CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - VS SLEDGE MOMMA

"you sure you gonna be alright man?" Liz asked as they were walking up to their Mechs.

"yeah, nothing can stop me today!" he smiled and gave a thumbs-up as he hopped into his cockpit. he adjusted his suit slightly, the sensors pulled the fire-proof fabric uncomfortably.

"don't pull at it too much, Aaron" the doctor reminded him as he saw the momentary fluctuation on his read-outs.

"man, these things kinda piss me off," Aaron complained to nobody in particular as he approached the starting line.

"but honey," Ami had started calling him pet names in public since the accident last week, "you can only race because you have those sensors on."

"yeah, honey" Liz teased

"yeah, yeah, i know. you girls ready?"

3...2...1... GO! GO! GO!

River let aaron take the lead. nothing was said during the first lap. the plan was straight up one-on-one, the mood was tense. it was first place or lose the season, as expected, White Snow and Velstien cleaned house with their opponents. if Satomi only got first place, they would tie with white snow. if they took first and 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or any combination of them, they'd face off against Team Velstien for the title. it was all on the line as they crossed the line and turned, ready to face off with another team who had a chance for the title.

"come on river! let's go!" Aaron yelled as he began his assault on the Sledge Momma Mech that came to meet him.

his blows were met with blocks that made it look easy. River was a first-class pilot, aaron just never realized that this guy might actually be able to take Cunningham. Aaron couldn't land a blow, he couldn't even strike at River's defenses. the Sledge Momma Forward was just too quick, aaron knew that if he eased up at all River would turn the fight around and begin wiping the floor with the younger pilot.

Liz and Ami were pretty equally matched by their own opponents, but much like Team Velstien, most of Team Sledge Momma's talent lay in their forward. it was a statistic that was far too common in the IGP. Liz was having fun as she battled the other Mid-fielder. Ami was more concerned that Aaron's fight against River would push his body too far, and was forced onto the defensive because of her distraction.

Aaron lost his rythym for just a moment when they went into the vertical drop, something that had been left out of the track for most of the season's races. River saw his chance and reversed the direction of the fight. Aaron was being boxed into the proverbial corner, but like always, he refused to allow his opponent to pass him. River pounded the armor on Aaron's arms. the younger pilot watched with a heavy heart as the structural integrety warning was highlighted in his status screen. he tried to adjust his arms to better match River's blows, but all his efforts were rewarded with sparks and the whining of servos from the shoulders of his Mech. "Marco, i need some new arms, mine aren't moving."

"i noticed that. swing away so we can make the call."

Aaron refused to run away this time, instead he twisted his Mech like he was going to deliver powerful punch to the torso of River's Mech. he grinned when he say his ploy worked and River brought his guard up for a high blow. instead of the punch, aaron used a sweep kick to knock River to the ground. Aaron laughed as he watched the Captain of Team Sledge Momma become a speck in the distance, before the CAUTION markers showed up. "well, since we will cross into lap three before we're done repairing my machine. want me to gun it as soon as i get off this thing?" Aaron asked as he laid his Mech onto the running skeleton."

"yeah, man. do it just to rub their noses in it!" Liz laughed, "you totally faked him out! betcha he's pissed right now!"

"go get us into the championship match baby!" Ami cheered

"will do... why don't we all just make it a sprint for the finish?"

he was met with two 'yeah's.

once the repairs were finished, Lap 3 had already begun andthe time limit was just about over. Aaron moved back up to the front of the pack to his marker. as soon as it dissapeared, Team Satomi silmultaniously engaged their speed mode, pulling just far enough ahead of the Sledge Mommas to react and engage their own Speed Modes, giving Satomi the 1-2-3 finish. and thus with the race that should have never been, Team Satomi moves to the Championship match, leading the league in points.

Ami bounded up to Aaron in the pits and planted a kiss on his lips. she pulled back suddenly when she tasted blood, "Aaron?"

Aaron had turned his headset off halfway thru the third lap when the G-forces caused him to start coughing up blood. he'd pulled the same trick he'd used to call Jess so he could talk exclusively to the doctor monitoring him. aaron had agreed to get all of them to come to the doctor's neice's birthday party in exchange for not benching him before he finished the race. "girls, we got an appointment the day before the All-Stars event next week, in exchange for this win." after he said that he turned away from Ami and fell to his knees, hacking up blood.