OKAY EVERYONE! I'm sorry about the lack of updates, but I had a couple of tests that were essential to my future, and in the system I'm in, either you get all the points, or you just utterly fail. -_- There's no 'in between'.
I want to say thanks to PixelJam for being so patient! And don't forget to check out her story: "The Silver City" on a website I totally forgot the name of. There's also an awesome illustration of the main character on DeviantART. Just look for the username 'Jetzul' and the 'Akira' artwork. ^^ Or just check her fanfiction account and start conversing with her!
I want to apologize in advance, for those who adore Takashi, since he's gonna go through a lot of pain in this chapter.
Guess what! SOME SECRETS ARE REVEALED!
EXO-FORCE GO!
Hitomi climbed out of the bus that traveled around several cities and towns, passing by the Golden City.
The small town of Tyono sat in the primacies of the Sentai Fortress. It had been evacuated when the Striking Venom had attacked and when the Exo-Force team had left for the Golden City, but with the retreat of the robots and the construction of new fortresses and outposts, the town had been revived.
Hitomi looked around the city, and then took out her phone. Staring at the address, she began to forge her way into the town.
She knew about the small restaurant Keiken had invited her to. It wasn't too special, but food was good and the avenue was calm, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
Not having much to wear, Hitomi had chosen her plain black hoodie and blue slim jeans. Half expecting the robots to jump out to destroy Tyono like they nearly did to Yellus, she had decided to go to her evening armed with her blaster which was resting calmly in her pocket, the handle hidden from view with the rims of the hoodie covering it.
Hitomi found the restaurant. In front of it stood her grandfather in his usual white and grey clothes. He had discarded his staff and was leaning against the windows, his arms crossed, patiently waiting for the remaining member of his family to appear.
Hitomi couldn't help but smile. She knew she was going to enjoy this evening.
He stood up from his throne and watched the northern side of the mountain, some areas illuminated by the few cities and towns which still remained despite the robot threat.
He looked up at the dark sky. The moon washed everything with a brilliant silver color. Even the southern side of this mountain, his domain and the beginning of his empire, was hit with the glow.
He stretched his arm out, as though trying to reach for it, and then lowered it. The man stared at his gloved arm. The stars winked in the night sky.
They were so similar.
Their glow…it was the same.
The same.
Just like him and…
Anger and pain surged through his veins. He lashed his arm out, shattering the glass to pieces. How could they…why…why?
The usual clumping sound told him that a robot was coming his way. He quickly straightened himself.
The door swept open and the silver robot with the eternal glaring red-eyes marched in. It bowed. "The three squadrons have been defeated. The Mobile Devastator is out of commission. Awaiting orders."
"By what?"
"One squadron of Lythanium upgraded Stealth Hunters, One Sky Guardian, One Aero Booster and one Golden Guardian which is now destroyed." The robot stated.
The man smirked. This was all too easy. The Exo-Force team is getting over-confident. These pilots did not know, but it was all a matter of time till they all collapsed.
"There are two legend pilots on patrol. Keep them busy. Then send an army of Claw Crushers to Tyono. Then attack Elthra. Wait a while and launch a massive attack on the Golden City. Send the S.V." he ordered.
"It shall be done" The robot rose back to full height and turned to pass the orders. It walked out of the door, its feet noisily hitting the floor with each step.
The man turned to face the view of the Golden City. Tapping on a computer, he zoomed to see the two legends who were out on patrol.
His grin grew. His cold, brown eyes flickered. "Ryo Thissera…Takahi Kettera…" He stared at the image of the Cyclone Defender before zooming in, getting a perfect picture of Ryo's worried expression. "It's time for you to see the truth…" he whispered, his hand brushing the picture as though trying to caress the boy.
He turned and left the room. Walking towards the army which was now readying for battle, he spoke to the devastator leading the offense. "Take Ryo hostage. I shall kill him personally. And shatter his spirit…" he whispered dangerously.
The robot nodded. "It shall be done." It stated with its metallic voice.
The man smirked as he watched the army step out of the fortress. It was all a matter of time. And even if this failed, there would still be many more attempts.
The Golden City was an easy catch.
Just one thing needed to be done. All humans shared the same weakness.
"Shatter their spirit with the truth…"
"Hikaru's back to the Golden City. And though he denies it, I'm pretty sure that Rika's with him." Ryo said as he clicked the talkie walkie off. "They've been smitten with each other for a little while now."
Takashi shrugged. His Blade Titan took a step forward, where it entered a sea of ferns, causing it to sink knee-deep in a hidden hole. "Hey Ryo, are you sure we should be doing this? I think it would be best if we remained at the Golden City. The robots aren't stupid you know."
Ryo looked at his friend. "I know. But there have been constant minor attacks. We have to stay on patrol." He thought a bit. "What I find weird is how the robots keep attacking large and important places. They've stopped charging right at the Golden City and have shifted their targets."
Takashi pushed some branches aside with his battle machine's guns. "The only thing that I know and care about is that they keep losing. And after the reports of the pilots, the robots are giving in more and more easily. It's getting boring."
Ryo looked at the pilot. He looked down and shrugged. "Well since we've been fighting stronger versions in the Training Center, and with the Lythanium upgrades, we're probably much more of a match for them."
Takashi nodded. "Well as far as I'm aware, I-WHOA!" His Blade Titan was blown clear off its feet and crashed into some wooden barks and out of sight.
"TAKASHI!" Ryo yelled. He was about to go to his friend's aid when he remembered the sudden ambush. Spinning around, he found himself standing in front of two Iron Condors and three Shadow Crawlers. He leveled his gun. "Takashi do you read me?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little dented and toasted."
Ryo swung his shield in front of him, protecting his battle machine from the numerous beams of destruction fired by the metal artificial beings. "Can you get back here?" he asked, raising the battle machine's blaster and countered, hitting one of the Shadow Crawler's legs. The black battle machine shuddered but kept its balance. It, along with its allies, stepped closer to the human.
"I'm on my way…just give me a second." Takashi grumbled.
Ryo fired two of his rockets, which destroyed the first Shadow Crawler that had dared to venture too close to the human. Without pausing a second, sung his battle machine's arm around, shooting one Iron Condor that was gliding towards him.
The robots continued to advance.
Ryo dashed at the first and already damaged Shadow Crawler, his bladed shield spinning. The thin blades clipped the injured battle machine's forward guns, and then the disc launcher, causing it to lose almost all combat abilities.
"Damage report: 78, 1 %. Retreat action recommended." The robot stated.
"Negative." A second one replied. "Orders is to take human prisoner. Continue mission."
That perked Ryo's attention. They were after HIM? AGAIN! He spun around. "Takashi, some help would be nice! They're after me!"
"WHAT!" Takashi yelled. "HANG ON! I'M COMING!"
Ryo heard the rustling of the leaves and the sound of cracking stone. He knew Takashi was trying to hurry in climbing the hole in which he fell into.
As the Shadow Crawler lunged at him, Ryo threw his Cyclone Defender sideways. "COME ON! SHOW THEM WHAT WE'RE MADE OF!" he yelled.
