Slowly, the capsule came to a stop. Buck looked at the other five occupants, each of them staring back at him in turn.
He wanted to tell them, This is it. This is the moment I free us. He wanted to encourage them, to give them something to fight for. He wanted to give them hope.
Instead, he gave a small nod of his head. "Let's go."
Assuming his plan worked, hopefully they'd forgive him for not telling them.
The panels of the arena slid aside to allow them entry. They walked in before access was closed once more, the panels sealing them inside. Now, they were able to see what kind of arena they were fighting in today.
"Desert?" scoffed Gray, referencing Rose's prediction from the night previously. "This is about as far from a desert as you can get."
The floor of the arena was completely covered in water that came up to their knees. On the left and right side were ramps that led to dry platforms; they'd be much more mobile, but exposed.
The center of the arena had ten-foot tall walls shaped into corners and covers; essentially a small maze. Someone could hide pretty well in there, if necessary.
In addition to those two observations, he saw that the ground varied; most areas were knee-high water, but at certain parts the floor would dip and become pits hidden in the blue water. They could go either way, used for an ambush or as a hazard.
Constantly, water was falling from the ceiling almost like rain; it didn't contribute to the water level, but rather just decreased visibility.
"They're definitely not pulling any punches here," commented Grenier, gazing around in distrust at the battleground.
"Doesn't seem like we're able to catch a break," Gray agreed.
From above, their captor announced, "Once more, we have allowed you to use your tactical abilities."
The usual weapons cache as well as the bracelet-pod stood in front of them again. The latter was full of six wearable wrist-devices that would grant them access to their different abilities. Eagerly, Buck stepped forward and put one on.
This was going to be what got them out of here.
Vale took just one more glance around before turning to Buck as he armed himself and the others. "What's the plan?"
Her loyalty was absolute now, and he still was amazed at how quickly her regard for him had changed. He wasn't complaining, however; it was definitely a welcome shift in attitude.
Pointing towards the two platforms, he said, "Avoid going on those if you can. I know that mobility seems great, but I'd rather we be slow in the water and covered than exposed up there. I want Grenier and Fallon watching them to see if any of them try to use them."
The voice droned on, "The Live Fire match will commence in fifteen seconds."
He gestured to the other four. "The rest of us are going in through the maze. It's the only way through to the other side besides those platforms, and we'll have Grenier and Fallon on that. Stick in teams of two. Rose and Gray, stay in contact."
Looking at Vale, he'd smile if he was able to. "You're with me."
An expression of surprise came over her, quickly replaced with stoicism. "You got it."
"Five."
He turned and readied himself to charge forward.
"Four."
"Let's do this, people."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
The sound of the horn met them and they jumped into action.
Vale and him took towards the left side of the maze as Rose and Gray favored the right. It was only a moment or two before they were inside the walls, and Buck realized something that he hadn't prepared for.
Silence.
This wasn't an all-out battle like the previous matches; the sloshing of the water and the rain was all that kept others from hearing them … and potentially seeing them.
This was a game of stealth.
Slowly, he and Vale checked each corner they rounded for hostiles. He'd never felt more tense in one of these matches than he did right now, and-
Gunfire rang out from the back of their side of the arena, and he held a hand to stop Vale so they could listen. Had they lost anyone?
After a moment, the comms lit up with Fallon's voice. "One tango down. Tried to use the platform like you said."
Steadying his nerves, Buck waved Vale forward again.
Suddenly, he heard a splash from behind him and spun quickly around to see someone emerging from the water beneath Vale. They must have been hiding in one of the pockets he'd noticed earlier.
Reacting quickly, Vale smashed her fist into the front of the Pilot's helmet, stunning him for a moment. While he recovered, she raised the CAR in her hands and blew his brains out.
As his body fell back into the water, she fell silent again, listening for any others that might have heard the noise and come rushing to his aid. Fortunately, it seemed that the others were unwilling to charge blindly forward.
"Where did he come from?" yelped Grenier over the comms, startling everyone in the maze. "Moving in for the take-down!"
"He looks off, like-" There was a moment's pause from Fallon before the Pilot yelled, "IT'S A HOLO! GET BACK-"
An explosion rocked their side of the arena, and static began playing through Grenier's severed comms connection.
