Ripples to Waves

by Zuoriel

The days simply pass Takeru by, flow on amidst the simple routine of a peaceful life. Ripples linger in his heart as a particular date grows closer, an invitation he had accepted, another he had extended. He looks forward to this meeting despite himself, despite echoes that do not drown. Echoes of days past that forewarn of incoming waves arriving to crash onto his tranquil shore.

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5:

Integrate

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(Showroom. Terminal N° 51)

[Takeru]

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With a blasting sound, my Take gets sent into a wall again. Its joints shouting at me in complain, it takes a sec for it to come back to its feet. By then, the gray frame is again out of sight, vanishing from the narrowness of the hallway.

"Sigh… Damn, didn't think it'd take me so much to knockout a single enemy."

If Mikoto were here, we could have done this quickly. The damn yellow Takemikazuchi got in the way of our plan, disrupting our pincer maneuver. The Elef bombarded us with all it had, quite the marvelous fireworks actually, allowing the Ravager Mk II to escape into the fortress, and I tried to give chase. Being left in between the Elef's blossoming explosions and the aggro of that yellow mirror, it's a miracle I made it into the fortress, to be honest. Mikoto and the other Take got done in during the crossfire due to damage to their thrusters and the bombs already dropped outside, so now it's just me and-

BEEP!

"Me and the fucking homing missiles every damn second!"

TC out, I don't even bother to charge it, releasing a small ball of red sparks that collides against the missile. Taking a second to sigh, I run a hand over my forehead to clean the sweat that's been tickling down to my chin for a while now. The Ravager has managed to keep its distance from me for about two minutes. I'm at a disadvantage in this fight, not only he can shoot homings at me from anywhere as soon as he locks onto me but he also has better range with his guns and grenades. The guy is also not bad at CQC, though I did manage to get two clear hits. The marksmanship is what's giving me the most trouble actually, even without homings the usually CQC-friendly Ravager has been exploited against me with its more than fair offerings in mid and long range. Kudos to the player, he's a top gunner for real.

But simply by hearing the creaking sounds of my Take as it walks, the once regal purple painting now peeling off and revealing the crude metallic gray beneath, one can see I'm almost a dead man walking. Down to my last long sword, I gotta make this assault count. A sec for a deep breath, the ravished shadow reflected off a mirror in a wall nods its head.

"Alright, enough screwing around. You want a death match, top gunner? Fine by me, let's see if you can keep up with my A game."

Blazing into a jump just before the corner, the Take shoots out straight ahead in midair. No sooner do I take the turn that the alarm starts beeping again, the homing is coming already with a few well placed grenades right behind. A quick flicker, I shoot it down with the TC and start dashing forward as I land, a vicegrip onto the control sticks, a flurry of stabs from the machineguns to rig the grenades null and void.

Sidestepping through the clogging smoke to avoid as many bullets as possible, my Take keeps on rushing while firing the machineguns, pincushions outspeaking the bitching alarm. I don't care if I'm not in range yet, I have to take down the grenades before they get too close! The dot is at the end of my radar, I can get close if I cut the distance here!

Grinding my feet on the ground in intimacy, all momentum is canceled and the Take stands still amidst the tattered hallways. The grenades finish their bounce and explode ahead of me, missing their expected target, as I quickly click and yank the combo. Pulling out the big and clunky TC again, the red circle of the auto-lock appears on my view despite the fire and smoke veiling my sight.

In a quick counter, my adversary fires off a few more of his weapons at me. Most unlucky for you, I'm too far away for my charge to be interrupted.

"Thunder Cannon, let loose, baby!"

A hoarse rumbling roars from the barrel, red lightning floods forth. Grenades burnt to mere pixels, what's ahead and around tinted in red and blurring, the beam sears through the hallway. The Ravager attempts a panic dodge, slamming itself against the ceiling if only to not take my load to the face, and shoots another homing as it regains balance.

"I'm starting to think that having infinite projectiles is not a good idea. At least make the cooldown a bit longer, dammit!"

Piercing the clouds and flames, exploding the homings when required, I advance and try to counter. The Ravager manages to stay always out of range, a hazy shadow nearing the horizon, while never stopping to send those damn grenades to not let me use the TC again. But since that's what he thinks is my win-con, as soon as he gets locked into the animation-

Now's my chance! I pull the joystick forward, crouching first then going into a full boost dash, readying my blade. It bounces a grenade upwards, which misses my Take entirely as it crouch-dashes, my eyes see again that nice red circle of the auto-lock for a second. Instead of fleeing, my foe begins to procure its saber. Feet planted on the pedals, joystick kept in place, I push my Take forward while ignoring the grenade.

It explodes behind me, taking 3% off my shields. Couldn't get out of the damage area, at top speed? Ignoring the little beep, I circle the joysticks and begin to dance and slice. We trade blows, sparks and screeches echoing about, parries and ripostes exchanged like trading cards, but neither of us can get a clear hit either on the frame or the limbs nor find the space to use our guns without risk of a hit to the core. Mere pixels separate my blade from splintering the skull apart, if not for its superior agility, mere frames bind me from piercing its stomach, if not for the higher reaction time of its shortswords.

Deactivating a jump unit, spinning on myself, I thrust forward and aim at its nape, at that cone of weakness no mech can shield against. The two bunny ears the Ravager has are sliced off, the lower edge of my sword caresses and teases its metallic skull after the hasty crouch.

"Tch, nimble bastard, aren't you a worthy opponent for a final!" the guy shouts on the other end, in a messy Japanese, while the Ravager panics into a backboost for dear life away from the windmill slam of slashes I forward, sparks and oil bleeding away from its damaged head visor.