He fired all his weapons at the small legion of robots. The rockets exploded in a shower of flames and metal shards, and the large blaster knocked the Iron Condors over. Without hesitating a second, he charged, his bladed shield spinning so fast it became a blur.
He slammed it in the closest Shadow Crawler, causing the metal to splinter before melting and bursting into fire.
Suddenly, his green battle machine was torn off the grown. Ryo looked up and saw in horror the Iron Condors lifting him with ridiculous ease clear off the ground. "LET GO!" he yelled.
Suddenly, there was a beam of greenish light, and one of the two Iron Condors ceased to exist completely.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Takashi yelled, his Blade Titan's guns blazing, and his bladed shield spinning. He charged and the Iron Condor, ramming into it with the shoulder of his battle machine. When the two giant weapons collided, Takashi swung his guns around, sending the robot battle machine crashing against some rocks where it crashed, sending pieces of metal everywhere.
He then spun around and fired at the Shadow Crawlers. "You all right Ryo?"
Ryo piloted the Cyclone Defender back to its feet and fired beside its ally. "Just in time buddy! Let's do this!"
The two of them charged.
Ha-Ya-To slumped in his chair and pouted as he watched the Golden City glow around him. "Why is it that Hitomi gets the time off and not me? I did a lot these last few days."
"For the last time H-Ya-To, Hitomi and Sensei Keiken haven't had any time to…well, reunite properly. This is really the only moment they both have available. It's normal they take advantage of it." Hikaru stated as he read a document, his feet on the desk. He scrunched his face up in a scowl. "Great, Renault and Ford won't send us the proper pieces anymore."
Ha-Ya-To turned. "What? Why?"
Hikaru sat down properly and began to scribble something on the document. "Apparently the economic crisis forced them to pass a few reforms in the industries. Now we have to be a bit patient. Looks like we'll have to be a bit more careful with which battle machines we send into battle."
Ha-Ya-To said nothing to the comment. He looked back at the window and stared at the shining city. He smirked. "You're in a pretty good mood. Normally something like this would seriously irritate you. What happened?"
"Nothing. Why?" Hikaru asked, looking up from his work.
"No reason, just asking." The red-head answered cheekily. Looks like the second-leader-in-chief didn't know that he had been…watched while having his 'alone time' with Rika. He placed his hand on his pocket. Feeling the camera safe in it, he nodded in relief. "Hey Hikaru?"
"Yeah buddy?"
"Can I see the trainees?"
Hikaru looked at him, cocking his head at him. "Why?"
Ha-Ya-To grinned. "My secret. Promise I'll be a good boy."
HIkaru rolled his eyes. "Get me some coffee."
Ha-Ya-To glared playfully. "You do it. I'm not your slave."
"Here, can you give this to every pilot in the Four-E Team?" he said, passing him a pile of papers.
"Nespresso or decaffeinate?" Ha-Ya-To grumbled. He got up and walked to the white machine. Grabbing a plastic cup, he took out a couple of credits. "How much sugar?"
"None thanks."
Ha-Ya-To placed the cup full of brownish, warm liquid. "So, now what? I'm bored."
"Why not spy on someone? Or go one patrol? Takashi and Ryo could use some company." Hikaru suggested. He pushed a piece of paper aside, and took another one. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing in irritation. He started reading it, when his talkie walkie made him jump in surprise. He grabbed it. "Hikaru speaking, what's wrong?"
"HIKARU! THERE ARE TWO SQUARDONS OF IRON CONDORS HEADING TOWARDS ELTHRA!" the reply crackled.
Hikaru's eyes went wide. "Looks like your wish will be granted Ha-Ya-To. Defend the trainees!" he snapped at his friend, who dashed away.
"Hey you!" Hikaru yelled back in the talkie walkie. "Send the squadron of Golden Guardians!"
"Yes sir!"
Hikaru shut the talkie walkie down. He thought for a second. He pulled a drawer open and took out a laptop. Opening it, he began to run through a few documents. He opened map and studied it carefully. He grabbed his talkie walkie. "Katsuya? Do you read me?"
"I read you Hikaru, go ahead."
"Send two squadrons of Stealth Hunters to Tyono."
"Sure. Can I ask why?"
"I'll explain later. Just do it!"
Ha-Ya-To pushed the thruster forward. "I've got to protect them!" he yelled. The Aero Booster gave a huge roar, and accelerated, leaving turquoise smoke behind.
The radar blipped.
Ha-Ya-To smirked. With the speed of the Aero Booster, there was no reason for him not to catch up with the slow robot battle machines. "I've got you" he whispered.
His Aero Booster screamed across the sky, closing rapidly the gap separating the two enemies.
Ha-Ya-To carefully took aim, preparing to shoot the first robot that came into range, when he saw something disturbing.
Tiny green beams, projected from the ground, began to hit the offending robots. The Iron Condors dove downwards and out of sight.
Ha-Ya-To's eyes went wide. "NO!" he yelled. He pressed a few buttons. "This may damage the engines but I have no choice. Now come on, hurry up! The trainees are defenseless against them."
Tamika pulled out her small blaster and fired at the incoming Iron Condors. "Sergeant Vallahan! What do we do?"
The older man, and the trainer of the recruits, grabbed his blaster. "Get everyone to the bunkers. Take all the weapons we've got and use them when the robots will be at the level of the entrance. With the accumulated firepower, we should be able to hold them off."
Tamika nodded. She ran across the courtyard, now turned into a battlefield. "Akira! We've got to get out of here!" she yelled at her friend.
Some of the trainees, still in the battle machines borrowed to prepare the recruits for the real deal, tried to defend their base and friends, but the battle machines had poor armor and their firepower was far too weak to do any serious damage.
They were the first to fall, the Iron Condors shooting them to pieces and tearing up the armor like paper.
"Humans are defenseless. Mission success assured." A robot stated, firing the Iron Condor's guns at a downed and brittle Stealth Hunter, which exploded.
Tamika paled when she heard the scream of the dying rookie. She had to get the others out of here!
The loudspeakers blared. "Everyone abandon the fight! Get to the bunkers! Leave no one behind! Get all the weapons possible! Re-" It was silenced by the collision of a thrown Uplink which pulverized it completely.
Tamika dove out of the way to avoid getting hit by and Iron Condor's blast. She felt the heat of the explosion hit her in the face. Running as fast as she could, she crouched and hid behind a destroyed Uplink, where she found two more pilots firing their guns over the metal, hitting the battle machines.
Peering over her hiding spot, she saw a group of boys scatter with the landing of the Iron Condor. She made a quick count. "Eight Iron Condors. How come we didn't see them coming?" she whispered.
"LOOK OUT!"
The next thing she knew was that she was tackled and pushed back under the downed Uplink. An arm of a Steath Hunter flew over them, before crashing on the ground. It had been thrown with so much violence that it bounced three times, before slamming against the wall, destroying it.
"Thanks Quinton." Tamika said, trying to sit up.
The boy didn't acknowledge her, his attention back on the robots. He drew his gun and fired.
Tamika looked around. She tensed when she saw her friend, Akira, get attacked. "Akira!" she yelled, leaping swiftly over the downed battle machine and running towards the brunette, firing her guns at the battle machine.
