Descent of Nightmare (Chapter Eighteen)
Dec. 18th, 2016 12:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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saladloveChapter list: https://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/650.html
Map of Kaldriel: https://i.gyazo.com/332b0c0172dcc60acb46
Rough map of Hatu: https://i.gyazo.com/ea4f9f51b9dc7b9d8b86
Chapter Eighteen
Imminent
Akrar, Kaldriel. November 10, 2277. Time instance 842N.
It was midafternoon when Nine arrived in Akrar.
“Okay, so, I get you have to protect the city and kill all the angels and stuff,” Scott began. “But what the fuck are those?”
“They’re turrets,” Nine said, raising an eyebrow. “They’re the repurposed antiaircraft cannons that we worried about during the revolution. We can set them up to-”
“No, not the turrets! I got that, I’m not stupid.” Scott pointed at Nine’s feet. “I meant those!”
Nine sighed, looking thoroughly unamused. “They’re shoes, Scott.”
“What the fuck. Those are not shoes. Those are-”
“Can he finish explaining about the turrets? That was interesting,” Xela interrupted. Scott frowned but didn’t respond, allowing Nine to clear his throat and continue.
“Anyway. We can set these up to shoot at the gate as soon as angels start pouring through, but we’ve got a bit more strategy than that planned. Talmarian is familiar with some old angel battle tactics and he suspects that they’ll at least start with their traditional strategy. They’re going to send the Guardians- angels who are essentially tanks and can create shields- in first, then the others behind them so that they’ll be protected. There comes a point where the Guardians are spread out enough that these things-” Nine motioned at the train behind him, where cyborgs were starting to unload the turrets “-can shoot between them and hit the more fragile angels on the other side.”
“Are bullets going to be able to take down angels?” Scott sounded skeptical.
“They’re essentially tank shells.”
“Oh. That’ll get them, then.”
Xela frowned. “I know you’ll annihilate most of the angels as they come through the gate, but what’s stopping a few from getting away and just blowing up the turrets, either from range or up close? If you put guards on them, then they’ll just be destroyed along with them.”
Nine shrugged. “We won’t put guards on them. I’m fully aware that these will be the first target and will likely be destroyed in the first assault. We have a few positioned on the most vital gates but I’ve had the vast majority brought here, to Akrar. While we might lose most if not all of them, it’ll make the angels think twice about attacking us and will make them sustain heavy losses. We’re damn lucky the Mainframe never had the opportunity to use these like we are now, or we wouldn’t have even taken SOV.”
“That would have been bad,” Scott decided.
“I hope you’re not fighting in the city?”
“No, of course not. We’re setting up a ways outside and hope the angels will come through to fight us and not raze Eldar. They’re mostly here to kill demons and weaken Hell’s demonic influence, which would allow them to go in without dying and destroy Hell from the inside out. Supposedly. It’s never happened before- both sides have lost too many in past wars and called a ceasefire out of fear of destroying them both. Kaldriel and its inhabitants are merely in the crossfire. Or, rather, we have been in the crossfire. Now, we’re picking a side.”
“When was the last war between them?” Xela asked, tilting her head.
“About a thousand years ago. It was not good for humankind.”
“No. I imagine it wasn’t.” Xela shivered. “Does Seven know about this plan?”
“No. He doesn’t need to. Geluu, Talmarian, Hazon, and I all came up with it and we don’t need him nitpicking our every decision. He’s working on defending us from an incoming alien invasion and I figured I’d leave him to it. “
Xela frowned. “Incoming alien- why don’t you people tell me anything?!”
Nine grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. I’ll have Hazon shoot you a message clearing everything up. I need to get to work on positioning these turrets and organizing the Steelwings that we’re keeping here. More spellcasters are going to be pouring in today and probably tomorrow, although the sooner the better as we don’t know when the angels are going to attack. Keep an eye on the sky and good luck keeping Akrar running, Scott.”
