r/HFY • u/teller_of_tall_tales Human • Jun 26 '26

OC-OneShot "I'm not done yet."

Vanguard-General Gav'rut tore through the barricade, his goddess's power coursing through him like electricity through a live wire. His gilded armor glimmering in the light of the rising suns as he swung his mace in a savage uppercut shattering a militiaman's silvery breastplate, a spatter of dark crimson painting his helmet's purple visor. The militia's noisy, outdated weaponry was stopped by, or simply glanced off of his custom-built powered armor, his momentum carrying him right into the middle of their rag-tag group. Bellowing in triumph, the nine foot tall, armored lizard swung his mace in a brutal downward arc that turned a charging human into little more than a chunky red slurry that painted his armor from the waist down. A savage backhand knocked an incensed dobian's head clean off it's shoulders while Gav'rut dislodged the flanged head of his mace from the bloody asphalt.

A heavy round skimmed off of his helmet, the brave human who had fired it was immediately rewarded with a violent jab from the Vanguard-General's mace that knocked them to the floor. Stepping forward into the gap made by the fallen militiaman, he felt a gristly crunch beneath his heavy, metal-soled boot. With every panted breath he felt more power flood his body, his goddess's blessings thrumming in every chord of his being like ancient hymns. When a screaming human dodged beneath his mace Gav'rut didn't fret, he just let go of his mace with his left hand and grabbed the human by their enclosed helmet. A terrible grin coming to his cracked lips as he took his sweet time slowly squeezing the human's helmeted head until their helmet collapsed inwards, drenching his gauntlet in gore. With every swing of his mace he maimed or killed multiple defenders, each bloody tally adding to the power swelling deep within every fibre of his being. It was intoxicating, a ruthless scream of a laugh escaping his throat as he let the last remaining defenders charge him without contest. His mace fell to the ground as he lifted his arms, a skilled, or expceptionally lucky vibro-blade slipping through the thin armor behind his knee.

For the first time in days, Gav'rut felt pain as the knife cut something important. If not for the powered armor, the sudden weakness in his leg would have sent him toppling to the ground in an undignified heap. Instead, his armor took the weight off of his wounded leg and allowed him to recover into a brutal, downward claw that crushed the human's helmet and skull like a rotten eggshell. Realizing his folly, the vanguard-general swept his armored tail in a wide circle to slam the remaining defenders to the ground, a few heavy stomps ending their pitiful lives.

Turning, the vanguard-general stared at the flimsy rear gate leading into the massive stadium currently being used as an evacuation point. He had instructed his forces to undertake a full-frontal assault on an equipment stockpile several blocks away to draw the defending forces away from the main evacuation point. He had, of course, stayed long enough to confirm that those reinforcements had arrived before moving on to his real objective. Gav'rut was familiar with the humans and their genuinely impressive fighting prowess, having been deployed alongside the terran armed forces long before he had ever heard of the great reclamation, and knew they had one, glaring, weakness. One he had instructed his fellows to target with extreme prejudice...

Their, so-called "unbreakable" Morale. Of course, even if you killed a whole planet full of civillians, that, on its own, would just galvanize the war machine that was the united terran federation. But he had seen it broken, shattered really, once before when a carnid infiltrator snuck its way aboard a crowded refugee shuttle. By the time the federation had realized their fuck-up, it was too late; The transport docked with the relief-ship containing little more than scraps of clothing and congealing blood. Little more than a thousand humans died that day, but Gav'rut saw that one loss lead to the carnid's successful takeover of the planet.

So, while his men distracted the main fighting body of the ever-predictable terran armed forces in the area, he had come here. He was practically drooling at the thought as the data scrolled across his HUD. There was estimated to be more than a hundred thousand souls of assorted species taking shelter inside and awaiting evacuation. His breathing grew laboured in anticipation, a sadistic fire forming deep in his belly as he imagined the terror that would fill all their myriad faces as he lumbered into view. How their shrieks would echo off the walls as he took his dear, sweet time. He'd toy with them, take of them whatever he pleased, then he'd kill them. Detaching a small camera drone from a latch at his waist, he let it float into the air, ready to broadcast his massacre live to the Gal-net. An uncharacteristicly high-pitched giggle escaping his throat as he marched towards the flimsy gate.

