Chapter 3:
Vestiges of the Soldier
(Showroom - Terminal N° 51)
[Takeru]
Night skies with pixelated clouds veer in the screen as I do a barrel roll, landing hard onto the snowy soil, making the awful, teeth-screeching sound of an emergency landing rise through the speakers, my brows narrow and wrinkles appear on my nose. The alarm continues to beep like drunken crows in the morning, the explosions keep silence at bay like cicadas in the summer. Specks of white dust rise and fall along the thickets of smoke, a few icicles crashing down, the rugged and frozen composure of the narrowness of rock that surrounds my Take doesn't falter upon the reiterated downpour of missiles.
I lick over my lips as they press into a circle, taking a second of pause and air, while I land with one leg and do a sidestep to take cover under the large cliff I was near, its pixelated crunchy-looking surface shielding me from the assault. Once the falling snow and stock explosions fade away, I move my Take forward into the narrow, bumpy canyon road in between the towering elevations that obstruct the moonlight. Softly driving the sticks forward, slow are my steps into the pathway full of jagged ice pillars that looks like the last fashion trend among hedgehogs.
A second later, the missile alarm begins to ring out again.
"Mikoto, I need back up!"
"I can't! The Elefante is blocking the way, dang it!" he instantly replies, water sprinkled into heated oil.
"Tch, they got us good."
Yanking the controls, my Take bursts into a double jump as more missiles come my way. With so little space available I can't even try to counterattack, barely able to squeeze myself through the pillars and incoming missiles. And the incessant snowfall hampers visibility as well, to make matters worse.
Well, no use in letting time pass. If a double one didn't work, let's go for a triple boost jump then!
But as soon as I do, another wave comes at me. Spinning into a barrel roll, to not crash onto the cliffs or the pillars, I'm left with no choice but to go back to my prior position with a new layer of coldness covering the purple frame of my ride.
"Fuck this shit, man."
These guys are the real deal, pro players. As soon as I went scouting they bombarded us with missiles, and when we got separated the Elefante took its position and started firing at Mikoto, while its partner cornered me with many consecutive long shots to my ankles from behind, forcing me to get even further away from Mikoto.
It doesn't help that we are playing on the Mirraoph Canyon, which has a lot of narrow pathways and tall cliffs under constant snowfall. My speed works against me here, I can't boost as much as I'd like since there's the risk of crashing myself. That means game over in this situation. And to make matters worse, this field plays to the strengths of our rivals since they're a pair that focuses on long range attacks.
The Elefante, an extra-large sized mech, is the slowest in all the game but thanks to its size and defenses it's the best tank. The angular, gallant shape of the thing is imposing enough to make you halt at times, what with the modular plating allowing lots of weapon customization. While its design is on the simpler side, the second the small hatches on its armor open, this becomes a bullet hell game able to rival Douhou. It also can equip more weapons than the other mechs and is one of the few that can pack an OTH Railgun and move with it. It looks more like a floating fortress-tank than a humanoid robot, what with the two giant blue ion rockets it has on its underside to keep it gliding all the time and the sharp and compact aspect of its overall frame.
Seriously, what were the devs thinking when they made it?! This guy should have gotten nerfed to hell a long time ago! Well, at least they removed its Beam Shield. With that it was practically unkillable without another heavy weapon.
To make matters worse, its partner in this fight is a Freikugel, a small frame mech that excels at long-range shooting but is completely average in everything else. While its armor is barebones and takes on a minimalist approach for functionality over looks, looking like a grunt-type real robot, its range and accuracy are to be feared since it is able to attack from beyond the radar's area. You could get hit without any warning in big maps thanks to all the eye-shaped scanners it has all over its body, and with that primo sniping traits it can pin down and projectile spam any rival to death.
You know, like what's happening to me right now.
Another beep comes up, another wave of missiles is heading my way. This is stupid, we're not getting anywhere like this, not with the Elefante blocking the way. We gotta do something, now.
Pushing the controls back and hugging the mountain to ensure no missile hits me on accident, I sigh and roll my shoulders before tapping my mic. "Mikoto, how are you holding up?"
"I'm on the run, trying to get past it but it's hard due to the machineguns and the occasional missiles," he groans a bit then seems to let out a puff of air, with a bit of strength since I could hear it through the mic. He won't hold out alone for much longer. "If it didn't have that OTH I could try to fight at midrange, but if it charges that thing up I'm dead."
"Yeah, I know, this fucking sucks," I say, rolling my eyes and sharing the groans.
