Yelling with fury in her voice, Gates rose up from her kneeling position behind the cover of a crate, and let the monstrosities have it with her R-201.
She felt a dark satisfaction at seeing the bodies of the Amalgamates get torn up by her bullets, some of them wearing Militia armor. It relieved both her need for revenge against them killing her buddies, and her protective instinct over her friends. In any case, she knew that she was giving former comrades and allies peace if she killed their new forms.
More and more rapidly, voices filled up the comms.
"More pods are breaking through, our orbital defense keeps losing ships! We must have lost-"
"-nearly forty percent of Chorus is infected, we have to keep these things off the civilians' backs! Place more enforcement at the shelters-"
"-center is under siege! I repeat, city center is- AGGHH-"
Off to the left, Bear stood with his back to a support beam. She had Cooper, Davis, and Droz helping guard the rear entrance and the infirmary. She, Bear, and Blisk, along with an assortment of riflemen and other Pilots were trying to keep the front from being overtaken.
He turned and fired his weapon, only to jerk back in shock when a ricochet bullet from the creature's ranks struck him in the shoulder. He crumpled to the ground, holding it while swearing profusely.
Being the closest one to him, Blisk vaulted over their cover and dragged Bear back into relative safety while Gates gave them both covering fire. Before now, she never would have thought she'd see the mercenary stick his neck out for Militia; but today had been a very unusual day.
Blisk handed him a rag. "Keep pressure on the wound, that should slow the bleeding."
Bear's body tensed up at the pain coming in full force, and he called over to Gates, "How long until Four gets that array up?!"
She took aim as a particularly fast Amalgamate almost crossed the threshold of the building's defense. It was distracted by a Pilot running next to it, and it lashed out to grab its would-be victim. It was surprised to find that the Pilot was actually a hologram, and it had only just realized its folly when Gates rounds began tearing through its body. Quickly, Gates waved some thanks at the female Holo-Pilot who had helped her take it down.
"I don't know," she replied, "but we've got to hold out until he does. One way or another, this'll all be over soon!"
"That's quite the optimism," Blisk said sarcastically. She didn't comment on it, instead thinking to herself internally of just how much was counting on him.
C'mon Tobias. Hurry.
…
He couldn't tell how long he'd been running, only that it was all he knew at the moment.
Every step. Every huff of breath, forcing oxygen into his tired lungs. It gave him a process, a diversion to focus on as he sprinted through the downtown section of Chorus. It kept him from coming to terms with the awful scene that he'd taken part of, and breaking down at the prospect of never seeing one of his oldest friends again.
He almost didn't notice it when he nearly ran headfirst into KT and Skids.
"Tobias!" KT called forcefully. "Stop running!"
Finally registering her voice, he stopped and looked up blankly. She seemed rather concerned. "I've been calling your name since you rounded that bend. Are you alright?"
"Where's Tyra and CH?" questioned Vale, the Ronin moving around to look for them. She glanced about, as though expecting to see them running not too far behind. "I don't see her …"
He closed his eyes, and sank to his knees to catch his breath. He couldn't … he didn't have the heart to tell her …
Vale seemed to suddenly comprehend from his body language. "No … no, God, no no no …" Skids took a few steps forward. "TYRA!" she yelled over the comms, "RESPOND! That's an order!"
Her cry was only met with static.
She and Skids took one half-hearted step towards the city.
"I'm sorry," he choked out. "Amelia, I … I couldn't save her." He looked at her Titan. "Right up to the end … she fought until her last breath."
He heard her give a synthetic sniffle. "Of course she did. She was a warrior. A damn good one." She rotated Skids' body to look at their six. "We have to move, they're coming."
For as affected by Tyra's death as Vale was, he was thankful that it wasn't clouding her awareness. He turned and saw that she was right. Another wave of Amalgamates was flooding through every crossroad of the city now, converging on their location near the exit. He looked down the final avenue, noting that there was only a few hundred yards between them and the city limit.
