-

Eira, Mercy. South-East block.
Mech pilot: Medium armour, 2x.50cal, jets & supportsys.

---

The panic she had felt at having Mercy's arm torn off only accentuated the relief she felt when the Achilles Heel came to her rescue. The imminence of death upon her, her previous calm had shattered, but not her resolve in the slightest. I would die for my comrades, she realised. I would die for my objective. She couldn't decide whether this realisation gave her relief or fear.

Probably a bit of both.

The beast was still behind her, as dangerous as ever, and she had no way of knowing how long the Achille's Heel could hold it off of them. They needed to get out, and the cover fire she had been about to call in for had come just in time.

I'm gonna bloody live if I have to.

Not taking the time to do a full evaluation of the damage caused by the loss of an arm, Eira turned Mercy around and sprinted after Roman. She could see that he'd found two exits, and was deciding between them. One was in the direction of freedom, the other the fog. And he seemed to have chosen to go into the fog.

Mildly cursing her luck, she activated the life support systems in her mech without breaking stride and followed after him. As the stale air began to fill up her cockpit, she slung a gasmask over her face as an added precaution. She trusted the mech's ability to keep her breathing, but if ever there was a breach, she wouldn't want to be caught unprepared. As she was becoming fully aware, the slightest mistake could get you killed.

Roman said he saw some movement, she reminded. Let's hope they're friendlies. She would trust Roman's judgement, but at the same time, she was hoping to survive this mission.

Peter Táo, Bunker Security Reinforcements. Battle Zone of Downtown Skies.
South East

---

The American Way of Life. Filled with countless dangers, limited opportunities, and life or death struggles. However harsh it seemed, it was what it was and nothing would ever quite match the consumer based pre-cataclysmic eras. Somehow, aside from the nightmarish Northern Frontiers, the radiation infested African jungles, or Warzone Europa, the United States seemed to have scraped by through a form of fallout bunkers and networks. As time went on, civilization began to emerge from what became Thirteen Colonies and the fortified Bunker Cities.

A dark haired man wearing Standard Medium-Classed Bunker Infantry Armor was evidence of the supposed American renaissance, bobbed his head towards the speakers along a sparsely populated bench along the transport plane. The warning klaxons blared across the compacted cabin as red lights oscillated along the wall mounts. Crackling his knuckles, the Washington Bunker native nodded and unlatched the magazine from his assault rifle before rapping it along his helmet. The heavily reverberated dings and continuous note pitches surfaced a grin, prompting the F.A.S.T. Trooper to quickly slam the magazine back into the chambered holster. The Washington native already switched to X-Sinner, the White Metal band from the pre-cataclysm 80s. Before a suicidal mission, he pumped to Walking Evil for the road ahead.



"Whoa! Walkiiiiiing evillllllll," the Bunker Trooper sang amidst bobbing to the guitar solo, "Say-cred servants sacrifice in the dark of night ..."

Several moments and a pistol load later, Specialist Peter Táo had re-examined his gear, ammo reserves, and parachutes straps. Air drops always brought out an individual's unmolested self and Peter remembered the days he performed his first drops, which somehow brought him into New York Bunker territory. The missions were some he never wanted to revisit despite having assisted the hard-bitten Northern Bunker New York Ground Security Teams. Sure, Washington Bunker professionals could hold their own, but they were dropping into an urban freak-hole and if he wasn't mistaken, an entire Bunker Battalion had entered and failed to return.

"Sam Houston, Liam Grillod, Marvin Walters, South West. JUMP!"

“Alright, you guys, kick some ass out there!” the Washington specialist shouted towards departing Chicago Security personnel, “Shit's about to go sideways, but … if we all get out of there alive, beers're on me ... even if you've gotta take my current paycheck!”

Not a moment after he watched Specialists Liam and Matthew jump, he heard Mirkov bellow, “Peter Táo, South East, JUMP!”

“Affirmative,” Peter loudly answered before he simultaneously pulled on his gas mask and twisted his wrist watch gears to a one hour, count-down timer. Rising, the specialist hastily shoved his earbuds and archaic MP6 into his pocket before a simple wrist motion opened a locket of his wife, Kelsey.

“Wish me luck babe,” he breathed, glancing upon the ravishing picture of a smiling brunette haired woman. The specialist gripped the locket tightly and winced before turning towards the opening.

Almost immediately after he took off down the ramp, the light sensor along his suit pulsated a brilliant green. The next moment, he found himself in free fall towards the Battle Zone of Downtown's Southeast Sector. Peter spread his arms out and bent his legs upwards in an effort to slow his fall and to locate a designated landing zone. Right before he heard the sensor emit a continuous warning, Peter pulled the deployment latches and watched as his chute both open and deploy. Under his parachute canopy, the sounds of rapid .50 caliber machine gun fire only heightened his resolve as he gripped the chute handles. For a moment, time seemed to slow as his senses sharpened to focus upon gliding and swivelling himself towards the street near what looked to be run down apartments ...

James Wolff - South East

James watched as Achilles' Heel came in hot with guns blazing. The copter unleashed a barrage of hot, heavy lead followed by two missiles, which found their mark. But, to James' concern, they seemed to have little to no effect on the Goleyeith. He couldn't help but wonder "Is that thing not kill-able?" If two missiles from the copter couldn't kill it, then what weapon could? The only option that appeared to be viable to them was to keep running and avoiding it.

James then looked at Sargeant Morai as he walked and said loudly "Sergeant, with all due respect, you've done more than enough for today. At this point, you might become a burden to the other two. We do not want to bear the burden if you don't come back. Besides, look at yourself. I don't know how you're still standing. You might collapse at any minute. Have faith in us and please evacuate with the others." James then handed his pistol over to one of the not as... ruffled survivors. He took his rifle back into his hands, and then reached over to his radio "Command, this is James Wolff reporting in from the South East sector of Downtown. We have secured approximately 11 survivors and among them is Carolyn, one of the objectives. There are several wounded with varying severity of injury. Requesting CASEVAC immediately and a designated evacuation point."

He then looked around at the survivors and said "Stay alert, and get ready to move out soon. We're getting you all back home." as he took up a position that allowed him to watch the stairs with his rifle ready.

Georgia -- South-East Block

---

Georgia fidgets and tenses when James suggests that they should wait where they were. “NO!” she shouts out at him abruptly, whirling on him in a fit, “No, we're not staying put here, waiting for an evac!” She points her gun outside, directed at the Gol-eye-ith and the puddle of the other mutant, “We don't know what they're capable of. But I know if we stay still right here, we're dead!” Her eyes are wild as she looks over at Morai, perhaps he had hesitated and was already to come back after James' words, yet, “Mister Morai, please, don't go. We need you... Cara, James and I can't do this ourselves.” Her eyes flicker fearfully to the survivors here with them, that she was now sharing equal parts in having to care for.

Carolyn lifts her rifle and taps the cartridge. "I've tried unjamming it multiple times. It's done." Antov looks at the rest of the now panicked looking survivors. "I don't even have a gun and I have more spine than the rest of you." Carolyn shakes her head and then looks at James. "It isn't a bad plan to call for evac."