“What, you think I’m inept? I wouldn’t have gotten elected if I wasn’t talented.”
“Scott, you literally elected yourself at the end of the revolution and no one’s kicked you out yet because nothing fucking happens in Akrar.”
“Let him dream, Xela,” Nine sighed. “Now shouldn’t you two be asleep or something? It’s midafternoon.”
“I never sleep,” Xela informed him, “but I should probably run home. I forgot my paint and I’m going to get burned, but oh well.”
Scott looked offended. “You won’t let me run through the sun.”
“Because your skin will be charred black by the time you get home! I’m far older than you and therefore far more resilient. Plus there’s no chance of me going into battle and being hindered by wounds.”
“Burns wouldn’t hinder me.”
“They will if they’re on your eyes.”
“My eyes?” When Xela didn’t respond, Scott continued, “Xela, I can get burns on my eyes?”
Xela winked and left the room.
“Xela? Xela!” Scott followed after her, leaving Nine to laugh at his friends, knowing full well that vampires’ eyes didn’t burn in the sun, before moving to help the cyborgs behind him with the turrets.
~~~
“I want to complain about Shawn making us train, but I know we’re fucked if we don’t and it’s completely reasonable,” Neves said- in a way that could definitely be constituted as complaining, Fall thought- as he made his way out the door, Fall not far behind. She locked it behind them and waited for him to start walking before following, raising an eyebrow.
“He’s making everyone else train, you mean, and you just shoot things sometimes when your railgun decides to work.”
“No! Maybe. Yeah, kinda.”
“I’m there, Neves. I know.”
“Well, I can’t really use my magic to fight with only one hand,” he grumbled. “It really takes two to use offensively. Plus it’s a pain in the ass to have to replace my back after I use magic for long.”
“Better your breakable backpack than your arm.”
“Breakable backpack,” Neves repeated. “I’d like that more if I could take it off and didn’t have to sleep with it attached to my back. Because, you know, it is. It sucks. I hate it.”
Fall patted his shoulder reassuringly. “We all suffer. Besides, training can’t be that bad. You get to see Chris more.”
Neves very obviously wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would I want to see Chris more?”
“Neves.”
“Fall,” he mimicked. “You get to see Mars.”
“She’s my girlfriend, you cretin, I see her nearly every day.”
“Then why do you live with me and not her?”
“I’m...I’m not ready to take that step yet, okay?” Fall crossed her arms. “I’m just…”
“A pain in the ass? A slow piece of shit?”
“...not confident. But those too.”
“Oh.” Neves’ voice was quiet. “Sorry.”
Fall shrugged. “We’ll figure it out, somehow. I just don’t have the confidence to do anything further.”
“I could kick you out,” Neves jokingly offered, “and then she’d have to offer you a place to stay. Then just don’t leave.”
“It’s not that I can’t convince her! It’s that she can’t convince me!”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” Fall sighed. “Let’s talk about you and Chris. I prefer embarrassing you to talking about my ineptitude as a person.”
“You’re not inept.”
“I am.” Fall’s words came out louder than she intended and she stopped walking. Neves stopped too, turning to face her and frowning.
“What do you mean?”
“Some of the cyborgs went right back to acting mostly like normal people, and others continued to act like cyborgs. I’m neither. I’m human enough that people expect me to act like...like you, or Nine, or someone I’m not, and I’m cyborg enough that people think I might act like Seven but that’s not it either. I’m not cold, I’m just...it’s just…” Fall kicked at the ground. “Emotions are hard,” she finished, “and I don’t think that bump to the head that led to me living helped any.”
Neves stepped forward to hug her but she backed away. He stopped and took a half-step back to get out of her personal space. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Fall muttered.
“If it helps any, I think you’re plenty personable. You don’t need to change.”
“But I want to. I hate this. I don’t…” She looked down at her hands, at the light gleaming off of her right forearm. “I don’t want to be a cyborg,” she finished, refusing to look up to meet Neves’ gaze.
