Board Thread:What Would You Do?/@comment-32301387-20170812210454/@comment-33398500-20180109080125

Well, I guess this is the way the world ends...

“I’m telling you, it’s the only way...”

“...and I’m telling you, commander, it won’t work... you won’t get within 500 meters of it...”

Central and I were currently looking over the holo-display for the post-uprising chaos that was Tokyo, Japan: Current epicentre of the mamono invasion, due to the presence of the portal that currently linked our worlds in permanent suspension above the city.

“...and so? Should we do nothing?” I then asked him curiously “Play it safe, lose it all in an unwinnable grind? Their numbers grow not just daily, but MINUTE by MINUTE... somewhere, hell, everywhere, one of our people is turned into one of them by the insatiability of our foe...”

“That’s not what I said!” John then interrupted me. “I didn’t say we shouldn’t do anything... but to risk it all in one move like this... I don’t like it...”

“That makes two of us...” I then assured him, as he had given voice to my own uncertainty “But I don’t see another choice... we have to do SOMETHING, or lose everything... and the only target I can see is that portal... and the monster leader that has placed the seat of her empire there...” spotting two people enter the room behind John, I spoke quickly “Oh, thank God... did you two learn anything from the artifact?”

However, upon seeing the expressions worn by the two of them, I knew the answer before they spoke “I’m sorry, commander...” Dr. Vahlen then told me “I have used every method, exhausted every possible route of attempting to understand this artifact... but it is not possible, even with our technology, to understand whatever form of magic these monsters use...”

“Damn...” I muttered to myself. “...and the MECs?” I asked, turning to Dr. Shen.

“I’m afraid not, commander... attempts to link a Paladin to an automated control system have failed... we will still require a human pilot for every operable MEC...” he informed me, sounding disappointed.

“I don’t understand, why do you have so much interest in Shen’s experiment?” John then asked me bluntly.

“It’s quite simple... every MEC operator is another potential capture by the monsters... if we could automate them, we could fight them without handing them more breeders... their numbers explode enough as it is...” I then finished, looking at a small display telling me the exponential rate of increase the mamonos had, both from arrivals through the portal and corrupting people already here.

“Every new corruption... every new arrival will make our mission harder... as it is, there are millions of them between us and that portal...” according to reports, Japan had broken out in an orgy of corruption once the islands had been fully captured by the invading mamono.

Despite having been given full permission to kill anything that crossed our path, I had yet to see ANY of our weapons actually KILL one of those things, no matter what we used. “We don’t have any choice, John... it’s do-or-die time now... we either win the chance to keep up the fight for our world... or we all go down together...”

Upon hearing this, John nodded “Yeah... I know... I was just hoping for a way around it... but we can't risk losing you...”

Shaking my head, as I stepped forward, I headed toward the door “John... this is the end... EVERYONE has to be on stage for the finale...” At this, the rest of command staff started after me as we headed down to the flight bay.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Commander, you can’t be serious!” Dr. Vahlen protested.

<p class="MsoNormal">“In fact, I am, Doctor...” I replied, stepping over to the waiting assault suit, rapidly entering the hulking, armoured combat suit. “Dr. Shen... the helmet, if you would be so kind...”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I... I understand... commander...” he responded, handing me the helmet, which then sealed around my head with a hiss of its pressure seals, the command HUD we worked on now appearing in front of me “Thank you...” I then told him with a nod.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Since when were you fitted with cybernetics?” Central asked me, plainly astounded.

<p class="MsoNormal">“He wasn’t... this is an experimental exoskeleton suit we constructed to allow unaugmented soldiers to fight like MEC troopers...” Dr. Shen explained.

<p class="MsoNormal">As two MEC troopers, and the rest of our combat squad made their way onto the skyranger, I gestured to Central “You have the base, John... we’re going... see you when I see you...” nodding slightly and saluting the remaining base staff; already a sparsely-populated facility.

<p class="MsoNormal">The aircraft, now taking off toward Japan, hurtled in toward the supreme statement of our enemy’s power. “All right, boys... six against several million... we can take ‘em...” I then said, not sure if I was joking or not at that point.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Damn right, commander! We’ve got you here, right? We can’t fail!” an Australian MEC trooper then said brashly.

<p class="MsoNormal">Wishing I actually had that level of confidence as the enormous portal was in clear view, I watched as our aircraft now flew over the coast of Japan. “All right, boys... no real intel on this one... we need to get in there, take out whatever is maintaining that portal, and get the hell out of there... we do this right, we MIGHT have a chance of winning...”

<p class="MsoNormal">However, even as I gave the ‘briefing’, the entire aircraft shook as a violent impact struck the skyranger. “What was that?!” I called up to the pilot. “Dragons, boss! Patrolling the coast!” the pilot responded frantically. He’d never actually been taken out of the air before, but as I looked through the cockpit, flying green objects were clearly visible, now hearing a loud metallic tearing sound as the engines started to fall away, the dragons tearing the propulsion system apart. “We’re going down!! Brace your-“ that was as far as he got, as the skyranger now crashed with an almighty thud, throwing every member of the squad around the interior as the safety systems gave way.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oww...” I started, managing to pull myself up “Come on, squad! We’ve gotta get out of this craft!” I got out, dragging our wounded field medic out from the wreck of the skyranger. “I’m sorry, boys...” I said honestly, looking at the group of them, as, besides myself, only the MEC troopers were still in fighting shape, the rest of the crew either captured or dead. “Commander...” the medic then coughed out painfully “...get out of here... get it done... or this whole thing... is pointless...”

<p class="MsoNormal">Even as I tried to pick up the medic to carry him on our way, the dragons that had ambushed our skyranger now landed, tearing up the wreck as they looked for survivors to make theirs if one of us struck their fancy. It was at that point I was forced away from the wounded survivors, the MEC troopers and I withdrawing from the dragons, my eyes now taking in the astoundingly-intact street around us, except for the crater where our transport had crashed.