"Fallon? Grenier?!" Buck whispered anxiously, hoping to get a response … but none came.
"Dammit," he muttered. He hadn't wanted to lose anyone …
Vale grabbed his shoulder, and force him to look at her. "Hey, it's not over yet."
Her words struck a chord with him, and he nodded. "Yeah. Let's …"
He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and organize the remaining four of them once more. "Alright; Rose and Gray, stay in the maze. Be careful, you'll be on your own."
"Understood."
Beaconing Vale to follow him, he began to retrace their steps out of the maze. "You and I are going to take care of whoever's waiting for us on our side."
As quietly as they could, they backtracked using the sound of the water falling to hide their progress from their opponents. Upon arriving at the starting point to the maze's interior, Buck peeked out as little as he could to avoid being seen.
There were two of them there, watching the platforms like Grenier and Fallon had done. He could see chunks of what had been Grenier floating around in the water; Fallon's body was still intact, a bloody trail following it in the water.
"Alright, when I give the signal-"
Vale shoved him down hard as the crack of a gun came from behind them. He jerked around to see that one of them had approached them from behind and she'd only just seen them in time to push him out of the way.
The other two noticed, and he swore. "Hold onto me-!"
He phase shifted while grabbing Vale's hand. This was never recommended, but it did work … most of the time.
Both of them were sent into a state of grayscale, and he pulled her out of the maze towards the two standing guard on the bodies. He had to be careful; she didn't know just how easy it was to phase through objects if one wasn't careful. Everything felt like a membrane in here; a bit of resistance, but not much else.
Hurrying to position themselves, they materialized right behind the other two and attacked. Buck's target had not expected it at all, and was quite overwhelmed when the Simulacrum tackled her and quickly put her down.
Vale was not so lucky; perhaps her assailant was more experienced with the tricks of phase-shifting, but he had prepared for her and knocked her down. He was raising his own weapon to fire when a gunshot from off to the side rang out and punched a hole in the man's chest. Looking down, he came to terms with his own demise right as he tumbled into the water.
Buck looked to see Fallon standing weakly, holding out a G2 with one arm. To have made that shot one-handed was already incredible enough, but to do it while the user was in such a bad state? It was a miracle.
"Gray, Rose, get out of the maze now!" he ordered, and then tended to Fallon. "I thought you were dead-"
"Bullet took me in the gut," he grunted. "I don't think it hit anything, and- and it must've gone clean through."
Buck checked him quickly to see that he was right; small exit wound could be seen near the side of his back. "What happened to Grenier?"
Fallon looked at the chunks floating around. "He went to tackle a Pilot … turned out to be a hologram. There was a 'nade or something under the water, blew him apart. They shot me, but I just played dead and they assumed they got me from all the blood in the water."
A wise move on his part; he should count himself lucky. Buck turned at the sound of sloshing to see Gray dragging Rose out of the maze. Hurriedly, he came to help her. "What happened-"
"One in the maze," she panted, "tagged him in the leg. I don't know where, but he wasn't able to walk on his own. I took down the attacker."
He gave a pat of comfort to the Wings Pilot and muttered, "You're gonna be alright Rose. You hear?"
Rose gave a weak thumbs up.
Vale spun around in a circle, checking out their position. "Where's the last one?"
Buck finally noticed what she was talking about, and felt a sinking feeling. "Dammit, he must have gone back into the maze."
She was about to head in when he ran over and grabbed her. "No, I'm going in. No one else."
He couldn't see those brown eyes of hers behind the visor, but he assumed that they were narrowed in an argumentative expression. Before she could protest, he pointed to all of them and then to their side. "All of you stay here; I'm not losing anyone else if I can help it."
Vale shifted from foot to foot, nervous for his safety; but thankfully, she obeyed. He gave a mock salute to the four of them, and then entered the maze once more.
Holding the Alternator in his hands with a firm grip, his hands were still. Panicking wouldn't get him out of this; staying calm would. He made no movement without thought, without calculation. Where was this guy hiding?
He thought to himself as water ran down his joints, streaking along the metal of his body. The center of the maze was too obvious, and hiding under the water wasn't too viable of a strategy unless it was in one of those pits, and he definitely hadn't heard anyone come up for breath from hiding in one for long.