Morai frowns and sighs as he had hesitated in the doorway when James spoke to him. The look in Georgia's eyes however sealed the deal as he took a glance at the puddle mutant. He seemed to weigh his options before looking over his pistol. He then looks at the survivors, most of whom seemed quite ready to simply give up and die at the thought of facing the Goleyeith again. He chews his lip before looking up the stairs. "Carolyn, there are walkways on the rooftops yes? Set up ages ago?" Carolyn nods. "Yes, but I don't see--" Morai interrupts her as he looks at James. "Your call for evac was good but we're a vastly inferior group facing a vastly superior force. We don't get the courtesy of the enemy waiting politely for evac to take us home. The Goleyeith has a lot of eyes... But even it cannot see through walls. On the roof, four floors above us, we should have some cover from its sight, and have the height advantage, while we wait for evac. We can also cross the rooftops should we find our position being compromised." Carolyn looked confused. "I don't think there's a way to the roof, sergeant." Morai grins as he nudges his shotgun. "I can make one."

She relaxes some and nods, unslinging her rifle and passing it to Carolyn before drawing her pistol, checking that it was clear and ready to go before passing it to Antov and grabbing her own tactical axe, “I'm not good with those... Too...” she shudders, “Too much bang.” She offers a wry smile, checking the weight, figures going through her head of how force, the axis and all manners of such worked to deal the most damage. She was faster too, if they needed something to be taken down fast and quiet maybe she could help, though the thought of killing another living thing turned her stomach, “Thank you, Mister Morai... Cara, if it gets too bad, maybe you and I can work out something to blast a hole, if Mister Morai's boomstick doesn't work...” Her eyes flit around the group and injured, “We should move somewhere better, if we need eyes out there... I can cover it for a few seconds if I know where Achilles' Heel is, but I'll need someone to make sure no nasties get at me right then... Anyone who needs to be patched up, we'll stop a little higher up, maybe. I have something left in my med-kit and James' kit is somewhere around here.”

Marvin and Liam-South West-Collab by Maxim and Icarus

Darkness...that was the only thing around Marvin. It unnerved him, as he knew what awaited him. A moment later, a sudden drop, the whirling of air could be felt all around him and his mech. The mech was one unlike many others, as it was curled up into a ball for better protection of the cockpit while landing, Marvin's personal touch. His mech was gaining speed, faster and faster, as it plummeted towards the earth. Marvin kept a count...1...2...3, then upon that number he yanked a red lever in the cockpit, bracing himself. In an instant, a parachute deployed, and Marvin felt a sudden jerk upwards as it unraveled. It slowed his descent to a reasonable velocity, though he thought he could tell the parachute was barely holding him up, thanks to the heft of his craft. Still, it held on without incident, as he touched down.

Marvin pushed a yellow and black striped button, and the darkness around him vaporized in a torrent of blue light. He was blinded for a second, before his eyes adjusted to the startup sequence:

INITIALIZING DIAGNOSTIC...
CSEC NARROW BEAM LASER + LEFT ARM =CLEAR...
CSEC HE MISSILES + RIGHT ARM=CLEAR...
WEAPONS PLATFORM GYRO=STABLE...
CALIBRATING GYRO=DONE...
EMERGENCY FUNCTIONS=CLEAR...
ALL SYSTEMS CLEAR
SCANNING PACKAGE=ACTIVATING!

Suddenly, the blue light subsided for a brief moment. Then the world was awash in colors, as the cameras outside the mech allowed a field of view of the world around. Marvin double checked all of the emergency exits. His emergency hatch seemed solid and unobstucted, with a white button and red exclamation point button ready to activate it. He took a deep breath of...well one wouldn't necessarily call it fresh air, but it was better than the suffocating air that was ahead of him, past the tank. He knew that he had landed outside the Shadow Zone. A relief to him, as dropping straight in was an idea he didn't savor. Still, he put his gas mask on, just to make certain that he didn't breathe in the bad air when he went inside, though he didn't activate it. He wanted to wait until the Emergency Life Support System gave out, though he hoped it wouldn't. He pressed a green button, labeled "Go!" and the mech sprang into action. The mech came out of it's previous ball-like form, hands and legs appearing from the center, with the heavily armored cockpit now in view from the outside. The Bastion was a somewhat intimidating mech...for it's size. equipped with heavy weaponry and stuffed to the brim with heavy armor, it was a beast of sorts. A metal beast, ready to follow Marvin's command.

Marvin flipped a few switches and levers, until he called out on his speaker "All right, Bastion is ready for launch. I don't see any soldiers here as of yet..." He paused, he had hoped not to have to go into the Shadow Zone, after all, he was trained never to go inside except under dire circumstances. Still, if the soldiers weren't outside helping cover fleeing people, they must be inside the fog.

"Strength in numbers, of course." came the late reply to Liam's remark as they had descended "I've made sure my mech has heavy steel armor, none of that cheap aluminum stuff. Just stay close and I can draw a bit of fire. That should allow you to use...I believe that's an assault rifle, to attack the enemies from behind me. Sam, you can provide...artillery support for lack of a better term. Just watch where your missiles go and we'll be fine."

Finaly Liam took a breath of relief as he touched down close by Marvin. The prescence of the Mech made him feel somewhat safer despite the reports he had been receiving concerning the other sectors and even what aid ahead of them. Drawing his weapon, he prepped the magazine, took the trouble to charge the stun baton, and loaded the tazer. There was no chance he was going into this unprepared. He was about to take a step until basic training and habit came to mind. Pistol. A quick adjustment made that concern obsolete, and he holstered it, once again opting to have his assault rifle drawn and at the ready. Facing forward, but constantly sweeping behind to check for any oncomers Liam nodded towards Marvin, but realized the Mech would not notice a manual gesture. "I'm ready to move when you and Sam are."

"Hmm, I see no reason to wait," came the reply from Marvin. At this point, Marvin pushed a lever that activated his gyros, and moved him forward. The Bastion was a slow moving mech, but Marvin had always thought that defense and accuracy trumped speed in most circumstances. Regardless, the Bastion slowly lumbered forward, and into the fog. He started to have second thoughts, but before he could he heard the familiar "tssssst" sound that came with the air blasts from the life support system. Thanks to the somewhat low visibility in the fog, Marvin made sure to go cautiously and somewhat slowly, though this was still close to the peak of the Bastion's speed. Perhaps more important was staying closely ahead of Liam, after all, better the heavy steel coffin take a blow than a squishy and mostly unprotected human. All the while Marvin's thoughts raced, what if they were too late, if the fog had swallowed up a large battalion, what was the chance of their survival? He tried, unsuccessfully, to push these thoughts out of his mind to focus on the mission. After what felt like an eternity, though what couldn't have been more than one or two minutes of silence, he broke it by saying "Well, there's supposed to be an APC dead ahead, but I'm not seeing one, how far did they get into this accursed place anyways?"

