The subway station shook from the massive bombardment that was taking place outside. About a thousand Renovatio Imperii players huddled underground, still trying to make sense of the events following their deaths.
Tiberius asked, "What the hell is going on? Why is the damned Federation attacking us? We're on the same side!"
Suddenly, both Ceasar and Tiberius received an alarming set of notifications through their guild menus.
Tiberius, who was the highest ranking officer of Renovatio Imperii behind Ceasar, had commanded a raiding group of 30,000 players on Cronos I, and all these had been killed and respawned on Terra. Only a thousand of these had followed Ceasar into the subway, while the vast majority fled in other directions or tried to fight.
And all those players who had stayed behind were being spam killed. They died over and over, losing levels rapidly. Most had been around LvL 21, but now the gap between the players with Ceasar and those who were left behind was rapidly expanding.
It became immediately clear what the cataclysmic bombardment from up above meant: The force which the players believed was still the Federation was using their air force to carpet-bomb the already-ruined Temple of Valor. They weren't only using bullets, but also bombs to kill as many players as quickly as possible.
So quickly, it seemed, that players couldn't even access their menus to disconnect because the destruction didn't stop for even a moment.
Ceasar could hardly believe the numbers displayed on his guild menu. Countless players were dying over and over, and there was nothing he could do about it. "No… I can't believe this…"
Tiberius gritted his teeth. "The NPCs are spam killing us?! Seriously?!"
Ceasar snapped back into action. "OK, listen up! Nobody is to leave this station, understood? Anyone who does puts his brothers in danger, and will be kicked immediately from the guild! Not to mention, you'll be bombed to death by the Feds!"
Tiberius was still staring at the menu. "But how did the NPCs learn that we lose a level every time we die? This is unbelievable."
Ceasar said, "The NPCs are intelligent and complex beings, sure, but I'm as baffled as you are. Maybe they don't even know. Maybe they're just hoping our Cosmic energy will run out at some point."
Then there was nothing to do but sit and wait as their guild members above slowly became worthless.
***
The massacre lasted several hours.
Eventually, the only players respawning were LvL 1.
At that moment, the spam killing stopped. The sudden disappearance of the respawn notifications, as well as the sudden silence as bombs no longer fell above, startled Ceasar.
He quickly sent a message to Septimus, a Renovatio Imperii player who was among those trapped outside. "What's going on?"
Septimus replied, "Thank God! The Feds stopped shooting at us and bombing us. Now they're chaining us up like animals and taking us somewhere, but I don't know where. But… These Feds are weird. They have completely different uniforms compared to the Cronos I soldiers."
Ceasar sent back, "Maybe they're simply a different part of the military. Some kind of planetary defense force. Anyway, we're going to try to free you. How strong is the enemy? What sort of forces do they have?"
Septimus replied, "There are ten V.5 assault mechas, like the ones from Cronos I. There are also several jet fighters and a lot of infantry and elite foot soldiers in battle armor. Probably over ten thousand. Their guns and armor are really high quality."
Ceasar tried to think of plans to help, but he had to admit that this force was well beyond their current strength.
The soldiers could easily be killed by a prepared force of Eternals who weren't simply running in panic, but the air force which had been bombarding the surface and especially the assault mechas were much too strong for only a thousand men. Especially since they were unprepared and didn't know the terrain.
Septimus asked, "What's the plan now, Chief?"
Ceasar replied, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until we receive reinforcements from outside."
Septimus's response was almost immediate. "Wait for what?? Why??"
Ceasar sent back, "It would be impossible to attack now, not without severe risk of losing everything. If it were only the soldiers, we could take them easily. But the moment the air force and mechas get involved, even I won't stand a chance."
Septimus replied, "Yeah, I see how it is. We sacrificed ourselves for the guild, but now you're abandoning us because we're just LvL 1. Fuck off."
Ceasar didn't answer this insult. He understood the response. Septimus had just lost six months of game progress, after all.
Instead, Ceasar spoke to Tiberius. "I'm going to disconnect from the game and talk to the guild leader in real life so we can organize a rescue mission.
"On your side, you stay here and organize a defensive sentry line. We must always have a hundred players online and guarding the station from strategic points. Most importantly, enforce the lockdown! The only things which can go outside are Engineer spy robots, understood?"
Tiberius saluted. "Yes, Ceasar. But what should we do if outside players discover this place?"
Ceasar said, "That's very unlikely, since they've captured everyone… But if anyone finds us, kill them."
Tiberius seemed skeptical. "What if they're Lord Of War or Hyrule players, our allies?"
Ceasar said grimly, "Then you kill them even faster. They were only our allies on Cronos I. Here, they're simply our rivals."
Tiberius nodded. "OK."
Ceasar said, "I'll try to make this quick. Realistically, of course, it will take days or even weeks to mobilize the fleet and to organize a rescue mission."
***
One week later
A fleet of 125,000 corvettes, three hundred destroyers, and even three cruisers emerged from hyperspace at the edge of the Terra Prime system.
At that moment, Ceasar logged back into the game and appeared in the subway station. He quickly noticed Tiberius talking with a dozen other players.
Tiberius was delighted to see Ceasar again after a week of absence! "Well," he said, "I hope you have good news."
Ceasar said, "Yes, very well. The Defense Council voted to undertake a rescue mission to Terra. At first, only the SuperGuilds agreed, but then it became clear that most of the top guilds also lost players on the northern continent. Eventually, almost all the guilds agreed to reform the Coalition and retrieve their players."
"This is act two of the Eternal coalition..."
Tiberius thought about this. "I see. So this could be considered act two of the Coalition of Eternals. What should we do?"
Ceasar said, "For the moment, you will disconnect and contact all the offline players in real life, telling them to log back on. We need every single player ready to take action when the time comes."
***
At this time, Hulk had just arrived with his team at the Temple of Valor. Their mission was to find Apophis's first team, as well as Chocolate and Banana, who had respawned here a bit ago.
A week after the Imperial purge, there was no sign that the slaughter had taken place, and no one had spam killed the Eclipse players upon their respawning.
According to what ThreeDog said, Hulk and the others should head to a parking garage near an abandoned shopping mall two kilometers from the Temple of Valor. Banana and Chocolate had already been given the same instructions and had arrived safely, he said.
So Hulk and his team made their way to it. There were no threats in sight, so Hulk ordered the other players to be on their guard and to infiltrate the parking garage. Though he hoped for the best, Hulk suspected that this might be an elaborate trap. They had begun to spread out when a scream rang through the abandoned halls!
Everyone rushed to the scene to find StarLight, one of the missing team members!
Hulk said, "StarLight! It's good to see you! Are you alright?"
Starlight sobbed, "It's you! Finally!" She jumped into Hulk's arms and embraced him tightly.
Hulk was confused. "Why are you so happy? What's going on?"
Starlight said, "We've really been through hell. But come on, everyone's waiting for you in our little secret hideout, including Chocolate and Banana."
In the end, it turned out to be alright. All the Eclipse players gathered on one of the huge concrete floors where the abandoned vehicles of the inhabitants of Terra were parked. Likely, those inhabitants would never be back to claim their belongings.
Hulk looked around at all his allies. "It's certainly nice to be together again after all the trouble we had getting here."
ThreeDog nodded. "Well, where is Apophis? Banana told us he was leading the mission. No offense, but that was what gave us the most hope."
Hulk chuckled. "I understand completely. Apophis is on Azerof's flagship. To the best of our knowledge, Azerof captured him and is holding our leader hostage."
