((Collab Post between [@Letter Bee] and [@Senhara])) [quote=@Senhara] After a short amount of time, Sahaquiel is released into the battlefield. She walks forward slowly, stomping with every footstep, kicking up dust. She proceeds to crouch down behind a large building, waiting for the enemy and to avoid snipers. She turns on the communication systems and tells the team "Godspeed, everyone. Let's not die today." Sahaquiel pokes its head up. "I uh... See an NC, black and purple with horns on its head. I'm... Not picking up any life signatures from it, no jamming detected. That's impossible! No NC can operate without a human pilot! Why does it look exactly like an armored human?" Her NC's claws twitch and the hands ball up into fists. [/quote] "You have other things to worry about," a voice interrupted her rant through the comms. If Kyexun in Sahaquiel turned to the side, she would see Alexander Sky in his Phoenix Inferno rushing at her, it's EMP-claw out and ready to pulse. The red-orange mecha looked like a beastman from so up close; a match for Sahaquiel in every way. [center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H88oI5uX3jM[/youtube][/center] The hidden thrusters fire according to Kxeyun's battle instincts, and the machine rotates around to face Alexander. The machine's large claws raise up as it prepares for battle. The shield-peircers spring to life whilst Kxeyun looks at Phoenix Inferno. [i]"Avoid the giant claw, I won't die."[/i] Kxeyun picks up a van and chucks it at Phoenix. Phoenix Inferno yanks itself upwards, avoiding the van even as its Fusion Cannons try and blast Sahaquiel's right arm off; he had seen how the shields didn't seem to cover said arm. The superheated gas, as hot as the sun's surface, ought to melt the enemy NC's arm, but Alex knew he was not that lucky - His opponent seemed to have skill. Indeed, Alex was right. Kxeyun formulated a plan that seems rather suicidal. She dashes backward and leaps onto a building, and uses the machine's powerful legs to leap up into the air. She wouldn't be able to leap that high, intending to claw at the NC's legs. How she would land, is a mystery. Alexander uses his superior maneuverability to jerk himself backwards, firing his Fusion Cannons as he did so to rocket himself back, back out of the range of Sahaquiel's claws. Said cannons were still aimed at the mecha's arms; this time the upper parts close to the shoulders. At the same time, he keeps watch for the other enemy NCs, just in case. Sahaquiel reveals another trick, the shield-piercers are designed to be switched on and off rather fast. The piercers disable themselves, but it would've been a better move to shoot her lower arms, due to how the shields extend. She takes the damage, growling inside the control seat. Her legs fully extend and lands on another building, completely collapsing it. Alexander charges, his Fusion Cannons covering his approach as they fire at Sahaquiel's head and eyes where he thought the sensors were. His Right-hand claw draws back for a swipe at the large NC, this time taking a cue from the latter's movements and aiming for the legs. At the same time, at the corner of Sahaquiel's eyes, a kicking of dust can be seen... [center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcs6DkrlwS0[/youtube][/center] The shields take the impact, however a few of Sahaquiel's cameras are damaged. The presence of the new NC triggers a reaction from Kxeyun and the machine. She lets go of the controls, and growls loudly. Several plates start shifting on the NC's face, Phoenix's sensors can pick up an increased reactor output. The blue "wires" in the face of the NC retract, so does the top of the head. The bottom of the head shifts as well, revealing a mouth. Two panels move, revealing what represents eyes. They squint at Phoenix Inferno. The mouth opens and the machine lets out a MASSIVE roar, Alexander can hear it without needing a microphone on the external armor of his NC. The machine growls after that roar, and on the inside of the metal mouth, Alexander can see dried blood. The shield-peircers reactivate and Sahaquiel charges at Phoenix, attempting to use both arms to grab onto the massive arm before it can hit. While this happens, all allied NCs get a message from Sahaquiel reading: WARNING: MENTAL CONTAMINATION IS AT 94%. SAHAQUIEL IS BERSERK. Alexander's [i]left[/i] arm then cuts upwards at Sahaquiel's claws, a plasma dagger held in said arm. In the Havenite NC's berserk state, it probably won't notice that the claws had been cut apart, if it was going to be the case. The dagger gives a significant cut to a few of the claws, not completely destroying them but getting close. However, the other claws sink into the