The OTH can't hit you if you're up close and personal with the mech using it, since it needs to charge while remaining still, but fighting on CQC against a tank as the Elef is borderline stupid. And to try and maneuver at midrange could leave you exposed to the missiles, you'd get tumbled and even a minimal charge of the OTH is enough to KO a low defense mech like the Xao. Salting the wound even more, the OTH has superb range too. Despite being a bullet-based weapon it can break the scenery with a high enough charge, as well. To be honest, it's a miracle Mikoto is still holding out against that monster of a unit.
Readjusting my grip on the controls as I crouch into position, resting a feet on the pedal as the smoke fades, as the snow falls. "Alright, just keep it up for awhile. I'm going there now!"
"Won't you get stuck between their attacks?"
"At this point it's do or die. We're just getting worn down," I affirm, chuckling a bit.
I've gotten the timing of the barrages more or less figured out. Since the Frei has to stay out of my radar's area it should be relying on its partner to get my position, so it doesn't know exactly where I am. Which means, staying in such a narrow space is doing them a favor.
As soon as the next wave hits, I'm forward dashing the hell out of here! I'll just use the TC to blast away the bigger stalagmites and ice spikes to make me a path forward. With my instincts as my guide, I'll maneuver through the rest of the canyon. It's better than to leave this go on and on. Now, they should appear in the radar right about…
…now?
What the… Where are they?
Still nothing. A few clouds pass over in the distance, the tiny little drops of snow keep on piling, the BGM keeps playing. No alarm is coming up, not even as I take a few careful steps out of hiding. Could it be that it went after Mikoto?!
"Mikoto, the Frei may have gone after you! I'm no longer under attack so I'm rushing there," I say while starting the dash, blasting the larger icicles with a minimally charged TC shot, colliding and toppling the smaller ice spikes.
"What? I can barely keep up with the Elef, how do you want me to dodge the other's attacks too?!"
"Just hold out for a bit longer! I'm trying to get there!"
Light pressure on the pedals, drawing half a circle with the sticks to avoid the stalagmites, another to release red bolts to clear a path when possible, the snowy gale blows against me, I can't reach top speed.
Dammit, I'm too far away. I could get there faster if I use all the boosters, but that would use up a lot of fuel and I might crash myself. The canyon's inner corridor makes some sharp turns, there's a few crossroads that take a drastic ninety degree angle, so rushing through is going to be risky. My swords aren't that good against the Elefante's thick modular plating, so if I deplete my fuel by flying high to avoid the pillars then I won't be able to go for the hit and run approach. I'm going to be a sitting duck against the fortress, even with the Thunder Cannon I can't possibly try to fight that monstrosity at long range. A single shot of the OTH and I'm dead at my current shield levels. Mikoto is probably rather low on fuel and shields with how much he's been dodging, so I can't leave him alone against two enemies for long.
Use all the boosters and risk losing the grind game or crashing? Keep this speed and risk losing Mikoto? Either way, it looks like we're screwed. If only I could hit them from- Wait a sec.
"Mikoto, retreat to a safer position right now!" I stop my boost, repositioning the Take's feet forward and stopping with a hop against the cliff.
"The hell you're talking about! You'll get bombarded if I run!"
"Come on, now. Don't snap like that, dude. You won't be able to avoid a pincer between both of their attacks, so if you try to retreat they'll surely try to block you, right?"
"Well, yeah, I know. But if I leave you behind then-"
"We gotta think on how to win, not on how not to lose, Mikoto. Just buy me ten seconds!"
"Ten seconds? What are- Oh! Got it!"
Heh, smart one. Looking around, I'm met with the tall cliffs and pillars that litter the innermost side of the canyon, the impregnable white that washes through the mountains from their peaks to their roots. Gradually slowing down my walking speed, I take my position under the entrance of a little cave while getting out the Thunder Cannon. Aiming it towards the exit of the winding road gains me a small yellow lock-on circle. The giant ass of the Elefante is right at the end of my range, but I'm under lots of cover so I should be fine, no shot it can detect me from this position. Otherwise, they would have already offed me with the OTH as I was dodging missiles, after all.
Going prone, aiming at its core, I start the charge to full power, small sparks gyrating in the TC's latticework pattern of its outer canister vials. Thanks to all the missiles they shot at me I'm a little above half shields remaining so this will definitely do a lot of damage. If Mikoto manages to distract them, I'll get a clear shot to the core which will probably put the Elef near red numbers and then he can finish off the OP fortress with some primo cannon shots. With the mountain as my shield, I'm safe from incoming missiles as well so the charge won't get interrupted. And there's no way the Frei can come near to snipe me in such little time, in such treacherous terrain.