"Could say the same to you, top gunner! Regardless of how this ends, this has been THE best game I've played in months!" I return, laughing and grinning as my reckless assault sows fissures and cracks in the tiles, basically splintering the hallway in two, smacking away one saber off the Ravager's hand.

As we try to outmaneuver each other, taking sharp turns and power-sliding on the corners and around the few pillars that divide the hallways, our slashes keep meeting the other's blade time and again. This guy's technique in CQC ain't half, he must have played a melee-eccentric mech before. Or the yellow Take's player rubbed off on him.

After reaching a hallway with a ninety degree curve, the Ravager does a sharp drift and moves further in as it barely grazes the wall, leaving a trail of grenades in its wake. With a sharp yank of the controls, almost hitting my ribs, I take my distance from the corner as the stock explosions fill my view. Sparing a second to sigh and do a circle with my neck, a chill runs down my spine as another chime appears. A homing again zooming towards me.

"For fuck's sake!"

More burgundy thunders meet the missile, more smoke fills and paints the once sleek walls of smooth and curved metal of the place. Once the pixelated smoke scatters, I resume the chase on foot again. It went right into the next open area at the end of the hallway, trying to ambush me for sure. As I reach the place in question, however, I see a giant hole in the middle of the area. A large triangular elevator that is already activated, energy beams coursing through the mechanism and the power lines in the floor, the small anchors in the walls.

"Oh… Oh, fuck no." A hand firmly roots into my forehead, all I can do now is is just close my eyes, shake my head and… and just… Man, fuck this shit. "How could I forget about this. The damn tunnel to the underground, fuck! I got outplayed, shit."

Worst part is, the underground part of Yguloch is even more narrow than the aboveground building. This is bad, there's no way I'll be able to keep dodging his shots in the underground. Once he gets the lead and arrives at a narrow enough place, the Ravager can simply opt to employ a stationary defense tactic with the missiles. If my TC can't blast away the walls, which I think it shouldn't, then it's all up on whether I can dodge the ammo or endure the damage.

And looking at my numbers, it's enough to make me gulp the sigh I was about to release. Fuck… Well, it still should be descending so I gotta be quick! The chase is on!

As soon as I set foot on the room a homing appears in my radar. Dammit, barely had time to take out the TC to protect myself from the damn thing. But now I can't shoot at the Ravager on the way down, the cooldown of the homing is shorter than that of the TC's if I base myself in how quickly it has been shooting the damn things when I was chasing the Ravager around.

"If he gets away now that's curtains, it's my loss. I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end…"

The tunnel changes directions twice and he already has a lead on me. The Ravager is faster than the Takemikazuchi, so I suppose I won't be able to catch up.

"Well, at least I'll keep fighting to the end! Despair after you're dead, Takeru. No point in admitting defeat before the final curtain falls!" So, with a strong stomp on the pedals, I bring my Take to life, making it run and jump headfirst into the downwards spiral of a tunnel that's ahead.

Is there anything I can do to catch up to him? If only there was a way to get him by surprise. Without the TC or missiles, is there anything I can pull off? Hmm…

Lost in thought as I descend into the tunnel, looking at the gray walls that resemble some sort of odd research facility, my head starts to hurt right below my ears. It isn't a strong pain or anything, but it's definitely bothersome. Too much time in front of the screen, maybe? Focus on the match, man. Sigh…

But, wait… Haven't I done something like this before? Chasing something down a tunnel, rushing it at top speed. I haven't played much games on Yguloch, much less in the underground. I wonder what's this weird tickling sensation in the back of my head. But it does feel like that, kind of… nostalgic. Huh.

Leaning back onto the seat, I exhale loudly. Licking my lips, I simply stare at the tunnel while thinking through the small pain in my ears. Looking at the patterns that the metallic shine of the hexagonal steel plates and the twister of cables in between the tunnel's walls, at the blinking firefly-like lights of whatever the equipment is made to represent, at the blurry and momentary sight as I rush downwards… Ugh, it hurts.

My vision grows a bit narrow, as if everything were graying out. What the hell is- Why is my body feeling so heavy all of a sudden? And why am I not scared? I can barely see anything well but, again, it feels oddly calm, soothing even. Blinking fast to try and get rid of this dizziness, a blurry darkened mess fills my view when opening my eyes fully, voices distorted by static reach my ears.

"Eight Laser-Class firing on the Hangar 90 barriers! There's still some of the bastards left!" a voice fumes, that sounds like me, despite the fact that I am not moving my lips. Laser what?

"Let's take 'em all down!" so erupts a female voice I don't recognize.

Light flashes before my eyes as a flurry of bullets fly towards some hazy shapes in the distance.

"HQ to Alpha 2! We're… and 5th barr… your route!" another female voice I don't recognize speaks but I can't hear clearly what she's saying through the stitches.

"We'll be boost vectoring in reverse forty meters above the barrier. Kick off the walls to change directions twice!" the first female voice says, dry and harsh, almost as if her breathing stopped at the pit of her throat.

Wait, what? Boost vectoring? In reverse? Kicking the wall? Does she mean to do consecutive Albrights in reverse or what?

"Feeling nervous, Shirogane?!"

A jolt in my stomach, a twist in my gut, heart rumbles against my chest, I can't help but to bite my lips as acid rushes up.

I clearly heard it, she said my name! Well, duh, this is a daydream after all. However, hearing that voice… Why do I feel as if I had a tight knot on my chest?

An alarm snaps me out of my daydream, a cluster of homings is flying my way. Taking a sharp breath, blinking fast and feeling my eyes almost molding shut as if it were spring and the air was full of pollen, my heart is still rumbling inside. Swallowing whatever caused this acid taste to come up, I lick my lips and readjust my position on the seat, my hold over the joysticks.

