Futuristic An Agent of Maniacles

[Spacekitsune]

Amatsa would look towards Aria and then back to Denton as he would think to herself with a smirk. "That's perfectly fine my me." She made sure her gloves were fully on. "Will have to touch the bugs so will have to be close and personal but I'm sure you can keep them off me can't you Aria?" She would say in a kinda sweet playful voice. "Also just to make sure I like hiding in the background until it's a chance to strike so if we work together I'm sure you'll be able to keep me alive and vice versa... Oh I never actually showed my power to you all... if anyone is willing to come over to me and allow me to do it... well for allies at least i'll show you what I can do."

 

[Deadwood Deer]

The two spheres attached to Sam's hips whirred and detached, a blue glow coming from the open end with a smaller blue dot just above the opening of each. They hovered in orbit around Samantha's shoulders as she pushed a few buttons on her headpiece. A small screen extended and folded in front of her eye as one DEHD settled into a position to the left of her head about a foot out, while the other hovered towards Amatsa. "You break it and you're buying me a new one," she cautioned.

 

[Freikugel]

Carmille raised an eyebrow and smirked. Vampires were lonely creatures, rarely gathered in groups, so even the small number of undeads impressed her
"Hadn't seen too many vampire together since the eighteen century"

Denton delivered orders quickly and swift, he seemed like a more capable man than the other guy thought as she side glanced at John.

So I'm teamed up with Kotsu huh?, the pathetic picture of the undead depending on blood packs to sustain himself triggered on her an emotion she usually reserved for humankind, contempt.

She turned her head toward him and smiled, judging by the physiology ,expression, smell, essence and many other factors, she gauged his age was around 100 or less years, a young vampire, or in other words, a weak vampire.
Her smile was particularly cold.

I guess I can use him as emergency food if the necessity arises.... However pests weren't a big deal, and a queen? Maybe I'll have to raise more than a couple of fingers

"Do you even know the taste of real blood? Oh! had you ever devoured the blood of a Dragon?" She asked to the undead man

KotaKotsu

 

[TheAdept]

The more events began to unfold, the more excited John got. He was going to gun down some bugs as a Maniacles mercenary, alongside fellow Maniacles mercs, not to mention he could pick up chicks when he got home. He would say "Yeah, I'm a mercenary. For who? The only company that matters." Yeah, his life was looking up. He didn't even notice the woman talking about dragons, or the man more than twice his size fully decked out in power armor.

That was when the dark haired lady with the poker face and the aviators appeared. John wondered if she was his higher up, how much of a higher up she was, and if it wasn't a problem for her to date coworkers.

"Hey..." He said with a grin which dimmed a bit when he lacked any idea what to follow it up with.

And as if deaf, Morgan ignored him and walked past, putting herself in a position to face the whole group.

"Alright, you all know what to do, and you should all know the basic unspoken rules: don't fuck it up and don't die." She announced, holding up the ear pieces "Everybody get an earpiece before we go. We are going to check large interiors where a queen could be. The first place we are going is to the now abandon shopping mall. Everybody make sure you're prepared!"

Thats when John realized he forgot to get a suit of power armor. Oh well, how hard could this be?

 

[Spacekitsune]

Amatsa would look at the sphere floating towards her as she had a sigh. She would have rather a human test subject to have done it on as it would have been easier to show that they would be able to move but the person would be able to make it move while it was 2d anyway. She would touch the DEHD as it would completely flatten onto the ground. Not just like a 3d picture but actually turned it into a moving picture on the ground. "Don't worry it doesn't break... just changes dimensions." The drone would more look like a piece of grafiti of the drone on the ground.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu stared at Carmille blankly. Then back toward Denton. "Got it, captain."
Kotsu ignored Carmille's desire to fight, but only responded back to her without looking at her and looking forward. "I don't care for this poison running through my blood. My own blood, twisted against me. In fact, I yearn for the sweet release of death. But I refuse to let any of you die. Know that much. I will protect you with what life I have left. I took an oath." And with that, Kotsu stared off into the distance, awaiting further orders.

 

[Freikugel]

At which Carmille raised an eyebrow
Guess he hasn't lived enough to learn how relevant are fun and a good time
"Boring" mumbled

 

[KotaKotsu]

"I'm not boring. I'm just tired. I miss my family. Maybe I just haven't lived long enough to forget them like you have." Kotsu shrugged, getting up to pick up an earpiece and setting it in his ear. His hearing was impeccable, but it never hurt to be cautious in case someone was pinned down in a building somewhere on the other side of town and he was close enough to help. Kotsu had also taken the time to admire the technological capabilities and magical prowess of his teammates. Molding into a flat dimension on the ground would save them from death more than likely. They'll be the least to worry about, provided the mage doesn't exhaust themselves. With that, the faintest trace of a smile showed on Kotsu's face. He was happy that there may be less blood shed with the new blood in the ranks.

