Watching the beast fall under her fire. Katya couldn't help feel a little proud of herself again. Her first proper kill of a Cruxi. Katya feeling like a proper soldier. This reminding her of the time she scored her first kill back home. With the beast die she smashed its burnt corpse to the side. Partly to get it out of her way and two to make sure it really was dead. Not knowing if these tentacled monastery's were clever enough to fake being dead. The last thing she needed was to turn her back and have it jump her. Seeing that Mai will at least according to her map was in trouble Katya began ordered her werk to move. Katya stopping in H4 hearing Mai telling everyone to evade that she had a hunch the MIST was about to fire. Much to Katya dismay she was right as the Cruxi weapon unleashed it attack. All Katya hear over the comms was the sound of screaming. The sound filling the Caretaker cockpit, causing Katya to let go of her controls. Covering her ears in some poor attempt to block out the disgusting noise, it doing very little as the screaming continued beamed into her cockpit crystal clear thanks her hyper-wave. Katya wishing that they'd all die quietly as there screams caused an unpleasant feeling in her gut to form. Katya afraid the MIST would simply continue its wholesale slaughter until this world have nothing living on it.
The moment the wave of radiation hit Elora and she started to scream. Katya felt the young pilots scream resonate with very core of her being. Unable to keep her emotions buried, the woman felt a tears well up in her eyes. One by one they started to fall running down her noise hitting the cockpit floor. Katya ignoring her werk as it warned her that her sync rate had dropped to 32%. "No, no, no, no, no. I've killed her ... what have I done ..." she thought wishing Elora scream would go away, Katya just wanting everything to stop. This was all to much for her and now Elora was going to die. However what Katya heard next came as very unexpected. She heard Elora or something that sounded very much like Elora, but more digital almost like the werk had taken it's pilots voice. Uncovering her ears she she grabbed her werks controls. Turning Caretaker to face Elora position, however stopped as she saw the MIST suddenly start to fly up. Katya watching it until it left visual range. "What ... how the hell? It's just ... flew away? Was that Elora? But ... how?!" said to herself utter disbelief, completely confused by the situation.
Never in her life had Katya been so confused by a situation the young woman staring up at the sky where the Cruxi super weapon moved to far away to be seen. Katya turning to face Elora, the young woman was unsure what to expect. The moment Caretaker was facing towards Elora. Caretaker on it own opened up a private comm link to Logic Gate and began to send statues update requests. Katya noticing this and after struggling with controls for a moment that seemed unwilling to respond to her inputs stopped the requests. Katya unsure what would happen ... would Elora respond to the request's and provide a status update Was she even alive? If so was she any fit state to see the requests and reply to them? Katya wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know if Elora was alive or not.
Wiping her eyes Katya looked at her map. Seeing that Logic Gate was still registering as active ... but did that mean Elora was alive. Katya wasn't sure. She wanted to run to the younger pilots side, to see if she was okay. To see with her own eyes had she gotten someone she saw as a little sister killed, but looking at her map she could see Mai need help. Katya feeling conflicted could she abandon Mai to the Cruxi leaving Ariin try to protect her on his own. Or could leave Elora to, hope she was okay and check on her after the battle. Feeling frustrated Katya slammed a fist into a console in front of her. "What do I do? Elora? Mai? Who do I try to help ... Mai has good chance of dying if I don't help her. Elora could already be dead ... but what if she's not and needs medical attention. What about Mai ... I can't just leave her the Cruxi. Her werk is barely hanging on as it is, Katya thought. With a heavy sigh Katya commanded Caretaker to continue moving towards Mai. Feeling that no matter how she felt she couldn't take the risk of potentially losing two members of her squad.
As she forced Caretaker to move she used the private channel Caretaker had opened. "Elora? Are you okay? Please tell me your okay?" Katya spoke hoping to gain some sort of response. Katya with a heavy sigh tried to bury her feels for Elora. In fact she tried to bury the fact Elora even existed. All that girl right now was causing Katya pain, that right now was something she need to block out. She'd deal with it later. That being said no matter how much she tried to bury he feelings, Katya couldn't stop herself worrying about Elora. The thoughts of her teammate keeping Katya's sync rate 32%. Katya growing frustrated as her mech felt slow and almost seemed to lag. To Katya it felt like the mech was trying to fight her, like it didn't want to do as she commanded it. The werk trying to do it own thing every so often, Forcing Katya to override and pilot with such so much force Katya was positive she would break her controls. Arriving in H5 Katya doubted she could reach Mai in time to help her, she could see Mai perfectly, she was only a little down the street and what looked like to be the remain of a building she had taken cover behind. "ARIIN! Fire at the CWMs in I7. Make it a big one, then deal with that sniper. Zero will assist you with sniper" she stated fighting with her controls to switch Marker Light into Marker Mode. Fighting with control she aimed at Mai "Mai, for now this all I can do. Caretaker isn't operating properly ... I'm sorry. This will light you up like Christmas tree, she said over the comms firing a Marker Shot at Mai activating her Eden drones she deployed 3 of them in setting them to home in on the Marker Shot.
The Drones leaping form their hanger hitting the road three load thuds. Leaving small craters where their legs dug into the road. The control node, sending instructions to the drones in single click the drone shifted into their homing mode. Scanning for the radioactive marker. Detecting it the drones began to scrabble towards the Marker as quickly as their legs could take them. Moving into H7 they detected the damaged Zero Angel. They scrabbled to it. Out of range of the control node the Drones mindlessly began their task of trying to repair Mai's werk to the best of their ability's. With he drones deployed Katya sighed as Caretaker seemed to lock up and refused to move any further. The young woman growing more frustrated as the machine, the one time she needed mech to simply work it was acting up.
Caretaker moves H3 to H5 Marker Shot fired at Zero Angel. (non attack move as dictated by the boss) 3 Drones deployed Moved form H5 - H7. Beginning Repairs to Neo Angle (drones operating autonomously)
Mai was down. Seemingly becoming emotinally unstable for the very first time in a LONG time.
If this were her first division, she'd be punished serverily for such unprofessional behavior. But Mai also knew it from the start.
This division...was changing her.
Anger. Sadness. Despair...worse, helpnessness.
"...damn it...damn it...damn it...I'm...broken...", Mai said, not realizing that she had said that on the open line.
As she tried to get up, she suddenly heard a booming voice.
"I won't let you hurt anyone!"
Mai then looked in the direction of Mist as it was already in the middle of it's attack. The screams of people...then...it just...suddenly shot into the air and just like that it was gone.
"...this is Neo Angel to Base. Sit Rep. Mist just...retreated from the battlefield into orbit...did...cadet Elora had something to do with that?", Mai said, actually sounding more confused than a drone as she also hoped that Lorenzo or Ritsu heard her and would give her a "logical" answer if that were even possible.
But with her cover of a building suddenly brought down, Mai didn't have the time to ponder what just happened. The Cruxi squad was still pursuing her and no doubt, the Cruxi Sniper was waiting for yet ANOTHER opportunity to hit her and perhaps put her down for good.
Then, she heard Katya speak on the comm link. Giving out orders, she then addressed her.
"Mai, for now this all I can do. Caretaker isn't operating properly ... I'm sorry. This will light you up like Christmas tree."
Understanding what Katya had planned, she responed, "Roger."
But now, she had another decision to make. She could try to go for broke with the self-detonation but none of her squad members wished for her to do so. Plus, with Mist gone, the numbers were more even. At least, for now anyways. But as things stand, engaging the Cruxi squad as is would get her killed. And just hearing Katya's orders, there was support being give from cadet Arin. If so, being anywhere near them would be inefficient.
So Mai made perhaps a reckless decision considering that Katya "marked" her with the node.
"Katya. This is Neo Angel. Attempting to regroup with you at H5. Stand by", "Seven" droned.
With no choice but to retreat, Mai proceeded to move north as much as possible. With her legs damaged and her wings damaged to the point of disabling her mini-thrusters, she relied on her main thruster unit to propel her north. She tried to keep low behind cover where possible. All that sniper needed, even at it's distance, was one good shot and Mai could suffer bad luck with her life ending.
And there was some part of her that said, "After that pitiful performance and loss of self-control, you deserve to die". But she shook it off as she focused on regrouping with Katya.
Note: Proceeding north to H5. Equipped: x2 Magum pistols (8/8), (7/8). Sync: 56%. Damaged legs, wings, mid section.
Serah was breathing heavily inside the cockpit of AA-XOTRY, staring at the two lifeless Cruxi corpses in front of her. The plasma on the framewerk's blade was slowly starting to form again, wobbling as it filled up inside the casing. The girl felt a trickle of cold run down the side of her head, lifting up her right hand from the controls to touch it. Even through the gloves she could feel it was wet, mainly due to how it splashed open against her cheek. "I'm... sweating?" Serah thought to herself, then pulled the hand she touched her cheek with away to look at it. It was clearly shaking. No, not only her hand was shaking. Serah could feel her entire body start to shake. "W-Why am I... shaking?" Serah softly murmured, slowly but surely coming back to her senses. The world flashed by her when she rushed forward to engage the two cruxi, somehow managing to cut them both down. The small girl felt... scared. She was shaking because she was afraid. She'd just finished charging head first into the fray, cutting down not only a tentacle beast but also the squad behind her. "Am I... afraid to die?" Serah asked herself. She was convincing herself only just a moment ago that it'd be best if she died. A martyr to the cause, fading away in history.
But she didn't want to die. She didn't want to part with the squad she had been training alongside these past months. She didn't want to be separated from everyone again. Maybe that's why she was so reckless. Maybe that's why she took control. Serah just wanted to protect her squad and at the end of the mission, return with them. "...Mission?" Serah mumbled, before it all hit her. Right, she was still on the battlefield! It was no time to drift away into fantasy now, there's still enemies left to neutralize! The girl quickly assessed the situation, swiftly concluding Atty was in even worse shape compared to before. The overcharged sickle took a huge chunk out of its energy reserve and seems to have wrecked the blade as it struggled to keep the plasma contained within its barriers. It didn't look like it had another minute to live. Serah looked at her camera feed and saw a solitary CWM in the distance, with another full squad a little bit away. Serah steeled herself and tried to say "I'll just slice it in half before my weapon shuts off," but interrupted herself in the middle of it.
No, she couldn't do that. Atty was breaking down and Serah knew it. She was already reckless enough in thinking she could take on an entire squad of Cruxi by herself, which got the machine in this state to begin with. If she charged forward, all it would do is leave her as a sitting duck to be killed off by a rain of plasma bolts, which would shred AA-XOTRY's frail armor. "...I'd be no use." Serah concluded, closing her eyes and balling up her hand into a fist. She felt frustrated, frustrated at the fact that she managed to effectively put herself in a situation where she was of no more use to her squad. She screwed up, again. She failed, again. This time something warm started to trickle down Serah's cheek, splashing open on the steel right in front of Serah's seat. Tears were streaming down the girl's face. "I'm useless... I can't do anything right!" Depressive thoughts started to rage inside the girl's mind, consuming her entire consciousness for a few moments.
"Defenders of Troas, this is Pilot Diabolus of Frame X-7, dropping into Troas as reinforcements. I got the sniper. Channel is open, tell me where you need me next, over."
A voice penetrated Serah's communications, snapping her out of the depressive bout. She came back to her senses, a quick "Pull yourself together!" being all the motivation she needed. If Serah got too upset at herself, Atty wouldn't like it. Plus, they were still in a battlefield. The girl couldn't afford this. "...Roger, X-7. Thanks for the backup." Serah replied back, deciding to take matters in her own hands again. "Magus, Yeager, give us a report of the situation. Eiswolf is closer by you, they can cover if you're in a pinch. Eiswolf... no, Sigma. Try to help them, but don't put yourself in a situation to get yourself killed. As for me... I can't continue fighting. I'm pushing Atty to the limit here, anything I'd do now would be more of a burden than a help. I'm going to have to pull back." Serah broadcast to every other Framewerk in the region, then sighed shortly after. She really wasn't the officer type... yet look at her here, pretending to be one. "Diabolus, I don't know who you are, but... stay alive." With that final message, Serah looked over to her cameras. To her left and front were safe spaces she could hide in, away from the crossfire. As much as the girl loathed to retreat, anything she'd do now would hinder her squad. The plasma blade powered down to conserve energy right before jamming, with AA-XOTRY's thrusters flaring up to propel the framewerk away from the battle.
Roger's hopes were briefly brought up when Magus managed to take out two Cruxi soldiers with one blast, but those were just as quickly dashed when a single shot tore through the entire machine. It didn't look like it was a fatal blow, but he wasn't an expert on Framewerk design, nor did he have the time to thoroughly inspect the damage. All he knew right now was that there was a giant tentacle monster rushing him, and none of his bullets seemed to be hitting the damned thing.
