Chapter 8: Fall and Rise
A slight humming throughout the crudely assembled walls, would fill the room, resonating with the metal and screws that were held so tight together. The large room, which held two towering figures within it, one demonically white, the other a light purple, would tremble with vibrations and such. Beside the two entites, were smaller forms, comparatively tiny to the large figures. one of them was notably yelling out and screaming at the other.
"Jayden! Get some back bone! It's just one mission for god sakes!" Jen almost screaming in his face with her hands flailing in the air.
"Yeah...but...can't we just take something easy, like eliminating some small terrorist group or something? You never give me a break Jen! Please!" He pleaded with a small grin on his face.
"Jayden, you know those type of missions don't give you much of anything...you can't even get a decent meal with that type of pay. Gotta aim for the big fish, Jayden!"
"But this is Zeal! With their numerous armies! We may even be lucky to get back alive!"
"I know! Isn't it exciting!" She smiled with glee.
"Jen!" He managed to spit out.
"Awwwww, don't worry Jayden, it'll be fun. We're only going to act as a support group for the main Sphere force anyways! What could be the worst that could happen?"
He folded his arms and looked the other way in an almost childish manner, "Easy for you to say, your not the one whose challenged in every aspect of piloting an AC."
"Yes, but your not piloting an AC now are you?" She smiled mischeiviously.
Crap...she got me there...
"In any case, Jayden, we're gonna be there in a short while. Come on! I need you to back me up!" Jen slapped him on the back hard but playfully.
"Okay...fine..."
"Hey, Marneas!" Naomi would run towards the aged, battle scarred pilot. Her slightly red and brown hair would sway through the air.
"Hey princess, what's up?" He raised his hand in a welcoming gesture with a calm smile.
"I told you to stop calling me that!" She glared as she stopped, "Anyways, have you heard about the rumors?" Naomi crossed her arms, she had changed into her pilot suit which a light purple color, her favorite color.
"Rumors?" Marneas raised a silver eyebrow in curiosity.
"About Zeal's trump card!" She spat out, as if almost trying to insult the man in front of her.
"Oh, the proposed Angel Reaper. Yeah, I've heard of it. I think it's true too." He said in a calm demeanor.
"Angel Reaper?"
"Vega hasn't detailed much about it. And I can only speculate from the rumors. They say that the Angel Reaper is Zeal's most skilled pilot in history. Rumors say that he used to be a Raven. That kind of baffles me though...why would a Raven suddenly join Zeal? I also sometimes wonder if there was ever even a Raven that could beat the Phantasms." Marneas chuckled lightly, "Heh, if the Angel Reaper exists, I would like to face off with him." In a smooth motion, the experienced Phantasm pilot walked off in the other direction with a smirk on his face, casually with his hands in his pockets.
"Marneas..."
Atop of a cliff, situated just beside a base, two forms stood. The sands of the desert would blow from place to place, creating a fog of yellow mist. One of the forms, was that of a demon, red eyes glowing and red lines would make it's way around and down the machine. Pitch black, almost as if it was the shadows itself. Behind it was a blood red AC, some of its parts were slightly modified but if you looked closely you could still make out the lightweight legs from the new generation. The modified EYE with a horn protruding from it's head and making it's way to the back of the head. It held a large arm mounted cannon, most likely not of AC origin, which would attach to it's shoulder and extend to the ankles of the AC. On it's left hand was the original ELF2 blade, unchanged, still there with it's fine blue lining.
"The Sphere forces seemed to have gained the advantage." A voice, directed to no one in particular, made it's way into the cockpit of the red AC. The pilot was a blonde girl, her hair almost gold. "Kine should be here by now...go down and support him as much as you can."
"Shouldn't you go down as well sir?" Beatrice would question unentheusiastically.
"I'll be monitoring your progress from here...what? It's my lunch time! You expect me to eat and fight at the same time!" The white haired man spat in the communications while eating a small sandwhich.
Beatrice let off a sigh of pain, "Fine..." The blood red AC, made it's way towards the cliff edge and descended upon the chaotic base, explosions and fire all about with it's flickering lights.
"Jayden, how are you controlling that thing anyways?" Jen looked at the strange white demon that flew beside her AC. They had been cutting up MTs and ACs alike, all day with ease.
"Hm?" Jayden replied with an uncertain question of his own, as if unable to hear her question.
"I mean...I took a good look at the inside of the cockpit inside that thing but there only strange symbols in there. There were no controls."
"Hmmmm...kinda funny ain't it? I don't really know either but my hunch is that this thing works by mind power." He laughed hysterically.
"Mind power?"