"Alright," he agreed, a level of hoarseness in his voice, "let's move."
KT knelt down to allow him better access, and popped her hatch. He hopped in, and easily linked with her. Control transitioned to him in one smooth effort, and he and Vale began to run down the last road before open fields and and the Gardens awaited them.
Overhead, several dropships flew by and helped them out. Bullets rained down upon the mass of creatures chasing after them, shooting them apart to reduce their numbers. Unfortunately, it seemed that they hadn't expected so many of the population to have been converted already. They hadn't killed even a fifth of the wave chasing after them before they were forced to loop around for another pass.
"There's too many!" Vale called out, Skids' sword dicing any that came too close into pieces.
He shook his head, and urged KT's body forward. "We just have to make it to the exit, and we're good. With any luck they'll stay in the city!"
Vale was far ahead of him, less than a hundred yards to the gate now. "What makes you think that?"
He tried to keep pace with her, but the fact was that the Vanguard wasn't as fast as the Ronin. She paused, and waited for him to catch up. As she did so, he explained, "They seem to be going for highly populated areas, they want to take out the city first. More humans means more Amalgamates. They won't have that outside the city walls!"
"So they'll just stop and turn around?" she questioned.
He grunted, "Well, that's the current theory I'm running with. We'll see how well it holds up when we actually get outside, and make our way to the array-"
As soon as he spoke the word array, his mind was pierced by pain once more. His vision turned red, just a massive wall of blurred red.
THE ARRAY IS CLOSE. YOU SEEK TO FIND IT.
He saw an image of the map he'd used to approximate its location flash in his mind.
NO … YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT.
He jerked uncontrollably, and seized up. KT's chassis, since she was currently linked with him, experienced the same motion and tipped onto its side, twitching. He hit his head on the side of the cockpit, but was unable to do anything but stare about the cabin in a state of paralysis and pain.
Vale saw their predicament. "Four, KT!" He couldn't see her through the ocular systems, but he felt the rumble of a Titan's footsteps as she presumably approached.
YOU HAVE FAILED, INFERNO. WE WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO FIND IT. YOU HAVE BUT ONE OPTION NOW; JOIN US.
JOIN US.
He could do nothing as darkness crept in around the edges of his vision, and consumed him. He fell down … down … down …
…
He pushed himself off the ground, and looked around.
He found himself in a void-scape. The ground was rocky, and jagged in a way that no rock would naturally form. He appeared to be on a plateau of sorts, a mountainous peak that poked out from a layer of fog that obscured most of the ground.
Looking up, he saw that the sky was a dark red and blue. Not a purple, as though they had combined, but mingled as though the two colors were fighting for dominance over the sky. Patches of each stretched far off into the distance, and while he could see clearly into the horizon, he could not see any end to wherever he was.
He held his hands in front of his face. He didn't see what he expected to, which was the gloves of his suit. Instead, he saw that while they were definitely his hands, they seemed to be composed of some kind of light, or fire. He was a bright white, with tints of bright blue on the edges of the flames that licked his form. Perhaps this was his essence, or his non-physical form. Who knew what to think anymore?
Wind tore around his location, the only sound present in the entirety of the void-scape. He didn't think this was a real place; rather, it was a personal hell that he'd been flung into, a prison within his own mind for him to come to terms with reality. He sank to his knees, recalling what the Seed had just said to him.
YOU HAVE FAILED, INFERNO.
JOIN US.
He sat there, unable to think of a solution out of this. Did he even want to?
The Seed was attacking Harmony in full force.
Civilian populations all over the galaxy had come under attack from the Amalgamates.
Tyra, CH, and who knew how many others were dead … all because of him.
Even if it had been a necessity, he was still ultimately the one who had sent the Seed into the present. Would it have been better for humanity to have never existed, to have simply not even begun rather than to experience the pain it was enduring right now?