Roger would like to have had some sort of plan our course of action, or even some complex thoughts behind his actions and what was occurring, but there wasn't any such luck. When he fired his weapon wildly and inaccurately, all he could do was spare a glance at the elbow think to himself Shit. And just like that he was trapped in a bunch of tentacles and he seemed to be incapable of getting out. Even as he tried to squirm, the Synchronization was relaying every contraction of the thing's muscles around him. Even though he knew that the shared pain was having no affect on his actual body functions, he found himself barely able to breath. Over the straining of metal he heard a new voice, but the meaning of the words didn't really register. Behind the monster he could see the firing squad getting ready to blast them to smithereens still. It looked like there really was no way out.
Through the fuzz starting to accumulate on the peripherals of his vision, an idea came to him. It was stupid, and reckless. Something that he was certain that he'd never want to do again. But it was the only thing he could see kind of working in this situation. Roger forced his arms to move away from his body as he resolved himself to complete this single action.
"Sorry you old bastard, I might end up wrecking Yeager again." With one mighty thrust, Roger suddenly blasted his Overboosters to full blast. However, unlike during the training "exercise," his intention was not to ram the fucker into a hard object. No, the plan was for the sudden change in velocity to force the creature to let go of Yeager. From there he'd have to work it out. It was a single idea, not a plan of any sort. Hopefully the next step would be avoiding getting blasted by a firing squad.
Ariin coughed loudly his turning on his comms, his body buzzing with pain. His robotic eye had lost connection to his brain, not to mention Paladin's less than graceful landing on the ground. His forehead had slammed into the console, he could taste blood in his mouth... Taste like copper, his body on fire he bit his lip and turned the canon towards I7 firing off a single road. "Katya... I took a lot of that radiation... I might not be dead now but my eye's offline, the pain is intense to say the least."
He wiped his mouth and touched his nose, broken probably from his face slamming the console his eye might have cracked as well. "I'm not ordering you... But Mai if you can make it back to me I can lock down and protect you while the drones do their thing... Plus I'm sure what the fall did to Paladin's armor systems." He locked down his shield facing the sniper keeping his canon pointed towards the squad in I7. He turned his head grumbling rotating his eye to see all of the read out's he found an optic cord and plugged into his head.
He gasped it sent a spark down his spine that made his skin crawl, he hated it more than anything. Yet right now with Paladin's help he connected his brain into the behemoth seeing through the camera's like eyes. "All units, I just plugged myself into Paladin... Sight's back be warned my body is not in good shape, I may expire... Or have a lot tumors when this is over." He chuckled before breaking into a cough, radiation poison was a worry right now. After all he would need a rather capable medical staff to get him ready for another mission.
Assist with the sniper? From this distance he could only hope to close the distance and serve as a distraction. He took a look at the scanners and made note of this distance, no way could he actually do anything to the sniper from this distance, and Wave Surger wasn't ready to fire yet either. The best way to distract it would to make his movements obvious. But he couldn't make any mistakes his armor was shot, the active jammers were out of commission. He needed something to supplement his own armor with. He grabbed the remains of the Tentacle Beast and slung it over his shoulder over his side facing the Sniper. They had already proven that they did not hesitate to fire on their own, but Zim hoped that it's body would at least reduce some of the damage if he did get shot.
Equipped now with the body of his former foe as a shield, Zim asked Blackstar to dash to B2. He moved fast as he could at first, but slowed down behind buildings to mess with the snipers timing if he was going to try to take a shot at Blackstar.
"Listen. We've all made it this far, we are going to make it out of this alive. Ariin, I survived the vacuum of space with a beam through my chest with only my space suit to stop the bleeding. If they put me back together on a terraformers ship, I'm sure Lorenzo knows somebody that can handle your tumors."
He paused as he dashed between buildings. "Seven, you are not broken, mearly bent. Reshaped and yet still unyielding. Fight on!"
Another street to surge through, he stopped for another moment longer before continuing through both this gap and the next. "Elora, can you hear me? What is your status? Let us know you are still in there, please!"
"Katya," Zero addressed his junior while pauseing behind another building for cover, "Stay strong. Stay focused. Don't let them shake you. It'll only make it worse. There will be time for tears when this is over, now is not the time."
Arriving in B2, Zero kept Blackstar behind a building for cover. He didn't longer towards the corner for fear that it wouldn't hold up against sniper fire if he decided to shoot anyways. He waited as he watched his sensors and status lights.
Magus staggered, and Daniel choked- on the monitors, his heartbeat stuttered and he gasped, clutching at his chest as Magus suddenly had it's footing removed, crashing to the ground. Cameras showed the beast wrapping itself around Yeager, and plasma fueled hellfire engulfed the city all around them. In the background chatter of the coms, he barely registered X-7 or AA-XOTRY, other than the request for support. "Magus reporting, Yeager is constricted and unable to move. My core weapons systems are down and out." It would be moments before the Cruxi squad arrived, and then they would both be dead. Magus possessed medium armor, but that wouldn't hold out long enough for anyone to arrive. He canceled a horde of red alarms and blaring speakers for the second time that fight, and then Daniels eyes grazed the command console, Capacitor 1: Charged Capacitor 2: Charged Capacitor 3: Charged and he was back on coms, speaking rapidly. The only weapon he had left would be deadly to friendlies nearby- which really gave him one option.
"This is Magus. Do not approach sector C2 unless Magus is visible on radar. I repeat. Do not follow me. Complete the mission." He prepped the boosters, smiling as the enemy cruxi hesitated to engage- it appeared they actually considered the tentacle beast valuable. It was interesting, and part of him wondered if the beast was sentient, or simply expensive. Daniel closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. He had one shot, and it wasn't a great one. Fortunately, he didn't have to aim. "See you in the next life, Yeager."
He activated all of Magus's boosters at the same time, targetting C2, and was surprised when Yeager's boosters fired up as well- pulling the opposite way. Hopefully the force of the two opposing thrusters would make the beast let go- that or rip off its appendage in the process. If he could make it, the plan was simple; On entering C2, attach all capacitors to the electrical field generator... and drop in on the squad like a fist of divine judgement. Hopefully Magus's armor would absorb enough of their shots to stop them from killing him instantly- but wether he was alive or dead, those capacitors were going to unload on something.
Missing Arm, Core Weapon System Destroyed, Syncro down 4% Magus - Move: C1 -> C2 Action: Activating Electrical Field Generator (3 Capacitors)
Sigma gritted her teeth, as the battle unfolded. Her target had been obliterated, but the IFF display on her screen told of an ominous prospective. The red dots were dropping, yes, but the blue ones too. "Damnit, and we've not taken a shot at the main objective." Sigma growled, just like Irina would've done. This was quickly turning into a slog against the Cruxi, as neither side seemed to gain a clear momentum.
Serah was dropping out, after having thrown herself in the thick of the battle. They just were too many cockroaches, and they had exhausted her comrade. "Roger that, Serah." Sigma clenched her teeth. "Live another day." She said, as she took aim at yet another of the cockroaches (otherwise known as CWM), and made her shot.
Yeager was in no better state, and then there was Magus, who was throwing himself as a live grenade. He wanted to go out in a flash. A last salvo to pierce the battlefield.
Pierce.
That was the word.
"Wait Serah. One last thing. Tell the fleet to aim five gridpoints south and two east of the following EM detonation. We will use Magus as flare. Tell them to use the ion cannon on Mist." Sigma gritted her teeth, as she relaid, still sulky and growling. She let go of the intercom, as she started her boosters. "Just a little more. Keep going." She started her boosters once again, moving slightly to the north to wipe out the remaining troops.
Sigma Shoot> CWM at B3 Move> A5 to A6 Order Serah to tell the fleet to use big guns on the pilot Blender.
The fighting was turning dire, as the pilots struggled to live through the relentless onslaught, when a new Frame arrived at the scene, dropping down and causing the earth to shake like an extinction-causing meteor. The metal warrior's M-810C Railgun eapon system managed to be charged as well, but due to the difficulty of the maneuver X-7 botched the landing, and almost fell over from the sheer impact. The pilot felt a great pain in his ankles, like his bones would bend, but the Frame's low weight point prevented a collapse.
The sniper Cruxi immediately made its cowardly move and unraveled itself down to street level, but the shot was made in that very instant as a reaction, extending Jason's reflexes to their limit. The armor-piercing shot impacted with enough power to not only shatter the enemy, but also wreck an entire neighborhood around the unit, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent lives.
Despite the horror, the absolute despair of the situation a young girl like Serah has been thrust into, the pilot still attempted to organize a counter-attack against the looming threat over the colony, and by extension, the entire planet. Then, she did a hard choice, and dashed away. The young pilot has fought hard, with tears in her eyes, but now she had to dry them, for her fight was over.
Two Frames were bound, not only by the tentacle beast between them, but also by the red string of fate; the both of them knew, in that situation, if they were to survive, they would have to work together. Roger, struggling to breathe due to the pressure on his body, heard Wilton's farewell message in the comms. In that moment, Roger came up with a new plan, his determination unyielding in the face of devastation, and a breath came from his lungs, a powerful sensation that rippled with shining energy to his very core. Was it his own breath? Or was it someone else's, standing by him, and driving him over his limit? His synchronization experienced a spike like nothing before.
Roger didn't need to understand, for he already had his mind set, dashing simultaneously with Wilton. The beast roared in pain as it was pulled by Magus and rammed by Yeager, it's tentacle stretching, until it was ripped apart. Like dual slings, Magus and Yeager shot through the air, one going once again far beyond any safety limits, seemingly going to crash hard, as he did against the Homunculi. But, as a result of his new-found second wind, Yeager suddenly braked with it's feet, sending the beast flying, it's tentacles either ripping off or releasing due to the confusion, both of them rolled through the streets, managing to slow down, before the beast crashed right on a water tower, causing it to roar in pain, it's tentacles spurting out green blood everywhere like hoses. The Frame one the other hand managed to barely slow down to a normal dashing speed before crashing. It sustained major damage, with multiple fractions across it's armor and both ankles broken, but it's functions were still intact. Roger, once he came to, felt someone nodding in approval, before it was gone.
Meanwhile, Magus launched itself with high velocity, and pulled out it's one last ace against the death squad before him, activating his Electrical Field Generator with all of the power left in the broken Frame. Plasma fire hastily rained on him, but the field absorbed the energy of the shots and distorted them around him, like an induction coil would distort electromagnetism around him. This caused the capacitors to overload, and the supercharged electric field shocked the three CWM's like a thunderstorm of the gods, scourging them with lightning, their limbs flaying erratically. Everyone fell, possibly dead, but assuredly incapacitated. And with that, Magus performed his one last moment of glory before his overloaded systems short-circuited, and the Frame lost all power. The armless warrior fell for the last time, Wilton's noble sacrifice saving the both of them.
Sigma managed to keep her hands steady, her concentration unwavering even as a drop of cold sweat dripped over one of her eyes, and the lone surviving Cruxi to the side of another squad was destroyed with a pinpoint shot. She relayed her orders, taking the mantle of command from Serah. But just as she managed to say it, he felt a terrifying presence envelop the battlefield. She turned, and saw that Mist actually began moving as it hummed in incomprehensible tune, glowing ominously. It was slow, but as unstoppable as the lunar eclipse, drifting ever closer, possibly with the intent of going on the offence now. It was clear, that time was running quickly out. The events in Joppa would go down in history as one of the strangest battles fought: In an instant, a lone pilot trashed out, and a deadly super weapon was ejected, leaving no trace of it. However, Elora's suffering only continued. She held her head, screaming out in anguish, and didn't notice the multiple requests Katya's Framewerk Caretaker had sent to her. The two pilots were suffering from the effects of Synchronization, but in both sides of the spectrum; one side had become too synchronized, and the other too little, to fully control their respective Frames. Yet, despite the mental strain on her, Katya continued reaching out to Elora, not giving up on her despite the seemingly hopeless situation.
Elora heard Katya's pleas, and she managed to open the comms with a wavering hand. She breathed hard through clenched teeth, and worded out:
"Make...Make them stop..."
Zim also called out to her, requesting for her status, but only heard a violent scream in response:
"MAKE THE SCREAMS STOP!"
Katya saw how Logic Gate trashed around, seemingly struggling for control with Elora. Gravity around her seemed to be reversed, as buildings were yanked from their foundations and even the ground itself was crumbling, before uneven blocks of it also rose. Whatever was affecting her, it was clearly too much for the young girl to handle.
Katya understood the reason behind her loss of control, and it was that epiphany in her which granted her the opportunity to move and shoot at Neo Angel following a steady rise in synchronization. But what seemed to be an attack turned out to be a supportive move, as drones were released, skittering through the ruined streets like giant mechanical spiders, before they clung onto the devastated Frame. They blasted cooling gas to extinguish the remnants of plasma on it, and then began connecting split circuits and welding together armor plates to the best of their capability.
