Cultist Hunt (Open) (Lots o' Violence)

Severin walked from rooftop to rooftop,followed by several Stationary Guards and members from the other branches of the military. In their hands were rifles,for their objective on this outing was not to kill Titans, but to root out a rogue cult that was killing soldiers and stealing their equipment.As the group moved from building to building, they were covered in a veil of shadow, as tonight was a new moon.Suddenly, the loud roar of gunfire broke the silence. "Get to cover!"They were being ambushed.Several men fell from the rooftops,holes in their chests.The person right next to Severin,Jeremy,had his arm explode in a splash of crimson.Severin grabbed him before he could fall off the roof,and dragged him behind a chimney.After leaning him up against the structure,Severin looked around to see how many had fallen. Multiple people were on the rooftop,bleeding.At least 6 men and women had fallen off the roof.And the Military Policeman,who was their 'commanding officer',was still alive."Dammit.Jeremy,do you know how many shots there were?"Severin asked him. The wounded man looked up."Around thirteen shots were fired before I was wounded.There is a high possibility of there being more than thirteen assailants."Severin took off his bandanna and used it to bandage the wound."Alright then,"Severin looked at his peers,who were also trapped behind various parts of buildings."Open fire!"He yelled,and fired his return round into the night.Most of the other men and women did the same.As the two sides exchanged fire,Severin wondered why no Titans had shown up.

Reia crouched in the shadows on top of a roof. She glanced around the streets below her. Everything was quiet. She unloaded and reloaded the gun she held in her hand. It felt strange to hold one after all these years of wielding swords. She hadn't used a gun since she lived in the Underground City with Levi, Farlan, and Isabel. But that was years ago.

Reia had been assigned to the task force charged with taking out a dangerous cult. Due to her skill at hand-to-hand combat, Commander Erwin had volunteered her for the mission. At first, Reia was hesitant to go. She disliked the idea of hunting people. Still, a cult that was killing soldiers and stealing their weapons could not be allowed to continue. So she accepted the mission. She still didn't like it, but it had to be done.  

There were six squads in total patrolling the city tonight, each one a mix of Scouts, Garrisons, and MPs. They had split up to cover more ground. Reia and her squad were stationed near the center of the city.

Hearing the quiet zip of 3DMG behind her, Reia turned to face whoever had come to join her. By the light of the full moon, she was able to make out the features of Thomas, another Scout from Reia's Training Corps class. "Nothing to report from the rest of the group. Have you seen anything?" he whispered.

"Nothing," she whispered back. "Has anyone made contact with the other squads recently?"

Thomas shook his head. Reia hadn't expected anything else. Stealth was the name of the game, so it wasn't easy for the squads to keep in contact with each other. Without another word, Reia returned her attention to the streets. Thomas stayed by her side, surveying the area with her. On the rooftops around them, the rest of their squad also crouched in the shadows, waiting for the tiniest sign of movement. They sat there, silent and motionless, as the minutes ticked on.

The roar of gunfire broke the silence, followed by a cacophony of screams. Reia's head snapped to the direction of the chaos. It was coming from the west. She stood up, shouting to her squadmates, "Go! Move it!" She flew from rooftop to rooftop, trying to get to the other squad as fast as she could, knowing her squad was right behind her.

The other squad was locked in a fierce gun battle with what she assumed was the cult. A quick look around revealed a lot of dead and wounded soldiers. The remaining squad members were pinned down by gunfire. She and her squad landed on several rooftops to the right of the cult. With their attention focused on the squad in front of them, they had left their right flank exposed. "Open fire!" Reia commanded.

Between the shots,Severin heard the familiar zip of the 3DMG.He turned around,and saw several figures heading straight for them."Shit,"he mumbled."We're being surrounded!Claude,Timothy,Samantha!Open fire on the advancing cultists!"He didn't want to take any chances,and no squad was supposed to be nearby.He could almost make out uniforms,but he was sure those were disguised cultists.The trio of Guardsmen promptly spun on their heel and began shooting.Severin was about to take aim,but realized he was out of bullets.Grinning,Severin lept off the roof to flank the new intruders with his 3DMG.As he zoomed along,he drew his blades and readied for an upward slash attack.

"Stop!" Reia screamed as the other squad opened fire on them. "Hold your fire! We're on your side!" The other squad didn't hear her, or they didn't believe her. Either way, they kept firing.

"What are they doing?" Thomas yelled. "Don't they know we're on their side?"