"I think it responds to the mind," Jayden said, as his machine sliced through and unwary AC with it's linear rifle switch blade. "I haven't been able to work it out, but the symbols are like regulators for the machine...I think..." He would speak calmly like he was having a normal conversation with Jen while slashing destroying a Zeal AC that was about to land a full on shotgun round into another AC, white and yellow.
"Oh god! It's a in Phantasm! They've sent a Phantasm!"
"What? Zeal isn't serious are they? Sending in the Phantasms?"
"! We don't stand a chance!" Screams from the pilots were audbile to the two Ravens.
"What's a Phantasm?" Jayden asked, dumbfounded.
Jen's voice was grim, "It's the elite unit of Zeal, composed of five elite pilots. They're the best pilots Zeal has to offer. Each individual would amount to an entire Sphere battalion." Jayden didn't even have to see Jen's face and he could tell that her face was pale through her voice. And why wouldn't she be, only hearing that would make Jayden almost tremble. Over the distance, behind a pile of rubble which was once a warehouse of some sort, a hulking figure could be seen approaching their way. Various MTs and ACs were firing at it, none of the shots seemed to face it. As the form began to come into focus, a demonic form could be made out. Tinted with a white and black all over it's body. Hulking shoulders with components that towered over it's own head. Large cannons were folded behind it which were now pointing downwards while it walked slowly, almost strolling through the chaotic battleground. Shield like compartments were installed onto both it's arms. It was as if Jayden was staring at a relative of Neo Omen, only a bit more massive and broadened shoulders with more armaments. Brilliant sparks and shells would bounce off of it's stilly shiny armor. Suddenly, it's towering shoulder components would change it's position, pointing in front of it where several hundred machines stood in it's way. A yellow energy started to surge and swirl around the two, now shoulder mounted cannons. The yellow energy that crackled around the cannons ignited, creating a blinding linear path of light that left destruction in it's wake. With the blinding light vanishing, everything afterwards seemed to amaze Jayden. Not so much as a scrap of metal was left behind, only a ground with sand blowing over it was left. The black and white machine, no, demon turned around to face the remaining two.
"You must be that one, who stole the new prototype machine..." A male voice, icy and cold, spoke calmly through the communications. "Your no ordinary human, only humans with highly trained thoughts can handle those machines."
"A highly trained mind?" Jayden complied with curiosity, not realizing he had said it out loud.
"Oh, a child? Well, then gifted one, show me what you're true power is. Grant me the glory of death on the battlefield!" Immediately, the two cannons behind it would switch upwards to be snugly under the machine's arms. Grappling onto the two cannons, the demon jumped upwards with it's white boosters flaring about. It hovered above ground while the cannons underneath it's arms would spurt out bursts of light blue beams, as blinding as the sun itself. The black and white machine continued to hover relatively over the sandy ground while shooting bursts of blue light. All Jayden and Jen could do was keep on dodging it's rapid attacks.
Crap...it's like he can read my mind...everywhere I go, his shots land just before me! The cannons on it's shoulders started to emit a faint and familiar yellow glow around it. The young male Raven could already tell that this Phantasm pilot was really serious. But his cannons were not directed at Neo Omen, they were directed at another, a light purple AC who knelt at the side, it's left leg sparking and fizzing with electricity. A brilliant surging of yellow energy once again surrounded the two cannons.
"Jen!" Jayden screamed to the top of his lungs as he pushed Neo Omen towards Haven. A flash of light blinded the whole surroundings, as if the sun itself had exploded.
"Nice speed kid, I didn't think you'd be able to save your friend in time," The calm voice spoke again. Despite doing the courageous deed, Jayden was trembling with fear, or was it anxiety over Jen.
Crap, I'm a bit surprised myself!
"Jayden..." A soft voice called him.
"Huh?"
"Look out!" The soft voice shifted to a yell. Reacting to this, Neo Omen boosted to the side, carrying Haven along with it and letting a pure white and blue light explode behind it. As if a silent voice was warning him, Jayden spun Neo Omen around with it's linear rifle blade extended outwards. Jayden didn't know why he had done it, something had told him, a whisper, a sign, a noise perhaps. But he wasn't complaing because his blade had sliced through an object unexpectedly. It had sliced through both of the other demonic machine's shoulder cannons. The machine jumped back, a bit taken back by the reaction. He had not expected the pilot to react before he even had a chance to attack.
This kid...Snapping from his thoughts, the pilot of the hulking demon realized that Neo Omen had taken the opportunity to go up-close with it's elbow blade already unfolded. The white form made a furious slash at it's opponent, making a deep cleaving cut in it's torso. "That's it kid! Now show me more of what you can do!" Kine grinned.