However, as much as the drones tried, they didn't manage to restore any lost functions due to Neo Angel's desperate escape. Mai dove inelegantly, legs dragging behind it as it crashed through another building, her armor bent and scratched from the violence to it. However, such a maneuver saved her life, as she managed to avoid most of the plasma fire raining on her. Unfortunately, one of the drones were destroyed in the barrage, and a shot separated one of Neo Angel's legs from the knee, leaving the limb behind as she managed to keep more rubble between herself and the enemy, her once white Frame now stained black from both the green fire and the dust of destroyed homes. It was a miracle she still survived.
Ariin, having experienced the weapon that had taken the lives of an entire Framewerk squad minus one survivor, knew what was at stake. Despite the encroaching tingling on his skin that quickly turned to unpleasant pain, he managed to continue on. He was half-blinded, yet in his condition he shot far south, towards the squad of Cruxi occupied with eliminating Neo Angel. The shot managed to hit one of the seemingly unobservant Cruxi, the impact causing it to fly a short distance before it crashed, scattering pieces. Then, in a very dangerous move, Ariin directly connected his consciousness to the Framewerk's sensory network. The experience was horrifying, and the pilot felt like his existence could be erased at any second, his mind lost into the machine's depths. Yet, he managed to hold onto his will for now, seeing clearly across the battlefield in a 360-degree radius, and he experienced a spike in synchronization. But he was now at risk of losing himself forever, were he to suffer any mental stress...
Black Star dashed, and the Cruxi Sniper took aim. However, the enemy was confused; at first it didn't recognize the make-shift shield Zim ingeniously used during his dash. However, this wasn't enough, as the tentacle beast slowed Zim down and the sniper hit the Frame in the shoulder. However, the hulking frame of the beast slowed down the shot, and the arm was only partially crippled; fine motor functions were lost, but the arm could still move and grip onto the scythe.
The situation at Joppa seemed to be turning in the favor of the Framewerks, with most of the opposing Cruxi dead, with no casualties on the human side. As a result, a tiny seed of hope may have begun sprouting in the chests of the pilots. But, what hope there was, quickly degraded into unimaginable despair. Ever since Elora took out Mist, there was strange clicking noise in the ranks of the Cruxi. But now they stopped, with a sudden arrival. A group materialized right before Elora, seemingly unfazed by reality ripping apart around them.
The mecha that seemingly teleported into the battlefield was unlike anything ever seen from the Cruxi before. It was smaller than a tentacle beast, but taller than a CWM, and moved with the kind of elegance and grace that seemed absolutely impossible for a giant construct. Indeed, one couldn't be helped but be reminded of Irina when she activated her inner power. However, unlike her, such power seemed to come to the pilot of the machine, if it could be called that due to it's seemingly organic metal, as naturally as breathing would. It was flanked on both sides by two CWM's but these were blue, with double the amount of arms and giant weapons jutting out from their back; these were seemingly the mech's bodyguards.
With a flick of it's wrist, a floating blade-like object spun around it, before it was pointed towards Elora, and then launched. Elora screamed, and Logic Gate held out its stubby arms towards it; the weapon was suspended in midair, before it was thrown aside. Elora then launched the buildings surrounding her towards the elite Cruxi, but the opponent simply swatted its hand, resulting in the giant projectiles missing. The mysterious enemy simply stood there, looking towards Elora, and suddenly she screamed:
"No...Get out of my...head..."
However, unlike the vicious screams from before, this was a weak one, as if she was overcome by something, followed by silence. Logic Gate suddenly turned limp, and the elite Cruxi slowly walked towards it. Katya heard from the comms that Elora was breathing calmly, as if she never had her episode of extreme distress. Whatever the red mech was capable of, it was clear that it had immense power beyond human understanding, surpassing every single Framewerk on the planet.
This battle for proving to something beyond anything Katya had experienced in her short time a Framewerk pilot. Seeing The MISTs fire wiping out millions of people in the blink of an eye. To Elora wishing it away as it never existed. Hearing Elora tell her "to make it stop." Katya wasn't sure what she should do, still feeling divided on helping Mai or Elora. She couldn't do both, Katya knew that. The young woman watching as the building around Elora where ripped out of the ground and the ground itself began to crumble. "What the hell is going on?" she thought seeing the destruction Elora was causing to the colony. Missing Mai desperate escape form the Cruxi CMW's. Katya was focused on Elora aiming every sensor she had at the other pilot. Trying to gather data on what was happening to her. Katya wanted to go to the younger pilot and try to help her, however Katya was unsure how Caretaker would fair being near Elora. Still hearing her voice boosted Katya's sprits and allowed her to bury her negative feelings, well at least for the moment. Her Sync rate quickly starting to climb closer towards it normal figure.
With Mai nearby Katya felt a pang of relief. For the moment Mai was safe, although Katya was well aware it wouldn't be for long. Positive the Cruxi would follow. Katya feel a little bad for what she was about to do. "Ariin I want you to protect Mai on your own. I'm going to try and stop Elora form ripping the colony apart. I know you must be suffering. Please just hold out a little longer. We are almost done." Katya stated as she started moving back towards the PDF base. Katya feeling bad for Ariin, but at the same time wondering what it had to be like connected to his werk, directly. Katya only knowing it was highly dangerous. Well according to what she was told. Despite that Katya didn't object when Ariin had stated he was connecting to his werk. Katya still needing Ariin in the fight, even if it meant taking a big risk. She happy about letting him do it, but for the moment saw no other choice.
Katya just reached the now empty PDF base when a squad of three Cruxi suddenly appeared, Katya cursing as she took cover behind the command building. Observing the three new Cruxi, it didn't take her long to notice that these new comers where not normal units. The two CWMs didn't look normal and the other unit ... well Katya didn't even recognize. Whatever that unit was Katya thought it had to be some sort of commander, or maybe some sort of specialist. She wasn't sure, either way more enemy units could spell trouble. Especially if they could just suddenly appear out of thin air. To make matter worse they seem unfazed by what was happening around them. From behind her cover she could see Elora and these new Cruxi. Katya wanting to rush in and try get them away form Elora. However common scenes told her that was simply a stuipd move. One that would most likely end in her death. Staying back Katya started to scan the Cruxi with every sensor Caretaker. Watching as the unknown Cruxi engaged Elora in what she'd call ... well Katya wasn't sure. Just what was she seeing?
It was when she heard Elora scream "get out of my head" Katya felt a pang of dread. Just what was that Cruxi? It clearly was on another level and something Katya was sure she'd not be able to take on her own. Katya as feeling concerned for Elora as her friend and as commander. Katya unsure what the Cruxi would do. Would they simply kill her or would the Cruxi have an interest in her. Either way Katya didn't want to find out. As she strained to think of a way to deal with Cruxi without getting herself killed. Unable to see a way to do this on her own and knowing the rest of the squad was busy. Katya saw little choice but you use the command channel and request support from NOAH. Hoping the ship would be able to help or deploy something that could help.
Quickly tapping at her comm screen she opened a channel. Hoping the Hyperwaves boosted signal would get a clear message though the Cruxi jamming. "This is cadet Romanovna to NOAH. Requesting support Joppa colony. Unknown Cruxi unit as entered the battlefield. showing unidentified abilities, Current location is Map grid F3. Cadet Liu'un as also displayed unknown abilities, unknown Cruxi as subdued Cadet Liu'un. Current status is unknown but believed to be alive. Over." Katya stated the feeling of concern growing.
With her request out. She had no idea if NOAH would get the full message. Until then Katya felt she needed to buy time or at least try to keep the Cruxi of Elora. If Noah didn't provide support, Katya hoping she could at least keep the Cruxi distracted long enough to allow Elora to awaken or ... well something. Katya didn't really know what would happen, everything she had just seen. Katya wasn't sure what to expect. Taking aim at the CWM in F4, thinking out of the three the two CWMs be easier to put down quickly. Although she doubted they'd be quick easy kills. Katya hoped she'd have element of surprise and with that be able to get a shot or two in before the Cruxi turn on her. Hesitating for a second she took a deep breath. Hoping she wasn't about to make a fatal mistake. Flicking Marker Light into attack mode. She open fire on the CWM. Snapping a pair of shots of before taking cover.
Caretaker moves H5 to G4 Requesting support form NOAH (Hyperwave) Attacking CWM in F4 Marker Light (attack mode) Drone Count 5 of 6 (2 drones deployed (Neo Angle) drones operating autonomously)
Zim didn't have time to react to the newcomers. The pain in his arm didn't do anything to help his focus. His shoulders burned and now his left arm had a sharp pain. His legs were starting to cramp up too, but that was just from the stress of combat, not because of the neural link to Black Star, but it all worked against him anyways. Crouching behind a building for cover Zim assessed his approach options. The cruxi shield he improvised did work, but not as effectively as he would have liked. Zim flexed his left hand open and closed and watched as the mechanisms struggled to do even that basic task. The wave surger was finally cooled off enough that it had become usable again, but he would need to wait for it to charge before he could use its beam, he could close the distance and fire it and hope it latched onto the sniper without having to get too close, but any decent sniper would be on the move as soon as he got that close, with the damage to his arm, targeting would be even harder than normal.
It was his best option, he had to close the gap anyways, he would try to launch wave surger along the way. Now it was just a question of getting close enough without dying first. The sniper's rate of fire was fairly slow, so if Zim could get the sniper to waste the shot he could rush close enough to fire the wave surger, but it might not work either, and cost him his shield. Zim cursed that initial moment in combat where he lost his wing shields and his stealth equipment. If Zim still had these he probably could easily have closed the distance.
"Oh well, that is in the past," Zim said with a sigh. He took another moment to pause and collect his breath, he slowed his breathing to ease his pulse. Zim needed to be able to push past the pain, to be able to focus. "Alright partner," Zim said to Black Star, "Here is the plan. That sniper knows we are behind this building, he is probably just lined up and holding his breath waiting for us to pop out and into his shooting lane. He also knows we are using that beast as a shield. It worked once, it probably won't hold up a second time, so now it is going to be a distraction. Ready?" He paused as if waiting for a response, did those status lights just blink green for a moment? "Alright partner, let's go!"
Zim pushed the beast as far to the edge as he could, he made sure part of it stuck out into the roadway so that the sniper would spot it and focus on that side of the building. He waited one second, two seconds, and then Zim punched the controls, pushing the Cruxi carcase out into the open. Zim didn't wait to hear the shot, he sent Blackstar the other direction around the building. If it worked then Zim would use basic evasion manoeuvres to close the gap as much as possible, as quickly as possible before stopping to take cover again. If it didn't work and Zim never hear or saw the shot get taken, then he would have to be more cautious in his approach and try to take cover more often.
Serah watched the cityscape fly past her as AA-XOTRY dashed through it, quickly fleeing from wherever she was previously. The girl's nerves were still on edge, but calmer compared to before. When she stopped for a short break near the edge of the colony, Serah had her framewerk turn to look back towards the battle. Right at that very moment, a bright flash of light enveloped her camera feed and even blinded the poor girl for a short while. When Serah's senses came back to her, Sigma shouted something over the communication channel about telling the fleet to attack south-east from a ... detonation? "H-Huh? Sigma, what are you-," Serah wanted to question it, but soon found out what she meant. Magus' signal was lost. After seeing that, it took her only a split second to piece the puzzle together. "W-Wait... you're kidding, right?" The girl mumbled to herself in disbelief, starting to breathe a little more quickly again. "S-Sigma? It's... a joke, right? It's not... funny..." Serah opened up a private channel with the one who warned her about it, her voice audibly trembling.
Sigma gritted her teeth. The damn thing... it had begun to move. She had been banking on delaying the confrontation until a windfall happened to clue her in how to assail the undefeatable. But this wasn't a fairytale. Even if someone else had come to their aide, he wasn't a victorious champion. Magus knew. He knew that this fight demanded much more than what one could initially thought. Mind, flesh... and even one's soul.
She gripped her controls, trying to rein in the dread that was making her shake, but somewhere in her mind, in all that tempest of emotions, she wasn't letting herself fall victim to panic. She was just... slogging, keeping herself steady.
"No... it's not a joke." Sigma finally answered with aplomb. "This...this is real, Serah. As much as I wanted it not to be. Hahaha... I'm just barely better than you... my voice ... can crack at any time." Sigma twitched, letting a small nervous chuckle get past her.
"I'm so sorry. So... really sorry. I cannot avenge the ones who have fallen. Magus... Rostosov... Heck, that thing is making a cozy nest out of..." Sigma stopped, dead silent, as she poked the screen.
