Cultist Hunt (Open) (Lots o' Violence)

Severin leaned against his cover,a stalactite several meters tall.He pointed out several powder kegs located throughout the cavern to his comrades.He waited several minutes,then shouted "Blitzkrieg!"as he and the rest of his squad fired.The cavern was rocked with explosions as the kegs were shot.20 seconds passed,and they fired another volley.The cultists were dropping like flies,and the surprise had gone perfectly.They kept firing their rifles until no movement was visible in the cultists' side of the cavern.Why was he not told of the huge cavern right under his house?As the group advanced on their position,it was clear not everyone was dead.They killed the remaining stragglers,making their way to a door at the opposite end of the camp.

Reia continued counting in her head. When she hit fifty, she began to wonder if something had gone wrong. The Garrison should have cleared the first room by now and made their way to the inner chamber. Had they been overwhelmed already?

"Fifty-nine," Reia thought. Then she heard a click, and the sound of a door swinging open at the front of the room. Shouts and gunfire followed, and Reia smirked. "There we go."

She quietly pushed the door open just wide enough for a person to slip through and entered the room. The door, which blended perfectly with its surroundings, let out behind a cluster of stalagmites in an alcove at the back left corner of the chamber. Reia crouched behind one and took aim. She gave the rest of her team five seconds to join her. At her signal, they opened fire.

As Severin and his men approached the door,gunfire erupted from above them."Shit!Get to cover!"The men scrambled to get behind something.Did they miss some cultists?Meanwhile,the three men Severin had sent to follow the Scout had come behind the squad."Epsilon!Can you see who the fuck is shooting?"Severin said."Negative,Sev!"was the response."Cover me!"Severin yelled as he bolted for the door.He caught a glimpse of the shooters.They were wearing mitary uniforms."Greenlight 'em!"Several soldiers shot flares at the group,giving them a few seconds to get it the door.Severin opened it,and the troops rushed inside.As soon alas they were all through,Severin took careful aim at one of the assailants,and fired a single shot before rushing inside.He was sure he hit his target,but not where the bullet struck.It most likely hit the person's arm,with the way he shot."Turkey,Tombstone,Crater, and Slip,you watch that door.Make sure the cultists don't get through.The rest of you,come with me.We need to find and kill the kingpin."Severin started down the corridor,followed by his men.

Reia ducked back behind the stalagmite as the cultists returned fire. The Garrison still hadn't made it to the inner chamber. The walls of the cellar had made the gunfire echo in such a way that it sounded like it was coming from this room. However, the Garrison must have at least made it past the first room. Otherwise, the guards stationed in here wouldn't have felt compelled to leave.
While the situation hadn't turned out exactly as planned, the Garrison's presence in the cellar had drawn enough of the cultists away that Reia and her squad could handle the rest.

During a break in the fire, Reia glanced out and surveyed the room. Some cultists were crouched behind barrels at the opposite end of the chamber. However, most of them had taken fighting stances and were wielding guns. Upon closer observation, Reia noticed that one of the men hiding behind the barrels was wearing a robe adorned with colors and jewelry. Their leader.

Reia took aim and fired at the armed cultists. She had ordered her squad to shoot to incapacitate, not kill, unless it was necessary. They would need these higher-ups for questioning. One by one, the cultists fell to the ground, clutching their arms and legs. Soon, they would all be taken out. The leader, with both exits cut off, would have nowhere to run. Checkmate.

As Severin hurried down the chamber,he heard gunfire.He increased his pace to a run.As he rounded a corner,he saw the Scout and her squad fighting with some cultists.He saw a fancifully dressed one,who looked very familiar.'Is that......No,it can't be.He died in Shiganshina.'Severin thought.As he continued observing,the rest of his squad came in.One of the cultists wielding a weapon was...Friedrich.He took a step back.Had they disappeared at Shiganshina to join this cult?Was that why he never saw them?His squad opened fire as well,while Severin sat down against the wall.This was a lot to absorb.Why would they do that?He got up,and went to the leader."Severin?My,how you've grown!"the man said.One of the other cultists looked over."Severin?Is that you?"He couldn't believe it.His father wasn't dead.Severin aimed a pistol at the man."Why?"he asked."Why,all those years ago?"