Suddenly the Iron Condor sparked dangerously, before a part of it collapsed in a heap on the ground. The damaged battle machine staggered before collapsing on the ground, out of commission.
A rookie pulled his Stealth Hunter's blade out of the mess. "You girls alright?" he asked.
"TRISTAN LOOK OUT!" Akira screamed.
The pilot had just the time to turn before the three blasts from the Iron Condors consumed both him and his battle machine.
Tamika felt her heart clench. Things were out of control. It was only a matter of seconds before the base was completely destroyed and ever-
A deafening roar silenced her thoughts.
Everyone looked up, robot and human.
There was a flash of blue and white, and suddenly, three Iron Condors exploded.
The flash of white returned, this time flying upwards, before doing a sharp dive, destroying two more Iron Condors. "Sorry I took so long! The Exo-Force is here!"
Another roar was heard, and this time, the forest around the base exploded, and Golden Guardians began to fire and the robots.
Tamika felt like cheering. Help arrived just in time.
Rika climbed into her Golden Guardian. She piloted the battle machine out of the garage and into the night.
She clicked the radio on. "Hikaru?"
The blue haired pilot looked up from what he was doing. "Oh hey Rika, what's up?"
Rika thought for a couple of seconds. "I've heard about the attack on Elthra and Tyono. Why do you think the robots suddenly aimed for those areas?"
Hikaru shrugged. "I'm trying to figure it out. I've sent Ha-Ya-To and a couple of Golden Guardians to help the recruits. For Tyono, I've got two squadrons of Stealth Hunters off to protect the town."
"How come? The town hasn't been targeted." Rika resisted the urge to say 'yet', as the attack on the trainees had taken them completely by surprise.
"Elthra is very close to Tyono. The robots had probably been expecting to take the base easily before advancing to take over the town, Sensei Keiken with it. How battle machines do we have left?"
Rika looked back inside the garage. "About a dozen Grand Titans and three squadrons of Gate Defenders and one of Uplinks. Takashi and Ryo haven't returned yet. And there's still two more Golden Guardians, including mine."
Hikaru nodded. "Good. Tell the duo to get back here. It's possible that the robots were trying to spread our forces. We might be expecting an attack."
Rika nodded. She looked at his preoccupied features. "Hikaru?"
"Just a second." He left the screen. Rika heard him talking to someone else, most likely through a talkie walkie. After a couple of minutes, he returned, looking slightly relieved, yet concerned. "Sorry about that. What did you want?"
Rika noticed the change in his features. "You look worried. Is something wrong?"
Hikaru stayed silent for a moment. Rika could almost see the gears spinning in his head. "The attack on Elthra was so sudden…we had to give up a large number of our forces to protect several areas at once…The robots are obviously trying to force us to separating our strength in order to protect several areas at once."
"And? We still got a good number of pilots and battle machines here."
"I know. But if there's going to be an attack on the Golden City, that's not my main problem."
Rika tilted her head. "Then what is it? If you're thinking that the robots have suddenly become much more intelligent, that isn't exactly surprising. Even as robots, they can do a couple of upgrades in their intelligence."
Hikaru nodded. He looked ready to say something, before mentally debating on something.
"Hikaru, what's wrong?"
The electric blue-eyed pilot shook his head. "Nothing. Are you planning on going on patrol?"
Rika nodded.
"I'd like it if you remained in the city. Just in case there's an attack."
Rika shrugged. "All right." She prepared to hang up, but she stopped, her finger hovering just above the button. "Hikaru?"
"Yeah?"
"About this afternoon...could we do it again?"
Hikaru grinned. "Promise that we will." He winked at her. "See you later." With that, he hung up.
Rika sighed and put her talkie walkie away, a smile appearing on her face.
Takashi snarled as he spun his bladed shield, ripping a Dark Panther in pieces. At the same time, he swung the guns of his Blade Titan and fired, the blast tearing through the Thunder Fury like paper.
The destroyed battle machine collapsed in a heap on the ground, but was replaced by another Thunder Fury, which fired at the human, forcing him to go on the defensive once again.
"Dang it!" he yelled in irritation as he fired his guns, at the old battle machine, destroying it instantly, while running sideways, knocking an Iron Condor off balance and crushing it with the weight of his battle machine. "Get out of the way!"
He stepped over the Cyclone Defender that was lying on the ground, completely pulverized. Ryo had been overwhelmed by the Shadow Crawlers, and Takashi had been unable to help him due to the gap the robots had forced in between the two friends.
Ryo was now, trapped in a Shadow Crawler and being brought to the Southern Side of the mountain, and it was up to Takashi alone to get him to safety.
Takashi swung the Blade Titan's guns, knocking a Sentry II off its feet and into a Claw Crusher, sending both battle machines into a hole. He ran forward, slashing at another Dark Panther that attempted to stop him, separating its left leg from the main body.
Takashi twisted his battle machine around, ignoring the metal screaming at him to stop and let it rest, and fired at an Arachnoid Stalker that was scuttling towards him and dangerously high speed.
"MOVE IT!" he charged at two Thunder Furies. Both battle machines raised their weapons and fired a point blank range. Takashi yelled in surprise as he heard the glass of his cockpit shatter. The Blade Titan crashed into the two robot battle machines.
The three weapons burst out of the forest, and off, much to Takashi's horror-he had not seen it with the amount of battle machines-began to fall off the ledge behind.
Takashi screamed as he felt his stomach reach his throat, and the sudden lack of weight of his battle machine. He braced himself for the inevitable landing which he was sure to die from.
There was an extremely violent bang. Takashi was thrown against the damaged glass of the cockpit, his metal seat-belt the only thing that kept him from getting thrown out. He felt his battle machine bounce like a ball right of the ground, spinning in all directions. Takashi was jolted in all directions, banging his head against the sides of the cockpit, and bruising his arms and legs against the broken glass.
He caught a glimpse of the two Thunder Furies-or what remained of them-being torn off him, and pieces of his battle machine getting dented and smashed by the collision and the rolling, before closing his eyes tightly, bracing himself for falling off the bridge again.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the Blade Titan finally came to a rest. It rolled one more time, before sliding back cockpit-first on the bridge.
Takashi let his body go limp for several incredibly long minutes. His head was thudding and his entire body was throbbing with wounds and bruises. Desperately trying to control the dizziness and the pain that surged through his body, he piloted the battle machine back to its feet. The engine whined in protest, and the metal grunted under the weight, but Takashi was relieved to see that the Blade Titan still responded to his touch.
He looked at the damage taken. The glass was shattered, what remained was stuck in the corners of the cockpit. The shoulders and the shins of the battle machine had been ripped open, leaving barely a thin patch of zaylium, sometimes revealing the skeleton and the wires of the limbs, such as on the right shoulder.
The Bladed Shield was useless: the blades had been completely destroyed and only one third of the shield remained. Takashi hoped that he would still be able to use it to at least protect himself. He looked at the guns, and the view of what remained of them almost made his heart break. Only two of the six canons remained of the Gatling Laser Canon. The other four had been pulverized, and the holes were patched with bent, thick and sometimes, melted zaylium.
Takashi sighed. It appeared that the battle machine had lost all its Lythanium from the fall. Even the zaylium barely survived from the crash.