"Apparently not," Reia thought. She would have to convince them quickly, otherwise they would all end up dead. That meant she would have to get close enough to talk to one of them. Then she could prove she wasn't an impostor. "Squad Britannia, take cover and continue firing on the cult! Do not engage the other squad unless absolutely necessary!" she ordered above the roar of gunfire. "Maybe if I swing around from the back, I can approach unseen..." she mused.

Using the chimney to protect herself, Reia stood up and walked to the edge of the roof. She was about to jump off when she caught a glimpse of something approaching from below. She pulled back just in time for the blades to miss her. The assailant landed on the roof about five feet in front of her. Reia aimed her gun at his head. "Don't move," she commanded. "I am Reia Britannia, Survey Corps Special Ops and commander of this squad. We're on the same side."

Severin landed on the roof,having missed his slice.When he looked up,there was a pistol aimed at him.The woman introduced herself as a Reia Britannia.He stood there."Hello there."He was grinning.He slowly turned around,and when he faced her again,he held two pistols."Two can play at this game."Suddenly,a scream emanated from behind him.He turned around."Jeremy!"he yelled as he backflipped off the roof and back towards the group.The cultists were storming what was left of the MP's squad."Goddamn incompetent Military Police,"he muttered as he hurried back.Severin put a good slash in the chest of a cultist as he landed.After unloading his pistols,Severin drew his blades and began engaging in combat.He was outnumbered though,and the only other person left was Claude,who was injured in the leg.He still kept shooting at the other group as he was ordered to.As the battle on the rooftop took place,loud footfalls could be heard.

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

'Titan' :

Result :

The garrison soldier jumped off the roof and raced to his comrade's aid. Her trigger finger relaxed, and she dropped her arm to her side with a huff. She had been a millisecond away from pulling the trigger. Although it would have been justified as self-defense, Reia was repulsed by the thought of killing a comrade over a misunderstanding. Clearly, she needed to find someone more level-headed to reason with, preferably someone who knew her, if there was such a person on the other squad.

Just when she thought this night couldn't get any worse, thunderous footsteps sounded from the left, signaling the approach of titans. "You have got to be kidding me," she growled. "Thomas!" she called. "Cover me. I'm going after the titans."

"By yourself? Are you crazy?" he yelled.

"I can handle it," she responded as she leapt from the rooftop. There was a reason she was a member of the Special Ops Squad.

The seven meter was closest. Reia launched herself from the top of a four story building and threw her blades into its eyes, just like Levi had taught her to do. The titan screamed and brought its hands to its face. Reia took the opportunity to slash its weak spot.

As the first titan fell, the second two closed in on her position. She was high up. The five meter couldn't reach her, so she decided to leave it for now in favor of the fifteen meter. The titan brought its fist down on the spot where Reia had been standing, but she was already gone. Reia swung to the building directly behind the titan and propelled herself into the air. She came down spinning, and her blades cut clean through the nape. As the titan fell, so did she. Landing on the evaporating titan's back, she took the opportunity to catch her breath.

Then Reia remembered the five meter. She turned to look behind her, and saw it just as it leapt toward her, jaws snapping shut. Reia jumped back and rolled off the other side of the titan. Hitting the ground didn't feel good, but she had no time to stop and nurse her injuries. The five meter was crawling over the dead titan, trying to get to her. Reia took off in the direction of the evaporating head. Once she made her way around it, she fired her 3DMG into the middle of a building behind the five meter, which was still trying to crawl its way over the other titan. She zipped toward the wall and then kicked off it, using her momentum to propel herself into the back of the titan's neck. Soon, it too was evaporating.

Reia did a quick survey of the area to determine that there were no other immediate threats. Then she assessed her injuries. Other than a few scrapes and bruises, her left arm hurt incredibly where she fell on it. However, she could still move it, so at least it wasn't broken. She also felt like her right leg might be bleeding, but she didn't have time to stop and confirm it. There was still a battle raging on, and her comrades needed her.

Reia saw the garrison soldier from earlier surrounded by cultists. She flew up to the rooftop where he was fighting for his life and landed on a cultist, knocking him to the ground. Blades drawn, she stood back-to-back with the garrison soldier and began fighting off the enemy. "Now, do you believe me?" she asked, indicating the titans that were evaporating several stories below.