<p class="MsoNormal">It didn’t make sense... this country fell months ago... they had rebuilt? But... how was that even possible if they were what I thought they were...? Looking up and seeing the form of a young mamono, a werecat, on the second floor of the nearest building, looking down at me with a horrified expression on her face at the sight of the metal monstrosities now charging through their city, which had been sympathetic in part to the monsters from the start.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Come on, boys! We’re almost there!” Seeing ‘Shieldwall’ now catching up to me “Where’s ‘Sentinel’?” I asked, confused.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I got him, girls! It’s okay~” a voice called out in the night, which now caused me to shift my glance until I saw what had happened to the hulking MEC trooper. “A gremlin... damn...” I muttered to myself, as the gadgeteer mamono had quickly disabled one of our best combat units. “Ooooo, such nice robotic limbs!” the gremlin then called out, evidently getting past the armour already “Oh, but he’s still human where it counts~” she giggled in triumph at having finally caught a mate.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Damn... come on, Shieldwall... we can’t fail or all this is for nothing...” I continued, as the two of us continued to pelt down the street, large mechanized limbs giving high mechanical whirs as we charged down the streets until getting to a large wall just outside a palace-like structure under the portal.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Stand aside, commander, I’ve got this...” Shieldwall then said calmly, putting his fist through the wall, charging in and creating a MEC-sized hole in the palace wall, with me myself managing to follow him through before the hole collapsed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Okay... we’re in...” I started, looking up at the portal. “I don’t get it... there’s no generator... no fixed points supplying the portal... nothing to blow up, nothing to stop...” I continued, looking around and feeling a sense of panic rising in my gut for the first time in truth since the war started.

<p class="MsoNormal">There was no final objective. No way to stop this portal. No way to actually stop this invasion once and for all...

<p class="MsoNormal">“...oh, it appears I have guests...” a calm voice then called out from the palace doors. “Rather unruly guests...” she commented, shaking her head as she saw the hole in her wall, several dragons coming over the wall behind us, several more mamono coming out behind the woman in front of the two survivors of the group.

<p class="MsoNormal">But this woman...

<p class="MsoNormal">The one at the front of the group, it was obvious she was the leader of the group, made no effort at all to hide her nature as a succubus, nor did the small army of succubi behind her, but everything about her screamed ‘overwhelming power’. Her slim, beautiful frame complemented by her perfect proportions, long sheet of snow white hair draping behind her without a single stand out of place. This spoke nothing of her apparent aura though, as it felt like she could reduce me to ash with a single word.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Stay back, commander, I’ve got her!” ‘Shieldwall’ then shouted, charging the group, only for the being at the front of the group to turn him aside with a single light gesture, the armour seeming to lose power in an instant, rendering him nothing more than a frozen hulk.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What the-? Who... what are you...?” I started, stepping back in my armoured war suit.

<p class="MsoNormal">A smile graced the monster’s face as she stepped toward me calmly, looking straight into my faceless helmet. “So... this is the infamous commander of MCOM? I must say, I’m disappointed... you cannot be as skilled as they say if you believed assaulting my home would have any bearing on our efforts...”

<p class="MsoNormal">Even as I tried to continue to back up, I felt my legs freeze completely as she snapped her fingers, her power such that I could do nothing. This didn’t stop me from firing a rocket toward her, abandoning the leg armour as I fired every weapon I had at the unstoppable force advancing toward me, the projectiles bouncing away from her as if the munitions themselves did not want to harm her perfection.

<p class="MsoNormal">“How long until you run out of weapons?” she asked teasingly as she advanced, everyone else having stopped once the succubi started to pry apart ‘Shieldwall’s armour to see which of them would like him, the dragons only standing guard to ensure no one else interrupted their mistress’ fun.

<p class="MsoNormal">As my weapons began to merely click rather than unleash their deadly munitions, I resorted to my last weapon, an arm-mounted blade, which I took a swing at her with. “So defiant~ Such a brave little hero~” she cooed mockingly as she caught my arm, the weapon breaking off as she turned my arm in her hands.

<p class="MsoNormal">Taking up a final desperate fighting stance as I was reduced to only using my armour itself as a weapon “W-what are you...?” I managed to get out, as the unstoppable force finally pushed me to the ground, my suit rendering me immobile.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You have never witnessed the power of a lilim before?” she asked me with a giggle “Don’t worry, you’ll be seeing a lot more of it~ Why do you wear this? Afraid to let someone get close?” she then asked me, peeling the solid steel alloy bars and plate aside with her bare hands, enough to shatter my armour, and sliding my helmet off so she could look me in the eye “Cute~” she then cooed with a blush. “You know, the little ones thought your metal soldiers were mindless, soulless killers... But they’re just metal shells for cuties like you to hide in from us, it’s actually kind of adorable once you think about it~” she resumed, picking up my body, which was currently in some form of stasis, carrying me off and taking me to a large room in the heart of this palace, practically lobbing me onto a large four-poster bed in the middle of the room.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Another thing you might need to know, ‘Commander’...” she then continued with her tone, unbearably pleasant to hear “Was that mother had given me the job of ensuring we could finally unite your world...” bounding onto her bed, impossibly gorgeous form descending on me “...and eventually, the only job she gave me was capturing you~ and instead of having to hunt you, you came to me~ It’s precious how you tried to come here to carry out a final, desperate effort to save what you believe in... but now... it’s time for my trophy to learn the true paradise that awaits your race, that has already begun here~” unable to move right now as she pressed her lips to mine, hands busily removing everything that separated us.

<p class="MsoNormal">I guess this is the new world...