Liam nodded, if Marvin didn't want to wait there was no chance he was going to wait about by himself for the man. "Then I guess we're moving..." he said as he once again drew up his weapon and prepared to go forward. After a few wordless steps, he bit his lower lip, suddenly very aware of the fog they were travelling into. "I'm not sure how far ahead they are... b-best to radio ahead and let them know we're coming." He let his rifle once again rest at his side as he scrambled for his radio. Drawing to the mouth piece of his mask he began "Forward team, this is the Cavalry. You have two friendlies approaching your position from the drop zone. Advise for position if possible?"

"Onward to glory!" --Nathaniel, Page 1.

---

Central Apartments

---

Jenive complied with Junko's offer of aid, after all, there was no reason to avoid it. Smiling in appreciation, Jenive opens her mouth to say something only to squeak in pain and curl her hands into fists instead, the alcohol doing its job of killing pretty well everything it came into contact with on her skin and purging it clean. As she started to wrap the bandage around her arm, Kiku dashed out to see the burn wound and... Right, the chainsword! Jenive looks back at it with a bit of savage curiosity, an almost evil glint in her eyes. "Oh the things one could do with that..." So with a disappointed sigh she remarked to Junko and Kiku why she didn't immediately grab it. "...If only it didn't likely weigh sixty pounds."

Just as Junko finishes wrapping Jenive's arm, Matthew dropped in from above. His near-collision with Kiku was plainly intentional and easy to see coming, and so with her above-human reflexes, Kiku, likely grinning, would respond with a quick cut for Matthew's abdomen as he disconnected his parachute. However Matthew also had the same kind of above average reflexes, and managed to avoid anything particularly lethal or damaging, though Kiku's knife would still leave a remarkable superficial cut across his left arm as he rolled out onto the roof. Jenive pulled out her pistol and aimed it at Matthew, and was about to demand him to stand down before a woman in all black armour lands on the rooftop. "This is turning into quite the parade." Jenive remarks sarcastically. "Stand down. He's a friendly." The woman, Alyss, points at Matthew. "... But if he does anything to threaten the mission again..." She draws her hand against her own neck. Jenive nods quickly, though doesn't seem to like the implications.

The group would then hear Kai's voice over the radio, and Alyss would hesitate for a moment before moving down into the apartments wordlessly. Jenive shakes her head. "What's her problem..." She looks around at the trio with her. "So... Uhh... I guess we should go inside the apartment. Before another one of those chainsword wielding freaks comes and actually does something smart."

Meanwhile, Abimael looks at Kai with unblinking eyes, peeking around the corner into the main hallway. As Kai finished searching the rooms already searched and cleared by his comrade, Kiku, Abimael would look like he was trying to explain something. The emotional state in his eyes was impossible to read, there was something off about his entire figure, though the way he cradled his own body with a little less tension suggested he was starting to warm up to Lupus. He points at Kai. "Lupus." He points at himself. "Abimael." He points at the floor, there was dust coating it, save where they and others recently had stepped. "People." He then pulls out a bottle of water on his waist, and points to its contents. "Us." His voice continued to have the same, croaked sound to it, the tone fluctuating rapidly between curiosity and fear without any semblance of pattern or reason.

Behind Abimael, descending from the roof, a tall person in all black armour approached. Once again, Alyss hesitated upon noticing Kai, but continued on towards Abimael. Her gender only became apparent after a few seconds, the armour doing its job of disguising her identity very well. She reaches out for Abimael, who takes a couple steps closer to Kai to avoid her. With a sigh, she speaks, and looks at Kai, knowing he would recognize her voice. "Abimael, it's okay, nobody is going to hurt you, we just need to get you out of harm's way." She hoped Kai would cooperate, but added something more for him. "Help me, please, and we can talk more later, when our lives are not in dang--" She is interrupted by the sound of a wall breaking on the other end of the hall, opposite the staircase leading to the roof, a few feet away from Kai. An explosive charge had gone off, followed up with a pair of grappling hooks shooting up to the edge of the floor. The steel hooks mechanically grounded themselves into the floor, preventing them from being pushed off, and the metallic cable that descended from each looked like it would resist several blows, even from the katana, or a gun. "... Survivors?" Abimael croaked. "... I don't think so." Alyss responded as she motioned silently for Kai to take cover in a room on the right, while she took cover in a room on the left, opposite of whichever room Kai chose. Abimael however would follow Kai, feeling more comfortable with him, unless he ordered otherwise.

---

South West

---

The full on attack from the combined efforts of the remaining squad members proved quite lethal, in one way or another. The flamethrower burst from Brucey cooked the remains of the corpse, though the dog tags strangely remained untouched by the flame, instead only glowing red somewhat from heat retention. To Brucey's delight, the feeding wolf wound itself on fire even as it dashed out from the direct source of the flames. It whined and screeched in pain, again with the unearthly voice only somewhat reminiscent of a real wolf, before being pelted with several rounds from Nathaniel's rifle. It twitches as it the combination of bullets and fire finally seem to end its life, slowly reducing it to a puddle state, the orange liquid turning black under the heat of the flame.

The chainsword mutant, however, was not nearly so easy to put down. Even as the flames rushed from Brucey's mech, the creature withstood them, holding its chainsword up as though to somehow block some of the flames it seemed to be putting its entire effort in making itself flame retardant. Thus, the flames alone would not be sufficient to harm it.

Unfortunate for the chainsword mutant then, that the flames were not alone.

As Daniel's mech came sailing through the air, the rock it wielded as a sword came hurtling down for the mutant. In a split second the mutant rose the chainsword up to try and block it whilst also attempting to evade, leaping back from the flames and from the mech, though not in time to stop either from harming it. The rock collides with the sword, shattering many of its teeth with a satisfying metallic crunch, followed up with the sounds of several bones snapping or shattering in the mutant's arm. As well, since some of its focus was no longer on defending against the flames, much of the skin on its torso blacked and burned. The rock slams down onto the ground, taking the mutant's left arm with it, from the elbow down to its hand, smashing it into an orange paste. Only a few remaining, tiny, shredded giblets remained of it. As for the mutant itself, it recoiled in pain, the wolf which had previously been injured with shotgun shells in its head slowly rose to its feet, though still seemed highly agitated. "Receptui!" The mutant hissed to its wolf companion as both fled deeper into the fog.

It seemed they had a momentary breather, though the bio-tower that remained in front of the APC shuddered as though something of great mass had just escaped from the top of it. In fact, one glance would, with great distress, spot that the tower had begun to cannibalize the front of the APC, its tendrils working to dismantle it and absorb it. It had also increased in general width and mass. Reinforcements from it were inevitable, and all of those remaining there would be painfully aware that they were likely not equipped sufficiently to deal with whatever was coming. Three wolves were already within sight, climbing down from the top, "appearing" through the fog as it were.

Nathaniel would once again hear the angelic voice from before, the psychic voice in his head. It remained as soothing as it was before. "The biologist in the APC will not live much longer if you do not act now... Your destiny is slipping away." She says, reminding him in a manner that could almost be considered motherly if not for the unearthly tone to it.

Just as all hope seemed lost for any kind of clean getaway for the remaining trio and the biologist, Marvin and Liam would stumble onto the scene, just as Liam had pulled out his radio to try and call for them. The addition of another mech and a grunt might be enough... If they all worked together.

