Lucas was left in shock at the opponent's deftness and agility. Most titans, even Ronins and the Stryders before them, were still relatively unwieldy compared to a pilot on the ground, and yet this one leaped and moved in a way that he could only compare to other pilots. It seemed almost like a blink of an eye before the hostile titan had broken through the dust and smoke and was directly in his face. What the hell kind of machine was this thing?

He couldn't help but simply sit there for a moment, staring back at the Madrys' sensors through his own. [color=6ecff6]"Tsk..."[/color] Lucas clicked his tongue in annoyance as the voice of Alms demanded his surrender. Cocky son of a bitch. He was confident enough to demand his titan from him, and Lucas didn't like being underestimated. Taking the opportunity given to him by the brief reprieve of Alms' demand for surrender, Lucas gathered his thoughts. He still had roughly half of his shields left over, which gave him an opportunity to do something at the very least, before Alms' counterattack would likely take him out of commission. He didn't recall Alms seeing him take damage, so it was entirely possible that he had no idea that he still had this final layer of defense, though he couldn't recharge it in such close proximity without suffering consequences. Turning this into a protracted battle would not be to his favor, he knew that much. This gave him a single opportunity and nothing else. Lucas brought one hand over to the emergency ejection lever as a smile spread slowly across his face. The Militia were far too fond of 'bonding' with their titans. As always, they lacked discipline, and while forming such neural links like with the Vanguard titans certainly held its advantages... The willingness to use and discard titans brought with it other advantages.

[color=6ecff6]"Alright, gearhead..."[/color] Lucas replied over open comms so that his opponent could hear. [color=6ecff6]"You win..."[/color] He releases his grip on his weapon, letting the chaingun fall to the floor with a loud clatter, and raises his titan's hands slowly, as if in an act of surrender. [color=6ecff6]"I know when I'm beat, but-"[/color] With a snarl, the Monarch lunges forwards, arms reaching out to grab hold of the Madrys. The weapons Alms threatened him with bit into his shields, shattering them as his titan called out its automated warning which Lucas ignored. The blades found purchase upon the Monarch's titanium skin, digging deep into the armor, but without the room for wind-up, they wouldn't be able to do much else. [color=6ecff6]"That doesn't mean I won't take you down with me!"[/color]

Lucas roars as his Monarch digs its heels into the ground, anchoring itself there as it holds the Madrys tightly, and he yanks on the ejection lever. Rather than simply falling apart and self-destructing, as with a normal ejection, the Monarch began to glow, light emitting from its innards as its reactor began to go nuclear and Lucas himself is shot up high in the air, far enough to avoid the fallout of his titan's nuclear detonation, even as his cloak kicked in to shield him from any onlookers hoping to take him out mid-air.