What would he use to hide, he thought to himself. If he was in this last-man-standing scenario, what would he consider to be the point to turn the tide? He'd need surprise obviously, but if everyone was already looking ahead or down, then …
It dawned on him right as he heard a noise, and he jumped out of the way to avoid the crushing weight of the Pilot jumping on him from above. Apparently, he'd been hiding on top of the walls; a bold strategy that would have been difficult to spot with all the water raining down on them.
They yelled and charged forward at Buck when he was least prepared for it. The blow knocked the Simulacrum backwards and into one of the deeper pits of the water. Only five feet in diameter but roughly ten feet deep, it was quite the claustrophobic space to engage in a fight.
The other Pilot dived in after him, intending to finish Buck off. Underwater, they fought for control of his Alternator. Its aim shifted within hair's breadth of both of them several times before he went for a different approach and straight up yanked it away and shoved it out of either of their reach.
The Pilot stretched out his arm, reaching for his only hope at defeating the ACES soldier. Buck pulled him back and simply held him close, refusing to allow either of them to surface.
He didn't need oxygen to live; the other Pilot did.
The man's kicks became more violent and aggressive, threatening to pull out of Buck's grasp. One of his feet shook his arm free enough to shove himself up before Buck could grab him again. Yanking on the collar of the man's armor, he decided that perhaps he'd need to speed things up.
He hated having to do any of this, but he reminded himself; it wasn't his fault for being placed in this situation, it was whatever evil woman was behind the mysterious voice. She was responsible for everything that happened, and he'd make sure she paid for it.
He formed his metallic fingers into as angled a fist as he could, allowing the sharp edge of the knuckles to be at their most lethal. With as much force as he could muster underwater, he swiped it across the Pilot's throat and felt horrified but relieved when red began to bubble into the water around them.
A warmth could be felt underwater, and Buck realized that the man had soiled himself in his terror. None of what had transpired between them was of malicious intent, but to say that Buck was disturbed by what he'd had to do was an understatement.
As the Pilot's movements became sluggish and began to cease, Buck took the opportunity to grab what he came here for, away from prying eyes of the security monitors in the arena.
I'm sorry. But your death is going to save everyone else's lives.
Grabbing the bracelet on the Pilot's arm, he quickly tugged it off and placed it in a pouch on his chest. Hopefully that would hold it until it was time. With nothing left to do, he kicked himself free of the Pilot's corpse and swam back up through the bloody water.
Splashing his way out of the pit, his body shook from the stress that had just taken place. It had been awful, horrifying, inhumane …
Necessary.
Sloshing through the maze, he made his way out and slowly approached the others. Vale turned to see him, and sighed with relief. "God, you were gone for so long that we thought … well, she didn't say we'd won yet."
He looked up to where the voice normally came from, and earned a little more hatred for her. She'd deliberately refrained from telling his team that he'd survived so that they could worry? Bitch.
"What happened in there?" she said concernedly, grabbing his shoulder and then pulling her hand away with red all over. "You're completely covered in blood."
He remained silent, unwilling to speak about the lengths he'd had to go to in order to kill the Pilot. She took it as a sign, and wisely decided not to press the subject.
"The Live Fire match is over. I am most impressed with your continued success, Pilots. Perhaps having the Simulacrum is quite the advantage for you."
They remained silent, having nothing to say to her. After a moment, the voice drawled, "Place your devices in the pod before stepping back into the capsule. Medical attention will be provided for those who require it in your quarters."
A number five could be seen on the monitor above the pod, awaiting their deposited bracelets. Rose handed his off to Gray who put both of theirs in before helping him hobble into the capsule. Fallon required leaning on Vale for support, and they threw theirs in too.
Buck stepped forward and pretended to have a moment of hesitation like he'd done last time. The illusion needed to be complete for it to work. With an air of finality, he dropped his in and began the ignition stage of his plan.
The panels of their side of the arena split apart to reveal the capsule once more, its tinted windows and closed in space a grim reminder that they knew nothing of wait waited for them in the facility. All he had to go on were those recordings, and they weren't much; but they were something.
All of them entered together and took their well-earned respite. Fallon slid down against a wall, a trail of blood left behind wherever his wound rubbed against. Rose leaned against the side, struggling to maintain his composure. Gray watched him and Fallon carefully while Vale watched Buck.