---

South East

---

As Peter Táo parachuted down past the helicopter, he would notice the giant Goleyeith--four times the size of a tank--recovering from the combination of 50 calibre rounds and rockets fired into it. It appeared to be bleeding the orange liquid profusely from the top, trickling down its sides and four legs. Where most creatures would have to turn to engage, it simply looked with the eyes on its legs, and after a few seconds in one sudden motion, threw one of its left legs out towards the helicopter. It stretched out like an elastic band, and splattered across the cockpit's glass. "ACK~ Shit!" Captain Derek shouted in surprise over the radio. The glass cracks as he flips a switch, sending an electrical pulse through the vehicle and down into the Goleyeith. Georgia once again hears it scream in unearthly amounts of pain before its limb drops and slams into the concrete, where it starts recoiling itself back like a wind-up toy.

Achilles Heel, on the other hand, plummeted from the sky as the damage to the base of the main rotary became apparent. It, too, crashes into the ground, the tail snapping off from the force of the impact. "Achilles Heel is down n' I'm feelin' a little loved here!" Derek spits out sarcastically as he climbs out from his cockpit and falls down onto the concrete. He was dazed and bruised, but otherwise alright. Still, the orange puddle from earlier had disappeared in all of the commotion, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that meant. "... Aw shit." He mutters as he pulls out his side arm, and looks at Peter. "Lets git' inside! We're sitting ducks out here!"

Meanwhile, inside, Carolyn was guiding people up the stairs, holding onto her rifle carefully and checking corners, though she was no specialist for this. Morai on the other hand looks to James and was about to try and be cooperative when, suddenly, James' radio crackles to life. In fact, everyone, save those in the fog, would hear this transmission. "This is Ryan Dufont, council member of ADAM. The Chinooks which dropped you off are returning to pick you up with additional Council air support, though they won't have a lot of room in terms of fuel consumption and air time. You'll only have a few minutes to get to the evac zones, which should all be just outside the fog. James, was it? Get your people to the roof, the pilot won't land anywhere near that creature you are fighting... Oh, and one more thing for all of you on the ground. We've detected U-ARM communications in the area. Be wary, and get back here in one piece. Ryan Dufont out."

Morai frowns as he looks at the radio. "A direct response from a council member of ADAM?... That's abnormal." He then points up the stairs. "James, any other ideas you have in mind? Might be a good time while we get to the fourth floor." He remarks quietly, though his face remained troubled with private thoughts on the situation.

Carolyn on the other hand would find no threats in her path, making it to the fourth floor with ease, though as she speculated, there was no direct way onto the roof save blowing a hole into it and then climbing up and helping others up onto the roof. That wold cost time... She radios Georgia specifically. "Hi sis, wanna make a sparkly plug?" She says with a bit of nostalgic happiness in her voice. She was, of course, referring to an explosive.

---

South East: Opposition Territory!

---

As Roman entered the fog with the heavily damaged Mercy close behind him, they would find a few corpses left behind at the scene of what was once likely a kill zone for the poor men who had tried to fight here. Yet, they were not alone. Around them, figures with bony hands, without fingernails, were picking up and dragging the dead deeper into the fog. They were cloaked in thick, black garments, a mixture between veils and robes, very intricately woven, or perhaps even molded. They could hear whispers amongst them, though nothing intelligible, and their sources were dubious, it sounded as though it came from within their own minds. "ɥʍ'ɹɐ'sǝɥʇ'ɹnʇɐǝɹɔ¿" Notable, the sound also came through on their radios, something the rest of the south east squad would hear, and which the mutants would find oddly familiar, but wouldn't be able to understand at all. "uıʌıן,ןnɯ,ןǝɔ,ןɐʇs,uou-uıdo,ıɯıן,ɐǝɹɥʇ,sǝןɯɹɐɥ,ɹuoƃı... Lillith ǝǝu,ıuɐƃɹo" The name could be discerned as a classic name from Judeo mythos, everything else was as clearly alien as it was before.

From deeper in the fog they hear someone dragging something, and after a few seconds, a figure appears through the fog... Wearing dog tags. He was wearing a gas mask, and atop that, a helmet, covering his entire head from potential dangers. He was holding a small, black box... Likely one from a mech. The figure looks up and points at the black box, then says two words. "Carolyn. Understand?" Behind him the sounds of a figure in very heavy armour was approaching. "We need to get out of here." His voice sounded strained by something. Unfortunately one look over him would reveal him to be unarmed. "Though... How did you know to look here?" He asked curiously as he constantly looked back over his shoulder, in fear of whatever was approaching.

---

United-American Resistance Movement

---

"Washington, our men have reported finding a specimen!"
"Good! Bring it back here, as soon as possible."
"What about BCSEC and CoA? They both have agents on the ground, there are apparently a few of them near the specimen."
"They are traitors, kill them."
"What if the specimen won't come with us willingly?"
"Kill it too, then. God knows that America cannot stand cowards attempting to circumvent His will."
"Yes, of course... Anything else?"
"If they return, congratulate them and give them good rest. If they don't, tell their families that they died in the name of America and God, and that I personally will remember them."
"Yes sir!"

-

South West



Bruce grinned as the flames distracted the chainsword wielding bastard. But he also noticed that it seemed to be invincible to the flames until it got distracted. Daniel finally crippling it enough to retreat Bruce's attention passed on from it for now. Instead it passed to the tower. Tendrils had begun consuming the vehicle with great alacrity and Bruce frowned. "Oh. That's my vantage point you're breaking!" He snapped and suddenly began throttling one of the toes on his good leg.

--. . - / --- ..- - / -. --- .-- --..-- / -.. .- -. --. . .-. / -.-. .-.. --- ... .

Hopefully the biologist and anyone else alive in there would know enough morse code to get the message. But without hesitation Bruce turned to face the tower turning his incinerators to face it. "I hope to the fires of a thousand hells you're flammable." He said considering his course of action. It was beyond dangerous. "COOK COOK COOK COOK COOK COOK COOK" Without further ado, Bruce depressed the triggers for his incinerators and began spraying them at the towers.

Central Apartment Complex

Junko Heizen

---

She had continued on treating Jenive's arm, halting but a moment as the girl flinched. A few moments later, another member of their group, more specifically Kiku the grinning chameleon girl, arrived just in time to watch her bind Jenive's arm with the bandage. No doubt the invisigirl had decided to return because of the screaming mutant earlier. She did feel a bit amused by Kiku exclaiming over the chainsword however.

"Oh the things one could do with that..." Jenive sighed."...If only it didn't likely weigh sixty pounds."

True, though she had no idea what pounds would be converted to kilos. Feeling slightly euphoric Jenive did not want the sword, she finished her work on the bandage before a flapping sort of noise came to her ears.

Quick as lightning, her hand flashed towards her sidearm, bringing it to bear on the offender who had landed upon Kiku. Her heart was seemingly pounding in her ears, her eyes wide and wild as she berated herself for being careless. However at this kind of range, it wouldn't be too much of a feat to put 5 bullets into his chest before he stood up. Her hand depressed the trigger, almost triggering the shot before another woman landed, ordering them to stand down.

Tch, just another piece of overconfident trash that man, though the woman looks competent enough.

