XXXV
—Sky's the Limit—
Pt. I
第35章：青空に踊る
"Once more into the fray, into the last good fight I'll ever know. Live and die on this day, live and die on this day." – The Grey
Van raised his head up from the console, his ears ringing. He could barely hear or see anything as a strong sense of vertigo overwhelmed him. Voices echoed through his head as if from the end of a long tunnel. Danger indicators wailed like sirens inside the cockpit. Van forced his eyes open and tasted copper in his mouth. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and pulled them out; blood coated the tips of his gloves. His jaw throbbed, a consequence from biting down so hard. The voice kept speaking, and they began to become clearer.
"Van!" shouted the voice, sounding as if cotton smothered his ears.
Flyheight motioned his eyes up though the Blade Liger's partially shattered visor. Gunfire and explosions resonated around him, seeming like everything was in slow motion. He looked to his right, seeing Zeke lying on the surface of the ground. He looked every bit of dead: seventy percent of his armor was scorched and his eyes were dull, cracked, and glassed over. A steady stream of blood flowed from Van's head, running along the bridge of his nose.
He couldn't comprehend, he couldn't connect. The Elephander was collapsed beside him; its trunk severed and had a wound so deep it exposed its core. Van closed his eyes, hearing a scream—Raven's scream. Van tired to move, but a pain more sharp that a two-edged sword made him think twice. His mid-section bled from glass and metal shrapnel that had stitched him up like a satanic surgeon. He wasn't going to make it, not with these wounds.
Droplets of fire rained down from the sky, sprinkling down on what Van could assume was the Battle Commission's Ultrasaurus. There were downed aerial Zoids, too—Storm Sworders; they burned down to ashes. Van strained to look up into the sky that seemed to be set ablaze. Structural fires burned out of control along multiple buildings inside the limits of Capital City, while others were completely leveled.
Enemy Zoids marched throughout the streets, causing chaos and panic. Flyheight blinked the blood from his fading vision, reaching his hand over the emergency release lever. He curled his weak fingers around it, tugging at it with all his available strength. It took four pulls to raise the lever, and the Blade Liger's visor was forced open. Shards of loose glass sprinkled over Van, and the warrior unbuckled his harness. He rolled off over the sides, dropped ten feet, and hit the ground hard.
A ripple of pain radiated through his body. He began crawling over to where Zeke was, moving at a snail's pace in his condition. The ground was smothered in debris, Zoid components, twisted steel, and glass. Stray rounds from the distant fighting struck the ground around him, showering him with plumes of dirt. Van forced himself over an abandoned, smoldering car that blocked his path and collapsed next to Zeke. He sat up beside the organoid, leaving an unflattering blood trail behind him. The injured warrior rocked the organoid's body, struggling to get a response from him. He tried a couple more times, going as far as screaming at Zeke to wake up. There was no answer.
Everything had turned bad so quickly. They'd lost their advantage, their foothold. Van didn't even know who was fighting anymore. They weren't fighting with a sense of desperation. No, they fought with determination. It was if all their preparation was in vain. The enemy was stronger, more advanced, and nothing like Flyheight had ever faced. Was this a sign—a predestined moment that brought him here? Was this where his life's course was supposed to take him? Would it end here? It sure felt like it.
Everyone had gotten separated, leading Van to think they were either dead or about to be. The city was nothing short of a warzone. Civilians had no warning, nor did they have time to evacuate. It was chaos on an unprecedented scale. Van couldn't help but to feel responsible. He gave it his all and that still wasn't enough to prevail over his enemies.
He'd failed his friends, Zeke, and above all, Fiona. Once again, he'd lost her; and this time, he knew he wasn't going to get her back. But wading in a pool of self-pity would bring him so results, so Van gradually stood up. He gazed skyward, watching two pairs fight furiously as they circled about the burning Ultrasaurus. Flyheight made a fist. Someone was still alive and fighting, and that was more than enough evidence for him. He wouldn't give in; not yet.
"I'm coming, Fiona."