Alright, let's start the countdown. 10, 9, 8, 7…
A dot appears on my radar, what's the Freikugel doing there? Right at the edge of the radar, on the top of the canyon.
4, 3, 2…
An explosion breaks out, stalactites begin to fall on me, the screen shakes, the rumble crawls from the controls into my fingers as I press and fire the cannon. Small at first, then larger by the second, rocks and boulders, icicles and spears rain down on my Takemikazuchi, burying it entirely, response fading from my controls.
"What the fuck? Did- Did they just destroy the a whole side of the mountain?"
Damn, didn't think they'd go so far. Still, it means the Frei's loadout is lacking a CQC weapon, for it to have enough weapons to cause such a sudden collapse. Full commitment to the playstyle, kudos for that. Still feels cheap as hell.
But I still managed to shoot the TC, after all the cooldown icon is flashing on my screen and I felt the vibration through the controls when you fire a strong weapon, locking your position in.
Once the camera readjusts itself, I see the tip of the horn of the Take poking through the crunched ice. According to the life bar, I only lost around ten percent health despite taking the brunt of the hit. Sigh… Thank God the Takemikazuchi is one of the sturdier mechs in the game, the Kaizer might have ended up really messed up after an avalanche like that.
"Mikoto, the cliff I was near collapsed on me. I'm stuck between some rocks, how did the shot go?"
My Take's torso rises up, drenched in snow, and starts to swing back and forth until I get fed up and use a sword as support to stand up again. On the plus side, the avalanche cleared most of the pillars on the area so now I can boost without worries.
"You got a clean hit on its head, 33% damage to its shields!" he yells, a bit too loud for my ears.
I was aiming for the body but wound up doing a head-shot. Well, at least I hit it through that avalanche.
Wait, if I didn't leave it in low health, that means… Mikoto is not going to be able to finish it off. And that means he's now in the range of both of them. Alone.
As I finish my trail of thought an alarm appears on my screen. Mikoto has 10% shields left.
"Mikoto, get outta there! Let's regroup somewhere else!" I flick my joysticks and pull the right lever hard as I stomp the pedals, entering a sudden full boost towards Mikoto's position, grazing a few pillars as I do.
"I can't escape! They're synchronizing their missiles to block me, and my air thrusters got hit so I can't glide anymore!" he stitches a shout, I can hear the clicking noises of the controllers as he yanks them around.
Shit, they outsmarted us again. That's why the Frei didn't come after me immediately with missiles and instead tried to bury me under the snow. They weren't really trying to stop me from shooting at the Elef, they were aiming to immobilize me to then leisurely off Mikoto, and later projectile spam me to death.
A ding comes into my phones, an even lower whisper right after. "Sorry. I couldn't get past this thing and didn't do much damage to it."
"Hey, don't give up! We still haven't-"
"It was fun, you know! Playing together again. We should do this more often. Now let's go for that ice cream!"
Mikoto's dot stops moving in the radar, the missiles approaching its position. A loud explosion echoes in the distance, a trail of dark and red climbing the skyline through the faint snowfall. Another ding rings out, a message zooms to the center my screen.
[PLAYER 1 KILLED]
Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! They read us like an open book! If I had dashed out of there faster this wouldn't have happened. Because of me, Mikoto is-
A slight stab below my ears, sudden tightness in my throat. My eyes remain glued to the crimson word flashing in the screen. Hands lose tension, easing up on the boost, bringing my Takemikazuchi to a stop in between some rocks as the red message and only that fills my view.
Killed.
Mikoto got killed. He's… dead?
I know Mikoto isn't dead, this is just a game after all.
But as the crimson word flashes, as I'm showered in the red light, as I speak the words inside, a faint pain raises up on the back of my head, like a bunch of needles poking my scalp. A shiver, cold fingers runs through my arms, making me claw at the controls to try and fight the snow that covers me, as if I were the one standing in the canyon at the moment. Echoing closer and closer, distant yet constant, sounds I've heard before start coming back as my ears ring and everything goes white.
Clanking that incites shivers, dull crashes that merge, screeches that promise melting. Air twists to find my lungs, the mere sip burns. As the blindness leaves me, the screen seems to have grown closer, the radar overflowed to the brim in red. And yet…
Fire expands and flourishes about, explosions sprout everywhere in sight, curtains of smoke raise to cause localized blackouts. My breaths freeze in my throat as I once more hear the blossoming screams begging for help, low and grimy munching sounds as well.
Death, death as far as one could see. There is no sun, no light within this place. Only fire that cleanses everything to ash, smoke that takes pity on me, that shields my sight from the twisted source of screams and acidic echoes. I see no hope, no salvation here.