Soon after Kai reported in about some boy he had found, and the woman, Alyss, simply left and walked on downstairs.

"What's her problem...So... Uhh... I guess we should go inside the apartment. Before another one of those chainsword wielding freaks comes and actually does something smart."

"I will look upon the other group and see how they fare."

With that, she picked up her rifle and slung it over her back, holding the chainsword in her left hand and her pistol in the right as she descended down the stairs. One could never be too careful after all, as enemies could be hiding in plain sight, just biding their time to strike when opportunity presents itself. Reaching the western rooms without incident, she unslung the rifle and set the chainsword down against the wall beside her. Overwatch was her priority and too many soldiers crowding whoever it was Kai found wasn't exactly the sort of thing that would be beneficial to it.

Once again, she licked her lips, and set the scope to her eye, being careful so as to not have Vladimir jut out from the window. Again she stared at each white outlines on her display, marking allies and unknowns. And finally she set her eye on some sort of long pillar on a box shaped object. Dog like creatures were starting to descend upon the other team,

Perfect targets.

A dull thump reverberated through the room, as she took a bead on one of the wolves, and shot. There was a soft clink as the ejected cartridge from her gun hit the ground. She took aim on the other wolf, staying still for a while before finally shooting as she aimed the shot at it's head instead.

Daniel Anders

---

There was a satisfaction to a successful hit, and although the blow was not a fatal one, it felt daaaaaaamn good. Perhaps it was the glorious crunch of masonry on machinery, or perhaps it was the heavenly crack of bone and the guttural scream for a retreat from his foe. Maybe just a taste of days more savage and long gone, but Daniel enjoyed the taste of victory. It was his god-given gift, after all. The crusader would not be alive had the lord not willed his victory.

Today, at least, Daniel was the champion of the lord.

It took him a moment to analyse what grissly trophies were left behind by his foe. Chunks of flesh and orange goo were splattered across the floor: no doubt the technicians would want samples of the creature. He’d leave that to the biologist, anyway. What Daniel wanted was the treasure beneath the grime and gristle.

The chainsword had shattered under the combined weight of a block of concrete and a heavily armoured mech: yet its engine remains mostly in tact. What it ran on was a mystery, but the engine itself was a prize in its own right. Daniel quickly gripped it with the mech’s oversized fist before he turned to the final, and most important of prizes.

Brucie was sending torrents of fire at the tower of flesh, and for the first time: Daniel noticed it was breaking down the APC. Their biologist wouldn’t last very long in there, for certain. That meant that the group needed to pop the can open, and quick.

Daniel chose to ignore the reinforcements. Nathaniel or Brucie could deal with them: people had a habit of distrusting the ex-raider and he had no time to waste. He moved towards the main entrance hatch of the APC, heavily damaged by the chainsword and full of gouges. Whatever kind of tech can cause this much damage…

“No time to think. Need to act.” He decided that he’d make use of his most useful piece of tech on the mech once again, and after carefully placing the scavenged Chainsword engine on the ground, Daniel attached the hook to the door via one of the many additional gouges. Taking a few steps back, he tested the tautness of the line. One yank didn’t dislodge the hook or the door, which meant that he’d both need to and be able to apply the mech’s full: considerable weight.

No radio warning was given: nor was a countdown given. After one last little testing tug, Daniel pulled back the mech’s full weight and pulled on the APC as hard as he could. He wanted to save the biologist now. As much for the information he’d be able to reward Daniel with about this new, mystery foe.

Daniel longed for the day he could clash with the monstrosity again. The heathenous creature would probably remember Daniel now. The raider couldn’t imagine the beast would take defeat lightly.

---

Kiku

---

The only way you can describe the sensation of her predatory spines prickling up in warning was to liken it to a tickle. Something mildly amusing and yet uncomfortable in equal measures. She looked up and saw the incoming Schmuck from above. Her face broadened into a smile as she took in the surroundings, as well as the angle of her foe. It would be a display of incredible intelligence, if she could actually explain what she was doing. Instinct drove Kiku, as it always did: and in her mind the only words that rang out, so very loud, were…

“mine, Mine Mine MINE!”

The daggers were already in her hands as Matthew came in close. He didn’t have much wriggle room considering he was, y’know, midair and stuff: so Kiku delivered a blow which was going to open up his side like a pinata! The joy of seeing him spill open like a gutted fish was gunna be great!

Except that it wasn’t. Something was off about the situation, because the weird schmuck didn’t fall like a normal person. He was weird or something...Almost freakishly weird…

Something snagged her knife though. She looked up with a triumphant and hungry smirk as she saw the trail of blood flowing from the tip of her knife from his arm. It was a tiny little trickle: but the sanguine liquid still trickled on the steel of her knife.

Matthew landed, and so did some other chick, but Kiku stopped giving a crap pretty quickly. Her eyes caught on the red delicacy on her knife’s edge. People were talking and moving and crap: even her radio made noise. It didn’t matter though. The world had taken that cheesy quiet mode. Like someone had turned down the volume and the only sound in Kiku’s ears was the pounding of her heartbeat.

She took off her gasmask, knowing full well that the lethal smog of the Shadow Zone wasn’t going to affect her up top. The mask dropped on the floor like a discarded rag as she moved the knife an inch closer to her face. Seeing the blood so close was half of the extacy: the life of another person, so free of the body, so open to the elements.

Turning to face Matthew, she stared him in the eyes as she dragged the flat side of the knife over her tongue, lapping up the blood on the outstretched muscle. The taste of it was pure ecstasy. Her eyes fluttered lightly as she felt a heady kick of endorphins in her brain. She was so alive in that moment. So active and so in love with the feel of the blood on her tongue: the metalic taste of someone elses life blood, dripping down her tongue and down her throat. She made a show of gulping it down: eyes never leaving Matthew as if to tease him with the pleasure she was finding from the war wound she’d inflicted.

“You taste yummy, hunny.”

She had a satisfied smile on her face as she reached down and picked up the gas-mask: attaching it to her face as she entered a mission-ready state of mind again. She had been denied a snack with the Vampyr, now the airborne Matthew had provided a delightful rectification of that denial.

Looking around the rooftop, she noticed that Jenive and Matthew were the only ones on the roof with her. It didn’t really matter to her how many people saw that little display: although Col Black would probably be pissed if it came up on anyone’s mission report. The good Ms Black had been good to Kiku: If she actually had an angel on her shoulder: it would have worn Black’s face.

“Better go and cover everyone’s booty. See ya down there.”

Kiku skipped ahead of Jenive and Matthew, letting herself become translucent as Camouflage took over her body once more. She moved into cover as she started to move slowly towards the action that broody pants was in the center of. If she was lucky, Kiku might get some more snacks: who knows?! She didn’t bother getting too close though: her skills in a firefight were lackluster at the best of times: there would be better gunners who could take some popshots at the people shooting back at them.

Eira, Mercy. South-East block.
Mech pilot: Medium armour, 2x.50cal, jets & supportsys.

---

Finally, Eira thought, relieved. Away from that thing.