The Amalgamation was almost a reality. Maybe he should just let it happen. Just let this universe become a statistic amongst the many others that had already been consumed.
Were these thoughts his own? Or just the Seed planting them there, trying to convince him to give in? He didn't know anymore. He didn't care.
All was lost.
…
What was that?
He heard the small voice of someone very familiar. Not truly words, but some kind of cry nonetheless. Like someone who was trying to speak in a language of the mind rather than the mouth. Someone he knew …
There it was again!
He twisted his head around slowly, looking to the source of the voice. He was shocked to see another figure in the void-scape with him, approaching him from behind. They were humanoid like him, and similarly appeared to be made of flame or light. However, their colors were flipped to be the opposite of his; instead of white with blue accents, they seemed to be composed of a bright blue with white tongues of flame surrounding the edges of their form.
He found that he could not speak, or at least not like he would normally. He tried to communicate in that same way that they had, with emotions and feeling. He wanted to know if they were alright.
They stepped closer, and nodded somewhat fearfully. There were no specific features on them, no facial aspects like eyes or a mouth, but he noticed the generally feminine traits on the figure; the generous curvature of the body, the fact that they were shorter than he was. From that, he was able to guess her gender.
She looked over her body made of light and flame. She seemed entranced by it, as though it were a brand new experience for her. He felt wonder radiating off of her, and then it disappeared as she remembered where they were.
She made another cry, one that he could garner the meaning of.
She was afraid.
He looked around, and directed his thoughts toward her. Who was she? How did she get here? He thought that this was all happening in his mind.
A pleasant hum manifested itself in his head, and the realization of what had happened was seemingly dropped into it by her, much like a child throwing a coin into a fountain. When the Seed had thrown him here, she'd been taken as well. His mind was bonded to hers, more-so in that moment than when it had ever probed him before.
Kay.
She moved closer still, and he could see that she was looking to him for reassurance. She'd never been here before, hadn't seen the visions like he had in his nightmares, or when speaking to the Architect. How did they leave?
A gentle noise much like a sigh escaped him. He didn't know how to get out of here. But what was the point of trying at all?
She seemed rather affronted by his willingness to give up. Never had she seen him admit defeat.
He sat back down on the ground facing her. They'd never fought an enemy like the Seed before. How many universes had already fallen to the Amalgamation? What hope did they have?
From somewhere out in the void, he felt a presence become satisfied with his resignation. It wanted him to surrender to its will, to join it.
Walking over, she held out her hands for him to take them. Confusedly, he accepted, and she helped him back onto his feet. She placed a hand on his shoulder gently, and he watched as the colors between his white and her blue flames merged into one neutral blend of the two where they touched.
Those other realities didn't have him in them. She believed in him.
Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him into a hug. He just needed to believe in himself.
That earlier presence grew discomforted, worried that he would listen to her. He made a decision; would he wallow in self-loathing, or stand up against this last enemy?
His doubt assuaged by her comfort, he felt a warmth return to him, along with his conviction. He reciprocated, bulling her closer to him as well.
The Seed's presence faded away, held off for the time being.
After a moment, she stepped back upon noticing something peculiar. She pointed to his chest. Looking down, he saw a golden-spark, an ember of sorts coming out of his chest. As he watched, a string of light emitted from it, and began to spiral around her like it was inspecting her.
He saw that the ember in his chest was now half the size it had been before, the other half now swirling around her. They both watched in awe as one end of it suddenly stopped around her navel, and then moved up to penetrate her chest. It didn't seem painful; rather, it seemed that it was imbuing her with its power, whatever it was. After a moment, it had moved its entirety within her, and it pulsed in the center of her breast.
Looking down, he saw that his own had echoed the action, a simultaneous experience shared by the two of them. Both of their embers continued to pulse as one, much like a single heartbeat that connected them.
She moved back to within arm's reach of him, and held him as he held her.
One final effort.
He felt a grim acceptance, but also a new bout of courage raise his spirits. One final effort.