The cultists numbers were dwindling fast. When they were reduced to about a fourth of their original size, the Garrison Regiment arrived.

"It's about time," Reia thought. With the Garrison distracting the cultists, this was the perfect opportunity to engage in close-range combat. Good thing, too, because Reia was almost out of ammunition. She holstered her gun, saving the last of her bullets for later, and drew her swords. The others saw what she was doing and followed her lead.

After checking to make sure the coast was clear, Reia jumped out from the alcove and landed in front of a cultist. Before he had time to react, she had roundhouse kicked him into another one. Both of them went crashing to the floor. Reia wasted no time in knocking them out. Then she looked around. Her squad was enough to handle the remaining cultists, so Reia decided to go for the leader.

She saw Severin approach the group of cultists hiding behind the barrels. They seemed to recognize him. Some even seemed happy to see him. Reia sheathed her swords and drew her gun, aiming at Severin. The cultists reactions to his arrival were enough for her to question his loyalties. However, Severin soon pulled a gun on the cultists. Clearly, he wasn't as pleased to see them as they were to see him. Reia lowered her weapon and made her way over to the barrels.

"Severin," she began in a warning tone, "We need them alive."

He glanced at Reia."Well,I know that."He turned back to the man."You left me to die.I barely got onto the boat before it left."He looked at the other man."And you didn't leave to join the defense,did you?You probably just came down here and waited for it to blow over.You are a disgrace to the uniform."He lowered his gun."Severin,I know you may be upset,but-"the man never got to do finish his sentence,as Severin punched him in the face."Upset?You abandoned me.I thought you were dead.And now,you kill soldiers,your former friends and brothers-at-arms,and expect me to be happy?"Severin walked away,visibly frustrated.The rest of the squad stood between Severin and the cultists.One of the squad members helped the cultist up,checking for any broken bones."No broken bones.Gonna leave a nasty bruise,though,"he said before returning to the squad.The three men following Reia entered the chamber,and approached the room from behind Reia's squad.

After Severin walked away, Reia ordered two of her men to restrain the cult leader. Now that she saw the man, she found it hard to believe that this was the head of such a ruthless cult. He wasn't nearly intimidating enough. In fact, he wasn't intimidating at all. Reia shrugged. Maybe it was just her.

She surveyed the room and saw that all the cultists had been defeated and restrained. "Alright, time to go. Everyone grab a cult member and escort them outside," Reia instructed her squad. Then she turned to Severin. "I assume you killed everyone on your way in, and therefore there is no need to restrain anyone else?"

One of the men forming the wall stepped forward."There is still a small pocket of resistance holed up on a higher platform above the camp.They are more skilled than the other cultists,and almost shot Charles."He stepped back in.Severin stood up,and headed back down the corridor towards the door that the four guards were covering.The rest of the shad followed him,readying their rifles.As they walked,Severin gave out orders."We need to flank that group.The majority of you will draw their fire,while Epsilon,Charles,Slip and I go in to the kill.I want this fast and efficient.Got it?"The men nodded.They were almost to the door,and Severin prepared to fire his 3DMG cables.

Reia decided to let Severin's squad take care of the remaining cultists. She and her squad led their prisoners back through the not-so-secret entrance. Andrew and the rest of her squad were waiting for them on the other side.

"I assume this means we're done?" Andrew asked upon seeing her.

"Almost. The other squad is taking care of the last little bit. Then we can all go home." Reia fired a yellow flare into the sky to summon the MPs.

"Man, those other squads got lucky," Thomas complained in a light tone. "They didn't even have to do anything."

Thomas' statement made Reia stop dead in her tracks. There should have been another squad stationed near their current position. Surely they would have heard all the noise. So why hadn't they come to help? Had something happened to them? Reia didn't know, but she was determined to find out.