—Hours Earlier—
Bit had never felt so relaxed in his life, and this worried him. How could've he been so calm when the Backdraft were just moments away from their attack? The blonde pilot couldn't place his finger on it. Maybe because it felt like familiar territory to him. It wasn't the Royal Cup, no; but he hoped it would end with a victory. Bit stopped thinking. It just made things more complicated than they already were. He checked a few of the Liger Zero's systems; everything was green across the board.
Instead of being equipped with either the Jager, Schneider, or Panzer units, he was left with the basic Zero armor. The rest of the armors had been beaten down so much that each individual armor system needed months of work to restore. And if this armor failed, both Bit and Liger Zero would be fresh out of luck. Bit sighed and tightened the maroon-colored gloves over his steady hands. He studied the satellite's hub from his position, staring at the large dishes as they moved an inch every few minutes to strengthen their signal with the Commission's satellites in orbit around Zi.
Until now, Bit had never realized how important those round dishes of metal were. Years ago when he and Yuri shut them down, they meant nothing to him. Now, however, they meant everything. With the Backdraft approaching, the warriors had to drastically alter than plan. Instead of one team defending the hub and one team defending the Commission's Ultrasaurus, they all sprawled out in different locations to protect the hub. And if the hub was successfully destroyed by the Backdraft, they'd rendezvous at the Ultrasaurus and fight until the Backdraft either surrendered or retreated. In the back of Bit's mind, however, he felt the Backdraft weren't going to do neither.
At that, the Photo Zaber emerged beside the Liger Zero, and Yuri's face filled Bit's central monitor. "You ready for this, kid?"
"Are you?" he deflected.
Yuri laughed. "Guess I'd better."
The COM channels of all the pilots suddenly opened, emitting Pierce's voice through their speakers. "Attention, people: tracking five contacts en route to the hub, and I don't think they're friendlies. ETA two minutes."
"Just five Zoids?" Irvine blurted out. "I thought they had an army?"
"Could be scouts?" Brad tuned in.
"In plain sight?" highlighted Raven. "I doubt it." Raven keyed in Pierce's frequency. "Can you provide a visual?"
There was a two second pause, then Pierce responded, "Not without giving away my position. I've isolated their IFF tags, though. It's weird. I'm only registering one human contact out of the five Zoids. The rest read as anomalies."
"It's because they're not human, they're drones. Must be Dr. Laon's Zoids," Reese commented.
"If that's the case," Van started, "then we should - holy Christ, incoming ordinance!"
A missile arched through the air, diving toward the ground like a burning comet.
"Clear out!" Van exclaimed.
The pilots dispersed, and the missile smacked into the ground with nuclear-like force. A shockwave expanded across the land, reducing sun-baked to gravel and heated sand to glass. The missile produced a mushroom cloud that ascended into the sky, glowing red-hot. It began to fade from the wind, being swirled into a gray, harmless dust devil.
"The heck was that?" shouted Irvine, raising his Lightning Saix from the ground. Dust coated its black armor.
"That was a military-grade AZ 120 Air-to-Surface missile," Dr. Toros replied, having mild shock in his voice.
"Heads up, people!" Pierce warned. "I got more of those missiles incoming. Trajectory…" Her voice softened as if she'd been struck with great sorrow and pain. "… Their trajectory is targeting Capital City. It's an entire salvo!"
Crackles and pops sounded in the distance, sounding like approaching jets. Pierce's report was spot on. Missiles—52 of them—streaked across the sky and over the warriors, leaving white exhaust in their wake. The pilots could only watch as the missiles branched out like bicycle spokes as they dove into the city.
Explosions roared through the city, stretching from one end of the city to the other. Each missile had enough power to level the sturdiest of structures, and some collapsed upon impact. From inside the Hover Cargo, Moonbay held her hand over her mouth in shock. It was like Prozen and the Deathsaurer all over again. Dr. D had to look away, feeling hurt to his heart all the lives that were undoubtedly lost in the bombardment.