Severin laughed as he fought with the cultists.Claude was busy reloading his gun."These guys sure do a better job at fighting than the Military Police.Drunken bastard over there led us right into this."He pointed to a corpse on the other side of the roof.Claude shot another round at the other group while leaning against the chimney.Severin pulled a pistol out of his jacket and shot a cultist square in the face.He leaped up onto the chimney,reloading his pistol.A cultist tried to skewer him but failed.Severin was an extremely fast reloader.He chuckled."You could at least put up a fight before I kill you."

Reia disarmed a cultist, then used her sword's handle to knock him out. They had been ordered to capture as many cultists as possible for questioning. Although, with the way things were going, the higher-ups would be lucky if they ended up with a handful of prisoners to interrogate. This was a kill-or-be-killed situation.

As Reia engaged two more cultists, she heard the garrison soldier laughing maniacally as he fought. "Little maniac. No wonder he can't recognize friend from foe," she thought as she kicked a cultist off the roof. Arguably, they all had to be somewhat crazy to do what they did, but some were a little more unhinged than others.

Severin pistol-whipped a cultist.Je realized they'd need someone to interrogate.Claude kept shooting after he bandaged his leg.Severin then threw a cultist off the roof after shooting him in the leg.There weren't many left.This...Reia girl was pretty good.But was she an actual Scout or was this a cultist ploy?Severin kept laughing like a madman to betray his actual persona."Claude,"Severin said as he impaled a cultist,"Are you the only one left?" Clause answered a quick 'I think so' before unloading another shot at the chimney.

Reia knocked out another cultist with a roundhouse kick to the head. She glanced over to the rooftops where here squad was still locked in a gun battle with the rest of the cult. For now, they seemed to be holding their own, with no injuries or fatalities that she could tell. The location she had chosen gave them the strategic advantage, as they were one story above the cultists. Reia returned her attention to the fight in front of her. She would rejoin her squad once she was done here.

Claude leaned over his chimney."Severin,I'm out of shots."Severin then leaped over and handed him a small bag.When he turned around,a cultist tried to cut him.The swing just barely missed his chest.After head butting the cultist,Severin checked his jacket.There was a rifle/cannon badge on it,opposite the Garrison emblem.s the cultist got up,Severin put his sword in the man's arm,pinning him to the roof.He then attached a new blade and resumed fighting.He was constantlyeLing from pace to place,getting a shot in before stabbing.Severin was very good with guns.He grabbed a bloody rifle from one of his fallen comrades,and used it to kill the cultist pinned to the roof.There were less than 4 left.Severin chuckled.

Reia swept a cultist's feet out from under him. He fell hard on the roof, begging for mercy as Reia pointed her blade at his throat. "Please, d-d-don't hurt me," he pleaded.

"Tch," Reia huffed as she kicked him in the head. It wasn't hard enough to kill him, just knock him out.

Reia roundhouse kicked another cultist, sending her flying off the roof. Then she crossed blades with a short woman who had a smirk on her lips and an evil glint in her eye. She was clearly well-versed in the art of swordplay. Reia was interested to see how this girl's skills stacked up to her own.

Severin turned around to see the 'Scout' locked in swordplay with a midget woman.Was she a midget?He didn't care.Severin shot the woman twice with his pistols.That was the last last of the attackers.He hurried over to Claude.His wingman was slouched over, a dagger protruding from his chest.Severin stood up after a few seconds.He sighed.Severin walked over to one of the cultists and held him up with a pistol."Where is your base of operations?You have 5 seconds before I blow you to high hell."The cultist laughed."Your five seconds are up."Severing said as he shot the man's hand."Every five seconds,I'll shoot."The man whimpered."Unless,of course,you give me the information.The cultist leaned in and whispered to Severin,in a clearly panicked tone.Severin knocked the man out before wrapping fabric around the wound.

After two loud bangs, the woman slumped to the ground, dead. Reia looked over and saw the garrison boy lowering his weapon. He walked over to his friend, who had a dagger protruding from his chest. Reia lowered her eyes. She knew there was nothing they could do.

Reia did a quick sweep of the area. All the cultists near here were either dead or incapacitated. Her squad was still holding their own a few rooftops away. Reia pulled out restraints and began tying up the unconscious cultists. She stopped when she heard the boy screaming at a cultist before he shot him in the hand.

"You shouldn't do that," Reia told him. "Interrogation isn't our job. Capture is. And right now, the rest of these cultists need to be restrained and my squad needs help. I understand you're upset, but try to keep a level head."

