Aftermath by Justin
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Disclaimer:
I do not own Galerians, only a copy I bought at Babbages. Galerians is owned by
Ascii, Crave Entertainment, and Polygon Magic. (I think that's all of them...)
I do not own any of the characters from the game, although I do claim ownership
of my own characters, as well as any personality and/or appearance changes I
have given the (very few) surviving game characters. I am not responsible for
any Shorting deaths induced by this fanfic. Enjoy ^_^
GALERIANS
A F T E R M A T H
Chapter 6: The War for Mankind
Lilia groaned slightly as she slowly awoke. She felt a gentle arm around her
waist, and one on her shoulder, exactly as they were before she fell asleep the
night before. "…Cain?" she murmured, half-awake.
"I'm here, Lilia." Cain responded. So he had stayed there the whole
night just so she could sleep, she thought.
"Cain… you stayed up all night for me?" she groggily asked, a slight
smile forming over her drowsy face.
"Yeah… You needed your sleep, I couldn't bring myself to wake you,"
he replied, deeply burying his feelings for her.
Lilia knew deep down that Cain, with his cold exterior, would not open up and
do such a selfless act, not without some other reason than letting her get some
much-needed sleep. But her thoughts were interrupted when he spoke, still
holding his stern nature.
"It's time, Lilia… best you go get dressed." As always. Lilia looked
away, trying to hide her emotions, which he could not change no matter how
harshly he spoke.
"Don't wanna… Can't get up…" she grumbled. She didn't want to fight,
she wanted only to lay back into Cain's warm, supporting embrace.
"Lilia… we need to go…" he said, still holding his serious tone. She
sighed, as he helped her up and led her back to her room. Jynx opened his door
as they passed his room. "I wonder if Cain finally got lucky…" he
thought, before Cain glared back at him, aiming his arm out at him. Jynx
slammed his door behind him just in time to avoid a low-level plasma blast.
"What was that for?" wondered Lilia.
"I'd like to call it a penalty shot," replied Cain, as they neared
her room. Jett walked out of his room down the hallway before them.
"Hey Cain, sleep well?" before giving him an obvious, head-tilting wink.
Cain answered him with another low-level plasma shot to his stomach, sending
him crashing into the wall behind him.
"Ugh… what was that for…?" gasped Jett as he caught his breath. Just
then all the other members of the Northern Faction peeked out of their rooms,
and asked the same basic question, from Shaeda's "Have fun last
night?" and Aden's "How'd it go?" to Terrae's bolder antics,
"Cain and Lilia, sittin' in a tree, F-U-C-"
That inexcusable line was interrupted by three plasma shots from Cain, two of
them scathing Shaeda's and Aden's doors behind them, as Terrae quickly followed
suit, not before losing a few of her silver hair strands to Cain's other,
higher-level plasma shot, aimed especially for her.
Lilia gulped as they continued to her room. "Damn," she thought,
"He could've really hurt them… guess that's a sensitive subject for
him…"
"I don't take shit from anyone around here," he snarled as they
walked to her door. They entered, and Cain walked to the dresser, searching for
some better clothing for his guest.
He took the only set of clothing from the dresser, a tan T-shirt and a black
skirt, about knee-length. He also found a pair of gray socks, and,
surprisingly, a black set of boxers.
"They'll be more comfortable when you're running around," he said to
answer her thoughts, noticing her obvious blushing. She'd by now gotten used to
him answering the questions in her mind, not really worried as she could now
block him out from any particular thoughts that she didn't need him probing.
Her Galerian powers were surfacing, and she was glad, she knew that she would
need to use them when they reached the Galerian base.
He left, and she quickly garbed herself in the new outfit, over the interesting
addition of boxers and a black bra she found in the drawers as well. Also found
were a pair of black combat boots sitting beside her bed, appropriate for such
a mission. She quickly adjusted them, and walked out to meet Cain, who was
talking with the others. They were all clothed in their casual outfits, as well
as the standard tan cloak. Furthermore, they all carried a semi-auto and a
shoulder-slung belt of grenades.
"Lilia, this way." He handed her a cloak, as well as a grenade belt,
which she put on as they walked down the hallway. She also found her own
semi-auto handgun in one of the cloak's many hidden, interior pockets.