Leena stood beside him, watching one of the skyscrapers as it began to fall. Damaged at its base, the weakened building crashed into a neighboring structure, leaning into in at diagonal angle. Fires and small explosions coughed from the impact. Distant sirens from law enforcement and firefighter agents could be heard, but it would be a useless effort.
Just minutes after the first salvo, another set of missiles took to the skies. Instead impacting the already damaged sectors of the city, these missiles concentrated on the outskirts, including the overhaul station that the Ultrasaurus was supposed to dock with. The carnage wouldn't stop, and this was only the beginning.
Pierce came over the warriors' COMs again, issuing another alert. "Aerial Zoid detected. It's coming in from the north, toward the satellite hub." She switched over to Jamie and the Storm Sworder pilot's frequencies. "This is it, guys! Move to intercept."
From their concealed position in the clouds thousands of feet in the air, Pierce, Jamie, and the other Sworder pilots dove from the sky and pulled into wedge formation.
Jamie pulled the Fire Phoenix alongside Pierce's distinct midnight-black Storm Sworder, tapping over into her COMs.
"Scanner's saying its just one Zoid. This could be a pawn."
"I've considered that," Pierce responded, cutting her sharp eyes at Jamie's Zoid. "I see you've upgraded from the Raynos."
Jamie grunted. "Had no choice. Look alive – target sighted!"
The distant aerial Zoid flew solo over the terrain, maintaining a steady flight course toward the hub. Pierce amplified her Sworder's maximum magnification to zoom in on the target. It was definitely a Zoid she hadn't seen before. An owl is resembled—an uncharacteristic design for a genius like Laon.
"Tobias, flank right; Dyson, flank left; Viper, you get in around behind it. Jamie and I will head it off," Pierce instructed.
"Copy," the three pilots confirmed in unison, breaking off.
Pierce and Jamie held their course, increasing their speed so they'd intercept the unknown Zoid at an angle. The other pilots—Tobias and Dyson—pulled in alongside the owl-like Zoid as Viper closed in on its aft.
"In position," they reported.
"Hold course," Pierce said. "Jamie and I are coming in."
The second that the Fire Phoenix and Pierce's Storm Sworder broke to intercept the enemy Zoid, it reacted. The Nightwise suddenly rocketed skyward, looped, and got in around Tobias, Dyson, and Viper. Target lock indicators sired inside their cockpits.
"It's got me locked," Viper announced. "Popping flares!"
The Nightwise fired a missile, and Viper spun his Storm Sword left as flares sputtered from its tail. Tobias and Dyson broke right, swinging around to flank the Nightwise from behind. The missile veered from its course, exploding into one of the flares. Viper laughed, but the Nightwise was still on him. Dyson pulled ahead of Tobias, discharging his Sworder's chin-mounted machine gun. Streaks of light zipped past the Nightwise, landing a few hits on its left wing.
The NOVA began learning.
It suddenly killed the Nightwise's boosters and burned them in the opposite direction, launching it back behind the Sworder pilots. It sped up beside Viper, ascended over it, and latched its claws onto the Sworder's back. "It's got me!" Viper shouted, jerking the controls back and forth.
"I can't shake free!"
A shower of bullets sparked against the Nightwise's armor, and the Zoid released Viper. Pierce swooped over Tobias and Dyson, coming back around for another shot at the Owl-type Zoid. Jamie came in from the north, burst firing at the Nightwise to herd it toward Pierce. The teal-haired pilot got a lock on the enemy Zoid, leveled out her Sworder, and fired.
A missile screamed from underneath the Sworder's left wing and circled its way around to the target. The Nightwise broke off from the Fire Phoenix, spotted the missile, and began flying towards it at full throttle.
Pierce squinted her eyes, whispering under her breath, "What are you doing?"
The Nightwise took a sharp dive, speeding toward the ground below. Subsequently, the guided missile followed. Just before the Fuzor met its demise, it swooped over the ground, lightly grazing its belly across the soil. Unable to mimic its target, the missile exploded into the ground.
Pierce rolled her eyes, sighing, "Of course." She tapped the transceiver. "Stay sharp, people! This AI's a crafty one."
