Connection Terminated
By: Pyroteknix
Sorry for the delay in uploading. I wrote one long chapter, redid some parts and cut it into two.
6:30, Control Tower, Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
Kai reloaded his trusty sniper rifle and gestured to the few living rebels beside him to aim at the door. Crouched behind a makeshift barrier that consisted of furniture, the several rebels aimed their weapons warily as a spindly arm broke through the steel door with the ease of a boy tearing a paper in half. A dozen more arms blasted through the door and sent debris crashing against the ruined walls of the control tower. "Open fire, sniper team!" Kai ordered and special armor-piercing bullets were sent rocketing out of sniper rifles and at the heads of a couple of the Vire. Unfortunately for Kai's own attack team, the Vire had long since adapted to the human style of flawed shooting and easily deflected the bullets with reinforced finger blades. The animal-like Vire warded off another barrage of bullets and Kai's sweat flooded the floor while the skeletal creatures inched closer and closer. Plans raced through his mind as he reflexively aimed and fired, the fruit of hundreds of hours in training. He was only subconsciously firing as he desperately created and destroyed hundreds of ideas in his brain while his comrades fell to the floor, as cold and dead as the mechanized limbs of their attackers. A bullet ricocheted off a Vire's claws and penetrated the flesh of the rebel soldier shooting beside Kai, grazing a pipe and sending a small cloud of white steam into the air. Kai's eyes instantly narrowed and he set his sights on a small ventilation pipe hanging precariously beside the cluster of nigh-invincible Vire. His last sniper bullet popped a hole in the ventilation pipe like a pin through a balloon, instantly blasting the Vire with a hot jet of steam. Kai tossed away his useless rifle and dug his hands into his jacket to reveal twin semi-automatic pistols, their silver coat shining by the fire of the burning rebel base. His guns clicked, the sound resonating throughout the room, as it promptly made the maddened Vire stop clawing the hot steam around them. Big mistake for the government forces. As a sniper, Kai took every single advantage and capitalized on it. A dozen hideous Vire fell to the floor, oil and human blood mingling together on the floor as Kai twirled his pistols in an arrogant display of victory. His celebration was short-lived though as a Vire's claw cut through his back like a hot knife through butter. Kai's pistols dropped on the floor uselessly as he shouted out in pain. A spindly leg kicked his bleeding back and sent him flying across the room. A Vire with an unusual horizontal line through the middle of its metallic face, replacing the standard cybernetic eye, jumped on the wall like a spider and kicked off, landing on all fours in front of Kai. "Kai Hiwatari, you are an identified rebel and must be eliminated." The monster stated mechanically and raised a set of lethal 4-inch finger blades to Kai's exposed throat. The Vire hesitated and Kai quickly felt in his pockets for something useful as the machine's eye flickered, as though it was receiving something. "Moritsune, I have the rebel leader in my grasp. Shall I terminate him or save him for future use?" A metal plate that Kai assumed worked as a mouth made an inhuman attempt to talk. The red eye flickered again and Kai pricked his ears up while searching for anything helpful, hearing a barely audible crackle. "Hotsuma, terminate him immediately." Kai heard just as he found something, closing his eyes in frustration as he realized he had found his bitbeast's disc. "Well, Dranzer, this is it." He thought out aloud and waited for the sharp edge of the Vire's blades to come slashing through his neck when he heard the mechanized terror choke in pain. Kai's eyes shot open and he watched a tall man clothed in a black cape grab both of Hotsuma's spindly arms from behind. Hotsuma made an enraged growl that was reminiscent of a prehistoric velociraptor when the beast somersaulted over the caped man and kicked him in the back. Kai blinked in surprise as the man also moved with unearthly prowess and jumped backwards just as Hotsuma's kick sent him flying ahead, causing him to slide of the spider- like creature's feet and land behind him. Hotsuma turned around; its red eye flashing angrily as the man calmly aimed a set of pistols at its head. "Die, you Vire." The man said coldly, his voice so familiar to Kai. But the man's impromptu execution of a crucial part of the government's army was interrupted as a huge beam of iridescent light tore a hole through the clouds and blasted a section of the rebel base into smithereens. The glass shattered instantly as immense ripples of sound emanated from the base of the attack and sent Kai, the man and Hotsuma into the wall. Fortunately for the insect-like Vire, it immediately flattened out before hitting the wall and pushed off, jumping through the broken window of the control tower and down to the battle below. Kai groaned in pain as he felt his sore back before the mysterious man held out a hand for support. "Thanks, whoever you are." Kai said gratefully and the man made a very familiar grin. "Don't worry. You know who I am." The imposing man whirled around and his cape wrapped around his tall form before disappearing completely, leaving Kai completely alone in the bloody and destroyed room. "Okay. Now what the blue blazes was that beam?" Kai erased the man and his scuffle with Hotsuma from his mind as he concentrated on the answer to his inquiry.
6:57, Zeus Airship, Above Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
Jex's rough fingers expertly guided the humongous airship across the Chinese air as his leader, Ivan, watched with obvious satisfaction from a throne-like seat behind Jex's command console. (A/N: No, the airship doesn't have a large flammable balloon.) Drake and Sarah stood rigid at attention as their services were not required as of now and they stayed content with watching Jex and target another portion of the rebel's burning base. "10 seconds before photon laser cannon has cooled sufficiently for second attack." A technician's voice dictated over a speaker and Jex grinned excitedly as a handle containing the trigger of the immensely powerful photon laser cannon began to glow, its faint radiance casting green shadows on Jex's his hand. "Cannon ready for second attack." The same voice said and Jex flicked open the trigger's protective casing as he lowered the ship to an altitude that would further the damage inflicted by his destructive attack. "Brace yourselves, guys." Jex muttered subconsciously as a visor flitted over to cover his right eye and provide a helpful display of the area that would be destroyed by his photon laser cannon. Ivan smiled and stood up, gesturing Sarah to take his seat just like a gentleman. Drake rolled his eyes and held on to a rail on the airship's walls as Ivan did the same and Sarah sat snugly in his chair. "Okay then, fire!!!" Jex shouted as his finger slammed down on the button, blasting away all the clouds that concealed their airship and burning away another portion of the rebel base as though it was nothing. "Good work, Jex." Ivan said blandly as he nodded in praise at the chaos below his immense terror of the skies, Zeus. "Sir Ivan, Blaze and Ice have arrived." A voice crackled over the speaker system and Ivan turned around to face Blaze and Ice, who had a dangerously calm look on their faces. Blaze folded his arms as Drake secretly began to reach for his lethal wakizashi that was stored in a rack on the wall. "I think our value might be increased if we happened to reveal an important part of the rebel's army." Blaze said as his hand darted into his pockets and revealed a pistol. Ivan raised an eyebrow and held back an infuriated Drake, whose hands were fondly stroking his wakizashi's hilt. "Go." He said simply and Ice pulled out a hologram display from her pocket. "We found a hologram showing the blueprints for an airship that even surpasses this in output, capacity and power." Blaze rolled his eyes and pointed to the control tower. "The machine is stored below that control tower. If you try to kill us, our nanomachines are rigged to send a warning to the rebels." He finished for his sister and Ivan grinned. "Fine then, from now on, you're under my direct command." Ice and Blaze laughed coldly and shook their heads. "Sorry, were doing this for cash. Don't believe we'll stick around after this." Ice said simply before retreating into the depths of Zeus along with her brother. Drake mumbled something before slashing the air in front of him with rapid and well- practiced strokes. Jex leaned back and turned to face his three comrades, stretching his arms. "Hey, why don't Drake and Sarah grab the Frames and attack their airship? The photon laser cannon's overheated anyway and we need a way to destroy the rebel airship." He suggested and Ivan smiled evilly in agreement. "I'm beginning to think you guys are surpassing me in terms of intelligence." Ivan said simply and a big grin crept across Jex's face. "You're saying I'm smart and that were going to use the Frames?" Jex asked excitedly and Ivan rolled his eyes. "No and yes. Sarah, Drake, get the Frames ready in case they launch the airship." He said officially and walked over to the splendid view of the Chinese early morning sky highlighted by the fires of the rebel base. "Nice view!"
