Disclaimer: Same as before

Chap.3

Koemai returned to his section of the Cortex after his date with Diana to find that Glaive was missing.

Huh? We haven't received any missions, have we? Or maybe he's on a solo one.

At that time, the hanger door above him opened and Glaive hovered in and settled in its hanger. After shutting down, Cain came out of his core.

"Back from your date already?" he called out as he exited the core.

"Afraid so. She got called on a mission, so it ended early. Man, you should have been with us."

Cain closed his eyes, "Let me guess. You two got into another bar fight."

Koemai laughed, "Can't hide anything from you, huh?"

Cain shook his head, "And here I thought you caused enough problems on your own. But ever since you started dating her, you get into more bar fights than ever."

"What can I say? She likes starting fights and I like fighting."

Cain muttered, "A match made in heaven, or more like hell."

"You got it. Speaking of which, where did you run off to with Glaive? Must have been important if you used him."

Cain thought for awhile before speaking, "I received some mail for a battle in the arena. I had to face an opponent."

Koemai began to climb the ladder, "An arena battle? Well, at least it better than your normal nights. Who was your opponent?"

"Al...Firewave."

Koemai got to the top, "Interesting. Firewave. So, how much did you get for beating him?"

"Her. And nothing."

"What? You fought for free? Aw, that's it. You are not normal. Are you serious?"

"Yes. But don't worry. I didn't use any ammo, so all I have to pay for is repairs. I should still have some money left on my account."

Koemai scratched his head, "Well, there's a slight problem with that. You see, when we went out...we played a little bet on pool....and well...you see."

"You lost."

"Big time."

"How much?"

"Umm. Eighteen hundred."

Cain looked at his damaged machine. He knew that the mechanics would repair it anyway, but with eighteen hundred credits lost, he was now in debt. And he wouldn't be able to use Glaive in that time. No problem. That was why he had Fenrir and Lockheed. Just then, a beep came up on their mail again. It was a mission for the both of them. The mission explained that a massive weapon has appeared somewhere in the water system of Layered. It's trapped there now, but they can't destroy it due to its massive firepower. It's only a matter of time before it gets out, so Ravens are needed to destroy it.

Koemai cheered, "Alright! Finally, a mission. I was beginning to think one would never come."

Cain smiled at his friend, but it quickly faded away as he clicked the button. "Mission accepted."

_________

Underneath Layered...

The two Ravens dropped in, Koemai in his Interceptor AC and Cain in his Lockheed. Koemai decided to use Interceptor due to its super-heated missiles. It can cause even the strongest of armors of burn up and melt down. This, plus the missile extensions make it a very destructive AC. Just the way he likes it.

Cain was in his Lockheed, a lightweight AC equipped with a Karazawa. Although that was its only armament, the core itself was armed with a exceed orbit option in which the core itself launches an energy weapon. The only problem was that it was easily damaged. He'll just have to make due with its speed and energy power.

"The target is ahead of you. Your AC will not function should it fall into the water. You have been warned."

They both knew it would have been better if they had hover-leg units, but theirs were damaged and no longer in use for the time being. So they had to be careful in this fight. As the AC's dropped in, a gigantic splash erupted nearby. In the water, the massive weapon appeared. It looked like a serpentine lobster with spines. The machine arose out of the water and instantly trained its weapons on them. A slew of missile shot upward into the air fell downward at the two Ravens. They both dodged the fire and split up.

"So you like missiles huh? Well take this!" With that, Koemai pulled the trigger and launched a full payload of missiles at the machine. All of them hit it, but it wasn't affected. The machine then opened two extra slots and ejected two orbiters. They began to shoot beams of energy at Interceptor, causing him to back away. The barrage continued, driving Interceptor off the deck's edge and heading into the water. Interceptor was trapped when the orbiters suddenly exploded. On another deck, Lockheed had blasted the orbiter with his rifle.

"Thanks for the help."

"It's not over yet."

Lockheed boosted in the air and fired several rounds at the machine. The beams hit, but the massive machine was still unaffected. Gun turrets focused on Lockheed and fired several rounds of grenades. Lockheed dodged a few of them, but one hit him hard. Lockheed fell back and Cain looked at his monitors. His systems were almost overheated, but still functional. It was then that another swarm of missiles flew at him again. Lockheed quickly boosted back and hid behind one of the construction building just as the missiles came in contact.

We have to do better than this.

Meanwhile, Interceptor was still launching its missiles at it and managing to cause some damage. But it was still going and now it fired several grenades at him. Interceptor dodged just in the nick of time, but was tossed aside by the aftershock. Luckily, Interceptor was caught by Lockheed before he fell into the water.

"Are you okay?"

"No! This is ridiculous. This guy's on my list."

The massive weapon turned to them again.

"Interceptor, have you used the vertical warheads yet?"

"No."

"Well, now is a good time. Do what you do best."

"My kind of fighting. I'm setting my missiles to auto-fire. Now let's show this guy why we are the Hands of God."

Both core shot off toward the weapon. Interceptor armed its back missiles, and with the auto-fire on, the reaction time was sped up. The missile fired out and the swarms dove down in on the weapon. At the same time, Lockheed took a vantage point and activated its EO. The orbiter shot up and automatically fired while using the Karasawa and the howitzer gun in his left arm. The weapon was constantly pelted by the continually fire. Damage began to show clearly on it and the machine began to smoke.

Damn. I'm out of rear missiles.

Hitting a switch, Interceptor opened a toggle payload on its superheated missiles. But it would take longer to lock on fully. Lockheed saw what he was doing.

"Leave it to me."

Lockheed was low on energy fuel, so the EO retracted back into the core. Lockheed ran out and faced the weapon as it powered its grenade launcher. He diverted the machine's attention away from Interceptor.

"Interceptor, now!"

Interceptor fired its missiles, massively damaging the weapon and exposing its core. Lockheed then fully gained its energy and pointed the rifle onto the core. Cain focused on the target and locked on.

"We are the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

The energy beams fired mercilessly and the core of the weapon exploded and the machine followed as well, creating a huge explosion.

Koemai cheered, "Yeah, we did it! We are the Hands of God, and no one can stop up."

Cain closed his eyes and muttered, "Mission completed. Returning to base."

_________________________