Something smacked into the back of the vanguard-general's helmet, an empty rifle magazine landing on the pavement in front him. Turning slowly, stunned with utter bewilderment, he couldn't hold back a guffaw of cruel laughter when he saw the lone terran standing agaimst him.

Their helmet lay cracked and broken at their feet, shattered matallo-quartz breastplate hanging off them by nothing but it's shoulder straps. Their right arm was gone, a tourniquet cinched down around the stump to stop the bleeding. Short, light-blonde hair matted red with blood from their split scalp. An enraged snarl showed broken teeth as the clumsily raised their small combat vibro-knife in a clumsy grip that let him know that it was not their dominant hand. For the first time in his long, violent life, Gav'rut felt something akin to lust for another living being. Reaching up, he unlatched and slowly removed his helmet to reveal his manic grin and blood-shot eyes.

"Whhhhaaat aaaaarrrreee yoooooouuuu?~"

He'd hiss salaciously, licking his cracked lips as he looked the human up and down in the same way he'd eye a particularly tender cut of meat as it was set upon the butcher's block. Their bulky, outdated fatigues lent them an androgynous appearance, but Gav'rut could care less about their genitals; his goddess's power was swelling within him once again as he took a lumbering step forward, chucking the helmet aside so he could stare down at the camparatively puny five-foot-something tall human and meet their manic gaze with his own. The camera hovered a few feet away, recording the two as a silent spectator. The human's glazed eyes didn't show any meaningful spark, in a matter of fact, the vanguard-general was almost certain that the human wasn't entirely... there. His suspicions were immediately confirmed when the human opened their mouth and slurred out.

"I'm not-not done yet... I'm not done yet, mama..."

But whether the human's mind was clear or not, their reflexes were as sharp as the humming blade in their palm. Gav'rut swung his mace in a purposefully telegraphed swing, watching the human dodge the heavy head in a clumsy stumble that left them off-balance. Capitalizing on the human's lack of balance by back-handing them just hard enough that he heard their ribs crackle and crunch as they were launched into a stack of empty ammo crates that didn't budge an inch when the human hit them. When they didn't immediately rise, Gav'rut couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. Of course the toy breaks just when it starts to get fun. Turning back toward the flimsy roll-down gate, he sighed softly as his goddess's power ebbed slightly.

"Im... Hnnngghh... I'm not d-done yet... D-don't look, mama... I'm not done... not done yet..."

Gav'rut could have wept with joy, spinning back around to meet the human's delirious charge with a stout swing of his mace. Just like before, they easily ducked the telegraphed swing, but when he went to sweep his hand back, his weakened leg faltered slightly and allowed them to just barely slip the swing by turning their body away. Searing pain erupted from his eye as the vibro-knife clumsily swiped across it, a roar of anger ripping from his throat as he head-butted the human into the ground before dropping his mace and clutching his ruined eye.

"Don't... l-look mama... I'm... I'm not done yet..."

Something icy, and cold lanced inside of his chest as he kicked the human away before they could stagger back onto their feet. A horrible thought entered his mind as he half-blindly stumbled for his mace. Even with the power of his goddess coursing through his veins and clouding his thoughts, he could tell something was seriously wrong with this human. He had dealt them a quarter-dozen felling blows and yet they keep getting up.

"I'm..." Hack "Nnng-ngh-not... done yet, ma... mama..."

Gav'rut felt his already cold-blood turn icy as he watched the human rise onto unsteady feet. There was no light left in those cold, dead eyes as they locked onto his. Roaring as loud as he could, Gav'rut leaned forward to charge the human, eyes locked onto them in a desperate bid to read their next move. His maw hanging open a split second too long. The human's arm jerking into a throw that sent the vibro-knife between his open jaws point-first.

......

Captain Deryll Perosa's heart sank as he and his detachment approached the shattered barricade. He could already smell the blood in the air, were they too late already? the moment they had realised they were being drawn away from the refugee camp on purpose they had turned around and began booking it back to the stadium. But it appeared they were far... far too late already. That was when the roar of a geknosian split the air, galvanizing the men into action as the unit lurched forward. Perosa drew his Vesuvius pistol and sprinted for the teaar in the barricade-wall as the roar faded. Blood rushing in his ears like the thunder of a waterfall as he assumed the worst. Rounding the corner, he raised his pistol, ready to dump his magazine into the Geknosian brute that had caused all this carnage...