right arm of Phoenix Inferno, and Sahaquiel then uses that leverage to slam Phoenix into the ground, stomping on it. All the while the machine keeps growling and letting out little roars, completely unaware of the cloaked threat. Kxeyun begins shouting words over open comms that don't seem to 100% belong to her, and it has a mix of a robotic voice in there too. "You call yourselves PILOTS?! How crazy you are to think of yourselves as that! You're just a catalyst to turn on the machines! TOOLS! YOU CRAZY GOD DAMNED PEOPLE! This is what Sahaquiel is!" Another light kicking of dust, before Alexander screams out, clearly in pain, "No, [i]Mako[/i]! A little pain..." he grunted, "WON'T STOP ME!" His Mech's right arm was damaged, but not so entirely that the EMP projector was entirely useless. Phoenix Inferno's right hand grabs at one of the gigantic claws of the enemy mecha, then [i]pulses[/i], unleashing a wave of energy that shorts out Sahaquiel's electronics - or hopefully does so! The energy mixing with Sahaquiel's shield piercers triggers a backflow, the right arm's shield piercer overloads and sends a massive jolt of electricity, all of which was contained in the shield piercer into Phoenix. However, the right arm is now rendered useless, smoking heavily. This causes Kxeyun, and in turn Sahaquiel, to scream out in pain. She uses the machine's left arm, left leg and Viper Thrusters to tear the arm off, pushing against Phoenix with the leg and pulling against the arm with the rest. She proceeds to kick backwards and back away from Phoenix, finally noticing the dust. Phoenix Inferno flies backward, facing Sahaquiel as he did so. It was then that Alexander says, "Well-done; but Red-Star teaches a mind to endure pain in ways that a Pilot of Denver-Vegas cannot. And one of the things I pride myself for is... Being the Bane of Denver-Vegas!" The Fusion Cannons mounted on the shoulders fire again, over and over at Sahaquiel. At the same time, Kyexun's remaining sensors would see [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/522674994392858645/522715495120502814/1544695443768-556816379.jpg]two Repair Gunships that were moving towards Alexander[/url]; magnetically attached to their bottoms was... A new EMP Claw. She can hear Alexander scream at the gunships, "Stop! This is a matter of honorable combat! Don't come near us!" At the same time, there was another kicking of dust, this time close to Sahaquiel's back. Mental contamination reaches 100%, she's no longer herself. Sahaquiel dodges behind a building "You may be the bane of Denver-Vegas, but I am Sahaquiel, Ingenuity of God! I will drive this lesson deep into your head, I will defeat you! I am a Prototype designed to counter close range NCs! LET THIS TEACH YOU WELL!" She proceeds to use her legs to kick said building directly at Phoenix, chucking the destroyed arm from his NC to follow up and stab into him. She thinks he's finished and remembers the dust, and proceeds to stomp on the ground. Except not, as she can feel a dagger, a meta-material dagger designed for opening up armor plates (and thus also good against shields), piercing Sahaquiel's back. Kyexun would feel the pain through her Neural-Net connection, and her body would be paralyzed and the mech with it as it was the equivalent of a spinal injury. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH ALEXANDER-SENPAI!" A voice called out; young and shrill. It was Mako Shintai, pilot of the Kitsune. Alexander, meanwhile, had dodged Kyexun/Sahaquiel's thrown building and mech-arm, and was now having a new one painfully installed by the Red-Star Repair Gunships, who were releasing minature drones to help with the process of mending. More Gunships and drones were coming out of the smoke, holding Alexander's Phoenix Inferno in place as the NC/Mecha was repaired. Alexander himself was saying, "Mako! Don't deny me this duel!" A pause. "But... Good job anyway." Sahaquiel begins to rapidly heat up, it's left arm explodes from an overload. It's going to attempt to self-destruct! Apparently they damaged something critical. Mako, brushing aside his Senpai's words, tries to cut out Sahaquiel's NC Core and Ejection Pod, hoping to yank it out in record time and zoom off with his prisoner before the explosion struck. The thing is, Kxeyun is only inside the ejection pod when an ejection sequence is triggered, and due to the spinal damage, it can't activate. The machine spits out something quickly. "DO THAT AND I EXPLODE INSTANTLY! LET GO AND I SHUT DOWN!" Alexander responds instantly, "Let go, Mako!" Mako obeys this time, zooming away from Kyexun/Sahaquiel as more Red-Star forces, this time [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/522674994392858645/526224192539066369/Generals_Overlord.jpg]Tanks[/url], move