Resistance: Chimeran Allies

Chapter 4.

"Wait...you said 'she' earlier, that thing's a she?" X-Ray 4 asked, gesturing to the Titan walking in front of them.

"Yes, is this unusual?" The Type-2 walked next to him as usual. The Hybrid hadn't left his side once since they'd saved each other.

They were making their way back to the tower now, the 3 tanks maintaining a single file line as they moved down the street. The now-rogue Chimera and human soldiers walking alongside the column, with the Titan at the front of the pack and the Stalker bringing up the rear.

Most of the American soldiers kept toward the back and behind the Hybrids, still wary of them. The British soldiers however were more at ease around the Hybrids now, which was surprising, considering they had been in combat against each other for months and had lost countless comrades to them. They seemed to have developed a respect for the Hybrids after having been saved from certain death earlier by them.

"I didn't really think the Chimera had genders, it's not exactly something the British were too interested in learning about either." He and the Type-2 followed along with the lead tank. He smiled as he looked up at the tank, seeing the Hardfang had made itself at home in what was originally the tank commander's cupola, manning the .30 caliber machine gun mounted in front of it.

"We do have genders the same as you do, though most Chimera turn out female at the end of the conversion process. Males are few and far between, you are the first I have seen actually." Their conversation was interrupted as a nearby British soldier chimed in.

"I don't know about the rest of you lot, but I prefer my women not have massive fangs and claws." Several of the British laughing at that. X-Ray 4 also found himself snickering, but when he felt he had eyes on him he turned to see the Type-2 staring at him. He quickly turned away, feeling his face reddening, the soldier thankful that the Hybrid could not see through the thin visor on his helmet.

He could feel her eyes lingering on him and he glanced back again, trying to see what she was thinking, but her face was far too alien to discern anything. If he had to guess, based on her demeanor, it almost seemed like she was disappointed.

He had no time to ponder this though, because the Titan was breaking into a sprint, seemingly alerted by something. The Titan came up to a 4 way street, turning towards the right, where the column would've been making its turn to head back to the tower.

Bullseye fire pelted the Titan, but the massive creature was almost completely impervious to small arms fire, walking towards the gunfire and dissappearing from view.

He shared a glance with the Type-2 before he ran forward, The Type-2 quickly following.

The other soldiers ran forward, the Hybrids outpacing the humans and reaching the street first, X-Ray 4 seeing them fire down it. The Sabertooth tanks revved their engines, pushing forward as fast as they could, keeping pace with the infantry as they ran forward.

X-Ray 4 looked up to the lead tank, seeing the Hardfang was still in it, gripping the machine gun with both hands, waiting for the tank to come around the corner. The street wasn't more than 100 meters away, the soldiers rapidly coming up to it.

X-Ray 4 turned around the corner just in time to see the Titan roar, slamming down its massive weapon on a group of Hybrids, crushing them. The creatures were shooting at the Titan, trying to get away from her and ward her off, but the Titan was undeterred.

X-Ray 4 could see about 30 enemy Hybrids in the street, half of them had already been killed by the rogue Hybrids and Titan, the other half running for cover. There were more in the buildings though, X-Ray 4 seeing a Hybrid pop up out of a window, taking a potshot at the Titan.

The Hybrids had set a trap for the column, X-Ray 4 seeing more Hybrids pop out of windows, firing at the Titan and the soldiers in the street. The Titan turned its cannon on the first Hybrid who had shot at her, blowing a hole into the building right where the unfortunate Hybrid had been.

X-Ray 4 raised his rifle, aiming at a Hybrid on the street, putting a bullet through it, then taking aim at another one, but rifle fire and exclamations from the rear of the column took his attention away. He turned to look, seeing a dropship rapidly approaching.

"It's a fuckin' trap! Take that bastard out now!"

X-Ray 4 realized the Hybrids down the street had been bait, meant to draw the armor and fire support away from the rear where the real attack would take place. Fortunately, the Stalker had stayed at the rear, but it had turned its turret toward the street where the first attack was happening, the machine having to turn its turret back around, but the dropship was already here.

The Rangers fired their weapons at the dropship, X-Ray 4 seeing a soldier launch a grenade at it, but the explosive did no damage to the ship. Two Rangers quickly took aim with their LAARKs, but it was too late, the dropship already releasing its pod.

