase in temperature. They were getting close to something.
"We're making our way to your location, do not let the Sergeant get close to the Angel, Command does not want him to have another run in with one."
Sergeant Hale looked over at X-Ray 4 again, his brow furrowing. "How long have you been following me for?"
"Since Grimsby, as far as I know. We've gotten close a few times, but you were either ahead of us, or our guys got taken out before you found them. We didn't want you to get as close to the tower as you are, but it's looking like it's a good thing you got past us now, you might be one of the only ways we've got of getting out of here."
He had no plan of keeping Sergeant Hale from getting to the Angel. He didn't really have a choice in the matter, the Hybrids ferrying him along, but he also doubted the Angel was going to do any harm to the Ranger, not with the effort she had gone through.
"So, do you have any on what we're supposed to do here? What plan did you have when you convinced British command to get a strikeforce sent here?"
It looked like he wanted to say something, but as X-Ray 4 stared at him he could tell that the Ranger was still suspicious of him, but then he glanced at the Hybrids walking around them, and he seemed wary of them. "I'll let you know when we get to wherever we're going."
X-Ray 4 echoed a small sigh, sparing him a side long glance which the sergeant couldn't see as they continued walking forward.
The Advanced Hybrids stayed with them, 4 of them staying close behind them, the Type-2 and Hardfang standing at the front. The defenses were getting more numerable too, the group walking through a killzone set up by the Chimera.
They could see the killzone long before they made their way through it, 3 shielded machine guns and several metal barriers set up facing down the long corrider, a completely barren pathway, no cover at all for any unfortunate enemy sent this way.
It was being manned by a group of 15 Advanced Hybrids or so, the creatures just milling about, some stuffing magazines into their pockets, but most were just sitting around, waiting for the time they were needed. They watched them pass by, many of the Hybrids setting their eyes on Sergeant Hale, noticing the gold sheen in his eyes, a trait which only Chimera normally had.
X-Ray 4 wasn't apprised very well of the situation, he wasn't high enough on the food chain to be worthy of any notable info. He just knew that Sergeant Hale had been infected by the Chimeran virus, he'd somehow recovered from it, despite the 100% fatality rate it had.
He had been aiding the British for several days, cleaving through countless Chimera with his abilities he'd been developing from the virus, most notably was his ability to rapidly heal wounds, a trait that made Chimeran creatures very deadly in combat.
He seemed to be just as much of an anomaly to the Chimera as he was to Command.
A little ways past the blockade was a sealed door, yet more defenses and Chimera defending the gate, X-Ray 4 even seeing a few Hardfangs among them.
They made their way closer, but as they got just a few feet away they suddenly went on alert, X-Ray 4 watching the Hybrids tense up, some going for the mounted machine guns, checking them and making sure they were loaded, bringing ammo closer to them.
X-Ray 4 turned around, seeing that the guards they had just passed were now standing at their defenses, aiming their rifles down the hallway.
Sergeant Hale's radio had been echoing with chatter from the Rangers for awhile now, mostly status updates on their units, but the radio operator's tone quickly changed, the two hearing why the Chimera had gone on alert.
"All units, prepare for combat! Chimeran forces are about to breach the tower! Command reports enemy armor approaching from the North and East, we need all armor to cover that side of the tower!"
"We've got to hurry, we don't have much time." The Type-2 quickly made her way over to the door controls, opening the door, and the group were quickly ushered through, walking down a set of stairs in front of the door, the Hybrids now staying even closer to the two soldiers, acting as body guards.
The door was quickly sealed behind them, and X-Ray 4 felt how this room was much warmer than the surrounding area, and as he looked up he saw why. There was a reactor in here, 4 glowing rods steadily pumping out heat, shields occasionally lowering to let the temperature die down.
And hovering near it was the Angel, the massive creature turning to look at them, X-Ray 4 feeling as if it was staring right through his visor.
It was an imposing creature, and he could feel the authority it gave off as it moved closer to them, the device implanted on its back allowing it to fly around the area, along with keeping the creature from overheating.
Its face was not very appealing to the eye, featuring a long snout with multiple fang-like teeth, and 3 eyes on each side of its head.
It had 4 tentacles branching off the back of its body, and as it lowered all the way to the ground he watched them drape behind the creature, out of sight. It had several thin, pointed legs, which looked ill suited to supporting the creature's immense weight, but it settled down on them perfectly fine.
It turned its head at X-Ray 4 first, looking him over, the soldier seeing her head angle down slightly, looking at the sniper rifle in his hands. It let out a low rumble and turned its head towards the Type-2.