7:03, Control Tower, Rebel base, Shanghai, China
Tyson nearly slipped as he made a sharp turn and quickly ran inside the ruined control tower, Ray, Mariah and Max following him. Ray pulled up a broken piece of metal and jammed into the door just as the bloodthirsty Vire sliced at the air behind him. He promptly collapsed on Mariah's lap and crawled over to a gun on the floor. "About time reinforcements arrived." The four rebels whirled around to see Kai, tending a wound on his back in the shadows of a corner. "You protected the control tower alone?" Max asked in disbelief and Kai pointed to a pile of human bodies in the other corner. "Those guys only lasted the first wave. I had to fend of the other 7." He said, his voice tinged with exasperation. Max picked up a rifle on the floor and loaded it up with ammunition. "Well then, we'll help you out until Kenny explains why we need to be here." He said cheerily in spite of all the chaos and war around them. Tyson stooped down and picked up a pair of submachine guns, tossing one to Mariah and keeping one for him. "Yeah! We're all here anyway." He said and Ray scratched his head in puzzlement. "Aren't we missing someone?" He said and stared at his teammates with a questioning face. Max's jaw dropped and he buried his head in his arms. "Emily . . ." He said and closed his eyes in hope that she was still alive somewhere. "Don't worry! I got a transmission from her from over there!" Tyson said reassuringly and furthered Max's depression when he gestured at the burnt remains of a portion of the rebel base outside the smashed window. "I could be wrong." Tyson said sheepishly when Ray and Mariah glared at him. Kai raised an eyebrow, puzzled over Max's emotional reaction to the apparent loss of Emily. But their thoughts were interrupted when a tall and oddly erect Vire smashed the makeshift wall down with a blow from his spring-loaded legs. The Vire that previously attacked Kai followed in the tall Vire's shadow, swaying back and forth at the sight of Kai. "Hotsuma." Kai said blandly and cocked his trusty and reloaded sniper rifle. Mariah stood up and held out her rifle along with Ray and Tyson. "C'mon, Max! Get up!" Tyson hissed as he fired a warning shot at the imposing Vire, whose hand flicked off the bullet casually. "I won't even bother to identify you rebels. I know who you are already." The erect Vire said before clenching his thin hands. "Mariah, Tyson, fire!" Ray shouted suddenly and the tall Vire smirked, as his hands became an impenetrable shield, darting here and there and deflecting all of the shots fired at him and his comrades. The clang of a bullet echoed through the ears of everyone in the room as the tall Vire felt a crack in his metal faceplate. Kai lowered his smoking rifle as he swore the tall Vire glared at him. "Hotsuma! Get Hiwatari!" "Yes, Moritsune." The apparent leader of the Vire shouted angrily at Hotsuma, who promptly lunged at Kai, ripping away the gun. The rebels instantly turned to face their leader, who had suffered another blade injury in his stomach and was bleeding profusely. Moritsune made an unearthly growl and immediately threw a punch at Mariah, cutting through her shoulder. Another Vire delivered a flying kick at Ray that snapped the bones in his arm. Hotsuma leapt away from Kai slashed at Tyson's chest, shredding his shirt and spilling his blood on the floor. Moritsune moved like the devil and kicked each of the rebels, aside from Max, in the back with inhuman force, sending them across the room and to lay crumpled in a heap beside the pile of dead bodies. The leader of the Vire, Moritsune, walked towards Max and lifted him by the collar of his shirt. He raised his lethal blades and pointed them at Max's exposed throat, grinning underneath the layers of his faceplate. "Any last requests?" Moritsune's mechanical voice crackled and his cybernetic eye whirred frenziedly. Max blinked away a tear and bit his lip. "I want to see Emily before you kill me." He finally whispered and Moritsune hesitated, apparently calculating something in his little cyborg mind. "Does not compute." Ray put a hand over Mariah's eyes and Tyson made an effort to turn around as Moritsune's hand moved with blistering speed to Max's throat. "Aaiieeee!" Moritsune's entire arm was blown off, as bullets ripped through him like a pin through a balloon. Hotsuma whirled around to face the assailant and suffered a shot to the head as gunfire blazed through the room. "Wish granted." Max opened his eyes to see a blue walker hovering outside the control tower, the canopy opening to reveal the face of . . . "Emily!" Max shouted as the walker tore fired at the remaining Vire, its huge bullets littering the floor. "Guys! Head to the door on the other side of the room!" Kenny's voice said, static mixed with his statement. Kai nodded and pulled Tyson up to his feet as the rebels watched the door open to reveal a walkway that led to nothing. Emily hopped out of the walker and ran after Max as Mariah and Ray got to their feet. "But there's nothing there!" Kai shouted as he approached the sheer drop to the ground. "Wait a sec!" Kenny's voice said and Kai and Tyson hesitated as they saw a door slowly rise up. "Now, head for that door!" He commanded and everyone sprinted for the end of the walkway. "Hurry! The enemy is beginning to att. . . Kzzattzzz . . ." The walkway began to tilt as enemy fire concentrated on the platform. Kai leapt onto the other side as Tyson nipped at his heels. "Faster!" He shouted as Emily nearly slipped on the angled floor, only to be pulled up by Max. The two jumped onboard just as another barrage of ammunition exploded against the walkway, making Mariah fall down. Across the walkway, Moritsune's eyes flickered briefly as his clawed hands grabbed a rifle from the floor while Mariah staggered to get up. "Must terminate." His voice faded out as a bullet streamed from the rifle and pierced Mariah's leg. "Mariah!" Ray whirled around and glanced behind him to see their friends slowly move away from them as the object they were on started to move. He bit his lip, cursed, and carried Mariah on his shoulder, desperately trying to reach the opposite side. He stopped at the edge, unsure if he could make the jump with Mariah on his shoulder and punched the wall in frustration. "Max! Catch!" He shouted back at the blonde American, tossing Mariah across the gap and he smiled thinly as she landed safely in Max's arms. "Hurry, Ray!" Emily said worriedly and Ray made a running leap for the edge of the giant moving object, his arms outstretched. "Ray, please make it!" Mariah shouted with fear in her voice as Ray's hands closed in on the huge vehicle they were on. A shell exploded against the side of the flying machine and it was jolted to the side causing Ray's fingers to slide helplessly on the smooth surface of the airborne device, missing the edge by a few inches. Mariah cried out as he fell to the firefight below them, his hands making a futile attempt to grab onto something. "RAY!!!" She shouted and nearly jumped after him if it wasn't for Kai's holding her back. Max, Emily and Tyson pulled Mariah away from the now closed door and Kai watched her tears stain the floor of the huge vehicle they were on. "Damn." He muttered before walking after his teammates.
7:20, Zeus' hangar, Above Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
Sarah strapped on a light blue helmet as Drake zipped up his pilot's suit. She gave thumbs up to him while he put on his own scarlet helmet and she walked over to a sleek, insect-like mechanized combat unit created by the government that was known as a Frame. Aside from the fact that Frames contained revolutionary hover technology, these powerful war machines were basically a physical extension of the bitbeast plugged inside the Frame, increasing the battle potential greatly compared to the manual controls of a normal mech unit. Sarah climbed up a ladder and lightly tapped a translucent portion of the large machine's chest, waiting impatiently as hexagonal shapes appeared on the chest and dissolved to reveal a cockpit. "Sarah, I'm plugging in Riwin already. What's your status?" Drake's voice crackled over her helmet's inbuilt radio and she quickly hopped inside of her cobalt Frame. "Just got in. Open the gate in 30 seconds." She replied as she slotted in Ris' advanced combat data in the cockpit's central computer. The machine flickered to life in front of her, the name "RIS" appearing on every inch of the primarily holographic display inside the Frame. "Good morning, Sarah. It was getting stuffy inside that disc." Ris' voice said happily and Sarah smiled inside her helmet. "I'll transfer your data to a new disc after this battle then." She responded and rested her gloved hands on two spheres with a skeletal image of the palm of a hand giving off a slight glow. The Frame reacted instantly; both human and bitbeast working simultaneously to create the most fluid of motions ever performed by a mech. "Azure seems to be working perfectly." Ris' commented as Sarah's Frame, Azure hovered across the hangar and floated beside the magenta Frame of Drake, Crimson. "Drake has released the gate. Vernier thrusters are now at semi-automatic control." Ris stated blandly as the twin Vernier rockets behind the shoulders of Azure whirred softly, reactants flowing inside. "Drake, you take the lead." Sarah asked and Drake replied positively, activating Crimson's own thrusters. Crimson became a red blur as his Vernier rockets opened up to their full capacity and Sarah quickly followed suit with her own impressive burst of speed. "Jex is activating the autopilot of Zeus and he'll follow shortly. In the meanwhile, incapacitate the rebel airship's defenses." Riwin's cold voice came over the radio and Sarah moved her hand over to a keyboard on the side of her cockpit, tapping in a code that activated dual swords that emanated immense energies and worked just like a laser beam. Azure jetted after Crimson, whose twin blades were out as well, its rockets burning the air behind it.
