West wanted to assist her with the tentacles but the mission came first. He sprinted towards the Overmind, firing with each step he took. The heavy 105 caliber rounds blew gaping holes in the Overmind's central mass, spilling chunks of grey matter and orange blood upon the cavern floor. It shrieked in pain from the wounds, and for a moment, the tentacles waved wildly in the air. The cry was not truly a sound but more of a feeling that forced itself into West's mind, splintering his thoughts. He stumbled and crashed to his knees, the armored hands of his Mark II suit reaching upwards to cover the sides of its helmet. West saw the troopers of Alpha Squad doing the same. The cry was more than just one born of the creature's pain. It was an attack on their minds.
The mind controls all, a small, sane part of West’s brain argued as he struggled to regain his senses.
Tears ran over West's cheeks inside his suit, but he fought to overcome the noise tearing his thoughts and will apart. His hand trembling, he managed to raise his cannon in the direction of the Overmind and activate its firing mechanism. He swept the cannon in a side-to-side motion on full auto, hoping to score a lucky hit. The shrieking stopped. West shook his head frantically, trying to pull himself together. Besides Smith, all but one of Alpha squad was down and was not moving. He could feel blood leaking from his eyes, ears, and nose, trickles of warm wetness flowing over his skin. Even gravity seemed to be doing odd things around the Overmind.
He called out to the rest of the squad. Smith answered, as did Wheeler. Nobody else spoke up. Very likely, the troopers who were down were dead, overwhelmed by the Overmind's psychic attack.
The Overmind reared up. The thing's four hind legs supporting its weight as it scuttled forward to finish them. Smith and the remaining Alpha squad trooper were firing everything they had at the monster on full auto, a single round, and back again. Pieces of the Overmind were everywhere around them. A purplish blood oozed from its central mass and stained the floor and walls of the cavern. The Overmind refused to die though. One of its lifted legs impaled Wheeler straight through the man's chest, passing through his armor with its point emerging from his back. The Overmind shook the trooper's corpse from the point of its leg. It settled back onto all eight legs as Smith's voice broke through the ringing in West's ears. “We have to end this!”
“I'm with you!” West shouted over his suit's comm as he leveled his weapon at the Overmind's central mass and fired the last of his 105 rounds. Again, chunks of the monster exploded and a darker shade of orange blood splashed everywhere. The massive Overmind stayed upright, refusing to fall despite the grievous wounds it had suffered from.
West saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He jerked his head around to see hordes of Dog Kaiju entering the cavern through the entrance he and Alpha Squad had used. There were too many of the monsters to count.
“We have company!” West screamed. He spun to engage the newcomers, a stream of full auto fire from his cannon meeting their forward ranks head on.
“West. . .” He heard Smith say. “I'm sorry. There's no other way.”
“What. . .” he started and then realized what she meant as he saw the icon of her suit on his tactical display screen shift from a green dot to one of pulsing red. Smith had set her Mark II to self-destruct. He forgot about the Dog Kaiju and whirled to race towards the Overmind. He saw Smith charging it. She dodged tentacles that slashed out at her and slid like a baseball player between the Overmind's legs. As her armored form skidded to a halt directly beneath the Kaiju Overmind, the world went white. West felt the heat of the blast as his retina were burnt away and the armor of his Mark II melted into nothingness, taking his flesh and bones with it.
He never did get to tell her that he had loved her.
****
The once-grand streets of the city of Lemura had become a veritable warzone. The turtle-shelled Mother Kaiju, whose continued march towards the city proper could not be stopped, had shattered the dome surrounding the city. Yeltsin stared at the monitors in the command post with a mixture of anger, disgust, and fear. For all their effort, the main cannons couldn't stop the monster. The Mother Kaiju was missing an arm, and Yeltsin was convinced the beast was half-blind from multiple hits to the head. The arm on its right side ended in a stump of blackened scales and its face and legs were scorched to the point where the thing's tissues were charred beyond recognition, and yet the beast still stood. There seemed to be no stopping the lumbering Kaiju. The monster limped along, striking at buildings with its one good arm and crushing whatever was unlucky enough to be under its feet.
A division of ancient tanks moved down the primary road to meet the Mother Kaiju as it headed for the heart of the city. In a last-ditch effort, Yeltsin ordered them to target the monster's already wounded legs in the hope of bringing it down. Blasts of flame and smoke erupted from the barrels of the tank’s main guns as they thundered in chorus. They struck the Mother Kaiju in its thighs just below the edge of the shell covering the beast's torso. The monster reared back its head in a howl of pain, dropping to one knee. Its remaining arm swiped at the tanks. One tank's side caved inward as the Mother Kaiju's pincer made contact with it. The blow sent the tank rolling into the tank next to it before both exploded in a fiery blast of orange and yellow flames. None of the men and women inside managed to escape before a massive secondary explosion signaled the rupture of the magazine rack within one of the tanks. The second explosion vaporized both vehicles.