He was silent for a moment, and then, “I understand.”
“I’m missing something,” Fall mumbled, “and it’s driving me insane. I’m missing a part of who I am and I don’t know if I can ever get it back.”
“You’re Fall.”
“But I wasn’t always. I was Akiko Casper, once, and now I’m not but part of me wants to know her, to know who I am now. Fall is a cyborg and I don’t want to be a cyborg, so who...who am I now?”
Neves didn’t have an answer for her, nor did she expect one. “I think I’m going to skip training,” Fall mumbled. “I don’t really need to go, anyway. I need some alone time.”
“Do you want me to come with you or do you want to go solo?”
“Solo.”
Neves nodded. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything, alright? Shawn will understand if I have to go.”
Fall nodded slightly. “I will. Thanks, Neves.”
“Anytime.”
Fall turned without looking up at him and vanished between the buildings, walking along streets and down alleys and not paying much attention to where she was heading. Every footstep felt like it left pounds of metal behind, more than she had, but leaving every wire, bolt, and plate intact despite her mental pleading for them to go.
She was so distracted that she ignored her prediction software’s warning that she was about to walk into someone, bumping right into them and making them both stumble. True to her name, Fall lost her balance and hit the ground while the other person regained their balance.
“Sorry,” Fall mumbled, looking up. “I just- hey, wait a minute!”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “I remember you.” She held out a hand and Fall took it, allowing herself to be helped up. The ghost that followed Lucy around looked at Fall with an expression of good job you damn fool but didn’t speak. “You had some weird feeling about me, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I did. Still do. Whatever.” Fall looked at her curiously, pushing her personal matters aside for the moment. “You’re important, somehow.”
“You’re different,” Lucy told her. “You feel different. Like...like…” She hesitated. “Like death,” she said finally, “and I’m the only one I know that feels like that.”
Fall tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“I…” Lucy took a deep breath and shook her head. “Nevermind. Sorry. I’m...really worried about the whole angel thing and it’s making me weird.”
“I think you’re lying.”
“I think it’s none of your business.”
Fall shrugged. “That’s true. It isn’t.”
Lucy blinked in surprise. “Oh. I...was expecting you to pry.”
“If I was Neves, I would have. But I’m not Neves. I’m...not much of anyone, really.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“I still think you’re lying.”
“That was truthful,” Lucy protested.
Fall shrugged. “If you say so.”
Lucy glanced around. “I should...probably get going. Twelve might need something.”
Fall figured she was just looking for an excuse to get away and quietly accepted it. “Go ahead. I’ll see you around.”
“See you,” Lucy echoed, and set off down the alley. The ghost remained, however, looking at Fall before speaking quietly.
“You are marked by death.”
With that, she was gone.
~~~
Twelve’s head snapped up as someone burst into the room. Lucy had just returned, so she wasn’t expecting anyone else. She quickly recognized the form as one of Korrah’s parents- Gali- and got to her feet at the panicked look on her face and the anxiety radiating off of her.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nine sent me,” Gali gasped. “The Sapphire Gate has appeared in the sky. The angels are about to start coming through.”
Everex swore viciously and got to his feet as Twelve nodded swiftly. “We’ll be there as soon as we can. Thank you.”
Gali nodded and left the room. Twelve motioned for Everex to follow her, barking commands for the labkids around her to follow. She told several of them to get the others and led the way downstairs, pausing only briefly to let them catch up before going outside and breaking into a sprint.
Her eyes turned to the sky and they widened as they caught sight of a spiraling blue gate high in the clouds, a ways out of the city but high enough that Twelve couldn’t tell the exact distance.
Around the gate, pinpricks of light began to form a semi-sphere. With a chill, she realized that the angels were already here.
no subject
Date: 2016-12-18 07:44 pm (UTC)“Okay, so, I get you have to protect the city and kill all the angels and stuff,” Scott began. “But what the fuck are those?”
