((So I used to put up weekly writing prompts for the TSWRP website. Little things, like a scenario/situation, a phrase, or an image. People would respond (any length is fine) and it served as a creative outlet/exercise for many. I haven't done it since leaving TSWRP, but if this is something y'all might be interested in doing, I'd be happy to start it up here.
((In any event, the writing prompts had one main rule: Anything that should be tagged (for being triggers) should be put behind spoiler tags. This piece was my own response to the prompt saying "Write something that should be tagged per the rules." Now I don't see spoiler tags here so consider yourselves warned.))
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Tags: Violence, gore, kinda long, neon green text.
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INITIATING PASSIVE SENSOR ARRAY.
...
...
NO IMMEDIATE THREAT DETECTED. SWITCHING TO ACTIVE SENSOR ARRAY.
...
VISUAL FIELD DARK. SWITCHING TO NIGHTVISION.
...
NO IMMEDIATE THREAT DETECTED. AUDIO SCAN DETECTS MINIMAL NOISE. INITIATING ENGINE IN STEALTH MODE.
A faint whirring noise announced the presence of the Orochi drone as it emerged from a damaged ventilation shaft. It hovered low to the ground and kept its lights dark per its stealth protocol, and began to assess the situation.
ROOM EMPTY. SINGLE EXIT.
It moved out of the open door into another room. This one housed large data servers, and a console on one wall.
SERVERS... OFFLINE. CONSOLE... DESTROYED.
Rounding the corner of one server, the drone stopped abruptly at something that flared bright green in its camera.
BOOT. SIZE 10. STANDARD ISSUE.
The drone aimed its camera higher.
BODY. NEG- CORPSE. SUBJECT: MALE. ROUTINE ID IMPOSSIBLE- CORPSE IS MISSING HEAD. LARGE BLOOD SPLATTER ON WALL BEHIND CORPSE. CHEST ARMOR HEAVILY DAMAGED. CAUSE: UNKNOWN. SPECULATION: CLAW MARKS.
A telescoping probe emerged from the drone and pierced the corpse's abdomen.
LIVER TEMPERATURE SUGGESTS TOD WITHIN THE PAST HOUR. DATA PACKET SENT FOR ANALYSIS.
The probe retracted halfway, as if the drone wanted it ready for reuse.
SCANNING... NO IMMEDIATE THREAT DETECTED IN CURRENT AREA.
Leaving the dead, the drone made its way out another door and into a hallway. Three more bodies sprawled haphazardly along its length, as if someone- or something- tossed them around.
SECOND CORPSE. SUBJECT: MALE. ROUTINE ID: AGENT SMITH. THREE LARGE HOLES FOUND: HEAD, CHEST, LOWER TORSO. CAUSE: APPEARANCE SUGGESTS HOLES WERE CREATED BY BEING IMPALED WITH A LARGE, CIRCULAR OBJECT, APPROXIMATELY FIVE CENTIMETERS WIDE, AND THEN THE OBJECT WAS WITHDRAWN. BLOOD SPLATTER AND TISSUE REMAINS ON WALL BEHIND CORPSE ARE CONSISTENT WITH PROJECTED SCENARIO. TOD WITHIN THE PAST HOUR.
THIRD CORPSE. SUBJECT: FEMALE. ROUTINE ID: AGENT SERRATONIO. NO VISIBLE TRAUMA TO BODY. PETICHIAE IN SCLERA SUGGESTS ASPHYXIATION, BUT NO VISIBLE SIGNS OF CAUSE. TOD WITHIN THE PAST EIGHT HOURS.
FOURTH CORPSE. SUBJECT: MALE. ROUTINE ID: AGENT
BELLA. CAUSE: EVISCERATION. VISCERA PULLED OUT OF BODY AND STREWN ABOUT CORRIDOR, HANGING OFF OF PAINTINGS AND LIGHT FIXTURES. TOD WITHIN THE PAST HOUR.
The drone's camera swept up and down the corridor. Blood splatter was everywhere except around the woman's body. The bodies were also conspicuously missing their weapons.
SCANNING... NO IMMEDIATE THREAT DETECTED IN CURRENT AREA.
RECEIVING DATA PACKET. DNA FROM FIRST CORPSE IDENTIFIED AS AGENT LIM.
The drone weaved its way through the web of intestines and passed by a door to a small observation room. A computer panel was by the door, and a clear containment cell was on the opposite corner.
The cell was broken and empty. Claw marks marred the console, the walls, and the door.