7:34, Rebel Airship Osiris, Above Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
Mariah was sobbing uncontrollably on her seat as her fellow rebels discussed the amazing vehicle Kenny had created in hushed voices. Max glanced over his shoulder and saw Mariah's knuckles turn bloody as she punched the walls of the airship. Emily put a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him slightly. Tyson bit his lip and dug his nails into his pants as he tried to come up with something relevant to say, his mind filled with the memory of Ray falling through the air below him. Kai was gritting his teeth in frustration as he watched his silent comrades mope around because of one loss among them. "Forget the hell about Ray! He just happened to turn out like a hundred other rebels who died fighting for our cause! He deserves the same respect as the rest! A small thought and nothing more!" Kai shouted out and everyone stared at him in slight fear. Kai ran a hand through his hair and stared at each of his rebel friends. "Look, Ray's gone. Focus on the crisis at hand." He said in a far more comforting tone and walked over to Mariah, carrying her to a chair nearer the discussion. Tyson blinked away a tear and spoke up. "Okay, so Kenny built this airship, Osiris, secretly." He started and Kai nodded in agreement. "So now we know where our excess funds went." Kai added, partly serious and partly joking. Emily rubbed her hands and sighed. "Aside from the near impossible idea of destroying that thing over there by means of hacking into the top-notch government computer controls, this is our only way to destroy that airship." She explained, receiving a cold laugh from Kai. "What's so funny?" Tyson asked as one of the few hundred rebels that Kenny stowed in Osiris ran up to them carrying a tray of refreshments. He immediately paused his interrogation and slurped down an entire glass of soft drink. Kai reached for one and answered bluntly. "We don't have any weapons. We can't destroy the enemy airship." He stated rather pessimistically and Max closed his eyes in resignation. "Then we're sitting ducks for their cannon thing." He added and Emily and Tyson nodded in recognition of defeat. "Not really." Kenny walked up to them with his trusty and upgraded laptop under his arm. "Kenny's right, you know." Dizzi's familiar voice agreed and everyone turned to face the intellectual rebel whose eyes were never seen. "Yes. You see, they overheated the cannon and are directing most of their virtual units to the repair of the weapon. We can easily conquer their remaining defenses with just two bitbeasts." Kenny explained and his comrades' faces brightened up at this realization, except for Mariah and Kai, of course. The rebel branch leader frowned and pointed out a flaw in the plan. "They'll still have their air force and Frames with them. How will we fight back?" He asked and Kenny's mouth twisted to a large grin that covered half of his face. "During our raid on a government base, I happened to send in a small group of rebels to capture three Frames from the enemy. We can use those." Kenny added but Kai still remained skeptical. "Unfortunately, the only place you'll be able to hide those Frames is in one of your secret holes inside that garage of yours. That's a good few thousand feet under us." Kai countered and once again, gloom overtook the rebels. "Er, we could use an escape pod to head back down and retrieve the Frames." This time, Kai had nothing to retort with. Tyson gave a whoop of delight and promptly began to arrange the party that would head back down. Kai dug his hand into his pocket and gave a small yelp of surprise, as he was unable to find the disc containing Dranzer. "Shit! I lost Dranzer!" He shouted and punched the wall in frustration, as he knew that there was no way he could even try to pilot a Frame without Dranzer. "That means Ray will have to go to the garage instead." Dizzi suggested and Mariah broke down into tears again. "Uh, we lost Ray." Tyson explained and Kenny sighed in response. "Okay then, only one of us will attack the airship's system." He shrugged and Max walked over to a computer that was plugged into the side of Osiris. "I'll do it. Draciel can take the heat." He said rather bravely and slotted in Draciel's combat data. Tyson tapped Mariah on the shoulder and smiled reassuringly at her. "We'll do this for our good buddy, Ray." He said and Mariah smiled weakly, standing up to join him and Emily, who would retrieve the Frames. "Let's go." She said and ran ahead of both of her fellow rebels. Kenny turned to face the frantic Kai, who was desperately searching for his bitbeast, Dranzer. "Damn, damn, damn! I lost Dranzer!" He shouted out, ripping out small clumps of his hair. "What do I do now?" He sunk into a chair and looked around the main room of Osiris, noticing the empty pilot's seat. Kai smiled thinly and ran up to the seat, only to be stopped by Kenny's hand. "Don't pilot Osiris. Leave it to the autopilot." Kenny said seriously and Kai frowned. "Why?" He retorted icily and Kenny sighed. "I swapped a bitbeast based control system with a far more complex device that is directly connected to your body." He explained but Kai was still persistent on piloting the great airship. "All the better. I don't have my bitbeast with me anyway." "Don't you understand? You will be tied in with Osiris! If Osiris is hit in a vital area, you will die." Kenny shouted at Kai, his voice filled with worry. "In the end, it doesn't matter how hard you try. Every single one of us soldiers is going to die, Kenny. I'm prepared for that." Kai said with determination, staring at Kenny intently before hopping into the seat. Kenny smiled before heading back into the rest of Osiris, disappearing out of Kai's sight. Thin lines snaked across Kai's body as the controls began to switch from automatic to manual. Every beat of Kai's heart was reflected as a pulse of energy on the web of lines covering his body. His brainwaves were instantly read as information and transformed into movements in the body of Osiris. Max glanced over his shoulder as he prepared Draciel for battle in the virtual world, biting his lip in slight apprehension as he saw Kai shake with the tremendous amount of energy coursing through his body. "Now we're all set." He said as he activated his connection to the Internet, sending Draciel to the systems located inside Zeus.
7:39, Kenny's Private Garage, Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
"Lights are on now." Tyson said as he switched on a vast amount of ceiling lights inside the immense underground storage room. He whistled in awe as he stared at the huge amount of cutting-edge technology that Kenny had kept secret. A brand new model of his motorcycle that made his look like scrap lay unused in a shadowy corner. Mechanized Combat Units similar to the one Emily had tested were stored in halves of huge crates, their polished blue armor shining brightly under the intense light of the garage. "No Frames however." Emily commented as the three rebels scanned the huge room, checking every nook and cranny. Tyson nodded in agreement and split off from his comrades as he decided that they would be more effective if spread out. Emily understood and glanced over her shoulder to check on Mariah before probing through the layers of machinery in the room to find the Frames. "Kenny should have mentioned where he hid it . . ." Tyson grumbled as he leaned against an experimental mech, wiping the sweat that was the product of hundreds of lights glaring down at him from his forehead. He stared at Mariah and sighed as he pulled out a picture from his pocket, staring fondly at the photograph taken before the war. "Damn government!" He shouted and blinked away a tear as his fist slammed into the crate beside him. A whirring sound was made and Tyson hopped away from the source of the noise, slightly surprised. Emily ran up to him and her jaw dropped as an entire section of the wall opened up to reveal two Frames, one golden and the other silver. "Er, that must have been the trigger." Tyson said sheepishly, breaking the stunned silence. Emily rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her orange hair. "Well, duh." She replied and narrowed her eyes as she noticed the conspicuously empty gap in between the golden and silver Frames. Tyson noticed this as well and bit his lip in thought. "A Frame's missing. Guess that means I'm heading back." He commented and Emily punched him on the shoulder lightly. "You pilot the Frame. This is your base anyway." She said and walked over to a mech stored beside the Frames. "I'll go back in this baby." She explained as Tyson opened his mouth in protest, whacking himself when Emily disappeared into the cockpit of the mech. He threw up his arms in surrender and turned to face the Frames before calling to Mariah. "Hey, Mariah! You get the silver . . ." Tyson trailed off as he watched Mariah hop into the gold one and rocket the Frame through the roof of the garage. "What's bugging her?" He asked stupidly and climbed up onto the silver Frame awaiting his commands.
