บท 587: Tunnel Fumble
After Afton's rather unneeded announcement, everyone jumped into action. The first to act was obviously Afton and his companions, who made quick work of the faster Tunnelers who'd charged ahead of the others.
Christine and Juan stayed back and take pot-shots at a few of them, though, both did so for different reasons. Christine was wary of hitting her allies, companions and robots included, so she took up position on the side and shot at the ones on the roof and walls.
Juan however was too shocked and afraid of directly fighting against them as he would usually attempt against humans. So he stuck by Christine and followed her example, hoping to be useful in some way.
Afton, Tamia, and Veronica were up close and personal though, slicing, dicing, and punching any who dared get close enough. They stayed in between the Ultimo-Bots in order to avoid getting hit by their flamethrowers that were forcing most of the horde back, plus, they needed assistance dealing with tunnelers who had grabbed a hold of them.
The Ultimo-Bots were incredible at ranged combat, but their limited mobility and large bulk made them easy targets for creatures like Tunnelers, who had brutally sharp claws and good enough strength to pry their Saturnite plating from them.
Of course, the Tunnelers weren't stupid enough to all charge towards the sea of flames, and continued to climb across the ceiling and walls, afterwards leaping off and attacking some of the rear units... Fortunately, Afton and Glados had been aware of this possibility, which is why they stationed Cyberdogs and Deathcalws there...
*ROOOOAARR!*
One of the Deathclaws announces as its jaws clamp around the head of the first Tunnelers that leaps down from the ceiling, its claws already moving to swipe a couple more out of the air. Their scales provide some resistance, but the Deathclaw wasn't named so for nothing.
The force behind each of its claw swipes was enough to cut most Tunnelers completely in half, though, this could only be said for the faster ones that'd lead the group. Soon enough, the larger and bulkier Tunnelers made their way into battle, they were larger than the leading ones by at least half, and their scales were noticeably thicker.
The sheer strength of their scales was displayed when the Deathclaw's claws only managed to cut halfway through its abdomen. This, while a fatal injury, still left the creature enough strength to fight on, forcing the Deathclaw to bite or strike it again.
The Cyberdogs were also having trouble with their scales, their teeth weren't enough to pierce them, which forced the large group to slowly tear the creatures apart. Five or six dogs on each Armored Tunneler to finally kill them, even with their large numbers, it took a while!
Even Christine and Juan were unable to easily kill them, their bullets deflected off of the scales and rendered useless. Christine was forced to swap to her Anti-Material Sniper to finally resolve this, but Juan was left in the awkward position of having to aim for their eyes and throats to deal damage.
"Ahh!" Juan suddenly calls out as he's forced backwards. He ends up performing a flip to get some distance from the Tunneler that'd just leapt at him, he fires again with his Submachine gun but the bullets slide off of the creature's scales as if they were only 0.22 Calibre!
He'd almost forced to draw his Ultra Chainsword when Christine finally steps in, blindsiding the Tunneler with a kick to its face before pointing her Sniper's barrel at it as it reels back.
*BAANG!*
She fires, rendering the creature's head a bloody mist. Bits of skull fragments and flesh rain down for a moment as Juan feels his jaw moving but nothing coming out.
"Scorpion-Guy! get your shit together and move!" she commands, ignoring shocked look and concentrating on the enemies still charging the group.
"Y-yes!" he squeaks, mustering up his courage and drawing his Ultra Chainsword. He begins using his Psyker abilities and climbing up the wall, slashing at the Tunnelers as they try to attack him. His confidence quickly rises as he notices that they aren't familiar with fighting in such a way, allowing him to easily cut them down... The only thing he had to do now was making sure the robots below him didn't mark him as a threat on accident!
It was around about this time that the horde started thinning out, once the ground group of Tunnelers was almost completely destroyed, the Ultimo-Bots began walking up the walls and spitting fire towards the ceiling and wall entrances that the Tunnelers had made.
Eventually, the final burnt corpse dropped to the floor, only to be split in two by an awaiting Afton. He glances around and notes their casualties, spotting a single thoroughly gnawed and clawed Ultimo-Bot that'd had its processing core torn out through a hole under its arm.
The robots had the least losses though, as the Cyberdogs had numerous injuries and casualties... Around eight dogs had been killed, some with their necks fatally bitten or clawed, some with their Cybernetics components literally ripped out, and some that had their brain-containers breached.
He gives a Tunneler corpse a probing kick before nodding to himself, "Alright, attend to the injured, we move in half an hour." he commands while sheathing his weapon and walking towards his companions.
Tamia, Veronica, and Christine weren't anywhere near getting tired yet, their Power armour and physical abilities allowing them to fight like this for potentially hours more.
Juan however who'd just jumped from the wall takes off his helmet and wipes sweat from his face with his forearm. "Hah... Hah... That was tough, hah... So, do we go back now?" he asks, having somehow missed Afton's earlier words.
Afton crooks a brow at him and shakes his head, "No, as I said, we're continuing in half an hour, so take the breather and be ready when we start."
