The Future Pt. 2

August 3rd, 2184 - Three years after the Emergence.

A ravine, somewhere in North America. 

A shining blue star, Saint Sapphire floated above all, light dancing off of his trident. The dismembered Summoner fell to the ground before him, crashing in a heap of burning flesh. Ryder Red, Salem Sulfur, and Vincent Viridian looked up at the man in awe, as if they hadn't seen him do the same over and over again for years. As the Summoners approached with the Leviathan closing in just behind them, Saint Sapphire looked down at his fellow Spectrum Divers and made a grand gesture toward the enemy.

"Dear friends, and soldiers." His voice crackled over the comms with great power, and even greater joy.

"We have a show to put on don't we?" Without another word, he blasted off toward the closest Summoner toward him, trident poised forward. 

Following suit, Red began to order her compatriots around. 

"We have some time before the Leviathan fully emerges from its hole. Sulfur, you fall back and support the incoming squads. Green, you're with me, we'll take the Summoner on the left."

Sulfur bounded away, jumping higher than anything of his bulk should be able to. Viridian and Red looked toward each other for a split second and then sped into action.

The Summoners were humanoid creatures, but stood at around 30 meters. Their musculature resembled that of humans, except for the extra muscles in their arms that pulsated every time they fired a blast from their hands. They were also quite lanky, and their legs a little too long. Their skin was a rusty brown, and green light seemed to poke through cracks within. This light grew brighter when the monsters intended to fire energy from their six arms. As the duo approached the Summoner, green light began to radiate from its body.

 With a busted boot thruster, Red burst forward, using her remaining one to give her extra distance. Viridian flew close behind. The Summoner raised its hands to fire beams of energy at the incoming duo. Instead of charging the beams as they had done prior, it fired shorter blasts with less power. The two Divers were simply too agile. Red ducked her head low as she barreled toward the beast at full speed. One blast crackled near her helmet as it whizzed by. Another blew rocks into dust under her feet as she dashed past the corpses of fallen monsters.

 If these monsters could feel, she thought, I'd bet this bastard is pretty annoyed by now.

If the way it let out a primal roar was any indication, she was correct. It intensified its fire rate, barraging the two even harder as they closed in. Viridian laughed as he flew corkscrews around the fire, barrel rolling and flipping in the air. He felt utterly untouchable weaving his way past the assault. As a primarily long distance operative, he'd forgotten how good it felt to be in the thick of it

And just how good he was at it. 

Ryder Red collided with the beast first. She grappled the beast's ankle, arms just long enough to close around it. With help from her boot and gauntlet thrusters, she managed to lift its foot off of the ground and push it back, causing it to lose balance. She let go as soon as it started to fall, spinning around to face its rough back. As the beast fell forward, she jumped on its leg, and climbed its back. As hard as she could, she laid blow after blow on the beast until chunks of rusty brown and green flesh began to fly out. The beast reached two of its arms around its back as the other four braced its fall. The two arms facing Red pulsed with energy, poised to blast her away. Just when the crackling beam was about to make contact, she boosted forward. Because of the lack of one boot thruster, she was launched forward at an awkward angle, only managing to break her fall by ungracefully tumbling on the ground below. Her gambit seemed to succeed, as the Summoner cried out in agony, having blasted its own back with deadly force. As quickly as it could, it pushed itself back up, black eyes glaring at Red with deadly intent. However, its divided attention would prove to be a fatal mistake.

Viridian had finally made his way to the creature, and as it turned toward the verdant bullet speeding its way, he had already taken out his dagger. Flying to the base of its right leg, Viridian stabbed into the Summoner with all of his might. It entered with a clean SSHNNKK, prompting a groan from the beast. Without hesitation, Viridian boosted directly upward with the knife still dug deep into the Summoner's flesh. He flew until the dagger exited its body, leaving a gash across its entire torso. The Summoner clutched the wound with its left arms, as the cut had left his right arms difficult to move. Having flown a small distance away, Viridian re-equipped his rifle.

"Red, do you remember the Grand Canyon raid?" He said, keeping his rifle poised on the Summoner. Red was standing away from the creature, still catching her breath from the fall she'd taken.

"Yeah, but what does that—" She began to ask, until realization quickly dawned on her. She detached the capsule belt fastened to her waist, pulled back her arm, and threw it as hard as she could toward the monster's face. 

"Good, you do remember." Viridian said, as he tracked the belt with his rifle. Once it got close enough to the Summoner, who was still stunned by the slash, he took a deep breath.

A blast of white energy was propelled from the rifle's muzzle, faster than a metal bullet could ever imagine going. Once it penetrated the belt, it exploded with such force that everything around it was pushed back. When the blast settled, there was a bloody green stump where the Summoner's head should have been, and the body slowly slumped to the floor.

Viridian flew over to where Red was, and the two admired their work as they huffed and caught their breath. Having defeated their enemy, they looked over at the last Summoner, who was being handled by Saint Sapphire. 

A little further in the Ravine, Sapphire sat in a squat on a Summoner's chest. His trident stood upright beside him, having been stuck in the beast's flesh. The creature was on its knees, and only barely managed to keep itself upright. All six of its arms lay motionless on the floor, green blood pooling at each end. The poor being chomped at Sapphire, guttural sounds emanating from its gaping maw. Sapphire simply looked at it, cocking his head before standing up and casually ripping his trident out from its place, causing the monster to cry out in pain. He then twirled around, spinning his trident in a grand fashion before stabbing the Summoner through his forehead. The blow caused the monster to go limp, and Sapphire stood gracefully, riding the beast as it crashed to the ground. 

Once the dust settled, Sapphire rose slowly into the air and turned to face the other side of the ravine. The GDB was still fighting the legions of striders and wraiths. They were putting up a good fight, but they seemed to be losing morale. Seeing this, Sapphire flew higher, almost out of the ravine, letting the light from the sky above reflect off of his armor like a beacon. He threw out his arms to the side and announced to the entire Battalion.

"Dear friends, I know you all are tired. I know these odds may seem insurmountable, but I have good news. Ryder Red, Vincent Viridian and I have defeated the Summoners. All that is left is the Leviathan, who we will take care of in no time. So fight harder, my brothers and sisters, look to me for hope, if you have none!" His voice was full of pomp and carried a jovial overtone. It grated over the dark, dismal atmosphere of the battle raging below him. And yet, the soldiers listened to his battle-cry. The GDB fought harder, pushing back the monsters with a renewed strength.