Turning around, within the haze, an image of Mikoto being blown into a thousand bits fills my view in slow motion as lines of erosion slice apart his face from within. Then it's Tama, then Class Rep, then Ayamine.
I can't move, or if I am I cannot reach them. Trying to hold them is the same as trying to drive away the smoke, it all slips from my grasp.
Standing amidst the thicket of dark, everything quiets down. A dim light glimmers through the cloak, brief and distant. Walking towards it reveals a metallic structure, artificial light emerging through the dusk.
And in the middle of it, Sumika lies in that bed, dressed in that same skin-tight red suit, holding a wooden rabbit to her chest.
Hearing a faint sound, I find a pair of cerulean eyes staring back at me. The white haired girl stands before me, stiff and gripping both hands together.
"Sumika-san is dead."
Something burns my throat, it wrings itself shut tight at the sight and sounds of this nightmare. Hiccups raise in my chest as if I were trying not to puke for some reason.
And yet, the taste, the acid taste of bile still burns my tongue. But in the middle of all the chaos, of all the smoke behind, something red is advancing towards me. Then slowly, so slowly, a black fire engulfs the battlefield, draining the smoke in a cyclone. The clouds, the ash, the fire as well, it is all swallowed without difference by the black orbs that continue to grow.
And as fast as they appeared, they shrink and collapse to nothing, leaving emptiness behind.
The sky parts away, completely clear, the searing hold of the fighting was all burnt away from it. The screams stop cold, the red things are all gone, the fire also simply retracts and disappears. The odd bed with Sumika and the girl are nowhere in sight. There's nothing left behind.
It's cold.
It feels so, so cold.
Complete, utter silence.
No screams, no begs for help, not a single voice. No one else alive is near…
No one…
…Alone.
"Like hell this'll be the end…"
Huh?
"If this what it comes down to…" A voice, hoarse and low, creeps from behind me.
And looking back, a small dart encrusts itself onto my heart, making me choke on empty air. Yet, what I now see, what crawls into view is different than the rest of the nightmares.
Rushing through the wasteland like a thunderbolt, a metallic human-like thing struggles against the red sea, making tidal waves of gore rise high beyond the cliffs. With the fire of war as its cloak, the machine keeps on braving the storm of the unending waves of monsters in this eternal wasteland. They flock to it like moths to a lantern, in equal fashion are they scorched and fall down. The steel giant roars, burning what's behind, dicing what's ahead.
Even in the middle of all this madness, someone is still pressing on? Why?
Shaking in the ground, a rough stomp approaches. A tall, very tall shadow falls upon me. Looking up at it, some… odd monster tilted its head at me, shrouded in fog and shadows. Or… well, not at me exactly, but in my general direction. What the fuck is this thing?
And yet, that metallic mech-like thing blasts away towards the shadows, ripping into the dark and burning.
"Give me my world back!"
Shredding its lungs out as it did to the flesh of the monster, the voice shocksme into dizziness. Pain runs all over, fingerscurling in as if hit by a hammer, nails crushed in half.
Is that… me? A voice like mine roars from within the steel giant as it rushes through the wasteland slashing at some kind of monsters with swords in each hand, enduring alone the onslaught. There is no road to follow, no clear hope of victory, and yet the force of his struggling does not yield to the never-ending stream of monstrosities. No, the evident emotion in the assault, the cruel reiteration onto already defeated foes, the sudden and harsh movements that bend and twist the metal at impossible angles to have every limb, every inch of available steel bring pain to the shadowy figures… Kinda makes me wonder who is the real monster here.
And yet the manic screams, the voice that bleeds itself away… That has to be me.
Who else could someone who speaks and sounds like me be? No one, except myself. But… why is his voice, or rather mine, so crushed? Yelling non-stop, cursing everything in sight, breathing out raw fire like a forge. Repeating that same thing over and over a little bit more crumbled every time, like a rusted exhaust pipe blasting itself away.
'Give me back my world'.
…Who took something away from me? What did they took?
'My world', 'my everything'.
Someone… died? Who? Sumika in that bed? Or everyone else within the fire? Both? Ugh…
Slowly, the haze of the smoke grows dimmer and dimmer, distant and distant, the machine leaves deep into the battle, out of sight. Everything sinks beyond the horizon, or maybe the tidal waves grow larger than the horizon itself. Feels as if I were floating on water but while standing up.
