Sword Party

"Where's the action at?" Flatliner Alvarez slightly turned as he held onto the ceiling handbars of the Rhino's passenger compartment. Flatliner Santos, who was busy manipulating the consoles in front of him, replied instantly without looking up.

"Espania," Santos said. "Within Sampaloc Demilitarized Zone."

"That's a DMZ," Alvarez said. "Are you really sure of that?"

"Yes, Commander. I'm positive." Santos replied without hesitation. "Monitor 99245-18 provided intel on the combatants present on the scene."

"And?"

"They're Gangpunkers." Santos declared. "There's a gang war currently taking place. Minor Police Units deployed by the Enclave Authority to protect the vicinity of the DMZ was killed, Commander. No one were left alive."

"They will pay." Alvarez simply replied when the driver halted the Rhino and spoke through the passenger compartment's stereos.

"Flatliner Team-114, you're clear to deploy! Be advised, we have deployed in a hot zone!"

"Nothing we can't handle." Alvarez replied as the rear ramp of vehicle parted by the middle and revealed an environment full of pulverized structures, razed buildings, forgotten ruins that were former landmarks, and many more.

The Flatliner Team disembarked with Alvarez walking out first under the perpetually blackened skies of New Manila. From the horizon, he could see the Isko Moreno Tower, its peak piercing through the dark clouds beyond. For the citizens of New Manila, they see it as a symbol of might and tyranny due to the iron handed rule imposed by the Enclave Authority.

But for Enclave soldiers like Alvarez, they see it as home.

Around the mighty bastion of "justice", numerous buildings stood. Its heights will never hoped to surpass the Tower. It symbolized the Enclave Authority's elevated position over the filthy megacorps that simply wanted to exploit the land for their own gain, as well as the numerous criminals that lived at the base of the Tower. It was poetic.

Beyond, battered soil and dusty ruined pavement stretched around them. The immediate vicinity was populated by structures that had suffered ruination; formerly strong buildings that were now stripped bare down to its very foundation. Each devastation possessed an untold story and harbored wandering lost ghosts seeking refuge from horrible memories of the distant past.

It was one of the areas raped by the foreigners in the Great Unload 119 years ago. It was horribly violated even more when three large corporations had used it as a battlefield two decades ago for lack of suitable battlefield to wage their war. Both the Enclave Authority and the Nobilites of Haring Guillermo I agreed to mark the area as a Demilitarized Zone and no armed forces are to operate here, unless the purpose is defense.

Which is what they are going to do now since the Nobilites were too lazy to lift a finger to fix the problem.

Alvarez pointed at a roofless house and the Flatliner Team immediately sped towards that direction. They hid behind the walls of the destroyed house and listened at the gunfire audible around the corner. For a second they remained there in silence, until Alvarez gestured.

The Flatliners charged into the fray with a speed of ravening wolves.

Beyond, Gangpunkers in black leather jackets were seen. The frontliners of the group were armed with smuggled Fireblades that they must have bought from a fence for a very cheap price. Behind them, near the attacking Flatliners, the Gangpunkers were armed with assorted ranged weaponry.

Alvarez watched with fascination as the Gangpunkers tore their facial skins brutally as if it was just a cloth they wore. They revealed their "true forms"--chromed skeletal punks whose head suddenly combusted in flames. They were so bright that the colors of their skulls were glowing hot in red and orange, melting away the remaining synthetic artificial skin that remained clung.

The Gangpunkers of the Santelmo Dela Muerte had already sacrificed their original appearance in favor of the chromed 'skeleton' look. The implants themselves were tempered with furnace sheets--industrial machine components used for melting steel in corporate factories. How they got their hands on one, nobody knows.

The synthetic artificial skin was self explanatory. They were man-made dermal implants, previously used by Holoshifters before the holoprojection nano synthskins was redesigned and perfected by Enclave scientists, now used by the Minor Police Units in Vice Squads.

Opposite the Santelmos were Gangpunkers that were clearly an offspring of some Samurai Clan as evident of their quick and nimble reflexes and archaic weaponry augmented with the technology of the 2189. The Phantom Katanas wore dark grey dubok with black balaclavas over their heads. Their eyes sometimes glowed, tell-tale signs of cybernetic implant. Most of them wielded their signature katana swords, while some had nunchucks, Chrome-11 Rapidfire Pistols, dart guns and explosive shurikens. Both sides were obviously kicking on speed-mulants.

"Be aware, the chumboy ninjas and the fancy boy gangpunkers were under the influence of a booster drug called, Carbon Nectar." Flatliner Dinozzo said as they finally come in firing range.

"Then let's administer 'rehabilitation' procedures." Alvarez said as they took aim behind the backs of the Santelmos. "Open fire!"

The Bushido-Steel of the Flatliners illuminated the gloomy area with muzzle flashes. The Santelmos in the immediate vicinity detonated when rifle rounds perforated their backs and the bullets came flying out of their stomachs. The fourth and third line was instantly obliterated by the Flatliners. The second line, which were equipped with Fireblades, turned and charged suicidally at the Enclave soldiers.

"We don't have time to reload, switch to melee!" Alvarez said as he attached the rifle onto his back and drew out his own Fireblade.

A Santelmo engaged him in a close quarters combat. His movement was slowed down in Alvarez's perception by a great degree. The Flatliner clenched his left fist and sent it at the throat of his enemy, interrupting his attack abruptly.

"My drug is faster than your drug!" Alvarez yelled as he launched his left knee at the plated chest of the chromed cyborg. His enhanced strength crushed his target's metallic breastbone and it did not stop Alvarez in his frenzy as he decapitated his enemy by swinging at the Gangpunker's neck diagonally.

He sprinted towards the Gangpunkers who were currently engaged by the Phantom Katanas. Alvarez grabbed a Santelmo from behind and swiftly slit his throat with a quick motion. When he tossed the Gangpunker to the ground, Alvarez cocked back and launched his fist across towards the Phantom Katana in front of them. His armored knuckles smashed the nasal cartridge of the Gangpunker and the pressure had caused the Phantom Katana's cranium to burst apart in a spray.

Alvarez impaled a second Phantom Katana in the appendix while the Gangpunker was deflecting a strike from a Santelmo, whose knuckle claws were almost touching his enemy's temples. The Flatliner pulled his Chrome-10 RFP with his left free hand and casually fired at the Santelmo's head. He fired for the second time and the Phantom Katana hit the ground to sleep for eternity.

A submachine gun wielding Phantom Katana engaged him in a gunfight. Alvarez moved like a wind, his speed was unmatched by his assailant that he just simply became blur in his eyes. He fired at the space before him and hit nothing but air.

"I'm here you fancy boy!" Alvarez yelled before he stabbed the Phantom Katana in the face. He pressed the barrel of his Chrome-10 at the chest of the Gangpunker and opened fire without hesitation.

Gunfire and sword clashes emanated around him. He saw Flatliners dancing in the dark, every movement was dictated by the beat of the battle--the music of death comprised of dying screams, staccato burst of short arms fire and collision of bladed weapons against one another.

Sometimes he wondered how the Gangpunkers sees them as every time they arrive in the battlefield and announced their presence by "flatlining heartbeats".

He heard a street punker once muttered that they are the sons of Kamatayan. Alvarez grinned as the last of the Gangpunkers fell to the ground, motionless. The description matched them perfectly.

"DMZ is cleared." Santos spoke over the intercomms radio. "We're moving back to evac."

And then they left.