He looked at the two Thunder Furies. They were lying on the ground, completely pulverized. Pieces lay all over the place, and some of the battle machines' limbs had been ripped off, some only holding to the main body by a few wires.
Takashi shivered. "I'm gonna become like Ryo." He muttered, as a feeling of guilt grew in the pit of his stomach. He looked at the computer, and pressed a few buttons.
It sparked before erupting; showering Takashi with sparks, before leaving a molten slag behind. Takashi groaned. Normally, he would return to the Golden City immediately, seeing that his battle machine clearly wasn't going to withstand another attack.
But Ryo was held prisoner.
Takashi gritted his teeth. Ryo was more important. There was no time to call for help. Besides, it was likely that the Blade Titan's comm. system was destroyed with the crash. No, he'll have to do this alone.
The Blade Titan-or what remained of the powerful battle machine-turned, and began to walk towards the southern side of the mountain.
Hikaru slumped back in his chair. "What's taking them so long?" he asked to himself, looking at the clock with now read 11:48 pm. "Sensei said he'd be back about an hour ago." HIkaru took out his talkie walkie. He remembered sending troops to Tyono just in case in was attacked. He deeply hoped nothing bad happened there.
The black object in his hand suddenly crackled to life. "Hikaru? It's me, Keiken speaking. How are things at the Golden City?"
Hikaru nearly whooped for joy at the sound of his mentor's voice, so great was his relief. "F-fine! Nothing bad has happened here. How was the evening?"
He heard a thick silence, and the pilot suddenly realized his mistake. "Oh-uh, sorry Sensei. I, uh, meant to say-"
"It's alright Hikaru." Keiken spoke. "Things have been fine…till about half an hour. The robots seemed to have known about our little trip. Everyone got out fine. Though I can't say the same thing about the town or two of the battle machines you sent to help us. Is there anything to report?"
Hikaru nodded, despite that Keiken couldn't see him. "Yes, remember Elthra-"
"Hikaru, I know age in beginning to catch up with me, but I do remember where our recruits are trained."
Hikaru reddened. "Um, yes Sensei. Anyway, they were attacked-"
"WHAT?"
"But Ha-Ya-To and a legion of Golden Guardians left to help them. I got a report from Ha-Ya-To a little while ago saying that the base had taken a huge beating, and there were seven deaths, but nothing more."
Hikaru heard another thick silence. But this was a different kind, and Hikaru knew it very well. He grabbed the microphone of the speakers, and prepared to pass orders to the other pilots.
He heard Keiken speak, very softly and dangerously. "Hikaru…tell all pilots to return to the Golden City at once. Tell them to get ready for battle."
"Y-yes Sensei." Hikaru grabbed the mike and switched it so he was talking to all the pilots in their battle machines. "Everyone, return to the Golden City immediately! I repeat, return to the Golden City immediately!"
Suddenly, a loud screech was heard. Hikaru leaped stealthily out of his seat and looked out the window. His face turned into an emotionless one.
An army of robots was beginning to cross the bridge towards the Golden City.
Leading them was the Striking Venom.
Ha-Ya-To looked around and sighed at the mess. Elthra was in ruins. "Looks like the place won't be used for a while…" he said. "It's so sad…I still remember throwing water balloons on Hikaru on those bleachers…why did the robots have to destroy this place?" he complained.
Tamika shook her head. "They seemed to have known this area only recently. Or else they would've attacked months ago." She looked at the red head. "What's going to happen to us?"
Ha-Ya-To grinned at her. "Easy, the recruits who are almost done with their training are most likely going to come with us at the Golden City to finish the remaining stuff they have to do. The others will surely be moved to outposts deeper in the mountain."
Tamika nodded understandingly. She carefully stepped over the destroyed speakers. "At least we won't have any reports to listen to in the middle of the night." She said. "Sometimes, the tutors forgot to switch these things off, so we'd hear their conversations during the night."
Ha-Ya-To continued to grin. "Any good blackmail material?"
Tamika shrugged. "It sometimes got a little embarrassing, sometimes it was hilarious, sometimes it was just plain awful."
"Why?"
Tamika reddened. "They sometimes get perverted ideas, and they talk about it in between them." She looked at the legendary pilot, who was now looking very cheerful. She suddenly realized that she said something that should've been said. "Um…they didn't say anything about me or-"
Ha-Ya-To burst out laughing. "I have some awesome ideas. Expect the tutors to never live this down okay?" he patted her on the back. He looked at the destroyed speaker. "Hikaru loved Taylor Swift until I started singing it in two in the morning in the shower and on the city's speakers. I think I'll make him ruin his love for Simple Plan. Anyway," He slipped his arm around her waist, "wanna grab a grub? I'm starving. I didn't get to eat dinner because of the dumb robots."
Tamika grinned. "Oh you wish. I'm not sure my brother-"
"Your brother's a moron. An over-protective moron. Good thing he doesn't know we're together. But really, you wa-" the crackling of his talkie walkie silenced him. Reaching out for it, he spoke. "I kidnapped your brother and raped your sister…oh hey Hikaru, what's-what...oh come…seriously…all right I'm coming" He switched it off. "Forgive me oh mighty empress, but I'll have to leave you."
Tamika rolled her eyes. "What's the problem this time?"
Ha-Ya-To began to jog back to his Aero Booster. "I have to save some cookies that are being held hostage in the cookie jar! See ya!"
Ryo gritted his teeth to avoid screaming when a robot grabbed a fist-full of his hair and pulled him violently out of the Prisoner Pod. "What do you want with me! Why is it always me?" he yelled, struggling break loose from his captors.
"Human shall remain silent." And Iron Drone ordered, keeping an extremely firm grip on Ryo's arms.
"Let go of me you tin cans!" he snapped, kicking the robot in a futile attempt to make him let go. His foot connected with the brown iron, making a loud banging sound.
Ryo winced. A stubbed toe. Another injury to add to all the wounds he currently had all around his body.
The iron drone did not seem to appreciate the physical assault. It raised its clawed-like hand, and slashed at Ryo.
The engineer gasped as pain exploded through his body once again. He fell on the floor twitching, trying desperately to get moving. But the slash had ripped the fighting right out of him.
He barely noticed the fact that he was being carried away. He peered through his half shut eyes, and tried to look through the dark and hazy surroundings. But everything was so blurry…
He was thrown on the floor again, but this time, Ryo made no reaction to run or resist.
Loud footsteps came his way. Ryo found himself staring at a pair of large and black boots. He looked up weakly at the figure that was towering over him. He forced his eyes to focus. It was humanoid, in fact, was most likely a human. His black cloak covered his features, and through the hood that was lifted over his head, Ryo saw a black and white mask. Only the view of the mask (which seemed to be out of metal) sent shivers down Ryo's spine.
"I told you to keep him awake and with sufficient energy." The figure (the mask made the voice sound more metallic, so Ryo couldn't determine if it was a boy or a girl) snapped. "Not in such a rusted and used condition." He/she stared at the Iron Drone with such hatred and anger the robot took a step back. But what made Ryo's heart race was not the action of the robot, but that the figure's voice was actually known to him.