Freikugel TheAdept

 

[Deadwood Deer]

The look of shock on Samantha's face was obvious. The DEHD still responded to her commands, sliding across the dirt, but it just rolled over whatever it touched.

"My mechanic would kill to be able to do that," she whispered as she picked up an earpiece and synced it with the headpiece for her drones. "Can you undo it?"

 

[crumbelivable]

To Eddie, Quentin's response seemed a bit nervous, a bit rushed, as though Quentin knew more about Amatsa then he was letting on. Although it seemed to Edison that, at the very least, he shared an interest with him in the rumors of magic-using mercs in Maniacle. Quentin brought up the idea of walking up to her and asking about it, although at the same time he seemed wary of doing so. "Hey, good idea", said Eddie "And straight to the point. Let's do it". As he was walking over to her, however, Denton spoke up again, and this time it was important. He was assigning people into separate squads. Him, Quentin, Viv, John, and a few others would be taking the front. Amatsa and the vampire girl, on the other hand, would be taking the right flank. It was an odd placement, considering he was most experienced at long range, but Eddie supposed that most of the reason behind this choice was the nest he cleared out in Serbia six years ago, the very fight that got him into Maniacle in the first place. It wasn't a terrible placement-he was good at close range too-but it wasn't ideal.

At that moment, however, Amatsa said something even more surprising, claiming that she wanted to demonstrate her powers, and for anyone who wanted to watch to come close. Alright, now he knew she definitely hadn't misspoken. Eddie broke out into a bit of a jog, calling Quentin over. The cyborg was standing near her, and produced a pair of orbs from her body, resembling cameras or something of the like. It seemed that she was going to demonstrate her abilities on them. In the background, John and a woman who he seemed to report to were standing around, handing out earpieces and telling the group where they would be deploying to first, but Eddie was too engrossed in what Amatsa was about to do to notice. Sure enough, as Amatsa touched the sphere, it sunk into the ground, and Eddie had to lean in to get a better look. Sure enough, from that angle, he could see that the sphere was physically the same, but somehow, an entire dimension had been removed, leaving it flat on the ground, but displaying the illusion of seeing it from above. It reminded him a lot of sidewalk art he'd seen back home that presented the illusion of depth when seen from above.

Eddie tried to rationalize how Amatsa had done this, surely it must have some slight of hand involved, or maybe it was a trick of the light. He tried to feel around over the flattened ball, but he felt nothing. This wasn't a trick. It was real. Maniacle really did have mages in its ranks. Edison looked up at Amasta, amazed. "Damn," he said, "I suppose the rumors were true after all".

Spacekitsune AbatedBigfoot

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu decided to walk over to Samantha and Amatsa and marvel at the now rough looking sphere on the ground. "That is a neat trick. Quite interesting." His fingers on his chin, scratching his beard.
"I take it you can use it on people too, which is why you asked for a volunteer? Can it save you from debris crushing you or enemies impaling you?" Showing genuine interest and fascination, while also trying to build a bond with his new allies.

Spacekitsune Deadwood Deer

 

[Spacekitsune]

Amatsa would touch the art as she would return it back to normal as she looked towards Kotsu. "Depends on the situation. For example if bullet still shot a hole through the wall that'd damage the picture which would mean... I would have a hole in my chest for example." She explains to Kotsu. "If the weapon was unable to crack or impale the wall however I'd probably be fine at least." She would explain. "However... if I get broken up as a wall crumbles... or something like that... or maybe debris falling and cracking the floor. I'd probably be dead or the person under there would be dead or the equipment would be destroyed. It does however allow me to get through cracks in a wall forexample. Or under a door. That's why I'm a stealth trained expert." She says. "Well... they don't call me that but it's my self gained title"

 

[KotaKotsu]

At the 'self gained title' mention, Kotsu cracked a smile once more before returning to his analytical posture. "Though I'm not magical in the slightest, I can manipulate my body to a degree. Nowhere near as captivating as this would be. Maybe you should put on a play one day." Kotsu said to Amatsa, engrossed in his own memories of taking his younger siblings to watch little plays and movies.

Spacekitsune

 

[Deadwood Deer]

Samantha snatched the drone out of the air as is regained 3D-ness. She clipped it back into the holster and a diagnostics check flashed across the tiny eye-piece. Everything seemed to be in order, so Sam tossed the drone into the air. What the drone saw filled the screen. "I'm not seeing anything weird," she said, "How about you, Owl?"