7:45, Above Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
The silver Frame piloted by a panicky Tyson clumsily dodged a charge from an entire horde of the government's automated fighter planes. "Dragoon! Activate the manual controls!" Tyson shouted nervously as he accidentally back flipped in the sky and evaded another attack from the enemy air force. "It's on already! Grab the controls!" Dragoon's frantic voice came out through the silver Frame's cockpit as Tyson watched the name "STRAY" appear in his display. "Okay then, Stray. Let's get these guys!" He said as he rested his palms on glowing spheres on either side of the cockpit, receiving an instant reaction from Stray, the silver Frame. Boosted by the twin Vernier rockets on its shoulders, Stray catapulted above the enemy forces and released a burst of lightning shaped energy from its silver arm. The silver Frame raised its arms to cover the navigational systems onboard from the massive explosions that emanated from the decimated enemy fighters. "Tyson, prepare for the second wave." Mariah's emotionless voice crackled over his radio and the Tyson turned his attention to a swarm of insect-like things flying straight at them. Stray put on a burst of speed as Tyson launched the sleek mech at the horde of puny-sized fighters but was quickly stopped as a rain of fire greeted Stray's energy shield. Tyson shouted out in surprise as the insectoid creatures attached themselves to his Frame and Stray writhed uselessly under the sheer number of the government forces. He gasped in fear as a fighter crossed his line of vision, flaunting the hideously deformed face of a Vire. "Dragoon, activate Stray's form shield!" A female voice commanded and Tyson barely turned his Frame's silver head to witness Emily's mech load a clip of bullets into a large rifle in the blue machine's hands. An ethereal shield covered only the form of Stray, creating a sort of secondary skin for the advanced piece of weaponry. Vire fell to the firefight below Tyson as bullets ripped through their genetically altered bodies and ricocheted off Stray's glowing shield. "Thanks, Emily!" Tyson said gratefully as he opened fire on the approaching airborne Vire with a lot more caution. "I'm running out a flight fuel. See you in Osiris!" She replied as her mech blasted off towards the behemoth called Osiris. Tyson saluted her inside his cockpit as he fired lightning bolt after lightning bolt at the cloud of Vire, eliminating a few. He glanced at the golden Frame of Mariah and raised an eyebrow in disbelief as he watched her and Galux hack their way through the legions of enemies with vengeful speed, turning all who opposed her Frame and she into sushi with an energy blade. "Disturbing." Dragoon's worried voice commented and Tyson nodded as his hands subconsciously controlled Stray with the greatest of ease for a man who had first entered a Frame a few minutes ago. He unleashed another massive burst of electricity from Stray's glistening arm and smiled thinly as the horrific screams of the inhuman Vire filled the air for a few seconds. Stray lowered its arm and turned to face Mariah's Frame and gestured towards the airship Zeus. "Well now we know where Argent and Stray went." Tyson whirled his frame around instead of rocketing towards Zeus to face the fiery red Frame known as Crimson. A cobalt Frame appeared behind Mariah's golden Frame and folded its arms behind the rebel mech. "Hand over the Frames and surrender immediately." Riwin's cold voice echoed through Tyson's ears as Crimson revealed a pair of blades that was stored in the Frame's arms. "Ray died because of you and your fucking government! Nothing in hell will make me surrender to you!" Mariah suddenly shouted as the gold Frame known as Argent delivered a kick to Azure's sleek stomach area, slamming Sarah's face into the walls of Azure's cockpit. The blue Frame's arm shot out in retaliation and tossed Argent's mechanical body all the way across the sky. Tyson gulped as he was surrounded by two government Frames and held up an energy blade in a futile attempt for self- defense. Stray parried a blow from Crimson but received a devastating punch from behind by the icy cold Azure, smashing a few circuits inside Stray. "Tyson, Stray's battle performance has dropped 2%.' Dragoon said in a whiny tone and Tyson wiped sweat away from his forehead. "Forget the damage reports! The shield, man, the shield!" Tyson yelled as he frantically dodged multiple slices from Crimson and blocked a chop from the energy blades of Azure. Crimson sword met invulnerable energy as Dragoon finally set up the shield of Stray and deflected both of the government agents' attacks. Crimson somersaulted over Stray however and grabbed both of the silver Frame's arms, restraining it. "Good work, Drake. I'll go get the girl to watch another one of her teammates die in the line of fire." Sarah said in response to Crimson's intelligent maneuver. "And I'll kill him." An emerald Frame floated downwards and folded its arms confidently in front of Tyson's pinned Frame. "Finally! Hey, Jex, I'll toss him up and you unleash the particle cannon on him." Drake radioed to his comrade and Jex nodded from within his green Frame, Jade. Argent slashed at the head of the approaching Azure but the skilled pilot within deftly grabbed Argent's golden arm and twisted it off completely, sending electricity coursing through the cockpit and Mariah's already wounded body. "Now, you get to watch your friend Tyson die as well." Sarah said softly over the radio and forced Argent to face the writhing Stray a few hundred meters away. "No . . . I don't want to lose another friend . . ." Mariah's hands pushed firmly on the control spheres in an useless effort to break free from Azure's iron grip. "Now Dragoon will finally be deleted." Ris' somewhat smooth yet dangerous voice added as Mariah watched Crimson toss the silver Frame containing Tyson upwards, making Stray a sitting duck for the particle cannon on Jex's Frame. A blast of neon green light slammed into Stray, burning away every inch of the silver armor on the machine, leaving a skeletal body hovering in the air. Azure flung the damaged Argent all the way to Jade as Mariah stared at the burned ruins of Stray's body, blinking away tears. Jade held up a cannon to the chest of Argent and Mariah heard the cold voice of Rizel laugh dementedly. "Tyson might have survived if Jex and I didn't plant viruses in Stray's system as a fail safe system." Rizel said arrogantly and a fire of hatred burned inside Mariah's heart. "Well then, tell me what Ray says when you reach the other side." Jex finished and time seemed to stand still as Mariah heard the click of a loaded cannon. "I say: get away from her, you dirt bags!" Ray's voice filled the morning sky and Mariah's heart skipped a beat when she saw the third black Frame, Vector, hover in the sky with her beloved Ray inside. "Ray!" She shouted as a beam of dark energy cut through Azure's stomach area and sent the cobalt behemoth flying through the air like a rag doll. Crimson blasted downwards and avoided a burst of fire from the rapid energy guns on both of Vector's jet-black arms. "How can you be alive? We saw you fall through the air!" Drake shouted as he retaliated with a blast of rod-shaped energy that sliced through empty air as Vector dodged it. "Drake! The girl!" Ray turned his Frame around as Crimson flew up to the disabled Argent and held up its own rapid-fire gun to the chest of the golden Frame. Vector hesitated and lowered his cannons, as Ray was afraid for Mariah's safety. Azure hovered over to its comrades, its wound sending sparks into the air. "Now Ray, surrender yourself to the government." Jex said threateningly and gestured towards the restrained Argent. "Or your beloved little friend will be blasted into oblivion to join Tyson." He added and flew over to Mariah's Frame, pushing Crimson away and choking Argent's neck. The insignificant little hexagons skitted across the surface of Vector's chest and they dissipated to reveal Ray, holding his hands up in surrender. "Drop her now and I'll comply." He said seriously and Jex smiled inside his Frame. Ray scratched his head and shrugged sheepishly. "I come back from the dead to get killed again." He commented and waited as Crimson flew over to his Frame and aimed a cannon at his defiant face. "Get away Ray! You think I want to watch you die again?" Mariah said desperately as the hum of machinery inside Crimson's cannon filled the morning air. "For crying out loud, can you two stop being so damn romantic?" Jex asked in annoyance and tightened his grip on Argent's throat. "Jex! Drake! Hold it! Something's going on with Stray!" Sarah shouted and the two government Frames turned around to face the glowing Frame known as Stray. "Dragoon has accessed Stray's liquid metal system. I think attacking Jade would be wise right now!" Galux hissed to Mariah and she nodded, flipping her Frame in the air and kicking Jade in the back. Argent dashed towards the stunned Vector as both of the rebels inside the Frames watched liquid metal cover and replace the burned armor of Stray. "Get up . . ." Tyson commanded weakly, clutching his bleeding shoulder. Dragoon's name lit up the display like fireworks as the failing systems surrounding Tyson slowly returned to life. Azure loaded a large gattling gun (A/N: I only recently learned that this was the correct spelling.) and aimed the weapon at the rising Stray. "Damn! So our scientists put the recovery unit inside Stray!" Drake realized and blasted another rod-shaped beam of energy at the healed silver Frame, pushing his weapon systems to the limit. "Tyson, let's get some payback!" Dragoon said slyly as Tyson grinned to his bitbeast. Stray raised a hand and stopped the beam of energy emanating from Crimson's palm. "Now!" Ray shouted suddenly and catapulted towards Jade, Vector's energy guns firing endlessly. The emerald Frame raised its energy shield just as dozens of dark energy bullets ricocheted against it. Mariah quickly followed suit and released dozens of lasers at Azure, who swatted them away with a few swipes from its energy sword. "C'mon, Riwin! The wakizashi!" Drake ordered with panic filling his voice as he watched Stray deflect his attacks with the shield surrounding its body. A sharp wakizashi appeared in Crimson's hand, the only physical weapon Crimson had equipped. "Whoa!" Tyson said in surprise as Stray was slowly being forced backwards by the skilled and practiced slices that Crimson was throwing at him. Ducking to avoid another slash from the shield-piercing sword and had Stray's arm cut off by a follow-up, Tyson fired his jets and zoomed away from the lethal Crimson. Meanwhile, Argent was fighting a losing battle trying to defeat Azure with only one arm available. Azure suddenly ducked and grabbed Argent's sleek golden legs and threw the Frame towards Vector. Mariah was rocked inside her cockpit as her Frame crashed into the black Vector and sent both of them flying through the sky, away from the three government Frames. "Drake, Sarah, retreat now! Ivan has a little surprise for them!" Jex hissed as all of his comrades and him flew back to Zeus, leaving three confused rebels. Ray's eyes narrowed as he suddenly raised a huge shield around both of his partners and suffered an immense amount of damage as Zeus released a burst of fire from the advanced weapon system onboard! "Get back to the whatever it's called airship! I'll hold their fire since Vector's in better condition than both of your Frames!" Ray ordered as he watched a giant cannon rotate towards their positions. "The photon cannon is online! That means they led Max and Draciel to a trap!" Tyson realized and pulled Argent to the waiting Osiris. "Hurry Mariah . . ." Ray whispered as he witnessed a rain of lasers head straight for his sleek black Frame, ready to turn him into crispy critters.
Finally, the end of the chapter has arrived. I had a lot more stuff to put in but I think 6 thousand words are enough for now. BTW, if you want to know where I got my idea of Frames, I'm on a Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner high.