"My lord, humans are weak creatures that are easily damaged. This one didn't seem to make it out as you wished." It answered in its metallic voice.
The figure nodded. "Very well. Now be gone!" he/she barked. "And do not bother to come in, even at the sound of screams. I wish to speak to this man alone."
The Iron Drone bowed and stepped out of the door, leaving the wounded Ryo with the figure.
Ryo painfully climbed to his feet. Whoever was behind this mask was obviously a human, and Ryo knew him. He just…he couldn't exactly remember who. Maybe he was getting out of here. "Who…who are you?"
The figure swung its head back at him. "Well the player can still move. Maybe my impressions were wrong. Copies are stronger than they appear."
Ryo blinked. "Wait…what?" Fear bubbled in him. Ok, maybe this guy was crazy or something. "Who are you?" he asked, with more violence, trying to sound threatening.
The figure roared with laughter. "Really Ryo, do you think you can actually overpower me? You're a riot." He turned from the techie and walked towards the windows and gestured at Ryo come close. "Come."
Ryo decided the figure was no threat, just a bit crazy. He limped towards him/her, his guard still up. He looked through the glass. The most beautiful scene met his eyes. It was the Golden City, flooded with sunlight. The base of the Exo-Force team was seating in the mountain's rock, giving an amazing perception of the buildings and the higher level of the room Ryo was standing in allowed him to see the humans run or walk left around. The beam of light of the Golden Tower shot upwards, and disappeared into the sky, giving the city a look of power and invincibility.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
Ryo looked at the figure that was standing beside him. He only noticed how tall it was, taller than him, and judging by the size of the shoulders, stronger than him-probably as strong, if not stronger that Takashi. "What of it?" he asked.
The man (?) sighed behind the mask. "To run in the sun…to fight for glory and pride…and to stand with the ones you're supposed to protect…that is what I see…"
Ryo's mind was going out of control. Who was this guy and why was he showing and telling him all this? How did he manage to change from a ridiculously violent attitude to gentle one? And what did he mean by Copies? "Why are you telling me this?" he asked, looking out the window once again.
The man looked back at Ryo. The engineer shuddered. Gentle or not, that mask was still scary. "My my. You really are dense. I can see some logic in this." He suddenly grabbed Ryo by the collar and brought him so close to him that Ryo felt the cold of his breath. "Why did he do this?" he whispered dangerously, his voice full of venom and hatred.
Ryo tried to break free, but his injuries stopped him from moving properly. "Wh…what are you talking about?"
The man grip moved from Ryo's collar to his face. He squeezed it, sending a surge of pain through the engineer. "I have a whole army of robots, even a Striking Venom waiting for me to give the orders to attack. Now answer me." He repeated very slowly. "WHY DID HE DO THIS?" he roared.
Ryo glared back through the fingers. "I have no idea what you're talking about! Now let go!"
The man tightened his grip. He reached out with his other hand, a mike lying on the table beside him. "Launch attack. Kill all those who oppose you." He snapped in it.
Ryo felt the deck plates vibrate under him, and his eyes widened in horror when he realized what was happening. There was going to be an attack!
Suddenly, he saw robot battle machines flooding out from the lower levels and run towards the city of Gold. "NO!" he glared with complete hatred at the man. "Why are you doing this? You're a human too! Why are you betraying your own kind like this?"
The man hissed behind the mask. He threw Ryo backwards. "I could ask you the same question. You're not even supposed to be here, to be alive."
"What are you talking about?"
The man ran a hand through his mask, as though thinking about taking it off. "Four years ago…I had joined the Exo-Force with my friends. There had been a battle…I was grievously injured. I looked up to Keiken to aid me…he took me in to the infirmary…but things did not go as I hoped…Keiken…he used me." The man slammed his fist into the wall beside him, his entire arm going right through it. "I…he recreated me…some clone…to take my place…He then disposed of me. When I was dying, I saw him…Meca One." The man ran his a hand down his mask again. "He promised me revenge if I aided him. I helped him create the most powerful battle machines in existence…but both of them were stopped…"
Ryo's mind went wild. "Wait…you designed…" he paled. The Striking Venom. The Mobile Devastator. This same man…created them?
"When Meca One was destroyed, by YOU!" he pointed accusingly at Ryo, "I took his place. The robots bowed to me. And this time…this time I will finish the job Meca One has started."
Ryo snarled. "To wipe out humanity?"
The man roared with laughter. "Of course not. Meca One never saw the point of killing you. No, he simply saw you as inferior beings. And how was he right."
"Might I remind you, you're also a human moron!"
The figure seemed to smile behind the cold metal mask. "Or so you think…some things aren't what they seem."
Ryo had enough. Using the little energy he had left, he lunged and the man. "Time for you to take that mask off and see the TRUTH!" he yelled. "Meca One BLINDED you!" he yelled.
The man offered no resistance.
Ryo got his hand on the metal mask. He gave it a sharp yank and tore it off. He threw out his fist to punch the man's lights out, till he caught a glimpse of the face.
The mask slipped out of his hand and hit the floor with a resonating clang.
Ryo took steps back, his face full of disbelief and horror. He suddenly found it very hard to breath. "No…how…"
Looking back at him, with eyes blazing with hatred, was none other than himself.
Hikaru leaped stealthy into his Sky Guardian. He didn't wait for the metal belts to click into place that he grabbed the mike and spoke to all the other pilots and mechanics present in the city. "Listen up everyone. We're up-alone-against a large robot force and one of the most powerful robot battle machines in existence. But both can be defeated. I demand your complete cooperation for this battle. Am I clear?"
He heard a roar of cheers.
Hikaru kicked the rudder of the Sky Guardian, and the blue and white battle machine flew up high into the air. Hikaru was confident: they had already taken the Striking Venom down though they had taken a huge beating themselves. But this time, they knew how to stop it, and their battle machines had upgrades. This time, the victory won't be as hard as before.
He flew over the Golden City, making a headcount of all the battle machines present. About a dozen Grand Titans were running out of their garages and into the sun. They were followed by about twenty Uplinks. Another garage opened its doors, and a large number of Gate Defenders flew out of it. Hikaru quickly lost count, but he swore there were at least fifteen of them. Judging by the speed and agility of the old battle machines, they were all equipped with Lythanium. Hikaru hoped that the engineers had done a good job, or else this fight would be quickly over.
"You ready Hikaru?"
The aerial pilot turned to see the two remaining Golden Guardians present in the city fly towards him. He took a deep breath. "How does Sensei Keiken do this? I hate speeches." He muttered.
He saw Rika flash him a smile. "Hey, no one's too fond of them. And you're a leader. This is your thing!"
Hikaru groaned. He saw the humans crowding at the doors, waiting for them to open. He grabbed his mike once again. "All right everyone. I know the Striking Venom caused a huge amount of damage to us, but this time we know its weakness, and we've got many upgrades the robots are unaware of yet. So this time, we're the ones who are going to destroy the robots completely" He shuddered at the explosion of a blast that hit the walls. "Grand Titans, guard the doors. Don't let anything past. One Golden Guardian stay at the Golden Tower just in case, the other, get under and destroy the bridge from underneath. Gate Defenders! You're all with me! Attack the aerial battle machines and keep the Striking Venom busy as long as possible! Avoid casualties as much as possible!" He spun his Sky Guardian around, now facing the approaching army. He felt guilty of yelling Takashi's line, but the pilot was not around. Hikaru prayed that nothing bad happened to him. "EXO-FORCE! FOR VICTORY!"
