This was not a battle you wanted to lose. It was the ultimate hunt combined with the deadliest of weapons. A redux of [i]The Most Dangerous Game[/i], the hunt for human lives. Dread moved, Ursa Nova responded, and the enemy was already [i]chunks[/i] in his mind. Let us begin. [center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTUPNgh8xxs[/youtube][/center] The bear-like NC had made the beeline for the multi-limbed mech, Hisn-ul-Ghayma, and naturally it had seen or detected his presence. He wasn't in it to be a sneaky bastard about things. He wanted you to [i]know[/i] what horrors you would face, and despair in its presence. Sadly, you could not possibly hear whatever emotional reaction the other pilot could have unless you had communications open to them, but Dread could imagine, as things became worse for every victim, that all confidence would drain and the fear would be present instead. It was only a matter of how he handled things, once engaged. For instance, when he launched himself at the drone-launching mech, it had thrust its heat axe out at Ursa's diving figure, opening to do grievous damage to it. But that would not happen so easily. No no no... The heated jaws of the beast, already open wide, came snapping down upon the heat axe, catching the business end of it in a clash of heat on heat action. In the long run, you would bet on Ursa's teeth winning out in a struggle between the two, as the axe was not as dedicated in the energy department as the bear's various heated implements. But...we're not going to have a mere struggle of axe-in-bear-mouth. Dread wasn't interested. After the teeth of Ursa Nova grappled with Hisn-ul-Ghayma's axe, its forepaws - rather, its arms - palm-slapped the ground, since a tackle wasn't going to happen right now. The enemy NC was using the fullness of its strength to break his momentum. So be it. The hands struck the ground and high-pressure flames shot out to boost the beast back into an upright position and the legs came in to achieve two-legged balance. Dread had his NC pull on the axe, but only to test the strength of its wielder for a moment. He had a better move in mind. Ursa's chest-ports ignited and spewed plasma flames at the enemy NC while leaving his hands free to do whatever the hell he wanted, which was to wait and see how it would react to this sudden reversal of fortune. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Ah, but we're not done yet. Because, you see, there's more of a tale to tell in the life of some of our pilots. For instance... [center][h3][color=red][b]A Tale of Two that Met in the Past[/b][/color][/h3][/center] [center][color=f7941d][b][u]Terra and Hibiki[/u][/b][/color][/center] In the rec room of the genetics facility, sounds of an object echoed through the halls. Within, a young girl could be seen tracking the object with her eyes and ears as it wildly careened around the room. Despite common sense, she was seen clasping the ball from its trajectory just to send it flying again. She did this without flinch or failure, her control seemingly flawless. She couldn't be more than 12 years of age, but this seemed more than one of her age should be capable of... The sound of footsteps did not alter her actions. She continued on as if nothing e happening, though it [i]sounded[/i] as though her 'creator' was speaking to someone. [b][color=green]"...and it truly is a [i]marvel[/i] that nobody even considered this process from the start. I mean, it's so [i]obvious[/i]. Get them from the start, accelerate the learning capacity. It's [i]perfect[/i]. Ah, here we are."[/color][/b] Dr. Bastion was a middle-aged man with glasses who was balding and as educated in medical science and genetics as he was arrogant...which is to say quite a bit. The slow process of raising an augmented human from birth to adulthood to allow all adaptations to set in and beat out all previous attempts was his idea. He...made Terra Laedo, shortly after she was born. In a very crass tone, the man Dr. Bastion was leading commented, [b][color=orange]" Exactly what I thought! Although my options were more limited than yours at the time. Thankfully my late wife left me a child to...[i]love[/i] as best I can. What modifications were used in her augmentation if I may ask, and how did you deal with immune response?"[/color][/b] The group entered the room, and Terra now saw a clearly over weight man with her creator. However, she also noticed a boy, no taller than the man's waist, hidden behind the white man. The boy's body clearly covered in bandaging. The young man coward at the attention Terra payed to him. Indeed, she began to grow curious of the young boy ever since the large blustery man spoke with insincerity regarding 'love'. Oh dear. She was giving him an inquisitive look, one of definite scrutiny, and she was [i]still[/i] tossing the ball around, somehow managing not to hit anyone as the two scientists talked on. [b][color=green]"[i]Immune[/i] responses... The possibility of rejection was lowered dramatically by starting early in the first place, reduced to practically zero by way of controlled conditions in a fluid suspension tank, everything taken in by IV, oxygen fed, mind stimulated with imagery to accelerate reception, retention, and general curiosity, thus gaining a headstart both physically [i]and[/i] mentally. The physical ones were actually quite subtle. You don't need to push a newborn's system hard, just get the ball rolling, so to speak. The mitochondria was strengthened and the calcium bonding in the..."