Chapter 30...

"Ashley!?"

The teenager groaned and rolled over in her sheets. Ashley pressed her face into her stiff pillow and curled her fingers into the rough fabric.

"Five more minutes…" Ashley pleaded with a groan. "It can't be that early yet…"

"Dammit! You must wake up!"

Ashley yelped in shock when a pair of rough hands shook her out of her futon. The same pair of hands wrapped around her blanket and tore it away, exposing Ashley to the spine-tingling cold air of her family's apartment.

"What!?" Ashley snapped and rubbed her bleary eyes. "Dad… what the hell is the matter with you!?"

The teenager removed her hands from her eyes and tilted her neck so that she was looking up at her father. To her surprise, the older man was already fully dressed.

"I need you to get up… please…" Reo's eyes were pleading. "Your sister never came home last night… and the police just called…"

"Ishikara…" Cozbi warned, her helmet titled back to look at the catwalks above. "Do you have a visual?"

"Negative!" Ashley hissed. She tightened her grip on her newly acquired EVA-8 and kept the barrel pointed upwards. "Maybe they've got cloaking tech?"

"I'm not keen to find out…" Cozbi muttered. The woman took one hand off of her R-201 and fumbled a pulse blade from her armor pouches. She reared back her arm and flung the pulse blade upwards; it was traveling with enough force that it embedded itself in the metal grating of the catwalk above their heads.

"Anything?" Ashley muttered.

Cozbi was silent for a moment.

"Move!" The holo-pilot suddenly called in a strangled yelp. She lowered her R-201 and scrambled down the far side of the catwalk.

Ashley was already in motion by the time the single word had escaped Cozbi's lips. She sprinted down the opposite end of the catwalk and leapt upwards to press herself against the curved interior wall of the tower.

Good timing too… because only seconds after she leapt to safety did an Arc grenade impact the catwalk where she and Cozbi had been standing. The electrical bomb exploded in a brilliant blue lightshow, charging the metal grating to dangerous levels.

Arc grenades weren't usually lethal; but when combined with conductive surfaces they could easily stop a person's heart.

"Fuck me!" Cozbi roared into her radio. "Climb, Ishikara! Go up!"

Ashley followed Cozbi's demand. She cancelled her wall-hang and activated her jump-kit, giving herself the necessary momentum for a wall-run. The black and yellow clad pilot kept her grip on her EVA-8 tight as she sprinted up the interior wall.

Directly across the room Ashley could spot her remaining teammate. Directly in the middle - standing atop the central catwalk - stood their lone enemy.

It was indeed an enemy pilot, dressed in the dark greens and oranges of the Militia uniform. Even at her distance and speed Ashley could vaguely make out her enemy to be another woman. The smaller, thinner stature was an instant giveaway, as was the general shape of their body curvature.

Clenched in the hands of the Militia pilot was a small, angular looking handcannon. Said weapon was raised up in Ashley's direction and a scattershot of energy projectiles exploded from it's barrel. The projectiles were fast moving and forced Ashley to jump off the wall. She twisted her body mid-air to avoid the lethal strike and landed in a crouch on the catwalk below.

Cozbi had also ended her own wall-run and had come to a stop on the far end of the catwalk. The Militia pilot was in-between them and frantically turning her head, unable to focus on either of her enemies.

Ashley raised her EVA-8, Cozbi raised her R-201… and that's where the trouble started…

What should have been an easy kill proved to be anything but. The Militia pilot ducked with impeccable timing, neatly avoiding Ashley's buckshot and Cozbi's three-round burst. In a moment of irony that was not lost on her, Ashley found herself twisting low to avoid Cozbi's misplaced gunfire.

There was the pattering of feet against the catwalk as the Militia pilot advanced on Ashley's position. Ashley raised her EVA-8 and fired again, but the Militia pilot activated her jump-kit and sailed safely over the storm of buckshot. She twisted mid-air to avoid another misplaced shell and landed neatly behind Ashley; one quick kick to Ashley's back left the black and yellow clad pilot stumbling.

'She's fucking clever!' Ashley's internal voice screamed at her.

The internal voice was right, the Militia pilot had proved themselves to be smarter than Ashley had anticipated. By standing in the center of the catwalk and allowing her enemies to advance on two fronts - the Militia pilot had nearly tricked Cozbi and Ashley into shooting each other. When that failed, the pilot chose Ashley and used her kit to get behind her. The relocation put her in a prime spot to attack Ashley while simultaneously keeping Cozbi from having a clear shot.

Ashley whipped around and primed her EVA-8, but the barrel swung low when a sweeping kick knocked the weapon from Ashley's hands; the shotgun clattered onto the metal grating of the catwalk but did not fall over the edge.

Ashley was now stuck in a defensive situation. From where she was standing she couldn't see Cozbi, but the Militia pilot certainly could. The black and yellow clad pilot raised her forearms to block and redirect a flurry of lightning fast blows; her opponent's hands moved with the speed of striking cobra's.

There was the sound of feet behind Ashley…

"Duck!"

Ashley ducked down as Cozbi quite literally leaped over her. The Militia pilot ducked as well, but not before punching straight upwards to smash Cozbi in the stomach. Thankfully, Cozbi's armor plating nullified the force of the blow and the woman landed in a messy somersault; in less than a second she was back on her feet and drawing her knife.

This fight began with a war on two fronts… now it looked like it was ending with one as well…

The Militia pilot ducked and weaved with incredible speed, avoiding Cozbi's expertly placed jabs and Ashley's fists. At one point Ashley drew her data-knife, but the weapon was slapped out of her hand as soon as she drew it; the knife flew over the thin railing of the catwalk and fell out of sight.

"You're bloody fast!" Cozbi snarled. Her normally soft accent was far more pronounced now, most likely because of anger. "I'll give you that!"

Ashley succeeded in catching the Militia pilot's left wrist. Her arm felt impossibly hard and Ashley's grip was undone in less than a second when she ripped her arm away. The brief moment of vulnerability gave Cozbi an opening; the holo-pilot thrust her knife forwards and left a long slash on the Militia pilot's right bicep.

For a moment, Ashley squinted her eyes and peered at the seam in the fabric. There was no blood to speak of, but the shiny metal alloys of a prosthetic arm were clear to see.

"Prosthetics!" Ashley howled in warning. Cobzi looked up, momentarily stunned and quickly jumped back for her own safety.

Another clever ploy… lure your enemies in and then crush them with your enhanced strength… very clever…

Seizing their moment of opportunity, the Militia pilot unhooked another Arc grenade from their belt. They primed the device and tossed it straight upwards. The Militia pilot then crouched low to the ground and squeezed underneath the catwalk's safety rail.

"Fuck!" Ashley roared in surprise. She snatched her EVA-8 off the ground and leapt off the catwalk to safety. She pointed her left arm upwards and fired her grappling hook towards the ceiling; the sharp tip embedded itself in the roof, allowing Ashley to swing to the relative safety of the outer walls.

Perhaps out of shock… Cozbi wasn't fast enough…

The Arc grenade crashed back into the catwalk and detonated. Cozbi was left spasming where she was standing before falling onto her back with a crash, still sputtering uncontrollably.

Ashley quickly retracted her grappling hook and pressed herself against the curved interior wall. She was not given a moment to breathe, as three superheated energy shots quickly melted the surface of the wall just below her feet. The black and yellow clad pilot broke into a hasty wall-run, her jump-kit working overtime to keep gravity from pulling her down.

The Militia pilot was bouncing around the room with incredible speed and agility - Ashley could assume that their legs had also been replaced with advanced prosthetics.

Pilot's undergoing procedures to replace their limbs wasn't entirely unheard of. Ashley had known plenty of pilot's from her early days with the IMC who had "gone under the knife". Oftentimes, these operations were carried out as necessary medical procedures to replace damaged limbs; there were a select few pilot's who underwent these operations willingly, however. Prosthetic limbs, unlike organic ones, could be easily repaired and offered far greater strength to their user.

Ashley frantically leapt off the wall to avoid an energy blast from the Militia pilot's Mozambique. She hefted up her EVA-8 midair and squeezed the trigger to empty the drum; it was a desperate gamble, Ashley didn't have a spare drum in case she missed.

Thankfully, she didn't. Some of the buckshot from the last shell grazed the Militia pilot on her side. The woman shrieked in pain as the metal shards lightly perforated the side of her midsection. To her credit, she stayed her course and continued to zip around the room.