The Stalker finished turning its turret around, sending missiles and AA fire at the dropship. The two Rangers also fired their LAARKs at the dropship. The combined firepower was no match for the vehicle, it exploded, falling onto a building in a fiery heap.

Meanwhile, the pod which had just been dropped was already disgorging its troops, the Hybrids wasting no time getting clear of it and racing towards cover. Among them was a Steelhead, the massive creature firing its Auger in the direction of the Rangers, the soldiers scattering for cover.

"We've been outflanked! Cover our rear! Take out that Steelhead!" X-Ray 1 waved for the soldiers to follow him and he ran forward. Several of the British and Chimera followed him, along with his squad.

X-Ray 4 ran forward, stopping by a building and taking aim, killing a Hybrid running out of the pod. The Type-2 was also firing next to him, X-Ray 4 watching the Bullseye rounds find their mark, taking out another Hybrid. There had to have been 50 or 60 Chimera crammed into that pod.

He searched for the Steelhead, but it was out of sight. He suddenly spotted Auger rounds come out the wall of a building near the pod. The Auger rounds flew towards a Ranger crouching behind some stairs, the man having no time to react, the rounds hitting him in the head, the soldier slumping, his helmet melting, along with his head.

The Chimera had no doubt hoped that the Stalker would also leave its position to fight the ones at the front of the column, but it hadn't, and it was putting its weapons to deadly use, X-Ray 4 watching a missile launch towards where the Auger rounds had come from.

The Sabertooth tank at the rear also put a round through the wall, but then Auger fire came from another place, this time aimed at the tank. The tank turned its cannon towards where the fire had come from, but it had no time to fire, the Auger rounds already penetrating through the tank's armor.

The tank's engine was still running, but all movement from it stopped, indicating the crew had been knocked out. The Americans were coordinating, sending grenades where the Auger fire was coming from, but the Steelhead kept moving, and the enemy Hybrids seemed to be trying to keep the attention off of the Steelhead, pouring suppressing fire down on the Americans.

X-Ray 4 moved closer, taking out another Hybrid preparing to throw a Hedgehog grenade, the grenade falling to the ground next to the creature before launching back up. The Hybrids near it tried to get away but they were too slow, the spines from the grenade launching out and skewering them.

The Stalker was sending out an almost constant stream of AA fire at the enemy Hybrids, the rubble and buildings unable to protect the Hybrids using it as cover. The Steelhead was still in hiding though, taking potshots at the soldiers and the Stalker, the vehicle sidestepping to dodge a burst of Auger fire.

Thundering footsteps could be heard from behind them, X-Ray 4 turning to see the Titan running back to support the Rangers, X-Ray 4 moving out of the way as the creature ran past. He could see blood seeping out of her hide, but he knew the ones who had dealt the wounds had suffered a much worse fate.

The Titan brought its weapon up, firing at a Hybrid that was firing from a window of a building, blowing the wall inward, the Hybrid disappearing from view. The enemy Steelhead seemed to think the Titan was more of a threat, Auger rounds could be seen heading towards the Titan, but the Titan was much more mobile than she looked, dodging out of the way of the burst.

The rogue Steelheads had also come up to lend support, the few remaining Hybrids standing no chance against the combined firepower of the humans and the rogue Chimera.

The last Hybrid fell to a burst from a Ranger's Carbine, the fire slowly ceasing. Everyone stood for a few seconds, tensely aiming at the buildings the Hybrids had been hiding in, waiting for more to reveal themselves.

Auger fire came out of the building again, this time heading for the Ranger Captain. "Fuck!"

The Captain dove out of the way, the Auger rounds sailing past less than a second later. The soldiers and Chimera poured fire into where the rounds had come from, the wall being gradually torn apart from the fire before a tank put an HE round through the wall, but the Steelhead had already moved again.

The Captain got up and moved over to where the two flamethrower soldiers were hiding, X-Ray 4 noticing that the Hardfang was now standing near them too.

"Martin, Osborne, on me! we're gonna burn this fucker out." He looked over the Hardfang for a second before gesturing for her to come along too. They hugged the edge of the street, staying out of the line of fire of the company, the soldiers still laying down suppressing fire, the rogue Steelheads firing a round or 2 at random spots.