Severin practically kicked the door down.The squad rushed out,shooting at the cultists and distracting them.Severin and his selected troops veered off to the side with their 3DMG,moving to flank the cultists.That's when he saw they had a cannon."Ah,shit,"Severin said,"They have a cannon.Before they could get to the cultists,they fired the cannon.The ground right in front of the rest of the squad exploded,sending dirt and debris everywhere.Someone screamed.Although he hadn't been killed,one of the men had shrapnel in his leg.Severin got even more upset.He landed on the platform slicing a cultist in two and decapitating another one.After several minutes,Severin Sparta-kicked the last cultist off the platform,and headed to the exit,squad in tow.When they exited the cavern and got onto the roof,they began tending to the man's wounds.Severin walked over."Well,you've earned a nickname,Splinter."The man laughed weakly.

Reia sat down on a barrel and waited. Now that the adrenaline of the mission had gone away, she was starting to feel the pain in her arm and leg from the titan attack. However, she didn't check the cut on her leg yet. She had one more job to do.

The Military Police arrived to take the prisoners away. A few minutes later, Severin and his squad emerged from the house. Reia counted the men as they walked by. It looked like they were all still alive, although one had an injured leg.

Now that everything was secure, Reia gathered her squad. "We're going to search for the squad that was supposed to be stationed nearby. Stay on your guard. We don't know what could have happened to them."

Her squad began swinging up to the rooftops. Just as Reia was about to ascend, Elizabeth stopped her. "Reia, your leg!"

Reia looked down to see the blood staining her white pants from just below her knee to the top of her boot. It felt like the cut went down much further than that. But that didn't matter now. "It'll be fine. I'll get it checked out after we find the other squad."

Elizabeth began to protest, but Reia was already gone, swinging across the rooftops in unison with her squad. The pain began to fade as the familiar surge of adrenaline kicked in again.

When they got to the street that the other squad was supposed to be stationed at, Reia ordered her squad to fan out and search. Not finding anything on the broken rooftops, Reia jumped down to the ground and began to walk the streets. That's when she saw the Garrison soldier, or rather, what was left of her.

"Okay.Slips,Pinup,grab Splinter here and carry him.Takeout,Gears;accompany them to the Wall for medical aid."Severin turned around and walked over to the cultists.He crouched down near the leader and asked,"Why?"When he didn't give an answer,Severin got up and walked away.Be overheard Reia talking."Apparently,there's an MIA squad.You guys wanna go look?"The men nodded."Load up your rifles then,and check your gear and fuel.I don't want anyone getting stranded."After several minutes,Severin and the rest of Ember Squadron moved out to find the squad.

Reia stared down at the girl's half-eaten body, and there was no mistaking it. Titans.

She drew her blades and walked further down the street, passing more damaged houses. But was that damage from five years ago, or had it been caused tonight? Looking around, she saw spots where the streets were stained with fresh blood. As she continued, she saw more signs of death, but no signs that anyone had survived. Judging by the carnage, the titans had taken out the whole unit, all 16 of them. How many titans would there have to be to defeat 16 soldiers?

Reia stepped around a body that had been crushed on the pavement and kept looking. There were no signs that any titans had been killed. It was possible that the bodies had evaporated by now, but surely there would be some indicators.

Reia stopped as a thought made her blood run cold. "It's nighttime. The sun has been down for over six hours now." Titans shouldn't have been able to move around after dark. She thought back to the three that she killed a few hours ago. At the time, Reia had just been focused on the fight. She didn't stop to think that it was too late for them to be active.

A loud rumbling erupted on her left. Reia turned to see a titan standing up from behind a house. Blood coated its face. In it's hand, it held the lower half of a human body. Reia suppressed the urge to vomit and braced herself for the fight.

The member 'ReiaBritannia' has done the following action : Dice Roll

'Titan' :

Result :

The titan was only a 5 meter class. Still, Reia had learned her lesson from the last fight. She knew not to overlook the small ones.

As the titan moved toward her, Reia used her 3DMG to jump to the top of the nearest building. Out of the titan's reach for the moment, she fired off a red flare. Then she shot her 3DMG into the titan's neck and spun into the weak spot.

Severin moved his squad quickly, jumping from roof to roof.As they moved,Severin saw a limping soldier.Charles and him kept off to retrieve him from the street.The wounded sdier told them there were a large number of Titans in the area,and hat his squad was wiped out.Looking up,he saw a red flare.Rei was in trouble.He looked back at where Splinter was,and froze.They were being chased by Titans.