Not that what they thereafter encountered was all that much better. For someone who'd only first seen death not ten minutes ago, an expended battlezone was not the most pleasant surprise. Still, she maintained control without much duress; a corpse may be gruesome, but it isn't bone-chilling like seeing it in the act. Now, the men who had fought and failed for their lives were naught but flesh, empty and without value. A body was naught but an object, after all. As such, the sight of the bone-figures dragging them away did not disturb her: they were already beyond hope for saving.

Although, she couldn't help but wonder. What use did these mutated freaks have in mind for them? Were they merely being dragged away for consumption? Something in the back of her mind, something about the voices she'd heard, tickled her into thinking otherwise. There's something horrible going on here, and I don't want to be around to find out what.

Wordlessly accepting this new soldier into their little survivor squad, she motionned him to hurry up so they could all get out of here. "What is that noise?" she asked him. "Who is that?"

She was really hoping they wouldn't have to fight another freak of nature. The others willing, she'd rather flee into the other alley than stand here and fight.

Marvin Walters-South West

Marvin, upon seeing the APC, started moving forward towards it. He had a thought, and was about to tell the others to rescue the people in the APC, but he was beaten to the punch it seems. Regardless, he decided to provide covering fire to them while they did so. The Narrow Beam Laser wasn't nearly as good at that as the minigun, but it would have to do for now. He used his speakers again and said in a stoic tone "Liam, I'm gonna distract those wolves. If I'm successful, I think they're probably going to charge straight at us. If that happens, I want you ready with that Assault Rifle to shoot these things down before they get to us. If they go for the other two, just run up and distract them so that the soldiers can get the men in the APC out. As for me...it's time to go hunting."

Not bothering to wait for a response, Marvin headed towards the wolves. His intention was to get close enough to the wolves to have a clear shot, however he also wanted to be far enough away to avoid provoking the wolves before firing. Still, he knew that he'd have to be a certain distance close to them in order to have a reasonable visibility to them and be in range of his weapon. Hoping that his gamble would work, he pulled a green lever and In seconds, a thud sound came from his legs, as knobs about 6 inches thick and 2 feet wide clamped down onto the ground. Part of the screen lit up, showing a screen showing "WEAPONS READY", indicating that his weapons platform gyro was ready to fire.

He took a deep breath, and aimed his mech's left arm towards the wolf that seemed closest to the two rescuers and waited. A few seconds later, and a red window flashed on screen, indicating a weapons lock. He pulled the trigger, allowing the blue beam to hurtle towards the wolf at the speed of light...at least he thought it was that speed. Then he swiftly readied to fire more shots when the wolves inevitably moved.

South-West Block - Nathaniel

---

Nathaniel had only a scant moment to revel in victory. That voice, the sweet, angelic voice, spoke to him again, urging him to hurry. She said his destiny was slipping away, and that would not be tolerated. He put his rifle away and rushed around the side of the APC, heading for the door and ignoring his allies and the new threats entirely. He started yelling as he hurried, hoping the man inside could hear. "Annie! Get your ass out here, we have to go now!"

When Nathaniel reached the door he would rip the damned thing open and drag the biologist out if need be. As luck would have it, door-ripping duties were already being handled. Nathaniel kept on heading for it nonetheless. His new goal was the get the man out of the vehicle and then get him out of the fog at all costs, and he'd knock the son of a bitch out cold and carry him if necessary, or tag him with a parasite and force him to get running if things were dire. With his destiny at stake, any risk at all was worth it in his mind.

South East Sector Streets - Peter and James (collaboration)

"Th'fuck," Peter muttered as he descended past the blazing helicopter. Somehow, he'd managed to reach the battle zone without complications, however, upon reaching the debris strewn streets, found himself staring towards a colossal multi-legged mutant. Without hesitation, the Washington specialist dove into a sideways roll and into cover just as the chopper's fresh aerial rounds splattered bright orange liquids onto the pavement away some meters away. Moments later, the situation had further devolved into greater deterioration as the colossal mutant managed to somehow dispatch the chopper in brutish fashion.

"Achilles Heel is down n' I'm feelin' a little loved here," the radio screamed.

Cursing, Peter maneuvered forwards as the Chopper fell and found himself shielding his eyes as the familiar whirs and mechanical helo sounds ended with a highly pitched shrills. Thumbing the switch to full auto, the Washington native fell into a hunched position as he managed a controlled advance through the various forms of cover.

"So much for air support," he grumbled as he watched a jump suited pilot emerged unscathed.

"... Aw shit." the pilot muttered, earning Peter's undivided attention, "Lets git' inside! We're sitting ducks out here!"

"The sooner the better, Captain," Peter answered as he crouched behind a piece of cover. Shortly after eyeing the massive mutant freak, the specialist lowered his rifle and retrieved his radio as high command issued chatter spoke of evacuation and limited close air support.

Pausing, the F.A.S. Trooper activated the speak button and cleared his throat before uttering, "Uhm ... South East forces, south east forces. This is Specialist Peter Tao and we've got a fallen angel, I repeat, a fallen angel approximately a dozen or so meters near ... some big, giant assed mutie. I have 1 survivor here with me and we are heading into cover so if you see us, please do not fire …"

---

James went upstairs with the group. Clearly it was safer to be in the buildings, but at this point... there really wasn't much that James could do. James shook his head at Morai's question and said "We're in a pretty safe..." He then paused and decided to change his working a bit "Or at least reasonable place where we have a lot of cover and vantage points. I'm thinking that we hold this building and wait. Although to be honest, I think that I'm going to stay behind once you guys get evacuated.God knows what happening in the other sectors. Not to mention that the presence of U-ARM kind of makes me a bit anxious. I'll scan from the roofs as the helicopters leave for any signs of trouble. That's what I'm thinking right now." Then came some weird, unintelligible speaking emitting from James' radio. There was just so much uncertainty and confusion with the fog of war, and the random noise from his radio just amplified it. Still, there was much to be done, and many more people to make sure were safe. Especially the Captain, but thankfully he had met up with some reinforcement as James heard the message that the man named Peter sent. James responded "Copy that, Specialist. I'll rendezvous with you in the first floor of the apartment."

---

“Captain,” Peter firmly voiced, “You heard the man! Let's move the fuck out and I'll cover your six!”

James then turned around and began to walk down the stairs. As he walked, James spoke into his radio "Message to all units in the combat area. U-ARM is in the area, so watch out. Not all gunfire may be friendly. Also, stay clear of the street in the South East Sector for now." He then changed channels to his sector's frequency and said "I don't know if the two of you who went toe to toe with the giant mutant are still alive, but we're holding the cleared apartment. Stay away from the street. If you can, try to meet up with us. Out." As he finished speaking, James began to approach the first floor.

“Understood,” the specialist answered.

Raising his rifle, the Washington native squinted as his gaze swept along the surrounding apartment enntrances. He'd only briefly recalled the stories his great grandfather, Norman, told and the luxuries afforded towards pre-catacalysm Americans. The ruins may have corrupted the city's downtown prestige, however, signs of once well furnished, luxury residences projected through the dirt and cobbled debris. What was life before the cataclysm and the apocalyptic winters? Peter could never truly understand, however, if anything, the abandoned complexes at least offered a small glimpse into pre-cataclysm Chicago through the shattered, downtown remnants. The native sighed and exhaled before his eyes spotted movement along one such complex entrance.