They soon exited their headquarters, and Cain stopped for a moment, looking
back at the multi-storied apartment building. He gave a slight nod, one which
Lilia interpreted as a sign of respect, for putting a roof over his team's head
for the past year.
Cain turned to look back at the path before them. There was a seemingly endless
street, with the Galerian skyscraper just barely seen on the horizon, masked by
the fog of the morning's mists. "Come on, everyone. It begins here."
And with that, they all marched onward.
They had an hour's walk ahead of them, and they occasionally had to stop and
fight along the way. It was still very early in the morning, just after five
o'clock, and the mutated underlings were still abound, as well as the usual
thugs and murderers.
Dozens of encounters came up, all of which ended with the Northern Faction
emerging victorious, and without a scratch. Their opponents couldn't even get
close enough to. Compared to the other three factions, the Northern was the
smallest, with a group now consisting of only seven members.
The Southern and Western factions had thirty members in their ranks, and the
Eastern had nearly fifty. Yet, the Northern Faction was that of the elite, each
member with a deep motive driving them forward. Also, Terrae provided the team
with something unique: a technological genius.
Many of the encounters ended with instant kills to the opposition. Shaeda was
skilled in many of the Martial Arts, and with the addition of her boot-knives,
she made a fearsome opponent for any who dared to intimidate her.
Aden made life quite miserable for any adversary, human or otherwise, that
dared threaten him. The "Mirage," as Terrae dubbed the crystal hanging
from his necklace, gave him the ability to split his image into five, with four
inanimate surrounding illusions of himself to deceive his opponents.
Jynx, with his armlet, was able to create a force-field around himself, all his
limbs covered by rectangular barriers. Only his hands and feet, and his head
were left exposed.
Jett didn't need any of Terrae's "witchcraft" as he jokingly called
it, he relied on his black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He also had knowledge of fatal
pressure points, always landing his mark with deadly accuracy.
Terrae,
the mother of invention herself, had more than a few tricks up her sleeve. With
a few buttons from her wristwatch, her shoulder plate employed a well-fit suit
of armor around her upper torso. Furthermore, that marvelous device could also
emit an energy shield around her right hand, which could repel bullets, laser
bolts and supposedly, even repel a Galerian plasma blast.
The sun rose as they neared the Galerian tower, leaving far behind them a trail
of defeated brigands and mutant creatures. "This is it, everybody,"
said Cain, his stony face clear of any fear or nervousness.
Silently, they approached the building's doors, which were heavily guarded.
"Halt at once!" ordered one of them, as they quickly aimed their guns
at his head.
"I think not," proclaimed Cain, as he aimed out his arm toward the
small group of guards, stunning them all with a static assault to their minds.
The unsuspecting guards fell to the hard floor below, electricity still surging
around their foreheads.
"Move!" yelled Cain, as they all ran past the fallen guards and into
the building, Cain using his abilities to make short work of the security
guards in the lobby and at the desk, before he could get his finger to the
alarm.
"We're good, keep moving," instructed Cain, as the others followed
with little hesitation, Lilia staying close behind Cain. She knew that he would
protect her, since she was what this mission was all about. Sure enough, he
made certain that no harm would come to her. "Everyone keep an eye on
Lilia's back."
Just then, Jett realized something. "Shouldn't the other factions be here
by now?"
Cain said nothing, showing only a cold, granite look on his face. After a long
moment, he answered. "They should."
Lilia then spoke up. "You don't think… …They had to make it here, Cain,
like you said they have far more members than we have…"
"Safety is not always guaranteed in numbers," he said coldly,
"and strength only comes to an army with strong individuals. Without
combat skill and good knowledge, an army is little more than cannon
fodder."
There was a moment of silence throughout the room, as it was obvious by now
what had happened to the other rebel factions. It was hard to believe, though,
since the Northern Faction was from the ghetto of the metropolis, and even with
a mere handful of members, they still managed to reach the central Galerian
tower.
Something wasn't right, Cain could sense that by now. Still, he led his team
onward, down a short hallway to one of the building's four elevators. They all
entered, Lilia first as Cain had instructed everyone to watch out for her. Cain
entered last, and typed "28" on the elevator's keypad. They removed
their cloaks and reloaded their guns, hoping their mission would be complete
soon.
However, things didn't go so smoothly. Upon reaching the 4th floor, they were
ambushed by an intercepting team of guards. They were easily dispatched, barely
able to aim their guns and miss before the last one fell, as a result of the
team's bullet-time reflexes in the art of "Gun-Fu," Lilia only
managing to get one shot in with her newbie skills.