A small warm feeling lingers on the back of my head, like small raindrops gently falling on me. Covered by that faint lukewarmness, a deep breath fills me whole with fresh air. The tension evaporates from my hands, blinking a bit finds my eyes littered with moistness, my chest eases down and the air enters deep. My unfocused vision clears up, the constriction on my neck gradually vanishes as I yawn and scream at the same time, as one last cold shiver runs all over me in a spin.
Blinking a few times and wiping my eyes clean, I'm back in the arcade cockpit, game still in session. Panting a bit, I run my hands over me. Cold sweat on my face and back, making my shirt grow intimate with my skin, heartbeats still clanging against my chest as I gasp for dear air, and a lump of cold at the pit of my stomach as if I had just swallowed an iceberg whole.
…What the fuck was that? I've never had such a vivid daydream in my entire life. Was I having a panic attack? Over a game?
Yes, I screwed up. But I was never that good on Valgern-On, truth be told. Then, why am I gritting my teeth? Why are my fists clawing at the joysticks? Why can't I wipe the frown from my face? Why… am I so pissed off? What's this cold feeling all over my back, this hole in my stomach?
"Am I gonna have a break down? Just for this shit?!"
Having to move slower than usual? Fighting two on one? Being low on fuel? I feel like I've been through worse things in my life. Or was it in my dreams? Am I dreaming about a ruined world to pump myself up? Or am I dreaming about this peaceful world to rest from all that carnage?
A flicker on my screens snaps me back to reality. Two waves of missiles incoming. I grip the joysticks tightly, to calm my shaky hands. Visions of doom aside… No way in hell I'm losing like this. If I'm gonna lose it all then I'll struggle to the very end. I'll despair after I'm dead!
"Jump units ignited and ready! I'm outta here, forward dash!"
Stomping the pedals, the thrusters flare up and roar alive before sending the Takemikazuchi into a frenzied sprint.
Grazing a few large pillars as I boost dash non-stop, the beeping alarm warns the closeness of the missiles. Heartbeats calm down, stop crashing against my chest even when the beeps intensify. Retracting my tongue, I give erratic taps to the pedals, carefully veering the controls. Rebounding off the cliffs and snow, the missiles fail to reach me. Sighing the pressure away as I lick and nibble at my lips, boosting so fast that the screen become as blurry as if this were a racing game and I was going at over 300 km/h, the cold feeling on my back finally disappears.
"Some simple dodging like this… won't hold me back!"
Getting the TC back online, focusing again onto the pixelated and blurry map ahead, I move my jump units so they're fully backwards and fly just a bit over the ground as red thunders roar within my cannon, the alarm of more missiles coming resonating yet again on my ears. Inhaling slowly through my nose, easing up the grasp on my joysticks, blinking fast, I let out a groan as the beam of red lightning blasts away a few ice spears and rock formations on the cliff, creating a small escape route for me.
Gradually lowering my height until I start to surface properly, doing a power slide and squeezing the Take under the artificial tunnel my beam built for me, no damage I receive from the downpour of missiles. Exiting the tunnel, a vast expansion greets me, the cliffs parting wide and revealing a small white desert in between them as the explosions roar behind me, as the wind blows motes of white into my frame. Snow rises to the sky as the missiles miss their mark, yet for some reason, the sound of the explosions feels so… fake.
Why was I so nervous about these missiles? It's not like I'll… die or anything. Peeking at my health bars, the light yellow color tells that I barely took damage in my escape.
"Huh, check that out. Well, compared to that nightmare, dodge-tanking a few missiles seems like easy work."
Finally resting my full weight back onto the seat, easing my pressure on the pedals, my purple mirage exits the cramped inner side of the canyon. I should go for the Frei first, since the Elefante can't move much. Fighting at the top of the canyon should also give me some cover from the OTH, since it needs to have a clear line of sight to lock onto me. Even if it has a ridiculously long range, it can't break through a mountain like beam weaponry does. Thank God there's no heavy beam cannon in the game.
Judging from where the missiles came from, the Frei should be to the Three of my current location, above the cliffs. Alright, let's get this show on the road!
Heels press onto the pedals, sending my Take into a double boost jump. Landing on a large pillar, jumping off it towards the cliff, and then jumping again off its surface to not lose momentum, veering the orientation of the boosters to draw an arc in the sky with a sharp yank of the controls and a sharper breath in. The Takemikazuchi safely reaches the top of the canyon before we lost more altitude or fuel, or missiles came in pouring.
I take a small breath, smaller steps into the terrain. The large view of the barren snowy wasteland with all signs of life shining for their absence sends a shock through my back, another dart into my heart as those tall shadows crept into my vision for a sec. Gulping hard and exhaling strongly from my nose like a bull, my lips regress into my mouth, the cold feeling swallowed back down while I start to dash through the sinkholes and cracks in the map. I can still feel the sweat rolling down my face, though.