“Captain,” Peter addressed, “I think I see movement over by that entrance. Stay low, keep your head down, and try to stay away from Frankenfreak over there. If we're lucky, we'll have infantry support and a bit of air cover. Sound good? Great. Let's go!”

Peter offered his companion a shoulder clap as he maneuvered into a hunched, albeit controlled scamper whilst eyeing Frankenfreak ...

He released the speaker of his radio as the forward crew and APC came into view, he brought his rifle back up when he saw the scene displayed before him. Only when he checked his aim in the iron sights did he realize how shaky his hands were. Deep breaths Grillod, that's how you're going to survive. Deep breaths and smart moves. he noticed the shaking subside gradually to a point he felt he could successfully hit a target, which is when Marvin came back over his comm.

"R-right, coverring fire. I, I can do that." He didn't even notice himself nodding his head uncontrollably, or the subconcious thumbs up he was directing towards Marvin. As the mech rushed off towards the wolves, Liam took account of those around him. One mech ripping the doors off the objective, another burning away whatever it was assaulting the objective, Marvin rushing forward to press an atrack on hostiles, another grunt, maybe, near the back of the objective, and then there was him. Just a man with an assault rifle.

Fear wouldn't serve him now.Another breath and a final weapons check was all he needed before surveying the area. He spotted a decent location from which he could cover Marvin while keeping tabs on the APC just as requested. Once he had taken up position at that location he prepared himself for whatever he was about to face. Be that rushing out towards oncoming hostiles, or suppressing fire.

South-East Opposition Territory: Roman Cassidy

Roman stood motionless, as if his lack of movement would stop the cloaked figures from noticing him. The monsters dragging the dead away showed no interest in Roman or Eira. Like ants carrying leaves to their queen, Roman thought, realizing that their non-threatening actions were those of followers that had specific orders and purpose.

Strange words flowed from the figures and echoed in Roman's ears. Looking down to his radio, where the unknown language was also emanating from, he grinned at what to him was validation of his belief that these were drones of a higher authority. Creepy buggers must be like fleshy radios for whatever's telling 'em to collect the dead. I bet all you'd need to know what they're sayin' is the right frequency. He chuckled at the thought.

Appearing from the fog, much more active- and human- than the cloaked figures, was a soldier with a black box. By the sounds of it, he was being followed by something a lot more intimidating than the drones. "Carolyn. Understand? We need to get out of here." Roman nodded. "Though... How did you know to look here?"

Adding her two cents to the strange situation, Eira asked "What is that noise? Who is that?"

The second question reminding him of the fact that the soldier was being chased, Roman took a step back and held his shotgun up. Looking up at his companion, he quickly responded with "You know, I'm just dyin' to see what freak's coming for us next but can't help thinkin' that it'd be wise to take a raincheck on that whole being slaughtered thing." Returning his attention to the soldier, Roman answered his question. "Cavalry's arrived, mate, but now's not the time for exposition. Follow us and, fair warning, there's probably a giant eye monster out there!" Continuing to step back, Roman held his shotgun tight and hoped that the man would get moving before whatever's chasing him made its way to them.

"I already don't like this. Too much ground to cover...Plus...Who the hell knows what's out there..." --Kai "Lupus" Aevephasa, Page 1.

---

Central Apartments

---

Jenive merely shook her head at the display that Kiku had with Matthew, and quickly turned on her heels and sped down the stairs after everyone... To see a giant, recently made hole on the opposite end of the hallway. She could barely see Kiku attempting to sneak over to Kai, which meant that she was in the hallway... Same as herself, though what was most distressing was seeing a pair of grappling hooks with steel cables attached moving back and forth. Just before Kiku could reach Kai's position, a large LMG was tossed out onto the hallway floor. Within a second it "hops" up, deploying a tripod and a small speaker which begins playing a patriotic song.

Then, came the rain of bullets whose noise could only be rivaled by that of the song. At over two hundred rounds per minute, the bullets utterly shredded the two doorways closest to itself. Half a dozen rounds ramshackle their way through Kiku's left side: Three through her arm, rendering it into an entirely useless hunk of shredded flesh and tissue. One into her left ankle, which reduced her to a limp, and two more into her gut and shoulder each respectively, causing internal organ damage and making her immediately vomit blood. Perhaps by a miracle or by God's good graces, she managed to drag her bloody form into the same room Kai was in, to safety, instead of succumbing to shock. One quick examination over herself would reveal, however, that God's good graces also had their twisted humour: While she could stabilize herself with her medkit to survive the mission, her left arm was too far gone to be saved. After the mission, it would have to be removed and replaced with a prosthetic.

Jenive, on the other hand, had just enough warning to try to take cover. Even then, one bullet ricocheted into her right leg, causing her to scream in pain and slide down the wall. She immediately pulls out her med kit and with shaking hands attempts to bandage the wound closed, as it was at least a clean shot through the thigh. Her uses would be limited from this position, that's for sure.

As Kiku drags herself into the same room Kai was in, and Jenive was bandaging her leg, one man peeks over the edge of the hole and then waves up his compatriot. "The Anthem Turret did its job, lets move! GO GO GO!" He reaches the top and attempts to cover for any potential trouble, seeing the blood trail lead to the room Kai was in he aims his assault rifle in that direction. His helmet was painted with a bald eagle, his assault rifle red white and blue, it was unmistakable: This man in medium armour was a Grunt of U-ARM, and the man coming up behind him with a shotgun in heavy armour, also of U-ARM, and perhaps a hell of a lot meaner.

Alyss uses hand motions with Kai, telling him to wait for her to open fire, then throw the grenade, before pulling out two pistols and using Full American Unload around the corner without revealing herself to harm. Her accuracy would be garbage, but it was meant to be suppressing fire. The grenade would do the rest, one would hope.

Abimael looks at the severely wounded Kiku with curious, unemphatic eyes. Blinking he crawls over to her, and looks at the blood trail that had been left behind. Placing his palm on the floor, closed his eyes, and the blood seeped into his hand before he opened them and looked at her again, smiling a little. "Kiku. You." He points at her. "Abimael, me." He points at himself. "You, like water, too."

As for Junko, her shots into the fog she would find did not land their marks. The scope did not work properly in helping her aim the long distance shots due to the properties of the fog, though they were near hits, she did have the capacity to incidentally hit a friendly at this range as well without the support of her scope's software. She then hears through her radio Jenive's voice. "Junko! I don't know where you are right now, but we got a pair of U-ARM on the ninth floor in the main hall. Kiku is down. I'm wounded. We could use your firepower!"

---

South West

---

Fire swept up and about the biomass, but proved entirely ineffective as its outer layers tightened upon the incoming flame, then were immediately replaced. He could, optimistically, slow it down at best like this. As for the wolves climbing down from the top of the tower, one evaded a long distance sniper shot only to be hit by the blue beam, which did indeed travel at the speed of light... Because it is a light. A big, toasty light, that disintegrated the wolf's torso and left its rear end, front legs, and head spiraling off in different directions, unmoving. Whether that meant it was truly dead or not was another story.