She tilted her head, and gave a gentle croon. Was he ready to leave?
He nodded. He was ready.
Still, she hesitated. Now, he was the one who gave a small trill of confusion. What was the matter?
She looked over her form, soon to be gone when they left the void. He felt a sense of desire come from her, but he couldn't quite get what she was expressing. She wanted to …
Either she wasn't being specific, or she was hiding what she meant. He queried again, what was it that-?
Locking her fingers around the back of his neck, she gently eased his head down towards her.
Tilting her chin up, she pressed her face against his.
There were no lips that joined them; this was more than a kiss, it was an intimacy between their very souls. A joining of the very culmination of their being. He had no words to describe what was happening to them, other than they had truly become one.
Was this what Al'cor had told him about? How much more personal the relationship between Architects was? This wasn't just a simple union of the body, but of the mind. The flames of her face grew white as his grew blue.
He felt a sense of radiant joy emanate from her as she hummed; she'd finally seen what he'd told her for years, and what Al'cor had repeated when talking of her sapience. Her physical body may be artificial, yet her feelings were anything but. She was a person, one with a soul the same as any human.
And she wanted to share hers with him.
The wind howled around them, growing louder as they remained strong in their embrace, blind to all but each other. Slowly, everything began to blur and fade to a bright white … brighter … brighter …
…
His eyes shot open, a throbbing headache making itself abundantly present. He raised a hand to the side of his head, and felt something wet squish between his head and the inside of his helmet .
As he watched, KT's ocular systems came back online at roughly the same time. They were still on the ground, having fallen on their side. But he wasn't focused on that at the moment.
"Kay …" he whispered. "I saw you."
She whispered back, in just as much awe of the experience as he was in. "And I saw you."
Both knew that the other was referring to their true selves; when all the disadvantages of a physical form were stripped away, they'd seen what was underneath the mask. They knew each other now through and truly better than they ever had before.
"Four, respond!"
With a start, he realized that Vale was still trying to protect him and KT in their comatose state on the ground. It had to have only been a few seconds since they'd fallen, but that was more than enough time for the Amalgamate forces to overwhelm them. He made a note to discuss this with Kay later.
Grunting in effort, he raised them off the ground and into a shaky stance on their feet. "The Seed knows where the array is! It's going to try and follow us-"
In response to his premonition, pods began to streak from the sky above. Descending on the line of drophsips that were providing cover fire, they smashed through three of them before the others hovered backwards in an effort to make a harder target to hit. The three that had been struck quickly lost altitude, and crashed into the ground several blocks away.
Quickly, Vale came to a decision. "Go! Get to the array, I'll hold them off!"
He immediately tried to shut her down. "No, that's not happening. I'm not going to lose-"
"There's no time to argue! I can hold off this lot for a while, keep them off your back as you run to the Gardens!" She didn't wait for his permission, and charged into the sea of Amalgamates. "I'll make my own way back! Now go!"
He wanted to stay and fight with her, but he knew she spoke the truth. Swearing, he turned and ran out the city exit as she began dispensing a large dose of her leadwall and sword to every creature that approached her. He heard the sounds of battle behind him as the street turned into grass, and KT's pounding footfalls echoed across the plains.
Blisk had said that this was a task for the dragonhearted. He was going to prove him right.
A/N: YOU KNOW WHAT
SCREW WHAT I SAID IN CHAPTER 4
I'M MAKING IT CANON GODDAMNIT
In all seriousness, I was hesitant to do this. But you know, I think I found a way for it to be tasteful and still not be a forced thing. I'm sure that Pyrothekid, BrokenLifeCycle, Max100 and beastyboyz are all happy about this …
For those wondering what exactly happened, basically the Seed did the whole "mind-torture" thing that it's done on him before- except this time he was piloting KT, and they were hooked up together directly through their neural link. When it took him, it also took her.
Coming up VERY close to the end here everyone. Be ready …
Until the next time,
- Matteoarts