(AN: I don't MMX and crew. If I did, Alia would be serving me drinks in a pink steel bikine, Zero would be boinking a much-alive Iris somewhere off the coast of Cozumel and X would shut the fuck up about being so conflicted. You know you like it, the feeling of destuction coming out of your arms...Freakin' lefty. Gah, that wasn't me, that was my evil alter-ego, Francis. well, except for the Alia and Zero bits. Anyhoo....)

Chapter 13: The Dragon Flame Burns

In a flash of light, Night returned to what he thought would be a battlefield. Instead, he found a wasteland.

Buildings were ablaze, covering the area in a smoky, crimson haze. As far as Night could see, there was only devastation. Cars melted to scrap, storefronts smashed in, not a single pane of glass unshattered. Night stared in shock at the chaos, at the stillness of the place. There were no alarms, no screams. Only the sound of crackling flames and the occasional snap of collapse. "Dear...God. If those people hadn't fled..."

Then, for the first time, his gaze dropped from the buildings, down to the streets, where a battle had once raged.

As his mind wrapped around what he saw, he unconsciously took a backward step, and he heard the sound of metal crunching. The entire street was lined with the broken forms of the robots. Parts lay in unrecognizable heaps, others as mere slag before some furious flame. Armor that had once proudly shone now lay scattered across the field, warped into gruesome shapes.

Night was shaken from his trance when he noticed a flash of green among the red armor of the destroyed robot army. Dashing forward, he fell to his knees and dug through the scrap. With a final heave, he cleared the way to what had once been a Hunter. The eyes were open, frozen in an expression of shock, lifeless while the face seemed still alive, unmarked among the chaos. More rubble was removed and the cause of his death was revealed. His body stopped at chest level, whatever other part of him had gone. "This had to be aimed," Night muttered, forcing himself to think instead of feel. "From the very top of his fusion core..." Night rose from his knees, and soon found the rest of the unit that had escaped. Each bore a similar fate, either their cores or the control chips on their heads crushed.

"H...h, help..." Night jumped at the sound. He found another Hunter, this one still alive, but barely. His core, though not destroyed, was damaged to a point even Night knew could not be repaired.

"Hold on, man. I'm gonna get you outta here." Night said. Then, on his comm. "Alia, we've got-"

"Too late...Night. Dying. The...the monster, it..." His voice trailed off, then was silent. Night bowed his head, holding the Hunter's hand firmly, trying to fight back the emotions forcing themselves onto his mind. His mind reached out for anything else to focus on, and found something. Footsteps, erratic...a low groan after every step. Night followed the sound, his gaze locking onto the only survivor.

His armor was scored by plasma fire, gone in several places, showing synthskin and in part, the wiring underneath. Slate's eyes were focused on the horizon, in the direction he was forcing his battered legs to march. One arm hung limp, the other wrapped around his chest, but still, he took another step, teeth clenched to ward off the pain.

Night ran to him, trying to get his attention, but nothing seemed to work. "Slate...buddy...partner...bunny rabbit?!" Night had to walk quickly to keep up, yet Slate didn't seem to acknowledge him. The echo of two comms rang out after them, a voice screaming at them.

"Night, report! What's going on down-" Night had tried to put his hand on Slate's shoulder. The next moment, he was in the air, suspended by Slate's working arm. He felt the grip tighten, threatening to snap off his head.

"Slate, stop it! Snap out of it, aaagh!!" Night felt himself falling into stasis, and was almost gone before the pressure suddenly slackened and they both fell to the ground. Night looked up to see Alia, a stun pistol pointed at where Slate's head had been. Her eyes slowly scanned the wreckage, then closed.

"Let's get out of here. They might attack again and we lost 10 Hunters here...and if they could do this, we need everything we've got."

Two flashes of light shot into the sky, and the smoking ruin returned to its grim silence, glowing red in the sunset.

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"How is he?" Night asked, his face downcast with worry. He was still in his armor, lying back in the waiting room of Medical Bay. Alia leaned on the door, arms crossed, hugging her laptop to herself. For a few moments, she just stared ahead, then sighed. He'd rarely seen her like this, and it bothered him almost as much as the battlefield.

"We can't wake him. He's moving around so much we had to strap him down. It's...it's as if he's having a nightmare." Alia rubbed her forehead, swearing under her breath. "Aside from that arm, the damage was superficial. We don't have a clue why only he survived, or why he survived like that."

Night groaned, then rose, putting a hand on Alia's shoulder. "I'll ask the inmates about it." Walking off, he said, "With the shield up, we should be safe for a while. You should get some rest!"

