Republic of Heroes
Table of Contents
Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 62 Chapter 63 Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Chapter 66 Chapter 67 Chapter 68 Chapter 69 Chapter 70 Chapter 71 Chapter 72 Chapter 73 Chapter 74 Chapter 75 Chapter 76 Chapter 77 Chapter 78 Chapter 79 END ExtraChapter 69
Group of three uniformed squadron appeared out of the dissipating smoke with their masked, orange visor covering their heads and faces. In the middle of them is Randolph Rocco, the many dozens clones of the original as they were tasked with saving what's left in this city.
The LCL division; clones made for combat situations like this; having their traits modified and removed to be fit for this perpendicular task. They do not feel fear or pain while being granted with various skills and talents of martial arts, team work and use of firearms, including not needing to eat, rest or drink with the only exception of breathing as every division has.
When the smoke finally cleared, they could see the carnage that lies ahead; bodies lying lifelessly on the floor surrounded by puddles of blood, bullet holes scattered around on every surface imaginable, and fires burning in some buildings that were hit by stray bullets or explosives. This sight reminded them of their first time in training.
Many of his brothers have also been transported through the wormholes across the country itself in dealing with this massive threat, something they have prepared long ago ever since they were created in the lab to be ready whenever this crisis comes around.
"Wow," he muttered under his breath before turning his attention toward his comrades behind him; they were clearly bewildered by the scene before them, not afraid or concerned; simply surprised by how many lives have been lost in such short amount of time.
But there isn't time for reflection on their actions; Rocco and his two brothers have came here to defend this country's people and fight off anyone or anything that stands in their way of achieving their goals, regardless of what methods may be required of them.
"Follow my lead," ordering his teammates in order to bring some semblance of organization back into their group, leading in the charge of subordinates on their mission. It's his job to get everyone safely through whatever obstacles come their way.
Walking forward through this corpses that laid all around them while the sounds of war can still be heard in far distance, noticing some bodies that aren't even human to begin with. Few dead creatures that greatly resemble Minotaur, chimera and even other bizarre mythical beings as if the fantasy creatures just jumped out of legends or myths.
Moving past these abnormalities, Rocco and his allies found themselves being met by horde of terrified citizens running towards them in hopes of being saved by whatever they believe is coming to rescue them. Without hesitation or doubt, the clone commander raised his gun directly towards their location in anticipation for whatever might happen next while maintaining a cool composure in order for the civilians to relax after being reunited with their protectors.
However, they didn't stop to comply his order; the people simply ran past through the three, not caring about what they want or think at all as their goal is only focused on escaping this place alive without a second thought about it. An action that irritated him somewhat, "Stop where you are and stay where you are!" He barked loudly, making his annoyance obvious.
Unfortunately for him, no one did and they have already gone past them; leaving nothing behind but empty street devoid of life, besides themselves. Just when he was about to sigh in exasperation over this situation, Rocco noticed another crowd coming towards them.
This time, around hundred of these invading forces with their primitive weapons charging in their direction as if they are mindless beasts with only one goal: kill everything that moves regardless if it is innocent or not. Their armor looks outdated yet sturdy, crafted in medieval style.
Wasting no time, he ordered his fellow clones to open fire; "OPEN FIRE BROTHERS! LET NONE OF THEM STAND IN OUR WAY!" Pointing his weapon straight forward while holding down his trigger and shooting at whatever's in front of him without hesitation, hearing gunshots echoing throughout the area as screams fill up the air along with chaos erupting before their very eyes.
With their automatic rifles, high caliber bullets pierced through flesh and bone, bringing down waves after wave of enemies until each of them lie dead on the ground, barely any sign of movement other than occasional twitches from a few.
Several of them in the back at the horde managed to escape into the cover of their shadows; unfortunately, it won't do them any good for much longer since they were severally injured by the spray of bullets that tore through their armor and skin like paper. All that's left is to finish them off so no one else can pose a threat.
Seeing his allies following his example, Rocco smirked beneath his mask in satisfaction before frowning after noticing one particular Greek soldier crawling away desperately from certain death on its way towards him while reaching out his hand, begging for some assistance in his last moments.
Rocco was hesitant at first as despite being clones of the original Randolph Carter, they still are humans in their own rights; possessing personality, emotions, dreams, hopes, fears and free will despite having their traits altered to be suited for specific mission.
Bang!
Bullet entered the dying man's skull, ending his life instantly and giving him a quick, clean death instead of letting him suffer a slow one. Causing Rocco to turn at his left, seeing his brother pointing an pistol with its barrel emitting smoke out of it.
"Brother...?" His voice was filled with surprise mixed in confusion and doubt; he didn't expect any of them to act in such way, especially not after seeing the corpses piled up before them. However, this quickly changed when his companion replied.
"Orders are orders, Rocco," reminding him about his duty, "that is all that matters here. Do not forget that, we are breed to be perfect in all aspects, including heart and mind; thus we can't let our emotions get in way of fulfilling our duty," reaffirming their loyalty.
The words of his brother brought some sense back to Rocco's mind, understanding that there is no time for feelings such as mercy or pity when their mission is at stake. Besides, this man would've died anyway considering how severe his wounds were and he would've suffered for hours or even days until it was all over with, giving him no chance of survival whatsoever.
"Okay," Rocco finally decided after realizing that death is inevitable; "let's continue our mission then," wanting no more than to just get this over with and return back to their base in safe conditions as there's no way of telling when the next assault may come from now on.
Death is at every corner now. And the dead had already begun piling up on top of one another when they keep continuing forward. Some groups of their enemies tried to once again charged at them like idiots, not realizing that firearms are superior than bow or sword.