Hovering past, the drone found itself in a large underground garage. Something bright was interfering with its nightvision and soon flooded its camera with green.
SWITCHING VISUAL MODES.
The camera image flickered a few times before settling on infrared. The bright spot resolved itself as an overturned car that was on fire in the far corner of the garage. A few other blips showed up- a smaller one just ahead, and many tiny points of heat scattered around the floor. The drone headed for the blip up ahead.
FIFTH CORPSE. SUBJECT: FEMALE. NOT AN AGENT. SUBJECT APPROXIMATELY FIVE OR SIX YEARS OLD. CAUSE: GUNSHOT TO THE HEAD.
The camera panned this way and that, locating a significant spray of blood on the floor.
BULLET ENTERED REAR OF CRANIUM AND EXITED THE FRONT.
Something on the child's wrist caught the drone's attention. It appeared to be an identification band, similar to ones you'd see used at hospitals.
SUBJECT NAME: DEIRDRE L. ACCESSING DATA FILE...
...
FILE ACCESSED. TAKEN FROM MASSACHUSETTS WHEN SHE WAS THREE. EXHIBITED PSYCHOKINETIC ABILITIES WHEN UNDER STRESS. UNABLE TO CONTROL THEM. RELOCATED TO THE NURSERY AND ENTERED INTO TRIAL 0PP-5105C.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS PROMISING. SUBJECT DEMONSTRATED ABILITY TO LEVITATE STUFFED ANIMAL FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME.
The rest of the data file was either blank or corrupt. Checking the direction of the blood splatter, the drone followed it back to the probable source of the gunshot. Bullet casings of various kinds littered the floor, the little heat still on them causing the tiny spots in its field of vision. It hovered around a support pillar and stopped when another heat signature showed up before it.
And this one was moving.
ACTIVATING STANDARD PROTOCOLS.
The drone's engines propelled it three feet up and away from the threat.
CHARGING TASERS.
Twin prongs emerged beneath its scanning eye, charging for use.
SWITCHING VISUAL MODES.
Infrared gave way to normal sight. A small spotlight shone on the drone's target, playing over it as it assessed the threat.
SIXTH BODY. SUBJECT: MALE. ROUTINE ID...
The light played over the man's face and stopped for a second.
"...Master!"
"Hachi." The name came out as a wheeze, followed by a fit of coughing as he sat back against the pillar.
The drone noted that its Master's armor was peppered in several places by bulletholes. "Are you all right?"
A single chuckle. "Will be."
"What happened?"
"Had to kill girl." The man took a deep, stuttering breath, and slowly let it out. "File say dangerous. Not say how dangerous. She use my bullets against me."
The light played over the holes in his armor. "Are you bleeding? Do you require medical assistance?"
"Just time."
Hachi began processing all the data it recovered. "Master, when did your fight end?"
The man grunted. "Ten minutes?"
"Did she eviscerate a man?"
"Ha?" The drone quickly explained what eviscerate meant. "Ah. Don't think so." He sighed. "More dead agent."
"There was a containment cell in one of the rooms. Broken, as if the subject had escaped. It was much too big for her."
"What else you find?"
"Lots of destroyed items. Whatever it is, it appears to have claws and a lot of strength."
The man's head jerked up. "Hachi."
"Master?"
"Gomen."
He wielded a shotgun like a baseball bat and struck the drone, sending it flying several meters before its internal engines could compensate and correct for the sudden force. And before it could protest, something very large and very dark fell upon its Master.
ANALYZING SUBJECT. APPROXIMATELY 2.75 METERS TALL. FUR. CLAWS. VERY LARGE WEREWOLF?
The creature grabbed the man, raising him with one giant claw before tossing him like a sack of potatoes against the next support pillar down the row. He bounced off of it and landed facedown on the concrete. He tried to get up but the creature was already on him, raking its claws over his back.
The attack shred through his armor, and the creature picked him up by the torn piece. It brought him close to its muzzle and sniffed him, and it howled in response.
Using chaos magic, he cut the pieces of the torso armor still clinging to him, allowing himself to fall. He landed on his feet and hopped away from the creature.
"You work for them," it growled.
He tossed the rest of the torn armor off, exposing his bare torso. A sheen of sweat covered his skin, and lines of blood marked where bullets had struck him in the previous fight. "Sou ka." In a whisper, he added "Silent Wall."
COMMAND ACKNOWLEDGED. INITIATING SILENT WALL PROTOCOL.
The thing began to circle him, pacing on all fours. "Why are you with them?" it spat. "You smell honey-sweet, like World Tree."