The enemy steelhead was occupying a worn down apartment building on a corner of the street, occasionally firing from the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building. The small group slowly made their way to the center of the building, where the entrance was.

The Captain surveyed the area for a few seconds before turning to the two Rangers next to him. "Troopers, get some air fuel grenades in there and flush him out."

The two men fished the devices out of their pockets, priming them.

The air fuel grenade was a small, somewhat circular device filled with compressed, flammable air. Upon being activated it would take 3 to 5 seconds before the air would be released, rapidly engulfing a several meter wide area, then the grenade would spark, igniting the fuel, burning everything in the radius.

The two soldiers threw their grenades into the buildings, quickly ducking back down. A few seconds later fire blew out several of the windows, the soldiers hearing parts of the building fall apart inside.

The Steelhead inside seemed to realize its precarious position, sending Auger rounds down towards the soldiers below.

"Take cover!" The soldiers dove out of the way of the rounds, but then the Auger rounds began heading towards Osborne, who was just getting back onto his knees.

He looked over, seeing the Auger rounds tunnelling through the building towards him. He screamed, turning his head away and raising his arms to protect himself.

The Hardfang dove on top of the Ranger, shoving him to the ground and pulling him away from where the Auger rounds had almost hit him. The Hardfang then looked up, seeing a missile sail into the 3rd floor where the rounds had come from.

The Hardfang ducked her head back down, covering the human's head with her hands as the wall exploded, debris falling down around them. The Hardfang looked up again, watching the Captain priming another air fuel grenade, throwing it into the blown out wall on the 3rd floor.

There was a roar from inside, and a second later the Steelhead jumped down from the building. The Captain and Martin had been next to each other, and they had been in the path of the Steelhead,, barely avoiding the several hundred pound creature as it fell heavily to the ground nearby.

It landed a few feet away from them, weathering the fall and quickly springing into action. It threw its Auger at the Captain, the Ranger being knocked back, his Carbine falling out of his hands.

The Steelhead then made for the other Ranger, the man raising his flamethrower up, but the Steelhead shoved the weapon out of the way just as it fired, the flames spraying the building. The Ranger raised his other arm up to protect himself from the Steelhead, but the creature delivered a powerful punch to his face, sending the man to the ground, unconscious.

The Steelhead turned back around, finding the Ranger Captain had recovered and was pulling out his pistol.

The company behind them was aiming at the Steelhead, but the creature was moving too fast and was too close to the Captain and his men, some of them were running to aid them, but they were too far away. The only one that could help was the Hardfang.

She launched herself off of the Ranger, leaving her Arc Charger on the ground and charging towards the Steelhead as fast as she could.

The Ranger Captain was firing his pistol at the Steelhead, but the creature's armor and mass weathered the small rounds, the Ranger staggering back as the Steelhead closed. The Steelhead dove for the Captain, shoving him to the ground.

The Captain raised his arms up towards the Steelhead's face but the creature quickly pushed them away, bringing its teeth down towards the Ranger. The soldier screamed, the teeth sinking into his shoulder, blood beginning to pool on the ground.

The Ranger raised his other arm up towards the Steelhead, trying to push its head away, but the creature merely pinned his arm to the ground, pulling its head away from the Ranger, the man letting out another scream as the teeth exited his shoulder.

It prepared to sink its teeth down into the man's throat, leaning forward with its mouth wide, but an ear piercing roar made the Steelhead turn to look at what made it, only to be met by a metal boot.

The Hardfang put all her momentum and force into the kick, the Steelhead being launched off the Ranger, landing hard on its back, the Steelhead roaring in pain as the implanted heatstack shifted, along with most of its teeth being knocked out of its mouth.

The Hardfang did not give the Steelhead a moment to recover, diving on top of it. The two wrestled, the Steelhead trying to bite the Hardfang, but the creature did not have enough teeth left to inflict any serious damage.

Osborne, the soldier the Hardfang had protected from falling debris, was now next to the Captain, hauling him away, but when he saw the Hardfang begin to lose its fight he ran to help.

Despite the strength and ferocity of the Hardfang, the Steelhead simply had more weight than her, pushing her off and flipping itself over so it was on top of the Hardfang. The Steelhead thrust its clawed hand forward, intending to pierce the Hardfang's throat, but she deflected the blow with her armored gauntlet, the Steelhead's hand slamming into the Hardfang's armored chest instead.

