Chapter 4:
Innocent Fighting
Around 5 Minutes later.
(Showroom. Rest Area.)
[Takeru]
"I can't believe you! You have no faith in me!"
"What were you expecting?!" he erupts right back, expression tight. "One of them was unscathed and the other was a friggin' floating fortress with an OTH Railgun! You had less than half of your shields and fuel! I really thought it was the end of it!" Mikoto fumes with shrugged lips, returning a blazing gaze before sharply turning away.
I mean, I guess anyone would think it'd be impossible to turn the tables on a situation like that. Goes to show how crazy my idea was, and how lucky I was to see it to fruition.
"Whatever, let's go for a drink or something. Just lemme tell you that you missed one of the best matches in the tournament!" I shrug, puffing a cheek, walking towards the rest area in the showroom.
He sighs, scratching his head with an eye closed. "I'll just watch the replay later. But that was enough, you know? I mean, I was really happy that we made it to the Top 24 of our zone. I can't believe we're in the best 36 teams of the whole tournament!" he cheers, the glee returns to his face and words.
"Yeah, but from now on we stick together and watch each other's back. The next fight is gonna be brutal, too."
"Wait, you wanna win it?!" Mikoto looks at me with a surprised face, resembling an electric rat, little jolts on his cheeks and all.
"You don't?"
"Eh? Ah, no. I mean, yes, I wanna win but, you know, you kinda carried us here. Not just the last fight, I've not been much help in this," he lets out a sigh as his entire body hunches over like a little flower under the rain.
"Dude, this isn't like you at all. And last fight was all on me for not acting faster. You kept the Elefante at bay for, what? One full minute? That's awesome, you know?"
"Yeah, but I got taken down in the end. And it was your idea that took down the Elef, and you dealt with the Frei all by yourself too," he looks away, his pace slows down.
"That was more thanks to the Takemikazuchi's exceptional speed, if you had tried to get below that thing I'm sure you could have done it."
"You think?" barely whispering the retort, his eyes remain glued to the floor.
He looks super down, dammit. How can I cheer him up? I'm not good at giving speeches, I always end up preaching when I do. Hmm…
"…What? Is this how you wanna go, with me showing you up? What's next, are you gonna start calling me Takeru-sama?" I say, smirking as I shrug, raising a single brow. Let's just do what I usually do, no point in overthinking this.
"Wha… I-Idiot! You're such a stupid idiot, Takeru!" flaring back up, he lightly slaps my arm. "That's it, next fight is my turn to shine!" burying down the gray clouds, a crimson scorching takes reign of both words and eyes.
Yes! There's the competitive Mikoto I know! "That's more like it! Now let's get some juice or something."
"…Hey Takeru, you alright?" he stops in his tracks, locking his gaze on me.
"Hmm? Yeah, why?"
"You look kinda… different. No, you look like you usually do."
"Huh? Then why did you ask me if I'm alright?"
"Because you've been weird for awhile. You didn't smile, rarely joined in the jokes, didn't react when you got teased. Even the tone of your voice sounded down."
"Well, what can I say? Beating someone up sure is nice. Especially with a sword!"
"Hahaha, see? That's our usual Takeru!"
"Ha, well, is it what it is. Let's relax for a bit and keep doing our best. Then we're hitting that ice cream harder than a triple boost jump landing!"
"Yeah!"
40 minutes later.
(Showroom. Rest Area.)
"AAAAHHH TAKERU!"
"Stop screaming. And stop running. Sit down already," I do sit down, finally biting into the sandwich I ordered.
"B-B-B-But we made it to the FINAL! How do you want me to calm down?!" he remains rebounding upon himself, shrinking a bit with every repetition as he shuffles between all his character sprites at the speed of sound. Looks like a kitty hiding under a table after hearing a thunder or some fireworks during the end of the year.
So I smile his way, palming my chest a few times. "Mikoto, you must chill! We just won a super close game, too. We're already here, so no matter the result we went way beyond our limits. Let's fight with no regrets!"
"Ah, what are we gonna do?!"