"She's glad to see that you are still alive, she feared what would happen if you hadn't made it." The Type-2 appeared to be filling in for the Angel, likely being the only way that the Angel had to communicate with people.
She stared at the two of them for a few more seconds, the soldier resisting the urge to look away as she looked him over, the man's thoughts wandering back to when the Type-2 had said that she knew everything that was going on with Hybrids under her command.
She then looked over to Sergeant Hale, moving a bit closer. The man grimaced, gripping his weapon tighter, and X-Ray 4 noticed that the Hardfang was keeping very close to the Ranger, ready to defend the Angel if she had to.
He seemed to falter a bit, and X-Ray 4 watched him bring his hand up to his head, rubbing it, before he looked back up at the Angel, and it seemed to back off, stepping away.
"She's trying to get a look at you, to see how far the virus has affected you. It will continue to change your body, but she may be able to stop it from getting worse."
Sergeant Hale looked at the Type-2 for several seconds, silently considering, before he turned to the Angel. "I'll consider it, if we make it out of here alive."
The Angel seemed a bit hesitant, but she lightly bowed her head, turning back to X-Ray 4. She was looking him over again, and he could see her eyes shifting between him and the Type-2.
"Well, Command wants to know what plan you have here. From what I've heard from my superiors, we don't have anything at all going for us."
The Angel tilted her head slightly, and X-Ray 4 turned to the Type-2 as she started to speak, acting as the translator for the Angel.
"We've got more than enough soldiers to hold off any attack from the enemy. We would whittle them down as they attack, shredding their numbers with killzones like the one we walked past scattered all around the tower."
The Angel let out a low sigh, turning her head to look over at Sergeant Hale, who X-Ray 4 had now noticed had moved away from them, examining the glowing rods of the device taking up the center of the room.
"It would likely take several days, there would be a lot of casualties, but she's confident that we would still be able to win. The enemy just does not have enough resources to take on the entire tower. We have 10 thousand Hybrids in this tower ready to defend, around 50 Stalkers and about the same amount of Titans."
He looked back over to the Type-2, and though she spoke confidentally, he could almost see a bit of worry in her eyes.
"We're outnumbered roughly 4 to 1, but our troops have better weaponry, and we have the tower protecting us. Are your superiors able to bring more reinforcements in?"
"I'm... Not sure. We've lost thousands of soldiers these past few days, from York and now this operation. It might be several days before more reinforcements could come."
He wasn't too optimistic about the situation. He imagined the Chimera could likely hold the tower, but he wondered how many would be left at the end of it. The Americans weren't in good shape, with over half the force massacred, and the British army was a shell of its former self.
There had been 15 thousand American soldiers at the start of the operation, at least half of them had been killed outside the tower, and the British only had a few hundred left. He didn't think Command would be happy to learn this was the plan.
He looked over to Sergeant Hale, seeing him still looking at the rods, and he made his way over, also taking in the sight. "What the hell is this thing?"
The Type-2 walked over to him, standing next to him. "The most important part of the tower. It's the reactor, it supplies everything with power, including the other towers, sadly we can't shut that off."
"What would happen if it gets destroyed?"
X-Ray 4 turned to Sergeant Hale, starting to realize what he was thinking, and it seemed the Chimera did too.
"What...? N- No, that's not an option, we can't just..." The Type-2 stopped talking, and he noticed the Angel peering at her, it seemed she was saying something to her.
"The... Angel said that it would destroy the tower, and everything else in the area... It... could also chain react and destroy all the other towers." The Hybrids around them seemed unsure of the idea, glancing around at each other.
Sergeant Hale looked away from the rods, looking at the Angel and X-Ray 4. "It's a better plan than what we've got right now." They all looked to the Angel, and after a few seconds she slowly nodded her head.
X-Ray 4 was feeling much more confident about this plan, and he reached toward his radio. "X-Ray 1, do you copy?"
"Yes. These damn Hybrids aren't letting us through. Do we have a plan? What's the status of Sergeant Hale?"
He looked up at the control rods, an idea coming to him. "Yes, sir, we've got a plan. We're going to need a demo team over to our position, with all the explosives they have."
A few minutes later X-Ray squad was finally able to get through, and they were filled in on the entire plan, X-Ray 1 relaying it to the Ranger companies.
They were going to start retreating south away from the tower, the path being cleared by their Chimeran allies. A demolitions team was also making their way over here, where they were going to rig up as much explosives to the reactor as they could, then head out, leaving the attacking Chimera to a doomed tower.
They were against the clock though, Chimera were hammering the tower, some had already gotten through the doors, and it was only getting worse.
"All units, British command has just spotted 3 Angels making their way towards the tower, focus fire on these Angels if they are spotted!"
