Chapter 13: Fearless Death
"So, Wind, what's the mission this time?" a curious young girl asked through comm link of her control panel. Three ominous figures stood outside of an immense gate that seemed to connect somewhere underground. The metal on the gate was scratched and dented and seemed to have been here for ages.
"Our objective is to investigate into Enigma's activities. Jack-O wants to get rid of him before anything serious happens. Sources indicate that there have been suspicious sightings of a couple MTs and ACs moving materials here. Jack-O suspects that Enigma may be hiding in here and has sent us to take him out. You got that?" the brown haired man said scanning the surroundings for anything that would occur. He piloted a blue middle weight AC with large shoulder boosters known as Omen. To its right was a light weight AC, equipped mostly with firearms and a dark red paint, the name Crimson Tear seemed to fit it. To its left was the navy blue AC known as Foresight, known to use Linear type attacks to great effect.
"Yeah…hey, Wind…do you think maybe we could go out for something to eat after this?" the raven-black haired girl asked.
"…did you say something?" Windbreaker was more focused on unlocking the gate. The codes going down his screen seemed endless, he couldn't help but think that he always got stuck doing all the hard work. Damn that Jack-O…I didn't think he would go so far as to giving me the crack code…I hate hacking into gate systmes, its so tedious…
"N-nothing…I was just mumbling to myself that's all!" Sara stuttered with a blush on her face. An echoed beep inside Windbreaker's cockpit stated that the gate was unlocked.
"Alright…we're in, I'll go first…" The giant rusted gates slowly slide open. Omen stepped into the dark rusted corridors. Crimson Tear and Foresight proceeded after it had gone in. Several guns popped out from the roof of the large hallway and started firing radiant blue streaks of light. The shots skinned Omen's armor, hardly denting it. "Heh, they've setup some defense systems here. Looks like they were prepared…however…" the large AC raised its linear rifle and started killing off the gun turrets one by one. Another similarly rusted gate could be seen up ahead.
"Hmmmm….that's odd…I'm picking up some activity on the other side of this gate…" Vanguard inside Foresight said, with his shoulder length black hair hanging down as he inspected his radar. To everyone's surprise, the gates slid open automatically, making a creaking sound as the doors slid into the slots at the side. The first one to proceed through the door was the large dark blue AC with its large shoulders. Omen's glowing blood red laser eye scanned the inside of the room. It was covered with grass and some intersecting roads. At the center of the vastly large room was a large skyscraper, seeming to reach to the heavens.
"What the hell is a place like this doing here?" Windbreaker questioned, curious of what purpose the place was constructed for. There was a loud screeching sound echoing inside the room, the ground started to shake violently as shells were being launched and contacting the ground. Fire started to spread on the grassy plains and black smears covered the ground and the large building in the center. Several large green MTs with red Cyclops eyes stepped out from behind the building.
"KNIGHTs eh? Looks like Revelation is here…" Windbreaker smirked. "But I don't have time for this!" Omen immediately boosted in a zig zag motion, avoiding the shots the MTs where attempting to land on it. The blue AC extended its left arm out and a long blue beam emerged from the yellow unit on its arm. One of the KNIGHTs was caught in the blades radius, its upper torso came down with a hard thud. Omen slid to a halt in front of the door. "Eh?...awww…crap!" the blue mech turned around to face an MT pointing its large rifle at the cores of its prey. Windbreaker was waiting for it to pull the trigger and blow his AC up but it didn't happen. The MT only stood there for a moment and toppled over. Holes could be seen in the back of the MT as it fell forward.
"Hey you! You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun did you?" a female voice said in a mischievous voice.
"…we don't have the time to fool around with these small fry right now. Lets go!"
"Hmph! I little thank you would be nice," Sara pouted as she crossed her arms. More ACs began to fly through the door that was behind them. Sara panicked, "Ahhhh! They just keep on coming!" The KNIGHTs began to approach Omen and Crimson Tear in clusters. In a swift motion, the MTs began exploding one by one. A blue AC sped in an toppled three units with its MOONLIGHT blade in one smooth motion. The blue AC withdrew and started flying circles in the air around the clusters of MTs. Bearing a small linear cannon on its shoulder, the blue AC started picking off the MTs one after another.
"Heh, why don't you guys just leave this to me." Vanguard grinned, "Its been a long time since I had so many targets to shoot so its only natural that I keep my skills limber."
Omen turned back to face the gates, "Fine, we'll meet back at the Ark." Windbreaker said in his cold and calm demeanor. The gates slide open and Omen boosted into the narrow hallway. Sara was surprised by his reaction, despite the amount of time she had spent with him. Crimson Tear quickly sped in the same direction.
"Wind! Aren't you worried about him? I mean, he's your friend right? Don't you ever feel remorse or regret!" Crimson Tear had finally caught up to Omen as they sped through the corridor.
"As a Raven we must continue in our mission without worrying about the consequences. We only worry about consequences after the mission is finished. Feeling regret will only make you weak," He said coldly.
"But…if you never regret…then how can you learn from your mistakes then?" she asked weakly.
"…" Windbreaker was silent, he didn't know how to respond to her question.
"Wind! The gates…their opening by themselves!" the Ravens were startled as the large doors slid open by themselves. "Wind, there's something big on the other side…really big!"
A large figure with razor sharp claws and multiple cannons that protruded from its demonic like torso stood, affixed in the back of the room. It was a dark orange color and seemed to reach the ceiling of the room. Four large legs supported its weight. From its view, two mechs could be seen entering the room. "So…those are our targets…" a young man with radiant spiked blonde hair and short bangs that hung to his eyes said. He wore transparent specs and had hazel eyes. "Limit here, I've acquired the targets. The red one is identified as Crimson Tears, must be Genobee's daughter that you were talking about. The other one is called Omen…I can't analyze that target though. Its giving off a great amount of energy but I can't detect a heat signature coming from it…"
"Ahhhh…so the Alus has come as well." A gruff voice suddenly spoke up.
"Alus?" Limit raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Yes, an Alus is a perfect machine. Built with the lost technology, it achieves maximum efficiency. Use extreme caution, we don't have any data on what the Alus can do." The gruff voice replied.
"What should I do with them then, Enigma?" Limit asked.
"Kill them both. Place the Genobee girl at top priority. His presence has interfered for the last time,." Enigma said with malice in his voice.
"What the hell is that!" Sara yelled, shocked at the ominous mech that stood before them.
"Its…some sort of…large mechanized MT!" Omen stepped beside Crimson Tear. This isn't the Archangel Pulverizer! Its just some oversized MT! This was just a decoy! Then that must mean that Enigma is elsewhere! The large MT fixed its various cannons on the two ACs. "Dammit, its operational. Sara, move now!" radiant green light started coming from the cannons in rapid successions. The two ACs boosted out of the way, barely avoiding the multiple shots from the large MT. Omen used both overboosters on its core and shoulders and bolted right up to the large MT. In one smooth motion, it brought up its linear rifle and fired at what seemed to be the head of the giant. White light started to swirl around the MTs body parts, the shot that was fired at the head seemed to diminish into the white light until it was nothing. Windbreaker was wide eyed, "A high-act force field!" The large MT raised its gigantic left claw and began to swing it towards the blue ACs direction. Its razor claw was stopped in midair by a large explosion. Crimson Tear boosted in and fired its sniper rifle at the large claw. Some of the rounds pierced the armor and made small holes.
"Wind! Are you crazy! Going up close to that thing!" Sara yelled in dismay. Windbreaker merely shrugged it off and boosted under the large MTs legs. The blue mech fired several rounds from its linear rifle, targeting the large MTs leg, torso and head unit. Shots that were targetted at the torso and head unit seemed to vaporize into thin air. The ones that were targetted at the legs made a large indent in its thick dark orange armor.
"Hmmm...its definitely using a high-act shield..." Windbreaker nodded with smirk on his face.
"A high-act shield?" Sara struggled to talk to Windbreaker while dodging energy beams fired by the large MT.
"High-act shields can be brought up quickly making for quick defense. But it requires a large amount of energy...and from the looks of it, the damn thing doesn't have enough energy to cover its arms and legs. So..." in a swift movement, Omen boosted beside one of the MTs large legs, sliding to a stop and releasing its blade at the same time, the blade tore the armor right off. The blue unit took a sharp left strafe to avoid an incoming energy shot. Valves and pipes dangling from the MTs now revealed leg hissed with steam pouring out. Crimson Tear boosted in front of the MTs damaged leg and quickly stepped back, firing its left arm grenade unit at the torn portion. The leg started to crackle with fire and the whole large entity collapsed, its legs crumbled underneath it. A loud booming could be heard as the torso fell to the floor.
"Damn you! This is it for you!" Limit said in his rugged cockpit. The MT raised its gigantic claw and smashed it downward, aiming towards the dark red AC beneath it.
"Uh...Ahhhhhh!" Sara closed her eyes before pressing the joystick to the right. The red AC skidded to the right, as the giant claw of the MT came smashing down to the ground. Debris flew everywhere, the shockwave of the crash sent Crimson Tear sliding across the tiled floor, making a trail of brilliant sparks. It slid to a halt as the AC made contact with the wall. The MT turned its torso slightly and angled its cannons at a point at which the cannons were all turned towards the red AC that lay on the ground. The display screen started to flash red. "Oh no...the leg units are jammed up." The enormous cannons started to charge, emitting radiant green lights. There was a sudden halt to the MTs movements as its monstrous head started to jerk forward. A blue light was suddenly protruding through the neck of the unit, moving along the neck, it continued to cut through the neck part until the head fell forward. It made a great impact with the ground, causing a large explosions. Sara looked at the area where the head was once placed, nothing was there, only rising wires and jumping sparks, "What? How?" Despite the MT being dismembered in various areas, the cannons on its back continued to charge.
"Your not getting out of here alive!" a blonde pilot yelled. The light discharged from the cannon was blinding to the eye. The MTs torso started to catch fire and exploded with immense flames, it toppled over sending an ear deafening thud. Sara closed her eyes to embrace her fate as the previously launched shots were enclosing on its target.
She whimpered a little and only thought of regret, I'm sorry, Wind...I couldn't help you- she was a bit shocked when a sudden impact shook the cockpit furiously. She looked up to see that she was in a different location than before, she was now behind the ruins of what seemed to be the gigantic MT. A crater could be seen on the otherside, indicating the shots that was targeted at her AC. She was surprised, she had been expecting a fiery death. "But...how? The boosters and leg units were all jammed up...I couldn't have moved." She checked her surroundings to see if she was just hallucinating and not dead. Crimson Tear stood up from its sitting sitting position. "Well, I'm glad the leg units are working properly now, but where's, Wind-!" A small buzzing sound caught her attention and she spun Crimson Tear around towards the odd sound. Her eyes widened and a gasp escaped her mouth. She covered her mouth with her hands from the horrific ruins that lay across from her. A dark blue metallic corpse lay there, black marks smeared across its armor. Some of the armor seemed to have been melted off, or torn off, revealing strange pure white spots underneath its blue armor. Large bulky sides were molten and torn as well. There was no mistaking whos AC it was.
"...Wind..."