Chapter XXXIII: Crimson-hued Day in Pripyat

 Back at the laundromat, Rogue was pleased to hear the pseudogiant had been dealt with, and Strelok seemed ready to go as well. The new group, consisting of Boris, Dima, Hip, Rogue, Stitch and Strelok himself, set of to the centre of Monolith activity in the Zone, the Pripyat itself. Strelok told the group that he had passed through it many years ago, and seen it as an almost unpassable maze of death. If they wanted to survive there, they'd need to bring their best skills to this fight. The group agreed, and Rogue passed the Gauss Gun to Boris, as Rogue was already carrying quite a bit of the groups firepower. Boris passed his FAL to Hip who was still carrying what was effectively a break-action shotgun.

The Outskirts remained quiet once more. The group reached the way to Pripyat easily and entered the main city itself, weapons drawn and gear readied. The hunt for Eidolon was on. Pripyat proper was bathed in the same red glow that Boris had admired earlier. It felt appropriate, blood would be spilled a lot today most likely. Only seconds after entering the hollowed fortress of the Monolith, automatic gunfire filled the city. A siege of the Culture Palace was going on, as mutants seemed to be swarming the place. And not of the weak kind. Boris and Strelok climbed to the highest floor of the building they had entered Pripyat from. The nearby bus stop was under attack by a pseudogiant.

• Great, if I have to fight another one of those I'll go bankrupt, I already spent far too much ammo on the last one, Boris murmured.

• We'll let Monolith deal with it. Let's use it as a diversion to attack them from behind and secure our flanks before the main attack, Strelok said and jumped on the small stretch of roof overlooking the bus stop. He told Boris he'd provide fire support from there with his SG-550 Sniper, and Boris nodded. That SEVA of his was not meant for heavy assaults, that was for sure.

Boris ordered the rest of the squad to follow him and they begun advancing towards the bus station under Streloks' surprise sniper fire. Monolith soldier after another fell under the experienced stalkers weapon, 5.56 rounds piercing their battleplates. Before they could deal with this new threat, Boris was upon them, swinging his kukri and firing his shotgun at every enemy who dared to oppose him. Two Monolith warriors in SEVA suits tried to kill him with the M4 assault rifles but the venerable battlearmour took the blows for Boris and allowed him to slice one's head open and stab the other.

With his kukri still inside the other, he could see the warrior say his final prayer as he left this world for another. Be free, my brother, Boris thought as the soldiers eyes turned blankly ahead. As he drew the crimson-tipped blade out of the soldier, another fanatic rushed him, KS-23 held high. The brainwashed warrior was screaming something incoherent when a large calibre bullet entered his head from the side. Hip had seen Boris under attack and reacted accordingly, using Boris' new FAL to great effect.

• I like this one as well, you might not get it back anytime soon, she quipped and Boris rolled his eyes, loading his Remington full again.

In the upper floor, Rogue was cutting down the last worshippers of the Wish Granter and Stitch was trying to give Dima a medkit for his arm which had been grazed while Dima was trying to focus on not dying from the pseudogiant. Boris joined that particular fight and firing the entire magazine of his Remington into the beast finally brought it down.

• I take back what I said earlier, I hate these things as much as burers. They're almost as fat and stubborn as you are Boris! Dima yelled to him and was just about to lit a smoke when Stitch caught up to him and started lecturing him about the dangers of smoking. Boris couldn't resist a little grin at the sight, which Dima caught and grimaced at him.

• I'll ask Stitch to become our official medic at the Meadow soon unless you stop with those shitty jokes, Dima, Boris joked, but before Dima could respond Strelok arrived and told them to make haste with the attack now that the bus station was secure. They moved to the nearby building and started firing at the Palace of Culture which in turn was under attack by a chimera and pack of cats.

• So where's this shark guy anyway? Dima asked Rogue.

• What shark guy? Rogue responded, confused.

• Eidolon, that's a short of old shark, y'know? A big ass fish if I remember correct.

• Oh, alright. I think we need to draw him out and then blast him with the Gauss gun, the bastard doesn't die to anything else.

• Okay. Sounds a bit fishy to me though...

Boris rolled his eyes so hard they almost escaped their sockets. Here, in the heart of the Zone, and Dima was making fish puns. Goddammit, he thought. But he couldn't focus on the issue for too long as the Monolith were swarming their hideout. Dozens of warriors attacked them from all sides, and slug after slug Boris pierced their armour and made them drown in their own blood. The battle continued and both sides started to be quite battered, but everyone in Strelok's small army was still alive. That's when they heard it.

• I am Eidolon, chosen of Monolith!, the new arrival chanted, marching towards them, weapon held high and spewing bullets at them. He was wearing some sort of SEVA-exoskeleton hybrid and chanting all the way.

• Look, it's fishman himself. Boris, take out that Gauss gun and cook that son of a bitch, Dima yelled over the gunfire. Boris swapped his weapon to the Gauss gun, but the second he had gotten it out the chosen warrior was gone.

• I can't see him anywhere, where'd he go?, he yelled to the others, and they all shrugged while killing the last few Monoliths left.

• Damn, that guy is slippery like a fish, Dima said and Rogue slapped the top of his helmet which seemed to further amuse him. Boris scanned the surroundings carefully, but to no avail. He told the others to cover him and stormed into the square ahead, only to find the heavily armoured warrior standing there.

• I am Eidolon, chosen of Monolith. Who dares to challenge me on my holy mission?, he said, sounding extremely confident.

• I am Boris Unforgiven, leader of the Redemption, and I'm here to offer you just that, Boris responded and blasted the warrior as he tried to raise his gun. The shot pierced the armour and Eidolon fell down, his armour still smoking as he fell. The greatest warrior of Monolith had been slain. The rest of the group arrived at Boris' side.

• Welp, so much for him, Rogue commented as the last puff of smoke rose to the sky from the corpse of Eidolon.

• Ye, shame too, I was having a whale of a time, Dima responded.

• One more fish pun and I'll end you, Boris said to him.

• Good thing we aren't bandits, or else I could end up swimming with the fishes for this, Dima quipped and Boris groaned loudly.

• Jokes aside, we still have work to do, Strelok said before Boris properly responded.

• We do? I thought you only wanted to kill Eidolon for killing your groupmembers, Boris asked, confused but also sensing an opportunity.

• Yes, I did. But I still have business at the CNPP. You can join us if you want, but we're going there anyway, whether you help us or not.

• I guess you wont give me those answers Dushman wants if I don't help with that? Boris asked and as Strelok nodded, he continued:

• Well, shit. Guess we're going to the centre of the Zone then, he said, looking at Hip and Dima who nodded back, looks of excitement and anxiety on their face. Boris thought back for a second. He had started as a renegade hated by everyone in a forgotten shack in the Swamps and now he was here, with the most legendary stalker and trusty companions, about to storm the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, a dream only a few people could make a reality. Goddammit, he thought, the Zone really has a good sense of humour. Unlike Dima and his fish puns.