"Don't have time… to waste on hallucinations. Let's get moving, the Frei's bound to appear on the radar sooner or later."
And not a second after, a dot bleeps to life in the corner of my radar. A few meters away, right in the middle of the area full of sinkholes.
"Alright, position locked! Don't think your missiles will keep me back!" And neither will this bumpy terrain, it's nothing I haven't done before!
The jump units flare to life again, the Take shoots out like an arrow towards our target. Noticing my approach, the dot starts to escape before its lithe and platinum white shape enters my vision. And yet again, the alarm beeps alive on my ears. As the missile cluster get closer, my hands choke the controls while I carefully give the terrain a good look, at the cracked ice and pitfalls in particular.
"Alright. Can't take damage and can't lose tempo. Piercing forward is the only choice left!"
Sidestep, half a tilt, dash, boost jump, tech, crouch, cancel, forward dash!
Sand explodes, the screen shakes, my controllers cry and click. But my health bar remains unchanging, and my lane of choice remains undisturbed. Missiles avoided, no speed lost, and no damage taken in the dodging either besides a small twinge in my wrists. Heh, and the Frei is almost in range.
"Time to rumble, spammer!"
The Frei might be one of the best snipers but on the open terrain at the top of the canyon it should be no match for the Takemikazuchi, so long as I don't fall in one of the sinkholes. And, if it gets too far away, my TC's charge should be a few frames faster than its weapon shift back to missiles. No need to rush, I'm the one hunting here. So I circle around it waiting for an opening, stalking its shadow, dodging missiles and the occasional volley, opting to run on the ground to not waste fuel. And for a few seconds, it keeps trying to get me off as we play chase, hide and seek in between the creaks and crevices of this wasteland. But since it's trying to get me to the area full of sinkholes and frozen lakes, the Frei also has to take care to not fall into them. And once it loses some speed-
Stomping the pedals with my heels, I go into a full boost for a second. My unwarypreystalls a reaction as the purple beetle pierces through the snowstorm and starts approaching fast, enough to let me see the lock-on circle turn red. Letting its shoulder pads cascade onto its back, the Frei cancels the missiles and switches to the machineguns, beginning to backboost as it sprays and prays. A quick press of the buttons sends me up into a jump, yet I pull the lever and immediately cancel it. The short hop turns into a tech, returning me to the ground in just a few frames as the missiles caresses the horn of my beetle. Heh, I got you to aim upwards!
"How do you like my machineguns?!" I shout as I push and crush the triggers.
The Frei can't dodge all the shots at this range, beginning to spasm as jolts and sparks cover its frame. Now that you're stunned I'm gonna do you in! Falling towards it in a spinning dash, both shortswords lunge for its core and get a direct hit, sparks flying off alongside the screeching of twisted metal.
…Wait, why is he still moving? He's not down yet?!
The Frei punches me and tries to boost jump away as my Take stumbles back, but I finish it with the machineguns before it gets away, after button mashing like mad to regain my footing. The pincushion that it was made into explodes away, its dot vanishes from the radar. I'm left in silence in the wasteland, wiping my forehead as the snowstorm quietly howls a congratulation.
"Sigh… Damn, that was dangerous." If it was any other mech that little percentage it had left could have costed me the game, thank God the guy didn't have a melee weapon.
Now, let's see how I'm holding. Shield at thirty one percent, fuel at twenty four. Since I barely used my swords they're at full durability, but even then I can't go for the hit and run. I probably can do only one full boost if I'm careful. If we're talking about range there's no way I could fire the TC, even if I somehow dodge a shot from the railgun the Elef probably has either a rifle or long range missiles to disrupt my charge. And my speed does lower a bit while charging the TC, so dodging and charging at the same time is out of the question against an Elef that has an OTH.
So, what do I do? Where's the safest place to attack such a giant enemy with the weaponry available?
…I have an idea, but it's completely stupid. It's better than letting the timer run out on me, though. C'mon, Takemikazuchi! Let's show 'em how good we are together!
After running to almost the edge of the canyon, I start boost jumping towards the Elefante's signal in zigzags. I'll assume it has the OTH charged already and is waiting for me to appear in the radar. Even with the light snowfall as a cloak, I'll need luck to avoid being vaporized by the OTH.
No sooner do I start descending that the danger alarm bursts to life, a twinkle in the distance that in seconds grows larger, almost filling my view.