Yeltsin was tied into the comm channel the tanks were using. He heard the division's CO screaming for the tanks to withdraw. Both heavy vehicles kicked it into a hard reverse as they fired again. This time, their shots slammed into the hardened armor of the Mother Kaiju's shell with no effect. The Mother Kaiju tried to get to its feet, but failed. Its massive body rocked the street as it collapsed back onto one knee. The two tanks were in the process of turning around for a full out retreat when the giant beast swept its arm through a nearby building breaking apart the top half towards the tanks. The shower of debris hit them before they completed their turn. One tank was covered entirely, the other barely escaping the same fate.
All around the battle with the Mother Kaiju, platoons of infantry engaged the flood of Dog Kaiju that had poured into Lemura through the opening that the massive beast had made for them. The bulk of the infantry troopers wore basic combat gear. Only a few were in Dogkiller armor. Most of the Dogkiller suits available had been lost, along with the men and women wearing them, during the failed attempt to hold the shoreline against the Kaiju swarm. The Dog Kaiju were everywhere. They clogged the streets and alleyways of the city, sweeping through it like a tide of howling death. The chatter of small arms fire mingled with their cries.
One group of either very brave or very stupid soldiers had slung together a barricade made from the wreckage of the city in the main street leading to the city's heart. They fought desperately to hold it against the juggernaut of the Kaiju forces. Yeltsin watched on one of the monitors as the tripod mounted machine guns they'd set up atop the barricade tore the first wave of the Dog Kaiju to shreds. Grenade launchers lobbed explosive rounds into the center of the of the Dog Kaiju lines as the monsters continued to press forward. The soldiers around those using the mounted weapons added the fire of their rifles to the fury of the battle but it didn't matter. The Dog Kaiju were too many and too determined. The monsters reached the barricade and the valiant cries of the soldiers became screams as they were ripped apart by the horde.
The tank that had escaped the Mother Kaiju in its mad flight from the beast had turned onto a street where the Dog Kaiju were swarming en mass. The monsters spotted the heavy vehicle at once and came at it by the dozens. The tank's secondary guns blazed, hosing the creatures with 105 millimeter cannon fire. One Dog Kaiju was cut in half, its intestines spilling onto the street. Another's skull evaporated from a nearly point blank hit. Another paused to stare at the orange blood spurting from its shoulder where an arm had been connected only a moment before. The tank's main gun
was useless at such close range as the Dog Kaiju leaped onto its hull, slashing grooves into its armor with their claws. Yeltsin held his breath, hoping for a miracle, as the tank tried in vain to flee. Several of the Dog Kaiju working together yanked its main hatch open. Scale covered hands reached into the vehicle and pulled one of its crew out. The poor woman died painfully. Two of the Dog Kaiju, fighting over who got her flesh, ripped her arms from their sockets as her blood splattered over the green exterior of the tank. A third Dog Kaiju nuzzled its head into her abdomen, its teeth sinking into and tearing the woman's flesh. When she lay still atop the tank and the Dog Kaiju raised its red stained face towards the camera Yeltsin was watching the battle through, the Minister of War turned away.
“Shut that feed off!” he snapped at the closest officer. Nevertheless, Yeltsin knew inside that the grizzly scene he had just witnessed was what lay in store for them all. “There's nothing more we can do from here. What’s the status of the east wall?”
“Gone, sir,” someone called out. “Dog Kaiju overran the defenders when the auxiliary heavy support units moved out to support the south wall, where the Mother breached.”
“North?”
“Holding for now, sir,” a new voice called out. “Dog Kaiju are light up there. We’ve diverted some of the defending units to the east to help, but we’re not sure they’re going to make much of a stand.
“West is holding as well, sir,” an officer reported. “No spare units to redeploy, however. Those flying Kaiju shredded their defenses.”
Yeltsin looked back at the various monitors. Command Central had fallen silent around him. All the officers and personnel were staring at him. Yeltsin realized his cheeks were wet with tears. He roughly wiped them away. “I want everyone to grab whatever weapons they can.” His voice was harsh, though it did not break. “We're going to be joining the battle out in the streets.”
“Sir!” cried an officer who sat at one of the consoles across the room from where Yeltsin stood. “The Kaiju! Something's happening to them!”
Yeltsin turned to look at the monitors that hadn't been shut down yet. The Dog Kaiju had gone insane. Many beasts were attacking each other, tooth and nail, and those that weren't, stumbled and moved awkwardly as if their brains had suddenly short-circuited. All eyes went to the monitor showing the towering Mother Kaiju as the great beast thrashed about wildly. The pincer of its remaining arm snapped open and closed on the flesh of its own face.
Cheers went up all around the command area. Yeltsin felt as if he had just been gut punched. It was one thing to hope for a miracle and a whole other to see it delivered to you. With the Kaiju driven mad by some unseen force, they actually had a prayer now. They could turn the tide of the battle and push the monsters back into the ocean. He struggled to keep his voice professional as he shouted, “To the streets! Long live Lemura!”
With that on the lips of the men and women in Control Central, the battle to reclaim Lemura began.