in position, staying far enough to be relatively unaffected by any explosion, but close enough to fire. The NC's legs collapse due to the paralyzing effect. She begins laughing. "Riddle me this, Alexander. Do you think I'd give up THIS easily? You know that sooner or later you'd die. Look me in the eyes, do I look like the type to let you win?" The mouth moves while it talks, and in her mind, the Kxeyun/Sahaquiel merge is praying for a miracle, if none comes, she'll die instead of letting them get hands on her. Alongside that, she's putting full willpower into trying to move, the animalistic instincts making her do that. Alexander looked at her and said, "Actually, yes." Kyexun's commlink - Her [i]Havenite Commlink[/i] - beeped. If she opened it, she would find it at maximum quantum encryption, the highest grade that Haven can provide. She would then see a message: [hider=Spoilers][i]Don't die yet - I'm spying on Red-Star for Theodore. Let's talk here so Osamu doesn't hack our brains. - Love, A. PS: The password is [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gezi_Park_protests]'Gezi Park'[/url].[/i] [center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u74_caLUnho[/youtube][/center] The eyes on Sahaquiel close, a reply is sent [i]You and I know very well I cannot believe you, Denver designed me to kill you and taught us that you are the absolute definition of deception and evil. I'd love to believe you, but this is not the case. Convince me to not blow ourself up and I will trust your words. Oh and if that other NC comes and tries that again, I will self-destruct instantly. - Though the Heavens fall, let there be peace, Kxequiel.[/i] The eyes then re-open, they have a timer set for 5 minutes, he doesn't have much time to convince her. [i]Funny, Red-Star taught me the same about Denver-Vegas, and added some things about how you were dirty imperialists. But tell me the truth, do you really trust the company that made you kill your best friend? I know about it, 'Kxequiel'; I know quite a bit. But here's one thing that only a Havenite or Havenite Agent would know; you've found someone new to love. Over coffee.[/i] A reference to Terra. [i]Now do you believe me? I want you to survive as much as Theodore does,[/i] the words on the screen spelled out. [I]And trust me; he cares for all of us; even me.[/i] The mouth on Sahaquiel begins shifting, before slamming shut and opening again, the timer immedietly drops by 5 seconds. [i]She needs someone to keep her safe. I only killed Jack because he was Denver and he was trying to kill me. She already changed my allegience to Haven. It also stands to reason that the Red-Star defector, Terra, didn't really defect and is just YOUR agent. She was oddly calm... Something useful for a spy, is it not? You don't have too much longer to convince me.[/i] Alexander replied, trying to convey anger over text. [i]I could leave you to your fate before you hurt her with that accusation. Said accusation might destroy your team, true or false - and it is false. But if you want something more substantial... I was saving this for my actual defection.[/i] A blueprint shone on her commlink's screen: Tabris'. It would take three to five seconds to be seen as a genuine blueprint. The next three to five seconds will show Grand Sword Star's, then Ursa Nova's. The only thing left missing was Web-Spinner's schematics, as he was a Mercenary. This causes Kxequiel to hesitate. [i]You shared Red-Star's blueprints with me... That would be an absolutely stupid move from Red-Star, but you bested my berserker mode, you aren't stupid...[/i] The timer shuts off right before it hits 0, the eyes show again, but this time they're a deep gray, the same color as Kxeyun's eyes. She then says out loud "Well you foul Red-Star scum, you live this time. Next time we meet, it'll be your head on my dinner plate." The machine proceeds to collapse, and shut down. This leaves Kxeyun inside the darkened machine only muttering "Jack? Terra? Where are you? I see nothing... What am I? Do I even like you?" She then devolves into a crying fit. [/hider] She can hear Alexander say over the comms, "We're leaving, Mako." A petulant reply from the invisible Red-Star pilot, "Why, Alexander-Senpai?! We can get a new slave for Red-Star this time!" Alexander responds smugly, "Madwomen do not make good slaves. Besides, I prefer a proper twink." And with that, Red-Star's NCs and their conventional forces leave Sahaquiel alone, focusing on other Havenite Mecha... [@Andre Valias][@AzenExile][@FalloutJack][@Landaus Five-One][@Metatrooper][@Scribe of Thoth][@Stern Algorithm][@Sgt Vandingo][@Selvariabell][@Bartimaeus]: