Disclaimer: See previous chapters
AN: This chapter is a bit short, but necessary.
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Chap. 28
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00:15
The aircraft slowly flew through the sky toward the terrain of Silent Line, carrying the five ACs onboard along with their respective pilots. The planes were automated, so the only living people on them were the Ravens themselves.
00:10
The planes slowly drew closer and the Ravens on board prepared for what would be a very bumpy landing. The skyline was misty and the skies themselves were gray. It seemed as though the area itself was cursed.
00:05
Tension hit the Ravens as the timer began to count down to its last seconds. Each one of them took a firm hold on the controls they got ready for what was to happen next.
00:00
Fssh! Fssh! Fssh!Several flashes of energy fell down from the sky like crystal lightning. The beams tore right at the carrier aircraft, destroying them and sent the remains plummeting toward the earth. The flaming wreckage smashed down onto the trees and ground and the flames began to spread. Yet despite this, movement could be seen within the debris and one by one, the ACs burst out. Without a word, each Raven shot off, heading toward the designated coordinates.
Except for one…
"Damn it!"
Havoc was still jammed within the wreckage. The armor structure of his airplane had been melted inward by the energy blast and now his machine was stuck inside the core. Flames and smoke filled up the viewscreen as the temperature tolerance of his core began to skyrocket.
'Come on, go!'
Havoc jerked through the debris, but it was still unable to get out. The temperature grew hotter and soon his AP began to slowly decrease. The machine struggled, but the debris was too much for it to pry through.
"Rahhhhh!"
Suddenly, the metal overhead began to peel away and Havoc didn't waste any time in moving toward the possible exit. As the opening grew, Havoc pushed the metal away itself along with whatever force it was that was moving it. Finally, the AC emerged out of the core of the wreckage to find Bloodhand moving back to pick up its discarded weaponry.
"Why didn't you go on?"
"We're the Hands of God. Vengeance and Justice. We work together."
Elijah gave a brief smile before his sensors alerted him to incoming fire. More satellite beams soared down from above, ready to vaporize the two. Without a second thought, the two Ravens hit their boosters to full and sped away, just as the beam came down and incinerated the last of the debris. Looking on ahead, Elijah could see the others soaring through the low forest, outflying and dodging any of the beams that came their way.
And there were a lot of beams…
Check her rear radar, Ellie saw Bloodhand and Havoc fly from the crash site and follow them through the line. Though they had been ordered to go immediately toward the coordinates, she was glad that Koemai stayed behind to help his friend. They needed as much help as they could get on this journey.
Besides…they've lost one friend already…
Focusing back on her task, Ellie flew through the trees. She wasn't having as much trouble as the others was in dodging the beams. Only Diana seemed to be doing better in terms of speed to avoid them. Nevertheless, the energy beams were relentless, firing down upon them every five or less seconds with lightning death. And they still had some distance to go before they reached their destination…
…Where more trouble awaited them.
A spike of energy soon blasted down right in front of her, forcing her to veer off around to avoid it. But just then another struck down, close to where she was maneuvering. Again, she swooped away by just a sliver. 'What's going on?' The frequency of the blasts was increasing, making it more difficult to dodge. While this made things vastly more difficult, it also told her one vital thing.
They were close to something…
Checking on the other, she saw they were having similar problems as well, but were making great effort to press on. She was glad that no one had been taken out and all were accounted for.
Almost all…
She thought back to Cain and the personal battle he was waging now. The chances of survival at his mental condition seemed low, but she had seen the Raven fight enough times to know that what he was capable of. Though survival was slim, he had a good bet in her book. Which was more than what they had right now until…
They stopped…
The satellite beams just stopped firing altogether and the scene became calm. Within Professional, Charles regarded this with great unease as his machine finally reached the coordinates. Just as he had seen in the past, there was an old structure bunker. Machinery of various types stood around, rusting away in the wind and dirt. The scene with silent and quiet and Charles didn't like it one bit. 'The eye of the hurricane…'
And his fear proved true, for when his AC moved in close enough, three blips lit up on his radar and a second later, he was besieged by heavy fire. Three white MTs marched out of their hiding places and opened fire on the intruders. 'That's the same MT type I faced in that factory', Elijah thought as Havoc strafed of to the side to avoid fire. The trio of white machine went to work, dispersing the clan in separate directions. Koemai was the first to fire back, unloading with his machine gun on the one advancing toward him. He was surprised to see that not only was the machine still coming at him, but there wasn't a single scratch of damage on it.
'What the hell…?'In return, the MT fired back with bullets of its own. Bloodhand managed to strafe, but one of the bullets hit the shoulder, leaving a nice deep dent. 'A chain gun and a grenade launcher. Just great. How could it get worse?'
He'll wish he hadn't thought that, for the machine soon became stationary and unfolded a cannon-head around the arm. Next thing Koemai knew, he was assaulted by high-energy plasma bolts. Bloodhand evaded the shots, but they were still powerful enough to rattle the machine and almost force him to fall. The MT stood back up and continued its assault on the Raven.
'Well, I didn't think it would be easy.'
On the site outside Silent Line, the dark shadow of an AC moved forward for repairs. The crewmen turned to see it, but the light behind it masked its appearance. They were sure of one color though.
Black…