"So," she said resignedly, "I guess we didn't die this time. Lucky us, huh?"
He looked at her and said quite seriously, "How thick do you think this glass is?"
She jerked backwards slightly. "What? I don't-"
"Quickly," he ordered.
She immediately looked around their walls, floor, and ceiling at the glass which only gave them dim shapes and lighting of what was around them. "For the use of keeping six pilots from escaping, a few centimeters at least, if not inches. It'd take some dedicated force to break-"
She stopped speaking mid-sentence as she turned and saw Buck strapping the dead Pilot's device onto his wrist. He looked at the rest of them staring back at him and raised his hand.
"It's time."
Without waiting another second, he phase shifted.
The floor beneath him felt tough, definitely something that would be hard to phase through with so little time; but he could manage. He'd have to.
Forcing himself downward, it felt like he was trying to swim in solid ground. It was such a unique feeling, moving through solid objects. It took some real effort, but assuming he forced himself enough and the shift didn't end prematurely, then he … could just …
Not a moment too soon, he forced himself through the floor and reappeared in reality. Hooking his fingers around the edge of the capsule, he barely managed to stop himself from falling into the depths below. Wherever this facility was, it was underground in a massive cavern or similar; wherever there wasn't construction, there was rock and void.
He could hear pounding on the capsule from the others as they tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Hurriedly, he ascended the side of the capsule and pulled himself atop it. It was attached to a rail, its only method of transport throughout the facility. There was a generator next to it, presumably what was powering it along.
Without missing a beat, he drove his fist hard into it and was rewarded with a shower of sparks.
Immediately, the capsule stopped moving on the rail and the holographic projections keeping the glass from being transparent winked out of existence. Now they could see him on top of the capsule, and he hailed them over the comms.
"Well … this is interesting."
"Break the glass!" he ordered, stomping his clawed metallic foot with as much effort as he could muster.
"You heard him, let's do this!" he heard Rose exclaim. All four of the other Pilots began to jump and hit the ceiling as powerfully as they could, using their jump packs to assist them. Fallon pulled his helmet off, and used it as a battering ram.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed. How resourceful of you, Pilot."
Shit, that voice knew what he was doing. "HARDER!" he shouted, hoping to to still free them from the capsule.
They continued to pound away at it, refusing to let hope die now that escape was just within their grasp.
Finally, Buck saw a fracture appear and he focused his attention on driving all of his force into that focal point. Again, and again, and again …
He knelt down and began to drive his fist in instead, hoping that he'd have greater accuracy. The crack spread wider, but it wasn't deep enough yet. Almost-
"BUCK, LOOK OUT!" Vale yelled over the comms, and he moved out of the way just in time to dodge a well-placed shot from a hovering IMC drone. There were more of them approaching too, ready to overwhelm him in seconds if he stayed.
"Run!"
"Get out of here, Buck!"
He didn't want to abandon them, to leave them after they were so close-
Rose ordered one final time, "Save yourself! Live to fight another day, my friend!"
Gathering his resolve, he spotted a large pipe that led deeper into the facility. Getting as much of a running jump as he could garner, he ran and leapt into the air before activating his jump pack, barely managing to grip the edge of the side and pull himself up. He heard cheers from his team behind him, encouraging him on.
"Yeah, Buck!"
"You can make it! Run!"
He turned back. "I promise, I-"
"No," came Vale's voice, "I get the feeling you'd be stupid enough to mount a rescue attempt if I let you finish that sentence. There's no hope for us at this point; just get out of this hell, and when you get back, just-"
Her voice broke. "Just remember us, okay?"
He felt broken. "Vale-"
She cut him off. "Go on! Live for us!"
With a final glance toward the capsule, he turned and ran along the pipe, away from the drones and his friends. Away from the arenas, and towards the dark shadowy crevices that he'd be able to hide in until he could find a way out. All the while, their captor taunted him as he fled.
"You can run, and you can hide, but you cannot win. No matter how long it takes to find you, I will. You sealed your fate the moment you broke out of containment."
"You're nothing but a dead man walking."
A/N: Since the site is having issues at the moment and won't notify readers of new chapters, I'm just going to take this chapter down and reupload it once per day until the site is fixed. That way, at some point a notification should pop up for readers. At least, that's what I'm hoping.
- Matteoarts