"..." She was silent. "Ah, who I am kidding. I don't think that vandalizing Harold's remain and exploding the live ammo will get us through." Sigma cackled again, this time in the verge of tears. "And that thing's moving."
Everything was messed up. Serah tightly clutched AA-XOTRY's controls whilst biting her lip, hard enough for a slight trickle of blood to run down her chin. It took everything of her just to keep her nerves in check. She knew she couldn't reasonably think straight anymore, so she looked for help in her friend on the battlefield. "S-So... then, what do we do?" Serah asked, getting a swift response.
"Well, since we're about to die regardless, how about a little fairytale?"
"F-Fairytale?" the girl asked, confused.
"Yep." Sigma said, tired. "There was once a man in ancient history, who was tasked to defend a bridge from a horde of enemies. He was vastly outnumbered, with no hope to win. However, he stood there. Nobody could've blamed him turning tail rather than facing such enemy." Sigma rambled on. "...and do you know what he did?"
Serah choked on a laugh, though it wasn't a happy one. "Hah... I know this one. He fought anyway, right?" she asked, her hair falling down in front of her eyes. Those words were slightly comforting, but this wasn't a fairy tale. "Well... go on." Serah pushed Sigma.
"He did." Sigma continued. "But that's not all. Before he charged ... he did something else. He knew something. He was but a man, and only one. But he knew that where one man would do it, another could do it." Sigma cleared her throat.
"Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate: 'To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his Gods.' "
Sigma let out a tear. "I believe... that if we want others to live. That if we want everyone else, or even us to survive, we have to fight again." Sigma choked. "I won't hold it against you that you do not want to fight anymore, you've done so far already. But we really need a last push, Serah. Even if that means-"
"Shut up," Serah softly choked out between her sobs, succeeding in cutting off the other girl. "I-I know... Even if I ran, I'd get charged with treason and executed anyway." Serah exhaled heavily, remembering the laws that firmly got implanted into every soldier's head. "A-And... even if I wouldn't, I still won't run." The girl slowly started to speak louder, her voice gradually being filled with more determinaton.
"'Cause... I'd just make everyone suffer if I turned my back... a-and I don't want that! To go through things so horrible...? Why would I want that for ANYONE?!" she suddenly screamed at Sigma, surprising herself. Serah was breaking character pretty badly here. "...There's something we can do, right?! Anything at all?!"
"Well... I was thinking of detonating Rostosov, but I don't think that much will be enough. My railgun power supply isn't enough to electrocute that thing even if I ran up and fired at its face, risking the brunt of that weapon..." Sigma answered, her eyes wide and expression completely offguard taken aback by Serah's outburst.
Serah bit her tongue. Sigma was right; Neither of those two would work. Sigma's weapon wasn't powerful enough for that. If the girl still had her plasma blade, the extreme heat could've-
Wait. The girl did have some plasma left, but it wasn't on her blade. Cold shivers ran down Serah's spine when she realized exactly where it was located. If that plasma could connect with Rostosov, the explosion would be... huge, to say the least. But it'd completely... "No!" she yelled suddenly and without provocation, rejecting the very idea of harming her Atty. This framewerk was basically an extension of herself, so she couldn't sacrifice it, right?
Sigma blinked not once but twice. "Huh? What's that no for? Someone has to go there, and save the city!"
The older girl flinched when she heard Sigma's response, snapping her out of the slight panic she found herself in. A rumble on the earth also reminded her that they were still fighting, and running out of time. Biting her lip again, Serah tried to think of an answer. "It's... uhrm..." The girl fumbled to find words but didn't manage to form anything coherent. Still, she lingered a bit on what Sigma said. "'Someone has to save the city,' huh?' Serah softly mumbled to herself, making up her mind.
"...Use my core." Serah relayed to Sigma, shaky but determined.
"..." Sigma went all silent of a sudden. Her eyes narrowed. "Your... core..." Sigma repeated, as her mind was processing the idea. "Alright." She understood. Completely. After all, who better than a replaceable doll to understand the levity of sacrificing another doll?
"Serah. I'm sure that Atty would understand." Sigma said back, her trembling hands finally steeling herself with determination, as she ignited her thrusters and went into Serah's position. "In honor to her sacrifice... I shall win this, or die trying." She said in a soft rasp. "I am going to shoot that rotten orange."
Serah felt a bit of anger well up at Sigma trying to put words into Atty's mouth, because that girl didn't know the first thing about them. Still, they were both running out of time. Pushing on her controls, Serah made AA-XOTRY practically sprint to the other girl. When the two were in the same position, Serah drew heavy breaths. She quickly began typing things into her console as warning signs and red lights flared up all around, but she didn't care. "You'll have a few seconds to rip it out. I... can't give you more than that." The girl choked on her words. This wasn't right, this was messed up. She made up her mind, however, and couldn't chicken out. These two little girls were basically dead women walking anyway.
Sigma eyed the other girl's feed before, flicking a button. "Actually, I'd like to pick you up. You have to see this." She added.
Serah's cheeks flared up at 'picking her up', misreading both the situation and the mood for a split second. She got the intention, though. Plus, Sigma had a point. If Serah just remained here when the power goes out, she'd probably asphyxiate to death before long. "...Alright," was all Serah replied, looking to her camera feed. The building on Atty's left should be cover enough to pull this off. Serah timed her core to open in exactly one minute and then typed in the command to open the cockpit, immediately regretting the decision when she saw the wasteland before her.
The girl wound up regretting it more when she felt the powerful, big and pretty hot hands of Eiswolf clamp around her and push out all the air in her lungs, even through the plug suit. The entire thing lasted only a few seconds before Serah got dropped down inside of Eiswolf, landing right on top Sigma rather... unceremoniously. "Ouchouchouch...!" Serah groaned, scrambling to her feet and bumping her head on the tech above her.
There the girl was, inside of a strange cockpit, with another slightly smaller girl. Her messy hair and loose ribbon didn't help the situation any, nor did the still dripping blood off her lip.
Sigma's determined expression broke into pieces when she saw the bigger girl landing on top of her, almost crushing her in a pile of plug-suited adorned flesh. All the wiggling didn't certainly help, and more than once her face ended up pressed against things she shouldn't. She let out a yelp after Serah suddenly decided to drop down after bumping against the roof of her cockpit.
"...Welcome, sorry for being cramped." She let out, as she struggled for a little of air. "There's still... booze." Sigma said blandly, as she focused to minimize the synch impact of a foreign mind in her cockpit.
"The core!" Serah suddenly yelled in realisation, pushing away from Sigma and huddling up in the corner of the small cage. "Quickly!"
"Yeah, yeah." Sigma frowned, as per usual and deftly yanked the core out of Atty, a sickening crunch being heard all the while the plasma's electric energy began to spray everywhere. With a soft thud, she attached it to the end of her rail weapon, and she readied herself to fire.
But she didn't. No, not yet. The target was resting on top of Rostosov.
"Serah, your hand. You'll pull the trigger." Sigma said, as she led the other girl to her trigger controls.
Serah was slightly taken aback by the sudden request, even blushing a little when she felt Sigma's small hands clamped around hers. He palm was now clasped around a joystick-shaped device, presumably to fire. "...Hey, fire with me would you?" Serah asked, which probably also was the last thing she'd get to ask.
"Sure, thing."Sigma's hand enveloped Serah's in the trigger. "I...like books." She added, as a random piece of information, trying to take the gravity off the situation to make the shot easier.
Serah laughed at the sudden comment. "Well... I like cards. I'll teach you when we get back, alright?" Serah offered with a soft voice, managing to crack a smile even with this tension.
Jason "Phoenix" Diabolus | Doom Squad Officer | Troas
Yelling out in pain as the massive mech slammed into the ground, Jason felt as if somebody were bending the bones in his ankles. Like he personally had been the one to hit the ground, not the frame. Like machine and man are one... the boy mused just before the sniper decided to move. Feeling a strong pain in his mind as his reflexes were put to test, the boy managed to fire upon the sniper and completely obliterate it. Along with the rest of a city block, no doubt plenty of innocents fell alongside the cruxi sniper. Wide-eyed for a brief moment at the destruction that X-7 had caused, the boy looked towards his console briefly. Staring blankly at the console, the boy zoned out as he thought about the lives lost, and remembered home. Remembering the last words his parents had said to him, calling him to say goodbyes as they burned at the hands of the monsters.
"We will always love you, sweetheart. No matter what, please, don't forget us." She said, the woman who had taken care of Jason throughout his whole life. Having just told their son that they had elected to stay behind and do what they could to ensure that a ship got free of the surface. "Remember son, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We chose to save the next generation at the cost of our own. We lo-" then a blinding light followed by static. The last remainder of his life ripped away in a blinding light.
Suddenly the boy was back inside X-7, staring hollowly towards the ruined neighborhood. While regrettable all those who had died,the boy spoke a single line to the ruins. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. I'm sorry. Your sacrifice will not be in vain, please forgive me." he spoke to the ruins of the neighborhood before tearing his vision away from the ruins. Like father and mother, these people's lives had been sacrificed in a battle to protect more than just them. However; they died because of a massive mistake on his part. So Jason would not allow their sacrifice to be in vain, nor would he ever write it off. Their lost lives had been his fault, so he would have to forever bear the weight of that. He would use it to only make him stronger.
Moving X-7 forward, the boy took a moment to shake his head and clear his thoughts. Time to focus back on the battle at hand, as they still had a job to do. Immdiately, the boy noticed the withering and wounded tentacled beast. Raising an eyebrow he looked towards the wounded mech beyond the wounded creature. Rapidly hitting commands, he tried to open a direct comm link towards the other mech. "My weapons systems are still down, I'll try to keep this thing distracted in case it gets up until i get do soemthing. Unsure what damage you've sustained, I'll try to keep it off you." he said before moving a bit closer, aiming to seem more like a threat to the injured thing. "Bring it, you piece of shit." he said to himself. * X-7 Moves to H1 * Attempted contact with Yeager * Aiming to get the wounded beast focused on him if it gets up.
Roger would have liked to say that by now he had gotten used to crashing, and it didn't even faze him at this point. After all, when you're the worst pilot in the group by a significant amount, you get to experience this stuff often. But the jarring halt of movement and whiplash that followed seemed to come as a surprise every time. Even when that surprise is on the heels of the much large oddity of feeling like there's another person in the cockpit with you, helping you out. Back home he had heard a story here and there about ghosts or holy spirits guiding people to safety or averting disaster, but this seemed like something else entirely. After all, what angel would approve of recklessly ramming into something so hard that you break your (machine's) ankles and briefly pass out?
"That prob'ly won't be necessary, but I appreciate the gesture" Roger replied to the voice of the stranger coming in. He had no idea who he was, and although he could probably check to verify the identity/location/etc of the man, Rooney had neither the attention span, nor the desire to do so. All his attention was focused on one single task. Most of Yeager's system were fully functional, but with the framewerk's broken ankles, its options, especially in the mobility department, which was pretty damning for a Framewerk that was supposed to be all about mobility.
Luckily, he wouldn't need his ankles in order to do this next thing. Lying down as he was, things were pretty simple. He could brace his arms against the ground and aim pretty reliably. Damaged elbow joint? No problem. He brought the Tentacle monster in his machinegun's sight. The beast was at an elevated position, but if anything that only made it easier for Roger to aim. Just like hunting on the mountainside back home.
Now if Roger were more aware of his situation and that of his comrades, he might have had a different reaction. He had heard Daniel's final message and he understood what it had meant, but like Harold's death before, it didn't actually feel real. Roger hadn't seen the results of his sacrifice so he did not even know whether it was even a justified death. Just as well, the actions of Sigma and Serah where similarly out of his field of view. All that mattered was pumping that tentacled monstrosity full of hot lead.
He had had his moment of reckless bravery, now was the time for measured cool-headedness. Keeping the gun trained on the beast he squeezed the trigger as hard as he could. Perhaps if he were more clever or sarcastic he could have come up with some sharp quip, a memorable turn of phrase that only the other guy would be able to hear and appreciate, but he neither had the mind nor temperament for it. Brutally efficient gunfire would simply have to do in its stead.
"...Katya...listen to me...I've listened in...caught a glimpse of the new Cruxi...that one...is an enemy ace", "Seven" voice said over the open comm link.
The Neo Angel seemed done after the rather reckless retreat but it was...sloppy...inefficient...but that didn't matter now. What matter was the new threat that showed up.
"...listen...I've been in battles before from my first division...but only I've heard stories from my first commander...he said there are powerful Cruxi that only show when a pilot either "evolves" or achieves perfect sync...some may even have telekenetic powers in a form that allows them to invade your mind...", "Seven" continued.