"God damn it, where is that damn demo team?" X-Ray 1 was pacing around, and he reached up to his radio. "A company, we need that demo team here now! Where are they?"
A familiar voice came through the radio, X-Ray 4 recognizing it as the Captain of the company they'd saved earlier. "They just radioed in saying they were almost there, shouldn't be too- They're breaking through! Hold the-" An explosion echoed through X-Ray 1s radio, followed by the sound of gunfire, everyone turning to look at him.
"We cannot hold, we are being pushed back! Chimera are flooding into the hanger and... Holy shit, we've got an Angel here!" Gunfire echoed through the radio for a second before a pained scream came through, then it cut out.
"Shit! Get that damn door open, we lose that demo team we're screwed!" X-Ray 1 picked his rifle up, running towards the door that they had all come in from, a Hybrid opening it, revealing a Titan a hundred meters away from them, 4 Rangers behind it, running towards the defences protecting the door.
It was the same Titan that had aided them earlier, and it was turned away from them, firing its massive weapon down the hall at an unseen target. It was at the first machine gun defense they'd passed earlier, the Advanced Hybrids manning it also firing down the hall. The target soon came into view, and X-Ray 4 saw it was an Angel.
It flew towards the Titan, intending to slam into it, but the Titan brought its weapon up, using it as a shield. The Angel was flying too fast to stop, and the hall was too narrow for it to dodge, so it was left with only one option, slamming face first into the weapon.
It tried to fight the Titan, but it was no match for the creature's strength, X-Ray 4 watching as the Angel struggled against the Titan's grip, helpless as the Hybrids nearby rained bullets into it.
The Rangers had made it past the first defense line, but were still a ways away from the door, and some Advanced Hybrids ran out to them, covering them. One of them pointed past the Titan, and X-Ray 4 saw 2 more Angels approaching.
"Take them out now!" X-Ray 1 raised his rifle, firing at them, X-Ray 4 doing the same, but they were moving too erratically, and their skin was tough enough to shrug off the few bullets that did hit them.
The Titan noticed the Angels coming, but the Angel it was fighting was still latched on to her, holding her in place. The Titan shoved herself back, knocking one of the Angels to the ground, but the other one made it past, heading towards the Rangers.
They were all shooting at the creature, X-Ray 4 seeing the Chimeran machine guns spit bullets out at the Angel but it kept coming, and he cursed as one of the Rangers was hit by a poison needle, the man dropping to his knees, weakly raising his rifle as he shot a grenade off, one of the Angel's tentacles getting blown off.
It roared in pain, but it then turned to another Ranger who was firing at it, the man staggering away as he unloaded his Carbine into the creature.
An Advanced Hybrid close to him sprang into action, jumping on top of him and sending him to the ground, the needle flying towards him narrowly missing. The other Hybrids were doing the same, pressing close to the Rangers, keeping them away from the Angel.
The Angel that had gotten knocked down by the Titan had made it back into the air, and X-Ray 4 watched as it flew towards them, knocking down all the Hybrids in its path. He tried to duck down, but the Angel hit him with a tentacle, the man yelling as he flew away from the door, his rifle landing several feet away from him.
He landed on his back, gritting his teeth as he looked up, seeing the Angel right in front of him. His eyes widened, but the Angel had no time to do anything, as a group of poison needles embedded into its side, the creature roaring as it turned to the rogue Angel that was quickly making her way towards it.
The rogue Angel slammed into its enemy, knocking it to the ground and sending more needles into its body.
It landed just a few feet away from him, and he pulled out his pistol, bringing himself to his feet as he put bullets into it, but the pistol rounds had little affect on the massive creature. He turned around and made for his rifle, swiftly picking it up from the ground, swinging it back around, only to see the Hardfang jump on it.
The Hardfang let out a horrifying roar, digging her left hand into the creature's neck, but the creature swung one of its tentacles at the Hardfang, knocking her off. It then tried to get back to its feet, propping itself up, and X-Ray 4 aimed for its legs, the large rounds of his sniper rifle tearing through the thin appendages.
Its front legs got taken out and it collapsed to the ground, the Hardfang taking advantage of the situation, getting back up and jamming her Arc Charger right up against the Angel's face. Its mouth opened, preparing to bite the Hardfang, but the Hardfang reacted faster, pulling the trigger.
It spasmed, X-Ray 4 seeing all of its muscles tense for a few seconds, the creature letting out a choked roar before it slumped, its eyes closing.
The rogue Angel had gone through the open doorway in the short time they'd been fighting the Angel, and they quickly made their way back up there, seeing the two enemy Angels had been killed, and the rogue Angel was wrapping her tentacles around the startled Rangers, lifting them off their feet, carrying them back through the doorway.