Exzalia

 

[Spacekitsune]

"My skills are not for show sadly. They're to keep us going and make kills easier. I could put on a show for people however I would not prefer to do it one on a mission. Two when we're near an infested city and three I may not live that long to retire. Even with my magical powers but we'll have to wait and see shan't we?" She says with her hands behind her back. "I can do it on organic matter as well. However I do need to physically touch the being."

 

[TheAdept]

"Alright." Spoke Morgan, who had the kind of voice that you heard no matter how soft she was "Its time. We are walking into town. Its only a couple miles away."

And with that she lead them passed one of the blockades. That is, the most heavily defended blockade, with four men decked out in power armor and two automated turrets.

............................................................................................................................................

It wasn't long before they could see the true city center as well as the multi-storied but still insignificant shopping mall Morgan had told them about.

"Nobody wander off." Morgan put bluntly as she walked.

It was then that John's head, as if by instinct, turned to his left and spotted it. He had seen it before when he was younger, and the feeling of dread was all the same. One could call them small masses of eyes and mouths with many legs, or masses of legs with many eyes and mouths. Regardless, it referred to the same thing. And there wasn't just one of them. A swarm of Pests was approaching them, so casually, yet anyone would know the danger by instinct.

They revealed themselves as they scurried from the cover of the vegetation. John opened fire, hitting a couple that were seemingly replaced in but a second.

"Pests!" He yelled.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu wasted no time. Dashing directly for the swarm of pests. "If I read the good book, I'd say this was like a biblical swarm of locusts to devour the sinful." Tearing at the flesh on his arms, whips made from Kotsu's own blood shot out of his wrists. Spiraling around himself with the whips, he charged toward the pests to tear them apart.

 

[crumbelivable]

It was a short walk into town. Eddie had been informed by the others previously that they were heading to a destroyed mall. On the way, he talked a bit with his fellow squadmembers, especially with Quentin. It was less than an hour before they arrived at the center, their first stop on their long path to kill the queen. It was a couple of stories high, not especially surprising considering Moonlight Falls's location as a local county seat. It had clearly taken some hits when the Pests had overrun the town, but it seemed mostly intact. If push came to shove, he supposed, they could barricade themselves in and hold the mall off from them. That, or at least something similar to it, was what worked for him during his last encounter with them.

Just then, a feeling of unease came over Eddie. It was a feeling he had not felt in almost six years, and was so unfamiliar to him that it almost made him nostalgic. He almost feel it in the air around him, almost hear their skittering, almost smell their ichor. The Pests were here. Eddie looked all around for any openings they could emerge from. They liked to hide and wait for people to come so that they could ambush them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the beasts emerge from a nearby cluster of trees, and immediately set themselves upon the squad. John called to alert the rest, and opened fire. Consecutively, Eddie pulled out his SMG, and opened fire into the swarm. As he fired, he headed to the front of the squad, facing the swarm head-on. One of the left flankers, Kotsu, he believed his name was, ran ahead of him with what appeared to be whips made of flesh. Already, they were breaking the combat plan somewhat. Eddie hoped that a move this bold would pay off for them.

 

[Deadwood Deer]

When the bird's eye view DEHD recognized a Pest, it began to beep. The view on Sam's screen vanished as the drone returned to auto pilot, floating down and orbiting her head.

"Oh, jeez, who let Cthulu fuck an ant?", she quipped as the sleeve of metal on her left arm seemed to breathe, moving down her arm and reforming into a sword in her hand.

Whatever a Pest actually was, she'd be willing to bet they had a hand in HP Lovecraft's tales of cosmic horror and racism. Either way, they ate people, or at least killed them. It didn't matter which, what mattered was doing her job. Occasionally, a drone would pop off a shot, once the sphere had calculated that it wouldn't hit a friendly.

 

[Freikugel]

Repulsive, grotesque, distorted...

The swarm moved fast, covering the terrain mercilessly, without a soul, without a mind, only consuming.

dirty, horrible, deformed, gnarled....

And there stood Carmille, her eyes revealing a twisted expression, a dark emotion burning through the air

corrupted, hideous, ugly...

And she wasn't looking at the pests, they were irrelevant, from her they were no different than angry horde of farmers wielding torches, no different than brave idiots clad in silver wearing crosses and swords, no different than souless soldiers intoxicated by gunpowder.

The insolence pronounced by the man felt like corrosive acid on her skin. Her eyes focused on the figure weaponizing a small amount of blood into whips

I will protect you with what life I have left. I took an oath.

