In a 3D Virtual Reality hologram game, it was a year after Mount Fuji erupted, annihilating Yamanashi Prefecture and Tokyo with seas of lava and ashes. Decapitated buildings and rubble, shinkansen trains molten into skeletons of their former selves. Warning signs and posters of Radiation in every nook and cranny imaginable. Tokyo, once a vibrant metropolis, was now a hellish wasteland, its skyline shrouded by pollution and ashes still lingering after the eruption. We, the last remnants of a shattered world in this VR simulation, were the Geats, tasked with annihilating as many mutants and zombies as we could with our various Rider Weapons, like something out of a 3D "Doom Eternal/Halo" game.
Ace Ukiyo gripped his plasma gun tightly. Kanato meticulously checked his ammo, refilling on various bullets whenever he uses them up. And me, Win, nicknamed "PunkJack", tried to ignore the unfurling nausea in my guts. The stench of undead corpses reanimation themselves to attack us - was like that of rotting steak, dirty socks, and toxic bacteria, making me have to puke sometimes on the ground.
Today's mission was a doozy: eliminate the 'Zombie Mother,' a monstrous entity that procreated and controlled the undead hordes that plagued the city. We were given special plasma guns, supposedly capable of dispatching these creatures with ease. But nothing about this mission felt easy.
The first wave hit us like a tidal wave of flesh and bone. I fired, the plasma bolt sizzling through the air, leaving a smoking char where a zombie once stood. Around me, Ace was a blur of motion, each shot a precision strike. Kanato, a calm island in the chaos, methodically emptied his magazine, his eyes focused and calculating. Me and Kanato gunned down several skinwalker zombies inside an abandoned Saizeriya Italian restaurant.
"Kanato," I asked, viewing the filthy floors of the Saizeriya restaurant. "I think there's a skinwalker under this table!"
Kanato quickly gunned down the growling menace, before it's sharp, long fingernails could slices through us like a Japanese steel knife through A5 wagyu steak.
But the horde was relentless. More zombies lurked outside of Saizeriya and its oremises than inside. They swarmed us, their decaying flesh ripping and tearing at our armors protective extra-coatings. One managed to nibble on my arm, its decaying teeth scraping against my suit. I instinctively shoved it back, the stench of its decaying flesh making me gag. Luckily we didn't lose any limbs or body parts.
'Ace, report!' Kanato's voice was tight, cutting through the cacophony of groans and screams.
'Plasma gun is starting to overheat,' Ace shouted back, his voice edged with tension. 'It's cutting out between shots!'
Kanato's face tightened. 'Mine too. We need to reach the Mother before we run out of ammo. I think Da-Paan has extra bullets, and a machine gun with unlimited plasma bullets from thin air."
The horde was unrelenting, but we pushed through, our movements becoming more desperate, more primal. I found myself ducking and weaving between the undead, my plasma gun spitting sporadic blasts. Each shot a desperate gamble, each miss a terrifying near miss.
Then, through the haze of ash and decaying flesh, we saw her. The Zombie Mother. A grotesque amalgamation of human and monstrosity, her body ravaged by decay yet radiating an unnatural energy. In her hands, she clutched a scepter, pulsating with a sickly green light.
'She's poppin' out more!' Ace yelled, his voice tight with fear.
Even as we fired, even as we struggled to keep the hordes at bay, the ground around us pulsed with movement. New zombies were birthing from the earth, fueled by the Mother's putrid magic.
With a surge of adrenaline, I lunged forward, adrenaline pumping through my veins. My plasma gun sparked, sputtering through its final shot. The bolt struck the Mother's arm, causing her to scream in pain, a sound that echoed like a death knell through the ruined city.
But it wasn't enough. She raised her scepter, and a wave of green energy washed over us. The ground beneath my feet rumbled, and I felt a dull ache deep in my bones.
'Ace! Kanato!' I screamed, my voice strained. 'We need to break through!'
Before I could get a response, the ground split open, and another wave of zombies erupted from the earth. I backed away, trying to maintain my footing as the creatures swarmed around me.
Then, a blinding flash of light. Ace, his eyes burning with an unnatural intensity, stood before me. His plasma gun, somehow rejuvenated, blazed with a blinding white light.
'Take this, you abomination!' he roared, his voice shaking the very air around us.
His shot hit the Zombie Mother, and with a final, guttural scream, she collapsed, her body crumbling into dust. The green light faded, and the ground beneath us stilled.
We stared at the dust cloud where the Mother once stood, our breaths coming in ragged gasps. The battle was over, but the victory felt hollow. We had won, but at what cost?
As we limped back to the safety of our base, the weight of the world seemed to press down on us. The city, once a place of life and laughter, was now a graveyard of memories. And we, the Geats, were the last guardians of this shattered world, forever haunted by the ghosts of those who had fallen.
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