Then the real threat emerged. Yokei literally appeared, teleporting into the
arena of death. He stood about fifty feet away from the elevator, glaring
demonically at the unsuspecting team. He began to materialize as a translucent
figure, blinding flashes of light appearing where the Northern Faction
attempted to shoot him.
"Enough! Wait until he's materialized, you morons! You can't do a damned
thing until he does!" Cain's order stopped them dead in their shots. Yokei
began to gain a more solid form, still semi-transparent as the areas where he
was shot began to form waves that rippled throughout his incorporeal body.
"My
dear brother… How nice it is to see you… one last time." He smirked,
before solidifying and aiming his arm out at the group.
"Run… NOW!!" yelled Cain, and the team dispersed. They spread out,
Jett and Shaeda taking to the walls, running against them toward the Galerian
as fast they could. Terrae and Jynx deployed their armor and trigger-happily
started firing off rounds, while Aden decided to confuse Yokei by use of the
Mirage. Meanwhile, Cain and Lilia hid around the corner inside the elevator,
readying a few grenades. Again, things didn't go exactly as planned…
Yokei could easily tell Aden from his delusional holograms, and took aim with a
plasma blast, sending him soaring back into the elevator's inner wall. The team
now had to rely on their quick moves rather than the art of illusion.
The ruthless Galerian now took aim with both arms at Jett and Shaeda as they
ran alongside either wall, giving them each a plasma shot to the gut. Knocked
back several yards, and stunned, at that, they now served little purpose in
this battle.
Terrae ran toward Yokei holding her energy wrist-shield out before her,
shooting off round after round of semi-auto ammunition, as the Galerian simply
bounced them away with his own psionic barrier. By the time she ran out of ammo
she was right in front of him, as she just stood there, unable to move from
sheer fear alone. He took this opportunity to zap her with a bolt of lightning
from his aiming hand, going right through her shield. The blast sent her flying
back halfway across the corridor, landing somewhere nearby Sheada and Jett.
Jynx ran in next, the powerful energy of his armor taking in shot after shot of
Yokei's plasma attacks. He drew both handguns and shot several rounds off at
the Galerian, still doing no damage through his psy-shield. "Please…"
he said sarcastically, before he shot off a powerful bolt of lightning at the
hapless rebel, knocking him back to the others. Barely conscious, he took a
single bullet from his pocket.
"Terrae told me to use this… if something like this happened…" he
remembered, before firing it off at Yokei, a second before he fell out cold.
The bullet flew his way, encircled by a blue aura as it sped up. The
unsuspecting Galerian could do nothing to stop it from penetrating his
force-barrier and making its way to through his body, out his back.
"AAGGH--!" cried the Galerian. He stumbled to the floor, unable to
process what had just happened. "M-Mother… Why is this happening… to
me?!" he cried out, his blood dripping to the floor as it would any
mortal. "I… can't… die…" he gasped, as the bullet hole just below his
heart soaked the blood throughout his black shirt, his left arm immobile from
his shattered shoulder-blade.
The rebels came to as Yokei laid there, bleeding profusely. "Everyone get
back!!" yelled Cain as he emerged from the elevator holding a grenade,
slowly walking toward the fallen Galerian while the others high-tailed it back
to the elevator. Lilia could only stand back and watch as Cain slowly
approached Yokei, who looked up, coughing up a spurt of blood.
:…Brother-- :
:I am not your brother,: Cain mind-spoke to him, snarling. :I'm just a mundane,
remember? I'm no better than the rest of them.: He looked back to his team in
the elevator, then back to Yokei with a cold glare in his eyes. :Now, it's your
turn to DIE.:
With that much said, he pulled the pin from the grenade, dropped it a few yards
away from Yokei, and turned his way back to the elevator. :No… Brother… I-- :
Yokei was becoming too weak to even keep a mind-speech channel open. He laid on
his side, his last view of the world a sideways one. Cain and the others
boarded the elevator and closed the door behind them.
"Brother…"
he thought, as a tear dropped from his eye closest to the floor. So this was
it, he thought. Mother had deceived him all along, made him think that she was
a protective God, one who would take care of and watch over her spawn. All
these revelations came to his mind before the grenade went off.