There was a huge cheer, as the Golden City's doors opened, and the human army flooded out, charging at the robots.
Hikaru placed his emotionless face on, and pushed the controls forward. The Sky Guardian spun around and dove at the enemy.
Takashi looked around. The hallway was empty. He piloted his almost completely destroyed Blade Titan around the corner, pointing the two remaining guns of the Gatling laser canon. Still none.
The Blade Titan broke into a run. Takashi kept a focused glare on his damaged screen, giving him a map in the robot headquarters. All pilots had a small chip attached to their bodies which allowed them to be found on the radar system in case they got lost or separated from the team.
And after the screens, Ryo was just up ahead.
Takashi ran through the wall, causing it to collapse entirely. He coughed at the smoke and shook his head as though it would protect it from the rocks that fell on him. He heard the blaring of the alarms indicating that a robot battle machine was just in front of him.
Takashi knew that if he battled every robot he encountered, he wouldn't make it. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" he roared at the top of his lungs, increasing the speed on the Blade Titan.
He never knew what the opposing battle machine was. He rammed into it, keeping his eyes tightly shut.
He felt the impact knock the robot battle machine right off its feet and into some unknown direction. However, the attack had consequences on both him and his battle machine: the violent collision sent a powerful jolt of pain scream down his body. Takashi gritted his teeth, trying to fight the coughs that were forcing their way up his throat. He tasted blood coming from them.
His Blade Titan gave huge screech of metal, and the left shoulder-the one with the remains of the shield-exploded and fell limp on its side.
Takashi continued his crazy, almost suicidal race. "Come on…come on…just a little longer…" he pleaded to both him and his battle machine. "Ryo you'd better not be hurt." He whispered, before breaking into another series of coughs.
Ryo didn't know what was wrong with him. He was completely paralyzed. His skeleton refused to obey him; his muscles tensed, but wouldn't move. His brain was going haywire and his heart was hammering uncontrollably, and Ryo was afraid it would suddenly shut down.
He stood in front…well he wasn't sure who, but there was one thing he was certain about: the man had the exact same face as him. It was as though…they were twins (or triplets, adding Rika in the mix).
There was his original untidy black hair, the same jaw-line and the confident brown eyes.
"What…wh…" Ryo quickly realized that his voice had also failed him.
His...other self (?)…laughed. "Well it looks like now that you're facing the truth, you've lost all your confidence. Do you finally understand?"
Ryo was too shocked to speak.
The man grinned. "I take your silence as a no. All right. Remember when I said Keiken did an experiment on me? Replaced me with a low-leveled replica? Well that replica is no other than you."
Ryo finally found his voice. "Wh…what? I have no memory of this happening! How can…if that were true then I wouldn't have any memories since my childhood. And I do! So I can't be a clone! Unless…" he turned pale.
The man smirked. "Exactly. Clones share the same DNA, but the same abilities and memories. And you know what's more?" he leaned in closely at Ryo and whispered in his ear. "You think your…what did you call it? Golden Angel? Is so strong and you want to use it as your secret weapon? Such a shame that you'll never get to use it. Especially when I sent some robots to destroy your precious workhouse.
Ryo paled. "How…did you…"
"When replicas are made, the original is capable of reading the replica's mind without the slightest difficulty. I can see what you see. Hear what you hear." The original whispered.
"Why…why would Sensei…"
"He needed a genius. Age was catching up with him. He needed someone to be the brains of the Exo-Force. You're nothing than a tool to him. A puppet. When he won't need you, he'll dispose of you. Just as he did to me."
Ryo clenched his fist. "It's…it's not true." He answered. "Sensei…he would never do this."
"And yet he did. Ask him if you don't believe me." The man looked up when he heard some loud noises coming his way. "Looks like your friend his here is arriving. I'll make my departure." He turned and walked away, his cloak bellowing behind him.
Ryo managed to make his body move. "Wait! Wh-"
"If you want to know my name, it is Vali." And with that, the man vanished as though he had never existed.
The wall exploded, and Takashi in the remains of his Blade Titan skidded to a halt. "RYO!" he screamed. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
But Ryo still stood there…completely shocked by what had just happened.
"RYO!"
Already the thudding of the robot battle machines were making themselves heard. Ryo took a step closer to the Blade Titan, his eyes still on the area where Vali had disappeared.
"RYO SNAP OUT OF IT!" Takashi heard the rumbling get louder. The radar crackled before screaming warnings at him. "RYO! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF-" he was silenced by the huge coughs, causing blood to drip between his teeth and out of his lips.
Somehow, that caught Ryo's attention. He turned and raced towards the battle machine. In a couple of swift movements, he was holding onto Takashi. "What…what did you do to…"
"Long story shor-*cough cough* short. I got in a little tr*cough*ouble trying to save you."
The wall exploded, and battle machines poured out, immediately opened fire on the devastated Blade Titan.
Takashi yelled his battle cry, and threw his battle machine sideways, and into the wall. Ryo winced as the wall collapsed, and braced himself when the Blade Titan began to fall.
Hikaru yelled as he fired his particle beam rifle and spinning his energy blade in a complete circle, destroying three battle machines at once. The carcasses of the machines fell like rocks onto the bridge below, damaging the other battle machines.
The pilot saw the Uplinks hiding protectively behind destroyed battle machines. Their fire was nourished by the Grand Titans, but even with the upgrades given, the older battle machines could barely stand against the Dark Panthers and the Shadow Crawlers.
And there was still the Striking Venom to worry about.
The massive black and green battle machine had not yet fired its guns, but was slowly inching its way towards the human forces.
Hikaru started flying towards it. He was stopped by three more Iron Condors, which quickly surrounded him and fired at him. The aerial pilot fought hard not to yell in frustration. "Move it." He said. He flipped his wrists sideways, causing the Sky Guardian to spin in a complete circle. The robots shots sailed past the Sky Guardian, its movements dodging the attacks, and hit the robot on the opposing side. They erupted in a beautiful display of explosions.
"There's really nothing new about you guys." He stated as he watched the flaming battle machines spiraled out of control and towards the distant.
With nothing stopping, Hikaru dove at the Striking Venom.
The deadly battle machine raised all the guns and vomited streams of destruction at him. The robot piloting the Striking Venom pressed a few buttons, and the magnetized blasters activated, spitting out disks one after the other.
But Hikaru saw the attacks coming. He twisted the joysticks of his battle machine. He heard the engines adjusting to the amount of energy needed. Suddenly, the white and blue battle machine doubled its speed, and began to do extremely fast barrel rolls and evasions. Left, right, up down, barrel roll, down, the Sky Guardian was a flash of lightning, dodging the beams fired with impressive agility and speed.
Just as he flew past it, Hikaru dug his energy blade into the main body of the Striking Venom. He felt as though time slowed as he flew past it, inspecting the damage he caused, before accelerating again, making the Sky Guardian scream past.