He maintained a ready stance but otherwise kept still. "Sore wa himitsu desu."
The creature roared, and something black emerged from its fur and sped towards the man.
He moved one hand, and a small notebook floated out of his pocket and flipped open, pages showing glowing arcane symbols. Blood spurted from his bullet wounds and coalesced into a shield before him.
The blackness struck the crimson shield. It held for a moment, then shattered, spraying blood everywhere. In its place was the werewolf, and he instinctively brought his arms up front to defend himself from a strike. At the last moment, noticing the rippling of the creature's muscles, he realized he'd made a mistake. The notebook glowed as more blood oozed out of him...
The creature spun and kicked him towards the support pillar. His shield protected him from the brunt of the impact, coating the pillar with red, but he still went limp as the wind got knocked out of him.
But the werewolf wasn't finished with its attack. Seeing his helpless state, the creature raked one paw across his torso, ripping through flesh before backhanding him, again sending him flying across the concrete.
The drone bobbed about in its hiding space near the roof, behind another pillar. Its Master was getting a thorough beating, but his command protocol had explicit orders for it to remain hidden...
The man pushed himself off the floor and onto his back. His glasses fell in the last assault, and green light spilled from his eyes as he took in his injuries. The claw marks were festering- a clear sign of Filth being involved. He winced and channeled some anima for some basic healing, one hand gingerly moving his jaw to make sure it wasn't broken.
Meanwhile, the werewolf slowly moved closer. "Honey-sweet you may be, but you wear their colors. You are one of them, and they did this to me!" Black tentacles sprouted from the creature's back, forming a deadly row of spikes over it. "I will kill you. And again. And again..."
The notebook flew up and flared as the spikes went in for the kill. Blood barriers deflected them away from the man's body, sometimes by mere inches- he scurried away as one barrier broke too soon and the spike made impact with the concrete just beneath his crotch.
He raised an eyebrow at the werewolf, as if to ask, "Really?"
The spikes withdrew and whipped back for another assault. He wasn't so lucky this time, as one spike penetrated a barrier and struck him on the left side of his abdomen, going clean through his body and into the concrete beneath.
He cried out, one hand grasping the solidified Filth, his skin burning at the contact. A hissing sound issued from the wound as his anima struggled to close it.
"This will be your first," the creature promised. Using the one spike to pin him in place, the others drew back and flew in for the kill.
The notebook flipped several pages and stopped, displaying a different arcane symbol. It flared, and blood flowed from his open wounds, forming another barrier.
"You and your blood magic," the creature scoffed.
The spikes crashed against the barrier, but it held. What the creature didn't expect was the spike of blood that came at its face.
It howled as the blood made contact, burning him as if it were highly acidic. Claws went up to protect its face, but it was too late.
Seizing the opportunity, he concentrated anima in his chest and converted it into electricity, letting it flow through the spike impaling him and back to the creature. It drew back with a roar, and the spike impaling him withdrew.
Yelping, he struggled to his feet. The creature was on its knees, paws still over its face, clawing at it in an attempt to remove his blood. The smell of burnt fur hung in the air.
Beside him, the notebook flared brightly and burned, falling to the ground as the flames consumed its magic. The man frowned. He expected to lose the focus- the spell was much too powerful for the little notebook to sustain for long- but he didn't like losing access to those spells.
Still, it was an expected outcome, based on the models he ran in his head. It wasn't the most likely outcome...
"My eyes!" the creature howled. "What have you done?!"
Limping to his first resting spot, the man recovered the shotgun and limped back to the creature. "We get hurt when Filth hit us," he told the creature. "Filth get hurt when we hit it."
"I can still smell the sweetness of your blood," it retorted.
The man leveled the shotgun at the werewolf's nose and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered on the concrete behind it, along with bits and pieces of contaminated werewolf.
"Iie," he said, drawing the word out.
The Filth, sensing its host was dying, began to attempt an escape, filling the air with a foul, black mist. He stepped back, allowing the stuff to fall to the ground. He channeled flame and tossed it onto the body, watching it burn for a minute before sinking to his knees, exhausted.
Detecting no further threats, the drone went to be by its Master. "What now?" it chirped.
"First, this," he panted, pulling out a syringe from a small case. "Then, we move agents' bodies outside. Last, we burn place."
"What should we put in the report?"
"Figure out later. Whatever it is, no can tell Group their experiments work." He uncapped the syringe.
"Don't worry Master- I can keep guard while you do that."
"Sankyuu."
And he stabbed his thigh and depressed the plunger...