Alia grunted, stepping into the Bay. It was empty, all of those injured from the battle sent to their quarters to recover. Either they were barely hurt or... She sighed, sitting on the cot next to a shaking Slate. His eyes were wide open, staring at something above the ceiling. His face was frozen in an expression of shock. The only sound in the room was his constant shivering and the groan of his restraints, the metal doing its best to keep its shape. She placed a hand on his chest and he visibly relaxed. "What did you see out there, kid..."

"He's dreaming, you know." Alia jumped as Lifesavor made his presence known. He was in his thinking position, leaning back at his desk, a display locked in his gaze. A small frown was on his face, and even that seemed like an extreme effort to him, as if he were completely drained. A grim chuckle came out of him like a cough. "There's nothing wrong with the machinery, but the software's crashing. I can't tell what's memory, what's imagination, what's just gibberish..."

Alia looked back to Slate. His expression had softened and now his body seemed to relax, though not completely, jerking as she broke contact. She leaned back in her chair, reserved to what appeared to be her immediate future, and opened her laptop. With her free hand, she began to type her report.

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"You don't know?!" Night exclaimed. He was trying as hard as he could to stare down the Angel now known to him as Brand, but the fact that he was face-to-face with Brand's stomach made it difficult. Perched atop his shoulder, Rena made faces at him, making his bad mood promote itself to annoyance and then outright anger. "It was your mission, how the hell would you NOT know?!"

Brand shrugged, not seeming to mind the girl's weight or Night's homicidal glare. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a tone that was calm and barely loud enough to be heard. "I was...different. I do not know why I attacked. None of the Angel Corps has the kind of power to do what you say was done. I am sorry."

"Fine, you don't know about the attack. Where's my brother?!" Night yelled, although not as loud as before. Logic was a stronger force in a reploid than in a human, most of the time, and his logic circuits were practically screaming that annoying someone large enough to smash in your head without lifting his elbow is a bad idea.

"He is unhurt. I...I do not remember his location within out base." Brand's brow wrinkled as he searched for parts of his memory that he couldn't find. "I believe I have been tampered with."

Night groaned, rubbing his forehead. Where was this guy when they were handing out processors... "So you don't know anything I want to know...How about where the Angel's base is?"

Brand nodded. "It is-"

"No. Don't tell him yet." The voice startled both of them, and Brand's sudden change in posture knocked Rena to the floor. A muffled 'ouch' soon followed. Serrael appeared between them, her face expressionless.

"Ser? Why can't he- Hell, why won't you tell me where the base is?!" Night exclaimed. Turning to face him, she ushered him out of the room.

"Nighty, you're not ready for this-"

"People are DYING, Ser! I have to put an end to this now!"

She put her hands on his shoulders, staring him straight in face. "You have to push that anger aside, love. We both want to stop Master, but if you go in there now, unprepared and inexperienced, they'll kill you and that's the last chance we've got."

Night shook his head, trying to break away. "But I won't lose! If I'm not strong enough, the probes will-"

Serrael shook her head firmly, tightening her grip. Her eyes began to glow with that green light, and Night could feel himself focusing on her words, whether he wanted to or not. "Yes, when you're practically totaled. And what you've been fightin' before is just the second class. The other four are built fighters and can use the elements in their attacks, just like you. You might beat an Archangel, maybe two, but then they've got you. Trust me. Please?"

Finally breaking the trance, he pulled himself from her, turning away. "Fine. But don't ever do that again, you got that?" Not waiting for an answer, he stalked off towards the training center.

"Night-"

"Never!" Then he was gone.

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"Gnnn...the hell'd I drink?" Slate sat up, or tried to, but soon found himself strapped to a bed. "The Hell'd I do?!"

"You're finally awake." Alia said, saving her report and sending her laptop back to her office. "Doc, take off the restraints."

Bristling at the nickname, Lifesavor pressed a few keys and the straps were sucked back into the cot.

"How're you feelin', kid?" Alia asked, geniune concern on her face. The way she was looking at him made Slate nervous.

"Uhh...a little woozy and I can't remember anything recent...The attack! What happened?!" He was on his feet in an instant, pulling Alia up with him.

"Don't overdo it. You just came to." Now Alia was staring intent at a spot to the left of his face and somehow that look worried him more. He felt himself flop back onto the bed.

"Tell it straight and tell it quick. I know that face."

Alia nodded, then sighed, pacing the room. "Night got the Maverick, but instead of stopping those robots, they only got madder. Then, something happened and...and..."

"Alia." He looked up at her with a pained expression. He'd never seen her short of words and images were starting to creep into his mind.

"Something came out of nowhere and leveled the place. All of the robots were scrapped. And ten of your men. I'm sorry."

Slate was silent, staring into the floor. Then, with a deep release of breath, he rose to his feet. "Hunters must always be prepared to not come back...that's in the rules, right? I'll read the roster in my quarters, make up whatever reports you need." He marched off, not a hint of his thoughts escaping from his movement.