The very brief moment of vulnerability highlighted a weakness in Ashley's enemy. While her limbs may have been replaced with robotic prosthetics, her torso was still very-much organic…

… and vulnerable.

Ashley chucked away her empty EVA-8 and let clatter away. Now without any weapons, Ashley thrust out her left arm and fired off her grappling hook. The barbed tip of the hook missed the Militia pilot, instead sailing past them and embedding in the far wall of the building. Ashley lashed out her leg as she passed by, giving the Militia pilot a solid kick to the side of her head that left her tumbling in-air.

As soon as Ashley's feet touched the wall she ripped out her hook and leapt off. She curled her legs close to her chest and drew in her hands; this action served the dual purpose of making her a small target, while also allowing her to submit to the forces of gravity.

Ashley felt heat near her arms and near the back of her neck as several Mozambique blasts missed her by inches. Her maneuver had been a desperate gamble but it seemed to be paying off…

… she needed one more gamble to win.

Ashley rolled forwards so her feet were pointed towards the ground and activated her jump-kit thrusters. She came to a near stop, hovering in mid-air; her jump-kit groaned under the stress of trying to keep her airborne and Ashley knew that she seconds before the thrusters would overheat.

Thrusting her left arm up, Ashley fired her grappling hook. With some assistance from her jump-kit thrusters she rocketed towards the ceiling - narrowly avoiding a flying kick from the Militia pilot.

Before she hit the ceiling, Ashley retracted her hook and spun mid-air to plant her feet against the roof. Using her new leverage to her advantage, Ashley pushed off the roof so that she was flying downwards head-first.

The Militia pilot - who was still using her enhanced mobility to her advantage, leapt off the interior wall. They reloaded their Mozambique as they flew and angled themselves so that they were underneath Ashley. Once they had the proper firing angle, one quick burst from the Mozambique would shred Ashley like tissue paper.

The Militia pilot was clever… but Ashley more-so…

Without warning, Ashley once again thrust out her arm and shot off her grappling hook. The hook embedded itself in the Militia pilot's chest plate and the retracting cord went taught. With a roar of exertion Ashley activated her thrusters so that she was flying at an angle instead of downwards. She turned off her thrusters so that she could land safely on the same catwalk where she and Cozbi had first engaged the enemy pilot.

Using the momentum she had built up, Ashley channeled her strength and flung the captured Militia pilot forwards. They sailed over her head in a flying arc and smashed into the catwalk head-first.

There was the sickening "crunch" of bones snapping… and the Militia pilot didn't get back up. Their four limbs were twisted in different directions and their neck was sitting at an odd angle.

Panting heavily, Ashley tore off her helmet and sucked in several deep breaths. At some point during the fight she had stopped concentrating on her breathing… she felt like she was going to collapse…

Letting her helmet dangle from one hand, Ashley took a few steps forwards and stood over the deceased pilot.

"Not bad…" Ashley gasped for air and nodded respectfully at the corpse. "Made me forget to breathe… I'll give you that…"

"It's a corpse, Ishikara," a familiar accented voice sputtered.

Ashley turned her gaze up to spot Cozbi limping down the catwalk towards her. The holo-pilot's gaze was wobbly, no doubt a side effect from the immense electric charge she had taken.

"That…" Cozbi tilted her helmeted head to the side. "Was impressive…"

"Thanks?" Ashley frowned. She slipped her helmet back on before Cozbi had a chance to watch her further.

"Is… she dead?" Cozbi muttered, nudging the Militia pilot with the tip of her boot.

"I think…"

"Let's try to be thorough…"

Ashley wrinkled her nose in disgust when Cozbi raised her R-201 and fired two quick shots into the Militia pilot's head. Their broken neck twisted around in response to the heavy blows and their helmet was blasted apart.

Through the metal and blood Ashley caught a quick glimpse of the dead pilot's face. It was indeed a woman… and a rather young looking one at that. She might have even been pretty…

Ashley felt her stomach churning in her gut and tore her eyes away from the grisly sight. This was what she signed up for, she couldn't waste time thinking about the people she had just killed…

"Well that's that…" Cozbi bent down and wrenched the Mozambique from the Militia pilot's hands. She tossed it upwards and Ashley deftly caught the weapon, slipping it into her empty pistol holster.

"Shall we continue to the top?" Cozbi muttered and tilted her head to the side. "Time is of the essence right now…"