…This is pointless. Ayamine, I wish you were here to help me calm him down. And by that I mean suffocate him until he calms down.
"If you didn't want to be in the final then, why did you land all those cannon shots?" You really creamed the opposite team real bad last match while they ganged up on me. Still can't believe you got the two kills, to be honest.
"I was just having fun!" he hisses back, puffing a cheek. "And you were trying so hard to corner them, so when I saw my chance I just took the shot, I wasn't even aiming at the core. This is the first time I do more than 40% with a single attack!" Mikoto then crashes into the seat in front of mine, sparks flying out of the thunderstorm of amazement that laid in his eyes as he, finally, begins to eat the sandwich he ordered.
Well, it ain't like I don't get his shock. He got not one, but two fully charged cannon shots to the core of the first enemy, taking 45% off its shields with each hit. Imagine my surprise, I'm having trouble at CQC while tightly dodging some mid-range fire, when suddenly one mech explodes outta nowhere. And then as I stunned the other, it exploded too in a flash after Mikoto got yet another cannon shot at its core, shaving its remaining life away.
A match that was at a standstill for two minutes ended in less than half of one, thanks to Mikoto's exalted mode activating or something.
"Well then, let's just keep having fun! This time it's really hard to think we could win it. So, let's go out with a blast!" I nod twice, relaxing onto my seat.
"Uh, but everyone is gonna be watching. And the final is going to be uploaded to the official website! What if we screw up and it ends up there forever?!" he keeps shaking and quivering, invisible snow tickling his every pore.
"All the more reason to calm down, so that we don't make any stupid mistakes. Worrying so much will only make you screw up big time."
"Uuuh…" he sighs, grasping his meal with both hands, giving slow and small munches to it, saying nothing else.
But it's not like I don't understand his concerns. The last two matches were very hard, even when Mikoto upped his game. We went against truly good players and managed to somehow come out victorious. Honestly, if it weren't for the Takemikazuchi's speed and Mikoto's deadly cannon shots we wouldn't be here. So much for weapon balance! So many things are broken in this game! Though, I suppose that for my rivals my speed is broken too.
There's also this seething motivation I've been feeling since that match with the Elef and the Frei. Like, I don't even wanna lose this. Yet, this seems kinda… pointless? I mean, we're losing the final no matter what we do, we're nowhere near the level needed to actually win. But, I dunno, it's like something's missing here.
At least this is the end of the tournament. I'm really glad I got to be here, even if after this it's another half a year until everyone can get together again. Once were done here, we get some time to hang out. I really shouldn't let my nightmares bring me down so much. I really rather be hanging out with the gang right now. I wanna spend some more time with them, just chilling and talking. Sigh… I can't recall when was the last time I had this much fun, for real.
As I lay back onto my seat, I notice Mikoto playing with his keys. Standing still, gaze aiming down and a bit clouded as he eats, it's so rare for him to be so quiet.
"Alright Mikoto, let's make a bet!" It may be a stupid idea, but I want him to at least have fun in our last match.
"Huh? About what?"
"The first to go down has to give the other half its ice cream!" I say with a huge smile.
"What? No, you're just gonna rush away and leave me to die!"
"Of course not! We're both rushing in at the same time, since I don't think we stand a chance either way. Might as well go for the surprise attack."
"Huh? But…" Mikoto's lips shut close, groaning as he faces away, a finger scratching at his chin. Let's give him one last push.
"Wow, someone is not confident. Highschool Mikoto would laugh at you right now!" I declare with a chuckle.
A brow twitches, a low rumble gets caught on his throat before rising as a muffled serenade along the puffed cheeks. Baiting: Successful!
"…Don't be a jerk, Takeru. I'm really nervous, you know? Like this is the kind of thing I was always dreaming about when we were back in school!" Mikoto slowly says as his face lights up, smiling again as he throws a gaze towards the rows of terminal. "I was always getting dragged to the sea or the jungle, so when I got back home playing games was one of the things I looked forward to the most. But I could never go to any events… and now not only I'm in one but, I'm in the final match of the event! Do you get it, Takeru?! We are on the final of an official Valgern-On tournameeeent!" And then his eyes start rotating in a counter clockwise way as he grabs his head, his entire being wobbling like jelly in front of an industrial fan along more small, tiny groans.