"AAAAGGGHHHH-----" he cried out as he made his last attempt to defend
himself. The grenade's shrapnel struggled against his already weakened
psy-barried for a split-second, like someone's fingers pressing against an
inflated balloon. The barrier soon faded in a prismatic light-show, and the
shrapnel found its place. It embedded itself deep into his body, dozens of
pieces from head to toe, putting the pitiful Galerian out of his misery. He
managed one last thought before his soul fell from the physical plane.
"Mother… Why did you lie to me…"
The explosion slightly rocked the building with a small tremor. Cain and the
others felt it on the elevator. The Northern Faction was bruised but not
beaten, and they savored the thought of a Galerian blown to oblivion from the
moment they felt the quake.
"Damn it, Cain! Why didn't you help us back there?!" demanded Shaeda.
Cain fell silent for a brief moment, and answered. "I know we'll have to
fight Jyun before we get to Mother. None of you have the ability to fight him.
He can only be defeated by another Galerian. I need full strength for when I
fight him."
Lilia was wondering about something else. "Cain, why did Yokei call you
'brother'? I thought he was created after you, the Second Spawn,
remember?"
"Yes… but we are both of Galerian blood. For that reason, he called me
brother. Unfortunately for him, I don't share his love for fellow
Galerians." He leaned back against the elevator's wall, arms crossed, head
tilted down as usual.
Their next stop was Floor 21. The two black-suited "Rabbits" lasted
little more than a few seconds, as the team already had their guns aimed before
the elevator doors opened. One managed to get a psionic energy bolt off at
Cain, who simply smacked it away, somewhat harmlessly into a nearby wall.
Far off in the hallway, a sound could be heard… 'click-tap, click-tap,
click-tap…' coming in closer. Slowly but surely, someone was coming. It was the
sound of high-heeled boots, growing louder with every step. The team quickly
reloaded, and aimed at a single target about a hundred feet away.
"Welcome, Cain… I've been expecting you. I see you've brought your pitiful
little band to back you up." Cain snarled at Saiki, the next Galerian
opponent on their list. Cain nodded to the team, and they opened fire. A storm
of bullets flew toward the Galerian, and through her, as if she wasn't even
real…
Suddenly she appeared in front of the elevator door. "How the
hell--!!" yelled Aden. They ran out of the elevator, and past her, down
the hallway some. Her arrogance allowed them to do so.
"It's just an illusion… a psycho-illusion." She smirked, before she
continued, "I've been standing here all along, I just clouded all your
minds so you couldn't see me." Truly evil, this one was.
"Die, wench!" cried out Jett as he unloaded a few clips at her,
before they slowed down a yard away from her and swerved their course back
toward the team.
"Everyone DOWN!" yelled Cain, as he fell to the floor, pulling Lilia
down next to him. Everyone else did so just in time to avoid a flurry of
bullets, before the swarm flew far out of view down the hallway. A series of pelting
noises could be heard echoing from far away.
"Leave this one to me," ordered Cain as he pointed toward the hallway
behind the team. They all nodded and ran as he'd ordered, all except for Lilia.
She would not move, she would not leave him to fight alone.
"No,
Cain… I want to help you-" before she was coldly interrupted.
"You can help me by getting out of here! You'd only be a distraction, I
can't let you get hurt! Now go! I'll meet up with you in a few minutes at the
closest elevator, I promise!"
"You… you promise?"
"Yes, I promise! Now, GO!"
"Y-yes…" she said hurriedly as she did so, running to catch up with
the others. It was just Cain and Saiki now, nothing, no one to get in their
way.
"Shall we begin?" she asked, charging up a powerful plasma attack.
Cain just stood there, smirking.
"Any time."
She came to her senses and stopped stalling, knowing that she would have to
make quick work of the deserter if she was to stop his companions. She lashed
out with a high-level plasma shock, countered by Cain's own psionic energy. The
two stood there, as a green aura of light surrounded Cain, a red one veiling
Saiki. Between them, two blasts of energy struggled between each other,
fluctuating between the two combatants.
Saiki's energy grew stronger, coming close to brushing Cain's spiked bangs in
front of his face for a split second. Suddenly, the tables turned, as his
psionic wave broke right through hers and sent her flying back against the
elevator wall.