[/color][/b] He went on, at length. The doctor was an egotist, hailing his achievements over others and taking pride in every juicy detail. He would likely occupy the other man for a while. Terra's violet eyes narrowed at the boy, and then they looked aside as her head inclined slightly. She was indicating 'Leave them alone for now', and then began to walk in that direction. I contrast to Terra's eyes, the boy's subdued Hazel ones were filled with a fright. No one has exuded an aura like that to him, but his father. His eyes then started to dart between the careening ball and Terra. The boy, in an attempt to avoid conflict, tried to reduce the size of himself by slouching and contracting his muscles. His head started to dart about in looking at Terra, the ball, and for away of escape from the situation. The ball stopped bouncing around, and then he would see it rolling gently towards his feet. By the time the boy would either think to pick it up or look for the owner, he would find that she was quietly exiting the room. Curious behavior or careless frivolity? You be the judge. It so happened, though, that she was giving him an out and a chance to be away. The boy watched as the man and his father spoke, to him it was seemingly endless. So, he started for the open door, slowly peeked out, and eased himself out of the room I to the hall. The boy cautiously looked for the girl. At that time in full view, through parts of the light blue hospital gown, older scars can be seen. She was actually not far away, but she was opposite the direction he thought she'd gone, having quickly slipped back to the other side of the door to {A} be in his blindspot and {B} observe closely for a few seconds. When he spotted her, he could see that she was surprisingly focused, and that her eyes were steady, unwavering, controlled. She spoke in even tones as soon as he saw her. [color=red]"Old scars, eyes full of fear, and a sickly yellow-green sound... What does he do to you, other than make it hurt?"[/color] She'd seen more than his body language. She'd seen the [i]sound[/i] of him... The young boy is puzzled by the line of questions and attempted to answer, [color=yellow]"He shows me his love. My farther loves me very much. Although I don't like the love, I don't feel good when he gives me love. Especially when [i]changes[/i] my parts. The love is really strong when he does that. What is hurt?"[/color] The boy let a smile out at her. Words were said, but they didn't make any sense, not at first. This was a new concept to her. The things the boy was telling her were in contradiction to the understanding she had built up of the world...and that was a problem. And it's not that she was obsessed with being right all the time, but there were fundamentals that you just don't question, such as the difference between love and pain. She shook her head at him. [color=red]"That isn't love. Love isn't painful- ...no, my father said it [i]could[/i] be, but he meant emotionally. Not like cutting into your body. I almost swore it off, like sadness, but still... Love is not cutting pieces out of you and putting new ones in. Your father is performing surgery, not love."[/color] There'd been a moment where she'd been a little confused there, but now she was insisting that the way he was had nothing to do with love, only pain. Seeing the girl go off about something called pain, and sadness. The boy started to fidget, and rub the arm with the least bandaging. After he gained some courage to respond he replied, [color=yellow]" Th...tha..that can't be right, my father told me so. And you say weird words. Maybe your dad is wrong."[/color] He had managed to challenge her. Now, it was his turn for confusion, but as much as he wanted to prove she was wrong, there could be no mistake [i]here[/i]. She began to scowl at him. [color=ed1c24]"I read [i]alot[/i] of weird things. Many of them are true. I'm being [i]trained[/i] to hurt people, to fight them. I [i]have to[/i] know what pain means, or else I'm not going to do very well. Pain is when your body is begging for the feeling to stop, because it's being damaged and broken, like the things you cover with bandages. I know [i]all about[/i] inflicting pain."[/color] She suddenly approached him, raised her arms, and...held him gently, comfortingly. Terra spoke into his ear after a few seconds. [color=ed1c24]"My father isn't a doctor. He just tries to raise me with an understanding of things, and he is not wrong."[/color]