"...Ariin...I'm dead weight now...you-must-assist-Katya-NOW...save Elora...that Cruxi...is dangerous..."
With her peace said, "Seven" could do nothing now. Her leg was servered and that crash really messed up her motor functions...either that or her framework sync rate took a dive.
Perhaps she was simply accepting her fate...all she could do was perhaps get into a sitting position now and fend off attackers with her magnum pistols and even beam sabers but she doubted her survival rate. Plus, that new Cruxi... ...no...they told me to live...that I'm not broken...but I'm inefficient...I couldn't even control...these new "feelings" everyone radiates on me...
And she knew why too.
...because I was trained to "kill" such emotions...I was never trained to "control" them...but why do I need "feelings"?...why during a war?...why?...I don't...get it...
However, she did make up her mind on one thing...she was going to continue fighting.
Getting into a sitting position, Magnum pistol in one hand and beam saber in the other, she braced herself at H5 for anyone or anything that came after her looking for an easy kill.
Ariin chuckled, he felt... Euphoria, his mind and the Frames connected like he was extension of the frame. He smiled looking at the mammoth machine before them, death no longer mattered this was heaven to him. He forget the burning along his body, he focused on Paladin and what the machine must feel. He turned bringing his shield into extend mode, his voice seemed to change as if the machine and him were forming one mind. "This is Paladin, I am here to protect." He called out, perhaps more Werk than man now.
Ariin could 'see' the angles how to point his canon the math working out as he moved. He stepped towards the mech, tilting it's head as if cracking its neck. Ariin came on over the radio. "Commander, protect the squad. I am undamaged and linked, my body is dying and my mind will follow after this stunt. If I do live, I'll be more Paladin then Ariin anyway do try to remember me." He laughed, Ariin remember the glow of the Gaius Four's blue star and the cool breeze near the helium sea. His mother's smile, his sisters running in the fields Ariin was there lost in the sea of computing power and brain that he was now part of.
Paladin lifted it's gun taking a triple shot for the big mech F-3. "I am Paladin, I am a guardian of humanity if you wish to kill anymore humans. Begin with me, you big ugly bastard!" He locked his heels back in the ground expanding the shield but not placing it in the ground. "Come on, I want a challenge!" The symbiote called out bashing it's heated gun against it's shield. Ariin laughed lost in memories, here fighting now was only Paladin only Ariin's will to protect others and fight remained, his memories, his other skills, forgotten. Ariin had become bonded to Paladin, a slave to his own ideals that he had so deeply ingrained.
Witnessing a crater of his own making, Jason was visited by a memory from the past, fleeting yet powerful, of his family. The vision abruptly ended by the loud sounds of war and a feeling of uneasiness and nausea emanating from the site of the destruction, and the pilot moved on. Another target came to his sights, a horrible mix of flesh and metal rebelling against the throes of death, using it's remaining appendages to crawl on top of the leaking water tower, attempting a roar at X-7 despite it's jaws filled with metal it has bitten into. As it turned it's back to Yeager, the broken Frame shot it in the back with a full volley, causing it to stagger and spurt blood before it fell from the structure, dead.
When Serah activated the command to open the cockpit, she felt some kind of presence. And when she was uplifted by the hand of an angel, she realized that presence came deep inside, from Atty. That presence was warm and soothing, as if there were no regrets from the Framewerk, and that the Frame would be happy to sacrifice herself to protect Serah one last time. And when the Frame's core was violently ripped out of it's chassis by Eiswolf, it was still beating, like the heart of a living being.
Sigma felt her mental capacity strained by a foreign entity when Serah dropped in, as if the Framewerk had a biological reaction to a virus, trying to purge it out of its systems. But this quickly changed when Eiswolf assaulted the corpse of one of it's own; Instead of a hostile feeling, Sigma felt something melancholic emanating from deep inside Eiswolf, and she felt like tears rained down her body. The pulsating core lashed out in arcs of wild, untamed energy around it, charring Eiswolf's hand, but despite the pain she placed it on the barrel of her trusted weapon, serving as ammunition for her last shot, deciding life or death.
Against odds as insurmountable, it was a kind of burden no pilot as young as Sigma or Serah should have to bear. But they were not alone. Not only did they have each other, but they also had Eiswolf's tears calming their hearts and Atty's warmth cheering them on. When their hands joined intimately together and the fateful shot was made, a new form of energy was born inside both cores from the deep connection of their hearts; Unionization. Eiswolf's synchronization levels spiked, and went off the charts, and any observer would have seen the Framewerk coated in a translucent shimmer. The core glowed like a brilliant sun as it was ejected at incredible velocity, aiming right at the corpse of the once noble Rostosov, now shadowed by a massive entity anathema to all life.
The core was subject to a reaction not unlike a miniature supernova. Together with Rostosov's warheads setting off, it was a blast that blinded all in the colony with it's light. Eiswolf's systems fried, unable to handle the energy output, and the Frame fell inelegantly over like a puppet with it's strings cut, the two girls inside hugging each other as they were knocked out. Strange sounds resembling deteriorated screeching also happened, and when the dust settled there was only a puddle of strange matter left of Mist; the invincible Goliath felled by two small Davids. When Zim spoke of his one last attempt to take out the sniper to Black Star, he felt a gloomy, hateful atmosphere in the cockpit. Maybe it was just the cold sweat, or maybe it was something else, but Zim felt how Black Star's crippled grip on the Thermal Scythe turned tighter, if only a bit. When it was time for action and Zim used the carcass as a distraction, it didn't work out as intended; the sniper's aim visibly shook, but the enemy clearly could think, and expected another unconventional use of the only tool left to Zim. The sniper took deadly aim as Black Star rushed, as fast as it's abused body could. The shot landed right on the neck joint, decapitating Black Star. However, in that moment of immense pain, right before he was knocked unconscious, Zim saw from his interface that the Wave Surger was activated, without any input of his own. In the end, both combatants fell in battle, the sniper obliterated by the energy weapon launched as a final revenge.
Caretaker's drones buzzed and crawled over Neo Angel even as the building the frame took cover was annihilated by plasma fire from a pair of CWM's, and to Caretaker's credit they managed to restore thruster functionality. The Frame's Synchronization Rate has dropped by 20% from the physical and mental damage, nearing critical levels. The aliens barged in, expecting an easy kill, guns blazing. In that moment, the Frame was saved by an unlikely source; a lone drone leaped at the plasma cannon blast and intercepted it, buying just enough time for Mai; she emptied her clip at the first Cruxi, and landed a lucky shot in the head, succeeding in felling it.
But the other performed a flanking maneuver, and even though the other drone also sacrificed itself, it wasn't enough. A shot was made, steering towards Neo Angel like a comet of doom, and time seemed to slow for Mai. She then felt a great pain in her head, as if a metal claw was dragged screeching through a chalk board. In that moment, the Frame's thrusters activated with no outside input, sending the Frame flying at the Cruxi. The impact of the shot severed the Frame top body from the bottom, but the torso continued flying, and met the opposing mech with a piercing beam saber. Mai sensed a violent presence that lashed out in hate for suffering, and she felt responsible. The saber was thrust again and again into the Cruxi, tearing it apart and using all of the energy the Frame had in it, until the bisected, bloodied angel sent a shrill screech right through Mai's consciousness. Fortunately, she survived, falling into a coma.
Katya attempted to use the Frame's built-in scanners to identify the unknown opponent, but the rudimentary device only managed to reveal one thing; that the elite Cruxi had a Synchronization Rate that went off the charts. Caretaker utilized the communication systems built into the Frame, and after a brief crackle of static, she heard the surprised gasp of a man in the comms. "We have contact, Lieutenant!" The man announced, and after some sounds of shuffling, a familiar voice came in: Ritsu's. "Report, Cadet! What the hell's happening there!" After she heard the report, she immediately responded: "Request granted. Sending Orbital Blast to F3-3x3, clear the block. We're sending in reinforcements, so hold the line!"
Caretaker's shots had no difficulty hitting the blue CWM flanking the elite Cruxi. In fact, the enemy seemed to move toward the laser shots. The enemy wavered from the impact of the lasers, but it was the unexpected shot of a sniper rifle that caused the enemy mech to fall over. "That's right, I'm hel-*hic*-ing!" Iota dropped down from the sky piloting a mass production model of Eiswolf, but she failed her orbital landing and crashed in the worst way possible, bending the Frame's legs at awkward angles.
Nonetheless, the enemy mech's apparently suicidal move's motivation became apparent when Paladin delivered a heavy barrage of Pompey shots aimed directly at the elite Cruxi. The tall mech completely ignored the attack, and it turned out it didn't need to; the other blue CWM immediately intercepted the shots with its own body, and was completely destroyed as a result, leaving the elite Cruxi unscathed. The attack's accuracy due to connecting his brain directly with the Framewerk's targeting systems came at the cost of Ariin's mental health, and he suffered a 20% loss in Synchro.
However, the multiple attacks from different directions did seem to distract the elite Cruxi for a fleeting moment, and it was exactly then that Logic Gate suddenly leaped towards the fearsome enemy, tackling it. Joppa team then heard a message from Elora, in her normal voice:
"Everyone...Thank you for being friends..."
"Initiating Orbital Blast in T-20 seconds." Katya heard a countdown from the command channel: "10, 9, 8, 7..." Elora was now also at F3, holding the elite Cruxi still. Somehow, she had learned of NOAH's support despite the jamming, and consciously chose to sacrifice herself. Soon, a blinding pillar of light descended down from space, like the Wrath of God striking down upon the sinful earth. For the terrified casual observer, it seemed to be the end of the story. But the most sharp-eyed of Framewerk pilots in Joppa realized the truth of what happened in that fateful moment... The Cruxi invasion of Leviticus IX ended in a failure; with both Mist-weapons eliminated and the war machines destroyed from the main colonies, the infantry was soon overwhelmed by the remaining Frames, and the ships containing the jamming devices were quickly disposed of, causing the human forces to counter-attack. Many cruisers of the Cruxi fleet were brought down before the rest managed to flee into some kind of dimensional pocket. The Framewerks, and humanity at large, earned a victory against the Cruxi; the crowds celebrated in the streets of Troas, laughing and crying tears of joy for living another day in peace. But that peace was bought with a terrible price, as there were no festivities in Joppa, only despair.
Soon after the jamming was disabled, and the invading force was routed, Ritsu ordered squad Sigma to regroup at Troas, sending aircraft to retrieve those who were unable to. The unconscious or otherwise injured pilots were taken to a local hospital, while the rest reported in to Ritsu; it now became apparent to everyone involved that when the Orbital Blast was launched at the elite Cruxi in Joppa, it grabbed Logic Gate and teleported the both of them just in the nick of time. Elora Liu'un, the young and troubled pilot surrounded by strange events, was now gone.
"I see..." Ritsu responded, sorrow painted on her eyes despite her attempt at seeming otherwise. "There will be formal events, including a mourning ceremony and an award ceremony, coming up after we have sorted things around here. But for now, you may use any facilities located here in Troas. Rest up, Cadets. You've earned it. Carry on," she said with a salute, and briskly walked away, wiping something from her face with her sleeve. Now, the pilots could visit their fellow comrades in the hospital and see if they have recovered, or they could visit any of the local recreational facilities such as bars and casinos, or just rest up at camp. But anywhere they looked, they saw destruction that made the aftermath of Solaire Ruins Arena look like a slightly disrupted sandbox, and were reminded of what they had to do, and what they were unable to do, in their own effort to save Leviticus IX.
"I see..." Ritsu responded, sorrow painted on her eyes despite her attempt at seeming otherwise. "There will be formal events, including a mourning ceremony and an award ceremony, coming up after we have sorted things around here. But for now, you may use any facilities located here in Troas. Rest up, Cadets. You've earned it. Carry on," she said with a salute, and briskly walked away, wiping something from her face with her sleeve.
Zim had not only survived the carnage, but had made it through with relatively minor injuries. The few cuts that needed attention were wrapped in field bandages, but most of the damage was from sync feedback from the machine. It was in the nerves, it was in Zim's head. These would take specialized equipment to treat, and it would take time for these phantom wounds to heal. But, Zim was a robustly concentrated individual and pushed on through the pain. However, it would do him no good to put off treatment. Once released from the debriefing with Lieutenant Ritsu, Zim would make his way to the selfsame hospital that housed his comrads. He would get checked in and would be put through a scanner to check him over to figure out what ails him and would be given appropriate treatment. Soon enough, however he would be sent back on his way. 'Well, I'm already here, I might just as well check up on everybody,' Zim thought as he worked his way to a desk to ask for their room numbers.
This first person Zim visited was Serah, by virtue of proximity to the desk. He made his way to the proper floor and down the hall until at last he finally found her room number on a digi-display outside the room. Zim entered the room through the open door, knocking gently just to be safe. "Hello, Serah?" Zim called out before entering. He found her in her bed finishing her meal. "Solid food, that's a good sign! How are you holding up?"
"Zshim? Ahm dyoing fayn-" Serah spoke through a stuffed mouth, swallowing the contents down in a single gulp. "The food's teeerrible though! Like, the meat was all dry and the veggies tasted like green baby food... Blegh!" She slammed her tray down on the bedside table next to her and, quite literally, jumped out of the bed. She was still in her plugsuit, mainly because she hadn't actually been physically harmed, and ran over to give the older pilot a hug. She pushed herself away and took a few steps back, a goofy smile on her face like the Serah he got to know.
"Isn't it always, though?" Zim responded to the food, "Do you think they will keep you here long? If so, next time I come by I'll smuggle in some real food for you, how about that?"
"Nah, I'm not actually hurt, see?" Serah cheerfully responded, jumping up and doing a frontflip real quick to demonstrate her point. Unfortunatily, due to the small size of the room, her foot got stuck on an infusion pole in the corner. It messed up her balance and took both her and Zim down to the floor with it. "Ouchouchouch..."
With a solid thud the pair hit the floor, with Zim on the bottom. Hardly anything worth noticing for the pilot who grew up in high gravity. "Yeah, but maybe you should hang out for a day yet." Zim helped her get up off the floor. "We heard what happened in Troas, about Harold, about Atty... Are you aware of the events that happend in Joppa?" He indicated that she should probably sit down.
When Zim mentioned Atty, a sudden sting pierced Serah's heart and she grabbed it by reflex. It only just happened, so the girl could still remember that moment vividly. Even though she was outside of the framewerk, it still felt like her own heart was torn out when she watched it happen. "Y-Yeah, but... Harold died fightin', and Atty can be rebuilt... r-right? So it's... not worth worrying about." She was a bit nervous on the reply and jumped back onto her bed. "I mean, I've not been briefed yet, butcha probably did great! I mean, you're here right?" Serah cheerfully replied again, blissfully unaware of the massacre that had unfolded.
"I don't honestly know about whether they can rebuild Atty. I hope they can, but we pilots, we just don't know enough about our machines, do we? I mean, they are machines, but they are alive, right? Can they really bring something like that back to life? Or will they repair the machine and it'll be someone else on the inside?"
Serah did her best not to get incredibly wound up from Zim's words, her nails biting into the bedsheet they were grasping. "Atty's fine. I know they are. They always are, and they always will be." Serah averted her eyes and droned out that reply, feeling very uncomfortable and trying to hide it from Zim.
Even as she tried to hide her discomfort, Zim could see it written all over her body. Plug suits offered very little protection in that regard. Her tensed shoulders, her back arched ever so slightly as if fighting against rolling up into a ball. It was obvious that the subject needed no more attention.
"Yeah, we won, but we aren't all here. I probably should leave it for the Lieutenant to brief you, but we didn't all make it out of there in one piece." Zim said with a deep sigh, "Mai is in a Coma, I understand. And Elora is MIA. She is probably dead, but we just don't know. We saw some things that could not be explained, we encountered some sort of Cruxi ace that put us to shame... Elora defeated the Mist, but she was cought in the blast and something changed in her. It was like her mind was released from her skull and was sensative to every thought... Serah, we didn't save Joppa... We just stopped the invasion."
If there was one thing Zim was good at, it was dampening Serah's spirits. The girl looked away, her smile barely noticable now as she muttered "Ah... so it's like that..." under hear breath. Compared to the rather glorious victory in Troas, that was some heavy news. But, as soon as it came, Serah's sad demeanor left again. She looked back with a rather forced smile now. "Mai's in that kind of shape, huh? We should go check up on her. Yes, we. I won't take no for an answer!" Serah jumped off again with puffed up cheeks and pushed Zim out the door.
As Zim was pushed out the door he grabbed a hospital gown hanging near the entry and threw it over Serah. The cadets had gotten used to the immodesty of the plug suits, but there were other people in the hospital, and Serah was still only a child by comparison.
Mai was located on an entirely different floor, in a different part of the hospital from Serah. It made sense, her condition was so much worse than Serahs that she needed more care and different facilities. Mai had probably the hardest time of it in Joppa, and now her condition showed it. She had given up, but then continued to fight. She was still alive, but if the sync feedback was strong enough, she could be paralyzed. Serah popped out from behind Zim, who walked into the room quietly. She softly chewed on her lip when faced with the rather grim sight. That poor cadet was hooked up to all kind of machinery. "You guys... really didn't have it easy, huh?" The girl whispered to Zim.
"No, she had it amongst the worst. We were mostly lucky when combat started, everybody was pretty close together. Except for Mai, she was on the opposite side of the city... She had to deal with a sniper and a pod of Cruxi War Machines. She took a lot of damage from the sniper while trying to fend off the war machines, but she was strong. She kept pushing on." Zim left out the part where she offered to use her machine as code Ashes to Ashes. "In the end, she was being worked on by Caretaker's drones, they managed to restore thrusters and she fended off the rest of the threat with her beam sabers, after her torso detached... I just don't know, she took so much trauma. If her sync was high enough when it happened, she could be paralyzed due to nerve damage..."
Zim carefully put a hand on Mai's head and said to her, "You fought well, now rest up and be ready for the next fight." Zim lingered in the room a moment with Serah in case she wanted to have a moment with Mai. When the pair was ready, they continued just a few doors down the hall to where Ariin was being cared for.
Ariin was the other person who had a tough time in Joppa who was still here to be able to suffer. Between the ad hoc merge with Paladin and the radiation that he suffered from at the edge of the Mist attack, he was not in good shape. Zim really didn't know what to expect as he entered the room that Ariin was in. If he was unconcious, then it was probably a mercy. With the same soft knock on the open door Zim entered and prepared himself for what he would see. Once again, Serah was right behind Zim and tried to sneak into the room more stealthily, though wound up doing it less stealthily.
Ariin was awake and refusing pain medication. Confined to bed rest, and currently shackled to the bed, when he had been pulled from Paladin he went kicking and scream. He kept yelling he had to go back and find Ariin, Ariin was still inside the Paladin. Ariin looked up, a mess of tubes and IV's that made him look weak and frail. His eye optic changed to a happy face when he saw them.
"I did not think anyone would visit." He spoke in a more monotone manner, no longer casual or relaxed. "You are... Ariin's friends?" He spoke as if he was not Ariin but someone else in Ariin's place. "I do not remember much save... Training, but he spoke of you to me before, he spoke to me a lot..." He blinked and looked back to them. "I am Paladin and I am sorry I failed your friend and your city, Joppa."
Zim stood there for a moment in disbelief. He wasn't really sure what to make of what was going on in front of him. It was a joke, right? Some sort of coping mechanism? But, while Zim didn't know Ariin that well, he did not think him the type for this sort of behavior. "We all fought hard, we did the best we could... Paladin... I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time accepting this, this is just bizzare. You realize that you are Ariin, right?"
Serah looked from Zim to Ariin, then back to Zim again. "...Uhm, what?" A puzzled look was on her face, showcasing how she clearly didn't get the point. "Isn't Ariin just Ariin?" The girl asked while throwing her hands behind her head.
"I am... A copy of the Paladin networking and combat systems, I appear like Ariin but I am not him. A mind is made up of memories, experiences, and such... I know the training, the routines, the people. Ariin had the memories, those are lost in the werk's database... Ariin as you knew him is inside the Paladin framewerk." He explained blinking looking at his hands moving them slowly. "I would... I would have to risk what remains of Ariin's mind and mine to fix this." He paused again. "I could damage him beyond repair, which would earn him a demotion... To a penal legion and a good man would die for no reason." Paladin said as if it was just that cold and calculated.
"So you are saying that Paladin, the werk, duplicated a portion of its systems and put them in Ariins body? Why? To keep it functioning? And Ariins concience is floating around somehwere in your database? But there is a chance of fixing it, but if you fail everything will be made that much worse... With time, will Ariin be able to return to us, or will Paladin be with us permanently?"
"Failing would remove Ariin from the pilot program. I do not... I do not know, to bring him back I would either need Lorenzo or the man who designed and sanctioned Paladins... Unique weapon system." He stared down pulling at the restraints. "If only Ariin were still here... He could pick these locks in a second, hides a lockpick in his eye. I know Ariin's life... I watched it unfold before me but... I am not him. He was a thief trying to be a warrior, I am just a warrior and he is for all purposes... Dead."
Serah was... slightly shocked, but didn't completely buy it just yet. She rattled around in her brain, before... "...Huh? You 'saw Ariin's life unfold before you'? 'Paladin', wouldn't that mean you could just... I dunno, emulate Ariin? Or are you just pulling some kind of weird joke on us?"
Zim was wrong about what he had thought previously, that Mai had it the worst. She might be physically disabled, but Ariin had either gone insane or was legitametly lost and replaced by a very advanced set of 1's and 0's. "I'll see if I can't get word to Lorenzo and the Lieutenant, see if they cannot track down the creator... but in the mean time, I am afraid that the restraints are needed. We will get our Ariin back, so in the mean time, you need to care for that body as if it were the only one you had. Feed it, bath it. Emulate the memories that you watched spin by. You are the protector. Protect."
Zim had no more to say, and would hear no more from 'Paladin,' and turned the leave the room. Serah followed after Zim as he briskly left the room. They made their way to Daniel next, going in silence as they traveled. Zim was still trying to process what it was that he had just seen in Ariin's room.
Zim had heard from the briefing that Daniel's werk had been incapacitated, and that he had been hospitalized, but Zim didn't know what kind of condition he would be in when he entered the room. With the door open it was easy to enter. Zim knocked again as he and Serah entered and noticed the same smell of overcooked meat that Zim had smelled in Serah's room. He expected to find a food tray freshly delivered. "I don't mean to interupt, just wanted to check on you," Zim said as he entered the room.
Daniel jerked as someone knocked, freezing in place. Anyone entering the room would find stacks of books around the room, most focused on some aspect of engineering, and a few on biology or chemistry. Daniel was sitting in the bed, one leg and both arms completely wrapped in bandages- a few patches of guaze were adhering to his skin around his torso, and elsewhere on his body less serious burns were visible. On an extendable table to the side was a glass pastry dish containing what appeared to be a section of appendage from a tentacle beast, with electrodes stuck to it that extended towards hospital equipment that had obviously been intended for Daniel's use. He didn't look up as footsteps approached the room; the hospital staff had been bothering him all day. "Look, if you want me to wear your wires, then bring me more equipment! If I needed a heart monitor, I wouldn't be awake to complain about it. Damn."
He reached over and flipped a switch, watching the tentacle jerk inside the dish, eyeing the heartmonitor at the same time. A few wisps of aromatic smoke made their way out from under the dish, but he waved it off. It wasn't toxic- at least, none of the human-made sensors said it was. The smell was almost good, which had lead him to lean towards the idea that the tissues were natural and carbon based. There were a few important questions with this creature. He glanced at a crumpled sheet of paper and sighed, pushing his notepad to the side.
1. Synthetic / Natural Tissues 2. Independant Nervous System / Central 3. Blood Analysis 4. Cell Structure (If applicable?) ...
He froze when Zim spoke, turning slowly to see Zim and Serah enter the room. It was the first time he had seen any of the other pilots since they had left base, what seemed ages ago. "Hey." He looked away from them, grimacing. "I... I'm sorry." He reached over and pulled up another pile of papers- maps covered in scenarios. "It was all my fault that Harold..." His voice died off, feeling inadequate. Repeatedly, he had gone over what had happened, looking for ways that it could have been prevented- scenario after scenario. In the end, it all came down to their fatal actions early on. "Sorry." It felt pathetic, that he could only offer that, for almost getting everyone killed. If he had stayed with the group, they could have eliminated Mist almost immediately. If he had conserved some power and attempted that first shot with just one capacitor, they could have salvaged the fight and again- taken out Mist far more quickly, or the snipers, or both. If.
"I don't know what went down, just what we were told in the briefing. Don't do that. Don't cheapen Harold's death by claiming it to be your fault. If he died because of an action you did, then it was because he chose to do it in an effort to protect you. He chose to do it, no one else. Harold was in the military before all of this, he was a starship pilot, he survived a conflict with them before, he knew what he was up against."
"...Well, seems like I don't get to have a say in the matter! I see how it is! Hmpf." Serah puffed up her cheeks and turned her back to Zim and Daniel, starting to toy around with the ribbon in her hair. "I'll just do my own thing until I'm important again!"
Zim paused for a moment, "... Anyways, what are you working on? How the hell did you get a sample in here?"