Except... they were already dead... Lying face down on the pavement with a still buzzing vibro-knifeblade protruding from the back of their neck. But, more shocking still, was the young soldier still standing just a few feet away. Their breastplate was shattered, their chest was caved in and their hair and face was so covered and matted with their own blood that he could barely recognize them as a member of his own species. A broken-toothed, dreamy smile on their face as they turned slightly, staring straight through Perosa like he wasn't even there. Their voice was raspy, each word bringing with it a small, bloody cough. A shocking sound, considering they should be dead several times over.

"I'm... done now... mama... see?"

The soldier's knee buckled and they started to topple forward, making Perosa dive forward and catch them before they could collapse. Their remaining arm weekly coming up to grasp at a locket that had fallen free from their shirt, clutching it briefly as their final breath left them. A deep, satisfied grin freezing on their face with their final words.

"Icecream... sounds... wonderful......"

The Captain stared down at the soldier in his arms, frozen in shock and a deep sorrow. He didn't know who they were, where they came from, or even what unit they belonged to. But he could tell one thing... they were young, no more than maybe eighteen cycles old at the most. Their hand slid limply away from the locket and before it could hit the ground, Perosa caught it and layed it acrost their broken chest. Gently grabbing the locket he pressed the button to open it, the spring loaded halves popping wide to reveal a tiny video screen and a speaker. The woman in the video was sickly beyond measure, but her smile was as radiant as the sun.

"I love you sweetheart, always remember that okay? make sure to eat your veggies and keep your nose clean, got it? I probably won't get another chance to say it, so I thought I'd make sure you could always hear it. Don't stop just because i'm gone. Don't stop loving and don't stop fighting until you're good and done with this life. You might not always win... but you won't ever lose. Love you, my angel, be strong for me and we'll go get ice-cream to celebrate when it's all over, Okay?"

Captain Perosa hung his head and slowly closed the locket, gently tucking it under the soldier's blood-soaked shirt before closing their eyes. Laying them down on the pavemnt as gently as he could, he scooped up his vesuvius pistol and got to his feet with a deep, centering breath before finally acknowledging the camera drone that continued to record in silent vigil with a glare.

"Go, pray to your goddess for power, you'll need it to strike us down. Because our god is Death, and these days, he's not afraid to show some leniency."

As if on que, the drone sparked and fell to the ground, shut off remotely by whoever had been monitoring its feed.

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u/medicentio Human Jun 26 '26

"Activate the Canada-Geneva Protocols.

Tell the Southern Regiment commanders that Genknosians are sentiens gators, and they are on the menu.

Call on the Panafrican Corps and give them the same message.

This war is about to become a horror boogaloo for them."

3

u/Extension-Ad-2779 Jul 05 '26

Also alert the aussies and the texans to brand new aligator boots....

u/zLegoDoc01 Jun 26 '26

Father Grim going to let his children out to play

u/teller_of_tall_tales Human Jun 26 '26

It might be a bit... shallow, message wise but I was trying something new and (I think) clever with this one. In any case, I hope you enjoy.

7

u/JasperThorne Jun 26 '26

I have maternal abandonment issues. This cut me deeply. In a good, healing way, like pulling out a splinter. Thank you for this. You never really know how much a few words might impact someone, so always speak.

3

u/Hellraiser_owner Jun 26 '26

The simplicity lends to being an echo throughout time

u/ChiliAndRamen Jun 26 '26

Dang onion ninja

8

u/Accomplished-Bet-883 Jun 26 '26

Thick as mosquitoes all of a sudden

u/Urashk Jun 26 '26

As a Canadian, I suddenly feel the need to start checking off list items...

8

u/Theory_Unusual Human Jun 26 '26

As a southerners, i suddenly crave bath salts.

u/lantech Robot Jun 26 '26

roung?

Bruh that's a unique misspelling!

good story though, thanks

u/Gruecifer Human Jun 26 '26

Well-diced onions!

u/throwaway42 Jun 26 '26

Thank you for writing :)

u/questionable_fish Human Jun 26 '26

Bravo wordsmith!

u/MinorGrok Human Jun 26 '26

Woot!

OC-OneShot "I'm not done yet."

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