((Quit your bitching, Marek and Sonas; you two engage the enemy; Piniki, you and MsCastle, hang back and slot in as support. Piniki, I want you to aid with everyone’s stamina; Castle, be on the lookout to lend Sheild support when necessary, take to the sky, and follow approximately 50 feet behind the other two)) Slowly and dramatically getting to my feet, I began acting as if that single attack had drained me substantially.
((Copy that Nexus, Piniki, come closer and jump on the disk,)) Emilia was the first to respond as she manifested a condensed 7-foot-in-diameter disk, which began levitating off the ground.
((But…Nexus, do you need any healing? Is your PC or Stamina low? I can help; you look tired; that last attack must have taken a lot out of you.)) Being always on the lookout for a reason to be close to me, of course, Piniki wanted to rush to my side, but Brenden was faster on denying the support than even I could be.
((Hes fine, just being dramatic, come on Sonas,)) Changing my view to the Drones flying around near my brother, I watched as he looked over at Piniki and snorted before blowing a kiss to Emilia and running off to battle.
((Right, good luck everyone)) The ever-cheerful Sonas didn’t waste any time following behind Brenden like a puppy, even though they were running head-first into what remained of the Undead.
Changing the feed playing in front of my left eye, I checked in on the other squads and saw things weren’t going nearly as well for them as they had for me and my group.
Mind you, the majority of them were only in the first few levels of Alpha-Rank, while a select few were at the peak of Alpha, so while the Squire-Grade Undead posed them zero threat, the same couldn’t be said about the Knights, especially the higher ranked Death knights.
Still, given the odds being against them, I had to admit that the cohesion between the other squads was on par with ours, and although weaker, they were putting up a solid offensive against the undead hord spewing from their gates.
Taking a few more minutes to collect myself on camera, I decided I had waited enough, drew my Eskrima sticks, and rushed forward to join my brother and the others.
And so the battle truly began.
Above, in the sky, the drones whizzed around, filming so that it was visible for anyone with a screen as I split my attention in half, one part of my brain working to get the best shots for the stream and the other putting on a show of fighting hand to hand against the Undead.
As for the images I was sending back to the rest of the world, they were brutal, like something from a horror movie, but at the same time, I was painting everyone from the Hero-Squads in such a shining light that we were quickly becoming massive celebrities.
Brenden, with his cape flying as he met the undead head-on, throwing punches and kicks infused with golden light (His Talent), Sonas as he blasted around the battlefield and unleashed devastating Sonic-infused kicks, Emilia hovering in the sky with her hair fluttering valiantly as she manifested multiple barriers just in the nick of time to protect our vital spots from weapons, and Piniki, as she fired off laser-like pink light at each of us, reinvigorating and healing any minor scratches we got for some reason.
Then there was me, spinning, flipping, sliding, ducking, dodging, and smashing both head and knees with my Eskrima; it was a hell of a sight for the world.
It wasn’t just my squad being painted in a heroic light either; I made sure to highlight the other squads as well, primarily to avoid us from being the primary focus of the whole event.
Flashes of ice, lightning, flames, and water were all being showcased; we were heroes, and the world was finally realizing that. Sure, we had been doing patrols for years, stopping petty crimes and gang violence, but apart from shaky hand-cam footage, it was practically impossible to get the full scope of what we were capable of.
But that was to be expected because all we ever faced were normal people, but now, we were up against a real threat: monsters with powers rivaling that of most returners.
The scenes we were experiencing were like the climax of a Blockbuster Hero movie. I made sure to film things in that manner now; sure, there would be naysayers and keyboard warriors who would claim it was all fake, but that’s why some two miles away were thousands of news vans and media crew who were using long-range lenses to capture what they could.
Overall, I was painting quite a picture for the general public, against what the military advised. Certain people were so headstrong against me doing such a thing that, in the end, I was forced to use my Psy-Kinesis against them to change their minds, but overall, I was doing exactly what I set out to do.
Control the narrative, paint us as the ultimate force for good, turn as many as possible against the ideals of Partaevian, and pave the path to a world where I was free to do as I please so long as I played my cards right.
And so the battle raged on, 10 minutes, 30, an hour, two hours in, the first calls for aid started rolling in,
(NEXUS, WE NEED BACKUP AT FIRE/ICE!)
(SUPPORT REQUESTED AT VECTOR!)
Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.
(INJURIES AT ZAP; WE NEED A HEALER!)
(Phys-Send two to Vector, Air move to support Fire/Ice, Castle take Piniki to aid Zap, go!) Ducking under a sweeping great axe as it attempted to cleave off my head, I bashed out the knees of my attacker and popped the undead head before breaking away from the six Undead I was fighting and giving out orders before jumping back into battle.
((LadyFell, status report)) Dealing with another Undead, my eyes flicked in the direction I knew Xilia was located, the Wall behind the Gates.
((Theyre up to something, I just cant tell what, at first the cultists were standing and watching the battle but after an hour of that, they began forming up…))