The Striking Venom sparked, but the top turrets mauled at the Sky Guardian, having no intention of letting the human escape intact from his achievement.
Hikaru flew under the bridge. He almost crashed into Rika, who was waiting for her command to shoot.
"Fire!" the leader yelled, as he shot past her.
Hikaru shot back up on the bridge. Accidently knocking a Thunder Fury off the edge, he landed on the platform. He was about to yell at Rika to shoot, when a piece of the bridge exploded, and a green beam shot out, incinerating the leg of Shadow Crawler, causing it to overbalance and topple over the side of the bridge.
This happened a second time, unfortunately missing completely.
Hikaru nodded. If Rika kept up the shooting, the robots would become more hesitant in charging.
"Hikaru! Help!"
Hikaru snapped his head to the left, seeing three Uplinks trapped, the gorge barely a step behind them, and three Shadow Crawlers inching towards them, ignoring the barrage of blasts the humans were firing desperately.
"Hang on guys, I'm my way!" he yelled. He had the Sky Guardian break into a sprint. However, two Thunder Furies leaped in his way, forcing him to stop in his tracks. "NO!" he yelled as he saw one of the Uplinks fall over the edge.
Ha-Ya-To was whistling in his Aero Booster, eating a bagel he had managed to swipe from the Elthra kitchens. Flying at a reasonable speed (for him), the redhead looked around, searching for the Golden City. Knowing his horrible sense of direction, he was relying on the computers to get him back.
Don't get him wrong, he was quite aware of the dangerous situation the Golden City was currently in, but he wanted to make the epic appearance and act like a total badass.
Besides, the pictures needed time to be fully developed. And there was no point in hurrying. And Ha-Ya-To had only one rule: priority to pranks. They always went first. Even if humanity was on the verge of being wiped out.
And speaking of pranks…
Ha-Ya-To grinned devilishly. He knew Hikaru might bust him up later, but he seriously didn't care.
The Aero Booster flew around a cliff, and found the bridge where the fighting was taking place. Ha-Ya-To grinned. Now to wait for…
He saw a small orange battle machine fall.
The redhead made a wild dive. "GO DYNAMIC BADASS ENTRANCE!"
Hikaru watched in horror as the Uplink fell over the edge. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" he yelled, firing all his rockets at once, destroying all the robots in his way, before charging and slashing at the Shadow Crawlers with his energy blade.
"Thanks Hikaru…" one of the boys in the remaining two Uplinks muttered.
HIkaru gritted his teeth. "Retreat to the City. We're overwhelmed." He snapped. "Grand Titans, get back to the City! Gate Defenders; hit the robots gas-containers! Golden Guardians, head back to the Golden City and prepare to defend the tower!" Hikaru didn't bother to listen to the affirmations. He took off and readied him self to attack the Striking Venom, when he heard a powerful roar.
"GO DYNAMIC BADASS ENTRANCE!"
Hikaru almost yelled in surprise, as a flash of blue and white flashed from under the bridge and up into the sky. "Ha-Ya-To?" he asked.
The Aero Booster made a sharp U-Turn, and dove for the bridge. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Just looking for the best moment." Ha-Ya-To said. "And I've got a delivery for you!" he announced. When he was a foot high from the ground, he dropped the Uplink that had previously fallen.
Hikaru felt like hugging his friend. "About time! Where are the others?"
"On their way! Sensei said he'll be here in an hour or so!" Ha-Ya-To said. He took off. "Now how about we blast a couple of robots while waiting for them? They seem desperate to visit the city."
Hikaru looked to see the robot army attack the retreating humans. The Striking Venom was slowly inching its way forward towards them. He shrugged, his former confidence and calm returning. "Why not?" He said. He took off. "DIBS ON THE AERIAL BATTLE MACHINES!" he yelled.
Ha-Ya-To smirked. "All right." He said, taking off and firing at the advancing robots.
"TAKASHI YOU IDIOT!" Ryo yelled. "HOW STUPID DO YOU GET?"
Takashi managed to get his coughing under control. "How was I supposed to know…" he gripped his throat as though it would stop the coughing. "It's not that bad…"
"Oh no…we're just falling…and our landing will be right on the FREAKING STRIKING VENOM!"
Takashi winced. "I can…take it on." He shifted in his seat. "Just give me-" he suddenly gave a huge gasp, and blood began pouring out of his mouth. His eyes closed and he fell limp on the controls.
Ryo paled. "TAKASHI!" he yelled. He shook the boy, but he only got silence as an answer. He looked out and at the Striking Venom, whose size was now increasing dangerously. Ryo grabbed Takashi's arm, and began to unhook the handles off his hands. The metal pad was ripped off. Ryo slipped it on, and began pressing buttons on the battle machine's control board.
The heavily damaged battle machine sparked, and the engines gave a huge cough as they fought to remain functional.
The left leg exploded. Ryo tried his best to protect Takashi from the pieces of melted metal that hit the main body of the battle machine.
Ryo looked down at the leg. The entire shin and foot had disappeared and all that remained was a smoking knee with the skeleton of the thigh. The Striking Venom was barely a mile down. It would only be a couple of seconds till they collided with it.
Ryo looked around. Takashi was completely unconscious, but was still secure in the seat, the metal bars clinging him to what remained of the powerful battle machine.
Maybe the ejection would work.
Ryo reached out for the red alarm button in the handle while holding on tightly to Takashi He felt the seat punch him hard in the gut, and a huge amount of steam was released. Ryo's spirits soared.
The back of the Blade Titan erupted in flames. Ryo felt his hopes collapse almost instantly.
The ejection seat had failed them.
Ryo looked around madly. The wind whistled at him, reminding him of the ominous threat of hitting the Striking Venom right underneath him. If only he had a gun, or a rocket launcher or a…
Rocket launcher…
Ryo lunged back at the controls. Takashi was not the type to use his rockets. There was a chance…he found the button he was looking for and slammed his fists on it, suddenly becoming extremely religious.
He heard the left shoulder give an ear-splitting scream of pain. It coughed out smoke, and four yellow rockets shot out of it.
They rammed into the Striking Venom Below, right at the level of the top turrets, causing a dazzling display of explosions and smoke. Ryo raised the right arm of the Blade Titan, the only one still working, and swung.
Just as the Blade Titan fell past the Striking Venom, the heavily damaged guns sunk into the smoke of the turrets.
Ryo prayed that his plan would work. Or else they were done for.
Hikaru dodged the Fire Vulture's attack and fired. The green sphere shot right through the engines, making the battle machine start an uncontrollable dive.
"Hey Ha-Ya-To? You read me?" he spoke in the mike.
The Aero Booster blasted two Thunder Furies right off the bridge, before flying protectively over the Grand Titans that were retreating to the city. "What's up?"
"The Striking Venom attacked only once. Even now it isn't shooting. Do you have any ideas?" Hikaru asked. He was seriously beginning to worry.