"W-what!? We just fought an army of those things! Surely there isn't any more?" he asks, dumbfounded.
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บท 588: The Pit.
"W-what!? We just fought an army of those things! Surely there isn't any more?" he asks, dumbfounded.
Veronica scoffs, "You think this is bad? You shoulda seen the Sierra Madre, now that was an army." she chuckles.
"Yeah, super-zombies tend to be like that." Afton shrugs and focuses back on Juan, "Look, if you're going to work under Bulwark, you're gonna have to expect this kind of thing. We don't train you and provide the best gear ever produced just so you can shoot a couple people and say 'job done'. If this is too much for you, then maybe you should work as a barman and forget being a hero." Afton states, causing Juan to go silent.
"That's a bit harsh don't you think?" Tamia asks, "He's just started, you can't expect him to easily do stuff like this already."
...
"I guess your right." Afton admits, "I think I just expected a bit more considering his abilities... Whatever, get rested up and we'll start moving again, I suspect we'll run into more Tunnelers soon enough."
Half an hour quickly passes and the group are on the move again, as it turns out, the railway tunnel was absolutely massive. They'd walked for another hour and yet Afton felt like they were nowhere near close to the end. There were a few doors on the side that had a few 'service' rooms that were presumably to help with repairs or something.
Luckily or not, they didn't lead anywhere, instead only being stuffed with tools and other machinery. This was probably because this wasn't a public railway and more military-style due to its destination leading to Big Mt. It was helpful though since they wouldn't be forced to look elsewhere for any Tunnelers entrances.
Finally, though, Afton spotted something that Christine obviously hadn't seen last time she was here... The Tunnel just... Drops. The railway track cuts off and bends downwards as a massive hole opens up and cuts off the path.
Afton walks up to it and takes a look, which he instantly regrets due to the thousands of beady little eyes looking back at him. The hole is incredibly deep, yet he could easily identify the bulbous Tunneler eyes glaring back at him... "Enemies! Ultimo-Bots! Fire missiles down there!" he commands, quickly backing up and allowing his robots to surround the hole.
The first line climbs down the rim of the hole so they can easily target the enemy, while others climb on the walls and ceiling so they could assist with their own weapons. They had already started firing before the Ultimo-Bots could position themselves on the other side of the hole, and the screeching coming from the pit had everyone on edge.
Afton looks past the robots and can see the Tunnelers trying to climb up it to get to them, but the Ultimo-Bots just continue firing missiles. Each one obliterates a small group of them, sending limbs and other organs flying.
Once the first line runs out of ammunition, the next replaces them. This continues for a minute or so until no more Tunnelers could be seen in the pit... All that was left was just a pile of bloody, scorched flesh, and a few other tunnels which most likely led into a sprawling hive system.
Afton wasn't sure how Tunneler hives really operated, but he was sure there'd be many more of them the deeper they went... Their numbers weren't what worried him though, it was the threat of their more combat-oriented variants...
From what he could tell, they'd fought workers, scouts, and some sort of warrior or fighter variant... But how tough would the elite ones be?
He shakes his head and decides that they'd deal with it once it happened, "Everyone gather up and prepare to descend!" he shouts.
They'd have to leave the Deathclaws up here, but the Cyberdogs could be lowered down quite easily. Not to mention the fact the Ultimo-Bots could simply walk down there via the walls. As for him and his companions? Afton could jump down there fine because he was immune to fall damage, but aside from Juan, they'd need to abseil down there.
"I'll go first to make sure the area is clear, you guys make sure the Cyberdogs get down fine." Afton states and walks towards the pit.
"Ah, do you need one of us to help?" Tamia asks, wondering if he wanted them to assist.
Afton just shakes his head, "Nah, I'll be fine." he says before igniting his Ultra Chainsword and jumping.
"Waait!"
"What the fuck he just jumped!"
"IS HE CRAZY!"
They all exclaimed, rushing to the side of the hole and watching as Afton plummets to the ground below... It takes a couple of seconds, but once he hits the bottom they feel the ground literally shudder as the stone below him explodes from the impact.
Once the dust clears they see Afton cautiously walking around and acting as if he'd jumped off of the last steps of a stairway...
...
"Did that just happen?" Tamia mutters, unsure of how to process this.
...
"So, let's get started on lowering the dogs... Let's get a robot to help lower them, it'll make it faster." Veronica states, completely ignoring Afton's actions.
All the while, Juan just watches all of this happen with a conflicted expression... He hadn't really thought about it until now, but, is After like him? A Psyker with superpowers?... It's a certainty, right? If he can survive a drop like that and looks completely fine?
Back in the pit, Afton was scanning the place and checking for enemies, there were around three separate tunnel entrances from what he could see, and each of them could potentially lead to the rest of the hive. It'd need to be eliminated to prevent Big Mt from getting swarmed and constantly harassed. After that, they'd need to create some tech to check for Tunnelers... Perhaps some tremor sensors or something? Stuff that detects earthquakes but way more sensitive?
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