By: Pyroteknix
Sorry for the delay in uploading. I wrote one long chapter, redid some parts and cut it into two.
6:30, Control Tower, Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
Kai reloaded his trusty sniper rifle and gestured to the few living rebels beside him to aim at the door. Crouched behind a makeshift barrier that consisted of furniture, the several rebels aimed their weapons warily as a spindly arm broke through the steel door with the ease of a boy tearing a paper in half. A dozen more arms blasted through the door and sent debris crashing against the ruined walls of the control tower. "Open fire, sniper team!" Kai ordered and special armor-piercing bullets were sent rocketing out of sniper rifles and at the heads of a couple of the Vire. Unfortunately for Kai's own attack team, the Vire had long since adapted to the human style of flawed shooting and easily deflected the bullets with reinforced finger blades. The animal-like Vire warded off another barrage of bullets and Kai's sweat flooded the floor while the skeletal creatures inched closer and closer. Plans raced through his mind as he reflexively aimed and fired, the fruit of hundreds of hours in training. He was only subconsciously firing as he desperately created and destroyed hundreds of ideas in his brain while his comrades fell to the floor, as cold and dead as the mechanized limbs of their attackers. A bullet ricocheted off a Vire's claws and penetrated the flesh of the rebel soldier shooting beside Kai, grazing a pipe and sending a small cloud of white steam into the air. Kai's eyes instantly narrowed and he set his sights on a small ventilation pipe hanging precariously beside the cluster of nigh-invincible Vire. His last sniper bullet popped a hole in the ventilation pipe like a pin through a balloon, instantly blasting the Vire with a hot jet of steam. Kai tossed away his useless rifle and dug his hands into his jacket to reveal twin semi-automatic pistols, their silver coat shining by the fire of the burning rebel base. His guns clicked, the sound resonating throughout the room, as it promptly made the maddened Vire stop clawing the hot steam around them. Big mistake for the government forces. As a sniper, Kai took every single advantage and capitalized on it. A dozen hideous Vire fell to the floor, oil and human blood mingling together on the floor as Kai twirled his pistols in an arrogant display of victory. His celebration was short-lived though as a Vire's claw cut through his back like a hot knife through butter. Kai's pistols dropped on the floor uselessly as he shouted out in pain. A spindly leg kicked his bleeding back and sent him flying across the room. A Vire with an unusual horizontal line through the middle of its metallic face, replacing the standard cybernetic eye, jumped on the wall like a spider and kicked off, landing on all fours in front of Kai. "Kai Hiwatari, you are an identified rebel and must be eliminated." The monster stated mechanically and raised a set of lethal 4-inch finger blades to Kai's exposed throat. The Vire hesitated and Kai quickly felt in his pockets for something useful as the machine's eye flickered, as though it was receiving something. "Moritsune, I have the rebel leader in my grasp. Shall I terminate him or save him for future use?" A metal plate that Kai assumed worked as a mouth made an inhuman attempt to talk. The red eye flickered again and Kai pricked his ears up while searching for anything helpful, hearing a barely audible crackle. "Hotsuma, terminate him immediately." Kai heard just as he found something, closing his eyes in frustration as he realized he had found his bitbeast's disc. "Well, Dranzer, this is it." He thought out aloud and waited for the sharp edge of the Vire's blades to come slashing through his neck when he heard the mechanized terror choke in pain. Kai's eyes shot open and he watched a tall man clothed in a black cape grab both of Hotsuma's spindly arms from behind. Hotsuma made an enraged growl that was reminiscent of a prehistoric velociraptor when the beast somersaulted over the caped man and kicked him in the back. Kai blinked in surprise as the man also moved with unearthly prowess and jumped backwards just as Hotsuma's kick sent him flying ahead, causing him to slide of the spider- like creature's feet and land behind him. Hotsuma turned around; its red eye flashing angrily as the man calmly aimed a set of pistols at its head. "Die, you Vire." The man said coldly, his voice so familiar to Kai. But the man's impromptu execution of a crucial part of the government's army was interrupted as a huge beam of iridescent light tore a hole through the clouds and blasted a section of the rebel base into smithereens. The glass shattered instantly as immense ripples of sound emanated from the base of the attack and sent Kai, the man and Hotsuma into the wall. Fortunately for the insect-like Vire, it immediately flattened out before hitting the wall and pushed off, jumping through the broken window of the control tower and down to the battle below. Kai groaned in pain as he felt his sore back before the mysterious man held out a hand for support. "Thanks, whoever you are." Kai said gratefully and the man made a very familiar grin. "Don't worry. You know who I am." The imposing man whirled around and his cape wrapped around his tall form before disappearing completely, leaving Kai completely alone in the bloody and destroyed room. "Okay. Now what the blue blazes was that beam?" Kai erased the man and his scuffle with Hotsuma from his mind as he concentrated on the answer to his inquiry.
6:57, Zeus Airship, Above Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
Jex's rough fingers expertly guided the humongous airship across the Chinese air as his leader, Ivan, watched with obvious satisfaction from a throne-like seat behind Jex's command console. (A/N: No, the airship doesn't have a large flammable balloon.) Drake and Sarah stood rigid at attention as their services were not required as of now and they stayed content with watching Jex and target another portion of the rebel's burning base. "10 seconds before photon laser cannon has cooled sufficiently for second attack." A technician's voice dictated over a speaker and Jex grinned excitedly as a handle containing the trigger of the immensely powerful photon laser cannon began to glow, its faint radiance casting green shadows on Jex's his hand. "Cannon ready for second attack." The same voice said and Jex flicked open the trigger's protective casing as he lowered the ship to an altitude that would further the damage inflicted by his destructive attack. "Brace yourselves, guys." Jex muttered subconsciously as a visor flitted over to cover his right eye and provide a helpful display of the area that would be destroyed by his photon laser cannon. Ivan smiled and stood up, gesturing Sarah to take his seat just like a gentleman. Drake rolled his eyes and held on to a rail on the airship's walls as Ivan did the same and Sarah sat snugly in his chair. "Okay then, fire!!!" Jex shouted as his finger slammed down on the button, blasting away all the clouds that concealed their airship and burning away another portion of the rebel base as though it was nothing. "Good work, Jex." Ivan said blandly as he nodded in praise at the chaos below his immense terror of the skies, Zeus. "Sir Ivan, Blaze and Ice have arrived." A voice crackled over the speaker system and Ivan turned around to face Blaze and Ice, who had a dangerously calm look on their faces. Blaze folded his arms as Drake secretly began to reach for his lethal wakizashi that was stored in a rack on the wall. "I think our value might be increased if we happened to reveal an important part of the rebel's army." Blaze said as his hand darted into his pockets and revealed a pistol. Ivan raised an eyebrow and held back an infuriated Drake, whose hands were fondly stroking his wakizashi's hilt. "Go." He said simply and Ice pulled out a hologram display from her pocket. "We found a hologram showing the blueprints for an airship that even surpasses this in output, capacity and power." Blaze rolled his eyes and pointed to the control tower. "The machine is stored below that control tower. If you try to kill us, our nanomachines are rigged to send a warning to the rebels." He finished for his sister and Ivan grinned. "Fine then, from now on, you're under my direct command." Ice and Blaze laughed coldly and shook their heads. "Sorry, were doing this for cash. Don't believe we'll stick around after this." Ice said simply before retreating into the depths of Zeus along with her brother. Drake mumbled something before slashing the air in front of him with rapid and well- practiced strokes. Jex leaned back and turned to face his three comrades, stretching his arms. "Hey, why don't Drake and Sarah grab the Frames and attack their airship? The photon laser cannon's overheated anyway and we need a way to destroy the rebel airship." He suggested and Ivan smiled evilly in agreement. "I'm beginning to think you guys are surpassing me in terms of intelligence." Ivan said simply and a big grin crept across Jex's face. "You're saying I'm smart and that were going to use the Frames?" Jex asked excitedly and Ivan rolled his eyes. "No and yes. Sarah, Drake, get the Frames ready in case they launch the airship." He said officially and walked over to the splendid view of the Chinese early morning sky highlighted by the fires of the rebel base. "Nice view!"