Daniel nodded numbly at Zim's thoughts, but smiled slightly at Serah's outburst. "Again?" Daniel tossed off the bedcovers, sending handfuls of papers sliding to the floor. He stood unsteadily and stretched, tossing a hospital gown over himself. "Funny story there." In his minds eye, he could remember crawling out of Magus, having just awoken. He wasn't able to stand, but the burns had cauterized themselves- "One of the beasts left a little present wrapped around Magus's ankle, I managed to smuggle a piece of it in wrapped with my plugsuit." Daniel held up a finger and gave it another shock, watching the piece of tentacle twitch. "I have been trying to figure out if the beasts were synthetic or not. It would be an amazing advancement if we could use similar tech to build werks with synthetic muscle!" While signs seemed to indicate that it was organic, that didn't seem likely, as a beast of that size would have extreme issues with high gravity environments AND zero gravity environments, along with other issues with large organisms and cell composition."What I would give for a microscope...Oh!" He waved at Serah. "Look at this!" He picked up an old styled lightbulb from the tray and winked before sticking it's end in his mouth- the entire bulb suddenly glowed brightly. "So how are the others doing? I missed the briefing." Honestly though, he was a bit afraid of what he would be told.
Serah tried her best not to laugh when the lamp lit up just from being in Daniel's mouth, needing a few moments to recover. The guy then asked about how the others were doing. "...Oh! Well, Zim hasn't told me the full story buuut... Me and Sigma are fine, though a bit tired. Katya got out physically unscathed together with him here, I think Roger's fine... Um... Ariin got nicked by MIST... I don't know what happened to Elora, and Mai is..." Serah quieted down for a bit when she got to Mai, fiddling with her fingers a little. "...Mai has it the worst. She's in a coma, but I'm sure she'll be fine! Oh! And there was some new person that showed up too. Diablo? Dialus? Bollical? Something like that. I dunno if he'll stick around, but he covered for us I think. I don't remember it all that well..."
"Yeah, there was mention in the briefing about him, but not much detail. I'm not sure what is going to happen there. Having more firepower would help, certainly, but who knows what Lorenzo or the rest of the military have planned. So far as Elora is concened," Zim had more time to collect his thoughts since he had tried to explain it to Serah, "She is missing in action. A phenomenon that I cannot begin to explain occured, and her power went through the roof. However, she attempted to sacrifice herself before a space to surface attack struck in order to pin the Cruxi ace. However, at the last moment before the beam struck, they teleported out. Elora is not just missing, but in the hands of the Cruxi."
The air was still and silent for a moment, a pregnant pause ready to burst, before Zim spoke again. "There will be formal ceremonies, according to the Lieutenant, honoring those who fell in combat, and decorations to go along with achievements. With Harold gone the chain of command is broken. I have no doubt that Katya will retain a leadership role, but I suspect she will become the primary officer and that someone else from our group will be promoted. There was no mention of Lora in the briefing, and I have seen no evidence of her anywhere. Her space sickness may have cost her not only this battle, but also her career with the military. Between her and our other losses, I suspect that they may bring in new recruits to the program or bring someone over from a different program like you and Mai and that other drunk flunky.. what was his name?" Zim couldn't think of it, it wasn't important. "Anyways, heal up. We will need Magus on the field, and your brain in the labs it seems."
Daniel swallowed, but nodded at each name. They had gotten extremely lucky. As far as the Cruxi were concerned, this may have been a devastating defeat. Just one or two casualties among the werk pilots compared to their forces. It certainly didn't feel successful though. Mai concerned him though. He felt a bit closer to her- if only because she had been just as new as he had to the rest of the group. If she didn't make it, he would be the last of that transfer group in operation. Between Harold and the spacesick cadet, they were down four pilots. "Well, we did it." An underwelming statement, considering what had transpired- but accurate. "Aye Captain." Daniel's gaze drifted away from the other two pilots. "Can't let the squad roster get too short, and besides..." He smiled weakly and slowly sat back down on the hospice bed, "I need to add more to my resume. I doubt 'billion dollar grenade' will get me many jobs after the war is over." Daniel sighed and lay back dramatically on the bed, covering his face with an arm. "Any chance one of you could sneak some real food in here? They got me on an all liquid diet."
"Hey, doctors orders, you want real food? I'll bring in a steak, but you can only have it if they liquify it first. If that still sounds good to you, then I'll bring it by soon, if not, I'll treat you when you get out!" Zim said with a smirk, a rare attempt at humor. "Well, we've got one more stop to make before I head back to base, so I'll be heading out now. Listen to your doctors, they know what they are doing. You'll be back on your feet in no time." With that Zim gave a friendly wave and headed for the door.
The last room to visit was Sigma and Iota. As they were listed as Sisters and not in critical care, they had a shared room. Zim entered the room of the "sisters" with a gentle knock on the partially opened door. Serah followed soon after, popping in her head from the doorway. When he stepped inside he found Iota standing over Sigma, who was asleep or unconcious, Zim wasn't sure. Zim wasn't sure what was going on until Iota turned with a start, a thick black marker in hand. Serah was snickering from her vantage point in the hallway, but kept her laugh contained as to not wake up Sigma. "I'm glad to see you are in good spirits," Zim said with a smirk as he approached to see her handywork. "How is she?"
Iota's reaction was pretty spectacular. One moment she had been giggling like a maniac, the following one she backpedaled as if a piranha had bitten her backside, yelping as her hands flailed around, failing to grasp the marker in time as she fell backwards. The ruckus seemed to wake up Sigma, who groggily looked left and right. She stood for a few seconds contemplating the scene, her movements not unlike a wind up doll who was running out of juice.
"Ah." She eyed her reflection, Iota in the floor, before noticing the marker. Her gaze narrowed, but in a rather peculiarily slow manner. Wiping her face like a cat grooms herself, the young pilot's eyes then rested on the offending ink.
"...forget it. I'm not even..." She paused halfway, before her eyes rolled towards the door, still too dazed to even bother to finish her sentence. Her eyes rested on Serah's face, exhaling air as if the weight of a thousand tons had fallen from her shoulders.
"Right. We suceeded." She paused for a second, before lazily throwing an arm up.
"Hooray." She said in a weak voice, her attempt at cheering coming out as a stoner who just had found out his missing shoe on his own foot. She was too tired, and certainly emoting was not her forte.
She tried to incorporate herself, as Iota rolled her eyes, and began to relentlessly poke Sigma with the marker. "Heh, wakey wakey, Sigma."
Of course, the nose twack caught Iota, and probably everyone off guard, before making the fellow clone reel.
And yet... Sigma was still groggy. Somehow, whacking Iota had become a reflex move? The young pilot yawned afterwards, flopping once again on the bed, snuggling herself against the blanket.
"Joppa?" She asked, after noticing Zim's presence. She was too tired to even talk coherently. So many things happened. So many emotions. She truly had threaded into unknown territory this time. The feelings of two frames... plus she had sworn that for a very brief moment, she and Serah and been one. It was truly mindblowing, really. She wanted to sleep three days straight.
Zim shook his head at first, he had told the story enough times that he was tired of repeating himself, but then he gave a sigh as if he had been pressured into telling someone elses secret.
"I'll give you the bullet points, I can tell you are still tired," Zim eventually responded, "We didn't stop the MIST. We encountered an Ace Cruxi. Mai is in a coma. Ariin is in for radiation treatment, amongst other things. And, we lost Elora. You'll get more details in the briefing, once you are well enough. She isn't dead, I don't think, but she is MIA... We did stop the invasion, but more than half of Joppa was destroyed."
Sigma blinked slowly, as she shivered ever so slightly. This had to happen. They were in an open war after all. Her implanted memories told that this was to happen. Harold had also been one of the victims. And Mai and Elora. Mai was just as robotic as she was, and Elora had been one of her acquaintances since day one. She squeezed her eyelids, trying to conjure away the tears. She succeeded almost inmediately, as something else caught her attention.
"But Serah and I destroyed the MIST. We saw it explode." She asked, confused.
"...Oh. About that..." Serah began but was then interrupted.
"We both fought one," Zim said sullenly, "There is more than one MIST, and ours took out half of Joppa. Again, you'll get more details in the briefing, it has something to do with what happened to Elora."
"Go figure, huh. It's never that easy." Sigma bit her lip as her factions and gait became more stern. Her body language seemed to turn from sleepy to alert in a fraction of second, as she eyed everyone else in the room. With an energetic wave and an alarming lack of modesty, she tossed the blankets around, jumping out of the bed in her gown.
"Alright. I've been sleeping too much." She said, trying to convince herself, as she stood on her feet. But for people who had known her for a bit, they knew something was very wrong within Sigma. Even if she seemed cool and in control, it was more akin to a dog poised to attack someone at this point.
Iota, who had managed to get on her feet in the meantime, was the voice of concern, for once. "Sigma, don't push yourself, there's no way you couldn't have done anything. The opponent was not something we could beat ourselves... not that we didn't try."
Sigma's head tilted slightly, her eyes now piercing Iota, her fellow clone. "I...we tried to attack the Cruxi, but I...bungled up the landing...Elora..."
"You still smell of alcohol, Iota," Sigma said in a slow voice, as she curled her fist. "You could've done better."
Zim stopped her there with an interjection, "More would have died had she not done what she did. Yes, she botched the landing, but if she hadn't been there to help the ace pilot might not have been distracted enough that the orbital assault forced it to teleport out... Taking Elora with it."
Sigma's fist seemed to recede. She knew it was futile, as she gave a tired, and jaded expression. Her fist turned into a comforting hand, who then hugged slightly. "I'm sorry Iota. You did what I could. But you should check on that habit of yours." Sigma smiled slightly, as she began to walk away.
"After all ... I will need those organs of you safe and sound. SPARE." She added, with no passion in her voice, as she started to walk away trying to find her stuff and clothes.
Zim's jaw dropped slightly. Now he definitly knew something was wrong. He shook his head and gathered his composure. Certainly this wasn't something that Zim had any right commenting on, after all, they were part of an... illicit scientific study. But, Sigma had gone through so much to save Iota, and suffered so much when she could not save the others.
"Well then," Zim finally said, "I'll leave you to it...."
Serah had been quiet for the most part, staring at the wall absent-mindedly. "...You go on ahead, Zim. I think I'll... stick around for a bit." The girl took a few steps back, making way for the older man to leave the room. She probably had a lot to go over with Sigma, after what happened.
"Alright, I'm going to head back to base, see if I can't get some of this to make more sense, see if I can find some help for Ariin," Zim said as he went through the door. "If you are still here in a few days I'll probably stop by again. If not, I'll see you around base. In the mean time, rest, please."
Zim looked from one to the next of each of the three girls before finally heading for the door.
After the hospital Zim returned to the base where they were being housed and recovery processes were being run from. So soon after the battle and already pieces of equipment were being dragged into massive hangers. Zim wanted to help. 'Rest,' Zim thought to himself, 'Rest first. You've already helped enough. Rest so you can actually be of use.' Zim rubbed the back of his neck as he fought with the phantom pain. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered to himself as he continued in to the base. Being new to this location Zim quickly found himself lost. Even to the point of wandering down unlit corredores. Aparently even this base had lost full functionality and was opperating on back up power. Only the most important operations and functions got attention. Zim used one hand on the wall to help guide him, just in case he tripped on something. Up ahead he thought he heard something, a sob or a sigh? It was hard to say... Maybe it was nothing, a door or window opening. Zim's curiosity pushed him toward the percieved sound.
The briefing had proven hard for Katya. Watching the orbital blast hit overloaded Caretaker's optical systems, blinding the werk momentarily, and left Katya with a nasty pain in both of her eyes. She hadn't seen the Cruxi teleport out of danger at the last moment and for the entire trip back to Troas she thought by calling in for support she had killed Elora. To hear that was not the case only made Katya heart sink. Knowing she was alive in the hands on the Cruxi. Maybe death would have been better. Maybe she could of done something that might hand resulted in Elora being safe. Once the briefing was over Katya let out a heavy sigh moving slowly out of the room and began roaming the base aimlessly. Replying the events of the battle over and over. The young woman blaming herself Elora being taken. Positive if she had done something instead of merely watching as she tackled that Cruxi. Elora would with them, instead of enemy hands.
Before she knew it Katya managed to find herself in a middle of an unlit corridor. She stood before a door that lead into what seemed to be the perfect place for Katya to ... Well, what Katya would call rest. She was away from everyone; out of sight, out of mind. Here on her own, in the darkness, she didn't have to appear like she was handling the events of the battle well. In reality, everything she had buried during the battle had slowly started bubble to the surface. She wanted to cry, but she was too tired, so she merely gave heavy sigh. Entering the room, she walked until she could touch the far wall. Turning so her back was to it. She sat down leaning against it. She felt a shiver as she found the room too cold for comfort, but she couldn't be bother getting up and moving. It was then she heard the sound of something moving in the room. Katya wishing whatever it was, it wouldn't bother her.