Osborne had now made his way over to the struggling Hardfang, the soldier jumping on top of the Steelhead, wrapping his left arm around its throat, his other hand wielding a knife, which he began to repeatedly plunge into the massive creature's side.

The Ranger sent several knife strikes into the side of its stomach, blood pouring out and staining the Hardfang's armor below, who was trying to stab the Steelhead with her claws, but she could not reach any unarmored parts.

The Ranger clinged on to the Steelhead as he peppered the creature with stabs. It thrashed around, trying to cover its side with its arms, but the Ranger just sent his strikes to other parts of its body.

The Ranger then decided to go for the kill, bringing his knife back out and raising it up, aiming towards the Steelhead's throat. His swing was stopped dead as the Steelhead grabbed his wrist, the creature's hand massive enough to wrap completely around his arm.

The Ranger had no time to react, the Steelhead twisting his arm back down and pulling it in, sending the soldier's own blade into his side.

The soldier grunted, the knife driven all the way into the right side of his body, in between his hips and his ribs. The soldier was then thrown to the ground, landing away from the Hardfang, the creature able to see him grimacing in pain as he clutched his side.

The Steelhead was severely wounded, blood was pouring out of its body, but it was still very much in the fight, and still strong enough to keep the Hardfang pinned to the ground, the creature desperately trying to push the Steelhead off.

It raised its hand up, its fingers splayed wide, preparing to slice its sharp talons across the Hardfang's throat, the creature raising her hands up in an attempt to protect herself.

"RAAAAAH!"

The Steelhead halted its prepared attack, turning around as it heard a loud cry, the sound rapidly coming closer. Several American soldiers were coming to their aid, the Hardfang able to see other Hybrids closing in too. The closest American soldier had his weapon gripped like a bat, and by the time the Steelhead turned around to see the new threat it was too late.

The Ranger swung the butt of his rifle at the Steelhead's face, the Hardfang hearing a crunch as the Steelhead's jaw hung open, blood pouring out.

The American was running so fast it took him a few seconds to come to a stop, and when he did he turned back around, charging back towards the Steelhead again.

The creature had been dazed by the first blow and it had still not recovered completely, failing to raise its hands up high enough to block the 2nd hit. It had turned its head away, and the blow hit the left side of its face, right where its armored faceplate was.

The creature roared in pain as it was sent to the ground by the blow, the Hardfang seeing it raise a hand up to its face, where blood could be seen pouring out of the spots where two of its eyes had been.

The Ranger's sturdy weapon had not been fazed at all by the abuse it had just been put through, the soldier returning the now bloodied stock to his hand, promptly shouldering the rifle and aiming at the Steelhead.

The Steelhead raised its other hand up to protect itself but the heavy rounds of the Carbine made short work of its weak defense. The rounds tore through the Steelhead's arm, traveling towards the creature's face, the first few rounds cracking its faceplate before the follow up rounds succeeded in penetrating.

The Ranger emptied the entire magazine into the now pulverized face of the Steelhead, giving it a kick when he was finally done.

The rest of the Rangers had now arrived, the Hardfang seeing a Lieutenant directing them.

"Form a perimeter! Secure the wounded, then let's get the hell out of here!" Several of the men covered the sides of the street, the Lieutenant and a medic going over to where the Captain and Osborne were lying, a 3rd medic going over to where Martin was lying.

"Hey, Hybrid." The Hardfang looked back over, seeing the soldier that had gunned down the Steelhead was now looking at her. He reached out with a hand, the Hardfang hesitating for a second before reaching out and grabbing it, the Ranger heaving her up.

Now back on her feet she surveyed the scene. X-Ray 4 and the Type-2 were nearby, the Hardfang seeing them tending to the wounded soldiers. She could see that the Captain had fallen unconscious at some point, Martin had been knocked out by the Steelhead and was still unconscious, and Osborne was being tended to by the American medics, and some Hybrids.

Several other soldiers had formed a perimeter around the area, and back toward the tanks some men could be seen opening the crew compartment in the tank that had been hit by Auger fire, but she could tell by their body language that there was no one left to save.