I'm already at my limit in this game. There's nothing to lose, right? I feel strangely good now, the light pain is gone, everything seems so much more clear. Could I try to do that thing the woman was saying in the dream? I mean, I was there and everything sounded so real, even if it was all kind of blurred. And anyways, I'm losing either way. Might as well take the shot. Yeah, as she said I am nervous right now, so let's just have some fun!

Alright, let's do this reverse consecutive Albright or whatever the hell it is! You don't just screw a Storm Vanguard and get away unscathed!

"…Storm Vanguard? What's that?" Man, I need therapy. Whatever is causing these hallucinations has to go, I can't keep living like this.

Taking another deep breath and gripping my joysticks firmly again, feeling the thin veil of sweat that had built up, I start to accelerate towards the wall.

But instead of lowering the speed, my feet remain firmly planted on the pedals for a little while longer as the Take breaches the wall's personal space. Rebounding off it, the Takemikazuchi is sent flying away towards another wall in the narrow spiraling tunnel. I keep doing the same every time I kick the walls, and as I keep rebounding off them I get closer and closer to top speed. Since I'm using the momentum from the jumps I'm using less fuel, since I just boost when in contact with the wall.

When the alarm beeps in my ears, when the homings starts to get closer, I try to get an image of what was happening in the dream. How the maneuver turned out, how the thing played out.

The wall is getting closer. The missiles as well. Holding my breath hostage, my eyes wide open and focused through the strain. I spin the joystick, press the trigger, and go hard on the accel. The first homing explodes just above where the Take kicked the wall, but my purple beetle keeps on dashing downwards without losing any speed or receiving damage, avoiding the lanes of the incoming missiles.

Bouncing and rebounding off the walls, leaving the mark of my feet engraved as a target for the homings that continue to fail to clip my wings, my spiraling descent continues in its storming impulse.

"Ha! Take that, you homings can't touch dis!"

Usually, you can't stay at top speed for long, even during a full boost, without eating up a lot of fuel. But now I managed to just lower my remaining fuel to red.

Falling down like a meteor, burning the cloak of smoke that lingered about, and narrowly avoiding all the homings that wanted to get close and personal, my Take blasts through the clouds, the safety gate and reaches the pit of the tunnel. An odd giant egg-shaped machine awaits at the bottom with something that resembles exhaust pipes coming out of it, releasing cerulean mist onto the underground facility.

For a second, the voice I had heard before seemed to return in the distance. Looking at the map, there's some sort of command center nearby. A low polygon model of an attendant with long hair is in it. Seeing it as I fly by, for some reason, makes my throat close up. Something turning and flopping in my stomach, red flashing in my eyes for a sec, I have to pull back my tongue to not bite on accident.

A small ding rings in my ears, a dot appears on my radar. Located in a hallway that is connected to the bottom of this tunnel, there is my target. Letting out a short sigh, clearing these odd feelings before I end up daydreaming again, with a simple click I start to charge the TC.

"Just one shot, that's all I need."

My heart starts beating in my neck, the screen keeps moving so fast, the walls of the underground blur, filled with those hexagons and cables, and now also accompanied by the mist and shine coming from the egg-machine as I fly around it while aiming at the right tunnel.

Looking away from the odd machine, I kick the ground to keep my momentum and fly into the hallway leaving the mist and odd cerulean glow behind, now replaced by the red light and top secret signs all over the walls as sirens start to blast in warning. After a second to focus on what's ahead, the frame comes into view. Pressing hard on the triggers, my thunders blossom like a lotus from the barrel and hungrily fly towards my enemy.

Clearly startled, the Ravager just barely jumps out of the lightning's way. But now that you're in the air, you won't be able to dodge this! Spinning on itself, the Take rebounds on the walls again, long sword ready to rip and tear.

Sparks, screeching, a beep in my ears. I hit his left side, but not his body and all the shots from my machineguns also missed their mark. Damn, he dodged at point-blank when I was at almost top speed?! In that case-

Instead of stopping my rush, I keep my feet on the pedals as the Take fires off towards another wall. With a few quick pulls on the controls, I spin around and land feet first onto the machinery, jump units blazing up in full force. With a smirk, the accel lever and pedals are abused once again.

Blasting away from the wall, my purple beetle again charges at the adversary, a killer arrow diving straight for the heart. The Ravager, that now has its last saber out, does not retreat. With a light dash, it comes to meet my aggro as the auto-lock circle confirms my target. Holding my breath hostage and bolting my eyes open, I swing my sword downwards as he tries to do a low slash after a crouch cancel.

Our mechs crash into each other, piercing each other, limbs fracture, the red warning soon drowns all else, oil flows from the frames almost in painful slow motion, the controls vibrate and shake, everything gets blurry in the screen.

And then, fire blossoms around the mechs. And smoke raises to kiss the low ceiling and embrace the sirens that are still wailing. An explosion ensues, my controls lost their response.

Within the smoke, on top of a wreckage of parts, a pair of damaged red eyes glimmer through the violence. And raising its sword to then cleave it upon the prey, the haze of fire as its cloak, the Takemikazuchi takes on its victory pose, a golden sign with confetti and fireworks filling my screen.

[MATCH OVER – TEAM N° 51 WINS]

…

Letting out a long and heavy sigh, I slump onto the seat. Gasping for air, I wipe the cold sweat of my face, twitching and shivering and move my bangs away. Eyes close tightly as I throw my head back, both hands come to cover my face. Ants march on my back and poke at me, I can only quietly breath in.

"Hehe… Hehehe… Ahaha… I won? For real?"

My weight collapses into the seat, another sigh comes out as I push my hair backwards. Slowly taking off the belts in the harness, barely managing to undo the bindings with clumsy, shaky movements, fingers twitching as if I had just submerged my hands in cold water during winter. Another sigh roars out, dampness dwelling in my eyes all of a sudden, a small jolt washes through my ankles as I try to move my feet off the pedals. Again yawning and screaming at the same time, I simply close my eyes and slump onto the cushioning of the seat. I stay like that for a minute or two, until I hear Mikoto.

"Takeru, hey!" he calls out from behind the locked seat.

In the same lazy slow moves, I pull the seat back to greet a teary eyed Mikoto with a small smile, shrugging. "Looks like I ended up winning us the tournament, I guess."

Lips shaking eyes sparkling, he looks at me, at my screen, back at me, dazed like a deer in front of a dragster. "You won, right? This ain't a dream, right?"

Curling my fist I punch my stomach, making me cough. "D-Doesn't feel like it."

He pinches his cheek, stretching it a bit, leaving it reddening. "Ow," he rubs it slowly, making a silly grin, "this isn't dream. We… We won the tournament? We won the tournament!"

"Ahaha! Yeah, we won the entire thing, dammit!" I raise a hand, we slam into a high five, laughing like idiots. "We are the champions, my friend!"

"And we'll keep on fighting till the end!" he sings along, we finish the song as I get out of my seat, striking a pose, raising fingers to the overhead lights. "Damn, that match was so tight! How did you even manage to avoid all those homings on the way down the elevator?"

"What can I say, you don't just screw with a Storm Vanguard and get away with it," whatever that means.

"But man, those consecutive wall jumps were truly something else. One thing was the Albright, but chaining so many in a row? You gotta totally tell me where you learned that!" he cheers in brightness that shames the illumination of the salon, lightly slapping my arm.

"Ahaha, I was kinda desperate so I just improvised on the spot," laughing dryly, I scratch my head. Can't exactly tell him I had a few fever dreams while I was playing.

As we keep doing idle chitchat about the match, complaining about the Elef, Mikoto telling me he got stunned by a homing from the Ravager as he tried to follow me, then me going on a tangent on how broken the homings felt to play against in such a narrow map, someone from the staff approaches us.

"Excuse me, it's time to give the prizes. Please follow me."

The attendant guides us to a room that looks like it's used for press conferences, painted completely in an unassuming light blue. It wasn't that big, but there were four rows of seats, already occupied by journalists, and a lot of cameras and cables going around, and people hurrying about too.

There's a lectern on the stage with the logo of the game on its front and some monitors on the wall behind it, the other teams are already up there. We're guided to the stage and try to greet the other players but they barely respond, giving one word answers. The guy with the girl dressed in yellow do smile our way, we share a handshake and a simple congratulations, but it is clear as day that she is, oh, royally pissed off. I guess it can't be helped, they did lose the final. And with me using the same mech as her. Heh, with all that golden fire in her eyes it do be looking like she's the serious gamer of the pair, and he's tagging along for the ride.

My deepest apologies, fellow gamer. I did not intend to upset your fair maiden so. May your day continue to more pleasant attractions. No, but for real, she ain't chilling down. At all.

"…You think she's a pro gamer, Mikoto?"

"Maybe. Her last name kinda rings a bell, you know."

"For real?"

"Yeah… Don't know why, though."

"Eh, didn't expect you to know, what with your attention span being what it is."

"Hey, watch it. Anyways, I feel kinda bad for the guy."

"Same, man. Same." Best luck with the princess, top gunner. You're gonna need it.

The journalists start bustling, signaling that the conference is about to start. We're told to line up in the stage, the cameramen getting green lights from each other, a guy with a headset giving the okay as the lights begin to shine on. How many cameras do they need for this, though? Well, I guess that if Zegga wants to do another announcement of an announcement, this might be the day to do it.

One woman in a suit slowly walks closer to the stage, she has the medals and two trophies, and that one there dressed all in black looks like the announcer. After he finishes talking through a small mic, they tell us our order to receive the prizes and, after confirming something with the staff, the announcer makes a sign to the people behind the cameras, and he slices the air with a dramatic swipe of his hand.

"And now, it's time for the awards of the Valgern-On Tokyo Salon Fighters Tournament! Here we have the three teams that made it to the final match, a round of applause for them!" the announcer makes a gesture towards the camera, clicking his fingers, making the flashes lock onto us.

He introduces the two members of each team as he hands them a medal and an envelope with the prize money. While each team member gets introduced the monitors shows footage of their fights, numbers of their performance in a table to the right, the details of their chosen unit and weapons to the left.

Mikoto's shivering a lot. Looks like his joints are made out of plastic. So I elbow him a bit. "Chillax, man. We're just going to get the medals, right? The worst part is already over, dude," I whisper to his ear, smiling.

"Y-Yeah. Just nod to the camera… just that. Look ahead, and just smile and nod, yeah."

It doesn't look like he calmed down at all. Sigh… As we are introduced and a reverberating clapping starts, I take the first hard step towards the center of the stage. Mikoto slowly clanks behind me in stiff movements, but the announcer moves aside, again gesturing to the cameras as we look at each other, wondering what the hell is he doing.

And raising a hand up in another grandiose gesture, he brings the mic to his lips, "And for the champions, the creators themselves shall give them their prize!"

WHAT?! The devs themselves?!

"…Takeru, d-did I hear that right?"

"Yeah… I think we did."

Two faces I know well enter the room from another door behind the rows of seat. Slowly, they come towards the stage in style. It feels as if the floor was giving out on me, my knees shaking as I pinch one of my cheeks. This isn't another of my weird daydreams, is it?

One of them garbed in a black leather jacket tips his cap, smiling wide as he grabs the mic. "Hello to y'all! The name's MofuMofu, and this here…" he throws the mic to his partner.

Who snatches it off the air, nodding. Wearing the trademarked orange shirt, he instead gives a slow, polite bow, waving at the camera, then at back at us. "I'm Torerorero! Congratulations on your victory, champions!"

The devs introduce themselves with their artistic names as they bow to the cameras, before turning around, coming up towards us with a smile, giving me and Mikoto our medals, offering us a handshake later.

This is a dream come true! THE makers of Valgern-On in the flesh, dude! Looking at Mikoto, he has a giant silly grin plastered on his face as his hands tightly join, a halo of colors irradiate from behind him. We both can't help but to laugh a bit. Colored papers fly out for a while and, after a round of applause, MofuMofu steps forward with a mic in hand.

"We hope everyone enjoyed today's event, from the participants to the spectators here, on TV and through the net. As you know, in one month, a new version of Valgern-On will be released to the market." He starts explaining things about the next game, whose official name is Oratory Tango, like how many new mechs it'll have and its new online functions, like the battle royale mode that was only available in arcades beforehand.

On the screens behind us, a few scenes with the new models of the mechs play out as they fight each other in some old and new stages, moving way faster than in the current version. Oh, the Ravager Mk II got a new name? Huh, neat.

"Wow, they really reworked the mechs?"

"Now they really look, you know, smooth," Mikoto says, barely stopping himself from squealing or doing a short hop.

After answering some questions from the journalists as the logo of Oratory Tango was displayed on the screens, MofuMofu takes a step back and hands the mic to Torerorero.

"However! That is not all there is to it! There's a new style of gameplay added to both single and multiplayer mode. A brand new campaign setting, with harder missions than the original one. And a new multiplayer mode in which the players will have to fight together against our new AI and defeat it under strict conditions! We've fine tuned it with the help of the best players in the game and took inspiration from other, more hardcore games to bring a new challenge to the Valgern-On universe! And it's this new mode that the champions will have the privilege to enjoy after this celebration!" he strikes a pose for the camera as both devs point at us.

Right, I forgot all about the new version trial!

"This is amazing, Takeru! What do you think it's gonna be?!" Mikoto squeals, both hands compacting his cheeks.

"I dunno, we've been fighting against machines gone rogue in the first setting, so maybe aliens this time?" Maybe like the red things from my dreams? Heh, would be hilarious if that were the case.

As the makers finish their speech and the questions, they come to our side and give us the trophies. Me and Mikoto send our poses to everyone watching, unable to not make the silliest of grins. We wave for the camera one last time, and the celebration is finished. The journalists surround the devs for some off-the-record words, and the announcer takes us to another room. One that looks like a Headmaster's room, with a table in fine black, a few nice looking sofas, with a tray full of cookies and pastries in it and two cups of tea already prepared. After a brief wait as we check out the trophies, the devs come in along some other people in suits.

"Well, Shirogane-kun, Yoroi-kun, what did you think of the tournament?!" MofuMofu ask us with bright eyes as he sits down on a sofa in front of us.

"It was so awesome! Team battles are really great, but I'm a bit shocked at how much better a few mechs are." Honestly I still don't know what were you two thinking when you made the Elefante.

"It was so much fun! Especially the last fight, I was on edge all through it!" Mikoto says with a giant smile, leaning just a bit forward, eyes shining while wiggling both hands up and down.

"Shirogane-kun, could you explain me how you came up with those wall-kicking moves? It's the first time I've seen them, and I watch a lot of replays of the Top fights!" Torerorero asks, with clear expectation in his unblinking stare as he takes out a notepad and a pencil, which makes his partner chuckle.

I try to explain the Albright Turn and the consecutive jumps I did in the tunnel as best as I can, without mentioning anything about the dream I recalled midfight. Yet, he kept his eyes firmly on mine, noting everything down so quickly as if this were some top secret interview or something. It's kind of embarrassing…

They keep firing questions at us, about why I picked the Takemikazuchi, how it felt to play, how did Mikoto felt the Xao-Myun compared to its rivals in its game style, which mechs and weapons we thought were unbalanced or unfair, and what would we do to fix it. It's no wonder this game is rocking it right now, with such passionate developers behind it.

"Well, we've kept you long enough. They should be ready with the set up, are you two ready to try the new version?!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Of course we are! Let's go, Takeru!"

We then go back into a hallway and into the showroom again, walking as if pushed by the wind, as both of them tell us to keep what we see as a secret if at all possible, that we won't be able to take pictures of the new mode and all, but since we had no such plans the conversation devolved into more gameplay talk, to the distress of the official Zegga staff that follows us. Reaching the showroom again, this time we go to a terminal in the far back, separated from the rows of units used for the tournament.

"Knock yourselves out! I hope you have fun with it!" MofuMofu says with a giant grin.

Man, oh man! This is gonna be great! I share a look of pure joy with Mikoto before boarding the terminal.

As I jump in the seat and fasten the belts the screen lights up. The opening starts playing after the usual logos.

"Ooh! Hear this thing! It's so epic!"

The menu music is so much hype! It has some trumpets making it sound like you're charging into a war or something. Wait, these vocals… Oh my God, is it JELLYProjection?! Shit, they got them for the opening of the game?! This is so fucking awesome! I'm definitely buying the OST as soon as it goes out.

The epic intro ends, the usual angular logo appears with a slick cyber theme, but unlike the prior version this menu looks kinda ashen, burnt and bruised. There's also a small and low rumble in the synth that's in the background music, kinda ominous.

"Man, even the menu song is a banger. Now, let's see… this is a single player terminal. Damn, now I wanna keep fighting in a team with Mikoto after the tournament. Oh well, let's get this started! Campaign Mode, here I come!" I click the option, a small beeps comes up and slowly the screen fades to black.

An anime opening of stars and galaxies plays out, the colony ships from the first game gradually fly into view at the distance, a slight trail of cerulean light in the vacant vacuum of space. So it is a direct sequel, huh.

"The year is 213X. Humanity has survived the onslaught of the cyber legion after Tango's rebellion."

Huh, a narrator? Don't recall the original having a narrator, though. Well, it's just for flavor, even if the deadpan seriousness kinda contrasts with the silly anime designs of the intro a bit.

"Now, all the surrounding star systems are in control of the solar system's Human Race."

Mines and facilities devouring moons and asteroid belts, Von-Neumann drones pouring off like ants after dropping water in a hole, blasting off towards the next target. And the core members of the Cyber Legion standing proud, planting the flag of the Earth Fed in yet untreaded terrain, under thick, monochrome skies.

"Decades of peace and prosperity dulled humanity's fangs, they stopped to develop weapons and starcraft,"

Hangars filled with the old versions of the mechs and weapons, the ones we were using thus far, becoming a cheap rent place for dust and cobwebs as mechanics idle by on some sort of touchscreen attached, or perhaps ingrained, on their forearms.

"instead choosing to live in gigantic star colonies filled with luxuries and pleasures that numbed the mind."

"Man, this opening looks so sick!"

The anime-like 2D models, the music, the ambiance sounds. It looks like I'm truly in space, flying in some gigantic fortress or something, watching the stars from the window. Even the futuristic yet luxurious relax zones of the cities look, you know, amazingly detailed. Kinda hard to believe just a few years ago the polygons were all spiky and shit. Also, the hand-drawn anime sections look so slick and smooth, too.

"But this peaceful dream is about to be shattered by a horrible adversary…

…that was nothing like anything mankind has ever faced in its history."

Oh, here come the horns to war.

The skies grow dark, a thunder cries to the ground. A decapitated and bruised head of a Kaizer lies on the mud under heavy rainfall only to be viciously crushed under something, then the emergency code 991 alarm starts to cry out. So this is equal to the Red Reboot's threat level? Wow, didn't expect them to powercreep the series that much. And the RR was already a menacing superboss to face, too.

"From where they come from? Nobody knows.

What are they after? Nobody knows.

But what we do know is… they want us dead.

And they will stop at nothing to kill every one of us!"

This is so hype! I knew it was gonna be the aliens! I wonder what kind of twist they are going for. Would be kinda lame if it ends up being the same cosmic horror ending, like most mech animes have gone for since Gospelion. Since they got JELLYProjection for the opening, maybe they made other insert songs too? Would be awesome if this had an endgame like Gettezinger Wing Zero. Or maybe it's gonna be a space opera kinda thing?

The cinematic plays on, showing a large crater from which shadowy silhouettes crawl out from, surrounded by the many mechs of the franchise, from all the factions too.

"They came in a meteorite, and started attacking us without warning.

They don't speak, they feel no fear, they don't retreat.

It's almost as if they were soulless beasts.

Since we don't know where they come from but know that they're our enemies we decided to call them…

Obligatory pause for effect, the slashing sfx plays out and the mechs begin to tumble and vanish like leaves to the galloping of fire, explosions and alarms soar out, begging for mercy. And receiving the eternity of silence as an answer to their pleas.

"…the BETA."

A cold shiver went down my back, something turned in my stomach just now. "W-What? The- The BETA?"

"Beings of Extra Terrestrial Origin, Adversaries of the Human Race.

BETA for short, are the monsters that have destroyed the outer colonies and planets of our space empire."

Short animated cutscenes on the screen show the monsters destroying a military base, blowing up an entire city with lasers, and ripping apart many mechs from the game in a matter of seconds, spreading from their crater, a stain consuming it all, devouring the map and turning it all to ashen gray from inside out.

Laser Class, Tank Class, Grappler Class. That's the name on the screen referring to these monsters as they curbstomp and massacre the forces of the game.

The opening continues to play, but it grows more and more distant, more and more faint.

Like a dam breaking apart, vivid images and voices flood my head. Strong pain like I've never felt before sears up, as if a pair of screwdrivers were injecting themselves right under my ears, the cracks in my skull trying to surface from my scalp for some opencast mining.

Grabbing my head and massaging it, gritting my teeth, I try to take deep breaths and relax, to touch my eyes and blink fast, but this time the daydream doesn't stop.

The pain only gets higher, tighter, as if I had a noose on my neck. And the floor is fading.

Leaning back and not finding the cushion of the seat, closing my eyes real tight, the screwdrivers pierce in, ears ringing as if I were right besides those big speakers from a concert while someone decided to blast off hardcore metal. It bangs, and slams, and hurts, and hurts so much.

As the sounds seem to ease up a bit, as I slowly open my eyes again, something… something hazy comes into view.

Distorted, obscured, kinda like seeing something behind a glass of water.

As if I were daydreaming again, or remembering something that… happened a long time ago…

A ruined house in the middle of a destroyed town, is what this looks like after everything comes into focus. Wait a- Is that my house? What's that thing to the side? A robot? What the… Why is Sumika's house crumbled apart?

Why am I seeing a ruined version of my neighborhood? What is going on here?

Then, after blinking, I find myself in some sort of office with a large blue flag in a wall, babel towers of papers filling the place. Wait… Yuuko-sensei? Why does she have a gun? Why is she aiming it at me?