7:03, Control Tower, Rebel base, Shanghai, China
Tyson nearly slipped as he made a sharp turn and quickly ran inside the ruined control tower, Ray, Mariah and Max following him. Ray pulled up a broken piece of metal and jammed into the door just as the bloodthirsty Vire sliced at the air behind him. He promptly collapsed on Mariah's lap and crawled over to a gun on the floor. "About time reinforcements arrived." The four rebels whirled around to see Kai, tending a wound on his back in the shadows of a corner. "You protected the control tower alone?" Max asked in disbelief and Kai pointed to a pile of human bodies in the other corner. "Those guys only lasted the first wave. I had to fend of the other 7." He said, his voice tinged with exasperation. Max picked up a rifle on the floor and loaded it up with ammunition. "Well then, we'll help you out until Kenny explains why we need to be here." He said cheerily in spite of all the chaos and war around them. Tyson stooped down and picked up a pair of submachine guns, tossing one to Mariah and keeping one for him. "Yeah! We're all here anyway." He said and Ray scratched his head in puzzlement. "Aren't we missing someone?" He said and stared at his teammates with a questioning face. Max's jaw dropped and he buried his head in his arms. "Emily . . ." He said and closed his eyes in hope that she was still alive somewhere. "Don't worry! I got a transmission from her from over there!" Tyson said reassuringly and furthered Max's depression when he gestured at the burnt remains of a portion of the rebel base outside the smashed window. "I could be wrong." Tyson said sheepishly when Ray and Mariah glared at him. Kai raised an eyebrow, puzzled over Max's emotional reaction to the apparent loss of Emily. But their thoughts were interrupted when a tall and oddly erect Vire smashed the makeshift wall down with a blow from his spring-loaded legs. The Vire that previously attacked Kai followed in the tall Vire's shadow, swaying back and forth at the sight of Kai. "Hotsuma." Kai said blandly and cocked his trusty and reloaded sniper rifle. Mariah stood up and held out her rifle along with Ray and Tyson. "C'mon, Max! Get up!" Tyson hissed as he fired a warning shot at the imposing Vire, whose hand flicked off the bullet casually. "I won't even bother to identify you rebels. I know who you are already." The erect Vire said before clenching his thin hands. "Mariah, Tyson, fire!" Ray shouted suddenly and the tall Vire smirked, as his hands became an impenetrable shield, darting here and there and deflecting all of the shots fired at him and his comrades. The clang of a bullet echoed through the ears of everyone in the room as the tall Vire felt a crack in his metal faceplate. Kai lowered his smoking rifle as he swore the tall Vire glared at him. "Hotsuma! Get Hiwatari!" "Yes, Moritsune." The apparent leader of the Vire shouted angrily at Hotsuma, who promptly lunged at Kai, ripping away the gun. The rebels instantly turned to face their leader, who had suffered another blade injury in his stomach and was bleeding profusely. Moritsune made an unearthly growl and immediately threw a punch at Mariah, cutting through her shoulder. Another Vire delivered a flying kick at Ray that snapped the bones in his arm. Hotsuma leapt away from Kai slashed at Tyson's chest, shredding his shirt and spilling his blood on the floor. Moritsune moved like the devil and kicked each of the rebels, aside from Max, in the back with inhuman force, sending them across the room and to lay crumpled in a heap beside the pile of dead bodies. The leader of the Vire, Moritsune, walked towards Max and lifted him by the collar of his shirt. He raised his lethal blades and pointed them at Max's exposed throat, grinning underneath the layers of his faceplate. "Any last requests?" Moritsune's mechanical voice crackled and his cybernetic eye whirred frenziedly. Max blinked away a tear and bit his lip. "I want to see Emily before you kill me." He finally whispered and Moritsune hesitated, apparently calculating something in his little cyborg mind. "Does not compute." Ray put a hand over Mariah's eyes and Tyson made an effort to turn around as Moritsune's hand moved with blistering speed to Max's throat. "Aaiieeee!" Moritsune's entire arm was blown off, as bullets ripped through him like a pin through a balloon. Hotsuma whirled around to face the assailant and suffered a shot to the head as gunfire blazed through the room. "Wish granted." Max opened his eyes to see a blue walker hovering outside the control tower, the canopy opening to reveal the face of . . . "Emily!" Max shouted as the walker tore fired at the remaining Vire, its huge bullets littering the floor. "Guys! Head to the door on the other side of the room!" Kenny's voice said, static mixed with his statement. Kai nodded and pulled Tyson up to his feet as the rebels watched the door open to reveal a walkway that led to nothing. Emily hopped out of the walker and ran after Max as Mariah and Ray got to their feet. "But there's nothing there!" Kai shouted as he approached the sheer drop to the ground. "Wait a sec!" Kenny's voice said and Kai and Tyson hesitated as they saw a door slowly rise up. "Now, head for that door!" He commanded and everyone sprinted for the end of the walkway. "Hurry! The enemy is beginning to att. . . Kzzattzzz . . ." The walkway began to tilt as enemy fire concentrated on the platform. Kai leapt onto the other side as Tyson nipped at his heels. "Faster!" He shouted as Emily nearly slipped on the angled floor, only to be pulled up by Max. The two jumped onboard just as another barrage of ammunition exploded against the walkway, making Mariah fall down. Across the walkway, Moritsune's eyes flickered briefly as his clawed hands grabbed a rifle from the floor while Mariah staggered to get up. "Must terminate." His voice faded out as a bullet streamed from the rifle and pierced Mariah's leg. "Mariah!" Ray whirled around and glanced behind him to see their friends slowly move away from them as the object they were on started to move. He bit his lip, cursed, and carried Mariah on his shoulder, desperately trying to reach the opposite side. He stopped at the edge, unsure if he could make the jump with Mariah on his shoulder and punched the wall in frustration. "Max! Catch!" He shouted back at the blonde American, tossing Mariah across the gap and he smiled thinly as she landed safely in Max's arms. "Hurry, Ray!" Emily said worriedly and Ray made a running leap for the edge of the giant moving object, his arms outstretched. "Ray, please make it!" Mariah shouted with fear in her voice as Ray's hands closed in on the huge vehicle they were on. A shell exploded against the side of the flying machine and it was jolted to the side causing Ray's fingers to slide helplessly on the smooth surface of the airborne device, missing the edge by a few inches. Mariah cried out as he fell to the firefight below them, his hands making a futile attempt to grab onto something. "RAY!!!" She shouted and nearly jumped after him if it wasn't for Kai's holding her back. Max, Emily and Tyson pulled Mariah away from the now closed door and Kai watched her tears stain the floor of the huge vehicle they were on. "Damn." He muttered before walking after his teammates.
7:20, Zeus' hangar, Above Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
Sarah strapped on a light blue helmet as Drake zipped up his pilot's suit. She gave thumbs up to him while he put on his own scarlet helmet and she walked over to a sleek, insect-like mechanized combat unit created by the government that was known as a Frame. Aside from the fact that Frames contained revolutionary hover technology, these powerful war machines were basically a physical extension of the bitbeast plugged inside the Frame, increasing the battle potential greatly compared to the manual controls of a normal mech unit. Sarah climbed up a ladder and lightly tapped a translucent portion of the large machine's chest, waiting impatiently as hexagonal shapes appeared on the chest and dissolved to reveal a cockpit. "Sarah, I'm plugging in Riwin already. What's your status?" Drake's voice crackled over her helmet's inbuilt radio and she quickly hopped inside of her cobalt Frame. "Just got in. Open the gate in 30 seconds." She replied as she slotted in Ris' advanced combat data in the cockpit's central computer. The machine flickered to life in front of her, the name "RIS" appearing on every inch of the primarily holographic display inside the Frame. "Good morning, Sarah. It was getting stuffy inside that disc." Ris' voice said happily and Sarah smiled inside her helmet. "I'll transfer your data to a new disc after this battle then." She responded and rested her gloved hands on two spheres with a skeletal image of the palm of a hand giving off a slight glow. The Frame reacted instantly; both human and bitbeast working simultaneously to create the most fluid of motions ever performed by a mech. "Azure seems to be working perfectly." Ris' commented as Sarah's Frame, Azure hovered across the hangar and floated beside the magenta Frame of Drake, Crimson. "Drake has released the gate. Vernier thrusters are now at semi-automatic control." Ris stated blandly as the twin Vernier rockets behind the shoulders of Azure whirred softly, reactants flowing inside. "Drake, you take the lead." Sarah asked and Drake replied positively, activating Crimson's own thrusters. Crimson became a red blur as his Vernier rockets opened up to their full capacity and Sarah quickly followed suit with her own impressive burst of speed. "Jex is activating the autopilot of Zeus and he'll follow shortly. In the meanwhile, incapacitate the rebel airship's defenses." Riwin's cold voice came over the radio and Sarah moved her hand over to a keyboard on the side of her cockpit, tapping in a code that activated dual swords that emanated immense energies and worked just like a laser beam. Azure jetted after Crimson, whose twin blades were out as well, its rockets burning the air behind it.