"I'll show you…" she growled as blood dripped down the side of her
lip. She crossed her arms over her chest, a blinding white aura surrounding
her. She then spread her arms wide apart, sending a wave of prismatic energy
flowing throughout the corridor. Everything within the hallway area began to slowly
rise and float from the floor, as the area became suspended in an anti-gravity
field.
Cain couldn't make much use of his levitation abilities; he was trapped in her
mind field. The only way to end its effect was to render its creator
unconscious. Both knew that only one would leave this battlefield alive.
He remained calm, as he simply let himself float in place, his arms crossed,
glaring at his opponent. He used what little of his hovering power that he
could, forcing himself down to the floor, before kicking himself upward with a
tap of a foot, rotating in midair. He ended up "standing" upside down
on the ceiling, as there was no real up or down for the time being.
She struck first, with a plasma blast which echoed through the reality of the
hallway, momentarily leaving a wake of distortion, making anything seen through
it appear like a liquefied desert mirage. The shockwave rippled through the
chamber, as Cain barely managed to dodge it. He kicked off the ceiling, now
floating quite vulnerably in the center of the hall.
Suddenly, Cain felt a sharp pain in his mind, like a needle of torture slowly
piercing his brain. :Get out… of my head…: he mind-spoke to Saiki, who stood
far across the hallway with a few static shocks circulating around her forehead.
She was weakening him with some form of mind-combat, turning the odds against
him.
But Cain didn't earn his place in Mother's ranks for nothing. He struck back,
piercing spines of pain into her mentality. "AAAAGGHHHH!!" she cried,
as she fell out of his mind and floated, barely conscious amidst the Zero-G
battlefield.
Now was his time to strike. Gathering his already weakened wits, he managed to
fight her mind field with his levitation, using it to rush at her with
increasing speed. As he flew in her direction, Saiki lashed at him with several
plasma bolts, each of which he dodged nimbly. They flew past him as he jumped
around in his flight, kicking off the walls surrounding him as he approached
her.
He
continued to dash toward her, holding back his right fist as he gathered
psychic energy in it. A blue-green aura surrounded his hand, which he expelled
as he rushed her and punched her in the face with the force of a plasma blast.
"UGH--!!" she cried as she flew back into the elevator, crashing back
into its wall. Her anti-gravity field collapsed, and Cain landed to his feet.
He ran into the elevator, sending the unconscious Galerian down to Floor 1.
Cain walked out of the elevator, pulling the pin from a hand grenade with his
teeth. He tossed it behind his back, as it bounced a few times on the floor and
past the closing elevator doors.
He slowly walked away, as the elevator made its way to the 1st floor. He felt a
slight tremor, before he stopped for a moment.
"Goodbye… Saiki."
With that, he started running down the hall, hoping to catch up with Lilia and
the others in time. Lilia… he had to protect her. The fate of the world
depended on it. A few minutes later, he caught up with the group, who had by
now reached another elevator. Lilia ran down the hallway to greet him with a
running hug that knocked him down to the floor, with her falling on top of him.
They both stared at each other for a moment, before she managed to get up. She
helped Cain up, and he dusted himself off from his fall. "Sorry about
that… I…" she tried, but he soon got back on track.
"It's alright, I'm fine," he said, popping his neck. "Now, lets
go. We only have seven more floors to go… the Hand of God awaits us. Mother
knows we're here, so we can't fail now. We must destroy Dorothy once and for
all. Everyone, get ready."
The team stepped into the elevator and Cain punched in "28" in the
keypad. While the rest of the team reloaded their guns and prepared for a final
battle, Lilia walked beside Cain and put an arm around him, her warm hand
trying to comfort his cold Galerian shoulder. "Cain… are you alright? You
look kinda nervous…"
He did indeed look somewhat tense, as he stared blankly off at the elevator
door in front of him. Lilia could feel his cold sweat on her hand, before he
violently shrugged his shoulder, shaking off her caring hand.
"I'm… sorry…" she said, thinking she did something wrong. Cain
glanced to her, with a slight look of compassion in his turquoise eyes.
"Anything could happen, Lilia. Don't get too attached to your fellow
soldier."
She could hear her own heart beating in her chest. They pounded like drums in
her ears, worried that something was going to happen to Cain.
But
before she could speak any further, they arrived at the 28th floor.
"Everybody stand back, aim for the door!" Cain yelled, as the team
gave little delay in following his orders. Whatever lied beyond that door,
there were prepared to fight.
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