"No,Scout.Capture is your job,"Severin said as he shot a flare."My orders were to take out their base of operations."He walked over to Claude,and removed his rifle/cannon patch.After picking up Claude's rifle,Severing walked to the edge of the roof."I'm not upset...Reia,was it?People die all the time in combat."He reloaded the gun."My squad should be here momentarily.The name's Severin,by the way.Severin Wildner."

Reia shook her head. All squads had been given the same mission: disable the cult and capture as many as possible for interrogation. Clearly, Severin was being very liberal with his interpretation of that mission.

Reia restrained the last of the cultists and took another look at her squad. While they were still holding their own, this had gone on long enough. It was time to end it. "I'm going to help my squad. Try not to shoot at your comrades again." With that, Reia zipped over to the roof where Thomas and a few more of her squad members were perched.

Thomas looked up at her. "The other squad..." he began.

"Won't be bothering us anymore." Reia finished. "It's time to end this. Thomas, Elizabeth, Andrew!" she called out the names of the most skilled close-range fighters in her squad. "With me. The rest of you, remain here and keep firing until you see my signal. Then come join me."

Reia and the three others she had chosen leapt silently from rooftop to rooftop, using the shadows to hide their movements. Once they were positioned a few blocks behind the cult, Reia stopped and outlined her plan.

Then, without another word, they moved with lightning speed toward the cult. When they were one rooftop away, Reia fired a flare, signaling her squad to stop shooting. She drew her swords in unison with the rest of her group. They descended upon the cult, and a fierce battle ensued.

Their arrival was enough to distract the cult from the rest of the squad, who had now swung over to join the fray. The cultists may have been good with guns, but they weren't nearly as skilled with close-range combat. Reia's squad soon gained the upper hand.

Severin watched the Scout leap off.Honestly,he didn't know why he followed this squad.They were doomed from the start,wha with that MP's atrocious leading skills.15 Stationary Guards landed behind him,all bearing the cannon/rifle patch."While they,"Severin pointed to the Scout's squad,"are busy fighting those cultists,we will be assaulting their main base.Thanks to my impromptu interrogation."The group readied their weapons."Just like we practiced."They all leapt off the roof and sped past the other squad."Ember Squadron! Zeta Formation!Prepare to breach!"Severin yelled.The squad embers quickly rearranged themselves.As they sped along,Severin looked back at the fighting.He had a casual expression.

Reia knocked out the last of the cultists by slamming him against the chimney. She took a look around the rooftop. None of her comrades were dead, although a few were nursing minor cuts. All but a handful of the cultists had survived as well. Reia was glad that she personally had not been forced to take a life. Yet.

"Tie them up, quickly," she ordered. "We'll leave them here for the MPs to find." Reia fired a yellow flare into the sky.

"We're not taking them back to HQ?" Thomas asked.

"No," Reia responded, looking off into the distance. "Our job isn't done yet." The cultist may have whispered the location of their base, but Reia had caught enough of what he said to discern where it was. Having lived here for a year before the fall, she knew that place. Severin and his squad were walking into a trap.

A few moments later, the cultists were restrained, and knocked out for good measure. Reia steeled herself. This had been child's play compared to what was waiting for them. "All of you, with me!" she commanded as she took off in the direction that Severin's group had gone.

As they zoomed along,Severing wondered why he was given that address.It was probably a trap,but how did he know that place?The man said that thebase was....at his old Shiganshina house.The last time he'd been there..memories flashed through his mind.Painful ones.He pushed them aside,for the Recon group was heading towards them."What's the report,Epsilon?"Severin asked as they moved."Not good,sir.Heavily fortified,with lots of men.They appear to use the house as their base,but I think it's a ploy."Severin nodded in agreement,then looked back to see the Scout and her squad following them.He raised his arm."Squad!Ghost Cavalier formation!"A line formed as the men put on their rifle bayonets,goggles and bandanas.The remaining men pulled out their flare gun and lagged behind a few feet.They were quickly approaching the house,and Severin swung his sword.The flare guns fired,and the scene was covered in a green fog.The first line then swung in with the bayonets and began combat.Severin landed with the first line,and began dispatching the disoriented cultists.The men who used the flares landed on nearby rooftops and shot whoever poked out of any window.Severin looked back to see the Scout's squad almost on their position.

By the time Reia arrived, the Garrison Regiment had already engaged the cultists. She ordered her squad to stop one street short of the house.

"What's going on?" an MP asked. "Why aren't we engaging the enemy?"

"Because that house is just a decoy. The real base," Reia narrowed her eyes as she studied the structure, "is under it."