Seriously dude, you must chill. Sigh… "Then all the more reason to go and give your best, right?"
"Huh?"
"With college and work in the future we probably won't be able to come to another event like this. This may be the last time for a long while that we can just have fun without worrying about what hour it is or if there's any studies to catch up to," taking a sec to finish my juice, also looking at the terminals, at the silence that falls on the place, I smile back at him, nodding. "So you must chill, dude. We came here, we played, we took down some pro players, and we got to the final. What else could a fan ask for?!"
"Yeah… I mean, today was great! I guess there's nothing else a fan could ask, aside from winning the thing. Thanks Takeru, you've matured a lot, you know?" he gives me a small yet bright smile, both hands flattening the arms of his shirt as the wobbling subsides. I'm really envious of how easily you can change your mood.
"That's hardly a good thing, considering how much of a brat I was before. If I didn't grew up a bit I'd be in deep shit now that I'm in college."
"Hahaha, don't be silly!"
"To all finalists, please go to your terminal. The final match shall begin in five minutes. I repeat-" The voice echoes through the showroom.
All the players that lost have gone to the hall, I think, so the showroom feels empty right now. We were on the rest area but the other players didn't come at all. Who knows what kind of people we're against now?
"Let's go, Takeru," he says, smiling as he stands. "It's showtime!"
"Yeah, let's!" Let's do our worst and go down without regrets! "Just make sure not to leave the common channel if you get show down before me, alright?
"Huh?" Common what?"
"You know, our communication line. Don't walk away again, I might pull another crazy stunt midfight."
"Oh, yeah. I'll stay watching until the end, no matter what. You too, don't get too down if you're taken down first and have to watch me demolish the competition!"
"Hehe, it's on then! Let's see who gets that extra serving of ice cream!" I smirk back, raising a hand.
He slams a high five into it, grinning back while sitting on his unit. "Don't think I'll make it any easier for you!"
Heh, who would have said it? A videogame is what got me out of my cloud of negativity of these last months. Though, I do wonder what the hell is up with these nightmares. I hope I don't start having lucid daydreams while in college.
After getting ready and connecting our terminal to the system, we hear the announcer on our headphones asking for our input, to see if we were ready. A little while later, he begins to introduce all the teams before the match starts. Can't believe they used our full names, I better not make a fool out of myself here or my college life might become hell. Please guys in my class, don't watch this!
Then, as we accept our loadouts for the match, the field select screen flashes and slides over, revealing in the center square that the battlefield shall be-
Heh, of course it would be this. Yguloch Fortress, the narrow circle of hell as they call it. Well, at least we won't have to worry about Rigulla's damage hazards. A small mercy, I guess.
And then, with a loud cheer of the announcer, the three-headed dragon match begins, the loading screen dimming its neon green angular frame, giving way to the expansion of dark blue skies which receive ample white light from below, large beams of light piercing the clouds.
The Technopolis comes into view, imposing as always while the music starts its buildup along the countdown. Curved structures of shining silverish metal, oval shapes and lines of energy beams holding the city together that hovers a bit over the ground, and a rain of multicolored lights all around the first layer of the settlement. All of it eclipsed by the deafening edification that guards the center of the map, its every brick weaponized and ready to slay.
I'll never get tired of praising some of the maps. The backgrounds, BGMs, and style they have is top notch. Yguloch really is very similar to the cities of Galaxy Wars, though. Still, if they wanted to make a reference to that, why do we not have any lasersabres? Imagine how cool that would be, dual wielding crimson lasersabres as you rush through the enemies while screaming 'Unlimited Poweeeeeer!'.
"Takeru, can you see any enemies?" Mikoto asks, again yanking me off dreamland.
"…Nope, nothing nearby or in the radar. Stay close, I'll go over that tower."
Walking on the platinum white streets, between the perfect cubes of the structures, I hop on top of some smaller buildings to get to the tower in question, that looks like an anchor in reverse pointing to the sky. I wait a few seconds but I can't see anything on the screen or in my radar, not even as I look about the place.