A tall man, with long blonde hair, wearing a blue suit and gloved hands, picked up a chess piece, a rook with his index and thumb. He gently placed it on a square which was vertical from it's former position. "Sir, I feel it..." A small, shy yet at the same time loud, voice was directed to the man.
"Heh, the trump card...the Angel Reaper...I just hope Kine doesn't die or else the Angel Reaper will awaken."
"But sir, you sent Beatrice and Scion with him." The soft voice once again said.
"That's what I'm afraid of..." The blonde man had a grim look on his once stern face. A sudden presence seemed to have alerted the man, clenching his teeth and fists, his body tensed up with the sudden presence he felt, "Damn...he's awake!"
"At last...heh...I can finally rest in peace..." The black and white machine knelt to the ground, joints and parts sparking with a blue energy. It's shoulder cannons had been torn off, various scars lay engraved in it's armor. "Boy, why do you fight? Why are you a Raven? You have so much potential...to become something greater..."
"I fight because I try to find something that I never had, someone who I never knew yet wanted to know."
"A reason...to live and fight for...I envy you..."
"Why do you want to die so badly?"
"Me? I'm just tired of life...I've been living too long...dying on the battlefield...in the blaze of glory...there is nothing more satisfying...hehe..." The black and white machine engulfed itself in it's own flames. Nothing could be done to save it. Jayden had never liked killing, simply looking at the machines was a way to cover up the person inside the machine. A person on the verge of death, filled with fear and wishes that he could have fulfilled.
"Jayden! Zeal forces!" Jen's voice made it's had abruptly intervened in Jayden's thoughts.
"Crap...that's not good..." Looking beyond the horizon, hundreds, no, thousands of ACs and MTs marched towards the two with the intent of killing. All probably with murder in their eyes.
"That's not good, we can't take on that many!" Jayden's eyes widened, it was almost like trying to count how many ants were in an anthill.
"Jayden, my boosters and leg functions have been damaged..." Suddenly, Jayden realized he had been fighting for somewhat of a long time and glanced at his energy status. Not surprising, it was at an all time low.
"I don't have enough energy, Jen..." It seemed like only mere seconds before the MTs and ACs had surrounded them, guns poised, ready to kill the two on the spot.
"I'm sorry, Jayden..." Jen's voice seemed saddened.
"Sorry?" Jayden raised an eyebrow.
"I shouldn't have dragged you into this..."
"Nah, don't worry about it Jen, I would've followed you anyways." Jayden smiled, Jen smiled as well. "I don't know...I have this odd feeling that things might turn out for the better for us...it's just a gut feeling...or maybe intuition."
"Well, you have an odd gut feeling to think that any miracle might save us." She smiled, looking around. MTs and ACs all painted either blue or red surrounded them.
Beatrice had been watching from afar, her AC weapons lowered. She had been watching the whole fight in progress. But what she felt was possibly something of disgust towards the Zeal forces that had surrounded the two machines. What a bunch of cowards, taking on two machines with their whole group! What she saw next, was unbelievable to her eyes. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't have made it out, but within the blue and red army, was a small white form, hovering through the masses like a ghost. Is that another of the Phantasms? She could clearly make out what she had seen, a demon like mech, bathed in white armor with light blue eyes. Crevices within it's armor would glow the same blue. It was as if she was staring at a modified version of the other machine which had been fight Kine. The demon machine was within the army but at the same time it was as though it was invisible to the everything else. They would walk normally, not even caring for that demon it their presence. The machine unfolded a blade which was situated on it's elbow, it was apparant to Beatrice what the machine was about to do.
Mechanical bodies suddenly flew everywhere, surprising Jayden and Jen. Both wide eyed from what happened. In front of Jayden's display screen was something that astonished him. A white demon machine, eyes a brilliant blue with crevices in it's armor that emitted the same glow. A ghostly blue blade on it's arm was forced into the torso of another AC. The demon ripped it's blade out of the now lifeless body and swing with such fury that surround enemies were either flung into the air or sliced in half. It's movements were not mechanical at all, it moved humanly, in fact it looked as though it were breathing. Jayden felt like he was staring at his own machine, the only difference between this machine and his was this one looked like it had crystals bursting out from its shoulders. The white machine started to hover above the ground, barely touching the rubbled filled ground. It made a spinning movement with it's blade outstretched. Everything surrounding the machine had been perfect sliced from the waist up. While the monstrous machine was fending off the army with little effort, Jayden had been waiting for an identification of the white entity in front of him. The identification had come in mere seconds, and Jayden recognized the name all too well: "NAME IDENTIFICATION: ALUS OMEN. PRODUCTION DATE???PRODUCTION TYPE: THE ORIGINATOR."