Being a barista, Reia heard a lot of things. She remembered hearing the rumors of what went on underneath that house in the dead of night. Curious, she had decided to check it out herself, once. Reia almost wished she had stayed in her apartment that night. She never told anyone what she had seen, not even Levi. Reia had naturally assumed that everything that happened here ended after the fall. It looked like she was wrong.

The fighting was over quickly.Soon,all the cultists were either dead or dying.Severin raised his hand in the air and made a circle motion,caw using the gunmen on the roof to begin guarding the perimeter."It's been a long time,"Severin said as he stepped towards his old house.Severin froze,looking between the ground and the house for several seconds."You've got to be kidding me,"Severin stepped away,"The're holed up in the cellar."This was quite a predicament.Severin had never ventured in the cellar,so he had no idea how big it was.That was easily the most defendable place in the entire house.He called over stud recon group and began conferring with them on how to get in.Meanwhile,the rest of Ember Squadron kept up a patrol so as not to be ambushed.While they talked,Severin pointed at the Scout's group while conferring with his men.He had a grim expression.

Reia watched as the Garrison dispatched the last of the cultists in the house. "Now the real fight begins," Reia mused. Having been inside the cellar before, she knew getting in wouldn't be easy. At the same time, she knew it could be done. She turned to her comrades and began to lay out her plan.

When she was finished, her squad dispersed and took their positions in the shadows surrounding the cellar. Before Reia could join them, Elizabeth grabbed her arm. "Shouldn't we tell the Garrison what the plan is?"

"If they react like I expect, we won't need to."

Elizabeth nodded and went to take her place in the shadows. Reia glanced over at the Garrison and saw Severin point at the rooftop where her squad had been. Then she jumped.

"Well,"Severin said as he conversed with his squad mates,"I still remember the inside of this house,and I know where the entrance to the cellar is.The problem,though,is that it's going to be vary hard to get there."Severin signaled for his men to return."That Scout is heading somewhere.I want you three to follow."He pointed at three men.As they zipped off,Severin turned around and headed towards the house."Enact breach protocol:Poltergeist,"Severing said as he lined up along the wall.Several men aimed their bayonets at the door,while others are their flares."Follow me."The door was kicked in and the house filled with green smoke.There weren't many cultists left in the house,but it was still a challenge reaching the cellar door.The door was opened,and the men dropped I to the cellar."Holy shit,"Severin whispered,"this is a huge-ass cellar."Severi. And his men remained in the shadows to observe what was going on.They were in a large cavern,and there were at least fifty cultists doing things.As he looked around,Severin froze.Was that his...No,it couldn't be.He died years ago.Severin ordered his men to take up cover positions and to take aim.This was going to be a serious fight.

"Good boys," Reia thought as she watched the Garrison enter the cellar. Everything was going according to plan. The cultists would be distracted by the Garrison coming in the main entrance. Meanwhile, her squad would enter through the second entrance that even a majority of the cultists didn't know existed.

It was only by chance that Reia had found that secret passage. She had stumbled across it while trying to escape the horrors that went on in that cellar. Thankfully, she still remembered where it was.

Reia slipped through the shadows, double-checking to make sure that all of the cultists were incapacitated. She noticed a few Garrison soldiers following her, but she didn't care. They weren't the enemy tonight.

When she arrived next to a house about twenty meters behind the one the Garrison soldiers had just entered, she stopped. Barrels were lined up along the wall of the alley. With a wave of her hand, Reia summoned Andrew, and together they displaced the two middle barrels, revealing a trap door that blended perfectly with the stone around it. It was a door that could not be found except by those who already knew where it was.

Reia and her squad gazed down the stairway that led into darkness. She turned to Andrew. "You know what to do."

Andrew nodded and signaled a portion of the squad to fan out in a defensive barrier around the entrance. They were well hidden. Even Reia couldn't see them through the shadows, but she knew they were there.

Satisfied, Reia began the descent, with the others close behind her. Once they were all in, Andrew shut the door. Reia took a torch from the wall and lit it. They continued down about ten meters. From there, it was a straight walk to the cellar. The passage was wide enough for two of them to walk side-by-side.

After a few minutes, they reached the door that led into the cellar. Reia looked back at her squad and saw the determination in their eyes. They were ready. Reia put out the torch, plunging them into utter blackness, and placed it in a slot on the wall. She drew her gun and put her other hand on the door. Then Reia took a deep breath. "One...two..." she counted in her head.