He noticed that there were only two now, and he looked back where they had been, seeing several Advanced Hybrids had been pierced by needles, the Ranger they had died trying to protect also lying motionless under them.
"Shit! We lost two of them. Do you guys still have enough explosives to blow this thing?" X-Ray 1 turned to the two shaken Rangers who had been set down.
"Y-Ya..." He turned to take in the device at the center of the room. "Ya, we can take it out, so long as those shields protecting the rods are lowered when they're activated. We'll uh... We'll need that... uh..." He gestured to the Angel hovering near them. "We'll need that to get us up there."
Carbine fire could be heard coming from the hallway, and X-Ray 1 turned towards it. "Get it done, now!" He reached to his radio. "All units, the generator is being rigged up now, keep heading South out of the tower!"
A radio reply came through. "This is 2nd squad of A Company, we are heading towards you! We have a ton of Chimera right behind us and need assistance!" The man on the radio was breathing heavily, gunfire heard coming through the radio, the same gunfire that could be heard echoing down the hallway.
"Keep heading towards us! Be careful, you will be turning right into a killzone!" He let go of his radio, addressing his squad. "The forward defenses can help them, we're staying here."
The group nodded, but X-Ray 4 could tell they did want to go, and he did too, but he knew they were too far away, and there was nothing they could do to help.
The gunfire grew louder, and X-Ray 4 aimed his rifle down the hall, his scope allowing him to see the Hybrids at the forward defenses aiming their weapons down the hallway, and soon the Ranger squad came into view.
One of the Rangers turned around, firing his Carbine down the hallway at unseen enemies, yelling something to one of his comrades, the group too far away to be in earshot.
X-Ray 4 watched him throw something down the hallway, and he realized it was an air fuel grenade when he could see the hallway start filling with fumes. The Rangers were running even faster now, and they made it to the machine gun defenses just as the first enemy Hybrid rounded the corner, only to be engulfed in flames and bullets.
Countless pained roars travelled down the hallway towards them, and X-Ray 4 watched the Rangers breathe heavily as they slumped to the ground.
"Stay at that position, pull back when you run low on ammo." X-Ray 1 let go of the radio and turned around to look at the two Rangers behind them setting up their demolitions equipment, the two men taking items off each other's packs.
"X-Ray 4, is that Angel dead?"
X-Ray 4 turned to look at the Angel behind them, seeing it still in the same spot as before. "It should be, the Hardfang fried its brain." He wondered why he had asked the question, but then he saw the Angel shift a bit. "What the hell..."
One of its legs moved to the side and then they saw why it was moving.
"It's a fucking Slipskull! Take it down!"
The creature turned to look at them, and then with inhuman speed it dashed away from the Angel, heading towards the two Rangers who had turned around, hearing the call out. They were caught off guard, equipment in their hands, their eyes widening as they hurried to drop their items.
The 2 members of X-Ray squad raised their weapons, firing at the creature, but it was moving too erratically, their shots going wide. Thankfully the Hardfang was in between the Slipskull and the Rangers, aiming her weapon at the Slipskull.
She fired, but the arc missed, the creature dodging it, unsheathing the two Reaper Carbines attached to its wrists on mounts. It fired at the Hardfang, the creature staggering as the rounds hit its armor, falling onto the human behind her.
The only one left close to the two Rangers was the Angel, the creature having just now turned around, distracted by an Advanced Hybrid who was interacting with the controls for the reactor. The Angel looked at the Slipskull, raising one of its tentacles, preparing to throw poison needles at it, but the Slipskull fired at the Angel, making her recoil as the rounds impacted her.
It was still moving all the while, heading towards the one Ranger who now had no one protecting him. He had just gotten his pistol out, firing at the Slipskull. He managed to get two rounds off, one impacting the Slipskull in the shoulder, but it was too close now.
It swung its Carbine at the man, knocking his pistol out of his hands, then it grabbed him and spun him around, jamming its left hand against the Ranger's chin, the Carbine pointed right against his skull, the other hand pointing its Carbine at the other units around the hanger.
The Hardfang had gotten to her feet now, aiming her weapon at the Slipskull, but it was using the Ranger as a shield now, keeping its Carbine pointed at her as it let out a low growl. The Hardfang moved closer, but the Slipskull pointed its other Carbine against the Ranger, the man's eyes wide as he stood still, not daring to wrestle with the creature.
"God damn it. 4, do you have a shot?" X-Ray 1 was moving down the stairs now, keeping his rifle trained on the Slipskull, the Type-2 also following X-Ray 1, while X-Ray 4 stayed on the stairs.