Yguloch has an open exterior filled with all kind of sci-fi, futuristic looking buildings that resemble some sort of city. In the center of the map there's the fortress, that is a clear homage to the Doom Moon. But still, there's nothing in sight out of the ordinary.
"See anything?" he asks.
"Not yet, no. Anyways, better make haste and get closer to the fortress."
"Huh? Why? Shouldn't we stay under cover to catch the enemies by surprise?"
"Have you ever played this map, Mikoto?" I ask as my Take hops back to the ground, landing besides the Xao-Myun.
"No, not really. I haven't got the time to try all the new maps from the last updates."
"Well, you see, Yguloch's interior is very narrow, kind of like an actual building. It's perfect for hit and run tactics, or just to hold the fort. There's very few mechs that have the speed or defense to traverse one of the hallways while under constant fire. But there's one special thing about this map," I stop, on purpose to make the silence all the more grand, licking my lips and inhaling sharply, to speak from my stomach. "In the dead center of the fortress there's a room with a control panel, and if you interact with it you'll make nukes rain down on the outside. It basically destroys all the outside map, forcing players to fight within the fortress." But the nukes are programmed to drop automatically after three minutes anyways. So waiting is kind of pointless.
"So you want to win by using those nukes? This… feels really cheap, you know," he sighs as we start walking, the Xao-Myun lagging behind my Take.
"The inside of the fortress is like a labyrinth, so it's not like we have a clear road towards the panel. And we can get sniped on the outer sections of the building. But as soon as any team shoots for the fortress, there's gonna be little we can do besides rushing to it. So we have no time to waste, we gotta try to get close to the entrance in case anyone pushes the red button," I say with a nod, Mikoto groans a bit but still agrees.
Even if fighting breaks out outside Yguloch, getting closer is for the better. And if the match drags on, the nukes are gonna come down raining anyways. So, chances are, someone is gonna chase that control panel. Or we could just rush and do that ourselves? Nah, no way in hell that's gonna work, we'll be exposing ourselves unnecessarily.
"Takeru! Enemy to your left!" he warns and we both stop walking, crouching behind a spinning anchor-tower.
I check my radar, there's two signals near and getting closer. Wait, I got another reading to my right. Two more coming from over there. Are they… rushing into the fortress? Looks like, at the speed the dots are moving. So much for being cautious.
"Can you see anything, Mikoto?"
"Not yet, I still can't- wait, is that… an Elefante?!" he squeals like a balloon poked by a branch, flying away. That match against the gray Elef must have left quite the impact on him.
"Its partner seems to be a Frei again, right?" So much for a balanced and diverse meta.
"Yeah, I think. They didn't seem to notice us yet. You think they're setting up their lock?"
"Of course, spammers like them only know one way to play."
"Then let's try and knock out the Frei before that!" he affirms, the Xao lowering its posture to take off.
"Mikoto, stay on the ground. Let's lay low for awhile."
"Huh? But if we let them get away-"
"Let's wait and see what are the other team is piloting. Rushing out into the open could get us sniped by the Frei, anyways. For the moment, let's slowly walk towards the fort."
"Okay, got it."
As we depart from our hiding spot, the dots of the first team vanishing from the radar, another beep soon comes up as we walk the smooth and bright plated streets. Crouching beneath the energy lines and transports that in them move, we wait for the enemy to pass us by.
And there we go! Visuals are ready so let's check what are they… Slim humanoid build, spiky head and limbs, long backthrusters. Huh, well shit. This is gonna suck.
"Takeru, can you see them? Wait, is that… a Takemikazuchi?"
"Yep, one of 'em is using a yellow version of the beetle. And the other, to make matters worse, is piloting a Ravager Mk II," I sigh and shake my head as I start advancing again, Mikoto following me.
"So they're both offensive units?" he asks, a bit puzzled.
"Yeah, and this doesn't look good. I can see what they were going for, but this is just ridiculous."
"Think they'll try to rush into the fort?"