Three more descended from the top, one taking advantage of Brucey's compromised position to jump onto him from above. Using its surprisingly considerable weight, it manages to tip the mech over onto its back, causing it to fall off the APC, in the direction from whence he came. It chews into one of the ammo lines on his arm, but thanks to the reinforced armour there, it didn't manage to do any real damage as covering fire comes spraying from Grillod's position. While it took several rounds from his rifle to ultimately knock the wolf off, it worked. Albeit it still wasn't dead as it twitched and convulsed, attempting to push the bullets out from its skin. Brucey could get back onto his feet, though his mech was warning him at the exterior cabin had been compromised. He would need to put on his gas mask to survive if he hadn't already.

Thankfully, however, thanks to his emergency life support system, his wallaby, Jacko, became separated from him by shields of airtight, bulletproof glass. He would have enough oxygen to last a couple hours, though his expression showed anything but happiness with the predicament of being trapped in what was essentially an egg-shaped glass jar.

Daniel manages to tear the door off of the APC, and just as he does, the biologist comes flying out with the door. Inside the APC several tendrils had almost reached the biologist, who had been slamming on the door trying to get out. Despite flying several feet through the air in an almost comical fashion, he manages to roll dexterously on landing, gas mask on as he looked back at the group. He taps his radio. "Is this damnable piece of machinery finally working?!... Oh, oh, yes it is!" The thick accent came through, Russian. "We need to go! Now!" He was wearing a backpack, which looked loaded to the brim, as well as in his hands was a small USB drive, likely full of data. "If I am to die, take the USB drive. Others can understand partial information, not total waste." He looks at Nathaniel and tilts his head. "We need to go. Now!" A wolf lands atop the APC and growls at the trio, seemingly ready to attack them, yet it hesitated, perhaps out of fear or uncertainty of who to attack first. "... Sh-Shit..."

The last wolf descended from the top, though this one looked different. It had a reddish-orange tinge to its fur, and it vanished from sight as it hit the ground. It was likely some kind of alpha of the pack, judging by how it was the size of a small bear. Whoever it would target would be in big trouble, especially if they were alone...

---

South East

---

James and Peter would find that Carolyn had already quickly cleared the four floors on her own, knowing that time was of the essence in securing an additional exit. The survivors had also followed her to help her with handing over whatever remaining grenades and so forth they had on them, so that, using her technician's kit, she could make an impromptu explosive. She radios the group. "The explosive will be ready in about a minute. We can blow a way into the roof that way and hopefully get picked up there instead of on the ground where the behemoth monster is." Morai nods in approval, then looks at the bruised pilot, who was sticking with Peter. "You should be up with the others." He remarked as Captain Derek shook his head. "No sergeant. I'm staying here. I'm a ranking officer, I know what to do." He looked at Morai's leg, which was still badly injured. "You shouldn't be walking." Morai shrugs. "I have had worse." He then looks back down at where the puddle was supposed to be. It had vanished. His eyes narrow in suspicion as he slowly creeps up the various floors and searches the rooms himself.

It was then that both Peter and James would see it. The Goleyeith moved back to the apartment they were hiding in, and was waiting at the entrance. It was slowly molding itself, sharping smaller pieces of itself out. White, humanoid figures, with large gaping mouths, and otherwise no discernable facial features or bodily features, slowly climbing out of its mass. On their radios they heard groaning and moaning, though it was localized to their area alone, meaning that Central did not pick up on any of it... The voices of the damned. "Caarolyn... You were supposed to keeep us saafe... Wheeere are you?... Moraaaiii?... We want to welcome you..." Captain Derek shudders as he watches a pair of them enter in the ground floor, shambling and dragging themselves around, almost aimlessly. He whispers to Peter. "I don't think we should be here, caballero."

James would then hear his radio squawk. "This is Archangel 4 and 5. We're two chinooks in your area. We see what's happening. We can land on the roof to get you and the survivors out, but a quick piece of advice. Stay away from the street. It's about to be 3,000 degrees down there. Big daddy is coming with his barbeque sauce, over." Derek whispers back into his radio, the ghastly beings hadn't noticed them yet. "Roger, Achilles Heel's gonna get a funeral pyre at least."

Just as it seemed as though everything were going according to plan, they hear their radios come to life once more. It was Morai's voice. In the background they could hear a chainsword revving. "THIRD FLOOR, SECOND ROOM, WHERE DID IT GET THAT CHAINSW--" The radio cuts out suddenly. It had likely been damaged or destroyed. Captain Derek's eyes open widely, and he gave no orders. From the looks of it the 'crack pilot' had almost cracked at the notion that something that had fallen ten floors was not only still alive, but fully able to kill already... And had gotten its hands on another weapon.

---

South East: Opposition Territory!

---

The man didn't need to be told twice to move out as he continued moving quickly away from the sound, which clearly became that of dragging metal against concrete. "I don't know, it's big, and it wears a metal suit, and it stopped my fifty calibre bullets from getting through." He managed to keep his cool, not revealing his emotional state too much, though hints of fear showed on through anyway. "My name is Adam Gaville, by the way. I was with Carolyn's squad when it was hit. After ejecting from my mech I recovered the black box in hers and took off as fast as I could... What are your names anyway?" Just before they could answer, they would all hear through their radios the transmission from Archangels 4 & 5. The cavalry had arrived, but it refused to land on the street... As well as passing along the warning about Big Daddy's payload. "... Oh. Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit." Caville says through his radio.

A quick look around would reveal two paths that didn't involve streets. One was a four floor tall apartment building on their right. They could climb it to the top, but they would be closer to the fog, and thus, whatever was pursuing Caville. On the flip side, there was a sewer grate just a few feet from them which they could likely use to get away from the combat zone and then get to safety by simply radioing for it, however, there was no telling what was inside the sewers, and Eira would have to abandon her heavily damaged mech, whereas she could use jump jets to get to the roof of the apartment... Assuming it would sustain her weight, which was another potential risk, but could they risk abandoning their main source of firepower against whatever was pursuing them?

Choices, choices...

-

South West - Brucey



Brucey frowned as he changed the song once more. The tower was a tough bitch, but he'd kept the enemy reinforcements from immediately swamping the APC so that was a plus. Checking his gas-mask was firmly in place Brucey would clamber to his mech's feet with all the grace of a bulldog fucking a goose. Bruce began to operate his systems like an aficionado as he got upright and put his mech into reverse stride as he faced the wrecked APC and the wounded wolf that had tried to om-nom-nom on his systems.

Bruce however was not in a playful mood anymore. The spirit of the Ignis Dei began to rise up in his mind. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for I am at 2'000 degrees Celsius and rising." Brucey unleashed the full might of both his incinerators in a cross-converging sweep pattern as he continued to back his mech as safely as possible away from the target area relying on sensors to identify things that might trip him up. Keying the comm to the squad channel he spoke up. "Ok, let's get the heavy metal in a braced covering withdrawal. Everyone else, keep to our backs, cover the other way and in the name of all that burns, warn us about any obstacles we might miss. This is going to be hairy but by Xiuhtecuhtli we will succeed!"