…Why does this hurts to watch? Ugh… Clawing at my head, Sensei's voice distorted by static, she seems willing to shoot me. Why would you- I'm not your enemy! Why are you giving me that deadly gaze of anger?! I… Sensei, you're… to me…

No time left to process what the hell that was, as I put a hand over my mouth and blink again everything mixes and swirls, inside and outside.

I see myself running in the school track field for some reason. I fall to the ground and eat dirt, as I stand up someone scolds me. But that harsh voice is… And looking up, I see her. The hell is Marimo-chan doing in a military uniform?!

Flashes of images of Marimo-chan in an odd formal dress come up, sometimes scolding me in cutting seriousness, sometimes encouraging me in soft and slow words. In a rooftop, in some sort of odd barebones room, in an odd place as light is showered on me and I can only see her silhouette.

The freezing grip on my neck eases up, I take a really, really deep breath that clears away most of the clogging in my chest, then another image comes up. I can only hear her voice while I look at some remains of a robot, the sun seems to be setting. Distorted by the static, her voice doesn't sound hostile now. It's… heartwarming, as she always was. Like a warm blanket on a winter night.

Then, without me actually moving or wanting to, my vision turns around trying to see her-

I couldn't stop the image nor the sounds, I cannot look away.

Marimo-chan's face is out of place, of life there is not a single trace, as if she had been dunked on by an iron mace.

The skin pulls back, retracts like the tide on the shore, exposing vivid pink and landmarks of red underneath.

There's an eye ball rolling down up to my feet.

Pieces of flesh teared into the floor.

Teeth falling from their roots, like small wind chimes in front of an incoming typhoon.

Behind her… the monster… the bastard simply nods, and munches, and causes a creaky sound to reverberate.

It reminds me of soft plastic being choked, of cats when they munch at chicken legs, when they grind the gristle down.

That bastard keeps on repeating that sound, hair stuck in between the teeth. This- This fucking monster is-

…No, a Soldier-Class. That's a Soldier-Class BETA.

How do I know that?! A Soldier-Class…

And in a flash, both she and the monster… were blown up. Disappearing in an explosion of red.

Again feeling my stomach turn, I claw at my mouth and gag, sharp and sudden pain on my sides and lower back, as if just stabbed. The static getting higher, the screwdrivers now going up, the back of my eyes also begins to hurt as a cold contraction sinks into me.

Another image flashes, not giving me time to even get my shit together. Tama's corpse is being held by something while starting to become deformed. Before I could react in any way to the vision, an explosion rings out.

I can hear Meiya's voice! But what is she doing here?! But… What the hell- Is that a Takemikazuchi? It looks so… real, as it slices the monster's tentacles. The machine looks, like, legit for real. She sounds odd, though. Nothing like I know her to be, on edge, desperate…

…Different.

Air seems to be missing from my lungs when Meiya's face appears before me, she's bleeding badly. Crying, whimpering in pain. Again, it feels as if I were being forced to breath into sand.

And then, she looks my way, twitching, hiccuping, shivering as if electrocuted. Her eyes crying non-stop, the blood running down her forehead wanting to compete with the tears.

"I would like to die… by the hands of the man I love!"

There was a blast.

And then, silence.

It felt as if I were being rocked back and forth, like a very violent roller coaster spinning in all directions.

And then, quietness.

I could hear people cheering from somewhere.

And yet it feels so cold, so empty.

And as I look up, I find someone near me. There she was, the white haired girl…

Kasumi Yashiro. Repeating the same words, like in my dreams.

"Sumika-san is dead. Your fight is already over!"

No.

"Sumika-san is dead. Your fight is already over!"

No, don't fuck with me…

"Sumika-san is dead. Your fight is-"

Shut up! What fight?! What the hell… Why are they dying?! What's going on here?!

Blinking, I see myself hugging the girls of my school group as they cry. They tug at me, they pull at my shoulders. They cry and cry, staring intently, begging me not to send them away. They're going somewhere. Far away.

It hurts.

I see Sumika having some sort of breakdown, screaming kill over and over again before almost falling flat on her face to the floor.

It hurts. Stop this…

And there she is, lying still in that pod while hugging a wooden rabbit. Silent. Cold. Stiff. Dead.

It hurts. Let this all end… dammit…

And, once more, the eternal wasteland comes into view. Thousands of BETA in the radar. We don't have enough supplies. I can only watch as my squad gets killed by the monsters. No, not just my squad. The whole army we were fighting with got killed. In the wasteland and inside the earth. And then, the black fire… The G-Bomb. No, not just one. Like a downpour of arrows coming from atop a rampart, that is what the unending stream of black fire looks like to me, as everything else in front vanishes from sight, both BETA and whatever remains were left of my comrades.

And then, silence again.

Everyone is gone.

How many times?

How many times did I do this?

Why?

For what sake?

In the end, did I save anyone? How did this madness end?!

And then, as if beckoned by my question, like a child timidly peeking from behind a door, a small glimmer comes up at the edge of my vision. And slowly, it grows, and grows, until the black fire is all I can see, shapes and voices distorted within the gigantic orb. Those images and sounds, the nightmares I had since-

"No, these aren't nightmares. These are… all the lives I've lost."

It wasn't a dream, it truly did happen. I was sent to another world. A world in ruins. Where everybody had different lives. Where everybody fought just to live one day more.

"Haa… Haa… It hurts…" My neck wrings tightly again, chest and eyes hurts as I try to suppress the acid that comes up from my stomach. I don't know if I should be clawing at my head, ears, stomach, or all at once.