"No, sir, thing's too small." The Slipskull was holding the Ranger tight against him, only showing just enough of its head to see, and its arms were directly in front of the Ranger, if he were to shoot its arms the round would overpenetrate, hitting him too.
"Why the fuck is the damn thing holding him hostage? Little bastards have never done anything like that before." X-Ray 1 was at the base of the stairs now, still aiming at the Slipskull, but a low growl had him turning around, aiming his weapon at the fallen Angel, which was now beginning to stir.
"Christ! The fucker's still alive!" He staggered away, keeping his rifle trained on it, but the Angel appeared to be dazed, its eyes half open as it slowly turned its head to look at the soldier.
X-Ray 4 watched the Angel and then he looked back at the Slipskull, seeing it poking its head out a bit further, looking at the Angel. It looked around, taking in the situation, slowly taking a step forward, pushing the Ranger along, but the Hardfang let out a guttural growl, taking a step closer to them.
The Slipskull growled back at the Hardfang, but it stayed where it was, but it was still looking at the Angel lying on the ground.
His attention then turned to the rogue Angel, who he saw was now flying over to the Angel lying on the ground. There were countless other Hybrids who had their rifles turned on the Slipskull so he felt safe walking down to the Type-2, asking her what the Angel was doing.
"She's trying to negotiate with it, get it to turn to our side. That Slipskull is under this Angel's control, if we can turn her we can save that human." The Type-2 still had her weapon aimed at the Angel, but she seemed a bit more relaxed than she perhaps she should have been.
"What's to stop this one from refusing just like the other ones did?"
"Look at her, she's disoriented, weak. That Arc Charger did something to her, the Queen says she doesn't seem to remember a lot of stuff. If she's forgotten her programming then she'll be much easier to sway."
X-Ray 4 looked back over to the Slipskull, seeing it had pulled itself into a corner, the Hardfang and several other Advanced Hybrids flanking it. "Why didn't that one just kill the Rangers when it had the chance?"
The Type-2 turned to glance at the Slipskull before turning to look at the fallen Angel again. "The Queen says that one is... different... She thinks this Angel gave him more freedom to do things than a typical Hybrid... Wait... She's asking for the Ranger to be let go..." They turned around, looking at the Slipskull, and he seemed to recoil as if he had been hit by something. He stared at the Hybrids surrounding it, then at them and the Angel.
The fallen Angel turned to look at him, and they stared for several seconds before the Slipskull's face seemed to fall, and his arms lowered a bit, the Ranger looking down as the Slipskull's hand lowered.
It hesitantly looked around for a few seconds longer before it relented, sheathing its Carbines and letting go of the Ranger. He stood there for a second, breathing heavily before his instincts kicked in, and X-Ray 4 watched the Ranger dive away from the Slipskull, a Hybrid grabbing him and pulling him away.
The Hardfang and several other Advanced Hybrids advanced on the Slipskull, the Hardfang standing directly in front of the Slipskull, towering over the smaller Hybrid, pushing its Arc Charger right up against the Slipskull. The Hardfang looked away from the Slipskull, back towards the two Angels, seeing what the outcome would be.
The wounded Angel was looking around the area, taking in all the creatures looking at them. It surprised X-Ray 4, considering the Angel had been trying to kill him just a little bit ago, but then again, who knew what could have happened to it when the Hardfang electrocuted it.
It looked up to the rogue Angel hovering just in front of it, and it gave a low, drawn out growl, and X-Ray 4 watched, keeping his rifle trained on it as it slowly stood up, beginning to lift into the air.
Though the Type-2 quickly came up to him, putting a hand on the barrel of his rifle. "It's ok. She's decided to join our side."
X-Ray 4 spared the Type-2 a glance before he turned around, looking at the Slipskull.
The Hardfang had lowered her weapon, taking a step back from the creature, though she was still watching him. The Slipskull had visibly relaxed now, no longer in immediate danger of being fried, though X-Ray 4 could tell that the creature was still on edge, sparing glances at the other Hybrids standing near him.
"Ok... If the thing's on our side, put her to work I guess. We are running out of time." X-Ray 1 turned to look at the two Rangers, who had now returned back to their equipment, though they were still glancing at the Slipskull behind them.
"Do you two have everything you need?" X-Ray 1 made his way over to the two Rangers.
"Ya, we should be ready. Just gotta get up there." The Ranger was rigging explosives up, priming them and putting them in his pockets, sparing a glance at the reactor.