Ha-Ya-To flew past Hikaru and towards the advancing threat. "Let me try something. ALL COMM SYSTEMS VOLUME MAX!" he yelled
Hikaru heard the volume mikes and speakers of his battle machine reach their maximum level. "Ha-Ya-"
"You should've said no, you should've gone home! You shoul-"
"HA-YA-TO YOU SON OF A-"
Ha-Ya-To burst out laughing as Hikaru started cursing over the music that had filled his battle machine. "Say thanks to Ryo! He's the one who got that installed!"
"WHEN?" Hikaru yelled, venom and murder laced in his voice.
"Oh, I dunno. Makes a little while now." Ha-Ya-To answered cheekily. He fired at the Striking Venom, which suddenly fired a barrage or beams at the human. "But at least the Striking Venom has started shooting again! Are you happy?"
Hikaru fired at the Aero Booster, narrowly, but purposely missing it. "To see YOU go down, YES I'M GLAD! ROT IN HELL! NOW TURN THAT MUSIC OFF NOW!"
Ha-Ya-To made a barrel roll and fired at the Striking Venom. "Hmmm…nope."
Hikaru screamed in exasperation as the music continued to play.
Suddenly the turrets were caught in a huge explosion.
Ha-Ya-To flew to safety, escaping the smoke that reached out for him. "What the-" He saw something reach the level of the damaged turret. "Is that…" It vanished into the smoke.
Suddenly the turrets exploded, and began to spin, completely out of control. Whatever disappeared in the smoke reappeared, one arm tangled in the Striking Venom's small, yet visible energy cord.
Ha-Ya-To heard his comm. system crackle. "HA-YA-TO!" he heard someone yell. "HELP! HURRY UP!"
The red head's mouth plopped open. "Ryo? What are you-"
"I'll explain later. JUST HELP US NOW!" the techie screamed in complete panic.
"Where are you?"
"ON THETURRET!"
The Striking Venom's turret slowed, and Ha-Ya-To saw the thing that had fallen become more visible. He flew closer to it, purposely flying on the side to avoid the guns, and gasped when he realized what it actually was. He grabbed the destroyed Blade Titan and unhooked it from the Striking Venom. "What happened? Are you okay? What about Takashi?"
Ha-Ya-To heard the comm. system crackle something, before going dead. He looked at the wreck, and sighed in relief when he saw Ryo's green uniform and Takashi both inside its remains.
A huge greenish beam shot upwards, narrowly missing the Aero Booster. "WHAT THE HELL HIKARU!" he yelled as the Sky Guardian took off from under the Striking Venom.
"I attempted to kill two birds with one stone: destroy the Striking Venom while trying to shoot you down. And can Ryo hear me?" Hikaru whispered, feeling his ears begging for the Taylor Swift music to stop.
Ha-Ya-To just laughed.
"His ribs were pulverized. A small bone pierced his lung. And if that's not enough, he's left arm shattered entirely. And without the metal bullet proof vest, he the pieces of Zaylium and Lythanium would've gone deeper into his body." Ryo said. "The doctor said it was a miracle that he was even capable to remain conscious and ALIVE for so long."
Ha-Ya-To slumped on his bed, his face pale. He had returned to his dorm, and was joined with his roommate a couple of moments later. "How long will he be under medical care?"
Ryo sighed. "He was sleeping when I saw him. The doctor says that he'll be forbidden to move for about two or three months, the time for his lung to heal and the bones to strengthen completely."
"His battle machine?"
Ryo groaned. "Don't talk to me about it. The thing's useless! Even the skeleton was heavily damaged."
Ha-Ya-To paled. "Are you saying…we need the Blade Titan! Without it, we've got no really strong ground power excluding the legion of Golden Guardians and the few Grand Titans!"
Ryo nodded sadly. "And Cylcone Defender is dead." He shook his head. 'And Sensei might betray us…' he added mentally, trying to rip the memory of Vali out of his mind. He shook his head. Climbing to his feet, he staggered into the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower." He muttered, leaving the red head alone in the room.
Suddenly, someone began banging at the door. WHAM WHAM WHAM!
Ha-Ya-To got up. "I got it." He said. He looked through the keyhole. "Ryo, can you open the door?"
"You just said you'd get it."
"Please Ryo?"
"You do it!"
"I'm lazy!"
WHAM WHAM WHAM!
"Ryo pleeeaaaaaassssseeee?"
Ryo stormed out of the bathroom, wearing only his pants. "FINE!" he snapped. He yanked the door open. "WHAT DO YOU-"
He caught a glimpse of a pair of murderous eyes, and a fist collided with his cheek.
Ryo yelled more in surprise rather than pain, but didn't have time to recover and he was caught in a headlock by a venomous Hikaru. "Where is he…?" he whispered bloodily
"Wha? LEGGO YOU CANADIAN MORON!" Ryo yelled as he shook himself violently, releasing himself and tackling the pilot.
Ha-Ya-To watched with considerable interest. "You do know that fighting in the streets is illegal." He said.
Both boys stopped fighting and stared at him.
"Sorry, wrong target." Hikaru said, helping Ryo up. The two pilots lunged at the red head, who attempted to run back inside, only to be caught by the shoulders, and thrown on the ground.
"DIE!" Hikaru yelled.
The next second, the three pilots had started a three-way-fight on the ground. Ha-Ya-To grabbed Ryo's collar and was about to hit him, trying to ignore Hikaru's knee that crashed into his stomach, when he noticed Hitomi standing over them, glaring down at them disapprovingly.
The other two noticed and ceased fighting.
Ha-Ya-To helped Hikaru up. "Nice punching. Were you training with Takashi lately?" he asked.
Hitomi rolled her eyes, sighing in exasperation. "Boys." She muttered while walking away.
Ha-Ya-To watched her leave. "WHO'S UP FROM ROUND TWO?" he yelled, kicking Ryo in the groin as hard as he could.
Hitomi slumped on her bed, after changing in her PJs. She looked at Rika, who was sitting next to her, eating a bowl filled with Ben&Jerrys.
"How was the evening?" Rika asked.
"It was nice. The end got a little wrecked with the robot attack, but they were easily defeated."
Rika nodded. "Hikaru's a good leader. He got us out of the mess." She looked at Hitomi. "You look happy. Did something happen?"
Hitomi grinned. "Oh just the boys fighting. And you how was your 'date'?"
Rika reddened, but smiled all the same. "Awesome. You were right, Hikaru does know about the best areas." Her eyes became dreamy as she started recalling the moment.
Hitomi noticed the look on her face and slowly inched for the bowl. "Gimme the ice-cream." She asked, while shooting her arm out for it.
Rika snapped back to reality. "Rot in hell." She laughed, keeping it out of her reach.
Vali pressed a few buttons on the Jungle Thrasher. The guns were raised. A smirk appeared on his features. "Keiken…this is the end." He whispered.
Suddenly, all the guns were fired, and rockets were shot.
They headed towards the Golden City, where they collided against a building on the far north of the city, creating a huge fireball that engulfed the remains of the area.
Vali reloaded. "And now…Ryo, prepare for what you deserve…" he pulled the trigger.
Well there you have it! I want to apologize for the lack of suspense in this chapter. I was really excited for it, but for some reason, I just couldn't click back on, so it felt a little off. This is the first time it happened, so I'm a little distabilized.
I hope you still enjoyed this and I'll do my best to update ASAP!
REVIEW!