“They’re turrets,” Nine said, raising an eyebrow. “They’re the repurposed antiaircraft cannons that we worried about during the revolution. We can set them up to-”
“No, not the turrets! I got that, I’m not stupid.” Scott pointed at Nine’s feet. “I meant those!”
Nine sighed, looking thoroughly unamused. “They’re shoes, Scott.”
“What the fuck. Those are not shoes. Those are-”
Daaaaamn Nine, back at it again with the white vans.
“Are bullets going to be able to take down angels?” Scott sounded skeptical.
“They’re essentially tank shells.”
“Oh. That’ll get them, then.”
Firing an anti-tank missile at an Angel seems like it would be enough to take one down, so here's hoping that works *crosses fingers*
“When was the last war between them?” Xela asked, tilting her head.
“About a thousand years ago. It was not good for humankind.”
“No. I imagine it wasn’t.” Xela shivered. “Does Seven know about this plan?”
“No. He doesn’t need to. Geluu, Talmarian, Hazon, and I all came up with it and we don’t need him nitpicking our every decision. He’s working on defending us from an incoming alien invasion and I figured I’d leave him to it. “
Xela frowned. “Incoming alien- why don’t you people tell me anything?!”
War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. *old song reference that probably no one will understand without googling*
Also:
War. War never changes.
Seven the nitpicker, who's protecting us all from the incoming raptors.
Hey here's a fun idea why don't we throw the angels at the raptors when they come?
"...Keep an eye on the sky and good luck keeping Akrar running, Scott.”
“What, you think I’m inept? I wouldn’t have gotten elected if I wasn’t talented.”
“Scott, you literally elected yourself at the end of the revolution and no one’s kicked you out yet because nothing fucking happens in Akrar.”
There's only one law that Scott enforces in Akrar, Monopoly is banned unless Scott is one of the participants of the game.
“Well, I can’t really use my magic to fight with only one hand,” he grumbled. “It really takes two to use offensively. Plus it’s a pain in the ass to have to replace my back after I use magic for long.”
“Better your breakable backpack than your arm.”
“Breakable backpack,” Neves repeated. “I’d like that more if I could take it off and didn’t have to sleep with it attached to my back. Because, you know, it is. It sucks. I hate it.”
Fall patted his shoulder reassuringly. “We all suffer. Besides, training can’t be that bad. You get to see Chris more.”
Neves very obviously wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would I want to see Chris more?”
“Neves.”
“Fall,” he mimicked. “You get to see Mars.”
“She’s my girlfriend, you cretin, I see her nearly every day.”
Neves needs some of that shiny blue metal in his future upgrades.
Awww Neves has a crush on Chris *pushes them together in a training session* XD
Huzzah! The Sparks ship sails!
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “I remember you.” She held out a hand and Fall took it, allowing herself to be helped up. The ghost that followed Lucy around looked at Fall with an expression of good job you damn fool but didn’t speak. “You had some weird feeling about me, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I did. Still do. Whatever.” Fall looked at her curiously, pushing her personal matters aside for the moment. “You’re important, somehow.”
“You’re different,” Lucy told her. “You feel different. Like...like…” She hesitated. “Like death,” she said finally, “and I’m the only one I know that feels like that.”
I'm starting to think that the weird feeling Fall has about Lucy is linked to the whole red eyes and darkness thing that Lucy has, perhaps before Fall was a cyborg she also had the same thing but lost it when she became a cyborg.
The ghost remained, however, looking at Fall before speaking quietly.
“You are marked by death.”
Sunny disposition as always Sheva, thanks for that XP
no subject
Date: 2016-12-18 07:52 pm (UTC)dun dun duuuun
Sheva's not just being weird. She's saying that for a reason.
no subject
Date: 2016-12-18 08:21 pm (UTC)*angel firing a shot at a steelwing misses and hits an incoming raptor ship, the raptor ships open fire on the angels*
I know Sheva's not being weird, she's gone from weird to ominous.