Gulping emptiness, heels on the pedals, I send myself into a barrel roll while exerting the jump units to near overload. Right besides me, the strong flood of bullets passes through and drill at the rugged mountain. Almost looking like beam, the stream of electro-charged ammo that explodes about, piercing across the wasteland…
"Cough! Ugh, why?"
Shit, my head hurts again. What the fuck is wrong with me? Again, my vision twists a bit, eyes hurt as if something were pressing them into my skull, and a ringing echo burns into my ears.
A blasting beam of light… piercing a wasteland… while I fight and do some tight dodging… Did I have a match like this before? Huh… Feels like, for some reason. But why does this hurt so much, fuck.
No, no time to space out! Coughing again, blinking fast to get back in the game, my Take is still safe and descending. Sigh… To think I'd manage to dodge an OTH. I got lucky this time, so let's get close before it gets reloaded or my boosters overload and explode.
"Now's my chance!" Hitting the ground running, bouncing off it, with the cover of the stalagmites I avoid the incoming missile spam, even if by mere frames.
Locating the end of the narrow winding way through the snowfall, the background grows blurry as the Take exerts itself to full speed, as the engage alarm appears once more. Dodging some shots from the Elef's assault rifles and some missiles using the cliffs and rocks as cover while again grazing some as I move, I'm safely approaching the towering fortress that emerges through the veil of white.
Hovering in the middle of the cliffs, blocking the main crossroad of the map, the massive metallic gray, the angular and imposing rhino-tank shines amidst the heatwaves of the Mirraoph Canyon, its high-res model contrasting with the lesser details of the environment as it glides over the sharp polygons of the snow mounds.
Mikoto was right, this one relies more on its guns than on the missiles, though. Carefully reading its shooting timings, I manage to get near the open area where it is, using ice pillars as cover. A second of peace later, it switches to using a heavy machinegun on each arm and I'm forced to sidestep to get out of harm's way, hiding behind the rock formations of the pathways as the ice collapses into tiny marbles. Luckily, these cliffs can't be destroyed so easily… but if it starts charging the OTH again while I'm still not close enough I'm as good as dead. Well, not actually dead, but… eh, whatever.
Peeking my head from behind the rocks, my Take's horn receives a hit. 2% damage, but the horn got destroyed. Two Heavy machineguns, long range rifles and missiles, and a fucking OTH railgun, that seems to be its loadout.
"How did this OP mech not get nerfed yet?! Seriously devs, what the hell?! How the fuck is anyone supposed to have a chance against this damn monster?"
Moving to another pillar in a sudden boost dash, the Take circles around the giant fortress, running through the area that is emanating searing smoke from the volleys of my adversary that meets with the never-ending snowfall as a faint gleam of moonlight peeks through a break in the clouds, behind the peaks of the elevations.
Fingers start to hurt a bit from the constant circling, shifting my hold over the controls does nothing to ease the stiffness that climbs up my arm. I just gotta dodge for a little while more, the heavy machineguns gotta cool down after a while.
Dammit, my shields are at 21%. Am I gonna make it?! There's not enough places to take cover in if I wanna get closer. The recharge window should be coming up in-
The shooting stops, the player takes a little too long to switch its weapons, so in a sudden burst my Take approaches the floating fortress from behind. Just a bit more, if I land a hit with my machineguns it's as good as dead. It starts to spam the missiles again, but it's no problem! Forward dash, sidestep, boost jump to the left, cancel, boost jump to the right!
TC out and bolting, aiming it upwards as I rush on, all incoming missiles fall to the red lightning. Sand and smoke rising everywhere in my view, the red bolts shielded me well, explosions surrounding my unit, that inches closer and closer to red numbers, oil and bloody murder oozing from its visor.
Right behind that cloak of violence that surrounds me lays a towering shadow, the gray fortress filling my view as I look up. But now, unlike before as I circled around it, a small red circle appears in my view. The Lock-On is active, which means-
"Hehehe… You're in my range! Being such a fucking chonker must suck right now!"
Diving like a meteor are my fingers onto the controllers, flicking the trigger with all my might. The machineguns hit its lower body while I dodge the fire from the turrets it has equipped on its sides.
"Hahahaha! Zero damage! This is hilarious!"
I can't help but laugh at this until it turns into mild coughing. Who on Earth designed this monster?! And you're telling me it had a Beam Shield when it was introduced? For real, what were they smoking? I want some of that shit.
The Elef spasms as little jolts cover its body, the stun now in effect. So, landing hard and crushing snow and ice cubes, I hit the gas and rush forward towards the fortress.