And the echoes repeat themselves as the images rush through, making me relieve the unlimited pain I've had to endure across all my extra lives in that alternative world. The sting of seeing my beloved leave to a distant world, the horror of seeing and hearing Marimo-chan and my squad be slowly devoured by BETA before my very eyes, the shock as I realized everyone was again dead at the end of Kashgar.

I'm a coward.

I ran away.

I forgot them.

…I failed them. I couldn't save them. I just sat on the XG while they risked their necks. They had asked me to remember them. To be there, so that someone knew they had lived, suffered, and gave their lives for a future that seemed lost.

And what did I do?! I ran away! My eyes become strained, but they remain dry. I'm coward that cannot even cry.

It wasn't enough. Nothing was enough.

I… I… did kill the Superior. I did it. We did it. Their sacrifice wasn't… but…

A stalagmite pierces my heart as the memories come back. The Captain's and Kashiwagi's sacrifice, Haruka-san getting squashed in the control room, Hayase remaining in the Reactor to blow it up. The base getting destroyed, Munakata and Kazama sent to medbay, Akane left in bandages.

The perfect solution doesn't exist, you will always have to sacrifice something. At least I got the world twenty years more in the fight, according to Yuuko-sensei.

…But remembering that doesn't make me feel any better.

I… loved them. All of them. They were my guiding light. I could fight on because they were there. Alone, I'm worthless. I can't even… I can't even cry for them.

And now I'm here, enjoying a peaceful life. Like a coward that ran away. But what else could I have done?! There was nothing I could…

"Hic… Nothing, really? Really, now?! Why couldn't I at least save one of them?!" To give them the happiness we have here, even if only for a short while.

I wanted to keep fighting, to protect the base we lived in, laughed in, cried in. I wanted to stay there, where they needed my piloting skills.

But no! You had to back down! What did it matter that you were no longer a conductor?! Why didn't you stay?! Why did you run?! Why did you break the promise?! Why did you forget them?!

A loud noise plays in my headphones. A noise I recognize all too well. That rumbling… that avalanche-like shiver in the ground… Tank-Class closing in. Two hundred of them.

BETA, it's all because of you. Because… No, the Americans too. The bastards that plotted Alternative V. The bastards that used us as fodder just to save their own lawn. Fucking shitheads, the world ended up flooded because of you! And then… And then…

"Flooded? What the fuck- How do I even-"

More spikes of coldness dig inside, choking and constricting over my throat. A distorted image of Sensei and Kasumi appears, but I can't hear them well. What are they-

I see myself ripping through the BETA in a hive, someone else dropped an S11 into a Reactor. What are those… Rafale. Those are Rafale along the Raptors and Takemikazuchi units. Did I always know about those models?

The wasteland appears again, I'm crying for some reason. Lamenting a comrade that died, a comrade I found within the hive? Who was- Ugh! Acid up my throat, a knot on my gut, vision going double. Someone, left abandoned. I… crushed them? Spared them the pain?

"K-Kgh… Gwaaa! Cough! Cough! Shit, what the-" hiccuping and out of air, pain and pain at the pit of my throat.

More and more death is all I see. Pointless, it feels empty and void of meaning. The fighting, the briefings, the nights staring at the sky. Hope had withered in that world, until we gave our blood to water its roots once more.

I should be proud, I should be happy. We did it. We changed history, we avoided that rotten future that still has me coughing by merely thinking about it.

…But what's the point in saving the world if there's nothing left for you? There's no joy in martyrdom. Those that have to carry on find no happiness in this solitude.

In the end, above everything else, above every formal speech, above every duty that was thrust upon my shoulders, above any and all excuses I may hide behind-

"I failed them. I wasn't enough… to protect them, any of them."

I had to leave behind Chizuru, Tama, Mikoto and Kei.

…I killed Meiya.

My failure to operate the XG in a better way forced Sumika to overheat.

I abandoned Kasumi over there, I left despite knowing she'd be all alone. Left despite knowing Sensei would be made responsible for everything, having no more allies to count on.

I knew all that and still left. And to top it all off, I forgot it all. I failed them.

…No, they didn't even believe in me. They tampered with my radar, right? Yeah, Meiya fucked up my radar. Because they didn't think I had it in me to move forward. Neither Yuuko nor my squadmates, not even Sumika or Kasumi.

They all thought I was going to screw it up, that I was the weakest link in the squadron. That's why they sent me to the XG, where all I could do was fire missiles. They didn't even… after all we went through together… they didn't-

A sound beeps in my headphones. The Tank-wave approaches, the red fills my view. These bastards… They… They… The BETA… The Superior… They took-

It feels cold.

Really, really cold.

As everything seems to dim, as the light seems to go out within a cockpit that is in emergency mode, I look up.

Up to the sky, to the stars.

Raising my hand towards it, trying to and failing as it falls limply by my side. My arm burns, can't even move my shoulders before the pressure sends a twinge of pain into my back.

Everything grows blurry, dampness in my eyes, can't feel my limbs at all.

And a final image.

A rocket that departs, far away into the stars.

A parting word I couldn't say.

A face I'll never see, a voice I'll never hear, hands which will never embrace me again.

And then, silence.

Absolute.

Total.

Unbreakable.

Complete, utter silence as everything blurs to dark.

It might be the narrowness of my eyelids obstructing the light, or I may be falling into an endless abyss.

It's all the same.

That glimmer in the stars… is now forever… out of my-

Something rumbles, shakes in my hands. Hands that shake as my lips do as I blink and a few tears fall off. BETA, everywhere. No one left besides me, the Red Zone of the Tank-Class covering my sight and radar.

You… You motherfucking sons of an eldritch bitch!

"Give me back my squad!"