"That's what I'd do if I were a betting man, there's little reason for them to be waltzing to the entrance like that otherwise. And they're gonna crash headfirst into the wall that is the Elef."
"So we're gonna get blockaded at the entrance by all the missile spam?" he asks, creaking and falling. "Isn't there anything we can do?"
"If the Ravager weren't here, we could try and pull the same stunt I pulled before but," clicking my lips, my feet press onto the pedals to start a jog."
"Sigh, you're right," he seems to slump, wobbling again. "The Ravager is the fastest mech in the game, and its Homing Missile, is real good."
"Not only it has auto-aim but the thing also stuns like my machineguns. If this becomes a race to the panel, we ain't beating that thing in CQC."
"CQC?"
"You know, close combat."
"Oh, right. Do you think that yellow Take can move as good as you do? If it doesn't we might have a chance to neutralize them with our acrobatics, I think. Then, we can slip into the fort and deal with the Frei. What do you say?" he asks, low, seeming to be holding his breath. Can't blame him.
"What we were going to do anyways. Rush 'em!"
"R-Really?" I can feel his incredulous look, the raise of a single brow through his voice.
"Yeah, the Elefante can't get inside the fortress since its hallways are so narrow, so it will get knocked out midfight or when the bombs eventually fall down. While the Ravager and that yellow Take will try and infiltrate the fortress, the Frei will surely attempt to halt their advance. So long as we are the only ones that can get past the projectile spam, we can have the bombs win us the game."
"Sigh… I really don't like where this is going," he complains, sounding sour.
"Not like we have a choice, do we? The second Yguloch was chosen, this became a possible outcome. No point in complaining about the cards we're dealt, right? Let's go have some fun!"
"Okay, right behind you!" again sounding cheery, he replies as we both start boost dashing through the streets.
[edit checkpoint]
As we approach the entrance, we see that the fight has already started. Explosions littering the sky, a few buildings blasted away, the energy anchors twitching as they convulse and let out small puffs of smoke. The once pure white of the Technopolis, ravished in an instant by all the missile spam. The Elef has proclaimed the gate its own while the other team stumbles and staggers under the missile rain.
Sadly, the crossfire of missiles leveled the entire area near the entrance to the fortress, the buildings reduced to ashes and small mounds of burnt metal. As soon as we leave, we'll be sitting ducks for anyone's guns. Going by the radar, we're not yet entering theirs. But all it takes is a singular step and maybe we're also on the receiving end of the pain rain.
Whatever, I think that one full boost dash followed by a triple boost jump should get us close enough to just dash under the Elef, then we can slide under it and enter the fortress while the other team remains blocked by the missiles. The Frei should be inside the fortress already so we should make haste.
"Mikoto, on my mark we go for a full boost dash followed by a triple boost jump. That should get us close enough to clear the Elef and infiltrate the fortress. You ready?"
"Wait, don't you see that mark on the radar? Just above the gate?" Mikoto slowly mentions.
"Huh? I just see one dot, what are you- It moved! There's two dots!" They're overlapping their signals? Is that even possible? I'm sure this is as legal as a loli.
"What do you think they're doing?" he asks, the Xao pacing to my side, while I have the Take shrug.
Watching as the screeching scorching gives the skyline a new paint job, the dot above the gate remains still.
"If they didn't get into the fortress, then I have no idea. There's no advantage for a Frei to fight on top of the gate, since sniping from inside would be safer now that all the cover got blasted away to hell."
"What if they were waiting to catch them by surprise? Takeru, you said that the Elefante can't get inside, right? So, if they manage to score a shot to the thrusters of their rivals, then the Frei can flee into the fortress without risk of getting caught by homings or the Takemikazuchi's speed. And once they make the bombs fall down-"
"They have the match in their pocket! You're totally right!" Mikoto, you're a genius.
Of course anyone would assume that rushing to the panel is the safer strategy. But when they saw that the other team had two fast aggressive units, they decided to seize the chance to render the chance of the Frei getting caught within Yguloch null, to ensure the bombs come down with no one but it inside the fortress.