Alia sighed, running her hands through her hair. "This is one hell of a job, isn't it, Doc?"

To her surprise, he replied, "Only when you can't put them back together. Keep an eye on him, Alia. You don't come out of that kind of trauma without some sort of scarring."

She nodded, then made her way to her office, lost deep in thought.

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Beneath the calm expression, a fire raged in Slate's mind. In the corner of his mind, a picture of the devastated streets played over and over, blinding his thoughts. Somewhere deeper, the only part of his mind that seemed able to truly function, he was forcing himself to walk calmly to his quarters. Yet he didn't arrive there.

Before he understood what he was doing, he finished the code to open Nadia's cell, after making certain the rest of the Brig was empty. The door slid open with a mechanical hiss, and Nadia looked up and smiled, putting an e-book on her bed.

"Night, what brings you here? I mean, something seems to be happening, but no one will tell me-"

"One of the Angels killed ten Hunters. Which one of you is capable of a sustained plasma attack?" He stood there, staring down at her, barely masking the rage and confusion in his mind.

She flinced at the question, her face curling into a deep frown. Her eyes lost focus, then stared back into his stone glare. "Sustained plasma....no one. That's barbaric-"

"Hmmph. Right up your alley, steam demon. Now, who was it?!" The pretense of calm was shattered, and she reeled from the look in his eyes.

"I, I, I told you. None of us could do something like-" She tried to shy away, but before her mind grasped what was happening, her head slammed into the wall, her feet dangling nearly a feet from the floor.

"Bullshit!!! If you won't tell me who, I'll just have to kill them all! Where is your base?!" He practically screamed the words, but the soundproofing of the cells was total. No one could know what was going on.

"Night, you'll be killed!" The grip on her throat tightened.

"Maybe when I'm through with them, now speak!!!"

The door to her cell opened and Slate walked out. He looked back at the figure lying on the floor, bruises and rivulets of purple blood spread over her face. From somewhere within him, a laugh escaped and the door closed.

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Douglas walked into the Command Center, where Alia was sitting in her chair, glaring at the report on her screen that she had half-written. Every few moments one of the techs would look up from their work to meet a look that made them find a sudden dire interest in their screens. "This isn't going to be easy..."

"Er, Alia, sir, ma'am?" Douglas scratched his head, standing nearly at attention. " I've got something, er, I've gotta talk to you about...somewhere private?" The way he spoke and the sheepish grin that followed earned him a dark stare from Alia.

"You. Briefing Room. Now. And you better have a manifest of exactly what you broke." She marched into the room, hand idly playing with the safety of her pistol as she walked. Douglas soon followed, making a few hurried hellos before dragging himself into the room, closing the wooden door behind him.

The sound of yelling easily penetrated the material, causing a few chuckles from the younger techs, and a wary glance from the veterans, who all knew that rivers ran downhill, and waterfalls were not all that pleasant. Then, there was silence. Alia trudged out of the room, swearing to herself, pistol in hand as she fingered the safety faster than before. She sat down at her seat, typed a few hasty commands, and sighed.

"Ally, the bloody main system's trying to drop the warp shield! But...there's no sign of tampering, and everything seems fine... What the hell's going on?!" Serrael had been firmly glued to her post, not looking up, but not pressing anything either. The rest had given her a wide berth, but now all eyes were on her.

"Confirm the command. Bring the shield down. We'll lure them here, where they can't do any harm."

Serrael looked up in shock, shaking her head. "With all due respect, boss, are you nuts?! If that, that THING comes here, it could-"

Several shots were fired, and in the confusion everyone froze. Each blast hit its mark, and the electromagnetic properties of the charge sent each of its victims into immediate emergency stasis. A woman's laugh rose, then grew deeper. Slate laughed, making a show out of blowing on the stun pistol, then shrugged Serrael off of her console and pressed a key. Tossing the gun behind him, he warped out, a grin firmly planted under cold eyes. On the main screen, a silent alarm flickered on and off.

(Well, that's as good a stopping point as any. I meant to update this a hell of a lot sooner, but the fit hit the shan when my writer's block lifted as soon as I had my first essay due for freakin' English 4....damned education system! I couldn't get into a creative writing class! Me! Freakin' French, damned spanish, and to hell with Biology and european history. I curse thee, economics, and may the furies of hellfire claim Theatre Aide! Avast thee, I am BROKEN!!!!

RG482: How in hell did he become a theatre aide? If that's what he calls drama...

Excuse me while I practice the murder scene of Macbeth. Hmm, where will I find myself..oh, there you are King Duncan Randomguy the Fourth....)