Tobias made a cavalier laugh. "We've fought computers before. It'll be a snap!"
"I would consider changing your viewpoint," Jamie joined in.
"Pssh," Tobias sounded. "I have you know that we took down an entire fleet of drone-operated Zoids, kid."
Jamie was unnerved. "Yeah, but I'm sure those Zoids couldn't operate outside their dynamic combat memory processing matrix. This AI can. If we have any chance of taking this Zoid down, we'll have to outsmart it."
"Outsmart an AI?" Viper tuned it, keeping a strict watch on the Nightwise as it circled back to face them. "How do you expect we do that?"
"I don't know," Jamie confessed, recalling all he'd learned about basic Zoid AIs and how they could be outsmarted.
"Then you better think of something fast," Dyson exclaimed, "'cause here it comes!"
The Nightwise soared pass the Sworders and the Fire Phoenix, and the Zoids rekindled their aerial battle.
Groundside, the rest of the warriors could only watch as Capital City continued to burn. There was nothing they could do, and that's what hurt the most. They had to remain where they were, for they were the only line of defense against the Backdraft's attack. On the other hand, though, it wasn't fair to the citizens of Capital City to suffer while they watched. In that moment, however, the choice to help was made clear.
A battalion of Backdraft Hammerheads and Whale Kings appeared outside the city's limits. The Whale Kings landed just beyond the fringes, obscuring themselves from the rest of the warriors' sight. Yuri magnified the Photo Zaber's zoom and observed what they were up do. He scowled at the sight.
"What are they doing, Yuri?" asked Van.
"Backdraft scum are laying siege to the city. They're sending in Zoids to seal off the city. No one'll get in or out at the rate they're going," Yuri reported.
"Why would they lay siege to the city?" Toros inquired. "It doesn't make any since."
"It makes plenty of sense," Stoller clarified. "They'll take the city. What better statement to the Battle Commission than an entire city?"
"Then we can't let that happen!" shouted Moonbay, her anger blazing. "We have to do something."
"I agree," Van complied. "We need to break up – one team defends the hub and the other defends the city."
Yuri nodded to Van's suggestion. It wouldn't matter if they won today if an entire city and its inhabitants were lost. Yuri raised all the warriors over the COM. "Then it's agreed. A separate team will depart to defend the city. Any volunteers?"
For a moment, none of them spoke. The Backdraft had deployed hundreds of Zoids in and around the city. Save the five aerial pilots who were fighting now, there were only thirteen of them; and only eight of them actually piloted Zoids. The rest would have to remain in the Hover Cargo.
Someone had to step up to lead a team, so Stoller stepped up to the plate. "I'll lead the team."
The fellow pilots looked at him. Aside from Van, no one proved to be a more trusted leader. Yuri nodded favorably at Stoller, agreeing 100%. "I'll join you."
Holden turned to face Van, Bit and Raven. "You're our best fighters, so we need you to stay behind to defend the hub. Toros, you keep the transporter with them. The rest of us will head into the city."
"We'll do our best, Yuri," Bit promised.
"Take care of yourselves," Van added.
"We'll see," Holden replied, turning his Zaber away.
The Elephander, Shadow Fox, Lightning Saix, Psycho Geno Saurer followed suit toward the besieged city.
Before departing, Reese appeared on Raven's central monitor, winking. "See you on the other side, cowboy."
Raven held his emotion. "Be seeing you."
Reese gave a light smile before the screen went dark.
Raven cringed inside. He wanted to say more. What he wanted to say he didn't know, but just something. For years he disconnected emotionally, so why hold back now? It probably could be the last time they'd see each other. Without holding back, Raven opened a private COM channel to Reese.
"Reese, I uh… I just wanted to say that…" He nervously massaged his knuckles.
'Just tell her,' he inwardly screamed. 'Tell her that you love her, fool. Do it now! Now!'
"Reese, I…"
Reese chuckled. "You don't have to say it, Raven. I know."
An unfamiliar muscle contraction formed across Raven's face – he smiled.