****
Yeltsin moved through the streets, training from another time and place coming back to him as he led his bastardized platoon through the ruined streets. The Kaiju everywhere were in disarray, but still very dangerous. They quickly found that out as two Dog Kaiju grabbed an unarmored colonel and dragged him off into a darkened alley, his screams loud and piercing until they were abruptly cut off. Yeltsin tossed a few grenades into the alley and moved on.
“This is Lemura Actual,” Yeltsin said over an open circuit, tapping his comm into every comm unit in Lemura. “Minister Yeltsin, for anyone confused. I am leading the efforts to take back our streets. If you still have your weapon and ammunition available, I urge you to join me in taking back your city, your home, your life. This is for Lemura. Long live Lemura!”
So rang the battle cry of humanity. Pacifica, Atlantica... they were the fallen beacons, no longer lighting the way for humanity to survive. They were gone, swept away in the oceans of time. They would not be rebuilt. They would be memories of failure, of lost lives, of abandoned hope. They would only exist in song and story, and even then, their importance would be lessened in human history. That was Minster Yeltsin’s legacy, and it was one that he was not ashamed to admit striving for.
Gunfire erupted ahead of them. Yeltsin watched as a man and his three sons barreled out of a ruined apartment building, old hunting rifles in their hands as they joined the battle. A lone Dog Kaiju attacked the family, who valiantly fought back. The father was dragged to the ground, ripped apart by the Kaiju. His sons killed the beast. Yeltsin nodded approvingly.
“Now is the time, people of earth,” he whispered fiercely. “Now is the time to take back our city, our planet.”
A soldier fell, and a citizen took his place. Yeltsin noticed but said nothing to the woman, who was fearfully clutching an old revolver in her hands. There was a steely glint of determination in her eye. Yeltsin would not discount the woman, or any other person who stood up to fight. This was humanity’s final stand, and every man, woman and child capable was a soldier now.
“Forward!” he cried out and led the way, men and women following closely behind him. The Mother Kaiju, severely injured and apparently cut off from the Overmind, was still a severe danger. The small arms would likely do very little actual harm to the massive Kaiju, but even enough bee stings can kill a bear.
The Mother Kaiju roared painfully somewhere nearby as more fire poured into her exposed flank. The turtle shell, which offered near-invulnerability in the front of the beast, did not cover her back as well. The thick scales of the Mother were all that stood between life and death for the beast. He checked his belt for grenades and saw that he had ten left. Others in his growing group had more, and he saw that one civilian who had joined them was carrying a large bundle of claymore explosives. He blinked at that, but refrained from commenting. Survival was important, and how they did it, was not.
“She’s hobbled at the corner of Main and Prosperous Street,” Yeltsin said over the comm. “Let’s bring that big bitch down!”
“Long live Lemura!” came the cry over the comm as thousands of voices responded as one.
The ground around Yeltsin shook. He glanced up and saw that the Mother was still down on one knee, but was struggling slowly back to her feet. He broke into a trot, then a run. They had to keep the Mother from rising, and he wasn’t sure he had the firepower to do so. He risked a quick look at his oversized platoon, which was now numbering a few hundred men and women, some in uniform, most not. The frightened woman he had spotted earlier was now carrying the explosive claymores.
He rounded the corner of Main and skidded to a stop. He had managed to make his way to the rear of the Mother Kaiju, where a small group of uniformed soldiers was trying the shoot the Mother in a most indelicate spot. Judging by the way the Kaiju was thrashing about, Yeltsin was sure that the determined solders were starting to make progress.
“Attack!” Yeltsin cried and the men and women around him surged forward. “Do not let what is written on your headstone state that you simply died here! Fight for humanity! Long live Lemura!”
“Long live Lemura!”
A small form, a young girl no more than ten, clutched a small satchel in her arms. She ran forward, darting around the adults as they fought the Mother Kaiju, her bright brown eyes never wavering as she drew closer to the Mother. Her pigtails bobbed as an adult bumped her unknowingly, but her path did not stray. She drew very close to the exposed underside of the massive beast and stopped. She looked up at the Kaiju, and in a voice that belonged to someone ten times her size, made a declaration in a ringing tone:
“Long live Lemura!”
The explosive in the satchel pack detonated, killing the large cluster of humans gathered close to her position. The ball bearings, which had been packed tightly around the explosive material, shot upwards at over fifteen hundred meters per second, the steel penetrating deep into the Mother’s stomach. The little girl vanished in the blast, but in the process of dying, managed to wo
und the Mother grievously.
Men, women, and Dog Kaiju were all turned to mist as the ball bearings made short work of the unarmored humans around them. One bearing blew straight through Minister Yeltsin’s pants leg, narrowly missing his thigh. Red blood mixed with orange on the street, and the horrid stink of death and carnage filled the air.
The damage was done, however. The Mother Kaiju bellowed one final time, a cry born of pain and defeat. Her good leg gave out, and the top-heavy beast tottered as her guts began to spill out onto the street. The massive shelled creature began to fall to its side, the heavy creature flattening buildings and killing thousands of people and tens of thousands of Dog Kaiju as she went.
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