The member 'Nerdeity' has done the following action : Dice Roll

'Titan' :

Result :

Severin rushed off with Charles to where Splinter was,and ordered the rest of the squad to guard the soldier and help Reia.He snuck up on o e of the 5 meters and killed it promptly.Charles helped Splinter and his group get to safety while Severin distracted the other Titans.As he kept from rooftop to rooftop,the Titans got closer and closer.He went to shoot another cable,but it didn't fire.He was out of gas."Shit!"Severin yelled as he tumbled onto the rooftop.The seven meters were getting closer.He stood up and began moving away,yelling at the Titans.He pulled out his pistols,yelled "Ocular trauma,bitches!"and shot flares into the eyes of the Titans.That gave him a few extra seconds of run time.

The titan fell to the ground, dead. Suddenly, Reia heard a commotion to a few streets away. She turned and saw the Garrison squad surrounded by five titans. One of the soldiers killed a five meter, and then distracted the other four while the rest of his squad got to safety. However, there was no way he could take out all four on his own.

A few Garrison soldiers approached her. "We were sent to help you, ma'am," one of them informed her.

"Tch. I'm not the one who needs help," she responded, indicating the soldier a few blocks away. With that, she flew off to help him. The Garrison soldiers followed, but she was much faster. After seven years of training with 3DMG, not many people could match her skill with it.

As she approached, she saw that the soldier was Severin. He tried to use his 3DMG, but it appeared to be jammed. Improvising, he shot flares into the titan's eyes and ran.

Reia took advantage of the fact that their attention was on Severin and not on her. She landed on a building directly to the left of a two seven meters standing in a line. Then, firing her 3DMG into the building across the street, she took out both titans in one stroke.

While the other seven meter kept its attention on Severin, the five meter turned to face her. "By the angel, you're an ugly one," she taunted, even though the titan couldn't understand. She dodged as it swung a fist at her, then zipped around and cut the nape.

"Three down, one to go," she thought. Turning her attention to the last titan, she saw that it was too close to Severin for comfort.

"Ain't this fucking grand!"Severin yelled as he ran across the roof.One of the seven meters was getting very close,and he was running out of roof.Deciding against his will,Severin made a jump for the next roof.He came close,but didn't land on the roof,and was instead hanging from it.As the Titan reached for him,Severin dropped to the ground,using a somersault to soften the landing.And he came to face the five meter Titans."Well,"Severin muttered as he began running,"I still have a few rounds left."He turned and shot one of the Titans with his pistol as he ran.

Reia wasted no time in dispatching the seven meter, but Severin wasn't out of the woods yet. Two more five meter titans had appeared and were chasing him. Reia slashed through the ankles of one, sending it stumbling to the ground.

The other titan was reaching for Sebastian. "Oh no you don't," Reia said before cutting off its arm. Then she slashed its weak spot.

The first titan had already begun to heal, and it was trying to push itself up. Reia quickly made sure that it would never get up again.

"Nine already. This has been quite the night." Not wanting to waste any time, she grabbed Severin and took him to a rooftop. "You're welcome," she told him.

Severin looked at Reia."Well,that turned out better than expected."He looked off in the distance.Splinter had made it to the Wall and medical care.Charles landed near him,handing him some gas.After refilling,Severin tossed Reia one of the patches."A token of respect,Scout."He turned around and walked to the edge of the roof."Alright Charles,let's see what else this line survivor can tell us."He zoomed off towards the rest of his squad.As he moved,Severin thought about the cultist leader.It was going to be a rough interrogation.

Reia gazed at the patch she held in her hand. Severin said it was a token of respect. She didn't understand what it meant at the moment, but made a mental note to find out later.

Severin had mentioned something about a survivor. Reia needed to talk to him so she could learn what happened, and if anyone else was still alive. She couldn't return to the safety of Wall Rose knowing that there might be others stranded out here. Reia ran off the roof and followed Severin.

Severin noted Reia following her,and slowed down to talk."While we were searching,we found someone from another squad.Says he's the last one left.Judging by what we saw,I'd say the poor fellow is right."He dodged a building and continued talking.When the group was in sight,Severin said,"I bet you're wondering about what happened with the cultists back there.The leader and the second in command....They are my father and brother.I thought they died at Shiganshina,but I guess I was wrong."