It was settled in the center of the room, the pathway they were on circling around the entire device, though there was a significant gap between the edge of the pathway and the reactor, a large metal barrier the only thing protecting people from a long fall to the bottom of the tower, no doubt a protective measure.
"Ok, good. Those Angels are gonna be carting you around up there, get it done." His attention then turned to his radio, the Ranger squad down the hall calling them.
"We've got hostiles inbound! We'll hold 'em as long as we can, but we're low on ammo!"
"Shit!" X-Ray 1 waved for everyone to move forward. "Let's give those guys the time they need to get their work done, move!" He ran back through the doorway, taking up position with the Hybrids that were manning the machine guns just outside the door.
Gunfire started to echo down the hall, and X-Ray 4 lifted up his rifle, looking down the scope to see multiple enemy Hybrids being gunned down by the defenses further ahead.
There were countless Hybrids approaching around the bend further ahead, but with no cover they were helpless against the mounted machine guns and rifles of the defenders. Still, they kept coming, X-Ray 4 taking carefully aimed shots to take out a Steelhead that was directing some Hybrids.
He heard a commotion behind him, and he turned around just in time to see the two demolition Rangers getting picked up by the Angels, a tentacle wrapping around each of them, hoisting them off the ground as they desperately held onto them, eventually letting go as the Angels brought them up to the reactor, the two men steeling themselves as they started pulling explosives out of their pockets, setting them onto the device.
There were several Hybrids also looking around nervously, waiting for the time when they were needed. He glanced at the Hardfang, seeing that she seemed to be eager to get into the fight, but her weapon was useless past a few meters, so she was relegated to protecting the two Rangers. The Slipskull was standing close by too, his weapons also not useful at long range.
He turned back around, seeing that the amount of bodies were piling up past the forward defenses, and the enemy Hybrids were using their fallen comrades as cover, now firing back at the defenses. The Titan was doing her best, firing into the horde, sending several Chimera flying with every blast from the high explosive rounds, but new Hybrids would fill the spot every time.
It seemed like the Chimera were focusing a significant portion of their strength on the tower reactor room, and that was confirmed when a radio message came through.
"Tower is almost clear! We are making our way away from the tower, encountering little enemy resistance!"
X-Ray 4 nodded, still taking potshots at the enemy Hybrids, but then he saw something worse appear down the hall, a Stalker.
X-Ray 1 reached up to his radio. "Pull back! Pull back now!"
The forces at the forward position retreated, X-Ray 4 seeing one of the men pulling another air fuel grenade out, tossing it behind them. The Titan was covering their retreat, stunning the Stalker, preventing it from firing, and exploding any Hybrids near it.
Several Hybrids charged forward, but they were too slow to get out of the radius of the air fuel grenade, X-Ray 4 seeing them drop their weapons, flailing around as their skin blackened from the flames, the creatures dying within seconds, the soldiers able to hear their pained roars echoing down the hall.
There had to have been 50 Hybrids that had been taken out by the air fuel grenade, the Stalker had not been affected by it though, and it pushed forward, firing AA rounds into the hide of the Titan. She roared, sending another round at the Stalker before turning around, following the retreating soldiers making their way to the last defense point.
X-Ray 4 was still firing down the hall, taking careful aim so as not to hit any allies, jolting when a heavy hand set down on him, and he looked up as he was pushed out of the way, seeing a Steelhead level its Auger at the Stalker.
The Titan noticed the Steelhead and moved off to the side, the Steelhead sending several radiation rounds towards the Stalker. It fired down the hall, X-Ray 4 grimacing as he watched a few of the retreating soldiers get gunned down, several Hybrids and a few of the now smaller squad of Rangers, the men now close enough that X-Ray 4 could see that one of them was Osborne.
The Steelhead's rounds hit the Stalker, phasing through the hull, the Stalker slumping to the ground as its crew were fried, X-Ray 4 firing at a Hybrid climbing onto the vehicle to man it.
"Come on, get over here!"
The soldiers from the forward position had now made it to cover, eagerly ducking down, X-Ray 4 glancing over them, then turning as he heard the thundering sounds of the Titan, watching her step over one of the machine guns, the Hybrids manning it ducking down.
"What the hell happened up there, troopers?"
X-Ray 4 looked back, seeing X-Ray 1 addressing the Rangers now taking cover near them.
"The fuckers swarmed us, sir. They blasted their way in with that Stalker, overwhelmed our tanks with those damn Augers. Had to be several hundred of them outside. Captain got shot in seconds, company retreated but we got cut off." His face took on a pained look. "There were 15 of us just a few minutes ago, now it's just us 4."