7:34, Rebel Airship Osiris, Above Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
Mariah was sobbing uncontrollably on her seat as her fellow rebels discussed the amazing vehicle Kenny had created in hushed voices. Max glanced over his shoulder and saw Mariah's knuckles turn bloody as she punched the walls of the airship. Emily put a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him slightly. Tyson bit his lip and dug his nails into his pants as he tried to come up with something relevant to say, his mind filled with the memory of Ray falling through the air below him. Kai was gritting his teeth in frustration as he watched his silent comrades mope around because of one loss among them. "Forget the hell about Ray! He just happened to turn out like a hundred other rebels who died fighting for our cause! He deserves the same respect as the rest! A small thought and nothing more!" Kai shouted out and everyone stared at him in slight fear. Kai ran a hand through his hair and stared at each of his rebel friends. "Look, Ray's gone. Focus on the crisis at hand." He said in a far more comforting tone and walked over to Mariah, carrying her to a chair nearer the discussion. Tyson blinked away a tear and spoke up. "Okay, so Kenny built this airship, Osiris, secretly." He started and Kai nodded in agreement. "So now we know where our excess funds went." Kai added, partly serious and partly joking. Emily rubbed her hands and sighed. "Aside from the near impossible idea of destroying that thing over there by means of hacking into the top-notch government computer controls, this is our only way to destroy that airship." She explained, receiving a cold laugh from Kai. "What's so funny?" Tyson asked as one of the few hundred rebels that Kenny stowed in Osiris ran up to them carrying a tray of refreshments. He immediately paused his interrogation and slurped down an entire glass of soft drink. Kai reached for one and answered bluntly. "We don't have any weapons. We can't destroy the enemy airship." He stated rather pessimistically and Max closed his eyes in resignation. "Then we're sitting ducks for their cannon thing." He added and Emily and Tyson nodded in recognition of defeat. "Not really." Kenny walked up to them with his trusty and upgraded laptop under his arm. "Kenny's right, you know." Dizzi's familiar voice agreed and everyone turned to face the intellectual rebel whose eyes were never seen. "Yes. You see, they overheated the cannon and are directing most of their virtual units to the repair of the weapon. We can easily conquer their remaining defenses with just two bitbeasts." Kenny explained and his comrades' faces brightened up at this realization, except for Mariah and Kai, of course. The rebel branch leader frowned and pointed out a flaw in the plan. "They'll still have their air force and Frames with them. How will we fight back?" He asked and Kenny's mouth twisted to a large grin that covered half of his face. "During our raid on a government base, I happened to send in a small group of rebels to capture three Frames from the enemy. We can use those." Kenny added but Kai still remained skeptical. "Unfortunately, the only place you'll be able to hide those Frames is in one of your secret holes inside that garage of yours. That's a good few thousand feet under us." Kai countered and once again, gloom overtook the rebels. "Er, we could use an escape pod to head back down and retrieve the Frames." This time, Kai had nothing to retort with. Tyson gave a whoop of delight and promptly began to arrange the party that would head back down. Kai dug his hand into his pocket and gave a small yelp of surprise, as he was unable to find the disc containing Dranzer. "Shit! I lost Dranzer!" He shouted and punched the wall in frustration, as he knew that there was no way he could even try to pilot a Frame without Dranzer. "That means Ray will have to go to the garage instead." Dizzi suggested and Mariah broke down into tears again. "Uh, we lost Ray." Tyson explained and Kenny sighed in response. "Okay then, only one of us will attack the airship's system." He shrugged and Max walked over to a computer that was plugged into the side of Osiris. "I'll do it. Draciel can take the heat." He said rather bravely and slotted in Draciel's combat data. Tyson tapped Mariah on the shoulder and smiled reassuringly at her. "We'll do this for our good buddy, Ray." He said and Mariah smiled weakly, standing up to join him and Emily, who would retrieve the Frames. "Let's go." She said and ran ahead of both of her fellow rebels. Kenny turned to face the frantic Kai, who was desperately searching for his bitbeast, Dranzer. "Damn, damn, damn! I lost Dranzer!" He shouted out, ripping out small clumps of his hair. "What do I do now?" He sunk into a chair and looked around the main room of Osiris, noticing the empty pilot's seat. Kai smiled thinly and ran up to the seat, only to be stopped by Kenny's hand. "Don't pilot Osiris. Leave it to the autopilot." Kenny said seriously and Kai frowned. "Why?" He retorted icily and Kenny sighed. "I swapped a bitbeast based control system with a far more complex device that is directly connected to your body." He explained but Kai was still persistent on piloting the great airship. "All the better. I don't have my bitbeast with me anyway." "Don't you understand? You will be tied in with Osiris! If Osiris is hit in a vital area, you will die." Kenny shouted at Kai, his voice filled with worry. "In the end, it doesn't matter how hard you try. Every single one of us soldiers is going to die, Kenny. I'm prepared for that." Kai said with determination, staring at Kenny intently before hopping into the seat. Kenny smiled before heading back into the rest of Osiris, disappearing out of Kai's sight. Thin lines snaked across Kai's body as the controls began to switch from automatic to manual. Every beat of Kai's heart was reflected as a pulse of energy on the web of lines covering his body. His brainwaves were instantly read as information and transformed into movements in the body of Osiris. Max glanced over his shoulder as he prepared Draciel for battle in the virtual world, biting his lip in slight apprehension as he saw Kai shake with the tremendous amount of energy coursing through his body. "Now we're all set." He said as he activated his connection to the Internet, sending Draciel to the systems located inside Zeus.
7:39, Kenny's Private Garage, Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
"Lights are on now." Tyson said as he switched on a vast amount of ceiling lights inside the immense underground storage room. He whistled in awe as he stared at the huge amount of cutting-edge technology that Kenny had kept secret. A brand new model of his motorcycle that made his look like scrap lay unused in a shadowy corner. Mechanized Combat Units similar to the one Emily had tested were stored in halves of huge crates, their polished blue armor shining brightly under the intense light of the garage. "No Frames however." Emily commented as the three rebels scanned the huge room, checking every nook and cranny. Tyson nodded in agreement and split off from his comrades as he decided that they would be more effective if spread out. Emily understood and glanced over her shoulder to check on Mariah before probing through the layers of machinery in the room to find the Frames. "Kenny should have mentioned where he hid it . . ." Tyson grumbled as he leaned against an experimental mech, wiping the sweat that was the product of hundreds of lights glaring down at him from his forehead. He stared at Mariah and sighed as he pulled out a picture from his pocket, staring fondly at the photograph taken before the war. "Damn government!" He shouted and blinked away a tear as his fist slammed into the crate beside him. A whirring sound was made and Tyson hopped away from the source of the noise, slightly surprised. Emily ran up to him and her jaw dropped as an entire section of the wall opened up to reveal two Frames, one golden and the other silver. "Er, that must have been the trigger." Tyson said sheepishly, breaking the stunned silence. Emily rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her orange hair. "Well, duh." She replied and narrowed her eyes as she noticed the conspicuously empty gap in between the golden and silver Frames. Tyson noticed this as well and bit his lip in thought. "A Frame's missing. Guess that means I'm heading back." He commented and Emily punched him on the shoulder lightly. "You pilot the Frame. This is your base anyway." She said and walked over to a mech stored beside the Frames. "I'll go back in this baby." She explained as Tyson opened his mouth in protest, whacking himself when Emily disappeared into the cockpit of the mech. He threw up his arms in surrender and turned to face the Frames before calling to Mariah. "Hey, Mariah! You get the silver . . ." Tyson trailed off as he watched Mariah hop into the gold one and rocket the Frame through the roof of the garage. "What's bugging her?" He asked stupidly and climbed up onto the silver Frame awaiting his commands.