Still… Look at all those explosions. It's literally a blooming field of hellfire singing to the moon. Can we really make it safely inside the gate? If the Frei is at the ready to snipe us, once we're struck down we'll be target practice for the Elef or the other team.
"What do you think we should do, Mikoto?"
"Um, the Frei doesn't have access to heavy weaponry besides sniping crits, right? Then it must be waiting until someone gets low on shields, to use the surprise factor to its fullest. So I think that after the other team realizes that they're hiding on top of the gate, they'll try to kill the Frei. And that's when we should rush into the fortress, while the ambush falls apart."
"Why don't we reveal the Frei to them, then?" Light bulb moment right now, I have an idea we can exploit.
"Reveal it? Charging in into the Elef's range? No, thanks!" He really is scared of the thing, huh.
"I was thinking of sniping the gate, we're in range I think. They haven't focused on us because we are not in the radar's range, so the Frei should also not be aware we're here. But when the Ravager and the other Take look at where we shoot, even if we miss…"
"They'll see the Frei's hiding place! Nice thinking, Takeru!"
"Nah, this is all you noticing the second dot."
Nodding and waving our rifles, we go prone into position. Mikoto readies his cannons, I prep up the TC. Looking with the scope, it's obvious there's a mech above the gate, but if you don't look closely you can totally miss it. Seeing from the front must be almost impossible, since it's hiding behind those light poles and the Elef's missiles deserve more attention. And with all the smoke and shit, visibility must be ass over there.
Alright, let's get this baby charged up. Let's aim at the light reflectors!
"I'll use my TC to blow up the lights and most of the cover, you try and aim at the Frei."
"What do we do after we shoot?"
"Wait and see, depending how things turn out we either take advantage of the chaos or wait until they stop bombarding each other with missiles. No point in rushing if we can't get to the gate in one piece."
"Okay, got it."
3, 2, 1… GO!
Both of our mechs shoot in unison towards the gate, our volleys parting the pixelated smoke. Burgundy streaks of lightning course through the air, melting what little protection is above the gate, everything blown up to smithereens. The ensuing smoke does not get a chance to settle down and rest as Mikoto's shot pierces through and further cracks the entrance. Yet, a small frame sways away from within the mushroom of dust and fire, a red-clad Freikugel was forced to jump to dodge Mikoto's shot. The other team stops moving, taken aback by our attack to the gate, but as they see the slim sniper the missile spam immediately follows suit. The green Elef now has to cover its partner, and more explosions cover the sky in its entirety. Happy New Year, I guess?
"Looks like that went well. What now, Takeru?"
"They're nuking each other, we should- Mikoto, to your left!"
A missile heads towards Mikoto, luckily he reacts in time and shoots it down.
A screech comes through the speakers, followed by a livid voice. "You damn casuals! Go back to the Dreamcost with your low tier shit!" I think this is the guy in the red Frei.
"What does he mean by low tier shit?!" He better not be insinuating what I think he is.
"You don't check the tier list, Takeru?"
"No, I just read the summaries on the forums and saw some replays of each mech." I thought the Take looked sick as fuck, so I gave it a spin one day. Been maining it ever since, and my Win-rate skyrocketed since then.
"Really? Hehe, no wonder you of all people picked up the Takemikazuchi, then."
"I do not like your tone, Mikoto-kun. Which tier are our mechs in?"
"Mine is Mid tier. Yours is in Bottom tier."
"What?! This baby is at the bottom?! I call bullshit!"
"You're the only one I've seen to be able to use that mech without crashing and exploding at some point, since it moves way too fast."
Our chat is interrupted by more missiles coming our way. Seems like camping is no longer an option for us, now that we got ourselves noticed.
"Mikoto, let's go! No point in staying here taking the missiles!"
"All right, right behind you!"
A flare growls in the jump units, we glide face-first into the smoke, into the falling arrows. This doesn't look like a battle that just started. The other players are mostly in yellow numbers, cover is shining for its absence, and the booming scolding of the barrels keeps on spiraling into my ears as we trade fire and spin away. I think this is going to turn into a slaughter, control panel be damned.