Ah, such stupid impudence

And without even a flinch, a large group of pests swarmed and covered Carmille's entire body, letting nothing to be on sight, nothing more than blood gushing from between the barrage of bugs

.......................

And from within the ball of bugs words emanated, the voice distorted and increased in volume, enough to make a regular person feel as if his body had been deprived from its soul

"FILTHY UNDEAD!!! YOU RENOUNCE THE FREEDOM OF INMORTALITY BY AN OATH, BY SELLING YOUR BODY, SOUL, MIND AND ESSENCE TO THE WILL OF MERE HUMANS!!!!"

The ball of bugs suddenly deformed and exploded in a grotesque fashion pouring the surroundings with a mixture of fluids, blood, organs of the bugs. From within it several if not thousand of large crimson spikes erupted, and at the center of it the deformed body of Carmille which was now a crimson humanoid figure with endless spears protruding from every possible angle on her body.

"THIS IS HOW AN UNDEAD WIELD THE BLOOD AS A WEAPON" Exclaimed as the spears slowly decreased in size, returning to the body of the woman which also recovered its figure step by step.

 

[KotaKotsu]

Tearing through the hordes of Pests that were currently in his vision, ripping them apart with a gleeful smile that formed on his lips as blood and debris swamped Kotsu's body, there was a maniacal look in his eyes that replaced the calm and analytical posture from before.
"More! GIVE ME MORE!" The swarm that had appeared, was being reduced to nothing but individual insects, which caused Kotsu to start laughing insanely. Quick flicks of his fingers showed that his blood was the whips, not whips covered in blood. And with each flick of his wrists, he shot out knives that would impale the Pests around him. Diving into the heart of the swarm in front of him, he formed a gyro made out of the whips.
"YOU BORE ME!" He screamed at the insects, his voice deepening into a sadistic growl. "Kill you... I'll kill you all!" It was clear that Kotsu was not himself in the heat of battle. His speed and power picking up with each new gash on his body that almost instantly healed or splatter of blood that landed on him. Eventually, the wave was reduced to nothing. Forcing Kotsu to pick out the remnants with his throwing knives of his own blood. Letting him quell his inner demon while saying, "Tag! Now YOU'RE it! Where's your mommy, little worm?" And such as the like until he was panting hard, calming himself down and returning slowly, to how he originally was.
Making his way back to the group, Kotsu called out to Denton on the earpiece he had taken. "I want more blood, Captain. Hope that ain't all this city got. But the left flank is protected." Kotsu walks over to Carmille. Upon seeing her wounded, shows a face of concern. "Say what you will, but please take more caution in the future. Thank you."

 

[Freikugel]

As the spears created from her body returned to it, she recovered her shape, althought a closer inspection would reveal her body became slightly skinnier
Blood swimming through her face, her twisted expresion still fixated on Kotsu's eyes.
"Caution? Don't lecture me filthy undead, these pests are no different than humans, food or corpses"
Her eyes deviated, a current of pests swarmed.
They want to win via quantity over quality, grave mistake

 

[Spacekitsune]

Amatsa would prefer her rifle as she started to look calm creepily so she would at first stay at a distance as she would with a quieter shot than normal rifles as she would shoot and blast the head of of one of them and loaded another bullet focusing one targets getting closer to the group. Picking one by one with an extra fex bullets for a bigger one if they come about however when they started to get close she would smirk a little bit changing to her pistol shooting a few more but if they got two close she'd rely on her magic risking touching the beings to turn them two dimensional so people can smash them as the monsters were unable to change back

 

[KotaKotsu]

Kotsu sighed harshly at Carmille. "Look you don't have to like me, hell you don't even have to acknowledge me. But whether you like it or not, we're comrades. And I know you're injured from what you did." Kotsu forced a blood pack into Carmille's hands while whipping his throwing knives at the insects coming near the group. "Take this, shut up, and recover!" Kotsu emphasized the recover portion by throwing a knife by a pest that managed to get near Carmille's head and a few at some of the Pests that Amasta had forced into the second dimension.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Aria​

Things escalated fast. When the two other vampire jumped off to the front right away, Aria stayed in the back. She didn't want to break the formation, and melee allies in the firing line would make the gunner hesitate to shoot. Still, she took note about these grotesque insects' appearance, how the vampires' power interact with them and compared their anatomy to several species that she read in the books before.

She found it strange that the world's problem changed from colonialization to fighting alien bugs in 500 years. Her coach told her to watch some documentary movies about the history of pest but honestly, Aria couldn't stands to watch TV more than 30 minutes a day so she hadn't touch those 3 hours documentary.