7:45, Above Rebel Base, Shanghai, China
The silver Frame piloted by a panicky Tyson clumsily dodged a charge from an entire horde of the government's automated fighter planes. "Dragoon! Activate the manual controls!" Tyson shouted nervously as he accidentally back flipped in the sky and evaded another attack from the enemy air force. "It's on already! Grab the controls!" Dragoon's frantic voice came out through the silver Frame's cockpit as Tyson watched the name "STRAY" appear in his display. "Okay then, Stray. Let's get these guys!" He said as he rested his palms on glowing spheres on either side of the cockpit, receiving an instant reaction from Stray, the silver Frame. Boosted by the twin Vernier rockets on its shoulders, Stray catapulted above the enemy forces and released a burst of lightning shaped energy from its silver arm. The silver Frame raised its arms to cover the navigational systems onboard from the massive explosions that emanated from the decimated enemy fighters. "Tyson, prepare for the second wave." Mariah's emotionless voice crackled over his radio and the Tyson turned his attention to a swarm of insect-like things flying straight at them. Stray put on a burst of speed as Tyson launched the sleek mech at the horde of puny-sized fighters but was quickly stopped as a rain of fire greeted Stray's energy shield. Tyson shouted out in surprise as the insectoid creatures attached themselves to his Frame and Stray writhed uselessly under the sheer number of the government forces. He gasped in fear as a fighter crossed his line of vision, flaunting the hideously deformed face of a Vire. "Dragoon, activate Stray's form shield!" A female voice commanded and Tyson barely turned his Frame's silver head to witness Emily's mech load a clip of bullets into a large rifle in the blue machine's hands. An ethereal shield covered only the form of Stray, creating a sort of secondary skin for the advanced piece of weaponry. Vire fell to the firefight below Tyson as bullets ripped through their genetically altered bodies and ricocheted off Stray's glowing shield. "Thanks, Emily!" Tyson said gratefully as he opened fire on the approaching airborne Vire with a lot more caution. "I'm running out a flight fuel. See you in Osiris!" She replied as her mech blasted off towards the behemoth called Osiris. Tyson saluted her inside his cockpit as he fired lightning bolt after lightning bolt at the cloud of Vire, eliminating a few. He glanced at the golden Frame of Mariah and raised an eyebrow in disbelief as he watched her and Galux hack their way through the legions of enemies with vengeful speed, turning all who opposed her Frame and she into sushi with an energy blade. "Disturbing." Dragoon's worried voice commented and Tyson nodded as his hands subconsciously controlled Stray with the greatest of ease for a man who had first entered a Frame a few minutes ago. He unleashed another massive burst of electricity from Stray's glistening arm and smiled thinly as the horrific screams of the inhuman Vire filled the air for a few seconds. Stray lowered its arm and turned to face Mariah's Frame and gestured towards the airship Zeus. "Well now we know where Argent and Stray went." Tyson whirled his frame around instead of rocketing towards Zeus to face the fiery red Frame known as Crimson. A cobalt Frame appeared behind Mariah's golden Frame and folded its arms behind the rebel mech. "Hand over the Frames and surrender immediately." Riwin's cold voice echoed through Tyson's ears as Crimson revealed a pair of blades that was stored in the Frame's arms. "Ray died because of you and your fucking government! Nothing in hell will make me surrender to you!" Mariah suddenly shouted as the gold Frame known as Argent delivered a kick to Azure's sleek stomach area, slamming Sarah's face into the walls of Azure's cockpit. The blue Frame's arm shot out in retaliation and tossed Argent's mechanical body all the way across the sky. Tyson gulped as he was surrounded by two government Frames and held up an energy blade in a futile attempt for self- defense. Stray parried a blow from Crimson but received a devastating punch from behind by the icy cold Azure, smashing a few circuits inside Stray. "Tyson, Stray's battle performance has dropped 2%.' Dragoon said in a whiny tone and Tyson wiped sweat away from his forehead. "Forget the damage reports! The shield, man, the shield!" Tyson yelled as he frantically dodged multiple slices from Crimson and blocked a chop from the energy blades of Azure. Crimson sword met invulnerable energy as Dragoon finally set up the shield of Stray and deflected both of the government agents' attacks. Crimson somersaulted over Stray however and grabbed both of the silver Frame's arms, restraining it. "Good work, Drake. I'll go get the girl to watch another one of her teammates die in the line of fire." Sarah said in response to Crimson's intelligent maneuver. "And I'll kill him." An emerald Frame floated downwards and folded its arms confidently in front of Tyson's pinned Frame. "Finally! Hey, Jex, I'll toss him up and you unleash the particle cannon on him." Drake radioed to his comrade and Jex nodded from within his green Frame, Jade. Argent slashed at the head of the approaching Azure but the skilled pilot within deftly grabbed Argent's golden arm and twisted it off completely, sending electricity coursing through the cockpit and Mariah's already wounded body. "Now, you get to watch your friend Tyson die as well." Sarah said softly over the radio and forced Argent to face the writhing Stray a few hundred meters away. "No . . . I don't want to lose another friend . . ." Mariah's hands pushed firmly on the control spheres in an useless effort to break free from Azure's iron grip. "Now Dragoon will finally be deleted." Ris' somewhat smooth yet dangerous voice added as Mariah watched Crimson toss the silver Frame containing Tyson upwards, making Stray a sitting duck for the particle cannon on Jex's Frame. A blast of neon green light slammed into Stray, burning away every inch of the silver armor on the machine, leaving a skeletal body hovering in the air. Azure flung the damaged Argent all the way to Jade as Mariah stared at the burned ruins of Stray's body, blinking away tears. Jade held up a cannon to the chest of Argent and Mariah heard the cold voice of Rizel laugh dementedly. "Tyson might have survived if Jex and I didn't plant viruses in Stray's system as a fail safe system." Rizel said arrogantly and a fire of hatred burned inside Mariah's heart. "Well then, tell me what Ray says when you reach the other side." Jex finished and time seemed to stand still as Mariah heard the click of a loaded cannon. "I say: get away from her, you dirt bags!" Ray's voice filled the morning sky and Mariah's heart skipped a beat when she saw the third black Frame, Vector, hover in the sky with her beloved Ray inside. "Ray!" She shouted as a beam of dark energy cut through Azure's stomach area and sent the cobalt behemoth flying through the air like a rag doll. Crimson blasted downwards and avoided a burst of fire from the rapid energy guns on both of Vector's jet-black arms. "How can you be alive? We saw you fall through the air!" Drake shouted as he retaliated with a blast of rod-shaped energy that sliced through empty air as Vector dodged it. "Drake! The girl!" Ray turned his Frame around as Crimson flew up to the disabled Argent and held up its own rapid-fire gun to the chest of the golden Frame. Vector hesitated and lowered his cannons, as Ray was afraid for Mariah's safety. Azure hovered over to its comrades, its wound sending sparks into the air. "Now Ray, surrender yourself to the government." Jex said threateningly and gestured towards the restrained Argent. "Or your beloved little friend will be blasted into oblivion to join Tyson." He added and flew over to Mariah's Frame, pushing Crimson away and choking Argent's neck. The insignificant little hexagons skitted across the surface of Vector's chest and they dissipated to reveal Ray, holding his hands up in surrender. "Drop her now and I'll comply." He said seriously and Jex smiled inside his Frame. Ray scratched his head and shrugged sheepishly. "I come back from the dead to get killed again." He commented and waited as Crimson flew over to his Frame and aimed a cannon at his defiant face. "Get away Ray! You think I want to watch you die again?" Mariah said desperately as the hum of machinery inside Crimson's cannon filled the morning air. "For crying out loud, can you two stop being so damn romantic?" Jex asked in annoyance and tightened his grip on Argent's throat. "Jex! Drake! Hold it! Something's going on with Stray!" Sarah shouted and the two government Frames turned around to face the glowing Frame known as Stray. "Dragoon has accessed Stray's liquid metal system. I think attacking Jade would be wise right now!" Galux hissed to Mariah and she nodded, flipping her Frame in the air and kicking Jade in the back. Argent dashed towards the stunned Vector as both of the rebels inside the Frames watched liquid metal cover and replace the burned armor of Stray. "Get up . . ." Tyson commanded weakly, clutching his bleeding shoulder. Dragoon's name lit up the display like fireworks as the failing systems surrounding Tyson slowly returned to life. Azure loaded a large gattling gun (A/N: I only recently learned that this was the correct spelling.) and aimed the weapon at the rising Stray. "Damn! So our scientists put the recovery unit inside Stray!" Drake realized and blasted another rod-shaped beam of energy at the healed silver Frame, pushing his weapon systems to the limit. "Tyson, let's get some payback!" Dragoon said slyly as Tyson grinned to his bitbeast. Stray raised a hand and stopped the beam of energy emanating from Crimson's palm. "Now!" Ray shouted suddenly and catapulted towards Jade, Vector's energy guns firing endlessly. The emerald Frame raised its energy shield just as dozens of dark energy bullets ricocheted against it. Mariah quickly followed suit and released dozens of lasers at Azure, who swatted them away with a few swipes from its energy sword. "C'mon, Riwin! The wakizashi!" Drake ordered with panic filling his voice as he watched Stray deflect his attacks with the shield surrounding its body. A sharp wakizashi appeared in Crimson's hand, the only physical weapon Crimson had equipped. "Whoa!" Tyson said in surprise as Stray was slowly being forced backwards by the skilled and practiced slices that Crimson was throwing at him. Ducking to avoid another slash from the shield-piercing sword and had Stray's arm cut off by a follow-up, Tyson fired his jets and zoomed away from the lethal Crimson. Meanwhile, Argent was fighting a losing battle trying to defeat Azure with only one arm available. Azure suddenly ducked and grabbed Argent's sleek golden legs and threw the Frame towards Vector. Mariah was rocked inside her cockpit as her Frame crashed into the black Vector and sent both of them flying through the sky, away from the three government Frames. "Drake, Sarah, retreat now! Ivan has a little surprise for them!" Jex hissed as all of his comrades and him flew back to Zeus, leaving three confused rebels. Ray's eyes narrowed as he suddenly raised a huge shield around both of his partners and suffered an immense amount of damage as Zeus released a burst of fire from the advanced weapon system onboard! "Get back to the whatever it's called airship! I'll hold their fire since Vector's in better condition than both of your Frames!" Ray ordered as he watched a giant cannon rotate towards their positions. "The photon cannon is online! That means they led Max and Draciel to a trap!" Tyson realized and pulled Argent to the waiting Osiris. "Hurry Mariah . . ." Ray whispered as he witnessed a rain of lasers head straight for his sleek black Frame, ready to turn him into crispy critters.
Finally, the end of the chapter has arrived. I had a lot more stuff to put in but I think 6 thousand words are enough for now. BTW, if you want to know where I got my idea of Frames, I'm on a Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner high.