The Ravager turns around when it notices us, shooting a homing along two grenades. Dammit, he's trying to split us up!
"Mikoto, to the left!" I warn, jumping and firing off my machineguns. The homing is taken down, we avoid the grenades' explosions.
A frame of golden luster is already falling into mine, yet it clamps onto itself, into a barrel roll as an obelisk is sunk in by Mikoto's covering fire. I spread my aim to shield us from the erratic missiles that are flying everywhere, surrounding us in geysers of darkest smoke.
"Aren't you good for being a pair of casuals? At least you'll put up a fight!" The Ravager's pilot screams at us, flying up above while sending another homing and more grenades, that we have to dodge, rolling back to the ground.
Heh, a cocky little bastard, ain't you.
A short blast from Mikoto, it has to tilt to avoid. A simple dash, a double jump, my Take raises and pierces the dark veil that falls upon the battle, ready to drop the gavel onto the Ravager's head.
A golden whirlwind billows from within the smoke, parrying my slash, the follow-up, we trade parries and ripostes in midair, sawing off the air.
"Tch, found one good CQC player, fucking finally!" I cheer, hopping back into Mikoto's cover as he threatens lethality onto the golden Takemikazuchi.
"Hmph, how careless to miss the kill," a low comment, drenched in acid, a female voice. The yellow doppel backboosts while trading fire with us, shielded by some cover by the Ravager. "Come on, stop screwing around and deal with the sniper!" an explosion erupts up above, and the voice of the woman does too.
Someone replies in English while I again share slices with the yellow reflection and Mikoto keeps me safe from the Elef's missiles. More explosions, that pale in comparison to the rumbling repining of the woman. Even after a chained shot between Mikoto and the Ravager finally strikes down the Frei before it escaped into the fort, the duo keeps blasting at each other.
"…Are they having a lovers' quarrel in the middle of the fucking match?"
"It sure does look like that," Mikoto says, chuckling.
"Sigh… Man, what a lucky guy. Having a partner that shares one of your hobbies would be killer and he's bitching at her as we speak." Not even I am that stupid, and that's a very low bar to clear.
"Yeah, it would be… really nice to be able to play alongside the one you like, yeah… Ah! Takeru, to your left!"
Just as Mikoto warns me, a grenade was about to explode. I quickly boost backflip out of danger, luckily sustaining no damage. That was too close.
"Thanks, dude!"
"Stay focused, what do we do?"
"Let's try and infiltrate the fortress! The Elef is as good as dead now, and the bickering idiots will keep getting damaged in the crossfire. I'll act as a decoy by trying to slide under the Elef, watch carefully to follow me later. One of those two will try and follow me, we can then pincer it and move into the fort with the advantage."
"Got it. I'm ready when you are!" he roars, the Xao sticking both cannons and making them shiver in charge, both jump units about to ignite too.
Stomping the pedals, bringing the boosters back to life, I dash towards the Elef at top speed. Now that I know how much damage it takes from below I know I can lower its shield enough for it to panic, in case Mikoto needs the diversion to infiltrate the edification.
The golden Take takes aim at me, already raising the shard end of its swords my way, until Mikoto sprays his deadly cannon shots about, tumbling a few anchor towers in the distance as the golden doppel is forced to retreat. As Mikoto engages the Ravager in a marksmanship challenge, the golden Takemikazuchi instead dives under the Xao and begins to tail my shadow as I spin and avoid the flurry of bullets the green Elef sends my way.
Alright, let's do a full boost and do this quickly! Once we bait the Ravager and pincer it, we can retreat into the fortress.
The warning chime beeps, a grenade is already falling my way along a homing right behind. A few buildings turn dark, covered in smoke as the Elef's shots miss me by a hair. And yet, the violence parts in twain, revealing a golden glimmer trailing me down into the shadow cast by the giant floating machine.
Sword out and posture taken, I face the incoming assault of yellow with a smirk, scattering sparks as my initial slash forces it to rethink its approach. "Heh, now we're talking my language. Get your game on!" Let's see if you can match me and my purple mirage with your golden lookalike!