"And then those damn Angels. They flew right past us, we couldn't do anything more than fire a few rounds at them before we had to run." The Ranger was checking his ammo pouches, X-Ray 4 seeing that most of them were empty, the same could be said for most of the Rangers near them.
They ducked down a bit more, Bullseye fire sailing overhead, striking the Titan, the creature letting out a bellow, turning her massive weapon at the advancing Hybrids. A shot rang out and a group of Hybrids were destroyed or launched away by the blast.
X-Ray 4 looked up, seeing the Hybrids had gotten past the abandoned forward defenses, the Titan's round obliterating the machine guns that were set up there, the Hybrids denied the use of them. They were still pelting the defenses though, X-Ray 4 seeing an Advanced Hybrid get knocked back as a round hit its armor, spasming as it fell to the ground, landing on its heatstacks.
"Keep firing! Do not let them get close!" X-Ray 1 aimed his rifle, using his grenade launcher on the enemy, a Hybrid exploding when the round hit it, the ones nearby getting coated red and pelted by shrapnel.
The machine guns near them were going nonstop, only stopping to reload, X-Ray 4 seeing heat wafting off of the barrels. The emplacements were protected by clear shields, and the Bullseyes were not strong enough to pierce the armor, just leaving scores on the glass where they hit.
There were gaps in the cover though, and X-Ray 4 heard a Hybrid let out a groan, falling to the ground as a bolt slammed into its gut. It clutched its wound and X-Ray 4 went over to the Hybrid, pulling it away from the gun, letting another man the weapon.
"Shit!" He kept low, reaching out to a pile of Sym-Bac containers nearby, opening it as he had seen the Hybrids do before. The Hybrid was clenching its fists, groaning, but it moved its hands away, letting the soldier pour the material into its wound.
He turned away, aiming his rifle back down his hallway, his eyes widening as he looked over at the Stalker. "They're trying to man that Stalker!" He took aim at a Hybrid that had just finished pulling the dead operator out of the seat, firing before it could get in.
"Do not let them get that thing back up!"
The Titan was trying to take the Stalker out, but there were too many Hybrids between them, the shots hitting them instead of the Stalker.
Another Hybrid was climbing onto the Stalker, X-Ray 4 taking aim, the creature recoiling as the round hit it in the shoulder. "Fuck!" He took aim again, setting his sights on its face, needing to get the shot off before the hatch closed on it.
A Bullseye round flew towards him, the soldier flinching, raising his rifle up as he turned his head away. He grunted, falling to the ground, his eyes wide as he looked down at his chest. The bullet had hit his rifle, the weapon destroyed.
He looked over, seeing the Type-2 ducking down, glancing at him, and he felt himself get dragged against a barrier, seeing that it was the Hybrid that he had helped earlier.
"The Stalker's getting up, someone take it- Shit, take cover!"
He heard the whistle of a missile sailing towards them, and he turned his face towards the barrier, covering his head. An explosion rang out, and he heard a pained roar come from the Titan, looking up to see a chunk of flesh had been blown out of her chest.
Another missile sailed towards her, the Titan raising up her weapon in an attempt to block it. The missile slammed into the weapon, the Titan falling to the ground as her weapon exploded.
He pulled his pistol out, aiming it down the hallway, letting off shots at the now emboldened Hybrids, watching Auger rounds sail towards the Stalker again. It was too slow though, the Stalker launching another missile just before the rounds penetrated it.
It hit the center of the defense line, X-Ray 4 getting launched away, his pistol flying away as he slammed against the wall, several Hybrids also being launched away.
He coughed, raising his head in pain, seeing the Type-2 had also been launched away by the explosion, and she was crawling towards a Bullseye lying on the ground. His ears were ringing, he could hardly hear anything. He looked to X-Ray 1, seeing him stand up, raising his rifle up.
A hail of Bullseye rounds flew into him before he could get a single round off, X-Ray 4's eyes widening as he watched his commander fall to the ground. A Hybrid pulled him away, but X-Ray 4 could see that he was completely limp.
He looked around for his pistol, but it was gone, so he grabbed a Bullseye lying on the ground. He was still lying on the ground, and he raised the weapon up, firing at a Hybrid that was fast approaching.
The defenders were trying to recover, X-Ray 4 seeing an Advanced Hybrid get on a machine gun that hadn't been destroyed, but it was only able to get a few shots off before it slumped to the ground, riddled with bullet holes.
They were getting too close now, the Stalker giving the perfect opportunity for the Hybrids to push forward. He pulled out a grenade, throwing it at the rapidly approaching horde, his eyes widening as a Hybrid jumped over the barricade he was hiding behind, landing on top of him.