However, whatever was in the room seemed to be shuffling around. Katya looked over and could see something small by the door. By the look of it it was something close to a rodent, but she couldn't really tell in the darkened room. Giving a loud heavy sigh. Katya closed her eyes. Again started to replay the battle in her mind. Failing to notice the sounds of something much bigger then rodent moving.
Zim felt his way to a door near where he thought he heard the sound. A rodent of some sort scurried off into the darkness, no doubt displaced by the combat that took place near by. He thought for a moment that perhaps he had just heard the rat move something searching for food, and was about to turn away when he heard a deep sigh. "Hello? Whose there, are you alright? This is cadet Zim Rage..." He announced himself as he knocked on the door way.
The sound of someones voice echoed in the darkened room. Dragging Katya back into the world. "Huh, who's there?" She called out to the darkness. "Whoever it is go away. she said half heartily, giving another sigh. She thought here she could have some time to herself. Was it too much to ask? Katya was sure if it was someone they'd either run off or come investigate just who was in the powered down section of the base. Hopefully they'd just leave, but something told Katya that wasn't going to happen. Something about the voice was familiar.
Zim recognized the voice, it was different, more sullen, but all the same it was still Katya's voice, the accent gave it away. Everybody on the team had an accent that was relative to their homeworld, a linguist could probably tell you where each member was from by the way a word was said, the stretch of an a, the swallow of a consonat. Zim was no linguist, he had just spoken with her enough to know it was her. "Katya, it's Zero," he called back from the door way. There was no need to move any closer. "Listen, I know you are feeling pretty awful right now, but you did good. You did the best you could in that situation, we all did the best we could... I was just at the hospital, everyone is recovering. Some will take longer then others, you'll see that for yourself when you get there. We'll all do better next time. We know more about the MIST now. The same thing wont happen again."
Knowing the owner of the voice was Zero, Katya sighed. If it had to be another person did it have to be someone form her own squad. Half the reason she decided to stay here was to be out of sight, from everyone, especially anyone from squad Sigma. She didn't want anyone, especially anyone she knew, to see her like this. Katya couldn't help ponder why he was here. Had he been seeking her out of some reason or had he simply ended up here like herself? Either way, it didn't matter as Zero began to speak, telling Katya that she did her best in that situation, and the everyone was recovering in the hospital. Katya huffed, almost feeling angry at how Zero said everyone was recovering. Her breathing became heavy as her mood quickly changed to anger. "Don't bullshit me, Zero! Not everyone made it back! So don't you dare say everyone is recovering! Not everyone made it back, one of us is missing and in the hands of the enemy, most likely being tortured ... dissected or who knows what! Or did you forget that little fact! It's my dam fault Elora got taken. All I did was watch when she ... the beam ... just go away." Katya said her mood slipping back into a more mopey one. Katya just didn't have the capacity to remain angry at the moment.
"How can you hide out there and say it won't happen again? What gives you that ability or that right?" She questioned, more so speaking to herself then Zero.
"I haven't forgotten. I simply meant that everybody who came back is recovering," Zim explained softly, "I don't doubt for a second that this is the last we have seen of Elora, for good or bad. But what could you have done? You could have sacrificed yourself and either died alongside her, or taken her place at best. Don't kid yourself, anything you could have done in that instant would have resulted in more death, either it be your own, or the deaths of even more innocents in Joppa as the fight continued to drag on. Hell, had we all engaged that ace, none of us would be here right now. They would have taken Joppa, and then they would have reinforced Troas and they would have taken the planet."
Zim never raised his voice, he spoke calmly. No, that wasn't the right word, he spoke coldly. As if, to him, these were solid steel facts that could not be disputed. It was obvious that Zim had thought about the "what ifs ", too. The difference was that Zim wouldn't allow those what ifs to shake his resolve to move forward. The words came out stronger now, though, "What sense is there in me stumbling through the dark to close the distance, my words reach your ears the same, and they certainly wont reach your heart any easier. This wont happen the same way again. We know more about the MIST now, we know that even if it isn't targeted, it will attack. Seems to me, based on the visual changes that we witnessed, that even if it senses that its squad is losing it will go ahead and attack. Meaning that our strategy of killing off the easy targets and taking our time to figure out how to deal with the MIST is not an option. We learned from Troas and from Joppa that we are largely not properly equiped to deal with opponents who are resistant to physical attacks. Meaning that we need to make sure that if we are ever split into seperate squads again, Blackstar and Magus should remain on opposite teams because of our energy attacks, and that we should prioritize those attacks for MIST and then worry about the other stuff, or when next our werks get upgrades, we need to find ways to diversify our attacks to be better able to deal wth a situation. That is why I say this won't happen again."
Zim let out a sigh as he collected his thoughts once more. "You wanted to save Elora, you still do. Well so do I, but we are not strong enough. Even if we knew where they were, we couldn't get to them in our current state. The best we can do for Elora right now is to recover and get stronger. Either in her memory, or with the intention to fight on and eventually someday save her. That is what I intend to do."
Zero's words earned him an annoyed huff followed by a defeated sigh. As much as Katya hated to admit it, the more logical side of her knew he was right. She had all she could with what she had. Caretaker simply wasn't equipped to handle such a powerful opponent solo. So what more could she of done? It reminded her of the stress test's she underwent back home. Where Cadets were placed in impossible situations without warning and forced to make hard choices. She felt it this was one of those moments she made a choice and hard one at that. Still even if the logical side of her knew Zero was right. It didn't make her feel any better. Right now the loss of someone close to her had ripped a hole in her heart. One that no amount of words would fix. Still if his words had made her decide maybe she shouldn't be sat in the dark letting the feeling over take her. After all Elora wouldn't like that and Katya had her pride. That she was the squads only living officer. She should be setting an example not hiding in the dark like a rodent.
Getting to her feet she sighed, she really didn't want to be seen right now ... but like Zero said they needed to get stronger if they wanted to save Elora. Maybe this was the first step for her. "You know Zero I respect you, but you can be a real asshole at times. When you're trying to make a girl feel better you should try a nicer approach. Speaking to someone upset so coldly rarely helps. Look Zim, Elora was like a little sister to me. So much so I pretty much considered her family. She was always around me ... so it's noticeable to me in particular that she's gone, alright. I just need time for it to sink in that she's really gone. Not to mention Ariin by the looks of it is really messed up. Did you say how many it took to pull him from his werk. It all just got to me." she spoke giving another sigh. "You can go if you want I just need a minute to put something other then frown on. Can't let the others see me down."
"At times?" Zim responded with a raised eyebrow, "Most people think I'm an asshole all the time. Look, I don't expect my words to help with your loss, not one bit. I only intended to lighten the load of blame, hopefully by helping you see tat you are not at fault. We've all felt that loss here, we all have our own ways of coping with it. You need your space and time, I see that. I'm sorry I interupted."
With that Zim turned away from the door way, by now his eyes had well acclimated to the dark and he could at least figure out where the walls were and started walking away. Katya could here his voice echo a little in the distance as his foot steps continued to fade, "Now where the hell did I turn wrong?"
Mai suddenly woke up with a start. She thought that she should be dead. Yet somehow, here she was.
"...I'm...alive...?...wait..."
Then, she immedately knew something was wrong...something was VERY wrong. In fact, the place she was in, she recognized it.
When she sat up, she looked around...and saw..."nothing" for a better lack of term. But she knew this kind of landscape.
The all-white smooth ground...the gray colored sky...and nothing around for miles.
Alone...quiet...empty.
She then tried to piece together the last things she remembered but had trouble filling the blanks for reasons she knew. The battle at Joppa.
"...long time Mai..."
She then looked to her side...and saw herself. Though she was in the black plugsuit that she always wore. Just now "she"...or her other self, wasn't wearing the back helmit with the red visor.
And quickly looking herself over showed that she also was still in her black plugsuit.
But Mai knew better...this...wasn't reality.
This was her mind...and it'd had been a long time since she had last been this deep into..."herself".
"...Seven...", Mai simply said.
"...as I said, it's been a while ma'am...", Seven droned while giving a salute.
Shaking her head, Mai then watched as "Seven" then sat down right in front of her. Mai herself then got into a proper sitting position herself.
"...are we...dead?", Mai asked.
"...no...but your aware what happened the last time this happened...", "Seven" droned in response.
Of course, how could she NOT forget. Her first test run with the Telekenetic system. Her first battle with it in the Setsuka...pushing past her default Sync rate limit...then...this.
"...coma...", Mai said, looking down and trying to control herself.
"...the human brain is quite strange...your self-aware of that ma'am...and yet...", "Seven" droned.
"...how bad was...no nevermind...I'm starting to remember", Mai said, recalling the last moments.
From there, both just sat there...quiet. Perhaps both, in their own ways, were accepting the silence. The solitutde. The..."downtime" so to speak.
But for how long this time? If she remembered right, the pain...taking all those sniper rounds mostly then that one shot from the Cruxi squad...her leg blown off...wings burned and damaged...that buring sensation with the green fire...then the lower torso getting blown off in her last mad dash to take down the remaining two Cruxi.
The last time, she was out for only a day...but...this time?
"..."Seven"...do you think it's time to leave this world?...I'm just...tired...", Mai said rather darkly.
"...negative...we still have work to do...", "Seven" droned.
"...then...you don't..."need" me...do you..."
"Seven" took a long look at her "other half". Even she couldn't comprehend the human soul. But then again, the humans were fighting a rather desperate war. With her mother and her special abilities and skills, she was perhaps the best bet the humans had.
Then, her last moments of "madness" changed everything...being pushed too far due to that same system and the "demands" of others...
That's when Mai was forced to serve being that Maria "Angel" Twilight was her last living relative. Even her home was taken over by the Cruxi. Then...the "Helldivers" division...Caulder and the other pilots.
But some were hoping that she'd also develop the same skills her mother had.
And that's was when "she" came into the world to help Mai cope...to help her "deal" with the horror's of war. Then to the point of completing the missions...to do things that no other pilot can do...to make those hard decisions...to even give up their very lives for the sake of not only the mission...but for the well-being of others.
But what Mai was saying...was that she can have complete control of her own destiny. To make her own path for herself in this chaotic war. To be more than a "drone" sent to go and fight...
To destroy. To live. To survive.
Yet to "Seven", something happened...why did that seem so...heartless?
Why was she hesitating? She could be her own person. She could be in full control of this body.
But for "Seven", she already knew the reason.
"...I can't comply with that order ma'am", "Seven" suddenly droned.
Mai looked up, a look of shock on her face.
Then...tears. Mai started to cry.
"...why...I just...I just want it to end...the fact that your here just shows how screwed up in the head I am!...why Seven?!...WHY?!?!?!"
"...because...seeing you bear all that weight that was "forced" upon you...it just..."
"Seven" then said something that she never thought a "personality" trained to kill would say.
"...it just...hurt..."
Mai had tears in her eyes and took a long hard look at "Seven"...or perhaps, herself.
She then leaned foward...and hugged herself. Crying on her own shoulder.
* * * * * * * * * *
In reality, Mai was still hooked up to the machines like Zim and Serah witnessed before. But sometime later, if anyone were to take a closer look at Mai...they would see fresh tears from her eyes.
Roger blinked in the night lights of Troas. The hyper-focused clarity he had enjoyed back before and during the battle had faded and left him with a killer headache for his troubles. Or maybe that was from crashing into that tentacle monster full throttle. Or maybe he was dehydrated. Or the after effects of the mental strain combat brought. Who knew? And really, who gave a shit.
Roger took a puff from his cigarette, the smoke bringing a bit of relief for his aching forehead for the low, low price of getting a big lungful of smoke. He blinked again and looked up at the big, glowing sign directly across the street from him. It was a casino, still open and drawing in a surprising amount of business given what had just happened in this city. Maybe people were hoping to make enough money gambling to replace everything they had lost in the destruction. 'You've already gambled with your life today, Roger. Why not go inside and have some fun? What's some cash compared to that?'
Meh. Rooney wasn't all that interested in gambling right now. Or really that much of anything. The bright lights of the casino just made it an easy place to hang around. Far less likely to get mugged or end up in some kind of precarious situation without anybody to help and no way to get out. Roger's shoulders relaxed as he blew out a steady stream of smoke. No, this would be sufficient for tonight. No teammates, no superiors, no obligations, no pressure. Just being able to relax and do nothing for the first time in weeks.
Roger looked off into the distance and noticed a building with some of the top knocked off. It wasn't damage from gunfire, plasma or explosives. Must have been the hospital Yeager had tripped on. Idly, Roger wondered if anybody knew he did that.