Not without saying that they are untouchable when one clever bastard hid inside broken store before emerging out and using bow to accurately shoot one of his fellow brothers in the head; killing him within instant. Causing his last remaining companion to mercilessly open fire, ending the attacker's life for good.
Turning around to look at his fallen clone, he felt sadden by the lost but not outright horrified to the point of giving up and mourn his loss. In fact, Rocco felt jealous actually since death for them isn't much of problem when their consciousnesses are simply transported to new made clone.
"We lost him," his companion said with barely any emotion in his voice before bending down to retrieve whatever ammunition the clone had, "lets keep going and hurry up," gesturing to continue moving onward despite the danger that is still looming ahead, "we need to kill every single enemy if we want to succeed with our task and accomplish the objective," reminding his leader one more time.
Nodding in acknowledgement, the clone commander led the way, "Don't worry, I'll take the lead and watch our backs for any more surprises." He stated firmly, keeping his pace steady while trying not to think about anything else other than what lay ahead. He knows what he needs to do now and that's all he needs at the moment, focusing on finishing what he started rather than dwell upon lost.
"Very well," the other one accepted the offer before keeping their distance and taking a defensive stance beside his leader, "we need to be more careful, there is still many of them hidden in these ruins and waiting for their prey to walk right into their trap," predicting that this may happen if they're not careful.
Nodding once more, he began to walk away from the corpse that lay before him without saying another word as they walk side by side, glancing at one another every once in awhile while keeping alert for potential threats. However, neither of them seemed too bothered by this as their main priority is making sure that nothing gets in their way until it's done with and over.
It feels strange to not express grievance or worry dying because they do not feel fear and pain altogether; just a simple memory transfer via their linked minds to new cloned body back at their home, making the concept of death almost non-existent to them.
Apart of them feels wrong in seeing their own fallen brother and not grieving of his death, but the rational part knows that we are programmed to be like this even though there is choice of accepting it or rejecting, that doesn't mean they should stop.
Because what they are made to do is how defines their existence; expressing that not doing what they were made for is akin to removing oneself from the purpose that is given to them in existing at the first place; such action is nothing more than futile endeavor in the end, regardless if it benefits them or not.
Who could blame them? When one is born to do a task, it is hard not to fulfill what is expected of them; otherwise, it would be considered as betrayal against those who gave birth to them in the first place, denying them their rightful place in this world if they fail to carry out their obligations.
Feels wrong to even question when they are all connected to collective consciousness, being aware and connected to others' thoughts and memories like this is unusual experience, but what isn't normal for them, anyways? They're literally a man-made soldiers bred and grown to do only one thing, and that's carrying out commands given by the originator.
Atleast the original was kind enough to give them free will.
"Hey, you see that?" His brother pointed ahead, causing Rocco to narrow his eyes in concentration while scanning his surroundings, "over there, I believe its..." Face turned to horror behind his mask, "SHIT! ITS HEADING TOWARDS OUR DIRECTION!"
"What are you—" He couldn't finish his sentence when his partner pushed him aside, sacrificing himself as he was hit by blur that resulted his whole body exploding in shower of gore, splattering across everywhere around them.
Getting up quickly, he turned around to see that chimera responsible for this gruesome attack while it growled at them ferociously with its mouth opened wide, showing sharp teeth. The beast had large, three-headed creature composed of three animals: on the front is a lion's head, on its back is a goat's head, and a snake for a tail.
Like every clone, they never take joy of harming animal but during situations like this; there is no choice of avoiding it. Since these mythical beasts are ruthless and aggressive creatures that attacks anything it perceives as a threat, including humanoids like them.
"Sorry about this," bringing up his rifle's sights while aiming at the target, "but it's kill or be killed right now," he announced sadly. Pulling the trigger, sending deadly projectile hurling forward into the creature's center of mass as it moved sideways in frantic manner, leaving afterimages behind in its trail, making him unable to determine whether he actually hit anything or not.
When it got close enough, Rocco dodged the incoming blow while using the momentum to deliver his own strike. Grabbing the beast's forearm, he swung his entire body around while twisting the limb as far as possible before letting go; resulting in limb being ripped out from its socket along with spurting blood that came gushing out in torrential waves.
Causing the chimera to roar in pain, staggering backwards before falling at its side, crying out helplessly while struggling to get up on all four legs again, whimpering with its two remaining heads lowered down towards ground as if in shame or regret of attacking someone who can easily kill them.
Moving forward with rifle ready to end its life, he could the creature experiencing excruciating pain; realizing that both ally and enemy aren't so different after all but knowing this is war, they are expected to put aside such feelings in order for this conflict to end sooner rather than later.
Still, he felt horrible for doing this but there isn't much he can do other than making this easier by putting this poor soul out of its misery, "may you find peace in afterlife," apologizing for his own action as he aimed at the lion's head, showing its rage and tears filling up its yellow eyes while baring its fangs aggressively.
Despite knowing that there is no way for the chimera to understand what he's saying, Rocco couldn't help himself but still talk regardless, "it will be over soon, trust me," offering reassuring words which caused it to cease snarling, having understand the intentions behind it.
For both of them, they know war is terrible thing that makes no distinction between friend or foe, its simply barbaric and savage, with nothing gained other than losing countless lives of people who only wish to survive this horrific nightmare brought upon them by others.
Crack! Crack! Pop!
Ending the monster's suffering once and for all, Rocco allowed his tired body to drop on the dirty concrete floor; sitting beside the lifeless bodies around him, "Damn..." He cursed quietly, closing his eyes briefly while allowing his muscles relax, trying not think about anything else besides catching his breath and taking this moment of peace.
Then arrow embedded itself to his back head, killing him in surprise of sudden attack with a shocked expression on his face as the body slumped downwards motionlessly on the ground with his last moments is his satisfaction of finally returning back home.
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