It tore his rifle out of his hands, the soldier trying to defend himself, raising his hands as the Hybrid raised its own, splaying its hand wide as it brought it down. It hit him hard in the chest, the wind getting knocked out of him as the claws dug into the chest plate. It dragged its fingers down, ripping the kevlar apart, the steel plate the only thing saving the human from being torn apart.
The Hybrid let out a roar, grabbing his shoulders, the man raising his hands up to the Hybrid's face as it tried to sink its teeth into his neck. Its claws were digging into his shoulders, the man letting out a scream as it dragged its claws across his left shoulder, down the side of his chest, tearing the skin as it went.
He faltered, his grip on the Hybrid weakening, pulling a hand away from its face to grab at the one that was digging into his side. His other arm got roughly grabbed, the Hybrid crushing his wrist with its iron grip as it pinned his arm to the ground, nothing protecting him from the creature anymore.
The sound of a Reaper Carbine rang out, X-Ray 4 seeing bullets pierce through the Hybrid on top of him, the creature's grip loosening. He pushed it away with his right hand, the creature falling limply to the side. He groaned, closing his eyes as he clutched the side of his chest, looking to see the blood pooling on the ground.
He looked back, seeing the Slipskull from earlier running forward, the Hardfang and several other Hybrids behind him. They were firing into the horde of Chimera that were overwhelming the defenses, pushing them back. He felt hands on him and then he was being dragged away, cursing as the movement made his wounds hurt even more.
He heard a loud roar and he looked up, seeing one of the Angels had also shown up. She tossed several poison spikes into the enemies, the Hybrids coughing and falling to the ground as these ones released a toxic cloud of gas.
He was dragged down the stairs and he could see no more of the fighting, his wounds screaming in agony as he slid down them. He looked up to the doorway, seeing multiple other Hybrids and two of the Rangers being dragged out. The Angel was the last to get through, two Hybrids clutched in her tentacles, and then the door was sealed.
He tried to look around for his squadmates and the Type-2, but there was too much activity, too many Hybrids running around, and the pain in his side was too much. He leaned his head back, his face in a grimace as his rescuer tore his uniform open around where the wound was, pouring Sym-Bac into it.
He sat there, his eyes still closed, even as the pain went away and his wounds healed, the Hybrid eventually grabbing him by the shoulder, pulling him up and looking at his visor, letting out a low growl.
"Ugh. Ya, I'm fine. Thanks." He took in a breath, slowly standing up to his feet.
He looked around, spotting the Type-2 on the ground, being aided by another Hybrid, the man's eyes widening as he quickly made his way over to her. She saw him approaching and he could see a lot of the tension from her body instantly go away.
She had taken a hit to her chest, and he could see a mark on her left bracer where a round seemed to have hit it too. "I could see you getting attacked. I tried to help, but one of them shot me. I thought you were going to die." She looked away as she said that, ashamed that she had failed to protect him.
He sat down next to her, the Hybrid closing her eyes as the Hybrid tending to her walked away, her wounds now completely healed up.
"It looks like the Rangers finished setting the explosives." He could see countless explosives set up on the reactor, they seemed to have used everything they had. He looked around, seeing there were now only 3 Rangers left, Sergeant Hale, Osborne, and another one whose name he didn't know. He looked for his squad, but he grew worried when he noticed there were none of his squadmates in the area.
He took in a heavy breath. "Where's... Where's my squad?" He looked to the Type-2, who opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated, looking away from him, the Hybrid's look enough to let him know what had happened.
He let out a sigh, leaning his head down, just staring for a second before he took in his own state. His chest rig had been torn to pieces by the Hybrid who had attacked him, his brow furrowing as he reached up to where his radio was, seeing that the lines had been severed. He grabbed the device, looking at it for a second before tossing it aside, the item far too gone to be useful to him.
A pair of boots appeared at his feet and he looked up, seeing it was Sergeant Hale. "Come on, it's time to go." He offered a hand to the soldier, and X-Ray 4 took it, surprised by the strength of the Ranger as he was pulled to his feet.
The Type-2 stood up too, and they looked over at the sealed doorway, hearing the Bullseye fire pelting it.
"The demolition team set up a 5 minute timer on those explosives, we have to get out of here before it goes off."
X-Ray 4 turned to see several Hybrids making their way towards an exit on the far end of the hanger. The Titan and one of the Angels were leading the way, though the Titan had no weapon left. He noted that the Titan seemed to have been healed, the wounds she had taken in the fight now healed up.
Sergeant Hale reached up to his radio. "5 minutes until tower detonation, we're evacuating now."
They made their way to the exit, X-Ray 4 seeing the Type-2 sparing one last glance at the room before she followed him through the exit.