And, finally, I'm in position to execute my plan. Let's see if my gamble was worth it!
Back in my college class there's this guy called Onimura. He's also a gamer so we hit it off immediately. He plays this game in the Stallion 2 where he's just a medieval guy hunting monsters with a giant horn that plays music or something. The thing is, one day I asked him how did he even approach one of those giant dragons he fights, to which he answered:
"The safest place to fight a giant dragon is below it, ironically! Since most of its attacks can't hurt me if I'm there, and I can just keep beating it up no problem!"
Basically, what that weird shadowy me was doing in my daydream in that odd robot to whatever that tall monster was. Onimura, if this plan works I'm buying you lunch for a week, I swear.
The stun wears off as I take out a longsword and start slashing at the Elefante from below while shooting the TC without even charging it.
Slash, 2% damage. Slash, 2% damage. Laser Beam, 9% damage. Little by little I lower its shield, little by little its modular plating gives away like the skin of a boiled chicken.
The Elefante tries to move, but since the Takemikazuchi's speed is better even on foot I can remain below him. He can't attack me with its turrets or any other weapon while I'm here, and the Elefante cannot jump since it's always hovering.
So my Take keeps slashing and slicing, blasting it away with the TC. Repeating the rhythm time and again, yanking the controls and stepping on the pedals as if in a daze, in a dance.
Metal starts to burn, yielding to the hammer, sparks and screeches jumping as if you poured water onto a frying pan with warm oil in it, innards exposed and falling to the same fire which scorched the metallic skin, wiring severed and dangling like sliced earthworms. Bent, and bruised, and hollowed, and sunken in, more and more, slash by slash, bolt by bolt, little by little. Little by little, you're going down!
"You son of a bitch! You okay winning like a scrub?!" I hear the venomous yell over the headphones, and a small yanking noise of controls. Heh… the Elef's pilot, I see.
"You two tried to win this by spamming projectiles, so I'm sure you won't complain about me taking the easy way out!" I retort in my old cocky tone, chuckling at their groans as a brow raises on its own, speeding up my combo, tearing the Elef apart.
"You've no skill, noob! Sucker! Cheater!" The other guy of that team keeps calling me names, his voice heating up more with each insult as I cackle back.
The Elefante's shields are already in red, the lower plating left more miserable than my history grades back in middle school, resembling my kitchen after Meiya tried to invoke Cthulhu through her culinary efforts. Alright, let's close your casket.
"Hey you two, GG. And by that I mean Git Gud!"
Rising my blade above my shoulder, lowering my stance, I push the controls forward. The dash allows the Take to rise from the ground for a moment, releasing a vicious slash towards the damaged machine. And with eyes blazing, the Takemikazuchi slices its longsword into the Elefante, piercing it like a cannon ball would do to defenseless sheep.
Smoke rises up, sparks give way to a fire cloak that envelopes the entirety of the metallic titan, a loud explosions soon follows. Once the screen stops shaking, I see a glint of red through the snowfall. My Take takes on its victory pose above the mangled remains of the Elef as smoke and fire raise to the sky, the moonlight bathing over the battered purple frame.
[MATCH OVER - TEAM N° 51 WINS]
"WOOHOOHOOOOO!" We made it into the top 12 of our zone! "We won! Check that out! Wryyyy!"
Gasping, panting, I swipe my phones off and run a hand from my forehead all the way to my nape. The back of my head is still beating, can't stop feeling my heartbeats in full force near my neck. Leaning onto the seat, simply looking at the message with a goofy smile, I keep taking breaths with my mouth open, feeling a shiver on my sides. Sighing hard, I pull the seat back swiftly.
"Hey, Mikoto! Say something! What do you think about that?!" I must sound like a kid, but I can't hide my excitement right now. All that anxiety completely gone from me, I cannot help but smile like an idiot.
There's no answer. I get out of my seat and look around but I don't see him anywhere. Where could he… Don't tell me that he went away! He's not in his seat, not outside the terminal. And I can't see him near the rest area, either. It's odd he didn't chime in during the fight, now that I think about it. He should have noticed how our rivals started cursing at me in the common channel, even if he left his sim in spectator mode. Looking back at the terminal as the screen returns to the usual menu, Mikoto's signal is not paired with mine. So he must have left… Wait.
How much time passed since he got shot down? I mean, I had that weird ass daydream, and went after the Frei, and then had the whole fight with the Elef, too.
Don't tell me you immediately got up and left… Mikoto, if you went to the lounge and dropped out and we get disqualified you'll never hear the end of it!
"COME BACK HERE, MIKOTOOOOOOO!"